From the first apology in
defense of the Christians by Saint Justin, martyr
The celebration of the Eucharist
No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in
the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he
lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.
We do not consume the Eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have
been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by
the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood
assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate
Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.
The apostles, in their
recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded
them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in
memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks
and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever
since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich
among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we
praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the
Holy Spirit.
On Sunday we have a common
assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying
districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets
are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president
of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of
virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.
On the conclusion of our
prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers
prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent
by saying, “Amen.” The Eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates,
and the deacons take it to those who are absent.
The wealthy, if they wish, may
make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is
placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and
widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are
sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in
need.
We hold our common assembly on
Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put
darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same
day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday
and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the
things that we have passed on for your consideration.
From the Office of Readings - Third Sunday of Easter.
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