Bread of Angels

[dannyboy]

Does anybody know why the Eucharist is called the Bread of Angels? Angels don’t receive the Eucharist so it doesn’t seem to make sense.

 

[JimG]

I don’t know, but it reminds me of that great hymn, “Panis Angelicus.”

 

[pnewton]

I do not know either, but it the phrase that always comes to my mind when I hear someone get upset over calling the Eucharist “bread” in a song.

 

[JimG]

Go here to see the Latin lyrics, then click the word “Melody” farthest to the left, to hear the traditional tune from my old Laudate hymnal.

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum;
O res mirabilis:
manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.

Te, trina Deitas
unaque, poscimus:
sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
ad lucem quam inhabitas.

(The English translation below is rather clumsy.)

Bread of Angels is made
the Bread of man today:
the Living Bread from heaven
with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
The poor and lowly may
upon their Lord and Master feed.

Thee, therefore, we implore,
o Godhead, One in Three,
so may Thou visit us
as we now worship Thee;
and lead us on Thy way,
That we at last may see
the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.

(Now, why couldn’t we sing that --in Latin-- as a communion hymn?)

 

[puzzleannie]

the Eucharist is called the Bread of Angels because the angels enjoy the presence of the glorified risen Jesus Christ perpetually in heaven, and their joy is made available to us here on earth through the sacramental consecration of the bread and wine, rendering Jesus Christ just as present to us, who can partake of His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity enjoying the same grace of his Presence as the angels possess in heaven. The Mass is heaven on earth.

 

[stbruno]

Psalm 78:23-25 talks about the Bread of Heaven and this is the explanation given:
The Chaldee paraphrase of the expression, the bread of the mighty, is, “the food that descends from the dwelling of angels;” so that, according to this view, it signifies no more than , “corn of heaven,” by which the manna is described in the preceding verse. Dr Geddes and Williams observe, that the Hebrew word Myryba, abbirim, never signifies angels, but persons of the higher classes, the rich, the great, the noble; and that the meaning of the Psalmist is, that the Israelites found in the manna a dainty, delicate food, such as might suit the palates of the great; that it was bread fit for princes; the best, the choicest of bread. This agrees with Simonis’ rendering of the phrase, “cibus nobilium, scilicet principum; hoc est, cibus exquisitus, delicatus, eximius.” Such also is the view taken by Fry, Walford, and others. If by Myryba, abbirim, the mighty, angels should be understood, as it is rendered in all the ancient versions, the meaning will be substantially the same; for the manna, by an obvious poetical figure, may be called the bread of angels, to denote food of the most exquisite kind; just as Paul speaks of the tongues of angels, (1 Corinthians 13:1,) to indicate eloquence of the highest order

 

[dannyboy]

Thank you all for your replies. They are very helpful. God bless.