Form of Penance. VI. The third Sunday, let him at the beginning of Divine service be brought into the body of the church, and be placed near unto the minister's pue, and there let him stand in his penitential habit during the time of Divine service; where the minister, immediately before the Apostles' Creed, shall publickly put the offender in mind of the foulness of his sin, and stir him up to a serious repentance, advising him that a slight and ordinary sorrow is not enough for so grievous an offence. 'Which done, the minister shall ask the penitent publickly, whether he hath found a true and earnest remorse in his soul for his sin: and whether he hath thoroughly humbled himself before God for it; and whether he doth desire that the whole congregation should take notice of his humiliation and unfeigned repentance. 'In signification whereof, the offender shall say these words, or to the like effect, after the minister : "I [Let him name here himself both by his christian and surname] do here in the presence of Almighty God, and before you his faithful people, humbly and penitently confess that I have grievously offended the majesty of God, and deeply wounded my own soul, in that I so far yielded to the weakness of my sinful flesh, as that I suffered myself through the cruelty of God's enemies to be miscarried to the renouncing of my dear Saviour, and the true Christian religion, wherein I was brought up. I do well know what I have deserved, both at the hands of God and of his Church, for this wicked and graceless act and now, as I have often betwixt God and my own soul washed this sin with my tears, and craved his merciful forgiveness; so I beseech you all to take knowledge of this my publick sorrow and humiliation, and both to pardon and forgive that just offence, which I have herein given to you also, and the whole Church of Christ, and also to join with me in humble and hearty prayers to Almighty God, that He will be pleased to seal unto my soul the full pardon and remission of this my grievous sin, even for the sake of his dear Son, my blessed Saviour and Redeemer. In whose name and words I Form of desire you to accompany these my prayers, saying with Penance. me, Our Father, etc.' After this the minister shall speak to the congregation to this effect : "Seeing now, dear Christian brethren, that this offender hath given so good and full testimony of his true repentance, and hath so humbly and fervently craved the forgiveness of God and his Church, I shall not need to use many words in persuading you how ready you ought to be, both to conceive full hope of God's gracious pardon of him, as who is always ready to prevent and meet us in our turning to him, and also to profess your forgiveness of him for so much as concerneth his offence toward you, and charitably to embrace him with the arms of tender pity and compassion, as a true Christian convert to his Saviour, and gladly to welcome him into that holy communion which his sinful fear and frailty caused him to forsake. Now therefore I do earnestly beseech you, in the bowels of Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour, to pass by the great offence of this sorrowful penitent, as well considering the weakness of our frail nature, when it is overpressed with violence and extremity of torments, and both to commiserate his fearful apostacy, and to encourage and comfort him in this happy return to Christ and his Church." 'VII. Here let the penitent kneel down again eastward, and, bowing to the very pavement, let him say thus, either by himself, if he be able to read it, or else after the minister : "O my soul, bless the Lord! Blessed be the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation; blessed be the Lord Jesus the Son of God, the Saviour of the world; blessed be thy Holy Spirit, God the Holy Ghost; blessed be the Holy Trinity, one God everlasting; blessed be the Holy Catholic Church, and all you the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Name of God be blessed evermore for the assembly of his Saints, and for the Divine 1 Form of Penance. ordinances of his holy Word and Sacraments, and of his heavenly power committed to his holy priests in his Church, for the reconciliation of sinners unto himself, and the absolving of them from all their iniquity. Lo, here I, upon the bended knees of my body and soul, most humbly beg the assistance of all your Christian prayers, and the benefit of that his holy ordinance; and I meekly beseech you sir, as my ghostly father, a priest of God, and the Church's deputy, to receive me unto that grace, and into the bosom of the Church, and by loosing me from the bands of my grievous sins, to make me partaker of that inestimable benefit, and so to reconcile me unto the mystical Body of Christ Jesus my Lord and Saviour." 'Then let the priest come forth to him, and stand over him, and laying his hand on his head, say, as is prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, thus : "The Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners, which truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences; and by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from this thy heinous crime of renegation, and from all other thy sins, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 'Then let the priest, turning himself eastward, kneel down in the same place, the penitent kneeling behind him, and say the collect which stands after the absolution in the Visitation of the Sick, but changing the latter part of it thus: "O most merciful God, who according to the multitude of thy mercies dost so put away the sins of those which truly repent, that thou rememberest them no more; open thy eye of mercy upon this thy servant, who most earnestly desireth pardon and forgiveness; renew in him, most loving Father, whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the devil, or by his own carnal will and frailness; preserve and continue him in the unity of the Church, consider his contrition, and accept his humiliation; and forasmuch as he putteth his full trust only in thy Form of mercy, impute not unto him his former abnegation of Penance. thee, but receive him into thy favour, through the merits of thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen." 'After that, let the minister take him up, and take away his white sheet and wand, and, taking him by the hand, say unto him : "Dear brother (for so we all now acknowledge you to be), let me here advise you, with what care and diligence every day of your life you ought to consider how much you are bound to the infinite goodness of God, who hath called you out of that woful condition whereinto you had cast yourself, and how much it concerneth you ever hereafter to walk worthy of so great a mercy, being so much more careful to approve yourself in all holy obedience to God, by how much you have more dishonoured and provoked him by this your shameful revolt from him, which the same God the Father of mercies vouchsafe to enable you unto, for the sake of the dear Son of his love, Jesus Christ the righteous. Amen." After this, let him be openly promised that, upon any Communion-day following, he shall be admitted to the holy Sacrament; for which let him be directed to prepare himself, and when he receives let him make a solemn oblation according to his ability, after the order set down in the Service-book.'-Wilkins' Concilia, iv. 522-524, fol. 1737, also Laud's Works, V. ii. 372-376. Lib. Anglo-Cath. Theol. A Proclamation concerning the irreverent Talkers of the Sacrament of the Altar Dec. 27, 1547 'Whereas the king's highness hath of late, with the Proclamation assent and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, against and the commons in the parliament held the 4th day of Irreverence. against Irreverence. Proclamation November, in the first year of his most gracious reign, made a good and godly act and statute against those who do contemn, despise, or with unseemly and ungodly words deprave and revile the holy sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord, commonly called "the sacrament of the altar;" and the said statute hath most prudently declared, by all the words and terms in which scripture speaketh of it, what is undoubtedly to be accepted, believed, taken and spoken by and of the said sacrament : yet this notwithstanding his majesty is advertised, that some of his subjects, not contented with such words and terms as scripture doth declare thereof, nor with that doctrine which the Holy Ghost by the evangelists and St. Paul hath taught us, do not cease to move contentious and superfluous questions of the said holy sacrament and supper of the Lord, entering rashly into the discussing of the high mystery thereof, and go about in their sermons or talk arrogantly to define the manner, nature, fashion, ways, possibility or impossibility of those matters; which neither make to edification, nor God hath by his holy word opened. 'Which persons, not contented reverently and with obedient faith to accept that the said sacrament, according to the saying of St. Paul, "the bread is the communion, or partaking "of the body of the Lord; the wine" likewise "the partaking of the blood of Christ" by the words instituted and taught of Christ: and that the body and blood of Jesus Christ is there; which is our comfort, thanksgiving, love-token of Christ's love towards us, and of ours as his members within ourself, search and strive unreverently whether the body and blood aforesaid is there really or figuratively, locally or circumscriptly, and having quantity and greatness, or but substantially and by substance only, or else but in a figure and manner of speaking; whether his blessed body be there, head, legs, arms, toes and nails, or any other ways, shape and manner, naked or clothed; whether He is broken or chewed, or He is always whole; whether the bread there remaineth |