Touchstone to Determine the True Catholic Faith, Part 19
Of Communion vnderunder one kinde.
THe Church of Rome also, hath altered in the sacrament the Lordes cuppe; which also (as I hauehave said) was common to the priest and people, and hath ordeined it to the minister a…ue, where as S. Paul said: That which I hauehave receiued of the Lord, I hauehave deliuered vntounto you. 1. Cor. 10.23.S Paul durst not alter anie substantiall point, in the sacrament: and yet the popish Church dareth? And here, where as some dare not communicate with vsus, this mee …keth, should be a sufficient warrant to euerie christians conscience; That to receiue as Christ our sauiour first instituted it, is the safest and surest waie, therein can be no danger; (That was S. Paules ground:) But so doe we in our church, in all thinges, as …re as can be, comming to Christes institution; therefore they should not feare to communicate with vsus. And the same order which we vse, was vsed in the Church in S. Paules daies:Verse 28. For (saith he) let a man prooue himselfe, and so eate of the bread, and drinke of the cuppe. He doth not saie, let the minister prooue himselfe, and drinke of the cuppe: but euerie christian, as he ought first to exa… and prooue himselfe; so he ought to eat the bread, and drinke of the cuppe. And here they pretend for an excuse, the spilling of … …ine, or the cleauing or loosing thereof by the beardes & haires of man.Although with great care, a… Origen teacheth, the sacraments should be receiued and not to be let fall on the ground. But to let this superstition passe, Christ suffered his own bloud to be shedde on the ground, for our sakes: How much lesse then, will he not suffer the sacrament of his bloud? Sée what great iniurie they doe to Christes church, by maintaining this their superstition. This cuppe (saith our sauiour) is the newe testament in my bloud: so that then as the bread is a certaine sacrament of the bodie, and maketh vsus liuely members of the same; so the cup is a sacrament of the new testament, or league betwixt God and his church. And so as much as in them lieth, they which barre the people from receiuing it, would put them out of the league; and themselues be only, as they call themselues, the Lords Cleargie or inheritance. For so the worde Cleargy signifieth. And here their (concornitantia) falleth to the grounde. For if that woulde hauehave serued the turne, what néeded Christ to hauehave ordeined the cup, either for minister or people? For he yt receiueth the bodie, be he priest or people: receiueth by a necessarie consequent, (as they saie,) the bloud too. But Christ did ordaine nothing in vaine: therfore we must beleeue it was ordeined, as well for the people, as for the pastor. Secondly, he that is not in the league or couenant, is partaker of none of Gods benefites; neither of the bodie, nor of anie benefit else. For we hauehave all thinges from God, as beggers, not as owners; by league, by couenant; not by duetie, by challenge, by inheritance. So that they, which take awaie the cuppe of the newe testament, take awaie all gods blessings from vsus. This manner of communicating, continued in the church in Cyprians daies, 200. yeares after Christ; and long after. For thus he writeth:Lib. 1. Epist. 2. Epist. Howe doe we teach or prouoke them, for the profession of his name to shedde their bloud, if to them, going to the battaile (speaking of Martyres) we shall denie his bloud? or how shal we make them fit for the cuppe of martyrdome, if wee admit them not first, Grat. de cons. dist. 2. quia passus De Consec. dist. 2. comperimus.by right of the communion, to the cuppe of the Lord? In like manner (S. Augustine saith) we receiue together, we drinke together, because we liue together. And Gelasius a Pope confirmeth the same: Either let them receiue the whole sacramentes, or else let them be driuen from the whole. So that this faith is not that which was giuen from the beginning, this is not the Catholique faith.
Iesus Christ is the vine, we are the branches; wouldest th… be sure a branch of this vine;Io. 15.1. wouldest thou abide in him, and be a member of his church; wouldest thou worthely receiue the sacrament? Why then, marke well what he saith vntounto thee:Verse 7. If you abide in me, and my wordes abide in you, aske what you will, and it shalbe done vntounto you. Here is then the meanes to abide in Christ, to be a member of his bodie, & one of his true church, and to be partakers of his sacraments; to hauehave his word abiding & dwelling in vsus: not to beléeue as the church of Rome beléeueth, not to abide in the Popes obedience; but to obey Gods word, in all things; to beleeue as it teacheth, to receiue his sacraments, according to his institution. And then as a faithfull spouse to thy husband, Whatsoeuer thou askest, thou shalt obtaine it: Euen as a wife, that doth her husbands commandement, can lacke nothing. According to which Salomon saith:Prou. 18.9. Hee that turneth away his eares from hearing the lawe, his praiers shall be abominable. By his word God speaketh to vsus, and by our praiers we speake vntounto God. Now they, which despise God, speaking to them; surely God will not heare them speaking to him.
Our sauiour in the gospell, when he sendeth forth his Apostles to preach to all nations, he giueth them this charge:Mat. 28.19. Go to all nations and baptise them, in the name of the father, the sonne and the holy ghost, teaching them to obserue all thinges, whatsoeuer I hauehave commanded you, and behold I am with you alway, euen to the ende of the world. Here is the Catholique church, sealed and marked with the outward seale, and cognisance of baptisme: and doing al thinges that Iesus hath commanded, fulfilling his worde. And they are the true catholique preachers and teachers, that preache onelie that, which he hath commanded in his word, and with such, he is present euen to the ende of the world.
Séeing then, to hauehave the scriptures read in the vulgar tongue, to hauehave thē preached vntounto ye people, not in the beginning of the church, or at the first planting of the faith onlie (as the Papists imagine) but vntounto the worlds end; seeing to hauehave our sins pardoned by faith, kindled in our harts by the preaching of them; séeing to praie in a knowen tongue, to hauehave no Images in the churches, was the first faith; seeing al the saintes of God, knew the scriptures & praied in a knowen tongue; seeing Mary praised God with her magnificat, and Symeon wish his song, and Zacharie with his also, in a tongue they knewe: why should not wee also followe their steppes, and heare the scriptures willinglie, praie with our vnderstanding feruentlie, breake all Images zealously? Seeing purgatorie, pardons, transubstantiation, communion vnderunder one kinde, inuocation of saintes, euen by their owne confessions, came since into the church; séeing they were not the first faith, once giuen to the saintes; seeing they were saued without them: why doe wee beléeue them? why doe we striue to maintaine them? following the Iesuites, not S. Iudes counsell herein. Augustine saieth verie excellently:Antoninus 2. Part. Tit. 10. God hath (as it were) paued vsus the high way to heauen, by the pathes of the Patriarches by the hemming in on both sides of the lawe, by the incarnation of Iesus Christ by the testimony of the Apostles, by the bloud of Martyres: Let vsus followe the steppes of all these, walke the way that they went in, & refuse all by waies, that came in since.