The document discusses how the Eucharist is prefigured and foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament. It references the offerings of bread and wine by Melchizedek and how they point to Christ's eternal priesthood. It also discusses how the manna from heaven, the Passover lamb, and the bread of the presence prefigure the Eucharist. The document then covers the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus at the Last Supper and his appearance to the disciples after his resurrection where he is recognized in the breaking of bread.

1. THE BODY OF CHRIST
WORSHIP

2. 1 THE EUCHARIST
IN THE BIBLE

3. THE OLD
TESTAMENT

4. The sacrifice of Melchizedek, high priest,
who offered bread and wine, material of the Eucharist
to give thanks for the victory of Abraham (cf. Génesis 14, 1)
a gesture that would laterbe recalled by Saint Paul
in reference to Christ as “eternal priest”
of the order of Melchizedek. (Heb 7,11)
THE EUCHARIST
IS PREFIGURED
IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT

5. The offering
of Melchizedek
Genesis . 14,18-20.S.
*This myesterious
personality presented as
the King of Salem, and
priest of the Most Higth
God, unexpectedly appears
in the life of Abraham,
offering him bread and
wine and blessing the
patriarch and God for
having given him victory
over powerful kings.
(cf. Gén 14,18-20).

6. The offering
of Melchizedek
*this personality also
appears in the famous
psalm «Oracle of the Lord
my God”, who proclaims
the priestly dignity
of the davidic King:
«you are a priest forever
according to the rite
of Melchizedek»
(psalm 110,4).
This psalm is one of the
most quoted in the New
Testament, even mentioned
by Jesus himself
(cf. Mt 22,41-46).

7. The offering
of Melchizedek
*the letter to the Hebrews, in a
long passage (cf. Hb 7-), makes
a paralelism with Melchisedek
to present Jesus as the only
priest, supreme and eternal,
who since he is Son, assures a
perfect relation with God.
This unique priest has offered
once and for all the unique
sacrifice, his own body and
blood. The whole Christian
tradition mentions the type of
offering Melchizedek made –
bread and wine which are
figures of the eucharist.

8. The sacrifice of Abraham - The memory of the sacrifice of the patriarch
prefigures the eucharist first as an example of faith, that is, of our total and free
surrender to God, uniting ourselves to the complete offering of Christ. Gén22.

9. The sacrifice of Abraham
Moreover in Jesus’ case God went further that abraham: “He didn’t
pardon his own son but surrrendered him for all of us” (Rm 8,32).
In the eucharist we recall and celebrate that “God so loved the world
he surrended his only Son”. (Jn 3,16)

10. The sacrifice
of Abraham
*the letter to the
hebrews says that
Abraham when
offering Isaac,
«thought that God had
the power to raise the
dead and therefore
recovered Isaac as a
figure of the future»
(Hb 11,19).

11. The Passover Lamb
The Passover Lamb was efficacious:
that is, it produced an effect. If you
sacrificed and ate the lamb, your
firstborn would live. Eating the
lamb was part of the ritual, and was
commanded by God (Exodus 12:8-11).

12. In the New Testament,
Christ, the firstborn of God,
is explicitly called “our
Passover Lamb”
(1 Corinthians 5:7), and
commands us to eat His Body
(Matthew 26:26) to live
forever (John 6:54).
Like the first Passover lamb
of Old, the Sacrifice of our
Passover Lamb on the Cross
is the Atonement of the world,
which we partake of most
directly by eating the flesh
of that same Lamb
in the Eucharist.

13. old rabbinical writings
show that the manna
was tied in with Jewish
expectations of the
Messiah.
- It’s the food of the
Jewish Exodus from
Egypt, the food for the
journey.
- It stops once they
arrive in the Promised
Land (Exodus 16:35).
-And significantly, this
food comes down from
Heaven.(Psalm 78:24),
- and it’s the food of
angels (Psalm 78:25).

14. THE LAMB OF
ATONEMENT
God commanded Moses
that once a year in the
solemn feast of
the Expiation,
he would place his hands
over a male goat so as to
unload unto it all the sins
of the Israelites,
and then release it
in the desert.

15. THE LAMB OF ATONEMENT
John the Baptist presents Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away
the sins of the world, substituting the lamb of expiation for sin

16. THE LAMB OF
ATONEMENT
It was a way of showing
that God forgot and
pardoned the guilt of
the people.
(cf. Lv 16,20-22).
Jesus said: «this is my
blood…., which is shed
for all for the
forgiveness of sins».
The death of Jesus,
whose effect reaches
us in the Eucharist,
is the definitive
source of pardon.

17. The bread of proposition were continually
exposed in the Temple of God, and only the
pure could partake of them (cf Ex 25,30)

18. Elijah flees from Queen
Jezebel into the wilderness.
After wandering for a day,
he sinks down by a lone tree
and begs God to let him die.
Instead, he is sent an angel
who brings a “hearth cake
and a jug of water.” But this
was not normal food—
it was enough to sustain him
on a 40-day journey to
Mt. Horeb where he had
a profound encounter with
God in the “whistling of a
gentle air.” 1 Kings 19

19. “Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her
severn pillars, She has prepared her food, she has
mixed her wine; She has also set her table”…”(Proverbs 9, 1)
Prophecies of the Eucharist

20. “And the LORD their God will save them
in that day as the flock of His people;
For they are as the stones of a crown,
sparkling in His land.
For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs!
Grain will make the young men flourish
and new wine the virgins” (Zacaríah 9, 16);

21. My name will be great among
the nations, from where the
sun rises to where it sets.
In every place incense and
pure offerings will be brought
to me, because my name will
be great among the nations,”
says the LORD Almighty.”
(Malachy 1, 11)

22. THE NEW
TESTAMENT

23. The sign of water turned into wine at Cana already announces the Hour of Jesus'
glorification. It makes manifest the fulfillment of the wedding feast in the Father's kingdom,
where the faithful will drink the new wine that has become the Blood of Christ. CCC 1335
Signs of the eucharist in the gospels

24. “You give them something to eat.” Lc 9,15
The miracles of the multiplication of the
loaves, when the Lord says the blessing,
breaks and distributes the loaves through
his disciples to feed the multitude,
prefigure the superabundance of this
unique bread of his Eucharist. CCC 1335

25. Late in the afternoon the
Twelve came to him and said,
“Send the crowd away so
they can go to the
surrounding villages and
countryside and find food
and lodging, because we are
in a remote place here.”
He replied, “You give them
something to eat.”
They answered, “We have
only five loaves of bread
and two fish—unless we go
and buy food for all
this crowd.” (About five
thousand men were there.)

26. But he said to his
disciples, “Have them sit
down in groups of about
fifty each.” The disciples
did so, and everyone sat
down. Taking the five
loaves and the two fish
and looking up to
heaven, he gave thanks
and broke them.
Then he gave them to the
disciples to distribute to
the people. They all ate
and were satisfied, and
the disciples picked up
twelve basketfuls of
broken pieces that
were left over.Lk 9,12- 17

27. In the “Our Father”, Jesus asks for our bread –
"Daily" (epiousios) occurs nowhere else in the
New Testament. Taken in a temporal sense, this
word is a pedagogical repetition of "this day,“
to confirm us in trust "without reservation."
Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what
is necessary for life, and more broadly every
good thing sufficient for subsistence. Taken
literally (epi-ousios: "super-essential"), it refers
directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ,
the "medicine of immortality," without
which we have no life within us.

28. - Finally in this connection, its heavenly meaning is evident: "this day" is the Day of the Lord, the
day of the feast of the kingdom, anticipated in the Eucharist that is already the foretaste of the
kingdom to come. For this reason it is fitting for the Eucharistic Liturgy to be celebrated each day.

29. The Eucharist is our daily bread. The power belonging to
this divine food makes it a bond of union. Its effect is then
understood as unity, so that, gathered into his Body and
made members of him, we may become what we receive. . . .
This also is our daily bread: the readings you hear each
day in church and the hymns you hear and sing. All these
are necessities for our pilgrimage.[St Agustín] CCC 2837

30. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." --------"Very truly, I tell you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;
55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father,
so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like
that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." Jn 6,51-

31. “This is the bread that came down from heaven,
not like that which your ancestors ate,
and they died, but the one who eats this bread
will live forever." Jn 6,51

32. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them,
saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you,
I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day
when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”Mt 26,26
THE INSTITUTION
OF THE EUCHARIST

33. “Take this all of you and eat of it,
this is my body which
will be given up for you”

34. THE RISEN BODY
OF JESUS CHRIST

35. The Road to Emmaus - he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you
are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then
enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

36. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as
if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us,
because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” Lk 24,25

37. So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with
them, he took bread, blessed
and broke it, and
gave it to them.
Then their eyes were
opened, and they
recognized him;
and he vanished
from their sight.
Lk 24,30