With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you

St Luke Chapter XXII : Verses 14-20

Contents

• Luke xxii. Verses 14-20.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Catena Aurea of St Thomas Aquinas

Luke xxii. Verses 14-20.

Christ gives first Holy Communion at the Last Supper.
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.

Et cum facta esset hora, discubuit, et duodecim apostoli cum eo.

15 And he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer.

Et ait illis : Desiderio desideravi hoc pascha manducare vobiscum, antequam patiar.

16 For I say to you, that from this time I will not eat it, till it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

Dico enim vobis, quia ex hoc non manducabo illud, donec impleatur in regno Dei.

17 And having taken the chalice, he gave thanks, and said: Take, and divide it among you:

Et accepto calice gratias egit, et dixit : Accipite, et dividite inter vos.

18 For I say to you, that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, till the kingdom of God come.

Dico enim vobis quod non bibam de generatione vitis donec regnum Dei veniat.

19 And taking bread, he gave thanks, and brake; and gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me.

Et accepto pane gratias egit, et fregit, et dedit eis, dicens : Hoc est corpus meum, quod pro vobis datur : hoc facite in meam commemorationem.

20 In like manner the chalice also, after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you.

Similiter et calicem, postquam coenavit, dicens : Hic est calix novum testamentum in sanguine meo, qui pro vobis fundetur.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

14. And when the houre was come, he ſate downe, and the twelue Apoſtles with him.

15. And he ſaid to them: With deſire I haue deſired to eate this Paſche with you before I ſuffer.
16. For I ſay to you, that from this time I wil not eate it, til it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.
17. And taking the chalice he gaue thankes, and ſaid: Take and deuide among you.
18. For I ſay to you, that I wil not drinke of the generation of the vine, til the Kingdom of God doe come.
19. And taking bread, he gaue thankes, and brake; and gaue it to them, ſaying: THIS IS MY BODY WHICH IS GIVEN FOR YOV. Doe this for a commemoration of me.
20. In like manner the chalice alſo, after he had ſupped, ſaying: THIS IS THE CHALICE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MY BLOVD, WHICH SHAL BE SHED FOR YOV.

 

Annotations

 [Adapted from the Catena Aurea of St Thomas Aquinas]

    14. And when the hour was come, &c. BEDE. By the hour of eating the Passover, He signifies the fourteenth day of the first month, far gone towards evening, the fifteenth moon just appearing on the earth.

    he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.  THEOPHYLACT. But how is our Lord said to sit down, whereas the Jews eat the Passover standing? They say, that when they had eaten the legal Passover, they sat down, according to the common custom, to eat their other food.

    15. And he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, &c. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. He says this, because the covetous disciple was looking out for the time for betraying Him; but that he might not betray Him before the feast of the Passover, our Lord had not divulged either the house, or the man with whom He should keep the Passover. That this was the cause is very evident from these words.    

    THEOPHYLACT. Or He says, With desire I have desired; as if to say, This is My last supper with you, therefore it is most precious and welcome to Me; just as those who are going away to a distance, utter the last words to their friends most affectionately.

    CHRYSOSTOM. Or He says this, because after that Passover the Cross was at hand. But we find Him frequently prophesying of His own Passion, and desiring it to take place.

EUSEBIUS. Or else; When our Lord was celebrating the new Passover, He fitly said, With desire I have desired this pasch with you, that is, the new mystery of the New Testament which He gave to His disciples, and which many prophets and righteous men desired before Him. He then also Himself thirsting for the common salvation, delivered this mystery, to suffice for the whole world. But the Passover was ordained by Moses to be celebrated in one place, that is, in Jerusalem. Therefore it was not adapted for the whole world, and so was not desired.

    16. For I say to you, that from this time I will not eat it, till it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.   BEDE. Thus then was our Lord the approver of the legal Passover; and as He taught that it related to the figure of His own dispensation, He forbids it henceforth to be represented in the flesh. That is, I will no more celebrate the Mosaic Passover, until, being spiritually understood, it is fulfilled in the Church. For the Church is the kingdom of God; as in Luke, The kingdom of God is within you. (Luke xvii. 21.) 

    20. And taking bread, he gave thanks, and brake; and gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me. BEDE. Having finished the rites of the old Passover, He passes on to the new, which He desires the Church to celebrate in memory of His redemption, substituting for the flesh and blood of the lamb, the Sacrament of His own Flesh and Blood in the figure of the bread and wine, being made a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech. (Ps. cix. 4.) Hence it is said, And he took bread, and gave thanks, (Heb. vii. 21.) as also He had given thanks upon finishing the old feast, leaving us an example to glorify God at the beginning and end of every good work. It follows, And brake. He Himself breaks the bread which He holds forth, to shew that the breaking of His Body, that is, His Passion, will not be without His will. and gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. 

    GREGORY OF NYSSA. (Orat. de Bapt. Christ.) For the bread before the consecration is common bread, but when the mystery has consecrated it, it is, and it is called, the Body of Christ.

    CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. (in Luc.) Nor doubt that this is true; for He plainly says, This is my body; but rather receive the words of thy Saviour in faith. For since He is the Truth, He lies not. (Ep. ad Calosyr.). ... He must needs then be in a certain manner united to our bodies by His holy Body and precious Blood, which we have received for a life-giving blessing in the bread and wine. For lest we should be shocked, seeing the Flesh and Blood placed on the holy altars, God, in compassion to our infirmities, pours into the offerings the power of life, changing them into the reality of His own flesh, that the body of life may be found in us, as it were a certain life-giving seed. He adds. Do this in commemoration of me.

    CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 46. in Joan.) Christ did this to bring us to a closer bond of friendship, and to betoken His love toward us, giving Himself to those who desire Him, ... to eat Him, to embrace Him with the fulness of their whole heart. Therefore as lions breathing fire do we depart from that table, rendered objects of terror to the devil.

    BASIL. (Moral. Reg. 21. c. 3. Reg. Brev. ad int. 172.) Learn then in what manner you ought to eat the Body of Christ, namely, in remembrance of Christ’s obedience even unto death, that they who live may no more live in themselves, but in Him who died for them, and rose again. (2 Cor. 5:15.)

    21. In like manner the chalice also, after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you.   THEOPHYLACT. Our Lord calls the cup the New Testament, as it follows, This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you, signifying that the New Testament has its beginning in His blood. For in the Old Testament the blood of animals was present when the law was given, but now the blood of the Word of God signifies to us the New Testament. But when He says, for you, He does not mean that for the Apostles only was His Body given, and His Blood poured out, but for the sake of all mankind. And the old Passover was ordained to remove the slavery of Egypt; but the blood of the lamb to protect the first-born. The new Passover was ordained to the remission of sins; but the Blood of Christ to preserve those who are dedicated to God.

    CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. 46. in Joan.) For this Blood moulds in us a royal image, it suffers not our nobleness of soul to waste away, moreover it refreshes the soul, and inspires it with great virtue. This Blood puts to flight the devils, summons angels, and the Lord of angels. This Blood poured forth washed the world, and made heaven open. They that partake of it are built up with heavenly virtues, and arrayed in the royal robes of Christ; yea rather clothed upon by the King Himself. And since if thou comest clean, thou comest healthfully; so if polluted by an evil conscience, thou comest to thy own destruction, to pain and torment. For if they who defile the imperial purple are smitten with the same punishment as those who tear it asunder, it is not unreasonable that they who with an unclean heart receive Christ should be beaten with the same stripes as they were who pierced Him with nails.

    THEOPHYLACT. But first the bread is given, next the cup. For in spiritual things labour and action come first, that is, the bread, not only because it is toiled for by the sweat of the brow, but also because while being eaten it is not easy to swallow. Then after labour follows the rejoicing of Divine grace, which is the cup.

    BEDE. For this reason then the Apostles communicated after supper, because it was necessary that the typical passover should be first completed, and then they should pass on to the Sacrament of the true Passover. But now in honour of so great a Sacrament, the masters of the Church think right that we should first be refreshed with the spiritual banquet, and afterward with the earthly.

    GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Eutychius Patriarch.) He that communicates receives the whole Body and Blood of our Lord, even though he receive but a part of the Mysteries. For as one seal imparts the whole of its device to different substances, and yet remains entire after distribution, and as one word penetrates to the hearing of many, so there is no doubt that the Body and Blood of our Lord is received whole in all. But the breaking of the sacred bread signifies the Passion.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.