owr Sauior the verie tradition meaninge the Pater noster which he hym selfe dyd make But how so eueâ— it be he which reporteth that Gregorius tertius made the Canon might well inowgh write so according to his knowledge and when it is writen by S. Gregory that one Scholasticus or a disciple of Christs was the auctor therof this is nothiÌ„g falsified by him which wrot afterwardes And likewise it may stand that it cam from the Apostles as InnoceÌ„tius tertius writeth for all that an other saieth that it cam from Gregorius except perchaunce yow will say that one may not read more then an other an one see further then an other bothe speaking according to their knowledge euideÌ„ces But whosoeuer were the first deuiser of it it forceth not sayeth M. Iuell Yes mary Sir for this being proued by more auctorites of writers that the Canon did come from the Apostles or that it was extaÌ„t within vjC yeares after Christ theÌ„ it can be disproued to be of so great antiquity great sham it is for vs not to mainteine so auncient an order of the masse and great forgetfulnes in you M. Iuell to iest at that which is found to haue ben receaued within the compasse of six hundred yeres after Christ of which yeres you make your selfe so sure that for so long space you say all went with you without exceptioÌ„ But now if it forceth not who made the Canon wheras before you made the matter so great that it was against the scriptures bicause of S. Paule which saieth Sciocui credidi I know whoÌ„ I haue beleiued as though Catolikes had not a church to beloue but should hang vpon the report of historiographers well seing then now it forceth not who made the Canon what fault haue you found in the substaÌ„ce and meaning of the Canon First the preist in the Canon desireth God to blesse Christs bodie as though it were not sufficient lie blessed all readie First you make a shamefull he that the priest desireth God to blesse Christ his bodye Beare it well awaye I pray you and remember it that I charge you with makyng of an open lie euen at your first begynning which you make agaynst the Canon It is not I saye in owr Latin and common Canon that the priest desireth God the Father to blesse Christ his bodye And I dare sweare for it althowgh you may do much in Sarum that no missall after the vse of Sarum hath the lyke as you doe speake in the begynning of the Canon Also if it should be saied so as you report in any part of the whole Canon can you proue that the Catholikes haue prayed so for this cause as thowgh Christ his bodye were not sufficientlie blessed alreadiâ— What a Ioannes diuisar be you to make so wicked and vyle disâ—urses vpon that which either is not sayed at all or hath ben spoken with much reuerence and great humilitie of the parties In deed such lyke wordes haue ben vsed of the Grecians euen after the consecration perfected as appeareth by their wrytinges But what cause alleage they for it Marie thosâ— say they which are in great desire of any thing vse to speake of that which is most sure as thowgh they were not sure of it nothing thereby mistrusting the effect but declaring the vehemencie of theyr desire As the Prophete Dauyd when he had sayd God my ryghtuousnes hearde me when I called vnto hym yet in the same verye Psalme and verse folowing he addeth Haue mercye vppon me O Lord and heare my prayer Loe sayeth Theodoritus The iust man is not satisfied in prayer but making his petitions and obteyning them yet continueth â—e styll in prayer by which yow see how farr a Christian and good commentator would be from such deuyses as yow M. Iuell doe make vpon holye sayinges But the Latin Canon hath no such wordes at all neyther before nor it after consecration that I meane God shoulde blesse Christ his bodye In the beginnyng of the Canon the priest desireth God to accept and blesse those giftes and presentes and sacrifices or oblations of bread and wyne which may receiue encrease of sanctification and are in deede made most holyâ— when they are turned in to the bodye and bloud of Christ. Also after consecration the priest desireth God to loke meâ—cifullie downe vpon those pretiouse thinges which are there present But how not as they are in them selues mosâ— acceptable but as they are offered for who can saye that his hart is chast and pure and who knoweth whether God wil not punishe vs when we are not prepared rightlie to do that office Considering therfor the holines of God and vilenes of man the church desireth God to accept owr offering of Christâ— bodie owr Lord â–ª or in other wordes to saye it to accept that bodye and those giftes offered But of that place M. Iuell speaketh afterward I conclud therefore vpon his present wordes that he maketh an open lie and maniâ—est And if hymselfe was not the maker of it lett hym tell of what author he borowed it Further the priest saieth that he offereth and presenteth vp Christ vnto his father True it is and that you may wonder the more not the priest onely but all the whole church doth offer Christ daily to his father For as concerning the priest either tâ—ere is no priest among vs at all or we be no sinners or we must haue a daily sacrifice to make our God fauorable vnto vs. A sacâ—ifice not of thankes geuing onelye which the law of nature teacheth vs to offer to our cheif Lord and Creator neither of calfes and shepe as the old law did appoint it but a sacrifice proportionable to a new law and a sacrifice worthy and meete for a new testameÌ„t of Ihesus Christ. What say you then good Sir if the priest of the new law and testament offereth Christ vnto his father it is say you open blasphemy So say they which worship false Godes which they haue made to them selues by licentious vnderstanding of the Scriptures and by cutting hewing and pecing together of the veritie For wherin consisteth this blasphemye doe you which are of the church by outward shew of your degree and maÌ„ner of behauiour think priesthod to be a pelting base office as the worldly people doe But Chrisostom saieth That priesthod so far passeth kingdom as the soule passeth the body and we ought to reuerence priestes not only more then kinges and princes but to set them forth with more honor then our owne fathers Or think you that Christ in his last supper did not ofâ—er vp him selfe to his father But the Prophet saieth yea rather God not onely saieth it but bindeth it with an othe and it shall not repent him therof that Christ is a priest for euer according to the order of Melchisedech Can you saye for all this that priestes haue no authority to offer him But Chrisostom
this is my bloud lett vs obey hym and beleue hym Further more Eusebius Emissenus in his fifth sermon of Easter he sayth Behould with thy faith honor and wonder at the holye bodye and bloud of thy Lorde But none of these are plaine inough for M. Iuell I doe aske hym therefore what S. Iames meant in his liturgie or masse when that lifting vp the gift which is the consecrated host he crieth owt holie thinges for the holie Yf he sayed holie in that respect onlye that Christ sitteth in heauen why doth he then lift vp the Sacrament Agayne in S. Basile his masse at the tyme of receauing the Bishop lifting vp the bread sayeth Looke doune o Lord 〈◊〉 Christ owr God owt from thy holie tabernacle and come to sanctifie vs thow which sittest aboue togeather with thy father and art togeather with vs here inuisiblie Vouchsafe with thy mightye hand to geue vnto vs thy holie and vndefiled bodie and pretiouse bloud and by vs sinners vnto the whole people And what meaneth S. Basile by lifting vp the bread and by so deuoute a prayer and by that which foloweth when with a great voyce he cryeth holie thinges for the holie Also how is it sayd in S. Chrisostome his masse that the priest after the lyke praier made as S. Basile hath taketh a portion of the host which is on the holie paten and lifting it vp a litle sayeth holie thinges for the holie the clerkes and the people answering one holie one Lorde in the glory of God his father But to lett these questions goe I will come more nerer and be certified of M. Iuell whether Christ were the very soun of allmighty God or no whether his bodie is to be worshipped or no whether he be reallye and trulie in the Sacrament of the faithfull M. Iuell denyeth that in any place in the whole world twelue hundred yeares after Christ the worshipping of the Sacrament was vsed But I aske whether any doctor or good man in the space of twelue hundred yeares after Christ did beleue that Christ was reallie in the Sacrament It can not be denyed but that holie men did beleue so As S. Damascene witnesseth saâ—eing Bread and wâ—ne are not the figure of the bodye and â—loud of Christ God â—â—â—bead but the verie bodie indued with the Godhead whereas our Lord hym self sayeth this is my bodie and not a figure of my bodie And lykewyse Algerus in his booke de Sacramento altaris is verye manifest And again Bâ—â—â—engarius which denied the veritie of Christ his bodie in the Sacrament and would haue nothing but a figuratiue bodie there he was condempned by a generall councel in which Lanfrancus Bishop of Canterburye was a cheife doer agaynst that heresie and wrot a boke by name agaynst Berengarius Therefor it can not be denied but that these men which again I saye lyued within the compasse of twelue hundred yeares after Christ his ascension did verelie beleue as the Catholykes and papistes doe at these daies Yf then Lanfrancus Archebishop of Canterburie beleued that Christ was verelie and reallie not as Berengarius the heretyke sayed figuratiuelie onlie in the Sacrament ergo he dyd worship our Sauior there present ergo a lerned blessed man hath worshipped the Sacrament within a thousand two hundred yeares after Christ his ascention ergo some man hath made a foule lie Certenlie yow can not escape here master myne For if LansraÌ„cus were one of that councel which condempned Berengarius and if Berengarius heresie was that these wordes of Christ This ys my bodye are no otherwyse to be taken then those other of his I am the vyne and if no Christians hart can choose but honor the bodie of his Sauyor and if Lanfrancus lyued within twelue huÌ„dred yeares after Christ ergo there was honoring of the sacrament before three hundred yeares last passed and therefore the memorie hath â—ailed the preacher But yet there was no lacke of memorie and the proposition dyd not escape M. Iuelles mouth vnware for he stowtlie repeteth it with once agayn I saie that a thousand two hundred yeares after Christ his ascention the worshipping of the sacrament was neuer knowen Well Syr the presence was knowen if you answer it was not whitheÌ„ was Berengarius condempned which denied the presence If it were confessed how could it but be worshipped I had rather one should answer that Lanfrancus and the councell called VercelleÌ„se dyd not beleue the presence of Christ in the sacrament which were verie ignorantlie and vntrulye spoken thei condempnyng Berengarius for an heretyke then to saye that for all his presence thei dyd not worship hym For that is not onlie ignorantlie but allso wickedlie and blasphemoâ—slie spoken Lanfrancus then was within twelue hundred yeares next after Christ and he beleued with all the Catholykes of that tyme Christ to be reallie present in the Sacrament ergo the worshipping of the SacrameÌ„t was knoweÌ„ within the cumpasse of the yeares which M. Iuell rekoneth vpon so that all is not the Ghospell which he spenketh But will you here now a pretie coniecture of his for conclusion I can not call it which maketh to no purpose After the people began sayeth he to worship the sacrament with godlie honor the lerned men and schole doctors that then were sawe it could not stand without great daunger and confessed that the ignorant sort might be leaden in to Idolatrie And what of this yf there be daunger in worshipping an host not consecrated how then Shall the honor due to Christ his bodye be taken awaye In the beginnyng of your sermon nothing to the purpose it was proued that abuses haue crept in to the sacrament â–ª would yow therefor the sacrament also to be abolished yf a leud priest with whom you were well acquaynted or els you bâ— light of belefe hath ben knowen for manye yeares space not to haue coÌ„secrated the host shal honest priestes therefor which do consecrate be suspected and the true sacrament dishonored The lerned men of whom yow speak dyd neuer doubt but the sacrament was to be honored but some of them dyd cast the worst saying what if by malice of the priest or other wyse there should be no consecration at all how then shall we think sayed they is there anye idolaâ—e committed of the ignorant people But you suppose they made this argument It may chaunce that an host not consecrated be lifted vp and honored of the people which thing ys daungerouse ergo it had ben better neuer to haue made corpus Christi daye or it were well done to take awaie the sacrament For this must be your conclusion to proue that euen by the verie scholemen adoration is taken awaie or not alowed For if this be not proued yow are fallen from your matter and you talke of scholemen besides all lernyng Yet graunt that there ys daunger bycause the dyuel hath his chapelaines it is easelie remedied
sayeth he afterwardes he was not called vniuersall Bishopp Wherfor vnto M. Iuells question yf the name of vniuersall Bishopp was not in the primitiue church yet the thing it self was as 〈…〉 shewed so that the name it selfe 〈…〉 haue been vsed in that sense as it 〈…〉 Bishopp which hath charge 〈…〉 and of all the Catholike 〈…〉 But as it signifyeth hym which 〈…〉 other Bishop but hym selfe 〈…〉 there neither was 〈…〉 Bishopp vniuersall 〈…〉 people were then tawghte to 〈…〉 Christes 〈◊〉 ys reallye 〈…〉 carnailâ—e or 〈…〉 The 〈◊〉 â—ome of God is not in wordes but in power and strength and allbeyt owt of hand it could not be fownd to bryng a writer so auncient as yow require for euery one of those termes yet is the cause nothing the worse so that it may appere by any meanes that in the Sacrament is his verye body For I think it would be very hard to find in any writing of old and holy doctor with in vjC yeares of Christ all these wordes that he take râ—all substantiall corporall carnall naturall flâ—shâ— of the virgin Marie and yet they were instructed perfectlie to beleue that Christ toke owr verye flesh and not a figure onlye therof as the Maniches did euill report And so yf I could noâ— bring example of all the termes which yow would haue proued yet yf I can coÌ„clude that the verye body and not a fantasticall supposed bodye is in the sacrament for the wordes of carnall reall corporall substanciall and naturall I need not be woefull In the sacrament sayeth S. Ierome vnto Hebidia the verye bodyâ— of Christ ys of which bodye sayeth Isichius in Leu. lib 6. Cap 22. S. Gabriel did say vnto the virgin the holie ghost shall com vpon the. It is called of S. Cyrill lib. 3. in 10. Cap. 37. lib. 10. Cap. 13. the body of lyfe it selfe or of naturall lyfe Of Origene the bodye of the worde Of S. Chrisostome the body which is partaker of the diuine nature 1. Cor. Cap. 10. Of S. Augustine Psal. 33. the verye crucifyed bodye in the which he suffered so greate thinges Of Chrisâ—stome againe 1. Cor. Cap. 10. the body which was nayled vpon the crosse beaten wounded with spere which was not ouercoÌ„med with death What will a Christian man aske more and what neede to bring owt the wordes of carnall reall corporall naturall wheras the bodye of Christ being present and that body which was borne of the virgin Marye it foloweth that it is reall and naturall or els we are fallen from owr fayth in which we beleue that he toke reall flesh of the blessed virgin And here also where fynd you not onelye within vjC yeares of Christ but within .vj. and .vj. hundred and take three more vnto them that the people were taught to beleue that the body of Christ is onlye figuratiuelye sacrameÌ„tallie significatiuelye tropicallie imaginatiuelie in the Sacrament to the denyall of all presence and realitie S. Damascene a notable father writing purposelye of the sacrament of the altar sayeth that it is not simple bread or fode but vnited vnto the diuinitie Also hread and wyne sayth he is not a figure of the bodye and bloud of Christ God forbed but it is the very deisyed body of owr Lorde where as he hath sayed him selfe this is my body not a figure of my body and not a figure of my bloud but my bloud But M. Iuell appealeth vnto the vjC yeres next after Christ Vnto those vjC doth he appeale Vnto those vjC he that be browght And I require hym to shew furth where it was euer tawght with in vj. C. yeares after Christ that Christes bodie was in the sacrament figuratiuelye onely Lett one sentence example aucthoritye worde or sillable be browght furth of a bodye onelye figuratiue and significatiue and he shal haue the victorye Yea but sayth he the reall corporall carnall naturall presence was not preached or tawght at those dayes ergo a figuratiue bodye onelye was beleued And thus whiles we stryue vpon termes onely we spend the tyme in a questioÌ„ not necessarie and he will not consider the truth in it self as it is Christ sayd this is my bodye which shalbe delyuered for yow Saye the truth Is not this playne inowgh what yf he had sayd this is my naturall body should all mysbeleife on yowr part haue ceased I thinke not for these wordes which shalbe deliuered for yow do as playnely expresse what bodye he meaneth as yf he had vsed the worde naturall or corporall what difference is in these poyntes M. Iuell and the named Bishopp of Sarum and he which in the yeare of owr Lorde 1561. preached at Paules crosse the second sonday before Easter and after this sort yf I would proced further what difference were there or how many persons myght I be thowght to haue named in the iudgement of them which know the state of this world what oddes is there betwene fowre pens and a grote what difference betwixt the very body of Christ and the reall bodye the body borne of the blessed virgin and the naturall bodye the corporall bodye and his very flesh the carnall bodye and the bodye which was delyuered vnto death and hanged on the crosse for vs This is not childisshnes onely but very wantonnes to aske for the terme of a corporall and reall body and not to be coÌ„tent with such a bodye which dyed for vs to beleue owr eyes yf we should see hym and to discredite his voyce when we doe here hym not to be able to deny but this is the bodye which was delyuered for vs and yet to require whether it be his naturall bodye or no And yet bycause the church owr mother which in her selfe is strong doth condescend vnto the infirmitie of those which once the browght furth I will shew in one testimony that euen in playne worde corporallie Christ his body is geuen vnto the faythfull And yf copye of wordes delite M. Iuell I will proue also that he is naturally in his faithfull S. Cyrill a blessed and auncyent father in reprouyng and confutyng a certen Arrian which vpon those wordes of Christ I am the vyne and my father is the husbandman wold inferr that Christ and God the father were not of one substance no more then a vyne and a husbandman are which Arrian also sayde that those wordes I am a vyne c. apperteyned vnto the diuinitie and not the humanitie of Christ. S. Cyrill I saye in confuting this reason hath these wordes VVe doe not denye but we are ioyned spirituallie vnto Christ by right fayth aâ—d syncere charitie but yet that there is no waye of the ioyning of vs togeather with hym accordyng to the flesh that trulie we doe veterly denye And we say that to be altogeather besides the Scriptures For who hath doâ—ted Christ euen after this fashion vnderstand according to the flesh to be the vyne and vs to be
breaketh the coÌ„secrated host holding the halfe in one the halfe in his otheâ— hand And that which is in the right hand he putteth in to the chalice saying The vnion of the most holy bodye and precious bloud of oure Lorde and God and Sauiour Thesus Christ. Then the other part which was in the left hand he blesseth and diuideth and putteth it in to chalices saying it is vnited and sanctified and coÌ„summated in the name of the Father and Soun and the Holy Ghost now and euer I leaue owt manye thinges as praying vnto Saincts and also praying for the dead oft inclinations and bowinges oft lifting vp the voyce oft speaking to hym selfe alone with incense agayne offred in the later end of the masse Which masse truly yf it were in english and sayed accordingly it would seme more superstitious and more full of cerimonies gestures then the masse which they saye to haue nothyng well nere but mennes inuention What memories haue these felowes which so frely report of S. Iames masse that which they haue forgotten howe it standeth or yf memory faile them not what hartes haue they to lye so lowdly and to the shame of their communion to crie owt that Saint Iames masse hath Christ his institution that the people which haue neuer reade it heard it or sene it might think it were as prety a thing as the communion is wheras in dede all thinges being knowen it vtterly confoundeth all their craking and glory except they haue forgotten that incensing blessing crossing and soft speaking and saluting of oure blessed lady all which thinges are vsed in Sainct Iames masse doe vtterly disagree froÌ„ their positions whereof it foloweth that he speaketh much against him selfe which praiseth so highely that masse whose rites and cerimonies do turne their religion to vtter shame and vnworthines I praye God to send them all better mindes and not to seke their owne glory by defending of that which once they take in hand to maintayne but the honour of God and his truth which hath and shall continew for euer Amen Thus then now Sir you haue a pece of an answer vnto the stoute chalenge and a token of my good will toward your beneuolence and some example of the exercise in the whiche I bestow my solitary and sorowfull time Of which three poyntes although euery one separatly were sufficient to haue geuen an occasion to this my labour and should be available to obtaine easy pardon for suche thinges which may be amended by the lerned Catholikes yet chefely I entended to destroy the assertions of Master Iuell Which if I haue not fully done yet all is not lost bicause I haue other prouided a tokeÌ„ to send to my very frend or chosen such an exercise where in I was not vnfrutfully occupied But on the other side if I haue attained vnto the coÌ„futation of those matters which I know deserue iust confusion then haue I that which I principally sought for â–ª and then as I would be content that our frendes should haue a sight of it so would I not be asâ—amed if the enemies should chauÌ„ce to find it But who is there that is able to saie that this is so diligently wrought that it should be welcome to those which do loue vs or should be accepted for probable of suche as fiâ—d faulte with vs Well yet how so euer it be I put it in to your handes to haue and to hold for better for worse vntill you see occasion from it to departe Fare you well You know my ordinary commendations which I vse in all letters Do them at this tyme extraordinarely with an ouerplus bycause it is long sence I wrote laste vnto you Your owne I. R. A CONCLVSION TO THE READER VVITH a challenge annexed THVS much vnto a singular Frind but to take my leaue of the also Reader and to shutt vpp all this matter with some coÌ„clusion well worth the remembring I think it verie good and profitable to sett furth also a solemne challenge thereby to geaue owr aduersaries an occasion to shew furth their Scriptures Councells Doctours c. and to declare their deepe knowledge in answering for themselues whose art we haue experience of in deuysing of obiections against other Which enterpryse and ventering of myne as it will be most subiect vnto their eye and consâ—quentlie vnto their prying and exâ—myning so haue I taken vnto me the 〈◊〉 of a perfect wyse man and 〈…〉 which hath tawght me how to procede against them that I neede not to mistrust my boldnes For thus he saieth in his boke of Prouerbes a boke of good authoritie and instruction Doe not aunswer a foole according to his folisshnes least thow be made lyke vnto hym And in the next sentence folowing Aunswer saieth he a foole according vnto his folisshnes that he may not seeme to hymselfe to be wyse To folow now therefore this duble and good counsell of not aunswering and yet aunswering a foole I will sett furth vâ—to the Reader two challenges to plaie the foole with a foole in the first of theÌ„ that he may beholde his artificiall wysedome and in the second not to agree with hym in his folie because I will refuse his waies and order But how may one aunswer a foole according vnto his folie or what hope is there of anye vantage â–ª if that waie be taken with hym Marie lyke as some madd men I haue heard saie haue ben meetlie well browght to themselues when an other hath stared and gaped vpon them all counterfaicting an owtragiouse behauyor so vndowbtedlie against fond questions it ys a profitable waye of replying to putt the lyke againe vnto madd aduersaries and cawse them to behold the absurditie For as the fault which an other maketh doth more sensiblie appeere vnto vs then the lyke of owr owne vsing thowgh owrselues be neerest to owrselues so to declare the absurditie of the challenge which M. luell with much opinion of wisedome pronounced against all Catholykes lett one of a lyke proportion to his be made furth vnto hym that he may coÌ„sider the well fauorednes of his owne worke when the lyke example of it shall greatlie mislyke hym Now if there were not so good lykelyhode and reason why this counterfaited challenge so to call it shoulde be vttered profitablie yet the wyseman so plainelie either counselling or licensing vs To aunswer a foole according to his foolisshnes his authoritie ys sufficient inowgh for me to beare me owt in this my doing and to saye that if I playe the foole yowr example M. Iuell hath moued me vnto it I saye therfore Yf any learned man of all our aduersaries or yf all the lerned men that be alyue be able to bring any one sufficient sentence out of any old Catholike doctour or father or out of any old generall Councell or out of the holy Scriptures of God or any one example of the primitiue church wherby it may be clearlie and plainely
discontinewing of the same ordre And ordres which men appoint may be chaunged again by men What then meaneth M. Iuell by these wordes VVhen any ordre geuen by God is broken and let him plainly also shew wherin the ordre consisted and who did break it The ordre was this as it appeareth by the learned coÌ„mentaries of the blessed fathers vpon that .xj. chapter of the first to the Corinthians On their holy daies and appointed feastes according to an old custome of the Churche the Corinthians did vse riche and poore altogether in coÌ„mon to eate drink and that of common meates and drinkes Which meetinges and suppers were called in the Grek tongue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as other do write bicause of their charitable sitting and eating together Now as S. Austen writeth after the supper ended they did receaue the SacrameÌ„t But as S. Chrisostom thinketh they did first receaue the Sacrament and then sett them selues to supper But were the SacrameÌ„t receaued after or before and to come to Theophilactus again afterward saieth he Dissentions arising among them that meruelous or excellent manner which had much charitie and not a litle Christian philosophy in it was taken away kept no longer of the Corinthians How was it taken away Bicause they did now sitt a sondre as â—che by them selues or kindredes with kindredes or by families or other waies deuided wherby the poore folkes which before did put their handes freely in the riche mens disshes whiles they sat Christianlike at one table together they now poore sowles in deede hungrie were caused to â—itt by them selues had no benefit of their euen Christians plentie With which singularitie of the riche men S. Paule was iustly offended and saied VVhen you com together in one this is not it to eate our Lord his supper For euery one of you doth take his owne supper before and eate In which wordes our Lord his supper is vnderstood as Theophilactus writeth that meeting and eating together of theirs which was instituted and receaued as in folowing of that reuerend and worshipfull supper of our Lord in deed Here vpon now S. Paule studying for the redresse of this ordre among other argumentes by which he would persuade them quietly and without disdaine or murmur to sitt together as they were wont to doe he bringeth in for one principall argument the doinges of our Sauior in his last supper saying I haue receaued of our Lord that which I haue deliuered vnto you and so forth As if he should haue saied more plainly my frindes you doe vse in your meetinges together to kepe separate tables and to put away the poore from you throwgh a certaine coÌ„tempt perchaunce or disdaine of them Which you are much to blame to doe For seing our Sauior in his last supper geuing his owne body to be eaten did not make partes thereof and vnequall diuision that som should haue al and other should goe without and wheras you also do receaue at these present suppers of your owne that very body of his it is to absurd that towardes your neighbours and brothers you should vse this straingenes as though they were not worthy to eate of your bocherly fleshly meate with you or com nigh vnto your tables which aâ— made partakers with you of the body of our Sauior and of the heauenly table Thus then you may see how the wordes of S. Paule depend orderly one vpon an other and what the ordre was with the breakinge of whiche he was offended And wher vpon then doe these wordes of M. Iuell folow I haue receaued of the Lord c. But let vs now yet debate this matter more plentifully The ordre once receaued was that they should make ther common supper all togethâ—r of such meates as they would bring and either before as S. Chrisostom his opinion is or after as S. Austen vnderstandeth it they should receaue the Sacrament Well this ordre is broken But why did you break it o ye Corinthians why did ye lett either enuie disdaine pride glotome or any other vncleane thought so to entre into your hartes and so to take place there that wheras before to the maintenaunce of charitie your tables in the church were common now to the discomforting of the simple and poore ye make to your selues priuate and singular banketes If you seeke onely for good chere you haue howses of your owne meeter for that purpose then the church But if nedes you wil supp in the church after the old fasshion let your meates be common vnto the rest which shalbe there gathered as the old fasshion was We see a manifest disordre and most lameÌ„table som be dronken bicause of to much other be fainte bicause of to litle Do ye coÌ„temne the church of god Do ye coÌ„found make to blushe others which haue nothing But what remedie Mary saith M. Iuell let vs bring the matter to the first ordre geuen correct the abuse by reducinge of the case vnto the first vse thereof Doe so then as you say amend this disordre of the Corinthians tell them what they haue to folow shew forth the trew fasshion and ordre which must be vsed I haue receaued of the Lorde saieth M. Iuell that thing which I also haue deliuered vnto you that is that the Lorde Ihesus in the night that he was betraied toke bread c. But to what purpose is this we haue shewed before that the disordre among the Corinthians consisted cheifly in this that they did one coÌ„temne another and would not sitt together as the old fashion was but make straunge one of another for a redresse herof sayeth M. Iuell in the third leafe S. Paule calleth them back to the first originall and to the institution of Christ from whence they were fallen If this be so tell me I pray you what one worde is ther sownd â–ª in the institutioÌ„ of Christ which maketh for sitting together or sitting a sondre for eating at church or eating at home for particular banket or common supper Christ his institution doth here in consist that He tooke breade he brake breade he gaue it vnto his disciples and saied take ye eate ye this is my body which shalbe deliuered for you doe ye this in remembraunce of me But our talke is about the reforming of a custome which is broken and I aske you how you will amend this separate manner of eating and drinking which the Corinthians doe vse in the churche I know that Christ did take bread did breake it did geue it But answer me how the good Christians were wont to meet together and how they did vse to sitt and eate wheras the Apostle doth â—ind fault with the Corinthians for their disordre of eating in the churche not eating onely of our Lord his body which if they did mistake then the wordes which you alleage of the institution of Christ would serue well for that
sayeth VVe are fed with that thing which the Angels seeing do tremble at and can not loke vpon it without â—ear bycause of the brightnes which reboundeth from it Agayn the same blessed Doctor in the .24 homylie vpon the .10 chapâ—ter of the first to the Corinthians sheweth at large that at the least we should doe towardes the Sacrament of the altar that which the Magians dyd towardes owâ— Sauyor lying in the maynger which dyd come vnto hym with great reuerence and horror Which example he repetyng in an oration of his vpon S. Philogoâ—ius sayeth As thou doest receaue and intertayn God here menyng in earth with much honor so will â—e receaue the there vndowbtedly in heauen with much glorye Lykewyse S. Ambrose most playnly reasonyng with hym self how the Prophet Danyd in the Psalmes willeth vs to worshipp the footestole of God which by the interpretation of an other Prophet ys called the earth at the length he concludeth Therefor by the footstoole let the earth be vnderstanded and by the earth the flesh of Christ which also at this daye we worship in owr misteryes and which the Apostles dyd worship in owr Lord Ihesus Marke the worde which Sainct Ambrose hath That to this day we worshâ—pp Christ in owr misteries Because M. Iuel will haue vs to ascend vp I can not tell how in to heauen to worshipp Christ there as thowgh there wer no â—ote stoole of his that is to saie no flesh of his in earth For where as S. Augustyne hath these wordes manifestlye Christ toke earth of earth for flesh is of the earth he toke flesh of the flesh of Marie and because he walked here in that very flesh and gaue that very flessh vnto vs to be eaten for owr health and no man eateth that flessh except first he adore and worshyp it it is found owt how such a fotestoole of owr Lord may be adored and that we not onlye do not oâ—â—end in worshipping it but in not worshipping of it we doe offend M. Iuell doth expouÌ„d hym after this sort that the eating of hym and worshipping of hym must ioyne togeather but we eate hym in heauen sayth he ergo we must worshipp hym there But how much better doth it folow we eate hym on earth ergo we must worship hym on earth where we eate hym or els to ioyne bothe sayinges togeather we eate hym in heauen and in earth ergo we must worship hym in heaueÌ„ and in earth For as concernyng those testymonyes which are alleaged by M. Iuell that we must lift vp owr hartes And Yf we be rysen agayn with Christ let vs seeke those thinges which are aboue And agayne Owr conuersation ys in heauen By which testimonies he would conclud that Christ his body is to be sowght for only in heauen verely as the wordes doe sownd diuinelie and trulie so is the coÌ„clusion inferred very madly and miserablie Bicause those textes do no more disproue Christ his body to be on earth reallye then they proue owr bodies to be now reallie in heauen As in this short example Owr conuersation ys in heauen sayeth S. Paule and yet when he spake those wordes was he not on the earth in presence of bodie Doth M. Iuels hart goe owt of his body when he doth lift it vp to God Or when I am coÌ„maunded to seeke those thinges which are aboue must I make a ladder for my bodye to clyme vp to heauen All blessed men doe counsell the receauers of the Sacrament to ascend in their hart to loke vp to heauen to worshipp Christ sittyng at the right hand of the Father Which they doe not therefor counsell that we should not beleue owr Sauior to be present in his misteries but bicause they couet to withdraw our imaginations from all earthlines and to geue vs warnyng that we doe not make rekonyng to see with our eâ—e or perceaue by tast or smell or grosslye to conceiue by any bodilye sense the manner of Christ his being in the Sacrament For euen then also when owr Sauior hanged visiblie vpon the crosse it might haue ben well sayed to the faithfull lift vp yowr hartes and ascend with your myndes in to heauen not fastenyng your eyes so much vpon this present forme most pytiefull but rysing with yowr faith to apprehend that infinite maiestie and diuinitie and wysedom and power of Christ which is the glorie of his Father in heauen and comfort of all the holie Angells and thus presentlie yet now ys tormented and defaced vpon the earth As S. Augustyne sayeth very wysâ—lye in the Psalme which I haue fornamed entreatyng vppon the adoration of Christ his flessh It is the spirite which quickeneth the flessh profyteth nothing And therefore when thou doest bowe downe thy selfe and â—al prostrate before any such earth meanyng the flessh of Christ looke not vpon it as it were earth but looke vpon that â—oly one whose fotestoole it is which thou doest worshipp So that the bodye of Christ being present vpon the altar bycause we are all very prone to grosse cogitations and sensible loues therefor may it be sayed most iustly vnto vs lift vp yowr hartes goe vp towardes heauen with them there lett yowr thowghtes be occupyed As who should saye bycause good people yow here that this is his body and yow see it yet in a simple forme as lying vppon an altar and caryed in mennes handes broken also and deuyded yow may perchauÌ„se haue to base and lowe cogitations But I tell yow ascend in yowr myndes dilate yowre hartes and enlarge yowre thowghtes This is his bodye in deed as he hath spoken hymself the word which can not be false and this ys his bloude But whose body and bloud lyft vp yowr hartes now The body of the second person in trinite the onlye begotten of the Father the maker of the world the wisedome of God the ouerlooker of all creatures good and badd angells and diuells men and beastes the sercher of owrâ— hartes the disposer of tymes the iudge of the worlde the felicytie and ioye of the good the terror and feare of the condempned Lyft vpp yowr hartes I saye Thinke you that here ys present a bodye or flessh onlye And that as in diseases some whott meates doe cumfort the bodye so that yow haue but a lyuely peece of his â—lessh onlye Or els doe you conceaue the matter after this sort that as one fâ—nde sendeth to an other a morsell of good meate which the other had not that so Christ in this banket geueth vnto euery man a tast or els a portion onlye of his pretious bodye as it were a most excellent gyft but yet baser then his sowle and diuinitie O lift vpp your hartes You must not seeke Christ so grosselye looke not to haue hym so vpon the earth Christ ys one perfect person God and man maker of all tymes and borne according to flesh in tyme euerlasting lyfe and yet putt
proued that there was any drie communion in the whole world at that tyme for the space of six hundred yeares after Christ Or that there should be no celebration of the Lord his supper except there be a good number to coÌ„municate with the priest that is foure or three persons at the least though the whole parisshe haue but twentie of discretion in it Or that any Bisshop then did sweare by his honor when in his visitation abrode in the countrie he should warrant his promise to some poore prisoner priest vnder hym Or that any bagpipers horsecorsers gailers or alebastars were admitted then in to the clergie without good and long triall of their conuersion Or that any Bisshop then refused to weare a whyte rochet or to be distincted from the laitie by some honest priestlie apparell Or that any Bishopp then not satisfyed with the prisonyng of his aduersaries dyd crie out and call vpon the princes not disposed that waie to put them yet to most cruell death Or that the communion table yf any then were was remoueable vpp and downe hyther and thyther and brought at any tyme in to the lower partes of the church there to exequute the Lorde hys supper Or that any communion was saied vpon good fridaie Or that Gloria in excelsis should be song after the communion Or that the Sacrament was ministred then some tyme in loeuebread some tyme in wafers and in those rather without the name of Iesus or the signe of the crosse then with it Or that Quicunâ— vult and Crede of Athanasius was apointed to be song onlie vpon hygh daies and principall feastes Or that at the communion tyme the minister should weare a cope and at all other seruice a surples onlie or as in some places it is vsed nothing at all besides hys common apparell Or that the wordes of Sainct Paule 1. Cor. 1 â–ª 1. shold be ordinarilie readen at the tyme of consecration Or that they vsed a coÌ„mon and prophane cup at the coÌ„munion and not a consecrated and halowed Or that a solemne curse should be vsed vpon Asshewensdaye Or that a procession about the fieldes was vsed in the rogation weeke to know therebie rather the boundes and borders of euerie lordeshipp then to moue God to mercie and styr mens hartes to deuotion Or that any Bishopp then gathered beneuoleÌ„ce of his clergie to marye his daughter to a gentle man or merchaÌ„t or to helpe hym in the setting vp of his howsehold Or that the man should put the wedding ring vpon the fourth finger of the left hand of the woman and not of the right hand of her as it hath ben many hundred yeares contynued Or that any man then dyd read it in open scholes or preach it out of pulpites or set it furth in print that Sainct Peter was neuer at Rome Or that in the tyme of contagious plagues when for feare of the infection none will communicate with the sick person the minister might alonelie communicate with him with out breache of Christ his institution and that the decree of no coÌ„munion to be made withowt three at the least should in such cases be forgoten Or that the people then were called togeather to morning prayer by ringing of a bell Yf any man alyue be able to proue any of these articles by any one cleare or plaine clause or sentence either of the Scriptures or of the old Doctours or any old generall Councell or by any example of the primitiue church I promise that I will geaue ouer and subscribe vnto hym in that poynt And of this I for my part will not onlie not call in any poynt being well assured of the trueth therein but allso will laye more matter to it Wherefor beside all that I haue said allready I will say further and yet nothing so much as might be said If any one of our aduersaries be able clearlie and plainelie to proue by such authoritie of the scriptures the old Doctors and Councels as I said before That the Bishopp of Rome was called Antichrist within the first vjC yeares after Christ Or that the people was then tawght to beleue that the force and strength of their faith made Christ his bodye present to them in the SacrameÌ„t and not any vertue of wordes and consecration Or that the residue of the SacrameÌ„t vnreceaued was taken of the priest or the parish clark to spread ther young childerns butter therevppon or to serue their owne to the with it at their homely table Or that who so had said in the Sacrament is the true and reall bodie of Christ and not a figuratiue body onlie or mistical shold ben therefor iudged a papist and brought vp before high commissioners Or that it was lawfull then to haue but one communion in one church in one daye Or that images were then cutt hewed mangled and reuiled though it were answered that they are not â—olden for Godes or Sainctes but kept only for memorial sake of Christ him selfe or any of his faithfull Or that Bishopes then threw downe Christ and his sainctes images and set vp their owne their wyues and their childerns pictures in their open chambers and parlors Or that our Sauior in his last supper deliuered hys bodye to many more then his twelue Apostels Or that â—udas Machabeus in causing sacrifice to be offered for the dead added in that point vnto the law and offended God any ys no more to be folowed in that doing then Loth and Dauid are in their iâ—cest and adultery Or that a Bishopp being a virgin at takyng hys office did afterwardes yet commendablie take a wife so to call an harlot vnto hym Or that after the first wyfes death which he had before holy orders receiued any priest toke a second or third vnto hym with a totâ—es quoties the later wyfe departing left hym in hott fiery pasiions that he needed an other to coole hym Or that any preacher of those daies moued young men and women in open sermons not to blushe or be ashamed of desyering the one the other no more then they would be ashamed of spetting or any such naturall actioÌ„ Or that it was at those dayes the right way to knowledge euery man to read by hym self the Scriptures and neglect all kynd of tradition Or that the lent or friday was to be fasted for ciuile policie and not for any deuotion Or that Palmesonday was solemnised without bearing of bowes conmonly called palmebowes Or that Christmassdaye was without a masse or asshewensday without asshes orâ— Candelmaâ—daye without bearing of Candels Or that the Natiuity of S. Ihon Baptist was kept holy and the Eue 〈◊〉 and neither the natiuity neither the assumption of owr blessed lady kept holy with a special fast vpon the â—ues Or that they did pray vnto God vpoÌ„ the feast of S. Michael saying graâ—nt that owr lisse maye be deâ—ended on earth by them by whom thow art allwayes wayted vpon in heauen and neuerthelesse
present are thei all lost and art thow thi self togeather with them condempned It was not for a man alone to compile out of bothe testamentes so manye testimonyes for the sacrament and so compile them that lyke two Cherubins the old should looke vpon the new aud the new answer the old It was not of flesh so to doe but of the spirite of God Read ouer the antempnes the respondes the versicles of that blessed daye and by the verie sound and sense of them thei declare plainlie from whence thei proceded The first respond owt of the old lawe is this The numbre of the children of Israel shall offer vp a kydd at the euening tyde of their passeouer and thei shall eate flâ—sh and vnleauened bread The versicle answering the same out of Sainct Paules epistle is this Christ our passeouer ys offered vp therefore lett vs eate in the vnleauened bread of sinceritie and veritie Againe an other respond is Helias looking back dyd see at his head a cake and rysing dyd eate and drinck and with the strength of that meate he walked vnto the hyll of God This is the respond but what is there in the new testament to answer this It foloweth owt of Sainct Iohn his Ghospell Yf any man eate of thys bread he shall lyue for euer It ys writen in Iob The men of my tabernacle haue sayd who might geue vs of his flesh that we might be satisfied and the respond is that whyles thei were at supper Christ toke bread and brake it and gaue it and sayed take ye and eate ye this is my bodie What could haue been deuysed more agreeable and comfortable Then in other partes of the seruice how playnelie ys the faith of the church in how few wordes declared and how effectuallie be the effectes of the sacrament proponed O holie feast sayeth the antempne of the later euensong in which Christ ys receaued the memorie of his passion ys repeted the mynd ys filled with grace and a pledge of the glorie to come ys geuen vnto vs. The heretykes say that we must remembre Christ his passion and that that ys the verie some of the institution of the Sacrament But they forget three partes of the whole bycause we not onlie remember his passion but we receaue hym also in deed and grace presentlie ys geuen vnto vs and a pledge of the glorie to come hereafter The church tawght them eueÌ„ that veritie which thei hold as it appereth in the praier of corpus Christi daye O God which hast left vnto vs the memorie of thi passion vnder a wonderfull sacrament but then she sayeth further Grawnt vs we besech the so to honor the holie misteries of thy body and bloud that we may daylie feele in owr selues the fruct of thi redemption So then she grawnteth the memorie of his passion but she holdeth the veritie of his bodie she pelteth not with God denying this to be his body bicause she is coÌ„maunded to do this in remembraÌ„ce of hym but she doth best remembre hym when she hath the bodie which suffered before her She calleth the sacrameÌ„t the misteries of his bodye and bloud yet she doth plainelie adore and worship his presence which is couered I may seem to be to long in my seruice but certeÌ„lie if we should coÌ„sider the marueilouse wisedome of almighty God and the multitude of misteries which by the mowth of S Thomas were vttered in that matter it were argumeÌ„t inough that it come froÌ„ God And is all this geare lost now And where as most manifest miracles haue testifyed vnto the world that our Sauyor accepteth hym and hath takeÌ„ hym in to heaueÌ„ shal the sprite of pride lyeing with one worde coÌ„dempne hym euerlastinglie ThaÌ„ked be God that euer the holiday was made in the worship of Christ his body in the sacrament for this argumeÌ„t is so euideÌ„t that bothe he which can read no letter in the boke an other which wil read no good thing the third which for honest necessarie busynes can not well intend it all yet be sufficientlie warned what to think of the ChristiaÌ„s sacrameÌ„t bicause they haue coÌ„pted it worthie of an especial holiday And wher as no text can be alleaged so plaine for adoration no not owt of this verie seruice which is for corpus Christi day but the heretykes will putt it owt of strength by spirituall and misticall vnderstanding which wordes thei vnderstand not them selues but lyke smoke vanysh awaye in their cogitatioÌ„s yet the apointing of an holydaye in honor of the sacrament ys so manifest an argument against them that they haue no other remedie but to saye Vrbanus was not auncient inowgh for them Which holye pope if he had wryten a whole boke in the prayse and honor of the sacrameÌ„t calling it as the holie doctors haue done the bread of liffe the bread of diuyne substance the bread vnited to the diuinitye the pledge of everlasting lyâ—â—e the bodie most holie pretiouse saue inestimable with an hundred other such tytles they would haue escaped by leing or denying But now what can they saye not onlie S. Vrbanus but all Christendome not onlie doe speake but commaund and proue by sensible and visible argument that the very bodie of owr Sauior is in the SacrameÌ„t and that they adore it with a proper holidaye But Christ sayeth M. Iuell and his Apostles the holie fathers in the primitiue church the doctors that folowed them and other lerned men whatsoeuer for the space of a thousand and two hundred yeares after Christ neuer heard of it Neuer will you abyde by it Yea sayeth he once agayne I saye for the space of a thowsand and two hundred yeares after Christ his ascension in to heauen this worshipping of the Sacrament was neuer knowen or practised in any place within the whole Catholyke church of Christ within the whole world Here I am at a staye I tell yow troth bycause I can not tell by which waye I might begin to answer so vehement an asseueration For were it best think I to tell hym he lyeth and to proue it or to wish hym shame onlie and to permitt the matter to the handes of God or to reason with hym as if he were present or what waye might I take I haue alleaged S. Ambrose and S. Augustyn before and if those two be not sufficient Theodoretus sayeth that the misticall signes remayn in their formar substance and figure and forme and they may be seen and felt as they were before but they are vnderstode to be those thinges which they are made and they are beleued and adored as being those thinges which they are beleued to be Euthimius also sayeth in the 64. chap. vpon S. Mathew Lett vs so doâ— in the worshipping of the misteries not onlie looking on those thinges which are sett before vs but beleuing his wordes And whereas be sayeth this is my bodie