Tag Archives: Eucharist

Holy Thursday

Leave a reply

When Jesus Christ entered the supper room to eat the Passover meal that last Thursday night, he was aware a dark fate awaited him. Powerful forces were drawn up against him ready to take his life. His enemies were moving to stop him.

Beside him were his disciples, “his own who were in the world.” Arguing among themselves as they took their place at table, they gave him little support. Not only did Jesus face their pettiness, he also sensed their impending betrayal of him.

What would he do? Understandably he might respond with caution and draw back. Like the servant, whom Isaiah described, he might well say, “I toiled in vain; and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength…” (Is. 49).

Jesus, however, took bread and gave it to his disciples. “Take this,” he said, “this is my body.” He took the cup and gave it to them. “This is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, to be poured out in behalf of many.”

That night, without wariness or regret, he gave himself in love to his Father and his disciples. As Savior and Redeemer he gave himself unhesitatingly for the life of the world.

We remember that love each time we celebrate the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament which makes a supper room of every time and place. Until the end of time, the sacrament says, Jesus Christ will offer his body and blood for all.

Lord Jesus,
once in the wilderness
your people ate heavenly manna
and they were filled.
And once in a desert place
you fed the hungry
with blessed bread.

A simple thing, we say,
costing our mighty God
litte effort.

But what if bread is
a body offered for all,
and a cup of wine
your own life-blood
given to those who hardly care?

A costly thing, we say,
Is there anything more
God could have done?
Anything more
Love could do
than lay down his life
for his friends?

House Church on the Celian Hill

Leave a reply


I’m standing outside an ancient Christian house church on the Clivus Scauri in Rome. Now, of course, it’s in the ruins beneath the Church of Saints John and Paul here on the Celian Hill, but you can see parts of it when you visit the excavations there.

What was it like back then, I wonder, at the end of the 2nd century, when it was the only Christian building on this spot? What would it be like to knock on the door–say on an ordinary day in the year 210 AD –and ask about the group who met here. What would I find?

First, most Christians meeting here had their own homes in this area and came to this house periodically. They lived and worked in this neighborhood of wealthy estates and common apartment houses, some perhaps even serving in the imperial government on the adjacent Palatine Hill and forum.

Whoever I found here, possibly the priest who led the community, would be open to questions. There are other Christians too in the city and beyond it, he would tell me, and he could point out their meeting places–about 25 places in the city alone. Infact, our numbers are growing, he would say, although we’re only a small part of the city’s population. We know each other pretty well.

He would describe the Christians who met here as followers of Jesus of Nazareth, whom God sent to save our world and us all, and he would probably explain their belief using a summary of faith they knew by heart.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son and our Lord,
who was born of the Virgin Mary,
who was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
who die and was buried,
who on the third day rose again.
He ascended to heaven,
where he sits at the Father’s right hand,
He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

The Christian I met would surely tell me their faith was God’s gift and it was brought to this city more than a hundred years before by Peter and Paul, two of the apostles of Jesus, and those who followed them.  He could show me their graves where they were honored.  Peter was buried in a cemetery on Vatican Hill; Paul was buried along the Via Ostia, where some from this community buried their own dead.

Most likely, he would relate in vivid detail the terrible persecution of Christians under the Emperor Nero (64 AD). That awful memory would still be fresh. If his family were Christian for some generations, he may have lost someone in it. After a disastrous fire swept the city, Nero blamed Christians for the tragedy and had Peter and Paul and other Christians killed, some in the gardens nearby.

In that persecution there were heroes, martrys, but also, there were some who denied their faith and betrayed members of their own community. When it was over, there were disputes whether to admit them back into the community or not. Finally, the fallen members were taken back, but some still wondered if that was the right decision.

Being a Christian is still dangerous, he would warn me. Another Nero could come along. About a hundred years before, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch in Syria, came to Rome under guard to be put to death in the arena. In a letter to the churches of this city be begged them, particularly those with influence in government, not to stand in the way of his death for his belief in Christ. (107 AD) Other church leaders were killed since then.

Our spokesman would relate the recent executions in North Africa of two women, Perpetua and Felicity, who died for their Christian belief. (202 AD) Not only were Christian leaders in danger, every Christian, man or woman, faced misunderstanding and prejudice in Roman society.

In the Roman empire, Christians didn’t fit in.

The Christian I would meet here in this house church would undoubtedly acquaint me with the works of Justin, an articulate Christian philosopher who tried to make a case for Christianity by writing to the emperor explaining that Christianity was in harmony with the ancient wisdom of Rome. He also engaged the Jews in debate about the Messiah. Justin didn’t get far; he met the same fate as some others: he was executed. (165 AD)

This community is trying to figure out its relationship to Judaism, he would tell me, as it increasingly distances itself from its Jewish past. Marcion, a Christian in Rome, called for complete rejection, not only of Jewish practices, but also of the entire Old Testament as unworthy of the Christian religion.(140 AD) The main body of believers rejects his approach, but still, how can so many of those stories of harsh justice be understood today?

The “great church,” the church throughout the world, as he describes it, is also wary of gnostic teachers who come into its assemblies from time to time speaking cynically about the world and ordinary life as it is. They’re good talkers and say they know things that will help you rise above everyday struggles and live in another, higher world.

The leaders of the church, however, are reacting to them and warning their communities that there’s only one true knowledge, which comes from knowing Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh. Stick to what you know from the Peter and Paul and the other apostles of Jesus. But we also know that we have to make the teaching understood and valued by us today and those we talk to.

Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons, is especially strong and persuasive against the errors of these new teachers. He’s particularly strong in telling us to hold on to what we have received.  True Christian teaching comes from the apostles and is found in their writings. Naming the books that contain their teaching, he urges the churches to continue to read them as they celebrate the mysteries, especially the mystery of the Eucharist. (200 AD)

“If then the cup of mixed wine and the bread that is made, receives the Word of God and becomes the Eucharist of the body and blood of Christ, how can they deny that the flesh is receptive of the gift of God?” A good reminder where God’s life and wisdom may be found.

God is the creator of heaven and earth; there’s no other world where we can know and serve him, the mystery of our Eucharist says.

Like others, this church on the Celian Hill meets regularly to celebrate this mystery, to pray and to care for the poor.

Already, at this time, the churches of this city have a special place among all the churches of the Christian world, our spokesperson would tell me.  Peter and Paul taught and died here. The bishop who is the overall leader of Rome’s churches is a respected voice in the Christian communion. The churches in other places listen to him.

I think that’s what I would hear if on an ordinary day in the year 210 AD I stopped at this house church to inquire about those who met here. I’m sure I would recognize it as the same church I belong to now, even though some things about it are different.

Like the church in any age, the community that met at this old house church had its ups and downs. It wasn’t perfect, but surely it had its saints. It faced challenges brought by time and circumstances. It didn’t have all the answers. But it was supported by Christ, the Good Shepherd, who had it in his hands, as he has today’s church in his hands.

One thing more. There are martrys honored in this house church, the most important of them are John and Paul, Roman officers put to death by the Emperor Julian the Apostate in the late 4th century, according to tradition. Eventually, they gave their names to this entire complex. Supposedly they were buried here in their own house for their refusal to do the emperor’s bidding.

Were they the owners of this house church? Certainly not the original owners, so then, when did it come into their hands? A complicated story. But this old house church still speaks in its ruins.

Saints John and Paul, excavations

Leave a reply

I just finished showing some friends of mine our church of Saints John and Paul here in Rome and realized once again what a wonderful place it is to describe some history of the Catholic Church.

Underneath the present church are excavations that are among the most important in Rome–houses from the second century, about 20 rooms in all– which reveal a great deal about daily life in the ancient city. The excavations are now the responsibility of a government sponsored agency, the “Fondo Edifici di Culto – Ministero dell’Interno.” You can get to them through a side entrance along the Clivus Scauri.

I’m interested especially in the ancient house church found in the excavations, which goes back to the earliest days of Christianity when, as the Acts of the Apostles is the first to indicate, believers throughout the empire met in homes or small, inconspicuous buildings for worship. The house church developed in a complex of 2nd century apartment buildings and a wealthy home along the Clivus Scauri, an ancient street that winds down the Celian Hill towards the Palatine.

The wealthy home became a Christian center, decorated with Christian paintings and a mosaic floor. So before Constantine brought freedom of worship to them in the early 4th century, Christians from the Celian Hill, most likely influential Romans for the most part, worshipped here, just a short distance away from the imperial palaces and buildings at the heart of official Rome.

Here they baptized new members and celebrated the Eucharist much like St. Justin, a second-century Roman writer, describes in his Apology, a letter addressed to the emperor, but really intended for the Roman public with mistaken ideas about Christianity:

“No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration.”

That’s a rather complete description of what went on in this house church in the 2nd century. Think about it– Justin says a lot in those few paragraphs.

I noticed the agency controlling the excavations offers the opportunity to come on certain evenings to hear archeologists describe what happened in these old Roman houses. I wonder if they make use of Justin’s description of 2nd second Christian worship. Hope so.

The story of this complex gets even more interesting. According to tradition, John and Paul, officers of the Emperor Constantine (312-37), suffered martyrdom by execution in the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), and were buried here in their own house. So this is also a site where Christian martyrs are honored. Another dimension is added to the story of this place.

Early fifth century Pammachius, a Roman senator, who evidently own the complex (it’s called in early documents the “titulus Pammachii”–he has the deed) built a church over the complex of buildings. Now freed from second class status by Constantine’s efforts, the Christian communities of Rome began to build fine churches.  Eventually, Pammachius’ church was called the Basilica of Saints John and Paul.

My hypothesis, which I’ve developed in an earlier blog, is that Pammachius’ church, built in the “show area” of Rome, as Krautheimer calls it,  is part of a Christian effort to influence Romans still resistant to Christianity by offering them a vital spirituality that is both biblical and monastic.

Then the barbarians and earthquakes came, and those dreams seem to have come to an end. But the old church is still there. Who knows how God works?
I’d like to make a video presentation about this. Mauro is coming to Rome next week.
Help me, Mauro.