"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
A word about "remembrance". Some have used this word in English to reduce the meaning of the Holy Eucharist to a memorial, thereby obviating the deeper question of the real presence of Christ in the elements on the Altar. It is not a mere memorial. The Greek word anamnesis does mean remember when translated literally into English, but its meaning is deeper than than. It means more than just to conjure up an image of a thing or event that happened in the past. In addition to remembering, it also calls the reader to bring that image or event from the past and to the present. There is a sense that one actually makes the past a part of the present.
While the priest is not re-sacrificing Christ on the Altar, once was quite sufficient for the entirety of creation, the Eucharist is more than mere memorial, it is in a sense a spiritual re-enactment of Christ's offering of his body and blood to us so that we might continually share in his presence. As Anglican's we believe that Christ is present in the bread and wine, his body and blood. Exactly how this happens remains, to a great extent, a mystery; but a few heavenly mysteries are what make our faith exciting and supernatural.
Fr. Michael+
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