148 Christ " corn as dying for us; Bread as feeding us. Righteousness might look He elsewhere says, that He down from heaven, i. e, that Himself is the Bread of men might be justified by Life, which cometh down the Divine grace, Truth was from Heaven, that a man born of the Virgin Mary, may eat thereof and not die;' that to justify them, He that the Bread which I will might be able to offer a Sa- give is My Flesh which I { crifice, the Sacrifice of the will give for the life of the Passion, the Sacrifice of the world.' Our Lord, by using Cross, and how could He these images, points out the offer a sacrifice for our sins connexion. The seed-corn, unless He died? How die, which is His Flesh, gives unless He took on Him life by its death; as bread, flesh? How take flesh, un- again, His Body, it nouless Truth sprang out of the rishes to Life eternal; and earth?' For the earth of that Body unites together human flesh,' says St. Leo 6, the various grains to which 'which had been cursed in it gave birth; 'for we", the first offender, in this being many, are one bread, only birth of a blessed Vir- one body, for we are all gin, yielded a shoot of bless- partakers of that one Bread.' edness, separate from the So again, this one image fault of its stock.' pourtrays to us the mys

"This corn-seed, which terious connexion between He sowed, was His own the Body of Christ, which Body, His Flesh, which He is His Flesh, and the Body took to offer as a Sacrifice, of Christ, which is the dying for us in It. And so Church, and how, by parit becomes the more im- taking of that Body, we ourpressive, as connected with selves become what we parthe Holy Mysteries, how take of. Having said,' says

"One

6 Serm. 4, in Nat. Dom. c. 3, quoting both places, as do interpreters quoted by S. Jerome. 1. 13 ad Is. init.“that they rain on the world the Righteous or Righteousness, and the earth open and bear (germinet) a Saviour." S. Cyril ad loc. 1. iv. Or. ii. may say that Mercy and Righteousness springing or shooting forth from the earth is our Lord Himself Jesus Christ. For He was made to us of God the Father, Mercy and Righteousness.-But Christ brought not down to us from above or from heaven His flesh, but rather was born, according to the flesh, of a woman, which is one of the things upon the earth."

7 1 Cor. x. 17.

1

Mention of Bread and Wine in Old Testament prophetical. 149

9

St. Chrysostom 8, the Com- | for gladdening man's munion of the Body, He heart,' either by themselves, sought again to express or together with that other something nearer; For we, symbolic gift, oil, prepares being many, are one bread, us to look for some meanone body.' For why speak ing beyond our earthly I of communion?' saith he; nourishment. Why this · we are that self-same food, and this alone, so sebody.' For what is the lected, unless as a hidden bread? the Body of Christ: prophecy of the Bread of and what do they become Life everlasting? The lower who partake of it? the Bo- sense is not, indeed, exdy of Christ: not many cluded by the higher; for bodies, but one body. For the type containeth the orias the bread, consisting of ginal in itself, although in many grains, is made one, outline only, in that bread so that the grains no where and wine and oil are gifts of appear; they exist indeed, God, and from Him derive but their difference is not their powers to strengthen seen, by reason of their con- and refresh. Yet this conjunction; so are we conjoin- nexion teaches us how we ed, both with each other and ought in the type to recogwith Christ; there not being nize the original; take our one Body for thee and another for thy neighbour to be nourished by, but the very same for all.'

daily bodily bread as the image of that Bread which endureth to everlasting life;' and, in the thanksgiving "But what light does this of the Psalms, thank God reality of correspondence be- for that Bread' also 'which tween the process in nature came down from Heaven.' and the Gift of Grace cast This mystical meaning of on the sacramental charac- 'bread' is further pointed out ter of the Old Testament! in the Psalms themselves, The very frequency of the in that the Manna, whose mention of bread and wine spiritual character was SO as the chief gifts of God pointed out, is called 'An

8 Hom. 24. in 1 Cor. ad loc. p. 327, 328, Oxf. Tr.

9 Of this joy, doubtless, that also is to be understood, "Eat thy Bread with joy, and drink thy Wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment."-Eccl. ix. 7. S. Jer. ad loc.

150 Spiritual meaning of Bread and Wine the most literal. gels' bread,' the corn of spiritual refreshment. He heaven.' (Ps. lxxviii. 24, forceth us in a measure,' 25.) What a richness of says St. Augustine 3, 'to meaning then do the Psalms understand of what Bread shed around us, when we He speaketh. For that visiunderstand the Bread ble bread strengtheneth brought forth out of the the stomach and belly; it earth' to be the 'grain of is another Bread which Corn' of which Himself strengtheneth the heart, spake', and 'the wine that because It is the Bread of gladdeneth man's heart, the the heart.' As, in another oil which maketh his face Psalm, amid the mention to shine, and bread which of the light of God's counstrengtheneth man's heart,' tenance' and the sleep in to be that highest strength- Him, it says, "Thou hast ening and gladdening of put gladness in my heart the heart of man,-strength from the time their corn, which abideth, joy when He and wine, and oil increased;' seeth us again and our heart in such a context, not surely shall rejoice, and our joy no mere earthly gifs, but, as man taketh from us, and has been said, 'Now do the oil of the Comforter we abound with blessed which maketh the face' of fruits, which the Sacrament the soul to shine 2. And of the Church and the unity this meaning, when we see of peace minister to us as it, is the more literal too. the image of everlasting For although to 'strengthen fruits. For this Sacrament the heart' may, by a figure, of our common hope is mean to 'refresh and com- pointed out under the names fort the frame,' and is so of bodily and common used, yet most exactly, as things, which they who well as fully, it bespeaks know [It] will understand.

6

1 "What Bread? Christ." S. Aug. in loc. 2 S. Cyril. Lect. 22. fin. p. 272. Oxf. Tr.

·

3 Ad loc. See S. Ambr. de fide iii. 15. § 127. de Cain. i. 5. § 19 et al. S. Cyr. Al. in Os. 14. 7 et al. S. Jerome ad Ezek. 1. 1. fin. Nothing so strengtheneth the heart of him who eateth, as the Bread of Life, of which it is written, And bread strengtheneth man's heart." Add in Matt. xxvi. 26. 4 S. Hilar. in Ps. cxxi. [cxxii.] 6. Jerusalem et abundantia diligentibus Te."

"Rogate quæ ad pacem sunt

Prov. ix. Hos. ii. Joel ii. Zech. ix. Ps. xxii. 151

Of which abundance the promised, when God should same prophet speaketh in have mercy on her that had another Psalm. • Thou not obtained mercy (Hos. ii. hast put gladness in &c.' 22, 23, and Joel ii. 19, 24, 26), By this abundance of peace or the corn and new wine,' and of the Sacrament, is whereby, when the King of that blessed peace pre- the daughter of Zion should pared for, and that un- come, her young men and failing and eternal abund- her maidens' should 'grow' ance of heavenly goods.' (Zech. ix. 17, 1); no So when Wisdom inviteth other the Bread of which to her feast, 'Come, eat of the Psalm which delineates my bread, and drink of the to us His Passion, and opens wine which I have mingled,' with His Cry on the Cross, it is an anticipation of the and foretells that He should parable of the Marriage- draw all men unto Him, Feast, to which He, Who is tells us the " poor shall eat the Wisdom of God, invit- and be satisfied,' with which eth, not merely to the bless- God shall satisfy the poor' ings of the Gospel gene- of the Church 7, yea, rich rally, but to His Bread, the and poor together;' as the Bread which He giveth. same Psalm says, all the 'What more excellent than mighty of the earth have Christ, Who in the Feast of eaten and worshipped; bethe Church both ministers fore him bend all the dwelland is ministered?' No ers of the dust, and no man other is the corn and wine' hath quickened his own wherewith Isaac'sustained' soul;' living and dead are Jacob (Gen. xxvii. 37), and alive in His sight and own gave him therewith the bless- His Kingdom; the living ing of Abraham. No other worship, those in the dust is the corn, wine, and oil' are bowed; yet the living

5 S. Ambr. de Cain i. 5. § 19. Add in Luc. 1. vi. § 53. "The Heavenly Bread is the Word of God. Thence also that Wisdom which hath filled the all-holy altars with the food of the Divine Body and Blood, saith 'Come,' &c., &c."

6 Ps. xxii. 26.

7 Ps. cxxxii. 15. S. Aug. ad loc. "God Himself is the Bread. The Bread, that it might become infant nourishment, milk to us, came down to the earth and said, 'I am the living Bread.""

8 In this clause is used (as Stier has observed ad loc. i. 254), which, (although not exclusively, as Ps. xcv. 6, where words ex

152

Ps. lxxx. Isa. lv. Cant. v. 1.

live not of themselves, but fat of the wheat' wherewith

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3

by that Bread of which men He feeds His people 1; no eat, and worship' the Lord; other 'the wine 2, which of which they who have every one who thirsteth' eaten and been filled, con- is bid to buy and eat 3; fess the mercy of that im- buy without money,' inmortal food, and worship as stead of that which is not God, Him Who supplies it,' bread,' or the wine whereof 'that Bread which He giveth He drank in the garden of for the life of the world, the Church, and biddeth, whereof a man shall eat and eat, oh friends, drink not die.' No other is the abundantly, oh beloved1; '

pressive of worship are accumulated) occurs rather of "constrained obedience," Ps. lxxii. 9, Is. xlv. 23, which is so quoted Rom. xiv. 11; and referred to Phil. ii. 10, where unwilling submission of things under the earth is included, as it is here. like 11277 (Is. xxxviii. 18. Ez. xxvi. 20. xxxi. 14. xxxii. 18. Ps. i. 12. Ps. xxviii. 1. xxx. 4. lxxxv. 5. cxliii. 7) is not merely "they that go down into the dust," but rather "they that are gone down," the actually dead, lit. "the descenders of the pit," i. e. those who have so descended.

9 Theod. ad loc.

1 Ps. lxxx. 16. S. Aug. ad. loc. "Ye know the 'fat of wheat,' wherewith many of His enemies who have lied unto Him, are fed." S. Jer. ad Is. lv. i. " which 'fat' signifieth no other than the mystical flesh," whence S. Cyril interprets, the LXX. σréap, ib. of the body of Christ.

2 Is. lv. i. S. Ambr. de El. et jej. i. 10. init. S. Jer. et S. Cyril Al. ad loc. "For they who drink the living water, i. e. have been enriched with the grace of the Spirit through partaking of it, and have bought it by faith, shall partake also of the wine and wheat, i. e. the Holy Body and Blood of Christ." On the wine and milk, united also in Cant. v. 1, St. Ambrose so comments: 66 Thou shalt drink wine and milk, i. e. with brightness and sincerity, either because simplicity is pure, or because that grace is spotless, which is received for the remission of sins, or because He feeds little ones with the breasts of His consolations, that, weaned in joys, they may grow up to the fulness of perfect age." de Cain et Abel, i. 5. § 19.

3 Wondrous is it that they buy waters without money, and drink them not, but eat. For He is both the Water and the Bread which came down from Heaven." S. Jer. ad loc. 4 Cant. v. 1. S. Jer. in Am. fin. "This is that wine of Sorec, whose wine we drink daily in the mysteries," in Os. xiv. 5, 6. "Or because our Lord Himself is our corn and wine, whoever believeth in Him is said to be inebriated." Theod. ad loc. "Thy wine,' for this is the true Vine, whence this wine is produced." Add S. Amb. de myst. fin. S. Cyril in Os. xiv. 7.