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"If any one saith
that the precept of God or by necessity of salvation all and each
of the faithful of Christ ought to receive both species of the
most holy sacrament of the Eucharist: let him be anathema."
(Council of Trent)
"If any one denieth
that in the venerable sacrament of the Eucharist the whole Christ
is contained under each species, and under every part of each
species, when separated; let him be anathema."
(Council of
Trent)
"If any one denieth,
that Christ whole and entire - the fountain and author of all
graces - is received under the one species of bread; because that -
as some falsely assert - He is not received, according to the
institution of Christ himself, under both species; let him be
anathema." (Council of Trent)
"If anyone says that
the holy Catholic Church has not been influenced by just causes
and reasons to give communion under the form of bread only to
layman and even to clerics when not consecrating, or that she has
erred in this: let him be anathema."
(Council of Trent)
"The holy council,
guided by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of godliness (see Isa.
11:2), and following the custom and the judgment of the Church
itself, teaches and declares that the laity and clerics who are
not celebrating are not bound by any divine command to receive the
sacrament of the Eucharist under both species. And faith leaves no
possibility of doubting that Communion under one species is
sufficient for salvation." (Council of Trent)
"As to the rite to
be observed in communicating, pastors should teach that the law of
the holy Church forbids 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, 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." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The most Holy
Eucharist is to be given only under the form of bread."
(1917
Code of Canon Law)
"The Church does not
give Holy Communion to the people as it does to the priest under
the appearance of wine also, to avoid the danger of spilling the
Precious Blood; to prevent the irreverence some might show if
compelled to drink out of a chalice used by all, and lastly, to
refute those who denied that Our Lord's blood is present under the
appearance of bread also." (Baltimore Catechism)
"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." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Augustine says in a
sermon (Gregory, Sacramentarium): 'Each receives Christ the Lord,
Who is entire under every morsel, nor is He less in each portion,
but bestows Himself entire under each.'"
(St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"Jesus Christ is
whole and entire under both the form of bread and under the form
of wine." (Baltimore Catechism)
"We know that under
the appearance of bread we receive also Christ's blood and under
the appearance of wine we receive also Christ's body; because in
the Holy Eucharist we receive the living body of Our Lord, and a
living body cannot exist without blood, nor can living blood exist
without a body." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Both under the
species of the bread and under the species of the wine the living
Jesus Christ is all present, with His Body, His Blood, His Soul
and His Divinity." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"[T]he Sacrifice of
the Mass represents in a sensible way the shedding of the Blood of
Jesus Christ on the Cross, because, in virtue of the words of
consecration, only the Body of our Savior is made present under
the species of the bread and only His Blood under the species of
the wine; although by natural concomitance and by the hypostatic
union, the living and real Jesus Christ is present under each of
the species." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"The most holy
Eucharist has indeed this in common with the rest of the
sacraments, that it is a symbol of a sacred thing, and is a
visible form of an invisible grace; but there is found in the
Eucharist this excellent and peculiar thing, that the other
sacraments have then first the power of sanctifying when one uses
them, whereas in the Eucharist, before being used, there is the
Author Himself of sanctity. For the apostles had not as yet
received the Eucharist from the hand of the Lord, when
nevertheless Himself affirmed with truth that to be His own body
which He presented (to them). And this faith has ever been in the
Church of God, that, immediately after the consecration, the
veritable Body of our Lord, and His veritable Blood, together with
His soul and divinity, are under the species of bread and wine;
but the Body indeed under the species of bread, and the Blood
under the species of wine, by the force of the words; but the body
itself under the species of wine, and the blood under the species
of bread, and the soul under both, by the force of that natural
connexion and concomitancy whereby the parts of Christ our Lord,
who hath now risen from the dead, to die no more, are united
together; and the divinity, furthermore, on account of the
admirable hypostatical union thereof with His body and soul.
Wherefore it is most true, that as much is contained under either
species as under both; for Christ whole and entire is under the
species of bread, and under any part whatsoever of that species;
likewise the whole (Christ) is under the species of wine, and
under the parts thereof." (Council of Trent, 1551 A.D.)
"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 decree,
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." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Two points should
be observed regarding the use of this sacrament, one on the part
of the sacrament, the other on the part of the recipients; on the
part of the sacrament it is proper for both the body and the blood
to be received, since the perfection of the sacrament lies in
both, and consequently, since it is the priest's duty both to
consecrate and finish the sacrament, he ought on no account to
receive Christ's body without the blood. But on the part of the
recipient the greatest reverence and caution are called for, lest
anything happen which is unworthy of so great a mystery. Now this
could especially happen in receiving the blood, for, if
incautiously handled, it might easily be spilt. And because the
multitude of the Christian people increased, in which there are
old, young, and children, some of whom have not enough discretion
to observe due caution in using this sacrament, on that account it
is a prudent custom...for the blood not to be offered to the
reception of the people, but to be received by the priest alone...
The perfection of this sacrament does not lie in the use of the
faithful, but in the consecration of the matter. And hence there
is nothing derogatory to the perfection of this sacrament; if the
people receive the body without the blood, provided that the
priest who consecrates receive both...Our Lord's Passion is
represented in the very consecration of this sacrament, in which
the body ought not to be consecrated without the blood. But the
body can be received by the people without the blood: nor is this
detrimental to the sacrament. Because the priest both offers and
consumes the blood on behalf of all; and Christ is fully contained
under either species, as was shown above (Q76,A2)." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"Certain people, in
some parts of the world, have rashly dared to assert that the
Christian people ought to receive the Holy Sacrament of the
Eucharist under the forms of both bread and wine... Therefore this
present general council of Constance, legitimately assembled in
the Holy Spirit, wishing to provide for the safety of the faithful
against this error, after long deliberation by many persons
learned in divine and human law, declares, decrees and defines...
that this Sacrament ought not to be celebrated after a meal nor
received by the faithful without fasting, except in cases of
sickness or some other necessity as permitted by law or by the
Church. Moreover, just as this custom was sensibly introduced in
order to avoid various dangers and scandals, so with similar or
even greater reason was it possible to introduce and sensibly
observe the custom that, although this sacrament was received by
the faithful under both kinds in the early Church, nevertheless
later it was received under both kinds only by those confecting
it, and by the laity only under the form of bread. For it should
be very firmly believed, and in no way doubted, that the whole
body and blood of Christ are truly contained under both the form
of bread and the form of wine. Therefore, since this custom was
introduced for good reasons by the church and holy fathers, and
has been observed for a very long time, it should be held as a law
which nobody may repudiate or alter at will... Those who
stubbornly assert the opposite of the aforesaid are [considered
heretics]...This holy synod also decrees and declares, regarding
this matter, that instructions are to be sent to the most reverend
fathers and lords in Christ, patriarchs, primates, archbishops,
bishops, and their vicars in spirituals, wherever they may be, in
which they are to be commissioned and ordered on the authority of
this sacred council and under pain of excommunication, to punish
effectively those who err against this decree."
(Council
of Constance, 1415 A.D.)
"Wherefore, this
holy Synod, - instructed by the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of
wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of
godliness, and following the judgment and usage of the Church
itself, - declares and teaches, that laymen, and clerics when not
consecrating, are not obliged, by any divine precept, to receive
the sacrament of the Eucharist under both species; and that
neither can it by any means be doubted, without injury to faith,
that communion under either species is sufficient for them unto
salvation. For, although Christ, the Lord, in the last supper,
instituted and delivered to the apostles, this venerable sacrament
in the species of bread and wine; not therefore do that
institution and delivery tend thereunto, that all the faithful of
Church be bound, by the institution of the Lord, to receive both
species. But neither is it rightly gathered, from that discourse
which is in the sixth of John - however according to the various
interpretations of holy Fathers and Doctors it be understood -
that the communion of both species was enjoined by the Lord: for
He who said; Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink
his blood, you shall not have life in you (v. 54), also said; He
that eateth this bread shall live for ever (v. 59); and He who
said, He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath
everlasting life (v. 55), also said; The bread that I will give is
my flesh for the life of the world (v. 52); and, in fine,- He who
said; He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me
and I in him (v. 57), said, nevertheless; He that eateth this
bread shall live for ever (v. 59.)... It furthermore declares,
that this power has ever been in the Church, that, in the
dispensation of the sacraments, their substance being untouched,
it may ordain, or change, what things soever it may judge most
expedient, for the profit of those who receive, or for the
veneration of the said sacraments, according to the difference of
circumstances, times, and places. And this the Apostle seems not
obscurely to have intimated, when he says; Let a man so account of
us, as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the
mysteries of God. And indeed it is sufficiently manifest that he
himself exercised this power,- as in many other things, so in
regard of this very sacrament; when, after having ordained certain
things touching the use thereof, he says; The rest I will set in
order when I come. Wherefore, holy Mother Church, knowing this her
authority in the administration of the sacraments, although the
use of both species has, from the beginning of the Christian
religion, not been infrequent, yet, in progress of time, that
custom having been already very widely changed, she, induced by
weighty and just reasons, has approved of this custom of
communicating under one species, and decreed that it was to be
held as a law; which it is not lawful to reprobate, or to change
at pleasure, without the authority of the Church itself... It
moreover declares, that although, as hath been already said, our
Redeemer, in that last supper, instituted, and delivered to the
apostles, this sacrament in two species, yet is to be
acknowledged, that Christ whole and entire and a true sacrament
are received under either species alone; and that therefore, as
regards the fruit thereof, they, who receive one species alone,
are not defrauded of any grace necessary to salvation."
(Council of Trent, 1562 A.D.)
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