Meditatio in primis vesperis de coena Domini
The Preparation of the Upper Room
Jesus instructs His disciples to prepare the Passover in a large upper room, signifying the interior disposition required for the Lord's presence.
As the time of the Lord’s mercy and compassion drew near—the time He had determined to save His people and redeem them not with corruptible gold and silver, but with His own precious blood—He chose to hold a notable supper with His disciples before He departed from them through death, as a sign and a memorial, and to fulfill the remaining mysteries. This supper was prefigured by the bread that Abimelech offered to David. Great and magnificent are the things the Lord did there; present yourself to contemplate them with the utmost attention, for if you do this worthily and watchfully, the kind Lord won't let you leave hungry. Regarding the supper itself, five notable things done there occur to us for meditation: first, the physical meal; second, the washing of the disciples' feet by the Lord Jesus; third, the charitable correction of the traitor; fourth, the institution of the most holy Sacrament; and fifth, the composition of the most beautiful sermon by Him. Regarding the first point, note that on the first day of Unleavened Bread—that is, the same day on which the lamb was to be sacrificed in the evening and eaten with unleavened bread, namely the fourteenth day or moon of the month, which was a Thursday and the vigil of the Passover—the Lord Jesus, when asked by His disciples where He wanted them to prepare the Passover (that is, the paschal lamb) for Him according to the Law, sent Peter and John to His friend on Mount Sion, where there was a large, furnished upper room, commanding them to prepare the Passover there, thus showing in all things that He did not oppose the Law until the very end of His life. By Peter, good action is signified; by John, devout contemplation; these prepare the Passover, that is, they dispose one to receive the holy Body of Christ worthily. They prepare it in the upper room, that is, in the person: raised by devotion, with the great length of long-suffering, the breadth of charity, and furnished with the variety of virtue. Sending the disciples, Jesus said to them, "Go into the city." . And look, they are entering in with you. A man carrying a water jar will meet you in the city. He carried the jar or pitcher of water literally so that, on such a great feast, he might have water of expiation with him to cleanse himself. This signifies that where Christ is about to dine, a jar of the water of tears must go before in expiation, for by the water of the life-giving fountain, Baptism is signified. Hence Bede says: 'A man carrying a jar of water meets those preparing the Passover, so that the mystery of the Lord's Passover, to be celebrated for the washing of the world, might be shown.' The water is the washing of grace, while the jar signifies the fragility of those through whom that same grace was to be ministered to the world. And he adds: 'Follow him into the house he enters, and you will say to the master of the house: The Master says to you, My time—that is, of suffering—is near; I will keep the Passover with my disciples at your house.' It is as if he were saying: 'I want what is required for the eating of the paschal lamb to be prepared at your place, and therefore provide me with a place and food.' Hence it is believed that he was a disciple of Christ, but a secret one; and therefore he provided the place, the lamb, and other things necessary for the celebration of the paschal feast. Christ’s extreme poverty is clear here, for he was so poor that he had no home, no place to stay, and no means to buy the Passover meal; that is why the disciples asked him where they should prepare it. Let those who are preoccupied with building grand, ambitious houses and hoarding treasures hear this and be ashamed; let them recognize Christ, the Lord of all, who had no place to eat, no place to lay his head, and no food to take or money to buy it. Let them realize how little they differ from unbelievers who worship idols and the works of human hands. For what is it to set one's heart on and take delight in great and beautiful buildings, or in treasures, other than to worship wood, stone, silver, and gold, just as the Gentiles do? The disciples went into the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover—the Passover meal—on Mount Zion, in the upper room that was shown to them. There they ate the Passover; there the disciples hid after the Lord's resurrection for fear of the Jews; there they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; and many great things were done there by the Lord. This is Mount Zion, the mountain of coagulation, the fertile mountain, the mountain in which God is pleased to dwell. It is for God to dwell in the Lord's supper.
The Paschal Lamb and the Transition of Covenants
The text explains the timing of the Passover meal and how Christ, the true Lamb, fulfills the legal figures of the Old Testament.
In Him and in His many wonderful works—like a honeycomb dripping with sweetness or a flower releasing a fragrant scent—He touches, strengthens, and refreshes devout souls through the memory of Himself, consoling and feeding them with the excellence of His holiness. 3 ? As evening approached, the Lord entered the city with His disciples, and upon reaching the place, He celebrated the Passover that evening, as that was the hour when the paschal lamb was customarily eaten. The paschal lamb had to be sacrificed in the evening, which served as a figure and sign, because the true Lamb—Christ—was to be sacrificed in the evening of the world and at the end of the ages. Jewish solemnities also began and ended in the evening, because they counted days according to the moon, which first appears in the evening, and they reckoned them from one evening to the next. Thus, something done on the eve of a feast can be said to have been done on the feast itself. The three Evangelists, following this custom, said the Supper was held on the first day of Unleavened Bread, because it took place on the preceding evening, which already belonged to the first day of Unleavened Bread—the evening on which the Jews, having cast out the leaven from their houses, were accustomed to sacrifice, or kill, the lamb. John, however, views the feast day of the Passover not as the day whose feast alone was celebrated—which was the preceding day—but as the day that was celebrated in its entirety; for this reason, he says the Supper was held before the feast day of the Passover. On that evening, when the paschal lamb was eaten with unleavened bread, Christ consecrated His Body. It is clear, therefore, that He consecrated it with unleavened bread and not leavened, since there was no leaven in the houses of the Jews at that time; they were required to eat unleavened bread from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first. From this, it is clear that John does not contradict the others, but rather agrees with them. Although the typical lamb was a figure of the true Lamb, Christ, the true Lamb, was not sacrificed on the night the typical lamb was. He wanted to observe the legal requirements Himself, so that He wouldn't... ...appear to go against the Law; for that reason, He didn't want to celebrate the Passover according to Jewish custom, nor eat the lamb on the night before He died. The sacrifice of the typical lamb therefore preceded the sacrifice of the true Lamb, so that Christ, who is the true Lamb, might be sacrificed for us immediately after the sacrifice of the symbolic lamb; and in this way, the truth of the figure would succeed and correspond to it. Although He was crucified the following day, He still handed down the mysteries of His Body and Blood to His disciples on the night the lamb was sacrificed, and He was seized and bound by the Jews; thus, He consecrated the beginning of His own sacrifice, which is His Passion. But when Christ, the true Lamb, was sacrificed—on Good Friday—that time for us is not one of joy, but of sorrow because of Christ’s Passion. For that reason, the Church doesn't celebrate the feast of the Passover on that day, but defers it until the day of the Resurrection, because, as the Apostle says: 'Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.'
The Last Supper and the Desire of Christ
Jesus reclines with His disciples, expressing His intense desire to transition from the old figures to the new Sacrament of His Body and Blood.
Look now at the Lord Jesus, staying in a part of the house and speaking with his disciples about things that bring salvation. Meanwhile, in the upper room, the meal was being prepared for them by some of the seventy-two disciples. It is written that the blessed Martial, the Apostle of the Limousin, was there that very evening with some others from the seventy-two to serve the Lord Jesus and the twelve who were reclining; he even carried water to the Lord Jesus himself when he washed the disciples' feet. When everything was ready in the upper room, the Lord Jesus entered, and the disciples with him. They all washed their hands, and the roasted paschal lamb was brought to them; after the Lord had said the blessing, they ate it with the juice of bitter herbs.1 In the solemnity of the Passover, there were four things: the paschal lamb, unleavened bread, wine, and the juice of bitter herbs; for one doesn't approach the true Lamb worthily except with bitterness and compunction of heart. However, Comestor says in his Scholastic History that the Lord is never recorded as having eaten meat, except for the paschal lamb; yet he did this as a sign and a figure. Jesus therefore reclined with his twelve disciples—the Lord with his servants, the Master with his disciples, the Father with his children, as if with companions, as if with friends; hence the Psalm says: 'Your children like olive shoots around your table.'2 This meal points to the eternal feast that will happen in the evening—that is, at the end of the world. Oh, how happy were those who sat at the table with Him! But how were they reclining to eat, when the Law commanded that they should eat the Passover standing, fully prepared? According to Theophilus, it can be said that they first ate the Passover and did as the Law commanded; then, following the common custom, they reclined to eat other foods—which is why it is said later that Jesus rose from the meal. Christ’s desire to eat this Passover, and the abrogation of legal requirements after His Passion. And as they were eating, the Lord Jesus said to them: 'I have earnestly desired'—that is, I have greatly desired—'to eat this Passover, that is, the typical and legal one, with you before I suffer,' meaning, before I die. By doubling the verb, He marks the intensity of a twofold desire: namely, that He might end the Old Testament and begin the New, which was His heart's desire. Consider how long this desire of the Lord had been delayed, and don't lose heart if your own desire is sometimes deferred for a time. Throughout his life, Christ pursued us with a most fervent thirst for our salvation. If we sometimes can't muster good desires, let's at least have the will to desire them, according to the saying: "My soul has longed to desire your judgments," and he will accept the will for the deed. The Lord says this to show that he suffers willingly—his Passion having been prefigured by the sacrifice of the typical lamb and the Jewish Passover—and to demonstrate his desire that the legal requirements might cease and the truth of the Gospel might run its course. According to Bede, he desires first to eat the typical Passover with his disciples, and thus to declare the mysteries of his Passion to the world; so that he might stand as the approver of the legal Passover, and by teaching that this was a figure of the true Passover, forbid it from being observed carnally any longer. In its prefiguration, it is written that the manna stopped once the children of Israel ate the fruits of the promised land, and they used that food no longer. Hence he adds: "I tell you, from this time on I will not eat it"—that is, the old and legal Passover—"until the Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood, understood spiritually in this old Passover, is fulfilled in the kingdom of God," meaning in the Church militant, or is instituted and celebrated as instituted. It is as if he were saying: I will no longer eat or celebrate in figure and sign, but in truth and in the thing signified. For he later took his true Body under the Sacrament, yet he still eats the old and figurative Passover fulfilled today in the Church; because those things which the Law commanded the simple people to observe carnally, he himself exercises spiritually in his members, that is, in the Church itself. In this kingdom, therefore, he eats his own Body—meaning he makes us eat it in him; just as he prays for us, meaning he makes us pray. As for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which we eat spiritually by faith, he also eats with us, incorporating us into himself through this Sacrament. As Augustine says, 'I am the food of the great; you won't change me into yourself, but you will be changed into me.' Therefore, the word 'until' is not used here to exclude, but to include. It follows: 'And when he had taken the cup,' that is, the wine for the Jewish Passover, 'he gave thanks and said: Take and divide it among yourselves.' He gave thanks because the longing was now being fulfilled, so that after the sacrifice of the typical lamb, the sacrifice of the true Lamb—that is, Christ—would follow; and because the old things were passing away and all things were becoming new, while the wine and unleavened bread were being transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of the Lord by his blessing. Hence he says: 'For I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on,' that is, from the wine produced in the vine—meaning the typical drink—'until the kingdom of God comes,' which you should understand, as mentioned above, as referring to the food. As mentioned above, as Bede says, he refuses to taste the typical eating of the lamb or the typical drink of the Passover any longer, until the glory of his Resurrection is shown and made manifest, and the faith of the kingdom of God comes to the world. Through the two greatest commandments of the Law—the eating and drinking of the Passover, now spiritually transformed—you would discern that all the sacraments or commands of the Law, which seemed to sound in a carnal way, were to be transferred to a spiritual observance. And thus, according to Augustine, Luke makes mention here of a double cup: first, the aforementioned cup of wine regarding the Jewish Passover; second, the cup of his Blood, of which we must speak below.
The Fulfillment of the Law and Spiritual Preparation
The chapter concludes by clarifying the cessation of legal requirements and providing a guide for the interior conditions necessary to receive the Eucharist worthily.
The Lord's silver vessel, having two handles on either side, holds the measure of a sextarius of wine. The legal Passover, therefore, has ceased and was fulfilled in the kingdom of the Church when divine Wisdom prepared the table of the new Sacrament, where He set the bread of His Body and mixed the wine of His Blood. For the legal edicts had their course and obligation up to the Passion of Christ, in which one perfect sacrifice was offered to God, which did away with the legal ones; and for that reason, Christ observed the legal requirements until then, and likewise commanded others to observe them. Hence Augustine says that the legal requirements were alive only before the Passion of the Lord, but dead after it; yet once the truth of the Gospel shone throughout the world, they were buried. Our sacraments, however, will remain in their power until the end of the world. Note that in Exodus, many things are specified as requirements for eating the typical lamb; these same things are still required for eating the Lamb of God. For the true Lamb, that is, Christ, must be eaten: first, by those who are circumcised, through the putting away of their old way of life; second, with bitter herbs, that is, through the bitter contrition of the heart for all sins; third, without the leaven of sin, with unleavened bread, through the sincerity of conscience; fourth, with loins girt, through chastity; fifth, with feet shod, through detachment of the affections from earthly things—a sign of which may be that God washed the feet of the disciples before He gave them this Sacrament; sixth, with a staff in hand, through diligent self-custody. The conditions mentioned above are required for turning away from evil, but for the performance of good, it is required: first, that it be eaten in one house, through ecclesiastical unity; second, by neighbors, through brotherly love and harmony; third, that it not be raw without the fire of love, nor boiled in water without the flavor of devotion, but roasted by fire, through a preceding fervor of devotion; fourth, that it be eaten in haste, through spiritual eagerness and accompanying delight; fifth, that it be eaten entirely, through the integrity of faith, by devouring the head with the feet and the entrails—that is, by incorporating it through true faith and believing in the divinity of Christ, which is His head, and His humanity, namely the flesh, which is like His foot, the lowest in His very nature, and His soul, which is the middle part, like His entrails; sixth, that it be eaten without breaking the bones, through simple veneration of the Sacrament. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, who at the evening hour held the Last Supper with Your disciples in a large upper room, and fed them with Your most holy Body and Blood, make my heart a large upper room; amplify hope and love in my heart, and magnify long-suffering, hope, love, patience, and humility. Grant that my heart, contrite and humbled, may receive You—whom the heavens and the earth cannot contain—according to its measure, so that through Your indwelling grace I may think and do all things pleasing to You, and turn away from all things that should be shunned; and thus, by persevering until the end, I may attain a worthy reception of Your most holy Body and Blood.
Read the original Latin
Adveniente jam et imminente tcmpore miserationum et misericordiarum Domini, quo disposuerat plebem suam salvam facere, et eam non corruptibilibus auro et argento, sed pretioso sanguine suoredimere, voluit coenam facere cum discipulis suis notabilem, antequam ab eispermortem discederet, in signum et memorialerecordationis, et ut myeteria, quae restabant, compleret. H<ec autem coena praefigurata fuit in paniJ3US, quos Abimelech David porrigebat. Et magaifica valde fuit, et magnifica sunt, quae Dominus ibi fecit, ad quae intuenda te praesentem, cum attentione summa exhibe : quia, si hoc digne et vigilanter feceris, non patietur benignus Dominus te jejunum redire. Girca ipsam igitur coenam principaliter quinque, quae ibi notal^iliter facta sunt, meditanda occurrunt: primo,ipsacorporalis coenatio ; secundo, pedum discipulorum per Dominum Jesum ablutio ; tertio, caritativa proditoris correptio ; quarto, sacratissimi Sacrmenti institutio : quinto, pulcherrimi sermonis per ipsum compositio. a — Circa primum attende, quod prima die azymorum, id est eadem die in cujus vespera eratagnus immolandus, et cum azymis edendus, scilicet quartadecima die seu luna mensis, id est quae erat feria quinta, et Paschae vigilia, Dominus Jesus requisitus a discipulis suis,ubi velletsibi, juxta Legem, parari Pascha, id est paschalem agnum, praemisit ad hoc faciendum Petrum et Joannem, ad amicum suum inmonte Sion, ubi erat coBnaculum grande stratum, jubens ut Pascha pararent ibi, et per omniamanifestansquod usque ad extremum vitae non est adversatus Legi. Per Petrum signalur actio bona, per Joannem contemplatio devota, quae praeparant Pascha, id est disponunt ad Corpus Christi sanctum debite sumendiim. Praeparant autem In coenaculo, id est in homine : per devotionem elevato, grandi longitudine longanimitatis, lato latitudine caritatis, strato varietate virtutis. Mittens autem Jssus discipulos, dixit eis : Itein civitatem ;.
. etecce introeuntifms vohis. in civitatem occurret v>hls homo amphoram aqude portans. Ad iitteram tulit amphoram seu lagenam aquae, ut in tanto festo haberet apud seipsum aquam expiationis, qua mundaret se ; et significat quod ubi Christus coenalurus est, lagena aquae lacrymarum in expiatione debet prsecedere : per aquam enim vivifici fontis Baptism designatur. Unde Beda : « Paraturis Pascha homo amphoram aquae portans occurrit, ut ostendatur mysterium Paschae Domini celebrandum pro ablutione mundi. Aqualavacrum gratiae,Iagenaautemfragilitatemdesignat eorum, per quos eadem erat gratia mundo ministranda. >* Et subdit : Sequimini eum in domum in quam in~ trat, et dicetis patrifamilias domus ; Maaister tihi dicit : Tempus meum^ scilicet patiendi, prope est,apud tefacio Pascha cum discipulis meis. Quasi diceret : Volo parati apud te, quae exiguntur ad comestionem agni paschalis, et ideo provide mihi de loCo et cibo ; unde creditur quod ille erat discipulus Christi, sed occultus; et ideo providit de Ioco,et de agno, et de aliis necessariis in convivii celebrationepaschalis.
In quo apparet maxima paupertas Christi, quia ita pauper erat quod nec domicilium, nec susceptaculum habebat, nec unde paschalem cibum emere posset; et ideo discipuli interrogabant eum ubi Pascha parare deberent. Audiant haec et erubescant quibus cura est in aedificandis magnis domibus et ambitiosis, etcongregandis thesauris ; cognoscant Christum omnium Dominum, quia locum ubi coenaret vel etiam caput reclinaret, aut cibum quem acciperet,vel pecuniam unde emeret non habebat. Attendant se parum distare ab infidelibus, idola et opera manuum hominum colentibus. Studium enim ponere et delectari in magnis et pulchris aedificiis, vel in thesauris, quid aliud est quam colere ligna, vel lapides, vel argentum et aurum cum Gentibus? Et ahierunt discipuli, et venerunt in civitatem, et invenerunt sicut dixerat illis, et paraverunt Pascha, id est refectionem Paschae in monte Sion, et coenaculo ipsis ostenso. Ibi Pascha manducaverunt, ibi post resurrectionem Dominidiscipuli propter metum Judaeorum latuerunt, ibi Spiritum Sanctum in die Pentecostes receperunt, ac multa et magna ibidem per Dominum facta sunt. Hic mons Sion, mons coagulatus, mons pinguis, mons in quo beneplacitum. est Deo hahitare COilNA DOMINI.
in eo, et multaac miraoperari, quasi favus distillans dulcedine,et flos redolens suavitalis odorem, pias mentes sui recordatione alficit, confortat et reficit, acsanctitatis suae praeeminentia consolatur et pascit. 3 ? — Appropiuquante autem vespera, ipse Dominus cum aliis discipulis civitatem intravit, et ad ipsum locum perveniens ad vesperam illius diei Pascha celebravit, quia illa hora agnus paschalis comedi consuevit. Hora quippe vcspertina debebat agnus paschah's immolari, et hoc in fig:ura et signo, quod in vespera mundi et in fine seculorum immolandus essct verus Agnus, scilicet Ghristus. Solemnitates etiam Judaeorum incipiebant a vespera, et terminabanturin vespera, quia ipsi secundum lunam, quae de sero primo apparet, dies numerabant, et eos de uno sero in ahud com[)utabant. Sic ergo aliquid facturn in vigiha festi, potest dici in festo factum, quom quidem modum tres Evangelistge servantes, dixerunt coenam esse factam prima die azymorum, quia facta fuit die praecedenti ad vesperam, quae jam ad primam diem azymorum pertinebat, in qua sciJicet vespera, fermento de domibus suis abjecto, Judaei agnum immolare, id est occidere, solebant. Joannes vero accipit diem festum Paschge, non pro illo cujus festum solum celebre erat,quae erat dies praecedens ; sed pro illo die qui totuscelebriserat,etideo dicit coenam factam ante dlem festum Paschde. llla autem vespera, qua comedebatur agnus paschalis cum azymis, confecit Christus corpus suum, ex quo patet quod illud confecit de azymo et non de fermentato,cumtuncnonessetlermentatum in domibus Judaeorum , quia tunc tenebantur vesci panibus azymis,scilicet avesperadecimiquarti diei primi mensis, usque ad vesperam vigesimi primi diei ejusdem mensis; unde patet quod Joanues non contradicit aliis, sed magis conveuit cum ipsis.
Quamvis autem typicus agnus figuram veri Agni gestabat, iha tamen nocte, qua immolabatur agnus typicus, nonfuit Ghristusverus Agaus immolatus. Ipse enim legalia voluit observare, ne Le;? i contrarius videretur; et ideo noIuitmoreJudaeorum Paschacelebrare et nocte illa agnum comedere antequam moreretur. Praecessit ergo imtnolatio agni t}^pici immolationem Agni veri, ut sic Ghristus, qui est Agnus verus, immolaretur pro nobis immediate post immolationein agni figuralis ; et sic veritas figurae succederet et responderet. Qui etiam, licet die sequenti crucifixus fuerit, hac tamen nocte, qua agnus immolabatur, mysteria Gorporis et Sanguinis sui celebranda discipulis tradidit, eta Judaeistentus ct ligatus est ; et sic ipsius immolationis,id est Passionis suae, exordium sacravit. Quando autem Ghristus verus Agnus fuit immolatus, scilicet in Parasceve sancta, tunc apud nos est tempus non gaudii, sed moeroris propter Ghristi Passionem, et ideo Ecclesia illa dic non solemnizat festum Pascha ; sed differt usque ad diem resurrectionis, quia, sicut ait Apostolus : Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus.
Aspicc igitur nunc Dominum Jesum in aliqua parte domus manentem, et cum discipulis suis salubria colloquentem. Et interim in coenaculo parabatur pro eis, per aliquos ex septuaginta duobus discipulis. Legitur enim quod beatus Martialis, Lemovicarum Apostolus, cum ahquibus aliis ex septuaginta duobus, fuit ipso sero ibi, ad ministrandum Domino Jesu, et duodecim recumbentibus; sed, et aquam portavit ipsi Domino Jesu, quando lavit pedes discipulorum. Cum autem omnia essent parata in coenaculo, intravit coenaculum Dominus Jesus, et discipuli cum eo. Omnes lavant manus, et defertur eis agnus paschalis assus, benedictione(|ue facta per Dominum, comedunt eum cum succo lactucarum agrestium. In solemnitate quippe paschah quatuor erant : agnus paschalis , panis azymus, vinum, et jus lactucarum agrestium ; non enim nisi eum amaritudine et compunctione cordis digue acceditur ad verum Agnum. Dixit autem Comestor in scholastica historia,quod numquam legitur Dominum comedisse carnes, nisi agni paschalis; quod tamen fecit in typo et figura. Discumbebat ergo Jesus cum duodecim discipulis suis, Dominus cum servis, Magister cum discipulis, pater cum liliis, quasi cum sociis,quasi cum amicis ; unde in Psalmo : Filii tui sicut novellds oUvarum^ in circuitu mensde tude.
Haec refectio significat refectionem seternam in vespere, id est in fme mundi futuram. 0 quam felices illius recubitus commensales ! Sed, quomodo discumbentes coenabant , cum Lex prseceperit , quod stantes erecti Pascha comedere deberent? Potest dici, secundum Theophilum, quod prius manducaverunt Pascha, et fecerunt ut Lex mandabat; deinde, secundum communem usum, discubuerunt quosdam alios cibos manducantes ; unde diciturpostea, quod Jesus surrexit a coena. 5 Desiderium Christi manducandi Hoc Pascha, et legalium post PassioNEM ABROGATio. — Et^ edeutibus illis, ait illis Dominus Jesus : Desiderio desideravi , id est valde desideravi , hoc Pascha, scilicet typicum et legale, manducare vobiscum, antequampatiar, id est, moriar. Geminatione verbi notat intentionem duplicis desiderii, scilicet ut finiat Vetus Testamentum, et inchoet Novum, quod erat sibi in desiderium. Gogita quam longo tempore hoc desiderium Domini fuerit protelatum, et noH deficere, si quandoque ad tempus, taum differtur desiderium.
Ipse etiam Ghristus omnibus diebus vitae suae, post noscucurrit in siti ferventissimi desiderii salutis nostrae. Et nos si quandoque non valemus habere desideria bona, saltem habeamus voluntatem habendi desiderium, juxta illud : Concupivit anima mea desiderare justiftcationes tuas; et tunc acceptabit voluntatem pro facto. Dicit autem hoc Dominus, ut se voluntarie pati ostendat, cujus Passionem immolatio agni typici et Pascha Judaicum praefigurabat ; et ut demonstret affectum quem hajjet ut lcgalia cessent, et veritas EvangeHi currat. Secundum Bedam, desiderat primo typicum Pascha cum discipulis manducare, et sic Passionis suae mysteria mundo declarare ; quatenus et legalis Paschae probator existat, et hoc figuram veri Paschae fuisse docendo, vetet ultra carnaliter exhiberi. In cujus reifigura scriptum est, quod, deflcit mannapostquam comederunt fllii Israel de frugibus terrse promissionis, nec usisunt ultra cibo illo. Unde subdit : Bico enim vobis, quia ex hoc, scilicet tempore, non manducabo illud^ scilicet vetus et legale Pascha, donec sacramentum Dominici Gorporis et Sanguinis in hoc veteri Pascha spiritualiter intellectum, in regno Bei^ id est in Ecclesia militante, impleatur^ id est instituatur vel institutum celebretur. Quasidiceret : Noncomedam vel celebrabo amplius in figura et signo, sed in veritate et signato. Ipse enim postea sumpsit verum Gorpus suum sub sacramento, et nihilominus hodie in Ecclesia vetus et figurale Pascha impletum manducat ; quia ea quae Lex rudipopulo carnaliter observanda praecepit, ipse in membris suis, hoc est in ipsa Ecclesia, spiritualiter exercet.
In hoc igitur regno comedit Gorpus suum, id est nos illud in eo comedere facit; sicut postulat pro nobis, id est postulare nos facit. Sacramentum enim Eucharistiae, quod nos perfidem spiritualiter manducamus, et ipse manducat nobiscum incorporando nos sibi per istud sacramentum, quod alloquens Augustinus dicit : « Gibus es grandium; non mutaberis in me, sed tu me mutabis in te. )) Unde donec non ponitur hic exclusive, sed inclusive. Sequitur : Et accepto calice^ scilicet vini quoad Pascha Judaicum, gratias egit et dixit : Accipite et dividite inter vos. Gratias egit : quia instabat completum desi-^ derium, ut post immolationem agni typici sequeretur immolatio Agni veri, scilicet Ghristi ; et quia vetera transibant et nova fiebant omnia, dum vinum et azyma in Gorpus et Sanguinem Domini ejus benedictione transsubstantiabantur. Unde inquit : Dico enim vobis, quod non bibam amodo de generatione vitis^ scilicet materialis, id est de vino quod geneMEDITATIO ratur in vite, scilicet typicum potum, donec veniat regnum Dei, quod intellige, ut supra, de cibo est dictum. Sicut supra, ut ait Beda^ typicum agni esum, sic etiam potum Paschae typicum negat se ultra gustaturum, donec ostensa ef manifesta Resurrectionis suae gloria, regni Dei fides mundo adveniat; et per duo maxima Legis edicta, esum videlicet potumque paschalem spiritualitter immutata , disceres omnia Legis sacramenta vel jussa, quae carnaliter sonare videbantur, ad spiritualem jam observantiam fuisse transferenda. Et sic, secundum Augustinum, Lucas hic de duplici calice mentionem facit; primo, de calice vini praedicto, quoad Pascha Judaeorum; secundo, de calice Sanguinis sui, de quo infra est dicendum.
GaHx Domini argenteus duas hinc et inde habens ansulas, sextarii galUci mensuram capit. Legale igitur Pascha cessavit, et impletum fuit in regno Ecclesiae, quando divina Sapientia paravit mensam novi Sacramenti, ubi posuit panem Corporis, et miscuit vinum Sanguinis sui. Legalia enim edicta habuerunt cursum suum et obligationem, usque ad Christi Passionem, in qua oblatum est Deo unum perfectum sacrificium, evacuativum legaliutn; et ideo usque tunc Christus legalia servavit, et similiLer aliis servanda mandavit. Unde dicit Augustinus, quod legalia tantum fuerunt ante Passioncm Domitii viva, post Passionem mortua; sed postquam claruit veritas Evangelii per mundum, snnt sepulta. Nostra vero sacramenta usque ad finem mundi in suo vigore manebunt.
Et nota, quod in Exodo determinantur multa, quae requirebantur ad esum agai typici ; et adhuc requiruntur ad esumAgnivcri. Debet enim comedi verus Agnus, scilicet Christus : primo a circumcisis, per veteris conversationis depositionem ; secundo, cum lactucis agrestibus, id est per amaram de peccatis omnibus cordis contritionem ; tertio, sine fermento peccati, cum panibus azymis, per conscicntiaesinceritatem; quarto, renibus cinctis, per castitatem ; quinto, pedibus calceatis, per affectionum aterrenis rebus elongationem, cujus signum potest esse, quod Deus prius lavit pedes discipulorum, quam daret eis hoc Sacramentum ; sexto, cum bacuUs in manibus, per sui ipsius custodiam diligentem. Praedictae conditiones requiruntur ad declinationem maU, sed quantum ad operationem boni requiritur : primo, quod in domo una comedatur, per ecclesiasticam unitatem; secundo, quod a vicinis, per fraternum amorem et concordiam; tertio, quod non crudus sine amoris igne, nec coctus aqua sine devotionis sapore, sed assus igni, per devotionis fervorem praecedentem; quarto, quod festinanter, per spiritualem aviditatem et delectationem concomitantem ; quinto, quod totaUter, per fidei integritatem, vorando caput cum pedibus et intestinis, id est per veram fidem incorporando, et credendo in Christo divinitatem; quae est caput ejus, et humanitatem, scilicet carnem, quae tamquam pes ejus est infima in ipsa natura, et animam, quae est media, sicut ejus intestina ; sexto, quod sine ossium comminutione, per simplicem sacramenti venerationem. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, qui hora vespertina coenam ultimam cum discipuUs in coenaciilo grandi strato fecisti, et eos sacratissimo Corpore et Sanguine tuo cibasti, fac pectus meum cdinaculuni grande stratum, ainplifica spem et caritatem in corde meo, magnifica longanimitatem, spem et caritatem, patientiam et humilitatem. Da mihi, ut te, quem coeli et tcrrae non capiunt, pro modulo suo capiat cor meum contritum et humiliatum, ut per inhabitantcm gratiam tuam omnia tibi placentia cogitem et perficiam, ct oinnia contraria f odienda declinem; et sic perseverando usque in finem, consequar tunc dignam sacrosancti Gorporis et Sanguinis tui perceptionera.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'lactucarum agrestium' literally refers to wild lettuce, traditionally associated with the bitter herbs of the Passover meal.
- 2 ↩The Latin text contains a transcription error 'novellds oUvarum' which is corrected here to the standard Psalm 127:3 (Vulgate 127:3) reference 'novellae olivarum'.
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