The Church Fathers are the earliest group of theologians who have left writings that the Church regards as authentic. Most lived within the first five centuries after the birth of Christ. You may have heard their names in passing: Clement, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Irenaeus, clement, Origin, Athanasius, Cyril, John Chrysostom, Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great; these are just some of the most noteworthy of this saintly group.
What do they have to say about the Eucharist?
St. Ignatius of Antioch: “I want the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is the seed of David; and for drink I want his Blood which is incorruptible love.” (Seven surviving letters)
St. Justin Martyr: “For we do not receive these as common bread and common drink; but just as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have learned that the food over which thanks has been given by the prayer of the word which comes from him, and by which are blood and flesh are nourished through a change, is the Flesh and Blood of the same incarnate Jesus.” (Apologies)
St. Ambrose: “…will not the word of Christ have the power to change the nature of the elements. You have read about the creation of the whole world … therefore, can not the word of Christ, which was able to create out of nothing that which did not exist, change those things that do exist into that which they were not?” (De Mysteriis)
Ambrose is talking about transubstantiation, the change of the substance of the bread and wine, not the appearance of bread and wine, to the Body and Blood of Christ.
St. Augustine is most direct: “You should understand what you have received, what you will receive, indeed, what you should receive daily. The bread you see on the altar and that has been sanctified by the word of God is the Body of Christ.” (Commentary on John)
St. Irenaeus: “When, therefore, the mixed cup [wine and water] and the baked bread receives the Word of God and becomes the Eucharist, the body of Christ, and from these the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they say that the flesh is not capable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life–flesh which is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord, and is in fact a member of him?” (Against Heresy)
Tertullian: “For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity.” (Resurrection of the Dead)
Hippolytus: “Everyone should be on guard lest a non-believer taste of the Eucharist, to say nothing of a mouse or some other animal, or lest some part of It fall and be lost For this is the Body of Christ, which is to be eaten by believers; It must not be despised.” (Apostolic Tradition)
…
I could go on with more quotations, and you can to, simply by Googling Church Fathers and Eucharist together. Also, the New Advent website is an excellent source for their early writings. But it seems to me that these men, taking Our Lord’s words as recorded in the gospels and in the epistles of St. Paul, have laid the groundwork for the Eucharist that was, perhaps, used as the scaffolding where the medieval theologians, culminating in the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, erected our understanding of the Blessed Sacrament.
Tomorrow I would like to investigate what St. Thomas, and perhaps his contemporaries, have written on the subject.
What do they have to say about the Eucharist?
St. Ignatius of Antioch: “I want the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is the seed of David; and for drink I want his Blood which is incorruptible love.” (Seven surviving letters)
St. Justin Martyr: “For we do not receive these as common bread and common drink; but just as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have learned that the food over which thanks has been given by the prayer of the word which comes from him, and by which are blood and flesh are nourished through a change, is the Flesh and Blood of the same incarnate Jesus.” (Apologies)
St. Ambrose: “…will not the word of Christ have the power to change the nature of the elements. You have read about the creation of the whole world … therefore, can not the word of Christ, which was able to create out of nothing that which did not exist, change those things that do exist into that which they were not?” (De Mysteriis)
Ambrose is talking about transubstantiation, the change of the substance of the bread and wine, not the appearance of bread and wine, to the Body and Blood of Christ.
St. Augustine is most direct: “You should understand what you have received, what you will receive, indeed, what you should receive daily. The bread you see on the altar and that has been sanctified by the word of God is the Body of Christ.” (Commentary on John)
St. Irenaeus: “When, therefore, the mixed cup [wine and water] and the baked bread receives the Word of God and becomes the Eucharist, the body of Christ, and from these the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they say that the flesh is not capable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life–flesh which is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord, and is in fact a member of him?” (Against Heresy)
Tertullian: “For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity.” (Resurrection of the Dead)
Hippolytus: “Everyone should be on guard lest a non-believer taste of the Eucharist, to say nothing of a mouse or some other animal, or lest some part of It fall and be lost For this is the Body of Christ, which is to be eaten by believers; It must not be despised.” (Apostolic Tradition)
…
I could go on with more quotations, and you can to, simply by Googling Church Fathers and Eucharist together. Also, the New Advent website is an excellent source for their early writings. But it seems to me that these men, taking Our Lord’s words as recorded in the gospels and in the epistles of St. Paul, have laid the groundwork for the Eucharist that was, perhaps, used as the scaffolding where the medieval theologians, culminating in the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, erected our understanding of the Blessed Sacrament.
Tomorrow I would like to investigate what St. Thomas, and perhaps his contemporaries, have written on the subject.
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