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A07104 A treatyse of Chris[ti]an peregrination, w[rit]ten by M. Gregory Martin Licentiate, and late reader of the diuinitie in the Englishe Coleadge at Remes. VVhereunto is adioined certen epistles vvritten by him to sundrye his frendes: the copies vvhereof vvere since him decease founde amonge his vvrytings. Novv especially published for the beneifte of those, that either erre in religion of simplicitie or folovv the vvorlde of fray Ioie Martin, Gregory, d. 1582. 1597 (1597) STC 17507; ESTC S102523 54,618 160

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his Apostles neuer to fayle but to appeere and be seene still as a citrye vpon a hill or a light in the world Mat. 28. For Christ said I vvill be vvith you vnto the ende of the vvorld And againe I vvill sende you an other Comforter the spirite of truth vvho shall remaine vvith you for euer And vnto Peter Vpon this rocke vvill I build my Church Mat. 16. and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it That is to say the deuill and all his ministers shall neuer so preuayle against this church but that it shall still appeere and professe one and the same fayth So that there shall be no time wherin this fayth and this church is not Now marke good Sisters I pray you hartely whether your Englishe church and your Englishe religion hath bene alwayes in the worlde since Christ his time I will speake vnto you as before God and as I shall answeare before him at the later day and therefore I requeste you to marke well my wordes and to consider of them A whole thowsande and fiue hundred yeres after Christ your English religion was not heard of in any parte of the world but I tolde you before that the true church must continewe for euer appeare alwaies vnlesse you thinke Christ is false of his promise When began your religion then Forsooth about fiftie veres agone by one Marten Luther in Germanie a frier who aswell for other vngodly respects as also because he would needes marie and breake his vow which he had made of chastitie began to preach against the POPE and against the CATHOLIQVE CHVRCH and because he taught great libertie as that Princes ought not to reuerence the POPE that all Preestes might mary that no man neede to fast and such like he found many disciples in Germanye and hath vnto this day carnall and fleshly men that loue their owne pleasure more then the will of God and his holy church But will you know what manner of man this was Forsooth being examined by learned men concerning his doctrine he was so prest and so angred with the force of truth that he sayd in a great rage This quarrell vvas neuer begon for Gods sake neither for his sake shall it be ended Will you know further that he wrote against the POPE for malice and not for conscience himselfe in his letter to Argentmenses fayeth I neither can deny neither vvill I that if Carolstadius or any other man could fiue yeares agone haue persvvaded me that in the Sacrament is nothing but bread and vvine he might haue deserued of me great thankes for I labored in that matter very carefully knovving righte vvell that by that meanes I might much haue hindred the Popes authoritie Marke that this man would gladly haue foūd some-what agaynst the BLESSED SACRAMENT but a long time he could not till at length the deuill had taught him to wryte agaynst the Masse De missa angulari as him selfe witnesseth in his bookes where he telleth what talke he and the deuill had together Much more could I tell you of this man but of this little you may iudge whether you may aduenture to build your faith vpō this man who lyued within these fiftye yeares and to forsake the auncient fayth of all Christendome continewed from Christ vntill this day for it is moste certen that from this man came your new religion into England but not immediatly at the first when he began to preach for Kinge Henrye the ēight wrote a learned booke very earnestly against him The Quenes M. father wrote a learned booke a gaiust Luther for the pope Afterward he forsooke him not vpon religion or conscience but vpon displeasure which is common to be seene but long after partly when the King began to take displeasure against the POPE because he might not be maried and vnmaried as he list Partly and especially when King Edvvard being in the beginning of his raigne but a very child was oueruled by wicked coūsellers to maintayne such a religion as might best agree to their carnall appetite This was the beginning of your religion the beginning I say for as for King Heury he wente nothing so farre as they are now come but whereas for his pleasure he had put awaye the Popes authority and for his profit had plucked downe Abbaies he let all other poyntes in man●r remayne as before and of this also rep●nted before he died as it is knowen if not wo be vnto him that euer he was borne for there in the next world good Sisters Kings and Queenes come to their accompts as well as you and we poore folkes I could here tell you of many learned and vertuous men that were then put to death because they would not yeeld to the King in his vnlawfull doings knowing right well that it was all contrary to the lawe of God Amongst whom were these two The Bishop of Rochester the most vertuous and best learned of all the Clergie as appeareth by his books And Sir Thomas Moore Lorde Chauncel or of England a lay man who for his vertue wisdome and learning passed all temporal men that euer were in that Realme as appeareth by his learned workes written in the Englishe tongue but now not suffered to be redd because they teach the CATHOLIQVE FAYTH Some man will tel you that they were behedded for treason but beleeue him not vnlesse it be treason to obay God rather then Princes surely other treason they committed none One Marke more I will shew you to discerne the true Church The thir●e marke is ●nitie that in few wordes but so playne that your selfe will confesse it To know the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH this is a certayne and an vnfallible marke if it be in vnitie and concorde if it haue an agreement and consent of hartes and opinions that is to saye if it haue but one fayth and one religion Act. 4. For of the true Church it is sayd The vvhole multitude of beleeuers had one hart and one mynd Ephe. 4. And S. Paule sayth One God one fayth one baptisme And againe 1. Cor. 14. God is not a God of dissention but of peace and vnitye Looke now consider the state of your Protestants in England onely are they all of one religion Haue you not among them some Lytherans some Caluinists some Puritanes all agreeing against the POPE and ech disagreeing one from the other Do not your Luther●̄s preach yea before the Queene not with-out great thankes for their labour that the body of Christ is really present in the Sacrament And doe not your Caeluinists preach cleane contrary that there is onely breade and wine And as for your Puritanes doe not they preach and wryte so farre contrary from the other two that they are now forbidden to preach and cast into prison and put from all liuings Yea the communion booke it selfe doth it not nowe saye cleane contrary to that which it sayed in
after admonition you will not rise agayne that wil make vs to maruel to pitie your ease as altogether desperate which God forbid whoe conuerte you and saue you and blesse you both soule bodye euen as I wishe to mine owne selfe For a farewel remember the later ende of man the accompte to be made the consequent there of hel or heauen and before all other respectes doe well for his sake that made you redeemed you sanctified you and hath hitherto preserued and enriched you and will hereafter in heauen fully rewarde you if you wil come euen now at the ninth and eleuenth howre Our Lord keepe you Paris 15. Fe. 1580 Your louing frend vndoubtedly G. M. TO MY LOVINGE AND BESTBELOVED SISTERS DEERE Sisters my care my loue of al worldly things next to my good mother my greatest comforte and ioye Vnlesse you did thinke that I doe most hartely loue you you coulde nor alwaies heretofore haue declared your exceeding loue so plentifully towards me for the which almightie God rewarde you This my loue because it is not a naturall affection onely but sincere and true charitie forceth me to wish vnto you my louing Sisters not onelie manie worldlie commodities which God be thanked you lacke not but much more all spirituall treasure and heauenlie riches wherof you can not haue great store because you dwell not where it groweth I know good Sisters that you meane well and moste willing are you to doe that which might please God but in good sooth you are out of the way and therefore the further you hold on the further you are from your iornies end the further from heauen The wise man saith There is a vvay vvhich seemeth to a man right Prouerb 14. but the end therof leadeth to distruction Beare with me if I write bold lie and tell you the truth plainlie I am your brother I loue you as nature bindeth me not onely in worldly respect but much more towardes God Your soules are deare vnto me my harte alwaies mourneth to thinke vpon your dangerous state wherein you stand O good Sisters the paine of hell exceedeth all tormentes and that fier shall burne for euer Happye are they that keepe them selues by God his greate goodnesse within the CATHOLIQVE CHVRCH for out of it there is no hope of saluation And most happy are they that hauing bene out of this Church by the wicked perswasiōs of false preachers whē it pleaseth God to send them true teachers will not remaine obstinate but folow good exhortations and holsome doctrine and so returne agayne as obedient children to Christ their father and to the Church their mother who are alwaies redy to receiue them remembring that which a most auncient and learned Father writeth S. Austē vpō the 88. psal He can neuer accompt God to be his father vvho vvil not haue the Churh to be his mother If you aske me what this Church is that is called CATHOLIKE and how you may know it behold the true and certen markes thereof and your selfe iudge whether you be within it or no. This Church is a congregation of all true christians which began in Christ his disciples at Hierus lem from thence grewe and multiplied throughout the whole world according as it is sayd in the psalme Their sounde speaking of the Apostles is gone out into the vvhole vvorlde psal 18. v. 5. and their vvordes into the ends of the earth The firste mark of the Church is to be visible So that the first marke of the true church is that it must grow and multiply be seene and appeere alwayes as a light in the world and therfore Christ calleth it A Cittie builded vpon a hill Mat. 5. vvhich can not be hid And the blessed Martyr S. Ciprian sayth The Churche beinge lightened with the brightnes of our Lorde doth reache foorth her beames through-out the whole worlde And S. Austen besides manye other places to this purpose compareth Christ and his Church to that stone vvhich vvas cutt out of a hill vvithout mens handes Daniel ca. 2. and after grevv to be a mightye mountayne so that it filled the vvhole earthe For vndoubtedlye this stone whereof the Prophet speaketh is Christ who was borne of a virgin without the helpe of man and is now growne from a few Apostles and disciples to an infinite number of christian people in all countries confessing one fayth and one beleefe and this is the Catholicke Church whereof your Creede telleth and teacheth you to say I beleeue the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH Let vs see nowe whether this marke doth agree to your brethren in England who call them selues Protestants or to vs whom it pleaseth them to cal Papists First they cal thē-selues in their bookes the Englishe church that is to say of that fayth which is professed in England but we are of the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH that is of such a fayth as is professed in Fraunce in Spaine in Flanders Brabant zelant c. In a great part of Germanie in all Italy and beyond wheresoeuer there be christians and is now preached to the Indians that neuer heard of Christ before and encreaseth wonderfullye And within these fortie yeares in Englande Scotland Ireland Denmarke and Germanie there was no other faith openly professed but ours And now also in all these countries how many are there thinke you of secret catholickes that wish for the olde religion againe with all their hart and folow the new onely for feare Nay how many are there especially in England that doe yet openly professe the CATHOLIKE FAITH Aske good Sisters aske and you shall learne that all the prisons not only of London but of England are full of them because they will not yeeld to these new proceedings nor contaminate their soules with this newe seruice and leaue the olde true and Catholicke fayth besides a number of sundrye degrees which are deade in prison namely twentie three Bishops all depryued of their liuing these twētie three yeres now but two of them alyue I omit Doctors Deanes Archdeacons Krights Squires partlie in prison partly departed the Realme and forsaking all rather then they will forsake God and his moste true and vndoubted religion This is true good Sisters as knoweth God you seldome heare of these things and therfore you thinke either their is no other religion but that could seruice with-out all comfort and deuotion which you see in your parish church or you thinke that must needes be the best because you are not taught anie other whereas you see if you beleeue me that all christendome almost is of an other religion And therfore this is the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH and yours is worthily called by your owne ministers the church of England But this shall better appeere The second marke is successiou if I geue you an oth●r marke of the true Catholicke Church which is that it must continew for euer and from the first beginninge which was in Christ and