This text places the Eucharist in the universal context of world religions and shows how the Eucharist is God's response to the universal human quest for the perfect sacrifice of expiation, thanksgiving, and communion. It not only discusses the explicit Eucharistic texts of the New Testament but also shows the role and meaning of the Eucharist within each Gospel, within the theology of Paul, the Letter to the Hebrews, and the Book of Revelation.

It cites forgotten texts and recovers surprising insights from the Fathers that disclose the link between the Eucharist and mystical experience, the presence of all the mysteries of Christ (in particular his death, resurrection and his coming in glory) in the Eucharistic celebration. The systematic part is developed in dialogue with Protestant concerns regarding the Eucharistic presence of Christ and the Eucharist as sacrifice. It also shows the importance of the Greek Fathers' doctrine on the ontological transformation of the Eucharistic elements for transcending the impasse of the contemporary debate on transignification.

This title is part of the Hillenbrand Books imprint, textbook series.

Roch Kereszty, O. Cist., is an international scholar and teacher. He holds STB, STL, and STD degrees from Sant' Anselmo, Rome. He studied under Dom Cyprian Vagaggini, a peritus of the Second Vatican Council and coauthor of the new Eucharistic Prayers. He is Novice Master of Cistercian Abbey, Irving, Texas, adjunct professor of theology at the University of Dallas, a member of the Graduate Faculty, Braniff Graduate School, University of Dallas, and board member and consulting editor of Communio, and is also the head of the Department of Theology at the Cistercian Preparatory School, Irving, Texas. His critically acclaimed writing includes: God Seekers for a New Age: From Crisis Theology to “Christian Atheism” (Pflaum Press, 1970); Peter and Paul in the Church of Rome: The Ecumenical Potential of a Forgotten Perspective (with William Farmer) (Paulist Press, 1990); Jesus Christ: The Fundamentals of Christology (Alba House, 1991). Kereszty is also editor of and contributor to Rediscovering the Eucharist: Ecumenical Conversations (The Eucharistic Conference at the University of Dallas, November 9—11, 2000) (Paulist Press, 2003).

Hardcover, 6 x 9, 212 pages.