A07146:770
The relics of Rome containing all such matters of religion, as have in times…The reliques of Rome contayning all such matters of religion, as haue in times…
The relics of Rome containing all such matters of religion, as have in times past been brought into the Church by the Pope and his adherents: faithfully gathered out of the most faithful writers of chronicles and histories, and now newly both diligently corrected & greatly augmented, to the singular profit of the readers, by Thomas Becon. 1563.The reliques of Rome contayning all such matters of religion, as haue in times past bene brought into the Church by the Pope and his adherentes: faithfully gathered out of the moste faithful writers of chronicles and histories, and nowe newly both diligently corrected & greatly augmented, to the singuler profit of the readers, by Thomas Becon. 1563.
London: printed by John Day, 1563London: printed by Iohn Day, 1563
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
This tale telleth Guil. Durandus in his book called Rationale divinorum officiorum, & also Joannes Billet in his book de, divinis officiis, & Honorius in his treatise, de gemma animae: 1whereof thou mayest learn two things. First, that in the primitive church and •ong after, when ⟨p. 129⟩Christen religion was most pure: the words of the Lords Supper, or, as the papists term them, of consecration, were not spoken in hocker mocker, as they be now, but plainly, openly and distinctly, that all might hear them, understand them, and learn them unto their great comfort▪ and edifying. Secondly that the words of consecration were at that time of so great virtue, that whosoever pronounced them over the bread, were he Lay or Spiritual, priest or Ploughman, Bishop or Butcher: the bread was straightways turned into the natural body of Christ, as we may see here by the shepherds, which were lay men and not holy anointed, which were in the field and not in the Church, which had on their shepherds cloaks and not hallowed vestments, which had but a common stone to lay their bread on and no hallowed altar.2 And here mayest thou see, that any lay man, if he can pronounce the words of consecration, having bread laid on a stone, may make Christs body as well as the priest. For if the lay men by the virtue of the words could ⟨image 160⟩make Christs body at that time: be thou certain and well assured, that they be able to do the same even now also notwithstanding the holy fathers decrees to the contrary. For the virtue of God's word abideth always one. If the Massemonger therefore can make him, that made them, as their doctrine declareth, then can the Lay man likewise make their maker, and so may the Laity strive with the spiritualty to the uttermost in God making. Now that the popish priests can make God, which made them, although I could bring forth and allege many authorities even out of their own books: yet will I at this present content my self with one or two sentences, which are written in a book called Stella Clericorum. The authors words are these,3