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A03260
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A consolatorie epistle to the afflicted catholikes, set foorth by Thomas Hide Priest
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Hide, Thomas, 1524-1597.
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1579
(1579)
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STC 13376; ESTC S118132
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36,634
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140
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desire kindeleth of delaie and vnderstaÌdinge encreaseth of desire We must aske we must seeke we muste knocke Our lorde hath saide Aske you and you shal receaue Seeke and you shal finde Knocke and the doore shal be opened Wee must perseauer eager and feruente in prayer not doubtinge but in tyme we shal receaue what we aske in tyme we shal finde what wee seeke and after wee haue knocked the doore wil be opened That sweete ladie of consolatioÌ and quene of comforte with al the heauenlie courte to whom you so often poure forthe your mourninge plaintes wyl not wante to make intercession for you before the throwne of his maiestie Theire praiers wyl not faile but gaine you comforte in your distresses And assure your selues that God wyl heare you and them for you for he is al wayes nighe to them that be afflicted Christe may seeme longe a sleepe to you that be afflicted to you it may seeme timelie that Christe take pitie of his churche so pitiouslie afflicted with heresie and tyrannie But it is not our parte to appointe him time he knoweth beste what is necessarie for vs To him wee muste humble our soules and praye for suche times as may be moste for his honor It was saide to them of Bethulia Vnderstande you that God vvil heare your prayers yf stil you perseuere in fastinge and prayer God almightie hath appointed tyme and knoweth when and how to deliuer the Godlie out of temptation After a storme he maketh fayre wether After weepinge and heuines he geueth mirthe and ioye The shippe hath ben shaken with no lesse stormes at other times then at this time Christe quieted those and Christe wil quiet thes Doubte you not but he wil bringe his trobeled freindes throughe the middes of thes tempestes and repose them in quiet hauen I conclude with thes considerations Christians are nowe put together as it were in apotte ouer the fire to be tried as goulde is tried from other metalles The fire flameth the pot seetheth the waters be thicke the scombe is caste awaye Catholikes are in the forge vnder the workemans hande to be refined They are in the forge not as coles that burne and turne to ashes but as golde that is tried The forge is the worlde you are the golde tribulation is the fire God is the worke man. The Christian catholike life consisteth in sufferinge wee must not therfore doo our owne wil but the wil of god And amonge men wee must eyther suffer the rulers wil or theire power their wil to order vs or theire power to punishe vs And then the consequeÌce is eyther to haue victorie in this worlde or to surrender this life to inherite the life euerlastinge The sureste waye to come into the peaceable porte of our countrie towarde which wee saile tossed in many tempestes is to remaine in the shippe and in the same to trace the true wayes of them that haue gon before to treade in their steppes and to become heires of their vertues Hard thinges may be mollified straite thinges may be loused and heauie thinges shal litle greue them that can beare them hansomlie Thoughe God suffer for a time the wicked to rage and the hypocrite to raigne yet the same hande that woundeth heyleth the same hande that presseth refresheth Godes pitiful grace wyl quenche the firebrandes asswage the rage and releue the innocentes The wisedome of the worlde maketh worldlie heades deffecte from god Good mens heartes be create of God and be resteles in the worlde but when they reste in God. As there is but one God one faithe and one baptisme so is there but one Christe one churche and one religion No faithe can profite but that one which is the catholike Romaine faithe confessed in the catholike Romaine churche that is but one vnder one heade The Lutheran the Caluinian and Puritan faithe is a newe no faithe a newe no religion founded vpon mannes fancie without Godes worde or authoritie It hath no churche no bishoppe no prieste no aulter no sacrifice and consequentlie no God. And they of this newe no faithe hauinge no grounde in Christe nor of his churche dissente in their owne groundes without vnitie from veritie You haue the groundes of Christe You haue the authoritie of Christes churche You haue the testimonies of Christes sainctes You haue the confirmations of general councelles With you is the vniforme consente of the people of god With you is the publike practise of the Christian worlde You should not be discomforted to suffer for such a cause as hath so manye greate so manye good and so sufficience groundes for suche a cause I saye as with which concurre so manye comfortes As that you sustaine the greateste cause under the cope of heauen the common cause of Christes catholike churche the cause of religion which is the supreme seruice and soueraigne honor that you can offer vnto god That God maketh you worthie geueth you grace to confesse and fortitude to suffer That you enioye in the vnitie of Christes churche the bountie of his blessinges That you be safe in this churche throughe the mightie power of your guides and rulers That you be pertakers of al praier of al sacrifice of al good workes and shal be pertakers of Christes deathe and merites That in sufferinge you be daylie crowned that you haue victorie and shal haue rewarde That in sufferinge your vertues be exercised and your merites encreased That you suffer directelie for iustice that you suffer but for a time That by suffering God maketh you lowe to bringe you to the highest maketh you ritche in faithe and turneth your temporal punishemeÌte to your spiritual benefite That you ouercome the worlde that you shal not be condemned with the worlde That you be open confessors That you haue secrete martyrdome that you haue al possible comfortes with which faithe is strengthened to make you opeÌ Martyres Yf any of you take comforte in any of thes comfortes geue the praise to God and cal vpon him in al your pressures and sufferinges God wil be your helpe and God muste be your hope Yf there be remedie it wil once fal yf there be none thanke God of al. Beleue wel and liue wel Do wel and die wel that you may die to liue with god God the father of al mercies and the God of al comforte comforte you in al your tribulation with the same comforte wherwith our selues are comforted of God. Fare you wel At Louaine the last of September 1579. A Prayer Almightie God father of al mercies and God of al comforte haue mercie on vs the afflicted members of thy catholike churche Forgeue vs our synnes geue vs tyme to do penance grace to resiste synne and peace to serue thee in holynes Comforte vs that be thy prisoners reliue vs that be straingers in dispersion succour al that be afflicted for confessinge thy holie name Make vs worthie to suffer geue vs strengthe to beare and constancie to confesse Let no feare
strengtheneth you The holie Trinitie in one deitie gouerneth you and wil not leaue to giue you grace and fortitude to endure what affliction so euer for the glorie of his holie name Furthermore it should be to you no litle coÌforte to recognise the manifolde benefites and blessinges of God which you enioye whiles you kepe your selues within the shippe of Christe Christe hath but one shippe that is one churche one in vnitie of faithe one in vnitie of profession one in vnitie of sacramentes one in vnitie of head They that be not of this one churche of this one faithe vnder this one head enioye not the healpe of the father enioye not the prayer of the sonne nor the assistance of the holie ghoste To be of Christes churche in Christes vnitie is of such importaÌce that a constant christian shoulde rather chose to die theÌ to aparte from it It is no lesse glorie to suffer martyrdome for the conseruation of vnitie theÌ it is not to offer to idolles yea rather it is a greater martyrdome for in the one eache man suffereth for him selfe in the other eache man suffereth for the whole churche Now then you that be in vnitie suffer for this vnitie and chrise happie be you whoÌ god maketh worthie so to suffer They that forsake the general faithe of Christes churche and truste to some one article leape out of the shippe and seme to catche at a litle bourde ther of The beleuinge of any one article wil not saue vs the not beleuinge of any one wil coÌdemne vs They that forsake antiquitie vniuersalitie consente and vnitie enter into the streames of schisme driue at the rocke of heresie whiuer vp and downe at euerie blaste of doctrine and populer flaterie and shal neuer finde place of reste or quiet porte to arriue Beholde in how many greate perilles they be whom this trobelous storme hath shaken out of the shippe Do they not endomage and hasarde their soules wheÌ they enter into schisme and roÌne out of schisme into heresie As by schisme they bereue them selues of charitie so by heresie they bereue theÌ selues of faithe How can they separat from the bodie but they aparte also from the heade They can hardelie dismember them selues froÌ the churche and firmelie holde the righte faithe seinge faithe is the gifte of God that floweth from Christe as from the heade into his bodie and meÌbres An easie leape it is out of schisme into heresie and as easie to procede froÌ heresie to Apostasie for in heresie there is no stoppe nor staye Scantlie shal you finde an opinatiue heade that falleth into one heresie but slideth froÌ poynte to poynte into a multitude vntil he dislike euerie poynte of the catholike faithe which poynte perdie is plaine Apostasie And theÌ from Apostasie into Atheisme and Epicurisme the waye is made plaine As then it caÌ not but comforte you to conceaue that you kepe with in the shippe out of schisme in vnitie so it caÌnot but recomforte you that you be vnder vnitie of heade in vnitie of faithe that faithe which Christe preached that faithe which his Apostles receaued that faithe which the christiaÌ worlde beleueth that faithe which our forefathers liued in euen that Catholike Romaine faithe which now you liue in and for which you suffer Of this faithe you haue the righte sense and felinge when you holde Christe in the foundation when you confesse the substance of Christes doctrine vnderstanded by that holie spirite which firste penned it Greate is the obedieÌce of your faithe in al doctrines in al sacramentes in al articles and in al Apostolike and churchelie traditions In obedience of this faithe you beleue that Christes worde is Christes worke and that by the mightie power of his word he is made presente with you and geueth remission and grace In obedience of this faithe you praye vnto Christes sainctes in heauen you praye for Christian soules in purgatorie that they may praye for you in heauen In obedience of this faithe you grounde your hope that God wyl not leaue vnrewarded your prayers your penance your fastinges your almes nor any good worke els what soeuer When you suffer nowe for the general faithe of Christe you suffer for euerie poynte that christian iustice bindeth you to confesse And this is a ful confession of the faithe catholike wherin you haue to acknowledge the blessinges of God that maketh you worthie to suffer for faithe in obedience of faithe for vnitie in vnitie for charitie in veritie And here vpon haue you to muse and meditate when greefes recurre that you suffer for the churche of Christe and for the faithe of Christe with Christe that suffered paineful deathe to make his churche glorious They that be not of this churche and of this faithe be whithoute charitie nor can they be pertakers of Godes charitie which be enemies of his vnitie Thoughe they receaue the sacrament of faithe thoughe theire faithe be whole and sounde it doth not auaile them so longe as soundnes of charitie is killed with the dedlie wounde of schisme by whos onelie deathe what euer thinges be sounde of them selues be drawen to deathe And schismatikes may doo good workes but good workes doo not profite them Thoughe they praye thoughe they faste thoughe they geue almes thoughe they liue continent thoughe they kepe virginitie al doth not helpe al doth not profite because they breake vnitie Put to this so longe as they be deuided from Christes churche they receaue not the life of his holie spirite for oute of his churche his holie spirite geueth not life The churche is the mystical bodye of Christe they must be of his bodie that wil liue of his spirite Heretikes liue not of his spirite schismatikes liue not of his spirite excommunicat persons liue not of his spirite and why Because they be not of his bodie What lyfe theÌ haue they they haue the lyfe of theire bodies but lacke the life of theire soules they liue in their fleshe and die in their spirite they die aliue they liue without faithe without charitie without churche without aulter without prieste without sacrifice without God. Consider then the lamentable losse of them that bee leapte out of the shippe now in the time of this tempeste Consider the domage and dainger of them which dismember them selues froÌ Christe and his churche Schisme bereueth them of vnitie and charitie schisme seperareth them from Christe and his churche schisme ioyneth theÌ to the synagoge of the diuel schisme spoyleth them of sanctification and grace And where there is a communioÌ of prayers and of al good workes common to them that be vnited in Christe schisme bereueth theÌ of the frute of al prayers of al good workes and of al sacrifices finallie schisme excludeth them froÌ heauen and leadeth theÌ to hel Beholde you that be of one vnitie in the house of God beholde what they lese by schisme and see what you gaine by vnitie You I saye that be in