By JAMES MONTI
On a visit to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia last summer, I observed that although the Holy Eucharist is at present reserved on the high altar, and rightly so, the side chapel that had originally been built as a place of reservation for the Most Blessed Sacrament had been fully preserved.
What is most striking about this chapel is its imposing tabernacle, a massive, magnificent architectonic temple somewhat resembling the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, flanked by two adoring angels in stone. The design conveys the unmistakable message that this edifice was built to be a throne of divine majesty, an abode of the living God that was intended to breathe forth the admonition, “…put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).
Quite a number of the major Renaissance and Baroque Era churches of Europe have this sort of monumental tabernacle, and in Spain comparably imposing structures were erected each year for the reposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday. By such masterpieces of art and architecture Catholic artists have served for centuries as virtual catechists, refashioning stone and metal to teach the faithful the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. It is by such means that the soul of man is configured to a spirit of humble adoration in the presence of God.
The annual return of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi comes as a powerful reminder that we need to keep impressing upon ourselves just who it is we encounter in the Holy Eucharist. After several decades of such absurdities as glass chalices, clown liturgies, and incredibly juvenile Communion songs, we need to escape the mindset of our desacralized and desacralizing culture to rediscover what God has done for us in giving us this sacrament.
In his 1694 book Meditations des Pretres, devant et apres la Sainte Messe (“Meditations for Priests, before and after the Holy Mass”), the Oratorian Fr. Edme Cloyseault (+1728) offers the following reflection upon what it means to receive Holy Communion:
“Consider that in receiving this Divine Sacrament you have received the same body of Jesus, which was formed by the Holy Spirit from the most pure blood of Mary, which worked so many miracles, suffered so much fatigue and endured so much evil for us during His mortal life, and which is now glorious and is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven; this same blood of Jesus, which was shed from His infancy in the Circumcision and was shed in the greatest abundance and unto the last drop upon the altar of the Cross; this same soul of Jesus which from the moment of the Incarnation was full of grace, of wisdom, and of virtue, which surpasses the angels and the saints in every manner of perfection, which descended into Limbo and which has been raised glorious; this same Divinity of Jesus which created Heaven and earth, and which is in the Father and the Holy Spirit” (Cloyseault, Meditations . . . , Lyons, 1694, pp. 4-5).
In 1675 the French Jesuit Fr. Jacques Nouet (+1680), a champion of the doctrine of the Real Presence distinguished likewise by his efforts to refute the heresy of Jansenism, published a book of eucharistic meditations entitled La Vie mystique de Jesus dans le Tre-saint Sacrement (“The Mystical Life of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament”). He opens his book with a reflection upon the Solemnity of Corpus Christi:
“This is the day that Paradise descends upon the earth, that the Church militant turns triumphant, and that the God of glory shows forth all the charms of His love in order to win over our hearts, and to carry His beatitude into the midst of our misery. . . . What is the attraction for the faithful? The love of Jesus Christ, who has hidden in the Divine Sacrament all the treasures, all the glory, all the triumphs, and all the crowns of Heaven. ‘Come to me, all who labour…’ (Matt. 11:28)” (Nouet, La Vie mystique . . . , 1700 edition, Paris, pp. 3-4).
Fr. Nouet’s meditations are wide-ranging and replete with memorable imagery and impressive comparisons. Speaking of the Eucharistic Presence of Christ in the sanctuary, he observes, “This is the throne of His glory upon earth. . . . The altar where He rests is the holiest place in the world” (Nouet, p. 28).
Noting how under the Old Law the people of Israel had to go to Jerusalem to offer to God divine worship in the Temple of Solomon, he points out that under the New Covenant our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament now comes to us wherever we are on the face of the Earth:
“. . . Instead of the Jews going to seek God in one small corner of the earth, nowadays, it seems, so to speak, that God goes to seek the faithful everywhere, and that He makes all the cities a holy Jerusalem, and of the whole universe a Temple of Solomon, where this peaceful King receives our supplications, and fills us with His blessings” (ibid., p. 446).
Addressing the invisible participation of the angels in the worship of this sacrament, Fr. Nouet says of the moment of consecration, “…at the same time that the priest pronounces the words of the consecration, Heaven is opened to give passage to these blessed spirits, who come in a multitude to adore the Saint of Saints, remaining before Him with incredible respect all the way until the completion of the Divine Mysteries” (Nouet, p. 29).
Reflecting upon what it is for a priest to hold in his hands the Blessed Sacrament, he writes: “Tremble, my soul, tremble, my heart, tremble, my hand, who carry this precious burden, which Heaven itself cannot sustain without trembling” (ibid., p. 38).
Seeking to impress upon the reader the profound respect and reverence that we owe our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, Fr. Nouet cites specific examples, such as that of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (+1558), who made it his custom to kiss the ground with the utmost reverence before receiving Holy Communion (Nouet, p. 5).
He also notes the example of those who on their deathbed, drained of all their strength, with no more than a breath of life left in them, manage by their piety to make one final effort when the Viaticum is brought to them, throwing themselves out of bed and dropping to their knees to “adore with their face lowered, a body all trembling with respect, a soul overwhelmed by the thought of their baseness, and in short with sensible marks of an extreme reverence that condemns our insensibility, and ought to serve as an example to us” (ibid., p. 37).
The Victorious Sacrament
The Holy Eucharist has been called the “Bread of the Strong.” Fr. Nouet brilliantly develops the thought of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament as our mighty Champion in the spiritual battles we face daily:
“The Holy Sacrament is a victorious Sacrament, says St. Eligius [of Noyon], that makes us triumph over the world and the prince of darkness who governs it. ‘By the Sacrament of the Eucharist the whole world has been subjugated.’
“The Son of God is as it were the Captain of the Church Militant. It is needful now that He be a warrior. He resides there in the Tabernacle, as in the Ark [of the Covenant], as in His pavilion of war. This then is the God of armies. He is there like the angel in the pillar [of cloud] in the desert who marches at the head of His squadrons ranged in battle. This then is He who presides over our combats, and who renders us victorious over our invisible enemies” (Nouet, pp. 62-63).
Fr. Nouet adds that the very sight of the Holy Eucharist should steel us for spiritual warfare: “…When you see the Host come forth from the tabernacle, and appear between the hands of the priest, regard it as the standard of the Christian militia, which summons you to labor, and your soul to battle” (Nouet, p. 76).
Returning elsewhere in his book to the image of the Blessed Sacrament as the pillar of cloud from the Book of Exodus, Fr. Nouet, reflecting upon the biblical verse, “my throne was in a pillar of cloud” (Sirach 24:4), explains:
“The column of the desert was a cloud suspended in the air in the form of a burning column, which enlightened the Israelites during the night and covered them with its shadow in order to refresh them during the day. God who Himself willed to be the leader of His people had established there the throne of His reign, and from it governed His state, and commanded without being seen a flourishing army composed of more than six hundred thousand combatants, who marched under His command.
“The Holy Sacrament is the Throne of Jesus Christ, and the seat of His kingdom, which is the Church Militant, upon which He exercises a reign of love, which incomparably surpasses all the miracles that God did of old in favor of the people of Israel” (Nouet, p. 293).
With the Sunday observance of Corpus Christi here in America coinciding this year with Fathers’ Day, fathers should avail themselves of this valuable “teaching moment” by insisting upon making the attendance of a Corpus Christi procession part of the day’s festivities.
The sight of one’s own father dropping to his knees on a sidewalk to adore the Blessed Sacrament as the priest passes with the monstrance is a catechism lesson that in a child’s mind can last a lifetime. Taking the time to do so on a day when Dad gets to do the things he cherishes most will make the lesson all the more powerful.
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