which it is in respect of qualitie though changed perhaps into another qualitie But in this Sacrament if onely the truth be considered in simplicitie and plainenesse and not another thing beleeved than that which is beheld no change can be knowne to be made For neyther hath it passed from that which it was not The first kinde of change into somewhat that is as such a passage and change is many times made in growing things for whereas they were not before they to the end they might be passed from not being to that which is to be or to being But this passage or change falleth not out here because that the Bread and Wine were before they passed into the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ The second kinde of change Neither yet can there be here that passage or change which is made from that which it is to that which it is not which change falleth out in things that through defect suffer a decay or fall For whatsoever doth decay was first and had it being because that thing can not suffer a decay or destruction which never was And yet neither can this passage or change be knowne to be made in this matter because that according to truth that very kinde or shape of creature which is before is knowne still to remaine Moreover The third kinde of change that change which is made from that which is to that which is which change appeareth specially in things that suffer diversitie and varietie of qualities as for example when that which was blacke is turned into white neither can that change I say be knowne to be made here for nothing can be here found to be changed either in touching or in tast or in colour or in favour Therefore if nothing be changed herein it is not then any other thing than what it was before But it is another thing for the Bread is become Christs body and the wine his blood for so he himselfe saith Take ye Math. 26.26 c. and eate ye This is my body and speaking of the Cup he sayth likewise This is the blood of the new Testament which shall be shed for you Therefore they that in this question will take nothing figuratiuely but will haue the whole to consist in the simplicitie and plainenesse of truth must be demanded how and in what respect this change is made so that now they be no more that which they were before to wit Bread and Wine but are the body blood of Christ For according to the kind and shew of the creature and the outward forme of visible things both of these that is the Bread the Wine haue nothing at all changed in them and if they suffer no change at all then are they no other thing but that which they were before Your Highnesse most noble Prince perceiveth whether the vnderstāding and mind of those men that thinke otherwise proceedeth for they denie that which men suppose them to affirme and they are proved to destroy that which they beleeue For they doe faithfully confesse it to be the body and blood of Christ and in so doing doubtlesse they doe now protest that the Bread and the Wine be nor the same that they were before and that if they be some other thing than they were before that then they haue admitted some alteration and change Seeing then that this cannot be denied let them tell vs how in what respect they are changed for a man shall perceiue nothing to be bodily substantially changed in them Therefore they must of necessitie confesse either that they are changed otherwise than bodily and substantially He draweth his reason from a double absurditie and so by that means that they are not that which in truth they seeme to be but some other thing which according to his owne being is not seene or perceived to be or els if they will not confesse this they must needs denie it to be the bodie and blood of Christ which thing is very wicked not onely for a man to speake but also to thinke But for as much as they doe confesse both the body and blood of Christ to be there and that this cannot be but by making a change into a better thing and that this change is made not corporally or bodily but spiritually it must needs be that they doe affirme and say that this change is made figuratiuely because that vnder the vayle or coverture of bodily Bread and bodily Wine there is the spirituall body of Christ and his spirituall blood not that they are the existences and beings of two severall and divers things that differ betweene themselues that is to say of the bodie and of the spirit but because that the kinde or shew of Bread and Wine is in one respect one and the selfe same thing that is Bread and Wine and in another respect it is the body and blood of Christ For in respect that both of them are bodily and substantially touched they are the kindes and shewes of a bodily creature but in respect of power because they are spiritually done they are the mysteries of the body and blood of Christ An argument taken from comparing Baptisme the Lords Supper together Let vs consider the fountaine of holy Baptisme which is not without cause called the fountaine or welspring of life because it reformeth them that be partakers of it to newnesse of a better life and maketh them Rom. 6.4 to liue to righteousnesse Ephes 2.1 which before were dead in trespasses and sinne Hath it this power and force because or in respect that the element of water appeareth or is seene to be and yet notwithstanding vnlesse it had in it a vertue and power to sanctifie it were not able to wash away the spots and filthinesse of sinne and vnlesse it contained the vigor and strength of life it could at no hand giue life to them that are dead dead I meane not in the flesh or body but in the soule or spirit And yet notwithstanding all this if in that fountaine we haue respect to that thing onely which our bodily sense looketh vpon and comprehendeth we can see nothing but a moyst and thinne element to wit Water subiect to corruption and that such a one as that of and in it selfe hath no other power in it but to wash our bodies But after that the power of the holy Ghost by the consecratiō of the Priest is come therto it is then become effectuall and powerfull to wash not our bodies onely but our soules and made able also by through a spirituall power to remoue spirituall filthinesses Behold we see that there are in one and the selfe same element two things resisting and as it were striving one of them against the other that is to say we see a corruptible thing to giue incorruption and a thing that hath not life to yeeld and giue life also Wherefore wee
were with the dainties of Gods word here on earth I mean men Verily the Psalmist or rather the holy Ghost in the Psalmist sheweth either what our fathers received in that heavenly Manna or els what the faithfull people should beleeue to be in the mysterie of Christs bodie In both of them certainely Christ is signified and set forth which Christ both feedeth the soules of the beleevers and is the food and meate of Angels and yet neither of them are done in corporall taste or bodily feeding but by the power of the spirituall word And wee know because the Evangelist hath declared the same that the Lord Iesus Christ before he suffered Tooke Bread and gaue thankes Mat. 26.26 c. 1 Cor. 11.23 c. and gaue it to his Disciples saying This is my bodie which is given for you doe this in remembrance of me Likewise he tooke the Cup after he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you We see that Christ had not as yet suffered and yet for all that he wrought or made the mysterie of his body and blood for wee thinke truely that any faithfull man doubteth whether that Bread became Christs bodie which he gaue vnto his Disciples and said This is my bodie which is given for you or whether the cup conteineth Christes blood of which cup our Saviour Christ himselfe saide This cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you Therefore as he could even a little before he suffered turne the substance of the Bread and the creature of the Wine into his owne body which should suffer and into his own blood which afterwardes should be shed so likewise was he able in the Wildernesse to turne the Manna and the water that issued out of the Rocke into his owne flesh and blood although that a long time after both his flesh was to be hāged on the crosse for our sakes and his blood to be shed for the washing away of our sinnes Here also wee ought to consider how we must vnderstand that which he himselfe saith Ioh 6.53 Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you For hee doth not say or meane that his flesh which afterwards hanged on the Crosse should bee cut in peeces and parts and so be eaten by his Disciples neither yet that his blood which hee should shed for the redemption of the world should bee given vnto his Disciples for drinke because it should be a most wicked and horrible thing for his Disciples either to drinke his blood or to eate his flesh as the vnbeleevers did at that time vnderstand him Therefore in the words following he said to his Disciples who did not vnbeleevingly but in some measure of faith receiue Christs wordes although they could not as then pierce and perceiue how those wordes were to bee vnderstood to them I say he said Doth this offend you Ioh. 6.61.62 What then if yee should see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before As though he should say Thinke not I pray you that you must either bodily eate my flesh or bodily drinke my blood or that my body must bee divided into parts to be eaten or my blood distributed to be drunke seeing that after my resurrection yee shall see mee to goe vp into heaven with the fulnesse of my whole body and blood and then shall ye vnderstand that my very flesh shall not be eaten of the beleevers as the infidels suppose but that the bread and the wine being turned into the substance of my body and of my blood the substance thereof shall bee in a mystery received by the beleevers And presently he addeth Ioh. 6.63 The spirit is it saith hee which quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing He saith that the flesh profiteth nothing at all after such a forme and manner as the vnbeleevers vnderstood it otherwise it giveth life as the faithfull do in a mystery receiue it And why this is done he himselfe doth manifestly declare when hee saith It is the spirit that quickeneth Wherefore there is in this mysterie of the body and blood of Christ a spirituall opperation and working that giveth life without the working whereof these mysteries profit nothing at all because they may indeed feed the bodie but they cannot feed the soule Now then heere ariseth a question which while many propound they say and affirme that these things are done not in a figure or mystery but in verity and truth Which while they affirme they are found to goe against and to gaine-say the writings of the holy Fathers Saint Augustine Aug. de doct Christ lib. 3. one of the chiefe Doctors of the Church in his third booke of Christian doctrine writeth thus Ioh. 6.53 Except ye eate saith our Saviour the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you Hee seemeth to command a wicked thing and an vngodly act Wherefore it is a figuratiue speech commanding vs to communicate in the Lords passion and sweetly and profitably to lay vp this in our memories that his flesh was crucified and wounded for our sakes Here we perceiue that this Doctor saith and affirmeth that the mysteries of the bodie blood of Christ are vnder a figure celebrated and received of the faithfull for hee saith plainely that it belongeth not to religion but is rather a wicked thing carnally to eate Christs body or to drink his blood into which fault they fell who not spiritually but fleshly vnderstanding the Lords words in the Gospell Ioh. 6.66 Departed or went backe from him and went or walked no more with him The same Doctor writing in a certaine Epistle to Boniface the Bishop Aug. ad Bonifa epist amongst other things saith thus Truly we vse oftentimes to speak thus that when Easter draweth nigh that to morrow or the next day after shall be the Lords passion whereas hee suffered so many yeares before and verily that passion or suffering was done but once for all Also on the Lords day that wee call Easter day wee vsually say this day the Lord rose againe whereas indeed and truth so many yeares are since he rose againe already past And why is no man so fond and foolish as to reproue vs speaking thus as though we had lyed but onely because wee name those dayes according to the similitude and likenesse of these dayes in which these things were done Insomuch that it is called the very same day which yet is not in deed the very same but in the revolution and turning about of the time is like it and so also that is said to be done vpon that day by reason of the celebration and administration of the Sacrament which is not done vpon that day but was performed long agoe Was not Christ once offered about that time And yet notwithstanding hee
is not onely every feast of Easter but even every day offered vnto the faithfull people neither is hee to be deemed a lyar who being asked of another man answereth that hee is offered For if the Sacraments had not a certaine similitude and likenesse of those things of which they are Sacraments they could not at all be Sacraments and in respect of this very likenesse that they haue they take the very names of the things themselues Wherefore even as the Sacrament of Christs body is after a certaine manner Christs body it selfe and the Sacrament of Christs blood is after a certaine manner Christs blood so the Sacrament of faith is faith Hence we perceiue that Saint Augustine saith that the Sacrament is one thing and the things whereof they are Sacraments is another thing Now the body in which Christ suffered and the blood that came out of his side are the things of the Sacrament but the mysteries by which these things are represented hee saith they are the Sacraments of the body and blood of Christ which are celebrated and administred in remembrance of the Lords passion and suffering and that not onely every yeare once at or about the feast of Easter but every day in the yeare And although the Lord had but one bodie in which hee suffered once for all and but one blood which was shed for the salvation of the world yet the Sacraments or elements signifying these things haue taken the names of the very things themselues insomuch that they are called the body and blood of Christ being so called indeed for the similitude and likenesse of the things which they represent and shew forth even as the feast of Easter which is observed every yeare is called the Passeover and the resurrection of the Lord whereas we know that the Lord did but once suffer and but once rise againe about that time And albeit that these very dayes cannot now be revoked or called backe because they are already past yet by their name and title are such dayes called as in which the memorie of the Lords suffering and resurrection is rehearsed and celebrated and this is therefore done because they haue a certaine resemblance and likenesse of these very dayes in which our Saviour once suffered and once rose againe Whereupon we say this day or to morrow or the next day is the Lords passion or resurrection when as these dayes in which these things were done were passed many yeares agoe So we may say that the Lord is offered when the Sacraments of his suffering are celebrated and administred whereas indeed hee was but once for all offered vp in himselfe for the salvation of the world as the Apostle saith Christ hath suffered for vs 1 Pet. 2.21 leaving vs an example that we should follow his footsteps For hee saith not that hee every day offered himselfe because he did it but once but this hee saith that hee hath left vs an example which is daily presented and shewed forth to the beleevers in the mystery of the Lords bodie and blood to the end that every one that shall come or repaire thereto may know that hee ought to be made a companion with him in his sufferings the image and liuely picture whereof hee doth as it were tarry and wait for to be exhibited vnto him in the holy mysteries according to the saying of the Wiseman in the Proverbes Pro. 23.1 Commest thou to a mighty mans table marke diligently what things are set before thee knowing that thou thy selfe must another time prepare such like things To come to a mightie mans table is to bee partaker of the Lords offering or as wee say of the Lords Supper and the marking or cōsidering of such things as are set before vs is the sound vnderstanding or knowledge of the bodie and blood of Christ whereof whosoever partaketh hee must know and remember thus much that hee ought to prepare such precious things that so hee may become a follower of Christ in dying with him the remembrance of whose death he professeth and acknowledgeth not only in beleeving but also in tasting Againe Saint Paul writing to the Hebrewes saith thus Heb. 7.26.27 Verily such an high Priest it became vs to haue as is holy harmlesse vndefiled separated from sinners and become higher then the heavens who needed not daily as those high Priests to offer vp sacrifice first for his one sinnes and then for the peoples for the Lord Iesus Christ did this once for all when hee offered vp himselfe That which he did once he doth now dayly exercise and vse For he once offered vp himselfe for the sinnes of the people and this very selfe same oblation or offering is every day celebrated among the faithfull but yet in a mystery that so that very thing which the Lord Iesus Christ offring vp himselfe once for all hath fulfilled may by the celebration administration of the mysteries bee daily performed and done for the remembrance of his death and passion Neither yet is it falsly said that the Lord in those mysteries is either offered or suffereth because they haue a certaine similitude or likenesse of his death and passion whereof indeed they are true and liuely representations Whereupon the very mysteries themselues are called the Lords bodie and the Lords blood because they haue the name of that or those things whereof they be the Sacrament Isodorus Originum siue Etymologiarū lib. 6. cap. de officijs colū 143. linea 28. Isodorus in his bookes which hee wrote of the true signification of words saith thus It is called a sacrifice as though a man would say a holy fact or deed because through mysticall prayer it is consecrated and appointed to or for the remembrance of the Lords suffering Whereupon by his authority and commādement we cal it the body and blood of Christ because that though it bee made of the fruits of the earth it is yet notwithstanding sanctified and so become a Sacrament Gods spirit working invisibly therein the Sacraament of the bred and cup the Grecians doe call Eucharistia that is if it bee interpreted good grace or thankesgiving And what is better then the body and blood of Christ Now the bread and wine are therefore compared and resembled to the Lords body and boold because that as the substance of this visible bread and wine doth nourish and make cheerfull the outward man So the Word of God which is the living or liuely bread being once rightly partaked of doth recreate and refresh the mindes of the faithfull And this Catholike Doctor teacheth vs that that same holy mystery of the Lords passion and suffering must on our behalfes or in respect of vs bee done for the remembrance of the Lords passion And in so saying he declareth that the Lords passion or suffering was onely once done but that the remembrance thereof is continually represented vnto vs in those same holy rites and solemnities Whereupon both the bread that
Sacraments may worke that in vs which they doe containe that looke what we now administer and receiue in forme we may also receiue it in the truth of the things He saith that these things are celebrated and done in shew forme and not in truth that is in similitude or likenesse and not in the declaration of the thing it selfe Now the forme and shew of a thing and the veritie or truth of the selfe same thing differ one of them from another Wherefore that body and blood which is celebrated and received in the Church differeth from that bodie and blood which is known to be now glorified in Christs body thorow his Resurrection And the former of these two bodies is a pledge and figure and this latter is the very truth it selfe for the former is celebrated and administred till such time as we may come to the other but when we shall once come to this latter the former shall be removed and taken away Wherefore it appreareth that they are by a very great difference sundred one of them from the other yea looke what difference there is betweene the pledge and thing for which the pledge is given and betweene an Image or the thing whose Image it is or betweene the forme and shew of a thing and the truth it selfe so much difference there is betweene the one and the other Thus we see that that mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ which the faithfull doe nowe receiue in the Church doth much differ is farre severed from that body which was borne of the Virgin Mary which suffered which was buried which rose againe which ascended into heaven and which sitteth at the right hand of the Father For that which is celebrated received while we are in the way of this life must be spiritually received and vnderstoode for Faith beleeveth the thing which it seeth not layeth hold of that which doth spiritually feed the soule and make glad the heart and giveth eternall life and incorruption whilest we looke not vpon that which feedeth the body or is pressed with the teeth or is broken in peeces but that only which is spiritually received in faith whereas that bodie in which Christ suffered and rose againe is his owne very body which he tooke of the body of the Virgin Mary which also was palpable and visible yea and that after his Resurrection even as he himselfe saith vnto the Disciples Luke 24.38.39 Why are yee troubled and wherefore doe thoughts and doubts arise in your hearts Beholde my handes and my feete for it is I my selfe Handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as yee see me haue Let vs heare also what blessed Fulgentius writeth in his Booke of Faith Looke that thou doe most stedfastly beleeue Fulgen. de fide and at no hand doubt that the onely begotten Word of God became flesh Ephes 5.2 and offered vp himselfe for vs as an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour vnto God Vnto whom with the Father and the holy Ghost the Patriarkes Prophets and Priestes did in the time of the olde Testament offer vp Beasts and sacrifice them and vnto whom also with the Father and the holy Ghost with whom he is of one and the selfe same God-head the holy Catholique Church being dispersed throughout the whole world ceaseth not in faith and loue to offer vp the sacrifice of Bread and Wine For in those sacrifices of flesh and Beasts there was a signification of Christes flesh which even he himselfe being without sinne should offer for our sinnes and of his blood also which he should shed for the forgiuenesse of our sinnes but in this sacrifice of Bread and Wine there is a thankesgiving for and a remembrāce of that flesh of Christ which he offered vp for vs and of that blood which he himselfe being very God did shed for vs Act. 20.28 of which S. Paul speaketh in the Acts of the Apostles and in the xx Chapter of the said booke saying Take heed vnto your selues and to all the flocke whereof the holy Ghost hath made you Bishops or over-seers to governe the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne blood Wherefore there was in the former sacrifices figuratiuely signified that that should be given to vs but there is in this sacrifice evidently and plainely declared what is given vnto vs. Now the Doctor in saying that there was in those sacrifices signified what should be given vnto vs and that in this sacrifice there was declared what was given vnto vs alreadie he doth plainely declare that as those sacrifices had the figure of things to come so our sacrifice is a figure of things that are past By which speeches he hath most evidently declared what great difference there is betweene that bodie wherein Christ suffered and this body which is celebrated and administred in the remembrance of his Passion or death For that body wherein he suffered was his proper and very or true body having no mysticall or figuratiue matter in it But this latter is a mysticall bodie shewing one thing outwardly in figure and inwardly representing another thing thorowe the vnderstanding and apprehension of faith Moreover let vs adde and put downe one other testimony of that reverent Father Augustine which shall both warrant the truth and credit of our sayings and make an end of our Oration and speech In a certaine Sermon Aug. de sacra altar Serm. which he made to the people concerning the Sacrament of the Altar thus he saith The thing which you see on Gods Altar you saw the same the night that is past but as yet yee haue not heard what it is what it meaneth and of how great a matter it containeth the Sacrament The thing which you see is bread and the cup which thing also your owne eyes doe declare vnto you but as concerning that wherein your faith requireth to be instructed the Bread is the body of Christ and the cup is his blood Truely this is shortly sayd and it may be perhaps sufficient for faith but yet faith alwayes needeth instruction Esay 7.9 For the Prophet sayth Vnlesse yee beleeue yee shall not vnderstand You may peradventure say vnto me Thou biddest vs beleeue but yet we say declare it vnto vs that we may vnderstand For such a thought may arise in some mans mind We know from whom our Lord Iesus Christ tooke his flesh to wit of the Virgin Mary hee being an Infant did sucke and was nourished and did grow and came to mans age he suffered persecution at the Iewes handes he was hanged vpon a tree he was killed he was taken from the Crosse he was buried the third day he rose againe he ascended into heaven even what day pleased him thither he carryed vp his body from thence shall he come to iudge the quicke and the dead and he is there now sitting at the right hand of the Father
Christs bodie but it is not his body bodily and it is Christs blood but yet it is not his blood bodily Also afterwardes the same Father saith Amb. eodem loco 1 Cor. 10.3.4 Wherevpon the Apostle speaking of the figure of Christ saith that our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate and did drinke the same spirituall drinke For the Lords bodie is a spirituall bodie and the body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit For Christ is a spirit as we reade in the Lamentations of Ieremie Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face He hath most plainely taught vs how we should vnderstand the mystery of the body and blood of Christ For when he had said that our Fathers did eate spirituall meate and did drinke spirituall drinke whereas notwithstanding there is none that doubteth but that the Manna which they did eate and the water which they did drinke were bodily things he addeth cōcerning the mysterie which is now administred in the Church shewing and determining in what respect it is Christes bodie For the Lords bodie sayth he is a spirituall body Christ also is indeed God and the body which he tooke of the Virgin Mary the bodie that suffered that was buried that rose againe was certainely a very and true bodie and the same also remained visible and palpable that is to say might be seene and felt but that body which is called the mysterie of God is not bodily but spirituall and if it be spirituall then is it not visible or palpable that is it cannot be seene or felt Herevpon blessed Ambrose addeth saying The body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit Now the divine spirit is not any thing that is bodily is not any thing that is corruptible or any thing that is palpable and may be felt But this body which is celebrated and administred in the Church is in respect of the visible kinde and forme both corruptible and palpable Tell me then how it can be said to be the body of the divine spirit Verily no other way than in this respect that it is spirituall that is to say in this respect that it cannot be seene or felt therefore incorruptible To this very end Amb. eodem loco in the words following he addeth saying Because Christ is a spirit as we reade Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By which words he plainly sheweth in what respect it may be counted Christs body to wit in respect that there is in it the spirit of Christ that is to say the power of the divine or heavenly word which doth not onely feede the soule but also purge it and make it cleane Wherefore the same Author saith afterward To conclude this meate strengtheneth our hearts and this drinke maketh mans heart merry and ioyfull Psal 104.5 as the Prophet saith It cannot be denied but that bodily meate doth after a sort strengthen mans heart and bodily drinke make his heart merry But that the Doctor might shew what meate it is and what drinke it is of which he speaketh he hath plainely and particularly added this meate and this drinke What meate doth he meane or what drinke Forsooth Christs body the body of the divine spirit and that it might be the more plainely vttered he saith Christ is a spirit of whom it is read Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By all these places and speeches it plainely appeareth that we ought not or cannot take or perceiue any thing bodily in this meate in this drinke but that the whole matter must be cōsidered and weighed spiritually For the soule which in the place presently alledged is meant by the heart of man is not fed with bodily meate or bodily drinke but it is nourished quickned and made strong with the Word of God Ambr. sacra lib. 5. Which thing the selfe same Doctor affirmeth more plainely in his fifth Booke of Sacraments Not this Bread saith he which goeth into our bodies but it is that bread of eternall life which ministreth and yeeldeth substance vnto our soules And the things following in that booke or place doe most manifestly declare that S. Ambrose spake not this of the common bread but of the bread of Christs bodie for he speaketh of that daily bread which the faithfull desire might be given them and therefore he addeth If it be daily bread why doest thou receiue it but once in a yeare as the Grecians which dwell in the East are wont to doe Wherefore receiue that daily which may daily profit thee and liue so that thou maiest be found meete and worthy daily to receiue it Wherefore it is manifest of what bread he speaketh to wit of the bread of the body of Christ which sustaineth and vpholdeth the substance of the soule not in respect as it goeth and entreth into the bodie but in respect as it is Bread of everlasting life Thus you see that by the authoritie of this most learned man wee are taught that that bodie in which Christ suffered and that blood which hanging vpon the Crosse he shed out of his side doth very much differ from that body which the faithfull doe daily celebrate and receiue in the mysterie of Christs passion and from that blood which is received by the mouth of the beleevers seeing it is but a mysterie of that blood in and by which the whole world was Redeemed For this Bread and this Wine are not Christs bodie and blood in respect that they are to be seene bodily but in respect that they doe spiritually minister and yeeld vnto vs the substance of life And as for that bodie wherein Christ suffered once for all it shewed forth no other kinde or forme than that in which it consisted and was For it was truely and indeed the very selfe same which it was when it was seene which it was when it was touched which it was when it was crucified which it was when it was buried In like sort the blood that did gush and flow out of his side did not appeare one thing outwardly and cover or shaddow another thing inwardly Wherefore the very blood of Christ did flow from his very and true body but now the blood of Christ which the faithfull drinke vp and his body which they eate are one thing in kind and forme and another thing in sigfication They are one thing in that they feed the body with bodily meat and another thing in that they fat and feed the soules and mindes of men with the substance of eternall life Of this thing Saint Hierom Hieronim in epist ad Eph. in his Commentary vpon Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians writeth thus The blood and flesh of Christ is vnderstood two manner of wayes Ioh. 6.55 For either it is that spirirituall and divine flesh and blood of which he himselfe saith my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drinke indeed or else it is put for that
flesh which was crucified and for that blood which was shed with the souldiers speare This Doctor hath made a distinction concerning the body and blood of Christ and this he hath done with a very great difference For whilest that hee saith that the flesh and blood which the faithfull doe daily receiue are spirituall things and saith on the other side that the flesh which was crucified and the blood which was shed with the souldiers speare cannot bee affirmed to be spirituall or divine hee plainely declareth that they differ so much as spirituall and corporall things or visible and invisible things or as divine and humane doe differ one of them from another and that therefore for as much as they differ one of them from another both of them bee not neither indeed can bee one and the selfe same thing Now that spirituall flesh which is received by the mouth of the faithfull and that spirituall blood which is daily offered to bee drunke of the beleevers doe without doubt differ from that flesh which was crucified frō that blood which was shed by the souldiers speare as the authority of this present person alledged doth witnesse Wherefore they bee not all one For that flesh that was crucified was made of the flesh of the Virgin and was compacted or did consist of bones and sinewes and was besides distincted by the lineaments and proportions of the parts and members of mens bodies and was through the spirit of a reasonable soule quickned into his owne life and fit motions agreeing thereto But the spirituall flesh which doth spiritually feed the beleeving people in respect of the kind or forme which it sheweth forth outwardly doth being made by the Artificers hand consist of certaine graines of Corne or wheat and is not compacted of any sinewes or bones nor distincted by any diversity of members nor made liuely by any reasonable substance nor able to exercise any proper motitions for whatsoever in it doth minister or yeeld the substance of life pertaineth to a spirituall power and belongeth to an invisible efficacy and to a heavenly vertue or force but is indeed in respect of that which is outwardly seene farre differing from that which is beleeved in the mystery Besides that flesh of Christ which was crucified did not shew any other thing outwardly then that it was inwardly because it was the very flesh of a very man being also a very body in the kinde and forme of a very body Furthermore wee must consider that there is figured by that bread not onely Christs owne body but also the body of the people that beleeue in him whereupon it is made of many graines of wheate 1 Cor. 16.17 because the bodie of the beleeving people is through the Word of Christ increased with many faithfull ones Wherefore as the bread which is Christs body is received in a mystery so also the members of the people that beleeue in Christ are declared in a mystery And as that bread is said to bee the bodie of the beleevers not bodily but spiritually so must wee needs vnderstand it to bee Christs bodie not bodily but spiritually So likewise in the wine which is called Christs blood water is appointed to be mixed and the one is not suffred to be offred without the other to declare that the people cannot bee without Christ nor Christ without his people even as the head cannot bee without the body nor the body without the head Wherefore the water in that Sacrament beareth the image of people and representeth them Therefore if that wine being sanctified by the office and service of the Ministers be turned bodily into Christs blood the water which is mixed together with it must of necessity bee bodily turned into the blood of the beleeving people For where there is but one sanctification and by consequent one operation or working yea where there is but a like consideration it must needs then there follow that that mystery is like But we see that in the water in respect of the body thereof there is nothing turned wherefore it followeth very well that in the wine there is nothing turned bodily Whatsoever is set out in the water concerning the body of the people the same is taken spiritually Wherefore whatsoever is shewed foorth in the wine concerning Christs blood the same must of necessity be taken spiritually Againe the things which doe differ one of them from another be not all one That body of Christ which died and rose againe and became immortall Rom. 6.9 dieth not now neither shall death any more now beare rule ouer it for it is eternall and cannot now suffer any thing But that which is celebrated and administred in the Church is temporall and not eternall is corruptible not incoruptible is in the way homeward and not in it owne countrey Wherefore they must needs differ one of them from another and so by consequent are not all one and if they be not all one how is it said to bee Christs true body and his very blood For if it be Christs body and be truly so said to be as if it be Christs body it must bee his body in truth and if it be Christs body in truth or truly then it must needs bee that bodie of Christs which is incorruptible and impasible and so by consequent eternall Whereupon also it must of necessity follow that that bodie of Christs which is celebrated and administred in the Church must be incorruptible and eternall but we cannot deny but that that thing is corruptible which being changed is diuided into peeces to bee received and being broken or ground with the teeth passeth into the body and belly And yet that is one thing which is done outwardly and that is another thing which is inwardly beleeved through faith That which belongeth to the senses of the body is corruptible but that which faith beleeveth is incorruptible Wherefore that which appeares outwardly is not the thing it selfe but the image or representation of the thing but that is the truth of the thing and the thing it selfe which is perceived vnderstood by the minde Hereupon blessed Augustine in his Exposition vpon Iohns Gospell speaking of the body and blood of Christ saith thus Moses also did eate Manna Aug. in Ioh. tract 26. so did Aaron and so did Phiwees yea many others did eate Manna in the Wildernesse who also pleased God and yet are not dead And why so because they did spiritually vnderstand the visible food they did spiritually hunger after it they did spiritually taste it that so they might bee spiritually satisfied and filled For even wee also our selues doe at this day receiue visible food but the Sacrament is one thing and the vertue or power of the Sacrament is another thing Likewise in the words following Aug. tract eodem This is the bread which came downe from heaven Manna signified this bread the altar of God also signified this bread They
How then is the bread his body and the cup or that which is contained in the cup how is it his blood These things good brethren are therefore called Sacraments because one thing is seene in them and another thing vnderstood that which is seene hath a bodily kinde forme and shew but that which is vnderstood hath spirituall fruit The reverend Authour in speaking these things instructeth vs what wee ought to thinke and hold both concerning the Lords owne bodie which was borne of the Virgin Mary and sitteth now at the right hand of GOD and in which he shall come to judge the quicke and the dead and also concerning that body which is set on the Altar and whereof the people are partakers That body is sound and whole and is not divided by any cutting neither covered with any figures but this bodie which is set vpon the Lords Table is both a figure because it is a Sacrament and also as it is outwardly seene hath a bodily kinde and forme that feedeth the body but as it is inwardly vnderstood it hath a spirituall fruit which quickeneth the soule Aug. de sacra altar Serm. 1 Cor. 12.27 And the same Doctor minding to speake somewhat more plainely and manifestly of this mysticall body in the words following saith thus If yee will therefore vnderstand what Christes body meanes heare the Apostles saying Yee are the body of Christ and members for your part If then yee be the bodie of Christ and members for your part your mysterie is set on the Lords Table and yee receiue the mystery of the Lord. You answere Amen to that thing which you your selues be and by so answering you subscribe and consent to the same Thou hearest then Christes body and thou answerest Amen be a member of the body of Christ that so thy Amen may be true and right But wherefore is this done in bread In this matter we will bring forth nothing of our owne devise let vs rather heare the Apostle himselfe vtter his minde when speaking of this Sacrament he sayth we that are many are one bread 1 Cor. 10.17 and one body c. This holy man Augustine doth sufficiently instruct vs that as Christes bodie is signified by the Bread which is set vpon the Altar so also there is thereby signified by the bodie of the people that receiveth it manifestly thereby declaring that that is Christes proper or owne body in which he was borne of the Virgin in which he sucked in which he suffered in which be died in which he was buried in which he rose againe in which he ascended into Heaven in which he sitteth at the right hand of the Father and in which he shall come to judge the quicke and the dead Whereas that which is set vpon the Lords Table conteineth the mysterie of the other even as it doth likewise containe the mysterie of the beleeving people the Apostle himselfe witnessing the same and saying Wee that are many are one bread 1 Cor. 10.17 and one body in Christ. Your wisdome most noble Prince may perceiue and vnderstand that I haue both by the testimonies of the sacred Scriptures and by the sayings of the holy Fathers faithfully alledged and layd downe most evidently declared and plainely prooved that that bread which is called Christs bodie and that cup which is called Christs blood is a figure because it is a mystery and also that there is no small difference betweene that his body which is so in a mystery and that his body which sufferâ—â— and was buried and rose againe because in that was the very proper bodie of our Saviour neither was there in it any figure or or signification but the manifestation and plainenesse of the thing it selfe was knowne as also the beleevers at this day doe desire the sight thereof for that is our head and when wee see it Ioh. 10.30 our desire shall be satisfied for he and the Father are one not in respect that our Saviour hath a body but in respect of the fulnesse of the godhead Col. 2.9 which dwelt in Christ as hee was man Whereas in this which is celebrated and administred by a mystery there is a figure not onely of Christs owne body but also of the body of the people that beleeue in Christ for it beareth the figure of both the bodies that is to say both of Christ bodie which suffered and rose again and of the people that are in Christ through Baptisme borne againe and quickened from the dead Hereunto let vs adde also that this bread and this cup which is called the body and blood of Christ doth lieuely represent or set out the remembrance of the Lords passion or death even as hee himselfe hath sayd in the Gospell Luk. 22.19 Doe ye this in remembrance of mee which the Apostle Paul expounding saith 1 Cor. 11.26 So often as yee shall eate of this bread and drinke of this cup yee shall shew forth the Lords death till hee come Here we are taught by our Saviour by the holy Apostle Saint Paul that that bread and that wine which is set on the Altar is there set for a figure or remembrance of the Lords death to the end it might call back to our remembrance that which hath beene done in time past that so wee being made mindefull of that his passion might by it be made partakers of Gods gifts and graces by which also wee are delivered from death knowing this that when wee shall come to the sight and beholding of Christ we shall haue no need of such instruments and meanes thereby to be put in remembrance what his vnmeasurable and infinite goodnesse hath endured for vs the reason is because that When wee shall behold him face to face 1 Cor. 13.12 wee shall be put in minde not by any outward admonition of temporall things but we shall behold him in the very contemplation and sight of the truth it selfe and to be instructed how we ought to giue thanks to the author of our saluation And yet I would haue no man thinke that because wee speake thus that therefore the faithfull doe not in the mystery of the Sacrament receiue the Lords body and blood because faith receiveth that thing not which the eye seeth but that which the hart beleeveth for it is a spirituall meate and a spirituall drinke spiritually feeding the soule and giving the life of everlasting fulnesse even as our Saviour himselfe commending and setting out this mystery saith Ioh. 6.63 It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing Thus I being a man of very small gifts and desiring to yeeld obedience vnto your Excellencies commandement haue presumed and vndertaken to dispute or reason of no small matters wherein I haue not followed the presumption of mine owne thinking or iudgement but regarded rather the authority of the ancient Fathers which if your Highnes shall allow as spoken Catholikely Christianly impute it I pray you to the deserts and worthinesse of your owne zeale and religion which was not ashamed having for a while layd aside the glory of your Kingly magnificence to demand an answer concerning the truth of such a poore and base person as I am But if happily these things shall not please and delight you ascribe it vnto my folly and vnskilfulnesse which could not effectually declare that which your Highnesse wished and I my selfe greatly desired Here endeth Bertrams Booke concerning the Body and Blood of the Lord. Errata IN the Epistle Whether he spurious reade whether he be spurious In the Preface next following PAge 2. Charlemayne the Great reade Charles the Great Page 7. Trithenius reade Trithemius Page 9. Sendeth greeting reade send greeting In the Booke of Bertram FOl. 5. Outwardly locked vp reade outwardly looked vpon Fol. 9. In colour or in favour reade in colour or in savour