Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Catholic Christians take the word of God seriously and seek to remember Christ in the Last Supper –”as often as, ” “whenever” possible. And in doing this proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes again in glory.
1 Co. 11:23 – this is my body, do in remembrance.
Lk. 22:19 – this is my body, which is for you, do in remembrance.
Heb. 10:12 – but Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins.
Heb. 7:27 – once for all when He offered Himself.
Heb. 9:25 – offered up once to take away sins of many.
Gen. 14:18 – Melchisedek, High Priest, King of Salem offers sacrifice of bread and wine.
Heb. 7 – Christ is priest after the order of Melchisedek, fulfillment of prophecy in Ps. 110.
Ps. 110:4 – You are priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek.
Acts 2 and 20 – Apostles offered the Eucharist in Jerusalem and Troas.
1 Cor. 10-11 – Corinth, Christian sacrifice contrasted with sacrifices of Temple and to sacrifice of the pagans.
Malachi 1:11 – from rising of sun to setting, name is great among gentiles, in every place there is sacrifice, and a clean oblation is offered to my name.
The Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) [AD 70]
“On the Lord’s own day assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks; but first confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure . . . your sacrifice must not be defiled. For here we have a saying of the Lord: ‘In every place and time offer Me a pure sacrifice’ (Greek: thysia) . . . for I am a mighty king says the Lord and My name spreads terror among the nations.’”
St. Ignatius of Antioch [AD 107]
“Let no one deceive himself,” St. Ignatius warns, “whoever keeps away from the altar (thysiasterion) deprives himself of the divine bread” (Letter to the Ephesians 5:2).
Note: The Greek word he uses for the “altar” used in Christian worship is thysiasterion, which means “place where sacrifices are offered”.
Epistola Apostolorum [AD 140] “The Lord said, ‘You will celebrate the memorial of My death, that is, the Passover Sacrifice . . . at the cock’s crow, at dawn, you will perform My feast of love and My memorial’ . . . . The Apostles said, ‘Lord, haven’t You drunk to the full of the Passover Sacrifice? Is it then necessary that we do it again?’ Jesus responded, ‘Yes, it is necessary, until I come again from the Father’” (Epistola Apostolorum 13;).
Note: This work, discovered in 1895, was originally composed in Greek but exists today only in Coptic, Ethiopian, and Latin translations. The Ethiopian version is the most complete and contains a beautiful dialogue between Christ and His Apostles after the Resurrection about the offering of the Christian paschal sacrifice. This passage is not found in any English language collections of the Fathers.
St. Irenæus of Lyons [AD 170] “He took that created thing, bread, and gave thanks and said, ‘This is My Body.’ And the cup likewise, which is part of that creation to which we belong, He confessed to be His Blood, and taught the new oblation of the new covenant, which the Church, receiving from the Apostles, offers to God throughout the world . . . concerning which Malachi, among the twelve prophets, thus spoke beforehand: ‘From the rising of the sun to the going down, My name is glorified among the gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name and a pure sacrifice . . . ‘indicating in the plainest manner that in every place sacrifice shall be offered to Him, and at that a pure one” (Against Heresies 4,17,5).
St. Hippolytus of Rome [AD 220] “For when the gospel is preached in every place, the times being then accomplished . . . the abomination of desolation will be manifested, and when he (the Antichrist) comes, the sacrifice and oblation will be removed, which are now offered up to God in every place by the gentiles” (Commentary on Daniel 22).
St. Cyprian of Carthage [AD 253] “In the priest Melchisedek we see prefigured the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord, according to what Divine Scripture testifies, and says, ‘And Melchisedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine.’ Now he was a priest of the most High God, and blessed Abraham. And that Melchisedek was a type of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, saying from the person of the Father to the Son: ‘Before the morning star I have begotten Thee; Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek.’ This order is assuredly the one coming from that sacrifice: that Melchisedek was a priest of the Most High God; that he offered wine and bread; that he blessed Abraham. For who is more a priest of the most high God than Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who offered a sacrifice to God the Father, and offered the very same thing which Melchisedek had offered, that is, bread and wine, to wit, His Body and Blood? . . . For if Jesus Christ Our Lord and God is Himself the chief priest of God the Father, and has first offered Himself a sacrifice to the Father, and has commanded that this be done in commemoration of Himself, certainly the priest truly discharges the office of Christ, who imitates what Christ did; and he offers a true and full sacrifice in the Church to God the Father, when he proceeds to offer it according to what he sees Christ Himself to have offered” (Letter 62: 4,14).
Serapion of Thmuis [AD 339] “Heaven is full, and the earth as well is full of your magnificent glory, O Lord of Hosts. Fill too this sacrifice with Your power and communion, for we offer You this living sacrifice and unbloody offering . . . Thus we offer bread, celebrating the likeness of His death and we implore You, O God of Truth, to reconcile us to all and have mercy on us through this sacrifice . . . and we offer wine using the likeness of blood. May Your holy Word come upon this bread, O God of Truth, that it might become the Body of the Word, and upon this chalice that it might become the Blood of the Truth” (The Anaphora of Serapion 4; [original translation]).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem [AD 350] “Next, when the spiritual sacrifice, the bloodless worship has been completed, over that sacrifice of propitiation we beseech God for the public peace of the Churches . . . for all, in a word, who need help, we all pray and offer this sacrifice. Then we commemorate also those who have fallen asleep . . . for all those who have gone before us, believing that this [Eucharistic sacrifice] will be the greatest benefit to the souls of those on whose behalf our supplication is offered in the presence of the holy, of the most dread sacrifice” (Catechetical Lectures 5, 8-9).
The Liturgy of St. Maruthas [circa AD 390] “On that last night on which He was about to save His creatures, observe and fulfill the law, and begin His New Covenant, while teaching those saved by Him the true doctrine, He took the bread into His pure hands, and giving thanks to His Father, He blessed, sanctified, broke, and divided it among His disciples and said: ‘Take eat, believe, and be certain, and so teach and preach that This is My Body which is broken for the salvation of the world, and to those who eat it and believe in Me it gives the expiation of sins and eternal life’ Truly Lord we have done wickedly, evilly, and foolishly, and we have provoked Your wrath, nor have we kept even one of Your commandments. May you, O Good Lord, excuse us and be merciful for our crimes for the sake of the Sacrifice placed before You this day. Indeed it is You who have told us, ‘Whosoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood, and believes in Me, abides in Me and I in him, and I will raise him up on the last day May He (the Holy Spirit) change this simple bread and make it the very Body which was immolated for us on the cross for the remission of sins and the eternal life of those receiving it”. (Liturgy of St. Maruthas of Maiferkat).
St. Ambrose of Milan [circa AD 392] “And the priest says, ‘Therefore, mindful of His most glorious passion and resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, we offer You this immaculate victim, a reasonable sacrifice, an unbloody victim, this holy bread, and the chalice of eternal life. And we ask You and pray that You accept this offering just as You deigned to accept the sacrifice the high priest Melchisedek offered You”.(On the Sacraments 4,6; [original translation]).
St. Augustine of Hippo [AD 410] “Was not Christ immolated once in Himself, and nevertheless under the sacrament He is immolated for the people not only on every Paschal Feast Day, but even every day, and is it not also the case that he does not err at all who, when asked, responds that He is so immolated?” (Letter 98, 9; [original translation]).
“Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side whatever was in many and varied ways announced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice which is revealed in the New Testament”. (Sermon 3, 2; [original translation]).