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Lk 24:30; Jn 6:51; 57-58; Acts
20:7; 1Cor 10:17; 11:27 Source of divine life
Jesus is Bread of Life
Mt 26:26-27; Mk 14:22;24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 10:24-25
Serious consequences of sinning against the body and blood 1 Cor 11:26-30
Long discourse on Eucharist
Eucharist & the Early Church
The doctrine of the Eucharist has been held from the very earliest days of the Church. For the first 800 years of Christianity, there was no doubt regarding the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Here is a sample of writings from the fathers of the early Church illustrating this.
Paul writing in 1 Cor 10:15-16
"I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"
Paul writing in 1 Cor
11:23-30 "For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself."
Ignatius of Antioch, 110 AD
"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... Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated
by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears, let the
people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." (Epistle
to the Smyreans)
“Take heed, then, to have
but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to [show
forth] the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the
presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever you do, you may do
it according to [the will of] God.”
(Epistle to the Philadelphians) Justin Martyr, 150 AD "We call this food Eucharist,
and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to
be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins
and for regeneration and is thereby living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common
bread nor 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 of Justin) Irenaeus of Lyons, 190 AD
could he rightly take bread,
which is of the same creation as our own, and confess it to be his body and affirm that
the mixture in the cup is his blood?" (Against Heresies Book V)
Received with prayer of faith Jas 5:15
In the name of the Lord Jas 5:14
Also forgives sins Jas 5:15
Restores person to health Mk 6:13; Jas 5:15
Holy Orders
Duties and functions of OT priests Deut 33:7-11
Melchizedek priesthood superior to Aaronic priesthood Heb 7:1-17; 8:1-13 Melchizedek a type of
Christ Perfect priesthood of
Christ Calling of apostles
Consecration of apostles Jn 20:22
Sending of apostles Mt 28:19; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:47; Jn 20:21
Transmission of priesthood
Functions of priests
Degrees of authority
Priesthood of believers
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