This work surveys and identifies the most important liturgical and theological texts from the biblical, Patristic, medieval, Reformation, and modern periods in order to understand how the Eucharist has shaped, and been shaped by, texts, ritual, and doctrine.

• Abbreviations


• Introduction




• 1.1 Transformations of Nature


• 1.2 Grain


• 1.3 Salt


• 1.4 Olive Oil


• 1.5 Water


• 1.6 Leaven


• 1.7 Baking


• 1.8 Grape and Vine


• 1.9 Conclusion




• 2.1  Silence and Representation


• 2.2  On Earth as in Heaven


• 2.3  Life and Sacrifice


• 2.4  Communing


• 2.5  Priesthood, Matter, and Transformation


• 2.6  Conclusion




• 3.1  The Host as Talisman


• 3.2  Christ the Preserver


• 3.3  Christ the Bond of Substance


• 3.4  The World as Altar


• 3.5  The Altar, the World, and God s Body


• 3.6  Conclusion




• 4.1  Matter and Transformation


• 4.2  Assimilating Flesh


• 4.3  The Council of Trent: Tradition and Innovation


• 4.4  The Eucharist and Aristotle


• 4.5  Alternatives to Transubstantiation


• 4.6  Union in the Eucharist and in Christ


• 4.7  Conclusion




• 5.1  Viaticum


• 5.2  Eucharistic Burial


• 5.3  The Dead at the Altar


• 5.4  Raised by the Spirit


• 5.5  The Spirit in Recent Eucharistic Prayers


• 5.6  Conclusion




• 6.1  The Host and the Hearth


• 6.2  The Fermentum


• 6.3  Piety and Grace


• 6.4  Participation and Consumption


• 6.5  Eulogia


• 6.6  Bread, Community, and Church


• 6.7  Conclusion




• 7.1  The Holy Spirit, Baptism, and Eucharist


• 7.2  Spiritual Ascent


• 7.3  Ascending and Descending


• 7.4  Spirit and Matter


• 7.5  Conclusion


• Epilogue


• Select Bibliography


• Index

Dr David Grumett is Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. His publications include, Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet (with Rachel Muers; Routledge, 2010) and De Lubac: A Guide for the Perplexed (T & T Clark, 2007).