The Origins of the Holy Eucharist
Historical References
Also known as “The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations,” this Early Christian writing from the first century mentions the importance of confessing one’s sins before receiving communion and talks explicitly about the Eucharist. “But every Lord’s day [Sunday] gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure” (XIV). “Now concerning the Thanksgiving [Eucharist], thus give thanks. First concerning the cup… And concerning the broken bread…” (IX).
Ignatius of Antioch, who had been a disciple of St. John, said regarding those who held “heterodox opinions,” that “they abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in his goodness, raised up again” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2, 7:1).
“Not as common bread or common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished… is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus” (First Apology 66:1–20).
“You are accustomed to take part in the divine mysteries, so you know how, when you have received the Body of the Lord, you reverently exercise every care lest a particle of it fall and lest anything of the consecrated gift perish” (Homilies on Exodus 13:3).
"To deliver the Israelites from Egypt, God commands Moses to tell his people: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male…they shall take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts…They shall eat the flesh that night” (Ex 12: 5-8). St. Paul writes: “For Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7). Jesus is identified with the Passover lamb, and the eating of the lamb with the eating of Jesus’ body, as Jesus says: “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:55).
“It is the true Flesh of Christ which was crucified and buried, this is then truly the Sacrament of His Body. The Lord Jesus Himself proclaims: “This Is My Body” (On the Mysteries 9, 53-54).
A great debate arose when in the 11th century, Berengar of Tours assured that it was not necessary to talk about material change in the elements when explaining the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Fourth Lateran Council reaffirmed in 1215 what the Church had believed for centuries by using a fairly-new term: “Transubstantiation.” While not attached to a specific metaphysics, this term was used to explain that the essence of bread and wine became the true Body and Blood of Christ, even if the appearances of bread and wine remained intact.
Thomas Aquinas gave the greatest theological explanation of the meaning of transubstantiation. In addition, he was commissioned to write the hymns for the Feast of Corpus Christi. He wrote such hymns as Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris Hostia.
In the Early Church, the adoration of the Body and Blood of Christ was restricted to the Eucharistic celebration and communion, and Fathers such as Augustine and Ambrose encouraged an attitude of adoration during Mass. However, in hopes of repairing for the controversies and blasphemies of some against the Eucharist, faithful such as St. Juliana of Liege, requested in the 13th century a greater adoration outside of Mass. This request, coupled with the Eucharistic miracle of Bolsena, Italy, in 1264, led Pope Urban IV to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi (“The Body of Christ”).
The Council of Trent reaffirmed that it was not reasonable to say that the Real Presence was limited to the moment of reception, as Martin Luther held, but that it remained afterward. The fact that the Presence did not depend on the act of reception was evident not only in Tradition, but also in the Gospels. Early Christians frequently took the Eucharist to the homebound or on long journeys, or even received the Blessed Sacrament a couple days after its consecration, as is documented in writings of the Church Fathers. Following Jesus’ words in the Gospels, it is evident that the Body and Blood became so before reception and not because of it.
As a practical consequence of Eucharistic Adoration, the practice of making frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament became more popular. St. Alphonsus of Liguori gave a new impulse to this practice through his popular book Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, published in 1745, which went through 40 editions in his lifetime. Some religious orders also began practicing perpetual adoration around this time
As a practical consequence of Eucharistic Adoration, the practice of making frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament became more popular. St. Alphonsus of Liguori gave a new impulse to this practice through his popular book Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, published in 1745, which went through 40 editions in his lifetime. Some religious orders also began practicing perpetual adoration around this time
The Second Vatican Council was held to address the relation between the Church and the modern world. Among the modifications established, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy sought to reform and promote the liturgy. Some of these reforms included a wider use of the vernacular language during the liturgy and a greater participation of the congregation. It’s implementation has been the subject of much discussion, and for many, various changes associated with it were never intended by the Council Fathers.
Over 35 years after the Missal was updated in 1970, following the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict XVI allowed priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass – often referred to as the Traditional Latin Mass – using the 1962 Missal, with a group of faithful “who, of their own will, asked to be admitted.” The Pope assured that the “new rite” from 1970 did not null the “old rite,” last published in 1962. Instead, he said they must be seen as a “twofold use” of the same rite.1
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