To return to those things, of which the faithful are on no account to be suffered to remain ignorant, the pastor, aware of the awful denunciation of the Apostle against those who discern not the body of the Lord, [1] will first of all impress on the minds of the faithful, the necessity of detaching, as much as possible, their minds and understandings from the dominion of the senses, for were they, with regard to this sublime mystery, to constitute the senses the only tribunal to which they are to appeal, the awful consequence must be, their precipitation into the extreme of impiety. Consulting the sight, the touch, the smell, the taste, and finding nothing but the appearances of bread and wine, the senses must naturally lead them to think, 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 Their minds, therefore, are as much as possible to be withdrawn from subjection to the senses, and excited to the contemplation of the stupendous power of God.
The words The Catholic Church, then, firmly believes, and openly professes that in this Sacrament, the words of consecration accomplish three things; first, that the true and real body of Christ, the same that was born of the Virgin, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, is rendered present in the Holy Eucharist; [2] secondly, that however repugnant it may appear to the dictate of the senses, no substance of the elements remains in the Sacrament; [3] and thirdly, a natural consequence from the two preceding, and one which the words of consecration also express, that the accidents which present themselves to the eyes, or other senses, exist in a wonderful and ineffable manner without a subject. The accidents of bread and wine we see; but they inhere in no substance, and exist independently of any. The substance of the bread and wine is so changed into the body and blood of our Lord, that they, altogether, cease to be the substance of bread and wine.
To proceed in order, the pastor will begin with the first, and give his best attention to show, how clear and explicit are the words of our Saviour, which establish the real presence of his body in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. When our Lord says: "This is my body, this is my blood," [4] no man however ignorant, unless he labours under some obliquity of intellect, can mistake his meaning; particularly if he recollect, that the words " body" and " blood" refer to his human nature, the real assumption of which by the Son of God no Catholic can doubt. To use the admirable words of St. Hilary, a man not less eminent for piety than learning: "When our Lord himself declares, as our faith teaches us, that his flesh is meat indeed, what room can remain for doubt?" [5] The pastor will also ad-
- ↑ 1 Cor. xi. 29.
- ↑ Vide Dionys. de Eccl. Hierarch. c. 3, Ignat. Epist. ad Smyr. Just. Apol. 2, Iren. 1. 4, c. 34, et 1. 5. c. 2. Trid. Sess. 13, c. 1, de Euch.
- ↑ Cypr. de coena domini Euse. Emiss. hom. 5. de Pasch. Cyril. Hycros. Catech. 1. 3 et 4, Ambr. 1. 4, de Sacram. c. 4, Chrysost. hom. 83. in Matt, et 60, ad pop. Antiocli.
- ↑ Matt. xxvi. 28. Mark xiv. 22, 24. Luke xxii. 19.
- ↑ S. Hilar. 1. 8, de Trinitat. super ilia verba velut unura
