114. 6月15日聖體聖事－白孟德神父（Fr. Charles Belmonte Lopez）語錄-譯者:林豪

On the Eucharist, St. Thomas Aquinas: “The Eucharist is the sacrament of love: It signifies love, it produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.”

關於聖體聖事，聖多瑪斯·阿奎那說道：「聖體聖事是愛的聖事：它象徵著愛，它產生了愛。聖體聖事是整個屬靈生活的圓滿。」

St. John Chrysostom: “It is not the man who is responsible for what is happening on the altar, as the bread and the wine become Christ’s Body and Blood. It is Christ himself, who was crucified for us. The looks of the standing figure belong to the priest, who speaks these words. The power and the grace belong to God. ‘This is my Body,’ he says. And these words transform the offerings.”

金口聖若望說道：「不是這個人，對祭台上所發生的事情負責，因為餅和酒變成了主基督的身體和寶血。是主基督自己，為我們被釘在十字架上。我們眼見站立的身形是屬於這位神父，是他說出這些話的。能力和恩典是屬於天主。他說道：『這是我的身體。』這句話變成了祭獻。」

St. Maximilian Kolbe: “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”

聖馬希連·高比說道：「如果天使能夠嫉妒人類，祂們的嫉妒，只有一個原因：聖體。」

St. John Vianney: “I throw myself at the foot of the tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his master.”

聖若望·維雅納說道：「我投身至聖體櫃的腳下，就像一隻狗在他的主人腳下一樣。」

St. Pio of Pietrelcina: “A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent sweetly receiving communion and talking to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

聖畢奧說道：「一千年來享受人類的榮耀，連一個小時都捨不得花，為甜蜜地領受聖體，並與主耶穌交談。」

St. Josemaria Escriva: “Think of the human experience of two people who love each other, and yet are forced to part. They would like to stay together forever, but duty — in one form or another — forces them to separate. They are unable to fulfill their desire of remaining close to each other, so man’s love — which, great as it may be, is limited — seeks a symbolic gesture. People who make their farewells exchange gifts or perhaps a photograph with a dedication so ardent that it seems almost enough to burn that piece of paper. They can do no more, because a creature’s power is not so great as its desire.

聖施禮華說道：「且設想一下，兩人相愛，但又必須分離，是怎樣的光景。他們一心要形影不離，可惜因職務的種種原因，不得不分離。他們既然不能如願得償，常相團聚，只得以象徵性的姿態來婉轉地表達愛心。人們的愛情儘管強烈，卻畢竟有限。他們只好互贈臨別信物，或許是一幅相片，上面署有贈言，措辭火熱，幾乎燃燒相紙。他們所能做的，不過如此而已。因為受造物的能力，與其欲望相比，總是力不從心的。

“What we cannot do, our Lord is able to do. Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, leaves us, not a symbol, but a reality. He himself stays with us. He will go to the Father, but he will also remain among men. He will leave us, not simply a gift that will make us remember him, not an image that becomes blurred with time, like a photograph that soon fades and yellows, and has no meaning except for those who were contemporaries. Under the appearances of bread and wine, he is really present, with his body and blood, with his soul and divinity.”

我們做不到的，我主卻能做到。耶穌基督，真天主真人，祂臨別贈與我們的，不是象徵，而是現實。祂本人親自留下來，與我們同在。祂要到聖父那裡去，但祂也要常留人間。祂贈與我們的，不是普通留念的禮品，不是一幀相片，相片日久天長會褪色發黃，形影糢糊，除了同輩人之外，誰也對它不感興趣。祂所贈與我們的，是祂本人，連同祂的聖體，聖血，靈魂，天主性，真真實實地臨在於餅酒的表象下。」（基督剛經過，83）