Let a single one suffice.

In his letter to Margrave George, of Brandenburg, on the _private_ mass, he uses this language: "Finally, as your excellence wishes to know what we retain in our churches of the ceremonies of the mass, I would inform your excellence, that the mass is entirely abolished, _except when are persons present_ who wish to receive the Lord's Supper;" [Note 37] that is, we have entirely abolished private masses; at which, as it is well known, no one communed but the priest himself, but retain the _public mass_ at communion seasons.
_Finally_, to make assurance doubly sure, we will add a similar testimony from Luther himself, in a letter of Counsel to Lazarus Spengler, in 1528: "In the _first place_, let all masses be absolutely dispensed with at which there are no communicants present; as they properly ought to be set aside.

Secondly, that in the two parish churches (namely, in Nuerenberg, where Spongier resided,) one or two masses should be held on Sabbath and holy days, according as there may be many or few communicants." [Note 38] Now, in this passage, the word mass either means Lord's Supper in general or mass in particular.

It does not mean the former, because it was something which Luther says had been performed _without any_ communicants being present, but should not be performed hereafter, unless there were communicants.

Again, he says, that on Sabbath or holy days, when there are communicants present, this mass, which from its nature _could_ be and had been performed without communicants, should be performed once or twice.