The worthy communicant, or, A discourse of the nature, effects, and blessings consequent to the worthy receiving of the Lords Supper and of all the duties required in order to a worthy preparation : together with the cases of conscience occurring in the duty of him that ministers, and of him that communicates : to which are added, devotions fitted to every part of the ministration / by Jeremy Taylor ...

SECT. V. What significations of Repentance are to be accepted by the Church in admissi∣on of Penitents to the Communion.

THis inquiry will quickly be answered, when we consider that the end why the Church en∣joyns publick or private amends respectively to any convict or confessed Criminal, she only does it as a Mother and a Physician to souls, and a Minister of the Divine Pardon, and the Conductress of peni∣tential Processes: she does it that the man may be recovered from the snare of the enemy, that she may destroy the work of the Devil, that the sinner may become a good Christian: and therefore the Church, when she conducts any mans repentance, is bound to enjoyn so many external Ministeries, that if they be really joyned with the external con∣trition and reformation, will do the work of re∣concilement in the Court of heaven. The Church can exact none but what she can see or some way take external notice of; but by these externals in∣tends to minister to the internal repentance; which when it is sufficiently signified by any ways that she may prudently rely upon as testimonies and mini∣steries of a sufficient internal contrition and real amends, she can require no more, and she ought not to be content with lesse.

It is therefore infinitely unsafe and imprudent to receive the Confessions of Criminals, and after the injunction of certain cursory penances,* 1.1 to admit them to the Blessed Sacrament without any further emendation, without any trial of the sincerity of their con∣version, before it is probable that God hath pardon'd them,* 1.2 before their affections to sin are dead, before the spirit of mortification is entred, before any vice is exter∣minated, or any vertue acquired: Such a loosnesse of discipline is but the image of repentance (whether we look upon it as it is described in Scripture, or as it was practised by the Primitive Church) which at least is a whole change of life, a conversion of the whole man to God. And it is as bad when a notorious criminal is put to shame one day, for such a sin which could not have obtain'd the peace of the Church under the severity and strictness of fifteen years, amongst the holy Primitives. Such publick Ecclesiastical penances may suffice to re∣move the scandal from the Church, when the Church will be content upon so easie terms; for she only can tell what will please her self. But then such discipline must not be esteem'd a sufficient ministery of repentance, nor a just disposition to pardon. For the Church ought not to give par∣don, or to promise the peace of God upon terms easier than God himself requires; and therefore when repentance comes to be conducted by her, she

must require so much as will extinguish the sin, and reform the man, and make him and represent him good.

All the liberty that the Church hath in this, is what is given her by the latitude of the judgment of charity; and yet oftentimes a too easie judg∣ment is the greatest uncharitableness in the world, and makes men confident and careless and deceiv'd: and therefore although gentle sentences are useful when there is danger of dispair or contumacy, yet that is rather a palliation of a disease than a cure; and therefore the method must be chang'd as soon as it can, and the severe and true Sermons of the Gospel must be either proclaimed aloud, or insinu∣ated prudently and secretly, and men be taught to rely upon them and their consequents, and upon no∣thing else; for they will not deceive us. But the corrupt manners of men, and the corrupt doctrines of some Schools, have made it almost impossible to govern souls as they need to be governed.

The Church may indeed chuse whether she will impose on Criminals any exterior significations of repentance, but accept them to the Communion upon their own accounts of a sincere conversion and inward contrition; but then she ought to do this upon such accounts as are indeed real and suffi∣cient, and effective and allowed; that is, when she can understand that such an emendation is made, and the man is really reformed, she can pronounce him pardoned; or which is all one, she may com∣municate him. And farther yet; she can by Ser∣mons declare all the necessary parts of repentance, and the conditions of pardon, and can pronounce limited and hypothetical or conditional pardons;

concerning which the penitent must take care that they do belong to him. But if she does undertake to conduct any repentances exteriously, it is to very little purpose to do it any way that is not com∣mensurate to that true internal repentance which is effective of pardon. Indeed every single act of penance does something towards it; but why something should be enjoyned that is not sufficient, and that falls infinitely short of the end of its desig∣nation, though the Church may use her liberty, yet it is not easie to understand the reason. But I leave this to the consideration of those who are concerned in Governments publick, or in the pri∣vate conduct of souls, to whom I earnestly and humbly recommend it; and I add this only, that when the Ancient Churches did absolve and com∣municate dying penitents, though but newly re∣turn'd from sin, they did it de benè esse, or with a hope it might do some good, and because they thought it a case of necessity, and because there was no time left to do better: but when they did as well as they could, they could not tell what God would do; and though the Church did well, it may be it was very ill with the souls departed. But be∣cause that is left to God, it is certain some things were done upon pious confidence and venture, for which there was no promise in the Gospel.

That which the Church is to take care of is, that all her children be sufficiently taught what are the just measures of preparation and worthy dis∣position to these Divine mysteries; and that she admits none, of whom she can tell that they are not worthy; such as are notorious adulterers, homi∣cides, incestuous, perjurers, habitually peevish to evil effects, and permanently angry (for this I

find reckoned amongst the Primi∣tive Catalogues of persons to be excluded from the Communion) rapines, theft, sacriledge,* 1.3 false witness, pride, covetousness and envy. It would be hard to re∣duce this rule to practice in all these instances, unless it be by consent and voluntary submission of penitent persons. But that which I remark is this: that Proud persons and the Covetous, the Envious and the Angry were esteemed fit to be excommunicate; that is, infinitely unfit to be ad∣mitted to the blessed Sacrament; and that by the rules of their discipline they were to do many actions of publick and severe pe∣nance and mortifications before they would admit them.

Now then the case is this. They did esteem more things to be requir'd to the integrity of repentance, and God not to be so soon reconcil'd, and the Devil not soon dispossess'd, and mens re∣solutions not so fit to be trusted, and more to be re∣quired to pardon than confession and the pro∣nouncing absolution; all this otherwise than we do, and therefore so long as they did conduct repen∣tances; they requir'd it as it should be; being sure that no repentance that was joyned with hope and charity could be too much, but it might quickly be too little; and therefore although the Church may take as little as she please for a testimonial of repen∣tance, and suppose the rest is right though it be not signified; yet when she either in publick or in pri∣vate

is to manage repentances she must use no mea∣sure, but that which will procure pardon, and ex∣tinguish both the guilt and dominion of sin. The first may be of some use in government; but of little avail to souls, and to their eternal interest: there∣fore in the first she may use her liberty and give her self measures, in the latter she hath no other but what are given her by the nature of repentance, and its efficacy and order to pardon, and the designs of God, for the reformation of our souls and the extermination of sin.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Si cito rediret homo ad pri∣stinam beatitudinem, ludus illi esset cadere in mortem. S. Aug. Serm. 34. de diver∣sis.
• * 1.2

  In ipsâ Ecclesia ubi maxi∣mè misereri decet, quam maximè decet forma justi∣tiae, nequis à communionis consortio abstentus, brevi lachrymulâ atque ad tem∣pus paratâ, vel etiam ube∣rioribus fletibus Communi∣onem, quam plurimis de∣bet postulare temporibus, facilitate sacerdotis extor∣queat. S. Ambros. in Psal. 118. in haec verba. Misere∣re mei secundum eloqui∣um tuum.
• * 1.3

  Si permansissemus illâ in munditiâ quae nobis per baptismum data est, verè faelices essemus, sed non permansimus. Cecidimus enim per nostram culpam, non solum in peccata, sed etiam in crimina, propter quae peccatores ab Ecclesiâ separantur: qualia sunt, Homicidia, adulteria, fo••∣nicationes, sacrilegia, rapi∣nae, furta, falsa testimonia, superbia, invidia, avaritia, diutina iracundia, Ebrietas assidua. Fulbert. Carnot. Ser. 2. ad Populum.