The Beauty of the Eucharist

Book excerpt: This book examines what some of the most prominent voices of Christianity's distant past have taught about the Eucharist including Ambrose, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustine of Hippo. A title for the Year of the Priest, this book examines what some of the most prominent voices of Christianity's distant past have taught about the Eucharist. The author's goal is to look at how the proponents of an emerging Christian orthodoxy understood, celebrated, and presented the Eucharist in the centuries immediately following the end of the apostolic era. Father Billy has made a monumental contribution to the popularization of the Church Fathers at a time in the life of the religious community when being reminded of tradition is vital for the perpetuity of the faith. By a careful, sensitive, and thoroughly readable exposure to the original texts of the Fathers, this book provides the faith community and the individual with a very useful resource of the Church's teaching about the Eucharist. If ever a time was right for such a reintroduction of the Fathers' teachings, now is unquestionably the time. John H. Morgan, Ph.D. President, Graduate Theological Foundation Dennis Billy has done a masterful job of exposing us to almost 600 years of Christian belief on the Eucharist as reflected in the Fathers of the Church. He reminds us that this living faith of the dead is part of our heritage, something that we ignore only at our peril and loss. His writing is clear, practical, and his treatment of each Father consistent. He helps us to see how each writer adds to the mosaic and richness of our Eucharistic faith. Especially helpful are the reflection questions that end each chapter, as these force readers to plumb the depth of their own understanding and faith, and to examine how the Eucharist affects the whole of their Christian lives. I recommend it highly. Paul Bernier, SSS Editor, Emmanuel Magazine