Pars i. p. 418.—“God forbid, that I should say any thing amiss of these men (priests) who, succeeding the Apostles in their ministry, make the body of Jesus Christ with their sacred mouth.”[1] Ep. 1. ad Heliod. Ibid. p. 10.—“After the typical passover was accomplished, and Christ had eaten the lamb with his Apostles, he takes the bread, which comforteth the heart of man, and passes to the true sacrament of the passover ; that as Melchisedec, priest of the high God, in prefiguring him, had done, offering bread and wine, Christ also should make present the truth of his body and blood.”[2] Comment. in Matt. c. 26. Ibid, p. 128.
St. GAUDENTIUS OF BRESCIA.[3] L. C. Speaking of the paschal lamb among the Jews, and the manner in which it was distributed, he says: “ Of all the things pointed out in the book of Exodus, we shall at present treat of those only which cannot be explained before the Catechumens, but which, nevertheless, it is necessary to discover and explain to the newly-baptized.[4] In the shadows and figures of the ancient pasch, not one lamb, but many were slain; for each house had its sacrifice; because one victim could not suffice for all the people; and also because the mystery was a mere figure, and not the reality of the passion of the Lord. For
- ↑ Christi corpus sacro ore conficunt
- ↑ Ut quomodo in praefiguratione ejus Melchisdec, summi Dei sacerdos, panem et vinum offerens fecerat, ipse quoque veritatem sui corporis et anguinus repraesentaret. See Perpétuiteé del la Foi, T. ii. L. c. v.
- ↑ He was ordained Bishop of Brescia, in Italy, by St. Ambrose, towards the close of the fourth century; but the time of his death is not known. His works are comprised in nineteen discourses or sermons, from the second of which the above extract is taken, written in a plain and easy style.
- ↑ Here is a direct proof that the famous Secret, kept by the Christians, as well from the Catechumens, as from the unbelievers, positively concealed the mysteries, revealed to the newly-baptized; viz. the real presence and the change of substance in the Eucharist. The same is also proved from the passages quoted above from St. Cyril, St.Gregory, and St. Ambrose.
