Works › Sermons on the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist
Volume 13 · pp. 727–730
Part IV. On the Quality of Our Preparation for the Sacrament. Sermon XV
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### Pars IV
### De qualitate nostrae praeparationis ad Sacramentum
### Sermo XV
Venite, comedite panem meum, Prov. ix, 5. Ut supra. Probet autem seipsum homo: et sic de pane illo edat, I ad Cor. xi, 28. Probet, id est, praeparet se, examinet, purget. Item aliud: Praeparate corda vestra Domino, I Reg. vii, 3.
Quartum principaliter circa Sacramentum Dominici corporis notandum, est qualitas nostrae praeparationis, nam valde justum est, ut ad tam dignum et venerandum cibum, scilicet ad ipsum Dominum omnium, non inaccurate, vel indevote, sed aliquo competenti modo praeparati, accedamus ad ipsum. Exod. xix, 22: Sacerdotes qui accedunt ad Dominum, sanctificentur, ne percutiat eos. Similiter et alii. Praeparatio nostra potest in tribus considerari:
I. In dignitate suscipiendi corporis.
II. In hostia propositi panis.
III. In figura agni paschalis.
De duobus primis potest hic dici, et de tertio in sequenti.
I.
Primus modus nostrae praeparationis ad Sacramentum consideratur in dignitate ipsius Sacri corporis. Nam quia mundissimum est, et Deo vivo plenum, et unitum: necesse est illud suscipienti per tria praeparari, scilicet, 1. Per fidei plenitudinem, 2. Per munditiae magnitudinem, 3. Per orationis devotionem.
1. Primum praeparativum est fidei plenitudo. Ad Heb. x, 22: Accedamus cum vero corde in plenitudine fidei. Cum vero corde, id est, cum vero intellectu, sine errore: in plenitudine fidei, id est, in plena fide credentes quae non videmus, scilicet, sub specie panis esse totum Christum, verum hominem, et verum Deum. Propter hujusmodi fidei magnum meritum, I Pet. i, 8: Credentes in Christum quem non videtis, exsultabitis laetitia inenarrabili.
II. Secundum praeparativum est munditiae magnitudo. Quia congruum est, ut vas sit mundum, suscepturum corpus mundissimum. Exod. xvi, 33: Sume vas unum, et mitte ibi Man. Vas unum quasi singulariter et excellenter mundum. Hinc ad Hebr. ix, 4, dicit Apostolus vas istud esse urnam auream. Decet enim cor quasi aurum esse purissimum, per magnam munditiam, quod capere debet coelestem panem. Alexander Papa: « Nihil in sacrificiis majus esse potest, quam corpus et sanguis Christi: nec ulla oblatio hac potior est, sed omnes praecellit, quae pura Deo conscientia offerenda est, et pura mente sumenda. » Hugo: « Pura conscientia est, quae non habet de praeterito justam accusationem, de praesenti justam delectationem, de futuro minus justam voluntatem. » Matth. xxvii, 58 et 59: Joseph petiit a Pilato corpus Jesu.... Et accepto corpore, involvit illud in sindone munda. Glossa: « Sindone munda Jesum involvit, qui pura mente cum suscipit. » Hinc etiam mos Ecclesiae habet, ut sacrificium altaris non serico, non panno tincto, sed potius in lineo celebretur.
### Part IV
### On the Quality of Our Preparation for the Sacrament
### Sermon XV
Come, eat my bread, Proverbs 9:5. As above. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, 1 Corinthians 11:28. Let him prove, that is, let him prepare himself, examine himself, purge himself. Likewise another text: Prepare your hearts for the Lord, 1 Kings 7:3.
The fourth thing principally to be noted concerning the Sacrament of the Lord's body is the quality of our preparation, for it is very just that we should approach so worthy and venerable a food, namely the Lord himself of all things, not carelessly or without devotion, but prepared in some fitting way. Exodus 19:22: Let the priests who approach the Lord be sanctified, lest he strike them. Similarly also others. Our preparation can be considered in three things:
I. In the dignity of the body to be received.
II. In the host of the proposed bread.
III. In the figure of the paschal lamb.
Concerning the first two something can be said here, and concerning the third in the following sermon.
I.
The first mode of our preparation for the Sacrament is considered in the dignity of the Sacred body itself. For because it is most clean, and full of and united to the living God, it is necessary for the one receiving it to be prepared through three things, namely 1. through the fullness of faith, 2. through the greatness of cleanness, 3. through the devotion of prayer.
1. The first preparative is fullness of faith. Hebrews 10:22: Let us approach with a true heart in fullness of faith. With a true heart, that is, with true understanding, without error; in fullness of faith, that is, believing in full faith the things which we do not see, namely that under the species of bread is the whole Christ, true man and true God. On account of the great merit of faith of this kind, 1 Peter 1:8: Believing in Christ whom you do not see, you will exult with unspeakable joy.
II. The second preparative is greatness of cleanness. Because it is fitting that the vessel which will receive the most clean body be clean. Exodus 16:33: Take one vessel and place the manna there. One vessel as singularly and excellently clean. Hence in Hebrews 9:4 the Apostle says that this vessel is the golden urn. For it is fitting that the heart, like gold, be most pure through great cleanness, which ought to hold the heavenly bread. Pope Alexander says: "Nothing can be greater in sacrifices than the body and blood of Christ; nor is any oblation more powerful than this, but it surpasses all, which must be offered to God with a pure conscience and received with a pure mind." Hugh says: "A pure conscience is one which does not have a just accusation concerning the past, a just delight concerning the present, or a less just will concerning the future." Matthew 27:58 and 59: Joseph sought the body of Jesus from Pilate.... And having received the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. The Gloss says: "He wraps Jesus in a clean linen cloth who receives him with a pure mind." Hence also the custom of the Church has it that the sacrifice of the altar be celebrated not on silk, not on dyed cloth, but rather on linen.
In tribus vero, quae perducunt corporale lineum ad candorem, intelliguntur tria, quae faciunt ad nostram mundificationem. Primo enim lavatur, secundo torquetur, tertio exsiccatur. Sic qui ad suscipiendum Dominum nostrum mundus vult fieri, primo debet per aquam lacrymarum lavari, secundo per opera poenitentiae torqueri, tertio per fervorem amoris Dei a carnalium desideriorum humore siccari.
1. De primo, ad Hebr. x, 22: Accedamus, aspersi corda a conscientia mala, et abluti corpus aqua munda, id est, mundati lacrymis a peccatis cordis et corporis. Exod. xxx, 19: Lavabunt Aaron, et filii ejus, manus suas ac pedes, id est, opera, et cogitationes aqua compunctionis, et confessionis, quando accessuri sunt ad altare: ne forte moriantur. Jerem. iv, 14: Lava a malitia cor tuum Jerusalem, ut salva fias: Usquequo morabuntur in te cogitationes noxiae? Psalm. vi, 7: Lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum, id est, conscientiam meam: Lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo.
2. De secundo, Exod. xxvi, 1: Cortinas tabernaculi, id est, ornatum animae facies de bysso retorta: de operibus poenitentiae, jejuniis, afflictionibus, orationibus, et hujusmodi. I ad Corinth. ix, 27: Castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo. Eccli. xxxiii, 28: Servo malevolo, id est, corpori, tortura et compedes; mitte illum in operationem, ne vacet. Psal. xxxiii, 20: Multae tribulationes justorum.
3. De tertio, Psal. xxi, 16: Aruit tamquam testa virtus mea. Quasi diceret: Divini amoris igne purgatus sum ab omni pravo humore. Item, Psal. xviii, 6: In sole posuit tabernaculum suum, ad siccandum scilicet per amorem divinum: ut fiat valde pulchrum et mundum. Cant. iv, 7: Tota pulchra es amica mea, et macula non est in te: quia scilicet bene lota, torta, et exsiccata. Num. xi, 18: Sanctificamini: cras comedetis carnes.
III. Tertium praeparativum est orationis devotio. Psal. civ, 40: Petierunt, et venit coturnix: et pane coeli saturavit eos. Job, iii, 24: Antequam comedam suspiro. Hinc Maria Magdalena, et aliae devotae portabant aromata, dum quaererent corpus Jesu (Luc. xxiv, 1). Sic nobis accessuris ad corpus Domini, praelibanda est devotionis oratio: ut quod forte minus parati sumus per jejunium et confessionem, suppleat spiritualium aromatum, id est, oblationum oratio. II Paral. xxx, 18 et 19: Magna pars populi quae sanctificata non fuerat, comedit phase et oravit pro eis Ezechias Rex dicens: Dominus bonus propitiabitur cunctis, qui in toto corde requirunt Dominum Deus patrum suorum: et non imputabitur eis, quod minus sanctificati sunt. Augustinus: « Quamvis quis peccato mordeatur veniali, peccandi tamen non habeat voluntatem: satisfaciat lacrymis et orationibus, et confidens de Domini miseratione, accedat ad Eucharistiam intrepidus et securus. »
But in the three things which bring bodily linen to whiteness are understood three things which contribute to our cleansing. For first it is washed, secondly it is twisted, thirdly it is dried. Thus he who wishes to become clean for receiving our Lord ought first to be washed by the water of tears, secondly to be twisted by works of penance, thirdly to be dried from the moisture of carnal desires by the fervor of God's love.
1. Concerning the first, Hebrews 10:22: Let us approach, our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our body washed with clean water, that is, cleansed by tears from sins of heart and body. Exodus 30:19: Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet, that is, their works and thoughts, with the water of compunction and confession when they are about to approach the altar, lest perhaps they die. Jeremiah 4:14: Wash your heart from malice, Jerusalem, so that you may be saved; how long will harmful thoughts abide in you? Psalm 6:7: I will wash my bed every night, that is, my conscience; with my tears I will water my couch.
2. Concerning the second, Exodus 26:1: You will make the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the adornment of the soul, from twisted byssus, from works of penance, fasts, afflictions, prayers, and things of this kind. 1 Corinthians 9:27: I chastise my body and bring it into servitude. Ecclesiasticus 33:28: For a malevolent servant, that is, for the body, torture and fetters; put him to work lest he be idle. Psalm 33:20: Many are the tribulations of the just.
3. Concerning the third, Psalm 21:16: My strength has dried up like a potsherd. As if he were saying: I have been purged from every wicked moisture by the fire of divine love. Likewise, Psalm 18:6: He has placed his tabernacle in the sun, namely to dry it through divine love, so that it may become very beautiful and clean. Song of Songs 4:7: You are wholly beautiful, my friend, and there is no stain in you, because, namely, she has been well washed, twisted, and dried. Numbers 11:18: Be sanctified; tomorrow you will eat flesh.
III. The third preparative is the devotion of prayer. Psalm 104:40: They asked, and the quail came, and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven. Job 3:24: Before I eat, I sigh. Hence Mary Magdalene and other devout women carried spices when they were seeking the body of Jesus (Luke 24:1). Thus for us, about to approach the body of the Lord, the prayer of devotion must be tasted beforehand, so that the prayer of spiritual spices, that is, of offerings, may supply what perhaps we are less prepared for through fasting and confession. 2 Chronicles 30:18 and 19: A great part of the people who had not been sanctified ate the Passover, and King Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: The good Lord will be propitious to all who seek the Lord God of their fathers with the whole heart, and it will not be imputed to them that they have been less sanctified. Augustine says: "Although someone may be bitten by venial sin, yet let him not have the will of sinning; let him make satisfaction with tears and prayers, and, trusting in the mercy of the Lord, let him approach the Eucharist unafraid and secure."
II.
Secundus modus nostrae praeparationis consideratur in hostia panis. Sicut enim grana frumenti arte humana gradatim proficiunt ad panis complementum: sic anima peccatrix gratia Dei proficit ad bonum statum, in quo licenter suscipiat corpus Dominicum. Grana ex quibus fit hostia, significant statum peccatoris, propter tria. Sunt enim dura, et furfure operta, et ab invicem distincta: sic 1. Peccator durus est in corde, qui non vult converti ad dulcem Deum de sua iniquitate. Jerem. v, 3: Induraverunt facies suas super petram, et noluerunt reverti. 2. Item, Peccator opertus est quasi furfure, peccati deformitate. Ibidem, ii, 36: Quam vilis facta es nimis, iterans vias tuas! 3. Item, Peccator divisus est a proximo suo, charitatis privatione. Osee, x, 2: Divisum est cor eorum, nunc interibunt.
Similiter et tritici grana ad statum in quo sunt in hostia, per hunc modum sunt deducta. Primo, contrita est durities eorum per molam, et in minimas partes redacta. Secundo, a furfure sunt mundata. Tertio, commixta est farina ad invicem per aquam, et ad ignem decocta, et in panem solidata: sic peccator qui dignus erit corpus Domini sumere, debet semper tria quae in his signantur, praeparare: 1. scilicet, Per cordis contritionem, 2. Per oris confessionem, 3. et Per proximi dilectionem.
1. De primo, Isa. xlviii, 2: Tolle molam, et mole farinam. Quasi diceret: Fac in te molam spiritualem de duobus molaribus, considerando misericordiam Dei, et justitiam ad emolliendum cordis tui duritiam: misericordiam quasi superiorem lapidem, quae nunc operatur, et circuit: sed post hanc vitam operari cessabit. Psalm. lxxxv, 13: Misericordia tua Domine magna est super me. Item, considerando justitiam, quasi inferiorem lapidem, quae nunc jacet, et quiescit: sed post hanc vitam elevatur, operatur, et currit. Ezech. vii, 8 et 9: Judicabo te juxta vias tuas, ... non parcet oculus meus, nec miserebor. Matth. xxi, 44: Super quem ceciderit lapis iste, conteret eum. Ad Roman. xi, 22: Vide bonitatem Dei, et severitatem. Job, xxiii, 16: Deus mollivit cor meum, et Omnipotens conturbavit me. Deus cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere: Omnipotens, quem oportet juste judicare. Psal. l, 19: Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum Deus non despicies.
II.
The second mode of our preparation is considered in the host of bread. For just as grains of wheat by human art advance step by step to the completion of bread, so the sinful soul by the grace of God advances to a good state, in which it may lawfully receive the Lord's body. The grains from which the host is made signify the state of the sinner on account of three things. For they are hard, covered with bran, and separated from one another. Thus 1. The sinner is hard in heart, who does not wish to be converted from his iniquity to the sweet God. Jeremiah 5:3: They hardened their faces upon rock, and they refused to return. 2. Likewise, the sinner is covered as if with bran by the deformity of sin. In the same book, 2:36: How exceedingly vile you have become, repeating your ways! 3. Likewise, the sinner is divided from his neighbor by the privation of charity. Hosea 10:2: Their heart is divided; now they will perish.
Similarly also the grains of wheat have been led to the state in which they are in the host in this way. First, their hardness has been crushed by the mill and reduced into the smallest parts. Secondly, they have been cleaned from bran. Thirdly, the flour has been mixed together by water, and cooked by fire, and made solid into bread. Thus the sinner who will be worthy to receive the body of the Lord ought always to prepare the three things which are signified in these: 1. namely, through contrition of heart, 2. through confession of the mouth, 3. and through love of neighbor.
1. Concerning the first, Isaiah 48:2: Take the mill and grind flour. As if he were saying: Make in yourself a spiritual mill from two millstones, by considering the mercy of God and justice for softening the hardness of your heart: mercy as the upper stone, which now works and goes around, but after this life will cease to work. Psalm 85:13: Your mercy, O Lord, is great over me. Likewise by considering justice as the lower stone, which now lies and is at rest, but after this life is lifted, works, and runs. Ezekiel 7:8 and 9: I will judge you according to your ways, ... my eye will not spare, nor will I have mercy. Matthew 21:44: Upon whomever this stone falls, it will crush him. Romans 11:22: See the goodness of God and severity. Job 23:16: God has softened my heart, and the Omnipotent has troubled me. God, to whom it is proper always to show mercy and spare; the Omnipotent, whom it is fitting to judge justly. Psalm 50:19: A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise.
2. De secundo, Amos, ix, 9: Ecce mandabo ego, et concutiam in omnibus gentibus domum Israel, sicut concutitur in cribro, ubi scilicet furfures separantur a nucleis, impurum a puro. Sic per confessionem mundatur anima a vili peccato. Psalm. xcv, 6: Confessio, et pulchritudo in conspectu ejus. I Mach. iv, 36: Dixit Judas, et fratres ejus, id est, confitentes, Ecce contriti sunt inimici nostri: ascendamus nunc mundare sancta. Eccli. ii, 20: Qui timent Dominum, praeparabunt corda sua, et in conspectu illius sanctificabunt animas suas. Glossa: « Felix anima, quae quotidie mundat cor suum, ut suscipiat habitatorem suum Deum, cujus possessor nullius eget bono: quia omnium bonorum auctorem in se habet. »
3. De tertio, Genes. xviii, 6: Accelera, tria sata similae commisce, et fac subcineritios panes: ut scilicet vitulum optimum cum illis comederent. Qui enim vitulum optimum, id est, corpus Christi vult sumere, prius debet de tribus satis similae panem igne coquendo solidare, id est, ad tres hominum differentias, scilicet ad superiores, aequales, et inferiores, veram dilectionem conservare. I ad Corinth. x, 17: Quoniam unus panis, unum corpus multi sumus, omnes qui de uno pane participamus. Augustinus: « Qui accipit mysterium unitatis, et non tenet vinculum pacis: non mysterium accipit pro se, sed contra se. » Matth. xxii, 11 et 13: Intravit Rex ut videret discumbentes, et vidit hominem non vestitum veste nuptiali, id est, charitate, et ait ministris: Ligatis manibus, et pedibus ejus, mittite eum in tenebras exteriores: Ibi erit fletus, et stridor dentium. Matth. v, 23 et 24: Si offers munus tuum ante altare... vade prius reconciliari fratri tuo. Glossa: « Si fratrem laesisti, reconciliare ei: etiamsi adversarius exstiterat, esto benevolus, ut fiat amicus: et tunc offeres munus tuum, ut sit Deo gratum. »
Propter praedicta in pane notanda dicitur, Exod. xiii, 7, 9: Azyma comeditis, id est, panem sine fermento. Et erit quasi signum in manu tua, et quasi monimentum ante oculos tuos: quod scilicet significatur in eo, ut dictum est, cordis contritio, oris confessio, proximi dilectio: quibus debemus nos praeparare, ut digni possimus ad Christi corpus accedere, et eo ad fruendum in caelo cum Angelis pervenire. Amen.
2. Concerning the second, Amos 9:9: Behold, I will command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all nations, as it is shaken in a sieve, where, namely, the bran is separated from the kernels, the impure from the pure. Thus through confession the soul is cleansed from vile sin. Psalm 95:6: Confession and beauty are in his sight. 1 Maccabees 4:36: Judas and his brothers said, that is, the confessing ones: Behold, our enemies have been crushed; let us now go up to cleanse the holy places. Ecclesiasticus 2:20: Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts and sanctify their souls in his sight. The Gloss says: "Happy is the soul which daily cleanses its heart so that it may receive God, its inhabitant, whose possessor needs no good, because it has in itself the author of all goods."
3. Concerning the third, Genesis 18:6: Hurry, mix three measures of fine flour, and make hearth-cakes, so that, namely, they might eat the best calf with them. For he who wishes to receive the best calf, that is, the body of Christ, ought first to make solid by cooking with fire the bread from three measures of fine flour, that is, to preserve true love toward three differences of men, namely toward superiors, equals, and inferiors. 1 Corinthians 10:17: Because we who participate in one bread are one bread, one body, though many. Augustine says: "He who receives the mystery of unity and does not hold the bond of peace does not receive the mystery for himself, but against himself." Matthew 22:11 and 13: The King entered to see those reclining at table, and he saw a man not clothed with a wedding garment, that is, charity, and he said to the ministers: Bind his hands and feet and cast him into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 5:23 and 24: If you offer your gift before the altar... go first to be reconciled to your brother. The Gloss says: "If you have injured your brother, be reconciled to him; even if he had been an adversary, be benevolent, so that he may become a friend, and then you will offer your gift, so that it may be pleasing to God."
On account of the aforesaid things to be noted in bread, it is said in Exodus 13:7, 9: You eat unleavened things, that is, bread without leaven. And it will be as a sign in your hand and as a memorial before your eyes, because, namely, what is signified in it is, as has been said, contrition of heart, confession of the mouth, and love of neighbor; by these we ought to prepare ourselves so that we may be worthy to approach Christ's body and to come through it to enjoying him in heaven with the Angels. Amen.
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