Scripture
Growing by Encountering God in the Bible
What Scripture Teaches Us About the Eucharist
Throughout history, God has prepared his people to receive the gift of Christ in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is foreshadowed in Old Testament Scripture, and is made explicit in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament.
Melchizedek's Offering
Genesis 14: 18-20 Melchizedek offered bread and wine to God in thanksgiving, foreshadowing the establishment of the Eucharist by Jesus, "a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:6) Melchizedek's offering prepares us to recognize the Eucharist as a feast of Thanksgiving. |
Manna From Heaven
Exodus 16 God provided bread from heaven, called manna, to the Israelites as they wandered through the desert after their escape from slavery in Egypt God provides his people with what we need. |
An Angel Brings Bread to Elijah
1 Kings 19:5-7 An angel met Elijah in the wilderness just as Elijah felt he could not go on. The angel told Elijah to get up and eat so that he would be strong for the journey. We need food for our own journeys. Christ provides us with the gift of Himself to strengthen us for our work in the world. |
Jesus Changes Water into Wine.
John 2: 1-12 The first miracle recorded in the Gospels took place at a wedding in Cana. At the request of his mother, Jesus turned water into wine. In the Book of Revelations, the Eucharist we celebrate is described as the wedding feast between Christ, the bridegroom, and His bride, the Church. Through the Eucharist, Jesus transforms all of us, so that we become more like Christ as we live as the "Body of Christ" in the world. |
The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes
Lambert Lombard (Liège 1505/06 – 1566) |
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
John 6: 1-15 Jesus feeds a multitude of people with one small boy's lunch. Jesus can feed everyone who hungers for intimacy with him. |
"I am the bread of life"
John 6: 22-59 Jesus often spoke in parables or metaphors, but he emphasized repeatedly that he intended the Eucharist to be taken literally. He was giving himself to us as food and drink. This was difficult for his followers to understand and some left him, but Jesus did not try to stop them by offering an alternative explanation. |
Jesus Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples
Matthew 26: 17-30 On the night he was betrayed and arrested, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. The meal commemorated the freedom of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. At the first Passover meal, the Israelites were commanded to eat the flesh of the Passover lamb that was sacrificed to save them. Jesus, the "Lamb of God" was sacrificed to same us from the bondage of sin. St. Paul calls Jesus "our paschal lamb" (1 Corinthians 5:7). When Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, he offered the bread and cup with the words, "This is my body" and "This is my blood." We believe that he is truly present in this great meal. |