Ceremonies of the Monstrous Popish Mass, Part 2 · Chapter 37 – Chapter 38
Of the third parte of the Canon conteining the firſt Commemoration of the Saintes. CHAPTER XXXVII.
Infra Actionem.
a COmmunicātes & memoriam venerantes, imprimis glorioſae ſemper vir ginis Mariae genetricis Dei, & Domini noſtri Ieſu Chriſti, ſed & beatorum Apoſtolorū, ac Martyrū tuorū Pe…i & Pauli, Andreae, Iacobi, Ioan. Thomae, Iacobi, Philippi, Bariholomaei, Matthaei, Simonis duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page & Thadaei, Lini, Cleti, Clementis, Sixti, Cornelij, Cypriani, Laurentij, Griſogoni, Ioan. & Pauli, Coſme & Damiani: Et omnium Sanctorū tuorum, quorum meritis precibus que concedas, vt in omnibus protectionis tuae muniamur auxilio, Per eundē Chriſtum Dominum noſtrum.
VnderUnder the Actiō of thankeſgiuing.
aSyrice. Gregory. 3.COmmunicating and honoring,Linus. firſt of all, & chiefly, the remembrance, of the glorious alwayes virgine Mary, the b mother of God, & of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt: & alſo of the bleſſed Apoſtles and Martyrs, Peter and Paule, Andrew, Iames, Iohn, Thomas, Iames, Philip, Bartholomew, Mathew, Simon, and Thade, Line, Clete, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Gryſogone, Iohn and Paule, Coſme, & Damian: and of all thoſe Saintes by whoſe merites and prayers thou wilt graunt vntounto vsus, to be defended in all things, with the help of thy protectiō, c Through the ſame Chriſt Ieſus our Lord.
a We hauehave heretofore, ſufficiently ſpoken of the cōmemoration of the Saints. This is the firſt of this Canon,Dur. Rar. lib. 4. Ru. de 3. part. ca. Nic. de expo. Miſſ. 4. part. Clithou. in Elucid. which Nicholas de Ploue, attributeth not vntounto Syrice as the reſt do, but vntounto Linus the firſt. Howbeit, who ſoeuer is authour thereof, it altereth and chaungeth in ſundrie ſolemne and feſtiuall daies, by reaſon of diuerſe additiōs which are put to it. We hauehave ſpoken alſo of that which Gregorie the third added for the Saintes dayes. And here is alſo to be noted, that ech monke, frier and prieſt thruſteth in their patrones as pleaſeth them. It is eaſely to be iudged, that this peece was patched, too long, after the death of Ieſus Chriſt, becauſe that the names of Saintes are in it, which were long time after: yea and ſuch ſaintes to, as are not very well knowen: howbeit there is no remedie, but that we muſt needes beleue thoſe men which hauehave enrolled them. At the leaſt, there is one Gryſogone, who, if I be not deceiued, is put in for Chryſogone. But I know not whence they had him. Here are two pointes, principally to be noted, in this maner of commemoration. The firſt is, that they ioyne the commemoration of the Saints with the commemoratiō of Ieſus Chriſt, as if they were all alike and fellowes, and, as though the Supper had bene ordeined aſwell for it, as for that of Ieſus Chriſtes. The other is, the praying that is made to them in it, and not to Ieſus Chriſt alone. And what ſoeuer we ſpeake here of this commemoration, may alſo ſerue for all the reſt that hereafter enſue.
b Here is ſomewhat a ſtrange kind of ſpeach, whereas they ſay of the virgine Mary, genetricis Dei, & Domini noſtri Ieſu Chriſti, which is aſmuch as if we ſhould ſay, a begetter, or which hath begotten God, & our Lord Ieſus Chriſt. I know not whether they meane to counterfet the poete in vſing for Mater, which ſignifieth mother, by this word, Genitrix, which the Latines neuer vſe, without it be in verſifying and in poeſie: or elſe whether they thinke it to be more elegant, becauſe it is not ſo common, but leſſe vſed. Wherein, they ſauour much of their countrey Schoolemaiſters, who furniſh their compoſitions with all the moſt eloquent wordes they can poſſibly get, be they poeticall or otherwiſe, ſo that they be ſtraunge, & rare in vſe. For therin cōſiſteth al their whole elegancie. Howbeit the maner of ſpeach which they in the olde time vſed, is nothing like to this. For they hauehave, according to the meaning of the Scriptures, rightly ſaied that, which we ſo often times hauehave heard in the Creede, that the Father being verie God, hath begotten the Sonne, who is alſo very God of very God: but when we ſpeake of the virgine Mary, we ſay that Ieſus was borne of her, and not begotten of her. But we will ouer ſlippe this, as a thing that may be more fitly handled. Neuertheleſſe there is yet an other point herein to be handled, and that is this, that when Saint Paule vſeth this maner of ſpeach, & ſayeth, God, and our Lord Ieſus Chriſt: the name of God is referred commonly to the Father, and the name of our Lord, to Ieſus Chriſt. For, although Ieſus Chriſt the very Sonne of God, is very God with the Father, and the Father alſo, Lord, aſwell as the Sonne: yet for all that, there is a difference in ſpeaking of the vnitie of God, and of the diſtinction of the three perſonnes in Trinitie. And therefore according to the maner of Saint Paule his ſpeach, and the vnderſtanding of his wordes, we ſhould here vnderſtand, that the virgine Marie, ſhould not be the mother of Ieſus Chriſt alone, but alſo of the Father, and that ſhe had begotten, both the Father and the Sonne. But if they would ſay, that this is here ſet downe to meete with the hereſie of the Neſtorians, thereby to declare, that Ieſus Chriſt is not man alone: or that there are in him two perſonnes, as he is in one and the ſelfe ſame perſon, verie God and verie man: it might be a great deale more properly ſpoken in other wordes, and neuer abuſe the wordes of the Apoſtle.
c This is one of the places,Rat. lib. 4. Rub. d. 4. part. chae. Nico. de Plou. de expo. Miſſ. wherein no, Amen, is aunſwered: becauſe (as they ſay) the Angels aunſwere him.
Of the fourth parte of the Canon. CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Infra actionem.
aLeo.HAnc igitur oblationē ſeruitutis noſtrae, ſed & cunctae familiae tuae queſumus Domine, vt placatus accipias,bGreg. diéſque noſtros in tua pace diſponas, atque ab aeterna damnatione nos eripi, & in electorū tuorum iubeas grege numerari, Per Chriſtum Dominum noſtrum. Amen.
aLeo.VnderUnder the Action.
bGreg.VVE therefore beſeech thee ô Lord, not only gently to receiue this oblatiō of our ſeruitude, but alſo the oblation of thy familie, c and direct our dayes in thy peace, & commaund vsus to be deliuered from euerlaſting death, and be nombred amongeſt thy choſen, through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord. So be it.
a They call the Canon likewiſe by the name of Action, And therefore, that, which they ſay vnderunder the title of the Action, is aſmuch as if they ſhould hauehave ſayed vnderunder the Canon. Howbeit I know not to what end it is that they thus ſay. And as for the name of Action, they call it alſo the Canon. Becauſe as they ſay, it is as it were a ſute or cauſe brought in by the prieſt before God, againſt the Deuil, for all Chriſtians. And therefore it is no maruell though Sir Bartill, who pleadeth this plea, cauſeth himſelfe to be well payed for the ſutes which he cōmenceth, cōſidering that he taketh vpō him the part of a lawyer in ſo dangerous a caſe. Let Ieſus Chriſt therfore reſt him ſelfe and be ſtill,Rom. 8. 1. Tim. 2. and let S. Paule alſo giuegive him vsus no more for our Aduocate, but giuegive ouer this charge vntounto good Sir Squibble Squabble, who playeth the prety man ſo liuely, herein.
b It appeareth by this prayer, that they follow the trace ſomewhat of that which was ſometimes vſed in the auncient Church, as concerning the offringes of the faithfull, which they offred vntounto God. For, we may here eaſely ſee, that this iolly Sir whip offreth not his offringes alone, but the whole church together, and that the church would neuer hauehave made this requeſt which herein is conteined, if ſhe had meant to offer Ieſus Chriſt, in offring of bread and wine vntounto God. For ſhe prayed for Ieſus Chriſt, that he might be acceptable vntounto the Father with his ſacrifice, in ſteed that he might make vsus acceptable vntounto him by his ſacrifice. And therfore, what is he that ſeeth not the blaſphemie that is here committed, and in many other the like prayers, which are in this Canon, and how the cuſtome of the aunciēt Church, and the maner of dealing therein is vtterly peruerted?
c Nicholas de Ploue,Nic. de Plou. de expo. Miſſ. 4 part. Rat. lil. 4. Rub. de 4. part. cap. Berno. de offic. Miſſ. Ca. 13. Ala. de off…c. Miſſ. Ca. 23. attributeth the beginning of this peece vntounto Leo the firſt, and the concluſion thereof, vntounto Gregory the firſt. Howbeit, Berno and Durand, do attribute the one halfe of it to Gregory alone: to wit, the three demaundes that are in it. And ſo, although it be but a very ſmall peece, yet is it not all of one mans making.