Ceremonies of the Monstrous Popish Mass, Part 2 · Chapter 33 – Chapter 34
Of the points that are to be noted vponupon the aforeſaide Text. CHAPTER XXXIII.
a HEre, M. hethethee hothethee, ſtandeth like a man in a great amaze.
b Here in this point is ſome great matter: for, he ſaith the ſecrete very ſoftly, for feare he ſhould be heard, and ſoone after crieth out aloude, to no purpoſe in the world, for euer and euer: To th'end that the people, & they which help him at Maſſe, might anſwer, Amen. without ether hearing or yet vnderſtanding what it was that he ſaid, neither yet whereunto he referreth this his Per omnia. For this word Amen, is an Hebrewe word, by which, they that ſpeake it, declare their conſent to that which is ſaid, and teſtifie that they take it to be true, and wiſh it to be ſo. But how can he that ſo anſwereth anſwere in trueth, without he do it ſcoffingly and merily, when as he vnderſtandeth not that, which he affirmeth and teſtifieth? For it is as if a manne ſhould ſet his hand and ſeale vntounto an obligation, or letter, hauing neuer read it, nor yet knowinge what is within it. And therefore the holy Apoſtle ſaith, How ſhall he ſay Amen to thy prayer, who neither knoweth what thou ſayeſt, nor yet vnderſtandeth thee one whit?1. Cor. 14. And if this be to be done in the publique prayers of the Church, it is much more requiſite in the adminiſtration of the Sacraments. For, ſith they are as it were a confirmation of the contract and couenaunt which the Lorde hath made with vsus: what proteſtation, are we able, for our partes, to make, if we vnderſtand not the contents and articles of the couenant, whereof, the Sacramentes are as it were the ſeales? It is alſo much like, as if men ſhould ſeale to a couenāt and vnderſtood not what it is, & as if they ſhould beare witnes vntounto it, & yet knew not the contents thereof. And therfore the Sacramental words of all Sacramentes, are ſo to be vttered, as that they to whom they appertaine, might, as well as their capacitie were able to beare it, vnderſtand them.
c Here he ſaluteth the people with his tayle towardes them, without tourning him ſelfe about vntounto them.
d Wee hauehave alreadie elſewhere declared to what end this is ſaid, and from whence it was taken, and how the contrarie is done in the Maſſe of this exhortation. And therefore the Doctors them ſelues of the Popiſh Church do teſtifie, that none can hauehave part of this Sacrament, without he lift vp his hart on high, and that manie of them which ſay, they lifte them vp on high, doe manie times ſhamefully lye.
e Although all that goeth before, ſerueth for a preface, they eſpecially call all that which followeth it, by the ſame name, vntounto the Sanctus. We hauehave ſomewhat at large ſpoken in other places of the diuerſitie of Prefaces, which alſo hauehave their ſeuerall tunes, accordinge to the dayes and feaſts, for which they are properly appointed. The Canons which we hauehave ſpoken of, that forbid no Collectes, prayers, prefaces, proſes, nor anie other Apocriphaes, noranie thing elſe that is not approued lawfull, to be vſed, hauehave yet rehearſed them in diuerſe and ſundrie Councels, as namely, in the ſecond Laodicean Councell, & in the Millaine. And therefore it was many times ordained, that there ſhould be but one fourme of the Diuine office: in one ſelfe ſame Prouince and Countrey: and eſpecially in the Gerundenſe, firſt Bracarien,Ex lib. Con fourth and eleuenth Tolentane, Councelles. For which cauſe, they had their diuerſe and ſundrie vſages giuen them, according to the diuerſity of the Biſhoprickes and Dioceſſes. The forme & maner of the Preface which is here ſet down, is ordained to be ſaid euerie day from Chriſtmaſſe night vntounto the Epiphanie. It ſerueth alſo for Candlemaſſe and this Corpus Chriſti day. The reſt of the feaſts, hauehave theirs alſo, by them ſelues. Furthermore I finde no great hurt in that, that is herein contayned, if it were applied as it ſhould be, that is, according to the forme of the auncient Church.
f This aduertiſement that is here giuen is, becauſe that hitherto M. Rowley Rownſie as a man amazed, holdeth out his handes a ſtroute, as if iolie Sainct Frauncis ſhould ſhew the ſkarres of his wounds. And in the end of his preface he putteth them againe together.
g Ouer and beſides that which hath bene alreadie ſaid of the ordinance of Pope Sixtus cōcerning the Sanctus, there is yet a Canon in the ſecond Vaſenſe Councell, which commaundeth it to be ſaid in all Maſſes, of what qualitie or conditiō ſoeuer they be. It is a notable thing to ſee frō whēce this geare it fetcht. For, there is nothing, of it ſelfe, but is to the praiſe and glorie of God. But being applied to this Idoll of the Maſſe, wherfore ſerueth it, but onelyonly for blaſphemie? For, the Lord knoweth what goodly Angelles, and Seraphims, we hauehave of theſe blaſphemers, to ſing praiſe vntounto him. They may very wel cal him holy, holy, as oftē as they luſt, when they ſo horriblie blaſpheme him. And they may verie wel alſo take vntounto them, the name of Seraphims, which ſignifie as much, as burning and ſlaming, but not with louelove to God and their neighboures, as men enlightened with the light of God, as the Angelles are: but burning and flaming with rage and furie, to perſecute and burne the children of God, which woulde praiſe him, as the Angelles doe: which they, quite and cleane take both from him, and from our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt alſo, tranſporting the ſame vntounto an Idoll of paaſt, & to that Romiſh Antichriſt, whom they call Sanctiſsime Pater, that is to ſay, moſt holie Father, in the Superlatiue degree, comprehending all in one word, which the Angels made three of.
h They entermeddle manie words of ſtrange languages in their Maſſe (beſides their barbarous Latin) which they chieflie take from the Hebrues, and ſome from the Greekes: counterfaiting the Magicians, and heathen, and Marke the heretike, who were wont to intermeddle many barbarous, ſtrange, and hard wordes to pronounce, in their charmes and diuine offices, that they might therby make the people, the more amazed,Arno. contra Gent. The. de fa. ha…t Lucy in Necy, and their doinges, a great deale the more wonderfull and ſtrange, as Arnobius, Theodorete, and Lucian do teſtifie. They hauehave here Sabaoth and Oſanna, frō the Hebrewes, which them ſelues cannot rightlie pronounce, and therefore much leſſe vnderſtand. But what a manner of ſpeaking is this, thus to cō found one language with another, being not driuen of neceſſitie ſo to doe, neither yet to any purpoſe? It is as if we ſhould ſay, Lorde God exercituum, mingling Latin with Engliſh, not ſpeaking fully, either the one or the other, in ſtead of ſaying all in Engliſh, Lord God of hoſtes, or in Latine, Domine 'Deus exercituum. And this is like all the reſt.
i The Lorde alſo knoweth, to what great purpoſe the wordes of Dauid are here alleadged, for the comming of this newe Chriſt.
Of the fourth part of the Maſſe, called Conſecration, CHAPTER XXXIIII.
AFterward, bowing him ſelfe ſomwhat lowe before the Aultare, with his handes ioyned together, he ſaith.
Thee therfore moſt pitifull Father. &c.
DEinde, profunde in cliuatus ante Altare iunctis manibus, dicit.
Te igitur clementiſſime Pater &c.
After he hath made an end of the Sanctus, then followeth the Cannon, which is conuenient for him to declare, with the ceremonies before mentioned, aſwell here, as in the Cautels of the Maſſe alreadie recited. There are alſo certaine vſages, according to which the Lauabo is onelyonly giuen in this behalfe,Expo. 4. part. Miſſ, as that which Nicholas de Ploue enſueth. Now, here beginneth the moſt abhominable ſorcerie & Magicall art that is in all the whole Maſſe, inſomuch that it may rather be rightly called a deuilliſh execration, then a conſecration, as they tearm it. We hauehave alreadie ſufficiently ſpokē of theſe forgers of this goodly peece of worke, amongſt which Nicholas de Ploue hath put in Clemēt the firſt,Ex 4. par. Miſſ, ſaying, that he ordained the Canon, that is, before the conſecration. And we will here againe ſet downe as well generallie as particularly in the margine, the Authors to whome it is attributed. Now, becauſe there is farre greater danger in this point, then in anie other point of the Maſſe, it was ordained in the Councell of Oxenford,Ex lib. Con. holdē in England by the Archbyſhop S…euē, that the Archdeacons in their viſitations, ſhould prouide, that if anie faults were to be found in the Canon thereof, that it ſhould be amended & corrected: and that the Prieſtes might be able at the leaſt verie well to pronounce the words of it, and ſoundly vnderſtande the ſame. Here is alſo to be noted, that whē my Maiſters which ſay the Maſſe are come ſo farre, ſome of them muſt with great reuerence and humilitie kiſſe the Altar, and ſome, the image of the Crucifixe (which is purpoſly pictured in the Maſſe booke to that end) which ſeemeth to be a thing verie agreable with the decree of the Elibertine Councell, celebrated in Spaine,Ex lib. Con. about the time of the Nicene Councell and of Silueſter the firſt, in which the pictures of Images were forbidden to be in the Church: to the ende that that which is to be honoured ſhould not be painted & pictured on the walles. Howbeit, when this ordinance was made, the Maſſe had not then that furniture about it, which nowe it hath. And therefore it is verie meete that it ſhould be garniſhed with this ornament, and eſpecially in this point: wherein is contained the moſt ſhameful & horrible idolatrie & blaſphemy that is poſſible to be deuiſed. Moreouer, the Maiſters of the ceremonies, and expoſitors of this Canon, hauehave diuided it into certaine partes, ſome onelyonly into fiue, and other ſome into twelue, as euerie of them ſhall be ſeene in their place and order.