The Eucharist Unveiled: Insights from Early Church Fathers and Inspiring Stories
Catholic belief in the real presence of the Eucharist and what the Eucharist is and is not is not an easy subject to discuss. For one thing the Eucharist is a mystery and we can’t actually wrap our minds around it. This is similar to our understanding of the Trinity or infinity or heaven. We have a hard time understanding things that are beyond us. There is biblical support for the Eucharist and we can find early church teaching that supports this belief. We find reference to it in the gospels and in the writings of St. Paul. In the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke we see Jesus as He instituted this practice at the last supper when He says “do this in remembrance of Me.” In the gospel of John chapter 6 Jesus gives us the bread of life discourse when He says “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:53-55). It is referenced by the early Fathers and there are many resources where we find the earliest bishops speaking about the Eucharist. I share one resource here today which is a short blog post from a blogger who goes by the handle “That One Catholic Girl.” I want to share two inspirational stories of Eucharistic devotion. The stories are about two young girls who both died for their love of the Eucharist. Their love of the Eucharist and the events of their life are miraculous. We believe these things because we believe they are true and to believe something so extraordinary is life changing because who can believe something so unbelievable.
One of the things which we believe as Catholics is that the Eucharist or communion contains Jesus, and that He is present to us in the Eucharist. Through His words which are recited at Mass by the priest, the bread becomes flesh and the wine becomes blood. However, we believe that the flesh and blood of our Lord remain under the appearance of bread and wine even though they no longer are actually bread and wine. Early Christians did believe this and this post will share the words of the church fathers to show how the Eucharist has been the Eucharist from the beginning when Jesus told us what to believe. To illustrate what the early church believed and to provide a couple of brave Catholics I have included the work and life of three young ladies. The first, the aforementioned Catholic Youtuber “That One Catholic Girl,” has provided a quick and easy to read summary of the Church Fathers on the Eucharist. I share that link below. I am also sharing the life of two young ladies whose stories are inspiring and miraculous concerning the Eucharist. The first is is a story about a young Chinese girl, Lin, who was killed by Chinese Communists while trying to preserve Eucharistic hosts left on the ground after their church was attacked. I am unsure of her actual name or if the story is 100% accurate but it was made famous by Bishop Fulton Sheen. The second is about a young lady who so desperately wanted to receive the Eucharist that It floated to her, Blessed Imelda Lambertini.
In that one Catholic girl's blog, written by Vanessa, a young lady from Los Angeles, California, she gives us snippets from the early church fathers who wrote about many things. Often they were in the form of a letter to their flock to clarify the teaching of the church. What we find over and over again is that the church was hierarchical, it was Catholic, it was Apostolic, it had priests and the form of worship was the Mass which culminated in the Eucharist. One of the things they wrote about was their clear belief in the reality of the Eucharist, that it’s not just a symbol but is really the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. That it is our spiritual food and drink preparing us for Heaven, it is a foretaste of heaven. In her blog post she provides quotes from the church fathers. For example, here’s one from Justin Martyr 151 AD, first apology, 66:
“And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”
Of course, this is hard to understand. St. John Crysotom wrote “Let us submit to God in all things and not contradict Him, even if what He says seems to contradict our reason and intellect” (Homily on Matthew, 82.4; PG 58.743).
The bread appears as bread and the wine appears as wine so that we may be able to eat and drink of it and so that we may receive spiritual strength from our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is something which separates and divides because only those who take God at His word can truly be His disciples but it unifies those who believe into one bread and one body.
Bishop Fulton Sheen had one of the most popular television shows which went from 1930 - 1968. He was said to be the first televangelist. He was a gifted preacher and story teller. When asked who inspired him he told a story about a young Chinese girl who sacrificed her life to save discarded Eucharistic hosts. The story goes that Chinese soldiers around the year 1948 went into a Catholic Church to destroy it. The church was also a parochial school headed by a priest named Father Luke and a nun named Sister Euphrasia. She is a nun who teaches the children about the significance of the Eucharist. She explains to them the importance of Holy Communion and the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The soldiers enter the church while the children are there and take all holy objects and throw the ciborium onto the ground which scatters the Eucharistic hosts. They imprison Father Luke but in his cell he could still see the inside of the church and the Eucharist that was strewn onto the floor. There was a young girl there named Li who had already received her first communion and was taught that the Eucharist was food for the soul. Li, who ate rice for every meal, asked Sister Euphrasia why didn’t God teach us the Our Father as “give us this day, our daily rice?” The nun explained that the Eucharist is food for the soul and it is in the form of bread. In the Our Father we pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, give us this day, our daily bread…”. This bread we ask for in the Our Father is the Eucharist in addition to food for the body. We can see that this prayer gives to both, the one who believes in the Eucharist and the one who does not, the ability to see the prayer differently. To us, it means the Eucharist, our daily bread, and it fulfills the promise that Jesus would be with us until the end of the age. He is with us in the Eucharist.
Young Li knew the hosts were discarded and left on the ground wanted to ensure they received their proper treatment. She was taught to believe the Eucharist contains the real presence of our Lord. Each night, she would sneak into the church and do a holy hour and then consume one host. From his cell, the priest could see the girl sneak in every night for thirty two nights as there were thirty two hosts on the ground. The story survived due to the witness of the priest who was set free and escaped. Li went into the church night after night to consume one host. According to the story, on the last night, she was killed by a soldier but did get to consume the host. Catholics believe that once a piece of bread becomes consecrated by the Holy Spirit that the host will always remain the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord. So, because of this we believe that a Eucharistic Host should not touch the ground or be desecrated but only consumed and if not consumed at Mass they are preserved in the tabernacle until the next Mass at which time they can be consumed. Little Li did not want the hosts to be desecrated so her brave actions were a true act of faith and love of the Eucharist. She was the inspiration for Bishop Fulton Sheen who did a holy hour each day in front of the blessed sacrament.
The second story of a young lady is about Imelda Lambertini, a young girl, born in 1322 Italy. Due to her devoutness, her parents allowed her to go serve at a convent at the age of nine years old. For two years, she pleaded and begged to receive the Eucharist. She would spend hours in prayer and reflection on the Life of Jesus while there. In 1333, at the age of eleven, she was finally granted her wish to receive the Eucharist. However, it was in a miraculous fashion. At the time, young persons were not allowed to receive the Eucharist and so she was told no. She would cry and weep because she wanted to receive the Eucharist so intensely. One day she was turned away again but in the end she did get to receive the Eucharist. After Mass, a nun could see Blessed Imelda in the choir area. There was a beautiful light above her head and a Eucharist Host was suspended in the air and it was surround by light. The Eucharist had floated over to her and suspended in the air above her head. The priest understood that Jesus would not refuse her this night. She received the Eucharist and died that same night for her love of the Eucharist was too great. Her body is incorrupt and she is the patroness of first time communicants.
Thanks to these three young ladies for providing us with examples of holiness.