In my upcoming book, I have included a few quotes from St. Ambrose, the 4th century Bishop of Milan, a Doctor of the Church. He is considered the first of the early Church fathers to have been born into a Christian family and his homilies were instrumental in St. Augustine’s conversion into the faith. Later, St. Ambrose baptized Augustine.
In reflecting on one of the resources I used for my book, The Holy Eucharist—Our All, I found another quote from St. Ambrose that I would like to share here. It comes from the seventh chapter of the booklet.
The quote is from Saint Ambrose’s treatise on the Sacraments, specifically the Most Holy Eucharist in which he states “In this Mystery, the Son of God satisfies all the wants of our spiritual life.”
“If you flee darkness, Jesus is light;
If you suffer from the heat of fever, Jesus is coolness;
If you desire the healing of your wounds, He is the physician;
If you are weighted down by your iniquities, He is the peace offering;
If you need nourishment, He is food;
If you are in want of help, He is strength;
If you fear death, He is life;
If you long for Heaven, He is the way.”
In The Holy Eucharist—Our All, Fr. Lukas Etlin, OSB, goes into depth how Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, is each of these things to those who follow Him. I urge readers to purchase a copy of this little booklet.
