also I
delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was
betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, brake it, and said: Take and eat:
this is My body which shall be delivered for you. This do for the
commemoration of Me. In like manner also the chalice, after the supper,
saying: This cup is the New Covenant in My blood. This do ye, as often as
ye shall drink, for the commemoration of Me. For, as often as ye shall eat
this bread, and drink the cup, ye shall show the death of the Lord until
He come. Therefore, whoever 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_. But let a man prove himself; and so let him eat of that bread
and drink of the chalice. For, he who eateth and drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, _not discerning the body of the
Lord_."(375)

Could St. Paul express more clearly his belief in the Real Presence than
he has done here? The Apostle distinctly affirms that the chalice and
bread which he and his fellow Apostles bless is a participation of the
body and blood of Christ. And surely no one could be said to partake of
that divine food by eating ordinary bread. Mark these words of the
Apostle: Whosoever shall take the Sacrament unworthily "shall be guilty of
the body and blood of the Lord." What a heinous crime! For these words
signify that he who receives the Sacrament unworthily shall be guilty of
the sin of high treason, and of shedding the blood of his Lord in vain.
But how could he be guilty of a crime so enormous, if he had taken in the
Eucharist only a particle of bread and wine. Would a man be accused of
homicide, in this commonwealth, if he were to offer violence to the statue
or painting of the governor? Certainly not. In like manner, St. Paul would
not be so unreasonable as to declare a man guilty of trampling on the
blood of his Savior by drinking in an unworthy manner a little wine in
memory of Him.

Study also these words: "He who eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and
drinketh condemnation to himself, _not discerning the body of the Lord_."
The unworthy receiver is condemned for not recognizing or discerning in
the Eucharist the body of the Lord. How could he be blamed for not
discerning the body of the Lord, if there were only bread and wine before
him? Hence, if the words of St. Paul are figuratively understood, they are
distorted, forced and exaggerated terms, wi