http://sedevacantist.com/newmass/qtvjmcn.htm12) THE NEW "FORM" SUPPRESSES WHAT IS ESSENTIAL, AND SIGNIFIES FALSELY
Christ Could Not Have Said: "for All Men"
119. In Part 7, it was argued that the "form" of the Holy Eucharist included in the new, all-English Canon is defective; and by virtue of this defect in the form, which destroys the essential meaning of the true words of the proper form, the sacrament is rendered invalid.
120. From the very choice of words by which the new "form" assumes its invalidity - namely, the substitution: for all men, etc. - additional evidence of its invalidity may be adduced. For these ersatz words, "for all men" attack the reality of the sacrament, which is the Mystical Body.
121. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is not a sacrament "for all men"; it is the Sacrament "for you and for many." "The additional words for you and for many," teaches THE CATECHISM by Decree of THE HOLY COUNCIL OF TRENT, "are taken, some from Matthew, some from Luke, but were joined together by the Catholic Church under the guidance of the Spirit of God."
122. "With reason, therefore, were the words for ALL not used," continues THE CATECHISM, "as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation. And this is the purport of the Apostle when he says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; and also the words of Our Lord in John: I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them thou hast given me, because they are thine."
123. Always this was understood to be the meaning of this form; that is to say, that the sense of efficacy, and not sufficiency, must be conveyed. St. Alphonsus writes, "The words Pro vobis et pro multis ("For you and for many") are used to distinguish the virtue of the blood of Christ from its fruits; for the blood of our Savior is of sufficient value to save all men, but its fruits are applicable only to a certain number and not to all, and this is their own fault. Or, as the theologians say, this precious blood is (in itself) sufficiently (sufficienter) able to save all men, but (on our part) effectually (efficaciter) it does not save all - it saves only those who co-operate with grace. This is the explanation of St. Thomas, as quoted by Benedict XIV." (St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Treatise on THE HOLY EUCHARIST.).
124. As recorded in John (chs. 14-17), immediately after instituting the Holy Eucharist, Our Lord gave a lengthy discourse to the Apostles in which He expounded the doctrine of His Mystical Body. "I am the vine; you the branches." (John, 15,5). Significantly, Judas Iscariot was not present for this discourse, for he had already departed to betray The Master. And herewith lies an idea of vital import!: Jesus at this time did not pray for all men. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me." (John, 17,9). What further evidence is necessary to prove that Our Lord did not say, "for all men," as the authors of the new, bogus Canon sacrilegiously claim?
125. And since this new "form" contains a lie and a sacrilegious mutilation of the words of Christ as recorded in Holy Writ, how can it conceivably be a valid form for this Most Holy of Sacraments? "The Holy Ghost never inspires anything that is not conformable to Holy Writ. If there were the slightest divergence, that, alone by itself, would suffice to prove so evidently the work of the Evil One that were the whole world to assure me it was the Holy Ghost, I would never believe it." (Words of St. Teresa, quoted from Christendom, Feb. 1968). "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema." (Gal. 1,8).
Sacraments Must Contain What They Signify
and Signify What They Contain
126. In his Bull Apostolicae Curae (1896), Pope Leo XIII ruled Anglican Orders to be invalid on two counts: namely, by virtue of "defect in form" and "defect in intention," either defect alone being sufficient grounds for invalidity.
127. "Moreover," the Bull states, "it is well known that the sacraments of the New Law, being sensible signs which cause invisible grace, must both signify the grace which they cause and cause the grace which they signify. Now this signification, though it must be found in the essential rite as a whole, that is, in both matter and form together, belongs chiefly to the form."
128. One aspect of the Anglicans' defective form centered around a change they made, which change might at first sight seem to be only minor or accidental in nature. Nevertheless, Pope Leo ruled that this particular change away from the proper, prescribed form entailed the suppression of some of the essential signification of the sacrament.
129. This was the change referred to just above: In their "new form" for the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the Anglicans deleted any special reference to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Included in their "form" however, was the phrase: and be thou a faithful dispenser . . . Of His Holy Sacraments, and also: Take thou authority . . . To minister the holy sacraments.
130. The Pontiff decreed that by failing explicitly to mention the Holy Eucharist, this "form" failed to contain some signification essential for the sacrament of Holy Orders. "It is, then, impossible" said Pope Leo, "for a form to be suitable and sufficient for a sacrament if it suppresses that which it ought distinctively to signify."
131. The Anglican Hierarchy countered by claiming that their wording - to wit, "of His Holy Sacraments" - automatically included the Holy Eucharist. This argument was answered by the Catholic Bishops of England as follows: "(N)or, although the sacrifice is intimately connected with one of the Sacraments, do the words Be thou a faithful dispenser . . . Of His Holy Sacraments draw special attention to that particular Sacrament, still less bring into prominence its sacrificial aspect." (A Vindication of The Bull 'Apostolicae Curae').
External Rite of The Eucharist Must Signify The Mystical Body
132. The Bishops' Vindication, just quoted, also states: "The essential part (of the form) must contain within itself all that is essential to the due conveyance of the grace or power attached to the Sacrament." (Emphasis added) Now the "grace or power" (that is,"the reality" or grace proper) of the Holy Eucharist is, as we have seen, the union of the Mystical Body. Therefore the Mystical Body must be signified in the external rite of this sacrament.
133. But where is this signification to be found? First of all, in the matter, the bread and wine, the Mystical Body is symbolized. As many have observed (see, for example, Summa Th., III, Q. 74, Art. 1), the many members of the Mystical Body, and their union, are signified by the many grains of wheat which compose the bread and the many grapes that go into the wine.
134. But Pope Leo has reminded us that the signification "belongs chiefly to the form"; and the Bishops' Vindication further states that the signification "must be found in the essential part, in the matter and form morally united together." Therefore we must attempt to discover where in the form of the Sacrament the Mystical Body is signified.
An Opinion
135. Some theologians, it must be noted, are of the opinion that the words "This is My body. This is the Chalice of My Blood," and these words taken alone, "signify perfectly and effect the sacrament." A different opinion has been held by many others, notably St. Thomas and St. Pius V.
136. Now I would like to proffer an opinion on this subject. It seems that the words "This is My Body. This is My Blood," and these words alone, do not signify "the reality" of the Sacrament (The Mystical Body), but rather do they signify "the reality and the sign," which is Christ's true Body. And, needless to say, Christ is not the Mystical Body; He is the Head of the Mystical Body.
137. Therefore, This is My Body. This is My Blood," alone, signify only The Head, Christ, but fail to signify the members of the Mystical Body. But the whole Mystical Body, Head and members, must be signified in the form for this Sacrament, as observed just above in par. 132. "But now there are many members indeed, yet one body." (I Cor. 12,20) And also: "Nor again (can) the head (say) to the feet: I have no need of you." (I Cor. 12,21).
138. As a consequence it seems evident that this latter signification, of the members of the Mystical Body, is to be found in the words, "for you and for many."
139. Most certainly this exact phraseology is not required to convey this signification (more on this below), and even simply the words "for you" would suffice to signify the members of the Mystical Body. And it is important to note well that all Scriptural accounts of the institution of the Holy Eucharist contain this signification of the members of the Mystical Body.
140. Thus Sts. Matthew and Mark record "for many." St. Luke records: "This is my body, which is given for you," and also "This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you." And, finally, we see that St. Paul also hands down a form which contains this essential signification: "Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you." (I Cor. 11,24).
The New "Form" Signifies Falsely
141. If the opinion stated above be correct, then the words, "for you and for ALL MEN," not only fail to convey this essential signification of the Mystical Body, but, on the contrary, they signify falsely!
142. It may be reiterated that this "form": for you and for all men so that sins may be forgiven, not only is not heretical, but, as stated earlier, it conveys a certain particular truth. But in the context in which it has been placed, in the "form" for The Eucharist, it conveys a falsehood, and also an implicit heresy: the denial of the doctrine of The Mystical Body of Christ. A paradox indeed! And it is the work of the Father of Lies to convey a falsehood by stating a truth!
Identical Wording Not Required
143. One very elementary fact weighs quite heavily against those who assert that "This is My Body. This is My Blood," and these words alone, are all that is necessary to effect the Sacrament. If they could produce just one example of a liturgy (however ancient) whose form for consecration actually uses only these words, then their opinion could at least claim some justification. But there is no such liturgy on which they can rest their case. On the contrary, every liturgy universally accepted as having a valid consecration form contains additional words which signify the Mystical Body. And this fact weighs quite heavily in favor of my opinion. Some examples of these other liturgies are given below. But, before going ahead a point must be clarified.
144. After Pope Leo XIII had declared Anglican Orders invalid, the Anglican Hierarchy argued that there are liturgies which Rome has always acknowledged as having a valid form for the Sacrament of Holy Orders, but which do not employ the exact form used in the Roman Rite.
145. This objection was answered by the Catholic Bishops of England: "But you are also mistaken in thinking that matters have been left by Our Lord in so much uncertainty, and that there is no one definite form which has prevailed in the Catholic Church, both in the East and in the West. If, indeed, you mean merely that no identical form of words has always and everywhere been in use, but that, on the contrary, several different forms of words have been recognized by the Holy See as sufficient, you say what all will admit, and the Bull nowhere denies. The Bull, however . . . is requiring, not that the form should always consist of the same words, but that it should always be conformed to the same definite type." (Vindication of the Bull 'Apostolicae Curae'; emphasis in the original).
146. Consequently, although there is some variation in the wording in the examples which follow next, it is quite clear that they all conform to the "same definite type"; that is to say, they all contain the essential signification of The Mystical Body. (The parenthesized comments are mine.)
The Doctrine of the Apostles
147. St. Justin Martyr does not give a text used for the eucharistic rite. But the Doctrine of the Apostles, a very ancient text, contemporary, at the latest, with St. Justin gives the following: "As to the Eucharist, we give thanks in this wise. First for the chalice: We thank thee, our Father, for the Holy Vine (a reference to Christ, the Head of the Mystical Body: I am the vine) of David . . . For the bread: We thank thee, our Father . . . As the elements of this bread, scattered on the mountains, were brought together into a single whole (a reference to the union of the members of the Mystical Body), may Thy Church (the Mystical Body) in like manner be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom." And the passage which follows most certainly excludes the notion of "all men": "Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist if he is not baptized in the Name of the Lord, for it was of this the Lord said, give not that which is holy to dogs." (Source: Msgr. L. Duchesne, Christian Worship: Its Origin and Evolution, 1903, pp. 52-3).
The Alexandrine Liturgy
148. From the Euchologion of Sarapion, Bishop of Thmuis, a friend and correspondent of St. Athanasius, we have the following form: "Take ye and eat, this is My Body, which is being broken for you (the members of the Mystical Body) for remission of sins. . . . (A)nd as this bread had been scattered on the top of the mountains and gathered together came to be one, so also gather Thy holy Church (the same symbolism of the union of the Mystical Body as found in the Doctrine of the Apostles) out of every nation and every country and every city and village and house and make one living Catholic Church." And for the chalice: "Take ye, drink, this is the new covenant, which is My Blood, which is being shed for you (the members of the Mystical Body) for remission of sins." (Source: Duchesne, op. cit., p. 77).
The Canons of Hippolytus
149. The so-called Canons of Hippolytus, dating from the third century, contain this form: This is my blood which is shed for you (the members of the Mystical Body). (Source: Joseph A. Jungmann, The Mass of the Roman Rite, v. 2, p. 195). Although this has nothing to do with the authenticity and/or validity of Hippolytus' form, it is interesting to note (as does Jungmann elsewhere) that Hippolytus "allowed himself to be chosen by his followers as an anti-pope." But from the fact that he subsequently was martyred for the Faith, "we may rightly conclude that before his death he returned to the unity of the Church." (Jungmann, The Early Liturgy, p. 53).
"De Sacramentis" of the Pseudo-Ambrose
150. Interestingly, the form given in De Sacramentis, dating from about the year 400, does not say "for you," but instead says simply "for many," which, of course, conveys the essential signification of the members of the Mystical Body. "Take ye all and eat of this: for this is My Body, which is broken for many (pro multis)." (Source: Duchesne, op. cit., p. 178).
Eastern Liturgies in General
151. "Strangely enough," comments Rev. John O'Brien, "nearly all the Oriental liturgies mention the mingling of water with the wine in the form of consecration." (John O'Brien, A.M., A History of the Mass and Its Ceremonies in the Eastern and Western Church, 1881, p. 333). Actually this is not strange at all, for this is a well-known symbolism of The Mystical Body. St. Thomas calls this to our attention in the following passage: "Thirdly, because this (that is, the mingling of water and wine - Auth.) is adapted for signifying the effect of this sacrament (which effect, of course, is the union of the Mystical Body - Auth.), since as Pope Julius says: We see that the people are signified by the water, but Christ's blood by the wine." (Summa Th., III, Q. 74, Art. 6).
152. The Armenian form contains the following: "This is my Body, which for you and for many is given for remission and pardon of sins."
153. In the Liturgy of St. Basil we find: "This is my Body, which is broken for you unto the remission of sins." And for the wine: "This is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins."
154. The Coptic Liturgy of St. Cyril has: "For this is my Body, which shall be broken for you, and for many shall be given for the remission of sins." As O'Brien observes, "The form according to the Liturgy of St. James is almost word for word like this; and . . . the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom differs hardly in anything from our own." (O'Brien, op. cit., p. 335).
155. It is in an Ethiopic Liturgy, called the Athanasian, that we find a unique and perhaps the most eloquent signification of the Mystical Body. "This bread is my Body, from which there is no separating. This cup is my Blood, from which there is no dividing." Clearly the Body "from which there is no separating" can mean only the Mystical Body. For since we are united to Christ's true Body only at the time of Holy Communion, it is incorrect to say of us that "there is no separating" from Christ's true Body.
Gallican and Mozarabic Rites
156. "In the ancient Gallican books," says Duchesne, "the account of the institution of the Eucharist is always omitted, or is merely indicated by the first words of it. The celebrant must have known it by heart. The following is the Ambrosian text: . . .". (Duchesne, op. cit., p. 215). The forms of consecration of both bread and wine in the Ambrosian text are, of course, identical in wording to those of the Roman Rite.
157. For the consecration of the bread, the Mozarabic Missal adheres to the text of St. Paul (I Cor. 11,24), and thereby expresses the signification of the members of the Mystical Body through the words, "for you": This is my body which shall be delivered for you. And for the wine it has the familiar "for you and for many (pro vobis et pro multis)." (Source: Duchesne, op. cit., p. 216).
Summary
158. We have seen that in instituting the Holy Eucharist Christ could not have said "for all men," for this would totally contradict His very last discourse to His Apostles, in which he expounded the doctrine of His Mystical Body and in which He said, I pray not for the world.
159. Also we have seen (par. 132) that the form for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist must contain some essential signification of the whole Mystical Body, Head and members. That the matter of the Sacrament contains this symbolism was pointed out.
160. The author expressed his opinion that in the Roman Rite this vital signification of the members of the Mystical Body is to be found in the words, for you and for many. But by saying, for you and for all men, the new, all-English Canon thwarts this essential signification and at the same time actually conveys a false signification.
161. Against the opinion of those who aver that the words This is My Body. This is My Blood, taken alone, suffice for the sacrament, the following evidence was submitted: (a) These words do not signify the Mystical Body, but Christ's true Body; (b) Every scriptural account of the Eucharist's institution contains some additional words referring to the Mystical Body; (c) No authentic and valid consecration form, anywhere, contains only the words This is My Body. This is My Blood; and (d) All consecration forms accepted as valid contain words with signification of the Mystical Body. Numerous examples from different liturgies were cited as examples.
Conclusion
162. It is impossible for me to prove that my opinion, stated above, is correct. Neither can those in opposition to it prove the correctness of their opinions. The sacraments are great mysteries. God alone knows what is really essential for effecting them. But for our salvation He has made known to us certain things, sufficient things. And that is why there is such supreme wisdom in this warning given by the Catholic Bishops of England: "(I)n adhering rigidly to the rite handed down to us we can always feel secure; whereas, if we omit or change anything, we may perhaps be abandoning just that element which is essential." (Vindication of the Bull 'Apostolicae Curae'; emphasis added.)