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S. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS, L. C.

"What is so sacrilegious as to break, to erase, and to remove the altars of God, on which you yourselves made offerings? On them the vows of the people, and the members of Christ were born.-For what is the altar, but the seat of the body and blood of Christ ?(a) What offence had Christ given, whose body and blood, at certain times, do there dwell?) This huge impiety was doubled, when you broke also the chalices, the bearers of the blood of Christ." Contra Parmen, L. vi. p. 91, 92, 93.-Among other excesses with which he charges the Donatists, he had before mentioned, that they ordered the consecrated elements to be poured out to dogs; which, seized with madness, turned against their masters, as against strangers, "guilty of the body of the Lord."(d) Ibid. L. ii. p. 39.

S. BASIL, G. C.

"About the things, that God has spoken, there should be no hesitation, nor doubt, but a firm persuasion, that all

(*) Milevis was a city of Africa, of which St. Optatus was bishop about the middle of the fourth century. The work quoted was written against the Donatists, in seven books, addressed to Parminianus, a bishop of that sect. It abounds with innumerable passages in favour of the unity, and other marks of the true church.

(a) Sedes et corporis et sanguinis Christi.

(b) Cujus illic per certa momenta corpus et sanguis habitabat. (c) Calices, Christi sanguinis portatores.

(d) Sancti corporis reos.

(e) St. Basil, surnamed the Great, for his admirable eloquence and profound erudition, was bishop of Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, and died about the year 379, leaving many valuable works.

is true and possible, though nature be against it. Herein lies the struggle of faith-The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: amen, amen I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. (John vi. 53, 54.)-Regula viii. Moral. T. ii. p. 240.-" With what fear, with what conviction, with what affection of mind, should we partake of the body and blood of Christ? The apostle teaches us to fear, when he says: He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself (1 Cor. xi, 29); while the words of the Lord: This is my body, which shall be delivered for you (ibid. 24.), create a firm conviction." Ibid. In Reg. brev. quæst. clxxii. p. 472.-The Christian must be without spot or stain—and thus prepared to eat the body of Christ, and drink his blood."(") Ibid. in Moral. reg. lxxx. c. 22, p. 318.—" It is very profitable, every day, to partake of the body and blood of Christ; since he himself says; He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life (John vi. 55). We communicate four times in the week, on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and on other days, if there be a commemoration of any Saint.-At Alexandria, and in Egypt, the people, generally, have the communion in their houses, and they receive it as they judge proper, having received it from the priest." Ep. xcii. T. iii. p. 186.-" What can be said of that person, who dares idly, and uselessly, to eat the body and drink the

(5) καν ή φυσις μαχηται.

(β) την πληροφορίαν έμποιει.

(*) οὕτως έσθειν το σώμα το Κριστε και πινειν το αιμα.

(1) μεταλαμβάνειν τε άγιο σώματος και αιματος τε Κριστε.

blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,(*) and thus sometimes more afflicts the divine spirit, while he eats without charity? Let us therefore judge, and not live to ourselves, but eat and drink to him, who died and rose again for us. It is the duty of him who approaches to the body and blood of Christ,(") and to the memory of his passion, not only to be pure from all defilement, but likewise to shew forth and express the remembrance of the death of Christ, lest he eat and drink to his own judgment."(m) L. 1 de Bapt. c. 3. T. ii. p. 651.-" If he who was unclean under the old law, might not touch what was holy, how much more criminal is he who, in the impurity of his soul, rashly approaches to the body of our Lord.(") Let us therefore cleanse ourselves from all defilement." Ibid. L. ii. c. 3, p. 654.

S. GREGORY OF Nyssa,(") G. C.

"As that which is pernicious is admitted into our bodies, so should that which is salutary; in order that the virtue of this latter may bring aid to us.

(*) φάγειν το σώμα, και πιειν το αιμα τε Κυριε ήμων. (Z) τον προσιόντα τῷ σώματι και τῳ ἀιματι το Κριστε.

When this

(m) The Benedictin Editors of St. Basil's works are of opinion, that these books on baptism are not his; though of some ancient author. Combesis ascribes them to Eustatius of Sebaste-the contemporary of St. Basil.

(n) κατατόλμων το σώματος το Κυριε.

(a) St. Gregory of Nyssa was the younger brother of St. Basil, like him, highly celebrated for his acquirements, and Bishop of Nyssa, on the confines of Cappadocia, in Asia Minor. His writings are numerous.

He died late in the fourth century.

salutary medicine is within us, it repels, by its contrary quality, the poison we had received.-But what is this medicine? That body, which was shewn to be more powerful than death, () and was the beginning of our life; and which could not otherwise enter into our bodies, than by eating and drinking.-Now we must consider how it can be, that that one body, which so constantly, through the whole world, is distributed to so many thousands of the faithful, can be whole in each receiver, and itself remain whole.(9) The body of Christ, by the inhabitation of the word of God, was transmuted into a divine dignity: and so I now believe, that the bread, sanctified by the word of God, is transmuted into the body of Christ.(") This bread, as the apostle says, is sanctified by the word of God and prayer, not that, as food, it passes into his body, but that it is instantly changed into the body of Christ, agreeably to what he said, This is my body.) And therefore does the divine word commix itself with the weak nature of man, that, by partaking of the divinity, our humanity may be exalted. By the dispensation of his grace, he enters, by his flesh, into the breasts of the faithful, commixed and contempered with their bodies,(")

(Φ) οὐδεν ἕτερον ἢ ἐκεινο το σωμα, ὁ τότε θανατε κρειττον ἐδειχθη.

(9)

πως έγενετο δυνατον το ἓν ἐκεινο σωμα—όλον ἐν ἑκαστῳ, δια του μερος γενεσθαι, και αυτο μενειν ἐφ' ἑαυτε ὁλον.

(+) και νυν τον τῳ λόγῳ του θεου ἁγιαζόμενον ἄρτον ἐις σωμα του θεου λόγου μεταποιεισθαι πιστευομαι.

(*) έυθυς προς το σωμα του λόγου μεταποιούμενος, καθως ειρηται ύπο του λόγου, ότι τουτο ἐστι το σωμα μου.

(ε) ἑαυτον ἐνσπειρει δια της σαρκός, δις ἡ σύστασις ἐξ οίνου τε και άρτου ἐστι τοις σώμασι των πεπιστευκότων κατακιρνάμενος.

that, by being united to that which is immortal, man may partake of incorruption." Orat. Catech. c. 37, T. ii. p. 534, 535, 536.-" The bread also is, at first, common bread; but, when it has been sanctified, it is called and is made the body of Christ."(") Orat. in Bapt. Christi, T. ii. p. 802.

S. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM,(*) G. C.

He says of his sister, labouring under a grievous disorder: "Despairing of all other help, she had recourse to the universal physician-She falls down in faith before the altar, and calls upon him who is there adored.”(y) Orat. ii. T. 1. p. 186.-" Without doubting, eat the body, and drink the blood, if thou desirest to live." Ibid.

Orat. xlii. p. 690.

S. AMBROSE,(") L. C.

"The manna in the desert was given in figure. You

(u)

σωμα Κριστο λεγεται τε και γινεται.

(a) St. Gregory of Nazianzum was the friend of St. Bazil, with whom he studied at Athens; he became bishop of Constantinople, which see he afterwards relinquished, retiring to Nazianzum in Cappadocia, near which city he was born, and where he died, about the year 389. He was much celebrated for his eloquence, in which he is said to have excelled the greatest orators of the age; and of that eloquence many examples are yet extant in the various discourses or sermons, which form the principal body of his works.

(9) τον ἐπ ̓ ἀυτῳ τιμωμενον.

(3) ἀνεπαισχυντως και ανενδοιάστως, φαγε το σώμα, πιε το αιμα. (a) St. Ambrose died in the year 396, having held the see of Milan twenty years, with great profit to the church, edified by

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