A Parallel Comparison of the Liturgy with the Mass Book, Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Proving the preparation or firſt part of the Maſſe with all the 12. particles of it, to be in our Booke, either actually or virtually.
The ten Particles of the introitus are but all late inventions of Popes, and yet all are in our Booke.THe preparation is ſubdivided in a number of parcells. 1. The Pater Noſter. 2. The Ave Maria. 3. The Oration. 4. The Introitus. 5. The Uerſicle, Gloria Patri. 6. The Confeſſion 7. The Miſereatur. 8. The Abſolution. 9. The Letany Kyrie eleiſon. 10. The Angelike hymne, Gloria in excelſis. 11. The Salutation, Dominus vobiſcum, with the reſponſorie & cum Spiritu tuo. 12. The Collects. All theſe goe oft under one name of introitus, being but the beginning and ingreſſe to that which followes. All theſe ten or twelve parts of the Maſſe, are but ſo many patches put in by the ſuperſtition of ſeverall Popes, the truth of this, who pleaſes to ſee, ſet them reade Morney de Miſſa. c. 1. p. 80. and c. 3. p. 107. And eſpecially his Authors Walafridus, Berno, Albinus, Tungrenſis, &c. In the eleventh Tome of Bibliotheca Patrum, Hittorpius his auctarium. For the preſent I cite but two teſtimonies which will not admit Bellarmines eluſion from two Popes which laboured as much to underſtand the Maſſe as any of their Collegues either before or after, Gregory ep. l. 7. Epiſt. 63. Mos Apostolorum fuit ut adipſam ſolummodò Orationem Dominicam oblationis hoſtiam conſecrarent & valdè mihi inconveniens viſum est, ut precem quam Scholaſticus compoſuerat ſuper oblationem diceremus, & ipſam traditionem quam Dominus compoſuerat non diceremus. He avowes that the Apoſtolicke times had no other order of Communion but to ſay the Lords Prayer with the inſtitution from the Goſpel, and Saint Pauls Epiſtles as I take it, alſo that the very Canon it ſelf, let be the preparation, was made by a late Scholar, Innocent 3. de Myſterijs Miſſae Lib. 2. c. 18. Caelestinus Papa conſtituit ut Pſalmi ante ſacrificium canerentur antiphonatim, quod anteà non fiebat, ſed Epiſtola tantùm & Evangelium legebantur. So before Caeleſtine none of theſe ten or twelve parts of the introitus were extant, nothing was read or ſung before the Epiſtle or the Goſpel: of the Church of Rome Bellarmine grants this, but he hath better reaſon to grant it of other Churches, for reade theſe Liturgies which falſely are aſcribed to James, to Baſile, to Chryſostome, compoſed as it ſeemes in the very late and corrupt times of the Eaſterne Church, yee will finde at moſt but ſome Pſalmes and prayers for confeſſion of ſinnes, all diverſe from theſe in the Maſſe, and diverſe alſo among themſelves. So then wee may take all the parcells of this firſt part of the Maſſe to bee the Popes invention, which either for antiquity or univerſalitie are not much conſiderable, yet ſuch peeces muſt bee obtruded on us, for try which of them our Bookes do not beare.
1. The Pater Noſter,The firſt, the Pater Noster; not that wherby the Apoſtles are ſaid to conſecrate, for that followeth in the Miſſall, and our booke alſo long thereafter, but that which the order of Sarum puts immediately after the introitus, with this our Communion beginnes, it is the firſt words the Prieſt ſayes at the Altar after the Roman order of the Pontificall Maſſe, where this Pater Noſter is the firſt ſpeech which the Pope reades at the altar, for thus doth the Pontificall printed at Lions 1542. teſtifie, fol. 119. p. 2. Quibus indutus ſurgit Pontifex & ad altare ſtans detecto capite, dicit, Pater Noster qui es in coelis, &c. And this as it ſeemes according to the Canon before the Breviarie rubricae generalis. c. 32. Pater Noſter & Ave Maria ſemper dicuntur ſecretò ante omnes horas, ſo wee ſee that our Matins muſt beginne with it, and our Maſſe alſo.
2. The Ave Maria.As for the ſecond parcell, the Angelike ſalutation, Ave Maria, it is not actually in our Booke; but may wee not ſay it is in it potentially? when my L. of Canterbury (in whoſe power it will be to put into it at the next edition theſe paſſages of antiquity, which will bee found expedient for our further union with other Chrians) hath permitted Mr. Stafford to print at London of late the defence of the Popiſh uſe of this ſalutation to ſing in his Poems omnis terra revibrat ave, and to invey in his Proſe againſt Puritans, who have left this practiſe of their ance…ors: Theſe are his words towards the end of his female glorie. [The Puritants reject all teſtimonies of her worth, as Haile Marie full of grace, the Lord is with thee; they challenge to themſelves a greater meaſure of knowledge, but a leſſer of pietie then had their anceſtors, by diſclaiming words and phraſes familiar to antiquity; of one thing I will aſſure them, till they be good Marians, they ſ…all never be good Chriſtians while they derogate from the dignity of the mother, they cannot honour the Son.] When theſe words are challenged, Peter Heylen appointed by Canterbury to anſwer, and Chryſtopher Dow allowed in the anſwer, hee was pleaſed to make, doth not retract or diſallow any thing in theſe ſayings: What then ſhall we expect from our Biſhops, but a Canon to injoyne thoſe who will not bee Puritans, who will not leave the pietie of their Anceſtors, who will not be contemners of CHRIST; That they become at laſt ſo good Marians as to joyne hereafter, their Ave Maria at the back of their Pater noſter?
3. The Oration.The third part of the preparation, is the Firſt Collect, the very name is little leſſe then the Maſſe, if we beleeve Bellarmine; he counts the Collects the chiefe parts of the Maſſe: for the which the Maſſe it ſelfe uſes to be called a Collect, eaedem collectae dicuntur Miſſae, quia ſunt pars quaedam eáque non minima Miſſae. L. 2. de Miſſa. cap. 16. This firſt Collect in the Miſſall of Sarum, is the ſame with our firſt Prayer after the Pater noſter to a Letter. Thus ſpeaks the Prieſt in the Maſſe: Deus cui omne cor patet & omnis voluntas loquitur — quem nullum latet ſecretum, purifica per infuſionem S. Spiritus cogitationes cordis noſtri, ut te perfectè diligere, & dignè laudare mereamur, per Dominum noſtrum Ieſum Chriſtum, Amen. Miſſale ad uſum Eccleſiae Sariſburienſis Pariſijs 1555. fol. 141. And wee turne it Almightie GOD, &c.
4. The Introitus.The Fourth part is the Jntroitus, the 43. Pſalme ſo called, becauſe ſung by the Quire antiphonatim, while the Prieſt is comming in, or rather for that fourth verſicle of it, introibo ad altare Dei which is moſt chanted: This is not in our Booke actually, yea, w…e think it was put out of the Engliſh expreſly, both for the great impertinencie of it, and alſo the evident abuſe, which was made of that introibo ad altare, meaning it, of the ingoing of a Prieſt to a proper Altar, for as proper ſacrificing as was in the old Teſtament: yet wee may take it virtually to be in our Booke, for it's a part of the Maſſe which Canterburie profeſſeth he likes well, and ſayes, (but not truly) that it is in the Church of England, theſe are his words in his Speech before the Starre-Chamber, p. 44. [After the Iudaicall worſhip was ended, as farre upward as there is any tract of a Liturgie, this was the introitus of the Prieſt all the Latine-Church over, and in the daylie prayers of the Church of England, this was retained at the Reformation.] I thinke his Grace is miſtaken in that he ſayes, venite was the introitus in the Latine-Church, for all the Miſſalls I have ſeen of the Romiſh-Church, which to him are the Liturgies of the Latin-Church, have never venite for the introitus, only in the Breviarie, it is the invitatorie for the Matins, and ſo the Engliſh retained it, indeed the Greek-Church uſes it for the introitus, as we read in Fortunatus Antiphonarie, Cap. 21: But never the Latine. I grant the Papiſts could be content to change, and take in this venite in place of their old introibo, for Heigam in his expoſition of the Maſſe, approved by the Doctours of Doway, printed at St. Omers, 1622. p. 83. avowes that the Angels were heard to ſing in Conſtantinople, this venite adoremus for the Introitus, but moſt falſly: for all that his Author Fortunatus ſayes, in the forenamed place, in their own edition at Paris, 1610. is, hunc Pſalmum audivi Conſtantinopoli, in Eccleſia. S. Sophiae in principio Miſſae celebrari, the ſinging of it by the Angels, is Heigams falſe addition to Fortunatus. However my Lord of Canterburie ſhowes his good liking of the Latin introitus, and, albeit he miſtake the Pſalme, yet that which wee moſt except againſt in the Latin true Introitus, hee does approve of it; for let bee to approve the Prieſts introibo ad altare, he adds the convenience, not only to goe in to the Altar, but to adore even the Altar it ſelfe; Domino & altari ejus, which he alleages, the Engliſh-Book imports: albeit, authoritie too looſe heere, does not conſtrain the practice. This is much more than the Romiſh introitus, albeit, no more than the Papiſts practice, according to other parts of their Maſſe.
5. The Gloria Patri.The Fift part, is their Gloria Patri. This wee have more formally then they, for according to our Rubrick, i… muſt be ſung at the backe of every Pſalme; yea, of every Hymne: but the Roman Rubrick admits ſundrie diſpenſations. Breviarium Roman. Rubricae generales, cap. 21. In fine Pſalmorum ſemper dicitur, Gloria Patri praeterquàm, &c. For the matter of this Hymne, let it be as old as Bellarmine can make it, yet the firſt Author who can be alleaged for putting it in the Maſſe, is Pope Damaſus, and that as Bellarmine avowes on falſe grounds; yea, the joyning of it to the back of any Pſalmes, ſeemes later, let be the putting of it in the Maſſe, but the ſinging of it after the faſhion of our Booke, is a new invention to hinder the people to ſing, Glorie to the Father, and to the Sonne, to hinder the Miniſter to ſing, as it was in the beginning, to make the firſt, the Prieſts ſong alone, the ſecond, the peoples reſponſorie onelyonly, is the Romaniſts very late invention: We are rold by Iſidor, and the reſt of the old Rationaliſts, that the anſwering of the people was the invention of the Italians, as the Reciprocrations and Antiphonies was the invention of the Greeks: but this anſwering of the people, which in our Booke is ordained at the back of Gloria Patri, is a Noveltie much later then any of theſe old Writers on the Maſſe: for Walafridus cap. 25. ſhewes, that the Hymne was no wayes divided in his dayes; but in all Churches it was one paſſage, ſung without diviſion of parts, albeit with varietie, the Spaniſh Church keeping this forme Gloria & honor Patri, & filio, & Spiritui ſancto in ſaecula ſaeculorum, Amen. Latini verò eodem ordine & ijſdem verbis hunc hymnum decantant, addentes tantúm in medio, ſicut erat in principio. Berno hath the ſame obſervation: So that this part of our Booke, ſeems to follow the late Roman orders againſt the practice, not only of all the Reformed Churches, but all the ancient alſo: yea, more preciſe are we here, than the Romaniſts themſelves, as I have ſaid.
6. The Kyrie eleiſon.The ſixt part, is the Kyrie eleyſon, this is a very powerfull and efficacious part of the Maſſe, Magna est iſtorum verborum efficacia ſayes Durand the Rationaliſt lib. 4. on this Rubrick, legitur enim quód dum beatus Baſilius Kyrie eleiſon clamaſſet, portae vicinae Eccleſiae ſint apertae, rurſus cùm B. Geminianus Kyrie eleiſon clamaret quinque Reges converſi dicuntur in fugam, unde fortè ſignificat aliud quàm Domine miſerere, quod tamen nos ignoramus. Theſe ſo miraculous words are uſed in the Maſſe, and put at the back of the ſong of Jntroitus, mainly to obtain mercy to the Quiriſters, whoſe mind by the melodie of their ſong, was puffed up to vaine Pride, ſo does Amalarius ſhew us. Kyrie eleiſon neceſſariò conſtitutum eſt à praecepteribus Eccleſiae, ut cantores post finitam antiphonam, deprecentur Domini miſericordiam, quae deprimat inanem jactantiam quae ſolet ſequi cantores: habent enim quandam exultationem propter egregiam compoſitionem melodiarum. This was put into the Maſſe by Pope Gregory, a Father of many other Superſtitions, he confeſſeth in his 63. Epiſtle of the ſeventh Booke, that he changed the Greeke forme; for it was their cuſtome, when their Prieſt did make the prayer for the people, by way of aſſent, to ſubjoyne foreign as you have it in Morney de Miſſa. lib. 1. cap. 7. from Sidonius Apollinaris. Gregory would keepe the Greeke words, he would have them thrice repeated, he would make them to be ſaid by the Clergie, and the people only to anſwer, he would have the Name of Chriſt put in the midſt, thus farre he counſelleth. But his ſucceſſour Innocent the third, tells us more; that the intention of theſe three ſentences, is to call on God the Father, Son and holy Ghoſt, for to obtaine mercy for three kindes of ſinne, Originall, Mortall, and Veniall: yea, to obtaine from the Father, merciemercy for ſinnes of Infirmitie which are againſt him, from the Sonne, ſinnes of Ignorance which are againſt him, from the Holy Ghoſt, ſinnes of Malice which are againſt him. Est peccatum fragilitatis per impotentiam, ſimplicitatis, per ignorantiam, malignitatis, per invidentiam, hoc est, peccatum in Patrem, peccatum in Filium, peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum. B. Gregorius Kyrie eleiſon ad Miſſam cantari praecepit à Clero quod apud Graecos ab omni populo cantabatur. This order our Booke followes, the Presbyter ſaying, let us pray: Lord have mercy upon us, Chriſt have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us. For the language they will make no ſcruple, they keep latin words enough as obſcure as theſe Greeke ones, to wit, Benedictus, Magnificat, Venite, &c. Andrews in his Sermon of Imaginations, after the beginning, maintaines the lawfulneſſe of this practice, in theſe words. [Some will heare no Greeke or Latine, yet S. Paul feared not to uſe termes as ſtrange to the Corinthians as Maranatha, Belial, Abba, which eaſily he might have expounded: but it liked him to retain his Libertie in this point.] Neither will the Papiſts ſtand much in this point to the Greek, for they grant that the Greeks themſelves, pronounce theſe words in Latine. So Albinus de celebratione Miſſae, Kyrie eleiſon Latinè Graeci, & Graecè Latini proferunt. Biblo. patr. auctar. pag. 278. E.
7. After the Introitus, Gloria Patri, Kyrie eleiſon followes the Confiteor, 7. The Confiteor.where firſt the Prieſt confeſſeth his ſinnes, and the people ſay, Miſereatur: Then the people confeſſe their ſinnes, and the Prieſt ſayes, Miſereatur, praying for MercieMercy and Abſolution. This Confeſſion is generall, no particular enumeration; it is only of Veniall ſinnes, and the Abſolution is not Sacramentall: for the particular Confeſſion is in ſecret before the Maſſe, and to this auricular Confeſſion, the Prieſt pronounceth the Sacramentall Abſolution. Innocen. lib. 2.13. Pontifex de peccatis ſuis cum aſtantibus confitetur. Illud autem in hac confeſſione notandum eſt, quia non in ſpecie ſed in genere confitenda ſunt peccata, quoniam iſta confeſſio non eſt occulta ſed manifeſta; To this Durand addes, that the Pſalme of Confeſſion was put in the Maſſe by Pope Coeleſtine, Rubrica de confeſſione, Heigams expoſition of the Maſſe. cap. 22. [As the Confeſſion was generall, ſo the Abſolution is general which the Prieſt gives only by way of Prayer, and not of Sacrament, as that ego te abſolvo, and extendeth it ſelfe no farther, than to the taking away of Veniall ſinnes.] This he learned from Hugo de Sancto Victore, fit communis confeſſio ut mundemur à peccatis venialibus, fine quibus communis vita non facilè ducitur. Conſider whether all theſe three parts may be ſaid to be actually in our Booke; both the Confiteor, the Miſereatur, and the Abſolution, the Confiteor and the Miſereatur is twice in the Maſſe, the Abſolution but once, ſo is it with us. The Confeſſion of ſinnes in the Maſſe, is ſhorter, confiteor quod peccavi nimis cogitatione, loquutione, & opere which we ſay, not only thus ſhortly; [Wee acknowledge our manifold ſinnes which wee have grievouſly committed, in thought, word, and deede.] But in our firſt Confeſſion, wee goe through all the tenne Commandments, and craves a Miſereatur for every one of them.
And this forme of Confeſſion wee have learned from the houres of the Virgin Mary, after the order of Sarum, printed at Paris 1533. where, after the Latine prayer is ſubjoyned a forme of Confeſſion in Engliſh, going through all the 10. Commandments, & acknowledging the breach of everie one with this concluſion: [whereof I cry God mercy] that this our Confeſſion is ſo generall, that it excludes mortall ſinnes to the auricular confeſſion before the Sacrament, I can hardly thinke: yet wee ſee that the Rubrick expreſly calls this Confeſſion generall: Alſo we know that the Engliſh Divines of the faction, doe now diſtinguiſh betwixt Mortall & Veniall ſins, and that the ſpeciall Confeſſion whereto the Rubrick in the viſitation of the ſicke referres, is applycd now by them to an auricular Confeſſion, to be made by all the Communicants before the Communion: However this double Confeſſion of the Maſſe, and our double Confeſſion, ſeemes to be really one.
8. The Miſereatur.8. As for the Miſereatur, its one, word by word in both Bookes; for ſo the Miſſall of Sarum. pag. 141. Miſereatur veſtri omnipotens Deus, & dimittat vobis omnia peccata veſtra, liberet vos ob omni malo & confirmet in bono, & ad vitam perducat aeternam, Amen. This wee turne, [Almightie GOD, have mercy upon you, pardon & deliver you from all your ſinnes, confirme and ſtrengthen you in all goodneſſe, and bring you to everlaſting life, through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord, Amen.]
9. The Abſolution.9. The Abſolution of the Prieſt in the Maſſe, and of the Prieſt in the Liturgie, differeth not in the matter; there it is, deinde dicat ſacerdos abſolutionem & remiſſionem omnium peccatorum veſtrorum, ſpatium verae poenitentiae & emendationem vitae, gratiam & conſolationem Sp. ſancti tribuat vobis omnipotens & miſericors Deus. Sciendum eſt quicunque ſacerdos officium exequatur, ſemper Epiſcopus ſi praeſens fuerit dicat abſolutionem. With us [then ſhall the Presbyter, or the Biſhop being preſent, pronounce this Abſolution. Almightie GOD have mercy, &c.] Both the Abſolutions are nought, but a prayer for Remiſſion. There is indeede in the Confiteor of Sarum, two clauſes about the Saints, which our Confeſſion wants; for it ſayes thus: Confiteor Deo, beatae Mariae, omnibus ſanctis & vobis, quod peccavi nimis, precor ſanctam Mariam, omnes ſanctos Dei, & vos orate pro me, the laſt clauſe of the prayer to Mary and the Saints, no marvell that our Booke leaves it out, for the Roman Miſſall hath put it out before us: See fol. 26. Micrologus alſo hath put it away in the Pariſh Edition of Labigne. 1609. In his 23 chap. Thus he recits that portion: Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, iſtis Sanctis, & omnibus Sanctis, & tibi frater quia peccavi in cogitatione, loquutione, & opere, ideò precor te, ora pro me. But our men will not care much, in their Confeſſion to put in both theſe clauſes. For as ſhall be ſhowen when we come to the Canon, they do defend the lawfulneſſe of praying to the Saints and Angels, yea they pray by the Merits of the Saints, to obtaine grace from GOD. So Field writes, but yee muſt remember it is a poſthume appendix, which the World ſaw not, till the 1628. When my Lord of Canterbury ſate in London and made that ſame yeere Biſhop Andrewes tell us many ſtrange tales after his death, as a little after Biſhop Mountague made Doctour Overhall after his death alſo ſpeake to the World, very uncouth language, as we ſhall heare hereafter.
10. The next part is the Angelike-Hymne 10. The Angelike hymne.which is in our Book, word by word: Thus ſpeakes the Prieſt after the order of Sarum: Gloria in excelſis Deo, & in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam Domine Deus Rex coeleſtis, Deus pater omnipotens, Domine fili unigenite Ieſu Chriſte, Domine Deus agnus Dei, filius Patris qui tollis peccata mundi, miſerere nobis, qui tollis peccata mundi ſuſcipe deprecationem noſtram, qui ſedes ad dextram patris, miſerere nobis, quoniam tu ſolus ſanctus, tu ſolus Dominus, tu ſolus altiſſimus Ieſu Chriſte cum S. Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris, Amen. Conferre this with our Booke, you will finde it tranſlated to a Letter. This piece of the Maſſe, is a patch of many hands; the firſt words of it are Scripture, the words of the Angel in Chriſts nativitie. This was put in the Maſſe, as Albinus alleages, by Teleſphorus, and was ordained to be ſung every Sunday by Symmachus long thereafter; the reſt of theſe words after the Angels words, are aſcribed to Hilarie, but this Albinus proves by no authoritie, and himſelfe lived in ſo late and fabulous a time, that we may not leane to his writ. It is confeſſed that a number of the Churches hymnes, which uſed to be aſcribed to Hilarie and Ambroſe, are the fruit of dull and baſe Spirits, many hundred yeares after the death of theſe Fathers. The words of Alcuin are; Teleſphorus natione Graecus ex anachoreta, conſtituit ut hymnus diceretur Angelicus (ante ſacrificium ad Miſſam nocturnam natalis Domini, as Innocent comments it) Symmachus post Teleſphorum quadrageſimus quintus conſtituit, ut omni die Dominico & natalitijs Martyrum idem hymnus diceretur. Auct. Bibl. patr. p. 276. E. Incipit ſacerdos hymnum ab Angelis decantatum, ſed à beato Hilario Pictavienſi poſteà auctum & conſummatum, & hoc ipſum ad imitationem Angelorum: From this place this tale by the reſt of the Rationaliſts, is chanted and rechanted, according to their cuſtome of tranſcribing one anothers words, with diſſimulation of their Authors. Innocentius puts to this addition, that the Prieſt in this Song repreſents the Angels, yea, Chriſt the great Angel, Mox ſequitur hymnus Angelicus, quem ille primus inchoando pronuncia… qui Angelum magni conſilij repraeſentat. This Durand and the reſt of the later takes from Innocents hand. In this hymne the Miſſall makes mention of Marie, but neither for invocation nor adoration, and ſo our men will make no bones of that commemoration.
11. The Salutation.The next part is the Salutation which Sarum fol. 143. thus expreſſes [vertat ſe ſacerdos ad populum, dicens, Dominus vobiſcum, & chorus reſpondeat, & cum Spiritu tuo] Our Booke hath it thus [the Presbyter with a loud voyce pronouncing, the Lord be with you. Anſwer, and with thy Spirit.] The words of this Salutation, the people may not utter, no not the Deacon, and Durand gives a good reaſon in Rubrica de Salutatione, Lib. 4. [Sane Diaconus non dicit Dominus vobiſcum per horas eò quòd non ita gerit perſonam Chriſti ſicut ſacerdos, qui eâ in perſona Chriſti utitur.] Howſoever it ſeemes a mocking of God and man, that this ſalutation of the people ſhould bee uſed where no people is, and Innocent, beſides many other Popiſh writers, doth confeſſe the acts of the Church, which are yet extant in the diſtinction of conſecration, never to ſay this part of the Maſſe but where the people at leaſt two perſons are with the Prieſt, yet now it is otherwiſe reſolved from P. Damianus reaſons, that the Prieſt in his chamber alone may well ſay Dominus vobiſcum albeit none be with him, becauſe hee muſt ſay no other prayers than theſe which are in the forme appointed by the Church, which muſt be inviolably kept without any change, alſo in that his penſum which for the Church he ſayes to God, the whole Church with whom he is one in faith, is ſuppoſed to bee preſent, and to reape the benefit of his prayer; ſo ſpeakes he in his treatiſe of Dominus vobiſcum. c. 7. [Eccleſiaſticae traditionis regulam ſive ſoli, ſive cum pluribus uniformiter obſervate, ſi enim Doctores Eccleſiae id expedire decernerent in Eccleſiaſticis officijs, alium multis ordinem tradidiſſent, ſed unum contenti remotâ diverſitate compoſuere, unum nos docuerunt ordinem inviolabili ſemper obſervatione tenere, providerunt enim quia quicquid in divinis obſequijs à quolibet Eccleſiae membro reverenter offertur, id etiam fide & devotione cunctorum univerſaliter exhibetur.] Which moſt idle ſuperſtition our Booke ſeemes to approve, for the firſt Rubricke obliges every Presbyter to ſay the morning prayers, whereof Dominus vobiſcum is a part, and gives liberty to ſay it in private in their ſecret chamber, as well as in publike in their families or Church.
In the peoples anſwer, and with thy Spirit; their meaning is that God may direct the Prieſts minde, that hee may have an intention to pray, and to conſecrate the ſacrifice, elſe their prayers would not bee accepted, nor the hoſte be traſubſtantiated; for this ſee Durand Lib. 4. fol. [Hac reſponſione populus ſe refert ſolûm ad actionem immolationis, ad quam ſacerdos accedit, & in qua per Spiritum totaliter elevatus, & ab omni terrenitate prorſus abſtractus eſſe debet.] For this ſalutation no author in the time of purer antiquity can be alleaged, Bellarmines eldeſt citations are but traſh in the late and corrupter times.
12. The Oremus.12. The laſt part of the preparation is the Oremus, the poſterior Collects that ſtand before the Epiſtle, of this more or fewer may be uſed at the Prieſts diſcretion, one, three, five, ſeven, keeping alwaies an unequall number. [Sacerdotes in Miſſa ſeptenarium numerum non excedant, nā Chriſtus ſeptem petitionibus omnia corporis & animae neceſſaria comprehendit, quia verò Deus numero impari gaudet ſum moperè, quidam obſervant ut impares dicant oratiōes in Miſſa vel unam, vel tres, vel quinque, vel ſeptem, unam vel tres propter unitatis Sacramentum vel Trinitatis myſterium] This we obſerve, for at the beginning wee uſe after the Pater Noſter but one, and that word by word from the Maſſe, here before the Epiſtle we uſe three. The firſt is that of the day which for common is word by word from Sarum, as we ſhall ſee in due time; for the preſent take but one exāple. In the day of Epiphany, ſee if our Collect before the Epiſtle be not the Engliſh of this Oremus. [Deus qui hodierno die unigenitum tuum gentibus ſtellâ revelâſti, concede propitius, ut qui jam te ex fide cognovimus uſque ad contemplandam ſpeciem tuae celſitudinis perducamur per eundem Dominum, &c.] The other two are for the King according to the patterne of Sarum alſo, there is nought in them which a Papiſt will not ſubſcribe to ſee their Oremus in Sarum, concluſiones Miſſarum. [Da quaeſumus omnipotens Deus famulo tuo Regi noſtro ſalutem mentis & corporis, ut bonis operibus inhaerendo, tuae ſemper virtutis mereatur protectione defendi, per eundem Dominum noſtrum Ieſum Chriſtum, Amen.