greatest danger and concern. If the question be, Whether it be lawful to worship the image of the cross, or of Christ, with Divine worship? First, there is a doctrine of St. Thomas for it, and Vasquez, and many others; therefore it is probable, and, therefore, is safe in practice; "et sic est ecclesiæ praxis," "the church also practises so," as appears in their own offices: and St. Thomas makes this use of it: "Illi exhibemus cultum latriæ, in quo ponimus spem salutis: sed in cruce Christi ponimus spem salutis. Cantat enim ecclesia, O crux ave, spes unica, Hoc passionis tempore, Auge piis justitiam, Reisque dona veniam. Ergo crux Christi est adoranda adoratione latriæ." "We give Divine worship," says he, "to that in which we put our hopes of salvation; but in the cross we put our hopes of salvation; for so the church sings, (it is the practice of the church,) Hail, O. cross, our only hope in this time of suffering; increase righteousness to the godly, and give pardon to the guilty;' therefore, the cross of Christ is to be adored with Divine adoration." : By this principle, you may embrace any opinion of their doctors safely, especially if the practice of the church do intervene, and you need not trouble yourself with any further inquiry and if an evil custom get amongst men, that very custom shall legitimate the action, if any of their grave doctors allow it, or good men use it; and Christ is not your rule, but the examples of them that live with you, or are in your eye and observation, that is your rule. We hope we shall not need to say any more in this affair; the pointing out this rock may be warning enough to them that would not suffer shipwreck, to decline the danger that looks so formidably. SECTION VII.': As these evil doctrines have general influence into evil life, so there are some others, which, if they be pursued to their 3 Part. q. 25. art. 4. Vide etiam Pontif. cap. de Benedictione nova crucis, f. 163. proper and natural issues, that is, if they be believed and practised, are enemies to the particular and specific parts of piety and religion. Thus the very prayers of the faithful are, or may be, spoiled by doctrines publicly allowed, and prevailing in the Roman church. 66 For, 1. They teach" That prayers themselves,' ex opere operato,' or by the natural work itself,' do prevail; for it is not essential to prayer for a man to think particularly of what he says; it is not necessary to think of the things signified by the words:" so Suarez teaches 3: Nay, it is not necessary to the essence of prayer, that he who prays should think 'de ipsa locutione,'' of the speaking itself."" And, indeed, it is necessary that they should all teach so, or they cannot tolerably pretend to justify their prayers in an unknown tongue. But this is, indeed, their public doctrine: for prayers, in the mouth of the man that says them," are like the words of a charmer; they prevail even when they are not understood," says Salmeron. Or, as Antoninus", "They are like a precious stone, of as much value in the hand of an unskilful man, as of a jeweller." And, therefore, attention to, or devotion in, our prayers, is not necessary for the understanding of which, saith cardinal Tolet, when it is said, That you must say your prayers or offices attentively, reverently, and devoutly, you must know that attention or advertency to your prayers is manifold: 1. "That you attend to the words, so that you speak them not too fast, or to begin the next verse of a psalm, before he that recites with you, hath done the former verse; and this attention is necessary. But, 2. There is an attention which is by understanding the sense, and that is not necessary: for if it were, very extremely few would do their duty, when so very few do at all understand what they say. 3. There is an attention relating to the end of prayer, that is, that he that prays, considers that he is present before God, and speaks to him; and this indeed is very profitable, but it is not necessary:" No, not so much. So that by this doctrine no attention is necessary, but to attend that the words be all said, and said right. But even this" attention is not necessary that it a De Orat. lib. v. c. 4. b Sum. part. 3. tit. 23. Vide etiam Jacobum de Graffis de Orat. lib. ii. Instruct. Sacerd. c. 13. n. 5. et 6. should be actual, but it suffices to be virtual, that is, that he who says his office, intend to do so, and do not change his mind, although he does not attend: and he who does not change his mind, that is, unless observing himself not to attend, he still turn his mind to other things, he attends:" meaning, he attends sufficiently, and as much as is necessary; though indeed, speaking naturally and truly, he does not attend. If any man in the church of England and Ireland had published such doctrine as this, he should quickly and deservedly have felt the severity of the ecclesiastical rod; but in Rome it goes for good catholic doctrine. Now although upon this account, devotion is (it may be) good; and it is good to attend to the words of our prayer, and the sense of them; yet, that it is not necessary, is evidently consequent to this. But it is also expressly affirmed by the same hand, there ought to be devotion, that our mind be inflamed with the love of God, though if this be wanting, without contempt, it is no deadly sin. "Ecclesiæ satis fit per opus externum, nec aliud jubet," saith Reginaldus": "If ye do the outward work, the church is satisfied, neither does she command any thing else."— Good doctrine this! And it is an excellent church, that commands nothing to him that prays, but to say so many words. Well! But after all this, if devotion be necessary or not, if it be present or not, if the mind wander or wander not, if you mind what you pray or mind it not, there is an easy cure for all this for pope Leo granted remission of all negligences, in their saying their offices and prayers, to them, who, after they have done, shall say this prayer: "To the holy and undivided Trinity, to the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified; to the fruitfulness of the most blessed and most glorious Virgin Mary, and to the university of all saints, be eternal praise, honour, virtue, and glory, from every creature; and to us remission of sins, for ever and ever: Amen. Blessed are the bowels of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal God; and blessed are the paps which suckled Christ our Lord. Pater noster. Ave Maria." This prayer, to this purpose, is set down by Navar and cardinal Tolet". c Ibid. n. Ubi supra. e Ubi supra, c. 13. This is the sum of the doctrine, concerning the manner of saying the Divine offices in the church of Rome; in which greater care is taken to obey the precept of the church than the commandments of God: "For the precept of hearing mass is not, to intend the words, but to be present at the sacrifice, though the words be not so much as heard; and they that think the contrary, think so without any probable reason," saith Tolet. It seems there was not so much as the authority of one grave doctor to the contrary; for if there had, the contrary opinion might have been probable; but all agree upon this doctrine, all that are considerable. So that between the church of England and the church of Rome, the difference in this article is plainly this: They pray with their lips, we with the heart; we pray with the understanding, they with the voice; we pray, and they say prayers. We suppose that we do not please God, if our hearts be absent; they say, it is enough if their bodies be present at their greatest solemnity of prayer, though they hear nothing that is spoken, and understand as little. And which of these be the better way of serving God, may soon be determined, if we remember the complaint which God made of the Jews, "This people draweth near me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me:" but we know, that we are commanded to "ask in faith," which is seated in the understanding, and requires the concurrence of the will, and holy desires; which cannot be at all, but in the same degree in which we have a knowledge of what we ask. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man prevails:" but what our prayers want of this, they must needs want of blessing and prosperity. And if we lose the benefit of our prayers, we lose that great instrumentality by which Christians are receptive of pardon, and strengthened in faith, and confirmed in hope, and increase in charity, and are protected by Providence, and are comforted in their sorrows, and derive help from God: "Ye ask, and have not, because ye ask amiss:" that is St. James's rule. They that pray not as they ought, shall never obtain what they fain would. Hither is to be reduced their fond manner of prayer, consisting in vain repetitions of names, and little forms of words. Ibid. n. 6. The Psalter of our lady is an hundred and fifty Ave Maries, and, at the end of every tenth, they drop in the Lord's prayer; and this, with the creed at the end of the fifty, makes a perfect rosary. This, indeed, is the main entertainment of the people's devotion; for which cause Mantuan called their religion, Religionem, Quæ filo insertis numerat sua murmura baccis, a religion that numbers their murmurs by berries filed upon a string:" this makes up so great a part of their religion, that it may well be taken for one half of its definition. But because so few do understand what they say, but all repeat, and stick to their numbers, it is evident they think to be heard for that. For that or nothing; for, besides that, they neither do or understand: and all that we shall now say to it is, that our blessed Saviour reproved this way of devotion, in the practice and doctrines of the heathens: very like to which is that which they call the Psalter of Jesus, in which are fifteen short ejaculations, as "Have mercy on me, strengthen me, help me, comfort me," &c.; and with every one of these, the name of Jesus is to be said thirty times, that is, in all, four hundred and fifty times. Now we are ignorant how to distinguish this from βαττολογία, orvain repetition' of the Gentiles; for they did just so, and Christ said, they did not do well; and that is all that we pretend to know of it. They thought to be heard the rather for so doing; and if the people of the Roman church do not think so, there is no reason why they should do so. But without any further arguing about the business, they are not ashamed to own it. For the author of the preface to the Jesus-Psalter, printed by Fowler at Antwerp, promises to the repetition of that sweet name, "Great aid against temptations, and a wonderful increase of grace." Ohe, jam desine Deos, uxor, gratulando obtundere; Ut nihil credas intelligere, nisi idem dictum est centies. 648. |