Editing Paschasius Radbertus (section)

===''De Corpore et Sanguine Domini''===
The most well-known and influential work of Paschasius, ''De Corpore et Sanguine Domini'' (written between 831 and 833), is an exposition on the nature of the [[Eucharist]]. It was originally written as an instructional manual for the monks under his care at Corbie, and is the first lengthy treatise on the sacrament of the Eucharist in the Western world.<ref>Zirkel, pg. 5</ref> In it, Paschasius agrees with [[Ambrose]] in affirming that the Eucharist contains the true, historical body of Jesus Christ. According to Paschasius, God is truth itself, and therefore, his words and actions must be true.  Christ's proclamation at the [[Last Supper]] that the bread and wine were his body and blood must be taken literally, since God is truth.<ref>Chazelle, pg. 9</ref>  He thus believes that the [[transubstantiation]] of the bread and wine offered in the Eucharist really occurs.  Only if the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ can a Christian know it is salvific.<ref>Chazelle, pg. 10</ref>

Paschasius believed that the presence of the historical blood and body of Christ allows the partaker a real union with Jesus in a direct, personal, and physical union by joining a person's flesh with Christ's and Christ's flesh with his.<ref>Chazelle, pg. 10-11</ref>  To Paschasius, the Eucharist's transformation into the flesh and blood of Christ is possible [[Divine simplicity|because of the principle that God is truth]];  God is able to manipulate nature, as he created it.<ref>Chazelle, pg. 12</ref> The book was given to [[Charles the Bald]], the Frankish king, as a present in 844, with the inclusion of a special introduction. The view Paschasius expressed in this work was met with some hostility; [[Ratramnus]] wrote a rebuttal by the same name, by order of Charles the Bald, who did not agree with some of the views Paschasius held.  Ratramnus believed that the Eucharist was strictly metaphorical; he focused more on the relationship between faith and the newly emerging science. Shortly thereafter, a third monk joined the debate, [[Rabanus Maurus]], which initiated the Carolingian Eucharist Controversy.<ref>Chazelle, pg. 1</ref> Ultimately, however, the king accepted Paschasius' assertion, and the [[Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist|substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist]] became the authoritative belief in the Catholic faith.<ref>Zirkel, pg. 3</ref>

{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-right: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#C0C0C0; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" 
| style="text-align: left;" | "When I begin to think about [Adalard], I am inwardly affected by two contrary emotions, namely, grief, and joy.  The Apostle forbids us to mourn in such a situation, but my and our sudden desolation prevents us from rejoicing."
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| style="text-align: left;" | Paschasius Radbertus, ''Vita Adalhardi''
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