Dist. 9, Art. 2, Q. 3
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/9/q/bon-sent-IV-d9-a2-q3
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### Question III. *Whether a sinner always sins mortally by receiving the body of Christ.*

Thirdly it is asked whether a sinner always sins mortally by receiving the body of Christ. And it seems that he does:

1. Because between the worthy and the unworthy there is no middle ground; but no sinner approaches worthily: therefore every sinner approaches unworthily; and every such one sins: therefore a sinner always sins in receiving.

2. Likewise, everyone who approaches is bound to prepare himself, because the Apostle says in First Corinthians, chapter eleven: *But let a man prove himself*; but if he prepares himself, he does what is in him; and if so, then God does what is in Him, and then he is not a sinner: therefore if he is a sinner and approaches, he has not prepared himself, and so every such one sins.

3. Likewise, everyone who receives the Sacrament and not the reality approaches feignedly: but every sinner remaining in mortal sin, who receives the Sacrament, receives it without the reality: therefore he approaches feignedly. But whoever approaches feignedly sins mortally: therefore etc.

4. Likewise, as is said in the Gloss on First Corinthians, chapter eleven: « He eats unworthily who approaches unbelieving or undevout »; but every sinner is undevout, because charity makes one devout, which the sinner lacks: therefore every sinner approaches unworthily.

5. Likewise, if the sinner who has awareness of mortal sin sins mortally by approaching, then it is either because he has the sin, or because he has the awareness. Not because of the awareness, because it is not evil to know one's own sin: therefore because he has the sin; and thus he always sins mortally.

6. Likewise, he who sins and is ignorant is less disposed for the medicine — whence Ambrose says that « he sins most gravely who is ignorant » — if therefore he sins who approaches with sin ignorantly, much more strongly does he who approaches with sin knowingly.

7. Likewise, a just man believing himself to be in mortal sin sins if he approaches; but the just man is more disposed than any sinner whatever: therefore much more does the sinner sin.

**On the contrary:**
1. If every sinner eats damnably, since no one knows that he is just, every man exposes himself to peril by receiving.

2. Likewise, the Apostle: *I am conscious of nothing against myself, but I am not hereby justified*; but a man is not bound to dispose himself further than that he have no remorse of conscience: therefore if by this he is not justified, then he too who approaches unjustified sins; and so anyone whatever sins by receiving.

> **Conclusion.** He who prepares himself less than sufficiently — namely, only according to probability — for receiving the Eucharist does not sin mortally.

**I respond:** For the understanding of the foregoing it must be said that in this Sacrament the recipient is bound

to prepare himself, because God comes to dwell in man. But the preparation is not always sufficient; rather, this preparation is sufficient when the enemy of the Lord is expelled from the dwelling through true examination and contrition, that is, the judgment of penance. *Again*, because the divine Majesty humbles itself with the highest condescension, and the divine Goodness offers grace, a man ought to approach with fear of reverence and with love, so that he may eat worthily. To eat *worthily*, therefore, is to prepare oneself sufficiently, namely by the expulsion of all sin, by reverence, and by love.

There are therefore some who prepare themselves *sufficiently* according to *truth*; some, however, *not sufficiently* according to *truth*, yet sufficiently according to *probability*; and some who prepare themselves in *neither way*, but rather hold it in contempt. He, therefore, who prepares himself *sufficiently* eats worthily; he who prepares himself in *no way* eats unworthily; but he who prepares himself *less than sufficiently*, namely according to *probability* rather than according to *truth*, does not eat *worthily*, because he has not prepared himself *sufficiently*; nor *unworthily*, because he prepares himself *probably*; and such a one, although he does not receive grace, nevertheless does not incur offense.

1. And thus is made clear that which is objected concerning him who eats worthily and unworthily: because there is a *middle* there, although there is no middle between the worthy and the unworthy.

2, 3. To that which is objected concerning preparation, it must be said that no one is bound to prepare himself sufficiently for this, because no one can know whether he does so; but rather to prepare himself according to the sufficient dictate of conscience; and in this he ought to be content with probability.

4. To that which is objected concerning the undevout, it must be said that the *undevout* is there spoken of in the *contrary* sense, that is, of one who approaches with the intention of sinning, as is clear there in the Gloss.

5, 6. To that which is objected concerning the one who has awareness of sin, it must be said that one is not said to sin because he recognizes his own sin, but because he knows the sin and does not repent of it and approaches with it; but this cannot be without contempt; it is otherwise when he is ignorant. — Likewise what follows is clear, that the ignorant man is less disposed, *all else being equal*; but the ignorant man *intending* to repent and willing knowingly, who wishes to persist in fault, is not less but more disposed; whence ignorance of sin does not excuse by reason of *ignorance*, but by reason of *probability* that one is in grace.

7. To the last it must be said that the just man, from such awareness, renders himself the more unfit, not on account of *fault*, but on account of *erroneous conscience*, which indeed, as long as it persists, binds him not to receive, for this reason: that he cannot receive with this conscience without contempt.

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