The doctrine held in the thirteenth century may be further illustrated by the Bull of Pope Urban IV. relating to the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi, the Eucharistic hymns of St. Thomas Aquinas, practical instructions in regard to adoration, some devotional acts and instructions, and the mystical interpretations of William Durand.
1. A local observance of the feast of Corpus Christi in the diocese of Liège appears to have been sanctioned by Robert Bishop of Liège in 1246; and in 1264 Pope Urban IV. commanded this feast to be kept throughout the whole Western Church. In the Bull containing this command the Pope said:—
“When about to leave this world and to go to the Father, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ … instituted the supreme and wonderful Sacrament of His body and blood by giving His body for food and His blood for drink.… This is the most sweet memorial, the saving remembrance, in which we renew the pleasant memory of our redemption, in which we are drawn back from evil, and strengthened in good, and advance to increase of virtue and grace, in which we make progress by the bodily presence of the Saviour Himself.… In this sacramental memorial of Christ, Jesus Christ is present with us, under a different form indeed, but in His own substance.… O worthy memorial, never to be omitted, in which we call to mind that our death is dead, that our destruction has been destroyed, that the life-giving Wood nailed to the cross has brought to us the fruit of salvation.… Though His bounty to us has been so great, yet still wishing to show in us His abounding love in His great generosity. He has bestowed Himself on us, and surpassing all fulness of rich gifts, exceeding every way of love, He has made Himself our food. O unique and wonderful generosity, when the Giver comes as the Gift, and that which is given is the same as He who gives. O great and splendid bounty, when He gives Himself. He has given Himself for food, that, as man fell through death, by food also he may be restored to life. Man fell through the food of deadly wood; man has been raised through the food of life-giving Wood. In the one was the means of death; in the other was the nourishment of life.… If any one shall eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. This is the food which fully refreshes, which really nourishes, which highly sustains, not the body but the heart, not the flesh but the spirit, not the belly but the mind. For man, therefore, who needed spiritual nourishment, the merciful Saviour Himself in the goodness of His mind provided for the refreshment of the soul from this noble and powerful sustenance.… This bread is taken but in truth it is not consumed; it is eaten, but it is not changed; because it is in no way transformed into him who eats it, but, if it is worthily received, he who receives it is conformed to it. O most excellent Sacrament, to be adored, to be venerated, to be worshipped, to be glorified, to be extolled with highest praise, to be exalted by worthy oratory, to be honoured with all zeal, to be celebrated with devout observance, to be held fast by pure minds.… This memorial ought to be continually celebrated, that we may be ever mindful of Him whose memorial we know it to be, because, the more often His gift is seen, the more firmly is the memory of Him retained. Therefore, although this memorial Sacrament is already celebrated in the daily observance of Mass, yet we think it fitting and worthy that at least once in the year, specially to overthrow the perfidy and madness of heretics, there be a more solemn and notable memory. For on the day of the Supper of the Lord, on which Christ Himself instituted this Sacrament, the Universal Church … is not able to be fully at leisure for the commemoration of this chief Sacrament. For in regard to the saints, whom we venerate throughout the year, the Church observes this, that, although we often renew the memory of them in litanies and Masses and in other ways, yet none the less the Church keeps their birthdays more solemnly on fixed days in the course of the year by celebrating special feasts on these days. And because on these feasts some due solemnity is omitted through negligence, or through occupation in private affairs, or in some other way through human weakness, our Mother the Church has appointed a fixed day, on which there may be a commemoration of all the saints together.… Therefore this should most of all be observed in regard to the life-giving Sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, who is the glory and crown of all the saints, that it should shine forth with a special festival and solemnity.… Moreover, when we held a lower office, we knew that it had been divinely revealed to certain Catholics that a feast of this kind ought to be generally observed in the Church. Therefore, to confirm and exalt the Catholic faith, we have worthily and reasonably determined to appoint that concerning so great a Sacrament, besides the daily memorial which the Church makes of it, there be celebrated yearly a more solemn and special memorial, appointing for this purpose a fixed day, namely, the Thursday after the Octave of Pentecost, that on this day the devout bands of the faithful may flock in joy to the churches.… We exhort in the Lord, and command … that you keep so great and glorious a feast every year on the aforesaid Thursday with devotion and solemnity, … carefully exhorting either yourselves or through others those who are committed to your charge on the Sunday immediately preceding the aforesaid Thursday that by means of genuine and honest confession, giving of alms, earnest and careful prayers, and other works of devotion and piety, they may strive so to prepare themselves that they may be counted worthy to become partakers of this most precious Sacrament on that day, and may be able to receive Him with reverence, and through His power to obtain an increase of grace.”
2. At the bidding of Pope Urban IV. the office for use on the feast of Corpus Christi was written by St. Thomas Aquinas. A literal translation of the hymns contained in it will show how St. Thomas expressed in devotion the doctrine which has already been illustrated from his theological writings.
“Tell, my tongue, the mystery of the glorious body,
And of the precious blood, which for the ransom of the world
The King of the nations, the Fruit of the noble womb, shed.
Given for us, born for us from a pure virgin,
And dwelling in the world, and sowing the seed of the word,
In wondrous fashion He ended His patient sojourn.
On the night of the Great Supper, sitting at meat with His brethren,
When He has fully observed the law by the appointed foods,
He gives Himself with His own hands as food to the twelve.
The Word made flesh makes real bread flesh by word,
And wine becomes the blood of Christ, though sense fails;
Faith alone is able to strengthen the pure heart.
Therefore, bowing, let us revere so great a Sacrament,
And let the ancient pattern give way to the new rite;
Let faith supply what the senses lack.”
“At the holy feast let there be joy,
And from the heart let songs resound,
Let things of old depart, let all be new,
Hearts, voices, and deeds.
The night of the Last Supper is called to mind,
When Christ is believed the lamb and the unleavened bread
To have given to His brethren according to the law
Declared to the ancient fathers.
After the typical lamb and the completed feast,
The Lord’s body given to His disciples,
Whole to all and whole to each,
By His hands we confess.
He gave to them in their weakness the stay of His body,
He gave to them in their sadness the cup of His blood,
Saying, Take the cup which I give,
Drink ye all of it.
So did He institute this sacrifice,
Of which He willed the office to be committed
To priests alone, to whom thus it pertains
That they should take, and give to the rest.
The bread of the angels becomes the bread of men,
The bread of heaven makes an end of types,
O marvel, he eats the Lord
Who is the poor and lowly servant.”
“The Word of heaven proceeding forth,
Yet leaving not the right hand of the Father,
Going to His work,
Came to the evening of life.
For death by a disciple
To be given to His foes,
First in the food of life
He gives Himself to His disciples.
To whom under two kinds
He gave flesh and blood,
That of twofold substance
The whole man He might feed.
In birth He gave Himself as a fellow,
While sharing their meal He gave Himself for food,
Dying He gave Himself for a ransom,
Reigning He gives Himself as a reward.
O saving Victim,
Who openest the gate of heaven,
Wars from our enemies press on,
Grant strength, bring aid.”
“Praise, Sion, the Saviour,
Praise the Leader and Shepherd,
In hymns and songs.
Dare all thou canst,
For He is greater than all praise,
Nor canst thou praise Him enough.
A special theme of praise,
The living and life-giving bread,
Is set forth to-day.
Whom on the table of the holy Supper,
To the band of the twelve brethren,
To have been given we doubt not.
Let praise be full and sounding,
Pleasant and seemly be
The gladness of mind.
For a solemn day is kept,
On which is called to mind
The first institution of this Table.
On this Table of the new King
The new Passover of the new law
Ends the ancient passover.
That which is old, the new,
The shadow, the reality puts to flight.
Light dispels night.
That which Christ did at the Supper,
He ordained to be done
For His memorial.
Taught by the ancient precepts,
Bread and wine we hallow
As the sacrifice of salvation.
The doctrine is given to Christians
That bread is turned into flesh,
And wine into blood.
What thou dost not grasp, what thou dost not see,
Bold faith makes sure,
Beyond the order of nature.
Under different kinds,
Signs only and not things,
Precious things lie hidden.
Flesh is food, blood is drink,
Yet the whole Christ remains
Under each kind.
Not separated by him who takes Him,
Not broken, not divided,
Whole He is taken.
One takes Him, a thousand take Him,
The one takes as much as they,
Nor being taken is He consumed.
To the bad He is death, to the good He is life,
See from equal taking
How different is the result.
When the Sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but remember
As much is under a fragment
As is covered by the whole.
Of the reality there is no division,
Of the sign only is the breaking,
Whereby neither state nor stature
Of Him whose is the sign is diminished.
Lo, the bread of the angels
Is made the food of the sojourners,
Really the bread of the sons,
Not to be given to dogs.
In figures it is foretold,
When Isaac is sacrificed,
The lamb of the passover chosen,
The manna given to the fathers.
Good Shepherd, very Bread,
Jesu, have mercy on us,
Thou feed us, Thou protect us,
Thou make us to see what is good
In the land of the living.
Thou who knowest and canst do all things,
Thou who here feedest us mortals,
There to sit at Thy table,
Co-heirs and partners
Of the holy saints make us.”
Another Eucharistic hymn composed by St. Thomas Aquinas but not included in the office for the feast of Corpus Christi is the following:—
“Devoutly I adore Thee, unseen Godhead,
Who under these signs really liest hid;
To Thee my whole heart submits itself,
Because contemplating Thee it wholly fails.
Sight, touch, taste, in Thee are deceived,
But to the hearing alone is trust safely accorded.
I believe whatever the Son of God has said,
Nothing is more true than this word of truth.
On the cross lay hid only the deity,
But here lies hid also the humanity;
Yet believing and confessing both,
I seek what the penitent robber sought.
Thy wounds as Thomas I do not behold,
Yet I confess Thee as My God;
Make me always to believe Thee more,
In Thee to have hope, Thee to love.
O memorial of the death of the Lord,
Living Bread, giving life to man,
Grant to my mind to live of Thee,
And of Thee always sweetly to be wise.
Pelican of goodness, Jesu Lord,
Cleanse me unclean in Thy blood,
Of which one drop could save
The whole world from all guilt.
Jesu, whom I now see veiled,
May that be which I so long for,
That beholding Thee with unveiled face,
I may be blessed in the sight of Thy glory.”
3. Mention has already been made of the eleventh century instructions for the carrying of the Sacrament in the procession on Palm Sunday in the statutes of Lanfranc, and for the adoration in connection with the procession. The Acts of the Abbots of St. Albans, probably the work of Matthew Paris in the first half of the thirteenth century, record that the Abbot Simon, who was Abbot of St. Albans from 1166 to 1183, had a vessel of gold adorned with precious stones made in which to keep the Sacrament over the high altar; that King Henry II., on hearing of this, sent to St. Albans a very costly cup in which was to be placed “the case immediately containing the body of Christ”; and that the Abbot Simon also had made a shrine of peculiar beauty, in which “the body of the Lord” might be carried in the procession on Palm Sunday, and brought back to the Church “with the greatest reverence, that the faithful may see of how great honour the most holy body of the Lord is worthy, which at this time suffered itself to be scourged, crucified, and buried”. Before the end of the twelfth century there is a provision in the Synodical Constitutions of Odo, the Bishop of Paris, that is, Eudes de Sully, that “the laity are to be frequently admonished that, whenever they see the body of the Lord carried out, they are to genuflect as to their Lord and Creator, and to pray with joined hands until it has passed by”. In the course of the thirteenth century there are very numerous instances of practical instructions for the adoration of our Lord in the Eucharist. Like the eleventh century statutes of Lanfranc, and in accordance with the practice in use at St. Albans in the twelfth century, a thirteenth century manuscript of Irish origin now in the Bodleian Library, which gives the usage of the Church of Sarum, contains provisions for the carrying of the Sacrament in procession on Palm Sunday, and for adoration in connection with the procession. The English historian and theologian Gerald de Barry, usually known as Giraldus Cambrensis, who was born about 1147 and died about 1223, says that the Eucharist ought to be carried to the sick “with due honour and reverence.” and “adored and worthily venerated by the people” when so carried.
It is recorded of Cardinal Guido that, when he was at Cologne in 1203, he ordered that “at the elevation of the host all the people in the church should prostrate themselves at the sound of the bell, and remain prostrated until after the consecration of the chalice”; and that, when the Sacrament was carried out of doors for the Communion of the sick, “all the people both in the streets and in the houses should adore Christ”. The Constitutions approved in 1208 by William, Bishop of Paris, contain an injunction that “in the celebration of Mass, when the body of Christ is elevated, at the elevation itself or a little before a bell is to be rung, as has been appointed elsewhere, so that the minds of the faithful may be roused to prayer”. In 1217 it was decreed in one of the Constitutions of Richard Poore, Bishop of Salisbury, that “the laity are to be admonished to act reverently at the consecration of the Eucharist, and to kneel, especially at the time when, after the elevation of the Eucharist, the sacred host is put down”. In 1219 Pope Honorius III. ordered the Irish bishops to provide that the people should “bow reverently” at the elevation of the host in the Mass, and when the Sacrament was taken to the sick. Under his successor Pope Gregory IX. this injunction became part of the canon law. The Council of Durham in 1220, in connection with the statement that Christ “really refreshed” His disciples “with His body and blood under the species of bread and wine transubstantiated by the power of God, the bread into His body and the wine into His blood,” and that communicants “receive without doubt under the species of bread that which hung for us on the cross,” and “in the cup that which was poured from the side of Christ,” ordered that “the people should be taught to act reverently and kneel at the consecration of the Eucharist, especially at that time when, after the elevation of the Eucharist, the sacred host is put down”. The Council of Oxford of 1222 ordered that “lay people are to be frequently taught that, wherever they see the body of the Lord to be carried, at once they genuflect as to their Creator and Redeemer, and with joined hands pray humbly while it passes by, and that this most of all is done at the time of the consecration at the elevation of the host, when the bread is transformed into the real body of Christ, and that which is in the cup is transformed into His blood by the mystic blessing”. The Constitutions of Walter de Cantelupe, Bishop of Worcester, issued in 1240 gave instructions that, when the Sacrament was carried to the sick, the people should “on their knees adore their Saviour by the way”. In the Ancient Statutes of the Carthusians, which are probably of the middle of the thirteenth century, it is said that “when ‘This is My body’ has been said, the host is elevated so that it can be seen, and a bell is rung.… At the elevation of the host, if we are praying standing, we fall down to the ground, as when ‘And was made Man’ is said, and we do not rise until the chalice is put down.” In the Statutes of Archbishop Peckham of 1280 it was ordered that the people should “prostrate themselves, or at least pray humbly, wherever it might happen that the King of glory was carried under the covering of bread”. The Council of Exeter of 1287 provided that the host should not be elevated till the words “This is My body” had been fully said, “lest the creature should be adored by the people instead of the Creator”; and that “the faithful” should “adore the body of the Lord by humbly bowing and if possible on bent knees” when the Sacrament was carried to the sick. Passing be similar instructions elsewhere, some provisions of the Council of Cologne of 1280 may be cited as affording an illustration of what were held to be the practical consequences of the doctrine about the Eucharist.
“No priest is to elevate the host to show it to the people until he has said the words ‘For this is My body’. And the bell is to be struck with three strokes on one side, that the faithful who hear, wherever they may be, may come and adore.… If any part of the blood or body of the Lord has fallen on the covering of the altar, that part is to be cut out and burnt, and the ashes are to be placed in a sacred place or the piscina. And, if a part of the corporal has been stained with the blood, it is to be carefully washed three times, and the water is to be taken be the priest or some other religious person fasting. And after being washed the afore-said cloth can be used as before. Also, if a drop of the blood has fallen on a vestment, that part is to be cut out and burnt, and the ashes are to be placed in a sacred place, as was said before. If the blood has fallen on wood or stone or solid earth, that part, if it can conveniently be, is to be licked by the priest, and afterwards scraped, and what is scraped off is to be placed in a sacred place or the sacred piscine.… Priests are to place a decent covering over the vessel in which the body of the Lord is carried, and to carry it to the sick with reverence and raised. If the sick man frequently and easily suffers from sickness, the body of the Lord is not to be given to him; but let him believe, and it is enough that he receives spiritually. Also, we enjoin that any priest, before he communicates the sick man, is to ask him whether he believes that under this form and species of bread is the body of the Lord, which was born of the Virgin, suffered on the cross, and on the third day was raised. If the sick man has confessed this by word or evident sign, the priest is to give him Communion, if there is no other hindrance.… When the body of the Lord is carried, the faithful who are present, if it can fittingly be, are to genuflect and smite their breasts and reverently adore with bowed heads and joined and uplifted hands. And horsemen are not to disdain to come down from their horses to adore Him who for them came down from heaven.”
4. Further illustrations of the way in which practical effect was given to the doctrine ordinarily held in the thirteenth century may be derived from The Lay Folks Mass Book and the Ancren Riwle.
The Lay Folks Mass Book was written by Dan Jeremy, who may have been Canon of Rouen and afterwards Archdeacon of Cleveland, in French probably in the twelfth century and was translated into English in the thirteenth century. It describes the “housel” as being “both flesh and blood”. At the ringing of the bell at the consecration the people are directed to kneel down and behold the elevation and “do reverence to Jesus Christ’s own presence,” holding up both hands, and, in default of prayers in their own words, to say:—
“Praised be Thou, King,
And blessed be Thou, King,
Of all Thy giftes good
And thanked be Thou, King.
Iesu, all my joying,
That for me spilt Thy blood,
And died upon the rood,
Thou give me grace to sing
The song of Thy praising.”
In the later texts the instructions are the same; but the words given to be addressed to our Lord at the elevation are different:—
“Welcome, Lord, in form of bread,
For me Thou didst suffer hard deed.
As Thou didst bear the crown of thorn,
Suffer me not to be forlorn.”
The Ancren Riwle, that is, the rule of the anchoresses or recluses, is a document of the thirteenth century, which is thought by some to have been written by Bishop Richard Poore, who was Bishop of Chichester from 1214 to 1217, Bishop of Salisbury from 1217 to 1228, and Bishop of Durham from 1228 to 1237, and died at Tarrant in Dorset in 1237, though the citation of Dominican prayers and the doubt expressed as to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin have led others to think it to be the work of a Dominican writer. It contains several allusions to the Eucharist.
“When ye are quite dressed, … think upon God’s flesh, and on His blood, which is over the high altar, and fall on your knees towards it, with this salutation, ‘Hail, Thou Author of our creation! Hail, Thou price of our redemption! Hail, Thou who art our support during our pilgrimage! Hail, O reward of our expectation!’
Be Thou our joy,
Who art to be our meed.
Our glory be in Thee
Through endless time.
Abide with us, O Lord!
Remove dark night;
Wash off all guilt;
Grant godly balm.
Glory to Thee, O Lord,
Thou Virgin’s Son.
Thus shall you do also when the priest elevates it at the Mass, and before the confession, when you are about to receive the host.”
“In the Mass, when the priest elevates God’s body, say these verses, standing, ‘Behold the Saviour of the world; the Word of the Father; a true sacrifice; living flesh; entire Godhead; very Man’; and then fall down with this greeting, ‘Hail, cause of our creation! Hail, price of our redemption! Hail, our support during our pilgrimage! Be Thou our joy, who are about to be our reward. May our glory be in Thee, for ever and ever. Abide with us, O Lord. Remove our darkness. Wash from us all our guilt. Grant a holy remedy. Glory be to Thee, O Lord. But is there any place in me into which my God may come, who made heaven and earth? Is it so, O Lord my God? Is there in me anything which may contain Thee? Wilt Thou indeed come into my heart and inebriate it? And do I embrace Thee, my good wine? What art Thou to me? Pity me, that I may speak. The house of my soul is too narrow that Thou shouldest come into it. Let it be enlarged by Thee. It is in ruins, repair it. I confess and know that it contains what is offensive to Thine eyes. But who shall cleanse it, or to whom but Thee shall I cry? Cleanse Thou me, O God, from my secret faults; and from the sins of others spare Thy servant. Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy great mercy,’ and so the whole psalm to the end, with Gloria Patri; ‘O Christ, hear us’ twice; ‘Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us’; ‘Our Father’; ‘I believe’. ‘O my God, save Thy servant, who putteth his trust in Thee. Teach the to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto Thee.’ ‘Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that Him whom we see darkly, and under a different form, on whom we feed sacramentally on earth, we may see face to face, and may be thought worthy to enjoy Him truly and really, as He is, in heaven, through the same.’ After the kiss of peace in the Mass, when the priest consecrates, forget there all the world, and there be entirely out of the body; there in glowing love embrace your beloved Saviour, who is come down from heaven into your breast’s bower, and hold Him fast until He shall have granted whatever you wish for.”
“Believe firmly that all the power of the devil melteth away through the grace of the holy Sacrament, which ye see elevated above all as oft as the priest saith Mass, and consecrateth that Virgin’s Child, Jesus, the Son of God, who sometimes descendeth bodily to your inn, and humbly taketh His lodging within you. God knoweth, she is too weak, and too evil-hearted, who with the aid of such a guest fighteth not bravely. Ye ought to believe truly that all that the holy Church readeth and singeth, and all her Sacraments, give you spiritual strength, but none so much as this; for it bringeth to nought all the wiles of the devil.”
“Men esteem a thing as less dainty when they have it often; and therefore ye should be, as lay brethren are, partakers of the Holy Communion only fifteen times a year.… And, if anything happens out of the usual order, so that ye may not have received the Sacrament at these set times, ye may make up for it the Sunday next following, or, if the other set time is near, ye may wait till then.”
5. A belief was current during much of the middle ages that some of the devout were sustained by the reception of the Eucharist without partaking of any other food. An instance of this belief from the early part of the thirteenth century may be seen in the account given by Cæsarius of Heisterbach of a woman who was accustomed to communicate frequently and had received leave from her parish priest to receive the Sacrament every Sunday, who “was sustained without hunger from Sunday to Sunday by her Communion”.
6. The Rationale of the Divine Offices was the work of William Durand, who was born at Puymoisson in Provence about 1230. He was a teacher of the canon law at Modena, was sent as legate to the Council of Lyons be Pope Gregory X. in 1274, was appointed Bishop of Mende in 1286, and died at Rome in 1296. The doctrine postulated in the elaborate ceremonial instructions and mystical interpretations is that which is characteristic of the time. Durand details eleven miracles in regard to the body of Christ, first, that “the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the body and blood”; secondly, that “the bread is daily transubstantiated into the body, and yet there is no increase in God”; thirdly, that “it is daily taken and eaten, and yet there is no diminution in it”; fourthly, that “being indivisible, it is divided, and remains whole and complete in each part of the Eucharist”; fifthly, that “when taken by the wicked, it is not defiled”; sixthly, that “the body of Christ, which is the food of life, is deadly to sinners”; seventhly, that “being taken by the priest or by others, from the shut mouth it is carried up to heaven”; eighthly, that “the measureless body is in so small a host”; ninthly, that “the same body is whole in different places, and is received by different persons”; tenthly, that “when the bread is transubstantiated, the accidents of the bread remain”; and eleventhly, that “under the species of bread the body and blood of Christ, even the whole Christ exist and are received, and likewise under the species of wine both are received, and yet there is not a double reception of the body and blood of Christ”. The reasons which he gives for the elevation of the host immediately after the consecration are that “all who are present may see it, and may pray for what is profitable to salvation”; that the superiority of this sacrifice to all other sacrifices may be observed; that there may be a sign of the exaltation of Christ, the true Bread; that there may be a sign of the resurrection; that the people may know the moment of consecration, “and that Christ has come to the altar, and may prostrate themselves to the ground with reverence”. Elsewhere he says the elevation later in the canon represents the taking down of our Lord from the cross, and His being laid in the tomb. In its sacrificial aspect, he speaks of the Eucharist as the offering of the body of Christ; as being wholly sacrificial, though one of the special points of sacrifice is the consecration; and as being the memory of the passion and death and burial and resurrection and ascension. He explains in great detail the commemoration of the incarnate life made in the rite and ceremonies of the Mass by the acts in which the Church remembers Christ and thereby makes a mystic presentation to God.