k 1 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) <: . ^iP w?p :^r 1.0 I.I 1^ 2.5 18 L25 III U i 1.6 V] i^ /# ^l Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 1 tSSO (716) 872-4503 >»;^^ , signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning f?i the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmis A des taux de reduction diff6rentn. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul ciichi, ii est filmi d partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche k droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^f €tHiS^^<^ti »^^ >A u FATHER D AflEN'S > , " ■ ■ ■ ' LECTURES I. The Private Interpretation of the Bible. •I. The Catholic Church the Only True Church of God. III. Confession. ^ if if if if if i^ IV. The Real Presence. V. Answer! to Popular Objections Against the C^^Bc Church, if if if if HOKi 1 900. .^""^-n: :/..i. •' , ■:• v:^^.;v^' ' - *■*>*«, v.^.^if**-*'- ',fr /)' ■,■!? v-cva '^^® , wdS*'^- 5feixv^^ ^^tvVi i I i. I * ''S-! { I j n i-^y FATHER DAMEN'S LECTURES. $y + ^ l8.M THE \ Vf 8 PBITATE liTEBPBETATIOH OF THE BIBLL Sermon Preached at the Basilica, Ottawa, Canada. 14th December, 1871. and baptism. I will speak this evening on the I condition of faith. j We must have faith in order to be saved, and must have divine faith, not human faith ; human [ faith will not save a man, but divine faith will. ■ WHAT IS DIVINE FAITH? ( It is to believe^ upon the authority of Gk)d, the truths that God has ravealed — that is divine faith. To believe all that God has taught upon the authority of God, and to believe without doubting, without hesitating ; for, the moment you commence to doubt or hesitate, that moment you commence to mistrust the authority of God, and, therefore, insult God by doubting His word. Divine faith, therefore, is to believe in what God has taught, but to believe without doubting, without hesitating. Human faith is when we believe a thing upon the authority of men — on human authority — that is human faith ; but divine faith is to believe without doubting, without hesitating, whatsoever God ^' has revealed upon the authority of God, upon the word of God ; therefore, my dear people, it is not a matter of indiflference what religion a man professes providing be be a good man. You hear it said now-a-days in tibis nineteenth cen- ,'%c^. -*«*.. ■ % I i OF THE BIBLE. 3 ^ of Uttle faith - you hear it on all sides, IT MiTTBBS NOT WHAT BKUSION mat 18 heresy, my dear people, and I will prove It to you to be such. If it be a matter o?iI! difference what a man believes, proving he bL a good man, why then it is useless fo? God to make any revelation whatever. Ha maS h at ChriS to tr.T I w- 'T^^^^'^'' ' '^^^t "«« for teach ^nw- *»"* His Apostles and disciples to t« hi- *"'°^' '^*^°«^ "atio'is are at liberty or disciples ? You see at once that this would teJZ i'^f-^^i " '^"'l '«^«*J« a thing oJ Sa^fs to hl'K^.?' r^?' *° ^' believed; He wells . .V '^'"^"1 ''^'°«^^' He teaches or Xttever fe- u ^*° *' ^''""'^ ^^ Relieve wnatsoever God has revealed, for. mv dear people, we are bound to worship God b^th Sh mTn and rI .1 ^''^ \^^^}^r of the whole of man, and He claims the whole of man H« matter what denomination, church or reiigioa 1* not a Christian who will deny w« ar. bound * THE PRIVATE INTERPRETATION to beliOTe ^-hatBoever God has revealed ; there- ^fait " '"'* * T^^' °^ indifference what religion a man pro/esses ; he must profess the true religion if he would be saved. But WHAT IS THE TRUE BELIGION ? To believe all that God has taught. I am sure even my Protestant friends will admitThis Is right ; for If they do «ot, I would say they are Sends ' is tn*'^.-^^'*^'" ?/ '"y Protestant menas, is to believe m the Lord .Tftsna " Jesus. Why says my Protestant friend hving God. Agreed again— thanks be to God Jesus fCir- °° «T''^'?« •' W« believe that He is Sd T„ fu- ^°" °u *^' "^g »od. that &art'anJsoSaI tt'T^^^llA'^ fee "alht • ." ^^"^* "^^ GodTSenTe m^S bejieve all He teaches. Is not this so mt dearly beloved Protestant brethwn and sister^? Md that's the right faith, ain't it ? "S yes say my Protestant friends, " I suoss thaf Son'rtff I-*'-; ?>^"«^« that jlsTis^l bon of the hvmg God, we must believe all that Christ has taught. We Catholics say The same and here we agree again. ^ ' Christ, then, we must believe, and that is the It OF THE BIBLE. 5 Suthf ILTr'^f^ ^'^^''^ »" 'hat Christ has fafth there is no ^!\ 'T''^'^' ^""^ ^"^0° tJa there is no hoL '.^i^**'""^' ^ft^out that faith there 7s "eS L^S^.T'"''^' '^^' ^^^ words of Christ for it '^^« *he shall be condemnpV" *^A' beheveth not Christ. V detr lil...T' ^^"'* ; hut if me, ul^rVir JeternaTd, 1"°^}^' 'T?^^^' all that He h^ ta^ He' mT«r^- *" ''^"r means to Know what hi u '?°^* g»^e me the could not conTe J^4 for tSi S^ ^^'!f* not know. Christ is a Sod inW«f rH°1 ^ <**» .rntirnTd'oi^r?-^^^^^^^ to be H 8 win-fo3 L — ^ ™ •*." °°* »^°^ THE MEANS OF KNOWING times within the r?ach of T^e^T- f^tM 'H people have a ri^hf +^ « i ^".i'**"^^® > lor, as all figh\toiirm"tr ftisz' ^har4?Y ■* taught, and beliflvn it ""^"'ng waat Crod has Secondly,toe means that Gn/*"^' *^''' '°^^' ^arevLtCsetSrr^KT*Je.uUe^^ ehall learn the Lths £ Gn^*f ^"^^^''^ 'b«y ti»ey may believe them ISlV"*' *""«'"' "'at means that God riv^ ^„ ?°1 ^^ «''^ed. The taught must be an'^Shble r.''"''"' ^^*' H« '^8 means, far if n bT^^^^^ meane-an inlalJiw! infalhble means, so that if I ^* ™"8t be an that means he w^ Jf/a Li °""^ '°''^'«« "«« of mistake or ewor J« "•'»"»%, without fear n, all the tru^'^^^Xt \° " ^"^"^jX of thmk there can bTanZ.. *' **"g^'- I don't not what heT aoK"* P"''^^* here-I ", J ">"* .«« pbA^t^Sf "^f °'.an unbeliever- premises aire"' the ^oSrrr- ""-^ t^e«« n»*t^ »>«ar it in miS T'J.^,^'-«fo«. I want on these premises reste 111 k^'h "P«** i*. for ^ificourse and reas^S^^ ^t '*T«^i^ "^^J njf , under pain of etS' , ^ G^od commands »H that He'C tenift/f"'?^*'"'^' *» ^eK the means to know 42 tJ' ^"^^ to give m^ the means that God J^s .S J^^f *»°8l»t. and iw t«Wh* - ttuuS h™^ 1° ^'^'^ ^hat He Wi«un the reachrf KLi.7* *^^° »t all time^ "^?e means to a8^Tw^> ™°«t be an X^ ?' ^« ^ be^r^R' "^ ? '"»" makes a'Uhe truths God has ta^^'^*" ^ knowledge of ^<^«d given u.a„4';„ OP THE BIBLE. j «ay my Protestant friends. •' He hft« " a j «o says the Catholic • OoH ^ „7 • ^^ means. ^"'""''"c • ^oi has given us such WHAT IS THE MEANS GOD HAS OIVKN friend, "the Bibt. the whoHf ^^« ^^pie.U,nt nothing but the Bibfe " But we cltSt'" ''''*' No; not the BiliJ^ or»^ * • ^atiiolics say tion 'but LKe Seh"oVSj^n« S'^'^"*" the fact, and I dpfv uii L ^ '^ P'o^e and a]l the preacht« fn/^P!^**^'* •>'«"»'«" unprove what fXr; t<^°4h^ ."^T. '^ It IS not the private \nL^J^^^" \^^^' *^®i. •!!« book 10 «°. -DM sfdo S'' Hr;r« <'hn8t sent His AnnatiL +t V ■'^^ **"* ^^o'- universe, anf'sair'" Go ^^^2°* f' ^^''^^ teach all nations banti^^.^ It' ^^^'^^f?". and of the Father and of /hi I *^®'".'° *^« «am« «h08t ; teachina f hiJ ! ^°? *""* "^ '*»« Holy whatsoe.4rita^jtr j^nd n:, .^" S!"4 f r)^u a u " *^"'' ^arth, and Cathoirc reliin had .t'?/"'?*'"^^^'^- ^he before the^ wa^'c 31r£f*?ir'^ written. Now r aut /^P^««'«ci, oeiore it was separated X'thre^ Ce "ihosT'k'^-^^'^ people who lived betw Jn fh. a • , • ^^'^^^^ Bible and the estabtL^enh/^cCcV^I Jesus, were thev rpaihr nu • x- '^^urch of t.an.;enligh£dSfst£f^K°hev?nT- the religion of Jesus ? Wher^ i« ft. ^ ./^^ the most nprfo/»f /^*• nu • x- *^ , ^ ^^nstians, the Wood^of Je us cS'^^'i^ *^K ^^«' *■'"'' °f know what thev hndr."! . -^"^ ^°^ ^'^ ^^^7 Was it from the h1 1° ^ '*^" '^^i-" «°«l8 ? because fhi Rii ^^ *^^y ^^^■^iied it ? No ou^s^it^ Srha^* Tef^" A""' r "^ «ixtv-five years wifhw f ?'^ ^^""^ fo' Were the ApJstJesThrLtianr'l^^r.^:'^ "^'• fear Protestant friends ? You 4hey were the very founders ' -INow, my dear friends. [>^'SBE^ 10 THE PRIVATE INTERPRETATION II KONE OP THE APOSTLES EVBB READ THE BIBLB» not ono of them except, perhaps, St. John, for all of them had died martyrs for tiie faith of Jesus Christ, and never saw the cover of a Bible ; for every one of them died martyrs and heroes for the Church of Jesus before the Bible was completed. How, then, did those Christians that lived in the first sixty-five years after Christ had left this earth — how did they know what they had to do to save their souls ? They knew it precisely in the same way that you know it, my dear Catholic friends. You know it from the teaching of the Church of God, and so did the primitive Christians know it. Not only sixty-five years did Christ leave the Church He had established without a Bible, but over three hundred years. The Church of Qod wafi established, and went on spreading itself over the whole globe without the Bible for more than three hundred years. In all that time the people did not know what constituted the Bible. In the days of the Apostles, there were written many false gospels. There was the (jospel of Simon, the Gospel of Nicodemus, of Mary, of Barnabas, and the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus; and ail of these Gospels were spread among the people, and the people did not know which of these was inspired, and which false and spurious. Even the learned themselves ware disputing whether preferenc '^e OF THE BIBLE. u Gospel of>rk. th?7o^'S"£.rrtf« of Luke, the GosdaI rxf ^u^^t r ^^^y* ^^ that the Go;pel oflfj:U^° ^^1'^^^ ?' regard to the Enisilflfl. '^. * **^ "» 8puriou8 Epistles Sen' an J [^ were many at a loss J over t^^ hCdJef iKkZ" which Gospel was fafee or spmilnTot^ih^l inspired; and. therafnrA f»Z, ,J ' ^'^'"^ the Bible for theL Se fof ?L*'°?^f ""^ **te wimt constitutedttTS^if Jf fetbl°'*l^"^ not until the fourth centnr; th.i.l J* ^^^ Rome, the HeadT the Sch ,h« ' ^""^^ "^ of St. Peter asflpmhi«>!i + ^"!f *''^' the successor coUQcil, t,ouncu, and there m that I IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE BIBLE IT^ftT Sl?3 T S'? *^« Word 'of God. Mary, the Infancy of Jesus and°°R Nicodemus. all these other Epistles wpr.c ""''*'' *"'^ least, unauthentic ; at leasriLfPfr""'' °'"' ^' evidence of thp.V ;:!o!* I- ** ^'^^'"^ '■"^^ no Gospels of St Luke EJ!*'*'°\/°'^ 'h^' the and the Book of ReVS*^''' '^^''^ **»'' J«J'". j God and the spLtl t&,rpV"^'^*'f'' ''^ they could-notTakeThrB?hLtr1ht^ i^ ' I'l ! 12 I i i I i I ! ^HE PRIVATE INTERPRETATION intended man to learn £.T«1- ^^^'°"'-- « be- have left the ChrSn worW 7*"^ J'"°'°u* ^°^^' years without the Ckpiif *^'''' ^T'^"* Not only for three hnnlln ' assuredly not. left without the BiblP £ f ^®*''' V^* '""'^ '^as hundred vearathlr'h;-?* ^°'' ^'"f thousand four out tha^^S toL^SrS'^ar^^^^^^ was invented, Bibles wfre ^e Ss ^'r k?"^ were costly thinea N«™ ^^' ^'''^^s aware, if you havf;««/h^ ^°" '"°'* »'^ •>« art of printW JL fni'1'1'*'^ »' *"• t^a* the than fZ ffdrld vr4 *'** ""i^ * ""'^ «"«'» of the 15ih cSnrv /«w ^?' **"'°' '^« ^i'Jdle years beJore theS wl; a Prof.«r^ ''"^ u^"°*^«*'' As I have sa^d hlf^,! ^'^testant in the world. books were S S s^ti'^Cr ^ it took I fortune a Z-i^ '^J-^ *'° ""'"^ '^** at the probable cost of a Bible J ft .*t '^'""7^ ns suppose that a man sho^M work ten r«'' 'f make a copy of thp R.Ki^ "'" worK ten years to •Jay ; well then tL I' ?1 ^*™ » dollar a J' weu, tiien, the cost of that Bible would OF THE BIBLE. 13 years, the eos^'of I r-m' * ^^y- *<^' twenty to you : My Xar tJ,^^ "^"^^ *°*^ said Protestant pUcher would IL'T '""'^ ' '^^« must get a Bible • vm? i„ *^. **' •^<'"' " Yo" street at such 1 sb^m °** •'°*' °° Sussex Murray strS"'' Y^ZuZ ^^^ ''^^•'°'* be told it was $8,000 You wSlJ'^L'l?^' ^"f exclaim, ** The Lord a^^^ i , ^^ "^^^7 to to Heaven '^^,' Z b^o'ok? ir* "^^ '' would be : " No • vo„ ^„ * u , °® answer read it." You mumu? I.* ^^^ *^^ ^'^^^ '^d asked, is not ^o^ i**"^ P"''^' •>"* «e Yes. of course it i«h,f '°°' ''^'^^ «8.000? money. ^ if v'' f /**? '*^ ^*'" '^^^^ "«* that s^Ctfon deCnds .?^ ^t* * •?''1«' »"«* would have to Zafn ouSde^r^^'"'!^ ^*^° Heaven. This wonti kf u , ® ^mgdom of indeed. PorT/oO^ear: the'S^ ''''''''''''' WAa LEPT WITHOUT A BIBLE • «* «« in tea thousand, not one 'in twenty 14 THE PRIVATE INTERPRETATION ! I thousand before the art of printing wa» invented, had the Bible; and would our DivTn^ Lord have left the world without that book if it ^ZeTZ7 trr:^ salvation r\lc rrntVa' all S Bi les'thrS ^"^ " writfpn from tu/u • .'"'®8' 'oat Bibles were written trotn the beginning, and that every man woman and child had a cop, ; what good wHl read ? It is a blind thing to such nersonn Even now one-half the inhabftants ^o th^ SenTthr?'- .^°T^^'' *« *^« Bible wa^ Tread i[ bST" *^''^ ^*"^*«^^ ^ «>e able 10 read it. But it is said we have it translatpd now in French. English, and other Sguages f-^t A*^- J^^' ^"* *'« you sure you havf a Srd^of S ^"*^^ ' 1 °°*' ^'»° J-ave notTh: Word of God. If you have a false translation ha tT'^"^,""*^ .S°^ «^*» yo« a«cer afn tnat ? How find out that vou havp a fn.fhf.,i translation from the Greek Z hZw Tdo mends , for my translation I must depend unon W uZr "I*?' learned-upon their' decis^ «hn!ii K :,?^-^/!^'" ^\'^''^^' ^'^PPoae the learned imshonfd'L'f '"•/''• *'^«i'- "P'^^ioDs. and some of vou^ S • ^ '* '' ^°°** '^'^ ^"'"^ foi«e. then your faitn is gone; you must commence toow thi trlw"*"*'"^' ^*"^« you do not imow ijae translation is annA m^™ ^:i.i , "MriTTT -ww,:!.!^ J intin^ wag our Divine ^t book if it ►n ? Most )ose for a bibles were every man, t good will low how to b persons. its of the ) Bible was i would be to be able translated languages yon have a 'Ve not the ranslation, 1 ascertain a faithful 5W ? I do separated )end upon • decision, le learned d some of alse, then commence a do not th regai'd OF THE BIBLE. 15 to the Protestant translation of the BiblP ett"~ W ''^ '*f >' translation a'nd'Kf !^j «• . ^o'»' own learned divines, preachers ^t ouf a?r tli'^'' "1**° ^^°'« Xmes to point out all the errors there are in Kins JamA«' tamslation. and Protestants of va^ous^denZi S^Sst"!?'^?.^*- SomeyeragowhenI ^ved in bt Louis, there was held in that citv we^^L'ww f Ti^*^'^ ^ denomfnatioS were mvited to that convention, the obie^ te^ r?°«l^«' a new translaton of £ Bible, and give it to the world. The nrnL«S Sf ^s2Lrr*r ^^'^ published ^St Wm^^ V?fP-"'*^'*- ^ learned, a very i^^^r^I^"^''' ^ ^^^ it wa«. stood nl and. mgmg the necessity of givine a n«w S^if^t.*^ WsaidXt! in Z SK wer^iih^*''^^"- of t^e Bible, TSIBXY THOUSAND BBBOBS ! rtl^R-??"' • ^^' '"y ^^^ Protestant friends ^ ^'^^ ?.y°°' S^'^ and teacher. What a teacher, with 30,000 errors ! The Wd save ns tr^ •^"'^^IL ^""^ «"»' is b^ enough M 80,000 IS a httle too mneh. A««f.hi: l^reacner stood op in that convention-Tthilj; i I i I THE PRIVATE .NTERPRCTATK)N He was a Baptist-and uwm„ *u giving a new translating^ °/ !t^ necessity of that for 300 years nfi/lu °^ '^« Bible, said Word of Godf r tCa: Vil' ''i""'"*^e Word of God at all L!^! *'*^« " «<>* the preachers for von v^. n " ^^ your own ?« doubt, my ?riend " ''"i"'^ ""« newspapers is going on ,7En"lZd\r.^ """"' tnow wC «go they sent in a petitL^T^p'' ,.*"°« 'i'^e an allowance of a ft.^ *i *** Parliament for for the purpose of leTtJn ""'^'^ P°°°ds ster£ of jl^e VV^d^thaT^P/ '^ew translation beaded and carried on k. ^T^"* »« being and clergymen. K„e° ^{/'°'"1*'»* B^hopf a little worse than Ihe „,?' °^^ gi^le will be people, how can yJS be t-'' . ^"*' ""^ ^^''^ You say the Bible is vn„r „ •'. °J ^^""^ ^ith ? know if you have it^ r!.'?'*'^' ''"' ^«« ^o not moment that all should hat!>\"Ru."PP°«« '<»• a read it and have a fairhft. .^'H®' should all then it cannot be the S«*'r''*'^*'°' ^^^^ the private interDretatjl ? ?5 '°*°' because mfaliible, but o^e contrl *^' ^'**'« ^^ "^ot the source and fountain nftf^'-T^* ^'^"iWe. and heresies, and aTwLf „^"^f "^ «"«« doctrines ! Do not beJ^^A "^ blasphemous just only keep calm midnln""^ '''" ^"«"^«. There are now ®" *° "^^ arguments. >N necessity of ^ihle, said without the 3 is not the your own jiewspapers Know what Some time lament for da sterling translation is being it Bishops »le will be '» nay dear ur faith ? ou do not ose for a should all 5n ; even because le is not fallible, f errors, phemous • friends, :uments. OF THE BIBLE. tr THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DUTOBBNT PROTBSX. ANT DENOMINATIONS ZitsltlT^ TY "■ r^*"^' I <>^om have churphP« a«7- M xr ,^ °^°^® Protestant nusDand could do the same thing — senH hia Protestant denominations or churches and In every one of thJm Tan":? "e tueX t^ diifer and contradict one anotheraid cann7 liet us suppose here is" ""•' """^ "*''"' " "^iit. .18 in ! 1 THE P«,v.TB ,NTERP.,,,„,„ ^® 18 a sincerp ur. i> prayerful man. H°°rf/ ^"•'"caaing and' prayerful spirit, anffromlh' '^'^ i^ible ^i„*'^f prS J 'i?^:„f^"^ ^-Soiti «"L"r '^ «ads the BiKsr anH-? ««"-/«anTt. tWe should be no BishoLtu.""'^ ''^"^ "• '^a cols Tf T°'"^ ">«" Then *[h "'•r^^^^ by sprinkling, an?7hit'ifl*^l"" "^^^ »« *o ten ,ou that y J a^ ^^'^^ fON :r; OF THE BIBLE. 19 i^caamg and' Bible in a^ ^^ the Bible- e»'e must be- ^ can be no- JP^nts, and ^^ ^resby. > o^a-n; lie- ^"« it. that ^^•♦^sbyters. 'scopalian,. a the he," prayerfui '« Baptist oest nian^ e Baptist, '^as," says .'» ft •'j ' and i^n I was was done n at all. Christ/' *il," and you are *you are ^ comes- st, and "aLbw ----Wo, 4m thP RihLt' ^"'^•^^ 8^^ several texts ixie spmt 01 God movmg within von 9" J^Tr''" ^^y« *he Protistrnt "we are 11 ^Kri '^*«°° and judgment" " WeU " says the Methodist, " if you never fc]f .Ju ■ hea°s then, f „i K ^"'^"I"?."'* °^^* ««°»«8 i°. a^d :^aro;^^^^^^^^^^ says he : " that idea is good enough to sca;e COMES XN THE QUAKBB ; he recommends them not to be quarreling and advses them not to baptize at S He fs taith. Another comes in and says " Bantiza the men and Jet the wom«n ohll. 7*?.?! «»ble says. " unless a man"beTom' ag"ak' o? i f ' i li ri ! 'Mi "; "I 20 - THE PRIVATE .NTERPRETAT.ON SSt^l?Z?.'.^-' ^^no. enter ... ffcors .^\i;fsU- 4Ve^^tL\:^ •'e presumptuous ^Sf' "^"^ ^^^^ he, "You tl^'Kr^'-.^" y«» Know •'^T"'°p'"""« «'" *» Heaven, shake, ml t^^tu ^""'^ ^^"' to ro- have here brought tLeth'""' «hake." [ denommHtions. differin^^f'^'"' '^^^« »'• eigh understanding the ft R, ''*'." '"'« another or vvnat. then, if x brou«hf f .°.'^'"P'«'a'"'u. different denominations St t^**^«' the 352. their guide and teachfng, id '°^ *he Bible foP ALL DIFPEBINO PfiOM nm ^« they aU riffht 9 T '''^''^• StrS" ->'" *here^"nneS"^f '^ ^«»- He'^'not'^^oTsat^g. f ^^nott s'a^^ another 8ay8 they ^^\t'>! ?« "««^«ary baptism is requiafteZoTher .''"';. One sa/^. Doth true ? Th,-a ^""*^®^ s i is not • arA friends; all canS^be L!° '^r^'hiiity.' ^^ He that has the tm« ^ ^^« *hen is true ?• 7"" say; but the Bi^^.^^»°''^g o^ the BAle -."the Bible oy^t^y^^^ ^/^ us who tha't - '' « not the teacher ^l S^^/^J- The - -"c £>,oie, my dear ^TION [inot enter into says he, "the 2© the men " '^3^8 he, - You umptuous set ^ fays, *' that ^rk out yo?7r ^^ you do not >u want to ^o. shake." f ^^n or eight another, or erent ways, terpretation. l^ the 352. he Bible for 'HER. f© is a heJl^ Are both other says liecessarj, ^ne sajs- 5 not ; are >iJity, my -n is true?- the Bibie, who that ei. The ^y dear OF THE BIBLE. 21 PJ^^Pi?* /^ * ^^^^ ^^^ ' we Catholics aUow that the Bible is the Word of God, the language of inspiration, and every Catholic is exhorted to read the Bible, but good as it is, the Bible, my dear friends, does not explain itself ; it is a good book, the Word of God, the language of inspira- tion. Your understanding of the Bible is not inspired for surely you do not pretend to be inspired ! Now, then, what is the teaching of the Church upon the subject ? THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SAYS the Bible is the book of God, and that God Has appointed an authority to give us the true meaning, It is with the Bible as it is with the constitution of the United States. When- Oreorge Washmgton and his associates wrote the Constitution and the Supreme Law of the United btates, they did not say to the people of the- btates, let every man read the Constitution and make a government to himself, let every man. make his own explanation of the Constitution. 11 Washington had done that, there never would have been a United States. The people would, all have been divided among themselves, and the country would have been cut up into a tliousand different divisions or governments.. What did Washington do ? He gave them, the Constitution and the Supreme Lav, and appointed his Supreme Court and SimrpmA Judge 01 the Constitution; and that Supreme ■'It • uill. I i ^ 1 ! i J ■MH'I' I! I! ■1 I i If Hi I ' Mil' I- IIP ■ I iiii 22 THE PRIVATE .NTCRFRETATWN cit'^ens of the United ^t^^*'°° *" »« the' *xcep,ion. from the pJSdfnlt" ;C ^.^*h°°t are bound to go bv th« ^1 • • ^ "*® **<«8»i-. AH Court, and if is th^a^lT?" *^^*^^S°P'««'e Jfeep the people toStwf ^ *'<'°«' «>at can oi the United States Th°'^ P'^"""'^* *'»« "nion take the interpretation nf ♦T^Jf * *^« People tbe.r own mind's? htt "motet' £°'«*«*'^ in of union. And bo it ;« ,-~™®°* there zs an end ?B here and in En°iXrj^^''^t'^«°*' «« i* Js' a Constitution a Hn^if'^^^^^*'^- There Supreme Judge of tha?Con«f?'*?'*' «' ^'»^' * Supreme Court or ChiS T« m ''*^-' *°** *^^^ meaning of the Con/AfnK^ *? f*^® "^ the *very well-ruled co^tl 1^ ^^ "»« ^a^- In thmg as this -a sSJlfr °"'«* ^ «"«h a supreme judge that In ?».^^' 8"P"me court, to abide by.^ ' Therei«^' ^''^^^ ««« ^^^d supreme law, sunreme LJ!;^ ^""^^ "^^^y a »nd all are bound bTL^!if^'- '°P''«'°« J"dge, hat - governmont'air%^^ ^*^ '"* Chief, ^hoZZiZl'^'^^'t' ^V"^^ S-our a.„ has esS^ea V^^^ HIS SUPBEaiE JUDGB give us the true revelation and rATlON :0 give the tme on to all the ,'"" aU. without the beggar. AH 01 thi3 Supreme "one, that can serve the union ^nt the people constitution in here is an end ^ernment, so it where. There nrt, or law, a tion, and that give us the t^e law. In 1st be such a ipreme court, ie are bound y county a ?reme judge, and without Even among >n of affairs P ? By their our Divine Lis Supreme OF THE BIBLE. 23- doctnnes of the word of Jesus. The Son of the Jivm^r God has pledged His word that that Supreme Court is infaijible, and therefore the true Oathohc never doubts. "I believe," says the Catholic, *' because the Church teaches me so ; I believe the Church because God has spoken and upon the authority of God. But our Protestant friends say, " We believe in the Bible^;' Very well; how do you understand the Bible ? «* Well," says the Protestant, - to the best of my opinion and judgment that it is the meaning/ of the text." He is not sure of it, but to the best of his opinion and judgment, ihis, my friends, is only the testimony of a, man — it is only human faith, not divine taith. It is divine faith alone by which we give honor and glory to God, by which we adore Eis infinite wisdom and veracity, and that adoration and worship is necessary for salvation. I have now proved to you that the private interpretation of the Scriptures cannot> be the guide or teacher of man. elation and ~l1 i !iii ( -! I ! M I' lid H! ! ) i i! i|!i Hi; 11 IHi ' ll ! I I th I 1 ! Ill' I'' I e^ Si fo Yi m ct wi Bi m W be ai] 11. THE CAIBOUC CiBCH. THE flSiy TBIIE CfllfBCB Of Sermon Preached at the Basilica, Ottawa. Canada, I 18th December, 1871. ' Saviour, 1 proved to you that faith is necesJarv for salvation and without faith theeisnosar naS •■ Z'^^r^ ^""^ *^^^« i« eternal dam- nation. Bead your own Protestant Bible 16th S5 V '*''??^^'^ *^^^^ *^^° i° the Catholic Bible Now, then, what kind of faith must a man have to be saved? Will anv faifh rLt Why, if any faith will do th^LTJ^'H 1°,? ZTctui '^^t ^^'^ «fs-the- de;^rsXii:;e and tremble. --, „, therefore, not a matter of ,!i '\\ I \ m • h i\ ■ I ' l!!^ = V ! • II! ' i I I m i m lull ml U i ;!ii: '^ ' liiO: 26 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH mdifference what lelieinr, „ must profess the 3 ^ "^^^ professes ; he without that there [ ^o hoi T ,''''S^°'^' ^^^ stands to reason mv 1„? ^ f '^*"on, for it repeals a thinTor tL.f ^^°^^^' *^a* if God to be believed^ j^ t^ tf * ^^'^8' ^^ ^^nts God. Doubting ffis wor?'^' ?^'*, ^' *° '°«°lt with doubting Ld hpS ' ° ''^"«^« even God, because^it k doubW^-'' ^° ^°«°" *° We must, thereforfi k!]- ^ ^'^ «^««d word, without hesSnf ' ft? ^'*^?°* doubting Catholic Church Xre L r!)'?'*^ .°J^* "^ ">« be no divine faith out of fJ^f/T^f ¥^ - «an of my Protestant Snds S ^.?'^<'?- ^ome this-tohearmesav^hL 'I ^Z '^°«^^ecripture; for st the very 1 damnation. • people, but ) head of the stable wrest ^ And yet 3f God, the len we have '^e and you ^rly beloved 'd at me for i preachers ave written > that the faulty THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. 29 Inglish iransJation, which vnn hotr^ ;„ the Protestants themselves have agreed thaTthf iaCstffs ?eV^ilf h^ C^bolt^Surth and LreC rt^I's^Xta'^e ?eSerd'" meaning of the Bible. And hT ' '"^^ HAS PEOVIDED 4 TEACHER mml be „ inMibili^.' 13", ,S' JS l\ I ! 1 i';': : r mi 'mi II I'! I 30 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH r iui;)!; iV^ lo,n!l^°^*^^* constitation and supreme tew as you thmk proper, for then there would tfi^rooer Th constitution as he should tmnK proper. Therefore, in all eovernmpnta and to the supreme judge is referred all different aThavf fn iK^^'^T'^f "^ *1^« «°P'«me judge ♦^ofy • " *''"^^' ^^'^ if tJiey did not abide bv that decision, why, my dear people, there would ^n^usSon. '""^ "'"''' ^"^^ ^'^"''^>'' disorder and Agam, suppose for a moment that fh-. Blessed Saviour has been less Tse than human governments, and that He has not Sided for ffisC nf\T^°.^ "'u^^« constitutLrand o? -Uis law ol the Church of God. If he had nof my dear people, it would never have stood asit has stood for the last 1838 years He hJ hen, established a supreme c^^^" a Spreme if^l."". *^^ ^^°^«^ of the living CtodTt^s ffi •'* "^ »" Bides, by ProtertaS' and e'SSrhed^'^^cruth"^^^^^^^^ T' ^^* ^- gl our ProtesUnt'a, So^^:^ £ tL't He has established but one Church- BUT ONE CHUECH -for Whenever Christ speaks of His Church. RCH ion and supreme ben there would was allowed to )n as he should ill governments . supreme court, rred all different of the Qonstitu- supreme judge d not abide by pie, there would y, disorder and aent that the se than human ot provided for itution, and of If he had not, ave stood as it trs. He has, iTt, a supreme ing God, it is otestants and lat Christ has range to say, iedge, too, that h — ^ Hifl Church THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. ^ oneness, a union, a unity. He speaks o?rT;« Church as a sheep fold, in whLhTere fs S? one shepherd-that is at the head of aU and the sheep are made to follow his voice OtW sheep I have who are not of this fold? them So shall wither away, produce no fruiHnd i onlv fit to be cast into the fire - th«.t.Te '; *.„ ^1°°'^ tion. This is plain speakingT my ^^r TeopT; '1 i' I Him 1 1 '! tall! I ; I ii'f'ii ililM I I I)! 11 ;(!!,| I SI';! 32 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH but there is no use in „ • ^ant to speak the trnfh r''^''"'^ '''^ t^th. T preached ft in thJrZeJZ' "1 '^« ^P^^ "^a the Church of our Lolr.Z '*^^»'ion out of Chnst. Now.-hichTs that Ph^'^r"' J«««8 are now 852 differpnt of Church.? There e^'stence. and aS e Jf ''''^'^* Churche ?« are added ; and beafl/f^-^ ^^^' °°« »' two more Catholic Church ''noI'?."'"u''^'' '^^^^e S various churches is the one rh"'' ."^ '^^ *hese and Saviour Jesus Christ Pa'".'!^ "^ "" ^O'd *he Church of Jesus r , '^" <'^'»»m to be &f\ it is evSn -no Sn/l'^"' ^^^^-^ Slr^u °^ J««"8 except tfe^ '*" ''« the established by Jesus ^ \^^ ""*« that was £bhshHis4urch ' mi^'^'^u "'"^ J^""B ^ere upon earth. And hl„ ? ^ ^^«» He was Christ was upon earth fei?/ ^ ^t is tha thu-ty-eight years ago. c£ ° ^°°'^'«d and years ago. That is an Jwf/ ^' T*^ ''o™ 1.871 by all. He lived on earfh .S""*^ ^^'^ '^'^'"itted ■Ihat is the time Chrisf .olu.-'^^® ^^ars over upon earth. Adv ru ^J*aWished His Church «f ted isas ytZ S not V^^J. *^«* i«« 2 Ciin8t,butistheinstLH^ the Church of Jesus ^an or other ; nofo Ch °st"I'r?*'°° "^ «S -omsyouthatitiScSe^h^J,^^^^^^ RCH »g the truth. I as the Apostlea salvation out of ^aviour Jesus burcb? There ot Churches in jne or two more oer, there is the ,0^ all these 3h of our Lord J cJaim to be dear, beJoved ^ can be the ^»e that was When He was ago it is that hundred and ;S born 1,871 •act admitted ■s. Take 33 years over. His Church 3at has not •ch of Jesus 'ion of some Qan. Now, the Church ^^i history iirch. Shfi THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF COD. 33 on^the fece'^f*f^°''^!i^ ?^'"*'^ denoiuination8 on me lace of the earth, has existed 1,888 vears Al history. 1 say, bears testimony to this nn^ only Catholic history, but Pagan hLoiy ' a„d Protestant h.story, indirectly.^ The Wstorv Lty thafth?""'^^' '' ^ P-P'-- •>-- 'S: CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE OLDEST ; the first ; is the one established by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If there be anv that Hm» w ^ ^*' """"^ '°*° existence since IS T wf.'. • ^T """^^ ^ ««« ^^ to-morrow dear J^.f' l''^ ^- *^°"«*"'' dollars. My dear preachers, here is a chance of makinl aThisVr'v tTl'°"^'^ ^°' you.° n" only' all History, but all the monuments of antiauitv of the'Sh? "V-^^^^'^V^"'^ ^li thenaS ot the earth proclaim it. Call on one of vour preachers and ask him : Which was the first Church -the first Christian Church Was it the Presbyterian, the Episcopalian, the Church of England, the Methodist, the Universalis? or the Unitarian ? And they will answpr Z, tI was the CathoUc Church. ^Bu^ my dlar friends If you adm t that the Catholic Church is the Srist whf ''* ~ *^^ ^^""''^ ««*^Wished bv tt?*-:^i:n^„?r'.^Catholic? Tothi; ., become corrupted ; has faUen into error, and i I * I I 11 ' 'i$l'H lit hi •i 34 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH And to thfs" wo answer "Th'!.V*- >^ *" -but we quarreledTith n,fv ^"'t^''^^''-y*^"*n from him, and st^I^ « "IP^'T^^^"' separated " And th^t!" sayT^I " 1/?^"^ 1 ''"' o^'^-" you belong to-!?he twelvl ff ' ^'''^r ^P^^tles That Chufch ^! Ztj^ ^1"°^'' °^ I^^l'ana !" years ago A few v^ ^''^^'""' **'0"' ti^een ^"i4:s;) H?r »"':\-- informant; "U k LdT "'°'^'" '^'^ my shop now '" Affam^ D^ f waggon-maker's the Galaaons,Xr^' " Tho!!^',"' ^^? ^P'«"e to even an an^el fX' ,,..!^°"?.h we Apostles, or preach to you a dl^eTnil^lffrSt^nd A hV' RCH )N as I have done come and see an came to me his opportunity Church do you ' To the Church • **Ha! ha!'' r•"= v^uuruu esiaoiisiied by Jesus Christ tnZtirrrW* K^"" hiBtoricaHacTthS all the Protestant Churches are the institution M ill mil I, I III Mi fi ' if ^lJ;ll ill im^^ nll^illlli I iJm ■ i; I I I'll; Wpi llli 40 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH or institutes!' Tn the yZ\ .V""''' ^""'^S ago-the first Protestant^ ^melnrl^^ ^«*« Before hat one, there warnof p *^ ^''^''i' the world, not on the falfof ?L ^™^«tant in and that one. as aU histev L, ^^°^^ ^a^h ; Luther, who Vas a CatE ^"' *"'' .^^« ^^'tin irom the Church throuS^ n?^''' ""^"^'^^ ^^^y nun- He waa /"'^^'^ P^^ ae, and married a Church-cut Z bani'shTrh*^'^ ^^*"" t^e ^religion of his ' otr^lf^^f tr^*'^«^ there wasnotaProtP^tanf- *t. ^^^^'''^^ Luther the first to raisftlTst^'Z^^' ^^^l^ ' ^« ^^^ revolt against the Church of PnW ''«'"'°" ^"^^ h's disciples that itb"v 1 i^"'^", ^^ ^aW to for their guide, and thl did *k''' *^« ^^^e quarreled with him Iwit,;, "' ^".* *^«y «oo° «* others, and every one^o"'^''"'' " """^'"^^ new religion of his oZ, a a *¥""' ^'a^ted a Martin Luthe^. 1^' JohnV^ ^'''^P^'^ ^f Geneva, established the Pvf k f'^-"' '"'^O' in and hence almost all „> fu '^^•'^^^an religion, name of thSlLf t a Protestant in tile whole earth; is us, was Martin ^est, who fell away e, and married a 3ated from the ne made a new Martin Luther le world; he was ot rebellion and od. He said to take the Bible >, but they soon i» and a number ^iiem, started a the disciples of 'alvm, who, in terian religion gions go by the the Protestant, ^y friend ?" believe in the " hence not of er. And what ■ ^0 had broken I ^^ the altar of " rried a Sister I -^^ ^NLY TRUE CHURCH. OF GOD. 41 Ufh^^f'. "^^'I ^^^. ^^'' *^^^^ *^^ «a«^e oath ot chastity and virtue. And this is the first [founder oi Protestantism in the world The iZl 0^%^^ ^^:'^ -'^'^ ^'' known teils you i they came from Martin Luther. So the Presbv I terians are sometimes called Calvinists because I CAME HENRY THE EIGHTH. Ir^Lron ' Sf""^'': '■'"^ t^'""^'^ '^« Catholic i religion he wrote a book against Martin -H^'k \\defence of the Cathoh^ doctrine xha book I have myself seen in the library of he Vat|can at Rome a few years ago 'Cnry the VIII. defended the religion, and for so 'i L^Faith '"*''' r?^ *^^ ^°P^' "Defender •51 ttie b aith. It came down with his ft"To da?' ^U '^' ^""-^ '^'^^^'^ Vi«*»"a inherits Arrai' h,,?! ^^^ ""^'"^ '« Catharine of honof to S n^-' ''*' ^^^^ «°°rt » °>aid of nonor to the Queen, named Ann Bolevn who was a beautiful woman, and captiS/in appearance Henry was determinV to Lve Her But he was a married man. He nut if in a petUion to the Pope to be allowed to'^mar^ vZ~i,f ^ *°°'''^ P^""o" it was, for the Pope had no power to grant the prayer of it ft'ZT .-d -". the>shops i^ X worH v»..^«v gu agamsc tiie wUl of God. Christ says : If a man putteth away his wife, and marrieth '!! f|'! i!! r ii : , • ;l; ! / H I n; • 1 I m t, Mi ! II II If! ! fl^M' !'!' I' ! ■ I ■ ■■ ' 1 -i; liii 'Ife I ; I 42 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH adultery £} as the C."''*^'./"'"'^^"^*'^ maid of bono.. preltil^^s^'ZT r'''^'' the Church V Fni!^o ]* ^°^' ^^ *^^ "'^me of cote ttT Th?*''"''?^ ''"* *hey sh^uTv S Eus one, JnfwoX Se f""^ ^^*^""« ^« " Apostles said^-r bellve in^tt'n'l ''nJ^' the holy Catholic C Wh - ♦vf ^°'^ *^^°«'' in the Anglican Church T^;: ^^\^^^^^ /aid their religion for fhlt Tu ^g^'cans deny not Koman CathoS ' CJre fn^nOTV^* lies. Whaf I'fl fh^ ^« • ^ J^nglish Catho- lie 9 {^tZ fr nTtte gLI t'tdT'.."?*^"' - universal - spread all ovei-^^^-*^"-' everywhere the Lme. NoT first of Si "if Anglican Church is not spread Llnv ^ fiarili • ;+ ^.^i- __• . . ^Jf^^au all over th^ — ... . It onl^ Biisis in a few countries, and H ', and he that Yf committeth uld not grant lie took Ann unicated from > was another e first, more i^es of Henry^ 00. He took th and sixth nder of the >f England; ' the name of Episcopalian 3w-a-days to shall never Catholic is a ess it. The Holy Ghost, 'never said licans deny Sieve in the irch. Ask Jay yes, but. jlish Catho- i^ord Catho- Catholicus earth, and 0/ all, the • over the atries, and THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. 43 <5hiefly only where the English language is spoken. Secondly, they are^ not the lame aU over the earth, for there are now four different Anghcan Churches : The Low Church, the High Church the Kitualistic Church and the Puseyite Church. Catholicus means more than this, not only spread all over the earth and everywhere the same, but it means, moreover, at all times the same, f^om Christ up to the present day. Now, then, they have not been in existence from the time of Christ. There never was an Episcopalian Church or an Anglican Church before Henry the VHI The Catholic Church had already existed one thousand five hundred years before the Epis copal Church came into the world. After Epi.- copalianism, different other churches sprang up Next came the Methodist, about one huS ^d sixty years ago. It was started by John Wesley, who was at first a member of the Episcopalian Church, subsequently joined the Moravian brethren, but not liking them he Church^ 'IF'' A ^\.r^ - ^^' ^^*b«di8t OHurch. After John Wesley, several others "i:XV r''^"^^^^' came^he Campbellftes LtabHhpji'^r'^ This Church was i K^ ^ Alexander Campbell, a Scotch- man. Well, now, my dearly beloved people you may think that the act ^i Z 12^^^ Apostles of Indiana was a ridiculous o^'' but they had as much right to establish a Church :|N«:i 44 II I ifiji! Ill: i iim ill il|;;r ■' ill" ■ II .ii; I ' '' : |ir: ji^i" mm \ U THE CATHOLIC CHURCH THEY HAD NO BIOHT AT ALL, and neither had Henry the VIII. nor the rest w *^tv1 f'i?. "8^* whatsoever. Christ had S that' ff^'r.^'^'^,!\*°<^ g'^«° His solemn, oath that His Church should stand to the end of time ; promised that He had built it uDon« rock, and that the gates of hell shou IdTever Pff^fl against it. Hence, my dear neonle all those different denominations or reSns are the mventions of man, and I ask tou ca„ man save the soul of his fellow-man ^b?' an v mstitu ion he can make ? Mus. not rJlidon come from God ? and therefore, my deariv setollv "T'^T ''^'^'^°' think "^overil seriously. You have a soul to save, and that soul of yours nmst be saved or damned • either one or the other ; either dwell with God in heaven or with the devil in hell. m,erlre seriously meditate upon it. When I gave mv missions ,n Brooklyn, New York, several Pro^ testants became Catholics. Among thmther; Virg nian. He was a Presbyterian. After hi had listened to my lectures, he went to see his minister, and he asked him to be knd enough to exp am a text of the Bible. The master gave him the meaning. " Well, now •• ^^aT^ gentleman, '-are you positive and sure ■•"'-— ^ that it IS' THi ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. 45 uther or Job. j the meaning ot the text, for several other ■ Protestants explain it differently ?" " Whv mv dear young man." says the preacher. •' we never can be certain of our faith." " Well then, says the young man, " good-bye to you ;' 11 I cannot be sure of my faith in the Protest- ant Church 1 will go to where I can." and he n the Catholic Church, and if our faith is not true. Christ has deceived us. I would, therefore, begof you. my separated brethren, to procure yourselves Catholic books. You have read a great deal against the Catholic Church • now read something in favor of it. You can never Wh ^.^^''"P^/'f ' '^°**?*'^ '^ y°" do not hear both sides of the question. What would you ttiink 01 a judge, before whom a policeman would bring a poor offender, and who. on the ctiarge of the policeman, without hearing the prisoner, would order him to be hung ? "Give me a hearing." says the poor man, " and I Will prove my innocence ; I am not guilty." says he. The policeman says he is guilty. " WELL. H4NO HIM, ANYHOW." says the judge. What would you say of that judge ? Cnmmal judge ! unfair man ! You are guilty of the blood of the innocent. Would not you say that ? Of course you would. WeU ^ow, ^j, uuariy ueioveu Ji-fotestant friends, that IS what you have been doing aU along ; you W." an.irl fln/a ire that it is- "T I '' I 46 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH I I i.i Hi ill i f WW ^nl^^nlZT'rLTy'^^^ °f *»»« question and of Si .^ U8 Catholics as a superstitious lot Drer-i.pivfi fi? ' ** ^°" ^^^^'^ ''een treating us love, and a spirit of charity, in° the K nl Protestln/ brethren w'°\ "Y r'^^^'^^ ''^'•'^«ut if St. Paul he would have t himself bad harder thmgs , not through gh a spirit of the hope of may be saved, learly beloved would gladly >r your salva- Fou as I have » friends, THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. 47 « minister or preachL Ko * ''®'**"'» English to give th^^STXTKW^?^-- forgiven in ^^^^ *^^ ^^ich sins are THE CATHOLIC CHUSCH. been guilty of adSri h^l} f^* ? ' "^^'^ ^^ ^^s -hen guilt'y of foSi^ti^sar' wh''-'^' has whipped his wife « "„ ^ ' ^^en he when he has been ^l!!;.„ . "I™* °' ^L and will do. (Laughter.f ™"''^ ^'^^' ^ shilling you wteeteen IT T ^'^' Catholics- day; of yS life £°;^, *" confession all the liever pawTne pe^Jt ^k^ *¥' ^«" ^ave your sfns. K mLt'le^fc^^J P'^'°° °^ who preach the Gosnel J^ It. * "^ '"''^ "^^^ of such a religion that' Z^ ^* """'* '^^ *hink another bv cafumnv aL »f T"„*° P"' -^o^n region of GodT Ts tS S^ity'p^ Tl '""^ It to your own frnm^ a^*no^ "ixatianiiy / 1 leave sense of tho^ who are not ri'f^f-' '' *^^ g°°d have heard it repeatedly 'i^S"'?.' *"*? .^^° God? I« that L spiSi o?ctw*l^^^r*..^^ ""-"" -o^ner body of Ohristians"hy-' slandering' t I ( s I II to the priest a ler to obtain the certain English sutured so far as which sins are CONFESSION. 51 ja» has been guilty s mother, and sin, he has to ; when he has sum, or $2.50; nie ; when he '» or $1, and ink, a shilling r Catholics— fession all the ^at you have ^he pardon of of such men Qust we think to put down Is that the ^ty ? 1 leave ► to the good cs, and who the spirit of hv 9 4^^ „._x V * ~vyj put 7 slandering and misrepresenting their doctrines. Whv do they not attack the real doctrines of the Church? Why have they beaten the way attacking doctrmes of which, in reality, their Ignorance clearly shows they know nothing. Every Catholic abhors the idea of believing that sins can be forgiven for money. The Catholic Church considers it one of the greatest sacrileges m existence. If a priest were to take money for forgiving sins, according to the laws of the Catholic Church that priest could never exercise priestly functions any more ; but there never has been an instance of that kind, for that priest would be degraded for life. What, then, is the Catholic doctrine on » , » THE SUBJECT OF CONFESSION ? The Catholic Church teaches that no sins can be forgiven without true and sincere repentance on the part of the sinner for the sins bv which he has offended God, and a firm resolution to avoid all sins for the future. Ask any Catholic • tan the priest forgive you your sins ii vou are not sorry for them?" Even the most ignorant t^atnolic will answer you : *' No sir " No sms can be forgiven without true and sincere sorrow and repentance for them. Do you not believe m that, my dear Protestant friends? Ul course I do." Vnn QQTT ilr^ «^^1„ \T_ ._ .. . 18 the Catholic doctrine. Then. aKain. the Cathohe Church teaches that no sin can be Ill iiml^ tl f ill I i !i mmi f! j! "'' i!;! ml • < ill I ! mm m i m I Hi;; / i ii!( i I ; I > ■ iir li ■ 1|!||Mnl..,ii: I ' r i ' ; . I ; m "ill :M!|;!i;; ^ jill ; ill':': ; - !M SIMf;i!!:!i ! II f!'!;:' [■'■:''l'i 52 CONFESSION. V to do all in C poUtrJ"^^ *^^*'^°''°«'i iuture; for there would Ll^ *'^"'*^ '"» fo'' '^e unless there was llso a^.f^'""*''® "P^'^t'^nce mence a newT^'e-to In'^*"'"'^**^"'' ^o com- *J.v dear ftotlttant SaT£' *^^ ^"*'^«- oi>jection to that ? "No Sr'fw' ^""^ *°y m: opinion." Well thin ' ^* '^ P^'^^isely Catholic without inni^^t' ^x°° ^« «<> &' a Catholic doctrine • you rp«^-/*- ^^at is the , Catholic religion manv „!' t ^°" '"''1^ ^''^^ *h^ 'your errors and embrL. ^r^ ''"?^'* "^^^^don misfortune is this that m«^t' f "'^- ^"^^ t^e keep you in error :theV^j°V/. Z'' ^''^"^^'^^ doctrine of the Catholic ChL^h f ^°^ ^^^ *^^ very well if you were to kn!f ^L^"'. *^«y ^now th« Catholic Church v '^ ^^"^ doctrines of Catholics, unless som. T" '^""^'^ become would hold ;ou1rom?mbrr"'\r°«^''«''»tio''« then, the Ca'^holfcToctrineTtL*?' ^'^- 8«' has a true and sincere rZ^t * 7^^° * ^a° and a firm resolution to do S"-' ^""^ ^'^ «i^«' avoid sin for the future If H^ ^'' P''^^' *« dispositions, he confesses h^f ^^'°.' ^"^ *l»ese of God, th;n thTZlZV'''!u'' *»>e priest forgiving his sins in KL\^ £, ^t '' THE AUTHOEITY OP GOD. believr *ty>If ^y Protestant friend. " ..„ '""■' ""° ^"""^ ^'^^ the power of fo^givi^g :»!l||l illHlli nd sincere sorrow fully determined ^void sin for the mcere repentance nination to com- Q f or the future. have you any that 18 precisely 5u are so far a • That is the )u only knew the would abandon 'futh. But the yo\r preachers ' ^^t you see the ; for they know he doctrines of ^ould become considerations the truth. So, tt when a man e for his sins, n his power to en, with these 8 to the priest fjoe power of Crod and by 3. friend n \Tr\-n f ,7 ^-f I* of forgiving CONFESSION. 53 ims. Well now, I do not believe in that that r^" iTw f r ^'^'7^ ^^^" "«^«' ''^i^ve ^ ai. J.8 not the priest a man?" '< Whv nf Well, then. I shall never believe that the nest can forgive sins." Now. my Protestant Ihat? Let us examme whether God can give luch power to man— to forgivs sins in Hi! .ame^nd by His authority, if He chooseTto do. 0. What do you say to that ? Can God give ^uch power o man ? " Of course," says C rotestant friend, " God can do anything ; G^d 8 all-powerful. If God wishes to give such, )ower to man He can do it ; who is to hinder Urn from gmng such power to man ?" Well iv^n^Z^ *" P'"? *° y°"' "^^' *^at God has' iven this power to man. " No, sir. vou can .ever do that," says my Protestant friend But will prove to you that God has given such ower to man ; for no man, with common sense L'^^^tl"^ ^"""^^ ^°' * '^o^^ei't that God an give this power to man. i shall prove it to ike T *""" T'' ^f *^^* i« the'^Sook you >f; i ^u"",""*.* ]?y dear Protestant friends? .ate ^v^''^"^^''"*' ^"'■''^^^ ^« CathoHcs lave a very high veneration; and it is from his ho y book of God that I shall ^Jove ICt xod has given such power to man. ^.n the ninth chapter of the Gospel of St atthew we read that on a certain occasion. If ! ii iiilii: lUU' I ': U i 'if"-' iilil I' Mil ' 'i 11)11 W! ii!i M ! Illllilllliilii 54 CONFESSION. saw the poof mkipH "^^l °" ^'^««ed Lord be 01 good hMrt ft, • ^ P*'^'^'^ -an ^ " Son. gooa ieait, thy sins are forgiven thee." THE SCEIBES AND PHAEISEKS heard the Blessed Saviour sav " Tv, • forgiven thee " ^r.^ tl ■^' ■'^^J' ^^^^s are., themselves and Jf -^^ murmured withini And Christ reaZ^^f *°'8'7" S'^s but God?" ft minds, S f^.^'fe*^,^_«e«ret thoughts of theirl Which is it easiest sl^tZ rsTre t *'^^ 1^ thee, or, take un f>i.r k^? "^ } ^^^ forgiven |t house ?' But "'saS' S '^.'??J'^ -*« tl^Jl toowthat the Son of Ma;" ml ^°" "^^yh that you may knoVlhShe Kf God* ZV hundred^and seCtv S. '^'^' ""^^ ^^g'^*^^" was born in th'Sra^UXheS'''.. S^^f power on earth to forgive s ins " ?L . if *^ ^^? He say to the man «iohJ fi ' ,"°** *^®'i ^^ thy Jd and tTjolhy tts^'^^^ * d^f ^ -^F fan was instautly cured and h. ^^^ 'u^ bed and walked Vot^^.i" *^.^^ ^P ^^« J^ivine Saviour n«vf;:.^:T /^^T^* , ^^^^^ our i^ G fc fr tl 01 f iiii ' iilfMi.i I --me Saviour performed a"miraeleT^i,,^,": p vine Lord a man ar Blessed Lord was moved with ied man : ** Son, rgiYen thee." CONFESSION. 5S USEES " Thy sins are I'mured within 1 our Protestant sins but God ?" loughts of their irmur at this? IS are forgiven walk into thy at you may 3 does not say n of God, but Son of Man." d man— He is le Father and man eighteen igo, when He ai) ** hath the and then did sy: ''take up ' and the sick took up his ► Here, our cle to prove ihat, even as man, He had the power of forgiv-^ ng sms. ^ Now, in St. John, twentieth chapter, our Saviour says: -AH power hath been given to IMe m heaven and on earth ; therefore, as the ather hath sent Me, I also send you As I ave been vested by the Father with all power ^ I also send you vested with all power ; and ihen, breathing upon them (Apostles , He said : Keceive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shaU forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sms you shall retam, they are retained." Now my dear Bible friends, you who say the Bible is your teacher, I beg of you, in the name of God to divest yourselves of aU prejudices, of all preconceived notions, and kindly, sincerely/ before God, study the Bible, study the words of Jesus Christ. What did Christ mean when He said breathing upon His Apostles: - Keceive ye the Holy Ghost ?" Who is the Holy Ghost ? The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the ri'^'^^^^tu ^'^^'^^' "I^eceive ye the Holy CjHost ; that IS, ** Receive ye the power of God " for Holy Ghost, in the Holy Scriptures, frequently stands for the power of God; as in tne first chapter of THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES pur Divine Saviour says: "Not manv dava nence you shall receive the power of God*'" What was that power of God? It was the w ^niiiiiiii ^ 'ill i'[ ' i'liii .' ; ' u umii ; iimmmV' mil i; ''IP M i ' ■ \ .1 '■ I' I'M'' !'!!lil 11 ;,'^. iilli .'„ I ! ! I II 'Iflfli lip II (iliiiii i'l'p'iiii ''11 I 56 CONFESSION. and whole S ^you «£?' f ^' ^'""'l "^ ^'^^ forgiven them " Zlffhl /"'^'^^ ^''^^ ^'e What did our Div ne s«if" *"'' '^P"°'' ' said, " Whose fiin? vl T^n ^ "^^^^ ^hen He forgiven them."^He Tft it-'^'tl *^«>' ^'^ forgiving sins ^ ^^^'^ *^^ P^^er ofj >aS Ser^^^chutr i^T^ T"? "^ ^t. ant doctor. I Skid fh« I'l ^***y' * P^°*e«t- alone with the lad vfor^f *°' *° *«*^« °»e did so. In the meantir^/'''T T'^T^'' ^''^ ^« confession, and aS£red to herl.,*^' ^^""'^ tions of our holy telisiol th « *^^ consola-- the Church. Havinf !T+r*^\^^°''*'"«°ts offr •doctor that he Sf feme M'/.T'^i*' *^«r was a yankep »»^ \?' ""^^ *lie doctor la, Yankees are a verv T "' • ^^''^ ^'^^t the|l' always want to k^^th^r and ouW' '^'^'^l" •doctor, that isav.y-i;^pe3nt^:.tio;fSJ CONFESSION. sr Is I know what you. are driving at, I will Inswer you. I heard the confession of that ^ciy. "lou do not pretend to forgive the ins do you ?" said the doctor. '* Yes, sir, I 10." '' Well, sir," continued the doctor,' *' that a very extraordinary power." **Yes, sir is; but you do not beheve in that power' octor ?" said I. - No, sir," said he, ** nof no ; I Lx^^u ^f ^^^^ 1^ any such nonsense as that." I Well, doctor," said I, **do you believe the ^postles had the power of forgiving sins ?" (< NO, SIR, >» SAID HE, *'l DO NOT." " Well, doctor, what did our Divine Saviour lean when, breathing upon His Apostles, He 3aid, Eeceive ye the Holy Ghost ; whose sins IxTu ^^^^} J^^^^"^^ *^^y ^^^ forgiven them?' u xxr n T ^^^^^* ^®^^' doctor, at that time ?" Well, I declare," said he, " that is a tough luestion." " A little tough, doctor. Will you )e kind enough to answer it ?" " Well," said the Idoctor, ** I am not prepared for that now. I lam here on professional business, and am not prepared to answer you now, but I will see you ^Sain." "Do, doctor, please see me again." ine doctor was a sincere and honest man, and when he arrived at his office he remembered his promise to see me again, and, knowing that he I should become familiar with the subject in order to talk with me, he procured himself some books on the Catholic doctrine, and read them li;i|.-i(' I '"' 'nil, I ml i ( I hi, I, I I ! 'if III II 'I WWl^ I ' i li " I'i i ! If !i !! ilpif" iiiiiii i; i si:: 58 CONFESSION. tSl thlHonrfe ri; • ^« ''— eon- became intereSd r the 1?^°" T^'"- H« more books, and fiZjl b«?„l ' *°4 Procured ^he Catholic Church kfjl?^® convinced that God. Three weeks after fUf^,,*''''" ^^"'^^ "^ at my door. "Walk in " i^ /.?'? "^"^^ ^ ™P in. "Father." says he *.?iS^ -^oetor walke3 enough to hear muT!.,?' • ^£ ^''^ "'e J^ind hear your confes^on ? wT ^ ." ^^' ^^^^tor ! in that ?" (LaSr . ^^^ T" '^'^ ^°* »'e«eve H "andbeK&thr^*,,'^"'/'''^^^''' «*y« Catholic Church I Im f 1^'" '^^f *"°^« «^ *^e that it is the only trrChrTh'^^T^'^''^*^ would like to make mv f /^^°<^' ^^'^ I nght. doctor ; get'^oTyo^ knS'.^"''^: '1 ^" ct id- tttJ ti^r^^^^^^^ friends: he was a very ^ae „^^*° ^■ ?°' ^^ man— a very 8mfl.r/^; f"'* well educated be, ^ ^°"^* '^^^ '• and so wise you will MI DEAB PBOTESTANT FEIENDS docC tTof to^lLLte^.^^'*^-* *^e question. But her«1f,f '"' ^. ^'^^^ "^ the a one-sided p;or-r,"''"''^°'*°°^ = ^^"^ ^r« sides of the au2,L ^T,?''^^'' ^^^Pine both m you ever read7aath;iic b^okTnTufe: 9 became con- le origin. He and procured Jonvinced that rue Church of >re came a rap doctor walked you be kind "Eh, doctor ! io not believe father," says )ctrines of the ily convinced ^ God, and I sion." **A11 . He got on ion, and re- ell, perhaps, Jay to-night; ?" No, my ell educp,ted i^ise you will DS, CONFESSION. 59' ne ; you are amine both didly, now, your life ?'' I No, sir, I would not take up a Catholic book." ided people How can you give an impartial udgment when you have examined but one side )f the question? What would you say of a ndge who sits in the criminal court, when a policeman brings in a poor fellow, and says to he judge : " Judge, this man is guiltv of such md such a crime." "Well, then, hang him, says the judge. "But," says the poor man Judge, I am innocent, and I am able to prove my innocence. I am able to bring you evidence and witnesses to prove that I am innocent." '.< w */^® policeman insists that he is guilty. We !, hen," says the judge, " hang him anj iiow. (Laughter.) What would you say of Buch a judge ? " Ah !" you would say, <' unjust cruel blood-thirsty man; you arJ'guiUy of shedding mnocent blood ! Why do you not [hear the man? Why ^o you not hear his evidence, and his witnesses, and his proofs? i:ou are guilty of the blood of an innocent man and you have condemned him without examin- ation. Well, now, my dear Protestant friends. aUow me to tell you (and I hope you will not be |onended, tor no man of sensA «nr. h^ ^tt^„A„j •L '™th) that 18 the way you have been treating the Catholics all the time. "Hang 60 CONFESSION. I h I, iliiJi III, HI I, 1, I ' I ' iN'j'''i|!ij ■ : il It "ij! ^H 1'^ 1 1 ^H i'l h ^H , 1 ''' 1 IS THAT THE PART OP A SENSIBLE MAN ? Is that just, I ask you ? It is va,,, j. j i, hkve been condemning ua -von }.o„ 1 . ^°" ing us into ridicule ° you have hpin t'V^"^ up to the odium of the neoX wJft ^°/'^'°8. "^^ what the Catholic retSl It all ThT^ the way Jesus Christ w^ trt'ed 1;<1 T^ •' the way you arp frp«f;«T!i, /'» ' ^^^ *^** " Christ.^ Oh . mvd««?^p^t ^f T"" of Jesus become more jus^ 21 ?'^?*^«*'^'^* fiends, do charitabra's yoTr fewm^n ""T", "''' fim not without knowing that W^'li ^°°<^«'^° to be condemned Hn ,rJ 'le really deserves the question but gle a faT Z"'- ""V^^l," "^ sides: Do I a«t fZl^- Clearing to both that r.o?%L'trs^' r::zti% '' recommer d fn v/m, f^ wouia therefore lie bX You^ ha?e^/r7' ^'T^^^^« ^^*^^- aaamQf r,o ^^^^ ^ g^eat many books against us; now examine the other siX of ?k question. Procure yourselves Cu7h^- u i^^ in which onv ^..*-i _^®^^^®® Cathohc books. and tho7oughiy7^eS "^'t ^^^^^^^^^^ stated ugniy aeiended. I recommend to you 'H ever examiu« on? Did you ^r in your life ; demn us with- BLE MAN ? "^ery hard to ig so unjustly ne of you can a fact. You ve been turn- en holding us hout knowing all. That is . and that is vers of Jesus friends, do J honest and I. Condemn ally deserves ' one iiide of ing to both enable ? Is d therefore Blves Catho- many books side of the lolic books. ^hly stated lend to you CONFESSION. 61 ^l^t^^^^^^/^IJowing books: "Protestantism and Catholicity,'' -Points of Controversy," and *' The Manual of Instruction." I must continue, with my proof from the Bible, on Confession. In St. Matthew our Divme baviour says (sixteenth chapter) • " I will give to you," says He to His Apostles, ^ the keys ot the kingdom of heaven. And whatso- ever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed likewise in heaven" Here, you see, our Divine Saviour gave to His Apostles A VERY EXTBAORDINARY POWER. For what purpose were the keys? Why of course, to open the door. They'were given for the purpose of unlocking Heaven to the repent- ant sinner. Here, again, our Divine Saviour coniers the same power on His Apostles that He conferred upon them in the Gospel of St. John (twentieth chapter.) Now, did the Apostles understand these words of Christ in the same manner as we Catholics understand them, in the nineteenth century, and as they have been understood for so many centuries ? Did they really believe that they had the power of for- giving sms ? They did ; and thev gloried in Corinthians, says : *' Let as the ministers of Christ man the dispenser. I I, liii 0. I' "' «l!'i ''"' M I f ^iilfliMi'ill Ml mif I IWi\&> 62 CONFESSION. A^ o^^l ^ ^?''' '^^^* « an ambassador ? t^^n^fK *'^°' '" "°^ ^'^^ '« sent by one power Ss L J^^'^'t *^' ^"S"^'^ Government Benas an ambassador to Waahir.ntr,^ n, 1 ambassador acts in the name J th'e En. S GoTernment, and whatsoever he does in Wash ington IS considered as done by the eS Lh Government Itself : his acts are the actf of the Enghsh (Government. " Now " savs Sf L i M we are the ambassadors o7'chrt"^Sv£ wL He"!/""?"*-^. *?^^°^. a-baesadors? «f ft 1^ J ■ „ ^ ^^^ g've to you the kevs bLu b?nr'*°°" of heaven, and whatsoever yTu and their u!f ^^"'* constituted His Apostles and their lawful successors in the ministrv thl priests and Bishops of the Church ffis am h«„ sadors. Acain anv.. «(■ b i • ' , ^® ambas- teGn,1 wJ,. f-^'°°*' °°^y becomes reconciled W trod when his sins are foraiven. " Sn " „„ fwl-^^'^o'^y ^rg^^'Pg him his Bins/' An^. .^...x.-xa, oi. ^onn the Apostle, in his Fi^st CONFESSION. 63 Ipistle and first chapter, says : " God is faith- ful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse ■IS from our iniquities, if we confess them. "if we confess them." [There, St. John the Apostle makes confession - condition, without which no sin is forgiven, od is faithful and just to cleanse us from our iniquities, ** to forgive us our sins, if we confess them." Hence, we see that in the primitive days of Christianity the Christians went to con- fession. In chapter xix., 18th verse, of the Acts of the Apostles, we read : '' And many of those who believed, came, confessing and declaring their deeds." The multitude of the people -~ those who had been received into the Church- came, says the Bible, " confessing and declar- ^^8*^^11' sins" to the Bishops and priests ot God. They did the same as Catholics do now: they came in crowds to confession, as Catholics do now on great festivals, such as Easter, Christmas, etc.— so says the Bible. Did the primitive Christians not know the Catholic doctrine? Were they ill-instructed ? They knew it8 doctrines from the very lips of the Apostles, and hence the Catholic religion is now as it was m the primitive days — in the days of the Apostles. And St. James the Apostle says to the priests ot the Church : *' Contess vnnr aina n.-nc. +.^ +v.« Other, and pray one for the other, that you may !'if Ijilp^fiili i li m iii 'f'^'^lliiif if illl; !iii mi- mm sjihii. lifpiiilli: '''III 64 ' ^ CONFESSION. »ms, Dut also the priest is bound to do so anri so also, must the Bishops and the CardLls and even the Pope himself is bound to Zfn confession, should he hflv« +L • ^ ? ^^ *^ fall into sin fn^hc • ,. ^ misfortune to iciu into sm, lor he is a man 1 ke the rp^f nf no and any man may fall into sin ^88^^^ moral and holy lives and haar.\l i P^^^' sin- but Pvpn /f fi^ i^ ^®P themselves from Ero7 the ctrri*7'J^l.^i«¥P3. and sms. The words of "ch;^;* ^\ ^l^fS^ >t. James the ins a condition 3f the Church, lerely the laity i and tell their to do so, and he Cardinals ; 3und to go to misfortune to Jhe rest of us, Confession is by all. The fall into sin as a general to lead pure, >m selves from imit any sin, ik or twice a e nothing to eir youth — umble tbem- )tain the for- e you many io prove that ^r Lord and Lord and ind to their ^i^shops and oi forgiving iave quoted CONFESSION. 65 are so plain, so explicit and so expressive, that it is impossible for any man who believe in the Bible to doubt them. *' Whose sins you shall forgive," says the Son of the living God. ** they are forgiven them." There is no other meanmg to this but that He gave them the power of forgiving sins. " Well," says my Protestant friend, '*! suppose the Apostles had the power of forgiving sins — that is plain from the Bible; but how do you get that power?" Well, now, when o^r Divine Saviour established His Church here upon earth, tell me, did He mean that the Church which He established was to last only during the lives of the Apostles ? Was it to die with the Apostles? ''Oh no!" says my Protestant friend, *' of course not ; it was to last forever, for if it were not to last for- ever, we would then be badly off." Weil then it was to last forever, you say. Was it the intention of our Divine Saviour that the Church which He established should continue as He had established it, without any change? . *' Well, I suppose so ; I guess that was His intention." Well, then, as He estabUshed it with the power of forgiving sins, therefore that power must remain in the Church ; that neces- sarily follows. If you admit the premises, you must consequently admit the conclusion. Christ estabUshed His Church with the power of forgiving sins, and He wishpd Hm Church to remain as He established it: therefore He Mi ' Ii!i mi r 11 Iff 11(1 'I i II ii;i!Jil!!: mm 'Hi ' 1 i III CONFESSION. Ihflid^:' T'' '" ''^'"^ '° His Church to poTei tT' P^r s 2? tr ^r ^^^^^^ Apostles. I say you all know that hutihl facUs, my dear Protestant frienl. you wSo Ire Itet" ZVu 2:,!^?^ J^n-ve^litl^ Paul was not on« '^^'^>'„*^°ow. now, that St. Jew, and a very zealoiiA J«l . k / u ^ ^^^ ^ nf nVv.^ u ^ zealous Jew ; but, by a miraplA 01 Grod, he was conyerted and pf^^,. d ™i^acie vprf-prl o«^ u r""^^*"*^"* a.na alter ne was con- tiz iris « "*r or.r^^^ acrain --C3 CONFESSION. 67 Timothy and Titus; and so on. These, St. Paul consecrated Bishops of the Church and gave to them the power of forgiving sins in the name of God and by the authority of God, just as he received it himself. Now, I will not quote any more texts from the Holy Scriptures because it would occupy too much time. I will now, however, give quotations from THE EARLY WRITERS OF THE CHURCH— those who lived in the very days of the Apostles themselves, and who received all their Chris- tianity from the Apostles. I will quote from their writings to show that in their day— eighteen hundred years ago— the doctrine of con- lession was preached as much as it is preached now. The first one from whom I will quote is bt. Clement. St. Clement was a disciple of St. i'eter the Apostle, and he was baptized and instructed by St. Peter in all the doctrines of the Catholic Church. He also was ordained by ^t. Peter a Bishop of the Church of God, and afterwards became one of the successors of St Peter as Pope. St. Peter was the first Pope and bt. Clement was the fourth. Of St. Clement, bt. Paul says, in one of his Epistles, " that the name of Clement is written in the book of life '* so that the Bible testifies that Clement is 'a samt of God. Now, Clement saji in his first •iiijoriud leter has taught that the faithful are ii 'Uriir^:,:' ilL, ^ i] |i I !'' iir 'i i i ii ! 'iii/t i if; ;i ii ■ , I fill liii fdliif !i'i:iii#''' ^'' SniMII/i 11 i!!i i! ! imn 1 1 i i i i 1 |lfi;i!i;|!pi'i^ 68 CONFESSION. S ?f "fhl''f *^'^ ^« *° *J^« priests of the! Sd in' S« h °'t' Jf y r" °f y°" has con! envv orto^ ^^'* thonghts of infidelity, of W;„f f °u'^' f *°y »**'«' evil thought let' him not be ashamed to confess this to the Dries i woK cf ^' '''^'''''y counserand by Thi=T 1 .^°'*' ^^ ""^y be healed by him " This 18 the language of a disciple of it Sr the Apostle written eighteen hundred years ago when Catholicity was in its very cradle In the same century lived DionVLs fh." Areopagite, who was a convert of St Pa,il «« ! we read of his conversion in the Biblf Th "f preachihl'r ^'f ^*- ^^^' we'ntio Athens o foTth \nH 'P'^ ""^y ^^"""^^ «"°vert8 to the laith, and among those converts was « \r«r,! eminent judge, a great philosopher-DionvsTus' the Areopagite (Acts svii.). and when S?d' but Demophalus, comparing ^^^so^uiion , CONFESSION. THE SACRED OFFICE AND FUNCTIONS 69 of the priest with his sins, upbraided and reproached him, and refused him absolution, thereby driving the priest into despondency. In his despondency and despair, the priest wrote to Dionysius, complaining of the harsh- ness of Demophalus, who refused him absolu- tion for his sin. And then it was that Diony- sius ^rote his Eighth Epistle to Demophalus, m which he said: " We have received the keys of the kingdom of heaven to pardon the repent- ant sinner, but you have abused this power and you have driven the repentant priest to desperation by refusing him absolution of his sms." Hence from this you see that at that time --eighteen hundred years ago— not only the laity, but the clergy, confessed their sins, in order to obtain absolution. In the second centu y — over seventeen hundred years ago—lived Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp, and he (Polycarp) was a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Now, Irenaeus mentions that some women came to the Church and publicly confessed their sins, but others were converted with much difficulty ; some spent their lives in holiness, confessing their sins, but others renounced the faith. Why did tliey renounce the faith ? Because they had not the courage to confess their sins, and they knew that the true iaith would not save them unless they did con- 70 CONFESSION. ;. |!|f|jir;r.||;!!.i II 1 |!i!!i!i IliiiS confess thefr ^ oTk^tUeler \f Jl" same centurv liver] Tprt«ii;« u ? ^^ *^^ a whole bo"k on ColssSr'anJ^w r'^^ called "De PcBnitSa '° in Jh^'^K^''^" being thoroughly convinced nfpf !. T' ^'*'^°"* at that time belfeved by <"'°^^««'0'i was Hfi«r t!^. ^"''^ CHBISTUN WOBLD. (eSZioIT^^B^^'''^'^,^ °f --Session) attentive Rheir present ^lf„ ?'?*!'' °^°'« p^Sorg^sfB^C"^^^^^^^^^^ «nTifron+;/ ^ '^ ^^y* ^i^e a man who has contracted . some secret diseasp whini; u • ashamed to expose to tL evroMiT. I ^^ '* and prefers to perish r«Thl. .1^ P^iysician. knnwr^" T^ 4. n? . rather than make it Known. Tertulhan mveighs a^ainsf fwT i shame, and sava • '* "^^^^s agamst that false Jirst imagine to av^elfTv.?"!!".!.. ^^^.i ^^^ ^, - — ,, &A^«»i(iiUQa oi tile iiad not the led the faith, irietians seven- ty must either Qned. Iq the 10 has written that book is hat book he the subject — it preparation e the disposi- obtain the >ad that book, ago, without ml'ession was BLD. confession) ople, more than to sal- eir sins, and lan who has v^hich he is e physician, tn make it st that false t back from lat hell-fire, thee ; and CONFESSION. 71 k >% 'M ^.U iuaa oi me buture pumshment, that thou mayest not doubt concerning the adoption of the remedy * * When, therefore thou knowest that against he^l-fire, after the firat protection of baS ordered by the Lord, there is yet in confession a second aid, why dost thou abandon thy sX tion ? Why delay to enter on that which tZ Iknowest will heal thee ? Shall the sinner inZntldlfZfTr (E-mologis) has betrl ^instituted by the Lord tor his salvation, neglect St. Cyprian, after having spoken of the .ecessity of doing penance tnd of confessing .athohcs, in. volume, page 51), gays: "T fceseech you, most dear brethren, let each con- fr ifv-.'"'''!,.^'^'- ^' *'^''* ^*« '^^^^^ i« among Fwhile th^e ^^';^%^'« «o°fe««ion can be admitted! JwHile the satisfaction and the remission or ptxtorS:^""^^ *'^ ^'-*« - p'-^-^ thP^°dh!?iAr-^V-"'y ^^^\ P«°P^e, believed by Lt Pvn!. ?'*'*° ^°'^^ '^P to the time that Protest." ntism came into the world m the year 1620 - three hmidred aTSft" ChrltiJ. ' T- ??*^ then the whole K^tiristian world, without anv exeenfmn K4° ?t!irf.i!^°'^«o?« "PO'^ quotations. !;«« ,7"t" " "'"'"^^ 1-fwyou lui to-morrow morn- ing, il I were to give all the quotations from iill i\': h mm ii pi mm I iv, 72 CONi-="ESSION. those who have written on the subject of conn fessiwi, m the first, second, third and fourth centuries; but, if I were to do this, 1 would keep you too long, and were I to do that very likely I would be treated as ' A CBETAIN PEEACHER, m Louisiana, was once treated. He was a very earnest and zealous man and was accustomed very often to preach long sermons, and so it Happened that frequently people would leave the I meeting-house while he was speaking. On one occasion he was preaching a very long sermon and, as usual, the people began leaving the place, one by one, until finally they had all gone and he was left alone with the sexton ; buti he still continued preaching away at the sexton, until lie also became tired ; so, taking the keys, of the meetmg-house, the sexton walked up to the desk ol the preacher, and said: '* Brother when you get through, will you be kind enouc^h to lock the door ?" Well, I would not care to be' treated m this manner, and so, I will try not to, commit cue same fault. I will, therefore, pass! over the quotations I migh^t give from the early writers of Christianity; but it is the reading of these Fathers of the Church (by the Fathers of the Church we do not mean the early priests ' but we mean those who lived in the primitive days of Christianity, who were disfmcyniaV,a^ f..r their learning and for the sanctity ortheiJ r fi li A yv' G h •tt 11 CONFESSION. 73 ctity of theii lives) who wrote in Latin and Greek years ago that has led so many Enclish ministers to the Catholic Church. The EnS clerpmen-that is, the Protestant ones -have read these books, and they find that s-xteen hundred years ago the Catholic Church was precisely the same as it is to-day and here ore. the ^Catholic Church must \e the t'ue Church of God. " We have changed, we have CW and ^^^^^''^fdoned the doctrines of w«nf f. Apostles, and therefore if we want to save our souls by belonging to the Church of God, we must go back to *HE CATHOLIC CHURCH." And within the last thirty-five vpnra o„rv,o + thousand .five hundred Protes ant ministers "n England. m Germany and in this country "have \Zl„t ^ast thirty-five years, nearly a hundred Severv vi: ''''''. ''""'''''^ to "the Catholic hV nri!I?F - •' ^■S*' '^^'^y Of these are Catho- America. iiie last Archbishop of Baltimni-o Nas a Protestant ; Father Preston, of New Crk GeLral o7 N^^H ''"'^^^ °°^°«' *^e Vi^-' f.r''l,?it"-''-T ^P™*««t*"t; and the ftho^p"™"^"" ""'-^ "''i"^ *° enumerate all of those whj are now Catholic priests, in th^s 74 CONFESSION. ■ I'.i ii ^^^^^B III ii 11 1'" ^^^^H , i"i ^milil'iliM ,11' ^^H 1 1 ! , ^H ' 1 '!i:i 1 1 ^^^H ^^H' j'l country and in England, and who were once Pro- ttf stant ministers. What induced these m en * * to come over " to the Catholic religion ? Almost all of them had to lose a great deal, had tJ sacrifice ^ nr^at many things, such as the los2 of large salaries, influential friends, etc. They came over " to the Catholic Church, because they were well convinced that it is the only true Church of God. You have heard of the conJ ^rsion of the Bishop of Carolina— Bishop Iven I Whan he was a Protestant Bishop he probably had a salary of $12,000 a year, and many perquisities besides. Well, when he became a Catholic he had nothing whatsoever ane he had to teach a little school in Manhat' tanville, which gave him $50 per month, in order to support himself and his wife. His wife also became a Catholic. Afterward he was head 01 the Catholic Protectory of ^ew York He lost everything by his conversion. He was not only cut off from all his former friends and society, but suffered the loss of an immense salary and a very comfortable living. Seel what a sacrifice it was ! What caused him 1. 1 make this sacrifice, my friends ? Nothing but a strong conviction that the Catholic religion is •fu^'',¥.u^^ ''^^'^''^^ ^^^^^^- ^^d so it was with all the preachers who became^ convinced t^at^ they^were on the wrong track, and mustj ^iiciiigo meir coarse, and turn back to the ric^ht one, if they wanted to save their souls. But were once Pro- d these men **to igion ? Almost at deal, had t, iich as the loss nds, etc. Thej IJhurch, because is the only true rd of the con- i — Bishop Ives, op he probably a year, andl i^ell, when he no; whatsoever, 001 in Manhat" per month, in wile. His wife rd he was head ew York. He . He was not jr friends and an immense living. See caused him t^ Nothing but olic religion is Lnd so it was me^ convinced ick, and must k to the right r souls. But CONFESSION. y^ :a the 'r«e^eirg™of Got^^^Vt't^e S^ himself, when he'ls SiteYto 1^^^ ''T deliver some lectures th«f x!t i u '' ^"^'^ ^ way from New'S 'to^ltllo':;;: '' "'' "'' ""'' BishopJtTartLttl/LtS. ." r^"' stand on quicksand thlTi ''^^'^ced that we 'wrong reliSn a„^ ' "t ' '^u^' "^^ ^^^ ^^ *he Whit Xr;^,^ ' J • ^® ^°°^ ^'^ere the rock is ae ,uicks^and°X o:tTZTX:f "' Church of God" ''Rnf „ •■! ., ^'^ *™8 shall we do ? we a, . ^trriT^ *^' ^' " ^*»** femilies,andhow8b'irwr "'?' '^'^'^ ^a^« P'shop, " I have nothing to sav to fhl. '^ Catholics Lv .1- ^T "**" °«'^«i' became ^d^ed that the Sh£ Chtc^^ fhf oh'T'" :hureh of God. On one oi'l^ri^J^^^ fiinister of thf^ P%.^cKx,4. • -7- -" ^s ounani ill isiil 'ill-; I iifi? liliii.'M!:i!i:il I I'l Ml iiw' ^r'' i§mn 76 CONFESSION. ister. I at once commenced reasoning with* liim to prove that the Catholic religion is the only true religion, but he interrupted me and said : " Do not reason with me at all ; do not speak to my intellect. I am as thoroughly convinced that the Catholic religion is the only true religion as you are yourself ; so do not reason with me, but give me the courage to become a Catholic." I gave him all the encouragement I could, but it seemed to have 4io effect. He wrote to me frequently, and in all his letters he told me that he was thoroughly convinced that the Catholic religion is the only true one, and the only one in which he could save his soul ; and yet he kept on preaching Presbyterianism all the time, and finally died a Presbyterian. Bread and butter, my dear people, are powerful things to a hungry man, and they kept him back. Now, these are facts ; and I might tell you many more such facts in regard to Protestant ministers, and I can give you the names and residences of those who have acknowledged to me that they were thoroughly convinced that there is no other religion than the Catholic religion. Now, what trust can be put in these men— the men who slander and misrepresent us and our religion ? None whatever. Now, my dear peopje, 1 say to you in all charity and love (for I feel for you), do not be guided by such men, but follow your own convictions. You believe in CONFESSION. 77 the Bible ; then I say to you, follow that Bible- read it without prejudice, without preconceived notions ; pray fervently to God that He may CaSrfaltir. "''' ^^" -'' -- -- toX Again, it has been said that confession is AN INVENTION OF MAN. sl^lf* 'w^^^^t'Tl f °°'" P'otest^nt friends I \*i u 'v'/ *'^*' ^^ 80, surely then thev ought to be able to tell us the man who invented t where It was invented, when it was invented and m what country it was invented. I del v al the preachers of the world-I defy them all to tell me the name of the man who invented con° fession, to give me the name of the place where it was invented, and the date when it was invented For the last three hundTed years, ever since Protestantism came into lld^l'Z'' T''*T "*■ ^" denominations have fn ordr rT^i" T^T 't^^"^''^ ^""^ investigation m order to find out when, where and by whom riT ™' ^?\ introduced ; and after thre^ have rn/i!^'' of labor and investigation they have not been able to find it out. And whj not ? Because there is no other institutor of confession than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the livmg God. There is no other date of the [institution of confession than the year 83 - -^suM^eununared and forty-six years "ago— when [the Son of God, breathing upon His^IportS i H'\i ' ■!):' ■ '• ,' ■; V\0''' 1 1 ^i''^^' i m-.^ 1 .( ill 'iM ' . 1 ''ij I'Ji 1 11 ^^ CONFESSION. you shall forgive, they are Ibrgiven them." Then and there alone, in the Holy L.nd. sancti- fied with the blood of Jesus Christ; then and there, conlession was instituted by the Son of the living God, and, many, many ministers have acknowledged that confession is an institution of Crod, and they have tried of late years to intro- fhl" W T%1^ themselves. You are aware that the High Church Episcopalians are preaching qonfession now in England, in America, ana all over the world; and t.here are probao.v tuirty different Protestant chui-ches in New York «nw '' T«''^ i^^^ ,'''■' preaching confession now. After three hundred and . fifty years tl t"^ ^^''''\ '""^'^ *° *l»e conclusion that they have been wrong, and are now convinced that confession must be an insti- tution ot God, and they are therefore inviting all to go to confession— but they do not get much custom yet (Laughter.) What is the reason that they do not get much practice ? It is because they are married men. perhaps, and people do not like to go to confession to a married man. for fear he might tell their secrets to his wite : and the Lord save them if the wife knows It ! (Great laughter.) Whether that is the reason or not, I cannot say, of course, but at any rate, they are not much troubled with conlession. When I was giving a mission in Thirty- r"' CONFESSION. 79 seventh street, in the Church of thp tt^i^ wanTeft Hl'T''' ^'^^ cSaeld^tid^fi wanted to make her confession. "Are voi. « Cathohc, madam?" I asked. '•No.sJ^ll Baid," I am an Episcopalian. "Well thin m nir "tf .^° ?H™ Wol*t;"a man " Th,-« I^' '^'^/^^' " ^« '« * carried man. Ih s shows, my dear Christians — the very preaching of these men shows -that thev wvme orgin. Agam they say that confession demoralizes the people, that it is an ins" tu on .of corruption and of immorality. Those oaS who go about preaching are, as a generaS very immoral men and women and imposVunon the people. They know what surtsTrtaaR the people, and they teU them that confes- 8ion IS m instiiution of immorality Here is he criterion by which you will find out Sher confession promooes immorality or not You mlS'wtl'^^r^*' ^^^«'« and CathS: the dl™ ^^"i *»^^^.been going to confession all their /hiU *^«": Ji^/vare very anxious that tiieu- children should be exact and re^rnlar Jenfed';rtr°"'"t" J^^>' are"tay7ct! Srei in^''^'"**' /^^° *^^y««« t*"^* their vou tWnt -f ^u**. J^!"^*'^y '" confession. Do e^ni;i 1**?* ^**>®' "'*'^** "lotJier knew by ih%-^ ^ZTa T"" ^"'f^^'»°'"" proaucea immorality. dauS^** be anxious to see their son or theS daughter go to confession regularly evory f1 U:^ 80 CONFESSION. month ? Why is it, then, that Catholic fathers and mothers are so anxious that their children should attend to confession ? It is because they know, by their own experience, that the con- fessional is the most powerful of all meaas to preserve the morality and purity, in an especial manner, of the young— to preserve them good and holy. When Catholic fathers and mothers see that their sons and daughters go pgularly to confession they are freed from all uneasiness ; they know they are all right, and say to themselves: '*That is the best boy in New York," or **That is the best girl in New York," for they know they are doing right. They would not go to confession if they were not honest and good— they know that. Hence the Catholics who know, by experience, what confession is. know also that it is the most powerful of all engines to promote moral ity, purity, benevolence, charity— in a word, to promote a Christian life, to promote a Chris- tian character. atholic fathers their children s becau "«>::' they that the con- of all meaas purity, in an preserve them fathers and daughters go 'reed from all all right, and i best boy in girl in New- doing right, if they were know that, y experience, hat it IS the umote moral in a word, to lote a Chris- IV. THE. REAL PRESENCE. Sermon Preached at the Immaculate Conception Church, New York, 1879. " And whilst they were at supper Jesus took bread and blessed and broke and gave to His Disciples, and said: 'Take ye and eat ; this is My body ;' and, taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying : ' Drink ye all of this, for this is My blood of the New Testament which shall bashed for many, for the remission of sins.' "—St. Matthew, chap, xxvi., verses 26 and 28. Dearly Beloved Brethren — I will prove from forty-five texts of the Bible the doctrine of the Catholic Church. I will also prove that the Catholic religion is the Bible religion, and that Protestantism stands condemned by its own Bible ; and, moreover, I will prove that we must believe in mysteries — that is, in truths which '\vc uo not understand. Now, in order that you may understand the I'X ; i! 82 THE REAL PRESENCE. 9^. our separated tSren ''? ^^ ^°«*"'^- fnends-and that is aTfa^ru""^ Protestant 18 very hard to sav wha^oft^f '^.•'"b'- ^''^ it do believe, and what £ ^ w ''Z-*"' ^"«°ds ^ary so much from e2h ,T^ '"^^'^^^ - they asserts as ^^"^ "t^er. What one ^ OOSPEL TRUTH, i3p;?dTs:-,7;;^e W; hence it terians say that in Com J',?'^'^^- The Presby the real Body and Bkod of ?r \' '''' ""' tak*' wine as an emblem of Chrii'™^^* bread and and the Baptists, and som. „* J^' Methodists Communion we tkke bre^d^nl^"' '^^ '^at in emblem of Christ brt In '^'''^' "^ot as an The Lutherans-who ate^ .'^'T'^ "^ Christ. Protestantism started^th EtS t''^' '°' his religion — say it is bZn „ j ^"*^«'" and Body and Blood of Christ 1 ?K '''°'' "ut the The High Church EpiscoiHo ^^ '""^« time. Body and Blood of ffit andTv. '*^-' " '« the and wme at all ; but iT is „i*^.'" " °° "read tion. "' « IS not transubstantia- all beTieve" 'Hb!,? J^^^ ^f^^ to say what thev the Cathoh. nu„^l "'^^ «tate the doctriU 'I - -— u .s the teaching of 'th^ ma THE REAL PRESENCE. 83 Church which God established—the Church which was established by Jesus Christ, as I proved on a previous evening, and I defy any one to refute it — I do not care who he is — Beecher, or any one else. I defy them all to prove that the Catholic Church is not the Church established by the Son of THE LIVING GOD, JESUS CHRIST. I say, then, that the Catholic Church teaches that by the power of God, and by the words of Jesus Christ, spoken by the priest in the Mass, the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and are truly and really received by the faithful in Holy Com- munion. Now, undentanding the doctrine of Protest- antism and the doctrine of Catholicity, let us see which has the Bible on its side—whether it IS with Catholicity, or whether it is with Protestantism. For this purpose 1 shall read to you from the sixth chapter of St. John, and I will give you nothing but the Bible, and your own Protestant Bible, if you wish. I read from the Gospel of St. John, the sixth chapter, com- wmcmg with the forty- jSfth verse of that chapter ; and when you go home examine your ^:^ble, dearly beloved Protestant friends. ^ Do not think when I say dearly beloved Protestant friends i speak hypocritically — I love yqh, mv dear Protestant friends ; I "feel a y^j d.jep *i gt liij S4 THP oo THE REAL PRESENCE. SiHiittre^^lrf ?„ ^f ^ -M give na, Lave said : " if s written '^ ^fr .^*- J^^^^' «« I ti-ey shall aU be ^S bJUd ' W.^ ^^^ time would come when th« ^L T^ *^^* *^^« taught not merely hv fh P?P^^ ^""W be Baen. but that they L'h T^'^''^^ ^^^ ^«« Christ being Go&rhV;,i«^t^o^ God, ' " Fv. ""^'^ "KOraECY IS FULFILLED. and&ie^a^^eSL'ett'r 1.^^^ ^^^^er man hath seen the Tfhl ^'\ ?°' ^^^^ any God he hath seen the^pifc " "' ^^ "^-^ ^« «' The words of Ghriat «t Thl .-^^"'y- eerily." earth were equivaW t^ 1 .*"^' ^^ ^a« on that believethLXhtth '"'"'', '^*^- "He He promises thTm eternaf t '^"u^'V^S '^^0." Him, and he comLencrd v.- ^''^"'. ^^^^^^ ^ solemn manner "Sn '^*"'*"'^^ ^^ this believeth in Me h«tT, ' , *°'™' he that immediately He comm.rf ^?.'"°« "f^'" and am." says CWst Ti^f ?f •* -t?^ doctrine-"! fathers did eat mannl In .r"^. °^ ^^'- ^our died. This is tC bZ^ /'''^. ^^-^ they heaven : that if any man elt t'T^^ ^""^ <^«- I am the K L^^ l^'j^^^'^-y not ~ ----- iivi a ''■ dead vould give my exceedingly, ^you do not ^t. John, as I '^ophets, and and that the >le would be fcs, who were gilt of God, a, and ED. the Father fot that any e who is of I "—in the ly, verily." t^e was on ath. " He sting life.^' believe in ^e in this ^e that iife," and itrine — ** I ife. Your and they ing from 3 may not a "dead THE REAL PRESENCE. 85 bread " — "which comes down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread," which He eays He is Himself, "he shall live forever, and the Bread that I give to you is My own flesh." My dearly beloved Protestant friends, do you believe that it is the flesh of Jesus Christ? ** No," says my Protestant friend. ** Oh ! no, sir, I do not believe any such nonsense as that." What, my dear Protestant friends, do you not believe in the Bible ? Do you not believe the word of God ? He says it is His flesh : do you believe it? "No, sir. I do not." Well, but then, my dear friends, you do not believe in the Bible; you do not believe in Jesus Christ. "Why," says my Protestant friend, "how in the world can I believe in such a thing as that ? I do not believe in it because I do not understand it. We Protestants are an intelli- gent and enlightened people, sir, and we do not beUeve in a thing we do not understand. It is good enough for Catholics to believe in such things, because they are simple-minded people who pin their faith to the sleeve of their priest ; but we Protestants, we are an intelligent people, and we do not believe in things we do not understand." DO YOU NOT, MY DEAR FRIENDS? " No, sir, we do not believe in things we do tell me, do you believe that you see ? " Well, r Iljliil vPI! Ill 86 , . ^"^ ^EAL PRESENCE your eye ? Lo v^„^a^ T \^^ oP^^^on of address a congLation of .7*^°*^ i^*'' ^^'^'^ I people, aU of fS nZl ^'"« ""^ ^"^ Oxouamd the retina of m. ITtT ?P^«««'»*ed npon <»lor ; and this material nW "'"^P"' ^"""'^ «^d of my eye brings ZmyiSZZlT '^ ^«*^^ conceptions — thonaht« Tf • ^^*^' '^«*« and shape, of form, of S etc ? "'"'' ^^'""^^^ "^ maS;i'=pTcC uXihe'St!: nr,^- ^'^^ can bring to mv rnin!i l.- t ^*" °^ °^y ey« thing, afl theTe^ tWhtf ttcl 'r^^^^*"^ explam that to me ? T^lt ^ <^° you greatest man that has ever 1 L/°^.*^- ^^^ philosopher — has ZZTi 77 *^^ greatest how matter can act upon sZf "'^M *° ?P^*'" au action of matter onTheSif .^°''' ^''' '' picture of my sight »oti^T ^ '' ^'^^ material is a spirituaUhfng, wS caZoTK'""'' ^^'«^ or touched, which v«n .„ f""''* ^^ seen, felt a mystery-Ke is-r.!.- "''^ '^P'*^"- He« is world can explain fc *^' '^^ '^^ ^^ the aatuai mysteries mv ^ J o '^° "°' ^^^'eve in Do you not bSfi^*' ^'■'^'^stant friends ? ;• Why^ceViniy YZ' ^^ ^^ ^an hear ? hear.'^ Well anr^ hotf / "T "^ ^^w that I pose that itaTtt^J-.^-^, ".I ^up- THE REAL PRESENCE. 87- you do not hear with your eyes. Can you explain your hearing ? - Oh, no !" Here is ANOTHER NATURAL MYSTERY which you do not understand. Can you explain how that httle air which comes from my Ws the vibration of which air brings to your ear a sound and that sound brings to your mind my thoughts, ideas and conceptions? Here is another natural mystery which you cannot comprehend You say, you do not believe in mysteries ; but here is another one you cannot- understand, but in which you believe. Do you believe that I move my hand ? "I suppose so ; 1 see it." And how do I move my hands? By my will. And what is my will? It IS a spiritual thing, which cannot be seen, or telt , and that by the simple act of my will I set into motion my hands, my lips, my eyes and my feet. In a word, the whole body of man is set into motion by the simple act of his will. Here is a mystery— here is a thing which you do not understand, but which you believe in. You say you do not believe in mysteries, and what are you yourself but a mystery, from the crowr, of your head to the sole of your foot. What IS a man but a combination of ,mystery upon mystery. You say you do not believe in „.,^.„^,^ ^^^ r,iiau is till nature dui mystery? Ihe seed that you throw into the earth takes- ""S o THE REAL PR,.SENCE. 'Slltll flowers comp « H^ii^l ^'^wers, and frum 'those the polr of dr^S/'.r^Tv.'^ rots can have matirial thai tm fh" ttt^'f "" *^^ leaf, that forma th^ fhZ, ' .. ^^^V^s the so 'delicate a ,vl; tZ.."''^ fl""''' '* ^^ transforms it into 'fr^t ^^"'^^^ .^""^ f°rm, and YOU ARE TOO SMART FOE THAT Oo you believe that this earth r.r.'„u- u dwell is an immpnafl h„ii !i, . °° ^^^''^ ^e sands of mOes in c^rcnSffi *^** ^T'^es thou- its cities, towns and vT/'"-f~* ''*"' ^'^^^ ^11 nvers, iSains eti ^'n '*' \"'''' ^^^''^ ^"^ ball re,tP tn'^oth n|, A" 7^' ^^^ '""'^ X^^rr:sS.iS^r^^ not fall ? W}i V ifl if a.. ^^r\^^, ^ Why does it vou ««V ^^ ',^^ ^* suspended there ? - Whv - jou say, It IS gravitation." An^ «,v.o. :.![ THE REAL PRESENCE. 89' gravitation ? You cannot expU'm what it is t.re 18 another natural mybtery, something elHe you do not understand. ^ You believe in telegraph lines, do you not ? You believe m sending despatches. When you stand and talk to the operator, in the twinkling ot an eye whatever you say to the telegraph operator here in New York is gone to Europe It es not take a minute to travel. What do you understand that to mean ? ** Why " vou say, -it is elecoricity." Well, [ guess 'it is : but will you be good enough to tell me what electricity is? **I do not know." There it is again : a mystery— something you cannot com- prehend, but still you believe in it. And so mv dear people, light is a mystery; no man' has ever been able to explain precisely what light is lou ad have some idea what hght is ; but no man, irom the days of Adam to the present time could explain precisely what light is. Newton the philosopher who was applauded as paving discovered it, has been refuted, and we do not know yet what light really is. It is a natural mystery. And darkness is a mystery and water is a mystery, and ' EVERY BLADE OF GRASS IS A MYSTERY, and the stars in the firmament of heaven, and every living creature in the water and in the earth is a mystery : and you attempt to say, my Aroiestant friends, that you do not beheve in IMAGE EVALUAHON TEST TARGET (MT-S) LO I.I 2.2 S lis 2.0 18 Lil 111 U lllll 1.6 J. LUUVU^CLyiilKj Sciences Corporation m^ V % V '-^*1> .^e^^ "i i\ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87^-4503 ^ _ "C^^^ "i ^ A" % ^'^ THE REAL PRESENCE. were* m«n !f °'*°' "«° that you aro. If yon r«fto rf.. * ^'"^ °^°'« education, if yon ™ Vf iXf? P^"°«°Phy -^d kne; a litde «JtAmJL ** sciences, you would never attempt to say you did not believe in mysteries • and every time that you say that y^ dTno* that vVu 2'*'"'' ^°" P'*'^''^'"' *° *»>« ^«°W knowZw .„ ^ i^""*".* '"^- Because you perhaps by looking at a map, can tell the boundaries of the country in which you 1 ve vou JiotTT'J r *° enlightened people fiit'^do not be t6o fast " Do not crow until you get out of the woods," as the saying is It k if!? becanse you know so very littfe tha^you a ttemp to say you do not believe in mvsteries ThJ oTttl^if ""°P^«'^ --Sntmc men full of f.;^^'^^ acknowledged that the world is mvsWv^P^"^':v.*°'* ^"^"^^ everything is a ana that the mmd of God is unlimited and without bounds it follows that in t^e mind of ^od there are thousands of truths which the Ss LTr °*?°?^ ^^**''"°' ^° ^^^^«« you ea the fle.h of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you shall not have lifj in vou^ fou Bhall never be savec^ you shall neve/see eternal \f. hi. fl ^^'u^ '^^^*^ ^y ^^«^ and drinketh My blood hath everlasting life, and I will raise il ^? "" f,^ ^^«* ^^3'." Chri'st here trreatens K^tT^^ ^^amnation those that refuse to eat His flesh and dnnk His blood. Now, my dear SfcWh^'^ attention to that ; you beliLe 'n the Church ; you glory m being a Catholic, and you do not go to confession, you do not go to bon of Man, and Jesus Christ says vou shall b^ damned. Mind that well, my LrSatScs ^uT ^'\*^^' ^^'^« ^f Jesus Christ -You - Sf Ch ^T i^^^^J^^•'' ^'Hethateat;?^ My flesh and drmketh My blood," says the 1 1 m ^' ' 94 THE REAL PRESENCE. Saviour, " hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day, and he will live for- ever; for,"^says Jesus Christ, *' My flesh is meat indeed and My blood is driuK indeed." Christ knew that after fifteen hundred years Protestantism would come into the world in Germany, and that Protestantism would deny that it is the real body and the blood of Jesus, and that they would say that the . bread and wine were only in memory of Christ. There- fore, says Jesus : " My flesh is food indeed," in truth and in reality, " and My blood is drink indeed," in truth and in reality. When, there- fore, you desire to derive from the Bible the real and actual doctrine, you must read the Bible as it is — add nothing to it, take nothing away from it. Take the plain, obvious mean- ing of God's holy book, and then you have the Catholic doctrine. In order to derive the Protestant doctrine from the Bible, you must say just the contrary. CHRIST SATS, *' MY FLESH IS FOOD INDEED. ' *'I believe it," says the Catholic; and the Protestant says, ** I do not." Christ says, ** My blood is drink indeed," in truth and reality. ** I believe it," says the Catholic ; and the Protestant says, " Lord Jesus, allow me to differ from you. You say it is your flesh, now allow me to differ from you. You say it is your blood, allow me to differ from you, and I Ql raise live for- iesh is adeed." i years orld in d deny Jesus, id and There- ideed," s drink , there- ble the ad the lothing mean- ive the ire the 1 must ED. ' ad the says, t and ; and me to bi, now r it is and I THE REAL PRESENCE. 95 liope you wiJl not take it as an m-«u ah me to tell vou it i« nnil k ji ?*'^*- ^low the Prot sLt reliS wl ^""^ ''^^' '^ ^'' contrary of That E ^''^t? P'^^^sely the Bible cListiS ? Tt lhrdJ7' ""l' '' *^^ " Yes, my Saviour it is K k^'^'7^^ '^y^'' blood." 'is it t^;lS4ho i^^^^^ tian ? The Protestant says . ^ The B fc^^™" faith, the Bible is my teacher " And £ p-m'"^ says : ** If therA ha JL.r • i ^^^ ^'^^ ^ible •him call L the priest 7Z' Pvf ""l°8 ^^"^ '«* him pray oyethi^lLr Church, and let of the Bible thnt +k^" • ! '^ *^® command b.l,„. ji... „ p„^,^, ^JJ oil. „Do^u « DO YOU CONFESS YOUR SINS ? Why! do you think i am such a simpleton 96 THE REAL PRESENCE. as that ?" answers my Protestant friend. Bu< the Bible sa3''s so, my dear friend. Here you go against the Bible again. The Bible says also that you must fast. Christ says : "1 have given you an example, that as I have done, you do in like manner." Christ fasted. Do you fast? "Of course not." The Bible tells us that the Apostles fasted, even after Christ had gone (thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles). We read of the Saviour fasting and praying. Do you fast ? ** Oh no, we do not fast." Well, then, you do not follow the Bible. ** Unless you do penance," says the Saviour of the world, " you shall all perish." It is com- manded in the Bible, and you say you follow the Bible. Christ Himself fasted forty days and forty nights, and the Apostles fasted. 1 cannot say too much in this lecture, as it would take too much time from the real subject on which I speak to-night — Transubstantiation. *' For My flesh," says Jesus, '' is meat indeed and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me." He does not say, he that eateth the remembrance of Me, or he that eateth the figure of Me ; but He says, he that eateth Me. You say, my dear Protestant friends, you do not believe in mysteries. Well, now, I think it is a very great THE REAL PRESENCE. 97 mystenous thing to eat the figure of a thing I do not beheve there is a man in New York who eould do that, for it would be pretty hard to kDow how to go about it. Yes, my dear friends, 1 tnmk that is A VERY MYSTERIOUS . THING. " He that eateth Me/' says Christ. *' the same also shall live by Me. This is the bread that came down Irom heaven, and he that eateth this bread sball live forever." Many, therefore, ot His Disciples hearing it, said : ** This is a hard saying, and who can believe it?" Some of His Disciples, therefore, you see, understood our Saviour to say that they must literally eat His flesh and drink His blood ; for, if the Disciples understood Him as Protestants under- stand Him— -that they were merely to eat a piece of bread and drink a cup of wine— none of the Disciples would have made any fuss about It. But they understood Him in the literal sense of the word, and, therefore, they said : This IS a hard saying." Now, the Disciples were to be the teachers of the world. Christ had chosen them for that purpose to go all over the world and to teach all nations of the earth • and It was. therefore, all-important that His Disciples should understand His doetrine-that they should have a correct idea of His doctrine L^\^^ M* ^^^^ ^^ ^^^0^' *^en He Himself would be the cause of the whole world going 98 THE REAL PRESENCE. into error. Then, if He was not to be under- stood in this manner, He was b^and, by aU the laws of justice, to explain Himself to His Disciples. Did He do it ? No ; but He insisted, more and more, that it was His body and blood. And Jesus, knowmg in His heart that His Disciples murmured at this, said to them : ** Does this scandalize you ? Do you think this is beyond My power? You have seen Me giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, restoring the lame and reviving the dead." Well, now, says Christ, if I can do these things, why can I not also change bread and wine into My body and into My blood? You believe that I have changed the dust of the earth into a living man, at the creation of time, and that I took A RIB OUT OF ADAM's BODY and changed it into a woman. Now, says Christ, as it were, if I changed the dust of the earth into a living man, and a bone into a living woman, why cannot I also change bread and wine into My body and blood ? " If, then,'' says Christ, '*you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before, it is the spirit that quickened, the flesh profitetK nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." They are realities — not dead figures, not dead remembrances. ** The words that I have spoken to you are -spirit and life ; but there THE REAL PRESENCE. 99 are some among you that believe not ;" for He knew who they were that did not believe and who would betray Him. You see Christ put those who do not beheve on a level with Judas. And He said, therefore: *'I say to you that no man can come to Me, unless it be given to ^n^/^/^|.^^*^f-" ^^^^ of the Disciples could not believe what Christ said, and theyleft Mim ; and Christ never called them back: but turning to the twelve Apostles. He said : " Will you also go away ? Will you also abandon Me, because I teach a doctrine that you do not understand ?;' And Simon Peter, the first Pope, InT'^^ n'°J '' '* ^f ^' *^ ^^^^ s^all we go / i\ly God, says he, if we cannot take Thv word, whose word, then, shall we take "> We have known and we have behoved that Tnou art the Son of the living God, and therefore, says Peter, we beheve it, because Thou, the Son ol the living God, hath said it. We beheve it says Peter, m the name of all the rest of the Apostles, whether we understand it or not. Thou, oh ! God, Thou infallible truth and wisdom. Thou hast said it, and we believe it. Well, is It not a reasonable thing to beheve, my Protestant friends, what God has said ? Did the Apostles beheve as we do ? Did the primi- tive Christians believe as we do ? They did • they believed that it was the real body and blood of Christ. I lOO It THE REAL PRESENCE. WHERE IS YOUR PROOF*/ r The Bible is my proof. You will take nothing but the Bible, and so you must have the Bible. I will now read from St. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians (First Epistle and tenth chapter), where St. Paul exhorts the Christians to lead holy lives ; and he gives them as a motive that they should lead holy lives, because they were permitted to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ (chap, x., v. 14). "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, li\- from the service of idols. T speak as to wise men. Judge you yourselves what I say." i leave it to your own judgment — you are wise men, you are intelligent men. Is it not fair '.^ Is it not reasonable that you should tiy from the service ol idols, and from everything that is sinful, because, said be, " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Commun- ion of the blood of Christ, and the bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the body of the Lord ?" T read it as it is in the Pro- testant Bible. You see, St. Paul takes it for granted that they all believed it, and that there - tore they should lead pure and holy lives, because they were daily permitted to receive the bodv and the blood of Jesus Christ. And in ft.' chapter xi. oi the same Epistle to the Corin- thians, St. Paul says, after instructing them to receive worthily : " I have received from the THE REAL PRESENCE. lOl lothing 5 Bible. ) to the lapter), to lead ve that )v were ood of :>re, mv lols. I ir selves ou are ? it not 3uld dv L-ythhig cup of mmun- [ which le body be Pro- 3 it for t there - Y lives, ;ive the And in Corin- hem to Dm the Lord that which I also deliver unto you, that the Lord Jesas, 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. Do this for a commemoration of Me. This cup or chalice is the new testament of My blood. This do ye, as often as you shall drink, for a commemoration, or in memory of Me.'" '* Oh," says my Pro- testant friend, " that explains all. Do this in remembrance of Me." Do what ? *' Take and eat," says Christ, '' This is My body; take and drink, this is My blood ; and do' this in remembrance of Me." Do what in remem- brance of Me? "Take and eat. this is My body, " and drink, "this is My blood," Here is THE SOPHISTEY OF OUR PROTESTANT FRIENDS, in their explanation of the Bible. Christ did not say : Take the bread in remembrance of Me ; take this wine m remembrance of Me. But He said " Take and eat ; this is My body, and take and drink ; this is My blood," and do this eating of My body, and this drinking of My blood, in remembrance of Me. He did not say, take a sup of wine and a piece of bread, and remember Me ; but He said : " Take and eat ; this is My body, and take and drink; this is my blood." Kemember Me as often as you shall eat My flesh and drink My blood — remember My suffering and My death. This in T02 THE REAL PRESENCE. ••t precisely the explanation which St. Paul gives of these words of Jesus Christ ; for, says St. Paui. *' As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord until He cometh "—you shall remember the death of Christ, whenever yon take your Holy Communion. " Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup unworthily sihall be guilty of tho body and blood of the Lord " — shall be guilty of the profanation of the body and blood of Jesus. Bu' , my Protestant friend, how can 1 profane the body and blood of Jesus, when '.he body and blood oi Jesus are not there at all ? It must be there or I cannot profane it. If you would give the Bible the proper construction you would have to ackr*owledge it is the body and blood : but you deceive yourself in an incorrect construction, " But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread dnd drink of the chalice ; for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judg- ment to himself, not respecting the body oi the Lord.** "I eat," says St. Paul, *' my own damnation, for I eat and drink unworthily, because I do not respect the body and blood of Jesus there." Now let me call yonr attention once more to words of the institution of Jesus Christ, recorded in St. Matthew, chapter xxvi., verse 26 1 *' And while they w^m at supper, Jesus took bread in THE REAL PRESENCE. P ' IXA. 103 His blessed and venerable hands, and He blessed and broke and gave to His Disciples and said, * Take and eat, this is My body.' " This was the night before He died on the cross — the night when, for the last time, He was to be with His Apostles in the flesh. Who shall attempt to say that Christ ever spoke anything else but the truth ? Who shall attempt to call into question the truth of the words of the Son of God ? ** TAKE AND EAT," (( SAYS HE ; THIS IS MY BODY ; TAKE AND DRINK ; THIS IS MY BLOOD. »» Did He speak the truth at that time ? Why, of course He did. Christ ever spoke the truth, for He is Truth itself. If, then, Christ spoke the truth, the Catholic doctrine is the true one. If you say it was not His body and blood, then, my dear friends, you give the lie to Jesus. And where is the man who laas the daring insolence and the daring blasphemy to accuse the Son of the living God of a lie. Will you, my dear Protestant friends, give the lie to Jesus ? Do you believe in Jesus Christ ? "I do," you say. Do you believe what He Bays •? ** I do not," you say. Then if you do not believe in Jesus you are not Christians. Do not be talking any more about the Bible, for a« i. u«i: j„ ^'xi. _- mi 1 j yuu uu null uuiitjvu ui uibutir. iiirow overuoara all Christianity, or become converts to the Catholic faith. You cannot believe in Jesus 11 |i||! U' 104 THE REAL PRESENCE. t 1 and the Bible and hold on to your Protestant- ism, and deny that Christ spoke the truth. He did speak the truth. He said it was His body and it was His blood ; and to say it was not His body and blood is giving Him the lie. Now, this doctrine of the Catholic faith is as old as Christianity itself. It has been believed from the beginning of the Christian world, before Protestantism came into the world. You have only to read the works of St. Ambrose and St. John Chrysostom — and they are referred to by Protestants also as men of great learning, of extraordinary sanctity and virtue. These men have written whole books, fifteen and sixteen hundred years ago, on the Pieai Presence of Jesus Christ in the Adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist , and I thank God that many of our Protestant friends believe in the Bible, and that many Protestants are giving up their heresy and their error, and are admitting now the doctrine of the Catholic Church , and even m Germany, m spite of all the persecutions against the Catholic Church, under Bismarck, hundreds and hundreds of Lutherans, hundreds of learned men, of ability and wealth, are coming over to the Catholic Church — Protestant ministers among them. And in England, how many Protestant clergy, within the last thiriy- five years, have been converted to our hoSy faith? ' Not less than two thousand ^tive handnad. By whai ? By reading those books Bstant- 1. He s body lot His h is as elieved world, . You se and •red to ing, of ie men jixteen Qce of of the of our d that heresy w the ren in gainst idreds ds of 3ming Bstant I, how hirty- ' ho5? 1 >tive books THS REAL PRESENCE. that were written sixteen hundred years ago in Latin and Greek by our holy ancestors of the faith, and which contain the Catholic doctrine precisely as it is to-day. " We have been led astray; we have been separated from our mother, the original Church ; we have done wrong ; we have gone into the way of eternal perdition, and we must go back," they say. Hundreds and thousands are coming back at the present day to the Catholic Church in Germany, m England and in the United States. Many men who were once Protestant ministers are now Catholic priests, and several of them are Catholic Bishops, and even Cardinals, because they were men of intelligence, MEN OF LEARNING AND EDUCATION ; they were not carried away by blind prejudice ; they did not follow the road of the vulgar crowd. *' I hate Catholicity, anyhow," you say. The Jews hated Jesus Christ, and that did not save them. And so you hate the Catholics anyhow ; and that is not going to take you to heaven. Let 'me tell you that. When you are in eternity you will remember it, and then you will say. *' Ah ! that I had taken the advice of that old man ;" but then it will be too late, for when you are once in that ** lock-up " there is no getting out of it. Of course, there is no use of joking about these things. It is a very serious matter, and you have a soul to save. Save that '4 11 IT IjiiH, 'iljL. icA THE REAL PRESESCB, soul, and the only way to do so is by ikQ tme religion, and no religion established by man can do that. Therefore, I would recommend to all of you to pray fervently to God to draw you into the right path. Get the books which I have recommended — the three books which we call the set. Eead them, and study them, that you may be able to understand the doctrine of the Catholic religion. When I gave a mission at St. Joseph's there was a young Virginian who went to his preacher and said to him : " You must ajoswer the questions contained in this pamphlet of Father Damen, and if you do not do 80 to my satisfaction I am going over to the Catholic religion; and he proposed the questions, "Well," said the preacher, "you must not be thinking about these things : do not be bothering your head about them.** " Well," says the young man, " I am not going to damn my soul ; I must know the truth, and I want you to prove to me the truth." "Well," says the preacher, " I cannot do that ; and there is no man in the world that can do it." "Well, then," says he, '' good-by to you; I shair become a Catholic." And he became a Catholic, and a very highly educated Catholic. Now, was he not a sensible young man '? He wanted proof, and when he could not get it he went where he could gei it, I say, then, get w^ P«,iiipiii^« vA/ii^fifciuiiig luv ieciures, ana react it attentively, and take it to your preacher and THE REAL PRESENCE. 107 he true lan can d to all a-w you vhich I itth we n, that irine of aission rginian him : ined m you do )ver ta ed the "you ?s: do hem.'* going . and I Well," ; and io it." ^ou; I amea tholic, ? He \> It he n, get i read )r and a3k him to refute it, and refute it to your satis- faction ; and if he does not satisfy you, come to me, and I will make you sure of the truth. m kki m ^™ E'' 1 ^ 1 ■i. 1 ■ ! '1 ' ! i. V. IISVEBS TO POPElii OBJECTIOIS MUIST THE CATU CHDBCI. Lecture Delrvered at the Basilica, Ottawa, Canada, 19th December, 1871. " Remember my word that I said to you," said Jesus. " The servant is not greater than his Master ; if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you : if they have kept my word they will keep yours also ; but all these things they will do unto you for my name sake, because they know not him that sent me." — St. John, xv. chap., 20 and 21 verses. Dearly Beloved Christians, — The Blessed Saviour has foretold that those who beheve in Him and who follow His religion shall be per- secuted, shall be calumniated, shall be slandered and misrepresented. ** The Disciple is not better than the Master," He has said. ** And if they have calumniated, and slandered and per- secuted the Master, they will do the same to the "nianinlft " TTp-np.A. mv rlpnrlv hftlnvftd r!fi.+.Vinlii» an no ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS I'il ! I^retax w, and sisters, it is the lot of the true Church of God for ever to be slandered, calum- uiated and persecuted. It has been so of old. \Vhoare the Prophets ?" says the Saviour. Did not your fathers stone them and put them ChrJti?' And the Apostles and Sv^ Christians for three hundred years suffered a fearful persecution for the religion of Jesus Christ. Hardly had the Church leen ushered into existence when she was surrounded by a host of enemies, that all swore aloud her de- struction and her annihilation. Rome and Jeru- Balem combined together to check her progress • all the powers of the Pagan C^sars^and the P fest ^i"?f •^'" '^' Magistrates and Jewish i-nests, all the Synod, and the Jewish Svna- fhTilf ^"'mT'^ *<'8;ether and swore aloud SI- ^ •■ '^""^"^ ^^^^ "''*^^g untouched, and notlni;; undone to smother in its verv cradle the Church of the Most High God-the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. For three hun t JrTlu *^'' 1"°'^ °* persecution was lifted up and the earth was anointed with the bl.od oi the martyrs of the Church of Jesus. Borne Jerusalem, Antioch, Lyons, and other ci^es were covered with the bodies of her generous ftdth nrA?°''pr-^f ^*'*y^« t^^* died for the faith of Jesus Christ. Even the tyrants and the by one, and finally enveloped entire cities in one conflagration that thousands m.Vht rlx'^v^^t O * ^^iiWiWL CUV AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. II I the true calum- of old. Saviour, ut them fimitive fifered a f Jesus ushered ed by a her de- id Jeru- >gre&8 ; nd the Jewish Syna- i aloud d, and cradle J Holy ehun- 5 lifted biuod Rome, cities lerous or the ad the bh one in one KUJL Olll once. Three hundred years I have said of fear- ful persecution was raised against the Churchy and during these three hundred years not less than eighty millions — that is nearly three times the population of the United States — died mar- tyrs tor the Holy Catholic and Apostolic iaith» and are in the enjoyment of heaven to-day for their heroism and devotion. The reign of per- secution ceased on the conversion of Constantine the Great, who was the first Catholic emperor. When freedom of conscience and freedom of re- ligion was given to the Catholic Church, even then the Church had never been without persecu- tion, and even up to his day the Church meets with opposition on all sides — in Austria, in France, in Russia, in England, in Ireland, and in Scotland — and, 1 may say, throughout the world. It is true, my dearly beloved people, few countries there are now where Catholics are put to death for their faith, except in Japan and China ; but where is the country the Catholic is not slandered in ? is not calumniated ? is not misrepresented ? I do not know of one. And should we be vexed about this, my dear friends ? Not at all ; we should feel cheerful and happy, because it is one of the evidences that the Catholic religion is the true religion — the Catholic Church the true Church of God ; because she is, as the Saviour has fore- told, ever treated as her Divine master was — slandefiedy caiumniated and misrepresented. 0'\ m if : 112 ^£ I n AxVSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS this Dominion; but even in th •« n„^^- "'^ u° 1-opnesy of the'SavLn fuyled^''"^^^^^^^ slander you and calumniate you, andthevaS sake' ' ZTtl 1 -" -g--«Uformyrmei sake and that is done in this Dominion as well as m every other country 411 tin^l „? •? 18 said against the ChurcK God aU kind« ^ doctnaes are attributed to us, which in "llitv we abhor, so that the objections of our seDarSS brethren against the Catholic relirionanToSd "lies unllf fh "^ ""'* '* ^^'^ "^''"me Cath- a one thinks he is a brave man hnf^! i. • ^ eowflvrl «*T « " "i**ve man, but no, he is a coward. I am a brave man " he Rpva m^ think?" fl«;i ;.*' '^'^ *^«y «ay' and how _^^^^^ „^ wnai will they AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. "3 my," you are made a coward. Hundreds and tbousands there are in a special manner in the Old Country, and in this Dominion, that are kept from embracing the Catholic religion be- cause their friends will fall out with them, and their business not be as successful as before — you are therefore cowards. Even in this Domin- ion I say there is a petty persecution against the Catholic Church. Our separated brethren, with all their good and kind feeling towards us, vf t have objections against us ; but these objec- tions are grounded in ignorance. I have an- nounced that I would answer this evening these poDular objections against the Catholic religion, und the first of these objections is this : Our Protestant friends say Catholics are not allowed to read the Bible. This is false, this is a cal- umny, this is a slander. Catholics not allowed to read the Bible ! Have you ever seen a Cath- olic Bible, my dear Protestant friend? '* No, I never did." If you had seen a Catholic Bible, you would have found on the first page a letter from Pope Pius the VI., exhorting all to read God's Holy Scriptures, for edification, for in- struction, for sanctification. This is the letter of the Pope to all the faithful throughout the whole world, that the Bible should be open to ail. Hence you are wrong, my dear Protestant friend—you have been badly informed when you have been told that CathnhVa gva nr^f ail^xir^/i +r. xead the Bible. And yet that is the impression '• 'ffh li 114 ANSVrERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS of almost all our Protestant friends, that the Lathohc IS not allowed to read the Bible I have no doubt, that during these holy missions many of our Protestant friends living in the neighborhood of the Cathedral must have said t© themselves—" why, what a devoted people these Catholics are ; what a fervent set of people ? There they go, trotting over the sidewalk at half- past four m the morning, and again in crowds coming back from Church at twi and eleven o clock at night — what a devoted and zealous people they are ? Poor, poor, benighted people ' —poor Ignorant creatures ! But why do not they read the Bible ? If they would read the Bible they would sleep like us Pro- testants, until seven and eight o'clock in the morning Poor benighted, ignorant people! vvnat pity they are not allowed to read the Bible ' Why, if they read the Bible they would turn Protestants at once; and oh! would not they make a zealous set of Protestants? For they are the people to make sacrifices for God and then: religion. But the priest would not let them read the Bible ; he wants to keep them in Ignorance ! He knows if they read the Bible u. , would become Protestants." What! Cath^.K 3 not allowed to read the Bible ? Go among your Catholic neighbors, my Protestant friends, and you wiU hardly find a family but has a family i^ible, and it ib ox ?n to all. '' But why then '" mjB my Pro^a^v it iriends, " do you Catholics AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. "5 make such a fuss and excitement about introduc- ing the Bible into the Public schoold ?" The reason is this. The Catholic will make no objection at all, provided you have the right kind of a Bible. " But what Bible do you pro- pose to introduce — the Protestant version ?" And the Catholic says, ** That is no Bible at all, sir ; that is only a piece of the Bible," says the Catholic, " and a mighty bad piece at that." You have not the two books of the Maccabees ; you have not all the Book of Esther, not all of Tobias, nor the history of Susannah ; therefore, you have not all of the Bible, and Catholics can- not in conscience submit to a falsification of God's Holy Word. The Catholic says, "if we must have a Bible, well, let us have a whole one, and not a piece ; a real Bible, a faithful transla- tion of God's Holy Book. The Catholic can never consent in conscience that his chUd should be compelled to read a Bible which he knows is not a Bible. That is one reason we have against the Bible now used in Public schools ; and we have another reason : We Catholics have for the Bible a very great veneration ; we look upon it as the language of God to man, and hence the Church commands that whenever the priest reads in the pubHc service a portion of the Bible, he must kiss it with veneration ; and that when- ever he reads the Gospel, all the congregation must stand up out of respect for God's Holy Word. Such is our veneration and respect for m 11 6 ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS the Word of God-for the Bible. Now, school books are nevei respected by boys and girls : they tear them, blot them over with ink, throw them about, stand upon them, sit upon them and so on; and we Catholics do not want the Bible to be treated in that manner, and, there- fore, object to the Bible in the Public schools. y^G^l. i^nynow, says my Protestant friend. It cannot be denied that the Catholic religion IS opposed to education and the fine arts " I deny it emphatically I deny it ; and, moreover, 1 assert that there is no religious denomination that does as much for education as the Catholic religion. The government of England, some lew years ago, appointed a commission of gentle- men, who were to travel over the whole world and take statistics everywhere, and see in what country was the most done for education. And they came back — and mind you these men were not Catholics, they were evervthing but Catholics and opposed to the Catholic religion— and when they came back with their statistics, tHey proved that there was not a country in the world where as much was done for education and learning as was done in the Papal States— the States of the Pope. That the Papal States had exceeded all other countries in the world lor the means they employed for free, gratuitous education, in every branch of learning and of science ; and that next to the Papal States come . — . ^^,._. ^^^j, jjj^-oij ci-iiigiiouiieu. country m school girls ; throw them^ nt the there- hools. riend, ligion J." I eover, lation tholic some 3ntle- «^orld, what And men I but on — sties, a the ation ;es — bates rorld it0U3 id of 5ome E*y in AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 117 the world, and England stood in the background, far behind other nations of the earth. And \ et you say the Catholic religion is opposed to edu- cation. Why, my dearly beloved separated brethren, are you then ignorant that in the Cath- olic religion there are over a hundred religious orders who devote themselves, by a solemn vow to Cxod, to spend their whole lives, all their en- ergies and all their talents, for the education of their fellow-men. Such, for instance, is the Order of the Jesuits. Every professed Jesuit makes a solemn vow to God that he shall spend his whole life, all his talents, all his energies of body and soul and mind, for the education of all ; and that ho shall receive nothing whatsoever for educating bis fellow-man, excepting his board and clothes — nothing beyond that — no pocket money, no gold chains, no gold watches, no gold- mounted canes, no fine carpet in his room, but the hard mattress ard the bare floor, mean fur- niture, the table of the ordinary man in society^ possessed of nothing of his own whatsoever. So do the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine ; so do the Sisters of Notre Dame, the Ladies of Sacred Heart, the School Sisters, and a numbt^r of others too long to enumerate. All of these, by a solemn vow to God, bind themselves to spend their lives in the education of their fellow-crea- tures. Do we find any like that among Protest- «,nta 9 W^dprA QTA thp mpTi anrl whpro ovp tU ladies among them who will spend their lives in 118 ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS ieaehmK a 1 lor no other remuneration than board M.d clothes ? Ask them for such services, on such conditions and they would ask you jvhether you thought they were fools. Get me «I^/fi? !1*^V^^°"^T'' ^'^d lady willing to «we anything of their ov-n, a.nd never get ma,r.. N^Jk ^ '^^A^^ humanity and education. Nowhere o«,t of the CathoUc Church can you T^ '""^ 9*?«face8 for the e.lucation of the p6or. M^^^J^° A ^^""'"^ ^PP"^^'^ *« education ! My dear friends, travel over this whole Domin- ion, and everywhere yon will iind coUeges. uni- versitier,, a,6ademies, select schools, parochial schools schools for the rich and the poor everywhere you find them established. Is that an evidence that Catholics want to keep peopK m Ignorance ? What a strange contrud LdoS my Protestant friends. Examine all the col Si f *u°'''?f^'*'.^^' academies and boarding schools of this Dominion and the United States fn irraSV"' ^^* °"«-*^'^1 °^- t^e boarders in he Catholic colleges, universities and acad- frTenL l^f*"'*^"". ^^ '^'^'^r Protestant inends, why do you send your children to Cath- ic schools ? " Well, sir, because I am con vinced that the Catholic education is mor^thor- father "Vti '■ T'^'^rK'"'''^ *^^ Protestant fn » r»fJr"'"^u''*,* ^''^° I ^^""J ^y daughter to a Catholic school or nunnerv. her vivt^^ i= m periect safety. If I sent her to a fashionabie Q than irvices, ik you jret me ling to er pos- t mar ' 3ation. in you 3 poor, ition ! omin- }, uni- 3chial poor ; s that )eople ion in ) col- rding kates, rders icad- stant )ath- con- ;hor- ;tant :hter able AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 119- Protestant school she might be married before I knew anything about it." ** My boy," says the Protestant father, ** is a wild fellow, and I want to keep him in. I sent him to the Catholic college because I know that the education is good, and the discipline is stricter there than anywhere else ; therefore," says he, "I send my boy to the Catholic school." And yet, with all that, you say the Catholics want to keep people in ignorance. Why then cend your boy or your daughter to wiie Catholic institutions? With one eye you frown upon the Catholic religion, and with the other smile upon it, and say it is,. after all, the best. The Catholic religion op- posed to education and fine arts ! If it had not been for the Catholic religion the fiine arts- would have entirely fallen into decay and ruin. What are the fine arts ? Music, Sculpture,, Painting, Architecture, and Poetry. These are the fine arts. Well, now, the Catholic religion, you say, is opposed to the fine arts. Sculpture, for instance. The moment Protestantism came into existence, and wherever it had the power of doing it, it did away with the statuary in the House of God ; broke the statues of the Saints and the Blessed Virgin, and did not even re- spect ttie image of the Saviour, but broke it asunder, and took the bread out of the mouth of the sculptor. The Catholic religion has always encouraged the sculptor by the statuary in her churches. The &ajxte in regard to painting. m 120 Answers to popular objections The paintings were torn from the walls of the churches that Protestants stole from us thev tore them from th. walls and effaced the ft;scoe3 because they looked upon them as violations ot the hif T "^ ?-f; ^°^ '° ^^'^ regard to music -that beautiful art that stirs up the soul ; lifts It up to heaven, takes us away torn earth as it were. Music-where has it found enco~ ment if not m the Catholic Church ? Wh™ the great masters of music ? Mozart, Beethov^ Mercadante, Eossini, and a numb;, of others' .ill of whom were Catholics. The grandest music, most masterly and soul-stirrinl nowTn existence rom the Catholic brain and pe^ Protestantism has been in existence 350year^^ BO, and during all that time it has never pro duced a musician that can be compared ^[tfa Mozart or Beethoven or Mercadante So well convinced are Protestants of this now inlhe United States, that in all the fashionable churches m New York and Boston and oSer large cities, the> are aU adopting the Catholi^ STheir r"'"'' '^'^^r *^^' *^^'« i« ^o Sing in their own music but something like Yankee ?ptoLrriT*t^''^ "^P '"^^ s'oul anJhfS Z «annf ^u° ^'*^""= '*"<^' therefore, they are adopting the compositions of the creat masters of the Catholic Church. And so agafn with regard to architecture, my dear peonTe Have Protestants, for th^ l«=f L^tH^^F-^.- all the wealth that they-have^-ininS/and AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 121' I of the ; they 'escoes } of the music ; lifts , as it irage- ho are loven, thers, wildest ow in pen. irsor ' pro- with well 1 the lable )ther holic hing Qkee [ft it they reat ?ain •pie. ivith and other countries, produced such architecture as the Catholic Church has given to the world ? The great architects of England, of Canada and the United States, when they travel through Europe, stand ^vrapped in wonder before the grand Catholic churches and basilicas they see in Rome, and everywhere else ; stand before them perfectly amazed— taken out of their 8ense8,as it were, as they contemplate the grand- eur and architectural beauty of those magnifi- cent edifices— before St. Peter's in Rome, St. John Lateral, St. Mary Major ; before the Cath- edrals of Cologne and Notre Dame of Paris and Antwerp. All these grand productions of the brain of the architect were of Catholic concep- tion, ideas conceived by architects full of Cath- oli<3 faith and sublime ideas of the beauty and grandeur that should adorn the temple con- structed for the worship of the Living God that dwells upon our altars. And the generous Cath- olics come forward with open hands and purses in order to build those grand cathedrals and basilicas. London, m England, made an at- tempt to throw St. Peter's into the shade by building St. Paul's. H^. ! Ha! St. Paul in London is nothing but a " ginger bread " com- pared to St. Peter's in Rome. And in the United States, where among our separated brethren there is so much affluence and wealth, have they done anything or built anything that would be a monument of grand and sublime .122 ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS 'M Pi Ideas in the sliape of a temple ior the worshin olthe Livmg God? Nothing. Poor Is thf Catholics of New York are, they have com menced a cathedral on which they have spent altogether one million three hundred thousand dollars, and it is not one-third finished jSwUh all then: poverty they have undertaken to bui d Soflhe^TrV^V'" "^ the wonder aS the rJthli^ ^'^'^^^ ^''"^'- ^"-i yet you say S^^^Sd^'Lr;-^^^^ ^«eTch-n =^ - iaTi t^o^^nH 'f'^'"-'^ '' T°«^<^ *o ^^^ ars educa- tion and learning. Agam. they say that the usefi'l^vw?' people., the greatest and most uselul invent ons now m the land are aU of Catholic origin. Who invented the art of prin?- ing? Was It not a Eoman Cathohc ?-a hun ?a"e''orth^'"V^'U^« ^ ^-*-'-t onZ lace 01 tne earth. Who invpnfprl +v.« a1l!antSr;- forv^Sdltsfe"- nilymg glass Who again invented the iSS compass ? Was it not a Catholic ? ThrS S "terT'^'^.*" ^'^'^°*^<>"« and discofei: wl J^^ '*^*' Canadians, how dare vou sav it Who first gave you AmenVa 9_o^/™i*y '*' this country, this land of freedom andlro^^rii" ? AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 123 A Catholic— Christopher Columbus. He it was who has given you the very soil on which you stand, and the bread you eat and the clothes you wear. The Catholic religion has at all times encouraged discoveries and inventions and supported the artist and cheered him up' whereas Protestantism, you must acknowledge It, has crushed the energies and efforts of the sculptor, the painter, and the musician Again," says my Protestant friend, *' I could never be a Catholic because the CathoHcs violate the hrst commandment of God." That com- mandment says, *' Thou shalt not make to thy- sell any graven image, nor the likeness of any- thing m the heavens above, nor on the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth, thou Shalt not adore nor worship them." " Now, you Catholics violate that command of God,' and there is no slander about this : you have only to go to the Catholic Church to find the evi- dence. What is that over their altar there ? The image of Christ crucified— a likeness of the things m the heavens above. And what IS that there? The image of St. Ann, the mother of the Blessed Virgin. And that? ihat is St. John the Baptist, and therefore, the likenesses of the things in the heavens above. Therefore you Catholics violate the commandments of God hv mplnViA' *v.^a« ,• and statues." - Well," my dear reverend min- ister of the Gospel, my dear preacher, ** will you 124 f SI 'trfl I ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS BavAf "rV°°'^ ^"^ y°"' liome?" "Yes" my friend's draZg room an/f' -^^^ ^''^'^ '""^ "Whatifi+W !■ ^ ^° ^^«^^e° with God." vvnat IS that painting ?" " Thaf- ;<. +i,Ji"i ness of my darling wife." " Where it !h?^,: on'e .^' ^ ^''j^tLt ?the^™^.^^^^ ""« the door ?" '< WeU si? 1^'''*''^^ *,^^^^ «^^' "wh;°^t«n^? breake; o^" God ■« °*''**°* preacher, " what a There L tt SetssTru' mSer""'^. "^ ' say is in heaven above the/p ^+1^^!,'^^''^*'° vour wife whn ;„ ' fu ^^ *^® likeness of and There is thaf n\' '""l^^ ^''''<'<^^' of the things in thp t , '^' . '^^ ^i^^^ness " w„ I- u ? ,. *^^ waters under the Pavtl, c looiish, loolish priest." savs he "'^n We tTbi t\^ *^-« picC'hangiVuT we Ckthlcs break it W h^ ^ ''"', ^"^ «*^ '^^^ the Church." "TWJ tZ^ ,!^'' ''H'''''' ^ tiiem,"hesav8 " hntT , ° ''*™ *'^ make vnn «i„v^i ^' ''^* you adore them." "Herp you slander us ; we do not a<1nr. „„.. ..!^^ images m the Church " " "" -""^ ""-^ "' »"« then ?" Why have you them ■KTu I. "J^ uave you Why have you the portrait of your AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 125 mother?" -Because," says he, " whenever I look at It, I remember how good a woman she was ; It seems to say to me : ' Be good, be a Christian ! When I look at that picture, I feel myself excited to practice all the virtues of -which she has given me the example. I re- member all the good lessons she used to give me." -Why, you area Cathohc, mv friend » ihis is precisely the use Catholics make of the pictures and statues m the Church. When the Catholic looks at the image of Christ crucified he says, ' See what the Saviour has sutfered for me— how He has shed out His precious blood to save my soul. 1 must, therefore, love Jesus ' Whenever the Catholic looks at the statue of the Blessed \irgm Mary, he says, * How pure, how lioly, and how chaste was Mary, the Mother of Jesus ; I must endeavor to imitate her puritv in the service of God.* When we look at ^the statue of St. Joseph, or any other saint, we say ihese saints were men as we are ; they lived m this world, had the same passions and the same difficulties to contend with, as we have but m spite of all these they were faithful to Crod. I can do the same,' says the Catholic ' I must, therefore, make an eff )rt to imitate their virtues and copy their example in human con- duct. ' ''Bat," says my Protestant friend. «*vmi bow down before them. Have I not seen Cath^ ohcs in this church, during this mission, bow- ing to that image over the altar ?" " No ; not I'?.' 'I? w 126 ANSWERS TO POPULAR 0B;ECTI0NS bows not to the m«i kT '• ^'^^ Catholic homage \o Senr&t'V'C. ''^ ''"^ '" dear friend •->" " Nn ■- j! .i. n-. ** ^^'"''"8' my at the name of Ss tl pfh^T.^-^*' "'"^ every knee shall bow in Lavef L f ' "^f '^* even in hell " " nZ , ''°*^®n, and earth, and of the Blessed V^n^^^llT .^ ° '?^ ^'^"^^ the statue but tn thl ^ ^^- ^°' °ot *<> -statue-theSessed vir'ArP'^'t"*"^ ''^ 'he God." "Is nnf 11;"^^''' ^^""'y' ^^^ ^lother of croBfnr. i\ ^^^y * creature?" '• Yes a bow to' an7crel^e^""*^<^fe''r T'' -* when first I camp fr. n++ ^' ^^ ^^^^ ^a-n* +V... 4.u:«.l . ""uic, oui you Catholics nvpri^ft Bi;;srd"%r»?n .'"*^' **^ "'"•^^ f°«« ^bo"t" ts; isiessed Virgin; you cannot find a Catholic AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 127 Church with an altar to God in it, in which i.u^ Z!.''^*. ^^^ ^ *^^ Blessed Virgin also. I think that IS wrong, sir." '« Well," my dear Protestant friend, - suppose for a moment that the mother of George Washington was to come to New York on a visit ; what excitement and tuss there would be there— roaring of cannon and tirmg of pistols, and bands of music march- ing through the streets, and bonfires and illum- inations; the ladies of New York dressed up m the grandest possible style, and in beautifid carriages, rolling through the streets of New lork. Should I say, * Ladies, what is all this luss and excitement about? Where are you going ?' They would answer, * Sir, we go to pay our respects to the mother of Washington ; she has put up at the Astor House, and we go to see Iv. Well ladies,' I wo«ld say, * why is the mother of Washington more than any other woman that you should thus honor her?' * Oh sir,' they would say, ' it is easy to see you are a L>utchman ! What, sir ! you say not honor the mother of Washington, who has given us so great a son ; a son who has made us a free, in- dependent, glorious, and prosperous people? J^^y^ .^^y* ^^ ^^^^ ^ot honor the mother of Washington ?' ' All right,' say I, 'go and honor the mother of Washington ; I love to see gratitude m th^ hparfa nf *w^ ^««^i^ > »> t>-_j. tell me, my friends, has not Mary given us a greater son than Washington ? Has not Jesus 'liii '28 ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS made ue heirs of Caven- InT ° u^'"' ^^ Catholics be an nmrrot?f i' ^"^^i ^°"^'* ""* we respect the motheXt ^^ ^'^P'" "' ^« '^^'^ '^o' Iriend. '' that ia r^v^** -^ ^^ Jrrotestant So it i; ^Vthf Srir^rtSci-^"-" iiffion • if; is o i.z.n« •'^^"«» t>i ine OatJiolic re- the Catholic rehS k 'f hf ' f"^ ^^^' P'°f''^' i*' it must be a Snli^ *^^ " '^wn of God. then religioa There can t * ^^^P*"™' and natural of God S T ^ °° ^r°'^ '"^ the works the author of the\blT*^?L "' .r^"^' nature, and the auihnf ^f\u . "■^^^"'^ °^ AU these are the works nf r a^' *'."l ''^^S'"'^- be in the works „fp'/ u^°^ ' ^""^ '^ere must union ; and therefore tb^T^^;-* "'''''"<^' ^ reasonable. scripfS td''na'tt:i"'.?r,f anyhow;- says my Protestant mnSer "Jlf" when thTSstXs 'H^I C-\r''^' ^"<^ gation sav ' Holy Marv ' w^^'- *t^. '"'"Sre- »ie, my dear reverend air ^T ^^^^' *^^^ •^ouid." « WeU. mydea; r;;e;end pVaXr. J AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 129 think you say the ' Hail Mary ' sometimeB ?" ZT/r-r^"" " I think you do ; have you not family prayer every night ?" " Yea." prayer? Yes. and i( you do, we will pray hard fo» your converoion." '• Well, you will ha^e to pray mighty hard, for Father Damen will prove a hard case to convert." Well I eo to his family prayers ; and it consists in an ex- temporaneous prayer and in reading a chapter of the Bible ; and. after the prayer if said, S the greatest solemnity, the minister opens the Book of God, and reads the first chapter of St i.uke: and among other things he reads, is this : "And the angel Gabriel came to M^y! Ifh^fu '■ M*'' '^*'^' ^"" "^ ^'^''^' the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among women •" and Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Ghost, sad "and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." " Stop ' stop, says I, "you are saying the Hail Maryf-' r;w .""'..v*^'.**^' "^ '"" '"I'y reading iay Bible. "Yes but my dear man, the HaU Mary 18 m he Bible." " Well, my God, thatt "WpH p"k ""T' H^"' " hefore," says he. Well Rebecca," says he to his wife, " what is going to become of us ! Wo are half-Papists already ; we have been saying the ' Hail Mary ' l\ u^l,*"** °r^' ^"^^ it '" Is it true or ... ''-» TTiiv-ii juu gu Home to- Jight read the 1st chapter of St. Luke, in your own Protestant Bible, and you will find the 130 ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS nonsense of vLUorlJ^cll^^^^?'' *' '^« the "Hail uZ '^Tnd * * "^'''v^ '.^^'^g texts of God's Ho iy W thW' .'^?*''^*" '^« doctrines. You read it ovJr „ J*""*^'" ^**'^°«« you are blind and do no? seek r' '^'^"' ''"' the doctrine of the Oathnn! r'- ^'"'^■^'"'^ "^ Bible. And why*iS'it?hatto/aSnd° T' causa of your DreinrliPA % u ?""^ ^ ^^- rehgion, TnL'p SraboIrreSnT/' ^""^ ever opened the Bible at «ll . f ^ ^' •^/'"'^ ^^^ teaching of your parent. i^T"'* '* ^'''°^*^« your cLrchrKugh Ur tear'hP'''"''^^"^ "^ the Bible. Yon have tJ^^ tu * ^™ ?"^ ""' preference to God's Holv tLI'' r*'^'"^ '" that dare to ^ ufetSt' yl'guSf 1! beTf\T1>" ^'*^'''"'' Chris ian Sl^ould p to^^f 0^, Who a. £1^., ,-5 dear Protestant friends - ZT. h! ^f **' "^^ ^S ' wS^m'Z' h''^^ ""Other/ A^Tr guai upon earth ? Th ''^P"* ^"^ ^'^'' Joseph. The fir f LartvrV'fl ""'f^'^f- ^^■ Jesus, who were thev 9 P ' ^u ^l'"8tJos of what does jZ: t% ' " Br/ssS'!™-' ^'"' fortheirs is the Kin^m orHeavTl'-'Zr; AGAtNST THE CAtHOLlC CHUkCtt. ,3, ^d He say " blessed are the rich " (nr H^ i, do not wani fn ^h""' ""^ ""T f*«bionabJe peopl^ with the Catholics. bSu el'ere"'!^ tTTf: Paddies and too many Biddies amonTth^m^ Well, my dear Protestant friends if vnf, a^ \ want to associate with the Paddies and rS^^* Agdin. Ihere are in vour rpli«,/x« ''"«^. tne day they have a dozen of candles ^r/ihl altar-m the very middle of the Z • What^! tr7^. Iff; ^- did tLy S:'^^ anvtr„„J X-° ^ I. what you do not know ' """= -"""'' '' *"« wuMues upon the altar Mr w iii Ai^SWERS to POPULAR OBJECTIONS ' .. were introduced by the Apostles. They were , PerBeeuted, and had to celebrate Mass or Divine bemce in subterranean caves, in the Catacombs fi ^TV ''^"*"' •" "»« darkness of the night, m order to escape persecution ; and, theretbre til M*' T "Shts- When the persecutTon ceased, three hundred years after the Church had^been estabhshed-when Constantine th^ ^nft^^r/' *"■ V**""" "'■ r«»gion-tbe Catholics continued to make use of lights upon the altar as a remembrance of the persecution of *hei; fathers in faith. So that candle on the altar says to every Catholic Christian child, '■£. m^ber that your ancestors t.nd the Apostles quently the candle on the altar is an emblem of iTm. f "? '' *^? ^u^"^ "'■ ^°^« ' J««>i« has given the iltar^hr'^ ^^''^ ^. ^^'^ Holy Sacrifice of the Altar because He loves us, because He wished to remam with us all days, even to the consummation of the world. nW that lamp emblZoSr/" !T' '•^ *^^ ^It" i«^n emblem of the oye of Jesus for man ; and that ttle lamp that burns day and night, all the time, is an indication that Jesus is there upon upon the altar say to every Catholic; "Love soTnili f 'f h""'^"'^ '°^«- He has loved yi R^.?r. *l?*He has given you His Body and t^„ th«n . "°T'^°>«'»t of your souls/ Re bliril. tn621 intra fr\^ 1^-- it T _ -1- , - , ,-..,. ^. ..^.^ avvv. • juove tiesus, and ' ^^^'""^ ^^^ CATHOLIC CHt/Rctt candles upon the altar are burn.n'^ir^'*'^' ^be honor and glory to God ''" » 'J^'^^ ,!<> give my rtotestant friend " ; '^®"' now, ' savs Idea! What honor 'and V* *^*' »* <3°eer candle give to God m.*^ ^w7, '''*'> »" old friends you believe Fn th«f lu '"•>' dear have obtained a srelt ^iJ Whenever yon fnd you want to honor ST' ^ P** t""4h Jt, what do you do ? h! ^^°^''*' *^at obtained Jght many^caX, ^1:1 W?r'^"""''"S darkness of night nfn*k *"'<'.hes. and turn the «nd besides tS, tu iL';"^^'"^^^ "^ day! And what are these boifS °'*°/ »>»°firM kinds of old rubbish o„j. J ?^ made of ? ai? give honor a* ry to thf ''""f •• "^^^ «" ^ n>ade you a triumphant n! ^f ''* «^"«'al that »°d glory can an o?d ^P "^ •*• ^^a* honor general? "Weif».^'<^ barrel give to von^ »eans we taJS'show VeY' "t^^^ o^eoffie gave us such a ste^^ Ztl V^t^Sener&l that purpose the CathSurnsZ IT *^« ^''^e adW to honor Jesus. Si„^' '^^^ "Pon the candles upon the altar ?"Tl ^^^ ^*^e we because the candle nnL fu "' "^^ dearpeonle sentation of the Ho^rGhl^f !"" ^« ^ 'Se- ?nt?RSL^i*«?. days afterTh, Jt/^^d ia Ar^r. 77 ""^^"' wifcj Holy Ghoflf no^'j" *°^'^aaau Ml i 1) »34 AJ,S*ERS to POPULAR OBJECTtOKS . ignorant men tinW^ !^ ^"^ *^'® Apostles vere dare not preach i n?,^' TJ"*""*"/ '°«°' ^^a when the CvGh^«f^"''''%**''""8^ fe»'; but shape of tongues of tf?^ ^"""^ "'' ^^""^ '° *l>e spirit of God! ^nd ient fo^tr' f^i ^''^ ^^' Churci. all over thp !oLv m *°'^ P'^^'^^ the the candle T thp ?^*^- ^°^' '^'^ blaze of of a Church mit 3 n ,*T, ^^^^ »>■* the child Luthe?S;ft^f ^f f «c'^,';)f T VT ^^'"' a child of the" fihnrlh ;■'.?, ," ?^ Wesley—but the Holy Ghost ttr! '"'"*'•"* ^^' ^''^' *ad uponthe altar ''lif^'V '"^^ the candle i| and h^Sess' Lr/ou'r; 7Sf ^ '' TWe ri '1^''''"' ^^m- Lfby Go?-' very nonsensical "An fl' ' aPPe^'sto me and never read th«t r / ^°" '■^*"* *« l^iWe the temple there shonSt "T"'?^^** *J^^* ^ and that all should wS fh the temple of God cathoircLr:rtC iiTt?"^- .^^^^t^^ and every CathoJi7n.,f '* /ountam wuli water that . a^m'oniolVht t/!^ ^ ^^.^'.' -<» '••Jo SLf P"" '« Od. fe ."' "•" Testament ^^ifi^f?*^' "that is ,„ «! ^*y« «rdert adore H"'' ^" ''^ ^'^nTonT'T'^ God. "m, .™ and worshnir- *''*'■«» there are J^ '« "• ^^ong yo„ E Jk "l"- '''« ""^ ^^e you one at all ? r a ^?:°'«8tant /J a'i? I don't believe 136 ANSWERS TO POPULAR OBJECTIONS, ETC. the Protestants know if fh»„ v.„ . , saint; and they objJct to bZl .!"' , "^ ''"«'« Catholics Thnr«;a„ ? ^ P®"?'" amonff. bad. " ■Amonf vou ^^"^ '^^'' "^ ^-roteBtants ft-iend. 4hr*^arbad7wesir '*-':'t'"* never had been a bad wwJTI ' ^^^""^ neighbor's wif^ Q/. » *^ ^^''^ ^is it the Church thfrwt'''T''* ^°' **>** ? Is given for thV r!f^;^.? missions continuaJly given lor the reformation of the peonlfi 9 'Vhi i" #