Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/569

 halves; my  condition  admits  not  of  those  middle  states  of  virtue which hold,  as  it  were  a  mid-way  between  innocence  and  guilt;  if not  a  saint,  I  am  a  monster;  if  not  a  vessel  of  honour,  I  am  a  vessel of  shame;  if  not  an  angel  of  light,  there  is  no  room  to  hesitate, I am  an  angel  of  darkness;  and,  if  not  a  living  temple  of  thy  Spirit, I must  be  its  profaner. Good God! what powerful  motives  for vigilance, for  self-examination,  for  circumspection,  for  approaching thine altars  with  trembling;  for  humility,  tears,  and  compunction, while waiting  the  manifestation  of  thine  adorable  judgments! But still, my  brethren,  it  is  not  enough  to  communicate  in  remembrance of Jesus  Christ;  and  in  order  to  retrace  his  life,  it  is  likewise  necessary, and  this  is  the  last  disposition,  to  renew  the  remembrance of his  death,  and  to  show  him  whenever  we  eat  of  his  body  and drink of  his  blood;  and  this  is  what  I  call  a  noble  faith  which  leads us to  sacrifice.

Reflection IV. — As oft  as  you  shall  eat  of  the  body  and  drink of the  blood  of  the  Lord,  you  will  show  his  death  until  the  kingdom of  God  shall  come. How is  this? Literally speaking,  his  death is shown,  because  this  mystery  was  a  prelude  to  his  passion;  because Judas  there  determined  to  betray  him;  because  Jesus  Christ, eager to  undergo  that  baptism  of  blood  with  which  he  was  to  be baptized,  anticipated  its  fulfilment,  and  sacrificed  himself  beforehand by  the  mystical  separation  of  his  body  and  of  his  blood;  because the  eucharist  is  the  permanent  sacrifice  of  the  church,  the fruit and  the  fulness  of  that  of  the  cross:  lastly,  because  Jesus Christ is  there  as  in  a  state  of  death;  he  hath  a  mouth,  and  speaks not; eyes,  and  uses  them  not;  feet,  and  walks  not. But, my brethren,  in  that  sense  the  impious,  equal  with  the  just  man, shows the  death  of  the  Lord  as  oft  as  he  eats  of  his  body:  it  is  a mystery  and  not  a  merit;  it  is  the  nature  of  the  sacrament,  and not the  privilege  of  him  who  receives  it:  it  is  a  consequence  of  its institution, and  not  a  disposition  for  approaching  it. Now, the design of  the  apostle  here  is  to  prevent  the  abuses,  to  instruct  believers how  to  eat  worthily  of  the  body  of  the  Lord,  to  explain  to them,  in  the  mysteries  contained  in  this  sacrament,  the  dispositions which it  requires. There is  a  way,  therefore,  of  showing  the  death of the  Lord,  which  should  be  wholly  in  our  hearts,  which  disposes and prepares  us,  which  fits  the  situation  of  our  soul  to  the  nature of this  mystery,  which  makes  us  to  bear  upon  our  body  the  mortification of  Jesus  Christ,  which  immolates  and  crucifies  us  with  him. Let us  resume  the  reasons  we  have  touched  upon,  and  change  the letter into  spirit.

First. The death  of  the  Lord  is  shown,  because  this  mystery  was a prelude  to  his  passion. In former  times  the  eucharist  was  a  prelude to  martyrdom. From the  moment  that  the  rage  of  the  tyrant was declared,  and  the  persecution  began,  all  the  believers  ran  to provide  themselves  with  this  bread  of  life;  they  carried  this  precious trust  into  their  houses:  death  seemed  less  terrible  to  them when they  had  before  their  eye  the  beloved  pledge  of  their  immor-