The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-06-10

ternalS OF His court, and the lights
which burn on the altar are the sign
of His presence Strangers can
hardly fail to be struck by the faith
and piety of Catholics in their
churches. They may ask, Whence
comes this special solemnity and
reverence" We answer, From the
faith and devotions of those who be-
lieve the word of God" Many have
been so impressed with the unseen
presence of our Lord that they have
said with Jacob, Indeed the Lord is
in this place, and | knew it not, and
trembling, he said: How terrible is
this place, this is no other than the
house of God, the gate of heaven
While God is wonderful in all His
works, He is most wonderful in the
Blessed Sacrament. He uses His
power to hide Himself under the
forms and appearances of bread and
wine. He has yelled His glory, that
We might easily approach Him. We
see now in dark manner, but we
shall see Him as we are seen when
this mortal puts on Immortality.
mo man can see God and live"
Daniel tainted at seeing even an angel,
and we read in holy scripture that the
people could not behold the face of
Moses after he had come down from
the mountain. st. John fell as one
dead on the vision of the Son of Man.
Our Lord conceals Himself in the
Blessed Sacrament that we may have
the merit of faith, and He assures us,
in the words addressed to st. Thomas,
Blessed are they that have not seen
and have believed
There was the appearance of a
dove, not a real dove, at the baptism
of our Lord. There were no tongues
of fire at Pentecost, but only the APP
pearance of tongues of fire. So there
| is no bread and wine after the con-
secration, only the appearance of
| bread and wine. Reconsideration
signifies the change of one substance
| into another After transubstantia-
tion Jesus Christ is really and substan-
TALLY present in the Blessed Sacra-
ment, the substance of the bread and
wine is no longer there, only the
species. The whole substance of the
bread and wine is changed by tran
substantiation into the body and blood
of Christ
There are many things which we do
not understand, and we sometimes are
| inclined to ask our Lord with the
Blessed Virgin, why hast Thou done
so to us?" His ways are not our
ways, and the scripture tells us, For
as the heavens are exalted above the
earth, so are My ways exalted above
your ways, and My thoughts above
your thoughts" Why did our Lord
institute the Blessed Sacrament? Be.
cause of His love for us. He said He
would not leave us orphans. Il have
loved thee. with an everlasting love,
are the words we read in holy
scripture. This love prompted him
to become incarnate, and caused Him
to give us His flesh to eat. He had
said, Il am the vine, you are the
branches; he that abideth in Me, and
/ in him, the same beareth much
fruit for without Me you can do moth
| ing. (St John XIV, A.
| How are we to abide with the vine
Our Lord himself tells us: "He that
eateth My flesh and drinketh My
blood, abideth in Me, and in him.
/ (St John vi, SD You can perceive
how clearly the Christians of old COM
4 probopdod Tho foo onin0o ooDoorp in or
the Blessed Sacrament. ST. Cyril of
Alexandria says: IF man take two
pieces of wax, and melt them, and pour
the one into the other, they neces-
sarily mingle; so, also, he that re-
ceiveth the body and blood of the
Lord, doth so become joined with the
Lord that he is to be found in Christ,
and Christ in him."
Some will ask how this can be done.
by the power of Cod" should be a
sufficient answer Was it not the Lord
by His power that changed the rod of
Moses into a serpent? And turned the
waters of Egypt into blood? And the
| water at the marriage feast at Cana
into wine? And did He not explicitly
state that He would, as He did, change
bread and wine at His Last Supper
| into His body and blood?
We may say to those who are not of
good will, and who seek to avoid the
direct teaching of our Lord on the
Blessed Sacrament, that there hath
stood One in the midst of you whom
you knew not, the latchet of whose
shoe | am not worthy to loose" 1t
is strange indeed that anyone who
calls himself a Christian would not re-
| ioice in the Catholic doctrine of the
Holy Eucharist. We have in this
sacrament the pledge of eternal life,
and those who partake of it shall live
forever. He has said, "The bread
that l will give you is my flesh for
the life of the world" 1t is the
Blessed Sacrament that makes every
Catholic Church the house of God,