The Creator offers himself to the creature!
Prayer for Maundy Thursday
Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
from The Book of Common Prayer
Together let us hasten to the Mystical Supper! Today Christ feasts us, today Christ serves us; Christ, the Lover of Mankind, refreshes us! O awesome mystery! O inexpressible economy! O incomprehensible condescension! O unsearchable kindness! The Creator offers himself to the creature for his enjoyment! Life itself bestows himself on mortals for their food and drink!
“Come, eat my bread,” he urges, “and drink the wine I have mixed for you” (Proverbs 9:5).
“Eat me, Life, and you will live, for this is my desire. Eat the Life that does not fail; for this have I come, that you may have life, and have it more abundantly (John10:10). Eat the bread which renews your nature. Drink the wine, the exultation of immortality. I became like you, for you, without being changed from my nature, that you might through me become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Cyril the Great from Sermon on the Mystical Supper
Cyril the Great (also known as Cyril of Alexandria) lived from approximately AD376 to 444. He was Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444, when the city was at the height of its power and influence in the Roman Empire. Cyril was a prolific author and was a leading voice in the controversies surrounding the person and work of Jesus Christ. His writings and theology are still considered fundamental to the tradition of the Church Fathers and all Orthodox Christians to this day.