know that in this fountaine welspring that is one thing which the bodily senses may touch and perceiue and therefore it is changeable and corruptible and againe that there is another thing in it which onely faith can beholde and that therefore it cannot be corrupted nor come into danger of decay Wherfore if a man would demand What that is which outwardly washeth the body I answere that it is nothing but the element but if a man would consider that which inwardly purgeth I say that it is a liuely vertue yea a vertue that is able to sanctifie yea a vertue and power that giueth immortalitie Therefore the water in Baptisme is in it owne propertie a corruptible humor or liquor but in mystery and spirituall meaning a wholesome and healthfull power And even so verily the body and blood of Christ being outwardly considered is a creature subiect to change and corruption and yet if a man consider the vertue and power of the mysterie it is life in deed giving immortalitie to such as be partakers thereof Therefore the things that are seene and the things that are beleeved are not all one For in respect that they are seene they feede the corruptible bodie they themselues being corruptible but in respect that they are beleeved they feed our immortall soules which shall liue for ever they themselues being also immortall The Apostle writing to the Corinthians sayth Know ye not 1 Cor. 10.1.2 c. that all our Fathers were vnder the cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all Baptised vnto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eate the same spirituall meat and did all drink the same spirituall drink for they drunke of the spirituall Rocke that followed them and that rocke was Christ Hence we perceiue that the Sea and the Cloud both did shewe forth the kinde and figure of Baptisme and that the Fathers of the former Testament were Baptised in them that is in the Cloud and in the Sea Could the Sea as it was seene and thought to be an element haue in it the power and force of Baptisme or could the Cloud as it shewed forth the grosenes of some very thicke ayre sanctifie the people No verily And yet we dare not sith the Apostle spake in Christs name say that he spake not truely when he said That our Fathers were baptised in the Cloud and in the sea And although that Baptisme did shew forth and set out the forme of Christs Baptisme which at this day is vsed ministred in the Church yet no wise man dare deny vnlesse like a mad man he will presume to gainesay the Apostles words but that it was Baptisme and that our Fathers were therein and thereby Baptised Wherefore neither the Sea nor the Cloud in respect that they were bodily substances did shew forth or giue out the cleannesse of sanctification but in respect that they did invisibly conteine the sanctification of the holy Ghost For there was in them that is in the Sea and in the Cloud both a visible forme which appeared to the bodily senses and that not in an image or shew but in veritie or truth inwardly there shined forth in them a spirituall power which appeared not to the eyes of flesh but to the sight light of the minde or soule In like sort the Manna that was given to the people from heaven and the water also that flowed out of the Rocke were corporall and bodily substances and did corporally both feede the people and giue them drinke also and yet the Apostle calleth that Manna spirituall meat and that Water spirituall drinke And why doth he that Because there was in these bodily substances a spirituall power of the word which did feede and giue drinke rather to the minds then to the bodies of the beleevers And though that meate and that drinke did but shewe forth the mysterie of that bodie and blood of Christ which was to come which mysterie the Church doth at this day celebrate and administer yet the holy Apostle S. Paul affirmeth that our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate 1 Cor. 10.3.4 and did drinke the same spirituall drinke A man will perhaps aske What he meaneth by this word the same I answere that he meaneth the very selfe same thing which the beleeving people doe at this day eate and drinke in the Church of Christ For wee may not vnderstand divers things thereby because it is one and the selfe same Christ who with his owne flesh fed in the Wildernesse the people that was Baptised in the Cloud and in the sea and then made them to drinke of his blood and that doth now in his Church feede the beleeving people with the Bread of his body and make them to drinke of the water of his blood Which thing the Apostle minding to declare after that he had said That our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate 1 Cor. 10.4 and did drinke the same spirituall drinke he presently added For they dranke of the spirituall Rocke that followed them and that Rocke was Christ And this he doth that so wee might vnderstand that Christ was in the spirituall Rocke in the Wildernes and gaue vnto the people there the water of his blood which Christ afterwards offred even to the people of our age that bodie that he tooke of the Virgin and was hanged vpon the Crosse for the salvation of the beleevers from which bodie also he powred forth great abundanc of his blood by which we should not onely be redeemed but also made drinke thereof This verily is a wonderfull matter seeing that Christ being incomprehensible inestimable had not as yet takē vnto him mans nature nor tasted death for the salvation of the world nor had redeemed vs by his blood yet that our Fathers did in the Wildernesse by spirituall meate and invisible drinke eate his body and drinke his blood as the Apostle is a witnesse saying That our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate and did drinke the same spirituall drinke Wee must not here seeke out our own reason or way by which this might bee performed but faith must be vsed if wee will know what was done For he that now in the Church doth by his Allmightie power spiritually turne the Bread into the flesh of his bodie and the wine into the Water as it were of his owne blood he then also invisibly made the Manna that was given from heaven to become his owne bodie and caused the water springing or flowing out of the Rocke to become his owne blood Psal 78.25 Which thing when David did well perceiue he by the holy Ghost protested and plainely affirmed saying Man did eate the bread of Angels For it were a fond thing to thinke that that bodily Manna which was given to the Fathers should feede the heavenly armies and multitudes of Angels or that they doe eate any such meate who are fed and fatted as it
were with the dainties of Gods word here on earth I mean men Verily the Psalmist or rather the holy Ghost in the Psalmist sheweth either what our fathers received in that heavenly Manna or els what the faithfull people should beleeue to be in the mysterie of Christs bodie In both of them certainely Christ is signified and set forth which Christ both feedeth the soules of the beleevers and is the food and meate of Angels and yet neither of them are done in corporall taste or bodily feeding but by the power of the spirituall word And wee know because the Evangelist hath declared the same that the Lord Iesus Christ before he suffered Tooke Bread and gaue thankes Mat. 26.26 c. 1 Cor. 11.23 c. and gaue it to his Disciples saying This is my bodie which is given for you doe this in remembrance of me Likewise he tooke the Cup after he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you We see that Christ had not as yet suffered and yet for all that he wrought or made the mysterie of his body and blood for wee thinke truely that any faithfull man doubteth whether that Bread became Christs bodie which he gaue vnto his Disciples and said This is my bodie which is given for you or whether the cup conteineth Christes blood of which cup our Saviour Christ himselfe saide This cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you Therefore as he could even a little before he suffered turne the substance of the Bread and the creature of the Wine into his owne body which should suffer and into his own blood which afterwardes should be shed so likewise was he able in the Wildernesse to turne the Manna and the water that issued out of the Rocke into his owne flesh and blood although that a long time after both his flesh was to be hāged on the crosse for our sakes and his blood to be shed for the washing away of our sinnes Here also wee ought to consider how we must vnderstand that which he himselfe saith Ioh 6.53 Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you For hee doth not say or meane that his flesh which afterwards hanged on the Crosse should bee cut in peeces and parts and so be eaten by his Disciples neither yet that his blood which hee should shed for the redemption of the world should bee given vnto his Disciples for drinke because it should be a most wicked and horrible thing for his Disciples either to drinke his blood or to eate his flesh as the vnbeleevers did at that time vnderstand him Therefore in the words following he said to his Disciples who did not vnbeleevingly but in some measure of faith receiue Christs wordes although they could not as then pierce and perceiue how those wordes were to bee vnderstood to them I say he said Doth this offend you Ioh. 6.61.62 What then if yee should see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before As though he should say Thinke not I pray you that you must either bodily eate my flesh or bodily drinke my blood or that my body must bee divided into parts to be eaten or my blood distributed to be drunke seeing that after my resurrection yee shall see mee to goe vp into heaven with the fulnesse of my whole body and blood and then shall ye vnderstand that my very flesh shall not be eaten of the beleevers as the infidels suppose but that the bread and the wine being turned into the substance of my body and of my blood the substance thereof shall bee in a mystery received by the beleevers And presently he addeth Ioh. 6.63 The spirit is it saith hee which quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing He saith that the flesh profiteth nothing at all after such a forme and manner as the vnbeleevers vnderstood it otherwise it giveth life as the faithfull do in a mystery receiue it And why this is done he himselfe doth manifestly declare when hee saith It is the spirit that quickeneth Wherefore there is in this mysterie of the body and blood of Christ a spirituall opperation and working that giveth life without the working whereof these mysteries profit nothing at all because they may indeed feed the bodie but they cannot feed the soule Now then heere ariseth a question which while many propound they say and affirme that these things are done not in a figure or mystery but in verity and truth Which while they affirme they are found to goe against and to gaine-say the writings of the holy Fathers Saint Augustine Aug. de doct Christ lib. 3. one of the chiefe Doctors of the Church in his third booke of Christian doctrine writeth thus Ioh. 6.53 Except ye eate saith our Saviour the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you Hee seemeth to command a wicked thing and an vngodly act Wherefore it is a figuratiue speech commanding vs to communicate in the Lords passion and sweetly and profitably to lay vp this in our memories that his flesh was crucified and wounded for our sakes Here we perceiue that this Doctor saith and affirmeth that the mysteries of the bodie blood of Christ are vnder a figure celebrated and received of the faithfull for hee saith plainely that it belongeth not to religion but is rather a wicked thing carnally to eate Christs body or to drink his blood into which fault they fell who not spiritually but fleshly vnderstanding the Lords words in the Gospell Ioh. 6.66 Departed or went backe from him and went or walked no more with him The same Doctor writing in a certaine Epistle to Boniface the Bishop Aug. ad Bonifa epist amongst other things saith thus Truly we vse oftentimes to speak thus that when Easter draweth nigh that to morrow or the next day after shall be the Lords passion whereas hee suffered so many yeares before and verily that passion or suffering was done but once for all Also on the Lords day that wee call Easter day wee vsually say this day the Lord rose againe whereas indeed and truth so many yeares are since he rose againe already past And why is no man so fond and foolish as to reproue vs speaking thus as though we had lyed but onely because wee name those dayes according to the similitude and likenesse of these dayes in which these things were done Insomuch that it is called the very same day which yet is not in deed the very same but in the revolution and turning about of the time is like it and so also that is said to be done vpon that day by reason of the celebration and administration of the Sacrament which is not done vpon that day but was performed long agoe Was not Christ once offered about that time And yet notwithstanding hee
this matter not leaning in the treatie thereof to mine owne wit but pursuing and treading in the footsteps of the holy and auncient Fathers HERE BEGINneth the Booke of Bertram the Priest touching the body and blood of the Lord which he wrote to Charles the Great being Emperour YOur Highnesse Excellency demandeth 1 Two questions whether that the body and blood of Christ which in the Church is receiued by the mouth of the faithfull bee done in a mystery or in truth and verity that is to say whether it containe some secret thing which is euident to the eyes of faith onely or whether without the vaile or couerture of any mystery the bodily sight doe outwardly behold that which the sight of the minde doth inwardly looke vpon so that whatsoeuer is done appeareth manifestly or no And this is the first question The other is whether it be that very body that was borne of the Virgin Mary that suffered that died that was buried and that rising againe ascēding vp into heauen sitteth now on the right hand of the Father or no Now let vs looke into the first of these two questions and lest wee be letted with ambiguity and doubtfulnesse let vs define what a figure is and what the truth is that so beholding and perceiuing some certainty wee may know whither wee ought to deferre the course of our reasoning A figure is a certaine shadow by certaine vailes couertures as it were that is to say darkely declaring the thing which it intendeth to manifest as for example when wee minde to speake of Gods Word we call it bread so in the Lords Prayer wee desire to haue daily bread giuen vs. Also when Christ in the Gospell speaketh Mat. 6.11 saying I am the living bread which came downe from heaven Likewise Ioh. 6.51 when hee calleth himselfe a Vine and his Disciples branches saying I am the true Vine Ioh. 15.1.5 and yee are the branches For all these sayings seeme to speake one thing and yet meane another thing As for that which wee call verity or truth it is the declaration of a manifest and plaine matter which is not couered with any shew of shadowes but insinuated and delivered with pure and open or to speak more plainly with naturall significations as when it is said That Christ being borne of a Virgin suffered death was crucified Mat. 1.25 1 Pet. 3.18 1 Cor. 2.2 Ioh. 19.40 c. dead and buried Heere verily is nothing shadowed with figures ouer-couering the same but the truth of the things declared by the significations of naturall wordes or speeches neither may we heere vnderstand any other thing than that which is spoken and expressed But it is not so in the former sentences for neither is Christ the bread substantiallly neither is Christ a Vine substantially neither are the Apostles branches substantially wherefore in these latter speeches there is a figure and in those former the truth that is to say a naked and open signification is declared by narration or plaine speech Now let vs returne to those things that is to the body and blood of Christ for whose these points haue been propounded and vttered Truly if that great mystery be celebrated and done vnder no mystery at all then it is not rightly called a mystery because that cannot be called a mystery or secret wherein there is no hidden thing and wherein there is no matter remooued from our bodily senses and wherein there is nothing covered with some vaile or couerture But that bread which by the Ministery of the Priest is now become the body of Christ doth shew one thing outwardly to mans senses and soundeth another thing inwardly to the mindes of the faithfull Outwardly indeed the form of bread which it had before is set out the colour thereof is shewed and the savour thereof received and tasted But inwardly a thing farre differing yea and much more precious and excellently is shewed and set forth and I say it is much more precious and excellent because it is heauenly and because it is diuine I meaning hereby that Christs body is manifested which is either seen or receiued or eaten not with the senses faculties or power of the flesh but with the eye and sight of a faithfull or beleeving minde The wine also which by the Priest through consecration is become the Sacrament of Christs blood setteth forth one thing outwardly and containeth an other thing inwardly For what other thing is superficially and outwardly locked vp then the substance of wine Taste it and it savoureth and smacketh wine smell it and it smelleth wine looke vpon it and thou mayst behold the colour of wine But if a man do consider it inwardly then it being not the liquor of wine but the liquor of Christ blood so savoreth to the beleevers minds while it is tasted and is so acknowledged while it is beheld and is so proved to be whilest it is smelled It is manifest that these things are so seeing no man can deny them to be true because the Bread and the Wine is figuratiuely Christs body blood For outwardly and according to that which is seene neither is any kind or shew of flesh knowne to be in that Bread nor any drop of blood shewed forth in the Wine and yet for all that after the mysticall consecration the Bread is no more called Bread nor the Wine Wine but both of them together are called the body and blood of Christ For if according to some mens mindes nothing were in this matter taken figuratiuely but the whole were considered and looked vpon in veritie or truth then should faith worke nothing at all therein because that no spirituall thing should be performed but looke whatsoever the thing it selfe were even that wholly should be taken according to the body and a mans fleshly vnderstanding Heb. 11.1 And seeing that faith as the Apostle saith is the argument and evidence of such things as appeare not that is to say not of such substances as are seene but of such as are not seene we shall then in this action receiue nothing according to faith because that we discerne and iudge of all that is in it according to our bodily senses And what I pray you can be more absurd then to take Bread to be flesh and to affirme that Wine is blood And a mystery that cannot be in which there is no secret or hidden thing conteined And how can it be said to be Christs body and blood in which it is not known that there is any change made Now every alteration and change He proueth by three sorts of change that there is no change made in the elements of the Supper is either made from that thing which actually it is not into that which actually it is or els when it is changed from that which it is into that which it is not or from that which it is to wit in respect of quality to that
were Sacraments and are diverse or differing one of them from another in respect of their signes but are equall and like yea all one in the matter that is signified by them Hearken what the Apostle Paul saith 1 Cor. 10.1.2 c. I would not haue you ignorant brethren that all our Fathers were vnder the Clowd and that all passed through the Sea and were all baptised vnto Moses in the Clowd and in the Sea and did all eate the same spirituall meate and did all drinke the same spirituall drinke Verily they had the same spirituall both meate and drinke but another bodily both meate and drinke for they had Manna and we another thing and yet they had the same spirituall thing that we haue And the Apostle addeth and they did all drinke the same spirituall drinke They drunke one thing and wee another but that was in respect of visible kinde or forme and yet they both signified one thing by spirituall power For how otherwise could it be the same drinke They drank saith he of the spirituall rock that followed them and the rocke was Christ From thence came the bread from thence came the drinke The rocke was Christ in sign figure but the very true Christ is in word and in flesh Againe Aug. tract eodem in the same place This is the bread that came downe from heaven so that whosoever shall eate of it shall not dye but yet hee must eate that which appertaineth to the vertue and power of the Sacrament and not that onely which appertaineth to the visible Sacrament And such a one is hee as eateth inwardly and not outwardly only and as eateth the same in his heart through faith and not that pearceth or presseth it with his teeth And in another place of his saide Exposition vpon Iohn bringing in our Saviours words hee speaketh thus Aug. in Ioh. tract 27. Doth this offend you that I said behold I giue you my flesh to eate and my blood to drinke What then if ye shall see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before What meaneth this Doth hee by this speech loose that which moved them Doth hee by so saying open that wherewith they were offended Yea verily and that fully also if they could haue vnderstood it For they thought that he would haue given his body but hee said that hee would goe vp into heaven and that whole as he was as though he should say When yee shall see the Sonne of man ascending vp where hee was before at the least even then yee shall know that hee will not giue his body after such a manner and fashion as you imagine and fantasie yea and even then also yee shall vnderstand that his grace is not consumed or eaten vp by bytings and morsels For the Lord himselfe saith It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing And after that hee had vttered many words and sentences hee againe addeth Aug. tract eodem Rom. 8.9 Whosoever saith the Apostle hath not the spirit of Christ the same is none of his Wherefore it is the spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing The words that I haue spoken vnto you are spirit and life What meaneth this that they are spirit and life That is to say they must be spiritually vnderstood Hast thou vnderstood them spiritually then are they spirit and life to thee Hast thou vnderstood them carnally yea even so are they spirit and life but not vnto thee By the authority of this Doctor handling the Lords words concerning the Sacrament of his body and blood wee are plainely taught that those words of the Lord must bee vnderstood spiritually and not carnally even as himselfe saith Ioh. 6.63 The words which I speake vnto you are spirit and life yea even those words verily which hee spake concerning the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood For he speaketh of those words wherewith his Disciples were offended Wherefore to the end they might not be offended the heavenly Master or Teacher calleth them back frō the flesh to the spirit and from bodily sight to invisible vnderstanding We see therefore in what respect that meat of the Lords body and that drinke of his blood are truly and indeed his bodie and truly and indeed his blood to wit in respect that they are spirit and life Moreover such things as bee all one are contained in or vnder one definition Now it is affirmed of the very and true body of Christ that hee is very God and very man God as hee was begotten of the father from before all beginnings and man as hee was towards the end of the world conceived and borne of the Virgine Mary But these things cannot bee said of that body of Christ which by a mystery is celebrated and administred in the Church and yet it is after a certaine manner knowne to bee Christs body now that manner is in figure and representation that so the truth and the thing it selfe may bee the better perceived In these prayers which are sayd after the mystery of the body and blood of Christ and whereunto the people answer Amen thus it is vttered with the Priests voyce Wee that doe take or receiue the pledge of everlasting life doe humbly beseech thee to grant that we may with a manifest and plaine partaking receiue that which we touch in the image or representation of the Sacrament Now wee know that a pledge and an image or representation appertaine to another thing that is to say haue respect not to themselues but to another thing For a pledge is a pledge of that thing for the pledging whereof it is given and not the thing it selfe as likewise an image is the image of that thing the likenesse whereof it doth represent or shew forth For these things doe signifie the thing it selfe whose picture and pledge they are and yet for all that they doe not very manifestly declare the things themselues Which seeing it is so it plainely appeareth that this body and blood are the pledge and as it were the picture or representation of a thing that shall be to the end that that which is now shewed by a similitude may in time hereafter to come be by manifestation or manifestly revealed Wherevpon I conclude that if now they signifie and in time to come shall make manifest or lay open that then that is one thing which is done and performed now and that that is another thing which shall in time to come be manifested and layd open Wherefore that which the Church celebrateth and administreth is both the body and blood of Christ but yet as a pledge and as it were the picture or representation But then it shall be the truth when as now not the pledge nor the picture or representation of the thing shall appeare but the truth of the thing it selfe Also in another place of the sayde prayers We beseech thee Lord to graunt that thy
which it is in respect of qualitie though changed perhaps into another qualitie But in this Sacrament if onely the truth be considered in simplicitie and plainenesse and not another thing beleeved than that which is beheld no change can be knowne to be made For neyther hath it passed from that which it was not The first kinde of change into somewhat that is as such a passage and change is many times made in growing things for whereas they were not before they to the end they might be passed from not being to that which is to be or to being But this passage or change falleth not out here because that the Bread and Wine were before they passed into the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ The second kinde of change Neither yet can there be here that passage or change which is made from that which it is to that which it is not which change falleth out in things that through defect suffer a decay or fall For whatsoever doth decay was first and had it being because that thing can not suffer a decay or destruction which never was And yet neither can this passage or change be knowne to be made in this matter because that according to truth that very kinde or shape of creature which is before is knowne still to remaine Moreover The third kinde of change that change which is made from that which is to that which is which change appeareth specially in things that suffer diversitie and varietie of qualities as for example when that which was blacke is turned into white neither can that change I say be knowne to be made here for nothing can be here found to be changed either in touching or in tast or in colour or in favour Therefore if nothing be changed herein it is not then any other thing than what it was before But it is another thing for the Bread is become Christs body and the wine his blood for so he himselfe saith Take ye Math. 26.26 c. and eate ye This is my body and speaking of the Cup he sayth likewise This is the blood of the new Testament which shall be shed for you Therefore they that in this question will take nothing figuratiuely but will haue the whole to consist in the simplicitie and plainenesse of truth must be demanded how and in what respect this change is made so that now they be no more that which they were before to wit Bread and Wine but are the body blood of Christ For according to the kind and shew of the creature and the outward forme of visible things both of these that is the Bread the Wine haue nothing at all changed in them and if they suffer no change at all then are they no other thing but that which they were before Your Highnesse most noble Prince perceiveth whether the vnderstāding and mind of those men that thinke otherwise proceedeth for they denie that which men suppose them to affirme and they are proved to destroy that which they beleeue For they doe faithfully confesse it to be the body and blood of Christ and in so doing doubtlesse they doe now protest that the Bread and the Wine be nor the same that they were before and that if they be some other thing than they were before that then they haue admitted some alteration and change Seeing then that this cannot be denied let them tell vs how in what respect they are changed for a man shall perceiue nothing to be bodily substantially changed in them Therefore they must of necessitie confesse either that they are changed otherwise than bodily and substantially He draweth his reason from a double absurditie and so by that means that they are not that which in truth they seeme to be but some other thing which according to his owne being is not seene or perceived to be or els if they will not confesse this they must needs denie it to be the bodie and blood of Christ which thing is very wicked not onely for a man to speake but also to thinke But for as much as they doe confesse both the body and blood of Christ to be there and that this cannot be but by making a change into a better thing and that this change is made not corporally or bodily but spiritually it must needs be that they doe affirme and say that this change is made figuratiuely because that vnder the vayle or coverture of bodily Bread and bodily Wine there is the spirituall body of Christ and his spirituall blood not that they are the existences and beings of two severall and divers things that differ betweene themselues that is to say of the bodie and of the spirit but because that the kinde or shew of Bread and Wine is in one respect one and the selfe same thing that is Bread and Wine and in another respect it is the body and blood of Christ For in respect that both of them are bodily and substantially touched they are the kindes and shewes of a bodily creature but in respect of power because they are spiritually done they are the mysteries of the body and blood of Christ An argument taken from comparing Baptisme the Lords Supper together Let vs consider the fountaine of holy Baptisme which is not without cause called the fountaine or welspring of life because it reformeth them that be partakers of it to newnesse of a better life and maketh them Rom. 6.4 to liue to righteousnesse Ephes 2.1 which before were dead in trespasses and sinne Hath it this power and force because or in respect that the element of water appeareth or is seene to be and yet notwithstanding vnlesse it had in it a vertue and power to sanctifie it were not able to wash away the spots and filthinesse of sinne and vnlesse it contained the vigor and strength of life it could at no hand giue life to them that are dead dead I meane not in the flesh or body but in the soule or spirit And yet notwithstanding all this if in that fountaine we haue respect to that thing onely which our bodily sense looketh vpon and comprehendeth we can see nothing but a moyst and thinne element to wit Water subiect to corruption and that such a one as that of and in it selfe hath no other power in it but to wash our bodies But after that the power of the holy Ghost by the consecratiō of the Priest is come therto it is then become effectuall and powerfull to wash not our bodies onely but our soules and made able also by through a spirituall power to remoue spirituall filthinesses Behold we see that there are in one and the selfe same element two things resisting and as it were striving one of them against the other that is to say we see a corruptible thing to giue incorruption and a thing that hath not life to yeeld and giue life also Wherefore wee
this mysterie take and vnderstand nothing according to the hidden power that lyeth within but iudge of the whole according to that which visibly and outwardly appeareth I would faine haue these men I say to tell me in what respect the change is made in this mysterie If they will say that it is made in respect of the substance of the creatures I answere that that cannot be so for in respect of the substance of the creatures look whatsoever they were before consecration they are even the same afterwards but they were Bread and Wine before and therefore they remaine the same which is proved because we see that even when they are consecrated they remaine in the same kinde and forme Wherefore that which our faith looketh vpon is changed inwardly by the almightie power of the holy Ghost and is it that which feedeth the soule and ministreth or yeeldeth the substance of eternall life Againe the same Doctor a little after saith Why doest thou here Amb. loco supra citato in the mysterie of Christs bodie seeke for the order of nature seeing that he being the Lord God himselfe was beside and without the course of nature borne of a Virgin Obiect Here the hearer scholler or learner riseth vp and saith That that is Christs body which is seene and that that is his blood which is drunke and that wee must not inquire how it is made or become his body but beleeue hold that so it is become his body Answ I answere Thou imaginest and supposest that thou thinkest well but if thou diligently looke into the nature force of the words thou shalt see thou sayest nothing For thou affirmest both that Christs body is seene and his blood drunke and also that thou doest faithfully beleeue it to be Christs bodie and blood but I say that these speeches cannot stand together because if thou doest beleeue it thou doest not yet see it 2 Cor. 5.7 for we walke by faith and not by sight And againe if thou seest it thou shouldest say I see it to be Christs very body and blood and shouldest not say I beleeue it to be Christs body and blood But for as much as faith beholdeth that whole thing whatsoever that whole thing it selfe be and the eye of flesh apprehendeth or laieth hold of nothing the scholler or learned shall vnderstand which is also the Doctors meaning that those things which are seene are the body blood of Christ nor in kinde and forme but in vertue and power wherevpon also he saith that we must not in this matter consider or behold the order of nature but reverence and esteeme the high power of Christ which maketh every thing as he will how he will into what he will and createth that which was not and being created changeth it into that which it was not before The same Author addeth Verily Amb. loco eodem that is the true flesh of Christ which was crucified and which was buried and therfore this mysterie must be in deede the Sacrament of that flesh which thing the Lord himselfe publisheth proclaimeth saying This is my body O how diligently and how wisely is this distinction and difference made Of the flesh of Christ which was crucified and which was buried according vnto which also Christ himselfe was both crucified buried the Doctor saith that it is the very and true flesh of Christ but of that which is received in the Sacrament he sayth It is indeed the Sacrament of that true flesh By these words distinguishing the Sacrament of his flesh from the truth of his flesh or very flesh in as much as in respect of the truth of that flesh which he tooke of the Virgin he said that he was both crucified and buried And wheras he said that the mystery which is at this day celebrated in the church is the sacrament of that very and true flesh in which Christ was crucified he doth plainely instruct and teach the faithfull people that that flesh in which Christ was both crucified and buried is not a mystery or Sacrament but the truth of nature and on the other side he teacheth them that this flesh which now in a mysterie doth containe the likenesse of that flesh is not that flesh in kinde or forme but in a Sacrament for in kinde and forme it is Bread but in a Sacrament it is Christs very true bodie Mat. 26.26 Ambr. loco citat as the Lord Iesus himselfe affirmeth saying This is my body And the same Doctor in the words following saith Mat. 6.31 What these words should meane mentioned in Matthew what shall we eate or what shall wee drinke the holy Ghost hath in another place and after another sort expressed by his Prophet saying Taste yee and see Psal 34.8 how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him Doth that same Bread thinke you being tasted bodily or that same Wine being drunke corporally declare and shewe forth how sweet the Lord is No verily for whatsoever it savoureth it is bodily and delighteth onely the palate and throate Shall we thinke that this is to taste the Lord to wit to feele and savour some bodily thing No verily for the spirituall tasting and savouring of the Lord stirreth vs vp to haue little or no regard yea to be voyde as it were of bodily savouring and in that Bread and in that drinke to imagine or thinke of nothing corporally but to feele and perceiue the whole spiritually because the Lord is a spirit Ioh. 4.24 and blessed is the man that trusteth in him And againe afterwards he saith thus Christ is in that Sacrament Amb. loco eodem because it is the body of Christ wherefore it is not bodily meate but spirituall foode What could be spoken more plainely more manifestly or more heavenly for he saith Christ is in that Sacrament and yet he saith not that that Bread and that Wine is Christ which if he should say he should set forth Christ as though he were corruptible and subiect to mortalitie which be it farre from vs to thinke much more to speake for it is certaine that whatsoever in that meate is either bodily seene or bodily tasted all that is subiect to corruption The Doctor addeth these words Because it is the body of Christ But perhaps here some man will stand vp and say Behold he manifestly and plainly confesseth that that Bread and that Wine is Christes body But withall marke I pray thee how presently he addeth That it is not bodily meate but spirituall foode Bring not with you therefore the sense and feeling of the flesh for by that nothing either is or can be perceived in this mystery It is indeed Christs body howbeit not his bodily bodie but his spirituall body It is Christs blood but not his bodily blood but his spirituall blood Wherfore nothing here is to be iudged felt or perceived bodily but spiritually It is
Christs bodie but it is not his body bodily and it is Christs blood but yet it is not his blood bodily Also afterwardes the same Father saith Amb. eodem loco 1 Cor. 10.3.4 Wherevpon the Apostle speaking of the figure of Christ saith that our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate and did drinke the same spirituall drinke For the Lords bodie is a spirituall bodie and the body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit For Christ is a spirit as we reade in the Lamentations of Ieremie Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face He hath most plainely taught vs how we should vnderstand the mystery of the body and blood of Christ For when he had said that our Fathers did eate spirituall meate and did drinke spirituall drinke whereas notwithstanding there is none that doubteth but that the Manna which they did eate and the water which they did drinke were bodily things he addeth cōcerning the mysterie which is now administred in the Church shewing and determining in what respect it is Christes bodie For the Lords bodie sayth he is a spirituall body Christ also is indeed God and the body which he tooke of the Virgin Mary the bodie that suffered that was buried that rose againe was certainely a very and true bodie and the same also remained visible and palpable that is to say might be seene and felt but that body which is called the mysterie of God is not bodily but spirituall and if it be spirituall then is it not visible or palpable that is it cannot be seene or felt Herevpon blessed Ambrose addeth saying The body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit Now the divine spirit is not any thing that is bodily is not any thing that is corruptible or any thing that is palpable and may be felt But this body which is celebrated and administred in the Church is in respect of the visible kinde and forme both corruptible and palpable Tell me then how it can be said to be the body of the divine spirit Verily no other way than in this respect that it is spirituall that is to say in this respect that it cannot be seene or felt therefore incorruptible To this very end Amb. eodem loco in the words following he addeth saying Because Christ is a spirit as we reade Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By which words he plainly sheweth in what respect it may be counted Christs body to wit in respect that there is in it the spirit of Christ that is to say the power of the divine or heavenly word which doth not onely feede the soule but also purge it and make it cleane Wherefore the same Author saith afterward To conclude this meate strengtheneth our hearts and this drinke maketh mans heart merry and ioyfull Psal 104.5 as the Prophet saith It cannot be denied but that bodily meate doth after a sort strengthen mans heart and bodily drinke make his heart merry But that the Doctor might shew what meate it is and what drinke it is of which he speaketh he hath plainely and particularly added this meate and this drinke What meate doth he meane or what drinke Forsooth Christs body the body of the divine spirit and that it might be the more plainely vttered he saith Christ is a spirit of whom it is read Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By all these places and speeches it plainely appeareth that we ought not or cannot take or perceiue any thing bodily in this meate in this drinke but that the whole matter must be cōsidered and weighed spiritually For the soule which in the place presently alledged is meant by the heart of man is not fed with bodily meate or bodily drinke but it is nourished quickned and made strong with the Word of God Ambr. sacra lib. 5. Which thing the selfe same Doctor affirmeth more plainely in his fifth Booke of Sacraments Not this Bread saith he which goeth into our bodies but it is that bread of eternall life which ministreth and yeeldeth substance vnto our soules And the things following in that booke or place doe most manifestly declare that S. Ambrose spake not this of the common bread but of the bread of Christs bodie for he speaketh of that daily bread which the faithfull desire might be given them and therefore he addeth If it be daily bread why doest thou receiue it but once in a yeare as the Grecians which dwell in the East are wont to doe Wherefore receiue that daily which may daily profit thee and liue so that thou maiest be found meete and worthy daily to receiue it Wherefore it is manifest of what bread he speaketh to wit of the bread of the body of Christ which sustaineth and vpholdeth the substance of the soule not in respect as it goeth and entreth into the bodie but in respect as it is Bread of everlasting life Thus you see that by the authoritie of this most learned man wee are taught that that bodie in which Christ suffered and that blood which hanging vpon the Crosse he shed out of his side doth very much differ from that body which the faithfull doe daily celebrate and receiue in the mysterie of Christs passion and from that blood which is received by the mouth of the beleevers seeing it is but a mysterie of that blood in and by which the whole world was Redeemed For this Bread and this Wine are not Christs bodie and blood in respect that they are to be seene bodily but in respect that they doe spiritually minister and yeeld vnto vs the substance of life And as for that bodie wherein Christ suffered once for all it shewed forth no other kinde or forme than that in which it consisted and was For it was truely and indeed the very selfe same which it was when it was seene which it was when it was touched which it was when it was crucified which it was when it was buried In like sort the blood that did gush and flow out of his side did not appeare one thing outwardly and cover or shaddow another thing inwardly Wherefore the very blood of Christ did flow from his very and true body but now the blood of Christ which the faithfull drinke vp and his body which they eate are one thing in kind and forme and another thing in sigfication They are one thing in that they feed the body with bodily meat and another thing in that they fat and feed the soules and mindes of men with the substance of eternall life Of this thing Saint Hierom Hieronim in epist ad Eph. in his Commentary vpon Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians writeth thus The blood and flesh of Christ is vnderstood two manner of wayes Ioh. 6.55 For either it is that spirirituall and divine flesh and blood of which he himselfe saith my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drinke indeed or else it is put for that
flesh which was crucified and for that blood which was shed with the souldiers speare This Doctor hath made a distinction concerning the body and blood of Christ and this he hath done with a very great difference For whilest that hee saith that the flesh and blood which the faithfull doe daily receiue are spirituall things and saith on the other side that the flesh which was crucified and the blood which was shed with the souldiers speare cannot bee affirmed to be spirituall or divine hee plainely declareth that they differ so much as spirituall and corporall things or visible and invisible things or as divine and humane doe differ one of them from another and that therefore for as much as they differ one of them from another both of them bee not neither indeed can bee one and the selfe same thing Now that spirituall flesh which is received by the mouth of the faithfull and that spirituall blood which is daily offered to bee drunke of the beleevers doe without doubt differ from that flesh which was crucified frō that blood which was shed by the souldiers speare as the authority of this present person alledged doth witnesse Wherefore they bee not all one For that flesh that was crucified was made of the flesh of the Virgin and was compacted or did consist of bones and sinewes and was besides distincted by the lineaments and proportions of the parts and members of mens bodies and was through the spirit of a reasonable soule quickned into his owne life and fit motions agreeing thereto But the spirituall flesh which doth spiritually feed the beleeving people in respect of the kind or forme which it sheweth forth outwardly doth being made by the Artificers hand consist of certaine graines of Corne or wheat and is not compacted of any sinewes or bones nor distincted by any diversity of members nor made liuely by any reasonable substance nor able to exercise any proper motitions for whatsoever in it doth minister or yeeld the substance of life pertaineth to a spirituall power and belongeth to an invisible efficacy and to a heavenly vertue or force but is indeed in respect of that which is outwardly seene farre differing from that which is beleeved in the mystery Besides that flesh of Christ which was crucified did not shew any other thing outwardly then that it was inwardly because it was the very flesh of a very man being also a very body in the kinde and forme of a very body Furthermore wee must consider that there is figured by that bread not onely Christs owne body but also the body of the people that beleeue in him whereupon it is made of many graines of wheate 1 Cor. 16.17 because the bodie of the beleeving people is through the Word of Christ increased with many faithfull ones Wherefore as the bread which is Christs body is received in a mystery so also the members of the people that beleeue in Christ are declared in a mystery And as that bread is said to bee the bodie of the beleevers not bodily but spiritually so must wee needs vnderstand it to bee Christs bodie not bodily but spiritually So likewise in the wine which is called Christs blood water is appointed to be mixed and the one is not suffred to be offred without the other to declare that the people cannot bee without Christ nor Christ without his people even as the head cannot bee without the body nor the body without the head Wherefore the water in that Sacrament beareth the image of people and representeth them Therefore if that wine being sanctified by the office and service of the Ministers be turned bodily into Christs blood the water which is mixed together with it must of necessity bee bodily turned into the blood of the beleeving people For where there is but one sanctification and by consequent one operation or working yea where there is but a like consideration it must needs then there follow that that mystery is like But we see that in the water in respect of the body thereof there is nothing turned wherefore it followeth very well that in the wine there is nothing turned bodily Whatsoever is set out in the water concerning the body of the people the same is taken spiritually Wherefore whatsoever is shewed foorth in the wine concerning Christs blood the same must of necessity be taken spiritually Againe the things which doe differ one of them from another be not all one That body of Christ which died and rose againe and became immortall Rom. 6.9 dieth not now neither shall death any more now beare rule ouer it for it is eternall and cannot now suffer any thing But that which is celebrated and administred in the Church is temporall and not eternall is corruptible not incoruptible is in the way homeward and not in it owne countrey Wherefore they must needs differ one of them from another and so by consequent are not all one and if they be not all one how is it said to bee Christs true body and his very blood For if it be Christs body and be truly so said to be as if it be Christs body it must bee his body in truth and if it be Christs body in truth or truly then it must needs bee that bodie of Christs which is incorruptible and impasible and so by consequent eternall Whereupon also it must of necessity follow that that bodie of Christs which is celebrated and administred in the Church must be incorruptible and eternall but we cannot deny but that that thing is corruptible which being changed is diuided into peeces to bee received and being broken or ground with the teeth passeth into the body and belly And yet that is one thing which is done outwardly and that is another thing which is inwardly beleeved through faith That which belongeth to the senses of the body is corruptible but that which faith beleeveth is incorruptible Wherefore that which appeares outwardly is not the thing it selfe but the image or representation of the thing but that is the truth of the thing and the thing it selfe which is perceived vnderstood by the minde Hereupon blessed Augustine in his Exposition vpon Iohns Gospell speaking of the body and blood of Christ saith thus Moses also did eate Manna Aug. in Ioh. tract 26. so did Aaron and so did Phiwees yea many others did eate Manna in the Wildernesse who also pleased God and yet are not dead And why so because they did spiritually vnderstand the visible food they did spiritually hunger after it they did spiritually taste it that so they might bee spiritually satisfied and filled For even wee also our selues doe at this day receiue visible food but the Sacrament is one thing and the vertue or power of the Sacrament is another thing Likewise in the words following Aug. tract eodem This is the bread which came downe from heaven Manna signified this bread the altar of God also signified this bread They
Sacraments may worke that in vs which they doe containe that looke what we now administer and receiue in forme we may also receiue it in the truth of the things He saith that these things are celebrated and done in shew forme and not in truth that is in similitude or likenesse and not in the declaration of the thing it selfe Now the forme and shew of a thing and the veritie or truth of the selfe same thing differ one of them from another Wherefore that body and blood which is celebrated and received in the Church differeth from that bodie and blood which is known to be now glorified in Christs body thorow his Resurrection And the former of these two bodies is a pledge and figure and this latter is the very truth it selfe for the former is celebrated and administred till such time as we may come to the other but when we shall once come to this latter the former shall be removed and taken away Wherefore it appreareth that they are by a very great difference sundred one of them from the other yea looke what difference there is betweene the pledge and thing for which the pledge is given and betweene an Image or the thing whose Image it is or betweene the forme and shew of a thing and the truth it selfe so much difference there is betweene the one and the other Thus we see that that mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ which the faithfull doe nowe receiue in the Church doth much differ is farre severed from that body which was borne of the Virgin Mary which suffered which was buried which rose againe which ascended into heaven and which sitteth at the right hand of the Father For that which is celebrated received while we are in the way of this life must be spiritually received and vnderstoode for Faith beleeveth the thing which it seeth not layeth hold of that which doth spiritually feed the soule and make glad the heart and giveth eternall life and incorruption whilest we looke not vpon that which feedeth the body or is pressed with the teeth or is broken in peeces but that only which is spiritually received in faith whereas that bodie in which Christ suffered and rose againe is his owne very body which he tooke of the body of the Virgin Mary which also was palpable and visible yea and that after his Resurrection even as he himselfe saith vnto the Disciples Luke 24.38.39 Why are yee troubled and wherefore doe thoughts and doubts arise in your hearts Beholde my handes and my feete for it is I my selfe Handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as yee see me haue Let vs heare also what blessed Fulgentius writeth in his Booke of Faith Looke that thou doe most stedfastly beleeue Fulgen. de fide and at no hand doubt that the onely begotten Word of God became flesh Ephes 5.2 and offered vp himselfe for vs as an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour vnto God Vnto whom with the Father and the holy Ghost the Patriarkes Prophets and Priestes did in the time of the olde Testament offer vp Beasts and sacrifice them and vnto whom also with the Father and the holy Ghost with whom he is of one and the selfe same God-head the holy Catholique Church being dispersed throughout the whole world ceaseth not in faith and loue to offer vp the sacrifice of Bread and Wine For in those sacrifices of flesh and Beasts there was a signification of Christes flesh which even he himselfe being without sinne should offer for our sinnes and of his blood also which he should shed for the forgiuenesse of our sinnes but in this sacrifice of Bread and Wine there is a thankesgiving for and a remembrāce of that flesh of Christ which he offered vp for vs and of that blood which he himselfe being very God did shed for vs Act. 20.28 of which S. Paul speaketh in the Acts of the Apostles and in the xx Chapter of the said booke saying Take heed vnto your selues and to all the flocke whereof the holy Ghost hath made you Bishops or over-seers to governe the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne blood Wherefore there was in the former sacrifices figuratiuely signified that that should be given to vs but there is in this sacrifice evidently and plainely declared what is given vnto vs. Now the Doctor in saying that there was in those sacrifices signified what should be given vnto vs and that in this sacrifice there was declared what was given vnto vs alreadie he doth plainely declare that as those sacrifices had the figure of things to come so our sacrifice is a figure of things that are past By which speeches he hath most evidently declared what great difference there is betweene that bodie wherein Christ suffered and this body which is celebrated and administred in the remembrance of his Passion or death For that body wherein he suffered was his proper and very or true body having no mysticall or figuratiue matter in it But this latter is a mysticall bodie shewing one thing outwardly in figure and inwardly representing another thing thorowe the vnderstanding and apprehension of faith Moreover let vs adde and put downe one other testimony of that reverent Father Augustine which shall both warrant the truth and credit of our sayings and make an end of our Oration and speech In a certaine Sermon Aug. de sacra altar Serm. which he made to the people concerning the Sacrament of the Altar thus he saith The thing which you see on Gods Altar you saw the same the night that is past but as yet yee haue not heard what it is what it meaneth and of how great a matter it containeth the Sacrament The thing which you see is bread and the cup which thing also your owne eyes doe declare vnto you but as concerning that wherein your faith requireth to be instructed the Bread is the body of Christ and the cup is his blood Truely this is shortly sayd and it may be perhaps sufficient for faith but yet faith alwayes needeth instruction Esay 7.9 For the Prophet sayth Vnlesse yee beleeue yee shall not vnderstand You may peradventure say vnto me Thou biddest vs beleeue but yet we say declare it vnto vs that we may vnderstand For such a thought may arise in some mans mind We know from whom our Lord Iesus Christ tooke his flesh to wit of the Virgin Mary hee being an Infant did sucke and was nourished and did grow and came to mans age he suffered persecution at the Iewes handes he was hanged vpon a tree he was killed he was taken from the Crosse he was buried the third day he rose againe he ascended into heaven even what day pleased him thither he carryed vp his body from thence shall he come to iudge the quicke and the dead and he is there now sitting at the right hand of the Father