Imatges de pàgina
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The early Christians, mindful of our Blessed Lord's own words, 'It is not meet to take the children's Bread, and to cast It to dogs' (S. Matt. xv. 26), and again, 'Give not that which is Holy unto the dogs [cf. Philipp. iii. 2], neither cast ye your pearls before swine' (S. Matt. vii. 6), were very careful to guard the Sacred Mysteries from the heathen and profane.

'Lo! the Angel's Food descending,

Given to pilgrims homeward wending,
Bread the children's steps attending,
Which on dogs may ne'er be spent.'

Indeed, so jealous were they lest their most sacred rites shou d turnish food for heathen mockery, that they concealed the Mysteries (= secret things) not only from unbelievers, but also from Catechumens, neither celebrating them, nor speaking of them, nor writing of them, openly. (See Fleury's Manners of the Christians, ch. xv. Eng. trans. pub. Mowbray.)

But unto you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven; the things kept secret from the foundation of the world are now made known unto the Catholic Church: wherefore, blessed are the eyes which see the things that we see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see,' etc. (S. Luke x. 23, 24).

And yet many hold very poor, low, and imperfect notions of what This Service really is; and I cannot but fear that if asked this question, T? many would give a very poor and imperfect account of This Great Mystery of God.

Some perhaps would describe It as a solemn way of remembering the Death of the Saviour of the world by eating a little bread and drinking a little wine! As though to eat bread and drink wine were, taken by themselves, an appropriate way of remembering a person's death!

Surely if this were all, if the Holy Communion were only this and nothing else, we might, one would think, put ourselves in remembrance of our Lord's Death, and call to mind all that He did and suffered for us men and for our salvation in a much more effective and impressive way, by reading the sacred Narratives of that Death. Some people seem only to think of and to remember the Lord's words, This do in remembrance of Me (S. Luke xxii. 197), whilst they forget or explain away those His other words, spoken at the self-same time, This is My Body-This is My Blood (S. Matt. xxvi. 26, 28).

True, ignorance is no bar to our receiving Grace, so long as the ignorance be not careless or wilful for 'there are diversities of gifts (1 Cor. xii. 4–12, 28–31), and all cannot attain to the same degree of knowledge.

And yet we have the promise, Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord' (Hos. vi. 3ƒ), and ‘all thy children shall be taught of God,' etc. (Isa. liv. 13; and cf. S. John vi. 35), and all, even the

most unlearned, should strive to understand the meaning of This the chiefest Rite and highest Service of our Religion, and should be able to answer the question-T?

Let me remind you of one or two points which serve to show the greatness and importance of the Sacrament of the Altar.

I. In the other Sacraments, God, of His great goodness, gives to us His Grace: in This our Blessed Lord imparts to us Himself.

'O how can we thank Thee

For a Gift like this,

Gift that truly maketh

Heaven's eternal bliss!'

The other Sacraments consist in an action which passes; this in a gift which remains.

'Jesu, our Lord, our God, our All!

How can we love Thee as we ought?
And how revere this wondrous gift,
So far surpassing hope or thought?

Thee, Jesu, Lord, we here adore,

O make us love Thee more and more!'

-Faber.

2. This is the One only Service expressly ordained by the Lord Himself for His whole Church until He come again (1 Cor. xi. 24-27).

This is the One central Act of Worship for the whole Christian Dispensation-the one act of worship common to the Holy Church throughout all the world.' Whatever be the differences between East and West, yet the Greek, the Latin, and the Anglican Branches of the Catholic Church are at one on this point; they all agree in celebrating This Service, all with one voice impress upon their children the absolute necessity of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

'The order of the Liturgy varied in different times and places; some ceremonies were added to it, and some were withdrawn from it, but the essential parts were always the same. Such is what we find recorded concerning it in primitive times' (Fleury's Manners of the Christians, p. 71). So now, however the Communion Office may vary in language and in structure in the several Branches of the Catholic Church, yet each Branch uses certain forms which are com mon to all, e.g.:

The Sursum corda (lit. 'Up hearts!'), or 'Lift up your hearts,' with the response, 'We lift them up unto the Lord; '

The Sanctus or Triumphal Hymn, being the words 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory : Glory be to Thee, O Lord most High. Amen.'

The Invocation of the Holy Ghost upon the Elements to cause them to become the Body and Blood of the Lord : for (S. John vi. 63ƒ).

The Commemoration of the Institution of the Eucharist or Recitation of the actual words in which the Eucharist was originally instituted, which in the Anglican Office forms part of our Prayer of Consecration, and begins, Who in the same night that He was betrayed,' etc.

The Amen at the end of the Prayer of Consecration whereby the people set their seal to the act of the Priest, and take their part in the offering of the Eucharist. The Amen which is referred to by S. Paul (1 Cor. xiv. 16), and concerning which Fleury writes (p. 71 Eng. trans.), A Deacon exhorted them to pray, the Priest offered the prayer, and the people consented to it by answering Amen.' response by which the lay people claim the whole action as their own (Sadler).

'The

The Lord's Prayer, which is the core and centre of every Office (S. Luke xi. 2), and the fourth clause of which-'Give us this day our daily Bread-has ever been regarded as having special reference to That Living Bread which is the food of the soul (S. John vi. 51).

The Thanksgiving, or 'Eucharist' (Greek), which gives one chief name to this our bounden duty and service,' and is an essential part of every Liturgy to which the Apostle refers (1 Tim. ii. 1). Prayers for the living and for the faithful departed.

Such are some of the chief essential parts to be found in every Liturgy, Eastern or Western; and in which all speak the same words and mind the same thing.

Some branches of the Church may have one special Service and some another. And so our own English Church says-'In these our doings we condemn no other nations, nor prescribe anything but to our own people only: for we think it convenient that every country should use such Ceremonies as they shall think best to the setting forth of God's honour and glory' (Pref. to Book of Common Prayer, 'Of Ceremonies'). And thus the Russo-Greek Church has a very picturesque Service for the Washing of Feet on Maundy Thursday, and the Roman Church has another for the Anointing with oil in the Name of the Lord. In some parts of the Church they may say the Psalter all through once in a month (as we do), or once in a week, or even once in a day, as did S. Patrick and S. Kentigern (cf. Neale and Littledale, Pss. Diss. I. 3, 5).

There may be many and various Services-for Holy Baptism, for Confirmation, for Holy Matrimony, for the Visitation of the Sick, for the Burial of the Dead, for conferring Holy Orders-Services of Thanksgiving, and Penitential Services: all good, helpful, and tending to the glory of God; but still the fact remains the same that the HOLY EUCHARIST is the One only Service commanded by the Lord Himself when He said, This do for a Memorial of Me!

3. The Holy Eucharist was foretold by types from the very beginning (for these types in detail see below, Part III.).

a. The Tree of Life, in the midst of the Garden of Eden (Gen. ii.

9m), of which had Adam eaten he would have lived for ever (Gen. iii. 22).

b. Melchizedec, the Priest of the Most High God, bringing forth Bread and Wine (Gen. xiv. 18) to Abraham, the father of the faithful, as the Hymn,

'This did Melchizedeck declare,

Offering the Bread of Life and Wine of Blessing

To God, before they were.'

-Altar Hymnal, 117, ver. 3; and cf. Hymn 119, ver. 1.

c. The Manna, mysterious, Heaven-sent food, of which we are told they wist not what it was' (Ex. xvi. 15; Ps. lxxviii. 25, 26), whereof the Hymn

''Tis Manna, Bread sent down to tell

The Word made Flesh should be made Food for ever
To the true Israel.'

-Altar Hymnal, 117, ver 4.

d. The Shewbread, which was to be set in order upon the table before the Lord continually (Lev. xxiv. 5-9).

'Shewbread in God's Holy Place.'-Littledale.

e. Gideon's cake of barley-bread which tumbled into the host of Midian (Judg. vii. 13).

'Cake o'erthrowing Midian's tents.'—Littledale.

f. The first-fruits and first-fruit loaves to be offered up and waved before the Lord (Lev. ii. 14, xxiii. 10-16).

g. Elijah's heaven-sent cake, in the strength of which he went unto Horeb the Mount of God (1 Kings xix. 5-9).

h. The cake which the widow made for Elijah (1 Kings xvii. 13-17).

4. T. So great is this Service, and so important is it that it should be rightly and duly celebrated, that God made a special Revelation unto S. Paul respecting it (Gal. i. II, 12; 1 Cor. xi. 23f).

He was not present at the original Institution of the Holy Eucharist, because he did not become a disciple of the Lord until after His Ascen sion (1 Cor. xv. 8, 9).

But as he was 6 a chosen vessel' for God's work, so a special revelation was made to him of this Divine Institution, as he expressly

asserts.

'For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you' (1 Cor. xi. 23); so again he saith to the Galatians (i. 11, 12), ‘I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.'

Thus we see that S. Paul received a special Revelation, not only

as to the truth of the Gospel, but also as to the Institution of the Holy Eucharist (and see this more fully worked out in chap. iv.).

And surely this must show us the importance of This Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, and must add the greatest weight to every action and to every word used by our Blessed Lord at the original Institution of It.

For if there falls not one leaf from a tree without a cause, nor one of the sparrows to the ground without our Heavenly Father, can we suppose that any useless, pointless words dropped from the mouth of Him who spake as never man spake, or that the Eternal Wisdom made use of random utterances in the Institution of the chiefest, highest Act of our Christian Religion, at the most solemn moment of His Life? It were impossible to think so for an instant !

Seeing then that our Blessed Lord regarded it as absolutely neces sary for the wellbeing of His Church to reveal each several word and action to His Apostle S. Paul, that he might have perfect knowledge and certain confidence concerning This solemn and distinctive Rite of the Christian Religion, it shows us plainly and unmistakeably the immense importance and necessity of this great Sacrament! Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift!

IX. The Holy Eucharist a Sacrifice (i.).

Ps. L. 5.

'Gather My Saints together unto Me; those that have made a Covenant with Me with Sacrifice.'

Last time we met together I selected one or two points on which to speak to you concerning This 'our bounden duty and service,' the Holy Eucharist, in order specially to bring out its surpassing greatness and importance.

I then dwelt specially on these four points, viz. that

a. In It God gives to us Himself:

b. It is the One Service expressly commanded and enjoined upon us by God:

c. It was foretold by Types from the very beginning:

d. It was specially revealed by our Lord Himself to S. Paul. To-day I wish to bring the Holy Eucharist before you as the Christian Sacrifice, the continuation of the One Worship Divinely ordained from the beginning of the world, the highest Act of Christian worship, embodying, as it does, all others.

And it is most important to keep this view of the Holy Eucharist constantly before our eyes, for where the sacrificial aspect of the Holy Eucharist is ignored, there the idea of worship soon languishes* (Hutchings).

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