a priest hath power to ordain priests; for he hath power to say," Hoc facite," in all the same meanings which Christ had, when he used them: and if this be not accepted, yet at least a bishop may ordain all the congregations' priests, if he please,―by saying of one mass; which are pretty fancies and rare propositions in our divinity. 10. To which I add this consideration, that if our blessed Lord did, by those words of "Hoc facite," make his disciples priests, then they were priests before the Lord himself; for although he was designed for ever, yet he was consecrated on the cross, there he entered upon his priestly office; but officiates in that office not on earth but in heaven; for if he were on earth, he should not be a priest," saith St.Paul "; therefore, being consecrate on the cross, he ascended into heaven to be there" our priest for ever, there making intercession for us." Now it were strange, if the apostles should be declared priests before the consecration, or first sacerdotal action, of their Lord or that they should be priests without the power of the keys, without the commission to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: for these were given afterward. But this device is so very a dream, so groundless and airy a phantasm, so weakly laid, and employed to such trifling purposes, that it needs no further an inquiry into it; it was raised to serve the end of this question, to answer an objection, and pretends no strength of its own, neither can it weaken that which hath; and that it is indeed only pretended for a shift, and intended to operate no further, appears in this manifestly; because, if the apostles did drink of the chalice in the capacity of being priests, then it ought to be followed, at least so far; and all the priests that are present, ought to receive the chalice,-which because they do not in the church of Rome, it is apparent they prevaricate the institution; and that they may exclude the laity from the cup, they use their clergy as bad, when themselves do not officiate. 11. (3.) This trifling pretence being removed, it remains that the words of institution, " Drink ye all of this," be also the words of a commandment; and although they were spoken to the apostles only, as being only present, yet the precept must equally concern all Christians and disciples of Christ. " Heb. viii. 4. Just like those of " Watch and pray, lest ye fall into temptation ;" and "Unless ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of God":" which were spoken only in the presence of the apostles: but as these precepts and moral rules concern all Christians; so do the words of institution of the holy sacrament and commandment of "Drink ye all of this." For, oportet cœnam Dominicam esse communem, quia ille omnibus discipulis suis, qui aderant, æqualiter tradidit sacramenta," said St. Jerome 2: "the Lord's supper is common to all, and so ought to be; because our Lord did equally deliver it to all that were present:" and upon this very account Durandus affirms, "In primitiva ecclesia, singulis diebus, omines qui celebrationi missarum intererant, communicare solebant, eo quod apostoli omnes de calice biberunt, Domino dicente, • Bibite ex eo omnes :' "In the primitive church all that were present, did, every day, receive, because the apostles did all drink of the chalice, and the Lord said, Drink ye all of this "."" 12. And this appears, beyond all contradiction, to have been so intended. So St. Ignatius: "There is one bread broken to all, καὶ ἓν ποτήριον τοῖς ὅλοις διανεμηθέν, and one chalice distributed to all;"-and "there is no difference in this between the priest and the people," said St. Chrysostom"; and it is evident that St. Paul gives the same commandment of drinking the chalice, as of eating the bread; six times distinctly mentioning both the symbols, and directing the rule and the precepts of eating and drinking " to all that are sanctified in Christ Jesus d," even to all who are to examine themselves; for "let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup" and that it was so the custom of the church, and their doctrine, that all are to receive the chalice, that there was no scruple made by the church concerning it,—we are fairly induced to a belief, by the addition made to the Greek text of 1 Cor. x. 17, by the vulgar Latin; for whereas it is in the Greek "We all partake of the same bread," the vulgar Latin adds, " et de uno calice," "and of the same cup."-This I the rather note, because the Jesuits of Cologne did use this for an argument of the halfcommunion; because, when St. Paul had spoken of the consecration, he mentions breaking bread, and drinking the cup; but when he speaks of sumption or participation, he only mentions the bread :' now supposing that, yet that defect is supplied by the vulgar Latin, the author of which knowing the universal custom of the church and the doctrine of it, supplied that out of the sentence of the church, which is not in the Greek text. Though if it had not been, yet the argument would have been just nothing, as being a conclusion drawn from a particular negative in one place; and against his custom in other places, and besides the institution. 13. For the doctrine and practice of the church are so notorious in this article, that, in the Greek church, there was never any variety in it; and to this day it is used, as it was in the beginning, and in all the intermedial ages: and in the Latin church for a thousand years it was not altered; nay, to this day the church of Rome sings in the hymn upon Corpus Christi day, Dedit fragilibus corporis ferculum, Dicens, Accipite quod trado vasculum: "He gave his body to be the food of the weak, and the cup of salvation to the sorrowful, saying, 'Take this vessel that I reach unto you, Drink ye all of this."" Indeed it was often attempted to be changed upon the interest of divers heresies. and superstitious fancies, and rare emergencies. For, 14. (1.) It was attempted to be omitted in the time of St. Cyprian, when some impertinent people would have water only; but not the chalice of the Lord's institution in the fruit of the vine; but these men's folly went not far, for be ing confuted and reproved by St. Cyprian in a letter to his brother Cæcilius, I find no mention of them afterward. 15. (2.) It was attempted to be changed upon occasion of the Eremites, who coming but seldom to church, could but seldom receive the chalice, but desiring more frequently to communicate, they carried the consecrated bread with them into their cells; and, when they had a mind to it, in that imperfect manner did imitate the Lord's supper. That Lib. 2. ep. 3. they did so is certain, that they had no warrant for so doing is as certain; and therefore their doing so can be no warrant to us to do as they did,-much less ought it to be pretended in justification of the denying the chalice to the whole laity, when they desire it and may have it. However, this unwarrantable custom of the Eremites was taken away by the first council of Toledo in the year 390, and afterward again forbidden in the year 500, by the fathers met in council at Cæsar Augusta. The words of the council of Toledo are these; "Si quis autem acceptam à sacerdote eucharistiam. non sumpserit, velut sacrilegus propellatur:" but this is more fully explicated in that of Cæsar Augusta; "Eucharistiæ. gratiam si quis probatur acceptam non consumpsisse in ecclesia, anathema sit in perpetuum:" so that under the pain of a perpetual curse, and under the crime of sacrilege, they were commanded to spend the eucharistical symbols in the church; and this took from them all pretence of the necessity in some case of not receiving the chalice. 16. (3.) In the time of Pope Leo I. the Manichees, who abstained from wine as an abomination, would yet thrust themselves into the societies of the faithful, and pretend to be right believers; but St. Leo discovered them by their not receiving the chalice in the holy eucharist; and whereas they would have received in one kind only, he calls it sacrilege; and reproves them with the words of St. Pauli; "Mark them which cause divisions amongst you, and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have received." This was about the year 449. 17. (4.) Awhile after, about the year 490, some had gotten some superstitious fancy by the end; and, out of reverence to the holy sacrament, or some other device of their own, they thought it fit to abstain from the consecrated chalice but Pope Gelasius made short work with them; he condemned their superstition, and gave sentence *, "Aut integra sacramenta percipiant, aut ab integris arceantur," Either all or none :' drive them from the holy bread, if they refuse the sacrament of the Lord's blood. 18. (5.) The church had sometime, in extraordinary cases, as in communicating infants or dying people, dipped the Can. 14. Serm. 4. quadragesim. * Can. Comper. de Consecrat. dist. 2. holy bread into the chalice, and so ministered the sacrament: upon occasion of which, some fell in love with the trick, and would have had it so in ordinary ministrations: we find it mentioned in the history of Serapion in Eusebius, and in St. Cyprian '4. de Lapsis,' and in Prosper'. But against this breach Pope Julius opposed himself and stood in the gap, declaring it to be against the divine order, and apostolical institutions, and contrary to the doctrine of the gospel and of the apostles and the custom of the church; and his words are remarkable to show from whence this article is to be adjusted and determined: "Non difficile hoc ab ipso fonte veritatis probatur, in qua ordinata ipsa sacramentorum mysteria processerunt;""The very ordination or institution of the sacrament is the fountain from whence we are to derive the truth in this inquiry." But when this superstition was again revived about the year 580, the now-mentioned decree of Pope Julius was repeated in the third council of Braccara, and all set right again according to the perpetual custom of the church, and the institution of our blessed Lord, and their pretence (which was lest they should spill any thing of the holy chalice) laid aside as trifling and superstitious. 19. (6.) And yet after all these motions made by heretics and superstitious persons, and so many cautions, suppressions, and decrees, against them; about the year 920, the order of Cluniac monks did communicate with the bread dipped in the chalice, as Cassander" reports and about the year 1120, it was permitted in some churches so to do: for by this time the world was so rude and ignorant, that they knew little of the mysteries of religion, and cared less; so that, for the danger of effusion of the holy wine, they in some places chose that expedient: which although it was upon great reason condemned by Pope Julius and the council of Braccara, yet it is a great argument that they still believed it necessary to communicate under both symbols. 20. (7.) But about the time that the schoolmen began to rule the chair, this danger of spilling the chalice wrought so much in their wise heads, that they began, about the year De Promiss. c. 6. et 26. q. 6. c. 15. in Decr. Ep. ad Episc. Ægypt. de Consecrat. dist. 2. can. Cùm omue. "Lib. 2. c. 35. |