The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-03-19
BISHOP EANTS LECTURE.
The Fifth in His Lenten Course
on the Holy Eucharist,
CHRISTSoWN WORDS QUOTED
To Show the Truth of the Doctrine of
the Real Presence of His Body
and Blood in the Bread
and Wine.

4 AT st. Joseph's Cathedral yesterda
:. ! before discussing the Institution Of th
/ Eucharist, the Bishop remarked that h
would anticipate the subject OF mex
Sundays lecture by referring to and ex
! planning passage from one Of the earl!
Fathers. Attempts, he said, have beer
made by Protestant controversialists, al
for instance by Bishop Hopkins, to show
that st. Cyprian speaks Of the wine in
the chalice after conservation, as then
only a figure OF the blood OF Christ. The
English translators ofst. Cyprian's letter
to Coecilius, one eof the Bishops Of Africa,
seek also to leave that impression, but a
cursory perusal OF that letter is enough
to disabuse any honest reader Of such
an impression.
What is the object OF that letter? st.
Cyprian 81 object Is to correct certain
abuses of which he had learned. One
OF these abuses was the practice Of con-
secrating the chalice without mingling
water with the wine, according to the
apostolic tradition. In admonishing his
sufiragan, Bishop ,Coceilius, to enforce
the observance OF this tradition, he nat
uratfy explains the Specification Of this
commingling OF water with the sacra.
mental wine. AS the wine itself is the
element chosen by Christ US the external
sign OF this sacrament-the sign by
which Christ's blood is shown to be
truly present-so the water, says St.
Cyprian, is intended to signify the
Christian people; and their comming-
ling in the chalice shows the intimate
union established between them and
Christ. He also dwells on the union
which should exist between oil the
members Of Christ's body-a union SYM
bolized, he says, by the grains OF wheat
composing the bread used for sacra-
mental purposes.
All this is instructive, but does not re-
gard the nature OF the sacrament itself.
In this very letter st. Cyprian says:
"Christ offered to God, tho Father, that
same sacrifice which Melchisedech had
offered, that is, bread and wine; namely,
his own body and blood"
Speaking of apostates who approach
communion without having performed
suitable penance, in order to manifest
his horror for their crime, he says:
''They seize on the body Of the Lord, =
"vioience is offered by them to his body
and blood" Whoever will read the en-
tire work Of st. Cyprian De I.apsis, from
which these extracts are taken, will be
satisfied that the Saint not only believed
in the Real Presence, but that he bore
testimony to several miracles by which
unworthy communicants were divineiy
punished.
Then, after brief summing up Of his
four preceding lectures, the Bishop ex-
pounded the words OF the Institution Of
the Eucharist as given by three OF the
four Eyangelists. The Bishop argued
that the institution thus recorded was
the fuliillment OF the promise made by
the Savior in John vi, and explained in
his fourth lecture.
The Bishop quoted extensively from
the Gospel to show that our Lord was in
the habit Of explaining to his Apostles
both the application to Himself Of many
Of the ancient types and prophecies, and
lllC luUEb lulpOlauL -tLukllb uLu I1b-
teries OF the new law. There is rea.
son, therefore, to suppose that He did
not make the Eucharist an exception,
though he could have, in an instant, en-
lighteRed their minds upon this, or any
other OF his doctrines. Moreover the
solemn promise in John vi, could not
have been forgotten; yet on the eve Of
the Sayiour's death, il had not been full
filled.
He Is now seated for the last time in the
midst OF his friends, his chosen Apostles.
1t was near the hour whom he was to
discard all proverbs John XVI, 25).
"Now thou speakest plainly and speakest
no parable" (29th W II is but a few
hours before his death-when men are
not wont to use fgurative language; he
is making his last willard in such doc
uments men discard all metaphors, aud
employ the plainest words to convey
their wishes. In his omniscienCe, he
clearly sees that the greater number Of
his followers in every age and country,
will, In the simple fulness OF their faith,
accept his testamentary declaration in
the literal, obvious sense OF his words,
In the light OF these circumstances, must
be heard the words Of the Divine Savior
institptiRg the great sacrament Of the
dispensation. "This is my body: this is
my blood"
Catholics, remarked the Bishop, ac-
cept these words in their literal, obvious
meaning. II they not only may, hut
must be understood figuratiyely, surely
the burden OF proof rcsts ON those who
maintain u figUrative sense. This is self.
evident, and yet in assailing our doc
trine, Protestants are too much in the
habit OF arguing as il we had to prove
that Christ meant just what his
words import. Here the Bishop
called attention to tho objection based
on the words; ~ will not drink, etc"
Matt, xxvi, 20, But which is the proper Sc
place for these wordsP Do they belong
after or before the words OF the institu-
tionP 81, Luke puts then before, and
refers them TO the Paschal Supper,
which Immediately preceded the ms Ii.
tuition Of the Eucharist. II PrOtestants
quote from one evangelist, why may we
not follow another? Moreover, the cor.
rectness Of 81. Luke's location Of those
words seems clearly strengthened By this
fact, that he qualities the eating
us well as the drinking connected
with the Paschal Supper xxi. 1913
whilst st. Matthew and st. Mark do not.
Even granting that the words, "fruit OF
the vine" refer 10 the contents Of the
Eueharisfic chalicc, Catholics see no
more difficulty in givingto the Saviour's
Sacramental Blood, the name Of the form
in which it is present, than they do in
calling the body Of Christ by the name
} Of the species under which ii is present
But they cannot understand how any
Christian can dare say that our Lord
contradicted himself by declaring almosi
in the same breath: '"rhis whichis in
the chalice is my blood Of the New
Testament, which shall he shed for the
remission Of sins" and 'this which Il
in the chalice is not my blood, but Il
wine,"
: How must the Apostles have under
: stood our Lord? Can we ascertain
What principles should guide US in oul
, in9uiry2 At bottom, what do the ar
; guments Of Protestants imply? The,
| imply, in the Apostles a repugnancc i