Below is a question a found on monachos.net, if anyone can offer help pls do.
Odo
____________________________________________-
Greetings!
I am an Episcopal priest who is seeking to understand more deeply the Patristic understandings of the Holy Eucharist. At the moment I am reading St. Gregory of Nyssa, specifically, the 37th chapter of his
Great Catechism. I confess that I am having a hard time grasping Gregory's argument here, and I was hoping you might interpret this chapter for me.
As far as I can make out, Gregory is saying that Christ, through his Word, assimilates bread to himself and through this assimilation it becomes his body, just as we, in a sense, become bread when we consume bread or bread becomes body when we consume bread. Thus, the consecrated elements truly become the body and blood of Christ. I gather that a key words that Gregory uses are "transelements" and "transforms," but
unfortunately I do not read Greek and so cannot investigate further what these words really mean for Gregory.
I'd really appreciate your help. Thank you.
Pax,
Fr. Alvin Kimel
