Chapter 11. Application of the Sixth Note of
a True Development—Conservative Action on Its Past
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{419} IT is the general pretext of heretics that they are but serving and
protecting Christianity by their innovations; and it is their charge
against what by this time we may surely call the Catholic Church, that
her successive definitions of doctrine have but overlaid and obscured
it. That is, they assume, what we have no wish to deny, that a true
development is that which is conservative of its original, and a
corruption is that which tends to its destruction. This has already
been set down as a Sixth Test, discriminative of a development from a
corruption, and must now be applied to the Catholic doctrines; though
this Essay has so far exceeded its proposed limits, that both reader
and writer may well be weary, and may content themselves with a brief
consideration of the portions of the subject which remain.
It has been observed already that a strict correspondence between
the various members of a development, and those of the doctrine from
which it is derived, is more than we have any right to expect. The
bodily structure of a grown man is not merely that of a magnified boy;
he differs from what he was in his make and proportions; still manhood
is the perfection of boyhood, adding something of its own, {420} yet keeping
what it finds. "Ut nihil novum," says Vincentius, "proferatur
in senibus, quod non in pueris jam antea latitaverit." This
character of addition,—that is, of a change which is in one sense
real and perceptible, yet without loss or reversal of what was before,
but, on the contrary, protective and confirmative of it,—in many
respects and in a special way belongs to Christianity.
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Section 1. Various Instances
If we take the simplest and most general view of its history, as
existing in an individual mind, or in the Church at large, we shall
see in it an instance of this peculiarity. It is the birth of
something virtually new, because latent in what was before. Thus we
know that no temper of mind is acceptable in the Divine Presence
without love; it is love which makes Christian fear differ from
servile dread, and true faith differ from the faith of devils; yet in
the beginning of the religious life, fear is the prominent evangelical
grace, and love is but latent in fear, and has in course of time to be
developed out of what seems its contradictory. Then, when it is
developed, it takes that prominent place which fear held before, yet
protecting not superseding it. Love is added, not fear removed, and
the mind is but perfected in grace by what seems a revolution.
"They that sow in tears, reap in joy;" yet afterwards still
they are "sorrowful," though "alway rejoicing."
And so was it with the Church at large. She started with suffering,
which turned to victory; but when she was set free from the house of
her prison, she did not quit it so much as turn it into a cell.
Meekness inherited the earth; strength came forth from weakness; the
poor {421} made many rich; yet meekness and poverty remained. The rulers of
the world were Monks, when they could not be Martyrs.
2.
Immediately on the overthrow of the heathen power, two movements
simultaneously ran through the world from East to West, as quickly as
the lightning in the prophecy, a development of worship and of
asceticism. Hence, while the world's first reproach in heathen times
had been that Christianity was a dark malevolent magic, its second has
been that it is a joyous carnal paganism;—according to that saying,
"We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned
unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor
drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating
and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous and a winebibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners." Yet our Lord too was "a
man of sorrows" all the while, but softened His austerity by His
gracious gentleness.
3.
The like characteristic attends also on the mystery of His
Incarnation. He was first God and He became man; but Eutyches and
heretics of his school refused to admit that He was man, lest they
should deny that He was God. In consequence the Catholic Fathers are
frequent and unanimous in their asseverations, that "the
Word" had become flesh, not to His loss, but by an addition. Each
Nature is distinct, but the created Nature lives in and by the
Eternal. "Non amittendo quod erat, sed sumendo quod non erat,"
is the Church's principle. And hence, though the course of
development, as was observed in a former Chapter, has been to bring
into prominence the divine {422} aspect of our Lord's mediation, this has
been attended by even a more open manifestation of the doctrine of His
atoning sufferings. The passion of our Lord is one of the most
imperative and engrossing subjects of Catholic teaching. It is the
great topic of meditations and prayers; it is brought into continual
remembrance by the sign of the Cross; it is preached to the world in
the Crucifix; it is variously honoured by the many houses of prayer,
and associations of religious men, and pious institutions and
undertakings, which in some way or other are placed under the name and
the shadow of Jesus, or the Saviour, or the Redeemer, or His Cross, or
His Passion, or His sacred Heart.
4.
Here a singular development may be mentioned of the doctrine of the
Cross, which some have thought so contrary to its original meaning [Note
1], as to be a manifest corruption; I mean the introduction of
the Sign of the meek Jesus into the armies of men, and the use of an
emblem of peace as a protection in battle. If light has no communion
with darkness, or Christ with Belial, what has He to do with Moloch,
who would not call down fire on His enemies, and came not to destroy
but to save? Yet this seeming anomaly is but one instance of a great
law which is seen in developments generally, that changes which appear
at first sight to contradict that out of which they grew, are really
its protection or illustration. Our Lord Himself is represented in the
Prophets as a combatant inflicting wounds while He received them, as
coming from Bozrah with dyed garments, sprinkled and red in His
apparel with the blood of His enemies; and, whereas no war is lawful
but what is just, it surely beseems that they who are engaged in so
dreadful a commission as that of {423} taking away life at the price of
their own, should at least have the support of His Presence, and fight
under the mystical influence of His Name, who redeemed His elect as a
combatant by the Blood of Atonement, with the slaughter of His foes,
the sudden overthrow of the Jews, and the slow and awful fall of the
Pagan Empire. And if the wars of Christian nations have often been
unjust, this is a reason against much more than the use of religious
symbols by the parties who engage in them, though the pretence of
religion may increase the sin.
5.
The same rule of development has been observed in respect of the
doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. It is the objection of the School of
Socinus, that belief in the Trinity is destructive of any true
maintenance of the Divine Unity, however strongly the latter may be
professed; but Petavius, as we have seen [Note
2], sets it down as one especial recommendation of the Catholic
doctrine, that it subserves that original truth which at first sight
it does but obscure and compromise.
6.
This representation of the consistency of the Catholic system will
be found to be true, even in respect of those peculiarities of it,
which have been considered by Protestants most open to the charge of
corruption and innovation. It is maintained, for instance, that the
veneration paid to Images in the Catholic Church directly contradicts
the command of Scripture, and the usage of the primitive ages. As to
primitive usage, that part of the subject has been incidentally
observed upon already; here I will make one remark on the argument
from Scripture.
It may be reasonably questioned, then, whether the {424} Commandment
which stands second in the Protestant Decalogue, on which the
prohibition of Images is grounded, was intended in its letter for more
than temporary observance. So far is certain, that, though none could
surpass the later Jews in its literal observance, nevertheless this
did not save them from the punishments attached to the violation of
it. If this be so, the literal observance is not its true and
evangelical import.
7.
"When the generation to come of your children shall rise up
after you," says their inspired lawgiver, "and the stranger
that shall come from a far land shall say, when they see the plagues
of that land, and its sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it; and
that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that
it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, … even
all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this
land? What meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say,
Because they have forsaken the covenants of the Lord God of their
fathers, which He made with them when He brought them forth out of the
land of Egypt; for they went and served other gods, and worshipped
them, gods whom they knew not, and whom He had not given them."
Now the Jews of our Lord's day did not keep this covenant, for they
incurred the penalty; yet they kept the letter of the Commandment
rigidly, and were known among the heathen far and wide for their
devotion to the "Lord God of their fathers who brought them out
of the land of Egypt," and for their abhorrence of the "gods
whom He had not given them." If then adherence to the letter was
no protection to the Jews, departure from the letter may be no guilt
in Christians.
It should be observed, moreover, that there certainly is {425} a
difference between the two covenants in their respective view of
symbols of the Almighty. In the Old, it was blasphemy to represent Him
under "the similitude of a calf that eateth hay;" in the
New, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity has signified His Presence
by the appearance of a Dove, and the Second Person has presented His
sacred Humanity for worship under the name of the Lamb.
8.
It follows that, if the letter of the Decalogue is but partially
binding on Christians, it is as justifiable, in setting it before
persons under instruction, to omit such parts as do not apply to them,
as, when we quote passages from the Pentateuch in Sermons or Lectures
generally, to pass over verses which refer simply to the temporal
promises or the ceremonial law, a practice which we allow without any
intention or appearance of dealing irreverently with the sacred text.
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Section 2. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
It has been anxiously asked, whether the honours paid to St. Mary,
which have grown out of devotion to her Almighty Lord and Son, do not,
in fact, tend to weaken that devotion; and whether, from the nature of
the case, it is possible so to exalt a creature without withdrawing
the heart from the Creator.
In addition to what has been said on this subject in foregoing
Chapters, I would here observe that the question is one of fact, not
of presumption or conjecture. The abstract lawfulness of the honours
paid to St. Mary, and their distinction in theory from the
incommunicable worship paid {426} to God, are points which have already been
dwelt upon; but here the question turns upon their practicability or
expedience, which must be determined by the fact whether they are
practicable, and whether they have been found to be expedient.
1.
Here I observe, first, that, to those who admit the authority of
the Fathers of Ephesus, the question is in no slight degree answered
by their sanction of the [Theotokos]
or "Mother of God," as a title of St. Mary, and as given in
order to protect the doctrine of the Incarnation, and to preserve the
faith of Catholics from a specious Humanitarianism. And if we take a
survey at least of Europe, we shall find that it is not those
religious communions which are characterized by devotion towards the
Blessed Virgin that have ceased to adore her Eternal Son, but those
very bodies, (when allowed by the law,) which have renounced devotion
to her. The regard for His glory, which was professed in that keen
jealousy of her exaltation, has not been supported by the event. They
who were accused of worshipping a creature in His stead, still worship
Him; their accusers, who hoped to worship Him so purely, they,
wherever obstacles to the development of their principles have been
removed, have ceased to worship Him altogether.
2.
Next, it must be observed, that the tone of the devotion paid to
the Blessed Mary is altogether distinct from that which is paid to her
Eternal Son, and to the Holy Trinity, as we must certainly allow on
inspection of the Catholic services. The supreme and true worship paid
to the Almighty is severe, profound, awful, as well as tender,
confiding, and dutiful. Christ is addressed as true God, {427} while He is
true Man; as our Creator and Judge, while He is most loving, gentle,
and gracious. On the other hand, towards St. Mary the language
employed is affectionate and ardent, as towards a mere child of Adam;
though subdued, as coming from her sinful kindred. How different, for
instance, is the tone of the Dies Irę from that of the Stabat
Mater. In the "Tristis et afflicta Mater Unigeniti," in
the "Virgo virginum pręclara Mihi jam non sis amara, Pœnas
mecum divide," in the "Fac me verč tecum flere," we
have an expression of the feelings with which we regard one who is a
creature and a mere human being; but in the "Rex tremendę
majestatis qui salvandos salvas gratis, salva me Fons pietatis,"
the "Ne me perdas illā die," the "Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis," the "Oro supplex et acclinis, cor
contritum quasi cinis," the "Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis
requiem," we hear the voice of the creature raised in hope and
love, yet in deep awe to his Creator, Infinite Benefactor, and Judge.
Or again, how distinct is the language of the Breviary Services on
the Festival of Pentecost, or of the Holy Trinity, from the language
of the Services for the Assumption! How indescribably majestic,
solemn, and soothing is the "Veni Creator Spiritus," the
"Altissimi donum Dei, Fons vivus, ignis, charitas," or the
"Vera et una Trinitas, una et summa Deitas, sancta et una Unitas,"
the "Spes nostra, salus nostra, honor noster, O beata Trinitas,"
the "Charitas Pater, gratia Filius, communicatio Spiritus
Sanctus, O beata Trinitas;" "Libera nos, salva nos, vivifica
nos, O beata Trinitas!" How fond, on the contrary, how full of
sympathy and affection, how stirring and animating, in the Office for
the Assumption, is the "Virgo prudentissima, quo pregrederis,
quasi aurora valde rutilans? filia Sion, tota formosa et suavis es,
pulcra ut luna, electa ut sol;" the "Sicut dies verni
circumdabant eam flores {428} rosarum, et lilia convallium;" the
"Maria Virgo assumpta est ad ęthereum thalamum in quo Rex regum
stellato sedet solio;" and the "Gaudent Angeli, laudantes
benedicunt Dominum." And so again, the Antiphon, the "Ad te
clamamus exules filii Hevę, ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes in
hac lacrymarum valle," and "Eia ergo, advocata nostra, illos
tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte," and "O clemens, O
pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria." Or the Hymn, "Ave Maria stella,
Dei Mater alma," and "Virgo singularis, inter omnes mitis,
nos culpis solutos, mites fac et castos."
3.
Nor does it avail to object that, in this contrast of devotional
exercises, the human will supplant the Divine, from the infirmity of
our nature; for, I repeat, the question is one of fact, whether it has
done so. And next it must be asked, whether the character of much of
the Protestant devotion towards our Lord has been that of adoration at
all; and not rather such as we pay to an excellent human being, that
is, no higher devotion than that which Catholics pay to St. Mary,
differing from it, however, in often being familiar, rude, and
earthly. Carnal minds will ever create a carnal worship for
themselves; and to forbid them the service of the Saints will have no
tendency to teach them the worship of God.
Moreover, it must be observed, what is very important, that great
and constant as is the devotion which the Catholic pays to the Blessed
Mary, it has a special province, and has far more connexion with the
public services and the festive aspect of Christianity, and with
certain extraordinary offices which she holds, than with what is
strictly personal and primary in religion.
Two instances will serve in illustration of this, and they are but
samples of many others [Note 3].
{429}
4.
(1.) For example, St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises are among the
most approved methods of devotion in the modern Catholic Church; they
proceed from one of the most celebrated of her Saints, and have the
praise of Popes, and of the most eminent masters of the spiritual
life. A Bull of Paul the Third's "approves, praises, and
sanctions all and everything contained in them;" indulgences are
granted to the performance of them by the same Pope, by Alexander the
Seventh, and by Benedict the Fourteenth. St. Carlo Borromeo declared
that he learned more from them than from all other books together; St.
Francis de Sales calls them "a holy method of reformation,"
and they are the model on which all the extraordinary devotions of
religious men or bodies, and the course of missions, are conducted. If
there is a document which is the authoritative exponent of the inward
communion of the members of the modern Catholic Church with their God
and Saviour, it is this work.
The Exercises are directed to the removal of obstacles in the way
of the soul's receiving and profiting by the gifts of God. They
undertake to effect this in three ways; by removing all objects of
this world, and, as it were, bringing the soul "into the solitude
where God may speak to its heart;" next, by setting before it the
ultimate end of man, and its own deviations from it, the beauty of
holiness, and the pattern of Christ; and, lastly, by giving rules for
its correction. They consist of a course of prayers, meditations,
self-examinations, and the like, which in its complete {430} extent lasts
thirty days; and these are divided into three stages,—the Via
Purgativa, in which sin is the main subject of consideration; the Via
Illuminativa, which is devoted to the contemplation of our Lord's
passion, involving the process of the determination of our calling;
and the Via Unitiva, in which we proceed to the contemplation
of our Lord's resurrection and ascension.
5.
No more need be added in order to introduce the remark for which I
have referred to these Exercises; viz. that in a work so highly
sanctioned, so widely received, so intimately bearing upon the most
sacred points of personal religion, very slight mention occurs of
devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. There is one mention of
her in the rule given for the first Prelude or preparation, in which
the person meditating is directed to consider as before him a church,
or other place with Christ in it, St. Mary, and whatever else is
suitable to the subject of meditation. Another is in the third
Exercise, in which one of the three addresses is made to our Lady,
Christ's Mother, requesting earnestly "her intercession with her
Son;" to which is to be added the Ave Mary. In the beginning of
the Second Week there is a form of offering ourselves to God in the
presence of "His infinite goodness," and with the witness of
His "glorious Virgin Mother Mary, and the whole host of
heaven." At the end of the Meditation upon the Angel Gabriel's
mission to St. Mary, there is an address to each Divine Person, to
"the Word Incarnate and to His Mother." In the Meditation
upon the Two Standards, there is an address prescribed to St. Mary to
implore grace from her Son through her, with an Ave Mary after it.
In the beginning of the Third Week one address is prescribed to
Christ; or three, if devotion incites, to Mother, {431} Son, and Father. In
the description given of three different modes of prayer we are told,
if we would imitate the Blessed Mary, we must recommend ourselves to
her, as having power with her Son, and presently the Ave Mary, Salve
Regina, and other forms are prescribed, as is usual after all
prayers. And this is pretty much the whole of the devotion, if it may
so be called, which is recommended towards St. Mary in the course of
so many apparently as a hundred and fifty Meditations, and those
chiefly on the events in our Lord's earthly history as recorded in
Scripture. It would seem then that whatever be the influence of the
doctrines connected with the Blessed Virgin and the Saints in the
Catholic Church, at least they do not impede or obscure the freest
exercise and the fullest manifestation of the devotional feelings
towards God and Christ.
6.
(2.) The other instance which I give in illustration is of a
different kind, but is suitable to mention. About forty little books
have come into my possession which are in circulation among the laity
at Rome, and answer to the smaller publications of the Christian
Knowledge Society among ourselves. They have been taken almost at
hazard from a number of such works, and are of various lengths; some
running to as many as two or three hundred pages, others consisting of
scarce a dozen. They may be divided into three classes:—a third part
consists of books on practical subjects; another third is upon the
Incarnation and Passion; and of the rest, a portion is upon the
Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, with two or three for the
use of Missions, but the greater part is about the Blessed Virgin.
As to the class on practical subjects, they are on such as the
following: "La Consolazione degl' Infermi;" "Pensieri
di una donna sul vestire moderno;" "L'Inferno {432} Aperto;
"Il Purgatorio Aperto;" St. Alphonso Liguori's "
Massime eterne;" other Maxims by St. Francis de Sales for every
day in the year; "Pratica per ben confessarsi e communicarsi;"
and the like.
The titles of the second class on the Incarnation and Passion are
such as "Gesu dalla Croce al cuore del peccatore;"
"Novena del Ss. Natale di G. C.;" "Associazione pel
culto perpetuo del divin cuore;" "Compendio della Passione."
In the third are "Il Mese Eucaristico," "Il divoto
di Maria," Feasts of the Blessed Virgin, &c.
7.
These books in all three divisions are, as even the titles of some
of them show, in great measure made up of Meditations; such are the
"Breve e pie Meditazioni" of P. Crasset; the "Meditazioni
per ciascun giorno del mese sulla Passione;" the "Meditazioni
per l'ora Eucaristica." Now of these it may be said generally,
that in the body of the Meditation St. Mary is hardly mentioned at
all. For instance, in the Meditations on the Passion, a book used for
distribution, through two hundred and seventy-seven pages St. Mary is
not once named. In the Prayers for Mass which are added, she is
introduced, at the Confiteor, thus, "I pray the Virgin, the
Angels, the Apostles, and all the Saints of heaven to intercede,"
&c.; and in the Preparation for Penance, she is once addressed,
after our Lord, as the Refuge of sinners, with the Saints and Guardian
Angel; and at the end of the Exercise there is a similar prayer of
four lines for the intercession of St. Mary, Angels and Saints of
heaven. In the Exercise for Communion, in a prayer to our Lord,
"my only and infinite good, my treasure, my life, my paradise, my
all," the merits of the Saints are mentioned, "especially of
St. Mary." {433} She is also mentioned with Angels and Saints at the
termination.
In a collection of "Spiritual Lauds" for Missions, of
thirty-six Hymns, we find as many as eleven addressed to St. Mary, or
relating to her, among which are translations of the Ave Maris
Stella, and the Stabat Mater, and the Salve Regina;
and one is on "the sinner's reliance on Mary." Five,
however, which are upon Repentance, are entirely engaged upon the
subjects of our Lord and sin, with the exception of an address to St.
Mary at the end of two of them. Seven others, upon sin, the
Crucifixion, and the Four Last Things, do not mention the Blessed
Virgin's name.
To the Manual for the Perpetual Adoration of the Divine Heart of
Jesus there is appended one chapter on the Immaculate Conception.
8.
One of the most important of these books is the French Pensez-y
bien, which seems a favourite, since there are two translations of
it, one of them being the fifteenth edition; and it is used for
distribution in Missions. In these reflections there is scarcely a
word said of St. Mary. At the end there is a Method of reciting the
Crown of the Seven Dolours of the Virgin Mary, which contains seven
prayers to her, and the Stabat Mater.
One of the longest in the whole collection is a tract consisting
principally of Meditations on the Holy Communion; under the title of
the "Eucharistic Month," as already mentioned. In these
"Preparations," "Aspirations," &c., St. Mary
is but once mentioned, and that in a prayer addressed to our Lord.
"O my sweetest Brother," it says with an allusion to the
Canticles, "who, being made Man for my salvation, hast sucked the
milk from the virginal breast of her, who is my Mother by grace,"
&c. In {434} a small "Instruction" given to children on their
first Communion, there are the following questions and answers:
"Is our Lady in the Host? No. Are the Angels and the Saints? No.
Why not? Because they have no place there."
9.
Now coming to those in the third class, which directly relate to
the Blessed Mary, such as "Esercizio ad Onore dell' addolorato
cuore di Maria," "Novena di Preparazione alla festa dell'
Assunzione," "Li Quindici Misteri del Santo Rosario,"
the principal is Father Segneri's "Il divoto di Maria,"
which requires a distinct notice. It is far from the intention of
these remarks to deny the high place which the Holy Virgin holds in
the devotion of Catholics; I am but bringing evidence of its not
interfering with that incommunicable and awful relation which exists
between the creature and the Creator; and, if the foregoing instances
show, as far as they go, that that relation is preserved inviolate in
such honours as are paid to St. Mary, so will this treatise throw
light upon the rationale by which the distinction is preserved
between the worship of God and the honour of an exalted creature, and
that in singular accordance with the remarks made in the foregoing
Section.
10.
This work of Segneri is written against persons who continue in
sins under pretence of their devotion to St. Mary, and in consequence
he is led to draw out the idea which good Catholics have of her. The
idea is this, that she is absolutely the first of created beings. Thus
the treatise says, that "God might have easily made a more
beautiful firmament, and a greener earth, but it was not possible to
make a higher Mother than the Virgin Mary; {435} and in her formation there
has been conferred on mere creatures all the glory of which they are
capable, remaining mere creatures," p. 34. And as containing all
created perfection, she has all those attributes, which, as was
noticed above, the Arians and other heretics applied to our Lord, and
which the Church denied of Him as infinitely below His Supreme
Majesty. Thus she is "the created Idea in the making of the
world," p. 20; "which, as being a more exact copy of the
Incarnate Idea than was elsewhere to be found, was used as the
original of the rest of the creation," p. 21. To her are applied
the words, "Ego primogenita prodivi ex ore Altissimi,"
because she was predestinated in the Eternal Mind coevally with the
Incarnation of her Divine Son. But to Him alone the title of Wisdom
Incarnate is reserved, p. 25. Again, Christ is the First-born by
nature; the Virgin in a less sublime order, viz. that of adoption.
Again, if omnipotence is ascribed to her, it is a participated
omnipotence (as she and all Saints have a participated sonship,
divinity, glory, holiness, and worship), and is explained by the
words, "Quod Deus imperio, tu prece, Virgo, potes."
11.
Again, a special office is assigned to the Blessed Virgin, that is,
special as compared with all other Saints; but it is marked off with
the utmost precision from that assigned to our Lord. Thus she is said
to have been made "the arbitress of every effect coming
from God's mercy." Because she is the Mother of God, the
salvation of mankind is said to be given to her prayers "de
congruo, but de condigno it is due only to the blood of the
Redeemer," p. 113. Merit is ascribed to Christ, and prayer to St.
Mary, p. 162. The whole may be expressed in the words, "Unica
spes mea Jesus, et post Jesum Virgo Maria. Amen."
Again, a distinct cultus is assigned to Mary, but the {436} reason
of it is said to be the transcendent dignity of her Son. "A
particular cultus is due to the Virgin beyond comparison
greater than that given to any other Saint, because her dignity
belongs to another order, namely to one which in some sense belongs to
the order of the Hypostatic Union itself, and is necessarily connected
with it," p. 41. And "Her being the Mother of God is the
source of all the extraordinary honours due to Mary," p. 35.
It is remarkable that the "Monstra te esse Matrem" is
explained, p. 158, as "Show thyself to be our
Mother;" an interpretation which I think I have found elsewhere
in these Tracts, and also in a book commonly used in religious houses,
called the "Journal of Meditations," and elsewhere [Note
4].
It must be kept in mind that my object here is not to prove the
dogmatic accuracy of what these popular publications teach concerning
the prerogatives of the Blessed Virgin, but to show that that teaching
is not such as to obscure the divine glory of her Son. We must ask for
clearer evidence before we are able to admit so grave a charge; and so
much may suffice on the Sixth Test of fidelity in the development of
an idea, as applied to the Catholic system.
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Notes
1. Supr. p. 173.
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2. Supr. p. 174.
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3. E.g. the "De Imitatione,"
the "Introduction ą la Vie Dévote," the "Spiritual
Combat," the "Anima Divota," the "Paradisus Animę,"
the "Regula Cleri," the "Garden of the Soul,"
&c., &c. [Also, the Roman Catechism, drawn up expressly for
Parish instruction, a book in which, out of nearly 600 pages, scarcely
half-a-dozen make mention of the Blessed Virgin, though without any
disparagement thereby, or thought of disparagement, of her special
prerogatives.]
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4. [Vid. Via
Media, vol. ii. pp. 121-2.]
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