to show, that the body and blood of Christ are really and truly contained in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. That the substance of the bread and wine does not continue to exist in the Sacrament after consecration, is the next subject of instruction which is to engage his attention; a truth which, although well calculated to excite our profound admiration, is yet a necessary consequence from what has been already established. If, after consecration, the body of Christ is really and truly present under the species of bread and wine, not having been there before, it must have become so by change of place - by creation - or by transubstantiation. It cannot be rendered present by change of place, because it would then cease to be in heaven, for whatever is moved must necessarily cease to occupy the place from which it is moved. Still less can we suppose it to be rendered present by creation, an idea which the mind instantly rejects. In order that the body of our Lord be present in the Sacrament, it remains, therefore, that it be rendered present by transubstantiation, and of course, that the substance of the bread entirely cease to exist. Hence our predecessors in the faith, the Fathers of the general Council of Lateran, [1] and of Florence, [2] confirmed by solemn decrees the truth of this Article. In the Council of Trent it was still more fully denned in these words: " If any one shall say, that in the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of the bread and wine remains, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema." [3] The doctrine thus defined is a natural inference from the words of Scripture. When instituting this Sacrament, our Lord himself said: " this is my body:" [4] the word "this," expresses the entire substance of the thing present; and therefore, if the substance of the bread remained, our Lord could not have said: " This is my body." In St. John he also says: "The bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world:" [5] the bread which he promises to give, he here declares to be " his flesh." A little after he adds: " Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you:" [6] and again, " My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." [7] When, there fore, in terms so clear and so explicit, he thus calls his flesh " meat indeed," and his blood " drink indeed," he gives us sufficiently to understand, that the substance of the bread and wine - no longer exists in the Sacrament. Whoever turns over the Fro pages of the Holy Fathers will easily perceive, that, on the doctrine of Transubstantiation, they have been at all times unanimous. St. Ambrose says: " You say, perhaps, this bread is them. no other than what is used for common food: before consecration it is indeed bread; but, no sooner are the words of conse-
