Greek eu, well, kharizestai, to give thanks. Thanksgiving.
Name that Christians gave to the Lord’s Supper or fraction of bread Acts 2, 42-46; 1 Co 10, 16. This term was used to designate the Eucharistic liturgy, celebration of the sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, in the year 110, by Saint Ignatius of Antioch.
This liturgy, center of the life of the Catholic Church, commemorates the last supper of the Lord with his disciples, before the passion, Mt 26, 26-29; Mark 14, 22-25; Lk 22, 15-20; 1 Cor 11, 23-25. On the breaking of bread in the early Church, we find several texts in the Acts of the Apostles. In the Church of Jerusalem, the apostle Luke says that the faithful “attended assiduously to the teaching of the apostles, to communion, to the breaking of bread and to prayers”, Acts 2, 42. On the third apostolic journey, back In Jerusalem, Paul spends a few days in Troas, where he meets with the believers to break bread, Acts 20, 7 and 11.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Thanksgiving).
l- Prefigured in the manna: Jua 6:31, Ex. 16.
2- Instituted by Jesus Christ: Mt.26, Lk. 22, Mc.14, 1 Cor.11.
3- Under the appearances of bread and wine is really Jesus Christ, his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. In Bethlehem he looked like a “child”, and he was a child, but he was really God! in the Eucharist, he looks like “bread”, he is “bread”, but he really is God!, even more humble than in Bethlehem.
– In the Bread of Life Sermon, Jesus repeats to us 10 times that “He” is the “bread of life”, that we really have to eat his Flesh and drink his Blood, and that if we do not eat his Flesh and drink his Blood, we will not have life in us: Joh 6:35-58.
– For Paul it is so “real”, that whoever eats it unworthily, is “criminal”, “guilty” of the Body and Blood of the Lord: (1Co 11:27), and, he adds, “he eats and drinks his self-condemnation”: (1Co 11:29).
4- It is the “Eternal Sacrifice” of Num 28:3 and Exo 29:42. Since he is eternal, he also has to be in Heaven eternally, and there he is! As John shows us in Rev 5: 6, he is “the Lamb standing as if slain”, the cause and reason for all the glories of the Darling. and since it is eternal, it has to exist right now, and it exists!, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that Jesus himself “ordered” in Luke 22:19, and whose order Paul repeats, telling us that how many times you eat this bread , you announce the death of the Lord: (1Co 11:2426. See “Mass”.
5- The Holy Mass is the renewal of the Sacrifice of Calvary, prefigured in the Paschal Lamb of Ex. 12. It is the great miracle of time and space, it is not that the Sacrifice of Calvary is “repeated”, but that it is exactly the same Sacrifice, now “bloody”, but the same!, Mat 26:26-28, Jua 1:29, Jua 6:35-71, 1Co 10:20-22, 1Co 11:25-30.
6 – It is dogma of faith of Christianity.
– Stated by Jesus in the Sermon on the Bread of Life from Joh 6:35 to 7:1.
– Stated by Paul, in 1Co 11:25-30.
– Declared by the Church, with the authority of Mat 16:19 and 18:18, in various Councils dozens of times: (Trent, Vatican II, among others).
7- It is our “daily” food.
– It is the “our daily bread”, of Mat 6:9, the “Bread of Life” of Jua 6:35-70 and of which Paul speaks in 1Co 10:2022: (the table of the Lord).
– If we do not eat it, “we will not have life in us”, says Jesus in Joh 6:53. and “every day”! And Paul adds that, eating it without discernment, is the reason that there are so many Christians “weak, sickly and as dead”, 1Co 11:29-30.
8-Dispositions to receive it: In the grace of God: Mat 22:1-14, Jua 11:56; because you cannot give pearls to dogs, Mat 7:6.
Reconcile with the brother: Mat 5:23-24: You cannot go to Communion, hating your brother, or with rancor in your heart. Whoever does this “eats and drinks his own condemnation”, 1Co 11:27.
With faith, that it is the same Jesus, as real as when he lived in Palestine, Mat 8:8.
“Discernment” really believing and valuing it more than a million dollars. Whoever receives it “without discerning” is “weak, sickly, as if dead”, says Paul in 1Co 11:29-30.
9 – The first Christians lived it “every day”, following the order of Christ: (Acts 2:42), and it was the reason for their unity and love, from Acts 2:43-46.
10- The Antichrist will be the first thing he tries to abolish when he comes, and he is already with us! 1Jn 4:3 tells us. See “Abominable Desolation”: There are “already” many churches, that call themselves “Christian”, but that do not celebrate the Eucharist, or “do not discern”, celebrating it as if it were only a “symbol”, or as something without much importance.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Christianity possesses a singular dogma and mystery that has no comparison with any dogma or mystery of the other religions of the earth. It is the Eucharist. In it is the sacramental presence of Christ himself in the communities of his followers.
The data of this mystery and dogma are amazing: – Jesus himself, Son of God, is kept in his temples, churches and chapels, where he is venerated in a special way on the altar. A “reserve” of the bread offered and transformed in the Eucharistic sacrifice is kept.
– The sick, imprisoned and needy can benefit from total union with their brothers through him. And the conservation of it is used to venerate it as a living memory of the Lord.
– It is kept in a tabernacle or deposit, which acts as a sanctuary. And many believers multiply their signs of respect for the Lord present there in a mysterious and real way. Throughout history, this Eucharistic cult has multiplied artistic displays of all kinds and, above all, gestures of faith and prayer for this reason.
– Christians attend the celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday and the churches are filled with believers who pray and remember Jesus, and not simply “comply with the Church” by attending that religious act.
– The memory of certain days such as Holy Thursday, in which Jesus celebrated Easter with the disciples, is celebrated with devotion in many environments.
– Many select adult and youth Christian groups come together to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Eucharist and feel the presence of the Lord in their midst.
– Eucharistic devotions and traditions have multiplied in history. They have promoted brotherhoods and associations to worship the hidden Lord in the species of bread and wine. Religious acts that have Christ present at the altar as their center are multiplying.
1. Sacrament of love
There are those who may doubt that the presence of Christ in the midst of his followers is so real. But there are many who believe in it and call the sensible sign of that presence, the bread and the wine, the sacrament of love. They accept with faith the reality of the miracle and the mystery.
1.1. sacrament of remembrance
The presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, real substances before and appearances or accidents after the transformation, was realized when He himself communicated it to his Apostles at the Last Supper. Then it was repeated how many times they and their successors repeated what the Lord did and commanded them to do.
It is interesting to collect how the Gospel reflects it, since it is the source of our faith in such a singular mystery. If Jesus himself had not said it clearly, we would have a hard time conceiving such a wonder.
St. Luke relates it like this: “When the time came, Jesus sat down at table with his disciples. Then he said to them: How I have longed to celebrate this Passover with you before my death! Well, I tell you that I will not eat it again until I make it in the Kingdom of God.
Then he took bread, gave thanks to God, broke it and gave it to the disciples saying: Take this and eat all of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you. Always do this in memory of me.
And he did the same with the cup, after supper, and said to them: This cup is the new covenant, confirmed with my blood and that will be poured out. (Luke 22. 19-20)
The other evangelists add some details. St. Matthew and St. Mark say about the distribution of the chalice: “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood, which will be shed for all for the forgiveness of sins. I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the day I drink it again with you in the Kingdom of my Father” (Mk. 14. 23-26 and Mt. 26. 27-30)
The fundamental data of the institution of the Eucharist are clear enough to understand that Jesus wanted to leave something more than a memory, but also a “memorial of presence”, to the followers. And he hid that memorial in the bread and wine that he distributed to them and that he told them to repeat them and distribute them always: “As many times as you do this, you will do it in memory of me.” (Luke 22.19).
It is exciting how the apostle Paul describes the Eucharist. To the brothers in Corinth he says: “I am going to tell you a tradition that I received from the Lord. And it is that the Lord Jesus himself, on the night he was going to be handed over, took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said: “This is my body. I give it to you for you. Do this in remembrance of me”. And in the same way, after supper, he took the cup and said: “This cup is the new covenant sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink from it, do so in memory of me.” Therefore, every time you eat this bread or drink from this chalice, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death, waiting for Him to come.
For this reason, whoever eats this bread and drinks from this cup in an unworthy manner is guilty of having profaned the body and blood of the Lord.
Let each one examine his conscience before eating the bread and drinking the cup. Whoever eats and drinks without realizing that it is the body and blood of the Lord, eats and drinks his own punishment. And there you have the cause of so many ailments and illnesses, and even deaths, that occur among you.” (1 Cor. 11.20-30)
1.2. sacrament of presence
The most significant thing about the celebration of the Eucharist is the presence of the Lord. Jesus is always spiritually with those who love and believe in him. He is in each person who lives in grace, that is, in his holy friendship. And he is in each community that reflects and embodies as a group the total Community of his Church.
But, in the Eucharistic Celebration, his presence becomes more sensitive, more significant, more testimonial and more mysterious. All this means the word “sacramental”, to which we allude to reflect the fact that it is really found in the species or appearances of the bread and wine, once they have been “consecrated” by the holy words of the one who presides over the Assembly. , which can only be the one who has been “ordained” for this liturgical and ecclesial function.
This presence is not easy to accept, if you do not have faith. It is not possible to…