The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1916-08-05
DULUTH
BISHOP FALLON EXPLAINS MASS
TO LARGE AUDIENCE
IN DULUTH.

Our conference of yesterday dealt
with the promise which Christ made
in the synagogue at Capharnaum to
give to men his own body and blood
to be the food of their souls unto ever
lasting life. 1t is interesting and nee
essary to inquire whether or not this
promise which caused such scandal
and commotion at that time was ever
fulfilled by Christ or whether He let
it drop from the minds of the apps,
ties and disciples as merely human
speaker would have had to do. The
world is full of broken promises.
Men make them with one breath and
repudiate them with the next. What
was Christ's conduct with regard to
this solemn promise? Did He, too,
repudiate His pledge? If He did He
was not God. for God can neither de.
ceive nor betray trust. Let lis ex.
anime the Gospel record.
FulfilIment Of Promise.
For one whole year after He gave
this promise, we find in the Gospels
no record of His ever having men.
toned this promise or occasion again
to His apostles or disciples. For the
fulfillment of this promise the GOSPEL
records that Christ chose the most
solemn moment of His earthly life
It was the night before He died. He
chose the most simple and direct
words, not parallels or figures of
speech, that there might be no posi-.
bility of misunderstanding. The occa-
sion called for clearness. He told
them that on the morrow He would
be put to death. He was drawing up
His last will and testament.
Three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark
and Luke, record in almost identical
terms the institution of the blessed
Eucharist by our Lord as the fulfill
ment of His promise to give His body
and blood as food and drink for the
souls of men. According to St. Mat
thew, XVI, 26, 81, %: And whilst
they were at supper, Jesus took bread
and blessed and broke and gave to
His disciples, and said, Take We and
eat. this is My body And taking the
chalice He gave thanks and gave to
them. saying: Drink we all of this for
this is my blood of the new testament,
which shall be shed for many unto
the remission of SINS And St. Luke
records (xxii., 19) that Christ also
added, DO this for commemoration
of me- The similar text from st.
Mark is in xiv. 1924, and from St.
Luke xii. 10 and 20.
THAT His disciples then understood
Him in the literal sense there can be
no doubt for the literal sense was un
derstood by all the apostles and early
disciples in their continuation of the
use of sacrament as Christ had di
rected
Transubstantiation.
What happened when Christ saiG
over the bread, This is my body?
The substance of the bread was
changed into the substance of His
body, the appearance of the bread re
manning unchanged And this change
the Catholic church aptly calls tran
substantiatiOn. Substance is essen
TALLY invisible: no man has ever seer
substance; it does not fall under olll
senses; the color. shape, size AM
other appearances make objects sen
slble to us, but substance falls under
our intelligence and not under oul
senses. BY the words of Christ the
real, though invisible substance of tn,
bread was changed into the equal,
real, though invisible substance of Hit
body. How? BY that same divin,
power which created substance in Tho
beginning. 1t is surely no greater ia,
Oh Omnipotence to change one sub
stance into another than to create al
substance out of nothing.
We are dealing here. of course
with the deepest of divine mysteries
But is religion the only field in whicl
mysteries are to be refused and de
MED? If the natural world TEEN
with mystery, must the supernatural
world, the home of the Infinite, alon
be obliged to make all things absc
lutely clear and Ineligible to on
finite and limited minds? Life, death
birth, growth, sleepall these ar
mysteries that no man can fully eA
plain or understand Science is fac
to face with mysteries to which
gives names, but of which 1t has n
adequate explanation, Speech, mas
! netism, electricity are among tn
number. yet no man rejects them be
cause he does not fully understand
The wonderful mystery of the rea
presence of Christ in the adorabl
sacrament of the Eucharist, Catholic
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