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7/30/2019 Thomas Cranmer on Common Prayer and the Sacraments

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Homily on COMMON PRAYER and THE SACRAMENTS

From the Homilies of Thomas Cranmer, On Common Prayer and Sacraments

and On the Worthy Receiving of the Sacrament.

These homilies were first published in 1547 in a volume of homilies to be read in the Churches. They are

here joined, edited for length, and the English updated, by Fr. Stanley F. Sinclair and Ruth M. Davis.

Dear Christians: Among the many exercises of Gods people, none are

more necessary than public prayer and the proper use of the Sacraments.

In prayer we ask from God all such things as we cannot otherwise obtain.

In the Sacraments, God embraces us and offers himself to be embraced by

us. Let us consider what prayer is and what a Sacrament is.

Saint Augustine teaches that prayer is the devotion of the mind; that is to

say, returning to God through a godly and humble affection, inclining the

mind towards God. As for the Sacraments, he calls them holy signs.

Writing about the baptism of infants, he says, If Sacraments had not a

certain likeness to those things whereof they are Sacraments, they would be

no Sacraments at all. From this likeness they receive for the most part the

names of the things they signify. By these words Saint Augustine allows

the common description of a Sacrament: that it is a visible sign of an

invisible grace, which sets before the eyes and outward senses the inward

working of Gods free mercy, and seals in our hearts the promises of God.

Prayer

As to prayer, in the Scriptures we read of three sorts. Two are private, the

third is common; that is, shared by the congregation.

Private prayerThe first sort of private prayer Saint Paul speaks of in his first epistle to

Timothy: I will that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands

without wrath or striving. It is the devout lifting up of the mind to God

without speaking aloud the hearts grief or desire. We have examples of

this: Anna, the mother of Samuel, in the heaviness of her heart, prayed in


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the temple, desiring to be fruitful. She prayed in her heart; no voice was

heard. This way must all Christians pray...as Saint Paul writes to the

Thessalonians, without ceasing. Saint James writes, The continual

prayer of a just man is of much force, or is very effective.

The second sort of prayer Jesus taught in the Gospel of Matthew: When

you pray, enter into your secret closet, and when you have shut the door,

pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will

reward you. Cornelius, a devout man, said to Peter that when he was in

his house in prayer at the ninth hour, there appeared to him one in a white

garment. This man prayed to God in secret and was rewarded openly. So

the first form of private prayer is mental, the other vocal.

Common prayer

The third form of prayer is public, or common. Our Saviour Christ speaks

of this prayer when he says, If two or three are gathered together in my

name, there am I in the midst of them. By the histories of the Bible it

appears that common prayer avails greatly before God, and must be

esteemed among us who profess to be one body in Christ.

When the city of Nineveh was threatened to be destroyed within forty

days, the Prince and the people joined themselves together in public prayer

and fasting and were preserved. In the prophet Joel, God commanded a

fast to be proclaimed, and the people to say with one voice: Spare us, O

Lord, spare thy people, and let not thine inheritance be brought to

confusion.When Peter was in prison, the congregation joined them-

selves together in common prayer, and Peter was wonderfully delivered.

Common or public prayer is of great force to obtain mercy and deliverance

at our heavenly Fathers hand.

I beseech you, brethren, even for the tender mercies of God, let us be no

longer negligent in this behalf: but as the people willing to receive at Gods

hand such good things as in the common prayer are asked, let us join

ourselves together, and with one voice and one heart ask all these things of

our heavenly Father.


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The Sacraments

How many Sacraments there are, and what a Sacrament is

Turning to the Sacraments, you will hear how many there are, instituted by

our Saviour Christ, to be continued and received by every Christian in duetime and order, for the purpose our Saviour willed

them to be received. As for the number of those

which should be considered according to the

precise sense of a Sacrament namely as visible

signs, expressly commanded in the New

Testament, which are joined with the promise of

free forgiveness of our sin and of our holiness and

union in Christ there are but two: Baptism andthe Supper of the Lord.

For although Absolution, also called Penance, has the promise of the

forgiveness of sin, the promise is not joined with the visible sign, which is

the laying on of hands. For this visible sign is not expressly commanded in

the New Testament to be in absolution, like the visible signs are in Baptism

and the Supper of the Lord. Therefore Absolution, lacking the visible sign,

is not a Sacrament like Baptism and Communion are. And the Ordering[ordination] of Ministers lacks the promise of the remission of sin.

Therefore neither it nor similar things are Sacraments in the same sense as

Baptism and Holy Communion.

In a general sense, a Sacrament may be anything by which a holy thing is

signified. The ancient writers gave the name sacrament not only to the

seven Sacraments but also to other ceremonies, such as the oil, washing of

feet, and the like, not meaning them to have the same significance as the

first two named. Saint Augustine, weighing the true significance and

meaning of the word, affirms that the most excellent Sacraments of the

Christians are few in number, and makes mention expressly of two: The

Sacrament of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Although by the order

of the Church of England there are certain other rites and ceremonies the

In its precise sense, a

Sacrament is a ceremony

which is commanded of us

by the Lord in the New

Testament and which joins a

visible sign with the promise

of remission of sin and our

holiness and union in Christ.

Of these there are but two:

Baptism and the Supper of

the Lord.


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institution of Ministers in the Church, Matrimony, Confirmation of

children, and likewise for the Visitation of the Sick yet no man ought to

take these as Sacraments like Baptism and Holy Communion. They are

however godly states of life, necessary in Christs Church, and therefore

worthy to be set forth by public action and solemnity through the ministry

of the Church; or they are valuable for the instruction, comfort, and

edification of Christs Church.

What language to use in the Churches

Now let us see if the Scriptures or examples of the primitive Church allow

any spoken private or public prayer, or any manner of Sacrament or other

public rite, in an unknown tongue [language]; that is, one which is not

understood by the Minister and people. To this we must answer No.

As for Common prayer and the administration of the Sacraments, reason,

if it ruled, would soon persuade us to have these in a known tongue. To

pray commonly, or all together, means that the people are asking one and

the same thing, with one voice and agreement of mind.

But we do not need to resort to reasons and proofs. We have both the plain

and manifest words of Scripture and also the consent of the most learned

and ancient writers. St Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Let all things be

done for edifying [that is, for instruction and building up in

understanding]. This cannot be done without prayers and administration

of Sacraments in the language known by the people. When the trumpet

blown in the field gives an uncertain sound, no man can tell what is piped.

When prayers are in a language unknown to the hearers, who will be

stirred to lift up his mind to God? Who in the administration of the

Sacraments will understand what invisible grace is to be wrought in the

inner man? Saint Paul says, He who speaks in a tongue unknown will be

to the hearer a stranger and foreigner. This, in a Christian congregation, is

a great absurdity. For we are not strangers one to another, but citizens

with the Saints, and of the household of God.


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From the time of Christ until Rome began to spread itself and impose on

the nations of Europe the Roman language, there was no strange or

unknown tongue used in the congregations. St Justin Martyr, who lived

160 years after Christ, said of the administration of the Lords Supper in his

time, The head minister offers prayers and thanksgiving with all his

power, and the people answer, Amen. These words plainly declare that

not only were the Scriptures read in a known language, but also that prayer

was made in the same. Saint Ambrose says, If you speak the praise of

God in a tongue unknown to the hearers, there is no profit. Nothing

should be done in the church in vain and to no profit.

The Sacrament of the Lords Supper or Table of the Lord

The great love of our Saviour Christ towards mankind appears not only in

the dearly bought benefit of our redemption and salvation by his death and

passion, but also in that he so kindly provided that this merciful work may

be had in remembrance. As a tender parent, our Lord and Saviour thought

it not sufficient to purchase for us his Fathers favour again (which is the

deep fountain of all goodness and eternal life) but also wisely devised the

ways, or means of grace, whereby they might redound to our benefit and

profit.So our loving Saviour has ordained and established the remembrance of

his great mercy expressed in his Passion through the institution of his

heavenly supper. In this we all must be guests: not onlookers, but feeding

ourselves. To this his promise beckons: This is my body which is given

for you, and This is my blood, which is shed for you. So then, we must

of necessity be partakers of this table.

What is needful to come to the Table of the LordBut Saint Paul says, He who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks

his own condemnation. Therefore we must clearly understand that three

things are requisite: First, a right and worthy estimation and under-

standing of this mystery; second, to come in a sure faith; and third, to have


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newness or pureness of life in order to effectively receive and possess the

Sacrament.

We must be sure especially that this supper be ministered as our Lord and

Saviour did and commanded to be done, as his holy Apostles used it, andas the good Fathers in the Primitive Church practised it.

Saint Paul blamed the Corinthians for profaning the Lords Supper. He

demonstrates that ignorance of the thing itself and its true meaning was the

cause of their abuse, for they came irreverently, not discerning the Lords

Body. What has been the cause of the ruin of Gods religion, but ignorance

of it? Let us try to understand the Lords Supper, so that we are not the

cause of the decay of Gods worship or of idolatry so that we may more

boldly have access, for our comfort.

A right and worthy estimation and understanding of the Table of the Lord

We need not think that such exact knowledge is required that everyone

must be able to discuss all the high points of doctrine. But we must be sure

we understand that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony. It

is not just a bare sign. It is not an empty figure of something that is absent.

As Scripture says, it is the Table of the Lord, the Bread and Cup of the

Lord, the memory of Christ, the Annunciation of his death, and the

Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord, in a marvellous

embodiment and realization which, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, is

wrought through faith in the souls of the faithful. By it not only do their

souls live to eternal life, but they trust confidently to gain for their bodies a

resurrection to immortality.

This result, and the union which is between the body and the Head (that is,

the true believers and Christ) the ancient catholic fathers both experiencedthemselves and commended to their people. Some of them were not afraid

to call this Supper the salve of immortality and sovereign preservative

against death. Others called it a deifical Communion that is, a

communion that makes us to be holy like God. Others called it the sweet

food of the Saviour, and the pledge of eternal health; also the defence of the


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faith, the hope of the Resurrection; others still, the food of immortality, the

healthful grace and conservation for eternal life, as we find in the writings

of St Irenaeus, Origen, St Cyprian, St Athanasius.

All these things both the Holy Scripture and godly men have correctlyattributed to this celestial banquet and feast. If we would but remember

them, O how they would inflame our hearts to participate in these

mysteries always holding fast and cleaving by faith to the Rock from

which we derive the sweetness of everlasting salvation. Here the faithful

may see, hear, and know the mercies of God sealed, Christs satisfaction for

us confirmed, the remission of sin established. Here they may experience

the tranquillity of conscience, the increase of faith, the strengthening of

hope, the spreading abroad of brotherly kindness, with many other sundrygraces of God.

We must come to the Lords Table with a sure faith

That faith is a necessary instrument in all these holy Ceremonies, we may

assure ourselves. As Saint Paul says, Without faith it is impossible to

please God. As the bodily food cannot feed the outward man unless it be

truly digested in the stomach, no more can the inward man be fed unless

his food be received into his soul and heart in faith. St Cyprian said, Withsincere faith we break and divide that whole bread. The food we seek in

this Supper is spiritual food, the nourishment of our soul, a heavenly

reflection.

We must come to the Lords Table in newness or pureness of life

Newness of life and godly living are required in partakers of this Table. We

may learn from eating of the typical lamb, to which no man was admitted

but he who was a Jew, was circumcised, and was before sanctified. Yea,Saint Paul testifies that although the people were partakers of the

Sacraments under Moses, yet for all that, some of them were still

worshippers of images, whoremongers, tempters of Christ, murmurers,

and coveting after evil things. God overthrew those people in the

wilderness, and this was for our example; that is, so that we Christians


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would take heed that we resort to our Sacraments with holiness of life, not

trusting in the outward receiving of them, and not infected with corrupt

and uncharitable manners (1 Corinthians 10:1-11). For this saying of God

must always be justified: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.

For this reason (says Basil) it behoves him who comes to the Body and

Blood of Christ, in commemoration of him that died and rose again, not

only to be pure from all uncleanness of the flesh and spirit, lest he eat and

drink his own condemnation, but also to show forth plainly a memory of

him that died and rose again for us in this point: to be mortified to sin and

to the world, and to live now unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving

And not least of all, we must render thanks to Almighty God. For chiefly at

this Table ought we to solemnise the rendering of thanks to God for all his

gifts and benefits, briefly comprised in the death, passion, and resurrection

of his dearly beloved Son. For this reason the godly fathers named it

Eucharistia; that is, thanksgiving. It is as if they had said, Now above all

other times, you ought to laud and praise God. Now you may behold the

matter, the cause, the beginning, and the end of all thanksgiving.

Thus, beloved, we see that when we gather to this table we must pluck up

all the roots of infidelity, all distrust in Gods promise, so that we may

make ourselves living members of Christs body; so that we receive not

only the outward Sacrament but the spiritual thing also: not the figure, but

the truth; not the shadow only, but the substance; and this not to death, but

to life; not to destruction but to salvation which thing may God grant us

to do through the merits of our Lord and Saviour, to whom be all honour

and glory for ever. Amen.

Copyright May 2013. May be freely read in Churches.