GREAT MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST
ORTHODOXY’S GREAT TREASURE
“Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you . . .”
A Commentary on the references to the Eucharist.
Belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity of one nature and one essence, this is part of our primary belief and knowledge of God, but belief is only a starting point of the journey of faith which leads to the eternal kingdom. We repeatedly seal ourselves with the sign of the Cross invoking the names of the Father Son and Holy Spirit which identifies us as Orthodox Christians. We learned from unwritten Holy Tradition, dating back to the fourth century , how to make the sign of the Cross. Without our sacred tradition we would make no progress toward the ultimate goal which is everlasting life.
Belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity of one nature and one essence, this is part of our primary belief and knowledge of God, but belief is only a starting point of the journey of faith which leads to the eternal kingdom. We repeatedly seal ourselves with the sign of the Cross invoking the names of the Father Son and Holy Spirit which identifies us as Orthodox Christians. We learned from unwritten Holy Tradition, dating back to the fourth century , how to make the sign of the Cross. Without our sacred tradition we would make no progress toward the ultimate goal which is everlasting life.
The evil one raises every type of obstacle to hamper and scuttle our progress, for he is the hater of God and man. He is maliciously skilled and extensively experienced , and performs his deceptive work of hampering our progress, and we could not prevent him ourselves, for we could do nothing without Jesus Christ, who has already fought and won the victorious battle. He overthrew and despoiled the authority of the Evil One. He is the only God man, the Head of the Church, the good and kind Savior, who out of sacrificial love, taught us genuine love and He remains the all-powerful ally, of those who approach him with fear, faith and devotion.
Christian life does not stand still and we must make progress. Progress can best be understood, as a starting point and a known goal at the outset. We may fall but we must always get up and get back on the royal path. In Orthodox life, we can either progress toward that goal, or we can stagnate, retrogress, or go astray, but we can return and remain on the right path and strive toward our goal which is: “to reach the stature of the fullness of Christ,” For this we need help, hence Paul writes: “ Come unto me all you who are weary and heavily laden and you will find rest for your souls. Learn of me for I am meek and humble in my heart.”
