Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-04-17
REV. NJ, +. DRYDEN,
His Sixth seizure Upon the Doctrine OF
Transnbslantiation.
Continuation Of The Sirth Lecture


Continuation Of The Sirtk Lecture
And now we shall cite some of the early
fathers OF the Church on the nature and
end of the Holy Sacrament. We ask at
trnticu first 70 the testimony st Justin
" no was by birth and religion a Grecisn.
He was skilled in philosophy and after
having sought 10 vain for the knowledge
OF the true God among the pagan pbiloso-
piers, he was converted 10 the Christian
faith. In the eighty.ffth chapter of his
first apology he tells us how the Eucharist
was celebrated in his time. His testimony
is especially valuable, because he wrote
sboui fifty years after the death of st.
John. he says after the words of conseera-
ton had been pronounced by the bishop,
those we call deaconS distribute TO every
one present 10 partake OF this Enchsrlstlc
bread and wine and wafer and then they
carry il 10 the absent Now st. Justin
cells US that after conservation the bread
and wide were unchar ged. 1t is evident
tha. this fither regarded them az embiems
of Christ's broken body aad shed blood.
Justin Martyr writing against Tryphop
saws, THE bread Of the Eucharist was a
ligaIe which Christ the Lord commanded
to do in remembrance of his passion"
And st. Justin III his second apology
says I'VE are taught that the s1Dcti-
ned food wherewith our blood and flesh
are uourished by conversion is the
tlesh and blood of Jesus incarnate." He
here declares that our flesh and blood are
uOuriShed by the conversion OF bread and
wine into ar bodies. There is moth
ing here in support OF transubstantiation.
The change of bread aud wine intoP our
bodies is a very different thing, from
changing these elements into the body and
blood Of Christ. And to assume that such
a change is wrought, and that our bodies
are uourished by the mere accidents, or by
the real flesh and blood of Christ will APP
pear TO every one as both ridiculous and
0lasphemous. Ii, indeed, the dOc.rioe OF
transubstaGtiation be true, then it follows
that the body OF Christ continually under
goes corruption, 10y the necessary process
of digestion. Aud this monstrous assump-
ton eontradiCts the plain declarations Of
the Scripture. David declared that God
would not suffer his Holy 0le to zee cor
ruption." And st. Peter informs rs In
the second chapter of the book of Acts that
the Psalmist when he made this prediction
referred to the flesh of our Lord. Bot it's
a common thing for Romanists to Co tra-
dict the inspired writers, wherever Gods
revealed truth fails to support the AFRO
CANT claims and heretical teaching
of their church. l shall give here a
single example: st. Paul says in his Epistle
to the Colossians, 3rd chapter and 9Th
verse "MOrtify therefore your members
which are upon the earth; fornication, I'M
clesnLess, inordinatc affection, evil con-
cupiscence, and ooyetOusness, which Is
ldulatry; for which things sake the wrath
of God cOmeth on the children of disc
bedience.r But the Council OF Trent says,
This concupiscence, which the Apostle
sometimes calls sin, the holy Synod de-
clares that the Catholic Church has never
understood il to he called sin, as being
truly and properly Sin in those born again,
but because il IL OF stu and inclines TO sin.
And if anyone is OF a contrary sentiment,
let him be anathema." Now | ask upon
what ground does the Church of Rome pre-
sumo TO contradict Gods inspired apostle
But let u proceed with our examination
of the fathers. And Just here we sGduce
the testimony of Tertullisn as recorded in
his fourth book against Marcion and the
10th chapter. The hereto MarciOn held
and taught the heresy, dsnOmi"ated,
"Docetism;' that il, that Our Lord had a
phantom body, and that He acted and sut-
Tered only in appearance. In order
to refute this hsresy, Tertullisu
argues that the elements used in the
holy sacrament are figures of Cbrist's body
and blood, and his conclusion Is, tsure
there could not have been, unless there
were first vsTitsble body. In this con-
nection be says, referring to the institution
of the Eucharist, Then, having taken the
bread and giSea it to HIS disciples. he
made it His own body, by saying This is
my body that is the figure Of my body"
Now this father speaks IN the most posi-
tive manner and be declares that the disci-
ples in the holy Eucharist did not receive
the real body of Christ bat the bread az a
figure Of his body. Its quite evident to
everyone that the testimony of Tertullian
eontradicts the dogma of transubstantia-
ton; for if the bread is figure OF Christ's
body, then this dogma must OF necessity
be false. We shall now hesr the words Of
one of the ablest and worthiest of the
church fathers, whose elcquencesn learn
ing have been celebrated both by Christian
winters and heather philosophers. refer
10 Origen, = man Of genius, learning and
pietT. He is called the father of Biblical
criticism and exegssis, and Jerome calls
him the greatest teacher since the Apostles
He was born in the city of Alexandria
in Egypt in A. d. 1S5 and died at Tyre
about the year 254 Ia his seventh HoG-
lily on Levitieus, G. 5, Vol. g., p. 1913, he
says, There is in the New Testament
letter that killtth him, who does not I'M
darstand spiritually the things. said. For