Body and Blood of Christ

[Evan]

1000 years ago (plus or minus) the church decided to restrict the faithful from recieving the consecrated wine. This was done because many believed they had not recieved the entire Body and Blood of Chirst unless they recieved both the consecrated bread and wine.

In this way, they would be forced to recognized that the host was made up of the Body and Blood of Christ.

With VII, we again receive under both species but we use the theologically poor terminology: Body of Christ when distributing the Consecrated Bread, but the Bread contains the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity (as per the Council of Trent).

and

Blood of Christ when distributing the Consecrated Wine, but the Wine contains the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity (as per the Council of Trent).

Would it not make more sense to say: The Body and Blood of Chirst when presenting either the Wine or Bread for reception of the Sacrament? And who would have to be contacted for such a fundamental change in the Liturgy? No priest or bishop could do this. It would have to be Vatican approved.

 

[JimG]

I really don’t think it would be a good idea, because it would muddy the theology of the consecration. The bread and wine are consecrated separately, using the words “This is my Body” in consecrating the bread and “This is my Blood,” in consecrating the wine.

We do it that way because Christ did it that way in instituting the sacrament.

Theologically, the matter is somewhat more nuanced. The bread becomes His body and the wine becomes His blood; but because the Eucharist is the living Jesus–alive, not dead,–where His body is, so also is his blood, and where His blood is, so also is his body, as well as His entire Person–body, blood, soul and divinity. This is a presence by concomitance. The mode of institution is separate, the underlying presence is unified.

When I was in grade school, the priest said the following when distributing communion:

Corpus Domini Nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuum in vitam aeternam, amen. May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul unto everlasting life.

A nice prayer, but a little unwieldy.

(But you could say it silently to yourself when receiving.)