acquainted with the Latin and of a Language more remote from it Yet our venerable Beda in his History saith That in his time to these Northern Languages of ours English Scotch Britans Picts the Latin Tongue by perusing the Scriptures was made common to them all The usual Language therefore wherein the Scriptures were delivered in his times was Latin and by this that Tongue rendred common and not unknown even to these Northern people 13. Besides all this several Popes Patriarks c. have approved the Translation of the Missal c. into the vulgar Languages as Pope Iohn the Eighth who was induced thereto by a Miracle related by Aeneas Silvius afterward Pope Pius the Second likewise Pope Innocent the Third Pope Leo the Tenth Balsamon Patriarch of Antioch c. To conclude since the Doctor confesseth that Popes have given leave to some Churches that the Divine Office should be in a vulgar Tongue he ought not to have made a Quarrel of this to a Separation till it could be shewed that their first Reformers had demanded a dispensation and been refused CHAP. XVI Of Invocation of Saints Proved out of Antiquity Concessions Deductions And Objections answered 1. THe next supposed Novelty is the Invocation of Saints departed which says Doctor Pierce is no doubt an aged error though not so aged as they would have it for the gaining of honor to the invention because St. Augustin does deny it to have been in his dayes 2. Though perhaps the Preacher may for some ends be unwilling yet that other Protestants may see the Innocence of the Church in this Point and how free she is from any intention of deterring any one from having access in Prayer to our Lord immediately or of diminishing the all-sufficient vertue of our Lords Merits and Intercession or of iâ—ducing men to security by relying on the holynesse and intercession of others and neglecting the means of Salvation themselves c. which are generally the grounds upon which Protestants condemn this practise I will first set down the Churches Decision And next in order to demonstrate the reasonablenesse of it I will shew for preventing such prejudices what concessions are generally made by Catholics Thirdly I will confirm the Churches practise by the Testiâ—onies of the Primitive times And lastly answer the Doctors only argument 3. First then touching the Churches Doctrin contained in the Council of Trent The Holy Synod commands all Bishops and others who sustain the Office and care of teaching that according to the use of the Catholic and Apostolic Religion received from the primitive times the consent of the Holy Fathers and the â—ecrees of the Sacred Councils especially touching the intercession and invocation of Saints c. that they diligently instruct the Faithful teaching them that the Saints reigning together with Christ do offer their Prayers to God for men and that it is good and profitable humâ—ly to invocate them and to have recourse to their Prayers help and assistance for the obtaining of benefits from God by his Son Iesus Christ our Lord who alone is our Redeemer and Saviour Let them likewise teach that those who deny that the Saints enjoying eternal felicity in Heaven are to be invocated or who affirm either that they do not pray for men or that the invocating them to pray for us in particular also is Idolatry or that it is repugnant to Gods word and contrary to the honor of the one Mediator between God and Men Iesus Christ or that it is a foolish thing to supplicate with words or mind to them reigning in heaven impie sentiunt are impiously persuaded 4. In the second place in conformity to the doctrin of this Decree Catholics believe and acknowledge 1. That we have only one Mediator Iesus Christ to whom only belongs the Merit that by it's just worth redeems us from eternal Death and purchases for us eternal life As likewise that as his Merits by satisfaction so also his Intercession is all-sufficient by way of impetration to obtain all blessings for us 2. Yet cannot it be deny'd but our Lords intercessiâ—n is not actually and absolutely beneficial to all but that some Duties and qualifications on our part are necessary both that his Merits and the benefits of his Intercession should be effectually applyed unto us 3. Among these Qualifications we are to reckon not only our own Prayers for our selves but mutual Prayers for one another which therefore we may beg from one another as St. Paul himself did from the Ephesians Colossians c. 4. Because the more holy any person is the more effectual will his Intercession be with God therefore we may beg of known Saints their Prayers to God for us with greater hope of successe 5. Such begging of Prayers is farr from Idolatry Superstition or diminution to Christ's honor since holy Persons living or dead are not invocated as Donors but Fellow-beggers with God for us 6. Though a Christian may be saved who prays to God alone and requests not the prayers of others yet to refuse the assistance of those whose Prayers God more willingly hears is a neglect at least of using all means helpful to us 7. Neverthelesse we say with Saint Chrysostom God will bestow salvation much rather on us praying for our selves than for others praying for us And we are much more safe by our own Devotions without others then by others alone And therefore we ought not to be slothful and secure depending on otherâ—s merits For the prayers and supplications of Saints have indeed very great force with God in our behalf but it is then truly when we with penance and humiliation beg the same thing also of God And therefore saith the same Saint Knowing these things let us neither neglectingly contemn the prayers of Saints nor cast our selves wholly upon them 5. Whatsoever hath been hitherto said may indifferently be applied as well to Saints departed as to Saints alive If the Prayers to Saints departed be prejudicial to the merits intercession of our Lord so is the beging of the prayers of those alive If one be unlawful so is the other nay most certain it is that if both be lawful the prayers of Saints departed will be incomparably more effectual and therfore will better deserv to be made use of than the other Therefore notwithstanding most of the Arguments of Protestants against the Doctrin of the Church touching Invocation of Saints departed do prove full as much against Prayer to the Living and therefore are evidently unconcluding Yet those who are most learned and sober and will not wilfully mistake Catholic Doctrin do free us from all imputation of Idolatry superstition or doing injury to Christ and reduce the Controversie to a short point For they question not whether the Saints pray in general for us but rather willingly acknowledge it yea they will not positively deny but they may and do pray personally for their former known
the Body and Wine into the Blood of Christ he would think to escape by allowing a change to be made but only in the Act of worthy receiving Therefore I will onely make use of such Authorities as demonstrate this change to be made before communicating that it remains when the Sacrament is reserved and that immediately after consecration before any participation of the Symbols both the Priest and People did perform an act of Adoration to Christ beleived to be really and substantially though mystically present 10. In all ancient Liturgies as Blondel himself though a Huguenot confesses the prayer in the consecration of the Elements was That God would by his holy Spirit sanctifie the Elements whereby the Bread may be made the Body and the Wine the Blood of our Lord. And that before communicating whilst it was on the Altar it was esteem'd and worshiped as the true Body of our Lord St. Chrysostome will witnesse Let us saith he who are Citizens of Heaven imitate but even the barbarous Magi who worshipped our Lord an Infant c. Thou seest him not in the Manger but on the Altar Thou dost not see a woman holding him but the Priest standing by him and the Spirit with great vertue hovering over these Mysteries proposed Thou not only seest the Body it self as the Magi did but thou knowest also the vertue of it c. The same Body which is the most precious and most honour'd thing in Heaven I will shew thee placed upon Earth c. Neither dost thou only see it but touchest and eatest it and having received it thou returnest home with it c. Hence Optatus saith What other thing is the Altar but the Seat of the Body and Blood of Christ. A yet more irrefragable witnesse hereof is the General Council of Nice wherein Act. l. 3. c. de Divinâ mensâ are these words In this Divine Table let us not abase our intentions so as to consider the Bread and Wine set before us but raising up our mind by Faith let us understand that upon that holy Table is placed the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the World which is unbloodily immolated by the Priest and receiving his precious Body and Blood let us truly believe that these are the Symbols of our Redemption And that the Elements once consecrated and after reserved yet remain the Body of Christ though not participated St. Cyril of Alexandria expresly â—ectifies I hear saith he there are others who affirm that the Mystical Eulogy if any thing of it remain till another day doth profit nothing to sanctification Bur they are mad who say these things For Christ is not alter'd neither is his holy Body changed but the vertue of Benediction and quickning grace perpetually remains in it And as touching Adâ—ration of our Lord as acknowledged substantially present on the Altar St. Ambrose expresly asserts it Adore the foot-stool of his feet Therefore by the footstool is understood the Earth and the Earth the flesh of Christ which at this day also we adore in the Mysteries and which the Apostles adored in our Lord Iesus And from St. Ambrose the same is taught as expresly by St. Augustin discoursing on the same Text Adorate Scabellum pedum ejus Who moreover adds Christ hath given his flesh to be eaten by us for our Salvation Now no man eats this except he first adore it Yea moreover he saies We do not only not sin by adoring it but we should sin if we did not adore it And in an Epistle to Honoratus he affirms That the rich of the Earth and proud are somtimes brought to the Table of our Lord and there receive of his Body and Blood but they onely adore it they are not satiated with it because they do not imitate him by humility For of the humble it is said Edent pauperes saturabuntur 11. The same may be inferr'd by the wonderfull niceness and scrupolosity observed in the Primitive Church in the handling communicating and reserving these Mysteries what a crime was it esteem'd in the Primitive times if but a crum or drop of the consecrated Elements should fall to the ground For fear of that till about the year six hundred they were received by the Communicants not in their Fingers as among the Reformed but in the inside plain of their hands and in a silver Pipe c. But I will conclude this point with a brief Answer to the Doctors Allegations 12. Whereas therefore he says It is evident that Transubstantiation waâ— never taught by our Saviour since in the same breath wherewith he pronounced these words This is my Blood he explain'd himself by calling it expresly the Fruit of the Vine On the contrary I do confidently pronounce it to be evident that those words were neither spoken by our Lord in the same breath after the Consecration of the Chalice nor had they any regard to the Sacrament 'T is true they are mentioned by St. Matthew after the Consecration but he knows that in St. Luke who promised to write 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those words are mentioned before any Consecration began and the occasion of them is evidently the eating of the Paschal Supper c. For this is his Narration When the hour was come he sate down and the twelve Apostles with him And he said unto them with desire I have desired to eat this Passeover with you before I suffer For I say unto you I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfill'd in the kingdom of God And he took the Cup and gave thanks and said Take this and divide it among your selves For I say unto you I will not drink of the fruit of the Vine until the kingdom of God shall come Now after all this follows his own last Supper the Mystical consecration and communion of his blessed Body and Blood For the Text thus continues And he took Bread saying This is my Body c. likewise also the Cup after Supper saying This Cup c. This being the order of the words no Text can possibly with more evidence conâ—ute the Doctor than this which himself cites for what can be clearer if before Consecration our Saviour said He would drink no â—ore of the fruit of the Vine then that what he drank after was not of the fruit of the Vine But besides this though our Lord should have called it after Consecration the fruit of the Vine as Saint Paul calls the other Symbol Bread this does not argue against a Change in their nature For Moses his Rod after it was changed into a Serpent is call'd a Rod still because it had been one Exod. 7. 12. and Io. 2. 9. it is said That the Master of the Feast tasted the Water that was made Wine 13. Is not now the Doctor 's Insincerity evident his insincerity even in the Pulpit has he not palpably mis-inform'd his Majesty and so illustrious
A thing which neither any Canon nor Custom hath deliver'd that those who have no power of offering should give the Body of Christ to those who offer Whole volums may be transcribed to this effect I will only therefore refer him to St. Hierom on Titus and St. Chrysostom on the Acts where he will find the Eucharist not only a Sacrifice but a Sacrifice for remission of sins a Sacrifice for the Priest that offers a Sacrifice for the multitude a Sacrifice for the procuring of plenty c. sutably to the modern and ancient Liturgies 4. If after all this he will not allow any of these expressions in Doctors Canons Liturgies c. to be proper and litteral St. Augustin will contradict him Who saies Presbyters and Bishops are now in the Church properly called Sacerdotes sacrificing Priests And because the fancy which Protestants have entertained against the term Sacrifice Oblation c. proceeds from a mistake of the true sense in which the Church intends it for ordinarily the conception of a Sacrifice is supposed to import an immolation shedding of blood killing c. and no such matter appearing here but only a commemoration of a former real immolation and shedding of Christs blood therefore generally among all Sects divided from the Church the title of Sacrifice will not be endured 5. To prevent therefore for the future such a mis-understanding let them be pleased to take notice that all the Sacrifices of the Law were shadows and types of the Sacrifices of our Lord and the Legal Priest-hood a type of his Priest-hood But above all other Sacrifices and functions of Priest-hood those were most lively figures of our Lord which were perform'd on a certain day only once every year for the sins of the whole Congregation In the solemn celebration of which Sacrifice besides the immolation of it on the Altar the High Priest alone was appointed to carry of the blood of that Victime into the most holy place within the Veile and there to sprinkle it before the Propitiatory or Mercy-Seat This is that Sacrifice which St. Paul especially applies to our Lord and shews that Christ as a Victime was once and but once immolated on the Altar of the Cross for the sins of all mankind And that for the merit of his obedience to the death even of the Cross he was raised from death and made a Priest after the order of Melchisedech a Kingly Priest a Priest who had power given him in Heaven and Earth to apply the merits of his own Sacrifice And that the proper function of his Regal Priesthood was the entring with his immolated Body into the Sancta Sanctorum the highest Heavens there appearing before his heavenly Fathers Throne and presenting that most precious Victime to him This function of Priest-hood far more august than the immolation he does and will continually exercise to the end of the World By vertue of this he is made Head of the Church he has the power of sending the Holy Ghost c. and hereby he perfects Redemption 6. And withal knowing of what infinite value and vertue this function of his Priest-hood is he has been pleased to execute as it were by proxy the same function on Earth that himself immediately performs in Heaven For which purpose he has instituted Bishops and Priests to be not only his Ministers but Substitutes and Vice-gerents on Earth giving them power to consecrate and by cosecrating to place upon the Altar that very Body and Blood which was immolated on the Cross and is now present before his Father in Heaven This body and blood they Sacrifice this they offer this they with the People participate It is not a Sacrifice of immolation in that mistaken sense for nothing is slain the Victime suffers nothing It is but a Commemorative Sacrifice of Immolation But it is in the most proper rigorous sence an Oblation the very same of the very same body and blood that our Lord now offers in Heaven And the same vertue it has the same effects it produces propitiation remission of sins participation of the graces of Gods holy Spirit and all blessings both spiritual and temporal So that in a word as under the Law the Legal propitiation was said to perfected by the High Priests offring the blood in the most holy place So by this Oblation of Christs bood in the Heavenly Sanctuary perfect Redemption iâ— obtained and by the Commemorative Oblation of the same body and blood by his Priests in our earthly Sanctuaries an application of the benefit and vertue of that only meritorious Sacrifice once offered on the Cross is then procured unto us for remission of our sins and the donation of all other benefits spiritual and temporal 7. In regard of this sublime function of the Priest it is that the holy Fathers exalt his office before that of Princes yea even of Angels in this regard they call the oblation it self the most dreadful Mystery at which the Angels themselves assist with reverence and astonishment To which purpose I will content my self with only one or two passages of St. Chrysostâ—m When the Sacrifice saith he is brought out of the Quire Christ himself the Lamb of our Lord immolated When thou shalt hear the Deacons voyce crying Let us pray all in common when thou seest the Curtains and Veyls of the Gates drawn then think the Heavens are opened and the Angels descend And in an other place When the Priest has invâ—cated the Holy Spirit and perfected the Sacrifice full of terrour and reverence touching and handling with his Fingers him who is Lord of all things to how sublime a rank is he elevated c. In that time the Angels assist the Priest and all the Celestical powers send forth cryes of Ioy all the places about the Altar are filled with Quires of Angels in honour of him who is offered This we may have ground to believe if we only consider the super-eminent greatness of the Sacrifice then performed But moreover I have heard from the report of one who learnt the story from the mouth of an admirable old man to whom many revâ—lations of divine Mysteries have been revealed from Heaven How God was graciously pleased to honor him with a Vision of these things and how in the time of the Sacrifice he sau suddenly appear with as much splendor as human sight could support a multitude of Angels cloathed with white Robes encompassing the Altar and having their heads enclined in the same posture as we oft see the Souldiers in the presence of the Emperour Thus Saint Chrysostom CHAP. XIV Of Veneration of Images The Roman-Churches approved practise of it most suitable to Reason 1. THe seventh Novelty produced by the Preacher is the worshipping of Images but it being only named without any proofs or quotations I will spare them too And to shew that the term of worshipping is none of ours but invented by Protestants to render a most innocent