August 3, 1520.
First. This is taught us by the experience of all the chronicles, and by the holy scriptures, that the fewer the laws, the better the law; the fewer the commandments, the more the good works. And no community has ever been well governed, or not for long, where there have been many laws. Therefore, before the old law of Moses, the old patriarchs had no special way and laws to serve God, except the sacrifice, as we read about Adam, Abel, Noah and the like. After that, circumcision was imposed on Abraham and his family, until Moses, through whom God gave the people of Israel various laws, ways and practices, only so that human nature would know how nothing helps much laws to make pious people. For although the law drives and compels to good works from the evil, it is not possible that man does the same willingly and gladly.
but is always unfavorable to the law and would rather be free. Because there is unwillingness, there is never a good work. For what is not done willingly is not good, and only shines as if it were good. Therefore, all laws cannot make anyone thoroughly righteous without the grace of God, but they must be vain hypocrites. They must become hypocrites, outward, hopeful saints, who receive their reward here and never please God. So he says to the Jews Mal. 1, 10: "I have no pleasure in you; for who is there among you that will shut a door to me willingly and out of love?
Secondly, the fruit of many laws is that they lead to many sects and divisions among the common people. One takes the way, another another way, and each one grows a secret one,
*This sermon was published twice in 1520 by Johannes Grünenberg in Wittenberg; then by Melchior Lotther in Wittenberg; by Silvanus Ottmar in Augsburg, by Friedrich Peypus in Nuremberg and by Adam Petri in Basel. In 1523 "otherwise corrigirt by D. Mart. Luther" at Wittenberg; in the collections it is found: in the Wittenberg (1554), vol. VII, p. 29; in the Jena (1564), vol. I, p. 329 d; in the Altenburg, vol. I, p. 514; in the Leipzig, vol. XVII, p. 490 and in the Erlangen, vol. 27, p. 139. We reproduce the text according to the Jena edition with comparison of the Wittenberg. The text of the Erlangen edition after the printing of Silvanus Ottmar in Augsburg is not as good as that of the old editions.
false love for one's own sect and hatred, or contempt and carelessness for the other sects, so that brotherly, freely common love perishes and selfish love prevails. Thus Jeremiah and Hosea, indeed all the prophets, cry out how the people of Israel were divided into as many sects as there were cities in the land; each wanted to do something better than the other [Jer. 2:28, Hos. 10:1, 12:12]; hence the Sadducees and Pharisees in the Gospel.
3. So we also see today that through spiritual laws only less right and piety has arisen in Christendom, the world has been made full of hypocrites and hypocrites, and so many sects, orders and certifications of the one people of Christ that almost every city is divided into ten parts and even more; And they are still inventing new ways and means (as they think) to serve God, until it has come to the point that priests, monks, laymen have become more hostile among themselves, for Turks and Christians, indeed, the priests among themselves, the monks among themselves, are deadly enemies, quarrel about their exposed ways and means, as if they were mad and foolish: Not only as a hindrance, but also to the disturbance of Christian love and unity, each clings to his own sect with contempt for the others. For the laity regard them as if they were 1) not Christians; the misery comes all at once from the laws.
4 Third, that Christ might prepare for him a pleasant and beloved people, bound together in love, he abolished the whole law of Moses. And that he might not give cause for sects and certifications, he again instituted no more than one manner or law for all his people, which is the holy mass. For although baptism is also an outward way, it happens only once and is not an exercise of the whole life, like the mass, so that there should be no other outward way to serve God than the mass. And where this is practiced, there is the right service, even though
1) Thus the Wittenberg edition. In the Jena edition, the words are missing: as if they were.
There is no other way of singing, organ playing, sounding, dressing, adorning, giving. For all that is of it is an addition devised by men. For when Christ Himself and first instituted this Sacrament and said and practiced the first Mass, there was no plate, no chasuble, no singing, no adornment, but only thanksgiving to God and the Sacrament custom. According to the same simplicity, the apostles and all Christians kept mass for a long time, until the various ways and additions arose, that the Romans kept mass differently, the Greeks differently, and now finally come to the point that the main part of the mass has become unknown, and no more than the additions of men are in the devotion.
The fourth. Now the closer our masses are to the first mass of Christ, the better they are without doubt, and the further from it, the more dangerous. Therefore we may not boast against the Russians or Greeks that we alone say true mass, as little as a priest who wears a red chasuble against one who wears a white or black one. For what such an outward addition and difference is, may well cause sectarianism and disunity through such inequality; it may never make the masses any better. Although I do not want nor am I able to reject all such additions, yet because such splendid ways are dangerous, it is necessary that we do not let ourselves be led by the simple institution of Christ and the right custom of the Mass. And indeed, the greatest and most useful art is to know which belongs thoroughly and properly to the Mass, and which is additional and foreign. For where there is no intelligible distinction, the eyes and the heart are easily seduced by such glitter in a false sense and delusion, so that one considers the mass that men have invented, and never learns what the mass is, let alone receives fruit from it; as is unfortunately the case in our times, when I fear that every day more than a thousand masses are said, when perhaps there is not one mass. O dear Christians, having many masses is not having mass, it takes more than that.
6 Fifthly. If we want to keep and understand the mass, we have to let go of everything that the eyes and all the senses in
We may show and apply to this trade, be it dress, sound, song, ornament, prayer, carrying, lifting, laying, or whatever may be done in the mass, until we first grasp and well signify the words of Christ, so that he has accomplished and instituted the mass, and commanded us to accomplish it. For therein lies the Mass entire, with all its essence, work, benefit, and fruit, without which nothing is received from the Mass. But these are the words:
7. take away and eat, this is my body, which was given for you; take away and drink from it all, this is the cup of the new and eternal testament in my blood, which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins [Matth. 26, 26. 27. 28. Marc. 14, 22. 23. 24. Luc. 22, 19. 20.].
(8) Every Christian must keep these words in mind during Mass and cling to them firmly, as to the main part of the Mass, in which the right basic preparation for Mass and the Sacrament is also taught; let us see.
(9) The sixth. If man is to work with God and receive something from Him, it must be done in such a way that man does not start and lay the first stone, but God alone, without any request or desire on man's part, must precede and make a promise to him. The same word of God is the first, the foundation, the rock on which all the works, words, and thoughts of man are subsequently built, which word man must gratefully receive, and faithfully believe the divine promise, and never doubt that it is and will be as he promises. This faithfulness and belief is the beginning, means and end of all works and righteousness. For in honoring God by considering Him true and confessing Him, he makes him a gracious God, who in turn honors him and confesses and holds Him true, so that it is not possible for a man to ascend to heaven with works out of his reason and ability and to precede God, to move Him to grace, but God must precede all works and thoughts, and make a clearly expressed promise with words, which then man can do with a
If he takes hold of the right firm faith and keeps it, then the Holy Spirit, who is given to him, follows for the sake of the same faith.
10) The seventh. Thus a promise was made to Adam after his fall, when God said to the serpent: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between her seed and your seed: she shall bruise your head, and you shall lie in wait for her foot" [Gen. 3:15]. In which words, however obscure, God promises help to human nature, that through a woman the devil should be overcome. This promise of God was given to Adam and Eve and all their children except Noah, in which they believed and were saved by the same faith; otherwise they would have despaired.
11. he promised with Noah and his children after the flood [Gen. 9, 9] until Abraham, Gen. 12, 1. 3. whom he demands from his fatherland, and promises him: "that in his seed all nations should be given" [Cap. 18, 18.]. Which promise Abraham believed and followed, was justified and became God's friend [Cap. 22, 18.], and the same promise of Abraham is largely and many times repeated, increased and explained in the same book, until Isaac is promised to him, who should be the seed, from whom Christ and all giving would come. In this faith of the promise Abraham's children were preserved until Christ, although it was renewed and explained over and over again by David and many prophets. Therefore the Lord also calls this promise in the gospel Abraham's treasure [Luc. 16, 22. 23.], that therein all were kept who with right faith clung to it and waited with Abraham for Christ. Then came Moses, who described the same promise with many figures of the Law, by which God promised the people of Israel the Promised Land while they were still in Egypt [Ex. 3:6, 7, 8], which promise they believed, so that they were preserved and led into the same land.
12. to the eighth. So also in the New Testament Christ made a promise or vow that we should believe and thereby be saved. These are the words foretold, when Christ says, "This is
the cup of the new testament", we want to see them now.
(13) A will is not a vow of any kind, but the last irrevocable will of him who is about to die, so that he may leave behind his goods and appoint and distribute them to whom he wills. Thus (as St. Paul says Hebr. 9, 16. 17.), "that a will must be confirmed by death, and is not valid while he who makes the will is still alive. For other vows made while alive may be prevented or revoked, therefore they are not called wills. Therefore, where in Scripture "God's testament" is referred to by the prophets, in the same word it is given to the prophets to understand that God should become man and die, and rise again, so that his word might be fulfilled and confirmed, in which he promises such a testament. For if he is to make a testament, as he promises, he must die; if he is to die, he must be a man. And so the little word "testament" is a short term for all the miracles and graces of God, fulfilled through Christ.
Fourteenth, the ninth. He also distinguishes this testament from the others, saying, "Let there be a new testament, an everlasting testament, in his own blood, for the remission of sins; that he may abolish the old testament. For the word "new" makes the testament of Moses old and void, that it should be no more. The Old Testament was a promise made by Moses to the people of Israel, to whom the land of Canaan was promised; therefore God did not die, but the Paschal Lamb had to die in the place and likeness of Christ, and was therefore a temporal testament, in the blood of the Paschal Lamb that was shed, to obtain and possess the same land of Canaan. And as the paschal lamb was a temporal, perishable animal, which died for the land of Canaan in the Old Testament, so also the testament and the same good or land of Canaan, which was granted and promised therein, was temporal and perishable.
But Christ, the true paschal lamb, is an eternal divine person who dies to confirm the new testament, therefore the testament and estate therein are ordained.
eternal and everlasting. And this is what he means when he sets this testament against that one, saying, "A new one," that that one should grow old and pass away [Heb. 8:13], An eternal one, not a temporal one, like that one; not of temporal land or goods, but of eternal goods to be possessed; "in my blood," not in the blood of a lamb: that therefore the old, being wholly taken away, might leave room only for the new.
16 The tenth. What then is this testament, or what is granted to us in it from Christ? Truly a great, eternal, inexpressible treasure, namely "forgiveness of all sins," as the words clearly read: "This is the cup of a new eternal testament in my blood, which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As if to say, "Behold, man, I promise you, and with these words I grant you forgiveness of all your sin and eternal life. And that thou mayest be sure and know that such a vow shall remain irrevocable unto thee, I will die upon it, and give my body and blood for it, and leave both behind me for a sign and seal unto thee, that thou mayest remember me, as he saith [Luc. 22, 19. ] 1): "As often as ye do this, remember me."
(17) For as a man, when he makes an appointment, includes with it what is to be done to him, as is now the custom in the appointments and masses of the soul, so Christ also made an appointment for him in this testament, not that he should need it, but that it should be necessary and useful to us, if we remember it; so that we may be strengthened in faith, fortified in hope, and heated in love. For while we live on earth, our nature is no different, except that the evil spirit with all the world assails us with love and sorrow, to extinguish the love of Christ, to destroy faith, to weaken hope. Therefore we are in great need of this sacrament, so that we may recover where we lose something, and practice daily for the increase and improvement of the spirit.
18 To the eleventh. Further, in all His promises, God has commonly, besides the word
1) Here the Erlangen edition has again reprinted Walch's wrong Bible quotation "Luc. 22, B. 9."; furthermore in four other places of this writing.
He also gave us a sign for more assurance or strength of our faith. So he gave Noah the rainbow as a sign [Gen. 9, 12-14]. To Abraham he gave circumcision as a sign [Gen 17:10]. To Gideon he gave the rain on the land and lambskin [Judges 6:37 ff], and so from then on many of the same signs are found in the Scriptures, besides the promises given. For this is what is done in secular wills, that not only the words are written, but also seals and notarial signs are attached to it, so that it is ever lasting and credible. So Christ also did in this testament, and put a strong, most noble seal and sign on and in the words, that is, his own true flesh and blood under the bread and wine. For we poor people, since we live in the five senses, must have at least one outward sign besides the words, by which we may keep ourselves and come together; but that the same sign may be a sacrament, that is, that it may be outward and yet have and signify spiritual things, so that through the outward we may be drawn into the spiritual; comprehending the outward with the eyes of the body, the spiritual, inward with the eyes of the heart.
19. to the twelfth. Now we see how many pieces are in this testament or mass. First, there is the testator who makes the will, Christ. Second, the heirs to whom the will is given, that is, we Christians. Third, the testament in Himself, which are the words of Christ when He says, "This is My body given for you; this is My blood shed for you, a new eternal testament. "etc. Fourth, the seal or emblem is the Sacrament, bread and wine, underneath which is His true body and blood. For all things must live which are in this testament; therefore he hath not set it in dead writings and seals, but living words and signs, which are acted upon again daily.
20 And this is what the priest means when he picks up the hosts, so that he does not address God almost as us, as if he were to say to us, Behold, this is the seal and sign of the testament in which Christ has given us.
has remission of all sin and eternal life. The chorus also sings: "Blessed is he who comes to us in the name of God, so that we may testify how we receive goods from God and do not sacrifice or give them to him. Fifthly, the good that the words signify, namely, remission of sins and eternal life. Sixthly, the duty, memorial, or commemoration that we are to keep to Christ, that is, that we are to preach, hear, and contemplate his love and grace, thereby stimulating and sustaining us to love and hope in him, as St. Paul interprets it, 1 Cor. 11:26: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are to proclaim the death of Christ." For so also does a temporal testator, who bequeaths something to his heir, that he may leave behind him a good name, favor, and remembrance, that he may not be forgotten.
21 The thirteenth. From all this it is easy to see what a mass is, how one should prepare for it, how one should keep it and use it, and how many abuses occur in it. For just as a person would stand if ten thousand guilders were given to him by a good friend, so and much more should we stand against the mass, which is no other than a most rich, eternal, good testament, given to us by Christ himself, and so given that he had no other cause to die than to make such a testament. So eager was he to pour out his eternal goods that he says [Luc. 22:15], "I have desired with great desire 1) to eat this paschal lamb with you before I die." Hence it is that we remain so blind and cold from so many masses; for we do not know what the mass is, what we do with it, or what we get from it.
(22) Since it is nothing else but a testament, the noblest and nearest preparation for the mass is indeed a hungry soul and a firm and joyful faith of the heart to accept such a testament. Who would not go with great joyful desires, hope and consolation, and demand a thousand
1) In the old editions: Begirden.
If he knew that they were given to him in one place, especially if nothing was given to him but to remember, praise and glorify the testator? So here, before all things, you must take heed of your heart to believe the words of Christ and let them be true, since he says to you and to all, "This is my blood, a new testament," so that I may grant you forgiveness of all sin and eternal life. How could you do him greater dishonor and revile the holy masses more highly, than if you do not believe or doubt it? If he was so sure of it that he himself died on it. Truly, such doubt would be nothing else than to deny and blaspheme Christ's martyrdom, death, and all the good that he has obtained with it.
23. to the fourteenth. Therefore I have said, it is all in the words of this Sacrament, which Christ saith, which indeed should be laid hold of with gold and precious stones, and have nothing more diligently before the eyes of the heart, to exercise faith therein. Let another pray, fast, confess, prepare for Mass and Sacrament as he will. Do the same, so far as you know that all this is foolishness and deceit, if you do not take the words of the Testament before you, and do not awaken faith and desire for them. You would have to wipe your shoes for a long time. 1) And make thyself beautiful, that thou mayest obtain a will, where thou hast not a letter and seal for thyself, that thou mayest prove thy right to the will. But if thou hast a letter and seal, and believest, and desirest, and seekest it, it must be unto thee, whether thou wert already bruised, leprous, stinking, and most unclean.
(24) Therefore, if you want to receive the sacrament and the testament worthily, see to it that you present these living words of Christ, build yourself up on them with strong faith, and desire what Christ has promised you in them, and you will be worthy and well prepared. This same faith and confidence must and will make you joyful and awaken a free love for Christ, through which you will begin to live a good life with joy.
1) Jenaer: "ablasen", probably just a misprint.
and to avoid sin from the heart. For he that loveth Christ will do well that which is pleasing in his sight, and forbear that which is not pleasing in his sight. But who would love him, but to taste the riches of this testament of Christ, freely given to poor sinners out of pure grace? The taste is brought by the faith that believes and trusts in the testament and promise. If Abraham had not believed the promise of God, nothing would ever have come of him. Just as Abraham, Noah and David received and believed their promise, so we must also receive and believe this testament and promise.
25 To the fifteenth. If then you are challenged by two things, the first that you are too unworthy of such a rich testament, and the second that, even if you are worthy, the good is so great that nature is horrified at the greatness of the good, for forgiveness of all sin and eternal life, what does it not entail? - then, as I have said, you must regard the words of Christ more than such thoughts. He will not lie to you; your thoughts will deceive you.
26. as if a poor beggar, even a boy, were given a thousand florins, he would not ask for them out of his merit or worthiness, nor would he let up for the sake of the greatness of the estate; and if anyone should reproach him for his unworthiness and greatness of the estate, he would certainly not let himself be put off, saying, What is it to thee? I myself know well that I am unworthy of the testament; I do not claim it on my merit, as if it had been owed to me, but on the favor and grace of the testator. Has it not pleased him too much to humble me, why should I so despise myself, and not demand and take the same? So here, too, a stupid, fainthearted conscience, against its own thoughts, must insist on the testament of Christ and be defiant in firm faith, regardless of how unworthy it is and how great the good. For for this very reason it is a divine testament, that it brings such great good to such unworthy ones, so that God may awaken his love above all things. So Christ comforted
The same fainthearted, who thought that the good was so great, said: "You fainthearted little ones should not be afraid, for it has pleased your Father so well that He will give you the eternal kingdom" [Luc. 12, 32].
27. to the sixteenth. Now behold, what have they made of the mass for us? First, they have hidden from us these words of the Testament, and taught that they should not be spoken to the laity, that they are secret words to be spoken only by the priest at mass. Has not the devil here masterfully stolen the main part of the Mass from us and silenced it? For who has ever heard preaching that one should perceive these words of the Testament in the Mass and defy them with a firm faith, which should have been the most noble thing? So they have feared, and teach us to fear, since there is no fear, yea, since all our comfort and safety lie in.
What miserable consciences could have been comforted and saved with this, who are corrupted by fear and sorrow! What devil told them that the words, which should be the most common, the most public among all Christians, priests and laymen, men and women, young and old, should be most secretly hidden? How should it be possible for us to know what Mass is, how it is to be practiced and kept, if we do not know the words in which Mass is said and done?
But would God that we Germans read the Mass in German, and sing the most secret words in the highest! Why should we Germans not say mass in our own language, as the Latin, Greek and many others say mass in their own language? Why do we not also secretly say the words of baptism: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", Amen. [Matth. 28, 19.]? If everyone may speak aloud in German, which are no less holy words and promises of God, why should not everyone also speak and hear these words of the Mass aloud in German?
30. To the seventeenth. Let us learn, then, that in every vow of God there are two things which must be perceived;
that are words and signs. As in the baptism are the words of the baptist, and the diving into the water. In the mass are the words, and the bread and wine. The words are divine vows, pledge and testament. The signs are sacraments, that is, holy signs. Now as much more lies in the testament than in the sacrament, so much more lies in the words than in the signs. For the signs may not be, that nevertheless a man may have the words, and so without sacrament, yet not without testament, be saved. For I can enjoy the sacrament daily in the mass, if I only make the testament, that is, the words and vows of Christ, before me, and feed and strengthen my faith therein.
So we see that the best and greatest part of all the sacraments and the mass are the words and vows of God, without which the sacraments are dead and nothing, like a body without a soul, a cask without wine, a bag without money, a figure without fulfillment, a letter without a spirit, a scabbard without a knife, and the like; that [it is] true, where we act, hear, or see the mass without the words or testament, waiting only for the sacrament and sign, the mass is never kept half. For sacrament without testament is food without keeping the jewel, even with unequal half and division.
32. to the eighteenth. Therefore I fear that more idolatry is now done by the masses in Christendom than was ever done among the Jews. For nowhere do we hear that the mass is directed to feed and strengthen the faith, since it is ordered by Christ alone, and is only a sacrament without a testament.
(33) Many have written about the fruits of the mass and have truly exalted them; I let them remain in their dignities. But see that thou regard all this against this, as the body against the soul. God has prepared a pasture, a table and a meal for our faith here, but faith does not feed itself, but only on the word of God. Therefore, you must take notice of the words above all things, exalt them, place much emphasis on them, and hold fast to them, so that you will not have
The Lord says, John 7:38: "He that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water"; item Chap. 4:14,15: "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I give shall never thirst; and there shall be in him a well of running water unto everlasting life." So we see the first abuse of the mass, that we have lost the main good, the testament and faith? Let us also see what happened next.
34 To the nineteenth. This must follow from necessity. Where faith and the word or promise of God fall away or fail, works and false presumption take their place. For where there is no promise of God, there is no faith. Where there is no faith, everyone fails to improve himself with works and to please God. And where this happens, a false, certain presumption grows, as if man were well with God for the sake of his works: where it does not happen, the conscience has no rest, and does not know how it should do to please God.
35 Thus, I am concerned that many people have made a good work out of the mass, so that they think they are doing a great service to Almighty God. Now I think, if we have understood the foregoing things correctly, that the mass is nothing other than a testament and sacrament, in which God promises Himself against us and gives grace and mercy; so it will not happen that we should make a good work or merit out of it. For a will is not beneficium acceptum, sed datum; it does not take benefit from us, but brings benefit to us. Who has ever heard that he who receives a testament does a good work? he certainly receives a benefit. So also in the mass we give nothing to Christ, but only take from him. It would be called a good work, then, for a man to hold his peace, and let him do good, to give him food and drink, to clothe and heal, to help and to redeem; just as in baptism, where divine testament is also given, so in mass we give nothing to Christ, but only take from him.
The sacrament and ment is that no one gives or benefits God, but takes something: so also in all other sacraments, even in the sermon. For if a sacrament cannot be a work of service, neither can any other be a work, since they are all of one kind, and the nature of the sacrament or testament is that it is not a work, but an exercise of faith alone.
36 Twentieth. It is true that when we come together at mass to receive the testament and sacrament, and to feed and strengthen the faith, we pray there together. The same prayer, in order to acquire faith, is 1) done out of the same faith, - is a good work, and to distribute alms to the poor, 2) as happened before, when the Christians carried food and all kinds of necessities together, which was distributed to the poor after mass [is also a good work], as we learn from St. Paul 1 Cor. 11, 21. 22. But these works and prayers are much different than the testament and sacrament, which no one can offer or give, neither to God nor to man, but each one takes and receives for himself as much as he believes and trusts: just as I for no one, also no one too good, can receive or give the sacrament of baptism, repentance, chrismation, but I take for myself alone the benefit therein from God, and is here not Officium, sed Beneficium, no work or service, but only enjoyment and profit.
Therefore, no one may say or hear mass for another, but each one for himself alone, for there is only enjoyment and taking. All this is easily understood if one only perceives what the mass is, namely, that it is a testament and sacrament, that is, God's word and promise, and a holy sign of the bread and wine, under which Christ is truly flesh and blood. For what reason can suffer that he should be called to do a good work for another, who therefore-
1) Erlanger: or.
2) In the editions, this sentence is completely incomprehensible due to incorrect punctuation. Only in the Wittenberg edition is the punctuation approximately correct.
comes, like the others, as a poor man, and gets for himself the words and the sign of God, in which God promises and gives him grace and help? To receive God's word and sign and grace is not to give something good from oneself or to work, but only to receive it.
38. to the one and twentieth. Because almost all the world has made of the mass a sacrifice which they offer to God, which is undoubtedly the third and almost the worst abuse, we must here wisely distinguish what we offer or do not offer.
39) There is no doubt that the word "sacrifice" in the mass comes from and has remained until now, that in the times of the apostles, when some practices of the Old Testament were still in use, the Christians carried food, money and necessities together, which were distributed to the poor in addition to the mass, as I said when we still read Acts 4:34, 35, that "the Christians sold everything they had and brought it to the feet of the apostles, who distributed it and gave it out of the common goods to one of the poor. 4:34, 35, that "the Christians sold all that they had and brought it to the feet of the apostles, who then distributed it and gave to each one out of the common goods what he needed." Thus the holy apostle St. Paul teaches: that all food and what we need should be given with prayer and God's word, and therefore give thanks to God [Rom. 14, 6. 7. 1 Cor. 10, 30. 31.]; hence the Benedicite and Gratias over the table. Such was the custom of the Old Testament, when giving thanks to God for the goods received, to lift them up with the hands toward God, as it is written in the Law of Moses [2 Mos. 29, 28. 4 Mos. 15, 19. 20.]. Therefore the apostles also lifted up, thanked God and gave food and what the Christians carried together with God's word. Also Christ himself, as St. Lucas writes [Cap. 22, 17], "lifted up the cup, and gave thanks to God, and drank and gave to others, before he instituted the sacrament and testament.
40. to the second and twentieth. From this custom, three symbols remain. The first, that the first and last prayers of the mass are called Collecten, that is, assembly, so that it is testified that the same prayers are said as a Benedicite and Gratias over the same food that is brought together.
to bless them and to thank God, according to the teachings of St. Paul [1 Cor. 10:30, 31]. The other, that the people go to the sacrifice after the Gospel, of which the song that is sung there is called an offertory, that is, a sacrifice. The third is that the priest picks up the unblessed hosts with the paten and offers them to God at the same time that the offertory is sung and the people offer them, so that it is indicated that not the sacrament is offered to God by us, but only the collections and offerings of the gathered food and goods, so that God is thanked for them and they are blessed to be distributed to all who are in need.
For afterwards, when the priest lifts up the blessed host and chalice at the silent mass, he does not say a word about the sacrifice, since he should most of all say and remember the sacrifice where the mass would be a sacrifice, but, as I said above, he does not lift it up to God, but to us, to remind us of the testament and to provoke us to believe in it. Likewise, when he receives or gives the Sacrament, he does not remember the sacrifice with a word, which should and ought to be, if the Sacrament were a sacrifice. Therefore, the Mass may not and cannot be called nor be a sacrifice of the Sacrament, but of food and prayer brought together, in which thanks are given to God and they are blessed.
42. to the third and twentieth. Now the custom of carrying food and money together at mass has passed away, and no longer remains, except as a sign of it, to offer a penny on the holy feast and especially on Easter Day, when one still carries the pancakes, meat, eggs etc. to church and has them consecrated. For now, instead of such sacrifices and collections, monasteries, churches, convents, and hospitals are established and should be maintained, solely so that the needy in any city may have all their needs met from and by them, and so that no beggar or destitute would remain among the Christians, but that all would have enough of the mass in body and soul.
43. but it is all the other way around; just as
1) Thus the Wittenbergers. Jenaer: den Patenen.
The mass is not properly offered to the souls, but is understood as a sacrifice, not as a testament, so again, what the sacrifice is and should be, that is, the goods of the churches and monasteries are never sacrifices, nor are they given to the poor, where they belong, with thanksgiving and bestowal of God. Therefore, God is angry and allows the goods of the churches and monasteries to be used for war, worldly splendor and such abuse that no other goods are so shamefully and blasphemously used and perish. This is right and just, because it does not serve the poor, for which it was ordained, so that it would not remain worthy to serve, but only for sin and disgrace.
44 To the fourth and twentieth. Do you ask then, what remains in the mass, of which it may be called a sacrifice, since so many words have been spoken in the office of your sacrifice? Answer: I say that nothing remains. For in short, we must let the Mass remain a sacrament and testament, which are not nor may be a sacrifice, as little as the other sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Communion etc. Otherwise we would lose the Gospel, Christ, consolation and all the grace of God. Therefore, we must separate the Mass purely and simply from the prayers and prayers associated with the holy fathers, and separate the two as far from each other as heaven and earth, so that the Mass remains nothing other than the testament and sacrament, understood in the words of Christ.
(45) What is more about the words we should regard against the words of Christ, as we regard the monstrances and corporals against the hosts and sacraments themselves, which we regard no differently than as additions, so that and in which we may act the sacrament properly and honestly. Just as we regard the monstrances and corporals and altar cloths against the sacrament, so we should regard all the added words, works, and offerings of the masses against the words of Christ, in which he makes and gives the testament. For if the mass or the sacrament were a sacrifice, it would also have to be said to be a mass and a sacrifice when the sacrament is brought into the home of the sick, or
If the healthy receive this in the church, and so many masses and sacrifices are, so many go to the sacrament. If it is not a sacrifice here, how can it be a sacrifice in the hands of the priest, since it is the same sacrament, the same custom, the same benefit, and in all ways the same sacrament and testament among us all?
46. to the fifth and twentieth. Therefore, we should be well aware of the word "sacrifice," so that we do not presume to give anything to God in the sacrament, when he gives us all things in it. We are to sacrifice spiritually, since the physical sacrifices are gone and have been turned into churches, monasteries, and hospital estates. What then shall we sacrifice? Ourself and everything we have, with diligent prayer, as we say: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" [Matt. 6:10]. Whereby we should offer ourselves to the divine will, that he may make of us and out of us what he wills according to his divine good pleasure, offering him praise and thanksgiving with all our heart for his unspeakable sweet grace and mercy, which he has promised and given us in this sacrament. And although such sacrifice is and should be done outside of the Mass, since it is not necessary and essential to the Mass, as has been said, it is nevertheless more delicious, more fitting, stronger, and also more pleasant, where it is done with the crowd and in the gathering, since one stimulates, moves, and heats up the other, so that it strongly penetrates to God and thereby attains without all doubt what it wants.
47 For as Christ promised, "Where two are gathered together in his name, there is he in their behalf. And where two are one on earth to ask anything, whatever they ask shall be done" [Matth. 18, 19. 20.], how much more should obtain what they ask, where a whole city comes together to praise and ask God in unity! We should not have many letters of indulgence, where we lead here röcht. Souls should also be easily delivered from purgatory and countless goods should follow. But, unfortunately, it does not work that way, everything is wrong; what is proper for the mass to do, we give to ourselves and want to do it ourselves; what we should do, we give to the mass to do. All this is done by unlearned false preachers.
48. to the sixth and twentieth. It is true that we should not offer such prayer, praise, thanksgiving and our own sacrifice by ourselves before God's eyes, but should place it on Christ and let Him offer it, as St. Paul teaches in Heb. 13:15: "Let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that confess and praise Him," and all this through Christ. For this reason he is also a priest, as Ps. 110, 4. says: "You are an eternal priest after the manner of Melchizedek," that he prays for us in heaven, recommends our prayers and sacrifices, and through himself, as a pious priest, makes us acceptable before God, as St. Paul says again Hebr. 9, 24.: "He ascended into heaven, that he might make himself a mediator before God's face, for us." And Rom. 8, 34: "Christ Jesus, who died, even rose from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of God, who also speaks and mediates for us."
(49) From which words we learn that we do not sacrifice Christ, but Christ sacrifices us. And according to the manner, it is expedient, even useful, that we call the mass a sacrifice, not for its sake, but that we offer ourselves with Christ, that is, that we place ourselves on Christ with a firm faith in his testament, and appear before God with our prayer, praise and sacrifice no other way than through him and his means, and we do not doubt that he is our priest or minister in heaven before God's face. Such faith truly makes Christ take care of us, present ourselves, our prayer and praise, and also offer Himself for us in heaven. Therefore, if the Mass were called and understood as a sacrifice, it would be right. Not that we offer the sacrament, but that by our praise, prayer and sacrifice we provoke him, give him cause to offer himself for us in heaven and us with him. As if I had said, "I have sacrificed my son to a prince," I would have done no more than to have moved that same son to bring my need and business to the prince, using the son as a mediator.
50. to the seventh and twentieth. But in this way almost few understand the mass. Because
they think that only the priest offers the mass before God, but this custom and manner is practiced or should be practiced by everyone who receives the sacrament, yes, also by all those who are at the mass, whether they do not receive the sacrament bodily. And even more, such a way of sacrifice may be practiced by every Christian wherever he is and all hours, as St. Paul says [Heb. 13, 15.]: "Let us through him always offer the sacrifice of praise," and Ps. 110, 4.: "You are an eternal priest." If he is an eternal priest, he is a priest all hours, and without ceasing he offers sacrifices before God. But we may not be the same all the time, therefore the mass is instituted, that we may come together and make such a sacrifice in common.
(51) Therefore, if anyone understands or needs the mass in any other way than a testament and sacrifice, let him see what he understands. I understand it, as it is said, that [it] is really nothing else, but that we receive the testament, and besides that we admonish ourselves and pray to strengthen the faith, and do not doubt that Christ in heaven is our pastor, offering Himself for us without ceasing, making our prayer and praise pleasant. Just as if I wanted to sacrifice the earthly priest in the mass and praise him for my need and God's praise, and he would give me a sign that he wants to do it. Just as I sacrificed the priest here, 1) so I also sacrifice Christ, so that I desire and believe that He will receive me, my praise and prayer, and bring it before God through Himself; and He gives me a sign that He will do so, in order to secure the same faith. The sign is the sacrament of bread and wine. Thus it is clear that not only the priest offers the mass, but each one's own faith, which is the proper priestly office by which Christ is offered before God; which office the priest signifies with the outward offerings of the mass. And so they are all equal spiritual priests before God [Revelation 1, 6. 5, 10. 1 Petr. 2, 5. 9.].
52. to the eighth and twentieth. From this you can see for yourself that there are many of you who keep the right mass and offer sacrifices, who yourselves
1) Thus the Wittenbergers; Jenaers: opffer.
They know nothing about it, and do not even consider that they are priests or that they may say mass. Again, many who take great pains and make every effort think that they say mass well and offer sacrifices well, and yet nothing is well. For all those who have faith that Christ is a priest for them in heaven before God's eyes, and place on him, and through him offer their prayers, praises, needs, and themselves, not doubting that he does the same and offers himself for them, then take the sacrament and testament, bodily or spiritually, as a sign of all this, and do not doubt that all sin is forgiven, God has become a merciful Father, and eternal life has been prepared:
(53) Behold, all those who are true priests, and truly keep true mass, obtain thereby what they will. For faith must do everything. He alone is the right priestly office, and lets no one else be. Therefore all Christian men are priests, all women priests 1), whether young or old, master or servant, wife or maid, scholar or layman. There is no difference here, unless the faith is unequal. Again, all who do not have such faith, but presume to offer the mass as a sacrifice, and to present their office to God, are idols of the oil, say mass outwardly, do not know themselves what they are doing, and may not please God. "For without right faith it is impossible for anything to please God," as St. Paul says in Heb. 11:6. Now there are many of you who have such right faith secretly and know nothing about it themselves; there are many who do not have it and are not aware of it either.
54. to the ninth and twentieth. Let us ask: What then is done by the masses which are said for the souls in purgatory, since such a strong habit has now been established of instituting masses for souls, and indeed many books have been made about it? Answer: Habit or no habit; God's word must prevail and remain firm that the Mass is nothing other than a testament and sacrament of God, which is not a good work.
1) Erlanger: "Darumb sein alle Christen, Mann, Pfaffen, alle Weiber, Pfäffin-" etc.
nor sacrifice, whether it be received in sacrifice and good works, as it is said.
(55) Therefore it is not doubtful that he who has mass without aforesaid faith, as much as there is in him, neither helps himself nor anyone else, for the sacrament by itself without faith works nothing; indeed God himself, who works all things, does not and cannot work good with any man unless he firmly believes him; how much less the sacrament! It is easily said that a mass is powerful if it is done by a pious or wicked priest; it is pleasant opere operati, not opere operantis. 2) But not to bring more to it, because that many say and are used to it, is a bad proof that [it] is therefore good. Many have vowed and used riches and pleasures; they need not therefore be good: one should bring Scripture or reason to it. Therefore let us be careful that we do not deceive. I cannot understand that it should be without abuse to endow so many masses and funerals, especially if all this is done for good works and sacrifices to pay God with, so that it is no other way than to enjoy and receive the divine graces promised and given to us in his will and sacrament.
56. On the thirtieth, I will gladly agree that the faith which I have called the right priestly office, which makes us all priests and ministers, by which we offer ourselves, our needs, prayers, praise and thanksgiving to Christ and through Christ besides the sacrament, and thereby offer Christ before God, that is, give him cause and move him to offer himself for us and us with him; The same faith, I say, is truly able to do all things in heaven, earth, hell and purgatory, and no one can give too much to the same faith. And as I have said above, if Christ promises to two men the hearing of all things [Matt. 18:19], how many more may obtain from him what they will, so many men!
(57) I know well that some will be reckless to call me a heretic in this.
2) That is, in that it is only performed without being used in faith. Cf. Col. 440.
1060 Eri. 27, isö-isr. 137. Sermon of the New Testament. W. xix, iM-iWs. 1061
ten. But, dear journeyman, you should also see if you could prove it so easily, so easily you blaspheme. I have read it well, know your books well, on which you base yourself, so that you must not think that I do not know your art. But I say that your art has no reason, and even if you do not prove it, you will never make a sacrifice or work of satisfaction out of a sacrament or testament of God; just as satisfaction itself is more a human than a divine law.
58. Therefore, I advise us to play the game of conscience, and to leave the uncertain, that is, if we want to help the poor souls or someone else, that we 1) do not go and rely on the mass as a sufficient work, but come together to the mass, and with priestly faith present all the needs at hand to Christ and with Christ, praying for the souls, and not doubting that we will be heard, we may be sure that the soul is saved, for faith, founded on Christ's promise, is not deceptive, nor is it lacking.
59) For the first and thirtieth, we read that St. Monica, St. Augustine's mother, requested at her deathbed that they remember her at mass. For if the Mass itself would be enough to help everyone, what should we do with faith and prayer? But if you say, "If this is true, let every man say mass in the field or offer such a sacrifice. For every man may well have such faith in Christ in the field, offer him his prayer, praise, need and cause, and command it to be presented to God in heaven; he may also well remember the sacrament and testament, desire them heartily, and so receive them spiritually. For he who desires and believes in it receives it spiritually, as St. Augustine teaches.
(60) What need is there of faith in the church? Answer: It is true that such faith is enough, and it truly settles everything; but where would you remember such faith, sacrifice, sacrament, and testament, if it is not in some named
1) Wittenberger and Erlanger: wirs.
places and churches would be acted bodily? Just as baptism and absolution, although without them faith is sufficient, where one cannot do more, but if it were nowhere, who could remember and believe in it, or who could know or say anything about it? Also, because God has so established it, one must not despise it, but accept it with great honor, praise and thanksgiving. For although there is no reason why we should keep a bodily mass and not be satisfied with inward faith alone, this would be enough to show that God has instituted and wills it. Which will should please us above all things and be sufficient cause for us to do and leave everything.
(61) So also the advantage is that 2) since we still live in the flesh and are not all so perfect as to govern ourselves in the spirit, it is necessary for us to come together bodily, to kindle one another with our example, prayer, praise and thanksgiving to such faith as I said above, and by bodily seeing or receiving the sacrament and testament to move 3) more and more to improve 4) the same faith. There are many saints, as St. Paul Ereinita, remained many years without mass in the desert, and yet never been without mass. But such high spiritual sages are not to be followed by any one or the whole congregation.
62. to the third and thirtieth. But the greatest thing to keep bodily Mass is for the sake of the Word of God, which no one can do without, and the same must be practiced and practiced daily. Not only because new Christians are born, baptized and raised every day, but also because we live in the means of the world, the flesh and the devil, who do not rest in challenging us and driving us into sin, against which the strongest defense is the holy Word of God, which St. Paul also calls "a spiritual sword" that is powerful against all sin [Eph. 6:17].
2) Shouldn't it perhaps read "there"?
3) Testaments Moving - Considering the Promise. The words "and testaments" are missing in the Wittenberg edition.
4) So the Wittenbergers. Jenaer: "better". In the editions, moreover, by wrong jnterpunction this sentence is meaningless.
This indicates that when the Lord instituted the mass, he said 1): "This you shall do, remembering me" [Luc. 22, 19.], as if to say, as often as you perform this sacrament and testament, you shall preach of me. As St. Paul also says 1 Cor. 11:26: "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye shall preach and proclaim the death of the Lord, until he come"; and Ps. 102:22, 23.They shall proclaim the glory of God in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem, as often as the kings (that is, the bishops and rulers) and the people come together to worship"; Ps. 111:4, 5: "He hath appointed a memorial of his wonders, that he might give meat unto all them that fear him."
(63) In these sayings you see how the mass was instituted to preach and praise Christ, to extol His suffering and all His grace and good deeds, so that we might be moved to love, hope, and believe Him, and thus receive a bodily sign, that is, the sacrament, in response to the same words or sermon, so that our faith, supplied and fortified with divine words and signs, might be strengthened against all sin, suffering, death, hell, and everything that is against us. And where the sermon should not have been, he would never have instituted the mass. He is more interested in the word than in the sign. For the sermon is to be nothing else than a declaration of the words of Christ, when he says and institutes the mass: "This is my body, this is my blood" etc. What is the whole Gospel but a declaration of this testament? Christ comprehended the whole Gospel in a brief sum with the words of this testament or sacrament. For the gospel is nothing else but a proclamation of divine graces and forgiveness of all sin, given to us through Christ's suffering. As St. Paul proves Rom. 10, 9. 11. 12. and Christ Luc. 24, 46. 47. The words of this testament have the same in them, as we have seen.
64. to the fourth and thirtieth. From this we may see what a pity and perverse nature it is that so many masses are held.
1) Jenaer: instead of "he spoke" "and spoke".
and yet the Gospel is completely silenced. They go out and preach to the poor souls chaff for grain, even death for life/then they think they will repay it with masses. What kind of baptism would it be if the baptizer alone baptized the child and did not speak a word? I fear that it is because of this that the holy words of the Testament are read and kept secretly and hidden from the laity, so that God, through His wrath, testifies how the whole Gospel is no longer preached publicly to the people, that just as the sum of the Gospel is hidden, so also its public declaration is kept silent.
After that, they took the one form of wine from us, although it is not very important, because it is more about the words than the sign. But I would like to know who gave them the power to do this. In the same way, they would like to take the other figure from us and give the empty monstrances to be kissed for holy things, and finally, they would like to cancel everything that Christ would have put in place. I am afraid that it is a figure and example that does not mean anything good in these dangerous, perverse last times. They say: the pope has the power to do it; I say it is fictitious, he has not a hair's breadth of power to do what Christ has done, and what he does in it, he does as a tyrant and an anti-Christian; I want to hear how they want to prove it.
(66) Not that I want to start a riot because of this, for I have more power in the word than in the sign, but that I cannot stand the outrage that they not only do us wrong, but want to have the right to do so, and urge us not only to suffer such wrong, but also to praise it for right and good deeds. They do what they want, so far as we remain 2) free not to confess injustice for right. It is enough that we let ourselves be beaten on the cheeks with Christ [John 18:22], but it is not to be done that we should praise it, as if they have done well in it and deserve a reward from God.
2) Jenaer: "wil".
67 To the fifth and thirtieth. But where will the wretched priests and laymen remain, who have come so far from the understanding of the mass and faith that they have immediately made a sorcery out of it? Some of them say mass so that they may become rich and prosper in their trade. Some because they think that where they hear mass in the morning, they are safe from all trouble and danger for the day, some because of their illness, some because of much more foolish, even sinful things; yet they find such great priests who take money and do their will.
They have made one mass better than the other, and have valued one for its use and the other for its usefulness, so that seven golden masses have been invented. The Mass of the Holy Cross has acquired a different virtue than the Mass of Our Lady. Here everyone is silent, and let the people go along, for the sake of the cursed shameful penny, which by so many names and virtues of the masses comes with heaps. So faith, like Christ, must be sold by its Judah, that is, by avarice and thirst for money [Matth. 26, 15. 16.].
(69) There are also some who say mass under the altar cloth about this and that; in short, the mass must do all kinds of things without its own proper work, the faith, which no one respects. They are the best on earth, who say a lot of masses, as if they were thinking of doing a lot of good. All this is due to immodesty, which does not separate the additions of chant or prayer from the proper natural mass. For one mass is like another, and there is no difference except in faith. For whoever believes the most, the mass is best for him, and it serves only for faith, and for no other thing. This is true, the added prayers serve one thing and another thing, according to their words, but they are neither mass nor sacrament.
70 To the sixth and thirtieth. My advice would be that, if the masses are not directed to such faith, they should be stopped and the endowed masses should be reduced; indeed, we anger God more than we reconcile. What should it be
Is it because in monasteries and convents the priests are so strictly bound to the annual masses, which must be not only without such faith, but also in their own way often clumsy? Christ himself did not want to oblige anyone to do this, and left us free, saying: "If you do this, do it in my memory". And we humans commit ourselves so hard to it, driving ourselves to it against our own conscience. I also see that such an endowment often has no good reason, but a secret avarice is the cause of such a duty, that we therefore burden ourselves with many masses, so that we have enough interest in temporal goods; then we say that we do it for God's sake. But for nothing and for God's sake, I take care, one should find few who take such a burden upon themselves. But if it happens that they are all held with the aforementioned faith, I can hardly refrain from tolerating them. If not, however, it would be best that there be only one mass in a city during the day, and that it be held in a proper manner when the people are gathered. But if it were ever desired that the people should be divided into so many masses, and that each part should be ordered to its own mass, there to practice its faith, to offer its prayers, praise and need in Christ, as is said above.
To the seventh and thirtieth. If then the mass is a testament and sacrament, in which is promised, with a sign, forgiveness of sin and all the grace of God, it follows from Himself, which is the best preparation for it. Without doubt, it is given to those who need and desire it. But who needs forgiveness of sin and God's grace more than the poor miserable consciences, who are driven and tortured by their sins, who fear God's wrath, judgment, death and hell, who would like to have a merciful God and have no greater desire? they are truly the ones who are prepared for the mass. For with them these words find place and room, since Christ says: "Receive and drink, this is my blood, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins," and where such a soul believes these words, as it is guilty, then it brings from the mass all the
Fruits of the masses, that is, peace and joy, and is thus spiritually fat and well fed. But where she does not believe, neither prayer nor much hearing of the masses helps; it must only become worse and worse. Thus Psalm 23:5 says: "Thou hast prepared a table before mine eyes against all my temptations." Isn't that a clear saying? What then is greater temptation than sin and an evil conscience, which fears the wrath of God at all times and never has rest? Item Psalm 111:4, 5: "He has made a memorial of his wondrous deeds, and given food to those who fear him." So it is certain that the mass is of no use to the free, secure spirits, whom their sin does not bite; for they are not yet hungry for this food, they are still too full. The mass wants and must have a hungry soul, which has a desire for forgiveness of sins and divine grace.
To the eighth and thirtieth. Since such despondency and restlessness of conscience is nothing other than an infirmity of faith, the most serious illness that man may have in body and soul, and it cannot be cured at once or in a hurry, it is useful and necessary that the more a man's conscience is restless, the more he goes to the sacrament or hears mass; so that he may exemplify God's word in it, and nourish and strengthen his faith in it, and ever see to it that he does not make a work or sacrifice of it, but let it remain a testament and sacrament, from which he is to receive and enjoy benefits, free of charge and by grace, thereby sweetening his heart toward God, and gaining a comforting confidence toward Him. For thus sings the Psalter, Ps. 104, 15: "Bread strengthens a man's heart, and wine makes a man's heart glad."
To the ninth and thirtieth. Some have asked whether one should give the sacrament to the mute? Some think that they can deceive them in a friendly way, and think that they should be given unblessed hosts. The insult is not good, nor will it please God, who has made them Christians as well as us, and they are entitled to the same things that we are. Therefore
If they are reasonable, and it can be seen from certain signs that they desire it out of right Christian devotion, as I have often seen, one should let the Holy Spirit do his work and not deny him what he demands] It may be that they have inwardly a higher understanding and faith than we do; to which no one should freely resist.
74 We read about St. Cyprian, the holy martyr, that he gave both forms to the children in Carthage when he was a bishop, although this has now ceased to be true for his own reasons. Christ let the children come to him and did not want anyone to harm them. So he did not deny his benefits to the mute, the blind, or the lame; why should not his sacrament also be given to those who desire it heartily and Christianly?
75 To the fortieth. Thus we see how Christ has burdened His holy church with very few laws and works, and exalted it to faith with many promises, although it is now unfortunately the other way around, and with many, long, heavy laws and works we are driven to be pious; yet nothing comes of it. But Christ has a light burden, goes short, that exuberant piety is there, and everything is in faith and trust, fulfilling what Isaiah 10:22 says: "A short perfection will bring a flood of piety." This is faith, which is a short thing, no laws nor works belong to it; yes, it cuts off all laws and works, and fulfills all laws and works. Therefore, from it flows all righteousness. For faith is so perfect that it makes everything a man does, without any other effort or law, pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God. As I have said more about this in the booklet on good works. 1)
Therefore, let us beware of sins, but much more of laws and good works, and let us only be well aware of divine promise and faith, and good works will be found. God help us, amen.
1) Walch, St. Louis Edition, vol. X, 1298 ff.