saints, were so careful to preserve entire unto him: "For what is so proper to Christ," saith St. Ambrose," as to stand by God the Father for an advocate of the people?" "He is the priest," saith St. Augustine, "who being now entered within the veil, ALONE there of them that have been partakers of flesh, doth make intercession for us. In figure of which thing, in that first people, and in that first temple the priest only did enter into the Holy of holies, and all the people stood without." And therefore where St. John saith: "These things write I unto you, that ye sin not: and if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." St. Augustine in his exposition upon that place maketh this observation thereupon: that St. John being so great a man as he was, " did not say, YE have, nor ye have ME, nor YE have Christ himself: but did both put in Christ, not himself; and also said, we have, not YE have. Because he had rather put himself in the number of sinners, that he might have Christ to be his advocate, than put himself for an advocate instead of Christ, and be found amongst the proud that should be damned." And from thence draweth this conclusion against Parmenian the Donatist: "If he had said thus: 5 Quid enim tam proprium Christi, quam advocatum apud Deum patrem adstare populorum? Ambros. in Psal. 39. op. tom. 1. pag. 861. h Ipse sacerdos est, qui nunc ingressus in interiora veli, solus ibi ex his qui carnem gestaverunt interpellat pro nobis. In cujus rei figura in illo primo populo, et in illo primo templo unus sacerdos intrabat in sancta sanctorum, populus omnis foras stabat. August. in Psalm. 64. op. tom. 4. pag. 633. i 1 John, chap. 2. ver. 1. * Non dixit, habetis, nec me habetis, dixit, nec ipsum Christum habetis, dixit : sed et Christum posuit, non se, et habemus dixit, non habetis. Maluit se ponere in numero peccatorum, ut haberet advocatum Christum : quam ponere se pro Christo advocatum, et inveniri inter damnandos superbos. Id. tractat. 1. in 1. epist. Johan. cap. 2. op. tom. 3. par. 2. pag. 831. Si ita diceret; Hoc scripsi vobis ut non peccetis, et si quis peccaverit, mediatorem me habetis apud patrem, ego exoro pro peccatis vestris: (sicut Parmenianus quodam loco mediatorem posuit episcopum inter populum et Deum :) quis eum ferret bonorum atque fidelium Christianorum? Quis sicut apostolum Christi, et non sicut Antichristum intueretur? Id. lib. 2. contr. epist. Parmenian. cap. 8. op. tom. 9. pag. 34. I have written this unto you, that you sin not, and if any man sin, you have me a Mediator with the Father, I make intercession for your sins: (as Parmenian in one place doth make the bishop a mediator betwixt the people and God): what good and faithful Christian would endure him? who would look upon him as the apostle of Christ, and not as Antichrist rather?" The doctrine therefore and practice of the Church of Rome in this point, by this learned father's judgment, must needs be held to be ungodly and antichristian. Fifthly, the recommendation of men's selves unto the prayers of the saints deceased, which was at first admitted in the ancient Church, did no way impeach the confidence and boldness which we have gotten in Christ, to make our immediate approach unto the throne of grace: which by the invocation of saints now taught in the Church of Rome, is very much impaired. For to induce men to the practice of this, the great majesty of God, and the severity of his justice is propounded unto poor sinners on the one hand, and the consideration of their own baseness and unworthiness on the other. Whereupon it is inferred, that as well for the manifesting of their reverence to God's majesty, as the testifying of their submissness and humility, they should seek to God by the mediation of his saints, like as men do seek unto the King by the mediation of his servants. Which motives can have no more force to encourage men to the invocation of saints, than they have to discharge them from the immediate invocation of God and his Christ. So among the causes alleged by Alexander of Hales, why we ought to pray unto the saints: one is, "inm respect of our want in contemplating, that we who are not able to behold the highest light in itself, may contemplate it in his saints;" Ulterius propter nostram inopiam in contemplando: ut qui non possumus summam lucem in se aspicere, eam in suis sanctis contemplemur. Tertio, propter inopiam in amando: quia nos miserabiles homines, vel plerique nostrum magis afficimur circa sanctum aliquem aliquando, quam etiam circa Dominum ; et ideo Dominus compassus nostræ miseriæ, vult quod oremus sanctos suos. Alexand. de Hales, summ. part. 4. quæst. 26. memb. 3. artic. 5. another," in respect of our want in loving: because we, miserable men, (miserable men indeed that do so) or some of us at least are more affected sometimes unto some saint, than unto our Lord himself: and therefore God having compassion on our misery, is pleased that we should pray unto his saints;" and a third, "in" respect of the reverence of God, that a sinner who hath offended God, because he dareth not to come unto him in his own person, may have recourse unto the saints, by imploring their patronage." The like we read in Gabriel Biel, handling the same argument: "This is a singular consolation," saith he, "to sinners, who have oftentimes more mind to the interpellation of the saints than of the Judge: whose defect of holiness also other men's goodness is able to supply;" and it maketh "for the reverence of God, that a sinner who hath offended God, as it were not daring for the dross of his sin to appear in his proper person, before the most high and dreadful majesty, should have recourse unto the saints who are most pure and grateful to God, who may present the sinners' prayers unto the most High, and by adjoining their merits and prayers thereunto, might make the same more fit for audience, more pleasing and more grateful." Therefore Salmeron the Jesuit sticketh not to deliver his opinion plainly, that the praying unto God by the saints seemeth to be better than the praying unto him immediately, as for other reasons," so because the Church, which hath the spirit of "Propter Dei reverentiam: ut peccator, qui Deum offendit, quia non audet in propria persona adire, recurrat ad sanctos, eorum patrocinia implorando. Alexand. de Hales, summ. part. 4. quæst. 26. memb. 3. artic. 5. • Peccatoribus singularis est consolatio, qui ad sanctorum interpellationem quandoque magis animantur quam Judicis: quorum etiam sanctitatis defectum supplere potest probitas aliena. Gabr. Biel, in Canon. Miss. lect. 30. P Propter Dei reverentiam; ut sc. peccator qui Deum offendit, quasi non audens in persona propria, propter peccati scoriam, coram majestate altissima pariter et tremenda apparere, recurreret ad sanctos purissimos et Deo gratos; qui peccatoris preces altissimo præsentarent, easque suis adjunctis meritis et precibus magis redderent exaudibiles, placidas, atque gratas. Ibid. lect. 31. 4 Tertio, quia Ecclesia, quæ Christi spiritum habet, frequentissime per sanctos recurrit ad Deum, rarius per se ad Deum accedit. Quarto, precatio Dei per in Christ," (though St. Augustine surely would have judged such a church to be led by the spirit of Antichrist rather than of Christ,) most frequently hath recourse unto God by the saints, but cometh more rarely unto God by itself;" and also, because "the praying of GOD by the invocations of saints doth argue greater humility, as may be seen in the centurion";" whereunto he applieth also the saying of David: "He hath had a respect to the prayer of the humble, and did not despise their prayers;" and of Judith: "Thet prayer of the humble and meek hath always pleased thee." Thus in the days of the apostles themselves, under the pretence of humility", some laboured to bring into the church the worshipping of angels: which carried with it a show of wisdom, as St. Paul speaketh of it, and such a show as was not far unlike unto that wherewith our Romish doctors do cozen simple people now-adays. For "this," saith Theodoret, "did they counsel should be done," namely, that men should pray unto angels, "pretending humility, and saying, that the God of all things was invisible, and inaccessible, and incomprehensible: and that it was fit we should procure God's favour by the means of angels;" whereas St. Chrysostom treating of Christian humility, sheweth that the faithful who are furnished with that grace, do notwithstanding "ascendy beyond the highest tops of heaven, and passing by the angels, present themselves before the regal throne vocationem sanctorum arguit majorem humilitatem; sicut videre est in centurione. Alphons. Salmer. in 1. Timoth. cap. 2. disput. 7. sect. ult. r Luke, chap. 7. ver. 6, 7. t Judith, chap. 9. ver. 16. w Coloss. chap. 2. vers. 23. s Psalm. 102. ver. 17. * Τοῦτο τοίνυν συνεβούλευον ἐκεῖνοι γίνεσθαι, ταπεινοφροσύνῃ δῆθεν κεχρημένοι καὶ λέγοντες, ὡς ἀόρατος ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς ἀνέφικτός τε καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, καὶ προσήκει διὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων τὴν θείαν εὐμένειαν πραγ parevεolai. Theodoret. in Coloss. cap. 2. * Οἱ καὶ αὐτὰς ὑπερβαίνουσι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὰς ἀψίδας, καὶ ἀγγέλους παρερχόμενοι παρειστήκασιν αὐτῷ τῷ θρόνῳ τῷ βασιλικῷ. Chrysost. in Matt. homil. 65. op. tom. 7. pag. 651. itself;" yea by learning thus to speak with God in prayer, he sheweth that the man himself is made a kind of an angel," the soul is so set loose from the bonds of the body, the reasoning is raised up so high; he is so translated into heaven, he doth so overlook these worldly things, he is so placed by the regal throne itself, although he be a poor man, although a servant, although a simple man, although an unlearned." Neither is it to be forgotten, that the heathen idolaters also, to cover "the shame of their neglecting of God, were wont to use this miserable excuse that by these they might go to God, as by officers we go to the king;" which is the very self-same rag our Romanists have borrowed from them to cover their superstition with, that the nakedness thereof might not appear. But St. Ambrose, or whosoever else was author of those commentaries upon St. Paul's epistles that are found among his works, hath met well with them, and sufficiently discovered the vanity of these gross and carnal imaginations: "Gob to," saith he, "is there any man so mad, or so unmindful of his salvation, as to give the king's honour to an officer: whereas if any shall be found but to treat of such a matter, they are justly condemned as guilty of high treason? And yet these men think themselves not guilty, who give the honour of God's name 2 "Ανθρωπος γὰρ Θεῷ παιδευθεὶς διαλέγεσθαι, ὡς εἰκὸς τὸν τῷ θεῷ διαλεγόμενον, ἄγγελος ἔσται λοιπόν· οὕτως ἀπολυέται τῶν δεσμῶν τοῦ σώ ματος ἡ ψυχὴ· οὕτω μετάρσιος αὐτῷ γίνεται ὁ λογισμός· οὕτω μετοικίζε ται πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν· οὕτως ὑπερορᾷ τῶν βιωτικῶν· οὕτω παρ' αὐτὸν ἵσταται τὸν θρόνον βασιλικόν, καν πένης ᾖ, καν οἰκέτης, καν ἰδιώτης, κav ȧμals. Chrysost. in Psalm. 4. op. tom. 5. pag. 8. a Solent tamen pudorem passi neglecti Dei, misera uti excusatione, dicentes per istos posse ire ad Deum, sicut per comites pervenitur ad regem. Ambros. in Rom. cap. 1. op. tom. 2. app. pag. 33. bAge, nunquid tam demens est aliquis, aut salutis suæ immemor, ut honorificentiam regis vindicet comiti; cum de hac re si qui etiam tractare fuerint inventi, jure ut rei damnentur majestatis? Et isti se non putant reos, qui honorem nominis Dei deferunt creaturæ, et relicto Domino conservos adorant; quasi sit aliquid plus quod servetur Deo. Nam et ideo ad regem per tribunos aut comites itur, quia homo utique est rex, et nescit quibus debeat rempublicam credere. Ad Deum autem (quem utique nihil latet, omnium enim merita novit) promerendum suffragatore non opus est, sed mente devota. Ubicunque enim talis locutus fuerit ei, respondebit illi. Ibid. |