Page [unnumbered]*And now to returne to our purpose, that only the liuely membres of Christ do eate his fleshe & drynke his blud,* I shal bryng furth many other places of aunciēt authors before not mēcioned.
Fyrst Origen writeth plainly after this ma∣ner.
The worde was made fleshe and very meat,
* whiche whoso eateth, shall surely liue for euer,
whiche no euil man can eate. For if it could be, that he that contynueth euil, might eate the woorde made fleshe, seyng that he is the woorde & bread of life, it should not haue been written: Whoso∣euer eateth this bread shall liue for euer.
These wordes be so plaine, that I nede say nothyng for the more cleare declaracion of them. Wherfore you shal heare howe Cyprian agreeth with him.
*Cyprian in his sermon ascribed vnto him of the Lordes supper, sayth:
The author of this tradicion sayd, that except we eate his fleshe and drynke his bloud, we should haue no life in vs, instructyng vs with a spiritual lesson, and ope∣nyng to vs a way to vnderstād so priuy a thing, that we should knowe, that the eatyng is our dwel∣lyng in him, and our drinkyng is as it were an incor∣poration in him, beyng subiecte vnto him in obe∣dience, ioyned vnto him in our wylles, and vni∣ted in our affections.
The eatyng therefore of this fleshe, is a certaine hunger and
desire to dwell in him.
Thus wryteth Cyprian of the eatyng & dryn∣kyng of Christe. And a lytle after he sayth, that none do eate of this lambe, but suche as be true Israelites, that is to say, pure christian menue
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without colour or dissimulacion.
And Athanasius speakinge of the eatinge of Christes fleshe and drinking of his bloud,* sayth
that for this cause he made mention of his ascē∣cion into heauen, to plucke them from corporall phantasie, that thei might learne hereafter, that his fleshe was called the celestiall meate that came from aboue, and a spirituall foode which he would geue. For those thinges that I speake to you (saithe he) be spirite and life. Whiche is as muche to say, as that thinge which you see, shalbe slayne, & gyuen for the norishment of the worlde, that it maye bee distributed to euerye body spiri∣tually and be to all men a conseruacion vnto the resurrection of eternall lyfe.
In these woordes Athanasius declareth the cause why Christ made mention of his ascention into heauen, whan hee spake of the eatinge and drinking of his fleshe and blud. The cause after Athanasius mynde was thys, that his hearers shuld not thinke of any carnal eating of his bo∣dy with their mouths (for as concerning the pre∣sence of his body, he should be taken from them, and ascende into heauen, but that they shuld vn∣derstande him to be a spirituall meate, and spiri¦tually to be eaten, and bi that refreshing to giue eternall lyfe, which he doth to none, but to suche as be his lyuely membres.
And of this eatinge speaketh also Basilius,* that we eate Christes flesh and drinke his blud, beynge made, by hys incarnation and sensyble
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lyfe, partakers of his worde and wysedome. For
his fleshe and bludde he called all his mysticall conuer∣sation here in his fleshe and his doctrine, consistinge of his whole lyfe, pertaininge bothe to his hu∣manitie and diuinitye, whereby the soule is no∣rished and brought to the contemplacion of thin¦ges eternall
Thus teacheth Basilius howe we eate Chri∣stes flesh and drinke his blud, which pertaineth only to the true and faithful membres of Christ.
*Saint hierome also saith:
All that loue plea∣sure more than god, eate not the fleshe of Iesu, nor drinke his bludde, of the whiche himselfe saith: He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blud, hath euerlastynge lyfe.
*And in an other place S. Hierome saith, that
heretiques do not eat and drynk the body and bludde of the Lorde.
*And moreouer he saithe,
that heretiques eate not the fleshe of Iesu, whose flesh is the meate of fayth∣full men.
Thus agreeth S. Hierome with the other be¦fore rehersed, that heretiques and such as folow wordly pleasures, eat not Christs flesh nor drink his blud, bicause that Christ said, He that eateth my flesh & drinketh mi blud, hath euerlastīg life.
*And S. Ambrose saith,
that Iesus is y
e bread which is the meat of Saintes, and that he that taketh this breade,
dieth not a sinners deathe. For
this breade is the remission of sinnes. And in an o∣ther booke to him intituled he writeth thus.
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This breade of lyfe whiche came frome heauen doth minister euerlasting life,
* and
whosoeuer ea∣teth this bread shall not dye for euer, and is the bodye of Christe.And yet in an other booke sette forth in his name,
* he saith on this wise:
He that did eat Manna, died, but
he that eateth this body, shal haue remission of his synnes, and shall not dye for euer. And againe he saith:
*As oftē as thou drinkest, thou haste remission of thy sinnes.These sentences of S. Ambrose be so playne in this matter, that there needeth no more, but only the rehersall of theim.
But S. Augustine in many places plainlye discussing this mattier,* saith:
He that agreeth not with Christe, doeth neither eate his bodye nor drinke his bludde, although to the condemnation of hys presumptiō, he receiue euery day the sacramente of so highe a mattier.
And moreouer S. Augustine,* most plainly re¦solueth this matter in his booke De ciuitate Dei, disputīg agaīst two kinds of heretiques:
Wher¦of the one said, that as many as were christened, and receaued the sacrament of Christs body and bludde, shuld be saued, howe so euer thei liued or beleued, bicause that Christe saide: This is the breade that came frō heauē, that whosoeuer shal eate thereof, shall not dye. I am the bread of life, which came from heauen, whosoeuer shall eate of this breade shall lyue for euer.
Therfore (said these heretiques) all such men must needes be deliuered from eternall deathe,
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and at length to be brought to eternall life. The other
said, that heretiques and scismatiques myghte eate the sacrament of Chrystes bodye, but not his ve∣rye body, bicause they be no membres of his bodye. And therfore they promised not euerlasting life, to all that receaued Christes baptisme, and the sacrament of his body, but all suche as professed a true fayth, althoughe they lyued neuer so vn∣godlye. For suche (sayde they) doo eate the bo∣dye of Christe, not only in a sacrament, but also in deede, bicause they bee membres of Christes body.
But Saint Augustine aunsweringe to bothe these heresyes, saith:
That neither heretiques, nor such as professe a true fayth in their mouths & in their lyuyng shew the contrary, haue either a true faith (which worketh by charity and doth none euel) or are to be counted among the mem∣bres of Christ. For they cā not be both membres of Christ and membres of the diuell. Therefore (saith he) it maye not be saide that any of theim eate the bodye of Christe. For when Christe saythe, he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bludde, dwelleth in me and I in him. he sheweth what it is (not sacramentally, but in deede) to eate his bodye and drynke his bludde: whiche is, when a man dwelleth in Christe, that Christ dwelleth in him. For Christe spake those wordes, as if he should say: He that dwelleth not in me, and in whom I dwell not lette him not saye or thinke, that he eateth my body or drinketh my bloode.
Page 95These be the plaine wordes of S. Augustine, that suche as liue vngodly, although they may seme to eate Christes body (because they eat the sacrament of his body) yet in deede they neither bee membres of his body, nor do eate his body.
Also vpon the gospel of sainct Ihon he sayth,
* that he that doth not eate his fleshe and drynke his bloud, hath not in him euerlastyng life. And he that eateth his fleshe, and drynketh his bloud hath euerlastyng life. But it is not so in those meates, whiche we take to sustayne our bodyes. For although without them we can not liue, yet it is not necessarye, that whosoeuer receyueth them, shall liue, for they may dye for age, sicke∣nes or other chaunces.
But in this meat and drynke of the body and bloud of our Lord, it is otherwise. For both thei that eate and drynke them not, haue not euerla∣styng life: And contrary wyse, whosoeuer eate and drynke them, haue euerlastyng life.
Note and ponder well these wordes of sainct Augustyne, that the bread and wyne and other meates and drynkes (whiche norishe the body) a man may eate & neuerthelesse dye: but the very body and bloud of Christ no mā eateth, but that hath euerlastyng life. So that wicked men can not eate nor drynke them, for then they must ne∣des haue by them euerlastyng life.
And in thesame place sainct Augustyne sayth further.
The sacrament of the vnite of Christes body and bloud, is taken in the Lordes table of
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some men to life, & of some men to death: but
the thyng it selfe (wherof it is a sacrament)
is taken of all men to life, and of no man to death. And more∣ouer he sayth. This is to eate that meate and drynke that drynke, to dwell in Christ, & to haue Christ dwellyng in him. And for that cause,
he that dwelleth in him. And for that cause, he that dwelleth not in Christe, and in whom Christe dwelleth not, without doubt he eateth not spiritually his fleshe nor drynketh his bloud, although carnal∣ly and visibly with his teethe, he byte the sacra∣ment of his body and bloud.
Thus wryteth sainct Augustyne in the xxvi. Homelie of sainct Ihon. And in the next homelie folowyng,* he sayth thus.
This day our ser∣mon is of the body of the Lorde, whiche he sayd he would geue to eate for eternal life. And he de¦clared the maner of his gift & distribution, howe he would geue his fleshe to eate, saiyng: He that eateth my fleshe & drynketh my bloud, dwelleth in me and I in him. This therefore is a token or knowlege, that a man hath eaten and dronken, that is to say, if he dwell in Christe, and haue Christe dwel∣lyng in him. If he cleaue so to Christe, that he is not seuered from him. This therfore Christe taught & admonished by these misticall or figura∣tiue Wordes, that we should be in his body vnder him our head, among his membres, eatyng his fleshe, not forsakyng his vnitee.
*And in his boke De doctrina Christiana, sainct Augustyne sayth (as before is at length decla∣red) that
to eate Christes flesh and to drynk his blud
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is a figuratiue speache, signifiyng the participati∣on of his passion, & the delectable remembrance to our benefite and profite, that his fleshe was crucified and wounded for vs.
And in another sermō also De verbis Apostoli he expoundeth what is the eatyng of Christes body & the drinkyng of his bloud,* saiyng:
The eatyng is to be refreshed, and the drinkyng what is it but to liue? Eate life, drinke life: And that shall be, when that whiche is taken visibly in the sa∣crament, is in very deede eaten spiritually and drunken spiritually.
By all these sentences of S. Augustyne it is euident & manifest, that all men, good and euil, may with their mouthes visibly & sensibly eate the sacrament of Christes body & bloud, but the very body and bloud them selues bee not eaten but spiritually, & that of the spirituall membres of Christ, whiche dwell in Christ, & haue Christ dwellyng in them, by whom they be refreshed & haue euerlastyng life.
And therefore sayth sainct Augustyne,* that when thother Apostles did eate bread that was the Lorde, yet Iudas did eate but the bread of the Lorde, and not the bread that was the Lorde. So that the other Apostles with the sacramentall bread did eate also Christ him selfe, whō Iudas did not eate. And a great numbre of places moe hath sainct Augustyne for this purpose, whiche for eschewyng of tediousnes, I let passe for this tyme, & wyll speake some thyng of sainct Cyrill.
Page [unnumbered]*Cyrill vpon sainct Ihon is Gospell sayth, that those whiche eate Manna, dyed, because thei receyued thereby no strength to liue euer (for it gaue no life, but only put away bodely hunger) but
they that receyue the bread of lyfe, shalbe made immortal, and shall eschewe all the euils that partayne to death, liuyng with Christ for euer.
And in ano∣ther place he sayth.
*Forasmuche as the fleshe of them to Christe doth naturally geue life, therefore it maketh lyfe, that bee partakers of it. For it putteth death awaye from them, and vtterly dryueth de∣struction out of them.
*And he concludeth the matter shortly in ano∣ther place in fewe woordes, saiyng,
that
when wee eate the fleshe of our sauiour, then haue wee life in vs. For if thynges that were corrupt, were re∣stored by onely touchyng of his clothes,
howe can it bee, that wee shall not liue that eate his fleshe? And further he sayth,
* that as two waxes that be molten together, do rūne euery part into other: so
he that receyueth Christes fleshe and bloud, must needes be ioyned so with him, that Christ must be in him, and he in Christ.Here sainct Cyrill declareth the dignitee of Christes fleshe, beyng inseperately annexed vn∣to his diuinitee, saiyng, that it is of suche force and power, that it geueth euerlastyng life. And whatsoeuer occasion of death it fyndeth, or let of eternal life, it putteth out and dryueth cleane away all the same, frō them that eate that meate and receiue that medicine. Other medicines or
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plaisters somtyme heale, and somtyme heal not, but this medicine is of that effect and strength, that it eateth awaye all rotten and deade fleshe, and perfectely healeth all woundes and sores, that it is laide vnto.
This is the dignitie and excellencie of Chri∣stes fleshe and bloode ioyned to his diuinitie, of the whyche dignytie, Christes aduersaries the Papistes, depriue and robbe him when they af∣firme, that suche men do eate his fleshe & receiue this plaister, as remaine styll sicke and sore, and be not holpen thereby.
