Touchstone to Determine the True Catholic Faith, Part 33 – Part 36
Concilium Antisiodorense. ca. 90These feasts continued long in the church; till the Antisiodorensian councell, till poperie began to flourish. Then they were banished (as I hauehave noted before) vnderunder holie pretences, as it should seeme: That maidens should not sing in the churches, nor feasts there be vsed. They would hauehave the church kept cleane: but vnderunder this holy pretence, greater abominations followed, and the church was polluted in déede. Then crept in, for singing of psalmes altogether, their single and sencelesse songes of their priestes, without vnderstanding, which could neuer hauehave beene allowed, if the former common singing of psalmes, had béene continued: then crept in their single communion, the people were shut out of the quite, and after debarred of the Lordes cuppe. At these feastes, were some of these heretikes the Apostle here speaketh of, present: These feastes were not taken away, till they had set foote in the church: And therefore hereby wee maie see, howe poperie came into the church, by stealing steppes, by degrées, and not all at once; after these psalmes and feastes, and all, were gone.In Apolog. c. 39▪ In those feastes was great sobriety, as Tertullian writeth of them: & yet in these feasts, these vsed riot and excesse. They which should hauehave béene ornaments, were spottes and staines, they which shoulde hauehave beene lights, were slanderers to the church: They fed themselues without regard of anie man, they made much of themselues. And by this is noted, that these heretikes, should not only be cruell in persecution, and couetous in conuersation, and rebellious in practises: but also riotous and belly gods in their liuing.Ezec. 34.2. They shall resemble those olde Iewish false prophets, which should feede themselues, and not féede their stockes. And were not the whole popish cleargie such like? were not these spottes in your feastes? did not they féede themselues? They should hauehave fedde the soules of their flockes, and feasted them spirituallie: but they tooke part of their feastes and good cheere, but they neuer feasted their soules:1. Cor. 9.11. They reaped their carnall things, but they neuer sowed them any spirituall thinges. And is not this to be spottes in their feastes? But they saie they kept good houses in those daies. It maie be so. But then they fedde the bodie onelie: and not the soule. But Christ commanded his pastors chiefely, to feede the soule. Feede my sheepe, Io. 21.17.feede my sheepe, feede my lambes, saith our sauiour to Peter. And those three féedinges (as some note) argue thrée kindes of foode: of word and doctrine, and of example of life and conuersation, and of foode and meate in hospitality and sustentation. The first & chiefe of these in those daies, they for the most part neglected: and of yt the Apostles said, It was not meet, to leaue the word of God, Acts 6.2.and serue tables; preferring preaching of the word of God, before the féeding of the poore. And of this our sauiour saith,Luke 12.43. Happy is that seruant whō his master when he commeth, shall finde giuing meate to his family in due season. Oh then twise vnhappie is he, that giueth none at all! And here by the waie (this in due season) toucheth them, that be non-residents, that seldome come at their flockes, they cannot giuegive them meate, in due season. But the Epistle of S. Peter, who with S. Iude (as I hauehave before noted) ioines hands in discouering these heretikes, more at large sets them out.2. Pet. 2.13. They account pleasure daily banqueting, saith he: they fare deliciously eueryevery day, with that rich glutton; they follow the steppes of those riotous pastors and sonnes of Belial, whom Esay prophesieth of. These greedy dogges (saith he) can neuer hauehave enough, Esay. 56.10.& these sheepheards cānot vnderstand. They all looke for their owne waies, eueryevery one for his aduantage, Verse. 12.for his owne purpose. Come (saith one) I will bring wine, and we will fill our selues with strong drinke, and to morrow shall bee as this daie: and much more aboundant. They forget that lesson of the preacher,Eccles. 3.1. there is a time for all things. And were not their Abbaies and Frieries, in time past like these? neuer satisfied, neuer hauing enough. This one thing maie bee a plaine proofe thereof: That when by the statute of mortmaine, they were abridged, without licence of the prince, to receiue the gift of anie moe temporall landes, at the death of anie man (which they still gaped after, although they had enough alreadie) then they obtained license of the Pope, that they might hauehave benefices impropriate to them, placing some poore vicars in the cure, and they might receiue al the commoditie themselues: And so they robbed the true pastor of his liuing. And thus they, by their excessiue couetousnesse were the adulterous fathers, of impropriations. It was also, they said, the propertie of a Frier, still do be begging. It should séeme these earthly things they so gréedelie sought after: they tooke part therof, they tooke some pleasure therein.
2. Pet. 2.13. foreign.But that which followeth in the Apostle Peter, toucheth them is the quicke: They banquet and make good cheere, in their deceipts and fraudes: They themselues, call their oblations and offerings, as the bloud of Hailes, and such like (which they confessed to be but lies) holie deceiptes and fraudes. And by this, they beguiled the people, and got their mony from them; and with this mony, they made merrie and kept good cheere: And is not this to banquet with their deceiptes and guiles? euen by their owne confession. Naie besides all this, all their good chéere, in their Abbaies & Frieries, which they maintained, came of deceipt. They perswaded the people that they would praie for them,Mat. 25.9. that they should hauehave part of their oyle to light their lampes, when the bridegroome should come, they sold them the merits of all their couent: and they sold them deare enough. And by these meanes, they obtained all their landes, they gat all their riches, they maintained their good cheere: Whereas in Epiphanius daies, and in Beades daies here in England, the first good Monkes, in all monasteries as they reporte, were glad to worke, with their handes to get their liuings. They knewe not this gainefull trade and merchandise of selling their praiers, as these did of late daies: and yet they prayed as much as they did both daie and night as they report,Bede mentions there three daies fast, triduanum ieumium, with praiers: at the battell with Ed l. frithe eccl. hist. 2. lib. ca. 2. Mat. 25.8. Mat. 23.14. and were as full of good workes, as euer they were. But they thought according to the gospell, they coulde not hauehave oyle enough for themselues and for others also: These latter knew not the gospel, and that made them so bolde and hardie. And is not this deceipt? surely the greatest deceipt in the worlde, to make merchandise, and that false merchandise, of mens soules: to eate the sinnes of the people, to make no bones of them: vnderunder pretence of long praiers, with the Pharises, to deuoure widowes houses. Thus we maie sée how plainly S. Peter and S. Iude agrée together, in disciphering these heretiks; and thus we maie plainly sée, if we be not ouermuch blinded with partialitie, who fulfill both their prophesies. S. Paul saieth,2. Cor. 5.10. Wee must all giuegive account for our owne workes what we hauehave done in our bodies: And Chrysostome saieth to his hearers,Hom 13 ad Pop. Antioch. I would to God I coulde worke for you, that my works would serue your turne: but you must doe your good workes your selues. Mat. 7.19.The tree it selfe that beareth not good fruit is hewen downe, and cast into the fire (saith our sauiour) Is cutte downe alreadie, euen as sure, as that it were cutte downe.
But they will saie, maie not one praie for another? And so ones good workes profite another. It is true, one maie praie for another, and so helpe another. But euen as proppes to a vine, or cares to a boate; are our praiers for others: They are helps, they are outwarde meanes: but if the vine be dead it selfe, what profiteth the vnderpropping of it? If the boate take water, if it be not made of good wood, if the boardes be not compact together, what profiteth the oares? Euen so, if as vines, we hauehave not the life of faith our selues; if we be not grafted in that vine Iesus Christ; if like good boates, we be not compact together, with the bondes and ioints of christian charitie: these props, these oares, these praiers,Heb. 10.38. or whatsoeuer of our brethren will not help vsus. The iust man liueth by his own faith. But this sale of their workes, & that of bad workes, of praiers in Latine, of de profundis, for another man, which Dauid made for himselfe, which was a plain mockerie of God: yea & that they standing in néed of them, themselues (as who is it, yt dare say to God, he is not an vnprofitable seruant?) And lastly,Luke 17.10. our trust in these their workes, is the thing that Gods word condemnes.
But the church (saie they) hath a treasure, and the Pope is the dispenser of it, and out of that, he maie bestow or sell merites to whome hee will. Wee reade no such thing in the scriptures. In Christ Iesus wee reade,2 Col. 9. Io 1.16. 2. Col. 3. are all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge: and if of these, then of merciemercy, of merits also. For another text saith, All fulnesse dwelleth in him, then fulnesse of mercy. And of this his fulnes, we all like empty vessels, must receiue. And the ministers of the gospell with S. Paul, must preach foreign, vnsearchable riches of Christ, among the Gentiles. If the riches of Christ be so aboundant,Ephes. 3.8. what néede we anie other? If it be the duetie of his ministers to preach these: then they are antichristes ministers, that preach anie other. And S. Paul saith, the church is the fulnesse of him that filleth all things in all thinges. Ephes. 1.23.Why then, she is filled of him: she hath no treasures of her owne to sel. Let all runne to the well head,Psal. 35.10. Ier. 2.13. and not to the streames, as ye scripture commandes. And here also that text of the gospell condemneth their merchandise or sale of their workes: you hauehave receiued freely, Mat. 10.6.giuegive freely, saith our sauiour. Their workes are fréely giuen them of God, why should they then sell them?