ON THE MOST
HOLY BODY OF CHRIST
by
Saint Bonaventure
Translated
by
Campion Murray
OFM
SUMMARY
Introduction
4
Six of our
imperfections are indicated
4
Six effects
of God are indicated
4
Six themes
that prefigure the Eucharist
4
Part I:
The first and second themes
5
The first is
the theme of dripping
5
First
effect
5
The theme points
to four remedies
5
Firstly
5
Secondly
6
Thirdly
6
Fourthly
6
Second
effect
6
Third
effect
6
The second
theme, namely, bread
Four
actions of Elijah
7
Firstly
8
Secondly
8
Thirdly
8
Fourthly
8
Four fruits
8
Themes
prefiguring the four fruits
9
First fruit
9
Second fruit
9
Third fruit
9
Fourth fruit
9
Part II.
The third and fourth themes
10
The third is
the theme of honey
10
Four
actions of Jonathan
10
Four fruits of the Eucharist
11
First fruit
11
Second fruit
11
Third fruit
11
Fourth fruit
12
The fourth
theme, namely, the Paschal Lamb
12
Four
qualities needed before his coming
12
First quality
12
Second quality
13
Third quality
13
Fourth quality
13
Four
qualities needed in approaching the Sacrament
13
First quality
13
Second quality
13
Third quality
14
Fourth quality
14
Four
fruits after receiving the Sacrament
14
First fruit
14
Second fruit
14
Third fruit
15
Fourth fruit
15
Part III.
On the fifth and sixth themes
15
Fifth theme:
the theme of heavenly treasure
15
Four
treasures hidden in the Sacrament
15
First treasure
15
Second treasure
15
Third treasure
16
Fourth treasure
16
Hidden
for four reasons
16
First reason
16
Second reason
17
Third reason
17
Fourth reason
17
Sixth theme:
Manna
17
Four properties of manna
17
First property
18
Second property
18
Third property
18
Fourth property
18
Example of the Saints
18
Four
things to be done
19
First preparation
19
Second preparation
19
Third preparation
19
Fourth preparation
19
Epilogue
20
Introduction:
1. Let the
mercies of the Lord give glory to him and his wonderful
works to the children of men. He has satisfied the empty
soul, and has filled the hungry soul with good things. Such
as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound, in
want and in iron [Psalm 106:8-10].
The Prophet David wrote this text to stimulate us to give
thanks when he said: Let the mercies of the Lord
etc. So, wanting to stimulate our hearts to give thanks,
in this text he shows multiple imperfections in our poor
condition, but also multiple effects of divine mercy.
Six of our
imperfections are indicated:
He says:
§
that people
are empty,
§
that they hunger,
§
sit in darkness,
§
and lie in
the shadow of death,
§
bound in want
§
and in iron.
Empty, because
God does not dwell within them; hungry, because they do
not have spiritual refreshment. They sit in darkness, because
they lack divine knowledge. They lie in the shadow of death,
because they are under a judgment of damnation. They are
bound in want, because they do not have works of virtue.
They are bound in iron, because they are hard of heart.
Six effects
of God are indicated:
Therefore,
let them give glory to the Lord, because
§
the Lord has
filled the empty soul,
§
has satisfied
the hungry soul,
§
enlightened
the soul sitting in darkness,
§
reconciled
the soul lying in the shadow of death,
§
enriched the
soul in need,
§
and softened
the hard heart.
They were empty
and the Lord gave himself to them by living in them. They
were hungry and the Lord gave himself to them as refreshment;
they sat in darkness and the Lord God gave himself to them
as the enlightenment of their hearts; they lay in the shadow
of death and the Lord gave himself to them as an offering
of reconciliation. They were bound in want, and the Lord
gave himself to them in good works; they were bound in iron,
that is, in hardness of heart, and he gave himself to them
to soften their hearts. Therefore, give glory to the Lord
for he fills the empty, he is the refreshment of the hungry,
the light of all who sit in darkness, the reconciliation
of those living in the shadow of death, the enrichment of
those in want and the softening of hardened hearts.
It is clear
that all of these are mentioned in the text chosen for our
treatise.
Six themes
that prefigure the Eucharist:
2. Corresponding
to these six points, the body of Christ is prefigured in
Scripture by six themes, namely,
§
the theme of
marrow or dripping,
§
the theme of
bread,
§
the theme of
honey,
§
the theme of
the paschal lamb,
§
the theme of
heavenly treasure
§
and the theme
of manna.
On the first
theme, because dripping is something penetrating, it is
suitable for filling the empty. On the second theme, because
bread is strengthening, it is suitable for refreshing the
hungry. On the third theme, because honey cleanses the eyes,
it is suitable for enlightening those sitting in darkness.
On the fourth theme, because the paschal lamb can be offered
in sacrifice, it is suitable for reconciling those who lie
in the shadow of death. On the fifth theme, because treasure
is desirable, it is suitable for enriching the poor. On
the sixth theme, because manna can liquefy, it is suitable
for softening hardness of hearts. Therefore, let the
mercies of the Lord etc.
Part I:
On the first and second themes:
The first
theme, namely, of dripping
3. Firstly,
the most holy Body of Christ is rightly prefigured for us
by the theme of dripping. The Body of Christ is given to
us to preserve divine fervour in our heart and it is preserved
in three ways:
§
by interior
delight,
§
by love for
a neighbour,
§
and by devotion
to God.
Interior delight
is only experienced through a provision of refreshment;
love for a neighbour comes through the Sacrament of communion;
devotion to God through the sacrifice of an offering. The
Body of Christ is given for these three reasons, namely,
for a provision of refreshment
to preserve interior delight; for the Sacrament of communion
to preserve love for a neighbour; for the sacrifice of an
offering to preserve devotion to God. Fatness provides these
three: for interior delight it provides delightful foods
which it imparts; to preserve love of neighbour, it extends
a skin on which it is smeared; to preserve devotion to God
it supports a flame which it enkindles.
First effect:
4. Because
dripping produces delightful foods, it represents the Body
of Christ that produces great interior delight in anyone
who eats it with devotion. This is prefigured in Genesis
49:20: Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield
dainties to kings. This bread imparts great delights
to a person because it takes away all that causes trouble.
Four things trouble a person in this life:
§
weakness,
§
ignorance,
§
malice
§
and concupiscence,
four things
inflicted on people because of original sin. Psalm 37:9:
I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly and the cause
is added immediately when it says: my strength has left
me, because of weakness; and the light of my eyes
itself is not with me, because of ignorance; my friends
and my neighbours have drawn near, and stood against me,
because of concupiscence. He calls his friends and neighbours
flesh with its concupiscence, and even adversaries because
the flesh lusts against the spirit (Galatians
5:17).
And they that were near me stood afar off because
of malice.
The theme
points to four remedies:
Under the theme
of the bread of Asher, that is, abundant bread, bread providing
delights, and bread of kings, the Body of Christ is given
against the four afflictions in the text quoted from Genesis
49:20.
Firstly:
It is called
the bread of kings because it strengthens kings against
weakness so that a king, that is, right reason, sitting
on the throne of judgment, that is, by a correct
governing of the soul, scatters away all evil with his
look as stated in Proverbs 20:8.
Secondly:
The Body of
Christ is called rich bread because it enlightens against
ignorance. When placed in a jug or poured into a lamp, dripping
provides light.
Thirdly:
It is also
called a bread giving delights against concupiscence of
the flesh. This is the bread having in it all that is
delicious, and the sweetness of every taste, Wisdom
16:20.
Fourthly:
It is called
the bread of Asher
which means happiness because it gladdens the whole person
against all malice. The power of this bread is that it changes
humans into Christ who is most blessed from his essence
and blesses others by grace. So the Lord said to blessed
Augustine:
‘You will not change me into you as food of your flesh,
but you will be changed into me’.
Second effect:
5. Secondly,
the Body of Christ is given to us in the Sacrament of communion
to preserve love for a neighbour; and so it is well prefigured
by dripping, for just as dripping expands a skin on which
it is smeared, so the Body of Christ expands a soul that
eats it devoutly. It broadens it in every direction, namely,
above and below, to the right, to the left, before and behind;
for this reason Jeremiah 31:14 says: I will fill the
souls of the priests with fatness.
The fatness,
by which he fills the soul of priests, refers to the Sacrament
of the altar by which a soul receiving it worthily is warmed
to love. This expands the soul strongly in every direction
and so he adds: and my people shall be filled with my
good things. The word, people, stands for the
whole Church, both militant and triumphant. After the soul
of a priest has been filled by virtue of the Sacrament with
the dripping of love, immediately he fills the whole Church
with good things. From the abundance of love, the Church
is expanded up to heaven by praying to God to the honour
of the Saints reigning in heaven; it is expanded below even
to purgatory because it prays for the redemption of those
abiding there; it is expanded to the right because it prays
for the salvation of friends and benefactors; it is expanded
to the left because it prays for the salvation of enemies
and persecutors; it is expanded behind because it prays
for the salvation of its predecessors; before because it
prays for the salvation of all the future predestined until
the day of judgment.
Third effect:
6. Thirdly,
the Body of Christ is given to us for a sacrificial offering
to preserve devotion towards God. For this reason it is
well represented by dripping because just as dripping poured
on a fire raises the flame higher, so the most divine Eucharist,
received by a devout soul, raises the soul through devotion
to God. So Psalm 62:5-6 says: In your name I will lift
up my hands. Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. Just
as a vase filled with marrow and dripping, cannot hold all
within and overflows outside, so the Body of Christ, when
it has filled a soul with the dripping of devotion, overflows
exteriorly with joyful lips.
In this text
there is mention of four things that help to preserve devotion
to God, namely,
§
a correct intention,
§
routine in
prayer,
§
devotion in
communion,
§
and subsequent
thanksgiving.
One should
so order these things that one, firstly, prepares a right
intention, afterwards stirs oneself by prayer, then devoutly
approaches communion, and finally opens the mouth in thanksgiving.
7. Firstly,
a person must have a right intention. One should not offer
this sacrifice to please others, or for a personal convenience
or for temporal gain. It is to be offered only for the sake
of divine honour, for the benefit of a neighbour and to
increase one’s merit. For this reason the Apostle says:
All whatsoever you do in word or work, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17).
One approaching
this Sacrament should be ready for prayer; one should not
come with a tepid heat because this could cause obstinacy.
For this reason the Psalm says: I will lift up my hands,
namely, in prayer according to the Apostle in 1 Timothy
2:8: I will therefore that people pray in every place,
lifting up pure hands, namely, to the Lord.
Then thirdly,
a devout person should approach communion, and so there
is added: Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness.
And lastly,
fattened by devotion, and inflamed from love, one must break
out in thanksgiving. So there is added: and my mouth
shall praise you with joyful lips.
Therefore,
let the mercies of the Lord give glory, because his
Body is first prefigured for us by the theme of fatness.
The second
theme, namely, bread:
8. Secondly,
this most holy Body is prefigured for us in the theme of
bread, of which John 6:51
says: I am the living bread which came down from heaven,
and in
6:52: The
bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.
This is the
bread brought by the Angel to Elijah as stated in 1 Kings
19:6: Elijah looked and behold there was at his head
a hearth
cake and a vessel of water. A hearth cake is the Body
of Christ that is well called hearth because it is covered
with other material.
The hearth implies other material and under this material,
namely, ashes, the refreshment of our minds is hidden. The
text says also that there was a vessel of water there
and this is added because of the mystery of the Blood of
Christ. That the bread was brought by an angel’s ministry
signifies that when this Sacrament is confected, there is
present an army of angels. Gregory in Dialogues:
Who among the
faithful doubts that in the very hour of immolation at the
voice of a priest the heavens are opened, the lowest is
connected to the highest, earth is joined to heaven, and
the visible and invisible become one? But when we do this,
it is necessary that before God we first, in compunction
of heart, offer ourselves on the altar to God.
Four actions
of Elijah:
But before
Elijah came to the refreshment of this bread, we read that
he did four things.
§
He left the
servant,
§
came into the
desert,
§
sat under a
juniper
§
and received
an angelic awakening.
This signifies
that for a person to want to approach this Sacrament worthily
four things are necessary.
§
Firstly, a
person must flee from the consolation of the world,
§
enter religion,
§
remain subject
to a superior there,
§
and have devotion
towards God.
And these are
the four things spoken of above.
Firstly:
9. Firstly,
it is necessary to flee from the consolation of the world.
There is a fullness of spiritual consolation in this Sacrament,
something not given to anyone indulging in other consolation,
as Bernard says.
Hence, it is necessary that whoever wants to receive spiritual
consolation has to dismiss carnal delight. This is what
is said, namely, that when he came to
Beersheba he
left his servant there.
Beersheba
means a spring of abundance and it represents Christ in
whom is all fullness of graces. Whoever reaches this fullness
sets aside every delight of the world; and this is what
is added here: he left his servant there. What do
we get from a servant other than carnal delight? The Apostle
teaches us to leave this servant when he says: Therefore,
do not become children in sense, but in malice be perfect
(1 Corinthians 14:20). Therefore, the one who leaves
a servant is one who leaves behind the childish ways of
the world.
Secondly:
10. Secondly,
whoever wants to approach this Sacrament worthily must engage
in the religion of an upright life. This is what is said
here: Elijah went into the desert. The desert represents
religious life which is named from deserting
for in it all temporal things are left behind. There, riches
are abandoned by the vow of poverty, delights by the vow
of chastity, honours and worldly dignities by giving up
one’s own will. Nothing in the world is as harmful as these
three; 1 John 2:16 states: For all that is in the world,
is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence
of the eyes, and the pride of life. Because the devil
captures sinful souls through these three things, so it
is that religious souls struggle against these three things.
This is implied in Deuteronomy 8:15: in the desert was
the serpent burning with his breath, that is, the devil
tempting through pride; and the dipsas
killing from thirst, that is, the devil tempting through
avarice; and the scorpion fawning in appearance but
stinging with the tail, that is, the devil temping through
concupiscence of the flesh.
Thirdly:
11. Thirdly,
it is necessary to be subject to a superior; this is said
in the text: Elijah sat under a juniper tree. Isidore
says that a juniper is a tree whose ashes conserve fire
for a whole year. Therefore, what are we able to see in
a juniper other than a good superior? The ash of a juniper
is the humility of a superior; this humility serves to preserve
a fire of mutual love and warmth of fervent devotion in
the hearts of subjects.
Fourthly:
12. Fourthly,
it is necessary to maintain devotion for God; this is what
the text says here:
that an angel touched him. What does the Angel represent
other than a gift of divine grace? An Angel means messenger.
When God sends us grace, then it is as if God is sending
an Angel to us. This angel stirs us once and yet again because
the gift of divine grace always prompts us in spirit to
go forward.
Four fruits:
Whoever approaches
this Sacrament worthily does not return empty. And so note
that there are four things usually received in this Sacrament
when approached worthily.
Themes prefiguring
the four fruits:
13. This Sacrament
§
comforts for
action,
§
raises to contemplation,
§
disposes to
the revelation of divine things,
§
animates and
enkindles contempt of the world and a desire for heavenly
and eternal goods.
This is stated
in the text: Elijah walked in the strength of that food
and reached the mount of God, saw divine secrets
and stood at the mouth of a cave. These are the four
things referred to above.
First fruit:
The first fruit
drawn by a devout soul from this Sacrament is to be comforted
in actions. So it is said: he walked in the strength
of that food for forty days etc. This food represents
the Body of Christ in the strength of which a person works
while not ceasing to make progress in the spiritual life.
He walks for forty days. In the number forty, ten
is taken four times. Ten represents the Decalogue to which
the whole of the Old Testament can be reduced. Four represents
the four Gospels to which the whole of the New Testament
can be reduced. So, to walk in the strength of that food
for forty days is to progress in the spiritual life throughout
all the time we have in such a way that our life is ruled
by the New and the Old Testaments.
Second fruit:
14. Secondly,
one is raised to contemplation; so the text says: he came
unto the mount of God. What else can we understand
by the mount other than a lifting up of the mind? Moses
came to this mount, of which we read in Exodus 3:1ff.:
Moses fed the sheep, and note here the carrying out
of an action. Afterwards, he drove the flock to the inner
parts of the desert, indicating the leading back of
all actions and affections to the inner parts of the heart.
And he came to the mount of God, in which is noted
the raising of the mind to heavenly matters. There, the
Lord appeared to him, because from then on an act of
contemplation occurs in the soul. The Lord appeared to him
in a flame of fire. Fire warms and illuminates and
so indicates that, when a soul reaches the grace of contemplation,
the intellect draws the light of knowledge and the affections
the glow of love.
Third fruit:
15. Thirdly,
one is disposed for the revelation of divine secrets; so
the text of 1 Kings 19:11-12 says that the Lord said to
Elijah: Go forth and stand upon the mount before the
Lord, and behold the Lord passes and a great and strong
wind before the Lord overthrowing the mountains, and breaking
the rocks in pieces; the Lord is not in the wind and after
the wind an earthquake; the Lord is not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake a fire; the Lord is not in the
fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air,
and the Lord is there. There, it was revealed to Elijah
that the Lord is not in a spirit of pride, not in the upset
of impatience, nor in a fire of greed or carnal concupiscence,
but in the whispering of a gentle air, that is, in the tranquillity
of a peaceful conscience. Psalm 75:3 says: His place
is in peace, and his abode in
Zion.
Fourth fruit:
16. Fourthly,
one is animated to contempt of the world and to a desire
for heavenly goods. So the text says here (1 Kings 19:13)
that Elijah covered his face with his mantle and coming
forth stood at the entrance of the cave. When a soul
is lifted up to see the immensity of that beauty and the
infinity of divine power, it immediately draws back to its
own smallness, covers its face with deep humility,
comes forth from the greed of the world, and stands
at the entrance of the cave, that is, it longs for eternity.
The cave represents a human body and the entrance a desire
to leave. For this reason he, as it were, stood at the entrance
because he wanted to go out.
Therefore,
let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, because
his most holy Body is prefigured for us in this second way
by the theme of bread.
Part II.
The third and fourth themes:
The theme
of honey:
17. Thirdly,
his most reverent Body is prefigured for us in the theme
of honey. So, Proverbs 24:13 says: Eat honey, my son,
because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to your
throat. The honeycomb represents the Sacrament of the
Lord’s Body, and it is well represented by honey because
honey delights the taste and, according to doctors purifies
eyesight. In the same way, Christ delights the affections
and enlightens the mind. Bernard:
‘Jesus, sweetness of hearts, living fountain, light of minds,
surpasses every joy and every desire’. By saying that he
is sweetness of hearts, the affections are delighted, and
that he is the light of minds, the intellect is enlightened.
Bernard says
on the Canticle
that Jesus is honey: ‘Jesus is honey in the mouth, a song
in the ear, joy in the heart’. And in another text: ‘Jesus,
angelic glory, a sweet song to the ear, wonderful honey
in the mouth, heavenly ornament in the heart’. Our bee,
the Virgin Mary, made for us this honey, according to Sirach
11:3: The bee is small among flying things, but her fruit
has the greatest sweetness.
The blessed
Virgin is a bee, an animal described as small, because she
is the most humble among all the Saints. Her fruit has
the greatest sweetness, because the Lord Jesus Christ,
the fruit of her womb, was not only sweet like honey but
indeed more than honey and the honeycomb. Bernard says:
‘Jesus is a presence sweeter than honey and everything else’.
Therefore,
just as the Body of Christ is prefigured by the theme of
bread and this is for the refreshment of the hungry, so
it is prefigured by the theme of honey for the illumination
of those sitting in the shadow of death. This is
stated in 1 Samuel 14:27, 29: Jonathan tasted the honey
and his eyes were enlightened.
Four actions
of Jonathan:
Four things
are necessary for a person who approaches this Sacrament.
We read that Jonathan did four things before he came to
taste the honeycomb of honey:
§
he climbed
a difficult track,
§
put the whole
army of the Philistines to flight,
§
held in his
hand a rod,
§
and brought
his hand to his mouth.
This signifies
that anyone approaching this Sacrament worthily has to be
trying to improve, have victory over temptation, the protection
of the blessed Virgin, and the assistance of an enlightened
way of acting.
18. Therefore,
firstly, one must be trying to improve. So the text says
of Jonathan that he went up creeping on his hands and
feet, to signify that one must always have a strong
desire to move forward, to increase and ascend from virtue
to virtue, according to Psalm 83:6-8: Blessed are they
whose help is from you, whose heart is disposed to ascend
by steps, in the vale of tears, in the place which has been
set. For the lawgiver shall give a blessing, they shall
go from virtue to virtue; the God of gods shall be seen
in
Zion.
No one is capable of this other than one who concentrates
all the strength of soul and body on all these. For this
reason, Jonathan is said to have gone creeping on his
hands and feet. Bernard:
This is my
daily exercise: I examine my spirit assiduously and with
all in you that deserves love, as if with hands and feet
and striving with all my strength, I move towards you; but
the more strongly I strive, the more severely am I pressed
down to the earth; in myself and under myself, and looking
at myself, I have come to regard myself as a difficult and
tedious question.
19. Secondly,
one must have a victory over temptation. For this reason
we read of Jonathan that he put the whole army to flight,
signifying, that one who wants to approach the Sacrament
of the altar worthily must achieve victory over all temptations.
20. Thirdly,
one who wishes to taste the sweetness of the honey hidden
in the Sacrament of the altar must have the protection of
the blessed Virgin. For this reason we read that Jonathan
held a rod in his hand before he came to the sweetness similar
to honey. In Scripture, the rod represents the Virgin Mary
according to the text of Isaiah 11:1: There shall come
forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall
rise up out of his root. One holds a rod in the hand
as long as the memory of the blessed Virgin is held during
every activity; honey is got by reaching out with her because
it is only by the protection of the blessed Virgin Mary
that one reaches the power of this Sacrament. For this reason,
just as this most holy Body is given to us through her,
so what was given to us and was born from her womb should
be offered through her hands and accepted through her hands
in the Sacrament. Bernard:
Whatever it
may be you are preparing to offer remember to entrust it
to the hands of the blessed Virgin so that grace may flow
back by the same channel to the giver of grace from whom
it flowed. Perhaps your hands are either full of blood or
stained from gifts in so far as you have not kept them free
from every gift.
21. Fourthly,
one who wants to approach the mystery of the Body of Christ
worthily must have the assistance of an enlightened way
of acting.
Just
as the Apostle says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: Anyone who
will not work, or who does not work, is not to eat.
This must be observed most faithfully when eating the Body
of Christ; no one is worthy to receive this Sacrament other
than a person exercised in good works. And so it is said
of Jonathan that he brought his hand to his mouth.
Because we work with our hands, work is indicated in Scripture
by hands; but work is also indicated by the mouth and so
the word mouth indicates the act of eating.
Four fruits
of the Eucharist:
22. But because
the gift of grace in one who eats worthily is usually increased,
we read that Jonathan received four good effects from tasting
the honey; these represent four effects of grace that one
receives from approaching the Sacrament worthily.
First fruit:
The mind is
enlightened to know the highest truth, and so we read in
1 Samuel 14:27 that after Jonathan tasted the honey:
his eyes were enlightened. Whoever frequents this Sacrament
daily with fervour of devotion advances in enlightenment
of mind, and so the text says: You have seen yourselves
that my eyes are enlightened because I tasted a little of
this honey.
Second fruit:
23. Secondly,
desire is here incited to seek the highest good; whoever
approaches this Sacrament worthily is delighted more and
more in its intimacies. This is what is said of Jonathan:
I did but taste a little honey (1 Samuel
14:43).
It is noteworthy that he said: I did but taste. Once
that sweetness is tasted, the desire to taste is incited
and further increased; so because one tastes by tasting,
from the taste desire always increases. So Bernard:
‘A spiritual taste is a stirring of love and a prompting
of desire’. Also he says: ‘Who tastes you still hungers,
who drinks you still thirsts, they know of no desire other
than Jesus whom they love’. And it adds well a little
honey because even though an ample taste is given to
someone in this life, in comparison with the heavenly fullness,
it is only a little honey.
Third fruit:
24. Thirdly,
an irascible person is strengthened to stamp out all evil.
For this reason we read that Jonathan, strengthened by the
taste of honey, pursued the Philistines to Aijalon
(1 Samuel 14:31). The word Philistines means
double ruin and represents vices that bring ruin to the
soul and eternal death to the body. Aijalon means
a searching for life and represents the eternal life that
we acquire there most perfectly. Temporal life is not called
life but rather death, as Gregory
says. Therefore, Jonathan, strengthened by the honey, that
is, a man made from the Body of Christ, pursued the Philistines
to Aijalon, that is, he did not cease to stamp out vices
until he gained eternal life.
Fourth fruit:
25. Fourthly,
a person dies to this world so as to live for God. And this
is what is said of Jonathan. After tasting a little honey,
he then added: Behold, I must die (1 Samuel 14:43),
signifying that the sweetness of this Sacrament fills a
person and totally destroys this person for the world. This
is the desire of the Saints, and so Job
7:15 says:
My soul rather chooses hanging and my bones death.
This death of the external person is the total bringing
to life of the inner person. So the Lord said to Moses:
a person shall not see me and live (Exodus 33:20),
because it is only after this death that one reaches the
vision of God.
Therefore, because ‘the vision of God is the whole reward’,
as Augustine
says, there is no way to the vision of God except through
death. Blessed Augustine desired this death saying:
Make me, Lord,
out of desire and love for you, totally dead to this world
and make me forget the vanity of all transient things because
of the greatness of your love, so that over temporal things
may I neither lament nor rejoice nor be corrupted by flattery
nor be shaken by adversity.
Therefore,
let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him because
he prefigured his Body for us in the theme of honey.
The fourth
theme, namely, the Paschal lamb:
26. Fourthly,
his Body is prefigured for us in the theme of the paschal
lamb; Exodus 12:3-5: Let everyone take a lamb by their
families and houses. It shall be a lamb without blemish.
This lamb was foreseen by the Prophet and Isaiah 16:1 says:
Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth.
This lamb was without blemish because it came to
take away the sins of the world; John 1:29: Behold, the
Lamb of God; and: behold him who takes away the sin
of the world.
This paschal
lamb represents the Body of Christ, pointed out to us here
as to what kind of man he had to be before he comes, what
kind of man in his coming, and what fruits he might receive
after his coming.
Four qualities
needed before his coming:
27. Before
his coming he had to be a man with four qualities:
§
he had to have
a concern for everyone;
§
he had to dispose
himself for what was needed;
§
he had to be
enkindled with love;
§
he had to come
in the fullness of faith.
First quality:
Firstly, then
in coming he had to have a concern for all. He is not a
priest for himself, but must offer in the name of all; and
this is what is said in Exodus 12:6: the whole multitude
of the children of
Israel shall
sacrifice it.
He had to offer for the redemption of all the living, those
living in purgatory, for all the living and dead to the
praise and glory of all the holy Angels and humans reigning
in eternal life, and for all to the honour of the holy Trinity.
Second quality:
Secondly, he
had to prepare himself for what was needed; this is what
is added in Exodus 12:7: They shall take of the blood
thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the
upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
The two side posts and the upper door post that form the
entrance to a house, represent in a soul three things by
which God enters into the dwelling of a heart, namely, reason
by which God enters as light or brightness; desire by which
God enters as sweetness and goodness; anger by which God
enters as glory and immensity. These three are touched with
blood when they are active in the passion of Christ. Reason
is touched with the Blood of the Lamb when it admires the
truth of the Sacrament. Desire is touched when, knowing
the truth, it experiences bitterness in suffering together
with the suffering Christ. Anger is touched when, knowing
the suffering Christ, it is stirred to imitation.
Third quality:
Thirdly, he
had to be enkindled with love; this is added in Exodus 12:8:
They shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire.
That fire represents the love that the Lord ordered to burn
always on the altar of the heart. The flesh of the Body
of Christ is said to be roasted in this fire because it
should only be eaten in love. Whoever comes to the Sacrament
without love eats raw flesh. But whoever eats raw flesh
puts life at risk; so eating the Body of Christ without
love merits eternal damnation.
Fourth quality:
Fourthly, he
had to have fullness of faith; this is added in Exodus 12:9:
The head represents the Divinity for, as the Apostle says:
The head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3). The
feet represent humanity. God is everywhere and is not able
to move from place to place. God, as it were, took feet
and God walked from place to place in the assumed man. When
Tobit, that is, Christ, washed these feet in a river, that
is, exposed them on the cross, a fish, that is, the devil,
wanted to devour them, but he overcame ‘by showing its wickedness’.
The entrails are what cannot be reached in this Sacrament;
a person must devour all these because he or she must believe
everything even what cannot be reached by the mind. A person
must believe that here is the true Body of Christ, the Body
drawn from the blessed Virgin; this Body is here by transubstantiation,
the soul is here from a natural bond, the Divinity is here
from an inseparable union. The entrails of both natures
are here, that is, the inexplicable sacraments. And so whoever
is not able to understand the height of this Sacrament by
his or her mind must leave this to the power of the Holy
Spirit. This is said in Exodus 12:10: If there be anything
left you shall burn it with fire.
Four qualities
needed in approaching:
28. A person
must have four qualities in approaching the Sacrament, namely,
§
continence
in the flesh,
§
cleanness in
the affections,
§
a memory of
the passion in the mind,
§
and a desire
for eternal life.
First quality:
Firstly, a
person must be continent in the flesh; so it is said in
Exodus 12:11: You shall gird your loins. The source
of lust is in the loins and so one girds the loins when
one restrains the flow of passion by continence.
Second quality:
Secondly, one
must be clean in the affections; this is added in Exodus
12:11: You shall have shoes on your feet. In Scripture,
shoes represent the affections because, just as a body is
moved by its feet, so a soul is moved by its affections.
These feet should wear shoes, that is, be removed from everything
earthly; but because nothing so effectively keeps our affections
clean as meditation on the Scriptures, the Apostle exhorts
us be to have our feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).
Third quality:
Thirdly, the
text of Exodus 12:11
says: Having staves in our hands etc. The cross is
represented by a stave. With this staff Jacob, that is,
Christ, crossed the
Jordan, that
is, the flow of the world, and brought two companies with
him, that is, many souls gathered from the peoples and the
Jews. The person who keeps the memory of the passion of
Christ in mind is holding a staff in the hands; the Lord
commanded this when he instituted the Sacrament saying:
Do this, as often as you take it, for a commemoration
of me (Luke 22:19 and 1 Corinthians 11:24).
Fourth quality:
Fourthly, one
must desire eternal life; this is added in Exodus 12:11:
And you shall eat in haste, to signify that one who
eats this Sacrament should hurry to the summit of its fullness.
By a taste of its sweetness one is moved to its fullness;
this is what the same text says: It is the Phase, that
is, the Passage, of the Lord. This Lamb was given as
a pre-figuring to the children of Israel in the exodus from
Egypt to signify that whoever receives this Sacrament devoutly
crosses from this world to God.
Four fruits
after receiving the Sacrament:
29. Thirdly,
it has to be noted that one who approaches this Sacrament
worthily receives four fruits. After they ate this paschal
lamb the Lord does four things, namely,
passes through
the land of Egypt,
strikes the
firstborn,
passes judgment
on the gods of Egypt,
and protects
from the plague those marked with blood;
these represent
that to those who receive the Sacrament worthily the Lord
gives
§
consolation,
§
lessens the
inclination to sin of sin,
§
takes away
love for the world
§
and makes them
safe on the day of judgment.
First fruit:
Firstly, then
he gives consolation as is stated in Exodus 12:12: I
will pass through the
land of
Egypt.
Egypt means darkness and it represents a human heart not
yet perfectly enlightened. The Lord passes through this
when the Lord sends consolation; and indeed passes through
because the Lord makes no dwelling there, not finding it
suitable for a dwelling. The Lord is able to pass through
until the Lord will be able to make a dwelling there, according
to what is said in the name of the faithful in 2 Kings 4:9-10:
I perceive that this is a holy man of God who often passes
by me. Let us, therefore, make him a little chamber,
that is, let us prepare a dwelling for him in the heart;
and put in it for him a candlestick of correct knowledge,
a table of inner refreshment, a stool of a
quiet dwelling, and a bed of contemplation, that
when he comes to us he may abide there.
Second fruit:
Secondly, the
Lord lessens inclination to sin, and so there is added in
Exodus 12:12: I will kill every firstborn in the
land
of Egypt.
What are the
firstborn other than vices of the flesh inborn in us from
the first parents? The Lord strikes these when the Lord
lessens inclination to sin of the flesh; lessens, I say,
not takes away completely because, as Bernard
says:
As long as
you live in this life, you err if you think your flesh is
dead, not rather held down: you wish, you do not wish, a
Jebusite lives within you; it can be put down but not exterminated.
Third fruit:
Thirdly, the
Lord takes away love for the world and this is stated in
Exodus 12:12: Against all the gods of
Egypt I will
execute judgments.
The gods of Egypt are things of the word that are lovable;
Ambrose
says ‘that what anyone loves more than other things is his
or her God.’ Philippians 3:19
says of carnal people: Whose God is their belly and whose
glory is in their shame. God passes judgment on these
when God causes contempt for the world.
Fourth fruit:
Fourthly, the
Lord makes those who receive the Sacrament secure on the
day of judgment; this is added in Exodus 12:13: The blood
shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall
be; and I shall see the blood and shall pass over you, and
the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I shall
strike the land of Egypt. In all in whom on the day
of judgment he will see the Blood of his redemption, he
will free them from the plague of eternal striking, namely,
when he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Therefore,
let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him because
he prefigured his Body for us in the theme of the paschal
lamb.
Part III.
On the fifth and sixth themes:
The theme
of heavenly treasure:
30. Fifthly,
the Lord prefigured his Body for us in the theme of heavenly
treasure. The Body of Christ is well compared to a treasure
because, just as more precious goods are placed in a treasure,
so all the gifts of graces are placed in the Body of Christ.
God the Father did this when, waning to console the bride
of his Son, holy mother Church, God promised these treasures
to it before the coming of Christ, saying in Isaiah 45:3:
I will give you hidden treasures. These treasures
of graces are well said to be hidden because they are enveloped
under the visible Sacrament. It is noteworthy that he says
in the plural: I will give you treasures.
Four treasures
hidden in the Sacrament:
There are four
treasures hidden under the veil of the Sacrament. In it
is
§
a treasure
of every essence,
§
all wisdom,
§
all grace
§
and all glory.
First treasure:
31. Firstly,
in Christ is the treasure of every essence. For all things
that are, that were, that will be, or that could be, are
of him and by him and in him (Romans 11:36). Reflect,
therefore, of what kind of treasure this is from whom
heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them
came forth. Hence, there can be applied to Christ the
text of Matthew 13:52: Who brings forth out of his treasure
new things and old; also the text of Psalm 134:7:
He brings forth winds out of his treasures.
Second treasure:
Secondly, in
Christ is the treasure of all wisdom. Christ knows all things,
things that are, things that were, things that will be,
and things that could be. He knows not only the things but
also the conditions that things have or could have. For
he is God ‘to whom every heart is open, to whom every person
speaks, and from whom there is no secret’.
Not only does he know something most perfectly, but for
all things that are known he makes the knowledge. He is
the light that enlightens all light and keeps it bright;
John 8:12: I am the light of the world. Colossians
2:3 says of this treasure: In whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge.
Third treasure:
Thirdly, in
Christ is the treasure of all grace, for he is full of
grace and truth (John 1:14).
Angels and humans draw from his fullness. He has a primal
source of fullness, he who opens his hand and fills with
blessing every rational living creature (Psalm
144:16).
This treasure
is hidden beneath the covering of the Sacrament of the altar;
Matthew 13:44: The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure
hidden in a field etc. What is represented here by a
field other than the Sacrament of the Body of Christ reaped
from a field? In this field we have a hidden treasure because
all kinds of graces are hidden there: Which a person
having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goes and sells
all that he or she has and buys that field. Anyone who
recognises the fullness of this Sacrament, most willingly
interrupts other work so as to be freely busy in the work
or devotion of this Sacrament, because he or she knows that
the possession of eternal life is drawn from here. The Lord
says in John 6:55: He that eats my flesh and drinks my
blood has eternal life.
Fourth treasure:
Fourthly, in
Christ is the treasure of all glory. Whatever glory belongs
to Angels and humans, those to be saved until the day of
judgment, draw from his treasure whatever belongs to the
garment of the body or the soul.
He is the one who lays up the depths in storehouses
(Psalm 32:7), that is, the inexplicable boundaries of this
glory. For this reason, he commanded us to hasten to this
treasure when he said in Matthew 6:20: Lay up to yourselves
treasure in heaven. The Saints strongly desire to reach
these treasures and, when it is clear to them that they
can be reached only through death, they dig for treasure,
and rejoice exceedingly when they have found a grave
(Job 3:21-22).
Hidden for
four reasons:
32. This treasure
is hidden under the cover of bread and wine for four reasons,
and so Isaiah 45:3 says: I will give you hidden treasures:
§
firstly, because
of the merit of faith;
§
secondly, because
of a suggestion of crudity;
§
thirdly, because
of the imperfection of our senses;
§
fourthly, because
of the exclusion of unbelievers.
First reason:
Firstly, this
treasure is hidden under the veil of bread and wine because
of the merit of faith. A person, believing what this Sacrament
means, accumulates great merit in overcoming most strongly
seven opponents. These opponents are the five senses all
of which sense that the Body of Christ is not here; and
imagination is also contrary for in no way can it imagine
that the great man, the whole Christ who hung on the cross,
could be hidden in such a small host. Reason is also opposed
to all this, namely, that the same Body can be at one and
the same time in different places, as appears in this Sacrament;
that he is most perfectly in heaven, while being nevertheless
food on the altar, and not many, but one only and the same
Body. Because of this merit of faith the Body of Christ
is hidden.
Gregory: ‘Faith has no merit when human reason gives a proof’.
Second reason:
33. Secondly,
the Body of Christ is hidden because of a suggestion of
crudity. A horror of crudity could hold back many from this
Sacrament if they were to think of a living person eating
another person and devouring raw flesh. For this reason,
this Body is given under a sign and covering associated
with eating, namely, under the appearances of bread. The
Lord deigned to call himself our bread when he said in John
6:51: I am the living bread, so that by eating Christ
under the appearances of bread one would not feel a horror
of crudity.
Third reason:
34. Thirdly,
the Body of Christ is hidden because of the imperfection
of our senses. Were he to show himself in the glory of his
brightness, just as he is, no mortal could bear the sight
of such brightness. Moses, from speaking with the Lord,
received such splendour and brightness in his face that
he covered his face when speaking with the children of Israel
because they were not able to look at him due to the brightness
of his face. So too Christ, taking account of our weakness,
placed a covering over his brightness.
Fourth reason:
35. Fourthly,
the Body of Christ is hidden to exclude unbelievers. He
said in Matthew 7:6: Give not that which is holy to dogs,
neither cast your pearls before swine. What he said
in word was done in fact because he hides his face in the
Sacrament and so excludes dogs and swine, that is, all who
are unworthy of knowledge of this Sacrament.
Therefore,
let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him because
he prefigured his Body for us in the theme of heavenly treasure.
Sixth theme,
the manna in Exodus:
36. Sixthly,
his Body is prefigured for us by the theme of manna. This
is what is said in Exodus 16:4, 15, 31: The Lord said
to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you;
let the people go forth and gather what is sufficient for
every day. When the children of
Israel saw
it they said to one another manhu, which means, what is
it? And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna.
There is written in the book of Wisdom 16:20-21: You
fed your people with the food of angels and gave them bread
from heaven prepared without labour, having in it all that
is delicious and the sweetness of every taste. For your
sustenance showed your sweetness to your children, and serving
everyone’s will, it was turned to what everyone liked.
Four properties
of manna:
Under the theme
of manna the Sacrament of the Body of Christ is described
for us as food that is
§
most noble,
§
most savoury
in taste,
§
most worthy
in what it contains,
§
and most wonderful
in its efficacy.
First property:
37. Firstly,
therefore, the Lord’s Body is food of a most noble kind;
it has been baked by the most blessed Trinity in the oven
of the virginal womb by the fire of the Holy Spirit and
by the power of the most blessed Trinity it has become the
same as material bread. This is what is said: You gave
them bread from heaven prepared without labour. It was
prepared at one time in the virginal womb, but now as he
lives in heaven and hides in the Sacrament. It is, therefore,
most noble because it comes from a most noble cause.
Moreover, it
is most noble because the noblest ones, Angels, eat that
bread without the flour of the Sacrament given to us under
the covering of a veil. For this reason, the Holy Spirit
prompts us to give thanks, saying to us: You fed your
people with the food of angels.
Second property:
38. Secondly,
the Body of Christ under the theme of manna is a food most
savoury in taste; the taste of this bread draws the desire
of thousands of Angels, but also in this world its smell
excites our heart and daily attracts to the reward and the
peak of its fullness. John the Evangelist says: Your odour,
O Lord, stirs in me eternal desires. This is what is said
here of the Body of Christ under the theme of manna that
has all that is delicious and the sweetness of every
taste
Third property:
39. Thirdly,
this food is most worthy in what it contains. It contains
the whole most holy Trinity and so is called the vessel
of the Trinity. It contains this, I say, by presence and
assistance, not by enclosing. The Trinity ‘is within everything
but not closed in; outside everything but not excluded;
above everything but not exalted; below everything but not
cast down.’
The Son is there by the incarnation, the Father and the
Holy Spirit are with him by the indivisible sharing of one
substance; and so it is said here to the Father: your
substance showed your sweetness to your children, as
if to say: You, Father, give your substance, that is, your
Son, indeed, the Father gives all his substance to the Son,
and your sweetness, that is, your Spirit, whom you had from
all eternity, you make present in the world under this Sacrament
to enlightened minds.
Fourth property:
40. Fourthly,
this food in the theme of manna is most wonderful in its
efficacy. For this reason, the text says that serving
everyone’s will, it was turned to what everyone liked.
The beneficial effect is reached according to the degree
of good will and according to the excellence of life and
holiness, as blessed Bernard
says: ‘To the degree that you have kept the foot of trust
in the goods of the Lord, to that degree will you possess
them’.
Example
of the Saints:
Because the
Saints kept a foot of highest trust firmly in the goods
of this Sacrament, they reached its noblest effects. For
this reason, it is written of blessed Clare that she feared
the One hiding in the Sacrament, the One sitting on the
right hand of the Father, and because she had the highest
trust in God, she merited to hear the One living in the
Sacrament who spoke to her physical ears.
Therefore,
according to what each person reaches in Christ in this
Sacrament, to this extent Christ, with the gifts of his
grace, will show himself to the person, greatly to the great,
moderately to the mediocre, sparingly to the little, poorly
to the wicked. For with the holy you will be holy, and
with the perverse you will be perverse (Psalm 17:26-27).
So we read of this Sacrament: That which could not be
destroyed by fire, being warmed with a little sunbeam presently
melted away, that is, liquefied (Wisdom
16:27). The
matter of manna was hardened in the heat of a fire but melted
in the heat of the sun; this represents that one who approaches
this Sacrament having within a fire of carnal desire or
human greed, merits to be hardened; this Sacrament is hardened
in fire. But one who approaches the Sacrament having the
heat of the sun, that is, a fervour of charity, merits to
be melted, that is, purged by the stronger fire of charity;
this Sacrament melts in a ray of the sun, that is, melts
the soul by affection so that the text of Canticle 5:6 can
be applied: My soul melted when the beloved spoke.
What is said figuratively of manna is fulfilled in this
Sacrament, namely, that it was transformed into all things,
and was obedient to your grace that nourishes all, according
to the will of them that desired it of God (Wisdom 16:25).
Four things
to be done:
41. We read
that the children of Israel would not have reached the food
of manna unless
§
they had first
left Egypt,
§
crossed the
Red Sea,
§
gone into the
desert,
§
and sweetened
water by immersing wood.
These signified
that whoever wishes to come to the above mentioned noblest
effects of this Sacrament, must do four things:
§
one must leave
the darkness of vice,
§
produce a worthy
fruit of penance,
§
contemn all
that is worldly,
§
and change
the bitterness of the cross into a delight.
First preparation:
Therefore,
firstly one must leave the darkness of vice; this is what
is meant in saying that the children of Israel had to leave
Egypt and later they came to a taste of this food. Egypt
means darkness. Therefore, one leaves the darkness of vice
who hurries to the sweetness of these graces, so that the
words of Ephesians 5:8 can be applied to this person:
You were hitherto darkness but now light in the Lord.
Second preparation:
Secondly, one
must produce a worthy fruit of penance. This is what was
said of the children of Israel after they had crossed the
Red Sea. The sea represents the bitterness of penance for
in it great as the sea is your destruction (Lamentations
2:13); in this sea the king of Egypt with his army was submerged,
that is, the devil with all his attendants.
Third preparation:
Thirdly, one
must abandon all that is worldly. This is what is said of
the children of Israel that, before taking this food, they
had to come into the desert, that is, abandon all that is
worldly. There are three things by which a person is usually
tied to the world, namely, love of ownership, carnal pleasure
and a greed for honour, according to 1 John 2:16: All
that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh,
and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life.
So Moses said: We will go three day’s journey into the
wilderness (Exodus 3:18). This signifies that by a journey
of one day love of ownership is abandoned; by a journey
on the second day carnal pleasure is abandoned; by the journey
of the third day greed for honour is abandoned.
Fourth preparation:
Fourthly, one
must change the bitterness of the cross into a sweet delight,
so that the carrying of the cross might delight one as much
as the carrying of the cross is necessary for saving one’s
soul. The Lord says: The one who does not take up the
cross and follow me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:38).
Therefore, if you wish to change the bitterness of your
cross into a delight of sweetness, always hold in your heart
the memory of the Lord’s passion. Bernard
says: ‘Truly, one does not feel one’s own wounds when one
gazes at the wounds of Christ’. This is what is read of
the children of Israel that, after they had reached the
sweetest food, they came to Marah, to a most bitter drink;
because of its bitterness they were unable to drink it and
the Lord commanded that they were to put a piece of wood
into the drink; the wood represented the cross and the bitterness
was sweetened.
Let
the mercies of the Lord give glory to the Lord and
his wonderful works to the children of men. He has satisfied
the empty soul, and has filled the hungry soul with good
things. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
bound, in want and in iron (Psalm 106:8-10).
Epilogue:
42. Therefore:
Ø
if you feel
empty, look for your filling in this Sacrament in the theme
of dripping;
Ø
if you feel
hungry, seek your refreshment in the theme of bread;
Ø
if you feel
blind and seated in darkness, seek your enlightenment in
this Sacrament in the theme of honey;
Ø
if you feel
you are lying in the shadow of death, seek your reconciliation
in this Sacrament in the theme of heavenly treasure;
Ø
if you feel
your heart is hard, seek your softening in this Sacrament
in the theme of manna.
May Jesus Christ,
Son of the most blessed Virgin deign to give this to us.
Amen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
My thanks go to Sr Joanne Fitzsimons,
OSC, for her proof reading of these pages and for her corrections
to the text.
