The Anatomy of the Mass, Book 1 · Chapter 27 – Chapter 28
CHAP. XXVII. Confirmation of the ſame, by the cuſtomes of the ancient Church.
THis truth is confirmed by the ancient cuſtomes different from what is done in the Maſſe at this day, and incompatible with Tranſubſtantiation. For in the ancient Church, Service was ſaid in a known tongue. Every one received the Communion in both kinds.
The people offered upon the table abundance of bread and wine, and not round & light wafers.*Cypr. Serm. de Lapſis. Euſeb. Hiſtor. lib. 7. c. 9. Theod. Hiſtor. lib. 5. cap. 18. Nazianz. Orat. de Gorgonia. The people, aſwell men as women, received the Sacrament with their hand, and many carried it home a long with them.*Heſychius lib. 2. in Lev. c. 8. Ivo 2 part. 2 de Sacr. c. 59. Burch. l. 5. c. 12. The reſidues of the ſacred bread that remained upon the table after the Communion, were either burn't, or*Evag…. l. 4 cap. 36. given unto little children coming from Schoole, or carried into the Prieſts houſes, for to be eaten there. Than were there no private Maſſes. Nor no Corpus Chriſti day. The conſecrated Hoſt was not carried in proceſſion.*Amb…l de Viduis. Oportet eam [Viduam] primo carere variarum illecebris voluptatū, vitare internum corporis animiq, lā guorē, ut corpus & ſanguinem Chriſti miniſtret. Ambroſe in his Book of Widdows, ſaith that the Widdowes were imployed in the adminiſtration of the Sacrament.aEditionis Pariſienſis anno 1624 colū. 161. Virgo poſtquā cōmunicavit, reſervet de ipſa cōmunione unde i…ſque ad diem octavum communicet. In the Roman Order which is in Bibliotheca Patrum, theſe words are to be found: Let the Virgin receive the Communion after the Maſſe is ended, and after ſhe hath received, let her reſerve of the Communion ſufficiently for to communie the eight dayes together. Had they then beleeved the Tranſubſtantiation, they would never have given unto maids the Sacrament to keep ſo long a time.
Certain it is the ancient Church worſhipped not the Sacrament. There may be found indeed ſome places of the Fathers that ſay that in the Euchariſt wee worſhip Chriſt: But it is one thing to worſhip Chriſt in the action of the Sacrament, and another thing to worſhip the Sacrament. The Father and the holy Ghoſt in the Euchariſt are alſo worſhipped.
In vaine do they alleadge ſome ancient Fathers that ſpeak of the elevation of the Sacrament. For the elevation inferreth not neceſſarily adoration: ſeeing that in Moſes Law the Prieſt*Exod. 29 24. Leviti…. 8.27. & 29. Num. 5.25 waved the breaſt and ſhoulder of the offering, and a handfull of the firſt fruits, without worſhipping theſe things. Moreover, that elevation was nothing like to the elevation of the Hoſt which the Prieſt maketh now a dayes over his head, turning his back to the people, and ringing a little Bell. But then after the Prieſt had uncovered the bread and wine, he tooke the Platter or Diſh with both his hands, and lift it up for to ſhew it unto the people, and that even before the words which are called of Conſecration.
CHA. XXVIII. Explanation of the places of the Fathers that ſay that in the Euchariſt we eate the body and blood of Chriſt, and that the bread is changed into the body of Chriſt, and is made Chriſts body. Specially of Ambroſe, Hilary, and Chryſoſtome. That the Fathers ſpeake of ſeverall kinds of body and blood of Chriſt.
THe holy Scripture ſpeaketh of two ſorts of body of Chriſt. Namely, of the natural body of Chriſt, which he took in the womb of the Virgin M…ry, and of his myſticall body, wch is the Church, and of his Sacramentall or commemorative body, which is the bread of the holy Supper: as we have ſhewed already.
The Fathers following the ſtile of the Scripture, beſides Chriſts myſticall body which is the Church, ſpeak of two bodies of Chriſt, to wit, of his naturall body, and of his Symbolicall and Sacramentall body: of which body they ſpeak as of a divine thing and full of Myſteries: and of a Spirituall fleſh, which is made by the i…effable power of God, by the meanes and for the cauſes which I ſhall relate hereafter. Likewiſe alſo they make two kinds of blood of Chriſt; the one naturall, the other myſticall and Divine, which we receive in the Sacrament.
Clemens Alexandrinus in his ſecond Book of the Pedagogue, chap. 2.*foreign. There is two ſorts of blood of Chriſt, the one is his carnall blood by which we are redeemed f…om corruption. The other is Spirituall, to wit, that by which we are annointed: and that is to drink the blood of Jeſus, to be partaker of the Lords incorruption.
Saint Hierome upon the Epiſtle to the Epheſians: aEx Hieron, in Epiſt. ad Epheſ. ca… …. Diſt. 2. de Conſe. Can. Dupliciter. Dupliciter intelligitur caro Chriſtivel ſpiritualis illa atque divima de qua ipſe a…t, Caro meaverc eſt cibus, vel caro quae crucifixa eſt, & ſanguinis qui militis effuſus eſt lanced.Chriſts fleſh is meant or underſtood in two manners, either that ſpirituall and divine fleſh of which hee ſaith himſelfe, My fleſh is meate indeed. Or elſe that fleſh that was crucified, and that blood which was ſhed by the ſpeare of the Souldier. This place is alleadged in the Roman D…cree in the ſecond Diſtinction of the Conſecration, at the Camon Dupliciter.
And in the ſame Diſtinction at the CanonbDe hac quidem hoſtia, quae in commemorationem mirabiliter ſit, edere licet. De illa vero quam Chriſtus in ara crucis abtulit ſecundum ſe nulli edere licet. De hac, the ſame Father is alleadged upon Leviticus, in theſe words. It is indeed lawfull to eate of this hoſte, which is made admirably in remembrance of Chriſt. But it is not lawfull in it ſelfe for any one to eate of that which he offered on the Altar of the Croſſe.
And in the ſame place, at the Canon Corpus, taken out of Saint Auſtin: cCorpus & ſauguinem Chriſti dicimus illud quod de fructibus terrae acceptum & prece myſtica conſecratum, &c.We doe call body and blood of Chriſt, that which being taken of the fruits of the earth, is conſecrated by the myſticall prayer. Certainely, a body of Chriſt taken of the fruits of the earth, is not the body of Chriſt crucified for us.
Tertullian in the ſixth chapter of his Booke of Prayer:dPanis eſt Sermo Dei vivi, qui deſc…ndit de coelis. Tum quod & corpus ejus in pane cenſetur. Hoc eſt corpus m…um. The bread is the word of the living God which is deſcended from heaven. Item the body that is holden to be in the bread: This is my body.
Enſebius of Ceſarea in his third Booke of Eccleſiaſticall Divinitie, Chapter 12.eforeign. The Lord ſpake not of the fleſh which hee tooke, but of his myſticall body and blood.
Saint Auſtin calleth very often that which we receive in the holy Supper, the body of Chriſt. But that we may not thinke that that which we receive by the corporall mouth is that body of the Lord which was crucified for us, he bringeth in Chriſt ſaying unto us, Yee ſhall not eate this body that you ſee, fIn Pſal. 98. Non hoc corpus quod videtis manducaturieſtis, ne que bibituri illis ſanguinem quē fuſuri ſunt qui me crucifigent, Sacrament um aliquod vobis cōmendavi, ſpiritualiter intellectum vivificabit vos.…nd ſhall not drinke the blood ſhed by thoſe that ſhall crucifie me. What then? I have (ſaith he) recommended a Sacrament un… you, which being taken Spiritually, ſhall quicken and vivifie you.
Saint Ambroſe in his Commentarie …pon Saint Luke, maketh a plaine diffe…ance betweene theſe two kinds of body of Chriſt, expounding the words of the Lord, Luke 17. Whereſoever the bodie is, …hither will the Eagles bee gathered toge…her. Firſt he ſaith that by the body may be underſtood the dead body of Chriſt, and by the Eagles which are about it, Mary wife to Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen, and Mary mother of the Lord: then he addeth, There is alſo that body …f whom it is ſaid, My fleſh is meate indeed.
Pope Innocent the third in the fourth Booke of the Myſteries of the Maſſe, Chapter 36. diſtinguiſheth in expreſſe tearmes theſe two kindes of fleſh or body of Chriſt, ſaying, The forme of the bread comprehendeth both the one and the other fleſh of Christ, to wit, the true, and the myſticall.
Salmeron the Jeſuite in his fifteenth Treatiſe of the IX Tome, gathereth the ſame diſtinction of two ſorts of blood of Chriſt, out of the Booke of the Lords Supper attributed to Saint Cyprian. Why (ſaith he) in the Law it was forbidden to eate blood, and it is commanded in the Goſpell: Cyprian teacheth it excellently well in his Booke of the Lords Supper. For in the abſtinence of that blood is deſigned the Spirituall and reaſonable life, farre from brutiſh manners. bBibimus verò de Chriſti ſanguine humane pariter ac divino, ut intelligamus per ejus guſtum ad eternae ac divinae vitae participium nos vocatos.Now we drinke of Chriſts blood, both of that which is humane, and of that which is divine. To the end we may underſtand that intaſting of him we are called to the participation of eternall and divine life.
Wee have in the former Chapter alleadged Eupbraemius calling the bread of the Euchariſt the body of Chriſt, and yet ſaying that that body loſeth not the Subſtance of bread. And the Canon Hoc eſt in the ſecond Diſtinction of the Conſecration, drawne out of Saint Auſtin, ſaying, that the bread which is the fleſh of Chriſt, is after its manner called the body of Chriſt, though indeed it is the ſacred ſigne of the body of Chriſt. And Saint Auſtin, The Lord made no difficultie to ſay, This is my body, when hee gave the ſigne of his body. And Theodoret likewiſe, ſaying, The Lord hath given to the ſigne the name of his body. And Origen, calling the bread of the Supper a figurative body of Chriſt.
The ſame appeareth more cleare than the very day, in that the Fathers which ſay that in the Euchariſt we eate Chriſts body, attribute unto this body things which cannot agree with the naturall body of Chriſt borne of the Virgin Mary, and crucified for us. Saint Cyprian cDomiun… corpus ſui… panē vocat… de multor… granorum adunatione congeſtum.in his 76 Epiſtle ſaith: The Lord calleth the bread his body which is made and compoſed of many graines. And in the 63 Epiſtle,dNec corpus Domini poteſt eſſe ſarina ſola, aut aqua ſola, inſi utrumque adunatum fucrit, &c. The Lords body cannot be of the flower alone, or of the water alone, except both the one and the other be kneaded and conjoyned together. Certainely, this body of Chriſt compoſed of many graines and kneaded with water, cannot be the body of Chriſt crucified for us.
Juſtin in his ſecond Apologie, ſaith:eforeign. The Deacons doe give to every one of thoſe that are preſent to participate, bread and wine and water, whereupon thankeſgivings have beene ſaid. Then he addeth, that this bread is the body of Chriſt. But he ſheweth manifeſtly that this bodie of Chriſt, is not that which was crucified for us, in that he ſaithaforeign. it is a meate wherewith ou… fleſh and blood are fed by the tranſmutation. He ſpeaketh of the change made by the diſgeſtion. For our bodies are not fed of, or with the body crucified for us, that bodie is not changed into our fleſh and blood. For, that Juſtin beleeved not the Tranſubſtantiation, he ſheweth it ſufficiently in the Dialogue againſt Tryphonius, ſaying,bforeign, &c. foreign, &c. The oblation of fine flower was a figure of the bread of the Euch…riſt, which our Lord Jeſus hath ordained to be made in remembrance of his Paſſion.
Ireneus in his firſt Booke ſaith the ſame,cEu…n cal… cem. qui eſt cre tura, ſuum corpus confirmavit ex quo noſtra auget cor…ora. The Lord hath affirmed that the Cup, which is a creature wherewith bee maketh our bodyes grow, is his bodie. Would Ireneus have loſt his wit ſo farre, as to beleeve that our bodies grow and are fed with the crucified body of the Lord, and with the blood ſhedde upon the Croſſe, which did not returne into his body?
The ſame diſtinction of two ſorts of body of Chriſt, in the writings of the ancient Fathers, appeareth in that they doe ſpeake of the peeces of the bodie of Chriſt, and of the reſidues of the body of Chriſt that remaine after the Communion: Which cannot agree with Chriſts naturall body crucified for us, that cannot be broken in peeces, and whereof there can be no reſidue. Pope Gelaſius in the Canon Comperimus, ſecond Diſtinction of the Conſecration.dComperimus quod quidam ſumpta tā tum modo corporis ſacri portione à calice ſacrati cruoris abſtineant. We have learned that ſome having taken one part of the body of Chriſt, abſtaine from the cup, which thing he calleth a ſacriledge. And Evagrius the Hiſtorian in his fourth Booke, Chapter 36.eforeign. The ancient cuſtome of the royall City requireth, that when many Peeces of the immaculate body of Chriſt remaine, children not yet in age to be corrupted, going to Schoole, be called for to eate them. How could one give peeces of the naturall bodie of Chriſt, who ſitteth at the right hand of God? What likelihood is there to give to a troope of little children the reſidues of the body of Chriſt? Would not that bee eſteemed at this day in the Romane Church, an horrible profanation?
Wherefore it is a thing very frequent in the Fathers to ſay, that Panis eſt Corpus Chriſti, The bread is Chriſts body. And we have heard Saint Auſtin here above ſpeake ſo. Words, which if they were taken or underſtood of the naturall body of Chriſt, would be falſe. For the bread is not the body that was crucified for us.
It is therefore unjuſtly done by our Adverſaries to expoſe unto the View, with great noyſe and rumour, ſome place… out of the Bookes of Sacraments attributed to Saint Ambroſe, and out of the Booke of the Lords Supper attributed to Cyprian, wherein is ſayde that the bread, after the words of Conſecration, becometh and is made Chriſts bodie… ſince we doe ſhew by ſo many proof… that they ſpeake of another body that of that which was borne of the Virgin Marie, and that was crucified, a… we will ſhew yet more clearely hereafter.
For, that the Author of theſe Book… attributed to Saint Ambroſe, hath beleeved that after the Conſecration the bread is bread ſtill: he ſhewes it plainly when he ſaith,cLib. 4. de Sacramēt. cap. 4. Let us therefore eſtabliſ… this, to wit, how that which is bread, may be Chriſts body. And a little after,aSi tanta vis in Sermone Domini Ieſu, ut inciperent eſſe quae nō erant, quā to magis operatorius eſt ut ſint quae erant, et in aliud commutentur. If there be ſuch power and vertue in the word of the Lord Jeſus, as to make that things which were not, begin to bee: how much more ſhall he make that the things which were, be, and be changed into other things? This excellent place, which ſaith that the things which were, are ſtill, that is to ſay, that that which was bread, is bread ſtill, is found thus alleadged by Lombard, in his fourth Booke of Sentences, Diſtinction 10. And by Thomas in the third part of his Summe, queſtion 78. Art. 4. And by Gratian in the ſecond Diſtinction of the Conſecration at the Canon Panis eſt; And bybGabr. lect. 40. in Can. Miſſae Alger. de Sacram. corp. lib. 2. cap. 7 Ivo Car. 2. Parte. cap 7. Et Iodocus Coccius Tom. 2. lib. 6. pag. 621. Gabriel Biel, and Alger, and Ivo Carnutenſis, and Jodocus Coccius: and not according to the new editions of Ambroſe, in which theſe words, Sint quae erant, are left out. Such falſifications are frequent in the new editions.
Some places may bee found indeed whe…ein ſome Fathers ſay, that the bread of the Euchariſt is the body of the Lord crucified for us. But that muſt be underſtood after the ſ…me manner as Chriſt ſaid of the bread that it was his body, and that the Cup is the New Teſtament, becauſe it is the Sacrament or remembrance of it.
They doe object a place of Saint Hilarie out of his eighth Booke of the Trinitie, where he ſaith,aDe veritate carnis & ſaguinis nō relictus eſt ambigendi locus. Nunc enim & …pſius Dōmi profeſſione, & ſide noſtra vere caro eſt & vere ſanguis. Et hac accepta at que hauſta eſſiciunt ut & nos in Chriſto & Chriſtus in nobis ſit. Of the truth of the fleſh and blood, there is no doubt. For at this day, both by the profeſſion of the Lord and by our Faith, it is fleſh indeed, and blood indeed: and theſe things taken and ſwallowed downe, cauſe us to be in Chriſt and Chriſt in us.
Firſt of all it is a great abuſe to urge Saint Hilary, who in this point of the nature of Chriſts body had an errour that deſtroyes the whole Chriſtian Religion: ForbHilar. lib. 10. de Trinitate In quem quanvis aut idlus incideret, aut vulnus deſcenderet, &c. afferrent quidē haec impetū paſſionis, non tamen dolorē paſſionis inferrent, ut telū aliquod aut aquam perforans, aut ignem compungens aut aëra vulnerans. Et paulo poſt, Virtus corpo…is ſine ſenſu poenae vim poenae in ſe deſaevientis excepit. he teacheth that Chriſt in his Paſſion ſuffered no manner of paine at all, and that the ſtripes they gave him, were as if they had pierced the aire or the fire with a dart. Secondly, it appeareth that Hilary ſpeaketh of the Spirituall manducation. For by it alone are we in Chriſt, and Chriſt in us. Thirdly, when Hilarie ſaith there remaineth no place to doubt of the truth of the fleſh and blood of the Lord, he doth not meane it muſt not be doubted but that in the Euchariſt we cate truely the naturall fleſh of Chriſt by the mouth of the body: But he ſaith that we muſt not doubt but Chriſt had a true fleſh and a true blood: For he diſputeth againſt certaine Hereticks that deſtroyed the truth of his human nature.
For as touching the Myſtagogicall Catecheſes attributed to Cyril of Jeruſalem, which are objected againſt us, where it is ſayd that we muſt not beleeve our ſenſes telling us that it is bread: it is certaine that thoſe Catecheſes are ſuppoſed and falſly attributed to Cyril. For the Stile of them is very different from thoſe 18 Catecheſes of Cyril that precedes them, which are cited by Theodoret, and by Gelaſius, and by Damaſcen: but theſe laſt are never alleadged by any one. In the firſt Catecheſe, there is an evident marke of falſity.foreign, &c. For hee diſſwadeth his hearers from frequenting the Amphitheater where the Gladiators chaſes and combates were made againſt wild beaſts, and the Hippod omus or Circus, that is to ſay the Parke or Place where horſes races and combates were exerciſed. For then were no ſuch buildings nor ſpectacles in Jeruſalem, nor never were any ſince Jeruſalem was Chriſtian.
And concerning Chryſoſtomes hyperbolical amplifications, ſaying that the Altar ſtreames with blood, that wee faſten our teeth in his fleſh, that wee put ou… fingers in his wounds and ſuck the blood of them, and that a Seraphin bringeth unto us a burning coale with a paire of tongs, they bee outlaſhing words that ſavour of a declamation, and which our Adverſaries themſelves doe not beleeve.