The Sacraments

THE SACRAMENTS A DOGMATIC TREATISE BY THE RT. REV. MSGR. JOSEPH POHLE, PH.D., D.,D. FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF APOLOGETICS AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA ADAPTED AND EDITED BY ARTHUR PREUSS VOLUME II The Holy Eucharist SECOND, REVISED EDITION B. HERDER BOOK CO. 17 SOUTH BROADWAY, ST. LOUIS, MO. AND AT 68 GREAT RUSSELL ST., LONDON, W. C. 1917 NIHIL OBSTAT Sti. Ludovici, die 13, Sept. 1917 F. G. Holweck, Censor Librorum IMPRIMATUR Sti. Ludovici, die 15, Sept. 1917 † Joannes J. Glennon, Archiepiscopus Sti. Ludovici Copyright, 1916 by Joseph Gummersbach All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART I. THE REAL PRESENCE CH. I. The Real Presence as a Fact § 1. Proof from Holy Scripture Art. 1. The Promise Art. 2. The Words of Institution § 2. Proof from Tradition Art. 1. Heretical Errors vs. the Teaching of the Church Art. 2. The Teaching of the Fathers Art. 3. The Argument from Prescription CH. II. The Totality of the Real Presence CH. III. Transubstantiation, or the Operative Cause of the Real Presence § 1. Definition of Transubstantiation § 2. Transubstantiation Proved from Holy Scripture and Tradition CH. IV. The Permanence of the Real Presence and the Adorableness of the Holy Eucharist § 1. The Permanence of the Real Presence § 2. The Adorableness of the Holy Eucharist CH. V. Speculative Discussion of the Mystery of the Real Presence § 1. First Apparent Contradiction: The Continued Existence of the Eucharistic Species without their Natural Subject § 2. Second Apparent Contradiction: The Spirit-Like Mode of Existence of Christ’s Eucharistic Body § 3. Third Apparent Contradiction: The Simultaneous Existence of Christ in Heaven and in Many Places on Earth (Multilocation) PART II. THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRAMENT CH. I. Matter and Form § 1. The Matter, or the Eucharistic Elements § 2. The Sacramental Form, or the Words of Consecration CH. II. Sacramental Effects § 1. First and Principal Effect: Union of the Soul with Christ by Love § 2. Second Effect: Increase of Sanctifying Grace § 3. Third Effect: The Blotting Out of Venial Sins and the Preservation of the Soul from Mortal Sins § 4. Fourth Effect: The Pledge of Man’s Glorious Resurrection and Eternal Happiness CH. III. The Necessity of the Holy Eucharist for Salvation § 1. In What Sense the Holy Eucharist is Necessary for Salvation § 2. Communion Under One Kind CH. IV. The Minister of the Holy Eucharist § 1. The Minister of Consecration § 2. The Minister of Distribution CH. V. The Recipient of the Holy Eucharist § 1. Objective Capacity § 2. Subjective Worthiness PART III. THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE, OR THE MASS CH. I. The Existence of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass § 1. The Notion of Sacrifice Explained Art. 1. Definition of Sacrifice Art. 2. Different Kinds of Sacrifice § 2. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Proved from Scripture and Tradition Art. 1. The Old Testament Art. 2. The New Testament Art. 3. The Argument from Prescription Art. 4. The Argument from Tradition CH. II. The Nature of the Mass § 1. The Physical Essence of the Mass Art. 1. The Mass in its Relation to the Sacrifice of the Cross Art. 2. The Consecration as the Real Sacrificial Act § 2. The Metaphysical Essence of the Mass Art. 1. Some Unsatisfactory Theories Regarding the Metaphysical Essence of the Mass Art. 2. Acceptable Theories Regarding the Metaphysical Essence of the Mass CH. III. The Causality of the Mass § 1. The Effects of the Sacrifice of the Mass § 2. In What Manner the Mass Produces its Effects INDEX INTRODUCTION 1. NAMES.—No other mystery of the Catholic religion has been known by so many different names as the Holy Eucharist, considered both as a Sacrament and as a Sacrifice. These names are so numerous that the Church’s entire teaching on this dogma could be developed from a mere study of them. They are derived from Biblical events, from the sacramental species, from the effects produced by the Sacrament, from the Real Presence, and from the sacrificial character of the Mass. a) The names “Eucharist” (εὐχαριστία, gratiarum actio),1 “Blessing” (εὐλογία, benedictio), and “Breaking of Bread” (κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου, fractio panis) are of Scriptural origin. The first two occur in the Evangelical account of the Last Supper; the third goes back to the synoptics and St. Paul, and to certain expressions in the Acts of the Apostles. “Blessing” and “Breaking of Bread” are now obsolete terms, whereas “Eucharist” has remained in common use in the liturgy and in theological treatises since the time of St. Irenaeus. None of these three expressions exactly describes the nature of the Sacrament. Awe and reverence for the unfathomable mystery, together with the discipline of the secret (disciplina arcani), were responsible for them. The titles “Last Supper” (sacra coena, δεῖπνον ἅγιον), “Lord’s Supper” (coena Domini, κυριακόν δεῖπνον),2 and their poetical synonyms “Celestial Banquet” (prandium coeleste), “Sacred Banquet” (sacrum convivium), etc., which have a special relation to holy Communion, may likewise be traced to Sacred Scripture. b) “Sacrament of the Bread and Wine” (sacramentum panis et vini), “Bread of Heaven” (ἄρτος ἐπουράνιος), and such kindred appellations as “Bread of the Angels” (panis angelorum) and “Eucharistic Bread,” are derived from the visible species. St. Paul speaks of the Holy Eucharist as “that bread”3 and “the chalice of benediction.”4 Far from misrepresenting the Sacrament or denying the dogma of Transubstantiation, these expressions are in accord with our Lord’s own way of speaking, for He calls Himself the “bread which cometh down from heaven.”5 c) The principal effect of the Holy Eucharist is expressed in the name “Communion” (communio, ἕνωσις, κοινωνία), i. e. union with Christ, union of love. Present usage, however, restricts this term almost entirely to the reception of the Sacrament, as is apparent from such locutions as “to go to Communion,” “to receive holy Communion,” etc. The same is true of “Viaticum,” a name used to designate the Blessed Sacrament with special reference to the dying. “Agape” (ἀγάπη, Love Feast)6 and “Synaxis” (σύναξις, Assembly) are now obsolete and occur only in theological treatises. d) Of special importance for the dogma of the Real Presence are those names which express the nature of the Sacrament. The Holy Eucharist, though according to its external species a “Sacrament of Bread and Wine,” is in reality the “Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ” (sacramentum corporis et sanguinis Christi) or, simply, “the Body of the Lord” (corpus Domini), or “the Body of Christ” (corpus Christi). This explains such expressions as “Sanctissimum,” “Holy of Holies,” etc. e) The popular designation “Sacrament of the Altar” was introduced by St. Augustine. It points particularly to the sacrificial character of the Eucharist, indicating not only that as the body of Christ it is reserved on the altar, but more especially that it is a true sacrifice offered at the Mass. The traditional title “Eucharistia,” which appears in writings of authors as ancient as SS. Ignatius of Antioch, Justin, and Irenaeus, has in the technical terminology of the Church and her theologians taken precedence of all 1 Not bena gratia, as St. Thomas thinks. 2 Cfr. 1 Cor. 11:20. 3 1 Cor. 11:28. 4 1 Cor. 10:16. 5 Cfr. John 6:50 sqq. 6 Cfr. H. Leclercq, art. “Agape” in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. I; Keating, The Agape and the Eucharist in the Early Church, London 1901; E. Baumgartner, Eucharistie und Agape im Urchristentum, Solothurn 1909. others, especially since the Council of Trent. The Roman Catechism is almost alone in preferring “Sacrament of the Altar.” The name “Table of the Lord” (mensa Domini, τράπεζα Κυρίου) was formerly applied to the altar on which the Eucharistic sacrifice was offered; later it came to be used of the sacrifice itself, and still later of the communion railing. “To approach the Table of the Lord,” in present-day parlance, means to go up to the communion rail to receive the Blessed Sacrament. The original and deeper meaning of the phrase, viz.: to participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice, is no longer familiar to the people. The same is true of the word “Host” (hostia), which originally meant the sacrificial victim (θυσία), but is now applied also to unconsecrated wafers. The current name for the Eucharist as a sacrifice is “Sacrifice of the Mass” (sacrificium missae), or, briefly, “Mass” (missa). 2. THE POSITION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST AMONG THE SACRAMENTS AND MYSTERIES OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION.—The commanding dignity of the Holy Eucharist is evidenced by the central position which it occupies among the Sacraments and by the intimate connection existing between it and the most exalted mysteries of the faith. a) Though closely related to the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and in a special class with them because of the kindred concepts of regeneration, puberty, and growth (food),7 the Holy Eucharist, by reason of its unique character, far transcends all the other Sacraments. It is the “sacramentum sacramentorum” because it contains and bestows, not only grace, but the Author of grace Himself. “The Sacrament of the Eucharist,” says St. Thomas, “is the greatest of all sacraments; first because it contains Christ Himself substantially, whereas the others contain a certain instrumental power, which is a share of Christ’s power; … secondly, … all the other Sacraments seem to be ordained to this one as to their end; … thirdly, … nearly all the Sacraments terminate in the Eucharist.”8 The first of these reasons is founded on the Real Presence; the second, on the fact that Baptism and Confirmation bestow the right to receive Holy Communion:—Penance, and Extreme Unction make one worthy to receive it; Holy Orders imparts the power of consecration; while Matrimony, as an emblem of the union between the mystical Christ and His Church, also symbolizes the union of love between Christ and the soul.

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