The Church and Communion (The Gift of the Eucharist)
1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
1Co 10:17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
St. Ignatius of Antioch – Bishop, martyred in 107 AD
Meet together in common – every single one of you – in grace, in one faith and one Jesus Christ (who was of David’s line in his human nature, son of man and son of God) that you may obey the bishop and priest with undistracted mind; breaking one bread, which is the medicine for immortality, our antidote to ensure that we shall not die but live in Jesus Christ for ever.
St. John Chrysostom – Bishop of Constantinople – 350 AD
For what is the bread? The body of Christ. And what do they become who partake of it? The body of Christ: not many bodies, but one body. For as the bread, consisting of many grains, is made one, so that the grains nowhere appear; they exist indeed…so are we, joined with each other and with Christ: there not being one body for you, and another for your neighbor to be nourished by, but the very same for all.
St. Augustine of Hippo – 350 AD
Recognize in the bread what hangs on the Cross; recognize in the chalice the water and blood trickling from his side.
St. John Vianney – 1850 AD
Do not say that you are sinners, that you are too wretched, and that is why you dare not approach the Eucharist. You might just a well say that you are too ill, and that is why you will not try any remedy nor send for the doctor.
He is not content with showing himself to us. He puts himself into our hands, into our mouth, mingling his substance with our substance, that we may become one spirit with him. We ought to visit him often.
St. Therese the Little Flower – 1880 AD
It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down to us each day from heaven; it’s to find another heaven, infinitely more dear to Him than the first: the heaven of our soul, made to his image, the living temple of the adorable Trinity.
Oh, my darling, think, then, that Jesus is there in the Tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone; He is burning with the desire to enter your heart.
Justin Martyr, c. A.D. 150
There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water. He takes them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at his hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. …
And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion. (First Apology 65)
"In each of our lives Jesus comes as the Bread of Life - to be eaten, to be consumed by us. This is how He loves us. Then Jesus comes in our human life as the hungry one, the other, hoping to be fed with the Bread of our life, our hearts by loving, and our hands by serving. In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is Love and when we love we are like God. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." - St. Teresa of Calcutta
1 Cor 11:27-34
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink[g] without discerning the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined[j] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation. About the other things I will give instructions when I come.
Be present, be present, O Jesus, our great High Priest, as you were present with your disciples, and be known to us in the breaking of bread; who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)
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