The Bible contains thousands of inspiring verses that can often be applied to different circumstances.
Many saints have found particular inspiration in using Old Testament verses to apply to the Eucharist and the celebration of Mass.
St. Ambrose uses many verses when instructing newly baptized individuals who are about to approach the altar for Holy Communion.
The Lord is my shepherd
He combines these verses in a collection of homilies that is entitled On the Mysteries:
Fresh from the waters and resplendent in these garments, God’s holy people hasten to the altar of Christ, saying: I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth.They have sloughed off the old skin of error, their youth renewed like an eagle’s, and they make haste to approach that heavenly banquet. They come and, seeing the sacred altar prepared, cry out: You have prepared a table in my sight. David puts these words into their mouths:The Lord is my shepherd and nothing will be lacking to me. He has set me down there in a place of pasture. He has brought me beside refreshing water. Further on, we read:For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I shall not be afraid of evils, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff have given me comfort. You have prepared in my sight a those who afflict me. You have made my head rich in oil, and your cup, which exhilarates, how excellent it is.
These verses are taken from the Psalms, which are beautiful poems that are easily applied to Holy Communion.
St. Ambrose then refers to the people of Israel in the desert and the mana that was given to them:
It is wonderful that God rained manna on our fathers and they were fed with daily food from heaven. And so it is written: Man ate the bread of angels. Yet those who ate that bread all died in the desert. But the food that you receive, that living bread which came down from heaven, supplies the very substance of eternal life, and whoever will eat it will never die, for it is the body of Christ.
He even connects the rock that gave water to the Israelites to the Eucharist:
If what you marvel at is a shadow, how great is the reality whose very shadow you marvel at. Listen to this, which shows that what happened in the time of our fathers was but a shadow. They drank, it is written, from the rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. All this took place as a symbol for us.
St. Ambrose then concludes his reflection by explaining that the Eucharist is much more than a symbol and is the light that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament:
You know now what is more excellent: light is preferable to its shadow, reality to its symbol, the body of the Giver to the manna he gave from heaven.
We can use much of the Old Testament to enlighten our understanding and faith in the Eucharist, showing us how God was preparing his people for this very moment.
And today we celebrate...