is sanctyfyed and dedycate vnto god And that he which doth sell it / hath receyued it of god for no thynge And so both he that doth sell it that dothe bye it do coÌ„myt deedly synne For it is agaynst al lawes / as agaynst the lawe of god / the lawe of man / the lawe of nature Wherfore whan the intent of the preest is pryncypally vpoÌ„ money / and maketh marchaundyse of the masse And that those whiche cause the masse to be sayde / do take it that they do bye it for so moche money / they do both coÌ„mytte Symonye and is deedly synÌ„e Therfore whan a man wyl haue a masse sayd for hym or for his freÌ„des / he shall say to the preest Syr we maye not make marchaundyse of the masse / but I praye you say so many masses for me or for my frendes / and I wyll prouyde for you and recompence your payne And than ye shall prouyde hym of an honest lyuynge accordynge to his estate and degre For as the apostell saynt Paule sayth / he that serueth at the aultre / he must lyue by the aultre / for the preest hath none other occupacyon ¶ The .xx. Chapytre / In what thynge wherby a man may consydre the greatnesse and dygnyte of the masse THe dygnyte holynes of the blyssed masse maye be consydered by fyue reasons ¶ Fyrste for in the masse is 〈…〉 the same blyssed flesshe / that Mary the mother of god dyd conceyue and the precyous blode shed vpoÌ„ the crosse on good frydaye And therfore sayth Crysostome / that touchynge the holy sacrament of the aulter the masse is not of lesse dygnyte and value / than the deth of our lord god vpon the crosse for the helth of the man For as the deth of our lorde hath delyuered man from euerlastynge deth / so is euerlastynge lyfe gyuen to them / whiche be delyuered by the masse ¶ Secondaryly / a man maye consydre the dygnyte of the masse / for there is alwayes present all the holy coÌ„pany of heuen That is to say / the holy trynyte / Mary the mother of god / with all the holy auÌ„gelles sayntê beholdynge and worshyppynge the holy blyssed sacrament For as saynt Gregorye sayth / who is he that wolde doubte that whaÌ„ heuen doth open / at the tyme that the preest doth consecrate the sacrament / and that the sone of god as the kynge of glory / doth descende vpon the aulter / that there doth not come a great multytude company of holy aungelles with hym For a myghty kynge or prynce whan he wyl showe his mageste he doth take with hym / his nobles / his knyghtes and other his seruauntes Shuld thaÌ„ the kynge of glory descende hym self alone and without company / I do not byleue it ¶ Thyrdly / ye shall consydre that without lyght the preest maye not say masse / whan there shulde be bothe Sonne / Moone / and sterres shynyng vpon the aulter And that doth sygnyfye / that there shall be in vs a hote and feruent loue of god / and a ferme stedfast fayth byleue Also the ornameÌ„tê of the masse ought to be dedycate and halowed And also the chalyce / the corporas / the aulter clothes and towelles / and other preparementes / ought also to be halowed / or elles a man maye not saye masse Also he that shall say the masse / ought to be a preest consecrate and otherwyse he maye not / were he as holy as our lady the mother of god For all the sayntes and auÌ„gelles in heuen can not saye nor do one masse ¶ Fourthly / ye shall consydre that all that is done and sayd in the masse hath a synguler mystery and deuocyon in it / so that the preest doth not say one worde / nor doth not moue ones his hande iÌ„ the masse but it doth sygnyfye some thynge of the lyfe of our lorde For as Aureolus sayth in CoÌ„peÌ„dio theologie / in the syxt boke in the .xviii. Chapytre / that the masse in a maner of spekynge is as full of dyuyne mysteryes / as the see of droppes of water / the sonne full of lyght the skye full of sterres And also all chrysten people beynge here in erthe and in purgatorye / and all the sayntes in heuen / haue a synguler ioye and gladnesse of the masse And some doctours do saye / that there is neuer a masse sayd here iÌ„ erth / but there is one soule delyuered out of purgatorye / or a synner conuerted / or a good and iuste man preserued and kept from fallynge in to temptacyon ¶ Fyfthly / ye maye also consydre the hygh dygnyte of the masse / for it is aorned with many dyuerse languages prayses Fyrste Hebreu / as Amen / alleluya / sabaoth / osanna also Greke / as kyry eleyson / chryste eleyson / also Laten / as dominus vobiscuÌ„ / pax tecum Also ye here the voyce of oure lorde in the gospell the whiche euery person ought to here with great deuocyon / not syttynge nor knelynge / but standynge vpryght / redy to fyght vnto deth for to defende it and the holy fayth And as ye do here god speke in the gospell / so ye here also the voyce of aungelles / as in Gloria in excelsis deo Also the voyce of the apostelles / as in the epystelles Also the voyce of the synner / in the CoÌ„fiteor Also ye here the voyce of the iuste man / as in the graduall or grayle / alleluya offetorye coÌ„munyon or coÌ„mon And therfore euery good chrysten person shall dyspose hym selfe deuoutly to here masse / with a feruent herte and with great reuerence / as yf he were vpon the mount of Caluerye / there dyd se our lorde god hangynge vpon the crosse O with what and howe great deuocyon shulde we be at the masse / and shuld remembre the blyssed passyon of our lorde god the whiche is represented showed in the masse ¶ The .xxi. Chapytre / what the persone shall rede in the mornynge whan he doth ryse from bedde O Lorde god Ihesu chryste / I thanke the most humbly that thou haste preserued kepte me this nyght from sodeyn deth / and also from euerlastynge daÌ„pnacyon / by the whiche neuertheles moche people must be seperate from the the whiche haue not done so many greuous offencê synnes as I haue done But thou hast preserued me to the entent that I may amende myne euyll lyuynge Wherfore I praye the good lorde / by thy incomparable mercy / and by the merytes of thy most blyssed mother of all sayntes / that thou wylt kepe and preserue me this daye from all maner of deedly synne and euyll thoughtes wordes / and from all vnlawfull workes to the entent that I maye so with a pure coÌ„scyence / entre in to thy temple / and there to fynde thy great mercy / wherby I shall be worthy to be the temple and
habytacyon of the holy ghost / where thou desyrest to dwell And that I maye come to the soueraygne temple of Ierusalem / there to gyue the laudes and prayses euerlastyngly with all the sayntes Amen ¶ The .xxii. Chapytre / what the man shal saye for all chrysten soules / whan he doth passe by the churcheyarde HElth and conforte be to you all christen soules whose bodyes do rest here and in euery place Ihesu chryste whiche hathe boughte you with his precyous blode / delyuer you from the innumerable paynes of purgatorye / and brynge you amonges the blyssed company of heuen And there do ye remembre vs / in prayenge humbly that we maye be in your company / and crowned in heuen with you euerlastyngly Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ The .xxiii. Chapytre / howe the maÌ„ shall dyspose hym selfe to here masse HE that wyll deuoutly and merytoryously here masse in the temple of god / he shall mount or asceÌ„de .vi. steppes or degrees that is to say that he shall haue in hym selfe syxe vertues / the whiche be fygured vnto vs in the temple of Salomon / whiche had syxe degrees or steppes goynge vpwarde ¶ The fyrste degre or condycyon is / to desyre to be incontynent and without any taryenge at the seruyce of god / That is to saye / that as soone as ye here that they rynge the fyrste pele to masse / ye shall cast downe all maner of thynges out of your handes / and shall go to the seruyce of god / takyng example at the thre kynges / whiche dyde leue all maner of thynge / and came from the Eest parte serchyng the lytell chylde iÌ„ Bethleem at the fyrste token warnynge of the sterre Wherfore all busynes that come and chaunce to man goynge towardes the churche / that he maye well let it passe / he shall let it be vndone vnto another tyme. And yf he can not let it passe without shame / he shall answere quyckely / as Dauid the prophete sayd Good lorde thou haste made my fete lyke to the fete of a harte Vpon this saynt Gregorye saythe / that whan a harte dothe renne vpon a hygh mountayne / he doth lepe ouer all that he dothe mete / and so shall we do in lykewyse For the enemye of god and man whiche is the deuyll of hell / doth serche somtymes many wayes for to drawe man from the seruyce of god / as from the masse / sermon / euen songe / and other dyuyne seruyce Or elles yf he can not lette hym from the hole / yet he wyll let hym from as moche as he maye so that many folkes do tary in the waye talkynge or chydynge / or otherwyse occupyed tyll that the seruyce of god is halfe done Therfore our lorde god dyd forbyd his dyscyples / to talke or reason with any person in the hygh waye Wherfore it is good that the man erely in the mornynge do go to masse afore that any person maye let hym For as Iob sayth / he that erely in the mornynge dothe serche for god / he shall fynde hym for than man hath greater deuocyon / thaÌ„ at any other tyme of the daye whan the wyttes be occupyed ¶ The seconde degre or condycion is humylyte so that the ê‘son ought not to entre in to the churche or temple of god / by great pompe and pryde as the Pharazen dyd For many folkes which god ameÌ„de go to the churche more to be seen or to se other / than for deuocyon or the helth of theyr soules / the whiche be afore god as the proude Lucyfer was in heuen and Adam in paradyse Therfore man shall come to the churche with humylyte / as dyd the Publycane knockynge on his brest sayenge O good lorde haue mercy of me poore synner And than god shall here exalte his prayer For saynt Bernarde speketh a notable worde / sayeng that man that doth humylyate meke hym selfe here in erth as lowe as he can / god wyll exalte hym as hygh as he can in heuen And he that doth exalt hym selfe here in erth as hygh as he can / god shall humylyate and caste hym as depe in hell as he can O mercyfull god / howe depe shall some folkes descende in to hell / which be ashamed through theyr great pryde to humylyate them self afore the. So that iÌ„ heryng masse / some persones do walke vp and downe in the churche other some do sytte at theyr most case / and other some do knele but of one kne / theyr bonettes fast nayled to theyr heddes / so dyd the Iewes knele of one kne / whan they mocked oure lorde and dyd spytte in his face O what lytell knowlege / loue and fere haue suche folkes of god for the holy auÌ„gelles be standynge vpryght with great reuerence and fere / afore the face of god And the proude stynkynge creature of god the man / doth swell with pryde and without any fere or drede Ye do se that whan a man shall be hedded / that he doth knele on bothe his knees / with his handes ioyned togyther afore hym that shall do the execucyon and the poore wretched synner / is ashamed to humylyate hym selfe afore god Here what our lorde Ihesu doth speke of the man / he that is ashamed to serue me afore the worlde / I wyll be ashamed of hym afore my father celestyall Wherfore the man as soone as he is entred in to the churche shal knele on both his knees with great humylyte and mekenes of herte in showynge to god his synnes / sayenge O good lorde haue mercy of me poore synner / or other lyke wordes as ye shall fynde hereafter wryten / in the .xxx. Chapytre for suche prayer god doth exalte / and doth asceÌ„de in to heuen afore the face of god / dothe not departe from thens / vnto it hath obteyned all thynge that it doth demauÌ„de for the helth of the soule ¶ The thyrde degre or condycyon / to here masse deuoutly / is contrycyon or repentauÌ„ce of al the deedly synnes that the man hath done And whan the man shall thus haue mekened humylyate hym selfe afore god / he shal haue made his peace with god afore that he wyl praye for any thynge / For god doth hate the synÌ„ers / cannot se them whiche do not repent them of theyr synÌ„es with all theyr hertes Therfore our lorde speketh by the prophete Esaye and sayth Whan ye entre in to the churche and do lyft your handes on hyghe to me / I wyll tourne myne iyes from you and whan ye crye to me / I wyll not here you / for your handes be full of blode that is to say full of synÌ„e Of this ye maye haue example / yf ye wyll desyre obteyne any thyng of a prynce or of a great lorde / the whiche is angry with you doth hate you so that he can not abyde the syght of you / ye muste fyrste fynde
dayne deth yf we do receyue with all humylyte the blyssynge of the preest / at the ende of his masse / for his handes be moche more holy / thaÌ„ were the haÌ„des of the olde fathers And by the blyssynge of the preest / we be made worthy of the blyssynge of our lorde god in heuen Therfore whan the preest gyueth the blyssynge after masse / ye shall knele downe vpon your knees with your heed bare and inclyned towardes the grounde / in receyuynge the same Wherof we haue many fayre examples / the whiche shuld be to prolyxe and longe to descrybe Yet neuer theles ye shall haue twayne in shorte wordes here declared ¶ Example WE rede that there was a couereur of howses whiche beynge vpon the toppe or hyghte of a howse there workynge / sodaynly fell downe to the grounde / without hurtyng hym selfe or hauynge any maner of harme The people seynge this dyd renne vnto hym / thynkynge that he was dede / and they dyd fynde hym hole sounde and they dyd say vnto hym Thou haste ben well blyssed this daye / He answered and sayd it is true for I had this daye the blyssynge / whiche the preest gaue after the masse / whose handes had touched the body of our lord Ihesu chryste And my fayth byleue was / that after the blyssynge which I receyued huÌ„bly after the masse I shulde not dye sodaynly without confessyon / as nowe ye maye se ¶ Example WE rede moreouer of two men whiche were coÌ„paygnons felowes in marchaundyse / of the whiche the one receyued alwayes the blyssynge of the preest / and the other neuer dyd regarde nor care for it And one day as they were goynge in theyr iourney / there came a great tempest of thondre and lyghtnynge / of the whiche tempest he that was neuer wont to receyue the blyssynge of the preest nor to regarde it / was stryken to deth / and the other whiche was alwayes wonte to receyue the blyssynge / was saued and not hurte ¶ The .xxiiii. Chapytre / what thynge a man shall rede whan he coÌ„meth fyrste before the holy sacrament ¶ Orayson O Blissed and mercyfull lord Ihesu chryste / I coÌ„mende this daye in the presence of thy holy body and at all tymes my soule and my body by the vertue of thy holy natyuyte thy blyssed crosse / and sharpe and bytter passyon / thy gloryous resurreccyon O father euerlastynge god almyghty / thou arte the begynnynge and the ende of all creatures / thou art the waye and the trueth and the helth of al men O father euerlastynge / I crye and call pryncypally vnto the for my helpe ayde / by the vertue of the holy sacrament / to the entent that thou wylt defende me froÌ„ all thynge that may be hurtfull to the helth of my soule Albeit that I am a poore synner / Yet neuerthelesse I am thy vnworthy creature / redemed and delyuered by the precyous blode of thy sone And I byleue stedfastly in the wherfore good lorde defende me alwayes from all perylles and dauÌ„gers of myne enemyes vysyble and inuysyble / and from all venom and poyson in metes and drynkes / from shame and sodayne deth / by the vertue of the holy sacrament / in the whiche I put all my hope and byleue O holy and most worthy sacrameÌ„t in the which be vnyed iÌ„ godhed / the father / the sone / and the holy ghost / thou dost exalt all that do crye and call vnto the and that do byleue in the. Therfore exalte me nowe specyally in all that is necessary helthful for my soule / that from hensforth I maye accomplysshe and fulfyll thy wyll ¶ The .xxv. Chapytre / what thynge the man shall rede / whan he coÌ„meth before the holy crosse of our lorde Ihesu chryste O Lorde Ihesu chryste / I pray the by the vertue of the same orayson prayer / that thou dyddest make in great anguysshe and payne of herte / vnder the mount of Olyuete where for fere drede of deth / thou dyddest swete droppes of blode rennynge downe to the grounde Offre and show that same blode to thy father celestyall / agaynst the multytude of my synnes / and delyuer me at the houre of deth / from all fere and drede whiche I haue deserued for my synnes ¶ Pater noster Aue maria O Lorde Ihesu chryste whiche hath dyed vpon the crosse for me poore synner / I pray the that thou wylt showe offre to thy father celestyall / all the payne and bytternes of thy passyon / and specyally whan thy blyssed soule departed out of thy blyssed body / agaynst the multytude of my synnes And delyuer me at the houre of deth from all payne / whiche I haue deserued for the multytude of my synÌ„es Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria O Lorde Ihesu chryste / I praye the by the inestymable loue that caused the to descende from heuen vnto erthe / there to suffre deth vpon the crosse most cruelly for me poore synÌ„er / to showe and offre the same vnto thy father celestyal agaynst the multytude of my synnes And after this lyfe to open me the gate of heuen Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ The .xxvi. Chapytre / what thynge the man shall rede / whan he doth come before the Image of our Lady O Moste benygne Mary doughter of the father of heuen mother of the sone of god / espouse of the holy ghost I praye the that as the father celestyall of his great myght power hath exalted the in the hyghest trone of heuen / so I pray the most benygne vyrgyne and mother mary / to socoure and helpe me and all my frendes And to defende vs from the teÌ„ptacyons of our enemye Amen ¶ Aue maria O Most humble mother of Ihesu chryste Mary thou art a paradyse of ioye the hyd treaso r of the secrete of god I pray the that as the son of god of the myght power of his incoÌ„prehensyble wysdome hath aorned the / that ouer and aboue al the sayntê thou shulde vse haue the fruycyon most perfytly / of the face preseÌ„ce of the holy trynyte so I pray the most pure virgyn mary / that thou stande by me assyste me and all my frendes at the houre of deth / in remplysshynge and in puttynge in our soules / the lyght of the holy catholyke fayth / to the entent that oure fayth / be not occupyed with erroure ¶ Aue maria O Most swete mary / beaute of the aungelles / flower of the patryarkê / maystres of the apostelles / courage of the martyres / swete fouÌ„tayne of the coÌ„fessours honoure and ioye of vyrgynes / consolacyon solace of all synners / I praye the that as the holy ghoost hathe remplysshed and fylled the of his swetnes and dyuyne grace to the entent that thou be the most benygne and mercyfull next after god / so I beseche the most holy
imaculate vyrgyne mary / that thou wylt be present by me and all my frendes after the tyme of our lyfe in shedynge and puttynge in to our soules the swetenes of the dyuyne dyseccyon loue / so that we maye ioye with the and with all sayntê euerlastyngly Amen ¶ The xxvii Chapytre / how he that doth helpe the masse ought to behaue hym FYrste he that dothe serue helpe the preest at masse / he muste beware that he do not beholde the preest / in the face ¶ SecoÌ„daryly / that whiche he doth gyue to the preest / he shall gyue it with both his handes ¶ Thyrdly / he shall be dylygent to proue and knowe the water from the wyne ¶ Fourthly / he shall absteyne in as moche as he maye / from to moche spyttynge and kowghynge or makynge any noyse / specyally whan the preest is in his Memento ¶ Fyfthly / he shall not greatly gyue his mynde to rede any prayers in the masse tyme but rather shal take hede dylygeÌ„tly that there do lacke nothynge / and shall kepe dogges from the aulter ¶ Syxtly / he shall not knele betwene the courteyne the aulter / in beholdynge what the preest doth vpon the aulter Also he shal not knele behynde the curteynes but shal be of the one syde of the preest / partely behynde hym ¶ Seuenthly / he shall take hede that he do answere the preest perfytely and that he do lyghte the candell of waxe in tyme / and to put it out whan the preest after the masse hath gyuen the blyssynge And whan the preest hath fynysshed his fyrste Memento / he shall prepare hym selfe to lyght the torche or candell in tyme / and to rynge the lytell bell to the eleuacyon ¶ Eyghtly / he shall take hede that he be pure and clene in his conscyence / that is to say that he haue contrycyon of all his synnes / also that he be clene without iÌ„ his body and in his handes so that he do not fyle the boke towelles / aulter clothes / or other aornemeÌ„tes He shall take hede also / that he do not touche the chalyce / patyne / or corporas / for yf he do he doth offende ¶ Nynthly / he shall folde the vestementes the aornementes honestly after the masse and shal laye them in theyr place And this done he maye deserue and meryte moche ¶ The .xxviii. Chapytre / howe euery man shall gladly helpe and serue at the masse / for syxe reasons THe fyrste reason is / for the seruyce that we do to the preest in the masse tyme / god wyll rewarde vs for it as we had done it vnto hym selfe for the preest is not there before the aulter as syr IohnÌ„ but he is there as the sone of god hathe hanged vpon the crosse ¶ The seconde reason is / that to serue god the man of hym is made And therfore there is no man so myghty of power nor so noble / that ought to be ashamed to serue god For oure lorde Ihesu chryste sayth / he that is ashamed to serue me I wyl also be ashamed of hym afore my father celestyall O with what loue and dylygence shulde we serue hym / whiche hath gyuen syght vnto vs beynge blynde / the whiche we beynge pryuate of our handes fete hathe restored them agayne vnto vs and we beyng deed he hathe resuscytate vs to lyfe / and moche more hath god done for vs. ¶ The thyrde reason is / for to the entent that we serue our lorde god / he hath coÌ„maunded his auÌ„gelles to serue vs and to kepe vs / to the entent that we may come to heuen / where the sone of god hym selfe shall serue vs. ¶ The fourth reason is / for to the entent that we shulde be more bounde to serue hym / he hath made hym selfe man mortall / hathe serued vs in his owne persone / by the space of .xxxiii. yeres in great pouertie and myserye / wherfore by all ryght we be bounde to serue hym And yet moche more hath he don for vs / he hathe shed his blode for vs / and suffred dethe for vs / to the entent that we maye reygne with hym in his glorye ¶ The fyfth reason is / for god hath made all thynges to serue vs / as in heuen the auÌ„gelles / the sonne / the moone / and the fyrmameÌ„t / in the ayre the byrdes / in erth the beestê and other creatures in the water the fysshes to the entent that by them we shulde be monysshed to serue hym ¶ The syxte reason is / for god shall gyue hym that gladly doth helpe and serue at the masse / a synguler rewarde in heuen / more than to other herynge the masse onely / as it is wryten ¶ The .xxix. Chapytre / what fruytes he receyueth of god / that serueth gladly and deuoutly at the masse THe fyrste vertue is / that god doth neuer suffre suche a persone to fall so farre in synne / but that he shall ryse sooner out of the same by true penauÌ„ce / than another that doth not helpe ne serue at the masse ¶ The seconde vertue or fruyte is / that suche a persone is not onely preserued kepte as another man of his propre aungell / but also there be many other aungelles nyghe vnto hym and alwayes redy to helpe hym and prayenge for hym ¶ The thyrde vertue is / that the good workes whiche he doth / be more acceptable vnto god and more profytable to men / as wel lyuynge as beynge deed / than of other whiche do not helpe and serue at the masse ¶ The fourth vertue is that he which doth helpe and serue at the masse / shall be in all his busynes and causes more dyscryte and wyse than other men ¶ The fyfth vertue is / that the mercye of god shall neuer forsake that man iÌ„ his great necessyte / but shall alwayes be redy at his most nede ¶ The syxte vertue is / that god shall gyue hym / whiche deuoutly and dylygently helpeth and serueth at the masse a synguler grace here in erthe / and a great rewarde in heuen / as he sayth iÌ„ the gospell / he that doth serue and mynystre vnto me in the erth / he shall be honoured of my father iÌ„ heuen For to helpe and serue at the masse / is a seruyce appertaynynge vnto aungelles Yet neuerthelesse god wyll be serued of man in erth Therfore euery man ought gladly helpe serue at the masse / for it is no shame / but great honoure to serue god The fathers oughte to cause theyr chyldren to lerne to helpe masse / for that person shall not serue god in heuen whiche hath not serued hym in erth ¶ The .xxx. Chapytre / yf women maye helpe and serue at the masse YT is prohybyte forbyd in the Canon lawe / for women to preche openly / or to gyue insence vpon the aulter / or to touche the chalyce / the patyne / or corporas
ben conceyued in malyce and synne / may be puryfyed of all my synnes Amen ¶ The seconde artycle of the masse HOwe the preest doth go out of the vestry towardes the aulter with the deacon and subdeacon where he doth tary a lytel space betwene theÌ„ with scylence / the whiche doth sygnyfye / howe Ihesus was borne betwene Ioseph and our lady / and layde betwene an Oxe and an Asse ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I do thaÌ„ke the bycause thou hast wylled to be borne after the nature of man / of the vyrgyne mary in this worlde for our synnes / for the whiche synnes thou hast afterwarde suffred deth vpon the crosse I beseche the good lorde gyue me grace so to bere the crosse of penaunce herein erthe for my synnes / that I maye come to thy glory in heuen Amen ¶ The thyrde artycle of the masse HOwe the preest beynge betwene theÌ„ sayth with great deuocyon Confiteor / and doth confesse hym selfe as a synÌ„er / albeit that he hath confessed hym selfe afore of all his deedly synÌ„es whiche doth sygnyfye that the innocent chylde Ihesus / dyd suffre hym selfe to be cyrcumcysed as a pure a clene myrrour without any spotte ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I do humbly thanke the for thou hast suffred thy selfe to be cyrcuÌ„cysed on the .viii. daye / after thy natyuyte with a knyfe of stone / for to take awaye the vengeauÌ„ce of our synnes / and hast coÌ„mauÌ„ded that thy holy name shuld be Ihesus / I praye the dere lorde graunt me thy dyuyne grace / that I maye cyrcumcyse me with the knyfe of thy dyuyne fere and drede from all euyll teÌ„ptacions / that I may laude and prayse thy holy name Ihesus euerlastyngly Amen ¶ The fourth artycle of the masse HOwe the preest after CoÌ„fiteor gothe to the aulter with great reuerence / lowly inclynyng hym selfe doth worshyppe god almyghty / whiche doth sygnyfye vnto vs / howe the thre Kynges with great reuerence deuocyon / haue worshypped the swete chylde Ihesu / and haue humbly gyuen hym theyr offrynges ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I do thanke the that thou haste wytsauâ—e to showe manyfest thy selfe to the thre kynges / by the tokenynge of a shynynge sterre hath brought them home agayne in to theyr owne countre by another waye / I beseche the good lorde to illumyne the obscuryte and darkenes of my conscyence / by the lyght of thy grace / that I maye gyue offre myrre of feruent deuocyon / insence of busye and dylygent prayer / and golde of dyuyne dyleccyon / that I maye come to the waye of helth Amen ¶ The fyfth artycle of the masse HOw the preest after that with great reuerence doth begynne the masse / betwene deacon and subdeacon at the one syde of the aulter whiche doth sygnyfie that Ihesus was presented in the temple / vpon the aulter of the soueraygne preest / with great deuocyon and reuerence betwene Ioseph Mary / and his other frendes ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I thanke the that thou hast suffred deuoutly and obedyently thy selfe to be presented iÌ„ the temple by the soueraygne preest to the entent that we maye be present in heuen with the father celestyall Wherfore father celestyall / I do offre accordynge as I am worthy this daye in the masse / Ihesu chryste thy onely sone for all my synÌ„es and praye the that this oblacyon be not loste in me Amen ¶ The .vi. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest / the deacon and subdeacon do go from the aulter / the preest and the deacon do sytte them downe / and the subdeacon doth synge the epystell This doth sygnyfie vnto vs how Ihesus Mary and Ioseph fled out of theyr countre from the face of Herode where they dyd dwell in to Egypte / where Ioseph laboured for them ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I do thanke the for thou beyng yonge of age / was constrayned to flye from Herode out of thy countre iÌ„ to Egypte amoÌ„ges the paynyms / I beseche the good lorde that thou wylt gyue me grace / that I may pacyently contempne all persecucyons / trybulacyons / and false tales and lyes surmysed vpon me / to the entent that hereafter I may be founde a true pylgryme of Ierusalem Amen ¶ The .vii. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest dothe come agayne to the aulter / where dylygently he doth rede the gospell This sygnyfyeth howe Ihesus Mary and Ioseph / haue retourned from Egypte in to theyr countre from whens they fled / by the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t of the holy aungell ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste I thanke the for after that thou had ben vii yeres iÌ„ Egypte / thou retourned in to thy cytie of Nazareth / I praye the good lorde graunt me poore synÌ„er to retourne from my synnes / and so to serche / fynde / and holde the here in erth / that we be not separate from hensforth / the one from the other for euermore Amen ¶ The .viii. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest after that he hath red and herde the gospel he goth to the myddes of the aulter and doth synge with a hygh voyce Credo in vnum deum This doth sygnyfye that mary with great ioye and gladnesse hath fouÌ„de her dere sone Ihesus in the temple amoÌ„ges the doctours / and dyd go with her in to Nazareth ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria Credo O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I thanke the that thou hast reioysed and coÌ„forted thy heuye mother / in goynge with her in to Nazareth / and hast alwayes ben obedyent vnto her / I praye the good lorde gouerne me alwayes that I may lyue after thy coÌ„maundementes and those of the holy churche / to the entent that so lyuynge I maye byleue as a good catholyke person ought to byleue / in the whiche I desyre to lyue and dye euerlastyngly Amen ¶ The .ix. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest with scyleÌ„ce doth make redy / prepare and offre the sacryfyce and afterwarde goth to the ende of the aulter doth wasshe his haÌ„des This sygnyfyeth vnto vs that chryste from the .xii. yeres of his age vnto .xxx. yeres / dyd nothynge openly that a man can fynde in wrytynge Yet neuertheles he was not Idle / but at the .xxx. yeres of his age he went towardes Iordan / for to be baptysed of saynt IohnÌ„ Baptyste ¶ Orayson Pater nrÌ„ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I thanke laude the that thou beynge god almyghty / hast gone in the humanyte towardes Iordan to be baptysed / to the entent that our baptysme myght be ordeyned / confyrmed / sanctyfyed by the same / I beseche the good lord grauÌ„t me poore synner that I
nere that he shuld resuscytate hym selfe from dethe / wherfore resuscytate hym nowe at this tyme. O my dere sone I haue seen the all redy wounded longe ago O yf I myght se the now resuscytate from deth gloryfied ī body O my dere son thou hast ofte tymes tolde that on the thyrde day thou wold ryse frō deth / now it draweth nere Mary thus prayenge / as the sondaye at mydnyghte her dere sone dyde ryse from deth / and dyde reioyse make glad his mother afore all other / wherfore ye shall saye in the honour of her this prayer folowynge ¶ Who that sayth this prayer with repentaunce of his synnes / shall meryte .lxxx. M. yeres of pardon O Lorde Ihesu chryste / I praye the forthe loue of that ioye whiche thy mother had / whan thou dyddest appere to her in the holy nyghte of Ester / And for that ioye that she had / whan she dyde se the gloryfyed with the dyuyne clerenesse / that thou wylt illumynate me with the .vii. gyftes of the holy ghost / to the entēt that all the dayes of my lyfe I maye accomplysshe thy dyuyne wyll whiche doth lyue and reygne euerlastyngly Amen ¶ The .xxix. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest dothe take all that is within the chalyce and dothe emptye it leue it open This doth sygnyfye how our lorde on the thyrde daye / dyd ryse from deth and left the sepulchre emptye and open / and dyd fyrste appere to his heuy mother than afterwarde to his other frendes ¶ Orayson Pater nr̄ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde I thāke the that thou haste broken the bondes of deth / and areysynge thy holy body from deth / hast gloryfyed the same by the .iiii. vertues of the claryte or clerenes / I praye the good lorde graūt me to ryse in my soule from the deth of synne / to the entent that from hensforth I maye walke in the waye of reason that I do not serche ne taste any other thynge / but that which shall dure euerlastyngly in heuen Amen ¶ The .xxx. Artycle of the masse HOw the preest cōmeth with the chalyce towardes the ende of the aulter takynge wyne for the percepcyon This doth sygnyfye howe our lorde after that he was rysen from deth / dyd appere to his dyscyples eatynge with them fysshes rosted the which they had taken by the cōmaūdement of god ¶ Orayson Pater nr̄ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde Ihesu chryste / I do thanke the that after thy resurreccyon / thou hast appered to thy dyscyples in eatynge with them naturall meate I praye the good lorde norysshe me here in erthe with the breade of the holy scrypture / to the entent that after this tyme I may be parte taker of the heuenly and pardurable refeccyon Amen ¶ The .xxxi. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest in the myddes of the aulter doth tourne hym ī dysioynynge and takynge his handes a sondre sayth / Dominus vobiscum This doth sygnyfye howe our lorde after that he was rysen from deth / dyd appere showe hym selfe amonges his dyscyples sayenge / Pax vobis / that is to saye / peace be with you / showynge his hādes fete persed through ¶ Orayson Pater nr̄ Aue maria O Blyssed lord I thanke the that thou hast appered to thy dyscyples / there where they were with the gates fast shytte to them / and hast showed amonges them thy fyue woundes / I praye the good lorde shytte and close faste the locke of my fyue wyttes interyoure exteryoure from all tēptacyons / that I maye be within illumynate with the lyght of thy dyuyne grace euerlastyngly Amen ¶ The .xxxii. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest doth tourne hym sayeng / Ite missa est / that is to saye in a maner / go ye the mysterye of the masse is done This sygnyfyeth howe god afore that he dyd ascende in to heuen / he cōmaunded to his dyscyples / to go preche sayenge / Go through all the worlde and preche the holy gospell to all creatures And he that doth byleue and is baptysed / he shall be saued ¶ Orayson Pater nr̄ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde I do thanke the that by the prechynge of thyne apostelles hast called vs beynge infydelles / to the holy catholyke fayth / to the ende that al those that shuld byleue in the on erth shuld haue the fruycyon of the afterwarde in heuen / I pray the good lorde graunt me to byleue in herte faythfully / with my mouthe truely / and by my workes fruytfully / that so I maye dye salutaryly / and lyue pardurably Amen ¶ The .xxxiii. Artycle of the masse HOwe the preest / whan he hath sayd and red all he gyueth the benedyccion vpon all those that be there presēt than he dothe tourne hym from the people retournynge thyther from whens he came This doth sygnyfie that after that the sone of god had accomplysshed all thynge after the wyll of god his father / he gaue his benedyccyon to all those that were vpō the mount of Olyuete / dyd ascende ī to heuen where he doth syt on the ryght hande of god his father ¶ Orayson Pater nr̄ Aue maria O Blyssed lorde I thanke the that after that thou had accomplysshed all thynge in erth / after the wyll of the father celestyall for the helth and profyte of vs / thou dyddest ascēde in to heuen / I pray the good lorde drawe my herte to the in heuen / to the entent that onely I maye loue serche the ī erth / and that here beynge in erth I maye be alwayes with the by desyre in heuen / where I maye se the syttynge on the ryght hande of thy father Amen HEre endeth the seconde boke of the masse / treatynge of the lyfe / passyon / and resurreccyon of our lord Ihesu chryste / in the which euery good catholyke person maye be in his deuocyon occupyed / and specyally in the masse tyme. For as doctours do wryte there be .xii. vertues in remembrynge the lyfe and passyon of our lorde ¶ The fyrste vertue is / that the synner ofte tymes is conuerted therby / from his euyll peruerse lyuynge to good and holy lyuyng so that god graunt hym repentaunce of his synnes / true confessyon and penaunce afore his deth ¶ The seconde vertue is / that the remembraunce of the passyon of our lorde is a medycyne agaynst the tēptacyon of the deuyll For howe great soeuer the temptacyon be / yf the man remembre cordyally the passyon of oure lorde / tournynge his iyes deuoutly vpon the crosse of god / he shal be delyuered from the temptacyon ¶ The thyrde vertue is / that our lord wyl make a sure and a stedfaste peace betwene the synner and his father celestyall ¶ The fourth vertue is / that all trybulacyons aduersytes / syckenes / dyseases / displeasures / and temptacyons / shall be easye and lyght for that man
to bere / whiche doth remembre the passyon of our lorde For saynt Gregorye sayth / there is no grefe / dysease / nor displeasure / but we may lyghtly vaynquysshe it / yf we do remembre deuoutly the passyon of our lorde ¶ The fyfthe vertue is / that suche a person hath more knowlege of god what his wyll is to be done or not to be done / thā the other ¶ The syxte vertue is / that oure lorde gyueth deuocyon to suche men and doth exalt theyr prayer And therfore whan the man is drye of deuocyon / he shall tourne hym selfe to the passyon of our lorde where he shall fynde swetnes and abundaunt deuocyon / And also whā any man wyll praye to our lorde for any thynge / be it for hym selfe or for any other quycke or deed / he shall occupye hym selfe fyrste in one of the artycles of the passyon of our lorde wherin he hath the most deuocyon and in suche medytacyon he shall praye / and without doubte yf the thynge that he dothe desyre be to the helth of his soule / he shall obteyne it or elles a better ¶ The seuenth vertue is / as saynt Bernarde sayth / that god is present nere to hym that doth remembre his passyon / and so oft as the man doth drawe his breth and dothe take it of the ayre / so ofte dothe he receyue a specyall grace in his soule ¶ The eyght vertue / is that the man in remembrynge hertely the passyon of our lorde / maye obteyne more grace than yf all the holy churches / or all the men in the worlde shulde praye for hym ¶ The nynth vertue is / that the remembraunce medytacyon of oure lorde Ihesu chryste / doth passe and surmount all other corporall operacyōs / and is acceptable vnto god aboue all thynges / after that man hath done true penaunce for his syn̄es For as Albertus magnus doth wryte / it is better for man to remembre one poynte of the passyon of our lord / than to fast an hole yere breade and water or to scourge hym selfe tyll he make the blode renne out / or to saye the hole psalter ¶ The tenth vertue is / that the hertye and feruent medytacyon of the passyon of oure lord is more profytable to man / than yf our lady and all the sayntes in heuen dyd pray for hym that is to vnderstande accordynge and after the dygnyte of the passyon of god For in the prayer of sayntes dothe not consyste our helth as in the passyon of our lorde Ihesu chryste ¶ The eleuenth vertue is / that the man whiche hath lost myspent his yonge age / may recouer that whiche he hath lost and consumed / yf deuoutly and hertely he occupy and exercyse hym selfe with the passyon of god So that in shorte space he may obteyne as great rewarde of god / as another in longe tyme whiche doth not occupye hym selfe in the passyon of god ¶ The twelfth vertue is / that god shall ayde and conforte suche a man in the houre of deth / shall not departe from hym vnto he come to a good ende / sauely be brought to euerlastynge lyfe To the whiche the father / the sone / and the holy ghost brynge vs all Amen ¶ Here begynneth the thyrde boke / conteynynge showynge howe a man shall confesse hym and prepare hym selfe to receyue the holy and blyssed Sacrament / and what he shall rede than ¶ The prologue EGo sū panis viuus q i de celo descēdit si qis mādu cauerit ex hoc pane / viuet īeternū Iohīs sexto In the whiche wordes our lorde doth resēble hym selfe to breade sayenge I am the lyuynge breade / he that doth eate of this breade shall lyue euerlastyngly / not that this breade after the consecracyon doth lyue / but this breade is conuerted in to lyuely flesshe and blode / albeit that it doth resemble and appere lyke breade / And that for foure reasons ¶ Fyrste / for the breade noryssheth the man more than any other meate / so also the holy Sacrament doth norysshe the soule of man aboue all thynge / for a thynge is full whā there can no more enter therin The soule of man is of so great importaūce that no creature in heuen nor in erth can or maye fyll it / but god onely whiche hath made and fourmed it This ye maye consydre / for albeit that man shuld haue al the ioye all the goodes of the worlde / yet wolde he more haue and desyre / as those that haue a thousande poūdes / wolde yet haue .x. thousande / and those that haue .x. thousande / wolde haue .xx. thousande And therfore the herte of man is neuer content / haue he neuer so moche excepte that he haue god in his soule / for he is so great that he onely can fyll satysfye and content it And therfore they do erre whiche do saye / yf I had suche a thynge I shuld be content O man / yf thou haddest all the worlde as kynge Alexandre had / yf thou haue not our lord Ihesu chryste in thy herte yet shall thou not be content For as saynt Austyn sayth O good lorde thou hast made vs after thy dyuyne Image lykenes And therfore our herte is not content tyll it come vnto the / my herte maye be occupyed with in all thynges / but thou onely good lorde maye remplysshe and fyll it ¶ Secondaryly / oure lorde dothe resemble hym selfe to breade / for naturally a mā can not lyue without breade / and breade dothe fortyfye the herte and gyueth lyfe to man / So spyrytually the man can not lyue in the soule / without vsynge and receyuynge reuerently the holy sacrament / For by receyuynge reuerently the holy sacrament / a mā doth not onely lyue but also he is preserued here in erth / in vertue / ī prosperyte / in grace and also hereafter in heuen in ioye / whiche god hym selfe hath promysed vs sayenge / He that dothe eate of this breade shall lyue euerlastyngly ¶ Thyrdly albeit that the breade is necessary for man as concernynge the body / yet neuertheles it is very euyl daūgerous eaten in foure maners So is it also of the holy sacrament whiche is the breade of the soule ¶ Fyrste / the breade eaten in angre with impacyence / bryngeth causeth great dysease and syckenes to the man for the naturall hete of the man whiche dothe consume and dysgest the meate / doth apply gyue it selfe to the angre and impacyentnes / and not to the meate So is it also with them that receyue the holy sacrament beynge in malyce enuye for theyr synnes wherof they be cōfessed / be not pardoned and forgyuen them And as saynt Ambrose wryteth / the man receyueth of god suche pardon of his syn̄es / as he gyueth and pardoneth his neyghbour and euen chrysten / for suche persones do set theyr myndes more to dystroye theyr
enemyes / than to serue god ¶ Secōdaryly / he that doth eate the breade or meate whiche is not well hādled / dressed or apoynted / shall fynde it very vnholsome So is it also with them that do receyue the holy sacrament / without a feruent preparacyon of deuocyon / as of contrycyon confessyon which be necessary for the man For as saynt Paule saythe / the man shall proue hym selfe fyrste / that is to saye howe he is dysposed in his conscyence / afore that he receyue the holy sacrament / and than he shall go there ¶ Thyrdly / it is very vnholsome to take and eate to moche of brede or of mete for all fyllynge and excesse specyally of breade is euyll as the Phesycyens do saye So is it also of the holy sacrament / that is to saye / whan the man wyll enquyre further and knowe more thā it doth belonge vnto hym where it is cōmaūded vnto hym to knowe or to byleue / he doth fall in a great dysease and syckenes in his soule as the Herytykes whiche byleue not in the holy sacrament bycause that it is aboue theyr vnderstandynge / the whiche as Salomon sayth be spoyled of grace and of glory hereafter in heuen For as saynt Bonauenture sayth / there be .xxiii. mysteryes hyd and closed in the sacrament which do surmount and passe all our vnderstandynge ¶ Fourthly / the breade or meate is not holsome yf that the man do slepe incontynent after that he haue taken it / for therby do procede and come feuers and other dyseases as Auycene sayth So is it also of the holy sacrament / that is to saye / whan the man after that he hath receyued the holy sacrament dothe fall incontynent agayne in to deedly synne / so that he doth not kepe the grace of the holy sacrament / he doth lease all his vertues by hym done / and his soule is deed afore god And so longe as he is yet in synne / so longe he is in dampnacyon of his soule Therfore saynt Iohan Euangelyste sayth be well ware that thou do not lease that / that thou hast done / to the ende that thou maye receyue a great rewarde in heuen ¶ Fourthly / wherfore our lorde doth resemble hym selfe to breade is / that in all maner that the naturall breade is apoynted and laboured for the profyte of the body / so is also the lyuynge breade spyrytually apoynted / in the holy sacrament ¶ Fyrste / for to sawe the corne fructefully a man muste take the tyme conuenyent for the same / as the last parte of the yere This doth sygnyfie howe our lord had made hym selfe man / in the laste age of this worlde / whan it had dured .v. M.C.xcix yeres ¶ Secondaryly / by the sede caste in to the erth / we vnderstande the humanyte of our lorde buryed and couerte in erth ¶ Thyrdly / by the erth in the whiche the sede was caste / we vnderstande the blyssed body of oure lady / in the whiche oure lorde hath rested ¶ Fourthly / the erth ought to be donged that it may be fertyll / and yet alwayes it is estemed as nothynge worth We vnderstande by this the parfounde humylyte of the blyssed vyrgyne mary / the which dyd not repute and esteme her selfe to be the worthy seruaunt of our lorde god ¶ Fyfthly / the erth muste be laboured and tourned This doth sygnyfye howe mary was tourned by consent to receyue the sone of god in her vyrgynall wombe ¶ Syxtly / there is a seruaunt that doth lede and guyde the horses tournynge the erth This doth sygnyfie the aungell Gabryell berynge the message / and dysyrynge her consent ¶ Seuenthly / the erth oughte to be moyste with the rayne celestyall / for otherwyse the corne wolde not sprynge and come forth of the grounde / whiche doth sygnyfye the holy ghost descended from heuen / makynge the blyssed vyrgyne mary apte and mete to be the mother of the sone of god / and she to be styll a vyrgyne ¶ Eyghtly / the corne is couered vnder the erth that a man can not se it This doth sygnyfye the meruaylous concepcyon of oure lord / by the which the humanyte was vnyed with the deyte / the whiche thynge howe it was done / it doth passe the vnderstādynge of all creatures ¶ Nynthly / after that the corne hath ben a longe space in the erth / and that it is rype / it is cut layed on the grounde This doth sygnyfye how after that our lord had rested nyne monethes in the wombe of our lady / he was borne lyenge vpon the colde erth ¶ Tenthly / whan the corne hathe rested a lytell vpon the grounde / it is taken vp bounde togyther This doth sygnyfye how our lady dyd take vp her dere sone from the grounde / byndynge his membres in poore lynnen clothes ¶ Eleuenthly / after that the corne is so boūde / it is layde in the grange or barne This doth sygnyfye howe our lady dyd laye her chylde in the crybbe of an Oxe stall betwene an Oxe and an Asse ¶ Twelfthly / whan the corne hath ben a certayne space in the grange or barne / and that the man wyl vse it to his profyte / it is taken caste downe from the mowe to be thrasshed This doth sygnyfye howe after that oure lorde had rested .xxxiii. yeres / he was taken from the company of his dyscyples by the Iewes / who caste hym downe to the erth ¶ The .xiii. the corne is thrasshed and all to bette on euery syde hygh lowe This doth sygnyfye howe the Iewes dyde caste hym downe moste cruelly before them / betynge and scourgynge hym / hygh and lowe afore and behynde and on euery syde / those that were the seruaūtes of Pylate the Iewes ¶ The .xiiii. a man doth clense it and caste it in the fan from one syde to another This sygnyfyeth howe swete Ihesus was sent and ledde from Annas to Cayphas / from Cayphas to Pylate / from Pylate to Herode / and agayne from Herode to Pylate / as from one Iuge to another ¶ The .xv. the corne is gronne and broken so that there is no parte therof left hole This doth sygnyfye howe our lorde beynge boūde to a pyller / was so sore bette / scourged wounded / that from the toppe of his heed vnto the solles of his fete was not one place lefte hole The two heuye stones of the myll / were the Iewes and Romaynes / as the seruauntes and sergeauntes of Pylate ¶ The .xvi. the corne thus broken is cyfted caused to passe through the cyue / whiche is full of lytell holes This doth sygnyfye howe Ihesus after that he was scourged was crowned with a crown of thorne / the whiche dyd make many holles in his blyssed heed wherof dyd tenne downe his blyssed blode abundauntly ¶ The .xvii. the swete flowre or mele / is mynged or myxte / with daughe or sowre paste This dothe
with god by the holy sacrament Wherfore he doth speke by the prophete Dauid I haue spoken O men ye be godes and all togyther chyldren of heuen / For the soule of man is so vnyed with god by the holy sacrament that all the auÌ„gelles Cherubyns ne Seraphyns can not fynde any dyfference betwene theÌ„ two for where they do moue the soule / thyther also they do moue god There was neuer thyng so vnyed as god is with the soule of man / for he is nerer and more vnyed / than the soule and the body / whiche do man a man This we may consydre by many sayntes and perfyte men whiche haue suffred great paynes / punysshementes / and tourmeÌ„tes of tyrauntes vnto deth / that theyr bodyes dyde departe from theyr soules Yet these tyrauntes could neuer separate god from theyr soules with all theyr tourmeÌ„tê This vnyon is greater than yf a droppe of water were put in to a great tonne full of wyne / the which droppe of water shall be incontynent conuerted in to wyne And therfore man yf thou wylte procede from vertue to vertue / from grace to grace / from charyte to charyte / from desyre in to desyre / from the lyght of grace to the lyght of glory / and to come to the perfeccyon of good workes / exercyse thy selfe in the passyon of our lorde / and go oft tymes true tenâ—ly and worthely to the holy sacrament For there is nothyng that doth quycken the wyttes so moche / nor that doth illumynate the herte with deuocyon / nor that doth lyfte vp the man so moche to hygh contemplacyon / as to receyue the body of our lorde / and remeÌ„bre his passyon O man yf thou wylt also be perfytly pourged from synne / enryched in vertues / hyghly illumynate in the holy scrypture / boldly vaynquysshe thyne enemyes / be coÌ„forted in all paynes and trybulacyons / lyue deuoutly in erth / feruently be enbrased in thy herte / to wepe swetely in thy prayers / oft tymes to be illumynate / in thy desyres to be ferme and stedfast / to contynewe in good operacyons / to be remplysshed and fulfylled with spyrytuall ioyes / to be drawen to heuenly thynges / to know that thynge that god hath hydde and kepte darke / to dye wysely / to lyue euerlastyngly with god / exercyse thy selfe here in erth with god in the holy sacrament and his bytter passyon For the man myght with suche and so great medytacyon / desyre / and with suche loue and deuocyon receyue the holy sacrament that from the lowest trone of aungelles he shulde be set iÌ„ the hyghest For god doth not promyse nor also rewarde the man in heuen / after the multytude of his good workes / but also after the greatnes of his desyre loue Therfore many do erre which do withdrawe them selfe from the holy sacrament sayenge I worde very oft tymes go to receyue the holy sacrameÌ„t / but I haue no spyrytuall rychesse in me / that is to saye vertues wherwith honestly and competeÌ„tly I maye aorne my soule for to receyue the great kynge beynge present in the sacrameÌ„t The other do say / I haue not in me the water of teares for to clense and wasshe my coÌ„scyence from all fylth and synne Other do say / I haue no feruent deuocyon iÌ„ my prayers / but I am colde / feble / and slouthfull towardes god And so they wyll tary vnto they be ryche in vertues and that they haue abundaunce of teares and feruent deuocyon as they were assured therby to receyue god worthely iÌ„ the holy sacrameÌ„t O poore man there be many Turkes / Sarazyns / Infydelles / whiche haue done many vertuous dedes haue great deuocyon in theyr sacryfyce / yet neuertheles they do consyste be in dampnacyon of theyr soules It is not that that god doth serche Our lorde Ihesu chryste doth desyre and demauÌ„de of vs that we after our poore power prepare our selfe by trewe confessyon / repentaunce / and contrycyon and ferme purpose neuer to retourne more to synÌ„e In this we do prepare our selfe And yf our lord god gyue vs this grace / than we shall tourne vs to deuocyon to the teares of our iyes And yf we can not do it / we shal coÌ„myt it to god and shall not therfore leue and refrayne to go to the holy sacrament / specyally yf thy herte greatly desyre it That suche people do erre / I wyll showe you by thre reasons ¶ Fyrste / it shulde be great foly madnes for a poore man beynge clothed in ryche and precyous apparell / to demauÌ„de and begge of a ryche kynge / but it shulde be better that he shuld come lyke a poore man showynge his pouertie and so demaundynge rychesse So do the poore people that do sytte at the churche dores / showynge to the ryche men theyr nakednes and pouertie and therby the ryche people be moued with pytie So also shall we do showyng our nakednes of vertues / howe feble so euer we be / howe colde and flowe in deuocyon / howe indyscryte in wordes inclyned to all synÌ„e These faultes other lyke showynge to god the ryche kynge of Ierusalem / he wyll ayde and helpe vs in our pouertie with the treasoure of his dyuyne grace / and shall haue mercy of vs in lykewyse as he dyd to the woman of Canane / the whiche humbly dyd demaunde and desyre to eate with the fytell dogges the crommes lytell peaces of breade / that dyd fall from the table And bycause that she dyd not repute her selfe worthy to receyue a great grace / god dyd graunt her that / that she dyd demaunde / ye and yf she had desyred a greater thynge And this is that / wherof he doth speke by the prophet Dauid The poore shall eate shall be fylled / and those that do serche god shall prayse laude hym / theyr herte shall lyue with god euerlastyngly In this ye maye consydre two thynges ¶ Fyrste / god is the meate of the poore / in the soule ¶ Secondaryly / that they shall eate vnto they be full And bycause that that is impossyble so longe as we be here in erth / vnto that we come to heuen where we shall be fylled Therfore all deuoute persones shall dyspose themselfe for to go ofte tymes to the holy sacrament For as saynt Gregorye faythe / there is great dyffereÌ„ce betwene spyrytuall meate carnall meate For the man maye take so moche of carnall meate or ioye / that he shall be wery therwith But of spyrytuall meate or ioye / the man can not take so moche that he wyll be wery therwith / for the more that he dothe take therof / the more he doth demaunde and desyre And of this it is spoken in Ecclesiastico sayeng Those that do eate me shall haue hungre Wherfore he that wyll go to receyue the Sacrament worthely / he shall do that is in hym / than he shall
sayth in the gospell all my goodes be the goodes of the maÌ„ / for all that I haue apperteyneth to the man O good lorde what thou art lyberall / large mercyfull / that all thy goodes whiche so rychely thou onely doest possede wyll spende with the man sayenge / all my good rychesse of grace glory / apperteyneth to the. O good lorde what small gyft thou receyuest of me for that that thou gyuest me in the holy sacrament god maker of all creatures for one creature / a man iÌ„nocent for a man beynge a synner / a noble holy soule for a peruerse vnnoble Wherfore I speke with the prophete Dauid O good lorde what shall I gyue and render to the for that thou hast gyuen me I wyll take the chalyce of helth / I wyll inuoke and call the name of our lorde All those that be poore of vertues in the soule / they shall go surely without any fere to the holy sacrameÌ„t as to a ryche marchauÌ„t whiche shall fulfyll all thy demauÌ„des and desyres of his lyberalyte without gyuynge golde or syluer ¶ Syxtly / the man is to farre from his ende of perpetuall helth / to the which he was made and fourmed in this worlde / so that of hym selfe he can not come therto Neuertheles to the entent that the man do not dyspayre for to come thyther / god hath gyuen hym selfe in a spyrytuall meate / in and by the whiche the man is saued and vnyed as he doth speke hym selfe in the gospell / He that doth eate my flesshe and drynketh my blode he abydeth in me and I in hym And yf it be not that thou eate the flesshe of the sone of the man and drynke his blode / thou shal neuer haue lyfe in the / that is to saye in thy soule here in erth hereafter in heuen Therfore speketh saynt Austyne in the person of god sayenge Whan thou doest eate me / I shall not be coÌ„uerted in the / but thou in me For this vnyon the sone of god dyd pray to his father sayenge O father saue in thy name al those that thou hast gyuen me so that they maye be one with vs as we togyther be one / I in the and thou in me O most benygne Ihesu thou hast showed in this thy infynyte mercy / for by this meate we do ioyne and make vs one in the / to the and with the. But many doth receyue the holy sacrament with lytell desyre in great feblenes It is greatly to be complayned / that so many folkê haue so lytell deuocyon towardes the holy sacrament / so that for a lyght occasyon they do not go therto to the which they shulde well and dylygently alwayes prepare them But bycause that they be loth to confesse them / and that it greueth them to fast / they do let it passe / the whiche is a token of lytell loue that they haue towardes god For as saynt Gregorye sayth / the dyleccyon and loue of god is neuer Idle and voyde in the man / For where it is there it worketh great thynges / and where it is not there the man is Idle O yf there were but one man in the worlde worthy to receyue the holy sacrament / howe wolde all the other reÌ„ne to se hym and to speke with hym Nowe our lorde Ihesu chryste gyueth and maketh hym selfe coÌ„mon egally to all persones / wherfore many there be that do not regarde hym And therfore whan they dye / they fynde them selfe naked of vertues in the soule / and chased from euerlastynge lyfe / the whiche all those onely that do eate of this breade shall vse and haue / for they shal lyue euerlastyngly Amen ¶ The fyrste Chapytre / what thynge is necessary for the man that wyll receyue worthely the holy sacrament AS the doctours do wryte / thre thyngê be necessary to euery good ê‘son that fructefully wyll receyue the blyssed sacrament of our lord Ihesu chryst ¶ The fyrste that is necessary for the man / is purenes and clennes in the conseyence / so that he be without deedly synne / in true repentaunce / confessyon / and stedfast purpose neuer to synne more / and to fulfyll the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„tes of god and those of the holy churche For the holy churche doth prohybyte and forbyd / that all those that be in deedly synne / that they shall not receyue the holy sacrament / yf they be not fyrste and afore confessed and assoyled For otherwyse in goynge to the sacrament they synne deedly in case that they maye haue or fynde a confessoure Therfore the maÌ„ shal prepare hym therunto as yf incontynent after his confessyon he shulde dye / and that is suffycyent afore Ihesu chryste ¶ The seconde is / that the man shall haue feruent deuocyon / so that he shall appoynte and prepare hym self as deuoutly as he can possyble / tournynge hym selfe hooly from that thynge whiche for that tyme and houre myght drawe hym from god and from his deuocyon Therfore the man shall haue after his confessyon afore that he go to the sacrament / a generall repentauÌ„ce and contrycyon of all his venyall synnes / specyally of those wherin he knoweth hym selfe dayly to fall / be it in vayne spekynge / in eatynge and drynkyng more than nede requyreth or in not hauynge pacyence in trybulacyon or any other lyke / for they do let the persone in his deuocyon A man may get deuocyon in two maners / that is to saye by the fere of god / as in remembrynge the greatnes and multytude of his synnes / and the iustyce of god Secondaryly / by the dyleccyon loue of god in remembryng his passyon and the benefytes that he hath showed vs. ¶ The thyrde thynge that is necessary for man for to receyue the holy sacrament worthely / is clennes of the body outwardly / so that he be not poluted and maculate in the body with synne by the defaulte of nature / the whiche maye be done in deedly synne / That is to saye whan it coÌ„meth of carnall thoughtes / or whan it coÌ„meth of glotonye and excesse of meates drynkes And than it is good for hym to refrayne for the dygnyte of the sacrament It maye be done also without synne / as by feblenes or debylyte of nature / by coldnes of the body / by teÌ„ptacyon of the deuyll or otherwyse But he that shall fynde hym selfe greued herein shall take the counceyll of his confessoure ¶ The seconde Chapytre / howe the man goth in thre maners of wayes to the holy sacrament in deedly synne THe man may be in deedly synÌ„e and yet receyue the holy sacrament in thre maners ¶ Fyrste / he maye be in deedly synne and knowe it not / or he doth truste in god that it is forgyuen hym / for he doth not remembre it To this the doctours answere sayenge / yf it be so that the man afore his confessyon haue examyned his conscyence after his power /
receyue our lorde worthely with Zachee Suche persones shal thynke that god hath seen some thynge in them / wherfore they maye not be admyt to receyue the holy sacrament bodely And so they maye go afore the blyssed sacrament / and shall rede deuoutly these prayers folowynge / the which saynt FrauÌ„cys was wont to saye and rede with great deuocyon / or a man maye saye them in his chambre afore the crucyfyxe or crosse of our lorde god / thynkynge that the very sone of god doth hange there ¶ The .xxx. Chapytre / what thynge a man shall rede whiche desyreth spyrytually to receyue the holy sacrament with his dyuyne grace THat man whiche spyrytually desyreth to receyue the body of our lorde Ihesu chryste with his dyuyne grace / vertue / and fruytes he shall huÌ„ble hym selfe perfoundely afore god And shall rede these fyue prayers deuoutly vpoÌ„ his knees or in his chambre iÌ„ the maner here showed ¶ Here thou shalt knele on thy knees and shall saye O Lorde Ihesu chryste here I am vpoÌ„ my knees afore thy blyssed iyes and presence / as a synner and an euyll doer afore a iuge And I knowe that after thy iustyce / I haue lost and forfayte my body soule Wherfore I praye the good lorde Ihesu chryste / by the senteÌ„ce of deth wrongfully gyuen of the / that thou wylt be a mercyfull iuge to me / whan my soule shall departe from my body Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ Nowe thou shalt ryse vp and saye O Good lorde Ihesu chryst here I am afore thyne iyes and in thy presence as a bonde man afore his lorde and mayster / whom I and all other creatures be bounde to serue euerlastyngly I praye the good lorde Ihesu chryste that thou wylt lette me knowe thy dere wyll in all thyngê to be done / and to let it be acceptable to the / and lette me not do that thynge / wherby I maye lease thy loue euerlastyngly Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ Here thou shalt knele agayne / and shall saye hertely O Lorde Ihesu chryst here I am on my knees afore thy blyssed face / as a pore begger afore a ryche kynge I praye the O kynge of glory that thou wylt cloth my soule with the vestment of thy dyuyne loue / and to enryche the same with thy grace in all vertue / to aorne the same with the perles of pacyence / to the entent that so aorned I may com to the soueraygne maryage wherunto thou hast called me Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ Here thou shalt ryse with fere / and shall saye O Lorde god Ihesu chryste here I am afore thy reuereÌ„de presence as a man afore his derest frende / whom I al other creatures be bounde to loue / for thou haste made delyuered vs by thy precyous blode O benygne Ihesu chryste I pray the kepe and defende me alwayes / and graunt me to perceyue howe good and swete thou art / to the entent that therby all payne and ioye / and also all creatures maye be bytter vnto me Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ Nowe thou shalt knele agayne / and shall saye O Lorde Ihesu chryste here I am humbly on knees afore thy dyuyne iyes / as a chylde afore his father of whom I haue receyued body and soule / albeit that I haue not ben at all tymes obedyent / as a true and faythfull chylde ought to be to his father I pray the O my father euerlastynge by thy paternall loue / that thou wylt norysshe me here in erth with the heuenly breade / and in chastysynge me for my faultes / haue mercy of me / to the entent that so I puryfyed of my synnes / we maye reioyse / thou in me and I in the / with all the sayntê in heuen euerlastyngly Amen ¶ Pater noster Aue maria ¶ The .xxxi. Chapytre / of those whiche neyther spyrytually nor bodely receyue the holy sacrament THyrdly / there be some ê‘sones whiche neyther spyrytually nor bodely / receyue the holy sacrament / and that do withdrawe them selfe from the lyfly fountayne of grace wherby they become drye in theyr soules / as a braunche cut from a tree ¶ Fyrste / they be those whiche be harde herted / obstynate / and roted in theyr euyll and peruers lyuynge / and wyll not leue it / As those which be in adultery / those whiche do lede theyr lyues in a lyght and coÌ„mon maner / those whiche do haunt olde fylthy / and vnhonest tauernes or lodgyngê / or whiche do possesse goodes vnryghtfully / or also whiche be in enuye or suche lyke deedly synnes These persones / albeit that they synne lease bycause they do not go to the holy sacrament in suche an euyll and peruers lyfe yet neuertheles they synne deedly / bycause that one iÌ„ the yere they do not prepare them selfe to the holy sacrament For they myght leue theyr synne and confesse them therof / and so go to the holy sacrament / where as nowe they tarye in deedly synne and in the state of euerlastynge daÌ„pnacyon in the whiche they maye at all houres dye ¶ Secondaryly / all Infydelles / as Turkes / Sarazyns / Iewes / and paynyms / other whiche do not byleue in Ihesu chryste the sone of god in the holy catholyke churche All persones blynded in theyr malyce synne / wherby they dyspyse the holy sacrament / mocke them that do receyue it And bycause that they byleue not in the sone of god / and do not receyue hym in the holy sacrament / whiche is the lyfe of the soule / therfore they abyde and dwell in dethe / and be deed in theyr soules ¶ Thyrdly / there be yet some which do not receyue the holy sacrament / as Herytykes / that is to saye chrysten people / whiche vnderstaÌ„de the holy scrypture otherwyse than the holy ghost doth speke it by the prophetes and that that is ordeyned by the holy churche / as to go to confessyon / to faste / to go to the holy sacrament / to repute as no thynge excoÌ„munycacyon / and not to sanctyfye the holy dayes / and to honoure our lady other sayntes / or to gyue any almous in theyr honoure to the poore folkes / to dyspyse and set at nought pardons indulgences / and of suche other artycles they haue many And these persones go not to the holy sacrament whan and where they may / for they byleue not in the holy sacrament And yf they go to confessyon or to the holy sacrament / they do it without fayth / and bycause that they shall not be knowen from other / and in lyke case they com to the churche to here masse ¶ Fourthlye / they be those whiche take so great payne in worldly busynes / as to go in to the countre for marchauÌ„dyse and other transytory thynges / that they forgette to receyue the holy sacrament For there be some
wyll of god / and the greatnes of synne ¶ Fyfthly / deedly synne maketh place for the deuyll / by his temptacyons in the soule of man / but the holy sacrament doth arme the soule of man agaynst the deuyll and his dartes or temptacyons For where he seeth the blode of our lorde / he flyeth from thens and the auÌ„gelles do helpe the man to fyght agaynst the deuyll and enemye of hell ¶ Syxtly / deedly synne inclyneth the man and doth plucke hym to many other deedly synnes / yf it be not incontynent wasshed taken awaye by true penaunce / but by the blyssed sacrament man becoÌ„meth stedfaste and stronge in grace and redy to all vertue so longe as he doth not fall to synÌ„e agayne ¶ Seuenthly / by deedly synne man is beseged of the deuyll / but by the blyssed sacrament he is vnyed with god / so that he loue god wherby he doth pourchase and obteyne taste and sauoure of euerlastynge lyfe ¶ Eyghtly / the soule of man dyeth of euerlastynge deth by deedly synÌ„e / so that it knoweth not what to do that maye be acceptable to god / and to hym selfe profytable / but the holy sacrament doth preserue and kepe the soule of man from the deth of synne / so that he doth abyde in the lyfe of grace / And his workê be acceptable to god / and to hym selfe profytable ¶ Nynthlye / deedly synne maketh a man sorowfull pensyfe heuy of herte / and harde and euyll wyllynge to all vertue / but the blyssed sacrameÌ„t maketh the man worthy mete redy to all vertue / and tourneth all his inwarde myght towardes god / and spyrytuall ioye and gladnes ¶ Tenthly / man doth depryuate hym selfe by deedly synne of the passyon / payne / and tourment of our lorde Ihesu chryste / of mary the mother of god / and of all the sayntes Also of all the good workes and coÌ„munyon of the holy churche / and of all the goodnes in heuen and in erth / but by the holy sacrament man maketh hym selfe parte taker of all the goodnes that the sone of god hath done vpon the erth / and of all other good dedes ¶ Eleuenthly / man is dayly cursed of god of the holy churche for deedly synne / wherby man hath alwayes an inconstaunt and troubled conscyence / but by the holy sacrament he pourchaseth in his soule / a swete spyrytuall ioye and gladnes / and great peace and rest in his conscyence / the which doth passe all gladnes pleasure that man may haue in all his lyfe in this worlde ¶ Twelfthly / man is for deedly synne put out of the gate of Paradyse and of euerlastynge lyfe dysinheryte of the soueraygne rychesse / but by well and worthely receyuynge the holy sacrament it is forgyuen as to a chylde heyre of the precyous treasure of the glory of heuen / the whiche they onely shall possede and euerlastyngly vse and enioye / whiche worthely / bodely / and ghostly receyue here in erth the holy sacrament / As chryste hym self sayth as it is wryten in the begynnynge of the thyrde boke Hic est panis c. This is the breade descended from heuen / and all those whiche eateth of this breade shall lyue euerlastyngly / to the whiche brynge vs Ihesu chryste very god and man / inclosed and conteyned in the holy sacrament Amen ¶ This prayer shall a man saye whan he goth to the holy sacrament / or for to here masse deuoutly I Do salute the moste holy body of oure lorde Ihesu chryste / conteyned in this sacrament / I do confesse knowlege the with my lyppes / and with my hert I desyre coueyte the / I pray the that thou wylte this daye come to conforte my poore soule gracyously / the whiche desyreth and coueyteth to receyue the holy oblacyon and fountayne of all grace / to the ende that I may be with the in ioye and consolacyon of thy presence / in body in soule O benygne lorde Ihesu chryste / haue not regarde to my many folde synnes / but haue regarde to thy great mercy / for thou arte he by whom all the worlde is made delyuered Thou arte the innocent lambe which is offred vp this daye to the father of heuen / for all the worlde O most swetest heueÌ„ly breade O most ioyfull buurayge or drynke / Gyue to my mouth a swete sauoure of thy holsome presence / illumynate me with thy loue / take awaye my malyce and synne and put in me vertue and grace to the helthe of my soule O most worthy sacrament / I praye the that by thy presence all myne enemyes maye be chased awaye / all my synÌ„es forgyuen / and all euyll temptacyon withstande and put awaye / graunt me a good and holy lyfe / correcte my maners and condycyons / and all my workes and dedes / tourne them to thy wyll O good lorde open heuen come to me for to illumynate my vnderstandynge by this newe lyght / illumynate my desyres / and corroborate strengthen my truste and hope / to the entent that from hensforth my lyfe maye so amende / that fynally I maye come to good ende Amen ¶ Another deuoute prayer that a man shal saye in goynge to the holy sacrament O Lorde Ihesu chryste I desyre and coueyte this day to receyue thy blyssed body / as perfytely as mary thy most honourable mother receyued it in her vyrgynall wombe so good lorde descende and come in to my soule / not accordynge and after my deseruynges / but after thy great mercy O lorde Ihesu chryste I desyre and coueyte this daye to receyue thy blyssed blode / in wasshynge awaye all my synnes O lorde Ihesu chryste / this daye I coueyte to receyue thy blyssed spyryte / in recouerynge all my tyme loste and mysspent O benygne lorde Ihesu chryste / I desyre this daye to receyue thy blyssed soule / in infusyon of thy dyuyne charyte loue O lorde Ihesu chryste / this day I coueyte and desyre to receyue thy blyssed dyuynyte / in assuraunce and securytye / of the euerlastynge lyfe Amen ¶ Saye thre tymes this verse afore that ye go to the holy sacrameÌ„t O lorde god I am not worthy that thou entre in to my howse but speke onely and my poore soule shall be hole Than go forthe and receyue the sone of god with all mekenes and feruent desyre And whan thou shalt haue receyued hym / rede this prayer whiche our lady dyd speke / after that she had receyued the sone of god / the whiche was this psalme Magnificat anima mea dominum ¶ The Magnificat in englysshe MY soule dothe magnyfye our lorde And my spyryte hath reioysed iÌ„ god my sauyoure For he hathe beholden the humylyte of his mayde seruaunt / therfore all generacions shall blysse me For he whiche is myghtye / hathe done great thynges to me / and his name is holy And his mercy is from generacyon to