How delightful it is to sit under the grand old trees of the

courtyard on this charming mid-summer evening! The light breeze

is redolent with the fragrance of the new-mown hay, and the

leaves seem to quiver with joy in an atmosphere heavy with

sunshine. The swallows pursue each other in play with short, wild

cries, and in the foliage of the linden-tree that brown bird, the

nightingale, tries her brilliant cadences, drowned at times by

the shouts of the children at their sports answering her in the

silences, whom without doubt they understood and admired. The

children, happy as the birds, dance and whirl about, just like

those motes one frequently sees rising up in a sunbeam. The nuns,

sombre and silent figures, watch them, contemplating life in its

flower and carelessness. This court-yard where the children play

and the birds sing belonged formerly to a monastery of the order

of St. Benoit; but now to a cloister built out of its ruins,

where the virtues of ancient days flourish under the shelter of

modern walls, which are hallowed by the memories of the past.

Some young girls, no less pleased with the gambols of the

children, were walking in groups to and fro under the vaulted

arches which encircled the court, talking and laughing merrily;

but whenever they approached a nun reclining in an easy chair, by

an involuntary impulse they lowered their voices. She was a poor

invalid, who had been brought out to enjoy the sweet odors and

the pleasant warmth of the evening. She appeared to be nearing

the end of life, though still young. For the paleness of her

cheeks, the emaciation of her body, and the transparent whiteness

of her hands, all proclaimed the ravages of a long and incurable

illness. There was no more sand in the hourglass, no more oil in

the lamp, and her heart--like a timepiece about to stop--was

slacking its pulsations. One could not help but see that Sister

Aloyse retained a very powerful fascination in the beauty which

her terrible illness had not been able to efface. Her dark blue

eyes had not lost their almond-shape or sapphire hue.

{490}

Her figure was still elegant, seen under the loose robe which

wrapped her like a winding-sheet; and her voice was as sweet and

agreeable as in former days.

At first she felt a little better upon being brought into the

garden; but she still suffered, and neither the pure air nor the

mildness of the beautiful evening had revived her. She sat in

silence, absorbed, perhaps, in those last thoughts, which she did

not confide even to herself, and which, to one who is about

departing, seem to give a glimpse of those unknown shores which

are yet so near to her who waits them.

What is she thinking of? Of her past without remorse; of her

future without terror? Does she regret anything which she has

renounced for her God? Does one last thread hold captive this

celestial bird? I cannot say. She appears sad; yet her

companions, always so affectionately attentive, do not seem to be

surprised. For Sister Aloyse had always been characterized, even

in the more beautiful days of her youth, by a kind of melancholy.

She resembled an angel of peace, but yet an angel who weeps.

One young girl, who was walking under the arches, regarded her

with great interest; and finally, leaving the group by whom she

was surrounded, approached the nun, dropped on her knees in the

grass before her, and, looking in her face, said earnestly:

"Well, my sister, are you better this evening?"

Sister Aloyse blushed slightly, just as porcelain is tinged with

a faint rose-color when a flame is passed behind it, and answered

in a voice sweet and low:

"Thank you, Camille, I am not well, and I shall never be any

better till I come into the presence of our Lord. Look! does it

not seem indeed as if the gates of heaven were opening yonder?"

She pointed to the west, then filled with the glory and splendor

of purple and gold and flame colors.

"Yet one cannot go there," answered Camille in a caressing tone.

"Oh! yes; provided the great God will receive us. And something

warns me that I shall shortly go to him."

Both now became silent, Camille sadly regarding her companion.

Educated in this convent, she had always been accustomed to see

Sister Aloyse there, where she was much beloved. She would like

to have given her some pleasure, but what could she give, or what

could she say, to a person so detached from earthly things, and

whose aspirations were fixed on joys eternal?

The nun was still thinking, praying perhaps; and after a long

silence she said,

"Camille, you must come and see me some time before I go away

from here. But now good-night, dear!"

Two nuns now came forward to help the sister into the house,

while Camille, who had gathered some white roses, carried them to

Aloyse, saying,

"They are from my own little garden, my sister; therefore take

them, I pray you."

"Willingly," said Aloyse, "and I will offer them to the Holy

Virgin. And, Camille, do not forget to remember me in your

prayers tonight."

II.

"Go, my child," said the old abbess to Camille, "go to the

infirmary and see Sister Aloyse; she has something to say to

you."

"Is she going to die?" asked Camille with tears in her eyes.

{491}

"She will go to her eternal home soon, but not to-day. Have no

fear, child, but go and listen carefully to what she tells you."

Camille with agitated heart (for this poor heart is so quickly

stirred at sixteen years!) ascended the staircase which led to

the cells of the nuns. She passed through a long corridor out of

which opened the little doors, all of which, instead of a number

or design, bore some holy image or pious inscription. At the end

of this corridor she found the infirmary, a large room, quiet and

retired, whose windows opened upon the court and garden below. At

this moment it was almost vacant; she found only one bed

occupied, that of Sister Aloyse, who, as she had no fever, had

been left by the infirmarian while she attended vespers in the

chapel. Camille noiselessly approached the bed, the curtains of

which were half drawn so that Aloyse could see out. She was

sitting up supported by her pillows, and her hands were joined

before her on the cross of her rosary. She smiled on the young

girl, who timidly embraced her; and then Camille very earnestly

asked her why she had sent for her to come to her bedside instead

of any other of the girls, or her friends or companions; for she

was afraid, as one naturally dreads what is unknown. The nun

fixed upon her those searching eyes which seemed to look through

and beyond anything present, and said with much sweetness,

"Sit down, Camille; I have something to say to you." She

hesitated, but finally said, "You have never heard any one of

your family speak of me?"

"Never," answered the child, somewhat surprised. "I have known

something of your family--your father," she said with an effort.

"But it was a long time ago, a very long time--before you were

born. I was related to your grandmother, Madame Reville."

"I never saw her, but I have seen her great portrait," said

Camille.

"Yes, it hangs in the red drawing-room, does it not?" asked

Sister Aloyse with a sad smile. "Ah! well. Madame Reville

received me into her family as a lady's companion--a reader--for

I was poor, and needed some home. Your father did not live at

home with his mother, but he came there very frequently."

Here she paused, breathing with difficulty, but continued:

"He wished to marry me; Madame Reville was opposed to it; he

insisted. I saw he would disobey his mother; I was afraid for

him; I was afraid for myself. So I prayed to the good God. He did

not reject my afflicted and desolate heart, but he--the Divine

Consoler--called me into this home, and placed this holy veil as

a barrier between the world and myself. Here I found peace,

purchased sometimes with bitter suffering, but real; for it

filled the depths of my heart; it was the price of my sacrifice.

And I was able to see, in the clear light which streamed from the

cross, how all joy is deceitful, and all pleasure empty and

false. After two years had passed, I came to consecrate myself

with irrevocable vows to God's service, when the friends who now

and then came to see me, and public report, which in our day

finds its way even into the cloister, told me of the only thing

which had still power to afflict me. For, Camille, your

father--but what can I say to you who bear his name! M. Reville,

angry at my departure, and grieving for the loss of the poor

creature that I am, sought forgetfulness in dissipation.

Undoubtedly, he forgot me--I trust and hope he did--but he also

forgot his God!

{492}

Your father is not a Christian; nay, he is an enemy to

Christianity! Ah! since the day when I first knew that our

prayers did not meet in the pathway to heaven, how have I wept,

how have I prayed, how have I done penance! Alas! my tears, my

blood, my vigils, my sufferings--all have not prevailed, and I am

pierced to the depths of my heart with the terrible reflection."

She was unable to continue; her voice died upon her lips, while

tears, clear and burning, rolled down her cheeks. Camille,

kneeling by her bedside, wept too; for she began to see what this

self-denying heart had suffered.

"My child," finally said the sister after a long silence, "I

shall soon die, and there will then be no one to pray for him,

since your mother, who ought especially so to do, is dead. You

love your father, don't you?"

"Yes, with all my heart!"

"Well, then, promise me that you will unceasingly pray for his

conversion--that you will offer for him your every action and

your every pain; promise me that there shall always be a

suppliant voice to take the place of poor Aloyse's, which will

soon be hushed in death--to cry 'mercy!' Think of what it is to

have a soul and an eternity, and that soul your father's!"

She had seized the hands of the child in both her own, and fixed

upon her a look in which the last forces of her life were

concentrated. "Promise!" said she. Camille thought a moment--her

young face wore a grave and stern expression. Finally, raising

one arm toward the crucifix, she said in a distinct voice: "I

solemnly promise you, my sister, I will continue what you have

commenced. I will pray, I will labor all my life for his

conversion." A ray of heavenly light illumined Sister Aloyse's

countenance, and she sank back upon her pillows, murmuring, "I

can die now."

Two days later she passed away, with a peace and serenity worthy

of the blamelessness of her whole life, though in breathing her

last she cried, "Have mercy!"

Was it of herself she thought?

III.

Many years have passed away. The grass grows thick and green upon

the bed of clay where sleeps Aloyse. Camille, grown into a fine

young woman, keeps house for her father. She has travelled with

him, she has seen the world, its balls and its routs, but she has

never forgotten the promise made to Sister Aloyse. This promise

has banished the strength of her limbs and of her youth. She has

become serious all at once. She has given to her life but one

aim, and that sublime and difficult, and from that moment when

the struggle which had animated the life of Aloyse passed into

her own all her actions, all her thoughts, had been devoted to

the redemption of one soul. At first overflowing with the

thoughtless and enthusiastic zeal of youth, she would talk to him

of that religion whose arguments her heart found so natural, and

which seemed to her so irresistible. Her father would laugh at

her, and she would cry; she would persist, however, until he

became so angry that she was frightened. Finally she decided to

be more quiet in the future, and to leave to God the conduct of

her cause. But with what vigils, with what prayers, what sighs,

what agony of heart, and with what fervent desire did she ask God

for that precious soul! And what vows did she make to the Blessed

Mother! What flowers she offered upon her altar!

{493}

What prayers, in which she thanked God for the kindness that had

given mortals this all-powerful Mediatrix! Her father's guardian

angel, what careful conversation did she hold with him! How she

labored and prayed for that of which he never thought!

As years pass, Camille's piety becomes more rigid; self-denial

joins itself to acts of earnest charity, in their turn

supplemented by generous alms!

One would naturally ask why Camille, rich and young, charming and

admired, should rise so early in the morning, should spend so

many hours upon her knees in church? Why she went with the

Sisters of Charity to visit the sick, why her attire was so plain

and simple, why her room was so little ornamented, why she

labored without any relaxation, and finally, why with so

interesting an appearance and conversation she preferred so

severe a life? No one upon earth could answer these questions

except the guardian angel who writes down these noble acts to the

account of their forgetful subject, her unrepentant father.

But she accomplished nothing, although the rigors were not for

herself, though she maintained, for her father, this piety united

with a tenderness which only made her more sweet and

affectionate. His hard heart did not open to the rays of divine

grace, nor to the timid smiles of his child. The taste for

amusement, born of a desire for forgetfulness, had chased from

his heart, at the same time with a pure love, the belief in holy

things. The heavenly flame had been quickly extinguished beneath

the ashes of pleasure; and, like many other children of his age,

he had neglected to believe through fear of being compelled to be

good. Bad society and bad literature had completed the work of

headlong dissipation; and neither marriage nor paternity had

reclaimed him. His birth, fortune, and indisputable talents

raised him to public offices. And, to be consistent with his

principles, and congenial to his friends, he had to be inimical

to all religion. The seminaries; the Brothers of the Christian

Doctrine; the Sisters, hospitallers or teachers; the free

establishments; the Carmelites, who ask nothing of a person; the

Clarisses, who ask only a piece of bread; the Little Sisters of

the Poor, who gathered food for their old men; the foreign

missions; the sermons in Lent in the parish; the general

indulgences granted by the pope; the cardinals in the senate; and

the Capuchins who went barefooted--were all equally the objects

of his strong aversion. He read continually the _Journal des

Débats_, the _Revue des Deux Mondes_, and the liberal

journal of his department--of that department in which he played

a prominent part. Shall we say, in excuse for him, that his

impiety had never been tried by adversity; and that he had found

the world so delightful that he had wished to live for ever in

it? In youth he had lived in the midst of noisy pleasures. In

more advanced life he lived for comfort, for his house--cool in

summer, warm in winter, splendid at all times--for his grand

dinners, his good wine, his fine horses and elegant equipages. He

enjoyed exquisitely those excellent things which the public

generally esteem, but in which divine grace does not much appear.

The memories of youth he did not often recall. He now scarcely

recollected the name of that poor cousin whom he had once loved

so passionately, but who had never forgotten him, who, even in

the arms of death, had displayed an angelic love. One day Camille

spoke of Sister Aloyse, and added,

{494}

"Was she not related to us, father?"

"Yes, yes--a romantic affair! She threw herself into a convent;

she became weary even there!"

He took several turns through the room with a preoccupied air,

and finally stopping before the great picture of his mother--a

withered and haughty figure--he said,

"My mother did not love this poor Aloyse much! Poor girl! What a

charming voice she had! A voice which ought to astonish the

convent when she chants the _Miserere!_ She will sing no

more; she has a pain in her chest. Zounds! The discipline of the

convent! What a pity for this pretty Aloyse to be buried alive!

On the stage she would equal Malibran!"

And this was all! The remembrance of Aloyse was only that of a

young girl who could sing charmingly, and who, perhaps, might

have commanded a situation in a theatre!

He loved his daughter; but, for all that, she troubled him, and

he was anxious that she should marry, so that he might be

relieved from the care and responsibility. She did not oppose his

wishes, for she did not feel that God appointed her to lead the

life of a nun; but she wished her husband to be a Christian, and

said so to her father. He only shrugged his shoulders and cried,

"Still these absurd ideas!"

The Christian, however, presented himself, and at twenty-two

Camille Reville became Madame de Laval.

IV.

Camille is now no longer twenty. Her youth has passed on swift

wings, and white is beginning to streak her dark hair; but her

pleasant face preserves the repose of former days. She has been

blessed with mixed and imperfect happiness, such as every one

tastes in this world. For in this life the black squares are

never far distant from the white ones; and in its tangled skein

the dark threads are woven in by the side of brighter colors. She

had lived most happily with her husband. Together they had

laughed over their little children's gambols, and together wept

over them in sickness. They had brought them up with the labor

and care which, in our day especially, accompanies all true

Christian education. Their eldest daughter, Amelia, had been

married about a year; and they were now very happy in expectation

of her approaching maternity. The second daughter was finishing

her education in the same convent of Benedictines where her

mother had been in her youthful days. Their son André was in a

polytechnic school, and their youngest, Maurice, was pursuing his

Latin studies in his native village.

Through the disappointments and joy of her life, through days of

rain and days of sunshine, Camille had pursued one thought

faithfully--the grand aim which she had proposed to herself in

early life, her father's conversion. As a young wife she had

prayed with her husband, for his heart beat in unison with hers.

As a young mother, she had taught her children to pray with her.

And now, having reached the autumn of life, she still

prayed--prayed constantly; but as yet her prayers had received no

answer.

The old man lived with her; and every moment she surrounded him

with care and tenderness. She watched him and brooded over him

more like a mother than like a daughter. And it was hard indeed

for her, that this old man of sixty-six years would not listen to

any serious conversation, would only rail at holy things, and

would learn no lesson from either life or death. And she was ever

obliged to turn his words from their real meaning, and interpret

his jeers and sarcasms so that they would not shock her innocent

little children.

{495}

At this moment we find Camille in the drawing-room with her

father, who is half asleep before a great fire, with the

_Débats_ at his feet. She is sewing on some linen for the

coming baby; but twice stops to read two short letters received

that morning from two of her absent children. After a thousand

details about boarding, upon the compositions in history, upon

the new piece of tapestry which Clotilde had just begun, upon the

sermons delivered by a new father whose name she did not know,

she went on to say: "I never forget, dear mother, to pray with

you--you know why! It seems to me that the moment is approaching

when the gentle God will answer us--as if grandpapa was going to

be astonished that he had been able to live so long without

thinking of God!"

The second letter was from André, and would have been

unintelligible to any one who did not possess the key to a

school-boy's language. But at the end there was a passage which

Camille kissed again and again: "Dear mamma, I love you, and I

always pray with you, just like you." A stick of wood which just

now rolled down with a great noise awoke M. Reville, who, after

rubbing his eyes, asked his daughter, "Where is Maurice?"

"He is skating. Do you wish me to take his place, and do anything

to amuse you?"

"No, thank you. But stop, you may read instead; read this

discussion in the Chambers upon the military law."

Camille took the paper and read slowly; and the old man's eyes

were still closed when the violent ringing of the door-bell woke

him up completely, and made Madame de Laval start.

"What is the matter with you?" asked her father.

"I do not know; only the sudden ringing frightened me."

She jumped up and ran into the hall, and at the same instant her

husband entered from the street. She moved toward him, but

suddenly stopped, frozen with an inexplicable horror. M. de

Laval's face was of an ashy paleness; he tried to speak, he

stammered--the words died upon his lips, and his wife, in one of

those quick transitions which thought makes, believed he was

going to fall dead at her feet.

"What ails you?" she cried, reaching out her arms toward him. "Do

not be frightened, Camille," said he; "but Maurice--"

He was unable to finish.

"Maurice!" she echoed. "Where is he? Why does he not come home? O

great God! he is dead. He is drowned!"

M. de Laval had now somewhat recovered himself, and he explained:

"He rescued a child who was drowning, and was wounded in the

head. They are bringing him home. My dear Camille, keep up heart!

He lives! God will restore him to us!"

She staggered and looked at her husband with fixed eyes.

"Have courage," he cried.

The servants, already called together by the sad news, had opened

the gates to the relatives and the friends who were coming in

every direction, and also to those who were bringing Maurice.

They bore him on a litter, covered with a mattress, and his head,

all bloody, with eyes wide open, rested upon a pillow made of the

coats of the brave men; while behind the litter walked a man all

covered with blood. He was the father of the child whom Maurice

had saved at the price of his own life.

{496}

The boy was quickly placed upon the bed, and the physicians were

soon by his side, followed by the parish priest. Camille,

kneeling beside him, saw, as in an evil dream, the surgeon dress

the wound which Maurice had in the temple, and afterward talk in

a serious manner to the other physicians behind the curtain. She

saw the priest go up to Maurice, and, after talking to him in a

low voice, bend over him and raise his hands in the benediction

of the dying, and immediately after give him the holy oils. As in

a dream she heard her husband's voice saying, "Dear wife, the

good God wants him! Look at our Maurice."

She then looked at him. Maurice, aroused by the words of the

priest, had regained complete consciousness, and knew that he was

dying. He seemed more than tranquil--happy; and, looking around

on all present, said,

"Good-by, papa; I only did what you taught me."

He then discovered the father of the rescued child, who had

concealed himself behind M. de Laval. "Give my love to your

little boy," said he.

His eyes then sought for his mother. She got up, and, bending

over him, took him in her arms. "Dear mamma, make me an offering

for dear grandpapa's conversion. Say to him--" He stopped. His

mother saw the light fade from his eyes, and knew that his breath

was hushed in death. For a long time she remained holding him in

her arms, like that more desolate of mothers, bathing him with

her tears, and unable to listen to the comforting words of either

husband or father, both of whom were overwhelmed with grief. At

last, her piety, those religious sentiments which had always

animated her life, prevailed, and she said aloud,

"Yes, my God! I accept the sacrifice, and I sacrifice him for my

father. Save him, Lord, save him!"

Two days later they buried poor Maurice, the whole village

attending his funeral.

The same evening the priest, who had been with him in his last

moments, presented himself to Madame de Laval, and said:

"You are afflicted, but your prayers are heard. Divine grace has

pursued your father, and this very morning, when the body of your

child was yet in the house, he called me to him and made his

confession. He could hold out no longer, he said to me. Rejoice

then, madam, in the midst of your grief."

She did indeed rejoice, though she still wept.

"O Aloyse," said she, "and my dear Maurice! They are then taken

away, but at what a price!" "Thank God!" cried the priest. "He

separates a family here only to reunite them in eternity!"

-------

{497}

From Les Etudes Religieuses

The Second Plenary Council Of Baltimore,

And Ecclesiastical Discipline

In The United States. [Footnote 129]

[Footnote 129: _Concilii Plenarii Baltimorensis II. Acta et

Decreta. Baltimorae_, 1868.]

[Introductory Note--The periodical from which the following

article has been translated is one of the highest character,

published at Paris under the editorial supervision of the Jesuit

fathers. The account which it renders of the late Council of

Baltimore is made doubly valuable from the fact that it is the

work of a foreign, and therefore an impartial, judge. We have

been obliged to make a few corrections in the article. Several of

these were suggested by the Most Rev. President of the Council,

and the rest were required by obvious and quite natural

inaccuracies of a writer living in a foreign country.]

The superior of the Grand Seminary of Baltimore has recently done

us the honor of transmitting, in the name of his archbishop,

[Footnote 130] a copy of the _Acts of the Council_ held in

that city in 1866. He asks us to make known the contents to the

readers of the _Etudes_. It gives us pleasure to accede to

this request.

[Footnote 130: Mgr. Spalding, Archbishop of Baltimore, is the

author of several interesting publications on the religious

history of the United States. He has published two essays

concerning the legislation of the early Protestant colonies

respecting divine worship. In their legislation is to be

found intolerance running to the most cruel extremes, and

this almost until the Revolution of 1776. Besides these, he

is the author of _Evidences of Catholicity, Sketches of

Early Catholic Missions in Kentucky,_ and _Spalding's

Miscellanea_.]

On the eve of the great event which the Catholic world expects at

the close of this year, it seems to us that there are few

subjects more interesting, or more worthy to be treated of, than

the present. The very organization of the present council, at

which forty-six bishops were present, will give us a fair idea of

what is to be done when all the prelates of all countries and

churches are convened. Moreover, the decisions made in such an

imposing assembly will not fail to clear for us some obscure

points. But, better than all, the collection of decrees will make

us comprehend the situation of Catholicity in the immense

territories of the new world, where it is called to such a lofty

destiny.

On the 19th of March, 1866, the Feast of St. Joseph, Mgr.

Spalding, using the powers received for this purpose from the

sovereign pontiff, convoked at Baltimore a Plenary Council,

[Footnote 131] to be opened on the second Sunday of October, in

the same year.

[Footnote 131: A council is called plenary at which the

bishops of several provinces are assembled. After a general

or oecumenical council there is nothing more solemn. The

present is the second of this character which has been held

at Baltimore. The first took place in 1852.]

If any bishops were prevented from appearing personally, they

were to be represented by proxies furnished with authentic

powers. The day having come, after a preliminary congregation,

held the evening before to clear up certain details, the council

opened with a grand, solemn, and public procession; in which

figured forty-four archbishops and bishops, one administrator

apostolic, two mitred abbots, together with the most

distinguished of the American clergy. It was a spectacle alike

new and imposing for that great city. More than forty thousand

people met to witness it.

{498}

In the streets through which the procession passed, there was

scarcely a house which was not decorated. This was undoubtedly

one of the grandest and most beautiful Catholic demonstrations

which has yet been seen in that land of liberty, where all sects

and communions find a rendezvous. The council furnished one of

those striking lessons which the good sense of Americans does not

forget, and which by little and little will lead them to

understand that where there is unity there is also life.

Every deliberative assembly has need of order; the fathers began

by tracing a plan for themselves; these are its principal

dispositions.

Every day the particular congregations of theologians were to

meet together. These were to discuss among themselves and judge,

in a preliminary manner, the measures proposed. The result of

their deliberations, gathered by a notary, with the votes and

motives alleged for or against, in case of a disagreement, was

then to be transmitted to the bishops. These, again, held private

congregations where they occupied themselves solely with

questions already debated by the theologians. _A procès

verbal_ was made, by the secretaries, of what passed in these

meetings. A new examination and judgment was made in this second

instance; yet these preliminary discussions decided nothing; all

was to be referred to the general congregations, and, finally, to

the sessions of the council, where the decrees received their

last form, and the sanction which makes them obligatory.

As to the order which was to reign in their deliberations, the

bishops found nothing better fitted to their purpose than a small

portion, clearly stated, and well defined, of the rules called

parliamentary, and consecrated under that name in the public

assemblies of their land. Each had the right of proposing

whatever he would, provided he did so by writing and in the Latin

tongue; but a motion made by a member could not become a matter

of deliberation, unless another prelate joined the first in

making the demand. None was at liberty to depart from the

prearranged schedule, nor from the title which formed the object

of present discussion. As to the rest, the greatest liberty of

opinion was not only accorded, but counselled, as long as the

orators confined themselves to the limits of propriety. If any

one transgressed these, or prolonged his discourse uselessly, any

member could demand a call to order; the _promotor_ was

charged with executing the laws of order, but, in cases of doubt,

final decision belonged to the president.

Before publication in the sessions, the decrees were submitted to

general congregations; when not only the bishops but also the

theologians might set forth their opinions, with only this

provision, namely, that those should be first heard who formed

the commission on which had previously devolved the consideration

of the subject then under discussion. Such are the simple and

precise dispositions which served to maintain order in so great

an assembly.

The apostolic delegate had by right four theologians; the

archbishops, three; the bishops, two; some, however, contented

themselves with only one. They were divided into seven

congregations or bureaux, among which was divided the matter

which was to occupy the attention of the council. [Footnote 132]

[Footnote 132: This matter comprised the following subjects.

_1. _De Fide Orthodoxa, deque erroribus

serpentibus;_

2. _De Hierarchia et regimine Ecclesiae;_

3. _De Personis Ecclesiasticis;_

4. _De Ecclesiis bonisque ecclesiasticis tenendis

tutandisque;_

5. _De Sacranentis;_

6. _De Cultu Divino;_

7. _De Disciplinae

uniformitate promovenda;_

8. De Regularibus et monialibus;

9. De Juventute instituenda pieque erudienda;

10. De Salute animarum

efficacitis promovenda;

11. De Libris et ephemeribus;

12. De Societatibus Secretis._

Several congregations occupied themselves with two of these

subjects at once because of their connection. In the council

were added a thirteenth congregation, on the creation of new

bishoprics, and a fourteenth, on the execution of the

decrees.]

{499}

Each congregation was presided over by a bishop; it had, besides,

a vice-president and an ecclesiastical notary, charged, as we

have seen, with the care of transmitting to the prelates the

result of these deliberations. For the council itself were chosen

a chancellor archdeacon, a secretary with assistants, a notary,

who was to assist those who discharged the same function in the

particular congregations; two _promotors_, one a bishop, the

other a priest, charged with maintaining order and observance of

rule in the sessions and public meetings; finally, judges, who

were to pronounce on motions of absence, or on differences which

might arise. Severe penalties were laid on all who should leave

before the work of the council should be finished.

This rapid glance at the organization of this assembly and at its

plan of operations seems to us necessary, in order to understand

the labor accomplished by it.

The chief task of the council was to fix, I had almost said to

create, [Footnote 133] ecclesiastical discipline throughout the

entire extent of the United States.

[Footnote 133: If the writer had said this, he would have

made a great mistake. While the United States formed one

province, many provincial councils were held at Baltimore;

and since the creation of the other provinces they have been

regularly held in each one, and the principal points of

discipline have thus been long since effectually

settled.--ED. C.W.]

Amid a population so diverse in origin, manners, character; amid

the manifold influences produced by the heterogeneous mixture of

conflicting sects in which each Catholic congregation is obliged

to live, it would seem difficult to establish uniformity.

Moreover, the spirit of modern times is in every respect so

different from that of bygone ages, private and public

institutions have undergone such modifications, that the

application of the canon law meets on all sides obstacles

apparently insurmountable. The prelates of North America have

legislated with such prudence, with such a perfect union of ideas

and sentiments, that their churches will hereafter possess in the

collection of their decrees a complete code of laws. [Footnote

134] These "acts," printed in a convenient form, are to be used

as a text-book in all the seminaries, and this text, with the

comments of the professor will, we are assured, suffice for the

entire course of canon law. Apart from some inconsiderable

differences regarding days of fasting and feasts of obligation,

[Footnote 135] all the churches will hereafter have a common law

and the same customs. Assuredly, one can scarcely comprehend the

vastness of this result, and we are undoubtedly convinced that

the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore is destined to a

memorable place in the history of Catholicity in the United

States.

[Footnote 134: The present council had at heart to re-collect

in its acts the legislation fixed by preceding councils. The

decrees taken from these are recognized by a different style

of print. An appendix gives _in extenso_ all the

important portions, above all, those which have come from

Rome. Thus all the ecclesiastical legislation of the United

States is to be found in a single volume.]

[Footnote 135: The prelates had addressed a petition to Rome

that uniformity on this point might be established. The

answer which had been returned was, that it was better to

respect the existing customs of each diocese, and that, if

modifications were to be made therein, each bishop might have

separate recourse to the holy see. But the feast of the

Immaculate Conception was declared a feast of patronage and

obligation throughout the whole of the United States.]

The dogmatic part of the acts has not and could not have the same

importance, since a national council, however numerous, generally

does naught but state the faith already defined; nevertheless, on

this very ground, we find declarations very interesting, and

which deserve to command the attention of the Christians of

Europe.

It is to the united fathers, and, after them, to the assisting

theologians, that the merit of this great work is due.

{500}

Still, we cannot refrain from noticing Mgr. Spalding, Archbishop

of Baltimore and apostolic delegate. Called to the presidency of

the council by a special brief of the pope, dated February 16th,

1866, instructed, moreover, by the Propaganda, which recommended

to his zeal several important points, he it is who has prepared

the matter of the decrees, and has brought together in advance

all the elements which have entered into this vast construction.

Under his wise and prudent direction, his brethren in the

episcopate have made their choice. With the assistance of the

secretaries and other officers of the council the edifice rises,

to which Rome gives the finishing touch, changing a small number

of the materials, and consecrating it with her supreme authority.

Into this sanctuary, built with so much care, I invite the

readers of the _Etudes_ to enter, persuaded that we shall

find therein much to admire and at the same time much to learn.

I.

The first chapter is consecrated to dogma. It treats of the faith

and of the errors which are contemporaneously opposed to it. The

prelates here recall the precept, imposed on all, of embracing

the truth, and entering the haven of the true church. No safety

is to be hoped for outside of this ark which God guards and

conducts. However, they add, as to those who are plunged

invincibly in error, and who have not been able to see the light,

that the Supreme Judge, who condemns no man, save for his own

faults, will assuredly use mercy toward them, if, although

strangers to the body of the church, they have, nevertheless,

with the assistance of grace, fulfilled the divine commandments,

and professed those Christian truths which they were able to

know. [Footnote 136]

[Footnote 136: Tit. i. p. 6.]

Such is the Catholic doctrine and the just principle to which all

our pretended intolerance is reduced. The council recognizes the

rights of reason as well as those of sound faith. It inserts at

length in its decrees the four propositions formulated in 1855 by

the Congregation of the Index, against traditionalism. At the

same time it restates the condemnation pronounced by Gregory IX.

against the system of Raymond Lulle, which expresses a thought

too common in our day, namely, that faith is necessary to the

masses, to vulgar and unlettered people, but that reason suffices

for the intelligent man of study, and constitutes true

Christianity.

We notice in this chapter the solicitude of the bishops to place

in the hands of the faithful a version of the Bible in the vulgar

tongue. To this end they recommend the Douay translation, already

approved and circulated by their predecessors. Far from opposing

these efforts, the Congregation of the Propaganda, in the

response addressed to the Archbishop of Baltimore with the

revision of the acts of the council, lays great stress on the

necessity of doing this. The congregation directs the prelate to

compare anew the different English editions, to avail himself of

other Catholic translations, if there be any, in order that we

may have in English a faithful and irreproachable text of all our

sacred books, and that this version may be spread throughout all

the dioceses of America. Here we have a peremptory answer to

those Protestants who, at this late hour, reproach Catholics with

interdicting the reading of the Holy Scriptures.

{501}

On the question of future life, the fathers declared against

those who deny the eternal duration of punishment, or so mitigate

its severity that there remains no longer any proportion between

the chastisement and the gravity of the offence. Then they

rapidly review that multitude of religious sects and errors,

which are nowhere so numerous or so different as in that classic

land of free thought. Indifferentism, which considers all

religions as equal; Unitarianism, which rejects the divinity of

our Lord Jesus Christ; Universalism, which denies the eternity of

punishment after death; finally, pantheism and transcendentalism,

which destroy the personality of God, such are the latest forms

and last consequences of free inquiry. What a contrast to these

is the spectacle which Catholic truth affords; that full,

complete, and unchanging Christianity, affirming itself, with

full consciousness of its truth, in the face of a thousand

systems which cannot withstand it and a thousand communions that

fail to comprehend what it really is! All serious hearts in

America must be stuck by such a difference. The Council of

Baltimore has again made manifest where lies the strength that

will triumph over all, and what is to be the "church of the

future." The excesses of "Magnetism" and "Spiritism" have been

carried beyond what the fathers consider the limits of morality.

With regard to the first, they undertake to promulgate the

well-known decisions of the sacred congregation of the council.

[Footnote 137]

[Footnote 137: Encycl ad omnes episcopos contra magnetismi

abusus. August 4th, 1856. Decisions of July 28th, 1847.]

As to the second, not finding any explicit precedent in acts

emanating from Rome, they express their own thought and doctrine

thus: "It seems certain," they say, "that many of the astonishing

phenomena which are said to be produced in the spiritual meetings

are inventions; that others are the result of fraud, or are to be

attributed to the imagination of the mediums and their

assistants, or, possibly, to slight of hand. Nevertheless," they

add, "it can scarcely be doubted that some of these facts imply a

satanic interference; since it is almost impossible to explain

them in any other way." Then, after a magnificent exposition of

the action of good and bad angels, the prelates remark that, in a

society of which so large a portion remains unbaptized, it is not

surprising if the demon regains in part his ancient empire. They

severely censure those Catholics who take part even indirectly in

the spiritual "circles." Such is the decision of the council;

and, for our part, we are happy to see what we have written on

this subject [Footnote 138] fully confirmed by so imposing an

authority.

[Footnote 138: _Les Morts el les Vivants_. Paris, Le

Clere. _Etudes_ 1862, p. 41.]

II.

The second chapter treats of the hierarchy and government of the

church. The fathers begin with a profession of filial loyalty to

the holy see, whose privileges they recognize and enumerate with

St. Irenaeus, St. Jerome, and St. Leo the Great. They protest

with what respect and love they receive all the apostolical

constitutions, likewise the instructions and decisions of the

Roman congregations, given for the universal church or for their

own special provinces. After Pius IX. they rebuke the manner of

thought and action of those who count for nothing all that has

not been expressly defined as of Catholic faith, and who,

embracing opinions contrary to the common sentiment of

Christians, fear not to shock their ears with scandalous

propositions. The temporal power of the pope, its necessity under

the present circumstances, in order to assure the independence of

the head of the church, is also the subject of a solemn

declaration.

{502}

Passing then to the bishops, the council affirms their double

right of teaching and governing Christendom in union with the

Roman pontiff, the successor of St. Peter and the vicar of Jesus

Christ. According to the advice of the fathers of Trent,

provincial councils are to be held every three years throughout

the whole extent of the United States; for the bishops are

persuaded that in these reunions are to be found the most

efficacious remedies for the evils which afflict all parts of the

church, when the pastors of dioceses, after having invoked the

Holy Spirit, unite their wisdom to take measures most fitting to

procure the salvation of souls. Accidental forms are ever

changing. Formerly, the "synodal witnesses" [Footnote 139] were

everywhere in use.

[Footnote 139: Ecclesiastics chosen in the provincial

councils to observe the state of persons and things in their

dioceses, and to make a report to the metropolitan.]

After the time of Benedict XIV. this function fell into disuse

and was supplied by something else. The grave and learned pontiff

makes use of these remarkable words, which the council has

thought proper to reproduce:

"The customs of men are modified and circumstances are

continually changing; that which is useful at one period may

cease so to be, and may become even pernicious in another age.

The duty of a prudent pastor, unless otherwise obliged by a

higher law, is to accommodate himself to times and places, to

lay aside many ancient usages, when by his judgment and the

light of God he deems this to be for the greater good of the

diocese with which he is entrusted." [Footnote 140]

[Footnote 140: De Synod. Dioec. L. V. c. iii. n. 7.]

As a natural corollary to provincial councils, the prelates

recommend frequent holding of diocesan synods. If the extent of

the diocese will not permit the priests who obey the same bishop

to unite yearly, the bishop should at least convoke a synod after

each provincial or plenary council, to promulgate the decrees and

provide for their observance. In the meantime, ecclesiastical

conferences, organized in districts, can supply, at least partly,

the place of the synod. The fathers express a wish that such

conferences should meet quarterly in cities, and at least yearly

in rural districts, where pastors cannot easily assemble.

I pass hastily over some details to arrive immediately at a

matter at once very delicate and important, that of

ecclesiastical judgments. It is well known that the form required

by canon law has become very difficult of application throughout

the greater part of Christendom. The Council of Baltimore does

not innovate. After an experience of ten years it feels bound to

renew a decree made in the Council of St. Louis in 1855.

[Footnote 141]

[Footnote 141: That is to say, the Plenary Council, by its

enactment, extended this decree of the Provincial Council of

St. Louis to the other provinces.--ED. C. W.]

"Priests suspended by sentence of the ordinary have no right to

demand sustenance from him, since by their own fault they have

been rendered incapable of exercising their ministry. But, in

order to cut short all complaints, the fathers are of the

opinion that it is more expedient, in the cases of priests and

clerics, to adopt a form of trial approaching as nearly as

possible the requirements of the Council of Trent. The

bishop--or his vicar-general, by his order--shall choose in the

episcopal council two members--not always the same--who shall

serve him as counsellors, when the accused shall be called to

answer before him and his secretary.

{503}

"Together, these assistants shall have but one voice, but

either can range himself on the side of the prelate against his

colleague. If, however, both are of a different mind from that

of the bishop or his vicar, the latter may take into his

counsel a third, and that judgment shall be rendered to which

he shall incline. If it happen that all the consultors named by

the ordinary hold an opinion contrary to his, the case is to be

transferred to the tribunal of the metropolitan, who shall

weigh the motives for and against, and himself deliver

sentence. And if the process refers to a subject of the

metropolitan, and all his assistants are opposed to him, the

cause shall be evoked before the oldest bishop of the province,

and he shall have the right to decide, saving always the

privileges and authority of the Holy See."

Here we see reappearing the jurisdiction of metropolitans, which

in many other churches is little exercised at the present day. On

the question of their authority the council furnishes another

subject worthy of remark.

In enumerating the rights of archbishops in reference to their

ecclesiastical provinces, the fathers have designated but three:

1. To make known to the holy see such of their suffragans as do

not observe the laws of residence.

2. To call the said suffragans to a provincial council, at least

every three years.

3. To have their cross borne before them in their province, and

to wear the pallium therein on the days when they can wear it in

their metropolitan church.

The letter written from Rome for the correction of the acts

orders two other privileges of metropolitans to be

re-established:

1. To supply what is negligently omitted by their suffragans in

the cases determined by law; and

2. to receive appeals from the sentence of their suffragans

according to the canonical rules.

If we do not deceive ourselves, there is in this correction a

significant tendency.

III.

The manner of the election of bishops had already been determined

by an instruction emanating from the Propaganda, dated March

18th, 1834. Since that time, at the desire of councils, several

changes and modifications had been made. This is the practice

consecrated and universally established since 1861: Every three

years, each bishop sends to his metropolitan and the congregation

of the Propaganda the list of subjects whom he judges worthy of

the episcopate, with detailed information of the qualities which

distinguish them.

A see becomes vacant, the bishops of the province meet in synod,

or any other way, and discuss the aptitude of the candidates

presented by each of them. After a secret examination, three

names are sent to Rome with the _procès verbal_ of this

election. On the representation thus made, the sovereign pontiff

designates the one to be promoted to the episcopal dignity.

This portion of Christendom, still so new, has not yet had time

to settle itself into regularly divided parishes. If our memory

is faithful, we think there is no such thing as a parish,

properly so called, in the whole United States. The prelates of

the council express a desire to establish some, especially in the

great cities; but they add that, in conferring them on the

priests who administer them, they would not exempt the latter

from removal; this never having, been the custom in America.

Many of the dioceses have no seminaries. The fathers wish that,

if they cannot be everywhere established, each province, at

least, should have its own, for the formation of which the

bishops will unite their resources. Following the custom adopted

in France, they separate the Little Seminary, where boys who

present the conditions required by the Council of Trent are

received, from the Grand Seminary, where clerics study dogmatic

and moral theology, canon law, hermeneutics, and sacred

eloquence.

{504}

The council orders the greatest efforts to be made in order to

secure eminent professors. If there is an establishment common to

an entire province, it should not be confined to teaching the

mere elementary ecclesiastical studies, but a thorough course of

exegesis and oriental languages should be commenced; and the

modern systems of philosophy should be explained in such a manner

that graduates should be able to resolve all the difficulties and

objections of the day.

"We have now to contend," say the fathers, "no longer with the

often refuted heresies and errors of a bygone age, but with new

adversaries, unbelievers of a pagan rather than a Christian

character, with men who count as naught God and his divine

promises--and yet are not thereby prevented from having

cultivated minds. According to them, the things of heaven and

earth have no other meaning or value than that which reason

alone assigns them. Thus, they flatter pride, so deeply rooted

in our nature, and seduce those who are not on their guard. If

truth cannot persuade them, since they do not care to hear, it

must, at least, close their mouths, lest their vain discourse

and sounding words delude the simple." [Footnote 142]

[Footnote 142: Act. tit. iii. p. 108.]

Do not these sage reflections disclose the true plan for renewing

ecclesiastical studies?

We will not enter on the details of the rules established for the

general life and manners of the clergy, according to their

different functions. We confine ourselves to remarking that the

chapter on preaching alone contains a complete little treatise on

the proper manner of announcing the word of God in our times.

IV.

Questions relating to church property attract the attention of

the council. In order to comprehend the arrangements determined

on in regard to this matter, we must form a correct idea of the

situation in which the different Christian communions stand

before the American civil law.

It is well known that the legislation of most of the States is

willing to accord legal personality to associations, commercial

or religious. A religious society represented by trustees easily

obtains incorporation; that is to say, is recognized as a person

having the right to own property, to receive gifts and legacies,

to a certain amount, generally far superior to what is necessary.

If this sum is ever exceeded, it is easy to fulfil the

requirements of the law by creating a new centre, building a new

church.

Nothing then would seem more favorable than these arrangements of

American law. But, as they were conceived from a Protestant point

of view, they recognize the parish only, and not the diocese,

which is, nevertheless, the Catholic unit. Moreover, the

trustees, invested with church property, have on several

occasions made outrageous and extravagant pretensions. More than

once, they have believed that they possessed the right of

choosing their pastors, and dismissing them, if they did not

suit; they have held that they at least have the right of

presenting to the bishop a priest of their own choice, and thus

forcing his consent. Hence, the frequent conflicts between the

parochial element and the episcopal administration. The first

Council of Baltimore formerly protested against this lay

interference, which it declared contrary to the teaching of the

church and the discipline of every age; it decided that the

compensation assigned to members of the clergy, to be provided

from the funds of the parish, or by the alms of the faithful,

conferred on none the right of patronage.

{505}

Subsequent councils return incessantly to the same question; and

it has even appeared before the civil tribunals. In the diocese

of New York, particularly, the disputes between the Catholic

trustees and the bishop were prolonged with various results, but

without interruption, from 1840 to 1863. Finally, an arrangement

was concluded, and on this model the prelates wish to organize

all ecclesiastical property.

"Since, in the United States, it is permitted to every citizen

and foreigner to live freely and without molestation, according

to the precepts of the religion which he professes--for the

laws recognize and proclaim this right--nothing seems to hinder

us from observing, in all their rigor, the rules established by

councils and the sovereign pontiffs for the acquisition and

preservation of church property. The fathers, therefore, desire

to expose and set clearly before the eyes of the state the true

rights of the church with regard to accepting, possessing, and

defending sacred property, as, for example the land on which a

church is built, or presbyteries, schools, cemeteries, and

other establishments, in order that it may be legally permitted

to Catholic citizens to follow exactly the laws and

requirements of their church." [Footnote 143]

[Footnote 143: Act. tit. iv. p. 117.]

Hence, one of the principal dispositions of this legislation is,

that the administrators of ecclesiastical property in parishes

shall do nothing without the consent of the bishop. In order that

this law may be observed, and that nothing more may be feared

from the intervention of the secular tribunals, there is no other

plan than for the bishop to place himself before the civil power,

as having the right to the full administration of all property

belonging to his church as a corporation sole. Some of the states

have recognized this right for the future. In others it is not

yet recognized. Hence they provide the best means for avoiding,

or, at least, diminishing the inconvenience resulting from this

state of things.

This requires that mutual securities be taken on the part of the

bishop and the trustees. As soon as appointed, the prelate will

make a will, and place a duplicate in the hands of his

metropolitan. Besides the property of which he is sole

proprietor, he will be _ex-officio_ president of all boards

of trustees, who possess, in the eyes of the law, the parochial

properties. Rules are established for the purpose of ensuring a

conscientious choice of these, in order that they may not

infringe on the rights of the parish priest, nor take any profit

from the revenues of the church. Such are the principal measures

relative to this important matter.

V.

In the chapter entitled _De Sacramentis_ we notice the

prudence which the council wishes to be used in administering

baptism to Protestants returning to the Catholic Church. Although

the greater portion of the sects regard what transpires at the

baptismal font as a mere ceremony, and frequently, through

carelessness, baptize invalidly, nevertheless the priest must not

proceed hap-hazard, nor decide on general principles, but must in

each case examine carefully into particulars. Only when certain

of the nullity or probable invalidity of the baptism, can he

confer the sacrament, either absolutely or conditionally.

In France, discussions have lately arisen as to the proper age

for administering the holy communion. Although the American child

is much earlier developed than the European, the fathers of

Baltimore establish as a rule that he shall not be urged at too

early an age to present himself at the holy table.

{506}

Ten and fourteen years are the two extreme limits to which one

must ordinarily be confined. Nevertheless, this rule leaves room

for all legitimate exceptions, and particularly, in case of

danger of death, it would be a grave fault in the pastor who

would not administer the eucharist to a child capable of

discerning the grace which it contains.

As their country is not a vine-growing land, and one can nowhere

be fully certain of the purity of wines imported from Europe, the

fathers express a desire to establish in Florida a community

which shall be especially charged with the care of preparing the

matter for the administration of the different sacraments, wine,

oil, etc. This community can also keep swarms of bees, and

furnish the different dioceses with pure waxen tapers. Meanwhile

they caution priests to beware of using for the holy sacrifice

the wines which are commonly sold under the names of port,

sherry, Madeira, Malaga, and to choose, rather, Bordeaux,

Sauterne, and others less subject to adulteration or fraudulent

imitation. Moreover, as the culture of the vine progresses, it

will be inexcusable to neglect having recourse to the products of

the soil, or at least, not to have a moral certainty of the

purity of the wines which are used.

In districts where a few Catholic families find themselves, as it

were, lost in the midst of Protestants, the scarcity of priests

causes many children to remain unbaptized [Footnote 144] until

after marriage; an _impedimentun dirimens_ which renders the

marriage null in the eyes of God and the church.

[Footnote 144: The council referred not to unbaptized

children of Catholics, for such are not to be found among us,

but to unbaptized Protestants, or rather pagans, with whom

Catholics have contracted a civil marriage.--ED. C. W.]

They live together in good faith, notwithstanding, and when the

priest, discovering the radical fault, speaks to them of renewing

their agreement, it frequently happens that the unbaptized party

refuses to do it. The fathers unite in requesting from the holy

see power to communicate to missionaries dispensations _in

radice_, of which they can make use to rehabilitate such

marriages.

As preceding councils have remarked, it is certain that, in most

of the provinces of the United States, the decree of the Council

of Trent regarding clandestine marriages has not yet been

promulgated. In some districts its promulgation is doubtful.

Besides, to require the presence of a certain priest for the

validity of a marriage appears to the fathers a measure attended

with great inconvenience. They demand, therefore, in order to

reassure consciences, and establish uniformity, to return

everywhere, except in the province of New Orleans, to the ancient

discipline, already universally in force. But the holy see has

not seen fit to accede to this request, as appears from the

answer addressed by the Propaganda to the _postulata_ of the

council.

On other points uniformity is supremely desirable. For instance,

the bishops earnestly desire it in that which pertains to

Christian instruction and in prayer-books. A catechism is to be

composed after that of Cardinal Bellarmine, adapted to the

peculiar situation of Catholics in the United States. When this

catechism has been approved by the holy see, it will be adopted

in all the dioceses.

As to prayer-books which do not bear the express approbation of

the ordinary, they ought not to be found in the hands of the

faithful.

{507}

The solicitude of the council here extends to various classes of

people. Following the example of the apostle, they recommend to

God those who govern; but the formulas of the church are alone to

be employed in these prayers, and no one is to imitate certain

sects and temples, wherein political passions and partisan rancor

utter accents which dishonor God rather than contribute to his

worship.

No one will neglect any precaution to free Catholic soldiers and

sailors from being obliged, against their conscience, to assist

at the rites of dissenting sects. The orphans are an object of

special solicitude. They must be gathered into the Catholic

asylums which already exist or are yet to be built. This

necessity is most pressing, and appeals to the charity of all who

can provide against it.

VI.

An entire chapter is consecrated to regular orders of men and

women. After recalling the immense advantages which their

churches have derived from the labor of religious, the fathers

state certain precautions which ought to be taken in order that

foundations may be stable and not precarious. Circumstances do

not always permit canonical erection or establishment in a

permanent manner; hence, in the agreement made between the bishop

and the religious community, this clause must hereafter be added,

to wit, that the latter will not quit the parish, school,

college, or congregation with which it is charged, without

notifying the ordinary at least six months in advance. This

relates only to diocesan work, properly so called, and not to

that which the religious may take up of their own accord, without

any obligation to continue.

Bishops shall conform to the canonical laws, defending the rights

and privileges of the religious whom they find in the territory

submitted to their jurisdiction, and they will avoid giving them

subjects of complaint, or motives for going elsewhere. Regulars

and seculars work toward the same ends namely, the glory of God

and the salvation of souls; hence, no dissension ought ever to

arise between them, but harmony, unity, and fraternal love should

ever reign supreme.

The council passes a magnificent eulogium on those "sisters" who

preserve, in their schools, the innocence of so many young

virgins, and who, during the late war, have known how to turn

public calamity to the glory of God and the advantage of

religion.

Who of the dissenting sects has not admired their zeal, charity,

and patience in the hospitals, and may not say, "the finger of

God is here"?

Various measures were adopted to assure the observance of the

rules of the church on the part of the religious. The fathers

have heretofore consulted as to the nature of their sacred

engagements. The answers received from Rome state that, in

several specially designated monasteries of the Visitantines, the

vows are solemn. [Footnote 145]

[Footnote 145: These are the monasteries of Georgetown,

Mobile, Kaskaskia, St. Aloysius, and Baltimore. The solemnity

of the vows is there preserved according to rescripts

formerly obtained from Rome.]

Henceforth, after the novitiate, simple vows are to be made, and

ten years later the solemn profession will be permitted. As to

other monasteries and religious houses, simple vows alone are

permitted, except by special rescript from the holy see; the same

rule applying to all convents of women which may be hereafter

erected in the various dioceses of the United States. The fathers

severely censure those who leave their monasteries and travel

through the country, under pretext of collecting money for houses

pressed with debt or for new foundations; they declare this to be

an intolerable abuse and contrary to the true character of the

religious life.

{508}

Everywhere, to-day, but in no country more than in America, the

question of schools appears most important, and claims the most

lively solicitude on the part of the episcopate.

Here the council begins by firmly asserting the rights of the

church. Jesus Christ said to his apostles, "Euntes docete,"

"Going, teach all nations." Since that time, this utterance has

been understood in the sense of a mission, to be fulfilled by

instruction and the exercise of spiritual maternity toward all,

but especially toward youth. Frequenting such public schools as

exist in the United States offers a thousand dangers. There

indifferentism reigns: corruption of morals is engendered in

early youth; the habit of reading and reciting authors who attack

religion and heap insults on the memory of saintly personages

weakens the faith in the souls of the young, while association

with vicious companions stifles virtue in their hearts. The only

remedy is to create other institutions, to open further

opportunities to Catholic youth. Parochial schools are highly

recommended, as well as the sodalities or congregations which

devote themselves to the instruction of the youth of either sex.

While speaking of houses of refuge and correction, the fathers

notice the numerous abductions of children which are daily made

by the different sects. These are orphans, or disobedient

children whom parents despair of managing. They are taken to

places where their relatives can neither find nor hear from them,

and their names are changed, so as not to recall them at some

future day to their religion or family. Comfortably nourished,

they are reared in the principles of heresy and in hatred of

Catholicity. [Footnote 146] Moved with pity, several bishops have

already opened houses to gather in these little unfortunates; the

council desires them to be everywhere established; for if one

ought to applaud the zeal of those who raise magnificent temples

to God, much more should one praise those who prepare for him a

spiritual dwelling of these precious and living stones.

[Footnote 146: Acts have recently been passed in the

Legislature of New York which promise to be a very effectual

check to the most nefarious arts of these kidnappers in this

State.--ED. C. W.]

Here follows a tribute of recognition of the services rendered by

the various colleges and academies which already exist in the

United States. The American establishments at Rome, at Louvain,

and in Ireland, are now furnishing priests and missionaries. When

will it be granted to the bishops to found a grand Catholic

university, which will complete all the good accomplished by

these institutions? Yet this is not merely a desire; it is

ardently expressed by the council; we hope the future may bring

about its speedy realization. [Footnote 147]

[Footnote 147: Amen!--Ed. C. W.]

The missions are one of the most efficacious means of procuring

the salvation of souls. Regulars and seculars are alike called to

this great work. The council demands that a house of missionaries

be founded in each diocese, for giving spiritual exercises in the

parishes, above all during Lent, Advent, at the time of first

communions, and the episcopal visitations. The parish priests are

to co-operate cordially with these auxiliaries, and if any refuse

to do so, they will be constrained by their bishop. On the other

hand, all precautions are taken to avoid any appearance of

interestedness, and any interference in the parochial government

on the part of the missionaries.

{509}

The idea of association, so popular at the present day, is

essentially and originally Catholic. If some have used it against

us, we know how to reclaim and avail ourselves of it. Hence, the

fathers recommend the confraternities approved by the church,

such as those of the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart, the

Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the Holy Angels. They

recommend the "Apostolate of Prayer," also, another pious

association, which prays especially for the conversion of

non-Catholics; they seek to develop the well-deserving

undertakings of the "Propagation of the Faith" and "Holy

Childhood;" they accord the highest praise to the

arch-confraternity of St. Peter; finally, they add other works of

piety and mercy, among them the "Society of St. Vincent de Paul,"

so well adapted to our times, and which has already produced such

great results.

After this great encouragement, come restrictions no less called

for. No new associations are to be created where ancient

confraternities suffice. In case any priest desires to institute

a new one, he must have a written permission from his bishop; the

latter is forbidden to approve a new foundation unless he is sure

that its means and aim are truly Catholic. It will be truly

desirable to give such a character to the mutual aid societies

to-day so numerous among the working classes.

The welfare of the negroes greatly interests the American

episcopate. What a harvest is here to be gathered among these

poor souls, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, and so well

prepared by their emancipation to listen to the Gospel. Heresy

spares no effort to assure herself of possessing them--another

reason for earnestly seconding the desire expressed by the

Congregation of the Propaganda in this respect. But the measures

adopted for this end cannot be everywhere the same, and general

rules are, therefore, hard to determine. The negroes must have

churches either in common with or separate from the other

faithful; they must have schools, missions, orphan asylums.

Laborers are wanting to this harvest. The superiors of religious

orders are requested to designate some of their subjects for this

purpose, and secular priests, who feel this to be their vocation,

to fly to the succor of this class, so destitute and so

interesting. As to particular measures, provincial councils will

determine in those regions where the negroes are more numerous.

VII.

Books and journals exercise such a great influence on society,

both for evil and for good, that they could not fail to be the

object of a special decree. After noticing the disastrous effects

of an immoral press, the prelates call on all the servants of

Jesus Christ, especially those who are fathers of families, to

rid their houses of all noxious and dangerous books. They do not

hesitate in this instance to employ the severe words of the

apostle, "If any man have not care of his own, and especially of

those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than

an infidel." I Tim. v. 8. School-books must be carefully revised,

expurgated, when necessary, and submitted to episcopal

approbation. A sort of permanent committee is created for this

purpose, composed of the superiors of three colleges existing in

the arch-diocese of Baltimore.

As to good books, their circulation should be favored as much as

possible. It is desirable that associations should everywhere be

formed, to employ themselves in this work. The fathers

particularly recommend the "Catholic Publication Society" of New

York, which has existed for some years, and has already done

immense good. Committees in every city are to be formed, and

affiliated to the central society, and collections are ordered to

be made yearly for assisting this good work.

{510}

Prayer-books ought always to be examined by theologians, and none

should be printed without the approbation of the ordinary. This

has hitherto been only a wish; hereafter it shall be a law

obliging all bishops.

Among current periodicals there are many impious and immoral,

some more tolerable, but very few deserving eulogy and full

recommendation to the faithful. The prelates continue:

"Journals edited or directed by Catholics indirectly

contributing to the advantage of religion, must exist. But for

fear lest the political opinions of the writers may be

attributed to ecclesiastical authority, or to Christianity

itself, as often happens, thanks to the bad faith of

adversaries, we desire that all should be duly warned not to

recognize any journal as _Catholic_ unless it bears the

express approbation of the ordinary.

"In several dioceses, there are journals furnished with this

approbation, under one form or another, because the bishops

require them as a means of conveying their orders or ideas to

their clergy and people. Hence they are assumed to have an

official character, as if the voice of the pastor were to be

heard from every page and line. This is a misunderstanding,

although quite general, chiefly propagated by sectarians. From

it result grave and intolerable inconveniences. For, whatever

may be written by these editors, who may often be controlled by

passions private and political, is laid to the account of the

bishop, and seems to form a part of his pastoral teaching.

"In order that such a responsibility may cease to weigh upon

the episcopate, and in order clearly to set forth the relations

between the ordinary and the ecclesiastical journals, the

fathers declare that the approbation accorded by a bishop to a

Catholic journal merely signifies that he has found in it

nothing contrary to faith or morals; and that he hopes such

will be the case in future; and moreover, that the editors are

well-deserving men, and their writings useful and edifying. The

bishop, then, is only responsible for what appears in the paper

as his own teaching, counsel, exhortation or command; and for

this, only when signed with his own hand." (Act. tit. xi. p.

256.)

They spoke of establishing a journal or review, solely devoted to

the exposition and defence of Catholic dogma, of which the

archbishops of Baltimore, New York, and perhaps other

metropolitans with them, would have the ownership. The question

was submitted by the council to the judgment of the ordinaries.

If the fathers wish to be free from a solidarity often

compromising, they none the less recognize the services of

Catholic writers. The felicitations which they address to them

are borrowed from the pontifical allocution of April 20th, 1849,

and from the letters apostolic of February 12th, 1866.

VIII.

The church has frequently uttered severe condemnations of secret

societies, engaged in acts forbidden by religion and justice.

After having recalled to mind and published anew these

condemnations, the fathers add that they do not see any reason

for applying them to societies of artisans which have no other

object than the mutual support and protection of people of the

same calling.

These must not favor the practices of condemned sects, nor

proceed contrary to equity and the rights of patrons. No one must

regard as even tolerated, associations which demand of those

entering an oath to do whatever the chiefs command, or which

would maintain an inviolable secrecy in the face of lawful

questioning. If there be doubt of the nature of an association,

the holy see must be consulted. No person, however high his

ecclesiastical dignity, ought to condemn any society which does

not fall under the censures of the apostolical constitutions.

[Footnote 148]

[Footnote 148: At the request of certain bishops, this decree

was to be suppressed. It was re-established in acts according

to directions from Rome.]

{511}

In the thirteenth chapter, the bishops request the erection of

fifteen new episcopal sees; to wit, four in the province of

Baltimore, seven in that of St. Louis, one in each of the

provinces of Cincinnati, Oregon, San Francisco, and New York.

They also desire the churches of Philadelphia and Milwaukee to be

raised to metropolitan dignity. Excepting this last demand, this

chapter has met favorable reception at Rome; and at the present

moment, America counts twelve new bishoprics or vicarates

apostolic.

We will not speak of the pastoral letter addressed by the bishops

of the council to the faithful of their dioceses. It was

published at the time in many French journals. Moreover, it

merely recapitulates the measures and decrees which ought to be

brought to the knowledge of all the Catholic populations. In it

one perceives the accent of ardent zeal for the salvation of

souls. Amid the felicitations which they address to their flock,

the American prelates mingle cries of sorrow at the sight of the

abuses which still exist and the souls which are lost. A warm

appeal is made to families to favor the development of

ecclesiastical vocations; in this country, more than in any other

in the world, the harvest is immense, and arms alone are often

wanting to gather it.

As to the relations between the church and the state, the fathers

declare that, apart from a few brief instances of over-excitement

and madness, the attitude taken by the civil power and its

non-interference in religious matters is a matter for

congratulation; they complain only of its not according the

necessary guarantees for church property, according to ancient

canons and discipline. But several States have already done what

is reasonable in this respect; it is hoped that others will soon

follow their example.

Such is the incomplete but at least faithful _résumé_ of the

decrees of this great assembly. In reading, one is struck with

the wisdom and prudence which characterize them. After the divine

assistance, certainly not denied to so holy an undertaking, one

here finds something of that American good sense, eminently exact

and practical, which, in dealing with lofty things, seizes them

principally by their positive side, and, without losing sight of

principles, adapts them always to times and circumstances.

If doctrine is greatly represented in this volume, pure theory

occupies but a small space. Above everything else the council has

wished to be a work of organization. No less remarkable for what

it has not said than for what it has said, it seems to embody the

device of the poet, "Semper ad eventum festinat;" no superfluous

details, no useless erudition; all bears the seal of a

legislation soberly but firmly motived, wherein nothing is

omitted which can enlighten and convince the mind, and nothing

allowed to lengthen a text by right short, or to complicate a

simple matter; a majestic monument, of simple and severe

proportions, art seems therein neglected, but is by no means

wanting.

If it were permissible in presence of so great a work to recur to

a secondary detail, we would say that pupils of the seminaries,

in studying these acts, will find in them a model of that

beautiful Latinity unfortunately too rare in theological

treatises.

Their task ended, the prelates had only to congratulate

themselves on the success obtained. After having announced to

their children that they would be more fully notified of the

result in provincial councils and diocesan synods, they have been

able to add, with lawful pride, that they expect all manner of

good from the practical organization given for the future to the

churches of this vast continent.

-------

{512}

The Legend of St. Thomas.

And it came to pass, in those days, that Thomas abode at

Jerusalem. And in a dream the Lord appeared to him, and said,

Behold, Gondaphorus, who ruleth in India, hath sent Abbas his

servant into Syria, that he may find men skilful in the art of

building. Go thou, therefore, and I will show thee unto him. But

Thomas answered, and said, Lord, suffer me not to go into India.

But the Lord answered, and said to him, Fear not, but rise up and

depart; for behold, I am with thee, and when thou shalt have

converted the nations of India, thou shalt come to me, and I will

give unto thee the recompense of thy reward. And when Thomas

heard this, he said, Thou art my Lord and I am thy servant. Let

it be as thou hast said. And he went his way.

And it came to pass that as Abbas, the servant of Gondaphorus the

king, stood in the market-place, the Lord met him, and said,

Young man, what seekest thou? And Abbas answered, and said,

Behold, my master hath sent me hither, that I might bring to him

cunning workmen who shall build for him a palace like unto those

that are in Rome. And when he had spoken these things, the Lord

showed unto him Thomas, as that skilful and cunning workman whom

he sought.

And straightway Thomas the apostle, and the servant of

Gondaphorus the king, departed. And as they journeyed, the word

of the Lord spake by the mouth of Thomas, and great multitudes of

the Gentiles were converted and baptized. And when they came to

Aden, which lieth at the going in of the Red Sea, they tarried

many days.

And departing thence, they came into the coasts of India. And

behold, there was a marriage in that city, and both Thomas and

Abbas were called to the marriage. And the whole city was with

them. And while they rejoiced together, behold, Thomas spake to

the people the word of the Lord, and wrought many mighty works

before them all, so that great multitudes believed and were

baptized. And the daughter of the king, (whose feast it was,) and

her husband, and the king also, were among them. And this was

she, who, after a long time, was called Pelagia, and took the

holy veil, and suffered martyrdom. But the bridegroom was called

Denis, and became the bishop of that city.

And going from thence, they departed, and came to Gondaphorus the

king. And to him was Thomas the apostle brought, as a cunning

workman, skilled in all manner of building. And the king

commanded him to build for him a royal palace, and gave him vast

treasures wherewith to build it, and having done this, he went

into another country.

And it came to pass, that when Thomas received the treasure of

the king, he put not his hand to the palace of the king, but went

his way throughout the kingdom, for the space of two years,

preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, and giving his treasures

to the poor.

{513}

And after the space of two years, Gondaphorus the king returned

into his own city, and when he had asked concerning his palace,

Thomas answered, and said, Behold, O king! the palace is builded;

but thou shalt dwell therein only in the world that is to come.

Then was the king exceeding wroth, when he had heard these

things, and commanded his soldiers to cast Thomas into prison,

and to flay him alive, and afterward to burn his body with fire.

And it came to pass, that in those days Syd, the brother of

Gondaphorus, died, and the king commanded them to prepare for him

a goodly sepulchre. And on the fourth day, as they made

lamentation over him, behold, he that was dead sat up and began

to speak. And they were sore affrighted and amazed. But he said

to the king, Behold, O king! he whom thou hast commanded to be

flayed and burned is the friend of God. For lo! the angels of

God, who serve him, took me into paradise, and showed to me a

palace adorned with gold and silver and precious stones. And when

I was astonished at its beauty, one cried out to me, and said,

Behold, this is the palace which Thomas has builded for the king,

thy brother. But he has become unworthy; yet, if thou thyself

wouldst dwell therein, we will beseech the Lord, that thou mayest

live again and redeem it of thy brother by paying unto him the

treasure he has lost.

And when Gondaphorus had heard these things, he was sore afraid.

And he straightway ran to the prison, and came in unto the

apostle, and smote off his chains. And bringing a royal robe, he

would have put it on him. But Thomas answering, said, Knowest

thou not, O king! that those who would have power in heavenly

things care not for that which is carnal and earthly? And when he

had said this, the king fell down at his feet, confessing his

sins. And Thomas baptized both him, and his brother, and all his

house, and said to them, In heaven there are many mansions,

prepared from the foundation of the world. But these are

purchased only by faith and almsgiving. Your riches are able to

go before you into these heavenly habitations, but thither they

can never follow you.

And after these things, Thomas arose and departed, and came into

all the kingdoms of India, preaching the Gospel, and doing many

mighty miracles. And all the nations of India believed and were

baptized, hearing his words, and seeing the wonders which he did.

And it came to pass that Mesdeus the king heard thereof. And when

Thomas came into his country, he laid hands upon him, and

commanded him to adore his idols, even the images of the Sun,

which he had made. And Thomas answered, and said, Let it be even

as thou hast said, if at my word the idol bow not its head into

the dust. And when he had said this, the idol fell down prostrate

to the earth.

And there arose a great sedition among the people, and the

greater part stood with Thomas. But the king was exceeding angry,

and cast him into prison, and delivered him up to the soldiers,

that they might put him to death. And the soldiers, taking him,

led him forth to the top of a mountain over against the city. And

when he had prayed a long time, they pierced him with their

spears, and, falling down, he yielded up the ghost. And his

disciples, which stood by, wept for him with many tears, and,

taking up his body, they wound it in precious spices, and laid it

in a tomb. But the church grew and waxed mightily, and Siforus

the priest, and Zuganes the deacon, whom Thomas had ordained as

he went forth to die on the mountain, taught in his stead.

{514}

Such is the legend of St. Thomas, as recited in the name of

Abdias of Babylon, "bishop and disciple," [Footnote 149] in his

"_ten_ books upon the conflicts of the apostles." Whatever

we may think of the individual events therein detailed, the great

outline of the story has much intrinsic probability, and is of no

slight interest to the student of Christian history. Especially

is this so in the present age, when the vast and mystic East

opens her gates once more to the knock of the evangelist, and

when the whole Christian world is agitated with a missionary zeal

which must be comparatively fruitless, unless guided by a

knowledge of the people whom it approaches, and of the religious

traditions with which it must combat or agree. It is our

intention in this article to suggest some of the chief facts in

the ecclesiastical annals of these unknown lands, and to trace,

so far as we may be able, the dogmatic genealogy of those

religious notions with which the Gospel has been, and will be,

there forced to contend.

[Footnote 149: Abdias of Babylon, to whom is ascribed the

work mentioned in the text, is accounted among the

ecclesiastical writers of the first age. He was a Jew by

birth, and one of the seventy disciples of our Lord. He went

with SS. Simon and Jude into Persia, and by them was made

bishop of Babylon. The work which bears his name was first

printed in the year 1532. Its alleged authorship, on account

of its citations, and for some other reasons, has generally

been denied by the learned. On this point the present writer

ventures no opinion, although convinced that the tradition,

as contained in _The Legend of St. Thomas_, is

substantially true, and has existed in the same general

outline from the earliest periods of Christian history.]

In the legend which we have repeated, and the discussion of which

will occupy the present article, the scene of the labors of St.

Thomas is laid in India. The tradition that he preached in

Parthia and other countries of the east, and that he perished by

martyrdom, is nearly as old as Christianity itself. All of the

early writers are agreed that his apostolic province lay north

and east of Palestine, and that the Persians, Bactrians,

Scythians, and other kindred nations were entrusted to his

spiritual care. But in regard to the particular regions over

which he travelled, and the extent of his missionary efforts, as

embraced in modern geographical divisions, there appears to be no

small discrepancy between them. Thus, while certain ancient

authors ascribe to him the evangelization of the entire East,

Socrates and Theodoret expressly state that the Gospel was not

preached in India till the fourth century, when Frumentius

carried thither the knowledge of the true faith, and established

a mission, of which he himself became the bishop; while some

extend his wanderings to the Ganges, or even to the Celestial

empire itself, others limit him within the eastern boundary of

Persia, and place his death and burial-place near the city of

Edessa, less than two hundred miles north-east from Antioch.

Much of this apparent disagreement, however, is explained away by

the acknowledged ambiguity of the phrases under which these

different countries were anciently described. "India" and

"Ethiopia" seem to have been terms as loosely applied in that age

as "the East," in Europe, and "the West," in America, are today;

and it is not at all unlikely that, as has been the case with the

latter phrase in this country, the application of the former was

gradually changed as their nearer frontiers became better known,

and were localized under distinct and peculiar names. The India

of Socrates and Theodoret may or may not embrace the districts

included in the India of Gaudentius and Sophronius; and each, in

his historic statement, may be entirely accurate in fact, though

contradictory to the others in his language.

{515}

Moreover, in those early ages kingdoms were less known than

nations. The ancients spoke of "Persians," "Romans," "Jews,"

"Egyptians," rather than of the countries in which they were

supposed to dwell; while in our day, on the contrary, the

explorations of geography have rendered the regions far more

definite than the nations which inhabit them. For this reason,

what would be comparatively a safe guide to any given locality in

modern usage, would be far less reliable in writings of a

thousand years ago. Thus we may well dismiss whatever doubts this

seeming disagreement at first sight throws around the

post-scriptural account of this apostle, or at least hold it in

abeyance, to be obliterated if subsequent investigations should

disclose sufficient evidence of the toils and triumphs of St.

Thomas in the vast empires of oriental Asia.

It is in this _generic_ sense of the terms that "India" and

"the Indies" are employed by the author of this legend, and under

the singular as well as under the plural name are included many

kingdoms through which the apostle travelled, from that in which

he preached the Gospel at the nuptials of a king to that in which

he found the mountain of his martyrdom. Each of these seems to

have had its own court and king, and to have been so far

independent of the others that the same religion which was

maintained and promulgated by the state in one, was persecuted

and condemned by the rulers of the other. It is not, therefore,

to these names that we can look with any confidence of finding

such vestiges of the apostle's footsteps as shall afford us a

definite clue to the countries or the nations which enjoyed the

fruits of his laborious love.

Such, however, is not the case with the name of King Gondaphorus

to whom particularly, according to the legend, the mission of St.

Thomas was directed. Until within a few years, the age, the

residence, even the existence of this personage has been matter

of serious controversy. The opinion most commonly received among

the learned was, that "Gondaphorus" was a corruption of "Gun

dishavor" or "Gondisapor," a city built by Artaxerxes, and

deriving its name from Sapor or Schavor, the son and successor of

its founder. [Footnote 150] As the city could have acquired this

title only in the fourth century, this, among other reasons, has

generally led historians to deny the substantial authenticity of

the legend itself, and to regard it as the fabrication of some

later age.

[Footnote 150: Gundisapor was the episcopal and metropolitan

city of the province of Sarac, situated on the Tigris, six

leagues from Susa. It is said to have been built by

Hormisdas, the contemporary of the Emperor Constantine, and

to have been called by the name of Sapor, his son, by whom it

was afterward immensely enriched and beautified with the

treasures which he ravished from the Roman empire.]

Recent investigations among Indian antiquities have thrown new

light upon this subject, and, in this particular, at least, seem

to have cleared the legend from all suspicions of fraud. Among

the many coins and medals lately discovered in the East are those

of the Indo-Scythian kings who ruled in the valley of the Indus

about the beginning of our present era. One of these kings bore

the name of "Gondaphorus," and pieces of his coinage are now said

to be preserved in different collections of Paris and the East.

[Footnote 151] This striking corroboration, in the nineteenth

century, of a tradition which, in one shape or another, has been

current in the Christian world for eighteen hundred years, can

hardly fail to satisfy the most critical examiner that the legend

ascribed to Abdias is, in its grand outline, entitled to a far

higher degree of credit than it has been accustomed lately to

receive.

[Footnote 151: Vide _Le Christianisme en Chine_, etc.,

par M, Huc. Paris, 1857, p. 28, etc.]

{516}

The course of the apostle and his companion toward the east, so

far as this tradition and its modern limitations have defined it,

may thus be traced. Leaving Jerusalem, they journeyed by the

usual route to the Red Sea, and thence along the coasts of Arabia

Petraea and Arabia Felix to Aden, then, as now, a city of much

commercial importance, on account of its excellent harbor and

commanding situation. Here they remained for a considerable

period of time, the apostle preaching the Gospel and laying

foundations on which other men might build. Embarking thence,

they sailed around the southern borders of the Arabian peninsula,

and, crossing the Gulf of Oman, landed at one of the then

flourishing cities near the mouths of the Indus. After some

delay, of which St. Thomas made good use in the service of the

Gospel, they pushed north-easterly into the interior to the

immediate province of King Gondaphorus, where, after the labors

of two years, the apostle brought the monarch and his family

under obedience to the yoke of Christ. His special work thus

accomplished, St. Thomas travelled into many other kingdoms on

the same divine errand, and terminated his devoted and fruitful

life by holy martyrdom. Thus far, the legend; and that it agrees

with and is in fact the interpreter of all other traditions of

St. Thomas, as well as of those various monuments which, until

recently, have been unknown as teachers of Christian history,

will shortly be made manifest.

The holy apostle, having once established Christianity in those

parts of India which lie nearest to Jerusalem, would naturally

extend his journey into more distant regions, rather than retrace

his steps, and occupy, as his field of labor, a territory to

which the Gospel would, without his intervention, probably be

soon proclaimed. For, having in himself powers plenipotentiary

for the organization and perpetuation of the church, wherever he

might plant it, and being assured, as a Christian and disciple,

that the zeal and perseverance of his fellow-workers might safely

be entrusted with the conversion of the nations adjacent to the

centres of Christian doctrine, it was simply manlike, simply

apostolic, for him to set his face steadfastly toward those who,

but for him, might not in many generations obtain the light of

faith. If, therefore, the footsteps which we have already traced

be genuine, we may with reason look for traces of the same

unwearied feet in other and still more unknown lands.

And herein also, the traditions of the early ages will not

disappoint us. Still reckoning by nations, rather than by

kingdoms, the ancient writers tell us that St. Thomas preached

the Gospel to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians,

Bactrians, Germanians, Seres, Indians, and Scythians. Thus in a

fragment of St. Dorotheus, (A.D. 254,) "The apostle Thomas,

having announced the Gospel to the Parthians, Medes, Persians,

Germanians, Bactrians, and Mages, suffered martyrdom at Calamila,

a city of India." Theodoret, speaking of the universality of the

preaching of the apostles, says, "They have caused, not only the

Romans, and those who inhabit the Roman empire, but the

Scythians, ... the Indians, ... the Persians, the Seres, and the

Hyrcanians to receive from them the law of the Crucified."

Origen, and from him Eusebius, relates that St. Thomas received

Parthia as his allotted sphere; and Sophronius mentions that he

planted the faith among the Medes, Persians, Carmanians,

(Germanians,) Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and other nations of the

extreme east. Both the latter and St. Gaudentius declare that he

suffered at Calamina in India.

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The same traditions are faithfully preserved among the Christians

of India. In the breviary of the Church of Malabar, it is stated

that St. Thomas converted the Indians, Chinese, and Ethiopians,

and that these different nations, together with the Persians,

offer their adorations to God in commemoration of this devoted

apostle, from whom their forefathers received the truth of

Christ. The presumption of fact, which arises out of such a mass

of testimony as these and other witnesses which might be quoted

offer us, existing for so many ages and in countries so widely

separated from each other, is surely sufficient to justify a

careful study of the localities to which these different nations

belonged, as indicative of the later and more extended missionary

labors of St. Thomas.

According to the best authorities on the subjects of ancient

geography and ethnology, all the various territories which were

inhabited by the nations whose conversion has been attributed to

St. Thomas lie east of the Euphrates, and, with the single

exception of the Scythians, below the fortieth parallel of

latitude. The Medes occupied the districts between the Caspian

and Persian seas. The Hyrcanians lay on the south-east of the

Caspian, the Parthians and the Bactrians lying east of them; and

all three being included in the present Turkistan. The Persians

held the northeastern borders of the Persian Gulf, next to the

kingdom of the Medes; the Germanians, or Carmanians, lying next

on the south-east, in part of what is now known as Beloochistan,

and the lower corner of modern Persia. The "Seres" was a name

given to the Chinese in the earliest historic ages, and embraced

the vast and cultivated people who dwell beyond the Emodi, or

Himalaya, mountains, and east of the sources of the Indus. The

Indians and Scythians--the former occupying from the Indian Ocean

and the latter from the Arctic zone--met together between the

Bactrians and the Seres, and formed the Indo-Scythian races of

the ante-Christian age. Calamila, or Calamina, the city near

which the apostle finally rested from his labors, is on the

eastern coast of Hindostan, a short distance from Madras, and has

been known, at different periods, by the names of Meliapour,

Beit-Thoma, and St. Thomas.

The connection of these ancient nations and countries with, and

their successive propinquity to, each other enables us to form a

tolerably correct idea of the course of the apostle's missionary

work, from the baptism of Gondaphorus to the close of his own

career. For although our guide is simply the intrinsic

probability which grows out of the nature of the workman and the

work God had appointed him to do, yet, to whoever takes the map

of the various regions which we have described as the scenes of

the apostolic life and death, it will appear that one of two

courses must have been adopted. The first starts from the valley

of the Indus, and, leading westward, reaches in turn the

Germanians, Persians, and Medes; then, turning toward the north

and flexing eastward by the southern border of the Caspian Sea,

it penetrates the land of the Hyrcanians, Parthians, Bactrians,

Indo-Scythians, and Seres; where, again met by the upper Indus,

it bends southward, and, striking through the heart of Hindostan,

ends in the lower portion of the peninsula at or near Madras.

{518}

The second, beginning at the same point, follows up the Indus in

a path directly opposite to the former, until the place of

departure is again reached and the final journey through modern

India begins. It is scarcely possible to say which of these two

routes is most probably correct. Future researches may throw

light upon the extent of the region over which King Gondaphorus

reigned, upon the relation of the dialects of these bordering

nations to each other, and thus afford a clue to the more exact

path of the apostle. But in either case, the districts over which

he travelled, and the races into contact with whom he carried the

Gospel, are distinguished with a high degree of certainty, and

the triumphs of the cross under his leadership may thus be

clearly understood.

Indeed, the work of scarce any apostle of the twelve can now be

better followed than that of Thomas. The chief indefiniteness

attaches to his mission to the Seres; for here little is extant

to show, with any great conclusiveness, whether his labors

terminated with the borders of Indo-Scythia, or penetrated to the

Yellow Sea. Some monuments of antiquity have, it is true, been

found, which point strongly to the spreading of the Gospel over a

large part of China by primitive if not by apostolic

missionaries; but nothing has as yet been discovered which would

justify the conclusion that St. Thomas actually attempted the

evangelization of that immense and thickly-populated empire. If

such had been the case, it is hardly possible that India should

have received him back again, and given him the distant Calamina

for his martyrdom.

The area of territory over which the apostle Thomas must thus

have journeyed embraces over three million two hundred and fifty

thousand square miles, and the people to whom he opened the doors

of heaven, through the Gospel, numbered more than two hundred

millions of souls. The linear distance of his own personal

travels probably exceeded ten thousand miles, and this, for the

most part, necessarily on foot. The consideration of these facts,

and of the results which followed from the apostle's labors, will

give us some idea of the work which our Divine Lord committed to

his immediate disciples, and of the untiring zeal and superhuman

endurance with which they were endowed. It has become far easier

for us to say, "The Lord hath shortened his hand," than to go and

do likewise.

Yet it is still true that Thomas was an apostle; that it was the

will of the Master that all nations should at once almost receive

some knowledge of his Gospel; that the miraculous gift of tongues

swept out of the way one of the greatest obstacles to missionary

labor; and that St. Thomas had received the gifts of faith and

charity to such a degree as enabled him to co-operate, to the

utmost, with the graces of his work. And it is also true that,

had not he and the others of the twelve been such as they were

and accomplished what they did, the promises of Christ would have

been unfulfilled, and the church have suffered from their failure

to its latest day. But in that they were _apostles_, in that

they did their work, the seed of the Gospel can scarcely fall,

to-day, on soil which has not been already watered by the blood

of martyrs, or among people in whom it has not, long ago, sprung

up and brought forth fruit abundantly.

{519}

There were, however, in the case of St. Thomas, other and natural

reasons why his work should have been so vast and his success so

extraordinary. The facility of intercourse between the east and

the west was far greater in his day than in our own. The

successive conquests of Alexander had led him beyond the present

western boundary of China. The Roman empire, at the beginning of

our era, reached beyond the Euphrates, and the intimate

connection of part with part, and the ease of intercourse between

the imperial city and the farthest military outpost, can scarcely

be exaggerated. [Footnote 152] Up to the seventh century, this

unity continued to a great degree unbroken, and will account not

only for the presence of the minister of Gondaphorus in Jerusalem

and for the results which followed it, but for the diffusion and

preservation of the traditions which have handed down those

events to us.

[Footnote 152: De Quincey's _Caesars_. (Introduction.)]

Nor was this unity altogether that of conquest. Beyond the empire

of Augustus lay the realms of Porus, of whom history relates that

he held six hundred kings beneath his sway. Between these

emperors there seem to have been two formal attempts at an

intimate political alliance. Twenty-four years before the birth

of Christ, an embassy from Porus followed Augustus into Spain,

upon this errand, and another some years afterward met with him

at Samos. In the reigns of Claudius, Trajan, Antoninus Pius, and

succeeding emperors, the same royal courtesies were interchanged,

and it was not until the Mussulman power, sweeping like a sea of

fire between the east and the west, became an impassable barrier

to either, that these relations had an end.

Nearly the same may be said of commercial unity. The trade in

silk, from which substance the Seres, or Chinese, derived their

name, was carried on between the Romans and that distant nation

on no inconsiderable scale. Numerous caravans perpetually

journeyed to and fro through the wilds of Parthia and along the

southern border of the Caspian Sea; while the Erythrean, Red and

Mediterranean waters glittered with sails from almost every land.

The whole inhabited world (if we except this continent, the date

of whose first settlement no one can tell) was thus

providentially brought close together, and a higher degree of

unity and association established between its different nations

than had existed since the dispersion at Babel, or than has now

existed for over twelve hundred years.

How vast an advantage to apostolic labor this unity must have

been can easily be seen. While it removed almost entirely the

difficulties of travel, it assured for the traveller both safety

and good-will upon the way. While it conciliated in advance the

people among whom they labored, it gave weight and human

authority to the Gospel, when actually preached. And, when the

church had been established and little colonies of Christians

marked the track of the apostles, it enabled them to maintain a

constant intercourse with their spiritual children by messengers

or by epistles, and to keep watch and ward over the millions

entrusted to their care.

Those prophetic traditions of a coming Saviour, which pervaded

the east, as well as the south and west, also effected much

toward the rapid spread and wide espousal of Christian truth. The

origin of these traditions is shrouded in the mystery of an

unchronicled antiquity. They may be attributed to the promise in

paradise, to the transfusion of Mosaic teachings, or to direct

revelation by means of pagan oracles. But that they existed, in a

clear and well-defined prophetic form, is established beyond

question; while that they were in the first instance of divine

disclosure, it becomes no Christian to deny.

{520}

The learned and contemplative minds of Asia especially delighted

in this state of expectation. Sons of a soil whereon the feet of

God had trodden in primeval days, the very atmosphere around them

still throbbed with the echoes of that voice which walked in Eden

in the cool of the day. The mountains that overlooked them had

aforetime walled in the garden of the Lord from a dark and

half-developed world. The deserts of their meditations lay like a

pall above the relics of those generations to whom the deluge

brought the judgment wrath of God. Children of Sem, the eldest

son of Noah, it had been theirs to see, even more clearly than

God's chosen Israel, the coming of the Incarnate to the world, as

it was also theirs to win from heaven the first tidings of his

birth through the glowing orient star.

Among the many forms which this tradition assumed, there is one

so beautiful and so theologically accurate, that we cannot omit

to cite it here. While the swan of Mantua, on the banks of father

Tiber, chanted the glories of the golden age, a Hindoo poet, on

the borders of the Ganges, thus painted to the wondering eyes of

Indian kings the grand event in which the disorders and miseries

of that present age should have an end:

"Then shall a Brahmin be born in the city of Sambhala. This

shall be Vishnu Jesu. To him shall the divine scriptures and

all sciences unfold themselves, without the use of so much time

in their investigation as is necessary to pronounce a single

word. Hence shall be given to him the name of Sarva Buddha, as

to one who fully knoweth all things. Then shall Vishnu Jesu,

dwelling with his people, perform that work which he alone can

do. He shall purge the world from sin; he shall set up the

kingdom of truth and justice; he shall offer the sacrifice; ...

and bind anew the universe to God. .... But when the time of

his old age draws nigh, he shall retire into the desert to do

penance; and this is the order which Vishnu Sarva shall

establish among men. He shall fix virtue and truth in the midst

of the Brahmins, and confine the four castles within the

boundaries of their laws. Then shall return the primeval age.

Then sacrifice shall be so common that the very wilderness

shall be no more a solitude. Then shall the Brahmins, confirmed

in goodness, occupy themselves only in the ceremonies of

religion; they shall cause penance, and all other graces which

follow in the path of truth, to flourish, and shall spread

everywhere the knowledge of the holy scriptures. Then shall the

seasons succeed each other in unbroken order; the rains, in

their appointed time, shall water the earth; the harvest, in

its turn, shall yield abundance; the milk shall flow at the

wish of those who seek it; and the whole world, being

inebriated with prosperity and peace, as it was in the

beginning, all nations shall enjoy ineffable delights."

[Footnote 153]

[Footnote 153: _Le Christianisme en Chine_, p. 5.]

The well-known policy of St. Paul, who, preaching on Mars' hill

to the Athenians, seized the inscription on their altar, "To the

unknown God," as the text of his most memorable sermon, is a

divine endorsement of the important part which God intended that

these far-reaching revelations should play in the conversion of

the world. St. Thomas, in the east, had but to repeat the

announcement, Him whom ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto

you. He, for whom you have waited--he, Vishnu Jesu, has already

come; his wisdom and his counsels I reveal to you.

{521}

And among the clear-thoughted and pure-hearted sages of the east,

among the Magi of Persia, the Brahmins of India, and the

philosophers of China, among such as those who at the mere

bidding of a voiceless star followed it to the world's end--to

the cave of Bethlehem--these declarations of the apostle must

have been the signal of salvation. In them there were no

prejudices to wipe away, no new and strange ideas to be espoused.

The Gospel was not to them, as to the Jews, the subversion of

anticipated glory. It was the realization of expectation, the

golden day which had so long shot gleams of light into the

darkness of their iron age. And so it was that, while Judea could

give to Christianity but simple fishermen, or at most a ruler of

the synagogue, India and the orient thought not too highly of her

kings and sages to yield them up to Vishnu Jesu, and offered on

his altars the wealth of all her realms.

In the year 1521, certain excavations taking place under the

ruins of a large and ancient church at Meliapour, there were

found, in a sepulchre, at a great depth beneath the surface of

the earth, the bones of a human skeleton, in a state of

remarkable whiteness and preservation. With them were also found

the head of a lance, still fastened in the wood, the fragments of

an iron-shod club, and a vase of clay filled with earth. Some

years later, near the same spot, an attempt was made by the

Portuguese to build a chapel; and in digging for the foundations,

the workmen came upon a monumental stone on which was sculptured

a cross, some two feet long by eighteen inches wide, rudely

ornamented and surrounded by an inscription in characters which,

to the discoverers, were totally unknown. The authorities of

Meliapour, being desirous to ascertain the meaning of the letters

engraved around this cross, made diligent search among the native

scholars for an interpreter, and finally obtained one in the

person of a Brahmin of a neighboring city. His translation was as

follows:

"Thirty years after the law of the Christians appeared to the

world, on the 25th of the month of December, the apostle St.

Thomas died at Meliapour, whither he had brought the knowledge

of God, the change of the law, and the overthrow of devils. God

was born of the Virgin Mary, was obedient to her during thirty

years, and was the eternal God. God unfolded his law to twelve

apostles, and of these, one came to Meliapour, and there

founded a church. The kings of Malabar, of Coromandel, of

Pandi, and of other different nations, submitted to the

guidance of this holy Thomas, with willing hearts, as to a

devout and saintly man." [Footnote 154]

[Footnote 154: _Le Christianisme en Chine_, p. 26.]

The same inscription was afterward laid before other oriental

scholars, each of whom, without conference or collusion with the

rest, offered the same rendering of this forgotten tongue.