The Eucharist - NOT Just "Symbolic"
It may surprise some Catholics, and even a few Protestants, that Protestant demominations exist which teach that the Eucharist was just, "a symbolic gesture," that Jesus never intended it to mean what He said, as recorded by the Gospel writers.
Some go even further, to say that it was essentially meaningless, just 12 dudes sitting around having dinner with Jesus.
Whats interesting about this outlook is that it is mostly found among, new age, "purist" sects. While they claim for themselves an ineffeble fidelity to Scripture - both strictly and literally - they paradoxically reject whatever they find in Scripture which conflicts with their ideas!
And such a sterile, dismissive view ignores what was said about The Eucharist LONG before any of them got such ideas into their heads.
In fact, the earliest followers of Christ, from the Apostles onward, had much to say about it. And what did they say?
In short: It was exactly what Our Lord said, exactly as he meant it: "This is my body, this is my blood...and keep it going so as not to forget me as the Passover Lamb come to save you."
That is how they taught it for centuries, and in this article, our friend Ken Litchfield breaks it down, in detail, in their own words.
Some go even further, to say that it was essentially meaningless, just 12 dudes sitting around having dinner with Jesus.
Whats interesting about this outlook is that it is mostly found among, new age, "purist" sects. While they claim for themselves an ineffeble fidelity to Scripture - both strictly and literally - they paradoxically reject whatever they find in Scripture which conflicts with their ideas!
And such a sterile, dismissive view ignores what was said about The Eucharist LONG before any of them got such ideas into their heads.
In fact, the earliest followers of Christ, from the Apostles onward, had much to say about it. And what did they say?
In short: It was exactly what Our Lord said, exactly as he meant it: "This is my body, this is my blood...and keep it going so as not to forget me as the Passover Lamb come to save you."
That is how they taught it for centuries, and in this article, our friend Ken Litchfield breaks it down, in detail, in their own words.
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The Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist
Researched and Collated by Ken Litchfield
- The Didache or, "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," is an Early Church "handbook" which was used by the bishops and priests for the instruction of people becoming Christians.
Written sometime in the first century, The Didache says:
"Let no one eat and drink of your Eucharist but those baptized in the name of the Lord; to this, too the saying of the Lord is applicable: 'Do not give to dogs what is Holy'".
This shows that the Early Christians recognized that the bread and wine were not ordinary grub, but super-natural food.
Written sometime in the first century, The Didache says:
"Let no one eat and drink of your Eucharist but those baptized in the name of the Lord; to this, too the saying of the Lord is applicable: 'Do not give to dogs what is Holy'".
This shows that the Early Christians recognized that the bread and wine were not ordinary grub, but super-natural food.
- In 90AD St. Clement, the third Bishop of Rome, after Peter, wrote a corrective letter to the Corinthians.
Clement writes:
“He (Jesus) commanded us to celebrate sacrifices and services, at fixed times and hours. Our sin will not be small if we eject from the episcopate those who blamelessly and holily have offered its Sacrifices."
This shows that, from the beginning, the Catholic Church recognized the Mass as a Paschal Sacrifice...it was understood. In the Mass, the Last Supper where Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, is re-presented like the Jewish Passover meal, re-presenting the original Passover meal.
The Bible, in fact, clearly describes Christ as the, "Passover Lamb," and Passover includes both a sacrificed victim, and the shared eating of that victim in a special meal to seal the pact with God.
Clement writes:
“He (Jesus) commanded us to celebrate sacrifices and services, at fixed times and hours. Our sin will not be small if we eject from the episcopate those who blamelessly and holily have offered its Sacrifices."
This shows that, from the beginning, the Catholic Church recognized the Mass as a Paschal Sacrifice...it was understood. In the Mass, the Last Supper where Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, is re-presented like the Jewish Passover meal, re-presenting the original Passover meal.
The Bible, in fact, clearly describes Christ as the, "Passover Lamb," and Passover includes both a sacrificed victim, and the shared eating of that victim in a special meal to seal the pact with God.
- In 110AD, Ignatius of Antioch writes to the Smyrnaeans:
"Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox* in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ."
"Come together in common, in one faith and in the one Jesus Christ, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ.”
In his letter to the Philadelphians he wrote:
“Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood; one altar, as there is one bishop with the priests and my fellow servants, the deacons."
These works show that Ignatius, an early Bishop in what he clearly described as the Catholic Church, believed that Jesus was present in the Eucharistic Bread and Wine.
It also shows that the self-convinced Protestants of later ages were not the first to divert themselves from the truths and intentions of Christ.
"Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox* in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ."
nonconformists (self-convinced), who are
in opposition to doctrine and truth. Here Ignatious refers to the Jews and to the heretical, Christological sects that were beginning to appear during his time.
In his letter to the Ephesians he wrote: "Come together in common, in one faith and in the one Jesus Christ, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ.”
In his letter to the Philadelphians he wrote:
“Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood; one altar, as there is one bishop with the priests and my fellow servants, the deacons."
These works show that Ignatius, an early Bishop in what he clearly described as the Catholic Church, believed that Jesus was present in the Eucharistic Bread and Wine.
It also shows that the self-convinced Protestants of later ages were not the first to divert themselves from the truths and intentions of Christ.
- In 150AD St. Justin Martyr wrote in his, "First Apology":
"This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth (Baptism), and who lives as Christ handed down to us.
For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior, being incarnate by God's Word, took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from Him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus."
"This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth (Baptism), and who lives as Christ handed down to us.
For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior, being incarnate by God's Word, took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from Him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus."
He wrote in his, "Dialogue with Trypho" (a Jewish Rabbi) about the same time:
"God has therefore announced in advance that all the sacrifices offered in His name, which Jesus Christ offered, that is, in the Eucharist of the Bread and of the Chalice, which are offered by us Christians in every part of the world, are pleasing to Him."
"God has therefore announced in advance that all the sacrifices offered in His name, which Jesus Christ offered, that is, in the Eucharist of the Bread and of the Chalice, which are offered by us Christians in every part of the world, are pleasing to Him."
- In 180AD St. Irenaeus, the second bishop of Lyons, who learned the Faith from St. Polycarp (a direct disciple of The Apostle John wrote), wrote in his book, "Against Heresies":
“[Christ] has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own Blod, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established, as his own Body, from which he gives increase to our bodies.
These two then receive the Word of God and become the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Christ."
He also wrote: "For, just as the bread which comes from the earth, having received the invocation of God, is no longer ordinary bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly, so our bodies, having received the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, because they have the hope of the resurrection."
Pretty clear, eh?
“[Christ] has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own Blod, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established, as his own Body, from which he gives increase to our bodies.
These two then receive the Word of God and become the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Christ."
He also wrote: "For, just as the bread which comes from the earth, having received the invocation of God, is no longer ordinary bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly, so our bodies, having received the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, because they have the hope of the resurrection."
Pretty clear, eh?
- In 200AD, St. Clement of Alexandria, Egypt, wrote:
"'Eat My Flesh,' Jesus says, 'and drink My Blood.'
The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients. He delivers over His Flesh, and pours out His Blood; and nothing is lacking for the growth of His children. O incredible mystery!"
"'Eat My Flesh,' Jesus says, 'and drink My Blood.'
The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients. He delivers over His Flesh, and pours out His Blood; and nothing is lacking for the growth of His children. O incredible mystery!"
- In 246AD St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage in North Africa, wrote thi::
"The Priest who imitates what Christ did, truly takes the place of Christ, and offers there in the Church a true and perfect sacrifice to God the Father.
For Christ is the bread of lif,e and the bread here, because Christ is the bread of those of us who attain to His body."
"The Priest who imitates what Christ did, truly takes the place of Christ, and offers there in the Church a true and perfect sacrifice to God the Father.
For Christ is the bread of lif,e and the bread here, because Christ is the bread of those of us who attain to His body."
- In 340AD, Aaphraates, Bishop of the Syrian Church wrote:
“With His own hands the Lord presented His own Body to be eaten, and before he was crucified He gave His blood as drink.”
“With His own hands the Lord presented His own Body to be eaten, and before he was crucified He gave His blood as drink.”
- In 350AD St. Ephrem, a Deacon of the Syrian Church, wrote:
"Our Lord Jesus took in His hands what, in the beginning, was only bread; and He blessed it, and signed it (the sign of the cross), and made it holy in the name of the Father and in the name of the Spirit.
He took and mixed a cup of wine. Then He blessed it, and signed it, and made it holy, declaring that it was His own Blood, which was about to be poured out….Christ commanded them to drink, and He explained to them that the cup which they were drinking was His own Blood: 'This is truly My Blood, which is shed for all of you. Take, all of you, drink of this, because it is a new covenant in My Blood, As you have seen Me do, do you also in My memory."
Do you still want to convince yourself that he did all that, just to make a show, a little play game, over dinner?
"Our Lord Jesus took in His hands what, in the beginning, was only bread; and He blessed it, and signed it (the sign of the cross), and made it holy in the name of the Father and in the name of the Spirit.
He took and mixed a cup of wine. Then He blessed it, and signed it, and made it holy, declaring that it was His own Blood, which was about to be poured out….Christ commanded them to drink, and He explained to them that the cup which they were drinking was His own Blood: 'This is truly My Blood, which is shed for all of you. Take, all of you, drink of this, because it is a new covenant in My Blood, As you have seen Me do, do you also in My memory."
Do you still want to convince yourself that he did all that, just to make a show, a little play game, over dinner?
- In 373 AD St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, wrote:
“So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread becomes the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
BOOM!
“So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread becomes the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
BOOM!
- In 360AD, St. Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem wrote:
"Since Jesus Himself has declared and said of the Bread, 'This is My Body', who shall dare to doubt any longer?
And since He has affirmed and said, 'This is My Blood', who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?
Therefore with fullest assurance, let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to you His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that you by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, might be made of the same body and the same blood with Him.
So it is that, according to the blessed Peter, “we become partaker of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)
"Since Jesus Himself has declared and said of the Bread, 'This is My Body', who shall dare to doubt any longer?
And since He has affirmed and said, 'This is My Blood', who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?
Therefore with fullest assurance, let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to you His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that you by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, might be made of the same body and the same blood with Him.
So it is that, according to the blessed Peter, “we become partaker of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)
- In 370AD St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, wrote:
"For Jesus says quite plainly: 'He that eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life.' Who can doubt that to share continually in life is the same thing as having life abundantly?”
"For Jesus says quite plainly: 'He that eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life.' Who can doubt that to share continually in life is the same thing as having life abundantly?”
- In 397AD, St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Antioch, wrote:
"When the word says, 'This is My Body,' be convinced of it and believe it, and look at it with the eyes of the mind. The priest standing there in the place of Christ says these words, but their power and grace are from God.
'This is My Body,' he says, and these words transform what lies before him."
'This is My Body,' he says, and these words transform what lies before him."
- Around 400AD, St. Augustine of Hippo, wrote:
"You ought to know what you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. The chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ."
"You ought to know what you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. The chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ."
- In 428AD, St. Cyril of Alexandria wrote:
"Christ said, 'This is My Body,' and. "This is My Blood," in order that you might not judge what you see to be a mere figure. The offerings, by the hidden power of God Almighty, are changed into Christ's Body and Blood, and by receiving these we come to share in the life-giving and sanctifying efficacy of Christ.
"Christ said, 'This is My Body,' and. "This is My Blood," in order that you might not judge what you see to be a mere figure. The offerings, by the hidden power of God Almighty, are changed into Christ's Body and Blood, and by receiving these we come to share in the life-giving and sanctifying efficacy of Christ.
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Take note of the dates in all these writings. All but the last came before there was any Bible in existence. And that one was just a couple decades later, and the first Bible of that period was still not widely available. SO, How come these people wrote all these things?
Because, no one at the time needed a Bible to know the truth that had been taught by Christ's Apostles - by Christ, Himself.
And no one needs a Bible, today, to work out heterodoxical self-interpretations that contradict what is clearly taught on this subject.
Now, I'm well aware that anyone reading this who does not accept it, won't change their mind just because it's here.
That's not how it works.
These folks, no matter how well intended, no matter how "faithful" they view themselves, well....they have quite likely spent years, and maybe an entire lifetime, working out ways to argue against the meaning of the Eucharist. They won't give tat up.
But they may now, at least, consider themselves well informed on the subject from its beginnings.
Peace be with you!
Many thanks to Ken Litchfield.
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