Be sure that you teach nothing to the people but what is certainly
to be found in Scripture."
BISHOP TAYLOR.
Mary Irving sought her chamber, and sinking on her knees, fervently
implored the blessing and guidance of Him who is very precious help in
time of need. She prayed for strength to meet with Christian fortitude
the trials which awaited her, and in all the vicissitudes of her
checkered life to pursue unfalteringly the path of duty. She strove
to collect her scattered thoughts, and with what composure she could
assume, returned to the dining-room. The fire was burning low on
the hearth, and the single candle gave but a faint, unsteady light.
Florence was slowly pacing up and down the floor; she raised her head
as Mary entered, then sunk it wearily on her bosom, and resumed her
walk.
"Florry, come sit here by me--I want to consult you."
"Is it very important, Mary? I feel to-night as though I could
comprehend nothing; let me wear off this dull pain in my heart and
head by walking, if possible."
"My dear Florry, it is important; and therefore you will forgive me if
I claim your attention."
Florence seated herself, and as she did so, leaned her head on Mary's
shoulder, while the latter wound her arm fondly about her, and gently
stroked back the raven hair from her aching brow.
"Since we broke up our school, I have been warned that we are in
danger, and advised to leave San Antonio as speedily as possible; for
strife is evidently at hand, and a battleground is no place for those
so unprotected as you and I."
"Dr. Bryant has promised to watch over us: and surely you have
implicit confidence in both his judgment and honor. What do you fear,
Mary?"
"Everything. We may remain here too long--till escape will be
impossible; and then who may predict with any degree of certainty the
chances of war? That Dr. Bryant will do all that a friend or brother
would, I doubt not; but he may be powerless to help when danger
assails; and even if he should not, to travel from here in stormy
times would not be so easy as you imagine."
"Who has been filling your head with such ideas? It could be none
other than that dark-browed Inez."
"If she has, could aught but disinterested friendship actuate her to
such a course?"
"Really, Mary, I should not have given you credit for so much
credulity. Do you place any confidence in what that girl may tell
you?"
"I do rely on what she confides to me. Has she ever given you cause
to doubt her sincerity? Indeed, Florry, you do her injustice. I would
willingly--God only knows how willingly--doubt some portions of what I
have heard from her lips, but I dare not."
"Mary, can you not perceive that she is jealous of us, and hopes, by
operating on your fears, to drive us from this place? The Padre hinted
as much to me not long since."
"Florry, it is for you to say whether Inez speaks truth. From her lips
I had the words--Your Cousin Florence is a Papist, wears a crucifix
about her neck, and kneels in the confessional. Oh, Florry! will
you--can you--do you deny the charge?"
The cousins stood up, and each gazed full upon the other. Mary's face
was colorless as marble, and her hands were tightly clasped as she
bent forward with a longing, searching, eager look. A crimson glow
rushed to Florence's very temples; then receded, leaving an ashy
paleness.
"I am a member of the Church of Rome."
Mary groaned and sank back into her chair, at this confirmation of her
fears. Florence leaned against the chimney, and continued in a low,
but clear voice--"I have little to say in defense of what you may
consider a deception. I deny the right of any on earth to question my
motives of actions; yet I would not that you, Mary, who have loved me
so long and truly, should be alienated, without hearing the reasons
which I have to allege in favor of my conduct. Mary, think well when
I ask you what prospect of happiness there was for me a month since?
Alone in the wide world, with ruined hopes, and a long, long, joyless
future stretching gloomily before me. I was weary of life. I longed
for death, not as a passport to the joys of heaven (for I had never
sought or deserved them), but as bringing rest, peace, and oblivion
of the past I viewed it only as a long, last, dreamless sleep. Mary,
I was groping my way in what seemed endless night, when suddenly there
came a glimmer of light, faint as the first trembling rays of the
evening star, and just pierced the darkness in which I wandered. The
Padre came to me, and pointed to the long-forgotten God, and bade me
seek him who hath said, come unto me all ye who are weary, and I
will give you rest. Mary, do you wonder that I clasped the hand
outstretched to save me, and besought him to lead me to the outraged
and insulted God? My eyes were opened, and looking down the long, dark
vista of the past. I saw how, worshiping a creature, I built a great
barrier between myself and heaven. I saw my danger, and resolved, ere
it was too late, to dedicate the remainder of my life to him who gave
it. The door of the church was opened, and Father Mazzolin pointed
out the way by which I might be saved. The paths seem flowery, and
he tells me the ways are those of pleasantness and peace, and I have
resolved to try them. Once, and once only, I met him at confession,
hoping, by unveiling my sufferings to a man of God, to receive comfort
of a higher order than I might otherwise expect. He has granted
me absolution for the past, and I doubt not that in future the
intercession of the blessed saints in heaven will avail with my
offended Maker."
"Florry, my own dear Florry! hear me, for none on earth love you as I
do. Do you not believe the Bible--God's written word? Has he not said,
'there is _one mediator_ between God and man--the man Christ Jesus?'
Has not Christ made propitiation for our sin, and assured us there is
but one way whereby we may be saved, repentance for our past sins and
faith in the sufficiency of his atonement? Do you doubt the efficacy
of Christ's suffering and death? Tell me, Florry, by what authority
you invoke your saints? Surely you do so in opposition to the express
declaration of the Bible already quoted--'there is _one mediator_
between God and man.'"
"The holy Fathers of our church have been in the habit of praying for
the intercession of saints from the earliest periods, and none have
questioned their fervent piety, or doubted the orthodoxy of their
faith," replied Florence.
"In the first place," said Mary, "it would be ridiculous in the
extreme to advocate all the opinions and tenets advanced by those
same Fathers. St. Augustine doubted the existence of the antipodes;
Tertullian emphatically pronounced second marriages adultery; Origen
denied the sin of David in causing the death of Uriah, and has often
been accused of favoring Arianism, and the doctrine of transmigration
of soul; while it is a well-known fact, that Jerome, to vindicate
Peter from the charge of dissimulation, actually accused St. Paul of
lying, and thereby favoring deceit. In the second place, are you quite
sure that they were in the habit of invoking saints?"
"Certainly, Mary; for it is undeniable that St. Augustine in his
Meditations calls on the Blessed Virgin, and all the angels and
apostles in heaven, to intercede with God in his behalf. Father
Mazzolin pointed out the passage no later than last week, to remove
the doubts which I confess I entertained, as to whether it was proper
and in accordance with the practise of the Fathers to implore such
intercession."
"And does your conviction rest on so frail a basis? Hear what the
Rev. Dr. Milner says on this subject, in the first volume of his
Ecclesiastical History;" and taking it from the shelf, Mary read:
'The book of Meditations, though more known to English readers than
any other of the works ascribed to Augustine, on account of the
translation of it into our language by Stanhope, seems not to be his,
both on account of its style, which is sententious, concise, abrupt,
and void of any of those classical elegancies which now and then
appear in our author's genuine writings; and also, on account of the
prayers to deceased saints which it contains. This last circumstance
peculiarly marks it to have been of a later date than the age of
Augustine. Frauds of this, kind were commonly practised on the works
of the Fathers in the monastic times.'
"And why, Florry, does it peculiarly mark it as spurious? Because, had
he entertained these views on so vital a point, the expression of them
would most certainly have occurred in his other very voluminous works.
I have searched his Confessions for instances of this invocation,
either from himself or anxious mother, and had he believed, as the
Catholic prelates assert, in this intercession of the dead, it would
most assuredly have been sought in the hour of his suffering and fear,
lest he should be given over. But I find none. On the contrary,
these two passages occur in his Confessions: 'I now sought the way of
obtaining strength to enjoy thee, and found it not, till I embraced
the mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, who is above all, God,
blessed forever, calling and saying I am the way, the truth, and the
life.' And here, Florry, is another extract from the same book still
more conclusive--'Whom shall I look to as my mediator? Shall I go to
angels? Many have tried this, and have been fond of visions, and have
deserved to be the sport of the illusions which they loved. The true
mediator, whom in thy secret mercy thou hast shown to the humble, and
hast sent that by his example they might also learn humility, the man
Christ Jesus, hath appealed a mediator between mortal sinners and the
immortal Holy One, that he might justify the ungodly, and deliver them
from death.' Yet in your manuals you are directed to say 'Mother of
God command thy son;' and one of your prayers, Florry, is as follows:
'Hail, Holy Queen! Mother of Mercy--our life, our sweetness, and our
hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished sons of Eve, to thee do we send
up our sighs, mourning and weeping in the valley of tears. Turn thee,
most gracious Advocate, thy eyes of mercy toward us.' And at vespers
you say,
'Hail, Mary! queen of heavenly spheres,
Hail! whom the angelic host reveres!'
Florry, in all candor, let us investigate this subject; we will
consult both the Bible and the Fathers, or, if you prefer it, by the
words of the latter only we will decide; for truth we are searching."
"Mary, let me read a second time those passages from St. Augustine.
Strange I should have been so deceived," she continued, as, having
perused them, she returned the book to her cousin.
"Florry, can you perceive any encouragement there given to the
practise of invocation? Does not St. Augustine expressly denounce it?"
"There can be no doubt of his sentiments on this point; but, Mary,
this is only one decision, when I have been assured that the united
voices of many Fathers established it without a doubt, even supposing
there was no authority in Holy Writ for such a custom--which, however,
we have, for did not Jacob wrestle with an angel and did not his
blessing descend upon him?"
"But Christ had not then died; neither had the Christian dispensation
succeeded to the old Jewish rites and customs. If you will turn to
Jeremiah, you will also read how the curse of God was pronounced
against the idolaters who offered incense to the Queen of Heaven: yet
you do the same. Still, by the tradition of the elders, we will judge.
Hear the words of Paulinus on this subject--'Paul is not a mediator;
he is an ambassador for Christ. John intercedes not, but declares that
this mediator is the propitiation for our sin. The Son of Almighty
God, because he redeemed us with the price of his blood, is justly
called the true Redeemer,' Again, the great and good Ambrose--'We
follow thee, Lord Jesus, but draw us up that we may follow. No one
rises without thee. Let us seek him, and embrace his feet, and worship
him, that he may say to us, Fear not. I am the remission of sin, I am
the light, I am the life. He that cometh to me shall not see death;
because he is the fulness of divinity.' One more, Florry--'Come to
yourselves again, ye wretched transgressors! Return ye blind to your
light! Shall we not believe God, when he swears that neither Noah,
nor Daniel, or Job, shall deliver one son or daughter by their
righteousness. For this end he makes the declaration, that none might
put confidence in the intercession of saints. Ye fools! who run to
Rome to seek there for the intercession of an Apostle. When will ye
be wise? What would St. Augustine say of you, whom ye have so often
quoted?' Such, Florry, are the words of the celebrated Claud of Turin;
but as he is regarded by your church somewhat as a reformer, I will
just read one passage from Anselm, whose orthodoxy no Papist ever
questioned. Speaking of the intercession of Christ--'If the people sin
a thousand times, they need no other Saviour; because this suffices
for all things, and cleanses from all sin.' Florry, we have jointly
admired the character of one of the earliest martyrs, St. Cyprian.
Will you hear him on this subject?--'Christ, if it be possible, let us
all follow. Let us be baptized in his name. He opens to us the way
of life. He brings us back to Paradise. He leads us to the heavenly
kingdom. Redeemed by his blood, we shall be the blessed of God the
Father,' Yet you say in your prayers, 'We fly to thy patronage, oh!
holy Mother of God!' And again--
'Hail sacred gate.'
Florence, you have cited the Fathers: by their own words are you not
convinced as to intercession?"
"Mary, I was asking myself if vital Christianity could exist in any
church which allows such a system of deceit on the part of its clergy:
for deceived I assuredly have been."
"You should remember, Florry, that the promulgation of Papal
doctrines, and the aggrandizement of the Romish church, is the only
aim of its priesthood; consequently, all means which conduce to this
great object are unscrupulously employed. Even crime is sanctioned
where the good of the church can be promoted."
"Surely, Mary, you cannot mean what you say? Crime sanctioned by the
Romish clergy! Impossible! How dare you make such an assertion!"
"It doubtless strikes you, Florry, as strangely uncharitable and
unchristian; yet, if you will consult the records of the past, I
venture to say you will think very differently. What memorable event
occurred on one of your saints' days--the 24th of August, 1572? At
dead of night the signal was given, and the Papal ministers of France
perpetrated the foulest deed that stains the page of history.
Thirty thousand Huguenots were butchered in their beds. And what
distinguished the murderer from the doomed victim? A white cross on
the hat of the former. How did Imperial Rome receive the tidings of
this massacre? The cannons were discharged, the Pope ordered a jubilee
and grand procession, and caused a _Te Deum_ to be chanted. I ask
you, Florry, was not this sanctioning crime? Again, how died the great
Henry IV? The celebrated edict of Nantes sealed his doom, and the
infamous Ravaillac, for the good of the Romish church, conveniently
forgot the commandment of Jehovah, and meritoriously assassinated him.
Florry, I have myself heard a Papist say, 'that whatever her priest
commanded, she would unhesitatingly perform.' Shocked at the broad
assertion, I replied: 'You surely do not know what you are saying.
Obey the priest in all things! Why, you would not commit murder at his
command?' 'Certainly I would, if my priest bid me; for if I obey him,
I cannot do wrong.' I know this to be true; and I ask you what is the
inference? You admit that you have been deceived. Pious frauds were
committed in the time of Ambrose and Chrysostom; yet hear what St.
Augustine says: 'Lying is the saying of one thing, and thinking of
another;' and in all cases, even for most pious purposes, he excludes
lying as unchristian and anti-scriptural."
Florence was leaning with clasped hands on the table gazing intently
at her cousin; while Mary knelt on the other side, her hand resting
on the large family Bible. The light fell full on her pale face as she
knelt; her chestnut curls half veiling the pure white cheek, and the
dark-blue eyes, earnest, and yet almost angelic, in their gentle,
loving expression.
"Oh, Florry! need I implore you in future to look to Christ alone as
the author of our salvation?"
"One more question, Mary. Is there not a passage in Revelations
substantiating the doctrine of intercession? Father Mazzolin assured
me the testimony was conclusive in favor of that practise."
"The passages to which you allude are these: 'And another angel came
and stood at the altar, having a golden censor; and there was given
unto him much incense, that he should offer it, with the prayers of
all saints, upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And
the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the
saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.' No word of
intercession occurs here; and are we not as free to suppose that the
prayers so offered were in their own behalf as that of their friends?
Had it been as the Padre tells you, would not St. John have said
intercession or prayers in behalf of others?"
"Mary, can you have mistaken the passage? This cannot be his boasted
testimony."
"I know that these two verses are highly prized by Papists, as
establishing the doctrine in question; yet I cannot see them in that
light--can you?" "No, no; and if these are the strongest arguments
they can adduce in the defense of invocation, I reject it as a remnant
of the dark ages, during which period it certainly crept into the
church."
"If you do this, Florry, you cause the whole fabric to totter, for on
this doctrine, as a foundation, rests the arch, of which confession is
the keystone."
"'Confess ye your sins, one to another,' is very strong in our favor,
Mary?"
"Florry, we are searching for truth, and let us in all humility and
candor investigate this particularly important point. It seems to me
that St. James's meaning is this--when we have offended or harmed our
fellow-men or brethren, we should make all the amends in our power;
confess our faults unto them; implore their pardon, and abstain from
offensive conduct in future. Do you not think that if he had intended
us to interpret it differently, he would have said--'Confess your
faults unto your priest, and he will give you absolution.' Setting
aside all bias, do you not think this reasonable; the more so, when
we call to mind those words of our Saviour in his sermon on the mount:
'Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest
that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before
the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift.' If our Lord had intended the ordinance
of confession, would he not have said on this occasion, 'First confess
thy sins unto thy priest, and when he has absolved thee, then come
with clean hands and offer thy gift.' Mark the difference, and ask
your own heart if there is any encouragement here for confessing to
your Padre?"
"If this passage of James were all we could adduce in favor of
confession, I should think with you, Mary; yet it is not so. When
about to dismiss his Apostles on their errands of mercy, Christ said
to them--'Peace be with you; as my Father hath sent me, even so I send
you;' and when he had breathed upon them, he said unto them--'Receive
ye the Holy Ghost; whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.' Now, Mary,
do you not plainly perceive that the power of forgiving sin was
conferred upon the Apostles?"
"Most assuredly I do; and avow my belief that they were enabled
to forgive sin, and at the same time other miraculous powers were
conferred on the 'Twelve.' 'Then he called his twelve disciples
together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to
cure diseases.' We know that they cast out devils, restored the blind,
and raised the dead. Power to forgive sin was one among many wonderful
gifts conferred upon them. Yet you do not believe that the power of
raising the dead was transmitted to posterity. How, then, can you say
the gift of absolution was?"
"But, Mary, Christ says in another place--'Thou art Peter: and upon
this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not
prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom
of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.'"
"I perfectly agree with you, Florry, in believing that St. Peter had
miraculous powers bestowed on him by our Saviour; but it seems absurd
to suppose that these powers were perpetuated in the ministers of the
Roman Catholic Church. Our Saviour said, what 'Peter loosed, should
be loosed in heaven,' and not what Peter's successors loosed should be
observed and loosed in heaven. We should not judge of Christ's views
by isolated passages, but rather from all his teachings; for if we
did, what would you say to the verse just below those already quoted,
'And he said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an
offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things which be of God, but
those that be of men.' But this is wandering from the subject. In
St. Augustine's Confessions, though I admit somewhat abridged, I find
nothing relating to confessing to priests. This passage alone appears:
'O Lord, thou knowest!--have I not confessed my sins to thee? and
hast thou not pardoned the iniquity of my heart?' Speaking of a
sudden illness during his boyhood, he says he eagerly desired baptism,
fearing to die, and his mother was about to comply with his request,
when he quickly recovered. Now, had he considered confession
necessary, would he not have urged it upon all who read his
Confessions, which you will mark, Florry, were not made to a priest,
but obviously to God himself,"
There followed a long pause, while Florence dropped her face in her
hands and sighed heavily.
"Florry, it is very late; our candle has burnt low--see, it is
flickering in the socket; we have not heeded the lapse of time." She
rose and replaced the books she had been consulting.
"Mary, Mary! why have you shaken my faith? I had thought to find
comfort in future, but you have torn my hope from me, and peace flies
with the foundations which you have removed!"
"Florry, you have been blinded, deceived. They have cried unto you,
Peace! peace! when there was no peace. But oh! there is a source
of rest, and strength, and comfort, which is to be attained not
by confession, or the intercession of the dead or living, but
by repentance for the past, and an active, trusting faith in the
mediation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ"