The Eucharist and Cannibalism

The most mysterious yet controversial doctrine in the Catholic Church would be if the Eucharist contains the real presence of Jesus Christ. The reason why it is so hard to believe is because non-Catholics think that even if Christ's body is contained in the Eucharist, they perceive that as cannibalism. The first accusation was from the Romans, and it has affected Catholics ever since. Though people have constantly fought this doctrine for ages, there are significant reasons that prove eating the Eucharist is not cannibalism. First, the Eucharist is life. Cannibals eat what is dead. There have been historic instances where cannibals have eaten the living and beating heart of a victim, but they were in the process of dying. The Eucharist is in no way doomed to die. In fact, it is living on forever. Just as Christ arose from the dead and lived in Heaven with God the Father, life remains in the Eucharist. Second, cannibals take only parts of their victims. The Eucharist is the whole body and blood of Jesus Christ, it is not just some parts. The Eucharist contains all of Jesus and his grace. This does not mean that receiving multiple hosts make you receive more bodies of Jesus Christ, nor does receiving less give you less of Jesus Christ. All of Christ is present in any amount of host. And third, the Eucharist is the glorified body of Jesus Christ, not just his original body. This means that the host is more in a spiritual sense rather than a physical sense, due to the spiritual dwelling with our Father in Heaven.