ascribe Omnipotence to them for Omnipotence supposes a power of doing all things whatsoever possible whereas we suppose in the Angels and Saints at most but a power of obtaining of God those benefits and blessings we have need of 2. Nor Omniscience for Omniscience supposes a knowledge of all things past present and possible to be And we only suppose in the Saints aknowledge of those few prayers we put up to them 3. Nor Immense-presence for this supposes an immensity or a being present not only to all the things in the World but to hundreds of Worlds if there had been so many whereas the utmost of what we suppose can amount to no more than that the Angels and Saints are present to those Christians who beg their Charitable Assistance Nor do we ascribe any of those divine Perfections to them if we conceive that God reveals our prayers to them This the Dr. himself does not say but endeavours to elude our Reasons by saying that if God reveals our prayers to the Saints we shou'd pray to Him before every prayer we make to the Saints that He wou'd be pleas'd to reveal that prayer to them but this says he is such away about as no Man wou'd take that cou'd help it To which I answer that such Reasonings are only fit to amuse the common People who as I said above measure all things even the most sublime by the notions they have of those things they are here on Earth acquainted with whereas the Scripture and the Fathers tell us that the manner of God's revealing His Will to His Angels and Saints is so mysterious and the knowledge and power of these blessed Spirits so vast and to us so incomprehensible that nothing on Earth much less such poor stuff as the Dr. brings is able to give us the least glimpse how these things are perform'd Vol. 2. edit post ob pag. 46. The Dr's last Objection is founded in a Parallel which he makes between the Pagan Saints as he calls them and the Christian Saints He tells us the Gentils address'd themselves to God by innumerable Mediators by Angels and the Souls of their departed Herâ—es which were the Pagan Saints This he repeats in several places with no material Addition only that in speaking to the pretended Worship we give to Images he adds that all our distinctions are no other ibid pag. 100. but what the Heathens us'd in the same Case And taking this for granted He leaves his Auditors to conclude that as it was Idolatry in the Heathens to Worship these Pagan Saints so it is in the Church of Rome to worship the Christian Saints Answ The best way in my opinion to remove this difficulty is to take a short view of the Character and Worship which the Heathens gave to their Pagan Saints as the Dr. is pleas'd to call them tho' without any Warrant from the Heathen Writers who always call them Gods and see whether upon the Comparison the Christian Saints be in any thing by us treated like Them And here I shall not distrust any Man's knowledge so far as to bring any Authorites from Heathen Writers to confirm what I say being resolv'd to instance only in such plain things as our very School-Boys are not ignorant of And First As to their Character 't is no less evident that the Heathens gave these Saints the Attributes of the Supream Being than that they are represented in their Writings under such Circumstances of Debauchery Lewdness and Intemperance as the greatest Debauchees are hardly capable of The Doctor cannot deny but Jupiter to omit several others was reckon'd a Hero in his Time according to the Pagan Belief We are told his Father was Saturn that he was born in Crete and that after his Death he was for his great Feats Deified and got the Supream Dominion in Heaven as his Brothers Pluto and Neptune got that of Hell and the Sea This departed Hero is describ'd every where with the Majesty of the true God He has Omnipotence put into His hands He is represented as the Great Rector and Governour of the World and at the same time is said to be sullied with all the Lewdness and Debauchery imaginable Now the Christian Heroes or Saints are quite of another Complexion We give them none of the Attributes of the true God We believe they fought stoutly under the Banner of Jesus Christ reduc'd Kings and Princes not by their Swords but by their Sufferings to his Subjection and laid down their Lives for the Truth of his Doctrine but we do not put Omnipotence into their Hands We believe they did work Miracles and wondrous Things but then we do not say they did these Things by their own Power and Virtue but that they were the happy Instruments by which God wrought these Miracles in Confirmation of the Word which he put in their Mouth We believe the Saints are Great Friends and Favourites of the true God because Jesus Christ has so declar'd He tells us that as his Father hath appointed unto Him so haâ—â— He appointed unto them a Kingdom Luke 22.30 that they might eat and drink at His Table in His Kingdom by which Metaphor of Eating and Drinking He gives us to understand that they are Partakers of the same Glory and Bliss with himself in Heaven But we say the Saints can do nothing of themselves but that all their Sufficiency is from God who made them what they are And then as to their Lives and Conversation I hope the Doctor wou'd not put me upon proving that the Apostles and the B. V. Mary and the Saints in Heaven are in no manner concern'd in the Lewdness and Intemperance of the Pagan Saints or that we do not ascribe any such thing to them So that as to the Character the Pagan and Christian Saints have no more Resemblance than Black and White Secondly as to the Worship The Heathens worship'd their Gods or Pagan Saints as the Doctor wou'd have it upon a false Pretence of their Power and Greatness in Heaven whereas there was no such Gods or Saints But we honour and respect the Christian Saints because we are warranted by the Word of God that they are such as we represent them The Heathens erected Altars to their Gods but we make Altars for none but one God only They offer'd Sacrifice to all their Gods and Saints which is the chief Mark of supream Worship but we offer Sacrifice only to the true and living God as Malice it self cannot deny They made Idols and believ'd that their Gods came and dwelt in them and that many of them spake and eat and drank and for that Reason they worship'd them and therefore are justly call'd Idolaters because they worship'd things that were not but we only put up in our Churches the Images and Pictures of Jesus Christ the Living God and of such as we are sure are truly Saints but do not believe that there is any Virtue or Divinity in
it is Impossible the Church shou'd give them such Provocation as might justifie a Separation in like manner All those who are excommunicated by the Church for their obstinate Refusal to assent to any Truth declar'd to be an Article of Faith are properly call'd Heretics Now Protestants as well as Catholics agree that neither Schismatics nor Heretics are Members of the Catholic Church nor any way within its Pale There only remains then to examine who those are on whom these Marks of Schism and Heresie are justly chargeable and who on the other Hand are free from that charge which if plainly made out it will be easy to see what Congregation of Faithful can be justly call'd the Catholic Church Now all the Societies of Christians who with any colour of Reason can pretend to the Name of Catholic are these 1. The Nestorians and Eutychians 2. The Greek Church 3. The Church of England And lastly the R. Catholics I have on purpose omitted the Waldenses Socinians Hussites Lutherans Calvinists and all those almost Innumerable Sects continually shooting out of the Trunck of the Reformation and spreading far and near over our own unfortunate Ilands as Anabaptists Independents Quakers Mugoltonians Seekers Familists Philadelphians c. because all these are destitute of even the least Pretence to the Name of Catholic Church having neither lawful Pastors lawful Mission nor Right Ordination which as all the Christian World before the Reformation and as the Church of England still grants cannot be given without Imposition of Hands performed by Bishops This they Ingenuously own they have not consequently nor the least Pretence to the Catholic Church no nor if we believe some Learned Divines of the Church of England to the Name of Christian For as these Gentlemen Reason no Man can be call'd Christian unless he is Baptiz'd Baptism cannot be conferr'd but by such who have Authority to administer the Sacraments no Man can have this Authority but by lawful Ordination and this is not conferr'd nor cannot without Imposition of Hands by Lawfully ordain'd Bishops Bishops all these Sects own they have not consequently nor true Baptism nor Christianity This I confess cannot be said of the four Societies aforesaid For every one of them hath always retain'd the Hierarchy of the Church Bishops Priests and Deacons at least have pretended to it and think it Essential to the being of the Catholic Church But since this is not enough unless they have likewise the Catholic Faith and Communion which together with the said Hierarchy make up the essential parts of Catholic Religion our present Bus'ness shall be to try each of them by this Touchstone and see which will abide the Test 1. Touching the Nestorians and Eutychians Under this Appellation I comprehend the Jacobites Cophtes Armenians and all other Sects who follow the Opinions of Nestorius and Eutyches touching the Person and Natures in Christ all the Rest of the Eastern Christians either adhereing to the Roman or Greek Church What I have to say concerning these Sects shall be dispatch'd in a few Words Dr. Tillotson and all the Learned Men of the Church of England do receive the Definitions of the four first General Councils whereof the two last excommunicated and condemn'd as Heretics the Authors of these Sects and their Adherents Nâ—storius for asserting two persons Eutyches for denying two Natures in Christ consequently all those Sects who took up their Opinions are justly excluded from the number of True Catholics As to the Points in Controversie betwixt the Church of Rome and the Protestants viz. Transubstantiation Sacrifice of the Mass Prayers for the Dead Invocation of Saints c. they are as firmly believ'd by the said Sects as by the R. Catholics 2. As for the Greek Church It is notoriously known that the Chiefest Reason of their Separation from the Church of Rome was because this Church asserted the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son which yet the Protestants hold to be Orthodox Doctrine And no less evident that the Greek Church did Recant their Error concerning this Point and all other things wherein they differ'd from the Church of Rome many times but more especially in three General Councils First in the Council of Lâ—theran where the Patriarch of Constantinople assisted in Person 2dly In the Council of Lyons where the Greek Emperor and other Representatives of the Greek Church were present And lastly in the Council of Florence where the Emperor the Patriarch of Constantinople and a great many Greek Bishops were present and disputed the Point for a long time which at last came to this Issue There were Letters of Vnion drawn up wherein the Grecians do acknowledge the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and Son the Popes Supremacy and some other Points of no great Weight before debated These Letters were signed by the Emperor and by all the Greek Bishops the Bishop of Ephesus only excepted and stand upon Record to this day Whence it is manifest that by their own Act and Deed they are convicted of Schism for their wilful and causeless Separation afterwards from the Church of Rome whom they own'd by this Authentick Instrument to be the Catholic Church and themselves likewise to be Members of it Touching the main Points in Controversie betwixt the Protestants and the Church of Rome what the Greek Church holds and professes let us hear from the Pen of an Ingenious Protestant Gentleman Sir Edwin Sandys in his Europae Speculum pag. 233. With Rome saith he they concur in the opinion of Transubstantiation and generally in the Sacrifice and whole body of the Mass in praying to Saints in Auricular Confession in offering of Sacrifice and Prayer for the Dead and in these without any or no material Difference They hold Purgatory also and the Worshiping of Pictures Thus far Sandys So that tho' the Greeks were a true Church it wou'd but very little help the Protestant Cause nay rather it wou'd very much prejudice it since the Grecians hold those points to be Orthodox on the pretended falsity whereof the Protestants ground their Separation But of this more in its proper Place 3. Touching the Church of England This is of so Great Importance to our present Controversie or rather the only necessary Point to be Rightly understood that it is requisite it shou'd be handl'd with all the clearness and perspicuity imaginable And if it be possible to make it Evident that this Church is branded with Heresie and Schism two things sufficient to unchurch any Society of Christians whatsoever I hope I may without vanity say that I have gained my Point To prove then that the Church of England is both Heretical and Schismatical I am heartily sorry I must use such hard Expressions to so many Ingenious and Great Men whose Learning and other good Qualities I very much honor and respect I shall make use of no Arguments but such as are grounded upon the clear Light of natural
I think I may reasonable conclude that the common people wou'd do the same were they never so well read in the Scriptures unless we suppose that the Protestant Religion has some Virtue to attract the common people upon the readding of Scripture in a vulgar Tongue which is incommunicable to Men of Letters when they read the same But methinks the stand the Protestant Religion has been at now upwards of an hundred Years without gaining one Foot of Ground nay hardly keeping what it had notwithstanding all the liberty and Indulgence it gives to Flesh and Blood is an evident Argument that it was not a serious Meditation and Study of Scripture but rather a popular fury and something like madness that brought over so many of the common People to embrace it in the Begining And indeed if the Fences and Bulworks wherewith the Protestant Religion is fortified were taken away if the Tests and Penal-Laws and other grievous Burdens laid upon R. Catholics were taken off if all the scandalous and opprobrious Language which Ministers thunder out in their Pulpits against the Church and Bishop of Rome all the False and Ridiculous Tenets which are ascrib'd to R. Catholics and manag'd with all the Art and Industry proper to inflame the People's hatred and to give them a perpetual aversion to R. Catholics and their Religion all the marks of Infamy and Dishonour put upon them being not permitted to bear any Civil or Military Office nay scarce allow'd in some Countries to exercise such honest Professions or Callings as may enable them to get their Bread if all these fatal Engins I say were laid aside and every Man left to chuse his Religion without the hopes of Reward on the one side or the Fear of loss of Goods and Temporal Punishment on the other I doubt the Protestant Religion wou'd soon fall to pieces and many a Prodigal Child wou'd return to their Father's Houses whence they have so long stray'd But these Fences and Barriers shall I call them of Religion being so Rivetted and interwoven with the Temporal Laws and Constitutions of most Governments where the Protestant Religion sways I fear all Reasons and Arguments tho' never so Evident are too weak to encounter them unless God of His Mercy be pleas'd to put His Hand to the Work To whose infinit Goodness and Mercy I do from my Heart most earnestly recommend it CHAP. VII Of the Invocation of Saints WHat we believe to be of Faith on this Head is thus declar'd by the Council of Trent That the Saints who Reign with Jesus Christ offer up to God their Prayers for Men that it is Good and Profitable to Invocate them after an Humble Manner and to have Recourse to their Prayers Aid and Assistance to obtain of God His Benefits thro' our Lord Jesus Christ His Son who is our only Saviour and Redeemer Sess 25. This the Council declares to be the Faith of the Church concerning this point but does not Command or Oblige any of the Laity to pray to the Saints or Invocate them 'T is a Practice receiv'd from the Primitive Church and us'd by the Greatest and most Learned and virtuous of the Holy Fathers of those Times as appears by their Works and handed Down to us by an uninterrupted Tradition But because it is not absolutely necessary the Church leaves every one the liberty to make use of it or not aâ— they think fit Yet to see how Dr. Tillotson lays about him upon this Subject and what pains he takes to confute it one wou'd think we have nothing in our Liturgies and public Prayer-books but Prayers to Saints and that we do nothing else in the public and solemn Service of the Church but pray to Saints and worship them Here it may be expected I shou'd give a Specimen of his Laborious Endeavours in this matter but I think a Pattern wou'd not do and therefore I shall refer the Reader to three intire Sermons Vol. 2. edit post obit Ser. 2 3 4. where this Bus'ness is handled to some purpose Now to justifie our Proceedings from these imputations and to shew the Reasonableness of this Practice as by us us'd I shall do these Four Things 1. I will endeavour to shew that to invocate the Saints by which Words we protest and declare and 't is hard if we may not be allow'd to interpret our own Words that we mean nothing else but to desire them to pray for us is not repugnant to the Word of God 2. that in the public and solemn Service of the Church excepting the Litanies of the Saints which are read or sung solemnly four times a Year the General Confession of Sins in the begining of the Mass a few Hymns Anthems and Versicles which are not Prayers strictly and properly so call'd and most of which are read only once a Year excepting these I say we put up no Prayers to Saints or Angels but all our Prayers are address'd to Almighty God and to Jesus Christ our Mediator and Redeemer Not but that we hold it lawful even in the public and solemn Service of the Church to pray to the Saints that is to desire them to pray for us since all the Addresses we make to the Saints do finally Terminate in Jesus Christ in virtue of whose Death and Passion we believe the Saints are enabled to pray for us but because it is matter of Fact that we do not address our Prayers in the solemn Service of the Church but to God alone 3. I will make it appear from the very Words of the Holy Fathers that the Practice of praying to Saints was us'd in the Primitive Church And Lastly I shall endeavour to return a brief Answer to what the Dr. thought fit to bring against this Point 1. I will endeavour to shew that to invocate the Saints or which is the same thing to desire them to pray for us is not repugnant to the Word of God The Texts of Scripture which seems to be against this Practice and which the Doctor urges are taken out of St. Paul 1 Tim. 2.5 where he says There is one God and one Mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus And again Heb. 9.15 For this Cause He Christ is the Mediator of the New Testament c. Hence the Doctor concludes that it is contrary to the Word of God and which he mostly insists upon derogatory to the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ to pray to any Saint or Angel since to do so were to constitute them Mediators between God and Men contrary to the Express Words of St. Paul But sure he was not aware how far this Inference wou'd carry him else he wou'd be a little more reserv'd We are exhorted by the Scriptures and by the Rules of Charity we are bound to pray to God for one another Eph. 6.19 1 Tim. 2. Yea and St. Paul himself desires the Ephesians to pray for him and exhorts Timothy to have Prayers and
the Martyrs with a Religious Solemnity to excite us to their Imitation to be Partakers of their Merits and to be assisted by their Prayers Yet so as that we erect no Altars to the Martyrs but to the God of Martyrs tho' in Remembrance of the Martyrs For who of the Prelates standing at the Altar where the Bodies of the Saints are ever said I offer to you Peter Paul or Cyprian But that which is offer'd is offer'd to God who crown'd the Martyrs at the Memorial * Altars where the Relicks of Martyrs were kept of those whom he crown'd to the End that from the Remembrance of those places greater Affection may rise in us to whet our Love towards those we may imitate and towards Him God by whose Help we shall be able to imitate We worship then the Martyrs with that Worship of Love and Fellowship wherewith Holy Men in this Life are worship'd whose Hearts we perceive prepar'd for the like Passion in defence of the Truth of the Gospel but the Martyrs we worship so much the more devoutly by how much the more securely when the Fight is over and by how much the more confidently we may praise the Conquerors now in a happy State than those who as yet are fighting in â—his Life But with that worship which the Greeks call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in Latin cannot be render'd in one word since it is a certain Service properly due to God alone we do not worship nor teach to be worship'd but one God And since the offering Sacrifice pertains to this Worship whence Idolatry is imputed to those who give it to Idols we do by no means offer any such thing nor command to be offer'd either to any Martyr or any Holy Soul or Angel And whosoever falls into any such Error he is reprehended by wholesom Doctrine to the End he may amend or be shun'd Lib. 20. Cap. 22. contra Faust Manich. As to his last Consideration viz. That in the public Offices of their Church they do not only pray to the Saints to pray for them but they direct their Prayers and Thanksgivings immediately to them for all those Blessings and Benefits which they ask of God and thank him for I answer 5. That this is a notorious Imposition upon us and as great a Mark of Insincerity as it is a sign of a sinking Cause which needs such foul play to support it In short there is nothing more common than the Roman Missal and Breviary which contain all the public Offices of the Church and I challenge any Man to find as much as one single Prayer in either of these Books read in the public Offices of the Church which is directed immediately to either Angel or Saint for all those Benefits and Blessings which we ask of God and thank Him for As for that Example which he gives us out of the Office of the B. Virgin as he says namely that we pray to the Angels thus Deliver us we beseech you by your Command from all our Sins If it were true that there is such a Prayer in it 't is not to the Doctor 's purpose for that Office is no part of the public Offices of the Church nor was it ever publickly read in the Church But that it is not True I am an Eye Witness for I have upon this very occasion read every Word of that Office I mean the Office of the B. Virgin annex'd to the Breviary and I can in Truth aver that I found no such Prayer or Anthem or Versicle in it As to any other Offices of the B. Virgin made and publish'd by private Men whether there be any such prayer in them 't is more than I can tell for I have not read them all This I am certain that if there be 't is more than any Man is warranted by the Church to do However since none of these Offices of the Virgin Mary make any part of the public Offices Service of the Church nor are ever publickly read in it The Doctor had no Reason to charge such Prayers upon the public Offices of the Church tho' they were found in those private Offices of the B. Virgin Vol. 2. pag. 70. His fourth Objection is to this purpose To pray to Saints in all places and at all times and for all sorts of Blessings does suppose them to have the Incommunicable Perfections of the Divine Nature imparted to them or inherent in them namely Omnipotence and Omniscience and Immense-presence Answ This is the great popular Argument that takes so much with the weaker sort of People who measure all things by their own capacity and do not conceive how Saints and Angels shou'd hear at so great a distance because they cannot do so themselves It will be therefore requisite to take some pains to clear this difficulty and if it be possible to disabuse these simple but well-meaning People concerning these gross and carnal thoughts which that I may the more plainly do I shall lay down these known and evident Grounds 1. That Angels and Saints in Heaven have naturally a faculty of understanding and communicating their Thoughts that is a power connatural to their being of perceiving the thoughts of others that are directed to them and of imparting their own thoughts to others for these are essential Properties of Intelligent Beings 2. That Angels and Saints in Heaven do neither see nor hear in the sense we commonly take these Words For seeing they neither have Eyes nor Ears which are the Organs of Seeing and Hearing they cannot be said properly to See or Hear but only to Vnderstard which is what we mean when we say the Saints do hear us 3. Hence follows that Saints and Angels may Hear that is Vnderstand us when we direct our thoughts to them at any distance even at Ten Millions of Miles as well as if they had been in the same Room with us For since our Words or Thoughts are not convey'd to them by means of any Organs nor by the motion or impulse of the Air as it happens with us 't is evident that distance or neerness of place can have no part in their way of understanding 4. That God-Almighty is able to reveal in an Instant all our Prayers to the Angels and Saints be they never so far distant from us tho' Angels and Saints are not properly speaking distant from us distance in propriety of Speech being that space which is between two Bodies Now whether we conceive that the Angels and Saints when we direct our thoughts to them do hear or rather understand us by that natural faculty which is essential to all Intelligent Beings or that God reveals our thoughts to them we do not ascribe any of the incommunicable perfections of the Divine Nature to them namely Omnipotence Omniscience Immense-Presence c. Not if we conceive that they understand our prayers by that natural faculty which is essential to their Being 1. We do not
Supplications put up for all Men. Do not we then constitute one another Mediators between God and our selves Does not St. Paul make the Ephesians Mediators between God and himself Most certainly as much as we make the Saints for we only desire the Saints to pray for us and St. Paul desir'd the Ephesians to pray for him and we desire every Day the same thing of our Brethren And do these Mediators derogate from the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ God forbid Ay but says the Doctor the Saints are in Heaven and these Men were on Earth Well and does their being Present or Absent their being in Heaven or on Earth make them the more or less Mediators when they are made such or do the Office of Mediators Is any Man the less a Mediator who sues for the Pardon of an other because he is present or in the same Town or Country with him for whom he sues Sure there is not to use the Doctor 's own Phrase a Controversie of Scripture against Scripture or of Reason against Reason but of down right Imp * Discourse against Transub Vol. 3. p 299. against the plain meaning of Scripture and all the Sense and Reason of Mankind I forbear that uncivil Word the Reader may find it at Length with the Dr. in the place pointed at in the Margin Well! But the Saints are in Heaven What then Why if we desire them to pray for us we make them Mediators But do not the Saints in Heaven pray for us Yes the Dr. grants they do Vol. 2. 2. edit obit pag. 93. They make themselves Mediators then No says he they are not Mediators and Intercessors properly so call'd for continues He all Intercession strictly and properly so call'd is in virtue of a Sacrifice offer'd by him that intercedes Here He pulls down all that He built before and justifies our Practice as fully as we cou'd desire All Intercession strictly and properly so call'd is in virtue of a Sacrifice offer'd by him that intercedes Say you so Why then the Saints can by no means be Mediators or Intercessors properly so call'd whether we desire them to pray for us or they do it of themselves since they did not offer any Sacrifice by virtue whereof they may in a strict and proper sense be called Mediators or Intercessors and then we may desire them to pray for us or they may do it of themselves and yet be no Mediators or Intercessors and consequently not derogate from the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ And thus the Doctor has very judiciously and in my Opinion very truly interpreted St. Paul's Words and justified us into the bargain 2. That in the public and solemnly Service of the Church excepting the Litanies c. as aforesaid we put up no Prayers to Saints or Angels but all our Prayers are address'd to Almighty God and to Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer This will appear by a thoro ' Examination of those Books wherein the public Service of our Church is contain'd which are the Mass-book and the Breviary the first containing the solemn Service of the Mass and the latter the Canonical Office namely Matins Hours Even-song and Compline And here I can in truth aver that I have read both these Books at least ten Times yet excepting the Litanies the general Confession some few Hymns Anthems and Versicles whereof one or two are read in the Breviary on the Feasts of B V. Mary and other Saints which yet are not properly Prayers and which only mention these Words Pray for us intercede for us or the like I do profess I do not know one single Prayer appointed for the public and solemn Service of the Church in either of them address'd directly to either Saint or Angel or the B. V. Mary As for the Mass-book which is the public Liturgy of the Church excepting the General Confession there is not one Prayer in it aderess'd to any but God-Almighty no not on the Feasts of Saints or of the B. V. Mary no nor in the Book at all excepting this one Versicle which is I think four times read Mother of God intercede for us Which yet is seldom read in any public and solemn Service of the Church and one single Anthem wherein the like Words are found on the Feast of St. Michael And for the Truth of all this I appeal to the Books themselves There is indeed a Little Office of the Virgin Mary annex'd to the Breviary wherein the aforesaid Words Pray for us intercede for us or the like are some nine or ten times repeated in Hymns Anthems and Versicles but this being read neither Publicly nor Privately in the Church Service cannot Reasonably be said to pertain to it Now these two Books are an Extract the Mass-Book of what is most Moving and Ravishing in the Psalms of David of what is most Edifying and Instructive and most sit to declare the Praises of God and to shew his loving Kindness and Mercy to Mankind in the Old Testament and of the most useful and necessary Precepts and Instructions of Faith and Good Manners contain'd in the New suited and adapted to all the Seasons of the Year together with many Devout and Fervent Prayers all tending to praise Almighty God to thank him for His Benefits and Blessings and to implore Mercy and Pardon for our Sins The Breviary of all the Psalms most of the History of the Old Testament a Summary of all the Epistles of the Apostles and the Revelations some Verses of the Gospel of every Feast and Sunday in the Year with the Homilies of the Ancient Fathers of the Church upon these Texts together with a Brief Account of the Lives of the most Eminent Saints and Martyrs that flourish'd in the Church with a great many Pious and Godly Prayers Anthems Hymns and Versicles address'd to God-Almighty and put up in the Name and thro' the Merits of our Lord Jesus Christ We do indeed Commemorate the holy Apostles the B. V. Mary and the Saints in the Public Service of the Church because we have sufficient Warrant for it in the Scripture and Practice of the Primitive Church David says the Righteous shall be in Everlasting Remembrance Psal 112. and Dr. Tillotson himself has a Sermon upon this Subject wherein he proves from the Practice of the Fathers and from Reason that it is Lawful to give due Honor and Respect to the Saints but we do not put up any Formal Prayers to them in the public Service And this will appear from the Collects in the Mass-Book and Breviary where their Names are mention'd I will transcribe two or three of them and leave the Reader who desires farther Satisfaction to consult these Books whether all the Rest of the Collects where the Saints are mention'd be not of the same Tenor. A Collect on the Annunciation of the B. V. Mary O God who hast been pleas'd that thy Word shou'd take Flesh in the Womb of the B. V. Mary when
the Angel declar'd it grant us thy humble Petitioners who believe Her to be truly the Mother of God that by Her intercession we may with Thee be assisted thro' the same our Lord Jesus Christ c. Amen A Collect on the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul O God who hast consecrated this Day by the Martyrdom of Peter and Paul grant to thy Church to follow their Example in all things by whom the Religion began thro' our Lord Jesus c. Amen A Collect on the Nativity of St. John Baptist O God who hast Honor'd this Day with the Nativity of St. John give to thy People the Grace of Spiritual Joy and guide the Minds of all the Faithful in the way of eternal Salvation thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Here you see all these Prayers are address'd to God alone And thus indeed are all the Collects in the Mass-Book and Breviary which I willingly submit to any Man's Tryal ad Paenam libri As to the Office and Litanies of the B. V. Mary which are found in Manuals and read by some R. Catholics there is no Reason to charge them upon the Public Office and Service of the Church since they are not us'd by the Church nor publish'd by public Authority The Church does indeed allow such Prayers to be said as far as they hold within the Compass of meer Intercession because they are founded in the Practice of the Primitive Church and all succeeding Ages But if any of them contain any Terms or Expressions bordering upon the Prerogative of the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ she does as heartily and as earnestly desire they shou'd be abolish'd as any Protestant whatsoever Touching the Rosary or Beads in which the Dr. reproaches us for saying ten Ave Marias for one Pater Noster I believe every one knows the Church obliges no body to say it I am sure there are Millions of R. Catholics who never do Besides there is nothing in the Ave Maria but the very Words of Scripture except these last pray for us now and in the Hour of our Death and if it be a good thing to desire the Mother of God to pray for us sure the oftner we desire it the better it is As to the Disproportion between the Pater Nosters and the Ave Marias I must confess it were something if those who use the Rosary made all their Devotion to consist in it But it is well known that such as say it do to their Power discharge all other Christian Duties at least do pretend to no Exemption upon the Score of their Beads or Rosary from Praying to Almighty God from Adoring and Worshiping Him and giving Him their Humble and Hearty Thanks for his Benefits and Blessings from commemorating the Death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and having recourse to the Merits thereof for Mercy and Pardon of their Sins And now when they have endeavour'd to discharge all these Essential Duties where lies the harm if they spend some part of their spare Hours in saying over and above so many Ave Marias especially since they are founded in the Merits of the Death and Passion of our Lord and Saviour in Virtue whereof all Catholics do hope and trust that the Virgin Mary and all the Saints will pray for them Or how can it be counted a Fault to desire the Virgin Mary to do that for us which even the Dr. himself and all the Learned Protestants in the world do acknowledge She and all the Saints in Heaven constantly do tho' we shou'd not ask it of them Now this is plainly the Case All R. Catholics are taught and exhorted by the Church to discharge first their Duty to God to worship and adore him to put up their Prayers to Him to thank him for His Benefits to be sorry for their sins to beg Mercy and Forgiveness thro' the Merits of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and when this is done if they will take the Lady's Office or the Litanies of the Saints or the V. Mary or their Beads and beg those great Friends and Favourits of Jesus Christ who shed their Blood and lay down their Lives for the Truth of His Gospel to recommend them to Him and his Heavenly Father is it not better since the mind of Man must always be in Action than spend the Time in Idleness or perhaps in Evil Conversation In a Word these are Devotions which certain Fraternities and Regular Societies have taken upon them to discharge over and above the necessary and Essential Duties of Christianity and which other Catholics to be Partakers of the Prayers of the said Fraternities and Societies do also perform But in saying their Beads they do not always as the Dr. wou'd suggest say ten Ave Maria's for one Pater Noster For several Fraternities and Catholics say all Pater Nosters without ever an Ave Maria. But of this enough I proceed to shew 3. From the very Words of the Holy Fathers that this Practice of praying to Saints was us'd in the primitive Church St. Ambrose delivers his Thoughts in these Words We ought to pray to the Angels in our own Behalf who are given as a Guard to Vs We ought to pray to the Martyrs whose Bodies remaining with Vs seem to be as it were a Pledge of their Protection Lib de Viduis prope Fin. Gregory Nissen speaks thus to the Martyr St. Theodorus Intercede and Pray for your Country with our Common Lord and King Orat. in St. Theodor. St. Austin We do not Commemorate the Martyrs at the Lord's Table as We do those who die in the Peace of the Church but We do Commemorate them that they may pray for Vs that we may follow their Steps Tract 84. in Joa Again Holy Mary * Note that the Sermon whence this Passage is taken is ascrib'd by some Critics to St. Fulgentius but whether of the two it belongs to it matters not being both Fathers of Great Renown and of the same Age. succour the Distressed help the Pusillanimous cherish those that Mourn pray for the People mediate for the Clergy intercede for the Devout Female Sex let every one perceive thy Assistance who celebrate thy Commemoration Ser. 18. de Sanctis Theodoret We do not address our Selves unto the Martyrs as unto Gods but we pray unto them as Divine Men that they wou'd please to become Legats or Intercessors for us Ser. 8. de Martyr lib. Curat Grae◠Affect The Council of Calcedon Act. 11. has these Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Flavianus Liveth after his Death the Martyr will pray for us or as the Translators render it Let the Martyr pray for us it being usual with the Orientals to put the Future Tense for the Imperative Here is a General Council of more than 600 Bishops desiring the Martyr Flavianus to pray for Them This Council was held in the Year 451 and is one of the four first General Councils whose Acts and Decrees the Church of
says We pray to the Saints in Heaven in the same order of Brotherly Society with which we intreat our Brethren upon Earth to pray for us But that this says he is not a true Representation of their Doctrine will appear by these Considerations 1. That they pray continues He to the Saints and Angels in Heaven with the same solemn Circumstances of Religious Worship that they pray to God himself 2. That in their Prayers and Thanksgiving they joyn the Angels and the B. Virgin and the Saints together with God and Christ 3. That in the Creed of Pope Pius 4. it is expresly said the Saints which reign with Christ are to be Worship'd and Invocated 4. That in the Public Offices of their Church they do not only pray to the Saints to pray for them but they direct their Prayers and Thanksgivings immediately to them for all those Blessings and Benefits which they ask of God and thank Him for of which innumerable Examples adds He might be given out of their Public Offices particularly in the Office of the B. Virgin they pray to the Angels thus deliver us we beseech you by your command from all our Sins To which I answer 1. That there never was a Book more universally commended and approv'd in the Latin Church than the Bishop of Meaux's Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholic Church The Pope highly commended and approv'd it as appears by his Brief to this Bishop annex'd to the said Book All the Cardinals and Consistory in Rome approv'd it as the Letters of the Master of the Sacred Palace and the Consultor of the Holy Office do witness And all the Learned Bishops and Prelates of the R. Catholic Church have very much approv'd and commended t as appears by the Letters of many of them to the said Bishop and his Friends all which are likewise annex'd to the said Book it has been translated into almost all the Vulgar Tongues in Europe and is read and perus'd by all R. Catholics with all the satisfaction and content imaginable so that to say this Exposition is not a true Representation of the Doctrine and Practice of the R. Catholic Church in this matter is as Unreasonable in it self as it is injurious to that Great and Learned Prelate and to the whole Catholic Church which hath so universally approv'd it 2. As to his first Consideration I have already prov'd that we address no Prayers to Saints or Angels in the Public Service of the Church but that all our Prayers are directed to God only and as to our Posture in the Church or at our private Devotions whether kneeling or standing or bowing we declare our intention is to adore God alone and none else Touching his second Consideration viz. that in their Prayers and Thanksgiving ibid pag. 80 81. they join the Angels and the B. Virgin and the Saints together with God and Christ Of this He gives us in an other place these instances Nothing so frequent with them says He as to joyn the blessed Virgin with God and our Saviour in the same breath nothing so common in their Mouth as Jesus Maria glory to God and the B. Virgin and in the Roman Missal adds He they make Confession of their Sins to God-Almighty and the blessed Virgin and to St. Michael the Arch-Angel and to all the Saints To which I answer 3. That it is very True we join God and his Saints together in the same breath as the Dr. saith but then our Plea is that we are taught both by the Old and New Testament so to do For Instance All the Congregation blessed the Lord God of their Fathers and bowing their Heads Worship'd the Lord and the King 1 Chron. 29.20 Here at the same time and in the same act and in the same breath too 't is said that the Israelites Worship'd God and the King Had we but any such thing in our Public Offices what work wou'd the Dr. make on 't Again The people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel 1 Kings 12.18 Here again God and Samuel are join'd together in the same Breath Again It seem'd good to the Holy Ghost and to Vs to lay upon you no other Burthen Acts 15.28 Again I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Elect Angels 1 Tim. 5.21 St. John writes to the Seven Churches in Asia Grace be unto you and Peace from Him which is and which was and which is to come and from the Seven Spirits which are before His Throne and from Jesus Christ Rev. chap. 1. Had we offer'd Peace from the Angels to our Flocks and placed them before Jesus Christ how loud wou'd He Cry Yet no less than an Apostle of Jesus Christ hath done it What will the Doctor say to all this Is not God here join'd with Angels and Saints and Men in the same Breath And must it be a Crime in us to do that whereof we have such manifest Precedents in the very words of the Scripture Truely to weigh well the matter one wou'd almost swear the Doctor was not in earnest but were I of councel for him I shou'd have advis'd Him if He had a mind to exhibit such Ridiculous Scenes not to make the Religion of Jesus Christ a Theatre of Laughter and Sport for God is not mock'd As to his third Consideration I answer 4. That Pope Pius 4. his worshiping and invocating the Saints is to be understood in the same order of brotherly Society in which we worship and reverence our holy Brethren on Earth upon Account of their Piety and Virtue and in which we intreat them to pray for us as the Bishop of Meaux saith and as St. Austin said long since Colimus Martyres eo cultu dilectionis societatis quo in hac vita coluntur sancti Deì homines We worship the Martyrs with that Worship of Love and Fellowship wherewith the holy Men of God are worshipped in this Life Lib. 20. cap. 22. contra Faust All the difficulty then of these and the like Phrases which we read in Scripture in the Fathers and in the Decrees of Councils and Popes consists in the Ambiguity of these Words Worship and Invocate which I have on purpose explain'd in the beginning of this Dispute to avoid Confusion and which the Catechism publish'd by Order of the Council of Trent and many other learn'd Divines have so clearly and fully explain'd So that nothing but an Itch of Contention and a Spirit of Wrangling cou'd make any Man doubt of our Sense of these Words But the Passage of St. Austin is so clear and full to the purpose that I hope the Reader will not be sorry to have it at large tho' it be something long and the rather because it is in answer to a Certain Manichee who about twelve Hundred Years since reproach'd St. Austin with what the Doctor and his Party charge the Roman Catholics at present The Christian People says this Father do celebrate the Memory of
nothing so frequent in the Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers as the Recommendation of it In a Word there is not one Doctrine or Practice of the Catholic Religion deliver'd with so full and unquestionable a Tradition no not the Mystery of the Trinity no nor the Incarnation nor the Necessity of Baptism nor even the Truth of the Scriptures So that a Man may lib. de Cor. Militis lib. de Monog de vita Const lib. 4. c. 71. In Enchir cap. 110. lib. 9. Confes cap. 13. as well make an Apology for being a Christian as for this Tertulian tells us that in his Days they made yearly Oblations for the Dead and pray'd for their Souls Eusebius that all the Congregation pray'd for the Soul of the Emperor Constantin the Great St. Austin that it is not to be denied that the Souls of the Dead are eas'd by the Pitty of their living Friends when the Sacrifice of the Mediator is offer'd for them That his Mother Monica her last Injunctions to him was to remember her at the Altar That the Tradition of the Fathers is observ'd by the whole Church Serm. 32. de Verb. Apost viz. That they shou'd pray for those who dy'd in the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ in that place of the Sacrifice where the Dead are recommended In short I shou'd never end shou'd I relate all the Sayings of Fath rs and Councils and Eccl siastical Writâ—rs upon this Subject so that I may confidently affirm there is not one Point in the Christian Religion more unanimously believ'd or more religiously practic'd over all the Catholic Church in all Ages than this of praying for the Dead and offering the Sâ—crifice of the Mass for their Souls And this is so well known that â—o Sober and Learned Protestant ever yet denied the immemorial Antiquity of it at least that ever I met with But being sensible how necessarily and inevitably the Belief of Purgatory or a Third Place where Souls are detain'd for a Time is consequent upon this Practice they have recourse to certain suâ—terfuges and Evasions They tell us that Prayers were made from the second Age for the Apostles and Martyrs and Confessors Exposit of the Doctrine of the Church of England pag. 31. and even for the Blessed Virgin Mary all which they thought in Happiness and never touch'd at Purgatory that therefore it does not follow there is a Purgatory because they prayed for the Dead To which I answer that these Gentlemen wou'd very much oblige us if they wou'd be so good as to instance in some of those Prayers which they say were put up for the Apostles and Martyrs and the Virgin Mary which I never yet met with in any of their Writings And this very thing gives me a shrewd Suspicion that they are not able to produce any Examples of that kind at least to the purpose considering how liberal and even prodigal they are of Quotations of Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers when they seem to make for them This I am certain of that the primitive Church did only believe their Prayers available for those whom they thought not to have so well lived as that they shou'd not need their Charitable Assistance 'T is what St. Austin says De Civit. Dei lib. 21. cap. 24. Pro defunctis quibusdam Ecclesiae exanditur oratio quorum in Christo regeneratorum nec usque adeo vita in corpore malè gesta est ut tali Misericordia judicentur digni non esse nec usque adeo berè ut talem Misericordiam reperiantur necessariam non habere The Prayers of the Church are heard for such as are regenerated in Christ whose Lives have not been altogether so bad as not to be thought worthy of such a Mercy nor altogether so good as not to need such a Mercy And the same Father tells us that it were to injure the Martyrs to pray for them to whose Prayers we ought rather to have our selves commended But do not the Ancient Liturgies make mention of Prayers and Thanksgivings put up to God for or in Honor of the Apostles and Martyrs and the Virgin Mary And does not the Roman Missal we now use do the same Yes most certainly for we pray to God and thank Him for and in Honour of the Apostles and Martyrs and the Virgin Mary and so did all Antiquity But then these Prayers are not intended for the Delivery of their Souls from any Pains but to thank Almighty God for crowning the Martyrs and Saints and to praise his Holy Name for bringing them to that happy State they how are in as the Prayers and Oblations of the Prâ—â—ative Church and those we new make for the Souls of such as die in the Communion of the Church of whose perfect Innocence and Holiness we are not assur'd are intended to beg of God that he wou'd be merciful to them and forgive them those sins for which they did not fully satisfie in this Life And this St. Austin tells us was the Design and End of all the Prayers put up for the Dead whether Apostles or Martyrs or other Christian Souls These are his Words The Oblations and Alms usually offer'd in the Church for all the Dead De Enchiridio ad Lau. cap. 100. who receiv'd Baptism were Thanksgivings for such as were very Good Propitiations for such as were not very Bad but for such as were very wicked tho' they gave no Relief to the Dead yet were they some Consolation to the Living And is not this the very Doctrine we hold this Day Do not we offer the Sacrifice of Christ's Body as this Father calls it on the Feasts of the Apostles and Martyrs c. in Thanksgiving to God for the blessed Estate of the Saints in Heaven And do not we pray and give Alms and offer the same Sacrifice for the Propitiation of those whom we charitably believe to have died in the Peace and Communion of the Church Does our praying to God for the Apostles and Martyrs and the Virgin Mary as aforesaid hinder us to believe that there is a Place wherein other Souls are detain'd till they have satisfied the Divine Justice No sure And why must the like Prayers hinder the Primitive Church to believe the same Nay rather does it not necessarily follow that the Primitive Church as well as We did believe there was such a place because they put up Prayers to God for Pardon and Forgiveness of Sins for such as they reasonably believ'd to have died in the Communion of the Body of Christ as the Fathers speak but not so perfect as that they shou'd not need their Prayers since it were both vain and superfluous to have pray'd for them upon this Score had they believ'd they were immediately receiv'd into Heaven or thrust into Hell This I am confident no Man of Sense can reasonably deny So that it is a most shameful Evasion to conclude that the Primitive Church did not believe
are so far from countenancing or abbetting them that it is our earnest wishes and the desire of our Hearts that all such shou'd be intirely abolish'd and taken away We cover no more than that all Christians in Time of Jubileâ—s and Plenary Indulgences shou'd think on their way in the bitterness of their Sâ—als shou'd repent and be sorry for their Sins shou'd have a strong hope and confidence in the Mercy of Almighty God giâ—â— Alâ—â—â— to the Poor and by their 〈◊〉 and servent Prayers dispose themselves 〈◊〉 God is Grace to receive the Indulâ—â—â—â— of Permission of those Canonical Penances which neither the Condition of the Persons nor the Wickedness of the Times nor yet the great Decay of Piety will permit us to require they shou'd fully perform And this we do because we find the same thing practic'd in the best and purest Times of Christianity even in the First Second Third and Fourth Ages especially being warranted by the Word of God who gave to his Church the Power of remitting and retaining Sins And now having found nothing in Dr. Tillotson's Sermons upon this Subject that requires any particular Consideration besides what is here explain'd I shall conclude this Treatise with my Hearty Prayers to the Father of Light that He wou'd be mercifully pleas'd to open the Eyes of our Adversaries that they may see the Innocence and Reasonableness of our Doctrine and give them the Grace to lay seriously to Heart how dangerous it is to reject those Things which the Catholic Church declares to have been deliver'd by Christ and His Apostles Our and Their Creed says I believe the Holy Catholic Church And they own that the Catholic Church before the Reformation did hold and Declare those Things wherein we differ from them to be Truths deliver'd by Christ and His Apostles How then can they believe the Catholic Church when She declares these Things if they do not hold and believe these Things themselves Or how can they in Reason reject them if they believe the Catholic Church which tells them they are Divine Truths But there is yet something more desperate which I beg of Almighty God to give them the Grace to consider Our Saviour saith to His Apostles Go and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you Mat. c. 28.19 20. And St. Mark adds He that believeth and is Baptiz'd shall be Sav'd but he that believeth not shall be Damn'd Cap. 16.16 Now if those Things which make the Subject of our Dispute be Truths given in charge to the Apostles then our Adversaries are to my great grief I must say it lost for ever For it is not enough according to Christ's own Words to Believe in the Trinity to Believe the Incarnation to believe in the Holy-Ghost to believe Baptism the Eucharist c. But we must believe all Things whatsoever Christ commanded and that on pain of Damnation But if it shou'd happen as no doubt it cannot that the Points in Dispute were not commanded by Christ or His Apostles where is the harm in believing them since we are commanded to do so by the Church which our Creed tells us we must believe Christ our Saviour doth often reproach the Jews for their Incredulity and the Scripture in several places gives us an Account of the Punishment of such as wou'd not believe the Messengers sent by God to declare His Will to them But we do not find that ever He reproach'd any Body for having too much Faith especially when the Things to be believ'd were declar'd to them by the Messengers of God which sure the Bishops and Priests of the Church are On the contrary we read in the Scripture that Christ has upon several Occasions highly commended and extoll'd Men's readiness to believe O Woman Great is thy Faith Mat. 14.28 Where lyes then the Harm of believing Transubstantiation or the Real Presence which are so plainly deliver'd in Scripture Where is the Harm of allowing due Honor and Respect to be given to Saints and of desiring them to pray for us since it is what we do and are commanded to do to one another in this Life If they hear our Prayers and Intercede for us well and good But if they do not what do we loose by it Where is the Harm in praying for our deceas'd Friends Sure we do but declare our pious Affections to them tho' our Prayers had done them no good And where is the Harm in all this How can it hurt any Body to believe that the Church hath Power to give Indulgences that is to Remit all or part of the Temporal Punishment due for Sins since it is plainly exprest in Scripture that Christ gave to His Apostles and the Apostles to their Successors the Power of Remitting and Retaining Sins and that whatsoever they Loose on Earth shall be Loosed in Heaven How can this hurt any Body I say or where lies the Hazard in believing those Things tho' we had not as much assurance of their being Divine Truths as of other Things since they are not contrary to any other Article of our Faith nor to Right Reason or Good Manners But there is Infinit Hazard in not believing them since they have been declar'd by the Church which our Creed and the Scripture command as to believe and hear on pain of being reputed Heathens and Publicans Now that they are Divine Truths besides what is already offer'd to prove each Point in particular We have all the Eastern Churches on our side All the Greek Church together with the Nestorians Euâ—ychians Monothelites the Christians of St. Thomas in a Word all the Oriental Sects of what Denomination soever do Practice and Believe Transubstantiation the Real Presence the Sacrifice of the Mass Seven Sacraments the Use of the Liturgy in a Tongue which the Common People do not understand Invocation of Saints Veneration of Relicks and Images and Prayers for the Dead See the Critical History of the Learn-Father Simon Of the Religion and Customs of the Eastern Churches 'T is done into English printed in London and very much esteem'd by the Learn'd Seeing then that the Latin Church which together with the Greek and other Eastern Churches make up the whole Body of the Christian World and that all these Churches did hold and profess the said Doctrine when the Reformation began and do still hold and believe the same I think I may confidently affirm that it is Catholic and Orthodox I shall therefore once more beg of Almighty God thro' the Merits of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and by that Blood which was shed for our Redemption that he wou'd please in His Mercy to Soften the Hearts of our Adversaries and give them Grace to entertain Thoughts of Peace of His Holy Church from which they have so long gone astray To the end that They and We may with one Heart and one Tongue praise and magnifie His Holy Name all the Days of our Lives and when it shall please His Infinite Goodness to call us to Himself that we may meet together at the Resurrection of the Just thro' the Merits of the Death and Passion of our only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be Honor and Glory now and for ever Amen FINIS