"And let all take care that no unbaptized person tastes of the Eucharist nor a mouse or other animal and that none of it at all fall and be lost. For it is the Body of Christ to be eaten by them that believe and not to be lightly thought of.”
-St. Hippolytus (3rd C.)
For Reflection:
Name at least three ways this quote shows the consistent teaching of the Church regarding the Eucharist. Does my demeanor toward the Eucharist reflect that I do not think of it lightly? In what one way can I improve my attitude?
"O God, O Creator, O Spirit of life overwhelming Your creatures with ever new graces! You grant to Your chosen ones the gift which is ever renewed: the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ!..O my soul, how can you refrain from plunging yourself ever deeper and deeper into the love of Christ, who did not forget you in life or in death, but who willed to give himself wholly to you, and to unite you to Himself forever?" -(St. Angela of Foligno).
Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Every Day of the Liturgical Year by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D Meditation 200, page 582