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Title: The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, January 1865
Author: Various
Language: English
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THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
JANUARY, 1865.
THE SEE OF CLONMACNOISE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
CARDINAL CONSALVI AND NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
ST. BRIGID'S ORPHANAGE.
THE MSS. REMAINS OF PROFESSOR O'CURRY IN THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.
ASSOCIATION OF ST. PETER'S PENCE, DUBLIN.
POLAND.
LITURGICAL QUESTIONS.
DOCUMENTS.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
THE SEE OF CLONMACNOISE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century the See of St. Kieran was
reckoned among the dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Tuam.
Dr. Walter Blake was then its bishop; he was a native of Galway, and
Canon of Enaghdune, and by the provision of Pope Innocent VIII., was
appointed to this See on the 26th of March, 1487. During twenty-one
years he governed the faithful of Clonmacnoise with prudence and zeal,
and died in May, 1508.
Thomas O'Mullally was appointed his successor the same year, and after
administering this diocese for five years, was, in 1513, translated to
the archiepiscopal see of Tuam.
There are still preserved in the Vatican archives two original letters
written by King Henry VIII., on the 18th of June, 1515, soliciting the
appointment of Father Quintinus Ohnygyn, of the Order of St. Francis,
as successor to Dr. Mullally. These letters should, of themselves,
suffice to set at rest for ever the plea which some modern theorists
have advanced, that the course pursued by the English monarch in the
latter years of his reign, in appointing bishops by his own authority
to the episcopal sees, was the traditional right of the crown, ever
exercised by him and his predecessors on the throne of England. The
first letter is addressed to the reigning pontiff, Leo X., as follows:
"Sanctissimo, Clementissimoque Dño nostro Papae.
"Beatissime pater, post humillimam commendationem et
devotissima pedum oscula beatorum. Certiores facti,
Cluanensem Ecclesiam in Dominio nostro Hiberniae per
translationem Revmi Patris Dñi Thomae ejus novissimi Episcopi
ad Archi-Episcopatum Tuamensem vacare, venerabilem ac
religiosum virum fratrem Quintinum Ohnygyn ord. min. virum
doctum, gravem, circumspectum et probum, multorum testimonio
maxime idoneum esse cognovimus qui dictae Ecclesiae
praeficiatur. Quapropter Vestrae Sanctitati ipsum
commendamus, eamque rogamus, ut eundem fr. Quintinum
praedictae Cathedrali Ecclesiae Cluanensi per dictam
translationem vacanti praeficere et Episcopum constituere
dignetur, quem ut Deo acceptum, sic perutilem eidem Ecclesiae
pastorem futurum arbitramur. Et felicissime valeat eadem
Vestra Sanctitas, Quam Deus Altissimus longaevam conservet.
"Ex Palatio nostro Grenwici;
"die xviii. Junii 1515.
"Ejusdem Sanctitatis Vestrae
"Devotissimus atque obsequentissimus filius
"Dei gratia Rex Angliae et Franciae ac Dom. Hib{ae}.
"Henricus".
The second letter was addressed to Cardinal Julius de Medicis, and is
dated the same day. It seeks to conciliate for the petition contained
in the letter first cited, the patronage of Cardinal de Medicis, who
was known to exercise unbounded influence in the councils of Pope Leo:
"Henricus Dei Gratia Rex Angliae et Franciae, ac Dominus
Hiberniae, Revmo. in Christo patri D. Julio tituli S. Mariae
in Dominica S. R. Ecclesiae Diacono Cardinali nostroque ac
Regni nostri in Romana curia Protectori et amico nostro
charissimo salutem.
"Commendamus in praesentia Ssm. D. N. venerabilem religiosum
virum fr. Quintinum Ohnygyn, virum doctum, prudentem et vitae
integritate probatum, Suamque Sanctitatem rogamus ut eundem
fratrem Quintinum Ecclesiæ Cluanensi, per Reverendi Patris
Thomæ ejus postremi Episcopi ad Archi-Episcopatum Tuamensem
translationem vacanti praeficere et praesulem constituere
dignetur. Quare pergratum nobis erit ut Vestra Revma
Dominatio relationem de dicta Ecclesia, ut moris est, facere
et ejusdem fratris Quintini procuratoribus in Bullarum
expeditione favorem suum praestare non gravetur.
"Ex Palatio nostro Grenwici die xviii. Junii, 1515.
"Henricus".
Though the king was thus so eager to have Dr. O'Hnygyn appointed
without delay to the vacant see, it was only in the month of November
the following year (1516) that the consistorial investigation was made
for the appointment of this prelate. The record of this inquiry is
still happily preserved, and though there was only one witness present
who was a native of Ardfert, by name Nicholas Horan, still, from his
scanty evidence we may glean some interesting particulars regarding
the ancient See and Cathedral of St. Kieran.
The town of Clonmacnoise, he says, is situated in the ecclesiastical
province of Tuam, at the distance of a day's journey from the sea
coast. It is small, consisting of only twelve houses, which are built
of rushes and mud, and are thatched with straw. At one side flows the
river Shannon, and the surrounding country is thickly set with trees.
Towards the west stands the cathedral, which is in a ruinous
condition. Its roof has fallen, and there is but one altar, which is
sheltered by a straw roof: it has a crucifix of bronze, and only one
poor vestment: its sacristy, too, is small, but its belfry has two
bells. Enshrined in the church is the body of the Irish saint whose
name it bears: nevertheless the holy sacrifice of the Mass is seldom
offered up, and the whole revenue of the see amounts to only
thirty-three crowns. As to Father Quintin, it was further stated, that
having been himself in Rome, he was already well known to many members
of the Sacred College, and he is described as "in Presbyteratus ordine
constitutus, vir doctus, praedicator, bonis moribus et famâ, aliisque
virtutibus praeditus". (ap. Theiner, page 519.)
Pope Leo X. did not hesitate much longer in appointing one so highly
commended to the vacant see, and before the close of 1516 Dr. O'Hnygyn
was consecrated Bishop of Clonmacnoise. During the twenty-two years
which he ruled this diocese he displayed great energy in reanimating
the fervour of the faithful and restoring the ancient splendour of
religion. The cathedral was repaired: stained-glass windows and
paintings set forth once more the triumph of faith, whilst many
precious gems and other decorations were added, as voluntary offerings
from his faithful flock. The following description of the cathedral,
extracted from Ware, will serve to give a more complete idea of this
venerable structure:
"Nine other churches were subject to the cathedral, being, as it were,
in one and the same churchyard, which contained about two Irish acres
in circuit, on the west whereof the bishops of Clonmacnoise afterwards
built their episcopal palace, the ruins of which are yet visible. The
situation of this place is not unpleasant. It stands on a green bank,
high raised above the river, but encompassed to the east and the
north-east with large bogs. The nine churches were most of them built
by the kings and petty princes of those parts for their places of
sepulture; who though at perpetual wars in their lives, were contented
to lie here peaceably in death. One of these churches, called
Temple-Ri, or the King's Church, was built by O'Melaghlin, King of
Meath, and to this day is the burial place of that family. Another,
called Temple-Connor, was built by the O'Connor Don; a third and
fourth by O'Kelly and MacCarthy More of Munster. The largest of all
was erected by MacDermot, and is called after his name. The rest by
others. Before the west door of MacDermot's church stood a large
old-fashioned cross or monument, much injured by time, on which was an
inscription in antique characters, which nobody that I could hear of
could read. The west and north door of this church, although but mean
and low, are guarded about with fine-wrought, small marble pillars,
curiously hewn. Another of the churches hath an arch of a greenish
marble, flat-wrought and neatly hewn and polished, and the joints so
close and even set, that the whole arch seems but one entire stone, as
smooth as either glass or crystal. The memory of St. Kieran is yet
fresh and precious in the minds of the neighbouring inhabitants. In
the great church was heretofore preserved a piece of the bone of one
of St. Kieran's hands as a sacred relique. The 9th of September is
annually observed as the patron-day of this saint, and great numbers
from all parts flock to Clonmacnoise in devotion and pilgrimage. The
cathedral was heretofore endowed with large possessions, and was above
all others famous for the sepulchres of the nobility and bishops, as
also for some monuments and inscriptions, partly in Irish and partly
in Hebrew. Yet it declined by degrees, and was in the end reduced to a
most shameful poverty". (_Harris's Ware_, pag. 166.)
The famous cross of Clonmacnoise, to which Ware refers in the above
passage, was erected about the year 920; and though two centuries ago
its inscription was deemed illegible, the illustrious Petrie has
deciphered it in our own times. The first part of the inscription is:
"A prayer for Flann, son of Maelsechlainn"; and the second part is: "A
prayer for Colman who made this cross over the King Flann". (Petrie,
_Round Towers_, pag. 268.) This ancient cross is, moreover, richly
ornamented with relievos and ornamental net-work: "The sculptures on
its west side", says Petrie, "relate to the history of the original
foundation of Clonmacnoise by St. Kieran; while the sculptures on the
other sides represent the principal events in the life of our Saviour,
as recorded in the Scripture; and hence the cross was subsequently
known by the appellation of _Cros na Screaptra_, _i.e._, the Cross of
the Scriptures, under which name it is noticed in the Annals of
Tighernach at the year 1060". Amongst the sacred subjects thus
sculptured on this venerable cross we may mention, the Crucifixion--the
Blessed Virgin bearing the Divine Infant in her arms--and the adoration
by the Magi.
Dr. O'Hnygyn died in 1538, and had for his successor Richard Hogan,
who, after presiding for fourteen years in the See of Killaloe, was
translated to Clonmacnoise on the 17th July, 1539: he, however, died
the same year, and as Ware informs us, "within a few days after his
translation". Another bishop was appointed without delay, and on the
15th December, 1539, Dr. Florence O'Gerawan or Kirwan was proclaimed
in consistory as successor to St. Kieran. He held this See about
fourteen years, and died soon after the accession of Queen Mary. The
death of the good prelate was probably hastened by the sad ruin which
fell upon his cathedral before the close of 1552. In the spirit of
Vandalism to which the noblest monuments of our ancient faith became a
prey at this period, the English garrison of Athlone plundered and
pillaged the venerable church of Clonmacnoise--an event, the memory of
which is still as vividly preserved in local tradition, as though it
were only an occurrence of yesterday. It is thus recorded in the
Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1552: "Clonmacnoise was
plundered and devastated by the English (Galls) of Athlone, and the
large bells were carried from the round tower. There was not left,
moreover, a bell, small or large, an image or an altar, or a book, or
a gem, or even glass in the window, from the walls of the church out,
which was not carried off. Lamentable was this deed, the plundering of
the city of Kieran, the holy patron".
In the "Patent Rolls", an invaluable work for which we are indebted to
the persevering energy of Mr. Morrin, is registered under date of 15th
September, 1541, "the confirmation of Florence Gerawan in the
Bishoprick of Clonmacnoise, to which he had been promoted by the Pope;
and his presentation to the vicarage of Lymanaghan in the same Diocese
on his surrender of the Pope's Bull". (vol. I. pag. 82.) The editor,
indeed, inadvertently substituted _Cloyne_ for _Clonmacnoise_ in this
passage, the Latin name _Cluanensis_ being common to both Sees.
Cloyne, however, was at this time united with Cork, and Mr. Morrin may
easily be pardoned this error, since it is shared by the learned De
Burgo and by Dr. Maziere Brady in the Third volume of his "_Records of
Cork, Cloyne, and Ross_". (London, 1864, pag. 97.) The surrender of
the Pope's Bull was regarded at this period as a merely civil
ceremony, required by law as a condition to obtain possession of the
temporalities of the See, and we find an instance of it even in
Catholic times on the appointment of Dr. Oliver Cantwell to the See of
Ossory in the year 1488. At all events, the fact just now recorded, of
the plunder of his church sufficiently proves that Dr. O'Kirwan, at
the close of his episcopate, did not enjoy the favour and patronage of
the courtiers of Edward VI.
Dr. Peter Wall, of the Order of St. Dominick, was the next bishop of
this See. He had for a while been led astray by the novelties of the
preceding reigns, but, as the Consistorial register records, returned
repentant to the bosom of Holy Church, and was now absolved from all
the censures which he had incurred. He was appointed Bishop on the
4th of May, 1556, and for twelve years remained in undisturbed
possession of his See. He died in 1568; and though the heretical
government annexed this diocese to Meath, the Sovereign Pontiff never
recognized the union, and Clonmacnoise continued to be governed by
Vicars till, after a widowhood of eighty years, it again received a
chief pastor, in the person of Anthony M'Geoghegan, who was appointed
its bishop on 22nd of January, 1647.
The reader may here expect some remarks on the vicissitudes of this see,
and its successive connection with the provinces of Tuam and Armagh.
When as yet there were only two archiepiscopal sees in our island,
extending to Leath Cuinn and Leath Mogha, all Connacht, and with it
Clonmacnoise, was comprised in the northern district. Gradually,
however, Tuam grew into the proportions of a distinct province, and in
the synod of Rathbreasil, held by St. Celsus of Armagh in 1110, we find
the five sees of Tuam, Clonfert, Cong, Killalla, and Ardchame or Ardagh,
clustered together, though still subject to the Archbishop of Armagh.
When at length, in the synod of Kells, in 1152, Tuam received the
archiepiscopal pallium from the hands of Cardinal Paparo, Ardagh was
assigned to the primatial see, but Clonmacnoise was referred to the new
province of Tuam. This division soon became a subject of controversy.
Tuam claimed the diocese of Ardagh for the western province, whilst
Armagh declared that the Shannon was its boundary, and hence reckoned
Clonmacnoise as a northern see, and at the same time claimed, as subject
to its own metropolitical jurisdiction, the churches of Killmedoin,
Croagh-patrick, Killtulagh, and some others of the diocese of Tuam. At
the Council of Lateran, held in Rome in 1215, Felix O'Ruadhan,
Archbishop of Tuam, and Eugene MacGillividen, Archbishop of Armagh, were
both present, and laid their dispute before the great Pontiff Innocent
III., and a decree soon after emanated, assigning indeed the above named
churches to Tuam, but deferring to a future day the decision of the
other points of controversy. In the meantime Armagh was in possession of
both sees, and for more than a hundred years they continued thus subject
to its metropolitical jurisdiction. As to Ardagh, the question was never
after mooted; but towards the middle of the fourteenth century,
Clonmacnoise seems to have been again numbered amongst the dioceses of
the western province. This change probably took place during the
episcopate of Bishop Symon, of the Order of St. Dominick, who, though
omitted in the lists of Ware and De Burgo, was appointed to this see on
the death of Dr. Henry, in 1349. This prelate, in the bull of his
appointment, is declared to be "Priorem fratrum ordinis Praedicatorum de
Roscommon, Elfinensis dioecesis, in sacerdotio constitutum et cui de
religionis zelo, litterarum scientia, vitae ac morum honestate et aliis
virtutum meritis laudabilia testimonia perhibentur" (_ap. Theiner_, pag.
291). At all events, soon after this period we find a list of Irish
bishoprics which is now preserved in the Barberini archives at Rome, and
in it the see of Clonmacnoise is referred to the province of Tuam. In
the consistorial record of the appointment of Dr. O'Higgins, cited
above, it is in like manner described as subject to the metropolitical
jurisdiction of St. Jarlath's. The episcopate of Dr. O'Hnygyn seems to
have been the period when at last all controversy was hushed, and this
diocese was finally adjudged to the province of Armagh. This prelate
assisted indeed at the Provincial Synod of Tuam, held in 1523, but, in
the preamble to the Synod, he is expressly described as "Dominus Kyntius
(_i.e._, Quintinus) Dei gratiâ Episcopus Cluanensis Provinciae
Armachanae". (_Irish Arch. Soc. Miscellany_, vol. I., p. 77.) An
official list of all the dioceses was drawn up and published during the
pontificate of Pope Paul III., in 1546, and in it Clonmacnoise is marked
as belonging to the primatial see. The era of persecution during the
reigns of Elizabeth and James I. produced no change in this arrangement;
and when a momentary peace again smiled on the Irish Church, in 1632, we
find the vicar-apostolic of Clonmacnoise, Rev. John Gafney, after
administering this see _for thirty-five years_, taking his place among
the assembled fathers in the provincial synod of Armagh.
P. F. M.
CARDINAL CONSALVI AND NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
The concordat signed at Paris on the 15th July, 1801, between Pius
VII. and Napoleon, is one of the most important facts of modern
history. The magnitude of its results may best be learned from the
contrast between the present state of religion in France and that
which existed during, and for long after, the Revolution. "There is no
negotiation", says M. Thiers, "which is more deserving of serious
meditation than that of the Concordat"; but up to the present day the
materials for such a study have been wanting. At length the full light
of history has been let in upon the secret conferences in which the
articles of that treaty were prepared; and the hand which has traced
for us their history is the same which signed the Concordat itself.
The memoirs of Cardinal Consalvi, who took part in the negotiations as
the plenipotentiary of the Roman Pontiff, penned by him during the
days of his exile, have at length been given to the world.[1] Since
the Cardinal's death in 1824, these memoirs have been religiously left
in the obscurity to which their author condemned them, and which he
willed should last as long as the life of the principal personages of
whom he has made mention in his pages. But when at length, in 1858,
there appeared no reason for further silence, they were handed over by
Consalvi's executors to M. Crétineau-Joly, who has published, not the
original text, but what he assures us is a faithful version of it. We
propose to give our readers a sketch of the history of the Concordat
as it is recorded in these memoirs, and in doing so, we shall make use
as often as we can of the Cardinal's own words.
The victory of Marengo, gained June 14, 1800, made the First Consul
master of Italy. Five days after the battle, passing through Vercelli
at the head of his army, he charged Cardinal Martiniana, bishop of
that city, to communicate to the Pope his desire of negotiating a
settlement of the religious affairs of France, and for this purpose he
requested that Mgr. Spina, archbishop of Corinth, might be sent to him
to Turin. His request was gladly complied with. But scarcely had that
prelate entered Turin than he was ordered to set out at once for
Paris, where Napoleon awaited his arrival. It needed but a short stay
in that capital to convince Mgr. Spina that the projects of concordat
proposed by the consul were absolutely inadmissible, as being founded
on a basis completely at variance with the laws of the Church. In vain
did the Pope, in his anxiety to promote the good of religion, forward
to Paris an amended plan of concordat, in which he made every
concession permitted by his duty as head of the Church. The only
answer he received was an intimation from M. Cacault, the French agent
at Rome, that unless within five days the proposals made by Napoleon
were accepted without the slightest change, the least restriction or
correction, he, Cacault, should declare a rupture between the Holy See
and France, and immediately leave Rome to join General Murat at
Florence. To all these threats, and to the menace of the loss of his
temporal power, the Pope had but one reply, that same reply which we
have heard from Pius IX. in our own day--that _non possumus_ against
which all the assaults of the masters of legions have ever failed, and
evermore shall fail.
M. Cacault, not daring to disobey the orders he had received, prepared
at once for his departure, but his excellent heart and his affection
for Rome suggested to him a means of preventing the mischief that was
sure to follow from the anger of Napoleon, if once kindled against the
Holy See. He proposed that Cardinal Consalvi, the Pope's secretary of
state, should at once set out for Paris, to lay before the First
Consul the imperious reasons by which the Holy Father was forced to
refuse the proffered concordat. The French agent felt confident that,
whilst it would flatter Napoleon's pride to be able to exhibit to the
Parisians a Cardinal prime minister in waiting upon his will, the
presence of Consalvi would also be a proof of the Pope's anxious
desire to come to a favourable understanding on the affairs of the
French Church. After mature deliberation this plan was adopted. The
Cardinal took care that to the credentials usually given in cases of
treaties, the Pope should add a most precise command that his envoy
was to consider the project of concordat which had been corrected at
Rome, and hitherto rejected at Paris, not only as the basis of the
future treaty, but as the concordat itself. Powers were granted,
however, to make such changes as did not alter the substance of the
document. "I thought it necessary", says the Cardinal, "to have my
hands tied in this way, because I foresaw that, unless I were in a
position to show the French government how limited were my powers,
they would soon force my entrenchments".
Leaving Rome in company with M. Cacault, Cardinal Consalvi arrived at
Paris at night, after a tedious journey of fifteen days, and took up
his abode with Mgr. Spina and his theologian, P. Caselli, afterwards
Cardinal. Early in the morning he sent to acquaint Bonaparte of his
arrival, and to learn at what hour he could have the honour of seeing
the First Consul. He inquired also in what costume he should present
himself, as at that period the ecclesiastical dress had been abandoned
by the French clergy. These communications were made through the Abbé
Bernier, who, from having been one of the leaders in the war of La
Vendèe against the Republic, had taken a great part in the
pacification of these provinces upon the terms offered by the consular
government, and had thereby secured for himself the favour of
Bonaparte. He was appointed negotiator on the part of the government,
and brought to his task much theological knowledge, diplomatic skill,
and the advantage of being agreeable to both the contracting parties.
This ecclesiastic soon returned to Consalvi with the intimation that
the First Consul would receive him that same morning at two o'clock,
and that he was to come in the fullest possible cardinalitial costume.
The Cardinal, however, did not gratify him in this latter particular,
believing it to be his duty to present himself in the dress usually
worn out of doors by cardinals when not in function. He was introduced
to Napoleon under circumstances well calculated to embarrass a less
evenly poised mind than his own. "I know", said the First Consul, "why
you have come to France. I wish the conferences to be opened without
delay. I allow you five days time, and I warn you that if on the fifth
day the negotiations are not concluded, you must go back to Rome, as I
have already decided what to do in such a case". Consalvi replied with
calm dignity, and was soon afterwards conducted to his hotel. On the
same day the Abbé Bernier came again to Consalvi, and asked him for a
memorial setting forth the reasons which had constrained the Pope to
accept the project which had been presented at Rome by M. Cacault.
Although wearied by his long journey, the Cardinal spent the watches
of the night in drawing up the memorial, which on the following day
was communicated by the Abbé Bernier to Talleyrand, who, in turn, was
to report upon it and lay it before the First Consul. The design of
the memorial was to justify the refusal of the Concordat in the terms
in which it had been drawn up by the French Government, and to show
how reasonable and just were the modifications insisted on by the
Pope. This design was not attained. Talleyrand wrote on the margin of
the first page of the memorial these words, well calculated to confirm
Napoleon in his idea that the Pope's minister was actuated by personal
enmity towards the French Government: "Cardinal Consalvi's memorial
does more to throw back the negotiations than all that has hitherto
been written on the subject". These words, although they produced an
unfavourable impression on the First Consul, did not however retard
the negotiations. The fatigue of these negotiations was very great.
Twice each day for many days beyond the five granted by Bonaparte, the
Cardinal held conferences with the Abbé Bernier, always in the
presence of Mgr. Spina and P. Caselli. The nights were frequently
spent in drawing up and correcting memorials to be presented to the
government. It was at this period in the negotiations that the limit
which the Pope had placed to the Cardinal's powers was found to be of
the greatest practical advantage. The Abbé Bernier, when any
difficulty occurred, incessantly declared that, however strong his own
convictions, he could decide nothing of himself without referring the
matter to the First Consul. On the contrary, the Cardinal was never
allowed to despatch a courier to consult the Pope and receive his
commands. The pretext for this prohibition was, that the Concordat
should absolutely be finished the next day. Under these circumstances,
his limited powers were the only means left to Consalvi by which he
might resist the pressure brought to bear against him. The orders he
had received from the Pope were, not to break off the negotiations and
refuse the Concordat because he could not make it as favourable as
might be, but, on the other hand, not to sign it by overstepping
those instructions given him before he left Rome, of which we have
spoken above. For twenty-five days the conferences continued. Every
nerve was strained to avert a rupture on the one hand, and undue
concessions on the other. The consequences of a rupture were
frequently laid before the Cardinal during these days, which he calls
"days of anguish", by the Count de Cobenzel, Austrian ambassador at
Paris. He was asked to consider that if the First Consul should break
with Rome, and definitely separate from the head of the Catholic
Church, he would, as he had often threatened, force Germany, Spain,
Italy, Switzerland, and Holland, to become the accomplices of his
apostacy.
Finally, after incredible fatigue, after sufferings and anguish of
every kind, the day came which brought with it the long-looked for
conclusion of their task. The Abbé Bernier, who reported every evening
to Bonaparte the results of the daily conferences, at length announced
that the First Consul accepted all the disputed articles, and that on
the following day they should proceed to sign two authentic copies of
the treaty, one copy to remain in the hands of each of the contracting
parties. The project thus accepted, was substantially the same as the
one which, having been amended at Rome, had been rejected by the
French government before the Cardinal's journey, and which had led to
M. Cacault's withdrawal from Rome within five days. It was arranged
that the signatures should be six; three on each side. The Cardinal,
Mgr. Spina, and P. Caselli, were to sign on behalf of the Holy See;
Joseph Bonaparte, brother of the First Consul, Cretet, councillor of
state, and the Abbé Bernier, on behalf of the French government. It
was further arranged that the Abbé Bernier should call for the three
ecclesiastics at a little before four o'clock on the following day,
14th July, and conduct them to the residence of Joseph Bonaparte,
where the solemn act was to be completed.
"There", said Bernier, "we shall be able to do all in a quarter of an
hour, as we have only to write six names, and this, including the
congratulations, will not take even so long". He also showed them the
_Moniteur_ of the day, in which the government officially announced
the conclusion of the negotiations. He added, that on the next day,
anniversary of the taking of the Bastile, the First Consul intended to
proclaim at a grand dinner of more than three hundred guests, that the
Concordat was signed, and a treaty concluded between the Holy See and
the government, of far more importance than even the Concordat between
Francis I. and Leo X.
Shortly before four o'clock the next day, the Abbé Bernier made his
appearance, having in his hand a roll of paper, which he said was the
copy of the Concordat to be signed. On their arrival at Joseph
Bonaparte's, they took their places at a table, and after a short
discussion as to who should be the first to sign, Joseph yielded that
honour to the claims of the Cardinal. He took the pen in his hand, and
then followed a scene which must be described in his own words: "What
was my surprise when I saw the Abbé Bernier place before me the copy
which he took from his roll, as if to make me sign without reading it,
and when on running my eye over it, I found that it was not the treaty
which had been agreed on by the respective commissioners and accepted
by the First Consul himself, but one altogether different! The
difference I perceived in the first lines led me to examine the rest
with the most scrupulous care, and I satisfied myself that this copy
not only contained the project which the Pope had refused to accept,
but that it moreover included certain points which had been rejected
as inadmissible before the project had been forwarded to Rome at all.
This occurrence, incredible but true, paralysed my hand when about to
sign my name. I gave expression to my surprise, and declared in plain
language that on no account could I accept such a document. The First
Consul's brother appeared equally astonished at hearing me speak so.
He said that he did not know what to think of what he saw. He added
that he had heard from the First Consul himself, that every thing had
been arranged, and that there was nothing for him to do but affix his
signature. As the other official, the state councillor, Cretet, made
the same declaration, protesting his total ignorance, and refusing to
believe my statement about the change of documents, until I had proved
it by confronting the two copies, I could not restrain myself from
turning rather sharply towards the Abbé Bernier. I told him that no
one could confirm the truth of my assertion better than he could; that
I was exceedingly astonished at the studied silence which I observed
him to keep in the matter; and that I expressly called upon him to
communicate to us what he had such good reason to know.
"With a confused air and in an embarrassed tone, he stuttered out that
he could not deny the truth of my words and the difference between the
copies of the Concordat, but that the First Consul had given orders to
that effect, affirming that changes were allowable as long as the
document was not signed. 'And so', added Bernier, 'he insists on these
changes, because upon mature deliberation he is not satisfied with the
stipulations we have agreed upon'.
"I will not here relate what I said in answer to a discourse so
strange.... I spoke warmly of this attempt to succeed by surprise; I
resolutely protested that I would never accept such an act, expressly
contrary to the Pope's will. I therefore declared that if, on their
part, they either could not or would not sign the document we had
agreed upon, the sitting must come to an end".
Joseph Bonaparte then spoke. He depicted the fatal consequences which
would result to religion and to the state from breaking off the
negotiations; he exhorted them to use every means in their power to
come to some understanding between themselves, on that very day,
seeing that the conclusion of the treaty had been announced in the
newspapers, and that the news of its having been signed was to be
proclaimed at to-morrow's grand banquet. It was easy, added he, to
imagine the indignation and fury of one so headstrong as his brother,
when he should have to appear before the public as having published in
his own journals false news on a matter of such importance. But no
arguments could persuade the Cardinal to negotiate on the basis of the
substituted project of Concordat. He consented, however, to discuss
once more the articles of the treaty on which they had agreed before.
The discussion commenced about five o'clock in the evening. "To
understand how serious it was, how exact, what warm debates it gave
rise to on both sides, how laborious, how painful, it will be enough
to say that it lasted without any interruption or repose for nineteen
consecutive hours, that is to say, to noon on the following day. We
spent the entire night at it, without dismissing our servants or
carriages, like men who hope every hour to finish the business on
which they are engaged. At mid-day we had come to an understanding on
all the articles, with one single exception". This one article, of
which we shall speak later, appeared to the Cardinal to be a
substantial question, and to involve a principle which, as has often
been the case, the Holy See might tolerate as a fact, but which it
could never sanction (_canonizzare_) as an express article of a
treaty. The hour when Joseph Bonaparte must leave to appear before the
First Consul was at hand, and "it would be impossible", says the
Cardinal, "to enumerate the assaults made on me at that moment to
induce me to yield on this point, that he might not have to carry to
his brother the fatal news of a rupture". But nothing could shake the
resolution of the Papal minister or lead him to act contrary to his
most sacred duties. He yielded so far, however, as to propose that
they should omit the disputed article, and draw out a copy of the
Concordat in which it should not appear, and that this copy should be
brought to Bonaparte. Meantime the Holy See could be consulted on the
subject of the article under debate, and the difficulty could be
settled before the ratification of the Concordat. This plan was
adopted. In less than an hour, Joseph returned from the Tuileries
with sorrow depicted on his countenance. He announced that the First
Consul, on hearing his report, had given himself up to a fit of
extreme fury; in the violence of his passion he had torn in a hundred
pieces the paper on which the Concordat was written; but finally,
after a world of entreaties and arguments, he had consented with
indescribable repugnance, to admit all the articles that had been
agreed on, but with respect to the one article which had been left
unsettled, he was inflexible. Joseph was commanded to tell the
Cardinal that he, Bonaparte, absolutely insisted on that article just
as it was couched in the Abbé Bernier's paper, and that only two
courses were open to the Pope's minister, either to sign the Concordat
with that article inserted as it stood, or to break off the
negotiation altogether. It was the Consul's unalterable determination
to announce at the banquet that very day either the signing of the
Concordat, or the rupture between the parties.
"It is easy to imagine the consternation into which we were thrown by
this message. It still wanted three hours to five o'clock, the time
fixed for the banquet at which we were all to assist. It is impossible
to repeat all that was said by the brother of the First Consul, and by
the other two, to urge me to yield to his will. The consequences of
the rupture were of the most gloomy kind. They represented to me that
I was about to make myself responsible for these evils, both to France
and Europe, and to my own sovereign and Rome. They told me that at
Rome I should be charged with untimely obstinacy, and that the blame
of having provoked the results of my refusal would be laid at my door.
I began to taste the bitterness of death. All that was terrible in the
future they described to me rose up vividly before my mind. I shared
at that moment (if I may venture so to speak) the anguish of the Man
of Sorrows. But, by the help of Heaven, duty carried the day. I did
not betray it. During the two hours of that struggle I persisted in my
refusal, and the negotiation was broken off.
"This was the end of that gloomy sitting which had lasted full
twenty-four hours, from four o'clock of the preceding evening to four
of that unhappy day, with much bodily suffering, as may be supposed,
but with much more terrible mental anguish, which can be appreciated
only by those who have experienced it.
"I was condemned, and this I felt to be the most cruel inconvenience
of my position, to appear within an hour at the splendid banquet of
the day. It was my fate to bear in public the first shock of the
violent passion which the news of the failure of the negotiations was
sure to rouse in the breast of the First Consul. My two companions and
I returned for a few minutes to our hotel, and after making some
hasty preparations, we proceeded to the Tuileries.
"The First Consul was present in a saloon, which was thronged by a
crowd of magistrates, officers, state dignitaries, ministers,
ambassadors, and strangers of the highest rank, who had been invited
to the banquet. He had already seen his brother, and it is easy to
imagine the reception he gave us as soon as we had entered the
apartment. The moment he perceived me, with a flushed face and in a
loud and disdainful voice, he cried out:
"'Well, M. le Cardinal, it is, then, your wish to quarrel! So be it. I
have no need of Rome. I will manage for myself. If Henry VIII.,
without the twentieth part of my power, succeeded in changing the
religion of his country, much more shall I be able to do the like. By
changing religion in France, I will change it throughout almost the
whole of Europe, wherever my power extends. Rome shall look on at her
losses; she shall weep over them, but there will be no help for it
then. You may be gone; it is the best thing left for you to do. You
have wished to quarrel--well, then, be it so, since you have wished
it. When do you leave, I say?'"
"After dinner, General", calmly replied the Cardinal.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _Mémoires du Cardinal Consalvi, secrétaire d'Etat du Pape Pio
VII., avec un introduction et des notes, par J. Crétineau-Joly._
Paris, Henri Plon, Rue Garencière, 8, 1864. 2 vol. 8vo, pagg. 454-488.
(TO BE CONCLUDED IN OUR NEXT.)
ST. BRIGID'S ORPHANAGE.
_St. Brigid's Orphanage for Five Hundred Children._ Eighth
Annual Report. Powell, 10 Essex Bridge, Dublin.
It would be interesting to trace the various arts and devices which
have been adopted for the propagation of Protestantism in this
country. Its authors certainly never intended to spread it through the
world in the way in which the Gospel was introduced by the disciples
of our Lord. The apostles gained over unbelievers to the truth by
patience, by prayer, by good example, and by the performance of
wonderful works. Their spirit was that of charity, their only object
was the salvation of souls. So far from being supported by an arm of
flesh, all the powers of the earth persecuted them and conspired for
their destruction.
But how was Protestantism propagated in Ireland? By acts of parliament
fraudulently obtained, by the violence and influence of two most
corrupt and unprincipled sovereigns--Henry VIII. and Elizabeth. Under
their sway great numbers of Irish Catholics were put to death because
they would not renounce the ancient faith; convents and monasteries
were suppressed because their inmates were faithful to their vows; the
parochial clergy and bishops were persecuted and spoiled, and many put
to death, because they adhered to the religion of their fathers, and
would not separate themselves from the communion of the Catholic
Church, spread over the whole world.
Moreover, the property of the Catholics was confiscated, and the nobles
of the land were reduced to poverty, because their consciences would
not allow them to bow to the supremacy of the crown in religious
matters. What shall we say of the ingenious system of penal laws,
which, with Draconian cruelty, was enacted against Catholicity? A
father was not allowed to give a Catholic education to his children;
and the child of Catholic parents, if he became a Protestant, could
disinherit his brothers, and reduce his father to beggary. Catholic
education and Catholic schools were proscribed. A Protestant university
was instituted and richly endowed with confiscated property, in order
that it might be an engine for assailing Catholicity, and a bulwark of
Protestantism. Charter schools were established for the purpose of
infecting poor children with heresy. A court of wards was instituted,
in order that the children of the nobility might be seized on, and
brought up in the errors of the new religion. It was in this way that
the Earls of Kildare and other noble families lost their faith.
Catholics were excluded from all offices of trust; they could not be
members of parliament, they had no right of voting at elections, and
they were not even allowed to hold leases of the lands from which their
fathers had been violently and unjustly expelled. Such were the
_evangelical_ arts adopted to spread Protestantism in Ireland. What a
contrast with the means employed by Providence to propagate the Gospel
of Jesus Christ!
Thanks be to God, the faith of the people of Ireland overcame all the
agencies which were employed for its destruction, and is now producing
wonderful works of piety and charity at home, and bringing the
blessings of salvation to foreign lands that heretofore were sitting
in darkness and the shades of death. However, active efforts are still
made to propagate the religion of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, and it is
hoped that what those corrupt and wicked, but powerful and despotic,
sovereigns could not effect by fire and sword, by cruel penal laws,
and confiscation of property, may be compassed by a degraded and
contemptible system of pecuniary proselytism, which consists in
collecting money in England for the purpose of bribing poor Catholics
to become hypocrites and to deny their faith, or of purchasing
children from miserable or wicked parents, in order to educate them in
the religion, whatever that may be, of the Church Establishment, or
more probably in no religion at all.
The Report of St. Brigid's Orphanage, mentioned at the head of this
notice, gives most interesting details regarding this new method of
propagating the errors of Luther and Calvin. This document, though
brief, is most worthy of the perusal of every Catholic. It describes
the activity and perfidy of the proselytisers, and it shows that they
have immense resources, even hundreds of thousands of pounds per
annum, at their disposal. The zeal of those men and their sacrifices
in a bad cause, must be a reproach to Catholics, if they are not ready
to stand forth and exert themselves in defence of the Holy Catholic
and Apostolical Church, out of which there is no salvation.
The Association of St. Brigid in the few years of its existence has
saved a large number of children from the fangs of proselytism. It has
been able to perform so great a work of charity because its funds,
though small, are managed with great economy. No expense is incurred
for buildings, or for the rent of houses, or for a staff of masters
and mistresses. The ladies who manage the orphanage receive no
remuneration, but give their services for the love of God. The poor
orphans are sent to the country, and placed under the care of honest
and religious families, who, for five or six pounds for each per
annum, bring them up in the humble manner in which the peasants of
Ireland are accustomed to live. In this way the orphans acquire that
love for God, and that spirit of religion, for which this country is
distinguished, and, at the same time, they become strong and vigorous
like the other inhabitants of the country, and are prepared to bear
the hardships to which persons of their class are generally exposed in
life. Were those children educated in large orphanages and in the
smoky air of the city, they would perhaps be weak and delicate,
incapable of bearing hard work, and likely to fail in the day of
trial.
The education of the orphans of St. Brigid is not overlooked by the
managers. They require the nurses not only to teach the children by
word and example, but also to send them to good schools, where they
learn reading, and writing, the catechism, and all that is necessary
for persons in their sphere of life. Some of the ladies of the
association call them together from time to time for examination, and
considerable premiums are awarded to the families in which the
children are found to have made the greatest progress. In this way
great emulation is excited, and a considerable progress in knowledge
is secured.
When the orphans grow up, as they are generally strong and healthy and
able for farm work, they are easily provided for. Many of them are
adopted by those who reared them. In this way great economy is
observed, and this is a consideration which cannot be overlooked in a
poor country like Ireland, where the charity of the faithful has so
many demands upon it. However, everything necessary is attained, as
the orphans are prepared to earn a livelihood in this world, and
trained up in the practice of those Christian virtues and practices by
which they may save their souls.
The report of the Orphanage is followed by the speeches which were
made by several gentlemen at a late meeting of the Association, held
on the 16th November last. They will be read with great interest.
Canon M'Cabe's address thus sums up the results already obtained by
St. Brigid's Association:--
"I thank God", said he, "that I am here to-day to testify to
the glorious fact, that already 525 destitute orphans have
found a home in St. Brigid's bosom; and that 247 of these,
nursed into strength, moral and physical, have been sent
forth into the world to fight the battle of life; and we may
rest perfectly satisfied that if, at the hour of death, they
are not able to exclaim with the apostle, 'I have kept the
faith', the fault most certainly will not rest with the
friends of their infant orphan days".
What a contrast with such happy results does the sterility of all
Protestant religious undertakings present! This is illustrated in the
course of his discourse by the learned Canon. We give the following
extract:--
"Marshall, in his admirable book on _Christian Missions_,
assures us that the sum annually raised in England for
missionary purposes, is not less than two millions sterling;
but he also tells us, on the authority of the _Times_
newspaper, the consoling fact, that before one penny leaves
England, half a million is consumed by the officers at home.
We may rest quite satisfied that out of the £88,000 annually
expended here in Dublin, a very decent sum goes every year
to bring comfort, elegance, and luxury to the homes of pious
agents and zealous ladies engaged in the good cause. We have
also the consoling knowledge that English gold and the grace
of conversion are very far, indeed, from correlatives. Even
in pagan lands its only power is to corrupt the hearts of
those to whom it purports to bring tidings of Gospel truth.
The spirit which influences the missioners whom it sends forth,
and the converts which it wins, is beautifully illustrated by
a story told by a missionary--Mr. Yate. He holds the following
dialogue with a converted New Zealander:--'When did you pray
last?' 'This morning'. 'What did you pray for?' 'I said, O
Christ, give me a blanket in order that I may believe'. This
same Mr. Yate innocently records a letter written to him by a
New Zealand convert, which aptly strikes off the character of
master and disciple. 'Mr. Yate, sick is my heart for a blanket.
Yes, forgotten have you the young pigs I gave you last summer?
Remember the pigs which I gave you; you have not given me
any thing for them. I fed you with sucking pigs; therefore
I say, don't forget'. Need we wonder that such converts and
such teachers were equally strangers to the blessings of
Divine grace, and that the success of their preaching may be
universally summed up in the words of a report which a
famous Baptist preacher gave of his year's harvest. 'During
last year', he writes, 'I had 25 candidates; out of that
number six died, seven ran away, six are wavering backwards
and forwards, and six are standing still'. So the good man's
success was represented by large zero. The same
characteristics in teacher and disciple mark the history of
the crusade carried on against the religion of Ireland. The
Irish New Zealander expects his blanket as the grand motive
power of believing in souperism. The Irish Mr. Yate gets his
'sucking pig', and very often is ungrateful to his
benefactors. In one word, if any success attend the efforts
made by the proselytiser, it is read in the total overthrow
of the morals as well as the faith of their victims".
Not to be too long, we merely refer the reader to Alderman Dillon's
speech, in which he shows that the Protestant Church Establishment has
been for centuries and is at present the unhappy source of all the
evils of Ireland. With him we join in a fervent wish that a political
institution, the creature and the slave of the state, an institution
so useless and so mischievous, may soon reach the end of its career.
Its present position may be understood from the following statistics
given by Mr. Dillon, and which are founded on the authority of the
last census:--
"The present Protestant population of the diocese of
Kilfenora--251, men, women, and children--is less than that of
the Jews in the city of Dublin, and could be removed in a few
omnibuses; that of Kilmacduagh, consisting of 434 persons,
would not fill one room in the Catholic Parochial Schools at
Ennistymon, in that diocese; the smallest rural Catholic
Chapel in the diocese of Emly would be thinly filled with the
1,414 professing Anglicans in that diocese; the new Catholic
Church in Ballinasloe would be comparatively empty with a
congregation composed of the 2,521 Protestant inhabitants of
the diocese of Clonfert; whilst, through the Cathedral of
Waterford, three times more Catholics pass on Sunday, during
the hours of Divine worship, than the 2,943 Protestants in the
whole of that diocese. In fact, the single parish of St.
Peter's, in the City of Dublin, contains, according to the
Census of 1861, more Catholics than there are Protestants in
the five dioceses just named, together with those in the six
other dioceses of Achonry, Cashel, Killaloe, Ross, Lismore,
and Tuam; the Protestant population of these eleven dioceses,
amounting to 38,962 persons, and that of the one Catholic
parish, to upwards of 40,000 souls. There are as many
Catholics in the City of Limerick as there are Protestants
in the whole five counties of Connaught; there are more
Catholics, by 23,000, within the municipal bounds of the city
of Dublin than there are Anglicans in the twelve counties of
Leinster; there are many thousands more Catholics in every
county in Ulster, save the small county Fermanagh, than there
are Protestants in the whole province of Munster; and,
finally, the Anglican population of the kingdom exceeds that
of the Catholics of the single county of Cork by only about
70,000 souls. In no province, no county, no borough in
Ireland, can the Anglican population show a majority".
We conclude by recommending the Orphanage of St. Brigid to the
charity, not only of Dublin, but of all Ireland. It is a national
institution. In a few years it has rendered great services to the
country at large and to religion by saving so large a number of
children from error and perversion; it is conducted on principles of
the strictest economy, so necessary in the depressed state to which
our population is reduced; and it is especially recommended by the way
it brings up the poor orphans, assimilating them to our healthy and
vigorous country people, and inspiring them with the same love for God
and fatherland which distinguishes the peasants of Ireland. St.
Brigid, the Mary of Ireland, will not fail to protect all who assist
her orphans.
THE MSS. REMAINS OF PROFESSOR O'CURRY IN THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.
NO. III.
_The Rule of St. Carthach, ob. 636.--Part II._
OF THE CONDUCT OF A MONK.
67. If you be a monk under government,
Cast all evil from your hands;
Abide in the rights of the Church
Without laxity, without fault,
68. Without quarrel, without negligence,
Without dislike to any one,
Without theft, without falsehood, without excess,
Without seeking a better place,
69. Without railing, without insubordination,
Without seeking for great renown,
Without murmur, without reproach to any one,
Without envy, without pride,
70. Without contention, without self-willedness,
Without competition, without anger,
Without persecution, without particular malice,
Without vehemence, without words,
71. Without languor, without despair,
Without sin, without folly,
Without deceit, without temerity,
Without merriment, without precipitance,
72. Without gadding, without haste,
Without intemperance--which defiles all--
Without inebriety, without jollity,
Without silly, vulgar talk;
73. Without rushing, without loitering,
With leave for every act;
Without paying evil for evil,
In a decayed body of clay;
74. With humility, with weakness,
Towards uncommon, towards common;
With devotion, with humbleness,
With enslavement to every one.
75. In voluntary nocturns,
Without obduracy, without guile,
Waiting for your rewards
At the relics of the saints.
76. With modesty, with meekness,
With constancy in obedience;
With purity, with faultlessness
In all acts, however trivial.
77. With patience, with purity,
With gentleness to every one;
With groaning, with praying
Unto Christ at all hours;
78. With inculcation of every truth,
With denunciation of every wickedness,
With perfect, frequent confessions
Under direction of a holy abbot;
79. With preservation of feet, and hands,
And eyes, and ears,
And heart, for every deed
Which is due to the King above;
80. With remembrance of the day of death
Which is appointed to all men;
With terror of the eternal pain
In which [souls] shall be after the Judgment.
81. To welcome the diseases,
Patience in them at all times,
With protection to the people of heaven--
It is a holy custom.
82. To reverence the seniors,
And to obey their directions,
To instruct the young people
To their good in perfection.
83. To pray for our cotemporaries,
Greatly should we love it,
That they barter not their Creator
For the obdurate, condemned demon.
84. To forgive every one
Who has done us evil,
In voice, in word, in deed,
Is the command of the King of the Heavens.
85. To love those who hate us
In this Earthly world;
To do good for the persecutions,
Is the command of God.
FOR THE CELE DE (CULDU), OR THE REGULAR CLERIC.
86. If we be serving the priestly office,
It is a high calling;
We frequent the holy church
At [canonical] hours perpetually.
87. When we hear the bell--
The practice is indispensable--
We raise our hearts quickly up,
We cast our faces down;
88. We say a _Pater_ and a _Gloria_,
That we meet no curse;
We consecrate our breasts and our faces
With the sign of the Cross of Christ.
89. When we reach the church
We kneel three times;
We bend not the knee in [worldly] service
In the Sundays of the living God.
90. We celebrate, we instruct,
Without work, without sorrow;
Illustrious the man whom we address,
The Lord of the cloudy Heavens.
91. We keep vigils, we read prayers,
Every one according to his strength;
According to your time, you contemplate
The Glory until the third hour.
92. Let each order proceed as becomes it,
According as propriety shall dictate;
As to each it is appointed,
From the third hour to noon.
93. The men of holy orders at prayers,
To celebrate Mass with propriety;
The students to instruction,
Accordingly as their strength permits;
94. The youngsters to attendance,
Accordingly as their clothes will allow;
For a lawful prey to the devil is
Every body which does nothing.
95. Occupation to the illiterate persons,
As a worthy priest shall direct;
Works of wisdom in their mouths,
Works of ignorance in their hands.
96. The celebration of every [canonical] hour
With each order we perform;
Three genuflexions before celebration,
Three more after it.
97. Silence and fervour,
Tranquillity without grief,
Without murmur, without contention,
Is due of every one.
OF THE ORDER OF REFECTION, AND OF THE REFECTORY.
98. The Rule of the Refectory after this,
It is no injury to it to mention it;
It is for the abbot of proper orders
To judge each according to his rank.
99. The question of the refectory at all times,
Thus is it permitted:
An ample meal to the workmen,
In whatever place they be.
100. Tenderness to the seniors
Who cannot come to their meals,
Whatever be their condition,
That they come not to neglect.
101. Different is the condition of every one;
Different is the nature of every wickedness;
Different the law in which is found
The adding to a meal.
102. Sunday requires to be honoured,
Because of the King who freed it;
The feast of an apostle, noble martyr,
And the feasts of the saints,
103. Be without vigil, with increased meals.
A tranquil, easy life
From the night of great Christmas
Till after the Christmas of the Star.[2]
104. The festivals of the King of truth,
In whatever season they happen,
To honour them is proper,
To glorify them is right.
105. The fast of Lent was fasted by Christ
In the desert within;
The same as if it were your last day, you eat not
The meal of every day in it.
106. To fast upon Sunday I order not,
Because of the benignant Lord;
In the enumeration of the _tenth_,[3]
Nor of the year, it is not.
107. Joy, glory, reverence,
In great and glorious Easter,
The same as Easter every day,
Until Pentecost, is proper,
108. Without fasting, without heavy labour,
Without great vigils;
In figure of the glorious salvation
Which we shall receive _yonder_.
109. The feast of an apostle and martyr
In the time of the great Lent;
In figure of the righteousness
Which we shall receive _yonder_.
110. The two fast days of the week
Are to be observed by a proper fast,
Accordingly as the time occurs,
By him who has the strength.
111. Summer Lent or Winter _Lent_,[4]
Which are bitter of practice,
It is the laity that are bound to keep these,
Who do not do so perpetually.
112. For as regards the ecclesiastics,
Who abide in propriety,
It is certain that of Lent and fasting
All seasons are to them.[5]
113. The meritorious fast is,
And the abstinence so bright,
From noon to noon--no false assertion;
From remote times so it has been done.
114. A tredan [three days' total fast] every quarter to those
Who fast not every month,
Is required in the great territories
In which is the Faith of Christ.
115. From the festival of the birth of John
Till Easter, happy the combat,
It is from vesper time to vesper time
It is proper to go to table.
116. From Easter again to John's feast,
It is from noon to noon;
It is at evening of alternate days
That comfort is allowed them.
117. When the little bell is rung,
Of the refectory, which is not mean,
The brethren who hear it
Come all of them at its call;
118. Without running, without stopping,
Without passing proper bounds;
Every man separately--it is no sad assertion
Receives the punishment [of the board?]
119. Then they go into the house,
And shed tears with fervour;
They repeat a _Pater_ for rest in God;
They stoop down three times.
120. They then sit at the table,
They bless the meal,
Allelujah is sung, the bell is rung,
Benediction is pronounced.
121. A senior responds in the house,
He says: God bless you;
They eat food, and drink,
They return thanks after that.
122. If there be anything more choice
Which one should thirst for,
Let it be given in private
To a senior by himself.
123. Let relief be given, if requisite,
To those [penitents] who have devoutly fasted;
Let them be deprived, if not requisite,
Until they have done penance--the men.
124. After this, each man to his chamber,
Without murmur, without anger,
To reading, to prayers,
To sighing unto his King;
125. To go afterwards to vespers,
To celebrate them gracefully;
To retire afterwards to rest
In the place which he occupies;
126. To bless the house
Entirely upon all sides;
To attend the _canonical hours_,[6]
Without delay, without fail;
127. To pray God for every one
Who serves the Church of God,
And for every Christian
Who has come upon the earthly world.
OF THE DUTIES OF A KING.
128. If you be a king, be a just king,
You shall ordain no injustice;
Illustrious is the Man who has appointed you--
The Lord of holy Heaven!
129. You shall not be rash,
You shall not be prosperous and fierce;
You shall be watchful of the All Powerful,
Who has given thee the rank.
130. The wealth which you have obtained,
If you do not be obedient to HIM,
Shall be taken from you in a short time;
They shall leave you in pain.
131. For it has been the full reduction
To every king who has been,
When you have bartered--hapless power!--
Your righteousness for unrighteousness.
132. For it is through the unrighteousness of kings
That all peace is disrupted
Between the Church and the laity--
All truth is broken.
133. For it is through their contention
Comes every plague, it is known;
It is through their excesses that there comes not
Corn, or milk, or fruit;
134. It is through them come all mortalities,
Which defy every power;
It is through them that battle-triumph attends
Every enemy over their countries;
135. It is through them come the tempests
Of the angry, cold skies,
The insects--the many distempers
Which cut off all the people.
[There were a few stanzas more, but they are illegible.]
It is unnecessary for us to dwell at any great length on the
importance of this venerable document. It not only illustrates in an
extraordinary manner many points of Catholic dogma, but also shows
that several of the disciplinary observances now in force in the
Church were faithfully observed by our fathers in the seventh century.
For instance, the respectful and loving homage due to the Blessed
Mother of God is insinuated in the fifth strophe; in the ninth and
following strophes we are taught the authority with which bishops are
invested in the Church--authority which extends over every class no
matter how exalted: "Check the noble kings: be thou the vigilant
pastor". In the eighteenth and following we are instructed in the duty
of honouring superiors as we honour Christ Himself. From the
thirty-eighth to the sixty-sixth we are taught the great and most
important offices of a priest, especially with regard to offering the
Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord, the practice of daily Mass, the
celebration of Requiem Masses for the dead, the administration of the
Holy Communion in life and death, and the necessity of receiving the
confessions of the faithful, both before Communion and at the last
moment.
The disciplinary observances which we chiefly remark in the _Rule_ are
the raising up of the hands, the striking the breasts, and the
genuflexions prescribed at the time of prayers and of the Holy
Sacrifice; the perpetual psalmody: "To sing the three times fifty
(Psalms) is an indispensable practice"; the purity of life required in
the priest: "There shall be no permanent love in thy heart, but the
love of God alone; for pure is the Body which thou receivest: purely
must thou go to receive it" (strophe 65). The use of the sign of the
Cross is mentioned at strophe eighty-eight; and at eighty-six we find
mention of the canonical hours, and at eighty-nine of the ancient
custom, still preserved in many parts of the Liturgy, of praying
erect, of not kneeling on Sundays, and of genuflecting on entering the
church or place where God's glory dwells. The practice of fasting, and
of other corporal austerities, is also inculcated; and while in the
102nd and 106th strophes, Sundays and festivals are exempted from the
law of fasting, the fast of Lent (strophes 105, 109, and following),
of Advent (strophe 111), of two fasting days in each week, (strophe
110), and of the Quarter Tense (strophe 114), are specially mentioned.
We also find an enumeration of the festivals as they are celebrated by
the Church even at our day; the Sundays, festivals of the apostles, of
noble martyrs, and of all the saints; the "night of great Christmas",
the Epiphany, when the star led the wise men to Bethlehem; Easter;
"the festivals of the King of Truth"; Pentecost; and even the festival
of the birth of St. John the Baptist.
On reading over this remarkable document we are struck with the truth
of the remark of the eloquent Ozanam in the chapter of his work
_Etudes Germaniques_, he has devoted to the "preaching of the Irish".
He says: "We must not here repeat that accusation so often brought
against the Church of Ireland, viz., that being instructed in sacred
learning from Asia, she rejected the authority of the Popes; and that
in union with the Culdees of Brittany, her monks preserved their
religious independence in the midst of the universal spiritual bondage
of the middle ages. If the founders of Irish monasteries, in the
provisions and very terms of their rules, often recall to mind the
institutions of the east, it was at Lerins and in the writings of
Cassian they learned them. It was from Rome that Patrick received his
mission; from Rome he received the language of his liturgy, the dogmas
he taught, and the religious observances he propagated. Run over all
that remains of these first centuries (of the Irish Church), the
decrees of national synods, the penitentials, the legends: you will
find in them everything which the enemies of Rome have rejected; the
Eucharistic Sacrifice, the invocation of saints, prayers for the dead,
the practice of confession, of fasting, and of abstinence. The
differences between her and the Churches of the continent are
reducible to three points: the form of the tonsure, some of the minor
ceremonies of baptism, and the time of keeping Easter, and these
slight differences disappeared when the Fathers of the Council of Lene
(A.D. 630), 'having had recourse', as they tell us, 'to the chief of
Christian cities, _as children to their mother_', adopted the customs
of the rest of Christendom. The religious communities of Ireland were
not, then, the jealous guardians of some unheard-of heterodox
Christianity. They were the colonies and (as it were) the out-posts of
Latin civilization. They maintained learning as well as faith, and
their schools imitated the Roman schools in Gaul, whence had come
forth the bright luminaries of the Church, Honoratus, Cassian,
Salvian, and Sulpicius Severus".
How beautiful is the description of one of these monastic rules, that
of Benchor, found in the ancient Antiphonary of that monastery,
published by Muratori, and quoted by the same distinguished writer:--
"Benchiur bona regula.
Recta atque divina.
Navis nunquam turbata,
Quamvis fluctibus tonsa,
Necnon vinca vera,
Ex Ægypti transducto,
Christo regina apta,
Solis luce amicta.
Simplex simul atque docta.
Undecumque invicta
Benchiur bona regula".
After giving this glowing picture of the monasteries of Ireland we
are not surprised to find this same learned writer exclaiming, "That
the monastic race of the ages of barbarism, the missionary race
destined to bear aloft the light of faith and learning amidst the
increasing darkness of the west, was the Irish people, whose
misfortunes are better known than the great services they rendered to
European civilization, and whose wonderful vocation has never been
studied as it deserves".
In a future number we hope to enter again upon this most interesting
subject, when reviewing a valuable contribution just given to our
national literature by the learned Dr. Reeves on the _Culdees of the
British Isles_.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] Epiphany.
[3] Tithe.
[4] Advent.
[5] It is certain that all seasons are seasons of Lent and fasting to
them.
[6] Matins (?).
ASSOCIATION OF ST. PETER'S PENCE, DUBLIN.
This association was founded in the end of the year 1861, by the pious
Catholics of Dublin, for the purpose of aiding the Pope in the
distress and difficulties to which he has been reduced by the perfidy
and violence of the Sardinian Government and other enemies of the
Church of God.
Since its foundation, three years ago, this association has forwarded
to Rome the sums of which we publish the annexed account. In a
preceding collection, made on the first Sunday of Lent, 1861, about
eighteen thousand pounds were contributed in Dublin, to which we do
not refer on the present occasion.
All we shall now say is, that the generosity of the faithful of
Dublin, and their anxiety to assist the Pope, supply the best proofs
of the vitality and strength of their faith.
The Pope is the common father of all, the Chief Pastor of the Church
of God, the Vicegerent of Christ, the inheritor of the dignity and
office of St. Peter. He is the servant of the servants of God, obliged
to toil incessantly for the welfare of the Church and the salvation of
souls. Were the benign influence of the Popes destroyed, the Church
would split into factions, and unity and Catholicity would cease to
distinguish it.
Whilst the successor of St. Peter has the claims of a father and of a
pastor, and so many other claims on his children and spiritual
subjects, those who look with indifference on his afflictions or who
rejoice when he is plundered by his enemies, are liable to the charge
of want of filial affection, of gratitude, and indeed of a proper
spirit of religion.
It is a consolation to know that the Catholics of almost every country
and every diocese of the world have proved themselves worthy of their
calling, and made great exertions to relieve the Pope. France, Spain,
Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and even the oppressed and persecuted
Catholics of Sardinia, have done their duty most nobly. The consequence
is, that by the aid of the alms of the faithful, the Pope is able to
meet his engagements, and continue uninterruptedly the administration
of the affairs of the Universal Church. And he is powerful in his
weakness. At the same time, the excommunicated King of Sardinia and his
ministers, notwithstanding the robberies they have committed, find
their hands and their treasury quite empty, and must soon terminate in
a state of public bankruptcy.
It is evident that our Divine Redeemer watches over the Holy See, and
defeats all the assaults of the powers of darkness that are directed
against it. It is Heaven that inspires the Catholics of the world to
institute associations for the relief of the Vicar of Christ on earth,
and to aid in bringing about the triumph of truth over error, and of
light over darkness. Ireland, we trust, will always be ready to assist
the good cause even from the depths of her poverty. The few who sneer
at the sufferings of their father, and refuse him sympathy and relief,
are unworthy of the name of Irish Catholics; they are degenerate
children of forefathers who died rather than renounce their attachment
to the See of Peter.
1861--December 26th, £180 0 0
1862--February 19th, 100 0 0
February 26th, 30 0 0
March 26th, 100 0 0
May 19th, 200 0 0
July 28th, 200 0 0
August 9th, 500 0 0
September 4th, 500 0 0
November 14th, 120 0 0
November 28th, 30 0 0
1863--March 9th, 150 0 0
May 13th, 150 0 0
May 29th, 50 0 0
July 15th, 700 0 0
July 29th, 500 0 0
November 26th, 300 0 0
1864--April 14th, 200 0 0
July 27th, 1000 0 0
November 8th, 350 0 0
------------
£5,460 0 0
POLAND.
His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin has honoured us by addressing to us
the following letter:--
_To the Editors of the Irish Ecclesiastical Record._
55 Eccles Street, 22nd December, 1864.
Rev. Gentlemen,
The sad condition to which Russian despotism has reduced our
Catholic brethren in Poland must be a source of grief and
affliction to every Christian heart. Tens of thousands of the
inhabitants of that generous country, so long the bulwark of
Christendom against the encroachments of pagan or Mahometan
hordes, have been condemned to pass their days in the deserts
of Siberia, and to suffer an exile worse than death: noble
families have been totally destroyed, and their children
dispersed: even young ladies of the highest rank have been
dragged from the convents where they were receiving a
Christian education, and sent to pass their days among the
Calmucks or the Tartars. The property of the Catholic
nobility and gentry has been confiscated; many churches and
colleges and almost all the convents and monasteries, have
been stripped of their possessions, or suppressed. The
scaffold has been purpled with the blood of innumerable
victims, lay and clerical, and some bishops and hundreds of
priests are now scattered over the continent of Europe,
undergoing the sufferings of exile. "Crudelis ubique luctus,
ubique pavor et plurima mortis imago". All these evils have
been afflicted on Poland in the presence of Europe, and all
the great powers have been silent, looking on with
indifference. The Holy Father alone, acting with the usual
spirit of the Apostolic See, has raised his voice in favour
of suffering humanity; but heresy and schism shut their ears
against the words of truth, and Sarmatia is left to her
unhappy fate.
The scenes now enacted in Poland cannot but remind us of the
calamities with which our own dear country was visited in the
days of Cromwell and the Puritans, when the streets of our
towns ran with the blood of massacred Catholics, and
multitudes of Catholic children were torn from their homes
and sent to drag out a miserable existence in the swamps of
Georgia or on the scorching sands of the Antilles.
Ireland having suffered in the same cause and in the same way
as Poland, must feel deep sympathy with her afflicted
sister--"Haud ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco". Hence,
I am confident that our charitable people, though severely
tried themselves, will do everything in their power to assist
the poor exiled Poles, who have been obliged to take refuge
in France and other countries of Europe, in order to avoid
the sword or the halter of the Russian despot.
The clergy of France, encouraged by the exhortations and
example of our Holy Father, who has not only raised his voice
in favour of the poor exiles, but has founded a college for
them in Rome--the clergy of France, always active and zealous
in the protection and propagation of the faith, have
instituted a society, with the view not only of providing for
the present wants of the Poles now scattered through Europe,
but also of taking steps to secure in times to come the
existence of our holy religion in that unhappy country, by
educating young students to fill the ranks of the priesthood.
A most distinguished prelate, Monseigneur Segur, well known
for his innumerable works of charity and religion, is at the
head of the society just mentioned, and the Very Rev. Abbé
Perraud, a learned priest of the Oratory, and author of an
admirable work on the state of Ireland, is its secretary. The
society is patronised by the bishops and nobles of France.
Wishing you, reverend gentlemen, every blessing and every
success, I remain, your obedient servant,
+ Paul Cullen.
The president and secretary have addressed to me the two
documents here annexed, which give a full and true account of
the unhappy state of the Polish exiles, and of the sufferings
of the clergy.
May I beg of you to publish them in the next number of the
_Record_, a periodical which I hope will do good service to
Irish ecclesiastical literature.
I will send £10 myself, to assist in relieving the persecuted
Poles. If any of your readers wish to confide their
contributions to me, I will be happy to remit them to that
good friend, both of Ireland and Poland, the Abbé Perraud.
_Letter addressed to their Lordships the Archbishops and
Bishops of England and Ireland by the President of the
Association._
The 30th of July, 1864, date of the circular of the Sovereign
Pontiff, Pius IX., addressed to the Archbishops and Bishops
of Poland, will ever be a memorable epoch for the martyred
nation. From that day she may look with confidence to the
future; Catholicism is saved in Poland, and with Catholicism
the past history of the Polish nation.
In obedience to the voice of the Holy Father, _who solemnly
warns us not to follow prescriptions contrary to the laws of
God and of His Church_, and "placing, according to his word,
everything else below religion and the Catholic doctrine",
some of his sons assembled on the 24th of September, 1864,
for the purpose of obtaining in behalf of Poland that which
the Emperor of Russia refuses her.
Borrowing the very expressions of the Pontifical letter, the
following are their engagements:
"The Czar wishes to extirpate Catholicism"; we will uphold
it.--"He would drag the whole of his people into this
wretched schism"; we will lend them our aid.--"He prohibits
writings that are propitious to Catholicism"; we will print
them.--"He impedes the communications with the Holy See"; we
will free them from difficulty.--"He forbids showing, either
by preaching or instructing, the difference that exists
between truth and schism"; we will receive and propagate
works that demonstrate this difference.
"Bishops are torn from their dioceses and sent into exile";
we should be proud to own them.--"The religious are expelled
from their communities, and their monasteries are turned into
barracks"; we are ready to offer them a refuge.--"Priests are
cruelly persecuted, deprived of all they possess, reduced to
poverty, exiled, thrown into prison or put to death"; we
undertake to receive them with honour, to alleviate their
sufferings, to create or to support houses of education, both
elementary and of a higher order, so that the source of
priesthood in Poland may not be dried up, and so as to
disseminate the benefits of Christian education.--"Numbers of
Catholics of every rank and age are removed to distant
countries"; we will open our doors to them.
In a word, the nucleus of an exclusively religious
association, under the denomination of "Work of Catholicism
in Poland", has been formed in Paris, with the view of
maintaining, "by all the means that charity can suggest",
this generous nation in her fidelity to the Church.
Mgr. de Ségur, prelate of his Holiness' household and Canon
of St. Denis, has consented to honour this most important
work with his patronage.
The Rev. Father Pététot, superior-general of the Oratory,
and the Rev. M. Deguerry, parish priest of the church of La
Madeleine, at Paris, the Count Montalembert, and M. Cornudet,
councillor of state, have also kindly accepted the
vice-presidentship.
Our first duty is to receive with sympathy the representatives
of Polish heroism, men who have not hesitated between tortures
and apostacy. Many of them were in the enjoyment of affluence
at home; and after having proved in the last struggle the
vitality of their invincible nation, the spirit of faith and
of sacrifice is now the sole treasure which they possess.
Amongst the Poles now in Paris, there are representatives of
every profession; employment must be found for them, either
in the capital or the provinces. A neighbouring country of
two millions and a half of inhabitants, Switzerland, has
harboured about two thousand. There, not one of the exiles
but has found both assistance and means of gaining his
livelihood. An asylum even is being founded for the reception
of invalids; a residence is offered to them. Public opinion
in Switzerland is so favourable to the Poles, that in their
presence even religious differences are done away with. What
the Helvetian republic has effected, the whole of France will
not fail to accomplish. So much for the more immediate
necessities.
Whenever there is question of works of the apostleship in
foreign lands, we are always ready to assist the missionary.
Have we not a short time ago signalized our zeal for the
Christians of Syria and Lebanon, and still more recently for
the Bulgarian nation, for whose return to unity we may safely
hope? What we require at present, and what is easier to
perform, and less uncertain, is to maintain in her attachment
to the Church a Catholic nation of 25 millions of men. To
accomplish this, we must provide for the religious education
of those whom the misfortunes of the times prevent from
entering into the seminaries of Poland. The Holy Father has
himself given the initiative, by opening a Polish seminary at
Rome. Why should we not follow his example? At the time of
the persecutions in Ireland, we counted in the north of
France alone, no less than four colleges for the use of young
Irishmen: Saint-Omer, where the great O'Connell was formed:
Douai, whence came in the time of Elizabeth, forty of
England's early martyrs: Lille, and Paris.
Until such time as the extension of the work shall enable us
to collect the necessary funds for the foundation and
maintenance of these establishments, we would humbly request
the bishops to admit into their large and small seminaries
the young Poles who show signs of an ecclesiastical vocation.
If, after preparatory studies, they could not all return to
their mother country, their aid would be valuable for the
conversion of different nations of the East.
As it is probable that this association of prayers and of
alms will not be of long duration, the annual subscription is
fixed at a minimum of 5 fr. Many of the faithful no doubt
will not be satisfied with so small a contribution. Others,
on the contrary, may group together to form it.
We would also request their Lordships the Bishops to be kind
enough to appoint in each of their dioceses a member of their
clergy who would have the charge of centralising the work and
making it known, and who would enjoy the spiritual favours of
the Sovereign Pontiff, who has ever been the protector and
father of Poland. To every Catholic, to whatever country he
may belong, this work is a question of honour, a protestation
of the civilised world against barbarity.
Out of France we firmly hope our work will meet with deep
sympathy, similar associations will be formed, and regular
communications established between them.
May the blessed Virgin, Patroness of Poland, bless and second
our efforts.
All communications and donations intended for the "Work of
Catholicism in Poland" to be addressed to the Rev. Father
Perraud, Priest of the Oratory, Director General of the Work,
44 Rue du Regard, Paris.
French and foreign newspapers favourable to Poland are
requested to publish this act of foundation of the "Work of
Catholicism in Poland".
_Letter to the Archbishop of Dublin from the Director-General
of the Association._
"Paris, 20th December, 1864,
"My Lord Archbishop,
"The work, the plan of which we lay before you to-day, is one
which recommends itself to your zeal and your love for the
Church.
"The touching words of the Sovereign Pontiff have stirred us
to lend assistance to martyred Poland. May the Church of
Ireland second the Church of France in this endeavour, which
is so noble, and, at this moment, so necessary.
"I venture to unite my humble voice with that of the pious
prelate and of the eminent men who are at the head of this
work, in the hope that the bishops and priests of Ireland
will listen with favour to an appeal on behalf of a persecuted
church and nation. Accept, my Lord, the expression of profound
respect and lively gratitude with which I am,
"Your most devoted humble Servant,
"ADOLPHE PERRAUD,
"Director-General of the Work".
LITURGICAL QUESTIONS.
One of the objects which the founders of the IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
had proposed to themselves from the very beginning of their undertaking
was to offer to the Irish clergy in its pages an appropriate place for
the discussion of liturgical questions. They judged that they could not
better recommend this object to their readers than by laying before them
a sample of the actual working of the liturgical department of an
ecclesiastical periodical of long standing and renown. With this view it
was resolved to insert in our early numbers some of the questions which
from time to time had been asked by French clergymen in the _Revue des
Sciences Ecclesiastiques_ (edited by the learned Abbé Bouix), adding in
each case the answers given by those charged with that part of the
Review. No official character has ever been claimed for these answers by
their authors, who invariably give for what they are worth the arguments
on which their answers rest. In the same way the excellent _Archivio
dell'Ecclesiastico_ of Florence devotes every month a portion of its
pages to the liturgical questions which are continually addressed to the
Editor by the clergy of Northern Italy. We are happy to announce to-day
that several distinguished ecclesiastics who have devoted much time and
study to liturgical pursuits have undertaken to attend to any similar
questions that may be addressed to the RECORD by the clergy of Ireland.
Following the custom of the periodicals just mentioned, all information
shall be withheld concerning the sources whence the questions have come,
except where publicity is expressly desired. Every question with which
we may be honoured, shall be carefully attended to. We hope that every
priest will assist us in this effort to make the IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL
RECORD a work of practical benefit to the clergy of Ireland.
We give to-day a collection of the decrees of the S. Congregation of
Rites on various points of the Rubrics of the Missal. We extract them
from the first Ratisbon edition of the _Manuale Ordinandorum_, March
1842. In order that the words of each decree of the S. Congregation
may be distinguished from those of the editors, the former are printed
in Italics.
EX DECRETIS S. RITUUM CONGREGATIONIS.
Ad § II. _De ingressu sacerdotis ad altare._
1. Acolythus aut alius accendens cereos ante Missam, aut ante aliam
sacram functionem, incipere debet a cereis qui sunt _a cornu
evangelii, quippe nobiliori parte_. 12 Aug. 1253 (Anal. II. p. 2201).
2. _Non licet_ sacerdotibus deferre manutergium supra calicem tam
eundo quam redeundo ab altari. 1 Sept. 1703 in u. Pisaur.
3. Sacerdos pergens ad celebrandum et calicem manu sinistra portans,
ad ianuam sacristiae _signet se, si commode fieri potest_, aqua
benedicta; _sin minus, se abstineat_. 27 Mart. 1779 in u. Ord. Min. ad
14.
4. Si sacristia est post altare, _a sacristia_ ad illud _e sinistra
egrediendum, a dextera ad illam accedendum_. 12 Aug. 1854 in u. Brioc.
ad 17.
5. Sacerdos Missam celebraturus transiens ante altare, ubi fit populi
Communio, _non_ debet permanere genuflexus, quousque terminetur
Communio. 5 Jul. 1698 in u. Collen. ad 17.--In quaestione: quomodo se
gerere debeat sacerdos celebraturus, dum _transit_ ante altare, in quo
sit _publice expositum_ Ss. Sacramentum? An post factam genuflexionem
detecto capite, _surgens_ debeat _caput tegere_, donec ad altare
pervenerit? an vero _detecto_ capite _iter prosequi_ ob reverentiam
tanti Sacramenti sic publice expositi, cum rubrica Missalis Romani non
videatur loqui de hac praecisa adoratione in casu de quo agitur?
_servandae sunt rubricae Missalis Romani, quae videntur innuere, quod
post factam adorationem genibus flexis, detecto capite, surgens caput
operiat._ 24 Jul. 1638 in u. Urb.
6. Tam _in ingressu Sacerdotis ad altare, quam ante principium Missae,
reverentia Sacerdotis debet esse profunda capitis et corporis_, non
capitis tantum, _inclinatio_, juxta rubricam 8. April. 1808. in u.
Compostell. ad 5.--_In accessu_ ad altare, in quo habetur Ss.
Sacramentum, sive expositum, sive in tabernaculo reconditum _et in
recessu, in plano est genuflectendum; in infimo autem gradu altaris,
quoties_ (alias ante altare) _genuflectere occurrat_ (e. g. in
principio Missae). 12. Nov. 1831 in u Mars. ad 51.--Inter Missam
privatam a ministro _in transitu tantum ante medium altaris
genuflectendum_, (si Ss. Sacramentum inclusum est in tabernaculo),
_vel inclinandum_. 12. Aug. 1854 ad 70 et 71 (Anal. II. 2200).
7. _Si multae sunt particulae consecrandae, satius est eas ponere in
pixide;[7] si paucae poni possunt in alia patena; nunquam vero in alio
Corporali complicato._ 12. Aug. 1854 ad 19 (Anal. II. p. 2192)
8. In Missis privatis _non_ potest permitti ministro aperire Missale
et invenire Missam; _et serventur rubricae_. 7. Sept. 1816 in u.
Tuden. ad 11; _neque_ potest permitti ministro, si fuerit sacerdos vel
diaconus sive subdiaconus, ut praeparet calicem, et ipsum extergat in
fine post ablutiones. Ibid. ad 12.
Ad § III. _De principio Missae et Confessione facienda._
_In Missa dicendum est_ Confiteor _pure et simpliciter, prout habetur
in Missali Romano, absque additione alicujus Sancti etiam Patroni_,
nisi adsit speciale indultum Apostolicae Sedis. 13. Febr. 1666 in u.
Ord. Min. ad 5; Jul. 1704 in u. Valent.
Ad § IV. _De Introitu, Kyrie, et Gloria._
In quaestione: an post signum crucis, quod fit in fine "Gloria in
excelsis", "Credo" et "Sanctus" manus sint jungendae, etiamsi nihil
hujusmodi praescribat rubrica? _serventur rubricae_, 12. Nov. 1831 in
u. Mars. ad 30.
Ad § V. _De Oratione._
_Congruit, ut fert praxis universalis, praesertim Urbis_, quod fiat
inclinatio capitis, cum pronunciatur nomen Ss. Trinitatis, sicut fit,
cum profertur nomen Jesus. 7. Sept. 1816 in u. Tuden. ad 40.
Ad § VI. _De Epistola usque ad Offertorium._
1. _Juxta rubricas in elevatione oculorum crux est aspicienda._ 22.
Jul. 1848 in u. Adiacen. ad. 3.
2. Manus sinistra poni debet super missale ad Evangelium, cum dextera
fit signum crucis super ipsum. 7. Sept. 1816 in u. Tuden. ad 25.
3. In Missis privatis ad verba "Et incarnatus est", Celebrans
genuflectere debet _unico genu_. 22. Aug. 1818 in u. Hispal. ad 10.
Ad § VII. _De Offertorio usque ad Canonem._
1. In dubio: an in Missa privata, quando minister non est
superpelliceo indutus, debeat eum, lecto Offertorio a Celebrante, ad
altare ascendere, accipere et plicare velum calicis, vel hic ritus
reservari debeat ministris superpelliceo indutis vel etiam Celebrans
ipse debeat plicare velum et super altare ponere? _servanda est
consuetudo._ 12. Aug. 1854 ad 69 (Anal. II. p. 2200).
2. In quaestione: utrum parvi cochlearis pro aqua in calicem
infundenda usus sit omnibus licitus? _servanda est rubrica._ 7. Sept.
1850 in u. Rupel. ad 13.
3. _Praxis extergendi calicem cum purificatorio_ ad abstergendas
guttas vini adhaerentes lateribus interioribus cuppae calicis, quae
aliquando resiliunt, dum praeparatur ipsemet calix, _magis congruit et
summopere laudabilis est_. 7. Sept. 1816 in u. Tuden. ad
28.--_Relinqui_ vero _potest Sacerdotis arbitrio_ utrum purificatorium
ponere velit super pedem calicis dum praeparatur (vinum ad offertorium
infunditur), vel potius super patenam. Ibid. ad 29.
4. Oratio "Deus qui humanae" incipienda est a sacerdote eodem momento,
quo benedicit aquam; _non_ vero prius aqua benedicatur nihil dicendo,
atque tunc demum, facto signo crucis, illa oratio incipiatur. 12. Aug.
1854 ad d. 25. (Anal. Jur. Pontif. II. p. 2193).
5. Cruces quæ fiunt super oblata a sacerdote, non debent fieri manu
transversa sed _manu recta_. 4. Aug. 1663 in u. Dalmat. ad 4.--_In
benedictionibus congruentior juxta rubricas et ritum videtur modus
benedicendi manu recta, et digitis simul unitis et extensis._ 24. Jun.
1683 in u. Abling. ad 6.
6. _Congruit, ut fert praxis universalis, praesertim Urbis_, quod fiat
inclinatio capitis in fine Psalmi "Lavabo" (ad "Gloria Patri"), qui
dicitur in Missa, sicut praescribitur in principio Missae. 7. Sept.
1816 in u. Tuden. ad 37.
Ad § VIII. _De Canone usque ad Consecrationem._
1. Ad quaestionem: an Sacerdos dicere debeat "Te igitur" in principio
Canonis, dum elevat manus et oculos; vel incipere debeat, dum est jam
in profundo inclinatus? _servanda est rubrica de ritu servando in
celebratione Missae tit. 8, num. 1, et altera Canoni praefixa._ 7.
Sept. 1816 in u. Tuden. ad 33.
2. Omnes sacerdotes celebrantes, dum in Canone Missae Papam nominant,
debent _juxta rubricam_ caput inclinare. 23. Mai 1846 in u. Tuden. ad
6.
3. _In Canone nomine Antistitis non sunt nominandi superiores
Regularium_ 13. Febr. 1666 in decret. ad Missal. ad 11.--_Ii
Religiosi, qui, Antistitis nomine tacito, ejus loco in precibus sive
in Canone suae Religionis Superiorem nominant, contra caritatem
faciunt._ 12. Nov. 1605 in u. Ulixbon.--_In Canone et in Collectis
omnino, facienda est mentio de Episcopo etiam ab exemptis_ 25. Sept.
1649 in u. Tornac. ad 6.
4. Debet Sacerdos pronuncians in Canone Missae nomen alicujus Sancti,
de quo factum est Officium, vel saltem Commemoratio, facere
inclinationem capitis. 7. Sep. 1816 in u. Tuden. ad 34--Nomen S.
Joseph Sponsi B. M. V. _non_ potest addi _in Canone_. _Permittitur_
vero _hujus nominis additio in Collecta "A cunctis"_. 17. Sep. 1815 in
u. Urbis et Orbis.
5. A "Hanc igitur oblationem" manus sacerdotis ita debent extendi, ut
palmae sint apertae, pollice dextero super sinistrum in modum crucis
_supra manus_ posito. 4. Aug. 1663 in u. Dalmat. ad 5.
FOOTNOTE:
[7] Ex quo patet, "vas mundum benedictum", de quo rubrica esse
_pixidem_.
[THE REMAINDER IN OUR NEXT.]
DOCUMENTS.
I.
PLENARY INDULGENCE IN ARTICULO MORTIS.
_Rescript of Clement XIV. by which powers to grant the said
Indulgence are given to Bishops in countries where Catholics
live mixed with other religious denominations. Indulgence to
be gained by invoking the sacred name._
The experience of Catholics proves that nothing tends more effectually
to promote practices of piety and to enkindle a religious spirit, than
the doctrine of the Catholic Church regarding indulgences. Take, for
example, the case of a plenary indulgence. How many penitential and
meritorious works are required to secure a participation in so
precious a treasure? The person wishing to gain an indulgence of this
kind must diligently examine his conscience, excite himself to
contrition for his sins, make an humble confession, and perform some
penitential work in reparation for the past. Besides, the holy
Sacrament of the altar must be worthily received, prayers recited for
a pious purpose, and some work of charity or religion performed.
Considering the good thus done, the Church grants plenary indulgences
to the faithful on many festivals; but she is never so liberal in
dispensing her treasures, as when there is question of persons in
immediate danger of death. When that dreadful moment arrives, as on it
depends our fate for all eternity, reserved cases are no longer
maintained, and all priests are allowed to absolve from every censure.
For the consolation also of the dying, and to promote their spiritual
welfare, every facility is granted for the obtaining of plenary
indulgences.
Benedict XIV. treats at great length of this important matter in a
Bull which commences "Pia mater", published on the 5th April, 1747. To
each bishop who has once obtained from the Holy See the privilege of
imparting indulgences _in articulo mortis_, he grants the power of
communicating the same faculty to such priests subject to his
jurisdiction as he may desire. In a rescript of the Propaganda, dated
5th April, 1772, Clement XIV. extends that privilege very considerably
for all countries where Catholics live mixed up with persons of other
religious denominations; and when it happens that no priest can be
found to grant the indulgence in the usual form, his Holiness, in the
abundance of his charity, grants a plenary indulgence to all who
invoke the holy name of Jesus at least in their heart, and who with
Christian humility and resignation receive death from the hand of God,
commending their souls into the hands of their Creator.
In order that the valuable privilege granted to the prelates of the
Church and to the faithful in general may be known to all, we publish
the rescript of Clement XIV., as it is found in Dr. Burke's _Hibernia
Dominicana_, Appendix, page 936:--
"Ex Audientiâ Sanctissimi D. N. Clementis Papae XIV. habitâ 5
Aprilis 1772.
"Ne Christifidelibus, inter Hereticos, et Infideles, in
qualibet Orbis parte degentibus, et in ultimo vitae
discrimine, constitutis, ea spiritualia auxilia desint, quae
Catholica pia mater Ecclesia filiis suis a saecula
recedentibus solet misericorditer impertiri: Sanctissimus
Dominus Noster Clemens, divinâ Providentiâ Papa XIV., me
infrascripto sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide
Secretario referente, pro eximia caritate, quâ illos fraterne
complectitur, omnibus et singulis RR. PP. DD. Patriarchis,
Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, Vicariis Apostolicis, necnon RR.
Praefectis seu Superioribus missionum tam Cleri Saecularis,
quam Regularis, inter Infideles et Hereticos, ut supra, modo
existentibus, seu quocumque tempore extituris peramanter
concedit facultatem impertiendi benedictionem, cun
Indulgentia plenaria fidelibus praedictis, ad extremum agonem
redactis: Cum ea etiam extensione ut facultatem hujusmodi
Sacerdotibus, et respectivè missionariis, eorum jurisdictioni
subjectis, pro locis tamen suarum Dioceseum, vel pro
missionum districtibus tantum, communicare possint et
valeant: dummodo in hac benedictione impertienda servetur
formula prescripta a San. Mem. Benedicto XIV. in
Constitutione datâ 9 Aprilis, 1747, quae incipit _Pia mater_,
inferius registranda.
"Quoniam autem facile continget ut aliqui ex praedictis
Christifidelibus, ex hac vita decedant, quin Ecclesiae
Sacramentis fuerint muniti, et absque Sacerdotis cujuslibet
assistentia; ideo Sanctitas Sua, de uberi apostolicae
benignitatis fonte, etiam illis plenariam Indulgentiam
elargitur, si contriti nomen Jesu, corde saltem,
invocaverint, et mortem de manu Domini, eâ quâ decet,
christianâ animi demissione, et spiritus humilitate
susceperint, animamque in manus Creatoris sui commendaverint.
Quae prostrema Decreti pars ut Christifidelibus omnibus
innotescat, eam in suis dioecesibus, ac missionibus,
Antistites, et Superiores memorati identidem, et praesertim
sanctae Visitationis tempore publicare curent et satagant.
"Datum ex aedibus Sac. Congregationis praedictae, die 5
Aprilis, 1772.
"Stephanus Borgia, Secretarius".
II.
THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS FOR THE SICK.
The Holy See has long since granted to the general, the provincials
and guardians of the Franciscan order, the faculty of blessing
crucifixes, to enable sick persons, prisoners, and others, unable for
lawful reasons to make the stations of the cross, to gain all the
indulgences of the said stations.
Such persons have only to recite twenty times, the _Pater_, _Ave_, and
_Gloria_, before the cross thus blessed, and which they are required
to hold in their hands during these prayers.
Pius IX. in the following brief extends this faculty to those who in
the Franciscan convents take the place of the guardians, when these
latter for any reason are called away from home.
"Pius PP. IX.--_Ad perpetuam rei memoriam._--Exponendum nuper
Nobis curavit dilectus Filius Raphael a Ponticulo Minister
Generalis ut praefertur Ord. Fr. Min. S. Francisci jam alias
ab hac Sancta Sede facultatem concessam fuisse, cujus vi
fideles vel infirmi vel carcere detenti aliave legitima causa
impediti, recitantes viginti vicibus Orationem Dominicam,
Salutationem Angelicam, et Trisagium ante Crucem, quam manu
tenere debeant, benedictam a Ministro Generali Ord. Min. S.
Francisci, vel Provinciali, aut a Guardiano quocumque dicti
Ordinis indulgentiam Stationum Viae Crucis seu Calvariae
lucrari valeant. Cum vero ut idem dilectus Filius Nobis
retulit in nonnullis Regionibus Conventus praesertim recens
erecti existant, qui Guardianos non habeant, sed Superiores
qui Praesides nominantur, aut etsi habeant saepe eveniat ut
vel Sacris Ministeriis, et spirituali proximorum commodo, aut
etiam aliis negotiis peragendis operam impensuri a
respectivis Conventibus per aliquod temporis spatium abesse
debeant, quo tempore eorum vices gerunt, qui Vicarii
Conventus nuncupantur, hinc fit ut saepe in dictis Regionibus
nullus Frater ex eodem Ordine praesto sit auctoritate
praeditus, quo piis fidelium votis et spirituali consolationi
satisfieri possit. Quare praefatus Minister Generalis enixe
Nobis supplicavit ut in praemissis opportune providere ac ut
infra indulgere de benignitate Apostolica dignaremur. Nos
fidelium commodo, quantum in Domino possumus consulere, et
piis hujusmodi precibus obsecundare volentes Praesidibus nunc
et pro tempore existentibus in Conventibus Fratrum Ord. Min.
S. Francisci, qui Guardianos non habent, nec non Vicariis
Conventuum ejusdem Ordinis, qui absentibus Guardianis
respectivi Guardiani vices gerunt, facultatem memoratam, quae
ab hac Sancta Sede alias Ministro Generali, Provinciali, et
cuivis Guardiano praedicto Ministro Generali subdito concessa
fuit benedicendi Cruces cum adnexis Indulgentiis Stationum
Viae Crucis seu Calvariae, dummodo tamen omnia quae
praescripta sunt ab eis serventur, tenore praesentium
auctoritate Nostra Apostolica in perpetuum concedimus et
elargimur. In contrarium facien. non obstan. quibuscumque.
"Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub Annulo Piscatoris die XI.
Augusti MDCCCLXIII. Pontificatus Nostri Anno Decimoctavo.
"Loco + Sigilli.
"Pro Dno. Card. Paracciani-Clarelli.
"_Io. B. Brancaleoni Castellani Substitutus._
"Praesentes Litterae Apostolicae in forma Brevis sub die 11
Augusti 1863 exhibitae sunt in Secretaria S. C.
Indulgentiarum die quinta Septembris ejusd. anni ad formam
Decreti ipsius S. C. die 14 Aprilis 1856. In quorum Fidem
etc. Datum Romae ex Eadem Secretaria die et anno ut supra.
"_Copia Originali conformis._
"_A. Archipr. Prinzivalli Substitutus_".
III.
LETTER OF CARD. PATRIZI TO THE BISHOPS OF BELGIUM, ON SOME DOCTRINES
TAUGHT AT LOUVAIN.
Illustrissime ac Reverendissime Domine uti Frater,
Quum non levis momenti sit pluribus ab hinc annis istis in regionibus
agitata quaestio circa doctrinam a nonnullis Universitatis Lovaniensis
doctoribus traditam de vi nativa humanae rationis, Sanctissimus D. N.
qui in Apostolicae Sedis fastigio positus advigilare pro suo munere
debet, ne qua minus recta doctrina diffundatur, quaestionem illam
examinandam commisit duobus S. R. E. Cardinalium conciliis, tum S.
Officii tum Indicis. Jam vero cum esset hujusmodi examen instituendum,
prae oculis habitae sunt resolutiones quae sacrum idem concilium
Indicis edidit, jam inde ab annis 1843 et 1844, posteaquam ad illius
judicium delata sunt opera Gerardi Ubaghs in Lov. Univ. doctoris
decurialis, in primisque tractatus logicae ac theodiceae. Etenim sacer
ille consessus mature adhibita deliberatione duobus in conventibus
habitis die 23 mens. Jun. An. 1843, ac die 8 Aug. an. 1844, emendandas
indicavit expositas tam in logica quam in theodicea doctrinas de
humanarum cognitionum origine sive ordinem metaphysicum spectent sive
moralem, et illarum praesertim quae Dei existentiam respiciant. Id
sane constat ex duobus notationum foliis, quae ex ejusdem sacri
consessus sententia Gregorii XVI. SS. PP. auctoritate confirmata ad
Emum. Card. archiep. Mechliniensem per Nuntiaturam Apost. transmissa
fuerunt, monendi causa auctorem operis--_ut nova aliqua editione
librum suum emendandum curet, atque interim in scholasticis suis
lectionibus ab iis sententiis docendis abstinere velit._--Quae duo
notationum folia, modo res spectetur, simillima omnino sunt; si namque
in folio posteriori aliqua facta est specie tenus immutatio, id ex eo
repetendum est, quod auctor accepto priori folio libellum die 8 Dec.
an. 1843, Emo. Archiepiscopo tradidit, quo libello doctrinae suae
rationem explicare atque ab omni erroris suspicione purgare
nitebatur. Quem sane libellum, licet idem Emorum. Patrum concilium
accurate perpendisset, minime tamen a sententia discessit, atque adeo
tractatus illos ac nominatim tractatum de Theodicea, qui typis
impressi in omnium versabantur manibus, atque in Universitate aliisque
scholis publice explicabantur, corrigendos judicavit. Fatendum quidem
est, post annum 1844 nonnullos intervenisse actus, quibus praedicto
Lov. doctori laus tribuebatur, perinde ac si in posterioribus sui
operis editionibus sacri consessus voto ac sententiae paruisset, sed
tamen uti firmum ratumque est bina illa notationum folia post sacri
ejusdem concilii sententiam SS. P. auctoritate comprobatam fuisse
conscripta, ita pariter certum est, posteriores illos actus
haudquaquam S. consessus, multoque minus SS. P. continere sententiam,
quod quidem actus illos legentibus videre licet. Quae quum ita sint,
necessarium investigare ac perpendere visum est, num memoratus Lov.
doctor in editionibus logicae ac theodiceae, quas post diem 8 mens.
Aug. an 1844 confecit, accurate sit exsequutus quod a S. Concilio
libris notandis inculcatum ei fuit in memoratis notationum foliis per
Card. archiepiscopum eidem auctori transmissis. Hujusmodi porro
instituto examine rebusque diu multum ponderatis, memorati cardinales
tum qui S. Inquisitioni tum qui libris notandis praepositi sunt,
conventu habito die 21 sept. proxime praeteriti _judicarunt recentes
eorumdem tractatuum editiones minime fuisse emendatas juxtas praedicti
sacri consessus notationes, in iisque adhuc reperiri ea doctrinae
principia quae uti praescriptum fuerat, corrigere oportebat_.
Quod quidem auctor ipse recenti in epistola ad Emum. Card. Ludovicum
Altieri praef. S. C. libris notandis missa aperte fatetur. Scribit
enim quatuor adhuc se publicasse theodiceae editiones, 1{o} nimirum
an. 1844, quae primitus subjecta est S. Sedis judicio; 2{o} an. 1845,
typis impressam haud ita multo post notationes a S. Card. consessu
propositas. Utraque vero editio, quemadmodum suis ipse verbis fatetur
auctor, _similes prorsus sunt, idem capitum, paragraphorum et
paginarum numerus, eaedem locutiones; hoc solum differunt, quod
secunda editio aliquot diversi generis notas et paucas phrases
incidentes continet, quae simul paginas forte duodecim implere
possint. Editiones vero, ut ipse prosequitur, tertia an. 1852, et
quarta an. 1863, etiam in se similes sunt et a praecedentibus, si
formam exteriorem, non doctrinam spectes, multum differunt._ Ad
logicam porro quod spectat, cum illius tractatum iterum typis
mandavit, post acceptas S. consessus notationes haec in praefatione
significavit: _Quantuncumque scripta immutaverim, nunquam minime
recedendum esse duxi a principiis, quae in primis editionibus
assumpseram, quae tamen repudiare vel mutare me non puderet, si illa
falsa vel minus recta esse quisquam ostendisset._--Hinc pariter
memorati Cardinales judicarunt, exsequendum ab auctore esse quod
minime adhuc praestitit, nimirum emendandam illi esse expositam
doctrinam in cunctis iis locis seu capitibus quae S. consessus
librorum notandorum judex minus probavit, juxta notationes in
supradictis duobus foliis comprehensas et _peculiariter in primo,
utpote quod rem apertius ac distinctius explicat_. Ex quo tamen
haudquaquam intelligendum est probari doctrinas reliquas, quae in
recentioribus operum praedictorum editionibus continentur. Hanc porro
Emorum. Patrum sententiam SSmus. D. N. Pius IX. auctoritate sua ratam
habuit et confirmavit.
Quae cum ita se habeant, dum Emus. Car. Mechliniensis juxta demandatas
ei partes memoratum doctorem Gerardum Casimirum Ubaghs admonebit
officii sui eique vehementius inculcabit, ut doctrinam suam ad
exhibitas S. consessus notationes omnino componat, erit vigilantiae
tuique studii pastoralis una cum archiepiscopo aliisque suffraganeis
episcopis omnem dare operam ut hujusmodi Emorum. Patrum sententia
executioni nulla interjecta mora mandetur, _neque in ista Lovan.
Universitate_, quae ab Archiep. Mechl. et suffrag. antistitum
auctoritate pendet, _neque in seminariorum_ scholis aliisque lyceis
illae amplius explicentur doctrinae, quae uti primum ad Apost. Sedis
judicium delatae fuerunt, visae sunt a scholis catholicis amandandae.
Haec significanda mihi erant Emorum. Patrum nomine Amplitudini Tuae
cui fausta omnia ac felicia precor a Domino.
Amplitudinis Tuae
Addictissimus uti Frater,
C. Card. Patrizi.
Romae d. 11 Oct., 1864.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
I.
_Juris Ecclesiastici Graecorum Historia et Monumenta, jussu
Pii IX. Pont. Max._, Curante I. B. Pitra, S. R. E., Card.
Tom. I. a primo p. C. n. ad VI. sæculum. Romæ, Typis Collegii
Urbani. MDCCCLXIV. 1 vol. fol. pagg. lvi.-686.
The vast erudition which has made the name of Cardinal Mai for ever
illustrious in the history of ecclesiastical literature, reappears in
Cardinal Pitra, whom the wisdom of Pius IX. has lately called to be
honoured by, and to do honour to, the Roman purple. The book before us
is worthy of the reputation of the learned Benedictine, to whom we owe
the _Spicilegium Solesmense_, and in whose person the best glories of
the _Maurini Editores_ have been revived. As the title imports, the
volume is divided into two parts, one being devoted to the monuments,
the other to the history, of the Greek ecclesiastical law. Of these
monuments there are two distinct classes. The first contains all such
as may be styled _juris apostolici_, viz., the canons of the apostles,
their constitutions _de mystico ministerio_, their sentences, the acts
of the council of Antioch, select portions of the apostolic
constitutions, penitential canons, and the eight books of the
constitutions. The second embraces the canons of councils held during
the fourth and fifth centuries--the councils of Nice, of Ancyra, of
Neo-Caesarea, of Gangre, of Constantinople, of Ephesus, and of
Chalcedon. Next follow the canonical epistles of the Fathers--viz.,
two letters of St. Dionysius of Alexandria, one to Basilides, the
second to Conon, which latter is here published for the first time.
The canons of St. Peter of Alexandria, derived from two sermons on
Pentecost and Easter; the canonical letter of St. Gregory of
Neo-Caesarea, and his exposition of faith; three epistles of St.
Athanasius; the epistles of St. Basil the Great to Amphilochius, to
Gregory the Priest, to the chor episcopi, and to the bishops; the
epistle of St. Gregory of Nyssa to Letorius; the canonical replies of
Timothy of Alexandria; the edict of Theophilus of Alexandria,
concerning the Theophaniæ; the commonitorium to Ammon; the declaration
concerning the Cathari, and his replies to the bishops Agatho and
Menas, all by the same Theophilus; the three letters of St. Cyril of
Alexandria, to Domnus, Maximus, and Gennadius; and finally, two
catalogues of the inspired books, drawn up in verse by St. Gregory
Nazianzen. These precious monuments are given both in their original
language and in a Latin version. The text of the original is as
perfect as a patient collation of MSS. and editions could make it, and
the translation which accompanies it, is either the best already
known, or a new one made by the eminent author. The notes are all that
can be desired.
The history of Greek Ecclesiastical law is divided by the author into
five periods. The first extends from the first to the sixth century; the
second, from Justinian to Basil the Macedonian; the third, from the
ninth to the twelfth century; the fourth, to the fall of the Empire; the
fifth, to our own day. In the first epoch Ecclesiastical jurisprudence
was in a most flourishing condition. In the following periods it lost
its vigour, owing to the loss of the sacerdotal spirit among the bishops
who sought favour at court, to the craft of the civil lawyers, to
imperial tyranny, and at last to the Ottoman yoke. The method to be
pursued in tracing the history of Greek Ecclesiastical law, according to
our author, is to examine in each of these epochs, first, the canons in
detail; next, the collections of canons; and finally, the interpretations
and comments made upon them.
The volume is furthermore enriched by copious indexes of MSS. editions
and libraries, and by a collection of the most striking passages of
the Fathers and Councils which prove the primacy of the Apostolic See.
II.
_La Tres Sainte Communion, etc._ [_Holy Communion._ By Mgr.
de Segur; 43rd edition] Paris: Tolra and Haton, 68 Rue
Bonaparte, 1864, pagg. 70.
This little work so unpretending in appearance comes before us honoured
with an approbation which the most splendid volumes might be proud to
deserve. The preachers of the Lenten sermons in Rome are accustomed to
assemble at the commencement of that season in one of the halls of the
Vatican to receive from the Holy Father, together with his blessing,
their commission to preach the Word of God. On occasion of this ceremony
before the Lent of 1861, Pius IX. distributed with his own hand to each
of the preachers a copy of the Italian translation of the work under
notice, saying: "_This little book, which has come to us from France,
has already done a great deal of good; it ought to be given to every
child who makes his first communion. Every parish priest ought to have
it, for it contains the true rules about communion, such as the Council
of Trent understands them, and such as I wish to be put in practice_".
Besides, in an Apostolic Brief, dated 29th September, 1860, the Holy
Father approves of the doctrine which serves as the foundation of all
the rules laid down by the author concerning frequent communion. The
leading principle of the work is this: that Holy Communion is not a
_recompense_ for sanctity already acquired, but a _means_ of preserving
and of augmenting grace, and thereby of arriving at sanctity. Holy
Communion, therefore, should be an ordinary and habitual act of the
Christian life, and frequent communion should be the rule of the good
Christian's conduct. There are, however, some important distinctions to
be made. To go to communion every day, or almost every day, or three or
four times a week, is frequent communion in its absolute sense, and
frequent with respect to every class of person. To go to communion every
Sunday and Holiday, a practice indirectly recommended _to all_ by the
Council of Trent, is not frequent communion for priests, members of
religious orders, ecclesiastical students, or in general for such as aim
at perfection; but it is frequent communion for children and for the
mass of the faithful, who have but scanty leisure to devote to pious
exercises. To communicate every month and on the great festivals, is not
frequent communion at all, even for the poor and the labouring class. It
is, no doubt, an excellent practice, and to be recommended to all, but
it cannot be called frequent communion.
These principles once laid down and proved by the authority of
Councils and Fathers, M. de Segur proceeds to give a plain and
convincing reply to the difficulties urged by those who, having the
dispositions required for frequent communion, are unwilling to permit
it to themselves or to others. Of such difficulties he examines
fifteen, which we here enumerate, in order that the eminently
practical character of the book may be apparent to all: 1. To go
frequently to communion, I ought to be better than I am; 2. I am not
worthy to come so close to God; 3. Communion, when frequent, produces
no effect; 4. I don't like to grow too familiar with holy things; 5. I
am afraid to go to communion without first going to confession, and I
cannot go to confession so often; 6. It is bad to go to communion
without preparation, and I have no time to prepare myself as I ought;
7. I do not feel any fervour when I communicate; I am full of
distraction and without devotion; 8. I do not dare to communicate
often; I always relapse into the same faults; 9. I am afraid of
surprising and scandalizing my acquaintances by going so often to
Communion; 10. My family will be displeased if I become a frequent
communicant; 11. I know many pious persons who communicate but seldom;
12. I am most anxious to communicate frequently, but my confessor will
not allow me; 13. Frequent communion is not the custom in this
country; 14. It is quite enough to go to communion on the great
festivals, or at most once a month; 15. Your doctrine on frequent
communion goes to extremes, and cannot be put in practice. These
objections are solved in a manner at once convincing and pleasing. To
the charm of a most agreeable style, and a great knowledge of the
world of to-day, Mgr. de Segur unites the still higher excellence of
sound learning and the spirit of the most tender piety. These
qualities are especially remarkable in the sections which, at the end
of his work, he devotes to prove how beneficial frequent communion is
to children, to young persons, to Ecclesiastical students, and to the
sick and afflicted.
It will serve as a further recommendation of this little book to know
that the Curé of Ars, who was an intimate friend of Mgr. de Segur,
acted according to its maxims in the discharge of his ministry, and
with what abundance of good to souls, France and the world well know.
III.
_The Present State of Religious Controversy in America._ An
Address delivered before the New York Theological Society. By
the Rev. J. W. Cummings, D.D. New York: O'Shea, 1864.
The society at the inauguration of which this address was delivered,
owes its origin to the zeal of some excellent young priests of the
diocese of New York. They founded it that they might have in it at
once a help and an incentive to keep up amid the labours of the mission
that acquaintance with theology which they had cultivated in college.
At each of the monthly meetings of the society two dissertations are
read on some subject of Dogmatic Theology; and by the prudent advice of
Dr. M'Closkey, the new Archbishop of New York, the discussion of a
moral case has been added on each occasion. It speaks well for the
sacerdotal spirit of the American clergy, that we can find flourishing
among them this and similar associations, created by themselves and
conducted with so much vigour and judgment. The New York Theological
Society deserves from the priests of Ireland the highest praise these
latter can bestow--the praise which consists in the imitation of what
we admire. The range fixed for the society's labours naturally
suggested to Dr. Cummings the subject of his inaugural discourse, and
led him to address himself to the solution of this question: "What are
the distinctive features of religious controversy as it occupies the
public mind in our own age and country?" Among the distinctive features
of American controversy he places the fact that the old political
differences which ranged Protestants against Catholics in Europe have
no real life or significance beyond the Atlantic. The Englishman's
dread of Catholicism as a foreignism has no hold on the mind of an
intelligent American. No doubt, there is even in American Protestants
much bitterness against the Catholic Church, but it is merely the same
spirit of opposition to lawful authority which ever has been and ever
will continue to be in the world. But, with all his freedom of thought,
there is in the case of the inquiring American a great difficulty to
overcome.
"That difficulty is prejudice. The dark form of the old
protest has passed away; but the injurious effects of its
presence will long remain. What the gray dawn is to the
night, what the chafing of the sea waves is after the storm,
such is the cold mistrust, the vague fear, the half-concealed
repugnance to Catholics and Catholicity, which has succeeded
to the bitter hatred and stern defiance of days gone by. Very
commonly the Protestant who happens to meet with some point
of Catholic controversy is either entirely ignorant of the
subject--knows absolutely nothing about it--or is misinformed
and malinformed; in fact, has his mind filled with all sorts
of ideas touching the case in point except the right and true
one....
"It follows from these remarks that what is most needed from
us is sound, clear, and honest explanation of the doctrines
taught by our Church. It is a waste of time to go on proving
that Luther and Calvin were inconsistent, and contradicted
themselves, or that they were ungodly in their conduct. No
American is a Protestant out of respect for Luther or Calvin.
He believes that Protestantism is liberty and enlightenment,
and Catholicity is despotism and superstition. Show him that
he can be a good Catholic and preserve his liberty too, and
combat ignorance and superstition as much as he pleases, and
he will listen respectfully to your voice".
Seeking thus the Kingdom of God, the Catholic priests of America will
find that through their labours God has added unto their country all
good things even in the temporal order. The Church in America is
exhibiting every day more clearly her wondrous power as the civilizer
of the nations. This is in no wise surprising to us who know her: but
it is cheering to learn from such an authority as Dr. Cummings, that
even those who are not her children are beginning to follow with
reverent looks the traces she leaves in society by her influence on
the hearts of men.
"Our honest Protestant friends, whether they are statesmen,
scholars, publicists, military commanders, and in many cases,
even ministers of the Gospel, are ready to concede, that
unless the masses of the American people are led to act under
the guidance of Catholic principles, there is little chance
of saving this country from speedy and utter destruction.
"Let us, reverend brethren, do our work patiently and
cheerfully to forward so grand a purpose as the conversion
of this whole great country to true religion, leaving the
result to God and to those who will follow us in the ministry
when our seats shall be vacant in the holy sanctuary. The
pioneer who, on the plains of our far western country, toils
patiently in removing the charred and blackened tree-stumps
scattered over the field where once rose the dark and tangled
forest, does as necessary and honourable a work as his
successor who passes scattering handfuls of seed along the
soft, brown furrows, and as useful a work as the successor of
both, who puts his sickle into the nodding grain and gathers
in its golden sheaves at the happy harvest home".
IV.
_Ireland, her Present Condition, and what it might be._ By
the Earl of Clancarty. Dublin: Herbert, 1864, pag. 39.
Even the nettle has its flower; and Lord Clancarty's pamphlet, bristling
as it is with stinging points against the Catholic religion, is not
without something to recommend it. The author says of the Catholic
Church that, "while she was the depository of learning, and especially
of the sacred writings, she neither furthered the interests of science,
nor disseminated the knowledge of God's written word", and in the same
breath he calls upon the state to countenance the Catholic University,
"for which so ardent, and it must be admitted so legitimate, a desire is
manifested by the Roman Catholic body". He raises, and satisfactorily
disposes of, all the arguments that can be brought against the grant of
a charter to the University. It is not the first time that lips opened
to utter hard things against God's people have been made to become the
vehicle of good wishes towards the same.
Transcriber's Note
Minor typographic errors have been repaired.
Inconsistencies in capitalisation, accents and ligature usage are
preserved as printed.
A table of contents has been added by the transcriber for the
convenience of the reader.
On page 198, omitted word 'to' has been added following 'go'--"5. I am
afraid to go to communion ..."
On page 199, omitted word 'the' has been added following 'except'--"...
touching the case in point except the right and true one...."
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, January 1865" ***
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