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Author Topic: THE UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EUCHARIST AND THE MYSTICAL BODY  (Read 341 times)

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 10)  THE UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EUCHARIST AND THE MYSTICAL BODY

All Sacraments Related to The Mystical Body
99.  It is true that all the sacraments are related in some way to the Mystical Body, but the relationship thereto by the Eucharist is unique.  "All the sacraments are instituted for the well-being of the Mystical Body . . . (But) the Holy Eucharist, feeding all with nourishment divine, seals the close union both of the members with their Head and of the members with one another.  . . . The other sacraments give grace.  The Holy Eucharist gives the very Author of grace.  The other sacraments are rivers of grace.  The Holy Eucharist is the source itself."  (Anger-Burke, pp. 88-9, emphasis added).

100.  "In the Catholic doctrine of the sacraments everything converges, everything looks towards the Eucharist, effective symbol of the unity of the Mystical Body."  (Anger-Burke, p. 163).

Unique Relationship of the Most Blessed Sacrament
101.  The Blessed Sacrament is necessary for the unity of the Mystical Body.  As St. Thomas says, "That there be a perfect union of Head and members a sacrament was necessary which would hold Christ, which would give us not merely a share in His powers but His own essential Self."  (Quoted from Anger-Burke, p. 106).

102.  "The Holy Eucharist brings us to the very heart of our subject . . . it is that by which the Mystical Body is actually constituted."  (Anger-Burke, p. 104).

103.  "This is the unity of Christ and His members, and of His members one with another.  This is what theologians term 'the reality' of this sacrament.  This is the fruit of the Holy Eucharist.  (Anger-Burke, p. 117).

104.  "The Holy Eucharist is the center of the doctrine of the Mystical Body . . .  The Holy Eucharist is called 'union with' and indeed that is what it effects . . .  By it we are united to Christ . . .  By it we are also united one to another and brought into one sole body."  (Anger-Burke, p. 128).

105.  And finally, "Everything touching the Eucharist leads us back to the Mystical Body."  (Anger-Burke, p. 107).

The Words of Pope Pius XII
106.  In his encyclical on the Mystical Body (Mystici Corporis Christi), Pope Pius XII could not have failed to mention this essential relationship of the Eucharist with the Mystical Body.  "Nor is that enough; for in the Holy Eucharist the faithful are nourished and grow strong at the same table, and in a divine, ineffable way are brought into union with each other and with the divine Head of the whole Body."

107.  And elsewhere in this same encyclical the Pontiff says, "It seems to Us that something would be lacking . . . if We did not add here a few words on the Holy Eucharist, wherein this union during this mortal life reaches, as it were, a climax.

108.  "Through the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ Our Lord wished to give special evidence to the faithful of our union among ourselves and with our divine Head . . .  For here the sacred ministers act in the person not only of our Savior but of the whole Mystical Body."

Summary and Preview
109.  The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist bears a distinct and unique relationship to the Mystical Body of Christ.  For "the reality" of this sacrament is the union of the Mystical Body.  The other sacraments are also related to the Mystical Body, but not in the distinct, unique manner as is the Holy Eucharist.  "Everything touching on the Eucharist leads us back to the Mystical Body."

110.  But what is the Mystical Body?  Who are the members of the Mystical Body?  Do all men belong to the Mystical Body?  In the form for the Most Blessed Sacrament - at the very moment of the Consecration - should the words "for all men" be brought in?  By saying "for all men" instead of "for many," is some part of the essential signification of the sacrament suppressed or perverted?  Does the phrase "for all men" run counter to the "reality" of this sacrament?  These are some of the questions that shall be treated of in Parts 11 and 12.
"I receive Thee, redeeming Prince of my soul. Out of love for Thee have I studied, watched through many nights, and exerted myself: Thee did I preach and teach. I have never said aught against Thee. Nor do I persist stubbornly in my views. If I have ever expressed myself erroneously on this Sacrament, I submit to the judgement of the Holy Roman Church, in obedience of which I now part from this world." Saint Thomas Aquinas the greatest Doctor of the Church