Authenticity of the Holy Chalice
About the Holy Chalice of the Last Supper
Is the Holy Chalice authentic?
We have already said that the negative criticism tells us that already in Jesus' time it was a valuable antique and there is an Israelite custom that gives us an important positive fact; indeed, even today every Jewish family still lovingly keeps the “cup of blessing” for the Passover and Sabbath dinners.
The Gospels tell us that Jesus celebrated the Passover rite in a decorated room, furnished with couches (Mk 14:15).
Would it be strange if the family that welcomed him did not place before the Lord the precious family cup for him to pronounce the ritual blessings, the last of which became the first Eucharistic consecration of the wine in the Blood of the Redeemer?
We have seen too many “poor” scenes of the Last Supper, with the disciples sitting on the ground and Jesus taking in his hands a humble earthen vessel...but this was not the case.
So the Apostles and the first Christians were able to identify the vessel of the first Eucharist and preserve it in spite of its fragility. How could it have remained intact for the first thousand hazardous years if not because it was protected by the memory of a most sacred mystery?