Take the bread of Heaven and the chalice of salvation.
"On the night he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, 'Take, eat: this is my body.' He took the chalice, gave thanks, and said, 'Take, drink: this is my blood.'" Since Christ himself has declared the bread to be his body, who can have any further doubt? Since he himself has said quite categorically, "This is my blood," who would dare to question it and say that it is not his blood?
Therefore, it is with complete assurance that we receive the bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ. His body is given to us under the appearance of bread, and his blood is given to us under the appearance of wine, in order to make us, by receiving them, one body and blood with him. Having his body and blood in our body, we become bearers of Christ and sharers, as Saint Peter says, in the divine nature.
Once, when speaking to the Jews, Christ said, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you shall have no life in you." This horrified them and they left him. Not understanding his words in a spiritual way, they thought the Savior was telling them to practice cannibalism.
Under the old covenant, there was showbread (the cakes or loaves of bread that were always present on a specially-dedicated table in the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God), but it came to an end together with the old testament. Under the new covenant, there is bread from heaven and the chalice of salvation. These sanctify both our soul and body; the bread corresponds to the sanctification of the body, the Word to the sanctification of the soul.
Do not, then, regard the Eucharistic elements as ordinary bread and wine; they are, in fact, the body and blood of the Lord, as he himself has declared. Whatever your senses may tell you, be strong in faith.
You have been taught, and you are firmly convinced, that what looks and tastes like bread and wine is not bread and wine, but the body and blood of Christ. You also know how David referred to this long ago when he sang, "Bread gives strength to man's heart and makes his face shine with the oil of gladness." Strengthen your heart, then, by receiving this bread as spiritual bread, and bring joy to the face of your soul.
May purity of conscience remove the veil from the face of your soul so that by contemplating the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, you may be transformed from glory to glory in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.From the Jerusalem Catecheses of St. Cyril, year 347 A.D.
Torreciudad: The Transfiguration. Fruit of the 4th Luminous Mystery: God and Man. Desire for Holiness.
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