strong for life eternal! Through these sacred means we are brought
into contact with the life and merits of our Shepherd-Redeemer. They
prolong His life and labors among us, they continue in our midst the
strength of His sacred presence.

In a manner altogether special is this true of the Holy Sacrament of the
altar. By the Holy Eucharist, Christ still is with us, and will so remain
till the end of time, as really and as truly as He dwelt on earth in the
days of His mortal life. Bound down as we are by the things of sense, we
may, at times, be tempted to complain that Christ in this sacrament is all
invisible to us. We can not see Him directly and immediately. His voice is
silent and we do not hear Him; we do not feel the caress of His hand. But
nevertheless we know He is present, for He has said it, and His word must
remain, though heaven and earth should pass away. Even were we privileged
to see the sacred humanity as it was seen of old in Palestine, we should
not then, more than now in this sacrament, directly see the divinity
concealed by the human frame. Faith then was required as well as now--faith
in His sacred words, made evident by His sacred deeds. This is not
strange; it is not too much to ask. The same demand of faith is daily made
upon us in much of our intercourse with our fellow mortals. Much that we
do not clearly see we must perforce believe, else life would be
impossible. The same, in a measure, is also true in all our human
friendships. That which is most precious in our friends, that which is the
source of life and beauty, of holy words and loving actions, of all we
love and cherish in them, is the soul, the spirit that quickens and moves;
and this we do not see.

Thus Christ in the Eucharist is truly present, though faith alone can
apprehend Him. He requires of us this faith--this humble subjection of our
sensible faculties to the power and truth of His words. It is all for our
good that now He is hidden from our sight. He is not the less truly
present, not less truly kind, not less loving, not less merciful and
forbearing; but He wishes to exercise our faith, to prove our fidelity and
trust in His teaching and promises, and hence He is hidden from the powers
of our senses.

In the sacrament of the Eucharist the gracious Shepherd of our souls
performs in particular three offices for us: He is our sacrifice, our
silent patient friend, and in communion He becomes the actual spiritual
food of our sou