Note 1837 — Chapter XXXIV

Cp. Luther’s letter to Anton Lauterbach, Nov. 26, 1539, “Briefwechsel,” 12, p. 295, where he expresses himself opposed to such private communions, though tolerating them for the time being. Communion in the church three or four times a year would suffice in order to be able to die “fortified by the Word.” In a time of public sickness, such as the plague, the communion of the sick would become an insupportable burden, and further the Church must not be enslaved (“facere servilem”) to the sacraments, particularly in the case of those who had previously despised them.