Do you place as much emphasis on His Eucharist as you do the Bible?

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rcwitness

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This question could be on a personal level, as much as a faith Community level.
 
Oh, much more! The Bible’s a book - the Eucharist is Jesus in the flesh.
 
jane_doe said:
How about we just place focus on Christ? That’s my choice.
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That should be our approach overall! 👍

However, Christ is revealed most directly in the Scriptures through His actions and person. For me, the Eucharist is important (unfortunately, and my pastor also takes issue with this, we only have it monthly because that is local Methodist tradition since the 1700s). That is the place where Christ is and we have the joy of receiving Him.

As a community, I really don’t see much attention paid to the Eucharist.

Yet, I do not see this emphasized nearly enough: we can experience Jesus in His presence through the Holy Spirit, especially during prayer or when in a holy place. Jesus Himself has to be the apex of the Christian life around which all other things revolve.
 
rcwitness said:
That’s rather evasive. The question delves into how we focus on Christ. Do you find my question foolish?
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Your question is not foolish. The Protestant Christian would most likely say the Bible, the orthodox Christian would say the Eucharist.
 
rcwitness said:
This question could be on a personal level, as much as a faith Community level.
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Good question. To me it is both. By the Eucharist I think you meant the mass rather than just the Holy Communion.

The mass is the ultimate way of being one and in communion with God, with Jesus.

One should also read the Bible, at least if one does not have the time, to read further from the Bible on the readings of the mass, from other books or chapters of the Bible as cross references.

Having said that, without the Eucharist, the fullest meaning of the Bible is incomplete. The word of God is to be understood and the Word of God has to be received and in communion with.
 
rcwitness said:
This question could be on a personal level, as much as a faith Community level.
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Okay, I have to be fair. I do feel that I’ve avoided the question in my previous post. Let me address the question.

On a personal level, the Eucharist is a big thing for me. The Eucharist and the Bible are related in some way because we receive Jesus in both, though in different manners. They are both given by God: the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Eucharist is given by Christ and was instituted by Him.

However, the Eucharist is especial simply because of its being (its ousios, I suppose). That is something that Scripture does not possess. So, concluding, I don’t think it would be fair to say “as much emphasis”—the Eucharist and Scripture are two different things with two different capacities.
Adonia said:
Your question is not foolish. The Protestant Christian would most likely say the Bible, the orthodox Christian would say the Eucharist.
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Baptists ≠ all other Protestants (and I’m well aware that you are not making a claim like that, I just want to remind you).
 
The Eucharist. It is the New Testament. If you asked a Christian in the early Church what is the New Testament, they would all point to the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the summit of Catholic life.

If there was no Eucharist, there would be no new covenant. The Eucharist would still exist without the bible, but the bible as we know it, would not have existed without the Eucharist. The Eucharist is putting focus on Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

The following is from a talk by Dr. Scott Hahn found here: ewtn.com/faith/teachings/euchc3.htm
Turn over with me now to Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 13. He says, “Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings in the same way the Lord commanded. That those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” Now we might be tempted to read Corinthians 9, 13 and 14 and say, “Well, back in the Old Testament they did temple service and altar service and sacrifice, but now in the New Testament they only proclaim the word.”
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The problem with that is that Paul goes on to say, Corinthians 11, as we will see, how Christ’s death is proclaimed. Take a look with me at 1st Corinthians, 11:23-26. “For I received from the Lord what I shall deliver to you.” Interesting, he received it not from Peter and the apostles. When Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus or perhaps at some other time, what did Jesus deliver to Paul?** Instructions for the Eucharist. “I received from the Lord what I also deliver to you. That the Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup after supper saying, 'This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do this.” Commandment, imperative tense. “As often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
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You proclaim the gospel. Let’s go back then to Corinthians 9, verse 14, “In the same way the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” How does Paul proclaim the gospel? Just by preaching? Or by celebrating the Eucharist? “As often as you do this, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” That’s the gospel. Paul is talking in verses 13 and 14 about how he should be supported as an apostle and he does so in conjunction with temple service at an altar where there is sacrificial offerings which he as an apostle has the right to receive from. What’s he talking about? A New Covenant temple? A New Covenant altar? A New Covenant sacrifice where he proclaims the gospel by celebrating the Eucharist.**
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Now let’s go on to Corinthians 10 and get things straight really quickly here because Corinthians 10, gives us a proper warning. In the first ten verses of Corinthians 10, Paul says that back in the Old Testament with Moses, verse 3, “They all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink.” The water from the rock and the manna in the wilderness and both, Paul says in a sense, were signs of Christ’s presence among them. Nevertheless, verse 5, “with most of them God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
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In the next three verses he describes the Golden Calf incident where thousands of them died. In other words just because you receive supernatural food and drink doesn’t mean you’ve got it made in the shade. You have to set things right with God and keep things right with the Lord. Verse 11, “Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages has come.” We now have a greater and much more supernatural food and drink. So we can relax? No. We’ve got to be even more circumspect in searching out our hearts and making sure we are right with God.
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He goes on in verse 16, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a coenia, a communion, a participation in the blood of Christ?” Not a symbol. But a share, a communion. The bread which we break , is it not a coenia, a communion in the body of Christ. “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body for we all partake of the one bread.” He doesn’t mean to say that there’s one enormous loaf that we all take a piece from. There are many loaves of bread. There are many breads in that earthly sense, but there’s only one bread in the heavenly sense, and that’s Christ. Because we receive from one bread Christ, the Bread of Life, we who are many become one body, namely, the Body of Christ. He’s suggesting that we become what we eat.
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rcwitness said:
That’s rather evasive. The question delves into how we focus on Christ. Do you find my question foolish?
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I think it’s a false dichotomy. It’s like asking if you focus more on Christ’s left hand or Christ’s right hand, while not asking about any other part of Him.

A person should pick one hand and ignore the other: rather they should accept all of Christ. ALL of Christ should be our focus, not just one element.
 
jane_doe said:
I think it’s a false dichotomy. It’s like asking if you focus more on Christ’s left hand or Christ’s right hand, while not asking about any other part of Him.

A person should pick one hand and ignore the other: rather they should accept all of Christ. ALL of Christ should be our focus, not just one element.
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I did not attempt to create a dichotomy at all. I asked if you place as much emphasis on His Eucharist as you place on the Bible. I’m not implying one should be contrasted with the other at all. And I don’t believe all Christians do place an equal emphasis of their faith on these two matters of worship and devotion. Do you?

Is it safe to understand your response as that you place an equal emphasis on Holy Communion as you do in devoting to Scripture?
 
rcwitness said:
I did not attempt to create a dichotomy at all. I asked if you place as much emphasis on His Eucharist as you place on the Bible. I’m not implying one should be contrasted with the other at all.
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Oh- that you did. My apologies for my misreading.

Yes, I do place as much emphasis on Christ’s ordinances (including the Lord’s Supper) as I do His scriptures. I would say this is also true for my larger church.
rcwitness said:
And I don’t believe all Christians do place an equal emphasis of their faith on these two matters of worship and devotion. Do you?
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Yes.
rcwitness said:
Is it safe to understand your response as that you place an equal emphasis on Holy Communion as you do in devoting to Scripture?
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Yes.
 
Reuben_J said:
Good question. To me it is both. By the Eucharist I think you meant the mass rather than just the Holy Communion.
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I did not mean the entire Mass, but Holy Communion. The Mass contains, and venerates both tables (Word and Eucharist) alike.

Some Christians place a huge emphasis on the Bible in their faith life, but have very little concern for Holy Communion. Obviously the Catholic faith has this to say about it:

CCC # 141*
“The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord” (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

There are Christians who stress a devotion to the Bible, who have very little to say about devotion to His Eucharist. Now on a personal level, individual Catholics may have little concern for their devotion to His Eucharist. It may just be something we do at Church, but beyond that it doesn’t go much deeper.

Can the two really be separated??? That’s the question. Can one truly have a strong, healthy devotion to the true Word of God, but have little concern and appeal to His Eucharist???
 
jane_doe said:
How about we just place focus on Christ? That’s my choice.
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Yes, that is what Catholics do. Christ in the Eucharist, body blood, soul and divinity as the Bible states in Luke.19-20 NAB

19
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”
20
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant** in my blood,** which will be shed for you.
Luke 22:

**Christ in the Bible **as the answer to sin. The Bible the Catholic Church gave to us

New International Version 1 Tim 3:15

if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the** church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

**

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Free online** (Christ)
**
669 As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body.

The Catholic Church is all about Christ.

Mary.
 
rcwitness said:
I did not mean the entire Mass, but Holy Communion. The Mass contains, and venerates both tables (Word and Eucharist) alike.

Some Christians place a huge emphasis on the Bible in their faith life, but have very little concern for Holy Communion. Obviously the Catholic faith has this to say about it:

CCC # 141*
“The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord” (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

There are Christians who stress a devotion to the Bible, who have very little to say about devotion to His Eucharist. Now on a personal level, individual Catholics may have little concern for their devotion to His Eucharist. It may just be something we do at Church, but beyond that it doesn’t go much deeper.

Can the two really be separated??? That’s the question. Can one truly have a strong, healthy devotion to the true Word of God, but have little concern and appeal to His Eucharist???
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I would like to receive Holy Communion in the mass and would do everything possible to make that happens but my bottom line would be to attend the mass, whether receiving or not.

If I don’t receive Holy Communion, it does not make my attendance in the mass any less, believing the word that we say in the liturgy of the Eucharist, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but just say the word and my soul is healed.”

IMO, we can have a devotion to the Eucharist but not the Bible. I mean devotion in term of worship practice. We do not worship the Bible.

However, we should be proficient in the Bible, knowing its content and live by/according to them. We only can do that if the word of God that we hear in the Eucharist is to be really internalized.

Also, that we be fully aware that we have received the Body of the Lord, knowing now that we are one physically with Jesus, we go out into the world to serve and love Him.

Having received the Body of the Lord nourishes us, and his word gives us wisdom.

Therefore to me, both are complimentary in the life of a Christian and thus are needed; they are not at the expense of the other.
 
Christ in the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. That being said, why is the New Testament called the “New Testament” and not something else, such as the “Gospel of Christ”?

If you search the scriptures, the term ‘New Testament’ is used in only one place - at the Last Supper when Jesus said “Take, drink, this chalice is the New Testament in My blood.” It is the same in the King James Version and many other English language bibles. The newer bibles, for reasons of ecumenism or denominational bias, often translate it as “New Covenant.”

The New Testament is so named because of the Eucharist.*
  • Teaching of Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S. J.
 
I place the most importance of the EUCHARIST as Jesus in the Bible in John 6:54 states:
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. It does NOT say those who read my word but rather he who eats his flesh and drinks his blood will have eternal life and will be raised on the last day. Of course he expects that we are to live in accordance with his example as he also teaches in John 14:6 I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life and no-one comes to the father but through me. That is we must follow his example (THE Way), we must live in accordance with his word (THE Truth) and attendance at Mass, reception of the Eucharist, and Reconciliation (THE Life)
 
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