Eucharist in Greek means “to give thanks”. According to the synoptic gospels, this is what Jesus did when he shared the last meal with his dispels. He broke the bread and blessed the cup of wine and, giving thanks, he gave them to drink. (Mark 14:22-25). This is also what he commanded his disciples to do in memory of him (Luke 22:19). Paul who gives the earliest recorded references to early Christian Eucharist, recalls the same traditional story of the last supper. Both Paul’s teaching …show more content…
It is a festival of remembrance concerning the loving kindness of God toward his people during their stay in the desert but it is also a celebration of anticipation when all God’s people will enjoy liberty. According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus’s Last Supper with his disciples was the Jewish Passover meal. With that meal, Jesus anticipated his death and reinterpreted the Passover symbols: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). In other words, in the early Church, Christians celebrate their covenant relationship with God as they await the experience of the fullness of that covenant in God’s …show more content…
This sanctifies those who use it with a sound purpose. The Eucharist is "a certain holy body which sanctifies those who partake of it with a pure intention." He refers to the reverence shown to the Eucharist and designates the Eucharist the Logos Himself. In the Contra Celsus he writes: "We give thanks to the Creator of all and, along with thanksgiving and prayer for the blessing we have received, we also eat the bread presented to us; and this bread becomes by prayer a sacred body, which sanctifies those who sincerely partake of it." In other words, he illustrates the importance of the Eucharist because it is an allegory to