St. Ignatius of Antioch,
Epistle to the Romans, c. 105
"I have no taste for corruptible food nor
for the pleasures of this life. I desire the
bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus
Christ, who was of the seed of David; and
for drink I desire His blood, which is love
incorruptible."
The persuasion of the Church from Apostolic times
about
the objective
reality of these words of Christ is clear from
many documents.