The concepts of memorial sacrifice and meal are two essential dimensions of the scriptural understanding of the Eucharist. This paper will explore both ideas as they are articulated in chapters three and six of Roch Kereszty, OCist’s book the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. In chapter three, Kereszty points out that the Eucharist, according to 1 Cor 15:3, was a ritual act that St. Paul “received” and “handed over” to his fellow Christian brothers and sisters from the apostles James, Peter, and John—who, in turn, received it from Jesus. (22) The tradition of celebrating the Last Supper or Eucharist “is[, therefore,] not of human origin but comes from Jesus himself.” (Kereszty, pg. 23) From Paul’s account of the Last Supper (1 Cor 23-26), it is possible, according to Kereszty, to derive two facts: first, the risen Christ is the host or victim being offered; and second, Jesus is also the chief celebrant of this sacrificial meal. (23) By engaging in the Eucharistic act of remembrance (i.e. the Last Supper, passion, death, and Resurrection of Christ), Christians are sharing in the life-saving events of Jesus’ life while also, at the same time, exalting the risen Lord …show more content…
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and the sacrificial Eucharistic theology that it provides. In 1 Corinthians 6:15, St. Paul poses the question, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (66) This text is significant because “in Hebrew thinking, the body of a person is the person himself in his tangible and visible reality.” (Kereszty, pg. 65) Through the establishment of the Eucharistic meal and his sacrifice on the cross, Christians are now able to be more mysteriously united to Christ when then share in the memorial feast of the Lord’s Supper. (66) As First Corinthians (10:16-17) so eloquently reminds Christ’s faithful, the “cup of blessing” and the “bread that… [they] break” is “a participation in the body of