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Vol. LX.—WNo. 52.
Philadelphia, Thursday, Becember 30, 1841.
TTD
Whole Number 468
THE CATHOLIC HERALD
» FITHIAN, .
No. 61 North Second Street, Philadelphia.
Terms.—Three Dollars per annum, payable half yearly
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except from Agents, or Subscribers enclosing remittances,
must be post paid, and addressed * ‘To the Editor of the
Catholic Herald, Philadelphia, Pa.”
-Qloetry.
“ Wherever faith in Crrist is, there is Curist himself. Ile said
to Martha, * Believest thou this? Wherever there is a heart to
answer, ‘ Lonp, I believe,’ there Curis? is present.”
Loro! in the hour of youthand glee,
When light the heart, the spirits free;
Or, ’mid the restless. throng of men,
‘The sob’ring thought be with us then,—-
Thy watchful eye is there!
Lorp! as the tide of life runs on,
And youth, and mirth, and glee are gone;
When the heart sinks in care or grief,
Be ours the soothing, blest relief,—
Thy strength’ning hand is there!
Lorp! when around the flood gates burst
Of sin, in ell her shapes accurst ;
When to despair the sou) is fain,
Then may the beavenly word sustain—
Thine aiding grace ia there!
Lorp! when the bursting. angnished heart
Thou callest from dearest ties to part,
E’en from the grave shall. spring the balm
Our bleeding, throbbing breasts te calm,—
Thou weepest with us there!
Lorp! in the hour of weary age,
When we look back on life's dark page,
Tow sad—how bitter—were the tears
Poured vainly o'er the guilty years,—
Wert thou not with us there ?
Lorp! on the couch of sickness Jaid,
While round us lowers the valley's shade,
* ‘Yet through its gloom thy form we see,
‘The onwArp step but leads to Thee,—
We know that Thou art there!» .
Lonp! when the eternal gates unclose,
When the blast breaks the grave’s repose—
How might the sinner lift his gaze
To the dread, world-destroying blaze,
Didst Thou not meetit there t
Loap! while our earthly course we run,—
Lorp! when that changeful course is dune,—
Lorp! when Thy word the tomb hath riven,
Be it our bliss, on earth, in heavea,
‘That Thon art with us there
THE “COMMONITORIUM” OF ST. VINCENT
: OF LERINS. ;
: _ (Continued from page 403.) :
: bo CAP. XVI, .
Bot let us, infewer words, again repeat what has
already been said respecting the above-mentioned
heresies, or concerning the. Catholic faith, in order
that by being repeated they may be more fully under-
stood, and being. impressed may more easily be re-
membered. Anathema, therefore, to Photinus, for not
admitting the fulness of the Trinity, and asserting our
Saviour Christ to be only and merely man. Anathema
to Apollinaris, for maintaining the corruption of Christ’s
divinity, and depriving him of the properties of perfect
hamanity, | Anathema to Nestorius, for denying God
to have been born of a virgin, teaching. two Christs,
deserting the faith of the ‘Trinity, and introducing a
quaternity. But blessed be the Catholic Church whieh
worships one God in fulness of Trinity, and likewise
equality of Trinity in one divinity, so that neither sin-
gularity of substance confounds the propriety: of per-
sons, nor distinction of Trinity separates unity of Deity.
{truly an important matter, useful to learn, and neces-
pP
Blessed, I say, be that Church which believes two true
and perfect substances to be in Chirist, but only one
person, so that neither distinction of natures divides the
unity of persons, nor again does the unity of persons
confound the difference of substances.(1). Blessed be
that Church which, in order that she may confess
Christ always to be and to have been, acknowledges
that, as man, he was united to God, not after his birth,
but even in his mother’s womb. Blessed be that Church,
which teacheth God to have ‘been made man, not by
any conversion of nature, but by person, and this not
a feigned or transitory person, but one substantial and
permanent. Blessed. be that Church | which teaches
that this unity of person possesses such great power,
that by a wonderful and ineffable mystery, the proper-
ties of God are ascribed unto man, and those of man
ascribed unto God. «For, on account of this unity of
person, she does not deny that God descended from
Heaven, and she believeth that God, as man, was made;
that he suffered, and was crucified : finally, by reason
of this she confesses both that man was the Son of
God, and God the Son ofthe Blessed Virgin. Happy,
therefore, and venerable; blessed and thrice holy is
that confession, and truly to be compared to those praises
of the angels above, who glorify one Lord God with a
three-fold sanctification. And this is the principal rea-
son why the Church teaches the unity of Christ, lest
she should exceed the mystery of the ‘Trinity.
Let this be sufficient as a digression: hereafter, if
God please, I shall explain these points more at length,
Now to return to our chief point.
CAP. XVIT.
Ta the former chapters, we said that in the Church
of God the error of the master was the temptation of
the people, and the more learned he was, the greater
was the temptation. . And this we showed : first, by
the authority of the. Scripture, and then by examples
drawn from ecclesiastical history, by mentioning those
men, who, although they were once considered to be
of asound faith, yet, at last, either fell into another
sect, or else made a heresy of their own. This is
sary toremember, which must be illustrated again and
again by numerous examples, in order that all true
Catholics may know, that doctors are to be received
with the Church, and that we are not with doctors to
forsake the faith of the Church. . But although I could
mention many who gave occasion to this temptation, I
think no one is:to be compared with Origen(2) in this
[1] It is curious to notice the ideas which the sages of
antiquity seem to have had concerning the unity of persons P
in the Trinity; traces of which are to be found in Plato's
Epistle to Dionysius of Syracuse. Abel-Remusat, the great
French Orientalist, has found traces of the Trinity in the
doctrines of Laotseu, the Chinese sage. One passage is inost
remarkable and interesting : That for which you look, and
which you see not, is called 7; that towards which you
listen, yet hear not, is called Hi ; what your hands seck, and
yet feel not, is called Wei(theletter V). These three are
inscrutable, and ‘being united, form only one. Of them,
the superior is not more bright, nor the inferior more obscure,
+ «+ This is what is called form without form, image with-
out image, an indefiaable being ! - Precede it, and ye find
not its beginning; follow it, and ye discover not its end.”
(** Memoire sur la Vie et les Opinions de Lao-tseu, phiioso-
phe Chinois du vi. Siecle avant notre Ere.’ . Paris 1823, p.
40.) See Dr. Wiseman’s * Connexions,” vol. ii. sect, xi.
p. 255... The Egyptians, too, seem to have had an idea of
the Trinity. See Wilkinson’s “ Manners of the Ancient
Egyptians,” Second Series, vol. i. p. 185. *
2) See an interesting note in “Alban Butler on Origen,”
(April 22.) He was, no doubt, oneof the most learned men
of hisage. From his school came forth doctors, confessors,
and martyrs; and even pagans crowded to his lectures, whom
he admitted, hoping that they might be converted tothe faith
of Christ by their love for learning. After having fulfilled
the office of catechist, at Alexandria, for some time, he was
ordained priest in 230, at Cesarea, in Palestine ; but in the
persecution of Maximinus, he retired into Cappadocia. In
the reign of Decius, he was apprehended and suffered cruel
torments, and, althouzh Petavius thinks that he yielded, he
is nevertheless vindicated by Baronius, Halloix, Huet, &c,
Origen died at Tyre, in 253, being sixty-nine years old.
The controversy which his writings occasioned in the
Church is well known, (See Dollinger’s Church Hist. vol,
ii. p-129.) He certainly taught many errors. such as deny-
ing the eternity of hell's torments, &c. but yet he died in the
respect, in whom were to be found many gifts so rare,
s0 singular, so wonderful, that in the beginning one
would have thoughtall his assertions might be believed.
For if life procures for us authority, he was aman of
great industry, of great chastity, patience, and labour.
If family or learning, who more noble? for he was
descended from a family which was illustrious for mar-
tyrdom; and, afterwards, he himself, for the love of
Christ, was deprived, not only of his father, but also
of his patrimony :(3) and so much did he advance in
his holy poverty, that he was often afflicted for con- ,
fessing the name of Christ. He possessed however
not merely these gifts, all of which afterwards scrved
for temptation, but also a force of wit so profound, so
quick, so elegant, that he far excelled all other wri-
ters ; he likewise possessed such learning and wonder-
ful erudition, that there were few things in divinity,
and almost none in philosophy, which he ‘did not ac-
quire ; and, having made himself master of all the
Grecian literature, he also laboured with success inthe
Ifebrew tongue.(4) But whatshall I say of his elo-
quence, which was so sweet, so beautiful, so soft, that
it appeareth unto me not words, but as it were honey
flowed from his mouth? © Whatthings did he not clear
up by his reasoning, which were difficult to believe ?
and how many knotty points did he unravel, and ren-
dermosteasy? [ut perhaps he maintained his cause
by arguments only ?—no, forthere was never any doc-
tor who made use of more scriptural proofs than he.
But perchance he did not. write much z no one wrote
more, insomuch that all his works seem to me, not’
only more than can be read, but even more than can be
found; and he lived -to such an age, lest he should
want any furtherance to Jearning (5) Buthe may have
been unfortunate in his scholars. What man was ever
more happy 2» For from his nursing grew up doctors,
priests, confessors, and martyrs,(6) without number.(7)
But who is able to declare, how he was admired by
all men? What glory, what favour he received? Who
that was in any way. zealous for religion, did not. has-
teu to him from the farthest part of the world 2 What
christian did not venerate him almost as a prophet ?
What philosopher did not honour him as a master?
And how greatly he was esteemed, not only by private
men, but also by the empire itself, history tells us;
since he was sent for by the motlier(8) of the emperor
Alexander, on account ofthat heavenly wisdom whereof,
he was as full as she was in love with it. His Epis.
tles(9) also attest the same thing, which, with the au-
thority of a Christian martyr, he wrote to Philip the
emperor, the first Christian amongst all the Roman
rinces. Butit any man will not admit our Christian
testimony concerning his wonderful learning, let him
at least receieve an acknowledgment from Pagan philo-,
sophers. For that impious Porphyrius tells us, that
when almost a boy, he went to see him at Alexandria,
being moved by his fame, and that he saw him there,
being then indeed old, but yet such and so great a man
which contained the Scriptures in Hebrew, aad the same ia
Greek letters; the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, the
Seventy, and Theodotion. ' His “Octapla,” in which he ad-
ded two other versions. (See Montfaucon's “ Prelim. in
Mexapla.’) His ‘ Commentaries” are published by Huet,
in Greek, and ia Latia by De la Rue, with his other works.
Bat the most valuable of all his writings is his “ Apology,”
written in eight books, against Celsus, who was perhaps a.
more violentenemy to Christianity than Porphyriva (See
Huetii “ Origeniana ;” Doucin, “ Histoire des Mouvemens
arrivez dans I'Fglise su sujet d’Origene.” Paris, 1700.) '
Also St. Jerome, “ De Erroribus Origenis,”
[3] He was however soon relieved by the liberality of a
rich lady at Alexandria. *
4] For an account of the Biblical labours of Origen, see
Norne’s “Introduction,” vol. 2, p. 47: in page 48, he gives
a speciinen of Orizen's celebrated “ Hexapla.” lathe new
library at Oscott, there isa beautiful copy of this work.
5) Le was about 69 years old.’ vet
: a See Eusebius. « Eccles. Hist.” lib 6, cep. 8, 16, £3,
30. : .
*{7] SS. Serenus, Heraclidce, Herias, Basilides, &c. But.
the most eminent was St. Plutarch, whom Origen fillowed
to execution. -
fs Her name was Mammea; she was then at Antioch, ‘
and, ‘no doubt by Origen’s exhortations, she embraced the
faith, aud became yery virtuous, ~ -
[9] Eusebius mentions these Epistles which he wrote to
bosom of the Church. His principal works, are his “Idexapla,””
vt .
Philp and his wife Severa. (Sce his “History,” lib. 6, cap.
36.) mo, oo . ae .
a . }
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