p. 16 | The Eucharistic Congress by C. E. H.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 1, 1910

The Eucharistic Congress

By C. E. H.

MONTREAL, Canada, recently witnessed one of the most imposing parades, perhaps, of modern times. The center of this spectacular demonstration by the Roman Catholic Church was the monstrance. This receptacle contained a wafer, which was supposed to have been converted, by the words of a priest, into the very body of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need more than a consecrated wafer in this sinful life. The demoralized condition of humanity demands, not an inert, lifeless piece of bread, but a living, personal Saviour. A god which is created by a priest, and then eaten, is valueless to the people, who must have within them the Spirit of One who can renew and refine their impure, sinful natures.

With Catholics the priest has such control of the Saviour, and keeps him so completely to himself, that the members of the church are compelled to appeal to the Virgin Mary and other saints to help them out of their difficulties. But Mary did not die on the cross. She is no more able to relieve men from the penalty of a broken law than is any other human being. We much prefer to worship the Son, who sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, rather than the so-called god in the hand of a priest on earth. When God did dwell with men, in the most holy apartment of the sanctuary, a power was manifested which left no doubt in the minds of the people as to his immediate presence.

C. E. H.