|
|
The Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar
|
Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
Editor's Note: This series is an effort to return to basics since too often we all make the holy Faith complicated, whereas in reality the truths and traditions of the Catholic Faith are quite simple. God doesn't complicate things, man does. Realizing the fact that, for many generations indoctrinated by conciliar ambiguities, it all seems so confusing, we are introducing this series which is an adaptation of an earlier series titled "Appreciating the Precious Gift of the Faith" in utilizing a combination of the excellent compendium of the late Bishop Morrow's pre-Vatican II Manual of Religion My Catholic Faith and Dom Prosper Gueranger's incomparable The Liturgical Year as well as the out-of-print masterpieces The Catholic Church Alone The One True Church(1902) and the Cabinet of Catholic Information (1903). Through prayer and discussions, we've decided to employ this revised series to simplify the tenets of the Faith for those who continue to wallow in what they think is the 'Catholic Church' out of obedience to a man and his hierarchy who long ago betrayed Christ and His flocks. This then, is an affirmation of the basic truths the Spotless Bride of Christ has always taught and cannot change or evolve as "living documents" for truth is truth. As we say every day in the Act of Faith, "We believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived." If you have been deceived, and the vast majority have been, then realize what you've been indoctrinated with over the past 50 years cannot be from God but from His adversary. Our advice: flee the conciliar confines as well as other man-made religions which do not teach these truths without compromise. Seek out a traditional chapel nearest to you. There is a list of churches you can absolutely trust at Traditional Latin Masses
"It has been the continuous belief of Christians from the beginning of Christianity. Saint Augustine said, 'Our Lord held Himself in His Own hands, when He gave His Body to the disciples.' The churches which separated in the early centuries from the Catholic Church all believe in the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist as being the very Body and Blood of Christ. It was only in the sixteenth century that Protestants, breaking away from the True Church, denied it and introduced a different doctrine. Tragically, that doctrine has crept into the conciliar Church today, where it is firmly ensconced thanks to Paul VI's destruction of the true Sacrament of Holy Orders, making null and void any priest "ordained" in the new rite after 1968."
At the Consecration of a true Mass, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Sacrament that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper. In the Blessed Eucharist is the same Person who was born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, and rose gloriously from the dead on the first Easter morning. The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice in which our Savior Jesus Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, is contained, offered, and received under the appearances of bread and wine. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night before He died. The Apostles were present. Eucharist in Greek means "thanksgiving." The sacrament is so called because when Christ instituted it, He gave thanks. Today, it is the chief means by which we give thanks to God. The Holy Eucharist is also called the Blessed Sacrament, because it is the most excellent of all sacraments. It gives us Christ Himself. "My delight is to be with the children of men" (Proverbs 8:31). It is called the Sacrament of the Altar, because it is consecrated and reserved upon an altar. It is offered up on the altar in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Holy Eucharist is called Holy Communion when it is received, usually in church. It is called Holy Viaticum when it is received during a serious illness, or at the hour of death. The Holy Eucharist is also called the Bread of Heaven, and the Bread of angels,--this because in it God Himself comes down from Heaven to be our food, thus making us like unto the angels. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist in this way: He took bread, blessed and broke it, and giving it to His Apostles, 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." (St. Matthew 28:26-28) When Our Lord said, "This is My body," the entire substance of the bread was changed into His body; and when He said, "This is My blood," the entire substance of the wine was changed into His blood. In the Holy Eucharist, we find the three essentials of a sacrament. The institution was at the Last Supper. The matter is bread and wine; the form consists of Our Lord's words. The grace is a nourishing grace coming from the very body and blood of Christ, helping us to be more closely united to God and our fellowmen in supernatural charity. After the substance of the bread and wine had been changed, only the appearances of bread and wine remained. By the appearances of bread and wine we mean their color, taste, weight, shape, and whatever else appears to the senses. We believe that Christ changed bread and wine into His own Body and Blood, because: His words clearly say so. At the Last Supper He said: "This is My Body," not "This is a symbol of My Body," or "This represents My Body." Previously, on the day after the first multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Our Lord had promised to give His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink. On this occasion, it is clear that the Jews took Our Lord's words literally. Many of the disciples left Jesus and "walked no more with Him," because they could not believe such a thing as He promised. But Jesus, although very sad at their leaving, did not take back His words or explain them differently. "I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from Heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is My flesh, for the life of the world." "The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" "Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed: and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh Ny blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. (John 6: 48-57). The Apostles understood that Christ meant His words at the Last Supper to be literal. St. Paul writes: "The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord... Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:27-29). It has been the continuous belief of Christians from the beginning of Christianity. Saint Augustine said, "Our Lord held Himself in His Own hands, when He gave His Body to the disciples." The churches which separated in the early centuries from the Catholic Church all believe in the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist as being the very Body and Blood of Christ. It was only in the sixteenth century that Protestants, breaking away from the True Church, denied it and introduced a different doctrine. Tragically, that doctrine has crept into the conciliar Church today, where it is firmly ensconced thanks to Paul VI's destruction of the true Sacrament of Holy Orders, making null and void any priest "ordained" in the new rite after 1968. One of the gravest problems today is the way the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is treated by so many Catholics who have lost the reverence for this august sacrament and the fact the true essence of Who they would be receiving has been lost not only by the congregants traipsing up in rote to receive the 'wafer' in their hands as if someone is handing them a cookie, but also because that is all it is if the "priest" falls into the category above or if the formula for confection of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar was altered as it is for the Novus Ordo, thus making it invalid and utterly void of the True Presence. We dare say if a parish returns to the true Mass, researched the ordination background of their "priests" and, if after 1968, would demand they go through the proper procedures before being incardinated as a true priest, then reverence of kneeling for Holy Communion and receiving on the tongue would mean something for they would once again be receiving the true Presence. Vocations would increase and great respect for the Holy Eucharist would result. Because there are so few true priests today, we have lost the mystery of the Holy Eucharist as so many regard it only as the symbol of Christ - something we can partake of as if we were at a meal and we deserve to eat. We do not deserve nor can we eat of His body and blood unless we are in the state of Sanctifying Grace. This is lost on so many today for the Sacrament of Penance is also diminished, another divinely ordained Sacrament Christ instituted which the conciliar antipopes sacked. Our Lord was able to change bread and wine into His body and blood by His almighty power. If God made the universe out of nothing, He certainly could change bread and wine into His Body and Blood. Christ Himself changed water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana, by a mere act of His Divine Will. Every day we can see the results of God's power in the miracle of growth: people grow, the trees grow; inanimate or dead matter is assimilated as food and continues as living beings or vegetation,--all by the power of God. He, the uncreated One, can do anything He wills. Can we doubt that He worked the change in the bread and wine, if He Himself told us so? The Holy Eucharist is only confected at the Consecration of the Apostolic Mass of All Ages as carried out in the Traditional Latin Mass set in stone by the infallible decrees of the Council of Trent and codified by His Holiness Pope St. Pius V with his Papal Bull Quo Primum that said Mass must be said "in perpetuity". Certain Eastern Rite Masses that were in union with Rome at the time of Pope Pius XII's death and have not changed would be valid as well. In Quo Primum, Pius V asserted that if anyone would dare alter anything they would "incur the wrath of God and the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul." Indeed, in ransacking the Holy Mass and removing the sacrificial aspect of the Holy Sacrifice as well as altering the exact formula for confection of the Sacrament, it makess all Novus Ordo Missae completely null and utterly void of sacramental grace. That is why we are currently in time of the Great Apostasy when the majority have abandoned the true Mass for the Protestant-Masonic and yes, even pagan new rite, commonly called "Mass" or "Eucharistic Celebration." No longer is it called the 'Holy Sacrifice of the Mass' for it is no longer considered a sacrifice, but rather a service intended for the "unity of the community" - with a humanistic approach where the reach is horizontal as expressed by holding hands as opposed to raising them in a vertical reach towards Christ on the Cross and why He suffered. We say again, only when confected in a true Mass is Our Lord truly present whole and entire, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Since the beginning this miracle has been reserved in the tabernacle with a sanctuary lamp kept burning before it. No wonder the barbarians of Vatican Two needed to remove the tabernacles and replace them with the chair of man. Christ gave His priests the power to change bread and wine into His body and blood when He made the Apostles priests at the Last Supper by saying to them: "Do this in remembrance of Me." Thus He commanded them and their successors to renew till the end of time what He had just performed. This change of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ continues to be made in the Church by Jesus Christ, through His priests, but only His true priests ordained in the old rite in effect before 1968. True priests exercise their power to change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ by repeating at the consecration of the Mass the words of Christ:
translated "This is My Body." Over the wine are pronounced the exact words: HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI : MYSTERIUM FIDEI : QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM Translated into English is: "For this is the chalice of My Blood, of the new and eternal testament : the mystery of faith : which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins." Then the alter Christus pronounces Christ's words: Haec quotiescumque feceritis, in Mei memoriam facietis Translated: As often as ye shall do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of Me. At a true Mass, at the words of consecration, transubstantiation takes place; that is, the entire substance of the bread and wine is changed into our Lord's Body and Blood. After the words of consecration, there is no longer any bread or wine on the altar, for they have been changed into Christ's Body and Blood. If it be asked how transubstantiation can possibly be effected, we reply, "By the almighty power of God." The appearances of bread and wine remain. The consecrated Host continues to look like bread, tastes and feels like bread; but it is not bread, for the entire substance of bread is changed into Christ's Body. The same thing is true of the consecrated chalice, which continues to look, smell, and taste like wine, but there is no more wine, only Christ's Blood. This is called the Transubstantiation. In a true Mass Jesus Christ is whole and entire both under the appearances of bread and under the appearances of wine. In the Holy Eucharist Christ is present wholly, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. A little child preparing for her first Holy Communion was asked the difference between a crucifix and the Blessed Sacrament. "Why," the innocent child answered, "the crucifix looks like Our Lord, but it is not He. The Blessed Sacrament does not look like Our Lord, but It is He Himself!" Out of the mouth and heart of a child such wisdom. Christ is whole and entire under the appearances of bread or wine. As Christ's Body is a living body, and a living body has blood, so Christ's Blood is there wherever His Body is. Where Christ's living Body and Blood are, there also must be His soul, for the body and blood cannot live without a soul. And where Christ's Soul is, there also is His Divinity, which cannot be separated from His humanity. The conciliar agenda was to destroy this truth and, in so doing, cast doubt on the true presence where many consider it a superstition. Many who attend services in the Novus Ordo today don't believe in the true presence. And they're right, because Christ can't possibly be present in the apostate service that has replaced the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. When confected in a true Mass, Christ is whole and entire in each part of the Host and in each drop in the chalice. When the Host is broken, the Body of Christ is not broken, but He exists whole and entire in each fragment. In a similar way, even when we break a mirror into many pieces, each piece reflects our face. Christ's Body and Blood are present in the consecrated species as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain. When, therefore, we receive Holy Communion, we bear within us, as long as the appearances of bread remain, the Living Christ, Son of God. Christ gives us His Own body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. The intention of the Holy Eucharist is to be offered as a sacrifice commemorating and renewing the sacrifice of the cross. "For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). In the true Mass Jesus offers Himself as a Victim to His Heavenly Father. We are privileged and blessed to be able to receive Christ's Real Presence in Holy Communion. "I am the bread of life... For My flesh is meat indeed: and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me." (John 6: 48, 56-58). The Holy Eucharist is food to nourish the soul. By this food we are united to Christ, Who nourishes us with His divine life; sanctifying grace and all virtues increase in our souls; our evil inclinations are lessened. The Holy Eucharist is a pledge of everlasting life: "If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever." Holy Communion needs the Mass to supply the consecrated species; for this reason Mass and Communion are inseparable, which points again to the fact that if there is no true Mass, such as the Novus Ordo, then there can be no true Communion. It is quite possibly the most drastic losses the Church has experienced over the past four plus decades: the loss of the Blessed Sacrament on the altar as it was reserved for 1,500 years in the tabernacle on the altar. It was intended to remain ever on our altars as a proof of His Love and to be worshipped by us. "Remain with us, Lord, for with Thee is the fountain of life" (Psalm 35:10). "Come to Me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you." (St. Matthew 11:28). We say we love Jesus; do we prove out love? When we have a dear friend, we are ever eager to be in his presence; do we show Jesus the same loving tenderness? Or are we so forgetful of Him that we go to see Him only once a week? No wonder He is not present in the neo-Catholic New Order where they seek to hide the tabernacles in a closet or somewhere else away from the main area where the rest of the congregation celebrate themselves with cacaphony that is anything but reverent...anything but Catholic. Over the past 50 years the verdict is that the love for Our Lord and His true presence has truly waned. That is horrendous considering as Catholics we are bound to render the Holy Eucharist the same adoration and honor due God Himself. It is a most wonderful privilege to have Christ actually present every moment of the day and night. Traditional Catholics do not realize, truly realize, how blessed they are and that they have a duty before God to share this with others by letting others know that the traditional chapels and catacombs is the only places they can be assured the True Presence exists. In these churches/chapels/oratories where the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle, it is covered with a curtain or veil, and a sanctuary lamp is kept burning before it. When we enter or leave said premises, we should genuflect on the right knee towards the tabernacle, as a sign of adoration. Here again, other than out of habit, most Catholics today who attend Novus Ordo services genuflect but don't know where they're genuflecting since more often than not these days it takes a treasure map to find the tabernacle that, if overseen by a conciliar diocese is absolutely devoid of the true Presence. Even before Paul VI dared to alter the sacraments, the dye was already cast and the blame lies squarely with the hierarchy from Vatican Two on for denuding our churches of the sacred and for removing Him from the altar - from removing the altars and replacing these masterful tributes to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with mere tables. Oh, we have lost so much. We can only pray for the full conversion of these false 'priests' and 'bishops' that they will see, truly see, that the reason for all the corruption, cover-ups, perverted sins and defections is a result of God withdrawing His protection because He is no longer present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar because they have taken away His altars, taken away His true priests and, so tragically, deceived countless Catholics,who don't know better because either by their own ignorance or refusal to study their faith, have become sheeple who, because they didn't believe in something, have fallen for anything and, knowingly or unknowingly have allowed the Great Apostasy to eclipse the true Church and lessen the importance of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
Previously: Step Forty-Two: The Precepts of the Church For all steps to date, see Archives of Catholicism Made Simple Catholicism Made Simple |
|