for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethen the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book; worship God," and because of this tendency St. Paul warns us in Col. ii. 18, "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels." Does then the infallible Church Catholic teach the "truth that God teaches or its own garbled version "led astray by false teachers"?† When we but quote the words of some of the apostles, who is to be believed, God's Book or the Priests, and their deceptive machine Romanism and its imitation, Ritualism? A. 2. They teach that, as every particular person hath a guardian angel from his birth, so it is fit to commit themselves more particularly to him after this manner :— "Blessed Angel! to whose care our loving Creator hath committed me, defend me this day, I beseech you, from all dangers, and direct me in the way I ought to walk." * Pp. 1 and 3. "TO MY GUARDIAN ANGEL. Sweet Angel of mercy! by heaven's decree, Benignly appointed to watch over me; Without thy protection, so constant and nigh, I could not well live, I should tremble to die. When I wander in error my footsteps recall, Remove from my path what might cause me to fall; Preserve me from sin, and in all that I do, May God and His glory be ever in view. O thou who didst witness my earliest breath, Be with me, I pray, in the hour of my death; All glowing with love may I gladly depart, With faith on my lips, and with hope in my heart. Nor then do thou leave me, angelical friend! But at the tribunal of judgment attend; And cease not to plead for my soul till forgiven, Then bear it aloft to the Palace of Heaven."-Amen. English Catholics' Vade Mecum, p. 112. † P. 3. Q. 34. What religious honour do they give to the Saints? A. They pray to them as their intercessors,* make confessions to them; offer incense and make VOWS to them; venerate their images and reliques. Q. 35. For what reasons do they pray to Saints? A. That by their help they may obtain benefits from God, who doth confer many favours upon mankind by their merit, grace, and intercession.t Q. 36. After what manner do they pray to Saints? A. They pray to them as favourites with God, that they would take them into their protection, and would obtain those things of God for them which they want. Therefore they plead they have two different forms of prayer; for to God they properly say, "Have mercy upon us, hear us ; " to a Saint, "Pray for us." Q. 38. What is the worship they give to the Virgin Mary? A. They fly unto her as the advocatrix of the faithful, the mother of God, that by prayer to her they may obtain help, through her most excellent merits with God. Q. 39. Have they not some singular forms of devotion to her? A. Yes! for apprehending her Many wonderful things are told us of this glorious Saint (St. Joseph), and of the many favours, both temporal and spiritual, which have been granted to those who have honcured him with pious veneration, and devoutly sought his prayers."Spiritual Combat, p. 161. "When you see the sweet image of the Blessed Virgin let your thoughts turn to her who reigns in Paradise."-Ibid., p. 80. "Let the images of the Saints represent to you SO many champions who having bravely run their course have opened the way by which, if you too run, you shall be crowned with them in endless glory."-Ibid., pp. 80 and 81. "There are two ways of dealing with the Saints and Angels in Heaven in order to obtain their assistance. The second is to ask for the prayers of those glorious spirits, who not only desire our perfection, but also that we may be in a far higher position than they are; begging that they may aid you against every enemy and every form of sin, and especially may guard you in the hour of death." -Spiritual Combat, pp. 159 and 160, see pp. 7 and 8. "Blessed is the Virgin Mary the Mother of God, she believed in the Lord, and there is a performance of all things which were * Refer to p. 8 St. Joseph, and pp. 7 and 9 above, Ritualist side. † See what I Tim. ii. 5 and 6 says on this point. Of course the answer to this will be that Lawrence Scupoli, author of The Spiritual Combat, was a Romanist, and that to be a true translation nothing was omitted, it being left to the reader's discretion to leave out the parts repugnant to English belief; just so, if the reader were of mature age; but as that book of, as will be shown, a decided immoral tone, was placed in my hands as a young girl of fifteen, there was at that age little or no discretion to omit parts, and most girls or youths would read and insensibly imbibe the doctrines therein taught. Apropos of the relics of saints, one fails to understand how common-sense nineteenth-century persons can be gulled to make a pilgrimage—as to Trèves, to see something supposed to be our Saviour's coat. It would indeed be miraculous if His vesture had lasted 1860 years (in spite of His own creation, the clothes moth-whose only abomination is corrosive sublimate-but possibly the Apostles took care to saturate the holy garment with that chemical before handing it over to the Church for the edification of an imbecile nineteenth century !) Moreover, there is not a word in the Bible that He left His coat behind him like Elijah, and it is therefore to be supposed He ascended into heaven in the clothes He then wore, or Scripture would surely have told us something about it as about the parting of His garments (Matt. xxvii. 35). Such an incident, with the visions persons were supposed to see some years ago, only show us how rife priestcraft and superstition are among us, and how necessary it is to bring the results of science to confute such chicanery lest we sink back to the ages of credulity and priestly cruelty and crime, all perpetrated in the holy name of Jesus. Q. 44. What kind of reverence or worship is required to be given to images and pictures in the Church of Rome? A. They kiss them, uncover the head, and fall down before them; offer incense and pray to them, and use all such postures of worship as they would do to the person or persons thereby represented (whether Christ, the Virgin Mary or other Saints) if they were present: and whosoever doth think otherwise is accursed. And accordingly the priest is to direct the people to them that they may be worshipped. Q. 45. What do they profess is their intention in the reverence they give to images and pictures? A. They declare that the honour given to images and pictures is referred to the prototypes, or the persons represented by them, whether God the Father, Christ, Angels, or Saints; and when they fall down before the image or picture they worship God or Christ, the Angel or Saint."-Roman Catechism. "Latria due to the Cross. Since therefore Christ is adored with the worship of latria, it follows that His image is to be adored with the worship of latria," (ST. THOS. AQUINAS, p. 25, art. 3, ter par, Sum. Theol. Roma, 1686.) - Popery in its Social Aspect, p. 185, by R. P. BLAKENEY. NOTE. It should be explained that latria is the highest worship, dulia the inferior. *Ave Maria, "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.' I was always taught to wear a small crucifix suspended round the neck, and to kiss it night and morning when putting it on and taking it off; and, poor fool! I thus faithfully assisted my teachers in breaking the Second Commandment. Likewise, here in this neighbourhood, the priest has directed his congregation's attention during the course of his sermon to a print of the Crucifixion. Q. 47. Do they think it lawful to represent God and the blessed Trinity by pictures and images, and to worship them? A. Such pictures are not only almost everywhere received in the Church of Rome, but universally tolerated, and are recommended as expedient for the people, and proposed to them to be worshipped. "On entering, if you have to pass the Altar, bow or bend both knees a little. Never genuflect or touch the ground with your knee, except before the Blessed Sacrament. Go down on your right knee then.”—Hints to Penitents, p. 255. The Ritualist seems not to hurry on here quite so fast, but the tendency to decorate our high churches with Christ in glory, Saints, Apostles, and Angels, is getting near the Roman idea, though God forbid that if He is to have a house made with hands, it should not have the best work of human hands, but one cannot forget St. Paul's words: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? * And moreover, God expressly decrees we are to have no similitudes. † |