Cross and the Eucharist in Early Christianity

Daniel Cardó is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Patristics, Sacraments, and Homiletics at St John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver and Visiting Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado. He is author of La fe en el pensamiento de Joseph Ratzinger (2013).

• Part I. The Cross and the Eucharist in Patristic Sources: 1. The continuity from the Cross to the Eucharist; 2. The Cross as origin of the Eucharist; 3. The identity of the Eucharistic flesh and blood of Christ with the flesh and blood on the Cross; 4. The sacrifice of the Cross; 5. The Cross at the Eucharist: gesture and object; Part II. The Cross and the Eucharist in Roman Liturgical Sources: 6. The early Roman Sacramentaries; 7. The Roman Canon; 8. The Ordines Romani; Part III. Contributions to Contemporary Debates: 9. The unity of the Last Supper and the Cross and the discussion of the Eucharist as meal; 10. The sign of the Cross and the problem of the Roman epiclesis; 11. The history and importance of the altar Cross.

'It has always been a remarkable feature of Christianity that it is in love with the cross. In love with an instrument of torture - how can it be? Cardó's deep study answers the question … This book is one of the few fine examples of lex orandi grounding theological understanding. It undertakes an analysis of textual primary sources in order to offer insights in the field of sacramental theology … The scholar will appreciate the thorough footnotes, but of even more value for every reader is the fact that this book works on our symbolic imagination as well as on our historical faculties. From the richness of liturgical actions and texts, Cardó offers us the cross as a hermeneutical key for the Eucharist for our spiritual enrichment.' David W. Fagerberg, University of Notre Dame, Indiana