A few years later, in 1534, in a letter to a
friend, in which he inveighs strongly against the closet masses and the
perverted order or arrangements of the mass, (verkehrte ordnung der
Messe,) and against the Romish mass in general: "I wish, and would very
gladly see and hear, that the two words mass and sacrament were
considered by every one as being as far apart as light and darkness,
yea, as the devil and God. For they (the Papists) must themselves
confess, that mass dues not signify the reception of the sacrament as
Christ instituted it; but the reception of the sacrament they do, (and
no thanks to them,) they _must_ call _communion. But that is called_
MASS _which the priest alone performs at the altar, in which no common
christian or layman takes part_." All other christians do nothing more
than receive the sacrament, _and do not perform mass_. [Note 17]
Certainly it must be evident that Luther did not regard the word mass as
the ordinary term for eucharist, but had a clear idea of the
distinction, and of the importance of observing it.
II. Let us now adduce similar evidence from the writings of
_Melancthon himself_, who wrote the Confession, to show that he also
observed the distinction between _mass_ and _eucharist_. This evidence
will be the stronger as all his letters quoted, were written from
Augsburg itself, during the very time that he composed the Confession,
and whilst it was under consideration in the Diet.
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