MY BLOOD IS DRINK INDEED
Except you eat
the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in
you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and
I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood
is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me,
and I in him. It is plain from these texts that our Lord wants us to partake of
His body and blood, if we wish to have life in us. We must never lose sight of
the Catholic doctrine, however, that in Holy Communion Christ cornea to us in
person, and that the body of Christ is now, after the resurrection, inseparable
from His Personality,
from His Blood, His Soul, His Divinity, so that wherever the body is there also
is Christ whole and entire. Nor do they receive the Blood of Christ in greater
measure, who receive under the form of wine alone, because whoever receives under
any form, receives not the body only nor the blood only, but Christ himself.
With very good reason has it been ordained that two consecrations should
separately take place in the Mass; first, to represent more effectually the
passion of our Lord, in which His blood was separated from His body, wherefore,
in the consecration, we mention the effusion of His blood; and secondly,
because, as the sacrament was to be used by us to nurture the soul, it was most
fitting that it should be instituted as meat and drink, which evidently
constitute the perfect sustenance of the body. When, therefore, it is said in
the words of the consecration: For this is the chalice of my blood, these words
are to be understood to mean: This is my blood, which is contained in this chalice.
Rightly and appositely is mention of the chalice to be made at the consecration
of the blood, as it is the drink of the faithful; for the blood, were it not
contained in some vessel, would not seem sufficiently to signify this sort of
drink. Catechism of the Council of Trent. But from the very fact that our Lord
Himself so often mentions His Blood separately from the body, although
contained whole and entire in the latter, it follows that His Blood is worthy
of particular worship. This Precious Blood flowed in the heart and veins of
Jesus during His earthly sojourn and was the bearer of His life, of His great
love for us. But since Jesus has returned to heaven, it now dwells in His
glorified and adorable body on the throne of the Most High. It is the glory of
heaven, the delight of the angels and saints, the very life of Jesus, His
splendor and His happiness. And the Lamb is the lamp thereof.
The whole of the
Precious Blood is in the chalice and in the Host. It is no part; it is the
whole. We may well tremble to think what sanctuaries we are when the Blessed
Sacrament is within us. - Faber
The pouring out
of one’s blood is a proof of the strongest, the most powerful, the most perfect
love. The life of the flesh is in the blood. Hence, whoever shed his blood for
us, gives his life for us, gives himself entirely to us. Greater love than this
no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Properly speaking,
Christ did not die for any friend, but only for enemies, since all men being
sinners, were consequently His enemies, the Blessed Virgin exempted. But God
commendeth his charity towards us; because when as yet we were sinners,
according to the time, Christ died for us: much more therefore, being now
justified by his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him.
Oh, who can
fathom the depths of the love of Jesus? He hath loved us and delivered Himself
for us, says St. John. He loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own
blood.
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