Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

"7th. Besides the above indulgences, all who wear the holy Scapular, may gain a plenary indulgence on any two days, at their option, in every week. (Gregory XVI.)

"N. B. There are 3 conditions to be observed in order to gain the above plenary indulgences, viz., to confess, to communicate, and to visit a church, and to say therein some prayers (such as 5 Paters and Aves, the Litany of Jesus, or of the Blessed Virgin), for the exaltation of the Catholic church, the propagation of our holy Faith, peace and concord among Christian kings and princes, the extirpation of heresies and schisms, the conversion of sinners and infidel nations, and for all the intentions of the same holy Church."

The 3 other scapulars described in Chapter XIV. also convey their peculiar indulgences, provided they are received from a priest empowered to grant them, and are worn constantly. The Scapular of the Immaculate Conception, for example, is is said by St. Liguori to have 433 plenary indulgences, besides innumerable temporary ones. Those who wear the 4 scapulars duly conferred and observe the conditions annexed are entitled to 10 special plenary indulgences, besides those enumerated as belonging to the scapular of Mount Carmel, &c. The red "Scapular of our Lord's Passion, and of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary" was established by a papal rescript, June 25, 1847, with the following indulgences, according to the "Golden Book of the Confraternities: "

"1. Every Friday an indulgence of 7 years and 7 quarantines [= periods of 40 days each] for all persons, who, wearing this scapular shall approach the Holy Communion, and recite, 5 times, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father, in honor of the Passion of our Lord.

"2. An indulgence of 3 years and 3 quarantines for such persons as shall at any time, meditate half an hour on the Passion with humble and contrite hearts.

"3. An indulgence of 200 days for all the faithful, who, kissing with compunction the said scapular, shall recite this verse: beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.'"

"We

By another rescript, March 21, 1848, pope Pius IX. further granted

"A plenary indulgence on every Friday to all the faithful, who, wearing the scapular, having confessed and communicated, shall devoutly meditate for a short time upon the Passion of our Lord, and pray for concord among Christian princes, for the extirpation of heresy, and for the exaltation of our holy Mother the Church."

This new red scapular is conferred by the Lazarist priests; the scapular of the Immaculate Conception, &c., by the Redemptorists; that of Mount Carmel, of course, by the Carmelites.

The following is the 5th question in the widely-circulated tract, “Is it honest?" published in New York by the Catholic Publication Society:

"IS IT HONEST to assert that the Catholic Church grants any indulgence or permission to commit sin-When an indulgence, according to her universally received doctrine, was never dreamed of by Catholics to imply, in any case whatever, any permission to commit the least sin; and when an indulgence has no application whatever to sin until after sin has been repented of and pardoned?”

The inconsistency between the theoretical and the practical views of an indulgence, apparent to every Protestant who reads this chapter, are thus clearly set forth by Rev. William H. Goodrich, D.D., the respected pastor of the 1st Presbyterian Church, Cleveland, Ohio:

"If you go to an intelligent priest or a cultivated Romanist, or search for yourself the authorities on this subject, you will find that indulgence in the Roman Catholic Church is always conditioned on contrition, confession, and reparation. But this is not the way in which the doctrine is understood by the mass of the people. The crowds of common believers who see posted all about the churches of Rome, printed notices, prescribing the prayers and performances which secure plenary indulgence, never understand these offers in any other way than that the simple observance exempts them from so many days or years of pain in purgatory. The theory of Papal indulgence is, that all the good works of the saints, over and above what is necessary toward a satisfaction for their own sins, are deposited, so to speak, together with the infinite merits of Christ, in one treasury, the keys of

which are committed to the Pope. In granting an indulgence, the Pope transfers a part of this superabundant merit to particular persons, who satisfy with it the Divine justice. He bestows it in forms most various, and for divers fees and considerations. He makes it a prerogative of certain churches. To worship in them or at certain altars is to gain indulgence.* A short prayer at the crucifix which stands in the centre of the Coliseum obtains large indulgence. A vast revenue has been derived from this single source. Much time of those who inhabit monasteries and other devotees in Italy is spent in fulfiling these conditions by which the horrors of purgatory can be abridged. Indeed it is calculated that, by extraordinary diligence through a course of years, a monk can pray himself and about other of his friends clean out of purgatory. Now the contradiction between the abstract doctrine of indulgence and the common belief and hope of the people in it, has existed for centuries, and never has been corrected. The reason was naïvely given by an eminent Catholic theologian thus: 'If,' he says, 'we should state these explanations in preaching the doctrine of indulgences, they wou'd not find so many purchasers.' In other words, the Church conceals the truth for the sake of the gain brought to her coffers by popular ignorance. The brigand who turns from his course of outrage to kneel at the shrine of the immaculate Virgin, and recite the Hail Mary so many times, believes that he thereby averts the retribution of his crimes. And he, and all like ignorant souls, are left to that deception untaught and undelivered. To them the whole doctrine of indulgences is a strong delusion, for which the Church of Rome is responsible."

"In a Circular Letter, read in the Romanist churches in New York, Sept. 19th [1869], the Pope supplicates the united prayers of all the faithful in behalf of the coming Council, and adds:-'As prayers are more agreeable to God when they ascend from a soul purified from all stain, he opens with Apostolic liberality the celestial treasury of indulgences plenary and remission of all sins to all the faithful of both sexes who shall, between the 1st of June and the close of the Council, visit certain churches, (in New York, the Cathedral in Mulberry street, St. Anne's in Eighth street, and the Nativity in Second avenue,) or at least one of them twice, who, in addition to the accustomed fast of the Ember Days, shall fast for three days even not consecutively, and confess their sins and receive the Eucharist. This indulgence is applicable to the souls in Purgatory.''

CHAPTER XX.

CHURCH-EDIFICES.

The first Christians, persecuted, and compelled to seek privacy rather than publicity in their assemblies for worship, met where they could-in private houses, in the open fields, in unfrequented places, in dens and caves of the earth. At the beginning of the 3d century, according to Coleman's Christian Antiquities, we first hear of buildings specially set apart for the worship of God. By an edict in A.D. 303 the emperor Diocletian ordered the sacred edifices or churches of the Christians, of which there were then more than 40 at Rome, to be razed to the ground. They were afterwards rebuilt; and, under Constantine and his successors, some pagan temples were transformed into Christian churches. In Rome, in Constantinople, in Jerusalem, and elsewhere, magnificent edifices were now built, and solemnly dedicated to the worship of God. The emperor Justinian I. made church-building the great business of his life, and claimed that in building the magnificent and colossal church of St. Sophia at Constantinople, which cost nearly $5,000,000, he had surpassed Solomon. Many churches were built in Europe in the 6th century and afterwards in the Byzantine or ancient Gothic style of architecture, which is said to have been introduced under Theodoric. The modern Gothic style, distinguished by its pointed arch, became prevalent in the 13th century; and vast cathedrals were now erected, exceeding in size and architectural beauty all previous works of the kind. The churches on the continent of Europe, according to Brande's Encyclopedia, "are usually ranged under 7 classes: Pontifical,

as St. Peter's, where the pope occasionally officiates; Patriarchal, where the government is in a patriarch; Metropolitan, where an archbishop is the head; Cathedral, where a bishop presides; Collegiate, when attached to a college; Parochial, attached to a parish; and Conventual, when belonging to a convent."

Nearly 20 of the churches in Rome are described more or less fully in Chapter I.; while the terms applied to the various parts of a church and church-articles generally are noticed in Chapter XIV.

The Roman Catholic cathedrals in Cologne, Strasbourg, Milan, Toledo, Seville, and other cities in various parts of continental Europe, are of great size and magnificence, and of immense cost. One or two may be taken for a moment's attention.

The great cathedral of Cologne, built in the form of a cross, 511 feet long and 231 feet broad, with a roof supported by 100 columns, the 4 center ones each 30 feet in circumference, was begun in 1248 on a plan which would make it the grandest and most beautiful Gothic church in the world; but it is still unfinished, though the kings of Prussia have expended upon it nearly $2,000,000 since 1842, when the work of completing it was commenced. The "chapel of the Magi" or of "the 3 kings of Cologne" is behind the high altar in this cathedral, and contains the reputed remains of the wise men who came from the East to Bethlehem to see the infant Jesus, their skulls being crowned with diamonds, their names written in rubies, the silver case for their bones also ornamented with precious stones, and this case and the surrounding valuables in the chapel being together valued at $6,000,000.

The cathedral of Seville, which was founded in 1401 and completed in 1519, has its exterior of various orders, but its interior is exclusively Gothic. According to Cardinal Wiseman, its length is 443 feet, its breadth 275 feet, and the height of its nave 134 feet. Its tower or belfry, called the "Giralda," 350 feet high, is surmounted by a statue of Faith weighing 2800

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »