Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-03-19
TWO SERMONS
oP ESPECIAL INTEREST, DELIVERED IN
CITY CHURCHES, YESTERDAY.
The Fifth Lsntsn Lecture Of RI. Rev. BsnOP
Ksin-A Discourse BY Rev.
4. l. Jordan.

4. l. Jordan.
Before entering directly upon his sub
iect last evening, the Bishop explained In
advance g passage from one Of the Fatners
of Ito third century.
Attempts, he said, have been mace Oy
Bishop Hopkins and other Protestant
writers, 10 show that Sc. Cyprien in his
letter to one of his suffragan Bishops, Coo
CLINE, had said that the wine after eORse-
Grafton was only a figure Of Christ's blood,
What is st. C.'s object in that letter. de
had heard of several very grave abuses
which had crept into the celebration OF
the Divine mysteries, and he Is exhortiDg
Bishop Coccilius to eradicate them. Ac-
cording to a tradition undoubtedly apos-
tolic, water should be put into the chalice
with the wine. This practice some were
neglectipg, whilst others were using water
only. st. C.. urges the observance Of the
apostolic practice, of which. very
naturally, he explains the sig-
MITIGATION. Christ has chosen water as
THE ETERNAL SIGN
under which in this Sacrament his precious
blood il exhibited to us as truly present,
whilst the water (No. III signifies our
selves who are Joined to Him. As the water
thoroughly. commingies with the wine, so
are we Christians most intimately united
with Our Divine Lord. In the other ma
terial element-bread used In this SaCra-
ment, we have, he tells us, an apt symbol
of the close union by which all Christians
should be bound together; just as the
many grains of wheat combine to form the
bread.
Whilst these explanations furnish mat
, ter for solid instruction, they have no
bearing whatever on the nature Of the
Sacrament. He does tell US, however, In
this very letter NO. ~ that Christ, being
la Priest after the order of Melchisedeck,
, offered to God, his Father, the sacrifice
|, pre- figured by the bread and wine offering
; Of Melchisedeck, namely, his own body
: and blood, under the forms Of bread and
wine.
, In his work, De Lapsis, on 1.-The
Fallen" he relates instances OF
/ DREADFUL PUNIsHMENTs
inflicted by God on unworthy communi.
cauts, who had profaned the body and
r blood OF Christ. Therein, too, he de
. scribfs the horrible crimes committed by
, spostates, who dared 10 receive b ly com
! munion before they had atoned for their
~scandalous sin, by such expressions as
these: ''They seize on the body Of the
Lord" violence is offered by them to
Christ's body and blood" All this clearly
enough proves his faith in the real pres
7 ence.
i In the txordium proper Of this fifth lee
Q ture, the Bishop reviewed the ground al
@ ready gone over. On the preceding Sun
: day, he had ~expounded the promise made
4 by the Saviour in John vi. that he would
y give his flesh to eat. LAST evening he ex'
e planned the fulfllment of that promise IN
= The institution ofthe Eucharist as recorded
BY three of the E~vangelists and st. Paul.
We cannot infer, said the Bishop, that
T the Saviour had not previously explained
this sublime mystery to his apostles, mere
Q ly because that explanation is not given IN
the Gospel. As they were to teach bis
j doctrines to all nations, he wa in the
habit of interpreting to them the figures
I and p~rophesies concerning Himself, n o.
explaining to them
HIS OWN SACRED DOCTRINES.
1t is more than likely then that he had
Z instructed them quite fully in the nature
L of this mystery, the bare announcement
of which had startled his hearers and
= scandalized so many of his disciples.
The Bishop reviewed the solemn cireum'
, stances of the institution Of the Eucharist
1t is tho Sayiour's last night on earth; Ht
is surrounded Big only His most intimate
y friends; His sacred heart IS yearning t.
bestow on men this divine token of Hi
love; He is making His last will. 1t Is,
{ of all hours, the one i'll which he must
/ speak the plain, simple Language OF his
e heart. 1t is no time now FOL
! figures, for proverbs, and He does
u not use them. (Jno. ANl, 70
o 29.) "Now thou speakest plainly ant
speakest no proverbs" All ages are pres
emit before his divine mind. He sees clear
" in what sense his words Will be under
stood. The vast majority Of his follower;
in every age will plrcs on those solemn
words By which he institutes this holy
q sacrament, their plain, obvious signihca
ton. If that constitution be erroneous
will he not, in his goodness and love tOl
souls, prevent it? One word from
HIS OWN LIPS
: will suffice. He speaks it not. "ThiS 1
my body-this is my blood"
For long ages, no Christian questioned
the literal truth of these simple words o
the Divine Redeemer. His language could
not be palmer. If He be the Man-God
= those words must be strictly true.
What say modern impugners of the sub
It lime doctrine these words convey? 1t II
d not his blood, bat only wine, because h
y saws: 81 will not drink of the fruit OF the
vine" &c. As they discard entirely all tina
d Christ gays in John vi, and says over anC
over again about eating his flesh anC
drinking his blood, and base theil
whole argument on q phrase that at mos
n is vague, but perfectly consistent witt
Christ's previous most clear and emphatic
It declarations, so here again they dare soy
that the all-truthful Saviour contradictE
himself, saving at first: This in the chal
ice is my very blood, to be shed for the re-
mission Of your sins" and then, mo; it is
not my blood il is nothing but wine" We
/ answer, ifthe sacred species retain all the
outward appearances OF wine, is there any
more improperly in calling it by the name
Of these outward appearances than there
was in calling the angels mentioned in
b Genesis XIX. men, because appearing
!, under the form of men? But do thosS
words refer to the contents Of the chalice,
d or TO the Jewish Paschal rite? st. Luke
refers them to
J. THE PAsCHAL sUPPER.
e Are we not safe in following Him?
The surest rule to guide US in our inter
! probation is to ascertain, if possible, what
:! : meaning his immediate hearers, the Apos'
u ties, attached to those words of the insti,
tuition. P%rOtestants seem to conclude thai
they did not anG could not understand
- - AL.., lAo.I -.. IL