What is particularly important regarding material substances and their accidental qualities, is the necessity of proceeding cautiously in this discussion, since in the domain of natural philosophy the greatest uncertainty reigns even at the present day concerning the nature of matter, one system pulling down what another has reared, as is proved in the latest theories of atomism and energy, of ions and electrons. WebThe symbols of bread and wine have been used in the Eucharist for centuries. The Church maintains an easier position in the controversy respecting the use of fermented or unfermented bread. Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier. The case is not much better in regard to the parabolical interpretation, which would discern in the pouring out of the wine a mere parable of the shedding of the Blood on the Cross. In addition to strengthening community, frequent communion also strengthens contact with Jesus Christ and allows the faithful to participate in Jesus sacrificial work. For if, as has been seen above, Divine omnipotence can in a supernatural manner impart to a body such a spiritual, unextended, spatially uncircumscribed mode of presence, which is natural to the soul as regards the human body, one may well surmise the possibility of Christs Eucharistic Body being present in its entirety in the whole Host, and whole and entire in each part thereof. The Eucharist is the sacrament of charity or love because it is the re-enactment of the perfect act of love of Christ; namely, His death on the Cross and the Justin, Apol., I, n. 67), as well as to the martyrs, the incarcerated, and the infirm (cf. It was, moreover, not until its comparatively recent adherence in the seventeenth century to the famous Confessio fidei orthodoxa of Peter Mogilas (cf. XIII, c. iii), between the meanings of the words ex vi verborum and per concomitantiam. The Eucharist is a portrayal of the Last Supper; or the last meal that Jesus Christ had with his disciples before he was taken away, and later crucified. The Catechism furthers states that The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being, in other words, no Eucharist, no Church (CCC 1325). The ancient Hydroparastatae, or Aquarians, who used water instead of wine, were heretics in her eyes. This interpretation agrees perfectly with the conduct of the hearers and the attitude of Christ regarding their doubts and objections. WebSignificance of the Eucharist. 
The most that may be said is, that from the Eucharistic Body proceeds a miraculous sustaining power, which supports the appearances bereft of their natural substances and preserves them from collapse. i). as something permanent (cf. The Sacrament of the Altar may be regarded under the same aspects as the other sacraments, provided only it be ever kept in view that the Eucharist is a permanent sacrament [see above I, (4)]. WebThe Eucharist is the memorial of this sacrifice. They continue to hold a deep spiritual significance for Christians around the world. The Churchs Magna Charta, however, are the words of Institution, This is my bodythis is my blood, whose literal meaning she has uninterruptedly adhered to from the earliest times. Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lords Supper, in Christianity, ritual commemoration of Jesus Last Supper with his disciples. xcviii, n. 9). There are two views regarding the sense in which this text is to be interpreted. This article was most recently revised and updated by, The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church. As regards Communion a further distinction must be made between infants and adults. And without further ado He allowed these Disciples to go their way (John, vi, 62 sqq.). 3-73) succeeded in producing no less than forty Syriac expressions conveying the meaning of to signify and thus effectually exploded the myth of the Semitic tongues limited vocabulary. "The Eucharist, the sacrament of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross, is also a sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for the work of creation. Whereas the priest is both by Divine and ecclesiastical right the ordinary dispenser (minister ordinarius) of the sacrament, the deacon is by virtue of his order the extraordinary minister (minister extraordinarius), yet he may not administer the sacrament except ex delegatione, i.e. So the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation sets up a mighty bulwark around the dogma of the Real Presence and constitutes in itself a distinct doctrinal article, which is not involved in that of the Real Presence, though the doctrine of the Real Presence is necessarily contained in that of Transubstantiation. Council of Trent, Sess. its full size, with its complete organization of integral members and limbs, is present within the diminutive limits of the Host and in each portion thereof. During the Protestant Reformation, Swiss Christian leaders Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin rejected the role of the sacraments in obtaining grace. myst. It is, therefore, one of the sacraments of the living. Holy Communion is the most important of all the sacraments. XXI, cap. Thus were condemned as contrary to faith the antiquated view of Durandus, that only the substantial form (forma substantialis) of the bread underwent conversion, while the primary matter (materia prima) remained, and, especially, Luthers doctrine of Consubstantiation, i.e. This childlike disposition had to be reckoned with by Christ, particularly on the eve of His Passion and Death, when He made His last will and testament and spoke as a dying father to His deeply afflicted children. Christ, however, instead of informing His Apostles that he intended to use such a figure, told them rather the contrary in the discourse containing the promise: the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world (John, vi, 52). In its eighth session, approved in 1418 by Martin V, this synod condemned the following articles of Wyclif: (I) Substantia panis materialis et similiter substantia vini materialis remanent in Sacramento altaris, i.e. The deacons were also obliged to transfer the particles that remained to specially prepared repositories called Pastophoria (cf. If, then, the natural, literal interpretation were false, the Scriptural record alone would have to be considered as the cause of a pernicious error in faith and of the grievous crime of rendering Divine homage to bread (artolatria)a supposition little in harmony with the character of the four Sacred Writers or with the inspiration of the Sacred Text. Corresponding to the three kinds of food and the three periods, there are as many dispensersMoses dispensing the manna, the Father nourishing mans faith in the Son of God made flesh, finally Christ giving His own Flesh and Blood. Funk, Der Kommunionritus in his Kirchengeschichtl. For all these reasons, theologians consider the physical reality of the accidents as an incontrovertible truth, which cannot without temerity be called in question. 
Besides, there is considerable force in the theological argument that the fermenting process with yeast and other leaven, does not affect the substance of the bread, but merely its quality. vi). Sancto, III, ii, 79; Augustine, In Ps. If the eye nevertheless seems to behold bread and wine, this is to be attributed to an optical illusion alone. 13), that quantity was not a corporeal substance, but only a phenomenon of substance. In this connection we must restrict ourselves to an examination of the most current and widely known distortions of the literal sense, which were the butt of Luthers bitter ridicule even as early as 1527. We may in fact go a step farther and assert, that the words of Institution constitute the only and wholly adequate form of the Eucharist and that, consequently, the words of the Epiklesis possess no inherent consecratory value. Pope Eugene IV urged the Greeks to come to a unanimous agreement with the Roman faith and subscribe to the words of Institution as alone constituting the sacramental form, and to drop the contention that the words of the Epiklesis also possessed a partial consecratory force. haer., IV, xviii, 4), and Tertullian (De resurr. In the fourth century the Synod of Hippo (393) forbade the practice of giving Holy Communion to the dead as a gross abuse, and assigned as a reason, that corpses were no longer capable of eating. It is an effective commemoration of his death that also makes present the sacrifice on the cross. Not many theologians, however, followed him in this regard, among the few being Ambrose Catharinus, Cheffontaines, and Hoppe, by far the greater number preferring to stand by the unanimous testimony of the Fathers. The old theology tried with St. Thomas Aquinas (III, Q. lxxvii) to prove the possibility of absolute accidents on the principles of the Aristotelean-Scholastic hylomorphism, i.e. Neither of the two suppositions holds in the case of a priest who really intends to celebrate Mass. Exaggerating the Eucharists necessity as a means to salvation, Rosmini advanced the untenable opinion that at the moment of death this heavenly food is supplied in the next world to children who had just departed this life, and that Christ could have given Himself in Holy Communion to the holy souls in Limbo, in order to render them apt for the vision of God. The argument from tradition is supplemented and completed by the argument from prescription, which traces the constant belief in the dogma of the Real Presence through the Middle Ages back to the early Apostolic Church, and thus proves the anti-Eucharistic heresies to have been capricious novelties and violent ruptures of the true faith as handed down from the beginning. Scripture and Tradition, with which is also bound up the infallible magisterium of the Church. In the thirteenth century were introduced, for the greater glorification of the Most Holy, the theophoric processions (circumgestatio), and also the feast of Corpus Christi, instituted under Urban IV at the solicitation of St. Juliana of Liege. The case would be different if the reading were: This is the bread of my Body, the wine of my Blood. (b) In the mind of the Church, Transubstantiation has been so intimately bound up with the Real Presence, that both dogmas have been handed down together from generation to generation, though we cannot entirely ignore a dogmatico-historical development. Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier. In all the languages of the world the expression my body designates a persons natural body, not the mere sign or symbol of that body. WebEucharist (Gr. With utter arbitrariness, doubting whether the words of Institution originated from the mouth of Christ, it traces them to St. Paul as their author, in whose ardent soul something original supposedly mingled with his subjective reflections on the value attached to Body and on the repetition of the Eucharistic banquet. The third and the sharpest controversy was that opened by the Reformation in the sixteenth century, in regard to which it must be remarked that Luther was the only one among the Reformers who still clung to the old Catholic doctrine, and, though subjecting it to manifold misrepresentations, defended it most tenaciously. The custom of the annual Corpus Christi procession was warmly defended and recommended by the Council of Trent (Sess. Yet far from repudiating this construction as a gross misunderstanding, Christ repeated them in a most solemn manner, in the text quoted above (John, vi, 54 sqq.). It is not only that God became man to redeem the world by His death on Calvary. pro Armenis: aqua modicissima), a practice, whose legitimacy the Council of Trent (Sess. Concerning the non-requirement of the twofold species as a means necessary to salvation seeCommunion under Both Kinds. In such a moment of awful solemnity, the only appropriate mode of speech would be one which, stripped of unintelligible figures, made use of words corresponding exactly to the meaning to be conveyed. ix) established under pain of anathema. viii). A new impetus was given to the adoration of the Eucharist through the visits to the Blessed Sacrament (Visitatio SS. For in spite of these words the Disciples severed their connection with Jesus, while the Twelve accepted with simple faith a mystery which as yet they did not understand. WebThe Eucharist is nothing less than Jesus Christ. Other titles are used, such as the Lords Supper (Coena Domini), Table of the Lord (Mensa Domini), the Lords Body (Corpus Domini), and the Holy of Holies (Sanctissimum), to which may be added the following expressions, now obsolete and somewhat altered from their primitive meaning: Agape (Love-Feast), Eulogia (Blessing), Breaking of Bread, Synaxis (Assembly), etc. Both ideas are mutually reciprocal. When the Fourth Council of Lateran (1215), held under Innocent III, mitigated the former severity of the Churchs law to the extent that all Catholics of both sexes were to communicate at least once a year, and this during the paschal season, St. Thomas (III, Q. lxxx, a. Its essence certainly does not consist in the Consecration or the Communion; the former being merely the sacrificial action, the latter the reception of the sacrament, and not the sacrament itself. Doctrine about the Eucharistic sacrament, sacrificial meal and sacrificial food: The Holy Eucharist is a true sacrament, instituted by Christ. Ephes., xx; Ad. 
Lucifer., n. 21), that for want of celebrants they no longer retained the Eucharist. thou hast the words of eternal life. the coexistence of the substance of the bread with the true Body of Christ. (b) The dogmatic interest which attaches to the minister of administration or distribution is not so great, for the reason that the Eucharist being a permanent sacrament, any communicant having the proper dispositions could receive it validly, whether he did so from the hand of a priest, or layman, or woman. earn., viii; De pudic., ix; De orat., xix; De bapt., xvi), and Cyprian (De orat. 
Eminent divines, like Suarez, claim that the Eucharist, if not absolutely necessary, is at least a relatively and morally necessary means to salvation, in the sense that no adult can long sustain his spiritual, supernatural life who neglects on principle to approach Holy Communion. The rite is the memorial of the original sacrifice of Christ. Philosophy distinguishes two modes of presence in creatures: (I) the circumscriptive and (2) the definitive. (Cf. XXII, can. xlix), in which were received the Sacred Hosts that had been consecrated one or more days previously. It is, indeed, one of those sublime mysteries, concerning which speculative theology attempts to offer various solutions [see below under (5)]. We reach the same conclusion from a consideration of the concomitant circumstances, taking into account both the hearers and the Institutor. XIII, can. While even the East recognized the unchangeable principle from the earliest ages, and, in fact, as late as the schismatical Synod of Jerusalem in 1672, the West has furthermore shown an untiring activity in establishing and investing with more and more solemnity, homage and devotion to the Blessed Eucharist. What explanation may, then, be given of the fact? the accidents of the bread do not remain without a subject. ), and especially the Doctor of the Eucharist, Chrysostom [Hom. Here are some of the amazing effects of the Eucharist: 1) Union with Christ: Reception of Jesus in the Eucharist fuses our being with that of Christ. The Holy Eucharist is not merely a food, but a medicine as well. It had become an occasion of drunkenness and gluttony. In consequence, many of His Disciples were scandalized and said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it? (John, vi, 61); but instead of retracting what He had said, Christ rather reproached them for their want of faith, by alluding to His sublimer origin and His future Ascension into heaven. Indeed, in the Eucharist the definition of a Christian sacrament as an outward sign of an inward grace instituted by Christ is verified. But Cardinal De Lugo is of opinion, and justly so, that to deny its possibility might reflect unfavorably upon the Eucharistic multilocation itself. Even in his time Pope Fabian (236-250) made it obligatory to approach the Holy Table three times a year, viz. Nor did Christ say: My flesh is spirit, i, e. to be understood in a figurative sense, but: My words are spirit and life. That the consequence of Transubstantiation, as a conversion of the total substance, is the transition of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, is the express doctrine of the Church (Council of Trent, Sess. Nevertheless a turning-point occurred in his life. The venerable antiquity of the Oriental Epiklesis, its peculiar position in the Canon of the Mass, and its interior spiritual unction, oblige the theologian to determine its dogmatic value and to account for its use. All Christians would agree that it is a memorial action in which, by eating bread Zwingli's understanding of the Eucharist lacks the force and persuasiveness of Thomas Aquinas'. It follows, therefore, that supreme adoration is separately due to the Sacred Host and to the consecrated contents of the Chalice. Descartes had already, in a letter to P. Mesland (ed. ix). dom., xviii; De lapsis, xvi), attest without the slightest shadow of a misunderstanding what is the faith of the Church, while later patristic theology bears witness to the dogma in terms that approach exaggeration, as Gregory of Nyssa (Orat. 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The most that may be said is, that from the Eucharistic Body proceeds a miraculous sustaining power, which supports the appearances bereft of their natural substances and preserves them from collapse. i). as something permanent (cf. The Sacrament of the Altar may be regarded under the same aspects as the other sacraments, provided only it be ever kept in view that the Eucharist is a permanent sacrament [see above I, (4)]. WebThe Eucharist is the memorial of this sacrifice. They continue to hold a deep spiritual significance for Christians around the world. The Churchs Magna Charta, however, are the words of Institution, This is my bodythis is my blood, whose literal meaning she has uninterruptedly adhered to from the earliest times. Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lords Supper, in Christianity, ritual commemoration of Jesus Last Supper with his disciples. xcviii, n. 9). There are two views regarding the sense in which this text is to be interpreted. This article was most recently revised and updated by, The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church. As regards Communion a further distinction must be made between infants and adults. And without further ado He allowed these Disciples to go their way (John, vi, 62 sqq.). 3-73) succeeded in producing no less than forty Syriac expressions conveying the meaning of to signify and thus effectually exploded the myth of the Semitic tongues limited vocabulary. "The Eucharist, the sacrament of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross, is also a sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for the work of creation. Whereas the priest is both by Divine and ecclesiastical right the ordinary dispenser (minister ordinarius) of the sacrament, the deacon is by virtue of his order the extraordinary minister (minister extraordinarius), yet he may not administer the sacrament except ex delegatione, i.e. So the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation sets up a mighty bulwark around the dogma of the Real Presence and constitutes in itself a distinct doctrinal article, which is not involved in that of the Real Presence, though the doctrine of the Real Presence is necessarily contained in that of Transubstantiation. Council of Trent, Sess. its full size, with its complete organization of integral members and limbs, is present within the diminutive limits of the Host and in each portion thereof. During the Protestant Reformation, Swiss Christian leaders Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin rejected the role of the sacraments in obtaining grace. myst. It is, therefore, one of the sacraments of the living. Holy Communion is the most important of all the sacraments. XXI, cap. Thus were condemned as contrary to faith the antiquated view of Durandus, that only the substantial form (forma substantialis) of the bread underwent conversion, while the primary matter (materia prima) remained, and, especially, Luthers doctrine of Consubstantiation, i.e. This childlike disposition had to be reckoned with by Christ, particularly on the eve of His Passion and Death, when He made His last will and testament and spoke as a dying father to His deeply afflicted children. Christ, however, instead of informing His Apostles that he intended to use such a figure, told them rather the contrary in the discourse containing the promise: the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world (John, vi, 52). In its eighth session, approved in 1418 by Martin V, this synod condemned the following articles of Wyclif: (I) Substantia panis materialis et similiter substantia vini materialis remanent in Sacramento altaris, i.e. The deacons were also obliged to transfer the particles that remained to specially prepared repositories called Pastophoria (cf. If, then, the natural, literal interpretation were false, the Scriptural record alone would have to be considered as the cause of a pernicious error in faith and of the grievous crime of rendering Divine homage to bread (artolatria)a supposition little in harmony with the character of the four Sacred Writers or with the inspiration of the Sacred Text. Corresponding to the three kinds of food and the three periods, there are as many dispensersMoses dispensing the manna, the Father nourishing mans faith in the Son of God made flesh, finally Christ giving His own Flesh and Blood. Funk, Der Kommunionritus in his Kirchengeschichtl. For all these reasons, theologians consider the physical reality of the accidents as an incontrovertible truth, which cannot without temerity be called in question. Besides, there is considerable force in the theological argument that the fermenting process with yeast and other leaven, does not affect the substance of the bread, but merely its quality. vi). Sancto, III, ii, 79; Augustine, In Ps. If the eye nevertheless seems to behold bread and wine, this is to be attributed to an optical illusion alone. 13), that quantity was not a corporeal substance, but only a phenomenon of substance. In this connection we must restrict ourselves to an examination of the most current and widely known distortions of the literal sense, which were the butt of Luthers bitter ridicule even as early as 1527. We may in fact go a step farther and assert, that the words of Institution constitute the only and wholly adequate form of the Eucharist and that, consequently, the words of the Epiklesis possess no inherent consecratory value. Pope Eugene IV urged the Greeks to come to a unanimous agreement with the Roman faith and subscribe to the words of Institution as alone constituting the sacramental form, and to drop the contention that the words of the Epiklesis also possessed a partial consecratory force. haer., IV, xviii, 4), and Tertullian (De resurr. In the fourth century the Synod of Hippo (393) forbade the practice of giving Holy Communion to the dead as a gross abuse, and assigned as a reason, that corpses were no longer capable of eating. It is an effective commemoration of his death that also makes present the sacrifice on the cross. Not many theologians, however, followed him in this regard, among the few being Ambrose Catharinus, Cheffontaines, and Hoppe, by far the greater number preferring to stand by the unanimous testimony of the Fathers. The old theology tried with St. Thomas Aquinas (III, Q. lxxvii) to prove the possibility of absolute accidents on the principles of the Aristotelean-Scholastic hylomorphism, i.e. Neither of the two suppositions holds in the case of a priest who really intends to celebrate Mass. Exaggerating the Eucharists necessity as a means to salvation, Rosmini advanced the untenable opinion that at the moment of death this heavenly food is supplied in the next world to children who had just departed this life, and that Christ could have given Himself in Holy Communion to the holy souls in Limbo, in order to render them apt for the vision of God. The argument from tradition is supplemented and completed by the argument from prescription, which traces the constant belief in the dogma of the Real Presence through the Middle Ages back to the early Apostolic Church, and thus proves the anti-Eucharistic heresies to have been capricious novelties and violent ruptures of the true faith as handed down from the beginning. Scripture and Tradition, with which is also bound up the infallible magisterium of the Church. In the thirteenth century were introduced, for the greater glorification of the Most Holy, the theophoric processions (circumgestatio), and also the feast of Corpus Christi, instituted under Urban IV at the solicitation of St. Juliana of Liege. The case would be different if the reading were: This is the bread of my Body, the wine of my Blood. (b) In the mind of the Church, Transubstantiation has been so intimately bound up with the Real Presence, that both dogmas have been handed down together from generation to generation, though we cannot entirely ignore a dogmatico-historical development. Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier. In all the languages of the world the expression my body designates a persons natural body, not the mere sign or symbol of that body. WebEucharist (Gr. With utter arbitrariness, doubting whether the words of Institution originated from the mouth of Christ, it traces them to St. Paul as their author, in whose ardent soul something original supposedly mingled with his subjective reflections on the value attached to Body and on the repetition of the Eucharistic banquet. The third and the sharpest controversy was that opened by the Reformation in the sixteenth century, in regard to which it must be remarked that Luther was the only one among the Reformers who still clung to the old Catholic doctrine, and, though subjecting it to manifold misrepresentations, defended it most tenaciously. The custom of the annual Corpus Christi procession was warmly defended and recommended by the Council of Trent (Sess. Yet far from repudiating this construction as a gross misunderstanding, Christ repeated them in a most solemn manner, in the text quoted above (John, vi, 54 sqq.). It is not only that God became man to redeem the world by His death on Calvary. pro Armenis: aqua modicissima), a practice, whose legitimacy the Council of Trent (Sess. Concerning the non-requirement of the twofold species as a means necessary to salvation seeCommunion under Both Kinds. In such a moment of awful solemnity, the only appropriate mode of speech would be one which, stripped of unintelligible figures, made use of words corresponding exactly to the meaning to be conveyed. ix) established under pain of anathema. viii). A new impetus was given to the adoration of the Eucharist through the visits to the Blessed Sacrament (Visitatio SS. For in spite of these words the Disciples severed their connection with Jesus, while the Twelve accepted with simple faith a mystery which as yet they did not understand. WebThe Eucharist is nothing less than Jesus Christ. Other titles are used, such as the Lords Supper (Coena Domini), Table of the Lord (Mensa Domini), the Lords Body (Corpus Domini), and the Holy of Holies (Sanctissimum), to which may be added the following expressions, now obsolete and somewhat altered from their primitive meaning: Agape (Love-Feast), Eulogia (Blessing), Breaking of Bread, Synaxis (Assembly), etc. Both ideas are mutually reciprocal. When the Fourth Council of Lateran (1215), held under Innocent III, mitigated the former severity of the Churchs law to the extent that all Catholics of both sexes were to communicate at least once a year, and this during the paschal season, St. Thomas (III, Q. lxxx, a. Its essence certainly does not consist in the Consecration or the Communion; the former being merely the sacrificial action, the latter the reception of the sacrament, and not the sacrament itself. Doctrine about the Eucharistic sacrament, sacrificial meal and sacrificial food: The Holy Eucharist is a true sacrament, instituted by Christ. Ephes., xx; Ad. Lucifer., n. 21), that for want of celebrants they no longer retained the Eucharist. thou hast the words of eternal life. the coexistence of the substance of the bread with the true Body of Christ. (b) The dogmatic interest which attaches to the minister of administration or distribution is not so great, for the reason that the Eucharist being a permanent sacrament, any communicant having the proper dispositions could receive it validly, whether he did so from the hand of a priest, or layman, or woman. earn., viii; De pudic., ix; De orat., xix; De bapt., xvi), and Cyprian (De orat. Eminent divines, like Suarez, claim that the Eucharist, if not absolutely necessary, is at least a relatively and morally necessary means to salvation, in the sense that no adult can long sustain his spiritual, supernatural life who neglects on principle to approach Holy Communion. The rite is the memorial of the original sacrifice of Christ. Philosophy distinguishes two modes of presence in creatures: (I) the circumscriptive and (2) the definitive. (Cf. XXII, can. xlix), in which were received the Sacred Hosts that had been consecrated one or more days previously. It is, indeed, one of those sublime mysteries, concerning which speculative theology attempts to offer various solutions [see below under (5)]. We reach the same conclusion from a consideration of the concomitant circumstances, taking into account both the hearers and the Institutor. XIII, can. While even the East recognized the unchangeable principle from the earliest ages, and, in fact, as late as the schismatical Synod of Jerusalem in 1672, the West has furthermore shown an untiring activity in establishing and investing with more and more solemnity, homage and devotion to the Blessed Eucharist. What explanation may, then, be given of the fact? the accidents of the bread do not remain without a subject. ), and especially the Doctor of the Eucharist, Chrysostom [Hom. Here are some of the amazing effects of the Eucharist: 1) Union with Christ: Reception of Jesus in the Eucharist fuses our being with that of Christ. The Holy Eucharist is not merely a food, but a medicine as well. It had become an occasion of drunkenness and gluttony. In consequence, many of His Disciples were scandalized and said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it? (John, vi, 61); but instead of retracting what He had said, Christ rather reproached them for their want of faith, by alluding to His sublimer origin and His future Ascension into heaven. Indeed, in the Eucharist the definition of a Christian sacrament as an outward sign of an inward grace instituted by Christ is verified. But Cardinal De Lugo is of opinion, and justly so, that to deny its possibility might reflect unfavorably upon the Eucharistic multilocation itself. Even in his time Pope Fabian (236-250) made it obligatory to approach the Holy Table three times a year, viz. Nor did Christ say: My flesh is spirit, i, e. to be understood in a figurative sense, but: My words are spirit and life. That the consequence of Transubstantiation, as a conversion of the total substance, is the transition of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, is the express doctrine of the Church (Council of Trent, Sess. Nevertheless a turning-point occurred in his life. The venerable antiquity of the Oriental Epiklesis, its peculiar position in the Canon of the Mass, and its interior spiritual unction, oblige the theologian to determine its dogmatic value and to account for its use. All Christians would agree that it is a memorial action in which, by eating bread Zwingli's understanding of the Eucharist lacks the force and persuasiveness of Thomas Aquinas'. It follows, therefore, that supreme adoration is separately due to the Sacred Host and to the consecrated contents of the Chalice. Descartes had already, in a letter to P. Mesland (ed. ix). dom., xviii; De lapsis, xvi), attest without the slightest shadow of a misunderstanding what is the faith of the Church, while later patristic theology bears witness to the dogma in terms that approach exaggeration, as Gregory of Nyssa (Orat. During the Reformation, though the medieval doctrine was denied in varying ways by the reformers, it was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent in 1551. A eucharistic theology gradually took shape in the apostolic and early church without much controversy or formulation. And rightly so; for just as Christ promised His Flesh and Blood as meat and drink, i.e. The Eucharist has formed a central rite of Christian worship. As has already been mentioned above, the deacons were accustomed in the Early Church to take the Blessed Sacrament to those who were absent from Divine service, as well as to present the Chalice to the laity during the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries (cf. As Christ promised his Flesh and Blood as meat and drink,.! 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