Lectio altera |
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Ex Tractátu sancti Hilárii epíscopi De Trinitáte (Lib. 8, 13-16: PL 10, 246-249) |
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Unitas naturalis fidelium in Deo per Verbi incarnationem et Eucharistiæ sacramentum
Si vere Verbum caro factum est, et vere nos Verbum carnem cibo domínico súmimus; quómodo non naturáliter manére in nobis existimándus est, qui et natúram carnis nostræ iam inseparábilem sibi homo natus assúmpsit, et natúram carnis suæ ad natúram æternitátis sub sacraménto nobis communicándæ carnis admíscuit? Ita enim omnes unum sumus, quia et in Christo Pater est, et Christus in nobis est. Est ergo in nobis ipse per carnem, et sumus in eo; dum secum hoc, quod nos sumus, in Deo est.
Quam autem in eo per sacraméntum communicátæ carnis et sánguinis simus, ipse testátur dicens: Et hic mundus me iam non videt; vos autem me vidébitis, quóniam ego vivo, et vos vivétis; quóniam ego in Patre meo, et vos in me, et ego in vobis. Si voluntátis tantum unitátem intéllegi vellet, cur gradum quendam atque órdinem consummándæ unitátis expósuit, nisi ut, cum ille in Patre per natúram divinitátis esset, nos contra in eo per corporálem eius nativitátem, et ille rursum in nobis per sacramentórum inésse mystérium crederétur; ac sic perfécta per Mediatórem únitas docerétur, cum nobis in se manéntibus ipse manéret in Patre, et in Patre manens manéret in nobis; et ita ad unitátem Patris proficerémus, cum, qui in eo naturáliter secúndum nativitátem inest, nos quoque in eo naturáliter inessémus, ipso in nobis naturáliter permanénte?
Quam autem naturális in nobis hæc únitas sit, ipse ita testátus est: Qui edit carnem meam, et bibit sánguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo. Non enim quis in eo erit, nisi in quo ipse fúerit: eius tantum in se assúmptam habens carnem, qui suam súmpserit.
Perféctæ autem huius unitátis sacraméntum supérius iam docúerat, dicens: Sicut misit me vivens Pater, et ego vivo per Patrem; et qui manducáverit meam carnem, et ipse vivet per me. Vivit ergo per Patrem; et quo modo per Patrem vivit, eódem modo nos per carnem eius vívimus.
Omnis enim comparátio ad intellegéntiæ formam præsúmitur, ut id, de quo ágitur, secúndum propósitum exémplum assequámur. Hæc ergo vitæ nostræ causa est, quod in nobis carnálibus manéntem per carnem Christum habémus; victúris nobis per eum ea condicióne, qua vivit ille per Patrem.
| Second Reading |
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From the treatise on the Trinity by Saint Hilary of Poitiers |
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The unity of the faithful in God through the incarnation of the Word and the sacrament of the Eucharist
If the Word has truly been made flesh and we in very truth receive the Word made flesh as food from the Lord, are we not bound to believe that he abides in us naturally? Born as a man, he assumed the nature of our flesh so that now it is inseparable from himself, and conjoined the nature of his own flesh to the nature of the eternal Godhead in the sacrament by which his flesh is communicated to us. Accordingly we are all one, because the Father is in Christ and Christ in us. He himself is in us through the flesh and we in him, and because we are united with him, our own being is in God.
He himself testifies that we are in him through the sacrament of the flesh and blood bestowed upon us: In a short time the world will no longer see me; but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will understand that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you. If he wanted to indicate a mere unity of will, why did he set forth a kind of gradation and sequence in the completion of that unity? It can only be that, since he was in the Father through the nature of Deity, and we on the contrary in him through his birth in the body, he wishes us to believe that he is in us through the mystery of the sacraments. From this we can learn the perfect unity through a Mediator; for we abide in him and he abides in the Father, and while abiding in the Father he abides in us as well – so that we attain unity with the Father. For while Christ is in the Father naturally according to his birth, we too are in Christ naturally, since he abides in us naturally.
He himself has told us how natural this unity is: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. No-one can be in Christ unless Christ is in him, because the only flesh which he has taken to himself is the flesh of those who have taken his.
He had earlier revealed to us the sacrament of this perfect unity: As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. He lives because of the Father, and as he lives because of the Father so we live because of his flesh.
Every comparison is chosen to shape our understanding, so that we may grasp the subject concerned by help of the analogy set before us. To summarise, this is what gives us life: that we have Christ dwelling within our carnal selves through the flesh, and we shall live because of him in the same manner as he lives because of the Father.
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Responsorium |
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Io 6, 56; cf. Deut 4, 7 |
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℟. Qui mandúcat meam carnem et bibit meum sánguinem,* In me manet, et ego in illo, allelúia.
℣. Non est ália nátio tam grandis, quæ hábeat deos appropinquántes sibi, sicut Deus noster adest nobis.* In me.
| ℟. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood,* he abides in me and I in him, alleluia.
℣. There is no other great nation that has a god so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us.* He abides in me and I in him, alleluia.
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