Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	age_n	church_n	time_n	2,142	5	3.6322	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28839	An exposition of the doctrine of the Catholique Church in the points of controversie with those of the pretended reformation by James Benignus Bossüet, counseller in the King's counsels, Bishop and Lord of Condom, tutor to His Royal Hyghness the Dolphin of France ; translated into English by W.M.; Exposition de la doctrine de l'Eglise catholique sur les matières de controverse. English	Bossuet, Jacques Bénigne, 1627-1704.; Montagu, Walter, 1603?-1677.	1672 (1672)	Wing B3782; ESTC R30305	47,803	218

preuent all scandal They haue concluded by this regulation that both kindes were not essentiall to the Communion by the institution of CHRIST for otherwise they would haue bin bound absolutely to refuse the Sacrament to such as were not able to receaue it compleat and not to giue it them in a manner contrary to that CHRIST JESVS had commanded and in that case their disability would haue sufficiently excused them But our Aduersaries haue conceaued that such a rigour would be excessiue if they did not allow at least one of the Species to such as were not capable to receaue the other and since this condescendence hath no ground in the Scripture they must needs confesse with vs that the words whereby CHRIST IESVS hath proposed to vs the two Species are liable to some interpretation and that the right vnderstanding of them ought to be declared by the Authority of the Church But it might seeme that this Article of their Discipline which is of the Synode of Poytiers held 1560 had bin reformed by the Synode of Vertueil assembled in the year 1567 where it is said that the company is not of opinion the Bread should be giuen to those who would not receaue the Cupp These two Synodes neuerthelesse are not at all opposite to one another that of Vertueil speaketh of those who Will not receaue the Cupp and that of Poytiers of such as Can not take it And indeed notwithstanding the Synode of Vertueil that Article remaineth in their Discipline nay more hath bin approued by a Synode later then that of Vertueil namely by the Synode of Rochelle in 1571 where the Article was renewed and putt into that state which it now remaineth in But supposing the Synodes of the Pretended-Reformers had differr'd varied in their opinions that would serue only to manifest that the matter in question is not a point of Faith but of that kind which the Church may order dispose of according to their own principles There remaineth now nothing but to expose what the Catholiques hold touching the Word of God concerning the Authority of the Church CHRIST IESVS hauing lay'd the foundation of his Church vpon the Preaching of his Disciples the Vnwritten Word was the first guide rule of Christianity when the writings of the New Testament were adioyned to them the former Word did not for all that loose its Authority which causeth vs to accept with the same veneration all that was taught by the Apostles be it by writing or by word of mouth according to what S. Paul himself hath expresly inioyned And the certain proofe that a Doctrine comes from the Apostles is its being accepted and embraced by all Christian Churches whilst its beginning can not be pointed mark'd out We can not choose but receaue all that is establish'd in this manner with the submission due to the Diuine Authority and we are confident that such persons of the Pretended-Reformed Religion as are not very obstinate haue the same perswasion in the bottome of their harts it being impossible to beleeue that a Doctrine setled and receaued from the beginning of the Church can flow from any other spring then that of the Apostles Wherefore our Adversaries ought not to wonder that we being zealously carefull to inherit all that our Fathers haue left vs doe conserue the Deposite of Tradition as well as that of the Scriptures The Church being ordained by God to be the Depositary of the Scripture of Tradition we receaue from her hands the Canonicall Scriptures and we beleeue whateuer our Aduersaries say that it is principally the Church's Authority that determineth vs to reuerence as Diuine writt the song of Salomon which hath so few sensible markes of Propheticall inspiration and likewise the Epistle of S. Iames which Luther reiected and that of S. Iude which might be suspected by reason of some Apocriphall bookes cited in it in fine there can be no motiue but that Authority to perswade the receauing the whole body of the holy Scriptures which Christians accept as Diuine euen before the reading hath wrougt any feeling of the Spirit of God in those bookes Being then inseparably bound as we are to the Authority of the Church by meanes of the Scriptures which we receaue from her hand we are taught also by her Tradition and by the help of Tradition the true sense of the Scriptures So that the Church professeth to say nothing meerly of her self and likewise that she inventeth nothing new in her Doctrine that she doth but follow and declare the Diuine Reuelation by the interiour direction of the holy spirit which is giuen her for her Teacher That the holy Ghost expresseth himself by the Church the dispute raised about the Ceremonies of the Law euen in the time of the Apostles doth euidence and their Acts haue directed all succeeding ages by the manner that first contest was decided by what Authority all following differences are to be determined so that whensoeuer any dispute happens to deuide the faithfull the Church will interpose her Authority and the Pastours assembled will say after the Apostles It hath seemed good to the Holy Spirit and vs. And when the Church hath pronounced and determined her children will be taught not to examine a new the Articles resolued vpon but that they are bound to accept with all submission the Church's Decisions And in this methode we follow S. Paul and Silas who deliuered to the faithfull the first iudgment of the Apostles and were so farr from allowing a new discussion of what had bin decided as they trauell'd through the townes teaching to obserue the ordinances of the Apostles In this manner the children of God acquiesce in the iudgment of the Church beleeuing that by her mouth they hear the Oracle of the Holy Ghost and it is vpon the ground of this perswasion that after hauing profess'd in the Creed I beleeue in the Holy Ghost we ioine next to it The Holy Catholique Church by which protestation we oblige our selues to acknowledge an Infallible and Perpetuall Verity in the Catholique Church since the same Church which we beleeue perseuering throughout all ages would cease to be a Church if it left to teach the Truth reuealed by God so that such as apprehend least she should abuse her power by introducing Falsities haue little Faith in him by whose hand she is held and conducted And if our Aduersaries would consider discusse these matters in a fairer and more humane manner they would be forced to auowe that the Catholique Church is so farre from affecting to render herself Mistresse of her Faith as her Aduersaries charge her that quite contrary she hath laboured with all her power to binde her self and to exclude all means of In̄ouation since she doth not only submitt to the holy Scriptures but to banish for euer all Arbitrary interpretatiōs which would make the conceipts of men passe for Scripture declareth herself obliged

of the part they had in that oblation so CHRIST IESVS hauing made himself our Offering did intend we should really eate the flesh of this Sacrifice to the end this actual communication of that adorable flesh should remayne a perpetual testimony to euery one of vs in particular that it was for our sakes he assumed and for vs he sacrificed his mortal flesh and blood God had forbiden the Iews to eate of the Sacrifice which was à Sin-Offering with intent to teach them that true expiation of crimes was not obteyned in the Law nor by the blood of beasts All the poeple stood as it were interdicted by this restraint not being capable to partake actually of the remission of sinns Now for the quite contrary reason it was requisit that the Body of our Sauiour the true Host offer'd vp for sin should be eaten by the faithful in order to the teaching them by this true eating that the forgiuenes of sinns was accomplished in the New Testament God did likewise forbid the people of the Iews the eating of blood and one of the reasons of this restraynt was that the blood is giuen for the expiation of our soules Quite contrary our Sauiour proposeth the drinking of his Blood because it is shed for the remission of sinns So that the eating of the Flesh drinking the Blood of the Sonne of God at the holy table is as Reall as Grace the expiation of sinns and the participation of the Sacrifice of CHRIST IESVS is actual and effectiue in the New Alliance Notwithstanding which truth by reason he intended to exercise our Faith in this Mystery and at the same time to deliuer vs from the horror of eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood in their own kinds it was fit and convenient to exhibite them unto us couered under an other species But if these considerations did oblige him to ordaine our eating the Flesh of our Offring in a different manner from that of the Iews yet he ought not in that respect to depriue vs of the Reality and the Substance of it It is apparent therefore that to accomplish the figures of the old Law and to putt vs in actual possession of that Victime offred for our sinns CHRIST IESVS did designe the giving vs Realy truly his Body and Blood which point is so euident that our Aduersaries themselues desire we should be perswaded they haue the same beleefe as we professe since they doe continually presse vrge to vs their not denying the true and Real participation of the Body and Blood of CHRIST in the Eucharist which pretence of theirs we will examine in the sequent discourse where we conceave it will be proper to expose their sentiments after hauing fully explicated the beleefe of the Church In the meane tyme we may conclude that if the faire and natural signification of the words vsed by the sonne of God compelleth them to graunt that his expresse intention was to giue Really his Flesh when he said This is my body they ought not to wonder that we can not consent to the vnderstanding these words as spoken meerly in a figuratiue sense And surely the sonne of God who was so carefull to explaine to his Apostles what he taught vnder the vailes of parables and figures hauing said nothing in this point to explaine himself further seemes cleerly to haue left these words in their natural signification I know that our Aduersaries pretend that the matter it self explains sufficiently the meaning because say they it is cleer that what he exposeth is but Bread and Wyne but the cloude of this argument vanisheth when we reflect that he who speaketh is of an Authority which ought to ouerrule our senses hath an Omnipotēce transcending all nature It is no harder for the sonne of God to effect his body's presence in the Eucharist saying This is my body then to cure a woman of her infirmity by saying Woman thou art freed from thy infirmity or to preserue the Centurion's sonne by saying Thy sonne liueth or in fine to effect the forgiuenes of the sinns of the bed-rid paralytique by uttering only Thy sinns are forgiuen thee We hauing therefore no reason to trouble our selues how CHRIST will effect what he saith we fix our beleefe precisely on his words He who makes whatsoeuer he willeth by his words effecteth whatsoeuer he saith and it was much easier for the sonne of God to force the laws of nature to verify his word then it is for vs to conforme our vnderstandings vnto such violent strayn'd interpretations as destroy all the laws of discourse The laws of language and discourse tell vs that the signe which naturally representeth doth very often take the name of the thing it self because it is natural to it to recall the idea or image of it into the mind The same hapens to signes by institution but then it is vpon condition that they be receiued and acknowledged for signes and that the parties be accustomed to them But that in instituting a signe which of it self hath no rapport to the thing as for example a peece of bread to signify the body of a man one should giue it that name without explaining of it and before agreement made concerning it as JESVS-CHRIST our Lord did in the last supper is a thing vnhear'd of and whereof we finde no example in holy scripture and I might say none in humane language Whereupon the Pretending Reformers themselues doe not so fixe vpon the figuratiue sense which they ascribe to the words of CHRIST JESVS as not to acknowledge at the same time that when he vttered those words he intended to giue vs Truly his Body and his Blood After hauing proposed the sense of the Church touching these words This is my body it is fitt to exhibite her perswasion concerning the words which CHRIST did adioyne vnto them Doe this in remembrance of me It is euident that the intention of the sonne of God was to oblige vs by these words vnto a retention and remembrance of the death he had suffered for our redemption and S. Paul concludeth out of these very words that we announce the death of our Lord in this mystery we must not then perswade our selues that this remembrance of the death of our Lord excludeth the Reall presence of his Body but quite contrary if we consider rightly what we haue here explicated we shall discerne cleerly that this Commemoration is grounded vpon the Reall presence for in the same manner as the Iews eating of the Peace-Offerings did reflect that they had bin offer'd vp for them so we eating the Flesh of CHRIST JESVS our Victime are bound to remember that he suffered death for vs. It is therefore the very same Flesh eaten by the faithfull which not only reuiueth in vs the memory of his immolation but doth besides confirme to vs that verity And we are so farr from hauing reason to say that