Page:The Church, by John Huss.pdf/168

116 fire upon my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." Behold how the Lord speaks to the wicked priests because they despise His name and offer polluted bread. Hence Gregory, 1: 1, Multi sec. [Friedberg, 1: 388], follows up his statement about the sacraments and power by saying: "So we defile the bread, that is, Christ's body, when we approach unworthily the altar, and with filthy lips drink his pure blood." And the apostle says: "He who despised Moses' law, died without any mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and accounted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing?" Heb. 10:28, 29.

In the second place, such crucify the Son of God. For the apostle says: "Crucifying to themselves afresh the Son of God, they put him to an open shame," Heb. 6:6. Thirdly, such deal wickedly with the law of Christ, of whom St. Jerome in Sophoniam Proph., 1: 1 [Com. on Zephaniah, Friedberg, 1: 391], says: "The priests who minister in the eucharist and distribute the Lord's flesh to his people, deal wickedly with Christ's law in thinking that the words of the one who curses make the eucharist and not his life, and that such a solemn address is all that is necessary and not the merits of priests." Of these he says: "A priest who is assoiled by any stain of sin should not approach the table to offer sacrifices to the Lord." Fourthly, the persons spoken of above blaspheme the Lord's majesty. Hence we read: "Who walk after the flesh in the lusts of defilement and despise damnation," II Peter 2:10. Further on Peter says: "But these as creatures without reason to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant." On this point St. Augustine, on Psalm 147 [''Nic. Fathers'', 8: 665], says: "If thou dost exceed the due measure of nature by gluttonous immoderation and satest thyself with wine-bibbing, so