that by the Holy Ghost himself sins should be forgiven to the faithful; and not that by the merits of men sins should be forgiven. For what art thou, O man, but a sick man, that hast need to be healed? Wilt thou be a physician to me? Seek the physician together with me." So St. Ambrose: "Behold", that by the Holy Ghost sins are forgiven. But men to the remission of sins bring their ministry; they exercise not the authority of any power." St. Chrysostom, though he make this to be the exercise of a great power (which also he elsewhere' amplifieth, after his manner, exceeding hyperbolically), yet in the main matter accordeth fully with St. Ambrose; that it lieth in "God alone to bestow the things wherein the priest's service is employed." "And what speak I of priests?" saith he, "Neither angel or archangel can do aught in those things which are given by God: but the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost do dispense all. The priest lendeth his tongue, and putteth to his hand. His part only is to open his mouth: but it is God that worketh all." And the reasons whereby both he, and Theophylact" after him, do prove that the priests of the law had no power to forgive sins, are of as great force to take the same power from the ministers of the Gospel: first, because "it" is God's part only to forgive sins," which is the moral that Haymo maketh of that part of the history of h Ecce, quia per Spiritum Sanctum peccata donantur. Homines autem in remissionem peccatorum ministerium suum exhibent; non jus alicujus potestatis exercent. Ambros. de Spir. Sanct. lib. 3. cap. 18. op. tom. 2. pag. 693. Chrysost. lib. 3. de sacerdotib. * Α" γὰρ ἐγκεχείρισται ὁ ἱερεὺς, Θεοῦ μόνου ἐστὶ δωρεῖσθαι. Id. in Johan. cap. 20. homil. 86. op. tom. 8. pag. 518. 1 Καὶ τὶ λέγω τοὺς ἱερεῖς; οὔτε ἄγγελος οὔτε ἀρχάγγελος ἐργάσασθαί τι δύναται εἰς τὰ δεδομένα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀλλὰ πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα πάντα οἰκονομεῖ. ὁ δὲ ἱερεὺς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δανείζει γλῶτταν, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρέχει χεῖρα. Id. ib. ο Τὸ πᾶν τῆς χάριτός ἐστι· τούτου ἐστὶν ἀνοῖξαι μόνον τὸ στόμα. τὸ δὲ πᾶν ὁ Θεὸς ἐργάζεται, σύμβολον οὗτος πληροι μόνον. Id. in 2 Tim. cap. 1. homil. 2. op. tom. 11. pag. 671. n Id. in Johan. cap. 8. homil. 54. op. tom. 8. pag. 316. Τὸ γὰρ ἀφῆναι ἁμαρτίας θεοῦ μόνου. Theophylact. in Johan. cap. 8. the Gospel, wherein the lepers are cleansed by our Saviour, before they be commanded to shew themselves unto the priests: "because," saith he, "not the priests, but God doth forgive sins." Secondly, because the priests were servants, yea servants of sin, and therefore had no power to forgive sins unto others: but the Son is the Lord of the house; who " was" manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin," saith St. John, upon which saying of his, St. Augustine giveth this good note: "It is he in whom there is no sin, that came to take away sin. For if there had been sin in him too, it must have been taken away from him, he could not take it away himself." To forgive sins therefore being thus proper to God only, and to his Christ: his ministers must not be held to have this power communicated unto them, but in an improper sense; namely, because God forgiveth by them, and hath appointed them both to apply those means, by which he useth to forgive sins, and to give notice unto repentant sinners of that forgiveness. "Fors who can forgive sins but God alone? yet doth he forgive by them also, unto whom he hath given power to forgive :" saith St. Ambrose, and his followers'. And "though" it be the proper work of God to remit sins," saith Ferus, "yet are the apostles (and their successors) said to remit also; not simply, but because they apply those means whereby God doth remit sins. Which means are the word of God and the sacraments." • Δούλοι κᾀκεῖνοι ὄντες οἱ ἱερεῖς ὑμῶν, οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἐξουσίαν ἀφιέναι ἄλλοις ἁμαρτίας. Id. ib. 4 1 John, chap. 3. ver. 5. In quo non est peccatum, ipse venit auferre peccatum. Nam si esset et in illo peccatum, auferendum esset illi, non ipse auferret. Augustin. tract. 4. in 1. Johan. cap. 3. op. tom. 3. par. 2. pag. 854. • Quis enim potest peccata dimittere, nisi solus Deus? qui per eos quoque dimittit, quibus dimittendi tribuit potestatem. Ambr. lib. 5. comment. in Luc. cap. 5. op. tom. 1. pag. 135. Beda, et Stratus in Marc. cap. 2. et Luc. cap. 5. "Quamvis Dei proprium opus sit, remittere peccata; dicuntur tamen etiam apostoli remittere: non simpliciter, sed quia adhibent media, per quæ Deus remittit peccata. Hæc autem media sunt, verbum Dei et sacramenta. Jo. Ferus, annotat. in Johan. cap. 20. item, lib. 3. comment. in Matt. cap. 16. VOL. III. K Whereunto also we may add, the relaxation of the censures of the Church, and prayer: for in these four the whole exercise of this ministry of reconcilation, as the apostle calleth it, doth mainly consist; of each whereof it is needful that we should speak somewhat more particularly. That prayer is a means ordained by God for procuring remission of sins, St. Chrysostom observeth out of Job, chapter forty-two, verse eight; and is plain by that of St. James. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed: for the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." The latter of which sentences hath reference to the prayers of every good Christian, whereunto we find a gracious promise annexed, according to that of St. John; "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death." But the former, as the verse immediately going before doth manifestly prove, pertaineth to the prayers made by the ministers of the Church; who have a special charge to be the Lord's remembrancers for the good of his people. And therefore, as St. Augustine out of the latter proveth, that one" brother by this means may cleanse another from the contagion of sin; so doth St. Chrysostom out of the former, that priests do perform this, "not by teaching only and admonishing, but by assisting us also with their prayers;" and the faithful prayers, both of the one and of the other, w 2 Cor. chap. 5. ver. 18. * Εντεύθεν γινώσκομεν, ὅτι εὐχὴ δικαίων περιαιρεῖ ἁμαρτίαν. Chrysost. in catena Græca, in Job. cap. 42. ver. 8. y James, chap. 5. ver. 15, 16. z 1 John, chap. 5. ver. 16. a Quod etiam frater fratrem a delicti poterit contagione mundare. Augustin. in evangel. Johan. tract. 58. op. tom. 3. par. 2. pag. 662. b οὐ τῷ διδάσκειν μόνον καὶ νουθετεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ δι ̓ εὐχῶν βοηθεῖν. Chrysost. lib. 3. de sacerd. op. tom. 1. pag. 384. are by St. Augustine made the especial means, whereby the power of the keys is exercised in the remitting of sins: who thereupon exhorteth offenders to shew their repentance publicly in the Church, "that" the Church might pray for them, and impart the benefit of absolution unto them." In the life of St. Basil, fathered upon Amphilochius, of the credit whereof we have before spoken, a certain gentlewoman is brought in, coming unto St. Basil for obtaining remission of her sins: who is said there to have demanded this question of her. "Hast thou heard, O woman, that none can forgive sins but God alone?" and she to have returned him this answer. "I have heard it, father: and therefore have I moved thee to make intercession unto our most merciful God for me." Which agreeth well with that which Alexander of Hales and Bonaventures do maintain; that the power of the keys extends to the remission of faults, by way of intercession only and deprecation, not by imparting any immediate absolution. And as in our private forgiving and praying one for another, St. Augustine well noteth, that "ith is our part, God giving us the grace, to use the ministry of charity and humility; but it is his to hear us, and to cleanse us from all pollution of sins for Christ, and in Christ; that what we forgive unto others, that is to say, what we loose upon earth, may be loosed also in heaven;" so doth St. Ambrose shew, that the case also standeth with the ministers of the Gospel, in the execution of that commission given unto them for the Augustin. de baptismo contra Donatist. lib. 3. cap. 17, 18. d Id. serm. 392. Agite pœnitentiam qualis agitur in Ecclesia, ut oret pro vobis Ecclesia. op. tom. 5. pag. 1504. e tom. 2. vit. sanct. ab Aloysio Lipomano edit. Venet. ann. 1553. fol. 298. Vit. patrum, ab Her. Rosweydo edit. Antverp. ann. 1615. pag. 160. Miscellan. a Gerardo Vossio. edit. Mogunt. ann. 1604. pag. 136. Alex. in summ. part. 4. quæst. 21. membr. 1. g Bonaventur. in lib. 4. sent. dist. 18. art. 2. quæst. 1. h Nostrum est, donante ipso, ministerium charitatis et humilitatis adhibere : illius est exaudire, ac nos ab omni peccatorum contaminatione mundare per Christum, et in Christo; ut quod aliis etiam dimittimus, hoc est, in terra solvimus, solvatur et in cœlo. Augustin. in fine tractat. 58. in evangel. Johann. remitting of sins'. They make request," saith he; "the Godhead bestoweth the gift: for the service is done by man, but the bounty is from the power above." The reason which he rendereth thereof is, because in their ministry it is the Holy Ghost that forgiveth the sin; and it is God only that can give the holy Ghost. "For this is not an human work," saith he in another place, "neither is the Holy Ghost given by man; but, being called upon by the priest, is bestowed by God: wherein the gift is God's, the ministry is the priest's. For if the apostle Paul did judge that he could not confer the Holy Ghost by his authority, but believed himself to be so far unable for this office, that he wished we might be filled with the Spirit from God: who is so great as dare arrogate unto himself the bestowing of this gift? Therefore the apostle did intimate his desire by prayer, he challenged no right by any authority: he wished to obtain it, he presumed not to command it." Thus far St. Ambrose; of whom Paulinus writeth, that whensoever any penitents came unto him, "them crimes which they confessed unto him, he spake of to none, but to God alone, unto whom he made intercession; leaving a good example to the priests of succeeding ages, that they be rather intercessors for them unto God, than accusers unto men." The same also, and i John, chap. 20. ver. 23. Humanum enim obsequium, sed munificentia supernæ est potestatis. Ambros. de Spir. Sanct. lib. 3. cap. 18. op. tom. 2. pag. 694. Non enim humanum hoc opus, neque ab homine datur: sed invocatus a sacerdote, a Deo traditur: in quo Dei munus, ministerium sacerdotis, est. Nam si Paulus apostolus judicavit, quod ipse donare Spiritum Sanctum sua authoritate non posset; et in tantum se huic officio imparem credidit, ut a Deo nos Spiritu optaret impleri: quis tantus est, qui hujus traditionem muneris sibi audeat arrogare? Itaque apostolus votum precatione detulit, non jus authoritate aliqua vindicavit impetrare optavit, non imperare præsumpsit. Id. ibid. lib. 1. cap. 8. op. tom. 2. pag. 619. m Causas autem criminum, quas illi confitebantur, nulli nisi Domino soli, apud quem intercedebat, loquebatur: bonum relinquens exemplum posteris sacerdotibus, ut intercessores apud Deum magis sint, quam accusatores apud homines. Paulinus, in vita S. Ambrosii. |