The. xviii. chapyter
ANd to shew more and more that he meneth playnely of very eatynge and very drynkynge: he sayth, my flesshe is veryly meate, & my bloude is veryly drynke. […] 1 these wordes sayth saynt Cyril thus Chryste here declareth the dyfference agayne, bytwene the mystycall benedyccyon, that ys to wytte the blessed sacrament and manna, and bytwene the water flowynge out of the stone, and the cōmuniō of the holy bloude. And thys he repeteth agayne, to the entent they sholde no more merueyle of ye myracle of manna / but that they sholde rather receyue hym whyche is the heuynly brede and the gyuer of eternall lyfe. your fathers sayd oure sauyour, dyd eate māna in the desert and they be deade. But thys brede is descended from heuyn, that a man sholde eate therof and not dye. For the meate of manna brought not eter nall lyfe, but a short remedy agaynst hunger. And therfore manna was not the very meate / that is to wytte manna was not the brede from heuen / but the holy body of Chryst that ys the meate that noryssheth to immortalyte and eternall lyfe. ye sayth some man: but they dranke water out of the stone. But what wanne they by that for deade they be, and therfore that was not yt very drynke / but the very drynke ys the drynke of Chryste, by whyche death ys vtterly turned vppe and destroyed. For it ys not the bloude of hym that ys onely man, but the bloude of that man, whych beynge toyned to the naturall lyfe (that ys to wytte the godhed) ys made also lyfe hym selfe.
Therfore we be the body and the mē bres of Chryste. For by thys blessed sacrament we receyue the very sone of god hym selfe.
Here you se good readers that saynte Cyrillus playnely declareth here, yt these wordes of Chryst, My […] is veryly meate &c. are spoken and ment of hys holy flesshe in the blessed sacrament / of whyche mayster Masker in all hys exposycyon and in all his hole wyse wurke, telieth vs playnely the contrary.
But saynte Cyrillus is here open and playne, bothe for that poynte & for the hole mater. For who can more playnly declare any thyng thā yt holy doctour declareth in these wordꝭ, yt in the blessed sacramēt is veryly eaten and dronken the very blessed body & holy bloude of Chryst. And yet doth not saynt Cyrillus say it more opēly than […] our sauyour in hys […] wordes hymselfe.
And now ferther to shewe that it must nedys be so, that he whyche eateth hys flesshe & drynketh his bloud, muste nedes be resuscytate & reysed agayne in body to euerlastynge lyfe: our sauyour addeth therunto & saith, He that eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloude, dwelleth in me and I in hym.
Uppon whyche wordes also, thus sayth holy saynt Cyrill.
Lyke as yl a man vnto moltē wex put other wex, it can not be but that he shall thorow out mengle the tone wyth the tother: so yf a man receyue the flesshe and the bloude of our lord worthely and as he […], it can not be but that he shall be so ioyned wyth, Chryst, as Chryst shalbe wyth hym &, he wyth Chryst.
Thus may you good readers se, how veryly a man eateth in the sacra ment the […] body of Cryst / and by that eatynge how eche of them is in other. And than yf he so perseuer, how can it be that that body shall haue euerlastynge deth, in whych there is […] euerlastynge lyfe? For as ye haue herd, the body of Chryste is by the cōiunccyon wyth his godhed made euerlastynge lyfe.
But this is ment as I saye (and all the holy doctours do declare the same) of them that receyue the sacrament, not onely sacramentally, but also effectually. That is to wyt, of them that not onely receyue the body of our sauyour by the sacrament into theyr bodyes, but also by trew fayth and trew repentaūce and purpose of good lyuyng, receyue hys holy […] ther with into theyr soules, & be made therby very lyuely membres of that thyng that the blssed sacrament signifyeth & betokeneth, yt is to wyt of the mystycall body of Cryst, the chyrche and congregacyon of sayntes.
For as you haue herd by Theophilactꝰ before, this blessed sacramēt is not onely the very flesh of Cryst, but is also a figure. And that is it in diuerse wyse, as I shall ferther declare you in my boke agaynst Frithis answere to my pystle. With whyche boke (were hys onys come in prente whyche is allredy sent ouer to be […] ted) I shall god wyllyng well make […] his englysshe bretherne se & perceyue his foly, yt lyst not wyllyngly to cōtynue folys and wynke.
But as I was about to say, they that receyue our lord by the sacramēt onely, & not by fayth & purpose of amendemēt: though they receyue hym yet they receyue hym not / & though they eate hym they eate hym not.
For though his blessed body be receyued in to theyr bodyes: yet hys holy spirit is not receyued into theyr soules / & therfore he […] not in them nor they in hym, but they eate & drynke theyr iugemēt, & receyue hym to theyr dampnacyō, for that they receyue hym without faith & dew reueuerēce / & therfore do not as saith sait Poule, discerne ye body of our lorde.2
And therfore sayth saint Austayn as Prosper reherseth ī lib. […] psperi, He receyueth the meat of lyfe, he drynketh yt draught of eternyte, yt dwelleth ī Cryst, & in whō Cryst dwel leth. For he yt discordeth from Cryst neyther eateth yt fleshe of Cryst, nor […] his bloud, though he receyue euery daye indyfferentely the sacrament of that great thynge to the iudgement and dampnacyon of hys presumpcyon.
This text of saynt Austayne alledged Fryth for hys purpose in a cer tayne communycacyon / wyllyng to proue therby that the very body of Cryste was not alwaye veryly receyued and eaten in the sacrament, as yt chyrch sayth. For here (sayd Fryth) saynt Austayne sayth playne yt euyll men though they receyue the sacrament, eate not the body of Cryst.
But here Fryth eyther had not ler ned or ellys had forgoten, that saynt Austayne ment of the effectuall receyuynge, by whych a man not onely receyueth Chrystes blessed body into hys own sacramentally, but also vir tually and effectually so receyueth ther wyth the spyryte of god into hys soule, that he is incorporate therby with our sauyour, in suche wyse, that he is made a lyuely member of his mystycall body that is the […] of sayntes by receyuyng it wurthyly, whiche euyll folke do not, that receyue it to theyr dampnacyon.
For that saynt Austayne ment not to deny that ye blessed body of Cryst is veryly receyued and eaten in the blessed sacramēt, both of euyll folke and good, it appereth playne by that that in mo places thā one, he speketh of the traytour Iudas. For all be it that in some places he putteth it in dowte and question, whyther Iudas receyued the sacrament amonge the apostles at Chrystes maundy, or els that ye morcell that he receyued were not it: yet-in dyuers places he affermeth that he dyd. And in those places be affermeth playnely that in the sacramēt he receyued Chrystes blessed body, as euyll and as false as the traytour was, as in his fyfth boke de baptismo he clerely declareth in these wordes.
Lyke as Iudas to whom our lord gaue the morsel, not by receyuynge any euyll thynge, but by euyll receyuynge of a good thyng, gaue the deuyll a place to entre into hym selfe: so euery man yt vnworthyly receyueth the sacrament of Cryst, maketh not ye sacrament euyll bycause he is euyll, nor maketh not therby that he receyueth nothyng bycause he receyueth it not to his saluacyō. For it was neuer the lesse the body of our lorde and the bloud of our lord, euyn vnto them of whom the apostle sayd, he that eateth it & drynketh it vnworthily, he eateth & drynketh dampnacyō to hym selfe.
Here sait Austayn good readers expressely declareth, yt not onely good folke but euil folke also, receiue & eat in ye sacramēt ye very body & bloud of Cryst, though the tone to saluacyon the tother to dāpnacyō. And therfore you se yt saint Austayn here playnely reproueth Fryth.
And that ye may playnely se also3 that saint Austayn in callynge ye blessed sacramēt the body of Cryst, meneth not to call it onely a fygure or a memoriall (besyde his other playne wordꝭ in many sundry places) he writeth in a pistle vnto Eleusiꝰ, Gloriꝰ, & Felix, declaryng the great excellent goodnes yt Cryst shewed to the false traytour Iudas, he writeth I saye yt Cryst gaue vnto Iudas at his laste souper ye pryce of our redēpcyō. And what was the pryce of our redēpciō, but his owne very blessed body.
How be yt Frith was on euery syde deceyued in the perceyuynge of saynt Austayns mynd / which mysse happed hym as I suppose for lacke of redynge any ferther in saynt Austayns wurkes, than those placys yt he founde falsely drawen out into frere Duyskyns boke.
For saynt Austayne in very many placꝭ playnely declareth, that euery man good and badde both, receyueth and eateth in the sacrament the very body and bloude of Cryste. And also those wordes in whych he sayth, that euyll folke eate it not, he meaneth yt they eate it not so as they receyue the effecte therof, that is to wytte to be by the receyuynge and eatyng therof incorporate spyrytually with hym, as a lyuely member of hys mystycall body the socyete of sayntes, so that he may dwell in Chryste and Chryst in hym / but lacketh yt spyrytuall effecte of hys eatynge, bycause he is euyll & eateth not Chrystes flesshe in suche maner as he sholde do, that is to wyt worthyly in trew fayth and purpose of clene and innocent lyfe, as saynte Austayne in his boke de blasphemia spiritus sancti, declareth wel in these wordes.
Thys also that Cryst sayth, he that eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloud, dwelleth in me and I in hym. How shall we vnderstande it. Maye we vnderstande those folke therin to,4 of whom thapostle sayth yt they eate & drynke theyr iugement, whan they eate the same flesshe and drynke the same bloude? Dyd Iudas the traytour and wicked seller of his mayster though he fyrst wyth the other apostles as saynt Luke theuangelyste very clerely declareth, dyd eate and drynke the same sacrament of hys flesshe and his bloude made with his awne handes, dyd he abyde yet in Cryst & Cryst in hym? Finally many men whyche with a fayned harte eate […] […] […] […] that flesihe and drynke that bloud, or ellys whan they haue eaten and dron ken it, bycome apostataas after / do they dwell in Cryst & Cryst in them? But there is vndowtedly a certayne maner of eatynge that flesshe and drynkynge that bloude, in whyche maner he that eateth it and drynketh it, dwelleth in Cryste and Cryste in hym. And therfore not who so euer eate the flesshe of Cryste and drynke hys bloude, dwelleth in Cryste and Cryste in hym / but he that eateth it and drynketh it after a certayne maner, whyche maner Cryste saw whan he spake the wordes.
Here you se good readers that saint Austayn she weth, that Iudas in the sacramēt receyued & dyd eate yt body of Cryst, and declareth also the very whole thyng that he meneth cō cernyng the vnderstandyng of this word of Crist, He yt […] my flesh and drynketh my bloude dwelleth in me and I in hym / that is to wyt they yu eate it in a certeyn maner by which he meneth they yt eat it wel & in yt state of grace / as he playnely declareth bothe in hys exposycyon vppon saint Iohn̄s gospel, and many sundry pla ces bysyde.
And those that receyue hym other wyse with a fayned hart and in purpose of deadely synne / they folo we Iudas and shortely shew them self. For suche as they were wont to be, such wyll they be styll, or yet rather mych wurse if they were before veri nought. And therfore sayth saynt Au stayn, yt a mā to eate ye flesh of Crist is to dwell in Cryst, & to haue Cryst dwellyng in hym. For he yt dwelleth not ī Crist, wel declareth yt though he haue receyued & eatē his flesh into his body by the sacramēt, yet hath he not receyued & eatē his spirit as I sayde into hys soule / and therfore hath not receyued and eaten his fiesshe effectually, but without theffecte of the spyryte and lyfe, whiche is the thyng wherby the flesshe geuyth the lyfe, and wythout whiche as our sauyour saith, his flesh auayleth vs nothyng. And so for lacke of the spyrytuall eatynge, the flesshely eater of his flesh though he receyue the sacrament, receyueth not theffecte of the sacramēt the thynge that the sacrament sygnyfyeth, that is the partycypacyon of ye mystycall body of Chryste, that is to wytte the chyrche and congregacyon of all sayntes, whyche chyrch and cō gregacyon is gathered togyther as many mēbres into one body Cryste / as the brede whyche our lorde in the sacramēt chaungeth into hys blessed body, is one lose made of many gray nes of whete / and the wyne whyche he chaungeth into his bloude, is one cuppe of wine made of many grapes as thapostle declareth.
And veryly to be a quycke lyuely member of that body doth no man attayne that receyueth the sacrament without fayth and purpose of good lyfe / but waxeth a more weke membre & a more lame, more astonied, and more losely hangynge theron than he dyd before / and by suche often receyuynge so rotteth more and more, that finally it falleth quyte of, and is cast out into the dunghyll of hell, and shal neuer be resuscytate & reysed agayne to be made a membre of that body in glory.
But as saynt Austayne sayth, yf a man after the receyuynge of the sacrament do dwell siyll in god, that is to wytte abyde and perseuer in trew fayth and good wurkes: than is it a good synge and token that he hath effectually eaten the flessh of Cryst in the blessed sacrament. And therupon muste it nedes good crysten reader folow, yt he that receyueth the blessed sacramēt well, & eateth therin ye flesh of Cryst, not onely veryly, whyche euery man doth good & bad, but also (which onely the good foske do) effec tually, & so dwelleth in Cryste and Cryste in hym perseuerauntly: that man or woman without dowt, it must nedes be that they can neuer euerlastyngly dye / but Cryst dwellyng in them, shall conserue theyr soules and resuscytate agayn theyr bodyes that so dwell in hym, into euerlastynge lyfe.
Footnotes
Chapter 20 of 70