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The vision of the Lamb of the Apocalypse

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Breaking of the Bread

As practiced before and now, the priest takes the host and breaks it over the paten. He places a small piece into the chalice while saying,

Some other fragments of the big host may be used to give communion to the faithful, although they generally receive communion from small hosts preferably consecrated in the same Mass, especially when there are many communicants.

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The breaking of the loaf of bread is a familiar ceremony in countries where bread, instead of rice, is the staple food. The father, presiding over the table, would perform the ceremony, the origin of which harks back to the very beginning of mankind.

At the Last Supper, our Lord also broke the bread (the Jews always broke, and never cut, their bread). It was in the act of breaking bread that the disciples at Emmaus recognized the risen Lord. As if it were a Mass celebrated by the Lord, the breaking of the bread was preceded by the liturgy of the word: While they were walking, "Jesus explained to them the passages throughout the Scriptures that were about himself." Then, "while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him" (Lk 24:27.30‑31).

The two disciples returned to Jerusalem announcing that they had recognized the Lord "at the breaking of the bread."

In apostolic times, this gesture of Christ gave the entire Eucharistic action its name, the Breaking of the Bread. We see in the Acts of the Apostles St Luke writing that the Christians "were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of the bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42).

St Paul drew a lesson from the fact that all those present shared of the same loaf:

The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf (1 Cor 10:17).

While the bread used in it was unleavened, this ceremony also had a practical reason: the need of breaking the big loaf of bread by the deacon before its distribution. We read in the Didache (year 110):

Lord, just as the matter of this bread was scattered on the hills and was made one when it was gathered together, so too may your Church be gathered in one into your kingdom from the ends of the earth.[1]

And St Cyprian, in laying stress on the Church's unity in opposition to schism, wrote:

The Lord's sacrifice proclaims the unity of Christians who are bound together by a firm and unshakable charity. For when the Lord calls the bread, that has been made from many grains of wheat, his body, he is describing our people whose unity he has sustained; and when he refers to wine pressed from many grapes and berries as his blood, once again he is speaking of our flock which has been formed by fusing many into one.[2]

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In the ancient Church, some fragments of consecrated hosts were reserved. Two of these were called sancta and fermentum. The sancta was to be consumed at the next Mass to be celebrated; it was dropped into the chalice. This gesture seemed to have meant the affirmation of the unity of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ until the end of the world.

The sacrifice of Calvary, renewed at different times in different places, is the Church's universal sacrifice and eternal prayer. It is everywhere the same. This was emphasized in the ancient papal Mass by the reservation and dispatching of the fermentum (yeast). The pope or bishop sent fragments of the hosts he had consecrated to priests of the nearby parishes -- "so that," Pope Innocent I (401‑417) explained, "especially on this day, they do not think themselves cut off from our communion." As the yeast binds the dough and makes one whole of it, so the Eucharist is the bond between the pastor and the members of his flock; it is also a sign of the unity of the priesthood.[3]

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As yesterday, the entire people of God is now united around the altar for the Eucharistic sacrifice celebrated by the ordinary shepherd of the community, and receives the sacrament from his hands.[4] Nevertheless, we should not give undue emphasis to the communitarian aspect, leaving in the second place the most important fact: Our Lord, really present, is the link in this unity.

But the Church is not brought into being only through the union of people, through the experience of brotherhood to which the Eucharistic banquet gives rise. The Church is brought into being when, in that fraternal union and communion, we celebrate the sacrifice of the cross of Christ, when we proclaim "the Lord's death until he comes," (1 Cor 11:26) and later, when, being compenetrated with the mystery of salvation, we approach as a community the table of the Lord, in order to be nourished there, in a sacramental manner, by the fruits of the holy sacrifice of propitiation. Therefore in eucharistic Communion we receive Christ, Christ himself; and our union with him, which is a gift and grace for each individual, brings it about that in him we are also associated in the unity of his Body which is the Church.[5]

The origin of the custom of placing a fragment of the consecrated host into the chalice is not exactly known. Some say that the separated species signify the Victim in state of death (the body in one place, the blood in another), whereas in reality our Lord is present in either and in both species as he is in heaven, living and glorious. Therefore, the mingling symbolizes the re‑union of Christ's body and soul as in his resurrection. It is, however, probable that the mingling must have corresponded to the dogmatic need of showing clearly the unity and indivisibility of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

During the breaking of the bread and the commingling, the Agnus Dei is sung or said by all:

The final phrase is always: "Grant us peace."

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At first, the breaking of the bread was done in silence. It was a Syrian pope, St Sergius I (687‑701), who established the singing of this invocation. He had been familiar with it since childhood. Christ is shown not only to be present, but also as Victim.

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The figure of the "Lamb of God" is full of meaning and is helpful to enkindle our devotion before Communion. The Lamb foretold by Isaiah and announced by St John the Baptist should wipe out our sins through his obedience to God's will:

Let us make up with a great longing to atone for our sins and be cleansed for our lack of innocence.

But this Lamb was also foreshadowed by the paschal lamb the Jews sacrificed on the eve of their departure from their slavery in Egypt.

The expression of John the Baptist reminds us of the lamb with which the Jews celebrated the Passover every year, the pledge of the reconciliation of man with God. St John the Evangelist, who was at the foot of the cross, observed that Jesus' legs were not broken as in the case of the two thieves. We find in this detail some similarity with that prescription of God for the paschal lamb "You must not break any bone of it" (Ex 12:46).

Jesus is bought with silver coins coming from the alms destined to buy the lambs for the daily sacrifices, and dies at the hour in which the paschal lamb used to be sacrificed in the Temple.

Finally, the Agnus Dei is also a nuptial hymn to celebrate the wedding of the Lamb with his bride, the Church, in peace and unity, as is described in the Apocalypse. There, on the altar, the Lamb lies alive, but as if slain. Twenty-four elders are around the Lamb. They are clothed in white robes and crowned with gold. Thousands of angels hymn the sacrifice and triumph of the Lamb. Certainly, each Mass is only a prelude and a token of the future adoration of the Lamb in eternity.

1. Didache, ch. 9.

2. Epistle to Magnus, 6: PL 3:1139.

3. Georges Chevrot, Our Mass, pp. 119-200.

4. LG, no. 26; Second Vatican Council, decree Christus Dominus, no. 11.

5. DC, no. 4.

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