* themselves to procure Maffes to be faid for the Souls of their deceased Friends, and to leave fomething by Will that they may have Masses faid for their own Souls, which will be much more profitable for them than the Feasts that they used to make for their Kindred and others invited to their Funerals; which Custom shall be left off, and instead thereof, they fhall give a *affes.] Private Maffes are not only a flat contradiction to the Primitive Practice, but to the very Office wherein they are celebra. ted, all that Office being made in the name of a Congregation, not only as prefent, but as communicating. A demonftration that the Offices of the Roman Church are older than her Errors; it is plain likewife from the very Canon of the Mafs, that when that Office was compofed, Tranfubftantiation was not fo much as dreamt of in the Roman Church; but as to the thing in hand, Cardinal Bona in the 3 Chap. of his Book of Li turgies, faith, Ab initio Sacrificium principaliter inftitutum fuit, ut publicè, ac folemniter firet, Clero populo aftante ac communicante, ipfe tenor Milfe & veteris Ecclefie praxis evincunt; omnes enim Orationes atque ipfa Canonis verba in plurali numero tanquam plurium nomine, proferuntur: hinc facerdos populum invitat ad Orationem dicens Oremus, & poft Communionem ait quod ore fumpfimus, &c. Suntque ferè omnes ejufdem tenoris Orationes que peracta Communione recitantur: And in the 18th Chap. of the fame Book he faith, Solenne hoc fuit in utrâque Ecclefia Græca & Latinâ, ut unum & idem Sacrificium a pluribus interdum Sacerdotibus celebraretur, Epifcopo enim five Presbytero celebrante, reliqui quotquot aderant Epifcopi feu Presbyteri fimul celebrabant ejufdemque Sacrificii participes erant, &c. And a little after he adds, Cur autem defierit ille mos caufa mihi videtur fuisse primo quidem quod fundatis ordinibus mendicantibus & longè latéque propaga tis, multiplicata funt onera Miffurum, atque adeo neceffe fuit fingulos Sa cerdotes, ut iis fatisfacerent fingulis diebus privatim celebrare, deinde quia charitas multorum refrixit, ceffarit etiam frequens acceffus ad hoc Sacramentum adeo ut hodie nee ipfi quidem miniftri in plerifque Ecclefiis Communicent, licet Sacrificio cooperantur. To which the Cardinal might have added the introduction of the Doctrine of Purgatory, and the confequent Doctrine of Maffes being the moft effe&ual means of delivering the Souls cat of the Torments thereof. So John the IV. of Portugal, ordered ten thousand Maffes to be faid for his Soul, as foon as he was dead. Dole to the Poor, which is also very profitable to the Souls of the departed. And that the Decree relating to fuch Maffes may have its due effect, the Synod doth command, That all that fhall be found to have died worth 2000 Fanoins, and have left nothing for a certain number of Maffes to be faid for their Souls, fhall have fo much taken out of their Eftates before they fhall be divided among the Heirs, as fhall procure the faying of five Maffes for their Souls, which fhall be depofited by the Executors in the hands of the Church-wardens, by them to be distributed among five Priests, that they may be the fooner faid; and where there are more than five Priests, the Alms shall be given to the five Eldest, there not being fufficient to divide among them all; and where there is only the Vicar of the Church, the whole fhall be given to him: which Custom of procuring Maffes to be faid for the Souls of the Faithful departed this Life, as it is used in the Univerfal Church, fo it is what this Synod is extreamly defirous to introduce into this Bishoprick, wherein it has been totally dif ufed, recommending this Matter earnestly to the Preachers and Confeffors, to perfuade all Chriftians to it in their Sermons and Confeffions, and to the Vicars to do the fame in their Admonitions. Асті [ ACTION VI. Of the Holy Sacrament of Penance and TH Extream Unction. He Fourth Sacrament is that of Penance, in which the Acts of the Penitent are, as it were, the Matter, and are diftinguished into these three parts, Contrition of Heart, Confeffion of the Mouth, and Satisfaction for Sins, according to the direction of the Confeffor. It belongs to the Contrition of the heart, that the Penitent be forry at his Soul for the Sins that he has committed, and detefting them, is firmly refolved not to commit them any more: which Contrition, tho' it fometimes happen to be perfect through Charity, fo as to reconcile one to God even before he has actually received the Sacrament of Confession, yet it can never be perfect, nor a means of reconciliation with God, if not attended with a readinefs and purpose of mind to confefs thofe very fins which it is converfant about; fuch fins being no less fubject than others, to the Keys and the ingagements to Confeffion. It belongs to the Confeffion of the mouth, that the Penitent Confefs himself entirely to his own Priest, as to all the fins that he remembers, using all due diligence according to the length of the time, fince he laft Confeffed himself; and this Confeffion is not to be only of fins in general, nor only of the S 3 Species Species of them, but of every fin in particular, and as far as the Penitent is able to remember of their number; declaring withal, all the aggravating Circumftances, and all fuch as change the Species; in a word, all mortal fins, how fecret foever, tho' only in thoughts and wicked defires; as also all faults committed against the two laft Commandments; Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife; Thou shalt not covet any thing that is anothers; fuch fins being at fome times more dangerous for the Soul, than others that are open; all which we are commanded to do by the Divine Law; our Saviour when he afcended into Heaven, leaving the Priests for his Vicars upon Earth, and conftituting them Judges, before whom all mortal fins committed by Chriftians, were to be brought, that by the power of the Keys, which he committed to them to forgive or retain fins, they may pronounce Sentence, which cannot be just and Righteous, neither can the punishments they impofe be equal or proportionated to the Nature of the Faults, without their having a full knowledge of the fame, as of the matter that they pass Sentence upon; which knowledge cannot be had but by the Penitents confeffing all and every Mortal Sin, whereon Judgment is to pafs, not only in general, but in fpecie and number, making mention of every fuch Sin in particular, with all its neceflary circumstances, that fo a juft fentence of abfolution or retention may be pronounced upon them. And as to Venial Sins which we frequently quently fall into, and for which we are not excluded from the Grace of God, tho' the confeffing of, and being abfolved from them, is very profitable to the Soul, yet we are not under any fuch precife obligation of confeffing them, there being other ways by which they may be pardoned, fo that it is no fin not to discover them. The third part of Penitence, is, Satisfadion for Sins according to the judgment of the Confeffor which fatisfaction is chiefly performed by Prayer, Fafting and Alms, the Penitent being obliged to comply with the Penance impofed upon him by the Priest, who being as a Judge in the place of God, ought to impofe what he thinks to be neceffary, not only with respect to the amendment of Sin for the future, but chiefly with respect to the Satisfaction and Penance of past Sins. The Form of this Sacrament is, I abfolve thee, to which neceffary words the Church has thought fit to add the words following, from all thy Sins, in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft. There are alfo fome Prayers which the Prieft faith immediately after over the Penitent, which, tho' they are not ef fential to the form, yet are very profitable and healthful for the Penitent. Now by pronouncing the form, not only all the Sins that are confeffed, but all those likewife which after a due diligence and Examination of the Confcience do not occurr to the Memory, fo as to be difcovered, all fuch being included in the faid Confeflion, are all pardoned; tho' with an obligation of S 4 con |