XXII, cap. The first of these articles contains an open denial of Transubstantiation. No doubt, too, Christ adhered unconditionally to the Jewish custom of using only wheaten bread in the Passover Supper, and by the words, Do this for a commemoration of me, commanded its use for all succeeding times. Finally He turned to His twelve Apostles with the question: Will you also go away? Then Peter stepped forth and with humble faith replied: Lord, to whom shall we go? Since according to St. Pauls teaching (Rom., viii, 1) there is no condemnation for those who have been baptized, every child that dies in its baptismal innocence, even without Communion, must go straight to heaven. This general and fundamental principle, which entirely abstracts from the duality of the species, must, nevertheless, be extended to each of the species of bread and wine. The Council of Trent met these widely divergent errors of the Reformation with the dogmatic definition, that the God-man is truly, really, and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, purposely intending thereby to oppose the expression vere to Zwinglis signum, realiter to Oecolampadiuss figura, and essentialiter to Calvins virtus (Sess. But in particularizing upon the dogma, we are naturally led to the further truth, that, at least after the actual division of either Species into parts, Christ is present in each part in His full and entire essence. Eccl., VI, xliv). We reach the same conclusion from a consideration of the concomitant circumstances, taking into account both the hearers and the Institutor. Thanks to Melanchthons pernicious and dishonest double-dealing, this attractive intermediary position of Calvin made such an impression even in Lutheran circles that it was not until the Formula of Concord in 1577 that the crypto-Calvinistic venom was successfully rejected from the body of Lutheran doctrine. ii: manentibus dumtaxat speciebus panis et vini). Indeed, in the Eucharist the definition of a Christian sacrament as an outward sign of an inward grace instituted by Christ is verified. 
The first occasion for an official procedure on the part of the Church was offered when Berengarius of Tours, influenced by the writings of Scotus Eriugena (d. about 884), the first opponent of the Real Presence, rejected both the latter truth and that of Transubstantiation. Emery, Paris, 1811), expressed the opinion, that the identity of Christs Eucharistic with His Heavenly Body was preserved by the identity of His Soul, which animated all the Eucharistic Bodies. Rising as it were out of a dense fog and laboring to take on a definite form, the incomplete eschatological explanation would make the Eucharist a mere anticipation of the future heavenly banquet. Scripturally considered, the necessity of a special priesthood with the power of validly consecrating is derived from the fact that Christ did not address the words, Do this, to the whole mass of the laity, but exclusively to the Apostles and their successors in the priesthood; hence the latter alone can validly consecrate. This is my body, the Apostles received from the hand of the Lord His Sacred Body, which was already objectively present and did not first become so in the act of partaking. The simplest treatment of the subject was that offered by the Schoolmen, especially St. Thomas (III, Q. lxxvi, a. St. Cyril of Alexandria (Hom.
And rightly so; for just as Christ promised His Flesh and Blood as meat and drink, i.e. Such a miracle might be assumed to have occurred in the conversion of St. Paul before the gates of Damascus, when Christ in person said to him: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? So, too, the bilocation of saints, sometimes read of in the pages of hagiography, as, e.g., in the case of St. Alphonsus Liguori, cannot be arbitrarily cast aside as untrustworthy. The permanence of Presence, however, is limited to an interval of time of which the beginning is determined by the instant of Consecration and the end by the corruption of the Eucharistic Species. In regard to the persons concerned, we distinguish between the minister of the Eucharist and its recipient or subject. Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier.
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In its multifarious wanderings from the old beaten path, being consistently forced with the denial of Christs Divinity to abandon faith in the Real Presence also, modern criticism seeks to account for the text along other lines. ), and especially to the deep symbolical meaning contained in the mingling, inasmuch as thereby are represented the flowing of blood and water from the side of the Crucified Savior and the intimate union of the faithful with Christ (cf. Epiphanius, De hwr., xlix, 79); and in the Middle Ages the Albigenses and Waldenses ascribed the power to consecrate to every layman of upright disposition. Take, for instance, the Epiklesis of the Ethiopian Liturgy: We implore and beseech Thee, O Lord, to send forth the Holy Spirit and His Power upon this Bread and Chalice and convert them into the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Since this prayer always follows after the words of Institution have been pronounced, the theological question arises, as to how it may be made to harmonize with the words of Christ, which alone possess the consecratory power. Holy Communion is the most important of all the sacraments. If the act of conversion is not to become a mere process of substitution, as in sleight-of-hand performances, the terminus ad quem must unquestionably in some manner newly exist, just as the terminus a quo must in some manner really cease to exist. xiv). In a closer logical analysis of Transubstantiation, we find the first and fundamental notion to be that of conversion, which may be defined as the transition of one thing into another in some aspect of being. Although Catholic theologians developed new ways to interpret the mystery of the sacrament of the Eucharist in the period after Vatican II, the doctrine of transubstantiation remains the fundamental understanding of all Catholics. The Eucharist has formed a central rite of Christian worship. Not only have the Fathers, and among them Chrysostom with special vigor, defended in theory the permanence of the Real Presence, but the constant practice of the Church has also established its truth. XIII, can. Haer., IV, xvii, 5; IV, xviii, 4; V, ii, 2), Tertullian (De resurrect. There are two views regarding the sense in which this text is to be interpreted. And this teaching of the Council of Trent has ever been and is now the unwavering position of the whole of Catholic Christendom. The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eucharist, Christianity.com - What is the Eucharist? Now, the glorified Christ, Who dieth now no more (Rom., vi, 9), has an animate Body through whose veins courses His lifes Blood under the vivifying influence of the soul. From this troubled fountain-head the words of Institution first found their way into the Gospel of St. Luke and then, by way of addition, were woven into the texts of St. Matthew and St. Mark. It is easy to prove that in the case of infants Holy Communion is not necessary to salvation, either as a means or as of precept. Neither supposition is correct. 4) namely, the example of Christ, the aptitude of unleavened bread to be regarded as a symbol of the purity of His Sacred Body, free from all corruption of sin, and finally the instruction of St. Paul (I Cor., v, 8) to keep the Pasch not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 086 079 7114 [email protected]. But by reason of a natural concomitance (per concomitantiam), there becomes simultaneously present all that which is physically inseparable from the parts just named, and which must, from a natural connection with them, always be their accompaniment. Omissions? Ex., xxiv, 8; Heb., ix, 11 sqq.). Matt., xxvi, 27 sq. It matters little what the terms are, provided the things signified by them are rightly understood. Against the Greeks it suffices to call attention to the historical fact that in the Orient the Maronites and Armenians have used unleavened bread from time immemorial, and that according to Origen (In Matt., XII, n. 6) the people of the East sometimes, therefore not as a rule, made use of leavened bread in their Liturgy.
The seven sacraments are baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, marriage and holy orders.
The Thomists and some later theologians, it is true, reject this kind of multilocation as intrinsically impossible and declare bilocation to be nothing more than an apparition without corporeal presence. But is it not of even greater antiquity?
However the Sacrament of Sacraments is the Holy XIII, can. Christ: Holy Communion is a re-presentation of Gods love for the world in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Calvinists, therefore, are perfectly right when they resect the Lutheran doctrine of Consubstantiation as a fiction, with no foundation in Scripture. myst., iv, 2 sqq. Eucharist (Gr. These words form, not a theoretical, but a practical proposition, whose essence consists in this, that the objective identity between subject and predicate is effected and verified only after the words have all been uttered, not unlike the pronouncement of a king to a subaltern: You are a major, or, You are a captain, which would immediately cause the promotion of the officer to a higher command. The case assumes a different aspect, when wholly external contrary propositions, relating to position in space, are used in reference to the bilocated individual. When the Arians accused St. Athanasius (d. 373) of sacrilege, because supposedly at his bidding the consecrated Chalice had been destroyed during the Mass which was being celebrated by a certain Ischares, they had to withdraw their charges as wholly untenable when it was proved that Ischares had been invalidly ordained by a pseudo-bishop named Colluthos and, therefore, could neither validly consecrate nor offer the Holy Sacrifice. From this it follows conclusively that the Catholic dogma must be much older than the Eastern Schism under Photius. On the other hand, the synecdoche is plain in the case of the Chalice: This is my blood, i.e. The necessity of wheaten bread is deduced immediately from the words of Institution: The Lord took bread (ton arton), in connection with which it may be remarked, that in Scripture bread (artos), without any qualifying addition, always signifies wheaten bread. Whereas in mere changes one of the two extremes may be expressed negatively, as, e.g., in the change of day and night, conversion requires two positive extremes, which are related to each other as thing to thing, and must have, besides, such an intimate connection with each other, that the last extreme (terminus ad quem) begins to be only as the first (terminus a quo) ceases to be, as, e.g., in the conversion of water into wine at Cana. Harnack [Texte and Untersuchungen, new series, VII, 2 (1891), 115 sqq. Christ is really present in the Holy Eucharist, even when not being received. viii; Sess. In some denominationsthe Anglican and Lutheran among themthe Eucharist is one of two sacraments (baptism is the other). Fortunately, however, the Greeks can be shown the error of their ways from their own writings, since it can be proved, that they themselves formerly placed the form of Transubstantiation in the words of Institution. St. Pauls earliest record of the ordinance in his first letter to the Corinthians, written about 55 ce, suggests that some abuses had arisen in conjunction with the common meal, or agap, with which it was combined. vi) and Innocent XI (February 12, 1679) had already emphasized the permissibility of even daily Communion. (c) Though Holy Communion does not per se remit mortal sin, it has nevertheless the third effect of blotting out venial sin and preserving the soul from mortal sin (Council of Trent, Sess. (a) The study of the first problem, viz. On the contrary, He continues His Eucharistic Presence even in the consecrated Hosts and Sacred particles that remain on the altar or in the ciborium after the distribution of Holy Communion. Zwingli stated that the Eucharist facilitates the appearance of Christs spiritual presence to the believer. 17, 25), and this practice was observed until Communion under both kinds was discontinued. Tertullian, Ad uxor., II, v; Cyprian, De lapsis, xxvi) or upon long journeys (Ambrose, De excessu fratris, I, 43, 46), while the deacons were accustomed to take the Blessed Sacrament to those who did not attend Divine service (cf. Now, neither from the nature of the case nor in common parlance is bread an apt or possible symbol of the human body. ), favors the literal interpretation. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed (John, vi, 54-56). Every sacrament may be considered either in itself or with reference to the persons whom it concerns. ; Hom. The Eucharist being a permanent sacrament, and the confection (confectio) and reception (susceptio) thereof being separated from each other by an interval of time, the minister may be and in fact is twofold: (a) the minister of consecration and (b) the minister of administration. But when the Greeks, not without foundation, pleaded that a dogmatic decision would reflect with shame upon their whole ecclesiastical past, the ecumenical synod was satisfied with the oral declaration of Cardinal Bessarion recorded in the minutes of the council for July 5, 1439 (P.G., CLXI, 491), namely, that the Greeks follow the universal teaching of the Fathers, especially of blessed John Chrysostom, familiarly known to us, according to whom the Divine words of Our Redeemer contain the full and entire force of Transubstantiation. "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. ix, de poenit., 1], to whom may be added the Latin Fathers, Hilary (De Trinit., VIII, iv, 13) and Ambrose (De myst., viii, 49; ix, 51 sq.). This may be adduced both from the words of promise (John, vi, 26 sqq.) Being true bread, the Host must be baked, since mere flour is not bread. The majority of theologians rightly respond to the query by saying, that neither the species themselves nor the Body and Blood of Christ by themselves, but the union of both factors constitute the moral whole of the Sacrament of the Altar. The distinction made between these two modes of presence is important, inasmuch as in the Eucharist both kinds are found in combination. Concerning the Syriac Fathers, see Th. Nothing hinders our interpreting the first part [John, vi, 26-48 (51)] metaphorically and understanding by bread of heaven Christ Himself as the object of faith, to be received in a figurative sense as a spiritual food by the mouth of faith. As regards Communion a further distinction must be made between infants and adults. The investigation into the precise nature of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, whose existence Protestants do not deny, is beset with a number of difficulties. For all these reasons, theologians consider the physical reality of the accidents as an incontrovertible truth, which cannot without temerity be called in question. If the eye nevertheless seems to behold bread and wine, this is to be attributed to an optical illusion alone. Here let it be remarked at the outset, that the Holy Eucharist does not per se constitute a person in the state of grace as do the sacraments of the dead (baptism and penance), but presupposes such a state. 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.).
I Peter, ii, 5), that every layman was qualified, as the appointed representative of the faithful, to consecrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Migne, P.L., CXLIII, 775), in which he referred to the Scriptural fact, that according to the three Synoptics the Last Supper was celebrated on the first day of the azymes and so the custom of the Western Church received its solemn sanction from the example of Christ Himself. of Bekker, p. 1029, a. The marvel does not substantially increase, if by reason of the breaking of the Host, the two parts A and B are now completely separated from each other. WebThe Eucharist has always been one of the most important aspects of Christianity. And yet it is clear that no parallelism can be discerned between the aforesaid expressions and the words of Institution; no real parallelism, because there is question of entirely different matters. 086 079 7114 [email protected]. In the deposit of faith the Real Presence and the Permanence of Presence are so closely allied, that in the mind of the Church both continue on as an undivided whole. The idea of conversion is amply realized if the following condition is fulfilled, viz., that a thing which already existed in substance, acquires an altogether new and previously non-existing mode of being. The Eucharist was originally celebrated every Sunday, but by the 4th century it was celebrated daily. This, the only reasonable conception, finds its Scriptural verification in the fact, that St. Paul (I Cor., xi, 27, 29) attaches the same guilt of the body and the blood of the Lord to the unworthy eating or drinking, understood in a disjunctive sense, as he does to eating and drinking, understood in a copulative sense. Lastly, we have the commune tertium in the unchanged appearances of bread and wine, under which appearances the pre-existent Christ assumes a new, sacramental mode of being, and without which His Body and Blood could not be partaken of by men. The ancient Hydroparastatae, or Aquarians, who used water instead of wine, were heretics in her eyes. Modern philosophy, on the other hand, has endeavored since the time of John Locke, to reject altogether from the realm of ideas the concept of substance as something imaginary, and to rest satisfied with qualities alone as the excitants of sensation, a view of the material world which the so-called psychology of association and actuality is trying to carry out in its various details. Why is the sacrament of the Eucharist the most important? Through the celebration of the Eucharist, we are joined to Christ's sacrifice and receive its inexhaustible benefits. So live, that you may receive every day. From the tenth to the thirteenth century, the practice of going to Communion more frequently during the year was rather rare among the laity and obtained only in cloistered communities. Webmass of the holy chrism of the diocese of paranaque at the cathedral parish of st. andrew 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). It is not only that God became man to redeem the world by His death on Calvary. ), who, in the most vigorous language, brands the unworthy recipient as guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. Among Baptists, for example, the practice of close communion has restricted the ordinance to those who are baptized properlyi.e., as adults upon a profession of faith. There is but one means of rendering a symbol improperly so called clear and intelligible, namely, by conventionally settling beforehand what it is to signify, as, for instance, if one were to say: Let us imagine these two pieces of bread before us to be Socrates and Plato. 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. In spite of the principles just laid down, the question might be asked, if the Blessed Sacrament could not at times per accidens free the communicant from mortal sin, if he approached the Table of the Lord unconscious of the sinful state of his soul. 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. Justin, Apol., I, n. 67), as well as to the martyrs, the incarcerated, and the infirm (cf. the metamorphosis of insects) or supernatural (e.g. as something permanent (cf. that of London in September, 1908, have all contributed to keep alive faith in Him Who has said: behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world (Matt., xxviii, 20). The Tradition of Communion from the Lord's Supper, Eternal Word Television Network - The Holy Eucharist, Lords Supper - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). If, then, the words of Jesus are to be taken figuratively, it would appear that Christ had promised to His enemies eternal life and a glorious resurrection in recompense for the injuries and persecutions directed against Him.