De Missa
The Mass Honored among Us
The churches defend their retention and reverent celebration of the Mass, keeping customary ceremonies and adding German hymns to teach the people, as Scripture and human law require.
Our churches are falsely accused of abolishing the Mass, for the Mass is retained among us and is celebrated with the highest reverence. The customary ceremonies are almost all preserved, except that German hymns are mixed in here and there with the Latin ones, which were added to teach the people.1 For ceremonies serve this one purpose: to teach the unlearned. And not only does Paul direct that a language understood by the people be used in the church, but this has also been established by human law.✦2
Holy Order in the Lord's Supper
The people are prepared, examined, and instructed so that Communion is received together with reverence, devotion, and comfort for fearful consciences.
It accustoms the people to receive the Sacrament together, if they are fit, and this also increases reverence for the religious life and the public ceremonies. For no one is admitted unless they have first been examined. People are also instructed about the dignity and use of the Sacrament, and how much consolation it brings to fearful consciences, so that they may learn to believe God and to expect and seek all good things from God. This worship delights God; such use of the Sacrament nourishes devotion toward God. Therefore the Masses among our opponents do not seem to be celebrated with greater religious discipline than among us.
Profits and Profanations
The complaint against the shameless profanation of Masses for profit is described, and private Masses have ceased because they were celebrated mainly for stipends.
It is well known, moreover, that this too has been a public complaint — and by far the greatest one — among all good men for a long time: that Masses were shamelessly profaned, being offered for profit. Nor is it hard to see how widely this abuse has spread through all the churches — how many Masses are celebrated solely for the sake of a fee or stipend, and how many people celebrate them against the prohibition of the Canons. What's more, Paul severely threatens those who handle the Eucharist unworthily when he says: "Whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord."✦ So when our priests were admonished about this sin, private Masses stopped among us, since almost no private Masses were held except for the sake of profit.
Neglected Oversight and Its Fruits
Bishops tolerated abuses in silence, and now divisions arise because the long-standing profanation of the Mass has brought judgment and disorder.
And the bishops who could have corrected these abuses were not unaware of them; if they had done so in time, there would be fewer divisions now. Before this, they tolerated, through their silence, many vices creeping into the church. Now they are beginning, too late, to complain about the calamities of the Church, since this upheaval has arisen from no other source than those abuses, which were so glaring that they could no longer be tolerated. Great divisions have arisen concerning the Mass and the Sacrament. Perhaps the world is paying the penalty for such a long-standing profanation of the Masses, which those who both could and should have corrected tolerated in the churches for so many centuries. For in the Decalogue it is written: 'Whoever misuses the name of God will not go unpunished.' But from the beginning of the world, no divine thing seems ever to have been turned to profit the way the Mass has.
False Trust in Many Masses
An opinion spread that Christ’s passion atoned for original sin and that the Mass, by its mere performance, removes sins of the living and the dead, leading to endless Masses.
An opinion gained ground that increased private masses without limit — namely, that Christ by his passion atoned for original sin, and instituted a Mass in which an offering would be made for the daily faults of the living and the dead, both mortal and venial. From this spread the widespread opinion that the Mass is a work that destroys the sins of the living and the dead by the mere performance of the rite. Here it began to be disputed whether one Mass said for many is worth as many as separate Masses for separate individuals. This dispute produced that endless multitude of Masses.
Christ's Once-for-All Offering
The people warn that such opinions disagree with Scripture and undermine the glory of Christ’s suffering, which is a single, perfect, and complete offering for all sin.
Our people have warned against these opinions, because they disagree with the holy Scriptures and undermine the glory of Christ's suffering. Christ's suffering was both an offering and a satisfaction — not only for the guilt of original sin, but also for all remaining sins — as it is written to the Hebrews: 'We are sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ once for all.'3 Likewise, by a single offering he has forever perfected those who are sanctified.4
Faith, Not Works, Justifies
Scripture teaches justification through faith in Christ, so if the Mass removed sins by the work performed, justification would come from works, not faith.
Likewise, Scripture teaches that we are justified before God through faith in Christ, since we believe that our sins are forgiven on account of Christ. Now if the Mass wipes away the sins of the living and the dead by the work performed, then justification comes from the work of the Mass, not from faith—and Scripture does not allow that.
Remembrance and Comfort for Faith
Christ instituted the Mass so that faith might remember his blessings, comfort fearful consciences, and receive the Sacrament as spiritual medicine.
But Christ commands us to do this in remembrance of himself, and so the Mass was instituted so that the faith of those who receive the Sacrament might remember what blessings they receive through Christ, and might lift up and comfort a fearful conscience. To remember Christ is to remember his blessings, and to recognize that they are truly offered to us. Nor is it enough to recall the story, because even Jews and the godless can recall it. The Mass is therefore to be celebrated for this purpose: that the Sacrament might be offered there to those who need comfort, as Ambrose says: Because I always sin, I ought always to receive the medicine.
Following Ancient Custom
Common Masses are celebrated according to Scripture, the Fathers, and ancient canons, showing that one celebration with shared Communion is the older and better practice.
Since the Mass is a sharing of the Sacrament like this, we observe one common Mass on the set feast days and also on other days, for those who wish to receive the Sacrament, wherever it is offered to those who seek it. And this practice in the Church is not new. For the writers before Gregory make no mention of the private Mass.5 They speak at length about the common Mass. Chrysostom says that the priest stands at the altar daily, summoning some to Communion and keeping others away.6 And from the ancient Canons it appears that one person celebrated the Mass, from whom the other presbyters and deacons received the Body of the Lord. For this is what the words of the Nicene Canon sound like: 'Let the deacons receive Communion in order after the presbyters, from the bishop or from the presbyter.'7 And Paul, speaking about Communion, instructs that they should wait for one another, so that it may be a common sharing.✦8
Moderation without Condemnation
Since the Mass among us follows Scripture and ancient practice, it cannot be disapproved, though the number of Masses should be moderated because of past abuses.
Therefore, since the Mass among us follows the example of the Church from Scripture and the Fathers, we're confident it can't be disapproved, especially since the public ceremonies are for the most part kept similar to the customary ones. Only the number of Masses is different, and it would certainly be beneficial to moderate that on account of the greatest and most obvious abuses.9 For once, even in the most heavily attended churches, Mass wasn't celebrated daily, as the Tripartite History, book10 9 chap. 38 Again, however, in Alexandria on Wednesday and Friday the Scriptures are read, and the teachers interpret them, and everything is done except the solemn custom of the offering.11
Read the original Latin
Falso accusantur Ecclesiae nostrae, quod Missam aboleant, retinetur enim Missa apud nos, et summa reverentia celebratur. Servantur et usitatae ceremoniae fere omnes, praeterquam quod Latinis cantionibus admiscentur alicubi Germanicae, quae additae sunt ad docendum populum. Nam ad hoc unum opus est ceremoniis, ut doceant imperitos. Et non modo Paulus praecipit uti lingua intellecta populo in Ecclesia, sed etiam ita constitutum est humano iure.
Assuefit populus ut una utantur Sacramento, si qui sunt idonei, id quoque auget reverentiam ac religionem publicarum ceremoniarum. Nulli enim admittuntur, nisi antea explorati. Admonentur etiam homines de dignitate et usu Sacramenti, quantam consolationem afferat pavidis conscientiis, ut discant Deo credere, et omnia bona a Deo expectare et petere. Hic cultus delectat Deum, talis usus sacramenti alit pietatem erga Deum. Itaque non videntur apud adversarios Missae maiore religione fieri, quam apud nos.
Constat autem hanc quoque publicam et longe maximam querelam omnium bonorum virorum diu fuisse, quod Missae turpiter prophanarentur, collatae ad quaestum. Neque enim obscurum est, quam late pateat hic abusus in omnibus templis, a qualibus celebrentur Missae, tantum propter mercedem aut stipendium, quam multi contra interdictum Canonum celebrent. Paulus autem graviter minatur his qui indigne tractant Eucharistiam, cum ait, Qui ederit panem hunc, aut biberit calicem Domini indigne, reus erit corporis et sanguinis Domini. Itaque cum apud nos admonerentur Sacerdotes de hoc peccato, desierunt apud nos privatae Missae, cum fere nullae privatae Missae nisi quaestus causa fierent.
Neque ignoraverunt hos abusus Episcopi, qui si correxissent eos in tempore, minus nunc esset dissensionum. Antea sua dissimulatione multa vitia passi sunt in Ecclesiam serpere. Nunc sero incipiunt queri de calamitatibus Ecclesiae, cum hic tumultus non aliunde sumpserit occasionem, quam ex illis abusibus, qui tam manifesti erant, ut tolerari amplius non possent. Magnae dissensiones de Missa, de Sacramento extiterunt. Fortasse dat poenas orbis tam diuturnae prophanationis Missarum, quam in Ecclesiis tot seculis toleraverunt isti, qui emendare et poterant et debebant. Nam in Decalogo scriptum est, Qui Dei nomine abutitur, non erit impunitus. At ab initio mundi nulla res divina ita videtur unquam ad quaestum collata fuisse, ut Missa.
Accessit opinio, quae auxit privatas Missas in infinitum, videlicet, quod Christus sua passione satisfecerit pro peccato originis, et instituerit Missam, in qua fieret oblatio pro quotidianis delictis, mortalibus et venialibus. Hinc manavit publica opinio, quod Missa sit opus delens peccata vivorum et mortuorum ex opere operato. Hic coeptum est disputari, utrum una Missa dicta pro pluribus, tantumdem valeat quantum singulae pro singulis. Haec disputatio peperit istam infinitam multitudinem Missarum.
De his opinionibus nostri admonuerunt, quod dissentiant a scripturis sanctis, et laedant gloriam passionis Christi. Nam passio Christi fuit oblatio et satisfactio, non solum pro culpa originis, sed etiam pro omnibus reliquis peccatis, ut ad Hebraeos scriptum est: Sanctificati sumus per oblationem Iesu Christi semel. Item, Una oblatione consummavit in perpetuum sanctificatos.
Item, Scriptura docet, Nos coram Deo iustificari per fidem in Christum, cum credimus nobis remitti peccata propter Christum. Iam si Missa delet peccata vivorum et mortuorum ex opere operato, contingit iustificatio ex opere Missae, non ex fide, quod scriptura non patitur.
Sed Christus iubet facere in sui memoriam, quare Missa instituta est, ut fides in iis qui utuntur sacramento, recordetur quae beneficia accipiat per Christum, et erigat et consoletur pavidam conscientiam. Nam id est meminisse Christi, beneficia meminisse, ac sentire quod vere exhibeantur nobis. Nec satis est historiam recordari, quia hanc etiam Iudaei et impii recordari possunt. Est igitur ad hoc facienda Missa, ut ibi porrigatur sacramentum his, quibus opus est consolatione, sicut Ambrosius ait, Quia semper pecco, semper debeo accipere medicinam.
Cum autem Missa sit talis communicatio sacramenti, servatur apud nos una communis Missa, singulis feriis atque aliis etiam diebus, si qui sacramento velint uti, ubi porrigitur sacramentum his qui petunt. Neque hic mos in Ecclesia novus est. Nam veteres ante Gregorium non faciunt mentionem privatae Missae. De communi Missa plurimum loquuntur. Chrysostomus ait, Sacerdotem quotidie stare ad altare, et alios ad communionem accersere, alios arcere. Et ex Canonibus veteribus apparet unum aliquem celebrasse Missam, a quo reliqui presbyteri et Diaconi sumpserunt corpus Domini. Sic enim sonant verba Canonis Niceni, Accipiant Diaconi secundum ordinem post presbyteros ab Episcopo vel a presbytero sacram communionem. Et Paulus de communione iubet, ut alii alios expectent, ut fiat communis participatio.
Postquam igitur Missa apud nos habet exemplum Ecclesiae, ex scriptura et patribus, confidimus improbari eam non posse, maxime cum publicae ceremoniae, magna ex parte similes usitatis serventur, tantum numerus Missarum est dissimilis, quem propter maximos et manifestos abusus certe moderari prodesset. Nam olim etiam in Ecclesiis frequentissimis non fiebat quotidie Missa, ut testatur Historia Tripartita lib. 9. cap. 38. Rursus autem in Alexandria quarta et sexta feria scripturae leguntur, easque doctores interpretantur, et omnia fiunt praeter solemnem oblationis morem.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.14.9 — So also you, if you do not give a clear word through the tongue, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air.
- ↩1Cor.11.27 — So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
- ↩1Cor.11.33-1Cor.11.34 — So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 1Cor.11.34 — If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you do not come together for judgment. The rest I will arrange when I come.
Notes
- 1 ↩praeterquam quod is an exceptive construction; rendered as 'except that' to preserve the sense that the ceremonies are retained with this one modification.
- 2 ↩Paul's directive to use an understood language in church likely alludes to 1 Corinthians 14:9 and the broader argument of 1 Cor 14 about intelligible speech in worship. Final resolution deferred to scripture-allusion review stage.
- 3 ↩Quoted clause closely matches Hebrews 10:10 (Vulgate: 'sanctificati sumus per oblationem Iesu Christi semel'); English rendering follows the familiar cadence of that verse.
- 4 ↩Closely parallels Hebrews 10:14 (Vulgate: 'una enim oblatione consummavit in perpetuum sanctificatos'); candidate resolution deferred to Moses check.
- 5 ↩privatae Missae — 'private Mass' here refers to the practice of individual celebration apart from the common liturgy; historically a contested point in Reformation debates.
- 6 ↩accersere / arcere — the positive and negative pastoral functions of the priest at the altar: inviting some to Communion while excluding others, likely referencing closed-communion or penitential discipline.
- 7 ↩Quoted text from the Nicene Canon — candidate patristic/liturgical citation awaiting final resolution.
- 8 ↩Allusion to 1 Corinthians 11 or 10:16–17 regarding common participation — candidate awaiting final resolution.
- 9 ↩The Latin reads 'quem propter maximos et manifestos abusus certe moderari prodesset'. The relative pronoun 'quem' (masculine accusative singular) grammatically refers back to 'numerus' (number), though in English it is more natural to say 'that' rather than 'which'.
- 10 ↩The sentence is interrupted by the reference in s3-s5. 'lib.' is an abbreviation for 'liber' (book).
- 11 ↩'quarta et sexta feria' literally means 'on the fourth and sixth weekday,' which in Christian liturgical tradition corresponds to Wednesday and Friday.
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