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NOTICES OF THE PRESS, Etc.
Tea Holt Mass : The Saciiflce for the Living and the Dead. The Clesn Oblation Offered Up among the Nations IVoni the Rising to the Setting of the San. By Michael MlUIer, Priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. New York and dn- ciunati : Fr. Pastet, Printer to the Holy Apostolic See, 1874.
New ToEK, Jnly S3, 1874.— Dear Father MQller : I talce great pleasure in adding my commendation to the many others which have already been given of yonr excel- lent book on the Holy Mass. I sincerely hope that it will hare the widely exteoded circolation which it to well deserves.
With best wishes, I remain, rer. dear sir, yonrs tmly in Xto,
John, Abp. qfNtw York.
[Fnm the " CatkoUe World,'* March, 1874.]
This la a work written in the tme spirit of St Alphonsns. It la not a reprint of the work entitled •*The Blessed Bacharist. Onr Greatest Treasure/' by the same aathor. but an entirely new treatise. Us theology is sound and solid, its spirit most devout, and its style simple and popular. It is surprising that so hard>working a priest as Father Muller lias been able to write so many exoellent and ediiying books, in a langoige, too, which is to him a foreign tongue. Every pious Catholic who reada this book will be charmed with it, and wUl find it most instructive and prcrfitable. We are hH»py to be able to give it our unqualified commendation, and to recommend it in the most earnest manner to all the fldthftil, as well as to Protestants who are seeking for the truth.
[Prom the ** OaihoUc Betriew/' January 17th, 1874.]
Fathke Mttujok, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, has done many things to recommend him to the Catholic public, but of all his works we suspect hia latest book. The Hotff Mau (Pustet, New York and Cincinnati), wiU be the most use- ful and the most popular. It is difflcnlt, where so many have written so well and so eloquently of this theme, suggestive of the noblest eloquence of the human heart, to write over aix hundred pages, not one of which is vranting in the deepest interest, or is devoid of the most valuable information. Father Muller has done this. His book — ss such books slways ought to be— has been submitted to the censorship of an ap- proved theologian, and on his report it has received the trnprimatmr of the Most Reverend, the Archbishop of New Tork. From that report we very cheerftally make the following extract, premising that It is firom the pen of a very eminent clergyman, wholly competent to discharge the important duty of examining and recommending such a book :
*• I have read with much pleasure and with great edification your admirable book on the holy sacrifice of the Mass. I feel confident that both the clergy and the laity will hail with delight the pnbboation of this book as a great God-send. Every lealoua priest who has been in the ministry and observed the lukewarmness of so many in regard to attending at Mass, must have folt a strong desire to see a work like tha present published in the ^g"gM«»» language.
•* Catholics are taught and believe this great mystery of love ; but many, though they believe, do not realize sufficiently what it is they believe. They have not thought much upon it They have not penetrated its depths. Their knowledge la
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enperficlal. and their devotion consequently cold. And this, for many reasons, fa Iterticnlarly the case in this conntry. Here we have immense congregations and few priests, and they loaded down with the building of churches, schools, and a variety of work which has been already done in other countries. The people often are either out of reach of the Church or struggling for the means of living, and, therefore, have grown careless, and tailed to receive the instruction which they require. Hence there Is need, and great need, of all means of instruction which can be brought to bear, and good books on the grand doctrines of religion are calculated to do an im- mense amount of good.
" Conversant as you are with the religious condition of our country, and the spirit- ual wants of the English-speaking Catholics, you have fkilly comprehended your task of making the treatise on the sublime dogma of the Mass both attractive and edifying to them. I have found the matter solid, well-digested, and instructive, and the style simple, earnest, and full of unction. The volume has nothing of the cold and dry system that makes religion among us so often a thing of duty more than of love. Deep thoughts in plain words, doctrinal sublimities in language so simple that a child without effort may understand. In it we find, together with all the motives that tend to draw our souls towards Jesus, our perpetual Victim at Mass, a glowing record of miracles, revelations, and wondrous graces obtained through faith in, and love of our dear Lord in His own Divine Bacriflco. Such legends, appropriately selected as illustrations of the text, are profitable unto edification, as the way of teaching by example is much more compendious, as woU as much more impressive than by word or writing.
'* It f 8 refreshing Indeed, to find in our cold, utilitarian age and country, a work issued f^m the press so taM of Catholic life, and so glowing with the fire of Gatholio love. I think It even more necessary, more useful, more devotional, more beautiftil, more attractive, more charming, more sound and solid, and more valuable and inter- esting, than your book The Blessed Eucharist, our Greatest Treasure, that has done so much good, and Is liked so much by pious souls. It is not for me to tell how beauti- ful your book on the Mass is. To appreciate it, it must be read. It ia. Just the book one will ei^joy in quiet and slow perusal, in a silent and devout church, before the Holy Tabernacle. It wUl undoubtedly receive an extensive sale, and all pastors of souls who promote its circulation in their parishes will soon perceive in their churches the great good produced by its diligent perusal.
" I wish to say to every Catholic, buy the book. No matter how great a sinner you are, the hope of speedy relief is pointed out to you here ; no matter how weak and discouraged you are, the way to strengthen you is shown here ; no matter how dear the privilege is to you of hearing Mass, it will become doubly dear after reading this book. To the rich I would say, buy two copies and give one to your poor brother, that he. too, may taste the sweetness of its thoughts ; his prayers and blessings will well repay you for the trifling expenditure. To all men and women, to young and old, I would say : spare yourself some unnecessary article of dress and ouy this book ! Every single page of it is worth the price of the volume. To one and all I nay, buy this inestimable book on the Holy Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead« * the Clean Oblation offered up among the nations from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.' I can find no language adequate to express my admiration for this work on account of the incalculable good it will undoubtedly produce. We are certainly living in terrible, most anti-Christian time, when even greater trials may be expected. To whom sball we go ? Surely to Him whom we have known and be- Ueved— to His most Sacred and Adorable Heart daily sacrificed and offered up lor ua in the Mass.
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** Oh 1 for » Utile more derotion among oar people towards Jesna in the moat Holj Saorifloe. How much we all feel the want of it I How mach we inatinctlTely deplore the lonelineaa of our churches on weekdays, the aolitods to which our Sarioar u ccmdemned in the Mystery of His Love I
** Tour magnificent work on this most snblime snhject is certainly cakmlated to In* dace rery many to hare recourse not only on Sunday, but also on the other days of the week, to that inexhaustible source of all graces— to the Divine Heart of Jesus in the Mass, so little loved because so little known. I wish it were in my power to place a copy of your work in the hands of every Catholic who can read the English language ; and I hope it will be translated into all modem tongues, and come to the knowledge of every human soul on earth. May the angels carry it to the hands, minda. and hearts of all."
[^VoM Brownam't Beview, April, 1874].
This is a most excellent book, and though on a sutiject on whidi originality can hardly be expected, doea great credit to the lUth, the piety, and the learning of its reverend author. It is written with simplicity, eloquence, and unction, and we can- not too warmly recommend it to the &ithfUL The Holy Mass is the central fkct of Oatholic worship.
IFrom the New York TdbleU January 31st, 1874].
This new work of the le»ned Bedemptorist who has already made so many valu- able contributions to the Catholic literature of our day, may be considered as the crowning effort of his finith-inspired genius. It is lovingly dedicated ** To the Most Sacred and Adorable Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, in Beparation, Thanksgiving, and Love." It is truly a great book, one of the greatest yet given to the world in any language on the Eucharistic Sacrifice. It consists of forty-eight chapters, the first of which is an introductory one, serving as prefiMe to the book. Now, numy people may suppose that books enough had already been written on the Mass, and that Uttle remained at thia time to be said or written about it, at least, little that had not been said or written before. A tery cursory examination of Father Mnller^s book wUl convince them of their error. It is true that many books have been written on the Holy Mass— quite recently, one by Father Sullivan, an excellent one, as fkr ss it goes— but this of Father Mnller's contains a great amount of highly interesting information, historical and otherwlae, never before brought together. It is not only an admirable treatise on the Mass, but a carefblly and elegantly written history of the Great Sacrifice of the New Law, presenting it to the reader, not alone in its dry doctrinal form, but with all the beantiftil surroundings of the loving wor- ship of all iUthftil generations, the wonders it has wrought, uid still does work on that earth, whose sublime act of homage to its Creator it is; in short, all the gran- deur, all the glories, all the benefits to mankind of this wonderful, life-giving, all- sustaining sscrifloe. But the reader will be better able to Judge what the nature ot this great work is, ttom the headings of the chapters, which are as follows: The WonderAd Promise of Qod— The Wonderf^ Gift of God— A Wonderfbl Means of Awakening Faith in the Beal Presence— A Wonderful Manifestation of the Beal Pres- ence—The Wonderfhl Effects of the Blessed Sacrament in Nicola Au^ry— Further Wonderful Manifestations of the Beal Preaenoe— The Sacrifice before the Coming of Christ— The Sscrifloe of the New Law— Mass applies to us the Merits of Christ— Mass, the Benewal of the Mysteries of the Life of Christ— Mass. the Renewal of tlM
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iDcarnaUon— Mut. the Benewal of ChrUt'i Life in the Womb of W^tj—Mmm, tho Renewal of the Birth of Christ— Mass, the Benewal of the Life of Christ— Mass, tho Benewal of Ood's Wondrous Works— Mass. the Benewal of Christ's Passion— Mass, the Benewal of Christ's Besurrection— Mass, the Benewal of the Virtues of Christ- Mass, a Sacrifice of Adoration and Infinite Praise— Mass. a Sacrifice of Propitiation — Mass, a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving— Mass, a Sacrifice of Impretration— Mass. the Hope oi the Dying— Mass Propitiatory for the Dead— Mass. the Joy of the Blessed Virgin— Beverence and Devotion at Mass— Why Catholics Mast Hear Mass— How to Hear Mass— How to Hear Several Masses at Once— The Dignity and Sanctity of the Mass^- Satan's Hatred for the Mass- Why Mass is Celebrated in Latin— The Honorary of Mass— The Use of Ceremonies— The Use of Sacred Vestments— Low Mass— Solemn High Mass— Lights and Incense— Music at High Mass— The Use of Holy Water before High Mass— How and Why Catholics Build Churches— The Love of Ood. It will be seen that the pious and learned author has left no point untouched, no aspect of tha great Eacharistic Sacrifice unpainted. His work will undoubtedly become a stand- ard one amongst Catholics, and it is Just the one to put in the hands of non-CatboUce who may desire information on that great centre of Catholic doctrine.
[From the •• New fork TaJblei," February 7th, 1874.]
Familiarity with the greatest persons, with ^he most sacred and holy things, if it does not actually beget irreverence, at least produces carelessness, sometimes in- difference, if those who are brought in contact with what is reverent and holy are not continually reminded of the treasure which they possess, of the awful presence in which they stand. So true is this that what is in reality only the weakness of fiiUen humanity seems almost a necessary law. And in nothing is this exemplified more strikingly than in the conduct of believers toward the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
Perhaps the easiest thing in this world for men to forget is their Ood. ExirutnivU temetipium pro nobii. He has emptied Himself for us : the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity left the bosom of the Father, to be one of us. to assume human flesh, dwell among us, and abide with us until the end in the blessed and adorable Sacra- ment of the Altar. And where are we, what are wo doing, how do we appreciate this gift of Ood?
To bring these thoughts more forcibly before our weak human minds, forever straying from the highest good and wasting themselves on puny delights, to draw failing hearts nearer to the only source of strength, to surround the earthly throne of Ood with his children— such seems to have been the aim of Father Muller's ex- cellent work.
In a simple but fordblo manner that approves itself equally to the theologian and the well-instructed child. Father Muller exhausts, so to say, an exhaustless subject :— The Holy Mau. It certainly is by far the completest work, It may be said the only oue of its kind, that has yet appeared on this subject in the English language. Pro- testants who have not lost the old phrase introduced with the Beformation of " the mummeries of the Mass," would do well to read Father Muller's book. In the earlier portion the author explains the nature of taerific€, how inherent it is in the nature of mui, whether he bo Christian or Pag%n, Oentile or Jew. The distinctions between the sacrifices of the Old Law and the New are dwelt upon and elucidated. ■howlDg the necessary imperfections in the one and tho perfection of the other^ Which is in itself infinite, and the fulfilment of " the wonderful promise of Ood.*
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for whose »ccomplIthment the pAtrUrohs «nd propheti sighed. No smsU spsce is devoted to the history of many mirsculoiu msnifeststions of the Beal Presence in ' the Blessed Sscnunent of the Altar, which will be found of absorbing Interest. The jihspters on <'The WonderM Gift of God " and the "Means of awakening Faith in the Beal Presence," are profoundly instructive. The bulk of the book is naturally devoted to the Mass itself, what it is, what it means, what it effects, what Our Bleesed Lord is doing every day, every moment of the day, even all the world over. The ChristiMi who reads cannot fail to be moved, to feel his eye open to the standing miracle of Ood's Presence before him, and to cry out with the mother in the story •t the opening of the book — '* Why have I known Thee too late I "
Not the least useful part of Father Muller's book is the frequency with which he quotes the early Fathers on the Mass, showing the line of tradition stretching down to the very time of the Apostles, and the SaiDts, and martyrs of the first few centuries, speaking, reverencing, and writing on the Holy Mass as do we Catholics to-day. Their words glide in so naturally and imperceptibly that the reader is apt to take it as a matter of course, and lose sight of the full knowledge of his subject, the care and research thus displayed by the author. He also makes excellent use of Protestant writers on the same subject, and such authors as Henry Yin., and Dr. Ifortin Luther are made to do admirable service to the cause of truth in the hands of Father Muller.
The dosing chapters are excellent : the explanation of "The Use of Ceremonies," ** Sacred Vestments," " Lights and Incensn," ** Music," " Holy Water," " Why Mass is Celebrated in Latiu," "High Mass." and " Low Mass." Something of this kind was ▼ery much needed, a simple explanation of matters that to strangers are so inexplica- ble, but that, when set forth, are so natural and easy of comprehension. Father Muller has done his work thoroughly ; not a point has he left untouched, and he has laid the great mass of Catholics under serious obligation to him in writing this book. It is not merely a most excellent devotional work which will find its own way into the Catholic flunily, but it is full of knowledge, real power, and extensive reading, while displaying on every page that ardent spirit of devotion to Our Blessed Lord and his Most Holy Mother, which one expects to find in a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Bedeemer, and a child of St. Alphonsus. The ImprinuUur of the Archbishop of New York is sufficient on all doctrinal points. As a specimen of the author's strong, simple style, and an index of the tone and aim of the book, the following, taken almost at hap-hazard, may be selected firom the chapter " How to Hear Mass," p. 440 :
'*Does the fire that consumed the holocaust begin to smoulder? If so, the Catholic knows how to rekindle it at the perpetual Sacrifice of the Mass ; he returns to the altar where the burning fire of the love of God is kept up. As the blood returns ftom the extremities of the body to the heart whence it first set out, to start afresh, heated and purified, in order to carry to the members heat and life, in like manner does the Adorable Sacrifice of the Mass, the focus of heat and spiritual life, operate In the moral body of the Catholic Church. Yes. It is even here, to this Enoharistio Sacrifice, that our best Chriatisns of to-day come to receive the riches of their souls and the treasures of their love. Here it is that the good soldier learns how to die in defence of his country, good i>arent8 to sacrifice themselves for the temporal and spiritual welfare of their children. Here it is that good children learn their filial obedience, respect and love for their parents, and good servants their submission to their masters in all lawful matters. Here all good Christians not only receive the power, but put themselves under the obligation of offering to God con- tinued sacrifies— the sacrifice of their passions, their perverse inclinations, and evil propensities, by self-denial and mortification ; the sacrifice of their own-will, by sub- mission to the dispensations of Providence : the sacrifice of their pride by humility ; of their resentment by charity ; of their anger by meekness. * By such sacrifices,' we may add, in the words of St. Paul, * God's f^vor is obtained.' "
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[Fnm •' New York Fnemm't /outimX,'* July Uth. 1874.]
This Is one of the hardest books to *• finish reading*' that we hare met in a long time. It is more than six months since we first took it np, and we are not done With it yet. We haTe tried to read a chapter a day, but on taking up the Tohime we want Btin to go badi and read again something that struck us in it the day before. Tkther If filler's Tolnme, •• The Bleesed Eucharist Our Greatest Treasure/' has been deservedly praised, and we have known some who habitually liked to make their preparation for communion by reading in it. No one can make a custom of re-read- ing ten or twelve psges of this book, ** The H<rfy Mass," every evening, without very signal benefit. What we remark especially is that the same sentences, the same thoughts, are at once jej^te with instruction, and with devotional suggestion. When these two are found ever going hand in hand, you have a book that it is a pleasure to read, not onoe only, but to keep near you, and recur to again and again. We are very glad to hear that a second edition is already called Ibr. and will appear in a few days.
[From " BaUimort VUkt Zeitu$tg," February Uth, 1874.]
The Rev. Father MfiUer, of the Sedemptorist Society, hss earned a reputation by his asoetical works, and, what is still more important, these works have done a vast deal of good. His work, "The Blessed Sncharist Our Greatest Treasure," was read by us several times, and used with profit in our sermons and instructions. It is, therefore, not surprising that we are doubly rejoiced to see another book written by the same hand and of the same nature, nils book, ** Holy Msss," is a mine of in- struction and edification for the priest as well ss for the layman, and entirely suited to increase and awaken in the hearts of its readers fUth, love, and devotion. It happily combines within itself the dogmatic, asoetio, and apologetic elemenU. It is the book for oMr <«met aad^ o«r eotm^ry.
BEY. DB. JOBOEB.
EuzABRB, N. J., June 22, 1878. lucv. Fathxb Hullxb :~I have read a large part of your manuscript on "Holy Mass." It is most admirable, so profound and so exhaustive, and so eloquent. Ton did well say the reading of the book would be good for me. It is, but it over- powers me. I do not know what may be the eflbct upon others, but such it is upon me. Besson is oonvinoed, but staggers under the load of such infinite greatness.
With very great respect,
SABAH U. BBOWNSON.
[From " PUtMhttrgh Catkotic," January 24th. 1874.] This is a work much to l>e appreciated by the Ostholio public, and one which, we trust, will receive an extensive circulation, as it fills a void long felt. It enters into a detailed explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in a clear and comprehensive msnner, such as will come within the understanding of the most humble intellect. The author draws largely on the early Fathers of the Church, and the sacred volume, for his authorities to bear him out in the facts set forth.
The volume contains 051 pages, and is got up in excellent style as regards typo- graphy, paper, and binding.
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■^hdii ar^fl^irirsf fur mrr.arrar^ini; fu Mu' tOrhrr uf itlririiiHpIiPrli.
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^^^ IMASS: ^'
I . i, V T '
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2. The Holy Mass: ^'
THE
SACRIFICE FOR THE LIVING MD THE DEAD.
THE CLEAN OBLATION OFFERED UP AMONG
THE NATIONS FEOM THE EISING TO
THE SETTING OP THE SUN.
BT
MICHAEL MiJLLER,
PBDBT or THB COIIttlUEOATIOV OV THX HOST HOLT BXmEBMXB.
FOURTH REYISED EDITION.
NBW TOBK: CINCINNATI;
No. 52 Babolat Stbebt. No. 204 Vinb STBrncr.
FR. PXrSTET,
PRINTBB TO THB HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE. 1875.
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^\ , f^ S-AT.ON§.
Eutored aeoordlof to Act of Congrcta, In the ycwr 187S, bf
Tut RiT. JOSEPH HELMPBAEOHT.
In th« Offlot of th« lilbnirlan of Congreai, a^ Washington.
^ JOHN, Archbishop of New York,
'biemUrlltih, 187S
Laimb, Lim^ A Oik, ■tscTBonrpBBa aho am 9 114 WocwrcB Srasn, N. T.
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TO THE
MOST SACBED AND ADOBABLE
Heart of Jesus
IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
§00li is Inmbls itbtcattlt,
m BBPARATION, THANKSGIVING AND LOVE.
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CONTENTS.
Ihtrodactorj
FAttB
CHAPTER L Q
CHAPTER n. Tlie Wonderful Promise of God 25
CHAPTER in. The Wonderf al Gift of God. 88
CHAPTER IV. A Wonderful Means of Awakening Faith in the Real Presence. • • 49
CHAPTER V. A Wonderf ol Manifestation of the Real Presence 64
CHAPTER VI. The WcMiderf ol Effects of the Blessed Sacrament in Nicola Anhrj. 88
CHAPTER Vn. F^uiher Wonderfol Manifestations of the Real Presence • 96
CHAPTER Vra. The Sacrifice before the Coming of Christ. 128
CHAPTERED The Sacrifice of the New Law. 185
CHAPTER X. The Sacrifice of the New Law— contlnned. , 149
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6 CONTENTS.
TAQM
CHAPTER XL Mass Applies to as the Merits of Christ 159
CHAPTER XII. Mass, the Renewal of the Mysteries of the Life of Christ 167
CHAPTER Xin. Mass, the Renewal of the Incarnation 178
CHAPTER XIV. Mass, the Renewal of Christ's Life in the Womb of Mary 181
CHAPTER XV. Mass, the Renewal of the Birth of Christ 188
CHAPTER XVI. Mass, the Renewal of the Life of Christ 197
CHAPTER XVII. MasH, the Renewal of God's Wondrous Works • 205
CHAPTER XVIIL Mass, the Renewal of Christ's Passion. . . .' 214
CHAPTER XIX Mass, the Renewal of Christ's Passion— continued 224
CHAPTER XX. Mass, the Renewal of Christ's Resurrection... •• •.... 289
CHAPTER XXL Mass, the Renewal of Christ's Resurrection— continued 246
CHAPTER XXn. Mass, the Renewal of the Virtues of Christ 265
CHAPTER XXra. Mass, a Sacrifice of Adoration and Infinite Praise 268
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coisrrEiirrs. 7
FAOa
CHAPTER XXIV. 1CA08, a Sacrifice of PropitUtioxi. 281
CHAPTER XXV. Maw, a Sacrifice of Thanksgiying 800
CHAPTER XXVL Mass, a Sacrifice of Impetration. 818
CHAPTER XXVn. Mass, a Sacrifice of Impetration— continued.. .... 887
CHAPTER XXVin. Mass, the Hope of the Dying 850
CHAPTER XXIX. Mass Propitiatorjr for the Dead 861
CHAPTER XXX. Maasytiie Joy of the Bleeaed Virgin 882
CHAPTER XXXL Bererence and Devotion at Mass 800
CHAPTER XXXn. Whj Catholics most Hear Mass 418
CHAPTER XXXTTT. How to Hear Mass 481
CHAPTER XXXIV. How to Hear sereral Masses at once 454
CHAPTER XXXV. The Dignity and Sanctity of the Mass 462
CHAPTER XXXVL Satan's Hatred for the Mass 475
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8 CONTENTS.
TAQU
CHAPTER XXXVIL Whj Mass is celebrated in Latin. 500
CHAPTER XXXVIII The Honorazy of Mass 506
CHAPTER XXXIX. The Use of Ceremonies 510
CHAPTER XL. The Use of Sacred Vestments 520
CHAPTER XLL Low Mass 537
CHAPTER XLH. Low Bfass— continued. 544
CHAPTER XLm. Low Mass— condaded. 560
CHAPTER XLIV. Solemn High Mass— Lights and Incense 575
CHAPTER XLV. Music at High Mass 586
CHAPTER XLVL The Use of Holy Water before High Mass 595
CHAPTER XLVn. How and Why Catholics Boild Churches 601
CHAPTER XLVni. The Love of Qod 634
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THE HOLT SAORIFIOE
OF
THE MASS.
CHAPTER L
IKTEODUCTORY.
Towards the middle of the fifth century there lived in the City of Some a hidden saint named Alexins. He was the son of the Boman senator, Enphemian, a man of great wealth. At an early age he felt inspired by God to leave his home for a strange country. Obedient to-this inner voice, he went forth from his father's house, and passed seventeen years in pious pilgrimages in the East;, amid many trials and dangers. At length, to show his love for God in a still more striking manner, he resolved to return to his house in the garb of a poor beggar, and spend there the remainder of his days. On arriving at Rome, he met his father, Euphemian, in the street, followed by a train of attendants, as became his high rank. Clad in rags and attenuated by fasts, Alex- ius was not recognized by his father. So he besought him for charity to give him shelter in his house, and for food, the crumbs that fell from his table.
The nobleman, moved with pity, bade one of his servants to lodge and take care of the poor beggar. The servant conducted him to an obscure apartment under the staircase where, tor twenty-two years, he passed a life of suffering and humiliation, because the menials made him a butt for their ridicule, beat him, and subjected him to many indignities,
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10 SACRIFICE OP THE MASS.
which he bore with invincible patience. Thus did the life he spent in his father's house become one long-continued prayer, fast, penance, and austerity. At length, when he felt death approaching, he begged one of the servants to bring him writing materials. Then he wrote down on a sheet of paper the story of his whole life, whither he had wandered, what had happened to him, what he had suffered at home and abroad. He stated at the same time that he was Alexius, the son of the house, whom his parents had missed for so many years. This paper he held in his hands until death took him on a Sunday at the time when his pa- rents were at mass. No sooner had his soul taken fliglit to heaven than all the bells of the churches in Bome began to ring, and a loud voice was heard to say distinctly three times : — " Go to the house of Euphemian to find the great friend of God who hast just died and prays for Rome, and all he asks is granted." Then went the people to find the saint, and Euphemian was the first to enter his house. He went straightway to the room under the staircase^ and to his surprise found that the poor beggar had just expired. Seeing the paper, he took it out of his hands, and reading its contents aloud burst into tears, embraced his holy son, hardly able to utter a word. The mother of Alexius was still more deeply affected, and cried out, " 0 my son, why have I known thee too late ! '*
The story of Alexius is a good illustration of what often happens in these days to many a Christian. Alexius went back to his father's house as a beggar clad in tatters, the better to disguise his rank and wealth. Our dear Saviour acts in the same manner in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There He is, but by no outward sign does He betray His real presence ; His heavenly gloiy and brightness He hides from us ; He is there, as one may say, in a poor miserable dress, under the appearances of bread and wine. As the pa- rents of Alexius paid little attention to their son in his slate of poverty and subjection, so, in this life, many Christians
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pay but little attention to Jesus Christ, because He humbly condescends to conceal His glory in the sacrament of His love. Bat when this life is over and they come to see Him face to fifcoe, whom here they possessed in the Holy Euchar- ist, at the sight of the consolations, of the beauty, and of the riches that they failed to recognize in time, they will ex- claim, with the mother of Alexius, •* 0, Jesus ! dear Saviour, why have we known Thee too late! Ahl had we only known Thee in Thy mystery of love, when alive on earth, we would have allowed no opportunity to escape us of assist- ing at the celebration of Thy sacred mysteries, of receiving Thee, in holy communion, ^ot an hour should have passed without a thought of Thee. Thou wouldst have been our whole delight, our whole joy, our whole happiness, the object of all our desires, thoughts and actions. 0 dear Lord, why have we known Thee too late ! "
" Verily Thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour I ^ cries out the prophet Isaias (xlv. 15). Yes, un- doubtedly, God is a more hidden God in the Eucharist than anywhere else. His greatness lies concealed under the little- ness of a host. His power under the feeble species, His uni- versality under an atom, His eternity under a moment. His wisdom under an apparent folly. There indeed is He the hidden God; more hidden than in Mary's womb, more hid- den than in the crib, more hidden than under the darkness of Calvary, more hidden than in the gloom of the Sepulchre. For here His humanity, His divinity. His glory. His beati- tude— ^all, are hidden. To all unbelievers and heretics He is hidden indeed. To many luke-warm Catholics, nay, even to many of those who stand at His altar and touch His sa- cred body He is hidden. Alas, that that adorable sacrifice and sacrament of the altar should be to so many a hidden treasure ; that there should be so many who have eyes and see not, although to them is granted to behold what kings and prophets, and patriarchs and saints have sighed in vain to gaze on I Alas ! that there should be so many who deserve
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the reproach which our Lord made to his disciples, ^I was a stranger, and you received me not'* "Your little faith in my presence in the blessed sacrament made Me appear to you a stranger, although quite near. Touching Me, you knew Me not You are like those disciples of Mine, jour- neying to Emmaus, to whom I appeared after My resurrec- tion, conversing with them most familiarly, but they knew Me not," saying, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days ?^' "So long a time have I been with you and have you not known Me ? '* Three years had Jesus spent in the company of His Apostles. This He calls a long time, in which they certainly should have learned who He was. Yet their faith was not such as He wished it to be. Philip asks of our Lord to show them His Father. Jesus answers, " So long a time have I been with you and have you not as yet known Me? he who sees Me sees also the Father; for the Father is in Me and I am in Him. We cannot be separated.*' And we ? How long have we been with Jesus ? We became acquainted with Him in our childhood ; we went to Mass at least every Sunday ; we received Him over and over again for so many years ; and yet the complaint of our Lord, made to His Apostles, applies perhaps more justly to us.. " So long a time have you celebrated Mass," says He to many a priest ; " So long a time have you assisted at the Holy Sacrifice of Calvary," says He to many a Catholic ; " So long a time have you entered into close intimacy with Me in holy communion and yet you seem not to know Me. You know not My Divin- ity in the sacred Host, or your respect and veneration for it could not be so small ; you know not My Body and Soul there present, for you do not imitate the example I gave you on earth and give you in this mystery of love ; you know not My love, or it would aflfect you more ; you know not My heart, which is ever open to you, with charity inexhaustible, for you still seem to doubt its goodness and meekness, its tender love and its unbounded mercy. You know not My sanctity or you would
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not appear at the alt^*, without gravity, without devotion, and without reverence. You know not My high dignity, or you would not touch Me with such coldness and thoughtlessness, nor would you approach the altar in a state of unworthiness. Indeed were you thoroughly impressed with the thought that in the adorable sacrament of My love yon receive your Lord and yofir God, had you a lively conviction of this truth, would yon dare approach Me as you do, without preparation, without sorrow, humility, or reverence ? Would you pre- sume after having received Me, your Redeemer, to employ the eyes that have contemplated your Lord and Ood in this adorable mystery, in the indulgence of curiosity, the tongue on which He has reposed, in slander, raillery, or expressions wounding to charity ? Would you profane the heart into which He has entered, by inordinate affections, anger, hatred, or envy ? Whence is it that you relapse so frequently into habitual failing and draw so little profit from hearing Mass and receiving holy communion ? It is because you. know Me not in the mystery of My love.
" Every object that is brought in contact with fire expe- riences its effects ; it is either enkindled wholly or at least is heated. What fire more intense than the fire of divine love in the Blessed Sacrament ? To receive this divine fire so often into your heart, to be near it every day and yet remain cold, not to bum for Me with that ardent love which consumed the just men of the old Law, in expectation of their Saviour coming! Do you then value the possession of a benefit less than its promise ? You are always per- mitted to enjoy My Presence in the sacred tabernacle, and those patriarchs only asked for the momentary appearance of a Redeemer. Truly the faith of the patriarchs, and" their fervent desires will one day rise up in judgment against you. Their desires had no centre upon earth, but you can repose your thoughts and your heart upon Me in this taber- nacle, in which abides your God. My love could not suffer you to repeat the complaint of the Prophet * O my God, wherefore art Thou far from me ? '"
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The tabernacle in our churches does not contain, like the ark of the covenant, the perishable records of the past mer- cies of God. It encloses the living God himself, the creator of lieaven and earth. **It is the Lord." The pure eyes of St. John speedily recognised his Divine Master when He appeared to His Apostles after His resurrection. " It is the Lord," he exclaimed. Our Lord is recognized by the beloved disciple because the pure heart easily penetrates those veils which surround His holy and glorious humanity. At the altar it is also the purest and most loving souls that enjoy the most intimate and consoling sense of His Sacred Pres- ence; the outward appearances under which He hides. Him- self are sufficiently transparent to the eyes of their faith ; they touch, they embrace Him in mutual love, and no sooner do they behold the Sacred Host than they exclaim, "It is the Lord."
This earth, which is the abode of the holy Eucharist, would appear a kind of terrestrial paradise, if we were only capable of appreciating that precious treasure. Wonderful and ineffable truth which thrills every Catholic heart I Neither human nor angelic intelligence and imagination combined could ever in their highest flights have conceived the idea of power and love like this. "It is the Lord I" Fervent priests and Catholics, however, are not satisfied with merely knowing our Lord well in the Blessed Sacrament themselves, but consider it their duty to make Him known also to others by whatever means lies in their power ; for He is not equally well known to all.
Dark clouds of error and weakness in faithJiave settled thickly around the throne of our dear Saviour in the sacrifice of the Mass ever since the time of the Eeforraation. It is the duty of priests especially to scatter those clouds, by speaking on the sublime subject with a lively faith, in lan- guage glowing with love for this mystery of love, in woi-ds that work miracles ; that is in words which create in the mind of the hearers such profound conviction of this great
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INTEODUCTORY. 15
truth of our religion, and which at the same time enkindle in their hearts such great love for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament as is calculated to make them run with a holy joy and delight to assist at the sacrifice and receive the commu- nion. Our Lord upon the altar is silent during Mass, expecting that His priests upon reflecting what He is there for — ^for them and for all the faithful — and what He has done for them in this mystery, would become inflamed with such love for Him as would put into their mouths words of such burning eloquence whenever they have to speak of His real presence, that every word should be a fiery dart pierc* ing the hearts of their hearers with that divine love, and light of fEuth, and ardor of devotion, which are burning in their own. This is indeed what Jesus Christ expects from every good priest of His, especially in our time when faith in this great mystery grows weaker every day, not only among the higher classes of society, but even among the common people, especially among the young men and young women. How many are there who regularly attend at Mass without ever entering into the spirit, nay, without ever properly joining in the external ceremonies f How many are present at Mass with so much indifference, as clearly to show, that they either do not value these awful — these most beneficial mysteries, or that they understand little or nothing else than that the priest turns sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, and is clothed in a motley-colored garment To them Mass and Vespers, or the performance of the funeral rites are all pretty much the same thing. With great reason, then, did the Council of Trent command all the pastors of con- gregations frequently to explain the holy sacrifice of tlie Mass to the faithful, that at least they may not be answer- able for any want of respect, devotion and diligence which the people may be guilty of in attending at Mass. The Fathers of the Council were fully convinced that the power and influence of the Church over the hearts of men de- pended on the efforts which her priests would make to en-
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kindle in souls a lively faith in, and an ardent love for, the Sacred Mysteries. " Many are infirm and weak among you,** writes St Paul to the Corinthians, "and many sleep" in sin and indifference towards God and their own salvation, " because they discern not the Body of the Lord," that is, because they are ignorant of the great treasure of the Mass and holy communion. As Samson was celebrated for his extraordinary bodily strength, so is the Catholic Church noted for her extraordinary spiritual strength. Were she asked like Samson wherefrom she derives all this invincible strength and vitality, she would answer, — " It is from her fiaith in the holy sacrifice of the Mass; it is from holy com- munion. Take away the Mass and we are shorn of our strength, weak like the rest of mankind."
This faith is the dove with the olive branch come to pro- claim the passing away of the mighty deluge of sin ; it rouses the lukewarm from the fatal lethargy that has fallen upon their souls, it brings sinners back to God, it inflames the pious with more ardent love for Jesus Christ, it causes the unbeliever to reflect on the truths of our religion, it dispels the clouds of religious errors, it puts the devil to flight and makes him tremble ; it brings down the angels from heaven upon earth to stay witli the Christians and defend them against the attacks of Satan ; it opens the source of all heavenly benedictions; it brings true peace and joy into the heart. It is this faith that disposes the heart for participat- ing in the plenitude of this divine mystery and makes it easy for the soul to contemplate the Son of God, to approach Him with ardor, and to enjoy Him in peace ; that keeps the in- terior eye of the soul forever fixed, not upon the weak acci- dents that show themselves to the senses, but on the Son of God, the King of glory. Who veils the splendor of His coun- tenance that she may have easy access to His mercy unawed by the greatness of His Majesty. This is the faith that causes the heart to leap with joy, and give forth acts of every virtue, in order to receive with greater reverence the divine
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gnest who honors it with His presence. This faith fills the sonl with hope to approach Him with gladness; with hu- mility to lose herself in profound respect; with charity to embrace Him ; with devotion to render Him homage ; with obedience to submit herself to His divine wilL This is the spirit that concentrates all the poy^ers of the soul in a pro- found recollection/ and banishes from her whatever can in- terrupt her conversation with her dearly beloved Saviour, Jesus Christ. It introduces her into the true kingdom of God, leading her frequently as it does to the sacred banquet to unite herself with her divine Spouse by means of the Blessed Sacrament.
The learned and the wise ones of this world are often blind to all this ; and as they rely too much on their own opinion and judgment, contented to guide themselves only by their own lights, not caring to rise higher than human reason, for want of humility and devotion, so they grovel all their life-time in the littleness of their own ideas and sentiments — a littleness incredible in all that regards the mysteries of the fidth and the spiritual direction of souls. So they are vexed at Bevelation, and histories of miracles— with an occasional professed exception in favor of those recorded in the Gos- pel— offend them, just as though the Lord could and would no longer perform a miracle, nor reveal Himself again after His ascension into heaven, forgetful that in the very Gospel they profess to believe. He has told us plainly, ** Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he shall do also, and greater than these shall he do ;*'♦ and he that loveth me, shall be loved by my Father ; " and I will love him and will manifest myself to him"\
These men do not consider that wonders are in a particu- lar manner the work of God, intended to awaken our atten- tion to His holy Providence, and to move our souls to praise His goodness and power, often also to bear witness to His truth.
• Jobn ilT. IS. t H). Tcwe tl
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Our fathers in the faith never, as do so many of the wise ones to-day, found it so difficult for Almighty God to work miracles, especially by means of the Blessed Sacrament. Bossuet said: "Why do people wish to make it so laborious a work for the Almighty to cause miraculous effects?*' /* There are," says a great poet, " more things in heaven and on earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy.'* That which is considered to be impossible at the present day, was doubtless possible formerly, when the world was younger and more innocent than it now is, — ^more worthy of the miracles God wrought in it — ^when angels and saints of heaven loved to commune with its simple and innocent peo- ple, whose life was divided between labor and the practice of good works,
" The bad,*' says St. Alphonsus, " are as ready to deride miracles as the good are to believe them ; " and he adds, "as it is weakness to give credit to all things, so, on the other hand, to reject miracles which come to us attested by grave and pious men, either savors of infidelity, which sup- poses them impossible to God, or of presumption which re- fuses belief to such a class of authors. We give credit to a Tacitus, a Suetonius, and can we deny it without presump- tion to Christian authors of learning and piety ? There is less risk in believing and receiving what is related with some probability by honest persons and not rejected by the learned, and which serves for the edification of our neighbor, than in rejecting it with a disdainful and presumptuous spirit.** " When facts are related that teach and edify us,** says St Francis de Sales, "we should not believe that the proofs upon which they rest are entirely defective and worthless, * Charity believeth all things,* which is to say, it does not easily believe that one lies. And if there be no sign of false- hood in what is represented to her, she makes no difficulty in giving it credence, especially when it relates to anything which exalts and praises the love of God towards men, or the love of men towards God, the more so as Charity, which
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is the sovereign qaeen of yirtnes, takes pleasure after the manner of princes in those things which tend to the glory of her empire and domination. Supposing then^ that the narratiTe be neither so public nor so well attested as the greatness of the wonder would seem to require, it loses not for that its truth ; for, as St. Augustine excellentljL says, ' when a miracle is made known, howeyer striking it may be in the very place where it happened, or eren when related by those who witnessed it, it is scarcely belieyed, but it is not the less true.' " " Though an assent of Catholic faith be not due to them,'' says Pope Benedict XI V^ "yet they deserre a human assent according to the rules of prudence by which they are probable and piously credible."
At the time of St. Bernard, some reyerenced the revela- tions of St. Hildegarde, even those passages which they could not understand ; others, on the contrary, condemned them as mere reveries. St. Bernard himself read them with the greatest care, and he was edified beyond description. Now as those revelations were differently judged by divers persons, St. Bernard said to his companions, ^ These revelations are not the work of man ; and no mortal will understand them unless love has renewed in his soul the image and likeness of God." However, one of those present observed, that many persons, both learned and ignorant, religious and seen* lar, daily pierced the soul of the handmaid of Ood, by re- peating that her visions were only hallucinations of the brmuy or deceits of the devil. "Upon which St. Bernard re- plied: ** Let us not be surprised, my brethren, that those who are sleeping in their sins should regard revelations from on high as follies, since the Apostle affirms that the animal man cannot comprehend the things of the spirit. Yes, cer- tainly, those who lie baried in pride, in impurity, or in other sins, take the warnings of God for reveries ; but if they were vigilant in the fear of God, they would recognize by sure signs, the divine work. As to those who believe those visions to be the suggestions of the devil, they show that
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20 SACRIFICE OF THE MASS,
they have no deep knowledge of divine contemplation ; they are like those who said of our Lord and Saviour, Jesas Christ, that He cast out devils through the power of Beelzebub/'
Such men, for being in the habit of always thinking first how a tenet or practice or a fact is most presentable to the ppblic, are soon and almost imperceptibly led to profane- ness, from a habit producing, as it generally does, the spirit of rationalism in matters of faith. Their too delicate and fastidious taste has too much regard for the feelings of a certain class of people. I am aware that Christian charity, the great queen of virtues, demands of us to have due re- gard for the feelings of others ; and I am thoroughly per- suaded, that no one was ever yet converted by harsh meems, or abusive language. Charity is, however, not only not in- compatible with truth, but it ever demands that the whole truth should be told, especially when its concealment be a cause of error or of perseverance in error and sin, in mat- ters, too, of most deep and vital importance. Hence to judge from the works of our greatest Catholic divines, it would appear that the deeper theologian a man is, the less does he give way to this studious desire of making diffi- culties easy at any cost short of denying what is positively defide. They seem to handle truth religiously just in the way that God is pleased to give it to us, rather than to see what they can make of it themselves by shaping it for con- troversy, and so by dint of skilful manipulation squeeze it through a difficulty. Let such men examine themselves well to see whether they are not out of harmony with the mind of the Church and the spirit of the saints, whether their faith is not too feeble, and their distrust of God's won- ders too overweening and too bold, whether, in short, for the good of their own soul they may not have the principle of rationalism to unlearn, and the temper of faith — sound, rear sonable, masculine, yet childlike faith — to broaden, to heigh- ten and to deepen in themselves by the very contemplation of what may now be in some degree a scandal to them,
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INTRODITCTOBY. 21
namely, Quam mirabilis est Deus in Sanctis suis, by means of the holy Eneharist
What difficulty can one pretend to hare in believing cer- tain extraordinary graces which we read of in the lives of the saints ? He who believes the fator which Ood conferred on men by making Himself man, ought to find no other in- credible and surprising. All the communications which Qod can make after this are as nothing. Qod, having given Himself in such a wonderful manner to men, can now refuse them nothing. It is to give them all else, that he gave Him- self in the Incarnation and the holy Eucharist The belief in this truth naturally inclines all good Christians to believe whatever appears to reveal the power, the goodness, and the love of their divine Saviour towards men in the august mystery of the Mass. They appreciate the manifestations of this goodness of the Lord ; they bless and thank Him for them, and feel powerfully, yet sweetly, drawn by them to- wards this centre of all earthly happiness.
It is principally for this reason that, for my own use and for the use of others, I have often wished for such a compi- lation on the holy sacrifice of the Mass as I now offer to my brethfen of the Catholic Communion, a compilation which I have endeavored to write as much as possible in the same manner as the book " The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure,** being fully convinced from a long experience that this manner of explaining so sublime a truth is better calculated than any other to convey instruction to the minds of all, especially of the humbler classes, who compose the greater part of the body of the faithful, to enliven their iaith and make them relish and practise what they are taught to believe of so stupendous a mystery. A book like this, containing a full, plain, and, I trust, correct explana- tion of the Mass may be welcome to Catholics in general, but especially to well-disposed and pious souls, whose chief desire and aim in life is to know the will of God, their heavenly Father, and knowing it, to do it.
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22 SACBIFICE OF THE MASS.
I am impressed more 8ti*ongIj than ever with a sense of the grandenr and sablimitj of the subject. It has always been a matter of considerable difficulty not only to Protes- tants, but even to most Catholics, nay even to many theolo- gians to form a clear conception of the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Perfectly conscious of my ntt«r incompetency for the task, I could have wished that some one more compe- tent, and more experienced in writing, had engaged in the undertaking. Hence I am ready to charge myself with pre- sumption for venturing on so difficult a task which has occupied the pens of the ablest theologians.
I can find for myself no excuse but in the sincerity with which I have sought to collect, from all the authors at my command, the most select and pithy sentences of the Fathers and theologians, in order to give devout persons an oppor- tunity, with little effort or expense, to become acquainted with the ideas of those great men and saints of God on the subject, that their hearts may be infiamed with greater ardor for the holy sacrifice of the Mass — a fountain so full that the farther it extends, the fuller it becomes ; and the fuller it becomes, the farther it extends, which signifies that the holy Mass is a subject so grand and so sublime that the more we say of it, the more there remains to be said. Not- withstanding this sincerity of mine, I am fully sensible that I am far from having done justice to a mystery inaccessible to angels, impenetrable to devils, and totally incomprehen- sible to human reason, a subject so difficult to handle, so vast in its extent, so sublime in its conceptions, so unspeak- able in its blessings, both spiritual and temporal. It is not necessary to urge in my defence any theological embarrass- ments under which I labored, since that will hardly be an excuse for not doing well what it was not necessary for me to do at alL But I may be permitted to add, that in my book, "The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure," a certain deficiency may have been felt by many a pious reader in the perusal of the first chapter on the Jteal Presence, jnd
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UrrRODUCTOBY. 23
of those chapters treating on the holy sacrifice of the Mass ; they may have wished to see in the former still more solid proofs in confirmation of the Beal Presence, especially as the belief in this tnith forms the basis of onr whole conception of the Mass; in the latter they may hare desired to see a fdller and more detailed explanation of the treasure of graces we possess in the divine gift of the Mass. To supply this deficiency, the following pages were written during intervals snatched, since last FaU, from my many religious and mis- sionary labors. As to the defects of. this undertaking — which unquestionably are many — ^I hope the sincerity of a good will and the desire of spiritually benefiting my Catho- lic brethren, will be sufficient to plead my cause with the indulgent and considerate reader. And thus, imperfect as this new production may be, I present it to my brethren of the clergy and laity, confidently hoping that it will induce many souls to betake themselves with greater eagerness and assiduity to the source of all temporal and everlasting hap- piness— ^to Jesus Christ, their sweet Saviour and good Shep- herd, in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
. Now should my brethren of the clergy and laity, many of whom would have been certainly better qualified than my- self for the task, deem this publication ever so little calcu- lated to realize this hope of mine, I would most humbly request them to encourage its circulation to the best of their power. "A willow-tree," says St. Gregory, "bears no fruit, but by supporting as it does the vine together with its gr^[)es, it makes these its own by supporting what is not its own." (Hom. 20, in Evang.) In like manner, he who warmly recommends a book calculated to do much good makes his own all the good that is done by the book.
But as it is only by faith that we can understand what the Lord teaches us in a mystery in which everything is sublime, everything is prodigious, and as it is only by prayer that we can derive profit from it, it is from Him that we must implore the necessary grace to discover the infinite
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24 SACRIFICE OF THE HASS.
treasures of the diyine goodness and mercy which lie so hnmbly hidden under the outward appearance of bread and wine, saying often ; — ^It is Thyself, 0 Lord, Who hast ac- complished this sublime mystery; of Thee we humbly beg understanding and love, so as to be able to apply to ourselves the fruits of it ; and you, holy Mary, Mother of God, and our tender Mother, obtain for us these precious gi-aces, so that a work, whose accomplishment cost so many sorrows to your heart, may not prove sterile to our souls. Intercede particularly for me, I beseech you, that I may relate with benefit the supreme glories — the wonderful works — of your beloved Son, and my Divine Master. May the mysteries which I undertake to explain make a deep impression on our minds and hearts — so that they may shine forth in our whole life, — so that they may be our strength at the hour of death and become the pledge of our everlasting happiness. Beseech your Divine Son to bless these instructions, which I now offer to His people under your patronage, for the glory of Jesus Christ, the sanctification of the faithful and the edification of the Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ohost
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CHAPTER 11.
THE WOKDEBPUL PROMISE OP GOD.
Maitt centuries ago, when King Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, he bent his mind to the gratif cation of eyery desire of his heart, seeking for happiness. " I said in my heart, I will go and abound with delights, and enjoy good things; I made me great works ; I built me houses, and planted vine- yards, I made gardens and orchards, and set them with trees of all kinds, and I made me ponds of water, to water therewith the wood of the young trees. I got me meu-ser- Tants and maid-serrants, and had a great family; and herds of oxen and great iSocks of sheep aboye all that were before me in Jerasalem : I heaped together for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces ; I made me singing men and singing women, and the delights of the sons of men ; cups and vessels to serve to pour out wine ; and I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusa- lem ; my wisdom also remained with me. And whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not, and I withheld not my heart finom enjoying every pleasure, and delighting itself in the things which I had prepared, and I esteemed my por- tion, to make use of my own labor."
After such ample enjoyment of all earthly pleasures, might we not think that Solomon was happy indeed ? Neverthe- less he tells us that his heart was not satisfied, and that he fdt himself more miserable than before. "And when I tamed myself," he says, " to all the works which my hands had wrought, and to the labors wherein I had labored in vain, I saw in all things vanity and vexation of mind, and that nothing was lasting under the sun."*
•Eccl. n.
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26 THE WONDERFUL PROMISE OF GOD.
What happened to Solomon, happens still in one shape or form to every man. Here on earth we are never satisfied ; we always crave for something more, something higher, something better. Whence comes this continual restlessness that haunts us through life and pursues us even to the grave ? It is the home-sickness of the soul, its craving after God. All things were created for man, but man was created to live with God, and to be united with God. Therefore the idea, the essence of all religion may be expressed in one word: "Emmanuel, God with us."
The existence of God among men in some sensible form is a want of the human heart To satisfy this craving after the Eeal Presence of God, men made use of unholy means. Blinded by their passions they fell into idolatry, and instead of raising themselves to the true and pure God, they foolishly worshipped what they deemed the divine presence in stones, plants, and animals. It was God Himself who planted in the human heart the desire for the Eeal Presence, and God Himself also found means to satisfy this desire.
The works of God come to perfection slowly and gradu- ally. This is the case in all, but especially in that nA>st ad« mirable of His works, the Eeal Presence. He first revealed Himself to man by creation, which is a continual revelation of His presence, although He is hidden therein. The good and pure indeed behold God in creation; they see His power in the storm, in the cataract, in the earthquake. They see His wisdom in the laws that govern the boundless universe. His beauty in the flower, in the sunbeam, and iu the many-tinted rainbow. But the wicked and impure use this very creation only to outrage and blaspheme the Creator.
God then made use of a more perfect means to reveal to man His divine presence. This was His word. If a friend visits us at night, and finds us sitting in the dark, he speaks, he makes use of words to show that he is really present. Iu like manner, God wishing to reveal His Eeal Presence to
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maD, sitting in the darkness of this life, has addressed him in words. This is the very first article of faith. God spoke to our first parents in the garden of Paradise. He spoke to the Patri- archs, to the Prophets, and finally^ as St. Paul assures us. He has spoken for the last time hy His only begotten Son.
But merely to hear the voice of a friend is not enough ; the heart longs for something more ; the eyes yearn to look upon him. Qod knows this want of the human heart, and He has satisfied it also. The prophets have besought Him again and again to show Himself. ^'Show us Thy face^O Lord, and we shall be saved." This too was the ardent prayer of Moses. ^ 0 Lord, show me Thy glory." *
In the Old Law, €k>d satisfied this desire by manifesting His Real Presence to the Israelites, under the form of a cloud, and of a pillar of fire. He next commanded an ark or tabernacle to be made, and there He manifested His Real Presence by a peculiar, supernatural light, called the She- Idnah. But all this did not satisfy either man's heart or God's unbounded love. If we love a person dearlyfitwill not satisfy us to hear his voice or to see him in disguise ; we wish to behold him face to face. God gratified even this desire. He had commanded a tabernacle of wood to be made by the hand of man, and that tabernacle He chose for His dwell- ing place. But now with His own divine hands He made a living tabernacle, holy and spotless, the Immaculate Virgin Mary ; and in that tabernacle He took up His abode. There He formed for Himself a human body and souL Thence He came forth to live among men and to be as one of them.
In becoming man, God revealed His Real Presence to all our senses. Men saw Gk>d, heard Gk)d, even touched God. He had already revealed His Real Presence to man's reason in the creation, but man had forgotten Him. He had revealed His Real Presence by His word, and man refused to listen to Him. He had shown Himself face to face to man, and man
♦ Bxod. xxxiii. 18.
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crucified Him. There was now but one means left for God to reveal His Real Presence, and that was by faith. He hides Himself from our senses, He hide^ Himself from our reason ; He reveals His Presence in a far more perfect manner. He shows Himself to the eyes of faith in the blessed sacrament. The blessed sacrament, or holy Eucharist^ is indeed a great mystery. Our Saviour knew that if He were to teach the Jews and His disciples the new and wonderful doctrine of this mystery without having first prepared them for it, there would be scarcely one found to believe Him. When God in- tends to do something, very extraordinary, He generally pre- pares men for it by revealing to them beforehand, what He is about to do. Thus we know that, when He intended to destroy the world by the deluge, He made it known through Noah, a hundred years before the event took place. Again, when the Son of God had become man, and was about to make Himself known as the Eedeemer of the world, He sent St. John the fiaptist to prepare the people for His com- ing. Finally, when He intended to destroy Jerusalem, He foretold it by the prophets, and Jesus Christ has also de- scribed the signs by which men may know when the end of the world is near at hand. God acts thus with men be- cause He does not wish to overwhelm them by His strange and mysterious dealings. Hence, when our divine Saviour was about to tell the people that He intended to give them His flesh and blood as food and drink for their souls. He prepared them for this mysterious doctrine by working an astounding miragle— the feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes. Those who witnessed this miracle, were so filled with reverence for Jesus Christ, that they wished to take Him by force and make Him their king. But Jesus, perceiving this, fled from them. They found Him again however, on the following day ; and then He took oc- casion, from the impression the miracle had made on them, to introduce the subject of the heavenly food which He was about to give the world. " Amen, I say to you ; ye seek
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Me, not because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perishetb, but for that which endureth to life everlast- ing, which the Son of man will give you/' Here our Lord de- clares that the food He was to give them would confer eter- nal life. Their curiosity being excited by these words, they desired to know more about this heavenly food and asked what sign He would give them, and whether the food He spoke of was better than the manna from heaven, which God had given their fathers in the Desert. Before giving any farther explanation, our Lord speaks of the absolute neces- sity of faith in His Divine Person. " This is the work of God that you believe in Me as your divine Redeemer. But yon have seen Me and you believe not This is the will of My Father that sent Me ; that every one who seeth the Son, and believeih in Him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up in the last day. Amen, amen I say unto you he that believeth in Me hath life everlasting." * In ordi- nary words Our Lord would say, you must believe that I am your Redeemer and your God, and that, therefore, it is in My power to give you such bread as bestows upon you life everlasting. Then having required of them an unwavering faith, He promises to give them a heavenly bread. He had just given them miraculous bread, a kind of bread far superior to ordinary bread, but the bread from heaven, which He was to give, was something far superior to the miraculous bread, and consequently far more than ordinary bread. The Jews thought that He would perhaps give them aomething like manna, but Jesus assured them that the heavenly bread, which He intended to give, was far superior even to manna. " Your Mhers," He said to them, " did eat manna in the desert, and are dead, but he that eats of the bread that I will give, shall live forever.'* Now manna was called bread from heaven, the bread of
♦ John xxix. 47.
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angels. It was better than the miraculous bread, with which Jesus had fed the Jews, and consequently far better than or- dinary bread. But Jesus Christ pi*omise8 to give us a kind of bread superior even to manna. This He calls the true bread from heaven, to show us, that the manna was but a figure of this heavenly bread. He calls it also the living bread, to show us unmistakably that it is far more than or- dinary bread, for ordinary bread is not living. Now what is this bread that Jesus Christ promises to give us? This bread, far superior to ordinary bread, to the miraculous bread, to manna, the bread of the angels, this bread from heaven, this living bread, must indeed be something very ex- traordinary, something which had never yet been given to man, since before promising it, before tilling us what it is, our Lord insists so earnestly upon the necessity of fjuth. What then is this extraordinary bread ? Our Lord no longer conceals it ; He tells us in the strongest, clearest language — " I am the bread of life, I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever ; and the bread that I will give, is My flesh for the life of the world." ♦ " The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying : * How can this man give us his flesh to eat ? ' " St Cyril of Alexandria, who lived in the fifth century, asks here : " 0 Jew, how can you make this question ? Let me also ask you, How didst thou go out of Egypt ? TeU me how the rod of Moses was turned into a serpent, how was his hand made leprous, and again restored, as it is written? How was water changed into the nature of blood? How didst thou pass through the midst of the sea, as through a dry plain ? How was the bitter water of Merrha changed into sweet by a piece of wood ? How was water given thee from the bosom of the rocks ? How was the manna brought down from heaven for thee ? How did the Jordan stand still in its bed ? Or how, by a mere shout, did the impregnable
♦ John vi. 48, 61, 52.
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wall of Jericho fall ? And wilt thou not cease to utter that hawf Therefore it became th^ to believe in Christ's word and to strive to learn the manner of the eulogy (Eucharist), rather than say inconsiderately, like men drunk with wine, Eow can this man give us His flesh to eat f
** The Jews understood our Lord as inviting them to a barbarous cruelty. They thought it something horrible to . order them to e^t flesh and drink blood in an inhuman manner. Hence they thought : How can a human body in- troduce eternal life into us? How can this body which is of the same nature as ours bestow immortality ?
** * It is the Spirit that quickeneth (vivifies),' says our Lord to them ; * The flesh profiteth nothing.' That is to say ; there is no absurdity in saying that the flesh is not able to bestow life ; the nature of the flesh is such that by itself it cannot vivify in any way. On the contrary, it stands in need of a vivifying power. Now were you to believe that I am your Grod and Saviour, were you to consider the mystery of the Incarnation, were you to believe that the Divinity is united to My humanity in one person, you would also under- stand that My flesh is food indeed and that My blood is drink indeed. You would understand that he who eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me and I in him, and thus hath everlasting life. It is therefore very foolish on your part to be scandalized at my words. If you think that my flesh cannot infuse life into you, how shall it ascend to heaven ? And yet this spectacle shall be placed under your own eyes. What will you say then ? When you see My flesh ascend to heaven, which, to all seeming, is contrary to its nature, will you still say that My flesh contains no vivi- fying power ? * Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in Mc, hath everlasting life.' You must, then, believe Me to be what I have so often told you. *The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and life.' My flesh is not flesh only, it is spirit also, because of its being perfectly united to My divinity, and assuming the entire vivifying power of
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My Godhead. Although your human body is subjected to death by sin, and forced to yield to corruption, yet if I am in you, by means of My own proper flesh, you shall assuredly rise again. For it is incredible, yea rather, it is impossible^ that the life should not vivify those in whom it lives. It is by means of My own flesh, that I wish to hide life within you, and to introduce into you, as it were, a certain seed of incorruption which destroys the whole of the corruptible within you. For receiving within yourselves both My human and divine nature^ you will become glorified by be- coming partakers of and sharers in that nature which ia above all things." It is thus that St Cyril confounds the Jews for daring to say, " How car this man give us hia flesh?"
In the sixteenth century eame the l^rotestants, in their pride and ignorance, to imitiite the Jews in contradicting our Saviour, saying that He spoke only figuratively when He promised, and commanded us to eat His fiesh. Now such an assertion is as absurd and ridiculous as it is false and blasphemous. In Hebrew, and in all the Oriental languages, the expression, ** to eat one's fiesh," when taken figuratively, means to backbite, to slander, to persecute, and nothing else. To say, then, that our Saviour spoke only figuratively, would be to say, that He commands us under pain of eternal dam- nation, to backbite and to slander Him.
When our Lord Jesus Christ had made this extraordinary promise to the Jews, did they reaUy understand Him to say, that He would give them His fiesh to eat and His blood to drink ? They clearly did understand Him so, and for this reason asked in astonishment ; " How can this man give us His fiesh to eat ? " And some of them said : « This is a hard saying, who can hear it ? '* And even many of his dis- ciples were so shocked at the idea of eating the flesh of Jesus, and drinking His blood, that they went away from Him altogether, and never went with Him any more. The Jews then did not understand our Lord to have spoken fig-
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urafciTely, for had they done so, there waa no reason for being shocked at His words. The whole Jewish religion vas made up of types and figures, so that if our Lord had spoken figuratively, it would have been nothing new to them. No, the Jews understood Him to speak of eating His very fledi and drinking His yery blood.
But the question is : Did our Saviour wish the Jews to understand Him in this manner ? Most certainly He did. Onr Lord saw that the Jews understood him to speak of ^ting His real flesh and drinking His real blood. Listead of contradicting that opinion. He confirmed it again and again, in the strongest and most unmistakable terms. Had His intention been to give them His flesh and blood to eat in a figurative manner only, would He not, and should He not have corrected the mistake of the Jews there and then ? He had come on earth to banish fidsehood and error and to teach the truth. Must He not then have told the truth at tiiat moment ?
' Jesus Christ gave Himself to us as a model ; we were to kam from Him how to speak the truth with honesty and sinoerity. Could He then act as an impostor only to deceive us ? Even to think of such a thing would be blasphemous. An impostor usually makes fine promises; he exaggerates t^ value of what he promises to give ; but an honest man win rather underrate than exaggerate the value of what he promises, especially if he sees that his friends really believe hi« words, and that any exaggeration whatever would be productive of great evils. Suppose you promise a friend of yours, to make him a present of a fine house, but you intend to give him only a picture of the house which you have in your roont. You see, however, that your friend believes that you intend giving him a real house ; you foresee, more- over, that this misunderstanding of his will be the cause of kmg and bitter quarrels and law suits. Are you not bound by every sense of honesty, charity, and justice, to in form him that he has misunderstood you, that you intend to give him
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only a picture of your house ? Our Lord promifies in the clearest terms to giye us His flesh to eat ; He sees that the Jews^ His disciples, His Apostles, understood His words lit- erally. He sees many already take offence and leave Him ; He knows that by leaving Him^ they incur eternal damna* tion. He sees that in aftertimes disputes and quarrels will arise among men as to what is the real meaning of his words ; that many will understand them literally, whilst others will take them in another sense. Was it not His most sacred duty to explain beyond doubt the meaning of His words ? If He wished to be understood figuratively, should !He not have said: My children, you misunderstand Me ; I will not give you my real flesh and blood, but only a figure of My flesh. But instead of speaking thus, and correcting the Jews, on the contrary, He confirms what He has said. He repeats at least five times, that He will really give us His flesh to eat. And as our Lord foresaw that there would be many who would refuse to eat His flesh and drink His blood. He solemnly threatens eternal damnation to all those, that refuse. " Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you shall not have life in you/* Whilst to all who obey Him, He promises eternal life. " He that eateth My flesh hath life everlasting." He asserts twice that what He has spoken is a literal statement; for the Greek word " aletho^,** means trtie and literal. '^ For My flesh is meat indeed — u e. it can be eaten indeed, and My blood is drink indeed" — i. e. it can be drunk in very deed.
Jesus Christ had at flrst said that He would give as bread from heaven, a living bread, but now, to take away every shadow of doubt. He tells us, that the bread, which He will give, is His flesh ; while to convince us that He really intends to give us His flesh. He says: "He that eateth Me, shall live by Me." And to confirm all this and take away every shadow of doubt and of excuse. He swears in the most solemn manner, at least four times, that He will give us His real fiesh and blood, that He will give us
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Himself to be our food, " Amen, amen, I say unto you . . . . . ." Now in Hebrew, " amen," when used thus, is equiralent to an oath. Again Jesus swears, by His mission and by His life, that He will give us Himself to be our food. ^ As the liying Father hath sent Me, and as I live by the Father, he that eateth Me . . . .'* It is just as if Jesus had said : " I declare to you, as true as the living God has sent Me, and as true as I live by the Father, he that eateth Me ....** Now what stronger, what clearer language could our Lord have used, to convince us, that He really in- tended to give us His flesh and His blood ? It js impossible to famish stronger proofs than these, for any single truth in the whole Christian religion. No wonder that our bless- ed Lord was filled with sadness when He saw, in spite of all that He had said and done, there would still be many who woold be lost for not believing in His words. " What ! " said He, turning to the unbelieving Jews, ^ does this scandalize you ? You do not believe that I can give you My flesh to eat ? What then will you say when you see the Son of Man ascend- ing to where He was before ? " Jesus Christ appeals to the mystery of His ascension, to show us that it is just as easy for Him to give us His sacred body to be our food, as it is for Him to ascend with that body to the right hand of Qod in heaven. He appeals to His ascension, to convince us that just as cer- tainly as His body is now in heaven, so certain is it that His body is now also in the Blessed Eucharist.
Whenever Jesus Christ had spoken figuratively in public. He always explained Himself in private to His disciples. But here H3 speaks in private as in public, to show us, that He does not speak figuratively, that He wishes to be under- •tood literally. When He saw that many, even of His own disciples, left Him because they would not believe His words, ' He turned to the twelve, to His chosen, beloved apostles, and instead of giving them any new explanation. He asked them: **Will you also go away?" As saying: I have told you the truth, I cannot change what I have said ;
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for it IS the truth. If you will not believe Me, you also may go.
Indeed, the Christian, who after so many clear unanswer- able proofs sees not the truth, must in very deed be wilfully blind. He is like the owl, that closes its eyes at mid-day, and flaps its wings and says : The sun docs not shine, for I do not see it If Jesus Christ left us His body only in figure, if He left us after all only a piece of bread, why did He use so many precautionary measures, in order to persuade us ? why did He insist so much upon the necessity of faith ? For faith is to believe in*something that we do not see. If Jesus* Christ left us only a piece of bread, why did He tell us that it is far superior even to manna ? Why did He tell us in so many formal and affirmative propositions that He would really give us His flesh to eat ? If He intended only to give us a piece of bread, what need was there to appeal to the great miracle of His ascension ? If He intended to give us His body only in figure, why did He suflfer the Jews and His own disciples even to go away without modifying a single word of His oft-repeated assertion, that He would really give us His flesh to eat ? Jesus, seeing that the Jews and many of His disciples would not believe that He was to give them His flesh and blood as food for their souls, suffered them to go away offended, and when they were gone. He said to the twelve : " Will ye also go away ? '^ Then Simon Peter answered in the name of all : " Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that Thou art the Christ the Soa of God. ^'*
Eemark the noble simplicity of faith of the Apostles. They believe the words of their Master without the least hesitation ; they receive His words in that sense in which the others had refused to receive theuL They accept them in their obvious meaning, as a promise that He would give
♦V.68,70.
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them His real flesh to eat and His real blood to drink; they belieye with a fall faith, simply becanse He is " the Christ, the Son of God,^' too good to deceive and too wise to be de- ceived, too faithful to make vain promises, and too powerful to find any difficulty in fulfilling them. It was from this time forward that the disciples were constantly expecting that Jesus Christ would fulfil His promise.
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THE WONDERFUL aiFT OF OOD.
The Apostles always remembered the promise which J'esai had made to give them His most holy Mesh and Blood. But the promise was not fulfilled at once.
In Jerusalem there is a hill called Mount Sion. On this hill, near the tomb in which King David was buried, was a house which contained a large dining-room. If you had entered that room the evening before Jesus died on the cross, you would have seen Him sitting at a table with His twelve Apostles. What a sight 1 To behold the Creator in the midst of His creatures, whom He had. made out of the dust of the earth 1 It was a solemn moment, for He was thea about to work the greatest miracle that ever had been, or ever will be wrought. He was going to give Himself away, to give His own most sacred body and blood to be the food of His creatures. To give us heaven and earth. His angels, and His Blessed Mother to watch over us was surely gift enough. It would seem almost too good, what St Augustine has well called the folly of love to give us Himself. But the love of Jesus for us was boundless, so that nothing seemed to Him too good to do for us.
Let us consider how it was done. The word of God is life-giving and all-powerful. When God created the heavens and the earth, He merely spoke and everything was made. He said: ^^ Let light be made and light was made/' For when God speaks, the thing is done, and done directly. Well, let us listen: Jesus is about to speak the word that will change the bread and wine into His Body and His Blood. On that table at which they were sitting, there was bread and wine. First of all, as the Evangelist tells us, " Jesus
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took bread and blessed and brake, and gave nnto His disci- ples,'' and said these solemn words : " Take ye and eat : Tliis is My Body,^ Quicker than a flash of lightniDg that bread was changed into His Body. Then did all the Apostles eat the most sacred flesh of Jesus.
In like manner He then took the chalice with wine and gave to them saying : " Drink ye all of this : For this is My Blood of the New Testament which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins." * And the wine obeyed the Toice of Him whom the winds and the sea obeyed. In that moment the wine was changed into His sacred Blood. ^' Eat and drink," said Jesus then to His Apostles ; it is all your own; do not think of what your senses perceive; it is to your faith, not to your senses that J say, " This is My Body." Remember that it is I who have said this : I and no other : — ^the Son of God, by whom eyerything was made, alone could speak thus; for to Me nothing is impossible. The Apostles believed simply ; they believed as strongly as our Saviour had spoken, and with as much submission on their part as He had displayed of authority and power. There was in their faith that same simplicity contained in the words of Jesus : « This is My Body, This is My Blood." It is then really His Body under the appearance of bread, and His Blood under the appearance of wine, said and believed the Apostles.
Then did they all receive our Lord's Body, and drank of the most precious Blood of Jesus Christ An eternity had i)a3sed, and the most holy Flesh and Blood of Ood had never yet been given to any creature. The Apostles were the first to whom this blessing of blessings was given. It was the will of Jesus that from that moment forward, all His poor creatures should everywhere freely eat His Flesh and drink His Blood to make them holy before God. For the good of His creatures. He wished His Body and Blood to
♦MaU.xxvL2e-3»
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40 THB WONDERFUL aiFT OF GOD.
be scattered over the earth, like the dew of hearen. Bui Jesas knew that in about forty days He would be no longer present in the flesh on earth, to give away with His own bands His sacred Body and Blood. For this reason He wished to leave others on earth to perform this office for Him. So He said to His Apostles and priests — ^' Do this in remem- brance of Me ; '* that is to say, to you I give the power to do what I have done — to change bread and wine into My Fledx and Blood, and to give it to My people. The word of Jesus will never pass away. The sun will shine on the earth until the last day of this world* So the Body and Blood of Jesua Christ will be given by the priests of Jesus Christ to His people, to be the light and strength and joy of their souls to the end of the world. It Js therefore an article of Catholic belief, that in the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, is truly and really contained the body of Christ, which was de- livered for us, and His blood which was shed for the remis- sion of sins ; the substance of the bread and wine being, by the power of God, changed into the substance of His blessed body and blood, the species and appearances of bread and wine, by the power of the same God, remaining as they were. This change has been properly called Transubstantiation.
*'As Christ our Redeemer,'* says the Council of Trent, " declared that to be truly His own body, which He offered under the species of bre^d ; therefore has it always been firmly believed in the church of God, and this holy Synod again declares it, that ; by the consecration of the bread and wine, a change is made of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood : which change has been aptly and properly called by the holy Catholic Church, Transubstantiation." ♦ Hence — " If any one shall deny that, in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist, there is contained truly, really, and substan-
■ t ■■
♦Sess. liii. c. Iv.
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THB WOKDSBPUL QUIT OF GOD. 41
tttlly, the body and blood together with the soul and diylnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole Christ ; but shall say that He is only therein in sign, or figure, or Tirtae, let him be anathema.''
Now Christ is not present in this sacrament, according to his natural way of existence ; that is, as bodies naturally ex- ist^ but in a manner proper to the character of His exalted and glorified body. His presence then is real and substan- tial, but sacramental and ine£y>le, not exposed to the exter- nal senses, nor obnoxious to corporal contingencies. Hence the Council of Trent says: "The holy synod openly and plainly professes that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man, is traly, really, and substantially contuned under the species of those sensible objects. For these things are not mutually repugnant : That our Saviour, according to His natural manner of existence, should always be seated in heaven, at the right hand of the Father ; and that, nevertheless. He should be present with us, in many other places, sacramentally in His own substance, in that way of existence, which,'though in words we can hardly ex- press it, the mind, illumined by faith, can still conceive to be possible to Gtod, and which we are bound most firmly to believe. For so all our ancestors — as many as were in the true Church of Christ — who have written concerning this most holy sacrament, have most openly professed." *
The body of Christ, however, in this holy sacrament, is not separated from His blood, nor is His blood from His body, nor is either of them disjoined from His soul and divinity; but all and the whole living Christ is entirely con- tained under each species, so that, whoever receives under one kind, becomes truly partaker of the whole sacrament : He is not deprived either of the body or the blood of Christ ** For at all times," says the Council of Trent, " the faith
♦Se88,xlil. ct
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42 THE WONDERFUL QIFT OF GOD.
has been in the Churcli of God that, immediately after con* secration, the true body of our Lord and His true blood, to- gether with His soul and divinity, are present under the species of bread and wine ; but the body indeed under the species of bread, and the blood under the species of wine^ by virtue of the words (of consecration) : moreover, that the body itself is under the species of wine, and the blood under the species of bread, and the soul under each, by vir- tue of that natural connection and concomitance, by which the body and soul of our Lord, who, being now risen from the dead, can die no more, are naturally joined together ; the divinity, furthermore, is there, on account of its admirable hypostatic union with the body and souL Wherefore, it is most true that as much is contained under either species, as under both; for Christ, whole and entire, exists under the species of bread, and under each (divided) particle of that species : and whole under the species of wine, and under its separated parts," *
It is thus that our Lord has redeemed His promise of giv- ing to the world His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. It is thus that we see the truth of what He said to His apos- tles : ** I will not leave you orphans." f I shall indeed with- draw from you My visible presence by ascending into heav- en, but I will stay with you in the blessed sacrament to the end of the world.
" When Elias ascended into heaven," says St John Chry- sostom, " he left nothing else behind him to his disciple than his mantle. • With this,' said he, 'have I wrestled with the devil ; take this and arm thyself also with it against him.* Eliseu's received that mantle as the greatest inheritance, for indeed it was the greatest inheritance, a more precious one than all gold. And that Elias was now a twofold person, an Elias above and an Elias below. I know that you reckon that just man blessed, and each one of you wishes to be he,
* Sess. xUi. dU. * t St. John xiv. 18.
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What then if I show you tliat we havereceiyed something else maeh greater than that which he had ? For Elias left a mantle to his disciple, hut the Son of God, when ascending^ to heaven, lefb unto us His own flesh. Elias indeed having stripped oflF his covering went up, but Christ left His flesh unto us, and yet retaining it, ascended.
" Parents, indeed, have given their children to others to feed, but 'not so I,* says Jesus Christ, 'but I feed Mine with My flesh ; I set Myself before you ; My will being that you shall be ennobled, and holding out to you, as regards future things, glad expectations. For He that has given Himself unto yon here, much more will He do so in the world to come. I was willing to become your brother; for you I putook of flesh and blood, again do I give to you that same flesh and blood, whereby I became your relative.'
"This blood effects for us that blooming kingly image, this begets beauty unrivalled ; this suffers not the souFs dig- nity to fade away, irrigating and nourishing it continually. For the blood that is formed within us, from our food, does not at once become blood, but something else ; but not so this; it at once irrigates the soul and infuses a mighty power. This blood, worthily received, drives away demons, and keeps Ihera far aloof from us, but summons angels to us, and the Lord of angels. For wheresoever they behold the Lord's blood, demons fly, and angels crowd in haste. This blood when poured out washed the whole world. Wherefore, kt us not be cast down, nor lament, nor fear the difficulties of the times; for He who refused not to pour out His blood for all, and who has given us to partake of His flesh and of His blood again, what will He refuse to do for our safety ? *' *
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has said : " I am the truth : '* tl ^ all words that I q)eak are true. Now He took bread into His hands- and said, "This is My Body 5 " it is then really His Body under the appearance of bread. He took a cup of
♦ T. U. Horn. U. ad Popul. Antloch. n. g.
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44 THE WONDERFUL GIFT OF GOD.
wine and said: "This is My Blood ;'* it is then really Hig Blood under the appearance of wine which He poured into the cup and presented to His Apostles. He who spoke in this manner was the creator of heaven and earth, with Whom to speak and to act are the same thing.
When God works miracles for the relief of bodily necessi- ties, men believe. Now when His immense love for our souls prevails upon Him to change bread and wine into His body and blood for the relief of our spiritual necessities, they refuse to believe. What blindness of the mind I What perverseness of the heart I . Had Christ said, " This is not My body, This is not My blood," every one would say that neither His body nor His blood was present in the sacra- ment, because these words, taken in the natural, literal sense, could convey no dubious idea. But Jesus Christ has said— ^ " This is My body, this is My blood : '' why then shall not those words be held to have equal force in proving that His body and blood are truly and really present in the Blessed Sacrament ?
*' Sbice Christ Himself pronounced it," writes St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in the fourth century, "and said * TJiis is My Body,'* who after that shall dare to doubt of it ? And since He says, * This is My Blood/ who would dare to say it is not His Blood? He once changed water into wine, and does He not deserve to be believed, when He has changed wine into His blood ? With a certainty excluding all manner of doubt, we take the body and blood of Christ ; for under the appearance of bread His body is given, and His blood under the appearance of wine."
** Let us, therefore," says St. John Chrysostom, " believe God always, let us never contradict Him, though what He says appears above our reason ; for His word cannot deceive us, but our senses may easily be deceived. As, therefore. He said. This is My body, let us believe it without the least hesitation. We are nourished with that flesh wliich the angels see, and before which they tremble. What shepherd
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THB WOKDERFUL GIFT OP OOD. 45
erer fed his floek with his flesh ? He nourished ns with His own body. He cements and incorporates ns with Himself. He nu^es ns His own body, not merely by faith, but in fact and in reality.
St Isaac, a holy priest of Antioch, in the fifth centnry, says : ^ I saw the mingled yessel (cup), and I saw it filled with blood instead of wine ; and instead of the bread, I saw the body placed in the middle of the table. I saw the blood and feared; I saw the body and was awed. She, Faith, beckoned, saying, ^Eat and be silent ; drink, search not, my child.' She showed me a body slain, of which, placing a por- tion on my lips, she calmly said, ' See what thou eatest' She held oat to me a reed, and bade me subscribe myself. I took it, wrote and confessed that, This is the Body of Qoi ! In like manner taking the chalice I drank, and out of the chal- ice the odor of that Body which I had eaten smote me. And what I had said of the Body, namely, that it is the Body of God, that also did I say of the chalice, namely, that This is the Blood of our Bedeemer ! "
We read in the Gospel of St Matthew ♦ that our Divine Bedeemer one day asked His disciples to tell Him whom men said that He was. The disciples answered that some said He was John Uie Baptist, others that He was Elias, others again that He was Jeremias or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked, "But whom do you say that I am?** Simon Peter answered, " Thou art Christ, the Son of the liTing God.** And Jesus replied : " Blessed art thou, Simon Baijona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father, Who is in heaven ; '' that is to say, it is not by your senses, or by any human means, that you know for certain, that I am the Son of God, for your senses behold in Me but an ordinary man, but My heavenly Father has en- lightened you to know that I am His Son, God and man at tiie saifie time ; for this faith of yours, I call you blessed.
♦xvi. 18-17.
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46 THB WONDBRFUr. GIFT OF OOD.
Now, suppose our Lord Jesus Christ should say to Prot^- tants : " Tell Me, what is the consecrated Host ? " Some of them would answer: It is but a figure of Thy Body ; others, again would reply: It will become Thy Body in the mouth of the recipient ; whilst others still would respond otherwise. But were our Lord to ask every one of the two hundred millions of Catholics all over the world, all would at once answer like SL Peter: The consecrated Host is Thy own Body; It is Christ, the Son of the living God, for the sim- ple reason that Thou hast made it, and therefore declared It to be Thy Body. And Jesus Christ then would answer what He said to St Peter: Blessed are you, because it is not flesh and blood that has revealed it to you: it is not by your senses, that you know the consecrated Host to be really My Body, but by the gift of faith bestowed upon you by My heavenly Father. Most assuredly then, the heavenly Father has not revealed Himself to those who do not believe in His Son in the consecrated Host
In the beginning of the world, Ood promised to give Himself to us. But not contented with a promise which had reference only to eternity, He gave us even in this life His divine Son — another and yet Himself in the Institution of the Holy Eucharist It is therefore in Holy Communion that Jesus is our beatitude begun. He is the Head of His church, of all the faithful on earth, who form His mystic body. Now where the head is, there also should be its body. But since we — the mystic body of Christ — cannot be as yet with Jesus Christ, in heaven. He, our Head vouchsafed to stay with us, His body, on earth, though in a manner in- visible to our eyes.
Moreover, Jesus Christ is the Spouse of the Catholio Church; with her He is more inseparably united than maa and wife can be. The bond of His union is the immense love of Jesus Christ for His Spouse. St Paul holds pp for imitation to married people this love of Jesus Christ for His Spouse. " Husbands," he writes in his Epistle to the
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Ephesians^ " love yoar wires as Christ also loves the chnrch •nd delivered Himself up for her/* ♦
Now all the faithful are members of this church ; they were cleansed from all defilement of sin in Holy Baptism. Hence it is that the love of Jesus Christ for a pure soul — a member ot His mystic body — infinitely exceeds that of a bridegroom for his bride. This exceedingly great love of Jesus Christ for His Spouse induced Him to stay with her to the consummation of the world. The reason, however, why our Dirine Saviour stays with His Spouse on earth in a hidden manner, is because He is espoused to her in faith: His union with her being spiritual, not carnal, as was fore- told by the prophet Osee, " I will espouse thee to Me forever, and I will espouse thee to Me in mercy, in commiserations ; and I will espouse thee to me in faith^ and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.** \
Since our Lord then is espoused to the church, in faith, it was fitting that He should be with her in a hidden manner, in order that her children might find herein a good opportu- nity to exercise their faith and obtain in heaven the reward promised in the Gtospel to those who have not seen, yet have hdieved.
Since the Church then is the Spouse of Jesus Christ, Ho feels bound in duty, as it were, to provide her with the necessary life-giving food, and to see to her spiritual welfare and prosperity. Now this He does especially by giving Himself as food and drink in the Blessed Eucharist to all the faithful of His church, thus clearly showing that He truly loves His Spouse, the Church, and supplies all her temporal and spiritual wants.
0 God, so glorious and yet so intimately united with us, lifted so high above the heavens and yet stooping to the low- liness of Thy creatures, so immense and yet dwelling near US on our altars, so awful and yet so worthy of love I Oh,
(• Bph«f. V. 25.) (t Chap- U. 19.)
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48 THE WONDERFUL GIFT OF GOD.
for a voice loud enough to reproach the world with its blind- ness, coldness, and unbelief: to declare with power all that Thou art : to cover with confusion all those who neither believe in Thy wonderful promise nor in thy wonderful gift 1 Thou, 0 Lord, givest me too much, in giving me Thyself, for I am unworthy of so much happiness. Yet wouldst Tliou give me too little in giving me anything but Thyself; for everything Thou couldst give me without the gift of Thy- self, would be too little for the satisfaction of Thy love, and also insufficient to fill my heart. May Jesus in. the Blessed Saorement be praised forever.
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▲ WONDEBFUL ICBANS OF AWAKEinKG PAITH IK THB REAL PBE8EKCE.
OuB dear Saviour tells ns in the Gospel that He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is indeed a good Shepherd. He knows His sheep in general and in particular. He instructs them by His word. He strengthens them by his grace, animates them by His spirit, and enriches them with His merits. He does not, like other shepherds, nourish Himself with their flesh, or clothe Himself with their fleece; on the contrary, He gives them His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. He watches over His sheep with a special Providence ; He never abandons them; He defends and protects them against the foe who would devour them. When he prowls about the sheepfold and would enter, Jesus comes to their assistance to drive him off and save them.
This Good Shepherd foresaw that Luther and other raven- ous wolves, would enter in and carry off many of His sheep : that they would kill them by preventing them from eating the "Bread of Life"— the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ in holy communion. It was Luther's own opinion that in no wise could he hurt the sheep of Jesus Christ more than by undermining their faith in the Seal Presence. Jesus had foreseen this. So to prove Himself a Good Shepherd to His flock. He made use of a wonderful means to awaken their &ith in the Blessed Sacrament This means was the insti- tution of the Feast of Corpus Christi.
I need not relate here the wonderful manner in which it was introduced into the Church in the thirteenth century. This may be read in the ** Blessed Eucharist, our greatest
3
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50 A WONDERFUL MEAXS OP AWAKE2fINQ
Treasure." I only wish here to call attention to the fact, that it was instituted by divine inspiration in order that the Ca*^^holic doctrine might be strengthened by the institution of this festival, at a time when the faith of the world was growing cold and heresies were rife. This feast is celebra- ted with all possible magnificence and pomp. The solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament is the public recogni- tion by the Catholic world of the Eeal Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament; it is a reversal of the judgment that an unbelieving world would pass upon our Lord and a com- pensation for the outrages which it has inflicted on Him. As He was once in the most ignominious manner led as a malefactx>r through the streets of Jerusalem from Annas to Oaiphas, from Caiphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, from one tribunal to another, on this day He is borne in triumph through the church and open streets, as the spotless Lamb and as man's Highest Good*.
As HiB sufferings had no other witnesses than envious and unworthy Jews, so now, on this day every knee bends in adoration before Him. As the executioner once led Him forth to death, so, in this procession, the great ones of the world mingle with the throng to do Him reverence. As then His ears resounded with the most scornful and out- rageous blasphemies, so now, on this great festival, the church greets Him with music and songs of praise. The crown of thorns that once pierced His brow is now ex- changed for the wreath of flowers around the remonstrance^ while civil magistrates with thei!" insignia and troops of heroes, with glittering arms and waving banners, replace the fierce Boman soldiers, who once kept watch around His dark and silent tomb. The Cross which Jesus bore with sorrow and sweat, up the rugged hill of Calvary, is, on this day of triumph, carried before all as the sign of victory. Jesus Himself, who was hfted up upon it, is now, in the Blessed Sacrament, raised aloft to impart His benediction to Hia kneeling and adoring people.
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FAITH VX THE BEAL PBESEXOE. 51
It is thus that on this memorable day faith trinmphs, hope is enhanced, charity shines, piety exnlts, our temples re-echo with hymns of exultation, pure souls tremble with holy joy, the faith of the lukewarm is awakened, whilst in- fidehty and heresy are confounded. It cannot be doubted, therefore, that the institution of this solemn Feast of Cor- pus Ohristi, has ever since its first celebration been a most powerful means of awakening the faith in the Real Pres- ence.
Howeyer, in spite of the efficacy of this means, it has not always produced the desired effect upon all the faithfuL In the sixteenth century especially, many grew lukewarm and indifferent, even towards Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacra- ment. They treated their Good Shepherd in this divine mystery as a stranger. It is the lukewarm and indifferent Catholics who have always done the most harm in the Church ; for they have lost all relish for God; they are de- prived of all consolation ; they wander more and more from the ways of Providence ; they sin without remorse or fear ; they fly from confession and communion ; they are sick, but unconscious of their ailing; wicked, but blind to their vices ; they are slaves and believe themselves free ; they abuse all remedies, reject every inspiration, are impervious to the impressions of grace. Hence it comes that the luke- warm dishonor virtue, cry down devotion, scandalize their neighbors, and become a burden to the Church. They offend against the Holy Ghost, afflict the sacred Heart of Jesus, and by their own stubbornness and sin, compel Him, in a manner, to spurn them, after which they hardly ever return, as that which has been vomited forth is not again eaten.
To rid Him of these sheep and to prevent their commu- nicating their contagion to others ; or, to rouse them from their £Eital state of lethargy, and make them become better Christians, our divine Shepherd had recourse, as it were, to amputation. If one member of the body endangers the others, the physician, if he may, amputates it in order to
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52 A WONDERFUL KBAK8 OF AWAKElHNa
save the whole. Jesus Christ, onr diyine physician, often acts thus. Especially was this the case in the sixteenth century. He permitted Protestantism, one of the greatest eyils in the world, to arise. But as the Lord is Infinite Wis- dom itself, He knows how to draw good from evil. One good, fervent Catholic is dearer to His Heart than a thou- sand who are lukewarm aud indifferent. Protestantism was the instrument of amputation to separate the lukewarm and dead of the mystic hody of Christ from the living mem- bers. The former followed Luther, the apostate-monk and great heresiarch of the sixteenth century.
Protestantism has ever been a most bitter antagonist of the Church. It has denied and combated her most vital doctrines, especially that of the Beal Presence. There must be scandals, a fatal, though divine warning ! There must be storms in nature to purify the air from dangerous elements. In like manner God permits storms— heresies to arise in His church on earth, that the erroneous and impious doc- trines of heretics may, by way of contrast, set forth in clearer light the true and holy doctrines of that Church. As is light in the midst of darkness, gold contrasted with lead, the sun among the planets, the wise among the foolish, —so is the Catholic Church among non-Catholics. If two things of different natures, says the wise man, are brought into opposition, the eye perceives their difference at once. *^ Qood is set against evil, and life against death; so also is the sinner against the just man. And so look upon all the works of the Most High. Two and two and one against another/' * Christ then permits the storms of heresies to burst upon His church to bring forth into clearer light Hia divine doctrine and to remove dangerous elements from His mystic Body. In fighting heresies, the Church defines her own doctrines in clear terms, and sets forth solid arguments in confirmation. It is certain that the doctrine on the
• Eccle. xxxiiL
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FAITH IK THE BEAL PBBSENCE. 53
Seal Presence was neTer so fiercely attacked bj any heretic as by Luther and his companions. The consequence was, that ever since that time the priests of the Catholic Church have been obliged to defend this holy doctrine and uphold it by most conyincing and undeniable arguments. It is thus that they increase their own faith in this mystery of lore as weU as that of the flock of Jesus Christ, and thus has our Lord drawn good from evil, thus has salvation come to His Church, — from the rery enemies of our religion.
In order the better to understand this, let us examine the fsdae, absurd and blasphemous assertions of Protestants, and see how, by those yery assertions, our faith in the Beal Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is the more confirmed.
Protestants assert that our Lord spoke only figuratively. Now I would ask them : Did not Jesus Christ foresee that men would dispute and quarrel about the meaning of His words? Assuredly He did, for He is Infinite Wisdom. Did He not wish to tell us the truth ? Undoubtedly He did, for He is Truth itself. Was He not able to tell us the truth ? Most certainly He was, for He is almighty. Why then, if He wished to give us only a figure of His body, if He wished to give us bread and wine simply, did He n6t say so ? Why did He say : « This is My Body ? '' Why did He not rather say — ^^ This represents My Body ? ^ There are in the Syro- Chaldaic, the language our Saviour spoke, at least forty-five words which mean, to signify, to represent Why did He not use one of those words ? Why did He say — " This is ? ** The opinion that our Lord spoke only figuratively at the last Supper is false, absurd and blasphemous.
I would not wish for the world to offend any of my readers, but I must in conscience raise my voice against that lying and impious perversion of the blessed word of God, known as the figurative interpretation. To say that our Lord spoke only figuratively is absurd, for bread bears no resemblance to the human body, and consequently never was and never
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64 A WOKDERFUL MEAKS OF AWAKENING
can be a figure of it I defy any one to show me a single expression, in any language, in which bread is taken as a figure or symbol of the human body.
To say that our Saviour spoke figuratively is false, for our Lord does not say : This bread is My Body, but He says : " This is " Now in Greek, the language in which the Apos- tles wrote, the denion strati ve pronoun " This ** is neuter and cannot agree with the word ** bread," which is masculine ; but with the word " body," which is neuter. It is the same as if our Saviour said : " My Body is this." Now that which is our Lord's Body, cannot at the same time be a piece of bread.
Our divine Saviour came on earth to put an end to the figures of the Old Law and to give us instead their reality. The Paschal lamb was a figure of our Lord's passion and death. To say, therefore, that our Lord left us only bread and wine, is to assert that He substituted one figure for another. Moreover, the Paschal lamb was a very intelligi- ble figure of our Lord's death ; not so with bread and wine, which are always symbolical of feasting and joy.
Indeed, to say that our Lord spoke figuratively is blasphe* mous. For according to St. Luke, our Saviour said: "This is My Body, which is given for you ; " and according to St. Paul — "This is My Body, which is broken for you." Now the words " given for you," " broken for you," mean, given, broken for your redemption. So that to say that our Saviour gave us only a piece of bread, is to assert that a piece of bread is the cause of our redemption. This is still more clearly to be gathered from the words which our Saviour used in consecrating the clialice. " Take and drink ye all of this, for this is My blood, the blood of the New Testament, that shall be shed for many, for the remission of sins." Now mark well : it was that blood which our Saviour gave to the Apostles, and which they drank, that was to be shed for the remission of sins. If it was only wine, then a cup of wine was the cause of our Eedemption.
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FAITH IN THE REAL PRESENCE. 55
At the last Supper there are two yery important cirenm- etauces which should he particularly taken into considera- tion. The first is, that our Saviour gave a commandment or Jaw J — *^ Do this," He said to the Apostles ; i. e., do what I have done. "Do this in remembrance of Me/' In a law, the words must be always clear, precise, expressive, without metaphor, or figure of any kind, and must always be taken in their natural and literal meaning. Therefore, when our Lord Jesus Christ says : " This is My Body," it must really be His body. Our Saviour made a law and consequently He mast have spoken clearly and precisely. Suppose that a lawgiver, instead of expressing his laws in clear and simple langiu^, were to express them in figures and parables, would he not be misunderstood, and consequently disobeyed ? And yet there are men so rash and blasphemous as to assert, that when our Lord Jesus Christ commands us to eat His flesh, nnder pain of eternal damnation, in so important a commandment He speaks only in parables and figures.
In the second place, our Lord made a will or Testament. "This chalice is the New Testament in My blood.* " Our Lord calls it the New Testament, to distinguish it from the Old Testament, from the covenant He had formerly made with the Jewish pepple. On that occasion, Moses by the commandment of God spriukled the people with blood, say- ing;: " This is the blood of the covenant." Now our Saviour makes a new covenant and a New Testament : " This is the blood of the New Testament." The blood which Moses used in the first covenant was real blood, arid the blood which Jesns used in the new covenant at the last Supper, most also have been real blood.
At this last Supper our Saviour made a testament, a will In a testament, as in a law, the words must be clear, expres- sive, without metaphor of any kind, and must always be taken in their natural and literal meaning. A will or testa-
♦ Luke xxii. 20.
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56 A WONDERFUL MEANS OF AWAKENING
ment, is always writtei. in the simplest; and clearest laxigasLge, for were the language ambiguous or obscure, it would easily give rise to lawsuits or quarrels. In every nation, the last will of a deceased person is held sacred. No one has the right to change it, or to refoiin it Every word is respected. It would be a grievous crime to add to it any gloss or ex- planation. When a will or testament is opened, after the death of the testator, all heirs stand around in silence. Every word is listened to with profound attention, and though the testator is stiff and cold in the grave, yet his last will is respected, his words are received without figure, with- out explanation, in their literal and obvious meaning. The last will of man is respected, the will of a man cold in the grave ; yet the last will and testament of the living Gody the will and testament of Jesus Christ in heaven is contradicted I Jesus Christ tells us in His last will and testament : '^ I be- queath to you My body and My blood." He bequeathed His legacy to us in the clearest and most formal manner ; nevertheless there are men who dare tell us that Jesus Christ left us only the figure of His body and blood.
Suppose that a relative or friend had in his will bequeathed to you in clear and expressive terms a house. Suppose that when you went to take possession of the house, the adminis- trator were to present you with a picture of it, assuring you that this was all the testator meant to give yon in his will. Would you not think that either the adminis- trator or testator was a cheat, and wished to make a fool of you? And yet, 0 great Jesus, Son of the living God I is it thus that wicked men wish to represent Thee ? Thou hast promised with a solemn oath to give us Thy body and blood in Thy testament, and wicked men dare to gainsay Thy liv- ing word and assert that Thou hast not left us Thy body and blood, that Thou hast left us only bread and wine. The last will of the lowest man on earth is respected, and the last will of the Son of God is falsified and contradicted. Wa know that it is a crime punishable by law to change or to
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FAITH IK THE BEAL PRB6EXCS. 57
insert a single word in the testament of any man, and shall it not be a crime, punishable by the God of heaven, to change the clear words of the testament of Jesus Christ ?
The false and absurd grounds of Protestant tenets on tliia doctrine of faith are made still more apparent from what St. Paul teaches us on the Blessed Eucharist The Apostles understood our Lord to have really given them His body and blood — to have given them the power to change bread and wine into His body and blood. In the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we find that St. Paul himself and all tiie Christians of his time really believed that Jesus Christ kfl ns His body and blood. St Paul asks the Corinthians : **The cup of benediction, which we bless, is it not the par- taking of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord ? '* He assures the Christians that our Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to him and instructed him concerning the doctrine of the Eucharist He then relates the very words that our Lord used in consecrating the bread and wine at the last Sup- per. And after relating how our Lord gave us His body and blood, he concludes : " Therefore whosoever shall eat of this breads or drink of this chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord:" i. e. guilty of the most grievous offence against the body and the blood of the Lord.
If the Holy Eucharist be merely a piece of bread, how can it be eaten unworthily? How can one become guilty of a grievous crime against the body and blood of Christ by eating it ? But it might be objected : The piece of bread is a figure of Christ's body, and it therefore is a crime to receive it unworthily. Let us take then a crucifix, a picture, or an im- age of Christ Any one of them would be a better figure of Him than a piece of bread. And yet Protestants, the so- called reformers, dishonored and trampled on such images. But even granting, by impossibility, that a piece of bread be a figure of our Lord's body, how can the recipient of it be-
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58 A WONDEBFUL MEANS OF AWAKEKING
come guilty of the body and blood of the Lord ? Moreover, SL Paul commands the Christians to prove themselves, to examine their conscience before Receiving the Holy Eucha- . rist, for he says — " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh his own damnation, because he doth not discern the body of the Lord."* Now, if the Blessed Eucharist be only bread and wine, how can you discern there- in the body of the Lord ? How can we eat and drink our own damnation, by eating a little bread and wine ? How can we incur eternal torment for not discerning the body of Christ, where it does not exist?
But it may be objected, that to believe in transubstantia- tion is to go against reason, common sense, and the evidence of the senses. Are we then to set up our senses, our reason and common sense, as the infallible standard of our &ith? If so, how can we believe in Ood, Ood being a pure spirit imperceptible to the senses? How can we believe in the Blessed Trinity — for neither senses, reason, nor common sense can perceive how the three Divine Persons are entirely distinct, yet but one in essence? If the evidence of the senses be our only criterion of faith, then must we deny that there is such a thing as the grace of Gx>d, or that there is such a thing as a soul at alL Nay, eternity, hell and heaven must be denied as imperceptible to the senses, and St Paul assures us that ^' no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor heart conceived what heaven is.'* Can our senses perceive any difference between an unbaptized child and one that has been baptized ? Can they perceive the existence of original sin in the soul of a new born babe ? Will reason or common sense explain how it is that a child born in 1870 should be charged with the crime of Adam's disobedience committed nearly six thousand years ago ? This child could not have consented to the crime of Adam, as he was not then iu ex- istence. Now it is against common sense, and against the laws of every civilized country, to charge one man with the
' ♦ 1 Cor. xl.
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FAITH IN TH£ BSAL PKESEKOE. 59
gnilt of another, whose accomplice he never was and nerer could have been. And yet yoa must believe in original sin or deny the necessity of baptisnL
Bnt it is asked: How can bread and wine be changed into the body and blood of Christ ? The answer is very simple : by the almighty power of God. Transubstantiation in the Holy Eucharist. is a stupendous miracle; but a certain kind of transubstantiation, or change of one substance into another, is going on continually in nature. We see it in the woods, in the grass, in the animals, in fact, in everything around us. When we take in food into our bodies that food Ib changed into flesh and blood. Now if bread and wine, by the operation of nature can become flesh, cannot God, by the power of His almighty word, change bread and wine into His flesh and blood ? Transubstantiation, or the change of one substance into another, is nothing new with Gtod. When He created man He performed an act of transubstan- tiation, for He changed the slime of the earth into the flesh, blood and bones of Adam, and this change was wrought by the word of God acting on matter. Again, God took a hard, bony rib from the side of Adam, which He changed into the flesh and blood of Eve. This change of one substance into another, has been going on continually in nature, ever since the b^;inning of the world. God has wished thereby to pre- pare us for the miraculous and infinitely more stupendous change of substance which is wrought in the Holy Eucharist.
But it may be said: God can change one substance into another ; but how can man do the like ? And the answer is, as God's instrument, when God gives him the power so to do. Moses changed a rod into a serpent and a serpent into a rod ; he changed water into blood, and blood into water, by the power of the word of God. If a man in the Old Law changed water into blood by the power of the word of God, cannot a man in the New Law change wine into blood by the same power— the word of God ? Is the word of God less powerful now than k then was ?
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60 A WOKDEBFUL KSAKS OF AWAKSHIKG
Take a piece of coal ; it is hard, heayy, and opaque. Throw it into the furnace of a gasometer and it hecomes liquid. Examine it again in the gasometer and it becomes light as air, impalpable, transparent Examine it in the tube, it is invi- fiible ; look at it in the jet, it again becomes visible. We see therefore the same thing, the piece of coal, become visible and invisible, palpable and impalpable, heavy and light, light and darkness, opaque and transparent Now if a single piece of matter can possess such contradictory properties, is it so difficult to conceive how our Lord Jesus Christ can give His glorified Body any bulk or form of existence He pleases ?
To admit the evidence of the senses only is to deny every article of the Creed, every revealed truth ; nay, to deny and disown the father and mother who have borne us; for to prove by the evidence of the senses alone who is our fether or our mother is impossible. To reject the mystery of trans* substantiation, merely because one cannot understand it, or because the peculiar sect to which a person belongs rejects it, is about as reasonable as if a congregation of frogs were to deny the existence of algebra, astronomy, or photography, merely because some elders of the tribes would neither see nor feel, nor understand the subject
Are we to limit our belief to what we can understand? It so, then we can never make an act of faith, for faith is pre* cisely the belief in some truth that we do not yet see or un- derstand, but which we nevertheless firmly believe, simply because God has revealed it Believing only what we oan understand, we must deny the fact of creation, because no man can understand how all things were created out of nothing. It is impossible to believe the existence of any- thing, not even of one's own self, for it is impossible to un- derstand how one exists ; we cannot understand even how a blade of grass grows.
Man is progressive. His first state after the fall was the patriarchal religion, the religion of nature. His second state was that of the Jews, a revelation of religion of figures^
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FAITH m THE BEAL PBESBKCB. 61
or types and veils ; as Mann% Paschal lamb and the rest. The third state is that of the Christians, who possess God, hidden indeed bat really present Man's fourth state is that of the Blessed in heaven, who possess and see Ood wiihoat veils or figures, face to face. To say that Christ is not present in reality, but only in figure, as He was with the Jews, is to put mankind back two thousand years. You can no more do this than you can cause the sun to turn back its course, or cause an old man to return to childhood. To require that Christ should manifest His Presence here on earth as He does to the Blessed in heaven, is to destroy the present state of time, to hasten the end of the world, to enter upon eternity. Christians here on earth hold a middle state between that of the Jews and that of the Blessed in heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ came on earth to fulfil the law, to perfect it In the Old Law Ood was really present in the midst of His chosen people. He was present with them in the desert, in the ark of the cove- Bant, in the temple. And as the New Law is the fulfil- ment and perfection of the Old, God must still remain really present on earth in the midst of His chosen people.
This is Catholic belief. We believe most firmly that the Lord of heaven and earth — our dear Saviour and future Jadge — dwells amongst us in the Blessed Sacrament on our altars. This was the belief and the doctrine of the Apostles, of all the Councils and Fathers of the Church. For this doc- trine^ hundreds of popes and bishops and priests fought, and laid down their lives, and most assuredly millions of Catholics are ready to do the same with cheerfulness, at any moment, riumld Ood require the sacrifice of their lives in confirma- tion of this doctrine. And why ? It is because Catholics are as infallibly certain and intimately convinced of this truth as they are of any other of their holy religion ; they fed as certain of it as Marie Bernard Bauer, a Jewish convert, felt after his conversion to the Catholic faith in 1865.
Marie Bernard Bauer is the son of one of the wealthiest
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62 A WONDKSFUL MEAKS OP AWAKENING
Jewish families in Vienna. At an early age, the yonng Jew, fiery and enthusiastic, and gifted already with singnlar eloquence, threw himself into the ranks of the Bevolution, and became one of its most ardent emissaries. At eighteen, he was entrusted with important missions, and considered a rising Freemason. But during his trayels he became ac- quainted with a young Frenchman, a zealous Catholic, whose influence and friendship laid the foundations of his conver- sion. He visited his friends and his mother also, who by her example more even than by her exhortations contrib- uted to the work of grace begun in his soul by her son's solicitations. Bauer wore, at the request of these two, a medal of the Immaculate Conception. After being fully in- structed in the faith, he required nothing but grace to be- lieve. While at Lyons with several worldly acquaintances, he happened to be standing on a balcony, on the Feast of Corpus Christi; the procession of the Blessed Sacrament was to pass below, and they, with cigars in their mouths, and mockery in their hearts, were watching for the pageant. No change came over the young Jew until the canopy under which the priest carried the Divine Host was close beneath the balcony. The change at that moment was lightning- like. Faith entered his heart, or rather — as he himself afterwards declared — a conviction of the real presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament so absolute that it made itself felt throughout his whole being.
It was by means of this light of faitb, that he saw our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament more distinctly than if oar Lord had appeared to him in some sensible manner. The same knowledge, so to speak, returned to him many times since while consecrating at Mass, and he said he could not believe merely, in a matter of which he was so blissfully and unerringly certain. As Jesus passed, Bauer threw himself on his knees and professed himself a Christian.
It was in consequence of this most intimate conviction that he concluded one of his discourses in Paris, as follows :
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FAITH IX THE BBAL PBESEKCS. 63
•'And Thou, Lord Jesus, Who art the Truth * that enlight- eneth every man that cometh into the world ' (John i), let it not come to pass that one soul out of this great assem- blage should return this day from the foot of this pulpit to the common turmoil of the world without bearing within it- self the inefi^ble wound of a dawning conviction. And if, O Lord! Thou requirest unto this end the sacrifice of a human life, let this day be my last on earth, and this hour the last of my mortal pilgrimage/' — Catholic World, May, 1872.
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CHAPTER V.
A WOKDERSUL MANIFESTATIOK OF THE EEAL PBESElfOE.
It was not enough for Protestants to deny the Real Pres- ence of our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament ; they com- mitted even the most abominable outrages on His Sacred Person in this mystery of love. In France particularly, the CalvinTsts entered the Catholic Churches, overturned the altars, trampled the Blessed Sacrament under their feet, drank healths from the consecrated chalices, smeared their shoes with holy oil, defiled the church vestments with or- dure, threw the books into the fire, and destroyed the stat- uary. They assaulted and massacred the Catholic clergy in the very discharge of their sacred functions, with cries of '* kill the priests," " kill the monks." In France alone, the Calvinists destroyed 20,000 Catholic churches. They pil- laged and demolished monasteries and hospitals. The monks at Chartres were all murdered with the exception of one, who concealed himself; but as soon as discovered, he was buried alive. In Dauphiny alone they murdered 255 priests, ll2 monks and friars, and burnt 900 towns and villages.
Those were trying times for the Catholics in other coun- tries as well as in France. Although the Bishops and priests did all in their power to strengthen their flocks in the faith, yet it required an extraordinary miracle to confirm the faith of many and confound the impiety of the heretics. This mir- acle was wrought by Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament at Laon in France on the eighth day of February, 1566. It occurred in presence of more than 150,000 people; in pres- ence of all the ecclesiastical and civil authorities of the city, of Protestants and Catholics alike. The account of this stupendous miracle I published last year. It is very inter-
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OF THE BEAL PRESENCE. 65
esting and instractivey and to it is added a plain treatise on spiritism. The title of the little volume is, " Triumph of the Blessed Sacrament, or History of Nicola Aubry." It is indeed a remarkable fact that^ as the deyil made use of Luther, an apostate monk, to abolish the Mass and deny the Beal Presence, in like manner God made use of His arch- enemy, the devil, to prove the Eeal Presence. He forced him publicly to profess his firm belief in it, to confound the heretics for their disbelief, and acknowledge himself van- quished by our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. For this purpose God allowed a certain Mme. Nicola Aubry, an innocent person, to become possessed by Beelzebub and twenty-nine other evil spirita The possession took place on the eighth of November, 1565, and lasted until the eighth of February, 1566. Her parents took her to Father de Motta, a pious priest of Vervins, in order that he might expel the demon by the exorcisms of the Church. Father de Motta had tried several times to expel the evil spirit by applying the sacred relics of the holy Cross, but he could not always succeed ; Satan would not depart At last, inspired by the Holy Ghost, he resolved to expel the devil by means of the Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood. Whilst Nicola was lying in this state of unnatural lethargy. Father de Motta placed the Blessed Sacrament upon her lips, and in- stantly the infernal spell was broken ; Nicola was restored to consciousness, and received Holy Communion with every mark of devotion. As soon as Nicola had received the Sa- cred Body of our Lord, her face became bright and beauti- ful as the face of an angel, and all who saw her were filled with joy and wonder, and they blessed God from their Inmost hearts.
Nicola related that, during her trance, she saw herself iorronnded by a crowd of horrid black men, who held glit- tering daggers in their hands, and threatened to kill her. She also beheld a number of wild grizzly monsters, who threatened to tear her to pieces. Flames of fire and brim- Digitized by VjOOQIC
66 A WOi^DEEFXJL MANIFESTATION
stone shot forth from their eyes and nostrils, and almost suffocated her.
On the third of January, 1556, the Bishop arrived at Ver- vins, and began the exorcism in the church, in presence of an immense multitude.
*' What is thy name ? ^ asked the Bishop. .
" Beelzebub, prince of the deyils, next to Lucifer,** an- swered the evil spirit
" How many companions hast thou here at present ? "
" There are nineteen of us now,** answered Satan ; ^ to- morrow there will be twenty. But this is not yet all, for I see that I must call all hell to my assistance.'*
"I command thee, in the name and by the power of God,'* said the Bishop, in a solemn voice, " to depart in- stantly with thy infernal companions I **
" Yes, we shall depart,'* replied the evil spirit, " but not now, and not here. My work is not yet done in this city.**
" Where goest thou when expelled by the power of the Eeal Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?** asked the Bishop.
" You want to know where I go, do you ? Well ! last night I paid you a visit," answered Satan ; and then he related the very words the Bishop had said on hearing a noise in his room.
Satan was, at last, expelled again, by means of the Blessed Sacrament On leaving, he paralyzed the left arm and the right foot of Nicola, and also made her left arm longer than her right ; and no power on earth could cure this strange infirmity, until some weeks after, when the devil was at last completely and irrevocably expelled.
As the strange circumstances of Nicola's possession be-- came known everywhere, several Calvinist preachers came with their followers, to " expose this popish cheat," as they said. On their entrance, the devil saluted them mockiugly, called them by name, and told them that they had come iu obedience to him. One of the preachers took his Protestant
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OF THE BEAL VBXSE^CE. . 67
prayer-book, and began to read it with a very solemn face. The devil laughed at him, and, putting on a most comical fece, he said: **Ho! ho! my good friend; do you intend to expel ms with your prayers and hymns ? Do you think that they will cause me any pain ? Don't you know that they are mine ? -/ helped to compose them 1 "
^ I will expel thee in the name of God,** said the preacher, solemnly.
" You! ** said the devil, mockingly. " You will not expel me either in the name of Ood, or in the name of the devil. Did you ever hear, then, of one devil driving out another ? *'
"I am not a devil,** said the preacher, angrily, *'I am a fierrant of Christ''
" A servant of Christ, indeed I *' said Satan, with a sneer, ** What! I tell you you are worse than / am. / believe, and you do not want to believe. Do you suppose that you can expel me from the body of this miserable wretch ? Ha! go first and expel all the devils that are in your own heart!*'
The preacher took his leave, somewhat discomfited. On going away, he said, turning up the whites of his eyes, " Oh Lord, I pray thee, assist this poor creature ! "
**And I pray Lucifer,** cried the spirit, "that he may never leave you, but may always keep your firmly in his power, as he does now. Go about your business now. You are cM mine, and I am your master.**
On the arrival of the priest, several of the Protestants went away — ^they had seen and heard more than they wanted. Otiiers, however, remained, and great was their terror when they saw how the devil writhed and howled in agony, as soon as the Blessed Sacrament was brought near him. At last the evil spirit departed, leaving Nicola in a state of unnatural trance. While she was in this state, several of the preach- ers tried to open her eyes, but they found it impossible to do so. The priest iifkn placed the Blessed Sacrament on Nicola's lips, and instantly she was restored to consciousness.
Bev. Father de Motta then turned to the astonished preach*
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68 A WONDEBFUL MAKIFESTATIOK
ers, and said: " Go now, ye preachers of the new gospel; go and relate everywhere what you hare seen and heard. Do not deny any longer that our Lord Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Go now, and let not human respect hinder you from confess- ing the truth/'
During the exorcisms of the following days, the devil was forced to confess that he was not to be expelled at Vervins, and that he had with him twenty-nine devils, among whom were three powerful demons : Cerberus, Astaroth, and Legio.
On another occasion, the devil was hotly pressed by the priest, to tell the hour of his final departure.
" At three o'clock in the afternoon,'' answered the three de- mons, Cerberus, Astaroth, and Legio.
" On what day ? " asked the priest; but the demons would give no answer,
Beelzebub then began to howl wildly, and curse the hour when he first entered into the body of that wretched creature.
"Ah!" shrieked he, "if God would permit me, I would leave instantly; but I cannot. My task is not yet done."
" Dost thou, then, not know the hour of thy final depar- ture ? " asked the priest
"Ah, yesl but if you promise that you will not take me to Liesse, I will leave instantly, and will not return until this day a year."
" God forbid that I should make thee any such promise,** said the priest ; " with the help of God, thou shalt leave this very instant;" and taking the Holy Eucharist in his hand, he compelled the evil spirits to depart
22d to 24:th of January ^ 1566. — The priests now resolved to take Nicola to the celebrated pilgrimage of our Lady at Liesse, especially since the devil seemed to fear the place bo much. During the journey, the evil spirit opposed them in every possible way. At one time an accident happened ; at another the horses stood still, and would not budge an inch. At other timos the horses would rear and plunge in the most
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OF THB SEAL PBESENOK 60
frantic manner. Sometimes the devil uttered the most frightful sounds — at times they were as loud as a clap of thunder. At last, by means of prayer and the exorcisms, and especially by the power of the Blessed Sacrament, all the obstacles of Satan were overcome, and the travelers arrived safely at Liesse.
Next day Father de Motta began the exorcism in the church of Our Lady at Liesse, in presence of an immense multitude.
" How many are you in the body of this poor creature ? " asked the priest.
** There are thirty of us,^ answered the evil spirit.
The priest then sprinkled Nicola with holy water, and the devil spat upon it in contempt
" As servant of the living God,'' cried the priest, " I com- mand thee and thy associates to quit the body of this poor woman.'*
" No,** answered Satan, in an impudent tone ; ** twenty-six of my companions will depart, but as for me, I will not go."
The priest then took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and showing it to the demon, he said : " I command thee, in the name of the living God, the great Emanuel Whom thou soest hero present, and in Whom thou believest "
** Ah, yes ! " shrieked the demon ; " I believe in /tiTW." And^ the devil howled again as he made this confession, for it was wrung from him by the power of Almighty God.
** I command thee, then, in His name," said the priest, ** to quit this body instantly,"
At these words, and especially at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, the devil suffered the most frightful torture. At one moment the body of Nicola was rolled up like a ball ; then again she became fearfully swollen. At one time her &ce was unnaturally lengthened, then excessively widened, and sometimes it was as red as scarlet. Her eyes, at times protruded horribly, and then i^ain sunk deeply into her skulL Her tongue hung down to her chin ; it was some- Digitized by VjOOQIC
70 A WONDERFirL MANIFESTATIOlir
times black, sometimes red, and sometimes spotted, like a toad.
The priest still continued to urge and torture Satan. " Accursed spirit I " he cried, " I command thee in the name and by the Eeal Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ here in the Blessed Sacrament, to depart instantly from the body of this poor creature.''
"Ah, yes 1" cried Satan, howling wildly, "twenty-six of my companions shall leare this instant, for they are forced to do so."
The people in the church now began to pray with great fervor. Suddenly Nicola's limbs began to crack, as if every bone in her body were breaking, a pestilential vapor came forth from her mouth, and twenty-six devils departed from her, never more to return.
Nicola then fell into an unnatural swoon, from which she was roused only by the Blessed Sacrament On recover- ing her senses, and receiving Holy Communion, Nicola's face shone like the face of an angel.
The priest still continued to urge the demon, and used every means to expel him. Satan grinned at him horribly, and shrieked at him in a rage. " Is it not enough for you to have expelled twenty-six of my companions ? That is honor enough for the woman of this house I " By the "woman" Satan meant the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was especially honored in this place.
" I tell you," the devil shrieked, " that even if you remain here till midnight, even if you stay here a hundred years^ I will not leave at your bidding."
"At whose bidding, then ? " asked Father de Motta.
"I will not leave unless commanded by the Bishop of Laon," answered the demon, angrily.
That evening the priest gave orders that the church doora should be open next morning at five o'clock, so that the peo- ple could assemble early, and unite with him in prayer. During the night, the devil, who hates to see the people pray.
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OF THB BEAL PSE8EK0E. 71
stopped the clock in the chnrch tower^ as he afterwards con- fused, so that the doors were not opened till an hoar after
the appointed time.
Nicola was now taken to Pierrepont, where one of the de- mons, named Legio, was ejcpelled by means of the Blessed Sacnonent. On leaving, a black smoke was seen issuing &om Nicola's month, and the demon, in token of his de- psrtnre, broke some tiles on the belfry.
Here the Calvinists, nrged on by the eril spirit, tried to kill Nicola and the good priest who accompanied her ; bnt a well-armed force came jnst in time, and dispersed these cowardly murderers.
Nicola was now brought to the town of Laon. On her arrival there the people locked their doors; and no one wished to receive her into his house, for all feared that the devil might reveal their most secret sins.
At last, after long and urgent entreaties, and especially after having placed a good sum of money in the hand of the inn-keeper, Nicola was permitted to stay over-night in .an inn not far from the church.
Next morning Nicola was brought to the church. Scarcely had she quitted the house, when the devil again took posses- sion of her.
The Bishop who was requested to exorcise Nicola, pre- pared himself for this terrible task by prayer and fasting, and other works of penance.
Od the arrival of Nicola in the church, the exorcism b^iaiu
" How many are you in this body?'' asked the Bishop.
** There are three of us,** answered the evil spirit
•* What are your names ? '*
" Beelzebub, Cerberus, and Astaroth.**
^ What has become of the others ? '' asked the Bishop.
** They have been expelled,'' answered Satan.
-•Who expelled them?"
"Hal" cried the devil, gnashing his teeth, "itwasF^
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72 A WONDBBFITL MANIFESTATIOK
whom you hold in your hand, there on the paten.** The devil meant our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
"What were the names of those who were expelled?" asked the Bishop.
"What is that to you?'* answered the deril, gruffly. ** They were my dogs, my slaves ; they have no name."
" Who is speaking now?** asked the Bishop.
" It is Beelzebub, the prince of devils.**
" Let the other two speak also.**
" They shall not,** answered the proud spirit
The Bishop then, in a solemn voice, commanded Gerbenin and Astaroth to speak.
" You may talk till you crack your throat,** answered Beel- zebub, " I tell you they shall not speak in my presence. They are my servants, my slaves ; I am their master. Did you ever see a slave speak in presence of his lord ? **
"I will force them to speak,** said the Bishop; "they must obey God.**
"Very well! They will obey God; but I tell you they shall not speak. / am here for that Go on, I will satisfy you.*'
" When wilt thou leave the body of this poor creature ? ** demanded the Bishop.
"Astaroth will leave next Sunday,** answered the spirit
" Thou shalt leave this very instant**
** No, I will not leave.**
The Bishop then held the Blessed Sacrament near the face of Nicola. The demon writhed and howled in agony. " Ah, yes 1 I will go, I will go 1 ** he shrieked, " but I shall return."
Suddenly Nicola became stiff and motionless as marble. The Bishop then touched her lips with the Blessed Sacra- ment, and in an instant she was fully restored to conscioas- ness. She received Holy Communion, and her countenance now shone with a wondrous, supernatural beauty.
Next day Nicola was brought again to the church, and
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OP THE REAL PRESENCE. 73
the exorcism began as usual The Bishop sprinkled Nicola with holy water.
*^ Faugh ! yon filthy papist^' shrieked the devil in a rage, "away with your salt water ! "
He then grinned horribly, and spat upon the holy water. The Bishop now began to read the gospel of St. Jolin, and the devil mocked and mimicked him all the while, and re- j)eatvd the very same words, sometimes before, sometimes after the Bishop,
The Bishop then took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, held it near the face of Nicola, and said :
"I command thee in the name of the living God, and by the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ here in the Sacrament of the altar, to depart instantly from the body of this creature of God, and never more to relurn."
^'No! no!*' shrieked the devil, "I will not go. My hour is not yet come."
" I command thee to depart. Go forth, impure, accursed spirit I Go forth!" and the Bishop held the Blessed Sacra- ment close to Nicola's face.
**StopI srop!" shrieked Satan; "let me go! I will de- part— but I shall return." And instantly Nicola fell into the most frightful convulsions. A black smoke was seen issuing from her mouth, and she fell again into a swoon.
During her stay in Laon, Nicola was carefully examined by Catholic and Protestant physicians. Her left arm, which had been paralyzed by the devil, was found entirely without feeling. The doctors cut into the arm with a sharp knife, they burnt it with fire, they drove pins and needles under the nails of the fingers, but Nicola felt no pain ; her arm was utterly insensible. Once, while Nicola w^as lying in a srate of unnatural lethargy, the doctors gave her bread Eoaked in wine (it was what the Protestants call their com- monion, or Lord's Supper), they rubbed her limbs briskly, they threw water in her face, they pierced her tongue till the blood flowed ; they tried every possible means to arouse her,
4
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74 A WOKDEBFUL .MANIFESTATIOK
bat in vain I Nicola remained cold and motionless as mar- ble. At last the priest touched the lips of Nicola with the Blessed Sacrament, and instantly she was restored to oon- scionsness, and began to praise Qod.
The miracle was so clear, so palpable^ that one of the doc- tors, who was a bigoted Calvinist, immediately renonnoed his errors, and became a Catholic
Several times, also, the Protestants touched Nicola's face with a host which was not consecrated, and which, conse- quently, was only bi*ead, but Satan was not in the least tor- mented by this. He only ridiculed their eflforts.
On the twenty-seventh of January, the Bishop, after hay- ing walked in solemn procession with the clergy and the faithful, began the exorcism in church, in presence of a vast multitude of Protestants and Catholics.
" I command thee in the name of the living God," said the Bishop solemnly, "answer truthfully to all that I shall ask thee.''
" Speak on, I will answer ; " replied the evil spirit
** Who art thou that art now speaking ? "
"It is myself."
"What is thy name?"
" I have told you before. My name is Beelzebub."
" Who are thy companions ? "
" Astaroth and Cerberus."
" When wilt thou depart from the body of this creature of God?"
"Astaroth shall leave to-day. His hour is fixed, but I shall remain."
"What sign will he give of his departure?"
" He will break one of the window-panes, and take a piece of it with him."
"Whither will he go?"
"He will go to my brave Calvinist, Captain I>andelot,wlio would gladly put you all to death if he had the men at bis command."
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OF THE BBAL PBESEKCE. 75
** "Why do you keep possession of the body of this poor creature ? "
" I do it to harden my Calvinists, or to convert them ; and I swear by the Sacred Blood, that I shall yet drire them to the last extremity."
The names of Beelzebub, Astaroth, and Cerberus were now written on pieces of paper. The Bishop burned them in the flame of a blessed candle, and said: ^Oh, wicked spirits I accursed of Ood! I here bum these names as a sign of the eternal torments to which you have been condemned ; and you shall be tortured until you depart from tliis body." At this the demon shrieked and writhed in fearful agony. Three distinct voices were clearly heard; they resembled the bel- lowing of an ox, the howling of a dog, and the shrill squeal- ing of swine.
The Bishop now holds the Blessed Sacrament close to the fSace of Nicola. Suddenly a wild, unearthly yell rings through the air — a black, heavy smoke issues from the mouth of Ni- coLu The demon Astaroth is expelled forever. At the same instant the crash of breaking glass is heard ; a window-pane is broken and carried away. Nicola again falls into a deadly swoon, and is restored to consciousness only by the Blessed Sacrament.
During the exorcism which took place on the first of February the Bishop said :
"Oh, accursed spirit!" since neither prayer, nor the holy gospels, neither the exorcisms of the Church, nor the holy relics, can compel thee to depart, I will now show thee thy Lord and Master, and by His power I com- mand thee."
"What do you mean?" shrieked Satan, gnashing his teeth. "Do you mean your white ?"
(Here the devil used a rery unbecoming expression for the Blessed Sacrament.)
"How darest thou call our Blessed Lord by such a yile name?"
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76 A WONDERFUL KANIFESTATION
"ITa! lia! Fvo taught my Calvinists to nickname Him thus."
" Why, then dost thou fear Him so much ? Why dost thou fly in terror before Tlis face ? "
"Ha!" shrieked the devil, « it is that'Aoc/ that 'hoCy' that forces me to flee."
The devil here refers to the divine words of consecration by which the bread and wine are changed, in holy Mass, into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
The devil kept on talking quite aloud during the holy Mass.
The moment of consecration came, and Satan was in- stjintlj struck dumb. Nicola was now seized with the most frightful convulsions. Fifteen strong men were holding her down ; and so great was the strength of the demon, that they were all dragged with her aloft into the air. Kicola, her face turned away from the altar, remained suspended in space, over six feet above the platform, during the entire time of consecration. As soon as the consecration was over, she fell back heavily upon the platform.
During the exorcism which took place after mass, the Bishop held the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and said: "0 accursed spirit! arch-enemy of the ever Blessed God! 1 command thee, by the invcious Blood of Jesus Christ here l)resent, to dejmrt from this poor woman ! Depart accursed, into the everlasting flames of hell!"
At these words, and especially at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, the demon was so fearfully tormented, and the iippearance of Nicola was so hideous and revolting, that the people turned away their eyes in horror. At last a heavy sigh was heard, and a cloud of black smoke issued from the mouth of Nicola. Cerberus was expelled, and, in sign of nis departure, he broke and carried away a pane of glass from one of the side-chapels.
Again Nicola fell into a death-like swoon, and again she was brought to consciousness only by means of the Blessed Sacrament
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OF THE EEAL PKESENCE. 77
During the exorcism which took place on the seventh day of February, the Bishop said to Satan : " What sign wilt thou give of thy departure ?"
" I will cure Xicola's left arm, so that slie can use it as well as ever. Is not this a splendid miracle ? You will find another sign on the roof of the belfry."
" What hast thou gained by taking possession of this body ? Many have been converted by witnessing the gi*eat power of the Blessed Sacrament. Depart, then 1 every one hates and despises thee."
*' I know it," answered Satan. " Many have been con- verted ; but there are also many who remain hardened in their sins.'*
" Tell me, then, why hast thou taken possession of this honest and virtuous Catholic woman ?"
** I have done so by. permission of God. I have taken pos- session of her on account of the sins of the people. I have done it to show my Calvinists that there are devils who can take possession of men whenever God permits it. I know .they do not want to believe this ; but I will show them that I am the devil. I have taken possession of this creature in order to convert them, or to harden them ift their sins ; and, by the Sacred Blood, I will perform my task."
This answer filled all who heard it with horror. "Yes," answered the Bishop, solemnly, " God desires to unite all men in the one holy faith. As there is but one God, so there can be but one true religion. A religion like that which the Protestants have invented, is but a hollow mockery. It most fall. The religion established by our Lord Jesus Christ is the only true one, which shall last forever ; it shall increase. It is destined to unite all men within its sacred embrace, so that there shall be but one sheepfold and one Shepherd. • This Divine Shepherd is our Lord Jesus Christ, the invisible Ilead of the holy Roman Catholic Church, whose visible Head is our holy Father the Pope, successor of St Peter."
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78 A WONDBRFUL MAKIFKSTATIOX
The devil was silent — ^he was pnt to shame before the entire multitude. He was exi)elled once more by means of the Blessed Sacrament.
In the afternoon of the same day the deril began to prate and make merry daring the procession. ** Ah ! ha I ^ cried the devil, " you think that you can expel me in this way ? You have not the proper attendance of a Bishop. Where are the Dean and the Archdean? Where are the Boyal Judges ? Where is the Chief Magistrate, who was frightened out of his wits that night, in tte prison ? Where is the Procurator of the King? Where are his Attorneys and Counsellors? Where is the Clerk of the Court?" (The devil mentioned each of these by name.) "I will not depart until all are assembled. Were I to depart now, what proof could you give to the king of all that has happened ? Do you think that people will believe you so easily ? No ! no! There are many who would make objections. The testimony of these common country-people here will have but little weight It is a torment to me that I must tell you what you have to do. I am forced to do it. Ha ! cursed be the hour in which I first took possession of this vile wretch I **
"I find little pleasure in thy prating," answered the Bishop; ** there are witnesses enough here. Those whom you have mentioned are not necessary. Depart, then I give glory to God. Depart — go to the flames of hell ! "
"Yes, I shall depart, but not to-day I know full well that I must depart My sentence is passed ; I am compelled to leave ; but, before I do so, you must fast a little more. You are not lean enough yet'*
" I care not for thy jabbering,'* said the Bishop, « I shall expel thee by the power of God ; by the precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ"
" Yes, I must yield to you," shrieked the demon wildly. ** It tortures me that I must give you this honor. It is now twelve hundred years since a Bishop like yon expelled the prince of devils."
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OF THE BEAL PRSSEKCE. 79
**Tbou art a liar !'* said the Bishop, solemnly. ^ Every day the holy JKoman Catholic Ohorch triumphs oyer thee and thy hellish spirits."
"Thou liest thyself, my shell-pate 1" answered Satan. "Poor, contemptible devils, nameless wretches, may have been expelled, but the prince of devils has not been expelled/'
The Bishop now burned the name of Beelzebub, but Satan only laughed at him, and said: " Oh, my shell-pate, you are burning only x>aper and ink ! ^
At this every one was astonished, as the burning of the demon's name had hitherto always caused him the most frightful tortures.
" I see,'' said the Bishop, " that thou heedest neither the exorcisms nor the burning of thy name; I will, therefore, show thee thy Lord and Master."
" Whom do you mean ? " shrieked the demon, in a fury " Do you mean your white— ? "
Satan was at length expelled. On leaving, he cried out : " I depart, but I shall return again. My hour is not yet come."
The next day, as Nicola was being* taken to the church, the demon instantly took possession of her. " Aha I " cried he, in a mocking tone, **I am not gone away yet." Then he ridiculed all that had been done the day previous. Dur- ing the exorcism, the Bishop said : " Why dost thou not de- part ? The appointed day and hour have come."
" I will not go, because you are not fasting, because you have not been to confession, because you have not assembled witnesses enough "
The Bishop now took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and held it close tx) the face of the possessed woman.
" A thousand million devils take you, wretched shell-pate I Why do you torture me so horribly ? "
At last, Satan was compelled to flee once more.
The next morning, after the procession was ended, the holy nerifice of the Mass was offered up, as usuak As soon as the
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80 A WONDERFUL MANIPESTATIOK
possessed woman was brought upon the platform, the devil looked around the church and said: "Ha! there are only jwi- I)ists here ! The assembly is not yet full. Where is the magis- trate Du Manche, who was in such mortal terror, that night, in the prison ? Where is Bochet, the State's attorney ? Where is the Archdean? I will not leave until all are present; for, by the Sacred Blood, I have good reasons for it"
During holy Mass, a German Protestant, named Stephen Voske, happened to be in the church. Hearing his name called by the demon, he went up to the platform to speak to him. Vobke spoke in German, but the demon answered him in French.
" Ha! you want me to speak German with you ; but I will not do it. Were I in your country, I would speak German better than you do. I can easily see that you were not brought up in Germany." (This was really the case.) " Here," said Satan " I speak only the language of the coun- try, so that every one can understand me. You may speak German ; I will answer you in my own language."
They continued thus to talk together for about half an hour, one speaking German, and the other French. W^hen the time for the consecration approached, Satan said to Voske : " KStop, now ! keep silence ! They are going to show
the white . Ha ! it is my white . It is I who have
iiicknamc<l Him tlins. I have taught all my servants and disciples to do the same."
Suddenly, Satan was struck dumb. The possessed woman was raised over six feet into the air, and then fell back heavily upon the platform. The same scene was repeated at the Elevation of the Chalice. The demon, wild with nige, shrieked : " Ha I Bishop, you shell-pate 1 if I had you now I would make you suffer for this. You torture me horribly."
(We must remark here, that the Bishop purposely pro- longed the time of consecration, in order to cause Sataa greater torment.)
As the Bishop, just before the Pater Noster, took the Sa*
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OF THE EEAL PRESEXCE. 81
cred Host once more in his band, and raised it with the cha- lice, the possessed woman was again whisked into tlie air, canying with her the keepers, fifteen in number, at least six feet above the platform : and, after a while, she fell heavily back on the ground.
At this sight, all present were filled with amazement and terror. The German Protestant fell on his knees : he burst into tears ; he was converted.
"Ah!'* cried he, **I now believe firmly that the devil really possesses this poor creature. I believe that it is really the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ which expels him. I believe firmly. I will no longer remain a Protestant"
After Mass, the exorcism began as usual. As soon as the Bishop appeared on the platform, Satan cried, in a mocking tone : " Ah, ah ! my shell pate ! you made a good confession this morning to the dean. I saw you, but I could not un- derstand your words."
" Now, at last,^ said the Bishop, " thou must depart Away with thee, evil spirit ! "
^ Yes,^ said Satan, " it is true that I must depart, but not yet I will not go before the hour is come in which I first took jwssession of this wretched creature. Have patience, then ; wait until three o'clock. Oh, accursed be that hour. Do not push on tlie clock. I know the hour well. My sen- tence is already passed."
*• What sign wilt thou give of thy departure ? " asked the Bishop.
"Never mind!" answered Satan, sullenly; "you shall have signs enough. I will heal the left arm of this creature. She has not been able to use it these three months, because I possessed it And you, my shell-pate ! you shall have your sign. I will strike such terror to your heart as you never felt before, and as you will not soon forget."
''Where wert thou last night?"
" I was in your palace," answered Satan, "I saw you right vclL You got up last night to pray. It was about three
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82 A WOHDEBFUL KAIOFESTATIOK
o'clock. I know that your prayers hare helped mnch to expel me/*
Satan then turned to a gentleman present named Lancelot May, and publicly accused his brother Robert of some rery grievous sins, which he named.
"Yes,'' cried Satan in a rage, "I swear by the Sacred Blood *that what I say is true, eren though he is your brother."
He then turned to a woman, who stood near by, and said : ** He! Margaret, your husband Lancelot, lost two dollars last night It was Nelly who won theuL"
At this, Lancelot, who was himself present, hung his head in shame, and all present were greatly surprised. Satan continued thus for some time to reveal, the sins of those around him. At last the Bishop took the Sacred Host in his hand, and said : " In the name of the Adorable Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — in the name of the Saci^d Body of Jesus Christ here present— I command thee, wicked spirit, to depart"
"What!" shrieked Satan, "you wish to expel me with your white ? "
"Accursed spirit!" said the Bishop indignantly, "who has taught thee to blaspheme God thus ? "
" It was I who taught it to my Calvinists, who are my obedient servants," answered Satan.
"But it is the Sacred Body of thy Lord and Master ; it is the Blessed Body of our Lord Jesus Christ By His power thou shalt be expelled."
" Yes, yes, it is true ! " shrieked the demon wildly ; " it is true. It is the Body of God. I must confess it, for I am forced to do so. Ha! it tortures me that I must confess this ; but I must I speak the truth only when I am forced to do it The truth is not from me. It comes firom my Lord and Master. I have entered this body by the permission of God."
The Bishop now lield the Blessed Sacrament close to the
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OF THE B£AL PB38SKCE. 83
face of the possessed woman. The demon writhed in fearful agony. He tried in every way to e-scape from the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
At length a black smoke was seen issuing from the month of Nicola. She fell into a swoon, and was restored again to conscionsness only by means of the Blessed Sacrament
Sth of February. — During the procession, whidh took place in the afternoon of the same day, the devil said to the Bishop : '* Oh Bishop, my shell-pate I yon have taken no dinner. Yon are sick and weary." And then he began to sing — *^ Oh, he has eaten nothing I I knew that you had to fast before you could drive me out of the body of this worth* leas wretch.*'
After the procession Nicola was again placed on the plat- form, where she was held by fifteen strong men. The Bishop and clergy then offered up a solenm prayer in Latin, in which they called the devil a spirit accnrsed.
** Why do you use that word accursed t " asked the devil angrily.
" Becanse," answered the Bishop, " thou hast offended God so grievously, that thou canst never hope for pardon. Thou art lost to all love and hgpe ; thou hast nought but eternal damnation to expect. Thy sentence is passed forever."
At these words Satan became silent, and turned away.
The Bishop now began the last solemn adjuration. During the exorcism, the devil said several times to the Bishop : " Ah, you have taken no dinner to-day ! You are very weak." He then looked around, and said : " Ha, ha 1 are you here, Attorney-General Bochet? You were not here this morning I"
He then blew out the blessed candle which stood near the Bishop, and said, with a mocking laugh, ^Ha, ha I how stupid you are to bum candles in the broad da} light!"
The Bishop read the gospels, prayers and exorcisms; he burned Beelzebub's name, showed hira the relic of the holy crosS) and solemnly commanded him to depart.
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84 A WOXDEEFUL MAXIFESTATIOX
The devil answered impudently, that he did not feel like going yet.
" I shall not ask thee any longer," said the Bishop, "when thou intendest to leave; I will expel thee instantly by the power of the living God, and by the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Ilis beloved Son, here present in the Sacra- ment of the Altar."
" Ila, yes!" shrieked the demon ; " I confess that the Son of God is here really and truly present. He is my Lord and Master. It tortures me to confess it, but I am forced to do so." Then he repeated several times, with a wild, unearthly howl : " Yes, it is true. I must confess it I am forced to leave, by the power of God's Body here present I must — I must depart. It torments me that I must go so soon, and that I must confess this truth. But this truth is not from me; it comes from my Lord and Master, who has sent mo hither, and who commands and compels me to confess the truth publicly. I shall go, but I shall not go empty-handed. By the Sacred Blood, I will have my booty. I shall take along with me the head of the little bailiff of Virvins. Per- haps I could also take with me some of my Calvinists — body and soul — for they belong to me. H^ ! give me your head ! " cried he, turning to the Bishop; "let me see whether I cannot carry it off? "
" Ko, never ! " answered the Bishop ; " thou shall depart, and thou shalt take nothing with thee. These men are bap- tized— thou canst not touch them."
" Yes," cried Satan, in a mocking tone, " they are baptized ; but, after having renounced me in baptism, they gave them- selves up to me again. Therefore they are mine — they are surely mine! "
" I forbid thee, in the name of the living God," said the Bishop, " to hurt either them or any one here present"
The Bishop then took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and, holding It on high, he said, with a solemn voice: " O
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OF THE REAL PRESENCE. 85
thou wicked, uncleau spirit, Beelzebub! thou arch-enemy of the eternal God! behold, here present, the precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Lord and Master ! I adjure thee, in the name and by the power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, true God and true man, Who is here present; I command thee to depart instantly and forever from this creature of God. Depart to the deepest depth of hell, there to be tormented forever. Go forth, unclean spirit^ go forth — behold here thy Lord and blas- ter!"
At these solemn words, and at the sight of our Siicra- mental Lord, the poor possessed woman writhed fearfully. Her limbs cracked as if every bone in her body were break- ing. The fifteen strong men who held her,, could scarcely keep her back. They staggered from side to side, they were covered with perspiration. Satan tried to escape from tlie presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The mouth of Xicola was wide open, her tongue hung down below her chin, her face was shockingly swollen and distorted. Her color changed from yellow to green, and became even gray and blue, so that she no longer looked like a human being; it was rather the face of a hideous, incarnate demon. All present tremt^led with terror, especially when they heard the wild cry of the demon, which sounded like the loud roar of a wild bnlL
They fell on their knees, and with tears in their eyes began to cry out : "Jesus, have mercy! '*
The Bishop continued to urge Satan. At last the evil spirit departed, and Nicola fell back senseless into the arms of her keepers. She still, however, remained shockingly dis- torted. In this state she was shown to thje judges, and to all the people present ; she was rolled up like a ball. The Bishop now fell on his knees, in order to give her the Blessed Sacra- ment as usuaL But see! suddenly the demon returns, wild with rage endeavors to seize the hand of the Bishop, and tri«8 even to grasp the Blessed Sacrament Itself! The Bishop
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86 A WONDEBFUL MANIFESTATION
Starts back — ^Nicola is carried into the air, and the Bishop rises from his knees, trembling with terror and pale as death.
The good Bishop takes courage again; he pursues the demon, holding the Blessed Sacrament in his hand. Satan endeavors to escape, and hurls the keepers to the ground.
The people call upon God for aid.
Satan departs once more with a noise which resembles a crash of thunder.
Suddenly he returns again in a fury, and casts a look of rage on some Calvinists present, who stood the whole time with covered heads.
"On your knees!*' cried the people; "uncover your heads ; kneel down in the presence of the precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Chrisf
Scarcely had these words been uttered, when a wild cry was heard, ''to arms! to arms!" In an instant all was in confusion.
The Catholics thought that the Calvinists had come armed to church, in order to massacre them. The Calvinists, on the other hand, were filled with mortal terror. Soon this fear and confusion spread throughout the city. Every one was terrified, but no one could tell the real cause of such a sudden uproar.
The Bishop remained calmly at his post Still holding the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, he turned towards the people and said in a loud voice, " My friends, do not be disturbed. Bemain where you are. Here is the true Body of our Lord Jesus Christ ; He will assist us ; on your knees, and pray to God. I beg you, in the name of God, do not hurt one another.'*
Scarcely had the Bishop uttered these words, when all was instantly calm again. The people fell on their knees, and prayed to God for the possessed woman. The Bishop still pursued and urged Satan, holding the Blessed Sacrament in bis hand, till at length the demon, overcome by the power
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OF THE BEAL PRESENCE. 87
of our Lord's Sacred Body, went forth amidst smoke, and lightning, and thunder.
Thus was the demon at length expelled forever, on Friday afternoon, at three o'clock, the same day and hour on which our Lord triumphed over hell by His ever-blessed death.
Nicola was now completely cured ; she could move her left arm with the greatest ease. She now fell on her knees, and thanked God, and the good Bishop, for all he had done for her.
The people wept for joy, and sang hymns of praise and thanksgiving in honor of Ood, and of our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
On all sides were heard the exclamations: "Oh, what a great miracle ! Oh, thank God that I witnessed it ! Who is there now that could doubt of the Eeal Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar !^
Many a Protestant present also said : "I believe now in the Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament; I have seen it with my eyes I I will remain a Galvinist no longer. Accursed be those who have hitherto kept me in error! Oh, now I can understand what a good thing is the holy sacri- fice of the Mass I''
A solemn Te Deum was intoned; the organ pealed forth, and the beUs rung a merry chime.
The whole city was filled with joy.
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CHAPTER VI.
THE WOXDERFUL EFFECTS OF TOB BLESSED SACRAMENT IK NICOLA AUBBY.
The preceding chapter may lead the reader to think it strange that although Satan was repeatedly expelled by the Presence of our Divine Saviour in the Sacred Host, never- theless, it appeared as if our Saviour was forced to yield to Satan, when he again took possession of Xicola's body. AVhy this struggle between our Lord and Satan, since our divine Saviour is his Lord and Master ?
It is true that our Lord is the Master of Satan ; and yet we read in the Gospel how He permitted the devil to touch Him and carry Him up to the pinnacle of the Temple and to the top of a high mountain. On these occasions it must be remarked that He suffered Himself to be touched by the devil, only, loheyiy and as long as He gave him permission so to do. As soon as our Lord said to him: " Begone, Satan,^ he took to flight. In like manner did He permit Satan to take possession of Nicola's body, sometimes even for a con- siderable time, not only to sanctify this innocent woman, but also to confirm, by these repeated miracles, the Catholics in their faith in His Eeal Presence in the Holy Eucharist, and to convert or confound the Protestants, who denied that Real Presence and committed so many shocking outrages on His Sacred Person. For this reason also, did our Lord force Satan to make a public profession of his faith in the Real Presence, not once only but on several occasions, and in sev- eral places, in presence of thousands of Catholics and Pro- testants.
Moreover, it is to be remarked, that Satan had no power
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WONDERFUL EFFECTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. 89
over the soul of Nicola Anbry. He conld npt take away lier own free will. She retained her own consciousness, her own intellectual and moral faculties unimpaired, and never con- founded herself with the evil spirit She always retained tlie power of internal protest and struggle. She always exercised this power most effectnally, never yielding to any of the evil intentions of the devil. She derived this power from tho Body of our Lord, which she received in Holy Commu- nion.
During His life the body of Jesus Christ had a peculiar healing, life-giving power. A virtue went forth from His body to heal all those that came near Him, and to expel demons from the possessed. He touched the blind and they saw ; He touched the deaf and they heard ; He touched the dumb, and they spoke ; He touched the sick, and they were healed ; He touched the dead, and they were restored to life. Even before His passion and resurrection, before His body was glorified, Jesus made His body invisible, as we see in various parts of the Gospel.*
The Xazarenes once tried to cast Him down a hill.f Tlie Jews wished to stone Him, J but in vain : He walked on the waves of the sea. On Mount Thabor Jesus showed His body to His disciples, as it would have always appeared, had He not chosen to hide His glory. And then His face shone as the sun, and His garments were whiter than snow. After His resurrection. His body became glorified and as- sumed the qualities of a spirit He could pass through a wall without breaking it, as a sunbeam passes through gla^. He passed through the tomb, though it was sealed ; He entered the supper room, though the windows and doors were barred. He became visible and invisible at will. He appeared under different forms. To St. Magdalen, He ap- peared as a gardener; to the disciples going to Emmaus, He appeared as a stranger and traveler. Now it is this wonder-
♦ Luke iv,, 30. \ John v'lii., 59. t Jo^ ^-^ ^9.
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90 THE WONDERFUL SPFECTS OF THE
ful Body, this glorified Body, this life-giving, divine Body, this Body, possessing the qualities of a spirit, that Jesus Christ gives us when He says: "Eat My flesh, drink My
blood.''
By original sin — ^the sin of onr first parents — ^man was in- jured in body and souL After the fall, reason grew darkened, will weakened, the heart of man became more inclined to evil than to good. Now, as body and soul were both injured by sin, so there must be a medicine for both the body and soul ; a heavenly medicine, which weakens our inclination to evil, enkindles in the heart the love of virtue, the love of Qod. This heavenly mediciue for body and soul, is the sacred Body and Soul of Jesas Christ It is His Flesh and Blood, united with His Soul and Divinity. By sin, our body has been doomed to death and corruption ; but by eating the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ, the seed of immortality is implanted in it Our flesh and blood mingling with the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ, are fitted for a glorious re- surrection. Leaven or yeast, when mixed with dough, soon penetrates the entire mass and imparts new qualities to it In like manner the glorified Body of Jesus Christ pene- trates through our entire being, and endows it with new qualities, the qualities of glory and immortality. Our divine Saviour Himself assures us of this, for He says: "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. 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, and I will raise him up in the last day." *
There is an old proverb which tells us that "evil commu- nications. corrupt good manners." The converse of it is true. Why is it, that association with the great and good im- proves our manners and our morals? Intercourse or com- munion with a great and good man leaves us ever after diff- erent to what we were before. A virtue seems to have gone
♦ John vi., 65, 67.
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BLESSED SACRAMBirr IN NICOLA AUBEY. 91
forth from him and entered into onr life. What is the ex- jdanation of this fact ? How happens it that we are beneBted by intercourse with the good, and injured by intercourse with the bad. How is it that one man is able to influence another, whether for good or for evil? What is the meaning of influence itself? Influence, — inflowing, flow- ing in — what is this but the fact that our life is the joint product of subject and object? Man lives and can liye only by communion with that which is not himself. This must be said of every living dependent existence. Only God can liye in, firom, and by Himself alone, uninfluenced and un- affected by anything distinguishable from His own Being. But man is not God, is not being in himself, is not complete being, and must And out of himself both his being and its completeness. He lives not in and from himself alone, bat does and must live in and by the life of another.
Gut off man from all communion with external nature and be dies, for he has no sustenance for his body, and must starve; cut him off from all communion with moral nature, and he dies — starves morally ; cut him off from all moral com- munion, with a life above his own, and he stagnates and can make no progress. All this everybody knows and concedes. Then to elevate man, to give him a higher and nobler life, you must give him a higher and nobler object, a higher and nobler life with which to commune. To elevate his subjec- tive life, you must elevate his objective life. From the object must flow into him a higher virtue — an elevating element
To illustrate this point: What is the good of each being ? It is that which makes the being better and more perfect. It is clear that inferior beings cannot make superior ones better and more perfect Now the soul, being immortal, is Aiperior to all earthly or perishable things. These, then, cannot make the soul better and more perfect, but rather ^one than she is ; for he who seeks what is worse than him- aelf, makes himself worse than he was before. Therefore, the good— the life of the soul — can be only that which is
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9^ THE WONDERFUL EFFECTS OF THE
better and more excellent than the soul herself is. Now God alone is this Good — Ue being Supreme Goodness Itself. He who ])ossesses God, may be said to possess the goodness of all other things ; for whatever goodness they possess they huTe from God. It follows, then, most clearly that the closer our union is with God, or the more intimate our rela- tion to Ilim is in this life, the more contentment of mind, and the greater happiness of soul shall we enjoy.
Communion between God and man is possible, for like communes with like. Man has in his own natnre a likeness to God. The human soul is a likeness of God, and hence there is nothing that hinders intercommunion between God and the soul of man. Though God, as the object, is inde- pendent of the soul, and does not live by communion with it, yet the soul lives only by communion with God : as, in all cases, the subject lives only by communion with the object, and not reciprocally the object by communion with the sub- ject. By this communion the subject partakes of the object — the soul of man of the Divine nature.
The soul of man, then, to live, to be strong and to remain enlightened, must be, and remain, in communion with Al- mighty God. The more intimate its communion with God, the greater will be its light, strength and happiness. Now, God wishing to establish this intimate union between the soul and Himself, wishing to unite His divine nature to our human nature, took upon Himself human nature, and com- mands us to receive llis humanity, that we may become partakers of Uis divinity. Ilis human nature, His human Flesh and Blood are, then, the means which God has chosen from all eternity for the purpose of uniting us to Himselfl By partaking of His human nature, by partaking of His saort'd Flesh and Blood we become, as St. Peter says, partakers of the divine nature. AVe bear about God Himself in oui bodi'A-^, as St. Paul forcibly expresses it.
This explains why Nicola Aubiy, after receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, became as terrible to Satan as a
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fnrious lion is to man, and why her face became bright and beautiful as the face of an an^el.
From the history of Nicola Aubry we learn, moreover, the implacable hatred and malice with which Satan studies to disturb our temporal happiness and to compass our eternal ruin. Yet it is certain that he can tempt and assail us only up to a certain degree; he can go only the length of his chain, that is, as far as God permits him. In tlie case before us, God permitted Satan to take possession of a body that was the temple of the Holy Ghost, and so frightful were the sufferings that he caused Nicola to undergo, that the people turned away their eyes in horror. God gave this permission to Satan from wise motives — from motives that proceeded from his kindness for men. Alas ! what must be the power of Satan over those who live in mortal sin, who are his slaves, his obedient servants, who never receive Holy Communion, who even deny the Real Presence I In our days the number of these is immense, and there can be no doubt that the power and influence of Satan over them will increase in pro- portion as they approach heathenism and infidelity, and abandon the true religion. However, as long as they live in this world they experience the mercy of God in a certain degree, and Satan has no permission to exercise all his power and torment them as much as he desires. But let them leave this world in their state of unbelief and final impeni- tence, who shall be able to give us an adequate description of the sufferings that Satan will inflict upon them for mil- lions and millions of years — nay, for all eternity! For then it is that God, from motives of justice, gives Satan unlimited power to torment his victims as he pleases. Then it is that God uses the demons as the cruel executioners of His divine justice, and none of the damned will experience the severity of this justice, and the unspeakable cruelty of Sutiin more keenly than unbelievers and the falsifiers of the word of God.
Let us be wise, let us receive Holy Communion as often as possible, but let us receive it wortliily, in order to make sure
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94 THE WONDEBFUL EFFECTS OF THE
of life everlasting. Were the Blessed Virgin to pay us a Tisit eY3ry day^ and conyerse with ns familiarly for the space of half an hour, what a favor it would be I And yet, it would be but a union of familiar intercourse with a creature — the holiest and highest of all pure creatures ; but when Jesus Christ comes into us in communion, we are united to a Man-God — our Lord enters into the powers of our soul according as we are disposed to receive Him; He unites really His Flesh to our flesh, and His Spirit to our spirit, although we know not how this union is brought about It is wholly interior, and infinitely more perfect than all the favors that angels and saints, and the Mother of Ood herself, can ever show us. Communion is truly the beatitude of our life. A single one, did we but bring to it, the necessary dispositions, would fill us with more delight and cause us greater transports of joy, than to see and converse with all the saints and angels together.
If we do not experience the effects of this admirable union, it is only from our want of disposition. ** If after Com- munion,'* says St Bonaventure, " you do not feel any effect of the spiritual food you have eaten, it is a sign that your soul is either sick or dead. You have put fire into your bosom, and you do not feel its heat ; you have put honey into your mouth and you do not taste its sweetness.**
Let us prepare ourselves for Holy Communion as well as we can, and then let us rest assured that our souls will be wonderfully changed and perfected. Our Lord will gradually remove all our weakness ; He will encourage us and assist us to uproot our evil habits and passions ; He will quench in us the fire of concupiscence in proportion to the disposition we bring to the holy table and finally He will lead us up to life everlasting. " He that eateth My flesh and driuketh My blood hath life everlasting.** Admirable words, the meaning of which, we shall only perfectly understand when we see them verified in heaven.
Oh, what returns of gratitude and acknowledgment ought
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we then to make to our Lord for haying contrived this
expedient to abide with us to the end of time 1 " Behold
I am with yon all days, even to the consummation
of the world.^* Should not our belief in His Beal
Presence in tlie Eucharist^ enkindle in us the most ardent
desires to visit and receive Him frequently, with the most
profound humility, respect and veneration? Should not
this our belief excite us to testify our love and esteem for
Him, with all the affections of our