I am coming back to the Eucharist from a more personal angle. I am not only asking what Christians believed historically. I am asking what I believe Jesus and Paul are actually saying.
WHAT I AM STUDYING
I am reading Exodus 16 before John 6 so I can see the manna and bread-from-heaven background. Then I am reading the Last Supper accounts and 1 Corinthians 10–11.
I am also placing those passages beside Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose, and Augustine.
A FEW THINGS I AM LEARNING
Faith is clearly part of John 6. Catholics should not pretend otherwise. But the language becomes difficult for me to reduce to believing alone.
Paul calls the cup and bread a participation in Christ’s Blood and Body. His warning about receiving unworthily also sounds stronger than mishandling a symbol.
WHAT I AM STILL UNSURE ABOUT
I do not understand every philosophical detail of how the change occurs. The bread still looks like bread. That is a real difficulty, not something I want to talk around.
WHAT I WANT TO LOOK AT NEXT
Ambrose asks almost exactly that question. I want to understand why he thinks Christ’s word can change what something is even when its appearance remains.