Excerpt from The Guidon, Vol. 3: Oct;-Nov;, 1906

Many of these stories clustered around the life of Christ and the things pertaining to Him. There were stories of the true cross and the miracles it worked; of the seamless garment His mother wove for Him; of the Veronica; and of the Holy Grail. The tenderest asso ciation clung to this cup. This was very natural, for it symbolized Christ's friendship and companionship with men. He was a man among them, and shared all the sweet, simple pleasures of their home life. They probably had the same feeling for the family meal that we have. It is the gathering place for the family, a place where we talk pleasantly and happily, and enjoy fellowship with one another. It is the place where we love to see our friends, and we seldom ask strangers to sit down with us here. We somehow feel that it is only for those who are nearest and dearest. We hold in tenderest memory the last meal that we eat with a loved one. We touch lovingly all the things our friends last used before slipping away to that Other Land.

There was no doubt in the minds of these people as to whether the Grail of the legend was the true cup. They accepted the statement without question, and told the story over and over again. The Holy Grail was the cup Christ used the last time He appeared as a man among His fellows. Later He was raised by His great sacrifice to a plane far above theirs. But when He used this cup, He sat at meat with them; John whom He loved lay on His bosom; all of the dis ciples talked freely to Him, and He taught the most spiritual truths. Then, too, He instituted forever a memorial of His death, and they drank from this cup the wine which symbolized His blood shed for their sins. Through the whole meal, they had a feeling that they were about to lose Him, and they treasured up in memory every word and look.

The legends of the Grail were mingled with those of the loving-cup used by the knights. They used to pass a cup of wine from one to another at their feasts as a pledge of comradeship, and the people had a tender feeling for this custom also. It was little won der then that these Christians who needed tangible things in their religion came to look upon the Grail as a sacred thing.

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