An explanation of the Baltimore catechism of Christian doctrine : $b for the use of Sunday-school teachers and advanced classesDe Concilio, J. (Januarius)
Religion
An explanation of the Baltimore catechism of Christian doctrine : $b for the use of Sunday-school teachers and advanced classes
De Concilio, J. (Januarius)
Baltimore catechism; Catholic Church -- Catechisms -- English
that it was changed. You know it only from your faith in the words of
our divine Lord, when He tells you it is changed.
Again, it is much easier to change one thing into another than to make
it entirely out of nothing. Anyone who can create out of nothing can
surely change one thing into another. Now Our Lord, being God, created
the world out of nothing; and He could therefore easily change the
substance of bread into the substance of flesh. I have said Our Lord's
body in the Holy Eucharist is a living body, and every living body
contains blood; and that is why we receive both the body and the blood
of Our Lord under the appearance of the bread alone. The priest receives
the body and blood of Our Lord under the appearance of both bread and
wine, while the people receive it only under the appearance of bread.
The early Christians used to receive it as the priest does--under the
appearance of bread and under the appearance of wine; but the Church had
to make a change on account of circumstances. First, all the people had
to drink from the same chalice or cup, and some would not like that, and
show disrespect for the Blessed Sacrament by refusing it. Then there was
great danger of spilling the precious blood, passing it from one to
another; and finally, some said that Christ's blood was not in His body
under the appearance of bread. This was false; and to show that it was
false, and for the other reasons, the Church after that gave Holy
Communion to the people under the appearance of bread alone. The Church
always believes and teaches the same truths. It always believed that the
Holy Eucharist under the appearance of bread contained also Our Lord's
blood; but it taught it more clearly when it was denied.
*243 Q. Is Jesus Christ whole and entire both under the form of bread
and under the form of wine?
A. Jesus Christ is whole and entire both under the form of bread and
under the form of wine.
*244 Q. Did anything remain of the bread and wine after their substance
had been changed into the substance of the body and blood of Our Lord?
A. After the substance of the bread and wine had been changed into the
substance of the body and blood of Our Lord there remained only the
appearances of bread and wine.
245 Q. What do you mean by the appearances of bread and wine?
A. By the appearances of bread and wine I mean the figure, the color,
the taste, and whatever appears to the senses.
"Senses"--that is, eyes, ears, etc. Thus we have the sense of seeing,
the sense of hearing, the sense of tasting, the sense of smelling, the
sense of feeling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account