confifting almoft now in Peoples As to the ufage of her denying the Cup to the People, in the 18th. Chap. of his fecond Eook, he faith, Semper enim & ubique ab Ecclefie primordiis uf, ad feculum duodecimum, fub fpecie panis de Vini in Ecclefiis communicârunt fideles; coepitq; paulatim ejus fæculi initio ufus calicis obfolefcere, plerifq, Epif copis eum populo interdicentibus, & fic paulatim introducta eft Communio fub folâ fpecie panis ; quod à nullo negari poteft, qui vel leviffimâ rerum Ecclefiafticarum notitiâ imbutus eft. And as to her making ufe of Unleavened Bread, in the 23d. Chap. of his firft Book, he faith; Quod fi As to her giving the Sacrament And as to her keeping the confecrated Bread, or Hofts as fhe calls them, after the Communion is over, he faith in the fame Book; Ne reliquia Sacramenti supereffent, fape decretum eft, ut tot particule confecrarentur, quot erant parati ad communionem; & fi quid refiduum foret, à facerdote, feu Miniftris commederetur; quod fi contigerit ut Miniftrorum incuria putrefcerent, ftatuit Concilium Arelatenfe apud Jon. X. 2. Cop. 56. ut igne comburatur, & cins juxta Altare fepeliatur ; idq, in ufu fuiffe docet Algerus, Lib.2. Cap. 1. Now I take this acknowledged change of Rices in the Adminiftration of the Eucharift, to be a very great Evidence, that there has been a Change of belief about it, and indeed to have been the Natural Confequence of fuch a Change, and fo I believe will any body elfe that fhall confider ic impartially. tegrity doth; and where any of these three Causes are wanting, they are not perfect, neither indeed is any Sacrament adminifter'd; all the Ceremonies and Rites, approved and made ufe of by Holy Mother Church, in the administration of the Sacraments are holy, and cannot be despised, neglected,or changed for others without a great Sin, notwithstanding they do not appertain to the In cannot be infallibly certain of any Bishop or Pricft's Intention in the Adminiftrarion of the Sacraments, fo they may be certain that it is poffible that Bishops and Pricfts may be fo wicked as not to intend what the Church does in fuch administration, nay, to intend the contrary; for there was a Parifh-Prieft burnt not many Years ago at Lisbon, who confeffed at his Death, that whenever he baptized, or confecrated, he had a formed Intention not to adminifter thofe Sacraments. *Changed.] This is very ftrange, confidering that most of thofe Rites are but new even in the Roman Church, that of the Elevation of the Hoft not excepted: Of the Elevation of the Hoft, Cardinal Bona in the 13th. Chap. of his 2d. Book of Litur gies, faith, Non enim liquet que prima Origo fuerit in Ecclefiâ Latina, elevandi Sacra Myfteria, ftatim ac confecrata funt; in antiquis enim Sacramentorum libris, & in codicibus Ordinis Romani, tam excufis quàm MSS, nec in prifcis rituum Expofitoribus, Alcuino, Almario, Walfrido, Micrologo & aliis, aliquod ejus veftigium reperitur. As to Peoples being present at Mafs, that did not communicate at the fame time, the fame Cardinal faith in the 14th. Chap. of his firft Book, Primi & Secundi poft Chriftum feculi fœlicitas hac fuit, cum multitudo credentium, quorum erat Cor unum, & anima una, ardentiffimo Dei amore fuccen fa, nihil impenfius defiderabat, quàm ad hoc fupercælefte conviviun accedere, in quo anima de Deo faginatur, ut loquitur Tertullianus ; at propè finem Tertii cœpit fervor ille languefcere, & numerus communicantium imminui, quam tepiditatem ægrè ferentes Patres Concilii Illiberitani, Cap. 28. Statuerunt, Epifcopum non debere munera ab eo accipere qui non communicat. Patres item Conc. Antioch. Can. 2. Omnes qui ingrediuntur Ecclefiam, fe à perceptione Sanita Communionis avertunt, ab Ecclefiâ remover decreverunt : Patres denique Conc. Tolet. Cap. 13. Eos ab ftineri præceperunt, qui intrant Ecclefiam, & non Communicans. What the Cardinal faith here of thefe two Practices, makes almoft the whole Roman Worship at this time to be a meer Novelty, the whole of that Worship con confifting almoft now in Peoples going to Mafs upon Sundays and Holy-days, which the Church obliges them to, not obliging them at the fame time to communicate above once a Year, and in adoring the Hoft when the Priest elevares it. As to the Prieft's put ting the Sacrament into the mouth of the Communicants, the fame Cardinal in the 17th. Chap. of his fecond Book, faith, Sacra Communio antiquo ritu, non ore excipi folebat, ut hodiè fit, fed manu, quam qui fufceperat, Ori reverenter admovebat. As to the Prieft's fpeaking the words of Confecration fo low that no body can hear him, in his 2th. Chap of the fame Book, be faith; Græci & alii Orientales verba confecrationis elatâ voce pronunciant, & populus refpondet, Amen. Eundem morem fervabat olim Ecclefia Occidentalis, omnes enim audiebant verba confecrationis; poftea ftatutum eft, ut Canon fubmiffa voce recitaretur; fic defiit ea confuetudo, feculo decimo, ut conjicio. As to the ufage of her denying the Cup to the People, in the 18th. Chap. of his fecond Book, he faith, Semper enim & ubique ab Ecclefie primordiis uff, ad faculum duodecimum, fub fpecie panis de Vini in Ecclefis communicârunt fideles; coepitq; paulatim ejus fæculi initio ufus calicis obfolefcere, plerifq; Epif copis eum populo interdicentibus, & fic paulatim introducta eft Communio fub folâ fpecie panis ; quod à nulLo negari poteft, qui vel leviffimâ rerum Ecclefiafticarum notitiâ imbutus eft. And as to her making ufe of Unleavened Bread, in the 23d. Chap. of his firft Book, he faith; Quod fi Veteres Patres, percurrere & omnem evolvere antiquitatem libeat, inveniemus proculdubio fic à tempore Apoftolorum, & de inceps de pane Euchariftico. omnes loqui, ut non nifi de communi, & fermentato commodè intelligi, & explicari queant. As to her giving the Sacrament in Wafers, in the 22d. Chap. of the fame Book, he faith; Vivente Humberto qui floruit Anno 1245. panus confecrandus in E chariftiâ tanta magnitudinis erat, it ex eo confecrate tot particule frangi poffent quot erant neceffaria ad populum communicandum, & panis qui tradebatur talu fuit, ut deglutiri non poffet, nifi dentibus comminutus. And as to her keeping the confecrated Bread, or Hofts as fhe calls them, after the Communion is over, he faith in the fame Book; Ne reliquia Sacramenti fupereffent, fepe decretum eft, ut tar particule confecrarentur, quot erant parati ad communionem; & fi quid refiduum foret, à facerdote, feu Miniftris commnederetur; quod fi contigerit ut Miniftrorum incuria putrefcerent, ftatuit Concilium Arelatenfe apud Jon. X. 2. Cap. 56. ut igne comburatur, & cins juxta Altare fepeliatur; idq, in ufu fuisse docet Algerus, Lib. 2. cap. 1. Now I take this acknowledged change of Rites in the Adminiftration of the Eucharift, to be a very great Evidence, that there has been a Change of belief about it, and indeed to have been the Natural Confequence of fuch a Change, and fo I believe will any body elfe that fhall confider ic impartially. tegrity tegrity or Effence of the Sacraments; there are three that imprint a Spiritual fign on the Soul, that can never be blotted out; it is called a Character, which is the reafon why thofe Sacraments are never to be repeated; they are Baptifm, Confirmation and Orders; the other four, that is, Penitence, the Eucharist, Extream Un&ion, and Matrimony, imprint no Spiritual Sign in the Soul, and fo may be repeated with due Order; but tho' these feven Sacraments are all Divine, and do contain Grace, and difpenfe it to their worthy Receivers, deserving our most profound Reverence and Adoration, on the account of the Majefty of their Inftitutor, who was our Lord Jefus Chrift the Son of God, as also for the affiftance of the Holy Spirit, who operates in conjunction with them; and for the virtue that is in them for the curing of Souls, the Treasure of the Paffion of our Lord Jefus Christ, being deposited in them, and dispensed to us by their means; Nevertheless this does not hinder, but that in fome refpects, fome of them may be more worthy than others, and may deferve a greater reverence and veneration. These Sacraments were all inftituted by our Lord Jefus Chrift before his Afcention into Heaven, that fo by their means he might communicate Grace, and other Spiritual Benefits, he had merited for us by his Death on the Crofs, confirming them to the faithful by his Word and Promises, that fo by using them lawfully, and with due difpofitions, we might be afcertained of his communicating nicating himself, and all the fruits of his Paffion to us, in every one of them, in fuch a manner as he represents himself in them. The Doctrine of the Holy Sacrament of THe first of all the Sacraments is that of Baptifm, which is the Gate of the Spiritual Life, and that whereby we are made capable of the other Sacraments, of which without it we are no ways capable; for as a Man muft first be born, before he can enjoy the good things of the Natural Life, fo Men before they are born again in Baptifm, are not capable of enjoying the heavenly advantages of a Spiritual Life, it being by Baptism that we are made Members of Chrift, and are incorporated into the Chriftian Common-wealth, and the Mystical Body of the Church; for as by the firft man Death came upon all, for the Sin of Difobedience committed by him and us, for which Sin we were excluded the Kingdom of Heaven, and were born Children of Wrath, and feparated from God, fo that without being born again of Water and the Spirit, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, as Chrift himself has taught us; fo that as we were born Children of Wrath, by Baptifm we return to be Children of Grace, and as we were born in fin the Sons of Men, in Baptism we are born the Sons of God; all that are bap |