Eucharist as memorial of Christ's death and call to purity
Basil is concluding his homily by quoting Jesus's words at the Last Supper and Paul's words on the Lord's Supper, then explaining that eating and drinking are a perpetual memorial of Christ's death and resurrection and require approaching the pure sacrifice with a cleansed soul.
And he said: “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my Father” (John 6:65). And near the end: “So Jesus took bread, and having given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And he took the cup, and having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 22:19-20). And the Apostle says: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:26). What then are these words, and what benefit comes from them? It is so that, as we eat and drink, we may always remember the one who died and rose for us, and so be necessarily taught to keep that apostolic commandment given to us, which says: “For the love of Christ constrains us, because we have judged this: that if one died for all, then all died; and he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose for them” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). For the one who eats and drinks clearly does so for an indelible remembrance of the obedience unto death of the Master and Creator, who for my sake became what the formed thing was. But we are not commanded to eat simply; rather, we are urged to discern this body of the Lord—clearly, having put away defilement of flesh and spirit, and having prepared a vessel for the spiritual ointment, so to approach the pure sacrifice, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion now and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Greek
Καὶ ἔλεγεν· Διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρὸς μὲ, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός μου.» Καὶ πρὸς τῷ τέλει· «Λαβὼν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἄρτον, καὶ εὐχαριστήσας, ἔκλασε, καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς, καὶ εἶπε· Λάβετε, φάγετε· τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ σῶμά μου τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κλώμενον· τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν. Καὶ λαβὼν ποτήριον, εὐχαριστήσας, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς εἰπών· Πίετε ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ αἷμά μου τὸ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης, τὸ περὶ πολλῶν ἐκχυνόμενον εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.» Καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· «Ὁσάκις γὰρ ἂν ἐσθίητε τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον, καὶ τὸ ποτήριον πίνητε, τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Κυρίου καταγγέλλετε.» Τί οὖν τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, καὶ τί τὸ παρ' αὐτῶν ὄφελος; Ἵνα, ἐσθίοντές τε καὶ πίνοντες, ἀεὶ μνημονεύωμεν τοῦ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀποθανόντος καὶ ἐγερθέντος, καὶ οὕτω παιδευθῶμεν ἀναγκαίως φυλάξαι τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἡμῖν δεδομένον παράγγελμα, τὸ φάσκον· «Ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνέχει ἡμᾶς, κρίναντας τοῦτο, ὅτι, εἰ εἷς ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν, ἄρα οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον· καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν, ἵνα οἱ ζῶντες μηκέτι ἑαυτοῖς ζῶσιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἐγερθέντι.» Ὁ γὰρ ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, δηλονότι εἰς ἀνεξάλειπτον τῆς μέχρι θανάτου ὑπακοῆς μνήμην τοῦ Δεσπότου καὶ πλάστου, καὶ δι' ἐμὲ ὅπερ ἦν τὸ πλασθὲν γεγονότος. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐσθίειν προστέτακται, ἀλλὰ καὶ διακρίνειν τὸ τοιοῦτον τοῦ Κυρίου παρακελευόμεθα σῶμα· δηλονότι σαρκὸς μολυσμὸν καὶ πνεύματος ἀποθεμένους, καὶ δοχεῖον τοῦ πνευματικοῦ μύρου παρασκευάσαντας, οὕτως τῇ καθαρᾷ προσεγγίσαι θυσίᾳ, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος νῦν καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.