[Sermones de eucharistiae sacramento]

...nor did the food of the spirit suit the body, nor the food of the body the spirit. But in the third way, the rational creature is considered, namely, according to the fact that these natures, that is, body and soul, are joined in individual persons of men in familiar society and wondrous love. Then, for the eternal salvation of both, one food is required for the whole man, that is, one suitable to both natures, spiritual and at the same time corporeal, namely the Word made flesh, which they eat together socially under a certain sacrament, by whose virtue the soul might arrive from present misery to the life of eternal beatitude, and the body be preserved for a short time on earth, and finally rise gloriously. Regarding this food, John 6: "My flesh is food indeed," that is, the flesh of God, the human flesh united to the Word of God, is truly food, namely of the whole man, valid for soul and body. Ecclesiastes 1: "The Most High is the one creator of all; He created wisdom through the Holy Spirit and according to His gift provides it to those who love Him." He created wisdom through the Holy Spirit, that is, by the virtue of the Holy Spirit, He took the creature of flesh from the Virgin and united it to His wisdom, and according to His gift, that is, His liberality, He provides it, namely as food, to those who love Him, that is, to the faithful, so that it may benefit, as has been said, body and soul. Regarding this banquet of body and spirit, Isaiah 11: "The calf and the bear shall feed together." The calf signifies the body which is to be sacrificed to the Lord; the bear signifies the spirit, which, like a bear, ought to be terrible to bestial motions and morals. These shall feed together, namely on the true food, which is the flesh of Christ, so that it may benefit soul and body. Regarding the first, John 6: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life," namely regarding the soul which, after this misery, will be led by the virtue of this sacrament to eternal life. Regarding the second, it follows: "And I will raise him up on the last day," because the Lord, by the virtue of the same sacrament, will reform the body configured from dust into the body of His clarity. Amen.

On the form of the donation by which the body is given veiled

"Come, eat my bread," as in the first sermon. "How can He give us His flesh to eat?" John 6. "It is good to hide the secret of a king," Tobit 12. Secondly, it is primarily to be noted regarding the sacrament of the Lord's body concerning the form of the donation, and regarding this, three things are to be considered: first, that the Lord gives His body veiled; second, that He gives it veiled under the species of bread; third, that He gives it under the species of grain. First, regarding the form of the donation of the Lord's body, it is to be considered that it is given veiled, not naked, according to that in Revelation 2: "I will give hidden manna," as if it were heavenly food veiled. But because the human sense is terrified by this and marvels when it is commanded to believe one thing while seeing another, a fourfold reason of the wisdom of God can be assigned for this veil. The first is the unworthiness of the wicked; the second is the faith of the good; the third is the instruction of morals; the fourth is the weakness of the sheep. Regarding the first two, it can be said here, and regarding the others in the following. The first reason why the Lord gives His body veiled is the unworthiness of the wicked, which demands that it be veiled, just as the sick eye requires that the sun and any light be covered, and in this, the mercy of the Savior acts most benignly with them. For if the wicked saw the naked body and this being eaten by the faithful, they would be scandalized by the very sight and would perish evilly in three ways: in the heart through error, in the tongue through detraction, and in the soul through spiritual death. Regarding the first, John 6, where the Lord says...