The PurveyProject

Sermo in die pasche

Par Christelle AGUILLON
Publication en ligne le 16 janvier 2013

1/309/ Good men and women, ȝe schal vnderstonde þat we owyte as þis day for to take good hede to the wordys of þe holy apostyll Paule, þe whyche he rehersythe in te þistyll of þis day, and seyþe þus: Expurgate vetus fermentum; þat is to sey, "Clens ȝe owte ȝour olde sowre dowe." Every good man and woman will loke full redely to þat vessel, þe whiche theyre bodily sustynaunce scholde be put into, for the foode þat a man schal ete, thowȝe it be never so good, and it be put in a fowle vessel, it wyl chawnge and make þe body or þe stomoke þe worse disþempered. And parauenture, the body of þat persone myȝt peresche ; and þe defawte is not in þe mete but in the fowle vessel. Wherfore Criste seythe hymselffe, as it is wreton in þe gospell of Seynt Marke, where it is seyde: Nemo mittit vinum nonum in vteres ve-

2/310/ -teres, alioquin disrumpet vinum vteres effundetur, et vteres peribunt. "No man," he seythe, "scholde put new wyne into olde bottells, for þen þe wyne wyll breke þe boþells; and so schall þe wyne be schedde, and þe botells schall peressche. But new wyne schall be put into newe botells." Þe vnderstondyng hereof is þat we scholde clens and make feyre and clene all the corners of owre consciens; and remember vs wel rownde abowte whedyr þere be eny maner of fowle fylþi spotis of synne reynyng in þi sowle, þe whyche scholde cawse þat þe swete flessche and bloode of Criste Ihesu in forme of brede may not reste in þi sowle. Therfore the holy apostyll Paule seythe in þe pistyll of þis day, as I seyde ryȝte now: Expurgate vetus fermentum. "Clens ȝe owte ȝowre olde sowre dowe" þat is to sey, þe fowle fylthy spottis of synne or þat ȝe resceyve þis blessid foode of Cristis body in forme of brede. This blessyd sacrament of Cristis body þat ȝe,

3/311/ as this day, hathe and schall resceyve, it is hevenly mete, þe whiche is cawse of vertues dysposyd pepil for to haue þe lyffe everlastyng, as Criste seythe hymselffe in þe gospell of Seint Iohn þus: Pater meus dat vobis panem de celo, et dat vitam mundo. "My fader gevyte to ȝow brede frome heven, þe whyche gevithe þe lyffe of þe worlde." And as Criste seyþe hymselfe: Ego sum panis viuus, qui de celo descendi. "I am þe brede of lyffe þat cam downe frome heven, þe whiche is Cristis owne flessche and his blode." So þen, he, þat purposythe for to resceyve þis blessid fode of Cristis body, it perteynethe for him to clens and to make feyre and clene his sowle from synne; or ever he take vpon him for to resceyve þat blessid body, for Criste seythe hymselffe; Mathei vltimo capitulo: Nolite sanctum dare canibus, neque proicietis margaritas ante porcos. "Gyffe not þis holy sacrament to dogis, ne caste it not to swyne."

4/312/ As Criste seythe: "He, þat envyusly dysposyd aȝenste his evencristen here in this texte foreseyde." Criste forbedite vs þat we schall not in no wyse gyffe his blessid body to hym, to þe tyme þat he be made clene by þe blessyd sacrament of confescion. And þerfore I requere ȝow, by þe vertu of myne office, þat I haue bytwene God and ȝowre sowlys, þat none of ȝow presume to take vpon hym for to resceyve þis precius Lorde in forme of brede, but if he be in parfitt love and charite. And also þat he be in stedfaste beleve in þe blessyd sacrament, þat it is very Cristis body in forme of brede, for dowteles, if case be þat þou haue not stedfast beleve in þe sacrament on þe awtur, aftyr the informacion of men of holy chyrche, þen þe devyll haþhe caste vnto ȝe a wickyd suggestion; þat is to sey, a false and a wickyd temptacion, to þe whiche temptacion and þou consent þereto it will be þe cawse of þine everlasting dampnacion. A glorius exsampyll we haue here of in the sermons of

5/313/ Seynt Gregory, the whiche exsampyll was [one] of þe cawsys þat þe feste of Corpus Cristi was firste ordend and fownde. þere was some tyme, in þe cite of Alquyne, a worthi and a nobyll marchaunte that had a worthy jewell, in þe whiche jewell þere was a precius stone callyd a serpentyne. And þis marchaunte vsyd every ȝere, after Wit Sonday weke was done for to make to his frendys a grete feste. And at þe principall tyme of þe feste, for a grete ryalte, he wold schewe this jewell. And it was so þat þis marchaunte had a wyfe, þe whiche had not very stedfaste beleve in the blessyd sacrament on þe autyr, þat it scholde not be þe very body of Criste by þe temptacion of the devyll, but evermore dowtid therein. And on Ester day, when sche had resceyvid þis blessid sacrament, sche kepte it styll al hole and sownde in hyr mowþe. And so prevely, when þe preste was gone,

6/314/ sche toke it owte of hyr mowþe [and put it] into a feyre kerchefe, and so browȝte it home and put it into þe cofyr there, as þis ryall jewell was, withe þe serpentyne. So it befell vpon þe day before rehersyd þat þis marchaunte, at þe princypall tyme of þe feste, had his wyffe go fetche hym þis jewell; and when sche came to the cofyr and had openyd þe lydd, þen sche fonde there a feyre chyld sprawlyng in hyr kerchyfe. And so þat soden syþte cawsyd hyr for to be in grete feere; and so sche made a grete crye and a grete noyse. And þe chylde semyd to be a ȝere of age, withe a grete wounde on his ryȝte syde, and in every honde and fote, a grete wounde. And so by þe noyse þat sche made, þe marchaunte, withe moche oþer pepyll, came vp and sawe þis syþte. And so þereof, þei had grete mervell, and þei wyste not what was beste for to doo, and at þe laste þei rememberyd þem

7/315/ of an holy man callyd Mayster Thomas of Alquyne, a notabyll and a famus doctur of divinite, and he was an holy lyver. And when he saw this syȝte, he had grete mervell þereof; and þen he inqueryd of þe woman how it was; and when sche had confessyd þe trowþe, he joyned hyr þat sche schold take þe streyþte wey vnto Rome, and the chylde in hyr armys lappyd in þe same kerchefe, and þat sche scholde schewe it to þe Pope Vrbane þe fowrþe, þat was pope at þat tyme, and þere of hym and of his cowncell to seke a remedye. And so they toke þe wey to Rome bothe sche and hyr husbonde; and ever as þei went by the wey, þe chylde wexed more and more. And when þei camen before þe Pope, he had grete mervell of þe infydelyte and incrudelyte of þe woman; and also he mervelyd moche of þe grete myrakyll þat God schewyd þere. Þen þe Pope,

8/316/ withe þe cowncell of his cardynalis, remisyd and remyttid þe examynacion and þe endyng of þis matter to þis forseyde famus doctur, and so, delyvered þem a comyscion. And so þei turned home aȝene and ever þe childe incresyd more and more. And when þei came home, þis holy man resceyvyd þe Popis comiscion, þe whiche was directe vnto hym ; and on þe morowȝe he commawndyd al þe cite to com and go in procession. And the woman, withe þe childe in hir armys, schewing hym vnto all pepill; and when þe procession was done, þis holy man made a sermon to al þe pepyll of þis same myrakyll. And when þe sermon was done, he remisyd hym to the hyȝe awtyr, and toke þe chylde withe þe kerchyfe owte of þe womans hondys, and leyde him vpon þe awtyr, and made þis woman openly to confess hyr, in every degre, withe all the hole cyrcumstance, lyke as sche had done, as it is before rehersyd. And þen, þis holy man seyde vnto the woman:

9/317/ "I mervell gretly how þou durste be so bolde to serche þe prevetyse of God; and sen þou wolde not resceyve hym at þat tyme, as he was in þe forme of brede, þerfore þou schall resceyve hym in soche a forme as he is in now." And þerevpon, he toke vp þe chylde and offerid him to þe woman. And as sone as it towchid hyr lyppis, þe good Lorde turned himselffe into þe forme of brede ayene; and so þer was gret joye and grete þankyng to God of all þe pepyll in schewing of þis feyre myrakyll. And also þei rong withe al þe bell of þe cite; and þen was þis commawndyd by þe Pope and by al his cowncell of clerkis for to be prechid in all Cristen reamys, in strenthyng consumacion and fortifyyng of our feythe. Wherevpon þe Pope withe his cowncell ordende þat þis holy man scholde make a story of þe instytucion of þis blessid sacrament. And when it was made, þe Pope thorowȝeowte all Cristendome ordende þat þis holy feste of Corpus Cristi scholde

10/318/ be solempnysed and halowyd. And what man or woman þat schall resceyve þis blessid sacrament, loke þat þei dyspute not ne muse not over far in þe mysteriis þereof, but feythefully beleve as holy chyrche techythe vs, and beleve stedfastly þat he is very God and man in forme of brede, for þis ȝe schal conceyve that þis holy sacrament helpiþe every Cristen creature in iij maner statys; þat is to sey, firste, in his lyffe here lyving; þe secunde, in þe owre of dethe of his departyng; and þe therde, aftyr his dethe. Firste I sey þis blessid sacrament in owre lyffe is to vs a suffycient salue aȝenste all bodyly sekenes, for þereby we be gostly helyd, and it wyll make vs strong in vertu, and it preservythe a man þat he schall not luþtly falle into synne aȝene. And also it bryngythe bothe the quycke and þe dede to better state and perfeccion. And for þese cawsis, seythe holy chyrche in a colett, thus:

11/319/ Purificent nos quis somme sacramenta que sumpsimus.Good Lorde, graunte vs þat þis holy sacrament, that we haue resceyvyd and schall receyve, may purge vs and clens vs. Sit absolucio scelerum. Lorde, lett it wassche vs from all synnys and mysgovernaunce. Sit fortitudo fragilium. Lorde, lett it be to vs strengthe aȝenste all febilnes. Sit contra omina mundi pericula firmamentum. Be it also aȝenste all perrells and myschevis of þe worlde stabylites and strengthe. Sit viuorum ac mortuorum. Be it also to all Cristen pepyll bothe quyke and dede full remyscion, and forȝevenes, wherby all Cristen pepil may come to þe joyes celestyall in þe whiche joyes we schall be fedde withe God endlesly þo þe whiche, et cetera.

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