of Galilee. (John ii.)

Before the truth of such a charge should be believed, it should very plainly appear.

It is true, that such an inference might be drawn from a hasty examination of the language of our Lord on that occa sion. But when we observe His general mode of addressing His mother, we can see that it was usual with Him to call her simply, woman. This expression He used when hanging on the cross. He said to her, "Woman, behold thy son." Bloomfield, the distinguished Protestant commentator, very justly says:

"This word was a form of address which implied nothing of disrespect, and was employed by our Lord on the most affecting of all occasions, and when He especially evinced His exquisite sympathy and tender regard for this very parent. This being the case, it is scarcely necessary to advert to the classical authorities which have been produced, from Homer to Dio Cas sius, in proof of the above position." (Cited in note to Kendrick's translation.)

The great St. Augustin gives one of the true meanings: "The mother demanded a miracle; but He, in divine operations, does not recognize maternal authority, and says, as it were, Thou didst not bring forth my wonder-working power: thou art not the mother of my divinity." When it is remembered that our Lord was subject to His parents, and that His time had not then arrived, we can see that He had two objects to accomplish by what He said: 1. By the question He asked, He intended to inform His mother that He could not be subject to her in divine things. 2. By the statement, "Mine hour is not yet come," He intended to let her know that He would perform the miracle, even before His time, at her request. The purpose of our Lord was to place Himself right before His mother, so that she would know the true ground upon which He performed the miracle before His time had come. The very fact that she at once said to the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it," shows conclusively that she understood Him to promise a compliance with her wish. So far from the conduct and language of Christ on this occasion, when taken and considered together, showing any harsh treatment of his mother, they show precisely the contrary. It would have been

very strange that our Lord should have been harsh to His mother. His conduct towards the humble Syrophonician woman might be tortured, by misconstruction, into unkindness.

It only remains to show what was the doctrine of the Ancient Church upon this subject. I find the authorities so well stated in the work of Dr. Bryant, that I shall avail myself of his labors, and select such as my limits will justify. But before doing so, it may be useful to remark that all writers have the right to use words and phrases in other than ordinary senses, when they clearly specify the sense in which they are used. It is also but just that a fair allowance must be made for the ardent language of poetry and devotion. To find a clear and exact definition of a doctrine, we must, of course, refer to works which expressly speak of them as such.

The expression, "Mother of God," as applied to the Blessed Virgin by Catholic writers, and especially by the Ancient Fathers, as will be seen, and as found in Catholic books of devotion, does not mean what many Protestants may suppose. As we have just seen by the extract from St. Augustin, the Catholic Church does not hold that our Lord derived His divine nature, but only His flesh, from His mother. In the Christian theory, the soul of each human being is created by God from nothing, and is united to the body before birth; and yet the mother is said to be the mother of the compound being called man, although he derived but one part of his being from his parents. It is the Catholic faith, and, I believe, the faith of all Trinitarians, that while our Lord did not derive His divinity from His mother, the two natures, human and divine, were united in Him before His birth. And this is all that is meant when we say that Mary was the mother of God. It is not intended to convey the idea, by this expression, that God did not exist prior to, and independent of her. He was her Creator-she, His creature. We find the language of Scripture, when put together, about as strong as the expression referred to. For example, St. John says the Word was God-that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us-that Jesus Christ was the Word--and that Mary was His mother. It is very true, that this is explained in other passages. So is the expression, "Mother of God," as used by Catholics.

The ancient Liturgies, being public and established forms of divine worship, constitute satisfactory evidence of the faith of the early Church in regard to the Blessed Virgin.

1. The Liturgy of St. James the Apostle, as it is called, is certainly very ancient, if it was not composed by him. This Liturgy is quoted by St. Cyril, of Jerusalem, in A. D. 347. This is the one in most common use among the Orientals. In this the Blessed Virgin is called "Most holy, most glorious, immaculate Mother of God, and ever Virgin." It also adds the very marked expression, "In every respect out of the range of sinful men.”

2. In the Liturgy of St. Mark the Evangelist: "Most holy, immaculate, and blessed Mother of God, and ever Virgin Mary." 3. In that of St. John Chrysostom: "In every part wholly, altogether untainted."

4. In that of St. Basil: "Chiefly with the most holy, spotless, above all blessed, our glorious Lady, Mother of God, and ever Virgin Mary."

5. In the Alexandrian: "But chiefly of our most holy, most glorious, immaculate, most blessed Lady, Mother of God, and ever Virgin Mary."

6. In the Roman Liturgy of undoubted antiquity: "Most glorious, most holy, immaculate Mother of God, and ever Virgin Mary."

In reference to the duty of following the traditions of the apostles, St. Hippolytus wrote: "These testimonies are suffi cient for believers who study truth; as to unbelievers, they believe no one. Let us, therefore, blessed brethren, believe according to the traditions of the apostles." (Contra Hæres. Noët., n. 7.)

"There is a letter extant," says Dr. Bryant, "known to the priests and deacons of Achia, which contains an account of the martyrdom of the illustrious Apostle St. Andrew, and a discourse which he pronounced in presence of the proconsul Egeus, just previous to his suffering. In this discourse the holy apostle speaks thus: And, moreover, as the first man was created from immaculate earth, it was necessary that from an Immaculate Virgin should be born a perfect man, namely, the Son of God.' This antistrophy, or reciprocal conversion of the terms immacu

late earth and Immaculate Virgin, exhibits the apostle as declaring Mary to be as immaculate in her conception as was Adam when he issued perfect from the hand of his Maker. The most ardent friend of the Immaculate Conception could wish for no stronger testimony than this.

"This remarkable document was at first regarded by some with suspicion, in consequence of the Latin copy only being known. But since the Greek original has been found in the Bodleian Library, and published by Charles Christian Woog, a Protestant writer, all doubt has ceased. Baconius proves this letter to be genuine; and so does also N. Alexander, in his Ecclesiastical History, vol. 1. M. Edvoy, Professor of History and Antiquities at Leipsic, follows the same opinion in some learned dissertations which he published in 1748-51. Abdias Babilonicus also adds the weight of his name to its authenticity; and the celebrated Marcelli has inserted it, as authentic and true, in his Calendar of the Church of Constantinople, under the date of November 30.

"St. Andrew suffered martyrdom in the year 96, and his discourse incontestably proves that the Immaculate Conception was believed and professed in the Apostolic Age." (Ib. 77.)

In the second century, St. Justin Martyr calls her The Mediatrix between God her divine son, and our fallen race; and St. Irenæus, of the same age, says of her: "If Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was counselled to obey God; that the Virgin Mary might become the Advocate of the Virgin Eve. And as the human race was bound to death through a virgin, it is saved through a virgin; the scales being equally balanced; virginal disobedience by virginal obedience." (Advers. Hæres., lib. v., cap. xix., p. 879.)

In the third century, St. Hippolytus calls her "Holy and Immaculate," and Origen says: "She has not been tainted with the breath of the venomous serpent." (Hom. 1 De B. V. Maria.) And St. Anselm of the same age says of her: "God hath ? preserved the Angels from sin, among the others sinning: hath He not been able to preserve the Mother pure from the sins of others?" (Sermo. de Conceptione.) So St. Cyprian of the same age says: Neither did justice suffer that vessel of election to be open to the common inquiries; for being far exalted

66

above others, she was a partaker of their nature, but not of their sin." (Lib. 1 De Carne Christi.)

In the fourth age, St. Ephraim says: "Mary is immaculate, and most remote from every taint of sin." (Tom. 5; Orat. ad Dei Gen.) And St. Amphilochius says: "Who created the first virgin perfect; He Himself created the second without blemish and without sin." (Orat. 4, in S. Deip. et Simeone.) So, Saint Ambrose calls her "a virgin through grace, preserved from every stain of sin." (Sermo. 22, in Ps. txviii.)

In the fifth age, St. Augustin, in confuting the error of Pelagius, who taught that the children of baptized persons were born free from original sin, says: "Except the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, for the honor of the Lord, I wish to entertain no question, when sin is the subject of discussion; since we know that more grace hath been given to her to overcome sin in every respect who was worthy to conceive and bring forth Him whom it behooved to have no sin." (Lib. de Natura et Gratia, cap. 23.)

I have passed over many of the passages quoted by Dr. Bryant, and must refer to the work itself for the others.

§ 3. Relics and Images.

In reference to the relics of the saints, the Council of Trent declared:

"That the holy bodies of holy martyrs, and of others now living with Christ, which were the living members of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Ghost, by him to be raised up, and glorified, unto everlasting life, are to be venerated by the faithful, through which many benefits are bestowed on men by God; so that they who affirm that veneration and honor are not due to the relics of saints, or that such relics and other sacred monuments are uselessly honored by the faithful, and that the places dedicated to their memories are in vain visited for the sake of impetrating their aid-are absolutely to be condemned, as the church has long since condemned, and now also condemns them." (Sess. XXV.)

And in reference to the pictures and images of the saints, the same Council decreed:

"That the images of Christ, of the virgin mother of God,