And in another place Slacke not to be conuerted to our Lord and differre not from day to day Eccl. 5. For his wrath shall come suddainly and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee Let bold praesumptuous men remember these words and learne to feare God Deere Reader whosoeuer thou art as thou hast a soule which must last for euer apply this booke to the good of thy soule so as shall most concerne it for a happy eternity I excuse noe falts my goodwill shall mende all God can and I hope will honour himselfe euen in my falts Combine thou with mee that we may honour him for euer and euer Amen I submitte all that is conteined in this booke and all whatsoeuer I shall saâ—â—r thinke as long as I liue to the authority of the Holy Catholike Church A SVMME OF THE CHRISTIAN Doctrine expounded in the follovving Discourses QVAESTION What obligation haue Christians to learnâ— the Christian Doctrine Answer Euery Christian is bounde vnder a mortal sinne to know the cheife points of the Christian faith 7. Q. What is faith A. Faith is a supernaturall light and gift of God by which we beleeue and firmely adhare to the Doctrine of the Church 11. Q. Make the Signe of the Cros. A. In the Name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy Gâ—ost Amen 49. Q. What is the Signe of the Cros A. The Signe of the Crâ—â— is a profession of the Christian faith 51. Q. How is the Signe of the Cros a profession of the Christian faith 51 A. Because in the Signe of the Cros we professe the mystery of the blessed Trinity and of the Incarnaâ—iâ—n which are the two cheife mysterys of the Châ—stian faith 51 Q. What is the B. Trinity A. The B. Trinity is God the Father God the Sonne and God the Holy Ghost One and the same God in three distinct Persons 51 Q. What meane you by the mystery of the Incarnation A. We meane that the Sonne of God was incarnated that is became man to redeeme vs. 52 Q. Say the Creede A. I beleeue in God the Father Allmighty Maker of heauen and earth And in Iesus Christ his onely Sonne our Lord Who was conceiued by the Holy Ghost borne of the Virgin Mary Suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was crucifyed dead and buried He desâ—enâ—ed into hell the third day he arose againe from death He ascended into heauen sitteth at the right hand of God the Father allmighty From thence he shall come to iudge vs all both the quicke and the dead I beleeue in the Holy Ghost The holy Catholike Curch the Communion of Saints The forgiuenesse of sinnes The Resurrection of the flesh Life euerlasting Amen 76. Q Who is Christ A. Christ is the Sonne of God incarnated true God and true Man Our Redeemer Iudge and Glorifyer 109. Q. What doe we gett by Christ redeeming vs A. We gett the forgiuenesse of our sinnes and the acceptance of our good works by the merits of Christs passion applyed vnto vs in the Catholike Church 156. Q. What is the Chatholike Church A. The Catholike Church is the Congregation of all faithfull people and Pastors vnited together as a body with its head 176. Q. Giue mee a difference betwixt the true and all false Churches A. The true Church keepeth allwais in vnion and obedience to its Head and Pastors all false Churches beginne in dissentions and disobedience to the Head and Pastors of the Church 214. Q. Say the seauen Sacraments A. Baptisme Confirmation Eucharist Pennance Extreme Vnction Holy Orders Matrimony 281. Q What is a Sacrament A. A Sacrament is an outward signe which causeth grace in vs. 266. Q. What is Grace A Grace is a supernaturall gift which maketh vs gratefull and acceptable to God 268. Q. What is the Blessed Sacrament of Eucharist A. The Blessed Sacrament of Eucharist is the true body and blood of our Lord vnder the signes of bread and wine 298. Q. It shere any bread or wine in the Eucharist A. Noe it seems but soe The bread and wine are conuerted at the words of consecration into the true body and blood of our Lord. 305. Q. What is the Sacrament of Pennance A. The Sacrament of Pennance is that by which we receiue the forgiuenesse of sinnes in Confession 322. Q. Say the tenn Commandements A. Thou shalt not haue strange Gods before mee Thou shalt not take the name of God in vaine Remember thou keepe holy the Sabaoth day Honour thy Father and Mother Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not commit adultery Thou shalt not beare false witnesse against thy neighbour Thou shalt not desire thy neighbors wife Thou shalt not couet thy neighbors goods 378 Q. Say the Pater Noster A. Our Father which art in heauen Hallowed bâ— thy name Thy Kingdome come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen Giue vs this day our daily bread And forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them their trespasses against vs. And lead vs not into temptation But deliuer vs from euill Amen 449. Q. Say the Haile Mary A. Haile Mary full of grace our Lord is with thee Blessed art thou among woemen Blessed is the fruit of thy wombe Iesus Holy Mary Mother of God pray for vs sinners now and in the hower of of our death Amen 509. Q. What is the Masse A. The Masse is the continuall Sacrifice of the Law of Christ in which his true body and blood is offered vnder the signes of bread and wine 576. Q. Say the fiue cheife Precepts of the church A. To fast fasting dayes To keepe holy dayes To confesse our sinnes to our ordinary Pastour or to another with his leaue at least once a yeare To receiue the Eucharist at Easter time To pay tithes 640. Q. How doe the Precepts of the church oblige A. The Praecepts of the church oblige vnder a Mortal sinne 641. Q. What is sinne A. Sinne is that by which we depart from the diuine Law and are separated from God 673. Q. Ho many kindes of sinne are there A. There are two kindes of sinne Original and Actual sinne 715. Q. What is the difference betwixt Original and Actuall sinne A. Original sinne is that which we are borne in Actuall sinne is that which â—e committe 615. Q. How many kinds of sinne doe we committe A. We committee two kindes of sinnes Mortal sinne and venial sinne 717 Q. What is the difference betwixt Mortal and venial sinne A. Mortal sinne quite depriueth vs of Gods grace venial sinne onely lesseneth and deminisheth the feruour of the loue of God in vs. 717. THE FIRST DISCOVRSE Of the education and instruction of children and of the obligation which all haue to learne the christian doctrine I INTENDE now to speake of two thinges First vnto all those who haue charge ouer children and especially to parents to commende vnto them the care which they ought to haue of their good education and instruction Secondly to declare vnto all the
he comes to yeares of vnderstanding which he professed in baptisme by the months of those that then carried him And in another place he saith that christians should vse it as à looking glasse morning and night to examine themselues in their faith by it L 1 dosymb 1. By all which it doth appeare first that the Creede is of diuine autority as made by the Apostles and deliuered by word of mouth from them to posterity as the written word of the new Testament was from hand to hand to be beleeued with diuine faith Secondly out of S Ambrose and S. Augustine that it being a kea and a looking glasse which the Apostles made for vs we ought with great reuerence to keepe it and to vse it as such often frequenting it to locke vp the infernal darknes from vs and to open the diuine light vnto our soules and to examine ourselues in faith by it as by a looking glasse that soe we may allwais keepe constant to the Catholike Church Quest Say the Creede Answ I beleeue in God the Father almighty maker of heauen and earth And in Iesus Christ his onely Sonne our Lord. Who was conceiued by the Holy Ghost borne of the Virgin Mary Suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was Crucifyed dead and buried He descended into hell the third day he arose againe from death He ascended into heauen sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty From thence he shall come to iudge vs all both the quicke and the dead I beleeue in the Holy Ghost The holy Catholike Church the Communion of Saints The forgiuenesse of sinnes The Resurrection of the flesh Life euerlasting Amen THE FIRST ARTICLE I Beleeue in God the Father almighty maker of heauen and earth In this article the Apostles professe their beleefe in the first person of the blessed Trinity in the following articles they professe the second person and the third But we are not here to vnderstande that God the Father without the Sonne and the Holy Ghost made the world for euery external worke which God doth is done by all the Persons of the blessed Trinity the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost hauing all the same vndiuided power all equally concurring to the making of the world and of euery thinge that is conteined in it The Father is named first and the creation of the world is here particularly attributed to him because he is the first Person from whom the Sonne and the Holy Ghost eternally proceede God is rightly termed a father to signify his power loue and care ouer vs. God a father For as fathers beginne the generation that commeth of them and gouerne their children and prouide for them soe is God the beginner of this world he gouerneth it with his power and by his prouidence conserueth it Deut. 32. Is not he thy father that hath possessed thee and made and created thee By heauen and earth are vnderstoode all creatures heauenly and earthly that is both spirituall and corporal creatures And in this the power of God is expressed by his external works soe as is sufficient to destinguish him as the supreme power and to putt vs in minde of our duety to him and dependance of him as giuing vs our being and still conseruing vs in the being which we haue and which all creatures should presently and in an instant loose if he should withdraw his diuine helpe from them and there would be noe creatures at all but as there was once nothing but God God is the most perfect of all thinges and therefor a spirit all ouer by his power and his power is himselfe He is not conteined in any place now noe more then he was before the creation of the world He was all wais the same power the same goodnes and those infinite He euer had a decree to create the world and that eternall decree he performed in time making the Angels onely spirits men both spiritual in their soules and corporall in their bodys and other creatures as we see onely corporall He made heauen a place of glory for the good and hell a place of punishment for the wicked He desireth the saluation of all and giueth sufficient meanes of saluation to all that being the end for which he made vs. In this article we doe not say I beleeue in Gods makers c. but I beleeue in God the maker c. In which we haue two thinges professed Atheâ—sts First the essence and existence of God against prophane and wicked atheists and secondly against Pagans the being of one onely God This is here but breisly professed for the Apostles made the Creede but onely as an abbreuiated profession and rule of faith to ground and guide vs in the articles which we were to beleeue they prooued them in their preaching as neede required yet that there is a God as in the Creede they suppose it soe also they might doe in their preaching and needed not to prooue it to Iewes or Gentils who were then onely in the world and were neuer likely to deny it But now in these times of soe many heresys I doe not see that any point of faith whatsoeuer is more necessary to be prooued For heresy as it is a corruption of the true faith soe it corrupteth and destroyeth by litle and litle the very hart and roote of all faith and as it annulleth the authority of the Church it taketh away the foundation of all certainty and openeth a gappe to euery mans errors to say what he listeth and for shamelesse atheisme to enter in by it For make it once lawfull to disobey the Church which is the onely authority of God externally vpon earth as all archhaeretiks doe who beginne their new doctrines with obedience to noe Church then extant in all the world and then it followeth that euery man without controle may beleeue and teach what he will himselfe for there is noe authority vpon earth to controle him and soe he may as well teach atheisme as heresy Secondly those that are of God are ordained saith the Apostle that is to say they are with order Rom. 13. and he requireth there that we be subiect to higher powers not onely of necessity but for conscience sake now order importeth subiection and subordination of inferiors to superiour powers if then you take away this subiection and subordination of inferiors to superiours as haeretiks doe by disobeying the Church you take away all order in religion and by consequence you take away God and bring in atheisme and a worse disorder then is in hell How hateful then is heresy to God which is opposite to all religion and how dangerous is atheisme In Collar Patrum and necessary to be preuented in haeretical times Cassianus relateth an example of this in which he sheweth by experience that heresy leadeth into atheisme He sayth that there was a certaine religious man who beginning first of indiscretion to make comparisons betwixt the Saints and
to that bold persuasion of some who perswade themselues that saluation may be had in any religion or in either of some two religions or in any faith soe that they beleeue in Christ for they shall finde one day that disobedience to the true Church is a sinne which deserueth damnation S. Augustine againe in another place Epist. 104. Being out of the Church and diuided from the heape of vnity and the bond of charity thou shouldst be punished with eternal fire although thou shouldst be burned aliue for the name of Christ The Church is honored in the scriptures with many noble and glorious titles The titles of Church It is called the kingdome of God the house of God his spouse his faire one his onely one and the very body of Christ He gouerneth it as his kingdome he prouideth for it as his household and loueth it as his deere spouse and as his owne body pleasing and delighting himselfe in the soules of good Catholikes that serue him It is compared to the holy city of Hierusalem in which the true worship of God flourished and in which diuine sacrifice was duely offered It is compared to the arke of Noë out of which there was noe saluation but a general death and destruction Infidels that haue not the faith of Christ are out of the Church Haeretiks Schismatiks and excommunicated persons although they beleeue in Christ yet because they heare not the Church that is obey it not they are also our of it as heathens that participate not the benefits of it The Catholike Church hath two parts The triumphans and militant Church the one Triumphant the other Militant The Triumphant Church is the company of blessed soules in heauen who hauing gotten victory ouer their spirituall enemys in this life are now triumphing in euerlasting glory The Militant Church is the company of the faithfull vpon earth liuing as it were in a warrfare where we are allwais fighting with the enemys of our soules and by perseuering vnto the end in the seruice of God we shall be crowned like good and faithfull souldiers The Militant Church conteineth both good and euill liuers Mat. 3. and therefor it is compared to a field that beareth both good corne and cockle to a nette that gathereth together both good and euill fish The good are kept Mat. 13. but the bad are throwne away It is compared to tenne virgins fiue of which were wise and had prepared the light of good works against the comming of Christ to reward them Mat. 25. and therefor they were admitted into his heauenly nuptials but the other fiue came like fooles and although they had the faith of Christ and were christians yet wanting the oile of the loue of God and the light of good works they were excluded from his blessed ioyes By these and the like places we are giuen to vnderstande that it is not enough to haue the true faith and to be Catholikes if our liues be dissonant from our profession that we liue not like good Catholikes for there are many euill liuers in the Catholike Church who as bundles of cockle shall be throwne into the fire The Communion of Saints Communion of Saints S. Iohn Euangelist writing to the faithfull giueth them as the cause of his writing that you also may haue society with vs Io. 1.1 and our society may be with the father and with his sonne Iesus Christ That is that you may keepe in the society and Communion of the Church and be partakers of those good works and meanes of saluation which are to be had in it For there in is the Catholike Church such a participation of good works that all Catholikes that are in the state of grace participate with one another in them and receiue benefit by the good works of others The reason is because the Catholike Church is as it were one body and all the members of it liue by the same spirit of the Holy Ghost and of Iesus Christ who keepe them in that holy vnion and Communion together And as all the members of the body concurre and helpe to the good of each other soe euery member of the Catholike Church helpeth to the good of the rest and receiueth good by the rest participating of their good works Ps 118. â—am partaker of all that seare thee Saith he holy psalme And in the Pâ—ter nester our Sauiour hath taught vs soe to pray that euery one should aske in the name of all saying giue vs forgiue vs c. Those who are guilty of mortall sinne as they haue noe reward of grace for any worke of their owne which is done in that state soe they loose the benefit which they should receiue by the good works of others For although they be members of the Catholike Church yet wanting the life of grace they are as dead and rotten members into which the rest haue noe spirituall influence The benefit which is reaped by the good works of others is participated by euery one in measure and proportion to the disposition which he hath for it and according to the intention of him that performeth the worke for as we are more or lesse in his intention soe doe we participate more or lesse benefit by the worke which he doth For this it is enough to say that our good works are offerings which we make to God and are therfor receiued and applyed by him according to the offerers intention By all which we may see what a happinesse it is to be in the Catholike Church Ps 83. and in the state of grace Blessed are they who dwell in thy house ô Lord. Now let vs speake OF THE AVTHORITY of the Church BY these words of the Creede it appeareth that the Catholike Church is of diuine authority for euery article of the Creede being of diuine authority and we being by this article bound to beleeue the Church it followeth that the Church hath diuine authority and that we are bounde to beleeue and to obey it as hauing the authority of God And therefor this article was most profitably and necessarily made by the Apostles as the ground and foundation of diuine faith and worship For although in the scriptures it be plane and by reason must needes be true that we are allwais to be gouerned by the authority of the Church yet this article being soe commonly and often professed it is agreat curbe to the rizing of new sects and haeresys all which beginne in the disobedience of some priuate men to the authority of the whole Church and it can not but be a horrour to their mindes and a greeuous wounde to their owne consciences to see how they contradict the common Creede of the Apostles And therefor S. Paul might well say that a man that is an haeretike is subuerted and sinneth Tit. 3. being condemned by his owne iudgment The authority of the Church is diuine in that it is declared also by the
alleadge against them the authority of the Church of Christ and will tell them Not the Iewes but the Church holdeth the books of Machabees to be canonical And his owne reason will tell him that to deny the authority of the Church is to deny all Scriptures and to confounde the order of the whole world Tertul. Tert. l. de coron militi◠c. 3. Amb. orat pro Theod. Aug. l. 8. de Genes con Manichaeos Oblationes pro defunctis facimus We make offerings for the dead S. Ambrose in his speech of the Emperour Theodosius prayeth for him Thou o Lord giue rest vnto thy seruant Theodosius S. August speaking of him that dyeth in sinne saith after this life he shall haue either the fire of Purgatory or eternal fire And in Psal 87. In this life purge mee and make mee soe that I may not neede the purging fire The doctrine of Purgatory is soe planely deliuered by the auncient fathers of the Church that Caluin could not deny or conceale it but l. 3. Instit c. 5. § 10. calleth it a most auncient obseruation of the Church and saith that the fathers as humane were deceiued But who can endure this saying in him were the auncient fathers of the Church and both the Church which was aunciently and which was when Caluin came into the world deceided and Caluin not deceiued shall Caluin take vpon him to correct the auncient fathers and present obseruations of the Church And shall any hazard his soule with Caluin against them He asketh what authority of Scriptures they had Must the whole Church be examined by him in the Scriptures And shall not he be thought an haeretike for this and to abuse the Scriptures in condemning of the Church S. Augustine shall answere him Aug. l. de cura pro mortuis Jn the books of the Machabees we read that sacrifice was offered for the dead but although in the auncient Scriptures it were not at all to be read the authority of the vniuersal Church is noe small matter which is cleere for this custome where in the prayers of the priest which to our Lord God are powered forth at his altare the commendation of the dead hath its place S. Augustins argument was good in which he prooued Purgatory both hy the Scriptures and the Church But if this be not enough for Caluin to whom nothing will serue but his owne will and word We will also produce his owne words against him l. 4. Instit c. 2. num 3. he saith that without controuersy nothing from the beginning untill that age was changed in doctrine To wit vntill the times of Tertullian Origen and Augustine of whom he was speaking If therfor this were the doctrine of the Church in those times it was the doctrine of Christ and of the Apostles euer from the beginning And soe Caluin is condemned by Scriptures fathers Church and by his owne words and Purgatory is prooued to be the true Catholike Apostolike doctrine There for pennances are rightly enioyned prayers may be said almes deeds giuen indulgences granted and many voluntary afflictions haue bene vndergone by the Saints and faithfull of the Catholike Church to escape the paines of Purgatory which although they be but temporal yet they are most greeuous and vehement more then can be spoken And because the Catholike doctrine of Indulgences by many is not vnderstoode I wil say somethinge of them in this which is also their propper place An Indulgence is as much as to say a fauourable remission or pardoning of some due punishment Such are the indulgences of the Church either absolute remissions without exchange or imposing of any other taske or exchanges of a greater into a lesser penalty The power of granting indulgences or absoluing from punishment which is all one was granted by Christ vnto his Apostles and especially to S. Peter to whom he promised the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Mat. 16. and told him whatsoeuer thou shalt loose vpon earth shall be loosed in heauen What can be vnderstoode by the keyes of heauen and the words following but power soe to open heauen gates as to take away all that hindereth for entring in at them to wit sinne and punishment He gave also the like authority to the rest of the Apostles saying whatsoeuer you shall loose vpon earth shal be loosed in heauen Mat. 18. If whatsoeuer they loose be loosed then punishment loosed by them on earth is loosed also in the sight of God in heauen Neither is there any good connexion in those words if they be not vnderstoode of absoluing as well from punishment as from sinne Now if any aske how it can be that sinnes of which the diuine iustice requireth soe much satisfaction should be satisfyed for with soe litle as some indulgences require and some indulgences require nothing at all to be done for the gaining of them he may vnderstande that indulgence or pardon of punishment is neuer granted but full satisfaction is made to God for the sinne For there is in the Church a treasury of Satisfactions soe great that it can neuer be exhausted by satisfying for sinnes There are in this treasury the satisfactions of Christ infinitly more then all the sinnes in the world can require There are also the good works of our B. Lady that had nothing of her owne to satisfy for There are the good works of S. Iohn Baptist of the Apostles and of many others whose works were much more satisfactory then their owne sinnes needed and may be applyed by the pastors of the Church to those that stande neede of them For the Church is a body and all the members of it haue a Communication and participation of good works with one another as we professe in the Creede saying I beleeue the Communion of Saints And the psalmist sayeth Ps 118. Col. 1. I am partaker of all that feare thee And S. Paul I now reioyce in suffering for you and doe accomplish those thinges that want of the passions of Christ in my flesh for his body which is the Church He did not fullfill the passions of Christ for any defect or want which was in them but that by his sufferings the passion of Christ was applyed actually to the Colossians as it is by the suffrages and good works which are done in the Church for others and by them their punishments are fully satisfyed for If any aske why the Pope onely and bishops giue indulgences I answere that the words of Christ before alleadged were spoken onely to S. Peter who was to be the Pope and to the Apostles who were at first the onely bishops of the Church And the practise of the vniuersal Church which ought to be our rule in all things hath bene allwais for the Pope and bishops and not for priests to grant Indulgences S. Augustine speaking of the obseruations of the Church saith If the Church through out the World frequent any of these things to dispute of
the cheife Then the feast of Pentecost Thirdly the feast of Tabernacles in remembrance of God praeseruing them after their comming out of Aegypt for forty yeares in tabernacles Besides these they had also diuerse other lesser feasts as of the New moones c. but these were the cheife and soe solemne that they were kept with octaues and all the male people according to Maldonate was to be at them but now as shaddows their feasts are passed away Col 2. and oblige not Let noe man saith S. Paul iudge you in meate or in drinke or in part of a festiual day or of the new moone or of Sabaoths which are a shaddow of things to come to wit of more perfect obseruations and feasts that were to come in the law of Christ And therefor beside the Sabaoth which we celebrate euery weeke we obserue also other solemnitys of the cheife mysterys of the christian faith as also of our B. Lady and of the Angels and Saints intending allwais the supreme honour of God in them To sanctify holy dayes it is not sufficient onely to absteâ—â—e from seruil works but we much sanctify them by some special works of religion done on them to the sanctifying of our soules that they may haue the Sabaoth of a good conscience and rest from sinne Reg. 1.25 which causeth sohbing and scruple of haâ—t in vs. For this the Church hath commanded that euery one heare masse vpon holy dayes because it is the cheife act of religion as the sacrifice of the law of Christ and therefor fitting that euery one should be present to offer vp to God at least one masse euery holy day The other prayers of the Church as being much inferiour to the masse and sermon which is inferiour to the prayers of the Church oblige not all vnder a mortal sinne to be present at them Yet of deuotion it is sitting that all should be present also at those holy seruices of God which are to be preferred before any priuate deuotions of our owne Besides we shew more loue by those works of supererogation a good seruant will not expect to be commanded to euery thinge but of his owne accord will doe that which he seeth to conduce vnto his masters profit After euensong honest and modest recreations are not to be hindered those that haue labored hard all the weeke had neede of some time of recreation to refresh themselues and honest recreations may either lawfully be taken then or els they can neuer be had Those that are soe praecise to the contrary as some hypocrytical spirits of thesetimes haue bene commande they know not what and impose burdens which if themselues were to carry after a whole weeks labour they would not touch with their fingar God may be honored in such recreations and the seruants of God know how to honour him in them It is a great wickednesse in many who insteede of sanctifying of holydaies with good works and absteining from sinne make them the commune dayes of sinne prophaning them with new and more greeuous sinnes committed on them This is a circumstance at least fitting if not absolutly necessary to be expressed in confession For as it were a circumstance of higher malice for a subiect to strike at the king and to attempt to kill him on some solemne day in which he were reioycing in the midst of his people and comforting them with his gracious and glorious aspect soe it is a great sinne and heinous malice in a christian to giue himselfe to vice vpon holydayes and as it were to committe treason against God when his faithfull seruants are gathered together to praise and blesse him This commandement is broken by vnnecessary works but not by ringing of bells adorning of altares dressing of meate and the lâ—ke Christ himselfe allowed his disciples to doe such works on the Sabaoth day and when the Iewes murmured at them he iustifyed with good reasons that which they did saying Maâ—â— 2. that the Sabaoth was made for man and not man for the Sabaoth And when the Pharisys murmured at his curing on the Sabaoth day Luc. 14. he asked them which of you shall haue an asse or an oxe fallen into a pitte and will not incontinent draw him out on the Sabaoth day Luc. 6. And vpon the like occasion he asked them if it be lawfull on the Sabaoth to doe well or ill Yet God would haue this commandement to be soe strictly obserued in that law that it was not then lawfull to kindle a fire soe much as to dresse meate on the Sabaoth day nor to take a iourney aboue a mile or two at most according to Maldonate A man being apprehended for gathering of sticks on the Sabaoth day was brought vnto Moyses and Aaron but they not knowing the will of God what was to be done with him God himselfe gaue sentence of death against him Num. 15. saying to Moyses dying let tâ—is man dy let all the multitude stone him without the campe And they carried him out and stoned him to death Nay he would worke a miracle in praeseruing the Manna for two dayes together rather then they should gather it on the Sabaoth day although it were their necessary Foode and but a small labour How carefull then ought we to be in the keeping of this commandement in which God would be soe strict It is a great neglect in masters to dispose noe better of their affaires then to haue their worke to doe when their seruants should be at rest But in this as all other things the custome of the Church according to places is to be reuerenced THE FOVRTH COMMANDEMENT HONOVR thy father and thy mother that thou mast be longliued vpon earth Here now beginne the Commandements of the second table The three former were conteined in the first and in them was commanded that which pertained immediatly to the loue of God These belong to the loue of our neighbour The loue of God is the roote and foundation of keeping the Commandements for those that truely loue God will willingly and readily keepe his Commandements and by keeping them they are more and more grounded and perfected in the loue of him It was a high expression that of S. Iohn when he said God is charity and he that abideth in charity abideth in God Io. 1.4 and God in him by louing of God we are vnited vnto him we haue him in our harts we will that which he willeth and are as it were all one with him that as the Saints of heauen see all things in God who abideth in them soe it is a kind of heauen vpon earth to be vnited vnto God by loue afflictions being sweet and confortable in the loue and seruice of him And to know whether we haue the loue of God or noe the same Apostle giueth for a signe the loue of our neighbour saying in the same place If we loue one another God abideth in vs and his charity
pray by it For this we will implore the intercession of our Bessed Lady Haile Mary c. Christ the best Pastour that euery was and the forme of all good Pastours teaching his disciples all that was necessary for them to know would not leaue them ignorant in a matter of soe much importance as prayer is and therefore he would not only deliuer vnto them some circumstances to be obserued in prayer as to pray with humility confidence and the like but would also giue them an expresse forme of words to be vsed by them that they might haue it as a pattern and perfect modele to frame all their prayers by there being nothing that can be asked of God but it is conteined in some of the petitions of the Pater Noster But before we come to declare the petitions in particular we will say something of prayer in general and first OF THE BENEFITS AND fruits of Prayer THE benefits and fruits of Prayer are so many and generall that we neede not name any but say all For there is nothing that can be good for vs or worthy of asking but it may be obtained by deuout prayer Io. 15. our Blessed Sauiour hauing promised without exception If you abide in mee and my words abide in you you shall aske what thing soeuer you will Mat. 7. and it shall be done to you And the more to incite vs to pray he saith Aske and it shall be giuen you seekö and you shall finde knocke and it shall be opened to you For euery one that asketh receiueth and that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened And in another place the saith Luc. 18 it behoueth allways to pray and not to be weary What more could bee said to commende prayer to vs and to shew the force and fruit of it it is as necessary as our very breath For as we can not liue without continuall breathing noe more can our soules without continuall prayer we will say then that prayer is the breath of our soules And although this be verifyed by continuing in faith hope and charity and in all good works which as prayers please God and obtaine benefits of him yet he would commende all by the name of prayer and bid vs pray always to increase in vs the esteeme of it The seruants of God haue found by experience the force of prayer Deut. 6. What shall we say of Moyses who remained diuerse times forty dayes and forty nights in prayer for the people as himselfe witnesseth and when they were in batle with Amalech as long as he lifted vp his hands to pray they ouercame and when he was weary as his armes failed soe they failed against their enemys In imitation of which Theodosius the Christian Emperour being to ioyne batle with the tyrant Lugenius went first vp vnto a high place where he might behold both armys and besought God that being that the vndertaking of that warre was for his sake he would giue him victory ouer his enemys His prayer was heard Baron an 394. the two Apostles S. Iohn and S. Philip being seene to sigâ—t for him and to turne the weapons of their enemys against themselues Dauid being a King could finde leasure to giue praise to God seauen times a day In imitation of which the Catholick Church commandeth the seauen Canonicall Houres to be said euery day by Ecclesiasticall persons Tob. 8. vnder a mortall sinne Toby being married remained the three first nights with his wife in prayer before that he had knowledge of her professing vnto God that he married her not for fleshly lust but for the loue of posterity in which his diuine name might be honored And she who on the very first nights of her former marriages had buried seauen husbands enioyed Toby with life and health the deuill who had killed them hauing no power ouer him S. Bartholomew is recorded to haue prayed a hundred times euery day and as often euery night and diuerse other Saints are read to haue followed his example Hist trip l. 8. c. 1. S. Paul the Ermit is affirmed to haue said euery day three hundred prayers which he remembred by three hundred little stones before he attended to any other busines And Gregory Lopez a holy man who liued lately in the Kingdome of new Spaine is thought for many yeares at euery drawing of his breath to haue said in his hart in vitu cus Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heauen Amen Iesus By all which we may see the great esteeme which the Saints haue had of prayer and the benefit which they expected by it But now we will speake of that which it hath in particular as its proper and peculiar fruit The first is that by prayer we keepe our harts in humility and submission to God acknowledging by our prayers that he is the supreme power and high perfection from whence all benefits proceed and that we depending of him as his creatures Apoc. 8. come for succour and releife to him and therefore S. Iohn saw the prayers of the Saints as incense which was to be offered on the Altare and the Catholike Church prayeth with the holy King saying Ps 440. Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight Because it is a kind of inferiour sacrifice and hath the effect of it to doe homage vnto God and to keepe vs in humility towards him The second fruit of prayer is that it pacifyeth the diuine wrath prouoked by sinne For although the prayers of a sinner as long as he is in mortal sinne haue noe proportion to the remission of his sinnes or to the releasing of his punishment yet it is congruous and most agreeable to the infinite goodnesse and liberality of God that he should accept of the endeauours of our nature and should grant vs his grace for such endeauours and soe sinners that are out of the state of grace obtaine grace of congruity by praying for it But the prayer of the iust is soe powerfull that after a certaine manner it forceth God as it were by violence to grant that which he desireth and holdeth his hands from punishing of others Euen as strong dammes well fortifyed with stone and timber resist huge inundations of waters and suport their mighty weight soe the prayer of the iust resist the wrath of God and beare of the weight of his indignation from sinners This is expressed in the words of God to Moyses when Israel had adored the molten calfe and the diuine indignation was comming as a torrent to sweepe them quite away from the face of the earth the prayers of Moyses had such power to withstande it that God said Exod. 23. Suffer me that my fury may be angry against them as though he had held him by force from destroying them Thirdly as I said before of sinners that the forgiuenesse of their sinnes and punishments are obtained as it were by violence
wee will minde their behauiour and learne of them how to behaue our selues at Masse And it were good to gette a custome allways when we heare Masse to make a purpose of amending some particular falt or imperfection which we know in ourselues and to remember that purpose at the beginning and at the end of euery Masse which we heare THE ELEAVENTH DISCOVRSE OF THE PRAECEPTS OF THE CHVRCH I Intende now to declare the Praecepts of the Church but first we will craue our blessed Ladys intercession Haile Mary c. Quest Say the fiue cheife Praecepts of the Church Answer To fast fasting dayes To keepe holy dayes To confesse our sinnes to our ordinary Pastour or to another with his leaue ot least once a yeare To receiue the Eucharist at Easter time To pay tithes There are diuerse other Praecepts of the Church as the prohibiting to celebrate marriage from the beginning of Aduent vntil after Twelfth day and from the beginning of Lent vntill after Low Sunday Also many things in seuerall generall councells commanded some in respect of the Clergy and some of the laiâ—y â—or of particular states and conditions of men which wee omitte as not of this place and declare onely the fiue aboue mentioned which Authors commonly deliuer as the cheife and most necessary for the people to be instructed in But before wce come to their particular declaration we will say somethinge OF THE AVTHORITY OF THE Church and of the obligation of her Praecepts Quest How doe the Praeceps of the Church oblige Ans The Praecepts of the Church oblige vnder a mortall sinne The authority of the Church is declared in many places of holy Scriptures Apoc. 1. Saint Iohn saw in a vision the Church descending downe from Heauen like to a glorious bride setforth with all her ornaments to meete her bridegroome God is the Bridegroome the Church is the bride the Praecepts of the Church are her ornaments for by the keeping of them the soules of the faithfull are adorned graciously in the sight of God and in the end become glorious in Heauen and those that breake the Praecepts of the Church breake teare and abuse the ornaments of the coelestiall bride and therefore commit a mortall sinne Christ hath compared the disobedient to the Church to Heathens Mat. 18 and Publicans saying If he will not heare the Church let him be to thee as the Heathen and the Publican but the eternall word of God and his infinite wisedome neither would nor could haue soe compared them as to put them in the ranke of the most odious and infamous of all men if they had not bene guilty of mortall sinne Nay the authority of God in many places of the Scriptures is in plaine words attributed to the Church A question arising concerning the necessity of Circumcision Saint Peter with some others mette at Hierusalem about it and hauing decided the controuersy they imposed some praecepts to be obserued by the Church and that in the name and authority of the Holy Ghost saying Act. 15. it hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to vs to lay noe further burthen vpon you then these necessary things c. And S. Paul who had bene an earnest aemulatour of the law of Moyses went vp to Hierusalem to them and without any murmuring at all was contented with that which was there decreed and which S. Peter then declared submitting willingly all those rites which he had bene brought vp in and which he had aemulated before to the censure Lawes and Praecepts of the Church of Christ and not onely himselfe obeyed them but also as in the same chapter is declared He walked through Syria and Cilicia confirming the Churches and commanding them to keepe the Praecepts of the Apostles and Auncients Ananias sold a piece of land and defrauded of the price of it bringing only part of it to the feet of the Apostles Saint Peter who by reuelation vnderstood his deceit rebuked him saying Act. 5. Ananias why hath sathan tempted thy hart that thou shouldest ly to the holy Ghost c. Thou hast not lyed to men but to God And it cost him his life forth with falling downe dead in the place And his wife Saphira who was priuy to his fraude comming in about three houres after and mainteining her husbands ly Behold said Saint Peter their seete that haue buried thy husband at the doore and they shall beare thee forth And she fell downe presently and dying was carried out of doores and buried with her husband See here the diuine authority attributed to the Church Saint Peter declaring that Ananias then lyed to the holy Ghost and not to men but to God in that he lyed to those who as the Praelats of the Church had the authority of God and a terrible example of the diuine Iustice ensuing to teach vs reuerence and obedience to that authority Our blessed Sauiour speaking to his Apostles said Luc. 10. He that heareth you heareth mee and he that despiseth you despiseth mee and Saint Paul writing to the Thessalonians concerning the Praecepts which he had deliuered to them Thess 14. saith He that despiseth these things despiseth not man but God who also hath giuen his holy Spirit in vs. By all which places we see that the Church hath diuine authority that to heare it is to heare God and to be vnheare to it is to be vnheare to him to dissemble with the Prelates of the Church is to dissemble with God and to dispise them is to despise him The reason of this is Order because the Superiours of the Church being ordained of God to gouerne the world in his diuine seruice their authority is to be obeyed as the ordinance of God and as the supreme authority vpon earth aboue all temporall power in that immediatly and directly it tendeth not the temporall but to spirituall peace and order and therefore those that deny obedience to it and resist it resist the diuine ordinance and the supreme authority that is amongst men If a father should set a Schoole Master ouer his children and commande them to obey him they denying obedience to him and refusing to be taught by him disobey their father as well as their master God setteth the Pastors of the Church as Masters ouer vs to instruct and commande vs in the diuine worship Mal. 2. The lips of the Priest shall preserue knowledge and the law thou shalt require from his mouth and the Apostle saith Heb. 13. Obey your Prelates and be subiect to them for they watch as being to render account for your soules The greatest Duke King or Emperour if he hath a soule to be saued he hath a Priest and a Prelate to obey as well as the meanest of his subiects he is his master in spirituall things and if he disobey him in the doctrine and Praecepts of the Church hee disobeyeth God who ordained him in that authority he doth contrary to the
the Church hath not forbidden to drinke but it hath forbidden to eate all kind of meate and therefore apleâ— and fruit are not to be eaten out of mailes Fasting dayes beginne at twelue a clocke in the morning and end at twelue a clocke at night conteining fower and twenty houres Aunciently they fasted from supper time on the day before till supper time againe on the next day without eating of any thing but mens complexions growing weaker and weaker and perhaps their deuotions also they beganne to take their suppers sooner on fasting dayes vntill by litle and litle they brought supper to noone time and custome hath now preuailed to take a litle collation at night as is obserued in the Church So that the maile which we haue on fasting dayes is not properly a dinner but a supper and therfore it may lawfully be differred as late as we will but it may not be taken before the time allowed of by custome Which is at soonest about noone time Finally Scandall for the manner of fasting the customes of places are to be obscrued and we must be very carefull that we giue noe scandall to others especially to the enemys of the Catholike Church who make allways the worst of our actions and therefore many things which are lawfull are not allways expedient to be done It was in it selfe lawfull for saint Paul to eate flesh and of that flesh which was immolated to Idols for the flesh was no worse yet he would rather neuer eate flesh at all Cor. 1. â— then scandalize any by â—ating of it If meale saith he scandalize my brother It ill neuer eate flesh least I scandalize my brother THE SECOND PRAECEPT TO keepe Holy dayes In the Law of Moyses diuerse holy dayes were commanded to be kept Ioan. 10. and were then obserued by praecept of the Church Apoc. 1. and our blessed Sauiour hath allowed of them honoâ—ing their solemnitys by his owne presence at them as he did the feast of the Dedication of the Temple instituted by the Church in the time of Iudas Machabaeus The Scriptures make mention of the Domâ—nicall day that is to say our Lords day or our Sunday to haue bene kept in the Apostles times The Church then tooke away the Saturday Sabaoth which God first commanded in remembrance of the creation of the world and instituted Sundays Sabaoth or rather transferred Saturdays Sabâ—oth vnto Sundayes Sabaoth in honour of the Redemption of the world as à greater mystery and I doe not heare of any Heretiks now in the world that refuse to keepe Sunday for Sabaoth with what consequence then can they refuse to keepe the other holy dayes or any other praecept of the Church they all hauing the same authority that Sundayihath and the same obligation Yet Protestants allow the obligation of Sundayes solemnity and durst neuer attempt to alter it or to deny the obligation of it hauing no other warrant for it but the authority of the Church which then gouerned the Christian world and hauing the same for other holy dayes they reiect them The truth is that they haue forsaken the Church that was allayes in the world to beginne a Church which then was not at all in the world and therefore the holy Ghost hath forsaken them and left them to such inconsequences of their owne wits Clem. l. 8. Apost constit Saint Clement who liued in the Apostles times and was disciple vnto Saint Peter and Coadiutor to Saint Paul and who wrote as an eyewitnesse of those things which were then obserued in the Catholike Church deliuereth that the Apostles gaue order for the obseruing of the Feasts of their fellow Apostles and in particular of Saint Steuen as also of some other Martyrs Epiph. haer 75. Saint Epiphanius denounceth Aërius for an Haeretike in that he reiected the holy dayes of the Church By all which it appeareth how weake that obiection of Protestants is which Aërius also obiected out of the Apostles words Gal. 4. Yoü obserue dayes months times and yeares Where the Apostle speaketh against the superstitious obseruations of Heathens from which yong Christians at their first conuersions were hardly weaned in those times and therefore he rebuketh them but I haue said enough for this and all other Praecepts of the Church when I shewed that they are the Precepts of God and haue divine authority This Praecept includeth two things to wit to absteine from seruil works and to heate Masse for it is not sufficient not to worke corporall works on holy dayes but we must also sanctify them with some speciall good works as dayes particularly dedicated to the seruice and honour of God and Masse being the cheife highest and most eminent worship which can be giuen to him as his onely true Sacrifice therefore the Church hath commanded that euery one be present to offer vp at least one Masse euery holy day And this is as great an obligation as to obserue Lent or any other Praecept of the Church obliging vnder a mortall sinne S. 2. Par. Chron. tit 9. c. 10 §. 2. Anthony Archbishop of Florence relateth of two men who going out to fowle vpon a holy day they heard a voice that cryed strike him strike him and the one of them that had not heard Masse was presently strucke dead with a thunder bolt and his astonished companion hearing the voyce to continue still was comforted with another which answered I can not strike him for that he hath heard Verbum caro factum est intimating that he had heard an intire Masse to the end Amongst Holydayes those are obserued as most solemne in the Church that haue more immediate relation to God himselfe We keepe also the feasts of our blessed Lady and of the Angels and Saints to honour God by them that as they help vs and reioyce at our good soe we may praise their vertues and reioyce in their glory Besides by celebrating their feasts we are incited to the imitation of their liues and to aspire to that state of blesse which they enioy THE THIRD PRAECEPT TO Confesse our sinnes to our ordinary Pastour or to another with his leaue at least once a yeare By Praecept of the Church we are boundnoe oftener to confession then once in the yeare but many circumstances may occurre in which by diuine Praecept we are bounde to confesse oftener First in all dangers of life as when we are dangerously siâ—ke and as those that are condemned to dy Souldiers also tradesmen and trauelers when they are to goe vpon any dangerous attempt or iourneys finally in all perils of life we are bounde to prepare our selues for death and if â—e be conscious of any mortal sinne in such dangers we are bounde to goe to confession as the ordinary meanes which God hath instituted for the remissioÌ„ of sinnes We are bound also to goe to coÌ„fession allwais before we receiue any of theseauen SacrameÌ„ts if we be guilty of mortal sinne because
they are as due to them as wages are to workemen And we may speake by experience to them that know not the truth that our labour is without comparison greater then the labour of day tale workmen I haue no more to say of the Praecepts of the Church You haue seene first the authority of the Church to be diuine and her Praecepts to oblige vnder amortall sin Secondly you haue in particular the declaration of them Let vs keep them with deuotion and zeale of the honour of the Church that coÌ„mandeth them She is the immaculate spouse and glorious Bride of God She is our mother and neuer was there any mother so disirous of her childreÌ„s good nor so efficaciously procuring their true prefermeÌ„t as the Catholik Church doth ours The mother of the Zebedoes was sollicitous for her sonnes with Christ asking to haue them neere him in his Kingdome but she knew not what she asked The Catholike Church asketh nothing for her children but that which God will haue her to aske and which he inspireth her how to procure and which they if they will obey her are sure to obtaine and that is the highest honour and greatest felicity of all honours and felicitys to be made indeede the courtiers and fauorits of Christ in his euerlasting Kingdome Let vs then obey her Eccli 3. As he that gathereth treasure soe he that honoreth his mother And then a little after he is cursed of God that doth exasperate his mother How much then ought we to honour the whole Catholike Church and with what reuerence to receiue her Precepts THE TVVELFTH DISCOVRSE OF SINNE I Haue now a most hidous and fearefull monster to set before your eyes I meane to describe vnto you the euill of sinne which is indeede the most hideous monster of the world so deformed that neither men nor Angels can comprehende the deformity of it none but God can rightly vnderstande it and he vnderstanding it is moued with infinite detestation and auersion from it as from that which is most opposite of all things to his goodnesse and most hurtfull to his creatures I would stire vp in your hearts a vehement abhorring and vtter renouncing of sinne This is all the fruite saith the Prophet that sinne be taken away Esa 27. and this is all the fruit which I desire and labour for in you and which you ought to labour for in your selues to haue your sinnes taken away fot this we preach catechise and exhort that we may detest all sinne and fly it as the most dreadfull monster in the world We may conceiue somethinge of the power and malice of sinne by the vision which Saint Iohn had in the twelfth of the Apocalipse Apoc. 12. First he saw a very glorious woman soe glorious that she was clothed with the Sunne and had the Moone vnder her feete and vpon her head a crowne of twelue starres Then there appeared another signe in the Heauens a great dragon with seauen heads and tenne hornes and seauen diademes on his head And this dragon was soe strong and powerfull that he drew downe from Heauen the third part of the starres and cast them to the earth and assalting the glorious woman for all her glory he put her to flight and although she had giuen her the wings of an Eagle to fly into the desert yet the dragon sending forth of his mouth a flood of waters ouertooke her with them and had swallowed her vp if she had not gotten helpe By this dragon we may vnderstande something of the power and malice of sinne Sinne is the enemy of all glory it ascended into the Heauens and threw downe from thence the celestiall Angels and made them who were as the starres of Heauen in naturall beauty to wander now vpon the earth and vnder it full of shame and paine The Church farre more glorious in the sanctity of soules then the Sunne is in corporall brightnesse and which may well be signifyed by the glorious woman iâ— sometimes so persecuted by the sinnes of Infidels and euill Catholiks that although the true worship of God be neuer quite banished out of the world yet in some places it is so obscured that the Church in those places is driuen into corners as it were into the desert Sinne is that monster which brought the flood of all humane miserys and a reall flood of waters vpon the Church in the deluge and had quite swallowed her vp if God had not miraculously saued her Sinne hath brought plagues vpon houses citys and Kingdomes and taged in the end so violently destroying of soules that the Sonne of God was incarnated to destroy it It made the Sunne to be eclipsed with a horrible darkenesse the roofe of the Temple of Hierusalem and the rocks there abouts to be rent in peeces the ground to tremble graues to open and dead bodys to rise againe at the destruction of it It made our Saviour to weepe vpon Hierusalem and it made HierusaleÌ„ within a while to be as a stinking graue that swelled vp to an incredible hight with the multitude of dead carcases which were in it It made thousands of that people to languish away with famine and hundreds of thousands to come into their enemys hands and to become subiect to their slauery and torments Sinne hath brought haeresys into the Church of Christ and by them cruell blood â—hed amongst ChristiaÌ„s It is the cause of all dissentions and all the euills that euer were were caused by sinne It maketh the prowde to be contemned the enuious to be enuyed the contentious to be killed the couetous to be full of perplexity the luxurious to dispaire and all sinners to detest that in the end which once they loved and to be full of horrour when they come to dy Wise and holy men haue liued hard and austere liues to keepe themselues cleare from sinne and haue chosen to submitte themselues rather to the cruellest deaths that sinners could devise to inflict then to be sinners with them These are the effects of sinne what monster could euer doe the like if those tall and strong men that terrifyed the Israelites were called monsters for their extraordinary strength and tallnesse why may not we call sinne a monster which hath such power Num. 13. and if excesse or defects or disorders of members make monsters How monstruous is sinne that is the originall cause of all the excesses defects and disorders that euer were it peruerteth the order of all our actions it corrupteth our nature and euen as poyson put into wine intoxicateth it quite and changeth it all into poyson so sinne corrupteth all that is good in our soules and all our good workes being poysoned with one mortall sinne goe downe with it into hell What reason then haue we to abhorre and to fly from sinne If we looked behinde vs and saw a Lyon Beere or terrible Serpent pursueing vs at our heeles our harts would faint presently our whole bodys would
to intice him but all was in vaine he told him that his mother had vsed to exhort him to martyrdome and that he would be with her The king asked him what it was to be à martyr The child answered marke this answere that to be à martyr was to suffer death for Iesus Christ and to liue for euer after The king asked him who Christ was He told him that he might see Christ in the Church meaning as à child the pictures and Crucifixes of Christ which were then to be seene in Catholike Churches and looking downe and getting à sight of his mother as she was tyed to the stake he cryed out let mee goe let mee goe to my mother and when the king hindered him he told him he thought he was à Iew and bate him by the thigh to gette away from him at which the king in a fury pushed him away commanding one of his senators to take him to bring vp in the Iewish sect But as he was carried away he gotte from him and running into the fireto his mother he had his desire which was to dy à martyr This child if he were not capable of much of the christian doctrine at that age yet his good mother had à care to ingraft in him at least such à zeale and soe much knowledge of the faith of Christ that it was admirable to heare à child of siue yeares old to giue such an answer to the question of martyrdome in which he publikely professed the faith of Iesus Christ and the assurance of eternall life by suffering death for it Our children are as this was then an innocent by baptisme But our parents are not as the mother of this child soe careful to instruct their children and therefor are there soe many weake and feeble Catholikes amongst vs because we want instruction in our youth and we want it soe much that many who are past children know not the cheife principles of the christian faith nor thinke that they haue any obligation to learne them which is the ground and cause of all their ignorance The first thing therefor and most necessary for euery christian to know is the obligation which he hath to learne the christian doctrine Tell mee then Question What obligation haue christians to learne the christian doctrine Answer Euery christian is bound vnder a mortal sinne to know the cheife points of the christian faith This is an obligation vnder à mortal sinne that is to say à deadly sinne à sinne by which our soules incurre death as great an obligation as can be The reason is because all that are come to the vse of reason are bounde not onely to an habitual faith such as children haue but also to an actual faith that is to produce acts of faith and actual faith supposeth some knowledge of what is to be beleeued and therefor euery one must haue some knowledge of those thinges which he is to beleeue Children before they come to the vse of reason haue onely the habit of faith which is giuen them in baptisme and this is sufficient to saue them that can haue noe more but when they come to the vse of reason then they come to the vse of their faith and are bounde to conuert themselues to à supernatural end by producing acts of faith and of the loue of God which they can not doe except they know something of him and therefor S. Ep. 119. Augustin sayth that knowledge is the engine by which the building of charity is raised vp to endure for euer Euery tradesman must know the trade which he professeth or els he cannot expect to haue by right the wages due to his trade The trade which we professe is the true worship of God in the christian faith we are therefor boūd to know what belōgeth to that profession otherwise we cānot expact the reward of good christians We deserue not indeede the honour of that name if we know not what is professed by it Eccl. 5. Be stedfast in the way of our Lord and in the truth of thy vnderstanding and in knowledge Saith holy Ecclesiasticus Cor. 1.14 and the Apostle saith that if any man know not he shall not be knowne Now to say in particular how much of the christian doctrine euery one is bounde to know and which are these cheife points of obligation to be learned can not be done in general termes to all alike for this obligation is to be measured according to the difference of capacitys and other circumstances which are to be considered in seueral callings of persons ◠Tho see ◠q. 1. art 5. S. Thomas and the common opinion of authors holdeth it absolutely necessary to saluation in euery one to haue an explicite faith that is expresly to beleeue the mysterys of the blessed Trinity and of the Incarnation and the twelue articles of the Creede and that it is à mortal sinne to be ignorant in the substance of those mysterys I should thinke it a very grosse ignorance in any Catholike not to know all these points to wit the mystery of the blessed Trinity in one God and three persons the mystery of the Incarnation in Iesus Christ the Sonne of God incarnated true God and true man that redeemed vs shall iudge vs and giue glory to the good What the Catholike Church is that the Sacraments of the Catholike Church giue grace to sanctify vs what it is that he receiueth in the Eucharist what he cometh to confession for what the Masse is whatmortal sinne is and that the Praecepts of the Church oblige vnder à mortal sinne This is as litle as can well be expected of all christians And this is conteined in the Summe of the christian doctrine which I haue deliuered to be gotten without booke the vnderstanding of which is sufficient to discharge the obligation which euery one hath to learne the christian doctrine I doe not say that it is absolutely necessary for euery one to vnderstande it all much lesse to gette it all without booke But I say that it is absolutly necessary for saluation to vnderstande the cheife points of it and that to be sure it were good to vnderstande it all and to gette it all without booke But it shall suffice for the present for all to know that they are bounde vnder à mortal sinne to know the head points and principal parts of the christian doctrine Let all then remember this obligatiō and those that haue bene negligent in performing it let them confesse their negligence and learne better hereafter For if any man know not he shall not be knowne Cor. 1.14 THE SECOND DISCOVRSE OF FAITH I INTENDE now to say something of faith in general à subiect necessary to be spoken of but it is hard to speake well and cleerely that which is necessary and sufficient to be spoken of it Prou. 25. Thou hast found honey eate that which sufficeth thee least perhaps being filled thou vomit it vp
that by his holy light and inspiration he will bring thee to see whether thy Church erre or noe and if it doe to forsake it and to obey the true Church And this I will shew thee how thou shalt require it of him I said before that the spirit of God is denyed to none that rightly aske it To obtaine then the diuine inspiration inspiring vs to the obedience of the true Church we neede noe more but rightly to aske it He therefor that beleening in a Church which may erre is resolued with himselfe to vse all possible meanes to know whether it erre or noe and to be inspired vnto the true Church let him take a time of purpose to thinke of this important businesse and to commende it seriously to God and then the first thinge which he must doe is to prepare himselfe with a calme and quiet minde and ready promptitude to performe that which God shall inspire him firmely purposing that nothing in the world shall hinder him to follow that which he shall thinke to be the true way of saluation Prou. 16. soe that he may truely say My hart is ready ô Lord my hart is ready It perteineth to man saith the holy proue be to prepare his hart and againe the hart of man disposeth his way Hauing thus prepared his hart with an earnest desire of the diuine inspiration and with à full purpose of obeying it then let him make his prayer to God not in extrauagant words as some doe with the Pharisee but with all the humility and feruour of minde that he can possibly stirre vp in himselfe beseeching his diuine and infinite goodnes that he will not permitte his soule to perish in a false religion but that he will enlighten him to see which is the true Church and efficaciously inspire him to the obedience of it Hauing made his prayer let him then consider quietly with himselfe some grounds of religion as for example the necessity of a continual visible Church declared by holy scriptures and by natural reason for the gouernment of the world in the true worship of God and therefor that must be the true Church of Christ which hath continued at all times for the saluation of soules and that all those Churches which haue begunne at any time to oppose the setled Church of Christ which was then in the world are false Churches as being in their beginning guilty of the greeuous sinne of disobedience to the continual Church which God hath ordained at all times for the gouernment of the world in his true worship And if he be a Protestant he may thinke with himselfe how that at that time when Luther begâ—nne to oppose the Romane Catholike Church he submitted himselfe to noe Church then extant in all the world but beganne to teach a doctrine which all people in the world reiected for false and did many thinges which noe Church that was then would iustify for lawfull but gotte onely some priuate men to ioyne with him against all Churches that then were pretending that there was noe Church which they could lawfully ioyne themselues vnto and that he was sent of God to reforme the errors of the Church Buecer Ep. ad Episc Hâ—reford termeth him the first Epistle of the reformed doctrine Fox act pag. 400 416. that God sent Luther and gaue him his mighty spirit to reforme religion and that he was à conductour and chariot of Israel to be reuerenced next vnto Christ and S. Paul aboue all the saints VVâ—iâ—â—k resp ad Edmund Camp ration 8. we reuerence Luther as a father and imbrace the Lutherans and Zuinglâ—ans is very deere brethren Thus Protestants themselues confesse that Luther was the beginner of the reformed doctrine which they professe And thus did all the seueral Churches of Christians but the Romane Catholike Church beginne disobeying of it and obeying and vniting themselues to noe Church then extant in the world Hauing quietly with himselfe considered some such reason noe doubt but God will illuminate him to thinke and to see that this is not the Catholike Church and inspire him with pious affections of his will to the obedience of the Romane Catholike Church out of which all others went-forth and had their beginnings in disobedience to it And being thus moued and inspired of God to the obedience of that Church which he then thinketh in his hart to be the true Church that inspiration must be followed as the will of God and presently without delay he must gette himselfe vnited to that Church He is therfor first to prepare his hart with an indifferency and willingnes to doe that which God shall inspire to him secondly to pray earnestly and humbly to God to inspire him to the true Church thirdly with a quiet and calme minde to weigh with himselfe some reasons and grounds of religion according to his capacity and lastly to choose and to resolue with himselfe according to that which God then speaketh to his conscience and to goe about presently to performe it This is a thinge easy to be done by them and a thinge which as I haue shewed all those that are not Catholiks euen according to their owne grounds ought in all reason to doe if they will haue à care of their saluation And hauing done all this on their parts they haue done what in nature they could doe and relying for the rest vpon God for his helpe it is then most congruous and agreeable to the diuine goodnes to enlighten them and to shew them the truth which they desire and pray for And if afterwards they follow it not it is not for any defect of his assistance who by reasons sufficiently conuincing drew them at that time vnto him and offered them his diuine grace to become actually members of the true Church but it is of their owne wills and stubborne mindes that will not make vse of those helps and good motions which were abundantly sufficient for their conuersion This is the way which I direct vnto all such trauelers as are out of their way or vncertaine of their way as all those confesse themselues to be who beleeue in a fallible Church Let them haue recourse vnto God and see what he speaketh to their harts let them open their vnderstandings to his diuine light and let them prepare their wills to receiue those inspirations with which he moueth them to acknowledge his autority in the true Church and they shall finde comfort in him By this light and inspiration of God to obey his Church all are conuerted that are truely conuerted in this consisteth the security of all constant Catholiks who not by their owne reasons but by the diuine autority and inspiration are resolued in all points of faith and that inspiration finally tryed not by their owne iudgments but approoued of by the continual Church by which the true faith and worship of God is allwais conserued in the world and beleeuing and adhaering vnto that Church
into this sinne as they haue done into murder and euen to murder themselues which notwithstanding by nature they abhorre and can expect noe pleasure but vtmost paine in it It is indeede a meruaile and most admirable that atheisme giuing soe great liberty to all sinne there haue bene in the world soe few that haue fallen into it and by this it is manifest that God fights particularly against it and hath giuen by nature to reasonable creatures to defende his power and goodnesse And perhaps neither those aboue mentioned were guilty of this sinne First for that it is not likely that those men were soe much peruerted in their mindes and wills as Epicure was in the desire of liberty who notwithstanding as you haue seene came short of atheisme Secondly I finde by chance in S. Iohn Chrysostome where he putteth them by name and Socrates together for defending of the same doctrine and mainteining of this proposition Ignoro ' Deos I know not Gods meaning I know not many Gods in the plurall number Chrysosâ—o 4. in primam ad Cor. l. 14. but one onely God and he sayeth that they vltimum subierunt periculum that is either lost their liues or were in danger of their liues for defending of that proposition Now it is well knowne that Socrates lost his life for defending of that proposition in the sense aboue mentioned of one onely God and for this they might well be then in danger of their liues Atheisme then is a sinne which cannot be incurred but by a generall contradiction to the whole world and by a violent forcing of nature and conscience to admitte of all sinnes and which hath in it selfe the malice of all sinnes as allowing of all wickednesse whatsoeuer How great then are the punishments of this greeuous sinne soe much abhorred by the world and conteining after a sort the guilt of all sinnes Socrates dranke poyson forced vnto it by Infidels for defending of one God yet this was neuer a singularity in the world and euen then was professed by the whole nation of the Iewes famous in the world what shall the atheist deserue for professing of that which all nations of the world haue euer abhorred and for contradicting of that which all nations haue euer professed and was before men professed by Angels and euen by Lucifer the worst of deuils the atheist in this goeth beyond Lucifer and as for the hight of his prophanenesse he deserueth in a higher nature the damnation of his soule then Lucifer deserued hell because he denyeth the first principle of nature and all nations hauing by instinct of nature some religion he will haue none De leg Cicero There is noe nation soe barbarous but although it know not what God it should haue yet it knoweth it should haue a God Now if the atheist shall set himselfe to exclaime against all nations and shall say that they haue all done this for some temporal respect it shall auaile him noe more then if some hainous malefactour or very vicious man should exclaime against his superiors and against all nations for punishing of him and for hindering the mischeifs which he would otherwise perpetrate And by this saying atheists condemne themselues the same natural reason that condemneth sinne and vice condemning them in the opinion of all nations as more destroying of nature and order then any vicious men whatsoeuer And therefor as it were a vaine thinge in publike malefactors and should auaile them nothing to condemne the lawes of nations that condemne them soe were it in atheists to exclaime against all nations and should auaile them nothing when all the world shall condemne them before God OF THE NATVRALL AND experimentall feeling which we haue of God MEn vse rather to disswade from vices then to disprooue them because nature of it selfe without discourse of arguments at the first apprehension abhorreth vice and therefor there needes noe disproofe of it The same may be said of atheisme that as naturally we loue vertue and hate vice for the beauty and goodnes which appeareth in the one and for the deformity and euill which we perceiue in the other soe the diuine beauty and goodnes draweth vs to it and by nature we are conuerted to God and auersed from atheisme euen at the first apprehension as the greatest of all euills and our consciences tell vs that after the very salfe same manner that we feele ourselues auersed from vice soe doe we also finde ourselues from atheisme but onely that we behold atheisme as more deformed and monstruous then any vice is And as we loue and cannot but loue vertue soe we cannot but loue God in himselfe and naturally we loue those whom we see to loue and serue him Because we cannot but see and feele the goodnes of God towards vs and his power ouer vs working in vs and disposing of vs and dispensing vnto vs such perfections as he would giue and not we would choose and laying vpon vs such imperfections of greifs sicknes soares Passions of minde as he would and that which to nature is most terrible to wit death By all which we see a supernaturall power-aboue our nature which ordained these thinges And that power as by nature we see and feele it soe also by nature wefeare it naturally abhorring sinne by which we displease him It is true great sinners haue many times sensibly but litle of this feare left and may perhaps come to that hardnes of hart as to haue noe feeling at all of the feare of God when they sinne according to the holy Prouerbe The impious when he shall come into the depth of sinnes contemneth Prou. 18. But this prooueth not but that by nature he feareth God it prooueth indeede the great mercy of God to suffer those vessels of wrath to continue soe long without their due punishment that they feare him not and the great inclination which our corrupted nature hath to corrupt still more and more and to fall deeper and deeper into sinne and sheweth how good a thinge it is after any sinne presently to repent for it and as soone as we can to vse those meanes which we haue in the Catholike Church for the cleering of our consciences againe least that by continuance in one sinne we fall into another and harden our harts by litle and litle to all sinnes Although I say such men when they sinne haue noe sensible feeling of God or feare of his iustice yet by nature they haue that feare when they feele it noâ— Hawks by long custome to their keepers loose the feeling of that natural feare which they haue of them and will sport with them and bite at them without any feare at all yet naturally they haue allwais the same feare of them and their keepers permitting this haue still the same power ouer them which they had before Soe many sinners by much sinning and long continuance in sinne may perhaps I say perhaps for perhaps they cannot quite
himselfe signifying his death on the Cros Io. 3. said as Moyses exalted the serpent in the desert soe must the sonne of man be exalted Christ suffered voluntarily of his owne free-will Christ suffered voluntarily and could if it had peased him haue escaped all or any part of his Passion and death This he often shewed in his life time Sometimes when they would haue killed him he became presently inuisible to their sight and walked through the midst of them without being seene Sometimes he preuented them absenting himselfe seeing their inward thoughts and harts to be bent against him Sometimes he shewed that he had power ouer their mindes mouing them as he would and asswaging the malice which was in them vntill the hower of his suffering came and when his hower was come he came forth amongst his enemys and euen then he moued multitudes of people to follow and to glorify him but a few dayes after when they came to apprehende him he would then be taken and would not defende himselfe or be defended by others He would with a word of his mouth strike them downe to the ground to shew that he had them in his power and could haue freed himselfe but he would let them rize againe and would goe away prisoner with them to fullfill the will of his father by suffering and dying for vs. Christ suffered for the redemption of all and redeemed all that is by his Passion he purchased meanes for the saluation of all These meanes are the Sacraments of the Catholike Church Those that are baptized and receiue worthily the rest of the Sacraments as they are necessary for them are saued by the merits of Christ in them Those that are not baptized or receiue not the Sacraments as they are necessary for them perish not through any defect in the Passion of Christ by which they had sufficient meanes to be saued but through their owne sinne because they will not apply those meanes to themselues which Christ by his Passion procured for their saluation The least paine of our Sauiours Passion or the least action which he did in his life time had bene sufficient to haue redeemed the whole world and a thousand worlds if it had bene offered to that end by him as the full price of our redemption because it proceeded from the diuine Person which was of infinite dignity but it was not intended soe by him He ouervalued the purchase of our soules and by a superabundant grace would giue more then he needed when he gaue his life for them and would haue nothing to stande for the price of our redemption without his death This he would doe to testify his loue towards vs and to giue vs an example of many vertues Quest What doe we gett by Christ redeeming vs Answ We gett the forgiunesse of our sinnes and the acceptance of our good works by the merits of Christs Passion applyed vnto vs in the Catholike Church The Sacraments of the Catholike Church haue their vertue and effect by the Passion of Christ Those that worthily receiue them are sanctifyed and haue the remission of their sinnes and being then in the state of grace the good works which in that state are done by them are acceptable to God and haue proportion to supernatural glory The Sacraments therefor hauing by the merits of Christs Passion power and vertue to sanctify vs we haue by his merits the forgiunesse of our sinnes and the acceptance of our good works Man had committed sinne in paradise and all mankind was infected with that sinne and our nature being once tainted it corrupted still more and more and we fall in our life times into many actuall sinnes All the good works which we could doe were of noe value nor could we by any meanes make satisfaction for any sinne either originall or actuall because there is noe condignity in person and works betwixt vs and God that was offended The Sonne of God was therefor incarnated in Christ that the diuine nature vniting to it selfe the nature of man might soe dignify it by that vnion in him that he could make satisfaction for our sinnes and obtaine for vs the remission of them and that our good works being then done in the state of grace might become acceptable to God and proportionable to glory which of themselues they could not be We could haue sinned still more and more heaping sinne vpon sinne and increasing our damnation but we could haue done nothing in that state by which we could rise from any sinne Soe that the remission of our sinnes and the acceptance of our good works to the obtaining of euerlasting glory is to be attributed to the merits and power of Christs Passion which is actually applyed vnto vs by the Sacraments of the Catholike Church The Apostles would particularly professe in the Creede the Passion of Christ and that he dyed to confounde those haeretiks that should deny his death as some haue done These are sufficiently refuted by this article and by all the Euangelists affirming that he gaue vp the ghost That is is to say that his ghost spirit or soule which is all one departed and was separated from his body death being nohting els but the departure or separation of the soule from the body For this reason also the Apostles would declare that Christ was buried to confirme his being dead But although he would haue his body to be buried as the bodys of other men yet he would preserue it from corruption in the earth because it was most decent that that sacred body which was soe miraculously framed by the Holy Ghost without corrupting the Virginity of his mother should after death be free from all corruption according to that which the holy king had prophecyed thou shalt not giue thy holy one to see corruption Ps 15. To conceiue somethinge of the greatnesse of this mystery we may consider who it was that suffered these thinges that it was one whose person infinitly surpassed in power wisdome beauty riches and all kind of dignity and goodnesse the most renowned Prince that euer was in the world And if it be a horrible thinge to thinke of the murthering of any man and much more of some great and gracious Prince and a cruell spectacle to behold it what feeling ought christiins to haue of the Passion of Christ when they consider it But it is but a weake comparison to compare Christ to any earthly Prince Io. 1. S. Iohn saith that he was the Word which was with God and that this Word was God O almighty God what then shall we say or thinke of this mystery thy power and maiesty seemeth here to be lessened thy wisdome is dispised thy goodnes questioned brought to tryall and condemned O blessed Sauiour whom S. Paul describeth to be he whom God hath made the heire of all Heb. 1. the brightnesse of his glory and the figure of his substance how comes thy brightnesse to be
controneâ—sys what the successour of S. Peter and the pastors that ioyne with him determine and we must adhaere to them as to the true and lawfull authority of the Church This as I shall â—hew is the bishop of Rome and the pastors of his Communion and therefor those that obey him and them obey the lawfull authority and are the true Church and they are all false Churches that disobey them Because the authority of the whole Church residing in the head and Pastors of it disobedience to them is disobedience to the whole Church and all false Churches of christians being either of Schismatiks or haeretiks and they beginning allwais in disobedience to the Church it followeth that those who continue allwais obedient to him that is then the head of the Church and to the pastors of his Communion are the true Church and the company of them altogether is the whole Catholike Church and those that refuse to obey their authority are false Churches of Scismatiks or haeretiks And this disobedience is not onely the original cause of all false Churches and a destinctiue signe to discerne them by but it is the very essential forme which constituteth them in the nature of false Churches and maketh them to be such For noe man can be a member of a false Church for false doctrine onely except it be ioyned with obstinacy and disobedience to the Church A good Catholike may hold or reach false doctrine of ignorance or mindelesnesse but he is not a Catholike if he mainteine any thinge obstinatly against the authority of the Church In points which are disputed by Philosophers and Catholike diuines affirmed by some and denyed by others a falsehood is taught on one side but noe errour in faith is committed nor the sinne of schisme or haeresy is incurred because the head and pastors of the Church hauing declared nothing in those points there is noe disobedience to the Church by them S. Cyprian and the bishops of Affrica erred in doctrine and opinion when they thought that the baptisme of haeretiks was not valid but they erred not in faith because the Church had then declared nothing of it and therefor it was noe formal errour or heresy because there was noe disobedience to the Church I may erre say the fathers commonly alleadged but I will neuer be an haeretike Errour is of the minde and vnderstanding but heresy is the defect of the will to be allwais free from errour we can not but from schisme and heresy we may if we will It is then willfull disobedience to the head and pastors of the Church that constituteth all false Churches and it is obedience to the head and pastors of the Church that conserueth vs in the true Church The true Church is a congregation of people vnited together with his lâ—wfull head and pastors all false Churches are congregations of people diuided from and disobedient to the head and pastors of the Church S. Paul warneth the Romanes to remember this marke saying Rom. 16. I desire you brethren to marke them that make dissentions and scandals contrary to the doctrine which you haue learned and anoide them If all christians had remembred these words and at all times had obserued them there had neuer bene any false Church of christians And if all would here after obserue them in the beginning of heresys the arch haeretike might despaire of his worke and would not gett soe much as one follower after him he would discouer himselfe by the propper marke of an haeretike which is not onely to hold false doctrines but also to make dissension in the Church by teaching new doctrines and by standing obstinate in them If therefor you see any one to beginne some singularity of doctrine contrary to that which is taught in the Church suspect presently such a man as tainted at least with a dangerous humour of pride if not with inward heresy but iudge him not an haeretike vntill his errour be made manifest by the authority of the Church and he stande obâ—â—inate against that authority Which if he doe then he maketh dissention and scandall and we may then and must iudge him to be an haeretike and auoide him We should pitty such a man with all our harts and pray for him as for our brother but we ought to auoide his conuersation as the breath of one infected with the plague But if you see that he gette followers to ioyne with him and to mainteine his disobedience to the head and pastors of the Church you haue then in them a false Church and those that mainteine their disobedience though neuer soe long after are all members of the same false Church and those that keepe in vnion and obedience to their head and pastors are the true Catholike Church Now christians you haue for ener a preuention against all schismes and heresys that may hereafter arize you shall presently destinguish the true Church from the false by this noble cognizant to wit obedience to the head and pastors of the Church and the false you shall discerne it by the infamous brand of pride and disobedience to them Keepe your selues in vnion and obedience to that authority which is and allwais must be in the Church of God and you are grounded vpon a sure rocke I would that these words were written in the doores of euery Church and engrauen in the walls in stones of flint THE TRVE CHVRCH CONTINVETH ALLWAIS IN VNION AND OBEDIENCE TO ITS HEAD AND PASTORS ALL FALSE CHVRCHES BEGINNE BY DISOBâ— DIENCE TO THE HEAD AND PASTORS OF THE CHVRCH that all by often beholding them might remember their due obedience to the Catholike Church And this marke is not onely sufficient to discouer for the future and to preuent the rizing of false Churches here after but also to shew which of all christian Churches that are now extant in the world is the true Catholike Church for Christ hauing instituted the gouernment of his Church to be by one head and supreme pastour and by other bishops as inferiour pastors in Communion with him and the gouernment which Christ instituted being allwais to be obserued and obeyed by vs there needeth noe more to shew which is the true Church but to shew who is the true head of the Church by succession from S. Peter and by the lawfull possession of his chaire and power For he and the pastors of his Communion are to be obeyed as deriuing their authority from Christ himselfe and as hauing from him the authority of the whole Church This argument is often vsed by S. Cyprian who biddeth vs in the beginning of all heresys and for the deciding of all controuersys allwais to looke vp to the head of the Church and to seeke to him and tractatu de simplicitate praelatorum siue de vnit Eccles he maketh this the cause of all heresys as you haue heard Because saith he we haue not recourse vnto the ormen nor seeke vnto the head and then he
33. l. 3. c. 43.44 l 2. cont Gauden c. 3 l. de vntco bap â—â—s c 15. ep 48. L. 2. cont Petâ—lâ— c. 19. as may be seene in The Authour of the Protestant Religion l. 2. c. 11. They must therefor shew some iust cause why they went forth and separated themselues For as S. Augustine alluding to the holy Prouerbe c. 30. often obiecteth against the Donatists The euill child calleth himselfe iust but he can not excuse his going forth And in another place You must come and giue an account of your separation But none of them haue a iuster cause nor can giue a better account of their separation then those whom they confesse to be false Churches therefor they are all false Churches I haue now sufficiently performed one thinge which I promised in the title of this booke The verity of the Roma â—e Cathelike faith is demonstrated by industion from aâ—l other religions to wit to demonstrate by induction from all the religions that are in the world the verity of the Romane Catholike faith As for the atheist he ought indeede to be excluded from all speech of religion for that he hath none yet his prophanesse is disprooued in the first article of the Creede in which the Apostles laid the foundation of religion saying I beleeue in God The Pagans religion is disprooued in the same article in that he beleeueth not in one God the maker of heauen and eaâ—th The Iewish and Turkish sects are disprooued in the second article for that they beleeue not in Iesus Christ the onely Sonne of God All sects of Christians that are out of the Romane Church are disprooued in that they haue broken this ninth article of the Creede I beleeue the Cathâ—like Church disobeying its authority in the lawfull head and pastors of it Let them harken to the words of the Holy Ghost Deut 17. If thou perceiue that the iudgment with thee be hard and doubtfull c. Thou shalt come to the Priests of the Leuitical stocke and to the iudge that shall be at that time and thou shalt doe whatsoeuer they that are presidents of the place which our Lord shall choose shall say and teach thee according to his law and thou shalt follow their sentence neither shalt thou decline to the right hand nor to the left hand But he that shall be prowde refusing to obey the commandement of the priest which at that time ministreth to our Lord thy God and the decree of the iudge that man shall dy Here now I cry to all those christians that are out of the Romane Church Graecians Arians c. and to all the seueral Churches of Protestants and especially to you my very deere Countreymen for whose soules I haue long hazarded my corporall life You haue contemned this great authority or rather a greater then it was You haue refused to obey the commandement of the priest and priests not of the Leuitical stocke but of the institution of Christ to wit the Successour of S. Peter and his pastors that is to say the Bishop of Rome and his pastors who gouerned the primitiue Church of Christ and were then actually gouerning it when your Churches beganne These you know you haue disobeyed and stande still disobedient vnto General Councels haue declared against you all and especially against the seueral sects of Protestants the Councell of Trent consisting of two hundred and fifty fiue fathers besides the most eminent doctors of the Catholike Church All Romane Catholiks obey this Councell in all points of faith and you disobey it Disobedience to the Leuitical priest and priests by the law of Moyses was punished with death and your disobedience I am sorry with all my hart but I haue noe scruple to speake it shall without doubt if you repent not be punished with eternal death Therefor I coniure you by the sweet merites of Iesus Christ in whom you beleeue and whom you expect to be your iudge to reflect ypon your soules and vpon true religion Call to minde how your Churches beganne and how schismes and heresys beginne and if you finde as you shall easily finde that you haue begunne after the very same manner as they in disobedience to the head and pastors of the Church and to all but your owne wills your beginners were as Core Nu. 16. Dathan and Abiron that beganne diuisions in the Church of God their followers that liued with them were as the followers of the former whom God destroyed also with them and you rising vp to mainteine their disobedience when they are dead and gone are like to those who after their deaths rose vp to iustify their cause and were therefor by the iudgment of God consumed with fire Forsake their company desert that vnlawfull cause and returne againe into the sheepfold of Christ if you desire to be saued THE TENTH ARTICLE FOrgiuenesse of sinnes None can rightly consider these words as made by the Apostles to be an article of the Creede but he must needs conceiue some greater mystery to be conteined in them them onely to professe that God can or doth forgiue sinnes Neither can he in reason vnderstande any other thinge then that there is power of forgiuing sinnes in that Church which they had newly professed This was indeede a gift and priueledge worthy to be mentioned in the publike Creede Christ after his resurrection before he ascended into heauen appeared to his Apostles and breathing vpon them said Io. 20. Receiue ye the Holy Ghost whose sinnes you shall forgiue they are forgiuen and whose you shall retaine they are retained This was a mystery which the Church of God had great reason to remember and often to inculcate vnto her people and therefor the Apostles hauing professed their beleefe in the Catholike Church in the next place would commemorate this gift and power which the Catholike Church hath of the forgiuenesse of sinnes that with gratitude we might remember it and make good vse of it It is a greater worke saith S. Aug. tract 52. Augustine to make an euill man good then to make the world of nothing Yet it is giuen vnto man to doe this great worke It is giuen I say vnto man for it is not of his owne power but of the gift of God God onely of his owne natural power can forgiue sinnes Esa 43. I am he that taketh cleane away thine iniquitys but he can if he will giue that power vnto men The Apostles had that power by the gift of God as they had of him to worke many miracles which were as hard and vnpossible to nature as to forgiue sinnes Iudges of themselues haue not power to iudge but when the king maketh them iudges and giueth them power then they haue power and may exercize it and the exercize of it is good and valid because the king who gaue them that power setteth them in his owne place giueth them to represent his owne person and ratifyeth the
sentence which they giue soe priests are made of God the iudges ouer soules they beare his person they forgiue sinnes and whose sinnes they forgiue vpon earth those are forgiuen by him in heauen By sinne we become debtours to God he is the creditour who onely of himselfe can forgiue but he substituting others to forgiue in his name his substitutes can validly forgiue and the substitutes of God are his priests To say that men can not haue power to forgiue sinnes is that which the Iewes obiected against Christ and which he answered and disprooued by a miracle shewing by it that himselfe not onely as he was God but also according to his humanity could forgiue sinnes A lame and impotent man being brought vnto him he said Mat. 9. Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee And when the Iewes heard those words presently they said that he blasphemed as though the power of forgiuing sinnes had bene soe propper to God that he could not haue imparted it to man But they shall see the contrary and that there was noe blasphemy in his words Wherfor thinke you euill in you harts saith Christ whether is easier to say thy sinnes are forgiuen thee or to say arize and walke but that you may know that the Sonne of man hath power on earth to forgiue sinnes Arize take vp thy bedd and goe into thy house And he aroze and went into his house And the multitudes seeing it glorifyed God that had giuen such power to men Now let none euer say that men cannot haue power to forgiue sinnes It is soe farre from being a blasphemy or iniury to God to say that he giueth power to men to forgiue sinnes that to say the contrary is a blasphemy and iniury to him to wit that he can not or doth not giue that power to men For as the honour and power of the king is not diminished but rather his loue and care ouer his subiects is demonstrated in making iudges to conserue iustice and order amongst them and especially in giuing power to his iudges to pardon offences done against him soe is it a special demonstration of the loue of God vnto men to giue power to priests to forgiue sinnes which are committed against him And this is that which the Apostles would haue vs here to professe to wit the forgiuenesse of sinnes by power giuen to the Catholike Church He that considereth the euill of mortall sinne how that it woundeth and quite killeth our soules leauing them depriued of the grace of God and guilty of the paines of hell will esteeme greatly of this power and will thinke that there is nothing in the world which soe much behoueth a sinner as the right application of that power to himselfe Esa 27. This is the end and fruit of all that sinne be taken away Saith the Prophet By this our soules when they are as a dead and filthy carrion in the sight of God are restored to the life of grace made cleane and beautifull and all the happines of future life also becommeth then due to them This we shall learne how it is to be applyed in the Sacrament of Pennance where the benefit of it is obtained THE ELEAVENTH ARTICLE THe Resurrection of the flesh How necessary this article was to the establishing of the christian doctrine it appeareth in this that the holy scriptures doe not onely professe it but also prooue it S. Paul prooueth the resurrection of our bodys by the resurrection of Christ If saith he there be noe resurrection of the dead neither is Christ rizen againe Cor. 1 15. And if Christ be not rizen againe then vaine is our preaching vaine also is your faith And he declareth and confirmeth it by the similitude of corne which corrupting in the seede rizeth vp fresh and faire corne againe With these and the like arguments he disputeth against certaine men that denyed the resurrection Tim. 2.2 as Hymenaeus and Philetus who interpreted the scriptures to be vnderstoode of the resurreation of the soule to the state of grace Christ also himselfe disputed with the Saducaeans about this point and confirmed in fact the truth of it when he raized Lazarus to life who although he had bene fower dayes dead and laid then stinking in the monument yet when Christ called he heard Io. 11. and obeyed comming forth fresh and liuely Holy Iob in the midst of all his assictions comforted himselfe with these words Iob 19. I know that my redeemer liueth and in the last day I shall rize out of the earth And I shall be compassed againe with my skinne and in my flesh I shall see God Thus did this holy man solace himselfe with the thought of the resurrection which he saith he had laid vp in his bosome vsing it as a cordiall and antidore against his great miserys Our soules and bodys desiring by nature to be vnited together for the complete and intire constituting of man it stands with reason that they should once come together againe that the soules of the blessed may enioy their desire and be satiated in the naturall appetite which they haue vnto their bodys And for this reason the immortality of the soule and the resurrection of the body is mentioned in the scriptures and was taken by the auncient Philosophers as it were for the same because such is the connexion betwixt them that by the immortality of the soule the resurrection of the body is inserred for if the soule be immortal and haue a natural appetite to the body as being ereated to constitute man consisting of both soule and body then that appetite must once be satiated by the resurrection of the body after death and revnion of the soule to it againe and soe take away the resurrection of the body and you take away the immortality of the soule and then all grounds of faith and the hopes of future life are taken away with it our soules being mortal with our bodys and therefor S. Paul If I fought with beasts at Ephesus what doth it profit mee Cor. 1.15 if the dead rize not againe let vs eate and drinke for to morrow we shall dy And therefor S. Chrysostome calleth the Saducaeans who denyed the resurrection the most pernicious haeretiks that euer were S. Ambrose hauing prooued it by scriptures and by the examples of those who haue rizen from the dead and by reasons which he calleth euident concludeth all in this plane and certaine truth that the corruptions of seedes and productions which we see of new thinges are vnto God the resurrection of the old That which we beleeue by this article is that the very same bodys which liued before although neuer soe much corrupted shall be vnited to their soules againe and remaine for euer with them for if it were not the same body which was before it were not a resurrection but a production of a new thinge and that this resurrection is general to all Cor. 1.15 according to the
in the Church and the auncient and true doctrine was better vnderstoode that it was not of obligation for all to receiue vnder both kindes For as the Councell of Trent hath obserued when Christ said vnles you eate the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his blood you shall not haue life in you Io. 6. He added also he that eateth this bread shall liue for euer By which he declared that the benefit of the Eucharist is receiued as much in the host onely as in both the host and the chalice euerlasting life being promised to those that eate that sacred bread OF THE EFFECTS OF THE Eucharist THE effect of the Eucharist is to giue grace by which we become the adopted children of God nourished and fedd as it were at his owne table our soules hauing satiety in him and obtaining by it the fullnes of his glory That where as according to S. Tract 26. in Io. Augustine by other meate and drinke we seeke to be satiated there is noe true satiety but in this by which we gaine heauen And it is especially gained by this Sacrament both by reason of the more special vnion which we baue with Christ in it and also for that the gift of perseuerance is especially here obtained as by a strong and nourishing bread It remitteth sinne and preserueth from future sinne according to the disposition of the receiuer according to which also it blotteth out the punishment due to it It hath for its propper effect to feede and to strengthen the soule to keepe it in spiritual health and vigour And because for the most part it is receiued with more feruour and sweetnes of deuotion and outwardly in the similitude of bread therfor it is compared to the Manna of the Israëlits which is thought by some to haue had the sweetnes of all tasts S. L. 8. ep 62. Ambrose We haue the Manna euery day rayning downe vpon vs that body which came from the virgin and S. Iohn Chrysostome therefor calleth it the fountaine of paradise from whence sensible riuers flow Ho. 45 to 1. The Saints of God haue bene soe transported with spiritual consolations in the receiuing of the Eucharist that good and authentical writers haue recorded of some who haue liued for diuerse months and of others who for some yeares together haue bene susteined without any other foode S. Katherine of Siena was singularly deuoted to the blessed Sacrament She receiued it euery day except her Confessour commanded the contrary whom she obeyed in all things and noe doubt but that for a long time she was susteined onely by it In her life it is said that as children earne vnto their mothers brests soe did she to the blessed Sacrament and that it often happening that she being in an extasy all the time of masse vntill Communion and then comming to her selfe would say O my Lord although I were dead I should reuiue againe to enioy thee THE SACRAMENT OF Pennance Quest What is the Sacrament of Pennance Answ Pennance is a Sacrament by which we haue the forgiunesse of sinnes in Confession FIRST we will shew that this is a Sacrament in the forgiuenesse of sinnes and then we will declare the parts of it and benefits which are receiued by it Although Luther for the most part denyeth this to be a Sacrament and laboureth with other Protestants to robb the world of the benefit of it yet l. de capt bab he saith that it is a Sacrament There he saith truely for it is soe indeede and hath all that is included euen in the Protestants definition of a Sacrament Apol. Confess art 13. which is to be an outward signe instituted of Christ by which grace is promised And this it shall appeare to be Amongst the many apparitions which Christ made betwixt his Resurrection and Ascension to his disciples S. Iohn hath recorded that once he came and stood in the midst of them and said Peace be to you Io. 20. And when he had said this he shewed them his hands and side and said againe Peace be to you As my father hath sent mee I also doe send you And he breathed vpon them and said Receiue ye the Holy Ghost whose sinnes you shall forgiue they are forgiuen them and whose you shall retaine they are retained This is all which the Euangelist mentioneth to haue passed in that solemne apparition which must therfor include some great mystery Hence it appeareth that this is a Sacrament for where forgiunes of sinnes is promised there grace is promised And this forgiuing and retaining of sinnes being giuen to the Apostles and their successors to be practised by them who vnderstande not the inward of mens minds and consciences the poenitent must declare his sinnes to them that they may know what and how to forgiue or to retaine them And soe there is all that is included in the nature of a Sacrament to wit an outward signe both in the poenitent confessing and in the Priest absoluing and that outward signe instituted of Christ to giue grace vnto sanctification By which the Catholike doctrine is made manifest that power is giuen to the Church to forgiue sinnes For is it likely that Christ would appeare in all those circumstances and mysterious caeremonys giuing them the Holy Ghost for nothing but onely to let them know that God can and doth forgiue sinnes The Apostles esteemed soe highly of this grace that they made the forgiuenesse of sinnes an article of the Creede to wit by the power of the Catholike Church which they had professed in the article before Is it likely that they meant to make it an article of the Creede that God can and doth forgiue sinnes After that they vnderstoode that themselues had power to forgiue sinnes they being sent as Christ was sent and the Holy Ghost being giuen soe particularly then to them and therfor they feared not to practise the forgiuing of sinnes Priests of themselues haue not power to forgiue sinnes for noe man of himselfe hath that power They haue it of God as the vicars and substitutes of him who gaue it them God giu's power to priests as kings doe to iudges Iudges represent the person of the king and Priests represent the diuine maiesty Iudges must be informed and soe must priests iudges giue sentence and their sentences are ratifyed by the king God giueth authority to priests and their sentēces are ratifyed by him he that contemneth the authority of the iudge contemneth the authority of the king and he that contemneth the priests authority contemneth the diuine maiesty Christ hauing made them his iudges and set them in his owne place with power to binde and to loose promising that what they did vpon earth should be ratifyed in heauen That Christ did truely giue this power to the Church his words are as plane as words vse to be and that plane words might not be misconstrued he deliuered them in such circumstances as might binde them as
it were to that sense First he told them that he sent them as his father had sent him who forgaue sinnes Then he breathed vpon them and badd them receiue the Holy Ghost what for it must needs be for some great worke and eminent power Then he told them what it was for to wit to forgiue sinnes Is not this as plane as can be Besides we destroy all connexion and sense in the words of Christ if we will haue him to say whose sinnes you shall forgiue when they could forgiue none at all He that shall call this power of forgiuing sinnes power onely to declare that God then forgiueth the poenitent his sinnes and shall say that priests doe not forgiue but onely declare that God then forgiueth shall say nothing to the purpose For although it be true that priests doe not forgiue sinnes by their owne natural power but doe declare that God then forgiueth with them yet they doe properly forgiue and as properly as iudges doe who hauing commission from the king to punish or to pardon are properly said to pardon that crime which the king pardoneth by them Soe priests pardon and forgiue sinnes by commission and power from God And he that calleth it power to forgiue calleth it as Christ did and he that will call it onely power to declare miscalleth it and sheweth in himselfe a contentious and contradicting minde in reiecting of those termes which Christ and his Church doth vse To say that God can not giue that power to men for that it were to deuest himselfe of his owne power is disprooued in fact for that Christ euen according to his humanity had and exercized that power and when the Iewes murmured at him for it as haeretiks doe against priests he prooued it by a miracle as is declared in the tenth article of the Creede Besides what is there that God can not doe or what impossibility is there in the giuing of that power to men It is a supernatural power noe harder to be giuen then supernatural power is for the working of miracles as for casting out of deuils who by nature are farre superiour to vs yet that power was giuen to the Apostles and they practized it as their successors also doe to good effect And for God to giue the power of forgiuing sinnes to men is not to deuest himselfe of it but it is rather to vest himselfe with mercy and iustice as becommeth him mercy in accepting of soe small a worke iustice in requiring that worke of vs. We will see what the fathers of the primitiue Church haue said of this power and that in their times Confession was practised for the remission of sinnes Dion ep 8. ad Deâ—ophi S Denis the disciple of S. Paul declareth that it was then the order of discipline for sinners to come prostrate to priests for the forgiuenes of sinnes Tert l. do â—anit Tertullian hath much of prostrating to the priest in Confession saying that when they come to his feete they touch Christ and beseech Christ And that it is a happy and profitable shame and to animate all to good and cleere Confessions he saith if thou dost repugne from Confession thinke that thou hast hell in thy hart and thou driuest it out by Confession Imagine the greatnes of that punishment and feare not that which doth remedy it S. Cyprian de laps Brethren I intreate euery one to Confesse his sinnes in this world whilst his Confession and remission which is by priests is acceptable Paulinus in vita Ambrosij that S. Ambrose by shedding teares in the Confession of his poenitents drew teares from them also S. Augustine Ho. 49. ex 50. homilijs Let noe man say I doe pennance priuatly with God who knoweth my sinnes for then in vaine as it said whose sinnes you forgiue c. were then the keyes giuen in vaine to the Church of God we frustrate the ghospell and the words of Christ and promise to our selues that which he denyeth L. 2. de vifie infir c. 4. And in another place There are some that thinke it sufficient to Confesse tâ—eir sinnes to God For they will not or are ashamed to shew themselues to the priests whom God hath appointed to discerne of leprosy â—eu 13. 14. deceiue not thy selfe be not ashamed to Confesse to the Vicar of Christ For his iudgment also thou must vndergoe And he biddeth vs a litle after to consider ourselues then as hauing the Angell of God before vs and with confidence and reuerence to lay open to him the state of our conscience and all our secret sinnes with the circumstances that aggrauate them and declaring in particular some circumstances necessary to be confessed he saith it is better to be ashamed here before one iudge then at the day of iudgment to be repulsed in the sight of all the world Thus much for the institution of this Sacrament and the practise of the primitiue Church The essential parts of it consist in somethinge which is done by the poenitent and somethinge by the priest That which is required of the poenitent is Contrition Confession and Satisfaction which are the matter of the SacrameÌ„t as the acts of him that seeketh to be reconeiled to God For as recoÌ„ciliation vnto human freindship requireth those three things in the offender to wit sorrow for his falt acknowledgment of it and satisfaction for it soe doth also our reconcilement with God That which is required on the priests part is to giue absolution as the forme of the Sacrament God vsing humane meanes when he pardoneth by men This Sacrament doth not allwais take away all punishment due to the sinnes which were forgiuen For our soules hauing bene purged before and made the temples of God in baptisme and we hauing polluted them againe with new sinnes we can not in reason expect to haue all due punishment to be taken away by this as we had by baptisme God was espoused to vs in the holy font and when after it we fell into sinne we basely adulterated and broke our fidelity with him it is well that he will receiue vs to his fauour againe we must not thinke to haue as much in this Sacrament as we had at first in baptisme according to the deuotion and disposition which we haue soe is our punishment more or lesse forgiuen He that loueth much shall haue much for giuen him Now let vs see how to dispose ourselues for it Three things as I haue said are required on the poenitents part Contrition Confession and Satisfaction First OF CONTRITION BY Contrition we may vnderstande all that which the poenitent is to doe before Confession as a preparation to it He is to examine his conscience to be sorty for his sinnes and to purpose to amende them and if any of these three things be wanting the Sacrament is not onely without fruit but a mortal sinne is committed As for examen of conscience those that haue abstained
any mortal sinne are as this man was in the deuils power and to gett out of it must doe that which he did and that was to cleere himselfe by a better Confession but this is a greater mercy then they deserue Those that beginne once to dissemble in Confession put themselues in the worst state and greatest danger that a sinner can be in this world for they make themselues vncapable of remedy and can neuer be rightly delt with by the priest who not knowing the state of their conscience looseth his labour by all which he saith to them Nay sometimes it may chance that he may consaile them to that which is a sinne For example one of these men being slacke in comming to Confession if the priest call vpon him he calleth him to a mortal sinne and againe if he come not to annual Confession he committeth a mortal sinne What consaile can be giuen them in this case if we counsaile them either to a badde Confession or to noe Confession we counsaile them to their damnation and one of these we must doe if they will not Confesse intirely Yet I will venture to counsaile them rather to absteine from Confession and soe from Communion also at Easter time then to dissemble in Confession This I doe not absolutly counsaile for this is also to damne themselues but seeing that they are otherwise resolued vpon a greater dishonour to God and greater damnation I perswade them to the lesse That which I absolutly perswade them is to be conuerted in their harts and by a good Confession to giue glory to God ioy to the Angels and satisfaction to their owne consciences O christian if thou didst but consider the value of a Sacrament and how deerely the Sonne of God bought it for thee thou wouldst be affraide to treade it vnder thy feete as thou doest when thou profanest it If therefor thou art resolued to be a christian and a Catholike abuse not Christ in a Sacrament of the Catholike Church Be not soe wicked or soe childish as for a litle shame to cōmitte that sinne which thou hast neither profit nor pleasure in but loosest that which in the end must be thy onely remedy Ouercome thy selfe in this as thou dost in the other austeritys of the Catholike profession speake freely thy sinnes or els thou hadst better be noe Catholike nor christian The next condition is that it be plane and cleere This must proceede from an earnest desire of being rightly vnderstoode by the priest And for this a conuenient breuity is best not to be tedious in rehearsing that which is not necessary and yet soe as the nature of the sinne and the circumstances aggrauating it be rightly vnderstoode Regard not then any fine words or curious stile but speake simply and familiarly as to an intimate freind of thine whom God hath sent to sitte in his tribunal wha will the eloquence of orators or the tongue of a lawyer auaile thee at the day of iudgment It shall not then be asked how eloquently thou hast Confessed but how humbly and truely If we feare that the priest heare vs not or vnderstande not right we may aske him Father doe you heare mee or doe you vnderstande mee And when we haue confessed all we make an end saying therefor I beseech the blessed Virgin Mary S. Michael the Archangell S. Iohn Baptist S Peter and S. Paul and all the Saints in heauen and you my ghostly father to pray for mee Hauing said this he attendeth quietly to the priest to be directed by him If he had forgotten any thinge in Confession or not vnderstoode the priest he may say Father I had forgotten such a thinge I vnderstande you not c. And hauing rightly vnderstode his pennance and the aduises which are giuen him he must fixe his minde earnestly vpon God at the time of absolution and take heed then of distractions for soe 〈◊〉 might come to loose the benefit of the Sacrament for that time and therfor it is good then to be making acts of the loue of God and of sorrow and to vse some good words as those of the humble Publican who knocking his breast and saying God be mercifull to mee a sinner Luc. 18. he went away iustified These or the like words may be repeated often ouer with much repentance whilst the priest is giuing absolution The third condition of a good Confession is to be obedient that is that the poenitent accept of those remedys which are praescribed him that he auoide the occasions of sinne make restitution if it be needfull and performe carefully the pennance which is enioyned him Of which we shall speake in satisfaction It is necessary for all to know that Confession in some cases is voide and most be reiterated and which these cases are The first is want of sufficient examination of conscience when the poenitent vseth not due diligence in remembring of his sinnes that he omitteth through negligence any mortal sinne he must then make all his Confession ouer againe Secondly if willfully he speake any vntruth in Confession in some matter of moment Thirdly if he conceale willfully any mortal sinne Fourthly if he hath not a firme purpose to leaue of some mortal sinne or to fly the occasion of it Fiftly if the poenitent were fallen into some excommunication and did not first procure to be absolued from it Sixtly if the Confessour were deficient in knowledge power or iurisdiction In all which cases the poenitent is bounde not onely to Confesse his sinnes ouer againe but also to Confesse the sinne which he committed in soe Confessing OF SATISFACTION THE third and last part of the Sacrament of Pennance is Satisfaction That is that we accept and performe some penalty for our sinnes in lieu of that punishment which we should haue suffered in the next world if we had not here preuented it For the which we are to vnderstande that euery sinne includeth two things to wit the auersion of the sinner from God and his conuersion to some creature for which he forsaketh God And on the contrary when our sinnes are forgiuen and we are restored to the state of grace there are two things to wit an auersion from the creature and conuersion to God The conuersion to God and restoring of the sinner to his fauour againe taketh away the staine and blemish of sinne and freeth from hell but being that his auersion from the creature and conuersion to God againe is not allwais soe intense and feruerous as his conuersion to the creature and auersion from God was therefor there remaineth sometimes some punishment to be suffered by reason of his cold conuersion Now there are in euery sinne two euils of punishment corresponding to the two euils aforesaid in the sinne The one is the losse of God and separation from him which correspondeth to the auersion of the sinner from God the other is a sensible punishment corresponding to our conuersion to the creature for the sensible
pleasure which we tooke in it The first euill of the losse of God is repaired by our conuersion to him in confession by which we are restored to his fauour againe But the punishment of our senses is not allwais quite taken away but as our auersion from God and conuersion to the creature for sensible pleasure was more earnest and intense then our conuersion is to God againe soe it is fitting that some sensible paine should remaine to be susteined These are the grounds of the Catholike doctrine of Satisfaction and of Purgatory of both which we wil say somethinge here as in their propper place If I said noe more in proofe of this doctrine but onely that the Bishop of Rome and Pastors of his communion deliuered it I had in reason said enough For he being the head of the Church as the true and lawfull successour in S. Peters primacy as I haue shewed him to be he and the Pastors of his communion haue the lawfull authority of the whole Church and are the whole Catholike Church in authority and being that we must alwais say I beleeue the Catholike Church we must allwais beleeue and obey the succession of that authority But I will say somethinge in particular of them That which the Catholike Church teacheth of Satisfaction is that although the conuersion of a sinner to God may be soe intense and perfect sometimes that he may obtaine a full remission of all punishment and be as it were new borne to God in baptisme yet this doth not allwais happen Our conuersion to God is not allwais soe intense and perfect but that there may and commonly doth remaine some punishment to be suffered after it This we shew first by holy Scriptures When the children of Israel sinned by murmuring against God and their Pastors Moyset praying obtained the remission of their sinne But yet saith God all the men that haue seene my Maicsty Nu. 14. c. And haue tempted mee c. they shall not see the land for the which I sware to their fathers Here their sinne was forgiuen them yet it was punished afterwards those that had sinned neuer entring into the land of promise Nu. 20. Moyses and Aaron sinned at the waters of contradiction and when their sinne was forgiuen there remained a penalty to be endured by them and they endured it not bringing the people into the holy land Dauid had sinned by murder and adultery and Nathan being sent to reprooue him and bring him to repentance Reg. 2.12 he repented and deserued to heare from the Prophet our Lord hath taken away thy sinne thou shalt not dy But his sinne being taken away it was not withstanding punished with the death of his sonne the Prophet declaring the sonne which is borne to thee dying shall dy And for all king Dauids earnest praying fasting and lying on the ground he could not obtaine the life of the child By all which we see that punishment of sinne may remaine to be suffered when the sinne is forgiuen It Was therfor the custome of the Catholike Church aunciently as now it is to impose penaltys vpon sinners at their repentance as by auncient Canons doth appeare Ep 3. 14. can 38. S. Basil ep 3. 14. can 38. He that hath committed adultery shall not communicate in the Sacraments for fifteene yeares S. Augustine Let vs seeke confession with a pure hart and performe the pennance which is giuen by priests It is against reason that he that commeth to confession with many mortal sinnes should thinke to haue noe more puishment then he that hath but one onely if they be disposed with equal deuotion Yet they were both alike if they had noe more punihment but onely to confesse and that then all sinne and punishment were taken away Sinne therfor and punishment are onely soe farre correlatiues that punishment allwais supposeth sinne to haue bene but doth not require that there be then actually sinne Neither is it worth any thinge that which haeretiks obiect against this That Christ satysfyed for vs therefor we neede not to satisfy for our selues noe more then it is to say Christ did good works for vs therefor wee neede nor to doe good works for our selues Our good works derogate not from the good works of Christ nor our Satisfaction from his Satisfactions our good works haue their value from his and soe hath our satisfaction but neither of them is hindered by him Thus much for Satisfaction and for the enioyning of pennance after the remiffion of sinnes As for Purgatory it followeth hence that those who dy with their sinnes forgiuen them but haue not that intense sorrow and perfect repentance which is necessary for the remission of all punishment due to their sinnes must haue their punishment in some place in the next world where they must be purged from that guilt of punishment as also of their lesser sinnes before that they can enter into heauen Aërius was one of the first that denyed Purgatory and that which he gott for it was to be recorded as an haeretike euer from the times of the primitiue Church and to haue his doctrine in thelist of those whom S. Epiphanius haer 75. And S. Augustine haer 83. haue branded with the marke of haeresy Luther at first although he denyed indulgences yet was soe resolute in the mainteining of Purgatory that in his disputation with Eckius he would needs make publike profession of it saying I firmely beleeue and dare boldly say I know there is a Purgatory whatsoeuer haeretiks raile against it Disp lips But hauing once fallen from the Catholike Church he was constant to nothing but vnconstancy and came in the end to deny Purgatory also But the Catholike Church hath allwais acknowledged that there is a place for the soules of those to be purged in who dy in venial sinne or haue not made full satisfaction for their mortal which place therfor may aptly be called Purgatory That there is such a place it appeareth in all those sentences of Scriptures where prayer for the dead is commended Teh 4. For those who are in heauen or in hell are not to be prayed for Set thy bread and thy wine saith holy Toby vpon the burial of a iust man Not as the Gentils vainely did to delight the dead with corporal viands but to be giuen to the poore to pray for them Hence saith S. Chrysostome who liued aboue twelue hundred yeares since came the custome of calling together the poore to receiue almes to pray for the dead Thus did Iudas Machabaeus make a gathering and sent a great summe of syluar to be bestowed in sacrifice for the dead Where vpon the Scriptures make this inference Mach. 2.12 It is therfor a holy and healthfull cogitation to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sinnes And if any deny these Scriptures to be canonical because the Iewes deny them S. L. 18. de ciu Det. Augustine will
thee downe instantly into hell and what it is to want the mediation of Christ of our B. Lady thy good Angell thy patrone and of all the Saints and the suffrages of the Church thou wouldst not remaine one moment in that state It is a humane thinge saith S. Gregory to erre but diabolical to perseuer in it If we fall into sinne we doe but like men if we rize againe we doe as the Saints haue done but if we perseuer in sinne we are like the deuil who must remaine in sinne for euer OF EXTREME-VNCTION THIS Sacrament hath for its propper effect to giue grace and strength against temptations at our death For the hopes of our enemy being then at the last he striueth all he can against vs. Apoc. 12. The deuill is descended to you hauing great wrath knowing that he hath but a litle time Said the heauenly voice which S. Iohn heard Some he tempteth to presumption others to dispaire some by too much loue to their freinds and family some thinke of nothing but the riches which they leaue some by too much desire of life that they will not apprehende nor prepare themselues for death and generally as we draw neerer to our ends we grow more subiect to extremitys of passions all which the deuill knoweth how to make vse of to our hurt But his commune temptation is to terrify sinners with greeuous feare and affrightments at their sinnes past Sap. 4. They shall come fearefull in cogitation of their sinnes and their iniquitys on the contrary shall conuince them Saith holy wisdome Neither shall their naturall courage and strength then auaile them any thinge though neuer soe bold and bragging in time of health Great Saints haue shewed much feare at their death S. Hilarion whose perfection S. vita Hilar. Hierome describing saith that great concourse of bishops priests Clergymen and monks sought to him the temptation of christian matrons followed him multitudes of the common people potentates and iudges came to receiue holy bread and oile of him and yet his minde continued fixed on solitude yet for all this when he came to dy he was oppressed with such a feare and horrour of death that to encourage his soule he said Goe forth what dost thou feare goe forth my soule what dost thou doubt of thou hast serued Christ now almost seuenty yeares and dost thou feare death If Saints at their death haue bene thus terrifyed what may they expect who haue committed many sinnes and perhaps but lately repented for them and perhaps but sleightly and haue but few good works then for their comfort Therefor our Sauiour hath prouided this Sacrament as an armour for vs against that time S. Iames Iam. 5. is any man sicke among you let him bring in the priests of the Church and let them pray ouer him anoiling him with oile in the name of our Lord. And the prayer of faith shall saue the sicke and our Lord shall lift him vp and if he be in sinnes they shall be remitted him By which words we haue the practise of the Catholike Church well prooued and Etreme Vnction declared to be a Sacrament that is an outward signe that sanctifyeth vs. There is an outward signe in the external rite of anoiling and in the forme of words signifyed by prayer And that this outward signe causeth grace vnto sanctification the words following doe declare in that sinnes are remitted which can not be but by grace being receiued And it followeth hence that Christ instituted it For the Apostles had not the power of instituting such signes neither could S. Iames haue promised remission of sinnes by it if Christ had not instituted it Luth. Praef. ad nou Test and giuen it that power It is true Luther reiects this Epistle of S. Iames denying it to be canonical and calling it an Epistle of straw but the authority of the whole Church hath declared it for canonical And if the whole Church be not sufficient for Luther we will put Caluin into the ballance against him an authour at least of equall grauity with him Caluin l. 3. Instit. c. 17. and Caluin holdeth it for canonical S. Bernard in vita Malach. relateth of S. Malachy that he assisting with a sicke woman and not thinking her to be in such danger as to require the Sacrament of Extreme-Vnction departed from her without ministring it but she dying in his absence he returned againe full of sorrow and pittying that she should want the benefit of it he fell to his prayers restored her to life againe And then saith S. Bern he anoiled her knowing that by this Sacrament sinnes are remitted and that the prayer of faith saueth the sicke The holy oile is then applyed as a spiritual salue to the senses because by occasion of our senses we committe sinne But beside the spiritual remedy which our soules gaine by it it hath also a corporal effect of giuing health to the body as the Apostle declareth the sicke being saued and alleuiated by it By reason of which effect this Sacrament is not giuen in danger of death by warre or otherwise but onely by sicknes OF THE SACRAMENT of Orders THE Sacrament of Orders is that which Priests Deacons Subdeacons and others receiue when they are ordained by which they receiue spiritual power for the gouernment of the Church Tim. 1.4 That it is a Sacrament it appeareth by the words of S. Paul to Timothy Neglect not the grace which is giuen thee by prophecy with imposition of the hands of the priesthood By this it hath all which is conteined in the nature of a Sacrament the imposition of hands and the words that are said which are there signifyed by Prophecy being an external signe Amb. in Tim. by which grace in giuen Vpon which words S. Ambrose saith that Timothy by the imposition of the hands of priesthood was designed to the worke ard receiued authority that he durst offer sacrifice to God in our Lords steede The same power is expressed by the words of the bishop when heordaineth priests saying Receiue thou authority to offer for the liuing and the dead in the name of our Lord. To offer there is to offer sacrifice as S. Ambrose also expresseth it and to offer sacrifice is the most propper office of priests priest and sacrifice going allwais together soe that there can be noe priest but he must haue power to offer sacrifice The propper and peculiar effect of this Sacrament is to giue grace to exercize worthily Ecclesiastical functions Which power and grace as it is in the Church of Christ is most high and eminent aboue all dignitys For what can be compared to the dignity of christian priests Both in respect of their power of Orders by which they consecrate the most blesed host and also in respect of their power of iurisdiction by which they remitte sinnes Neither of which is within the Angels power And therefor priesthood is not obtained in
the Catholike Church but after diuerse yeares preparation the lower Orders being first receiued and after them Subdeaconship after that Deaconship after Deaconship priesthood euery one of the higher Orders in seueral yeares that the dignity of priesthood may be ascended vnto by degrees and with sufficient time of probation The lower orders are fower Porter Lector Exercist Acolyt They are called lower or lesser orders because they haue a more remote relation to the blessed Sacrament then the higher orders haue in which relation the dignity of all the orders doth cheifly consist of priests in consecrating it of Deacons and Subdeacons in assisting about the altare at the consecration of it and of the lower orders concurring in their nature though more temotely to the decent ministring of it The office of the Porter is to open and shutt the doores of the Church to admitte of the faithfull and to exclude the faithlesse out of it and to ring the bells The office of the Lector is to reade the lessons of the old and new testament which aunciently the bishop vsed to expound The office of the Exorcist is to expell the deuill and to hinder his power ouer those who are to be or are allready baptised and to prepare water in the font of which reade the second article of the Creede towards the end This power was giuen by Christ Matt. 10. who hauing called saith the Euangelist his twelue disciples together he gaue them power ouer vncleane spirits that they should cast them out And againe in the same place Cure the sicke raise the dead clense the lepers cast out deuils The office of the Acolyt is to carry the canstlesticks and cruits and to light the candles The office of the Subdeacon is to serue at the altare vnder the Deacon to prepare the altare cloths to wash the palls and corporals c. and to read the epistle The office of the Deacon is to attende vpon the bishop at all times but especially to guard him and the priest at masse and at Sermon and to be as it were the eye of the Bishop to obserue the liues of the people to see that they come to diuine seruice and to informe him of their behauiour within and without the Church The office of priests is to gouerne the Church to offer sacrifice and to remitte sinnes Rom. 1. These are the orders of the Catholike Church Those things that are of God are ordained Saith the Apostle that is they are with order And the more order that euery thinge hath the more it appeareth to be of God And therfor he hath ordeined these orders in his Church that our religion might appeare to be of him and that the B. Sacrament might be worshipped with decency amongst vs. As there are seueral degrees of orders soe there are seueral degrees of priests First there are ordinary priests and then Bishops and betwixt priests and bishops there is noe degree of orders Those who were aunciently called Choriepiscopi that is to say Vicars of Bishops being sometimes onely priests although they had priueleges aboue ordinary priests as to giue lower orders as also Rural Deanes might haue sometimes being inferiour bishops and had licence to ordaine with higher orders but they were not of any order betwixt priests and bishops but either onely priests or true bishops Aboue Bishops are Archbishops then Patriarks then Cardinals and aboue all the Pope Which is an honorable title decreed aboue a thousand yeares since to be given to none but to the bishop of Rome as to the most eminent father of all whom therfor S. Cyril in the Councell of Ephesus called The Patriarke and father of the whole world As the inward acts of our minde which we offer to God are spirituals hosts or sacrifices soe all men may be said to be spiritually priests by their holy and feruerous affections which God setteth on fire in their harts And therfor S. Peter admonisheth all saying Be ye a holy priest hood to offer vp spiritual hosts Pet. 1.2 But although all be priests in the spiritual hosts of their minde yet all may not take vpon them to performe the Ecclesiastical functions of priesthood For this they must be called of God and haue authority from him Hier. 3. I will giue Pastors saith God who shall feede you with knowledge and doctrine And S. Paul speaking of priesthood saith neither doth any man take the honour to himselfe Heb. 5. but he that is called of God as Aaron It is a dignity which must not be taken if not giuen All were not priests in the law of Moyses but onely the sonnes of Aaron to offer sacrifice to God And we reade in the Scriptures of the great punishments of God vpon prowde and praesumptuous men who haue assumed that dignity without order to themselues Soe great is the dignity of priesthood that S. Francis vsed to say that if he should meete with a saint from heauen and with a priest together he would not doe reuerence to the saint vntill he had kissed the priests hands Signifying how much he was bounde to reuerence those hands from which he receiued the body of Christ and for himselfe he could neuer be gotten all his life time to ascende higher then Deaconshipp Bonauen in eius vita For the greater honour of priestshood and that priests may attende better to the performing of that high function the Catholike Church hath all wais annexed chastity to it neuer permitting her priests to marry And therefor those that will be priests must be willing to vndergoe the obligation of a fingle and continent life He that rightly considereth the dignity of priesthood and the preeminence which virginity hath before marriage wil easily condescende to this institution of the Church S. Paul generally councelleth virginity Cor. 1.7 and foretelleth to those that marry the tribulations which they shal haue requiring of those that haue wiues that they be as those that haue not wiues which is very hard for them to be and saith that he that is without wife is careful of those thinges which pertaine to our Lord how to please God but the married man is diuided betwixt the loue of his wife and how he shall both serue God and attende to his family By all which it is manifest that the true and syncere meaning of the Apostle was to commende virginity and to preferre chastity before a married life And as manifest it is according to his words that the inconueniences and distractions of marriage are least suetable to the office of priests who of all men ought to be most vnited and conuersant with God and to follow the example of Christ their master who was a priest and a virgin borne of a virgin S Aug. retract l. 2. c. 2. haer 82. Augustine calleth Iouinian the haeretike a monster for making marriage equal with virginity and saith that this haeresy was soe sottish and fleshly that it could neuer
and cheerfully a change when he shall send it and God will send a good change if they expect his time But the remedy of remedys and the prime remedy for all inconueniences should haue bene to haue foreseene and preuented them before marriage by considering well whether they were called of God or noe to that state of life And this I will tell them how they shall examine it First let them resolue that in this busines which concerneth them for all their life after they will doe nothing rashly but will take time to consider of it and to commende it well to God and hauing had the Councell of their ghostly father and his prayers and confessed and communicated for that end let them then take a time to consider of it First let them offer themselues vpon their knees to God firmely purposing to serue him all their life time in whatsoeuer state he shall call them to Hauing made that firme purpose let them then pray to him to enlighten them and to our B. Lady their good Angell and their particular patrone to assist them in that worke that they may know and follow the will of God in it Then they may examine their natural inclinations and complexion and other circumstances how they sute with this or that state And it will not be amisse to thinke that if they were then at the hower of their death what they would wish to haue chosen Hauing weighed well all things that which with most peace and quietnes offereth it selfe as best for them that they may resolue vpon and follow it as the calling of God and can haue noâ— iust cause to repent it afterwards Finally I commende againe much loue to married folkes but it must be a spiritual and supernatural loue such as Bishops Sales in his Introduction to a deuout life commendeth to them such as is betwixt Christ and the Church Introd par 3. c. 37. for Gods sake Beasts and birdes loue their mates with a natural loue onely Heathens loue their wiues and husbands with a natural and rational loue but Christians being contracted by a Sacrament must haue a higher loue to wit sacramental and gracious for the loue of God because it is his will otherwise it is but beastly or at most a humane loue such as heathens haue and will not last in them Those that are to marry must declare in three things First whether they haue made any vow inconsistent with marriage Secondly whether they be not allready contracted with some other Thirdly whether their marriage be with their parents consent for they ought to haue at least their interpretatiue consent as yong Toby had when by the Angels directions he was married without the knowledge of his parents but not without their probable good liking of it And as children in this owe a duety to their parents soe it is fitting that parents should haue some respect to the affection and liking of their children and not to force them to marriages which they can not affect for as marriages without consent of parents soe forced marriages haue seldome good successe The Romane Catechisme aduiseth here to warne the married that vpon festiual dayes and in times of pennance they absteine from the acts of matrimony This is to be vnderstoode by way of Councell not of obligation Yet it is a Councell to be noted and followed as rendring matrimony more honourable betwixt them when it is vsed in due circumstances I haue said now all that I haue to say of the Sacraments You haue seene in generall of them all that they haue their power and effect through the merits of Christ as issuing out of his blessed side vpon the Cros and as the onely meanes of our sanctification With what deuotion then ought we to come to them Thinke with thy selfe when thou goest to receiue any of the seauen Sacraments that thou carriest then thy soule vnto Iesus Christ to be washed in his blood and although it were neuer soe sicke lame or wounded yet if thou commest worthily to any Sacrament he will turne vnto it take it into his hands and cure it Nay if the damned soules could possibly receiue any Sacrament worthily they should be freed out of hell by it because the merits of Christs Passion are infallibly applyed by any Sacrament worthily receiued And in this consisteth the horrour of the damned that they are not in state nor euer shall be worthy to receiue the Sacraments of the Catholike Church And this is our happines in this life that allthough our sinnes be neuer soe great yet as long as we haue time to receiue the Sacraments or onely to desire them for the loue of God we may be freed from sinne and sanctifyed by them But without them at least in desire we cannot be freed from mortall sinne For although by contrition sinnes may be forgiuen yet that contrition includeth desire of the Sacraments Besides that contrition is hard to be obtained For the sinner wounded by sinne and vnder the feete of his enemy held downe by his power and by his owne euill inclinations is easily kept in subiection and hardly rizeth to that perfect loue of God which contrition requireth and therefor we haue the Sacraments to helpe our weakenesse in that case that if they haue but the feare of damnation and the loue of glory and will apply a Sacrament to that feare and loue it conteineth the vertue of Christs passion and will soe cherish and strengthen them that allthough they were dead it would reuiue them to life And therefor our blessed Sauiour breathing vpon his disciples said receiue ye the holy ghost to shew the power of the Sacraments in forgiuing of sinnes And at the reuiuing of Lazarus he weeped groned in spirit troubled himselfe prayed for him and called vpon him with a lowd voice to shew the horrible state of men in mortall sinne signifyed by Lazarus that was dead and that soe we might esteeme more of the Sacraments by which they are not onely reuiued againe but soe highly honored as to become his beloued spouses euen as though some poore handmaid were taken out of slauery and brought to the kings pallace to be made his wife If thou dost remember these things when thou goest to the Sacraments that thou goest then to be clensed with the blood of Christ and to be made the spouse of God thou wilt detest thy sinnes with thy whole hart and prepare thy selfe with much loue and deuotion to thy heauenly spouse And we must neuer come to the Sacraments vntill we haue this preparation in our selues THE SIXT DISCOVRSE OF THE COMMANDEMENTS Question Say the tenne Commandements Answ Exod. 20. Thou shalt not haue strange Gods before mee Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine Remember thou sanctify the Sabaoth day Honour thy father and thy mother Thou shalt not committe adultery Thou shalt not steale Thou shalt not beare false witnes against thy neihhbour Thou
in vs is persited He that loueth God loueth all those whom God loueth and soe he loueth his neighbour because God loueth him and will haue him to loue him Euery man is by nature our neighbour and because our father and mother haue most propinquity of nature with vs therefor the Commandements of the second table that concerne our neighbour beginne with the loue of our father and mother that all others might be vnderstoode by them who are our neerest neighbors In the first place our superiours spiritual and temporal are vnderstoode by parents Heb. 13. Of the first the Apostle saith Obey your Prelates and be subiect to them For they watch as being to render account of your soules Of the second S. Peter Be subiect to euery humane creature for God Pet. 1.2 whâ—ther it be to the king as excelling or to rulers as sent by him c. for soe is the will of God Here we are to speake both of the duety of children and of parents For as children owe a duety to their parents soe parents owe their duety to God as his children Children are to loue honour and obey their parents and to releeue them in their needes and parents are to instruct and correct their children and to prouide for their mainteinance Children must loue and reuerence their parents in their harts and must speake well of them and loue to heare them well spoken of and performe submissiuely all those filiall respects which children vse to their parents They must obserue them and learne at their good example They must obey them willingly and haue their consent in those thinges that concerne their course of life knowing that it is a mortal sinne in things lawfull and of moment to disobey them But if they should commande somethinge which were vnlawfull then we must hate our father and mother that we may be worthy of Christ and answere with S. Act. 5. Peter God must be obeyed rather then men Dutifull children shall haue a duble reward a long life in this world and an euerlasting life in the next Piety is profitable saith the Apostle to all things hauing promise of the life that now is and of that to come Tim. 1.4 And this reward consisteth not onely in the longnesse but in the happinesse of their present life that they shall liue prosperously and in felicity For in Deuteronomy where the Commandements are repeated more at large Deut. 5. it is honour thy father and mother c. that thou wast liue a long time c. and it may be well with thee They are to releeue their parents in all but most of all in their spirituall necessitys to see that they want noe necessary helpe for their soules As for the duety of parents to God they are to loue their children not for themselues but for Gods sake they are to instruct them or to see that they be instructed in their prayers christian doctrine and good life in which there is a great negligence in some parents The loue of parents to their children ought I say to be for Gods sake and not as some who are soe immoderate and vnwise in the loue of them that indeede they make fooles of them for want of instruction and dew correcting of their falts These haue not the right spirit of parents and their father which is in heauen will not omitt to punish this falt in them Will you see a pittifull example of this Reg. 1.4 Heli was a very good man but that he is noted of too much indulgence to his children and therefor both he and they were examplarly punished of God with suddaine death Israel being worsted in batle by the Philistaeans sent for the arke of our Lord into the campe amongst them and receiued it with such showtes and acclamations of ioy that the earth rang with the sounde of their cry and their enemys were terrifyed to heare it Great then were the hopes of Israel and their expectation of another day The day of batle was come and Heli not being able to be present himselfe at the fight for that he was almost a hundred yeares old caused a stoole to be sett ouer against the way and satt him downe on it to expect the newse of their good successe A messenger com's fast enough with ill newse and letteth him know that Israel was put to flight a great ruine was made of the people his two sonnes were slaine and that which was worst of all the arke of God was taken by the enemy With all which the old mans hart was soe surcharged that his strength beganne to faile his spirits to faint and by litle and litle quite forsaking him he fell backwards ouer and broke his necke A pittifull spectacle to behold the most venerable personage of all Israel the high Priest and Prince of that people to ly in that posture dead with sorrow And this imputed byauthors to noe other sinne in him but to too much indulgence towards his children This is a loue which beside the hurt which childreÌ„ receiue by it hindereth much the loue of God in parents diuerting their mindes from him and as it were turning him out of possession who ought to possesse the centre of our harts It is as hame for christians to haue noe better loue then that of nature which is commune to dumbe beasts The loue which parents ought to haue of their children ought to be gracious and orderly for the loue and honour of God and of such loue they may haue as much as they can but to preferre the loue of kindred before God is disorderly and vnworthy of a christian The man of the ghospell Luc. 9. whom Christ called to follow him excused himselfe for that he had his father to bury but this was not a good excuse natural loue being to yeeld and to obey God Christ knew what he had to doe and if he had not called him he had done a good worke in burying of his father but Christ calling him he ought to haue forsaken all and to haue followed him and therefor he said let the dead bury their dead but goe thou setforth the kingdome of God Those that preferre the loue of any thinge before God are spiritually dead as S. Tim. 1.5 Paul saith the that is in deliciousnesse liuing is dead But thou if thou regardest the life of thy soule follow mee and loue mee aboue thy kindred and all things Yet parents must take heed on the other side that they be not soe seuere in correcting of their children falts as to dull and disharten them Fathers saith S. Col 3. Paul prouoke not your children to indignation that they become not discouraged Let parents obserue this rule that they neuer seeme to correct their childre in anger but allwais for the desire of their good and let their children allwais see this desire in them For such reprehensions and corrections as they perceiue to proceede onely out of
THOV shalt not committe adultery As there is not any thinge which marryed folkes may challenge more iustly of one another then loue and fidelity soe there is nothing which they ought to disdaine more then adultery by which that trust and fidelity is broken betwixt them When they were marryed they betrothed themselues to each other promising perpetuall loue and euerlasting loyalty as two in one body and one hart This promise of loyalty which was then solemnely made betwixt them sealed by a Sacrament and deliuered into the hands of God is most treacherously violated by adultery Let therefor those that are married vnderstande the greeuousnes of this sinne as quite opposite to the perfection of their state and signification there of which is the inseperable loue and vnion of Christ with the Catholike Church In this Commandement all carnal sinnes are vnderstoode as forbidden by the name of adultery Fornication which is with a single person Deslouring which is with a virgin Incest which is with ones owne kinred Sacrilege with a sacred person All which are of seueral kindes and higher malice and therefor to be destinguished and particularly expressed in confession Carnal sinnes are communely called in English Beastly sinnes and they may well be soe called for by them especially men become like vnto beasts following onely their owne appetite and sensuality which is most sordid and brutish And although these beastly sinnes at first be pursued with terrours and remorse of conscience yet if they be often committed and not presently repented for they make men to become euen quite Brutish without any regard of God that the Prophet saith fornication and drunkennesse take away the hart Ose 4. And therefor this sinne hath bene most exemplarly punished The whole tribe of Beniamin was almost vtterly destroyed in punishment of one carnal sinne Iud. 20. Two of that tribe committing adultery with another mans wife the rest of the tribes conceiued such a disdaine at it that they all roze vp in batle to be reuenged of them And God permitted that the tribe of Beniamin should gett the better at first but it was to encourage them but to their owne ruine they being ouerthrowne in the end and such a slaughter made of them that of fiue and twenty thousand and seauen hundred valiant warriars six hundred onely were left aliue who saued themselues in the rocks and the remaines of the citty euen from men vnto beasts were deliuered to the sword and all the cittys and villages of Beniamin were consumed with fire for this one sinne We haue the vertue of chastity by many examples commended vnto vs especially in the law of grace First the Sonne of God himselfe taking the nature of man would make choyce of a virgin to be conceiued and borne of to be most conuersant all his life time with would keepe virginity himselfe would be baptized by S. Iohn Baptist a virgin would chose a virgin for his beloued disciple and at his death would commende his owne mother to that virgin to be as his mother and him vnto her to be as her sonne His Apostles obserued chastity and commended it to their disciples to be obserued by them And we haue many examples of holy men and women that haue followed them in it both in the primitiue times and euer since sufficient to inflame the harts of good Catholiks with the loue of it and to prooue chastity to be a vertue not soe hard to be obtained as some vncleane spirits of these latter times would perswade the world Diuerse holy men haue kept continent from their wiues and liued not as their husbands but as their brothers Not in sensible but inuincible by temptations of carnality which through care and vigilancy they still ouercame Cassianus reporteth of Iohn the Abbot that a lay man entring whilst he was in hand with a posessed person the deuil Cass coll 14. c. 7. whom he could by noe meanes driue out went out of himselfe at the comming in of that man The abbot admiring how the layman should haue that uertue was giuen to vnderstande that he hauing desired to enter into religion and being forced by his parents to marry against his will had kept his virginity in marriage for eleauen yeares at which he then confessed that it was noe meruaile that the spirit of impurity could not endure the presence of such a man S. Greg l 4. Dial. c. 11. Gregory relateth of a certaine married man that being made priest became such a stranger to his wife that vpon noe occasion for any necessity whatsoeuer he would permitte her to come neere him and hauing passed forty yeares as it were vnacquainted with her she came to see him at his death and approching with her care towards his face to perceiue by his breathing whether there were any life in him although he seemed to be dead yet he had life enough to feele her approching and with all the strength that he had he cryed out away with the woman for the fire is noe yet quite extinguished in mee S. Bernard being tempted by a lewd woman to sinne cryed out against her as against a theife or a murderer S. Thomas of Aquine seeing such another to enter into the chamber to him catched hold of a fire brand and droue her away with it and presently betaking himselfe to his prayers he fell a sleepe and had a vision in which the Angels girded him with a girdle after which time he was neuer troubled with carnal suggestions Such is the rewarde which God giueth to his seruants for one such combate valiantly mainteined and victory atheiued by them But what shall we say of that champion of chastity whom S. Hierome mentioneth epist de vita Pauli Who hauing ouercome many cruell torments his enemys resolued at last to assalt him by faire meanes and to attempt him by carnall sinnes They carried him into a sweet and pleasant garden laid him there in a bedde of feathers strowed with roses and delicious flowers neere vnto a riuer-side where the beauty of the place fresh ayre and pleasant noyse of the riuer might inuite him to delight and that he should not fly the temptation they bounde him downe with soft skarfes of silke and being thus bounde they sent vnto him a shamelesse harlot to tempt him O God free thy seruant in this excesse of temptation The wicked woman beginning to allure by such meanes as she knew and by such as the deuill would then suggest to her the yong man whose will was still free to resist sinne bate of his owne tongue and spitted it out at the harlots face that she might be terrifyed at the sight of his blood and he with that paine might ouercome the pleasure How many examples haue we also in the weaker sexe who by the grace of God haue bene strengthened aboue their nature in defence of chastity some coniugal some vidual and some virginal Dan. 13. Jt is better for mee saith
in his owne body And when the faith of Christ beganne first to be planted the deuill roared like a Lyon and with open mouth went against the Apostles euen to sift them with his teeth and made some attempts vpon Christ himselfe He is a prowde and daring enemy and spareth none but he rageth more vehemently against the iust knowing that his victory is greatest ouer them and that the sinnes which they committee are greater by reason of their ingratitude Pet. 2.2 and greater contempt of God It was better for them not to know the way of iustice then after the knowledge to turne backe And therefor we haue great reason to feare temptation and to pray against it when we are in the state of grace especially seeing that holy men are often ouercome by it as Dauid Salomon the Apostles and euen Peter himselfe who hauing made a promise to his master Mat. 26. saying Though I should dy with thee I will not deny thee yet at the words of a silly girle he denyed him By all which we may see how weake wee are and easily ouercome if God assist vs not and how necessary it is that we should haue recourse to him and pray for helpe That which ought to be a comfort to vs in temptations is the meanes which we haue in the Catholike Church to ouercome them For although man had allwayes freewill to resist yet now in the Faith of Christ wee are much more strengthened and our enemy is so weakned by his sacred passion working â—n the Sacraments that he is compared in the Scriptures to a dragon bound in chaines Apoc. 20. I saw saith S. Iohn an Angell descending from Heauen hauing the kea of the bottomles depth and a great chaine in his hands and he apprehended the dragon and bound him for a thousand yeares The Angell signifyed Christ the dragon was the deuill the chaine with which he was bounde are the Sacraments of the Catholike Church the thousand yeares denote the time from Christ vnto Antichrist all which time we haue such helps and meanes to resist temptations that the infernall dragon is as it were bounde vp in chaines Ia. 4. Resist the deuill and he will flee from you But how is God said to lead vs into temptation The Pelagian heretiks interpreted this place of being led into humane miserys and not into sinne for they conceited that man of his owne power without the grace of God could resist and ouercome all temptations And therefore Catholiks vrged this place against them where we pray for grace to ouercome temptations because we cannot ouercome them without it as S. Hierome in his third booke against the Pelagians and saint Augustine prooueth in diuerses places But moderne haeretiks haue a ready answere to this question they make God the cause and authour of oursinne and take away freewill from vs that we are led by force into sinne l. 4. instit c. 26.9 Caluin that God not onely foreseeth mans sinnes but also hath created him of purpose for that end Thus did this obstinate man blaspheme But the Catholike Church hath neuer consented to any such doctrine but hath allways taught that the good which we doe is of God and that the euill which we doe is of ourselues as shall be declared more opportunly in the twelfth discourse of sinne I will now onely shew in what sense wee pray not to bee led into temptation There are two sorts of temptations that is to say tryals for to tempt is the same as to try First when of ignorance one will take a tryall because he knoweth not vntill be try and thus God neuer needeth to tempt or try any because hee knoweth before hand both what we can doe and what we will doe The second kind of temptation or tryall is by exercising and teaching as when souldiers are tryed that is trained and exercised to batle or as theeues that try and traine vp others to theeuery and this kind of practicall temptation is good or euill as it hath relation and is intended for a good or euill action A Captaine teacheth his souldier how to defende himselfe and to offende his enemy in a iust warre a theefe or robber teacheth his partner how to defende himselfe and offende another in an vnjust action A Master of fence teacheth his scholar the postures and guards of his owne defence and sometimes he hitteth him a blow to make him remember and learne the better an enemy cometh with his weapon against him not to teach him but to take his life God allways tempteth vnto goodnes as a good Captaine as a louing master to teach and enable vs. Thus he tempted the Israelites that by their victorys others might learne to ouercome Deut. 13. Your God tempteth you that it may appeare whether you loue him or not So he tempted Abraham to immolate his sonne First intending his good then giuing him efficacious grace to obey and lastly rewarding him This is a most blessed kind of temptation he sendeth vs against our enemy but hee putteth the victory into our hands giuing vs grace to ouercome if we will and then crowneth vs for ouercomming As a master hee striketh vs sometimes by afflictions and euen by those blows he teacheth vs and strengtheneth vs to ouercome and then rewardeth vs. This is not to tempt vs to sinne but to traine vs vp to victorys and crowns Well might S. Ia. 5. Iames say Let noe man when he is tempted say that hee is tempted of God For God is not a tempter of euills Those whom God tempteth he tempteth for their greater glory hee tryeth them and as gold in the furnace he proueth them The deuill tempteth allwais as a theefe intending euill and as an enemy to hurt and to kill our soules God permitteth him to tempt but hee giueth allways sufficient grace for vs to ouercome if we will vse it and if we will not vse it it is not his falt nor can our sinne be imputed to him who giueth grace to hinder it but onely it may be said to be permitted of God And so Exod 7. God is said to have hardened Pharao his hart that is permitted him to harden his owne hart as is declared in the eight chapter and other places where not God but Pharao himselfe is said to haue hardened his hart And to thinke as Caluin doth that God created any of purpose that they might sinne is a thought vnworthy of a Christian or of any man that beleeueth God to be the supreme good That therefore which we aske in this petition is that God will not permitte vs to be tempted so as to yeeld to temptation but that he will giue vs efficacious grace to resist and ouercome all temptations We aske not that we may neuer be tempted for so we should neuer be crowned the crown of victory not being obtained but by batle We pray for victory and this by the helpe of God is easily obtained
to determinate those materiall things to pious vses which in themselues are indifferent to any for this reason the ornaments and vessell of the Church seruice were commanded to be consecrated in the law of Moyses Exod. 40. and are now in the law of Christ The sodality of the Rosary is â—rected in the order of Saint Dominike and priuileges are granted vnto it to excite all vnto that deuotion and I hope our blessed Lady will graciously acknowledge me one day although now an vnworthy Sodales of it Euer since the Empresse of the world was assumpted into Heauen it hath bene the custome of the Catholike Church for all the people both riche and poore to beseech her gracious countenance and to pray to her the holy to be strenghtned in holines and sinners to he freed from sinne and as we haue through out the yeare diuerse Feasts which were aunciently by the holy Saints and are now by vs obserued in her honour soe to commend vnto all the deuotion of the Rosary Pope Gregory the XIII of holy memory appointed the first Sunday of October to be kept in honour of it For in the yeare of our Lord 1571 when the Catholike Church appeared destitute of humane helpe and leaned onely on the armes and strength of her diuine Spouse the Northerne parts of Europe being then lately fallen into heresys and the Turke comming on the otherside with a formidable nauy to assalt her it pleased God to defende the Catholike cause and to couer our enemys in the sea by a glorious victory which we gott ouer the Turke surpassing vs in number and force but inferiour by the diuine protection ouer vs and by the power of our B Lady then particularly called vpon For the victory was gained on that day on which the Sodality of the Rosary was called together to implore especially her assistance and therefore the holinesse of the foresaid Pope dedicated it as solemne to the Rosary shewing in two things his wise and pious minde First in giuing the victory not vnto humane power but to the diuine protection and especially in those circumstances to our blessed Ladys prayers and secondly by instituting a continuall memoriall in thanksgiuing for it that as in S. Dominiks dayes when the deuotion of the Rosary was first begunne by him our blessed Lady appeared in Earle Monforts army sighting against the Albigenses haeretiks who in mighty numbers wasted the Kingdome of France so it was the will of God that her power should be acknowledged and the mysterys of the Rosary honored in that late batle against the enemys of Christ And as when Queene Ester pecitioning the King obtained the liues of the Israeliticall people a day was set a part for the solemnity of it and as the victory of Iudith had also a day of solemnity afterwards soe might this day of the Rosary be glorious in our victory when the Procession of Saint Dominiks order shall sing Aue maris Stella to the triumph of our Lady and the whole Catholike Church shall answere in their harts Iudit 15. Thou art the glory of Hierusalem thou the ioy of Israel thou the honour of our people because thou hast done manfully thou shalt be blessed for euer c. THE TENTH DISCOVRSE OF THE MASSE I Am now to speake of the high glory and bright Sunne of all deuotions I meane the Holy Sacrifice of Masse Which as it is a Sacrifice it is the supreme and highest of all worships proper onely to God and as such a Sacrifice of the Body of our Lord it is more eminent and perfect then all the Sacrifices that euer were or euer can be offered Fist I will speake of the Masse as it is a Sacrifice Secondly of the particular parts and ceremonys of the Masse And lastly something of its fruits and benefits Let vs say the Haile Mary for our blessed Ladys intercession Haile Mary c. First OF THE MASSE AS IT IS A SACRIFICE Quest What is the Masse Answ The Masse is the continuall Sacrifice of the law of Christ in which his true body and blood is offered vnder the signes of bread and wine THERE are seuerall kindes of Sacrifices Diuerse kinds of Sacrifice First there are spiritual sacrifices to wit our inward thoughts and good purposes And soe King Dauid sayth that an humbled spirit and contrite hart that is to say an act of humility and Contrition is a Sacrifice to God And S. Peter writing vnto all the faithfull requireth of them that they be a holy Priesthood by this kind of Sacrisice Pet. 1.2 Be ye a holy priesthood to offer vp spirituall hosts There are also diuerse sorts of corporal Sacrifices First such as vocal prayer kneeling adoring offering of gifts and the like which as they are corporal worships they may be called Sacrifices in a large sense and S. Augustine sayeth that euery good worke is a true Sacrifice nor that it hath truely the nature of a Sacrifice but that it is an offering with fruit and good effect to our soules and not a false Sacrifice without fruit as Christ said of himselfe that he was a true vine that was to say a good vine that bringeth fruit and not an ill vine which falsifyeth the hopes of it But nene of these neither spiritual nor corporal are properly Sacrifices but onely in an vnpropper and large sense in that they are good works offered vp to God but they are not offered as the highest worship propper onely to him but may be and are in their kind giuen to men as when we worship our friends both in our harts and with our bodys and when we offer gifts to our superiors as the Kings did to Christ their superiour euen as man but propper Sacrifices are offered to none but God A Sacrifice therefor properly speaking is the offering vp of some corporal and sensible thinge as the supreme and propper worship of God The Masse then is a Sacrifice in its true and propper sense that is to say the offering vp of some corporal thinge as an act of highest worship special and propper onely to God to acknowledge diuine power in him And thus a Sacrifice may be vnderstoode two wayes either for the action of offering and Sacrifizing or els for the thinge that is offered and Scrifized as the word Offering is sometimes taken for the action of offering as when we say he was long or short gracious or tedious in his offering and is sometimes taken for the thinge that is offered as when we say it was a rich or poore offering Soe the Masse is a Sacrifice vnderstanding the action of Sacrifizing And soe all the prayers and caeremonys of Masse are parts of it belonging to its integrity as it is such a manner of Sacrisizing and offering and for the thinge offered it is the true body and blood of our Lord vnder the signe of bread and wine Soe that both the Masse is a Sacrifice and the body and blood of
hands he blessed them and was carried into heauen Luc. 24. And it is most likely that he then blessed them with the signe of the Crosse for now that the mystery of the Crosse was accomplished it was a most conuenient forme of blessing Ezech. 9. and was vsed also by the Apostles in their benedictions as Saint Denis hath recorded who liued with them and it shall be set as a marke of Gods blessing in the foreheads of his elect in latter times Lastly Saint Iohns Ghospell is said as the Planest and highest expression of the mystery of the Incarnation Thus much for the ceremonys commonly vsed in the Church Christ was the first that said Masse To wit at the last supper when he consecrated and offered his sacred body as our continuall Sacrifice instituting the same manner of consecration and offering to be vsed afterwards by the Apostles They said the very same Masse that is to say offered the very same Sacrifice which he then offered adding the Pater Noster and other holy prayers and rites of reuerence to it which are not of the substance and essence of the Masse but were left to the Church to be ordeined and practised according to conuenient circumstances and are therfore to be obserued diligently and minded at Masse as the memorials of holy mysterys Saint Iames Bishop of Hierusalem commonly called the brother of our Lord said Masse adding many things of deuotion to it so did Saint Peter say Masse at Rome Saint Mathew in Aethiopia Saint Barnaby at Milan adding also more prayers and holy ceremonys to it and other holy Saints as Saint Basil Saint Ambrose Saint Iohn Chrysostome composed certaine deuout formes of prayer and rites which were vsed at Masse with approbatiō of the Church and now the Church of God saith the same Masse which Christ and they said with such prayers rites and ceremonys as you haue seene declared in which the mystery of the Incarnation and the whole life and death of Christ is deuoutly and decently represented We ought therefore with great reuerence Meditations vpon the Masse and deuotion to be present at Masse and to attend diligently and to meditate vpon those mysterys as though wee were as wee are indeede in the presence of Christ himselfe and that we saw him visibly in all those passages which are then celebrated that we may be astonished with admiration and burne with the loue of him who did and suffered those things for vs. Vntill the Gloria in excelsis we will imagine that we saw the Saints who were before Christ reioycing in the hopes of him and that we heard their cryes and prayers for his comming At the Gloria in excelsis we will awaken our selues with the Angels voyces to a higher ioy imagining that we heard the Angell tell the newse of his birth to the Sheepheards and the multitude of the celestiall army singing those words with the Priest and we will offer our selues then to Christ to be his seruants all the dayes of our life Vntill the Ghospell we will thinke that we were following him and our blessed Lady behauing our selues as his seruants ravished with the sanctity of his conuersation At the Ghospell and Creede we will imagine that we heard him preach and saw the power of God drawing the harts of others to him At the Praeface that we were at his glorious entrance into Hierusalem and we will sing with his disciples and with the people Blessed is he that commeth in the name of our Lord. Hosanna in the Highest Before the eleuation we will consider his praying in the Garden sweating that violent and strange sweat of blood and water for vs and how he was presently apprehended and carryed to his Passion what bitter reproches and stinging blowes they gaue him what shame and paine they deuised to putt him to more then can he imagined At the cōsecration and eleuation we will thinke that we were present at his death heard the cry which he gaue and saw him hang downe his head and dy and that we heard the toppe of the temple and rooks about Hierusalem to rent in pieces and perceiued the earthquake and the rising of dead bodys a formidable darknes then couering all things and we may thinke how greeuous our sins were that were the cause of all this After the consecration we will make acts of the loue of God and purposes to serue him and to mende our life and some greater falts in particular And we will prepare our selues to receiue the blessed Sacrament if not corporally at least spiritually by an ardent desire of it At the Postcommunion we will giue thanks with the Priest and calling to minde the resurrection of Christ wee will rise with alacrity to a better life At the ite Missa est and the Priests benediction we will imagine our selues present at Christs Ascension and hauing with his disciples receiued his blessing that we saw him ascende in glory to giue vs a scantling and litle sight of our future happinesse to animate vs with that sight to the exercize of vertues to suffer for Christ and to contemne the pleasures and glory of this world It is an auncient custome of the Catholike Church aboue a thousand and foure hundred yeares standing Holy Water to hallow water mixt with salt Which is commonly done on Sundayes before Masse to sanctify holy things to expell the power of our ghostly enemy and to purge from venial sinnes as euery good worke doth which increaseth the diuine grace in vs. The declaration of the Church is sufficient for the lawfullnes of it Yet as I haue said of ceremonys man being a corporall creature must honour God according to his nature and vse corporall creatures in his diuine worship and although God regardeth most the inward worship of our harts and the acts of our mindes he will haue vs notwithstanding to vse corporall things to our sanctification Ia. 5. as the water in Baptisme and the oyle in Extreme Vnction which according to saint Iames is vsed to the remission of sinnes and he hath commanded diuerse corporall things vnto supernaturall ends and effects Exod. 12. as the blood of a Lambe to be sprinkled on the doore posts of the Israelits Nu. 19. to saue them from the destroying plague as the ashes of a red cow mixt with water to be sprinkled for the purging of legall vncleannesse Tob. 8. as yong Toby was commanded to vse the liuer of a fish to expell the deuill as Elisaeus vsed salt with waters Reg. 4.2 to giue them spiritually sweetnesse and fruitfullnesse by all which wee see that corporall things may be vsed for spirituall effects And if any obiect that God can commande those things but the Church can not I answere first that it is true God onely appointeth the Sacraments which we are to vse But the Church can ordaine holy ceremonys rites and deuout obseruations which are noe Sacraments God inspireth the Church in
the vse of this as he did vnto them the vse of the former and so they are both of God see disc 4. art 9. disc 11. of the authority of the Church The Church vseth such like obseruations and rites not as Sacraments to restore vs to the diuine grace when we haue lost it but as holy actions to advance vs further in the diuine grace which wee haue and consequently to remitte lesser sinnes which are compatible with grace sanctifying vs more in the sight of God Holy bread or disposing vs to more sanctity Soe the Catechumens in the primitiue Church that receiued not the blessed Sacrament receiued the holy bread of which Saint Augustine That which the Catechumens receiue although it be not the body of Christ yet it is a holy thing and holier then other meates which we eate Theodorit who liued about 1300. yeares since Theod. cap. 21. relateth a passage admirable to this purpose Marcellus Bishop of Apamaea hauing in that citty a temple of Iupiter much offensiue to the honour of God vsed all meanes possible to demolish it but the structure of it was soâ— strong and firmely compacted with stone and iron that two Captaines who passed that way with their souldiers about two thousand in number could not all dissolue it At last a simple and ignorant man promiseth to effect what he desired if that he will but allow him the assistance of two onely which being granted they vndermined the pillars and applying timber and fewell to the foundation of them sett fire on it But there appeared a blacke and terrible fiend that put out the fire as fast as they enkindled it Then Marcellus hallowing water with the signe of the Crosse and throwing it into the fire it made it to burne and flame as though oyle had bene throwne into it One would thinke it strange that water should increase the flame of fire but it is not strange that holy water should suppresse the deuills power Thus much by the way of holy water Now let vs see WHY THE MASSE IS SAID in Latine THE Masse is said in Latine for diuerse reasons First for that the Church is Catholike that is to say vniuersall not of one nation but of all and therefore it is most conuenient that she should prayse God and haue her seruice in a language which is most generall and vniuersally vnderstoode and esteemed of by all nations and this is the Latine tongue An English Catholike may go into Italy France Spaine or into any place of the Catholike world euen into the furthest Indys and as he is vnited in the same faith and doctrine and obeyeth the same authority of the Church with them Gen. 11. so he shall see the very selfe same seruice of God and heare the very same words which he heareth in his owne countrey and vnderstande them if he vnderstandeth the Latine tongue This is the comfort of Catholiks that they are the people of one tongue and one speech not onely in faith and doctrine but also in manner of vtterance as neere as can be Neither was it euer the practise of the Church to haue her seruice in the vulgar languages of euery nation In the easterne parts of the world Masse was aunciently said in Greeke because the Greeke tongue was most vniuersally vnderstoode and esteemed of in those parts although the common sort of people in all those places generally vnderstoode it not In the Westerne parts of the world it was said in Latine as Saint Augustine sayeth that the Scriptures were vsed in Affrica in Latine Bed 1. hist Ang. cap. 1. and Saint Bede saith that there being in England in S. Augustines time fower seuerall languages by his preaching and saying seruice in the Latine tongue it came commune to them all For this reason the Masse is said all ouer in Latine except perhaps in some places of Greece or where the Latine tongue is but litle studied Secondly a higher and more esteemed language giueth more maiesty and reuerence to the misterys of God then a vulgar tongue and therfore the holy Ghost speaking by the Scriptures would vse a most high and maiesticall manner of speech for the most part aboue vulgar capacitys and the Catholike Church speaking in the person of the holy Ghost it is meete that she should vse his manner of speech Thirdly if the Church seruice were to be said in euery vulgar tongue it would be subiect to continuall misconstructions abused by the prowd and contentious who being for the most part of the ignorant sort as regarding more the shew of knowledge then the substance and good vse of it would pretende to vnderstande all things and contend without end As now we see in England where euery old wife to use S. Hieromes words presumeth to teach that which she neuer learned and thinketh that she hath braines enough to looke downe into that great depth of the Scriptures which the Doctours of the Church haue so much admired and which S. Augustine was so affraid to looke into Confess l. 12. c. 14. that he cryed out O wonderfull profoundnesse of thy words wondefull profâ—undnesse my God wonderfull profoundnesse it maketh a man quake to looke into it Handy craft men and silly women amongst the Protestants of Eagland haue none of this feare they can vnderstande and interprete the holy Scriptures they can correct their common prayer and controling their Ministers when they list they will steppe vp into the pulpit before them The Protestants Miuisters may now see and I know where some of them haue confessed the originall cause of this confusion amongst them to haue bene the vnlimitated reading of the Scriptures and the hauing of their common seruice in the vulgar tongue and that it was an errour in their predecessors to put such kniues into childrens hands that could not vse them The Catholike Church as a carefull mother her selfe carueth for her children instructing them in that which is necessary for them not trusting them to their owne caruings and misconstructions S. Dion eccl hier cap. 1. Basil de Spirit S. cap. 27. Denis and S. Basil therefore declare that the sacred mysterys in their times were kept of purpose from the vulgar Fourthly if the Church Lyturgy were to be said in euery vulgar tongue few Priests could exercise their functions out of their countreys An Italian Priest could not say Masse in Spaine nor a Spaniard in Italy And this is the reason why so few Protestant Ministers euer trauaile out of their countreys Although it be thither where their owne Religion as they prerende is professed for their seruice being in a different language which that people vnderstandeth not they must either be silent abroade or stay at home If they will say seruice Where as Catholike Priests may serue God after the same manner in all places and all people may serue God by them Fiftly if the publike seruice of the Church were said in euery vulgar tongue
diuine word breaketh his lawes and taketh away all order and gouernment quite out of the world for all order includeth subordination that is to say subiection of inferiors to superiour powers but take once away the authority of the Church and absolue men in conscience from the obedience of it to beginne new doctrines beleeuing teaching and doeing what they list themselues and you take away all subordination of inferiors to superiors in the diuine worship therfore take away obedience to the Church and you take away all order and gouernment in Religion quite out of the world by making men subiect to no authority and consequently you destroy the world which without order in Religion can not consist The ground therefore foundation and first principle of all order is the divine authority of the continuall Church to beleeue as the Church teacheth and to obey it The Apostles haue commanded obedience to temporall superiors who then were infidels and could haue no authority in spirituall affaires Petr. 1.2 Let euery soule be subiect to higher powers for there is noe power but of God Rom. 13. Therefore he that resisteth the poâ—er resisteth the ordinance of God If infidell masters Magistrates and Powers be to be obeyed in temporall things as ordained of God how much more are we to obey the higher powers of the Catholike Church God hath ordeined the Superiors of the Church to gouerne the world in his diuine seruice therefore they haue the authority of God Aug. coÌ„t adu leg lib. 1. c. 17. and their Praecepts oblige vnder a mortall sinne There is no chaine of iron or adamant saith S. Augustine that can binde so hard as the Praecepts of the Church The like may be said of Ecclesiasticall customes which by long continuance haue obtained the force of lawes Ecclesiastical customes Therfor S. Paul commendeth the Corinthians for keeping the Praecepts which he had giuen them and alleadging the custome of the Church he thought it sufficient to stoppe the mouths of the contentious to say we have noe such custome nor the Church of God Cor. 1.11 And if those customs of the Church could gaine that authority soe soone within twenty or thirty yeares that Christ founded it certainely they shall haue as much now when it hath the addition of about sixteene hundreds of yeares S. Augustine hath these words for customes In those things of which the scriptures determine nothing for certaine Aug. ad Caâ—ulan the custome of the people is the custome of God and the institutions of our auncestors are to be kept as lawes and as praeuaricators against diuine lawes soe the infringers of Ecclesiasticall customes are to be restrained because the Church seeing those customes and not forbidding them by silence consenteth and alloweth of them and God declareth by the practise of the Church that in those times and places such customes oblige as necessary then to be kept Now let vs declare the Praecepts of the Church in particular THE FIRST PRAECEPT TO fast fasting dayes Soe great is the benefit of fasting that the Catholike Church would haue none of her people to be depriued of it and therefor would oblige all to diuerse fasts which I shall presently declare but first we will say somethinge of fasting in generall Fasting is commended first in the old Testament sometimes by examples of the Prophets and holy men and sometimes by the admirable effects of it Fasting was the first Praecept that was commanded to man and all our miserys beganne first by the vnhappy breaking of that Praecept God might haue chosen any other Commandement to haue exercized our obedience in but he would commende fasting to vs. After that in the Law of nature it was commanded againe some meates being then prohibited to be eaten as vncleane Nu. 6. Iud. 13. Hiere 35. In the Law of Moyses he himselfe fasted at the receiuing of it The Nazareits and Rechabeits who were particularly dedicated to the seruice of God were strict and austere in fasting Holy Iudith armed with fasting went forth against all the Assyrian forces accompanyed onely with one maide seruant and full of zeale and heauenly fortitude with her owne hands slew their Prince and put them all to slight The sentence of death was giuen against all the Israelits and a day appointed for their generall massacre Esther the Queene must venture her life for them by going to the King to aske their pardon She fasted and the people fasted for her good successe and she became soe beautifull and gracious that the hart of the King being enamoured with her the liues of thousands were granted at her request The Niniuers for their sinnes had deserued destruction and God sent his Prophet to declare against them and to cry as yet forty dayes and Niniue shall be subverted Ion. 3. The King hearing of it commanded a solemne fast and the city obseruing it God was pacifyed the sentence was suspended and Niniue stoode firme repaired by the force of fasting The three children armed with this vertue entred into the furnace of Babylon and walked in the raging fire as in a pleasant fresh ayre Daniel by fasting was too strong for Lyons and greedy hungar vrging them to deuoure God stopped their mouths that they did him noe hurt Graue Eleazarus contemned death to defende that fast which God had then commanded in the Church And the seauen brethren in the Machabees with their Mother aboue measure maruelous passed through cruell torments in defence of the same fast In the New Testament we haue fasting much more commended vnto vs by the example of Christ himselfe who blessedly beganne the Law of grace with his owne fast of forty dayes We haue also that Anne the Prophetisse fasted that S. Iohn Baptist fasted that the Apostles fasted and that Christ did not onely commende fasting by his example but in plane words and by miracle He would haue a possessed person to be brought to the Apostles that they labouring in vaine to despossesse him he might performe it himselfe and then declare for fasting saying this kind can goe out by nothing but by prayer and fasting Marc. 9. Is it not now a shame for the enemys of the Catholike Church to pretende Scriptures and yet to stande against the whole current both of tho old and new Testament for some aequivocall sentence which they picke out to obiect against fasting Christ to reprooue the hypocrysy of the Pharisys who vsed often to fast and to wash themselues that they might seeme holy before men said Mat. 15. not that which entreth into the mouth defileth a man meaning that the end intention and circumstances of eating and not the corporall meate was either good or hurtfull to the soule of man and they obiect this saying against fasting in generall or against the fasts of the Church Gal. 4. and call them the obseruations of men and not of God What more could an haeretike say to deny the doctrine of
his life time another sinneth and is punished with the death of wife or children another receiueth some affront and pineth away with greefe and malice that he can not reuenge himselfe another hath his house burned or robbed another hath his croppe wasted and destroyed Another hath diseases and losses in his cattell and a thousand kindes of temporall punishments are iustly inflicted vpon men for their sinnes and come not by chance as some would perswade themselues For God seeeth the malice of all our actions and because he will not publish them vntill the day of iudgment he punisheth them with such afflictions as are commune to all to bring vs to repentance This doctrine is prooued by that which Christ said to the man whom he cured of eight and thirty yeares infirmity Io. 5. Behold thou art made whole sinne noe more least some worse thinge chance to thee In which we see two things First that sinne is punished with temporal afflictions as corporall infirmitys and secondly that if they mende not with those but sinne againe they may expect some worse thinge euen temporally And what is that a suddaine and miserable death For we are neuer soe much in danger of our liues as when we are in mortal sinne Because the deuill hauing then the possession of our soules bringeth vs as much as he can vpon perils of death to secure his possession And therefor Balaam that wicked Prophet counsailed King Balac to draw the Israelits into sinne that he might more easily oue come Ortg. ho. 20. in 25. nu and kill them as though he had said saith Origen This is a people which sighteth not by their owne strength but by the fauour of their God make them to offende him and the victory is thine owne and for this thou shalt endeauour to ouerthrow their chastity Fight not with them by force of armes bring not men to assalt and resist them Bring women to tempt them to sinne sinne will dull their weapons weaken their strength and â—ill them A company of Madianite women are brought for that purpose they draw the Israelits to fornicate with them and after that to adore their idols then God forsaketh them and they are ouerthrowne in their sinne Thus doth Origen describe that passage And in an other place he hath these words Orig. in c. 31. nu The Israelits when they came against Madian were numbred six hundred thousands of sighting men yet all these when thâ—y were in sinne were ouercome by the Madianites and the Madianites againe who had ouercome six hundred thousands of Israelites when they were in sinne were ouercome themselues by twelue thousand of them when they were free from sinne It was to this purpose all that which Achior said to Holofernes who leading an army with intention to subduâ— the whole world and passing without resistance through many peoples to the borders of Israel where as others at his approching had presently sent messengers to yeeld to him he seeeth the Israelits to make preparations of warre and to fortify places against him and calling his captaines together to informe himselfe of the nature and strength of that people Achior captaine of the Ammonites declared vnto him the beginning and progresse of the Israelits what strange victorys they had gotten by the helpe of God and how easily they had bene defeated when they were in sinne And although he counsailed not as Balaam did to draw them into sinne yet he aduised him at least to informe himselfe well whether they were in sinne or noe before he assalted them Iudith 5. Now therefor my Lord search if there be any iniquity of theires in the sight of their God and let vs goe vp to them because their God will deliuer them to thee but if there be noe offence of this people before their God we can not resist them because God will defende them And it cost Holofernes his life and the ouerthrow of his whole army because he would not follow his counsaile For the Israelits crying humbly to God and pleasing him he fought himselfe soe for them that Holofernes was killed and his huge army put to flight by one woman onely To what purpose now shall the Potentates of this world build vpon humane pollicys and strength to raise great Monarchys to themselues and their children when all their power is soe easily confounded They giue themselues to sinne and to neglect of their charge and then God who supported them letteth them fall and they being dashed to peeces he raiseth another to stande as long as it pleaseth him Esni 14. I will destroy the name of Babylon and the remaines and buâ—de and progeny Anâ— I will make it the possession of the hedge â—â—gg And I will sweepe it with a beesome wearing it saith the Lord of hosts Vpon which place S. Hierome hath these words Hiero. in c. 14. Esa Babylon was by the description of authors a citty builded on a plane fâ—wers quare in forme and had from corner to corner sixteene miles soe that in compasse it conteined threescore and fower miles The tower or Capitol theirof is said to haue bene fower miles in hight And for the marble temples golden statuas and streetes shining with gold and pretious stone it is almost incredible that which is recorded of it All this I say to shew the wrath of God against sinne For now we see the ruines onely left and those become the possession of the hedgehogg the words of the Prophet being truely fullfilled I will sweepe it with a beesome wearing it It is the goodnes of God to ight against his enemys and to defende his freinds and it is the malice of sinne to destroy those that committe it and of the deuill to seeks the death and destruction of those that serue him Prosperity Victory and glory are the rewards of vertue aduersity and death are the stipends of sinne And this is soe certaine and general in it selfe that the holy Church saith noe aduersity shall hurt where noe iniquity reigneth The fourth euill of sinne is that it bringeth miserys not onely vpon the sinners themselues but also vpon their kinred and freinds It happeneth sometimes that a man hauing committed some greeuous sinne resteth himselfe with out punishment liuing in prosperity perhaps all his life time and after his death when he is in hell then his children or allyance are strucken with temporal punishments and become miserable in their bodys or goods which prosper not with them through his sinne Thus many are punished here in their bodys with temporall afflictions directly for the sinnes of others and indirectly also in their soules for that they follow their euill footstepps and committe sinne by their example I am the Lord thy God mighty ielous Exod. 20. visiting the iniquity of fathers vpon the children vpon the third and fourth generation of those that hate mee C ham seeing the nakednesse of his father Noe when he was a sleepe derided
did Simon Magus beginne first to teach that God is the authour of sinne not that he was the immediate causer of it but in that he had giuen vs such a nature as that we sinned of necessity and could not but sinne Which commeth to be the same as to deny freewill Cerdon and Cerinthus followed him in this blasphemy that God is the authour of sinne Yet it had soe ill a sound in their eares to impute sinne vnto God who is infinitly good that they would imagine another God whom they called the euill God and to him they imputed the euill of sinne The like doctrine hath bene auouched by latter haeretiks who amongst other old hâ—â—â—ys haue renewed this as may be seene in Catholike authours who haue confuted them but we will ground ourselues vpon this firme and easy principle established by the Church that God is good and infinitly hating the way of iniquity and infinitly iust that he could not punish vs for sinne if he himselfe were the cause of it therefor God is not the cause and authour of sinne The inordinate affection of creatures is the cause of sinne and men are the authors of the sinnes which they committe God hath ordained all creatures to a good end and to reasonable creatures he hath giuen reason and offereth grace to order their actions according to it they abusing the gift of God and breaking his ordinance committe sinne God permitteth his Law to be broken but is soe farre from breaking it himselfe or being the cause of breaking it that he allwais vseth sufficient meanes to hinder the breaking of it he calleth vs backe from sinne before we committe it inspiring and exciting vs to the contrary and giueth grace to resist temptations and to absteine from sinne if we will And when we haue sinned he rewardeth it not but punisheth it and rewardeth the contrary and therefor by noe meanes can be said to be the cause of sinne He vseth sinne to a good end manifesting his goodnes in rewarding the good and punishing the wicked who of their owne wills committe it being noe way moued by him to it S. Aug. l. de Gen. ad lit to 31. Augustine expresseth this by a very fitt similitude As â—ests in musicke saith he which are noe musicke and as discords of notes which are contrary to musicke are soe placed by skillfull musicians and composed with concords that they make a more sweet and gratefull harmony and as darke colours are intermingled with lightsome to giue more beauty and grace to pictures sic vitiorum nostrorum non est author Deus sed tamen ordinat ea perpeti cogit quae maerentur Soe God is not the authour of our vices but he ordaineth and forceth that which they deserue And as the notes of discorde are not discorde but concorde in effect as the musician ordereth them making of their discorde a perfect harmony soc sinnes are not euill as God permitteth them or as he createth creatures that committe them of as they are ordained to a good end by him but they are in themselues acts of discorde from the Diuine Law and are put into order and concord by him And as we cannot say that the musician causeth discorde or is the authour of discorde for vsing of discorde to perfect his harmony because he maketh concorde with it soe we cannot say that God is the cause or authour of sinne because it hath noe euill but good as he ordereth and vseth it And therefor good Diuines say that God is the cause of the materiall of the act of sinne but not of the malice or euill of sinne as the musician putteth together notes of discorde but maketh noe sounde of discorde by them Those that impute their sinnes to God saith S. Hierome haue that sheild of hart which the Prophet speaketh of saying Thren 3. thou shalt giue them a sheild of hart thy labour They stande as it were face to face against God and retort their sinnes vpon him as though he were to blame in permitting them to sinne and not they in sinning Hence it followeth that we haue freewill to sinne or to abstaine from it Freewill For otherwise sinne proceeding naturally and necessarily from vs the euill and malice of it could not be imputed to vs but to God the authour of our nature Neither is that destinction which some would make to any purpose saying that we haue free will to doe euill but not to doe good For to be free is to haue power to the act or to the contrary and if the act be euill the contrary is good It is true we haue noe power to doe good of ourselues without Gods grace but we can concurre or not concurre with it It is a thinge soe manifest saith S. Aug. ep 11. l. de duab animabus Augustine that man hath freewill and that he is not to be punished for that which is not in his power that shepheards sing it on the mountaines poets on stages the vnlearned in circles the learned in librarys masters in schooles bishops in sacred places and mankind thâ—ough out the world Yet this which is soe manifest was denyed by the Manichaeans the disciples of Manes who sometimes feigning himselfe to be the Holy Ghost and sometimes to be Christ chose twelue disciples to follow him and went vp and downe Affrica preaching against freewill and deceiuing many with such absurditys as are almost incredible to haue bene beleeued After a thousand yeares and more the same doctrine was reuiued againe by Luther and is still mainteined by his followers and by other sects that haue sprung out of him Pelagius an auncient and very learned authour but a prowde and obstinate haeretike was soe farre contrary to this doctrine that where as they deny free power to man to doe good works with Gods grace he affirmed that we haue not onely free power to doe good with Gods grace but also of ourselues without it But S. Augustine hath breifly confuted them both in these words If there be noe free will Aug. ep 46. how doth God iudge the world and if there be not diuine grace how doth he saue the world how can God iudge men to rewards or punishments if they haue not freewill and how doth he saue vs but by his grace strengthening and eleuating vs to good works Soe that we haue free will to doe good contrary to Luther but not to doe good of our owne freewill onely but by the diuine grace which is contrary to Pelagius The Manichaeans Lutherans and those that deny freewill make voide the seauenth article of the Creede that Christ is our iudge and the Pelagions make him noe Sauiour The Catholike Church hath allwais taught that man hath freewill to doe well by cooperating with Gods grace or to doe ill by reiecting it And soe our good works are cheefely attributed to God as proceeding cheefly from his grace and secondarily and instrumentally to our selues because we
it It is the doctrine of Catholike Diuines that all the euills of this world noe not the eternall torments of all the damned spirits put together is aequall to the euill of one mortall sinne I will rather be sent into hell Mach. 2.6 saith Elcazarus when they perswaded him to dissemble against his conscience For although at this present time I be deliuered from the punishments of men yet neither aliue nor dead shall I escape the hand of the almighty Greg. hâ— 34. in Euang Victorinus whilst he liued in the wildernes being drawne into the sinne of fornication by a wicked delusion of the deuill was soe vexed in conscience afterwards that fastening his hands into a peece of clouen wood he liued three yeares with onely raw herbes and water After that he wrought miracles became a bishop and at last a glorious martyr The Magdalen moued to repentance came presently into the Pharisys house Luc. 7. and was not ashamed to weepe in publike soe many teares that she washed the feete of Christ with them S. Peter after his sinne went out presently and wept bitterly And soe great was his sorrow euer after that he is recorded by S. Clement who liued with him Clem. in recognit to haue carried allwais in his hand a litle linnen napkin to dry his face from teares But the example of our Sauiour weeping for the sinnes of others should moue vs more then these who wept for their owne sinnes Christ as he came downe Mount Oliuet hauing before his eyes a full view of the city of Hierusalem was strucken with such an apprehension of the sinnes of that people that beginning to speake he was interrupted with teares and could not goe on for weeping And he wept also for Lazarus long dead and putrifyed that was to signify the sinner dead and putrifyed in long continued sinnes that we might see how much he loued our soules and how he lamenteth at their spirituall death Mat. 16. What doth it profit a man if he gaine the whole world and susteine the dammage of his soule My soule is all the world to mee and when I come to dy I shall finde it soe Grant vs O Lord that we may saue our soules the whole world beside we will loose it willingly And this is the effect of mortall sinne that he that committeth but one and dyeth in it is as sure to suffer shippwracke of his soule and to be damned into hell as though he were guilty of all the mortall sinnes in the world Ia. 5. according to that of S Iames whosoeuer but offendeth in one is made guilty of all To wit soe farre as to the guilt and punishment of hell I haue bene desired by some to giue them some such destinction betwixt Mortall and Veniall sinne as that they might allwais know by it when the sinne which they committe is mortall But this is vnpossible for that the circumstances are infinite which may aggrauate or lessen the malice of sinne soe that litle sinnes may become great and great sinnes litle ones and sometimes noe sinnes at all Besides God will not haue vs to know for certaine whether we be in state of grace or noe according to that of Ecclesiastes Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of loue or hatred and Iob allthough I shall be simple Eccl. 9. Iob. 9. the same shall my soule be ignorant of Yet thus much may be said for their satisfaction that sinnes against any of the tenne Commandements or against any of the Praecepts of the Church when they come to a notable degree of malice or deformity or if they be intended thought or doubted to be soe they are Mortall Veniall is as much as to say easily pardonable and soe a Veniall sinne is a sinne which easily obtaineth pardon A litle sinne which diminisheth the feruour of diuine grace in vs but taketh not the grace of God from vs soe as to put vs in state of damnation It maketh vs to grow colder and colder in deuotion and disposeth by litle and litle to some mortall sinne and then by that we loose quite the diuine grace and are in state of damnation Soe that Mortall sinne is quite opposite and incompatible with the diuine grace Veniall sinne is compatible and may stande with it Authors commonly declare this by the similitude of a traueler going out of his way He may either goe a quite contrary way or he may goe wrong yet not quite contrary to the right way By Mortall sinne we goe the quite contrary way from heauen to wit to hell by Veniall sinne we goe not to hell yet we goe wrong and out of the way to heauen S. Augustine compareth Veniall sinnes to scabbs that deforme and disfigure the body but kill it not soe Veniall sinne deformeth and deminisheth the beauty of our soules but leaueth them still with spirituall life And declaring some Veniall sinnes in particular he saith that it is a Veniall sinne to laugh immoderately Aug. l. de Nat gra c 38. to iest too much to desire somethinge intemperately to plucke fruit ouer greedily and the like Finally whatsoeuer we thinke that we doe not well in we may accuse ourselues of it as at least of a Veniall sinne That all sinnes are not damnable to hell but that there are some such lesser sinnes which we call Veniall it is manifest by diuerse places of the holy Scriptures Prou. 24. Seauen times shall the iust fall and shall rise againe but the impious shall fall into euill Where we see that a man may fall into some sinnes and yet be iust He that contemneth small thinges shall fall by litle and litle Eccl. 19. By which we see that one may sinne by small things and by litle and litle before that he fall from the diuine grace Ia 3. S. Iames saith that in many things we offende all And he cannot be thought to speake of mortall sinnes S. Iohn hauing declared that by the blood of Christ we are clensed from sinne adde h presently Io. 1.1 If we shall say that we haue noe sinne we seduce ourselues and the truth is not in vs. By which it appeareth that we may be soe purged from sinne as to be in state of grace by the merits of Christs Passion and yet to haue some sinnes This is also most congruous to reason and agreeable with the diuine goodnes and mercy For if it be an vnreasonable seuerity for Kings and Common wealths to punish euery litle falt with the sentence of death farre must it be from the mercy of God to punish euery litle excesse or defect euery litle anger neglect distraction in our prayers and the like with the eternall death of hell Mortall sinnes are neuer taken away but by the Sacraments in deede or in desire Veniall sinnes are blotted out by euery good worke which we doe For as euery Venial sinne deminisheth the feruour of the loue of God in vs and
vnto vs by ourselues 155.156 c. 593 Messias 111 Christ the Messias true God 116.121 c. Iesus Christ the true Messias 122. c. Miracles prooue obedience to that Church in which they are wrought 28. The faith of Christ confirmed by miracles 130 Moderate affection of parents towards their children 411 Mortall sinne 717 N NAme The Name of God 398. Phantasticall Names reprooued in baptisme 295 Neighbour Who is our Neighbour 409. Charity towards our Neighbour v. Charity O OYle vsed in the consecration of holy things 291.603 Order 30.79.644.609 Orders a Sacrament 663 Seuerall degrees of orders in the Church 364 Originall sinne 715 Oths require three conditions to be lawfull 398 Oths imposed vpon Catholikes by Haereticks or any Infidels are allwais to be suspected 399 P PAganisme refuted 117. The Pagan Philosophers confounded themselues 15. They were replenished with sinne 697 Parents to be honored and obeyed 409. Parents must loue their children and prouide for them yet with discretion and moderation 411. c. Superiors are Parents 410. The good example of parents to their children 414. Parents haue a double obligation to instruct their children 2 Pastour The Pastours of the Church gathered together haue the authority of the whole Church and all false Churches beginne by disobedience to them 205.215 Patience the proper vertue of Christians 418 Pennance a Sacrament 322. The essentiall parts of Pennance 328. The effect of Pennance 328 Pleasure in sinne is false base and short 690 Poore The Poore to be releeued 473 Prayer The fruit and force of prayer 450. Preparation to prayer 455. What we are to pray for 457. Prayer to Saints 459. c. Prayer to particular Saints for particular benefits 470. Hinderances of obtaining our prayers 471. Attention in prayer 473. Prayer and good life must goe together 479. Sentences of holy Scriptures vertually Prayers 567. Perseuerance in Prayer 569 Praecepts of the Church 640. They oblige vnder a mortall sinne 641 Praesumption of Gods mercy 699 Pretences All Pretences of haeretiks obstructed 247. c. Priests must be called of God 210.367 Seuerall degrees of Priests 366. Chastity annexed to Priesthood 367. Priests Iudges 254. And they doe not onely declare sinnes to be forgiuen but doe truely forgiue sinnes 324. Priests must be able to giue satisfaction to the people in things necessary for them to know 54. The office of Priests to instruct and to see that the Commandements of God be kept 378 Purgatory 349. c. R REcreation Lawfull and modest Recreations are to be allowed of in seasonable times 406. Reliques and holy things to be worshipped 396 Remission of sinnes in confession 253.323 c. Remorse of conscience 495.695 Restitution 430.432 Resurrection of Christ 131. c. 162. The Resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soule were aunciently vnderstoode as the same 257 Reuerence to the Sacraments 277. to holy thinges vide Images Rogation dayes 654 Romane The Romane Church prooued by induction from all other religions in the world 250 Rosary vid. Beades S SAbaoth vide Holydayes Sacrament What a Sacrament is 266. The difference betwixt our Sacraments in the Law of grace and all former Sacraments 267. The necessity of Sacraments 271. The authour of the Sacraments 272. The Matter and forme of the Sacraments 272. The minister of the Sacraments 274. The Character of the Sacraments 275. Reuerence to the Sacraments 277 The number of the Sacraments 280 Sacrifice v. Masse Saints to be prayed vnto 459. c. Saints are present in spirit at our prayers 467.568 Satisfaction 346 Scandall 658 Sinne. The euills of sinne 495.675 c. None free from sinne 490. Sinne a monster 669. Sinnes by ignorance and sinnes against conscience 674. The miserable condition of sinners as slaues 679. Sinne the cause of temporall afflictions 684. Sinne punished in the freinds and allyance of sinners 688. The authour and cause of sinne 704. Diuerse kindes of sinne 715. Sinne by thought 441 Scruples in faith proceede from the weakenes of our reason 20 Soule two powers Superiour and Inferiour 152 Spirit The Spirit of God inspiring to the true faith is allwais with obedience to the Church 24.25 c. Not euery spirit is to be beleeued 25.26.27 c. Not euery one that prayeth hath the true spirit 31. How the good spirit is to be prayed for 34.35 c. 40 Superstition Noe Superstition to obserue a certaine number of prayers in relation to some pious mystery 571 Sweare vid. Oth. T TEmporall prosperity proceedeth from God and is lost by sinne 414.684 Temptations commune to all 497. How God is said to Tempt 498 Theft Diuerse kindes of Theft 430 Thought Sinne by Thought 441 Traditions 73.74 c. Transubstantiation 305 Trinity The blessed Trinity 53.142.174 The B. Trinity hath appeared in corporall shapes 144. V VEniall sinne 721 Vertue yeeldeth satiety of true pleasures and of temporall felicitys 480 Some prayers aske nothing expresly but they aske Vertually and in effect 567 Vigils 654 Vyande or Voyage bread the Eucharist 664 W WAges 4â—1 Will. Our owne Wills are our greatest enemys 483. Conformity to the Will of God 484 Witnesse False Witnesse 434 Worldly care in excesse 444.
that suppose he hath time of repentance granted whether he shall make good vse of it or nee and if he repent for that time whether he shall not fall againe into the same sinne for one sinne disposeth to another and if it be forgiuen the first time we are not sure of pardon the second or third time which we committe it One sinne damned all mankind to death and to loose the glory of God for euer The deuill told Eue that she should not dy if she sinned but it was a delusion of the deuill and soe it prooued God had said in what day soeuer thou shalt eate thou shalt dyâ— and eating she sinned Gen. 2. and died It is a delusion of the deuill to take from vs the feare of death after sinne and for any man to thinke that he shall not dy before he repent he being then subiect euery moment to death S. Hom. 22. in 2. ad Cor. c. 10. Iohn Chrysostome they say to themselues God hath granted the benefit of repentance to some euen in their last old age What thou saith he shalt thou also haue it perhaps I shall saith the sinner O why dost thou say perhaps I shall Say rather perhaps I shall not and then what will become of mee I shall be damned Thinke that it is thy soule which thou dost deliberate on If thou wert to goe to the warres wouldest thou say I will not dispose of my affaires first perhaps I shall returne againe many haue done soe Or if thou wert thinking to marty wouldst thou say I will marry a poore woman perhaps I shall grow rich many haue done soe Or if thou wert to build a house wouldst thou lay rotten foundations and say perhaps my house will stande why wilt thou then vpon rotten and vncertaine grounds build the saluation of thy soule all these are vncertaintys and soe is thy life and thy repentance Death commeth as a thelfe and we know not at what hower the theife will come The rich man was glorying in his riches and presently he heard a voice from God saying Luc. 12. this night they require thy soule of thee Absalom was domineering with a glorious army of rebells and presently his army is lost and himselfe riding away is hung by the haire in a tree and there commeth loab with three lances and sticketh them all in his hart Our liues are as the turne of a dy subiect to many vncertaintys and soe is our repentance If we are truly wise we will take the safest way and that is to fly sinne and to be allwais prepared for death He that were to passe through a dangerous wildernes in which many had bene killed would he not choose the safest way that he could The way of vertue is a safe way the way of sinne is full of danger thousands haue perished in it and none can perish but in it some indeede haue turned backe and forsaken that way againe but that is a hazard Fly grom drunkennesse Amb. exhort ad poenit saith S. Ambrose from concupiscence and from euill talke Man ought not onely after his sinne to refraine these thinges but also when he is sound and in good health because he knoweth not whether he shall repent and Confesse his sinne to God and to the Priest There are two thinges either he shall repent or he shall not Which of them shall come to passe I know not but that which I counsaile is to leaue the vncertaine and to choose the certaine All that can be said is that he may repent but this is vnâ—â—rtaine Certaine it is that if he hath sinned he hath deserued hell and that if he repent not he shall be damned Let not the sinner then flatter himselfe with presumption of the diuine mercy and of repentance It is a flattery of the deuill to delude and to draw him into hell Consider sinne as it is in it selfe and the euills that of themselues follow it Behold it as a monster that commeth to kill thee and to deliuer thee into the deuils power Thinke the most horrible spectacle that thou canst deuise to thinke and know that thy soule in sinne is more horrible and deformed then it Our soules saith S. Chrysostome in possession of the deuill is in worse state then our bodys possessed by him For although sinners saith he foame not at the mouth roare not with their voices nor writh their heades and eyes as possessed persons doe yet they are much more deformed inwardly and in the sight of God And in another place declaring how all things are confounded by sinne He affirmeth that it maketh men in some respects worse then deuills for the deuills saith he hurt not those of their owne kind but men by sinne care not what hurt they doe to one another and of malice will kill euen their neerest freinds and kindred Thus much of the malice of sinne Now OF THE AVTHOVR OF SINNE SVCH being the malice of sinne as is declared soe contrary to reason and to the goodnes of God it cannot stande with his diuine goodnes to impute the malice of it to him and to make not him the authour of it Some things there are soe manifest in themselues that euen at the first apprehension without disputing we assent vnto them and although strong and difficult arguments may seeme sometimes to arize against them as they may against all veritys whatsoeuer yet they are allwais to be granted and to be kept as firme and vndenyable principles Now if there be any thinge manifest in it selfe and to be kept as a firme and certaine principle it is that God is infinit in goodnes infinitly hating sinne and therefor can not be the authour of the euill which it conteines but it must proceede from some cause which is quite opposite to the goodnes of God And although some arguments might be obiected against this yet it is an extreme boldnes and prophanenesse in any man to question the truth of it but euen as all Philosophers agree to the Axiome that the whole is greater then any of its parts although arguments are often obiected against it soe ought we allwais to agree and much more firmely to ground ourselues vpon this verity that all goodnes is of God and that the euill which we doe is of ourselues according to that of the Prophet Perdition is thine O Israel Ose 13. onely in mee thy helpe But heretiks contemning all authority and denying the principles which the whole Catholike world receiueth to follow their owne fancys and conceits make the mysterys of faith to be more vncertaine then the principles of Philosophy They would be ashamed to be brought to deny that which all Philosophers had setled and are ashamed to deny that which Christ and the Holy Ghost and all the Doctors of the Catholike Church haue taught and established in faith but one arch haeretike will coÌ„tradict them all and gette followers to mainteine his singularity against them Thus