And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:22–26)
Giving directions to His disciples to offer to God the first fruits of His creatures—not as if He stood in need of them, but that they might be themselves neither unfruitful nor ungrateful—He took that created thing, bread, and gave thanks, and said, “This is My body.” And the cup likewise, which is part of the creation to which we belong, He confessed to be His blood and taught the new offering of the new covenant. This is what the church has received from the apostles and throughout the whole world offers to God, who affords us nourishment as the first fruits of his gifts in the New Testament.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.17.5
That bread which God the Word confesses to be His own body is the Word that nourishes souls, the Word proceeding from God, the very bread that comes from the living bread which is set out upon our table of which was written: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” That drink which God the Word confesses to be His blood is the Word that gives refreshment and exhilarates the heart.... This drink is the fruit of the true vine, the blood of that grape cast in the winepress of the passion. So also the bread is the word of Christ made from that corn which, falling onto the good ground, brought forth much fruit. He was not speaking of the visible bread alone which He was holding in His hands as He called it His body. It is the word in the mystery of which that bread was to be broken. Nor did He call that visible drink as such His blood, but the word in the mystery of which that drink was to be poured out. For to what else could the body and blood of the Lord refer other than the atoning Word that nourishes and gladdens the heart? Why did He not say, “This is My bread of the New Testament” just as He said, “This is My blood of the New Testament?” Because the bread is the word of righteousness, by the eating of which souls are nourished. The drink is the word of knowledge of Christ according to the mystery of His birth and passion.
Origen, Commentary on Matthew 85
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