Dist. 10, Part 1, Art. 1, Q. 2
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/4/d/10/q/bon-sent-IV-d10-p1-a1-q2
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### Question II. *Whether the body of Christ is on the altar according to its natural quantity, or whether it is there abstracted from quantity.*

Secondly it is asked, whether the body of Christ is on the altar according to its natural quantity, or whether it is there abstracted from quantity. And that it is rather *abstracted*, it seems.

1. Augustine, *On the Consecration*, distinction two: «The body, in which He rose, must be in one place only; but His truth is everywhere diffused»: therefore in the Sacrament there is truth, yet not His corporeity or quantity.

2. Likewise, it seems by *reason*: because in this Sacrament Christ is present only as spiritual food; but quantity contributes nothing to the *being* of spiritual food: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, it is impossible and unintelligible that two dimensions be at once: therefore if the divine Majesty accommodates itself to our weakness in this Sacrament, then it ought not to do this, namely that the body of Christ be there with quantity, since abstraction is more rational and more intelligible, and God does what is more rational.

4. Likewise, it is much more fitting that substance be separated from accident than the reverse; but in this case accident is separated from substance in the species: therefore in the thing contained substance is separated from quantity.

**On the contrary:** 1. Augustine, *On the words of the Gospel*: «He is wholly eaten part by part in the Sacrament, and remains whole and entire in heaven»; but "whole" and "part" denote quantity: therefore etc.

2. Likewise, the body of Christ is living, and if living, organic, and if organic, quantitative: therefore if it is on the altar, it is not abstracted from life, nor from quantity.

3. Likewise, the body of Christ, that is, Christ, there sees and hears, although He does not speak, lest He be detected; but the exterior senses presuppose quantity: therefore He is there according to quantity.

4. Likewise, if quantity were not there, He would have laid quantity aside; but the laying aside of an absolute accident induces a transmutation according to form: therefore the glorified body of Christ would be transmuted.

### Conclusion.

> On the altar of the Sacrament there is not only the truth of the body of Christ, but also its quantity.

**I respond:** Some have said that on the altar of the Sacrament Christ is present, not only as signified, but also as contained; yet that He is not present according to His quantity nor even according to the other accidents, because these contribute nothing to the end of this Sacrament, which is to feed. And they hold the reason for this from the fact that the body of Christ is there because something is transferred into it; but that is purely substance, not accident, since the other accidents remain: and therefore it is transubstantiated into substance, in such wise that it is abstracted from all accidents.

— But this position, although it is not erroneous, like the aforesaid one, is nonetheless close to error, for this reason: that although corporeal substance can be understood to be without quantity and the other accidents, yet it is never understood to be *well*. If therefore it does not have them, then it is in a bad state. And *again*, although substance can be abstracted from quantity, nevertheless that a body should live and be organic and not be quantitative — this can neither be nor be understood; and therefore from this it follows that the body of Christ would neither be well there nor live; which it is impious to say.

Therefore it must be said that on the altar there is not only the truth of the body of Christ, but even its quantity.

And for the understanding of the objections it must be noted that, although miracles ought to be wrought in this Sacrament, nevertheless they ought not to be wrought except such as are fitting to the Sacrament. Now that Sacrament is the *mystery of faith*; and therefore it is *true and hidden*. Because it is *true*, therefore, when it is said: *This is my body*, the bread passes into the body of Christ, and this wherever it is said. And from this a twofold miracle arises: first, that the bread passes into the body of Christ whole and perfect; and another, that the body of Christ is whole, wherever this transubstantiation takes place, so that it is *whole* and perfect in a small place, and *one* in many places. — But because it is *hidden*, therefore the species and all sensible things ought to remain, while He Himself does not appear. And from this there is a twofold miracle: one, that the accidents are without a subject; the other, that there is present there a most resplendent body, and it is present and is not seen. From these things the objections are made plain.

*To 1 and 2.* For the first, which Augustine says, that *the truth is everywhere* etc., does not distinguish *truth* against *quantity*, which belongs to the truth of the body, but against *sensible appearance*, because it appears only in one place. — The following too is plain, because quantity contributes to the truth and perfection of the Sacrament, so that the contained body should be one having every perfection.

*To 3.* To the other it must be said that the Divinity accommodates itself to our weakness, the integrity of the Sacrament being preserved. And *furthermore* it so accommodates itself that it surpasses the intellect, and faith has place and merit.

*To 4.* To the last it must be said that, although God could do both, yet there would be no usefulness either as to the truth or as to the concealment, if the truth of the body of Christ were abstracted from quantity; and therefore it is of no avail, because it ought not to be done here except what is fitting to the Sacrament.