XVI About our preparation for Communion, as to the third point, that is, the Paschal lamb
XVI
About our preparation for Communion, as to the third point, that is, the Paschal lamb
C. We have to consider now, from the type of the Paschal lamb, how we may learn to prepare ourselves for Communion. This type must be divided into three parts. The first part (1) is the lamb itself that has to be eaten; the second part (2) is the accompaniments with which it had to be eaten; the third part (3) is the dress of the eaters. In the first, we learn to prepare ourselves by the wholeness of faith; in the second, by holiness of soul; in the third, by uprightness of life.
(1) The first part, then, is the lamb itself, which had to be eaten according to the law; and about this there are three considerations:
1. It was eaten at night, when things are not clearly seen, to signify our belief that it is good for us in this life to have the Body of Jesus given to us veiled in the Blessed Sacrament, and not seen clearly.
2. Its not being eaten uncooked shows us that we must not believe that Jesus is a mere man. Also, its not being cooked with water shows that we must not believe that Jesus was conceived or born like other men. Again, because they ate it cooked with fire, we must believe that the Incarnation of the Word and the consecration of His Body are worked by the power of the Holy Ghost.
3. They were commanded to eat the head of the lamb with the feet and the purtenance. From that we must believe that in this Sacrament, Christ is contained and received whole and undivided, with Godhead, Body, and Soul.
(2) The second part of this type is the three accompaniments with which they were wont to eat the lamb: 1, wild lettuce; 2, unleavened bread; 3, the lamb’s blood. The wild lettuce signifies sorrow for sin; the unleavened bread signifies a pure intention with good works; the lamb’s blood signifies the memory and imitation of our Lord’s Passion, by which things the faithful soul ought to be ready.
1. St. Gregory says, ‘The wild lettuce is very bitter, and the flesh of the Paschal lamb is to be eaten with this, because we ought to have very great sorrow for our sins when we receive the Body of our Lord, that the bitterness of penance may take away all love of a sinful life.’
2. St. Paul tells us not to feast with the old leaven, that is, in the corruption of pride, which is against God; nor with the leaven of malice, which is against our neighbour; nor with the leaven of wickedness, which is against ourselves; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, that is, in freedom from sin and in the truth of good works; so that we may strive always to live in newness of life, without any deceitfulness of the olden leaven. St. Gregory says, ‘He eats unleavened bread who does good works without that corruption of vain-glory which comes from the leaven of malice.’ ‘He eats bread without the leaven of malice who does works of mercy without admixture of sin, taking care not to gain wrongly what in a sense he gives rightly. This is the sacrifice of praise about which Scripture speaks. He offers a sacrifice of praise with leaven who brings to the Lord a sacrifice of that which he has gained by robbery in the leaven of wickedness.’
Now, the soul that ate leavened bread in the forbidden time had to perish from Israel. To eat leavened bread thus is to take delight in any filthiness of sin which we commit in ourselves.
3. About the third accompaniment, St. Gregory says, ‘For us the Blood of the Lamb is put on each door-post, when we drink it not only with our bodily lips, but with the lips of our souls; and when we also strive very earnestly to follow our Lord. For he who so receives the Blood of his Redeemer as not to wish to follow Him in His Passion puts the blood only on one post of the door. Again, the blood has to be put on the lintels, because not only in memory, but openly, we must carry the Cross of the Passion of Jesus. So St. Paul gloried in nothing but the Cross of his Master.’
(3) The third part of this type is the dress, or the three ‘insignia,’ of those who ate the lamb: 1, the girdle of the loins; 2, the shoes of the feet; 3, the staff of the hands. The girdle signifies continence of flesh and soul. The sandals signify watchfulness, according to the examples of the Fathers. The staff signifies the correction of our vices. These three things are needed as a preparation for Communion.
1. Continence of mind and flesh is typified in the girdle for the reins. St. Gregory says, ‘In the reins we understand fleshly delight. For this reason David prays to the Holy Ghost to burn his reins and his heart. Now he who eats the Paschal lamb girds his loins; because he who receives the Body of His Lord tames all wrong desires of this kind, and bridles all luxury of the flesh.’ This preparation of continence must be looked at with regard to three classes of persons: a, the married; b, those who do penance for impure acts, words, or deeds; c, spiritual persons. The first before Holy Communion should be continent for a little while; the second for a longer while; and the third altogether.
a. There are instances of this continence being required by God in the old law, as in the case of the giving of the law; and again in the case of David and the shew-bread. If such continence was kept in the figure, how much more should it be kept with regard to the very Body of our Lord!
b. Any one who had sinned in this way could not, by the law of Moses, eat of things hallowed to God till he was healed by penitence. For this reason the forty days of Lenten penance are appointed before Easter, in order that penitents, spending these days in fastings and prayers and good works and continence, may be able to communicate with other good Christians. St. Augustin, writing on the words of St. Paul, where he says that if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged of the Lord, says, ‘Let the penitent pass sentence on himself in his soul, and judge himself unworthy to partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord, that so by ecclesiastical discipline he may be kept for a time from the Sacrament of the Heavenly Bread. For he receives unworthily if he receive when he ought to be doing penance, that is, when he is a beginner. Therefore let him judge himself first, that so being self-judged he may not be judged by the Lord.’
c. Next, there is continence, ceaseless and eternal, in which chastity is kept inviolate in every way and for ever. Beda says, ‘If the priests of the old covenant, when about to enter the Temple in the order of their turn for offering sacrifice, had to abstain from the use of marriage, how much more must our priests live lives of chastity, continual and everlasting, when they must always keep themselves ready to offer the most Holy Body of our Lord!’
2. To follow the examples of the Fathers is the thing typified by the shoes for the feet. St. Gregory says, ‘To have sandals on our feet is to keep before our eyes the lives of the Fathers who are dead, and to guard our footsteps from the wounds of sin.’ The steps of the Bride are said to be beautiful, that is, her advance in well-doing, by consideration of the lives of the Fathers.
3. The discipline of correction is the thing figured by the staves for the hands. For the staff signifies the uprightness of justice in which we ought to judge ourselves before Communion. The sceptre of the kingdom of Jesus is a sceptre of uprightness. He is the first of the lovers of justice. St. Augustin says, ‘Ascend as judge the tribunal of your own mind. Then, when in your heart the judgment is set, let your thoughts be present as your accusers, and your conscience as witness, and the fear of God as executioner. So may the blood of a penitent soul flow forth in tears and the vengeance of God cease, for there will be confession and amendment. Thus will you be worthy to receive the Body of Jesus in His Sacrament now, and hereafter in perfect fruition.’
a. Because we are His children, God chastens us by poverty or sorrow or pain; and then He gives us for our comfort and strength the Heavenly Bread of His own Body.
b. Because we are His faithful children He brings us safely to His Home when the chastisement is over, and gives us there the most peaceable fruit of justice. Again, another preparation for receiving our Lord’s Body is spiritual eating, in which the perfect eat by devout meditation. This will be considered in the Nineteenth Meditation.
The Voice of the Holy Ghost
C. About the Lamb of God; John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said: After me there cometh a man who is preferred before me, because He was before me.… Again John stood, and two of his disciples; and seeing Jesus walking he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. St. John 1:29, 35–37.
(1) The Lamb; 1. In the night; It is good to hide the Sacrament of the King. Tobias 12:7.
(2) The three accompaniments; They shall take of the blood, and put it upon both the side-posts and on the upper door-posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted with fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce. You shall not eat of it anything raw nor boiled in water, but only roasted with fire; you shall eat the head with the feet and the purtenance thereof. Ex. 12:7–9.
1. Sorrow for sin; I will recount to Thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul. Is. 38:15.
2. A pure intention; Let us feast not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Cor. 5:8.
I will sacrifice to Thee the sacrifice of praise; and I will call upon the name of the Lord. Ps. 115:17.
Let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise; and declare His works with joy. Ps. 106:22.
He that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel. Ex. 12:19.
3. The memory of the Passion; God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world.… From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Gal. 6:14, 17.
(3) The three ‘insignia;’ Thus shall you eat it (the Paschal lamb): you shall gird your loins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands. Ex. 12:11.
1. Continence; Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart. Ps. 25:2.
a. The married; If therefore thou have anything at hand, though it were but five loaves, give me, or whatsoever, thou canst find. And the priest answered David, saying, I have no common bread at hand, but only holy bread; if the young men be clean, especially from women. And David answered the priest and said to him, Truly as to what concerneth women, we have refrained ourselves from yesterday and the day before when we came out.… The priest therefore gave him hallowed bread. 1 Kings 21:3–6.
When they had washed their garments, he said to them, Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives. And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared; and behold thunders began to be heard and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount; and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceedingly loud, and the people that was in the camp feared.… And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke, because the Lord was come down upon it in fire; and the smoke rose from it as out of a furnace, and all the mount was terrible. Ex. 19:15, 16, 18.
b. The penitent; All the time that he is a leper and unclean he shall dwell alone without the camp. Lev. 13:46.
The first-fruits which the children of Israel shall vow and offer I have given to thee and to thy sons and to thy daughters by a perpetual law. He that is clean in thy house shall eat them. All the best of the oil and of the corn, whatsoever first-fruits they offer to the Lord, I have given them to thee. All the first ripe of the fruits, that the ground bringeth forth, and which are brought to the Lord, shall be for thy use; he that is clean in thy house shall eat them. Numb. 18:11–13.
If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged. But while we are judged we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world. 1 Cor. 11:31, 32.
c. Perpetual chastity; They shall be holy to their God, and shall not profane His name; for they offer the burnt-offering of the Lord and the bread of their God, and therefore they shall be holy. Lev. 21:6.
2. Good lives; How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince’s daughter! Cantic. 7:1.
3. The discipline of correction; Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness. Ps. 44:7.
a. Chastisement; He afflicted thee with want, and gave thee manna for thy food, which neither thou nor thy father knew. Deut. 8:3.
b. Reward; Now all chastisement for the present, indeed, seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow; but afterwards it will yield to them that are exercised by it the most peaceable fruit of justice. Heb. 12:11.
Prayer
O Jesus, Lamb of God, hidden in the darkness, give me grace to come to Thee.
O Jesus, Thou art God and man, miraculously conceived, miraculously born; give me light that I may know Thee.
O Jesus, conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, give me strength to come to Thee.
O Jesus, Thou art in this most Holy Sacrament with Thy Body and Soul and Godhead; give me grace to find Thee and love Thee.
My Saviour, give me true sorrow for sin as I draw near to Thy Altar, seeking for Thee.
My Saviour, take from me all pride, all malice, all wickedness; that in newness of life, without guile and without vain-glory, I may give Thee the praise of my life, and draw near to Thy Altar, seeking Thee.
My Saviour, sprinkle me with Thy Precious Blood, and lead me in the way of Thy Passion, and keep me beneath the shadow of Thy Cross, that I may draw near to Thy Altar, seeking Thee.
O most Holy Jesus, purify my soul from all uncleanness and from every spot displeasing to Thee, that in holiness of heart I may feed upon this Bread of God.
O most Holy Jesus, keep me from every wound of sin, and lead me in the right way, that I may walk in the footsteps of those who loved Thee, and feed now upon this Bread of God.
O most Holy Jesus, give me an upright heart and a just heart, that I may love Thee, the King in Jerusalem, and wait for Thy coming, and feed now upon this Bread of God.
O Jesus, Incarnate Word, my King and my Spouse, I come to Thee. Hungry and thirsty, my spirit fainteth within me; and I cry to Thee, O Thou Lover of my soul. Thou, my Jesus, art the giver of bread: set a table for me in the wilderness. Thou, my Jesus, art the giver of drink: let me slake my thirst with living water from the rock.
Draw me, my Lord and my God; then I will come to Thee. Speak to me, my Brother and my Friend; then I will listen to Thee and follow in Thy steps.
Fasten me, O sweetest Jesus, to Thyself with a chain of gold which will not break, and let me rest on Thy Heart. In the everlasting Home feed me with Thy beauty, with the vision of Thy face, with the vision of the face of God. O Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!