"The literal sense is hard to flesh and blood: Dryden's Hind and Panther.' The doctrine of Purgatory is thus vindicated from Scripture: How (founded) upon Scripture? Because the scripture in many places assures us, " that God will render to every one according to his works," Ps. lxii. 12. Matt. xvi. 27. Rom. ii. 6. Revel. xxii. 12. Now this would not be true, if there were no such thing as Purgatory; for how would God render to every one according to his works, if such as die in the guilt of any even the least sin, which they have not taken care to blot out by repentance, would nevertheless go straight to heaven? Have you any texts which the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers interpret of Purgatory? Yes, 1 Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15, " Every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed 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," (that is, upon the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, ver. 11,)" he shall receive a reward. If any man's works shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." From which text it appears, that such as, both in their faith, and in the practice of their lives, have stuck to the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, so as not to forfeit his grace by mortal sin; though they have otherwise been guilty of great imperfections, by building wood, hay, and stubble, (ver. 12,) upon this foundation; it appears, I say, that such as these, according to the apostle, must pass through a fiery trial, at the time that " every man's work shall be made manifest:" which is not till the next life; and that they shall be "saved" indeed, "yet so as by fire,” that is, by passing first through Purgatory. 6 2dly, Matt. v. 25, "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 cast into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Which text St. Cyprian, one of the most ancient Fathers, understands of the prison of Purgatory. Epistle 52. ad Antonianum. 3dly, Matt. xii. 32, "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Which last words plainly imply, that some sins, which are not forgiven in this world, may be forgiven in the world to come; otherwise, why should our Saviour make any mention of forgiveness in the world to come? Now, if there may be forgiveness of sins in the world to come, there must be a purgatory; for in hell, there is no forgiveness, and in heaven, no sin. Besides, a middle place is also implied, 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, 20, where Christ is said, by his spirit, to have gone and "preached to the spirits in prison which some time were disobedient." Which prison could be no other than Purgatory; for as to the spirits that were in the prison of hell, Christ did certainly not go to preach to them. How do you ground the belief of Purgatory upon tradition? Because both the Jewish Church long before our Saviour's coming, and the Christian Church from the very beginning in all ages and all nations, have offered prayers and sacrifice for the repose and relief of the faithful departed: as appears in regard to the Jews from 2 Machab. xii. where this practice is approved of, which books of Machabees, the church, says St. Augustine, lib. 18. de Civ. Dei, c. 36, accounts canonical, though the Jews do not. And in regard to the Christian Church, the same is evident from all the Fathers, and the most ancient liturgies. Now such prayers as these evidently imply the belief of a purgatory: for souls in heaven stand in no need of our prayers, and those in hell cannot be bettered by them.' pp. 41—43. Here, it will be observed, the citation from 2 Macc. xii. is not given under the head of Scripture proofs, but under the head of tradition. In all the quotations, Dr. Challoner follows the common Protestant Bible, for the sake of a great part of his 'readers that may have been accustomed to it; not designing 'thereby to declare' his approbation', much less preference, 'of 'that version'. We cannot forbear to transcribe part of the defence of image-worship. What kind of honour do Catholics give to the images of Christ and his saints? A relative honour. What do you mean by a relative honour? By a relative honour, I mean an honour which is given to any thing, not for any intrinsic excellence or dignity in the thing itself, but barely for the relation it has to something else; as when the courtiers bow to the chair of state, or Christians to the name of Jesus, which is an image or remembrance of our Saviour to the ear, as the crucifix is to the eye. Have you any instances of this relative honour allowed by Pro testants? Yes; in the honour they give to the name of Jesus, to their churches, to the altar, to the Bible, to the symbols of bread and wine in the sacrament. Such also was the honour which the Jews gave to the ark and cherubims, and which Moses and Joshua gave to the land on which they stood, as being holy ground," Exod. iii. 5, Jos. v. 15, &c. 66 How do you prove that there is a relative honour due to the images or pictures of Christ and his saints? 6 From the dictates of common sense and reason, as well as of piety and religion, which teach us to express our love and esteem for the persons whom we honour, by setting a value upon all things that belong to them, or have any relation to them: thus, a loyal subject, a dutiful child, a loving friend, value the pictures of their king, father, "The literal sense is hard to flesh and blood: Dryden's Hind and Panther.' The doctrine of Purgatory is thus vindicated from Scripture: How (founded) upon Scripture? Because the scripture in many places assures us, "that God will render to every one according to his works," Ps. lxii. 12. Matt. xvi. 27. Rom. ii. 6. Revel. xxii. 12. Now this would not be true, if there were no such thing as Purgatory; for how would God render to every one according to his works, if such as die in the guilt of any even the least sin, which they have not taken care to blot out by repentance, would nevertheless go straight to heaven? Have you any texts which the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers interpret of Purgatory? Yes, 1 Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15, " Every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed 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," (that is, upon the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, ver. 11,)" he shall receive a reward. If any man's works shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." From which text it appears, that such as, both in their faith, and in the practice of their lives, have stuck to the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, so as not to forfeit his grace by mortal sin; though they have otherwise been guilty of great imperfections, by building wood, hay, and stubble, (ver. 12,) upon this foundation; it appears, I say, that such as these, according to the apostle, must pass through a fiery trial, at the time that " every man's work shall be made manifest:" which is not till the next life; and that they shall be "saved" indeed, “yet so as by fire,” that is, by passing first through Purgatory. 2dly, Matt. v. 25, "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 cast into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Which text St. Cyprian, one of the most ancient Fathers, understands of the prison of Purgatory. Epistle 52. ad Antonianum. 3dly, Matt. xii. 32, "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Which last words plainly imply, that some sins, which are not forgiven in this world, may be forgiven in the world to come; otherwise, why should our Saviour make any mention of forgiveness in the world to come? Now, if there may be forgiveness of sins in the world to come, there must be a purgatory; for in hell, there is no forgiveness, and in heaven, no sin. Besides, a middle place is also implied, 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, 20, where Christ is said, by his spirit, to have gone and " preached to the spirits in prison which some time were disobedient." Which pr.son could be no other than Purgatory; for as to the spirits that were in the prison of hell, Christ did certainly not go to preach to them. How do you ground the belief of Purgatory upon tradition? Because both the Jewish Church long before our Saviour's coming, and the Christian Church from the very beginning in all ages and all nations, have offered prayers and sacrifice for the repose and relief of the faithful departed: as appears in regard to the Jews from 2 Machab. xii. where this practice is approved of, which books of Machabees, the church, says St. Augustine, lib. 18. de Civ. Dei, c. 36, accounts canonical, though the Jews do not. And in regard to the Christian Church, the same is evident from all the Fathers, and the most ancient liturgies. Now such prayers as these evidently imply the belief of a purgatory: for souls in heaven stand in no need of our prayers, and those in hell cannot be bettered by them.' pp. 41-43. Here, it will be observed, the citation from 2 Macc. xii. is not given under the head of Scripture proofs, but under the head of tradition. In all the quotations, Dr. Challoner follows the common Protestant Bible, for the sake of a great part of his readers that may have been accustomed to it; not designing thereby to declare' his approbation', much less preference, 'of 'that version'. We cannot forbear to transcribe part of the defence of image-worship. ་ What kind of honour do Catholics give to the images of Christ and his saints? 'A relative honour. What do you mean by a relative honour? By a relative honour, I mean an honour which is given to any thing, not for any intrinsic excellence or dignity in the thing itself, but barely for the relation it has to something else; as when the courtiers bow to the chair of state, or Christians to the name of Jesus, which is an image or remembrance of our Saviour to the ear, as the crucifix is to the eye. Have you any instances of this relative honour allowed by Pro testants? Yes; in the honour they give to the name of Jesus, to their churches, to the altar, to the Bible, to the symbols of bread and wine in the sacrament. Such also was the honour which the Jews gave to the ark and cherubims, and which Moses and Joshua gave to the land on which they stood, as being "holy ground," Exod. iii. 5, Jos. v. 15, &c. • How do you prove that there is a relative honour due to the images or pictures of Christ and his saints? From the dictates of common sense and reason, as well as of piety and religion, which teach us to express our love and esteem for the persons whom we honour, by setting a value upon all things that belong to them, or have any relation to them: thus, a loyal subject, a dutiful child, a loving friend, value the pictures of their king, father, "The literal sense is hard to flesh and blood: Dryden's Hind and Panther.' The doctrine of Purgatory is thus vindicated from Scripture: How (founded) upon Scripture? Because the scripture in many places assures us, "that God will render to every one according to his works," Ps. lxii. 12. Matt. xvi. 27. Rom. ii. 6. Revel. xxii. 12. Now this would not be true, if there were no such thing as Purgatory; for how would God render to every one according to his works, if such as die in the guilt of any even the least sin, which they have not taken care to blot out by repentance, would nevertheless go straight to heaven? Have you any texts which the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers interpret of Purgatory? Yes, 1 Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15, « Every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed 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," (that is, upon the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, ver. 11,) he shall receive a reward. If any man's works shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." From which text it appears, that such as, both in their faith, and in the practice of their lives, have stuck to the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, so as not to forfeit his grace by mortal sin; though they have otherwise been guilty of great imperfections, by building wood, hay, and stubble, (ver. 12,) upon this foundation; it appears, I say, that such as these, according to the apostle, must pass through a fiery trial, at the time that "every man's work shall be made manifest:" which is not till the next life; and that they shall be "saved" indeed, "yet so as by fire," that is, by passing first through Purgatory. 2dly, Matt. v. 25, "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 cast into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Which text St. Cyprian, one of the most ancient Fathers, understands of the prison of Purgatory. Epistle 52. ad Antonianum. 3dly, Matt. xii. 32, "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Which last words plainly imply, that some sins, which are not forgiven in this world, may be forgiven in the world to come; otherwise, why should our Saviour make any mention of forgiveness in the world to come? Now, if there may be forgiveness of sins in the world to come, there must be a purgatory; for in hell, there is no forgiveness, and in heaven, no sin. Besides, a middle place is also implied, 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, 20, where Christ is said, by his spirit, to have gone and "preached to the spirits in prison which some time were disobedient." Which pr.son |