Works › The Book on the Sacrifice of the Mass
Volume 38 · pp. 120–123
Tractate III, Chapter XII opening
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CAPUT XII.
De confectione sacramenti sanguinis Christi.
1. Simili modo postquam coenatum est, etc. Hic post confectionem sacramenti corporis, tangit confectionem sacramenti sanguinis.
Et circa hoc tangit septem per ordinem, scilicet tempus institutionis, tactum virtutis transsubstantiationis, gratitudinem gratiarum actionis, profluxum benedictionis, officium institutionis, formam sanguinis, et effectum sanctificationis.
CHAPTER XII.
On the confection of the sacrament of Christ's blood.
1. In like manner after supper was ended, etc. Here after the confection of the sacrament of the body, he touches the confection of the sacrament of the blood.
And concerning this he touches seven things in order, namely the time of institution, the touch of the power of transubstantiation, the gratefulness of thanksgiving, the outflow of blessing, the office of institution, the form of blood, and the effect of sanctification.
De primo horum dicitur: Simili modo: quia simili bonitate et charitate et virtute. Bonitas enim fecit sanguinem communicare, quia sicut dicit Dionysius, boni est bona adducere. Charitas fecit nos sanguine redimere, sicut dicitur, Jerem. XII, 7: Dedi dilectam animam meam in manu inimicorum ejus. Virtus autem divina fecit vinum in sanguinem convertere, sicut dicitur, Joan. VI, 56: Caro mea vere est cibus, et sanguis meus vere est potus.
Postquam coenatum est, utraque coena, scilicet agni typici et corporis sui: ultimo enim post omnes cibos hoc sacramentum tradidit, ut arctius imprimeret memoriae discipulorum. I ad Corinth. XI, 26: Quotiescumque manducabitis panem hunc, et calicem Domini bibetis, mortem Domini annuntiabitis donec veniat. Quamvis autem sic fecerit Christus dicta de causa, tamen propter sacramenti reverentiam institutum est ab Apostolis, ut sacramentum hoc jejuno ore a fidelibus accipiatur, nisi necessitas infirmitatis aliud exposcat, sicut reprehendit Apostolus quosdam, I ad Corinth. XI, 20 et 21, quod non jejuni Christi sacramentum acceperunt, dicens: Convenientibus vobis in unum, jam non est dominicam coenam manducare: unusquisque enim suam coenam praesumit ad manducandum. Et alius quidem esurit, alius autem ebrius est.
Accipiens et hunc praeclarum calicem. Praeclarus dicitur: quia prae aliis clarus: et ideo de calice Veteris Testamenti tamquam non satis claro dixit, Matth. XXVI, 29: Non bibam amodo de hoc genimine vitis. De isto autem dicit: Usque dum impleatur in regno Dei, hoc est, in Ecclesiae confirmata potestate. Et ideo, Matth. XXVI, 29, dixit: Usque in diem illum cum illud bibam vobiscum novum in regno Patris mei. Hunc enim praeclarum calicem quotidie bibit et sibi imbibit in membris. Psal. XXII, 5: Calix meus inebrians quam praeclarus est! Calix autem dicitur calida potio: quia calore charitatis accendit. Psal. CXV, 13: Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo.
In sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas. Hoc exponitur sicut prius: quia tactu suae manus vino contulit ut semper possit in suum sanguinem converti.
Itemque gratias agens, de humani generis per sanguinem redemptione. Hanc enim in tantum desideravit, quod etiam sanguinem in passione crucis gaudens fudit. Unde Apostolus, ad Hebr. XII, 2: Praeposito sibi gaudio sustinuit crucem, confusione contempta.
Benedixit, omni benedictione gratiae, a quo omnibus nobis proflueret benedictio salutis. Genes. XXIV, 35: Dominus benedixit domino meo valde, magnificatusque est.
Hic autem fit crux ut significetur haec benedictio a primo perfectore sanctificationis Patre coelesti profluere in sacramentum. Utrum autem signo benedixerit, vel verbo, vel virtute suae divinitatis sine verbo vinum in suum sanguinem transsubstantiavit, ut quidam dicunt, non est probatum: et ideo primus expositionis modus nobis melior esse videtur.
Concerning the first of these it is said: In like manner, because with like goodness and charity and virtue. For goodness made him communicate blood, because, as Dionysius says, it belongs to the good to bring forth good things. Charity made him redeem us by blood, as is said, Jeremiah 12:7: I have given my beloved soul into the hand of its enemies. But divine virtue made wine to be converted into blood, as is said, John 6:56: My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink.
After supper had been taken, after each supper, namely that of the typical lamb and that of his body; for last, after all foods, he handed down this sacrament, so that he might impress it more closely upon the memory of the disciples. 1 Corinthians 11:26: As often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice of the Lord, you shall announce the death of the Lord until he comes. But although Christ did this for the stated reason, nevertheless on account of reverence for the sacrament it was instituted by the Apostles that this sacrament be received by the faithful with fasting mouth, unless the necessity of infirmity should require otherwise, just as the Apostle reproved certain persons, 1 Corinthians 11:20 and 21, because they received the sacrament of Christ not fasting, saying: When you come together into one, it is now not to eat the Lord's supper; for each one takes his own supper beforehand to eat. And one indeed is hungry, but another is drunk.
Taking also this excellent chalice. It is called excellent because it is bright beyond others; and therefore concerning the chalice of the Old Testament, as not sufficiently bright, he said, Matthew 26:29: I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine. But concerning this one he says: Until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God, that is, in the confirmed power of the Church. And therefore, Matthew 26:29, he said: Until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father. For he daily drinks this excellent chalice and imbibes it for himself in his members. Psalm 22:5: My inebriating chalice, how excellent it is! But chalice is so called as a warm drink, because it kindles with the heat of charity. Psalm 115:13: I will take the chalice of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
Into his holy and venerable hands. This is expounded as above, because by the touch of his hand he conferred upon wine that it might always be able to be converted into his blood.
Likewise giving thanks, concerning the redemption of the human race through blood. For he desired this to such an extent that even in the passion of the cross he poured out his blood with joy. Hence the Apostle, Hebrews 12:2: With joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising shame.
He blessed it, with every blessing of grace, from which the blessing of salvation would flow forth to all of us. Genesis 24:35: The Lord has blessed my lord exceedingly, and he has been magnified.
Here, moreover, a cross is made so that it may be signified that this blessing flows from the first perfecter of sanctification, the heavenly Father, into the sacrament. But whether he blessed with a sign, or with a word, or by the virtue of his divinity without a word transubstantiated the wine into his blood, as certain say, has not been proved; and therefore the first mode of exposition seems better to us.
Dedit, non vendidit, non reddidit, sed dono, hoc est, gratis dedit. Unde, I ad Corinth. XI, 23: Ego enim accepi a Domino quod et tradidi vobis.
Discipulis suis, qui soli digni fuerunt. Matth. VII, 6: Nolite dare sanctum canibus, neque mittatis margaritas vestras ante porcos.
Dicens, officium sacramenti instituens: Accipite, in officium. I ad Corinth. IV, 1: Sic nos existimet homo ut ministros Christi, et dispensatores mysteriorum Dei.
Et bibite, ad incorporationem mei. Eccli. XXIV, 29: Qui edunt me adhuc esurient, et qui bibunt me adhuc sitient. Ex eo, calice sanguinis, omnes, sine distinctione. Act. X, 34: In veritate comperi, quia non est personarum acceptor Deus.
[Marginal label: Forma consecrationis vini.] 2. Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei. Intransitive legitur. Hic est calix, qui est sanguis meus, qui vere est potus in redemptionem peccatorum. Ad Hebr. IX, 22: Sine sanguinis effusione non fit remissio. Apocal. I, 5: Qui dilexit nos, et lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo. Et quia nullus lavatur a peccatis nisi intus lavetur, quia peccatum intus maculat, ideo necesse est ut sanguis bibatur, ut intus lavet. Et usque huc meo judicio forma sacramenti terminatur: quia in tantum etiam forma corporis et non amplius extenditur.
De effectu autem sanguinis quem supra septimo loco posuimus, quatuor inducit: quorum primum est, quia testatur nobis haereditatem. Secundum, quia declarat in mysterio fidem. Tertium, quia remissivum est peccatorum. Quartum autem, quia ad memoriam reducit Christi mortem.
De primo autem dicit: Novi et aeterni Testamenti. Novi autem dicit: quia in ritu et effectu novum. Apocal. XXI, 5: Dixit qui sedebat in throno: Ecce nova facio omnia. Isa. LXV, 17: Ecce enim ego creo coelos novos, et terram novam: et non erunt in memoria priora, et non ascendent super cor. Levit. XXVI, 10: Novis supervenientibus vetera projicietis. Aeternum autem dicitur: quia numquam alterius testamenti vel sacramenti recipiet superordinationem, sicut superordinatum est sacramentis veteris legis. Jerem. XXXI, 40: Sanctum Domini non evelletur, et non destruetur ultra in perpetuum. Isa. LV, 3: Feriam vobiscum pactum sempiternum. Ad Hebr. X, 14: Una oblatione consummavit in sempiternum sanctificatos. Et ideo dicitur testamentum: quia in sanguine confirmavit omnes testatas promissiones. Ad Hebr. IX, 17: Testamentum in mortuis confirmatum est: alioquin nondum valet, dum vivit qui testatus est. Ideo, Zachariae, IX, 11, dicitur: Tu quoque in sanguine testamenti tui emisisti vinctos tuos de lacu in quo non est aqua. Hoc enim promiserat, quod vinctos de lacu miseriae educeret per sanguinem.
He gave, he did not sell, he did not pay back, but gave as a gift, that is, he gave freely. Hence, 1 Corinthians 11:23: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.
To his disciples, who alone were worthy. Matthew 7:6: Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine.
Saying, instituting the office of the sacrament: Take, for the office. 1 Corinthians 4:1: Let a man so regard us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
And drink, for incorporation into me. Ecclesiasticus 24:29: Those who eat me shall still hunger, and those who drink me shall still thirst. From this, the chalice of blood, all, without distinction. Acts 10:34: In truth I have found that God is not an accepter of persons.
[Marginal label: Form of the consecration of wine.] 2. For this is the chalice of my blood. It is read intransitively. This is the chalice which is my blood, which is truly drink for the redemption of sins. Hebrews 9:22: Without shedding of blood there is no remission. Apocalypse 1:5: Who loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood. And because no one is washed from sins unless he is washed within, because sin stains within, therefore it is necessary that the blood be drunk, so that it may wash within. And up to this point, in my judgment, the form of the sacrament is terminated, because the form of the body also extends so far and no further.
But concerning the effect of the blood, which above we placed in the seventh place, he introduces four things: the first of which is that it witnesses the inheritance to us; the second, that it declares faith in mystery; the third, that it is remissive of sins; the fourth, that it brings the death of Christ back to memory.
Concerning the first he says: Of the new and eternal Testament. But he says new because it is new in rite and effect. Apocalypse 21:5: He who sat upon the throne said: Behold, I make all things new. Isaiah 65:17: For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be in memory and shall not ascend upon the heart. Leviticus 26:10: When new things come upon you, you shall cast away the old. But it is called eternal because it will never receive a superordination of another testament or sacrament, as it was superordinated upon the sacraments of the old law. Jeremiah 31:40: The holy thing of the Lord shall not be plucked up, and it shall not be destroyed any more forever. Isaiah 55:3: I will make with you an everlasting covenant. Hebrews 10:14: By one oblation he has consummated forever those sanctified. And therefore it is called a testament, because in blood he confirmed all the promised things testified. Hebrews 9:17: A testament is confirmed among the dead; otherwise it is not yet valid while he who made the testament lives. Therefore, Zechariah 9:11, it is said: Thou also, in the blood of thy testament, hast sent forth thy prisoners from the pit in which there is no water. For this he had promised, that he would lead the bound out of the pit of misery through blood.
Mysterium fidei. Mysterium dicitur a graeco μύστης quod est secretum: quia secretum fuit qualiter in morte vitam aeternam et in sanguine perficeret sanctitatem. Et ideo multis hujus mundi sapientibus stultitia videbatur. Inde dicit, Isa. XXIV, 16: Secretum meum mihi, secretum meum mihi. Job, XXVIII, 11: Profunda fluviorum scrutatus est, et abscondita in lucem produxit. Fluvii enim sunt flumina vulnerum, quorum est profunda sapientia, qualiter sanguine Christi redemptus est mundus. Et in hoc profundo omnia mysteria fidei sunt revelata.
Sic ergo est sanguis testamenti aeterni et mysterium fidei. Ad Hebr. XIII, 20: Deus autem pacis, qui eduxit de mortuis pastorem magnum ovium, in sanguine testamenti aeterni, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.
Qui, scilicet sanguis, pro vobis, discipulis, qui tamen estis perfectores sanctitatis: quia sicut diximus, Episcopus et sacerdos etiam indigent sanguine redemptionis: et pro multis, bonis scilicet efficaciter, pro omnibus tamen effusus est sufficienter. Et haec verba, Luc. XXII, 20, continentur.
In remissionem peccatorum: quia sedes animae in sanguine est, qui est pretium redemptionis. I Petri, I, 18 et 19: Non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione paternae traditionis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi agni immaculati Christi.
Haec quotiescumque feceritis, ad aram devotando sacramentum, in mei, abeuntis ad passionem, memoriam facietis. Thren. III, 19: Recordare paupertatis, et transgressionis meae, absinthii et fellis. Et respondet Propheta, v. 20: Memoria memor ero, et tabescet in me anima mea.
Haec breviter de confectione sacramenti transcurrimus: quia post officium Missae specialem de hoc tractatum longum faciemus, in quo ipsum sacramentum in sex generibus ponemus, scilicet in genere gratiae, in genere doni, in genere cibi, in genere communionis, in genere sacrificii, et in genere sacramenti 1. Ponemus et singulorum generum species et differentias proprias et effectus subtiliter investigabimus. Et ille tractatus supplebit prolixe quidquid hic breviter est transcursum: si enim ille tractatus hic positus fuisset, multa dici oporteret, quae ad officium Missae non viderentur multum pertinere.
Mystery of faith. Mystery is said from the Greek μύστης, which is secret, because it was secret how in death he would perfect eternal life and in blood sanctity. And therefore to many wise men of this world it seemed folly. Hence he says, Isaiah 24:16: My secret to me, my secret to me. Job 28:11: He has searched the depths of rivers and brought hidden things into light. For the rivers are the streams of wounds, whose wisdom is profound: how the world has been redeemed by the blood of Christ. And in this depth all the mysteries of faith have been revealed.
Thus, therefore, it is the blood of the eternal testament and the mystery of faith. Hebrews 13:20: But the God of peace, who brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, in the blood of the eternal testament, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Which, namely the blood, for you, disciples, who nevertheless are perfecters of sanctity, because, as we have said, the bishop and the priest also need the blood of redemption; and for many, namely for the good efficaciously, yet for all it was poured out sufficiently. And these words are contained in Luke 22:20.
Unto the remission of sins, because the seat of the soul is in the blood, which is the price of redemption. 1 Peter 1:18 and 19: You were redeemed not with corruptible gold or silver from your vain conversation of paternal tradition, but with the precious blood as of the immaculate lamb, Christ.
As often as you shall do these things, by devoting the sacrament at the altar, unto memory of me going away to the passion, you shall do it. Lamentations 3:19: Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall. And the Prophet answers, verse 20: Remembering I will remember, and my soul will waste away within me.
We have gone through these things briefly concerning the confection of the sacrament, because after the office of the Mass we shall make a special long treatise concerning this, in which we shall place the sacrament itself in six genera, namely in the genus of grace, in the genus of gift, in the genus of food, in the genus of communion, in the genus of sacrifice, and in the genus of sacrament 1. And we shall place the species of each genus, and the proper differences and effects, and shall investigate them subtly. And that treatise will fill out at length whatever has here been passed over briefly; for if that treatise had been placed here, many things would have had to be said which would not have seemed to pertain much to the office of the Mass.
Notes
- Compare the immediately following treatise, On the Eucharist, especially Distinction VI. (Cf. tractatum proxime sequentem, De Eucharistia, Distinct. VI praecipue.) ↩
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