"For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (John 6:55-57).
The Divine and Holy Communion is flesh and blood.
The Holy Eucharist (Nikolai Kharlamov, no date (1890s?)), St Petersburg. Image Source
It is par excellence, the Sacrament of our faith - a Divine mystery ...
With baptism, we have water.
With Unction, we have oil.
The water is sanctified but water, nonetheless.
The oil is sanctified but oil, nonetheless.
In Divine Communion
we see bread
we taste bread
but
We eat Christ.
it is not bread it is Flesh.
In Divine Communion
we see wine
we taste wine
but
We drink Christ
It is not wine it is Blood.
Why is it the par excellence of our faith?
All of our senses are challenged ...
Holy Communion is medicine it is not a reward.
We must not remove ourselves from Communion of the Lord on the grounds that we recognize ourselves to be sinners. Rather, we should come to It more and more often, thirsting after the healing of the soul and cleansing of the spirit, but with such humility of soul and faith that. Considering ourselves unworthy of receiving such grace, we might yearn for greater treatment of our wounds. With the humility of heart with which we believe and confess that we can never worthily come into contact with the Holy Mysteries, we may receive them on every Sunday unto healing of our illnesses, lest, by exalting ourselves through a vain confident heart, we believe that after the lapse of a year we are worthy of receiving it.
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