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Humility, faith, love: sacrifice, thanksgiving,
life
Throughout the ages, the Fathers of the Church have made a remarkable
contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the Eucharistic
Mystery. Their truly unique recommendation is for the faithful to draw
close to this Mystery in order to have a deep, intellectual knowledge
and heartfelt experience of it.
They did not dwell on the exterior, visible elements of the Eucharist
but examined it from the inside, starting from the Mystery that it
expresses among the realities of this world.
The inspiration for their research always came from the Scriptures.
They developed it in accordance with the categories of biblical thought
in which the One who is divine Truth makes himself understood and
becomes essential in the believer's life.
The Church Fathers explained the Eucharist through the personal
mystery of Jesus, the Incarnation, which culminates in his Pasch. They
were deeply impressed by the realism of the sacrifice of the Cross, not
only at the time of Christ's death but throughout his life and right up
to the moment in the Upper Room when, under the signs of bread and wine,
he offered his Body to the Disciples gathered there, who represented the
Church of every epoch.
The Fathers never tired of pondering the affirmations of Jesus who
made himself the Bread of life: he, the Risen One, became our food. The
teaching they have handed down can be summed up in three words:
humility, faith and love.
As a help to examination, reflection and adoration during this
Year of the Eucharist, let us look at some of the meaningful sayings
of certain Fathers who carried out their apostolic activity among the
People of God.
The early Church years were marked by the persecutions of the Roman
Emperors, which enabled Christians to emulate the Master in their
witness of faith.
Justin, himself a martyr who died in 165, liked to argue with
the Roman Authorities of his time for being too rigid towards
Christians. In his teaching on the Eucharist, Justin broadened his gaze
to the People of God.
He explained clearly that the offering of the bread and wine
constitutes the sacrifice prefigured in the Old Testament and instituted
by Jesus as the New Sacrifice. It is now offered as a commemoration of
the passion, principally by the one who presides at the celebration but
also by the entire people, to praise and thank God as he deserves for
the favours he has bestowed upon us in the creation and in redemption.1
Christ offered as sacrifice
While Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, faithfully follows Justin's
position,2 he underlines the surprising analogy between the
two transformations: "...the bread and the wine, from being earthly,
become heavenly; the Christian, from being corruptible, becomes fit for
eternal life".3
Irenaeus has the honour of being the first Christian author to make a
systematic use of Old and New Testament writings to prove their
continuity, in accordance with God's plan.
The famous third century apologist and writer, Tertullian, who
also defended the rights of Christians, confirms the sacrificial
character of the Eucharist but without explaining its nature.4
Cyprian, on the other hand, elected Bishop of Carthage by
popular acclaim in 429, dedicated one of his writings exclusively to the
Eucharistic Celebration: his Letter 63, addressed to Cecilius and
entitled On the Sacrament of the Cup of the Lord. His exposition
appears to be entirely dominated by the idea that Christ is present in
the Eucharist to be offered as a sacrifice to God.5
Ignatius of Antioch gives a particularly clear explanation of
the Real Presence and the significance of Christ's sacrifice: "The
Eucharist is the flesh of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who suffered for our
sins and whom the Father in his goodness resurrected".6
Falsely accused in the trial prior to his martyrdom, he wrote to the
faithful of Smyrna that he longed to be torn to shreds by the teeth of
wild beasts so as to become the bread of Christ.
The salient feature of Bishop Caesarius of Arles was his
passion for teaching the faith to the people. Every Sunday, he would
send his priests to the rural areas of his ecclesiastical jurisdiction
to celebrate the Eucharist and read the homily that he himself had
written. It is in one of these homilies that we find these words:
"Externally we receive nothing extra, for the change is from
within... when you go to the altar for your hunger to be satisfied, you
look through faith at the Sacred Body and the Sacred Blood of your
God.... His power, has ordered that in the presence of His Majesty the
bread and wine be changed into the nature of the Body of Christ, and man
himself can be seen to become the Body of Christ, through the work of
divine mercy".7
Ambrose of Milan (339-397) offers deep insight on Jesus' words
at the Last Supper. This holy Bishop based all his theological thought,
hence, his apostolic activities, on diligent study and meditation on the
Word of God, as Augustine testifies.8
Thus, Ambrose wrote: "Before the Blessing with the heavenly words,
the object is called by its proper name; after the consecration, it is
body that is meant. This is my Body. Before the
consecration another thing is talked about, after the consecration it is
called blood.
This is my Blood. And you say Amen, in other words, it is true".9
The Spirit is freedom
St Ambrose's Commentary on Psalm 118 also has significant and
inviting passages: "He is the bread of life. Any one who eats life
cannot die.... Go to him and satisfy your hunger, for he is the Bread of
Life. Go to him and drink, for he is the source. Go to him and be
enlightened, for he is light. Go to him and be set free, for where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom...".10
This pressing invitation addressed to Christians expresses the Bishop
of Milan's ardent desire for them to want to be aware of what the
Eucharist means in the life of the baptized. We do not eat just any kind
of bread at the divine table, nor do we drink just any kind of wine, but
the Body and Blood of Our Saviour, food consecrated by the thanksgiving
prayer that is formulated in the very words of Christ. The grace of the
Holy Spirit at the moment of the epiclesis brings about the
transformation through the words of institution, when the minister
addresses our heavenly Father.
From Augustine of Hippo's abundant reflections and teachings,
we read the following that conveys his steadfast faith in the Eucharist:
"We do not call the Body and Blood of Christ either Paul's voice or his
parchments and ink, or his words or the written letters in his books,
but only what we produce from the fruits of the earth that we consecrate
with the mystical prayer and consume ritually for our spiritual
salvation ...".11
Augustine commented shrewdly on the Jews' wild protests when they
realized that Jesus came from mysterious divine origins, since they did
not understand how the two realities, divine and human, could coexist:
"They were far from that heavenly bread and unable to hunger for it. The
mouth of their heart was sick. Their ears were open but they were deaf;
they saw but they were blind. Indeed, this Bread requires the hunger of
the inner man" .12
This thought recalls the reflection of the Evangelist John: "Indeed,
although Jesus had performed so many signs before their eyes, they did
not believe in him" (Jn 12:37).
The inheritance of those who would eat of the bread come down from
Heaven was to be the participation of the human reality in the divine
life that begins here on earth: "To eat the living bread, in fact, means
to believe in him. Anyone who believes, eats; in an invisible way his
hunger is satisfied and, likewise invisibly, he is reborn from within
and in his innermost depths becomes a new person. When he is renewed, he
is satisfied".13
In a discourse intended to reveal the most significant realities of
the Eucharist, Augustine explained: "When you sit down to dine with a
ruler keep in mind who is before you and be accordingly prepared (cf.
Prv 23:1-2). That table where the food is constituted by
the Lord of the banquet himself is holy. No one feeds their guests with
their own flesh: only Christ the Lord does this. He is the one who
invites, he is the food and he is the drink".14
'Without a time limit'
Jerome (347-420). also reflects on the offering of the bread
and wine. After an adventurous life of exploration and experiences, he
decided to settle in Bethlehem to translate the Scriptures.Among others,
he left us this writing: "The Eucharist is the one and only good of this
life. It is Christ and not Moses who gives the true bread, the bread
from heaven, the bread that appeases hunger.... He is the fellow guest
invited to eat at the table at the same time he is the banquet, the food
and the nourishment of life. Christ is both the One who eats and the One
who is eaten. He is the historical Jesus; he is the Child lying in the
manger; he is the Christ who suffers the passion on the Cross, for his
Body is broken, his Blood is poured out and sprinkled over humanity....
And please God we may receive the Eucharist without a time limit!".15
We should make our own the hope of this Church Father whom artists
have portrayed humble and naked when receiving his last Eucharist on
this earth.
John Chrysostom's contemplation of the mystery also has unique
features: "The Magi worshipped this body lying in the manger.... Now you
no longer see him in the manger but on the altar; you do not see a woman
holding him in her arms, but the priest who is standing and the Holy
Spirit who flies with great liberality over the offerings placed on the
altar. You must believe that today too, it, is the same supper as the
one at which Jesus presided. There is no difference between that
Eucharist and this one. It is the Body that bled, pierced by the lance,
from which flowed blood and water, the sources of salvation for the
whole earth. Do not let them be an object of contempt among its members,
that is, among the poor who have no clothes with which to cover
themselves. Christ emerged from the abyss in radiant light, and leaving
his rays here behind, him rose to the heavenly throne. Now it is this
Body that you can see here on earth. Indeed, not only do you see it, but
you even touch it; not only do you touch it, but you also eat it and go
home having received it".16
Who knows how often John Chrysostom paused in these reflections, when
he was exiled by the Empress Eudoxia to Armenia, as he wrote, "the
remotest corner of the world".
The Fathers also emphasize that the changing (transubstantiation) of
the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord is the work of
the Holy Spirit and that the transformation happens in the natural
elements, but especially in the lives of Christians participating in the
Eucharist.
Creating reconciliation
As well as being a sacrifice, the Eucharist is a banquet that creates
understanding and reconciliation. Eating with others has always been a
sign of solidarity and communion, a privileged moment for the exchange
of words, ideas and conversation. Sharing and acceptance are a
fundamental experience to which there are many references in the Bible.
The most-incisive example is that of Abraham under the terebinth of.
Mamre. "Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them,
he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and bowing to the
ground, he said: 'Sir, if I may ask you this favour, please do not go on
past your servant. Let some water be brought that you may bathe your
feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. Now that you have come
this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may
refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way'. 'Very well',
they replied, 'do as you have said'. Abraham hastened into the tent and
told Sarah, 'Quick, three seahs of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls'.
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer and gave it to a
servant, who quickly prepared it. Then he got some curds and milk as
well as the steer that had been prepared and set these before them; and
he waited on them under the tree while they ate (Gn 18:2-8).
In commenting on this passage, Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-395)
paused to contemplate the mystery of this visit and to invite everyone
to the same banquet: "Here is our tent open to welcome you all. It is in
the shade of our oaks of Mature and by the water of our fountains, this
bread is kneaded by our women.... All this to refresh you, before you
continue on your way".17
The recovery of strength is the joy of the table on which the bread,
an image of prosperity, is the symbol par excellence of God's gift. In
the Bible we find numerous descriptions, of it:
"Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart,
because it is now that God favours your works" (Eccl 9:7).
"Nourish your people with the food of angels and furnish them bread
from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled for, endowed with all delights and
conforming to every taste" (Wis 16:20).
And in his second discourse, Moses confirms to Israel: "He therefore let
you be afflicted with hunger and then fed you with manna, a food unknown
to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone
does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the
Lord" (Dt 8:3).
Real Presence among us
Commenting on Luke's Gospel (cf. Lk 2:7-8) Cyril of Alexandria
compares the Eucharistic table with the manger and observes: "...you
will find no hay in it but the bread of heaven and the body of life".
And in illustrating the institution of the Eucharist, he says that it
is essential to obey the Lord's command in the Book of Numbers: "The
Lord said to Moses: ...'When you enter the land into which I will bring
you and begin to eat of the food of that land, you shall offer
the Lord a contribution consisting of a cake of your first batch of
dough'" (Nm 15:17-19). Thus, it is necessary to be expeditious, "...for
Christ made man, like one of us
—
from our same dough
—
... was offered to the Father as the first sheaf of corn taken from the
threshing floor".18
The Eucharist is life, thanksgiving and sacrifice, an offering and an
immolation that perpetuates the Real Presence of God among human beings.
It is the fulcrum of the life of the Church, the Bride who at every
Eucharistic celebration prepares herself to welcome her Bridegroom and
brings about the intimate connection that exists between the Mystery of
Christ and the other Christian mysteries.
For believers, as the Fathers taught, the Eucharist is the extension
of the Incarnation, it is the union with the Trinity, the sacrament of
mercy, the sign of unity and the bond of charity.
Notes
1 Cf. J. Quasten, Patrologia I, Turin, 1975, pp.
192-194.
2 Cf. Adversus Haereses, IV, 17, 5; 18, 1-6; 33, 2.
3 Ibid., IV, 18, 5; and V, 2, 3.
4 De Oratione, 19.
5 Epistula LXIII, 4.
6 Letter to the Church in Smyrna, VII, 1.
7 Easter Homily, PL 67, 1053-1056.
8 Augustine, Confessions, VI, 3, 3.
9 Di Nola, Monumenta Eucharistica, vol. I, p. 453.
10 Ambrose of Milan, Commentary on Psalm 118,
18-28, PL 15, 1203.
11 Augustine, The Trinity, 3, 10.
12 Augustine, In Johannem, 26, 1.
13 Ibid.
14 Augustine, Discourse 329, 1-2.
15 Jerome, Letters. To Lucinius 71, 6.
16 John Chrysostom, On I Cor, 24, 5 PG 61, 204;
On Matthew, Homily 50, 3 PG 58, 507; Homily 24, 4 PG 61,
203-204.
17 D. Ange, Dalla Trinità
all'Eucaristia, Ancora, Milan, 1974, p. 117.
18 Cf. Di Nola, Monumenta Eucharistica, vol. II, p.
491.
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