"Since Christ
Himself said in reference to the bread:
"This is My
Body,"
who
will dare remain hesitant? And since with equal clarity
He asserted:
"This is My
Blood," who
will dare entertain any doubt
and say that this is not His
Blood?... - St
Cyril of Jerusalem
An except from The
Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation,
St
Cyril of Jerusalem
"Do not, then, regard the Eucharistic
elements as ordinary bread and wine: they are in fact that Body and Blood of
the Lord, as He Himself has declared. Whatever your senses may tell you, be
strong in faith.
You
have been taught and you are firmly convinced that what looks and tastes like
bread and wine is not bread and wine but the Body and Blood of Christ. You know
also how David referred to this long ago, when he sang: Bread
gives strength to man's heart and makes his face shine with the oil of
gladness. Strengthen your heart,
then, by receiving this bread as spiritual bread, and bring joy to the face of
your soul.
May
purity of conscience remove the veil from the face of your soul so that by
contemplating the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, you may transformed from
glory to glory in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him be glory for ever and ever.
Amen."
St Cyril of
Jerusalem
313-386
313-386
Bishop of
Jerusalem
Scripture scholar,
Catechist par excellence
Early Church Father,
Doctor of the Church
FEAST DAY - March
18
St Cyril admonished catechumens surrounded by
heresy:
"Make your fold with the sheep;
flee from the wolves:
depart not from the Church."
St Cyril of
Jerusalem, pray for us!
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