no one shall or can reap any benefit from the mass except he be
in trouble of soul and long for divine mercy, and desire to be
rid of his sins; or, if he have an evil intention, he must be
changed during the mass, and come to have a desire for this
testament. For this reason in olden times no open sinner was
allowed to be present at the mass.

When this faith is rightly present, the heart must be made joyful
by the testament, and grow warm and melt in God's love. Then will
follow praise and thanksgiving with a pure heart, from which the
mass is called in Greek Eucharistia, that is, "thanksgiving,"
because we praise and thank God for this comforting, rich,
blessed testament, just as he gives thanks, praises and is
joyful, to whom a good friend has presented a thousand and more
gulden. Although Christ often fares like those who make several
persons rich by their testament, and these persons never think
of them, nor praise or thank them. So our masses at present are
merely celebrated, without our knowing why or wherefore, and
consequently we neither give thanks nor love nor praise, remain
parched and hard, and have enough with our little prayer. Of this
more another time.

III. The sermon ought to be nothing else than the proclamation
of this testament. But who can hear it if no one preaches it?
Now, they who ought to preach it, themselves do not know it. This
is why the sermons ramble off into other unprofitable stories,
and thus Christ is forgotten, while we fare like the man in II.
Kings vii: we see our riches but do not enjoy them. Of which the
Preacher also says, "This is a great evil, when God giveth a man
riches, and giveth him not power to enjoy them." So we look on