Theology of the Body
Week 11
The Eucharist: Receiving the Gift of the Bridegroom
“This is my command; love one another as I love you.” John 15:12
“The Eucharist is the ‘source and summit of the Christian life.’” CCC 1324
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life.’” John 6:35
“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
John 6:66
Week 11
The Eucharist: Receiving the Gift of the Bridegroom
“This is my command; love one another as I love you.” John 15:12
“The Eucharist is the ‘source and summit of the Christian life.’” CCC 1324
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life.’” John 6:35
“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
John 6:66
Recapping the Fundamentals of Our Study:
1. We looked back to the beginning to discover God’s original plan for our sexuality, which is our call to LOVE in and through the BODY and nuptial union.
2. We revisited the Garden of Eden and watched SIN enter the picture as Satan twisted and distorted Adam and Eve’s sexual desires.
3. We followed fallen historical man, including ourselves, and watched as sexual impurities and distortions led and continue to lead humanity away from Christ.
4. We looked at the cross, our HOPE, and learned of the REDEMPTIVE power to be set free – to once more love as Christ loves.
5. We examined the ways in which a mindset must be developed in order to understand God’s free, total, faithful, and fruitful love and ways to live this out.
6. We looked at marriage at the physical embodiment of our call to IMAGE God.
7. We looked at the celibate vocation and looked ahead to the promise of the resurrection of the body and our heavenly UNION with God!
8. Now, we will end our study by focusing on the Eucharist, the Consummation of the Cosmos, the consummation of the plan of God, for salvation and sexuality!
But first we must each pray for our eyes and hearts to be opened. The reason Satan has attacked and twisted our sexuality is to distort the goodness and Truth of the Eucharist!
9. As Catholics, we make a very bold claim regarding the Eucharist.
10. We believe that the bread and wine are actually transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, which we receive.
Consummation of the Cosmos
1. As we have concluded before, God’s eternal plan is to unite us to Himself.
“In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.” Ephesians 1:9-10
2. Heaven is the eternal union of the bride (the communion of saints) to the Bridegroom (Christ). Heaven is a union of communion!
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:1-2
If God’s plan is to unite us to Himself, how do we become one with Him?
3. THE EUCHARIST!!! Through the Eucharist we become one flesh with Christ!
“’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32
4. The Eucharist is where we are eternally united to Christ!
5. This is why the Incarnation is the center of the whole Christian mystery – this would not be possible had Christ not taken on our flesh.
6. God became man so that man could become god (god with a small “g” in the sense that we are one with God).
7. Christ humbled himself and took our flesh to offer himself as a sacrifice, so that through His death and Resurrection we too, if united with Him, will die and rise with Him!
8. What is a sacrament?
9. How is the Eucharist a Sacrament?
“Amen Amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
John 6:53-56
God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Since the fall of Adam, God has made covenants with people offering them a second chance in restoring their relationship with him.
2. What is the difference between a contract and a covenant?
3. A covenant is more than a contract – it is an oath that binds two parties together as a family. Through His old covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, God promised that the people of Israel would be His people and He would be their God, their Father.
What is the sign of the old covenant?
4. Circumcision! Why circumcision? Of all things? How incredibly odd is that?
Who will see the sign of the old covenant?
5. A man and his wife.
When?
6. During nuptial union.
What will they be reminded of?
7. Their covenant with God and His promise of fruitfulness to Abraham and his descendants.
What is circumcision?
8. The giving of flesh and the shedding of blood.
Why the male genitals? Why not a mark on the forehead?
9. First, because through the male genitalia we see the physical embodiment of our call to love as God loves, to make a gift of ourselves! And second, so that it will be revealed during nuptial union. And third, to be a reminder of God’s Fatherhood.
10. The Old Covenant prefigures the New and the New Covenant fulfills the Old.
11. The Old covenant is fulfilled through Christ, when God establishes a New Covenant with His people.
What is the sign of the New Covenant?
11. THE EUCHARIST!!!
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:26-29
How is circumcision fulfilled in the Eucharist?
12. Just as circumcision was, the Eucharist reveals God’s call to love.
“Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13
13. Just as circumcision was, the Eucharist is revealed in “nuptial union”
When did Christ participate in nuptial union?
14. In Latin, Consummatum Est!, It is consummated! Christ was consummating His marriage with His bride! The two become one flesh!!!
15. And just as in a wedding, when Christ died the veil was lifted. “Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.” Luke 23:45 Christ’s death had “lifted the veil” which separated God from humanity. God’s redemptive work was completed! His plan of salvation fulfilled! The gates of Heaven reopened to the Heavenly bride!
Through the Eucharist we enter into nuptial union with God!
(But remember, God is not sexual…)
This is exactly what Heaven is; the Eucharist is Heaven on Earth! Through the Eucharist Christ becomes one flesh with His bride, the Church.
“This is my body, given up for you.” Luke 22:19
“For he who has become your husband is your Maker, his name is the Lord of Hosts.”
Isaiah 54:5
“Christ is the Bridegroom because “he has given himself”: his body has been “given,” his blood has been “poured out” (cf. Luke 22:19-20) In this way “he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). The “sincere gift” contained in the sacrifice of the cross gives definitive prominence to the spousal meaning of God’s love…Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of our redemption. It is the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and the Bride.”
John Paul II
You are what you eat: The Body of Christ
1. Isn’t it just a symbol? NO! Remember, Sacraments actually are or partake in the mystery of Christ…let’s look at an example
a. John 4:31-34 and Matthew 16:5-12. Here Jesus talks about food in a figurative way. The Jews interpret Him literally but Jesus shows them in plain language that He is only speaking figuratively
b. Now read John 6 especially John 6:51
c. Jesus stated at least 6 times that He is the Bread of Life. He repeats it again and again that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life.
d. Take note of verse 55: “my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” This is not the language of symbolism.
e. But what if it was meant to be symbolic? Let’s look at verse 66…
2. By receiving Christ into our bodies at Mass, you and I truly become the Body of Christ – each one of called with our specific gifts and talents to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this broken world.
4. What would happen if we truly believed, with our whole hearts, in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity? How would this change our lives?
5. How humble is Christ to become disguised under bread and wine for us? Let us approach Him with reverence, thanksgiving, and belief in His plan.
“I do believe. Help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
Did you know that Christ was crucified naked?
1. Through His very nudity, He revealed, made flesh, the plan of God for our salvation: to be united to Him as a Bridegroom is united to His Bride
2. Can you now understand why Satan’s attack is on sexuality, on the naked body? Because, by attacking the body, God’s perfect plan makes us uncomfortable and inhibits us from ultimately viewing the Eucharist in all its glory, in all its redemptive power!
3. Do you know that sexual intercourse (nuptial union) was from the very beginning was from the very beginning a foreshadowing of Christ union to the Church? This is why Satan hates God’s plan for sexuality and nuptial union…it points us directly to salvation!
4. Just think about it…the Eucharist is where we become “one flesh” with God! It points us to our eternal union with Him and we participate now in this union
(Hmmmmmm…where have we heard this before? The physical points us to the spiritual and we partake in the graces now…)
THE EUCHARIST IS HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!
1. We looked back to the beginning to discover God’s original plan for our sexuality, which is our call to LOVE in and through the BODY and nuptial union.
2. We revisited the Garden of Eden and watched SIN enter the picture as Satan twisted and distorted Adam and Eve’s sexual desires.
3. We followed fallen historical man, including ourselves, and watched as sexual impurities and distortions led and continue to lead humanity away from Christ.
4. We looked at the cross, our HOPE, and learned of the REDEMPTIVE power to be set free – to once more love as Christ loves.
5. We examined the ways in which a mindset must be developed in order to understand God’s free, total, faithful, and fruitful love and ways to live this out.
6. We looked at marriage at the physical embodiment of our call to IMAGE God.
7. We looked at the celibate vocation and looked ahead to the promise of the resurrection of the body and our heavenly UNION with God!
8. Now, we will end our study by focusing on the Eucharist, the Consummation of the Cosmos, the consummation of the plan of God, for salvation and sexuality!
But first we must each pray for our eyes and hearts to be opened. The reason Satan has attacked and twisted our sexuality is to distort the goodness and Truth of the Eucharist!
9. As Catholics, we make a very bold claim regarding the Eucharist.
10. We believe that the bread and wine are actually transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, which we receive.
Consummation of the Cosmos
1. As we have concluded before, God’s eternal plan is to unite us to Himself.
“In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.” Ephesians 1:9-10
2. Heaven is the eternal union of the bride (the communion of saints) to the Bridegroom (Christ). Heaven is a union of communion!
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:1-2
If God’s plan is to unite us to Himself, how do we become one with Him?
3. THE EUCHARIST!!! Through the Eucharist we become one flesh with Christ!
“’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32
4. The Eucharist is where we are eternally united to Christ!
5. This is why the Incarnation is the center of the whole Christian mystery – this would not be possible had Christ not taken on our flesh.
6. God became man so that man could become god (god with a small “g” in the sense that we are one with God).
7. Christ humbled himself and took our flesh to offer himself as a sacrifice, so that through His death and Resurrection we too, if united with Him, will die and rise with Him!
8. What is a sacrament?
9. How is the Eucharist a Sacrament?
“Amen Amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
John 6:53-56
God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Since the fall of Adam, God has made covenants with people offering them a second chance in restoring their relationship with him.
2. What is the difference between a contract and a covenant?
3. A covenant is more than a contract – it is an oath that binds two parties together as a family. Through His old covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, God promised that the people of Israel would be His people and He would be their God, their Father.
What is the sign of the old covenant?
4. Circumcision! Why circumcision? Of all things? How incredibly odd is that?
Who will see the sign of the old covenant?
5. A man and his wife.
When?
6. During nuptial union.
What will they be reminded of?
7. Their covenant with God and His promise of fruitfulness to Abraham and his descendants.
What is circumcision?
8. The giving of flesh and the shedding of blood.
Why the male genitals? Why not a mark on the forehead?
9. First, because through the male genitalia we see the physical embodiment of our call to love as God loves, to make a gift of ourselves! And second, so that it will be revealed during nuptial union. And third, to be a reminder of God’s Fatherhood.
10. The Old Covenant prefigures the New and the New Covenant fulfills the Old.
11. The Old covenant is fulfilled through Christ, when God establishes a New Covenant with His people.
What is the sign of the New Covenant?
11. THE EUCHARIST!!!
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:26-29
How is circumcision fulfilled in the Eucharist?
12. Just as circumcision was, the Eucharist reveals God’s call to love.
“Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13
13. Just as circumcision was, the Eucharist is revealed in “nuptial union”
When did Christ participate in nuptial union?
14. In Latin, Consummatum Est!, It is consummated! Christ was consummating His marriage with His bride! The two become one flesh!!!
15. And just as in a wedding, when Christ died the veil was lifted. “Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.” Luke 23:45 Christ’s death had “lifted the veil” which separated God from humanity. God’s redemptive work was completed! His plan of salvation fulfilled! The gates of Heaven reopened to the Heavenly bride!
Through the Eucharist we enter into nuptial union with God!
(But remember, God is not sexual…)
This is exactly what Heaven is; the Eucharist is Heaven on Earth! Through the Eucharist Christ becomes one flesh with His bride, the Church.
“This is my body, given up for you.” Luke 22:19
“For he who has become your husband is your Maker, his name is the Lord of Hosts.”
Isaiah 54:5
“Christ is the Bridegroom because “he has given himself”: his body has been “given,” his blood has been “poured out” (cf. Luke 22:19-20) In this way “he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). The “sincere gift” contained in the sacrifice of the cross gives definitive prominence to the spousal meaning of God’s love…Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of our redemption. It is the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and the Bride.”
John Paul II
You are what you eat: The Body of Christ
1. Isn’t it just a symbol? NO! Remember, Sacraments actually are or partake in the mystery of Christ…let’s look at an example
a. John 4:31-34 and Matthew 16:5-12. Here Jesus talks about food in a figurative way. The Jews interpret Him literally but Jesus shows them in plain language that He is only speaking figuratively
b. Now read John 6 especially John 6:51
c. Jesus stated at least 6 times that He is the Bread of Life. He repeats it again and again that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life.
d. Take note of verse 55: “my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” This is not the language of symbolism.
e. But what if it was meant to be symbolic? Let’s look at verse 66…
2. By receiving Christ into our bodies at Mass, you and I truly become the Body of Christ – each one of called with our specific gifts and talents to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this broken world.
4. What would happen if we truly believed, with our whole hearts, in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity? How would this change our lives?
5. How humble is Christ to become disguised under bread and wine for us? Let us approach Him with reverence, thanksgiving, and belief in His plan.
“I do believe. Help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
Did you know that Christ was crucified naked?
1. Through His very nudity, He revealed, made flesh, the plan of God for our salvation: to be united to Him as a Bridegroom is united to His Bride
2. Can you now understand why Satan’s attack is on sexuality, on the naked body? Because, by attacking the body, God’s perfect plan makes us uncomfortable and inhibits us from ultimately viewing the Eucharist in all its glory, in all its redemptive power!
3. Do you know that sexual intercourse (nuptial union) was from the very beginning was from the very beginning a foreshadowing of Christ union to the Church? This is why Satan hates God’s plan for sexuality and nuptial union…it points us directly to salvation!
4. Just think about it…the Eucharist is where we become “one flesh” with God! It points us to our eternal union with Him and we participate now in this union
(Hmmmmmm…where have we heard this before? The physical points us to the spiritual and we partake in the graces now…)
THE EUCHARIST IS HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!
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