The Relics of Rome, Part 67 – Part 73
Of penaunce.
POpe Nicolas the firste appoynted that this shoulde be the penaunce of hym yt hath slayne his mother.The penaunce of him that hath slayne his mother First by ye space of an whole yere he shall not be suffered to come into the Churche, but he shal stād before the church dore praying & beseching god cō tinually to forgeue hym so haynous & horrible a sinne. Secondlye, when the one yeare is ended, he shal hauehave licence to come into the Churche, and to stand among ye hearers, but he by no meanes shalbe suffred to come vntounto the communion or Sacrament of the bodye and bloud of Christ. Thirdly, whē the third yeare is once past, he shall be admitted vntounto the holy communion. &c. All this time he may eate no fleshe, nor presume to drincke wine, excepte it be on solēne feastes and sondayes, and from Easter vntounto Whitsontyde, And whensoeuer he will take any iourney, he maye not ryde, but go on foote. He maye not go vntounto the warres, except it be to fyght agaynst the paganes.
He must also euerye weeke faste three dayes, & eate no meate till it be night. &c. In the yeare. &c. 8711. Caus. 33. tract. de paenitentia. cap. Latorem praesentium.
What opinion of mariage had this Pope, thinke ye.Pope Siricius made a decree, that those, which are penitents may not in the tyme of their penaunce, mary, nor excercise ye worke of mariage lest they shoulde be counted as dogs returnyng vntounto their vomit, or as sowes, whiche beyng cleane washed walowe & tomble them selues again in the miry puddels. In the yeare of our Lorde. 389. Caus. 23. quaest. 2. Cap. De his vero.
Pope Leo the first notwithstandyng,A Pope more reasonable. of his great fauour and singular goodnes, graunteth to al such as are already maried, that they euen in the time of their penance, may lawfully enioy the libertie of matrimony, lest peraduenture while they abstaine from yt which is lawfull, they shal fall into the daunger of that which is vnlawfull. In the yeare. &c. 444. Ibidem. G. Audiuimus.
The same decree also Pope Leo the thirde made, declaryng that it is more tollerable, and may better be suffered, that a yonge man euen in the time of his penance to auoyd the daūger of incontinency, do ioyne vntounto him a wyfe, than he should incurre and fal into the sinne of fornicatiō.Note how loth the Popes are to go from their olde. Mumsimꝰ. In doing this, saith he, it semeth that the matter whiche he hath done, is venial and pardonable, so that he knowe none other, besides hys owne wife. Notwithstanding, saith he, in speakyng thus we make no law, but we shewe, what is more tollerable. In ye yere. &c. 817. Ibidem. cap. In adolescentia.
A foolishe diuine of so wise a head 1. Cor. vii.Pope Gregorye the fyrste ordayned this to be the penaunce of the maryed man, that he shall not enter into the Churche before he hath purified and washed himselfe with water, if he hauehave had the knowledge of his wiues body, and geuen her (as the Apostle saith) the due beneuolence. In the yeare of oure Lord. 590. Caus. 33. Quaest. 4. cap. Vir cum propria vxore.
The penaunce of them, that are negligent about the Sacrament of the Altare.Pope Pius the fyrste made a decree, that if thorowe the negligence of the priest any of the bloud (he meaneth the Sacrament of Christes bloude, as the expositour doth declare in the same place) do droppe down vponupon the groūd, the Prieste shall lycke it vp wyth hys tounge, &c. and he shall do penaunce for that faulte fortye dayes, &c. In the yeare of our Lorde. 147. De consec. dist. 2. cap. Si per negligentiam.
Beholde hys curiositye.In the Cautels of the Masse, we rede thus: If thorow negligence there droppe downe any thing of the bloude vponupon a bord that sticketh to the earth: let it be lyckt vp by the Prieste with hys tounge and the place of the borde scraped, and the scrapyng brent in the fire: and let the ashes be layd vp beside the altare with the reliques, and let hym to whome that happened, do .xl. dayes penance. If the chalice drop vppon the altare, let the droppe be supte vp, and let hym hauehave iii. dayes penance But if the drop came thorow vponupon a linnen cloth vntounto an other thinge: let him hauehave .iiii. daies penance. If it come thorowe to the thirde thinge: let hym hauehave .ix. dayes penaunce. In a drop of the bloud come thorowe to the fourth thynge? let him do penaunce, twentye dayes. And as for the linnen geare, that the droppe hath touched: let the priest or deacon wash them, the chalice being set vnderunder, and let the washing be kept with ye reliques. Itē, if a mā by any chaūce of glotony,☜ do spue out ye sament: the same spuyng must be brent: and the ashes ought to be layde vp byside the altare. And if he be a clarke, a Religious man, Priest or a deacon: let hym do forty dayes penance. A Bishop lxx. dayes, a lay man .xxx. dayes. But if he did spue by reason of infirmitie, let him do penance .v. dayes. Who so doth not kepe the Sacramēt, so yt a mouse or an other beast eateth it, let hym hauehave. xl. dayes penance. But who so looseth it, or if a part of it fall, and be not foūd: let hym do penaunce .xxx. dayes. The same penance semeth the Prieste to be worthy of▪ by whose negligence the consecrated hostes do putrifie. Upon the sayde dayes must the penitent faste and abstaine from the communion and from celebration.
The penāce of the Clergy cō uicte of great fautsPope Innocent the third decreed, that they whiche are of the clergye, beyng founde gilty of thefte or of any other great faultes, shoulde on this manner be punished. Firste, they shalbe degraded. Secondly, they shalbe depriued of all their ecclesiasticall promocions. Thirdly, they shall be strayghtly kept in some monastery, there to do penance al their lyfe time. Lib. Cōcil. Decret. Gregorii, de paenis. tit. 36 cap. Tuae discretionis.
Penaunce dispensed with.In the Councell Triburiense it was ordayned, that if any were enioyned penāce to eate nothing but bread certain dayes and could get no bread to eate: it should be lawfull for them to eate fish, leekes, or any such kynd of meat, seyng the necessitie doth so require. Prouided alway, yt they eate not those meates for pleasure sake, but for the sustentation of theyr hungrye bodyes. Decret. Gregorij. 9. Libro. 5. de penet, et remiss. Tit. 18. Cap. Licet.
In a certayn general councel it was decreed, yt at the least once in the yeare eueryevery person both of mankynde and womā kynde being of reasonable age and sufficient discretion,Penaunce enioyned of the ghostly Father. shuld priuately confesse hys synnes to hys own Curate, and to the vttermost of hys power fulfyll all suche penaunce, as hys Ghostly father hath enioyned hym. Ibidem. Capit. Omnis vtriusque sexus. Libro. Concil.
In the eyght Synode it was agreed,A rule for penaunce. yt suche penaunce shoulde be enioyned of ye ghostly father to his ghostly childe as is agreable to the qualitie and quā titye of sinne. Caus. 26. Quaest. 7. Capit. Proqualitate.
In the same Synode it was also determined, yt the priestes shuld hauehave authoritie and power,A greate priuilege. to enioyne what penaunce they wuld, and for how long a tyme, and after what sort. Ibidem. Ca. Hoc sit positum.
Of Absolution.
A reasonable order.POpe Gelasius the fyrst ordayned yt if a man were vniustlye excō municate & accursed, he shoulde not regard it, nor yet go aboute to seke absolution from ye sentence or censure, which was vniustlye layde vponupon hym. In the yeare, &c. 494. Caus. 11. Quaest. 3. Cap. Cui est.
Note thys well.Pope Gregorye the fyrst affyrmeth, yt the priest can absolue no man, excepte God hath absolued him fyrst: alleging the historye of Lazarus, whom the Lord raised vp vntounto life, before he cōmaunded his Disciples to losen hym,Ioan. xi. and to set hym at libertye. In the yere of oure Lorde. 590. Ibidem. Cap. Tunc vera est absolutio.
Pope Nicolas the fyrste ordayned, yt the Byshop of Rome mighte absolue men from their lawfull othe, promyse, & fidelitie made to princes,Sed perquā …egulam. seing yt it lyeth also in hys power to depriue kings and Emperours of their kingdomes & dignities. In the yeare, &c. 871. Caus. 15. Q. 7. Cap. Autoritatem. The same readest thou also in ye Canō following, which beginneth. Alius item.
Pope Gregorye the fyrst made a decree, yt no Prelate shuld lightly forgeue & absolue men frō those sinnes,A decree not to be despised. yt they hauehave committed against God. The offences committed agaynst vsus, saith he, we may easely forgeue: but the synnes which are done agaynst God, we maye not release without great discretion, & penaunce doing. In the yeare, &c. 590. Caus. 23. Quaest. 4. Cap. Si is qui.
In the councell Carthaginense, Absolution must be receaued knelyng.it was decreed yt the person which shoulde bee absolued, should mekely and reuerently knele downe to take the absolution: and yt the Priest should laye hys hande vponupon hys ghostly childes head, when he absolueth hym. Caus. 26. Quaest. 7. Capit. Sacerdos. Libro. Concil. Martinus. frater.
Certayne fourmes of Absolution.
OURE Lord Iesus Christ, whiche hath full power to absolue, he moughte absolue thee, And I by the authoritye of him, & of ye holy Apostles Peter and Paule, and of oure Mother holye Churche, and by the authoritie yt is committed vntounto me in this behalfe, as much as I can, and am bounde to absolue thee, do fyrst of al absolue thee from the bond of ye lesser excommunication, if thou be failen into it. I absolue thee also from ye fault of companye kepyng with excommunicate persons, if thou hauehave nede: and by the same authoritye I absolue thee from all thy synnes, mortal, criminall, and veniall, being confessed vntounto me. I absolue thee also frō all other sinnes forgotten, confessed, committed, and neglected, as much as I can, & so farre as my dutye is, in ye vertue of our Lord Iesu Christes passion, and in ye blessing of the father, and of the Sonne, and of the holy Ghost. AMEN. And the very passion of our Lorde Iesus Christ, & the merites of all he Saintes and shee Saintes, and all the passions of ye holy Martyrs, and the suffrages of ye church Militante, and the remissions of the same, and also the pardons, prayers, & pilgrimages, & whatsoeuer good dedes besydes all other faythfull Christians hauehave wrought: Agayne, the fastynges, almosse deedes, and the workes of mercye whiche thou haste done, or shalt do, or entendest to doe: moreouer whatsoeuer tribulation thou haste pacientlye suffered: all thys I geue vntounto thee for the satisfaction of thys penaunce that I hauehave enioyned thee: and vntounto the furtheraunce and helpe of the remission and forgeuenesse of al thy synnes, and vntounto the deliueraunce from the paines of hell and purgatorye, whiche thou haste deserued for thy synnes: and vntounto ye obtayning of grace in this present world, and euerlasting life in the world to come. Amen.
An other fourme of Absolution.
OUr Lorde Iesus Christ, whiche created & redemed thee, mought absolue thee. And I by the authoritie, which I hauehave of hym, as muche as lyeth in my power accordyng to my dutye, I doe absolue thee from all bondes of the lesser excommunication, if thou bee bounde: and I restore thee to the holy Sacramentes of the church, if thou hauehave nede. Agayn, I absolue thee from all thy synnes confessed and forgotten, mortall and veniall, with al theyr circumstaunces. The passion of oure Lorde Iesu Christ, and all the good dedes that thou hast done, or shalte doe: and all the aduersityes and troubles, whiche thou haste suffered, or shalt suffer, myght be vntounto thee for penaunce and remission of thy sinnes, and for the encrease of Goddes grace. In the name of the Father, and of the Sonne, and of the holy Ghost. Amen. Ex Speculo confessorum Fratris Bartholomaei de Chaimis.
An other fourme of Absolution.
BY the authoritye of God, and of ye blessed Apostles Peter & Paule, and by ye authoritye of the Churche of Rome cōmitted vntounto me, and graunted vntounto thee, I absolue thee from all sentence either of the greater or lesser curse, and from all suspension and interdiction, if thou be bounde with any of them. And I restore thee to the vnitie of the faythful, and to ye holy Sacraments of ye church: and by the same authoritye committed vntounto me: I absolue the from all thy synnes confessed, contrite, and forgotten. Item, by the authority of God and of ye blessed Apostles Peter and Paule and of ye Churche of Rome, yea; and also by the authoritie of oure Lorde the Popethe high Byshop committed vntounto me in thys behalfe, and so muche as I am bounde and able to doe: (if thou dye at thys tyme) I absolue thee from all the paynes due vntounto thee in purgatorye for ye faultes and offences, which yu haste committed agaynst God: and by all ye authoritye yt I hauehave, I restore thee to the innocencie, wherein thou were, when thou were baptised. But if yu doe not dye at thys tyme, I reserue the full pardon graunted to thee of oure Lorde the Pope, tyll thou dye. In the name of the Father, and of the Sonne, and of the holy Ghost. AMEN Ibidem.
An other fourme of Absolution.
ALmightye God hauehave mercye on thee, & forgeue thee al thy sinnes, & bring thee vntounto euerlasting life AMEN
The almighty & merciful Lorde geue vntounto thee indulgence and absolution of al thy sinnes. AMEN.
The almightye father, ye Godly and merciful Lord mought geue vntounto thee, indulgence, absolution, and remission of al thys synnes. AMEN.
Most dere brother. The greatest and hyghest penaunce is, to be sorye for the sinnes committed, and to repent, and to beware and to take heede that thou sinne no more. For the wholesome penaunce at thys present, thou shalt say, iii. Pater nosters .iii. Aues, & a Crede: or thou shalt say the Psalme of mercy called Miserere meideus, knelyng vppon thy knees before ye blessed sacramente of the altare, or yu shalte cause ye Masse of the fiue woundes of our Lorde Iesus Christ to be song or sayde for thee, or thou shalt go thys or yt pilgrimage, gyld thys or ye Image, &c. This penaunce and the merite of the passion of Iesu Christ, and al the good dedes yt thou hast done, or here after shalte doe, might profyte thee, and stande thee instead for the remission of al thy synnes And our Lord Iesus Christ by his holy & moste pitiefull mercy might absolue thee. And I absolue thee frō ye sentence of the lesser excommunication or curse, if thou be fallen into it, and also from all thy sinnes. In the name of the father, and of the sonne, and of the holye ghost. Amen. Ex instructione seu Alphabeto sacerdotum.
A speciall note of the Papistes concerning Absolution.
ABout Absolution is to be cō sidered the due or proper & perfect forme. In that note, yt as eueryevery Sacrament hath his proper forme: so in like manner hath the Sacrament of penance, which is this: Ego te absoluo. That is to say. I geue thee, and bestowe vponupon thee, the Sacrament or ministery of Absolutiō. It doth not importe, as some falsely reporte: Ego te absoluo: id est, absolutum te ostēdo. I absolue thee, that is, I declare vntounto thee, that thou art absolued. For so should it followe, that in the Sacramentes of the newe lawe, there should be nothing but a shewyng or signification: whiche is false, bicause yt the Sacramentes of the new law do not only figure and signifie, as the Sacraments of the the law, but they also conferre & geue truly and effectually the thynge, whiche they figure and represente. Ex speculo confes. Bartholo. de Caimis.