Can We Drink the Cup? is a 1996 book by Catholic priest Henri J. M. Nouwen. He was the author of more than thirty books, but this was his last one because he died just after writing it. Can We Drink the Cup? is all about the wine turned into the Blood of Christ by the miracle of transansubtiation at every Mass. Can We Drink the Cup? is a short book, only about 120 pages. Nevertheless, it packs quite a punch and should be of interest to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Do you believe in the miracle of transubstantiation?
Summary of Can we Drink this Cup?
Can We Drink the Cup? is broken into 9 succinct chapter on the transformation of the wine into the blood of Christ. This may seem like overkill, but Fr. Nouwen writes so well that it does not seem this way at all. There are chapters in Can We Drink the Cup? on holding the chalice, the chalice of sorrow, the chalice of joy, the chalice of lifting, the chalice of life, the chalice of blessings, the chalice of salvation, the chalice to the bottom.
That is all. Can We Drink the Cup? is a short and brief examination of just one thing, the transformation of the wine into the blood of Christ. This book, a quick read, will appeal to Catholics and those seeking to learn about them. Some other facts and figures about Can We Drink the Cup? the book has been translated into ten languages and sold more than 135,000 copies.
In Can We Drink the Cup? Fr. Nouwen illustrates from his past work with men and women with mental disabilities to appreciate of what it means to drink both the chalice of sorrow and the chalice of joy. He also writes about gratitude and celebration, the happy times in our lives.
It would be appropriate after learning about a book that explains the body of Christ to learn about the miracle that happens at every Mass, transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is “the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ,” according to the Catholic church.
This change occurs in the eucharistic prayer, which is said at every Mass, by the action of the Holy Spirit. However, “the outward characteristics of bread and wine, that is the ‘eucharistic species’, remain unaltered”. Because there is no outward change in the bread and wine, people do not believe that it has become the body and blood of Christ. Many wars have been fought about this.
The Catholic Church teaches that, in the Eucharistic offering, bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. This doctrine on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist was expressed, using the word “transubstantiate”, by the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215. So, almost a thousand years ago.
The Council of Trent summarized by declaring: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This changes the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.”
Conclusion
This is a useful and well-written book that will appeal to both Catholics and non-Catholics. It is rare to find such a complete and detailed treatment of a seemingly simple thing. However, what is happening to the wine, as it is transformed into the blood of Jesus is actually complex. It has caused wars in which millions of people have died.
