ACC ~ John 6 v49

THE ADVANTAGE OF LIVING BREAD

AMBROSE: It has been proven that the sacraments of the church are more ancient; now realize that they are more powerful. In very fact it is a marvelous thing that God rained manna on the ancestors and they were fed by daily nourishment from heaven. Therefore, it is said, “Humankind has eaten the bread of angels.” [1] And yet all those who ate that bread died in the desert, but this food that you receive, this “living bread, which came down from heaven,” furnishes the substance of eternal life, and whoever eats this bread “will not die forever,” for it is the body of Christ. ON THE MYSTERIES 8.47. [2]

[1] Ps 78:25 (77:25 LXX). For a fuller discussion of the bread of angels, see Ambrose On Paradise 9.42 (FC 42:320-21).

[2] FC 44:22-23. See also Ambrose The Sacraments 4.5.24 (FC 44:305).

Jn