The Word of God

 The Deposit of Faith

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word
of God which you heard from us,you accepted it not as the word of men but
as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
1 Thessalonians 2, 13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him
with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1, 13

Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me,
in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has
been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
2 Timothy 1, 13-14

Sacred Tradition is the unwritten word of God and thus is a source of divine revelation from which even sacred Scripture (the written word of God) proceeds (Lk 1:1-4). By unwritten or verbally unspoken, we mean all the divine mysteries that are revealed or declared by the Holy Spirit to the Church in the passage of time (Jn 16:12-13). It’s because Tradition or God’s unwritten word is infallible that Scripture, God’s written word, is infallible since both sources of divine revelation originate from the Holy Spirit under the Spirit’s guidance (Tradition) or by the Spirit’s inspiration (Scripture). And since the written word proceeds from the initial unwritten word, Scripture must be interpreted in light of Tradition. The former medium serves as an objective norm or confirmation of the latter. Thus, these two mediums of divine revelation comprise two sides of the same coin, and so they mustn’t be divorced from each other or placed in opposition to each other. This isn’t an either/or proposition.

Tradition literally means “handing on” referring to the passing down of God’s revealed word from the beginning under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, Tradition means all divine revelation from the dawn of human history to the end of the apostolic age from one generation of believers to the next which is safeguarded by the Church (the Rule of Faith) until Christ returns in glory (Mt 28:20). Jesus assures his apostles, “And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (Jn 14:16). The Greek noun for the English word “forever” is αἰῶνα (aiōna). Jesus, then, is telling his disciples that the Holy Spirit or Paraclete will come to them to “always” abide in his Church throughout the entire Messianic age, viz., from the time of Christ’s ascension into heaven and Pentecost to his glorious return at the end of this age.

Further, Tradition may also be said to contain all that is materially presented in Scripture, either explicitly or implicitly. It’s because Scripture isn’t always explicit that, as a sole rule of faith, it is formally insufficient. And so, Tradition often reveals or exposes what is explicitly lacking in Scripture but is there nonetheless as a representation of the verbally unspoken word: the declaration of the Holy Spirit to the Church. The written word and the unwritten word of God mutually support each other in a complementary way, originating from the same divine Author and guarantor of the truth.

Since the beginning, the one, visible, hierarchical Church founded by Christ himself on Peter the rock and the Apostles in a physical line of succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders has understood that Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are bound closely together and correspond with one another towards the same goal in a mutual relationship and that these two mediums of divine revelation flow from the same source, viz. the Holy Spirit. The Church, therefore, has never drawn its certainty about the revealed divine truths from only sacred Scripture. The apostles believed that their preaching was guided by the Holy Spirit, who protects the Church from error (Acts 15:27-28). And it was Paul who wrote that the Church – not Scripture – is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15).

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions
we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
2 Thessalonians 2, 15

Referring to how Christian tradition was handed on, the Vatican ll states: “It was done by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from His way of life and His works, or whether they had learned it from the prompting of the Holy Spirit” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, ll, 7). God was faithful in transmitting the written word, as was evident by the Church’s infallible ruling of which Biblical books and Epistles belonged to the canon of Scripture. Thus, God must also be faithful to His Church in the transmission of His unwritten word declared by the Holy Spirit and preached (spoken) by the apostles and their anointed successors, which manifests in greater fullness what has been revealed by God and committed to writing for communities acquainted with the oral tradition.

According to John Cardinal Henry Newman, Scripture and Tradition aren’t two separate “sources” of divine revelation but rather two “modes” of transmitting the same deposit of faith. In his words: “Totum in scriptura, totum in traditione.” (“All is in Scripture; all is in Tradition.”). These two mediums point towards and embrace each other as constituting together in a single expression the word of God. If Paul had committed everything he preached to his letters, he would have written ‘by word of mouth and by letter.’

Hence, the entire body of Christ – the bishops to the laity – has an anointing that originates from the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 2:20, 27). Being members of one mystical body with Christ as the head, they cannot be deceived as our Lord promised his apostles. This feature of the Church is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) by all the faithful when they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals. And by this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the entire people of God’s household, guided by the Magisterium and obeying it, receive not the mere word of men but truly the word of God declared by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:13); the faith delivered once for all (cf. Lumen Gentium, 12).

“What the body of the Church, together with its pastors, agreed in holding as of faith, is part of revelation since the Church is filled and assisted by the Holy Spirit and cannot be wrong on a matter of faith. This has always been the conviction of the Catholic Church both eastern and western” (Yves Congar, Tradition and Traditions: New York: Macmillan,1966). Isaiah’s prophecy points to the infallible and supernatural Church that Christ has founded on Peter the rock and the Apostles: “And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto you a straight way so that fools shall not err therein” (Isa 35:8; cf. Acts 9:2; 22:4; 24:14,22).

The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart:
that is, the word of faith, which we preach.
Romans 10, 8

On Pentecost, the Church was established as a single and visible historical reality with the descent of the Holy Spirit. It was only then that an unfolding revelation first received by the apostles could be transmitted to future generations under the promised guidance of the Paraclete. The divine truth in all its manifestations and growing fullness has carried with it ever since the seal of the Holy Spirit, whose sanctifying presence guarantees the purity of faith in the Church – the “unblemished” body of Christ. Thus, the seed that has been planted by the apostles must be abided by and sustained through an increase of knowledge and understanding of the Divine mysteries through the inspiration and assistance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8-9). The truth in all its fullness does not exist outside the Catholic Church, where there is neither Scripture nor Tradition on account of these two mediums of divine revelation in the deposit of faith having been divorced from each other.

In the words of the 5th-century monk Vincent of Lerins: “We must hold what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.” Tradition has been described as timeless, although situated in temporal reality. It is an ongoing memory of the whole Church (the one timeless mystical body of Christ) whose principal aim isn’t to restore the past but to better understand it in the present and recollect it in a greater light of faith beyond the limits of time. This memory consists not only of words, written or spoken, but also of how they have been assimilated and expressed liturgically by all the faithful through the centuries and passed on.

Tradition, therefore, is a continual living experience or memory that is relived and renewed over time but adversely unaffected by it without any adulteration of a divine truth presented as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Doctrines have developed over time by having to weather controversial storms through the passing on of Tradition, with Scripture serving as the objective norm of the faith. The written word of God has served to aid the Church in acquiring a deeper and fuller understanding of that which is declared by the Holy Spirit in the sanctifying light of faith concerning the mighty deeds of God in salvation history and the dispensation of His manifold grace.

Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common
salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.
Jude 1, 3

Thus, Tradition is the work of God through which He continues to reveal in greater measure to His Church what has been revealed and worded in the Scriptures. Hidden implications and ramifications in the inspired sacred writings come to light through the handing down of Tradition. The Church’s fundamental doctrines have developed over time with deep reflection and pondering of the heart under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The word of God isn’t altered or fabricated but rather better understood in time through timeless Tradition with the guarantee of the promised Paraclete. The deposit of faith was planted by the apostles in the form of a seed from which one and the same flower has continued to grow and blossom from one mysterious aspect to another. The definition of an article of faith resembles an entire work of mosaic art pieced together one tile at a time.

The apostle called the Church a “mystery,” which meant that, as the kingdom of God in our midst, it could not be understood by reason alone (Eph 5:32). The power to “bind and loose” or interpret divine revelation and define dogma lies with the Universal Magisterium of the world’s bishops in union with the Vicar of Christ. God’s infinite wisdom, which is revealed through His unwritten and written word, is a hidden mystery for all ages that can be made known more fully and with absolute certainty over the passage of time only through the magisterial teaching authority of the one true Church founded by Christ on Peter and the Apostles (Mat 16:15-18; Eph 3:9-10). The Three Pillars of Faith are Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium. Neither pillar can support the one true faith on its own. Nor can the one true faith be infallibly preserved and transmitted if one of the pillars is removed. The Holy Spirit operates in all three pillars combined since the divine truth isn’t relativistic. Nor is it interminably open for debate.

Early Sacred Tradition

“Since, therefore, the tradition from the apostles does thus exist in the Church, and is
permanent among us, let us revert to the Scriptural proof furnished by those apostles who
did also write the Gospel, in which they recorded the doctrine regarding God, pointing out
that our Lord Jesus Christ is the truth, and that no lie is in Him.”
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3,5,1
(inter A.D. 180-189)

“But in learning the Faith and in professing it, acquire and keep that only,
which is now delivered to thee by the Church, and which has been built up
strongly out of all the Scriptures … Take heed then, brethren, and hold fast the
traditions ye now receive.”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 5:12
(A.D. 350)

“But beyond these Scriptural sayings, let us look at the very tradition,
teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which
the Lord gave, the apostles preached, and the Fathers kept.”
St. Athanasius, Four Letters to Serapion of Thumius 1:28
(A.D. 360)

“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth;
for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak,
and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
John 16, 12-13

Pax vobiscum

They Shall Be One Flesh

 The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said: This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Genesis 2, 21-24

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her
husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the
same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.
1 Corinthians 7, 3-4

In the Catholic faith, Holy Matrimony is one of the two sacraments of service along with Holy Orders. Marriage is both a sacrament and a vocation. God is the author of marriage in the order of creation. “The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1603). By vocation, the Catholic Church means a call to persons to accomplish a task preordained by God in the economy of salvation. Archbishop J. Francis Stafford says, “The highest joy in life for a Christian is searching out, discovering, and pursuing the purpose for which God called him into existence. The idea of vocation implies and demands a larger design to life.”

The mutual love between spouses mirrors God's “absolute and unfailing love” for humanity. This love that God blesses “is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation” (CCC, 1604). Thus, marriage as a divine vocation or service ordered by the will of God requires unity and fruitfulness. Spouses are called to grow daily in their communion through constant fidelity to their marriage vow of complete mutual self-giving. Marriage is created by God, so the spouses are called to a perpetual, faithful, and fruitful union directed toward the well-being of the spouses and their offspring. The dissolution of a marriage thwarts God’s purpose for it.

Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife,
as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is
subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in
all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. For
this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh.
Ephesians 5, 22-27, 31

In a sacramental marriage, God’s love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and flows through them to their family and community. The couple reveals something of God's unconditional love through their permanent, faithful, and exclusive giving to each other, symbolized in their conjugal relations and being fruitful. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony involves their entire life as they journey together through the better and the worse of marriage and become more equipped to give to and receive from each other. Their life becomes sacramental to the extent that the spouses cooperate with God’s action in their life and perceive themselves as living “in Christ” and Christ living and acting in them in how they relate to and treat each other. Conjugal love involves a totality in which all the person's characteristics enter. It aims to achieve a deeply personal unity that extends beyond union in one flesh to the formation of one heart, mind, and soul. This Christ-centered love demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual self-giving and sacrifice and is open to fertility. A marriage that is no longer sacramental is a failed marriage.

Holy Matrimony is a sacrament of service. As such a sacrament, a husband and wife's devotion to each other (and thereby to Christ) must mirror Christ’s love and service to the Church. Through marriage, a couple is bound to help build each other and their offspring up in faith, serve each other and the Church, and be faithful to each other until death. In Catholic teaching, six character traits of faithfulness should also be applied to marriage: commitment, love, longsuffering, patience, endurance, and steadfastness.

Marriage is an exclusive lifetime partnership, so marriage must possess these characteristics to be sacramental and successful. A sacramental marriage is vocational, and the spouses in this bond are called to discipleship. Thus, “Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to ‘be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,’ [Eph 5:21] and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life, he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb” (CCC, 1642). The love of the spouses should mirror the love that Christ has for his Church and the love we all should have for each other in our discipleship, “ requires of its very nature, the unity, and indissolubility of the spouses’ community of persons, which embraces their entire life: “so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” They “are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving. This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony” (CCC, 1644).

“By its very nature, conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of their gift to each other. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement “until further notice.” The “intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them” (CCC, 1646). “The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of matrimony, the spouses can represent and witness this fidelity. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning” (CCC 1647).

The Old Testament addresses the fidelity and perpetuity of marriage and likens Yahweh’s covenant with Israel to that between husband and wife. God created man and woman out of love and commanded them to imitate His love in their relations with each other. Man and woman were created for each other: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. … The two of them become one body.” (Gen 2:18, 24). Catholic teaching holds that all the sacraments bestow grace on those who receive them with the proper disposition. Grace describes how God shares His divine life with us and gives us the help we need to live as followers of Christ. In marriage, the grace of this sacrament brings to the spouses the particular help they need to be faithful to each other and good parents. It also helps a couple serve others beyond their immediate family and show the community that a loving and lasting marriage is desirable and possible if centered in Christ.

The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is thus a covenant of love. Being married isn’t just about having a “soul mate” or being with somebody for the sake of practical convenience. Marriage isn’t a business arrangement or even a legal contract. A marriage cannot be healthy or indissoluble in practice unless it is a covenant of unconditional love, despite one’s partner’s imperfections, state of health, or financial contributions. Marriage does not lie within the criteria of a contract but rather that of a covenant. A fundamental difference between a contract and a covenant is that a contract is divided between two human parties and agreed upon as a matter of honor and personal security. Legal proceedings are in place to enforce such private agreements. Each party is more concerned about its own private interests. Unconditional love, fidelity, and self-sacrifice aren’t part of the criteria for signing a legal contract.

“The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises “an institution, confirmed by the divine law. . . even in the eyes of society.” The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with man: “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love” (CCC, 1639). “Thus, the marriage bond has been established by God so that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom” (CCC, 1640). “” The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual and unreserved affection” (CCC, 1645).

Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as his heavenly Father willed it from the beginning. Permission given by Moses to divorce one’s wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. But the union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” (cf. Mt 19:3-10). “By restoring the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. By following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses, spouses will be able to “receive” the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ. This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ’s cross, the source of all Christian life” (CCC, 1615).

The exchange of consent between the spouses makes the marriage valid. If consent is lacking because of coercion or circumstantial pressure, no marriage can thereby be annulled by the Church. Consent must be canonically expressed between two persons capable of giving it. By their free, mutual consent, the couple forms the marriage covenant. It is on this covenant they build a life-long bond. While the sacrament is received at one moment in real-time, sacramental grace continues to flow and be received throughout the married couple’s lives. The offering of themselves to each other is a gift of grace. Grace is added upon grace as they continue to grow in conjugal love and bear the fruits of their marriage.

Thus, marital consent is a free human act that isn’t based on individual self-interest in which the man and the woman offer themselves to each other as gifts of grace. The consent by which the spouses mutually give to each other and receive is sealed by God. The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with human beings. The four characteristics of a marriage blessed by God through the administration of the sacrament are freedom of consent, the totality of giving oneself to the other, faithfulness, and fruitfulness. All these characteristics are grounded on and reinforced by the greatest theological Christian virtue: unconditional love from which flow kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, forbearance, honesty, compassion, mercy, and understanding.

Sacred Scripture confirms Catholic tradition and the sacramental nature of matrimony. We see that, from the beginning, man and woman are joined together by God and become one body as husband and wife (Gen 2:20-24). A human body cannot be divided or dismembered and still be animated with life. A husband and wife share a single soul in one body in the order of God’s creation. God speaks through His prophet and declares, ““For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Mal 2:16).

Indeed, Jesus makes it clear that God joins the husband and wife together according to His will. What God joins together must not be dissolved (Mt 19:6). Our Lord actually says that whoever divorces and remarries another commits adultery (Mt 19:9; Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18). This is an offense against the natural law that has been established by God. Paul reiterates Jesus’ teaching that sacramental marriage followed by a divorce and remarriage is adultery. The apostle writes: ‘Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress’ (Rom 7:2-3; cf. 1 Cor 7:10-11).

The Lord permits divorce only for porneia (πορνεία ). This Greek noun often refers to unlawful sexual intercourse and non-sacramental unions such as between siblings and other close family members (incest). The Lord does not permit divorce for adultery (mocha / μοιχεία), such as in the case of an extra-marital affair. We should note that in unlawful cases, a marriage (between a father and his daughter, for instance) never existed in the first place, so the Lord is not permitting divorce but declaring a dissolution of an unlawful union by annulling it as a non-existent marriage.

But to the married, I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife is not to leave her husband (but
if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband, and that the husband is
not to divorce his wife.
1 Corinthians 7, 10-11

Finally, Paul says that the sacramental union of husband and wife is the image of Christ and the Church. A husband and wife are inseparable as much as Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride the Church are (Eph 5:22-32). A civil divorce cannot dissolve a sacramental marriage between two baptized Christians. However, we have what the Catholic Church calls the “Pauline privilege.” If two unbaptized people marry, and afterward, one of the spouses is baptized, the Christian is free to remarry if the unbaptized spouse decides to end the marriage. This is because the marriage between two unbaptized people is non-sacramental (1 Cor 7:12-15).

The marital union of man and woman reflects Christ’s union with the Church at the heavenly marriage supper (Rev 19:9). Those who get married in the Church must first be baptized and understand this divine mystery. Just as Christ and the Church have become one flesh through the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, and the union brings forth spiritual life for God’s children, a man, and a woman become one flesh, and their union brings forth physical life for the Church. This marital union is sacramental and thus indissoluble.

Hence, Holy Matrimony is one of the two sacraments of service. It is sacramental in that the mutual love between spouses mirrors God's absolute and unfailing love for humanity and Christ for his bride, the Church. A husband and wife's devotion to each other must mirror Christ’s love and service to the Church. In a sacramental marriage, God’s love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and flows through them to their family and community.

By its very vocational nature, marriage is ordered for the good of the couple and for the generation and education of children. Conjugal love involves a totality in which all the person's characteristics enter. It aims to achieve a deeply personal unity that extends beyond union in one flesh to the formation of one heart, mind, and soul. Conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. The Old Testament addresses the fidelity and perpetuity of marriage and likens Yahweh’s covenant with Israel to that between husband and wife. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is thus a covenant of love. The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another makes the marriage valid and is sealed by God Himself. By following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses, spouses (disciples of Christ) will be able to receive the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ.

Early Sacred Tradition

“Flee wicked arts; but all the more discourse regarding them. Speak to my sisters, that they love
in our Lord, and that their husbands be sufficient for them in the flesh and spirit. Then, again,
charge my brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they love their wives, as our Lord
His Church. If any man is able in power to continue in purity, to the honor of the flesh of our
Lord, let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, he is undone; if he becomes known
apart from the bishop, he has destroyed himself. It is becoming, therefore, to men and women
who marry, that they marry with the counsel of the bishop, that the marriage may be in our
Lord, and not in lust. Let everything, therefore, be done for the honor of God.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, To Polycarp, 5
(A.D. 110)

“Now that the Scripture counsels marriage, and allows no release from the union, is expressly
contained in the law, ‘Thou shalt not put away thy wife, except for the cause of fornication;’
and it regards as fornication, the marriage of those separated while the other is alive. Not to
deck and adorn herself beyond what is becoming, renders a wife free of calumnious suspicion
while she devotes herself assiduously to prayers and supplications; avoiding frequent
departures from the house, and shutting herself up as far as possible from the view of all not
related to her, and deeming housekeeping of more consequence than impertinent trifling. ‘He
that taketh a woman that has been put away,’ it is said, ‘committeth adultery; and if one puts
away his wife, he makes her an adulteress,’ that is, compels her to commit adultery. And not
only is he who puts her away guilty of this, but he who takes her, by giving to the woman the
opportunity of sinning; for did he not take her, she would return to her husband.”
St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, 2:24
(A.D. 202)

“‘What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.’ See a teacher’s wisdom. I
mean, that being asked, Is it lawful? He did not at once say, It is not lawful, lest they should be
disturbed and put in disorder, but before the decision by His argument He rendered this
manifest, showing that it is itself too the commandment of His Father, and that not in
opposition to Moses did He enjoin these things, but in full agreement with him. But mark Him
arguing strongly not from the creation only, but also from His command. For He said not that
He made one man and one woman only, but that He also gave this command that the one man
should be joined to the one woman. But if it had been His will that he should put this one away,
and bring in another, when He had made one man, He would have formed many Women. But
now both by the manner of the creation, and by the manner of lawgiving, He showed that one
man must dwell with one woman continually, and never break off from her.”
St. John Chrysostom, On Matthew 62:1
(A.D. 370)

“There is hardly anything more deadly than being married to one who is a stranger to the faith,
where the passions of lust and dissension and the evils of sacrilege are inflamed. Since the
marriage ceremony ought to be sanctified by the priestly veiling and blessing, how can that be
called a marriage ceremony where there is no agreement in faith?”
St. Ambrose, To Vigilius, Letter 19:7
(A.D. 385)

“Therefore the good of marriage throughout all nations and all men stands in the occasion of
begetting, and faith of chastity: but, so far as pertains unto the People of God, also in the
sanctity of the Sacrament, by reason of which it is unlawful for one who leaves her husband,
even when she has been put away, to be married to another, so long as her husband lives, no
not even for the sake of bearing children: and, whereas this is the alone cause, wherefore
marriage takes place, not even where that very thing, wherefore it takes place, follows not, is
the marriage bond loosed, save by the death of the husband or wife.”
St. Augustine, On the Good of Marriage, 24:32
(A.D. 401)

“Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and
female… Have you not read, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’? So they are no longer two but one.
What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Matthew 19, 4-6

Pax vobiscum

This Is My Body, This Is My Blood

 The Last Supper

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it
to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after
giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of
the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will
never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my
Father’s kingdom.
Matthew 26, 26-29

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
1 Corinthians 10, 16

The event of Christ offering himself as the paschal lamb in the Last Supper is what the celebration of the Eucharist became for the New Covenant believers. That night of the Jewish Passover, Jesus transformed the traditional sacrificial meal of the Passover lamb. For us to see how this happened, we must examine the course of our Lord’s supper in the traditional manner. Jesus is celebrating or presiding over the Passover Seder meal with his apostles which requires them to drink four cups of wine. Matthew, however, begins his narrative at the serving of the third cup (Berekah) or the “Cup of Salvation” since Our Lord is looking towards his own immolation as the Passover lamb (Mt 26:29; Mk 14:25). [1] Paul uses the “Cup of Blessing” (Berekah) to refer to the Eucharist, connecting the Seder meal to the Eucharistic sacrifice (1 Cor 10:16). The third cup actually makes present the Paschal sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb who was slain for our sins (Isa 53:7; Jn 1:29).

Yet Jesus omits the serving of the fourth cup (Hallel) or “Cup of Consummation.” This is a significant omission that joins the Eucharistic sacrifice being offered in the Seder meal to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. In other words, they comprise one single sacrifice. The Last Supper, therefore, is a pre-presentation of our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, which is made present in the Seder meal. This one and the same sacrifice isn’t completed until Jesus partakes of the fourth cup of wine just before he dies on the cross after saying, “It is consummated” (Jn 19:29, 30; cf. Mt 27:48; Mk 15:36). [2]

Jesus was given sour wine on a “hyssop” branch that was used to sprinkle the lamb’s blood on the doorposts on the night of the first Passover (Ex 12:22) and by the priests in the sacrificial offerings of the Old Covenant. [3] This joins Christ’s sacrifice of himself to the lambs that were slaughtered and consumed by the Jews in the Seder meal, which was ceremonially completed by drinking the wine in the Cup of Consummation. Thus, Christ’s sacrifice began in the upper room and was completed on Mount Golgotha.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Catholic Church is a re-presentation of this one single sacrifice. It is the Lord’s Supper or Seder meal of the New Covenant that makes Christ’s sacrifice on the cross perpetually present as a visible sign of the marriage feast in heaven (Rev 19:9). St. Paul tells us that we need to celebrate the Eucharistic feast:  “Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:8). In other words, we must worthily eat the flesh of the Lamb of God and drink His blood in the Blessed Sacrament to be in holy communion with God and reap the fruits of Our Lord’s sacrifice (1 Cor 11:17-22).

Hence, the Lord’s Supper isn’t just a symbolic memorial meal, as most Protestants contend, but a marriage feast that marks God’s establishment of the New Covenant in which the Eucharist makes Christ’s one eternal sacrifice present. Scripture confirms this truth in the words of consecration – “Do this in remembrance of me” – used by Jesus in the Last Supper: touto poieite tan eman anamnasin (Lk 22:19; cf. 1 Cor 11:24-25). What our Lord literally says is, “Offer this as a memorial sacrifice.” The Greek verb poiein (ποιεῖν) or “do” is used in the context of offering a sacrifice where, for instance, in the Septuagint, God uses the same word poieseis (ποιέω) regarding the sacrifice of the lambs on the altar (Ex 29:38-39). The noun anamnesis (ἀνάμνησις) or “remembrance” also refers to a sacrifice that is really or actually made present in real-time by the power of God in the Holy Spirit, as it reminds us of the actual event (Heb 10:3; Num 10:10). [4]

So, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass isn’t merely a memorial of a past event but a past event actually made present in time. Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice is the memorial or reminder of what our Lord has accomplished for us and continues to accomplish by his single sacrifice, not what he had accomplished and is finished in time. Only the crucifixion itself remains a past historical event. Christ’s single sacrifice of himself on the cross is ever-present in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

We read in Leviticus 24:7: ‘By each stack put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the LORD.’ The word “memorial” in Hebrew in the sacrificial sense is the feminine noun azkarah ( אַזְכָּרָה ), which means “to actually make present.” There are many instances in the Old Testament where azkarah refers to sacrifices that are currently being offered, and so are present in time (Lev 2:2,9, 6:5; 16; 5-12; Num 5:26; 10:10). [5] These are one and the same sacrifices that are memorially being offered in time. Jesus’ command for us to offer the bread and wine (transubstantiated into his body and blood) as a memorial offering shows that the sacrificial offering of his body and blood is made present in time over and over again while serving as a reminder of what he has accomplished for us through his one, single sacrifice of himself. Thus, the Holy sacrifice of the Mass is sacramentally a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that began at the Last Supper and historically occurred on Calvary.

Sadly, Protestants argue in disbelief that Jesus is speaking metaphorically about eating his flesh and that the bread only symbolizes his body. But the Greek verbs used in John 6 (The Bread of Life Discourse) render their interpretation implausible. Throughout John 6:23-53, the Greek text uses the verb phago (φάγω) nine times. This verb means to literally “eat” or physically “consume.” Jesus repeated himself this often because of the Jews’ disbelief. He was, in a sense, challenging their faith in him while driving an important point home. In fact, many of his disciples deserted him since they knew he was speaking literally and feared he was mad. For this reason, Jesus uses an even more literal verb that describes the process of consuming food (Jn 6: 54, 55, 56, 57). This is the verb trogo (τρώγω) which means to “gnaw” “chew” or “crunch.” Though phago may be used in a metaphorical sense, trogo is never applied symbolically. [6]

Anyway, for further clarification, Jesus says, “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:55). Jesus is responding to those who refused to believe in what he was saying. Also, when Jesus institutes the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, he says, “This is my body and blood” (Mt 26:26; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:19-20). The Greek phrase is “Touto estin to soma mou.” So, what our Lord means to say is “This is really or actually my body and blood.” St. Paul uses the same phraseology in his First Letter to the Corinthians 11:24. Paul does reaffirm that “the cup of blessing” and “the bread of which [the Corinthians] partake” is “actual” participation in Christ’s body and blood” (1 Cor 10:16). The Greek noun koinonia (κοινωνία) denotes a “participation” that isn’t merely symbolic. [7]

Moreover, the Greek text in John’s Gospel uses sarx (σάρξ), which literally means “flesh.” The phrases “real food” and “real drink” contain the adjective alethes (ἀληθής), which means “really” or “truly” (Jn 6:55). This adjective is used on occasion when there is doubt concerning the reality of something, in this case, which is Jesus’ flesh being food to eat and his blood being something to drink for everlasting life. [8] Jesus is assuring his doubters that what he is literally saying is, in fact, true. The Apostles refused to desert Jesus after listening to their Master’s discourse and attended the Seder meal with him, on which occasion, they (except Judas) consumed the flesh of the sacrificed Lamb of God and drank his blood just as the Jewish people ate the flesh of the sacrificed lamb and were sprinkled with its blood for the forgiveness of sin (Ex 12:5-8; 24:8).

Early Sacred Tradition

“For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like
manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh and blood for our
salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the
prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are
nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”
St. Justin Martyr, First Apology, 66
(A.D. 155 )

“He acknowledged the cup (which is a part of the creation) as his own blood,
from which he bedews our blood; and the bread (also a part of creation) he
affirmed to be his own body, from which he gives increase to our bodies.”
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, V:2,2
(c. A.D. 190)

“It is good and beneficial to communicate every day, and to partake of the holy
body and blood of Christ. For He distinctly says, ‘He that eateth my flesh and
drinketh my blood hath eternal life.’ And who doubts that to share frequently in
life, is the same thing as to have manifold life. I, indeed, communicate four times a
week, on the Lord’s day, on Wednesday, on Friday, and on the Sabbath, and on the
other days if there is a commemoration of any Saint.”
St. Basil, To Patrician Caesaria, Epistle 93
(A.D. 372)

“Perhaps you will say, ‘I see something else, how is it that you assert that I receive
the Body of Christ?’ And this is the point which remains for us to prove. And what
evidence shall we make use of? Let us prove that this is not what nature made, but
what the blessing consecrated, and the power of blessing is greater than that of
nature, because by blessing nature itself is changed…The Lord Jesus Himself
proclaims: ‘This is My Body.’ Before the blessing of the heavenly words another
nature is spoken of, after the consecration the Body is signified. He Himself speaks
of His Blood. Before the consecration it has another name, after it is called Blood.
And you say, Amen, that is, It is true. Let the heart within confess what the mouth
utters, let the soul feel what the voice speaks.
St. Ambrose, On the Mysteries, 9:50
(A.D. 390-391)

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger,
and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
John 6, 35

Notes & Sources

[1-3] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (New York: Doubleday, 2011)

[4-8] John Salza, The Biblical Basis for the Eucharist (Huntington, Ill: Our Sunday Visitor, 2008)

Pax vobiscum