Just Teach Sheet Seekers September Week 3

Seeker Track – Just Teach Sheet

September Week 3
Theme: Faith & Belonging to the Church
Audience: Seekers, Non-Catholics, or Returning Catholics
Focus: Why Sunday Mass is essential, and why the Eucharist is not a symbol but the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Weekly Goal

To show clearly that Jesus Himself gave us the Eucharist, commanded us to celebrate it, and that the Mass is the true worship of the New Covenant — the heart of Catholic life.

What You’ll Need

This sheet

A Bible

Notebook for reflections

Opening Prayer (Daily)

Lord Jesus Christ,
At the Last Supper You gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of Your Passion.
Open my eyes to see that You are truly present at Mass.
Help me to long for You, believe in You,
and one day receive You worthily in Holy Communion. Amen.

Day 1 – Did Jesus Really Command the Mass?

Teaching:
At the Last Supper, the night before His Passion, Jesus gave His Body and Blood to His disciples and said:

Luke 22:19–20 – “This is My Body, which is given for you… This cup is the new covenant in My Blood.”

And then He commanded: “Do this in memory of Me.”

Reflection:
Jesus did not say, “Remember Me once a year” or “Pray in your own way.” He said: Do this. From the beginning, Christians obeyed by celebrating the Eucharist every Sunday.

Questions:

Had I realised that Jesus Himself instituted the Mass?

Why do I think Christians have always gathered for this?

Day 2 – The Early Church and the Mass

Teaching:
The very first Christians already celebrated the Eucharist as we do today.

Acts 2:42 – “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Historical Witness:

St. Justin Martyr (AD 155) describes the Sunday Mass almost exactly as Catholics celebrate today — with readings, homily, prayers, offering, and Communion.

St. Ignatius of Antioch (AD 107) called the Eucharist “the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Reflection:
If the early Christians believed this and many died as martyrs for it, why would I doubt it now?

Questions:

Does it surprise me that the Catholic Mass goes back to the first generation of Christians?

Can a tradition that ancient and universal be wrong?

Day 3 – The Eucharist: Real Presence, Not Symbol

Teaching:
Many Christians today say the Eucharist is only bread and wine, a symbol. But the Bible and history are clear: Jesus meant it literally.

John 6:51–55 – “My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”

When many disciples walked away because this teaching was “hard,” Jesus did not call them back to say it was symbolic. He let them go.

Catechism (CCC 1376): “By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance… into the Body and Blood of Christ.”

Reflection:
If Christ can turn water into wine, can He not turn wine into His Blood?

Questions:

Why would so many disciples leave in John 6 if Jesus only meant a symbol?

Do I believe He has the power to do what He says?

Day 4 – The Mass is Calvary Made Present

Teaching:
The Mass is not a new sacrifice. It is the one sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, made present sacramentally.

1 Corinthians 11:26 – “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

CCC 1367: “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.”

Reflection:
At every Mass, I stand mystically at Calvary. The same Jesus who died for me is present on the altar.

Questions:

If I could have stood at Calvary, would I have wanted to be there?

Do I realise the Mass makes that possible for me today?

Day 5 – Sent Out from the Mass

Teaching:
The word “Mass” comes from the Latin missa — “sent.” We are not meant to stay in church. We are sent to live what we have received.

Matthew 28:19–20 – “Go and make disciples of all nations… I am with you always.”

Reflection:
The Eucharist changes us. We carry Christ into the world — in our families, workplaces, friendships.

Questions:

Do I see Mass as the start of mission, not the end?

How might I live differently after truly meeting Christ in the Eucharist?

Weekend Wrap-Up – The Heart of the Church

Jesus Himself commanded the Eucharist.

The first Christians celebrated the Mass from the beginning.

The Eucharist is Christ’s true Body and Blood, not a symbol.

The Mass is Calvary made present.

We are sent out to live and share the Gospel.

Reflection:
If the Eucharist is truly Jesus, then missing Mass is missing Christ Himself.

Journal Prompts

“If Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, I want to…”

“The Mass connects me to…”

“The part that surprises me most about the Eucharist is…”

Apologetics for Seekers

“The Eucharist is just a symbol.”
Response: Jesus said, “This is My Body… This is My Blood” (Matt 26:26–28). The early Church always believed it was real — even when it cost them their lives.

“I can pray at home; I don’t need Mass.”
Response: You can pray anywhere, but only at Mass can you receive the Eucharist — the very life of Christ.

“Isn’t the sacrifice of the Cross enough?”
Response: Yes. The Mass is not a new sacrifice, but that same sacrifice made present to us today.

�� Catechism Extension

CCC 1324: The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life.

CCC 1376: Transubstantiation: bread and wine become Christ.

CCC 1367: The Mass is the one sacrifice of Christ made present.

CCC 2181: Sunday Mass obligation.