From: Steve Puluka (spuluka@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Oct 10 1999 - 23:37:39 EDT
<x-flowed>> Felipe Flores-Morelos
>Maybe you can give the e-mail adress for a discussion list on patristics?
If anyone knows of one I would like this information too.
> Felipe Flores-Morelos
>I suppose there must be some patristic references on this subject.
Below are a few selected references from John Chrysostom's writings
concerning the Mystery of the Eucharist sacrifice. This is only a sample,
there is much more. None of them seems to pertain directly on the text at
hand. At most they reflect the state of mind that Chrysostom had as he
penned the words of this anaphora. I should also note that Chrysostom was
clearly not aware of the reformation controversies regarding the nature of
the Eucharist and we should be careful not to read later theological
understandings back to this author. :-)
I believe most of these works are available in full on the Ecole Initiative
web site:
http://cedar.evansville.edu/~ecoleweb/index.html
Steve Puluka
Adult Education Instructor
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
"For when thou seest the Lord sacrificed, and laid upon the altar, and the
priest standing and praying over the victim, and all the worshippers
empurpled with that precious blood, canst thou then think that thou art
still amongst men, and standing upon the earth? Arth thour not, on the
contrary, straightway translated to Heaven, and casting out every carnal
thought from the soul, dost thou not with disembodied spirit and pure reason
contemplate the things which are in Heaven? Oh! what a marvel! what love
og God to man! He who sitteth on high with the Father is at that hour held
in the hands of all, and gives Himself to those who are willing to embrace
and grasp Him. And this all do through the eyes of faith!"
On the Priesthood Book III
"What then? do we not make an offering every day? We do, certainly, but by
making a memorial of His death; and this memorial is one, not many. How
one, not many? Because the sacrifiice was offered once for all, as that
great sacrifice was in the Holy of Holies. This is a figure of that great
sacrifice, as that was of this: for we do not offer one victim today and
another tomorrow, but always the same: wherefore the sacrifice is one.
Well, then, as He is offered in many places, are there many Christs? No, by
no means, but everywhere one Christ, complete both in this world and in the
other, one body. As then, though offered in many places, He is but one
body, so is there but one sacrifice. Our High Priest is He who was offered
then: which is indeed inconsumable. This takes place now, for a memorial of
what took place then. 'Do this,' said He, 'for my memorial.' We do not
then offer a different sacrifice, as the high priest formerly did, but
always the same; or rather we celebrate a memorial of a sacrifice."
Homily 18 on Hebrews
"Yes: for now, as of old, He sits down by the well, not discoursing to a
Samaritan woman, but to a whole city. Or perchance now too with a Samaritan
woman only. For neither now is any one with Him; but some with their bodies
only, and some not even with these. But nevertheless, He retires not, but
remains, and asks of us to drink, not water, but holiness, for 'His holy
things he gives unto the holy.' (quotation from Divine Liturgy Anaphora)
For it is not water that He gives us from this fountain, but living blood;
and it is indeed a symbol of death, but it is become the cause of life."
Homily VII Gospel of Matthew
"For this cause Paul also said, 'Be ye thankful.' For the best preservative
of any benefit is the remembrance of the benefit, and a continual
thanksgiving.
"For this cause even the awful mysteries, so full of that great salvation,
which are celebrated at every communion, are called a sacrifice of
thanksgiving, because they are the commemoration of many benefits, and they
signify the very sum of God's care for us, and by all means they work upon
us to be thankful. For if His being born of a virgin was a great miracle,
and the evangelist said in amaze, 'now all this was done' His being also
slain, what place shall we find for that? tell me. I mean, if to be born is
called 'all this;' to be crucified, and to pur forth His blood, and to give
Himself to us for a spiritual feast and banquet, what can that be called?
Let us therefore give Him thanks continually, and let this precede both our
words and our works."
Homily XXV Gospel of Matthew
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