AUGUSTINE’S EUCHARISTIC SPIRITUALITY

IN HIS EASTER SERMONS

1. Introduction
For about forty good years of his life,1 Saint Augustine laboured
and toiled in the care of souls as the pastor of his flock. Obviously,
he did this alongside his engagement with Church politics and con-
troversies with various heresies of his time. However, most studies lay
little emphasis on the pastoral aspect of his huge literary production.
Scholars look much more at his important treatises and tend to focus
on the dogmatic and philosophical elements of his works and some-
times on the polemical dimension of some of his major works.2 As a
matter of fact, many tend to neglect those elements that reveal him as
a pastor in the midst of the humble people he ministered to through-
out his life after his priestly ordination and his subsequent ascent to
the episcopal see of Hippo Regius in proconsular Africa (391-430).3

1
After many years of arduous and painstaking search for Truth, Augustine
converted to the Christian faith and was baptized by bishop Ambrose of Milan
in 387 AD. From Italy he returned to Africa in 388 AD and there, from his initial
desire to live a contemplative monastic lifestyle, he accepted to be ordained
priest in the year 391 in order to serve the Church in need. Barely five years
later, he succeeded the bishop Valerius who ordained him and became the
bishop of Hippo in 395/396. From his priestly ordination onward, Augustine
remained a committed pastor of his flock and served the Church even beyond
the boundaries of his native Africa.
2
G. Bonner points out and laments this limit especially regarding the ec-
clesiology of the bishop of Hippo. Cf. G. Bonner, Augustine’s Understanding of
the Church as Eucharistic Community, in Saint Augustine the Bishop. A Book of Essays,
edd. F. Lemoine – C. Kleinhenz, New York-London 1994, 39.
3
It is important to note that scholarship on the Augustinian pastoral life
has been on the rise since the middle of the 20th century. I hereby indicate a
few relevant elements of secondary literature of Augustine as a Pastor: J. B.
Bernardin, St. Augustine as Pastor, in A Companion to the Study of St. Augustine,
New York 1955, 57-89; F. G. L. van der Meer, Saint Augustin pasteur d’âmes,

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Preaching has been one of his major duties and liturgy was the imme-
diate context of this very important pastoral activity.4
Liturgy from the beginnings of the Christian communities has al-
ways been made up of two parts namely, the liturgy of word in which
biblical texts are proclaimed and commented upon by the ministers,
and the liturgy of the Eucharist in which the memorial of the Lord is
reiterated in the sacramental signs of Bread and Wine.5 Augustine as

Paris 1956; J. H. S. Burleigh, St. Augustine: Pastor and Preacher, in Union Semi-
nary Quarterly Review 20 (1965), 343-354; R. B. Eno, New Light on Augustine the
Pastor, in Studies in Catholic History of J.T. Ellis, edd. N. H. Minnich – R. B. Eno
– R. F. Trisco, Wilmington DE 1985, 500-519; A. Trapè, Saint Augustine: man,
pastor, mystic, New-York 1986; M. Neusch, Augustin, moine et pasteur, in Connais-
sance des Pères de l’Église 55 (1994), 4-7; T. Jañez Barrio, San Agustín obispo-pastor.
Predicator representativo de la Unidad Católica, in Pensamiento agustiniano XI. San
Agustín pastor de la Iglesia. Jornadas Internacionales de Agustinologia, Universidad
catolica Andres Bello, Caracas 1996, 8-27; F. Bellentani, “Episcopus ... est nomen
suscepti officii”. Il vocabolario del servizio episcopale in alcuni testi agostiniani, in Ve-
scovi e pastori in epoca teodosiana. XXV Incontro di studiosi dell’antichità cristiana,
Roma, 8-11 maggio 1996, Roma 1997 (SEA 58), vol. 2, 667-681; M. Fiedrowicz,
“Propter infirmiores et simpliciores dominicas oves” (ep. 191,2). Agostino vescovo: di-
fensore della fede dei semplici, in Vescovi e pastori in epoca teodosiana, vol. 2, 695-702;
S. Ferdi, Saint Augustin en visite pastorale dans les campagnes d’Hippone, in Saint
Augustin. La Numidie et la société de son temps. Actes du Colloque SEMPAM-AUSO-
NIUS, Bordeaux, 10-11 octobre 2003, edd. S. Lancel – S. Guédon – L. Maurin,
Bordeaux 2005 (Scripta Antiqua 14), 109-113; R. Dodaro, Pastor, in Augustinus-
Lexikon 4, 506-510; H. R. Drobner, Augustine the Preacher: Classical Orator and
Pastor of Souls, in Library of Religious Studies, Guangzhou 2012, 74-89; K. Chabi,
Saint Augustine as a Reforming Voice for the Catholic Church in Roman Africa: The
Testimony of his Letter 29 to Alypius, in Augustinianum 58 (2018), 469-491.
4
Cf. E. Hill, St. Augustin as a preacher, in Blackfriars 35 (1954) 463-471; G. P.
Lawless, Augustine of Hippo as Preacher, in Saint Augustine the Bishop. A Book of Es-
says, edd. F. Lemoine – C. Kleinhenz, New York-London 1994, 13-37; H. R. Drob-
ner, “I Would Rather Not Be Wearisome to You”. St. Augustine as Preacher, in Melita
Theologica 51 (2000), 117-126; H. Müller, Preacher. Augustine and His Congregation,
in A Companion to Augustine, edd. M. Vessey – S. Reid, Chichester 2012, 284-296.
5
Justin the Martyr in his First Apology give us a snapshot of the Christian
liturgy at Rome in the Second Century. On Sundays, the faithful gather in
the place of worship. The Word of God is read and commented upon by the
president and then bread and wine are brought forward, consecrated and
shared among the present, and sent to those were absent through the ministry
of the deacons… Cf. Iust., 1 Apol. 67, 3-5 (SCh 507, 308-310): Καὶ τῇ τοῦ ἡλίου

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 477

a pastor of souls acted as a devout promoter of liturgy both through

the ministry of preaching and the breaking the Eucharistic Bread.6
I set out in this article to examine Augustine’s Eucharistic spiri-
tuality as it can be seen in his sermons during the Easter period.7 In

λεγομένῃ ἡμέρᾳ πάντων κατὰ πόλεις ἢ ἀγροὺς μενόντων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ συνέλευσις
γίνεται, καὶ τὰ ἀπομνημονεύματα τῶν ἀποστόλων ἢ τὰ συγγράμματα τῶν
προφητῶν ἀναγινώσκεται, μέχρις ἐγχωρεῖ. εἶτα παυσαμένου τοῦ ἀναγινώσκοντος
ὁ προεστὼς διὰ λόγου τὴν νουθεσίαν καὶ πρόκλησιν τῆς τῶν καλῶν τούτων
μιμήσεως ποιεῖται. ἔπειτα ἀνιστάμεθα κοινῇ πάντες καὶ εὐχὰς πέμπομεν. καί, ὡς
προέφημεν, παυσαμένων ἡμῶν τῆς εὐχῆς, ἄρτος προσφέρεται καὶ οἶνος καὶ ὕδωρ,
καὶ ὁ προεστὼς εὐχὰς ὁμοίως καὶ εὐχαριστίας, ὅση δύναμις αὐτῷ, ἀναπέμπει, καὶ ὁ
λαὸς ἐπευφημεῖ, λέγων τὸ Ἀμήν. ἀναπέμπει, καὶ ὁ λαὸς ἐπευφημεῖ, λέγων τὸ Ἀμήν.
καὶ ἡ διάδοσις καὶ ἡ μετάληψις ἀπὸ τῶν εὐχαριστηθέντων ἑκάστῳ γίνεται, καὶ τοῖς
οὐ παροῦσι διὰ τῶν διακόνων πέμπεται.
6
Cf. A. Marini, La celebrazione eucaristica presieduta da Sant’Agostino. La parteci-
pazione dei fedeli alla Liturgia della Parola e al Sacrificio Eucaristico, Brescia 1989; V.
H. Drecoll, Liturgie bei Augustin, in Augustin Handbuch, ed. V. H. Drecoll, Tübin-
gen 2007, 224-232; W. Knowles, “Numbering” Liturgy. An Augustinian Aesthetic of
Liturgy, in Proceedings of the North American Academy of Liturgy (2009), 158-177; J. P.
Burns – R. M. Jensen, The Eucharistic Liturgy in Hippo’s Basilica Major at the Time
of Augustine, in Augustine through the Ages. An Encyclopedia, ed. A. D. Fitzgerald,
Grand Rapids, MI 1999, 335-338; N. Potteau, Un Dimanche à Hippone, in Itinéraires
Augustiniens 46 (2011), 5-8.
7
In the ancient Church, the Sacraments of Christian initiation where ad-
ministered primarily during the Easter celebrations. The initiation is preceded
by a demanding preparation that took place during Lent. First of all, the can-
didate who desired to be baptised get enrolled before Lent began. They are
called illuminandi in the East, competentes (i.e., those who petition together or
proceed together) or electi in the West. The second step, more circumscribed
and decisive, provided for a brief but intense period of formation, during Lent,
of those enrolled for baptism. It included a prominent catechetical dimension,
with apposite catechises, complemented by the common Lenten homilies. The
scripturally based instruction conveyed a moral-dogmatic catechesis. Cf. O.
Pasquato, Catechumenate – Discipleship, in Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, ed.
A. Di Berardino, Downers Groove IL 2014, vol. 1, 464. Generally, the prepara-
tion ended at Easter vigil with Baptism. The weeks following the celebration of
the resurrection of the Lord, most especially the week immediately following
Easter, were also equally important as they gave the Bishop used the oppor-
tunity to explain in-depth the mysteries celebrated through his mystagogical
catechism (This is present in an eminent way in Fathers such as Cyril of Jerusa-
lem, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Ambrose of Milan). The

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Augustine’s corpus, there important texts on the Eucharist outside

his preaching.8 However, I chose to focus on his preaching for the
limitations imposed by the size of an article, and most especially in or-
der to show what the Bishop of Hippo teaches directly in the context
of liturgical celebrations and exegetical exposition on the Eucharist
as an expression of his Eucharistic spirituality. To that effect, my line
of argument will not be limited solely to the Sermones but will include
some other relevant texts such as his Tractates of the Gospel of Saint John
and Enarrationes in Psalmos,9 to show how the pastor teaches the ba-
sic elements of the great mystery of faith and how he enlightens the
Christian people then and now on the importance of the Eucharist as
the Sacrament of Piety, sign of Unity and bond of Charity.10

sermons we are going to analyse here were preached precisely in this context.
On the topic Christian initiation in the ancient Church, see Sacraments and Wor-
ship. Liturgy and doctrinal Development of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist,
ed. P. F. Palmer, London 1957; M. E. Johnson, The Rites of Christian Initiation.
Their Evolution and Interpretation, Collegeville, MN 1999; Id., Worship, Practice and
Belief, in The early Christian World, ed. P. F. Esler, London 2000; S. C. Mimouni,
Le rituel d’adhésion (le baptême) dans les communautés chrétiennes du 1er siècle: recherche
sur les origines, in Les communautés religieuses dans le monde gréco-romain: essais de
définition, edd. N. Belayche – S. C. Mimouni, Turnhout 2003; E. Ferguson, Bap-
tism in the Early Church. History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries,
Grand Rapids MI 2009; «Fons Vitae»: baptême, baptistères et rites d’initiation, IIe-VIe
siècle. Actes de la journée d’études, Université de Lausanne, 1er décembre 2006, edd. I.
Foletti – S. Romano, Lausanne 2009.
8
P. de Luis Vizcaíno, presents some of the fundamental texts of Augustine’s
Eucharistic doctrine in his new book. Cf. Id., La Eucaristía según San Agustín.
Ver, creer, entender, Guadarrama 2017, 55-143.
9
These important elements of Augustine’s corpus are basically exegetical
compositions. Some of them were preached directly to the people while others
were dictated to make a complete commentary of each of the biblical books
(the Psalms and the Gospel of John). For a comprehensive introduction to the
Enarrationes in Psalmos, cf. M. Fiedrowicz, Enarrationes in Psalmos, in Augustinus
Lexikon 2, 848; Id., General Introduction, in Expositions on the Psalms 1-32, Hyde
Park NY 2000 (The Works of Saint Augustine III/15), 13-66. For the Tractates on
the Gospel of John, cf. M.-F. Berrouard, Introduction aux homélies de saint Augustin
sur l’Évangile de saint Jean, Paris 2004 (Collection des études augustiniennes.
Série antiquité 170).
10
Aug., Io. eu. tr. 26, 13 (CCSL 36, 266): o sacramentum pietatis! o signum unita-
tis! o uinculum caritatis! In recent years, there have been important publication

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 479

The paper will fall into four parts. First of all, I intend to examine
what the preacher of Hippo says about what believers actually receive
by participating of the Altar of the Lord. Secondly, I will focus on
the importance of the disposition of the soul of those who receive
the Eucharist each time they draw near to it. Thirdly, I will take into
consideration what he considers as the effects of the reception of the
Eucharist. Finally, I will examine Augustine’s thought on the Eucha-
rist and the Church.
The English translation of Augustine’s texts I use in my work is
that of Edmund Hill in the Works of Saint Augustine. A Translation for
the 21st Century (henceforth WSA) when it is available. Sometimes
the translation from Latin is mine. The Editions in the critical ap-
paratus of my work are from the “Corpus Christianorum Series Lati-

on Augustine’s teaching on the Eucharist. Among the most recent, I wish to

indicate: V. Grossi, L’Eucaristia in Sant’Agostino, in L’Eucaristia nei Padri della
Chiesa, Roma 1998 (Dizionario di spiritualità biblico-patristica 20), 261-270; I
grandi temi della S. Scrittura per la Lectio divina, ed. S. A. Panimolle, Roma 1998;
E. A. Eguiarte Bendímez, Eucaristía y comunidad en San Agustín. Algunas conside-
raciones, in Mayéutica 31/72 (2005), 251-272; A. D. Fitzgerald, Augustine on Eucha-
rist. Your only Son [is] my ransom Price, which I eat, drink and dispense to Others
(Conf. 10.43.70), in Prayer and Spirituality in the early Church IV: The Spiritual Life,
edd. L. Cross – P. Allen – W. Mayer, Strathfield 2006, 267-280; Id., Saint Augustine
and the Eucharist. The Presence of the Church, in Our Journey Back to God. Reflections
on Augustinian Spirituality, ed. M. A. Keller, Roma 2006, 240-254; G. Caruso, L’Eu-
caristia nella riflessione di Agostino, in Alpha Omega 11 (2008), 13-36; J. C. Cavadini,
Eucharistic Exegesis in Augustine’s Confessions, in Augustinian Studies 41 (2011), 84-
108; M. G. Vaillancourt, The eucharistic Realism of St Augustine. Did Paschasius
Radbertus get him right? An examination of recent Scholarship on the Sermons of St.
Augustine, in Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic
Studies held in Oxford 2011. Vol. 18: Augustine and his Opponents, ed. M. Vinzent,
Leuven-Paris-Walpole MA 2013 (SP 70), 569-576; M. Giusto, L’Eucharistie, révé-
lation suprême de la miséricorde chez saint Augustin, in Nouvelle Revue Théologique
138 (2016), 221-240; P. de Luis Vizcaíno, La Eucaristía según San Agustín; Id., Los
Tratados 26-27 sobre el evangelio de San Juan. Un texto difícil de la teología eucarística
de san Agustín, in Estudio Agustiniano 52 (2017), 271-296; A. Di Berardino, Augus-
tine on the Eucharist, in Caritas Veritatis 2 (2017), 25-59; T. Cocquerez, La catéchèse
mystagogique sur l’Eucharistie au cours de l’Octave de Pâques, in Itinéraires Augusti-
niens 59 (2018), 15-25; Th. Fries, Empfangt, was ihr seid. Impulse Augustins für eine
eucharistische Spiritualität, Würzburg 2018 (Augustinus heute 10).

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na” (CCSL) or “Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum”

(CSEL), “Miscellanea Agostiniana” (MA). Where the critical edi-
tions are lacking, I use Migne’s “Patrologia Latina” (PL). In some
occurrences, I use the critical editions of “Sources Chrétiennes”
(SCh) or texts published in Revue Benedictine (RB).

2. What we receive by partaking of the Holy Altar

Saint Augustine’s catechesis on the Eucharist in the sermons held

during Easter season is generally directed to the neophytes who, after
their Baptism, receive for the first time the Sacrament of the Body
and Blood of Christ. For this reason, he deemed it fit to insist on the
sense of what they receive. Augustine referred to them as infantes, a
word he used to designate the newly baptized adults of his Church.11
They are regarded as new-born children in Christ, and as a matter
of fact, they needed to be fed with the spiritual food that would sus-
tain their pilgrimage through the desert of life. The first sermon (s.
260B) we are going to take into consideration is believed to have been
preached during the octave of Easter.12 In it, the preacher makes a

11
Cf. Aug. s. 228, 1 (PL 38, 1101): Ex his diebus, septem uel octo qui nunc agun-
tur, sacramentis infantium deputantur. qui paulo ante uocabantur competentes, modo
uocantur infantes. Competentes dicebantur, quoniam materna uiscera, ut nascerentur,
petendo pulsabant: infantes dicuntur, quia modo nati sunt Christo, qui prius nati fue-
rant saeculo. See also Aug. s. 226; s. 223, 1. The use the term infans for newly bap-
tized must have been common in the Western Church by the time Augustine
was the Bishop of Hippo. Its use in the same sense as that of Augustine is also
testified in a late 4th century text prior to Augustine, namely the Itinerarium Ege-
riae or Peregrinatio Aetheriae. It is a kind of personal journal of Egeria, in which
she gives a detailed account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She calls the new-
ly baptized adults coming out of the baptismal fonts infantes. Cf. Eger., Pereg.
38, 1 (CSEL 39, 90): Vigiliae autem paschales sic fiunt, quemadmodum ad nos; hoc
solum hic amplius fit, quod infantes, cum baptidiati fuerint et uestiti, quemadmodum
exient de fonte simul cum episcopo primum ad anastase ducuntur. The latest academic
work on Egeria’s Pilgrimage in English language is that of A. McGowan and P. F.
Bradshaw, The Pilgrimage of Egeria. A New Translation of the Itinerarium Egeriae
with Introduction and Commentary, Collegeville MN 2018.
12
In the ancient tradition, especially in the context of Augustine’s church,
the week following Easter was called Octavae infantum which means “the eight
days of the new-born”. As mentioned in note 5 above, the catechism to the

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clear statement about his audience: «I am particularly addressing you,

fresh buds of holiness, born again of water and the Spirit» (Io. 5:3),
«planted and watered by our ministry in the field of God, who is the
one that gives the increase» (1 Cor. 3:7).13 Using the model of the Ex-
odus and desert journey of Israel people as an example, he continues
still addressing them:
You must think of yourselves as brought out of Egypt, freed from a
harsh slavery, in which iniquity was your master; as having also passed
through the Red Sea; through baptism, that is to say, which was
marked by the bloodstained cross of Christ […]. So now you must
make for the heavenly kingdom, to which you have been called, as to
the promised land; and while you make your way through this earthly
life, as through the desert, watch out for and stand up to all kinds of
temptation.14

The Bishop of Hippo states in the same sermon that the newly
baptized, and of course every Christian, receive in the Eucharist the
food that helps them in the journey: «You receive your manna, after
all, from sharing at the holy altar, and what you drink flows from

newly baptized in the octave in very important. In effect, many of them after
that week would return to their villages and the countryside and would not see
the bishop again except in some special occasions. So, Augustine seized the
opportunity to teach the essential truth about the Christian faith, commenting
on the New Testament texts related to the eyewitnesses of the Lord (Gospels
and Acts of the Apostles). For more details on this topic, see Introduction in
Augustin d’Hippone. Sermons pour la Pâque, ed. S. Poque (SCh 116), Paris 1966,
85. According to Edmund Hill, the sermon was preached during the Octave of
Easter 405 but he gives no justification for his choice. Cf. Sermons (230-272B). On
the Liturgical Seasons, ed. J. E. Rotelle, Hyde Park NY 1993 (The Works of Saint
Augustine III/7), 194, note 1.
13
Aug., s. 260B, 1 (= s. Mai 89,1) (MA 1, 330): Praecipue uos alloquimur, nouella
germina sanctitatis, regenerata ex aqua et spiritu, plantata et rigata per ministerium
nostrum in agro dei, qui dat incrementum.
14
Ibid. (MA 1, 330-331): Sic uos existimate tamquam ex Aegypto liberatos a dura
seruitute, in qua uobis dominabatur iniquitas; transisse etiam per mare rubrum, per bap-
tismum scilicet sanguinea Christi cruce signatum […]. Nunc ergo caeleste regnum, quo
uocati estis, tamquam terram promissionis inquirite; et per istam terrenam uitam, uelut
per heremum iter agentes, temptationibus uigilanter obsistite.

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the rock».15 The Eucharistic Bread, therefore, is the spiritual manna

provided by Christ from the Holy Altar while the chalice on the Altar
symbolizes the rock from which water gushed forth in the desert to
quench the thirst of the pilgrim people. The Eucharist is therefore
conceived as real sustenance for the life of those who have embraced
the faith in Christ.
In another sermon preached a week before Easter, in which he
makes a detailed commentary of the Lord’s Prayer to the catechu-
mens,16 Augustine makes reference to the Eucharist. Regarding the
fourth petition on daily bread the bishop said:
The prayer continues, «Give us this day our daily bread» (Mt. 6:11).
Whether we are asking the Father for the provision our bodies need,
including under the heading of “bread” whatever it is we need, or

Aug., s. 260B, 1 (MA 1, 331): Manna enim uestrum de sancti altaris participa-
15

tione percipitis, et de petra effluit quod potatis.

16
This sermon was preached on the day the Lord’s Prayer was handed over
by the bishop to the Competentes, those catechumens who had been enrolled at
the beginning of Lent as candidates for baptism at the paschal vigil (see note
5). It was customary that a week before Easter, the Pater Noster should be given to
the Competentes for them to memorise and recite it with the whole community a
week later. This ceremony was called Traditio (i.e. “handing over”) of the Lord’s
Prayer which is usually followed in subsequent days by the Redditio (giving back)
of the same prayer. Regarding the date of this sermon cf. P.-P. Verbraken, Études
critiques sur les sermons authentiques de saint Augustin, Steenbrugge 1976, 67. There
are many publications on the Lord’s Prayer in the Patristic tradition. We shall
mention only a few of them here: S. Sabugal, Il Padre nostro nella catechesi antica
e moderna, Roma 1994; J.-P. Bouhot, La tradition catéchétique et exégétique du Pater
Noster, in Recherches Augustiniennes et Patristiques 33 (2003), 3-18; M. Neusch, Le
Notre Père au cours des siècles, in Itinéraires Augustiniens 9 (1993), 27-40; A. Hamman,
Le Notre Père dans l’Église ancienne. Choix de textes des Pères de l’Église, Paris 1995;
Y.-M Duval, Le Notre Père et le Baptême chez les Pères, in Esprit et Vie 107 (1997), 241-
251. Specifically on Saint Augustin, cf. M. G. St. A. Jackson, The Lord’s Prayer in
St. Augustine, in Papers presented at the Eleventh International Conference on Patristic
Studies held in Oxford 1991, ed. E. A. Livingstone, Leuven 1993 (SP 27), 311-321;
G. Ferlisi, Antologia agostiniana: Il commento al Padre Nostro, in Presenza Agostiniana
26 (1999), 4-14; H. van Reisen, ¿La tierra como el cielo? San Agustín sobre el Padre
nuestro, in Mayéutica 38/86 (2012), 339-355; J. G. Álvarez, Le Notre Père chez saint
Augustin, in Connaissance des Pères de l’Église 116 (2009), 35-47; Id., El Padre Nuestro
en san Agustín, in Revista agustiniana 58 (2017), 23-40.

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 483

whether we take it to mean that daily bread which you are going to
receive from the altar, we do well to ask him to give it to us this day,
that is, during this present time.17

So, the Eucharist is also a daily bread we should ask for. It is

this Bread, the Body of Christ we receive that prepares us for the
life we shall live with him at the end of this earthly life. Augustine
continues: «But when this life is over, we won’t be requiring either
the bread that hunger demands, nor do we have to receive the sac-
rament of the altar, because then we shall be with Christ whose body
we receive…».18 From this sermon addressed to the Competentes, Au-
gustine presents the Eucharist as part of the petition of daily bread
in the Lord’s Prayer and that bread we receive is the real Body of
Christ. This also suggests his advocacy for the daily reception of the
Eucharist.19
There is a continuous instance of the preacher of Hippo on what
makes the bread, fruit of human work,20 to become the Body of

17
Aug., s. 59, 6 (SCh 116, 191-192): Sequitur in oratione: «panem nostrum cot-
tidianum da nobis hodie [Mt. 6, 11]». Siue exhibitionem corpori necessariam petamus
a patre, in pane significantes quicquid nobis est necessarium, siue cottidianum panem
illum intellegamus quem accepturi estis de altari, bene petimus ut det nobis hodie, id est
hoc tempore.
18
Ibid. (SCh 116, 192): Cum autem uita ista transierit nec panem illum quaeremus
quem quaerit fames, nec sacramentum altaris habemus accipere, quia ibi erimus cum
Christo cuius corpus accipimus.
19
In a short but well-researched article, B. de Margerie nicely links the daily
celebration of the Eucharist to Community life in the light of the Rule of Saint
Augustine. The Rule of St. Augustine, he says, does not speak explicitly of the
Eucharist, but it presupposes it clearly and must be interpreted in the context
of his entire corpus. After a brief reminder of Augustine’s teachings on daily
communion, de Margerie explains how those teachings illuminate what Augus-
tine’s Rule says about the common good, about union in charity, reconciliation
and poverty. In conclusion, he examines, in the light of the daily Eucharist, the
influence of the monastic Churches on the universal Church, as well as the con-
ditioning of the latter by it. Cf. B. de Margerie, Eucharistie et Communauté dans le
contexte de la Règle de saint Augustin, in Augustiniana 41 (1991), 1-4.
20
The preacher describes in details to the faithful the whole process through
which bread is made as a fruit of human labour in the sermon we are going to
examine below; s. 229. 1: «Call to mind what this created object was, not so long
ago, in the fields; how the earth produced it, the rain nourished it, ripened it

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Christ. This effort of explanation falls within the scope of the pastor’s
desire to cast off all shades of doubt about what the faithful receive.
In many of the sermons held during Eastertide, he abundantly speaks
about the “word” that transforms the bread and wine into the Body
and Blood of Christ. His Sermon 229 is said to have been preached on
Easter Monday of a year between 405 and 41121 and focusses on the
sacraments of Easter. In it, Augustine affirms the importance of that
word pronounced by the minister and that transformed the species
into a sacrament:
What you can see here, dearly beloved, on the table of the Lord, is
bread and wine; but this bread and wine, when the word is applied to
it, becomes the body and blood of the Word. That Lord, you see, who
in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God (Io. 1:1), was so compassionate that he did not despise
what he had created in his own image (Gen. 1:26-27); and therefore
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Io. 1:14), as you know.
Because, yes, the very Word took to himself a man, that is the soul
and flesh of a man, and became man, while remaining God. For that

into the full ear; then human labor carried it to the threshing floor, threshed
it, winnowed it, stored it, brought it out, ground it, mixed it into dough, baked
it, and hardly any time ago at all produced it finally as bread».
21
P.-P. Verbraken classifies this sermon among the authentic sermons of
Saint Augustine but prudently indicates the scholars who questioned its au-
thenticity. Cf. P.-P. Verbraken, Études critiques sur les sermons, 110. On his part,
E. Hill underlines some internal evidence in the text, which could justify the
doubt about the authenticity of the sermon. He writes: «The Maurists only have
this sermon as a short fragment, preserved by Bede and Florus; in fact as a
chain of scattered fragments – every other sentence, as it were, from sections 1
and 2. The sermon’s authenticity has been questioned; the only solid reason I
can surmise for this from the sermon itself is the fact that in section 3 below the
preacher refers to the celebrant of the eucharist (himself, presumably) as the
sacerdos, the high priest: a usage I have never come across before in Augustine’s
writings. In a similar context in Sermon 227 he speaks of the episcopus vel presby-
ter qui offert, the priest or presbyter who offers. For less tangible reasons of style
and tone, I am hesitantly inclined to share the doubts about the sermon being
genuinely one of Augustine’s. If it is not, though, then it is one of a very faithful
disciple of the master, someone like Caesarius of Arles» (Sermons [184-229Z]. On
the Liturgical Seasons, ed. J. E. Rotelle, Hyde Park NY 1993 [The Works of Saint
Augustine III/6], 267, note 1).

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 485

reason, because he also suffered for us, he also presented us in this

sacrament with his body and blood, and this is what he even made us
ourselves into as well.22

As E. Hill beautifully asserts in a note to his translation of this t­ ext,23

one can see the realism of the Augustinian Eucharistic theology, and
I say Eucharistic spirituality, in display. Indeed, the bishop of Hippo
clearly states the reality of Christ’s presence in the sacrament – «iste
panis et hoc uinum accedente verbo fit corpus et sanguis Verbi». It is
also interesting to note the rhetor-preacher’s use of language in this
clause. His ability of rhetor enters into play as he displays the figure
of polyptoton (verbo – Verbi) to express the invisible change that takes
place when the “word” of the minister is applied to the bread and
wine that turn into the Body and Blood of the “Word”.24 He goes on
immediately to reflect on what the real presence itself means or signi-
fies: namely our unity with him, and in him with each other, in being
ourselves the body of Christ. This is the ultimate grace of the Eucha-
rist, the ultimate thing signified; what scholastic theology calls the res

22
Aug., s. 229, 1 =s. Denis 6, 1 (MA 1, 29-30): Hoc quod uidetis, carissimi, in
mensa domini, panis est et uinum: sed iste panis et hoc uinum accedente Uerbo fit corpus
et sanguis Uerbi. ille enim dominus, qui «in principio erat Uerbum, et Uerbum erat apud
Deum, et Deus erat Uerbum» [Io. 1:1], propter misericordiam suam, qua non contempsit
quod creauit ad imaginem suam, «Uerbum caro factum est, et habitauit in nobis» [Io.
1:14], sicut scitis; quia et ipsum Uerbum adsumsit hominem, id est, animam et carnem
hominis, et homo factus est, manens Deus. propter hoc, quia et passus est pro nobis, com-
mendauit nobis in isto sacramento corpus et sanguinem suum, quod etiam fecit et nos
ipsos. nam et nos corpus ipsius facti sumus, et per misericordiam ipsius, quod accipimus,
nos sumus.
23
Cf. Sermons (184-229Z). On the Liturgical Seasons, 267, note 3.
24
The beauty of Augustine’s language is better savoured in his original latin
texts. On his use of rhetoric and stylistic devices in his sermons, Cf. M. Avilés,
Predicación de san Agustín. La teoría de la retórica agustiniana y la práctica de sus
sermones, in Augustinus 28 (1983), 391-417; L. F. Pizzolato, Capitoli di retorica agosti-
niana, Roma 1997; M. Cameron, Figures of Speech in the early Augustinian Exegesis,
in Augustinian Studies 38 (2007), 69-93; N. Cipriani, La retorica negli scrittori cristia-
ni antichi. Inventio e Dispositio, Roma 2013 (Sussidi Patristici 18); M. I. Barry, St.
Augustine, the Orator. A Study of the rhetorical Qualities of St. Augistine’s Sermones
ad popolum, Whitefish MT 2015.

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 486 k. chabi

tantum of the Eucharist.25 The real presence of the body and blood of
Christ in the consecrated species of bread and wine is what that same
terminology calls the res et sacramentum: the reality signified by the
sacramental sign of bread and wine, which is itself the sacrament, that
is the sign, of the ultimate reality, the res tantum, namely our commu-
nion in the body of Christ, and thus the unity of the body of Christ,
which is his Church. This idea is beautifully expressed in s. 229A, 1:
Listen very briefly to the apostle, or rather to Christ speaking through
the apostle, to what he says about the sacrament of the Lord’s table:
«One loaf, one body, is what we, being many, are» (1 Cor. 10:17). There
you have it all; I said it in a moment. But you must weigh the words,
don’t count them. If you count the words, it’s short enough; if you
weigh them, it’s tremendous. One loaf, he said. However, many loaves
may be placed there, it’s one loaf; however, many loaves there may be
on Christ’s altars throughout the world, it’s one loaf. But what does it
mean, one loaf? He explained very briefly: «one body is what we, being
many, are». This is the body of Christ, about which the apostle says
while addressing the Church, «But you are the body of Christ and his
members» (1 Cor. 12:27). What you receive is what you yourselves are,
thanks to the grace by which you have been redeemed; you add your
signature to this when you answer Amen. What you see here is the
sacrament of unity.26

In the previous s. 229, while explaining the rite of the Holy Mass to
the Infantes, Augustine returns to the change that takes place through
the power of the word pronounced on the bread and wine:

On this topic see R. F. King, The Origin and Evolution of a sacramental For-
25

mula. Sacramentum tantum, res et sacramentum, res tantum, in The Thomist 31

(1967), 21-82.
26
Aug. s. 229A, 1 = s. Guelf 7, 1 (MA 1, 463): Ecce breuiter audite apostolum, immo
Christum per apostolum, de sacramento mensae dominicae quod ait: «unus panis, unum
corpus multi sumus» [1 Cor. 10:17]. Ecce totum est, cito dixi: sed appendite uerba, nolite
numerare. si uerba numeratis, breue est; si appenditis, grande est. unus panis, dixit.
quotquot ibi panes positi fuerint, unus panis: quotquot panes fuerint in altaribus Christi
hodie per totum orbem terrarum, unus panis est. sed quid est, unus panis? exposuit
breuissime: «unum corpus multi sumus» [1 Cor. 10:17]. hoc panis corpus Christi, de quo
dicit apostolus, alloquens ecclesiam: «uos autem estis corpus Christi et membra» [1 Cor.
12:27]. quod accipitis, uos estis, gratia qua redempti estis; subscribitis, quando amen
respondetis. hoc quod uidetis, sacramentum est unitatis.

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 487

We come now to what is done in the holy prayers which you are going
to hear, that with the application of the word we may have the body
and blood of Christ. Take away the word, I mean, it’s just bread and
wine; add the word, and it’s now something else. And what is that
something else? The body of Christ, and the blood of Christ. So, take
away the word, it’s bread and wine; add the word and it will become
the sacrament.27

All the above-quoted passages show the care Augustine puts in

explaining the fundamental elements of faith in the mystery of the
Eucharist to the newly baptized Christians (Infantes). We see him re-
turning to the same topic in many other sermons preached in the
same context.28 I will now turn to what Augustine says about the dis-
position the believer should have before partaking of the Body and
Blood of Christ.
3. The importance of the spiritual disposition of those who receive it29
We shall look at four of the conditions Augustine recommends
for those who want to receive the Body of Christ worthily. Firstly, in
some sermons, he speaks of humility, and so we shall examine what
in his teaching is about humility in relation to Eucharist. Another
aspect that we shall focus on is innocence which he considers as one
of the interior dispositions one needs to have before approaching
the table of the Lord. We shall consider his insistence on forgive-

27
Aug., s. 229, 1 (MA 1, 30): Et inde iam quae aguntur in precibus sanctis quas
audituri estis, ut accedente uerbo fiat corpus et sanguis Christi. nam tolle uerbum, panis
est et uinum: adde uerbum, et iam aliud est. et ipsum aliud, quid est? corpus Christi, et
sanguis Christi. tolle ergo uerbum, panis est et uinum: adde uerbum, et fiet sacramentum.
28
Cf. Aug., s. 229A, 1 = s. Guelf. 7,1 (MA 1, 462); s. 234,2 (PL 38, 1115); s. 228B,
2 = s. Denis 3, 2 (MA 1, 19); s. 229D, 2 = s. Wilm. 9, 2 (MA 1, 693-694).
29
On this aspect on Augustine’s Eucharistic doctrine, cf. R. Brunet, Charité
et Communion des Saints chez S. Augustin. Réalisme avec lequel saint Augustin com-
prend l’unité qui groupe les chrétiens, in Revue d’Ascétique et de Mystique 31 (1955),
386-398. Another interesting study is that of L. Brigué, Les dispositions à la com-
munion chez saint Augustin, in Recherches de science religieuse 29 (1939), 385-428. In
this article, Brigué shows that for communion to be good, according to Saint
Augustine, the faithful must possess not only faith, charity and respect that im-
poses the purity of soul and body on them, but also a great trust and an ardent
desire to be nourished by Christ.

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ness, especially while commenting on the Lord’s prayer. Finally, we

shall also examine the problem of division caused by the schismatic
group of the Donatists, addressed by Augustine as one of the grave
factors that made disqualifies one from partaking of the banquet of
the Lord.
The guiding principle to the understanding of Augustine’s teach-
ing regarding the right disposition one should have before receiving
the Eucharist could be this idea of his: «A good gift cannot bene-
fit anyone who receives it in a bad way».30 If this wise insight of the
preacher of Hippo applies to any good whatsoever, it most eminent-
ly applies to the supreme gift of the Body and Blood of the Lord
we receive at the altar. Further, Saint Paul’s recommendation in 1
Cor. 11:29 not receive the Eucharist for self-condemnation has been
made reference to over 23 times in the works of Saint Augustin and
six of the mentions are found in his sermons.31 This shows the impor-
tance he places on the right disposition the believers need to have
before approaching the sacred banquet. One of the examples in
which Augustine cites Saint Paul’s exhortation is s. 228B, 4. Augustine
recommends self-examination to the newly baptized in this sermon
preached during the Easter period. He, first of all, reminds them
what we have already mentioned in the first point of this study: those
who receive the Body of Christ, receive what they are, then warns
them not to participate unworthily citing the Apostle:
So, you are beginning to receive what you have also begun to be,
provided you do not receive unworthily; else you would be eating
and drinking judgment upon yourselves. That, you see, is what he
says: «Any who eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord unwor-
thily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But people
should examine themselves, and in this way eat of the bread and

30
Aug., en. Ps. 142, 16 (CCSL 40, 2071): Bene esse non potest male accipienti quod
bonum est. Cf. Id., s. 266, 7 (PL 38, 1229): Bene accipiatur, et bonum est: etsi male acci-
piatur, bonum est. Uae hominibus bonum male accipientibus; Id., bapt. 5, 9 (CSEL 51,
270): Indigne quisque sumens dominicum sacramentum non efficit, ut quia ipse malus
est malum sit aut quia non ad salutem accipit nihil acceperit.
31
Cf. Id., s. 4, 35 (CCSL 41, 45); s. 90, 1 (PL 38, 567); s. 164, 11 (PL 38, 900);
s. Denis 11, 6 (MA 1, 47); s. Dolbeau 17, 4 (RB 104 [1994], 41-48); s. Mai 129, 1
(MA 1, 375).

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 489

drink of the cup; for those who eat and drink unworthily are eating
and drinking judgment upon themselves» (1 Cor. 11:27-29).32

Augustine does not address this exhortation solely to the neo-

phytes but often uses this passage when he is preaching to the faithful
in general. In s. 90, 1 he says: «I am addressing my remarks to all you
good people who sit down to this banquet, those of you who take to
heart the words “ Whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks
judgment upon himself”» (1 Cor. 11:29).33 Augustine brings in the text
of Saint Paul to create a deeper awareness in his listeners so that they
should not take for granted the mystery they approach.

Let’s now begin with humility as a sine qua non conditions for re-
ceiving the Eucharist. In his Tractates 84 on the Gospel of John, the
Bishop of Hippo insists on the need of humility on the part of the
person who approaches the Eucharist. He first of all quotes a text
from the book of Proverbs: «If you have taken your seat to dine at
the table of a powerful man (mensa potentis), observe shrewdly what is
being set before you, and stretch out your hand, knowing that it will
be your duty to prepare the same sort of food yourself» (Prov. 23:1-
2). For Augustine, the table of the powerful man is nothing but the
altar of the Lord, where we share in the Holy Eucharist.34 He made
his eucharistic understanding of the text plain by further affirming:
32
Id., s. 228B, 4 = s. Denis 3, 4 (MA 1, 20): Accipere ergo incipitis quod et esse coe-
pistis, si non indigne accipiatis, ne iudicium uobis manducetis et bibatis. Sic enim dicit:
quicumque manducauerit panem aut biberit calicem domini indigne, reus erit corporis et
sanguinis domini. probet autem se homo, et sic de pane edat, et de calice bibat; qui enim
manducat et bibit indigne, iudicium sibi manducat et bibit [1 Cor. 11:27-29].
33
Id., s. 90, 1 (PL 38, 559): Alloquor ergo uos, qui in hoc conuiuio boni discumbitis,
quicumque attenditis quod dictum est. «qui manducat et bibit indigne, iudicium sibi
manducat et bibit» [1 Cor. 11:29].
34
Concerning Augustine’s allegorical interpretation of this text, see S. Po-
que, L’exégèse augustinienne de Proverbes 23, 1-2, in RB 78 (1968), 117-127. Poque
identified all the then available texts in the works of Saint Augustine, in which
he comments on this passage. She knew only seven texts: s. 31 (CCSL 41, 391),
s. Guelf. 32 (MA 1, 563), s. 329 (PL 38, 1454), s. 332 (PL 38, 1461), s. 304 (PL 38,
1395), Io. eu. tr. 47 (CCSL 36, 404), Io. eu. tr. 87(CCSL 36, 537). To these texts
mentioned by Poque, we should add one of the newly discovered sermons by F.
Dolbeau, namely, s. Dolbeau 9 (RB 101 [1991], 251-256).

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«For what is the table of the mighty, but that from which we take the
body and blood of Him who laid down His life for us? And what is it
to sit at table, but to approach in humility?».35 To sit at such a table
requires humility or rather is a sign of humility. We could, therefore,
consider humility as one of the dispositions of the heart the believer
is to have if he wants to receive worthily the Body and blood of Christ.
This emerges plainly in s. 28A, 4: «Take your seat to dine at his table:
be humble as you approach his altar; sitting down, you see, is a mark
of humility».36 Augustine, therefore, considers the table of the mighty
man as the altar of the Lord. Now, in reference to the second part of
the text of Prov. 23:2 («Knowing that it will be your duty to prepare
the same sort of food yourself»), he reflects on returning Christ’s
hospitality for being invited to his table. It is in this context that he
warns whosoever thinks he can repay the Lord to be humble. So, he
strongly insists on humility as he adds:
Attributing more to yourself than you know you are worth, that’s the
deceitful life, that’s hypocrisy, that’s boastfulness, not obedience. It’s
a totally deceitful life. For whoever thinks he is anything, when he is
nothing, is deceiving himself (Gal. 6:3) […]. If you give yourself more
than you are, and are greedier in this way, and fail to perceive the
grace when you approach the table of grace, notice what he adds, and
the kind of advice he gives you. What is it you were saying, after all?
«I’ll pay back from my own resources, I’ll give a return from my own
means, I will prepare a meal from my own means, and I will prepare
the same sort of meal as this rich man has provided». […] «“Do not
stretch yourself against the rich man, since you are poor; but restrain
yourself in your thoughts» (Prov. 23:4). Take your own measure; do
not go outside yourself and mock me, but enter into yourself and
observe the real you».37

35
Aug., Io. eu. tr. 84, 1 (CCSL 36, 537): Nam quae mensa est potentis, nisi unde
sumitur corpus et sanguis eius qui animam suam posuit pro nobis? Et quid est ad eam
sedere, nisi humiliter accedere?
36
Id., s. 28A, 4 = s. Dolbeau 9, 4 (RB 101 [1991], 254): Sede cenare ad mensam
eius: humilis accede ad altare eius, sessio enim signum est humilitatis; Cf. Id., en. Ps.
126, 5 (CCSL 40, 1860); Id., s. 179, 3 (PL 38, 968).
37
Id., s. 28A, 6 (RB 101 [1991], 255) auidiorem te esse, plus tibi dare, plus tibi adsi-
gnare quam te scias esse, fallax uita est, hypocrisis est, iactantia, non oboedientia. fallax

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 491

Regarding the need to take an innocent heart to the altar, our

reference text is Tractate 26 to the Gospel according to John which is
basically on the Eucharist. This tractate is part of those homilies he
actually preached before the faithful and not a merely dictated exe-
getical text.38 The preacher invites his listeners to always do the need-
ed preparation before approaching the Body and blood of Christ. It
is important to bring an innocent heart to the presence of God, to
forgive one’s neighbour in order to be true in what one says in the
Lord’s Prayer. He says:
See to it then, brothers and sisters; eat the heavenly bread in a spir-
itual way; bring innocence along to the altar. Even if there are sins
every day, at least do not let them be deadly. Before you approach
the altar, pay attention to what you say: Forgive us our debts, just as
we too forgive our debtors (Mt. 6:12). You forgive, you are forgiven;
approach without a qualm, it is bread, not poison. But mind you really
do forgive; because if you do not forgive, you are lying, and you are
lying to one whom you do not deceive. You can lie to God, you cannot
deceive God.39

This rich passage deserves a deep analysis for us to present two

important factors as regards the disposition of the soul before the re-
ception of the Holy Communion according to Augustine: innocence
of heart and forgiveness.
In the first part of the above-quoted passage, the preacher con-
siders innocence of heart as the condition to partake of the Body

omnino uita est. Qui enim se putat aliquid esse, cum nihil sit, seipsum seducit [Gal. 6:3]
[…] si plus tibi das quam es, et in hoc audior es et non intelleges gratiam, accedens ad
mensam gratiae, uide quid adiungat et unde te admoneat. Quid enim dicebas? de meo
retribuam, de meo rependam, de meo praeparabo et talia praeparabo qualia iste diues
exhibuit […] «noli extendere te contra diuitem, cum sis pauper; sensu autem tuo abstine
te» [Prov. 23:4 LXX]: metire te, noli exiens foras irridere me, sed intra in te et uide te.
38
Cf. M.-F. Berrouard, Introduction aux homélies de Saint Augustin, 85-94.
39
Aug., Io. eu. tr. 26, 11 (CCSL 36, 265): Videte ergo, fratres, panem coelestem spi-
ritaliter manducate, innocentiam ad altare apportate. Peccata etsi sunt quotidiana, vel
non sint mortifera. Antequam ad altare accedatis, attendite quid dicatis: Dimitte nobis
debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris [Mt. 6:12]. Dimittis, dimittetur
tibi: securus accede, panis est, non venenum. Sed vide si dimittis: nam si non dimittis,
mentiris, et ei mentiris, quem non fallis. Mentiri Deo potes, Deum fallere non potes.

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and Blood of Christ. Although his realism can clearly be seen here
as he acknowledges that daily sins are part and parcel of the lot of
Adam’s sons, Augustine is still very much aware that some sins lead
to death and so, he warns that daily sins should not be deadly ones
which could (1 Io. 5:16-17) separate us from the daily Bread of life.
And so, it is important to cultivate innocence which for him is that
wedding garment to which the Lord made reference in the parable
of Mt. 22:1-13. We note with interest that the preacher of Hippo has
commented this passage with great insight. He often says that to be a
guest at the banquet of the Lord, one needs to wear the nuptial robe,
that is Charity, which is the love of Christ and of neighbour.40 In s. 95,
7, Augustine comments on the wedding garment and demonstrates
that Charity is actually that garment:
What is the wedding garment? Let us look for it in the holy books.
What is the wedding garment? Obviously, it is something that the
good and the bad do not have in common; let us find that, and we
have found the wedding garment […]. Let’s just consider the guests,
that is to say, Christians. Baptism is a gift of God, both good and bad
have that. The sacraments of the altar are received together by the
good and the bad […]. There’s a place in which the apostle Paul
has brought me a great bundle of great matters. He explained it all
before me, and I said to him, “Show me please if by chance you have
discovered this wedding garment”. He began to shake out the con-
tents one by one, and to say, «If I speak with the tongues of men and
of angels, if I have all knowledge, and prophecy, and all faith so as to
shift mountains; if I distribute all my goods to the poor, and deliver
my body to burn». Splendid garments, but not yet that wedding one.
Now produce the wedding garment for us. Why do you keep us on
tenterhooks, apostle? Perhaps prophecy is the gift of God, which both
good and bad do not have. «If I do not have charity – he says – I am
nothing, it is no use to me at all» (1 Cor. 13:1-3).41

40
Cf. M.-F. Berrouard, in BA 72, 809-810, note 57: Apportez à l’autel votre inno-
cence.
41
Aug., s. 95, 7 (PL 38, 583-584): Quid est uestis nuptialis? Quaeramus illam in lit-
teris sanctis. Quid est uestis nuptialis? sine dubio aliquid est quod mali et boni commune
non habent: hoc inueniamus, et inuenimus uestem nuptialem […] ipsos conuiuas, id
est, christianos consideremus. baptismus donum dei est, habent illum boni et mali. altaris

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 493

The beautify of this demonstration cannot be over-emphasised.

The procedure is well-known in Augustine’s preaching. He usually
creates an imaginary dialogue in order to capture the attention of his
audience. And in this case, the Apostle Paul is his interlocutor and
from the latter’s hymn to Charity, he carefully brought his argument
home by showing that charity is that innocence everyone should take
to the altar; that is what it takes to worthily sit at the Lord’s table. In s.
56 on the Lord’s Prayer, Augustine also lists the sins that corrupt that
innocence and ipso facto, exclude those who commit them from the
table of the Lord. He exhorts the catechumens to keep themselves:
from idolatry, from consulting astrologers, from relying on spells for
cures; avoid heretical errors and schismatic divisions; refrain, natural-
ly, from murder, from adultery and fornication, from theft and rob-
bery, from bearing false witness, and any other sins I don’t actually
mention, which have fatal results […] all very dangerous and deadly,
unless it’s loosed on earth so as to be loosed in heaven.42

The second aspect of the Tractate 26 apart from the Innocence to

be taken to the altar is forgiveness which has a two-fold dimension.
First of all, it is imperative to seek the forgiveness of one’s sins, to
have the chain of sin invisible though it be, loosen on earth and in
heaven. Now, one cannot receive forgiveness unless he forgives. That
justifies the insistence of the preacher in the afore-quoted passage

sacramenta simul accipiunt boni et mali […]. Quodam loco Paulus apostolus attulit
mihi magnum inuolucrum magnarum rerum; exposuit ante me, et dixi ei, ostende mihi
si forte hic illam uestem nuptialem reperisti. coepit excutere singula, et dicere: si linguis
hominum loquar et angelorum, si habeam omnem scientiam, et prophetiam, et omnem
fidem, ita ut montes transferam; si distribuero omnia mea pauperibus, et tradam corpus
meum ut ardeam [1 Cor. 13:1-3]. magnae uestes: nondum tamen est illa nuptialis. Iam
profer nobis nuptialem uestem. Quid nos, apostole, suspendis? prophetia forte dei donum
est, quod non habent boni et mali. «Si caritatem», inquit, «non habeam, nihil sum, nihil
mihi prodest» [1 Cor. 13:3].
42
Id., s. 56 (RB 68 [1958], 34): Abstinentes ab idolatria, a consultationibus ma-
thematicorum, a remediis incantatorum; abstinentes a deceptionibus haereticorum, a
conscissionibus schismaticorum; abstinentes ab homicidiis, ab adulteriis et fornicationi-
bus, a furtis et rapinis, a falsis testimoniis: et si qua forte alia, non dico quae exitiales
exitus habent, […] ualde periculose et mortifere, nisi soluatur in terra quod soluatur in
caelo.

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from the tractate under consideration: «Before you approach the al-
tar, pay attention to what you say: Forgive us our debts, just as we too
forgive our debtors (Mt. 6:12). You forgive, you are forgiven». In Au-
gustine’s days just as today, The Lord’s Prayer was recited during the
Eucharistic celebration, just before the faithful give each other the
sign of peace, and proceed to the altar to receive the Body and Blood
of Christ. Through this prayer, the faithful ask forgiveness for their
daily sins and also affirm that they are at peace with their brothers
and sisters. But if what one says is not in conformity with one’s inner
disposition, then they do not have the right disposition to approach
the Altar of the Lord.43

Finally, Augustine continuously insists on the need to cling to the

Church that teaches the true doctrine. To be worthy to seat at this ta-
ble one needs to «avoid the yeast of bad doctrine». As we had already
mentioned earlier on, this sermon was probably preached during the
Donatist controversy since the preacher insists on the need to remain
in the unity of the Church. The idea of the anti-Donatist orientation
of Augustine’s thought becomes much clearer with comments he
made at the end of the sermons:
You receive worthily, however, if you avoid the yeast of bad doctrine,
in order to be «unleavened loaves of sincerity and truth» (1 Cor. 5:8);
or if you keep hold of that yeast of charity, which the woman hid in
three measures of flour until the whole of it was leavened. This wom-
an, you see, is the Wisdom of God, who came through the virgin in
mortal flesh […] disseminated her gospel throughout it, as in three
measures until the whole should be leavened. This “whole” is what is
called holon in Greek where, if you keep the bond of peace, you will
be “in accord with the whole”, which in Greek is catholon, from which
the Church is called “Catholic”.44

43
Cf. G. Ceriotti, Riconciliazione ed Eucaristia nella dottrina e nella prassi di
Sant’Agostino, in Renovatio 25 (1990), 229-244.
44
Id., s. 228B, 5 = s. Denis 3, 5 (MA 1, 20): Digne autem accipitis, si a malae
doctrinae fermento caveatis, ut sitis azymi sinceritatis et veritatis; aut si fermentum illud
caritatis teneatis, quod abscondit mulier in farinae mensuris tribus, donec fermentaretur
totum. Haec enim mulier est Sapientia Dei, facta per Virginem in carne mortali, quae in
toto orbe terrarum […] suum disseminat Evangelium, donec fermentaretur totum. Hoc

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 495

One cannot be separated from the Catholic Church, get lost in

the erroneous doctrines and think he receives the Body of Christ. It
is interesting to note that in his Contra epistulam Parmeniani,45 a work
written at the apex of the Donatist controversy, Augustine extensively
comments on 1 Cor. 5:6-8, to counter the pride of his interlocutors
who despised those they considered sinners in their midst.46 I will now
turn to what Augustine indicates as the effects of our participation to
the table of the Lord.
4. The effects of the Eucharistic Manducation
The bishop of Hippo continually insists on the effect of Eucharist
in the life of those who receive it. One of his strong convictions is
that the Body of Christ transforms itself into those who receive it and
likewise, they transform themselves into it if they receive it well and
live in obedience. He underlines in his s. 228B, 3:
And therefore, receive and eat the body of Christ, yes, you that have
become members of Christ in the body of Christ; receive and drink
the blood of Christ. In order not to be scattered and separated, eat
what binds you together; in order not to seem cheap in your own es-
timation, drink the price that was paid for you. Just as this turns into
you when you eat and drink it so you for your part turn into the body
of Christ when you live devout and obedient lives.47
A careful reading of this passage reveals important motives of the
Augustinian ecclesiology underneath. Though the date of this ser-
mon is not sure,48 the exhortation to unity through the Eucharist in

est illud totum, quod graece dicitur olon, ubi custodientes vinculum pacis eritis secun-
dum totum, quod catholon vocatur, et unde a “catholica” nominatur.
45
This work is dated around the year 400. In it, Augustine counters all the
contradictions of the Donatists. Cf. M. A. Tilley, Anti-donatist Works, in Augustine
through the Ages, 35.
46
Aug. c. ep. Parm. 3, 2, 5 (CSEL 51, 105-107)
47
Id., s. 228B, 3 = s. Denis 3, 3 (MA 1, 19): Accipite itaque et edite corpus Chris-
ti, etiam ipsi in corpore Christi facti iam membra Christi; accipite et potate sanguinem
Christi. Ne dissolvamini, manducate vinculum vestrum; ne vobis viles videamini, bibite
pretium vestrum. Sicut in vos hoc convertitur, cum id manducatis et bibitis, sic et vos in
corpus Christi convertimini, cum oboedienter et pie vivitis.
48
Considering the exhortation to maintain the bond of unity, which sug-
gests a warning to avoid to fall prey of the Donatist, Hill suggests a date before

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the quoted passage («In order not to be scattered and separated, eat
what binds you together») could indicate a call to avoid the snares of
the Donatist schismatic movement. Both in his preaching, letters and
important treatises, Augustine openly fought the Donatists who liter-
ally fragmented the Body of Christ, considering themselves the real
church.49 But the main point I would like to highlight is the preach-
er’s conviction that the Body and Blood of Christ turn into the believ-
ers, which is an invitation for them to turn into the spiritual food they
eat. At this point, the famous quote: «Become what you are» comes to
mind. Augustine made an assertion close to that quote in one of his
Easter sermons on the Eucharist. While talking about the Body and
Blood of Christ, he said: «If you receive them well, you are yourselves
what you receive».50 At the beginning of this very sermon, he insists
on the unity that the image a loaf of bread offers to those who con-
template the Eucharistic mystery.
In this loaf of bread – he said – you are given clearly to understand
how much you should love unity. I mean, was that loaf made from one
grain? Weren’t there many grains of wheat? But before they came into
the loaf, they were all separate; they were joined together by means of
water after a certain amount of pounding and crushing. Unless wheat
is ground, after all, and moistened with water, it can’t possibly get into
this shape which is called bread.51

the year 411. According to him, after this date, there was less, if any, temptation
to Catholics to join the Donatists. Cf. Sermons (184-229Z), 267, note 3. In May
411 the conference of Carthage took place, presided over by the imperial rep-
resentative, the tribune and notarius Marcellinus Flavius, the Donatists could
still summon up 285 bishops, just one fewer than their opponents The Catho-
lics emerged victorious, however, and Donatism was again banned by an edict
(CTh XVI, 5, 52: 30 January 412), this time more effectively. Cf. W. H. C. Frend,
Donatism, in Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, vol. 1, 735-741.
49
Cf. Œuvres de Saint Augustin: Traités anti-donatistes 1, edd. G. Finaert – Y.
M.-J. Congar, Paris 1963 (BA 28); The Donatist Controversy, ed. B. Ramsey, Hyde
Park NY 2019 (The Works of Saint Augustine I/21).
50
Aug. s. 227 (SCh 116, 237): Si bene accepistis, uos estis quod accepistis.
51
Ibid. (SCh 116, 234): Conmendatur uobis in isto pane quomodo unitatem amare
debeatis. Numquid enim panis ille de uno grano factus est? nonne multa erant tritici
grana? sed antequam ad panem uenirent separata erant; per aquam coniuncta sunt post

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 497

So, through various processes, the grains make a loaf, symbol-

ising the unity that is supposed to characterise those who share in
that bread transformed into the Body of Christ. From the imagery
he provides, he calls his listeners, not excluding himself, to become
the very mystery they share in. So, we become one body in Christ,
and through him, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Through
receiving the Eucharist, we enter into a unique and personal relation-
ship with the Trinity and with one another, the Body of Christ. We
become what we eat.
Augustine further affirms this conviction in his s. 57 which is an-
other explanation of the Lord’s Prayer. Commenting on the sixth
petition of the Pater Noster, he affirms:
So the Eucharist is our daily bread; but we should receive it in such a
way that our minds and not just our bellies find refreshment. You see,
the special property to be understood in it is unity, so that by being
digested into his body and turned into his members we may be what
we receive.52

The same idea of the effect of what we receive in the Holy Eucha-
rist is expressed in s. 272 preached to the neophytes on Easter day in
a year between 405 and 411,53 Augustine says to the neophytes:
If you, therefore, are Christ’s body and members, it is your own mys-
tery that is placed on the Lord’s Table! It is your own mystery that you
are receiving! You are saying “Amen” to what you are: your response is
a personal signature, affirming your faith. When you hear “The body
of Christ”, you reply “Amen”. Be a member of Christ’s body, then, so
that your “Amen” may ring true!54

quamdam contritionem. nisi enim molatur triticum et per aquam conspergatur, ad istam
formam minime uenit quae panis uocatur.
52
Aug., s. 57, 7 (Homo Spiritalis 418-419): Ergo eucharistia panis noster cotidianus
est. sed si accipiamus illum non solum uentre, sed et mente. Uirtus enim ipsa, quae ibi in-
tellegitur, unitas est, ut, redacti in eius corpus, effecti membra eius, simus quod accipimus.
53
For the various hypotheses on the dating of this sermon, see P.-P. Ver-
braken, Études critiques sur les sermons, 125.
54
Aug., s. 272 (PL 38, 1247): Si ergo vos estis corpus Christi et membra, mysterium
vestrum in mensa Dominica positum est: mysterium vestrum accipitis. Ad id quod estis,
Amen respondetis, et respondendo subscribitis. Audis enim, Corpus Christi; et respondes,
Amen. Esto membrum corporis Christi, ut verum sit Amen. Cf. Soeur Francis-Joseph,

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This is a very beautiful dimension of Augustine’s Eucharistic

spirituality that remains perennially valid and upheld by the entire
Church. We, as Augustinians, particularly cherish the legacy of Our
Holy Father such that we often start our common prayer (liturgy of
hours) with his words in his Tractate on the Gospel of Saint John 26, 13:
«O Sacrament of piety, O sign of unity, O bond of charity! The one
who wants to live has somewhere to live, has something to live on. Let
him draw near, let him believe; let him belong to the body so as to
be given life».55 The three exclamations «O sacramentum pietatis! O
signum unitatis! O uinculum caritatis!» in the context of Augustine’s
preaching on the Eucharist, celebrate the unity of the Body of Christ.56
In this same Tractate, Augustine indicates another meaning of the
manducation of the Eucharistic banquet. According to him, the effect
of this spiritual food is that we are made better by receiving Christ in
the Eucharist. We actually live because we draw life from him eating
and drinking his body and blood. Commenting Io. 6:57: «Just as the
living Father, he says, sent me, and I live because of the Father, so who-
ever eats me, he too will live because of me», Augustine says:
The Son, you see, because he was born the Father’s equal, is not made
better by having shares in the Father, in the way that we are effectively
made better by sharing in the Son through the unity of his body and
blood, which is signified by that eating and drinking. We, then, live
because of him by eating him, that is, we receive him as eternal life,
which we did not have from ourselves.57

Eucharistie et communauté ecclésiale. Une lecture du sermon 272 de saint Augustin, in

Alype 2 (1978), 9-20; E. Mazza, La conception ‘typologique’ du sacrement. Une défini-
tion d’Augustin à interpréter avec Chrysostome, in Ecclesia Orans 31 (2014), 311-321.
55
Id., Io. eu. tr. 26, 13 (CCSL 36, 266): O sacramentum pietatis! O signum unita-
tis! O uinculum caritatis! qui uult uiuere,habet ubi uiuat, habet unde uiuat. Accedat,
credat, incorporetur, ut uiuificetur.
56
Cf. M.-F. Berrouard, in BA 72, 814-815, note 60: O sacramentum pietatis, o
signum unitatis.
57
Aug., Io. eu. tr. 26, 19 (CCSL 36, 269): Non enim filius participatione patris
fit melior, qui est natus aequalis; sicut participatione filii per unitatem corporis eius et
sanguinis, quod illa manducatio potatioque significat, nos efficimur meliores. Uiuimus
ergo nos propter ipsum, manducantes eum; id est, ipsum accipientes aeternam uitam,
quam non habebamus ex nobis.

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 499

True life, therefore, springs not from our material nourishment

that sustains our mortal life, but from the Body and Blood of Christ
which we are offered in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Christ himself,
who is the Eternal life and so we receive him as such. Yet, Augustine
also teaches that the body of Christ, or rather his flesh is important
for this life so that we may proceed toward God: «So the provision of
the flesh of Christ is necessary for the faithful for this life, so that by it
they may wend their way to the Lord». We shall return to this aspect
of his teaching in the last point of our study on the Eucharist and the
Church.
5. The Eucharist and the Church
The link between the Eucharist and the Church is evidenced in
many studies in the past few decades. Most especially, efforts have
been made to study the connection that exists between the two re-
alities in the experience of the early church. Worthy of mention is
the work of B. D. Spinks, «Do this in remembrance of me»58 which,
being a study of the history and theology of the Eucharist, builds,
among others, on the testimony of the Fathers of the Church and the
late-antique homilies. Likewise, many studies are specifically devoted
to Augustine’s ecclesiology in relation to the Eucharist or vice-versa.59

58
B. D. Spinks – T. Berger, «Do this in remembrance of me». The Eucharist from
the early Church to the present Day, London 2013; A. Hamman – M. Maritano,
Eucharist, in Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, vol. 1, 854-857. Previous studies
would include W. Elert, Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the first Four Centuries,
translated by N. E. Nagel, Saint Louis MO 1966; J. M. R. Tillard, L’Eucharistie,
purification de l’Église pérégrinante, in Nouvelle Revue Théologique 84 (1962), 449-474;
579-597; R. F. Taft, One Bread, one Body. Ritual Symbols of ecclesial Communion in the
patristic Period, in Nova doctrina vetusque. Essays on Early Christianity in Honor of
Fredric W. Schlatter, edd. D. Kries – C. Brown Tkacz, New York 1999, 23-50.
59
Cf. D. Marafioti, Eucaristia e Chiesa. L’esegesi di sant’Agostino al cap. 6 del Van-
gelo di san Giovanni, in Rassegna di teologia 47 (2006), 103-116; A. Fitzgerald, Saint
Augustine and the Eucharist. The Presence of the Church, in Our Journey Back to God.
Reflections on Augustinian Spirituality, ed. M. A. Keller, Rome 2006, 240-254; P. C.
Barros, “Commendatur vobis in isto pane, quomodo unitatem amare debeatis”. A ecle-
siologia eucarísta nos Sermones ad populum de Agostinho de Hipona e o movimento
ecumênico, Roma 2002; J. P. Burns, The Eucharist as the Foundation of Christian
Unity in North African Theology, in Augustinian Studies 32 (2001), 1-23.

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To limit ourselves to only a few examples from his sermons, we

can say that Augustine generally considers the Eucharist as the sign
of the very unity that should characterise the Church. Considering
the matter (bread and wine) used by the Lord to institute the Eu-
charist, Augustine argues that just as many grains of wheat make the
bread and many grapes make the wine, so too the many members of
the Church form but one body. He makes this clear in his s. 229A, 2
preached on an Easter Sunday to the newly baptized:
Just as one loaf is made from single grains collected together and
somehow mixed in with each other into dough, so in the same way
the body of Christ is made one by the harmony of charity. And what
grains are for the body of Christ, grapes are for his blood; because
wine too comes out from the press, and what was separated one by
one in many grapes flows together into a unity, and becomes wine.
Thus, both in the bread and in the cup, there is the mystery, the sac-
rament, of unity.60

As material objects, bread and wine symbolize unity and once con-
secrated, they become the sacrament, the visible sign of the invisible
mystery of the Lord’s Body and Blood for our salvation. The same Eu-
charist symbolizes his mystical Body which is the Church. Augustine
convincingly argues in many instances that the harmony of charity
that makes one the Body of Christ is the Holy Spirit which unites the
faithful together among themselves and further unites them with the
Trinity.61 He also affirms in the context of his anti-donatist controversy

Aug., s. 229A, 2 = s. Guelf 7, 2 (MA 1, 463): Quomodo autem de singulis granis

60

in unum congregatis et quodam modo sibimet consparsione commixtis fit unus panis, sic
fit unum corpus Christi concordia caritatis. Quod autem habet corpus Christi in granis,
hoc sanguis in acinis: nam et uinum de pressura exit, et quod in multis singillatim erat,
in unum confluit, et fit uinum. Ergo et in pane et in calice mysterium est unitatis.
61
Cf. Id., s. 71 (RB 75 [1965], 82): Quod ergo commune est Patri et Filio, per hoc
nos voluerunt habere communionem et inter nos et secum, et per illud donum nos colligere
in unum, quod ambo habent unum, hoc est, per Spiritum Sanctum Deum et donum Dei.
In hoc enim reconciliamur divinitati, eaque delectamur; Id., Io. eu. tr. 39, 5 (CCSL 36,
35): Recte utique dico. Accedant ad Deum, una anima est omnium. Si accedentes ad
Deum, multae animae per caritatem una anima est, et multa corda unum cor; quid agit
ipse fons caritatis in Patre et Filio? Nonne ibi magis Trinitas unus est Deus? Inde enim
nobis caritas venit, de ipso Spiritu sancto, sicut dicit Apostolus: caritas Dei diffusa est

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 501

that «The Lord’s banquet is the unity of the body of Christ not only in
the sacrament of the altar but also in the bond of peace» (Eph. 4:3).62
The Eucharist is a call to that peace that makes the Church one body.
All those who do not maintain the bond of peace do not partake of
the Body and Blood of Christ. It is important to recall the insight of
Burns in his article on the Eucharist as the foundation of the unity in
the Church of which Augustine was a valid representative. Looking at
the situation of the Church in Augustine’s North Africa, Burns writes:
Augustine had a vital but largely concealed interest in the mode of
presence of Christ in the Eucharist. His eucharistic theology was fo-
cused on the ecclesial rather than the heavenly body of Christ be-
cause this harmonized with his response to Donatist claims. Yet he did
exploit the heritage of Cyprian and understood the Eucharist as an
essential element in the constitution of the Church.63

Coming to the dimension of the concrete and daily life of the

faithful, according to the bishop of Hippo, the Eucharist is also the
food that the Church as a solicitous mother dispense to her children
on daily basis to sustain them in their pilgrimage and prevent them
from spiritual starvation. Augustine made such consideration in an-
other sermon preached during the Easter week to assure the newly
baptized that the Church is a mother that cares for them:
So, this holy and spiritual mother daily prepares a spiritual meal for
you, with which to nourish not your bodies but your souls. She lav-
ishes on you bread from heaven (Ps. 105:40), she gives you the cup of
salvation (Ps. 116:13) to drink. She doesn’t want any of her children
to be spiritually starved.64

in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis. Si ergo caritas Dei diffusa
in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis, multas animas facit unam
animam, et multa corda facit unum cor; quanto magis Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus,
Deus unus, lumen unum, unumque principium? Cf. K. Chabi, La Trinidad, el alma
del cristiano y la Iglesia, in Augustinus 63 (2018), 51-59.
62
Id., ep. 185, 24 (CSEL 57, 23): Conuiuium domini unitas est corporis Christi non
solum in sacramento altaris sed etiam in uinculo pacis [Eph. 4:3].
63
J. P. Burns, The Eucharist as the Foundation of Christian Unity, 3.
64
Aug., s. 255A, 2 = s. Wilm. 18 + s. Mai 92 (MA 1, 333): Haec ergo sancta et
spiritalis mater cotidie uobis spiritales escas praeparat, per quas non corpora sed animas

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In spite of this conviction, however, Augustine also insists that the

daily nourishment should be received in an appropriate manner, be-
ing of course coherent with his principle according to which, a good
gift cannot benefit anyone who receives it in a bad way. The previously
quoted passage from his commentary to the Lord’s Prayer rings true
also in this context:
So, the Eucharist is our daily bread; but we should receive it in such a
way that our minds and not just our bellies find refreshment. You see,
the special property to be understood in it is unity, so that by being
digested into his body and turned into his members we may be what
we receive.65

While recommending the appropriate way of receiving the daily

spiritual bread, Augustine’s preoccupation about the unity that is to
be preserved by those who receive the Eucharist can be perceived too.
Feeding on the Body and Blood of Christ should always point the par-
ticipants to the oneness that this spiritual meal symbolizes.
By and large, from the foregoing analyses of his texts, we can say
that Augustine implicitly identifies Christ with the Eucharist, and
states its essential significance as being the unity of the body of Christ,
the Church.
6. Conclusion
What we could call Augustine’s eucharistic spirituality springs
forth from his theory and praxis in the liturgical life, most especially
as he preaches to the neophytes and the faithful in the context of
the eucharistic celebration. The teaching he imparts does not merely
stop at the level of theory. He concretely breaks and shares the bread
explaining what each part of the liturgy of the Eucharist means.66
The Bishop of Hippo painstakingly enlightens those who newly re-
ceive the Body and Blood of Christ on what they are receiving in that

uestras reficiat. panem uobis caelestem largitur, calicem uobis salutarem propinat: non
uult quemquam filiorum suorum tali fame laborare.
65
Id., s. 57, 7 (Homo Spiritalis 418-419): Ergo Eucharistia panis noster cotidianus
est. sed si accipiamus illum non solum uentre, sed et mente. Uirtus enim ipsa, quae ibi in-
tellegitur, unitas est, ut, redacti in eius corpus, effecti membra eius, simus quod accipimus.
66
Cf. Id., s. 229, 1 (MA 1, 30)

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 augustine’s eucharistic spirituality in his easter sermons 503

bread and in that wine upon which the words of consecration are
pronounced. He equally insists on the interior disposition with which
they should approach the sacred banquet so as not to receive some-
thing that is good in a bad way and thus lose the benefits meant for
them. When worthily received, the Eucharist has the power to trans-
form itself in us and we equally are transformed into it and thus, we
become what we receive, the Body of Christ. And above all, Augustine
strongly emphasises the need to remain in the bond of unity which
is symbolized both by the matter (bread and wine) that becomes the
sacrament and the mystical meaning of the Eucharist as the body of
Christ, the Church. All these deep insights of the Bishop of Hippo
remain valid for us today as we partake of the Body and Blood in
our eucharistic celebrations. What we should hope and work for is to
continuously become what we receive in the face of the challenges of
faith and witnessing to Christ and his Gospel today.
Being a Christian and becoming the Church, extend far beyond
worship and the relationship with Christ as individuals. Receiving
Christ in one’s life as a believer leads, through the encounter with
him in the Word and in the Eucharist to a loving commitment to
one’s neighbour. And this could be the treasure we gather from Au-
gustine’s eucharistic spirituality.

Kolawole Chabi
Istituto Patristico ‘Augustinianum’
Via Paolo VI, 25
00193 Roma
ITALIA
kolachabi@gmail.com

Abstract

This article studies Augustine’s Eucharistic Spirituality as it emerg-

es primarily from his preaching, in his catechesis during the Easter
Season. It investigates how the bishop of Hippo explains to the neo-
phytes the transformation that makes bread and wine into the Body
and Blood of Christ in order to ignite their awareness about what it
is that they receive at the Altar. It further considers what Augustine
indicates as the spiritual disposition necessary for the reception of the

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sacrament and its effects in the life of those who worthily share in it.
Finally, the article explores the link Augustine establishes between the
Eucharist and the Church to demonstrate the importance of Unity
among those who approach the Altar of the Lord and the need to
continuously become what we receive even today as we perpetuate the
memorial of the Lord in our Eucharistic celebrations.

Keywords: Augustine, sermons, Eucharist, altar, unity, Church, sacra-

ment.

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