BX 5131 i^258s 1868 NEALE SECESSION THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SECESSION. A SERMON PREACHED IN Cfte HDratorp of ^. a9arg:aret'0, Cast (^rinstcD, NOVEMBER 1 8, 1859. BY THE LATE Rev. John Mason Neale, D.D., Founder and fir fi Chaplain of S. Margaret*:. " Ve who are fighting the battle for England's Church and her glory, Whenfo that battle feems going againft us, remember the legend. Time there will be, there tvill be, though we never fliall fee it in this world. When by the hands of the men that come after us God fliall upraife her; She whom we fight for now be no more defpifed and rejefted. But an eternal praife, and a joy of all generations!" The Seven Sleepers of Epbefus. FOURTH EDITION. LONDON : JOSEPH MASTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET, AND NEW BOND STREET. 1868. INTRODUCTION. The following Sermon was preached about eight years ago, to the Sifters of S. Margaret's, Eaft Grinfted, on the occafion of one of their number (a Probationer) having joined the Roman Church. It will appear in a volume of Sermons already in type, and which will foon be publifhed : but it has been thought that if put forth imme- diately it may reaflure fome who feel perplexed and troubled at the prefent crifis, containing as it does the fentiments, deliberately formed in the courfe of many years' careful ftudy, of one whofe opinions Ihould carry great weight, efpecially with thofe who may be doubtful as to their future courfe. It may be well to fl:ate that though written feveral years fince, thofe who knew the writer moft intimately can affert with confidence that his opinions never changed on this fubjeft. One, who converfed with him a very fhort time before his deceafe, can vouch without hefitation, that as he never wavered in his allegiance to the Englifh Church, fo to the very laft where his fondeft love had been fixed, there it abided fteadfaft. J. H. East Barkwith Rectory, Firjl Sunday in Lent, i868. A SERMON. " But Zerubbabel, andjejhua, and the reft of the chief of the father s of Ifrael, faid unto them, Te have nothing to do with us to build an houje unto our God ; but we our f elves together will build unto the Lord God of Ifrael, as king Cyrus, the king of Perfa, hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired counfellors againft them, to frujlrate their purpofe." — Ezra iv. 3 — 5. It would be unnatural, my Sifters, were I not to fpeak on the fad fubje6t which has taken up To much of our thoughts this laft week. Far, far rather would I be dwelling on the things which are neareft to our hopes, and deareft to our hearts ; — but it muft not always be fo. If God has been pleafed to allow this afflidion to happen to us, I am not to pafs it by as if I were refolutely determined to think nothing about it. God forbid that I (hould fay anything unkind of the poor Sifter who has left us. To her own Mafter ftie ftands or falls. I ftiould not be fpeaking the truth if I did not fay that ftie has been tempted into a great fm : but He will make all the allowances in His mercy that His juftice does not forbid : — and do not let me even in thought prefume to limit His loving-kindnefs. But why is it a great fin ? That is what I mean to fpeak about now. Satan, who has attacked you in fo many ways, — who has led one of you away by the love of the world, one by the love of her own felf-will, and fo on — has now caufed another to leave us by tranf- forming himfelf into an angel of light. Thus far, I take comfort : that the very fet — fo to fpeak — he has made againfl: you, fhows that he fears left you fhould be made the means of deftroying his works. Now, I take for granted, in the prefent cafe, that our Church is allowed to be a true Church, our Sacraments valid Sacraments, our Priefts real Priefts. Almoft all who have left us,— juft as our late Sifter, — have allowed this. If any one denies it, then, of courfe, the whole field of argument alters. But (thank God !) the proof is fo abfolutely certain that the fadl is hardly ever now ! difputed — is never difputed except with the very igno- rant, to whom anything may be told without the fear j of difcovery. Yet, after all, the internal evidence is, I to thofe who have it, more convincing than any external argument. You know, dear Sifters, (what flie, poor | thing, owned) that our dear Lord has fo fpoken to you 1 in and by His Sacraments as to tell you that He is | there of a certainty. Of this matter, then, I fay no- ! thing ; only do not imagine that I forget it, but believe | that I take it for granted. | Well, then : the fiiortcomings of our own Englifii j Church being fet before us on the one fide, and on the '\ other, the greatnefs and beauty of Rome being ftated, ; as they fo well know how to ftate it, and made fo en- ; chanting and captivating ; why, even if they fpoke the truth, would it ftill be a fin to join them ? t Dear Sifters, for this reafon ; in this place, in this nation, in this Church, God has placed you, with work to do for Him ; a particular work ; His choofing, and not yours. And woe be to him who fays : " I wifh to work for God ; but in another place, and in another way !" I do not, of courfe, mean to fay that one who has left us, has, fimply becaufe he has joined the Roman Church, put himfelf out of the pale of falvation. But I do fay this : that the refufal to do his appointed work here, and doing a fancy duty there, muft imperil fal- vation. " Where is the work I gave you to do ?" — "Will it be any anfwer to that, to lay: — '^ Here is the work I have done, which I thought was better and prettier ?" This would be true, let the circumftances be what they may. But fee what they are. It has pleafed God to place us in that nation which is the moft powerful among the nations of the earth ; which, and efpecially by its colonies among heathen lands, will have a greater influence over the religion of unborn millions and mil- lions of fouls than any other. Twenty-five years ago, it pleafed the Holy Ghost to pour forth His grace on this Church in a way, the like to which fince the day of Pentecoft has not been feen. You are not old enough to know this, as I know it ; but the older you are the more you know of it: "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." Well : it was not to be fuppofed that Satan would permit this glorious revival to go unoppofed. You know the hatred, the bitternefs, the fierce attacks, he has fl:irred up againft Catholic pro- grefs in the Englifh Church ; and yet you know how fteadily, point by point, we have conquered : how we have been the ftronger for defeat, how we have fpread after lofs. How Baptifmal Regeneration, Prayers for \ / the Dead, the dodlrine of Abfolution, to a great extent the true faith in the BlefTed Eucharift, have been pofts, as it were, won already : how at the prefent moment for that BlefTed Sacrament we are ftill contending, how other Sacramental Truths are coming back with it, fuch as the doftrine of Evangelical counfels, the merit of Virginity ; you know that never from the beginning have churches been fo built as in this England of ours within twenty years. There is, at the prefent moment, in England, a battle on the largeft fcale between God and Satan, that, fince the Reformation, has ever been fought. In this battle He has given us a place. He has given you the power of coming to His help in a way in which few women can come ; not by doing any- thing unwomanly, but by your very pofition as Brides of Christ, by the prevalent merit of Chaftity, by lives devoted to the Bridegroom of the Virgins. At the fame time He has beftowed on you, what He has not on all, every privilege that the Church can give you. And oh ! how wickedly ungrateful to fay — " I will have nothing to do with this ftruggle ! I will go into a quiet | life. I will rid myfelf of all this oppofition, ftop my j ears to all this outcry. I will join thofe who are fliel- j tered, and be fheltered with them." j Yes : it is moft grievous to fee how thofe who have ; left us have, almoft without an exception, funk into , /, pure idlenefs. Hardworking priefts, who, while with j I us were inftant in feafon, out of feafon : who laboured s up to, and beyond, their power, are tempted, fall : — and then .? And then — they lead lives of more than ' worldly eafe, they give themfelves up to novels, to cigars, to wine parties : to a morning of lounging on j the fofa, to an evening at the opera. Does " by their i fruits ye fhall know them," mean anything or mean nothing ? Why, even at the convent where I was on Monday, you were ridiculed for your aufterity : and that by thofe on whofe breaft hung the filver fcourge of S. Francis! No: go for eafe, if you will : luxury, if you will: comfort, if you will: but the hard battle, the weary felf-denial is, thank God, and is acknow- ledged by our opponents to be, with us : " And if we fuffer, we fhall alfo reign with Him." We may be fure of this : if England ever becomes a Catholic country, it will be by the Church of Eng- land, not by that of Rome. They, you know, not- withftanding the cry raifed about our feceffions, are many thoufands weaker than they were twenty years ago. They alfo know this, and allow it ; but we hardly think enough about it. Now, if the good leayen in the Church of England were fwept out, — if it were attached to Rome, or were altogether to fail, — what then ? Why, the Roman Church would itfelf be banifhed from England, as it virtually has been before. We bear the brunt. We are the breakwater. And were that removed, the ocean of Proteftantifm would in a very few years overwhelm all their eftablifhments ; banifh them as in the time of William III. ; and be- caufe we had fallen, they would fall too. Mod: mad is their endeavour to injure us : we cannot perifh without drawing them after us. Now there is a curious parallel in Apoftolic times with thefe controverfies. You know that there were two Churches in Judasa and Syria; one of the circum- cifion, one of the uncircumcifion. What did the cir- cumcifion fay ? The violent, like the violent ultra- montanes now, " You muft join us, or you cannot be 8 faved." The more moderate, — " How much better that you fhould come over to us ! why not ? We have more means of grace ; you would gain fo much." And what did the Apoftolic council decide? You know. What did S. Paul fay ? " Let every man abide in the ftate wherein he is called." That was the great law then ; and has been from that time to this. And yet even more ftrongly, " If ye be circumcifed, Christ (hall profit you nothing." No matter for arguments of fafety, of defirablenefs, of the fecure way, of the greater grace, — " If ye be circumcifed, Christ fhall profit you nothing." I faid juft now, " By their fruits ye fhall know them." You know how in almoft every cafe the exceffive yearn- ing after Profelytes has led to fearful falfehood. You know that this is no exception. And can God's blefling be on a lie ? Can He ftand in need of man's fin to carry out His own purpofes ? Are we not rather reminded of our dear Lord's condemnation of thofe who compafled fea and land to make one profelyte. One thing more on this part of our fubjeA. We, you know, defcend diredly from the old Church of England. We are the fpiritual children of S. Ofmund, S. Thomas of Canterbury, S, Richard of Chichefter, S. Felix of Suffolk. A very few generations, and I can trace my orders to our great martyr of Canterbury. The Roman Church in England has its orders from Spain. You may not know that, at the acceffion of Elizabeth, the Bifhops who would not conform or- dained no fucceffors. The Roman Catholics in England Ifor five years attended our churches, and received our Sa- craments. Then, — not till then — Pius V. excommuni- cated and depofed the queen ; but not for fixty years had the Romanifts any Bifhop. About 1620 one Dr. Bifhop, calling hlmfelf Bifhop of Chalcedon, was fent over : he had been confecrated In Spain : and from him modern Romanifts derive their orders. Then : either that Church of Saints has come to an end, or it exifts in us. What I have hitherto fald, refts on the fuppofitlon that all the Romanifts tell us of the glory of Rome, and our own poverty, is true. Now I go much fur- ther : and I fay that the joining Rome involves ftraining our confciences to believe dodlrlnes which we do not believe, — know to be falfe, — and in knowing to be falfe, agree not only with the Primitive, but with the Medlasval Church. Now, you know, deareft Sifters, I am not given to fliut my eyes with refped: to what we muft all feel to be the ftiortcomings of the Engllfh Church. I think you know that, had I chofen to defend and flatter and fupport everything in it, to ufe what I know of eccle- fiaftlcal hlftory for the purpofe of proving its prefent perfedllon, there are few dignities in it to which I might not have afpired. As I did not, you alfo know what I am : though, by God's great goodnefs, a thoufandfold happier with your love and with your regard, than I could have been in any dignity. I only refer to this to remind you that my eyes are not blinded. What then do I fee ? On the one hand the Engllfh Church teaching three or four dod:rines lefs clearly and plainly than I could wifh — dimly, If you will, and indlftlndly — but teaching them ftill : on the other, Rome teaching three or four doctrines which Bernard, which Thomas Aquinas, which Rupert, which Bona- ventura called hlafphemous, and forcing them on us. lO Had I no other duty to ftay where I am, am I not therefore fafer ? Verily yes. LIften to me, my Sifters. For four years now paft I have taught you weekly, fometimes almoft daily, from mediasval writers ; what they faid to their Sifters, I, without alteration, fay to you. When I fay without alteration, I mean without do6trinal alteration. There, I call God to witnefs, neither by way of addition or fubtradlion, do I remember, in thofe five hundred fer- mons I have preached to you, to have made a fingle change. Well ; then we hold now what they held, exadlly and literally. Now mark me : a Roman Prieft could not do fo. His fermons, if he did, would be at leaft branded as without un6lion, probably termed heretical, becaufe he would not fpeak of S. Mary as the channel of all grace. The Sifters of this day are not taught what Bernard taught — are taught what Bernard protefted againft. You know how he wrote againft what he calls the blaf- phemy of the Immaculate Conception. And not only that : that dear Litany which he wrote, and which we fay daily, — how is it characterized by modern Ro- manifts .? A criticifm the other day termed it -profane, as applying to our Lord the title, " Star of the Sea," which, they fay, ought to be confined to S. Mary ! What would he, what would thofe medieval Convents of his, have faid to fuch a dodlrine ? So again : within the laft three hundred years, they have equally altered the doftrine of Prayers for the dead. Why, till far down the hiftory of the Church, did Roman Catholics pray for them, as the Eaft does ft ill ! And how ? Why, thus : " And at Thy fpiritual and holy altar, O Lord, grant II reft, good memory, and felicity to all the fouls, bodies and fpirits of our fathers, brethren and fifters, corporal or fpiritual, who have departed in whatever regions, cities, or ftates ; or have been fufFocated in the fea or in rivers, or have died in travel, and of whom there is no memory in the Churches conftituted on earth. Thou, O Lord, give them good memory, who have departed to Thee in the orthodox faith, together with thofe whofe names are written in the book of life. And to all of them, who having run the race of this life, have ap- peared perfeft and illuftrious before Thee, and having been fet free from the ocean of fins, have reached Thee, our fathers and brethren according to the flefh and the fpirit, — give reft, O Lord, in that fpiritual and mighty bofom. Give them the fpirit of joy in the habitations of light and gladnefs, in the tabernacles of ftiade and reft, in the treafures of happinefs, whence every forrow is far baniftied, and the fouls of the pious wait without labour for the firft fruits of life ; and the fpirits of the righteous in like manner, are waiting for the fulfilment of the promifed reward : in that region, where the labourers and the weary look towards Paradife, and they that are invited to the wedding long for the celeftial Bridegroom : where they that are called to that feaft wait till they go up thither, and ardently defire to receive that new ftate of glory : where forrows are baniftied and where joys are found ; for love only has appeared not entangled in the paftlons of fin of all who have been arrayed with the human body, namely. Thine Only- Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, through Whom alfo we hope to obtain mercy for ourfclves and for them." And how does the Roman Church — or rather how 12 does the clique which flie allows to monopolize all her miffionary energy in England, — fpeak of them now ? " In pains beyond all earthly pains. Favourites of Jesus, there they lie: Letting the fire walh out their ftains. And worfhipping God's purity. " O Mary, let thy Son no more His longing fpoufes thus expe