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Praise / Benefits
of the Holy Eucharist & Mass
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Holy
Eucharist (Topic Page) |
Mass (Topic Page)
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"Even
God Himself could do nothing holier, better, or greater than the
Mass." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"There
is no prayer or good work so great, so pleasing to God, so useful
to us as the Mass." (St. Lawrence Justinian)
"What is better than the
Blood and Body of Christ?" (St. Isidore of Seville, Doctor of
the Church)
"There
is nothing more to be added when we have said 'The Eucharist',
since It is Jesus Christ." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)
"The
happiness of the World comes from the Sacrifice of the Mass."
(St. Odo of Cluny)
"Without
the Holy Eucharist there would be no happiness in this world, and
life wouldn't be bearable." (St. John Vianney)
"You
have the Eucharist. What more do you want?" (St. Peter Julian
Eymard)
"The
Church draws her life from the Eucharist." (Pope John Paul
II, 2003 A.D.)
"When
we receive Holy Communion, we receive our joy and our
happiness." (St. John Vianney)
"[T]o
drink the Blood of Jesus is to share in His immortality."
(St. Clement of Alexandria, c. 3rd century A.D.)
"When
they see the Blood of the Lord, demons flee while angels
gather." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"[The Eucharist is] a medicine of immortality,
an antidote to death" (St.
Ignatius of Antioch, c. 110 A.D.)
"Henceforth
my motto shall be: 'Give me the Eucharist, or let me die!"
(St. Peter Julian Eymard)
"Is
there a greater happiness than to imitate on earth the choir of
angels?" (St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"[T]he
Eucharist [is that] in which 'the whole spiritual good of the Church is
contained'" (Pope Paul VI, 1967 A.D.)
"It
would be easier for the earth to exist without the sun rather than
without the Holy Mass." [St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)]
"[The
Eucharist is] the elixir of immortality" (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei")
"The
Eucharist creates communion and fosters communion." (Pope
John Paul II)
"Holy
Communion is an antidote by which we are freed from daily sins,
and are preserved from mortal sins." (Council of Trent)
"This
morning my soul is greater than the world since it possesses you,
you whom heaven and earth do not contain." (St. Margaret of
Cortona)
"The
proper effect of the Eucharist is the transformation of man into
God." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"[T]hrough
this sacrament we are made partakers of the fruit of our Lord's
Passion." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"A
soul can do nothing that is more pleasing to God than to
communicate (receive Holy Communion) in a state of grace."
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church).
"For
it is not the flesh of man simply, but of God: and it makes man
divine, by inebriating him, as it were, with divinity." (St.
Theophylact)
"Jesus!
My Lord, my God, my All! How can I love Thee as I ought? And how
revere this wondrous gift, so far surpassing hope or thought?"
(Faber)
"The
participation of the Body and Blood of Christ has this as its
chief work - to change us into Him." (St. Leo the Great,
Doctor of the Church)
"The
Eucharist is the sun of the feasts of the Church. It sheds light
on those feasts and renders them living and joyous." (St.
Peter Julian Eymard)
"[N]othing
can be more excellent or more conducive to salvation [than this
gift of the Holy Eucharist]" (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"The
Mass is the chief act of divine worship; it should also be the
source and center of Christian piety." (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
"[T]he
liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is
directed; it is also the fount from which all her power
flows." (Second Vatican Council)
"The
whole sanctuary and the space before the altar is filled with the
heavenly Powers come to honor Him who is present upon the
altar." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"[T]he
Eucharist is, in itself, the greatest of the sacraments" (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"The
sacred Bread, for which we are indebted to Mary, remains always
with us. May it, through her intercession, preserve us from all
evils!" (Liturgical Year)
"A
man suffering from a wound needs a remedy. The wound is our being
slaves to sin - and the remedy? The heavenly and adorable
sacrament." (Pope St. Gregory VII)
"[T]his
sacrament is greater than all the others and perfects them."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
"The
Bread of angels becomes the Bread of men; the Bread of heaven puts
an end to the types; O wonderful thing! He that is poor, and a
servant, and lowly, eateth the Lord!" (Hymn, Corpus Christi)
"[The]
day you hear Mass is worth a thousand days to you, that all the
labors and works of a day, or a week, or a whole year are nothing
in comparison with the value of one Mass." (Fr. O'Sullivan)
"The
Eucharist is truly a glimpse of heaven appearing on earth. It is a
glorious ray of the heavenly Jerusalem which pierces the clouds of
our history and lights up our journey." (Pope John Paul II)
"The
Eucharist, as Christ's saving presence in the community of the
faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession
which the Church can have in her journey through history."
(Pope John Paul II)
"The
soul must be in an utter swoon, if it be not roused and enlivened
by the Holy Eucharist... For is it not true that the Holy
Eucharist raises the faithful above themselves, and from its
efficacy a worldly man becomes a heavenly man?" (St. Cyprian)
"No
human tongue can describe the immense favors and blessing which we
receive from the Mass. The sinner obtains pardon, the good man
becomes more holy, our faults are corrected and our vices uprooted
by hearing Holy Mass." (St. Lawrence Justinian)
"The
faithful, being united to God by means of the Sacrament, may
thence derive strength to resist their sensual passions, to
cleanse themselves from the stains of daily faults, and to avoid
those grave sins to which human frailty is liable." (Pope St
Pius X)
"I
have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this
life. I desire the Bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus
Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire His
Blood, which is love incorruptible." (St. Ignatius of
Antioch, c. 110 A.D.)
"Participation
in the Body and Blood of Christ effects nothing else but that we
become that which we consume, and we carry Him everywhere both in
spirit and in body, in and with whom we have died, have been
buried, and have risen." (Pope St. Leo I the Great, Doctor of
the Church, c. 455
A.D.)
"The
mystery of the most Holy Eucharist which Christ, the High Priest
instituted, and which He commands to be continually renewed in the
Church by His ministers, is the culmination and center, as it
were, of the Christian religion." (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
"The
Church has received the Eucharist from Christ her Lord not as one
gift - however precious - among so many others, but as the gift
par excellence, for it is the gift of himself, of his person in
his sacred humanity, as well as the gift of his saving work."
(Pope John Paul II)
"Here
is the Church's treasure, the heart of the world, the pledge of
the fulfillment for which each man and woman, even unconsciously,
yearns. A great and transcendent mystery, indeed, and one that
taxes our mind's ability to pass beyond appearances." (Pope
John Paul II, 2003 A.D.)
"Very
beautiful and joyful too is the spectacle of Christian brotherhood
and social equality which is afforded when men of all conditions,
gentle and simple, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, gather
round the holy altar, all sharing alike in this heavenly
banquet." (Pope Leo XIII)
"When
you see the Lord immolated and lying upon the altar, and the
priest bent over that Sacrifice praying, and all the people
purpled by that precious Blood, can you think that you are still
among men and on earth? Or are you not lifted up to heaven?"
(St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, c. 387 A.D.)
"[The
Mass] is the only Holy Act which keeps the wrath of God from a
sinful world, because it holds the Cross between heaven and earth,
thus renewing that decisive moment when our sad and tragic
humanity journeyed suddenly forth to the fullness of supernatural
life." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"I
found myself far from You in a region of dissension; and it was as
if I heard Your voice from on high: 'I am the food of adults;
grow, and you shall eat Me. You will no then change Me into
yourself, like [as with your food], but you shall be changed
into Me.'" (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, c. 400 A.D.)
"Oh,
the wonderful and hidden grace of this Sacrament, which only the
faithful of Christ know; but unbelievers and such as are slaves to
sin cannot experience. In this Sacrament is conferred spiritual
grace; lost virtue is repaired in the soul; and beauty disfigured
by sin returneth again." (Kempis)
"Without
the Eucharist, Christ's love would be nothing more for us than a
lifeless love, a love of the past, which we would quickly forget,
and which it would be almost excusable for us to forget. Love has
its laws, its requirements, which the Eucharist alone fully
satisfies." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)
"The
Eucharist is the sacrament of the unity of the whole Church: and
therefore in this sacrament, more than in the others, mention
ought to be made of all that belongs to the salvation of the
entire Church." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"To
you be praise indeed, O eternal God, and endless thanksgiving for
the fact that you deigned to become a human being and that for us
in the world you willed to consecrate your venerable Body out of
material bread and lovingly bestow it on us as food for the
salvation of our souls!" (St. Bridget of Sweden)
"[T]he
all-holy Eucharist, forasmuch as it is a divine gift proceeding
from the very Heart of the Redeemer, Who 'with desire desireth'
this singular mode of union with men, [is] a gift most admirably
adapted to be the means whereby the salutary fruits of His
redemption may be distributed." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"[T]o
the Holy Eucharist we owe the future resurrection of our bodies.
Our Savior himself teaches us this, where he says: 'Your fathers
did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the Bread which
cometh down from heaven, that if any man eat of it, he may not
die... He that eateth my Flesh, and drinketh my Blood, hath
everlasting life, and I will raise him up in the last day (Jn.
5:49,50,55).'" (Dom Gueranger)
"History
bears witness that the virtues of the Christian life have
flourished best wherever and whenever the frequent reception of
the Eucharist has most prevailed. And on the other hand it is no
less certain that in days when men have ceased to care for this
heavenly bread, and have lost their appetite for it, the practice
of Christian religion has gradually lost its force and
vigor." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902
A.D.)
"Be
thou blessed, O Jesus, for having instituted, in the Holy
Eucharist, not only the greatest of the sacraments, but also a Sacrifice which surpasses all others; a
Sacrifice whereby we are
enabled to offer to the divine Majesty the only homage that is
worthy of Him, give Him thanks in keeping with His favors to us,
make Him a superabundant atonement for our sins, and finally beg
and obtain from Him all the graces of which we stand in
need." (Dom Gueranger)
"What
blessing, or what praise, or what thanksgiving can we render to
you, O God, Lover of Humankind, for when we were cast away by the
doom of death, and drowned in the depth of sin, you granted us
freedom, and bestowed on us this immortal, this heavenly food, and
manifested to us this mystery, hid from ages and from generations?
This, your supreme act of mercy, and the greatness of your
benignity and fatherly care for us, grant us to understand.
Amen." (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church)
"The
true Flesh which he took from the Virgin, is what we eat; the true
Blood, which he shed for man, is what we drink. In this banquet,
the Word made Flesh is truly eaten; it is on him that our worship
rests, and by him that we enter heaven. This Bread, which is all
full of sweetness and grace, is the King of eternal glory, that
was carried in the virgin's womb. Let us feed on the richness of
Angels' Bread; that we may find delight in the sweetness of a
viaticum so full of mercy. O thou heavenly banquet! O Glory of the
redeemed! O repose of the humble! Grant us eternal joys."
(Ancient Compline Hymn)
"Let
the whole world of mankind tremble the whole world shake and the
havens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the
altar in the hands of a priest. O admirable heights and sublime
lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord
of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that
for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread!
Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts
before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by
Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so
that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you
totally." (St. Francis of Assisi)
"Are
you sick in soul? Does the weight of your sins press you down? Are
you blind? Are you wanting in the necessary light and knowledge on
the path of salvation? Are you lame? Do you desire to make more
rapid progress in virtue, but find yourself unable? Are you
exhausted? Do your strength and energy flag when you are striving
for grace and merit? Oh, then come to the Divine place of healing,
to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. He will help you, He will
heal you! He is present there, not for the Angels, but for you, O
happy child of man! And He wills that you do not fear, that you do
not hesitate, but that you come with joy and confidence and ask
much of Him." (Etlin) [Note: Of course, one must be in a state of grace to
receive Holy Communion. To receive Holy Communion unworthily would
be a grave sin.]
"Of
all the good acts wherewith a Christian can sanctify his day,
there is not one which bears comparison with that of assisting at
the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is in that Sacrifice, the
supreme act of religion, that is centered all the homage due from
man to his Creator; and it is also from the same Sacrifice that
God pours out profusely upon his creature man every sort of
blessing. The very Son of God is really present there; there He is
offered up to His Father, and the offering is always
well-pleasing; and they who assist at this Divine Immolation with
faith and love receive into their souls graces of a far richer
kind than are given by ordinary means." (Liturgical Year)
"That
genuine charity, therefore, which knows how to do and to suffer
all things for the salvation and the benefit of all, leaps forth
with all the heat and energy of a flame from that most holy
Eucharist in which Christ Himself is present and lives, in which
He indulges to the utmost. His love towards us, and under the
impulse of that divine love ceaselessly renews His Sacrifice. And
thus it is not difficult to see whence the arduous labors of
apostolic men, and whence those innumerable designs of every kind
for the welfare of the human race which have been set on foot
among Catholics, derive their origin, their strength, their
permanence, their success." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"Eucharist
or thanksgiving, is its most suitable name; for this Sacrament
holds within it Him who is the object of all praise, and all the
heavenly gifts He has bestowed upon us. It is the admirable
summary of all the divine operations which God has achieved for
man: it is the stay of our life; it gives back to our souls the
divine image, and that upon the model of an archetype which is
eternal beauty; it leads us, by admirable ascensions, into a path
which, naturally, we could never have entered; by it are repaired
the ruins of the original fall; by it we cease to be poor; it
takes our whole being, gives its whole self to us, and thereby
makes us partakers of God Himself and of all His gifts."
(Liturgical Year)
"It
is an unquestionable fact that the work of our redemption is
continued, and that its fruits are imparted to us, during the
celebration of the liturgy, notable in the august [Eucharistic]
Sacrifice of the Altar. Christ acts each day to save us, in the
sacraments and in His holy [Eucharistic] Sacrifice. By means of
them He is constantly atoning for the sins of mankind, constantly
consecrating it to God. Sacraments and [the Eucharistic Sacrifice]
do, then, possess that 'objective' power to make us really and
personally sharers in the divine life of Jesus Christ. Not from
any ability of our own, but by the power of God, are they endowed
with the capacity to unite the piety of members with that of the
head" (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
"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." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"My God and my Savior, of all the wonderful gifts which You
have bestowed upon men in this earthly life, none can begin to
compare with the wonderful gift of the Holy Eucharist. Under the
appearances of bread and wine, You come to me in person, with your
Body, blood, soul, and divinity. Your love for me is so deep that
You could offer me nothing less than yourself. This you did in a
manner which reminds me of Your death upon the cross for my sake.
In the appearance of bread and wine I see you ready to be consumed
in order to give me eternal life. This holy sacrament is truly the
most perfect image of Your boundless love for me. Lord, let me
make full use of this divine gift so that I may learn to give
myself to You in my daily life. Amen." {Paone}
"But
indeed a Sacrament so great and so rich in all manner of blessings
can never be extolled as it deserves by human eloquence, nor
adequately venerated by the worship of man. This Sacrament,
whether as the theme of devout meditation, or as the object of
public adoration, or best of all as a food to be received in the
utmost purity of conscience, is to be regarded as the center
towards which the spiritual life of a Christian in all its ambit
gravitates; for all other forms of devotion, whatsoever they may
be, lead up to it, and in it find their point of rest. In this
mystery more than in any other that gracious invitation and still
more gracious promise of Christ is realized and finds its daily
fulfillment: 'Come to me all ye that labor and are heavily
burdened, and I will refresh you' (St. Matt. xi., 28)." (Pope
Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"Christ,
our Head, has long since ascended beyond the clouds; the Church,
flowing with delights and leaning upon her Beloved, is continually
going up after Him from this desert-land (Cant. viii. 5); one or
another of His members, our brethren, is every moment going in, to
complete the number of guests at the heavenly and eternal and new
Passover; and as each one goes in, Jesus says: 'This now is bone
of My bones, and flesh of My flesh'; for all these are then united
to Him as the bride to her Spouse, for they are but one body. It
is the Eucharist which has produced this marvelous capability of
perfect union between the members and their divine head. This
union will not be manifested till the day of glory: but it is here
below, under the shadow and cloud of faith, that the Eucharist is
thus transforming the elect into Christ, that is, into eternal
union with Him, so as to make one body." (Liturgical Year)
"O
precious and wonderful banquet! Health-giving, and replete with
every sweetness! For what can possibly be more precious than this
banquet?... What more wonderful than this sacrament? For, in it,
bread and wine are substantially changed into the Body and Blood
of Christ: and, therefore, Christ, perfect God and Man, is
contained under the species of a little bread and wine. He is,
therefore, eaten by the faithful, but not lacerated: nay, when the
Sacrament is divided, he remains whole, under each particle of the
division. But the accidents subsist in the same, without a
subject, in order that there may be room for faith, inasmuch as
the visible is invisibly taken, being hid under a species not its
own; and the senses are kept free from deception, for the judge of
accidents, (which are the only things) known by them." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"Again,
there is no sacrament more health-giving than this, in which sins
are wiped away, virtues are increased, and the mind is made rich
with the abundance of all spiritual gifts. It is offered, in the
Church, for the living and the dead; that what was instituted for
the salvation of all, may profit all. Finally, no one can
adequately express the sweetness of this Sacrament, by which
spiritual sweetness is tasted in its very source: and remembrance
is solemnly made of that most perfect charity evinced by Christ in
his Passion. Wherefore, in order that the immensity of this
charity might the more deeply be impressed on the hearts of the
faithful, it was at the Last Supper, when, having celebrated the
Pasch with his disciples, he was about to pass out of this world
unto his Father, that he instituted this Sacrament, and left it as
the perpetual memorial of his Passion, the fulfillment of the
ancient figures, the greatest of the miracles done by him, and the
special consolation to them that were to be sad because of his
absence." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"The
Holy Communion is the principal and indispensable weapon of the
Christian in his spiritual combats with the infernal powers; it is
because they either do not receive Holy Communion, or receive it
badly, or too seldom, that the devils are terrible to the frail
children of Adam. As soon as a Christian [a Catholic] nourishes himself with
the bread of the strong, as [a saint] remarks, all is
changed; that Christian returns from the Holy Table 'like a lion,
inflamed with Divine ardor, terrible to the demons,' and what wonder? That Christian
marches to battle clothed not only with the armor furnished by
Jesus Christ but with Jesus Christ Himself! Hell may, doubtless,
in its fury, assail him with desperate rage at the very moment
when he receives his God; that has been seen, and is seen every
day. But hell shall not enslave him. 'He who Communicates well,
does all well,' further said St. Vincent de Paul. Yes, he who
communicates well, that is to say, frequently and worthily, shall
count his steps by victories; he shall keep the treasure of the
holy and glorious liberty of the children of God, and his last
struggle with hell shall be a splendid triumph." (Fr.
Delaporte)
"To
know with an entire faith what is the excellence of the Most Holy
Eucharist is in truth to know what that work is which, in the
might of His mercy, God, made man, carried out on behalf of the
human race. For as a right faith teaches us to acknowledge and to
worship Christ as the sovereign cause of our salvation, since He
by His wisdom, His laws, His ordinances, His example, and by the
shedding of His blood, made all things new; so the same faith
likewise teaches us to acknowledge Him and to worship Him as
really present in the Eucharist, as verily abiding through all
time in the midst of men, in order that as their Master, their
Good Shepherd, their most acceptable Advocate with the Father, He
may impart to them of His own inexhaustible abundance the benefits
of that redemption which He has accomplished. Now if any one will
seriously consider the benefits which flow from the Eucharist he
will understand that conspicuous and chief among them all is that
in which the rest, without exception, are included; in a word it
is for men the source of life, of that life which best deserves
the name." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"But
the source and chief of all these gifts is the venerable
Eucharist, which not only nourishes and sustains that life the
desire whereof demands our most strenuous efforts, but also
enhances beyond measure that dignity of man of which in these days
we hear so much. For what can be more honorable or a more worthy
object of desire than to be made, as far as possible, sharers and
partakers in the divine nature? Now this is precisely what Christ
does for us in the Eucharist, wherein, after having raised man by
the operation of His grace to a supernatural state, he yet more
closely associates and unites him with Himself. For there is this
difference between the food of the body and that of the soul, that
whereas the former is changed into our substance, the latter
changes us into its own; so that St. Augustine makes Christ
Himself say: 'You shall not change Me into yourself as you do the
food of your body, but you shall be changed into Me' (confessions
1. vii., c. x.).. Moreover, in this most admirable Sacrament, which
is the chief means whereby men are engrafted on the divine nature,
men also find the most efficacious help towards progress in every
kind of virtue. And first of all in faith." (Pope Leo XIII,
"Mirae Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"Moreover
there is another twofold fruit which we may and must derive from
this great [Eucharistic] Sacrifice. The heart is saddened when it
considers what a flood of wickedness, the result - as We have said
- of forgetfulness and contempt of the divine Majesty, has
inundated the world. It is not too much to say that a great part
of the human race seems to be calling down upon itself the anger
of heaven; though indeed the crop of evils which has grown up here
on earth is already ripening to a just judgment. Here then is a
motive whereby the faithful may be stirred to a devout and earnest
endeavor to appease God the avenger of sin, and to win from Him
the help which is so needful in these calamitous times. And they
should see that such blessings are to be sought principally by
means of this [Eucharistic] Sacrifice. For it is only in virtue of
the death which Christ suffered that men can satisfy, and that
most abundantly, the demands of God's justice, and can obtain the
plenteous gifts of His clemency. And Christ has willed that the
whole virtue of His death, alike for expiation and impetration,
should abide in the Eucharist, which is no mere empty
commemoration thereof, but a true and wonderful though bloodless
and mystical renewal of it." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"For
the edge of that longing for happiness which is so deeply rooted
in the hearts of all men from their birth is whetted even more and
more by the experience of the deceitfulness of earthly goods, by
the unjust violence of wicked men, and by all those other
afflictions to which mind and body are subject. Now the venerable
Sacrament of the Eucharist is both the source and the pledge of
blessedness and of glory, and this, not for the soul alone, but
for the body also. For it enriches the soul with an abundance of
heavenly blessings, and fills it with a sweet joy which far
surpasses man's hope and expectations; it sustains him in
adversity, strengthens him in the spiritual combat, preserves him
for life everlasting, and as a special provision for the journey
accompanies him thither. And in the frail and perishable body that
divine Host, which is the immortal Body of Christ, implants a
principle of resurrection, a seed of immortality, which one day
must germinate. That to this source man's soul and body will be
indebted for both these boons has been the constant teaching of
the Church, which has dutifully reaffirmed the affirmation of
Christ: 'He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day' (St.
John vi., 55)." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis",
1902 A.D.)
"[O]ur
Lord said (John 6:50): 'This is the bread which cometh down from
heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die': which
manifestly is not to be understood of the death of the body.
Therefore it is to be understood that this sacrament preserves
from spiritual death, which is through sin... Sin is the spiritual
death of the soul. Hence man is preserved from future sin in the
same way as the body is preserved from future death of the body:
and this happens in two ways. First of all, in so far as man's
nature is strengthened inwardly against inner decay, and so by
means of food and medicine he is preserved from death. Secondly,
by being guarded against outward assaults; and thus he is
protected by means of arms by which he defends his body. Now this
sacrament preserves man from sin in both of these ways. For, first
of all, by uniting man with Christ through grace, it strengthens
his spiritual life, as spiritual food and spiritual medicine,
according to Psalm 104:15: '(That) bread may strengthen man's
heart.' Augustine likewise says [to those who will receive
worthily] (Tractatus 26 in Joannis):
'Approach without fear; it is bread, not poison.' Secondly,
inasmuch as it is a sign of Christ's Passion, whereby the devils
are conquered, it repels all the assaults of demons. Hence
Chrysostom says (Hom. 46 in Joannis): 'Like lions breathing forth
fire, thus do we depart from that table, being made terrible to
the devil.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"But
that decay of faith in divine things of which We have spoken is
the effect not only of pride, but also of moral corruption. For
if it is true that a strict morality improves the quickness of
man's intellectual powers, and if on the other hand, as the maxims
[even] of pagan philosophy and the admonitions of divine wisdom combine
to teach us, the keenness of the mind is blunted by bodily
pleasures, how much more, in the region of revealed truths, do
these same pleasures obscure the light of faith, or even, by the
just judgment of God, entirely extinguish it. For these pleasures
at the present day an insatiable appetite rages, infecting all
classes as with an infectious disease, even from tender years. Yet
even for so terrible an evil there is a remedy close at hand in
the divine Eucharist. For in the first place it puts a check on
lust by increasing charity, according to the words of St.
Augustine, who says, speaking of charity, 'As it grows, lust
diminishes; when it reaches perfection, lust is no more' (De
diversis quaestionibus, lxxxiii., q. 36). Moreover the most chaste
flesh of Jesus keeps down the rebellion of our flesh, as St. Cyril
of Alexandria taught, 'For Christ abiding in us lulls to sleep the
law of the flesh which rages in our members' (Lib. iv., c. ii., in
Joan., vi., 57). Then too the special and most pleasant fruit of
the Eucharist is that which is signified in the words of the
prophet: 'What is the good thing of Him,' that is, of Christ, 'and
what is His beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect and the
wine that engendereth virgins' (Zach. ix., 17), producing, in
other words, that flower and fruitage of a strong and constant
purpose of virginity which, even in an age enervated by luxury, is
daily multiplied and spread abroad in the Catholic Church, with
those advantages to religion and to human society, wherever it is
found, which are plain to see." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
Also
See: The
Holy Eucharist (Gen'l. Info.)
| Holy
Eucharist (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
| Holy
Eucharist / Mass (Basics / Misc.) | The
Holy Eucharist & The Goodness and Love of God | The
Real Presence / Transubstantiation | The
Holy Eucharist (Our Father's Love Reflections)
| Holy
Communion [Pg.] | Frequent
Communion | Necessity
of Receiving the Holy Eucharist | Eucharistic
Adoration / The Eucharist Reserved in the Tabernacle | Reverence
/ Proper Behavior (Mass / Holy Eucharist) | The
Holy Eucharist (Classic Encyclicals) | Holy
Mass / Sacred Liturgy (Classic Encyclicals)
| Latin
Mass / Catholic Tradition | Latin
Mass / Catholic Tradition (Reflections)
| Church
Talk: 'Favorite Roman Catholic Churches'
| Church
Talk Reflections | The
Importance of Being Catholic: Combating Religious Indifferentism / No Salvation
Outside the Church | Mass
/ Holy Eucharist Prayers
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