the same shall live by me," John vi. 58. (3.) It is a wholesome and powerful remedy against all the spiritual maladies of the soul, by which the infirmities of our corrupt nature are cured, our evil inclinations rectified, our affections for created objects moderated, and our passions extirpated (4.) It cleanses the soul from all those venial sins and imperfections of which we repent, and gives great strength to preserve us from falling into mortal sin. (5.) It unites us in a most intimate manner with Jesus Christ, who comes to us in this holy sacrament, on purpose to dwell in our souls, and abide in us. "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me and I in him," » John vi. 57. (6.) It gives us a pledge and earnest of a glorious immortality, and brings us to the enjoyment of it at last, if we persevere in the grace of God to the end; "he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day," John vi. 55. "If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever," John vi. 52.

Q. 39. Is it a great evil to receive the holy communion unworthily?

A. It is one of the greatest, both in regard to the guilt which the unworthy communicant incurs, and also on account of the punishment annexed.

Q. 40. How does the greatness of the guilt appear?

A.. It appears, (1.) from the nature of the crime committed. To receive the holy communion unworthily, is to receive it when a person knows himself to be in a state of sin, that is, in disgrace with God, and at emnity with him; for a soul in sin is loathsome and hideous in the sight of God, as a dead carcase is in the sight of men. Now, as this holy sacrament was designed to unite us with Jesus Christ, and that by it he might come and dwell in

our souls, for he says, "he that eateth my fleshanddrinketh my blood, abides in me and I in him; hence to receive this sacrament in the state of sin, is to unite Jesus Christ to a soul which is loathsome and hideous to him; an object of his horror and detestation; it is to bring the Author of life into a dead carcase of a soul; to force, in a manner, the Holy of holies to take up his abode in a place of filth and corruption. What a grievous injury must 'this be to Jesus Christ! what an affront put upon him! Nothing will serve so well to give us some distant notion of it, as a torment inflicted upon some of the martyrs by the heathen persecutors, when they stripped the martyr naked and tied him to a dead carcase, face to face, body to body, arms to arms, and legs to legs, and then threw him into the fields to die by the stench and corruption of the dead carcase. (2.) The great guilt of an unworthy communion also appears from the decision passed upon it by the Holy Ghost in the Scripture; for there St. Paul says, "whosoever shall eat this bread or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord," 1 Cor. xi. 27. To be guilty of a man's blood is to murder him; and to be guilty of his body, seems capable of no other sense than to murder him in a cruel and barbarous manner, tormenting his body by a painful and lingering death: this was the crime of the Jews, in what they did to Jesus Christ; and this also, says the Apostle, is the crime of the unworthy communicant; a hideous crime indeed! a dreadful guilt! The unworthy communicant, like Judas, betrays Jesus Christ into the hands of his enemies, while he brings him into a soul where Satan reigns as master; and he betrays him too, with a kiss, whilst in appearance, he pretends to honour him. The Jews scourged him, crowned him with thorns, and crucified him; and the

unworthy communicant does bim an injury more grievous and more afflicting to him than all these sufferings: for, if the Scripture assures us that those who return to commit any mortal sin after baptism," crucify again to themselves the Son of God, and make a mockery of him," Heb. vi. 6., how much more do they do so who make an unworthy communion, which is one of the most grievous and atrocious of all sins! nay, in some respects, they are vastly more guilty than the Jews, who treated him in the way they did through ignorance, "for, if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory," 1 Cor. ii. 8. But the unworthy communicant knows him to be the Lord of glory, believes him to be the Son of God, and yet injures him in so atrocious a manner!

Q. 41. How does the evil of an unworthy communion appear from the punishment annexed to it?

A. From different considerations, (1.) We find throughout the whole Scripture, that Almighty God, jealous of his honour, and of the respect due to holy things, never fails to punish sacrilege, which is the profanation of holy things, with a particular severity. Witness the Bethsamites for looking into the ark, 1 Kings, vi. Oza for touching it with profane hands, 2 Kings, vi. Balthasar for profaning the holy vessels, Daniel v. and others. Now, if God so severely punishes the profanation of inanimate creatures, which are only deputed for his service, what punishment is to be expected for the unworthy communicant, who profanes the Holy of holies, in so injurious a manner? (2.) St. Paul assures us, that this sin is one principal cause of many severe temporal punishments; for, after mentioning the greatness of the sin, and the dreadful punishment inflicted for it on the soul, he immediately adds, "therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep," 1 Cor. xi. 30.; to shew that sicknesses, and infirmities, and untimely

deaths are the fatal consequences of this sin. (3.) He declares the punishment of it, with regard to the next life, in these alarming words: "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment (or damnation) to himself," 1 Cor. xi. 29. (4.) The example of Judas, the first that ever made an unworthy communion, is a striking instance of the truth of this; for immediately on his receiving the morsel from the hand of Christ, "Satan entered into him," that is, got full possession of him; and “he immediately went out," and agreed with the chief priests to betray his master into their hands that night, which he accordingly did, and got the thirty pieces of silver for which he had bargained to do it; soon after this he was tormented with his guilty conscience, and continued to be so all that night, and the next morning went to the chief priests and threw back the money, acknowledging his guilt; but, finding no relief in his own mind, he fell into despair, " and went and hanged himself with a halter," Matth. xxvii. 5.; and, "being hanged, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out," Acts i. 18. Such was the unhappy fate of him who made the first unworthy communion! A sad example indeed, and alarming!

Q. 42. What dispositions are required in the receiver to prevent his making an unworthy communion, and to receive it with fruit and benefit ?

A. There are several things required for this end, and particularly these following:

(1.) That we have a pure intention, not going about that sacred action merely out of custom, or because we see others go, or to be thought pious or devout by men, or the like, but, (1), for the glory of God, and to give supreme honour to Jesus Christ, opening our hearts to him, and receiving him into our souls, as our Sovereign Lord and Master, to

whom alone we wholly belong. (2.) To obtain for our souls all those excellent fruits which Jesus Christ bestows upon the worthy receiver. (3.) To commemorate the passion and death of Christ, according to his express command, "Do this in remembrance of me;" for, says St. Paul, "as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord until he come," 1 Cor. xi. 26. Such are the intentions we ought to have in receiving this holy sacrament.

(2.) That we be fasting from midnight, so as to have taken nothing into our stomach, from twelve o'clock at night, before we receive either food, drink, or medicine; and this is required by an express command cf the Church, out of respect and reverence to this blessed sacrament, that this spiritual food of the soul may be the first food we receive, on the day we receive it. This command, however, is dispensed with in those who, being in danger of death from sickness, receive the holy communion by way of viaticum, or as a preparation for their last passage; for, in this case, they may receive it whether fasting or not, on any day, and at any hour.

(3.) That we be in a state of grace and in friendship with God; and this is of indispensable necessity, as the receiving this holy communion, when one is conscious to himself of being in the state of sin, is the very thing in which an unworthy communion consists.

(4.) That our soul be adorned with those holy virtues which are necessary to make it an agreeable habitation to Jesus Christ; particularly these following: (1.) "A lively faith of his divine presence;" this is the foundation of all the rest, and the more the soul exercises herself in it, the more profitable her communion will be. It is acquired by humble prayer, and frequent acts of faith, considering who