Week 13: Book Four, Chapters I–VI — The Sacrament of the Altar: Reverence and Charity

1.Chapter I opens with the 'voice of Christ': 'Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.' Thomas meditates on the astonishing condescension of this invitation: 'Angels and Archangels stand in awe of Thee, the Saints and just men fear Thee, and Thou sayest, Come unto Me!' How does the radical accessibility of Christ in the Lord's Supper — or in prayer — strike you? Does it produce wonder, or have you grown accustomed to it?

2.Thomas in Chapter I compares himself unfavorably to David dancing before the Ark, to Moses building the tabernacle, to Solomon building the temple — all as examples of holy reverence toward the presence of God. He then asks: if they prepared so carefully for a shadow, how should I prepare for the substance? What does 'preparing to receive Christ' look like in your tradition and practice? Is there a gap between the preparation and the reality?

3.Chapter II opens: 'Trusting in Thy goodness and great mercy, O Lord, I draw near, the sick to the Healer, the hungering and thirsting to the Fountain of life.' Thomas structures approach to the Eucharist entirely around need, not worthiness. How would it change your experience of receiving Communion — or of coming to God in prayer — to frame it explicitly as the sick coming to the Healer rather than the good coming to be rewarded?