SR
← The Imitation of Christ/Book 4 · On the Blessed Sacrament
Chapter 1Imit.4.1

Cum quanta devotione Christus sit suscipiendus.

The Sweetness and Terror of Christ's Invitation

The soul is drawn by the sweetness of Christ's own words yet held back by the weight of its sins and unworthiness.

These are your words, O Christ, eternal Truth — though they were not spoken at one time, nor written down in one place. Because these words are yours, they must be received by me gratefully and faithfully; they are yours, and you brought them forth; and they are also mine, because you published them for my salvation. So I willingly receive them from your lips, that they may be carried more fittingly into my heart.1 Words of such great devotion stir me up, full of sweetness and love; but my own sins terrify me, and my unclean conscience strikes me back from receiving such great mysteries.2 The sweetness of your words draws me forward, but the weight of my many vices holds me down.

The Gracious Condescension of God

Christ invites the burdened to himself, and the soul marvels that the God whom heaven cannot contain calls even sinners to draw near.

You command me to come to you with confidence — if only I could wish to have a share in you, and receive the nourishment of immortality, if only I could desire to obtain eternal life and glory. "Come," you say, "to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you."✦3 O sweet and loving word, heard by the ear of a sinner — by which you, Lord my God, invite the needy and the poor to the Communion of your most holy Body.4 But who am I, Lord, that I should presume to approach you?5 "Behold, the heavens of heavens cannot contain you," and yet you say: "Come to me, all."✦✦

Who Am I to Approach?

The soul probes its own unworthiness and finds that only Christ's own command makes such an approach conceivable.

What does this most gracious condescension mean, this so welcoming invitation? How shall I dare to come, when I am conscious of nothing good in myself, and so have nothing to presume on? How shall I bring you into my home, when I have so often offended your most gracious face? Angels and archangels stand in awe, the saints and the righteous tremble — and you say, 'Come to me, all of you'?✦ For unless you, Lord, had said it, who would believe it to be true? And unless you commanded it, who would dare to approach?

The Example of the Ancients: Noah, Moses, and Solomon

The patriarchs and kings labored long and prepared magnificently for far lesser mysteries, exposing the soul's own poverty of preparation.

Look at Noah, the just man: he labored for a hundred years building the ark so that he might be saved with a few others — and how will I be able to prepare myself in a single hour to receive the maker of the world with reverence? Moses, your servant, your great and close friend, made an ark out of imperishable wood and covered it with the purest gold, so that the tablets of the Law might be placed in it — and I, a rotting creature, will I dare to receive you, the founder and giver of the Law and of life, so casually?✦ Solomon, the wisest of the kings of Israel, built a magnificent temple over seven years for the praise of your name, and celebrated the feast of its dedication for eight days, offered a thousand peace offerings, and with trumpet blast and jubilation solemnly placed the ark of the covenant in the space he had prepared for it. And I, unhappy and most poor among people — how will I bring you into my house, I who have scarcely known how to spend even half an hour devoutly, and would that I had spent even half of one hour worthily!

The Poverty of Our Preparation

The soul laments how little time and devotion it brings to receiving the Lord of angels.

O my God, how much those people have strived to do what pleases you. Alas, how very little I do, how short a time I fill, when I prepare myself to receive Communion. Rarely am I fully gathered within myself, and very rarely am I cleansed of every distraction.

The Ark and the True Sacrifice

No creaturely thought should intrude when receiving the Lord of angels, whose Body infinitely surpasses the Old Testament types.

And surely, in the saving presence of your Godhead, no unseemly thought should arise, nor should any creature occupy your mind—because it is not to an angel but to the Lord of angels that I am about to open my heart as to a guest.6 Yet there is a great distance between the ark of the covenant of the Lord with its relics and your most pure Body with its ineffable powers; between those legal sacrifices that prefigured things to come and the true sacrifice of your Body, which fulfills all the ancient sacrifices.7

Why Do I Not Burn with Greater Desire?

The soul reproaches itself for its tepid desire compared to the fervor of the ancient patriarchs and kings.

Why, then, don't I burn with a greater desire for your venerable presence?8 Why don't I prepare myself with greater care to receive your holy Sacraments, when those ancient holy patriarchs, kings, and princes, together with all the people, showed such deep devotion and affection in their worship of God?910

David's Dance and the Devotion of Israel

King David's exuberant worship before the ark sets a standard of devotion that should far surpass our own before the Eucharistic Christ.

King David, deeply devoted, danced before the ark of God with all his might, calling to mind the blessings once given to the fathers.✦11 He made instruments of various kinds, published psalms, and established that they be sung with joy; and he himself sang frequently on the lyre, inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and taught the people of Israel to praise God with their whole heart, and with harmonious voice to bless and proclaim him each day.✦✦12 If such great devotion was shown then, and such remembrance of divine praise existed before the ark of the covenant, how great a devotion and reverence must now be shown by me and by all the Christian people in the presence of the Sacrament, in receiving the most excellent Body of Christ?✦13

Pilgrimage to Relics and the Altar Compared

People flock to saints' relics with curiosity, yet here at the altar Christ himself is wholly present, drawing the faithful by faith, hope, and love.

Many people rush to various places to visit the relics of the saints, marveling at the stories they hear about their deeds, gazing at the grand buildings of the churches, and kissing the sacred bones of the saints wrapped in silk and gold. And here you are, present with me at the altar — my God, the Holy One of holy ones, Creator of humankind and Lord of the angels.✦ Often in seeing such things there is mere curiosity about people, a fascination with novel sights, and little fruit of real change comes of it — especially when the wandering is so shallow, without any true contrition. But here, in the Sacrament of the altar, you are wholly present — my God, the man Christ Jesus — where the abundant fruit of eternal salvation is received, whenever you are worthily and devoutly received. What draws us to this is not frivolity, curiosity, or sensuality, but firm faith, devout hope, and sincere love.✦14

The Hidden Grace of the Sacrament

God deals wonderfully with his chosen, conferring through the Sacrament a grace that inflames devotion and love of virtue.

O invisible Creator of the world, God, how wonderfully you deal with us, how sweetly and graciously you arrange all things for your chosen ones, to whom you set forth yourself in the Sacrament to be received.15 This surpasses every understanding; this especially draws and inflames the hearts of the devout with affection.16 For your truly faithful ones, who arrange their whole life toward amendment, frequently receive from this most worthy Sacrament great grace of devotion and love of virtue.1718

Grace Restored, Lukewarmness Lamented

The Sacrament restores lost virtue and beauty to the soul, yet human lukewarmness and blindness cause this ineffable gift to be neglected.

O wonderful and hidden grace of the Sacrament, known only to Christ's faithful — yet unbelievers, enslaved to their sins, cannot experience it.19 In this Sacrament spiritual grace is conferred, lost virtue is restored in the soul, and the beauty that was deformed through sin returns.20 So great is this grace at times that, from the fullness of devotion bestowed, not only the mind but even the weak body perceives the strength granted to it as greater than before.21 It is to be lamented, and greatly to be pitied, that because of our lukewarmness and negligence we are not drawn with greater affection to receive Christ, in whom the whole hope of those who are to be saved consists, and their merit.22 For he himself is our sanctification and redemption; he himself the consolation of those who journey, and the eternal enjoyment of the saints.23 It is greatly to be lamented, then, that so many pay so little attention to this saving mystery, which gladdens heaven and preserves the whole world. Alas, the blindness and hardness of the human heart — that we do not attend more closely to so ineffable a gift, and that even from daily use we slip into carelessness!2425

If Only One Altar in the World

Were Christ offered in only one place, people would flock there with longing; the very abundance of the Eucharist reveals God's greater generosity.

If, then, this most holy Sacrament were celebrated in only one place in the world, and consecrated by only one priest, with what desire do you think people would be drawn to that place, and to such a priest of God, so that they might hear the divine ministries being celebrated?26 But now there are many priests, and Christ is offered in many places, so that the grace and love of God toward us appears all the greater, the more widely Holy Communion has been spread throughout the whole world.27

Thanksgiving and the Shepherd's Invitation

The chapter closes with thanksgiving to Christ the eternal Shepherd, who refreshes exiles with his Body and Blood and repeats his invitation to the burdened.

Thanks be to you, good Jesus, eternal Shepherd, who has deigned to refresh us poor exiles with your precious Body and Blood, and to invite us by the utterance of your own mouth to receive these mysteries, saying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.✦2829

Read the original Latin

Hæc sunt verba tua, Christe, Veritas æterna, quamvis non in uno tempore prolata, nec uno in loco conscripta. Quia ergo tua gratanter mihi et fideliter sunt accipienda, tua sunt, et tu ea protulisti, et mea quoque sunt, quia pro salute mea edidisti: libenter suspicio ea ex ore tuo, ut aptius inferantur cordi meo. Excitant me verba tantæ pietatis, plena dulcedinis et dilectionis: sed terrent me delicta propria, et ad capienda tanta mysteria me reverberat impura conscientia. Provocat me dulcedo verborum tuorum, sed onerat me multitudo vitiorum meorum.

Jubes ut fiducialiter ad te accedam, si tecum velim habere partem, et immortalitatis accipiam alimoniam, si æternam cupiam obtinere vitam et gloriam. Venite, inquis, ad me omnes, qui laboratis et onerati estis et ego reficiam vos. O, dulce et amicabile verbum in aure peccatoris, quo tu, Domine Deus meus, egenum et pauperem invitas ad communionem tui sanctissimi Corporis. Sed quis ego sum, Domine, ut ad te præsumam accedere? Ecce cæli cælorum te non capiunt, et tu dicis: Venite ad me omnes?

Quid vult ista piissima dignatio, et tam amicabilis invitatio? Quomodo ausus ero venire, qui nihil boni mihi conscius sum, unde possim præsumere? Quomodo te introducam in domum meam, qui sæpius offendi benignissimam faciem tuam? Reverentur Angeli et Archangeli, metuunt Sancti et Justi, et tu dicis: Venite ad me omnes? Nam nisi tu, Domine, diceres, quis verum esse crederet? Et nisi tu juberes, quis accedere tentaret?

Ecce vir justus Noe in arcæ fabrica centum annis laboravit, ut cum paucis salvaretur: et ego quomodo potero me una hora præparare, ut mundi fabricatorem cum reverentia sumam? Moyses, famulus tuus, magnus et specialis amicus tuus, arcam ex lignis imputribilibus fecit, quam et mundissimo vestivit auro, ut tabulas Legis in ea reponeret: et ego putrida creatura, audebo te Conditorem legis, ac vitæ datorem tam facile suscipere? Salomon, sapientissimus regum Israel, magnificum templum septem annis in laudem nominis tui ædificavit, et octo diebus festum dedicationis ejus celebravit, mille hostias pacificas obtulit, et arcam fæderis, clangore buccinæ et jubilo in loco sibi præparato solemniter collocavit. Et ego infelix et pauperrimus hominum, quomodo te in domum meam introducam, qui vix mediam expendere devote novi horam, et utinam vel fere semel mediam digne.

O, mi Deus, quantum illi ad placendum tibi agere studuerunt. Heu quam pusillum est quod ago, quam breve expleo tempus, cum me ad communicandum dispono. Raro totus collectus, rarissime ab omni distractione purgatus.

Et certe in tua salutari Deitatis præsentia nulla deberet occurrere indecens cogitatio; nulla etiam occupare creatura, quia non ad Angelum, sed Angelorum Dominum suscepturus sum hospitio. Est tamen magna distantia inter arcam fœderis Domini cum suis reliquiis, et mundissimum Corpus tuum cum suis ineffabilibus virtutibus; inter legalia illa sacrificia futurorum præfigurativa, et veram tui Corporis hostiam, omnium antiquorum sacrificiorum completivam.

Quare igitur ad tuam non magis inardesco venerabilem præsentiam? Cur majori me non præparo sollicitudine ad tua Sancta sumenda, quando illi antiqui sancti Patriarchæ, Reges quoque et Principes cum universo populo tantum devotionis monstrarunt affectum erga cultum divinum?

Saltavit rex devotissimus David coram arca Dei totis viribus, recolens beneficia olim indulta Patribus. Fecit diversi generis organa, psalmos edidit, et cantari instituit cum lætitia, cecinit et ipse frequenter in cithara, Spiritus sancti afflatus gratia, docuit populum Israel toto corde laudare Deum, et ore consono diebus singulis benedicere et prædicare. Si tanta agebatur tunc devotio, ac divinæ laudis extitit recordatio coram arca testamenti, quanta nunc mihi et omni populo Christiano habenda est devotio et reverentia in præsentia Sacramenti, in sumtione excellentissimi corporis Christi?

Currunt multi ad diversa loca pro visitandis reliquiis Sanctorum, et mirantur auditis gestis eorum; ampla ædificia templorum inspiciunt, et osculantur sericis et auro involuta sacra ossa eorum. Et ecce tu præsens es hic apud me in altari, Deus meus, Sanctus Sanctorum, hominum Creator et Dominus Angelorum. Sæpe in talibus videndis est curiositas hominum, est novitas invisorum et modicus reportabitur fructus emendationis, maxime ubi est tam levis, sine vera contritione discursus. Hic autem in Sacramento altaris totus præsens es Deus meus, homo Christus Jesus: ubi et copiosus percipitur æternæ salutis fructus, quotescumque fueris digne ac devote susceptus. Ad istud vero non trahit levitas aliqua, nec curiositas vel sensualitas, sed firma fides, devota spes, et sincera charitas.

O, invisibilis conditor mundi Deus, quam mirabiliter agis nobiscum, quam suaviter et gratiose cum electis tuis disponis, quibus temetipsum in Sacramento sumendum proponis. Hoc namque omnem intellectum superat; hoc specialiter devotorum corda trahit, et accendit affectum. Ipsi enim vere fideles tui, qui totam vitam suam ad emendationem disponunt, ex hoc Sacramento dignissimo magnam devotionis gratiam, et virtutis amorem frequenter recipiunt.

O, admirabilis et abscondita gratia Sacramenti, quam norunt tantum Christi fideles, infideles autem et peccatis servientes experiri non possunt. In hoc Sacramento confertur spiritualis gratia et reparatur in anima virtus amissa et per peccatum deformata redit pulchritudo. Tanta est aliquando hæc gratia, ut ex plenitudine collatæ devotionis non tantum mens, sed et debile corpus vires sibi præstitas sentiat ampliores.

Dolendum tamen est, et miserandum valde super tepiditate, et negligentia nostra, quod non majori affectu trahimur ad Christum sumendum, in quo tota spes salvandorum consistit et meritum. Ipse enim est sanctificatio nostra et redemtio; ipse consolatio viatorum et Sanctorum æterna fruitio. Dolendum itaque valde, quod multi tam parum hoc salutare mysterium advertunt, quod cælum lætificat et mundum conservat universum. Heu cæcitas et duritia cordis humani, tam ineffabile donum non magis attendere, et ex quotidiano usu etiam inadvertentia defluere.

Si enim hoc sanctissimum Sacramentum in uno tantum celebraretur loco, et ab uno tantum consecraretur Sacerdote in mundo, quanto putas desiderio ad illum locum, et talem Dei sacerdotem homines efficerentur, ut divina ministeria celebrari audirent? Nunc autem multi facti sunt Sacerdotes et in multis locis offertur Christus: ut tanto major appareat gratia et dilectio Dei ad hominem, quanto latius est sacra Communio diffusa per omnem orbem.

Gratias tibi, bone Jesu, pastor æterne, qui nos pauperes et exules dignatus est prætioso corpore et sanguine tuo reficere: et ad hæc mysteria percipienda etiam proprii oris tui eloquio invitare dicendo: Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Matt.11.28 — Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
  2. ↩1Kgs.8.27;2Chr.6.18 — But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you—how much less this house that I have built! 2Chr.6.18 — But will God indeed dwell with humankind on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you—how much less this house that I have built!
  3. ↩Matt.11.28 — Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
  4. ↩Matt.11.28 — Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
  5. ↩Exod.25.10-Exod.25.22 — They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, a cubit and a half in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height. Exod.25.11 — And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make on it a gold molding round about. Exod.25.12 — And you shall cast for it four rings of gold, and place them on its four feet; two rings on one side of it, and two rings on its other side. Exod.25.13 — And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. Exod.25.14 — And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried with them. Exod.25.15 — The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. Exod.25.16 — You shall place into the ark the testimony that I will give you. Exod.25.17 — You shall make an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Exod.25.18 — And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them, at the two ends of the mercy seat. Exod.25.19 — And make one cherub from one end and one cherub from the other end; from the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. Exod.25.20 — The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall be toward one another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. Exod.25.21 — You shall place the mercy seat on top of the ark, and into the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you. Exod.25.22 — And I will meet with you there, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, all that I will command you concerning the people of Israel.
  6. ↩2Sam.6.14 — And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod.
  7. ↩1Chr.15.27-1Chr.15.28 — Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah, the leader of the music. David also wore a linen ephod. 1Chr.15.28 — And all Israel was bringing up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the horn, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, resounding with lyres and harps.
  8. ↩Ps.98.5-Ps.98.6 — Sing to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. Ps.98.6 — With trumpets and the sound of the horn, shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.
  9. ↩Exod.25.10-Exod.25.22;Heb.9.4 — They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, a cubit and a half in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height. Exod.25.11 — And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make on it a gold molding round about. Exod.25.12 — And you shall cast for it four rings of gold, and place them on its four feet; two rings on one side of it, and two rings on its other side. Exod.25.13 — And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. Exod.25.14 — And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried with them. Exod.25.15 — The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. Exod.25.16 — You shall place into the ark the testimony that I will give you. Exod.25.17 — You shall make an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Exod.25.18 — And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them, at the two ends of the mercy seat. Exod.25.19 — And make one cherub from one end and one cherub from the other end; from the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. Exod.25.20 — The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall be toward one another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. Exod.25.21 — You shall place the mercy seat on top of the ark, and into the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you. Exod.25.22 — And I will meet with you there, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, all that I will command you concerning the people of Israel. Heb.9.4 — having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tablets of the covenant
  10. ↩Dan.9.24 — Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city: to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
  11. ↩1Cor.13.13 — And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
  12. ↩Matt.11.28 — Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩suspicio rendered 'receive' in the devotional sense of receiving with trust and reverence.
  2. 2 ↩reverberat rendered 'strikes me back' — the Latin carries the sense of being repelled or thrown back, as by a mirror.
  3. 3 ↩Normalized text corrects onerasti to onerati (2nd pl); translation follows the corrected reading.
  4. 4 ↩communio rendered as 'Communion' (capitalized) per Book 4 Eucharistic context.
  5. 5 ↩Normalized text corrects Dominus to Domine (vocative); translation follows the corrected reading.
  6. 6 ↩hospitio (ablative of manner): rendered 'open my heart as to a guest' to capture the sense of receiving Christ as a welcome guest in the soul.
  7. 7 ↩completivam: rare adjective meaning 'that which completes/fulfills.' Rendered 'fulfills' to convey that Christ's sacrifice is the completion and fulfillment of all Old Testament sacrifices.
  8. 8 ↩inardesco rendered 'burn with desire' to capture the rare verb's sense of being inflamed; igitur taken as inferential, drawing on the preceding argument about the surpassing dignity of Christ's presence.
  9. 9 ↩Sancta sumenda rendered 'holy Sacraments' (capitalized) in keeping with Book 4 Eucharistic specificity; affectum rendered 'affection' per lexeme policy for devotional feeling; devotionis kept as 'devotion' per approved lexicon.
  10. 10 ↩tua Sancta could refer broadly to 'holy things' or specifically to the Eucharist; the Eucharistic reading is preferred here given the chapter's focus on receiving Christ's Body, but the broader sense is not excluded.
  11. 11 ↩The raw text reads 'totis veribus' (a scribal error); the normalized text corrects this to 'totis viribus' ('with all his strength'). The translation follows the corrected reading.
  12. 12 ↩afflatus gratia rendered as 'inspired by the grace' — afflatus (a breathing upon/inspiration) combined with gratia conveys Spirit-led inspiration through divine grace.
  13. 13 ↩The rhetorical question (si tanta… quanta…) draws an explicit typological parallel between the ark of the covenant and the Eucharistic Sacrament, elevating the latter as the greater reality demanding greater devotion.
  14. 14 ↩charitas rendered as love per default policy; the theological-virtue sense is evident in context (faith, hope, love triad), but love is preferred here for readability. A charity/love footnote is warranted given the theological triad.
  15. 15 ↩cum electis tuis: rendered temporally ('for your chosen ones') rather than causally ('since with your chosen ones'); the temporal reading fits the flow of the sentence better.
  16. 16 ↩affectum: rendered 'affection' in the sense of a grace-moved stirring of the heart, not mere sentiment.
  17. 17 ↩enim: rendered 'for' with explanatory force, introducing the reason the Sacrament surpasses understanding — because the faithful actually receive grace through it.
  18. 18 ↩amorem: rendered 'love' (amor), referring to the love of virtue awakened by grace in the Sacrament.
  19. 19 ↩gratia rendered as 'grace' per lexeme policy; Sacramenti kept as 'Sacrament' with Eucharistic specificity per Book 4 sacramental register.
  20. 20 ↩anima rendered as 'soul' per lexeme policy; virtus kept as 'virtue' in its theological sense of spiritual strength.
  21. 21 ↩devotionis rendered as 'devotion' per lexeme policy; mens kept as 'mind' for the interior faculty; corpus as 'body' in its physical sense.
  22. 22 ↩affectu (affectus) rendered as 'affection' in the sense of heartfelt devotion or attachment, not mere emotion.
  23. 23 ↩fruitio rendered as 'enjoyment' in the theological sense of the beatific fruition of God.
  24. 24 ↩defluere rendered as 'slip into' to capture the sense of gradual, careless drift (inadvertentia).
  25. 25 ↩The exclamatory 'Heu' is rendered as 'Alas' to preserve the emotional weight without archaism.
  26. 26 ↩Normalized text corrects 'divinia' to 'divina' in the final clause.
  27. 27 ↩dilectio rendered as 'love' per standard policy; here it stands alongside gratia to express the fullness of God's benevolence.
  28. 28 ↩Direct quotation of Matthew 11:28 (Vulgate). The embedded scripture span is preserved in its familiar cadence.
  29. 29 ↩reficere rendered 'to refresh' and 'I will refresh' — carrying both the physical sense of nourishment and the spiritual sense of restoration, fitting the Eucharistic context.