"

_Finally_, it will be admitted, that the Reformers, having been
educated as Papists, were trained up to this twofold use of the word
mass, namely, specifically the extended services above described, which
_preceded_ the communion, and sometimes informally the eucharist,
communion or sacrament in general.

The question then seems definitely to be reduced to these two inquiries;
first, _Did the Reformers retain this distinction in the use of the word
mass at the time of the Diet at Augsburg; and, secondly, did they employ
the word in its specific sense in the disputed passages of that
Confession?

_First Inquiry_.

We shall _first_ inquire whether this distinction in the use of the word
mass was observed by the Reformers at and before the time of the
Augsburg Diet?

I. And _first_ let us listen to _Luther_ himself. In 1523, the great
Reformer, 1, in his "_Method of conducting Christian Mass_," addressed
to Rev. Nicolas Hausman, after having rejected such portions of the
Romish mass, as he thought wrong, he approved others, as explained by
himself, such as the, Introitus, the Kyrie eleison, the Collecta or
prayer epistles, the Singing of the Gradual, a short sequens, the
Gospel, the Nicene Creed, and a number of other matters, including the
elevation of the host, but not for worship, [Note 9] he proceeds to the
next part of the Treatise which is headed "How to _administer the most
holy sacrament to the people," [Note 10] and his first sentence is the
following: "Let this much suffice to be said of the _Mass_, and service
of the minister; we will now proceed to treat of the manner in which the
holy _sacrament_ shall be administered to the people, for whose benefit
especially the Supper of our Lord was instituted." Here we clearly see
the distinction between the performances of the priest _before_ the
communion which constitute the _Mass_, and the distribution of the
elements to the people, which he terms holy _sacrament_. Then, after
having discussed the subject of the communion, that it should be
received in both kinds, &c., he adds, "Let this suffice for the present
on the subject of the mass _and_ communion." [Note 11]

2. In his _letter to Lazarus Spengler_, in 1528, Luther observes this
same distinction. "In the first place," he remarks, "it is unreasonable
that any one should be forced to receive the sacrament or to abstain
from it." And he adds: "All masses, at which there are _no
communicants_" (that is,