Apostol l. 8. c. 12. the Oblations unto the Bishop having a Priest on each hand of him and a Deacon at each end of the Altar with Fanns to hinder any Fly or other little Creature from falling into the Cup Then the Bishop with the Priests pray unto God with a low voice then he puts on a rich Vestment and standing by the Altar he makes the Sign of the Cross and saith unto the People there present The Grace of God Almighty the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Communication of the holy Spirit be with you all and those which be present answer with one accord And with thy Spirit The Bishop saith again Lift up your hearts unto which the People reply We do unto the Lord and the Bishop Let us give thanks unto the Lord It is just and right say the People After which the Bishop addressing himself unto God saith That it is just and right to praise him shewing in a long Discourse the motives and reasons of this praise taken either from the Nature of God and his works whether of the Creation and Preservation of his ancient People or from the redemption and sending Jesus Christ into the World for our Salvation which discourse he concludeth by the History of the Institution of the Sacrament from whence he proceedeth unto the Consecration after the manner of the Greeks And this is in short the substance of the preparations which this Liturgy doth propose unto us on the part of him which doth Celebrate Dionys Arcopag de Eccles Hierarch c. 3. In that of the pretended Dennis the Arcopagite the Bishop makes his prayer near the Altar causeth Incence to be burnt and goeth round the place of the Assembly returning unto the Altar he beginneth to sing Psalms all the Clergy singing with him After which the Deacon readeth some part of the holy Scriptures which being ended the Catechumeny the Energumeny and the Penitents are made to go out Then the chief amongst the Deacons together with the Priests put the Bread and Cup of blessing upon the Altar After a general Hymnologie of all the Church the Bishop prayeth gives the blessing unto those which are present which salute each other and having with the Priests washed his hands he Consecrates the Divine gifts But because one of the circumstances of this preparation is the burning of Incense let us endeavour to discover as near as may be the time when Christians first began to introduce this Ceremony into the service of their holy Religion Tertullian who wrote at the end of the second Century and the beginning of the third doth sufficiently testifie that Christians in that time were wholly ignorant of the use of it and that perfumes were not used in their Worship for speaking of prayers which they presented unto God for their Emperors Tertull. in Apolog. c. â—â— See Athanag who reiects it besore Tâ—rtul in Apol. for Christian p. 13 and Clement Alexandrin in his Stromates p. 717. 719. I cannot saith he demand these things but of him who I know will grant them unto me as it is he only in whose power it is to grant them it is unto us only that he will give them because we are his faithful Servants which adore and Worship him alone and offer unto him the fattest and best Sacrifice which he hath commanded to be offered unto him to wit prayer proceeding from a chaste body a pure Soul and from the holy Spirit and not grains of Incense of small price not drops of that Arabian Tree not two spoonfuls of Wine nor the blood of an Oâ— ready to dye of Fat. And in the same Treatise he declares That if the Christians made any use of Incense it was in burying of their Dead Id. ibid. c. 42. Vide de Idolat c. 11. ad scapul We do not buy any Incense saith he if the Aratian Merchants do complain let them know that there is more of their Commodities employed and with greater profusion in burying Christians then in perfuming the Images of the Gods And elsewhere he makes the true use of Incense to consist in driving away ill Odours Id. de coron c. 10. When I go into any place saith he and smell an ill savour that offends me I cause a little Incense to be burnt but not with the same Ceremony the same disposition nor the same pomp Advers Gent. l. 7. as it is burnt in the Temples of Idols Arnobius at the end of the third Century if not the beginning of the fourth doth in such sort press the Gentiles for their causing Incense to be burnt unto their Gods that there is no likelihood he would have treated them as he did if the Christians had used it in any of their Ceremonies and especially in the Celebration of the Eucharist or at the least he would have represented that there was very great difference betwixt the one and the other in regard that what the Gentiles did unto the honour of Idols Christians did unto the Honour of the true God He doth nothing of all this he contents himself in deriding the blindness of the Gentiles and to shew them that it was ridiculous in them to undertake to offer Odours and Perfumes unto their Gods And Lactantius Epitom c. 2. his Disciple doth he not positively say That God doth not require of us neither Sacrifices nor Perfumes Orat. ad coetum c. 12. And Eusebius introduces the Emperor Constantine saying That the Sacrament is a sacrifice of thanksgiving wherein is not desired neither a smell of Incense nor a burning Brand. St. Austin himself who died in the year 430. seems wholly to reject the use of Incense in God's Worship In Psal 49. We saith he are in safety we are not obliged to travel into Arabia to get Incense we do not cause the greedy Merchant to unfold his Ballots In Psal 50. God requires of us a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving And elsewhere Do not make provision of Perfumes which comes from without but say O God what I dedicate unto thee is in my heart with the praises which I will render unto thee And if I mistake not In Psal 65. St. Hillary understood it so when he said We are informed in the Book of the Psalms what is meant by Perfumes Let my prayer come before thee like Incense signifying that by Perfume is to be understood Prayers St. Ambrose in his Commentary upon the Gospel according to St. Luke speaketh of perfuming Altars in expounding what is said of Zacharias the Father of St. John Baptist That his Lot fell to offer Incense But because he saith in the same place that Jesus Christ is sacrificed which cannot be literally true all Christians confessing that he is not really sacrificed in the Eucharist I suppose the safest and best way is mystically and in a spiritual sense to understand St. Ambrose his Discourse especially seaing the Declaration which St. Austin
tells us without falling into a great sin whereof he must be obliged to make great repentance From all which he concludes in favour of the steeped Sacrament and praiseth the wisdom of those who first established this manner of Communicating with the Bread steept in Wine saying That pious men had prudently directed that the little portion of the Body should not be given dry as our Lord had done but that it should be distributed unto Believers steeped in the Blood of our Lord and that by this means it should happen that according to the precept of our Saviour we should eat his Flesh and drink his Blood and that he that feared to sin in so great a matter might avoid the danger And he gives for a reason of this conduct That we eat dry and drink liquid what goes down the throat after having received it in the mouth either together or separately And because some considering that Jesus Christ had given the steept morsel unto Judas did not approve this manner of distributing the Sacrament he saith there 's a great deal of difference betwixt the Eucharist steeped and the Morsel which our Lord gave the Disciple that betray'd him because the actions which have a different occasion cannot agree well together Afterwards taking with many others the Decree of the Council of Braga of the year 675. against the steeped Sacrament for a Decree of Pope Julius he saith this Decree is no longer of force with modern persons and that the customs of the Church which surpasse all others as well in reason as in authority hath overcome this ancient Constitution that it should not be thought strange because the Decrees of other Popes are changed for the like and sometimes upon smaller occasions But although this Author of the XII Century of whom Cardinal Cusa cites something in Cassander in his Liturgies gives us this form of administring the Sacrament with steept Bread as establish'd in his time in the West it cannot be said that it was universally received in all Churches without exception In fine besides what we alledged out of the Micrologue and of Pope Paschal who made his Decree in the XII Century Arnold of Bonneval contemporary with S. Bernard in his Sermon of the Supper of the Lord in S. Cyprian's Works sheweth us sufficiently that in the same XII Century wherein he lived the use of the Cup was not forbidden the people when he saith Apud Cypr. p. 329. ult edit vid. p. 330. It was under the Doctor Christ Jesus that this Discipline first of all appeared in the World that Christians should drink Blood whereof the use was so strictly prohibited by the Authority of the ancient Law for the Law forbids eating of Blood and the Gospel commands to drink it And again We drink Blood Jesus Christ himself commanding it being partakers by and with him of everlasting life And at the conclusion of the Treatise he with several other Doctors of the Church who lived before him in that Believers are partakers of one Bread and of one Cup doth search a type of their union Ibid. p. 33â— or rather of their Spiritual unity in Christ Jesus who is the head of this Divine Body We also saith he being made his Body are tied and bound unto our head both by the Sacrament and by the matter of the Sacrament and being members one of another we mutually render each other the duties of love we communicate by charity we participate with eating one and the same meat and drink one and the same drink which flows and springs from the Spiritual Rock which meat and drink is our Lord Jesus Christ I believe we may join unto Arnold of Bonneval Peter de Celles Abbot of S. Remy of Rheims who lived at the end of the XII Century for in his Treatise of Cloister Discipline which is come to light but within these seven or eight years he speaks in this manner The communication of the Body of Christ T. 3. Spicil p. 99. and of the Blood of Christ poured forth to wit of the Lamb without spot purifieth us from all guilt and from all sin Let us say something more formal Peter of Tarantes Apud Cassand de Commun sub utraque specie p. 1043. afterwards Pope under the name of Innocent IV. writes That the most considerable as the Priests and Ministers of the Altar do receive the Sacrament under both kinds William of Montelaudana in sundry places saith he They communicate with the Bread and Wine that is to say with the whole Sacrament And Peter de Palude testifies that in his time It was the practice in several Churches to communicate under the one and the other species Richard de Mediavilla was of the same Judgement with Innocent IV. the one and the other giving for a reason that those unto whom they administer the Communion under both kinds Know very well how to yield thereunto the greater reverence and caution All these saith Cassander lived about the 1300. year of our Lord. Wherefore the same Cassander observes in the same place that Thomas Aquinas who defends the use of communicating under one kind doth not say that this custom was universally received but in some Churches only And to say the truth Christians found so much consolation and benefit in participating of the Cup of their Lord that when in latter times they began to tell them of the danger of effusion to dispose them to the use of communicating under one kind there were several Churches that rather than they would be deprived of the participation of the sacred Cup invented certain little Quills which were fastened unto the Chalices by means whereof they drank the Mystical Blood of our Lord as Beatus Rhenanus p. 438. testifies in his Notes upon Tertullian's Book De Corona Militis and Cassander in his Treatise of the Communion under both kinds p. 1036. both of them in their time having seen of these Quills or little Pipes which were used for communicating the Laity Let us descend yet lower and we shall find about 35. years before the Council of Constance an example of the Communion under both kinds in Rome it self not indeed of the People but of all the Cardinal Deacons for Vrban VI. who began the great Schism which lasted from the year 1378. until 1428. being Elected Pope at Rome Anno 1378. in the place of Gregory XI He solemnly celebrated Mass upon S. Peter 's Altar in his Pontifical Habit wherein all things were performed according to the order of the Rubrick and in fine he with his own hands gave the Communion unto all the Cardinal Deacons with the pretious Body and Blood of Christ as it was alwaies the manner of Popes to do T. 4. p. 306. Thus it was written unto Lewis Earl of Flanders Anno 1378. by Pileiâ—de Prata Archbishop of Ravenna and Cardinal in one of the Tomes of the collection of Dom Luke de Achery But as from the
every one should and ought with all diligence and fidelity to contribute his Endeavours and improve the Talent which our Lord hath committed unto his trust This is what I have endeavoured to do hitherto and which I intend to do for the time to come if it be not with all the Delight and Ornament the Reader could wish at least it shall be with all the Sincerity which can be expected from one who believes to have well bestow'd his Labour and Pains if his Endeavours would create in the Minds of Christians divided by various Opinions in Religion more tender Inclinations of Love and Charity and greater Desires unto Peace and Concord We have already seen all that relates unto the outward Form of the Celebration of the Sacrament with the Alterations thereunto hapned in succession of time now we must endeavour to discover what hath been believed of this Mystery in this large and spacious Country but to do it the more orderly and to shew with more ease and clearness the History of the Innovations which have happened as well in the Expressions as in the Doctrine we will extend our Proofs as to the Expressions but unto the seventh and eighth Centuries at which time they suffer'd some Attempt and as to the Doctrine unto the ninth supposing it received some Alteration in the beginning of that Age. CHAP. I. The Reflections made by the Fathers upon the Words of the Institution of the Sacrament THE holy Fathers had so great a Love for Jesus Christ and Veneration for all his Institutions that they took a singular pleasure in meditating upon this great Mystery and in making divers Reflections upon this divine Institution Our Lord said of the Bread which he had taken which he blessed and which he broke That it was his Body and of the Wine that it was his Blood The antient Doctors of the Church considering this Expression of the Son of God have declared with a common Consent and as it were united Suffrages that Jesus Christ called the Bread and Wine his Body and his Blood Our Lord said St. Irenaeus Iren. l. 5. c. 2. Tatian tom 7. Bibl. Patr. has assured that the Bread was his Body Tatian in his Harmony upon the Evangelists saith That he testified that the Bread and the Cup of Wine were his Body and Blood Tertullian Tertul. l. 5. contr Jud. c. 11. l. 5. Carm. cont Marc. Origen in Matth. Hom. 35. Cyprian Ep. 75. ad Magn. That he called the Bread his Body and that he said of the Bread and of the Fruit of the Vine This is my Body and my Blood poured out Origen in one of his Homilies upon St. Matthew That he confessed the Bread was his Body And the blessed Martyr St. Cyprian That he called his Body the Bread which was made of the collection of several Grains The Author of the Commentaries upon the Evangelists which go in the Name of Theophilus of Antioch though 't is not certain whether they be his for all they are attributed unto him in the Library of the Fathers this Author I say has expressed his thoughts almost as St. Cyprian had done saying That Jesus Christ called his Body Theophil Antioch in Matth. the Bread which is made of the collection of divers Grains and his Blood the Wine which is pressed out of several Grapes and this he saith in explaining the Words of the Institution of the Sacrament This is my Body this is the Cup of my Blood Eusebius Bishop of Cesarea in Palestin had no other meaning I think when he said Euseb Dem. lib. 8. That the Lord commanded to make use of Bread for the Symbol of his Body Nor St. Cyrill of Jerusalem in these Words Cyrill Hie of Mystag 4. Our Lord spake and said of the Bread This is my Body Nor the Poet Juvencus when he declares Juvenc l. 4. de Evang. Hist That our Saviour giving the Bread unto his Disciples taught them that he gave them his Body Nor in fine an unknown Author in the Works of St. Athanasius which saith De Dict. Interp. Parab 9.72 That our Lord called the Mystical Wine his Blood St. Epiphanius hindered by the Scruple which the Fathers made of calling the Symbols of the Eucharist Bread and Wine contented himself to intimate unto us that Jesus Christ did assimilate his Body unto a Subject round as to its Form Epiphan in Anchor and without sense as to its Power having no manner of resemblance unto the incarnate Image nor with the proportion of Members Gaudent tract 2. in Exod. St. Gaudentius observes that our Lord in giving the consecrated Bread and Wine unto the Disciples said This is my Body this is my Blood It is also the Observation of the Author of the Apostolical Constitutions who makes Christ say of the Bread which he broke Const Apost lib. 8. c. 12. and gave unto his Disciples This is the Mystery of the New Testament Take eat this is my Body St. Chrysostome is no less clear Chrysost in 1 Co. Hom. 24. Hieron cp 4 ad Hidib 92. What is the Bread saith he it is the Body of Jesus Christ. St. Jerome also follows the same way seeing he assures That the Bread which our Lord broke and gave unto his Disciples was his Body and the Cup his Blood and that he proves it by these Words This is my Body St. Austin in the Sermon unto the new baptized August apud Fulgen. de Baptis Aeth cap. vet Cyril l. 12. in Joar 20.26 27. saith expresly That the Bread is the Body of Christ and the Cup is the Blood of Christ St. Cyrill of Alexandria was doubtless of the same mind for in his Commentary upon St. John he makes Christ say Of the Bread which he broke and distributed this is my Body which is given for you in Remission of Sins We may descend lower and carry further the Proof of this first Reflection were we not prevented by the Rule which we prescribed and of the Resolution taken of avoiding as much as possible may be the repeating of the same Testimonies It shall then suffice to inform the Reader that 't is a certain Truth owned by all Men both Protestants and Roman Catholicks that when there is a Dispute of two Subjects of a different Nature it cannot properly be said that the one is the other when therefore these sorts of Propositions meet in Discours of necessity recours must be had unto the Figure or Metaphor What the Fathers have deposed is considerable yet I do not think it sufficient nor that it is all which they have to say unto us If we examine anew these faithful Witnesses I doubt not but they will speak again and that they will inform us of other Truths besides them above-mentioned and that they will not leave us ignorant how they understood the Words of the Institution of this angust Sacrament Those which have diligently applied themselves to
potest t. 5. p. 125 6. We must not saith he look only upon the Terms but the Scope of him that speaks the cause and occasion of his Discourse and comparing all together find out the sense and meaning of what is therein contained Nevertheless it must be noted this Rule hath its particular use when the Expressions are doubtful and difficult and when by staying at the Terms and following the rigour of the Letter a convenient Sense cannot be given unto what is said or heard except in such a case nothing hinders but looking unto the scope of him that speaks stress may be laid on his Words and much light taken from his Expressions Thus have the Holy Fathers proceeded in examining the Words used by our Saviour in instituting the Sacrament because all they have told us hitherto are only so many Reflections which they have made upon the Words and Expressions of this Merciful Saviour but because they were verily persuaded that Jesus Christ which is Wisdom it self had an end in instituting this Divine Mystery they would know the end and design which he proposed in leaving this precious earnest of his Love unto his Church Do this saith our Lord in remembrance of me for as often as ye eat this Bread and drink of this Cup saith St. Paul you shew the Lord's Death till he come From whence they concluded that the Intention of Jesus Christ in instituting the Sacrament and that of the Church in celebrating it by his Command was by this means to preserve amongst Christians the remembrance of his Death and Sufferings but because his Death doth suppose his Incarnation and Birth and that moreover his blessed Resurrection and Exaltation into Glory ensued thereupon I find they have included in this Commemoration commanded us by Christ the consideration of his Incarnation bitter Death of his Resurrection and of his Ascension into Heaven According to which some of them join unto the consideration of his Death that of his Incarnation as St. Justin Martyr which saith Just Martyr contra Tryph. p. 296. That the Lord commanded us to make the Bread of the Eucharist in remembrance that he made himself Man for those which believe in him and for whom he made himself Mortal and the Cup in remembrance of his Blood But sometimes also considering the Death of Christ as the end of his Conception and of his Birth because he took not our Nature and was born of a Virgin but to die they are content to consider the Sacrament as a Memorial of his Death only Id. ibid. p. 259. In this regard the same St. Justin said That Jesus Christ commanded us to make the Bread of the Sacrament in remembrance of the Death which he suffered for the Souls of those which have been cleansed from all Malice This was also the meaning of Tatian his Disciple Tat. Diates t. 7. Bibl. Pat. when he said The Lord commanded his Disciples to eat the Bread and drink the Cup of the Sacrament because it was the memorial of his approaching Affliction and of his Death There were others who making this Reflection in themselves that the Death of Christ would be of no benefit unto us without his Resurrection which assures us of his Victory over the Enemies of our Salvation and of the Eternal Father's accepting of the Satisfaction he made unto his Justice in our stead and in consideration whereof he delivers us from the Slavery of Sin and the Devil have considered the celebration of the Sacrament as the commemoration of his Death and Resurrection Such was the Reflection of St. Basil Basil de Bapt. c. 2. p. 581. when he observed that What we eat and drink to wit of the Bread and Wine it is to the end we should always remember him who died and is risen again for us Others in fine considering that Jesus Christ was ascended into Heaven and that he had left us the Sacrament as a pledg of his Presence to comfort us in expectation of his glorious Return they thought the consideration of his Death ought not to be separated from that of his Ascension and that as they should think of his Humiliation and Sufferings they should also think of his Exaltation and Glory This was in all likelihood the meaning of St. Gaudent tr 2. l. 2. Bibl. Patr. Gaudentius when he taught That the Sacrament is our Viaticum or Provision for our Journey whereby we are strengthned in the Way until by departing out of this Life we go to him that it is an earnest of his Presence and the portract of his Passion until he come again from Heaven but an earnest and a resemblance which he will have us take in our Hands and receive with the Mouth and Heart to the end we may have engraven in our Memories the great Benefit of our Redemption To thus much also amounts what is said by the Author of the Commentaries In Cap. 11.1 ad Cor. attributed unto St. Jerome That Jesus Christ hath left us the last Commemoration or the last Remembrance as if one taking a Voyage into a far Country would leave a Token with his Friend to the end that when-ever he look'd on it he should be mindful of his Love and Kindness which he cannot do without shedding Tears if he perfectly loved him and that he gave us this Sacrament to the end that by this means we should always remember the Death which he suffered for us Sedulius hath only transcribed this Testimony in his Commentaries upon the same Epistle and upon the same Chapter Primatius an African Bishop declares in the VIth Century that it was his Judgment and he explained himself almost as the other two had done and Christian Druthmer will say the same in the IXth Century as for the Author of the Apostolical Constitutions Constit Apost l. 8. c. 12. he hath joined all these considerations together For he will have us to remember his Passion his Death Resurrection Ascension into Heaven and his second Coming which will be when he comes with Power and Glory to judge the quick and the dead and to reward every one according to his Works The same thing is to be read in the Liturgy of St. Mark and what is found in that which the Latins use at present comes very near it But the Fathers rest not there for I have observ'd that when they speak of the Eucharist as of a Pledge and Memorial they set it in opposition not only of the Truth but even also of the Truth absent so it hath been understood by Gaudentius Sedulius Primasius the Author of the Commentaries attributed unto St. Jerome in the Passages we have alledged whereunto may be joined these Words of the latter In 1 ad Cor. Cap. 11. That we have need of this Memorial all the time which shall continue until he be pleased to come again It is in the same sense Theodoret said Theodoret in 1 ad Cor. c.
in newness of life And if we would know what this Resurrection is which St. Paul requires of a Christian St. Ghrysostom will inform us Hom. 10. in c. 6. Rom. That it is a holy Conversation which proceedeth from the change of Manners the death of Sin the restoring of Righteousness and the entire ruin of the old Life to establish one that is new and wholly Angelical Therefore it is that Theodoret interpreting these same words In c. 6. Rom. gives us this excellent Lesson The Sacrament of Baptism teacheth us to fly from sin for Baptism is a type of the death of our Saviour now by it you participate with Jesus Christ of death and also of the Resurrection you must then lead a new life and agreeable unto him of whose Resurrection you have been made to participate Unto the Remembrance of Christ's Resurrection these holy Doctors joyn also that of his Ascension and Glory therefore it is they say Gaudent tr 2. tom 2. Bibl. Pat. That the Sacrament is the Viaticum of our journey wherewith we are nourished by the way until we come unto him at our leaving this World a pledge of his presence and a portraict of his passion until he comes again from Heaven And in preparing our selves for the Sacrament we cannot make this reflection but that we must bewail his absence but yet comforting our selves with this persuasion that he is sitting on the Throne of his Father as Lord of Heaven and Earth the Master of all things and the Monarch of the whole Universe That it is from thence that he sends forth his Commands into all the World that he dispenseth the Treasures of God that he defends his people that he protects his Church and that he restraineth the pride and insolency of his Enemies but that we must at the same instant be raised with heavenly thoughts divine motions and spiritual affections to be lifted up unto him by holy ejaculations and to contemplate him shining with Glory in Heaven after having meditated on him all covered with shame upon Earth and nailed upon the Cross in Mount Calvary for the expiating of the sins of Men and for the work of our Redemption Therefore the holy Fathers desire we would become like unto Eagles Chrysost Hom. 24. in 1. ad Corinth To fly up unto Heaven that we should have nothing of Earth in us that we should not bend downwards that we should not wallow in the love of the Creatures but that we should incessantly fly towards the things above and that we should stedfastly behold the Sun of Righteousness with an earnest sight and piercing eyes In fine the ancient Liturgies do not from all these Commemorations separate that of his second coming Which maketh us think of that great and last day wherein the Dead shall be raised wherein the Books shall be opened and wherein shall be the universal Judgment to cast the Wicked into Hell and to receive the Good into the felicity and glory of Heaven then there shall be no more want of Sacraments for as Theodoret saith In 1 ad Corinth c. 11. After his second coming we shall have no farther need of the signs and Symbols of the Body because the Body it self will appear but until that time the Celebration thereof is absolutely necessary according to this Observation of the Author of the Commentaries upon the Epistles of St. Paul attributed unto St. Jerom In 1 ad Corinth c. 11. That we have need of this Memorial during all the time which shall pass until he be pleased to come again So that all the Idea's which we have considered do help to form in us Acts of Faith Repentance Hope Charity Humility Gratitude Sanctification Holiness Justice Innocence Purity Joy Consolation and generally all those of Piety and devout Christianity and by consequence all the motions and dispositions which the Soul of a worthy Communicant ought to have towards God and Jesus Christ Now let us see those which it should have in regard of the Sacrament it self CHAP. III. Of the Motions and Dispositions of the Communicant in reference to the Sacrament AS the remembrance which our Saviour commands us to make of him and of his death when we receive the Sacrament comprehends all the Qualifications which we ought to have in regard of God and of Jesus Christ so also the Examination required by St. Paul contains all those which we ought to have in regard of the Sacrament 1 Cor. 11. Let every one saith he prove his own self But it is not sufficient to say that the Apostle enjoyns Communicants unto this Examination we must also know wherein it doth consist to this purpose I say that what St. Paul requires of us is an act whereby we must search our hearts look into every corner of it whereby we examine every part of our Soul we must assure our selves of the state wherein it is whether Faith hath therein taken its place whether Hope lifted us up in expectation of the happiness promised and whether the Love of Jesus Christ and of our Neighbour therein unfolds its vertue and efficacy In a word it is an act whereby we discover whether we be fitting to approach unto the holy Table for in coming thither we protest that Jesus Christ is our Master and our Lord that it is he which hath redeemed us by his Blood and that hath purchased Life for us by his Death And as the Apostle enjoyneth this Law unto all Communicants it may be said that this Trial doth consist in the serious and sincere Examination which every one makes of his Conscience to know in what state and disposition it is Whence it may be gathered that it desires no Witnesses but that it should be done in private and in secret in the presence of God only for there it is that the Sinner calls himself to an account that he reflects upon his life past that he condemns his wicked actions that he groans under the thoughts of his sins that he deeply mourns for the greatness of his offences that he cleanseth his heart and purifies his Soul by the tears of Repentance and by the working of a true Contrition But because the Latin Church defines in the Council of Trent whose Decretes are to be considered as the Confession of Faith of the Latin Church Sess 13. c. 7. That the custom of the Church declares that the necessary proof is that how contrite soever the sinner feels himself he ought not to approach unto the holy Eucharist without having first made his sacramental Confession that it must of necessity be made that without it one receives this Sacrament unworthily unto his death and condemnation We are obliged to enquire what was the Conduct of the ancient Church in this occasion for it is not my intention to examine the matter of Confession in all its parts but only in that which concerns my subject To do it in some order it must
Bread and Wine may naturally have with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is a general uncertain and undetermin'd resemblance and which of it self is not sufficient to make them Sacraments of this Divine Body and of this precious Blood It is necessary that the Benediction and Consecration confer upon them this quality and invest them with this dignity which they cannot have by Nature and that setting them apart from the prophane and common uses which they have in Nature it should apply them unto a Religious and Divine use in Grace Nevertheless it may be affirm'd that this likeness and relation which they have by Nature with the Body and Blood of this Divine Saviour were as it may be said the first ground and the first motive of the choice which our Saviour was pleas'd to make of them for what St. Austin said in one of his Letters may well be apply'd unto this matter Aug. Ep. 23. ad Bonif. That if the Sacraments had not some resemblance with the things whereof they are Sacraments they would be no Sacraments The Holy Fathers confirm this resemblance some in the composition of Bread and Wine and say That the Bread is called the Body because it is made of several grains and the Wine the Blood because it is gather'd from sundry grapes This is the Notion of * Comm. in Matth. c. 26. Theophilus of Antioch of †Ep. 76. St. Cyprian and of some others Others ground it in the Effects and say That the Bread is called the Body of Jesus Christ because it doth nourish and strengthen the body and that the Wine is called his Bloud because it increaseth blood in the body and rejoiceth the heart This is the Reason given by St. ‖ Lib. l. deoffie Ecclâ—s c. 18. Isidore Archbishop of Sevil * Comm in Marc. 14. Bede †Lib. 〈◊〉 Inâ—â—â— cleric c. 31. Rabanus and ‖ Comm. in Matth. 26. Christian Drutmer and I make no question but when Jesus Christ chose Bread and Wine to make them Sacraments and Types of his Body and Blood he had regard unto the Effects which they produced And seeing the four Divine Writers which have related in their sacred books the history of the Institution of the Sacrament have not mentioned whether the Wine which our Saviour used in instituting and celebrating the Sacrament was pure or mixed the antient Christians made no scruple to mingle water with the Wine in the Communion The Jewish Rituals as a learned * Buxtâ—â—f 〈◊〉 hist S. 〈◊〉 § 20. person and extreamly well vers'd in the knowledge of the Uses and Customs of that Nation observes left it unto the free will and choice of every person in celebrating the Passover to use pure Wine or Wine mixt with water so that our blessed Saviour accommodating himself as much as he could in the Celebration of his Sacrament with what was practis'd in the celebrating the Jews Passover it seemeth to me impossible considering the silence of the Evangelists and of S. Paul to determine whether the Wine imploy'd in the celebrating of his Sacrament was mixed with water or not Nevertheless it is most certain that the Ancients believed there was water mingled with the Wine and that it was upon this perswasion that they established the custom of so doing a very ancient practice seeing that St. Justin Martyr who wrote about fifty two years after the death of St. John doth expresly mention it for in shewing the manner of celebrating the Sacrament in his time Just Martyr Apolog. 2 or rather 1. he observes positively that there was presented unto the Pastor Bread and a Cup with Wine mingled with Water that after he had blessed and consecrated them all those which were there present received of the Bread the Wine and the Water which had been consecrated Indeed as the first Christians sought not so many mysteries as those which came after I mean that they troubled not themselves in seeking out of Mysteries in most things relating to Religion so they satisfy'd themselves with the innocent practice of this custom and religiously to observe this use with much simplicity but about one hundred years after St. Justin had writ what is above express'd they bethought themselves of seeking a mystery in this mingling of water with the Wine The first if I mistake not that pleased himself to discover a Mystical signification in the Wine and Water in the holy Cup and of the mingling the one with the other was the glorious Martyr S. Cyprian who would that the Wine should represent the Blood of Jesus Christ the Water should shew the believing people and that the mingling the one with the other should shew the indissoluble union which there is betwixt Christ and Believers Cyprian â—p 63. The faithful people saith he is understood by the Water and the Blood of Jesus Christ is denoted by the Wine and when the Water is mingled with the Wine in the Cup the People are united unto Jesus Christ and the body of the faithful are incorporated in him in whom they believed and this mixture of water and wine in the Cup of the Lord is such that those things cannot be any more separated whence it follows that nothing can separate the Church from the Communion of Jesus Christ that is to say the Believers which are in the Church and do persevere faithfully and firmly in what they believed nor hinder but this indivisible Love shall subsist Therefore it is not permitted in consecrating the Cup of Our Lord to offer Wine alone or Water alone for if only Wine were offered it might be said that the Blood was separate from the people and if only Water were offered it might be said the people were absent from Christ but when they are mingled and inseparably joyn'd together then is effected the Spiritual and Heavenly Sacrament St. Cyprian was followed by the * Can. 2. third Council of Braga in the year 675 by †De offic Eccles lib. 1. cap. 18. Isidore by ‖ In Marc. 14. Bede by ‖‖ De Corp. lang Dom. Bertram or Ratramne But in fine the Holy Fathers have thought this mixture so Essential unto the Holy Sacrament that the sixth Oecumenical Council assembled in the year 691 reckon it amongst the Heresies of the Armenians that they celebrated the Eucharist with pure Wine because they justified themselves in this practice by the Authority of St. Chrysostom The Fathers explain the passage of this holy Doctor whereof the Armenians made use to authorize the practice of their Churches and having explain'd it they make this Decree Concil Trullan Can. 32. If any Bishop or other Priest doth not follow the Order left by the Apostles and if they mingle not Water with the Wine to offer the spotless Sacrifice let him be deposed because he declares the mystery imperfectly and by that means introduceth a change in the Traditions But notwithstanding all that the
term The mother and root of all Riches the death of Sin the life of Virtue and the way which leads unto Paradise they chearfully with their Goods relieved the necessities of the Church whereof they were Members and in the Communion of which the Lord was pleased by his grace to settle them to make them partakers of his great Salvation S. Luke gives us so clear and full a representation in the second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that it cannot be thought of without admiration and at the same time without lamenting and deploring the dulness and coldness of these last times wherein is too plainly seen the accomplishment of the words of our Saviour who foretold That iniquity should abound and the love of many should wax cold But at the beginning of Christian Religion as this charity was in its greatest beauty the whole Church offered unto God upon the Table every Lords day or on the days when they Assembled to participate of this Sacrament of their Salvation and of there Union their Oblations for the support of their Spiritual Guides or Ministers for the relief of their Poor and for the other Necessities of the whole Church and out of these Offerings there was taken as much Bread and Wine as was needful for the holy Communion a custom which if I mistake not began to be practised in the days of the Apostles for S. Clement one of their Disciples Clement Epist ad Cor. p. 53. speaks of it as of a matter already established in that excellent Letter which he wrote unto the Church of Corinth in the name of that of Rome whereof he was one of the Pastours Those saith he which make their oblations at the time appointed are agreeable and blessed for obeying the command of God they do not sin Just Mart. Apolog. 1. p. 60. And Justin Martyr in his first Apology for the Christians it is commonly called the second sheweth that in his time the Food which was offered unto God by Believers with Prayers and Thanksgiving to be eaten and to relieve the Poor were called Oblations and towards the conclusion of that excellent work he saith That after Prayers and the kiss of Charity there was presented unto the Pastour Bread and a Cup mingled with Wine and Water and that he having received these things rendred praise and thanks unto God the Father of all in the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And there also he distinguisheth the Prayers of the Minister for the Consecration of the Eucharist from the action of the people presenting him the Bread and Wine which action he calls Oblation which he repeats again afterwards Cypr de operib Eleemos S. Cyprian also mentions these Oblations but under the name of Sacrifices when he reproacheth a rich and covetous Widow That she came into the Assembly or unto the Sacrament of the Lord without an Oblation and that she took part of the Sacrifice which the Poor had offered Hieron in â—erem c. 11. in Ezech. c. 18. Innoc. ad Dâ—cent c. 3. Ambros in Pâ—al 118. In like manner S. Jerom and Pope Innocent the first inform us that in their time the Deacon did publickly repeat in the Church the names of those which offered S. Ambrose Bishop of Milain in the argument upon the 118. Psalm and according to the Hebrews the 119. teacheth us that he that would communicate after having received holy Baptism was obliged to offer his present or gift at the Altar in the Constitutions which commonly go under the Apostles names Conslit Apost l. 8. s. 10. Prayers are made for them which offered Sacrifices and the first-fruits to the end God would render them an hundred fold and there is to be seen in the same piece several rules touching those Oblations Sozom. hist Eccles l. 6. c. 15. Hist Eccles l. 5. c. 17. Aug. Ep. 122. Sozomen observes in his Church-History that the Emperour Valens came to Church offered the gift upon the Table Theodoret reports the same of the Emperour Theodosius And S. Austin speaking of two Christian Women Captives who deploring their misery said amongst other things that in the place where they were They could neither carry their Oblations unto the Altar of God nor find any Priest unto whom to present it Id. Serm. 215. de temp if it were his And elsewhere recommending unto his flock the use and practice of these Oblations Offer saith he the Oblations which are consecrated at the Altar that man that is able to offer and doth not ought to blush for shame if he communicates of the offering of another And because the charity of Christians decayed by little and little and their zeal insensibly failing and loosing daily some of its ardour and strength these Oblations were not so numerous as they were wont to be every one easily dispensing with himself in not offering at the Table of the Lord as they were accustomed to do the Councils were obliged by their Canons and decrees to kindle the fire of this zeal which was almost extinguished whereunto tended that of the second Council of Mascon Assembled Anno 585 Concil Matisc 2. can 4. which ordains that all the people should offer every Lords day the Oblation of Bread and Wine and that of the Council of Mayence Anno 813. Which requires that Christian people should continually be put in mind to make the Oblations Con. Mogunt an 813. can 44. Capitul 858. c. 53. t. 3. Concil Gall. which is also repeated in the fifth Book of the Capitularies of Charlemain Chap. 94. It was also one of the instructions which Herard Archbishop of Tours gave unto his Priests Anno 858. that they should exhort the people to offer their Oblations to God and also in many other parts of the writings of the Antients I know not whether that Woman mentioned by John the Deacon in the life of Gregory the first needed those exhortations of presenting her offering unto God or whether she did it of her own free will and by that ardent zeal which inspired the primitive Christians with such commendable sentiments of pity and charity Vita Gregor 1. l. 2. c. 41. but in fine he writes That a certain Woman did offer unto Gregory as he celebrated the solemnity of the Mass the usual Oblations and that afterwards Gregory said in giving her the Sacrament The body of our Lord preserve your Soul she smiled in that he called the loaf of Bread which she made her self the body of Christ And forasmuch as for the most part none were admitted unto the participation of the Eucharist but those which presented their Oblations there is a very great number of Canons in the Councils which prescribe to whom the Oblations were to be distributed and to whom not but it is not necessary to alledge more proofs of this Antient custome seeing the matter admits of no difficulty Nevertheless this is not all that we intend
Sacrament It suffers only the Ministers of the Altar he means all the Clergy to draw near and enter into the place where the Altar was and there to Communicate Concil Tol. â— c. 18. The fourth Council of Toledo assembled Anno. 633. hath left us this Canon After the Lords Prayer and the joining of the Bread and the Cup the blessing shall be given unto the people and then in this manner they shall participate of the Body and Blood of our Lord the Priest and the Deacon shall communicate before the Altar the Clergy in the Quire and the people without the Quire And thence it is if I mistake not proceed all the prohibitions that Women and other Lay People should not enter into the close where the Altar Herard in cap. t. c. 24. and the Sacramental Table was as when Herard Archbishop of Tours ordered Anno 858. That the Women and Lay Persons should not approach the Altar it was probably what Pope Leo the fourth intended when he made this Decree as is seen in his life That whilst the solemnities of the Masses were celebrated no Lay Person should presume to stand in the Presbytery that is to say Vit. Leon. 4. t. 6. Concil p. 416. D. in the Quire or sit or enter therein but only such as are consecrated and appointed to perform Divine Service The Council in Trullo Anno 691. doth except the Emperour whom it permits to enter into the Sanctuary when he would offer his Oblation unto God Concil in Trullo c. 69. That it is not permitted say the Fathers unto any Lay Person to enter into the Sanctuary yet we do not pretend by virtue of a very antient Tradition to include the Emperors Majesty in this prohibition when hâ— desires to present his Oblations unto the Creator Balsamon Patriarch of Antioch and one of the most famous Canonists amongst the Greeks doth extend much farther this priviledge granted unto the Emperor he refutes their Opinion who restrain this liberty unto the time that the Emperor made his offering at the Holy Table as if he had not liberty to enter therein to offer unto God other acts of Adoration Balsam in can 69. Trullan For my part saith he I am not of that Opinion for the Orthodox Emperours who do make Patriarchs by Invocation of the Holy Trinity and which are the Lords anointed do without any opposition enter when they please into the Sanctuary and approach unto the Altar as often as they will But the Greeks having no Emperour of their Religion groaning for a long time under the Tyranny of the Turks there is none amongst the Lay people which partake of the priviledge which their Monarch and Sovereign enjoyed formerly therefore after the Clergy have participated of the Sacrament to wit him that celebrates either Bishop or Priest in the midst of the Altar the other Priests round the Altar and the Deacon behind but all generally within the rail of the Sanctuary the Lay people communicate without for the doors of that place being open the Deacons go out to distribute the Sacrament unto the People and the place where the Celebration is made is a little higher than the rest of the Quire as James Goar hath observed an Eye witness Goar in Encholog p. 150. n. 171. who also observes that the same was practised amongst the Latins in S. Jerom's days and proves it by these words of this holy Doctor writing against the â—uciferians Id. p. 151. n. 179. It pertains unto the Bishop to handle the Body of our Lord and from a higher place to distribute it unto the people It is very probable that all those who make profession of the Religion of the Greeks as the Muscovites and the Russians do observe the same custom it is also very near the same manner which is observed in communicating the people in Prester John's Country according to the report of Francis Alvarez a Portugueze that had travelled in those Countreys many years for he writes that the Seculars and Lay folks Alvar. de Aethiop c. 11. are near the chief door of the place where the Clergy is and it is there that both Men and Women receive the Communion As for the Posture and Gesture of the Communicant which is the last circumstance we intend to examine in this Chapter it is certain that when the Lord distributed his Eucharist unto his Disciples they were almost lying along that is leaning a little one upon another because that was the manner of eating at that time amongst the Jews and other Eastern Nations and that the Disciples changed not their posture in receiving the Sacrament but continued in the same posture they were in during the Supper of the Passover And because St. John the beloved Disciple leaned on the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ the Scripture mentions that he lay on his breast at the Table or leaned on his bosom the Christians of the following Age drew near and approached unto the holy Table presently after Consecration there to receive the sacred Symbols of their redemption as may be gathered from Justin Martyr's Liturgy where we do not see any Ceremony nor any kneeling practised by the Communicants in participating of this Divine Mystery only that going before unto the Communion they gave unto each other the kiss of Charity in token of their Love and Union whereof this venerable Sacrament was to be a more strict tye and from hence it is that in all the Liturgies the faithful are warned to kiss each other before they appear at the Lords Table although this warning is given in some sooner in others later but in all it is before the Communion in those very Liturgies which we have remaining we do not find any alteration to have hapned in the posture of the Communicant For after having shewed the Sacrament unto the people and invited them unto the Communion by these words Holy things are for the Holy each Believer draws near with the motions and desires of Piety and Devotion which he ought to have to partake worthily of this Divine Sacrament Denys Bishop of Alexandria gives sufficiently to understand Apud Euseb hist l. 7. c. 9. that in his time that is in the third Century the Communion was received at the holy Table standing and not kneeling when speaking of a certain Believer which often appeared at the Lords Table to partake of the Eucharist for he useth a term that properly signifies to present himself and to be there standing Vales in Euseb hist l. 7. c. 9. p. 145. which gave occasion unto this observation of Mounsier de Valois The Believers which were to communicate drew near the Altar and there they received from the Priests hand the Body of Jesus Christ standing and not kneeling as is at this day practised Tertullian had spoke before Denys of this custom of Communicating standing in his Book of Prayer Tertul. de Orat. c. ult wherein he speaks of
impure hands In a Council at Saragosse in Spain T. 1. Concil p. 684. Ib. p. 739. assembled Anno 380. there is a Canon against those who received the Eucharist and did not eat it an Ordinance which is found to be renewed in the fourteenth Canon of the Council of Toledo in the year four hundred upon which Canon Page 47. Garsias Loaysa a Spaniard observes That antiently the Church was wont to give the Eucharist unto Believers in their hand and he proves it by several testimonies some whereof we have already cited The prohibition made by a Council of Carthage Anno 419. of giving the Eucharist unto dead Bodies doth no less justifie this practice because the Fathers alledge for a reason that it is written Can. 18. in Cod. Afric Take eat and that dead Bodies can neither take nor eat St. Austin who was present at this Council intended not to depart from this use for writing against the Donatist Petilian Contra Petil. l. 2. c. 23. t. 7. he saith unto him When you celebrated the Sacraments unto whom did you give the kiss of Charity into whose hand did you give the Sacrament and unto whom at your turn reached you out the hand to receive it of him that gave it Hitherto Communicants received the Eucharist with the naked hand but in this V. Century there began some difference to be made betwixt Men and Women so that in some places the Women were obliged to receive the Sacrament with the hand indeed Serm. 252. de temp t. 10. but upon it a clean Linen-cloth The Men saith St. Austin when they desire to communicate wash their hands and the Women present clean Cloths whereon they receive the Body of Christ A Diocesan Synod of Auxerr assembled Anno 578. by Aunacharius the Bishop of that See calls the Linen-cloth used by the Women to receive the Sacrament The Dominical That each Woman saith the 42. Canon T. 1. Concil Gall. Sirmond when she communicates have her Dominical and if there be any which hath it not let her not receive until the next Lords day And in the 36. Canon it made this Decree A Woman is not permitted to receive the Sacrament with her naked hand But in a word it was still received with the hand seeing that a few years after this Synod of Auxerr Cautin Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne saith unto Count Eulalius by the report of Gregory of Tours in his History Hist l. 10. c. 8. Take the part of the Sacrament and put it into your mouth Cardinal Baronius in his Ecclesiastical Annals attributes unto Maximus who lived about the year of our Lord 650. and whom he stiles defender of the Catholick verity against the Monothelites the same words but now alledged of St. Austins or very near them Apud Baronium Annal. Eccl. ad an 57. n. 148. That all men who desire to communicate do first wash their hands to the end that with a clear understanding and purified conscience they may receive the Sacraments of Christ That the Women also present clean Cloaths whereon they receive the Body of Christ with a pure understanding and a clear conscience Nevertheless the VI. Universal Council assembled Anno 681. made a certain number of Canons ten years after that is in the year 691. in one of which it expresly prohibits receiving the Sacrament any other way but with the hand only and blames all those who imploy any thing else for this use and because this Canon is none of the worst Monuments of Antiquity we will make no scruple of inserting it here at large Can. 101. T. 5. Concil p. 349. The Apostle St. Paul doth boldly call man created after the image of God the Body and Temple of Christ he then that is above any sensible Creature hath obtained a Heavenly Dignity by the saving passion eating or drinking Jesus Christ is absolutely disposed and fitted for eternal life and partaketh of Divine grace being sanctified both in Body and Soul Therefore if any desire to participate of the immaculate Body and will present himself at the Communion in the Assembly let him put his hands in form of a Cross and so draw near and receive the Communion of Love as for those who instead of the hand make use of Vessels of Gold or of any other matter to receive the Divine Gift and who therein receive the immaculate Communion we do by no means admit them because they prefer an inanimate thing and which is inferiour unto them before the Image of God if any one therefore be taken giving the blessed Communion unto such as bring such Vessels let him be Excommunicated with him that brings them We are then come unto the end of the VII Century wherein the custom of receiving the Eucharist with the hand continued without any other alteration than what hath been mentioned either with the linnen cloths with which the Women in the V. Century were obliged in some places to receive the Communion at least if the Sermon above cited in S. Austin's name be his which is not over certain in which case we must descend towards the end of the VI. Century and besides not pass the limits of the Diocese of Auxerr or of those little Vessels forbidden by the VI. Oecumenical Council establishing the ancient use of receiving the Sacrament with the hand only And I do not see that the Roman Catholicks Ad an 57. n. 147 148. or the Protestants do deny it for Cardinal Baronius in his Annals the Frier Combefis in his Augmentation of the Library of the Holy Fathers Gabriel de Laubespine Bishop of Orleance T. 2. p. 1014. L. 1. obser 16. a very learned Prelate in the Discipline of the ancient Church in his Ecclesiastical Observations the famous Monsieur Arnold in his excellent Book of frequent Communicating Part. 1. p. 265. Pâ—g 403. Pag. 747. and the Abbot of Billy upon Gregory Nazianzen's first Oration against Julian the Apostate and Garsias Loaysa upon the 14. Canon of the first Council of Toledo in the first Tome of the Councils of the last Edition at Paris all those I say and others also concurr herein with the Protestants It is true Baronius and Combesis observe that this custom continued longer in the Eastern Church which I do not judge ought absolutely to be deny'd but the better to follow its traces in the Western Church it will be requisite further to survey what remains to be seen in the Latin World The XI Council of Toledo Anno 675. in the Eleventh Canon doth explain the XIV Concil Tolet. 11. can 11. Canon of the first Council of the same place Against those who having received the Eucharist did not ' eat it And the XVI Council in the sixth Canon Anno 693. Concil Tolet. 16. câ—n 6. alledging against some Priests who made a little round crust for the Communion the example of Jesus Christ sufficiently gives to understand that they intended
At Troys is solemnized the memory of St. Prudens Bishop and Confessor this Saint was born in Spain endowed with Divine Graces and Illustrious by his Zeal for Religion and his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures having been driven out of Spain by the Saracens and being come into France he drew the Admiration and Love of all men therefore after the Death of Adelbert Bishop of Troys whither he had retired himself and had given proofs of his Vertue and Merit he was Elected and appointed the 37th Bishop of that Church by the common consent of the Clergy and People being so advanced unto the Episcopal Dignity he shined like a Light set in a Candlestick not unto this Church alone but also throughout all France by the example of a most holy Life and by the splendour of Divine Wisdom he was the Ornament and Delight of the Bishops of his time a Defender of the Purity of the Faith and an Oracle of Ecclesiastical Knowledge As for the Deacon Florus he hath transmitted unto us himself evidences of his belief in his Explication of the Mass at least if that be the work of this Florus Deacon of the Church of Lyons who in this Explication is styâ—â—â— Master Florus for Trithemius attributes this little Treatise whereof we speak unto one Florus a Benedictine Friar in the Abby of Trom in the Country of Liege and others make its Author to be the Deacon Florus that wrote against Amalarius and against John Scot upon the Subject of Predestination This latter Opinion seems the most likely and the reason which makes me not to doubt of it is that I observe the Author of this Interpretation of the Mass hath copied ten lines verbatim out of the Book which Agobard Bishop of Lyons under Lewis the Debonair Son of Charles the Bald wrote against Amalarius Vid. Flor. Bibl. Patr. t. 6. edit ult p. 171. unde Eccles c. Et Agobard contr Amalar. c. 13. p. 115. Florus in Exposit Missae Bibl. Patr. t. 6. p. 170. Now there 's much more probability to say that it was written by a Deacon of the same Church then by a Monk of the Country of Liege It being then evident after this remark if I mistake not that this little Treatise is to be attributed unto the Deacon Florus Let us hear what he hath designed to inform us The Oblation saith he although taken from the simple fruits of the Earth is made unto Believers the Body and Blood of the only Son of God by the ineffable virtue of Divine Benediction He seems to make a difference betwixt the Wicked and the Good and saith the Sacrament is made unto the latter the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ but unto the former it is nothing less because they have not Faith a Declaration which as the Protestants say agrees not with the Doctrine of the Real Presence by which the Eucharist is made the Body of Jesus Christ not only unto the Good but unto the Wicked also Florus explains himself very clearly Ibid. when he adds This Body and this Blood is not gather'd in the Ears of Corn and in the Grapes Nature gives it not unto us but it is Consecration that maketh it unto us mystically Jesus Christ is eaten when the Creature of Bread and Wine pass into the the Sacrament of his Flesh and Blood by the ineffable Sanctification of the Holy Ghost he is eaten by parcels in the Sacrament and he remains entire in Heaven and entire in your heart He would say that the Eucharist is naturally Bread and Wine that Consecration makes it the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ which is eaten in Morsels under the Sign which represents him but as to himself he is whole and entire in Heaven as he is whole and entire in the heart of every Believer in quality of a quickning and saving Object embraced by Faith so to find Life and Salvation in partaking of him because it is he that hath merited Salvation for us by his Death and purchased Life for us by his Sufferings And as the Eucharist is the Memorial of this Death and these Sufferings Florus makes no difficulty to say that it is made unto Believers the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ because in participating of this Divine Mystery Faith looks unto him as the only Object of its Contemplation Manducation and Participation Thus much these other words of the same Author import Ibid. p. 171. All that is done in the Oblation of the Body and Blood of our Lord is mystical we see one thing and we understand another what is seen is corporal what is understood hath a spiritual Fruit. Moreover he saith plainly that what our Saviour commanded his Disciples to take and eat was Bread He said unto them of the Bread Take and eat ye all of this Ibid. And speaking of the Cup The Wine said he was the Mystery of our Redemption And he proves it by these words I will no more drink of this Fruit of the Vine In fine expounding these last words of the Mass Whereby O Lord Ibid. thou always createst for us all these good things c. which is a kind of Thanksgiving which in the Latin Liturgy doth follow the Consecration he sufficiently gives to understand that he believed not that the Bread and Wine were changed into the substance of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ seeing he speaks of them as of things which God had created from the beginning of the World which he maketh still every year by Propagation and by Reparation which he sanctifieth and fills with his Grace and Heavenly Blessing which himself interprets to be of Corn and of Wine Thus it is that many do explain the meaning of this Author About the same time that the Deacon Florus wrote at Lyons Christian Druthmar Priest and Friar of Corby and Companion or Ratramn in the same Monastery composed his Commentary upon St. Matthew's Gospel and we should forthwith see what he wrote of the Eucharist if Sixtus Senensis did not stop us a little moment This famous Library-keeper doth accuse Protestants of having corrupted the Text of Druthmar in Reading in the Sacrament whereas he pretends upon the Credit of the Copy of a Manuscript to be seen in the Library of the Franciscans at Lyons that it should be read Subsisting really in the Sacrament The first thing we should do then is to consider the nature of this Accusation for the faith of Sixtus is look'd upon by many as the faith of a Man that approves very well of Expurgatory Indexes and one that hath laid two other Accusations unto the same Protestants Charge which are believed to be false Bibl. Sanct. in Ep. ad Pium V. Id. l. 6. Annot. 72. One is to have corrupted and altered a passage of Ferus a Franciscan Friar concerning the Temporal Power of the Pope although Ferus his Commentary upon St. Matthew wherein the passage in dispute is contained was
all the Changes and Alterations which have thereupon ensued and the many Disputes and Contests which have frequently hapned in Europe from Paschas until Berengarius and from Berengarius until the great separation of the Protestants The method proposed by us necessarily requires that we should employ this Third Part in examining the Worship I mean to consider the dispositions and preparations which should go before the Celebration of the Sacrament and of the inclinations and motions of the Soul of the Communicant either towards God and Jesus Christ or in respect of the Sacrament it self that we should examine the great question of Latrie and that we should endeavour to discover what the Church hath from time to time required of those which approach'd unto the holy Table to participate of this adorable Mystery of our Salvation For it must not be imagined that these first Christians which abounded with Zeal and Piety contented themselves in Celebrating this Divine Sacrament with indifferency and meerly for fashion sake and only to declare what they believed of the Nature of the Symbols of their use and employment and that they omitted the necessary preparations both for celebrating and for worthily partaking thereof In fine the abode which I made in the Country of Ecclesiastical Antiquity and the inspection which for some years I made into the Records and Registers which contain the Laws and Customs of this great Empire have informed me that this great and sublime Mystery is not Celebrated and that none presume to Communicate without great preparation devotion and respect And that the People of that Country made the actions of Jesus Christ celebrating his Sacrament and that of the Apostles in Communicating the model of their Celebration whereunto nevertheless in process of time they added several Ceremonies which had not been used at first and the words of this same Saviour the foundation of their Doctrine and of their Faith upon this important Article of Religion They had also considered the Commemoration that the Lord and afterwards his Apostle commands us to make of his Person and of his Death and the proof and examination which this latter requires of us as the fountain and principle of all the dispositions necessary for Celebrating and for Conimunicating Having therefore treated at large of the two first Heads we are indispensibly obliged to treat of the third point thereby to finish and compleat this History And because the Celebration precedes the Communion and that the actions of him that Celebrates goes before them of the Communicant we will first treat of the preparations incumbent upon him which doth Celebrate the Holy Sacrament CHAP. I. Of the Preparations which precede the Celebration WHen Jesus Christ did Celebrate his Eucharist the Evangelists do not mention that he prepared himself by any Ceremony they only declare That after the Supper of the Passover was ended he took Bread and that having prayed unto his Father over this Bread he broke it and distributed it unto his Disciples I only say that at the very instant there is no question to be made but that he lifted up his Soul unto his Father to beseech him that he would make this Sacrament which he went about to Institute for a Seal of his Covenant saving and efficacious unto his Children unto the end of the World And that taking the Bread to make it a sign of his Body he did it with that reverence which of it self shewed that he went about doing something that was of great weight and moment The Evangelists nor St. Paul make no mention at all of any preparation accompanied with many external Ceremonies our Saviour designing to institute this Mystery with much plainness and simplicity agreeable unto the Nature of the Gospel the Worship whereof was to be wholly Spiritual and Divine according unto what Jesus Christ said unto the woman of Samaria That God is a Spirit and he must be worshipped by them which serve him in spirit and in truth About six or seven score years after the Conductors of the Christian Churches used no other Ceremony in the Celebration of the holy Sacrament for St. Justin Martyr St. Justin Martyr Apol. 2. who gives an ample description of the exteriour form of Celebrating the Sacrament which was observed in his time prescribes no other preparation unto us on behalf of the Pastor before the Sacrament but only that when the Sermon made unto the People was ended reading some portion of the holy Scriptures he made a prayer unto God and that when prayer was finished the Believers having saluted each other with the kiss of Charity there was presented unto him Bread Wine and Water over which things he prayed unto God to Consecrate them and the People having answered Amen the distribution was made unto the Communicants by the Ministry of the Deacons Nothing can be seen more simple nor more agreeable unto the Institution of this Sacrament then the manner that was used in Celebrating of it in the days of St. Justin seeing there is no mention made of any preparation made by him that Celebrates in order unto this holy Action being content to prepare and dispose himself thereunto in private by ardent and zealous prayers unto God that he would be pleased to enable him by his Grace to Celebrate this Venerable Sacrament with the Gravity Reverence and Devotion befitting so illustrious a Monument of his great kindness and love But this great simplicity was not to the liking of those which came after They thought God was to be served with more pomp and that the splendor of outward Ceremonies would advance the Dignity of the Mysteries of his Religion It often happens that we think God is like our own selves and that because we naturally love outward pomp and are exceedingly inclined unto Pageantries we fondly conceit that it is the same with the Almighty and that the Service which we address unto him would be much more acceptable for being beautified and enriched with a great many Ceremonies and attended with many mystical actions into which deep search must be made to understand their sense and meaning This is indeed the Spring and Original cause of all those which in process of time have been introduced by Men in the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist But because we here only enquire into those which Celebrate and of the preparations which they ought to make for this holy Action we must to prosecute our design consider what is hapned in this preparation since Justin Martyr In the Constitutions which go in the Apostles names there is a Liturgy for the Celebration of the Eucharist wherein after Prayers unto God for the Catechumeny the Energumeny and the Penitents for those which are ready to receive Baptism and for the faithful And after having dismissed all those which by the Laws of the Church could not be present at the Celebration of Divine Mysteries the Deacons did present upon the Altar Constit