Eucharistic Spirituality-3

Eucharist as a Sacrifice

In the first post biblical writings, Eucharist was seen not only as a meal but as a sacrifice. Saints Justin, Irenaeus, Origen and Cyprian make the same statement.

In the Eucharistic sacrifice, Christ himself is offered. It is Christ who offers himself.The involvement of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrifice is not inferior to his involvement in the sacrifice of the Cross, because the same one makes the offering just as the same one is the victim.

The sole difference between the two consists in the “ manner of offering.” The sacrifice of the Cross was a bloody immolation,while the Eucharistic sacrifice is of a ritual order and excludes any shedding of blood. Besides, the Eucharistic sacrifice has the distinctive element of an offering of the body and blood of Christ under the species of bread and wine, which are sacramental signs. Thus we can define the Eucharistic sacrifice as a sacramental sacrifice; and in this it differs from the sacrifice of the Cross. The Church’s worship multiplies the sacramental sacrifice, while that of the cross is unique. On Calvary, the sacrifice which obtains the salvation of the world was accomplished once and for all. It is no longer repeated as such. The sacramental sacrifice, on the other hand, is destined to be repeated to foster the growth of the Church.

In order to express the relationship between the Eucharisitic sacrifice and that of the Cross, the term “representation” is used, “re-presentation.” Represent here means, “render present” again the sacrifice of the Cross. It is not a “representation” that would be limited to remembering or celebrating the memory of an event in the past. The representation consists in a sacramental reproduction of the sacrifice of the Cross: it renders that sacrifice present in such a way as to apply its fruits to the Church.

Christ renews the offering of the sacrifice sacramentally through the ministry of the priest. In itself the sacrifice of the Cross was perfect and sufficed for obtaining all graces for salvation and the spiritual life of humanity .In its sacramental representation, it pours forth its fruits more widely.

The Christ who comes upon the altar is the risen Savior. And it is as risen Savior that he offers himself as food and drink in the Eucharistic meal. But it is true that he is the same Christ who was born of a virgin, that he lived a life on earth similar to ours, that he devoted himself to the discharge of his mission all the way to his raising up on the Cross.

This offering, considered simply in terms of the redemptive drama and with reference to the cruel sufferings undergone by the Savior, would have called for a climate of struggle; the memorial would have had to be essentially sorrowful. Instead, the contrary occurs.Because the offering is made by the glorious Christ, it implies the transformation of suffering into joy.

The Eucharist not only reproduces sacramentally the sublime, heroic offering on Calvary that changed the face of the world, obtaining the divine forgiveness in abundance. It is also nourished by the mystery of the Resurrection, which even today continues the work of creation of a new humanity.”(The Eucharist, Gift of Divine Life,p.93)

The Eucharist as a Meal

At the last Supper, Jesus’ fundamental intent was to give his disciples a meal that would continue forever to nourish them in his Church. With this meal , the Savior wished to communicate the fruit of his sacrifice in the ritual realization of the sacrificial offering…As Jesus wished to found a community animated by faith and love,it is understandable why he would have given a meal an important role in the formation and development of such a community.

The Eucharistic meal consists in his communicating his own life to human beings….the act of eating and drinking represents a deeper penetration of Christ’s life into the interior life of the individual, a more complete assimilation of one’s personal life to the higher life of the Incarnate Son.(Euch,Gift of Dv.Life,p.109)

Real Presence—Transubstantiation

St.Thomas Aquinas deals with the sacramental presence of the Body of Christ from the view point of the metaphysical nature of being….The Body of Christ contained in the Eucharist is not visible to any bodily eye, because visibility applies to the order of accidents, and not of substance.

The real distinction between substance and accidents is the philosophical datum that makes possible Thomas’ treatment of the Eucharist.(Mazza, P.204)

The starting point of the analogy that St.Thomas employed is the distinction between substance and accident in composite beings…what a thing is, is not identified with what moves the senses. Though it is generally known through sense perception, a reasoning process is necessary to come to this knowledge. Substance describes the core reality known to intellect, accidents whatever touches the senses.Aquinas uses this analogy to explain how the body and blood of Christ are known to faith and are indeed the reality present, though the sense perception points to bread and wine.(The Eucharistic Mystery,David N.Power,p.221)

The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” (CCC.1376)

St.John Chrysostom:

“It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ,but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God’s. This is my body, he says.This word transforms the things offered.” (CCC.1375)

St.Ambrose:

“Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed…Could not Christ’s word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.”(CCC.1375)