says mass together offers the sacrifice and receives the sacrament, so, when I hear mass, it is good that I do two other like things. The first is, to offer that sacrifice in thanksgiving for the benefits received or in satisfaction of my sins or of the sins of them that are departed, and to obtain of Almighty God the benefits that I require of Him for myself and for the whole Church; for to all this is this sacrifice ordained, as in the fourth part shall be declared. The second is, to receive likewise the sacrament spiritually, eating Christ our Lord with desire, by means of the acts of the three theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity; according to which the same Lord Himself said, " I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst" [1] The manner of this communion disposing for the sacrament is that which follows.
POINT I.
Acts of Faith. — 1. First, we are to exercise acts of faith concerning this mystery, briefly pondering, first, the excellency and firmness of the four pillars upon which this faith relies; that is to say, that Almighty God wanted not infinite wisdom to invent this means of our spiritual sustentation, nor goodness to will it, nor omnipotence to execute it. And seeing God is an infallible truth in all that He reveals, and that He has revealed this mystery, I am to believe Him with all assuredness, much more than if I had seen Him with my bodily eyes.
2. Upon this foundation faith is to exercise her acts, denying the judgment that proceeds from the senses, and firmly believing that under those species of bread and wine is Christ Jesus true God and man, with all the fulness, glory, and majesty that He has in heaven. And as there He invites and fills the blessed with the clear sight of His
- ↑ Joan. vi. 35.
