Works › The Book on the Sacrament of the Eucharist
Volume 38 · pp. 268–271
Chapter VII, nos. 5-8 conclusion.
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Marginal label (printed p. 269): Quomodo membris spiritualibus defertur?
Marginal label (printed p. 270): Qua ratione ultimo depuratur?
Marginal label (printed p. 270): Quomodo membris infunditur?
5. Deinde autem in sacramento est dulcedinis depuratae suctio. Et hoc fit quando in dulcedine cordis nimia dulcedo Christi in spiritu degustatur. Hic enim modus degustandi dulcedinem naturarum et gratiarum Christi potius suctione quam comestione perficitur. Et sic in opere naturae per quam nutrimentum subtiliatum est, sugitur: ita in cordis devotione et desiderio postquam homo se emendavit et depuravit, tunc statim dulcedinem quae est in corpore Christi et spiritu et anima ipsius et in omni gratia et gloria, illuminationibus et delectationibus ejus sugit et imbibit. Et hoc est quod dicitur, Deuter. xxxii, 13: Constituit eum super excelsam terram, ut comederet fructus agrorum, ut sugeret mel de petra, oleumque de saxo durissimo. Sicut enim in ante habitis dictum est, excelsa terra est natura humana Jesu Christi, super cujus agri fructus ponitur homo in confectione et communione sacramenti, ut comestione sacramentali comedat eos: et postquam se plene depuravit et in spiritu subtiliavit virtute et contemplatione, spiritus sugat mel de stabilimento Christi sicut de petra: petra autem erat Christus, sicut dicit Apostolus, I ad Corinth. x, 4: Bibebant de spiritali, consequente eos, petra: petra autem erat Christus. Et hoc modo oleum quod significat pinguedinem devotionis, suxerunt de saxo solidissimae veritatis, quae est in sacramento. Propter quod etiam sacramentum veritatis vocatur. Psal. lxxx, 17: Cibavit eos ex adipe frumenti, et de petra melle saturavit eos. Hoc est quod dicitur, Deuter. xxxiii, 19: Qui inundationem maris quasi lac sugent, et thesauros absconditos arenarum. Dulcedo enim a sacramento redundat abundanter in fauces bene dispositas, sicut inundatio, quae maris dicitur, quia in memoriam immensitatis passionum et doloris Christi accipitur. Et hae consolationes sunt thesauri super aurum copiosum: et sunt absconditi, quia nemo novit eos nisi qui accipit. Psal. xviii, 11: Desiderabilia super aurum et lapidem pretiosum multum: et dulciora super mel et favum. Unde, Isa. lxvi, 10 et 11, dicitur: Gaudete cum ea gaudio, universi qui lugetis super eam: ut sugatis et repleamini ab ubere consolationis ejus, ut mulgeatis et deliciis affluatis ab omnimoda gloria ejus. Luctus enim super tristitiam Jerusalem est in passione, gaudium est in communionis delectatione: et illa est ut sugant fideles ubera quibus sacramentum hoc ubertim fundit lac candoris veritatis et dulcedinem virtutis, ut sint ubera ista pressa manu devotionis, et mulgeamus et deliciis in consolatione sancti Spiritus affluamus ab omnimoda ipsius gloria quam in deliciis sacramenti manifestat. Et hoc lacti comparatur: quia ad litteram etiam secundum naturam succus de nutrimento depuratus et subtiliatus, lactis habet quamdam albedinem et pinguedinem butyrosam et dulcedinem valde convenientem: et ideo sugitur a venis.
Marginal label (printed p. 269): How is it carried to the spiritual members?
Marginal label (printed p. 270): By what reasoning is it finally purified?
Marginal label (printed p. 270): How is it poured into the members?
5. Next, however, in the sacrament there is the sucking of purified sweetness. And this occurs when, in the sweetness of the heart, the exceeding sweetness of Christ is tasted in the spirit. For this mode of tasting the sweetness of the natures and graces of Christ is perfected rather by sucking than by eating. And thus, in the work of nature by which nourishment is subtilized, it is sucked; so in devotion and desire of heart, after a person has corrected and purified himself, then immediately he sucks and drinks in the sweetness which is in the body of Christ and in his spirit and soul and in every grace and glory, in his illuminations and delights. And this is what is said in Deuteronomy 32:13: He set him upon a high land, so that he might eat the fruits of the fields, so that he might suck honey from the rock and oil from the hardest stone. For as has been said in what went before, the high land is the human nature of Jesus Christ, over the fruits of whose field man is placed in the confection and communion of the sacrament, so that he may eat them by sacramental eating; and after he has fully purified himself and in spirit has subtilized himself by virtue and contemplation, the spirit may suck honey from the establishment of Christ as from the rock. But the rock was Christ, as the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 10:4: They drank from the spiritual rock following them, and the rock was Christ. And in this way they sucked oil, which signifies the fatness of devotion, from the stone of most solid truth which is in the sacrament. For this reason also it is called the sacrament of truth. Psalm 80:17: He fed them from the fat of wheat, and from the rock he satisfied them with honey. This is what is said in Deuteronomy 33:19: They will suck the overflowing of the sea as milk, and the hidden treasures of the sands. For sweetness from the sacrament overflows abundantly into well-disposed throats like an inundation, which is called of the sea, because it is received in memory of the immensity of the passions and pain of Christ. And these consolations are treasures above abundant gold, and they are hidden, because no one knows them except the one who receives. Psalm 18:11: Desirable above gold and much precious stone, and sweeter above honey and the honeycomb. Hence Isaiah 66:10 and 11 says: Rejoice with her with joy, all you who mourn over her, so that you may suck and be filled from the breast of her consolation, so that you may milk and flow with delights from her glory of every kind. For mourning over the sadness of Jerusalem is in the passion; joy is in the delight of communion. And that joy is so that the faithful may suck the breasts by which this sacrament abundantly pours out the milk of the brightness of truth and the sweetness of virtue, so that those breasts may be pressed by the hand of devotion, and we may milk and, in the consolation of the Holy Spirit, flow with delights from every kind of his glory which he manifests in the delights of the sacrament. And this is compared to milk, because literally also according to nature the juice purified and subtilized from nourishment has a certain whiteness and buttery fatness of milk and a very fitting sweetness; and therefore it is sucked by the veins.
Sic igitur nutrimentum attrahitur sugendo.
6. Quarto, perficitur nutrimentum per vias quae sunt vasa et canales in totum corpus nutrimentum deportantes, ut undique corpus infundatur et irrigetur et nutriatur. Hae autem viae sunt cogitationes et affectiones in anima quae sunt animae tamquam vires et corporis membra, ad subserviendum animae spirituale nutrimentum deportantes. Sic enim fons delectationis est corpus Christi, et rivi derivati a fonte sunt quae singulis viribus et virtutibus et potentiis et membris diriguntur, et ad quaecumque non venit hoc nutrimentum pietatis, haec arescunt et marcescunt et destituuntur et abjiciuntur. Iste est fons de quo dicitur, Genes. ii, 6: Fons ascendebat e terra, hoc est, de terreno corpore Domini in sacramento, irrigans universam superficiem terrae, seu paradisi. Paradisus enim locus deliciarum est in nutrimentis Ecclesiae, in quem locum iste fons delectationis influit, et omnia irrigat interiora animae et corporis ad quae derivatur. Ezechiel. xlvii, 9: Et omnis anima vivens, quae serpit, quocumque venerit torrens, vivet. Quia, sicut dicitur in Psalmo xxxv, 9: Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos. Et infusionis delectationis suavitate infunduntur et irrigantur. Merito monet Ecclesiastes, xii, 1 et seq., ut simus memores creatoris nostri, ne forte per ingratitudinem a magnis deliciis quas diximus, excidamus, dicens, v. 6: Antequam rumpatur funiculus argenteus, et recurrat vitta aurea, et conteratur hydria super fontem, et confringatur rota super cisternam. Haec omnia ingratis contingunt. Funis autem argenteus est via dirigens ad nos ex hoc sacramento candorem veritatis. Et si ille rumpitur, vanitatem et mendacium sequi incipiemus. Vitta autem aurea est via et vena et ligamentum quibus in nos derivatur delectatio divinitatis ex hoc sacramento: si enim illa ad terrena recurrit, tunc tetra et opaca sequemur. Fons autem est fundens delectationes Dominus Jesus in sacramento. Hydria autem hauritorium nostrae devotionis, quae super fontem conteritur, quando spiritualia in taedium veniunt, et terrena etiam amara desiderantur, sicut dicitur, Numer. xi, 6: Anima nostra arida est, nihil aliud respiciunt oculi nostri nisi man. Et, ibidem, xxi, 5: Anima nostra nauseat super cibo isto levissimo. Et iterum, ibidem, xi, 4: Quis dabit nobis ad vescendum carnes? Et hujusmodi. Rota autem est reditus noster frequens ad spiritualis dulcedinis degustationem, quae in hoc sacramento sicut in cisterna ex pluvia dulcedinis Dei manantis reservatur nobis. Si enim rota illa confringitur, tunc imus et redimus in putredinem carnis, et sic perimus ad creatoris memoriam non revertentes.
Thus, therefore, nourishment is drawn by sucking.
6. Fourth, nourishment is perfected through ways which are vessels and channels carrying nourishment into the whole body, so that from every side the body may be infused and watered and nourished. But these ways are thoughts and affections in the soul, which are to the soul as powers and members are to the body, carrying spiritual nourishment for serving the soul. For thus the body of Christ is the fountain of delight, and the streams derived from the fountain are those things which are directed to the several powers and virtues and potencies and members; and whatever this nourishment of piety does not reach, these things dry up and wither and are destitute and cast away. This is the fountain of which it is said in Genesis 2:6: A fountain ascended from the earth, that is, from the earthly body of the Lord in the sacrament, watering the whole surface of the earth, or of paradise. For paradise is the place of delights in the nourishments of the Church, into which place this fountain of delight flows and waters all the inner parts of soul and body to which it is derived. Ezekiel 47:9: And every living soul that creeps, wherever the torrent comes, will live. Because, as is said in Psalm 35:9: They will be made drunk from the abundance of your house, and from the torrent of your pleasure you will give them drink. And they are infused and watered by the sweetness of the infusion of delight. Deservedly Ecclesiastes 12:1 and following warns that we should be mindful of our creator, lest perhaps through ingratitude we fall away from the great delights of which we have spoken, saying, verse 6: Before the silver cord is broken, and the golden ribbon runs back, and the jar is broken over the fountain, and the wheel is broken over the cistern. All these things happen to the ungrateful. But the silver cord is the way directing to us from this sacrament the brightness of truth. And if that is broken, we will begin to follow vanity and falsehood. But the golden ribbon is the way and vein and bond by which delight of divinity is derived into us from this sacrament; for if that runs back to earthly things, then we will follow foul and dark things. But the fountain is the Lord Jesus pouring out delights in the sacrament. But the jar is the drawing vessel of our devotion, which is broken over the fountain when spiritual things come into weariness and even bitter earthly things are desired, as is said in Numbers 11:6: Our soul is dry; our eyes look at nothing else except manna. And in the same place, 21:5: Our soul is nauseated over this very light food. And again, in the same place, 11:4: Who will give us flesh to eat? And things of this sort. But the wheel is our frequent return to the tasting of spiritual sweetness, which is reserved for us in this sacrament as in a cistern from the rain of God's sweetness flowing down. For if that wheel is broken, then we go and return into the putrefaction of the flesh, and thus we perish, not returning to the memory of the creator.
7. Quinto autem loco natura posuit colatoria panniculorum, quae ultima depuratione foetulentum quasi colando a cibo separent, ut ultime depuratum esset, antequam membris infunderetur: et hoc colatorium in sacramento signat subtilissimae conscientiae examinationem, ne aliquid impurum in nobis remaneat, cum venimus ad hujus cibi nutrimentum, sicut dicitur, Jerem. xv, 19: Si converteris, convertam te, et ante faciem meam stabis: et si separaveris pretiosum a vili, quasi os meum eris. Haec enim est colatio optima conscientiae qua omne pretiosum a vili peccati et vanitatis separatur, ut purum et sincerum hoc nutrimentum his membris spiritualibus infundatur. Eccli. xxxviii, 11: Da suavitatem et memoriam similaginis, et impingua oblationem, et da locum medico. Quod autem dicit, da suavitatem, vult quod animo suavi et tranquillo veniamus ad sacramentum. Quod autem dicit, memoriam similaginis, vult quod sicut similago cribellatur et colatur usque ad purum, quod ita nos per conscientiam cribellemus et colemus, ut purissimo nutrimento congruamus. Quod autem dicit, impingua oblationem, vult quod nos in pinguedine devotionis beneficiorum Dei praeparemus. Et hoc facto locum demus medico Jesu Christo, qui tunc sua nutrimentali dulcedine omnes nostras curat infirmitates, et deperdita restituit in vita spirituali. Hinc est, quod, Levit. i, 4, purissima simila praecipitur esse in sacrificio Domini. Hoc est quod dicitur, Ezechiel. xvi, 13: Similam, et mel, et oleum comedisti: et decora facta es vehementer nimis. Simila enim ultima depuratione colata est et cribellata, et signat ultimam munditiae gratiam. Mel autem dulcedo est roris, et significat deitatis dulcedinem. Oleum fomentum luminis significat pinguedinem charitatis et devotionis Christi: quam sic colatam comedentes, id est, ultra quam sciri possunt, fiunt decori.
7. But in the fifth place nature placed strainers of membranes, which by a final purification separate the foul thing from the food as by straining, so that it may be finally purified before it is poured into the members. And this strainer in the sacrament signifies the most subtle examination of conscience, lest anything impure remain in us when we come to the nourishment of this food, as is said in Jeremiah 15:19: If you are converted, I will convert you, and you will stand before my face; and if you separate the precious from the vile, you will be as my mouth. For this is the best straining of conscience, by which everything precious is separated from the vile thing of sin and vanity, so that this nourishment, pure and sincere, may be poured into these spiritual members. Ecclesiasticus 38:11: Give sweetness and the memory of fine flour, and fatten the offering, and give place to the physician. But when he says, give sweetness, he wills that we come to the sacrament with a sweet and tranquil mind. But when he says, the memory of fine flour, he wills that just as fine flour is sifted and strained to purity, so we through conscience should sift and strain ourselves, so that we may fit the most pure nourishment. But when he says, fatten the offering, he wills that we prepare ourselves in the fatness of devotion to God's benefits. And when this has been done, let us give place to the physician Jesus Christ, who then by his nutritive sweetness cures all our infirmities and restores things lost in spiritual life. Hence in Leviticus 1:4 the most pure fine flour is commanded to be in the sacrifice of the Lord. This is what is said in Ezekiel 16:13: You ate fine flour, and honey, and oil; and you were made exceedingly very beautiful. For fine flour has been strained and sifted by final purification, and signifies the final grace of cleanness. But honey is the sweetness of dew and signifies the sweetness of deity. Oil, the nourishment of light, signifies the fatness of the charity and devotion of Christ. Eating this after it has been thus strained, that is, beyond what can be known, they become beautiful.
Sic ergo colatum est nutrimentum.
8. Sexto loco tale purum, tam dulce, tam mundum membris infunditur: et ex illo omnis substantia eorum et virtus restauratur. Sic nobis, sicut diximus, depuratus nectareus liquor Dominici nutrimenti infunditur: et isto rore membra animarum nostrarum ad nutrimenti spiritualis virtutem, et dulcedinis gustum, et delectationis experimentum, et recreationis beneficium admiranda suavitate inebriantur. Unde Psalmista hujus voluptatis pastum describens dicit in Psalmo xli, 5: In voce exsultationis et confessionis, sonus epulantis. Quia cor est in jubilo, et omnia interiora in delectatione, et os in sono laudis in tali epulatione. Hoc est quod de hujus sacramenti epulis dicit Apostolus, I ad Corinth. v, 7 et 8: Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Itaque epulemur, non in fermento veteri, neque in fermento malitiae et nequitiae, sed in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis. Sic summa sapientia, Proverb. ix, 2, immolavit victimas suas, miscuit vinum, et proposuit mensam suam. Et post pauca, v. 5: Venite, comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum quod miscui vobis. Sic enim panis dulciter confortat ad gratiam, et vinum inebriat ad spiritus jucunditatem, et mixtio vini in omnibus divinis conservat rationem sobrietatis, ut fiat quod dicit Apostolus, ad Roman. xi, 3: Non plus sapere quam oportet sapere, sed sapere ad sobrietatem. Deuter. xiv, 26: Comedes coram Domino Deo tuo, et epulaberis tu et domus tua. Tota enim familia nostri cordis in hujus sacramenti sagina reficitur, sicut dicitur, Luc. xv, 32, de sacramento reparationis: Epulari et gaudere oportebat, quia frater tuus hic mortuus erat, et revixit: perierat, et inventus est. Quia in isto sacramento et principiis vitae revivimus, et pignore salutis a perditione liberamur, et epulis jucunditatis aeternae relicimur, ad confortationis delectationem, et omne quod desideramus, invenimus in eo sicut in vase omnium bonorum.
Thus therefore the nourishment has been strained.
8. In the sixth place, such pure, so sweet, so clean nourishment is poured into the members, and from it all their substance and virtue is restored. Thus, as we have said, the purified nectarean liquid of the Lord's nourishment is poured into us; and by that dew the members of our souls are made drunk with wonderful sweetness unto the virtue of spiritual nourishment, and the taste of sweetness, and the experience of delight, and the benefit of recreation. Hence the Psalmist, describing the pasture of this pleasure, says in Psalm 41:5: With the voice of exultation and confession, the sound of one feasting. Because the heart is in jubilation, and all the inner parts are in delight, and the mouth is in the sound of praise in such feasting. This is what the Apostle says concerning the feasts of this sacrament in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and 8: Christ our Pasch has been sacrificed. Therefore let us feast, not in the old leaven, nor in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened breads of sincerity and truth. Thus highest wisdom, Proverbs 9:2, has sacrificed her victims, mixed her wine, and set forth her table. And after a few words, verse 5: Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mixed for you. For thus the bread sweetly strengthens unto grace, and the wine makes drunk unto the joy of the spirit, and the mixing of the wine preserves in all divine things the measure of sobriety, so that what the Apostle says in Romans 11:3 may occur: Not to be wise more than one ought to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety. Deuteronomy 14:26: You shall eat before the Lord your God, and you and your house will feast. For the whole household of our heart is refreshed in the fattening of this sacrament, as is said in Luke 15:32 concerning the sacrament of restoration: It was fitting to feast and rejoice, because this your brother was dead and has come back to life; he had perished and has been found. Because in this sacrament we revive both by the principles of life, and by the pledge of salvation we are freed from perdition, and by the feasts of eternal joy we are refreshed unto the delight of strengthening; and everything that we desire we find in it as in the vessel of all goods.
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