If the Word of God is living and powerful, and if the Lord does all things whatsoever he wills; if he said, "Let there be light", and it happened; if he said, "let there be a firmament", and it happened; ...if finally the Word of God himself willingly became man and made flesh for himself out of the most pure and undefiled blood of the holy and ever Virgin, why should he not be capable of making bread his Body and wine and water his Blood?... God said, "This is my Body", and "This is my Blood."
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the power of divine words and the belief in transubstantiation, where bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
In this quote, John of Damascus reflects on the omnipotence of God, illustrating how God's words are inherently powerful and bring forth creation and transformation. He argues that if God can create light and the heavens merely by speaking, then it is entirely plausible for God to transform bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharist, reinforcing the belief in the sacramental mystery central to Christian faith.
In practice
In a sermon about understanding faith, one could reference this quote to illustrate the power of God's words.
The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God. Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics, and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death so that we may also share their crowns of glory.
Both angels and demons are ignorant of the future, yet they make predictions. The angels do so when God reveals the future to them and commands them to prophesy, and what they prophesy comes to pass. Demons also make predictions, but these are only guesses based on what they see from afar.
Angels are intelligent reflections of light, that original light which has no beginning. They can illuminate. They do not need tongues or ears, for they can communicate without speech, in thought.
All who ask receive, those who seek find, and to those who knock it shall be opened. Therefore, let us knock at the beautiful garden of Scripture. It is fragrant, sweet, and blooming with various sounds of spiritual and divinely inspired birds. They sing all around our ears, capture our hearts, comfort the mourners, pacify the angry, and fill us with everlasting joy.
...we shall incur no slight injury, but rather great danger, if we rashly yield ourselves to the inclinations of men who aim at exciting strife and tumults, so as to draw us away from what is good? Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness?
Every man possesses that which is according to the image of God, for the gifts of God are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). But only a few ? those who are virtuous and holy, and have imitated the goodness of God to the limit of human powers ? possess that which is according to the likeness of God.
Forbidden pleasures alone are loved immoderately; when lawful, they do not excite desire.
From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.
What would life be like if everybody insisted you must have actually built such-and-such a thing by yourself? I'd be an old man and have nothing to show for the aging.
Every breath you take, you are getting closer to the grave. But every breath you take, you can also get closer to your liberation.
World is supposed to mean something that's self-contained. but nothing is self-contained.
The beloved does not drink a single drop of water without seeing His Face in the cup. Allah is He Who flows between the pericardium and the heart, just as the tears flow from the eyelids.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.