:

Jesus Christ said to His disciples and to the Jews: "I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread which I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world. The Jews, therefore, debated among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.”* This magnificent promise was soon accomplished. On the very night on which He was about to be delivered up to His enemies, Jesus Christ wished to give those whom He had loved, the greatest, the most august testimony of His love, and He instituted the adorable Eucharist. After having eaten with His Apostles the paschal lamb, He takes bread, and having given thanks, He blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: "This is my body which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me. In like manner the chalice also, after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you."

Thus, my Brethren, our divine Saviour, making use of His sovereign power, changed the bread into His body, and the wine. into His blood, and thus gave himself to men as their spiritual food. "Take ye and cat," said He to His disciples, "this is my body; take ye, and drink; this is my blood." Our blessed Lord can not like men, deceive; He is the God of truth; if therefore, He solemnly declares to His Apostles that His body is really present, who will dare henceforth to doubt it? And since He says: "This is my blood," who will have the effrontery to say this is not His blood? No, my Brethren, let us not say with the incredulous Jews: "This is a hard saying, and who can hear it?" But let us with St. Peter, exclaim: "Lord, thou hast the words of eternal life;" let us captivate our minds to the sweet yoke of Jesus, -let us hear and believe the word of the Son of God made man.

* St. John, vi: 51–55.

+ St. Luke, xxii: 19, 20.

By Him the heavens and the earth were created,-were made out of nothing: surely, the same Almighty power can easily cause one substance to be changed into another. Nothing is impossible to God; He can therefore cause the bread and the wine to be changed into His flesh and blood. Can we doubt it, my Brethren, when we consider that every day He changes the bread that we eat into our flesh and blood? The Son of God says: "This is my body, this is my blood." Let us repress the pride of our weak intellect,―let us believe and adore.

"Our Saviour added: "Do this in commemoration of me." Words of unspeakable love, which, by giving to His Apostles and their successors in the priesthood the power of renewing what the Man-God had just accomplished, bequeathed to us forever the heritage of His body and blood. Here then we find the priest invested with the power of our divine Saviour; he speaks in the name of Jesus, he says over the bread and the wine: "This is my body, this is my blood," and immediately the whole substance of the bread is changed into the flesh of the Son of God,—the whole substance of the wine is changed into His blood, and the same Jesus who was born of the Virgin Mary, who died for us on the cross, who rose again the third day triumphantly from the tomb, who sits at the right hand of God the Father, descends on our altars and is present under the appearances of bread and wine. He is whole and entire in the sacred host and in the chalice; and when the species are separated, or when they are divided, He is present, whole and entire under each of the species, and under the smallest part of the species of the bread, as well as under the smallest part of the species of the wine.

I say, my Brethren, and such is the faith of the infallible Church of Jesus Christ, that our divine Saviour is whole and entire under the species of the bread,-whole and entire under the species of the wine, as He is whole and entire at the right hand of God, His Father. It is true, by the words of consecration, His body becomes present under the species of bread, and His blood under the species of wine; but because Jesus Christ liveth, and after having risen from the dead, He dieth now no more; because the blood of a living man can not be separated from his body; and because his body and his blood can not be separated from his soul,

it follows that wherever the body of the Saviour is, there also is His blood; that wherever His blood is, there also is His body; that wherever His body and His blood are, there also is His soul and finally, as the divine Word is united personally to this body and this soul, so the divinity of Jesus Christ must also be necessarily present both under the species of the bread and under the species of the wine. What a wonderful prodigy, my Brethren! How deserving of our gratitude! Where are we?" exclaims St. Chrysostom. "Heaven has nothing, absolutely nothing beyond what the earth has. The earth has become a new heaven! Behold Jesus, whole and entire, lives among us. The God of glory, of sanctity and of majesty dwells with the children of men, and we have the happiness of being able to adore Him in His tabernacle!" Jesus is really, truly and substantially present in the Sacrament of His love, and He abides there under the appearances of bread and wine, to be for those who worthily receive Him the food which imparts eternal life,-the bread of angels,-a pledge of immortality.

"This is my body, this is my blood;" Thou hast pronounced these words, O Jesus, my bountiful Saviour! and we believe them with our whole hearts and with our whole souls. We praise Thee, we adore Thee in this august Sacrament, in this prodigy of love, which Thou hast given us on the eve of Thy cruel death. Thou didst wish to dwell with us, because Thou lovest us, because Thou wouldst not leave us orphans, alone and abandoned to the dangers of this miserable life. Thou, who, while on earth, didst go about doing good, still desirest to shower down upon us Thy graces and benedictions; Thou condescendest to be the nourishment of our souls, because Thou wishest us to vanquish our enemies, to overcome temptation and advance with a firm step in the ways of salvation. My God, we will often come to lay the homage of our faith and adoration at the foot of Thy holy tabernacle; we will frequently come to partake of Thy body and blood, that we may receive consolation and grace, strength and courage to do good, to fulfill Thy holy will and attain heaven; for Thou hast said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood shall have eternal life.". AMEN.

31

SERMON LXXIV.

EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE

EUCHARIST.

"If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.”—ST. JOHN, vi: 52. I TOLD you, in our last instruction, what faith teaches, concerning the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. You are convinced, no doubt, that this august mystery is truly the abridgment of all the wonders wrought by the Man-God, and the grandest evidence which He could have given of the love He bears to us. Assuredly, your hearts are full of gratitude for the astonishing blessings which the divine Word has bestowed upon you. But your gratitude will be still more lively, and your love more fervent, when you shall have heard explained the salutary effects which the adorable Eucharist produces in the souls of those who approach it duly prepared.

The first effect which the holy Communion produces, is to unite us intimately with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The bread which you daily eat, is united to your flesh, it becomes your flesh and makes part of your being. Our Saviour deigns to give himself to us, under the appearance of bread, because He wishes that His flesh should become our flesh, and that His blood should become our blood; because, in a word, He wishes to unite himself to us, to be incorporated with us. "I am," says He, "the living bread, which came down from heaven . . . For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abides in me, and I in him." "O man," exclaims St. Chrysostom, "Consider the honor which you receive when you come to the table of the Lord! You there eat Him whom the angels can contemplate only with fear and trembling; you are united to Him,-you become one and the same flesh with Him,-one and the same body, as the bread which you eat becomes your flesh and body." What do I say? No; in the holy Communion, the body and blood of Jesus Christ are not

changed into our substance, but it is we who are transformed into Him, He gives us as it were, a new being,-a new life, and makes us in a manner partakers of His divine nature! Well therefore may we say with the Apostle: "I live; no, it is not I who live, but it is Jesus Christ, who lives in me;" He communicates to me His Spirit and makes me live with His divine life! Oh, my Saviour! what return shall I make for so much bounty,-for so much love? Thou art prodigal of thyself, -Thou givest me Thy body and blood! Thou givest me thyself, whole and entire! I wish also to give myself entirely to Thee. I wish to belong to Thee without division and without reserve. Thou desirest to unite thyself to me, that I should be one and the same substance with Thee,-that Thy flesh should be my flesh,-that Thy blood should be my blood: be it so, my blessed Lord; let Thy heart be my heart, let Thy soul be my soul, let Thy will be my will,-let me be united to Thee, in heart and soul, now and forever. But, Oh my God, shall I be faithful to this holy resolution? I can be, for the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist will support and strengthen me in charity,-in the life of grace.

Without doubt, the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as is clear from its institution, does not of itself confer the grace which blots out mortal sin, and by which man from being a sinner becomes justified; for this Sacrament supposes sanctifying grace in those who receive it. As material bread is intended only to support the life of living bodies, and would be of no use to those that are dead, so the bread of angels profits only those who live already the spiritual life, who enjoy the friendship of God, and in whom sanctifying grace dwells. If in this happy state, you go to receive the adorable Eucharist, our divine Saviour, having come as food into your souls, does not abide there without acting; He gives you a new increase of grace,-He fortifies you,-strengthens you in His love, and enables you to lead a Christian, pious and holy life; for He has said: "as the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me,"* that is to say, he will lead a life of meekness, humility, patience and charity, a life full of virtues, and rich in good works.

John, vi: 58.