Even of itself the teaching of the Blessed Paul is
sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, of
which having been deemed worthy, you have become of the same body and blood
with Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, That our Lord Jesus
Christ in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given
thanks He broke it, and gave to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is My
Body: and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, Take, drink, this is
My Blood. Since then He Himself declared and said of the Bread, This is My
Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and
said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His
blood?
He once in Cana of Galilee, turned the water into
wine, akin to blood, and is it incredible that He should have turned wine into
blood? When called to a bodily marriage, He miraculously wrought that wonderful
work; and on the children of the bride-chamber, shall He not much rather be
acknowledged to have bestowed the fruition of His Body and Blood?
Wherefore with full assurance let us partake as of
the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to you His
Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that you by partaking of the Body
and Blood of Christ, may be made of the same body and the same blood with Him.
For thus we come to bear Christ in us, because His Body and Blood are
distributed through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed
Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature.
Christ on a certain occasion discoursing with the
Jews said, Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you.
They not having heard His saying in a
spiritual sense were offended, and went back, supposing that He was inviting
them to eat flesh.
In the Old Testament also there was show-bread;
but this, as it belonged to the Old Testament, has come to an end; but in the
New Testament there is Bread of heaven, and a Cup of salvation, sanctifying
soul and body; for as the Bread corresponds to our body, so is the Word
appropriate to our soul.
Consider therefore the Bread and the Wine not as
bare elements, for they are, according to the Lord's declaration, the Body and
Blood of Christ; for even though sense suggests this to you, yet let faith
establish you. Judge not the matter from the taste, but from faith be fully
assured without misgiving, that the Body and Blood of Christ have been vouchsafed
to you.
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