About the sacrament of communion. Lanchanskoye Miracle. (photo) Communion of the body and blood of Christ

COMMUNICATION OF THE HOLY MYSTERIES OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you will not receive life. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me and I in him" (John 6:53,56). With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which was established by the Lord at the Last Supper.
"Jesus, taking bread and saying a prayer of blessing over it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: take, eat, this is My Body. Taking the cup and saying a prayer of thanksgiving, He gave it to them, saying: drink everything from it, this is My Blood, the Blood of the New Testament (Contract), which is shed for so many people for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26, 26-28).
In the Eucharist we are mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the shattered lamb the whole Christ is contained. The sacrament of the Eucharist transcends the possibilities of our reason. Communion cleanses the soul from sins, kindles the love of Christ in us, elevates the heart to God, engenders virtues in it, restrains the attack of dark forces on us, grants strength against temptations, revitalizes the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, strengthens virtues.
The Eucharist Prayer says:
... so that when we take communion
The Holy Mysteries brought purification of souls and forgiveness of sins,
the communion of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the kingdomsa heavenlyO,
confidence before You is not condemnation or punishment e…
(liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)
Father Valentin Sventsitsky writes: "The Eucharist is the basis of that real unity that we tea in the general resurrection, for both in the transubstantiation of the Gifts and in our Communion is the guarantee of our salvation and resurrection, not only spiritual, but also bodily."
Elder Parthenius of Kiev once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, repeated the prayer in himself for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and let me live in You” and heard a quiet, sweet voice: “Eating My Flesh and drinking My Blood abides in Me and Az in it."
St. John of Kronstadt teaches about the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the fight against strong temptations: “If you feel the weight of the struggle and see that you cannot cope with evil alone, run to your spiritual father and ask him to partake of the Holy Mysteries. This is a great and all-powerful weapon in fight."
Repentance alone is not enough to preserve the purity of our heart and strengthen our spirit in piety and virtue. The Lord said: “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came out. And when he comes, he finds it swept and cleaned. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits worse than themselves, and having entered, dwell there. And the last thing for that man is worse than the first" (Luke 11:24-26).
So, if repentance cleanses us from the filthiness of our soul, then the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will infuse us with grace and prevent the return of the evil spirit, expelled by repentance, into our soul.
As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “It is a great thing to receive the Holy Mysteries and great are the fruits of this: the renewal of our heart with the Holy Spirit, the blissful mood of the spirit. And how great this work is, it requires so thorough preparation from us. Communion to receive the grace of God - try in every possible way to correct your heart.
An indispensable condition for partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is the forgiveness of all one's offenders. In a state of anger or enmity against someone, in no case should one take communion.
In preparing for Communion, one must take into account the following indication of St. John of Kronstadt: "Some put all their well-being and service before God in reading all the prescribed prayers, not paying attention to the readiness of the heart for God - to their inner correction, for example, many read the rule for communion in this way. Meanwhile, here, first of all, you need to look to the correction and readiness of the heart to receive the Holy Mysteries. If the heart has become right in your womb, by the grace of God, if it is ready to meet the Bridegroom, then glory to God, although you did not have time to subtract all the prayers. "The kingdom of God is not in the word, but in strength "(1 Cor. 4, 20). Obedience in everything to the mother of the Church is good, but with prudence, and, if possible," able to contain "- a long prayer -" let him contain. "But" not everyone can accommodate this word "( Matt. 19:11); if prolonged prayer is incompatible with ardor of spirit, it is better to make a short but fervent prayer. Let us recall that one word of the publican, spoken from a warm heart, justified him. God looks not at a multitude of words, but at the disposition of the heart . The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins.

Your secret supperday b, Son of God, take part in me.

According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, the only true performer of the Eucharist is Christ Himself: He is invisibly present in the church and acts through the priest.
The Eucharist is the Last Supper itself, renewed daily by Christ and continuously, from that Paschal night when Christ reclined at the table with His disciples, continuing in the Church. "Your secret supper today (today), Son of God, take part in me," we say, approaching Communion. Not only the Last Supper, but also the Calvary sacrifice of Christ is renewed at each Liturgy: "The King of kings and the Lord of lords comes to be sacrificed and given as food to the faithful" (from Holy Saturday Liturgy).
Union with Christ in the Eucharist is not symbolic and figurative, but true, real and whole. Just as Christ penetrates bread and wine with Himself, filling them with His Divinity, so He enters into a person, filling his flesh and soul with His life-giving presence and Divine energy. In the Eucharist we become, in the words of the Holy Fathers, "in the body" with Christ, Who enters us as into the womb of the Virgin Mary. St. Simeon the New Theologian writes that Christ, uniting with us, makes all the members of our body divine: “You are our relative according to the flesh, and we (Your relatives) according to Your Divinity... You are with us now and forever, and you make each one a habitation and dwell in all... each of us individually is with Thee, Savior, all with the All, and You are with each one individually, One with one... And thus each of us becomes a member of the Body of Christ ... and together we become gods, living with God."
Christ said: "Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day b" (John 6:53-54). Therefore, the Holy Fathers advised Christians never to deviate from the Eucharist and to take communion as often as possible. "Try to gather more often for the Eucharist and praise of God a," says Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer ( "gather for the Eucharist i" means to take communion, since at the time of St. Ignatius at the Eucharist, all those present took communion). The Monk Nilus (4th century) says: “Abstain from everything corruptible and every day partake of the divine Supper, for in this way the Body of Christ is our m".
The practice of rare communion, only on major holidays or fasts, or even once a year, arose as the spirit of Eucharistic piety weakened in the Church, when some began to avoid communion out of a sense of their own unworthiness (as if by communing rarely they became more worthy), and for others, communion has become a formality - a "religious duty" that must be fulfilled.
The question of how often it is necessary to receive communion was widely discussed in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, when preparations were underway for the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was recommended to return to the early Christian practice of communion every Sunday. It was emphasized that a person is never worthy of this great sacrament, because all people are sinners, but the Eucharist was given so that, by communing and uniting with Christ, we become more pure and worthy of God. St. John Cassian the Roman spoke about this in the 5th century: “We should not abstain from the Lord’s communion because we recognize ourselves as sinners. But even more and more we need to hasten to him for healing the soul and purifying the spirit, however, with such humility of spirit and faith that, considering ourselves unworthy of receiving such grace, we desired more healing of our pa n."
If in the first three centuries after Christ, weekly, and even daily communion was the norm of Christian life, then this, obviously, was a consequence of the intensity of spiritual burning that was observed in the Church of the era of persecution. The weakening of the Eucharistic consciousness is directly related to the general decline in the level of spiritual life in subsequent centuries. It is quite natural that where persecution resumed, where Christians found themselves in conditions where belonging to the Church meant readiness for martyrdom, and lived under the threat of death, the Eucharist again became the focus of Christian life. So it was in Soviet Russia after the revolution, so it was among the thousands of Christians of the Russian diaspora who found themselves deprived of their homeland.
Emphasizing that no one can be worthy n communion, the Holy Fathers, however, constantly reminded that everyone approaching the sacrament should be goto to meet Christ. First of all, readiness for communion is due to the fulfillment of the Commandments, purity of conscience, the absence of enmity against neighbors or resentment against anyone, peace in relation to all people: ".. .If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift y "(Matt. 5:23-24). Preparation for communion is the very life of a Christian in union with Christ in the fulfillment of His Teachings and should not be limited to reading a certain number of prayers and abstaining from certain types of food.
All the instructions regarding the preparation for the Eucharist are aimed at making the person approaching the sacrament aware of his sinfulness and proceed with a feeling of deep repentance. In the prayer before communion, the priest, and with him all the people, repeating the words of the holy Apostle Paul, each calls himself "the first of sinners": "I believe, Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, but from them I am the first h. Only the consciousness of one's total unworthiness makes a person worthy to approach the Eucharist.
Contrition from the consciousness of one's own sinfulness, however, does not prevent a Christian from perceiving the Eucharist as a holiday and joy. By its very nature, the Eucharist is a solemn Thanksgiving, the main mood of which is praise to God. This is the secret of the Eucharist: one must approach it with repentance and at the same time with joy - with repentance from the consciousness of one’s unworthiness and joy from the fact that the Lord in the Eucharist purifies, sanctifies and deifies a person, makes him worthy m despite the unworthiness. In the Eucharist, not only bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, but the communicant himself is changed from an old person into a new one, being freed from the burden of sins and enlightened by Divine light. Adapted from Bishop Hilarion's book "The Sacrament of Faith."

HOLY COMMUNICATION - THE BASIS OF SPIRITUAL LIFE

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him m. (John 6:56).

The Divine Eucharist is the focus of all church life and the basis of the spiritual life of every Orthodox person. The Eucharist according to the patristic name is "Mystery of the Sacraments" church. Holy Communion always reminds us of our consecration to God in the sacrament of baptism, reveals to us the faith of the Church... All the sacraments of the Church are connected with the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist that communicates reality to them. Bishop Vasily (Krivoshein) († 1985), says that "The sacrament of the Eucharist is also (like baptism) the sacrament of the death and life of Christ and at the same time the proclamation of His saving work and the expectation of His Second Coming: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes. t "(1 Cor. 11:26). Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is the source and guarantee of our resurrection, as the Lord Himself testifies to this: "Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day... He who eats this bread will live for ever k" (John 6:53-54, 58). That is why St. Ignatius of Antioch calls the Body and Blood of Christ the medicine of immortality, the antidote so as not to die (see Eph. 20:2).
Like the New Testament Paschal meal, the Divine Liturgy each time reveals the Pascha of Christ to the faithful and reminds them of the glorious Second Coming of Christ. "We proclaim your death, O Lord, we confess your resurrection m!" - exclaimed after the deacons all the participants in the Divine Liturgy in the Ancient Church.
The feast of all church holidays is Easter. ... In the Announcement for Easter, St. John Chrysostom ... calls for Holy Communion with these words: "Fasting and not fasting, rejoice today! The meal is full, enjoy it all! u!".
The duty of every Christian is to partake of the Holy Mysteries as often as possible, ... to be faithful to the commandment of Christ: Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you... For example, Saints Basil and John Chrysostom ... expressed concern that zeal for the Eucharist was being lost among Christians. Saint Basil the Great wrote: “It is good and profitable to commune and receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ every day, because Christ Himself clearly says: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has Eternal Life” (John 6:54). We commune four times every week: on the Lord's Day, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and also on other days, if there is a memory of any saint This is evidence of the Eucharistic practice of ascetics, monks. But the Sunday Eucharist, as church canons say, was intended for everyone.
The practice of extremely rare communion of the majority of Orthodox in the pre-revolutionary period in Rus' is known. The great preacher of the Eucharist, the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, greatly regretted this. In one of his sermons he said: "There are people who, only out of need and necessity, begin to receive the Holy Mysteries once a year. This is also not good, because they are already fulfilling their Christian duty as if under duress, out of necessity ... And if the Lord is the True Bread, then we must desire this Bread not only once a year, but, if possible, every month,every week, even every day. Why is that? Because it is daily bread for us, for our souls, and since we need daily bread every day, we need heavenly food - the Body and Blood of Christ every day. Therefore, in the Lord's Prayer we pray: Give us our daily bread today.."
We find the most ardent calls to Communion in the works of the righteous John of Kronstadt, who is most often depicted on icons with the Eucharistic chalice. For the 20th century, terrible because of the persecution, the Eucharistic revival became a guarantee of the preservation of Orthodoxy itself in Russia. It is during times of persecution that the Eucharist, as the sacrament of the suffering and Resurrection of Christ, becomes more than ever a desired Holy Meal for an Orthodox person. Who does not know examples of how the Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ was valued in prisons, camps and exiles?!
At the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, an amazing prayer is raised for the unity of Christians: “But all of us, from the One Bread and the Chalice of those who partake, unite to each other, in the One Holy Spirit of communion e...." Such a peaceful unity of people on earth is possible only through the holy Eucharist. The Eucharist, by its liturgical nature, testifies to the common, and not only personal salvation, and to the love of Christians for each other. The call to Communion is at the same time a call to love each other to a friend. "With the fear of God, faith and love, he will begin e!"
Apostolic canons 8 and 9, as well as other ecclesiastical institutions corresponding to them in the teaching of the Church on the Eucharist (canons 66 and 80 of the Council of Trullo, 2 of Antioch and 11 of Serdic) clearly show that the Church of Christ calls always and all his children to constant participation in the saving Eucharist - the New Testament Paschal Meal. These rules state that clergymen who do not take communion at the liturgy "are made to cause harm to the people at "God (Ap. 8th), that those who do not partake at the liturgy are faithful - "doing nonsense e" (Ap. 9th), that those who do not partake "avoid order a" of the church and should confess in this (Antioch. 2nd), that non-participation in the three liturgies "on three Sundays for three weeks b" threatens with removal from church communion (6th Ecumenical Council, 80s).
… In order to make our Christian life a real life in Christ, the Church obliges each of us to be faithful to our Baptism and each Resurrection to come together to Holy Communion – the source of life in the Spirit and the guarantee of eternal salvation.
(Based on an article by Archpriest Boris Pivovarov).

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU COMMUNICATE THE HOLY MYSTERIES?

"the more the better"

Saint John Chrysostom answers.
Holy righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt pointed to the forgotten the apostolic rule is to excommunicate those who have not been at Holy Communion for three weeks. Archbishop Arseniy (Chudovskoy) writes: "Permanent Communion should be the ideal of all Christians. But the enemy of the human race ... immediately understood what power the Lord had given us in the Holy Mysteries. And he began the work of rejecting Christians from Holy Communion. We know from the history of Christianity that at first Christians received communion daily, then 4 times a week, then on Sundays and holidays, and there - in all fasts, that is, 4 times a year, finally, barely once a year, and now even less often. "A Christian must always be ready for death and Communion," said one of the spiritual fathers. So, it is up to us to frequently participate in the Last Supper of Christ and to receive at it the great grace of the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.
One of the spiritual daughters of Elder Father Aleksy Mechev once told him: “Sometimes you yearn with your soul to unite with the Lord through Communion, but the thought that you have received Communion recently keeps you. This means the Lord touches the heart,” the elder answered her, “so that’s all.” these cold reasonings are not needed and not appropriate... I often commune you, I proceed from the idea of ​​bringing you to the Lord, so that you feel how good it is to be with Christ."
One of the wise pastors of the twentieth century, Fr. Valentin Sventsitsky writes: "Without frequent communion, spiritual life in the world is impossible.. For your body dries up and becomes powerless when you do not give it food. And the soul demands its heavenly food. Otherwise, it will dry up and weaken. Without communion, the spiritual fire in You will die out. Fill it with worldly rubbish. In order to get rid of this rubbish, we need a fire that burns the thorns of our sins. Spiritual life is not an abstract theology, but a real and most undoubted life in Christ. But how can it begin if you do not receive in this terrible and great sacrament the fullness of the Spirit of Christ? How, having not accepted the Flesh and Blood of Christ, will you live in Him? And here, as in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will build you all sorts of intrigues. He will erect many external and internal barriers. Then you will have no time, then you will feel unwell, then you will want to postpone for a while, "to better prepare." Do not listen. Go. Confess. Communion. You don't know when the Lord will call you."
Let not the soul be embarrassed by the fact that, with all its repentance, it is still unworthy of Communion. This is what the old man says about it. Alexy Mechev: Communion more often and do not say that you are unworthy. If you talk like that, you will never take communion, because you will never be worthy. Do you think that there is at least one person on Earth who is worthy of communion of the Holy Mysteries? No one is worthy of this, and if we do receive communion, it is only through the special mercy of God. We are not created for Communion, but Communion is for us. It is we, the sinners, the unworthy, the weak, who need this saving source more than anyone."
And here is what the well-known Moscow pastor, Fr. Valentin Amfiteatrov: "... You need to be ready every day for Communion, as for death ... Those who often commune are my friends. The ancient Christians communed every day. You need to approach the Holy Chalice and think that you are unworthy and cry out with humility: everything is here, in You, Lord - and mother, and father, and husband - everything is You, Lord, and joy and consolation.
The well-known elder of the Pskov-Caves Monastery, Schemagumen Savva (1898-1980), in his book "On the Divine Liturgy" wrote as follows: apostles: "I longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer," (Luke 22.15). ... He ardently desired the Passover of the New Testament, that Passover in which He sacrifices Himself. He offers Himself as food. The words of Jesus Christ can be expressed as follows: the desire for love and mercy "I really wanted to eat with you this Easter because all my love for you is imprinted in it, and all your true life and bliss. If the Lord, in his inexpressible love, so ardently desires it not for his own sake, but for ours, then how ardently we must desire it, out of love and gratitude to Him, and for our own good and bliss!
Christ said: "Take it, eat it.. "(Mark 14, 22). He offered us His Body not for a single or infrequent and occasional use, as medicine, but for constant and constant nutrition: eat, not taste. But if the Body of Christ were offered to us only as medicine, then even then we would have to ask permission to take communion as often as possible, since we are weak in soul and body, and spiritual infirmities especially affect us. The Lord gave us the Holy Mysteries as daily bread, according to His word: "bread, his own I am a lady, my flesh is" (John 6, 51). From this it is clear that Christ not only allowed, but also command l so that we often approach His meal. We do not leave ourselves for a long time without ordinary bread, knowing that otherwise our strength will be weakened, and bodily life will cease. How can we not be afraid to leave ourselves for a long time without the bread of heaven, the divine, without the bread of life?
Those who rarely approach the Holy Chalice usually say in their defense: "We are unworthy, we are not ready." And whoever is not ready, let him not be lazy and get ready. Not a single person is worthy of fellowship with the all-holy Lord, because God alone is sinless, but we have been given the right to believe, repent, correct, be forgiven and trust in the grace of the Savior of sinners and the Seeker of the lost.
Those who carelessly leave themselves unworthy of fellowship with Christ on earth will remain unworthy of fellowship with Him in Heaven. Is it reasonable to remove oneself from the Source of life, power, light and grace? Reasonable is he who, to the best of his ability, correcting his unworthiness, resorts to Jesus Christ in His Most Pure Mysteries, otherwise the humble consciousness of his unworthiness can turn into coldness towards faith and the work of his salvation. Adapted from the book: EXPLANATION TO THE MYSTERIES OF CONFESSION AND HOLY COMMUNICATION, priest Dimitri Galkin.

From the teachings of St. Innocent, Enlightener of America:

THE BOWL OF LIFE, IMMORTALITY, LOVE AND HOLY.

The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is food on the way to the kingdom of heaven e. But is it possible to go on a long and difficult journey without food? The body and blood of Jesus Christ is visible shrine I, betrayed to us and left to us by Jesus Christ Himself for our sanctification. But who would not want to be a participant in such a Holy Place and be sanctified? So, do not be lazy to approach the cup of life, immortality, love and holiness; but approach with the fear of God and faith. And whoever does not want and cares about it, he does not love Jesus Christ, and he will not receive the Holy Spirit and, therefore, he will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

On the need for Orthodox Christians to often partake of the Divine Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
Saint Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer, Saint Macarius of Corinth
http://www.wco.ru/biblio/books/nikodim_sv1/Main.htm

It is commanded to all Orthodox Christians to partake often, firstly, of the Sovereign Commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, secondly, of the Acts and Rules of the Holy Apostles and Holy Councils, as well as the testimonies of the divine Fathers, thirdly, by the words themselves, the rite and sacred action of the Holy Liturgy, and fourthly, and finally, Holy Communion itself.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, before giving the Sacrament of Communion, said: “The bread that I will give is My Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. That is, the food that I want to give you is My Flesh that I want to give for the revitalization of the whole world. This means that Divine Communion for believers is a necessary component of the spiritual and according to Christ life. But since this spiritual and according to Christ life should not be quenched and interrupted (as the Apostle says, do not quench the spirit), but must be constant and uninterrupted, so that the living do not live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again (according to the same Apostle), that is, so that the living faithful would no longer live a life of their own and carnal, but the life of Christ, who died and rose again for them, - with necessity, therefore, it is required that what constitutes it, that is, Divine Communion, be permanent.
And elsewhere the Lord says commandingly: "Truly, truly, I say to you, ifAnd If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you. and." From these words, it becomes clear that Divine Communion is as necessary for Christians as holy Baptism is necessary. Since the same double command that He spoke about Baptism, He said about Divine Communion. Of holy Baptism He said: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. e." And about Divine Communion in a similar way: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you. and." So, just as without Baptism it is impossible for anyone to live a spiritual life and be saved, so it is impossible for anyone to live without Divine Communion. However, since these two [Sacraments] have this difference, that Baptism occurs once, and Divine Communion is performed constantly and daily, from this it is concluded that there are two necessary things in Divine Communion: firstly, it must be performed, and secondly, it must be performed constantly.
Moreover, when the Lord gave this Sacrament to His disciples, He did not say to them in the form of advice: “Whoever wants, let him eat My Body, and whoever wants, let him drink My Blood”, as He said: “If anyone wants to follow Me and "if you want to be perfect". But He declared commandingly: "Take, eat, this is My Body oh," and "drink everything from it, it's Mo's Blood I." That is, by all means you must eat My Body and you must definitely drink My Blood. And again he says: "Do this in my remembrance e. "That is, I commit this Sacrament to you, so that it is performed not once, or twice, or three times, but daily (as the divine Chrysostom explains) in remembrance of My sufferings, My death and all My economy of salvation.
These words of the Lord clearly represent the two necessary [points] in Communion: one is the obligatory command they contain, and the other is the duration indicated by the word "creates e", which, of course, means that we are commanded not only to take communion, but to take communion unceasingly. So, everyone now sees that the Orthodox are not allowed to violate this command, no matter what rank it may be, but he is charged with the duty and obligation to keep it is indispensable to accept this as the Master's commandments and ordinances.
The divine apostles, following this urgent commandment of our Lord, at the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel, at the first opportunity, gathered with all the faithful in a secret place because of fear from the Jews, taught Christians, prayed, and, celebrating the Sacrament, took communion themselves and all assembled, as St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, where he says that the three thousand who believed in Christ on the day of Pentecost and were baptized were with the apostles to hear their teaching, to gain benefit from them, to pray with them and partake of the Most Pure Mysteries in order to be sanctified and it is better to be affirmed in the faith of Christ. "They were constantly," he says, "in the teaching of the apostles, in communion and breaking bread, and in prayer." And so that this necessary tradition of the Lord was preserved by subsequent Christians and not forgotten over time, what the apostles did then, they wrote in their 8th and 9th Canons, commanding with a strict test and with the punishment of excommunication, so that no one would be left without Communion of the Divine Mysteries, when the Holy Liturgy is celebrated. "If a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or anyone from the holy list does not take communion when making an offering: let him present the reason, and if there is a blessing, let him be excused. If he does not present: let him be excommunicated from the communion of the Church, the fault of harm to the people, and who brought suspicion to the one who made the offering, as if he had done it wrong. That is, if someone does not take communion when the Holy Liturgy is celebrated, let him say the reason why he did not take communion, and if it is respectful, let him be forgiven, but if he does not say this, then he should be excommunicated.
And in the 9th canon they say: "All the faithful who enter the church and listen to the scriptures, but do not remain in prayer and Holy Communion to the end, as if they are causing disorder in the church, should be excommunicated from the fellowship of the Church." That is, all those believers who come to church and listen to the Scriptures, but do not remain in prayer and do not partake of Holy Communion, must be excommunicated from the Church, because they are causing outrage in the church.
Explaining this rule, Balsamon says: "The definition of this rule is very severe, for it excommunicates those who come to the church and do not stay to the end and do not receive communion." And other canons similarly command that everyone be ready and worthy of Communion.
The Council of Antioch, following the holy apostles, first confirms their above rule, and then adds: “All who enter the church and listen to the sacred writings, but due to some deviation from the order, do not participate in prayer with the people or turn away from Communion of the holy Eucharist, yes will be excommunicated from the Church until then, as they confess, they will bear the fruits of repentance and will ask for forgiveness, and in this way they will be able to receive it. That is, all those who enter the church and listen to the sacred scriptures, but do not pray together with the rest of the people or refuse Divine Communion, should be absent until they confess and show the fruits of repentance, and ask for forgiveness, after which can be forgiven.
So, do you see that all Christians are subject to indispensable excommunication and must take communion often, and that they are obliged to do this at every Liturgy, so as not to be excommunicated both by the holy apostles and the holy Synod?
And just as a baby, when it is born, cries and asks with great eagerness for food and milk, and when it does not eat, has no appetite, then this is a sign that he is sick and in danger of dying, so we must have a desire to eat Holy Communion, spiritual food, that we may be quickened. Otherwise, we are in danger of mentally dying.
Therefore, the divine Chrysostom says: “So, let us not neglect, having received such love and honor. this Meal, to this spiritual breast, perhaps even more eagerly. Let us grasp, like children, for a mother's shirt, for the grace of the Spirit. And may we have only one sorrow - not to partake of this Food."

On the Useful and Savingly Frequent Communion of the Holy Mysteries

When a Christian takes communion, who can comprehend what gifts and gifts are given to him from Divine Communion? Gregory the Theologian says: “The Most Holy Body of Christ, when well received, is a weapon for those who are at war, for those who are moving away from God it is a return, strengthens the weak, rejoices the healthy, heals illnesses, preserves health, thanks to it we are easier to correct, in labors and sorrows we become more patient. more ardent in love, more refined in knowledge, more ready in obedience, more receptive to the actions of grace.But for those who partake badly, the consequences are opposite, because they are not sealed by the honest Blood of our Lord. writes: “Let us diligently, brothers, fasting, prayer, church meetings, needlework, communion with the holy fathers, obedience to the truth, listening to the divine Scriptures, so that our mind does not wither, and most of all we will try to make ourselves worthy of Communion of the Divine and Most Pure Mysteries, so that our soul has been cleansed of the thoughts of unbelief and impurity that are born, and so that the Lord who dwells in us delivers us from the evil one. Saint Theodore the Studite miraculously describes the benefits that everyone receives from frequent Communion: “Tears, tenderness have great power, but above all and most of all, the Communion of Holy Things, in relation to which, seeing you, I don’t know why, disposed negligently, I am very surprised. If it is Sunday, you still proceed to the Sacrament, but if the Liturgical Assembly happens on another day, no one takes communion. This, I don’t mean that you want to take Communion just like that and how it happens, for it is written: “Let a man examine himself, and in this way let him eat from this bread and drink from this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself" (1 Cor. we cleansed ourselves and made ourselves worthy of this gift, for the partaker of life is the Bread set before us, which came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this Bread, he will live forever: "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for life world." And again: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (John 6:56).
Do you see the incredible gift? He not only died for us, but also offered Himself to us as food. What can be a great sign of strong love? What could be more saving for the soul? In addition, no one refuses to eat ordinary food and drink every day, and if he does not eat, he is extremely upset. As for not ordinary bread, but the Bread of Life, and not ordinary drink, but the Chalice of Immortality, we regard them as unimportant and not absolutely necessary. What could be more insane and reckless? However, no matter how things have been until now, for the future, I ask you, we will be protected, knowing the power of the gift, and, as far as possible, cleansed, let us partake of the Holy. And if it happens that we are busy with some kind of work, as soon as the bell sounds, let's leave the matter and go to partake of the Gifts with great eagerness. And this (as I think, or rather, as true as it really is) will help us a lot, since the preparation for Communion will keep us clean. If, however, we are indifferent to Communion, how shall we avoid working for the passions? May Communion be our guide to eternal life. And so, if we do as the divine fathers command us, and partake often, then not only will we have Divine grace as an assistant and collaborator in this short-lived life, but the angels of God and the Lord of angels himself will help us, and besides, let us cast aside demonic opponents far from us, as the divine Chrysostom says: “Like lions breathing fire, so we depart from this [Holy Meal], having become terrible for the devil, having in ourselves both our Head Christ, and the love that He showed us "This Blood makes the royal image of our soul shine, gives birth to inexpressible beauty, does not allow the nobility in the soul to fade, watering it incessantly and nourishing it. This Blood, worthily received, drives away demons from us, attracts angels, together with the Lord of angels. For demons they run away when they see the Sovereign Blood, and the angels gather. It is the salvation of our souls, the soul rejoices in it, it is adorned with it, it is warmed by it. It makes our mind brighter than fire. It makes our soul purer than gold. Those who partake of this Blood stand together with the angels and those above forces, being dressed in the same as theirs, royal clothes, and having spiritual weapons. But I have not yet said about the greatest thing: those who receive Communion are dressed in the King Himself. "Do you see how many wonderful gifts you receive if you take Communion often, do you see how with frequent Communion the mind is enlightened, the mind brightens, all the forces of the soul are purified? And if you want to kill and carnal passions, take communion often and enjoy it. Cyril of Alexandria assures us of this: “He who believes in the blessed Communion not only from death, but also from the diseases that are in us, gets rid of. For Christ coming into us lulls the raging law of the flesh in our members and revives reverence for God, and mortifies the passions " . Thus, without frequent Communion, we cannot free ourselves from passions and ascend to the height of dispassion. If we want to escape from the dark and persecuting sin, and want to inherit the land of heart and promise, then we must, like the Israelites who had Joshua the leader, have our Lord Jesus Christ through frequent Communion in order to overcome the innumerable passions of the flesh, and deceitful thoughts, that we may settle in the city of Jerusalem, which signifies the holy world. According to the word of our Lord: "My peace I give you; not as the world gives, I give you" (John 14:27). That is: "My disciples, I give you My world, sacred and holy, not like the world of the world, often having evil as its goal." Being in this sacred world, we will be worthy to receive in our heart the betrothal of the Spirit, just as the apostles, remaining in Jerusalem at the command of the Lord, received the perfection and grace of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. After all, the world is a gift that includes all other divine gifts, and the Lord lives in the world, for, as the prophet Elijah says, God was not in a big and strong wind, not in an earthquake, not in fire, but in a quiet and peaceful wind - the Lord was there (See 1 Kings 19:11-12).
However, no one can acquire the world without having other virtues, but virtue is not acquired without the fulfillment of the commandments, and the commandment, in turn, cannot be fulfilled perfectly without love, while love is not renewed without Divine Communion. So, without Divine Communion we labor in vain. But then works and virtues are beneficial when they are done according to the will of God. The will of God is that we should do as our Lord commands us, Who tells us: "He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life" (John 6:54). This is not just a commandment, but the head of all the commandments, for it is a perfecting power and an integral part of the rest of the commandments.
So, if you want to kindle love for Christ in your heart, and with it acquire all the other virtues, often approach Holy Communion - and then you will enjoy what you desire. After all, it is impossible for anyone not to love Christ and not be loved by Christ if he constantly partakes of His Holy Body and Blood. This happens naturally. And listen to how it goes. Some people wonder why parents love their children. Similarly, why children also love their parents. We answer: no one has ever hated himself and his body. Since children have their bodies from the bodies of their parents, and especially because they feed on the mother's blood both in the mother's womb and after birth (for milk, in a natural way, is nothing but blood turned white), then I say that it is natural law for them (children) to love their parents, as it is for parents to love their children. After all, children are conceived from their own bodies of their parents. Thus, those who often partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord will naturally kindle in themselves aspiration and love for Him - on the one hand, because these life-giving and life-giving Body and Blood so warm in love those who partake (even the most worthless and hard-hearted) how unceasingly they receive communion; and on the other hand, because the knowledge of love for God is not something alien to us, but is naturally planted inside our hearts as soon as we are born in the flesh and reborn in the spirit in holy Baptism. At the slightest opportunity, these natural sparks instantly ignite into a flame, as the Divine Basil says: “At the same time as the appearance of an animal (that is, a person), a certain seed logos is introduced into us, which naturally gives rise in us to the ability to love [God]. This power is cultivated by careful the fulfillment of the commandments of God, nourishes the knowledge [of God] and leads to the perfection of the grace of God. You should know that the feat of love is one, but it fulfills and includes all the other commandments. "
So, this natural power - to love God - is strengthened, cultivated and perfected by the frequent Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Therefore, Saint Cyprian writes that the martyrs, when they went to their sufferings, first of all partake of the Most Pure Mysteries and, having been strengthened by Holy Communion, they were so inflamed with the love of God that they fled to the field like sheep to the slaughter, and instead of the Body and Blood of Christ, whom they communed, shed their own blood and committed their body to various torments. What else good would you, a Christian, want to receive and would not receive from Holy Communion? Do you want to celebrate every day? Do you want to celebrate Easter when you wish, and rejoice in unspeakable joy in this sad life? Resort unceasingly to the Sacrament and receive communion with due preparation, and then you will enjoy what you desire. After all, the true Pascha and the true feast of the soul is Christ, Who is sacrificed in the Sacrament, as the Apostle says, and after him the divine Chrysostom: "Fourtecost happens once a year, Easter - three times a week, and sometimes four, more precisely - as many times as we want, for Easter is not a fast, but an Offering and a Sacrifice that happens at every meeting. And that this is true, hear from Paul, saying: "Our Easter, Christ, was sacrificed for us ( 1 Corinthians 5:7)". So every time you approach [the Sacrament] with a clear conscience, you celebrate Pascha. Not when you fast, but when you partake of this Sacrifice. After all, a catechumen never celebrates Pascha, although he fasts every year because he does not take communion, and vice versa: "He who does not fast, when he partakes of Communion, if he proceeds [to the Sacrament] with a clear conscience, and celebrates Pascha - be it today, be it tomorrow, be it any day. For preparation is judged not by the observation of times, but by a clear conscience That is, the best preparation for Communion consists not in counting eight, or fifteen, or forty days and then taking communion, but in clearing the conscience. So, those who, although they fast before Easter, but on They do not partake of Easter, such people do not celebrate Easter, as this divine Father says. Those who are not prepared to partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord on every holiday cannot truly celebrate Sundays and other holidays in the year, because these people they do not have in themselves the cause and cause of the holiday, which is the Sweetest Jesus Christ, and do not have that spiritual joy that is born from Divine Communion. Those who believe that Easter and holidays consist of rich meals, in many candles, fragrant incense, are seduced, silver and gold ornaments with which they clean the church, for this God does not require of us, since it is not paramount and not the main thing, as He also says this through the prophet Moses: "What does the Lord your God require of you? Only that you fear the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and love Him, and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you keep the commandments Lord [your God] and the ordinances of Eg o" (Deut. 10:12-13). Of course, our word now is not about judging whether the gifts that we bring to the church out of reverence are good or not. They are good, but with them we must first of all bring and obedience to the holy commandments of our Lord and to prefer this obedience to all other offerings, as the prophet and king David says: “The sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humble heart You will not despise. God" (Ps. 50:19). The Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews says the same thing in a different way: "You did not desire sacrifices and offerings, but prepared a body for Me" (Heb. 10:5), which means: "Lord ! You do not want me to bring you all other sacrifices and offerings, You only want me to approach the Divine Mysteries and partake of the All-Holy Body of Your Son, which You have prepared on the Holy Throne, for this is Your will. "Therefore, desiring that you showed that he was ready for obedience, the Apostle says: "Behold, I go to do Thy will, my God, and Thy law is in my heart" (Heb.10:9; Ps.39:8-9). Thy will with all readiness and to fulfill Thy law with all my heart.Therefore, if we want to be saved, we must do with joy and love, as sons, the will of God and His commandments, and not with fear, as a slave. of the old commandments, but love of the gospel. In other words, those under the law kept the commandments and ordinances of the law out of fear, lest they be punished and tortured. But we Christians, since we are no longer under the law, must keep the commandments of the gospel not out of fear, but out of love, as sons should do the will of God.
The will of God and the Father, according to His good pleasure from the very beginning, was to compose the Body for His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Apostle said, that is, that His Son be incarnate and shed His Blood for the salvation of the world. And so that all of us, Christians, would unceasingly partake of His Body and His Blood, so that through frequent Communion in this life we ​​would be saved from the snares and tricks of the devil, and when our soul will exit and it will fly like a dove, in freedom and joy to heaven , she was completely unhindered by the air spirits. And this is confirmed by the divine Chrysostom, saying: “And the other told me about a certain vision, which he was honored with himself, and did not learn from someone. they die, they are carried and raised from here to heaven by angels, thanks to Communion. Therefore, since you do not know when death comes - either today, or tomorrow, or at this hour - you must always be partaker of the Most Pure Mysteries and be ready. And if it is God's will that you still live in this life, then with the grace of Holy Communion you will lead a life full of joy, full of peace, full of love and accompanied by all other virtues. And if it is God's will for you to die, then, thanks to Holy Communion, you will freely pass through the demonic ordeals that are in the air, and with inexpressible joy you will settle in eternal monasteries. After all, since you are always united with the Sweetest Jesus Christ, the omnipotent King, you will live a blessed life here too, and when you die, the demons will flee from you like lightning, and the angels will open the heavenly entrance for you and will solemnly accompany you to the very Throne of the Blessed Trinity. .
Oh, the greatness that Christians enjoy from frequent Communion both in this life and in the next!
Do you, a Christian, want to be cleansed of those smallest sins that you, as a person, allow either with your eyes or with your ears? Then approach the Sacrament with fear and a contrite heart - and you will be cleansed and you will be forgiven. Saint Anastasius of Antioch confirms this: “If we commit some small, human and forgiveable offenses, being concealed either by the tongue, or by hearing, or by the eyes, or by vanity, or by sadness, or anger, or something like that, then, reproaching ourselves and confessing to God, let us take communion in this way of the Holy Mysteries, believing that Communion is performed for the purification of all this o" - but not from heavy or evil and unclean sins that we have committed.
Many other saints testify to this. Sacred Clement says: "Communion of the Precious Body and Precious Blood of Christ, let us give thanks to Him who made us worthy to partake of His Holy Mysteries and let us ask that they be not for judgment, but for salvation and for the remission of sins." Basil the Great says: "And make me worthy to partake without condemnation of these Most Pure and Life-Giving Your Mysteries for the forgiveness of sins." And the divine Chrysostom says: "It is like being partaking of the soberness of the soul, for the forgiveness of sins." That is, to serve these Mysteries to those who partake in the purification of the soul and the forgiveness of sins. Although both confession and the performance of penances can grant forgiveness of sins, however, Divine Communion is necessary for liberation from sins.
Do you hear, Christian, how many gifts do you receive from frequent Communion? And your smallest excusable sins are forgiven, and your wounds are healed, and you are all made healthy. m. What else can be more blessed than to always prepare and receive communion, and, thanks to the preparation and help of Divine Communion, to be always free from sins, than to be you, earthly, pure on earth, like angels in heaven? And what other happiness could be greater than this?
And yet I will tell you more. If you approach the Mysteries often and worthily partake of this incorruptible, this glorified Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and become a co-corporeal and treasurer of Christ, the life-giving power and action of this Most Holy Body and Blood in the resurrection of the righteous will revive your own body, and it will rise again. incorruptible, as the divine Apostle writes in the Epistle to the Philippians, glorified with the Body of Christ, "who will transform our humble body so that it will be conformable to His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21).
All this glory and gifts, these great and supernatural blessings that we have been talking about so far, are received by every Christian when, with a clear conscience, he partakes of the Divine Mysteries of our Sweetest Jesus Christ - and other, even greater ones, which we, for the sake of brevity, leave .
Finally, when a Christian takes communion, then, reflecting on what terrible and heavenly Mysteries he has partake of, he pays attention to himself so as not to dishonor grace, is afraid of his thoughts, collects and preserves them, lays the foundation for a more rigorous and virtuous life and moves away, as far as possible, from all evil. When he again thinks that he will have to take communion in a few days, he redoubles his attention, applies readiness for readiness, abstinence for abstinence, vigil for vigil, work for work, and strives as much as possible. After all, he turns out to be as if constrained from two sides: firstly, by the fact that he has just received communion, and secondly, by the fact that he will soon receive communion again.

The New Testament very often speaks of our justification through the Blood of Christ (eg, 1 John 1:7; Rev. 5:9; 12:11; Rom. 5:9). In order to properly appreciate the meaning of the Blood of Christ, we must first correctly understand the Biblical principle that “ soul of every body There is his blood» (Lev.17,14). The body cannot live without blood, and therefore blood symbolizes life. And this is precisely the explanation of the words of Christ: If you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you.» (John 6:53).

Sin brings death (Rom. 6:23); the shedding of blood on which life depends. It is for this reason that every time an Israelite sinned, he was required to shed blood as a reminder that sin brings death. " Yes, and almost everything is legal(Moiseev) cleansed by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness» sins (Heb. 9:22). For this reason, the covering of Adam and Eve with fig leaves was not accepted, but was replaced by God with clothes made from the skin of an animal apparently killed by Him (a lamb - Gen. 3,7,21). Similarly, the sacrifice of Abel, unlike Cain, was accepted only because he understood what kind of sacrifice God requires from a person, bringing not vegetables and fruits, but from his first-born flocks (Gen. 4:3-5).

All this is an image of the shedding of the Blood of Christ. This image is especially clearly visible in the Jewish Passover, when the Israelites smeared the doorposts with the blood of the lamb they had slain, so that they could be saved from death. According to the law of Moses, before Jesus Christ, the Jews sacrificed animals for their sins, which were just a type, a shadow of the future. Sin is punishable by death (Rom. 6:23), and therefore it is impossible for the death of an animal to replace the death of the sinner or to serve as a complete type of the one offering the sacrifice. For the sacrificed animal itself was innocent, it did nothing, neither good nor bad, in short, " it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin"(Heb. 10:4).

The question arises, why, then, did the Jews offer sacrifices for sin? In Gal. 3:24, the Apostle Paul sums up all possible answers in one: “ The law was our tutor to Christ". Animals sacrificed for sin had to be without blemish (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3, 10, etc.). It was a picture of Christ, spotless and pure lamb» (1 Peter 1:19). It turns out that the blood of animals was way Blood of Christ. They were accepted by God only because they were a type of the perfect sacrifice that Christ was to bring. It is for this reason, because animal sacrifice was a type of Christ's sacrifice, that God forgave the sins of His people. The death of Christ was for redemption from the crimes done in the first covenant"(Heb.9.15), i.e. under the Law of Moses (Heb. 8:5-9). All sacrifices offered according to the law pointed to the perfect sacrifice, to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who took away sin with His sacrifice (Heb. 9:26; 13:11, 12; Rom. 8:3; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21) .

In Lesson 7.3, we already mentioned that almost the entire Old Testament, and in particular the law of Moses, was dedicated to Jesus Christ. According to the law, approach to God was possible through the high priest, for then, according to the old covenant, he was the mediator between God and people, as according to the new - Christ (Heb.9,15). " The law appoints as high priests men who have infirmities; and the word of oath… delivered Son, perfect for all eternity» (Heb.7,28). Because the priests themselves were sinners, they could not really beg forgiveness for the rest of the people. The animals sacrificed for sin also could not perfectly stand for the sinner, symbolize him. A perfect human sacrifice was required, which in all respects would represent any sinner, which would become an atonement for any person who united himself with it. A perfect high priest was also required, who could sympathize with those whose intercessor he is, who, like them, would himself go through all temptations (Heb. 2:14-18).

Jesus Christ fully satisfied all these conditions: This is how our High Priest should be: holy, free from evil, blameless(Heb. 7:26). He no longer needs to offer sacrifices for sin all the time and He can no longer die (Heb. 7:23,27). That is why Scripture calls Christ our High Priest: Therefore, he can always save those who come to God through Him, being always alive to intercede for them.» (Heb.7,25). Because Christ had our nature, it is impossible to think of a better High Priest, for He can " condescend to the ignorant and erring, because He Himself(was) overlaid with infirmity(Heb. 5:2), for He, like us, was partaker of flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14).

Just as among the Jews the high priest was the only mediator between them and God, so among the spiritual Israel (those who know the true gospel and are baptized into Christ by "one" baptism) the only High Priest is Jesus Christ. He is the great High Priest over the house of God (Heb. 10:21), inhabited by the newly born in baptismal water (1 Pet. 2:2-5) and living in one hope of the gospel (Heb. 3:6).

The consciousness of all the benefits of Christ's intercession should move us to be baptized into His name. Otherwise, He cannot intercede for us.

Having been baptized into Christ, we should rely on His High Priesthood in everything, for this is what we are called to do. " Let us therefore, through Him, offer unceasingly to God a sacrifice of praise» (Heb.13:15). God gave us Christ the priest so that we would glorify Him. Hebrews 10:21-25 says what we need to do when we have a High Priest like Jesus Christ, “ great priest over the house of God»:

1. let us approach with a sincere heart, with full faith, having sprinkled our hearts clean from an evil conscience, and having washed them with clean water”, - accepting the priesthood of Christ means that we are baptized (washed with water) into Him and live, purifying our thoughts, our hearts, our conscience with His Blood, believing that through Christ's purification we become one with God;

2. « Let us hold fast to the confession of hope unswervingly”, - without deviating from the truths that led us to the recognition of Christ's priesthood;

3. « let us be attentive to each other, encouraging to love ... let us not leave our meetings”, - i.e. we must be bound by bonds of mutual love with those who, like us, have accepted Christ as their High Priest, which, in particular, are served by our love feasts, where we remember His sacrifice (see Activity 11.3.5).

Understanding all this, if we are baptized and abiding in Christ, should fill us with confidence in the real possibility of our salvation: “ Therefore let's get started boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need» (Heb.4,16).

- I would like to move on to the Sacrament of Communion", tell me, what is this Sacrament?

This is the heart of the Church, the heart of the Body of Christ, and the Sacrament, which is named after the Church as such. In the Scriptures of the Apostle Paul, the Church is called the Body of Christ, and the Sacrament of Communion is the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, the names coincide, thus the Sacrament of the Church coincides with the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Communion. This Sacrament is the maximum expression of the Church spirit and Church essence.

The Creed only mentions the Sacrament of Baptism, the one for the remission of sins. After baptism, the maximum expression of baptism and church life is the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ - that service in which we offer God a bloodless sacrifice and feed on the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ under the types of bread and wine, as it was for the first time in the history of the world at the Last Supper.

What does the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ mean? During it somehow there is a transformation of wine and bread into the Body and Blood of Christ?

Bread and wine are the substance of the bloodless sacrifice. Blood sacrifices were offered before the coming into the world of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is a representative shedding of animal blood. People felt that sin calls for the shedding of blood, and without this there is no remission of sins, as the apostle Paul says in Hebrews. And the representative shedding of the blood of lambs, doves was an indication of the true shedding of blood, which will give us remission of sins. The suffering of Christ on Golgotha ​​is what was foreshadowed by the bloody sacrifices. Since the shedding of Christ's Blood, there is no longer any need to sacrifice the blood of animals that have not sinned for our sins. The blood of animals was a substitute: I sinned - they slaughtered a lamb. That is, sin requires not only blood, but also not one's own blood. Christ is that lamb, that Lamb of God, Who took upon Himself the sins of the world and shed blood for me and for you, and for all who watch us, and for all who have not yet been born into the world, and for those who have lived from Adam to this day. Christ offered a perfect and contented sacrifice for the salvation of every believer.

Before going to the cross, Christ celebrated the Last Supper, in the middle of which he established the Sacrament of Communion, and where the words that now sound constantly were heard:

Accept, eat My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins.

Bread was blessed and distributed among the disciples. A cup of red grape wine was blessed with the words:

Drink of it all, this is My Blood, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.

According to the Evangelist Luke, the words were added:

Do this in remembrance of Me - that is, repeat it.

Thus, the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Thanksgiving, was established, during which people eat and drink under the guise of bread and wine the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How the bread and wine brought to the service become the Body and Blood is a separate conversation. Christians of the West differ from Christians of the East in that they try to give precise definitions to every event: how it happens. The eucharistic theology of Catholics is concerned with the question of whether the atoms of bread are transformed into atoms of flesh, the atoms of wine into atoms of blood, whether there is a change in substance. Their theological thought has revolved around this for centuries.

The Eastern Church, to which we belong, does not allow us to speak in these terms of the mystery of the Body and Blood. She tells us that after the prayer of the Church and the priest invokes the Holy Spirit on the bread and wine offered to God as gifts, the bread becomes the true Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, retaining all the physical qualities of the bread. In the Chalice is the true blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which has retained all the physical qualities of wine, for the convenience of tasting believers. Averse to eating human flesh and blood, man would not be able to eat genuine flesh and blood. We do indeed eat the true Body and Blood of Christ, as the Church teaches us. When we ask how this happens, the Church answers: it is enough for you to know that this is done by the Holy Spirit. Further subtleties of transformation should not cause curiosity. We believe that this is the Body and Blood, and after receiving them, we know this by the power of their action. The power of the Gifts on a person reveals their true nature.

Christ according to the flesh was an ordinary man. How could one notice in Him the Son of God, the King of the angels and the true Lord? There was no halo above him, he was neither tall nor short, he was young, strong, flawless, but also without the external differences of a deity. He had a Jewish appearance, clothes corresponded to the era and the people when He lived. Outwardly, He did not manifest His nature of a deity in any way, it was possible to know about it only by His actions. For example, when He left people sins, the Pharisees grumbled: no one can leave people sins, only God is One. And He is the One God who leaves sins, raising the paralytic, driving away demons, walking on water, multiplying bread, raising the dead, predicting the future, calling a stranger by name, comforting a weeping harlot with words that her sins are forgiven. He came into the world to save sinners, and He works powerfully. And with all the simplicity of Christ, His actions are divinely simple and powerful.

Similarly, the Holy Mysteries: with all the preservation of the earthly appearance, the bread and wine sacrificed, having become the Body and Blood, retain the appearance of bread and wine, but by their effect on us, we know that we have partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord risen from the dead. Jesus.

Archpriest Andrey Tkachev

Is it right to invoke the blood of Jesus on everything that surrounds us? Many call for a car, themselves, for some other things, this is not washing powder)) Thanks for the answer. (Milka)

Responsible Alexander Sh., messianic teacher:

Shalom Milka.

Yes, you correctly noted that Yeshua's blood is not washing powder or some kind of magical amulet that must be used in difficult circumstances or for good luck. We know that God has always taken blood seriously enough. It was forbidden to eat blood in any form and under any pretext. This decree applied not only to the Jewish people, but to all people, whether they were believers or not. For the first time God speaks about this to Noah, after the flood happened:

3 everything that moves that lives will be your food; like green grass I give you everything; 4 Only flesh with its soul, with its blood, you shall not eat; (Gen. 9:3,4)

And later he reminded the people of Israel about this again:

17 This is an everlasting ordinance throughout your generations, in all your dwellings; eat no fat and no blood. (Lev.3:17)

23 Only be careful not to eat blood, for blood is the soul: do not eat souls with meat; 24 do not eat it: pour it out on the ground like water; 25 Do not eat it, that it may be good for you and your children after you, if you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. (Deut. 12:23-25)

And we know that the Jewish community was very attentive to this ban. Therefore, any talk about the so-called "blood libel" has absolutely no reasonable grounds.

We also know from the Scriptures that the service of God was often accompanied by sacrifices, and not always they were blood sacrifices. However, blood was also treated very carefully.

10 If anyone from the house of Israel and from the strangers that dwell among you eats any blood, I will set My face on the soul of the one who eats the blood, and I will cut it off from her people, 11 because the soul of the body is in the blood, and I appointed her for you on the altar, to cleanse your souls, for this blood cleanses the soul; 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, Not a single soul of you shall eat blood, and the stranger who dwells among you shall not eat blood. 13 If any of the children of Israel and of the strangers who dwell among you catches a beast or a bird that can be eaten, he must let its blood flow out and cover it with earth, 14 for the soul of every body [is] its blood, it is the soul his; Therefore I said to the children of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any body, for the soul of every body is its blood: whoever eats it shall be cut off. (Lev.17:10-14)

Blood was shed for the redemption of man. And here it is important for us to understand something – through sacrifice, a person approached God. Sacrifice was a means of drawing closer to God. The sinner had to pay for his sin with his life.

4 For behold, all souls are Mine: as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sins, it shall die. (Ezek. 18:4)

And the same principle is reflected in the Brit Hadash:

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom.6:23)

Punishment was a consequence of God's holiness and His justice. But the mercy of the Lord is exalted above his judgment, and therefore He provided for the possibility of a substitutionary sacrifice for man. The blood of the sacrifice was either anointed on the horns of the altar, or sprinkled on the altar, or poured at its foot.

9 And he shall sprinkle the blood of this sin offering on the wall of the altar, and drain the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar: this is the sin offering; 10 and use the other as a burnt offering according to the ordinance; and thus shall the priest cleanse him from his sin, with which he has sinned, and he shall be forgiven. (Lev.5:9,10)

Nowhere do we find a description of the priests going about the camp of Israel and sprinkle the property of the children of Israel. The blood of the sacrifice was used to purify a person and to bring him closer to God.

4 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the [offering] of the burnt offering, and he shall obtain favor, for the remission of his sins; 5 and kill the calf before the Lord; And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood on all sides upon the altar, which is at the entrance of the tabernacle of congregation; (Lev. 1:4,5)

When offering a sacrifice, the sinner laid his hand on the head of the victim, thereby showing that it was he who had to die, and not the victim, but by the grace of God, the death of the victim atoned for his sins.

We know of one event during which the property of the Israelites was smeared with blood - this is the Exodus. The blood of the lamb on the doors of Jewish houses served as a sign that in this house there were people who belonged to His people and trusted their lives to God.

13 And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood and pass over you, and there will be no destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Ex. 12:13)

This was the only case in which blood was treated in this way. God was accomplishing His plan of deliverance from Pharaoh's bondage by leading an entire nation to freedom for Himself.

As we reflect on this event, we can clearly see God's desire to redeem His people, and how He does it. The whole nation was in slavery. Moshe addresses all Jews with a call for freedom. It is interesting to note that not everyone accepted this call with joy and optimism. Many were afraid of the Egyptians.

6 So say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will save you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments; 7 And I will take you to myself as a people, and I will be your God, and you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of Egypt; 8 And I will bring you into the land about which I lifted up my hand and [swore] to give it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance. I am the Lord. 9 Moses told this to the children of Israel; But they did not listen to Moses due to cowardice and the severity of the work.(Ex. 6:6-9)

In order for redemption to come into your life, it was necessary to believe in God and follow Him. It was necessary to believe that He is stronger than Pharaoh, He can free and protect. It was impossible for one person, for example Moshe, to believe for all. Everyone, personally, consciously decided whether to follow God or not. Moreover, having started this path, it was necessary to follow it to the end, to the very promised land, and also being in this land.

Now a few words about the blood of Yeshua.

By shedding His blood, Yeshua redeemed mankind from the bondage of sin. His life was given for each of us. For those who wished to draw near to God, a spacious road was opened. The sacrifice of Christ has become a universal way of approaching God.

18 Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible silver or gold from the vain life that was given to you from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without blemish, (1 Peter 1:18,19)

This redemption concerns the whole person. We have taken a right stand in relation to God, we have received His righteousness. We still have to go the path of holiness, the path of teshuva, purifying our lives. But through His blood, He made us righteous. This is a conscious choice that we make ourselves. Nobody can do it for us. Just as we needed faith during the Exodus, we need to follow Him to the very end, realizing that He is still faithful.

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22 let us draw near with a sincere heart, with full faith, having sprinkled our hearts clean of an evil conscience, and having washed our bodies with pure water, 23 let us hold fast to the confession of hope unswervingly, for He who promised is faithful. (Heb. 10:22,23)

In the light of the above, it is difficult to see the idea of ​​​​calling blood to protect our car, apartment or something else. We are redeemed by God, He calls Himself our Father and we are His children. This is enough for Him to take care of both us and all the property that we have. Yeshua's blood became a means of redemption that profoundly changed our very nature, our innards. This should be appreciated and thankful to God.

Hope I was able to answer your question.

Sincerely, Alexander Sh.

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST

To sustain your physical life, you need some basic things - water, oxygen, food, clothing, shelter. Your body also needs a certain amount of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Without all this, physical life will cease to exist, or at least suffer greatly.
It's the same with your spiritual life. Your spiritual life, like your physical life, needs certain basic elements. They are essential. Without them, it will be difficult for a Christian to survive in a world that does not know Christ. One of these basic elements is the blood of Christ.
Why do we need the blood of Christ? Because fundamentally fallen man has three main problems. Even as a Christian, you still carry fallen human life with you. So day in and day out, you can still suffer from these three major problems.
These three issues concern three sides: God, you, and Satan. In relation to God, you often experience division. In yourself, you often feel guilty. And from Satan you often hear slander. These three things—separation from God, guilt, and slander from Satan—may turn out to be three big problems in your Christian life. How can all this be overcome? Only by the blood of Christ.

SEPARATE WITH GOD
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he immediately hid from God. Before he sinned, he enjoyed God and was constantly in His presence. However, having sinned, he hid. Sin always leads to separation from God.
Even as a Christian, you can feel it. When you commit some small sin, you feel a big gulf between yourself and God. Because God is righteous, He does not tolerate sin. This is what the prophet Isaiah said: “Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened to save, and His ear is not heavy to hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins turn His face away from you, not to hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2).
After Adam sinned, God didn't say, "Adam, what have you done?" God said differently, "Adam, where are you?" In other words, God is not so much concerned with what sins you might commit, but rather that your sins separate you from Him. God loves you but hates your sins. As long as your sins remain. God must not come near. In this situation, you feel distance from God. For God to come, sins must go.
There is only one thing in the whole universe that can take away sins - the precious blood of Christ. No prayers, no weeping, rituals, penances, vows to become better, guilt, waiting time - nothing but the precious blood of Christ can remove sins. Hebrews 9:22 says that "... without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
There is an example of this in the book of Exodus. Some of the children of Israel may have been as sinful as the Egyptians. However, when God sent His angel to kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, He did not say, "When I see that you are well-behaved, I will pass you by." God did not require them to pray, to impose penance on themselves, to promise to behave better in the future. No, God commanded them to slaughter the Passover lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts. He said, "I will see the blood, and I will pass over you" (Ex. 12:13). God did not even look at what kind of people were in this house; seeing the blood, He just passed by.
This Easter lamb was a picture of Christ. When John the Baptist first saw the Lord, he proclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus is the Lamb of God. All our sins were washed away by His precious blood.
What should you do when you have sinned and feel that you have drifted away from God? You just need to confess this sin to God and believe that the blood of Jesus has taken away this sin. First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us (our) sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." When you confess your sins, all the distance between you and God will immediately disappear.
Don't worry about how you feel at this moment, even if you don't feel anything. The blood of Christ is primarily for God's satisfaction, not yours. Remember, God said: "I will see (I, not you) blood ...". On the night of the Passover, the children of Israel were inside the house, and the blood of the lamb was outside. Being inside the house, they could not see the blood; yet peace was with them because they knew that God was satisfied with this blood.
Once a year, on the day of atonement, the high priest went alone to the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the lid of the ark with blood (Lev. 16:11-17). Nobody was allowed to watch. It was the shadow of Christ, who, after His resurrection, entered the heavenly tabernacle and sprinkled His own blood before God as a propitiation for your sins (Heb. 9:12). No one can now look into heaven and see this blood. Nevertheless, she is there. She is there and she speaks for you (Heb. 12:24) and satisfies God for you. And although you do not see this blood, you can believe in its effectiveness. This blood solves your problem before God.
Since God believes that the blood of Christ is sufficient to take away your sins, can you also think so? Or do you need more good feeling? Can your demands be higher than God's? No, you just have to confess to God, "Oh God, I thank You that the blood of Christ has taken away all my sins. If You are pleased with this blood, then I am also."

GUILT IN YOUR CONSCIENCE
The second main problem of man is a problem with himself. In him, in his conscience, lies a heavy burden of guilt. How many of the youth are burdened with guilt today! Guilt is a big problem for a person.
Sins, on the one hand, offend God and, on the other hand, defile us. What is guilt? Guilt is a stain from sins on your conscience. When you are young, your conscience is only slightly stained. But as you get older, these spots accumulate. Like a window that is never cleaned, the conscience grows darker and darker, and in the end the light hardly comes through.
No detergent, no chemical, no acid will wash the stains of guilt from your conscience. Not even a nuclear bomb will remove these stains; no, your conscience demands something stronger than that. Your conscience needs the precious blood of Christ.
Hebrews 9:14 says, "How much more will the blood of Christ . . . cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living and true God!" (lit.). The blood of Christ is powerful enough to cleanse your conscience of any stain of guilt.
How does the blood of Christ cleanse guilt from our conscience? Let's say you've been fined for parking your car on the sidewalk. There are three problems before you: first, you have broken the law; secondly, you must pay a fine to the state; thirdly, you have a copy of the penalty notice in your hands so that you do not forget about it. Now suppose you don't have a penny of money and are unable to pay the fine. You can't just throw the notice away because the police keep a copy and if you don't pay they will sue. You really have a problem.
This describes your position whenever you sin. First, you are breaking the law of God; those. you have done something that offends God. Second, you have a debt to the law of God. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. This is a rather harsh fine that you are unable to pay. And thirdly, in your conscience - guilt, just as in your pocket - a notice of a fine, a persistent reminder of your misconduct.
But here's the good news. When Jesus Christ died on the cross. His death fully satisfied all the requirements of the law of God for you. In other words, your debt for sin has been paid. Thanks God! Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, paid for everything!
So, the first two problems were solved: God does not remember the offense and the debt for sin is fully paid. But what about your conscience? A stain of guilt, like a notice of a fine, remains evidence of your sin.
That's where the blood of Christ cleanses your conscience. Because the death of Christ paid the debt for sin, His blood can now wash away the evidence of that debt. It's like a fine: when it's paid, the notice can be torn up and thrown away; any guilt on your conscience can also be washed away.
It's so easy to experience. Every time you sin and feel guilty inside of you, you can simply open up to God and pray something like this: "Oh God, forgive me for what I did today. Thank you Lord that on the cross You died for me and paid for the sin that I have committed. Lord, I believe that this sin is forgiven by You. Right now, I demand Your precious blood to cleanse my conscience from every stain of guilt."
Remember 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And as Psalm 102:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so He removed our iniquities from us." Who can tell how far the east is from the west? In the same way, when you confess sins, God infinitely removes them from you. They are no longer associated with you. Therefore, your conscience can be at peace.
When God forgives, He forgets. Do not think that after God has forgiven your sins. He may one day come back and remind you of them again. No, when it comes to your forgiven sins, God has a very short memory. Sometimes you may find that you have a better memory than God. Can God really forget? As Jeremiah 31:34 says, "I will forgive their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." If God forgets your sins, then you can forget them too. Don't remind God of something that He has already forgotten.
Christ died almost two thousand years ago. His blood has already been shed and is available twenty-four hours a day to clear your conscience. Whenever you sin, there is no need to wait, waiting does not increase the power of the blood. The blood is omnipotent. Wherever you are, at any time of the day, if you feel guilty in your conscience, just demand the precious blood. "Blessed is the one to whom iniquities are forgiven, ... Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Ps. 31:1-2). Through the precious blood of Christ, the problem of guilt is solved.

SLAMMER FROM SATAN
However, sometimes after you have confessed and applied the blood of Christ, you continue to experience an unpleasant feeling within yourself. Does this mean that your sin is not forgiven? Or that the blood of Christ does not work? Or that something else is required? You should answer: "Absolutely not!".
Where do these unpleasant sensations come from when you have already confessed and applied the blood? Their source is the enemy of God, Satan. To understand this, we must consider who Satan is and what he does.
"Satan" in the original language of the Bible means "Slanderer". Thus, in Revelation 12:10 he is called "the slanderer of our brethren, who slandered them before our God day and night." Satan, the enemy of God, spends most of his time, day and night, slandering the people of God. This is his work. Of course, God did not ask him to do this. On the contrary, Satan himself undertook to incessantly accuse the people of God.
This is revealed in the story of Job. Job was a righteous and God-fearing man (Job 1:1). However, the Bible records that Satan appeared before God to slander Job before Him. He said, "Is Job fearing God in vain? ... You have blessed the work of his hands, and his flocks are spreading over the earth. But stretch out Your hand, and touch everything that he has, will he bless You?" (Job 1:9-11). In other words, Satan slandered Job, saying that he only feared God because God had blessed him. Satan claimed that God had bribed Job and that if God had taken away all of Job's wealth, Job would have cursed God. This is an illustration of how Satan slanders in the spiritual realm.
In Zechariah the high priest Jesus stood before God, and Satan stood at his right hand to "oppose him" (Zech. 3:1). Jesus was "dressed in filthy garments" (v. 3). This speaks of his disastrous, sinful position. Often your plight gives Satan an opportunity to slander you! It follows that Satan is not only God's enemy, but also your enemy. Every time you come to God, Satan counters your coming by slandering you.
Nothing cripples a Christian spiritually like slander. Every time you listen to Satan's slander, you become weak. It's like all the power has been drained from your spirit. It is difficult for a slandered Christian to associate with others and even more difficult to pray. He has the feeling that he cannot approach God.
This is the cunning of the enemy. He never comes in red clothes and with a pitchfork and shouts: "I am the devil! Now I will condemn you!" He's much smarter. He condemns you inwardly and tricks you into thinking that his slander is the speaking of God.
How can we distinguish the true illumination of God's conscience from the slander of Satan? Sometimes it is difficult, but there are three ways.
First, the light of God supplies you, while the slander of Satan devastates you. When God talks about your sins, you may feel convicted and hurt.
Despite this, you are also provided and encouraged to draw closer to God and apply the precious blood of Christ. On the contrary, Satan's slander is completely negative. The more you listen, the harder it is for you to pray. You feel empty and discouraged.
Second, God's speaking is always specific, while Satan's condemnation is often (though not always) general. Sometimes, deluded, you may think that you're just tired or that you've had a hard day. In other cases, you may have the general impression that you are wrong with God. But when you examine your conscience, you do not find any specific sin that could cause your separation from God. Or you may wake up with a general feeling of oppression and embarrassment towards God. All these general feelings of condemnation, which have no obvious source in sin, are from Satan and must be rejected. When God speaks, He is concrete and positive. But Satan's speaking is general and negative.
Thirdly, any feeling of embarrassment that remains after you have confessed and demanded blood is from Satan. There is never a need to confess and demand blood again. God's demand is immediately satisfied by the blood. But Satan is never satisfied. He would like you to confess again and again. Proverbs 27:15 says:
"Incessant dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are equal." Satan's slander is like this, it's like a dripping faucet or a grumpy wife, she won't let you sleep. But the speaking of God is quite different. When you confess and demand the cleansing of the blood. God is instantly satisfied. If you continue to hear something, then this is the voice of Satan.
If you have confessed your sin and demanded precious blood, but some kind of awkwardness inside continues to torment you, you should immediately stop praying. Don't confess anymore. Rather, go to the source of the accusation and say something like this: "Satan, I confessed my sin to God. He forgave my sin, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed me of it. The awkwardness that I feel now is not from God; it is from you, and I reject it! Satan, look at the blood of Christ. That blood answers every charge you make." Try talking to Satan in this way. When you use the blood of Christ in this way, Satan is defeated, and he knows it. Revelation 12:10-11 says:
"... The accuser of our brethren is cast down... They have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." The word of your testimony is simply your declaration that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from all sin and that this blood has overcome Satan. When you speak boldly in this way, Satan's slander is defeated.
The Christian life is a kind of war. Satan, "your adversary ... walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). For this war, you need an appropriate weapon. One important weapon you must use is the blood of Christ.

A DAILY LIFE FULL OF GOD'S PRESENCE
By the power of the precious blood of Christ, a Christian can live every minute in the presence of God. Every time there is some small sin that breaks your fellowship with God, you can immediately confess and claim the overpowering blood of the Lord. And instantly communication is restored. Why would you waste time? The blood of Christ is available at any moment, any day. You can never exhaust the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. His blood has the power to cleanse not only all past sins, but all the sins you could ever commit.
By the power of the precious blood of Christ, you can enjoy a conscience free from the stains of guilt. For this reason, you can boldly come to God. "Let us draw near with a sincere heart, with full faith, having sprinkled our hearts clean from an evil conscience..." (Heb. 10:22). By the blood of Christ your conscience can be freed from guilt. Like a freshly washed window, it can be clean, clear, full of light.
Finally, by the power of the precious blood of Christ, you can overcome every accusation of Satan. While his accusations may be strong, the blood of Christ is stronger. She answers them, every one of them. This blood is your weapon. With this weapon, you will never be defeated by Satan; on the contrary, he will be defeated by you.
How dear and how precious is the blood of Christ! By this blood you can live in the presence of God day by day.