The institution of the Eucharist communicated by Jesus to Paul
The words “I received from the Lord” taken literally indicate that the teaching on the Eucharist was so important to Our Lord, that Jesus taught it directly to St Paul. Paul did not have to rely on Peter or James or John for the liturgy of the Last Supper. Of course, the words of consecration matched the Apostolic Tradition already in place, as evidenced by St Luke’s Last Supper account in his Gospel which also took as its source the interview of many witnesses. (cf Luke 1: 1-4).
St Paul is writing around the year 57—only twenty-seven years since the institution of the Eucharist, reminding the Corinthians of what they had been taught some six years earlier. The Gospels and Paul record the fundamental elements of Christian faith in the mystery of the Eucharist:
1. The institution of this sacrament by Jesus and His real presence in it;
2. The priesthood of Melchizedek; and
3. The Eucharist as the perpetual sacrifice of the New Covenant in His blood.
Do this in remembrance of me
In the Last Supper, Our Lord commanded that the Eucharist be re-presented to His Father until the end of time, and He established a new Melchizedek priesthood to offer His body and Blood under the elements of bread and wine. (cf Psalm 110:1-4). Animal sacrifices were not to be the sacrifice of the New Covenant.
Jesus ordered the Apostles and their successors in this new priesthood to offer this sacrament repeatedly when He said, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ The Church has done so uninterruptedly for two thousand years.
Consistently, Pope Saint John Paul II taught that the Eucharist is “the principal and central reason-for-having the sacrament of the priesthood, which effectively came into being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist, and together with it.” (Letter to all bishops, 24 February 1980).
The word “remembrance” in the Greek “Anamnesis” is charged with the meaning of the Hebrew word which was used to convey the essence of the feast of the original Passover—the exodus is made present every year. So, the current Jewish Passover rite is not a past event, but a present one, where each generation celebrates that ‘today’ God saved me from the slavery of Egypt. (cf. Ex 13:8; Deut 6:20–25).
So, too as Jesus commands his Apostles to ‘remember’ His Passover -“ Do this in Anamnesis of me.” It is not a matter of merely recalling the Eucharistic supper by way of reflection but re-entering into the mystery of His Passover sacrifice of Calvary, which at the Last Supper, was already present in an anticipated way.
This reflection relies in part on “Saint Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians.” (2005). (pp. 89–91). Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers.
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Thank you for your commentary. After reading it several times I could not quite understand the section below and what knowledge you are conveying about our catholic faith and the Passover. Please help with a less academic and easier to understand, simpler explanation of the Passiver teaching.
” It is not a matter of merely recalling the Eucharistic supper by way of reflection but re-entering into the mystery of His Passover sacrifice of Calvary, which at the Last Supper, was already present in an anticipated way.
When we celebrate the Eucharist we enter into the mystery of Calvary. When the Apostles did likewise prior to Calvary they were entering into the same mystery prior to its actual occurrence the next day on Good Friday.
Early Church Fathers noted that when His blood in the cup is separated from the body in the form of what used to be bread – death occurs. We are not able to be alive when our body is separated from our blood.
So it was His death by anticipation of His death the next day. Hope that makes sense.
Thank you for asking