Chapter XI: Part II: The King’s House (2)

Tell me what need was there of having many sacrifices when one is sufficient? That there being many which were constantly offered might show their inefficacy for purification. Just as a powerful remedy, which is productive of health and able to remove all the malady, does everything by one application, and when this one application does everything, it shows its strength in not being applied again; and this is also its work, for if it be always used it is a sign that it has no efficacy. The merit of a remedy consists in being applied once and not often. And so it is here. Why, then, are they always cured by the same sacrifices? If they had been free from all sin, sacrifices would not have been offered up every day. Therefore, they were fixed things, so as to be invariably offered up for all the people both in the evening and in the morning. Thus, it was a confession of sins, not a remission of sins; a confession of weakness, not a manifestation of strength. Since the first sacrifice availed nothing the second was offered up, and that also proving ineffectual another followed, so that it was an acknowledgment of guilt. On the one hand, the act of offering was a confession of sin, and the ever-recurring offering was a confession of weakness. Now, with Christ it was the contrary. He was once offered up, and His one oblation sufficed for all time. He expressed it well by calling them images, for they present the figure only and not the strength of the reality. Just as an image represents the likeness of a man but not his power, so the truth and the figure have something in common with each other. The likeness is the same but not the living power. So it was in the matter of heaven and the tabernacle. The figure was equal, for it was holy; but the power and the other qualities were not the same. What is the meaning of _He hath appeared for the putting away of sin by the sacrifice of Himself_? What is the _putting away_? Contempt; for sin has no longer any assurance. It has been put away. How? Whereas it should have paid a penalty it did not, that is, force was put upon it; for just when it was likely to destroy all men it was itself taken away. _He hath been made manifest_, he says, _by the sacrifice of Himself_; that is, He was manifested to God and went to God. Now, because the priest did this many times in the year, do not think that this has taken place by chance and not through weakness. If not through weakness, why then did it take place? If there are no wounds, then neither are remedies necessary. Therefore, He enjoined that the sacrifice should be always offered up on account of weakness, and that it should take place as a commemoration of sins. What then? Do we not offer up sacrifice day by day? We do indeed, but we commemorate His death. This sacrifice is one, not many. How one and not many? Because it was once offered up, just as that one sacrifice in the holy of holies. This is a type of that, and that of the other. We are ever offering up the same Person. Not one sheep to-day and another to-morrow, but ever the same sheep, so that the sacrifice is one. Now, in virtue of this argument, since the sacrifice is offered up in many places, are there many Christs? By no means, but there is everywhere one Christ, as perfect in one place as in another, one body. Therefore, as He Who is offered up in many places is one Body and not many bodies, so is it one Sacrifice. He is our High Priest Who offered up the sacrifice which purifies us. This is that which now also we offer up; the One then offered up, the Inconsumable. This is done in commemoration of what was then done, for He says, _This do in commemoration of Me_. We are ever offering not another sacrifice, as the high priest then did, but always the same; or rather we make a commemoration of a sacrifice. And since I have spoken of this sacrifice, I would say a few things to you who are initiated, a few things in volume though possessing great power and help. What we speak is not ours but the Divine Spirit’s. What, then, is it? Many partake of this sacrifice once in the whole year, some twice, some often. Now, we speak to all, not only to those who are here, but to those who dwell in the desert. For they receive once a year, often, indeed, once in two years. Well, then, whom shall we prefer? Those who receive once, or those who receive twice, or those who receive often? Neither those who receive once, nor those who receive often, nor those who receive seldom, but those who receive with a pure conscience, and an undefiled heart, and an irreproachable life. Let such as these ever approach, and those who are not so not even once. Why? Because they take judgment to themselves, and condemnation, and chastisement, and penalty. Wonder not at this. For just as food, which by its nature is nourishing, if taken by a diseased stomach, destroys and withers up everything and prepares disease, so is it with this case of the tremendous mysteries. You are partaking of a spiritual table, of a royal table, and do you again fill your mouth with mud? You use perfumes, and do you again fill yourself with ill odours? Tell me, I beseech you, if you receive communion once a year, will forty days suffice you for the atonement of your sins during all that time? Again, at the end of a week perhaps, you return to your former ways. Now, tell me, if you were to enjoy good health for forty days after a long illness, and then were to go back to unwholesome food productive of disease, would you not waste your trouble? Evidently you would. If physical things are so changed, how much more those which belong to the will. Thus for instance, we see by nature, and we have naturally a healthy sight. But often our eyes fail from disease. If, therefore, natural things are so mutable, how much more that which is a matter of free-will! You give up forty days to the care of your soul’s health, often not even that, and you think to have appeased God? You are trifling, man! I say this, not forbidding you the one communion in the year, but wishing rather that you should always approach the holy things. So it is that the deacon raises his voice to call the holy, and, in doing this, scrutinises all, so that no one should approach unprepared. As with a flock of sheep, where many of them are sound and many are diseased, these latter have to be separated from the sound ones, so is it in the Church. Since here, too, some sheep are sound and some diseased, through this cry which is everywhere heard, this most awful voice, the priest separates the one from the other, invites and urges the holy to approach. As, however, man cannot know his fellow-man—for _what man has known that which is in man, if not the spirit of man that is in him_?—this cry he raises after the sacrifice is completed, so that no one should approach the spiritual fountain negligently or as if by chance. In the case of the flock—for there is no reason why we should not again make use of the same illustration—we shut up the sick ones within the fold, and keep them in a dark place, and give them different food. We allow them neither fresh air, nor pure grass, nor water in the open. Hence that voice is instead of a chain. You will not be able to say, ‘I was in ignorance of any danger following upon this act’. We have, too, the special witness of Paul in the matter. But you say, perhaps, ‘I have not read about it’. This is an accusation rather than an excuse. You are coming into the church every day and still do not know these things.

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The new Pasch.
(_31st Homily on St. Matthew_, lxxxi., vol. ii., p. 459.)

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_And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to His disciples, and said: Take ye and eat: this is My Body. And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, 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 remission of sins._ Consider what great hardness of heart the traitor showed. Partaking of the mysteries, he remained the same, and enjoying that most tremendous Banquet, he was not converted. This Luke plainly intimates when he says that after these things the devil entered into him, not despising the Lord’s Body, but scorning the traitor’s shamelessness. For his sin was the greater for two reasons: that he approached the mysteries with such a mind, and that, approaching them, he grew no better. Neither fear, nor gratitude, nor the honour received, had any influence over him. And although Christ knew all things, He did not forbid his approach in order to show you that He leaves no means of conversion untried. Therefore, both before this and after this, He continued to exhort and to check Judas both by actions and words, by fear and by kindness, by threat and by benefit. But nothing availed against that grievous sickness of his. Hence, leaving Judas to himself, He again reminds the disciples through the mysteries of His death as victim, and during the progress of the table discourses about the Cross, seeking, by His insistence in foretelling His passion, to find an entrance for it in their minds. If, with all that was done and foretold, they were troubled, what would they have suffered if they had heard none of these things? _Whilst they were eating, He took bread and broke it._ Why did he carry out this mystery at the time of the Pasch? In order to teach you everywhere that He is Himself the Lawgiver of the old dispensation, also, and that its ordinances were made to foreshadow these things. On this account He adds the reality to the type. The evening signified the fulness of time, and the end itself to which things were coming. He gives thanks, teaching us how we are to carry out this mystery, and showing us that He goes not unwillingly to the Cross. And He instructs us that, whatever we may suffer, we should bear it with thanksgiving, and opens out from this good hopes for us. For if the type released men from so grievous a slavery, how much more will the reality set the world free, and be bestowed for the blessing of our nature. For this reason He did not institute this mystery until the enactments of the Law were to cease, and He brings to a conclusion the chief of their feasts by translating them to another and a most awful Table, and says: _Take and eat, this is My Body which is broken for many_. How should they not have feared when they heard this? He had spoken to them often and much before on the same subject. Therefore, He no longer prepares them for it, for they had heard of it sufficiently; but He tells them the reason why He suffers—the remission of sins. He calls His Blood the Blood of the new Testament, that is, of the promise, of the gospel, and of the new law. For this both had been promised of old, and is the bond of the new Covenant. And as the old Covenant had sheep and heifers, so the new Covenant had the Lord’s Blood. Then He goes on to show them that He is about to die, and therefore He commemorates the Covenant, and recalls the old Covenant to their minds, for that too was consecrated through blood! And again He tells them why He is to die, _which is shed for many unto the remission of sins_, and He says: _Do this for a commemoration of Me_. Do you see how He leads them away and withdraws them from Jewish customs. ‘As you did that,’ He says, ‘for a commemoration of the wonders in Egypt, so do this for a commemoration of Me.’ That blood was shed to save the first-born sons: _this_ Blood for the remission of the sins of the whole world. _This is My Blood_, He says, _which is shed for the remission of sins_. He said this to show by this also that His sufferings and His cross are a mystery, and again, to comfort His disciples through it. And as Moses had said: _Let this be to you a perpetual memorial_, so _He_ said, _For a commemoration of Me_, until I come. And again, _With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch_, that is, ‘to give you the new gifts, that Pasch by which I intend to make you spiritual’. And He Himself drank of it. In order that men, hearing this, might not say: ‘How is this? Are we drinking blood and eating flesh?’ and then be troubled (for words of His on this subject had already disturbed them, and many had been scandalised by them); to remove, I say, their trouble, then also He did it first Himself, and led them gently to a participation of the mysteries. Therefore, He drank His own Blood. ‘How is this?’ you ask. ‘Did men of old do it?’ Certainly not. Therefore, He says: _Do this_, that He may draw them away from the other. For if this work the remission of sins, as indeed it does, the other is superfluous for the future. Now, as in the case of the Jews, so was it here. He bound up the commemoration of the benefit with the mystery, thereby stopping the mouths of heretics. For when they say, ‘How do we know that Christ suffered?’ amongst other arguments, we silence them also with the mysteries. If, indeed, Jesus did not die, what do the things involved in the rites symbolise?

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The ‘Eyes of Rome’.
(_Homilies on Epistle to the Romans_,[20] xxxiii., vol. i., p. 489.)

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A good teacher makes it his special duty to help those he is teaching, not by word only, but by prayer also. Hence Paul’s words: _Let us give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word_. Who will pray for us now that Paul has departed? Those who emulate Paul: let us only show ourselves worthy of so great an advocacy, that we may not alone hear Paul’s voice in this world, but when we depart hence may deserve to look upon that soldier of Christ. Or rather, if we listen to him here we are sure to see him there, and if we are not near to him we shall undoubtedly see him resplendent in glory close to the King’s throne, where the cherubim give praise, where the seraphim unfold their wings. There with Peter we shall see Paul, the head and leader of the choir of the saints, and we shall be in possession of true charity. For if in this world he so loved men as when he might have been dissolved and with Christ he chose to be here, how much more potently will he show forth the love-charm in that place. This is why I cherish Rome, although I have other grounds for my admiration in its size, and age, and beauty, and population, and power, and wealth, and its successes in wars; apart from all these things, I hold it blessed because Paul wrote to the Romans in his lifetime and loved them so much, because he spoke to them in person, and there finished his life. This is why that city is famous rather than for all other reasons put together: it is like a strong and beautiful human body with two shining eyes, which are the bodies of these two saints. The heavens are not so splendid when the sun is sending forth its rays as the city of Rome transmitting these two lights of hers to the whole world. Rome will yield up Paul; Rome will yield up Peter. Consider in awe what a sight Rome will witness when Paul rises in a moment from that tomb, together with Peter, and is borne away to meet Christ. Think what roses Rome presents to Christ, what a double crown surrounds the city, how it is girt with golden chains, and what the fountains of its being are. This is why I am in admiration at that city, not for its abundance of gold, not for its columns, nor for any other beauty it has, but for these pillars of the Church.

Who could now give me to embrace Paul’s body, to be nailed to his tomb, and to see the dust of him who completed what was wanting to the sufferings of Christ, who bore His marks, and sowed the earth with the Gospel? Who could give me to see the dust of that body in which he went over the world, through which Christ spoke, through which a light shone forth brighter than any lightning, and a voice arose more terrible to the devils than loudest thunder, through which he gave utterance to those blessed words: _Would that I could be anathema for my brethren_, which he used before kings and was not ashamed, through which we have known Paul and Paul’s Lord? We do not dread the thunderbolt as devils dread that voice. For if they trembled at his garments, how much more at his voice. This voice led them in chains, purified the world, cured diseases, put forth evil, set up truth, had the indwelling Christ, and with Him made itself everywhere heard. That voice of Paul’s was like the cherubim. As God took up His seat on those powers, so did He on the tongue of Paul. It became worthy to receive Christ, speaking those things which were dear to Christ, and soaring to an unspeakable height like the seraphim. For what is beyond those words of his: _I am sure that neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor present, nor future, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus_? How many wings does that voice seem to you to have? How many eyes? Therefore he said: _We are not ignorant of his devices_; and so the devils fled, not merely when they heard his voice, but when they saw his cloak from a distance. Would that I could see the dust of this mouth in which Christ did great and unspeakable things, and even greater things than by Himself—for that He _did_ work greater things by His disciples was what He said—through which the Spirit gave those wonderful oracles to the world. For what good thing did that mouth not accomplish? It put forth demons, remitted sins, curbed tyrants, silenced the tongues of philosophers, led the world to God, induced barbarians to be ascetic, and changed all things on earth; nay, in heaven too he did his will, binding and loosing those whom he chose to bind and to loose there, according to the power which was given to him. Would that I could look upon not only the dust of his mouth, but of that heart, which we might not wrongly call the heart of the world, the source of endless good, the beginning, fountainhead of our own life. From thence the spirit of life was poured out upon all, and was diffused amongst the members of Christ. It was sent forth, not through arteries, but through the free choice of good. That heart was so broad that it could embrace whole cities, and peoples, and nations. _My heart is enlarged_, he says. Yet, large as it was, his all-embracing love often urged and troubled it. _For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you_, he says. This heart, even dissolved in dust, is what I long to see—the heart which was consumed for each individual sinner, suffering afresh the agony of child-birth over every abortive child, the heart which sees God: _For the clean of heart shall see God_: the heart which has become a sacrifice: _An afflicted spirit is a sacrifice to God_: that heart higher than the firmament, wider than the universe, brighter than sunshine, hotter than fire, stronger than adamant, giving forth fruitful streams: _For_, he says, _out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water_: hence arose the fresh spring which watered not the face of the earth, but the souls of men; hence sprung forth not rivers alone, but fountains of tears by day and by night: that heart which lived a new life, not this physical life of ours: _I live_, he says, _not I, but Christ liveth in me_. So that Paul’s heart was His heart—a tablet of the Holy Spirit, a book of charity, a heart in anguish over the sins of men: _I am afraid of you_, he says, _lest perhaps I have laboured in vain among you, and as the serpent seduced Eve, lest coming I should not find you as I wish_: a heart fearful about itself whilst full of courage: _I am afraid_, he says, _that after preaching to others I myself shall be cast out_; and, again: _I am sure that neither angels nor archangels shall_ _be able to separate us_: the heart which was made worthy to love Christ as no one else has loved Him, despising death and hell, and torn by the tears of his brethren. _What are you doing_, he says, _weeping and filling my heart with anguish_?—that strongest of hearts, which could not endure for a moment to be away from the Thessalonians. Would that I could see the dust of those fettered hands through which the imposition of the Spirit was given and the divine words were written: _See what a letter I have written to you with my own hand_; and, again: _A greeting from the hand of Paul_, of those hands at sight of which the viper fell into the fire. Would that I could look upon the dust of those gloriously-blinded eyes which saw the light again for the world’s salvation and were made worthy in the body to behold Christ, and saw earthly things without seeing them, those eyes which looked upon unseen things, which knew not sleep, which were watching in the midst of night, and which did not suffer what other eyes suffer. Would that I could see the dust of those feet which toiled over the world and wearied not, which were chained to a pillory when he was imprisoned, of those feet which traversed known and unknown regions and were often on the way. And why should I speak of each member separately? Would that I could see that tomb in which the armour of justice is stored up, the armour of light, those members which are now in life, which were dead whilst living, in all of which Christ lived, which were crucified to the world, those members of Christ which had put on Christ, the temple of the Spirit, the dwelling-place of holiness, which were chained to the Spirit and nailed to the fear of God, bearing the marks of Christ. This is the body which protects that city and is stronger than any tower of defence or any number of fortifications, and with it is that of Peter, whom he honoured in life, _for he went up to consult Peter_. In death, therefore, charity made him worthy to be Peter’s companion. Would that I could see this lion according to the Spirit. For like a lion breathing fire on troops of foxes so did he spring upon the tribe of devils and philosophers and fall like a heavy thunderbolt upon the devil’s ranks. Nor did the devil stand against Paul in battle, but so great was his fear and trembling that he retreated from his shadow or his voice. So it was that, being far off, Paul gave the fornicator up to him and again snatched him from his hands, and so he did others too, that they might be taught not to blaspheme. Consider how he ranges against the foe those who are under his own command, rousing and spurring them on. Thus, when he said to the Ephesians, _Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers_, he added the reward also, by the words _in heavenly things_. _For_, he said, _our warfare is not for earthly things, but for heaven and heavenly things_. And to others his words were: _Know you not that we shall judge angels, how much more things of this world?_ Taking all this to heart, let us stand bravely. For Paul was also a man and of the same nature as we are, having everything else in common with us; but because he showed a great love for Christ he scaled the heavens and found his place with the angels. If, then, we wish to rouse ourselves a little and to kindle that fire within us, we should emulate that holy one. He tells us himself that this is not impossible: _Be imitators of me as I am of Christ_. Therefore let us not only admire him and wonder at him, let us also imitate him, that at our departure hence we may be made worthy to see him and to share that unspeakable glory. May this be granted to all of us through the grace and love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be praise for ever and ever. Amen.

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‘This is My Body.’
(_1st Homily on the Betrayal of Judas_, _Benedictine Edition_, t. ii.,
p. 381.)

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Then the disciples came to Him. _Then._ When? When these things were taking place, and the betrayal was effected, and Judas destroyed himself, the disciples came to Him, saying, _Where wilt Thou that we prepare to eat the Pasch_? Mark you the difference between disciple and disciples? The one betrays his Lord, the others busy themselves with preparing the Pasch; the one makes a bargain, the others minister for His table: both the one and the others had enjoyed the same miracles, the same teaching, the same authority. Now, how do they differ? In the will: this is everywhere the cause, both of all good and all evil. _Where wilt Thou that we prepare to eat the Pasch?_ _Then_ was that same evening. As Our Lord had no house of His own, they said to Him, _Where wilt Thou that we prepare to eat the Pasch?_ We have no settled dwelling-place, neither tent nor house. Let those who dwell in splendid houses, and spacious courts, and large precincts be taught that Christ had not where to lay His head. Therefore they asked, _Where wilt Thou that we prepare to eat the Pasch?_ What Pasch? This was not our Pasch, but still the Jews’ Pasch; it was this Jewish Pasch which _they_ prepared; Our Lord Himself prepared ours. Not only did He prepare it Himself, but He became our Pasch. _Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Pasch?_ This was the Jewish Pasch which had begun in Egypt. Now, why did Christ partake of it? Because He accomplished all the observances of the law. At His baptism He said: _Thus it becomes us to fulfil all justice_. I came to redeem man from the malediction of the law. For God sent His own Son, made of woman, made under the law, that He might redeem those who were bound by it, and might put an end to the law. Now, to prevent anyone from saying that He abolished the law because He was unable to fulfil it, as being burdensome, and hard, and oppressive, having first Himself carried it out, He then dissolved it. On this account He held the Pasch also, for the Pasch was an ordinance of the law. And why did the law order the eating of the Pasch? The Jews were ungrateful towards their benefactor, and so immediately after the benefits they forgot God’s precepts. When they came out of Egypt, and saw the waters parted, and again closed, and a thousand other wonders, they said, _Let us make to ourselves gods who may go before us_. What say you? You still touch the wonders with your hands, and have you forgotten the benefactor? Since, therefore, they were thus without feeling or understanding, God kept alive the memory of His gifts by the ordinance of feasts, and He commanded the Pasch to be sacrificed, so that if your son ask you, ‘What is this Pasch?’ you may answer, ‘Our forefathers in Egypt sprinkled their doors with the blood of the lamb, lest the angel of destruction, when he came, should enter in and smite with the plague’. Thus the feast was a perpetual memorial of salvation. Moreover, not only did these feasts benefit them by keeping fresh the memory of graces in the past, but something much more, for they foreshadowed what was to come. That lamb, indeed, was the figure of another Lamb, a spiritual Lamb, and that sheep of another Sheep. The one was a shadow, the other the reality. When the Sun of Justice appeared, the shadow forthwith ceased, for at sunrise the shadows depart. Consequently, at that table itself, each Pasch takes place—the Pasch of the figure and the Pasch of the reality. Just as painters use one and the same canvas for outlining their subject and depicting shadow, and then add colouring to make it life-like, so did Christ act. At one and the same table He showed forth the typical Pasch, and set up the true Pasch. _Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Pasch?_ It was then the Jewish Pasch, but when the sun appears let the lamp be extinguished; with the advent of truth let the shadow languish.

I say these things to the Jews since they seem to celebrate a Pasch, since the uncircumcised in heart put forward their unleavened bread with a gross mind. Tell me, O Jew, how do you sacrifice the Pasch? The temple is destroyed, the altar has been taken away, the holy of holies has been trampled under foot, all show of sacrifice has ceased. Wherefore, then, do you venture to carry out practices so illegal? You went out once into Babylon, and there those who had taken you captive said, _Sing us a song of Sion_, and you would not. And David spoke with the same intent: _We sat beside the waters of Babylon and wept; we hung up our organs on the willows in the midst of it_, that is, our instruments, harps, lyres, and the rest. Men of old used these things, and thus sung hymns, and when they went into captivity took them so as to have a reminder of their life in their own country, not to use them. _For there_, he says, _they who held us captive asked us for words of songs, and we said, How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?_ What! you will not sing the song of the Lord in a strange land, and yet will you celebrate the Pasch of the Lord in a strange land! What ingratitude and iniquity! Because those who constrained them were enemies, they dared not even sing a psalm in a strange land. And now of themselves, whereas no man puts force upon them, they wage war against God. Do you see how their unleavened bread is unclean and their feast illegal? Now there is no Jewish Pasch. There was one then, but it is dissolved now, and the spiritual Pasch came, which was given then by Christ. For as they were eating and drinking, the Evangelist says, taking bread, He broke and said: _This is My body, which is broken for you unto the remission of sins_. The initiated understand these words. Then, taking the chalice, He said: _This is My Blood, which is shed for many unto the remission of sins_. And Judas was present as Christ spoke thus. This is the very Body which you have sold for thirty pieces of silver, O Judas; this is the very Blood which you have just shamefully bartered to the unfeeling Pharisees. O loving kindness of Christ! O foolish madness of Judas! On the one hand Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, whilst Christ even after this did not refuse to give that Blood, which had been betrayed, to the traitor for the remission of his sins, if he had so willed. And Judas was there, and he partook of the sacred table. For, as Our Lord had washed his feet, together with the other disciples’, so did he eat with them of the sacred table, in order that he might have no excuse for remaining obdurate. Our Lord did everything in His power, yet Judas persisted in his wickedness.

But it is now time for us to approach that tremendous table. Let us, therefore, all go to it with becoming sobriety and watchfulness. Let there be no Judas here, no guilty man, no one infected with poison, no man with one thing in his mouth and another in his mind. The same Christ is now here Who prepared that table. And He it is Who is now preparing it. For it is not a man who makes the offerings become the Body and Blood of Christ, but the very Christ for us crucified.[21] Fulfilling what he represents, the priest stands there, speaking those words; the power and grace of them are God’s. _This is My Body_, he says, and this word transforms what lies before him;[22] and just as the words, _Increase and multiply and fill the earth_, were once spoken and endue our nature through all time with fruitfulness, so those other words once spoken from that time till to-day and until His coming, make the sacrifice over each table in the churches complete. Therefore, let no hypocrite approach, no one filled with sin, no one with poison in his mind, that he may not receive judgment to himself, for then, too, Judas had partaken of the oblation when the devil leapt into him; not that the devil despised the Lord’s Body, but Judas for his shameful conduct. This was to teach you that the devil continually attacks and assails those who unworthily partake of the divine mysteries, as he did Judas. For honourable things profit the good, but inflict a greater punishment on those who abuse the use of them. I say this not to terrify but to fortify you. Let there be no Judas, then; let no one enter in poisoned with evil. For the sacrifice is spiritual food; and just as bodily food, when received by a stomach which has bad humours, strengthens disease, not from its own nature but because of that stomach’s weakness, so does it usually happen with the spiritual mysteries. They, too, when received by a soul full of wickedness, wither it up and corrupt it the more, not by their own nature, but through the weakness of the participating soul. Let no one, therefore, indulge in bad thoughts; let us rather cleanse our mind, for we are approaching an immaculate sacrifice; let us make our souls holy. This may be done even in one day. How? If you have anything against an enemy cast out your anger, cure your wound, give up your enmity, in order that you may receive a healing from that table, for you are approaching a tremendous and all-holy sacrifice. Reverence the reason which prompts this offering. Christ lies slain before you. Why was He slain, and on what account? That He might bring about peace between the things of heaven and the things of earth; that He might make you the friend of angels, and reconcile you to the God of all; and that, whereas you were a foe and an enemy, He might transform you into His friend. _He_ gave up His own life for those who hated Him. _You_ continue in enmity with your fellow-servant, and how will you be able to approach the table of peace? He did not refuse even to die for you. Will you not put away for your own sake your anger against your fellow-servant? What excuse has this conduct? ‘He has treated me badly,’ you say, ‘and has been most grasping.’ What is this? It was a sheer money loss, but he was far from wounding you as Judas did Our Lord. Yet _He_ gave that very blood which poured from Him for the salvation of those who shed it. What have you to put against this? If you do not forgive your enemy you have wounded not him but yourself. You have often done him some harm in this life, but you have prepared for yourself a relentless sentence in the enduring day of eternity. For nothing is so hateful to God as a revengeful man, an unforgiving heart, and an angered mind. Listen to what He says: _When thou offerest thy gift at the altar, and as thou standest there, rememberest that thy brother hath anything against thee, take thy gift from the altar, and going away, be reconciled to thy brother, and then offer thy gift_. What? Do you tell me that I must forgive? ‘I do, indeed,’ He says; ‘this sacrifice was instituted in order that you and your brother should be at peace.’ If, therefore, it was instituted that you might be at peace with your brother, and you do not enjoy peace, it is idle for you to take part in the sacrifice, and it has been instituted in vain as far as you are concerned. Do, then, in the first place, that for which the sacrifice is offered, and then you will enjoy its full benefit. The Son of God came down from heaven that He might reconcile our nature to its Lord, and on this account not only did He come, but wished also to make us who should do the same things participators of His Name. _Blessed are the peacemakers_, He says, _for they shall be called the sons of God_. That which the only begotten Son of God did, do you also according to your human power, by becoming a bond of peace to yourself and to others. This is why He calls you who are a peacemaker a son of God; this is why, in the time of sacrifice, He is mindful of no other commandment than that of reconciliation with a brother, showing that it is the greatest of all. Would that I could go on with the argument, but what I have said is sufficient for those who are here present, if they will lay it to heart. Let us always be mindful of these words, beloved brethren, and of the holy kiss of peace, and of the most sacred embrace which we give to each other. For this it is which holds our minds together, and makes us all one body, since we all partake of one Body. Let us then blend ourselves into one body, not mixing our bodies, but uniting our souls in the bond of charity; thus we shall be able to enjoy the table set before us with confidence. For even if we should be righteous a thousand times over, and yet have revengeful spirits, all is vanity and deception, and we shall be powerless to gain fruits of salvation here. Recognising this, let us put off all anger, and, purifying our conscience, let us with all meekness and humility approach the table of Christ, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all glory, honour, and power, now and for ever! Amen.

The Union of the Holy Eucharist.
(_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxxii., vol. ii., p. 468.)

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Let us then trust in God under all circumstances, and never gainsay Him, even when what He says seems contrary to our reasonings and to our sight; but let His word be more powerful than our reasoning and our sight. So let us act in regard to the mysteries, not seeing only that which is before us, but also embracing His words. _His_ word is not to be set aside, whereas our senses are easily deceived. _It_ has never failed, but our senses have erred over and over again. Since, then, the word is, _This is My Body_, let us trust and believe in it, and gaze at it with our mind’s eyes. For Christ delivered to us nothing that is the object of sense, but objects all of the mind, yet dealing with sensible things. Thus, too, in baptism, the gift is made through an object of sense—the water, and that which is accomplished, is an object of mind, viz., birth and renewal. For, if you were bodiless, He would have given you bodiless gifts in their nakedness; but, since the soul is encompassed by the body, He gives you objects of mind, under the appearance of sensible things. How many men say, ‘I should like to see His form and features, His garments and His shoes? Well, you see Him, and touch Him, and eat Him. You desire to see what He wore, and He gives you Himself, not to see only, but to touch, and to eat, and to receive within you. Therefore, let no man approach with disgust or carelessness, but all with fire, and zeal, and watchfulness. For, if the Jews ate their Pasch in haste, standing, and holding their sandals and staffs in their hands, how much more should you be wary. _They_ were about to go out to Palestine, and so they had the outward signs of travellers, and _you_ are going forth to heaven. Hence we must be ever on the watch, for not a small punishment is reserved to those who eat unworthily. Think what your anger is against the traitor, and those who crucified Him, and see if you are not yourself guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ. They slaughtered the all-holy Body, and you receive it with a foul soul after so many loving benefits. He deemed it not sufficient to become man, to be scourged, and put to death, He also blends Himself with us, not by faith only, but in very deed makes us His Body. What, then, should be the purity of him who partakes of this sacrifice? How spotlessly white should not the hand be which divides this Flesh, or the mouth which is filled with spiritual fire, or the tongue which is purpled with that tremendous Blood? Consider what honour has been shown to you, and what that feast is which you enjoy. The angels gaze and tremble, and dare not look back again, because of the lightning which flashes from it; and this is what we feed upon, this is blended with us, and we ourselves become one body and one flesh with Christ. _Who shall declare the powers of the Lord? Who shall set forth all His praises?_ Where is the shepherd who feeds his sheep with his own members? And why do I talk of a shepherd? There are many mothers who, after the pains of childbirth, give up their children to be nursed by others. This He would not suffer, but He Himself feeds us with His own Blood, and in everything unites us to Himself. For consider: He was born of our substance. ‘Not for all men,’ you say. Yes, for all. For, if He came to our nature, it is evident that He came to all, and if He came to all, then He came to each one of us. And why is it, you ask, that all men have not profited by this gift? This was not the fault of Him Who took that nature for all, but of those who had not the will. He unites Himself to each one of the faithful, through the mysteries, and those whom He brought forth He rears through Himself, and gives Himself to no other, persuading you again thereby that it was that very flesh of yours which He took. Therefore, let us not grow negligent who have been made worthy of so great charity and honour. Do you not see how eagerly babies grasp their mother’s breast, and how they press their lips upon it. Just so let _us_ approach this table and the breast of spiritual drink; or rather, with much more impatience, let us draw near to the kindness of the Spirit, as children to their mother’s breast, and let us know one only pain, that of not participating in this food. That which lies before us is no work of human power. He Who did these things at that supper is He Who is now doing them. Our part is to furnish the ranks of servers. He Who sanctifies and prepares these gifts is Himself. Therefore let there be no Judas, no money-lover. If a man be not a disciple, let him withdraw: this table is not prepared for such as he. _I will eat the Pasch_, He says, _with My disciples_. This is that same table, and it offers no less. It was not that Christ instituted the one and a man the other, but He instituted both one and the other. This is that upper chamber in which they were assembled; thence they went forth into the Garden of Olives. Let us also go forth to minister to the poor, for this is our mountain of olives. The multitude of the poor, who are planted in God’s house, are olives, dropping upon us the oil that is to be useful to us, which the five virgins had, and the five who did not take it perished for want of it. Possessing it, let us go in, that we may all meet the Bridegroom, with bright lamps: with it, let us go forth from this world.

Bone of our Bone, Flesh of our Flesh.
(_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xxiv., vol. ii., pp. 287,
295.)

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_The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ?_ What do you say, blessed Paul? Wishing to engage your hearers’ attention and commemorating the tremendous mysteries, do you call that awful and most tremendous chalice a chalice of benediction? ‘Yes,’ he says, ‘since what I have said is no slight thing. For when I speak of benediction I speak of the Eucharist, and when I speak of the Eucharist I unfold all the treasure of God’s munificence and commemorate His greatest gifts.’ And we, recounting over the chalice the unspeakable benefits of God and what mercies we have enjoyed, thus worship Him and hold communion with Him, giving thanks that He has freed the human race from error, that whereas we were far off from Him He drew us near, that when we were without hope and without God in the world He made us His brethren and co-heirs. Thus, in thanking Him for these and all His gifts, we approach Him. How, then, O Corinthians, are you not doing the opposite to this when praising God for turning you away from idols you hasten back to their tables? _Is not the chalice of benediction which we bless the communion of the Blood of Christ?_ He spoke these words with an awful assurance. For this is what he says: that which is in the chalice is what flowed from His side, and of that we partake. But He called it a chalice of thanksgiving, since we, holding it in our hands, thus praise Him, wondering and being overwhelmed with this ineffable gift, magnifying Him for pouring out this very Blood of His that we might not remain in error, and not only that He poured it out, but that He has given to each one of us to partake of it. So, He says, if you desire blood, do not dye the altar of idols with the slaughter of unreasoning animals, but dye My altar with _My_ Blood.[23] Tell me what is more tremendous, what is tenderer than this? For this is what lovers do: when they see the loved ones longing for what others have and despising what they themselves have, they give their own gifts, and so induce the beloved to turn away from the things of others. But lovers show this affection of theirs by money, and clothes, and chattels, no one of them ever by his blood; yet Christ gave us even this proof of His solicitude and His burning love for us. Thus, in the old Law, as men were in an imperfect state and offered blood to idols, it remained for Him to receive this (the chalice of the Pasch) that He might turn them away from idols, which, again, was an ineffable tenderness. But here He led them up to a far more awful and magnificent worship of God, and changed the sacrifice itself, and instead of the slaughtering of unreasoning animals, He commanded them to offer up Himself. _Is not the bread which we break the communion of the Body of Christ?_ Why did he not say a participation? Because he wished to set forth something more and to show the closeness of that union. For we communicate not only by receiving and participating, but by being made one with Him. For just as that body is united to Christ, so are we made one with Him through this bread. Why did he add, _which we break_? This is seen to take place in the case of the Eucharist, though not at the Cross, but the contrary. _Not a bone of Him shall be broken_, the Scripture says. That which He did not suffer on the cross He suffers in the Eucharist for your sake, and He endures being broken that He may fill all.

Then after saying _the communion of the body_—for that which communicates is something distinct from the thing communicated—he removed even this seemingly slight difference. For in the words _communion of the body_ he sought to say something closer, and therefore added, _That we, being many, are one bread and one body_. ‘Why do I speak of communion?’ he says; ‘we are that very Body itself. For what is the bread? The Body of Christ. What do partakers of it become? The Body of Christ: not many bodies, but one body.’ Just as bread is composed of many grains of wheat which are nowhere apparent in it, but still there, presenting no difference by reason of the kneading, so are we joined together with each other and with Christ. You are not nourished by one body and another man by another, but all by the same; therefore he added, ‘We are all participators of the same bread’. But if we _are_ of the same, and become the same, why do we not all show forth the same charity and become one in this respect also? For this was so formerly in our progenitors. _There was one heart and one mind in the gathering of the faithful._ This is not the case now, but very much the reverse. Dissensions are many and various and well-nigh everywhere, and we show ourselves fiercer than wild beasts towards our members. Christ united you to Himself when you were so distant, and you will not deign to be united with your brother as you ought to be, but thrust yourself away from him, whilst enjoying so great a love and life from your Master. It was not for no purpose that He gave His Body, but as the first human nature, which was made from the earth, became by sin subject to death and to be deprived of life, He introduced, as we might say, another bread and leaven—His own Flesh—in nature, indeed the same, but free from sin and full of life; and He gave to all men to eat of it, that, nourished by it and putting off the old dead nature, we may at this table be blended with the living and immortal nature.

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