Book 4, Chapter 11: That the Body and Blood of Christ and the Holy Scriptures are the Most Necessary Nourishment to a Faithful Soul.

Chapter Focus: The core of Chapter 11 lies in paragraph 4, where Thomas says that he only needs two things: Food and Light. He then states that his food is the Body of Christ, his light the Word of God.
The build-up to that conclusion is the wonder that Thomas experiences in even being invited to the banquet of our Lord in the first place. What a privilege!
Think about a time when you thought you were mistakenly invited to a party in error. I recently attended such an event where I double checked with my host just to make sure he hadn’t invited me in by mistake…to save him the embarrassment of explaining why I was even there. “Oh yes,” he said, “I’m really looking forward to you coming to the party. I think you’ll like some of my friends.”
Jesus treats us the same way when He invites us to the table of the Altar. But like a good Host, along the way He makes sure we are introduced to His friends, the Saints, and checks to see if we are comfortable.

For priests: Thank you for saying “Yes” to God’s call. We thank you for leading us and making Holy Mass possible for us. You can be many things, but mostly, we want you to be holy and an example for us. Not in extreme severe piety, but humble joyful piety. Help us to find God’s grace and mercy. Teach us to pray. Teach us to humbly grow closer to God. We will respect you as our spiritual Father when you treat us as your beloved children. We know you bear a great responsibility in celebrating the Mass, in being accountable for the souls in your charge. Let us help you by holding up your arms during the battles, when you are tired (Ex 17:12). Finally, it’s okay to smile, laugh and be joyful, like our fathers were (or what we wished they had been). Taking the role of our kind-hearted, wisdom-filled father will do just fine. We don’t need you to be “one of the boys.” That said, it’s okay to be tough-minded, manly and candid with us from the pulpit. We look to you, like Jesus, to open our minds to the Scriptures (Lk 24:45). Amen.

Chapter 11, In Short.

1. Great is the blessedness of the devout soul that feeds with You in Your banquet.
2. Jesus is considerate of our weakness, in that He hide Himself under the Sacrament.
3. Count as nothing everything which you see and hear in this world, if you never see the Lord in His own Glory.
4. There are two things necessary in this life: God’s Sacred Body and His Holy Word.
5. Thanks be to God for those holy doctrines furnished to us by the Prophets and Apostles and other teachers.
6. For priests: Great and honorable is your office in that you are given to consecrate the Sacrament of the Lord.
7. For priests: To priests is it specially said in the Law, “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, Am holy.”
8. For priests: Assist us with Your grace, O Almighty God, to converse worthily and devoutly with You.

Key Quote: For the Word of God is the light of my soul, and Your Sacrament the Bread of Life.

Question: What is the light of your soul? What is your Bread of Life?

The text of Chapter 11: That the Body and Blood of Christ and the Holy Scriptures are the Most Necessary Nourishment to a Faithful Soul.
The Voice of the Disciple:

O sweetest Lord Jesus, how great is the blessedness of the devout soul that feeds with You in Your banquet. There, set before that soul, is no other food than Yourself the only Beloved. You are more to be desired than all the desires of the heart. And to me indeed it would be sweet to pour forth my tears in Your presence from the very bottom of my heart, and with the devout Magdalene to water Your feet with my tears (Lk 7:38). But where is this devotion? Where is this outpouring of holy tears? Surely in Your presence and in the presence of the holy Angels my whole heart ought to burn and weep for joy. For I have You truly present in the Eucharist, although hidden under another form.

2. For my eyes could not endure to behold You in Your own Divine brightness, neither could the whole world stand before the splendor of the glory of Your Majesty. In this, therefore, You are considerate of my weakness, in that You hide Yourself under the Sacrament. I truly possess and adore Him whom the Angels adore in Heaven – but I as yet by faith, the angels by sight and without a veil (2 Cor 3:12-18). I must be content with the light of true faith, and internally to walk until the day of eternal brightness dawns, and the shadows of figures pass away (Songs 2:17).

But when that which is perfect comes, the use of Sacraments shall cease, because the Blessed in heavenly glory have no need of the medicine of the Sacramental remedy (1 Cor 13:9-12). For they rejoice unceasingly in the presence of God, beholding His glory face to face, and being changed from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18) of the infinite God, they taste the Word of God made flesh (Jn 1:14), as He was in the beginning, is now, and remains forever.

3. When I think on these wondrous things, even spiritual comfort becomes a weariness to me. For so long as I do not openly see my Lord in His own Glory, I count as nothing everything I see and hear in this world. You, O God, are my witness that nothing is able to comfort me, no creature is able to give me rest except You, O my God, whom I desire to contemplate forever. But this is not possible, so long as I remain in this mortal state. Therefore I must set myself to great patience, and submit every desire of mine to You.

For even Your Saints, O Lord, who now rejoice with You in the kingdom of heaven, waited for the coming of Your glory while they lived here in faith and great glory. What they believed, I believe; what they hoped for, I hope for; whatever role they have attained, through the same manner and with Your grace hope I to attain (Ruth 1:16). Meanwhile, I will walk in faith, strengthened by the examples of the Saints. I will also have holy books for comfort and for a mirror of life, and above these all Your most holy Body and Blood shall be for me a special remedy and refuge.

4. I find that in this life there are two things I feel are necessary to me – without which this miserable life would be intolerable to me. Being detained in my bodily prison, I confess that I need two things, namely food and light. You have therefore given to me who am so weak, Your sacred Body and Blood, for the refreshing of my soul and body, and have set Your Word for a lamp to my feet (Ps 119:105).

Hand copied Bible from
Zwolle, NL, c.a. 1450

Without these two I could not live properly. For the Word of God is the light of my soul, and Your Sacrament the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35). These may also be called the two tables, placed on either side in the storehouse of Your Holy Church. One table is that of the Sacred Altar, bearing the holy Bread, that is the precious Body and Blood of Christ. The other is the table of the Divine Law, containing holy doctrine, teaching the true faith, and leading steadfastly onward even to that which is within the veil, where rests the Holy of Holies.

5. Thanks be to You, O Lord Jesus, Light of Light everlasting, for that table of holy doctrine which You have furnished to us by Your servants the Prophets and Apostles and other teachers. Thanks be to You, O Creator and Redeemer of all, Who to make known Your love to the whole world has prepared a great supper (Lk 14:16), in which You have set forth for good not the typical lamb, but Your own most Holy Body and Blood. You have made all Your faithful ones joyful with this holy banquet and gave them the cup of salvation to drink (Ps 23:5), where all the delights of Paradise reside, and the holy Angels feast with us, and yet with a happier sweetness.

6. Oh how great and honorable is the office of the priest, to whom it is given to consecrate the Sacrament of the Lord of Majesty with holy words, to bless it with the lips, to hold the Host in their hands, to receive the Cup with their own mouths, and to administer it to others! Oh how clean those hands ought to be, how pure the mouth, how holy the body, how unspotted the heart of the priest, to whom so often the Author of purity enters in! From the mouth of the priest nothing ought to proceed but that which is holy, what is honest and profitable, because he so often receives the Sacrament of Christ.

7. His eyes ought to be single and pure, since these eyes are accustomed to looking upon the Body of Christ. His hands should be pure and lifted towards heaven, which regularly hold within them the Creator of heaven and earth. It is especially said to priests in the Law, “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, Am holy (Lv 19:2).”

8. Assist us with Your grace, O Almighty God, that we who have taken upon us the priestly office, may be able to speak worthily and devoutly with You in all purity and good conscience (1 Tim 1:5). And if we are not able to have our conversation in such innocence of life as we ought, still grant to us to worthily lament the sins which we have committed, and in the spirit of humility and full purpose of a good will, to serve You more earnestly for the future.