Institution of the Holy Eucharist

St Matthew Chapter XXVI : Verses 26-30

Contents

• Matt. xxvi. 26-30.  Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
• Notes on the text.

Matt. xxvi. 26-30

Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animas nostras in vitam æternam.
J-J Tissot. brooklyn Museum.

26 And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body.

Cœnantibus autem eis, accepit Jesus panem, et benedixit, ac fregit, deditque discipulis suis, et ait : Accipite, et comedite : hoc est corpus meum.

27 And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this.

Et accipiens calicem, gratias egit : et dedit illis, dicens : Bibite ex hoc omnes.

28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.

Hic est enim sanguis meus novi testamenti, qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum.

29 And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.

Dico autem vobis : non bibam amodo de hoc genimine vitis usque in diem illum, cum illud bibam vobiscum novum in regno Patris mei.

30 And a hymn being said, they went out unto mount Olivet.

Et hymno dicto, exierunt in montem Oliveti.

Notes

    26. whilst they were at supper. Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist during the Paschal Supper. All that was requisite for this Sacrament was at hand : the cup, the red wine (and water), and the unleavened bread.

    Jesus took bread. One of the three unleavened loaves that were brought in on the Paschal table. 

    Note. — St Luke’s account is fuller here : And when the hour was come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him. And he said to them : With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you before I suffer. For I say to you, that from this time, I will not eat it till it he fulfilled in the kinqdom of God (xxii. 15, 16).

    blessed, and broke : and gave. The order of. the actions seems to indicate that Jesus consecrated, at that part of the ritual meal, where the celebrant broke the unleavened bread, and passed it round to each one present. Whether this supposition be correct or not, it was when Jesus, blessing, broke and gave to them, that the miracle of Transubstantiation was effected. By the words of Christ, which operated what they signified, the substance of the bread passed away and was replaced by the substance of Christ’s body and blood, while the accidents (i.e. the taste, form, smell, colour, etc. of the bread) remained. This miracle of Transubstantiation is repeated at the consecration of the Mass, when the priest pronounces over the bread the words which Christ used at the first celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

    This is my body. This is a mystery of faith, which therefore none can understand. We believe and worship our Eucharistic Lord under the humble appearances of bread and wine, and Blessed are they that have not seen and have believed (St John xx. 29).

    Christ had promised about a year previously, If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life : and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed ; and my blood is drink indeed (St John vi, 52, 55, 56). These words would have recurred to the apostles on this occasion.

    27. taking the chalice. Possibly the third cup, “the cup of blessing,” if we may conclude this from St Paul’s words. The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord ? (1 Cor. X. 16).

    gave thanks. It was customary for the celebrant to give thanks before partaking of the “ cup of blessing,” which was then passed round to all.

    Drink ye all of this. In St Mark we read : They all drank of it, i.e. all present, but whether Judas was there is uncertain ; it is difficult to ascertain the exact order of events, as the Evangelists place them differently. St Matthew, however, agrees with St Mark.

    The words they all drank do not imply that all communicants must drink of the chalice under pain of receiving what some non-Catholics call a mutilated sacrament. The Catholic Church teaches that Christ is present whole and entire under either species, hence it is not necessary that those who communicate should receive under both kinds. This has been allowed, and may be again, as it is a matter of discipline, which the Church has power to regulate. For priests celebrating Mass, it is an obligation to receive under both kinds, since the separate consecration of the bread and wine represent the separation of the blood of Christ from His sacred body, which separation actually took place on Mount Calvary, and the Holy Mass is a shewing forth of the Passion and Death of Christ.

    28. this is my blood. Jesus had by His divine power changed the wine into His precious blood.

    of the new testament. This is a reference here to Exodus xxiv. 8 : And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said, This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you, etc. When God made a covenant with His people of old, it was sealed with the blood of the victims. Jesus tells His disciples that His blood, contained in the chalice, is the sealing of the New Covenant, for the Law is to pass away and to give place to the Catholic Church, which is destined to be the home of all nations.

    which shall be shed. These words had also a present signification. They referred primarily —

    (a) To the Sacrament and Sacrifice Jesus was then instituting.
    (b) To His Sacrifice on the Cross.

    (c) To the mystical shewing forth of His Sacred Passion and Death in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

    for many. For all, so far as our Lord’s desire extended, since He wills the salvation of all men. Some writers understand by many, the whole human race ; others, who believe Judas to have drunk of the chalice, see in these words an allusion to the inutility of Christ’s sufferings as far as the traitor was concerned. A third opinion put forth is that Christ used a double form of words, shed for you (St Luke xxii. 20), and shed for many.

    The Church has not decided which form Christ used, but she has adopted both in the Canon of the Mass, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. These words are not generally considered part of the essential words of consecration.

    unto remission of sins. These words are peculiar to St Matthew.

    29. I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine. Possibly an allusion to the words of blessing pronounced over the third cup (i.e. of blessing) — Blessed be Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who hast created the fruit of the vine.

    when I shall drink it with you new. Jesus again refers to His death. The whole expression evidently alludes to the joys of heaven, which are spoken of as a marriage supper (St Luke xxii. 30). The same figure is also used in Apoc. xix. 9 : Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The word here translated new signifies in the original Greek of a new kind. The Eucharistic Banquet was in future to take the place of the Paschal Supper.

    30. a hymn being said. Lit. “having chanted” (ὑμνήσαντες). This probably refers to the chanting of the last part of the Hallel (Psalms cxiv.-cxvii.).

    to the mount of Olives. This mountain was situated outside the city walls, within a sabbath-day's journey from Jerusalem.

    Josephus tells us that the gates were opened at midnight, so that those who wished to leave the city could do so (see Antiq., xviii. 2. 2), therefore it must have been after midnight when Jesus and His disciples went to the Mount of Olives, since the gates of the city were only thrown open then, having been closed since sunset. On leaving the Cenaculum, Jesus and His little band of disciples, taking a northerly direction, would have to pass the house of Annas and Caiphas ; then, according to a local tradition, they turned due east and went down the flights of steps that led to Ophel, the poorest quarter of Jerusalem, and to the gate of the south-east of the city. Thence the road led north-east until they came to the brook Cedron. A bridge spanned the brook, close to which lay Gethsemani.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.