CHAPTER I: ON THE NATURE AND EFFICACY OF THE EUCHARIST

The Eucharist is defined: The Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, under the species of bread and wine, for the spiritual refreshment of souls. It is established from Trent.¹

1278. Questions. - Query 1° How long does Christ remain really present in the Eucharist?

Resp. He remains as long as the species remain entire; but he ceases to be present under them immediately when the species are so corrupted that, according to the estimation of men, they no longer seem to be bread and wine. - Then, by the law established by God in the institution of this Sacrament, there is substituted for the species the same matter which would succeed to the corrupted bread and wine.²

Query 2° How long are the sacred species thought to remain entire, i.e. not corrupted, after the taking of the Sacrament?

Resp. It is not established. The mechanical dissolution of the species is carefully to be distinguished from their corruption or chemical change. The former is not considered here, since it does not remove the real presence. The latter is a little slower or quicker according to the different digestive power of different men and the different circumstances of the same man, both internal (for example, the condition of the stomach) and external (for example, the temperature of the sky). Hence an absolutely universal answer can scarcely be handed down. Capellmann the physician¹ thinks that with those things which are vomited before a half-hour has elapsed after Communion, even of lay persons, the same thing should be done which the Church prescribes must be done with species not yet corrupted. But this certainly must be done when the species are still discerned, although several hours after Communion have elapsed.

Query 3° What are the effects of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the soul?

Resp. The principal ones are the following, namely: 1° an increase of sanctifying grace, which constitutes the principal effect of the Eucharist. For, according to the words of Christ:² My flesh is truly food, this Sacrament was instituted as spiritual nourishment; and nourishment supposes life in him who receives it; hence it comes to pass that through this nourishment the very life of the soul, which consists chiefly in sanctifying grace, is strengthened and increased; 2° the obtaining of eternal glory; for Christ promises this: If anyone shall eat of this bread, he shall live forever;³ 3° a most abundant bestowal of actual graces, which flow from habitual grace and infused habits;

4° weakening of evil habits and amendment of vices, especially of lust; 5° remission of venial sins: this is established from Trent,¹ where the Eucharist is called an antidote, by which we are freed from daily faults, and are preserved from mortal sins; 6° remission of the temporal punishment due to sin; not indeed of all of it, but according to the mode of devotion and fervor, as St. Thomas says;² 7° special union with Christ and with his members, as is clear from John:³ He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him; 8° preservation from future sins, both because, charity being increased through this food, the soul becomes stronger against corrupt nature, and because it is an efficacious memory of the Lord's Passion, through which the demons have been conquered.⁴

Query 4° Can the Eucharist ever blot out mortal sin?

Resp. More probably affirmatively. See n. 1208, Q. 2°.