October 05, 2011

b. † † † On the Body of Christ † † †



"Deus meus et Omnia" ["My God and my All."]

"All the brothers must be Catholics, [and] live and speak in a Catholic manner. But if any of them has strayed from the Catholic faith and life, in word or in deed, and has not amended his ways, he should be completely expelled from our fraternity. And we should regard all clerics and all religious as our lord in those things which pertain to the salvation of the soul and who have not deviated from our religion, and, in the Lord, we should respect their order and their office and government."

"And all of us lesser brothers, useless servants, humbly ask and beg all those who wish to serve the Lord God within the holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church...that all of us may persevere in the true faith and in penance, for otherwise no one will be saved."

"They should receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ with great humility and reverence, remembering what the Lord says: Whoever eats and drinks my blood has eternal life (cf. Jn. 6:55) and: Do this in memory of me (Lk. 22:19)."

"Everything in man should halt in awe...Let all the world quake and let Heaven exult when Christ the Son of the living God is
there on the altar."

"Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest."

[To preachers of his order:] "I beg you, with all that is in me and more, that, when it is appropriate and you judge it profitable, you humbly beg the clergy to revere above everything else the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy written words which consecrate His Body."

"Therefore, kissing your feet and with all that love of which I am capable, I implore all of you brothers to show all possible reverence and honor to the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in Whom that which is in the heavens and on the earth is brought to peace and is reconciled to the all-powerful God (cf. Col 1:20)."

"Let the whole world of mankind tremble the whole world shake and the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of a priest. O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally."

"Therefore all those who saw the Lord Jesus according to [His] humanity and did not see and believe according to the Spirit and the Godhead that He is the true Son of God were condemned. And now in the same way, all those who see the sacrament [of the Holy Eucharist], which is sanctified by the words of the Lord upon the altar at the hands of the priest in the form of bread and wine, and who do not see and believe according to the Spirit and the Godhead that is truly the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, are condemned. [Such] is attested by the Most High Himself Who says: 'This is my Body and the Blood of my new testament...' and 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life' (cf. Jn. 6:55). Therefore it is the Spirit of the Lord, Who lives in His faithful, Who receives the most holy Body and Blood of the Lord. All others who do not share in this same Spirit and who presume to receive Him eat and drink judgment to themselves (Cf. 1 Cor. 11:29). Therefore, O sons of men, how long will you be hard of heart? Why do you not recognize the truth and believe in the Son of God? See, daily He humbles Himself as when He came from the royal throne into the womb of the Virgin; daily He comes to us in a humble form; daily He comes down from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest. And as He appeared to the holy apostles in true flesh, so now He reveals Himself to us in the sacred bread. As they saw only his flesh by means of their bodily slight, yet believed Him to be God as they contemplated Him with the eyes of faith, so, as we see bread and wine with [our] bodily eyes, we too are to see and firmly believe them to be His most holy Body and Blood living and true. And in this way the Lord is always with His faithful, as He Himself says: Behold I am with you even to the end of the world (cf. Mt. 28:30)."


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