The Wisdom of the Saints…..about the Eucharist (part 7)

About the truth of His Flesh and Blood there is left no room for doubt. For by the Lord’s own words and by our faith [we know] that it is truly flesh and truly blood.” St. Hilary of Poitiers (4th century, Doctor of the Church)

It was necessary for Him to be present in us in a divine manner through the Holy Spirit: to be mixed, as it were, with our bodies by means of His holy flesh and precious blood, for us to have Him in reality as a sacramental gift which gives life, in the form of bread and wine. And so that we should not be struck down with horror, at seeing flesh and blood displayed on the holy tables of our churches, God adapts Himself to our weakness and infuses the power of life into the oblations and changes them into the effective powers of His own flesh, so that we may have them for life-giving reception, and that the body of life may prove to be in us a life-giving seed.” St. Cyril of Alexandria (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

Christ’s true body, born from the Virgin Mary, is contained in the sacrament of the altar. To profess the contrary is heresy, because it detracts from the truth of Scripture, which records our Lord’s own words, ‘This is My body’.” St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century, Doctor of the Church)

Christ, when He turned the bread into His own precious Body, and the wine into His blessed Blood, and commanded the same to be done forever in His Church…did in so commanding make a faithful promise, that He Himself would be forever with His Church in that holy Sacrament.” St. Thomas More (15th-16th centuries)

It seemed that in the most Holy Sacrament, as on a throne, I saw the one and triune God: the Father in His omnipotence, the Son in His wisdom, the Holy Spirit in His love. Every time we communicate, our souls and hearts become the temple of the most Holy Trinity, and when God comes to us, the whole of paradise comes. On seeing God enclosed in the Host, I was transported with joy for the whole day. If I had to give my life to confirm this truth, I would do so a thousand times.” St. Veronica Giuliani (17th-18th centuries)

Holy Communion is the most efficacious means you can find to unite yourself with God. Be always prepared for the divine banquet, keeping your heart purified and guarding your tongue carefully, for it is the first member [of the body] to touch the Holy Sacrament.” St. Paul of the Cross (18th century)

When God desired to give a food to our soul to sustain it in the pilgrimage of life, He looked upon creation and found nothing that was worthy of it. Then He turned again to Himself, and resolved to give Himself.” St. John Vianney (18th-19th centuries)

Oh! Yes! All the good things of grace and of glory come to us through the divine Eucharist. Their fountainhead is at Bethlehem, which became a heaven of love; they gathered volume all through the life of the Savior; and all these rivers of grace, virtue, and merit empty into the ocean of this adorable Sacrament, in which we possess them in all their fullness.” St. Peter Julian Eymard (19th century)

The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host.” Ven. Fulton Sheen (19th-20th centuries)

If Jesus had not established the Eucharist we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. There is a saying that to be far away from the eyes is to be far away from the heart. To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of His love.” St. Teresa of Calcutta (20th century)