':r;u^^' Digitized by tine Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/faithofourfatherOOgibbrich 170th Thousand. THE Faith of Our Fathers: BEING A PLAIN EXPOSITION AND VINDICATION OF mtt mtrntlx f ounM bg i^m JorJ Jtgus £\\xkU BY JAMES CAEDINAL RIBBONS, Akchbishop of Balti(more. Thirty-Fourth Carefully Revised and Enlarged Editions BALTIMORE: JOHN MURPHY & CO., Printers to the Pope and Publishers to His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons. London: R. Washboxjbne. 1889. S^iered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870» l>7 JOHN MUBPHT, in tl^s OfEicA of the Librariui of Congress, at Washington. V^ O., AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE Clergy and Laity OF THE I ARCHDIOCESE AND PROVINCE OF BALTIMORK. 3126G5 PREFACE To THE Eleventh Edition. rHE first edition of " The Faith of our Fathers " was issued in December, 1876. From that time to the present fifty thousand copies of the work have been disposed of in the United States, Canada, Great Britain md Ireland, and in the British Colonies of Oceanica. This gratifying result has surpassed the author's nost sanguine expectations, and is a consoling evi- ience that the investigation of religious truths is not vholly neglected, even in this iron age, so much en- grossed by material considerations. Besides carefully revising the book, the author has profited by the kind suggestion of some friends, by nserting a chapter on the prerogatives and sanctity Df the Blessed Virgin, which, it is hoped, will be not ess acceptable to his readers than the other portions )f the work. He is also happy to announce that German Editions lave been published both in this country and in Ger- nany. He takiss this occasion to return his hearty thanks o the editors of the Catholic periodicals, as well as of ,he secular press, for their favorable notices, which lave no doubt contributed much to the large circula- ion of the book. Baltimoek, Feast of SL Thomas Aquinas, 1879, PREFACE. rpHE object of this little volume is tc .,, n •*■ a plain and practical form, an expositiou a vindication of the principal tenets of the Catholic Church. thought sufficient to devote but a brief cK Catholic doctrines and practices as are nitted by Protestants, while those which ^^" >rted by them are more elaborately elu- truths of the ren, who gene'^ compiled by the author during the source of aui^rs which he could spare from the more deavored -^"^^ ^^ ^^ ministry. QYf^c substantially embodies the instructions and dis- courses delivered by him before mixed congrega- tions in Virginia and North Carolina. He has often felt that the salutary influence of •uch instructions, especially on the occasion of a mission in the rural districts, would be much aug- mented if they were supplemented by books or tracts which would be circulated among the people, and could be read and pondered at leisure. Ab his chief aim has been to bring home the PREFi.CS. • Catholic faith to our separated bretb- rally accept the Scripture as the only shority in religious matters, he has en- . to fortify his statements by abundant ref- .nce to the sacred text. He has thought proper, however, to add frequent quotations from the early Fathers, whose testimony, at least as witnesses of the faith of their times, must be accepted even by those who call in question their personal authority. Though the writer has sought to be exact in all his assertions, an occasional inaccuracy may have inadvertently crept in. Any emendations which the venerated Prelates or Clergy may deign to propose, will be gratefully attended to in a subse- quent edition. BiCHMOiO), Nov. 21st, 1876, CONTENTS. fHAPTER PAGB Introduction 11 I, The Blessed Trinity, the Incarnation, etc 19 11. Unity of the Church 23 III. Holiness of the Church 35 IV. Catholicity 50 V. Apostolicity 58 VI. Perpetuity of the Church 71 VII. Infallible Authority of the Church 85 VIII. The Church and the Bible 97 IX. The Primacy of Peter 117 X. The Supremacy of the Pope 132 XtS^nfallibility of the Popes 145 XII. Temporal Power of the Popes — How they ac- quired Temporal Power — Validity and Jus- tice of their Title — What the Popes have done for Kome 162 XIII. Invocation of Saints 181 XIV. Is it Lawful to Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as a Saint; to Invoke her as an Intercessor, and to Imitate her as a Model? 194 X^ Sacred Images 232 XVI. Purgatory, and Prayers for the Dead 247 XVII. Civil and Religious Liberty 264 ix 5: CONTENTS. CHAPTEE PXG XVIII. Charges of Keligious Persecution... 28 XIX. Grace — The Sacraments — Original Sin — Baptism — Its Necessity — Its Effects — Manner of Baptizing 30 XX. The Sacrament of Confirmation.... 32* XXI. The Holy Eucharist 32' XXII. Communion under One Kind 34 XXIII. The Sacrifice of the Mass 341 XXIV. The Use of Keligious Ceremonies Dictated by Right Reason — Approved by Almighty , God in the Old Law — Sanctioned by Jesus Christ in the New ZQt r XXV. Ceremonies of the Mass — The Missal — Latin Language — Lights — Flowers — Incense — Vestments 372 XXVI. The Sacrament of Penance 385 XXVn. Indulgences 427 XXVIIL Extreme Unction 437 XXIX. The Priesthood 440 XXX. Celibacy of the Clergy 453 XXXI, Matrimcny 464 INTRODUCTION. MY DEAR READER.— Perhaps this is the first time in your life that you have handled a book in which the doctrines of the Catholic Church are expounded by one of her own sons. You have, no doubt, heard and read many things regarding our Church; but has not your information come from teachers justly liable to suspicion ? You asked for bread and they gave you a stone. You asked for fish and they reached you a serpent. Instead of the bread of truth, they extended to you the serpent of falsehood. Hence, without intending to be unjust, is not your mind biased against us because you listened to false witnesses? This, at least, is the case with thousands of my countrymen whom I have met in the brief course of my missionary career. The Catholic Church is persistently misrepresented by the most powerful vehicles of information. She is attacked in romances of the stamp of Maria Monk ; in pictorials, like Harper^s ; in histories, so called, like those of Peter Parley. In a large por- tion of the press, and in pamphlets, and especially in the puipit, which should be consecrated to truth and charity, she is the victim of the foulest slanders. 11 I? INTROBUCTIOK. ■ Upon her fair and heavenly brow her enemies Dut a hideous mask, and in that guise they exhibit her to the insults and mockery of the public ; just aa Jesus, her spouse, was treated when He was clothed with a scarlet cloak and crowned with thorns, and; thus disfigured, was mocked by a thoughtless rabble. They are afraid to tell the truth of her, for " Truth has such a face and such a mieiij As to be loved needs only to be seen." ^ It is not uncommon for a dialogue like the fol- lowing to take place between a Protestant Minister and a convert to the Catholic Church. Minister. — You cannot deny that the Roman Catholic Church teaches gross errors, — the worship of images, for instance. Convert. — I admit no such charge, for I have been taught no such doctrines. Minister. — But the priest who instructed you, did not teach you all. He held back some points which he knew would be objectionable to you. Convert. — He withheld nothing; for I am in possession of books treating fully of all Catholic doctrines. Minister. — Deluded soul! Don't you know that m Europe they are taught differently? ^ Drydek. — Hind and Panther. INTEOBUCTION. 18 CdTv^ERT. — That cannot be, for, tlie Church teaches the same creed all over the world, and most of the doctrinal books which I read, were originally published' in Europe. ^et ministers who make these slanderous state- ments are surprised if we feel indignant, and accuse us of being too sensitive. "We have been vilified so long, that they think we have no right to complain. We cannot exaggerate the offence of those who thus wilfully malign the Church. There is a com* mandment which says : " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." If it is a sin to bear false testimony against one individual, how can we characterize the crime of those who calumniate two hundred and twenty-five millions of human beings, by attributing to them doc- trines and practices which they repudiate and abhor ? I do not wonder that the Church is hated by those who learn what she is, from her enemies. It is natural for an honest man to loathe an institution whose history he believes to be marked by blood- shed, crime, and fraud. Had I been educated as they were, and surrounded by an atmosphere liostile to the Church, perhaps I should be unfortunate enough to be breathing ven- geance against her to-day, instead of consecrating my life to her defence. 14 INTKODUOTION. It is not of their hostility that I complain/' but because the judgment they have formed of her is based upon the reckless assertions of her enemies, und not upon those of impartial witnesses. Suppose that I wanted to obtain a correct estimate of the Southern people, would it be fair in me to select, as my only sources of information, certain Northern and Eastern periodicals which, during our civil war, were bitterly opposed to the race and institutions of the South? Those papers have represented you as men who always appeal to the sword and pistol, instead of the law, to vindicate your private grievances. They heaped accusations against you which I will not here repeat. Instead of taking these publications as the basis of my information, it was my duty to come among you ; to live with you ; to read your lives by study- ing your public and private character. This I have done, and I here cheerfully bear witness to your many excellent traits of mind and heart. Now I ask you to give to the Catholic Church the same measure of fairness which you reasonably demand of me when judging of Southern character. Ask not her enemies what she is, for tfeey are blinded by passion ; ask not her ungratefiil, renegade chil- dren ; for you never heard a son speaking well of the mother whom he had abandoned and despised* IKTRODUOTIOir. 15 Study her history in the pages of truth. Ex- amine her creed. Kead her authorized catechisms and doctrinal books. You will find them every- where on the shelves of booksellers, in the libraries of her clergy, on the tables of Catholic families. There is no Freemasonry in the Catholic Church ; she has no secrets to keep back. She has not one set of doctrines for Bishops and Priests, and another for the laity. She has not one creed for the initi- ated and another for outsiders. Everything in the Catholic Church is open and above board. She has the same doctrines for all — for the Pope and the peasant. Should not I be better qualified to present to you the Church's creed than the unfriendly witnesses whom I have mentioned ? I have imbibed her doctrine with my mother's milk. I have made her history and theology the Btudy of my life. What motive can I have in mis- leading you ? Not temporal reward, since I seek not your money, but your soul, for which Jesus Christ died. I could not hope for an eternal reward by deceiving you, for I would thereby purchase for my- self eterr al condemnation, by gaining proselytes at the expent^e of truth. This, friendly reader, is my only motive. I feel, in the depth of my heart, that, in possessing Catholio 16 INTBODTJCTIOir. faith, I hold a treasure compared with which all things earthly are but dross. Instead of wishing to bury this treasure in my breast, I long to share it with you, especially as I lose no part of my spiritual riches by communicating them to otliers. It is to me a duty and a labor of love to speak the truth concerning my venerable Mother, especially as she is so much maligned in our days. Were a tithe of the accusations true which are brought against her, I would not be attached to her ministry, nor even to her communion, for a single day. I know these charges to be false. The longer I know her, the more I admire and venerate her. Every day she develops before me new spiritual charms. Ah! my dear friend, if you saw her as her children see her, she would no longer appear to you as typified by the woman of Babylon, but she would be revealed to you, " Bright as the sun, fair as the moon;" with the beauty of heaven stamped upon her brow, glorious "as an army in battle array." You would love her, you would cling to her and embrace her. With her children, you would rise up in reverence " and call her blessed." Consider what you lose and what joh. gain embracing the Catholic religion. Your loss is nothing in comparison with your gain. You do not surrender your manhood or your dignity % Jt INTKODUOTIOK. 17 or independence or reasoning powers. You give up none of those revealed truths which you may possess already. The only restraint imposed upon you is the restraint of the Gospel, and to this you will not reasonably object. You gain everything that is worth having. You acquire a full and connected knowledge of God's revelation. You get possession of the whole truth as it is in Jesus. You no longer see it in fragments, but reflected before you in all its beauty, as in a pol- ished mirror. Your knowledge of the truth is not only* complete and harmonious, but it becomes fixed and steady. You exchange opinion for certainty. You are no longer " tossed about by every wind of doctrine," but you are firmly grounded on the rock of truth. Then you enjoy that profound peace which springs from the conscious possession of the truth. And in coming to the Church, you are not enter- ing a strange place, but you are returning to your Father's home. The house and furniture may look odd to you. But it is just the same as your fore- fathers left it three hundred years ago. In coming back to the Church, you worship where your fathers worshipped before you ; you kneel before the altar at which they knelt; you receive the Sacraments which they received, and respect the authority of the clergy whom they venerated. You come back iike the Prodigal Son to the home cf your Father 2* B r8 INTRODUCTION. and Mother, and the garment of joy is placed apor you, and the banquet of love is set before you, and you receive the kiss of peace as a pledge of your filiation and adoption. One hearty embrace of your tender Mother will compensate you for all the sacrifices you may have made, and you will exclaim with the penitent Augustine: "Too late have I known thee, O Beauty, ever ancient and ever new ; too late have I loved thee." Should the perusal of this book bring one soul to the knowledge of the Church, my labor will be amply rewarded. * Remember that nothing is so essential as the salvation of your immortal soul ; " for what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? " ^ Let not, therefore, the fear of offend- ing friends and relatives, nor the persecution of men, nor the loss of earthly possessions, nor any other temporal calamity, deter you from investigating and embracing the true religion. "For our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketb for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." ' May God give you light to see the truth, and, having seen it, may He give you courage and strength to follow it. 1 Matt. xvi. 26. « II. Cor. iv. 17 -d THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. CHAPTER I. THE BLESSED TRINITY, THE INCARNATION, ETC. THE Catholic Church teaches that there is but one God, who is iufinite iu kuowledge, in power, in goodness, and in every other perfection ; who created all things by His omnipotence, and governs them by His Providence. In this one God there are three distinct Persons, — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are perfectly equal to each other. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Second Per- son of the Blessed Trinity, is perfect God and per- fect Man. He is God, for He " is over all things, God blessed forever."^ "He is God of the sub- stance of the Father, begotten before time; and He is Man of the substance of His Mother, born in time."* Out of love for us, and in order to rescue us from the miseries entailed upon us by the disobedience of our first parents, the Divine Word descended from heaven, and became Man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, by the opera- tion of the Holy Ghost. He was born on Christ- mas day, in a stable at Bethlehem. After having led a life of obscurity for about ' Bom. ix. 5. ' Athanasian Creed. 19 20 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. thirty years, chiefly at Nazareth, He commenced His public career. He associated with Him a number of men who are named Apostles, whom He instructed in the doctrines of the religion which He established. For three years, He went about doing good, giv- mg sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, heal- ing ail kinds of diseases, raising the dead to life, and preaching throughout Judea the new Gospel of peace.^ On Good Friday, He was crucified on Mount Calvary, and thus purchased for us redemption by His death. Hence Jesus exclusively bears the titles of Saviour and Redeemer, because " there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved."' "He was wounded for our iniquities ; He was bruised for our sins, . . . and by His bruises we are healed." * We are commanded, by Jesus, suflering and dying for us, to imitate Him by the crucifixion of our flesh, and by acts of daily mortification. " If any one," He says, " will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me/' * Hence we abstain from the use of flesh meat on Friday, — the day consecrated to our Saviour's suf- ferings, — not because the eating of flesh meat is sin- ful in itself, but as an act of salutary mortification. Loving children would be prompted by filial ten- derness to commemorate the anniversary of their »Matt.xL «Actaiv.l2. » Isaiah liii. 5 *Lukeix.23L THE TBIIOTY. 21 fether's death rather by prayer and fasting than by feasting. Even so we abstain on Fridays from flesh meat that we may in a small measure testify our practical sympathy for our dear Lord by the morti- fication of our body, endeavoring, like St. Paul, ** to bear about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies."* ^ The Cross is held in the highest reverence by Catholics, because it was the instrument of our Saviour's crucifixion. It surmounts our churches and adorns our sanctuaries. We venerate it as the emblem of our salvation. " Far be it from me," says the Apostle, " to glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." " We do not, of course, attach any intrinsic virtue to the Cross ; this would be sinful and idolatrous. Our veneration is referred to Him who died upon it It is also a very ancient and pious practice for the faithful to make on their person the sign of the Cross, saying at the same time: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Tertullian, who lived in the second century of the Christian era, says : " In all our actions, when we come in or go out, when we dress, when we wash, at our meals, before retiring to sleep, ... we form on our foreheads the sign of the cross. These prac- tices are not commanded by a formal law of Scrip- ture; but tradition teaches them, custom wvuAk^m " II Cor. iv. 10. » Oal. yL 14 22 THE FAITH OP OUB FATHERS. them, faith observes them."^ By the sign of the cross we make a profession of our faith in the Trinity and the Incarnation, and perform a most salutary act of religion. We believe that on Easter Sunday Jesus Christ manifested His divine power by raising Himself to life, and that having spent forty days on earth, after His resurrection, instructing His disciples, He as- cended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. On tlie Feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday, ten days after His Ascension, our Saviour sent, as He had promised, His Holy Spirit to His disciples, while they were assembled together in prayer. The Holy Ghost purified their hearts from sin, and im- parted to them a full knowledge of those doctrines of salvation which they were instructed to preach. On the same Feast of Pentecost the Apostles com- menced their sublime mission, from which day, ac- cordingly, we date the active life of the Catholic Church. Our Redeemer gave the most ample authority to the Apostles to teach in ,His name ; commanding them to "preach the Gospel to every creature,"' and directing all, under the most severe penalties, to hear and obey them : " He that heareth you, bearcth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiscth Me. And he that despiseth Me, despiseth Him that %ent Me.'' « And lest we should be mistaken in distinguishing ' Dfe Ctfrot.a, C. lii. ^ Vliitk tVi. 15. » Lukie x. 18. UNITY OF THE CHURCH, 21 between the true Church and false sects, which out lord predicted would arise, He was pleased to stamp upon His Church certain shining marks, by which every sincere inquirer could easily recognize her as His only Spouse. The principal marks or characteristics of the true Church are, her Uniiy, Sanctity, Catholicity, and Apostolicity,^ to which may be added the Infallibility of her teaching and the Perpetuity of her existence. I shall treat successively of these marks. CHAPTER II, THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. BY unity is meant that the members of the true Church must be united in the belief of the same doctrines of revelation, and in the acknowledgment of the authority of the same pastors. Heresy and schism are opposed to Christian unity. By heresy, a man rejects one or more articles of the Christian faith. By schism, he spurns the authority of his spiritual superiors. That our Saviour requires this unity of faith and government in His members, is evident from various passages of Holy Writ. In IJis admirable prayer immediately before His pas- sion, He says : " I pray for them also who through ^ Symb. ConBtaatinop. 24 THE FAITH OF OUB FATHERS. their word shall believe in Me ; that they all may b« one, as Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us ; that the world may believo that Thou hast sent Me."^ Here Jesus prayed that His followers may be united in the bond of a com- mon faith, as He and His Father are united m es- eence, and certainly the prayer of Jesus is always heard. St. Paul ranks schism and heresy with the Crimea of murder and idolatry, and he declares that the authors of sects shall not possess the kingdom of God.* In his epistle to the Ephesians, he insists upon unity of faith in the following emphatic lan- guage : " Be careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ; one body and one Spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all." ' As you all, he says, worship one God, and not many Gods; as you acknowledge the same divine Medi- ator of redemption, and not many mediators ; as you are sanctified by the same divine Spirit, and not by many spirits ; as you all hope for the same heaven, and not different heavens, so must you all profess the same faith. Unity of government is not less essential to the Church of Christ than unity of doctrine. Our divine Saviour never speaks of His Churches, but of His Church, He does not say : " Upon this rock ^ John xvU. 20, 21. * Gal. v. 20, 21. » Ephes. iv. 3-6. UNTTT OF THE CHTJRCH, 25 I will build my Churches," but, " Upon this rock I will build my Church,"' from which words we must conclude, that it never was His intention to establish or to sanction various conflicting denominations, but one corporate body, with all the members united under one visible Head ; for as the Church is a visi- ble body, it must have a visible head. The Church is called a kingdom : " He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end."* Now in every well-regulated kingdom there is but one king, one form of government, one uniform body of laws, which all are obliged to observe. In like manner, in Christ's spiritual kingdom, there must be one Chief to whom all owe spiritual allegiance; one form of ecclesiastical government ; one uniform body of laws which all Christians are bound to observe ; for, "every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate." * Our Saviour calls His Church a sheepfold. " And there shall be made one fold and one shepherd."* What more beautiful or fitting illustration of unity can we have than that which is suggested by a sheepfold ? All the sheep of a flock cling together. If they are momentarily separated, they are im- patient till reunited. They follow in the same path. They feed on the same pastures. They obey the same shepherd, and fly from the voice of strangers* ^ Matt. iBvl 18. * Luke i. 32, 33. » ]viatt. xii. 2r>. « * John I. 16. 26 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. So did our Lord intend that all the sheep of His fold should be nourished by the same sacraments and the game bread of life ; that they should follow the same rule of faith as their guide to heaven ; that they should listen to the voice of one Chief Pastor, and that they should carefully shun false teachers. His Church is compared to a human body.^ In one body there are many members, all inseparably connected with the head. The head commands and the foot instantly moves, the hand is raised and the lips open. Even so our Lord ordained that His Church, composed of many members, should be all united to one supreme visible Head, whom they are bound to obey. The Church is compared to a vine, all whose branches, though spreading far and wide, are nec- essarily connected with the main stem, and from its sap they are nourished. In like manner, our Saviour will have all the saplings of His Vineyard connected with the main stem, and all draw their nourishment from the parent stock. The Church, in fine, is called in Scripture by the beautiful title of bride or spouse of Christ,' and the Christian law admits only of one wife. In fact, our common sense alone, apart from revelation, is sufficient to convince us that God could not be the author of various opposing systems of religion. God is essentially one. He is Truth itself. How could the God of truth affirm, for ii> ^ Bom. ill 4, 5. ' Apoc xxi. 9. J UNITY OF THE CHUBCH. 2T Stance, to one body of Christians that there are three Persons in God, and to another that there is only one Person in God ? How could He say to one individual that Jesus Christ is God, and to another that He is only man. How can He tell me that the punishments of the wicked are eternal, and tell another that they are not eternal ? One of these contradictory statements must be false. " God is not the God of dissension, but of peace/' ^ Hence, it is clear that Jesus Christ intended that His Church should have one common doctrine which all Christians are bound to believe, and one uniform government to which all should be loyally attached. With all due respect for my dissenting brethren, truth compels me to say that this unity of doctrine and government is not to be found in the Protestant sects, taken collectively or separately. That the various Protestant denominations differ from one another not only in minor details, but in most essential principles of faith, is evident to every one conversant with the doctrines of the different Creeds. The multiplicity of sects in this country, with their mutual recriminations, is the scandal of Christianity, and the greatest obstacle to the conversion of the heathen. Not only does sect di^er from sect, but each particular denomination is divided into two w more independent or conflicting branches. In the State of North Carolina, we have several Baptist denominations, each having its own dis* » I. Cor. xiv. 33. 28 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ tinctive appellation. There is also the Methudisl Church North and the Methodist Church South. There was the Old and the New School Presbyterian Church. And even in the Episcopal Communion, which is the most conservative body outside the Catholic Church, there is the ritualistic, or high church, and the low church. Nay, if you question closely the individual members composing any one fraction of these denominations, you will not rarely find them giving a contradictory view of their tenets of religion. Protestants differ from one another not only in doctrine, but in the form of ecclesiastical govern- ment and discipline. The church of England ac- kuowledges the reigning Sovereign as its Spiritual Head. Some denominations recognize Deacons, Priests, and Bishops as an essential part of their hierarchy ; while the great majority of Protestants reject such titles altogether. Where, then, shall we find this essential unity of faith and government ? I answer, confidently, no- where save in the Catholic Church. The number of Catholics in the world is computed at two hundred and twenty-five millionfl. They have all "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," one creed. They receive the same sacraments, they worship at the same altar, and pay spiritual allegiance to one common Head. Should a Catholic be so unfortu- nate as contumaciously to deny a single article of faith, or withdraw from the communion of his UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 29 legitiinate pastors, he ceases to be a member of the Church, and is cut off like a withered branch. The Church had rather sever her right hand than allow any member to corrode her vitals. It was thus she excommunicated Henry VIII. because he persisted in violating the sacred law of marriage, although she foresaw that the lustful monarch would involve a nation in his spiritual ruin. She anathematized, more recently. Dr. DoUinger, though the prestige of his name threatened to engender a schism in Ger- many. She says to her children: "You may es- pouse any political party you choose; with this I have no concern." But as soon as they trench on matters of faith, she cries out : " Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no farther ; and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves " ^ of discord. The tem- ple of faith is the asylum of peace, concord, and unity. How sublime and consoling is the thought, that whithersoever a Catholic goes over the broad world, whether he enters his Church in Pekin or in Mel- bourne, in London, or Dublin, or Paris, or Rome, or New York, or San Francisco, he is sure to hear the self-same doctrine preached, to assist at the same sac- rifice, and to partake of the same sacraments. This is not all. Her Creed is now identical with what it was in past ages. The same Gospel of peace that Jesus Christ preached on the Mount ; the same doctrine that St. Peter preached at Antioch and ' Job xxxviii. 11. 3* 80 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ Rome ; St. Paul at Ephesus ; St. John Chrysostom at Constantinople ; St. Augustine in Hippo ; St. Am* brose in Milan ; St. Keniigius in France ; St. Boni- face in Germany; St. Athanasius in Alexandria; the same doctrine that St. Patrick introduced into Ireland; that St. Augustine brought into England, and St. Pelagius into Scotland, is ever preached in the Catholic Church throughout the globe, from January till December — "Jesus Christ yesterday, and to-day, and the same forever." ^ The same admirable unity that exists in matters of faith, is also established in the government of the Church. All the members of the vast body of Cath- olic Christians are as intimately united to one visi- ble Chief as the members of the human body are joined to the head. The faithful of each parish are subject to their immediate Pastor. Each Pastor is subordinate to his Bishop, and each Bishop of Christendom acknowledges the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter, and Head of the Catholic Church. But it may be asked, is not this unity of faith impaired by those doctrinal definitions which the Church has promulgated from time to time? We answ^er : No new dogma, unknown to the Apostles, not contained in the primitive Christian revelation, can be admitted. (John xiv. 26 ; xv. 15 ; xvi. 13.) For the Apostles received the whole deposit of God's word, according to the promise of our Lord: "When 1 Heb. xiii. 8. VSmn OP THE CHURCH. 31 He sLall come, the Spirit of truth, He shall teach • you all truth/' And so the Church proposes the doctrines of faith, such as they came from the lips of Christ, and as the Holy Spirit taught them to the Apostles at the birth of the Christian law — doctrines which know neither variation nor decay. Hence, whenever it has been defined that any point of doctrine pertained to the Catholic faith, it was always understood that this was equivalent to the declaration that the doctrine in question had been revealed to the Apostles, and had come down to us from them, either by Scripture or tradition. And as the acts of all the Councils, and the history of every definition of faith evidently show, it was never contended that a new revelation had been made, but every inquiry was directed to this one point — whether the doctrine in question was con- tained in the Sacred Scriptures or in the Apostolic traditions. A revealed truth frequently has a very extensive scope, and is directed against error under its many changing forms. Nor is it necessary that those who receive this revelation in the first instance, should be explicitly acquainted with its full import, or cogni- zant of all its bearings. Truth never changes; it is the same now% yesterday, and forever, in itself; but our relations towards truth may change, for that which is hidden from us to-day may become known to us to-morrow. " It often happens,'' says St. Au- gustine, " that when it becomes necessary to defend 82 THE FAITH OF OUE FATHERS, certain points of Catholic doctrine against the insid- ious attacks of heretics, they are more carefully studied, they become vwre clearly understood, they are more eariiestly inmdcated ; and so the very ques- tions raised by heretics give occasion to a more thor- ough knowledge of the subject in question.'* - Let us illustrate this. In the Apostolic revelation and preaching, some truths might have been con- tained implicitly, e, g,, in the doctrine that grace is necessary for every salutary work, it is implicitly asserted that the assistance of grace is required for the inception of every good and salutary work. This was denied by the semi-Pelagians, and their error was condemned by an explicit definition. And 50 in other matters, as the rising controversies or new errors gave occasion for it, there "were more txplidt declarations of what was formerly implicitly believed. In the doctrine of the supreme poAver of Peter, as the visible foundation of the Church, we nave the implied assertion of many rights and duties which belong to the centre of unity. In the revela- tion of the supereminent dignity and purity of the Blessed Virgin, there is implied her exemption from original sin, etc., etc. So, too, in the beginning, many truths might have been proposed somewhat obscurely or less clearly; they might have been less urgently insisted upon, because there was no heresy, no contrary teaching to render a more explicit declaration n ecessary^ > De Civitate Dei, Lib. 16, Cap. ii., No. 1, I «l FJnXT OF THE CHURCH. 83 N'ow, a doctiine which is implicitly, less dearly^ noi 90 earnestly proposed, may be overlooked, misundef' i^tood, called in question ; consequently, it may hap- pen that some articles are now universally believed in the Church, in regard to which doubts and con- troversies existed in former ages, even within the bosom of the Church. " Those who err in belief do but serve to bring out more clearly the sound ness of those who believe rightly. For there are many things which lay hidden in the Scriptures, and when heretics were cut off, they vexed the Church of God with disputes ; then the hidden things were brought to light, and the will of God was made known." (St. Augustine on the 64th Psalm, No. 22.) This kind of progress in faith we can and do ad- mit ; but the truth is not changed thereby. As Albertus Magnus says : " It would be more correct to style this the progress of the believer in the faith, than of the faith in the believer." To show that this kind of progress is to be ad- mitted, only two things are to be proved: 1. That some divinely revealed truths should be contained in the Apostolic teaching imj^Ucitly, less clearly ex- plained, less urgently pressed. And this can be de- nied only by thos/B who hold that the Bible is the only rule of Faith, that it is clear in every part, and could be readily understood by all from the be- ginning. This point I shall consider farther on in this work. 2. That the Church can, in process of C M THE FAITH OF OUB FATHEBS. time, as occasions arise, declare^ explain^ urge. Thii is proved not only from the Scriptures and the Fathers, but even from the conduct of Protestants themselves, who often boast of the care and assiduity with which they " search the Scriptures," and study out their meaning, even now that so many Commen- taries on the sacred Text have been published. And why ? To obtain more light ; to understand better what is revealed. It would appear from this that the only question which could arise on this point is, not about the possibility of arriving by degrees at a clearer understanding of the true sense of revelation, as circumstances may call for successive develop- ments, but about the authority of the Church to propose and to determine that sense. So that, after all, we are always brought back to the only real point of division and dispute between those who are not Catholics and ourselves, namely, to the authority of the Church, of which I shall have more to say hereafter. I cannot conclude better than by quoting the words of St. Vincent of Lerins : " Let us take care that it be with us in matters of religion, which affect our souls, as it is with material bodies, which, as time goes on, pass through successive phases of growth and development, and multiply their years, but yet remain always the same individual bodies aa they were in the beginning. ... It very properly follows from the nature of things that, with a perfect • agreement and consistency between the beginnings and the final results, when we reap the harvest of HOLHTESS OF THE CHUBCH. 85 iogmatic truth which has sprung from the seeds of doctrine sown in the spring-time of the Church's existence, we should find no substantial difference between the grain which was first planted and that which we now gather. For though the germs of the early faith have in some respects been evolved, in the course of time, and still receive nourishment and culture, yet nothing in them that is substantial can ever suffer change. The Church of Christ is a faithful and ever watchful guardian of the dogmas which have been committed to her charge. In this sacred deposit she changes nothing, she takes nothing from it, she adds nothing to it." i CHAPTER m. THE fiOLINESS OF THE CHURCH. HOLINESS is also a mark of the true Church ; for in the Creed we say, " I believe in the holy Catholic Church." Every society is founded for a special object. One society is formed with the view of cultivating social intercourse among its members ; a second ie organized to advance their temporal interests ; and IL third, for the purpose of promoting literary pur- suits. The Catholic Church is a society founded by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sanctification of its members; hence, St. Peter calls the Christians of S6 THE FAITH OF OUK FATHERS. 1 his time " a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people " ^ The example of our divine Founder, Jesus Christ, the sublime moral lessons He has taught us, the Sacraments He has instituted — all tend to our sanctification. They all concentre themselves in our soul, like so many heavenly rays, to enlighten and inflame it with the fire of devotion. When the Church speaks to us of the attributes of our Lord, of His justice and mercy and sanctity and truth, her object is not mwely to extol the divine perfections, but also to exhort us to imitate them, and to be like Him, just and merciful, holy and truthful. Behold the sublime Model that is placed before us! It is not man, nor angel, nor archangel, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God, "who is the brightness of His glory, and the figure of His substance." ' The Church places His image over our altars, admonishing us to "look and do accord- ing to the pattern shown on the mount." ' And from that height He seems to say to us : " Be ye holy, for I fche Lord your God am holy."* " Be ye perfect, even as j'our heavenly Father is perfect." * " Be ye fol- lowers of God as most dear children." • We are invited to lead holy lives, not only be- cause our divine Founder, Jesus Christ, was holy, but also because we bear His sweet and venerable name. We are called Christians, That is a name 1 I. Pet. ii. 9. » Heb. i. 3. » Exod. xiv. 40. * Lev. xix. 2, * Matt. v. 48. • Eph. y. 1. HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH. 87 we would not exchange for all the high-sounding titles of Prince or Emperor. We are justly proud of this appelhitiou of Christian; but we are reminded that it has annexed to it a corresponding obligation. It is not an idle name, but one full of solemn signifi- cance ; for a Christian, as the very name implies, is a follower or disciple of Christ — one who walks in the footsteps of His Master by observing His pre- cepts ; who reproduces in his own life the character and virtues of his divine Model. In a word, a Chris- tian is another Christ. It would, therefore, be a con- tradiction in terms, if a Christian had nothing in common with his Lord except the name. The dis- ciple should imitate his Master, the soldier should imitate his Commander, and the members should be like the Head. The Church constantly allures her children to holi- ness by placing before their minds the Incarna- tion, life and death of our Saviour. What appeals more forcibly to a life of piety than the contempla- tion of Jesus born in a stable, living an humble life in Nazareth, dying on a cross, that His blood might purify us! W He sent forth Apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world ; if in His name temples are built in every nation, and missionaries are sent to the extremities of the globe, all this is done that we may be saints. God, says St. Paul, "gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and others Evangel- ists, and others Pastors and Doctors, for the perfect- ing of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for 4 38 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. the building up of the body of Christ, until we all meet unto the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man." ^ The moral law which the Catholic Church incul- cates on her children, is the highest and holiest standard of perfection ever presented to any people, and furnishes the strongest incentives to virtue. The same divine precepts delivered through Moses to the Jews, on Mount Sinai, the same salutary warn* ings which the prophets uttered throughout Judea, the same sublime and consoling lessons of morality which Jesus gave on the Mount, these are the lessons which the Church teaches from January till Decem- ber. The Catholic preacher does not amuse his au- dience with speculative topics or political harangues, or any other subjects of a transitory nature. He preaches only " Christ, and Him crucified." This code of divine precepts is enforced with as much zeal by the Church as was the Decalogue of old by Moses, when he said : " These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart ; and thou shalt tell them to thy children ; and thou shalt meditate upon them, sitting in thy house, and walk* ing on thy journey, sleeping, and rising." ^ The first lesson taught to children in our Sunday- schools is their duty to know, love, and serve God, and thus to be saints ; for if they know, love, and serve God aright, they shall be saints indeed. Theii lender minds are instructed in this great truth that, 1 Epheg. iv. 11-18. « Deut. vi 6, 7. HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH. 89 though they had the riches of Dives, and the glory and pleasures of Solomon, and yet fail to be saints, they have missed their vocation, and are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." ^ " For, what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? " ^ On the contrary, though they are as poor as Lazarus, and as miser- able as Job in the days of his adversity, they are assured that their condition is a happy one in the sight of God, if they live up to the maxims of the Gospel. The Church quickens the zeal of her children for holiness of life by impressing on their minds the rigor of God's judgments, who "will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts," by reminding them of the terrors of Hell and of the sweet joys of Heaven. Not only are Catholics instructed in church on Sundays, but they are exhorted to peruse the Word of God, and manuals of devotion, at home. The saints whose lives are there recorded, serve like bright stars to guide them over the stormy ocean oi life to the shores of eternity ; while the history of those who have fallen from grace, stands like a bea- con light, warning them to shun the rocks against which a Solomon and a Judas made shipwreck of their souls. Our books of piety are adapted to every want of the human soul, and are a fruitful source of sanctifi- ^ Apoc iii. 7. ' Matt. xvi. 2f; 40 THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS, ■ : such eation. Who can read without spiritual profit i works as the almost inspired Following of Christy by Thomas a Kern pis ; the Christian Perfection of Rod- riguez ; the Spiritual Combat of Scupoli ; the writings of St. Francis de Sales, and a countless host of other iscetical authors? You will search in vain outside the Catholic Church for writers comparable in unction and healthy piety to such as I have mentioned. Com- pare, for instance, Kempis with Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, or Butler^s Lives of the Saints with Fox^s Book of Martyrs. You lay down Butler with a sweet and tranquil devotion, and with a profound admira- tion for the Christian heroes whose lives he records; while you put aside Fox with a troubled mind and a sense of vindictive bitterness. I do not speak of the Book of Common Prayer, because the best part of it is a translation from our Missal. Protestants also pub- lish KempiSy though sometimes in a mutilated form; every passage in the original being carefully omitted which alludes to Catholic doctrines and practices. A distinguished Episcopal clergyman of Baltimore once avowed to me that his favorite book? of de- votion were our standard works of piety. In saying this, he paid a merited and graceful tribute to the superiority of Catholic spiritual literature. The Church gives us not only the most pressing motives, but also the most potent means for our danctiiication. These means are furnished by prayer and the Sacraments. She exhorts us to frequent HOLINESS OF THE CHT7ECH, 41 comniunion with God by prayer and meditation , and so imperative is this obligation in our eyes, that we would justly hold ourselves guilty of grave dereliction of duty, if we neglected fur a considerable time the practice of morning and evening prayer. The most abundant source of graces is alsx) found in the seven Sacraments of the Church. Our soul is bathed in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ at the font of Baptism, from which we come forth " new creatures." We are then and there incorporated with Christ, becoming *' bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh ; " " for as many of you," says the Apostle, " as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ."* And as the Holy Ghost is inseparable from Christ, our bodies are made the temples of the Spirit of God, and our souls His Sanctuary. " Christ loved the Church and delivered Himself up for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of watei:, in the word of life ; that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish."' In Confirmation, we receive new graces and new strength to battle against the temptations of life. In the Eucharist, we are fed with the living Bread which Cometh down from heaven. In Penance are washed away the stains we have contracted al'ter Baf)tism. Are we called to the Sacred Ministry, or to the » Gal. iii. 27. » Eph. v. 25-27. 4* 42 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. 1 married state, we find in the Sacraments of Orders and Matrimony, ample graces corresponding with th« condition of life which we have embraced. And our last illness is consoled by Extreme Unc tion, wherein we receive the divine succor necessary to fortify and purify us before departing from this world. In a word, the Church, like a watchful mother, accompanies us from the cradle to the grave, supply- ing us at each step with the medicine of life and immortality. As the Church oflfers to her children the strongest motives and the most powerful means for attaining to sanctity of life, so does she reap among them the most abundant fruits of holiness. In every age and country she is the fruitful mother of saints. Our Ecclesiastical calendar is not confined to the names of the twelve Apostles. It is emblazoned with the lists of heroic martyrs who *' were stoned, and cut asunder, and put to death by the sword ; " * of innumerable confessors and hermits who left all things and followed Christ ; of spotless virgins who preserved their chastity for the kingdom of heaven's «ake. Every day in the year is consecrated in our Martyrology to a large number of saints. And in our own times, in every quarter of the globe and in every department of life, the Church continues to raise up saints worthy of the primitive days of Christianity. ^Heh xi. 87. HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH. 43 If we seek for Apostles, we find them conspicuously among the Bishops of Germany, who are now dis playing in prison and in exile a serene heroism worthy of Peter and Paul. Every year records the tortures of Catholic Mis- sion ers who die Martyrs to the faith in China, Core^., and other Pagan countries. Among her confessors are numbered those devoted priests who, abandoning home and family ties, an- nually go forth to preach the Gospel in foreign lands. Their worldly possessions are often .confined to a few books of devotion and their modest apparel. And who is a stranger to her consecrated virginSf those sisters of various Orders who in every large city of Christendom are daily reclaiming degraded women from a life of shame, and bringing them back to the sweet influences of religion ; who snatch the abandoned offspring of sin from tempoal and spirit- ual death, and make them pious and useful mem- bers of society, becoming more than mothers to them ; who rescue children from ignorance, snd in- stil into their minds the knowledge and love of God We can point to numberless saints also among the laity. I dare assert, that in almost every congrega tion in the Catholic world, men and women are to he found who exhibit a fervent piety and a zeal for religion which render them worthy of being named after the Annas, the Aquilas, and the Prisdllas of the New Testament. They attract not indeed the admiration of the public, because true piety is uuos- 44 THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS. tentatious, and seeks a " life hidden with Christ in God."^ It must not be imagined that, in proclaiming the sanctity of the Church, I am attempting to ])rove that all Catholics are holy. I am sorry to confess that corruption of morals is too often found among professing Catholics. We cannot close our eyes to the painful fact that too many of them, far from living up to the teachings of their Church, are sources of melancholy scandal. " It must be that scandals come, \>\it woe to him by whom the scan- dal Cometh.'' I also admit that the sin of Catholics is more heinous in the sight of God than that of their separated brethren, because they abuse more grace. But it should be borne in mind that neither God nor His Church forces any man's conscience. To all He says by the mouth of His Prophet: " Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death," (Jer. xxi. 8.) The choice rests with your- selves. It is easy to explain why so many disedifying members are always found clinging to the robes of the Church, their spiritual Mother, and why she never shakes them off, nor disowns them as her chil- dren. The Church is animated by the spirit of her Founder, Jesus Christ. He " came into this world to save sinners."^ He "came not to call the just but sinners to repentance." ' He was the Friend of ^ C0I088. ill 3. * I. Tim. i. 15. HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH. 45 Publicans and Sinners that He might make them the friends of God. And tliey clung to Him, knowing His compassion for them. The Church, walking in the footsteps of her divine Spouse, never repudiates sinners, nor cuts them off from her fold, no matter how grievous or notorious may be their moral delinquencies; not because she connives at their sin, but because she wishes to re- claim them. She bids them never to despair, and tries, at least, to weaken their passions, if she can- not altogether reform their lives. Mindful also of the words of our Lord : " The poor have the Gospel preached to them," * the Church has a tender compassion for the victims of poverty, which has its train of peculiar temptations and in- firmities. Hence, the poor and the sinners cling to the Church, as they clung to our Lord during His mortal life. We know, on the other hand, that sinners who are guilty of gross crimes which shock public decency, are virtually excommunicated from Protestant Com- munions. And as for the poor, the public press jften complains that little or no provision is made for them in Protestant Churches. A gentleman in- formed me that he never saw a poor y)erson enter an Episcopal Church which was contiguous to his resi- dence. These excluded sinners and victims of penury either abandon Christianity altogether, or find 1 Matt. xi. 5. 46 THE FAITH OF OUB FATHEER refuge in tlie bosom of their true Mother, the Catho- lic Church, who, like her diyine Spouse, claims the afflicted as her most cherished inheritance. The parables descriptive of this Church which our Lord employed, also clearly teach us that the good an(^ bad shall be joined together in the Church as long as her earthly mission lasts. The kingdom of God is like a field in which the cockle is allowed to grow up with the good seed until the harvest-time ; Mt is like a net which encloses good fish and bad until the hour of separation comes.^ So, too, the Church is that great house* in which there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. The Fathers repeat the teaching of Scripture. St. Jerome says : " The ark of Noah was a type of the Church. As every kind of animal was in that, so in this there are men of every race and character. As in that were the leopard and the kids, the wolf and the lambs, so in this there are to be found the just and the sinful, that is, vessels of gold and silver along with those of wood and clay." * St. Gregory the Great writes : " Because in it (the Church) the good are mingled with the bad, the reprobate with the elect, it is rightly declared to be similar to the wise and the foolish virgins." * Listen to St. Augustine: "Let the mind recall the threshing-floor containing straw and wheat ; the 1 Matt. xiii. 24-37. ^ Ibid. xiii. 47. » II. Tim. ii. 20. * Dial, contra Lucif. * Horn. 12, in Evang, HOLIKESS OF THE OHUBCH. 47 nets in ^hith are inclosed good and bad fish ; the ark of Noah in which were clean and unclean animals, and you will see that the Church from now until the judgment day contains not only sheep and oxen, that is, saintly laymen and holy ministers, but also the beasts of the field. . . . For the beasts of the field are men who take delight in carnal pleasures, the field being that broad way which leads to perditionJ^ ^ The occasional scandals existing among members of the Church do not invalidate or impair her claim to the title of sanctity. The spots on the sun do not mar his brightness. Neither do the moral stains of some members sully the brilliancy of her "who Cometh forth as the morning star, fair as the moon, bright as the sun." ' The cockle that grows amidst the wheat does not destroy the beauty of the ripened harvest. The sanctity of Jesus was not sullied by the presence of Judas in the Apostolic College. Neither can the moral corruption of a few disciples tarnish the holiness of the Church. St. Paul calls the Church of Corinth a congregation of saints,* though he reproves some scandalous members among them.* It cannot be denied that corruption of morals pre- vailed in the sixteenth century to such an extent as to call for a sweeping reformation, and that laxity of discipline invaded even the sanctuary. But how was this reformation of morals to b€ »Ia P8. TiU., n. 13. «Cant.vi.9 »LCor.i. *I.Oor.T, 48 THE FAITH OP CUB FATHEKS. effected? Was it to be accomplished by a force operating inside the Church, or outside? 1 an- swer, that the proper way of carrying out this ref- ormation, was by battling against iniquity within the Church ; for there was not a single weapon which men could use in waging war with vice outside the Church, which they could not wield with more effective power when fighting under the authority of the Church. The true weapons of an Apostle, at all times, have been personal virtue, prayer, preaching, and the Sacraments. Every gen- uine reformer had those weapons at his disposal within the Church. She possesses, at all times, not only the principle of undying vitality, but, besides, all the elements of reformation, and all the means of sanctification. With the weapons I have named, she purified mor- als in the first century, and with the same weapons she went to work with a right good will, and ef- fected a moral reformation in the sixteenth century. She was the only effectual spiritual reformer of that age. What was the Council of Trent but a great re- forming tribunal ? Most of its decrees are directed to the reformation of abuses among the clergy and the laity, and the salutary fruits of its legislation are reaped even to this day. St Charles Borromeo, the nephew of a reigning Pope, was the greatest reformer of his time. His ^hole Episcopal career was spent in elevating the morals of his clergy and people. Bartholomew, HOLlis'ESS OF THE CHUECH. 49 Archbishop of Braga, in Portugal, preached an in' cessant crusade against iniquity in high and low places. St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Alphonsus, with their companions, were conspicuous and success- ful reformers throughout Europe. St. Philip Ncri was called the modern Apostle of Kome, because of his happy efforts in dethroning vice in that city. All these Catholic Apostles preached by example as well as by word. How do Luther and Calvin, and Zuinglius and Knox, and Henry VHI. compare with these genu- ine and saintly reformers, both as to their moral character and the fruit of their labors? The pri- vate lives of these pseudo-reformers were stained by cruelty, rapine, and licentiousness ; and as the result of their propagandism, history records civil wars, and bloodshed, and bitter religious strife, and the dismemberment of Christianity into a thousand sects. Instead of co-operating with the lawful authori- ties in extinguishing the flames which the passions of men had enkindled in the city of God, these faithless citizens fly from the citadel which they had vowed to defend ; then joining the enemy, the}- hasten back to fan the conflagration, and to in^reas the commotion. And they overturn the very altars before which they previously sacrificed as consecrated priests.^ They sanctioned rebellion by undermining the principle of authority. ^ Luther, Zuinglius, and Knox had been ordained priesta, Caiyin had studied for the priesthood, but did not receive ''Mlers. 50 THE FAITH OP OUK FATHERS. What a noble opportunity they lost of earning for themselves immortal honors from God and man' If, instead of raising the standard of revolt, they had waged war upon their own passions, and fought with the Catholic reformers against impiety, they would be hailed as true soldiers of the cross. They would be welcomed by the Pope, the Bishops and clergy, and by all good men. They might be hon- ored to-day on our altars, and might have a niche in our temples, side by side with those of Charles Borromeo and Ignatius Loyola; and instead of a divided army of Christians, we should behold to- day a united Christendom, spreading itself irre- sistibly from nation to nation, and bringing all kingdoms to the know^ledge of Jesus Christ. CHAPTER IV. CATHOLICITY. rPHAT Catholicity is a prominent note of the JL Church, is evident from the Apostles' Creed, which says . " I believe in the Holy Catholic Church." The word Catholic, or Universal, signifies that the true Church is not circumscribed in its extent, like human empires, nor confined to one race of people, like the-^ Jewish Church, but that she is diffused ovet every nation of the globe, and counts her cliildren among all tribes and peoples and tongues of the earth. CATHOLICITY. 61 This glorious Church is foreshadowed by the Psalmist, wheu he sings : " All the ends of the earth shall be converted to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in His sight; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and He shall have dominion over the nations." ^ The Prophet Malachy saw in the distant future this world-wide Church, when He wrote : " From the rising of the sun, to the going down, My name is great among the Gentiles ; and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation ; for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts." ^ When our Saviour gave commission to Hia Apostles, He assigned to them the whole world as the theatre of their labors, and the entire human race, without regard to language, color, or nation- ality, as the audience to whom they were to preach. This is evident from the following passages : " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations," ' " Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." * " Ye shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth" ^ And so it came to pass. The Apostles scattered themselves over the surface of the earth, preach in? the Gospel of Christ. " Their sound," says St. Paul, " went over all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world." * »P8. xii. 2 ^i^i I 11^ s]V£att. xxviii. 19. Mark xvi. 15. * Acts i. 8. • Rom. x. IS. 52 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. St. Justin Martyr, was able to say, about one hundred years after Christ, that there was no race of men, whether Barbarians or Greeks, or any other people of what name soever, among whom the name of Jesus Christ was not invoked. And St. Irenseus, writing at the end of the second century, tells us that the religion so marvellously propagated through- out the whole world, was not a vague, ever-changing form of Christianity, but that " this faith and doc- trine and tradition preached throughout the globe is as uniform as if the Church consisted of one family, possessing one soul and heart, and as if she had but one mouth. For, though the languages of the world are dissimilar, her doctrine is the same. The churches founded in Germany, in the Celtic nations, in the East^ in Egypt, in Lybia, and in the centres of civilization, do not differ from each other ; but as the sun gives the same light throughout the world, so does the light of faith shine everywhere the same, and enlighten all men who wish to come to the knoAvledge of the truth." ^ ^'We are but of yesterday," says Tertullian, " and already have we filled your cities, towns, islands, your council-halls and camps, . . . the palace, senate, forum : we have left you only the temples." ^ This Catholicity, or universality, is not to b^ found in any, or in all, of the combined communions separated from the Koman Catholic Church. The Schismatic churches of the East have n< ^Adv. Hjier., 1. 1. ^Apologet., c. 37. CATHOLIGirS. 58 claim to this title, because they are confined within the Turkish and Kussian dominions, and number not more than sixty millions of souls. The Protestant churches, even taken collectively, (as separate communions they are a mere handful,) are too insignificant in point of numbers, and too circumscribed in their territorial extent, to have any pretensions to the title of Catholic. Ail the Prot- estant denominations are estimated at sixty-five mil- lions, or less than one-fifth of those who bear the Christian name. They repudiate, moreover, and pro- test against the name of Catholic, though they con- tinue to say in the Apostles' Creed, " I believe in the Holy Catholic Church." That the Roman Catholic Church alone deserves the name of Catholic is so evident, that it is ridiculous to deny it. Ours is the only Church which adopts this name as her official title. We have possession, which is nine-tenths of the law. We have ex- clusively borne this glorious appellation in troubled times, when the assumption of this venerable title exposed us to insult, persecution, and death ; and to attempt to deprive us of it at this late hour, would be as fruitless as the efforts of the French Revolution- ists, who sought to uproot all traces of the old civiliza- tion by assigning new names to the days and seasons of the year, Passion and prejudice and bad manners may affix on us the epithets of Romish and Papist and Ultra* moiitaney but the calm, dispassionate mind, of what^ 6* 54 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ever faith, all tlie world over, knows us only by the name of Catholic, So great is the charm attached to the name of Catholic, that a portion of the Episcopal body some- times usurp the title of Catholic, though in their of- ficial books they are named Protestant Episcopalians, If they think that they have any just claim to the name of Catholic, why not come out openly and write it on the title-pages of their Bibles and Prayer-Books ? Afraid of going so far, they gratify their vanity by privately calling themselves Catholics. But the delusion is so transparent, that the attempt must provoke a smile even among themselves. Should a stranger ask one of them to direct him to the Catholic Church, they would instinctively point out to him the Roman Catholic Church. The sectarians of the fourth and fifth centuries, as St. Augustine tells us, used to attempt the same pious fraud, but signally failed : " We must hold fast to the Christian religion, and to the communion of that Church which is Catholic, end which is called Catholic not only by those who belong to her, but also by all her enemies. Whether they will it or not, the very heretics themselves, and followers of schism, when they conver»<3, not with their own, but with outsiders, call that only Catholic which is really Catholic. For they cannot be under- stood, unless they distinguish her by that name, by which she is known throughout the whole earth." ^ iSt. Aug. de Ver. Rel., c. 7, n. 12. CATHOLICITY. 55 . i/e possess not only the name, but also the real* it}'. A single illustration will suffice to exhibit in a sitong light the wide-spread dominion of the Cath- olic Ohurch, and her just claims to the title of Catholic. Take the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, opened in 1869, and presided over by Pope Pius IX. Of the thousand Bishops and up- wards now comprising the hierarchy of the Cath- olic Church, nearly eight hundred attended the opening session, the rest being unavoidably absent. All parts of the habitable globe were represented at the Council. The Bishops assembled from Great Britain, Ire- land, France, Germany, Switzerland, and from al- most every nation and principality in Europe. They met from Canada, the United States, Mexico, and South America, and from the islands of the Atlantic and the Pacific. They were gathered to- gether from different parts of Africa and Oceanica. They went from the banks of the Tigris and Eu- phrates, the cradle of the human race; and from the banks of the Jordan, the cradle of Christian- ity. They travelled to Rome from Mossul, built near ancient Nineveh, and from Bagdad, founded on the ruins of Babylon. They flocked from Da- mascus and Mount Libanus, and from the Holy Land, sanctified by the footprints of our Blessed Redeemer. Those Bishops belonged to every form of govern- ment, from the republic to the most absolute mon- 56 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. archy.' Their faces were raarked by almost every Bhade and color that distinguish the human family. They si>oke every civilized language under the sun* Kneeling together in the game great Council-Hail, truly could those Prelates exclaim, in the language of the Apocalypse: "Thou hast redeemed us, Lord, to God in Thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation." ^ What the Catholic Church lost by the religious revolution of the sixteenth century in the old world, she has more than regained by the immense acces- sions to her ranks in the East and West Indies, in North and South America. Never, in her long history, w^as she numerically BO strong as she is at the present moment, when her children amount to about two hundred and twenty- five millions, or double the number of those who bear the name of Christians outside of her communion. In her alone is literally fulfilled the magnificent prophecy of Malachy ; for in every clime, and in every nation under the sun, are erected thousands of Catholic altars upon which the " clean oblation " * is daily offered up to the Most High. It is said, with truth, that the sun never sets on British dominions. It may also be affirmed, with ' Does not this fiict conclusively demonstrate the trutli that the Catholic Church can subsist under every form of govern- ment? And is it not an eloquent refutation of the oft -re* peated calumny that a republic is not a favorable soil foi Uer development? *Apoc. V. 9. 'Malachy i. 11. CATHOLICITY, 57 equal assurance, that wherever the British drum -beat sounds, aye, and wherever the English language ia spoken, there you will find the English-speaking Cath oiic Missionary planting the cross — the symbol ol salvation — side by side with the banner of St. George; Quite recently, a number of European eraigrajils arrived in Richmond. They were strangers to our country, to our customs, and to our language. Every object that met their eye sadly reminded them that they were far from their own sunny Italy. But when they saw the cross surmounting our Cathedral, they hastened to it with a joyful step. I saw and heard a group of them giving earnest expression to their deep emotioDs. Enter- ing this sacred temple, they felt that they had found an oasis in the desert. Once more they were at home. They found one familiar spot in a strange land. They stood in the church of their fathers, in the home of their childhood ; and they seemed to say in their hearts, as a tear trickled down their sunburnt cheeks, " How lovely are Thy tabernacles, Lord of Hosts 1 My soul long- eth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God." ^ They saw around them the paintings of familiar saints whom they had been accustomed to reverence from their youth. They saw the ba]v tismal font and the confessionals. They beheld the altar and the altar-rails where they received ^ Ps. Ixxxiii. 58 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. their Maker. They observed the Priest at the al- tar in his sacred vestments. They saw a multitude of worshippers kneeling around •them, and the} felt in their heart of hearts that they were once more among brothers and sisters, with whom they had " one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." Everywhere a Catholic is at home. Secret socie- ties, of whatever name, form but a weak and counter- feit bond of union, compared with the genuine fellow- ship created by Catholic faith, hope, and charity. The Roman Catholic Church, then, exclusively merits the title of Catholic, because her children abound in every part of the globe, and comprise the vast majority of the Christian family. CHAPTER V. APOSTOLICITY. THE true Church must be Apostolical. Hence in the Creed framed in the first Ecumenical Council of Nicsea, in the year 325, we find these words : " I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." This attribute or note of the Church implies that the true Church must always teach the identical doctrines once delivered by the Apostles, and that her ministers must derive their powers from t)\6 Apostles by an uninterrupted succession. APOSTOLICITT. 59 Consequently, no cimrcli can claim to be llie true one whose doctrines differ from those of the Apos- -^ ties, or whose ministers are unable to trace, by an unbroken chain, their authority to an Apostolic "^ source ; just as our Minister to England can exercise no authority in that country unless he is duly com- missioned by our Government, and represents its views. The Church, says St. Paul, is "built upon the foundation of the Apostles," ^ so that the doctrine which it propagates, must be based on Apostolic teachings. Hence St. Paul says to the Galatians : " Though an angel from heaven preach a Gospel to you beside that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema." ^ The same Apostle gives this admonition to Timothy: "The things which thou hast heard from me before many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men who shall be fit to teach others also." * Timothy must transmit to his disci- ples only such doctrines as he heard from the lips of his master. Not only is it required that ministers of the Gos- pel should conform their teaching to the doctrine of the Apostles, but also that these ministers should be ordained and commissioned by the Apostles or their legitimate successors. "Neither doth any man," says the Apostle, " take the honor to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was." * This text evidently condemns all self-constituted preachers » Eph. ii. 20. ^ Oal. i. 8. » II. Tim. ii. 2. * Heb. v. 4 60 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. and reformers; for, "how shall they preach, unless they be sent?*'^ — Sent, of course, by legitimate au- thority, and not directed by their own caprice. Hence, we find tliat those who succeeded tlie Apos- tles, were ordained and commissioned by them to preach, and that no others were permitted to exercise this function. Thus we are tohl that Paul and Barnabas " had ordained for them priests in every church." * And the Apostle says to Titus : " For this cause I left thee in Crete, .... that thou shouldst ordain priests in every city, as I also ap- pointed thee." ^ Even St. Paul himself, though miraculously called and instructed by God, had hands imposed on him,* lest others should be tempted by his example to preach without Apostolic war- rant. To discover, therefore, the Church of Christ among the various conflicting claimants, we have to inquire, 1st, which church teaches whole and entire those doc- trines that were taught by the Apostles ; 2d, what ministers can trace back, in an unbroken line, their missionary powers to the Apostles, The Catholic Church alone teaches doctrines which are in all respects identical with those of the first teachers of the Gospel. The following parallel lines exhibit some examples of the departure of the Prot- estaut bodies from the primitive teachings of Chris- tianity, and the faithful adhesion of the Catholic Church to them. A . . . »Bom.x.l5. 2Act3xiY.22. 3Tit.i. 5. *Acts iiii.2,o APOSTOLICITY. Gl Ajpo*rouo Chuxch. 1. Oar SaTloar gives pie-eiciniEce to Peter cviiT tha other Apostles: "l TTiil give to thee the kej8 o; the kingdom of heaven."! '•CouQrmthv brethren. "2 " Feed M j lambe; feed My ahe*p."» 2. The Apo-Htolio Church claimed to be iufallibie in her teachings. Ileuce the Apostles spoke with un- erring authority, and their words were receiv- ed not as human oftiu- iona, but aw divine trutlvs. •' When you had received from us the word of God, you received it not as the word of men, but (as it is indeed) the word of &od."* " It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us," say the as- sembled Apostles, " to lay no further burden upon you than these ne- cessary thinga."* " Though an angel from heaven preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be auatnema."' 3. Our Saviour enjoins and prescribes rules for fasting: "When thou fastest, anoint thy head and vra«h thy face, that thou appear not to men to fast, ... and thy Fa- ther, vrhoaeeih in secret, will lepay thee.'*' Cathoi.10 Chcrch. The Catholic Church givea the primacy of honor and jurisdiction to Peter and to hia aucces- SOId. The Catholic Church alone, of all the ChrLstian communions, claims to exercise the prerogative of infallibility in her teaching. Her ministersi always speak from the pulpit tw having author- ity, and the faithful re- ceive with implicit confi- dence what the Church teaches, without once questioning her veracity. The Church preacriberi fasting to the faithful at stated seasons, particu- larly during Lent. A Catholic Priest is al- ways fasting when he of- ficiates at the altar. He breaks his fast only after he says Alass. When PuoTMTAJirT Churches. All other Christ ian com* munions practically deny Peter's supremacy over the other Apostlea. All tne Protestrmt churches repudiate the claim of infallibility. — They deny that such a gift is possessed by any teachers of religion. Tbo min inters pronounce no authoritative doctrines, but advance opinions sia embodying their private interpretation of the Scripture. And then hearers are never requir- ed to believe them, but are ezpected to draw their own conciusioaa from the Bible. Protestants have no law prescribing fasts, though some may fast fiom pri- vate devotion. They even try to caet ridicule on fasting, aa a work of su- pererogation, detracting from the merits of Christ. Neither candidates foi 1M«U xvi. 18. °« IMS XV. 28. » Luke txii. 32. 3 joha.jLrj. 15. * Yheaa. a. IS, Oal. i. 8. 1 Matt. vi. IT. 62 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHEBS. ArosTOLio Chukch. Catholic C?HaacH. The Apostles fasted be- fore engaging in sacred unctions : " They minis- tered to the Lord, and fiasted."i " And when they ordained priests in every city, they prayed with fasting."^ 4. "Let women," says the Apostle, "keep si- lence in the churches. For, it is not permitted them to speak. ... It is a shame for a woman to speak in the church."' 5. St. Peter and 6t. John confirmed the new- ly baptized in Samaria: "They laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."* 6. Our Saviour and His Apostles taught that the Eucharist contains the Body and Blood of Christ. "Take ye, and eat; this Is My Body. . . . Drink ye all of this, for fhia is My Blood."5 "The chalice of bene- diction which we bless, \B it not the communion of the Blood of Christ; »nd the bread which we break, is it not the par- lic'.patiou of the Body of the Lord?"* PKOTKSTurr Chukches, Bishops ordain Priests, they are always fasting, aa well as the candidates for ordination. The Catholic Church never permits women to preach in the house of God. Every Catholic Bishop, as a successor of the Apos- tles, likewise imposes hands on baptised per- sons in the Sacrament of Confirmation, by which they receive the Holy Ghost. The Catholic Church teaches, with our Lord and His Apostles, that tlie EuchariHt cou tains really and indeed the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ un- der the appearance of bread and wine. 7. The Apostles were The Bishops and Priests Protestants affirm, on BDcpowared by our Sa- of the Catholic Church, the contrary, that God ordination, nor th« min- isters who ordain them, ever fast on such ooca* Bions. Women, especially In this country, publicly preach in Methodist and other churches, with the sanction of the churcli elders. No denomination per- forms the ceremony of imposing hands in thl« country except Episco- palians; and even they do not recognize Confir- mation as a Sacrament., The Protestant church- es (except, perhaps, a few Ritualists) condemn th« doctrine of the Real Pres- ence as idolatrous, and say that, in partaking of the communion, we re- ceive only a memorial of Christ. 1 Aets xiii. 2. « AoVi Tiii, 17. » Act! xiv. 22. » Matt. XXTi. 2ft-28. » L Cor. xiv. Ji. 35. « L Cor. X. 16. APOSTOLICITY. 63 Aroerouo Chcxoh. viour to forgive sins: — " Whose sins ye shall for- give, they are forgiven."! "God," says St. Paul, "hath given to ua the ministry of reconcilia- tien."3 8. Regarding the sick, St. James gives this in- stniction: "Is any man ■ick among you, let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."* 9. Of marriage, our Sa- viour says: "Whosoever •hall put away his wife and marry another, com- mitteth adultery against her. And if the wife shall put away her hus- band, and be married to another, she committeth adultery."* And again St. Paul says: "To them that are married, . . . the Lord commandeth, that the wife depart not from her husband, and if she de- part, that she remain un married. . . . And let not tlie husband put away his wife."* 10. Our Lord recom- mend* not only by word, but by His example, to sonls aiming at petSec- CXTHOLIO CHTJUCH. as the inheritors of Apos- tolic prerogatives, profess to exercise the ministry of reconciliation, and to forgive sins in the name of Christ. One of the most ordi- nary duties of a Catholic Priest is to anoint the sick in the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. If a man is sick among us, he is careful to call in the Priest of the Church, that he may anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. Literally following the Apostle's injunction, the Catholic Church forbids the husband and wife to separate from one an- other. Or, if they sepa- rate, neither of them can marry again during Xhe lif* of the other. Like the Apostle and his Master, the Catholic clergy bind themselves to PlOTHSTAHT ChPBCHBQ. delegates to no man thf power of pardoning sin. No Buch ceremony m that of anointing tbr sick is practised by anj Protestan t denom inatiou notwithstanding the Apostle's injunction. The Protestant church es, as is well known, have so far relaxed this rigor- ous law of the Gospel as to allow divorced persons to remarry. And divorce a vinctU^ is granted on various and even trifling pretexts. All the mlBlateni ct other denominations with very nire excep- a life of perpetual chas- tions, marry. And tar^ > JobD zx. U. a II. Cor. v. 18 > Jamea v. 14. « Mark x. II, IS. » I. Cor tH. 10, IL 64 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Apostolio Church. tion, the state of perpet- ual virginity. St. Paul also exhorts the Corin- thians by counsel and his own example to the same angelic virtue: "He that giveih his virgin in mar- riage," he sa,ys, "doeth well. And he that giveth her not, doeth better." i Catkomo Chttkch. tity. The inmates of our convents of men and wo- men voluntarily conse- crate their virginity to God. PKOTXgTAHT CHtTBOfiCft. from inculcating th« Apostolic counsel of celi- bacy to any of thuir Cock, they more than insinuata that the virtue of peipet- ual chastity, though rec- ommended by 8t. Paul ifl impracticable. We now leave the reader to judge for himself which Church enforces the doctrines of the Apostles in all their pristine vigor. To show that the Catholic Church is the only lineal descendant of the Apostles, it is sufficient to demonstrate that she alone can trace her pedigree, generation after generation, to the Apostles, while the origin of all other Christian communities can be referred to a comparatively modern date. The most influential Christian sects existing in this country at the present time, are the Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Bap- tists. The other Protestant denominations are com- paratively insignificant in point of numbers, and are for the most part offshoots from the Christian com- munities just named. Martin Luther, a Saxon monk, was the founder of the church Avhich bears his name. He was born at Eisleben, in Saxony, in 1483, and died in 1546. The Anglican or Episcopal Church owes its origin AP08T0LICITY. 65 to Henry VIII. of England. The immediate cause of his renunciation of the Koman Church was the refusal of Pope Clement VII. to grant him a divorce from his lawful wife, Catharine of Aragon, that he might be free to be joined in wedlock to Anne Boleyn. In order to legalize his divorce from his virtuous queen, the licentious monarch divorced himself and his kingdom from the spiritual su- premacy of the Pope. " There is a close relationship," says D'Aubign^, "between these two divorces," meaning Henry's divorce from his wife and England^s divorce from the Church. Yes, there is the relationship of cause and effect. Bishop Short, an Anglican historian, candidly ad- mits that " the existence of the church of England as a distinct body, and her final separation from Rome, may he dated from the period of the divorce."^ The Book of Homilies, in the language of fulsome praise, calls Henry " the true and faithful minister," aad gives him the credit for having abolished in England the Papal supremacy, and established the new order of things.^ John AVesley is the acknowledged founder of the Methodist church. Methodism dates from the year 1729, and its cradle was the Oxford University in England. John and Charles Wesley were students 1 History of the Church of England, by Thomaa V. Short» Bishop of St. Asaph's, p. 44. aBook of Homilies. 6^^ E m THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. at Oxford. They gathered around them a uumbei of young men who devoted themselves to the fre- quent reading of the Holy Scriptures, and to prayer. Their methodical and exact mode of life obtained for them the name of Methodists, The Methodist church in this country is the offspring of a colony sent hither from England. As it would be tedious to give even a succinct history of each sect, I shall content myself with pre- senting a tabular statement exhibiting the name and founder of each denomination, the place and the date of its origin, and the names of the authors from whom I quote. My authorities in every in- Btance are Protestants. APOSTOLICITY, er 2 O v; "-J - W W Cl * a B E (D 2 i-< a :j 3 E. ft- P c g j^ CO r-1 '-^ ^ B 2 o o W rd's declaration to the contrary, that loyalty to Peter is disloyalty to Christ, and that by acknowl- edging Peter as the rock on which the Church is built, we set our Saviour aside. So far from this being the case, we acknowledge Jesus Christ as the " Chief corner-stone," as well as the divine Architect of the building. The true test of loyalty to Jesus is not only to worship Himself, but to venerate even the repre- sentatives whom He has chosen. Will any one pre- tend to say that my obedience to the Governor's appointee, is a mark of disrespect to the Governor himself? I think our State Executive would have little faith in the allegiance of any citizen who would say to him : " Governor, I honor you personally, but your officiars order I shall disregard." St. Peter is called the first Bishop of Rome, bo- cause he transferred his See from Antioch to Rome, where he sufiered martyrdom with St. Paul. We are not surprised that modern skepticism, which rejects the divinity of Christ, and denies even the existence of God, should call in question the fact that St Peter lived and died in Rome. 1 Gal. 1.18. PRIMACY OF PETER. 131 The reason commonly alleged for disputing thia well-attested event, is that the Acts of the Apostlea make no mention of Peter's labors and martyrdom in Rome. For the same reason, we might deny thai St. Paul was beheaded in Rome, that St. John died in Ephesus, and that St. Andrew was crucified. The Scripture is silent regarding these historical records^ and yet they are denied by no one. The intrinsic evidence of St. Peter's first Epistle, the testimony of his immediate successors in the ministry, as well as the avowal of eminent Protestant commen- tators, all concur in fixing the See of Peter in Rome. " Babylon," from which Peter addresses his first Epistle, is understood by learned annotators, Prot- estant and Catholic, to refer to Rome, — the word Babylon being symbolical of the corruption then prevailing in the city of the Csesars. Clement, the fourth Bishop of Rome, who is mentioned in terms of praise by St. Paul; St Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who died in 105; Irenaeus, Origen, St. Jerome, Eusebius the great his- torian, and other eminent writers, testify to St. Peter's residence in Rome; while no ancient ecclesiastical writer has ever contradicted the statement. John Calvin, a witness above suspicion, Cave, an able Anglican critic, Grotius, and other distinguished Protestant writers, do not hesitate to re-echo the unanimous voice of Catholic tradition. Indeed, no historical fact will escape the shafts of incredulity, if St. Peter's residence and glerioufl martyrdom in Rome are called in question. 182 THE PAITH OF OUR ITATHEKfl. CHAPTER X. THE SUPREMACY OF THE POPE. ImE Church did not die with Peter, but wai . destined to continue till the end of time. Con- sequently, whatever official prerogatives were con- ferred on Peter, were not to cease at his death, but were to be handed down to his successors from generation to generation. The Churcn is in all ages as much in need of a Supreme Ruler as it was in the days of the Apostles. Nay more ; as the Church is now more widely diffused than it waa then, and is ruled by frailer men, it is more than ever in need of a central power to preserve its unity of faith and uniformity of discipline. Whatever privileges, therefore, were conferred on Peter, which may be considered essential to the government of the Church, are inherited by the Bishops of Rome, as successors of the Prince of the Apostles ; just as the constitutional powers given to George Washington have devolved on the present incumbent of the Presidential chair. Peter, it is true, besides the prerogatives inherent in his office, possessed aiKSo the power of working miracles, and the gift of inspiration. These two latter gifts are not claimed by the Pope, as they were personal to Peter, and by no means essential to the government of the Church. God acts towardi SUPREMACY OF THE POPES. 133 His Church as we deal with a tender sapling. When we first plant it, we water it, and soften the clay about its roots. But when it takes deep root, we leave it to the care of Nature's laws. In like manner, when Christ first planted His Church, He nourished its infancy by miraculous agency; but when it grew to be a tree of fair proportions, He left it to be governed by the general laws of His Providence. From what I have said, you can easily infer that the arguments in favor of Peter's Primacy have equal weight in demonstrating the supremacy of the Popes. As the present question, however, is a subject of vast importance, I shall endeavor to show, from in- contestable historical evidence, that the Popes have always, from the days of the Apostles, continued to exercise supreme jurisdiction, not only in the Western church, till the Reformation, but also throughout the Eastern church, till the great schism of the ninth century. 1. Take the question of appeals. An appeal is never made from a superior to an inferior court, nor even from one court to another of co-ordinate juris- diction. We do not appeal from Washington to Pachmond, but from Richmond to Washington Now, if we find the See of Rome, from the founda- tion of Christianity, entertaining and deciding casts of appeal from the Oriental churches ; if we find that her decision was final and irrevocable, we must 12 134 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. conclude that the supremacy of Rome over all thf churches is au undeniable fact. Let me give you a few illustrations : To begin with Pope St. Clement, who was the third successor of St. Peter, and who is laudably mentioned by St. Paul in one of his Epistles. Some dissension and scandal having occurred in the church of Corinth, the matter is brought to the notice of Pope Clement. He at once exercises his supreme authority by writing letters of remonstrance and ad- monition to the Corinthians. And so great was the reverence entertained for these Epistles, by the faithful of Corinth, that for a century later it was customary to have them publicly read in their churches. Why did the Corinthians appeal to Rome far away in the West, and not to Ephesus so near home in the East, w^here the Apostle St. John Btill lived? Evidently because the jurisdiction of Ephesus was local, while that of Rome was univer- sal. About the year 190, the question regarding the proper day for celebrating Easter was agitated in the East, and referred to Pope St. Victor I. The Eastern church generally celebrated Easter on the day on which the Jews kept the Passover ; while in the West it was observed then, as it is now, on the first Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equi- nox. St. Victor directs the Eastern churches, for the sake of uniformity, to conform to the practice of thi West, and his instructionB are universally followed BUPKEMACY OF THE POPES. 136 Dionysius, Bishop of Korae, about the middle of the third century, having heard that the Patriarch of Alexandria erred on some points of faith, demands an explanation of the suspected Prelate, who, m obedience to his superior, promptly vindicates his own orthodoxy. St. Athanasius, the great Patriarch of Alexandria^ appeals in the fourth century, to Pope Julius I,, from an unjust decision rendered against him by the Oriental bishops ; and the Pope^reverses the sentence of the Eastern council. St. Basil, Archbishop of Csesarea, in the same century, has recourse, in his afflictions, to the protec- tion of Pope Damasus. St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, appeals in the beginning of the fifth century, to Pope Innocent I., for a redress of grievances inflicted on him by several Eastern Prelates, and by the Em- press Eudoxia of Constantinople. St. Cyril appeals to Pope Celestine against Nesto- rius; Nestorius also appeals to the same Pontiff, who takes the side of Cyril. Theodoret, the illustrious historian and Bishop of Cyrrhus, is condemned by the pseudo-council of Ephesus in 449, and appeals to Pope Leo in the following touching language : " I await the decision of your Apostolic See, and I supplicate your Holi- ness to succor me, who invoke your righteous and just tribunal ; and to order me to hasten to you^ ^ SbCTftfes' EccledaBtifjll Histiory, B. II., c. xv. 136 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. and to explain to you mj teaching, which follows the steps of the Apostles I beseech you not to scorn my application. Do not slight my gray hairs Above all, I entreat you to teach me whether to put up with this unjust deposition or not. For, I await your sentence. If you bid me rest in what has been determined against me, I will rest, and will trouble no man more. I will look for the righteous judgment of our God and Saviour. To me, as Almighty God is my Judge, honor and glory is no ob- ject, but only the scandal that has been caused: for many of the simpler sort, especially those w^hom I have rescued from diverse heresies, con- sidering the see which has condemned me, sus- pect that perhaps I really am a heretic, being incapable themselves of distinguishing accuracy of doctrine.'* * John, Abbot of Constantinople, appeals from the decision of the Patriarch of that city to Pope St. Gregory I., who reverses the sentence of the Patri- arch. In 859, Photius addressed a letter to Pope Nicho- las I., asking the Pontiff to confirm his election to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In consequence of the Pope's conscientious refusal, Photius broke off from the communion of the Catholic Church, and became the author of the Greek schism. Here are a few examples taken at random from 1 Epiat. 113. supiiema(;y of the popes. 137 Church History. We see Prelates most emineut for their sanctity and learning, occupying the high- est position in the Eastern church, and consequently far removed from the local influences of Home, ap- pealing, in every period of the early Church, from the decisions of their own Bishops and their Coun- cils to the supreme arbitration of the Holy See, H this does not constitute superior jurisdiction, I have yet to learn what superior authority means. 2. Christians of every denomination admit the orthodoxy of the Fathers of the first five centuries of the Church. No one has ever called in question the faith of such men as Basil, Chrysostom, Cyprian, Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and Leo. They were the acknowledged guardians of pure doctrine, and the living representatives " of the faith once delivered to the saints." They were to the Church in their generation what Peter and Paul and James were to the Church in its infancy. We instinctively consult them about the faith of those times ; for, to whom shall we go for the words of eternal life, if not to them ? Now, the Fathers of the Church, with one voice, pay homage to the Bishops of Rome as their supe- riors. The limited space I have allowed myself in this little volume, will not permit me to give auy extracts from their writings. The reader who may be unacquainted with the original language of the Fathers, or who has not their writings at hand, ii referred to a work entitled, " Faith of Catholics/* 12* 138 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. where he will find, in an English translation, copious extracts from their writings, vindicating the Primacy of the Popes. 3. Ecumenical Councils afford another eloqueni vindication of Papal supremacy. An EcumeuicaJ or General Council is an assemblage of Prelates rejv resenting the whole Catholic Church. A Genera] Council is to the Church what the Executive and fjegislative bodies in Washington are to the United Btates. Up to the present time, nineteen Ecumenical Councils have been convened, including the Council of the Vatican. The last eleven were held in the West, and the first eight in the East. I will pass over the Western Councils, as no one denies that they were subject to the authority of the Pope. I shall briefly speak of the important influence which the Holy See exercised in the eight Oriental Councils. The first General Council was held in Nicsea, iu 325; the second, in Constantinople, in 381; the third, in Ephesus, in 431 ; the fourth, in Chalcedon, iu 451 ; the fifth, in Constantinople, in 553 ; the sixth, in the same city, in 680; the seventh, in Nicsea, in 787 ; and the eighth, in Constantinople, in 869. The Bishops of Rome convoked these assemblages, or at least consented to their convocation ; they pre- sided by their legates over all of them, except the first and second coundls of Constantinople, and they SUPREMACY OP THE POPES. 139 confirmed all these eight by their authDrity. Before becoming a law, the acts of the Councils required the Pope's signature, just as our Congressional pro- ceedings require the President's signature before they acquire the force of law. Is not this a striking illustration of the Primacy ? The Pope convenes, rules, and sanctions the Synods, not by courtesy, but by right. A dignitary who calls an assembly together, who presides over its de- liberations, whose signature is essential for confirming its acts, has surely a higher authority than the other members. 4. I shall refer to one more historical point in sup- port of the Pope's jurisdiction over the whole Church. It is a most remarkable fact that every nation hitherto converted from Paganism to Christianity, since the days of the Apostles, Jias received the light of faith from missionaries who were either especially commis- vioned by the See of Rome, or sent by Bishops in open eommunion with that See, This historical fact admits of no exception. Let me particularize : Ireland's Apostle is St. Patrick. Who commis- iioned him ? Pope St. Celestine, in the fifth century. St. Palladius is the Apostle of Scotland. Who lent him ? The same PontifiT, Celestine. The Anglo-Saxons received the faith from St Augustine, a Benedictine monk, as ali historians Catholic and non-Catholic testify. Who empowered Augustine to preach ? Pope Gregory I., at the end of the sixth century. 140 THE FAITH OF OTJE FATHEUS. SU Reraigius established the faith in France, at the close of the fiftli century. He was in active com- munion with the See of Peter. Flanders received the Gospel in the seventh cen- tury from St. Eligius, who acknowledged the su» premacy of the reigning Pope. ^ Germany and Bavaria venerate as their Apostlo St. Boniface, who is popularly known in his native England by his baptismal name of Winfrid. He was commissioned by Pope Gregory H., in the be- ginning of the eighth century, and was consecrated Bishop by the same Pontiff. In the ninth century, two saintly brothers, Cyri) and Methodius, evangelized Russia, Sclavonia, and Moravia, and other parts of Northern Europe. They recognized the supreme authority of Pope Nicholas I., and of his successors, Adrian II. and John VIII. In the eleventh century, Norway was converted by missionaries introduced from England by the Norwegian King St. Clave.' The conversion of Sweden was consummated in the same century by the British Apostles Saints Ulfrid and Eskill. Both of these nations immedi- ately after their conversion commenced to pay Rome- scot, or a small annual tribute to the Holy See, — a clear evidence that they were in communion with the Chair of Peter.* All the other nations c. Europe, having been con- verted before the Reformation, received likewise the ^fc^ee Butler' 3 liivea of the Saints,— St. Olave, July 29tb. SUPREMACY OF THE POPES. 141 liglit of faith from Roman Catholic Missionaries, because Europe then recognized only one Christian Chief. Passing from Europe to Asia and America, it ia undeniable that St. Francis Xavier and the other Evangelists who, in the sixteenth century, extended the kingdom of Jesus Christ through India and Japan, were in communion with the Holy See ; and that those Apostles who, in the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries, converted the aboriginal tribes of South America and Mexico, received their commis- sion from the Chair of Peter. But you will say: The people of the United States profess to be a Christian nation. Do you also claim them ? Most certainly ; for, even those American Christians who are unhappily severed from the Catholic Church, are primarily indebted for their knowledge of the Gospel to missionaries in communion with the Holy See. The white races of North America are descended from England, Ireland, Scotland, and the nations of Continental Europe. Those European nations having been converted by missionaries in subjection to the Holy See, it follows that from whatever part of Europe you are descended, whatever may be your particular creed, you are indebted to the Church of Rome for your knowledge of Christianity. Do not these facts demonstrate the Primacy of the Pope? The Apostles of Europe and of other coun- tries received their authority fiom Rome. Is not 142 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. the power that sends an ambassador greater than he who is sent ? Thus we see that the name of the Pope is indelibly marked on every page of ecclesiastical history. Tho sovereign Pontiff ever stands before us as com- mander-in-chief in the grand army of the Church. Do the Bishops of the East feel themselves aggrieved at home by their Patriarchs or civil Rulers ? they look for redress to Rome, as to the star of their hope. Are the Fathers and Doctors of the early Church consulted? with one voice they all pay homage to the Bishop of Rome as their spiritual Prince. Is an Ecumenical Council to be convened in the Ease or West? the Pope is its leading spirit. Are new na- tions to be converted to the faith ? there is the Holy Father clothing the missionaries with authority, and giving his blessing to the work. Are new errors to be condemned in any part of the globe? all eyes turn towards the oracle of Rome to await his anathema, and his solemn judgment reverberates throughout the length and breadth of the Christian world. You might as well shut out the light of day and the air of heaven from your daily walk, as exclude the Pope from his legitimate sphere in the hierarchy of the Church. The history of the United States with the Presidents left out, would be more intelligi- ble than the history of the Church to the exclusion of the Vicar of Christ. How, I ask, could such great authority endure so long, if it were a usurpation? SUPREMACY OF THE POPES, 148 But jou will tell me: "The supremacy of the Pope has been disputed in many ages/* So has the authority of God been called in question; nay, His very existence has been denie'd ; for, *' the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."^ Does this denial destroy the existence and dominion of God? Has not parental authority been impugned from the beginning? But by whom? By unruly children. Was David no longer king, because Absalom said so? It is thus also with the Popes. Their parental sway has been opposed only by their undutitul sons who grew impatient of the Gospel yoke. Photius, the leader of the Greek schism, was an obedient son of the Pope until Nicholas refused to recognize his usurped authority. Henry VHI. was a stout de- fender of the Pope's supremacy until Clement VH. refused to legalize his adultery. Luther professed a most abject submission to the Pope till Leo X. condemned him. You cannot, my dear reader, be a loyal citizen of the United States, while you deny the constitu- tional a ithority of the President. You have seen that the Bishop of Rome is appointed not by man, but ])y Jesus Christ, President of the Christian commonwealth. You cannot, therefore, be a true citizen of the Republic of the Church so hm^ as you spurn the legitimate supremacy of its divinely- constituted Chief. "He that is not with Me, is against Me,'* says our Lord, " and he that gathereth iPs. m. 144 THF Fi.ITH OF OUK FATHERS. not with Me, scattereth." How can you be with Christ, if you are against His Vicar? The great evil of our times is the unhappy divi- sion existing among the professors of Christianity, and from thousands of hearts a yearning cry goea forth for unity of faith and union of churches. It was, no doubt, with this laudable view, that the Evangelical Alliance assembled in^New York in the fall of 1873. The representatives of the different religious communions hoped to effect a reunion. But they signally and lamentably failed. Indeed, the only result which followed from the alliance, was the creation of a new sect under the auspices of Dr. Cummins. That reverend gentle- man, with the characteristic modesty of all religious Reformers, was determined to have a hand in im- proving the work of Jesus Christ; and, like the other Reformers, he said, witk those who built the tower of Babel: "Let us make our name famous before " ^ our dust is scattered to the wind. The Alliance failed, because its members had no common platform to stand on. There was no voice in that assembly that could say with authority : " Thus saith the Lord." I heartily join in this prayer for Christian unity, and gladly would surrender my life for such a con- summation. But I tell you that Jesus Christ has pointed out the only means by which this unity can be maintained, viz.* the recognition of Peter and his successors as the head of the Church. Build upon 1 Gen. li. 4, INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. 145 this foundation, and you will not erect a tower of Babel, nor build upon sand. If all Christian secta w^re united with the centre of Jkinity, then the scat- tered hosts of Christendom would form an army which atheism and infidelity could not long with- stand. Then indeed all could exclaim with Balaam ; " How beautiful are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, and thy tents, O Israel ! " * Let us pray that the day may be hastened when religious dissensions will cease, when all Christiana will advance with united front, under one common leader, to plant the cross in every region and win new kingdoms to Jesus Christ. CHAPTER XL INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. AS the doctrine of Papal Infallibility is strangely misapprehended by our separated brethren, be- cause it is grievously misrepresented by those who profess to be enlightened ministers of the Gospel, I shall begin by stating what Infallibility does not me^n, and shall then explain what it really is. 1st. The infallibility of the Popes does not signify tliat they are inspired. The Apostles were endowed with the gift of inspiration, and we accept their writings as the repealed word of God. ' Numb. xiiv. 5. 18 K 146 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. No Catholic, on the contrary, claims that the Pope is inspired, or endowed with divine revelation properly so called. "For, the Holy Spirit was not promised to the iffuccessors of Peter in order that they might spread abroad new doctrine which He reveals, but that, under His assistance, they might guard inviolably, and with fidelity explain, the revelation or deposit of faith handed down by the Apostles." * 2d. Infallibility does not mean that the Pope is impeccable, or specially exempt from liability to sin. The Popes have been indeed, with few excep- tions, men of virtuous lives. Many of them are honored as martyrs. Seventy-nine, out of the two hundred and fifty-nine that sat on the chair of Peter, are invoked upon our altars, as saints emi- nent for their holiness. The avowed enemies of the Church charge only five or six Popes with immorality. Thus, even ad- mitting the truth of the accusations brought against them, we have forty-three virtuous to one bad Pope, while there was a Judas Iscariot among the twelve Apostles. But although a vast majority of the sovereign Pontifis should have been so unfortunate as to lead vicious lives, this circumstance would not of itself impair the validity of their prerogative's, which are given not for the preservation of their morals, but for the guidance of their judgment ; for, there waa ^ OoDC Vftt. Const. Pastor JBternus, o 4. INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. 147 a Balaam among the Prophets, and a Caiphas among the High Priests of the Old Law. The present illustrious Pontiff is a man of no ordinary sanctity. He has already filled the high- est position in the Church for upwards of thirty years, *' a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men," and no man can point out a stain upon his moral character. And yet Pius IX., like his predecessors, confesses his sins every week. Each morning, at the begin- ning of Mass, he says at the foot of the altar, " I confess to Almighty God, and to His Saints, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed/' And at the Offertory of the Mass he says : "Receive, O Holy Father, almighty, everlasting God, this oblation which I, Thy unworthy ser- vant, offer for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences." With these facts before their eyes, I cannot com- prehend how ministers of the Gospel betray so much ignorance, or are guilty of so much malice, as to proclaim from their pulpits, which ought to be con- secrated to truth, that Infallibility means exemp- tion from sin. I do not see how they can benefit their cause by such flagrant perversions of truth. 3d. Bear in mind, also, that this divine assistance is guaranteed to the Pope, not in his capacity as a private teacher, but only in his official capacity, when he judges of faith and morals as Head of the Church. If a Pope, for instance, like Benedict 148 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. XrV., were to write a treatise on Canon Law, hia book would be as much open to criticism as that of any doctor of the Church. 4fch. Finally, the inerrability of the Popes, being restricted to questions of faith and morals, does not extend to the natural sciences, such as astronomy or geology, unless where error is presented under the false name of science, and arrays itself against re- vealed truth,^ It does not, therefore, concern itself about the nature and motions of the planets. Nor does it regard purely political questions, such as the form of government a nation ought to adopt, or what candidates we ought to vote for. Consequently, the Pope's Infallibility does not in any way trespass on the civil authority. For, the Pope's jurisdiction belongs to spiritual matters; while the duty of the state is to provide for the tem- poral welfare of its subjects. What, then, is the real doctrine of Infallibility ? It simply means that the Pope, as successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, by virtue of the prom- ises of Jesus Christ, is preserved from error of judg- ment when he promulgates to the Church a decision on faith or morals. The Pope, therefore, be it known, is not the maker of the divine law ; he is only its expounder. He is not the author of revelation, but only its interpreter. Ail revelation came from God alone through Hi? inspired ministers, and was complete in the begin- * Cone, Vat Const. Dei FUim, cap. 4 ; CoIom. IL ^ INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. 149 ning of the Church. The Holy Father has no more authority than you or I to break one iota or tittle of the Scripture, and he is equally wilh us the ser- vant of the divine law. In a word, the Sovereign Pontiff is to the Church, though in a more eminent degree, what the Chief Justice is to the United States. We have an instru- ment called the Constitution of the United States, which is the charter of our civil rights and liberties. If a controversy arise between two States regarding a constitutional clause, the question is referred, in the last resort, to the Supreme Court at Washington. The Chief Justice, with his associate judges, examines into the case, and then pronounces judgment upon it ; and this decision is final, irrevocable, and prac- tically infallible. If there were no such court to settle constitutional questions, the Constitution itself would soon become a dead letter. Every litigant would conscientiously decide the dispute in his own favor, and anarchy and separation and civil war would soon follow. But by means of this Supreme Court, disputes are ended, and the political union of the States is perpetuated. There would have been no civil war in 1861, had our domestic quarrel been submitted to the legiti- mate action of our highest court of judicature, instead of being left to the arbitrament of the Bword. The revealed word of God is the constitution of the Church. This is the Magna Charia of our 13* 160 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Christian liberties. The Pope is the official guar dian of our religious constitution, as the Chief Jus« tice is the guardian of our civil constitution. When a dispute arises in the Church regarding the sense of Scripture, the subject is referred to the Pope for final adjudication. The sovereign Pontijff, before deciding the case, gathers around him his venerable colleagues, the Cardinals of the Church ; or he calls a council of his associate judges of faith, the Bishops of Christendom ; or he has re- course to other lights which the Holy Ghost may suggest to him. Then, after mature and prayerful deliberation, he pronounces judgment, and his sen- tence is final, irrevocable, and infallible. If the Catholic Church were not fortified by this divinely-established supreme tribunal, she would be broken up like the sects around her into a thousand fragments, and religious anarchy would soon follow. But by means of this infallible court, her marvel- lous unity is preserved throughout the world. This doctrine is the keystone in the arch of Catholic faith, and, far from arousing opposition, it ought to command the unqualified admiration of every re- flecting mind. These explanations being premised, let us now briefly consider the grounds of the doctrine itself. The following passages of the Gospel, spoken at ilifferent times, were addressed exclusively to Peter : '^Thou art Peter; and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail INFALLIBILITY OP THE POPES. 151 against it."^ " I, the supreme Architect of the uni- verse," says our Saviour, " will establish a Church which is to last till the end of time. I will lay the foundation of this Church so deep and strong on the rock of truth that the winds and storms of error shall never prevail against it. Thou, O Peter, shalt be the foundation of this Church. It shall never fall, because thou shalt never be shaken ; and thou shalt never be shaken, because thou shalt rest on Me, the rock of truth." The Church, of which Peter is the foundation, is declared to be impreg- nable, that is, proof against error. How can you suppose an immovable edifice built on a totter- ing foundation? for it is not the building that sustains the foundation, but it is the foundation which supports the building. " And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."^ Thou shalt hold the keys of truth, with which to open to the faithful the treasures of heavenly science. "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bciind also in heaven."' The judgment which thou shalt pronounce on earth I will ratify in heaven. Surely the God of truth ia incapable of sanctioning an untruthful judgment. "Behold, Satan hath desired to have you (mj Apostles), that he may sift you as wheat. But 1 have prayed for thee (Peter) that thy faith fail not; and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren." * It is worthy of note that Jesus prays * Matt. ivi. * Ibid. » Ibid. * Luke xiii. 31 32. 152 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS only for Peter. And why for Peter in particular . Because on his shoulders was to rest the burden of the Church. Our Lord prays for two things: 1. That the faith of Peter and of his successors might not fail ; 2. That Peter would confirm his brethren in the faith, " in order," as St. Leo says, " that the Btrength given by Christ to Peter should descend on the Apostles." We know that the prayer of Jesus is always heard. Therefore the faith of Peter will always be firm. He was destined to be the oracle which all were to consult. Hence we always find him the prominent figure among the Apostles ; the first to speak; the first to act on every occasion. He was to be the guiding star that was to lead the rest of the faithful in the path of truth. He was to be in the hierarchy of the Church what the sun is in the planetary system — the centre around which all would revolve. And is it not a beautiful spectacle, in harmony with our ideas of God's provi- dence, to behold in His Church a counterpart of the starry system above us ? There, every planet moves in obedience to a uniform law, all of them regulated by one great luminary. So, in the spiritual order, we see every member of the Church governed by one law, controlled by one voice, and that voice sub- ject to God. "Feed My lambs; feed My sheep." ^ Peter ia appointed by our Lord the universal shepherd of iJohnxxi. 16, 17. INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. 153 His flock — of the sheep and of the lambs, that is, shepherd of the Bishops and Priests as well as of the people. The Bishops are shepherds, in reference to their flocks ; they are sheep, in refer- ence to the Pope, who is the shepherd of shepherds. The Pope, as shepherd, must feed the flock not with the poison of error, but with the healthy food of sound doctrine; for he is not a shepherd, but a hireling, who administers pernicious food to his flock. Among the General Councils of the Church al- ready held, I shall mention only three, as the acts of these Councils are amply sufficient to vindicate the unerring character of the See of Rome and the Roman Pontiffs. I wish also to call your attention to three facts: 1. That none of these Councils were held in Rome; 2. That one of them a^^sembled in the East, viz., in Constantinople ; and, 3. That in every one of them the Oriental and the Western Bishops met for the purpose of reunion. The Eighth General Council, held in Constanti- nople in 869, contains the following solemn profes- sion of faith: "Salvation primarily depends upon guarding the rule of right faith. And since we cannot pass over the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who says, ' Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church,' what was said is confirmed by facts, because in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been preserved immaculate, and holy doctrine haa been proclaimed. Not wishing, 154 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. then, to be separated from this faith and doctrine, we hope to merit to be in the one communion which the Apostolic See preaches, in which See is the fulJ and true solidity of the Christian religion." A This Council clearly declares that immaculate dod^^ trine has always been preserved and prea^ched in the Roman See. But how could this be said of her, if the Roman See ever fell into error ? and how could that See be preserved from error, if the Roman Pon- tiffs presiding over it ever erred in faith ? In the Second General Council of Lyons, (1274,) the Greek Bishops made the following profession of faith : " The holy Roman Church possesses full primacy and principality over the universal Cath- olic Church, which primacy, with the plenitude of power, she truly and humbly acknowledges to have received from our Lord Himself, in the person of Blessed Peter, Prince or Head of the Apostles, whose successor the Roman Pontiff is ; and as the Roman See, above all others, is bound to defend the truth of faith, so, also, if any questions on faith arise, they ought to he defined by her judgment^* Here the Council of Lyons avows that the Roman Pontiffs have the power to determine definitely, and without appeal, any questions of faith which may arise in the Church ; in other words, the Council acknowledges them to be the supreme and infallible aibiters of faith. " We define," says the Council of Florence, (1439,^ at which also were present the Bishops of the Greek INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. 155 and the Latin Church, " we define that the Koman Pontiff is the successor of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and the true Vicar of Christ, the Head of the whole Church, the Father and Doctor of all Christians ; and we declare that to him, in the person of Blessed Peter, was given, by Jesus Christ our Saviour, full power to feed, rule, and govern the universal Church." The Pope is here called the true Vicar or repre- sentative of Christ in this lower kingdom of His Church militant, that is, the Pope is the organ of our Saviour, and speaks His sentiments in faith and morals. But if the Pope erred in faith and morals, he would no longer be Christ^s Vicar and true repre- sentative. Our minister in England, for instance, would not truly represent our Government, if he was not the organ of its sentiments. The Roman Pontiff Lb called the Head of the whole Church, that is, the visible Head. Now the Church, which is the body of Qirist, is infallible. It is, as St. Paul says, " without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." But how can you suppose an infallible body with a fallible head ? How can an erring head conduct a body in the un- erring ways of truth and justice? He is declared by ihe same Council to be the Father and Doctor of all Christians. How can you expect an unerring family under an erring Father? The Pope is called the universal teacher or doctor. Teacher of what ? Of truth, not of error. Error is to the minil what poison is to the body. You do not 156 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. call poison, food ; neither can you call error, dc trine. The Pope, as universal teacher, must alwa^ give to the faithfu 1, not the poisonous food of errq but the sound aliment of pure doctrine. In fine, the Pope is also styled the Chief Pilot of the Church. It was not without a mysterious signifi- cance, that our Lord went into Peter's bark instead of that of any of the other Apostles. This bark, oui Lord has pledged Himself, shall never sink, nor depart from her true course. How can you imagine a storm-proof, never-varying bark under the charge ofa fallible Pilot? The Council of the Vatican in promulgating, in 1870, the Pope's Infallibility, did not create a new doctrine, but confirmed an old one. In proclaim- ing this dogma, the Church enforces as a law a princi- ple which has always existed as a matter of fact. I may illustrate this point by referring again to our Supreme Court. When the Chief Justice decides a constitutional question, his decision, though pre- sented in a new shape, cannot be called a new doc- trine, because it is based on the letter and spirit of the Constitution. In like manner, when the Church issues a new dogma of faith, that decree is nothing more than a new form of expressing an old doctrine, because the decision must be drawn from the revealed Word of God. The course pursued by the Church regarding the Infallibility of the Pope, was practised by her in INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPES. 157 reference to the divinity of Jesus Christ. Our Saviour was acknowledged to be God from the beginning of the Church. Yet His divinity was not formally defined till the Council of Nicsea in the fourth century ; and it would not have been defined even then, if it had not been denied by Arius. And who will have the presumption to say that the belief in the divinity of our Lord had its origin in the fourth century ? The following has always been the practice pre- vailing in the Church of God from the beginning of her history. Whenever Bishops or National Coun- cils promulgated doctrines or condemned errors, they always transmitted their decrees to Rome foi confirmation or rejection. What Rome approved, the universal Church approved; what Rome con- demned, the Church condemned. Thus, in the third century, Pope St. Stephen reverses the decision of St. Cyprian of Carthage, and of a Council of African Bishops, regarding a question of baptism. Pope St. Innocent I., in the fifth century, con- demns the Pelagian heresy, in reference to which St, Augustine wrote this memorable sentence: "The acts of two Councils were sent to the Apostolic See, whence an answer was returned ; the question is ended. Would to God that the error had also ceased." In the fourteenth century, Gregory XL condemnjBi the heresy of Wycliffe. 14 158 THE PAITH OF OUR FATHERS. I Pope Iieo X., in the sixteentb, anathematizes^ Luther. Innocent X., in the seventeenth, at the solicitation of Ihe French Episcopate, condemns the subtle errors of the Jansenists; and in the nineteenth century, Pius IX. promulgates the doctrine of the Immacu- late Conception. Here we find the Popes in various ages condemn- ing heresies and proclaiming doctrines of faith ; and they could not in a stronger manner assert their infallibility than by defining doctrines of faith and condemning errors. We also behold the Church of Christendom ever saying Amen to the decisions of the Bishops of Rome. Hence, it is evident that in every age the Church recognized the Popes as infal- lible teachers. Every independent government must have a su- preme tribunal, regularly sitting to interpret its laws, and to decide cases of controversy likely to arise. Thus we have in Washington the Supreme Court of the United States. Now the Catholic Church is a complete and inde- pendent organization, as complete in its spiritual sphere as the United States Government is in the temporal order. The Church has its own laws, its owu autonomy, and government. The Church, therefore, like civil powers, must have a permanent and stationary supreme tribunal to interpret its laws, and to determine cases of re- ligious controversy. INFALLIBILITY OP THE P0PE8. 159 What constitutes this permanent supreme court of the Church ? Does it consist of the Bishops as- sembled in General Council? No; because this is not an ordinary but an extraordinary tribunal, which meets, on an average, only once in a hun- dred years. Is it composed of the Bishops scattered throughout the world ? By no means ; because it would be im- practicable to consult all the Bishops of Christendom upon every issue that might arise in the Church. The poison of error would easily spread through the body of the Church before a decision could be ren- dered by the Prelates dispersed throughout the globe. The Pope, then, as Head of the Catholic Church, con- stitutes, with just reason, this supreme tribunal. And as the office of the Church is to guide men into all truth, and to preserve them from all error, it follows that he who is appointed to watch over the constitution of the Church must be infallible, or exempt from error in his official capacity as judge of feith and morals. The prerogatives of the Pope must be commensurate with the nature of the constitution which he has to uphold. The constitution is divine, and must have a divinely-protected interpreter. But you will tell me that infallibility is too great a prerogative to be conferred on man. I answer : has not God, in former times, clothed his Apostl(;s with powers fai more exalted ? They were endowed with the gift of inspiration ; they were the mouth- piece communicating God's revelation, of which the 160 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. I Popes are merely the custodians. If Qod couW make man the organ of His revealed Word, is it impossible for Him to make man its infallible guar- dian and interpreter? For, surely, greater is the Apostle who gives us the inspired Word than th^ Pope who preserves it from error. fl If, indeed, our Saviour had visibly remained among us, no interpreter would be needed, since He would explain His Gospel to us ; but as he withdrew His visible presence from us, it was eminently reasonable that He should designate some one to expound for us the meaning of His Word. A Protestant Bishop, in the course of a sermon against Papal Infallibility, recently used the follow- ing language : " For my part, I have an infallible Bible, and this is the only infallibility that I re- quire." This assertion, though plausible at first sight, cannot for a moment stand the test of sound criticism. Let us see, sir, whether an infallible Bible is suf- ficient for you. Either you are infallibly certain that your interpretation of the Bible is correct, or you are not. If you are infallibly certain, then you assert for yourself, and of course for every reader of the Scrip- ture, a personal infallibility which you deny to the Pope, and which we claim only for him. You make every man his own Pope. If you are not infallibly certain that you under- stand the tiiia meaning of the whole Bible, — and INFALLIBILITY OP THE POPES. 161 this is a privilege you do not claim, — then, 1 ask, of what use to you is the objective Infallibility of the Bible, without an infallible interpreter ? If God, as you assert, has left no infallible inter preter of His Word, do you not virtually accuse Ilira of acting unreasonably? for would it not be most unreasonable in Him to have revealed His truth to man without leaving him a means of ascertaining its precise import ? Do you not reduce God's word to a bundle of con* tradictions, like the leaves of the Sybil, which gave forth answers suited to the wishes of every inquirer Of the hundred and more Christian sects no^ existing in this country, does not each take the Bible as its standard of authority, and does not each member draw from it a meaning different from that of his neighbor ? While in the mind of God the Scriptures can have but one meaning. And i§ not this variety of interpretations the bitter fruit of your principle : " An infallible Bible is enough for me ? " and does it not proclaim the absolute necessity of some authorized and unerring interpreter ? You tell me to drink of the water of life ; but of what use is this water to my parched lips, since you acknowl- edge that it may be poisoned in passing through the medium of your interpretation ? How satisfactory, on the contrary, and how rea- sonable, is the Catholic teaching on this subject ? According to her system, Christ says to every Christian : Here, my child, is the Word of God ; and 162 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. v^dth it I leave you an infallible interpreter, who will expound for you its hidden meaning, and will make clear all its difficulties. Here are the waters of eternal life, but I have created a channel that will communicate these waters to you in all their sweetness, without any sediment of error. Here is the written Constitution of My Church. But I have appointed over it a supreme Tribunal, in the person of one " to whom I have given the keys of the kingdom of heaven," who will preserve that Constitution inviolate, and will not permit it to be torn into shreds by the conflicting opinions of men. And thus my children will be one, a» I and the Father are one. CHAPTER XII. TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES — HOW THEY ACQUIRED TEMPORAL POWER — VALIDITY AND JUSTICE OF THEIR TITLE — WHAT THE POPES HA.VE DONE FOR ROME. I. HOW THE POPES ACQUIRED TEMPORAL POWER. J 7^ OR the clearer understanding of the origin and . gradual growth of the Temporal Power of the Popes, we may divide the history of the Church into three groat epochs. TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES. l65 The first embraces the period which elapsed from the establishment of the Church to the days of Con- Btantine the Great, in the fourth century ; the second, from Constantino to Charlemagne, who was cro^Mled emperor in the year 800; the third, from Charle- magne to the present time. When St. Peter, the first Pope in the long, un- broken line of Sovereign Pontiffs, entered Italy and Rome, he did not possess a foot of ground which he could call his own. He could say with his divine Master : " The foxes have holes and the birds of the ftir nests ; but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay His head." ^ The Apostle died as he had lived, a poor man, having nothing at his death save the affections of a grateful people. But although the Prince of the Apostles owned nothing that he could call his personal property, he received from the faithful large donations to be dis- tributed among the needy. For, in the Acts of the A^postles, we are told that " neither was any one among Ihem (the faithful) needy; for as many as were i)wners of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things which they sold and laid them before the feet of the Apostles, and distribu- tion was made to every one according as he had need." ' Such was the filial attachment of the early Christians towards the Pontiffs of the Church ; such was the confidence reposed in their personal integ* » Matt, viii 20. « Acts iv. 34, 36. 164 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. rity, and in their discretion in dispensing the charity of the faithful. During the first three hundred years, the Pastors of the Church were generally incapable of holding real estate in Rome ; for, Christianity was yet a pro- scribed religion, and the faithful were exposed to the most violent and unrelenting persecutions that have ever darkened the annals of history. The Christians of Rome worshipped for the most part in the catacombs. These catacombs are sub- terranean chambers and passages under the city of Rome. They extend for miles in different directions, and are visited to this day by thousands of strangers* Here the primitive Christians prayed together ; here they encouraged one another to martyrdom; here they died and were buried. So that these caverns served at the same time as temples of worship for the living, and as tombs for the dead. At last, Constaiitine the Great brought peace to the Church. The long night of Pagan persecution was succeeded by the bright dawn of religious liberty ; and as our Blessed Saviour rose triumph- ant from the grave, after having lain there for three days, so did our early brethren in the faith emerge from the tombs of the catacombs, after having been buried, as it were, in the bowels of the earth for three centuries. Constantiue gave to the Roman Church munifi* cent donations of money and real estate, which were augmented by additional grants contributed by TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES. 16f subsequent Emperors. Hence the patrimony of the Roman Pontiffs soon became very considerable. And Voltaire himself tells us that the wealth which the Popes acquired was spent not in satisfying their own avarice and ambition, but in the most laudable works of charity and religion. They expended their patrimony, he says, in sending Missionaries to evan- gelize Pagan Europe, in giving hospitality to exiled Bishops at Rome, and in feeding the poor. And I may here add that succeeding Popes have gener- ously imitated the munificence of the early Pontifis. An event occurred in the reign of Constantin€ which paved the way for the partial jurisdiction which the Roman Pontiffs commenced to enjoy ovel Rome, and which they continued to exercise, till they obtained full sovereignty in the days of King Pepin of France. In the year 327, the Emperor Constantino trans' ferred the seat of empire from Rome to Constantir nople, the present capital of Turkey. The city waa named after Constantino, who founded it. A subso" quent Emperor appointed a Governor or Exarch to rule Italy, who resided in the city of Ravenna. This new system, as is manifest, did not work well. The Emperor of Constantinople referred all matters to his deputy in Ravenna, and the deputy was more €,nxious to conciliate the Emperor than to satisiy the people of Rome. Italy and Rome were then in a political condition analog :)us to that in which the Irish have been placed for several centuries 166 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. past. Ireland is under the immediate jurisdiction of a Lieutenant-Governor, who is responsible only to the home government, and who is never accused, among his other weaknesses, of having an excessive fondness for Ireland. Abandoned to itself, Rome became a tempting prey to those numerous hordes of barbarians from the Kortb that then devastated Italy. The city was suc- cessively attacked by the Goths under Alaric, and by the Vandals under Genseric, and was threatened by the Huns under Attila. Unable to obtain assistance from the Emperor in the East, or the Governor at Ravenna, the citizens of Rome looked up to the Popes as their only Governors and protectors, and their only salvation in the dangers which threatened tliem. The confidence which they reposed in the Pontiffs was not misplaced. The Popes were not only de- voted spiritual Fathers, but firm and valiant civil Governors. When Attila, who was surnamed " the Scourge of God," approached the city with an army of 500,000 men. Pope Leo the Great went out to meet him without any troops at his back, but by his mild eloquence he disarmed the. indomitable chief tain, and induced him to retrace his steps. Thui he saved the city from pillage and the people from destruction. The same Pope Leo also confronted Genseric, the leader of the Vandals ; and although he could not this time protect Rome from the plun- der of the soldiers, he saved the lives of the citizens from slaughter. Such acts as these were naturally TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES. 167 calculated to bind the Koman people more strongly to the Popes, and to alienate them from those who were their nominal rulers. In the early part of the eighth century, Leo Isauricus, one of the successors of Constantino in the imperial throne, not content with his civil authority, endeavored, like Henry VIII., to usurp spiritual jurisdiction, Lwd, like the same English monarch, sought to rob the people of their time-honored sacred traditions. A civil ruler dabbling in religion is as reprehensible as a clergyman dabbling in politics. Both render themselves odious as well as ridiculous. The Emperor commanded all paintings of our Saviour and His saints to be removed from the churches on the assumption that such an exhibition was an act of idolatry. Pope Gregory II. wrote to the Emperor an energetic remonstrance, reminding him that " dogmas of faith are to be interpreted by the Pontiffs of the Church and jiot by emperors," and begging him to spare the sacred paintings. But the Pope's remonstrance and entreaties were in vain. This conduct of the Emperor tended to widen still more the breach between himself and the Roman people. Soon after, an event occurred which abolished forever the authority of the Byzantine Emperors in Italy, and established on a sure and lasting basis the temporal sovereignty of the Popes. In 754, Astolphus, King of the Lombards, invaded Italy, capturing some Italian cities, and threatening to advance on Rome. 168 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Pope Stephen III.,^ who then ruled the Churchj gent an urgent appeal to the Emperor Constantine Ck)pronymus, successor of Leo the Isaurian, implor- ing him to come to the relief of Rome and his Ital- ian provinces. The Emperor manifested his usual apathy and indifference, and received the message with coldness and neglect. In this emergency, Stephen, who sees that no time is to be lost, crosses the Alps in person, approaches Pepin, King of France, and begs that powerful monarch to protect the Italian people, who were utterly abandoned by those that ought to be their defenders. The pious King, after paying his homage to the Pope, sets out for Italy with his army, defeats Ihe invading Lombards, and places the Pope at the head of the conquered provinces. Charlemagne, the successor of Pepin, not only confirms the grant of his father, but increases the temporal domain of the Pope by donating him some additional provinces. This small piece of territory the Eoman Pontiffi continued to govern from that time till 1870, with the exception of brief intervals of foreign usurpation. And certainly, if ever any Prince merited the appel- lation of legitimate sovereign, that title is eminently deserved by the Bishops of Rome. ^ Sometimes called Stephen II., as Stephen, his predecessor, died three days after his election, whose name is omitted in some calendars. TEMPORAL PO-WER 01 THE POPES. 169 II. THE VALIDITY AND JUSTICE OF THEIR TITIiB. There are three titles which render the tenure of a Prince honest and incontestable, viz., long pos- sessioriy legitimate acquisition, and a just use of the original grant confided to him. The Bishop of Rome possessed his temporality by all these titles. 1. The temporal dominion of the Pope is most ancient in point of time. He commenced, as we have seen, to enjoy full sovereignty about the mid- dle of the eighth century. The Pope was, conse- quently, a temporal ruler for upwards of 1,100 years. The Papal dynasty is therefore the oldest in Europe, and probably in the world. The Pope was the temporal ruler of Rome four hundred years before England subjugated Ireland, and seven hun- dred years before the first European pressed his foot on the American continent. 2. His civil authority was established not by the sword of conquest nor the violence of usurpation. He d id not mount the throne upon the ruins of out* raged liberties or violated treaties; but he was called to rule by the unanimous voice of a grateful people. Always the devoted spiritual Father of Rome, he providentially became its civil defender; and tlie temporal power he had possessed already by pop- ular suflPrage, was ratified and sanctioned by the sovereign act of the French monarch. In a word, the ship of* state was threatened with being engulfed 15 170 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHER3. beneath the fierce waves of foreign invasion. The Captain, meantime, folded his arms, and abandoned the ship to her fate ; and in the emergency the Pope was called to the helm, and saved the vessel from shipwreck and the people from destruction. Hence, even the infidel Gibbon was forced to use the follow- ing language in discussing this subject : " Their (the Popes') temporal dominion is now confirmed by the reverence of a thousand years, and their noblest title is the free choice of a people whom they had re- deemed from slavery." 3. What is the use or advantage of the temr poral power? This is well worth considering, a& many persons have erroneous notions on this sub* ject. The object is not to aggrandize or enrich the Popa He ascends the Papal chair generally an old man, when human passion and human ambition, if anj did exist, are on the wane. His personal expenses do not exceed a few dollars a day. He eats alone and very abstemiously. He has no wife or children to enrich with the spoils of oflice, as he is an unmar- ried man. The Popedom is not hereditary, like the sovereignty of England, but elective, like the office of our President, and he is succeeded by a PontiflT to whom he is bound by no family ties. What per- sonal motive, therefore, can he have in desiring tem- poral sovereignty ? I am sure, indeed, that if the Holy Father were to consult his own taste and feel- ings, he would much rather be free from the tram* TEMPOEAL POWER OF THE POPES. 171 mels of civil government. But he has highei interests to subserve. He must vindicate the eter- nal laws of justice, which have been violated in his own person. As the Popes were not actuated by a love of gain in possessing temporal dominion, neither had they any desire to enlarge their territory, small as it had been. The Temporalities of the Pope were not much larger than the State of Maryland, before he was deprived of them by Victoi Emmanuel a few years ago. And this is the little slice of land which Victor Emmanuel wrested from the Holy Father. This ia the vineyard which the modern King Achab wrung from the unoffending Naboth. But the Pontiff an- swers, like Naboth of old : " The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.'' ^ This is the little ewe-lamb which the modern David has snatched from its legitimate owner, Uriah. The royal shepherd of Piedmont had al- ready seized all the other lambs and sheep of his neighbors; but he was not satisfied till he added to his fold the solitary, tender lamb of the Pope. Let him take care, however, that the prophecy denounced by Nathan against David fall not upon himself and his posterity : " Why, therefore, hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do evil in 1 III. Kings III 3. 1 172 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS My sight ? Therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised Me. Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out o: thy own house." ^ While the patrimony of the Pope was large enough to secure his independence, it was too small to provoke the fear and jealousy of foreign powers. The authority of the Roman Pontiffs in the Middle Ages was almost unbounded. Had they wished then, they could easily have increased their territory ; yet they were content with what Provi- dence placed originally in their hands.^ The sole end of the temporal power has been to secure for the Pope independence end freedom in the government of the Church. The Holy Father must be either a Sovereign or a subject. There i« no medium. If a subject, he might become either the pliant creature if God would so permit, of his ^ II. Kings xii. ' I dare say you could have found, a few years since, some persons in the United States who entertained a holy fear lest the Pope should one morning land upon our shores, and take forcible possession of our country. A venerable clergyman once informed me that when he went to pay his respects to President Pierce, who then occupied the White House, his Excellency remarked to him : " I had a visit from a nervous gentleman, who asked me whether I was making any prepa- rations to resist the approach of the Pope. I replied that so far I had taken no steps, but that no doubt I would be pre- pared to meet the enemy when he arrived. The man retired more ccmposed, but not fully satisfied.'' TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES. 17S royal master, like the schismatic Patriarch of Con- Btantiuople, who, as Gibbon observed, was *' a do- mestic slave under the eye of his master, at whose nod he passed from the convent to the throne, and from the throne to the convent." And indeed the Oriental Schismatic Bishops are as subservient now as they were then to their temporal rulers. Or, what is far more probable, the Pope might become a virtual prisoner in his own house, as the present illustrious Pontiff is at this moment. The Pope is the Kepresentative of Christ on earth. His office requires him to be in constant communication with Prelates in every country in the world. Should the kingdom of Italy be em- broiled in a war with any European Power, with Germany, for instance, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the Holy Father and the German Bishops to confer with each other, and religion would suffer from the interruption of intercourse between the Head and the members. The interests of Christianity demand that the Vicar of the Prince of peace should possess one spot of territory which would be held inviolable, so that ell nations and peoples could at all times, in war ?s well as in peace, freely correspond with him. While nothing can be more revolting to our feelings tlian that the spiritual government of the Church should be constantly hampered by the hostile aggres- sions of ambitious rulers, an eventuality alwayg 16* 174 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. likely to occur so long as the Pope remains the sub- ject of any earthly potentate.^ But we are told that the Koman people, by a plebisciturriy or popular vote, expressed their desire to be annexed to the Piedmontese Government. To this I answer, in the first place, that we ought to know what importance to attach to elections held under the shadow of the bayonet And it is well known that the Roman plebisdtum was under- taken by the authority, and guided by the inspira* tion, of the Italian troops. It is equally notori- ous that the numerous stragglers who acccTm- panied the Italian army to Rome, legalized the gigantic fraud of their master, as well as their own petty thefts, by voting in favor of annexation. In the second place, the Roman people, even had ^ Some of the evils that were predicted to follow from th£ occupation of Rome by a foreign power have been too speedily realized. Already several convents and other ecclesiastical institutions have been seized and sold, and their inmates sent adrift. A number of colleges founded and endowed by the piety of foreign Catholics have been confiscated. Public religious processions through the streets of Rome have been prohibited ; and these and other out- rages are perpetrated by a government which solemnly pledged itself to maintain inviolate the sovereign rights of the Holy Father when it took forcible possession of his city in 1870. From the ev«nts that have already transpired, we will not be surprised to see the Pope still more seriously hampered by a monarch who has unscrupulously violated his former ^aranteea 7;emporal power of the popes. 175 they so desired, had no right to transfer, by their suffrage, the Patrimony of St. Peter to Victor Em- manuel. They could not give what did not belong to them. The Papal territory was granted to the Popes in trust, for the use and benefit of the Church, that is, for the use and benefit of the Catholics of Christendom. And therefore the Catholic world, and not merely a handful of Roman subjects, must give its consent before such a transfer can be de- clared legitimate. Rome is to Catholic Christendom what Washington is to the United States. As the citizens of Washington have no power, without the concurrence of the United States, to annex their city to Maryland or Virginia, neither can the citizens of Rome hand over their city to the Kingdom of Piedmont without the acquiescence of the faithful dispersed throughout the world. Therefore we protest against the occupation of Rome by foreign troops as a high-handed act of in- justice, and a gross violation of the Commandment which says : " Thou shalt not steal." We protest against it as a royal outrage, calculated to shock the public sense of honesty, and to weaken the sacred right of public and private property. We protest against it as an unjustifiable violation nf solemn treaties. We protest, in fine, against the spoliation as an impious sacrilege, because it is an unholy seizure of ecclesiastical property, and an attempt, as far as human agencies cau accomplish it, to trammel and emharrascthe free action of the Head of the Church. 176 THE FAITH OF OUB FATHEKS. III. WHAT THE POPES HAVE DONE FOB BOME. Althougli the temporal power of the Po])e ia a subject which concerns the universal Church, thera is no people who have more reason to lament the loss of the Holy Father's Temporalities than the Italians themselves, and particularly the inhabitants of Rome. It is the residence of the Popes in Rome that has contributed to her material and religious gran- deur. The Pontiffs have made her the Centre of Christendom, the Queen of religion, the Mistress of arts and sciences, the Depository of sacred learning By their creative and conservative spirit, thej have saved the illustrious monuments of the past and side by side with these they have raised uj Christian temples which surpass those of Pagan an- tiquity. In looking, to-day, at these old Roman monuments, we know not which to admire more, the genius of those who designed and erected them, oj the fostering care of the Popes who have preserved from destruction the venerable ruins. The residence Df the Popes in Rome has made her what she is truly called, the Eternal city. Let the Popes leave Rome forever, and in five years grass will be growing on its streets. Such was the case at the return of the Pope in 1418 from Avignon, which had been the seat of the Sovereign Pontiffs during the preceding century. On the Pope's return, the city of Rome bad a popu- J TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES 177 lation of only 17,000.^ And Avignon, which, dur- ing the residence there of the Popes in the fourteenth century, contained a population of 100,000, has now a population of only 36,407 inhabitants. And such, also, was the case in the beginning of the present century, when Pius VII. was an exile for four yeai-s from Rome, and a prisoner of the first Napoleon, in Grenoble, Savona, and Fontainebleau. Grass then grew on the streets of Rome, and the city lost one- half of its population. Rome has naturally no commercial attractions. It is only the presence of the Pope that keeps up her trade. Let the Popes abandon Rome, and her churches will soon be without worshippers; her artists without employment. Her glorious monu- ments will perish. Science and art and sacred literature will take their flight and perch upon some more favored spot. The hundred thousand strangers that annually flock to Rome from different parts of the world, will shake off* the dust from their feet and seek more congenial cities. Let the Popes withdraw from Rome, and it may become almost as desolate as Jerusalem and Antioch are to-day. Peter preached his first sermons in Jerusalem, but !ie did not select it as his See ; and Jerusalem is to- day a Mahometan city, with its sacred places pro fantd by the foot of the Mussulman. ^ Memoir of Pope Sixtis V., by Baron Hiibner, Vol. II, ch. i. ]V£ ,.78 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Peter occupied for a time the city of Antioch jw his first See. But in the mysterious providence of God, he abandoned Antioch and repaired to Rome. And now Antioch is a deserted village with scarcely a stone left upon a stone, or a single monument standing to commemorate her former greatness. Had the Popes remained in Antioch, the conti- nent of Asia, the greater part of which lies buried in idolatry, would now very probably be, instead of Europe, the centre of Christianity and civilization ; the immortal Dome of St. Peter's would doubtless overshadow the banks of the Orontes instead of the Tiber ; and Antioch, instead of Rome, would be the focus of the arts and sciences and of sacred litera- ture, and would be called to-day the Eternal city. Our present^ beloved Pontiff, Pius IX., I need not inform you, is now treated with indignity in his own city. In his declining years, as well as in the early days of his Pontificate, he is made to drink deep of the chalice of affliction. His name is dear to us all. To many of us it is a name familiar from our youth ; for, thirty-one years have now elapsed since he first assumed the reins of government ; and it is a noteworthy fact that, since the days of Peter, no Pope has ever reigned so long as Pius IX. The Pope in every age, like his divine Master, has his period of persecution and his period of peace, ^ When these lines were written, Pius IX. was the reign- ing Pontifi: He died February 7, 1878. TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES. 179 Like Him, he has his days of sorrow and nis days of joy ; his days of humiliation and death, and his days of exaltation and glory. Like Jesus Christ, he is one day greeted with acclamations as king, and another day crucified by his enemies. But never does the Holy Father exhibit his title as Vicar of Christ more strikingly than in the midst of tribulations ; for if he did not suffer, he would bear no resemblance to his divine Model and Master ; and never does he more worthily deserve the filial homage of his children than when he is heavily laden with the cross. I envy neither the heart nor the head of those men who are now gloating, with fiendish joy, ovei the calamities of the Pope ; who are heaping insults and calumnies on his venerable head, while he is in the hands of his enemies,^ and who are confidently ^ Some time ago, my attention was called to a certain ex- communication or "curse," then widely circulated by the press of North Carolina. The " curse " is attributed to the Holy Father, and is fulm'nated against Victor Emmanuel, In this anathema, cursing and damning are heaped up in wild confusion. When this base forgery appeared, an article ex- posing the falsehood of the production was published. We fear, however, that many read the slanderous charge who did not read its refutation. ^8 to this "curse" against Victor Emmanuel so calumni- ously attributed to the Pope, I state here distinctly and posi- tively thajt its author is not Pius IX., nor any other Roman Pontiff, nor any Catholic Priest or layman. It is to the E^v. Laurence Sterne, Minister of the Established Chuircb 180 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. I predicting the downfall of the Papacy, from thf present situation of the Head of the Church, as if the temporary privation of his dominions involved their loss irrevocably ; or, as if even the perpetual destruction of the temporal power involved the destruction of the spiritual supremacy itself. " The Papacy," they say, " is gone. Its glory is vanished. Its sun is set. It is sunk below the horizon, never to rise again." Ill-boding prophets, will you never profit by the lessons of history ? Have not numbers of Popes before Pius IX. been forcibly ejected from their Sees, and have they not been reinstated in their temporal authority ? What has happened so often before, may and will happen again. For our part, we have every confidence that ere- long the clouds which now overshadow the civil throne of the Pope will be removed by the breath of a right- eous God, and that his temporal power will be re- established on a more permanent basis than ever. But whatever be the fate of the Pope's Temporal- ities, we have no fears for the spiritual throne of the Papacy. The Pontiffs have received their earth- ly dominion from man, and what man gives man may take away. But the spiritual supremacy the Bishops of Kome have from God, and no man can destroy it. That divine charter of their preroga* of England, and to his romance of" Tristram Sha^dy," that the English-speaking world is indebted for this infamous compilation. INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 181 tives, " Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," ^ will ever shine forth as brightly as the sun, and it is as far as the sun above the reach of human aggression. The Holy Father may live and die in the cata- combs, as the early Pontiffs did for the first three centuries. He may be dragged from his See and perish in exile, like the Martins, the Gregories, and the Piuses. He may wander a penniless pilgrim, like Peter himself. Rome itself may sink beneath the Mediterranean; still, the chair of Peter will Stand, and Peter will live in his successors. CHAPTER Xm. THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS. C1HRISTIANS of most denominations are accus- ) tomed to recite the following article contained in the Apostles' Creed: ** I believe in the communion of saints." There are many, I fear, however, who have these words frequently on their lips, without the slightest knowledge of the precious meaning which they convey. The true and obvious sense of the words quoted from the Creed is, that between the children of God, 1 Matt TvL 18. 182 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHEHS. whether reigning in heaven or sojourning on earth, there exists au intercommunion or spiritual com- munication by prayer ; and, consequently, that our friends wlio have entered into their rest are mindful of us in their petitions to God. In the exposition of her Creed, the Catholic Church weighs her words in the scales of the sane- tuary with as much precision as a banker weighs gold. With regard to the Invocation of Saints, the Church simply declares that it is " useful and salu- tary" to ask their prayers. There are expressions addressed to the saints, in some popular books of devotion, which, to critical readers, may seem ex- travagant. But tliey are only the warm language of affection and poetry, and are to be regulated by our standard of faith ; and notice that all the prayers of the Church end with the formula: "Through our Lord Jesus Christ," sufficiently indicating her belief that Christ is the Mediator of salvation. A heart tenderly attached to the saints will give vent to its feelings in the language of hyperbole, just as an en- thusiastic lover will call his future bride his ador- able queen, without any intention of worshipping her as a goddess. This reflection should be borne in mind while reading such passages. I might easily show, by voluminous quotations from ecclesiastical writers of the first ages of the Church, how conformable to the teaching of an- tiquity is the Catholic practice of invoking the inter- cession of the saints. But as you, dear reader, may INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 1&8 not be disposed to attach adequate importance to the writings of the Fathers, I shall confine myself to the testimony of Holy Scripture. You will readily admit that it is a salutary custom to ask the prayers of the blessed in heaven, provided you have no doubt that they can hear your prayers, and that they have the power and the ivill to assist you. Now the Scriptures aiuply demonstrate the knowledge, the influence, and the love of the saints in our regard. 1. It would be a great mistake to suppose that the angels and saints reigning with God see and hear in the same manner that we see and hear on earth ; or that knowledge is communicated to them as it is communicated to us. While we are confined in the prison of the body, we see only with our eyes and hear with our ears ; and hence our faculties of vision and hearing are very limited. Compared with the heavenly inhabitants, we are like a man in a dark- some cell through which a dim ray of light pene- trates. He observes but a few objects, and these very obscurely. But as soon as our soul is freed from the body, soaring heavenward like a bird re- leased from its cage, its vision is at once marvel- ous] y enlarged. It requires neither eyes to see nor ears to hear, but beholds all things in God as in a mirror. "We now," says the Apostle, "see through a glass darkly ; but then face to face. Now, I know in part: but then I shall know even as I am known."' ^ L Cor. xlii. 12. 184 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. That the spirits of the just in heaven are cleaidi conversant with our affairs on earth, is also manifest from the following passages of Holy Writ. The venerable Patriarch Jacob, when on his death-bed, prayed thus for his two grandchildren* *'May the angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless thes€ boys." ^ Here we see a holy Patriarch — one singu- larly favored by Almighty God, and enlightened by many supernatural visions, the father of Jehovah's '^hosen people — asking the angel in heaven to ob- tain a blessing for his grandchildren. And surely we cannot suppose that he would be so ignorant aa to pray to one that could not hear him ? The angel Raphael, after having disclosed him- self to Tobias, said to him : " When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, I offered thy prayer to the Lord."* How could the angel, if he were ignorant of these petitions, have presented to God the prayers of Tobias? To pass from the Old to the New Testament, our Saviour declares that " there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance."' Then the angels are glad whenever you repent of your sins. Now, what is repentance ? It is a change of heart. It is an interior operation of the will. The saints, therefore, are acquainted — we know not how — not only with your actions and words^ but even with your very thoughts. > Oeii. ilviii. 16. * Tobias xii. 12. • Luke xv. 10. nnrocArioN op saints. 186 And when St. Paul says that "we are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men,"^ what does he mean, unless that as our actions are seen by men, even so they are visible to the angels in heaven ? The examples I have quoted refer, it is true, to the angels. But our Lord declares that the saints in heaven shall be like the angelic spirits, by pos- sessing the same knowledge, enjoying the same happiness.^ We read in the Gospel that Dives, while suffer- ing in the place of the reprobates, earnestly besought Abraham to cool his burning thirst. And Abra* ham, though then detained in Limbo, was able to listen and reply to him. Now, if communication could exist between the souls of the just and of the reprobate, how much easier is it to suppose that interchange of thought can exist between the saints in heaven and their brethren on earth ? These few instances are sufficient to convince you that the spirits in heaven hear our prayers. 2. We have also abundant testimony from Scrip- ture to show that the saints assist us by their pray- ers. Almighty God threatened the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha with utter destruction, on account of their crimes and abominations. Abra- ham interposes in their behalf; and in response to his prayer, God consents to spare those cities if only ten just men are found therein. Here the aveng- » I. Cor. iy. 9. * Matt. xxii. SO. 16^ 186 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. \ng hand of God is suspended, and the fire of His wrath withheld, through the efficacy of the prayers of a single man ! ^ We read in the Book of Exodus that when the Amalekites were about to wage war on the children of Israel, Moses, the great servant and Prophet of the Lord, went up on a mountain to pray for the success of his people; and the Scriptures inform us that whenever Moses raised his hands in prayer, the Israelites were victorious, but when he ceased to pray, Amalek conquered. Could the power of inter- cessory prayer be manifested in a more striking manner ?^ The silent prayer of Moses on the moun- tain was more formidable to the Amalekites than the sword of Josue and his armed hosts fighting in the valley.* When the same Hebrew people were banished from their native country, and carried into exile in Babylon, so great was their confidence in the pray- ers of their brethren in Jerusalem, that they sent them the following message, together with a sum of money, that sacrifice might be offered up for them in the holy city : " Pray ye for us to the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord oui God."» When the friends of Job had excited the indig nation of the Almighty, in consequence of theii vain speech, God, instead of directly granting them » Qtm. xyUL » Exod. xvii. ' Baruch i. 38. INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 187 the pardon which they sought, commanded them to invoke the intercession of Job : " Go, ' He says,' to My servant Job, and offer for yourselves a holocaust, and My servant Job will pray for you, and his face will I accept." ^ Nor did they appeal to Job in vain ; for, " the Lord was turned at the penance of Job when he prayed for his friends." ^ In this in- stance, we not only see the value of intercessory prayei , but we find God sanctioning it by His o>vn authority. Bui of all the sacred writers, there is none that reposes greater confidence in the prayers of his brethjen than St. Paul, although no one had a better knowledge than he of the infinite merits of our Savioir's passion, and no one could have more endeared himself to God by his personal labors. In bin Epistles, St. Paul repeatedly asks for himself the prayers of his disciples. If he wishes to be de- livered from the hands of the unbelievers of Judea, and that his ministry may be successful in Jerusa- lem, Jie asks the Romans to obtain those favors for him. If he desires the grace of preaching with profit the Gospel to the Gentiles, he invokes the Id ter cession of the Ephesians. Nay, is it not a common practice among ourselves, and even among our dissenting brethren, to ask the prayers of one another ? When a father is about to leave his house on a long journey, the instinct of » Job xHi. * Ibid. 188 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. piety prompts him to say to his wife and children : " Remember me in your prayers." Now I ask you, if our friends, though sinners, can aid us by their prayers, why cannot our friends, the saints of God, be able to assist us also ? If Abra- ham, and Moses, and Job exercised so much In- fluence with the Almighty while they lived in the flesh, is their power with God diminished now that they reign with him in heaven ? We are moved by the children of Israel sending their pious petitions to their brethren in Jerusalem. They recalled to mind, no doubt, what the Lord said to Solomon after he had completed the temple : " My eyes shall be open, and My ears attentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this place." ^ If the supplicatfons of those that prayed in the earthly Jerusalem were so efiicacious, what will Grod refuse to those who pray to Him face to face in the heavenly Jerusalem ? 3. But you will ask, are the saints in heaven so interested in our welfare as to be mindful of us in their prayers ? Or, are they so much absorbed in the contemplation of God, and in the enjoyment of celestial bliss, as to be altogether regardless of their friends on earth ? Fitr from us the suspicion that the saints reigning with God ever forget us. If they have one desire greater than another, it is to see us one day wearing the crowns which await us in heaven. And if they were capable of experiencing * n. Paralip. vii. 16. TNVOCATION OF SAINTS. 189 sorrow, their grief would spring from the considera- tion that we do not always walk in their footsteps here, so as to make sure our election to eternal glory hereafter. The Hebrew people, like us, believed that the saints after death were occupied in praying for us. We read in the Book of Machabees, that Judaa Machabeus, the night before he engaged in battle with the army of the impious Nicanor, had a super- natural dream, or vision, in which he beheld Onias, the high-priest, and the prophet Jeremiah, both of H^hom had been long since dead. Onias appeared to him with outstretched arms, praying for the people of God ; and pointing towards Jeremiah, Onias said to Judas Machabeus : ** This is a lover of hia brethren, and the people of Israel. This is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremiah the prophet of God." ^ Then Jere- miah, as is related in the sequel of the vision, handed a sword to Judas, with which the prophet predicted that Judas would conquer his enemies. The soldiers, animated by the relation of Judas, fought with in- vincible courage, and overcame the enemy. The Book of Machabees, though not admitted by our dissenting brethren to be inspired, must be at least acknowledged by them a faithful historical record. It is manifest, therefore, from this narrative, that the Hebrew people believed that the saints in heaven pray for their brethren on earth. III. Mac. XV. 14, 190 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. St. Jolin, in his Revelation, describes the saints before the throne of God praying for their earthly brethren : " The four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints." ^ The prophet Zachariah records a prayer that was offered by the angel for the people of God, aud the favorable answer which came from heaven : " How long, O Lord, wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusa- lem, and on the cities of Juda, with which Thou hast been angry? .... And the Lord answered the angel .... good words, comfortable words." * Nor can we be surprised to learn that the angels labor for our salvation, since we are told by St. Peter that " the Devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour ; " for, if hate impels the demons to ruin us, surely love must in- spire the angels to help us in securing the crown of glory. And if the angels are so mindful of us, though of a different nature from ours, how much more interest do the saints manifest in our welfare, who are bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh ? To ask the prayers of our brethren in heaven is not only conformable to Holy Scripture, but is prompted by the instincts of our nature. The Catholic doctrine of the Communion of Saints robs death of its terrors; while the Reformers of the sixteenth century, in denying the Communion of 1 Revel. V 8. * 55ach. i. 12, 13. INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 19l Saints, not only inflicted a deadly wound on the Creed, but also severed the tenderest chords of the human heart. They broke asunder the holy ties that united earth with heaven, and the soul in the flesh with the soul released from the flesh. If my brother leaves me to cross the seas, I believe that he continues to pray for me. And when he crosses the narrow sea of death, and lands on the shores of eternity, why should he not pray for me still? What does death destroy? The body. The soul still lives and moves and has its being. It thinks and wills and remembers and loves. The dross of sin and selfishness and hatred are burned by the salutary fires of contrition, and nothing remains but the pure gold of charity. Oh, far be from us the dreary thought that death cuts ofiT our friends entirely from us ! Far be from us the heartless creed which declares a perpetual divorce between us and the just in heaven! Do not imagine, when you lose a father or mother, a tender sister or brother who died in the peace of Christ, that they are forgetful of you. The love they bore you on earth is purified and intensified in heaven. Or, if your innocent child, regenerated in the waters of baptism, is snatched from you by death, be assured that, though separated from you in body, that child is with you in spirit, and is re- paying you a thousand-fold for the natural life it received from you. Be convinced that the golden link of prayer binds you to that angeiic infant, and 192 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS that it is continually oflTering up its fervent petitions at the throne of God for you, that you both may be reunited in heaven. But I hear men cry out with Pharisaical assur- ance. "You dishonor God, sir, in praying to the saints. You make void the mediatorship of Jesus Christ. You put the creature above the Creator/* How utterly groundless is this objection I We do not dishonor God in praying to the saints. We should indeed dishonor Him, if we consulted the saints mdependently of God. But such is not our practice. The Catholic Church teaches, on the con- trary, that God alone is the Giver of all good gifts ; that He is the Source of all blessings, the Fountain of all goodness. She teaches that whatever happi- ness, or glory, or influence the saints possess, all comes from God. As the moon borrows her light from the sun, so do the blessed borrow their light from Jesus, " the Sun of Justice," the one Mediator (of redemption) of God and men." ^ Hence, when we address the saints, we beg them to pray for us through the merits of Jesus Christ, whilt we ask Jesus to help us through His own merits. But what is the use of praying to the saints, since God can hear us ? If it is vain and useless to pray to the saints because God can hear us, then Jacob was wrong in praying to the angel ; then the friends of Job were wrong in asking him to pray for them, ^ L Tim. li 5. INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 198 tbough God commanded them to invoke Job's inter- cession. Then the Jews exiled in Babylon were wrong in asking their brethren in Jerusalem to pray for them ; then St. Paul was wrong in beseeching his friends to pray for him ; then we are all wrong in praying for each other. You deem it useful anti pious to ask your pastor to pray for you. Is it not, at least, equally useful for me to invoke the prayers of St. Paul, since I am convinced that he can hear me? God forbid that our supplications to our Father in heaven should diminish in proportion as our prayers to the saints are increased; for, after all, we must remember that, while the Church declares it to be necessary for salvation to pray to God, she merely asserts that it is " good and useful to invoke the saints." ^ To ask the prayers of the saints, far from being useless, is most profitable. By invoking their inter- cession, instead of one we have many praying for us. To our own tepid petitions we unite the fervent Bupplications of the blessed; and "the Lord will hear the pray-srs of the just." ' To the petitions of us, poor pilgrims in this vale of tears, are united those of the citizens of heaven. We ask them to pray to their God and to our God ; to their Father and to our Father, that we may one day share theii ^ Council of Trent, Seas. xxv. ' Pro?, xv. 29. 17 N 194 THK FAITH OF OUK FATHERS. delights in that blessed country in company with our common Redeemer, Jesus Christ, with wliom to live is to reign. CHAPTER XIV. IS IT LAWFUL TO HONOR THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AS A saint; TO INVOKE HER AS AN IN- TERCESSOR, AND TO IMITATE HER AS A MODEL? I. IS IT LAWFUL TO HONOR HER? THE sincere adorers and lovers of our Lord Je sus Christ look with reverence on every object with which He was associated, and they conceive an affection for every person that was near and dear to Him on earth. And the closer the intimacy of those persons with our Saviour the holier do they appear in our estimation ; just as those planets partake most of the sun's light and heat which revolve the nearest around him. There is something hallowed to the eye of the Christian in the very clay of Judea, because it was pressed by the footprints of our Blessed Redeemer. With what reverent steps we would enter the cave of Bethlehem, because there was born the Savioui of the world. With what religious demeanor we would tread the streets of Nazareth when we re- membered that there were spent the days of Hia boyhood. What profound religious awe would fill THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 19& our hearts on ascending Mount Calvary, where He paid by His blood the ransom of our souls. But if the lifeless soil claims so much reverence^ how much more veneration would be enkindled in our hearts for the living persons who were the friends and associates of our Saviour on earth? For, we know that He exercised a certain salutary and magnetic influence on those whom He ap- proached. "All the multitude sought to touch Him, for virtue went out from Him and healed all,"^ as happened to the woman who had been troubled with an issue of blood.^ We would seem indeed to draw near to Jesus, if we had the happiness of only conversing with the Samaritan woman, or of eating at the table of Zac- cLeus, or of being entertained by Nicodemus. But if we were admitted into the inner circle of His friends, of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, for instance, the Baptist, or the Apostles, we would be conscious that in their company we were drawing still nearer to Jesus, and imbibing somewhat of that spirit which they must have largely received from their familiar relations with Him. Now, if the land of Judea is looked upon as hal- lowed ground, because Jesus dwelt there; if the Apostles were considered as models of holiness, because they were the chosen companions and pupils of our Lord in His latter years, how peer- 1 Luke vi. 19. « Matt. ix. 20. 196 THE FAITH OF OUK FATHEKS. less must have been the sanctity of Mary, who gave Him birth, whose breast was His pillow, who nursed and clothed Him in infancy, who guidea His early steps, who accompanied Him in His exile to Egypt and back, who abode with Him from in- fancy to boyhood, from boyhood to manhood ; who during all that time listened to the words of wis- dom which fell from His lips, who was the first to embrace Him at His birth, and the last to receive His dying breath on Calvary. This sentiment is so natural to us that we find it bursting forth sponta- neously from the lips of the woman of the Gospel, who, hearing the words of Jesus full of wisdom and sanctity, lifted up her voice and "said to Him: Blessed is the womb that bore Thee and the paps that gave Thee suck." It is in accordance with the economy of divine Providence that, whenever God designs any person o for some important work, He bestows on that per- son the graces and dispositions necessary for faith- fully discharging it. When Moses was called by heaven to be the leader of the Hebrew people, he hesitated to assume the formidable office on the plea of " impediment and slowness of tongue." But Jehovah reassured him by promising to qualify him for the sublime func- tions assigned to him : " I will be in thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak." * 1 Exod. iv. 12. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 197 The Prophet Jeremiah was sanctified from his very birth, because he was destined to be the herald of God's law to the children of Israel : " Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee, and before thou earnest forth out of the womb, T sanctified thee." ^ " Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost," ' that she might be worthy to be the hostess of our Lord during the three months that Mary dwelt under her roof. John the Baptist was " filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb." ^ " He was a burn- ing and a shining light,"* because he was chosen to prepare the way of the Lord. The Apostles received the plenitude of grace; they were endowed with the gift of tongues and other privileges^ before they commenced the work of the ministry. Hence, St. Paul says : " Our sufficiency is from God, who hath made nsfit minis- ters of the New Testament."* Now of all who have participated in the minis- try of the Redemption, there is none who filled any position so exalted, so sacred, as is the incom- municable office of Mother of Jesus ; and there is no one consequently that needed so high a degree of holiness as she did. For, if God thus sanctified His Prophets and » Jer. i. 5. > Luke i. 41. » Ibid. i. 15. * John v. 35. •Acteii «Tr. Cor. iii. 6. 17* 198 TUB FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Apostles, as being destined to be the bearers of the word of life, how much more sanctified must Mary have been, who was to bear the Lord and "Author of life."^ If John was so holy, because he was chosen as the pioneer to prepare the way of the Lord, how much more holy was she who ushered Him into the world. If holiness became John's mother, surely a greater holiness became the mother of John's Master. If God said to His priests of old : " Be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord ; " ^ nay, if the vessels themselves used in the divine service, and churches are set apart by special consecration, we cannot conceive Mary to have been ever profaned by sin who was the chosen vessel of election, even the Mother of God. When we call the Blessed Virgin the Mother of God, we assert our belief in two things : 1st. That her Son, Jesus Christ, is true man, else she were not a mother, 2d. That He is true God, else she were not the Mother of God, In other words, we affirm that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word of God, who in His divine nature is from all eternity begotten of the Father, consubstantial with Him, was in the fulness of time again begotten, ny being born of the Virgin, thus taking to Him- self, from her maternal womb, a human nature of the same substance with hers. But it may be said : the Blessed Virgin is not the * Acts 111. 15 * Isaiah lii 11. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 19$ Mother of the Divinity. She had not, and could not have any part in the generation of the Word of God. For, that generation is eternal ; her mater- nity temporal ; He is her Creator ; she His creature. Style her, if you will, the Mother of the man Jesus, or even of the human nature of the Son of God, but not the Mother of God. I shall answer this objection by putting a question. Did the mother who bore us, have any part in the production of our souls? Was not this nobler part of our being the work of God alone ? And yet who would for a moment dream of saying, "the mother of my body,'^ and not " 7ny mother"? The comparison teaches us that the terms parent and child, mother and son, refer to the persons and not to the parts or elements of which the persona are composed. Hence, no one says : " The mother of my body^^ " the mother of my soul; " but in all propriety " my mother," the mother of me who live and breathe, think and act, one in my person- ality, though uniting in it a soul directly created by God, and a material body directly derived from the maternal womb. In like manner, as far as the sublime mystery of the Incarnation can be reflected in the natural order, the Blessed Virgin, under the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, by communica- ting to the Second Person of the adorable Trinity, as mothers do, a true human nature of the same substance with her own, is thereby really and truly His Mother. THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ^ It is in this sense that the title of Mother of Ood, denied by Nestorius, was vindicated to her by the General Council of Ephesus in 431 ; and in this sense, and in no other, has the Church called her by that title. Hence, by immediate and necessary consequence, follow her surpassing dignity and excellence, and her special relationship and affinity, not only with her divine Son, but also with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Mary, as Wordsworth beautifully expresses it, united in her person " a mother's love with maiden purity." The Church teaches us that she was always a Virgin, a Virgin before her espousals, during her married life, and after her spouse's death. " The Angel Gabriel was sent from God .... to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, .... and the Virgin's name waa Mary."^ That she remained a Virgin till after the birth of Jesus is expressly stated in the Gospel.'* It is not less certain that she continued in the same state during the remainder of her days ; for she is called a Virgin in the Apostles' and the Nicene Creed, and that epithet cannot be restricted to the time of our Saviour's birth, but must be referred to her whole life, inasmuch as both creeds were compiled long after she had passed away. > Luke i. 26, 27. « Matt. i. 25. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 201 The Canon of the Mass, which is very prohably of Apostoli(3 antiquity, speaks of her as the "glorious Ever Virgin,^^ and in this sentiment all Catholic tra- iition concurs. There is a propriety which suggests itself to ever^ Christian in Mary's remaining a Virgin after the birth of Jesus, for, as Bishop Bull of the Protestant Episcopal Church of England remarks, " It cannot with decency be imagined that the most holy vessel which was once consecrated to be a receptacle of the Deity, should be afterwards desecrated and profaned by human use." The learned Grotius, Calvin, and other eminent Protestant writers, hold the same view. The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary is now combated by Protestants, as it was in the early days of the Church, by Helvidius and Joviuian, on the following grounds : 1st. The evangelist says that " Joseph took unto him his wife, and he knew her not till she brought forth her first-born son."^ This sentence suggests to dissenters that other children besides Jesus were born to Mary. But the qualifying word till by no means implies that the chaste union which had subsisted between Mary and Joseph up to the birth of our Lord, was subsequently altered. The Protestant Hooker justly complains of the early heretics as having " abused greatly these words of Matthew, gathering against the honor of the Blessed Virgin, * Matt. i. 25, 202 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. that a thing denied with special circumstance dothi import an opposite affirmation when once that cir-] cumstance is expired."^ To express Hooker's ideal in plainer words, when a thing is said not to have occurred until another event had happened, it does not necessarily follow that it did occur after that event took place. The Scripture says that the raven went forth from the ark, " and did not return till the waters were dried up upon the earth,"^ that is, it never returned. "Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death."* He did not, of course, see him after death. " The Lord said to my Lord : Sit thou at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool." * These words apply to our Saviour, who did not cease to sit at the right of God after His enemies were subdued. 2d. But Jesus is called Mary's first-horn Son, and does not a first-born always imply the subsequent birth of other children to the same mother ? By no means ; for the name of first-born was given to the first son of every Jewish mother, whether other chil- dren follow*ed or not. We find this epithet applied to Machir, for instance, who was the only son of Man asses.* 3d. But is not mention frequently made of the brethren of Jesus ?^ Fortunately the Gospels them- selves will enable us to trace the maternity of those 1 Book v., ch. xlv. 2 Gen. viii. 7. ^ L Kings xv. 35 * Ps. cix. *» Josue xvii. 1. ^ Matt. xii. 46 ; xiii. 55, 6t. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 203 who are called His brothers, not to the Blessed Vir gin, but to another Mary. St. Matthew mentions, by name, James and Joseph among the brethren of Jesus ;^ and the same Evangelist and also St. Mark tell us that among those who were present at the crucifixion, were Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of James and Joseph.^ And St. John, who narrates with more detail the circumstances of the crucifixion, informs us who this second Mary was, for he says that there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.^ There is no doubt that Mary of Cleophas is identical with Mary who is called by Matthew and Mark the mother of James and Joseph. And as Mary of Cleophas was the kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin, James and Joseph are called the brothers of Jesus, in conformity with the Hebrew practice of giving that appellation to cousins or near relations. Abraham, for instance, was the uncle of Lot, yet he calls him brother.* Mary is exalted above all other women, not only because she united " a mother's love with maiden purity," but also because she was conceived without original sin. The dogma of the Immaculate Concep- tion is thus expressed by the Church : " We define that the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception, by the singular grace and privilege * Matt, xii 46 ; xiii 55, 56. ' Matt, xxvii. ; Mark xv. • J ohn xix. 25. * Gen. xiii. 8. 204 THE FAITH OP OUB FAfHERg. I 1 of Almighty God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preservj free from every stain of original sin." ^ Unlike the rest of the children of Adam, the soul of Mary was never subject to sin, even in the first moment of its infusion into the body. She alone was exempt fron the original taint. This immunity of Mary from original sin is exclusively due to the merits of Christ, as the Church expressly declares. She needed a Redeemer as well as the rest of the human race, and therefore was " redeemed, but in a more sublime manner."^ Mary is as much indebted to the precious blood of Jesus for having been pre- served, as we are for having been cleansed from orig- inal sin. Although the Immaculate Conception was not formulated into a dogma of faith till 1854, it is at least implied in Holy Scripture ; it is in strict har- mony with the place which Mary holds in the econ- omy of redemption, and has virtually received the pious assent of the faithful from the earliest days of the Church. In Genesis we read : " I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed ; she shall crush thy head."* All Catholic commentators, ancient and modern, recognize in the Seed, the ser- pent, and the woman, types of our Saviour, of Mary, and the Devil. God here declares that the enmity ^ Bulla Dogmat. Pii Papas IX. * Ibid. » Gen. iii. 15. THE BLESSED VIRGIJf MARY. 20^ of the Seed and that of the woman towards the Tempter were to be identical. Now the enmity of Christ or the Seed towards the evil One was absolute and perpetual. Therefore the enmity of Mary, or the woman, towards the Devil, never admitted of any momentary reconciliation, which would have existed if she were ever subject to original sin. It is worthy of note that as three characters ap- pear on the scene of our fall, Adam, Eve, and the rebellious Angel, so three corresponding personages figure in our redemption, Jesus Christ, who is the second Adam,^ Mary, who is the second Eve, and the Archangel Gabriel. The second Adam was immeas- urably superior to the first, Gabriel was superior to the fallen angel, and hence we are warranted by analogy to conclude that Mary was superior to Eve. But if she had been created in original sin, instead of being superior, she would be inferior to Eve, who was certainly created immaculate. We cannot con- ceive that the mother of Cain was created superior to the mother of Jesus. It would have been un- worthy of a God of infinite purity to have been born of a woman that was even for an instant under the dominion of Satan. The liturgies of the Church being the established formularies of her public worship, are among the most authoritative documents that can be adduced in favor of any religious practice. ^I.Cor. XV. 45. 18 206 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS I rin I In the liturgy ascribed to St. James, Mary is conih mem^rated as "our most holy, immaculate, and most glorious lady, mother of God and ever Virgin Mary." ' In the Maronite Kitual she is invoked as "oi holy, praiseworthy, and immaculate lady." ^ In the Alexandrian liturgy of St. Basil she is ad- dressed as "most holy, most glorious, immaculate."* The Feast of Mary's Conception commenced to be celebrated in the East in the fifth, and in the West in the seventh century. It was not introduced into Kome till probably towards the end of the four teenth century. Though Rome is always the first that is called on to sanction a new festival, she is often the last to take part in it. She is the first that is expected to give the keynote, but frequently the last to join in the festive song. While she is silent, the notes are faint and uncertain ; when her voice joins in the chant, the song of praise becomes constant and universal. It is scarcely necessary for me to add that the in- troduction of the Festival of the Conception after the lapse of so many centuries from the foundation of Christianity, no more implies a novelty of doc- trine than the erection of a monument in 1875 to Arminius, the German hero who flourished in the first century, would be an evidence of his recent ^ Bibliotheca Max. Patrum, t. 2, p. 3. * De sac. ordinal., p. 313. *Eenaudot. Lit Orient THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 207 exploits. The Feast of the Blessed Trinity was not introduced till the fifth century, though it commem- orates a fundamental mystery of the Christian re- ligion. It is interesting to us to know that the Immacu- late Conception of Mary has been interwoven in the earliest history of our own country. The ship that first bore Columbus to America was named Mary of the Conception. This celebrated navigator gave the same name to the second island which he dis- covered. The first chapel erected in Quebec, when that city was founded in the early part of the seven- teenth century, was dedicated to God under the in- vocation of Mary Immaculate. In view of these three great prerogatives of Mary, her divine maternity, her perpetual virginity, and her Immaculate Conception, we are prepared to find her blessedness often and expressly declared in Holy Scripture. The Archangel Gabriel is sent to her from heaven to announce to her the happy tidings that she was destined to be the mother of the world's Redeemer. No greater favor was ever before or since conferred on woman, whether we consider the dignity of the messenger, or the momentous charac- ter of the message, or the terms of respect in which it is conveyed. "And the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin, . . . and the virgin's name was Mary. And the ^ngel being come in, said unto her : Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ thou among women. Who having heard, was troub" led at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this fe'hould be. And the angel said to her : Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus. . . . The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore, also, the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." ^ "Sailj full of grace ! " St. Stephen and the Apos- tles were also said to be full of the Spirit of God. By this, however, we are not to understand that the same measure of grace was imparted to them which was given to Mary. On each it is bestowed accord- ing to each one's merits and needs ; for, " one is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars, for star differeth from star in glory ; " ^ and as Mary's office of Mother of God immeasurably surpassed in dignity that of the protomartyr and of the Apostles, so did her grace superabound over theirs. " Tlie Lord is with thee.'^ " He exists in His creii- tures in different ways; in those that are endowed will I reason in one way, in irrational creatures in another. His irrational creatures have no means of apprehending or possessing Him. All rational crea' » Luke i. 26-35. «L Ur. xv. 41, THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARl. 209 tures may indeed apprehend Him by knowledge, but only the good by love. Only in the good does He so exist as to be with them as well as in them ; with them by a certain harmony and agreement of will, and in this way God is with all His saints. But He is with Mary in a yet more special manner, for in her there was so great an agreement and union with God, that not her will onlv, but her verv flesh was to be united to him." ^ ** Blessed art thou among womenr The same ex- pression is applied to two other women in the Holy Scripture, viz., to Jahel and Judith. The former was called blessed after she had slain Sisara,^ and the latter after she had slain Holofernes,'^ both of whom had been enemies of God's people, and in this respect these two women are true types of Mary, who was chosen by God to crush the head of the serpent, the infernal enemy of mankind. And if they deserved the title of blessed for being the instruments of God in rescuing Israel from temporal calamities, how much more does Mary merit that appellation, who co-operated so actively in the salvation of the human race ? The Evangelist proceeds ; " And Mary, rising up in those days, went . . . into a city of Juda ; and she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leapt in hel * St. Bernard. * Judges v. 'J idith xiii. 18* O 210 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holj Ghost, and she cried out with a loud voice and said : Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord."^ The usual order of salutation is here reversed. Age pays reverence to youth. A lady who is revered by the whole community honors a lowly maiden. An inspired matron expresses her astonishment that her young kinswoman should deign to visit her. She extols Mary's faith and calls her blessed. She blends the praise of Mary with the praise of Mary^s Son, and even the infant John testifies his reverential joy by leaping in his mother's womb. And we are in- formed that during this interview Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, to remind us that the veneration she paid to her cousin, was not prompted by her own feelings, but was dictated by the Spirit of God. Then Mary breaks out into that sublime canticle, the Magnificat : " My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, be* cause He hath regarded the humility of His hand* 1 Luke L 39-45. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 211 maid, for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." ^ On these words I will stop to make one reflection. The Holy Ghost, through the organ of Mary's chaste lips, prophesies that all generations shall call her blessed, with evident approval of the praise she should receive. Now the Catholic is the only Church whose chil- dren, generation after generation, from the first to the present century, have pronounced her blessed ; and of all Christians in this land, they alone con- tribute to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Therefore it is only Catholics that earn the ap- proval of heaven by fulfilling the prediction of the Holy Ghost. Protestants not only concede that we bless the name of Mary, but they even reproach us for being too lavish in our praises of her. On the other hand, they are careful to exclude themselves from the " generations " that were des- tined to call her blessed, for, in speaking of her, they almost invariably withhold from her the title of blessedy preferring to call her the Virgin, or 2Ia7y the Virgin, or the Mother of Jesus. And while Protestant churches will resound with the praises of Sarah and Rebecca and Rachel, of Miriam and Ruth, of Esther and Judith of the Old Testament, and of Elizabeth Rud Anna, of Magdalen and Martha of the New, the » Luke i. 46-48. 212 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHEKS, name of Mary the Mother of Jesus is uttered witk bated breath, lest the sound of her name should make the preacher liable to the charge of superstition. The piety of a mother usually sheds additional lustre on the son, and the halo that encircles her brow is reflected upon his. The more the mother is ex- tolled, the greater honor redounds to the son. And if this is true of all men who do not choose their mothers, how much more strictly may it be affirmed of Him who chose His own Mother, and made her Himself such as He would have her, so that all the glories of His Mother are essentially His own. And yet we daily see ministers of the Gospel ignoring Mary's exalted virtues and unexampled privileges, and parading her alleged imperfections, nay sinful- ness, as if her Son were dishonored by the piety, and took delight in the defamation of His Mother. Such defamers might learn a lesson from one who made little profession of Christianity. " Is thy name Mary, raaiden fair ? Such should, methiuks, its music be. The sweetest name that mortals bear, Were best befitting thee. And she to whom it once was given, Was half of earth and hahf of heaven" ^ Once more the title of blessed is given to Mary On one occasion a certain woman lifting up her voice, said to Jesus, " Blessed is the womb that bore thee. ^ Oliver W. Holmes, THE BLESSED TIRGIN MARY. 21$ and the paps that gave thee suck." ^ It is true that our Lord replied : " Yea, rather (or yea, likewise), blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it." It would be an unwarrantable perversion of the sacred text to infer from this reply that Jesus intended to detract from the praise bestowed on His Mother. His words may be thus correctly para- phrased : She is blessed indeed in being the chosen instrument of My incarnation, but more blessed in keeping My word. Let others be comforted in know- ing that though they cannot share with My mother in the privilege of her maternity, they can partici- pate with her in the blessed reward of those who hear My word and keep it. In the preceding passages we have seen Mary de- clared blessed on four different occasions, and hence in proclaiming her blessedness, far from paying her unmerited honor, we are but re-echoing the Gospel verdict of saint and angel, and of the Spirit of God Himself. Wordsworth, though not nurtured within the bosom of the Catholic Church, conceives a true appreciation of Mary's incomparable holiness io the following beautiful lines : " Mother I whose virgin bosom was uncrossed With the least shade of thought to'sin allied; Woman I above all women glorified, Our tainted nature's solitary boast ; Purer than foam on central ocean tost, > Ltike xi. 27. 214 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Brighter tlian eastern skies at daybreak stren?!! With fancied roses, tlian the unblemished moon Before her wane begins on heaven's blue coast, Thy image falls to earth. Yet some, I ween, Not unforgiven, the suppliant knee might bend As to a visible power, in which did blend All that was mixed ajid reconciled in thee Of mother's love with maiden purity, Of high with low, celestial witli serene." To honor one who has been the subject of divine^ angelic, and saintly panegyric, is to us a privilege, and the privilege is heightened into a sacred duty, when we remember that the spirit of prophecy fore- told that she should ever be the unceasing theme of Christian eulogy as long as Christianity itself would exist. " Honor he is worthy of, whom the king hath a mind to honor." ^ The King of kings hath honored Mary ; His divine Son did not disdain to be subject to her, therefore should we honor her, especially as the honor we pay to her redounds to God, the source of all glory. The Koyal Prophet, than whom no man paid higher praise to God, esteemed the friends of God worthy of all honor : " To me, Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honorable."^ Now the dearest friends of God are they who most faith- fully keep His j)recepts : " You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you."' Who 1 Esther vi. 11 'Pa. cixxviii. (In Protestant version, Ps. C2zxix.) 'John XV 14. THE BIESSED VIRGIN MARY. 215 fulfilled the divine precepts better than Mary, who kept all the words of her Son, pondering thera in her heart ? *' If any man minister to me,'' says our Saviour, " him will My Father honor." ^ Who min- istered more constantly to Jesus than Mary, who dis- charged towards Him all the offices of a tender mother ? Heroes and statesmen may receive the highest military and civic honors which a nation can bestow, without being suspected of invading the domain of the glory which is due to God. Now, is not heroic sanctity more worthy of admiration than civil service and military exploits, inasmuch as religion ranks higher than patriotism and valor ? And yet the ad- mirers of Mary's exalted virtues can scarcely cele- brate her praises without being accused in certain quarters of Mariolatry. When a nation wishes to celebrate the memory of its distinguished men, its admiration is not confined to words, but vents itself in a thousand different shapes. See in how many ways we honor the mem- ory of Washington. Monuments on which his good deeds are recorded, are erected to his name. The grounds where his remains repose on the banks of the Potomac, are kept in order by a volunteer band of devoted ladies, who adorn the place with flowers. And this cherished spot is annually visited by thou- sands cf pilgrims from the most remote sections of ' Jdhnxiii2B. 216 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ the country. These visitors will eagerly suatch a flower, or a leaf from a shrub growing near Wash- ington's tomb, or will strive even to clip off a little shred from one of his garments, which are still pre-, served in the old mansion, and these they will bear « home with them as precious relics. I I have always observed when travelling on the missions up and down the Potomac, that whenever the steamer came to the point opposite Mount Ver- non, the bell was tolled, and then every eye was di- rected towards Washington's grave. And the 22d of February, Washington's birthday, is kept as a national holiday, at least in certain por- tions of the country. I well remember how formerly the military and the fire companies paraded the streets, how patriotic speeches recounting the heroic deeds of the first President were delivered, the fes- tivities of the day closing with a social banquet. As the citizens of the United States manifest in divers ways their admiration for Washington, so do the citizens of the republic of the Church love to exhibit in corresponding forms their veneration for the Mother of Jesus. Monuments and statues are erected to her. Thrice each day, at morn, noon, and even, the Angelua bells are rung to recall to our minds the Incarnation of our Lord, and the participation of Mary in this great mystery of love. Her shrines are tastefully adorned by pious hands, and are visited by devotisd children who wear her THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 217 relics, or any object which bears her image, or which is associated with her name. Her natal day and other days of the year, sacred to her memory, are appropriately commemorated by processions, by participation in the banquet of the Eucharist, and by sermons enlarging on her virtues ^nd prerogatives. As no one was ever suspected of loving his coun- try and her institutions less because of his revering Washington, so no one can reasonably suppose that our homage to God is diminished by fostering rev- erence for Mary ; for, as our o))ject in eulogizing Washington is not so much to honor the man, as to vindicate those principles of which he was the cham- pion and exponent, and to express our gratitude to God for the blessings bestowed on our country through him, even so our motive in commemorating Mary's name is not merely to praise her, but still more to keep us in perpetual remembrance of our Lord's Incarnation, and to show our thankfulness to Him for the blessings wrought through that great mystery in which she was so prominent a figure. And experience sufficiently demonstrates that the better we understand the part which Mary has taken in the work of redemption, the more enlightened becomes our knowledge of our Redeemer Himself, and that the greater our love for her, the deeper und broader is our devotion to Him ; while expe- rience also testifies that our Saviour's attributes become more confused and warped in the minds of 19 218 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. 1 a people in proportion as they ignore Mary's rela- tions to Him. The defender of a beleaguered citadel concen- trates his forces on the outer fortifications and towers, knowing well that the capture of these out- works would endanger the citadel itself, and that their safety involves its security. Jesus Christ is the citadel of our faith, the strong- hold of our soul's aflections. Mary is called the *' Tower of David," and the gate of Sion which the Lord loveth more than all the tabernacles of Jacob,' and which He entered at His Incarnation. So intimately is this living gate of Sion connected with Jesus, the temple of our faith, that no one has ever assailed the former without invading the latter. The Nestorian would have Mary to be only an ordi- nary mother, because he would have Christ to be a mere man. Hence, if we rush to the defence of the gate of Sion, it is because we are more zealous for the city of God. If we stand as sentinels around the tower of David, it is because we are more earnest in pro- tecting Jerusalem from invasion. If we forbid pro- fane bands to touch the ark of the covenant, it is because we are anxious to guard from profanation the Lord of the ark. If we are so solicitous about Mary's honor, it is because " the love of Christ '' presseth us. If we will not permit a single wreath ^Ps. ixxxvi. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 21S to be saaicbed from her fair brow, it is because wo are unwilling that a single feature of Christ's sacred humanity should be obscured, and because we wish that He should ever shine forth in all the splendor of His glory, and clothed in all the panoply of Hig perfections. But you will ask : Why do you so often blend together the worship of God and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin? Why such exclamations as, Blessed he Jesus and Maryf Why do you so often repeat in succession the Lord's prayer and the An- gelical salutation? Is not this practice calculated to level all distinctions between the Creator and His creature, and to excite the displeasure of a God ever jealous of His glory? Those who make this objection, should remember that the praises of the Lord and of His Saints are frequently combined in Holy Scripture itself. Witness Judith. On returning from the tent of Holofernes, she sang : ^^ Praise ye the Lord, our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in Him, and by me His handmaid, He hath fulfilled His mercy which He promised to the house of Israel .... And Ozias the prince of the people of Israel, said to her : Blessed art thou, daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Blessed he the Lord who made heaven and earth. . . because He hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praiise shall not depart out of the mouth of men.''^ ^Jutifthxiii. 220 THE FAITH OF OTTfl FATHERS. Witness Ecclesiasticus. After glorifying GocJ forf His mighty works, he immediately sounds the praises of Enoch and >'De, of Abraham, Isaac, ana Jacob, cf Moses and Aaron, of Saqfiuel and Nathan, of David and Josias, of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and other Kings and Prophets of Israel.^ Elizabeth in the same breath, exclaims: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."^ And Mary herself, under the inspiration of heaven, cries out : " My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my Bpirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. . . . For, Dehold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessedy ' Here are the names of Creator and crea- ture interwoven like threads of gold and silver in the same woof, without provoking the jealousy of God. God jealous of the honor paid to Mary ! Will a father be jealous of the honor paid to his child? Will an architect be envious of the praise bestowed on a magnificent temple which his genius planned and reared? Is not the living temple of Mary's heart the work of the Supreme Architect? Must •she not say with all of God's creatures : " Thy hands (O Lord) have made me and formed me." Is it not He who has adorned that living temple with those rare beauties which we so much admire? Has she not declared so when she exclaimed: "He that i« ' Eccles. xliii. et seq, ^ Luke i. • Ibid. THE BliESSED VIRGIN MARY. 221 mighty, hath done great things to me, and holy ia His name !"^ God jealous of the honor paid to Mary! As well might we imagine that the sun, if endowed with intelligence, would be jealous of the mellow, golden cloud which encircles him, which reflects his brightness, and presents in bolder light his inacces- sible splendor. As well imagine that the same luminary would be jealous of our admiration for the beautiful rose, whose opening petals, and rich color and delicious fragrance are the fruit of his benefi- cent rays. Hence in uniting Mary's praise with that of Jesus, we are strictly imitating the Sacred Text; and as no one ever suspected that the encomiums pronounced on Judith and the virtuous Kings and Prophets of Israel detracted from God's honor, so neither do we lessen His glory in exalting the Blessed Virgin. I find Jesus and Mary together at the manger, together in Egypt, together in Naza- reth, together in the temple, together at the cross I find their names side by side in the Apostles' and the Nicene Creed. It is fitting that both should find a place in my heart, and that both names should often flow successively from my lips. Inseparable in life and in death, they should not be divorced in my prayer. " What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." » Luke i. 49. 19» 222 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. 11. IS IT liAWFUL TO INVOKE HER? The Church exhorts her children not only to honor the Blessed Virgin, but also to invoke her intercession. It is evident from Scripture, that the Angels and Saints in heaven can hear our prayera and that they have the power and the will to help us.^ Now if the angels are conversant with what happens on earth ; if the Prophets, even while clothed in the flesh, had a clear vision of things which were then transpiring at a great distance from them ; if they could penetrate into the future, and foretell events which were then hidden in the womb of time, shall we believe that God withholds a knowledge of our prayers from Mary, who is justly styled the Queen of Angels and Saints ? For, as Mary's sanctity surpasses that of all other mor- tals, her knowledge must be proportionately greater than theirs, since knowledge constitutes one of the sources of celestial bliss. If Stephen, while his soul was still in the prison of the body, " saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God;"' if Paul " heard secret words "^ spoken in paradise, is it suT' prising that Mary hears and sees us, now that she *Gen. xlviii. 1( ; Tobias xii. 12; Lukj xv. 10; Zach. L 12, 13. * A ctt vii. 55. » II. Cor. xil 4. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY- 22S is elevated to heaven, and stands " face to face " be- fore God, the perfect Mirror of all knowledge ? It is as easy for God to enable His Saints to see things terrestrial from heaven, as things celestial from earth. The influence of Mary's intercession exceeds that of the Angels, Patriarchs, and Prophets, in the same degree that her sanctity surpasses theirs. If our heavenly Father listens so propitiously to the voice of His servants, what will He refuse to her who is His chosen daughter of predilection, chosen among thousands to be the Mother of His beloved Son ? If we ourselves, though sinners, can help one another by our prayers, how irresistible must be the intercession of Mary, who never grieved Al- mighty God by sin, who never tarnished her white robe of innocence by the least defilement, from the first moment of her existence till she was received by triumphant angels into heaven. In speaking of the patronage of the Blessed Vir- gin, we must never lose sight of her title of Mother of our Redeemer, nor of the great privileges which that prerogative implies. Mary was the Mother of Jesus. She exercised towards Him all the influence which a prudent mother has over an aflectionate child. "Jesus," says the Gospel, "was subject to Ihem,"' that is, to Mary and Joseph. We find this obedience of our Lord towards His Mother forcibly exemplified at the marriage feast of Cana. He^ ^Luke ii. 51. 224 THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS. wishes are delicately expressed in these words . " They have no wine." He instantly obeys her by cnanging water into wine, though the time for exer- cising His public ministry and for working wonders had not yet arrived. Now Mary has never forfeited in heaven the title of Mother of Jesus. She is still His Mother, and while adoring Him as her God, she still retains her maternal relations, and He exercises towards her that loving willingness to grant her requests which the best of sons entertains for the best of mothers. Never does Jesus appear to us so amiable and endearing as when we see Him nestled in the arms of His Mother. We love to contemplate Him, and artists love to represent Him, in that situation. And it appears to me that had v/e lived in Jerusalem in His day, and recognized, like Simeon, the Lord of majesty in the form of an Infant, and had we a favor to ask Him, we would present it through Mary's hands, while the divine eyes of the Babe were gazing on her sweet countenance. And even BO now. Never will our prayers find a readier ac- ceptance than when offered through her. In invoking our Lady's patronage, we are act- uated by a triple sense of the majesty of God, our own unworthiness, and of Mary's incorafiparable in- fluence with her heavenly Father. Conscious of our natural lowliness and sins, we have often recourse to her intercession in the assured hope of being mora iavorably heard : THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 226 **And even as children who have much offended A too indulgent father, in great shame, Penitent, and yet not daring unattended To go into his presence, at the gate Speak to their sister and confiding wait Till she goes in before and intercedes ; So men, repenting of their evil deeds, And yet not venturing rashly to draw near With their requests, an angry Father's ear, Offer to her prayers and their confession, And she in heaven for them makes intercession." * Do you ask me, is Mary willing to assist, you? Does she really take an interest in your welfare? Or is she so much absorbed by the fruition of God as to be indifferent to our miseries ? " Can a woman forget her infant so as not to have pity on the fruit of her womb?^'^ Even so Mary will not forget us. The love she bears us, her children by adoption, can be estimated only by her love for her Son by nature. It was Mary that nursed the Infant Saviour. It was her hands that clothed Him. It was her breast that sheltered him from the rude storm and from the persecution of Herod. She it was that wiped the stains from His brow when taken down from the cross. Now we are the brothers of Jesus. He is not ashamed, says the Apostle, to call us His brethren.' Neither is Mary ashamed to call us her cliildren by adoption. At the foot of the cross she adopted us in the person of St. John. She is anx- * Longfellow's " Golden Legend." * Isaiah xlix. 16. »Heb. ii. 11. P 226 THE FAITH OF OUIi FATHERS. iou3 to minister to our souls as she ministered to the corporal wants of her Son. She would be the instrument of God in feeding us with divine grace, in clothing us with the garments of innocence, in slieltering us from the storms of temptation, in wip- ing away the stains of sin from our soul. If the angels, though of a different nature from ours, have so much sympathy for us as to rejoice in our conversion,* how great must be the interest manifested towards us by Mary, who is of a common nature with us, descended from the same primitive parents, being bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, and who once trod the thorny path of life which we tread now ! Though not of the household of the faith, Edgar A. Poe did not disdain to invoke our Lady's inter* cession, and to acknowledge the influence of hei patronage in heaven. " At morn — at noon — at twilight dim — Maria ! thou hast heard my hymn ; In joy and woe — in good and ill — Mother of God, be with me still I When the hours flew brightly by, And not a cloud obscured the sky, My soul, lest it should truant be, Thy grace did guide to tliine and thee; Kow, when storms of fate o'ercast Darkly my present and my pa^t, Let my future radiant shine, With sweet hopes of thee and thine.*' * Luke XT. 7. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MAEY. 227 Sonje persons not only object to the invocation of Mary as being unprofitable, but they even affect to be scandalized at the confidence we repose in her intercession, on the groundless assumption that by praying to her we ignore and dishonor God, and that we put the creature on a level with the Creator. Every Catholic child knows from the catechism that to give to any creature the supreme honor due to God alone, is idolatry. How can we be said to dis- honor God, or bring Him down to a level with His creature by invoking Mary, since we acknowledge her to be a pure creature indebted like ourselves to Him for every gift and influence which she possesses? This is implied in the very form of our petitions. When we address our prayers to her, we say, Pray for us sinners, implying by these words that she is herself a petitioner at the throne of divine mercy. To God we say, Give us our daily bread, thereby acknowledging Him to be the source of all bounty. This principle being kept in view, how can we be justly accused of slighting God's majesty by invok- ing the intercession of His handmaid? If a beggar asks and receives alms from me through my servant, should I be offended at the blessings which he invokes upon her? Far from it. I accept them as intended for myself, because she bestowed what was mine, and with my consent. Our Lord says to His Apostles : " I dispose to you a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and may sit upon thrones, 228 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ judging the twelve tribes of Israel."' And St Paul says: "Know you not that we shall judg€ angels, how much more things of this world?" If the Apostles may sit at the table of the Lord in heaven without prejudice to His majesty, surely our Lady can stand as an advocate before Him without infringing on His rights. If they can exercise the dread prerogative of judges of angek and of men without trespassing on the divine judgeship of Jesus, surely Mary can fulfil the more modest function of intercessor with her Son without intruding on His supreme mediatorship, for, higher is the office of judge than that of advocate. And yet while no one is ever startled at the power given to the Apos- tles, many are impatient of the lesser privilege claimed for Mary. III. IS IT LAWFUL TO IMITATE HER AS A MODEL? But while the exalted privileges of Mary render her worthy of our veneration, while her saintly in- fluence renders her worthy of our invocation, her personal life is constantly held up to us as a pattern worthy of our imitation. And if she occupies so prom- inent a place in our pulpits, this prominence is less due to her prerogatives as a mother, or to her inter- cession as a patroness, than to her example as a saint* After our Lord Jesus Christ, no one has ever ex- ercised so salutary and so dominant an influence aa * J.uke xxii. 29, 30. ^ I. Got. ?L THE BLESSED VIRGIN MABY. 225 the Blessed Virgin on society, on the family, and on the individual. The Mother of Jesus exercises throughout the Christian commonwealth that hallowing influence which a good mother wields over the Christian family. What temple or chapel, how rude soever it may be, is not adorned with a painting or a statue of the Madonna ? What house is not embellished with au image of Mary ? What Catholic child is a stranger to her familiar face ? The priest and the layman, the scholar and the illiterate, the prince and the peasant, the mother and the maid, acknowledge her benign sway. And if Christianity is so fruitful in comparison with paganism, in conjugal fidelity, in female purity, and in the respect which is paid to womanhood, the^e blessings are in no small measure due to the force of Mary's all-pervading influence and example. Ever since the Son of God chose a woman to be His mother, man looks up to woman with a homage akin to veneration. The poet Longfellow pays the following tribute to Mary's sanctifying influence : " This is indeed the blessed Mary^s land, Virgin and Mother of ovir dear Redeemer I All hearts are touched ajid softened at her name ; Alike the bandit with the bloody hand, The priest, the prince, the scholar and the peasant, The man of deeds, the visionary dreamer, Pay homage to her as one ever present I 230 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. And if our faith had given us nothing more Than this example of all womanhood, So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good, So patient, peaceful, loyal, loving, pure. This were enough to prove it higher and truer Than all the creeds the world had known before.** ^ St. Ambrose gives us the following beautiful pic- ture of Mary's life before her espousals ; " Let the life," he says, " of the Blessed Mary be ever present to you, in which, as in a mirror, the beauty of chaa- tity and the form of virtue shine forth. She was a virgin not only in body, but in mind, who never sullied the pure affection of her heart by unworthy feelings. She was humble of heart, serious in her conversation, fonder of reading than of speaking. She placed her confidence rather in the prayer of the poor than in the uncertain riches of this world. She was ever intent on her occupations, . . . and accustomed to make God rather than man the wit- ness of her thoughts. She injured no one, wished well to all, reverenced age, yielded not to envy, avoided all boasting, followed the dictates of reason, and loved virtue. When did she sadden her par- ents even by a look? . . . There was nothing foi^ ward in her looks, bold in her words, or unbecom- mg in her actions. Her carriage was not abrupt, her gait not indolent, her voice not petulant, so that her very appearance was the picture of her mind and the figure of piety." ^ Longfellow's " Golden Legend." I THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 231 Her life as a spouse and as a mother was a coun- terpart of her earlier years. The Gospel relates one little circumstance which amply suffices to dem- onstrate Mary's supereminent holiness of life, and to exhibit her as a beautiful pattern to those who are called to rule a household. The Evangelist tells us that Jesus " was subject to them," ^ that is, to Mary and Joseph. He obeyed all her commands, fulfilled her behests, complied with her smallest in- junctions. In a word, He discharged towards her ail the filial observances which a dutiful son exer- cises towards a prudent mother. And these rela- tions continued from His childhood to His public life ; nor did they cease even then. Now Jesus being the Son of God, " the bright- ness of His glory and the figure of His substance,"* could not sin. He was incapable of fulfilling an unrighteous precept. The obvious conclusion to be drawn from these facts is, that Mary never sinned by commanding, as Jesus could not sin by obeying ; that all her precepts and counsels were stamped with the seal of divine approbation, and that the Son never fulfilled any injunction of His earthly Mother which was not ratified by His eternal Fathei in heaven. Such is the beautiful portrait which the Church holds up to the contemplation of her children, that studying it they may admire the original, admiring they may love, loving may imitate, and thus be* iLukeii. 51. »Heb.i. 3. 232 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ come more dear to God by being made " conforma- ble to the image of His Son,"^ of whom Mary is the most perfect mirror. CHAPTER XV. SACRED IMAGES. I /; THE veneration of the images of Christ and Hia saints is a cherished devotion in the Catholic Church, and this practice will be vindicated in the following lines. It is true, indeed, that the making of holy images was not so general among the Jews as it is among us, because the Hebrews themselves were prone to idolatry^-^^nd because they w^ere surrounded by, idolatrous people who might misconstrue the pur- pose for which the images were intended^-^lFor the same prudential reasons, the primitive Christians were very cautious in making images, and very circumspect in exposing them to the gaze of the heathen among whom they lived, lest Christian images should be confounded with Pagan idols. The catacombs of Eome, to which the faithful alone were admitted, abounded, however, in sacred em])lems and pious representations, which are pre- served even to this day, and attest the practice of the early Christian Church. You could see there painted on the walls, or on vases of glass, the Dove, the emblem of the Holy Ghost ; Christ carrying »Kora. viii. 29. BACHED IMAGES. 283 His crcfife*, or bearing on His shoulders tlie lost sheep. You could also meet with the Lamb, and an anchor, and a ship, appropriate types of cui Lord, of hope, and of the Church. The first crusade against images was waged in the eighth century by Leo the Isaurian, Emperor of Constantinople. He commanded the paintings of our Lord and His saints to be torn down from the church walls, and to be burnt. He even invaded the sanctuary of home, and snatched from thence the sacred emblems which adorned private residences. He caused the statues of bronze, silver, and gold to be melted down, and conveniently con- verted them into coins, upon which his own image was stamped. Like Henry VIII. and Cromwell, this royal Iconoclast affected to be moved by a zeal for purity of worship, while avarice was the real motive of his action. The Emperor commanded the learned librarians of his imperial library to give public approbation to his decrees against images ; and when those consci- entious men refused to endorse his course, they were all confined in the imperial library, the building was set on fire, and thirty thousand volumes, the splendid basilica which contained them, innumer- able paintings, and the librarians themselves, were all involved in one common destruction. >c' Constantino Copronymus prosecuted the vandal- ism of Leo, his predecessor. Stephen, an intrepid monk, presented to the Emperor a coin bearing 20* 234 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. that tyrant's effigy, with these words : *' Sire, whow image is this?" "It is mine," replied the Em peror. The monk then threw down the piece of money and trampled it. He was instantly seiz^^d by tlie imperial attendaLts, and soon after p:it to a painful death. "Alas!" cried the holy mar to the Emperor ; " if I am punished for dishonor- ing the image of a mortal monarch, what punish- ment do they deserve who burn the image of Jesus Christ ?"H^ The demolition of images was revived by the Re- formers of the sixteenth century. Paintings and statues were ruthlessly destroyed, chiefly in the British Isles, Germany, and Holland, under the pretext that the making of them was idolatrous. But as the Iconoclasts of the eighth century had no scruple about appropriating to their own use the gold and silver of the statues which they melted, neither had the Iconoclasts of the six- teenth century any hesitation in confiscating and worshipping in the idolatrous churches whose stat- ues and paintings they broke and disfigured. A stranger who visits some of the desecrated Cath- olic churches of Great Britain and the Continent which are now used as Protestant temples, cannot fail to notice the mutilated statues of the saints still standing in their niches. This barbaric warfare against religious memorials was not only a grievous sacrilege, but an outrage agaiist the fine arts; and had the destroying angels SACKED IMAGES. 235 extended their lavages over Europe, the immortal works of Michael Angelo and Eaphael would be lost to us to-day. The doctrine of the Catholic Church regardiug the use of sacred images, is clearly and fully ex- pressed by the General Council of Trent in the fol- lowing words : " The images of Christ, and of His Virgin Mother, and of other Saints, are to be had and retained, especially in churches ; and a due honor and veneration is to be given to them : not that any divinity or virtue is believed to be in them, for which they are to be honored, or that any prayer is to be made to them, or that any confidence is to be placed in them, as was formerly done by the heathens, who placed their hopes in idols ; but because the honor which is given them is referred to the originals which they represent, so that by the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover our heads or kneel, we adore Christ, and venerate His saints, whose likeness they represent/' ^ Every Catholic child clearly comprehends the es- sential difference which exists between a Pagan idol and a Christian image. The Pagans looked upon an idol as a god endowed with intelligence, and the other attributes of the Deity. They were, therefore idolaters, or image worshippers. Catholic Christiars know that a holy image haa no intelli- ^ SesB. 2ZV. 236 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. gence or power to hear and help them. But the"? pay it a relative respect; that is, their reverence for the copy is proportioned to the veneration which they entertain for the heavenly original, to which it is also referred. For the sake of my Protestant readers, I may here quote their own great Leibnitz on the rever- ence paid to sacred images. He says, in his Sys- tema Theohgicum, p. 142 : " Though we speak of the honor paid to images, yet this is only a man- ner of speaking, which really means that we honor not the senseless thing which is incapable of under- standing such honor, but the prototype, which re- ceives honor through its representation, according to the teaching of the Council of Trent. It is in this sense, I take it, that scholastic writers have spoken of the same worship being paid to images of Christ as to Christ our Lord himself; for the act which is called the worship of an image is really the worship of Christ himself, through and in the presence of the image and by occasion of it ; by the inclination of the body towards it as to Christ himself, as rendering Him more manifestly present, and raising the mind more actively to the contemplation of Him. Certainly, no sane man thinks, under such circumstances, of praying in this wise : ' Give me, O image, what I ask ; to thee, O marble or wood, I give thanks ; ' but * Thee, O Lord, I adore; to Thee I give thanks, and sing songs of praise/ Given, then, that there is nc SACKED IMAGES. 237 other veneration of images than that which means veneration of their prototype, there is surely no more idolatry in it than there is in the respect ehown in the utterance of the Most Holy Namea of God and Christ; for, after all, names are but signs or symbols, and even, as such, inferior to images, for they represent much less vividly. So that when there is question of honoring images, this is to be understood in the same way as when it is said that at the name of Jesus every knee Bhall bend, or that the name of the Lord is blessed, or that glory be given to His Name. Thus, the bowing before an image outside of us is no more to be reprehended than the worshipping before an internal image in our own minds; for the ex- ternal image does but serve the purpose of expres- sing visibly that which is internal.*' ^ In the Book of Exodus, we read: "Thou shalt "^ \ not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them." ^ Protestants contend that these words contain an absolute prohibition against the making of images ; while the Catholic Church insists tliat the commandment referred to merely prohibits us from worshipping them as gods. The text ^fannot mean the absolute prohibition of making images; for in that case God would ' Chap. XX. 238 THE FAITH OF OUB FATHERS. contradict Himself, by commanding in one part of Scripture what He condemns in another. In Ex- odus (xxv. 18), for instance, He commands two cherubim of beaten gold to be made and placed on each side of the oracle ; and in Numbers (xxi 8) He commands Moses to make a brazen serpent, and to set it up for a sign, that " whosoever being struck by the fiery serpents shall look upon it, shall live/* Are .not cherubim and serpents the likenesses of creatures in heaven above, in the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth ? for cherubim dwell in heaven, and serpents are found on land and sea. We should all, without exception, break the cvsiai- mandment, were we to take it in the Protestant sense. Have you not at home the portraits of liv- ing and departed relatives ? And are not these the likenesses of persons in heaven above, and on the earth beneath? Westminster Abbey, though once a Catholic Cath- edral, is now a Protestant house of worship. It is filled with the statues of illustrious men ; yet no one will accuse the English church of idolatry in allow- ing those statues to remain there. But you will say: The worshippers in Westminster have no intention of adoring these statues. Neither have we any in- tention of worshipping the statues of the saints. An English Parson once remarked to a Catholic friend: " Tom, don't you pray to images ? " " We pray be« fore them," replied Tom ; " but we have no inten- tion of praying to them." "Who cares for youx SACRED IMAGES. 239 intention/' retorted the Parson. "Don't you pray at night ? " observed Tom. " Yes," said the Parson ; " I pray at my bed." " Yes ; you pray to the bed- post." " Oh, no ! " said the reverend gentleman ; "I have no intention of doing that." "Who cares," replied Tom, " for your intention." The moral rectitude or depravity of our actions cannot be determined without taking into account the intention. There are many persons who have been taught in the nursery tales that Catholics worship idols. These persons, if they visit Europe, and see an old man praying before an image of our Lord or a Ma- donna, which is placed along the wayside, are at once confirmed in their prejudices. Their zeal against idols takes fire, and they write home, add- ing one more proof of idolatry against the be- nighted Romanists. If these superficial travellers had only the patience to question the old man, he would tell them, with simplicity of faith, that the statue had no life to hear or help him, but that its contemplation inspired him with greater reverence for the original. As I am writing for the information of Protest- ants, I quote with pleasure the following passage, written by one of their own theologians, in the En- cyclopedie (Edit. d'Yverdun, tom. 1, art. Adorer) : " When Lot prostrates himself before the two an- gels, it is an act of courtesy towards honored guests ; when Jao^b bcws down before Esau, it is an act of 240 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. deference from a yonngei* to an elder brother, \tojen Solomon bows low before Bethsabee, it is the bJnoT which a son pays to his mother; when ISathan, coming in before David, * had worshipped, bowing down to the ground/ it is the homage of a subject to his prince. But when a man prostrates himself in prayer to God, it is the creature adoring the Cre- ator. And if these various actions are expressed, sometimes by the word adore, sometimes by worship or prostration, it is not the bare meaning of the word which has guided interpreters in rendering it, but ■ the nature of the case. When an Israelite pros- trated himself before the king, no one thought of charging him with idolatry. If he had done the game thing in the presence of an idol, the very same bodily act would have been called idolatry. And why? Because all men would have judged by his action that he regarded the idol as a real divinity, and that he would express, in respect to it, the sentiments manifested by adoration, in the limited sense which we give to the word. What shall we think, then, of what Catholics do to show honor to saints, to relics, to the wood of the cross ? They will not deny that their acts of reverence, in such cases, are very much like those by which they pay outward honor to God. But have they the saine ideas about the saints, the relics, and the cross, as they have about God ? I believe that we cannot fairly accuse them of it." A gentleman who was present at the unveiling of SACRED IMAGES. 24J Oi^^s statue in the city of Eiclimond, informed me Mrf)j >^" soon as the curtain was uplifted, and the Q,3^t^— .i-'Dj of the Kentucky statesman appeared in run view, the immense concourse of spectators in- stinctively uncovered their heads. "Why do you take off your hat ? " playfully remarked my friend to an acquaintance who stood by. " In honor, of course, of Henry Clay," he replied. "But Henry is not there in the flesh. You see nothing but day J* " But my intention, sir," he continued, " is to do honor to the original." He answered correctly. And yet how many of the same people would be shocked, if they saw a man take off his hat in pres- ence of a statue of St. Peter ? It is not, therefore, the making of the image, but its worship, that is condemned by the Decalogue. Having seen the lawfulness of sacred images, let us now consider the advantages to be derived from their use. 1. Religious painthigs embellish the house of God, What is more becoming than to adorn the church, which is the shadow of the heavenly Jerusalem, 80 beautifully described by St. John?^ Solomon decorated the temple of God with images of cher- ubim, and other representations. "And he over- laid the cherubim with gold. And all the walls of tlie temple round about he carved with di- vers figuies and carvings."^ If it was meet and proper to adorn Solomon's temple, which contained ^ Apoc. xxi. ^ ni. Kin^s vL 21 Q 242 THK FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. only the Ark of the Lord, how rouch more '^^^y'J is it to decorate our churches, which ' ^Hhe Lord of the Ark? When I see a churc : ^iiUy ornamented, it is a sure sign that the Master i-o »» home, and that His devoted subjects pay homage to Him in His court. What beauty, what variety, what charming pic- tures are presented to our view in this temple of nature which we inhabit ! Look at the canopy of heaven. Look at the exquisite pictures painted by the hand of the divine Artist on this earth. " Con- sider the lilies of the field I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed aa one of these." If the temple of nature is so richly adorned, should not our temples made with hands bear some resemblance to it ? How many professing Christians must, like David, reproach themselves for "dwelling in a house of cedar, while the ark of God is lodged with skins." * How many are there whose private apartments are adorned with exquisite paintings, who affect to be scandalized at the sight of a single pious emblem in their houses of worship? On the occasion of the celebration of Henry W. Beecher's silver wedding, several wealthy members of his congregation adorned the walls of Plymouth church with their private paintings. Their object, of course, in doing so waa not to honor God, but their Pastor. But if the portraits of men were no desecration to that church, 1 II. Kings vii. 2. SACRED IMAGES. 243 how.i^an the portraits of saints desecrate ours?^ An ^ F" - "^an be more appropriate than to surround the'h^uv^ir i,ry of Jesus Christ with the portraits of the saints, especially of Mary and of the Apostles, who, in their life, ministered to His sacred person ? And is it not natural for children to adorn their homes with the likenesses of their Fathers in the faith? 2. Religious paintings are the catechism of tJie ignorant In spite of all the efforts of Church and State in the cause of education, a great proportion of the human race will be found illiterate. De- scriptive pictures will teach those what books make known to the learned. How many thousands would have died ignorant of the Christian faith, if they had not been en- lightened by paintings ! When Augustine, the Apostle of England, first appeared before King Ethelbert, to announce to him the Gospel, a silver crucifix, and a painting of our Saviour, were borne before the preacher; and these images spoke more tenderly to the eyes than his words to the ears of his audience. By means of religious emblems, St. Francis Xavier effected many conversions in India ; and by the same means Father De Smet made knov/n the Gospel to the savages of the Rocky Mountains. * At the Washington and Lee University, Lexington. Va., Ln the sanctuary of the chapel, the portrait of an opulent bene- factor holds a conspicuous place. 244. THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ 8. By exhibiting religious paintings in our rooms, we make a silent, though eloquent, profession of out faith I once called on a gentleman in a distant city, some time during our late war, and, on entering his library, I noticed two portraits, one of a dis- tinguished general, the other of an archbishop. These portraits at once proclaimed to me the re- ligious and patriotic sentiments of the propri- etor of the house. " Behold ! " he said to me, pointing to the pictures, " my religious creed and my political creed.'* If I see a crucifix iu a man's room, I am convinced at once that he is not an infidel. 4. By the aid of sacred pictures, our devotion and love for the original are intensified, because we can conr centrate our thoughts more intently on the object of our affections, Mark how the eye of a tender child glistens on confronting the painting of an affection- ate mother. What Christian can stand unmoved, when contemplating a picture of the Mother of Sor- rows? How much devotion has been fostered by the stations of the cross? Observe the intense sympathy depicted on the face of the humble Chris- tian woman as she silently passes from one station to another. She follows her Saviour step by step from the Garden to Mount Calvary. The whole scene, like a panoramic view, is imprinted on her mind, her memory, and her affections. Never did the most pathetic sermon on the Passion enkindle Buch heartfelt love, or evoke such salutary resolu- I BACKED IMAGES. 245 tions, as have been produced by the silent spectacle of our Saviour hanging on the cross. 5. The portraits of the saints stimulate us to the imir iation of their virtues ; and this is the principal aim which the Church has in view in encouraging the use of pious representations. One object, it is true, is to honor the saints ; another is to invoke them : but the principal end is to incite us to an imitation of their holy lives. We are exhorted to " look and do according to the pattern shown us on the mount." * Nor d^ I know a better means for promoting piety than by example. If you keep at home the likenesses of George Washington, of Patrick Henry, of Chief - Justice Taney, or of other distinguislied men, the copies of such eminent originals cannot fail to exercise a salutary though silent influence on the mind and heart of your child. Your son will ask you : Who are those men ? And when you tell him : This is Washington, the Father of his Country; this ia Patrick Henry, the ardent lover of civil liberty; and this is Taney, the incorruptible Judge, your boy will imperceptibly imbibe not only a venera- tion for those men, but a relish for the civic vir- tues for which they were conspicuous. And in like manner, when our children have constantly before their eyes the purest and most exalted mod- els of sanctity, they cannot fail to draw from such a » Exod. XXV. 40. 246 THE FAITH OP OUR FAIHERS. ■ contemplation a taste for the virtues which marked the lives of the origiDals. Is not our country flooded with ohscene pictures and immodest representations which corrupt our youth ? If the agents of Satan employ such vile means for a bad end ; if they are cunning enough to pour through the senses, into the hearts of the unwary, the insidious poison of sin, by placing be- fore them lascivious portraits ; in God^s name, why should not we sanctify the souls of our children by means of pious emblems? Why should not we make the eye the instrument of edification, as the enemy makes it the organ of destruction ? Shall the pen of the artist, the pencil of the painter, and the chisel of the sculptor be prostituted to the basest purposes ? God forbid ! The arts were intended to be the hand- maids of religion. Almost every moment of the day the eye is re- ceiving impressions from outward objects, and is instantly communicating these impressions to the soul ; and thus the soul receives every day thou- sands of impressions, which are good or bad ac- cording to the character of the objects presented to its gaze. We cannot, therefore, overestimate the salutary effect produced upon us in a church or room adorned with sacred paintings. We feel, while in their presence, that we are in the company of the just, and the contemplation of these pious portraits chastens our affedtimis, elevates ant tbtjughts^ c'liBCks i PURGATORY, ETC. 247 our levity, and diffuses around us a healthy atmos- phere. I am happy to acknowledge that the outcry form* erly raised against images has almost subsided of late. The epithet of idolaters is seldom applied to lis now. Even some of our dissenting brethreu are already beginning to recognize the utility of reli- gious symbols, and to regret that we have been per- mitted, by the intemperate zeal of the Reformers, to have so long the monopoly of them. Crosses already surmount some of our Protestant churches, and re- place the weather-cock. A gentleman of Richmond recently informed me that during the preceding Holy Week he adorned with twelve crosses an Episcopal church where, eleven years before, the sight of a single cross was viewed with horror by the minister. May the day soon come when all Christians will join with us not only in venerating the sacred sym- bol of salvation, but in worshipping at the same altar. V/^ CHAPTER XVL PUKGATORY, AND PRAYERS FOR THE D£AI>. THE Catholic Church teaches that, besides a place of eternal torments for the wicked and of ever- lasting rest for the righteous, there exists in the next life a middle state of temporary punishment, allotted 248 THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS. for those who have died in venial sin, or who hav? not satisfied the justice of God for sins already for- given. She also teaches us that, although the souls consigned to this intermediate state, commonly called Purgatory, cannot help themselves, they may bo aided by the suffrages of the faithful on earth. The existence of Purgatory naturally implies the correla- tive dogma, — the utility of praying for the dead ; for, the souls consigned to this middle state have not reached the term of their journey. They are still exiles from heaven, and are fit subjects for divine clemency. Is it not strange that this cherished doctrine should also be called in question by the levelling in- novators of the sixteenth century, when we con eider that it is clearly taught in the Old Testament that it is, at least, insinuated in the New Testament; that it is unanimously proclaimed by the Fathers of the Church ; that it is embodied in all the ancient liturgies of the Oriental and the Western church ; and that it is a doctrine alike consonant with our reason, and eminently consoling to the human heart? 1. It is a doctrine plainly contained in the Old Testament and piously practised by the Hebrew people. At the close of an engagement which Judas ^lachabeus had with the enemy, he ordered prayers and sacrifices to be offered up for his slain comrades. "And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the deiad, thinking well and PURGATORY, ETC. 248 jreligiously concerning the resurrection. For, if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. ... It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." ^ These words are so forcible that no comment of mine could render them clearer. This passage proved a great stumbling-block to the Keformers. Finding that they could not by any evasion weaken the force of the text, they impiously threw overboard the Books of Machabees, like a man who assassinates a hostile witness. They pretended that the two Books of Machabees were apocryphal. And yet they have precisely the same authority as the Gos- pel of St. Matthew or any other portion of the Bible. For, the canonicity of the Holy Scriptures rests solely on the authority of the Catholic Church, which proclaimed them inspired. But even admitting, for the s^ke of argument, that the Books of Machabees were not entitled to be ranked among the canonical Books of Holy Scrip- ture, no one, at least, has ever denied that they are truthful historical monuments, and, as such, that they serve to demonstrate that it was a prevail- ing practice among the Hebrew people, as it is with us, to offer up prayers and sacrifices for the dead. 2. When our Saviour, the Founder of the New 1 II. Mach. xu. 4-3-46. 250 THE FAITH OF OUE FATHERS. Law, ai)peared on earth, He came to lop off those excrescences which had grown on the body of the Jewish ecclesiastical code, and to purify the Jewish Church from those human traditions which, in the course of time, became like chaff mixed with the wheat of sound doctrine. For instance, He con- demns the Pharisees for prohibitiug the perform- ance of works of charity on the Sabbath day, aud in the twenty-third cliapter of St. Matthew He cites against them a long catalogue of innovations in doctrine and discipline. But did our Lord, at any time, reprove the Jews for their belief in a middle state, or for praying for the dead, a practice which, to His knowledge, pre- vailed among the people ? Never. On the contrary, more than once both He and the Apostle of the Gentiles insinuate the doctrine of Purgatory. Our Saviour says: "Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him. But he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come." * When our Saviour declares that a sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven in the next life. He evidently leaves us to infer that there are some sins which will be paidoned in the life to come. St. Paul tells us that " every man's work shall be manifest '* on the Lord's day. " The fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any*man's ^ Matt. xii. 32. PURGATORY, ETC. 251 work abide," that is, if his works are holy, "ha shall receive a reward. If any man's w)rk bum," that is, if his works are faulty and imperfect, " he ahall suffer loss ; but he himself shall be saved, yet 80 as by fire." ^ His soul will be ultimately saved, but he shall suffer, for a temporary duration, in the purifying flames of Purgatory. This interpretation is not mine. It is the unani- mous voice of the Fathers of Christendom. And who are they that have removed the time-honored landmarks of Christian faith by rejecting the doc- trine of Purgatory ? They are discontented church- men, impatient of the religious yoke, men who ap- peared on the stage sixteen hundred years after the foundation of Christianity. Judge you, reader, whom you ought to follow. If you want to know the true import of a vital question in the Consti- tution, would you not follow the decision of a Story, a Jefferson, a Marshall, a Taney, jurists and states- men, who were the recognized expounders of the Constitution ? Would you not prefer their opinion to that of political demagogues, who have neither learning, nor authority, nor history, to support them, but some selfish end to further? Now, the same motive which you have for rejecting the opinion of an ignorant politician, and embracing that of eminent jurists, on a constitutional question, impels you to cast aside the novelties of religious Innovators, and to follow the unanimous sentiments » L (i)r. iii. 13-15. 252 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ■ of tlie Fathers in reference to the subject of Purga- tory. 3. 1 would wish to place before you extended ex- tracts from the writings of the early Fathers of the Church bearing upon this subject ; but I must con- tent myself with quoting a few of the most promi- nent lights of primitive Christianity. TertuUian, who lived in the second century, says that " the faithful wife will pray for the soul of her deceased husband, particularly on the anniversary day of his failing asleep (death). And if she fail to do so, she hath repudiated her husband as far a^ in her lies." ^ Eusebius (4th cent.), the historian, describing the funeral of Constantino the Great, says that the body of the blessed prince was placed on a lofty bier, and the ministers of God, and the multitude of the people, with tears and much lamentation, oflfered up prayers and sacrifice for the repose of his soul. And the historian adds that this was done in accord- ance with the desires of that religious monarch, who had erected in Constantinople the great church in honor of the Apostles, so that after his death the faithful might there remember him.' St. Cyril of Jerusalem (4th cent.) writes: "We commemorate the Holy Fathers, and Bishops, and all who have fallen asleep from amongst us, believ- ing that the supplications which we present will he ^ De Monogam>, n. x. * Euseb., B. iv., c. 71. PUEGATORY, ETC. 253 of great assistance to their souls, while the holy and tremendous sacrifice is offered up." And he answers by au illustration those who might be disposed to doubt the efficacy of prayers for the dead : " If a king had banished certain persons who had oiSended him, and their relations having woven a crown, should offer it to him in behalf of those under his vengeance, would he not grant a respite to their punishments? So we, in offering up a crown of prayers in behalf of those who have fallen asleep, will obtain for them forgiveness through the merits of Christ." ' St. Ephrem, in the same century, says : " I con- jure you, my brethren and fi-iends, in the name of that God who commands me to leave you, to re- member me when you assemble to pray. Do not bury me with perfumes. Give them not to me, but to God. Me, conceived in sorrows, bury with lamen- tations, and instead of perfumes, assist me with your prayers ; for the dead are benefited by the prayers of living saints." ^ St. Ambrose (same century), on the death of the Emperors Gratian and Valentinian, says : " Blessed shall both of you be (Gratian and Valentinian), if my prayers can avail anything. No day shall pass yoa over in silence. No prayer of mine shall omit to honor you. No night shall hurry by without beatowing on you a mention in my prayers. Id » Catech., n. 9, 10, p. 328. ■ Aiiud Faith of Catholics, Vol. III., p. 162 and aei. 254 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERd every one of the oblations will I remember you." And on the death of the Emperor Theodosius, he offers the following prayer : " Give perfect rest to Thy servant Theodosius, that rest which Thou hast prepared for Thy saints. May his soul return thither whence it descended, where it cannot feel the sting of death I loved him, and therefore will I follow him, even unto the land of the living. Nor will I leave him until, by tears and prayers, I shall lead him .... unto the holy mountain of the Lord, where is life undying, where corruption is not, nor sighing nor mourning." ^ St. Jerome, in the same century, in a letter of condolence to Pammachius, on the death of his wife Paulina, writes : '* Other husbands strew violets and roses on the graves of their wives. Our Pammachius bedews the hallowed dust of Paulina with balsams of alms.'^ ' And St. Chrysostom writes : " It was not without good reason ordained by the ApostleSy that mention should be made of the dead in the tremendous mysteries, because they knew well that these would receive great benefit from it." * St. Augustine, who lived in the beginning of the fifth century, relates that when his mother was at the point of death, she made this last request of him: "Lay this body anywhere; let not the care of it any way disturb you. This only I request of 1 See Pai th« Baltim()re Cathedral. i CIVIL AND HELIGIOUS LIBERTY, 277 ceived from a nation in which the Koman Catholic &ith is professed." And the Catholics of our generation have nobly emulated the patriotism and the spirit of toleration exhibited by their ancestors. They can neither be accused of disloyalty or of intolerance to their dis- senting brethren. In more than one instance of our nation's history, our churches have been desecrated and burned to the ground ; our convents have been invaded and destroyed; our clergy have been ex- posed to insult and violence. These injuries have been inflicted on us by incendiary mobs animated by hatred of Catholicism. Yet, in spite of these provocations, our Catholic citizens, though wielding an immense numerical influence in the localities where they suffered, have never retaliated. It is in a spirit of just pride that we can affirm that hither- to in the United States no Protestant house of wor- ship or educational institution has been destroyed, nor violence offered to a Protestant minister, by those who profess the Catholic faith. God grant that such may always be our record. And it is just because the Church has ever resisted the tyranny of kings, in their encroachments on the sacred right of conscience, that she has always been the victim of royal persecution. In every age, in the language of the Psalmist, " the kings of the earth rose up, and the princes assembled together against the Lord and against His Christ." ^ The brightest iPs. u. 278 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. and most thrilling pages of ecclesiastical history are those which record the sufferings of Popes and Prelates, at the hands of temporal sovereigns, for conscience' and for justice' sake. Take, for instance, St. John Chrysostom, the great Archbishop of Constantinople in the fifth century, and the idol of the people. He had the courage, like John the Baptist, to raise his eloquent voice against the lasciviousness of the court, and partic- ularly against the Empress Eudoxia, who ruled like another Jezabel. He was banished from his See, treated with the utmost indignity by the soldiers, and died in exile from sheer exhaustion and ill treatment. Witness Pope Gregory VII., the fearless Hilde- brand, in his life-long struggle with the German Em- peror, Henry IV. Gregory directed all the energies of bis great mind towards reforming tlie abuses whiclj had crept into the church of France and Germany in the eleventh century. The Emperor of Germany, in those days, assumed the right of naming or ap- pointing the Bishops throughout his empire. This sacred office was commonly bestowed on very un- worthy candidates, and very often put up at auc- tion, to be sold to the highest bidder, as is now the case with the schismatic Greek church in Turkey. These Bishops too often repaid their imperial ben« e factor by pandering to his passions, and by the most servile flattery. The intrepid Pope partially succeeded in uprooting the evil> though the ^ort CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 279 cost him his life. The Emperor invaded Rome, drove Gregory from his See, who died uttering these words with his last breath : " I have loved justice and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile." For the same cause, Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain at the altar by the hired assassins of Henry II., of England. And observe how Pius VII. was treated by the first Napoleon in the beginning of the present cen- tury. The day-dream of Napoleon was to be master of Europe, and to place his brothers and friends on the thrones of the continent, that they might re- volve, like so many satellites, around his throne in France. Napoleon makes two demands on the venerable Pontiff: 1. That he dissolve the marriage which had been contracted between the Emperor's brother, Jerome, and Miss Patterson, of Baltimore. His ostensible reason for having the marriage dis- solved was because Miss Patterson was a Protestant ; but his real motive was to secure a royal bride for his brother instead of an American lady, 2. That he close his ports against the commerce of England, with which nation Napoleon was then at war, and make common cause with the Emperor against his enemies. The Pope rejected both demands. He told the Emperor that the Church held all mar- riages performed by her as indissoluble, even when one of the parties was not a Catholic ; and that, as the common father of Christendom, he could clos« his ])ort against no Christian powcir. For refusing 280 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. to comply with this second demand, the Pjpe waa arrested and sent into exile, where he lingered for years. And at this very moment the old conflict between the Church and despotic governments is raging fiercely throughout Europe. The scene enacted by John and Herod is to-day reproduced in al- most every kingdom of the ©Id world. It is the old fight between brute force and the God-given rights of conscience. In Russia we see the Bishop of Plock exiled for life, from his See, to Siberia. His only offence is his refusal to acknowledge that the Emperor Alex- ander is the head of the Christian Church. If we pass over into Italy, we see religious men and women driven from their homes; their houses and libraries confiscated — libraries which pious and learned men had been collecting and consulting for ages. The only crime of those religious is that they have not the power to resist brute force. Cross the Alps into France, and there you will see that many-headed monster the Commune, assas- sinating the Archbishop of Paris and his clergy, solely because he and they were the representa- tives of law and order. In the so-called Republic of Switzerland, Bishop Mermillod is expelled from Geneva without the slightest charge adduced against his character aa a citizen and a Christian Prelate. Faithful cler- gymen are deprived by the government of theii CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 281 parochial riglits, and renegade priests are intruded in their place. The shepherd is driven away, and wolves lay waste the fold. Go to Prussia: what do you behold there? A Prime Minister flushed with his recent victories over France. He is not content with seeing his master wear the imperial crown of Germany ; he wants him also to wear the tiara of the Pope. Like Aman, the minister of King Assuerus, Bismarck is not satisfied with being second in the kingdom so long as Mardochai, that is the Church, refuses to bow down and worship him. He fines the venerable Archbishop of Gnesen- Posen and other Prussian Prelates again and again, sells their furniture, and finally sends them to prison for a protracted period. St. John Chry- sostom beautifully remarks that St. Paul, elevated to the third heaven, was glorious to contemplate; but that far more glorious is Paul buried in the dungeons of Kome. I can say in like manner, of Archbishop Ledocliowski of Posen, that he was con- spicuous in the Vatican Council among his peers ; but he was still more conspicuous sitting solitary in his Prussian prison. The loyalty of the Prussian clergy is above re- proach. The Bishops are imprisoned because they insist on the right of educating students for the ministry, ordaining and appointing clergy, without consulting the government. They are denied a right which in this country is possessed by Free Masons, and every other human organization in the land. 282 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Perhaps a simple illustration will present to yon in a clearer light the odious character of the penal laws to which I have alluded. Suppose the govern- ment of the United States were to issue a general order requiring the clergy of the various Christian denominations to be educated in government estab- lishments, and forcing them to take an oath before entering on the duties of the ministry ; forbidding, also, the ecclesiastical authorities to appoint or re- move any clergyman without permission of the civil power at Washington. Would not the Ameri- can people rise up in their might, before they would submit to have such galling fetters forged on their conscience? And yet this is precisely the odious legislation which the Prussian government is enact- ing against the Church. And the Catholic Church, in resisting these laws, is not only fighting her own battles, but she is contending for the principle of freedom of conscience everywhere. But, thank God, we live in a country where liberty of conscience is respected, and where the civil con- stitution holds over us the aegis of her protection, without intermeddling with ecclesiastical affairs. From my heart, I say: America, with all thy faults, I love thee still. And perhaps at thia moment there is no nation on the face of the earth where the Church is less trammeled, and where she has more liberty to carry out her sublime destiny, than in these United States. For my part, I much prefer the system which CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 283 prevails in this country, where the temporal needs of the Church are supplied by voluntary contribu- tions of the faithful, to the system which obtains in some Catholic countries of Europe, where the Church is supported by the government, thereby making feeble reparation for the gross injustice it has done to the Church, by its former wholesale confiscation of ecclesiastical property. And the Church pays dearly for this indemnity ; for she has to bear the perpetual attempts at interference and the vexatious enactments of the civil power, which aims at making her wholly dependent upon itself. Some years ago, in company with the late Arch- bishop Spalding, on my return from Rome, I paid a visit to the Bishop of Annecy, in Savoy. I was struck by the splendor of his palace, and saw a sentinel at the door, placed there by the French government, as a guard of honor. But the vener- able Bishop soon disabused me of my favorable im- pressions. He told me that he was in a state of gilded slavery. I cannot, said he, build as much as a sacristy without obtaining permission of the government. I do not wish to see the day when the Church will invoke or receive any government aid to build our churches, or to pay the salary of our clergy ; for, the government may then begin to dictate to us what doctrines we ought to preach. And in pro- portion as state patronage would increase, the sym- pathy and aid of tbi6 Mthful would dimini^ 284 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. May the happy condition of things now existing among us always continue, when the relations be- tween the clergy and the people will be direct and immediate; when Bishops and Priests will bestow upon their spiritual children their voluntary labors, their tender solicitude, their paternal affection, and pour out like water their hearts' blood, if necessary ; and when they will receive in return the free-will offerings, — the devotion and gratitude of a filial people. CHAPTER XVIII. CHARGES OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. THE SPANISH INQXHSITION — THE MASSACRE OP ST, BAR- THOLOMEW — QUEEN MARY OF ENGLAND. BUT did not the Spanish Inquisition exercise enor- mous cruelties against heretics and Jews? I am not the apologist of the Spanish Inquisition, and I have no desire to palliate or excuse the excesses into which that tribunal may at times have fallen. From my heart I abhor and denounce every species of vio- lence, and injustice, and persecution of which the Spanish Inquisition may have been guilty. And in raising my voice against coercion for conscience' sake, I am expressing not only my own sentiments, but those of eveiy Catholic Priest and layman in the land RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION, 280 Our Catholic ancestors, for the last three hundred years, have suffered so much for freedom of con- science, that they would rise up in judgment against us, were we to become the advocates and defenders of religious persecution. We would be a disgrace to our sires, were we to trample on the principle of liberty which they held dearer than life. And when I denounce the cruelties of the Inqui- sition, I am not standing aloof from the Church, but I am treading in her footprints. Bloodshed and persecution form no part of the creed of the Cath- olic Church. So much does she abhor the shedding of blood, that a man becomes disqualified to serve as a minister at her altars who, by act or counsel, voluntarily sheds the blood of another. Before you can convict the Church of intolerance, you must first bring forward some authentic act of her Popes or Councils sanctioning the policy of vengeance. In all my readings, I have yet to find one decree of hers advocating torture or death for conscience' sake. She is indeed intolerant of error; but her only weapons against error are those pointed out by St. Paul to Timothy: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season ; reprove, entreat ; rebuke with all patience and doctrine." ^ But you will tell me : Were not the authors of the Inquisition children of the Church, and did they not exercise their enormities in her name? Granted. But I ask you : Is it just or fair to hold » n. Tim. iv. 2. 286 THE FAITH OF OUK FATHERS. the Church responsible for those acts of her children which she disowns ? You do not denounce liberty as a mockery, because many crimes are committed in her name ; neither do you hold a father account- able for the sins of his disobedient children. We should also bear in mind that the Spaniards were not the only people who have proscribed men for the exercise of their religious belief. If we calmly study the history of other nations, our en- mity towards Spain will considerably relax, and we shall have to reserve for her neighbors a por- tion of our indignation. No impartial student of history will deny that the leaders of the Eeformed religions, whenever they gained the ascendancy, ex- ercised violence towards those who differed from them in faith. I mention this not by way of re- crimination, nor in palliation of the proscriptions of the Spanish government; for one offence is not justified by another. My object is merely to show that "those who live in glass houses should not throw stones;" and that it is not honest to make Spain the scapegoat, bearing alone on her shoulders the odium of religious intolerance. It should not be forgotten that John Calvin burned Michael Servetus at the stake for heresy; and the arch-reformer not only avowed but also justified the deed in his writings, and established Lq Geneva an Inquisition for the punishment of refractory Christians. It should also be remembered that Luther ad« RELIGIOUS FlfiRSECTJTION. 287 vocated the most merciless doctrine towards the Jews. According to his apologist Seckendorf, the German Keformer said that their synagogues ought to be destroyed, their houses pulled down, their prayer-books, and even the books of the Old Testa- ment, to be taken from them. Their rabbis ought to be forbidden to teach, and be compelled to gain their livelihood by hard labor. It should also be borne in mind that Henry VIII. and his successors for many generations, inflicted fines, imprisonment, and death on thousands of their subjects for denying the spiritual supremacy of the temporal sovereign. This galling Inquisition lasted for nearly three hundred years, and the severity of its decrees scarcely finds a parallel in the Span- ish Inquisition. Prescott avows that the adminis- tration of Elizabeth was "not a whit less despotic, and scarcely less sanguinary than " ^ that of Isabella. The clergy of Ireland, under Cromwell, were ordered, under pain of death, to quit their country, and theo- logical students were obliged to pursue their studies in foreign seminaries. Any Priest who dared to re- turn to his native country forfeited his life. Who- ever harbored a Priest suffered death, and those who knew his hiding-place, and did not reveal it to the Inquisitors, had both their ears cut off. At this very moment, not only in England, but in Ireland, Scotland, and Holland, Protestants are wor- shiping in some of the churches erected by the * Ferdinand and Isabella, Vol. III., p. 202. 288 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. piety of our Catholic forefathers, and wrested from them by violence. Observe, also, that in all these instances the per- secutions were inflicted by the express authority of the founders and heads of Protestant churches. The Puritans of New England inflicted summary vengeance on those who were rash enough to differ from them in religion. In Massachusetts, " the Quakers were whipped, branded, had their ears cut off*, their tongues bored with hot irons, and were banished upon the pain of death in case of their re- turn, and actually executed upon the gallows."^ And who is ignorant of the number of innocent creatures that suffered death in the same State on the ridiculous charge of witchcraft towards the end of the seventeenth century? Well does it become their descendants to taunt Catholics with the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition ! In the religious riots of Philadelphia in 1844, several Catholic churches were burned down in the name of Protestantism, and houses were sacked. I was informed by an eye-witness, that owners of houses were obliged to mark on their doors these words, this house belongs to ProtestantSy in order to save their property from the infuriated incendiaries. For these acts, I never heard of any retaliation on the part of Catholics, and I hope I never shall, no matter how formidable may be their numbers and tempting the provocation. ^ Blue Laws. RELIGIOUS PBKSICUTION. 289 And in spite of the boasted toleration of our times, it cannot be denied that there still lurks a spirit of inquisition, which does not, indeed, vent it- self in physical violence, but is, nevertheless, most galling to its victims. How many persons have 1 met in the course of my ministry, who were ostra- cized by their kindred and friends, driven from home, nay, disinherited by their parents, for the sole crime of carrying out the very shibboleth of Protestantism — the exercise of private judgment, and of obeying the dictates of their conscience, by embracing the Catholic faith I Is not this the most exquisite tor- ture that can be inflicted on refined natures ? Ah ! there is an imprisonment more lonely than the dungeon ; it is the imprisonment of our most cherished thoughts in our own hearts, without a member of the family to communicate with. There is a sword more keen than the executioner's knife ; it is the envenomed tongue of obloquy and abuse. There is a banishment less tolerable than exile from one's country ; it is the excommunication from the paternal roof, and from the affections of those we love. Have I a right to hold the members of the Epis* copal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist ohurches responsible for these prescriptive measures to which I have referred, most of which have been authorized by their respective founders and leaders? God forbid ! For I know full well that these acts of cruelty form no part of the creed of the Protestant 25 T 290 THK FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. cimrches. I have been acquainted with Protestants from my youth. They have been among my most intimate and cherished friends, and, from my knowl- edge of them, I am convinced that they would dis- countenance any physical violence which would be inflicted on their fellow-citizens on account of their religious convictions. They would justly tell me that the persecutions of former years of which I have spoken, should be ascribed to the peculiar and unhappy state of society in which their ancestors lived, rather than to the inherent principles of their religion. And for precisely the same reasons, and for reasons still more forcible, Protestants should not reproach the Catholic Church for the atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition. For, the persecutions to which I have alluded, were for the most part perpetrated by the founders and heads of the Protestant churches ; while the rigors of the Spanish tribunal were inflicted by laymen and subordinate ecclesiastics, either with- out the knowledge or in spite of the protests of the Bishops of Rome. Let us now present the Inquisition in its true light. In the first place, the number of its victims has been wildly exaggerated, as even Prescott is forced to admit. The popular historian of the Inquisition is Llorente, from whom our American authors generally derive their information on thia subject. Now who was Llorente? He was a de- graded Priest, who was dismissed from the Board RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. 291 of Inquisitors, of which he had been Secretary. Actuated by interest and revenge, he wrote his his- tory at the instance of Joseph Bonaparte, the new King of Spain, and, to please his royal master, he did all he could to blacken the character of that institution. His testimony, therefore, should be re- ceived with great reserve. To give you one instance of his unreliability, he quotes the historian Mariana as his authority for saying that two thousand persons were put to death in one year in the dioceses alone of Seville and Cadiz. By referring to the pages of Mariana, we find that author saying that two thou- sand were put to death in all Spain duHng tlie entire administration of Torquemada, which embraced aperiod of fifteen years. Before beginning to examine the character of this tribunal, it must be clearly understood that the Spanish Inquisition was not a purely ecclesiastical institution, but a mixed tribunal. It was conceived Bystematized, regulated in all its procedures and judgments, equipped with officers and powers, and its executions, fines, and confiscations were carried out by the royal authority alone, and not by the Church.^ To understand the true character of the Spanish Inquisition, and the motives which prompted King Ferdinand in establishing that tribunal, we must * For an impartial account of the Inquisition, the readei is referred to the " Letters on the Spanish Inquisition/' by the Coiuif de Maistre. 292 THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS. take a glance at the internal condition of Spain at the close of the fifteenth century. After a struggle of eight centuries, the Spanish nation succeeded in overthrowing the Moors, and in planting the national flag over the entire country. At last the Cross con- quered the Crescent, and Christianity triumphed over Mahometanism. The empire was consolidated under the joint reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. But there still remained elements of discord in the nation. The population was composed of three con- flicting races — the Spaniards, Moors, and Jews. Per- haps the difficulties which beset our own Government in its efforts to harmonize the white, the Indian, and the colored population will give us some idea of the formidable obstacles with which the Spanish court had to contend in its efforts to cement into one na- tion a conquering and a conquered people of different race and religion. The Jews and the Moors were disaffected towards the Spanish government not only on political, but also on religious grounds. They were suspected, and not unjustly, of desiring to transfer their al- legiance from the King of Spain to the King of Barbary, or the Grand Turk. The Spanish Inquisition was accordingly erected by King Ferdinand, less from motives of religious zeal than from those of human policy. It was es- tablished, not so much with the view of preserving ihe Catholic faith, as of perpetuating the integrity of hi? kingdom. The Moors and Jews were looked EELIGIOUS PERSECUTIOK. 29S upon not only as enemies of the altar, but chiefly as enemies of the throne. Catholics were upheld not for their faith alone, but because they united faith to loyalty. The baptized Moors and Israelites were oppressed for their heresy because their heresy was allied to sedition. It must be remembered that in those days heresy, especially if outspoken, was regarded not only as an offence against religion, but also as a crime against the state, and was punished accordingly. This con- dition of things was not confined to Catholic Spain, but prevailed across the sea in Protestant England. We find Henry VIII. and his successors pursuing the same policy in Great Britain towards their Catholic subjects, and punishing Catholicism as a crime against the state, just as Islamism and Juda- ism were proscribed in Spain. It was, therefore, rather a royal and political than an ecclesiastical institution. The King nom- inated the Inquisitors, who were equally composed of lay and clerical officials. He dismissed them at will. From the King, and not from the Pope, they derived their jurisdiction, and into the King's cof fers, and not into the Pope's, went all the emolu- ments accruing from fines and confiscations. In a word, the authority of the Inquisition began and ended with the crown. In confirmation of these assertions, I shall quote from Ranke, a German Protestant historian, who cannot be suspected of partiality to the Catholic 26* 294 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. Church. "In the first place," says this author, "the Inquisitors were royal officers. The Kings had the right of appointing and dismissing them. . . , The courts of the Inquisition were subject, like other magistracies, to royal visitors. *Do you not know,' said the King (to Ximenes), *that if this tribunal possesses jurisdiction, it is from the King it derives it ? ' **In the second place, all the profit of the confis- cations by this court accrued to the King. These were carried out in a very unsparing manner. Though the fueros (privileges) of Aragon forbade the King to confiscate the property of his con- victed subjects, he deemed himself exalted above the law in matters pertaining to this court. . . . The proceeds of these confiscations formed a sort of regular income for the royal exchequer. It was even believed, and asserted from the begin- ning, that the Kings had been moved to establish and countenance this tribunal more by their hank- ering after the wealth it confiscated than by mo- tives of piety. " In the third place, it was the Inquisition, and the Inquisition alone, that completely shut out all extraneous interference with the state. The sover- eign had now at his disposal a tribunal from which no grandee, no Archbishop, could withdraw himsel£ As Charles knew no other means of bringing certain punishment on the Bishops who had taken part in the insurrection of the Communidadea (or communes who BELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. 29ft were struggling for their rights and liberties), he chose to have them judged by the Inquisition. . . . " It was in spirit and tendency a political institu- tion. The Fope had an interest in thwarting it, and he did so; but the King had an interest in con- stantly upholding it." ^ That the Inquisition acted independently of the Holy See, and that even the Catholic hierarchy fell under the ban of this royal tribunal, is also apparent from the following fact: After the con- vening of the Council of Trent, Bartholomew Car- anza, Archbishop of Toledo, was arrested by the Inquisition on a charge of heresy, and his release from prison could not be obtained either by the interposition of Pius IV. or the remonstrance of the Council. It is true that Sixtus IV., yielding to the impor- tunities of Queen Isabella, consented to its establish- ment, being advised that it was necessary for the preservation of order in the kingdom ; but in 1481, the year following its introduction, when the Jews complained to him of its severity, the same Pontiff issued a Bull against the Inquisitors, as Prescott in- forms us, in which " he rebuked their intemperate zeal, and even threatened them with deprivation." He wrote to Ferdinand and Isabella that "mercy towards the guilty was more pleasing to God than the severity which they were using." When the Pope could not eradicate the evil, he * The Ottoman and Spanifih Empires, by Leopold Raiike. 296 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS encouraged the sufferers to flee to Rome, where they found an asylum, aud where he took the fugitives under his protection. In two years he received four hundred and fifty refugees from Spain. Did the Pontiff send them back, or did he inflict vengeance on them at home ? Far from it ; they were restored to all the rights of citizens. How can we imagine that the Pope would encourage in Spain the legal- ized murder of men whom he protected from vio- lence in his own city, where he might have crushed them with impunity ? I can find no authenticated instance of any Pope putting to death, in his own dominions, a single individual for his religious belief. Moreover, sometimes the Pope, when he could not reach the victims, censured and excommunicated the Inquisitor, and protected the children of those whose property was confiscated to the crown. After a struggle, he succeeded in preventing the Spanish government from establishing its Inquisi- tion in Naples or Milan, which then belonged to Spain, so great was his abhorrence of its cruelties. To sum up: I have endeavored to show that the Church disavows all responsibility for the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition, because oppres- sion forms no part of her creed ; that these atrocities have been grossly exaggerated ; that the Inquisition was a political tribunal ; that Catholic Prelates were amenable to its sentence as well as Moors and Jews, and that the Popes denounced and labored hard to abolish its sanguinary features. KBTLIGIOUS PERSECUTION. 297 And yet Rome has to bear all the odium of the Inquisition ! I heartily pray that religious intolerance may never take root in our favored land. May the only king to force our conscience be the King of kings ; may the only prison erected among us for the sin of unbelief or misbelief be the prison of a troubled con- science; and may our only motive for embracing truth be not the fear of man, but the love of truth and of God. II. What about the massacre of Si. Bartholomew f I have no words strong enough to express my de- testation of that inhuman slaughter. It is true that the number of its victims has been grossly exagger- ated by partisan writers, but that is no extenuation of the crime itself. But I most emphatically assert that the Church had no act or part in this atrocious l^utchery, except to deplore the event and weep over its unhappy victims. Here are the facts briefly pre- sented : 1. In the reign of Charles IX. of France, the Huguenots were a formidable power and a seditious element in that country. They were under the leadership of Admiral Coligny, who was plotting the overthrow of the ruling monarch. The French King, instigated by his mother, Catherine de Medicis, and fearing the influence of Coligny, whom he re- garded afi an aspirant to the throne, compassed hia 298 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. assassination, as well as that of his followers in Paris, August 24th 1572. This deed of violence was followed by an indiscriminate massacre in the French capital, and other cities of France, by an in- cendiary populace, who are easily aroused but not easily appeased. 2. Religion had nothing to do with the massacre. Ooligny and his fellow Huguenots were slain not on account of their creed, but exclusively on account of their alleged treasonable designs. If they had nothing but their Protestant faith to render them odious to King Charles, they would never have been molested; for, neither did Charles nor his mother ever manifest any special zeal for the Cath- olic Church, nor any special aversion to Protestant- ism, unless when it threatened the throne. 3. Immediately after the massacre, Charles de- spatched an envoy extraordinary to each of the courts of Europe, conveying the startling intelli- gence that the King aud royal family had narrowly escaped from a horrible conspiracy, and that its authors had been detected and summarily punished. The envoys, in their narration, carefully suppressed any allusion to the indiscriminate massacre which had taken place, but announced the event in the fol- io \ving words: On that "memorable night, by the destruction of a few seditious men, the King had Deen delivered from immediate danger of death, and the realm from the perpetual terror cf civil war." EELIQIOUS PERSECUTION. 29S Pope Gregory XIII., to whom also an enToy was Kent, acting on this garbled information, ordered a " Te Deum " to be sung, and a commemorative medal to be struck off in thanksgiving to God, not for the massacre, of which he was utterly ignorant, but for the preservation of the French King from an untimely and violent death, and of the French nation from the horrors of a civil war. Sismondi, a Protestant historian, tells us that the Pope's nuncio in Paris was purposely kept in igno- rance of the designs of Charles ; and Ranke, in his History of the Oivil Wars, informs us that Charles and his mother suddenly left Paris in order to avoid an interview with the Pope's legate, who arrived soon after the massacre; their guilty conscience fearing, no doubt, a rebuke from the messenger of the Vicar of Christ, from whom the real facts were not long concealed. 4. It is scarcely necessary to vindicate the inno- cence of the Bishops and clergy of France in this transaction, as no author, how hostile soever to the Church, has ever, to my knowledge, accused them of any complicity in the heinous massacre. On the contrary, they used their best efforts in Rrresting the progress of the assailants, in prevent- big more bloodshed, and in protecting the lives of the fugitives. More than three hundred Calvinista were sheltered from the assassins by taking refuge in the house of the Archbishop of Lyons. The Biahojs of Lisieux, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and of other 800 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. cities, rendered similar protection to those who sough safety in their homes. Thus we see that the Church slept in tranqui ignorance of the stormy scene until she was arousec to a knowledge of the tempest by the sudden uproai it created. And like her divine Spouse on th« troubled waters, she presents herself only to say tc them: "Peace, be still." III. I am asked : Must you not admit that Mary, Queen of England, persecuted the Protestants of the British realm f I ask this question in reply : How is it that Catholics are persistently reproached for the persemdions under Mary^s reign, while scarcely a voi^e is raised in condemnation of the legalized fines, confiscations, and deatJis inflicted on the Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland for three hundred years, — from the establish- raent of the church of England, in 1534, to the time of the Catholic emancipation? Elizabeth's hands were- steeped in the blood of Catholics, Puritans, and Ana baptists. Why are these cruelties suppressed or glossed over, while those of Mary form the bur- den of every nursery tale ? Is it because persecu- tion becomes justice when Catholics happen to i>e the victims ; or is it because they are expected, from long usage, to be insensible to torture ? If we weigh in the scales of impartial justice the reigns of both sisters, we shall be compelled to bring ft £aj: more severe verdict against Elizabeth. HELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. 301 1. Mary reigned only five years and four months, Eliiabeth's rei^n lasted forty-four years and four months. The younger sister, therefore, swayed the sceptre of authority nearly nine times longer than the elder; and the number of Catholics who suffered for their faith during the long administration of Elizabeth may be safely said to exceed in the same proportion the victims of Mary's reign. Hallam asserts that " the rack seldom stood idle in the tower for all the latter part of Elizabeth's reign;" ^ and its very first month was stained by an intolerant statute.' 2. The most unpardonable act of Mary's life, in the judgment of her critics, was the execution of Lady Jane Grey. But Lady Jane was guilty of high treason, having usurped the throne of England, which she occupied for nine days. Elizabeth put to death her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, after a long imprisonment, on the unsus- tained charge of aspiring to the English throne. 3. Mary's zeal was exercised in behalf of the re- ligion of her forefathers, and of the faith established in England for nearly a thousand years. Elizabeth's zeal was employed in extending the new creed introduced by her father in a moment of passion, and modified by herself. Surely, the coercive enforce- ment of a new creed is more odious than the rigoroua maintenance of the time-honored faith of a nation. Mary, therefore, insisted on perpetuating the estab- lished order of things ; Elizabeth, on subverting it. ^ CJoustitutional History : Elizabeth, Chap. TTT. » See Lingard, Vol. VII., pp. 244-6. or S02 THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS. 4. The elder sister was propagating what she bo licved to be the unchangeable and infallible doc- trines of Jesus Christ ; the younger sister was pr )- pagating her own and her father's novel and more or less uncertain opinions. 5. While Mary had no private or personal motives in oppressing Protestants, Elizabeth's hostility to the Catholic Church was intensified, if not instigated, by her hatred of the Pope, who had declared her ille- gitimate. Her legitimacy before the world depended on the success of the new religion, which had legal- ized her father's divorce from Catherine. 6. Hence, as Macaulay says, Mary was sincere in her religion ; Elizabeth was not. " Having no scruple about conforming to the Romish Church when con- formity was necessary to her own safety, retaining to the last moment of her life a fondness for much of the doctrine and much of the ceremonial of that Church, she yet subjected that Church to a persecu- tion even more odious than the persecution with . which her sister had harassed the Protestants. Mary .... did nothing for her religion which she was not prepared to suffer for it. She had held it firmly under persecution. She fully believed it to be essential to salvation. Elizabeth, in opinion, waa little more than half a Protestant. She had pro- fessed, when it suited her, to be wholly a Catholic- . . . What can be said in defence of a ruler who ia at once indifferent and intolerant?"'* * Review of Narea* Memoirs of Lord Buxghley. THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 308 Aji intelligent gentleman in North Carolina once Baid to me tauntingly, What do you think of bloody Mary ? Did you ever hear, I replied, of her sister's cruelties to Catholics ? He answered that he never read of that mild woman persecuting for conscience' sake. I was amazed at his words, until he acknowl- edged that his historical library was comprised in one work — D'Aubigne*8 History of the Rejormoy tion. That veradous author has prudently sup- pressed, or delicately touched, Elizabeth's pecca- dilloes as not coming within the scope of his plan. How many are found, like our North Carolina gen- tleman, who are familiar from their childhood with the name of Smithjieldy but who never once heard of Tyburn/ CHAPTER XIX. GRACE — THE SACRAMENTS — ORIGINAL SIN — BAP- TISM — ITS NECESSITY — ITS EFFECTS — MANNER OF BAPTIZING. THE grace of God is that supernatural assistance which He imparts to us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, for our salvation. It is called super- natural, because no one by his own natural ability can acquire it. Without divine grace, we can neither couceive nor accomplish anything for the sanctification of our soulfl. " Not that we are sufficient," says the Apos- 304 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHEHS. tie, " to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves ; but our sufficiency is from God." ^ " For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish " * anything conducive to your salvation. "Without Me," says our Lord, "you can do nothing."' But in order that divine grace may effectually aid us, we must co-operate with it, or at least we must not resist it. The grace of God is obtained chiefly by prayer and the Sacraments. A Sacrament is a visible sign instituted by Christ, by which grace is conveyed to our souls. Three things are necessary to constitute a Sacrament, viz. : a visible sign, invisible grace, and the institution by our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, in the Sacrament of Baptism, there is the outward sign, which consists in the pouring of water, and in the formula of words which are then pro- nounced ; the interior grace or sanctification which is imparted to the soul : " Be baptized, . . . and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ; " * and the ordinance of Jesus Christ, who said : " Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." * Our Saviour instituted seven Sacraments, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony, which I shall ex- plain separately, » IL Cor. iii. 6. « Phil. ii. 13. • John xv. 6. * Acts il 38. 5 Matt xxviiL 19, THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 305 According to the teachings of Holy Writ, man was created in a state of innocence and holiness, and after having spent on this earth his allotted term of years, he was destined, without tasting death, to be translated to the perpetual society of God in heaven, » But in consequence of his disobedience, he fell from his high estate of righteousness ; his soul was defiled by sin ; he became subject to death and to various ills of body and soul, and forfeited his heavenly in- heritance. Adam's transgression was not confined to himself, but was transmitted, with its long train of dire con- sequences, to all his posterity. And it is called Original sin because it is derived from our original progenitor. "Wherefore," says St. Paul, "as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death, and so death passed unto all men, in whom all have sinned." ^ And elsewhere he tells us that " we were by nature children of wrath." ' " Who," says Job, " can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed," or, as the Septuagint version expresses it : " There is no one free from stain, not even though his life be of one day." * As an infant one day old cannot commit an actual sin, the stain must come from the original offence of Adam. " Behold," says David, " I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me."* The Scripture also tells us that Jeremiah ^ See Wisdom ii. 23. » Rom. v. 12. » Eph, ii. 3. *Jobxiv.4. » Pa. 1.7, 26* C 806 THE FAITH 01 OUR FATHERS. and John the Baptist were sanctified before their birth, or purified from sin, and of course, at that period of their existence, they were incapable of actual sin. They were cleansed, therefore, from the original taint. These passages clearly show that we have all in- herited the transgression of our first parents, and that we are born enemies of God. And it is equally plain that these texts apply to every member of the human family, to the infant of a day old as well an to the adult. Indeed, even without the light of Holy Scripture, we have only to look into ourselves to be convinced that our nature has undergone a rude shock. How else can we account for the miseries and infirmities of our bodies, the blindness of our understanding, the perversity of our will, — inclined always to evil rather than to good, — the violence of our passions, which are constantly waging war in our hearts? How well does the Catholic doctrine explain this abnormal state. Hence, Paschal truly says that man is a greater mystery to himself without Origi- nal sin, than is the mystery itself. The Church, however, declares that the Blessed Virgin Mary was exempted from the stain of Origi- nal sin by the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ ; and that, consequently, she was never for an instant Bubject to the dominion of Satan. This is what Ib meant by the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. iiut God, in passing sentence of condemnation on THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 307 Adam, consoled him by the promise of a Redeemer to come. " I will put enmities," saith the Lord, "be- tween thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed ; she shall crush thy head." ^ Jesus, the seed of Mary, is the chosen one who was destined to crush tne head of the infernal serpent And "when the fulness of time was come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, . . . that He might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." ' Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, came to wash away the defilement from our souls, and to restore us to that divine friendship which we had lost by the sin of Adam. He is the second Adam, who came to re- pair the iniquity of the first. It was our Saviour's privilege to prescribe the conditions on which our reconciliation with God was to be effected. Now He tells us in His Gospel that Baptism is the essential means established for washing away the stain of original sin, and the door by which we find admittance into His Church, which may be called the second Eden. We must all submit to a new bitth, or regeneration, before we can en- ter the kingdom of heaven. Water is the appro- priate instrument of this new birth, as it indicates the interior cleansing of the soul ; and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of spiritual life, is its Author. The Church teaches that Baptism is necessary for » Gen. ill. 15. *Gal. iv. 4, 6. 808 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. all, fbr in^mts as well as adults, and her doctrine rests on the following grounds : Our Lord says to Nicodemus : " Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be bom again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the king- dom of God."^ These words embrace the whole human family, without regard to age or sex, as is evident from the original Greek text, for ttj, which is rendered man in our English translation, means any one, mankind in its broadest acceptation. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul, although contaiidng only a fragmentary account of the ministry of the Apostles, plainly insinuate that the Apostles baptized children as well as grown persons. We are told, for instance, that Lydia "was baptized, and her household,"' by St. Paul; and that the jailer "was baptized, and all his family."' The same Apostle baptized also " the household of Stephanas." * Although it is not expressly stated that there were children among these baj^ized &milies, the presumption is strongly in favor of th« supposition that there were. But if any doubt exists regarding the Apostolic practice of baptizing infants, it is easily removed by referring to the writings of the primitive Fathers of the Church, who, as they were the im- mediate successors of the Apostles, ought to be the best interpreters of their doctrines and practice. * John iii 5. * Acta xvi. 16. ^ Ibid. xyI 33. I Cor. L 1«. THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. SOS St. Irenseus, a disciple of Poly carp, wh) was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, says : " Christ came to save all through Himself; all, I say, who are honi anetv (or baptized) through Him — infants and little ones, boys and youths, and aged persons." ^ Origen, who lived a few years later, writes : " The Church received the tradition from the Apostles, to give baptism even to infants." * The early church of Africa bears triumphant testimony in vindication of infant baptism. St. Cyprian and sixty-six suffragan Prelates held a council in the metropolitan city of Carthage, in the year 253. While the Council is in session, a Prelate named Fidus writes to the Fathers, asking them whether infants ought to be baptized before the eighth day succeeding their birth, or on the eighth day, in accordance wiin the practice of circumcision. The Bishops unanimously subscribe to the follow- ing reply : " As to what regards the baptism of in- fants, ... we all judged that the mercy and grace of God should be denied to no human being from the moment of his birth. If even to the greatest delinquents the remission of sins is granted, how much less should the infant be repelled, who, being recently born according to Adam, has contracted at his first birth the contagion of the ancient death." * Tlie African Council asserts here two prominent facts, — the universal contagion of the human race ' Lib 11. 4dr. H»r. «In Ep. ad Rom. • Epi8. ad Fidum. tiO THE FAITH OP OUR FATHERS tlirougli Adam's fall, and the aniversal necessity of Baptism without distinction of age. Upon this decision, I will make two observaticng : 1. Fidus did not inquire about the necessity of in- fant baptism, which he already admitted, but about the propriety of conferring it on the eighth day, in imitation of the Jewish law of circumcision. 2. The Bishops assembled in that Council were as numer- ous as the whole Episcopate of the United States, which contains about five thousand Priests and up- wards of six millions of Catholics. We may there- fore reasonably conclude that the judgment of the African Council represented the faith of several thousand Priests, and several millions of Catholics. St. Augustine, commenting on this decision, justly observes that St. Cyprian and his colleagues made no new decree, but maintained most firmly the faith of the Church. And this is the unanimous senti- ment of tradition from the days of the Apostles to our own times. Is it not ludicrous as well as impious to see a few German fanatics, in the sixteenth century, raising their feeble voice against the thunder tones of all Christendom, by decrying a practice which was universally held as sacred and essential ? And in judging between the teachings of Apostolical an- tiquity, on the one hand, and of the Anabaptists on the other, it is not hard to determine on which side lies the truth ; for, what becomes of the Christian Church, if it has erred on so vital a point as that of Btfptiito during tii^ etit'it'^ p^tM of its exi^nee? THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 311 Original sin, as St. Paul has told us, is universal, pjvery child is, therefore, defiled at its birth with the taint of Adam's disobedience. Now the Scrip- ture says that nothing defiled can enter the king- dom of heaven.^ Hence, Baptism, which washes away original sin, is as essential for the infant as for the full grown man, in order to attain the king- dom of heaven. I said that Regeneration is necessary for all. But it is important to observe that if a man is heartily sorry for his sins, and loves God with his whole heart, and desires to comply with all the divine ordinances, including Baptism, but has no oppor- tunity of receiving it, or is not sufficiently instructed as to its necessity, God, in this case, accepts the will for the deed. Should this man die in these dispositions, he is saved by the baptism of desire. Or, if an unbaptized person lays down his life for Christ, his death is accepted as more than an equivalent for Baptism; for, he dies not only sanctified, but will wear a martyr's crown. He u baptized in his otvn blood. But is not that a cruel and heartless doctrine which excludes from heaven so many harmless babes that have never committed any actual fault? To this I reply: Has not God declared that Bap- tism is necessary for all ? And is not God the su- preme Wisdom and Justice and Mercy ? I am sure, then, that there can be nothing cruel or unjust in ^ Apoc. rti. 27. 312 THE FAITH OF OTJIl FATHERS. God's decrees. The province of reason consists in ascertaining that God has spoken. When we know that He has spoken, then our investigation ceases, and faith and obedience begin. Instead of im- piously criticising the divine decree, we should ex- claim with the Apostle : " O ! the d^pth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how iDcomprehensible are His judgments, and how un- searchable His ways ! For, who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who hath been His counsel- lor?"^ Let us remember that heaven is a place to which none of us has any inherent right or natural claim, but that it is promised to us by tne pure favor of God. He can reject and adopt whom He pleases, and can, without injustice, prescribe His own con- ditions for accepting His proffered boon. If your child is deprived of heaven by being deprived of Baptism, God does it no wrong, because He infringes no right to which your child had any inalienable title. If your child obtains the grace of Baptism, be thankful for the gift. It is proper here to state briefly what the Church actually teaches regarding the future state of un- baptized infants. Though the Church, in obedience to God's Word, declares that unbaptized infants are excluded from the kingdom of heaven, it should not hence be concluded that they are consigned to the place of the reprobate. None are condemned to the ^ Rom. xi. 33, 34. THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 31 S torments of the damned, but such as ment divine vengeance by their personal sins. All that the Church holds on this point, is thai un regenerate children are deprived of the beatific vision, or the possession of God, which constitutes the essential happiness of the blessed. Now, between the supreme bliss of heaven and the torments of the reprobate, there is a very wide margin. All admit that the condition of unbaptized infants is better than non-existence. There are some Cath- olic writers of distinction who even assert that un- baptized infants enjoy a certain degree of natural beatitude, that is, a happiness which is based on the natural knowledge and love of God. From what has been said, you may well judge how reprehensible is the conduct of Catholic parents who neglect to have their children baptized at the earliest possible moment, thereby risking their own souls, as well as the souls of their innocent offspring. How different was the practice of the early Chris- tians, who, as St. Augustine testifies, hastened with tlieir new-born babes to the baptismal font, that they might not be deprived of the grace of regeneration. If an infant is sick, no expense is spared that its life may be preserved. The physician is called in ; medicine is given to it ; and the mother will spend sleepless nights watching every movement of the infant; she will sacrifice her repose, her health; nay, she will expose even her own life, that the life 27 814 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. of her offspring may be saved. And yet the super* natural happiness of the child is too often imperiled without remorse by the criminal postponement ol Baptism. But, if they are to be censured who are slow in having their children baptized, what are we to think of that large body of professing Christians who, on principle, deny Baptism to little ones till they come to the age of discretion ? What are we to think of those who set their private opinions above Scripture, the early Fathers of the Church, and the universal practice of Christendom ? We may smile indeed at a theological opinion, no matter how novel or erroneous it may be, so long as it does not involve any dangerous consequences. But when it is given in a case of life and death, how terrible is the responsibility of those who propa- gate such erroneous doctrines. The opposite practice of the Catholic and the Baptist churches, in their treatment of the new-born infant, may be well compared to the conduct of the true and false mother who both claimed the child at the tribunal of Solomon. The king exclaimed : " Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other." The pretended mother consented, saying : Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. " But the woman whose child was alive, said to the king (for her bowels were moved upon her child): I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it*' While THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 31fl the Baptist church is willing that the child should die a spiritual death, the true mother, the Catholic Church, cries out: Keep the child, provided its spiritual life is saved, even at your hands. Let it be clothed with the robe of innocence even by a stranger. Let it be nursed at the breasts even of a step-mother. Better it should live without me than perish before my face. I will still be its mother, though it know me not. Ah ! my Baptist friend, you think that Baptism is not necessary for your child's salvation. The old Church teaches the contrary. You admit that you may be wrong, and it is a question of life and death. Take the safe side. Give your child the benefit of the doubt. Let it be baptized. Baptism washes away original sin, and also actual nns from the adult who may have contracted them. The cleansing efficacy of Baptism was clearly fore- shadowed by the prophet Ezechiel in these words : " I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness." ^ When the Jews asked St. Peter what they should do to be saved, the Apostle replied : " Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins." ' And Ananias said to Saul, after his conversion : •* Kise up and be baptized, and wash away thy sins."" " We were by nature," says St. Paul, " children of wrath," but by our regeneration, or new birth in » Efceeh. xxxvl. 25. « Am U. 38. Ibid, xxii; 18. 316 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHEIW. Baptism, we become Christiana and children of Ood. " For, yo are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For, as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ."* We are adopted into the same family with Jesus Christ. What He is by nature, we are by grace, children of God, and consequently brethren of Christ. Nay, our union with Jesus is still more close. We be- come true members of His mystical body, which is His Church, and His divine image is stamped upon our soul. Baptism also clothes us with the garment of sanctity^ so that our soul becomes a fit dwelling-place for the Holy Ghost. The Apostle, after giving a fearful catalogue of the vices of the Pagans, says to the Corinthians : " And such some of you were ; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." * Baptism, in fine, makes us heirs of heaven, and co- heirs with Jesus Christ. " We ourselves also," says St. Paul, " were sometime unwise, incredulous, erring, slaves to divers desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But when the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour ap- peared, .... He saved us by the laver of regener- ation and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom He hath poured forth abundantly upon us, through - Gal. iil 26, 27. • I. Cor, vi. 11. THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 317 Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by His grace, we may be heirs according to the hope of life everlasting/' ^ Here we plainly see that the forgiveness of sin, the adoption into the family of God, the sanctifica- tion of the soul, and the pledge of eternal life, are ascribed to the due reception of Baptism ; — not, in- deed, that water or the words of the minister have any intrinsic virtue to heal the soul, but because Jesus Christ, whose word is creative power, is pleased to attach to this rite its wonderful efiicacy of heal- ing the soul, as He imparted to the pool of Bethsaida the power of healing the body.^ From what has been said, I ask you candidly what are you to think of the decision rendered in 1872 by the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who, in their convention in Baltimore, de- clared that by the word Regeneration we are not to understand a moral change. If no moral change is efiected by Baptism, then there is no change at all • for, certainly Baptism produces no physical change in the soul. Is it no change to pass from sin to virtue, from a " child of wrath '' to be a " child of God ; " from corruption to sanctification ; from the condition of heirs of death to the inheritance of heaven ? If all this implies no moral change, then these words have lost their meaning. Modes of baptizing. The Baptists err in asserting > Tit. iii. 3-7. * John r. 27* 818 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. 1 that Baptism by immeTsion is the only valid moda Baptism may be validly administered in either of three ways, viz. : by imm&i^siony or by plunging the candidate into the water ; by injimon, or by pouring the water ; and by aspersmij or sprinkling. As our Lord nowhere prescribes any special form of administering the Sacrament, the Church exer- cises her. discretion in adopting the most convenient mode, according to the circumstances of time and place. For several centuries after the establishment of Christianity, Baptism was usually conferred by im- mersion ; but since the twelfth century, the practice of baptizing by infusion has prevailed in the Catholic Cliurch, as this manner is attended with less incon- venience than Baptism by immersion. To prove that Baptism by infusion or by sprink- ling»^ is as legitimate as by immersion, it is only necessary to observe that, though immersion was the more common practice in the Primitive Church, the Sacrament was frequently administered even then by infusion and aspersion. After St. Peter's first discourse, three thousand per- sons were baptized.^ It is not likely that so many could have been immersed in one day, especially when we consider the time occupied in instructing the candidates. On reading the account of the Baptism of St Paul and the jailer, the context leaves a strong im- ' Acte ii. 41. TBE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. SIS pression on the mind that both received the Sacra- ment by aspersion or by infusion. Early ecclesiastical history records a great manj instances in which Baptism was administered to sick persoris in their beds, to prisoners in their cells, and to persons on shipboard. And the Fathers of the Church never called in question the validity or the legitimacy of such Baptisms. Now, it is almost im- possible to believe that candidates in such situations could receive the rite by immersion. We have seen, moreover, that Baptism has always oeen declared necessary for salvation. It is reason- able, hence, to believe that our Lord would have afforded the greatp Isaiah i. 11-13. * Mai. i. 10, 11. 80* y S54 THE FAITH OF OtJR FATHERS We may divide the inhabitants of the world into five different classes of people, professing different forms of religion, — Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, Protestants, and Catholics. Among which of these shall we find the clean oblation of which the prophet speaks? !N'ot among the Pagan nations; for they worship false gods, and consequently cannot have any sacrifice pleasing to the Almighty. Not among the Jews ; for they have ceased to sacrifice alto- gether, and the words of the prophet apply not to the Jews, but to the Gentiles. Not among the Mahometans ; for they also reject sacrifices. Not among any of the Protestant sects; for they all distinctly repudiate sacrifices. Therefore, it is only in the Catholic Church that is fulfilled this glorious prophecy ; for, whithersoever you go, you will find the clean oblation offered on Catholic altars. If you travel from America to Europe, to Oceanica, to Africa, or Asia, you will see our altars erected, and our priests daily fulfilling the words of the prophet, by offering the " clean oblation " of the body and blood of Christ. Tliis oblation of the New Law is commonly called the Mass, The word Mass is derived by some from the Hebrew term Missach (Deut. xvi.), which means a free offering. Others derive it from the word Musay which the priest uses when he announces to the congregation that divine service is over. It ia an expression indelibly marked on our English THI SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 355 tongue from the origin of our language, and we find it embodied in such words as CandlemaSi Michael-mas, 3farti7i-maSy and Christmas. The sacrifice of the Mass is the consecration of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, and the oblation of this body and blood to God, by the ministry of the priest, for a per- petual memorial of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The sacrifice of the Mass is identical with that of the cross, both having the same victim and High Priest — Jesus Christ. The only difference consists in the manner of the oblation. Christ was gfifered up on the cross in a bloody manner, and in the Mass He is offered up in an unbloody manner. On the cross He pur- chased our ransom, and in the Eucharistic sacri- fice the price of that ransom is applied to our Bouls. Hence, all the efficacy of the Mass is de- rived from the sacrifice of Calvary. It was on the night before He suflTered that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the sacrifice of the New Law. "Jesus," says St. Paul, "the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: Take ye and eat; this is My body which shall be delivered for you. This do for the commemoration of Me. In like man- ner also the chalice, after He had supped, saying : This chalice is the new testament in My blood. This do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me; for as often as ye shall 356 THE FAITH OF OUK FATHERS. eat this bread, and drink the chalice, ye shall she w show the death of the Lord until He come."^ From these words we learn that the princippJ motive which our Saviour had in view, in insti tuting the sacrifice of the altar, was to keep us in perpetual remembrance of His sufferings and death He wished that the scene of Calvary should ever ap- pear in panoramic view before our eyes, and that our hearts and memories and intellects should be filled with the thoughts of His Passion. He knew well that this would be the best means of winning our love, and exciting sorrow for sin in our soul. There- fore, He designed that in every church throughout the world an altar should be erected, to serve as a monument of His mercies to His people, as the chil- dren of Israel erected a monument, on crossing the Jordan, to commemorate His mercies to His chosen people. Hence, the Mass is truly the memorial ser* vice of Christ's Passion. In compliance with the command of our Lord, the adorable sacrifice of the altar has been daily renewed in the Church, from the death of our Saviour till the present time, and will be perpetuated till time shall be no more. In the Acts, it is said that while Saul and others were ministering (or, as the Greek text expresses it; Baerificing) to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirii said to them : " Set apart for Me Saul and Barna- ^LCor.xi. 23-26. THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 357 bas." St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, fre- quent ly alludes to the sacrifice of the Mass* " We have an altar," he says, " whereof they cannot eat who serve the tabernacle."^ The Apostle here plainly declares that the Christian church has its altars as well as the Jewish synagogue. An altar necessarily supposes a sacrifice, without which it has no meaning. The Apostle also observes that the priesthood of the New Law was substituted for that of the Old Law.^ Now, the principal office of priests has always been to offer sacrifice. Priest and sacrifice are as closely identified as judge and court. St. Paul, after David, calls Jesus " a priest for- over according to the order of Meichisedech." * He is named a priest, because He offers sacrifice ; a priest forever, because His sacrifice is perpetual; accordijig to the 07'der of Melchisedech, because He offers up consecrated bread and wine, which were j^refigured by the bread and wine offered by " Mel- chisedech, the priest of the Most High God." * Tradition, with its hundred tongues, proclaims the perpetual oblation of the sacrifice of the Mass, from the time of the Apostles to our own days. If we consult the Fathers of the Church, who have stood like faithful sentinels on the watch-towers of Israel, guarding with a jealous eye the deposit of faith, and who have been the faithful witnesses of their *Heb. xiii. 10. « Ibid. vii. 12. » Ps. cix. 4 ; Heb. v. 6. * G^i. xiv. 18. S58 THE FAITH OF OUK FATHERS. own times and the recorders of the past , if we con^ suit the General Councils, at which were assembled the venerable hierarchy of Christendom, they will all tell us, with one voice, that the sacrifice of the Mass was the centre of their religion, and the ac- knowledged institution of Jesus Christ. Another remarkable evidence in favor of the divine institution of the Mass, is furnished by the Nestorians and Eutychians who separated from the Catholic Church in the fifth century, and who still exist in Persia, and in other parts of the East, as well as by the Greek schismatics who severed their connection with the Church in the ninth century. A.11 these sects, as well as the numerous other sects scattered over the East, retain to this day the obla- tion of the Mass in their daily service. > As these Christian communities have had no communication with the Catholic Church since the period of their separation from her, they could not, of course, have borrowed from her the doctrine of the Eucharistic sacrifice, and consequently they must have received it from the same source from which the Church de- rived it, viz., from the Apostles themselves. But of all proofs in favor of the Apostolic ori- gin of the sacrifice of the Mass, the most striking and the most convincing is found in the Liturgies of the Church. The Liturgy is the established Ritual of the Church. It is the collection of the authorized prayers of divine worship. These prayers are fixed and immovable. Among others, we have THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 859 the Liturgy of Jerusalem, ascribed to the Apostle St. James ; the Liturgy of Alexandria, attributed to St. Mark the Evangelist, and the Liturgy of Rome, referred to St. Peter. There are various other Liturgies accredited to the Apostles or to their immediate successors. Now I wish to call your attention to this remarkable fact, that all these Liturgies, though compiled by different persons, at different times, and in various places, and in divers languages, contain, without exception, in clear and precise language, the prayers to be said at the celebration of Mass; prayers in substance the same as those found in our Prayer-Books at the Canon of the Mass. We cannot account for this wonderful uniformity, except by supposing that the doctrine respecting the Mass was received by the Apostles from the com- mon fountain of Christianity — Jesus Christ Himself. It was such facts as these that opened the eyes of those eminent English divines who, during the present century, have abandoned heresy and schism and rich preferments, and who have embraced the Catholic faith, though, by taking such a step, they had to sacrifice all that was dear to them on earth. The following passages from St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews are sometimes urged as an argument against the sacrifice of the Mass : " Christ, . . . neither by the blood of goats, or of calves, but by His own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption." "N(^r yet that He 860 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. should offer Himself often, as the high priest enter* eth into the Holies every year." ^ Again : '* Every priest standeth, indeed, daily ministering, and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins ; but this Man, offering one sacrifice for sin, forever sitteth at the right hand of God." ^ St. Paul says that Jesus was offered once. How then can we ofier Him daily? I answer, that Jesus was offered once in a bloody manner, and it is of this sacrifice that the Apostle speaks. But in the sacrifice of the Mass He is offered up in an un- bloody manner. Though He is daily offered on ten thousand altars, the sacrifice is the same as that of Calvary, having the same High Priest and victim — Jesus Christ. The object of St. Paul is to contrast the sacrifice of the New Law, which has only one victim, with the sacrifices of the Old Law, where the victims were many ; and to shoAV the insufficiency of the ancient sacrifices and the all-suflaciency of the sacrifice of the new dispensation. But if the sacrifice of the cross is all-sufficient, what need then, you will say, is there of a commemo- rative sacrifice of the Mass ? I would ask a Prot- estant in return. Why do you pray, and go to church, and why were you baptized, and receive Communion, and the rite of Confirmation ? What is the use of all these exercises, if the sacrifice of the cross is ali- jufficient? You will tell me that in all these actfl »Heb. ii. 25. « Ibid x. 11, 12. THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 861 you apply to yourself the merits of Christ's Passion. 1 will tell you, in like manner, that in the sacrifice of the Mass I apply to myself the merits of the sacrifice of the cross, from which the Mass derives ail its efficacy. Christ, indeed, by His death, made a full atonement for our sins. But He has not re- leased us from the obligation of co-operating with Him by applying His merits to our souls. And what better or more efficacious way can we have of participating in His merits, than by assisting at the sacrifice of the altar, where we vividly recall to mind His sufferings, where Calvary is represented before us, where " we show the death of the Lord until He come," and where we draw abundantly to our souls the fruit of His Passion, by drinking of the same blood that was shed on the cross ? In the Old Law there were different kinds of sacri- fices offered up for different purposes. There were sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God for His benefits ; sacrifices of propitiation to implore His forgiveness for the sins of the people ; and sacrifices of supplication to ask His blessing and protection. The sacrifice of the Mass fulfils all these ends. It is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, a sacrifice of propitiation and of supplication ; and hence that valued book, the ^^Folloioing of Christ,'' says that " when a Priest celebrates Mass, he honors God, he rejoices the angels, he edifies the Church, he helps the living, he obtains rest for the dead, and makes himself a partaker of all that is good." To form an 31 862 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. adequate idea of the efficacy of the divine sacrific« of the Mass, we have only to bear in mind the victim that is offered — Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. 1. The Mass is a sacrifice of praise and thanks- giving. If all human beings in this world, and all living creatures, and all inanimate objects were col- lected together and burned as a holocaust to the Lord, they would not confer as much praise on the Almighty as a single Eucharistic sacrifice ; because these earthly creatures, how numerous and excellent soever, are finite and imperfect ; while the offering made in the Mass is of infinite value, for, it is our Lord Jesus, the acceptable Lamb without blemish, the beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased, and who " is always heard on account of His rever- ence." With what awe and grateful love should we assist at this sacrifice! The angels were present at Calvary. Angels also are present at the Mass. If we cannot assist with the seraphic love and rapt at- tention of the angelic spirits, let us worship, at least, with the simple devotion of the shepherds of Bethle- hem, and the unswerving faith of the Magi. Let us offer to our God the golden gift of a heart full of luve, and the incense of our praise and adoration, repeating often during the holy oblation the worda of the Psalmist : " The mercies of the Lord I will 3ing forever." 2. The Mass is also a sacrifice of propitiation* THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS, 863 Jesus daily pleads our cause, in this divine oblation, before our heavenly Father. " If any man sin," says St. John, " we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just; and He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." ^ And hence the Priest, whenever he offers up the holy sacrifice, recites this prayer at the offertory : " Keceive, O holy Father, almighty, eternal God, this immaculate victim which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer to Thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, of- fences, and negligences, for all here present, and for all the faithful living and dead, that it may avail me and them to life everlasting." Whenever, therefore, we assist at Mass, let us unite with Jesus Christ in imploring the mercy of God for our sins. Let us represent to ourselves the Mass as another Calvary, which it is in reality. Like Mary, let us stand in spirit beneath the cross, and let our souls be pierced with grief for our trans- gressions. Let us acknowledge that our sins were the cause of that agony, and of the shedding of that precious blood. Let us follow in mind and heart that crowd of weeping penitents who accompanied our 8aviour to Calvary, striking their breasts, and let ua say : " Spare, O Lord, spare Thy people." Or let us repeat with the Publican this heartfelt prayer : " O God, be merciful to me a sinner." At the death of Jesus, the sun was darkened, the earth trembled, I. John ii. 1, 2. 864 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. ^be very rocks were rent, as if to show that even in* aiumate nature sympathized with the sufferings of its God. And should not we tremble for our sins? Should not our hearts, though as cold and hard as rocks, be softened at the spectacle of our God suffer- ing for love of us, and in expiation for our sins ? 3, The sacrifice of the Mass is, in fine, a sacrifice of supplication : " For, if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of a heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Holy Ghost, offered himself without spot to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to SPTve the living God ? " ^ If the prayers of Moses and David and the Patriarchs were so powerful in behalf of God's servants, what must be the influence of Jesus' intercession ? If the wounds of the martyrs plead so eloquently for us, how much more elo- quent is the blood of Jesus shed daily upon our altars ? His blood cries louder for mercy than the blood of Abel cried for vengeance. If God inclines His ear to us miserable sinners, how can He resist the pleadings in our behalf of the " Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world " ? " Let us go therefore, with confidence, to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid.'* ^ » He\). ii. 13, 14. * Heb. iv. 16. THE USE OF RELIGIOUS CBREMONIES. 365 CHAPTER XXIV. THE USE OF KELIGIOUS CEREMONIES DICTATED Bt RIGHT REASON — APPROVED BT? ALMIGHTY GOD IN THE OLD LAW — SANCTIONED BY JESUS CHRIST IN THE NEW. BY religious ceremonies, we mean certain ex- pressive signs and actions which the Church has ordained for the worthy celebration of the divine service. True devotion must be interior and come from the heart ; for, " the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For, the Father indeed seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit; and they who worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth." ^ But we are not to infer from this that exterior worship is to be con- temned because interior worship is prescribed as essential. On the contrary, the rites and ceremonies which are enjoined in the worship of God and in the administration of the Sacraments, are dictated by right reason, and are sanctioned by Almighty God in the Old Law, and by Christ and His Apos- tles in the New. The angels, being pure spirits without a body, render to God a purely spiritual worship. The sun and moon and stars of the firmament pay to Him 1 John iv. 23, 24. 31* 866 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS. a kind of external homage. In the Prophet Daniel^ we rea