Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 95 No. 3, 2025.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.3.4
Eucharist as a Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet and the World to Come: Eschatological Highlights in the Eucharistic Theology
Milan Dančuo
; Catholic Faculty of Theology University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper examines the eschatological perspective of the Eucharist as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet and the world to come. The starting point is the Eucharistic celebration, which simultaneously commemorates Christ’s work of salvation and anticipates his return in glory. The Eucharist thus sustains Christian hope alive by celebrating, through the power of memorial, the fundamental unity that exists between the past, present, and future in Christ. Through the analysis of the starting point, the eschatological understanding of time is initially studied, introducing the category of dynamic or sacramental time that clarifies the relationship between the past and the present in the Eucharist, and subsequently the relationship between the present and the future. In the Eucharist, a memorial of the past of salvation is celebrated, yet at the same time, the promised salvation is actualized here and now in the life of the Christian community. While reality has not been definitively achieved, it remains open to its final fulfilment. In the analysis of eschatological highlights in contemporary Eucharistic theology by certain authors, the Eucharist is emphasized as the actualization of the Cross of Christ, and the relationship between the Eucharist, Christ’s Resurrection, and the Paschal Mystery is discussed. The author proceeds to examine the Eucharist as the sacramental fulfilment of the future and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. The final chapter of the paper addresses the issue of Eucharistic eschatology in the life of the Church, with a focus on more recent Church documents. The significance of the Sunday Eucharist and the understanding of eschatological hope are explored in the context of Church life. Amid the transitory nature of this world, the Eucharist brings a new experience of Christian hope and enables the eternity to enter the course of human time and history. Therefore, it becomes a foretaste of eternal life as the entire reality is directed towards eschatological completion.
Keywords
liturgy; eucharist; celebration; eschatology; eternity; theology
Hrčak ID:
336773
URI
Publication date:
29.10.2025.
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