THE
SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST
Importance
of Instruction On The Eucharist
As
of all the sacred mysteries bequeathed to us by our Lord and Savior as most infallible
instruments of divine grace, there is none comparable to the most Holy
Sacrament of the Eucharist; so, for no crime is there a heavier punishment to
be feared from God than for the unholy or irreligious use by the faithful of
that which is full of holiness, or rather which contains the very author and
source of holiness. This the Apostle
wisely saw, and has openly admonished us of it. For when he had declared the enormity of their guilt who
discerned not the body of the Lord, he immediately subjoined: Therefore are
there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep. 1
In
order that the faithful, therefore, aware of the divine honors due to this
heavenly Sacrament, may derive therefrom abundant fruit of grace and escape the
most just anger of God, pastors should explain what the greatest diligence all
those things which may seem calculated more fully to display its majesty.
In
this matter it will be necessary that pastors, following the example of the
Apostle Paul, who professes to have delivered to the Corinthians what he had
received from the Lord, first of all explain to the faithful the institution of
this Sacrament.
That
its institution was as follows, is clearly inferred from the Evangelist. Our Lord, having loved his own, loved
them to the end. 2 As a
divine and admirable pledge of this love, knowing that the hour had now come
that He should pass from the world to the Father, that He might not ever at any
period be absent from His own, He accomplished with inexplicable wisdom that
which surpasses all the order and condition of nature. For having kept the supper of the Paschal
lamb with his disciples, that the figure might yield to the reality, the shadow
to the substance, He took bread, and giving thanks unto God, He Blessed, and
brake, and gave to the disciples, and said: " Take ye and eat, this is my body which shall be
delivered for you; this do for a commemoration of me. " In like manner also, He took the chalice
after he had supped, saying: "
This chalice is the new testament in my blood;
this do, as often as you shall drink it, in commemoration of me." 3 {a}
Wherefore
sacred writers, seeing that it was not at all possible that they should manifest
by one term the dignity and excellence of this admirable Sacrament, endeavor to
express it by many words.
For
sometimes they call it Eucharist, which word we may render either by good
grace, or by thanksgiving. {b} And rightly, indeed, is it to be called good
grace, as well because it first signifies eternal life, concerning which it
has been written: The grace of God is eternal life; 4 and also
because it contains Christ the Lord, who is true grace and the fountain of all
favors.
No
less aptly do we interpret it thanksgiving; inasmuch as when we immolate
this purest victim, we give daily unbounded thanks to God for all His
kindnesses towards us, and above all for so excellent a gift of His grace,
which He grants to us in this Sacrament.
This same name, also, is fully in keeping with those things which we
read were done by Christ the Lord at the institution of this mystery. For taking bread he brake it, and
gave thanks. 5 David also, when contemplating the greatness of this mystery,
before he pronounced that song: He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful
works, being a merciful and gracious Lord, the hath given food to them that
fear him, though that he should first make this act of thanksgiving: His work is praise and magnificence. 6
Other Names of this
Sacrament
Frequently
also, it is called Sacrifice.
Concerning this mystery there will be occasion to speak more at length
presently.
It
is called, moreover, Communion, the term being evidently borrowed from that
passage of the Apostle where we read: The chalice of benediction which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the
partaking of the body of the Lord? 7 For, as Damascene 8 has explained, this Sacrament unites us to
Christ, renders us partakers of His flesh and Divinity, reconciles and unites
us to one another in the same Christ, and forms us, as it were, into one body.
Whence
it came to pass, that it was called also the Sacrament of peace and love. We can understand then how unworthy they are
of the name of Christian who cherish enmities, and how hatred, dissensions and
discord should be entirely put away, as the most destructive bane of the
faithful, especially since by the daily Sacrifice of our religion, we profess
to preserve nothing with more anxious care, than peace and love.
It
is also frequently called the Viaticum by sacred writers, both because
it is spiritual food by which we are sustained in our pilgrimage through this
life, and also because it paves our way to eternal glory and happiness. Wherefore, according to an ancient usage of
the Catholic Church, we see that none of the faithful are permitted to die
without this Sacrament.
The
most ancient Fathers, following the authority of the Apostle, 9 have
sometimes also called the Holy Eucharist by the name of Supper, because
it was instituted by Christ the Lord at the salutary mystery of the Last
Supper.
It
is not, however, lawful to consecrate or partake of the Eucharist after eating or
drinking, because, according to a custom wisely introduced by the Apostles, as
ancient writers have recorded, and which has ever been retained and preserved,
Communion is received only by persons who are fasting. {c}
The
meaning of the name having been explained, it will be necessary to show that
this is a true Sacrament, and one of those seven which the Holy Church has ever
revered and venerated religiously. For
when the consecration of the chalice is effected, it is called a mystery of
faith.
Besides,
to omit the almost endless testimonies of sacred writers, who have invariably
thought that this was to be numbered
among the real Sacraments, the same thing is proved from the very principle and
nature of a Sacrament. For there are in
it signs that are external and subject to the senses. In the next place it signifies and produces grace. Moreover, neither the Evangelist nor the
Apostle leave room for doubt regarding its institution by Christ. Since all these things concur to establish
the fact of the Sacrament, there is obviously no need of any other
argument. {d}
In
What Respect The Eucharist Is A Sacrament
But
pastors should carefully observe that in this mystery there are many things to
which sacred writers have from time to time attributed the name of Sacrament. For, sometimes, both of the consecration and
the Communion; nay, frequently also the body and blood itself of our Lord,
which is contained in the Eucharist, used to be called a Sacrament. Thus St. Augustine {e} says
that this Sacrament consists of two things,- the visible species of the
elements, and the invisible flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. And it is in the same sense that
we say that this Sacrament is to be adored, meaning the body and blood of our
Lord. Now it is plain that all these
are less properly called Sacraments.
The species of bread and wine themselves are truly and strictly
designated by this name. {f}
How
much this Sacrament differs from all the others is easily inferred. For all the
other Sacraments are completed by the use of the material, that is, while they
are being administered to some one.
Thus Baptism attains the nature of a Sacrament when the individual is
actually being washed in the water. For
the perfecting of the Eucharist on the other hand, the consecration of the
material itself suffices, since neither
(species ) ceases to be a
Sacrament, though kept in the pyx.
Again
in perfecting the other Sacraments there is no change of the matter and element
into another nature. The water of
baptism, or the oil of Confirmation, when those Sacraments are being administered,
do not lose their former nature of water and oil; but in the Eucharist, that
which was bread and wine before consecration, after consecration is truly the
substance of the body and blood of the Lord.
But although there are two elements, as bread
and wine, of which the entire Sacrament of the Eucharist is constituted, yet
guided by the authority of the Church, we confess that this is not many
Sacraments, but only one.
Otherwise,
there cannot be the exact number of seven Sacraments, as has ever being handed
down, and as was decreed by the councils of Lateran, Florence and Trent. {g}
Moreover,
by virtue of the Sacrament, one mystical body is effected; hence, that the
Sacrament itself may correspond to the thing which it effects, it must be one.
It is one not because it is indivisible, but
because it signifies a single thing.
For as food and drink, which are two different things, are employed only
for one purpose, namely, that the vigor of the body may be recruited; so also
it was but natural that there should be an analogy to them in the two different
species of the Sacrament, which should signify the spiritual food by which
souls are supported and refreshed.
Wherefore we have been assured by our Lord the Saviour: My flesh is
meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 10
{h}
The
Eucharist Signifies Three Things
It
must, therefore, be diligently explained what the Sacrament of the Eucharist
signifies, that the faithful, beholding the sacred mysteries with their eyes,
may also at the same time feed their souls with the contemplation of divine
things. Three things, then, are
signified by this Sacrament. The first
is the passion of Christ our Lord, a thing past; for He himself said: Do
this for a commemoration of me, 11 and the Apostle says: As often as you shall eat this bread, and
drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come. 12
It
is also significant of divine and heavenly grace, which is imparted at the present
time by this Sacrament to nurture and preserve the soul. Just as in Baptism we are begotten unto
newness of life and by Confirmation are strengthened to resist Satan and openly
to profess the name of Christ, so by the Sacrament of the Eucharist are we
nurtured and supported.
It
is, thirdly, a foreshadowing of future eternal joy and glory, which, according
to God's promises, we shall receive in our heavenly country.
These
three things, then, which are clearly distinguished by their reference to past,
present and future times, are so well represented by the Eucharistic mysteries
that the whole Sacrament, though consisting of different species, signifies the
three as if it referred to one thing only. {i}
The
Matter
It
is particularly incumbent on pastors to know the matter of this Sacrament, in
order that they themselves may rightly consecrate it, and also that they may be
able to instruct the faithful as to its significance, inflaming them with an
earnest desire of that which it signifies.
The
First Element of the Eucharist is Bread
The
matter of this Sacrament is twofold.
The first element is wheaten bread, of which we shall now speak. Of the second we shall treat hereafter. As the Evangelist, Matthew, Mark and Luke
testify, Christ the Lord took bread into His hands, blessed, and brake,
saying: This is my body; 13 and, according to John, the same Savior called
Himself bread in these words: I am
the living bread, that came down from heaven. 14
The
Sacramental Bread Must Be Wheaten
There
are, however, various sorts of bread, either because they consist of different
materials,- such as wheat, barley, pulse and other products of the earth; or
because they possess different qualities,- some being leavened, others
altogether without leaven. It is to be
observed that, with regard to the former kinds, the words of the Saviour show
that the bread should be wheaten; for, according to common usage, when we simply
say bread, we are sufficiently understood to mean wheaten bread. This is also declared by a figure in the Old
Testament, because the Lord commanded that the loaves of proposition, which
signified this Sacrament, should be made of fine flour. 15 {j}
The
Sacramental Bread Should Be Unleavened
But
as wheaten bread alone is to be considered the proper matter for this Sacrament
- a doctrine which has been handed down by Apostolic tradition and confirmed by
the authority of the Catholic Church - so it may be easily inferred from the
doings of Christ the Lord that this bread should be unleavened. It was consecrated and instituted by Him on
the first day of unleavened bread, on which it was not lawful for the Jews to
have anything leavened in their houses. 16
Should
the authority of John the Evangelist, 17 who says that all this was done before the
feast of the Passover, be objected to, the argument is one of easy
solution. For by the day before the
pasch John understands the same day which the other Evangelists designate
as the first day of unleavened bread.
He wished particularly to mark the natural day, which commences at
sunrise; whereas they wanted to point out that our Lord celebrated the Pasch on
Thursday evening just when the days of the unleavened bread were
beginning. Hence St. Chrysostom 18 also
understands the first day of unleavened bread to be the day on the evening of
which unleavened bread was to be eaten. {k}
The
peculiar suitableness of the consecration of unleavened bread to express that
integrity and purity of mind which the faithful should bring to this Sacrament
we learn from these words of the Apostle: Purge out the old leaven, that you
may be a new paste, as you are unleavened.
For Christ our Passover is
sacrificed. Therefore, let us feast,
not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with
the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 19
Unleavened
Bread Not Essential
This
quality of the bread, however, is not to be deemed so essential that, if it be
wanting, the Sacrament cannot exist; for both kinds are called by the one name
and have the true and proper nature of bread.
No one, however, is at liberty on his own private authority, or rather presumption,
to transgress the laudable rite of His Church.
And such departure is the less warrantable in priests of the Latin
Church, expressly obliged as they are by the supreme Pontiffs, to consecrate
the sacred mysteries with unleavened bread only.
Quantity
of the Bread
With
Regard to the first matter of this Sacrament, let this exposition suffice. It is, however, to be observed, that the
quantity of the matter to be consecrated is not defined, since we cannot define
the exact number of those who can or ought to receive the sacred mysteries. {l}
The
Second Element of the Eucharist is Wine
It
remains for us to treat of the other
matter and element of this Sacrament, which is wine pressed from the fruit of
the vine, with which is mingled a little water.
That
in the institution of this Sacrament our Lord and Savior made use of wine has
been at all times the doctrine of the Catholic Church, for he himself said: I
will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day. 20 On this
passage Chrysostom 21
observes: He says, " Of the fruit of the vine," which certainly produced wine not water;
as if he had it in view, even at so early a period, to uproot the heresy which
asserted that in these mysteries water alone is to be used.
Water Should Be Mixed
With The Wine
With
the wine, however, the Church of God has always mingled water. First, because
Christ the Lord did so, as is proved by the authority of Councils and the
testimony of St. Cyprian; 22 next, because by this mixture is renewed the
recollection of the blood and water that issued from His side. Waters, also, as we read in the Apocalypse, 23 signify
the people; and hence, water mixed with
the wine signifies the union of the faithful with Christ their Head. This rite, derived as it is from Apostolic
tradition, the Catholic Church has always observed. But although there are reasons so grave for mingling water with
the wine that it cannot be omitted without incurring the guilt of mortal sin,
yet its omission does not render the Sacrament null.
Again
as in the sacred mysteries priests must be mindful to mingle water with wine,
so, also, must they take care to mingle it in small quantity, for, in the
opinion and judgment of ecclesiastical writers, that water is changed into
wine. Hence these words of Pope
Honorius 24
on the subject: A pernicious
abuse has prevailed in your district of using in the sacrifice a greater
quantity of water than of wine;
whereas, according to the rational practice of the universal Church, the
wine should be used in much greater quantity than the water. {m}
No Other Elements
Pertain To This Sacrament
These,
then, are the only two elements of this Sacrament; and with reason has it been
enacted by many decrees that, although there have been those who were not
afraid to do so, it is unlawful to offer anything but bread and wine.
Peculiar
Fitness Of Bread And Wine
We
Have now to consider the aptitude of these two symbols of bread and wine to
represent those things of which we believe and confess they are the sensible
signs.
In
the first place, then, they signify to us Christ, as the true life of men; for
our Lord Himself says: My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
25 As,
then, the body of Christ the Lord furnishes nourishment unto eternal life to
those who receive this Sacrament with purity and holiness, rightly is the
matter composed chiefly of those elements by which our present life is
sustained, in order that the faithful may easily understand that the mind and
soul are satiated by the Communion of the precious body and blood of Christ.
These
very elements serve also somewhat to suggest to men the truth of the Real
Presence of the body and blood of the Lord in the Sacrament. Observing, as we do, that bread and wine are
everyday changed by the power of nature into human flesh and blood, we are led
more easily by this analogy to believe that the substance of the bread and wine
is changed, by the heavenly benediction, into the real flesh and real blood of
Christ.
This
admirable change of the elements also helps to shadow forth what takes place in
the soul. Although no change of the
bread and wine appears externally, yet their substance is truly changed into
the flesh and blood of Christ; so, in like manner, although in us nothing
appears changed, yet we are renewed inwardly unto life, when we receive in the
Sacrament of the Eucharist the true life.
Moreover,
the body of the Church, which is one, consist of many members, and of this
union nothing is more strikingly illustrative than the elements of bread and
wine; for bread is made from many grains and wine is pressed from many clusters
of grapes. Thus they signify that we,
though many, are most closely bound together by the bond of this divine mystery
and made, as it were, one body. {n}
The
form to be used in the consecration of the bread is next to be treated of, not,
however, in order that the faithful should be taught these mysteries, unless
necessity require it; for This knowledge is not needful for those who have not received Holy
Orders. The purpose ( of this section ) is to guard against most shameful mistakes
on the part of priests, at the time of the consecration, due to ignorance of
the form.
Form
To Be Used In The Consecration Of The Bread
We are then taught by the holy Evangelist, Matthew and Luke, and also by the Apostle,
that the form consist of these words: This
is my body; for it is written: Whilst
they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to
his disciples, and said: Take and eat, This is my body. 26
This
form of consecration having been observed by Christ the Lord has been always
used by the Catholic Church. The testimonies
of the Fathers, the enumeration of which would be endless, and also the decree
of the Council of Florence, which is well known and accessible to all, must
here be omitted, especially as the knowledge which they convey may be obtained
from these words of the Saviour: Do this for a commemoration of me. 27 For what
the Lord enjoined was not only what He had done, but also what He had said; and
especially is this true, since the words were uttered not only to signify, but
also to accomplish.
That
these words constitute the form is easily proved from reason also. The form is that which signifies what is
accomplished in this Sacrament; but as the preceding words signify and declare
what takes place in the Eucharist, that is, the conversion of the bread into
the true body of our Lord, - it therefore follows that these very words
constitute the form. In this sense may
be understood the words of the Evangelist: He blessed; for they seem equivalent
to this: Taking bread, he blessed it, saying: " This is my body. " 28
Not All The Words Used
Are Essential
Although
in the Evangelist the words, Take and eat, precede the words ( this is my body ), they evidently express the use only, not the
consecration, of the matter. Wherefore,
while they are not necessary to the consecration of the Sacrament, they are by
all means to be pronounced by the priest, as is also the conjunction for in the
consecration of the body and blood. But
they are not necessary to the validity of the Sacrament, otherwise it would
follow that, if this Sacrament were not to be administered to anyone, it should
not, or indeed could not, be consecrated; whereas, no one can lawfully doubt
that the priest, by pronouncing the words of our Lord according to the
institution and practice of the Church, truly consecrates the proper matter of
the bread, even though it should afterwards never be administered.
Form
To Be Used In The Consecration Of The Wine
With
regard to the consecration of the wine, which is the other element of this
Sacrament, the priest, for the reason we have already assigned, ought of
necessity to be well acquainted with, and well understand its form. We are then firmly to believe that it
consists in the following words: This
is the chalice of my blood, of the new and eternal testament, the mystery of
faith, which shall be shed for you and for many, to the remission of sins. 29 Of these words the greater part are taken from
Scripture; but some have been preserved in the Church from Apostolic tradition.
Thus
the words, this is the chalice, are found in St. Luke and in the
Apostle; 30 but the words that immediately
follow, of my blood, or my blood of the new testament, which
shall be shed for you and for many to the remission of sins, are found
partly in St. Luke and partly in St. Matthew. 31
But the words, eternal, and the mystery of faith, have
been taught us by holy tradition, the interpreter and keeper of Catholic truth.
Concerning
this form no one can doubt, if he here also attend to what has been already
said about the form used in the consecration of the bread. The form to be used ( in the consecration ) of this element, evidently consist of those
words which signify that the substance of the wine is changed into the blood of
our Lord. Since, therefore, the words
already cited clearly declare this, it is plain that no other words constitute
the form.
They
moreover express certain admirable fruits of the blood shed in the Passion of
our Lord, fruits which pertain in a most special manner to this Sacrament. Of these, one is access to the eternal
inheritance, which has come to us by right of the new and everlasting
testament. Another is access to
righteousness by the mystery of faith; for God hath set forth Jesus to
be a propitiator through faith in his blood, that he himself may be
just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus Christ. 32 A third
effect is the remission of sins.
Explanation
Of The Form Used In The Consecration Of The Wine
Since
these very words of consecration are replete with mysteries and most
appropriately suitable to the subject, they demand a more minute consideration.
The
words: This is the chalice of my blood, are to be understood to mean: This
is my blood, which is contained in this chalice. The mention of the chalice made at the consecration of the blood
is right and appropriate, in as much as the blood is the drink of the faithful,
and this would not be sufficiently signified if it were not contained in some
drinking vessel.
Next
follow the words: Of the New Testament.
These have been added that we might understand the blood of Christ the
Lord to be given not under a figure, as was done in the Old Law, of which we
read in the Epistle to the Hebrews 33 that without blood a Testament is not dedicated;
but to be given to men in truth and in reality, as becomes the New Testament. {o}
Hence the Apostle says: Christ therefore is the mediator of the new
testament, that by means of his death, they who are called may receive the
promise of eternal inheritance. 34
The
word eternal refers to the eternal inheritance, the right to which we acquire
by the death of Christ the Lord the eternal testator.
The
words mystery of faith, which are subjoined, do not exclude the reality,
but signify that what lies hidden and concealed and far removed from the
perception of the eye, is to be believed with firm faith. In this passage, however, these words bear a
meaning different from that which they have when applied also to Baptism. Here the mystery of faith consist in seeing
by faith the blood of Christ veiled under the species of wine; but Baptism is
justly called by us the Sacrament of faith, by the Greeks, the mystery of
faith, because it embraces the entire profession of the Christian
faith.
Another reason why we call the blood of the Lord the
mystery of faith is that human reason is particularly beset with
difficulty and embarrassment when faith proposes to our belief that Christ the Lord,
the true Son of God, at once God and man, suffered death for us, and this death
is designated by the Sacrament of his blood.
Here
therefore, rather than at the consecration of His body, is appropriately,
commemorated the Passion of our Lord, by the words which shall be shed for
the remission of sins. For the
blood, separately consecrated, serves to place before the eyes of all, in a
more forcible manner, the Passion of our Lord, His death, and the nature of His
sufferings.
The
additional words for you and for many, are taken, some from Matthew,
some from Luke, 35 but were joined together by the Catholic Church under the
guidance of the Spirit of God. They
serve to declare the fruit and advantage of His Passion. For if we look to it's value, we must
confess that the Redeemer shed His blood for the salvation of all; but if we
look to the fruit which mankind have received from it, we shall easily find
that it pertains not unto all, but to many of the human race. When therefore ( our Lord ) said: For you, He meant either those who
were present, or those chosen from among the Jewish people, such as were, with
the exception of Judas, the disciples with whom He was speaking. When He added, And for many, he
wished to be understood to mean the remainder of the elect from among the Jews
or Gentiles.
With
reason, therefore, were the words for all not used, as in this place the
fruits of the passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His
Passion bring the fruit of salvation.
And this is the purport of the Apostle 36
when he says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; and
also of the words of our Lord in John: I pray for them; I pray not for the
world, but for them whom thou hast given me, because they are thine. 37
Beneath
the words of this consecration lie hid many other mysteries, which by frequent
meditation and study of sacred things, pastors will find it easy, with the
divine assistance, to discover for themselves.
{p}
Three Mysteries of the Eucharist
We
must now return to an explanation of those truths concerning the Eucharist
about which the faithful are on no account to be left in ignorance. Pastors, aware of the warning of the Apostle
that those who discern not the body of the Lord are guilty of a most grave
crime, 38 should first of all impress on the
minds of the faithful the necessity of detaching, as much as possible, their
mind and understanding from the dominion of the senses; for if they believe
that this Sacrament contains only what the senses disclose, they will of
necessity fall into enormous impiety.
Consulting the site, the touch, the smell, the taste and finding nothing
but the appearances of bread and wine, they will naturally judge that this
Sacrament contains nothing more than bread and wine. Their minds, therefore, are as much as possible to be withdrawn
from subjection to the senses and excited to the contemplation of the
stupendous might and power of God.
The
Catholic Church firmly believes and professes that in this Sacrament the words
of consecration accomplish three wondrous and admirable effects.
The
first is that the true body of Christ the Lord, the same that was born of the
Virgin, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, is
contained in this Sacrament.
The
second, however repugnant it may appear to the senses, is that none of the
substance of the elements remains in the Sacrament.
The
third, which may be deduced from the two preceding, although the words of
consecration themselves clearly express it, is that the accidents which present
themselves to the eyes or other senses exist in a wonderful and ineffable
manner without a subject. All the
accidents of bread and wine we can see, but they inhere in no substance, and
exist independently of any; for the substance of the bread and wine is so
changed into the body and blood of our Lord that they altogether cease to be
the substance of bread and wine.
To
begin with the first ( of these
mysteries ), pastors should give their best attention to show how clear and
explicit are the words of our Savior which establish the Real Presence of His
body in this Sacrament.
Proof
From Scripture
When
our Lord says: This is my body, this is my blood, no person of sound mind can
mistake His meaning, particularly since there is reference to Christ's human
nature, the reality of which the Catholic faith permits no one to doubt. The admirable words of St. Hilary, a man not
less eminent for piety than learning, are apt here: When our Lord himself
declares, as our faith teaches us, that His flesh is food indeed, what room can
remain for doubt concerning the real presence of His body and blood? 39
Pastors
should also adduce another passage from which it can be clearly seen that the
true body and blood of our Lord are contained in the Eucharist. The Apostle, after having recorded the
consecration of bread and wine by our Lord, and also the administration of Communion
to the Apostles, adds: But let a man prove himself, and so eat of that bread
and drink of the chalice; for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth
and drinketh judgment to himself, not
discerning the body of the Lord. 40 If as heretics continually repeat, the
Sacrament presents nothing to our veneration but a memorial and sign of the
Passion of Christ, why was there need to exhort the faithful, in language so
energetic, to prove themselves? By the
terrible word judgment, the Apostle shows how enormous is the guilt of
those who receive unworthily and do not distinguish from common food the body
of the Lord concealed in the Eucharist.
In the same Epistle St. Paul had already developed this doctrine more
fully, when he said: The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not
the communion of the blood of Christ?
and the bread which we break, is it not the participation of the body of
the Lord? 41 Now these words signify the
real substance of the body and blood of Christ the Lord.
Proof From The
Teaching Of The Church
These
passages of Scripture are therefore to be expounded by pastors; and they should
especially teach that there is nothing doubtful or uncertain about them. All the more certain are they since the
infallible teaching of God's Church has interpreted them, as may be ascertained
in a twofold manner.
Testimony
Of The Fathers
The
first is by consulting the Fathers who flourished in the early ages of the
Church and in each succeeding century, who are the most unexceptionable
witnesses of her doctrine. All of these
teach in the clearest terms and what the most entire unanimity the truth of this dogma. To adduce the individual testimony of each
Father would prove an endless task. It
is enough therefore, that we cite, or rather point out a few, whose testimony
will afford an easy criterion by which to judge of the rest.
Let
St. Ambrose first declare his faith. In his book On Those Who are Initiated
Into the Mysteries 42 he says that the true
body of Christ is received in this Sacrament, just as the true body of Christ
was derived from the Virgin, and that this truth is to be believed with the
firm certainty of faith. In another
place 43 he teaches that before consecration
there is only bread, but after consecration there is the flesh of Christ. 44
St.
Chrysostom, another witness of equal authority and gravity, professes and
proclaims this mysterious truth in many passages, but particularly in his
sixtieth homily, On Those Who Receive The Sacred Mysteries Unworthily;
and also in his forty-fourth and forty-fifth homilies on St. John. Let us, he says, obey, not
contradict God, although what He says may seem contrary to our reason and our
sight. His words cannot deceive, our
senses are easily deceived. 45
With
this doctrine fully agrees the uniform teaching of St. Augustine, that most
zealous defender of Catholic faith, particularly when it in his explanation of
its thirty-third Psalm he says: To carry himself in his own hands is
impossible to man, and peculiar to Christ alone; He was carried in His own
hands went, giving His body to be eaten, He said, This is my body. 46
To
pass by Justin and Irenæus, St. Cyril, in his fourth book on St. John, declares
in such express terms that the true body of our Lord is contained in this
Sacrament, that no sophistry, no captious interpretations can obscure his
meaning.
Should
pastors wish for additional testimonies of the Fathers, they will find it easy
to add St. Denis, St. Hilary, St. Jerome, St. Damascene and a host of others,
whose weighty teaching on this most important subject has been collected by the
labor and industry of learned and pious men. 47
Teaching
Of The Councils
Another
means of ascertaining the belief of the holy Church on matters of faith is the
condemnation of the contrary doctrine and opinion. It is manifest that belief in the Real Presence of the body of
Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist was so spread and taught
throughout the universal Church and unanimously professed by all the faithful,
that when, five centuries ago, Berengarius presumed to deny this dogma,
asserting that the Eucharist was only a sign, he was unanimously condemned in
the Council of Vercelli, which Leo IX had immediately convoked, whereupon he
himself anathematized his era. {q} Relapsing, however, into the same wicked
folly, he was condemned by three different Councils, convened, one at Tours,
the other two at Rome; of the two latter, one was summoned by Pope Nicholas II,
the other by Pope Gregory VIII. {r} The General Council of Lateran, held under
Innocent III, further ratified the
sentence. Finally this truth was more
clearly defined and established in the Councils of Florence and Trent. 48
If, then, pastors will carefully explain these
particulars, they will be able, while ignoring those who are blinded by error
and hate nothing more than the light of truth, to strengthen the weak and
administer joy and consolation to the pious, all the more as the faithful
cannot doubt that this dogma is numbered among the Articles of faith.
Faith Is Strengthened
Believing
and confessing, as they do, that the power of God is supreme over all things,
they must also believe that His omnipotence can accomplish the great work which
we admire and adore in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. And again since they believe the Holy
Catholic Church, they must necessarily believe that The true doctrine of this
Sacrament is that which we have set forth.
The Soul Is Gladdened
Nothing contributes more to the spiritual joy and
advantage of pious persons than the contemplation of the exalted dignity of
this most august Sacrament. In the first
place they learn how great is the perfection of the Gospel Dispensation, under
which we enjoy the reality of that which under the Mosaic Law was only shadowed
forth by types and figures. Hence St.
Denis 49 divinely says that our Church is midway
between the Synagogue and the heavenly Jerusalem, and consequently participates
of the nature of both. Certainly, then,
the faithful can never sufficiently admire the perfection of holy Church and
her exalted glory which seems to be removed only by one degree from the bliss
of heaven. In common with the
inhabitants of heaven, we to possess Christ, God and man, present with us. They are raised a degree above us, inasmuch
as they are present with Christ and enjoy the Beatific Vision; while we, with a
firm and unwavering faith, adore the Divine Majesty present with us, not, it is
true, in a manner visible to mortal eye, but hidden by a miracle of power under
the veil of the sacred mysteries.
Furthermore
the faithful experience in this Sacrament the most perfect love of Christ our
Savior. It became the goodness of the
Saviour not to withdraw from us that nature which He assumed from us, but to
desire, as far as possible, to remain among us so that at all times He might be
seen to verify the words: My delight is to be with the children of men. 50 {s}
Christ Whole And
Entire Is Present In The Eucharist
Here
the pastor should explain that in this Sacrament are contained not only the
true body of Christ and all the constituents of the true body, such as bones
and sinews, but also Christ whole an entire.
He should point out that the word Christ designates the God man, that is
to say, one Person in whom are united the divine and human natures; that the
Holy Eucharist, therefore, contains both, and whatever is included in the idea
of both, the Divinity and humanity whole and entire, consisting of the soul,
all the parts of the body and blood,-all of which must be believed to be in
this Sacrament. In heaven the whole
humanity is united to the Divinity in one hypostasis, or Person; hence it would
be impious, to suppose that the body of Christ, which is contained in the
Sacrament, is separated from His Divinity.
Presence In Virtue Of The
Sacrament And In Virtue Of Concomitance
Pastors,
however, should not fail to observe that in this Sacrament not all these things
are contained after the same manner, or by the same power. Some things, we say, are present in virtue of
the consecration; for as the words of consecration effect what they signify,
sacred writers usually say that whatever the form expresses, is contained in
the Sacrament by virtue of the Sacrament. Hence, could we suppose any one thing to be entirely separated
from the rest, the Sacrament, they teach, would be found to contain solely what
the form expresses and nothing more.
On
the other hand, some things are contained in the Sacrament because they are
united to those which are expressed in the form. For instance, the words This is my body, which comprise
the form used to consecrate the bread, signify the body of the Lord, and hence
the body itself of Christ the Lord is contained in the Eucharist by virtue of
this Sacrament. Since, however, to
Christ's body are united in His blood, His soul, and His Divinity, all of these
also must be found to coexist in the Sacrament; not, however, by virtue of the
consecration, but by virtue of the union that subsists between them and His
body. All these are said to be in the
Eucharist by virtue of concomitance.
Hence it is clear that Christ, whole and entire, is contained in the
Sacrament; for when two things are actually united, were one is, the other must
also be.
Christ Whole And
Entire Present Under Each Species
Hence
it also follows that Christ is so contained, whole and entire, under either
species, that, as under the species of bread are contained not only the body,
but also the blood and Christ entire; so in like manner, under the species of
wine are truly contained not only the blood, but also the body and Christ
entire.
But
although these are matters on which the faithful cannot entertain a doubt, it
was nevertheless wisely ordained that two distinct consecrations should take
place. First, because they represent in
a more lively manner the Passion of our Lord, in which His bloodless separated
from His body; and hence in the form of consecration we commemorate the
shedding of his blood. Secondly, since
the Sacrament is to be used by us as the Food and nourishment of our souls, it
was most appropriate that it should be instituted as food and drink, two things
which obviously constitute the complete sustenance of the ( human ) body.
Christ Whole And
Entire Present In Every Part of Each Species
Nor
should it be forgotten that Christ, whole and entire, is contained not only
under either species, but also in each particle of either species. Each, says St. Augustine, receives
Christ the Lord, and He is entire in each portion. He is not diminished by being given to many, but gives Himself
whole and entire to each. 51
This
is also an obvious inference from the narrative of the Evangelist. It is not to be supposed that our Lord
consecrated the bread used at the Last Supper in separate parts, applying the
form particularly to each, but that all the bread then used for the sacred
mysteries was consecrated at the same time and with the same form, and in a
quantity sufficient for all the Apostles.
That the consecration of the chalice was performed in this manner, is
clear from these words of the Saviour: Take
and divide it among you. 52 {t}
What
has hitherto been said is intended to enable pastors to show that the true body
and blood of Christ are contained in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
The next point to be explained is that the
substance of the bread and wine does not continue to exist in the Sacrament
after consecration. This truth, although
well calculated to excite our profound admiration, is yet a necessary
consequence from what has been already established.
Proof From The Dogma
Of The Real Presence
If, after consecration, the true body of Christ
is present under the species of bread and wine, since it was not there before,
it must have become present either by change of place, or by creation, or by
the change of some other thing into it.
It cannot be rendered present by change of place, because it would then
cease to be in heaven; for whatever is moved must necessarily cease to occupy
the place from which it is moved. Still
less can we suppose the body of Christ to be rendered present by creation; nay,
the very idea is inconceivable. In
order that the body of our Lord be present in the Sacrament, it remains,
therefore, that it be rendered present by the change of the bread into it. Wherefore it is necessary that none of the
substance of the bread remain.
Proof From The
Councils
Hence
our predecessors in the faith, the Fathers of the General Councils of Lateran
and of Florence, confirmed by solemn decrees the truth of this dogma. In the Council of Trent it was still more
fully defined in these words: If anyone shall say that in the most Holy
Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of the bread and wine remains,
together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.
53
Proof From Scripture
The
doctrine thus defined is a natural inference from the words of Scripture. When instituting this Sacrament, our Lord
Himself said: This is my body. 54 The word this
expresses the entire substance of the thing present; and therefore if the
substance of the bread remained, our Lord could not have truly said: This is
my body.
In St. John Christ the Lord
also says: The bread that I will
give is my flesh, for the life of the world. 55
The bread which he promises to give, He here declares to be his flesh. A little after He adds: Unless you eat
the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.
56 And
again: My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 57 Since,
therefore, in terms so clear and so explicit, He calls His flesh bread and meat
indeed, and His blood drink indeed, He gives us sufficiently to
understand that none of the substance of the bread and wine remains in the
Sacrament.
Proof From The Fathers
Whoever
turns over the pages of the holy Fathers will easily perceive that on this
doctrine ( of transubstantiation )
they have been at all times unanimous.
St. Ambrose's says: You say, perhaps, "this bread is no other
than what is used for common food"
True, before consecration it is bread; but no sooner are the words of
consecration pronounced than from bread it becomes the flesh of Christ.{u} To
prove this position more clearly, he elucidates it by a variety of comparisons
and examples. In another place, when
explaining these words of the Psalmist, Whatsoever the Lord pleased he had
done in heaven and on earth, 58 St. Ambrose says: Although the species
of bread and wine are visible, yet we must believe that after consecration, the
body and blood of Christ are alone there. 59 Explaining the same doctrine almost in the
same words, St. Hilary says that although externally it appear bread and wine,
yet in reality it is the body and blood of the Lord. 60
Why The Eucharist Is
Called Bread After Consecration
Here
pastors should observe that we should not at all be surprised, if, even after
consecration, the Eucharist is sometimes called bread. It is so called, first because it retains
the appearance of bread, and secondly because it keeps the natural quality of
bread, which is to support and nourish the body.
Moreover,
such phraseology is in perfect accordance with the usage of the Holy
Scriptures, which call things by what they appear to be, as may be seen from
the words of Genesis which say that Abraham saw three men, when in reality he
saw three Angels. 61 In like manner the two Angels who appeared to the Apostles after
the Ascension of Christ the Lord into Heaven, are called not Angels, but men. 62
To
explain this mystery is extremely difficult.
The pastor, however, should endeavor to instruct those who are more
advanced in the knowledge of divine things on the manner of this admirable
change. As for those who are yet weak
in faith, they might possibly be overwhelmed by its greatness.
Transubstantiation
A Total Conversion
This
conversion, then, is so effected that the whole substance of the bread is
changed by the power of God into the whole substance of the body of Christ, and
the whole substance of the wine into the whole substance of His blood, and
this, without any change in our Lord Himself.
He is neither begotten nor changed, not increased, but remains entire in
His substance.
This
sublime mystery St. Ambrose thus declares:
You see how efficacious are the words of Christ. If the word of the Lord Jesus is so powerful
as to summon into existence that which did not exist, namely the world, how
much more powerful is His word to change into something else that which already
has existence? {v}
Many
other ancient and most authoritative Fathers have written to the same
effect. We faithfully confess,
says St. Augustine that before consecration it is bread and wine, the
product of nature; but after consecration it is the body and blood of Christ,
consecrated by the blessing. 63 The body, says Damascene, is
truly united to the Divinity, that body which was derived from the virgin; not
that the body thus derived descends from heaven, but that the bread and wine
are changed into the body and blood of Christ. 64
This
admirable change, as the Council of Trent teaches, the Holy Catholic Church
most appropriately expresses by the word transubstantiation. 65 Since
natural changes are rightly called transformations, because they involve
a change of form; so likewise our predecessors in the faith wisely and
appropriately introduced the term transubstantiation, in order to
signify that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the whole substance of one thing
passes into the whole substance of another.
According
to the admonition so frequently repeated by the holy Fathers, the faithful are
to be admonished against curious searching into the manner in which this change
is effected. It defies the powers of
conception; nor can we find any example of it in natural transmutations, or
even in the very work of creation. That
such a change takes place must be recognized by faith; how it takes place we
must not curiously inquire.
No
less of caution should be observed by pastors in explaining the mysterious
manner in which the body of our Lord is contained whole and entire under the
least particle of the bread. Indeed,
discussions of this kind should scarcely ever be entered upon. Should Christian charity, however, require a
departure from this rule, the pastor should remember first of all to prepare
and fortify his hearers by reminding them that no word shall be impossible
with God. 66 {w}
A
Consequence Of Transubstantiation
The
pastor should next teach that our Lord is not in the Sacrament as in a
place. Place regards things on only inasmuch
as they have magnitude. Now we do not
say that Christ is in the Sacrament inasmuch as He is great or small, terms
which belong to quantity, but inasmuch as He is a substance. The substance of the bread is changed into
the substance of Christ, not into magnitude or quantity; and substance, it will
be acknowledged by all, is contained in a small as well as in a large
space. The substance of air, for
instance, and its entire nature must be present under a small as well as a
large quantity, and likewise the entire nature of water must be present no less
in a glass than in a river. Since,
then, the body of our Lord succeeds to the substance of the bread, we must
confess it to be in the Sacrament after the same manner as the substance of the
bread was before consecration; whether the substance of the bread was present
in greater or less quantity is a matter of entire indifference. {x}
We
now come to the third great at wondrous effect of this Sacrament, namely, the
existence of the species of bread and wine without a subject.
Proof
From The Preceding Dogmas
What
has been said in explanation of the two preceding points must facilitate for
pastors the exposition of this truth.
For, since we have already proved that the body and blood of our Lord
are really and truly contained in the Sacrament, to the entire a exclusion of
the substance of the bread and wine, and since the accidents of bread and wine
cannot inhere in the body and blood of Christ, it remains that, contrary to
physical laws, they must subsists of themselves, inhering in no subject. 67
Proof
From The Teaching Of The Church
This
has been at all times the uniform doctrine of the Catholic Church; and it can be
easily established by the same authorities which, as we have already proved,
make it plain that the substance of the bread and wine ceases to exist in the
Eucharist.
Advantages
Of This Mystery
Nothing
more becomes the piety of the faithful than, omitting all curious questionings,
to revere and adore the majesty of this august Sacrament, and to recognize the
wisdom of God in commanding that these holy mysteries should be administered
under the species of bread and wine.
For since it is most revolting to human nature to eat human flesh or
drink human blood, therefore God in his infinite wisdom has established the
administration of the body and blood of Christ under the forms of bread and
wine, which are the ordinary and agreeable food of man.
There
are two further advantages: first, it prevents the calumnious reproaches of the
unbeliever, from which the eating of our Lord under His visible form could not
easily be defended; secondly, the receiving Him under a form in which He is
impervious to the senses avails much for increasing our faith. For faith, as the well-known saying of St.
Gregory declares, has no merit in those things which fall under the proof of
reason. 68 The
doctrine's treated above should be explained with great caution, according to
the capacity of the hearers and the necessities of the times. {y}
But
with regard to the admirable virtue and fruits of this Sacrament, there is no
class of the faithful to whom a knowledge of them is not most necessary. For all that has been said at such length on
this Sacrament has principally for its object, to make the faithful sensible of
the advantages of the Eucharist. As,
however, no language can convey an adequate idea of its utility and fruits,
pastors must be content to treat of one or two points, in order to show what an
abundance and profusion of all goods are contained in those sacred mysteries.
The
Eucharist Contains Christ And Is The Food Of The Soul
This
they will in some degree accomplish, if, having explained the efficacy and
nature of all the Sacraments, they compare the Eucharist to a fountain, the
other Sacraments to rivulets. For the
Holy Eucharist is truly and necessarily to be called the fountain of all
graces, containing, as it does, after and admirable manner, the fountain itself
of celestial gifts and graces, and the author of all the Sacraments, Christ our
Lord, from whom, as from its source, is derived whatever of goodness and
perfection the other Sacraments possess.
From this (comparison), therefore, we may easily infer what most ample
gifts of divine grace are bestowed on us by this Sacrament.
It
will also be useful to consider attentively the nature of bread and wine, which
are the symbols of this Sacrament. For
what bread and wine are to the body, the Eucharist is to the health and delight
of the soul, but in a higher and better way.
This Sacrament is not, like bread and wine, changed into our substance;
but we are, in some wise, changed into its nature, so that we may well apply
here the words of St. Augustine: I am the Food of the grown. Grow and thou shalt eat Me; nor shalt
thou change Me into thee, as thy bodily food, but thou shalt be changed into Me.
69
The
Eucharist Gives Grace
If,
then, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, 70
they must surely be poured into the soul which receives with purity and
holiness Him who said of Himself: He
that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him. 71 Those who
receive this Sacrament piously and fervently must, beyond all doubt, so receive
the Son of God into their souls as to be ingrafted as living members on His
body. For it is written: He that eateth me, the same also shall
live by me; also: The bread which I will give is my flesh for the life
of the world. 72 Explaining this passage, St. Cyril says: The word of God,
uniting Himself to His own flesh, imparted to it a vivifying power: it
became Him, therefore to unite Himself to our bodies in a wonderful manner,
through His sacred flesh and precious blood, which we receive in the bread and
wine, consecrated by His vivifying benediction. 73
The Grace Of The
Eucharist Sustains
When
it is said that the Eucharist imparts grace, pastors must admonish that this
does not mean that the state of grace is not required for a profitable
reception of this Sacrament. For as
natural food can be of no use to the dead, so in like manner the sacred
mysteries can evidently be of no avail to a soul which lives not by the
spirit. Hence this Sacrament has been
instituted under the forms of bread and wine to signify that the object of its
institution is not to recall the soul to life, but to preserve its life.
The
reason, then, for saying that this Sacrament imparts grace, is that even the
first grace, with which all should be clothed before they presume to approach
the Holy Eucharist, lest they eat and drink judgment to themselves, 74 is given to none unless they receive in wish and
desire this very Sacrament. For the
Eucharist is the end of all the Sacraments, and the symbol of unity and
brotherhood in the Church, outside which none can attain grace.
The
Grace Of the Eucharist Invigorates And Delights
Again,
just as the body is not only supported but also increased by natural food, from
which the taste every day derives new relish and pleasure; so also is the soul
not only sustained but invigorated by feasting on the food of the Eucharist,
which gives to the spirit an increasing zest for heavenly things. Most truly and fitly therefore do we say
that grace is imparted by this Sacrament, for it may be justly compared to the
manna having in it the sweetness of every taste. 75
The
Eucharist Remits Venial Sins
It
cannot be doubted that by the Eucharist are remitted and pardoned lighter sins,
commonly called venial. Whatever the soul has lost through the fire of
passion, by falling into some slight offense, all this the Eucharist, canceling
those lesser faults, repairs, in the same way - not to depart from the
illustration already adduced - as
natural food gradually restores and repairs the daily waste caused by the force
of the vital heat within us. Justly,
therefore, has St. Ambrose said of this heavenly Sacrament: That daily bread
is taking as a remedy for daily infirmity. {z} But these things are to be understood of
those sins for which no actual affection is retained.
The Eucharist
Strengthens Against Temptation
There
is, furthermore, such a power in the sacred mysteries as to preserve us pure
and unsullied from sin, keep us safe from the assaults of temptation, and, as
by some heavenly medicine, prepare the soul against the easy approach and
infection of virulent and deadly disease.
Hence, as St. Cyprian 76 records, when the faithful were formerly
hurried in multitudes by tyrants to torments and death, because they confessed
the name of Christ, it was an ancient usage in the Catholic Church to give
them, by the hands of the Bishop, the Sacrament of the body and blood of our
Lord, lest perhaps overcome by the severity of their sufferings, they should
fail in the fight for salvation. It
also restrains and represses the lusts of the flesh, for while it inflames the
soul more ardently with the fire of charity, it of necessity extinguishes the
ardor of concupiscence.
The
Eucharist Facilitates The Attainment Of Eternal Life
Finally,
to comprise all the advantages and blessings of this Sacrament in one word, it
must be taught that the Holy Eucharist is most efficacious towards the
attainment of eternal glory. For it is
written: He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting
life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 77 That is to say, by the grace of this
Sacrament men enjoy the greatest peace and tranquility of conscience during the
present life; and, when the hour of departing from this world shall have
arrived, like Elias, who in the strength of the bread baked on the hearth, walked to Horeb, 78 the mount of God, they, too, invigorated
by the strengthening influence of this ( heavenly food ), will ascend to
unfading glory in bliss.
How The Effects Of The
Eucharist May Be Developed And Illustrated
All
these matters will be most fully expounded by pastors, if they but dwell on the
sixth chapter of St. John, in which are developed the manifold effects of this
Sacrament. Or again, glancing at the
admirable actions of Christ our Lord, they may show that if those who received
Him beneath their roof during His mortal life, or were restored to health by
touching His vesture or the hem of His garment, were justly and deservedly
deemed most blessed, how much more fortunate and happy we, into whose soul,
resplendent as He is with unfading glory, He disdains not to enter, to heal all
its wounds, to adorn it with His choicest gifts, and unite it to Himself. {a1}
Threefold Manner Of
Communicating
That
the faithful may learn to be zealous for the better gifts, they must be shown
who can obtain these abundant fruits from the Holy Eucharist, must be reminded
that there is not only one way of communicating. Wisely and rightly, then, did our predecessors in the faith, as
we read in the Council of Trent, 79 {b1}
distinguish three ways of receiving this Sacrament.
Some
receive it sacramentally only. Such are
those sinners who do not fear to approach the holy mysteries with polluted lips
and heart, who, as the Apostle 80 says, eat and drink the Lord's body
unworthily. Of this class of
communicants St. Augustine says: He who dwells not in Christ, and in whom
Christ dwells not, most certainly does not eat spiritually His flesh, although,
carnally and visibly he press with his teeth the Sacrament of His flesh and
blood. 81
Those, therefore, who receive the sacred mysteries with such a
disposition, not only obtain no fruit therefrom, but, as the Apostle himself
testifies, eat and drink judgment to themselves. 82 Others are said to receive the Eucharist in spirit only. They are those who, inflamed with a lively
faith which worketh by charity, 83 partake in
wish and desire of that celestial bread offered to them, from which they
receive, if not the entire at least very great fruits. Lastly, there are some who receive the Holy
Eucharist both sacramentally and spiritually, those who, according to the
teaching of the Apostle, 84 having first proved themselves and having
approached this divine banquet adorned with the nuptial garment, 85 derive from the Eucharist those most abundant
fruits which we have already described.
Hence it is clear that those who, having it in their power to receive
with fitting preparation the Sacrament of the body of the Lord, are yet
satisfied with a spiritual Communion only, deprive themselves of the greatest
and most heavenly advantages.{c1}
Necessity Of Previous
Preparation For Communion
We
now come to point out the manner in which the faithful should be previously prepared
for sacramental Communion. To
demonstrate the great necessity of this previous preparation, the example of
the Saviour should be adduced. Before
He gave to His Apostles the sacrament of his precious body and blood, although
they were already clean, He washed their feet
86
to show that we must use extreme diligence before Holy Communion in
order to approach it with the greatest purity and innocence of soul.
In
the next place, the faithful are to understand that as he who approaches thus
prepared and disposed is adorned with the most ample gifts of heavenly grace;
so, on the contrary, he who approaches without this preparation not only
derives from it no advantage, but even incurs the greatest misfortune and loss. It is characteristic of the best and most
salutary things that, if seasonably made use of, they are productive of the
greatest benefit; but if employed out of time, they prove most pernicious and
destructive. It cannot, therefore,
excite our surprise that the Great and exalted gifts of God, when received into
a soul properly disposed, are of the greatest assistance towards the attainment
of salvation; while to those who
receive them unworthily, they bring with them eternal death.
Of
this the Ark of the Lord affords a convincing illustration. The people of Israel possessed nothing more
precious and it was to them the source of innumerable blessings from God; but
when the Philistines carried it away, it brought on them a most destructive
plague and the heaviness calamities, together with eternal disgrace. 87 Thus also
food when received from the mouth into a healthy stomach nourishes and supports the body; but when received into
an indisposed stomach, causes grave disorders.
Preparation Of Soul
The first preparation, then, which the faithful
should make, is to distinguish table from table, this sacred table from profane
tables, 88
this celestial bread from common bread.
This we do when we firmly believe that there is truly present the body
and blood of the Lord, of Him whom the Angels adore in heaven, at who's nod
the pillars of heaven fear and tremble, of whose glory the heavens and the
earth are full. 89 This is to discern the body of the Lord in accordance with the
admonition of the Apostle. 90 We should venerate the greatness of the
mystery rather than to curiously investigate its truth by idle inquiry.
Another
very necessary preparation is to ask ourselves if we are at peace with and
sincerely love our neighbor. If,
therefore, thou offerest thy gift at the alter, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar,
and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer
thy gift. 91
We
should, in the next place, carefully examine whether our consciences be defiled
by mortal sin, which has to be repented of, in order that it may be blotted out
before Communion by the remedy of contrition and confession. The Council of Trent has defined that no one
conscience of mortal sin and having an opportunity of going to confession,
however contrite he may deem himself, is to approach the Holy Eucharist until
he has been purified by sacramental confession. 92
We
should also reflect in the silence of our own hearts how unworthy we are that the
Lord should bestow on us this divine gift, an with the centurion of whom our
Lord declared that he found not so great faith in Israel, we should
exclaim from our hearts: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter
under my roof. 93
We
should also put the question to ourselves whether we can truly say with Peter: Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee, 94 and should
recollect that he who sat down at the banquet of the Lord without a wedding
garment was cast into a dark dungeon and condemned to eternal torments. 95 {d1}
Preparation
Of Body
Our
preparation should not, however, be confined to the soul; it should also extend
to the body. We are to approach the
Holy Table fasting, having neither eaten nor drunk anything at least from the preceding
midnight until the moment of Communion
The
dignity of so great a Sacrament also demands that married persons abstain from
the marriage debt for some days previous to Communion. This observance is recommended by the
example of David, who, when about to receive the show-bread from the hands of
the priest, declared that he and his servants had been clean from women for
three days. 96 {e1}
The
above are the principal things to be done by the faithful preparatory to
receiving the sacred mysteries with profit; and to these heads may be reduced
whatever other things may seem desirable by way of preparation. {f1}
How
Often Must Communion be Received
Lest
any be kept away from Communion by the fear that the requisite preparation is
too hard and laborious, the faithful are frequently to be reminded that they
are all bound to receive the Holy Eucharist.
{g1}
Furthermore, the Church has decreed that whoever
neglects to approach Holy Communion once a year, at Easter, is liable to
sentence of excommunication. {h1}
The
Church Desires The Faithful to Communicate Daily
However,
let not the faithful imagine that it is enough to receive the body of the Lord
once a year only, in obedience to the decree of the Church. They should approach oftener; but whether
Monthly, weekly, or daily, cannot be decided by any fixed universal rule. St. Augustine, however, lays down a most
certain norm: Live in such a manner as to be able to receive everyday. 97
It
will therefore be the duty of the pastor frequently to admonish the faithful
that, as they deem it necessary to afford daily nutriment to the body, they
should also feel solicitous to feed and nourish the soul every day with this
heavenly food. It is clear that the
soul stands not less in need of spiritual, than the body of corporal food. Here it will be found most useful to recall
the inestimable and divine advantages which, as we have already shown, flow
from sacramental Communion. It will be
well also to refer to the manna, which was a figure ( of this Sacrament ), and
which refreshed the bodily powers every day. 98 The Fathers who earnestly recommended the
frequent reception of this Sacrament may also be cited. The words of St. Augustine, Thou sinnest
daily, receive daily, express not his opinion only, but that of all the
Fathers who have written on the subject, as anyone may easily discover who will
carefully read them. 99 {i1}
That
there was a time when the faithful approached Holy Communion every day we learn
from the Acts of the Apostles. All who
then professed the faith of Christ burned with such true and sincere charity
that, devoting themselves to prayer and other works of piety, 100 they were found prepared to communicate
daily. This devout practice, which
seems to have been interrupted for a time, was again partially revived by the
holy Pope and martyr Anacletus, who commanded that all the ministers who
assisted at the Sacrifice of the Mass should communicate - an ordinance, as the
Pontiff declares, of Apostolic institution. 101 It was also for a long time the practice of
the Church that, as soon as the Sacrifice was complete, and when the priest
himself had communicated, he turned to the congregation and invited the
faithful to the Holy Table in these words: Come, brethren, and receive
Communion; and thereupon those who were prepared, advanced to receive the
holy mysteries with the most fervent devotion. {j1}
The Church Commands
The Faithful to Communicate Once A Year
But
subsequently, when charity and devotion had grown so cold that the faithful
very seldom approached Communion, it was decreed by Pope Fabian, that all
should communicate thrice every year, at Christmas, at Easter and at Pentecost. This decree was afterwards confirmed by many
Councils, particularly by the first of Agde'. 102
Such
at length was the decay of piety that not only was this holy and salutary law
unobserved, but Communion was deferred for years. The Council of Lateran, therefore, decreed that all the faithful
should receive the sacred body of the Lord, at least once a year, at Easter,
and that neglect of this duty should be chastised by exclusion from the society
of the faithful. {k1}
Who
Are Obliged By The Law Of Communion
But
although this law, sanctioned by the authority of God and of his Church,
concerns all the faithful, it should be taught that it does not extend to those
who on account of their tender age have not attained the use of reason. For these are not able to distinguish the
Holy Eucharist from common and ordinary bread and cannot bring with them to
this Sacrament piety and devotion.
Furthermore ( to extend the
precept to them ) would appear
inconsistent with the ordinance of our Lord, for He said: Take and eat 103 - words
which cannot apply to infants, who are evidently incapable of taking and
eating.
In some places, it is true, an ancient practice prevailed of giving the Holy Eucharist even to infants; but, for the reasons already assigned, and for other reasons in keeping with Christian piety, this practice has been long discontinued by authority of the Church.
With
regard to the age at which children should be given the holy mysteries, this
the parents and confessor can best determine.
To them it belongs to inquire and to ascertain from the children
themselves whether they have some knowledge of this admirable Sacrament and
whether they desire to receive it. {l1}
Communion
must not be given to persons who are insane and incapable of devotion. However, according to the decree of the
Council of Carthage, it may be administered to them at the close of life,
provided they have shown, before losing their minds, a pious and religious
disposition, and no danger, arising from the state of the stomach or other
inconvenience or disrespect, is likely. 104 {m1}
As
to the rite to be observed in communicating, pastors should teach that the law
of the holy Church for bids Communion under both kinds to anyone but the
officiating priests, without the authority of the Church itself. Christ the Lord, it is true, as has been
explained by the Council of Trent, 105 instituted and delivered to His Apostles at
His Last Supper this most sublime Sacrament under the species of bread and wine;
but it does not follow that by doing so our Lord and Savior established a law
ordering its administration to all the faithful under both species. For speaking of this Sacrament, He Himself
frequently mentions it under one kind only, as, for instance, when He
says: If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live for ever, and: The bread
that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world, and: He that eateth this bread shall live for
ever. 106
Why the Celebrant
Alone Receives Under Both Species
It
is clear that the Church was influenced by numerous and most cogent reasons,
not only to approve, but also to confirm by authority of its degree, the
general practice of communicating under one species. In the first place, the greatest caution was necessary to avoid
spilling the blood of the Lord on the ground, a thing that seemed not easily to
be avoided, if the chalice were administered in a large assemblage of the
people.
In
the next place, whereas the Holy Eucharist ought to be in readiness for the
sick, it was very much to be apprehended, were the species of wine to remain
long unconsumed, that it might turn acid.
Besides,
there are many who cannot at all bear the taste or even the smell of wine. Lest, therefore, what is intended for the spiritual
health should prove hurtful to the health of the body, it has been most
prudently provided by the Church that it should be administered to the people
under the species of bread only.
We
may also further observe that in many countries wine is extremely scarce; nor
can it, moreover, be brought from elsewhere without incurring very heavy
expenses and encountering very tedious and difficult journeys.
Finally,
a most important reason was the necessity of opposing the heresy of those who
denied that Christ, whole and entire, is contained under either species, and
asserted that the body is contained under the species of bread without the
blood, and the blood under the species of wine without the body. In order, therefore, to place more clearly
before the eyes of all the truth of the Catholic faith, Communion under one
kind, that is, under the species of bread, was most wisely introduced.
There
are also other reasons, collected by those who have treated on this subject,
and which, if it shall appear necessary, can be brought forward by pastors. {n1}
To
omit nothing doctrinal on this Sacrament,
we now come to speak of it's minister, a point, however, on which
scarcely anyone can be ignorant.
Only
Priests Have Power To Consecrate And Administer The Eucharist
It
must be taught, then, that to priests alone has been given power to consecrate
and administer to the faithful, the Holy Eucharist. That this has been the unvarying practice of the Church, that the
faithful should receive the Sacrament from the priests, and that the
officiating priests should communicate themselves, has been explained by the
holy Council of Trent, 107 which has also shown
that this practice, as having proceeded from Apostolic tradition, is to be
religiously retained, particularly as Christ the Lord has left us an
illustrious example thereof, having consecrated His own most sacred body, and
given it to the Apostles with His own hands. 108
The
Laity Prohibited To Touch The Sacred Vessels
To
safeguard in every possible way the dignity of so august a Sacrament, not only
is the power of its administration entrusted exclusively to priests, but the
Church has also prohibited by law any but consecrated persons; unless some case
of great necessity intervene, to dare handle or touch the sacred vessels, the
linen, or other instruments necessary to its completion.
Priests
themselves and the rest of the faithful may hence understand how great should
be the piety and holiness of those who approach to consecrate, administer or
receive the Eucharist.
The
Unworthiness Of The Minister Does Not Invalidate The Sacrament
What,
however, has been already said of the other Sacraments, holds good also with
regard to the Sacrament of the Eucharist; namely, that a Sacrament is validly
administered even by the wicked, provided all the essentials have been duly
observed. For we are to believe that
all these depend not on the merit of the minister, but are operated by the
virtue and power of Christ our Lord. {o1}
These
are the things necessary to be explained regarding the Eucharist as a
Sacrament.
We
must now proceed to explain its nature as a Sacrifice, that pastors may understand
what are the principal instructions which they ought to impart to the faithful
on Sundays and holy day's, regarding this mystery in conformity with the decree
of the holy Council ( of Trent ). 109
Importance
Of Instruction On The Mass
This
Sacrament is not only a treasure of heavenly riches, which if turned to good
account will obtain for us the grace and love of God; but it also possesses a
peculiar character, by which we are enabled to make some return to God for the
immense benefits bestowed upon us.
How
grateful and acceptable to God is this victim, if duly and legitimately
immolated, is inferred from the following consideration. Of the sacrifices of the Old Law it is
written: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not; 110 and again: If thou hadst desired sacrifice, I
would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
111 Now
if these were so pleasing in the Lord's sight that, as the Scripture testifies,
from them God smelled a sweet savour, 112 that is to say, they were grateful and
acceptable to Him; what have we not to hope from the Sacrifice in which is
immolated and offered He Himself of whom a voice from heaven twice proclaimed: This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 113
This
mystery, therefore, pastors should carefully explain, so that when the faithful
are assembled at the celebration of divine service, they may learn to meditate
with attention and devotion on the sacred things at which they are present.
They
should teach, then, in the first place, that the Eucharist was instituted by
Christ for two purposes: one, that it might be the heavenly Food of our souls,
enabling us to support and preserve spiritual life; and the other, that the
Church might have a perpetual Sacrifice, by which our sins might be expiated,
and our heavenly Father, oftentimes grievously offended by our crimes, might be
turned away from wrath to mercy, from the severity of just chastisement to
clemency. Of this thing we may observe
a type and resemblance in the Paschal lamb, which was wont to be offered and
eaten by the children of Israel as a sacrament and a sacrifice.
Nor could our Savior, when about to offer Himself to God the Father on the alter of the cross, have given any more illustrious indication of His unbounded love towards us than by bequeathing to us a visible Sacrifice, by which that bloody Sacrifice, which was soon after to be offered once on the cross, would be renewed, and its memory daily celebrated with the greatest utility, unto the consummation of ages by the Church diffused throughout the world.
But ( between the Eucharist as a Sacrament and
a Sacrifice ) the difference is very
great; for as a Sacrament it is perfected by consecration; as a Sacrifice, all
its force consist in its oblation.
When, therefore, kept in a pyx, or borne to the sick, it is a Sacrament,
not a Sacrifice. As a Sacrament also,
it is to them that receive it a source of merit, and brings with it all those advantages which have been already
mentioned; but as a Sacrifice, it is not only a source of merit, but also of
satisfaction. For as, in His Passion,
Christ the Lord merited and satisfied for us; so also those who offer this
Sacrifice, by which they communicate with us, merit the fruit of His Passion,
and satisfy. {p1}
Proof From The Council
Of Trent
With
regard to the institution of this Sacrifice, the holy Council of Trent 114 has left no
room for doubt, by declaring that it was instituted by our Lord at His Last
Supper; while it condemns under anathema all those who assert that in it is not
offered to God a true and proper Sacrifice; or that to offer means nothing else
than that Christ is given as our spiritual food.
Nor
did ( the Council ) omit carefully to explain that to God alone
is offered this Sacrifice. For although
the Church sometimes offer Masses in honor and in memory of the Saints, yet she
teaches that the Sacrifice is offered, not to them, but to God alone, who has
crowned the Saints with immortal glory.
Hence the priest never says: I offer Sacrifice to thee Peter, or to
thee Paul; but, while he offers Sacrifice to God alone, he renders Him
thanks for the signal victory won by the blessed martyrs, and thus implores
their patronage, that they, whose memory we celebrate on earth, may vouchsafe
to intercede for us in heaven. 115
Proof From Scripture
This
doctrine, handed down by the Catholic Church, concerning the truth of this
Sacrifice, she received from the words of the Lord, when, on that last night,
committing to His Apostles these same sacred mysteries, He said: Do this for a commemoration of me; 116 for
then, as was defined by the holy Council, He ordained them priests, and
commanded that they and their successors in the priestly office, should
immolate and offer His body. 117
Of
this the words of the Apostle to the Corinthians also afford a sufficient
proof: You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord, and the chalice of devils:
you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of devils. As then by the table of devils 118 must be
understood the altar on which sacrifice was offered to them; so also - if the
conclusion proposed to himself by the Apostle is to be legitimately drawn - by
the table of the Lord can be understood nothing else than the altar on
which Sacrifice was offered to the Lord.
Should
we look for figures and prophecies of this Sacrifice in the Old Testament, in
the first place Malachy most clearly prophesied thereof in these words: From the rising of the sun even to the
going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is
sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is
great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts. 119
Moreover,
this victim was foretold, as well before as after the promulgation of the Law,
by various kinds of sacrifices; for this victim alone, as the perfection and
completion of all, comprises all the blessings which were signified by the
other sacrifices. In nothing, however,
do we behold a more lively image of the Eucharistic sacrifice than in that of
Melchisedech; for the Savior Himself offered to God the Father, at His Last
Supper, His body and blood, under the appearances of bread and wine, declaring
that He was constituted a priest for ever, after the order of
Melchisedech. 120
The
Mass Is The Same Sacrifice As That Of The Cross
We
therefore confess that the Sacrifice of the Mass is and ought to be considered
one and the same Sacrifice as that of the cross, for the victim is one and the
same, namely, Christ our Lord, who offered Himself, once only, a bloody
Sacrifice on the alter of the cross.
The bloody and unbloody victim are not two, but one victim only, whose
Sacrifice is daily renewed in the Eucharist, in obedience to the command of our
Lord: Do this for a commemoration of me.
The
priest is also one and the same, Christ the Lord; for the ministers who offer
Sacrifice, consecrate the holy mysteries, not in their own person, but in that
of Christ, as the words of consecration itself show, for the priest does not
say: This is the body of Christ,
but, This is my body; and thus, acting in the Person of Christ the Lord,
he changes the substance of the bread and wine into the true substance of His
body and blood.
The Mass A Sacrifice
Of Praise, Thanksgiving And Propitiation
This
being the case, it must be taught without any hesitation that, as the holy
Council 121
( of Trent ) has also explained, the sacred and holy Sacrifice of the
Mass is not a Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving only, or a mere
commemoration of the Sacrifice performed on the cross, but also truly a propitiatory
Sacrifice, by which God is appeased and rendered propitious to us. If, therefore, with a pure heart, a lively
faith, and affected with an inward sorrow for our transgressions, we immolate
and offer this most holy victim, we shall, without doubt, obtain mercy from the
Lord, and grace in time of need; 122 for so delighted is the Lord with the odor
of this victim that, bestowing on us the gift of grace and repentance, He
pardons our sins. Hence this usual
prayer of the Church: As often as the commemoration of this victim is
celebrated, so often is the work of our salvation being done; 123 that is
to say, through this unbloody Sacrifice flow to us the most plenteous fruits of
that bloody victim.
The Mass Profits Both
The Living And The Dead
Pastors
should next teach that such is the efficacy of this Sacrifice that its benefits
extend not only to the celebrant and communicant, but to all the faithful,
whether living with us on earth, or already numbered with those who are dead in
the Lord, but whose sins have not yet been fully expiated. For, according to
the most authentic Apostolic tradition, it is not less available when offered
for them, than when offered for the sins of the living, their punishments,
satisfactions, calamities and difficulties of every sort. {q1}
It
is hence easy to perceive, that all Masses, as being conducive to the common
interest and salvation of all the faithful, are to be considered common to
all. {r1}
The
Sacrifice ( of the Mass ) is celebrated with many solemn rites and
ceremonies, none of which should be deemed useless or superfluous. On the contrary, all of them tend to display
the majesty of this august Sacrifice, and to excite the faithful when beholding
these saving mysteries, to contemplate the divine things which lie concealed in
the Eucharistic Sacrifice. On these
rites and ceremonies we shall not dwell, since they require a more lengthy
exposition than is compatible with the nature of the present work; moreover
priests can easily consult on the subject some of the many booklets and works
that have been written by pious and learned men. {s1}
What has been said so far will, with the divine assistance, be found sufficient to explain the principal things which regard the Holy Eucharist both as a Sacrament and Sacrifice.
Endnotes for The Sacrament of The Holy Eucharist
1.> 1Cor. xi. 30.
2.> John xiii. 1
3.> Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 24.
4.> Rom. vi. 23.
5.> Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 24.
6.> Ps. cx. 3.
7.> 1 Cor. xi. 16.
8.> De Fide Orth. iv. 13.
9.> 1 Cor. xi. 20.
10.> John vi. 56.
11.> Luke xxii. 19.
12.> 1 Cor. xi. 26.
13.> Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19.
14.> John vi. 41.
15.> Lev. xxiv. 5.
16.> Matt. xxvi. 17; Mark xiv. 12; Luke xxii. 7.
17.> John xiii. 1.
18.> In Matt. Hom. lxxxi. n. 1.
19.> 1 Cor. v. 7.
20.> Matt. xxvi. 29; Mark xiv. 25.
21.> In Matt. Hom. lxxxii. n. 2.
22.> Ep. lxxii.
23.> Apoc. xvii. 15.
24.> Decret. lib iii. tit. 41. c. 12
25.> John vi. 55.
26.> Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 24.
27.> Luke xxii. 19.
28.> Matt. xxvi. 26.
29.> Decret. lib. iii. tit. 41. c. 6.
30.> Luke xii. 20; 1 Cor. xi. 25.
31.> Luke xxii. 20; Matt. xxvi. 28.
32.> Rom. iii. 25.
33.> Heb. ix. 18.
34.> Heb. ix. 15.
35.> Matt. xxvi. 28; Luke xxii. 20.
36.> Heb. ix. 28.
37.> John xvii. 9.
38.> 1 Cor. xi. 29.
39.> De Trinitat. lib. viii. 14.
40.> 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29.
41.> 1 Cor. x. 16.
42.> De Myst. c. 9.
43.> De Sacr. iv. 4.
44.> De Sacr. iv. 4; De Iis Qui Myster. Init. c. 9. See also De Consec. dist. 2 in many places.
45.> Hom. lx. ad Popul. Antioch.
46.> In Psalm xxiii., Serm. i. n. 10.
47.> Cyril, In Joan, lib. iv. cc. 13, 14; lib. l. c. 13; Justin, Apolog. 2; Iren., Contra Haer., lib. 5; in Joan, c. 34; Denis, Eccles. Hier. c. 3; Hilar. De Trinit., lib. 8; Jerome, Epist. ad Damasum; Damas., De Fide Orth., lib. 4.
48.> Decr. pro Armen C. of Trent, Sess. xiii.
49.> De Eccl. Hier. c. 5, p. 1.
50.> Prov. viii. 31.
51.> Quoted in Gratian, p. 3, dist. ii. c. 77; Ambrosian Mass, Preface for Fifth Sunday after Epiph.
52.> Luke xxii. 17.
53.> Sess. xiii. can. 4.
54.> Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxi. 18 ; 1 Cor. xi. 24.
55.> John vi. 52.
56.> John vi. 54.
57.> John vi. 56.
58.> Ps. cxxxiv. 6.
59.> Quoted in Gratian, p. 3 dist. ii. 74; cf. De Myster. ix; Pasch. Radb., De Corp. et Sang. Dom. c. 1. n. 2.
60.> De Trin. lib. 8; quoted in Gratian, p. 3. dist. ii. cc. 79, 82.
61.> Gen. xviii. 2.
62.> Acts i. 10.
63.> Quoted in Gratian, p. 3. dist. ii. c. 41.
64.> De Fid. Orth. lib. iv. c. 13.
65.> Sess. xiii. c. 4; can. 2.
66.> Luke i. 37.
67.> See De Consecr. dist. 2, c. Nos autem; Decretal. lib. 1, tit. de celeb. Miss. c. cum Matt. Summa Theol. 3a. lxxvii. 1.
68.> St. Greg. the Great, Hom. xxvi. in Evang. n. 1.
69.> Confess. vii. c. 18.
70.> John i. 17.
71.> John vi. 57.
72.> John vi. 58
72.> In Joan. (vi. 64) lib. iv. c. 3.
74.> 1 Cor. xi. 30.
75.> Wis. xvi. 20.
76.> Ep. liv.
77.> John vi. 55.
78.> 3 Kings xix. 8.
79.> Sess. xiii. c. 8.
80.> 1 Cor. xi. 29.
81.> In Joan. Tract. xxvi. 18.
82.> 1 Cor. xi. 29.
83.> Gal. v. 6.
84.> 1 Cor. xi. 28.
85.> Matt. xxii. 11.
86.> John xiii. 5.
87.> 1 Kings v.
88.> 1 Cor. x. 21
89.> Psalm xcvi. 7; Job xxvi. 77; Isa. vi. 3; Heb. i. 6; iii. 3.
90.> 1 cor. xi. 29.
91.> Matt. v. 24, 25.
92.> Sess. xiii. c. 7. can. 11.
93.> Matt. viii. 8, 10.
94.> John xxi. 15.
95.> Matt. xxii. 12, 13.
96.> 1 Kings xxi. 3, 4, 5.
97.> Serm. lxxxiv. 3. ( in app. ) ; cf. Ep. liv. 3.
98.> Exod. xvi. 21, 22, 4.
99.> Serm. lxxxiv. 3. ( in app. ) ; Ep. liv. 3.
100.> Acts ii. 42, 46.
101.> Quoted in Gratian, p. 3, dist. ii. c. 10.
102.> The decree of Pope Fabian is found in Gratian, p. 3. dist. ii. c. 16; there also is quoted C. of Agde', c. 18.
103.> Matt. xxvi. 26.
104.> Fourth Counc. of Carth. 76.
105.> Sess. xxi. cc. 1,2,3.
106.> John vi. 51.
107.> Sess xiii. cap. 8. c.10.
108.> Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19.
109.> Sess. xxii. cap. 8.
110.> Ps. xxxix. 7.
111.> Ps. l.18.
112.> Gen. viii. 21.
113.> Matt. iii. 17.
114.> Sess. xxii. cap. 1 canons 1, 2.
115.> Aug., Contra Faust., lib. xx. c. 21
116.> Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 24.
117.> Sess. xxii. De Sac. Missae. c. and cap. 2.
118.> 1 Cor. x. 20.
119.> Mal. i. 11
120.> Heb. vii. 3.
121.> Sess. xxii. cap. 2. can. 3.
122.> Heb. iv. 16.
123.> Secret prayer of Ninth Sunday after Pentecost.
{a} On the institution of the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiii. 5.
{b} The word "eucharist" is from the Greek (see Book) good, and (see Book) grace thanks.
{c} St. Augustine ( Ep. liv. ad Januar. c. 6 ) traces this precept to an Apostolic ordinance. On the names of the Blessed Sacrament see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiii. 4.
{d} On the Eucharist as a Sacrament see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiii. 1.
{e} These words are found in Lanfranc, Adv. Ber.; cf. Gratian, p. 3. dist. ii. c. 48.
{f} On this subject see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiii. 6; St Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 189-191.
{g} The second Lateran Council ( 1139 ) does not expressly mention that there are seven Sacraments, but this can be gathered from the various canons. The sevenfold number of the Sacraments is declared in the Decretum ad Armenos ( 1439 ) and in the Council of Trent, Sess vii. can. 1. ( 1547 ).
{h} That the Eucharist is one Sacrament see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiii. 2. On the numerical unity of the Eucharist see St. Alphonsus. Theol. Mor. vi. 191. q. 2.
{i} On the three things signified by the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lx. 3.
{j} The loaves of proposition, or shew-breads, were twelve loaves of unleavened bread placed in the Holy of Holies and renewed every Saturday. Their purpose was to show forth the gratitude of the twelve tribes to the Lord their sustenance and strength.
{k} For an explanation of the time when our Lord kept His last Pasch and instituted the Holy Eucharist see Callan, The Four Gospels, pages 167-171.
{l} On the bread used for the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiv. 1-4.
{m} On the wine used for the Eucharist see Summa theol. 3a. lxxiv. 5-8.
{n} On the necessity and fitness of the matter of the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiv. 1; on the matter of the Eucharist see St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 194-219; Code of Canon Law, canons 814-817.
{o} Christ is present in the Eucharist not merely in sign or in figure, but in truth and in reality. (Council of Trent, Sess. xiii. cap. 1.)
{p} On the words of consecration see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxviii; St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 220-224.
{q} This Council of Vercelli was held in 1050.
{r} The teachings of Berengarius were condemned at Tours in 1054. The Roman Councils refered to were held in 1059 and 1078.
{s} On the fact of the Real Presence see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxv. 1.
{t} On the manner of the Real Presence see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxvi.
{u} These words are taken from the work De Sacr. lib. iv. c. 4; lib. v. c. 4.
{v} These words are from the work De Sacr. lib. iv. c. 4.
{w} On Transubstantiation see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxv. 2-8.
{x} On the substantial mode of Christ's presence in the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxvi. 5-8.
{y} On the accidents remaining in the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxv. 5; lxxvii.
{z} These words are taken from the work De Sacr., lib. iv. c. 6.
{a1} On the effects of the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxix; St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 225-229.
{b1} Sess. xiii. cap. 8.
{c1} On spiritual and sacramental Communion see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 1-3.
{d1} On preparation of soul before Communion see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 3-6.
{e1} On preparation of body before Communion see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 7, 8.
{f1} On the preparation for Communion and its time and place see St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 225-289; Code of Canon Law, canons 853, 867-869.
{g1} One the necessity of the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxiii. 3; lxxix. 1. ad 1.
{h1} This was decreed in the fourth Lateran Council, 1215. In the New Code it is found in can. 859.
{i1} Frequent Communion is recommended by the following: Aug., Epist. 118. c. 3; Ignat., Ad Ephes., well before the end; Basil., Epist. ad Caesar.patr. ; De Sacr. lib. iii. 4; Chrysost., Hom. 61. ad pop. Antioch ; Cypr., Epist. 28, ad Lucin. towards the end; Cyril., c. 3. in Joan. c. 37; De Consecr. dist. ii. in many chapters on this subject.
{j1} On daily Communion see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 10, and Code, can. 863.
{k1} On the obligation of receiving Communion see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 11. The decree quoted above is found in canon 21 of the Fourth Lateran Council. See also St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 192, 193;290-303; Code of Canon Law, canons 859 ff.
{l1} Regarding the Communion of children see Code, can. 854.
{m1} On the recipients of Holy Communion see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 9.
{n1} On Communion under one kind see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxx. 12.
{o1} On the minister of the Eucharist see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxxii; St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 230-254; Code of Canon Law, canons 802 ff.; 845 ff.
{p1} He who celebrates Mass worthily and he who communicates worthily merit by those personal acts an increase of grace and glory. The communicant receives moreover from the Sacrament the fruits explained above on pages 241 ff. But Communion does not effect directly, as does the Mass, satisfaction for sin. ( Summa Theol. 3a. lxxix. 5. )
{q1} See Council of Trent, Sess. xxii. cap. 6 and can. 8
{r1} On the Sacrifice of the Mass see Summa Theol. 3a. lxxxiii. 7; lxxix. 5, 7; St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 304 ff.; Code of Canon Law, canons 802 ff.
{s1} On the ceremonies of the Mass see Summa Theol. 31 lxxxiii. 2-6; St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. vi. 340 ff.