Thursday, July 19, 2012
276. Where does the Eucharist fit in the divine plan of salvation? (part 2 continuation)
(Comp
276 repetition) The Eucharist was foreshadowed in the Old Covenant above all in
the annual Passover meal celebrated every year by the Jews with unleavened
bread to commemorate their hasty, liberating departure from Egypt. Jesus
foretold it in his teaching and he instituted it when he celebrated the Last
Supper with his apostles in a Passover meal. The Church, faithful to the
command of her Lord, “Do this in memory of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24), has
always celebrated the Eucharist, especially on Sunday, the day of the
Resurrection of Jesus.
“In
brief”
(CCC 1419)
Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist
the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us
with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes
us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the
Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1337)
The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing
that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the
course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love
(Cf. Jn 13:1-17; 34-35). In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order
never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he
instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and
commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; "thereby he
constituted them priests of the New Testament" (Council of Trent (1562): DS 1740). (CCC 1338)
The three synoptic Gospels and St. Paul have handed on to us the account of the
institution of the Eucharist; St. John, for his part, reports the words of
Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum that prepare for the institution of the
Eucharist: Christ calls himself the bread of life, come down from heaven (Cf.
Jn 6).
On
reflection
(CCC 1339)
Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum:
giving his disciples his Body and his Blood: Then came the day of Unleavened
Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and
John, saying, "Go and prepare the passover meal for us, that we may eat
it...." They went... and prepared the passover. And when the hour came, he
sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, "I have
earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you
I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."....
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to
them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in
remembrance of me." and likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This
cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood" (Lk
22:7-20; cf. Mt 26:17-29; Mk 14:12-25; 1 Cor 11:23-26). (CCC 1340) By
celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover
meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus' passing
over to his father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated
in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish
Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the
kingdom. [IT CONTINUES]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment