The Promise Of Our Divine Saviour to give to men His very Flesh to eat and His very Blood to drink. part 16.

FROM JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST BY REV. FERREOL GIRARDEY, C.Ss.R.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ON THE REAL PRESENCE

This great saint and Doctor of the Church received the surname of Chrysostom, a Greek word which signifies " golden mouth," on account of his wonderful eloquence. He attained celebrity as the greatest orator of his day when a simple priest at Antioch, where for twelve years he preached regularly homilies, or sermons, explaining the Holy Scriptures and doctrines of the Church, to immense crowds that flocked to hear him. His piety and learning and zeal were equal to his eloquence. It was for this reason that he was raised to the dignity of bishop of the very important See of Constantinople. As bishop he continued to preach, as before, with apostolic freedom and courage, without human respect, against error and vice. This drew upon him the envy and hatred of the great and powerful and of the Empress Eudoxia, a very vain and worldly-minded and unscrupulous woman, who prevailed upon a faction of courtier-bishops to condemn him under frivolous pretexts. In consequence of this the imperial government banished him to a wild and unhealthy region. St. John Chrysostom appealed to the Pope against his unlawful condemnation by the aforesaid bishops; the Pope took up his case and after due examination annulled the action of those unworthy bishops. But in the meantime St. John Chrysostom succumbed in exile to ill-treatment and sickness after much suffering borne with saintly patience, in 407. His appeal to the Pope against the injustice of his enemies is an unquestionable proof, that in the early ages of the Church, the Papal Supremacy in the Church was universally acknowledged, as well as in our own times.

Let us now see what St. John Chrysostom teaches about the Real Presence. In the sixtieth Homily to the people of Antioch he speaks as follows: " Since Jesus Christ, the Divine Word, says: ' This is My body' let us believe His words and give our assent to them; let us behold His body with the eyes of our mind, for Christ does not show Him self to us in a sensible way, but under sensible things He gives us all that is intelligible (in other words, that we can perceive with our mind only).

He has acted in like manner in baptism, for therein He bestows a gift through a sensible thing, that is, water; by means of the water there is effected some thing intelligible, the spiritual regeneration and renovation. For, if thou wert incorporeal (that is, hadst not a body), He would have given thee purely incorporeal gifts; but, since in thee thy soul dwells in thy body, He gives thee intelligible things in a sensible (or material) envelope. How many among you now say: Oh, if I could only behold His form, His features, His clothing, His shoes!' Behold now thou seest Him, thou touchest Him, thou eatest Him! And thou desirest indeed to see His garments; and He grants thee not only to see Him, but also to eat Him, to touch Him, to receive Him within thee."

In the above quoted passage St. John Chrysostom, after telling us to believe the words of Christ saying that the Blessed Eucharist is really His body, re minds us that God bestows His spiritual gifts, which are invisible and do not fall under our senses, on us men under a visible or material envelope, and there by adapts Himself to our nature, for our soul which is immaterial and does not fall under the senses, dwells in our material body and is acted upon through our body. In these words of St. John Chrysostom is contained the doctrine of the Church on the Sacraments. They are visible signs instituted by Christ to impart invisible grace to the soul by their application to the body, in order to sanctify the soul.

"Therefore," continues the holy Doctor, " let no one approach (the Holy Eucharist) with disgust or with indifference, but let all do so inflamed with love, fervour and eagerness. For, if the Jews ate the paschal lamb in haste, already shod and holding staves in their hands, how much more does it behoove thee to be diligent. They, indeed, were about to depart for Palestine, and were, therefore, attired as travellers; but thou must journey to heaven. Wherefore, thou shouldst in all things be watchful, for not a small punishment is inflicted on those who receive unworthily. Consider how indignant thou art against the traitor Judas and those who crucified Jesus. Beware, therefore, lest thou be guilty of the body and blood of Christ. They killed His most holy body, but thou receivest Him in a sinful soul after He has loaded thee with so many benefits. For He did not consider it enough for Him to be come man, to be scourged and crucified, but He deigns to unite Himself intimately to us, and to make us His body, not only in faith, but in reality.

How pure, then, should not he be who partakes of so great a sacrifice? And should not the hand which touches His flesh (as was the custom in receiving Communion in the early Church), be more pure and splendid than the sun's rays? And the mouth which is filled with the spiritual fire (of Christ's love) and the tongue which is moistened with that most precious blood ? Reflect on the great honor conferred on thee, on the magnificent feast thou enjoyest. What the angels behold with awe, and venture not to gaze upon on account of its dazzling brilliancy, is what we feed upon, what we are united to; thus do we become one body, one flesh with Christ. Who will narrate the powers of God and proclaim all His praises? What shepherd feeds his sheep with his own blood ? And what do I say, a shepherd? Many mothers, after the pains of childbirth, entrust their children to others to be nursed. But Christ did not suffer this, for He feeds us with His own blood and most intimately unites us to Himself."

He who reads the foregoing passage of St. John Chrysostom would imagine he is reading the in comparable book of Visits of St. Alphonsus, instead of the writings of one who lived fourteen hundred years earlier. What a powerful argument of the unity of faith in the Catholic Church throughout all ages, especially in the doctrine of the Real Presence! This will be still more evident in reading the remainder of the saints homily: "Through the mysteries (the Blessed Eucharist), Christ mingles Himself," continues St. John Chrysostom, " with each one of the faithful, and does not entrust to others, but Himself feeds those He has begotten (spiritually) ; by this He again convinces thee that He has assumed thy flesh (that is, become man). Let us not grow indifferent towards Him, since He has considered us worthy of so great a love and so exalted an honour. Do you not see how eagerly infants take and apply their lips to the breasts of their nurses? Let us also approach this holy table with a like eagerness and take hold of the breasts of our spiritual beverage; let us, even with greater avidity than suckling infants, suck in the spiritual graces, and let our only sorrow be to be deprived of this (divine) food. It is not the works of human virtue that are here placed before us; He who performed them at the Last Supper, now also performs them. We hold the place of His ministers (or servants) ; and it is He Himself who blesses and changes these (the bread and wine). Therefore, let no Judas be here present, nor any miser; for this table does not receive such guests. Let him who is truly a disciple be present, for Christ said: I celebrate the pasch with My disciples'. This is the same table; it contains nothing less. It is Christ who set up the feast at the Last Supper, and not (a mere) man who has set up this one; no; it is the same Christ who has set up this one also. Let no one who is devoid of humanity, who is cruel and unmerciful, who is impure, venture to approach this feast. This I say to those who receive Holy Communion and also to those who minister at the altar. For I must address you also, that you may most diligently distribute these gifts. For no small punishment awaits you, if you allow any one you know to be guilty of a grievous fault (that is, a known public sinner), to be a partaker of this feast, for Christ's blood will then be demanded at your hands. Whether he who unworthily approaches be a general, or a magistrate, or even a crowned prince, you must re fuse him (Holy Communion), for your power is greater than his. It is for this reason that God has bestowed so great an honour on you, that you may discern these holy things! This is your dignity, this is your own security, this is all your crown, and not that you may go about in a white and resplendent vestment. And thou, O layman, when thou seest the priest offering (the holy Sacrifice), do not imagine that it is the priest who does this, but that thou seest Christ invisibly extending His hand. Let us, then, both priests and laymen, hear of what food we have been made worthy; let us hear it and be dumbfounded. Jesus gave us His own flesh as our food, and set Himself immolated before us. What excuse shall we bring, after being so generously nourished with such meats, if we sin, if, like wolves, we devour the meek Lamb, or after having, like peaceful sheep, been fed, we become devouring lions? This mystery requires us to be entirely free not only from robbery, but even from the slightest uncharitable feeling, for it is a mystery of peace. God bound the Jews to Himself by instituting solemn feasts in memory and as monuments of His benefits towards them; He has bound Himself to thee every day by these mysteries (the Sacrifice of the Mass). Let no Judas, no Simon (Magus) approach this table; both of them perished through avarice; let us flee this abyss of perdition." In the above passage, St. Chrysostom, after exhorting his hearers to imitate the eagerness and avidity of suckling infants, whenever they go to Holy Communion, tells them that the priests are the representatives of Jesus Christ, and only personating Jesus Christ when they say Mass and give Holy Communion to the faithful. He then insists on the necessity of being in the state of grace in order to receive worthily the body and blood of Christ.

In his sixty-first homily to the people of Antioch, the holy Doctor speaks as follows: " It behooves us, most beloved brethren, to learn the miracle of the mysteries, its character, why it was given, and its advantages. By it we are made one body, members, Jesus says, of His flesh and of His bones. Let us, who are initiated (that is, already members of the Church by baptism), follow what is said, that we may become one body, not so much through charity, but in very deed; let us mingle together in that flesh (that is, the flesh of Jesus Christ received in Holy Communion). This is done through the food which He gave us, for He wished to show His desire (good will) towards us. Wherefore He mingled Himself with us and intimately penetrated us with His body, that we might become one body, as it were, attached to Him, our Head; for such is the tendency of ardent lovers."

What does St. Chrysostom mean by the foregoing words? He recalls, and, in some manner, ex plains the saying of St. Paul that we, Christians, are one body with Jesus Christ, He being the Head and we the members of that mystical body. He calls our attention to this, that we all should be, indeed, one body, not merely by observing the commandment of the love of our neighbour, but especially through Holy Communion, in which we receive the flesh of Jesus Christ, are incorporated in His body and become, as it were, one body with Him and with one another; and being by Holy Communion one with Jesus Christ, we should be one with one another, for it is in Him, in the reception of His body, that we are incorporated together in Him. Hence the reception of the body of Jesus Christ is very properly called Communion, for by it Jesus Christ becomes for all the faithful the " common bond of union'' as the head is the common bond of union for all the members of the body.

Let us now consider the conclusions the saint draws from what he has just said: " When we leave the holy table (of Communion), we should be like lions breathing forth fire, terrible to the devil, meditating on our Head (Jesus Christ) and on the love He manifests to us. Mothers often give their infants to be nursed by others; but I, He says to us, do not act thus; I feed you with My own flesh; I give Myself to you as your nourishment, wishing you all to be generous, and to give you good hopes for the next life, for since I give Myself to you here below, I will do it still more perfectly in the future life. I wished to become your brother, and for your sakes I assumed human flesh and blood; and now again I deliver to you the very flesh and blood, by which I became your relative.''

Nothing can be more positive and explicit than these words of the holy Doctor, to show that Jesus Christ in Holy Communion bestows on us His real flesh and His real blood, in order to unite us with Him in this life and still more perfectly in the next. This is another conclusive proof that, according to Christ's very words, he who, in Holy Communion, eats the flesh of the Son of man and drinks His blood, shall have life everlasting.

Let us now see how St. Chrysostom concludes this important subject: "Let us attend to our selves, most beloved brethren, when we enjoy these wonderful benefits; and when we are tempted to speak unbecomingly, to get irritated or to do any thing sinful, let us call to mind the wonderful things of which we have partaken. Such a thought will serve to correct (and restrain) our evil inclinations. Let us all who have the happiness of being made partakers of this body and of tasting this
blood, earnestly reflect that we are tasting Him who is seated above, whom the angels adore, whose might never fails. Oh, how many ways (helps) have we to salvation! Jesus Christ has made us (members of) His body; He has communicated to us His own body."

By these words St. John Chrysostom shows us how to draw fruit from the reception of the body and blood of our Lord in Holy Communion. The very thought, when the temptation comes, that we have received in Holy Communion the very body and blood of our divine Savior, should so strengthen us as to enable us to overcome the temptation and keep in check all our evil propensities and desires, for one of the reasons for which Jesus feeds us with His body and blood is to impart to us all the graces necessary to our salvation. Hence he who receives Holy Communion as often as the Church desires, should be able not only to avoid deadly sins, but also to become holy by faithfully practising the virtues of a true Christian, of a faithful follower of Christ. In Holy Communion we become, as it were, one with Christ, and should, then, so live, as if Jesus Christ acted through us, so that we may henceforth be able to say with St. Paul: " I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2: 20).