lact and Bede some of whom many
ags ago and not long after the times of the apostles affirm that it
was the Eucharist. Christ also (John 6) very frequently mentions bread
alone. St. Ignatius, a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, in his
Epistle to the Ephesians mentions the bread alone in the communion
of the Eucharist. Ambrose does likewise in his books concerning the
sacraments, speaking of the communion of Laymen. In the Council of
Rheims, laymen were forbidden from bearing the sacrament of the Body to
the sick, and no mention is there made of the form of wine. Hence it is
understood that the viaticum was given the sick under only one form. The
ancient penitential canons approve of this. For the Council of Agde put
a guilty priest into a monastery and granted him only lay communion. In
the Council of Sardica, Hosius prohibits certain indiscreet persons
from receiving even lay communion, unless they finally repent. There has
always been a distinction in the Church between lay communion under
one form and priestly communion under both forms. This was beautifully
predicted in the Old Testament concerning the descendants of Eli: "It
shall come to pass," says God, 1 Kings 2; 1 Sam. 2:36, "that everyone
that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of
silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, 'Put me, I pray thee,
into one of the priests' office' (Vulgate reads: "Ad unam partem
sacerdotalem."), 'that I may eat a piece of bread.'" Here Holy Scripture
clearly shows that the posterity of Eli, when removed from the office
of the priesthood, will seek to be admitted to one sacerdotal part, to a
piece of bread. So our laymen also ought, therefore, to be content
with one sacerdotal part, the one form. For both the Roman pontiffs
and cardinals and all bishops and priests, save in the mass and in the
extreme hour of life for a viaticum, as it is called in the Council of
Nice, re content with taking one form, which they would not do if they
thought that both forms would be necessary for salvation. Although,
however, both forms were of old administered in many churches to laymen
(for then it was free to commune under one or under both forms), yet
on account of many dangers the custom of administering both forms has
ceased. For when the multitude of the people is considered where there
are old and young, tremulous and weak and inept, if great care be not
employed and injury is done the Sacrament by the spillin