Inspired by the Church Fathers - New Evangelizers

Editor’s note: Today we welcome Pete Socks as a contributor to the New Evangelizers blog.

In November of 2012 I struck out on a venture. The idea was to take my love of books and share that love via the blogosphere with whoever might be interested.

Fast-forward seven months. After multiple book reviews, interviews with leading authors, and an established weekly book giveaway, I find myself here at New Evangelizers.

What am I doing here? I hope to expand on what I offer at my site, www.catholicbookblogger.com. I want to share what I have learned in the books I read with the readers here at New Evangelizers. My contributions though will be more than book reviews.

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One of my new interests is the early Church Fathers. I first discovered the writings of these men at the encouragement of my spiritual director, and I followed it shortly by reading an excellent book, Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Matter and Always Will, by Mike Aquilina. Through the reading I have done on the Church Fathers it has become strikingly apparent to me that they still speak to us today.

A common theme I have found to be so faith-affirming is the Fathers’ stance on the Eucharist.

As Catholics we have a treasure in the Eucharist. It has been said that if not for the Last Supper, Christ’s death would have been just another Roman execution. The early Fathers knew this and believed it.

The sacrifice of the Eucharist was immediately picked up and carried on by the original Twelve Apostles and then passed on to their followers. Thus began the line of Tradition that predates the Gospels and makes sense of the Gospels.

Consider that the New Testament Gospels did not exist for the first two centuries of the infant Church’s life. What they had instead was Christ Himself, the Church, and Tradition. The Eucharist which was taught by Christ himself was passed on and reserved by the next generation of Christians. “This is my Body, this is my blood.” These words were taken literally by the Church Fathers and they should be by us as well.

Some examples from the Church Fathers:

St. Justin Martyr:

“This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God’s Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.”

St. Clement of Alexandria:

“The Word is everything to a child: both Father and Mother, both Instructor and Nurse. ‘Eat My Flesh,’ He says, ‘and drink My Blood.’ The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients. He delivers over His Flesh, and pours out His Blood; and nothing is lacking for the growth of His children. O incredible mystery!”

And in the Didache itself, a document widely regarded as the instruction manual for the Mass of the early Christians:

“On the Lord’s own day, assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks; but first confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure. However, no one quarreling with his brother may join your meeting until they are reconciled; your sacrifice must not be defiled. For here we have the saying of the Lord: ‘In every place and time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I am a mighty King, says the Lord; and my name spreads terror among the nations.”

The Eucharist was so firmly believed by the Early Church Fathers that they willingly accepted martyrdom in its defense. In his Letter to the Romans, Saint Ignatius of Antioch implored his readers not to stop his martyrdom as he was being led to Rome for his eventual death. He embraced martyrdom and equated it to the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ:

I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may be no trouble to any one. 

How much do you believe in the Eucharist? Would you die for it? The Church Fathers are a powerful witness to its truth. Two thousand years later the Church Fathers still have a voice and a message, one that needs to be heard, and lived, and loved.

Copyright © 2013, Pete Socks

Pete Socks

Pete Socks is a converted Catholic still learning the faith after 17 years. He continues to learn the riches of our Faith through books. The passion to read has led to his side "job" as a book reviewer for leading Catholic publishers. You can find his reviews, author interviews and weekly giveaways at Catholic Book Blogger He hopes to take what he finds between the covers of books and bring it to a new audience here at New Evangelizers.