“When the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, Christ Himself
officiates, borrowing the mouth and body of each priest!
Christ is the Offerer and the Offered.
The priest does not sacrifice Christ, but Christ
sacrifices Himself.
The priest does not officiate with the help of Christ,
but Christ officiates with the help of the priest.
The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in memory of the
Nativity, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord!
First the Soul receives Communion, and then the Body….
Without Divine Communion we cannot become
dispassionate.
If someone does not receive Communion continuously and
regularly, he cannot defeat the enemies (Demons) and of course he will not be
able to progress spiritually.
I hear some say:
I have received Communion and I do not feel anything….
The changes that take place within us are slow and
secret, because our faith is small.
The first thought that we will have, immediately after
Holy Communion, will reveal what Grace we have received, and what is the fruit
of this great Gift on earth.
If the first thought that will sprout in the intellect
is humble, is the acquisition of self-reproach, is the fruit of self-knowledge,
then we have Communed well.
Otherwise, someone can Commune, but Christ can
immediately come out of him.
When we Commune, Holy Communion, that is, Christ, does
not go to the stomach, He goes to the soul.
Holy Communion, although it is bread and wine, is
transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ, which is spirit, it does
not contain material ingredients, therefore it goes directly to the soul.
It nourishes the soul, which is graced, sanctified and
deified.
This Grace of the Holy Spirit is then transmitted to
all the cells of the body.
Thus, first the soul communes, and then the body.
That is, it sanctifies both the body and the soul!
+Elder Ephraim, of the Holy Skete of the Apostle
Andrew, Mount Athos.
