This is my body, given for you.

My response would be that the entire Catholic Tradition is consistent when it comes to Christ being truly present in the Eucharist. The way in which we have described it has certainly changed during the different periods of the Church.

As Catholics we place great importance on what they would refer to in the East as theosis, in other words becoming one with God. The Eucharist is best understood through the lens of the Incarnation of Christ. God became man, so that man might become God. The Eucharist is an extension of that and so to refer to it as simply a memorial does not adequately describe what is happening.

With regards to the Jewish understanding of “memorial” being part of our Tradition, I would agree wholeheartedly and it is still a part of it today. The Jewish understanding however is not the modern sense of the term, but rather a memorial that signified making something in the past actually present now. This validates what Catholics believe with regards to the Eucharist and Christ being really present.

I also agree that our belief in the Eucharist, similar to our belief that Jesus was both God and man, requires the eyes of faith. I’m pretty sure that in his day, no one would be able to scientifically test whether or not Jesus was God, but nevertheless it is what we believe about Him.