The Eucharist

OBJECTIVE

To define the word "Eucharist" and to understand its importance as the pinnacle of the Divine Liturgy and its role in our sanctification.

INTRODUCTION - 7 Minutes

The word Eucharist comes from the Greek term "evkharistia" which means "Thanksgiving". When God created man, he lived a Eucharistic life, a life of thanksgiving, praise, and unity with God. But man fell in love with the world and forgot God. When man considered himself as the center of the world and was occupied with his "ego," he sought the pleasures of the world and lost his relationship with his God and his Eucharistic life.

For this reason, the Son of God, was incarnate. As the Creator, the world cannot affect Him nor capture His heart, nor can it separate Him from His Father. He alone can offer the Sacrifice of the Eucharist on our behalf, not only by prayers but also by deed, offering His Holy Body and Blood as a sacrifice of the Eucharist to the Father. Jesus alluded to this coming Eucharistic Sacrifice saying "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:48-51).

The Lord Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist for us on Holy Thursday, after He celebrated the rite of Passover of the Jews, "He took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat, this is My Body', then He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples saying 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'" (Matt. 26:26-28). By entrusting this sacrament to His Church, which will remain forever grateful, He bestows upon us His life, to live with us. In this way, the hungry man's wounds of ingratitude are healed, and he returns to the Eucharistic life. It is for this reason that the Church since the first and the second centuries, has referred to the Communion and our consumption of Christ's Body and Blood as the "Holy Eucahrist", since through our consumption of Him we put on Christ, the Perfect One alone, and return to Paradise with joy, singing, in Him, the hymn of thanksgiving.

HOLY SCRIPTURE

John 6:25-59

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)

The Eucharist is the pinnacle and climax of the Liturgy. In this section, we will discuss why the Eucharist is so special and what makes it such.

We see and taste bread and wine, but partake of Christ Himself in a mystery through bread and wine (we do not believe in transubstantiation - the changing of the substance of bread and wine as our brothers the Roman Catholics do). It is a mystery.

The Eucharist is the sacrament of sanctification, union with God, and a beginning into the complete mystery of Christian life. It permeates us thoroughly, extends to us to uncover new graces, and places us in expectation of our eschatological (end of times / age to come) fulfillment.

God's Love in the Eucharist

We see God's love - in the Eucharist and power to see God's love in everything else

  • The Eucharist is the sacrament par excellence as it makes present the perfect love of God - the power of Christ's death and resurrection abiding in us unto eternal life. It, therefore, instructs us and guides us to discover God's presence which "is present in all places and fills all things." (Litany of the 3rd Hour)
  • The Eucharist is a window by which everything becomes transfigured as an expression of God's love, beauty, and presence.

Learning the Word

We Learn the Word for Ourselves and the World

  • Before the Eucharist is taken under the appearance of bread and wine, we receive the inspired written Word by the Holy Spirit. God speaks to us in the biblical Word, immersing us in His language and the language of His Kingdom.
  • Little by little, we exchange the words and language of the world for the heavenly word. His word becomes our word, His thoughts become our thoughts, and His deeds become our deeds so that we can truly be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Paschal Mystery

We participate in the Paschal Mystery - the Giving of Christ

"...unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John. 12:24)

  • The grain of wheat is the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection.
  • This transformation of the grain of wheat also points to the mystery of the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. Christ offered Himself in the Bread and Wine prior to the unfolding events on Holy Friday.
  • In doing so, He assures us that He is total self-gift; nothing is taken from Him that He has not already voluntarily and lovingly offered.
  • We Remember the Paschal Mystery - Do this in "Remembrance of Me"

Presence of the Trinity

Many hymns and prayers call upon the Holy Trinity.

A eucharistic spirituality signifies my desire to disappear so that only God remains and is glorified.

"He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn. 3:30)

God is glorified when He is manifested, known, loved, and worshiped. The Eucharist is the celebration and proclamation of God's glory as it demonstrates the Holy Trinity's creative, redemptive and salvific works "for the life of the world" (John. 6:51). It perpetuates and extends His glory because it is the Good News of our liberation from sin and death, and our incorporation into God's eternal family.

The Church as One Body

The Church is the assembly called into a covenant relationship with God. "He made us unto Himself an assembled people, and sanctified us by Your Holy Spirit." (Divine Liturgy of St. Basil)

We are called out of our individuality into fellowship and communion with one another. The Eucharist actualizes a continuous process of unity at the level of the local parish, diocese, universal church, and also the heavenly church, "that we may become one body and one spirit, and may have a share and inheritance with all the saints who have pleased You since the beginning." (Divine Liturgy of St. Basil)

Thanksgiving

The Eucharist is a thanksgiving "for everything, concerning everything, and in everything" (Thanksgiving Prayer; Anaphora of St. Basil - Litany of Sacrifice).

In the eucharistic liturgy, Man recounts the goodness of God in all His works and promises, and in return, Man offers back to God his very life. The water mixed with the wine is the life of man, who is united to God both in His sacrifice and in His life.

Gratitude is the door to praise. One cannot praise God from the heart if he is not filled with awe and wonder at God's goodness.

"We praise You, we bless You, we serve You, we worship You" (Divine Liturgy of St. Basil)

Recognizing God as Pantocrator (Almighty and Governor)

Petition (supplication) and intercession are expressions of our love for one another and for the creation. By petitioning to God for problems and requests, we are acknowledging Him as Pantocrator

  • We ask within our rights as true children of God, full of confidence and boldness: "...with firm hope, we may dare with boldness, without fear, to pray to You..." (Annual Fraction of the Divine Liturgy)
  • Petition for others and self

Example for Us

Through the Eucharist, Christ offers Himself as an example for us:

  • Holy
    • We touch and see the Holy God before us in a means we can accept
    • Through partaking of the mystery of the eucharist we are sanctified, set apart
  • Humility of Christ
    • to accept humble offerings and change them into such great things
    • To allow us to be joined to Him
  • Transformed
    • The liturgy and eucharist are transformative for us
  • Broken & Distributed
    • we give ourselves (love, time, money, talents etc...) to give to others

DISCUSSION

SERVANT RESOURCES