Chysostom and by the Mozarabical Office us'd in Spain that whereas we now Pray To the Christians then Pray'd For the Souls of the Patriarchs Prophets Martyrs Confessors Preachers Evangelists and Apostles and all the Souls of the Just which died in the Faith but chiefly for the Holy Glorious and Perpetual Virgin Mary the Mother of GOD. Now I desire to know of you Whether any Protestant Writer has done this or whether it is true or false But if these things are true and can be made appear as I am pretty sure they can then I desire to know Whether the Protestants cannot with great Truth and Justice make these Conclusions upon us 1. That our Church and People now prays and makes their Confession To those very departed Souls For which the ancient Christians pray'd 2. That the Prayers which were then in use were for such Persons as by the confession even of our selves never were in Purgatory for who among us dare say that the Soul of the B. Virgin ever was in Purgatory 3. That the Ancients Practice of praying for the Dead does not at all prove their belief of a Purgatory and that there may be Prayers for the Dead and yet no Purgatory 4. That the Christians of those Times did not believe the Saints departed enjoy'd Beatifical Vision and so to be sure did not pray to them For is it not a little too gross to think of them that if they had believ'd the Saints enjoy'd Beatifical Vision they would still pray for them And if they had believ'd that the Saints did not enjoy Beatifical Vision is it not to treat them like Mad-folks to think they would pray to them And 5. and lastly May not all this be allow'd to make up a Demonstration that at least in these Articles of Invocation of Saints and the belief of Purgatory c. our Faith Doctrines and Practice are quite contrary to the First Christians SECT IV. Quere I. PRay Reverend Fathers What is that lawful Use of and due Honour and Veneration which the Council of Trent Session 25 says Ought and is to be given to the Images and Relicks of Christ and the Saints Wherein does it consist And by what acts words and signs is it to be signify'd and express'd Is it the same that is due to Christ and the Saints or is it some other different from that Whether these words of the Council Lawful and Due does not necessarily imply that the People may be guilty of giving an unlawful and an undue Honour and Veneration and if so Wherein does that consist And how may I know it to avoid it Why was not the Council so kind and so honest to tell us poor ignorant People what was lawful and due and what was not Whether in your Conscience you do not think that in those Countries where Catholicks have their full swing and have a full liberty of Worship and no body to oppose and disturb them with questions as in Spain Italy c. a great many ignorant People do not exceed in their Vse Honour and Veneration of Images and Relicks and really give them what is unlawful and undue And if so may not a Man reasonably doubt especially too when he considers that the Fathers of this Council own'd that great Abuses were then crept into these Matters and gave such strict Charge to the Bishops to Instruct the People least they should fall into dangerous Errors that this Doctrine and this Piece of Devotion of our Church does very greatly tempt ignorant Men and Women to Idolatry and Superstition Besides I think Reverend Fathers you grant that it is not a Duty commanded by GOD Why then since there is apparent danger in it for and great Abuses and Cheats practis'd by those of our Communion and that it is a very great Block of Offence to the Reformed Churches and hindrance to their being re-united to us were it not infinitely better and wiser of our Church if she entirely abolish'd it Quere II. Whether more Respect c. is not due to the Person of the meanest Beggar than to all the Images c. of Christ and his Apostles or ten thousand Saints because 't is thought that the Poor are indeed the true Image of Jesus Christ Quere III. Whether it can be deny'd that there have been Images and Pictures made to counterfeit Tears Words and Gestures Is it not highly suspitious that the Churches connivance at them at least was to induce filly People to believe there was something of Divine in them and to procure secular Honour and Advantage to the Pastors c. If this was not the reason I desire to know Why so long they were conniv'd at and suffer'd in many Places and Countries And whether the multitude of fictitious and false Relicks the suppositious Saints the Images of a false stamp and the pretended New Miracles make it not highly reasonable for us Catholicks carefully to enquire into the truth of these things before we admit and believe them And since the Council of Trent in the same Session speaks of these kind of Abuses and gives charge about them I desire of you Reverend Fathers to know by what Infallible Rule we People must examine these matters so as that we cannot possibly be deceiv'd with Counterfeits And I humbly intreat you sincerely to tell me Whether these Tricks Abuses and Cheats were not at first brought in and practised upon the Credulity of the poor ignorant and superstitious People and afterwards kept and nourisht by the Clergy for dishonest and base gain as the aforesaid Decree speaks And whether in these days we have not as much reason to question the truth of Relicks Images Miracles c. and dishonest Practises and Designs as they had in former times And if we have not I desire you to assign me good substantial Reasons for it Quere IV. I am told Reverend Fathers that since the Council of Trent there 's a new Pontifical and in that a Form for a Solemn Consecration of Images c. Now I humbly enquire for the true reason Why you Consecrate and make Prayers in the Consecration of Images and the Crucifix Is not this a very fair way to induce silly and superstitious People to believe there 's after that some sort of Divinity in them or some more than ordinary Presence or Operation in or by them Else pray tell me Why many of us have a greater opinion of one Image than of another of the same Person and in one Place rather than in another For instance the Image of the Virgin Mary Why is it not as effectual and meritorious to Worship her before her Image at Montserat as at Mont-Aigu and near at Home as at Lorretto Why do we go long and painful Pilgrimages to certain Images at certain Places if it is not at least in hopes of being better heard and finding more sure relief for praying to and worshipping of her there Would not a wise Man be apt to think
Abuses could creep into our Church and much less that any of her Pastors and Teachers would betray their poor ignorant Sheep into those dangers But now God be prais'd I am otherwise convinc'd and that chiefly by reading and considering those very Decrees of Trent together with the Catechism of the Council of Trent now lately also publish'd in English For in many places of those Decrees the Council shews a great fear and so far certainly 'tis highly to be commended least the People should run into Superstition and Idolatry Now I consider that if there was no danger from the Nature or from the Use and Practice of our Worship and Service such a concern as the Council shew'd had been much below the Wisdom of so great an Assembly So that a thinking Man cannot forbear concluding that there was very great danger of the Peoples committing Idolatry and Superstition at least from the very use and performing of the then Worship and Service However I would fain hope that tho' there are some things in this Council that look too like Superstition and Idolatry yet because we magnifie it for so Wise and Holy that it has in Truth Defin'd and Decreed nothing that so much as ministers or tempts to those grievous Sins For since it was in the Council's Power not only to have actually redress'd all Abuses and Corruptions but also to have prevented all future danger of that kind and yet if it can be made appear that it has done neither but rather has still more expos'd Mankind to these Sins I cannot for my life see how it can be acquitted of Hypocrisie and Deceit towards the poor ignorant People which make up I doubt the far greatest part of our Church And that provided the Council might advance the Riches and Grandure of the Church and Clergy it car'd not what became of Mens Souls whom the wise and good GOD thought worth redeeming by the precious Blood of his dear Son. Suffer me Reverend Fathers to give you an instance or two of this Council's seeming Care to keep Men from Superstition and Idolatry and which also first let in some light to my dark and ignorant mind In the 22 Session and the Decree concerning the Celebration of the Mass the Bishops are order'd to take care to prohibit and remove those things which Superstition the false Imitatress of true Piety or Covetousness hath introduced and speak against the Servitude I suppose that is the Worship of Idols And also it is there commanded that a certain number of certain Masses and Candles which was rather invented by a Superstitious Worship than by true Religion should be taken away And again in the 25 Session and the Decree concerning Purgatory the Bishops are commanded not to suffer any thing but to prohibit every thing which tends to Superstition And in her Decree concerning the Invocation of Saints c. she earnestly desires that all Superstition in the Invocation of Saints Worshipping of Relicks and in the Holy Use of Images may be taken away And last of all in the Continuation of her 25 Session she speaks against Superstition and Ignorance Now Reverend Fathers finding this wonderful General Council to speak so plainly against these Crimes of Superstition and Idolatry and also against Ignorance and observing it so much concern'd for the People and to give such great caution and charge to the Bishops about them and our Adversaries continually taxing us with these Sins you cannot surely blame me or be the least offended that I take the best way I can devise not only to preserve my self from them but also others in our Church who I doubt may as much want information and help in these matters And this indeed is one reason why I chuse rather to enquire of you in this publick manner than in a private way for I consider that that Love is not Christian which is confin'd to one's self its Nature being communicative And since Charily to our Neighbour is an indispensible Duty How can it be better exercis'd than about the Soul Pardon Reverend Fathers this necessary Account of that which gave birth to my Letter And because it will consist of things different in their nature permit me for the more clear and orderly proceeding and greater satisfaction to divide it into several Sections as well as Queries And take it not ill that I propose to ye the Difficulties I labour under with that freedom and openness which only becomes a pure lover and searcher of Truth and one that considers nothing but GOD and his own Soul concern'd in the Enquiry And I humbly beg you to give a direct full and clear Answer to every Enquiry in each Section or a good reason why you cannot or will not SECTION I. Quere I. WHat might be the reason Reverend Fathers why the Council of Trent did not define and describe Idolatry and Superstition especially when it so often mentions these Crimes and cautions People against them does not this proceeding make a thinking Man apt to believe that they were conscious that the then Practice and Worship and Doctrines were faulty in that kind and so were afraid of having them discover'd by such an honest dealing but yet were willing to appear to condemn them in general terms for even at that time was it not too gross to have declar'd for down-right Idolatry or Superstition Quere II. What might those things be which the Council in the 22 Session orders Bishops to take care to prohibit and remove and which it observ'd were introduc'd by Superstition and Covetousness But had it not lookt more honest and more becoming Christian Bishops to have told what these things were Quere III. What was that Servitude or Worship of Idols it speaks against in the same Session in the Decree concerning the Things to be observ'd and eschew'd in the Celebration of the Mass Did the Priest or the People Worship Idols when Mass was said Pray Reverend Fathers declare the truth to me in this matter my mind is much perplex'd about it For I find our present Disputers stifly maintain that our Doctrine and Worship is now the very same that it was at the time of the Council of Trent and at that time the same it was from the beginning I profess I tremble as often as I go to Mass and shall do so till I am better satisfied herein Quere IV. What was that certain Number of Masses and Candles which in the same Decree the Council says was rather invented by a Superstitious Worship than by true Religion Are they according to the Council's Command taken away And when and where were they so taken away Quere V. What does the Council mean in her Decree concerning Purgatory by commanding the Bishops not to suffer any thing but to prohibit every thing which tends to Superstition Pray Reverend Fathers what was it which at that time did tend to Superstition in the Peoples Practice and Worship in Praying for the Dead or the
you say as I hope for the Honour of GOD and the Love of Truth you will that all kinds parts and degrees of Religious Worship are due only to GOD and that Prayer or Religious Invocation is a part of that Worship then Reverend Fathers I enquire of you Whether 't is not too plain that we Catholicks in our Religious Invocation of and Praying to the Saints and Angels are highly guilty of Idolatry since the most excellent Saint or Angel or even the B. Virgin herself is but a Creature and we give part of that Honour to it which is due to GOD who created that Angel or Saint And do not we likewise in Inovocating and Praying to the Saints and Angels attribute to them at least Omniscience or Omnipresence or else what superlative Nonsence is it to pray to them at all What shall we answer to GOD for thus robbing him of those Perfections peculiar to his infinite Essence And what will it avail us at the Great Day to say Lord we gave but an inferior degree of Religious Worship to some of thy Creatures which we believ'd more excellent than others and thy dear Friends when at the same time the Angry and Jealous GOD shall tell us That he had plainly reveal'd to us that every part and degree of Religious Worship was due only to him and that Prayer was a principal part of that Worship that was peculiar to him I say Reverend Fathers what will become of us when we shall be charg'd with giving part of that Honour and Worship tho' never so inferiour and for GOD's sake too to the Creatures which was only due to GOD the Creator This is a matter of vast consequence and therefore I humbly and earnestly beg you to give me a full Answer for my Mind and Conscience is extreamly perplex'd about it I have a great respect for the Authority of our Church but I must needs tell you Reverend Fathers that I begin to have a far greater regard to the Authority of GOD. Quere IX But Reverend Fathers I must trouble you with more Enquiries into this Affair for I look upon 't to be of far greater concern than the generality of our People do To deal freely with you till I am much better satisfied about the lawfulness of it I shall forbear offering up any Prayers either Vocal or Mental to the greatest and most glorious Saint or Angel in Heaven or even to the B. Virgin herself for doubtless as slight as we make of the matter yet a right Object of Worship is of infinite concern and I am now fully convinc'd not only that this Article of Invocation c. is one of the most essential in Religion but also that no less then our Eternal Salvation or Damnation depends on 't and therefore let no man think strange that I should cease Invocating Saints till I meet with ample satisfaction to my Doubts and Scruples For I have learnt of St. Paul That all that is not of faith is sin And of another Spiritual Guide That when a man's mind is in doubt the safer part is to be chosen and in Religious Doubts that which is most for the Honour of GOD which at present I am perswaded praying to and depending upon him alone is But I enquire Reverend Fathers Whether any Creature tho' never so excellent whether it be Angel or Saint or even the B. Virgin herself has any natural and inherent Right to any kind or degree of Religious Worship If it has I desire you to make it out if it has not then I enquire Whether to justifie a Practice of such vast moment we are not bound to shew an express positive Law of GOD And if there be such an express Divine Command I beseech you Reverend Fathers for mine and the quiet of other mens Consciences in this weighty matter to produce it But if you can neither shew that the most excellent Creature imaginable has a natural Right nor an express Command from GOD for any kind or part of Religious Worship then I further ask How can our Church in commanding and we in giving Religious Worship to Saints and Angels be acquitted from gross Idolatry And how can the Protestants be guilty of the least Sin for refusing and not doing an Action for which there is neither a Law of GOD or Nature But I further enquire Reverend Fathers and supposing the Protestants are mistaken and are over nice and curious in refusing to give any Divine Worship to Angels and excellent Saints c. Whether they are not in a much more innocent and pardonable condition than we of the Church of Rome since they do not give that Religious Worship to the Angels and Saints which innocently they might have done but were not bound to it by any Law of GOD and refus'd to do it not out of any contempt or disrespect to those excellent Spirits but purely through a mighty reverence to GOD and fear of giving his incommunicable Glory to a Creature But Reverend Fathers I have a mighty dread upon me that at the Great Day we shall have nothing to plead for our selves in case we be mistaken in giving any degree of Religious Worship tho' never so small to Creatures which is all due only to the Supreme GOD For tell me sincerely what can we offer in our excuse No positive Law of GOD for that I doubt forbids all Creature-Worship nor the Principles of Natural Reason for a very small measure of Natural Light tells us we cannot and we ought not Religiously to Worship any other Being than that which guides us and preserves our Being Quere X. Though I have already Reverend Fathers in this Section made some Enquiries concerning the Nature of that Worship which is due to GOD only and that which is due to his Excellent Creatures yet I cannot forbear enquiring further upon my meeting since with what the Catechism of the Council of Trent says in p. 344 concerning the Worship and Invocation of Saints viz. That whereas we read that the Angels refus'd to be worshipp'd by Men it must be understood that they did so because they would not have that Honour done to them which was due to GOD alone For the Holy Spirit who says Honour and Glory be to GOD Only the same has commanded to honour our Parents and Elders Besides Holy Men who Worshipped one GOD only did adore Kings also i. e. did humbly reverence them Now here Reverend Fathers give me leave humbly to enquire of you Whether that Honour which is due to GOD alone and this Honour which we are commanded to give to our Parents and Elders and to Kings is of the same kind and nature and differ only in Degrees If it differs only in degrees how many degrees are due to GOD alone and how many to his excellent Creatures such as Angels and Saints and where is this determin'd in Scripture for that I must tell you I take to be the only external Revelation of the
Saints they only say We fly to the Assistance of the Saints that are in Heaven to whom also that Prayers are to be made has been held so certain in the Church of GOD that to pious Men there can arise no doubt Now Reverend Fathers I humbly enquire of you that if either in this place or in the 344 p. where they also treated of this matter they could have produced any direct proofs either from Scripture or the Light of Nature is it imaginable that they would have omitted them here and have contented themselves with only saying That Prayers to Saints has been held so certain in the Church of GOD that to pious Men there can be no doubt And whether this ample proof of theirs for Prayer to GOD and their no proof for Prayer to Saints is not a loud confession of our Church that we cannot prove Invocation of Saints lawful especially too when a Man considers that the very best proof and argument the great Council of Trent was able to produce was only this That it is good and profitable but not a word that it is either commanded by GOD or dictated to us by the Light of Nature Will not any man that believes it to be of vast moment to have a right Object of Worship consider these things Quere XIV When our B. Lord set us a pattern how to Pray he directs us only to say Our Father c. and to present our Petitions to GOD alone Now if Christ would have had us pray to Saints and Angels also I humbly enquire of you Reverend Fathers Whether so mean a thought can enter into any sober Man's Head as to think that our B. Saviour would have conceal'd or omitted That or any thing else in so important a matter as Prayer which either had been our Duty or had been but good and profitable to us in our way to Heaven And whether our Lord 's not having done this i. e. not advis'd us to pray to Saints and Angels as well as to GOD is not a good negative Argument against our Practice Quere XV. Farther I enquire of you Reverend Fathers Whether GOD intended by the coming of Christ to root Idolatry out of the World If he did as I hope you 'll say he did Whether 't is possible for a rational Man to think that as one effectual means to that end our Saviour ever design'd to set up the Religious Worship of Saints and Angels and praying before Images and Pictures Can I say a rational man be of so extravagant Faith as to believe that the Blessed Jesus who came to destroy all Creature-Worship then so much practis'd in the Heathen World intended to set up a new kind of Creature and Image-Worship only rectifying Mens Notions and Opinions about it and changing their Country Gods into Heavenly Saints and Angels and the B. Virgin and giving new Names to their Statues and Images If a man I say can once bring himself to believe that our Saviour intended by this means to cure mens inclinations towards Idolatry I desire to know of you Reverend Fathers what can come amiss to such a Man's Faith Quere XVI Again Reverend Fathers I read in the 344. p. of our Trent Catechism that the Holy Spirit says Honour and Glory be to GOD only But pray then How comes it to pass that many of our Authors of Devotion and particularly a late one that has set forth the Contemplations on the Life and Glory of Holy Mary c. say Glory be to Jesus and Mary Methinks Reverend Fathers this joyning the Blessed Virgin with the Holy Jesus and Saviour of the World and giving her equal Praise Honour and Glory with GOD at best looks a little disobedient to the Holy Spirit and is very undecent But if Glory c. be due to GOD only as you own the Holy Spirit itself says What bold blasphemous Wretches are we then to give it to a Creature And this Author I observe makes no difference between Jesus and Mary in his giving Honour and Glory must not any one conclude then that the same Honour and Glory is given to Mary as to Jesus The horrour of which makes me tremble Quere XVII But further I enquire of you Reverend Fathers Whether Religious Praise as well as Prayer is not an essential part of the Worship of GOD And whether by it we poor Creatures do not pay that Homage which is proper and due to the Divine Majesty only And whether this Hymn of Glory be c. has not from the very first Ages always been us'd as a peculiar Form of giving Praise Honour and Glory to GOD and the Holy Trinity And if so Whether by our saying Glory be to Jesus and Mary we do not equally Worship Her with Jesus Give equal Glory and Honour and Praise to a Creature as to GOD the Almighty Creator and one of the Persons of the B. Trinity And whether this is not both downright Sacriledge and Idolatry Quere XVIII But Reverend Fathers upon a Friend of mine with whom I often confer about these matters and who is as much dissatisfied as myself I say upon his Englishing to me this Versicle in the Office for the Festival of St. Mar. ad Nives viz. Make me worthy to praise thee O Holy Virgin and also out of the same Office this Prayer or Lesson which is said upon the Second Day of the Octave of the Nativity of the B. Virgin viz. O B. Mary who can sufficiently give thee Praise and Thanks who by thy singular assent didst succour the World when it was undone What Praises sufficient can frail Mankind pay unto thee who has found a way of recovery only by thy commerce with GOD We therefore pray thee receive our Thanksgivings how mean soever they be and unequal to thy Merits I say I yet farther enquire of you Whether Religious Praise has not always been counted the Sacrifice of a Christian And if Sacrifice which the Bishop of Meaux acknowledges to be a * Exposition Sect. 3. p. 4. principal part of that interiour Adoration which is due to GOD and cannot be offer'd to any but to him because by it we make a publick Acknowledgment and a solemn Protestation of GOD's Soveraignty and our absolute dependance How can we without being guilty of Blasphemy and Idolatry by this Prayer and that Hymn before mention'd viz. Glory be to c. which by all other Christians at least except us was ever us'd as a peculiar and appropriated Form of Praising GOD and the Holy Trinity offer up this Sacrifice of Praise c. to the Virgin Mary who is confessedly but a Creature But besides Reverend Fathers Pray How comes it to pass that in this Prayer we attribute to the Virgin Mary the finding out the Recovery of lost Mankind I profess I always thought that we Christians at least made the Holy Trinity the sole Contriver of the Redemption and Salvation of Mankind Is not so mighty a Work a
that believes he has a Soul to be saved she has not a vast advantage of our Church since 't is so manifest that even the Fathers of the Council of Trent were sensible and confest that there were then Superstitious and Idolatrous Practices in our Church and that the Members of it might very easily and without extraordinary care of the Bishops and Pastors fall into Superstition and Idolatry Quere XII Pray Reverend Fathers What Original Treatise Book of Directions or Sermon is there set out by our Church to preserve our People from Idolatry and Superstition Some such thing seems to me to be extream necessary after what the Fathers of the Council of Trent have said of the danger of the Peoples falling into these Sins by their use of our Service and Worship Unless you can give some good reason why the People of our Communion in this Age are wiser then in the Age of the Council of Trent Quere XIII But to conclude this Section I humbly enquire of you Reverend Fathers What is the true Definition of Idolatry and Superstition Pray give me such an one of each distinctly and severally as you 'll abide by and answer to our Learned Adversaries and be content that all our Doctrines and Worship and Practice shall be try'd by Also such an one as is exactly agreeable to the Holy Scriptures and Definitions of the Fathers and Doctors of the Ancient Church For I consider that the nature of Idolatry and Superstition is the same now as it was then Be pleas'd likewise to let your Definition be so full clear and certain as may infallibly which sure I may request from the Priests of an Infallible Church guide and direct me in my Thoughts Worship and Adoration of the Holy Sacrament or Host and of the Angels and Saints and of the Cross and Relicks that so I may be safe from all danger of committing or falling into these grievous Sins or any degree of them For I infinitely desire to have a right Notion of GOD and his Worship and would not offend and affront him while I think I am pleasing and doing him honour SECT II. Quere I. THE Catechism of the Council of Trent now lately Publish'd in English p. 344 says That there is an Honour which is due to GOD alone and is not to be given to an Angel and p. 464 there is a great Charge given That what is proper to GOD be not given to any besides him Now to me it seems not a little strange that in so weighty a matter and wherein both GOD and Mankind is so much concern'd that neither the Council of Trent nor this Catechism when they had so fair occasions should not I say freely and plainly tell what that Honour and Worship is which is proper and due to GOD alone and wherein it consists and by what it is signified and express'd This omission is apt to create no very honourable thoughts either of the Catechism or Council but since neither the Fathers of the Council nor the Composers of the Catechism thought convenient to do so just and honest a piece of Service to the Christian World suffer me here Reverend Fathers humbly to enquire of you What is that Honour and Worship which is proper and due to God only Wherein does it consist And by what Words and Acts is it signified and express'd Quere II. How and in what does that Religious Worship which by our Church we are commanded and which we do give to the Angels and Saints and particularly to the B. Virgin differ from that Worship which is proper to GOD alone Quere III. How and in what does that Honour Worship or Veneration which we give to Angels and Saints and particularly to the B. Virgin differ from that Honour Respect or Reverence we pay to Kings and Princes and good Men upon Earth By what Words Acts or Signs do you distinguish this from that Quere IV. Whether the ground and reason of our Worship of GOD he not his Divine his Infinite and Incommunicable Attributes and Perfections such as his Omnipotence his Omniscience and Omnipresence c. Quere V. Whether Prayer or Religious Invocation has not been always lookt on as and is not an essential part of that Worship which is due to GOD alone Insomuch that Prayer is usually put for the whole and the publick Place of GOD's Worship from hence is by GOD himself in Scripture call'd The House of Prayer Quere VI. If Religious Worship is due only to GOD and that upon the account 〈◊〉 his Infinite and Incommunicable Perfections are not all Kinds and Degrees also of Religious Worship for the same reason peculiar and due to GOD alone unless there be some other Being besides GOD who has those Infinite Attributes and Perfections But if all Kinds and Degrees of Religious Worship be not due to GOD alone I consider that our Saviour's Answer to the Devil in the 4 Chapter and 10 Verse of St. Matthew had been very imperfect For when the Devil would have been adored by him to what purpose was that Answer of the Holy Jesus It is written the Lord thy God shalt thou adore and him only shalt thou serve unless our B. Saviour had intended by it and by using of those two words adore and serve which I am told in the Original Greek signifie and comprehend the meanest and lowest as well as the highest kind and degree of Honour and Service to include and appropriate all manner parts and degrees of Religious Worship to GOD For who can imagine but that the Devil would have been content and very glad if our Saviour would but have worshipp'd him in any kind and with the most inferiour degree of Worship Quere VII But besides Reverend Fathers I farther enquire of you that if our Blessed Saviour had not by this Answer of his to the Devil also intended to exclude all the Worship of good as well as bad Spirits whether 't is not rational to think he would have answer'd the Devil thus The Lord thy God and good Spirits shalt thou adore and them only shalt thou serve And whether our Saviour's not mentioning of good Spirits either Angels or Saints or the B. Virgin but on the contrary confining Religious Worship and Service to GOD Only is not an unanswerable Objection and Argument against our Worshipping of Saints and Angels together with GOD and so makes us guilty of Idolatry For till you oblige me with a perfect Definition of Idolatry and convince me of an Error at present I humbly conceive Idolatry does not consist meerly in forsaking the Worship of the Supreme GOD but also in Worshipping any Being or thing else together with the Supreme GOD or while we continue to Worship the Supreme GOD. But if what I have now discours'd from this Answer of our Saviour be not the true meaning I beg you then to give me the true sence of it and prove your Interpretation by Vincentius Lirinensis's Rule Quere VIII If
Will of GOD Or is the one of a quite different nature and kind from the other And if they be then pray By what Names do ye distinguish them By what Acts and Signs are they express'd and known I have yet heard but of two sorts or kinds of Worship and Honour c. either Religious and Divine or Civil Now Reverend Fathers I take Religious and Civil Honour to be as different in their natures and kinds as GOD and Men are therefore I humbly enquire of You Which of these two sorts of Honour does this Trent-Catechism say The Angels refus'd as not theirs but GOD's due only And what Honour was it that the Angels were willing to have receiv'd was it Religious or Civil And whatever Honour it was can you prove from Scripture that the same kind and degree of Honour is due to the Saints also And is the same Honour both kinds and degrees which is due to Angels and Saints also due to our Parents and Elders and to Kings This Catechism in my opinion seems to say so But to deal freely the darkness and confusion I observe in this Book about so important a matter does not look well I appeal to you Reverend Fathers Whether it had not really been more fair and honest intelligible and instructive when the Authors of this Catechism were treating of honouring GOD the Angels c. plainly to have told us what kind and degree of Honour was proper and due to GOD what to the Angels and Saints and what to our Parents Elders and Kings and by what Words and Acts such Honour is to be express'd But since they have not I humbly beg it of you and till I receive your Information I shall conclude that we are only to pay such an Honour to Angels and Saints as we do to our Parents c. which I think we call Civil and not Religious Honour which I think consists in Love Respect c. But was it ever heard that any body here in England for example and in their Senses ever put up formal and solemn Prayer either Vocal or Mental in the Church or in their Closets to their Parents c. which might be in China or Virginia or but in France I shall therefore henceforward pay a great degree of Love and Respect for the B. Angels and Saints but I shall forbear Religiously to Invoke or Pray to them 1. Because they are but my Fellow-Creatures And 2. Because 't is much more absurd and unreasonable to call upon them then to call upon my Parents in a far Country because their distance from me is suppos'd to be incomparably greater and that I have no more assurance that they hear me than I have that my Parents hear me and so my Prayers are equally vain and impertinent Quere XI But Reverend Fathers Does not that place of the Prophet David Psal 65. ver 2. O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come and that other Text in the 10 Chapter of Rom. v. 14. How then shall they invocate in whom they have not believ'd very plainly prove these things 1. That none but GOD can hear our Prayers And 2. For that very reason all Mankind is directed to offer up their Prayers to him alone 3. That we cannot nor ought not to invocate or pray to any Being but what we Believe in And do we use to say that we Believe in any but in GOD In the Creed we say I believe in GOD c. But who says that knows what he says I Believe in the Arch Angel St. Michael or I Believe in St. Peter or I Believe in the Virgin Mary If then we do not Believe in i. e. put our hope trust and confidence in the Virgin Mary or any other Saints which are but Creatures as we do Believe in GOD the Creator why should we invocate and pray unto them What Sacriledge as well as Folly is this But Reverend Fathers if this be not the true meaning of these two Texts I humbly enquire of you what is the Infallible Sence of them and how I may be infallibly certain that what you say is the Sence is indeed so Quere XII But Reverend Fathers I am not ignorant that some of our Church argue that we ought to pray to Saints and Angels because they pray for us Now not to dispute with you about this consequence let me only humbly ask you Whether the Jews under the Law either in their publick or private Worship pray'd to the Angels Surely the Angels were in Heaven before as well as since the coming of our Saviour and pray'd for Mankind too and yet if you cannot prove that the Jews pray'd to and invocated them as we now do them and the Blessed Saints I beseech you how does it follow that because Angels and Saints pray for us men that therefore we are to pray to them But in good earnest Reverend Fathers Is not the true question in this matter not whether those Blessed Spirits pray for us but whether we are to pray to them Now we say that they are to be pray'd unto but can we prove it either from any Principles of Natural Reason or any positive Divine Law of GOD The Protestants say they are not to be pray'd unto and think they sufficiently prove what they say when they produce not only an express Law of GOD deliver'd by Moses to the Jews which forbids any other Being to be Worshipp'd but the Supreme GOD but also our Saviour's Answer to the Devil That GOD only is to be adored or worshipp'd and serv'd as also from other places of Holy Scripture that Prayer is an essential part of that Worship which is peculiar to GOD. So that Reverend Fathers if we cannot prove some of these things following have not the Protestants infinitly the better of us in this weighty matter either 1. That GOD gave no such Law to the Jews or 2. That he has Repeal'd it or 3. That our Saviour when he told the Devil that GOD only was to be Worshipp'd yet he meant that Good Spirits but not Evil were likewise to be Worshipp'd together with GOD So that I humbly ask What signifies to any rational Man that Argument of the Council of Trent viz. That it is good and profitable humbly to pray to the Saints unless we can shew plainly that GOD has commanded it Is the Authority of a Council tho' never so General sufficient to repeal an express Law of GOD which says GOD only is to be Worshipp'd Quere XIII Besides Reverend Fathers I observe that when the Authors of the Catechism of the Council of Trent p. 464. go about to prove who is to be pray'd to and that GOD is to be pray'd to they do it not only by Scripture viz. Psal 49.15 Call upon me in the day of tribulation but affirm That the very Light of Nature implanted in the Souls of Men teaches it But in the very next Section when they come to treat of Praying to
little too big for a Creature to devise SECT III. Quere I. REverend Fathers as I am excessively dissatisfy'd in my Conscience about this Invocation of the Virgin Mary and other Saints so I cannot leave off making larger Enquiries into the matter my next therefore shall be Whether we Catholicks do not exceed the Bounds and Rules which the Catechism of the Council of Trent and other Books set out or allow'd by our Church does prescribe us about Praying to Saints c. Now I humbly conceive the Truth in this matter will be best discover'd First by seeing how far Authority says we may go and Secondly how far we do actually go in this Practice The Catechism p. 464. says We do not pray to GOD and to the Saints after the same manner To God we pray either to give us the good things we want or to deliver us from evil But to the Saints we pray because they are in favour with GOD to undertake our Patronage and to beg of GOD those things we want Hence we have two ways of Praying differing in the manner for we properly say to GOD Have mercy upon us hear us but to the Saints Pray for us and it adds That we must take heed that what is proper to GOD we give not to any besides him And the Bishop of Meaux who by some of us is thought to have given the true sence of our Church in the Advertisement of his Exposition p. 11. says That we pray to them with the same mind we pray to our Brethren who are upon Earth with us that is to pray with us and for us to our Common Master in the Name of our Common Mediator who is Jesus Christ. And in his Exposition Sect. 4. he says That the Church teaches us to pray to the Saints in the same Spirit of Charity and according to the same Order of Fraternal Society which moves us to demand assistance of our Brethren living upon Earth And our Representer p. 4 5. says That as almost every sick Man desires the Congregation to be his Mediators i. e. to be remembred in their Prayers so he desires the Blessed in Heaven to be his Mediators that is that they would pray to GOD for him And is not this Reverend Fathers and the utmost that by our Church we are allow'd to do Shall we now see whether neither many of our Pastors and Guides Teach nor our People and Church itself Practice a great deal more in their Devotions to the Saints and principally to the B. Virgin And will not this be best known by our Publick Offices and other allow'd Books of Devotion I begin then with the Offices of our Church which I hope will be allow'd of as an Authentick Proof for if they may not be admitted to prove our Worship and Practice I know not how it can be done but by being present with every individual Man when he is at his Prayers and Devotion which I humbly conceive is next to impossible In the Office then of St. Mar. ad Nives in the Second Day of the Octave of her Nativity my aforesaid Friend English'd to me this Expression out of the Lesson or Prayer to the B. Virgin O admit our Prayers within the Sanctuary of thy Audience And out of the Offic. Parv. B. Mariae this Prayer of our Church to her We fly unto thy Protection and Safe-guard O Holy Mother of GOD despise not our Prayers in our Necessities but always deliver us from all dangers O Glorious and B. Virgin. Likewise out of the Office B. M. in Sabbato c. and the Hymn which begins Ave Maris Stella this Prayer Hail Star of the World c. Loose the Bonds of guilty Sinners enlighten the eyes of the Blind drive away all Sins from us make us humble and chast and free from the Bonds of our Sins give us purity of Life and grant us a safe passage into the next World. And in the aforesaid Office Parv. B. M. this Prayer Protect us from the Enemy and receive us at the hour of Death Likewise out of the Brev. Rom. he English'd to me this Lesson or Prayer to the B. Virgin Accept that we offer give that we ask and pardon that we fear because thou art the Only hope of Sinners We hope for the pardon of our Sins by thee and in thee is the most blessed expectation of our Reward And in the proper Mass of her Seven Sorrows and the Solemn Hymn which begins Stabat Mater dolorosa this other strange Prayer Make our Hearts to burn with the Love of Christ Defend us in the Day of Judgment And grant that when our Souls depart from our Bodies they may go into the Glory of Paradice By my Friend's help I could have produced several other Prayers and Expressions to the B. V. and other Saints in as high strains as these but I suppose these may suffice for my purpose Let me now Reverend Fathers see what some of our eminent and allow'd of Writers and Guides teach our People I begin with Cardinal Bonaventure and who is also a Canoniz'd Saint Out of the Office he has compos'd call'd Coroná B. V. the Grown of the B. Virgin which is found in his Sixth Tome and the Edition of Rome 1588 my Friend English'd to me this Orizon O Empress and our most kind Lady by the Authority of a Mother Command thy most beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ that he would vouchsafe to lift up our minds c. And in his 35 Psalm of his Lady's Psalter he hath these Words Incline the Countenance of GOD upon us Compel him to have Mercy upon us Sinners The next I shall produce is a Little Book which I have by me and which till of late that my Understanding is a little better inform'd I constantly us'd it is call'd The Psalter of the B. Virgin it was Compos'd first in French by a Father of your Society and after in the Year 1624 Translated into English and Printed with Allowance the Translator assures the Lady to whom he Dedicated it that it was well approv'd of by the better sort of Catholicks and was presented to one of the greatest Queens in Europe in the French Tongue In the First Petition there are these Expressions O Glorious Virgin grant me Grace that I may receive pardon for my Sins I have this only Refuge to cast myself under the Shadow of your Wings Give my Soul entrance into Paradice when it shall leave the Body And let all that is due unto me for my Sins be cancell'd by your Merits Let the greatness of your Mercy blot out the multitude of mine Offences supplying by your Merits what in Justice I dare not demand Turn not your Face away from me for I put my Trust in you I will humble my heart before you for I know that the Proud shall not be entertain'd near unto your Sacred Majesty In the Second Petition these As soon as you extend your Hand upon
the Sick they are healed and the Waves of this troublesome World are soon appeas'd by your Commandment Receive my Soul into your Hands when it shall leave this mortal Body and take it into your Protection for it will be lost with fear and will not know to what side to turn to save itself unless under the shadow of your Mercy And in the Third Petition to omit the rest there are these Words O Blessed Virgin Mother of Unlimited Power ador'd and call'd upon by the Universe give me strength to resist the Temptations of my invisible Enemies If you should have forsaken me to whom should I have then repair'd that would have lookt upon me with pity and compassion My Friend also English'd to me the other-day out of Cardinal Bona's Horolog Ascet or Monastick Clock some Expressions of the same nature This Cardinal I am told either is now alive or but lately dead and is an approv'd Writer as well as of eminent Place and Dignity in our Church In this Piece of his he thus addresses himself to the Virgin Mary And who can doubt that he would have all others do so too Protect me O sweetest Virgin Mary under the shadow of thy Wings What can I do without thee O Blessed Virgin or what would become of me if thou shouldst turn away thy Face from me I had rather undergo the Pains of Hell than that thy Glory and Dignity should be the least diminish'd for a moment of time Let all that know thy Name trust in thee O Glorious Virgin because thou dost not forsake those that trust in thee Let the Light of thy Countenance appear unto me in my Agony and let thy Comfort most merciful Mother make glad my departing Soul. The last Book I shall make use of in this matter is one I have already in my Sixteenth Enquiry of the Second Section mention'd viz. Contemplations on the Life and Glory of Holy Mary c. By J. C. D. D. Licens'd by your Society and Printed in our own Tongue in the Year 1685. In the Epistle Dedicatory the Author teaches That the B. Virgin is not only Empress of Seraphims c. The most exact Original of Practical Perfection which the Omnipotence of GOD ever drew but that by innumerable Titles she claims the Utmost Duty of every Christian as a proper Homage to her Greatness And in the Book p. 7. he says That whatever Gifts are bestow'd upon us by Jesus we receive them by the Mediation of Mary That 't is one great Mark of the Predestination of the Elect to be singularly Devoted to Mary Nor hath any one Petition'd Mary who was refus'd by Jesus or trusted in Mary and was abandon'd by Jesus And p. 12 13 14. That we must chuse her to be our Adoptive Mother Patroness and Advocate and intrust her with whatever we are have do or hope in Life Death and through all Eternity That we are in the Presence of Holy Mary and that she ever surveys the present state of our Souls all our Thoughts and Projects and every tract of our Conversation and therefore that we must put our selves wholly under her Protection And p. 22. in the Resolution he teaches us to resolve thus I will observe thee as my Soveraign Lady Adoptive Mother and most powerfull Patroness relying on thy Bowels of Mercy in all my Wants Petitions and Tribulations of Body and Mind And then immediately follows The Praise as he calls it in this manner Hail Mary c. Vers Open my Lips O Mother of Jesus Resp And my Soul shall speak forth thy Praise Vers Divine Lady be intent to my aid Resp Graciously make hast to help me Vers Glory be to Jesus and Mary Resp As it was is and ever shall be I could Reverend Fathers have been a great deal larger in my Quotations not only from these Offices and Books of Devotion I have now mention'd but also from divers others as Bernardine de Busti in Mariali Cardinal Bonaventure's Works to wit St. Athanasius's Creed the Litany the Benedicite the Benedictus and the other Hymns of Holy Scripture and also the Te Deum all turn'd and apply'd as I am told by this Cardinal to the magnifying of the Power and Goodness of the Virgin Mary to which I could also have added a present French Author of your Society one Father Crasset his Veritable Devotion envers la Sainte Vierge c. with several others but I fear'd this would not only swell my Letter beyond its intended bounds but prove tedious to my Readers let this then if you please suffice And now Reverend Fathers will you suffer me to review this Query from the beginning and upon the whole matter to ask you some serious and important Questions which naturally and necessarily offer themselves And first Whether the good Things we want and the Evil we would be deliver'd from be not the very Matter of our Prayers And if they be Whether it was fairly done of the Authors of the Trent-Catechism to call them only the Manner since even common Sence tells a Man that Good and Evil are the very Matter the things of our Prayers and not the manner of asking them 2. Whether the Caveat which they gave To take heed that what is proper to GOD we give not to any besides him is not enough to convince any considering Man not only that our Practice of Invocating the Saints is extream full of Danger for the ignorant People but also that they very well knew it too And 3. Since 't is apparent that they were sensible that very easily the ignorant People might give that to the Saints which was proper to GOD Whether they had not acted more like Christian Fathers of the Church and Lovers of Souls if either they had told men plainly so that it had been next to impossible to mistake what was due to GOD and what to the Saints or else absolutely to have forbidden Praying at all to Saints unless they could have made it appear either by the Law of Nature or by some positive Law of GOD that it is a Duty commanded which in my Thirteenth Quere of the Second Section I have shew'd they never pretended to and honestly have declar'd to Men That it was both wisest and safest for them and most for the Honour of GOD to put up their Prayers to him only through the alone Merits Mediation and Intercession of Jesus Christ our dear and only Saviour and Redeemer 4. Whether in your Conscience you do believe and by sound Arguments can prove that the People who are naturally prone to Superstition and Idolatry had not been I will not say only abundantly more but absolutely safe from all danger of falling into those grievous Sins if only they had been taught and enjoin'd to offer up their Prayers and Praises to GOD alone through Jesus Christ And whether through the contrary Doctrine and Practice of Praying to the Virgin Mary and other Saints as well as to GOD and
our Saviour you do not believe many thousands in our Communion either through gross Ignorance some fond Opinions or an excessive and extravagant Devotion are not hugely guilty of Superstition and Idolatry And whether in plain English this is not laying Snares and digging Pits for human Souls 5. Whether these Passages and Expressions which I have cited out of our Offices Breviaries and other allow'd Books of Devotion do not abundantly prove that we Catholicks do horribly exceed the Bounds and Rules which the Catechism the Bishop of Meaux and our Representer set us about Praying to Saints c. And in good earnest Reverend Fathers Is it not manifest that we address our selves to the B. Virgin in the same manner and words as unto GOD and directly ask of her those Gifts and Graces Good Things and Spiritual Blessings which none but GOD can give Do not we express as much trust hope and confidence in her as 't is possible for Men by Words to express to GOD and our B. Saviour Would not the very same words which are here us'd to her serve to signifie the greatest sence awe and reverence and to offer up the greatest and most passionate Desires of our Souls to GOD and our dear Saviour only changing Lady into Lord Mother into Father and sweetest blessed glorious Virgin into sweetest blessed and glorious GOD and Saviour And is this in good truth no more than a manner of Praying Do men upon Earth thus pray for one another or desire others to pray for them And is it no more than to fay Pray for us What Wit of Man and without doing open violence to the plain and natural sense of Words is able to reconcile our Church to herself or these Prayers to this Form Pray for us And is there not here downright saying Have mercy upon us hear us And is not this giving to the Saints what is proper to GOD What man in his Senses ever pray'd in this manner to his absent or present Friends or Brethren upon Earth What sick Mon that was not also absolutely Distracted ever thus desir'd either his Friend or the Congregation to pray for him Or whoever yet pray'd to his Friend or his Brethren or to any Congregation upon Earth thus O Sacred Majesty and Soveraign Lord of Unlimited Power Most merciful Brother c. and the Only hope of Sinners admit me into the Sanctuary of your Audience I fly unto your Protection for I have this Only Refuge to cast my self under the shadow of your Wings I rely on the Bowels of your Mercy in all my Wants Petitions and Tribulations of Body and Mind despise not my Prayers in my Necessities but deliver me from all Dangers Grant me Grace that I may receive pardon for my Sins drive away all Sins from me make me humble and chast and give me purity of Life make my Heart to burn with Love to Christ let all that is due unto me for my Sins be cancell'd by your Merits let the greatness of your Mercy blot out the multitude of mine Offences turn not away your face from me for my trust is in you What can I do without you Or what would become of me if you should turn away your face from me If you should have forsaken me to whom should I then have repair'd that would have lookt upon me with pity and compassion O our most kind Brother Command Compel GOD to have Mercy upon me a Sinner protect me from the Enemy receive me at the hour of Death give me a safe passage into the next World receive my Soul into your hands when it shall leave this Mortal Body take it into your Protection and give it entrance into Paradise and defend me in the Day of Judgment V. Open my Lips O dear Friend c. R. And my Soul shall speak forth thy Praise V. Divine Friend c. be intent to my Aid R. Graciously make hast to help me V. Glory be to Jesus and my Friend c. R. As it was is and ever shall be Now Reverend Fathers deal plainly with me Does not this sort of Prayer thus offer'd to a Creature make even You tremble with horror And yet it is every word taken out of these Prayers and Books I have but just now quoted Tell me then sincerely I beseech you Was ever such a Prayer made by any Person well or sick that was in his Senses either to his Friend his Brethren or any Congregation upon Earth Or is such a Prayer fit to be made to any of them Nay I ask Is such a Prayer fit to be made to any Saint or Angel or to the B. Virgin herself Nay farther Ought we or is it possible for us to Address our selves to GOD and our B. Saviour in any Manner or Words more suitable to that Soveraign Being and our dependance on him And lastly What greater things can be said to the Eternal and ever Blessed Trinity With what face then do we maintain against the Protestants that we do not Pray to the Saints as unto GOD nor ask those things of them which ought only to be ask'd of GOD and our Saviour because they only can give them And that we only pray to them as one Friend desires another upon Earth And with what Justice do we of late complain of them for charging us with these Practices and would make the World believe that they Misrepresent us When it is plain that we are highly guilty of them and are our selves indeed the very Misrepresenters For the Love of GOD our own and our Neighbours Souls Why should we any longer palliate and disguise the matter or by any means defend a Worship for which we can shew no Law of GOD or Nature and which by our own confession is very apt to betray Men into these heinous Sins of Superstition and Idolatry Why should we Reverend Fathers any longer wrong our own Consciences and deceive the World in so important a matter meerly to support the vile Worldly Interest and Honour of a Church that 's afraid to confess herself in an Error Because for base ends she once assum'd the Title of Infallible Without dissembling Reverend Fathers would it not be more for the Honour of our Church and the good and security of Souls not only to condemn and lay aside these but all Prayers whatever to Saints and Angels and ingenuously confess that in this particular however we have been in an Error and the Reformed in the right And that it is abundantly sufficient for Salvation to pray to GOD alone through the Merits Mediation and Intercession only of Jesus Christ our Blessed Redeemer because GOD has commanded no more And if neither our Church nor you for her will acknowledge an Error in so plain a matter and of such vast concern must not we needs be thought People of a monstrous Courage to trust our own Souls and the Souls of our Children in such a Church and in the hands of such Guides Again
Reverend Fathers What signifies it with the Bishop of Meaux in the Fourth Section of his Exposition to say That in what Terms soever those Prayers which we Address to Saints are couch'd it is the Intention of the Church and of her Faithful to reduce them always to this form Pray for us Can the Intention of the Church and of her Faithful alter the nature of things and the universal meaning of plain words or is any such declaration of Intention to be admitted against the plain literal and grammatical Sence of the Prayers But if the Sence and Intention of the Church be no more than to Pray for us then why are not the Prayers and Hymns in our Publik Offices Breviaries c. at least alter'd to the Sence and Intention of our Church And why are any other Books of Devotion suffer'd to come out contrary to the Sence and Intention of the Church What a ridiculous proceeding to say no worse of it is this of our Church both to compose and set out Prayers to the Saints herself and also permit others to do so too couch'd and express'd in such Words Titles and Phrases as all sensible Mankind make use of to express their Thoughts and Desires in their Prayers to GOD and the Holy Trinity and then cry out That in what terms soevâ—â— those Prayers which we make to the Saints are couch'd it is the Intention of the Church c. Is the Latin Tongue or any Vulgar Language so barren of Words that when our Church would Invocate the Saints and Angels c. she can do it in no other manner words or terms than such in which she constantly and properly addresses herself to GOD and the Holy Trinity Are there not in every Language and particularly in ours apt and proper words and terms in which to express our Souls to GOD and the Holy Trinity And likewise when we would desire the Saints and Angels to Pray for us What folly as well as wickedness is it then to confound these Objects so infinitly different in the same terms and words and to use those to the Saints and Angels which are proper to GOD only Again Reverend Fathers Do not Men generally understand words as they sound and usually signifie And does not the very natural sence of words raise proper and suitable Ideas in Mens minds Now I would fain know of you Reverend Fathers What Thoughts or Idea's a Man can be suppos'd to have who after this manner and for these things thus addresses himself to the Virgin Mary Sacred Majesty Mother of Unlimited Power the only hope of Sinners ador'd and call'd upon by the whole Universe and who by innumerable Titles claim the Utmost Duty of every Christian as a Proper Homage to your Greatness Let the greatness of your Mercy blot out the multitude of mine Offences and deliver me from all Dangers I entrust you with whatever I am have do or hope in Life and Death and through all Eternity I own my self in your Presence and that you survey the present state of my Soul all my Thoughts and Projects and every tract of my Conversation and therefore I put my self wholly under your Protection and will observe you as my Soveraign Lady relying on your Bowels of Mercy in all my Wants of Body and Mind Protect me from the Enemy and when my Soul departs from my Body receive it into the Glory of Paradice c. Now do ye think Reverend Fathers that Invocating the Virgin Mary in such words as these would not make any Men and Women very apt to entertain such an Idea of her as is only fit and proper to be thought of GOD Would not the continual use of such a Prayer make a man insensibly to forget especially in the act and heat of Devotion that she is but a Creature and fancy that he is a praying to some Being of Divine Excellency and Perfections Would not the interior Sentiments of his Mind think ye grow like his exterior Words and Expressions when in any Publick Place of Divine Worship or but in his Closet he is upon his Knees with Hands and Eyes lifted up and in a perfect posture of Adoration But if such a Man should not insensibly by the meer force of using such Words and Expressions fall into the thoughts of her being a GOD and so be guilty of flat Idolatry yet can you deny that he is upon the very brink of that Danger And must it not be esteem'd a Miracle if such a Person is preserv'd from falling into that Precipice Quere II. But Reverend Fathers I am not ignorant that our Disputers think they sufficiently clear their hands of such Writers as the Author of the Contemplation c. Father Crasset Cardinals Bona and Bonaventure Bernardin de Busts c. by saying that such things as they teach and such Prayers and Expressions as they compose and publish are not the Doctrines and Practices of our Church but the extravagant Sayings and Flights of Devotion of some particular Men. Now that this Plea has no place and is of no force against such Prayers as are found in the Offices Breviaries Missals c. of our Church I humbly conceive you 'll easily grant and therefore all such Prayers and that strange Language and Expressions found in them must unavoidably be charg'd upon our Church But then concerning these others I humbly enquire Why the Church if your Order Reverend Fathers be a part of the Church allows and permits such in particular the Contemplations c. and Father Crasset's Book and the same I might ask concerning the other Authors I have but now nam'd for I am told they are all publish'd by the Authority of the Church or by the permission of those appointed by the Church And does not such permission amount to the Churches approbation And does the Church use to approve of any thing that is not the Doctrine of the Church And if it be the Doctrine of our Church Why do ye not speak out and declare so and prove it to be the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles But if you still deny it to be the Doctrine of our Church then pray Why are not the Books call'd in censur'd and forbid to be read and the Men who writ them punisht for False Teachers and Deceivers Again Reverend Fathers if such be not the Doctrine of our Church as I would now fain hope for a very material reason it is not then pray Reverend Fathers let me humbly ask you again Why are these Books let alone to deceive our poor ignorant People into such gross Errors And here also it will be pertinent to enquire of you Reverend Fathers Why such Books as corrupt the Doctrines of Repentance and destroy the necessity of a Holy Life speaking Truth and doing Justice and in a word all the Moral Duties and Practice of a Christian are permitted to walk freely and boldly abroad in the World and debauch Mens Principles and Practices
Why are they not I say call'd in or forbid or the Doctrines by the highest Authority condemn'd and the Authors who are alive severely punisht A Collection of these Doctrines I am told is made by one or more of the Doctors of Sorbonne who are esteem'd by most wise and good Men as Orthodon Catholicks as any and is Entituled The Morals of your Society Now Reverend Fathers to a Man that is never so little touch'd with the true spirit of a Christian must it not needs be a sad consideration to think how many poor ignorant People in our Communion fall into the misery of such Guides And ought not this to make all us Catholicks very careful and cautious about the choice of our Spiritual Guides and Ghostly Fathers since it seems there are so many in our Church that if we follow'd them would lead us into such pernitious and damnable Errors And here upon this consideration I cannot omit in this place enquiring of you and I humbly beg you to give me a particular answer to it What signifies it to us ignorant Lay People whether the Pope or a General Council or both together be Infallible if the Parish Priest Fryar or Jesuit who has the management of our Souls be not Infallible also For since he is our immediate Teacher and not the General Council nor the Pope is it not plain that if he should be either a Fool or a Knave he may either through ignorance or to serve some carnal and worldly Interest lead us into damnable Errors I could be much larger in my Thoughts on this Enquiry but I consider that I may have a fitter occasion for it and therefore shall make no further digression Quere III. But Reverend Fathers I must needs yet be plainer with you and tell you That whether such things as Cardinal Bonaventare and others have taught about the Virgin Mary be or be not the Doctrine of our Church I am nevertheless infinitely disturb'd in my mind If what Bonaventure has writ be not the Doctrine of our Church then I am infinitely scandaliz'd that our Church should Canonize for a Saint a Person guilty of such horrid and blasphemous Doctrine And then again suppose you could satisfie me which I fear you cannot that our Church has actually condemn'd these Books and Writings of his and others yet certainly is it not a most dangerous thing to be in our Communion where such Spiritual Guides are so frequent Lord say I to myself what a deal of mischief may they do and how many Souls may they poyson and ruin eternally before their damnable Errors and pernicious Doctrines are discover'd and condemn'd Whatever you may think on 't Reverend Fathers I do profess that I am deeply sensible that we Catholicks run a desperate hazard in the choice and use of our Spiritual Guides And does not this frequency of False Teachers among us make it highly reasonable and necessary that we People should have the liberty to examine their Doctrines whether true or false And if we must examine them as I do not see but we are bound unless you can prove that we must blindly follow our Guides then I desire to know of you By what Rule and by what Means and Faculties Surely there is not only some certain Rule but some certain means to use that Rule by in our Church for us Lay People or else to what purpose is the liberty you give us of examining and trying your Doctrines But I fancy I may have room to make a particular Enquiry concerning this matter and therefore shall step no farther from my present subject Quere IV. But Reverend Fathers the two words Command and Compel which our Cardinal and Saint Bonaventure us'd in his Orizon to the Virgin Mary and quoted in the First Query of this Section are so excessive harsh and horrid that I could not forbear enquiring of you Whether these Words do not with a witness elevate the Virgin Mary above the condition of a Creature Exposition Sect. 4. p. 7. which yet the Bishop of Meanx is so modest to say our Church does not And does it not only make her equal but also set her infinitly above GOD her Creator Unless that Person who Commands and Compels be inferior to the Person Commanded and Compelld Quere V. If I mistake not Reverend Fathers we account the Rosary a special Piece of Devotion and great things are said of its effects by many of our Eminent Writers and Guides in Devotion Now I will not at present enquire into these things nor into the great Mysteries said to be in it but will only humbly ask you 1. What Antiquity or what Reason can you shew for turning the Angel's Salutation of the Virgin Mary into a direct Prayer to her Did the Angel Gabriel say Holy Mother of GOD pray for us Sinners now and in the Hour of Death if the Angel did not How comes it to be pertinent for us to do it But 2. What is the true reason that in the Rosary we are to say Ten Ave Maries to One Pater Noster I have often askt this Question of some of our Priests but could never get a satisfactory Answer Now if in this matter I had Courage enough to follow my Reason I profess I think I should say Ten Pater Nosters to One Ave Marie For seriously Reverend Fathers has not GOD given us incomparably far greater Evidence both of his Love and Power than ever the Virgin Mary did 3. Why do our Preachers immediately before their Sermons say an Ave Marie Why do they address themselves to the Virgin Mary upon that occasion Is she the Fountain and Giver of all good and perfect Gifts Does Wisdom and Eloquence come from her Would it not think ye be far more decent and reasonable to address to GOD or to the Holy Ghost at such a time But after all What Reason or Antiquity can you produce for this strange Practice Quere VI. Can you Reverend Fathers prove by Vincentius Lirinensis's Rule that departed Souls do enjoy Beatifical Vision before the Day of Judgment If you can I humbly beg you would do it As also that the Saints departed do certainly hear our Prayers You perceive well enough I doubt not why I make this Enquiry For if the departed Saints neither enjoy Beatifical Vision nor hear our Prayers Is it not yet more absurd for us to pray to them Quere VII I think that we assert that all Certainty in Matters of Religion must be Infallible or else it is nothing worth because we can never rely upon it Now pray Reverend Fathers What Infallible Assurance have we Catholicks that all those who are Canoniz'd Saints by his Holiness are indeed Saints and in Heaven If we have not Infallible Assurance what reason have we Religiously to Invocate them Quere VIII Our Representer p. 4. distinguishes between Mediators of Redemption and Mediators of Intercession of this last he says He does not at all doubt but 't
is acceptable with GOD we should have many Now here I humbly enquire of you Reverend Fathers From whom he learnt this Distinction From GOD or from Man if from GOD Should he not prove it from Scripture And how can he do it since it is there so plainly reveal'd that GOD hath appointed the Mediator of Redemption to be also our Mediator of Intercession and that his Intercession is grounded upon his Redemption thus Hebrews chap. 7. ver 25. Whereby he is able to save also for ever them that go by himself to God always living to make intercession for us and 1 Tim. chap. 2. ver 5 6. For there is one God one also mediator of God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a redemption for all Now Reverend Fathers Can you shew me such another Text for the Saints being our Mediators of Intercession But if you say this Distinction is from Man then I desire to know How any Man or all the Men upon Earth came by such an Authority as to appoint any Mediators with GOD besides himself And lastly Reverend Fathers Can you shew from Universal Antiquity that the Saints departed are by GOD appointed Mediators of Intercession as well as the Man Christ Jesus If you can I desire you to do it Quere IX Pray Reverend Fathers upon what Ground or Authority does our Church distribute the Patronage of particular Countries the Cure of several Diseases and the Protection of all distinct Professions of Men and all kinds of Creatures to particular Saints Quere X. Why Reverend Fathers are there in Catholick Countries as Italy Spain and France more Churches built more Altars erected more Presents made and more Cost bestow'd more Prayers pour'd out and Vows made and Offices perform'd to the Virgin Mary who is but a Creature after all than to our Dear Saviour who is GOD the Creator Quere XI I am told Reverend Fathers That towards the latter end of the Fourth Century a certain Sect of Women did appear which met together to offer certain Cakes and otherwise to Worship the Virgin Mary which Cakes were call'd Collyrides and the Women from them Collyridians and that the good Bishop St. Epiphanius did write zealously against them and treated them as Hereticks and said Let Mary be honour'd but the Father Son and Holy Ghost Worshipped Now Reverend Fathers I desire to know of you Whether this is true and Whether we do not offer Candles and Incense to the Virgin Mary And if those Women were Hereticks for offering Cakes to her Pray what are we for offering up to her Candles Pray where 's the difference between Cakes and Candles as to their being made an Offering Does not this Example abundantly Confute those Men who say It is impossible that any now should be so sottish to make a GOD of her and Worship her with that Worship which is due to GOD only For if there were People so grosly silly to commit Idolatry about her Pray why not much rather now Are not the present allow'd Doctrines and Prayers capable enough to draw People into the like Crime And are there not both Women and Men too in this Age of as weak Understandings and of as Superstitious and Idolatrous Inclinations as then Quere XII I am told Reverend Fathers that the aforemention'd Cardinal Bona in his said Book Entituled Horolog Ascet tells us That the Rosary is so call'd because 't is Compos'd of One Hundred and Fifty Ave Maries as of so many sweet-smelling Roses Now I humbly beg of you to know the true reason Why the Ave Maries are Roses rather and smell sweeter than the Pater Nosters When a Man reflects that the Pater Nosters are of our dear Lord 's own composing he is apt to think that they might deserve the name of Roses as well and smell at least as sweet as the Ave Maries the one being a solemn Prayer contriv'd and dictated by the Eternal Wisdom for the needs and benefit of his poor Creatures and the other only a common Form of one Creature 's Saluting another and which by I know not what authority nor with what pertinency is since converted into a Form of Religious Prayer And do not you really think Reverend Fathers that this magnifying the Excellency and the Odour of the Ave Maries above the Pater Nosters is not to speak softly a little contrary to the Laws of Good Manners Quere XIII Whether the Honour that is due to a glorified Soul ought to be any more than that of Love or Charity Respect and Imitation And whether in our allow'd Prayers c. we do not give to the Virgin Mary and other Saints that of Service as to our Lords and Masters And whether that Honour or Respect that is to be given to a Saint or an Angel or an Image must not be such as is proper to a Saint or an Angel or an Image and not Worship or Adoration Quere XIV Whether the Common People understand the nice Scholastical Distinctions and Degrees of Divine Honour and Worship which 't is said our cunning Doctors and subtil School-men have devis'd to excuse our Doctrines and Practices from Idolatry such as Latria Dulia and Hyperdulia As you hope to be saved Reverend Fathers Do you believe that the more ignorant Men and Women nay the more knowing Persons when they are in the Act of Prayer and Adoration do or can make use of these nice and learned Distinctions and make this just separation in their minds And yet if they do not is not their falling into Idolatry unavoidable To what fatal Dangers are we poor Catholicks expos'd Quere XV. But to conclude this matter of Invocation c. I farther enquire of you Reverend Fathers Whether you can shew any footesteps of Prayers to Saints for the first 300 years I have heard that some Learned Protestants dare give you 350 years after Christ in any genuine Father or publick Office or Liturgy If it had been the Doctrine and Practice of that time as 't is now among us can it enter into any but a mad Mans head to believe that it would not be found either in some publick Office or Liturgy or in some of the Fathers in that compass of time And if we cannot make it appear to have been the Doctrine and Practice in all that time for God's sake Reverend Fathers What reason have we to make such a considerable addition to the Religion of those Ages Why may not we be saved now without it as well as the Christians then But Reverend Fathers I am farther told which in my mind is an invincible argument against us in this affair viz. That the Protestants have made it plainly appear from the Writings of the Ancient Fathers both Eastern and Western by the Greek Canon the Liturgies father'd upon St. James and the other Apostles and the Liturgies of St. Basil and those of Egypt attributed to St. Basil Gregory Nazianzen and St. Cyril and that of St.