“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
“Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts
2:46).
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of
Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?”
(1 Cor. 10:16).
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the
Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
The early Christians were also warned that dire consequences await those
who do not partake of this sacrificial bread and cup worthily:
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an
unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the
Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the
cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and
drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill,
and some have died” (1 Cor. 11:27-30).
Where is the prophecy of Malachi fulfilled today? James Cardinal Gibbons
answers as follows:
“We may divide the inhabitants of the world into five different
classes of people, professing different forms of religion––Pagans,
Jews, Mohammedans, Protestants and Catholics. Among which of
these shall we find the clean oblation of which the prophet speaks?
Not among the Pagan nations; for they worship false gods, and
consequently cannot have any sacrifice pleasing to the Almighty.
Not among the Jews; for they have ceased to sacrifice altogether, and
the words of the prophet apply not to the Jews, but to the Gentiles.
Not among the Mohammedans; for they also reject sacrifices. Not
among any of the Protestants sects; for they all distinctly repudiate
sacrifices. Therefore, it is only in the Catholic Church that is fulfilled
this glorious prophecy; for whithersoever you go, you will find the
clean oblation offered on Catholic altars. If you travel from America
to Europe, to Oceania, to Africa, or Asia, you will see our altars
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