obteyne the euerlastyng lyfe whyche sende vnto you all the father the sonne and the holy Ghost to whome be al honor and glorye worlde wythout ende Amen Io. Harpesfelde sacrae theologiae professoris et Archidiaconi London ¶ An homely declarynge that in the blessed Sacrament of the aultare is the very body and bloude of oure Sauioure Christe AFter that men are once graft in Christ and be made partakers of his death passion amonge other theyr dueties one of the cheife is diligētly to prepare them selues to the worthy receauynge of the blessed Sacrament of the aultare wherevnto are two thynges on our partes requisit as sayeth saynt Basell Basill in his rules good reason confirmeth the one feare the other fayth The feare whiche men must haue when they prepare them selues to come to this sacrament ought to be grounded vpon that terrible sayinge of saynt Paule in the .xi. chapter of his fyrste Epistle to the Corinthians where he sayth 1. Cor. 11. that whosoeuer doth participate therof vnworthely doth eate and drinke his owne dampnation The fayth whiche we must haue in oure hartes when we come to Gods borde is to be buylded lykewise vpon the vndoubted aucthorities of scripture whiche declare moost playnly vnto vs what meate it is that we there eate For the parfyt vnderstandyng wherof let vs consider that our sauiour Christe beynge here on earth dyd fyrst make a solempne promyse of a meate whiche hym selfe woulde geue vnto vs and afterwarde in dede he dyd geue the same accordynge to his promyse In the promyse makynge he sayde as it is wrytten in the .vi. chapter of S. Iohns Gospel The breade Iohn 6. or foode that I wyll geue vnto you is my fleshe whiche fleshe I wyll geue for the lyfe of the world and in the same chapter he also saith My flesh is verily meat and my bloud is verely drincke And as he then promised so he afterwarde perfourmed euen the very laste nyghte that euer he companyed with his Apostles before his death at whiche tyme he toke breade into his handes and gaue thankes and brake it and gaue it to his disciples and sayde Take eate this is my body whiche shal be geuen for you Yf we cōpare the wordes spoken by Chryste when he made the promyse of a meat to be by him geuen vnto vs with those other wordes whiche he vttered in geuyng of the same we nede not doubt of the thynges which he gaue In the promysse makynge he sayde that he woulde geue vs his flesshe in the perfourmynge of the promise he geueth the same sayinge take eate this is my bodie Agayne in the promise making he affyrmeth that the fleshe whiche he would geue vs to fede on should be the selfsame flesh that sholde be geuen for the lyfe of the world and in the performaunce of his promyse he said that the thing which he gaue was his bodye whiche shoulde be geuen to death for vs. Nowe the circumstaunces beyng wel consydered which our sauiour vsed in the institution of this most blessed Sacrament shal greatly cōfyrme al godly hartes in the true belefe of the same The tyme was the night before he suffered deathe to signifie vnto vs that this meate being differred to the last day that euer our Sauiour was conuersaunt with his Apostles must nedes be his very body and bloude in dede and such a meate as no other can be in any wyse comparable vnto it Agayne in that our sauiour dyd eate of the paschal lambe with his Apostles immediatly before he did institute this sacrament it most playnely declareth vnto vs that this sacrament is a marueylous worthye mysterye and that very thing which the eatyng of the paschal lambe in the olde lawe did prefigurate for whiche cause whē this was instituted that was abrogated Nether is it with out a meruelouse consideration that Chryst at that heauenly banket would of purpose nother haue the blessed Vyrgyn Mary his mother presente with him nor anye other of his dyscyples saue onely the .xii. Apostles whome he appointed to be the heade ministers of al his misteries here on the earth and specially to be the ministers of this most blessed sacrament and the instructours of al other touching the same Now what meneth it that our Sauiour was not content to offer them this sacrament onely but with the offeryng therof he said also vnto them Take eate take and drinke Do mē vse to offer to other meate and drinke for anye other purpose but onelye that they shoulde eate and drynke thereof but bycause it was his bodye and hys bloude therefore he fyrste byddeth them take and not feare to eate and drynke the same Besydes this it is to be well noted that the three Euangelistes Mathew Marke and Luke doo all three agree in the maner of the institution of thys sacramēt they wrytyng all thre their gospeles at sōdry tymes Chrisosto and Theophilact as Mathew eyght yere after the ascencion of our sauiour Christ Marke .x. yeares Luke xv yeares And where in doubtefull speaches of our sauiour Christ some one or other of the Euangelistes euermore openeth plainely the very meaning of the speches yet touching these words this is my body no one of them maketh any declaration vpon the same but they all leue them to be takē of vs as they sound and as of most plaine wordes they make no exposition or interpretation of them at al. Whyche poynte must be well consydered And therfore note that where Chryst sayde It is impossible for a rych man to entre into the kingdō of heauē bicause the meaning of these wordes may be diuersly taken Marke 10. thereof S. Marke in his tenth chapyter declareth the very meanyng of them saying It is harde for them that trust in there substaunce to be saued Agayne Christ at another tyme sayde to the Iewes loose you this temple in three dayes shal I buyld it agayne And for that the sense of these wordes is doughtfull S. Iohn there expoundeth them and sayeth that Chryst by the tēplement his body whiche should be by the Iewes put to death and by him the thirde daye shoulde be raysed from death to lyfe In the .vii. of Ihon Iohn 7. oure sauiour sayeth He that beleueth in me as the scripture sayeth there shall ryuers of quicke water flowe out of him And bicause this saing is obscure S. Iohn to make it open sayeth that he spake those wordes of the spirit which they that beleued in him should receyue In the .xii. chapyter of S. Ihon our sauiour saieth in this maner If I belyfte vp from the earth Iohn 12. I wyl drawe al thinges vnto my selfe And S. Iohn by and by geueth vs the exposition saying that hereby he signyfyed what kynde of death he should suffer Manye other lyke places are there in the newe testamente the matter of which places is not so highe nor soo nedefull to be ryghtly vnderstanded as the meaning of
the aultare Ye must knowe that the presence of our sauioure Chryste in this sacrament of the aulter is not to the intente that Chryst should be conuersaunt with vs here in thys Sacrament in such sort and maner as he was with his Apostles when he liued here on earth that is to saye in the visible shape and fourme of a mā but his presence in the Sacrament is to the intent to be to vs an heauenly fode and therefore he is presente in the sacramēt vnder the fourmes of bread and wine so that our outwarde eyes and senses are certifyed with the outwarde fourmes and sensyble qualityes and the whole man with al receaueth the verye bodi and bloud of our sauiour Christ S. Augustine as is writen in a boke called Sententie prosperi dothe say Auguste in Sentētie Prosperi that christen men do honour vnder the formes of breade and wine which thei see with their bodely eies the bodie and bloude of our Sauiour Christ which they do not see Eusebius Emissenus Eusebius Emissenus also an aūcient father of the Greke churche speaking of the foresayd two partes conteined in the Sacrament of the aultar sayeth in thys maner This is the thing which bi al meanes we intend to proue that the Sacrifice of the churche doth consist and is made of two partes that is of the visible fourmes of the elemētes and of the inuisible body bloud of oure Sauiour Chryst S Ciprian in his treatise entituled Cipriane de coena domini De coena domini doeth most playnelye saye that the bread which our Lord did giue to his disciples was by the omnipotēcie of god made fleshe was chaūged in nature but not in fourme Eusebius Emissenus in a sermon of the bodi of Christ. The forenamed Eusebius in a sermō of his made of the body of Chryst dothe farder saye that Christ the inuisible priest doth tourne visible creatures bi his word through his secret power into the substaunce of his body blud Now for to signify this chaunge or turning of bread and wyne into the substaūce of Christes bodye and bloude the catholyke church vseth this word Trāssubstanciatiō which is as much to say as the chaūging of one substaunce into another Nether is it to be counted vnfyt that there should in the Sacrament of the aultare be the fourme of bread yet not the substaūce of bread seyng God is the doer worker therof Exo. 20 to whom nothing is impossible We read in the nynetenth Chapiter of Exodus how that when God came downe frō heauen vnto Mounte Sinai there was heard a soūd of a trumpet and yet material trumpet was there none vii chapiter of the fourth of the kinges In the fourth boke of the Kynges the .vii. chapiter God caused a soūde to be heard in the tentes of the Sirians as if it had bene of horses charets and of a greate armye yet was there nother horse charet nor armye In the thirde chapiter of Daniel it is recorded howe the three chyldren were in the myddest of the flamyng furnes and yet felte no heate soo that there was the substaunce of fyre and yet it dyd not bourne which to nature is impossible but to GOD is an easye matter In the .xvii. of Mathewe we reade Math. 17. howe that Chryste was transfygurated and that hys face dyd shyne as the Sonne and that hys apparel was made as whyte as snowe In the .xxiiii. of Luke Ln. 34. Chryst appeared to two of his dysciples goyng to Emaus like a straunger In al these foresayd examples we see as straunge a woorke as is transubstantiation yet no man douteth of them bycause God is the worker nor anye man asketh howe this or that coulde be but beleuethe it and soo oughte we to doo concernynge the chaunge of the substaunce of breade and wyne into the substaunce of Christes bodye and bloude and not aske howe it may be The blessed martyr Iustinus affyrmeth that this question howe Iustinus martir is a token of vnbelefe and S. Ciril writing vpon the .vi. Chapiter of S. Iohn blameth the Capernaites Ciril vpon the Vi. of S. Iohn bycause they dyd aske howe Chryst was able to giue thē his fleshe to eate The wordes of saincte Cyryll be these They aske not without great impietie how canne this man geue vs hys fleshe and they remember not that nothing is impossible to God but let vs sayeth he haue firme faith in the misteries and let vs neuer in so high matters eyther thincke or aske this how Whē God is the worker let vs not aske how but let vs leaue the knowledge of his worke to hym selfe Chrisostome vpon Iohn the Vi. S. Chrisostome lykewyse vpon the sayde .vi. Chapiter sayeth that when this question howe any thing is done commyth into our myndes then with all there commeth vnbelefe also But bycause in scrypture the thyng that we receyue when we come to the sacramente is called bread therefore men haue fansied with thē selues that there must be the substaunce of material breade deceauing themselues by mystakyng the signification of this worde breade For thoughe in our common speach we vse to signify by this word bread that one kinde of materiall substaunce which is made of corne or graine yet in scripture it signifieth all kynde of fode whether it be the fode of the body or the fode of the soule and so dothe also the latyne worde Panis elles when we desyre god in our Pater noster to geue vs our dayly bread we shold make an vnperfytte petition which yet is a mooste perfyt petition Iohn 6. wherby we aske of our heauenly father all necessary fode In the .vi. of Ihon Manna is called breade and yet was it made of no kynde of corne or grayne and in the same chapiter Christe is called breade bycause he is the fode of the soule and there lykewyse the fleshe of Christ in the sacramēt is called breade and not there onely but in S. Paules Epystle also to the Corinthians for that it is the fode whereon we fede when we receaue the sacrament Agayne it is a commen trade in scripture to cal thinges by the name of that thinge whyche they once were as Adam is called earth because he was made of Earth Math. 11 and Chryst sayeth the blinde see the lame walke the deafe heare the dumme speake meanyng by the blynde lame deafe and dumme suche as before had bene soo but then were otherwyse Thyrdlye for that the fourme of breade doeth remayne it is in that respecte too called breade For these causes good faythful hartes are nothyng greued wyth the callynge of it breade in the scrypture but groundynge them selfes vpon the woordes of oure sauioure Christe when he sayde thys is my bodye and knowynge that it to be bothe breade and hys bodye also at once is impossyble they vndoutedlye beleue that by the power of GOD the
these wordes this is my body and yet of these wordes no one Euangelist maketh any exposition bycause the wordes are playnely and symply to be taken as they were spoken Besids al this we haue in S. Paule in the .xi Chapiter of his first Epystle to the Corinthians a goodly and a large processe touchyng this Sacrament and yet in that whole processe no matter to instructe vs otherwyse to beleue of it than that there is in it the very bodye and bloude of our sauiour Chryst For fyrste he vttereth the wordes of our sauiour euen as the Euangelistes do as that he sayd this is my body and he maketh no declaration vpon the same Secondly where none of the Euangelists make mentiō of any paine due to the vnworthy receauer S Paule affirmeth that the vnworthy receyuing of this Sacrament bryngeth iudgement and dampnation Thirdly he telleth that for the vnworthy receauing herof God plageth cities and countryes with sondry greuous plages as with infirmity with syckenes and with death also Forthely he geueth vs counsell diligentlye to examine and trye our selfes before we come to gods borde If the very body and bloude of oure sauiour Christ be nat in dede in the sacramēt of the aultare why shold our sauiour so speake as he spake in the promysse made thereof why dyd he as he did in the instituting therof why dyd none of the Euāgelists so declare christes wordes why dyd sayncte Paule so terribly pronounce of the vnworthy receauynge of it and so ernestly warne vs of due preparation to be made therefore It is then most vndoutedly to be of all christen people beleued that in the Sacrament of the aultare there is the verye body and bloude of our sauiour Chryst worthy of all honour and glory the selfe same in substaunce that is in heauen which thing for Chryst to bryng to passe is a thing most easye he being God almighty maker of heauen and earth and for him to do is moost semely that as he gaue that bodye to deathe to redeme vs so he should giue the same in this heauenly bankitte to fede vs that he mighte be all in all The body of our sauiour Christ to be in very dede in heauen in the visible fourme of a mā and in the Sacrament of the Aultare inuisibly vnder the visible fourmes of breade and wyne nether is impossible to hys power that made all thinges of noughte nether vnsemely for his exceadyng great loue towardes vs who so loued vs that for vs he did not refuse to suffer death and that the death of the crosse neyther yet is it agaynst his wyll who of his onely mercye so promysed and wyth hys omnipotent word so instituted it nother is it fynally vnfytte for his wysedome seyng he hath so ordeyned that euery naturall mother nourysheth her children wyth the substaunce of her owne body And why then shold christen men refuse to beleue it why do we not rather embrace it and gyue God most hartye thankes for it being the greatest iewel that euer was amonge mortal men why do we not prepare our selues worthely to receaue it and as in all other poyntes of the christen religiō so in the belefe of it geue credite to fayth and bryng reason and our senses in subiectiō vnder fayth but suffer our ghostly enemy by carnall reasons to bryng vs away into heresie quyte and cleane to pull the ryghte faythe out of oure hartes Let vs all good people from hence forth be constaūt in the trueth and as all the catholyke churche beleueth and hath alwayes beleued let vs vndoutedlye perswade our selues that in the blessed sacrament of the Aultare there is vnder the fourmes of breade wine the selfe same body of our sauiour Christ in substaūce which was borne of the Vyrgin Mary and suffered death on the crosse for vs to whō with the father the holy gost be all honor glory world wythout ende Amen Io. Harpesfelde sacrae theologiae professoris et Archidiaconi London ¶ And Homelye of Transubstantiation THere are in the sacrament of the aultare ii thinges speciallye to be considered the one is the body and bloud of our sauiour Christ ther really cōteined the other is the fourmes of breade wine vnder whych the said body blud are cōteined Of the first parte ye hard in the last homely Touching the second the general belefe of the catholyke Churche if there were nothing els ought and may be a sufficient grounde for euery godly man to build hys conscience vpon which churche doth beleue that there is no substaunce of material bread and wyne remaining but onely the fourmes of breade and wyne the substaunce of Christes body and bloude there so contayned And yet because some haue vainely and curiously of late yeares talked of this second part and haue put many fonde doutes and scruples into peoples heades concerning the same ye shall nowe at large and fully I trust be instructed therin And fyrst this is to be noted that God hath from the begynnyng of the worlde manye tymes appeared to man some tymes in one sorte Gene. xviii and somtymes in an other In the .xviii. Chapiter of Genesis it is wrytten howe God and two Aungelles with him dyd appeare vnto Abraham in the lykenesse of men and howe Abraham feasted them Howe vaine a matter were it I pray you for vs here buselye to reason howe God or Aungell coulde appeare lyke man and whether they had true bodyes or no and whether they dyd eate in dede or no and yf they hadde not true bodyes in dede howe the appearaunce of bodyes coulde be where the substaunce of bodyes was not In the thirde chapter of the booke called Exodus we rede that God appeared to Moyses in the lykenes of flamynge fyre Exod. 3. and that oute of a bushe In the .v. of Iosue it is recorded how one sodenly appeared vnto Iosue lyke a man Iosue 5. hauynge a sworde drawen in his hand What can anye manne saye howe God shoulde appeare in a flame of fyre or what substaunce of a sworde was in that which appeared to Iosue Hereby it is easy to vnderstande how daungerous a thing it is to go about by mans wyt or reason to discusse the maner of the workes of almighty God Who seyth not that by the meane of such presumptuous curiositie men haue of late fallē into moost detestable errours touching the mooste blessed Sacramente of the aultare and haue moost spytefully rayled agaynst the same and with moost vyle termes haue gested thereof and finallye moost vily haue vsed the moost precious bodye and bloude of our sauiour Chryst in the same In which doing how can they loke for anye fauour at the handes of their heauenly father seyng in such dispituous maner they entreate the Bodye and bloud of our sauiour Christ his sonne But now to procede forth touching the declaration of the secōd thing to be considered in the blessed Sacramēt of
substaunce of bread is turned into the substaunce of Christes bodye and so muste all men beleue that wyll be lyuely members of the catholyke churche and in that there belefe they muste honoure the bodye and bloude of oure sauioure Christe in the sacramente of the Aultare as alwayes christen people haue vsed to doo Saincte Austin in hys exposition made vpon the .99 Psalme S. Augustine vpon the .99 Psalme sayeth that it is synne not to honoure the bodye of Christe meanynge in the Sacramente of the Aultare And as it is before in thys Homily alledged he also sayeth in the name of all men We doo honoure vnder the fourmes of breade and wyne whyche we se the bodye and bloude of Christe whyche we do not see Wherefore good christen people knowing nowe what is the ryght belefe touchynge the Sacramente of the aultare embrace and folowe the same and cleaue faste to the catholyke churche the spouse of Chryste that you maye be true members of Christe to whome wyth the father and the holye Ghoste be all honoure and glorye worlde wythoute ende Amen Io. Harpesfelde sacrae theologiae professoris et Archidiaconi London ¶ An Homily wherein is aunswere made to certayne common obiections agaynst the presence of Christes bodye and bloude in the sacramente of the Aultare MEte it were dearely beloued in our sauioure Christ that we all should so fully wholy cleaue to the faith of Christes catholike church that no appearaūce of reasō to the cōtrari therof shoulde cause vs once to doute or stagger in any part part of the same For such a kinde of faith doth God requyre of vs and for suche kynde of faythe good christen people are in scripture called Abrahās children Roma 4 which Abraham as it is wrytten in the fourth to the Romaynes cōtrary to hope beleued in hope that he should be the father of many nations accordynge to that which was spokē So shal thy sede be And he fainted not in the faith nor yet cōsidered his owne bodi which was now dead euen when he was almost an hundred yeare olde nether yet that Sara was paste chylde bearynge he staggered not at the promyse of god through vnbelefe but was strōg in the faith and gaue honor to god fully certified that what he had promysed the same he was able to make good Yf we then wil be the childrē of Abraham we muste not faynt in faith nor consyder gods woordes after the course of nature Saint Paule in the .x. 2. Corin. x. chapiter of his seconde epistle to the Corinthians geueth vs an example in hym selfe howe we shoulde alwayes brynge reason in subiection to faithe sayng The weapons of our warfare are not carnall but mighty in God to ouerthrowe stronge holdes to destroy counselles and euery hyghe thynge that exalteth it selfe agaynste the knowledge of God and to brynge in captiuitye vnto the seruyce of Christe all vnderstandinge What thinke you is the cause why the Iewes beleue not on Christe Verely fyrste because he was borne of a Vyrgyn which is contrary to the course of nature Secondly lykewyse he was in vnitie of person God man whyche how it may be no mans wyt is able by natural power to conceaue thyrdly because he beyng God and man suffered the death of the crosse which for God to be content to do semeth to naturall reason a thynge moost absurde but good christen folke geuyng place to faith do most vndoutedly beleue on Christ God mā crucified according to that S. Paule writeth in his fyrste Chapter of his fyrste Epistle to the Corinthians i. Corin. 1. saying We preache Christ crucifyed to the Iewes a stumblyng blocke to the gentels a folishnes but to so many of the iewes gētels as ar called Christ the power wysedome of God And agreably here vnto he sayeth also in the nexte Chapiter folowynge My talke my preaching was not in the persuasible woordes of mans wysedome but in shewynge of power and of the spyryte that youre faythe should not rest in the wisedome of man but in the power of God This generall aduyse and counsel of S. Paule may and ought so to staye vs in the faythe of the catholyke churche that nether carnall reasons grounded vpon the feble intelligence of mans natural wyt nether the deceatfull iudgement of oure senses shoulde make vs once to doute of any one trueth in Christes religiō were it neuer so contrarye to the course of nature neuer so farre aboue our capacities and neuer so absurde to the appearaunce of our outwarde senses But forasmuch as throughe the iniquitie of these later euyll yeares dyuers haue hadde sondrye fonde dowtes and scruples put into theyr heades especyally agaynst the presence of Christes body bloude in the Sacrament of the aultare and throughe such dowtes haue swarued from the true belefe therein therefore here shall folowe aunsweres and solutyons to such dowtes as haue ben most commen that from henceforthe no man shall nede to be seduced by them or other lyke Obiection ¶ Fyrst it hath bene obiected that our sauiour Christ immediatlye after that he had instituted and delyuered to his Apostles the sacramente dyd say vnto them Do this in remembraunce of me Vppon which wordes some haue concluded that the bodye of our sauiour Christ cannot be in the sacramente ¶ But let vs duely waye the wordes Aunsvvere and meaning of the same and we shall moost plainly perceaue theyr erroure and mysvnderstandyng Saincte Paule in hys fyrste Epistle to the Corinthians 1. Corin. xi and in the .xi. chapter of the same Epistle intreating of the institution of the Sacrament of the aultare and ther openynge the true sense of that commaundemente of Christ saythe in this maner As oft as you eate of that bread and drinke of that cuppe you shal shew forthe the Lordes death vntil he come So then the remembraunce whyche oure sauioure there requyreth of vs is the remembraunce of hys death which is past and not presente and therefore after most proper maner of speache may well be remembred Now this remembraunce can in no wyse possibly be so lyuely and so effectually worke in oure hartes as when we most certenly beleue that in the sacrament of the aultare is veryly the selfe same body in substaunce which died for vs and therfore the Prophet Dauid foreseyng in spirit this so excellēt a memorye sayeth in hys .cx. Psalme Psal 110. Oure mercyfull gratious Lord hath made a memory of all his merueylous workes and by by declaring in what maner he maketh that memory he addeth those woordes he hathe geuen a foode to suche as feare him This fode which the Prophet sayeth that Christ should leaue in remembraunce of al his maruelous workes that is of his incarnatiō his passion his ascension and glorye in heauen and other lyke workes moost chiefely is to be verifyed of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christe in the sacramente of
the aultare Besydes this the body and bloude of our sauiour Christ as it is in the sacramēt vnder the fourmes of breade and wine maye in that respecte also very well be a remembraunce of it selfe as it honge on the crosse in the vysyble fourme of a mortall man and as it is nowe in heauen in the forme of an immortall man Farthermore when our sauiour sayde Do this in the remembraūce of me he ment they should do the whole ministratiō which he then dyd in remembraunce of hym which whole ministration cannot be accordynglye doone otherwyse but that there must nedes be present the verye body and bloude of our sauioure Christe Obiections ¶ Another common obiection there is gathered of the woordes of Christ Mathew xxvi Math. 26. When he said Poore men ye shal haue alwayes with you but me shall ye not alwayes haue with you Some haue vpon these woordes concluded that the body and bloude of our sauioure Christ cannot be in the sacrament of the aulter for then saye they Christ should be alway with vs. whereof hym selfe saythe the cōtrary ¶ But yf those mē so concluding Aunsvvere would no more but confer sainct Marke and saincte Mathew together touchynge the foresayde woordes of Christ and by that the one Euāgelist sayeth would sincerely iudge what the other ment they shoulde sone perceue this their obiectiō to be of no force or strēgth at al to proue that they thereby goo about to proue For sainct Marke in his .xiiij. Mar. 14. Chapiter fyrste telleth the story of the woman whiche came to Christe and brought with her an Alabaster boxe of moost precious oyntment and poured the ointmēt on his head next he telleth howe certen of the dysciples did murmure and grudge at that facte of the woman and sayd What meaneth this losse and waste of oyntement Might it not haue bene sold for more then thre C. pence geuē to the poore Thyrdely he telleth howe oure sauioure beynge offended wyth the dysciples for theyr murmurynge agaynst the woman and how withall he allowyng and commendynge her facte dyd say in this maner Let her alone Why are ye greuouse vnto her she hath done a good dede for alwayes shal you haue poore men amongest you and when ye shall please you may bestowe your charitie on them but me shall ye not haue alwayes amongest you This woman hath bestowed on me that she had and she hathe preuented to anoynt my body against it shal be buryed By this processe of S. Marke it is euydent that our sauiour in al that his talke had a respecte to the charitie whiche that woman then shewed vpon hym when she poured the precious oyntment on his heade the lyke whereof he sayeth no man should be able to shew on him in time to come meaning that when he should once ryse from death to lyfe and haue an immortall bodye that then he woulde not looke to receyue the lyke at anye mannes handes but that then men myght at their pleasure bestowe on the poore who alwayes are in the worlde in the mortall estate and may by charitye of good folke be releued and comforted In such sorte in dede our sauiour is not nowe amongest vs but the beynge of hys body and bloud in the Sacramēt of the aultar is after another sorte For in the Sacrament he is to fede vs with his body and bloude and not vysybly to shewe him selfe vnto vs as he thē did to his apostles nor to haue ointment poured on him as he then had ¶ Obiection Another obiection is there gathered partely of S. Paule in the .x. of his firste Epystle to the Corinthians where he speaketh of a spirituall meate 1. Corin. ◠and spirituall drynke partelye of Christes wordes in the .vi. of Ihon Iohn 6. where he saith that It is the spirite which geueth lyfe and that the fleshe profyteth nothyng partly vpon the common maner of speakyng vsed of the Catholyke churche whiche calleth the Bodye and bloude of our Sauiour Chryste in the sacrament of the aultar a spirituall meate and a spirituall drynke ¶ For aunswere Aunsvvere to which obiection it is fyrste to be vnderstanded that one selfe thing may be bothe spirituall and yet neuerthelesse of a corporall substaunce to As for example the body of man after the resurrection shall as S. Paule wytnessheth in the .xv. chapiter of his fyrst Epystle to the Corinthians be spiritual i. Corin. 15. yet it shal be then the same in substaūce that it is nowe Agayne Manna a meate which God sēt to the children of Israell in wyldernes is bothe in Scripture and of the catholyke churche also called a spiritual meat and the water lykewyse which god gaue them out of a rocke is called a spiritual drinke and yet as well Manna as the water were of a bodily substaunce In the .vi. to the Galathians Galath 6. sainct Paule calleth mortall men liuing then on the earth spiritual Wherefore spirituall is not so to be taken alwayes as to exclude corporall but that thynge whatsoeuer it be may be called spirituall wherin is a worke wrought by god aboue nature For as god is a spirite so are his supernatural workes called spirituall and the thinges also on and in whome such workes are wrought are named spiritual thynges and therefore Manna though it were of a bodelye substaunce yet for that it came miraculouslye from aboue by the onelye power of God and not of nature is and may wel be called a spiritual meate And the dryncke whiche issued oute of the rocke albeit it was insubstaunce very water yet for that God by his omnipotency made it sodenlye to issue out of a rocke it is named a spirituall drynke Oure bodyes lykewyse after the resurrection shal haue in them immediatly of God aboue the power of nature immortalitie incorruptibilitie with other lyke supernaturall qualities and for that cause they shal after the resurrection be spirituall bodyes Nowe then what necessity is there that because the body of our sauiour Chryst in the Sacrament of the Aultar is a spirituall meate therefore it shoulde not be also the corporall substaunce of his body When the catholyke churche doth saye that the bodye of Chryste in the Sacrament is a spirituall bodye it meaneth that it is there onelye thoroughe the almightye power of God and not by the power or manoure of nature Lykewyse when the catholyke churche sayeth that the body of Chryste is to be receyued there spiritually it meaneth not that therefore the verye body of Chryst is not there to be receaued really in very dede For this worde spiritually dothe signifye onely the maner of the receauyng and doth not importe the substaunce of the thynge so receyued Besides this the catholike churche beleuynge that in the Sacrament of the aultare is alwayes reallye the body and bloude of our sauiour Chryst doth yet put a difference in the maner of receauyng thereof and vseth to saye that
when good men receaue the sacrament that they receaue the bodye and bloude of Christ both sacramentally and spiritually to but when euyll men receaue it that they receaue the body of Chryst sacramentally only not spiritually because they come vnto it vnworthely and therefore do they procure thereby to theim selues dampnation But nowe to open fardar the very meaning of those wordes of Chryst It is the spirit that geueth lyfe the fleshe profiteth nothing you shal vnderstande that these wordes are taken of the catholyke church in two most godly senses the one is to meane by the spirite the godhed and by the fleshe the nature of man as yf he had sayd it is the godhed that causeth my fleshe to be able to gyue lyfe nether is my fleshe the fleshe of a bare man for then it beyng eaten coulde not profyt you but my fleshe is vnited in vnitie of person to the godhed so that it is thereby able to brynge lyfe to the worthy eater therof Thus doeth Cyryll Cirill vpon the .vi of Saynte Iohn expounde these wordes And to lyke purpose saincte Augustyne Augustine sayeth vppon the .vi. of Ihon that as knowledge beyng seperated from charitie maketh men proude but beynge ioyned with charytye doth edyfye euen so mans fleshe not vnyted to the Godhed and beyng eaten doth not profytte but the fleshe of Chryst which is in him in vnitie of person inseperably vnited to the godhed being worthelye receaued must nedes hyghly profyt The other sēse of those wordes to meane by the spirit a spirituall vnderstandyng of Christes promyse made in Capernaum when he sayde Iohn 6. the foode that I wyl giue vnto you is my fleshe which wordes be then vnderstanded spiritually whē they be taken to meane that thing which passeth the power of nature to doo and mans wyt by naturall reason to comprehende lykewyse by the fleshe is to be ment a fleshely vnderstandynge of the sayde promysse as to vnderstande without fayth in Christes deitie as the Capernaites did which toke Chryst but for a bare man so conceaued no otherwyse of the eatyng of his fleshe then of commen meat bought in the shambles Thys sense hath S. Chrysostome Chrisostome wryting vpon the .vi. of Iohn and S. Augustyne wryting vppon the same Chapter ¶ Obiection An other obiection is ther by occasion that this truth is not expressed in the commē crede ¶ Which obiection doth procede of an ignoraūce Aunsvver lacke of knowledge of the fyrst institution of the crede For in the primatyue church when men of all ages dyd sodenly turne from gentility to the christiā religion and yet then were not by and by vpon suche there turne admitted to any sacramente but fyrste were instructed in artycles necessary for them to beleue before they were baptised this common crede was taught them and they were for that tyme called Catechumini that is younglynges in Chrystes religion and begynners admytted but to the fyrste principles of the chrystian faythe durynge whyche tyme they were not suffered so muche as to be present at the masse but after the gospel were quyte excluded from the same as by the vndoubted wrytynges of the auncient fathers in christes church maye most euidently appeare So that this reason is fōd and to no purpose to say that because it is not in the commen crede expresly set fourth that in the sacrament of the aultar is the very bodye and bloude of our sauiour christ therfore no christian man is boūd to beleue it so to be S. Chrysostome Chrisostome and S. Augustyne Augustine hauyng occasion many tymes in their sermones made by them to speake of this Sacrament for asmuch as amōg theire audience were as wel yonglynges not yet baptysed as other faythfull already christened did vse oft to say Quod fideles norūt that is which the faithful or they that be al redy baptised know or such lyke thing and would not then expreslye declare the trueth touching the sacramente of the aultare for that it was not the maner to reueyle such misteries to those yonglinges but to them was in general as sufficient for saluation prescribed in that common crede that they should beleue the catholike churche which not onely was sufficient thā for thē beleuynge the other articles of there crede but is sufficient at this present also for vs cōfirminge oure selues in all poyntes to the common belefe of the catholyke church which is the surest pyller that men may lene vnto be they learned or vnlearned and such a pyller as who that most strongly cleueth to is in most assured state of euerlastyng lyfe ¶ There are other obiections obiection vppon .iii. particuler artycles of our crede which are that Christ is ascended and sytteth at the right hand of God the father from thense shall come to iudge the quicke and the deade ¶ Which articles yet being rightly vnderstanded Aunsvvere should rather confyrme vs in the true catholyke belefe of the presence of christes body in the sacrament of the aultare For as it is aboue nature for a mans bodye to ascende and aboue the worthynes of mans nature to syt at the ryghte hande of God the father that is to be of equall power and glory with God the father and fynally as it is aboue the aucthoritie of mans nature to gyue sentence of eternal death and lyfe vpon all mankynde and yet euerye good manne stedfastly beleueth al these supernaturall powers in Christ touching his manhed bicause he is both God and man and to god nothing is impossible euen so shuld we with like belefe knowing that Christ is omnipotent credite al other thynges done or spoken by Christ and be moost certen that how so euer they seme in appearaunce to our reason yet in very dede they agree and stand ryghte well with those foresayd .iii. articles of our crede that though we cannot by oure wittes conceaue howe Chryst is ascended and is neuertheles in the Sacrament also yet they must nedes be both beleued bycause gods worde doth affyrme them bothe and the catholyke churche dothe beleue them bothe whyche churche hath alwayes taught that Chryst is in heauen in the visyble fourme of a man and in the sacrament vnder the visible fourmes of bread and wine hys wysedome so ordeyning that with our hartes we shoulde beholde hys glory as he sytteth in heauen at the ryghte hande of the father and wythall should fede on his very body in the sacrament to receaue the more grace and thervpon so to be gouerned with his spirite that hereafter we also myghte be partakers of the lyke glory in heauen And albeit these solutions mighte sufffise and instructe sufficientlye the vnlearned people to aunswere bothe to these and all other common obiections made agaynste the Sacramente of the Aultare troublynge moche the heades of the simple people by their folye in crediting euill and pernicious scholemaysters to theyr destruction wher giuing credite
the sacrament of the aulter ¶ For aunswere Aunsvvere whereunto maye be sayde that in dede it is true that Christe hathe but one true naturall bodye and where they saye that one true naturall body can not be but in one place it is also true after one the selfe same maner of beyng but after dyuerse maners of beyng one body maye be sondry where yea and at one time to it is to wyt in heauē in the visyble fourme and maner of man and in the sacrament of the aulter vnder the forme and maner of breade and wyne and in eueryche of them really and truely to in those respectes God beynge therein the doer who is omnipotent ¶ Obiection There is also an other obiection and that is this God can make man but man can not make God nowe saye they yf the true body of Christe were really and in dede in the sacrament of the aulter than the priest which is a man should therby make God but mā can not make God therefore in the sacramēt of the aulter ther is not the very true body of Christ ¶ For aunswere Aunswere whereunto is to be saied that this obiection procedeth of a greate ignoraunce for he that maketh this obiectiō taketh that the priest saying masse and pronouncing the woordes of cōsecracion doeth make God where in very dede the priest goeth aboute no suche thynges and yf he dyd neyther he ne yet god him selfe can make God but the trueth is that the preist being the minister of God and god beyng ther the worker with his worde by the preist pronounced there is caused the very body of Chryst to be ther present wher it was not ther before yet no new body ther made but that body ther presēt which lōg ago was borne of the Vyrgyn Mary the same I say in substaunce is there presente onelye vnder the formes of breade and wyne ¶ An other obiection obiection there is and that is thys S. Luke in the .xvii. chapiter of the actes doth testifye that S. Paule beyng at athens and in mars strete before the councell there did saye amongest other wordes that God doth not dwell in temples made with handes wherevpon the vnlearned vnlernedly doth gather that seyng the material temple is made with handes and the sacrament of the aultar is in the sayd materiall temple it foloweth say they that the body and bloude of Chryst can not be in it because God doth not dwell in temples made with handes And this obiection hath bene soo muche liked and commended amonges the proceding preachers abusing the ignoraunt that they thought it ineuitable therfore abusing the sayd people they caused it to be sette vp and paynted for a gaye shew in the temples ¶ For aunswere Aunsvvere whervnto this is to be tolde you that there is a great difference betwene beyng dwellyng in a place for a greate manye of you I doubte not haue bene both in the cheape syde in Paules churche yarde yea and Paules churche to wher ye haue not with moost due reuerence vsed and behaued your selues and yet I am sure that ye dwell not there In dede God is properlye sayde to dwell in heauen because he there doth shew and manifest his great glory and in the hartes of iust and good people he is also sayde to dwell by grace but as for other places he is in them beyng but not dwellyng And as concernyng the beyng of God in the sacrament of the aultare forasmuch as there is the verye substaunce of chrystes natural and true bodye and bloude taken of the Vyrgyn Mary and that the diuinitie is in vnitie of person inseperably vnited and ioyned to the sayd bodye and bloude therefore we must say and beleue that the godhed of Chryst is in the sacrament of the aultar with his humanitie in a very speciall sorte and doth not thereby dwell in the sayde sacramente and soo this obiection is not worth a good button for all the bragges that hath bene made of it Other fond and folysh obiections there are which are not worthy to be answered vnto and therefore are not nedefull to be touched exhortyng you therfore in Chryst fyrmely and stedfastly to beleue the doctrine of the catholyke churche herein and so shal you auoyde daunger please God profit your selfe and lyuinge well come at the last to ioy euerlastyng which graunte vnto vs the father the sonne and the holy gost to whom be honor and glory for euer AMEN Domine saluos fac regem et reginam et omnes qui eis bene uolunt ¶ Imprinted at London in Poules churcheyarde at the sygne of the holy Ghost by Ihon Cawodde Prynter to the Kynge and Queenes Maiesties Cum priuilegio Regiae maiestatis