Chapter 1: The Eucharist

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:26‭-‬28

In my last post, I wrote about the experience I had with a deep disturbance in my soul upon being what I believe to be supernaturally convicted of the importance of venerating communion.

At this point, communion to me was what many of you readers probably believe. When we take communion, we remember Jesus's sacrifice, and eat bread that symbolizes his body, and drink wine that symbolizes his blood. this is what my family had always thought, this is what the churches I attended had always thought, but something about that day disturbed me greatly.

Around this time I had recently started to connect with an old friend, and us being greatly similar, began talking about religion. We began talking about faith, and the differences in our belief and doctrine. One of the things we discussed was the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. My friend coming from an Eastern Orthodox background of faith, told me that he believed in the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, that when he partook of the body, and of the blood it was just that. It was Jesus's body and blood. Not a symbol, not a representation, the real thing. I staunchly disagreed, intellectually anyway. I told him no, Christians aren't cannibals. It is simply a representation and that's it. Obviously being cordial young people, we agreed to disagree, but honestly, whether I knew it or not, I believe now that, I at that point agreed with him.

After that conversation, I began to read the scriptures in which Jesus instituted communion. In the New testament there are many. As time went on he introduced me to his Orthodox parish, and I experienced a body of believers who in unison believed in the true presence of Christ in the eucharist, believed that it was not merely a symbol but that it was Jesus Christ, and the veneration that they showed toward the sacrament was evident. The precautions they took to make sure that none of Jesus's body or blood was thrown out or disregarded, making sure that it never touched the floor, making sure that it only touched the tongue. Despite me having a seemingly intellectual disagreement with what was believed by the Orthodox Christians, everything about how they practiced the Eucharist rang true with the deep conviction in my heart.

It took a lot of time of prayer and study and conversation, and overall, letting go of my pride to realize that I truly believed, and do to this day that the Holy Eucharist is truly Jesus's blood and body. I believe that it is genuine spiritual medicine for the spiritual life of a believer. I believe that it is important to partake of the divine nature of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist as often as possible. I believe that believers in the context of Christ's church ought to examine themselves and pray as they offer the sacrifice in the form of the Eucharist, to God.

Anybody who knows me probably knows that I am not the kind of person to believe something solely because I feel a certain way. Next week, in my next post I will elaborate on how my head and soul got from believing the Eucharist was a symbol to believing it is the true presence. next week I'm going to deep dive into a little bit of my studies in the early church

Thank you for supporting my Journey of faith, and I pray diligently that the Lord uses my documentation of Faith to strengthen you in yours. Look for the next chapter next Tuesday, God bless.