De eucharistie
The Altar of Life
The Eucharist is presented as the altar of God and the source of spiritual strength, requiring purity of heart for worthy reception.
This table is the altar of God, where we receive the living food that gives us life and strength in all our struggles, and it helps us overcome all our weaknesses and whatever else we face. Here Christ Himself speaks to everyone: 'Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you.' He says: 'Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.' And whoever dwells in me, I in him, that person has eternal life. Because we must live here in a spiritual struggle, we need that food to strengthen us, so that we may win in all our striving and conquer everything we face. And this is the hidden heavenly bread, which no one is given except those who strive and conquer, and no one knows it except those who have tasted and received it. Now, my dear friend, listen and understand the meaning and the essence. You should receive the body of our Lord in the holy Sacrament with such reverence that God may be honored and you may be blessed. III. The first point that Mary had and that you must have is purity. And so, she had her disciples and attendants sit at her feet, so they might learn from her example how to live; for she is the master of all virtue and holiness. The first point is that Mary possessed, and that you must possess, which is purity. The other is the true knowledge of God. The third is humility. The fourth is voluntary humility. Now, the first point in your mirror, Mary, is purity. If she was pure, from the beginning that she was received, from all faults and from all imperfections that were committed, both daily and in the past. For this reason, God’s messenger, the angel Gabriel, said to her: ‘God greets you, full of grace; the Lord is with you.’ Everything full of grace is pure. And everything pure is full of grace. For this reason, if you want to be full of grace and receive our Lord, you must be pure like Mary. Examine and discern the appearance of your consciences; and whatever you find there that may offend God, that causes you to complain and repent with humble hearts, bring it before God and your priest. And all that you weigh most heavily, and all that you avoid and are ashamed of, do not forget them nor let them escape you, but consider them as your own death: thus you will become pure and clean. No one can be healed from the common and daily faults of others, for they have little worth, and you remain unhealed. But you must have deep sorrow and true contrition in your heart for all your sins, and you should always have a good will to do well and to guard yourself against all sins, both daily and deadly; and above all things, you must have great faith and a little trust in God, for these are the things that forgive sins, just as our Lord speaks in the Gospel in many places: 'Your faith has made you whole.' And this is the first point: how you are to receive our Lord with Mary in purity.
The Wisdom of Mary
Mary's life serves as a mirror for the believer, teaching the necessity of humility, purity, and the true knowledge of God in preparing for the Sacrament.
But above all, it's rare for you to confess at length with many merits, for that would cleanse you and make you sorrowful and scrupulous. For you have many merits in confession for the serious sins of the day, and you would kiss yourself with your actions more than with trust in God, so you remain always unenlightened and unlearned about God, and thus you do not know how to distinguish between great and small, between more and less of your failings. And if you don't keep up with your usual practice of confession, it won't be long before you feel burdened and troubled, as if you hadn't confessed at all, and even more so; for in your conscience, where you should rightly be, there is faith, hope, and love for God, but also anxiety, fear, and your own natural desires. You must be pure in heart here and stay with Mary in her chamber. After this follows another point, which no one can have: he is pure of conscience, and that is the true knowledge of God. Mary possessed this more than anyone ever born, second only to her Son, who is the very Wisdom of God. However, when the angel brought the message to Mary, she was troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. Doe sprac de inghel: En ontsiet u niet maria, want du heves gratie vonden vore den heere. You will conceive and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus; he will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord (that is, the heavenly Father) will give him the throne of his father David (that is, the power of David), and he will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom. Then Mary said to the angel, "How will this happen, since I do not know a man?" (that is, I will remain pure). The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come down upon you from above, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy one who will be born of you will be called the Son of God." And look, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." When Mary heard these words and understood them well, she was taught by the angel and even more by the Holy Spirit. Then He said, "Look here at the servant of our Lord." This God raised to the highest, and He placed her in the lowest. And that taught her the wisdom of God. For pride and power cannot stand except in humility; this teaches well the whole fall, which fell from heaven. For what is higher than the Son of God, and what is lower than the servant of God and all the world, that was Christ? And what is higher than the Mother of God, and what is lower than the servant of God and all the world, that was Mary? If you also surrendered your will to God's freedom with greater authority, and spoke first to the angel: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” May the Holy Spirit, who was sent, prepare what is fitting for the love of God, so that He may bring Christ to us in Mary, who has redeemed us from all evil. Look, this is how we have been taught by Mary and by the angel, how we receive the Son of God in our nature. It teaches us how we receive the very Son of God in body and soul in this holy Sacrament. This is taught to us by the Jewish law through figures, and by the Christian law through holy scriptures. Beyond nature, scripture, and all doubt, our Christian faith lifts us up and assures us of God's grace. And it also teaches us the scriptures and the teachings of the holy churches, which have been established from the beginning of holy Christianity, and which cannot lead us astray. It also teaches us many examples that the saints have described for us. And here I want to tell you five points about this holy Sacrament, which are known to all Christian people.
Five Points of the Sacrament
The author outlines five key aspects of the Eucharist, ranging from its historical institution and figures to the nature of the bread and wine.
The first point concerns the time when our Lord gave Himself to His disciples in the Sacrament. The second point concerns the materials and forms of the Sacrament. The third point is the way and manner in which He gave Himself. The fourth point is the reason and manner in which he gave himself, hidden and concealed in the Sacrament, not openly, in the forms as he did then, and now he is in heaven. The fifth will be the distinction between those who approach the holy Sacrament: some for eternal blessedness, and others for their own condemnation. This is the first point. Now understand the time and the figure of our Sacrament. God led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt through Moses (this was on the fourteenth day of the first month, which always begins in the spring: these were the first Passovers of the Jews), when Moses commanded that everyone should eat a lamb, roasted, in each house; and with the blood of that lamb, they were to mark the doorposts and the lintel of the house. And by this, they were protected from the plague and from all calamities. For that same night, our Lord struck down every firstborn in Egypt, both of people and of animals. And Moses led the people of our Lord out of Egypt through the Red Sea into the wilderness, where our Lord fed them. xl. Year after year, with heavenly bread. And this signifies our Sacrament. All the signs and figures of the Jews have been fulfilled. Our Sacraments will remain until the end of this world, and then they too will pass away; but the truth hidden within them—which is eternal life—will remain forever. Now you understand. When a great king departs. i. If a wise lord wishes to travel in pilgrimages to distant lands, he calls his attendants together and entrusts them with his land, his people, his children, and his family, so that they may govern and protect everything in peace and in harmony until the time he returns to his land. In the same way, Christ, the true wisdom of God, King of kings and Lord of lords, when He had completed His pilgrimage in this wretched world, desired to return to His homeland and on the last day to come again for judgment. And here, before the day he would die, he established a great feast, which was a supper; he invited the most important princes of the world to it—his apostles—because he wanted to share and bestow upon them his Sacrament, his people, and his kingdom. During these feasts, it was prepared that the Passover lamb would be eaten by everyone together according to the Jewish law. And this Passover lamb was a preceding figure of our Sacrament; and with this, the figure was taken in, which had been established. c/xiiij. Year and. lxxxvi. Yes, that was during the time when Moses led the Jewish people out of the land of Egypt. During these feasts, Christ brought the Jewish law to its end, for these were their final Passovers; here, He began our law and our first Passover. He was immeasurably powerful, wise, rich, and noble. And although he was burdened by nature, he was nonetheless in the spirit. i. He was a generous, joyful lord who had a special beloved group of guests: his apostles. And because he would die on the following day, and separate from them, he would make his testament; and he would leave it to his apostles and, among them, all believers until the last day. He firmly sealed this testament with his death, as did all the apostles after him. This testament that he has left us, that is himself in the sacraments, and all that he has accomplished, God and man. Therefore, this feast is great, for it is blessed and eternal. And Jesus Christ, born of Mary, King of heaven and earth, established this feast; and he is also the chosen first bishop of Christianity from his heavenly Father. For this reason, he also celebrated the first Mass ever performed, where he consecrated his priests and bishops. Similarly, the prophet Moses performed the first sacrifice under the Jewish law, where he consecrated Aaron and his sons as priests and bishops, giving them the authority and power to govern God's people until the time Christ would come. And so, when Christ came, He served us. xxxiii. In the year God and man, He granted permission of the Jewish law, for it was a figure; and then He Himself began the first sacrifice in the Christian law, for He was the first bishop; and in that He consecrated His priests and bishops, and He gave them and their followers the power to govern and ordain the people. This is the state of the souls on the last day when He will come again for judgment. And He began the work of our priests at evening. This is the other point: about the materials and forms of the Sacrament. In the same way that Melchizedek, the high priest during Abraham's time, offered bread and wine as a true figure and also as a matter of our Sacrament; so Christ, our high priest, took bread in His holy and venerable hands during His sacrifices; and He lifted His eyes to His heavenly Almighty Father and gave thanks, and blessed the bread, broke it into pieces, and said: 'Take and eat, this is my body.' Then, in the same way, He took the cup of wine into His holy and venerable hands, gave thanks to His Father, blessed the wine, and gave it to His disciples, saying, 'Drink from this, all of you, for this is the cup of my blood, of the new and everlasting covenant, a hidden sign of faith; it will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.' You see, that is the matter and form of our Sacrament. The matter is that it is bread and wine. The form is that it is the true Body of our Lord, of which He spoke: 'This is my body, and this is my blood.' For when He said, 'This is my body,' He transformed the substance of the bread into the substance of His body; not in such a way that the bread ceased to be, but rather, its essence became the body of our Lord; not a new body, but the same one that sat at the table and ate and drank with His disciples, which they also saw before them in the Sacrament, just as they saw Him sitting at the table. And that was for them a great blessing. But that they saw the same body in the Sacrament with their inward eyes of faith—that was an even greater blessing for them. And none of them asked him, "Master, how can this be?" For they knew that heaven and earth and all things that are made from nothing can be transformed by him into another substance whenever he wills; and he who in an instant turned all the waters of Egypt into blood, and Lot's wife into a pillar of salt, and caused a great river of water to flow from the dry rock, and many other great wonders that are written in the Old Testament, and also in the New: for with him all things are possible and subject. Now it is bought. All the bread that He had before in His consecrations, and that all priests have before in all places and altars throughout the world, is one nature of bread, and it all gathers in the consecration as one matter, and one unified substance of the Body of our Lord in the Sacrament, with the right intention and the truth of the consecrations. And all that bread that was prepared beforehand becomes the Body of our Lord. And all His hosts are divided in all the places of the altar, that Sacrament is one, and the living Body of our Lord is one and undivided in all that Sacrament. We also believe that the consecration of the wine into the blood of our Lord is fully present in every chalice, and in all chalices throughout the world, no more than it is in one; for it cannot be divided, lessened, or increased. And all the consecrations of the bodies of our Lord and of His blood are divided and distinguished in materials and in forms of truth, in substances, and also in meanings: they gather in one truth, and they are one Sacrament. i. Christ. The living body of our Lord is present in the hosts and is not without His blood; nor is His blood in the chalice without His body, for it lives within it. Thus, Christ is undivided and wholly present in every part of the Sacrament. And apart from the substance of bread, there can be no drink other than pure water and wine that can be part of our Sacrament. This means to us that Christ was innocent, humble, and unassuming among all people. And He was the noble grain of wheat that died and fell to the earth, and He has borne us much fruit, which is our entire life in the faith of Christ. This is the true vine that his Father has planted in our vineyard: Our balm and wine flow from His wounds. That noble fragrance and taste leaves those who love it intoxicated with desire.
The Mystery of Divine Love
The Eucharist is revealed as an unfathomable act of divine love, where Christ gives Himself entirely to nourish the soul.
This is the third point: the way and manner in which Christ gave Himself in the holy Sacrament. Whoever wants to be intoxicated with love will see, notice, and marvel. I. The point of love that Christ proves to us in the holy Sacrament is so great and so deep that no one can fully grasp or understand it. This first point teaches us that Christ has given us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. Such a wonder of love has never been heard of before. The nature of love is this: to give and to receive, to love and to be loved. This holds true in every way that love is expressed. Christ is love itself, and He gives us all that He has and all that He is; He also takes back all that we have and all that we are. He asks for more from us than we can ever give. His hunger is immeasurable; He consumes us completely, for He is. i. Love is lazy and has no care; it consumes what is dear to us. Yet we know Him well. And we know Him better as we taste Him. And what he feeds us with, he cannot fulfill, for he has the mixture and his hunger is without measure. And although we are poor, he doesn't disregard us, for he won't let us go. He prepares Himself without food and consumes all our sins and shortcomings in love. And as we are transformed into Christ and are united in love, so He draws us as if to the feast that He desires. He wants to transform and consume our sinful life into His own life, which is full of grace and glory—a life He has always prepared for us, provided we are willing to deny ourselves and let go of our sins. If we could see the glorious gift that Christ has given for our salvation, we wouldn't be able to hold back; we would want to take Him into our hearts. All who love Him are worthy of wonder; those who love Him, we understand well. Jesus' love is like a noble fire, where it feeds, there it desires to nourish. He consumes us entirely in Himself, and in doing so, He gives us Himself. And He gives us a spiritual hunger and thirst to be satisfied with everlasting sweetness. He gives us spiritual hunger and our heartfelt love for His body in the Eucharist. And as we partake of Him in our eating and drinking with heartfelt devotion, His glorious hot blood flows into our nature and through all our veins; and thus we are transformed in love and in heartfelt affection toward Him, and all is permeated, body and soul, with longing and spiritual taste. He gives us his life, full of wisdom, truth, and teachings, so that we can follow him in everything we do. Then he lives in us, and we live in him. He also gives us His soul with full grace, so that we may always remain united with Him in love, in deeds, and in the love of His Father. And above all this, He shows us and assures us of His divinity in eternal use. It's amazing how those who have tasted and experienced this rejoice! Look at the queen of the south, who came to see the wealth, honor, and glory of King Solomon; she was overwhelmed by wonder and fell into a faint. Now, consider how small King Solomon was compared to the wealth and glory that Christ himself is and has prepared for us in the holy Sacrament; for even if we could receive all that his humanity offers while remaining in our own nature, as we behold his divinity before us in the Sacrament, we are so astonished that we must humble ourselves in spirit with deeper love, lest we fall into weakness from wonder and our inability to comprehend before the table of our Lord. But with devotion and deeper love, we eat and partake of the humanity of our Lord in our own nature; for love draws in all that it desires. And with every kind of love, we partake of and draw our Lord's humanity into ourselves, and he fills us with his grace. Then we grow great and humble ourselves in a divine love that transcends reason. There, as we eat and partake with our spirit and receive with heartfelt love in his divinity, we encounter his spirit—which is his love—that is without measure; it burns and consumes our spirit and all his works, and draws us into unity, where we feel rest and blessedness. See, thus we shall always eat and be nourished, and with love upon love, Go down. And this is our life in eternity. And this is what Christ meant when He spoke to His disciples. ‘With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.’ Pascha signifies Christ for us, whom we eat in the Sacrament, just as the apostles received together with Christ at the Last Supper all that holy Sacrament as food that nourishes the body. And in the Sacrament, each one receives the Body of our Lord as their own spiritual food, through faith, love, and desire; for faith and love are the mouth of the soul, by which they receive and eat the Body of our Lord with all their members. Not according to the grossness of the body, as He sat there at the table. That grossness He concealed in the substance of His body, and also in the Sacrament; for His body was not subject to death. If they had bitten Him with their teeth, it would have caused them great harm. Yet, beyond nature, he gave them the living essence of his flesh and blood, his soul, and his divinity. And that was her spiritual food, and also the essence of our being. Yet he remained, in himself, all that he was, undivided and unchanging in his nature. He gave them all the substance he had received from the blessed Virgin Mary, his mother: his human nature. He gave himself entirely and completely in his body. His body is. That is: his body under the appearance of bread, and his blood under the appearance of wine. And in whom He is everything and undivided. For His body is. i. Living, He pours out His blood. And His blood is. i. Living, He pours out His bodies. And the soul is the essence of both lives. And this is the life that is undivided. It is. To be is. It is. The undivided life is that Christ is, and that He gave it to His disciples, and has left it for all of us in the Sacrament. For just as all the hosts that all the priests have in their consecrations are one substance and one bread, undivided, so too, after the consecration, they are one substance of the Body of our Lord, which cannot be divided. And the same is said of the wine that is consecrated into the blood of our Lord. And here, any drop from the chalice, or any fragment of the consecrated host, no matter how small, where the appearance of bread is present, there Christ is completely whole, just as He is in heaven. For all the pieces and hosts are divided in many ways across all lands, yet the Sacrament is one, and Christ is one and undivided in all that Sacrament, wholly present everywhere. Just as the soul of a person lives in all its members, and in each member entirely, undivided and without distinction, so the glorious Body of our Lord lives in the whole Sacrament, entirely and without distinction, so that He may be common to all His members: that is, to all those who desire Him in the Christian faith. And he is in all things in a singular way, according to what he needs and desires. This is called Communion, which means fellowship. For we all receive the Body of our Lord in the Sacraments, and each one individually, just as the others receive in the fellowship. Everything the priests receive in the Mass is the holy Sacrament. I. In some ways, they don't receive it any more than a layperson does; for although the consecration is divided between the chalice and the host, Christ is wholly and undividedly present in each one. Now, some foolish person might think and ponder this: That What is the Sacrament that Christ consecrated, which the apostles ate when they were all together? What is it that the priests are making now? Christ himself answered these questions when he spoke to his apostles after the consecration: 'As often as you do these things, do them in remembrance of me'—that is, of my love, my sufferings, and my death, and of the fact that I am truly God and man, all-powerful in heaven and on earth. This truth was received by the apostles from the mouth of our Lord just as he meant it, which was: as his prophecy and his command; and by his divine power which he gave them and their successors to carry out this ministry until the last day. Therefore, after his ascension, once they had received the Holy Spirit who taught them all truth, they began this ministry of the Mass in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. His Spirit spoke through their mouths during the consecration: 'This is my body, and this is my blood.' And they ordained bishops and priests in his way and in his name, and gave them the power they had received from God, to perform the priestly ministry throughout the whole world. And thus the holy Church is founded in Christ; and Christ lives in her, and is one with her from the beginning. And she will remain standing with her service until the last day. In the consecration of the holy Sacrament, all priests are willing instruments of our Lord Jesus Christ; He speaks through every mouth, and through her mouth: 'This is my body, and this is my blood.' Every priest truly consecrates the body of our Lord. And all priests do not do more than the same body in truth. With this, let me point out the first aspect of love that Christ has shown and taught us in the holy Sacrament. The next point of love we notice is what he says during the consecration: 'This is the cup of my blood, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.' This is the word he spoke when he consecrated his blood in the drink for his apostles and for all of us, and then he would pour it out and die out of love for all our sins. No greater love has been heard of than that the Son of God gave His life in death and redeemed us with His death against the justice of His Father, so that we might live eternally with Him. He offered himself and us, with his humble death, for the mercy of his Father. And the Father has received us along with him into the heavenly inheritance of his Son. And for this reason, Christ has divided His body for us, so that we may partake of the chalice of His passion, which He drank out of love, by which He redeemed us from eternal death and purchased for us, against His Father, the life of grace and glory. And this teaches us the consecration of His holy blood. But the consecration of our Lord's body shows us the greatness of His love, in that He wishes to spiritually feed and nourish us with Himself, so that He may live in us, and we in Him, just as has been said before. He is dead out of love for us. And He lives in us, so that we may remain eternally alive in Him. Look at this. I. The source of love, which is so great, no one can fathom. And whenever we go to hear Mass or approach the Sacrament, we should represent ourselves here and reflect on His love, so that we do not forget ourselves, and in His honor, we may remember all the more foreign loves. And as our burdens and sufferings come upon us, so we should think of His sufferings, and follow Him in His unity and in His love, all the way to death. So we should make our desires known to Him, who has called us and reminded us of eternal life without beginning.
Created in the Image of God
The author reflects on the creation of humanity in God's image and the subsequent redemption through Christ, which restores our union with the Divine.
Now, vengeance. Two. The first point is that God created man out of love in His own image and likeness. The first point is that God created humanity out of love in His image and likeness. The second point is that the Son of God, who is eternal wisdom, took on human nature out of love and united it with His person. The third point is that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died out of love and redeemed us with His precious blood, washing away all our sins in baptism. Likewise, He has united us beyond our own nature to Him in the Spirit of His love. The fourth point of His love is this: He has given us His flesh and His blood—everything He received from our nature, and everything He is, both God and man—as food and drink, so that He may live in us and we in Him, eternally, as God and man. Now, the market consists of these. Three. In all seriousness, I still ask you to clarify. God created the world in such a way that He gave us His only Son within it. III. In this way. In the beginning, the holy scripture teaches us that God, the heavenly Father, created all people in His image and likeness. His image is that of his Son, who is the eternal wisdom of his being. In him, all things live, as it is said: 'All that is made was life in heaven.' That life is nothing other than the image of God, in which God has known all things, and it is also the cause of all creatures. Thus, this image is that of the Son of God, who is, before all creation. We are all created in this eternal image; for we are made according to the noblest part of our souls, which is truly the power of our highest being. i. The living eternal mirror of God, in which God has imprinted His eternal image, and in which no other image can ever come to be. Yet that mirror remains the image of God. And for that reason, he is united with the image he has received. In this image, God is revealed to us as He was in Himself before we were created, and as He is now, in the time of creation, to Himself. This image represents the essence and personhood in all humans, and every human being possesses that essence in its entirety, undivided. i. human. And so we are all one, united in our divine image, which is God's image and our common origin: our lives and our essence. Our created being and our life depend entirely on Him, without any mediation. Yet our created nature is not God, nor is it the image of God’s creation; for we are created in the image, which is to say: the image of God to receive. And that image is uncreated—namely, the Son of God. This image is, in the essence of God, being and nature; and, in the natures, the same nature. The nature is begotten: fatherhood and son. In the begotten nature, the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father. But in the Father is the Son, both begotten and unbegotten, as one abiding in the nature of His being. And there holds her the nature of fatherhood: always to be begotten, and sonhood: without ceasing to be born. But in the birth is the Son. I. Another person, proceeding from the Father; and the Holy Spirit, the third person, flowing forth like a burning glow from the mutual love in all creatures that are ready for it. What surpasses our souls is always ready; for it is blood and unformed, always seeing and approaching in its beginning. Therefore, there is an ever-living mirror of God that constantly receives the eternal birth of the Son—the image of divine love—where God is known: all that He is in essence and person. This image is in essence, and in every person, all that this person is by nature. We all possess this image. i. It is a living image, without us, before our salvation. And in our salvation, this image transcends our being and our living. And here, the substance of our souls is present. ii. The essence, which is one in nature. The first essence of souls is an uncreated reality. In this way, we are alike and also united in the Father and His divine nature. The other aspect is called the supreme clarity of souls, which is a mirror-like brightness. In this, we receive the Son of God, who is the eternal truth. In the clarity, we are alike; but in the reception, we are one with Him. We call the third property the spark of souls, which is the natural inclination of souls to their origin. In this, we receive the Holy Spirit, the love of God. In this inclination, we are like the Holy Spirit; but in the reception, we become one. i. The Spirit and the one love with God. And this. Two. The essence of the soul is an undivided substance, a living foundation: the essence of the divine power. This unity, with its oneness, exists in all of us by nature. But if it is hidden in their own ground, it is amidst the grossness of sin. For this reason, if we want to feel and recognize the divine richness hidden within us, we must possess it. i. A life truly lived from within, well-ordered on the outside by right charity, following Christ in every way, so that our grace, love, and virtue may lift us to that highest self where God lives and reigns. We cannot perceive or feel the goodness that is God through natural light, nor through any skill or ability, without the grace of God. And for this reason, God has saved the supreme power of our souls to be like Him, which is: without grace and without gifts. In this, we are renewed and elevated above nature, and we are made like Him in love and in good deeds. Through the supernatural likeness we share with God in grace and virtue, our memory is raised to unimaginable beauty, our understanding to complete truth, and our will to divine freedom. Likewise, we are made like God through grace and virtue, and we share with Him nothing less than a likeness in holiness. And this is the first sign of love that God showed to humanity. He made us in His image and likeness. But when Adam, the first human, was disobedient, he broke the command of our Lord, and thus he became unholy through sin, ruining paradise and the entrance into the kingdom of God, and we all fell with him. And here is another sign of the love that God has shown us all: that He sent His only Son in our nature, so that He is a human being with us, and our brother. He has humbled himself and united with us; he has embraced us and drawn us to himself. He has despised nothing and has honored us. But even though He humbled Himself, He didn't diminish His divinity; for He remained all that He was and took on what He was not. He remained God and became man, so that man might become God. He has clothed himself in our full humanity, just as he is. i. As a king, he clothes himself with the garment of his family and his servants, so that we all share in him the same human nature. But he has clothed the soul and the body he received from the pure Virgin Mary, above all else, with a royal garment: his own divine person. That garment belongs to no one of the natures except to him alone, for he is God and man in one person. But if we are clothed with Him, it must be because of His grace: that we love Him so deeply that we can deny ourselves and die to our escaped personhood; thus we would be united with His person, the eternal truth. For you know well that we are all born of nature as children of the fallen, sinful, and broken in that kingdom of God, through the first man who was created by God without sin, and who lost the grace he had received. Because of our total need, we who are born of Him must be made in human nature. And to remedy this sin, the Father sent us His Son; and the Son received our nature; and the Holy Spirit accomplished that birth in our humanity. And this was not enough for us to forgive sin; for the Father wanted to avenge that sin according to justice. For this reason, He delivered His Son to die for that sin. And the Son was united with Him in His death. And the Holy Spirit accomplished that work in love. And this is the third point of love: that the Son of God has redeemed us with His death, purchased and paid for by the appearance of His Father with His precious blood, so that we may live through His death. He has washed us in the fountain that flowed from His side, redeemed us with His blood, and united us with His Spirit in love. And thus we remain always in Him; for we are in Him a spiritual life. This means for us that the water mixed with the wine in the chalice is consecrated as His blood. Through the water that is united with the wine during the consecration, we understand that Christ is united with us and lives in His blood. And this life can be neither possessed nor felt by anyone except for those Christian people who are united with Christ in His love.
Discerning the Communicant
A detailed guide on the different states of those who approach the Sacrament, distinguishing between the worthy, the weak, and the unworthy.
And they follow that fourth point of love, which Christ has given to his chosen friends who live in him. We can see this point in that He nourishes and sustains us with noble food and drink, which is His flesh and His blood, that alone truly belongs to us; for He Himself speaks: 'Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him'; and 'he will not die, but will live forever,' which means spiritually, just as those angels and saints live who eat and drink Christ without teeth and without mouth. Christ is the living heavenly bread that the Father has sent into the world so that we may eat and be nourished in our spirit with love, just as the angels and the saints do in heaven; and in the same way, Christ himself, with his love, nourishes us all in heaven. Those who are nourished in this way will be consumed by Him. i. Indeed, they live a true life in Christ, and they can always eat and drink as their hearts love to do. Yet they desire the holy Sacrament more, and they are more eager and prepared for it than others. For they love the holy churches in a way that Christ has ordained and established, to honor Him and in all the world. And for this reason, they are always growing and increasing in grace and in all virtues, both inwardly and outwardly. For everything they have within them in the spirit, they also receive from outside in the holy Sacrament. Thus they are holy in the reception, even holier in the possession, and most holy in having and receiving. But those who receive the holy Sacrament unworthily, while living in sin, condemn themselves. And those who do not receive in the spirit or in the Sacrament, while they are doing evil before God, live in a carnal nature without grace. I have already explained how we receive, eat, and drink. This is the fourth point: the reason and purpose for which Christ gave Himself, concealed and hidden in the holy Sacrament, isn't revealed in the form in which He was on earth and is now in heaven. There are many foolish and uncomprehending people who want to be wiser than Christ, who is the wisdom of God. These people ponder and ask what the reason and purpose is for Christ having concealed and covered himself in the holy Sacrament, not revealing himself as he was, and now is in heaven. Holy Scripture tells us: 'Everything God created is very good.' And everything that comes from God is well-ordered. The prophet Isaiah says: 'The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.' That light is Christ. St. John says this light 'shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it'; for St. Paul says that we now see as in a mirror and in a reflection. But in eternal life, we will see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ face to face. And we will clearly acknowledge Him just as He now acknowledges us. But here we can believe in the light of our faith, just as the apostles did, both before His death and after His resurrection. They saw a man and believed that He was God, and that His divinity was hidden within His humanity. So we see that the holy Sacrament is revealed to us through our outward senses, and we believe that the Body of our Lord is hidden within it. For we see our glorious Lord in His clarity as He is in heaven; we cannot bear it, for our eyes are mortal, and we would lose our sight; and all our senses would fail in the clarity of the Body of our Lord. Now consider how the spiritual clarity of your souls and your divinity is so incomprehensibly great. And here, it is important to know that our Lord Jesus Christ has all His gifts hidden in the spiritual life of our souls, which are all covered and concealed in the sacraments and in outward signs; like the holy baptism, which... i. The entrance is our eternal life; it is accomplished in water and with the words that belong to it. And many other gifts that Christ gives us in the holy churches are all covered in various ways, namely: in chrism, in oils, in words, in works, in signs, and in sacraments, in rightful ordinances according to each one's needs. In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ has covered and hidden all His gifts—His flesh and His blood—within the power of His words in the holy Sacrament, so that we must walk here in all His gifts with steadfast faith and glorious hope; for through complete faith, we earn the vision of eternity. For this reason, those who live eternally and wish to bring glory to God cannot do so in time, nor can they bring time into eternity; both are impossible. For we see our Lord as He is in heaven, so it would be impossible and also inhuman for us to eat His body and drink His blood. But now we eat that Sacrament with our teeth, and in the Sacrament, we eat His flesh and drink His blood into our souls through faith and love. And in this way, we become one with Him, and He with us. And this one unity has Christ, the wisdom of God, established in His Spirit and fulfilled through the works in the work of truth, just as it was previously foreshadowed in figures and likenesses from the beginning of the world. And so, we should recognize the unity that Christ desires to have with all of us. For all those hosts that lie before the priests, all are one substance of the bread before it is consecrated. And in the consecrations, through the power of God, the substance of the bread is transformed into the substance of the Body of our Lord. That is the same substance and the same body that exists in heaven. And we receive all this in common in the sacraments according to the nature of the substances. In the substances, we receive everything that is one with their essence—namely, length, breadth, and height, and everything else that belongs to the body—just as we receive everything that is one with the substances in the Sacrament. And so, through this Sacrament, the Body of our Lord is present in every land, every city, and every church. Likewise, we can lift up wine in various ways, placing, holding, and carrying it in vessels and chalices; we can take it, give it, and receive it in many ways. But just as He sits in heaven, with hands and feet and all His members, in a vision of the whole and the holy in complete glory, He doesn't transform the city, but remains always present to them. And likewise, in various ways, we cannot receive Him, neither now nor evermore. For after the last day, when we come with our glorious body into heaven, we will all be with Him and in Him, and we will behold His glorious face with our bodily eyes. And we will hear His sweet voice with our attentive ears. And here, our hearts and all our senses will be filled with His glory, so that we will melt together in love and bliss in Him, and He will dwell in us again. And all of this is the least glory of heaven, because it comes from outside and is visible; yet we might be here for so long that we don't behold the appearance of our Lord in such clarity, for our sins cannot bear it. And now we must be here. We should walk in Christian faith and receive the holy Sacrament with devotion, in humility and love, so that after this life we may taste and experience eternal blessedness. This is the fifth point: the distinction of the people who approach the holy Sacrament, some in eternal blessedness and others to their condemnation. Next, we need to discern the state of the people who receive the holy Sacrament, both in a spiritual state and in a bodily state. I want to start with the group of people who are mortal by nature. If those who are united with God's grace are truly devoted and harmonious in their grace, then their affection and their longing will be so intensely and deeply stirred in love for our Lord that they will lightly disregard and forsake all that exists in the world, so that they may pursue their desires according to their grief and the loss of their hearts. And because they do not come to our Lord except in the Sacrament, they fall into disorder amid unrestrained love and unbridled desires that they have for the holy Sacrament; so that they think it seems to them that they should forget and spoil themselves, and they might not receive that holy Sacrament. But there aren't many who truly seek Him. These are mostly women or young women, and a few men. For they are of weak dispositions, and unsteady and unenlightened in spirit. This is her inner longing and desire, and it is fully expressed in the humanity of our Lord. They can't feel or understand how someone can receive our Lord in the spirit without that Sacrament. This is why they are tormented within by the desires and longings they have for our Lord. And no one can understand, taste, or help themselves before they have received that sacrament: then they are all satisfied, and they take pleasure in resting, in spiritual taste, and in the overflowing sweetness of soul and body; until that grace and uplifting refreshment renews their nature and all the powers of their souls: then they fall back into desire and longing and into restlessness, just as if they had not received it before. The heart longs and yearns, as if it were empty, to receive that holy Sacrament again. These people are like a king who asked our Lord to come down to Capernaum and heal his son, for he was beginning to die. And our Lord responded: 'What you see as wonders and signs, do not believe.' Then the king said: 'Lord, come down before my son dies.' He did not believe that our Lord could heal his son; he came to him in his house and laid his hand on his head, or gave some other sign by which he could heal. In the same way, these people have fallen in love with that holy Sacrament. i. A true sign of the Body of our Lord is present there. And for this reason, they must seek in humility the lost and neglected Sacrament. Then they call to the priest and to our Lord: 'Lord, come down here into my house, into the holy Sacrament, before I die from love.' These people are bold and daring, and they are unrestrained by serious sins, and they are freely made by God, just as long as they endure in this way. And for this reason, they may receive that Sacrament on the If people don't want to give it, that's God's will. But if a person doesn't want to give themselves to Him, that is the will of God. Then they should reflect and realize that what our Lord said to the king is true: 'Go, your son lives.' For those souls that believe, desire, and long to receive that holy Sacrament, which is full of grace, they live in God and God lives in them. And with this, they should strive to receive Him as best they can. These people generally have weaker temperaments and similar natures. And for this reason, if they both desire to be united in the humanity of our Lord with love and affection, they will become somewhat lighter and more moved, against their will and against their inclination, in a beastly way; for their desire is still weak and lives in flesh and blood. And if they then see more of themselves and of the disordered movements of their bodies, they will grow more and be more moved in their nature towards disorder and brokenness. But if they conquer this and keep their nature pure in the service of our Lord, they must forget themselves entirely and turn their gaze completely to Him whom they love; then they will be united with Him in soul and body, in heart and spirit. And so they will become pure and conquer all that they can pay attention to. And this is the first group of people who worthily receive the holy Sacrament. Next comes the other group, which is higher than this one. These are the people who are subtle and understanding in spirit, and therefore naturally inclined and unrestrained. If these people receive the grace of God and remain in it, they must strive diligently, for the flesh is contrary to the spirit. And here they choose a life of inwardness and practice in the spirit before the appearance of our Lord. And here they flee from all temptations, all desires, and rise up in flesh and blood. So let them believe, hope, and trust in God more than in their own efforts or in all their works; then they will be raised above their reasonable understanding into the light of God. Moreover, let them remain in the light of God, desiring and seeking what is above reason and incomprehensible, rather than everything they can understand and grasp through reason; this way, their faith will be complete, and their love founded on solid ground. And they are free, and they acknowledge God, and truth, and the root of all things. Yet the living nature remains in flesh and blood, in loss, in heaviness, in treachery, and in all the disordered impulses they had before. And as people feel and notice this within themselves, they let go of and despise everything in themselves that is contrary to God and their spirit, and that hinders and prevents their best efforts. For there, the spirit answers our Lord with humble prayer: that the grace of God is strong enough to resist all temptations. For in weakness, the work is accomplished in all those who strive, and with prayer, they flee into their spirit against the opposition of God. ‘For in weakness, the work is accomplished’ in all those who strive, and with prayer, they flee into their spirit against the opposition of God. These people are like the centurion, who was faithful in spirit, even though he was a pagan and uncircumcised by nature. He had a hundred armed men under him who served him and were united in all times. But he had a servant lying in his house, paralyzed and tormented by the devil. So he asked our Lord to heal him. And our Lord answered, 'I will come and heal him.' The centurion replied, 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.' Then he promised him our Lord’s faith on behalf of this man. And at that very hour, his servant was healed. In the same way, as long as these people feel in their nature the unclean desires and are lost to sin, they are also continually mediated and hindered in their love for our Lord; and as long as he is their servant, which is the bodily nature, God and their spirit are contrary, and he is tormented by the food, for they do not want to follow the spirit with desires and love in the service of our Lord. Look, these people have no longing for the holy Sacrament as long as they are in conflict. But if they speak with humble hearts: 'Lord, I am unclean; I am not worthy of your holy body in the Sacrament, that it should come under the roof of my unclean body.' Lord, I am also unworthy of all honor, and of all the good things and comforts that good people receive from you. And for this reason, I must weep and lament continually, and walk with steadfast faith before your presence. And although I am poor and forsaken, I will not abandon you; but I will call out and pray without ceasing, until the time that your grace and my faith make my servant whole; and then I will praise and serve you with my soul and with my life, and with all my strength. Look, this is how the other group of spiritual people lives, who don't please God any more than the first; for although they are weak and lacking in nature, without the comfort and sweetness of God, they are still filled in their spirit with faith, devotion, and love for God. And if we must struggle against the devil, the world, and our own flesh. Therefore, we need strong spiritual nourishment to overcome everything together, and that is the Body of our Lord in the Sacrament. They should always receive this, as if they have ordered it from their work, or from the good habits of other spiritual people they are with. The third group of good people that follows here consists of many more who are holy and elevated in spirit and nature. These are the converted people who, by God's grace, walk in their inwardness with elevated and free spirits toward the appearance of God, drawing in and following with heart and mind, soul and body, and all their bodily powers. These people are truly of the spirit and nature of their Lord. And for this reason, they have found true peace. It is said that all who are moved will be willing in their nature; they fight fiercely. For no movement of breaking can occur in them. They have a true knowledge of our Lord—both His divinity and His humanity—and they acknowledge this through the spirit of understanding: inwardly with pure love, reflecting the nature of divinity, and outwardly with heartfelt love, reflecting the humanity of our Lord. The more they know and love, the more they taste and feel. The more they taste and feel, the more they desire and long for, seeking, grounding, and finding that they love with their hearts, with their souls, and with their whole spirit. The more they taste and feel, the more they desire and long for, seeking, grounding, and finding that they love with their hearts, with their souls, and with their whole spirit. These people are like the man named Zacchaeus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. He wanted to see our Lord Jesus to find out who He was, but he couldn't because of the crowd, since he was short and small in stature. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus as He passed by. When Jesus reached that spot, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. Everyone saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." And that is how he is made righteous. This is his life and his name. For this reason, he is holy and blessed, and Jesus remains present. In him, both here and in eternal blessedness. Now it matters how the people I mentioned earlier resemble this. For if they govern Jesus, they govern him as he is. And up to now, all reasoning and all natural light is short and small. And here, all creatures run before him, and all the multitude of creatures. And in the highest heaven—within the thoughts where the spirit is unimagined and ungraspable in its freedom—there Jesus is seen, known, and understood in his divinity. For there he is always present to the free spirits who, in their love, have released themselves. For there he flows with full grace and mercy. But he said to them all, 'Go down quickly, for the high freedom of the spirit cannot remain except in the lowliness of humility.' For you must acknowledge and love God and humanity above all, and be humble beneath all. And so, as I elevate you above all, and above yourselves in me; and you humble yourselves beneath all, and beneath yourselves, with me around me: then I must come into your house, and remain with you and in you, and you with me and in me.' And when those people acknowledge, taste, and feel this, they go down quickly in great humility of themselves, and speak with humble hearts, in true sincerity of their lives and all their works: 'Lord, I am not worthy, but I am unworthy, that I should receive your glorious body in the holy Sacrament in this sinful house of my body and my soul.' But, Lord, you are my grace, and receive my life of arms, and all my shortcomings.' Look, as long as these people see their own faults and shortcomings, they humble themselves and raise themselves up in a kind of reverent fear and in humble shame, and in a genuine hope before the eyes of God. And in this way, they go down in humility and in shame before themselves, and in a right humility, they please God, and they rise up before Him in true worthiness. And so, this is their life and their conversion: a return to God and a turning away from themselves. Conversion happens with a renewed spirit, in humble sincerity toward God and in God. The turning back to oneself means: a change and a renewal of oneself. And even if they can do good works or act from outside and from within, those are altogether unworthy and misguided, and truly seem like nothing to them, given that appearance before our Lord. If they stand in themselves between insight and outlook, their own selves always being weighed, then they will always be inclined to act as they wish. Their appearance is a reflection, rooted in love, flourishing in good habits and holy works; ordered in all virtues, and always walking before the appearance of our Lord. And for this reason, they remain pure and clean in their consciences, always growing and increasing in grace and in all virtues before God and before all people. This insight is about willing to be reasonable, and it is shaped and guided by wisdom; it is willing to rise above reasoning: it is without image and without form. If you speak, then you are wise and full of understanding. For they stand before the appearance of love and the goodness of God, where all wisdom is taught. And if they are humble and free. And for this reason, they take the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they speak to Him thus: 'Lord, you have spoken: without me, you can do nothing.' And You have also said: 'Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you.' And You have also said: 'Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him.' Lord, now I am. I. A poor sinner, and unworthy of heavenly food that you yourself are; nevertheless, Lord, I have given you and left the sinner who is himself unworthy, and with sorrow, he laments and cries, and in you, he has placed his trust: that is the one who pleases you; for you have taught us that we should not come to call the righteous, but the sinner, that he may repent and do penance for his sins. For this reason, I am humble and free, and I forget myself and all my faults in Your grace; for You Yourself say: 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' You also say that you are our living bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats of it will live forever. You also say that you are the living fountain that flows to us through the Holy Spirit from the heart of your Father. And therefore, Lord, the more I eat, the more I hunger; and the more I drink, the more I thirst; for I cannot consume you or take you in fully. But I ask you, Lord, for your grace, that you would consume and nourish me, so that I may become one life with you and in you. I ask that in your life, I may be able to deny myself above all ways and efforts, in ignorance—that is, in a love without wisdom, where your own blessedness and all holiness are, and where the fruit of all the Sacraments and all wisdom and all holiness is found. But we must seek the truth with wisdom, through the sacraments, and with a holy life. And we should live wisely and without measure in the eternal love of God. We should remain in ourselves, and be blessed, and well-ordered in glorious ways; and each one should be singular according to their own gifts and their own loves. And we should use our gifts above ourselves, and in our lives be unyielding and above reproach, in deeper loves that are truly ours. And those who understand this and live accordingly may receive the holy Sacrament every day, as often as it is given to them; for they are well-ordered, gracious, and full of virtue, in their inward and outward lives, in all their endeavors. These are the third and highest group of people who approach the Sacrament. And their life and their effort are gathered in. Three. Points. The first point is the purity of conscience from all serious sins. The second point is the supernatural strength and wisdom in the inner and outer self, which is: in contemplation and in action. The third point is the genuine humility of the heart, will, and spirit: in intentions, in actions, and in works. The fourth point is: being dead to all desire, which is: the desire of the will, in the free will of God; the image of understanding, in the uncreated truth that God Himself is. The pure fullness of thought is the dwelling place of divinity. Now, take note. These. Three. For they were our beloved women’s lives and their flourishing when they received our Lord. For she was pure, chaste, and full of all God's graces. If she was steadfast and wise in questioning and in answering the angel. And he taught her the truth completely. If she became profoundly humble, and that humility drew the Son of God down from heaven into our valley. If you say, 'Here is our dear Lord.' His will must be what you desire. 'Let it be done to me according to your word.' Do the Holy Spirit that has been promised: That word is fitting for the love of God, as it pleases, That she may bear the Son of God in Mary, Who has redeemed us from the air of sin. Now it is noted and taught. Even though Mary was chosen above all other creatures to be the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven and Earth, she still humbled herself to serve her Son, the beloved of God, and the whole world. And for this reason, when she had received our Lord, she hurried with great humility to that place, like a humble servant, to visit her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, until the time that Saint John was born. In the same way, our Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, God and man, after He had consecrated the holy Sacrament and given it to His disciples—and also received it Himself—took a linen cloth, knelt before His disciples, washed their feet, and dried them with the cloth, saying, "I give you an example, that just as I have done, you should also serve one another." And therefore, those who are in religious orders, no matter how high they may rise in contemplation or life, receive our Lord every day before their duties are assigned or their superiors are chosen, so that they must serve the community in matters that are honorable and free from sin: they should do this willingly and lovingly. And they should also feel in their inwardness and in their prayers, the burdens and concerns of those things that are commanded to them and that they must judge; and they should also be concerned about the ultimate matters that pertain to the community: for all this, they should not neglect their duties, nor abandon their work, nor unload themselves, but remain united until death, to God, their prelate, and the community, in all those things that are honorable and good, and essential to the community; as long as they maintain in their inwardness a love for God, fear, and worthiness, and in their outwardness humble and renew themselves. Even if they do or suffer anything, they should consider it all small and worthless, in true humility. And those who are in community and among all people should be humble, joyful, and peaceful; and those who are prepared with discernment in their need, in true peace. Whether they are leaders or followers, those who keep these rules can always receive the Sacrament if they wish, just as they did before. They are now more like the living Lord Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, and the highest holiness than they were previously, and they possess the true roots of genuine observation, action, and all good works. I also take this from all people outside religious orders who maintain their conversion and unity in God, and who, in addition, engage in works of charity toward their neighbors in every way they need. These are all noble, higher, and closer to our Lord and similar to Him, than those who only engage in contemplation and inwardness without expressing it through acts of charity; first, that they themselves are truly devoted, and their neighbors' needs require it in a singular way. But those who only wish to engage in contemplation and inwardness while neglecting their neighbors in need have never truly turned inward or lived in contemplation; they are deceived in their entire being. Above all else, guard yourselves against this. After this follows the fourth group of spiritual people who go to the Sacrament; and these are good-willed people who sincerely seek the honor of God and their own salvation, who strive to adhere to their rules, their regulations, and all the good practices they have heard and described from the elders who have gone before and established their orders with worthiness and works; that is: how they have received it in the choir, in the chapter, in the refectory, and at the dormitory, and in that sick house: in silence, in speaking, in fasting, in discipline, always according to the rules and according to the capacities of their nature in proper moderation. All who wish to partake in humility and community should always seek what is good for their health, and, as people do, be gentle and patient; and always strive to overcome the flesh and blood and all worldly things: see, this is the common rule for all good monks and nuns. But if they neglect to act in a proper way, in a disordered manner, in too many ways, or in too little, in whatever way their conscience accuses and convicts them of sin, they should humbly weep and confess with sorrow of heart before the priest, and do penance according to their will, and trust in God well. And so, they should approach the Sacrament with great reverence, relying on God's grace, just as they are accustomed to do in their common practices. Other spiritual people outside of religious orders also follow good practices, remaining subject to God, the holy churches, and their leaders through fasting, prayer, and all the customs of faithful Christians, according to their ability and humility. These souls also approach the Sacrament upon the advice of their priests, as is the custom for those living there. Next comes the fifth group that approaches the holy Sacrament. These are curious people who take pleasure in what they think makes them righteous and holy, subtle and wise in their actions and in their hidden lives above other people. Yet they aren't enlightened by God, and for this reason, they consider themselves great and their works significant. They have almost all kinds of pretentious ways; for they want to appear holy, and that people should also hold them in high regard. If they want to have an advantage over others, they must go to confession and receive that Sacrament. And if someone is more than they are, they will complain about them and become troubled, for they think that others are doing them wrong, that someone would go before them; for they are burdened and troubled, and they long to be believed and honored, and they are in need and oppressed. They gladly take the holy name, honor, and benefit of nature. They don't want to be guided, reproved, or taught about those things, but they want to know, learn, and correct whatever they think is right. Whenever they're in church, they should be reading, praying, kneeling, and acting with reverence; yet when they get home, they're harsh and cruel, quarrelsome and cursing, and they're discontented with themselves, their families, and everyone around them. Yet they are bold and shameless in approaching the Sacrament; they think everything they do is right and well-done, whether it’s a minor offense or the wrongdoing of those around them. And here, as long as people are pleased with themselves, they remain quite content in their spirit. But those who are troubled by their own shortcomings cannot truly acknowledge them; they think everything is exactly as it should be, and that they have a right to everything. And all these things can be excused from mortal sins due to the ignorance of these people and the many confessions they make: their lives are still filled with serious concerns. One must resist in confession, refrain from cursing and slandering, and speak the truth to them, saying: 'With fear, by the grace of our Lord, you may be given that holy sacrament at the appointed time, so that you do not become unworthy or unfit.' But anyone who is truly humble and lowly can always eat Christ, and in Him live, grow, and increase in all good things. The sixth group of people who may receive that holy Sacrament consists of all those who love our Lord and themselves in such a way that they willingly and knowingly never commit sin with premeditation, nor wish to do so; and out of fear and love of God and themselves, they strive to keep their vows. The holy churches must act in accordance with the law and in all matters that are right and necessary. Once a year, when it's time for confession, they want to acknowledge their sins—both small and great—to their priest, exactly as they committed them, in every way they are guilty and able to admit. Then they want to receive the holy Sacrament according to the law and custom of good Christian people. And if they always want to be united, they should do penance for their sins according to the will of their priests and in the manner prescribed by them. Those who live in such a way that they follow the common path to heaven must hold on to their souls with great effort, and yet they must do so with heavy penance, often with great sorrow.
The Errors of Unbelief
A stern warning against those who reject the Church's teaching and the Sacraments, contrasting their pride with the humility required for salvation.
Here follows the seventh part, concerning all those people who have neglected God and have been unworthy; to them, the holy Sacrament shall not be given, neither in life nor in death, unless they repent in penitence. The first are the heathens and Jews, and all nations that are unbelieving. Others are wicked Christian people who blaspheme and despise Christ, and do not keep His holy Sacraments; they do not believe that Christ is present in the flesh and blood in the holy Sacrament of the altar. These are all condemned. But temptation and allure without consent of the will can indeed exist with grace. Here, one must struggle and overcome with faith: thus one earns reward and does not face condemnation. But the holier, lighter, and better way is to walk simply in faith, all without pain and struggle. Others, wicked, devilish people, say that they themselves are Christ, or that they are God; and that their hand has made heaven and earth; and that one hand hangs heaven and earth and all things; and that they are above all the sacraments of the holy churches, and that they do not need them: nor do they desire them either. They disregard the order and wisdom of the holy churches and everything the saints have written on parchment; they reject it and don't hold it in reverence. But they consider their own foolishness and wicked sect, along with the beastly customs they’ve invented, to be holy and great. They have driven away fear and love of God from themselves; they wish to be led by the desires of good and evil. In this way, they have become confused. And for this reason, it seems to them that in the last days, all rational creatures, both good and evil, will be one indistinguishable being; and that being, they say, will be God, perfect in nature and without knowledge and will. Look and see, for this is truly the most foolish and worst opinion ever heard since the beginning of the world. Nevertheless, many people who seem to be spiritual are deceived in this and similar matters, and their nature is truly devilish. Their disbelief contradicts pagans and Jews alike, as well as nature, law, and reason; it contradicts all scripture regarding good and evil, the whole and the many, and the worth and works of God. For our common faith teaches us that God is threefold in unity, and unity in threefoldness. And without nature, it is: to acknowledge and love oneself, and, in oneself, to use one's own. And this. Two. They are unchangeable and eternal, without beginning and without end. He is, in himself, order and wisdom, and the mirror of all creatures. Following his example, he has made all things in order, in ways, in measures, and in weights. And so he is in all things, and all things are in him. But the life we have in God is. i. With God, and such is of nature. But we have another life, with the angels, that God created from nothing, and that will remain forever; and that life cannot be of nature, but it can happen through the grace of God. It is also that we obtain grace: faith, hope, knowledge, and love; thus we do deeds that please God, and in this way we are lifted above ourselves and united with God; but no creature can become God. In the same way, the angels in heaven, who were not created from nature, receive the grace of God. But those who turn to Him, confessing and loving, become steadfast, firmly established, and united with God in a single Communion; yet they don't become God, nor can they ever. They remain in their own state before the appearance of our Lord, each one distinct, with differences in their state and in the orders they have received from God—in nature, in grace, and in glory—and with their own merits. So let them remain forever, and we with all of them: confessing and loving, giving thanks and praising, and above all this, using God's grace, each in their own state and in their orders with the angels, just as He has become and deserves here through His deeds. And here, therefore, our Lord says that our angels always behold the face of the Father who is in heaven. And so, just as the good angels turned back and were blessed, the false angels turned away from God and focused on themselves, delighting in the beauty and nobility that God had given to their nature, and they despised grace and turned away from God; thus, they are all condemned and fell down from heaven into cursed darkness, where they must remain forever. Yet they are like some devil, those feigned unbelievers who scorn God and His grace, the holy Church and all her sacraments, the holy Scriptures and all the practices of faith, claiming that they live above all wisdom; and they are as empty as if they were not; and they do not confess or love, desire or seek, nor do they have any practices of faith: but they are all empty. Because they want to sin and commit their unclean wickedness without conscience and without fear, they claim that on the last day of judgment, both good and evil people will all be made into one substance of divinity; they say that in that state, everyone will share one essence of blessedness, without any acknowledgment or love for God. They further claim that after that, God will neither want to be acknowledged nor loved, neither Himself nor any creature. Look, this is the greatest abuse and the worst, most foolish unbelief you've ever heard of. No one shall receive the holy Sacrament, whether living or dead; nor shall they be buried among Christian people, but they shall be punished with just torment. For if they are condemned by God, and they belong to the pit of hell, far and deep beneath all the devils. You should know this: anyone living in mortal sin who follows the world in a beastly way, without fear, love, or reverence for God, and who is unworthy of God, the holy churches, and Christian law, should not approach the Sacrament; the same applies to those who are proud and oppress their neighbors. Gossip, slander, and unkindness; anger, cruelty, and deceit; cursing, swearing, and fighting; deception, betrayal, and all manner of wrongdoing; being clever and cunning, tricking others, and making evil plans; falsehood and unfaithfulness in all actions; swearing and deceit in all dishonest dealings; quickness, haste, and heated sin; being unrestrained, greedy, and gluttonous. i. If they want to fill all their vessels with food and drink without measure. If they want to fill all their vessels with food and drink without measure. This is a vessel of the devil, for they are slaves to sin; the devil is truly their master. i. They live in a state of impurity, giving their bodies over without restraint in their words, actions, and thoughts. These are truly the devil's vessels, for they are servants of sin; the devil is their master in truth. Now the wicked hope is merciless with everyone: if they have fallen away from God's grace. They shall not be given that sacrament, for all their life is a snare; and if they repent with sorrow, they should seek the grace of our Lord. The grace of God is always ready for those who want to improve themselves. When a sinner repents and confesses their sins to a priest and wants to do penance, God will receive them. The priest will rejoice with them in Holy Communion and give them the holy Sacrament at any time of the year they choose. But those who remain without confession, without turning back and sorrow for their wickedness, whether they die or live, will not receive that holy Sacrament, nor be buried with the Christian people. For as long as a person remains wicked and without sorrow for their sins, the Pope cannot absolve them, nor can any living priest; if they die in this state, they must be condemned. Now there are those who are well-natured and have a good disposition: cheerful in spirit, gentle and calm, warm-blooded, and easily moved to good or to evil, depending on the company they keep. These people fall willingly into many grievous sins. But when they see or hear something good from good people, they are briefly touched by anxiety and fear regarding their sins, and they repent with sorrow through penance. Others come to confess because of sickness and the fear of death. And in appropriate times, such as during Lent, amidst sermons or other customary practices of penance that people commonly observe in the holy church; so that they may be internally moved with sorrow, confess their misdeeds, follow the grace of God, and lament and acknowledge their sins, and seek God and the holy churches and all people as much as they are able. And so they will become one with God, and they may approach the Sacrament through the grace of God. And if they fall into sin, they are always lightly moved and are more easily lifted up.
The Will of the Faithful
The chapter concludes by emphasizing that a good-willed life, rooted in grace and charity, is the ultimate preparation for perpetual communion with God.
But there are also other people who are cruel and wicked by nature. And if they remain steadfast, they also receive more grace and goodness than many others who are unnatural and ungraced. Furthermore, everyone who sincerely confesses their sins during Lent with a contrite heart, accepts their penance from their priest, and strives to live according to God's will in their actions and intentions—in the right charity of God and their neighbors—receives grace from our Lord in His mercy, with the counsel of their priests, in genuine humility of heart and life. Now understand that all people living in the world exist in such a state that they can be with God and with the holy Church, and those who are willing to do good remain steadfast with the help of God and keep themselves from grave sins, whether in marriage or outside of it, in work or in service, in buying and selling, and in all kinds of business, in labor or with just cooperation; wanting and knowing, no one should lie or deceive, nor should anyone take or withhold what is not theirs, but be honest and just in all things, intending and striving to live according to God's commandments; no one should hate or envy or be jealous, but graciously and mercifully help anyone in need; gladly hear Mass and sermons; fear, reverence, and love God and all good people; humbly confess and acknowledge their faults before the priest, and be united in penance and in all good deeds: see, all these people are unlearned and... Some people, in their various pursuits, seek to satisfy their desires and to share with those who belong to them, or to help the poor; yet they may still freely receive the holy Sacrament through God's grace at all times as they desire. For all fall short in daily failings, as they are, according to their ability, good-willed and just in all things. Now consider seriously what kind of good-willed people they are, and whether they are willing to work with God in their deeds, their intentions, and their actions. Goodness in the will is shaped and born of the Holy Spirit. And here, therefore, is the will. i. A living will is the instrument through which God works what He desires. The goodness in a person's will is the love of God poured out, by which He works through us and all that we do. Goodness wants us to know that it is God's grace and our supernatural life, through which we strive and overcome all sins. The good will of God’s grace sets us free, lifts us up, and unites us with God in a contemplative life. The good will, in its return to God, is everything. 1. It is the spirit that is joined with eternal love. And in its return, it is the Lord's good works that reign from without. And it is the same kingdom where God reigns with grace. In it lives charity, the love of our Lord. Above it, He is blessed and good in His grace. And through it, we die to sin and attain a worthy life. And in Him, we have peace and tranquility from all things. And as we live in this way, so we may receive our Lord as we wish in the Sacrament, with longing, in our spirit.
Read the original Latin
Dese tafele dat es de outaer gods, daer wi ontfaen levende spise, die ons levende maect ende ghesterct in allen dooeghene, ende verwinnen doet alle onse viande ende al dat ons letten mach. Ende hier-omme sprect cristus selve tote allen menschen: ‘Het en si dat ghi etd mijn vleesch ende drinct mijn bloed, ghi en hebt gheen leven in u’. Hi sprect vooert: ‘Die etd mijn vleesch ende drinct mijn bloed, hi heeft dat eeweghe leven; want hi wooent in mi ende ic in heme’. Ende dat underlinghe inwooenen, dat es eewegh leven. Ende omme-dat wi hier leven moeten in eenen gheesteleken stride, soe behoeven wi die spise die ons ghesterken moghe, alsoe dat wi al stridende verwinnen, ende al verwinnende striden. Ende dit es verborghen hemelsch brooed, dat niemene ghegheven en wert dan die al stridende verwindt, ende dat oec nieman en weet, dan diet ghesmaect ende ontfeet.
Nu hooerdt mine waerde, ende merct de sententie ende den sen.
Wildi ontfaen den lichame ons heeren in den heileghen sacramente alsoe dat gode eerlec si ende u salechlec, soe seldi hebben . iiij. poente in u die maria, de moeder gods, in hare hadde ende ufende doe si onsen heere ontfing. Ende hier omme seldi sijn hare discipula ende hare cameriere, ende sitten te haren voeten, op-dat si u leeren moghe met haren exemplen hoe ghi leven selt; want si es overmeesterse alre dooghde ende alre heilecheit.
Dat ierste poent dat maria hadde ende dat ghi hebben moetd, dat es reinecheit.
Dat ander es ghewaregh kinnesse gods.
Dat derde es ooedmoedecheit.
Dat vierde, vriwilleghe begheerlecheit.
Nu merct dan dat ierste poent, dat es reinecheit, in uwen spieghel mariën. Si was reine, van den beghinne dat si ontfaen was, van allen ghebreken ende van alre neighinghen toe ghebreken, beide dagheleke ende dooetleke. Ende hier-omme sprac de bode gods, de inghel gabriël, tote hare aldus: ‘God gruete u, vol gratiën, de heere es met di’.
Al dat vol gratiën es, dat es reine. Ende al dat reine es, dat es vol gratiën. Ende hier-omme, wildi vol gratiën sijn ende onsen heere ontfaen, soe moetti met mariën reine sijn.
Prueft ende merct dan dat anschijn uwer conscientiën; ende al dat ghi daer in vendt dat gode meshaghen mach, dat klaeght ende belijt met ooedmoedegher herten, vore gode ende vore uwen priester.
Ende al dat ghi meest weeght, ende dies ghi u meest vermijdt ende scaemt, dies en verghetd niet noch dies en laetd u niet ontbliven, maer wrueght u-selven alse uwen dooedviand: soe seldi suver ende reine werden.
Van anderen ghebreken, die daghelecs sijn ende ghemeine, ende dies hem nieman ghehueden en mach, daer-ave hebt corte waerde, ende sijt onbecommert.
Maer hebt grooeten rouwe ende betterheit van herten van alle uwen sonden, ende hebt goeden wille altoes wel te doene ende u te huedene van allen sonden, daghelecs ende dooedlecs; ende boven alle ding, hebt grooet ghelooeve ende minlec betrouwen in gode: want dat sijn die dinghe die sonden vergheven, alsoe alse onse heere sprect in de ewangelie te menegher stat: ‘dijn ghelooeve heeft di ghesond ghemaect’.
Ende dit es dat ierste poent: hoe ghi reine selt sijn met mariën onsen heere te ontfane.
Maer boven alle ding seldi u hueden van langher biechten met vele waerden, want dat soude u ontkusten, ende dolende ende scrupeloos maken. Want hebdi vele waerde in der biech ten diere gheene nooed en es, alse van daghelecschen sonden, ende wildi u-selven kusten met uwen doene meer dan met betrouwene in gode, soe blijfdi altoes onverlicht ende ongheleert van gode, ende soe en condi niet bekinnen onderscheed tusschen grooet ende cleine, tusschen meerre ende mendere uwer ghebreke.
Ende alse u iet ont blijft dat ghi pleeght te biechtene na uwer costumen, dies nochtan en-gheene nooed en es, soe sidi verbeeldt, bedruct ende bedrueft alse ochte ghi niet ghebiecht en waert, ende lichte vele meer; want in uwe conscientie, daer met rechte in sijn soude: ghelooeve, hope ende minne te gode, daer es in: anxt ende vreese ende eighene natuerleke minne uws-selfs.
Hier vore moetti u hueden wildi reine sijn, ende met mariën bliven in hare camere.
Hier-na volght dat ander poent, dat nieman hebben en mach, hi en si reine van conscientiën, ende dat es: ghewaregh kinnesse gods. Dat hadde maria boven alle menschen die ye gheworden, naest haren sone, die selve de wijsheit gods es.
Nochtan, doe de inghel de boodscap brachte mariën, ‘wert si versaecht, ende peinsde wat groeten dat dat sijn mochte. Doe sprac de inghel: En ontsiet u niet maria, want du heves gratie vonden vore den heere. Du sels ontfaen ende ghebaren eenen sone, ende ghi selt sinen name heeten: jhesus; hi sal sijn grooet, ende hi sal sijn gheheeten de sone des alre-oversten; ende de heere (dat es: de hemelsche vader), die sal hem gheven de sige davids sijns vader (dat es de macht davids), ende hi sal regneren in Jacobs huus in der eewecheit, ende sijns rijcs en sal gheen inde sijn. Doe sprac maria tote den inghel: Hoe sal dit gheschien, want ic en bekinne gheenen man’, (dat es: ic sal reine bliven). Doe antwaerdde de inghel: De heileghe gheest sal van boven in di neder-comen, ende de cracht des alre-overste sal di bescadewen; ende daer-omme, dat heileghe dat van di gheboren sal werden, sal heeten de sone gods. Ende siet elizabeth dine nichte, si heeft eenen sone ontfaen in hare oudheit, ende dit es de seste maend hare die gheheeten es ondrachtegh; want gode en sal gheen ding sijn onmoghelec’.
Doe maria dese waerde hooerde ende wel verstond, doe was si gheleert van den inghel, ende noch vele meer van den heileghen gheest.
Doe sprac si: Siet hier de deerne ons heeren’. Doese god verhief ten hooeghsten, doe sette si hare ten nedersten. Ende dat leerde hare de wijsheit gods. Want hooechgheit en mach niet staende bliven dan in nederheit; dit tuught wel der inghele val, die ute den hemele vielen. Want wat es hooeghere dan de sone gods, ende wat es nedere dan de knecht gods ende alle der werelt, dat was cristus? Ende wat es hooeghere dan de moeder gods, ende wat es nederre dan de deerne gods ende alle der werelt, dat was maria?
Si gaf oec haren wille over in de vriheit gods met grooeter begheerlecheit, ende sprac vooert tote den inghel:
‘Mi gheschie na dinen waerde’. Doe de heileghe gheest dat verhooerde, dat bequam der der minnen gods soe wale, dat si cristum zand in mariën zale, die ons verlooest heeft van alre quale.
Siet aldus sijn wi gheleert van mariën ende van den inghel, hoe wi ontfaen hebben den sone gods in onser natueren.
Vooert seldi weten hoe wi ontfaen selen den-selven gods sone in lijf ende in ziele in den heileghen sacramente. Dit leert ons de joodsche wet in figueren, ende de kerstene wet met heilegher sscriftueren. Ende boven natuere ende scriftuere, ende boven allen twivel, soe verheft ons kersten ghelooeve ende versekert ons in de ghenade gods. Ende ons leert oec de scriftuere ende de ufeninghe der heilegher kerken, die ghestaen heeft van beghinne der heilegher kerstenheit, ende die en mach niet dolen. Ende ons leert oec menegh exempel dat ons de heileghen bescreven hebben.
Ende hier omme willic u segghen vijf poente van desen heileghen sacramente, die orboorlec sijn gheweten allen kerstenen menschen.
Dat ierste poent sal sijn van dien tide dat onse heere hem-selven gaf sinen discipelen in den sacramenten.
Dat ander poent, van materiën ende formen des sacraments.
Dat derde poent, wise ende maniere hoe hi hem-selven gaf.
Dat vierde poent, sake ende waer-omme dat hi hem-selven gaf bedect ende verborghen in den sacramente, niet oppenbare, in der formen alse hi doe was, ende nu es in den hemel.
Dat vijfte sal sijn, onderscheet der persone die ten heileghen sacramente gaen, some hi eewegher salecheit, ende selke tote haren verdoemenessen.
Dat ierste poent.
Nu verstaet den tijd ende de figuree van onsen sacramente.
Doe god overmids moysesse de kindere van israël leidde uit egipten-lande (dat was op den veertienden dagh van der aprilscher manen, die altoes in den meerte beghint: dat waren de ierste paesschen der joden), doe ghebooed moyses van goods-weghen, dat men in ieghewelc huus soude eten een lam, ghebraden; ende met den bloede van dien lamme souden si bestriken de doorstyle van den huus ende den overdorpel. Ende daer-mede worden si bescermt van der gadooet ende van alre qualen. Want in der selver nacht dooedde onse heere alle de ierstgheboorne in al egypten, van menschen ende van beesten.
Ende moyses leidde dat volc ons heeren ute egypten dore de rooede zee in de wuestine, daerse onse heere spijsde . xl. jaer met hemelschen brooede. Ende hier-mede was beteekent onse sacrament.
Alle teekene ende figueren der joden sijn volbracht. Ende onse sacramente selen bliven tote in dat inde der werelt, ende dan selen si oec vergaen; maer de waerheit die daer-in verborghen es, dat es eewegh leven: dat sal bliven in der eewecheit.
Nu verstaet.
Wanneer een grooet coning ochte . i. wijs landsheere varen wilt in pelgrimagiën in verren lande, soe roept hi sine ghenooete te-gadere ende beveelt hen sijn land, sijn volc, sine kindere ende sine familie, dat si al dat regéren ende bewaren in payse ende in vreden, tote diere tijd dat hi weder-comt in sijn land.
Alsoe gheliker wijs, cristus, de eeweghe wijsheit gods, coninc der coninghe ende heere alre heeren, doe hi sine pelgrimagie in dese elendeghe werelt volbracht hadde, doe woude hi varen in sijn vader-land, ende ten lesten daghe weder-comen ten ordeele.
Ende hier-omme, vore dien dagh dat hi sterven woude, soe stichte hi eene grooete feeste, ende dat was een avondeten; ende daer-toe nooedde hi de meeste princen der werelt, dat waren sine apostelen; want hi woude hen besetten ende bevélen sine sacramente, sijn volc, sijn rike.
In deser feesten was bereed dat paeschlam, dat si alle te gadere aten na wise der joodscher wet. Ende dit paeschlam was eene voorgaende figuere van onsen sacramente; ende hier-mede nam de figuere inde, die ghestaen hadde . c/xiiij. jaer ende . lxxxvi. jaer, dat was van der tijd dat moyses dat joodsche volc leidde ute egypten-lande. Ende in deser feesten gaf cristus der joodscher wet harer uutgang, want dit waren hare leste paesschen, ende hier begonste hi onse wet, ende onse ierste paesschen.
Ende hi was sonder mate machtegh, wijs, rike ende melde. Ende al was hi bedruct in der natueren, hi was nochtan in den gheeste . i. liberael blide weerd; ende hi hadde sunderlinghe lieve gaste, dat waren sine apostelen. Ende want hi des anders daeghs sterven soude, ende van hen scheeden, soe woude hi maken sijn testament; ende dat woude hi laten sinen apostelen ende, overmids hen, allen ghelooeveghen tote in den lesten dagh. Dit testament heeft hi vaste bezeghelt met sijnre dooet, ende alle de apostelen na heme. Dit testament dat hi ons ghelaten heeft, dat es hi-selve in den sacramente, ende al dat hi gheleisten magh, god ende mensche. Ende hier-omme es dese feeste grooet, want si es salegh ende eewegh.
Ende jhesus cristus, van mariën gheboren, coning hemelrijcs ende erterijcs, die heeft dese feeste ghesticht; ende hi es oec van sinen hemelschen vader een uutvercoren ierste bisscop der kerstenkeit. Ende hier-omme dede hi oec de ierste messe die nooeyt ghedaen was, daer hi sine priesteren wyede ende bisscoppe consacreerde; ende gheliker-wijs dat die prophete moyses de ierste sacrificie dede in de joodsche wet, daer hi aaronne ende sine sonen consacreerde ende wyede, priestere ende bisscop te sine, ende gaf heme macht ende ghewout gods volc te regerenne tote dierre tijd dat cristus quame.
Ende hier-omme, doe cristus comen was, ende hi ons ghedient hadde . xxxiij. jaer god ende mensche, doe gaf hi orlof der joodscher wet, want si was figuere; ende doe begonste hi selve de ierste sacrificie in kerstenre wet, want hi was de ierste bisscop; ende daer in consacreerde hi sine priesteren ende sine bisscoppe, ende hi gaf hen ende haren navolgheren sine macht, dat si sijn volc regéren ende ordinéren souden in
gheesteleken state tote op den lesten dagh dat hi wedercomen sal ten ordeele. Ende hi begonste dat ambacht onser messen te verspertide.
Dit es dat ander poent: van materien ende formen des Sacraments
Ende gheliker-wijs dat melchisedech, de overste priester te abrahams tide, offerde brooed ende wijn, alse eene rechte figuere ende oec eene materie van onsen sacramente; alsoe nam cristus, onse overste priester, in sijnre sacrificiën brooed in sine heileghe eersame hande; ende hi hief op sine ooeghen te sinen hemelschen almechteghen vader ende dancte heme, ende ghebenedide dat brooed, ende braect in stucken, ende sprac: ‘Nemt ende etd, dit es mijn lichame’. Daer-na, in der-selver wijs, soe nam hi den kelc met wine in sine heileghe eersame hande, ende dancte anderwerf sinen vader, ende ghebenedide den wijn, ende gaeft sinen discipelen, ende seide: ‘Drinct hier-ave alle, want dit es de kelc mijns bloeds, eens nuwes ende eens eeweghs testaments, een verborghen teeken des ghelooefs; die omme u ende omme vele menschen sal ute-ghestort werden in verlatenessen der sonden’.
Siet aldus hebdi materie ende forme ons sacraments. De materie, dat es brooed ende wijn. De forme, dat sijn de waerde ons heeren, daer hi sprect: ‘Dit es mijn lichame, ende dit es mijn bloed’.
Want doe hi sprac: ‘Dit es mijn lichame’, doe verwandelde hi de substantie des brooeds in de substantie sijns lichamen; niet alsoe, dat brooed te nieute ghing; maer sijn ontwerden, wert de lichame ons heeren; niet een nuwe lichame, maer die-selve die daer ter tafelen sat ende at ende dranc met sinen discipelen, dien hadden si oec vore hen in den sacramente, alsoe dat sine saghen met haren uutwendeghen ooeghen ter tafelen sitten. Ende dat was hen grooete blisscap. Maer dat si saghen den-selven lichame in den sacramente met haren inwendeghen ooeghen des ghelooefs, dat was hen noch meerre blisscap.
Ende nieman van hen allen en vraeghde heme: ‘Meester, hoe magh dit sijn?’ , want si wisten wale: die hemel ende eerde ende alle ding van niete maecte, hi mach oec wel verwandelen de eene substantie in de andere, daer hi wilt; ende die in enen oeghenblicke verwandelde alle de watere van egypten in bloede, ende loths wijf in eenen steen, ende ute der drooeghere steenroke dede vloeyen eene starke riviere van watere, ende menegh ander grooet wonder dat ghescreven es in dat oude testament, ende oec int nuwe: want heme sijn alle ding moghelec ende onderdaen.
Nu merct dan. Al dat brooed dat hi vore hadde in sijnre consecratiën, ende dat alle priesteren vore hebben in allen staden in alle outaren in alle de werelt, dat es ééne natuere van brooede, ende dat vergadert al in der consecratiën alse ééne materie, ende ééne eenvuldeghe substantie des lichamen ons heeren in den sacramente overmids rechte intentie ende de waerde der consecratiën. Ende al dat te voren brooed was, dat wert de lichame ons heeren. Ende al sijn de hostiën ghedeilt in allen inden van erterike, dat sacrament es één, ende de levende lichame ons heeren es één ende onghedeilt in al dat sacrament.
Ende aldus seldi oec ghelooeven: de consecratie des wijns in dat bloed ons heeren, dadt es in ieghenwelken kelc al-te-male, ende in allen kelken, al de werelt dore, niet meer dan in éénen; want men maeghs niet deilen, noch menderen, noch meerren.
Ende al sijn de consecratiën des lichamen ons heeren ende sijns bloeds ghedeilt ende onderscheeden in materiën, ende in formen der waerde, in ghedeenten, ende oec in beteekeninghen: si vergaderen in ééne waerheit, ende si sijn één sacrament ende . i. cristus. Want de levende lichame ons heeren inder hostiën en es niet sonder sijn eighen bloed; noch sijn bloed in den kelc en mach niet sijn sonder sinen lichame daert in leeft. Ende aldus es cristus onghedeilt ende al-te-male in ieghenwelken deele des sacraments.
Ende sonder heefsel tarwen brooed, ende gheen ander dranc dan allettel waters ende wijn, en mach tote onsen sacramente sijn. Dit beteekent ons dat cristus was onnooesel, saechtmoedegh ende onverhaven onder alle menschen. Ende hi was dat edele tarwen-coren dat ghestorven es ende ghevallen in de erde, ende heeft ons brach vele vrochte, dat es: onser alre leven in kerstenen ghelooeve.
Hi es oec de ghewareghe wijnstoc dien sijn vader gheplantd heeft in onsen wijngaard:
Ute sinen wonden vloeyt ons balsame ende wijn;
Die edele roke ende smaec doet de minnende dronken sijn.
Dit is dat derde poent: wise ende maniere hoe cristus hem-selven gaf in den heileghen sacramente.
Soe wie dronken wilt werden van minnen, hi sal aensien ende merken ende verwonderen . ij. poente van minnen die ons cristus bewijst heeft in den heileghen sacramente; die soe grooet sijn ende soe diep, datse nieman te gronde begripen noch verstaen en mach.
Dat ierste poent leert ons, dat cristus ghegheven heeft onser zielen zijn vleesch in spisen, ende sijn bloed in dranke. Al-selc wonder van minnen en was daer te-voren nie ghehooert.
Nu es der minnen natuere altoes: gheven ende nemen, minnen ende ghemindt werden. Ende dit es beide in ieghewelken die mint. Cristus minne die es ghieregh ende melde: al gheeft hi ons al dat hi heeft ende al dat hi es, hi nemt oec weder al dat wi hebben ende al dat wi sijn. Ende hi eischt ons meer dan wi gheleisten moghen. Sijn hongher es sonder mate grooet: hi verteert ons al uut te gronde, want hi es . i. ghieregh slockard ende heeft den mengerael; hi verteert dat margh ute onsen beenen.
Nochtan onnen wijs hem wel. Ende soe wijs heme meer gheonnen, soe wi hem bat smaken.
Ende wat hi op ons teert, hi en mach niet vervult werden, want hi heeft den mengerael ende sijn hongher es sonder mate. Ende al sijn wi aerm, hi en achtes niet, want hi en wilt ons niet laten.
Ierstwerf bereidt hi sine spise, ende verbernt in minnen alle onse sonden ende onse ghebreke.
Ende alse wi dan ghesuvert sijn ende in minnen ghebraden sijn, soe gaept hi alse de ghier diet al verslocken wilt. Want hi wilt onse sundeleke leven verwandelen ende verteeren in sijn leven dat es vol gratiën ende gloriën, die ons altoes bereed es, willen wi ons-selfs vertyen ende de sonden laten.
Mochten wi sien de ghiereghe ghelost die cristus heeft tote onser salecheit, wi en mochten ons niet onthouden wi en souden heme in de keele vlieghen. Al luden minne waerde wonderlec, die minnen, die verstaen wi wel.
Jhesus minne es van soe edelen arde, daer si teert, daer wilt si voeden. Al verteert ons jhesus te-male in heme, daer-vore gheeft hi ons hem-selven. Ende hi gheeft ons gheesteleken hongher ende dorst sijns te ghesmakene met eewegher lost.
Hi gheeft onsen gheesteleken honghere ende onser herteleker liefden sinen lichame in spisen. Ende alse wi dien in ons eten ende teeren met innegher devotiën, soe vloeyt ute sinen lichame sijn gloriose heete bloed in onse natuere ende in alle onse aderen; ende alsoe werden wi ontfunct in minnen ende in herteleker liefden tote heme, ende al doorvloeyt, lijf ende ziele, met loste ende met gheesteleken smake.
Soe gheeft hi ons dan sijn leven vol wijsheiden, waerheiden ende leeringhen, heme na te volghene in allen dooghden. Ende dan leeft hi in ons ende wi in hem.
Hi gheeft ons oec sine ziele met volre ghenaden, op-dat wi altoes staende bliven met heme in minnen, in dooghden ende in sijns vader love.
Ende boven al dit soe vertooent hi ons ende ghelooft ons sine godheit in eewegh ghebruken.
Wat wondere eest dat si jubileren die dit ghesmaken ende bevinden?
Doe de coninghinne van ooest-lande aensach de rijcheit de eere ende de glorie des conincs salomons, doe ghebrac hare gheest van grooeten verwonderne, ende si quam van hare-selven ende viel in onmacht.
Nu merct dan salomonne, sine rijcheit ende sine glorie, hoe cleine dat si was jeghen de rijcheit ende de glorie die cristus selve es ende ons bereed heeft in den heileghen sacramente; want al moghen wi ontfaen al dat sijnre menscheit toe-hooerende es ende in onsen gheduere bliven, alse wi aensien sine godheit die wi vore ons hebben in den sacramente, soe verwondert ons soe seere, dat wi ons-selven moeten onthooeghen in den gheeste in overweseleker minnen, ochte wi vielen in onmacht van wondere ende van ongheduere vore de tafele ons heeren. Maer met devotiën ende met herteleker liefden eten wi ende teeren de menscheit ons heeren in onse natuere; want liefde trect in hare al dat si mindt. Ende met al-selker liefden teert ende trect onse heere onse natuere in heme, ende vervult ons met sijnre ghenaden. Ende dan wassen wi grooet, ende onthooeghen ons-selven in eene godleke liefde boven redene. Daer wi met onsen gheeste eten ende teeren ende crighen met blooeter minnen in sine godheit, siet daer ontmoeten wi sinen gheest, dat es sine minne, die sonder mate grooet es; die onsen gheest ende al sijn werken verbernt ende verteert, ende trect met hare in eenecheit, daer wi ghevoelen raste ende salecheit.
Siet aldus selen wi altoes eten ende werden gheten, ende met minnen op ende
neder gaen. Ende dit es onse leven in der eewecheit. Ende dit meinde cristus doe hi sprac tote sinen discipelen. ‘Met begheerten hebbic begheert dese paessche met u te etene eer ic dooeghe’.
Pascha beteekent ons cristum, dien wi eten in den sacramente, gheliker-wijs dat de apostelen met cristo in den avont-etene alle te-gadere ontfinghen dat heileghe sacrament alse andere spise die den lichame voedt.
Ende in den sacramente soe ontfing ieghewelc den lichame ons heeren alse sine eeweghe spise, overmids ghelooeve, minne ende begheerte; want ghelooeve ende minne dat es de mond der sielen, daer si mede ontfinghen ende aten den lichame ons heeren met allen sinen leden.
Niet na der grofheit des lichamen, alsoe hi daer ter tafelen sat. Die grofheit hadde hi verborghen in de substantie sijns lichamen, ende oec in den sacramente; want sijn lichame was noch doe sterfelec. Hadden sine met haren tanden ghebeten, het soude heme wee ghedaen hebben.
Maer hi gaf hen, boven natuere, dat minleke leven sijns vleeschs ende sijns bloeds, sijnre zielen ende sijnre godheit. Ende dat was hare gheesteleke spise, ende oec de sine, ende onser alre.
Nochtan bleef hi, in hem-selven, al dat hi was, onghedeilt ende onverwandelt in sijnre natueren. Hi gaf hen al de substantie di hi ontfaen hadde van der maeght mariën sijnre moeder, dat was: sine menscheleke natuere.
Hi gaf hem-selven al-te-male ende onghedeilt in . ij. manieren, dat was: sinen lichame onder de ghedeente van brooede, ende sijn bloed onder de ghedeente van wine.
Ende in ieghenwelken es hi al ende onghedeilt. Want sijn lichame es . i. levende onthout sijns bloeds. Ende sijn bloed es . i. levende onthout sijns lichamen. Ende de ziele es haerre beider leven.
Ende dese . iij. te-gadere sijn . i. leven onghedeilt, dat cristus es, ende dat hi sinen discipelen gaf, ende ons allen ghelaten heeft in den sacramente.
Want gheliker-wijs dat alle de hostiën die alle priesteren vore hen hebben in der consectatiën, die sijn alle ééne substantie ende ééne brooedheit onghedeilt, alsoe sijn si, na der consecratiën, ééne substantie des lichamen ons heeren, die men niet deilen en mach. Ende aldus sprekic van den wine dien men consacreert in dat bloed ons heeren.
Ende hier-omme, ieghewelc dropel van den kelke, ochte ieghewelc brocsken van der gheconsacreerder hostiën, hoe cleine dadt es, daer schijn van brooede es, daer es cristus al-te-male gheheel, alse in den hemel. Want al sijn de stucken ende de hostiën ghedeilt in allen landen in menegher wijs, dat sacrament es één, ende cristus es één ende onghedeilt in al dat sacrament, al erterike dore.
Want gheliker-wijs dat des menschen ziele leeft in alle sine lede, ende in ieghewelken lede al, onghedeilt ende sonder stad, alsoe leeft de gloriose lichame ons heeren in al dat sacrament al erterike dore, onghedeilt ende sonder stad, op-dat hi ghemeine sijn moghe allen sinen leden: dat sijn alle die-ghene die sijns begheeren in kerstenen ghelooeve.
Ende hi es ieghenwelken al in eenre sunderlingher wijs, na dat hijs behoeft ende begheert. Ende dit heetd men communio, dat es: ghemeininghe. Want wi ontfaen alle den lichame ons heeren ghemeine in den sacramente, ende ieghewelc sunderlinghe, al dat de andere ontfaen in der ghemeinheit.
Ende al eest dat de priesteren in der messen dat heileghe sacrament ontfaen in . ij. manieren, si en ontfaen doch niet meer dan de leeke; want al es de consecratie ghedeilt in den kelc ende in der hostiën, cristus es al-te-male ende onghedeilt in ieghewelken.
Nu mochte eenegh onghelooevegh sot mensche dinken ende peinsen aldus: Dat
sacrament dat cristus consacreerde, dat aten de apostelen die doen bi heme waren al-te-male, wat eest dan dat de papen nu maken?
Toe deser questiën antwaerdde cristus selve, doe hi sprac te sinen apostelen al-te-hans na sine consecratie: ‘Alsoe dicke, sprac hi, alse ghi dese dinghe doen selt, soe seldijt doen in ghedinkenessen mijns’; dat es mijnre minnen, mijnre passiën ende mijnre dooet, ende dat ic ghewaregh god ende mensche ben ende alles mechtegh in hemel ende in erde. Dese waerde ontfinghen de apostelen van den monde ons heeren alsoe alse hise meinde, dat was: alse sine prophetye ende sijn ghebod; ende sine godleke macht die hi hen gaf ende haren navolgheren, dit ambacht te doene tote in den lesten dagh. Ende hier-omme, al-te-hans na sine opvaert, doe si den heileghen gheest ontfaen hadden die hen leerde alle waerheit, doe begonsten si dit ambacht der messen in den persoon ons heeren jhesu cristi; ende sijn gheest sprac dore haren mond in der consecratiën: ‘Dit es mijn lichame, ende dit es mijn bloed’. Ende si ordineerden biscoppe ende priesteren van sinen weghen ende in sinen name, ende gaven hen de macht die si van gode ontfaen hadden, priesters ambacht te pleghene in alle de werelt.
Ende aldus es de heileghe kerke in cristo ghefundeert; ende cristus leeft in hare, ende es één met hare van beghinne. Ende si sal staende bliven met haren dienste tote in den lesten dagh. Ende in der consecratiën des heileghs sacraments, soe sijn alle priesteren willeghe instrumente ons heeren jhesu cristi; ende hi sprect dore ieghewelcs mond, ende dore haerre alre mond: ‘Dit es mijn lichame, ende dit es mijn bloed’. Ende ieghenwelc priester consacreert den lichame ons heeren ghewaerlec. Ende alle priesteren niet meer dan denselven lichame in der waerheit.
Ende hiermede late ic dat ierste poent van minnen dat ons cristus bewijst heeft ende gheleert in den heileghen sacramente.
Dat ander poent van minnen dat hiet-na volght, dat merken wi daer hi sprect in der consecratiën: ‘Dit es de kelc mijns bloeds, die omme u ende omme vele menschen uutghestort sal werden in verlatenessen der sonden’. Dese waerde sprac hi doe hi sijn bloed consacreerde in dranke sinen apostelen ende ons allen, ende daer na te-hans uut-storten woude ende sterven van minnen omme onser alre sonden.
Meerre minne en was nye ghehooert, dan dat de gods-sone sijn leven gaf in de dooet, ende cochte ons met sijnre dooet jeghen de gherechtegheit sijns vader, op-dat wi eewelec met heme leven souden.
Hi offerde hem ende ons, met sijnre ooedmoedegher dooet, der ghenadegheit sijns vader. Ende de vader heeft ons met heme ontfaen in dat hemelsche erve sijns soons.
Ende hier-omme heeft cristus sine consectatie ghedeilt, opdat wi ghedinken selen den kelc sijnre passiën dien hi van minnen dranc, daer hi ons mede verlooeste van der eewegher dooet, ende cochte ons, jeghen sinen vader, leven der gratiën ende der gloriën. Ende dit leert ons de consecratie sijns heileghs bloeds.
Maer de consecratie des lichamen ons heeren bewijst ons grooetheit sijnre minnen, in dien dat hi ons gheestelec spisen ende voeden wilt met hem-selven, op-dat hi in ons leven moghe, ende wi in heme, gheliker-wijs dat vore gheseeght es. Hi es van minnen ghestorven omme onse leven. Ende hi leeft in ons, op-dat wi eewelec levende bliven in heme.
Siet dit sijn . ij. poente van minnen, die sijn soe grooet, en machse nieman te gronde versinnen.
Ende altooes alse wi messe hooeren ochte ten sacramente gaen, soe selen wi ons hier-mede verbeelden ende sijnre minnen ghedinken, op-dat wi ons-selfs vergheten, ende, in sijnre eeren, alre vremder minnen vertyen.
Ende alse ons dooegden enhe liden toe-comt, soe selen wi sijns dooeghens ghedinken, ende heme na-volghen in ghehooersamheiden ende in ghelatenheiden ons-selfs, al tote der dooet.
Ende alsoe selen wi sijnre minnen ghesmaken daer hi ons in vercoren heeft ende ghemindt in der eewecheit sonder beghin.
Nu vendic . iij. poente van der eewegher minnen gods die sijn soe hooeghe ende soe grooet, dat daer alle de heileghe scriftuere van beghinne in ghewortelt es.
Dat ierste poent es: dat god den mensche van minnen ghescapen heeft toe sinen beelde en toe sinen ghelikenesse.
Dat ander poent es: dat de sone gods, die eeweghe wijsheit, van minnen ane-ghenomen heeft menscheleke natuere, ende heeft die ghebeelt met sijnre persoonlecheit.
Dit derde poent es: dat die selve sone gods, jhesus cristus, van minnen ghestorven es, ende heeft ons verlooest met sinen preciosen bloede, ende ghedwaghen, in der dooepen, van alle onsen sonden. Ende alsoe heeft hi ons boven onse natuere met heme gheëenecht in den geeste sijnre minnen.
Dat vierde poent sijnre minnen es: dat hi ons heeft ghegheven sijn vleesch ende sijn bloed, ende al dat hi van onser natueren ontfaen heeft, ende al dat hi es, god ende mensche, in spisen ende in dranke; op-dat hi in ons ende wi in heme eewelec leven, god ende mensche.
Nu merct dese . iiij. poente met grooeten ernste, ic salse u noch bat verclaren.
God heeft de werelt eewelec ghemindt alsoe, dat hi ons ghegheven heeft sinen eeneghen sone in desen . iiij. wisen.
In den iersten leert ons de heileghe scriftuere, dat god, de hemelsche vader, heeft alle menschen ghescapen toe sinen beelde ende toe sinen ghelikenesse.
Sijn beelde dat es sijn sone, die eeweghe wijsheit sijns selfs. Daer-in leven alle ding, sprect sente Jan: ‘Al dat ghemaect es, dat was leven in heme’. Ende dat leven en es anders niet dan dat beelde gods, daer god eewelec alle ding in bekindt heeft, ende oec orsake es alre creatueren. Ende aldus es dit beelde, dat de sone gods es, eewegh, vóre alle ghescapenheit.
Ende toe desen eeweghen beelde sijn wi alle ghemaect; want na den edelsten deele onser zielen, dat es eighendoem onser oversten crachte, daer sijn wi ghemaect alse . i. levende eewegh spieghel gods, daer god sijn eeweghe beelde in ghedruct heeft, ende daer nemmermeer ander beelde in comen en mach.
Altoes blijft die spieghel vore dat anschijn gods. Ende daer-omme wert hi gheëeweght met den beelde dat hi ontfaen heeft.
In desen beelde bekinde ons god, eer wi ghescapen waren, in hem-selven, ende nu, in der tijd ghescapen, toe hem selven.
Dit beelde es weselec ende persoonlec in alle menschen; ende ieghewelc mensche heevet al-te-male gheheel, onghedeilt; ende alle menschen en hebbens, onder hen allen, niet meer dan . i. mensche. Ende aldus sijn wi alle één, vereenecht in onsen eeweghen beelde, dat gods beelde es ende onser alre oorsprong: ons levens ende ons ghewerdens; daer onse ghescapene wesen ende onse leven, sonder middel, in-hangt alse in sine eeweghe sake.
Nochtan en wert onse ghescapenheit niet god, noch dat beelde gods creatuere; want wi sijn ghescapen toe den beelde, dat es: dat beelde gods te ontfane. Ende dat beelde es onghescapen, eewegh: de sone gods.
Dit beelde es, in den wesene gods, wesen ende weselec; ende, in der natueren, die selve natuere. Die natuere es vrochtbaer: vaderlecheit ende vader. In der vrochtbaerre natueren es de vader in den sone, ende de sone in den vader. Maer in den vader es de sone soonlec ende ongheboren, alse eene inblivende vrocht sijnre natueren. Ende daer houdt hare die natuere vaderlec: altoes te ghebaerne, ende soonlec: sonder onderlaet gheboren te werdene. Maer in der gheboorten es de sone . i. ander persoon, eewegh uutgaende ute den vader; ende de heileghe gheest, die derde persoon, uutvloeyende alse eene berrende gloet, haerre beider minne in alle creatueren die daertoe bereed sijn.
Dat overste onser zielen es altoes bereed; want het es blooet ende onghebeeldt, altoes siende ende neighende in sijn beghin. Ende daer-omme eest een eewegh levende spieghel gods, altoes sonder onderlaet ontfaende die eeweghe gheboort des soons, dat beelde der heilegher drivuldegheit, daer hem god in bekindt: al dat hi es na wesene ende na persone; want dat beelde es int wesen, ende, in ieghewelken persoon, al dat die persoon es in natueren.
Ende dit beelde hebben wi alle alse . i. eewegh leven, sonder ons selven, vóre onse ghescapenheit. Ende in onse ghescapenheit es dit beelde overwesen ons wesens ende eewegh leven.
Ende hier-ute heeft de substantie onser sielen . iij. eighenscape, die één sijn in der natueren.
Die ierste eighenscap der zielen es onghebeelde weseleke blooetheit. Daer-mede sijn wi ghelijc, ende oec gheëenecht den vader ende sijnre godleker natueren.
Die andere eighenscap mach heeten de overste redene der zielen, dat es: eene spiegheleke claerheit. Daer-in ontfaen wi den sone gods, die eeweghe waerheit. In der claerheit sijn wi heme ghelijc; maer in den ontfane sijn wi één met heme.
Die derde eighenscap noemen wi de vonke der zielen, dat es: natuerleke ingheneichtheit der zielen in haren orsprong. Daer-in ontfaen wi den heileghen gheest, de minne gods. In der inneighinghen sijn wi ghelijc den heileghen gheeste; maer in den ontfane, werden wi . i. gheest ende ééne minne met gode.
Ende dese . iij. eighenscape sijn eene onghedeilde substantie der zielen, een levende grond: eighendoem der overster crachte.
Dese ghelijcheit, met der eeninghen, es in ons allen van natueren. Maer si es den sondaren verborghen in haren eighenen gronde, overmids grofheit der sonden.
Ende hier-omme, willen wi ghevoelen ende bevenden dat rike gods dat in ons verborghen es, soe moeten wi hebben . i. dooghtsam leven van binnen, ende wel-gheordent van buten in rechter caritaten, cristum navolghende in alre wijs, alsoe dat ons gratie, minne, ende dooghde verheffen moghen in dat overste ons-selfs, daer god in leeft ende regneert.
Want die salecheit die god es, die en moghen wi niet bescouwen noch ghevoelen in natuerleken lichte, met gheenre const noch met gheenre behendegheit, sonder de ghenade goods. Ende hier-omme heeft god de overste crachte onser zielen ghescapen sijn ghelijc te ontfane, dat es: sine gratie ende sine gaven. Daer-in werden wi vernuwet ende verhaven boven natuere, ende heme ghelijc in minnen ende in dooghden.
Ende overmids overnatuerleke ghelijcheit die wi met gode hebben in gratiën ende in dooghden, soe wert onse memorie verhaven in onghebeelde blooetheit, ende onse verstaen in eenvuldeghe waerheit, ende onse wille in godleke vriheit. Ende alsoe sijn wi gode ghelijc overmids gratie ende dooghde, ende met heme gheëeneght boven ghelijc in salegheiden.
Ende dit es dat ierste teeken van minnen dat god bewijsde menscheleker
natueren, daer hi ons maecte toe sinen beelde ende toe sinen ghelikenesse.
Maer doe adam, die ierste mensche, onghehooersam was, alsoe dat hi brac dat ghebod ons heeren, doe wart hi onghelijc overmids de sonde, ende verboorde dat paradijs ende den ingang in dat rike gods, ende wi alle met heme. Ende hier-ute wies dat ander teeken van minnen dat god ons allen bewijst heeft, dat es: dat hi sinen eeneghen sone ghesendt heeft in onser natueren, alsoe dat hi es een mensche met ons, ende onser alre brueder.
Hi heeft heme ghenedert, ende ons ghehooeght, heme ghearmt ende ons gherijct. Hi heeft heme versmaedt, ende ons gheëert.
Maer al heeft hi hem ghenedert, hi en heeft hem niet ontedelt; want hi bleef al dat hi was, ende nam ane dat hi niet en was. Hi bleef god ende wart mensche, op-dat de mensche god worde.
Hi heeft heme ghekleedt met onser alre menscheit, alse . i. coning die hem kleedt met den kleede sijnre familiën ende sijnre knechte, alsoe dat wi alle sijn met heme van éénen kleede menscheleker natueren.
Maer hi heeft de ziele ende den lichame dien hi ontfing van der reinre maeght mariën boven-al sunderlinghe ghekleedt met eenen coningleken kleede, dat es sine godleke persoonlecheit. Dat kleed en behooert niemene van natueren dan heme alleene, want hi es god ende mensche in éénen persoon.
Maer selen wi daer met hem ghekleedt sijn, dat moet sijn overmids sine gratie: dat wi heme alsoe seere minnen, dat wi ons-selfs verlooechghenen connen ende overliden onse ghescapene persoonlecheit: soe werden wi gheëenecht sinen persone, der eewegher waerheit.
Want ghi wet wel dat wi alle van natueren gheboren sijn kindere der abolghen, manslachtegh ende landbreke in dat rike gods, overmids den iersten mensche die gode onghehooersam was, ende verlooes de ghenade die hi ontfaen hadde
tote onser alre behoef die van heme gheboren souden werden in menscheleker natueren. Ende omme dese sonde te beterne, soe sand ons de vader sinen sone; ende die sone ontfing onse natuere; ende de heileghe gheest volbrachte die gheborte in onser menscheit.
Ende dit en was ons niet gnoech, die sonde te verghevene; want de vader woude die sonde wreken na gherechtegheit. Ende hier-omme leverde hi sinen sone te stervene omme die sonde. Ende de sone was hem ghehooersam tote der dooet. Ende de heileghe gheest volbrachte dat werc in minnen. Ende dit es dat derde poent van minnen, dat ons de sone gods verlooest heeft met sijnre dooet, ghecocht ende betaelt vore dat anschijn sijns vader met sinen preciosen bloede, alsoe dat wi leven overmids sine dooet.
Hi heeft ons ghewasschen in de fonteyne die ute sijnre ziden liep, ende verlooest met sinen bloede, ende gheëenecht met sinen gheeste in minnen. Ende aldus bliven wi altoes in heme; want wi sijn in heme een gheestelec leven.
Ende dit beteekent ons dat water dat men met den wine doet in den kelc daer men consacreert sijn bloed. Want met den watere dat gheëenecht es den wine in der consectatiën, soe verstaen wi cristus volc dat met heme gheëenecht es, ende leeft in sinen bloede.
Ende dit leven en mach nieman hebben noch ghevoelen dan ghelooeveghe kerstene menschen die met cristo gheëeneght sijn in sijnre minnen.
Ende hen volght na dat vierde poent van minnen, dat cristus sinen uutvercoornen vrienden, die in hem leven, ghelaten heeft.
Dat poent merken wi in dien, dat hise voedt ende onthoudt met edelre spisen ende dranke, dat es: sijn vleesch ende sijn bloed, dat hen alleene van rechte toebehooert; want hi sprect selve: ‘Die etd mijn vleesch ende drinct mijn bloed, hi wooent in mi, ende ic in heme’; ende ‘hi en sal niet sterven, maer hi sal eewelec leven’ dat es te verstane: gheestelec, alsoe die inghele ende die heileghen leven, die cristum eten ende drinken sonder tand ende sonder mond.
Want cristus es dat levende hemelsche brooed dat de vader in de werelt ghesonden heeft, dat wi met minnen eten ende teeren in onsen gheeste, gheliker-wijs dat die inghele ende die heileghen doen in den hemel, ende gheliker-wijs dat cristus selve, met sijnre minnen, ons allen verteert in heme.
Die aldus teeren ende werden verteerdt, die hebben . i. eewegh salegh leven in cristo, ende si moghen altoes eten ende drinken, alse si met minnen haers liefs ghedinken.
Nochtan begheeren si meer dat heileghe sacrament, ende si sijn hebbelekere ende bereedere daer toe dan andere menschen. Want si minnen wise ende ufeninghe der heilegher kerken, alsoe alst cristus gheordent heeft ende ghesetd, te sijnre eeren ende in orbore sijns volcs. Ende hier-omme sijn si altoes wassende ende toenemende in gratiën ende in allen dooghden, van binnen ende van buten. Want al dat si van binnen hebben in den gheeste, dat ontfaen si oec van buten in den heileghen sacramente. Ende aldus sijn si heilegh in den ontfane, ende noch heileghere in den hebbene, ende alre-heileghst hebbende ende ontfaende.
Maer die dat heileghe sacrament ontfaen onwerdelec, in dooetsonden, die verordeelen hen-selven. Ende diet oec niet en ontfaen in den gheeste noch oec in den sacramente, die sijn dooet vore gode, want si leven in blooeter natueren sonder ghenade.
Hoe wi ontfaen selen, ende eten ende gheten werden, dat hebbe ic hier vore gheseeght.
Dit es dat vierde poent: sake ende waeromme dat cristus hem-selven gaf bedect ende verborghen in den heileghen sacramente, niet oppenbare, in der forme alsoe hi doe was op ertrike ende nu es in den hemel.
Nu sijn vele grove onverstendeghe menschen die vroedere willen sijn dan cristus, die de wijsheit gods es. Dese menschen peinsen ende vraghen welc de sake ende de waromme si, dat hem cristus ghelaten heeft in den heileghen sacramente verborghen ende bedect, niet blooet alsoe hi was, ende nu es in den hemel.
Hier-toe antwaerdt de heileghe scriftuere aldus: ‘Al dat god ghemaect heeft, dat es herde goet. Ende al dat van gode es, dat es wel gheordent’. Nu sprect de prophete ysayas: dat ‘den volke dat wandelde in dat conincrike der scaduwe ende der dooet, hen es gheboren een licht’. Dat licht es cristus. Ende dit licht, sprect sente Jan, ‘licht in deemsterheit, ende de donkerheiden en constens niet begripen’; want sente pauwels sprect, dat wi nu sien alse in eenen spieghel ende in een ghelikenesse. Maer in den eeweghen levene selen wi sien van anschine te anschine de glorie ons heeren jhesu cristi. Ende wi selen hem claerlec bekinnen alsoe hi ons nu bekindt.
Maer hier moghen wine bekkinen in den lichte ons ghelooefs, ghelikerwijs dat die apostelen daden, beide vóre sine dooet ende oec na sine opverstannesse, Si saghen eenen mensche, ende si ghelooefden dat hi god was, ende dat die godheit binnen der menscheit verborghen was.
Alsoe sien wi dat heileghe sacrament met onsen uutwendeghen ooeghen, ende ghelooeven dat ons daer-in verborghen es de lichame ons heeren. Want saghen wi onsen heere glorioos in sijnre claerheit alsoe hi in den hemel es, wi en mochtens niet ghedraghen; want onse ooeghen sijn sterflec, ende souden onse sien verliesen; ende alle onse senne souden ghebreken alleene in de claerheit des lichamen ons heeren.
Nu merct dan de gheesteleke claerheit sijnre zielen ende sijnre godheit hoe onbegripelec grooet dat si es.
Ende hier omme seldi weten, dat onse heere jhesus cristus alle sine gaven daer onse gheesteleke leven in gheleeght, die sijn alle bedect ende bewonden in sacramenten ende in uutwendeghen senleken teekenen; alse de heileghe dooepe, die . i. ingang es ons eeweghs levens: die wert volbracht in watere ende met waerden die daer-toe behooeren. Ende menechvuldeghe andere gaven die ons cristus gheeft in der heilegher kerken, die sijn alle bedect in sunderlingher wisen, dat es: in crismen, in oliën, in waerden, in werken, in teekenen ende in sacramenten, in rechter ordinantiën na dats ieghewelc behoeft.
Ende sunderlinghe, de heere alre gaven, jhesus cristus, die heeft ons sijn vleesch ende sijn bloed met der cracht van sinen waerden bedect ende verborghen in den heileghen sacramente, alsoe dat wi hier wandelen moeten in allen sinen gaven met vasten ghelooeve ende gloriosen scouwene; want met ganssen ghelooeve verdienen wi eewegh scouwen.
Ende hier-omme sijn dat dooere menschen, die eewegh leven ende de glorie gods willen bringhen in tijd, ochte tijd bringhen in eewegheit; want dat is beide onmoghelec.
Want saghen wi onsen heere alsoe hi es in den hemel, soe waert ons onmoghelec ende oec onmenschelec dat wi sinen lichame souden eten ende sijn bloed drinken. Maer nu eten wi dat sacrament met onsen tanden, ende in den sacramente eten wi sijn vleesch ende drinken sijn bloed in onser zielen overmids ghelooeve ende minne. Ende alsoe werden wi in heme ghe-eenecht ende hi in ons.
Ende dese minleke eeninghe heeft cristus, de wijsheit gods, ghedicht in sinen gheeste ende volbracht met den werken in den werke der waerheit, gheliker-wijs dat si vore gheufent was in figueren ende in ghelikenessen, van beghinne der werelt. Ende hier-omme seldi merken die minleke eeninghe die cristus hebben wilt met ons allen.
Want alle die hostiën die vore de priesteren ligghen, al erterike dore, eer men consacreert, soe sijn si alle ééne substantie des brooeds. Ende in der consecratiën, overmids de cracht gods, verwandelt de substantie des brooeds in de substantie des lichamen ons heeren. Ende dat es die-selve substantie ende die-selve lichame die in den hemel es. Ende dien ontfaen wi alle ghemeinlec in den sacramente na wise der substantien.
Ende in der substantiën ontfaen wi al dat met hare weselec één es, dat es: lingde, breidde ende grooette, ende al dat den lichame toe-behooert alsoe alst al met der substantiën één es, dat ontfaen wi al in den sacramente.
Ende alsoe, overmids dat sacrament, soe es de lichame ons heeren, in allen landen, ende in allen staden, in allen kerken. Ende alsoe moghen wine heffen ende legghen, houden ende draghen in bussen ende in cyboriën; nemen ende gheven, ende ontfaen in menegher wijs.
Maer alsoe alse hi in den hemel sitd, met handen ende met voeten ende met allen sinen leden, in een aenscouwen der inghele ende der heileghen in volre gloriën: alsoe en verwandelt hi die stad niet, maer hi blijft hen altoes jeghenwerdegh. Ende alsoe, in diere wisen, en moghen wijs oec niet ontfaen, noch nu, noch nemmermeer.
Want na den lesten dagh, alse wi met onsen gloriosen lichame in den hemel comen, soe selen wi alle met heme ende bi heme sijn, ende selen bescouwen sijn gloriose anschijn met onsen lijfleken ooeghen. Ende wi selen hooeren sine minleke soete stemme met onsen uutwendeghen ooeren. Ende hier-ave sal onse herte ende alle onse senne vervult werden met sijnre gloriën, alsoe dat wi versmelten selen van minnen ende van blisscapen in heme, ende hi weder in ons.
Ende al es dit de menste glorie des hemels, omme-dat si van buten comt ende senlec es, nochtan en mochten wi alsoe langhe alse wi hier sijn dat anschijn ons heeren niet beschouwen in selker claerheit; want onse senne en mochtens niet ghedraghen.
Ende hier-omme moeten wi nu
wandelen in kerstenen ghelooeve, ende ontfaen dat heileghe sacrament met devotiën, in werdegheiden ende in minnen, op-dat wi na dit leven eeweghe salecheit smaken ende bevinden.
Dit es dat vijfte poent: onderscheet der persone die ten heileghen sacramente gaen, some in eewegher salecheit ende selke te haerre verdoemenessen.
Hier-na volght onderscheet der persone die dat heileghe sacrament ontfaen selen, beide in gheesteleken state ende oec in wereleken state.
Die ierste partye daer ic op beghinnen wille, dat sijn menschen die moruhertegh sijn van natueren.
Alse die gherenen werden met der gratiën gods, eest alsoe dat si volghen ende ghehooersam sijn der gratiën, soe wert hare affectie ende hare ghelost soe heet ende soe seere beweeght in liefden toe der menscheit ons heeren, dat si lichtelec versmaden ende vertyen al dat in de werelt es, op-dat si haers liefs pleghen moghen na gherieve ende na lost haerre begherten.
Ende want si onsen heere niet naerre comen en connen dan in den sacramente, soe vallen si in ongheduere overmids inneghe liefde ende onghepaeyde begheerte die si hebben toe den heileghen sacramente; alsoe dat hen biwilen dunct dat si ontsinnen souden ende bederven, en mochten si dat heileghe sacrament niet vercrighen.
Maer deser menschen en vendt men niet vele. Ende dit sijn al-meest vrouwen ochte joffrouwen, ende lettel manne. Want si sijn van weeker complexiën, ende onverhaven ende onverlicht in den gheeste.
Ende hier-omme es hare ufeninghe senlec ende ghelostegh, ende te-male verbeelt met der menscheit ons heeren. Ende si en connen niet ghevoelen noch verstaen hoe men onsen heere ontfaen mach in den gheeste, sonder dat sacrament. Ende dit es de sake dat si van binnen quelen in loste ende in begheerten die si tote onsen heere hebben.
Ende hen en can nieman gheraden, ghecusten noch ghehulpen noch ghepaeyen, vóre dies-maels dat si dat sacrament ontfaen hebben: dan sijn si alles te-vreden, ende pleghen hars liefs in rasten, in gheesteleken smake ende in overvloedegher suetegheit in ziele ende in lichame; tote dies-maels dat gratie ende ufeninghe vetnuwet in de natuere ende in alle de crachte der zielen: dan vallen si weder in loste ende in begheerten ende in ongheduere alse ochte si nye te-voren ontfaen en hadden. Hare herte gaept ende ghijpt, alse ochte si uutsennegh waren, omme weder van nuwes te ontfane dat heileghe sacrament.
Dese menschen gheliken wel eenen coningskene dat onsen heere bad dat hi neder-quame in capharnaum, ende ghenase sinen sone, want hi begonste te stervene. Ende onse heere andwaerdde: ‘Het en si dat ghi wondere ende teekene siet, soe en ghelooefdi niet’. Doe sprac dat coningsken: ‘Heere, comt neder eer mijn sone sterve’. Hi en ghelooefde niet dat onse heere mochte ghenesen sinen sone, hi en quame tote heme in sijn huus, ende leide sijn hand op sine hooed, ochte dade eenegh ander teeken daer hi mede ghenase.
Alsoe gheliker-wijs sijn dese menschen met liefden ghevallen op dat heileghe sacrament, dat . i. ghewaregh teeken es des lichamen ons heeren dat hi daer jeghenwerdigh es. Ende hier-omme moeten si quelen in ongheduere overmids lost ende begheerte des sacraments. Ende dan roepen si toe den priester ende tote onsen heere: ‘Heere, comt hier neder in mijn huus, in den heileghen sacramente, eer ic van minnen sterve’.
Dese menschen sijn stout ende coene, ende onberespt van groven sonden, ende vri ghemaect van gode, alsoe langhe alse dese wise duert. Ende hier-omme moghen si dat sacrament ontfaen op den
sondagh, ende oec op andere daghe alse ment hen gheven wilt.
Maer eest dat mens hen niet gheven en wilt, dat es de wille gods. Dan selen si ghedinken ende merken dat waerd dat onse heere sprac tote den coningskene: ‘Gang, dijn sone leeft’. Want die ziele die ghelooeft, mindt, ende begheert dat heileghe sacrament te ontfane, die es vol ghenaden, ende si leeft in gode ende god in hare. Ende hier-mede selen si hen ghetrooesten soe si best moghen.
Nu sijn dese menschen almeest van weeker complexiën, ende neichghelec van natueren. Ende hier-omme, alse si beeden, ochte hen ufenen willen in de menscheit ons heeren met loste ende met liefden, soe werden si some lichte gherenen ende beweeght, jeghen haren wille ende jeghen haren danc, in beesteleker ghelost; want hare ufeninghe es noch senlec, ende leeft in vleessche ende in bloede. Ende soe si dan meer op hen-selven sien ende op die lijfleke ongheordende beweeghinghe, soe si meer wast, ende meer beweeght de natuere in onordenen ende in ghebreken.
Maer selen si dit verwinnen, ende hare natuere reine behouden in den dienste ons heeren, soe moeten si haers-selfs vergheten, ende hare ghesichte keeren al-te-male in hem dien si minnen: soe werden si met heme verbeelt in ziele ende in lijf, in herte ende in sen. Ende alsoe werden si reine, ende verwinnen al dat hen letten mach.
Ende dit es de ierste partye van menschen die dat heileghe sacrament weerdelic ontfaen.
Hier-na volgt de andere partye, die hooeghere es dan dese.
Ende dat sijn menschen die subtijl ende verstendegh sijn van gheeste, ende daer-toe neichghelec ende oncuusch van natueren. Alse dese menschen de gratie gods ontfaen ende daer-in bliven, soe moeten si dicwile striden; want dat vleesch es contrarie den gheeste.
Ende hier omme verkiesen si een inghekeert leven, ende ufeninghe in den gheeste vore dat anschijn ons heeren. Ende hier omme ontvlien si allen becoringhen, allen motiën, ende opstane in vleesche ende in bloede.
Eest dan alsoe dat si meer ghelooeven, hopen ende betrouwen in gode dan in hare ufeninghe ochte in allen haren werken, soe werden si verhaven boven hare redeleke verstaen in godleken lichte. Vooert-meer, eest dat si daer bliven in godleken lichte verhaven, ende meer meinen ende begheeren dat boven redene es ende onbegripeleec, dan al dat si met redenen bevinden ende verstaen moghen, soo es hare ghelooeve volmaect, ende minne ghefundeert in haren rechten grond. Ende si sijn vri, ende bekinnen gode, ende waerheit ende wortele ake dooghde.
Nochtan blijft levende de natuere in vleesche ende in bloede, in loste, in swaerheit, in traecheit ende in alre ongheordender neighinghen die si te-voren hadden. Ende alse dese menschen dit in hen ghevoelen ende merken, soe laten si ende versmaden in hen selven al dat gode contrarie es ende haren gheeste, ende dat hen hendert ende letd hare beste te vervolghene. Ende dan laten si de senlecheit, ende vlien inwert in den gheeste vore dat anschijn ons heeren, met ghelooeve, met devotiën ende met ooedmoedeghen ghebeede, gheliker-wijs dat sente pauwels dede doe hi becooert was in den vleesche. Want daer antwaerdt de gheest ons heeren den ooedmoedeghen ghebeede: dat de gratie gods staerc gnoech es alle becoringhen te wederstane. ‘Want in krancheiden werdt de dooght volbracht’ in alle die-ghene die striden, ende met ghebeede vlien in haren gheeste vore die jeghenwerdegheit gods.
Dese menschen gheliken wel eenen man die hiet centurio, die was ghelooevegh in den gheeste, maer hi was heiden ende onbesneden in der natueren. Hi hadde onder heme ghewapende manne hondert, die heme dienden ende ghehooersam waren in alre tijd. Maer hi hadde eenen knecht die lach in zijn huus onmachtegh, ende qualec ghequelt van den fledercine. Ende daer-vore bad hi onsen heere, dat hi dien ghesondt maecte. Ende onse heere antwaerdde: ‘Ic sal comen ende salne ghenesen’. Doe antwaerdde centurio: ‘Heere ic en ben niet weerdegh dat ghi comt onder mijn dac, maer segt met eenen waerde ende mijn knecht sal ghesond sijn’. Doe beloofde hem onse heere van dies mans ghelooeve. Ende in der-selver uren wart sijn knecht ghesond.
Alsoe gheliker-wijs, alsoe langhe alse dese menschen ghevoelen in der natueren oncuussche neighinghe ende lost toe den sonden, alsoe langhe wert vermiddelt ende ghehendert lost ende liefde toe der menscheit ons heeren, ende alsoe langhe es hi hare knecht, dat es de lijfleke natuere, gode ende haren gheeste contrarie, ende wert qualec ghequelt van den viand, want si en wilt den gheeste niet volghen met loste ende met liefden in den dienste ons heeren.
Siet dese menschen en hebben gheenen begheerleken lost toe den heileghen sacramente alsoe langhe alse si aldus striden. Maer si spreken met ooedmoedegher herten: ‘Heere, ic ben onreine; ic en ben niet weerdegh uws heileghs lichamen in den sacramente, dat hi come onder dat dac mijns onreins lichamen. Heere, ende ic ben oec onweerdegh alre eeren, ende alles goeds ende alles trooests die goede menschen hebben van u. Ende hier-omme moetic altooes weenen ende claghen, ende met vasten ghelooeve wandelen vore uwen anschijn. Ende al benic aerm ende ghelaten, ic en sal u niet laten; maer ic sal roepen ende bidden sonder ophouden, tote dierre tijd dat uwe gratie ende mijn ghelooeve minen knecht ghesond maken; ende dan salic u loven ende dienen met zielen ende met live, ende met gheheelheiden mijns selfs ende alle mijnre crachte’.
Siet aldus leeft de andere partye van gheesteleken menschen die gode noch bat behaghen dan de ierste; want al sijn si cranc ende becoort in der natueren, sonder trooest ende suetegheit van gode, si sijn nochtan in haren gheeste vol ghelooefs, devotiën ende godleker minnen.
Ende si moeten dicwile striden jeghen den duvel, de werelt, ende hare eighen vleesch. Ende hier-omme behoeven si in den gheeste sterke spise, daer sijt al mede verwinnen moghen: ende dat es de lichame ons heeren in den sacramente. Dien selen si altoes ontfaen alsijt van ordenen hebben ochte van ambachte, ochte van goeder ghewooenheit anderre gheesteleker menschen daer si bi sijn.
Die derde partye van goeden menschen die hier-na volght, die sijn noch vele meer heilegh ende hooeghere verhaven in gheeste ende in der natueren.
Ende dat sijn inghekeerde menschen, die, overmids de gratie gods, in haren inkeere, met verhavenen vriën gheeste wandelen vore dat anschijn gods; intreckende ende na-volghende: herte ende sen, ziele ende lijf, met allen den lijfleken crachten.
Dese menschen sijn gheweldegh haers gheests ende haerre natueren. Ende hier-omme hebben si ghewareghen vrede vonden. Want al moghen si beweeght werden bi-wilen in der natueren, si vechten haestelec zeghe. Want geene beweeghinghe van ghebreken en mach in hen ghedueren. Want si hebben ghewaregh kinnesse ons heeren, dat es sijnre godheit ende sijnre menscheit; ende dit bekinnen ufenen si met onghebeelden gheeste, in haren inkeere met blooeter minnen verhaven vore die natuere der godheit, ende in haren uutkeere met herteleker liefden ghebeeldt toe der menscheit ons heeren.
Soe si meer kinnen ende minnen, soe si meer smaken ende
ghevoelen. Ende soe si meer smaken ende ghevoelen, soe si meer begheeren ende ghelusten, sueken, gronden ende bevinden, dat si met herten, met zielen ende met haren gheeste minnen.
Dese menschen gheliken wel eenen man daer men af leest in sente lucas ewangelie, die zacheus hiet. Hi begheerde onsen heere jhesum te siene, wie hi ware; maer hi en consten niet ghesien omme de scare van den volke, want hi was cort ende cleine. Doe voorliep hi alle die scare, ende clam op eenen booem, daer jhesus lydens soude. Doe jhesus daer quam, sagh hi den man ane, ende sprac: ‘Zachee, gang haestelec hier neder, want ic moet noch heden bliven in dijn huus’. Ende hi ontfing onsen heere in sijn huus met grooeter blisscap, ende sprac: ‘Siet heere, half mijn goed gheve ic den armen; ende hebbe ic iemene onrecht ghedaen, dat gheldic viervoud’. Doe antwaerdde onse heere: ‘Heden es desen huse salecheit gheschied, in dien dat de mensche es worden in den gheeste abrahams sone’; want overmids sijn ghelooeve es hi op-gheclommen, ende jhesum, dien hi begheerde, heeft hi ghesien ende bekint. Ende ghehooersam es hi nedercomen, ende jhesum, dien hi bekinde ende minde, heeft hi ooedmoedeghlec ontfaen in sijn huus. Ende uutvloeyende melde heeft hi sijn goed ghegheven ende viervoud sijn onrecht betaelt.
Ende aldus es hi gherecht ghemaect.
Ende dat es sijn leven, ende sijn name. Ende hier-omme es hi heilegh ende salegh; ende jhesus blijft wooenende. in heme, hier ende in der eewegheit.
Nu merct dan: die menschen daer ic hier-vore ave seide, hoe si desen gheliken.
Want si begheeren jhesum te siene wie hi es. Ende hier-toe es alle redene ende al natuerlec licht te cort ende te cleine. Ende hier-omme voorlooepen si alle scaren, ende alle menechvuldegheit der creatueren. Ende overmids ghelooeve ende minne clemmen si in dat hooeghste haerre ghedachten, daer de gheest onverbeeldt ende onghehendert in sijnre vriheit steet: daer wert jhesus ghesien, bekint ende ghemint in sijnre godheit. Want daer es hi altooes jeghenwerdegh den vriën verhavenen gheesten die, in sijnre minnen, hen-selven onthooeght sijn. Daer es hi vloeyde met volre gratiën ende ghenaden.
Maer hi sprect tote hen allen: ‘Gaet haestelec neder; want hooeghe vriheit van gheeste en mach niet staende bliven dan in nedere ghehooersamheit van moede. Want ghi moetd mi bekinnen ende minnen god ende mensche: hooecheit boven al, ende ghenedert onder al. Ende alsoe seldi mijns ghesmaken: alse ic u verhooeghe boven al, ende boven u-selven in mi; ende ghi u-selven nedert onder al, ende onder u-selven, met mi omme mi: dan moete ic in uwe huus comen, ende wooenende bliven met u ende in u, ende ghi met mi ende in mi’.
Ende alse die menschen dit bekinnen, smaken ende ghevoelen, soe gaen si haestelec neder in grooete versmaedtheit haers selfs, ende spreken met ooedmoedegher herten, in rechten meshaghene haers levens ende alle haerre werke: ‘Heere, ic en ben niet weerdegh, maer ic ben onweerdech, dat ic uwen gloriosen lichame in den heileghen sacramente ontfaen soude in dat sondeghe huus mijns lichamen ende mijnre zielen. Maer, heere, sijt mijns ghenadegh, ende ontfarme u mijns arms levens, ende alle mijnre ghebreke’.
Siet, alsoe langhe alse dese menschen hen-selven aensien, hare ghebreke ende hare ontbliven, soe meshaghen si hen-selven, ende ufenen hen in minleker vreesen ende in ooedmoedegher versmaedtheit ende in ghewareghen hope vore de ooeghen gods. Ende na diere wijs dat si aldus nedergaen in meshaghene ende in versmadene hen-selven in rechter ooedmoedegheit, na diere wijs behaghen si gode, ende gaen op vore sijn anscijn in rechter weerdegheit.
Ende hier-omme es hare leven ende hare ufeninghe: inkeer te gode, ende uutkeer tote hen-selven.
De inkeer es met verhavenen vriën gheeste, in minleker weerdegheit toe gode ende in gode.
De uutkeer tote hen-selven, dat es: een meshaghen ende een vernieuten haers-selfs. Ende al dat si goeder werke doen ochte doen moghen van buten ende van binnen, die sijn van hen al-te-male ongheacht ende ongheweghen, ende rechte alse niets weerd, dunct hen, vore dat anschijn ons heeren.
Si staen in hen-selven tusschen insien ende uutsien, haers-selfs altoes gheweldegh, ieghenwelcs altoes te pleghene alse si willen.
Hare uutsien es redelec, ghewortelt in caritaten, ufeninghe in goeden seden ende heileghen werken; gheordent in allen dooghden, ende altoes wandelende vore dat anschijn ons heeren. Ende hier-omme bliven si suver ende reine van conscientiën, ende altoes wassende ende toenemende in gratiën ende in allen dooghden vore gode ende vore alle menschen.
Hare insien es bi-wilen redelec, ende ghebeelt, ende in wisen; bi-wilen boven redene: beeldelooes, ende sonder wise.
Alst redelec es, soe eest oec begheerlec ende vol wijsheiden. Want si staen vore dat anschijn der minnen ende der goedheit gods, daer men alle wijsheit leert.
Ende si sijn ghewaregh ooedmoedegh ende vri. Ende hier-omme nemen si vore, die menscheit ons heeren jhesu cristi, ende spreken tote heme aldus: ‘Heere, ghi hebt ghesproken: sonder mi en vermooghdi niet. Ende ghi hebt oec ghesproken: het en si dat ghi etd mijn vleesch ende drinct mijn bloed, ghi en hebt gheen leven in u. Ende ghi hebt vooert ghesproken: die etd mijn vleesch ende drinct mijn bloed, hi wooent in mi ende ic in heme. Heere, nu benic . i. aerm sondare, ende onweerdegh hemelscher spisen die ghi selve sijt; nochtan, heere, hebdi u ghegheven ende ghelaten den sondare die hem-selven meshaeght, ende met rouwe sine sonden belijt ende claeght, ende in u ghewaregh betrouwen heeft: dat es de-ghene die u behaeght; want ghi hebt ons gheleert, dat ghi niet comen en sijt te roepene den gherechten, maer den sondare, dat hi bekeere ende penitentie doe van sinen sonden. Ende hier-omme benic coene ende vri, ende verghete mijns-selfs ende alle mijnre ghebreke in uwe ghenade; want ghi sprect selve: “Comt te mi, ghi alle die arbeidt ende gheladen sijt, ende ic sal u hermaken.”
Ende ghi sprect oec, dat ghi sijd onse levende brooed dat van den hemele neder-comen es: die daer ave etd, hi leeft eewelec. Ghi sijt oec de levende fonteyne die ons vloeyt overmids den heileghen gheest ute uws vaders herte. Ende hier-omme, heere, soe ic meer ete, soe mi meer honghert; ende soe ic meer drinke, soe mi meer dorst: want ic en can u niet verswelghen noch verteeren.
Maer ic bidde u, heere, omme uwe edelheit, dat ghi mi verswelght ende ver teert, alsoe dat ic met u ende in u één leven worde, ende dat ic, in uwe leven, mi selven onthooeghen moghe, boven alle wisen ende ufeninghe, in onwisen; dat es: in wiselooese minne, daer ghi uws-selfs salecheit sijt ende alre heileghen: daer vendic de vrocht alle der sacramente, ende alre wisen, ende alre heilecheit’.
Maer die vrocht moeten wi sueken met wisen ende met den sacramenten ende met heileghen levene. Ende wi selense venden wiselooes ende sonder mate in eewegher grondelooeser minnen.
Wi selen eewelec in ons-selven bliven, ende salegh sijn, ende wel gheordent in gloriosen wisen; ende ieghewelc sonderlinghe na de mate sijnre dooghde ende sijnre minnen. Ende wi selen boven onsselven gods ghebruken, ende in heme leven wiselooes ende boven ordene, in grondelooeser minnen die hi selve es.
Ende die dit verstaen ende aldus leven, si moghen alle daghe dat heileghe sacrament ontfaen, alse ment hen gheven wilt; want si sijn wel gheordent, gratioos ende vol van dooghden, in inkeere ende in uutkeere, in alle hare ufeninghe.
Ende hier-omme sijn si de derde partye van menschen ende de hooegste die edelec ten sacramente gaen.
Ende hare leven ende hare ufeninghe gheleeght in . iiij. poenten.
Dat ierste poent es suverheit der conscientiën van allen groven sonden.
Dat ander poent es overnatuerleke const ende wijsheit in insiene ende in uutsiene, dat es: in scouwene ende in werkene.
Dat derde poent es ghewareghe ooedmoedegheit van herten, van wille ende van gheeste: in seden, in waerden ende in werken.
Dat vierde poent es: ghestorven te sine alre eighenheit, dat es: eighenheit des willen, in den vriën wille gods; verbeeldheit des verstennessen, in die onghebeelde waerheit die God selve es. Die blooete eenvuldecheit der ghedachten dat es de wooeninghe der godheit.
Nu merct. Dese . iiij. poente waren onser liever vrouwen leven ende hare ufeninghe doe si onsen heere ontfing. Want si was suver, reine, maeght, ende al vol gods ghenaden. Si was constegh ende wijs in vraghene ende in antwaerdene den inghel. Ende hi leerde hare de waerheit al-te-male. Si werd grond-ooetmoedegh, ende dat trac den sone gods ute den hemele in onsen dale.
Si sprac: ‘Hier es de dierne ons heeren. Sinen wille moetic begheeren. Mi geschie na dinen woorde’. Doe de heileghe gheest dat verhooerde: Dat woord bequam der minnen gods soe wale, Dat si ons sand den gods-sone in mariën sale, Die ons verloest heeft van aire quale. Nu merct ende leert.
Al was maria uutvercoren boven alle creatueren de moeder gods te sine, coninghinne hemelrijcs ende erterijcs, nochtan vercooes si hare-selven de dierne gods te sine ende alle der werelt. Ende hier-omme, doe si onsen heere ontfaen hadde, doe ghing si met grooeter haesten in dat gheberghte, alse eene ooetmoedeghe dierne dienen sente lijsbetten, sente jans baptisten moeder, tote dierre tijd dat sente Jan gheboren was.
Alsoe gheliker-wijs, onse lieve heere jhesus cristus, hare sone, god ende mensche, doe hi gheconsacreert hadde dat heileghe sacrament ende ghegheven sinen discipelen, ende oec selve ontfaen hadde, soe scotste hi een linen kleed vore heme, ende knielde vore sine discipelen, ende dwoegh hen hare voete, ende drooeghese met den kleede, ende sprac: ‘Ic gheve u exempel, alsoe ic ghedaen hebbe, dat ghi oec alsoe underlinghe ieghewelc den anderen dient’.
Ende hier-omme, die menschen die in ordenen sijn, hoe hooeghe dat si scouwen ochte leven, ende al ontfaen si oec alle daghe onsen heere, eest dat men hen ambachte beveelt, ochte prelate verkiest, alsoe dat si dienen moeten der ghemeinheit in dien dinghen die orborlec sijn ende sonder sonde: dat selen si gherne ende lieflec doen.
Ende al ghevoelen si oec, in haren inkeere ende in haren ghebede, hender ende beelden van dien dinghen die hen bevolen sijn ende die si berechten moeten; ende al sijn si oec sorfhertegh omme uterste dinghe die der ghemeinheit toe-behooeren: omme al dit en selen si niet ave-laten, noch hare ambacht opgheven, noch hen-selven ontladen, maer ghehooersam sijn al tote der dooet, gode ende haren prelaet ende den convente, in allen dien dinghen die eersam ende goet sijn, ende orborlec der ghemeinheit; alsoe langhe alse si in haren inkeere te gode minne ende vreese ende weerdecheit behouden, ende in haren uutkeere hen-selven versmaden ende vernieuten.
Ende al dat si doen moghen ochte liden, dat selen si al cleine weghen ende alse niets weerd, van rechter ooedmoedegheit.
Ende hi den convente ende bi allen menschen selen si saechtmoedegh sijn, blide ende melde; ende ieghenwelken ghereed met onderscheede in sijnre nooet, in rechter vreedsamheit.
Die dese reghele houden, sijn si prelate ochte subjecte, si moghen altoes ten sacramente gaen alse si willen, gheliker wijs dat si vore daden; want si sijn nu ghelikere den levene ons heeren jhesu cristi ende der scriftueren ende den hooeghsten heileghen dan si te voren waren; ende si hebben de rechte wortele ghewareghs scouwens ende werkens ende alre dooghde.
Ende dit-selve neme ic oec van allen menschen die buten ordenen sijn, ende inkeer ende eenecheit behouden in gode, ende daer-toe uutkeer met werken van caritaten tote haren evenkersten, in alre wijs dat sijs behoeven.
Dese sijn alle edelre, hooeghere, ende naerre onsen heere ende ghelikere, dan dieghene die insiens ende inkeers alleene pleghen, sonder uutkeer in werken van caritaten; eest dat si haers-selfs gheweldegh sijn, ende hare evenkersten hens behoevet in eenegher nooet. Maer die insiens ende inkeers alleene wilt pleghen, Ende sinen naesten in nooede begheven: Hi en hadde nooeyt inkeer noch scouwende leven, Maer hi es bedroghen in al sijn wesen: Boven alle ding, huedt u van desen.
Hier-na volght de vierde partye van gheesteleken menschen die ten sacramente selen gaen; ende dat sijn goetwilleghe menschen die ongheveinsdelec de eere gods meinen ende haers-selfs salecheit, die hen pinen te houdene na hare ordene, hare reghele, ende alle die goede usaedgen die si ghehoert hebben ende bescreven venden van den ouderen die vore gheweest sijn ende ordenen ghesticht hebben met waerden ende met werken; dat es: hoe si hen hebben selen in den chooer, in capitele, in den reeftere ende op den dormtere ende in dat siec-huus: in swighene, in sprekene, in vastene, in disciplinen, siec ende ghesond, altoes na de reghele ende na vermoghen der natueren in rechter bescheedenheid.
Al eighens-willen vertyen in ooedmoedegher ghehooersamheit, altoes iet goeds ufenende in ghesunden, ende, alse men siec es, saechtmoedegh ende verduldegh; ende altoes striden ende verwinnen vleesch ende bloed ende alle weereleke dinghe: siet, dit es de ghemeine reghele alre goeder moonke ende nonnen.
Maer alse si hen versuemen in doene ochte in latene, in onordenen, in te vele ochte in te lettel, in welker wijs dat de conscientie tuught ende wrueght dadt sonde es: dat selen si ooedmoedechlec claghen ende belyen met rouwen van herten vore den priester, ende penitentie doen na sinen wille, ende gode wel betrouwen.
Ende alsoe selen si ten sacramente gaen vrilec op de ghenade gods altoes alse sijt ghemeinlec van ordenen hebben ochte oec van goeder ghewoenheit pleghen.
Andere gheesteleke menschen die buten ordenen sijn in goeder ufeninghen, onderdanegh gode ende der heilegher kerken ende haren oversten, in vastene, in vierne ende in alle de ordenantie goeder kerstenre menschen, na macht ende na bescheedenheit: die selen oec ten sacramente gaen bi rade haers priesters, alse mens daer pleeght daer si wooenachtigh sijn.
Hier-na volght de vijfte partye die ten heileghen sacramente gaen. Dat sijn curiose menschen, die henselven behaghen in dien, dat hen dunct dat si gherecht ende heiligh sijn, subtijl ende wijs in doene ende in latene boven andere menschen. Si sijn onverlicht van gode, ende hier-omme achten si hen-selven grooet ende hare werke.
Si hebben al-meest ghetooende wisen; want si willen heilegh schinen, ende dat mense oec vore heilegh houde.
Si willen altoes vordeel hebben boven andere menschen, in biechtene ende in dat sacrament te ontfane. Ende alse men iemene meer es dan hen, soe belghen si hen, ende werden bedrueft, want hen dunct dat men hen onrecht doet, dat ieman vore hen gaen soude; want si sijn swaermoedegh ende ongherijnlec, ende gheerne ghelooft ende gheëert, ende nooede ghenedert ende ghedruct. Heileghen name, prijs, ende gherief der natueren nemen si gherne
Van gheenen dinghen en willen si ghewijst noch berespt noch gheleert sijn, maer si willen selve wisen, leeren ende berespen ieghewelken die hen ghenaect.
Ende al eest dat si in de kerke ufenechtegh sijn, in lesene, in beedene, in knielne, in scooenen wisen: alse si thuus comen, soe sijn si scalc ende wreed, knitsende ende scheldende, ende onvredelec bi te sine, haren boden ende allen den-ghenen die bi hen sijn.
Nochtan sijn si stout ende coene dicwile ten sacramente te gane; want al dat si doen, dat dunct hen recht ende wel ghedaen, ochte clein ghebrec, ochte andere menschens scoud die bi hen sijn.
Ende hier-omme, alsoe langhe alse die mensche hem-selven iet behaeght, soe es hi noch hooeverdegh in sinen gheeste. Ende die ghebreke die ute dierre wortelen comen, en can hi niet wel bekinnen; want hem dunct dat hi alles weerdegh es, ende altooes recht heeft in allen dinghen.
Ende al moghen alle dese dinghe ontsculdecht werden van dooetsonden, overmids onbekkinesse deser menschen ende de menechvuldeghe biechte die si doen: hare leven es nochtan herde sorchghelec.
Men moetse in der biechten dicwile wederstaen, schelden ende castyen van hooeverden, ende spreken hen met der waerheit toe, aldus: ‘Met vreesen, op de ghenade ons heeren, soe mach men u gheven dat heileghe sacrament te hooeghtide, op-dat ghi niet onthopen en selt, noch onverduldegh werden. Maer waerdi saechtmoedegh ende ooedmoedegh, soe mochti altoes cristum eten, ende in heme leven ende wassen ende toenemen in allen dooghden.
Die seste partye van menschen die dat heileghe sacrament moghen ontfaen, dat sijn ghemeinlec alle de-ghene die onsen heere ende haers-selfs salecheit alsoe lief-hebben, dat si willens ende wetens met voorrade nemmermeer dooetsonde en willen doen; ende overmids vreese ende de minne gods ende haers-selfs, soe willen si houden sine ghebode ende
der heilegher kerken in doene ende in latene, ende in allen dinghen die van rechte ende van nooede moeten sijn.
Ende eenwerf in den jare, dat es te paesschen, willen si biechten ende belyen haren priester hare sonden, cleine ende grooet ongheveinsdelec, alsoe alse sise ghedaen hebben, na alre wijs dat si sculdegh sijn ende bekinnen moghen. Ende dan willen si ontfaen dat heileghe sacrament na de wet ende na de ghewooenheit goeder kerstenre menschen.
Ende si willen altoes gherne ghehooersam sijn, ende penitentie doen vore hare sonden, na den wille haers priesters ende na wise ende maniere haerre mesdaet.
Die aldus leven, dat es de ghemeine wech in den hemel, dien alle kerstene menschen van nooede houden moeten die behouden selen sijn, ende nochtan met swaerre penitentiën, ochte met grooeten vagheviere.
Hier-na volght de sevende partye, van allen den menschen die god versmaedt, ende onweerd heeft; ende dien en sal men dat heileghe sacrament niet gheven, noch in den levene, noch in der dooet, het en si dat si bekeeren in penitentiën.
De ierste dat sijn heidene ende joden, ende alle natiën die onghelooevegh sijn.
Dandere dat sijn quade kerstene menschen, die cristum blaspheméren ende versmaden, ende van sinen heileghen sacramenten niet en houden; ochte die niet en ghelooeven dat cristus in vleessche ende in bloede es in den heileghen sacramente des outaers. Dese sijn alle verdoemt.
Maer inval ende becoringhe sonder contsent van wille, dat besteet wel met ghenaden. Hier-omme sal men striden, ende verwinnen met ghelooeve: soe verdient men looen, ende niet verdoemen. Maer heilegher, lichter ende beter eest: sempelec wandelen boven redene int ghelooeve, al sonder pine ende strijd. Andere quade, duvelsche menschen vendt men die segghen dat si selve cristus syn, ochte dat si god sijn; ende dat hare hand hemel ende eerde ghemaect heeft; ende dat ane hare hand hangt hemel ende aerde ende alle ding; ende dat si verhaven sijn boven alle de sacramente der heilegher kerken, ende dat si dierre niet en behoeven: noch si en willender ooec niet.
Ordene ende wise der heilegher kerken, ende al dat de heileghen opt kalf-vel ghescreven hebben, dat versmaden si, ende daer en houden si niet ave. Maer onwise ende hare quade secte, ende beesteleke costume die si selve vonden hebben, die achten si heilegh ende grooet.
Vreese, ende minne te gode, hebben si ute hen verdreven; kinnesse goeds ende quaeds, des willen si leedegh sijn.
Onwise boven redene hebben si in hen bevonden. Ende hier-omme dunct hen in haren wane, dat in den lesten daghe alle redeleke creatueren, goede ende quade, inghele ende duvele, selen werden één wiselooes wesen; ende dat wesen, spreken si, dat sal god sijn, salegh van natueren ende sonder kinnesse ende wille.
Siet ende merct, want dit es wel de sotste ende de quaedste opinie die nooeyt ghehooert was van beghinne der werelt. Nochtan in dit, ende in dese-ghelike, werden vele menschen bedroghen die gheestelec schinen, ende quadere sijn dan duvele.
Want hare onghelooeve dat wederspreken heidene ende joden; natuere, wet ende redene; alle screftuere van quaden ende van goeden; inghele ende duvele; gods waerde ende sine werke.
Want onser alre ghemeine gheloeve leert ons, dat god es driheit in eenheit, ende eenheit in driheit.
Ende sine natuere es: bekinnen ende minnen hem-selven, ende, in hem-selven, sijns-selfs ghebruken. Ende dese . iij. sijn onwandelbaer ende eewegh, sonder beghin ende sonder inde.
Ende hi es in hem-selven ordene ende wise, ende spieghel alre creatueren. Ende na sijn exempel heeft hi alle ding ghemaect in ordenen, in wisen, in maten ende in ghewichte. Ende aldus es hi in allen dinghen, ende alle dinghe in heme.
Maer dat leven dat wi in gode hebben, dat es . i. met gode, ende salegh van natueren. Maer een ander leven hebben wi, met den inghelen, dat god ghescapen heeft van niete, ende dat eewelec bliven sal; ende dat leven en mach niet salegh sijn van natueren, maer het mach gheschien overmids de ghenade gods. Eest alsoe dat wi gratie vercrighen: ghelooeve, hope, kinnesse ende minne, soe werken wi dooghde die gode behaghen, ende alsoe werden wi verhaven boven ons-selven ende met gode vereeneght; maer negheene creatuere en mach god werden.
Ende alsoe gheliker-wijs de inghele in den hemel, die en waren niet ghescapen salegh te sine van natueren, maer si ontfinghen de gratie gods. Ende die hen toekeerden, bekinnende ende minnende, die worden salegh, vaste ghestadecht, ende gode gheëenecht in een eewegh ghebruken; nochtan en worden si niet god, noch nemmermeer en moghen. Maer si bleven alle staende vore dat anschijn ons heeren, ende ieghewelc sonderlinghe, met onderscheede in sinen staet ende in sine ordene die hi ontfaen hadde van gode, in natueren, in gratiën ende in gloriën, ende met eighenre verdienten.
Ende alsoe selen si eewelec bliven, ende wi met hen allen: bekinnende ende minnende, dankende ende lovende, ende, boven al dit, gods ghebrukende, ieghewelc in sinen staet ende in sine ordene met den inghelen, na dat hijs werdegh es ende hier verdient heeft met dooghden. Ende hier-omme sprect onse heere, dat onse inghele altoes bescouwen dat anschijn des vader die in den hemel es.
Ende alsoe, gheliker-wijs alse de goede inghele toe-keerden ende salegh sijn, alsoe keerden de valsche inghele met hooeverden van gode op hen-selven, in behaghene der edelheit ende der scooenheit die god ghegheven hadde haerre natueren, ende versmaedden gratie ende toekeer te gode; ende alte-hans worden si verdoemt, ende vielen neder ute den hemele in vermaledide deemsterheit, daer si eewelec bliven moeten.
Nochtan sijn si quadere dan eenegh duvel, die gheveinsde onghelooeveghe menschen die gode versmaden ende sine gratie, de heileghe kerke ende alle hare sacramente, de heileghe screftuere ende alle ufeninghe van dooghden, ende spreken dat si leven boven alle wise wiselooes; ende dat si alsoe leedegh sijn alse doe si niet en waren; ende dat si niet en hebben bekinnen noch minnen, willen noch begheren, noch, gheene ufeninghe van dooghden: maer si sijn alles leedegh.
Ende omme-dat si willen sondeghen, ende hare onreine quaedheit bedriven sonder conscientie ender sonder vreese, soe spreken si vooert, dat, in den lesten daghe des ordeels, inghele ende duvele, goede menschen ende quade: dese selen alle werden, spreken si, eene eenvuldeghe substantie der godheit; ende daer-in selen si alle ééne weseleke salecheit sijn, sonder bekinnesse ende minne te gode; ende na dien voert, spreken si, en sal god willen noch bekinnen noch minnen, hem-selven noch gheene creatuere.
Siet dit es de meeste abusie ende dat quaedste ende dat sotste onghelooeve dat ye ghehooert was.
Desen en sal men dat heileghe sacrament niet gheven, levende noch stervende; noch begraven met kerstenen menschen; maer men soudse met rechte verberren ane staken. Want si sijn vore gode verdoemt, ende si behooeren ten helschen putte, verre ende diepe onder alle de duvele.
Vooertmeer seldi weten: alle die in dooetsonden sijn, ende die der werelt volghen in een beestelec leven, sonder vreese ende minne ende reverentie te gode, onghehooersam gode ende der heilegher kerken ende kerstenre wet: dese en selen ten sacramente niet gaen; noch die hooeverdegh sijn, ende hare naeste verdrucken.
Ghieregh, vrec ende onghenadegh; Tooernegh, nidegh, wreed, mesdadegh; Schelden, vloeken, sweren ende striden; Persemen, voorkooepen, ende gheens dings miden; Behendegh ende scalc, bedrieghen, quaed beraden; Valsch ende onghetrouwe in allen daden; Swaer ende traghe, in allen dooghden onbereed; Vlitegh, snel, in sonden haestegh ende heet; Onghenuchtert, gulsegh alse . i. swijn; Vroegh ende spade dronken sijn: En es gheen wonder al sijn si sot; Eten, drinken: hare buc hare god: Hier-omme sijn si des duvels spot. Si willen vullen alle hare vate, Met spisen, met dranke, al sonder mate.
Ane dit volc es selden bate, Want hier-ute wast . i. oncuusch leven: Den lichame sine ghenueghte gheven, In waerden, in werken ende in ghelate.
Dit sijn wel des duvels vate, Want si sijn der sonden knechte: De duvel es hare heere met rechte.
Nu merct den quaden hooep met allen: Si sijn der gratiën gods ontvallen. Men sal hen dat sacrament niet gheven, Want al hare leven es een sneven; En si dat si met rouwe bekeeren, Ende soeken de ghenade ons heeren.
De gratie gods es al bereed Die beteren wilt dat hem messteet.
Ende hier omme, alse de sondare bekeert, ende sijn mesdoen vore den priestere claeght ende belijt, ende penitentie doen wilt, dan heeftene god ontfaen. Ende de priestere sal hem verbliden met den inghelen ende met den heileghen, ende sal hem gheven dat heileghe sacrament, in wat tide van den jare dadt si.
Maer die altoes sonder bekinnesse haers-selfs, sonder keer ende rouwe in hare quaedheit bliven, weder si sterven ochte leven, men sal hen dat heileghe sacrament niet gheven, noch met den kerstenen menschen graven. Want alsoe langhe alse de mensche quaedwillegh blijft ende sonder rouwe van sinen sonden, soe en mochts de paeus niet absolvéren, noch alle de papen die leven, sterft hi alsoe, hi en moet verdoemt sijn. Nu vent men selke menschen die wel ghenatuert, van goeder complexiën sijn: blide van moede; melde ende ontfarmhertegh; heet van bloede, ende, lichte gherenen ende lichte beweeght te goede ende te quade, na dat de gheselscap es daer si met wandelen. Dese vallen bi-wilen in menechvuldeghe grove sonden.
Maer wanneer dat si van goeden menschen iet goeds sien ochte hooeren, soe werden si lichtelec beruert in anxte ende in vreesen van haren sonden, ende bekeeren met rouwe in penitentiën. Ende selke andere comen te kinnessen haers-selfs overmids siecheit ende vreese der dooet. Ende selke in behooerleken tiden, alse in de vasten, overmids sermoene ochte andere ghewooenheit van penitentiën die men dan ghemeinlec pleeght te doene in de heileghe kerke; alsoe dat si van binnen gherénen werden met rouwe, ende bekinnen hare mesdaed, ende volghen der gratiën gods, ende claghen ende belyen hare sonden, ende begheeren gode ende der heilegher kerken ende allen menschen gnoegh te doene na hare vermoghen.
Ende alsoe werden si eens-willen met gode, ende moghen ten sacramente gaen op de ghenade gods. Ende al eest dat si dicwile vallen, si sijn altoes lichte beweeght, ende bereedere op
te stane dan andere menschen die wreed ende scalc sijn van natueren. Ende alse si staende bliven, soe nemen si oec meer toe in gratiën ende in dooghden dan eenegh eandere menschen die onghenatuert ende onghenadegh sijn.
Voert-meer alle menschen die in de vasten met goeder ghewooenheit ongheveinsdelec hare biechte spreken met rouwe van herten, ende hare penitentie ontfaen van haren priester, ende vooertmeer begheeren te levene na den wille gods in doene ende in latene, in gherechter caritaten gods ende haers evenkerstens: dese selen alle te paesschen onsen heere ontfaen in sijnre ghenaden, met rade haers priesters, in ghewaregher ooedmoedecheit van zielen ende van live.
Nu verstaet, dat alle menschen die in der werelt leven in selken state die bestaen mach met gode ende met der heilegher kerken, ende die alsoe goeds-willen sijn dat si staende bliven met der hulpen gods ende hen onthouden van groven sonden, eest in huweleeke ochte daer buten, in ambachte ochte in dienste, in cooepene ende in vercooepene ende in alre wisen van neeringhen, in arbeide ochte met gherechter cooemenscap; willens ende wetens niemene lieghen noch bedrieghen, noch niemene dat sine es nemen noch onthouden, maer, ghewaregh ende gherecht in allen dinghen, meinen ende begheeren te levene de ghebode gods; niemene haten noch beniden noch mesmoghen, maer ghenadegh ende ontfarmhertegh ieghewelken die sijns behoeft; gherne messe hooeren ende sermooene; vreese, reverentie ende minne te gode en tote allen goeden menschen; ooedmoedeghlec claghen ende belyen sine ghebreke vore den priester, ende ghehooersam sijn in penitentiën ende in allen goeden dinghen: siet, al sijn dese menschen onleedegh ende
menechvuldegh in uutwendeghen dinghen, omme hare nooetdorst te ghewinnenne ende der-gheenre die hen toebehooeren, ochte omme den armen te deilne, si moghen nochtan vrilec dat heileghe sacrament ontfaen op de ghenade gods altooes te hooeghtiden alse sijs begheren. Want al vallen si dicwile in dagheleke ghebreke, si sijn, na haren vermoghene, goedwillegh ende gherecht in allen dinghen.
Nu merct met ernste welke goedwilleghe menschen sijn, ende eens-willen met gode in doene ende in latene ende in ghedooeghene.
Goedheit in den wille es ghesaect ende gheboren ute den heileghen gheeste. Ende hier-omme es de wille . i. levende willegh instrument, daer god mede werct dat hi wilt.
Goedheit in des menschen wille, dat es gods inghestortte minne, daer hi gode mede ufent ende alle dooghde.
Goedheit ons willen dat es de gratie gods, ende onse overnatuerleke leven, daer wi met striden ende verwinnen alle sonden.
De goede wille gheëeneght der gratiën gods, hi maect ons vri, ende verheft ons-selven en vereeneght met gode in een scouwende leven.
De goede wille, in sinen inkeere te gode, es . i. gheest ghecrooent met eewegher minnen. Ende in sinen uutkeere es hi een heere sijnre goeder werke van buten. Ende hi es selve dat rike daer god in regneert met gratiën. Ende in heme leeft caritate, de liefde ons heeren. Boven heme es hi salegh ende gode gheëeneght. Ende overmids heme sterven wi den sonden, ende vercrighen een dooghtsam leven.
Ende in hem hebben wi peys ende vrede van allen dinghen.
Ende alse wi aldus leven, soe moghen wi onsen heere ontfaen altoes alse wi willen in den sacramente ochte, met minnen, in onsen gheeste.
A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent