A BRIEF SERMON TO THE PARISHIONERS ON THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

(from Mirk's Festial: A Collection of Homilies by John Mirk, ed. Theodore Erbe, Early English Text Society, extra series 96 [1905], pp. 168-75)

Christian men and women, you should know well that this is a high feast in holy church of Christ's body, which is offered up each day in holy church on the altar to the Father of Heaven in remission of sin to all that live here in perfect charity and in great succor and release of the pain of those who are in purgatory. Then you should know that this feast was founded by a pope that was called Urban the Fourth. He had great devotion to this sacrament, considering the great grace of God and high help that God gives to all his people by virtue of this sacrament. Wherefore he ordained that this feast be hallowed this Thursday, the next after the feast of the Trinity. For right as each Christian man and woman that will be saved must needs have perfect charity in the Trinity, right so must he have full faith and belief in the sacrament of Christ's body that is made on the altar by virtue of the holy words that the priest says there, and by the working of the Holy Ghost. Then, because this holy pope thought to draw God's people with better will to church that day, he grants all those who are truly shriven and contrite for their sins, and who are in the church at both the evensong of this feast, and at mass, and at matins, for each of these a hundred days' pardon, and for each other hour of this day forty days' pardon, and for each day of this octave a hundred days' pardon to last forevermore.

Then should you know well that our Lord Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday at night, when he had supped and knew how he should on the morrow suffer death and so pass out of this world unto his Father, he ordained a perpetual memory of his passion to abide with his people. Thus he took bread and wine, and made it his own flesh and his blood, and gave it to his disciples, and bade them eat it and drink it in memory of him. And so gave it to them and to all other priests, yea and to all other priests, power and dignity to make his body of bread and wine on the altar, so that each priest has of Christ's gift power to make this sacrament, be he better, or be he worse. For that sacrament is so high and holy in itself, that there may no good man amend it, nor any evil man impair it. But the priest who lives a good life and does his office well and worthily, to him it shall be well that ever he was born; for he has of God's gift here on earth what he never gave to any angel in Heaven: that is, the power to make God's body. Wherefore he shall have such passing great worship in heaven among angels that no tongue may tell nor heart think. And he that lives an evil life, and knows himself to be in deadly sin, and has no intention to amend himself, he is sure to have a perpetual confusion of fiends in hell, and will be put under them in everlasting pain.

Then you should know well that Christ left this sacrament to be used always in holy church for four reasons to all God's people: for the great helping of man, for reminding us of Christ's passion, for showing great love, and for the getting of great meed.

The form is for man's great help, both in life and in death. First in living. For, as Saint Austyn said, as often as a man or woman comes into the church to hear mass, God gives him seven gifts, and those are these: that day he shall lack no bodily food; idle speech that day is forgiven him; his idle light oaths are forgiven; he shall not on that day lose his sight; he shall not that day die any sudden death; and as long as the mass lasts he shall not grow older; and his angel counts each step that he goes to church in great worship of him. Before God this help he has in living.

In dying a Christian man sends after the priest to come to him with God's body for two needful causes at his ending. One is for to see the sacrament of God's body, and to receive it acknowledging that he believes steadfastly that it is the same flesh and blood that Christ took in maid Mary, and was born of her true God and man, and after suffered death on the cross, and was buried, and rose from death to life, and now sits on the Father's right hand in Heaven, and shall come again for to judge the quick and the dead. And so with his perfect belief he arms himself, and makes himself strong and mighty to withstand the fiends that will assail him, when he passes out from his body, in every way that they can, to assay if they might bring him out of his belief. Then shall the sacrament that he received make him so mighty, that he shall overcome them and set naught by them.

The other reason is for to ask mercy of Christ and remission of his sins, having full belief that Christ is ever ready to forgive all who ask for mercy with a true heart. This was shown by example, when he hung on the cross between two thieves that were men of cursed living, and were therefore damned to die. Then one of them asked Christ for mercy with a meek and repenting heart, and at the manner of the prayer Christ at once gave him mercy, and moreover granted him to come to paradise at once that same day. The other would not ask for mercy because of the proud heart that he had; and therefore he was damned. Then as Christ that day shed his blood on the cross in help of all mankind, so yet each day in the mass he sheds his blood in high meed to all that believe this; for without this belief may no man be saved. Wherefore I tell this example that I read in the life of Saint Odo, who was bishop of Canterbury.

[narracio]

This bishop had with him some of his clerks that did not believe perfectly in the sacrament of the altar, and they said that they might not believe that Christ sheds his blood in the mass. Then was this bishop sorry for their misbelief and prayed to God eagerly for their amendment. And so, on a day, as he was at his mass, when he had made the fraction as the manner is, he saw the blood drop down from the host quickly into the chalice. Then he made a sign to those that misbelieved to come and see. And when they saw his fingers bloody and blood run from Christ's body into the chalice, they were horrified so that for fear they cried and said, "Be thou blessed, man, who has this grace thus to handle Christ's body!" We believe now fully that this is truly God's body, and his blood that dropped there into the chalice. But now pray to him that thou hast there in thy hands, that he send no vengeance upon us for our misbelief!" And so the sacrament turned into its form of bread as it was before; and they were good men and perfect always afterwards in their belief.

The second cause that the sacrament is used in the altar is for to make man by often seeing to have a more solemn memory of Christ's passion in his heart, and so to be armed always against the fiend. For as Saint Austyn said, "The memory of Christ's passion is the best defence against the temptations of the fiend." Therefore are roods (crosses) set on high in holy church, so by the sight thereof remember Christ's passion. And therefore roods and other images are necessary in holy church, whatever these Lollards say; for if they had not been profitable, good holy fathers that have been before us would have removed them from holy church many years ago. But just as a a man does worship to the king's seal, not for love of the seal, but for reverence of the man that owns it; so because the rood is the seal of the King of Heaven, and other images that are made of holy saints that are with him: and therefore men worship images. For, as John Bellet says, images and paintings are lewed men's books and I say boldly there are many thousands of people that could not imagine in their hearts how Christ was hung on the rood, but as they learn it through the sight of images and paintings. Thus for to make you have the better memory of Christ's passion, I tell you this example.

[narracio]

I read that there was a Christian man of England who went into heathen lands for to see the wonders of the land, and hired a Saracen to be his guide. And so they came into a fair wood, but everything was still, with none of the birds or fowls stirring. Then said the Christian man, "I marvel much that there is no noise of birds in this fair wood." Then answered the Saracen and said, "This is the week that your great prophet died in. Wherefore on last Sunday, that you call Palm Sunday, all the birds of this wood were dead for mourning, and shall be all this week. But on next Sunday that you call Easter Day, they shall quicken again, and then shall they all the year after fill this wood with a melody of sweet songs. Wherefore look up into the trees and see!" And he saw each tree full of birds lying upright dead, with their wings spread as if they had been rigid on the cross. Then if these birds remember Christ's passion, much more should a man that was bought by his passion.

The third cause why the sacrament is used on the altar is for love, that man shall for the sight thereof think how that the Father of Heaven had but one son that he loved passing all thing. And yet, for to buy man out of the devil's thralldom, he sent him into this world, and with his own heart-blood wrote man a charter of freedom, and made him free forever, unless he forfeit his charter. So while he loves God, he keeps his charter; for God asks no more of a man but love. Wherefore he says thus to him: "Son, give thine heart, and that is enough for me."

[narracio]

Then take this example of Sir Auberk, who was earl of Venice, and loved the sacrament of the altar, and did to it all the reverence he could. But when he was to die, he might not receive it because of vomiting. Then he made his side clean, and covered it with a clean cloth of silk, and laid thereon God's body, and said thus to him, "Lord, thou knowest well that I love thee, and would fain receive thee with my mouth, if I dared to; but since I may not, I lay thee on the place that is closest to my heart, and so show thee my heart and my love." And therewith, in the sight of many men, the side opened, and the host glided into the body; and then the side closed again, whole as it was before, and so soon after he gave up the ghost. Thus love ye the sacrament of God's body in your life, and he will succor you in your death.

The fourth reason why this sacrament is used is for the getting of great meed for each man and woman who believes perfectly therein, though it have the likeness and the taste of bread. And also he must perfectly believe that it is truly Christ's body that he took in the Virgin Mary, and after died on the cross, and rose from death to life, and now is in Heaven, and shall come to judge he quick and the dead. Then he that receives it in this belief, he gets himself great merit; for he gets himself the kingdom of Heaven. And he that believes not thus and receives it, he takes it to his damnation in the pain that shall last forever. Then for to sharpen your belief better, I tell you this example.

[narracio]

I read that in Saint Gregory's time there was a woman named Lasma who made the bread that the pope sang with and houseled [offered the Eucharist] the people with. Then, on a day, while the pope houseled the people, he came to this Lasma and said, "Take here God's body." And then she smiled. But when the pope saw her smile, he withdrew his hand, and laid the host on the altar, and turned to this woman and said, "Lasma, why smilest thou, when thou should have taken God's body?" Then said she, "Because thou callest God's body that which I made with my own hands." Then was Gregory sorry for her misbelief, and bade the people pray to God to show his miracle, that the woman might be helped out of her misbelief. And when they had prayed, Gregory went to the altar, and found the host turned into raw bleeding flesh, which he took and showed to the woman. Then she cried and said, "Lord, now I believe that thou art Christ, God of Heaven's Son, in the form of bread!" Then he bade the people pray at once that it might turn again into the likeness of bread, and so it did. And so with the same host he houseled this woman. Now, good men and women, for God's love take heed of what I have said to you, and worship God's body with all your might; for here you shall see a fair example.

[narracio]

In Devonshire near Auxbridge there dwelled a holy vicar who had a parishioner, a woman, that lay sick at the point of death a half a mile from him in a town. This woman sent after him at midnight to perform the last rites for her. Then this man rose up with all the haste that he might, and went to the church, and took God's body in a box of ivory, and put it into his pocket, for at that time men used pockets. And he went toward this woman, and went across a meadow, that was the nearest way. Then as he hied on his way, before he knew it, the box slipped out of his bosom, and fell down on the earth, and in the fall the box opened, and the host trundled onto the green. Then when he had shriven this woman, he asked her if she would be houseled, and she said "Yes." Then he put his hand in his bosom, and sought the box. When he found it not, he was greatly afraid, and said to the woman, "Dame, I shall fetch God's body and hie myself back as fast as I can." And so he came across a willow tree, and made thereof a good stick, and stripped himself naked, and beat himself as fast as he might, so that the blood ran down his sides, and he said to himself, "You foul thief, you have lost your creator, you shall pay for it!" And when he had beaten himself thus, he cast on his clothes and ran forth. And then he was aware of a pillar of fire that went from the earth up to Heaven. Then he was first aghast, but afterwards he blessed himself, and went near it; then saw he all the beasts of that meadow in a circle around the pillar. So when he cam to this pillar, it shone as bright as any sun. Then he was aware of God's body lying on the grass, and the pillar of fire extending from it up to Heaven. Then he fell down on his knees and asked for mercy with all his heart, weeping sorely for his negligence. But when he had said his prayer, he rose up, and looked about, and saw that all the beasts knelt on both knees and worshipped God's body, save one black horse that knelt but on one knee. Then said this good man to him thus, "If thou be any beast that can speak, I bid thee in virtue of this body that lies here, that thou speak and tell me, why thou kneeleth but on one knee, while all these other beasts kneel on both their knees." Then answered he and said, "I am a fiend of hell and would not kneel of either knee at my will, but I am made to do so against my will; for it is written that each man of Heaven, and earth, and hell shall bow to him." Then he said to him, "Why are you like a horse?" Then said he: "I go thus like a horse in order to make men steal me. And thus was a man of such a town hanged for me, and afterwards another, and at such a town a third." Then said this vicar, "I command thee by virtue of the body that is here that you go into the wilderness where no man comes, and be there until doomsday!" And so anon he vanished away. And with all the reverence that he could, he took up the host, and he put it into the box, and so went again to the woman, and houseled her therewith. And so he went home, thanking God with all his heart for showing his miracle.

Now good men and women, for God's love take heed what I have said to you, and worship God's body with all your might, and love it with all your heart, and believe solemnly therein as I have said to you. And then will he love you, and bring you to the bliss that he is in, and may God so grant.