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THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST
Importance
of Instruction on the Eucharist
Institution of the Eucharist
Meaning of the Word "Eucharist"
Other Names
of This Sacrament
The Eucharist
Is A Sacrament Properly So Called
In What Respect
the Eucharist is a Sacrament
How
the Eucharist Differs From All the Other
Sacraments
The Eucharist Is But One Sacrament
The Eucharist Signifies Three Things
Constituent Parts of the Eucharist
The Matter
The First Element
of the Eucharist is Bread
The Sacramental Bread Must Be Wheaten
The Sacramental Bread Should Be Unleavened
Unleavened Bread Not Essential
Quantity
of the Bread
The Second Element
of the Eucharist is Wine
Water Should
Be Mixed With The Wine
No Other Elements Pertain To This Sacrament
Peculiar Fitness
of Bread and Wine
Form
of the Eucharist
Form
to be Used in the Consecration of the
Bread
Not
All The Words Used Are Essential
Form
to be Used in the Consecration of the Wine
Explanation
of the Form Used in the
Consecration of the Wine
Three Mysteries
of the Eucharist
The Mystery of the Real Presence
Proof From Scripture
Proof From
the Teaching of the Church
Testimony
of the Fathers
Teaching
of the Councils
Two Great Benefits
of Proving the Real Presence
Faith
is Strengthened
The Soul
is Gladdened
Meaning of the Real Presence
Christ Whole
and Entire is Present in the
Eucharist
Presence
in Virtue of the Sacrament and in
Virtue of Concomitance
Christ Whole
and Entire Present Under Each
Species
Christ Whole
and Entire Present in Every Part of Each Species
The Mystery of Transubstantiation
Proof From
the Dogma of the Real Presence
Proof From
the Councils
Proof From Scripture
Proof From
the Fathers
Why
the Eucharist is Called Bread After
Consecration
The Meaning of Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation:
A Total Conversion
A Consequence
of Transubstantiation
The Mystery of the Accidents
Without a Subject
Proof From
the Preceding Dogmas
Proof From
the Teaching of the Church
Advantages
of This Mystery
The Effects of the Eucharist
The Eucharist Contains Christ
and is the Food of the Soul
The Eucharist Gives Grace
The Grace
of the Eucharist Sustains
The Grace
of the Eucharist Invigorates and
Delights
The Eucharist Remits Venial Sins
The Eucharist Strengthens Against Temptation
The Eucharist Facilitates
the Attainment of
Eternal Life
How
the Effects of the Eucharist May be
Developed and Illustrated
Recipient of the Eucharist
Threefold Manner
of Communicating
Necessity
of Previous Preparation for Communion
Preparation
of Soul
Preparation
of Body
The Obligation of Communion
How Often Must Communion
Be Received?
The Church Desires
the Faithful to Communicate
Daily
The Church
Commands the Faithful to
Communicate Once a Year
Who
Are Obliged by the Law of Communion
The Rite of Administering Communion
Why
the Celebrant Alone Receives Under Both
Species
The Minister of the Eucharist
Only Priests Have Power
to Consecrate and
Administer the Eucharist
The Laity Prohibited
to Touch The Sacred
Vessels
The Unworthiness
of the Minister Does Not
Invalidate the Sacrament
The Eucharist as a Sacrifice
Importance
of Instruction on the Mass
Distinction of Sacrament and Sacrifice
The Mass
is a True Sacrifice
Proof From
the Council of Trent
Proof From Scripture
Excellence of the Mass
The Mass
is the Same Sacrifice as That of the
Cross
The Mass
a Sacrifice of Praise, Thanksgiving and Propitiation
The Mass Profits Both
the Living and the Dead
The Rites and
Ceremonies of the Mass
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 [that is, die].
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 with the greatest diligence all those things which may
seem calculated more fully to display its majesty.
Institution of the Eucharist
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. 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 [Pasch] 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".
Meaning of the Word "Eucharist"
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, endeavored to express it by
many words.
For sometimes they call it Eucharist, which word
we may render either by good grace, or by thanksgiving. 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; 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 [that is, Christ in the
Eucharist], 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. 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, he hath given food to them that fear him,
thought that he should first make this act of thanksgiving: His work is
praise and magnificence.
Other Names
of this Sacrament
Frequently, also, it is called [the] Sacrifice [of
the Mass].
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? For, as Damascene 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
[Eucharistic] 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, 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.
The Eucharist
Is A Sacrament Properly So Called
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 Evangelists 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.
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 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 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.
How
the Eucharist Differs From All the Other
Sacraments
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.
The Eucharist Is But One Sacrament
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 been handed down, and as was decreed by
the Councils of Lateran, Florence and Trent.
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 Savior: My flesh is
[food] indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
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, 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.
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.
Constituent Parts of the Eucharist
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 Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke
testify, Christ the Lord took bread into His hands, blessed, and brake,
saying: This is my body; and, according to John, the same Savior called
Himself bread in these words: I am the living bread, that came down from
heaven.
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 Savior 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.
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 house.
Should the authority of John the Evangelist, 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 also understands the first day of unleavened bread to be the
day on the evening of which unleavened bread was to be eaten.
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.
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.
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. On this passage Chrysostom
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;
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, 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 on the subject: A pernicious abuse has prevailed
in your district of using in the Sacrifice [of the Mass] 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.
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
[food] indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 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 every day
changed by the power of nature into human flesh and blood, we are led
the 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,
consists 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.
Form of the Eucharist
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 Evangelists,
Matthew and Luke, and also by the Apostle, that the form consists 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.
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 Savior: Do
this for a commemoration of me. 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".
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 lo 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. 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; 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. 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 consists 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. 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, inasmuch 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 that without blood a testament is not
dedicated; but to be given to men in truth and in reality, as becomes
the New Testament. 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.
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 consists 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, 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 its
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 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.
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.
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, 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 sight, 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.
The Mystery of the Real Presence
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?
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. 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? 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 with 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 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 he teaches
that before consecration there is only bread, but after consecration
there is the flesh of Christ.
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.
With this doctrine fully agrees the uniform
teaching of St. Augustine, that most zealous defender of Catholic faith,
particularly when in his explanation of the 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 when, giving His body to
be eaten, He said, This is my body.
To pass by Justin and Irenaeus, 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.
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 error.
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. 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.
Two Great Benefits
of Proving the Real Presence
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 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 too
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 Savior 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.
Meaning of the Real Presence
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 a true body, such as bones and sinews, but also Christ
whole and 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
the 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 the Sacrament. Since, however, to Christ's body are united
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,
where 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
blood was 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.
This is also an obvious inference from the
narrative of the Evangelists. 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 Savior: Take and divide it among you.
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 Mystery of Transubstantiation
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 any one 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.
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. 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. 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. And again: My flesh is [food] indeed, and
my blood is drink indeed. Since, therefore, in terms so clear and so
explicit, He calls His flesh bread and [food] 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 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.
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 hath done in heaven and
on earth, 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. 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.
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. 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.
The Meaning of Transubstantiation
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?
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. 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.
This admirable change, as the Council of Trent
teaches, the Holy Catholic Church most appropriately expresses by the
word transubstantiation. 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.
A Consequence
of Transubstantiation
The pastor should next teach that our Lord is not
in the Sacrament as in a place. Place regards things 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.
The Mystery of the Accidents
Without a Subject
We now come to the third great and 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
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 subsist of
themselves, inhering in no subject.
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.
The doctrines treated above should be explained
with great caution, according to the capacity of the hearers and the
necessities of the times.
The Effects of the Eucharist
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 an admirable
manner, the fountain itself of celestial gifts and graces, and the
author of all the Sacrament, 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.
The Eucharist Gives Grace
If, then, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,
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. 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.
Explaining this passage, St. Cyril says: The Word of God, uniting
Himself to His own flesh, imparted to it a [life giving] 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 [life giving] benediction.
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, 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.
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
offence, 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 taken
as a remedy for daily infirmity. 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 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. 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, the mount of
God, they, too, invigorated by the strengthening influence of this
(heavenly food), will ascend to unfading glory and 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.
Recipient of the Eucharist
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, 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 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. 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.
Others are said to receive the Eucharist in spirit
only. They are those who, inflamed with a lively faith which worketh by
charity, 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, having first proved themselves and having
approached this divine banquet adorned with the nuptial garment, 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.
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 Savior 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 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 heaviest calamities, together with eternal disgrace. 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, 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 whose nod the pillars
of heaven fear and tremble, of whose glory the heavens and the earth are
full. This is to discern the body of the Lord in accordance with the
admonition of the Apostle. We should venerate the greatness of the
mystery rather than too 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 altar, 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.
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 conscious 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.
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, and 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.
We should also put the question to ourselves
whether we can truly say with Peter: Lord, thou knowest that I love
thee, 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.
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.
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.
The Obligation of Communion
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. Furthermore, the Church has decreed that whoever
neglects to approach Holy Communion once a year, at Easter, is liable to
sentence of excommunication.
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 every day.
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. 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.
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,
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. It was also for a long time the practice of the Church
that, as soon as the Sacrifice [of the Mass] 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.
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.
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.
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 - 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.
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.
The Rite of Administering Communion
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.
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 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.
The Minister of the Eucharist
To omit nothing doctrinal on this Sacrament, we
now come to speak of its 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, 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.
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.
These are the things necessary to be explained
regarding the Eucharist as a Sacrament.
The Eucharist as a Sacrifice
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 days, regarding this mystery in conformity with the decree of the
holy Council (of Trent).
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
[that is, Christ in the Eucharist],
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; and again: If thou hadst desired
sacrifice, I would indeed have given it... (Ps. 50:18) [A sacrifice to
God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise. (Ps. 50:19)] Now if these were so pleasing in the Lord's sight
that...they were grateful and acceptable to Him; what have we
not to hope from that Sacrifice [of the Mass] 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.
This mystery, therefore, pastors should carefully
explain, so that when the faithful are assembled at the celebration of
[Mass], they may learn to meditate with attention and devotion
on the sacred things at which they are present.
Distinction of Sacrament and Sacrifice
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
[Pasch of the Old Law].
Nor could our Savior, when about to offer Himself
to God the Father on the altar 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 consists 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 [of the Mass], by which they communicate with us, merit the fruit of
His Passion, and satisfy.
The Mass
is a True Sacrifice
Proof From
the Council of Trent
With regard to the institution of this Sacrifice
[of the Mass],
the holy Council of Trent 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 [of the Mass]. For although the Church
sometimes offers Masses in honor and in memory of the Saints, yet she
teaches that the Sacrifice [of the Mass] 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 [the Eucharistic] 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.
Proof From Scripture
This doctrine, handed down by the Catholic Church,
concerning the truth of this Sacrifice [of the Mass], she received from the words of
our Lord, when, on that last night, committing to His Apostles these
same sacred mysteries, He said: Do this for a commemoration of me; 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 [Christ's] body.
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 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 [the Eucharistic] Sacrifice was offered to the Lord.
Should we look for figures and prophecies of this
[Eucharistic] 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.
Moreover, this Victim [that is, Christ in the
Eucharist] was foretold, as well before
as after the promulgation of the Law, by various kinds of sacrifices;
for this Victim [Christ in the Eucharist] alone, as the perfection and completion of
all [sacrifices],
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.
Excellence of
the Mass
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 altar 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 [the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass], 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 (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 [that is,
Christ in the Eucharist], we shall,
without doubt, obtain mercy from the Lord, and grace in time of need;
for so delighted is the Lord with the odor of this Victim [Christ] 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 [Christ] is celebrated, so often is the work of our salvation being
done; that is to say, through this unbloody Sacrifice [of the Mass] flow to us the
most plenteous fruits of that bloody Victim [that is, Christ who died on
the Cross].
The Mass Profits Both
the Living and the Dead
Pastors should next teach that such is the
efficacy of this Sacrifice [of the Mass] 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.
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.
The Rites and
Ceremonies of the Mass
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 [of the Mass], 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.
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.
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