Quotes of the Day for May 4, 2026 – Thoughts on Holy Communion and our transformation
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“…the person who “lives in the Eucharist and through the Eucharist,” to recall Fr. Florovsky’s words, (when, of course, that Eucharist is properly celebrated) becomes accustomed to looking not only “upwards” but also “forwards.” In other words, he gets into the habit of placing himself, his works and history itself under the light and the judgment of the Kingdom, always and in everything seeking its ultimate meaning (“ Seek ye first the Kingdom of heaven and its righteousness” [in other words, its love], Mt. 6: 33), of leaving the final judgment of other people in the hands of God, and of seeing in all things the ultimate destiny of their incorporation and survival in Christ unto “the age which does not end or grow old.” (Metropolitan John Zizioulas)
“ ‘And supper being ended . . . [Jesus] rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded’ (John 13:2–5). Jesus here drives home the lesson of humility in an exceptionally dramatic way. The hands that held heaven and earth were now employed in the washing of the disciples! This foot washing did not occur before or after supper but during. It was not, that is, a preparation for the Eucharist but part and parcel of it.” (Matthew the Poor)
“We receive Communion not because we are worthy but rather because we are the unworthy sinners in need of God’s salvation. It is Christ who makes us worthy to receive Communion without being judged by Him. The Apostles receive Communion at the Last Supper not because they were sinless or perfect, but because they accepted the gift of salvation from the Savior. We are not made worthy by our own efforts-no amount of fasting, asceticism, or even contrition will make us worthy. We rely on Christ our Savior for our salvation.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“The goal of the Holy Eucharist is not the consecration of bread and wine, but the consecration of human beings…Those who receive Communion are to become what they receive, making present in the world the sacrificial love of Christ for their neighbors in all that they do and are. In their uniqueness, they are to become living icons of the Savior’s deification of the human person.” (Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon, Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“As the priest breaks the Bread of the Eucharist, he says quietly: “Divided and distributed is the Lamb of God: who is divided, yet not disunited; who is ever eaten, yet never consumed; but sanctifying those who partake thereof.” We eat without “consuming.” The Body of Christ is not commodified. It is not reduced to an object to be disunited and consumed. Parts of creation are given to us for “food” but not for our consumption. Creation itself is given to us as a Eucharistic gift. It is to be eaten in the manner which the Eucharist itself teaches us. The purpose of eating and drinking in the Eucharist is communion with God. The same is true for the whole of our life. Learning to eat in communion with God, indeed, learning to live in communion with God, is to live free of the commodification of the world around us.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
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