in processions ALthough this holy and auncient custome of carying the blessed Sacrament in procession was not in any place appointed by God nor deliuered by tradition from the Apostles but instituted by the Church yet all faithfull Christians ought to conceiue that Christ in the institution hereof by the depth of his wisedome did foresee this worthy ceremony and intended that in the peace glory of his Church it should bee put in execution No better argument we need to proue it then the practise thereof For without all doubt his prouidence and the holy ghosts assistance woulde neuer haue permitted or induced the Vniuersall Church to appoynt it and obserue it except they had intended and allowed it And truly no reasonable man in my iugement can improue this sacred and religious honor For if the Iewes to obtaine fauours of God either to ouercome their enimies or to auoide some plague or to procure some grace or to glorifie God 1. Reg 4. and 14. Iosu 3. 3. Reg. 6. â— Pâ—â— 5. solemnely publiquely and ceremonioufly did carry their Arke in procession and God in confirmation of this vniuersall deuotion vnited religion granted them almost euer that in such cases they desired with howe much more reason ought the elect people of Christ celebrat this venerable action First thereby declaring claring the triumph of Christ and his church ouer Paganisme and heresie for the triumphs of the Romans in that night of gentilitie were not onely to renowne their captaines with that glorie to incite their youths to immitate their valour and fortitude but also to make an vniuersall ioy and a common congratulation amoÌ„g the people for the ouerthrow of their enemies amplification of their Empire In like manner by this solemne procession and triumph of Christs people who concurre to professe their ioy and internal comfort they conceiue in their hearts to see the empire of his church so far propagated so well conserued and the enemies of God confounded The second reason may be to demand publikely som fauour of God either spiritual or temporal specialy when it is common to many as we see the Iewes in all their publique necessities had their ordinary refuge to recurre vnto the Arke And no doubt but these vniuersall praiers where so many soules are ioined about this sacrament as their common and indiuiduall heart shall not returne backe againe in vaine Thirdly to confound heretikes or ennemies of the church for what shame is it for them to see how they sweat toile to impugue it and these to endeuor not onely more to defend it but also to adore and worship it For which cause I cannot but commend that singular deuotion that in som countries catholiks haue euery thursday In Flanders sunday to go solemnly in procession with this hoast for be they sure thogh heretikes while they haue a little light of temporall holy ghosts assistance woulde neuer haue permitted or induced the Vniuersall Church to appoynt it and obserue it except they had intended and allowed it And truly no reasonable man in my iugement can improue this sacred and religious honor Forif the Iewes to obtaine fauours of God either to ouercome their enimies or to auoide some plague or to procure some grace or to glorifie God 1. Reg 4. and 14. Iosu 3. â— Reg. 6. 3. Pâ—r. 5. solemnely publiquely and ceremoniously did carry their Arke in procession and God in confirmation of this vniuersall deuotion vnited religion granted them almost euer that in such cases they desired with howe much more reason ought the elect people of Christ celebrat this venerable action First thereby declaring the triumph of Christ and his church ouer Pagamsme and heresie for the triumphs of the Romans in that night of gentilitie were not onely to renowne their captaines with that glorie to incite their youths to immitate their valour and fortitude but also to make an vniuersall ioy and a common cong'gratulation amoÌ„g the people for the ouerthrow of their enemies amplification of their Empire In like manner by this solemne procession and triumph of Christs people who concurte to professe their ioy and internal comfort they conceiue in their hearts to see the empire of his church so far propagated so well conserued and the enemies of God confounded The second reason may be to demand publikely som fauour of God either spiritual or temporal specialy when it is common to many as we see the Iewes in all their publique necessities had their ordinary refuge to recurre vnto the Arke And no doubt but these vniuersall praiers where so many soules are ioined about this sacrament as their common and indiuiduall heart shall not returne backe againe in vaine Thirdly to confound heretikes of ennemies of hte church for what shame is it for them to see how they sweat toile to impugne it and these to endeuor not onely more to defend it but also to adore and worship it For which cause I cannot but commend that singular deuotion that in som countries catholike haue euery thursday In Flanders sunday to go solemnly in procession with this hoast for be they sure thogh heretikes while they haue a little light of temporall fauour while some stronger froces maintaine them yet when as night comes when humaine force faileth Dagon must fall the Arke and the Idole cannot long 1. Reg. 5. continue together though mâ—col deride Dauid for daunsing yet shall she die barren 2. Reg. 6. I meane their heresie shal not spread farre The twenty eight cause to nourish our soules CAro mea saith Christ veré est cibus sanguis meus veré est potus my flesh is meate indeede and my bloud is drike Io. 6. indeede if then his flesh be meate and his bloud drinke and that truely in very deede hereupoÌ„ it foloweth that al those perfections which agree to meate and drinke as they nourish the body al those must appertaine to this foode as it nourisheth the soule and those imperfections that meate and drinke ordinarily cary with them that this Sacrament haue not but surpasseth them in a most eminent dgree First meate if it be not had at conuenient times causeth in vs a desire or a hunger So this Sacrament in good Christians if they liue long without it inflameth their soules to procure it For if Dauid saide Sitiuit anima mea ad te deum Psal 41. fontem viuum My soule hath thirsted after God the liuing fountaine Well may we say Sitiuit anima mea ad te deum viuum My soule hath thirsted after thee the liuing God Meate delighteth the taste and this Sacrament filleth with ioye the veines of the soule and therefore was figured by Manna that had Omne delectamentum Sap. 16. suauitatis All delight of sweetenesse Meate restoreth the forces loste and so conserueth life this sacrament by giuing grace repaireth the harms of concupiscence encreaseth feruour and augmenteth our spirituall
not but that a Catholike may leese his faith but with greater difficultie and more excesse of malice as it befell not long agoe to a person of no small account in England whom I had knowne in time past a Catholique but then a protestant by chaunce once falling in company with him I demaunded how it fared with him in religion if he had forsaken that faith vtterly which he sometime approued so feruently forsaken quoth he no faith I am of opiinion that he which once is thorowly grouÌ„ded in the Catholique religion can not possibly but with extreme malignitie alter his religion wel he may change it in shew wel he may maske it with protestancie wel he may varie his affection but his iudgement his conceit his faith hardly wil he change or neuer and therefore by Gods grace after I haue dispatched some affaires I wil renounce the externall profession of that religion I knowe false and detest internally but before his affaires were dispatched death had dispatched him that others may learn what it is to dally with GOD in matters of saluation The third reason that mooued me was the continuall and clamorous voices of ignorant Heretikes who cease not to crie vpon Catholikes vpbraâ—â— them with absurdities impossibilities vnworthy opinions of God and man dishonorable to him and horrible to vs. Therefore that they may see their owne ignorance I thought no better way to refute them then by setting downe the theologicall causes of so diuine a mysterie but yet I know it will befall manie that shal reade them either not to conceiue them or to contemne them for so Dauid said long since Quam magnificata sunt opera tua domine Psâ—lm 91. nimis profundae factae sunt cogitationes tuae vir insipiens noÌ„ cognoscit stultus non intelliget haec O Lord how glorious are thy works thy thoughts are too profound those an vnwise man doth not know nor a foole vnderstand For it seemeth to me that the heretike reading these causes and a Catholike reading the same are like two men entring vnto a garden but the one at midnight with a torch the other in the morning the heretike endued onelie with the light of reason beholdeth them with torchlight he can neither discerne the varietie of colours nor grace of figures not disposition of knots nor borders enclosing but onely a glimpse or darke shewe farre differing from that lustre and glory the beautie of the flowers and odoriferous hearbs represent The Catholike comming in the morning when the sunne riseth veweth and distinguisheth the roses lillies marigolds their formes their sents their order the gratefullaire and paradise of delight The Catholike perusing this booke will see what he beleeued and note distinctly howe euerie thing standeth with what faith all Catholikes professe because hauing had true faith before by liuing in exercise of receiuing the Eacharist in the Catholike Church by reading bookes hearing sermons and spirituall conferences all tending to the same effect he I say wilâ— conceiue no small delight in contemplating all the garden and euerie flower and hearbe in particular And the heretike if he haue grace may say with himselfe if this the papists holde were true certainely God were glorified wonderfully his loue were ineffable the partakers of this sacrament were in a blessed state Truly of God can do it me thinks it standeth well with his prouidence it argueth an abisse of loue and charitie it were a thing to be desired of al men and then afterwards let him consider who first abolished this point of faith out of many Catholikes hearts Martine Luther an Apostate Munke Nunquid cognoscentur in tenebris mirabilia eius iustitia eius in terra obliuiâ—nis Shall perhaps his wonders bee knowne in darkenesse and his iustice in the lande of obliuion for life a Libertine a practiser with the Diuell by whose suggestion hee confesseth he first was induced to abrogate the masse which for fifteene yeares as himselfe saith he celebrated and last of all his bad life had as beastly a death After that he had suffred shipwracke in faith and proclaimed wars against the Church of Christ while he liued but especially after his death the sectaries of his heresies were diuided into factions and principally about the blessed sacrament who in interpreting foure simple and as plaine words as might bee spoken Hoc est corpus meum to auoyde the right interpretation of the Catholike Church haue inuented no more then foure score false expositions The which dissention while I consider they represent vnto me the blind Philosophers who wandering in the blacke night of their misbeleefe sought out which was the last end of man and almost as many diuers endes they set downe as newe Philosophers tooke the question in hand And no maruaile for as the Mathematicians say from point to point it is impossible to draw more right lines then one but crooked and by lines ten thousand therefore the Catholikes keeping perpetually one vniforme and right exposition it is no wonder if heretikes infinitely multiply their false and erronious interpretations To conclude I would wisâ— to preuaile so much with all Protestants into whose hands this present Treatise shal happen as to mcditate with theÌ„selues reason by reason and confer the maiestie benefit of this mystery with other supernaturall mysteries of our faith as the incarnation of Christ the renewing of our souls internally by baptisme and penance the fauors and presence of the holy Ghost in iustification and I doubt not but they shall find an admirable conformitie and proportion betwixt onâ— another and then let them remember what a treasure they want that the catholikes enioy and how they are plagued into the deepest pit of ingratitude by not acknowledging that benefit which except the incarnation surpasseth all others that euer God bestowed on man and finally let them returne to the fold of the Catholike Church where they shal find the earthly Paradise watered with the flouds of Gods grace and vpon the banks Apoe 22. the tree of life laden with the fruite of this sacrament A Copie of a Letter that the Author of this Treatise following sent to his friend GOod Sir your manifolde comfortes which you raine daily vppon mee I hope shal not fall into a barren scile that will not render interest in due season I send you the epilogue of all those canses which either out of Scriptures fathers or theological discourse I can affoord you because without Bookes conference or other good oportunities what can be expected you may well perceiue they are not drawn from sundry sweet floures as Bees sucke their hony but rather like the silke wormes webbe distilled from the inner bowels of my soule in my quiet repose and silent Meditations I send you them as a fleece of wooll new shorne without weauing dying forming or fashioning but you or any other as I I bope wil weaue them in a better methode dye them with a purer
lilfe Meate helpeth nature to disgest many ill humours and this sacrament is not onely a meate but also a medicine And as Saint Cyprian saith extinguisheth sinne Meate causeth growth and whosoeuer participateth De coena Domini 5 this foode encreaseth in spirit for by receuing the life of charity and grace the soule cannot but grow in vertue and perfection as hee that commeth nearer the sunne participateth more light and heate For these resemblances of meate with the blessed sacrament we may per ceaue the reason why our blessed Sauiour instituted it vnder the formes of bread and wine thereby to teach vs by these externall signes that as bread and wine feede our bodyes so Christs fâ—lesh and bloud our soules But for all these perfections or commodities of temporall meats they haue adioyned as many imperfections and defects the which this blessed foode of life wanteth For corporall meats if they delight vs the more we eate of them our delight is lesse and at last wee come to loathe them but this meate Qui comedit adhuc esurit qui Ecde 24. bibit adhuc sitit hee that eateth of it is the more hungry and hee that drinketh the more thirsty and none we see so much desire it as those who most frequent it Corporall meates cannot cause a body that is dead to returne againe to life but this spirituall foode giueth life vnto the dead Qui manducat me ipse viuet propter me Io. 6. he that eateth me the same also shall liue by me Corporall meate although it repaire our forces lost yet the continuall alteration and disguising of it diminisheth our naturall heat because Omne in agendo repatitur euery agent in doing suffereth againe so that at last euen meat it self would extinguish our outward facultie if we had no other cause of death But he who eateth at this table of life Non gustabit Io. 6. mortem in aeternum non morietur he shal not tast of death for euer he shall not dye For as the soule can neuer dye except it leese the grace of God and that it cannot leese of necessitie but of free will so the grace of God can neuer be consumed but by a peruerse wicked will and therefore in aeternum for euer of it selfe it conserueth the soule in life because in very deed it is life Corporall meates faile in force for they alwayes cause not the body to encrease in strength or quantitie but after certaine yeares the body doth not only cease to grow but also it begins to decay and in fine declineth to death But such is the vertue of this holye Eucharist that euery time it is eaten it addeth a new degree of growth yea and for most part when a man declineth most in body and commeth nearer his death in spirit soul he encreaseth most because he then hath most heat of grace todisgest this sacred foode for which admirable effects Dauid wel say in persoÌ„ of those that receiue this Psal 22. heauenly refection Dominus regit me nihil mihi deerit in loco pascuaeibi me collocauit Out Lord doth gouerne me I shall want nothing in the soile of his pasture he hath placed mee For all pastures in respect of this are barren desarts all repasts compared with this leaueth soule euer fainting These pastures are alwaies greene with grace enameld with flowers of vertues watered with the heauenly dewe of Gods assistance and finally haue the pasture continually attending his sacred flocke The twenty ninth cause to effect the resurrection of our bodies BY the vniuersall preuarication of Adam 1. Cor. 15. all his posterity incuâ—red in particular the death of soule and corruption of body whereunto they onely are subiect who discende from him by naturall generation Because that God had so decreed that as from him we were to draw our nature so by his good demeanour froÌ„ him we should receiue our grace But through his transgression by communicating vnto vs a part of his substance poisoned with the sting of originall sin hee imparted together the mortall woundes of body and soule Our Sauiour Christ whose substaÌ„ce was vnspotted with crime or offence pretending as life to destroye death communicated vnto vs his diuine substaunce to giue the soule the life of grace and the body immortality of glory For who can wonder if Christs body touching the bodies of good souls which receiue him with deuotion resuscitate them to life againe since the touche of Elizeus bones had vertue to restore the 4. Reg. 3. vitall spirit to a dead carcasse If seede sowne in the field although it die in the ground retaine vigour virtue of spring so liuely againe which was communicated vnto it by the roote why shall wee not imagine that our bodies keepe a certaine vertue a relation to this sacrament the onely roote of immortality For if the soule receiue grace the body concurreth it is an instrument and therefore if it bee compartner in paine why not in gaine And if Christs soule sanctifie our soules shall not this bodye glorifie our bodies Yea both his body and soule will immortallize both our bodies and soules and therefore hee saide Hic est panis de caelo Iohn 6. descendens vt si quis ex ipso manducauerit non moriatur this is the breade that descendeth from heauen that if anie man eate of it he die not For although hee die corporally yet by vertue of this food by the touch by the relation to the soule whose instrument it was Christ will raise it vp againe Without doubt it standeth greatly with the prouidence of God that Christs body should cause their resurrection who receiue deuoutly this sacrameÌ„t because as wee saide aboue in this hoast Christ is sacrificed and those that participate it woorthily in affection suffer and die with him therefore reason requireth that as they die with him so they shall rise with him Si compatimnr conregnabimus Rom. 8. if we suffer with Christ we shall be also glorified with Christ And more plainely Reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae Phil. 3. configuratum corpori claritatis suae Hee will reforme the body of our humillitie configured to the body of his glory For if we mortifie our bodies to make them like his body by crosses and pains Doubtlesse he wil reuiue them with delights glory causing them to be his like his body in eternall ioy For which cause we must for a while intreate our bodies not to groane vnder the burthen of Christs commaundements not to repine at fasting not to murmure at mortification not to loathe long prayers not to grudge to liue in prisons depriued of many false pleasures the worlde affoordeth for all these will passeonce When death comes our conscience will reioyce But when our Sauiour after death shall iudge vs and see our crosses conformable to his our pains for his glory our tribulation for his confession Hiems Cantie