England Divines do profess to receive So that it cannot be enough admir'd what shou'd induce them to reject the Invocation of Saints I shou'd never end if I shou'd bring all the Sayings of the Fathers on this Subject St. Austin has a long Discourse upon it against Faustus the Manichean where He gives at large the Reasons why the Catholic Church gives due Honour to the Martyrs and desires the Assistance of their Prayers And St. Jerom wrote a Book against Vigilantius upon this Subject and calls him Heretic for denying the Lawfulness of praying to Saints I shall therefore conclude with this Reflection that it is not reasonable to believe nay 't is incredible that these Holy Fathers who took so much pains to propagate the Faith and Gospel of Jesus Christ who wrote so many Learned and Voluminous Works which breath so much Piety and Christian Devotion spent all their Lives in Holy and Religious Exercises consecrated their Time and Labour to the Service of the True and Living God and were ready to lay down their Lives for the Truth of the Doctrine which they taught and practis'd if Occasion requir'd shou'd at the same Time write and practice a Doctrine which derogates from the Honour and Mediatorship of Jesus Christ it being their chief Study and Care to inculcate to the World that He was the only Lord and Mediator in whose Name and no other Salvation was to be had But if the Doctor shou'd say as many of his Brethren have that all these Holy Fathers err'd and consequently did not understand the Doctrine they labour'd so earnestly to Propagate I answer him as St. Austin did a certain Man to whom I fear the Doctor was in some Things but too near akin Mallem cum eis errare quam tecum consentire I had rather err with the Fathers than agree with Him Thus I have endeavour'd as plainly and briefly as I cou'd to shew how Reasonable how Harmless how Inoffensive the Invocation of Saints is and how agreeable to the Practice of the Holy Fathers and the Primitive Church I now proceed Lastly to return a brief Answer to what Dr. Tillotson thought fit to bring against this Point Here I wou'd not be understood as if I meant to answer all the little Objections and pretty quâ—rks of Wit which he endeavours to improve with all his Art and Eloquence in order no doubt to catch the well-meaning but weaker sort of People with this Fig-leaf Cover which yet all sober thinking Men may easily see thro' My Design is to answer only such Objections as have any real or apparent Difficulties being convinc'd that things naked or so thinly cover'd need no Reading upon His first Objection is taken out of St. Paul Colos 2.18 Vol. â— edit post obit pag. 43 44 45 19. Where the Apostle says Let no Man beguile you of your Reward in a voluntary Humility and worshiping of Angels not holding the Head By which Words says the Doctor St. Paul intimates that for Christians to address themselves to God by any other Mediator than Jesus Christ only was a Defection from the Head This He says is Theodoret's Interpretation of that Passage in his Comment upon it and the third Chapter ver 17. of the same Epistle and to enforce this Interpretation he cites a Canon of the Council of Laodicea which says That Christians ought not to forsake the Church of God and go away from it and to invocate Angels and to make Conventicles all which are forbidden if therefore any be found giving himself to this secret Idolatry let him be Anathema because he hath forsaken our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God and is gone over to Idolatry After which Words the Dr. breaks out into this Exclamation What shall be said to them who do not only secretly and in their Private Devotions but in the public Assemblies of Christians and in the most public Offices of their Church invocate Angels and pray to them Before I answer this Objection it won't be amiss to clear the Equivocation which in most controversial Disputes commonly attends these two words Worship and Invocation I worship is render'd in Latin colo or adoro in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in these three Languages 't is us'd in Scripture and in common Discourse not only to signifie the supream Worship and Honour we pay to Almighty God but also for all sort of Respect and Reverence done to Kings Princes and Persons of Condition Of this we have innumerable Examples in Scripture and not only so but the very Word which we use to signifie the supream Worship due to God alone is sometimes applied to human Affairs For as we say colere Deum to worship God colere Parentes to honour our Parents colere Vineam colere Agrum Hortum c. to till the Vineyard to till the Ground c. Yet no Man ever said that we rob God of his due Honour by using the same Expression to signifie the Respect we pay some Creatures which we use when we express the Honour due only to Him because the different Ideas or Notions we have of God and these Creatures sufficiently determin our meaning tho' the want of Words or rather the Conveniency of delivering our Thoughts in fewer Words oblige us to make use of the same Term to express these different Services In like Manner the Word Invocation is us'd in Scripture not only to signifie our calling upon God as our Sovereign Lord and Maker but is also us'd and applied in several places to ordinary Men. For instance Isaiah says Seven Women shall take hold of one Man saying we will eat our own Bread and wear our own Apparel only let thy Name be invocated upon us to take away our Reproach Tantum invocetur Nomen tuum super nos Cap. 4.1 So that if we do not attend to the Subject Matter to which these Words are applied the Scripture will afford us sufficient Grounds for Worshipping and invocating not only God Angels and Saints but even common ordinary Men. To worship and invocate then must necessarily mean to exhibit a Service and Duty to those whom we worship and call upon according to the Notion or Idea we have of their Excellency and Perfection and of the Power and Ability we conceive in them to help and assist us And then to Worship God and invocate Him must mean to pay Him the Supream Honor and Respect which is due only to the Great Creator and Redeemer of the World and to beg Mercy and Forgiveness of Him as the Source and Fountain of all Goodness but to Worship and Invocate the Angels and Saints must mean no more than to shew them that respect and honor which is due to the Friends and Courtiers of our Sovereign Lord and to ask their Help and Assistance in those things which we conceive they are able to do that is to pray for us and to recommend us to their
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
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
affirm'd that the Belief of the Holy Ghost under the Form of a Dove or of the Angels under the Form of Men did destroy the external Means of confirming the Truth of Christianity How can the Belief of Transubstantiation destroy 'em then Thus you see how grosly the Common People are abus'd on the one hand when they are made to believe that Transubstantiation is so monstrously absurd as the Dr. wou'd fain here paint it And how hardy He himself must needs have been on the other when he had the Courage to deliver out of the very Pulpit the Chair of Truth that it was as evidently contrary to the common Sense of Mankind as it is evident that twice two make four vol. 5. pag. 18 19. But I have an other Challenge to him yet He tells us in the foregoing Page that in things doubtful a modest Man wou'd be very apt to be stagger'd by the judgment of a very Wise Man and much more of many such and especially by the unanimous Judgment of the Generality of Men the General Voice and Opinion of Mankind being next to the Voice of God himself And a little after He gives this Reason for it because in things lawful and indifferent we are bound by the Rules of Decency and Civility not to thwart the General Practice and by the Commands of God we are certainly oblig'd to obey the lawful Commands of lawful Authority Since then the falshood of Transubstantiation is not only doubtful but the Truth of it is establish'd upon the firmest Foundation either in Heaven or on Earth even upon that Word which shall never pass away tho' Heaven and Earth shall and since the belief of it when the Reformation began was grounded upon the General Voice and Opinion of the Generality of Mankind as the Doctor and all those of his Perswasion do acknowledg and upon the lawful Commands of lawful Authority if any such thing were on Earth I appeal to his own Judgment if every Man be not bound both in Decency and Civility and by the Commands of God not to thwart or contradict a Point of Faith so firmly establish'd And now if after all this any Man will undertake to justifie the Doctor 's Conduct and Vindicate what he writ against Transubstantiation I here make him this fair offer for his encouragement that tho' this good Doctor is pleas'd to say Vol. 3. pag. 299. that in the bus'ness of Transubstantiation it is not a Controversie of Scripture against Scripture or of Reason against Reason but of down right Impudence civily spoken against the plain meaning of Scripture and the Sense and Reason of Mankind If He I say or any body else will bring but one single Argument in Mood and Figure to prove that Transubstantiation does either contradict Sense or Reason I do sincerely promise him I will be of his Opinion the very next Moment And this I do the more confidently affirm because I am sure Transubstantiation cannot possibly contradict or be against Sense or Reason Sense it cannot for it is not the Object of any of our Senses and surely it is not against Reason that one Substance shou'd be chang'd into an other since all Generations and Corruptions are thus perform'd and even daily Experience teaches us that the Meat on which wee feed does not nourish us but in as much as it is chang'd into the substance of our Flesh And to let the World know it is not the Roman Catholics alone who see the absurdity of this Pretence I will Transcribe the Words of an Ingenious Sociâ—tan upon this Subject who surely is no more a Friend to the Roman Catholics than to the Protestants They are taken out of a Book Intitul'd Considerations on the Explication of the Trinity c. Pag. 21. He cites the Words of the Bishop of Sarum taken out of his Discourse concerning the Divinity and Death of Christ pag. 94. which are these Transubstantiation must not be a Mystery because there is against it the Evidence of Sense in an Object of Sense For Sense plainly represents to us the Bread and Wine to be still the same that they were before the Consecration And thus he speaks his own Thoughts of them This is says he every way faulty for it is not pretended by the Papists that the Bread and Wine have received any the least Change in what is an Object of Sense The Papists following the Philosophy of Aristotle distinguish in Bodys these two things the Accidents such as the quantity figure colour smell taste and such like which are Objects of our Senses And the Substance which bears and is cloathed as it were with these visible and sensible Accidents but is it self invisible and the Object of our Vnderstanding not of our Senses They say hereupon our Saviour having call'd the Sacrament his Body and Blood because our Senses assure us there is no change of the sensible Accidents therefore the change that is made must be in the invisible Substance Which change they therefore call Transubstantiation Nor do they say that Christ is corporally or bodily present in the Sacrament but that His Body is present in a spiritual manner As Cardinal Bellarmin largely discourses De Eucharist l. 1. c. 2. His Lordship therefore is greatly out in pretending that the Transubstantiation as held by the Papists is contradicted by Sense in an Object of Sense Thus far this Ingenious Man Whence 't is evident how miserably weak the Doctor 's pretence to Evidence of Sense against this Mystery is and how grosly he abuses Mankind when alluding to Transubstantiation he tells them they do not come to learn from their Guids or Pastors the difference between Sea and dry Land Vol. 3. pag. 100. or between North and South as if they had the same Evidence that there is no Transubstantiation in the Eucharist as they have of the difference of Sea from dry Land or of North from South 2. The four Objections taken out of the Dr's Discourse against Transubstantiation are these Vol. 3. pag. 315. 1. Tertullian speaks thus of the Eucharist The Bread which our Saviour took and distributed to his Disciples he made his own Body saying this is my Body that is the Figure of my Body but it cou'd not have been the Figure of his Body if there had not been a True and Real Body Advers Marcion l. 4. Here Tertullian seems to insinuate that the Eucharist is the Figure of Christ's Body Vol. 3. pag. 318. 2. St. Austin seems to be of the same Opinion Our Lord says he did not doubt to say this is my Body when he gave the sign of his Body lib. contra Adimant 3. Theodoret speaks to the same purpose in his second Dialogue between a Catholic Vol. 3. pag. 324. under the Name of Orthodoxus and an Heretic under the Name of Eranistes where he makes Eranistes speak these Words As the Symbols of the Lord's Body and Blood are one thing before the
Invocation of the Priest but after the Invocation are chang'd and become an other thing so the Body of our Lord after his Ascension is chang'd into the Divine Substance To which the Catholic Orthodoxus answers thus thou art caught in thine own Net because the Mystical Symbols after Consecration do not pass out of their own Nature for they remain in their former Substance Figure and Appearance and may be seen and handled as before pag. 325. 4. Pope Gelasius seems to be of the same mind Surely says he the Sacraments which we receive of the Body and Blood of our Lord are a Divine Thing so that by them we are made partakers of a Divine Nature and yet it ceaseth not to be the Substance or Nature of Bread and Wine and certainly the Image and resemblance of Christ's Body and Blood are celebrated in the Action of the Mysteries Bib Patr. tom 4. These and some more of less moment are by the Dr. very much magnified and cry'd up and to do him justice he spares no Art nor Industry to improve them to the best Advantage peremptorily concluding at the Foot of each Passage that Transubstantiation was unknown to Antiquity But before I answer them it will be requisite for the better Understanding of these Fathers to observe 1. What Conduct the ancient Fathers generally held when they treated of the Mystery of the Lord's Body and Blood in the Sacrament 2. What was the ancient Father's Belief concerning this Mystery and 3. Whence these Passages objected are taken Which if well consider'd I doubt not to make it appear that these Objections notwithstanding their plausible appearance do not in the least prejudice the Truth of Transubstantiation nor clash with the Father's Opinions who Favour this Doctrine 1. The Fathers here objected and most of the Ancients were very cautious how they spoke any thing on this Subject which might increase the Suspicion the Gentils had conceiv'd of them as if they us'd to eat Human Flesh in the Celebration of their Mysteries which no doubt was occasion'd by the Information of some Apostat Christians who upon renouncing of their Faith declar'd that the Christians us'd to eat the Flesh and Blood of Christ They were therefore to avoid the Reproach and Odium which they must hereupon necessarily incur the Gentils thinking they eat this Flesh as Men do that which is fold in the Shambles very careful to conceal this Mystery and to write nothing that was to be expos'd to the Infidels which might seem to insinuate any such Doctrine being content to glance at it and when they must to deliver their Thoughts obscurely knowing very well that by this prudent Conduct the Pagans wou'd have no just Reason to reproach them and the Christians who were carefully instructed in this Point wou'd easily understand what they hinted at So that in their Treatises against Heretics in the Books they must have expos'd to public view for the comfort and instruction of the Christians and the conversion of the Gentils but more especially in their public Sermons and Homilies where they apprehended any Pagans were present they were very careful to speak nothing out touching this Point but by hints and glances to insinuate their meaning to the Christians so as the Pagans cou'd not understand what they meant Thus Tertulian in the Book which he wrote to diswade his Wife from Marrying after his Decease Non sciet Maritus quid ante omnem cibum gustes si sciverit Panem esse credet non quod dicitur Your Husband will not know that which you taste before all other Meat and if he does he will think it is Bread and not what it is call'd Here a Pagan knows not what he means but his Wife and all other Christians might easily understand that he means the Body of Christ Thus St. Austin in several places insinuates this Mystery in obscure words and then adds these fam'd Words Nôrunt fideles Nôrunt fideles quod dico The Faithful know the Faithful know what I say Thus Theodoret in that very Dialogue objected by the Doctor puts these Words in Orthodoxus his Mouth Oro te ut obscurius respondeas adsunt enim fortasse aliqui Mysteriis non initiati I beseech you answer more obscurely for there are some perhaps here present who are not initiated in the Mysteries This he said because they were about to talk of the Eucharist as appears by the Words of the Dialogue Eranistes answers him sic audiam sic respondebo So I will hear and so I will answer It were needless to bring any more Authorities from Fathers to prove this Truth it being evident from the Conduct observ'd in respect of the Catechumens that this was the universal Practise of the primitive Church These Catechumens were Candidates for Christianity they were taught and instructed in all the other Mysteries of the Christian Faith but not one Word did they hear of or relating to the Eucharist till they had by long Tryal and Experience given sufficient Proof of their Good Resolutions and solemnly promis'd to believe whatever the Catholic Church taught and profess'd Tho' they were taught the Mystery of the Trinity and Incarnation tho' they were allow'd to hear the Gospel read and expounded and to assist at the Rest of the Divine Service yet when the Consecration and Communion of the Eucharist was to be perform'd they were by no means admitted to be present nor as much as know any thing of it but were dismiss'd and excluded from that part of the Service till by long and careful Instructions they were deem'd competent * hence the name of Competentes missa Catechume norum so often mention'd by the Canons to assist at it as they then phras'd it So careful were the Primitive Fathers that none shou'd come to the Knowledge of this Mystery but such as were very well dispos'd to believe and embrace it And now can any Man of Sense imagin that these Holy and Learned Fathers shou'd keep such a stir about the Eucharist or be so careful to conceal it were it but a Type or Figure of the Body and Blood of Christ What is more easie to be believ'd than that Bread represents the Body of Christ and Wine his Blood and that both are taken in remembrance of his Death and Passion Surely there is nothing in the world so easie to be perswaded since all Mankind knows that such arbitrary Signs or Representations depend meerly of the Will of him that institutes them and that there is nothing to be done to perswade their Belief but to tell that they are so Certainly no Pagan or Gentil cou'd ever be offended at a thing so plain or offer the least Reproach to the Christian Religion upon the account of it Consequently there wou'd be no need to conceal or speak obscurely of it nor to hinder not only Catechumens but even Pagans or Infidels to hear it taught and deliver'd But to proceed 2. What
them in the venerable and dreadful Mysteries For shame Doctor Away with such unchristian Scandals and do not put us upon exposing your Credit and Character any farther But perhaps the Legacies left for the bireing of Priests as he odly phrases it to say Mass for the delivery of Souls out of the place of Torments will mend the matter Indeed if the Priests were allow'd to determin matters of Faith the thing comming from the Doctor wou'd not appear altogether so unreasonable for considering how very remarkable his Charity is to Priests I do not question He wou'd judge they wou'd deal well for themselves had they but the handling of these matters But it is no less evident that no simple Priest has ever yet had any Vote in declaring matters of Faith than that no other is hired as He calls it or will receive any Money for saying Masses for the Living or the Dead but the poorer or more indigent sort of Priests who have not a sufficient Patrimony or Maintenance to subsist without it And the matter being undeniably so where is the Conscience in saying that the Councils and Prelates of the Church shou'd possess the People with the fear of Purgatory only to oblige them to hire some indigent Priests to say Mass for their Souls But the Scandal is so gross and palpable that the best answer I can make it is to contemn it The Doctor has some two or three Objections more upon this Subject but they are either solv'd in the Proofs brought for this Point or coincident with those Objections already spoken to or else have no particular Difficulty And so I take leave of him for this Time CHAP. X. Of Indulgences THE Power of Indulgences is founded in the Power of the Keys wherewith Jesus Christ was pleas'd to intrust the Pastors and Governours of the Church by which Emblem of Keys is denoted the Power of opening and shutting the Kingdom of Heaven of letting in and keeping out as Christians shall be found worthy of the one or the other This Power is promis'd to Saint Peter in a special Manner and in his Person to all his lawful Successors in these Words I say unto thee that thou art Peterâ— i. e. a Rock and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it And I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven Mat. 16.18.19 Again the Promise of binding and loosing is made in another Place to all the Apostles in the same Words Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven And whatsoever ye loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven Matt. 18.18 And Christ a little before his Ascension actually confer'd this power upon them and told them wherein it consists Receive ye the Holy-Ghost whosoever Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosoever Sins ye retain they are retain'd Joa 20.22 23. So that the Power of the Keys consists in remitting of Sins and retaining them that is in loosing Men from those Bands of Iniquity wherewith they tye themselves and in binding them up or keeping them bound till they have satisfied for their Sins according to the Rules prescrib'd for that purpose In a Word in opening the Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven and letting some in and in shutting the same and excluding others as they shall be found to have deserv'd it But whereas our Blessed Saviour did not intend that the Apostles and their Successors shou'd bind Sinners so as finally to exclude them from the Kingdom of Heaven but only to keep them under Discipline for a Time till they had fulfill'd the Terms of the Covenant upon which he offers them Salvation which consists in Obedience to His Laws in Repentance and Satisfaction for their Sins and Amendment of Life for the Time to come so the Church in all Ages never retain'd the Sins of Men for any other End than to keep them in a wholesome and saving Discipline till by penitential and laborious Works they had given Marks of their Sorrow and Repentance in Proportion to the Greatness of their Sins And as the Apostles and their Successors are commission'd by Christ to retain Sins so likewise are they to loose them And therefore may remit abate or alter these penitential and laborious Works as their Prudence and Wisdom shall judge it most expedient Now Indulgence is nothing else but a Relaxation or Remission of some part of or all these penitential Works to which a Sinner is lyable by the Canons of the Church which Remission is granted by the Pastors but especially by the Chief Pastor of the Church upon some weighty Considerations for the greater Benefit and Advantage of the Faithful in general Which that we may the better understand it will be requisite to lay open some part of the Discipline of the Primitive Church with Respect to this Matter We have 50 Canons that go under the Name of the Apostles which if not of them are undoubtedly of some Apostolical Bishops of the first or second Age their Use and Authority being very great since that Time We have likewise the Canons of several Provincial Councils of the third and fourth Age which have been in great Esteem and Veneration among the Ancients and for the pure and wholesome Discipline contain'd in them have been inserted in the Codex Canonum or Book of Canons of the Vniversal Church as the Ancient Writers term it These Canons among other Matters of Discipline prescribe the different Penances which were to be impos'd upon Sinners in proportion to the greatness of their Sins whence came the Name of Penitential Canons so famous in Antiquity Some Canons prescribe seven Years Penance to certain Sins others eight Years to other sins some prescribe ten Years some fifteen some to the Hour of Death Some Penitents by order of these Canons fasted three Days every Week during the Time of their Penance using no other Sustenance during that Time but Bread and Water others stood cover'd with Sackcloath at the Church Doors sub dio in the open Air on Sundays and Festivals while their Penance lasted others stood within Doors cloathed in the same Raiment weeping and lamenting their sins some lay prostrate upon the Floor begging and praying their Brethren to intercede for them others were admitted to hear divine Service in the Weeds of Penitents after they had gone thro' the foremention'd Stations whence the Names of Hyemantes Flentes Prostrati Audientes so often mention'd in the Canons Now these Rigorous Penances very Rigorous I am sure they wou'd appear in our Days or Exomologeses as some of the Fathers call them were sometimes abated and remitted partly upon Account of the Fervor of the Penitents who before they had gone thro' all their Stations gave such Marks of sincere
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
which that I may the more plainly and distinctly do I shall proceed in this Method 1. I will endeavour to shew that the Doctrine of Purgatory is founded in Scripture as interpreted by the Ancient Fathers of the Church 2. But more especially that it is founded in the Practice observ'd in the primitive Church of Praying for the Dead This I take to be an unanswerable Argument for if it appears that the Primitive Church did pray for the Dead that their Sins might be forgiven them then it will necessarily follow that they believ'd those Souls they thus pray'd for to be in a place where they might be help'd and benefited by their Prayers This is evident for if the Primitive Church were of Opinion that all Souls departed did go strait to Heaven or to Hell it were vain and superfluous to pray for them They knew there was no getting of Souls out of Hell for out of Hell there is no Redemption And therefore it were in vain to attempt it And it were superfluous to pray for the Souls in Heaven for the Remision of their Sins For why shou'd they pray for that which they knew they had no need of So that if they did pray for the Remission of Sins of Souls departed the Consequence is inevitable that they did believe there was a Third Place were some Souls were detain'd and might be assisted by their Prayers which is what we call Purgatory 3. I shall answer what Doctor Tillotson brings against this Point 1. I shall endeavour to shew that the Doctrine of Purgatory is founded in Scripture as interpreted by the Ancient Fathers of the Church To prove this Head I will produce some Texts of Scripture with the Readings of the Fathers upon Them 1. Agree with thine Adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him Lest at any time the Adversary deliver thee to the Judge and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer and thou be cost into Prison Verify I say unto thee thou shalt not come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost Farthing Mat. 5.25.26 Tertullian a Father of the Second Age â— de Anima cap. 58. reâ—ds thus upon this Text. Seeing we understand that Prison which the Gospel demonstrates to be places below and the uttermost Farthing we interpret every small fault there to be punish'd by the delay of the Resurrection no Man can doubt but the Soul may pay something in the places below St. Cyprian a Father of the third Age It is one thing to be cast into Prison not to go out thence till he pays the uttermost Farthing an other Epist 52. ad Anton presently to receive the Reward of Faith one thing to be afflicted with long pains for Sins to be mended and purg'd long with Fire another to have purg'd all Sins by sufferings Here this Father alluding to the foregoing Text says that some Souls are cast into Prison 'till they pay the uttermost Fathing that others immediately receive their Reward that is Heaven Some are afflicted and purg'd by Fire in order to their Amendment whilst others have purg'd all their Sins by Sufferings or Martyrdom The very Language of the present R. Catholic Church St. Jerom a Father of the fourth Age who for his extraordinary Learning and Knowledge in the Scriptures was call'd Magister Mundi the Master of the World in his comment upon the said Text has these Words This is that which he says Comment in 5. Matt. thou shalt not go out of Prison till thou pay even thy little Sins There is then such a Prison in this Great Master's Opinion 2. Every Man's Work shall be made manifest for the Day shall declare it because it shall be reveal'd by Fire and the Fire shall try every Man's Work of what sort it is If any Man's Work abide which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a Reward If any Man's Work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by Fire 1 Cor. 3.13.14 15. St. Ambrose or the Author of the Commentaries upon the Epistles of St. Paul annex'd to his Works which the ablest Critics do with good Reason ascribe to Hilary Deacon of the Church of Rome and Contemporary to St. Ambrose speaks thus of this Passage But when he St. Paul saith Yet so as by Fire he shews indeed that he shall be saved but yet shall suffer the Punishmenâ— of Fire that being purg'd by Fire he may be sav'd and not tormented for ever as the Infidels are with Everlasting Fire In cap. 3. Epist 1. ad Cor. St. Gregory of Nisse is so plain and full upon this Subject that no R. Catholic can at this Time speak plainer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Man is cleansed says he either in this present Life by Prayer and the Love of Wisdom or after his Death by the Furnace of a Purging Fire And a little after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 After his Departure out of the Body knowing the Difference between Virtue and Vice it is impossible to be Partakers of the Divinity unless Purgatory Fire doth cleanse the Soul from the Spots that stick to it Orat. pro. Mortuis prope Fin. St. Austin speaks much to the same purpose Purge me O Lord says he in this Life and make me such as shall not need that Puâ—ifying Fire And a little after he adds He shall be saved yet so as by Fire And because it is said He shall be saved this Fire is contemn'd yet it will be more grievous than any Thing that a Man can suffer in this Life Enar. in Psal 37. I might insist upon several other Passages of St. Austin and bring more Texts of Scripture with the Sense of the Fathers upon them with Respect to this Subject but I think what is here offer'd is sufficient to shew that our Doctrine concerning Purgatory is founded in Scripture and that the Ancient Fathers did believe it to be so I shall now proceed to shew 2. That the Doctrine of Purgatory is founded in the Practice observ'd in the Primitive Church of praying for the Dead for the Remission of Sins This as I said before if made out will plainly establish our Tenet For if the Primitive Church did pray for the Dead for the Remission of their Sins it follows necessarily that they suppos'd them capable of being assisted by their Prayers and consequently neither in Heaven nor in Hell but in a third Place which is what we believe and call Purgatory Now that the Primitive Church and all succeeding Generations us'd to pray for the Dead for the Remission of their Sins no one Point in the Christian Religion is more Universally attested St. Epiphanius tells us that Aerius was reputed an Heretic for denying the Lawfulness of it and besides him I do not find since Christianity began till the Begining of the last Age any one single Person that ever denied or question'd it Never was there found any Liturgy without it