The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

338 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS.the :Apostle Whosoever shall take the Sacramentunworthily, "shall be guilty of the body and bloodof the Lord." What a heinous crime !For, thesewords signify that he who receives the Sacramentunworthily, shall be guilty of the sin of high treason,and of shedding the blood of his Lord in vain. Buthow could he be guilty of a crime so enormous, ifhe had taken in the Eucharist only a particle ofbread and wine? Would a man be accused ofhomicide, in this commonwealth, if he were to offerviolence to the statue or painting of the governor?Certainly not. In like manner, St. Paul would notbe so unreasonable as to declare a man guilty oftrampling on the blood of his Saviour, by drinkingin an unworthy manner a little wine in memoryof Him.Study also these words: "He who eateth anddrinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to himself, not discerning the body of theLord." The unworthy receiver is condemned fornot recognizing or discerning in the Eucharist thebody of the Lord. How could he be blamed fornot discerning the body of the Lord, if there wereonly bread and wine before him? Hence, if thewords of St. Paul are figuratively understood, theyare distorted, forced, and exaggerated terms, without meaning or truth. But, if they are taken literally, they are full of sense and of awful significance, and an eloquent commentary on the words Ihave quoted from the Evangelist.