Αναζήτηση αυτού του ιστολογίου
Δευτέρα 13 Φεβρουαρίου 2017
WHY DO WE RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION? HOW DOES HOLY COMMUNION HELP US TO COME CLOSER TO GOD?
WHY
DO WE RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION?
HOW
DOES HOLY COMMUNION HELP US TO
COME
CLOSER TO GOD?
ANGELS
CELEBRATING THE DIVINE LITURGY
A
human being becomes united with whatever he eats more than with anything else he
does in life. Therefore by eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Jesus
Christ unites us with Jesus. In this
way, we become Christ-like. This, of
course, does not make us magically holy.
But by uniting us with God in Christ, it strengthens us to be able to
endure the great martyrdom of LOVE. For without Holy Communion, dear Lord, I
cannot fulfill your commandment “to love one another” and especially to love
our enemies. (Luke 6: 27-36). We usually say: “I want to hate my enemies.”
On the other hand, if I love unconditionally, most people will take advantage
of me; they will betray me and turn against me.
And as a result of this, I will either be annihilated or I will stop
loving people in obedience to your commandments. I will love only those that love me and have
conditional compassion for others. But I
will arm myself with your Body and Blood and this will allow me to endure the
problems of life and obey your commandments.
When
a person receives Holy Communion, a manifold unity takes place with the whole
universe. During Holy Communion the
whole of creation is transformed. Holy
Communion brings together the whole material cosmos which is represented by these
two basic foods, bread and wine, which express the relationship of man with the
created universe. This is so because there
is a purposeful relationship in eating this food. Fr. Alexander Shmemann says that “man lives
because he eats.” In other words, when receiving
Holy Communion a Christian takes within himself the whole cosmos and is united
with it. Secondly this unique food encapsulates the
whole of humanity with the supernatural presence of Jesus Christ. In receiving this food the Christian becomes the
New Adam. When a Christian takes Holy
Communion all human beings are joined together from all eternity. The third reality in Holy Communion is the
presence of the complete Godhead because Jesus Christ, as God, is always united
with the other two persons of the Holy Trinity. Holy Communion is the reenactment of the
crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ because His Body was tortured and
His Blood was spilled. In this act Christ
abolished all the sacrifices of the ancient religions and initiated the only
true way of worship, the only true sacrifice, the self-sacrifice of Jesus.
This
is how we look upon a Christian who receives Holy Communion. Receiving Holy Communion is the highest act
of unity that we can achieve as human beings with all of humanity and the whole
creation of God. Man also mystically participates in the
crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
He also is united to every other person who receives Holy Communion on
that particular day because we all receive from the Common Cup.
In
reference to the (προσκομιδή-the
preparation of the elements for Holy Communion), which is really the beginning
of the Divine Liturgy, the priest cuts from the (πρόσφορον-the offering bread) the following
portions: the Lamb of God which becomes
the consecrated Host, the portion that honors the Holy Mother, portions honoring
the angels and the saints. Near the end
of this service of preparation the priest commemorates the members of his
family and finally he commemorates the names of the living and the dead. These
are the names that have been submitted to him by the members of the
parish. All of these portions that are taken
from the offering bread are placed on the discos (δισκάριον) which eventually end up in the chalice to
be consecrated for Holy Communion. When
therefore the time comes to dispense Holy Communion to the faithful from the
Common Cup of LOVE not only does it unite all of us, but the contents of the
chalice become a microcosm of the universe.
Finally
we note that the portions of the (πρόσφορον-
the offering bread), that become consecrated, symbolize our unity. The prosphoro is round because in symbolizes
the universe. Whatever remains from the
proskomidi and is not consecrated is cut up into small cubes and is distributed
to those who have not received Holy Communion.
It is called (άντίδωρον—in
place of the Gifts). The practice today is
all the faithful in attendance receive the anidoron at the end of the Divine
Liturgy.
The Theologian Th. I. Rigniotis, November,
2012
Translated from the Greek and edited by:
+Fr. Costas J. Simones, Waterford, CT, USA,
February 11, 2017
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