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Vol. XI.—
THE CATHOLIC HERALD
IS PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY .
No. 61 North Seeond Street, Philadelphia.
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Jloctrn
: rom the U. S.C. Magazine.
THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE CHURCH.
“ The children of the faith have built their altars on
the lofty hills and in the shade of the alleys; the utter-
most parts of the earth’ have heard her lessons of salva-
tion, and her creed is repeated in. every variety of lan-
uage.”
Last, universal power! whose name,
‘To every tongue is known ;
Whose sacred symbol, still the ame,
In every land is sflown;
Whose conquests greet the traveller's eye,
Where’er he roams beneath the sky.
Church of the living God ! to thee,
What myriad altars blaze,—
On isles that gem the frozen sea
Where Borealis plays,
"Mid burning Afric’s pathless way,
‘And on the plains of Paraguay ! °
Siberia’s snow clad steeps are cheered
By thy far teaching beams,
And high thy beacon fires are reared
‘To light old Ganges’ atreams;
Tartar, and Copt, and Chinese come
Alike to thee the heart's true home!
The dark eyed Syrian opes to theo
His clouded soul in prayer,
And fair Armenians bend the knee,
‘Thy promised boon to shire;
And e’en Numidia’s daughters twine
Their humble wreaths to deck thy shrine.
‘The Spanish girl devoutly kneels,
Where springs the fretted dome ;
And as the solemn organ peals
Each note strikes deeply home,
And to her high, impassioned soul,
‘Thy hallowed traths sublimely roll.
Where classic Rome's Coliseum stood,
And martyred Christians died,
While cameleopards, wild with bloud,
‘To heathen shouts replied,
‘Thine aliars now triumphant rise,
And Christian anthems mount the skics,
And lo! on Eri
Her faithful maids are
"To make thy sign their shamrock o'er,
‘Aud bless its leaflets green ;
While in communion still with thee,
‘Their thoughts to Ged rise pure and free.
verdant shore,
Even ‘midst the red man’s hunting grounds
Thine altar fires are hit,
And, like another Xavier's, sounds
The voice of good De Suet,
Who from the Rocky Muuntains’ heights
as answered now Saint Bernard's lights.
. In every clime, in every tongue,
Thy triumphs may be traced,—
Painting has shown and music sung,
And poetry has placed,
Bright off’rings on thy shrine, and given
‘Their proudest efforts thus to heaven.
Genius, and art, and science,—each
‘Thy saving truths has cought;—
‘Truths,—to the wise that wisdom teach!
And to the thoughtful,—thougtt!
And low, in faith's equality,
Bondsman and master bow to thee.
Mail. holy power! From tent to throne,
‘Yhy changeless creed proclaim !
The blinded heart in every ane,
With love divine inflame!
‘And speed the peact ful hour foretold,
When gach’ring nations seek thy fold!
St. Louis, Mo.
*
Motna,
Persecution.—" Attend diligently to what
is said: for the Psalm of to day marshals us
against heretics, not that we may cast them to
the earth, but that we raise them from their
Philadelphia, Thursday, March 23, 1843.
fallen condition. For such is the nature of our
war: itkills not the living, but raises the dead
to life, being full of meekness and of great be-
nignity. I do. not attack by actions, but I
pursue by words, not the heretic, but heresy,
{ entertain no aversion to the man, but I. de-
test the error, and wish to root it out, I do
not war against nature, for nature is the work
of God: but I wish to rectify the sentiment,
which the demon has corrupted. Thus a phy-
sician in healing the sick man, does not war
against the body, but takes away from it the
isorder., So when I wage war against here-
ties, I do not war against the men themselves,
but wish to take away the errors, and to
cleanse the corruption. [am wont tobe per
secuted, not to persecute."’"—St. Chrysostom,
in S. Phocan M.
+e
EUCHARIST.
The difficulties which the mystery of the
Eucharist presents to a Protestant mind are
set forth, and met by the British Critic in a
manner to satisfy us that the writer holds
the Catholic faith on this subject to the
extent of the Tridentine definition,
Mr. Goode will himself give us sume as-
sistance in our present task; though the re-
flections, to. which the cousiderations now
about to be adduced lead the mind, are of a
very welancholy nature. Ile considers him-
self justified on the ground of Scripture evi-
dence in rejecting the Catholic doctrine on the
Eucharist. His own opinions he thus ex-
presses, and we commend them to the consid-
eration of those who may be inclined to regard
him as a serviceable auxiliary against the ex-
travagances of the ** ‘I'ractators,” but as or-
thodox on main points of doctrine.
“ The flesh and blood of Christ offered on
the Cross become life to the soul when we
rest upon them by fuith as the foundation of
our hopes before God e.who by faith
eats the flesh and drinks the blood of Chiist
[possesses] spiritual life ;” but at the same
ume ** there may be such eating and driokin
by faith only without the external symbols ;”
though ‘+ doubtless the effectual operation of
this spiritual food upon the soul may be more
especially /ooked for (his italics} in the cele-
bration of that sacramental rite which is’ an
ordinance of Christ’s own appointment for the
faithful, and thankful commemoration of His
death.”” (vol. iis p, 244—246.
In what respect this differs from plain Zuin-
glianism we are at a loss to conceive. And
now in the very outset of his Scripture dis-
cussion he shows the extravagant uoreality
and impracticability of bis whole professed
principle. ** The inquirer,” Le says, “stag-
gered as he must naturally be with the notion,”
&c. Why, let us ask, will he be stuggered?
Because be has been educated in disvelief of
it; the prejudices of his education must be ad-
miued, Mr, Goode cannot avoid it, in deter-
mining his interpretation of Scripture. On
the other hand the Leliever in the sacred truth
which Mr. Goode impugns finds every day a
deeper harmony between it and Scripture.
The whole Scriptural idea, e. g. of the union
of Saints with Christ and with each other, ac-
quires an awful reality through the considera-
tion of the Eucharistic Presence, which will
_| make all the Protestant attempts to prove that
such is really not the Scripture doctrine fall
powerless upon the ear. Such arguments as
this, however, Mr. Goode from his system is
obliged wholly to discard, and would urge the
importance of divesting one’s-self of antece
dent prejudices, and regarding the question as
a mere matter of external evidence. How
then, upon Mr. Goode’s principles, how is it
hat an “inquirer will be staggered,” at bein
told of Christ present in the Sacrament, and
not be startled also at hearing of God mani-
fest in the flesh 2” The idea that to a Chris-
tian believing all the astounding mysteries
which are contained in the doctrine of the In-
carnatien, the further belief in the Real Pre-
sence, even to the extent of the ‘T'ridentine
definition, is a serious addi.ional * tax on his
credulity” is not tenable for a moment. It
could not, indeed, ever have prevailed, but for
the fact that we are educated to believe the
one, and dishelieve the other, and, moreover,
that it is so little the habit of the present gene-
ration to realize by meditation the fulness o
those truths which they profess to hold. © Bur
let any one try to imagine himself notto have
imbibed the former doctrine in his whole edu-
cation, nay more to have been habituated from
infancy to hear it associated with those harsh
and contemptuous expressions, those impas-
sioned exhibitions of its apparent contradiction
in terms, those comparisons from profane and
carnal images, with which we are, unhappily
so familiar on the subject of the Real Presence;
and then let him set himself seriously to con-
sider all that itinvolves of mystery and appa-
rent contradiction, when we think, e. g. of our
Lord’s infancy and “ growth in wisdom,” and
many other particulars’ which might be men-
tioned; he ma form some notion,
though probably but a faint one, of the indefi-
nite @ priori improbability which an wnbe-
liever would perceive in the sacred doctrine in
question. What then would be the result in
the case of this imaginary person, with this
sense of its utter strangeness and apparent
childishness vividly before his mind, should
those texts be pat before him as plainly teach-
ing it, which Mr. Goode congiders ‘as so am-
ply suficient and demonstrative? It will be
a painfully interesting task, to compare their
cogency with that of the Scripture proof,
which the same author thinks ‘wholly inade-
quate, for the Eucharistic Presence. "I'hey
are in all four, (John, i. 1; Rom. ix. 5; Heb.
i. 8; Rev. j. 8,) in three of which, our Lord
is expressly called God ; but then it is no less
expressly said, ** This is my Body." ** ‘The
bread which we break it is not the eommnnica-
tion of the Body of Christ?” nor do we think
it a less forced and violent rule of interpreta-
tion which refuses the literal sense in the for-
mer than in the latter series of passages. We
feel that our present course of argument needs
an apology ; but we can assure our readers,
that as we write, we honestly endeavor to im-
press adequately on our own minds the ex-
eeeding sacreduess of the subjects, which we
are obliged to discuss forthe very sake of
rath.
Mr. Goode excuses himself from receiving
our Lord’s words of institution on their prima
facie sense, by acomparison with the texts,
“Tam the door of the sheep,” I am the
true vine ;”’ but it is too often overlooked that
these parallels go exactly the opposite way.
“« Figures and metaphors,” says Froude on
this subject, ‘are not chosen by inspired
writers to give elevation to plain matters, but
because the matters of which they speak are
so elevated as not ta admit of being expressed
plainly.”* "Phe full aecount of our Lord's
office and relations to His Chureh is so wholly
above our comprehension, that Ile graciously
uses figures and analogies to assist us in form-
ing some faint conception of their true nature.
Does Mr. Goode consider then, as is required
for his parallel, that the consecrated Bread is
so mysterious and unspeakable a gift, that it
needs metaphor to enable us to advance to-
wards its full comprehension 2 He has quoted
indeed one other (and but one other) passage
tom Scripturet in support of this scepticism :
** that rock was Christ ;”” on which itis ob-
vious to remark, without discussion on the real
bearing of this difficult. passage, that on his
own showing he is drawing us back, who are
born under the Gospel, to the allegories and
empty shadows of the Jewish covenant.
Every fresh illustration of the intimate connec-
tion between Protestantism and Judaism is va-
luable and instructive. But if on such grounds
Mr. Goode may be defended for declining the
lueral sense of the texts bearing.on the Eu-
charist, how much more is to: be said in sup-
port of a similar procedure on the other still
more awful and sacred doctrine which we have
named; if *My Body” may be taken as “the
representative and sign of My Body,” how
much more may ** God” be understood w
mean *the representative and moral image of
God,” for the word actually was used in this
sense under the Old Covenant.t Nay. more,
the author's application of the furmer analo-
gies, whatever lis merits, is at least conjectu-
ral, while the application of the later passage
to our Lord’s nature is made by Hanself.§
Again, there is no one passage in the New ‘l'es-
tameat which alludes to the Eucharist of_all,
which is otherwise than most naturally con
sistent (to say the least) with the idea of its
mysterious and miraculous character jl) where-
* Remains, part ii. vol, i. p. 145
Mr. Goode’s reasoning on the subject (p, 242
—215) is too childish to deserve notice,
§ John, x. 34-36, . :
| Consider, for instance, the light which would
have been thrown on our Lord's, words of conse-
a)
Whole Number 532
as several passages in Scripture appear, at first
sight, absolutely contradictory to the allegation
of our Lord's divine nature.§ — limay be said,
indeed, that Scripture is silent upon the Eu-
charist where we should expect mention of it;
but he must be strangely vonstituted, or have
read the New Testament in a very stiff and
narrow spirit, who has not been frequently
startled also by the omission of all allusion to
our Lord’s Divinity, where the whole con-
text seemed naturally to introduce the idea.
Lastly there is no difficulty whatever regards
Scripture history in the Catholic doctrine on
the Eucharist; while on the other subject
there are very considerable historical objec-
tions, which seem to require an answer, and
are commonly made in the Socinian contro-
ye
++» —__
Fromm the Catholic Misceliany.
THE CHURCH—ITS MARKS.
The Kingdom of Jesus Christ as foretold
by the prophets is no other than the Church,
which he has established on earth, * the pil-
far and ground of truth.” ‘This Church of
Christ has four principal characteristics by
which she can be easily distinguished from
the many sectaries now-a-days existing
throughout the world and professing them-
selves the true followers of the meek and
humble Jesus ;—viz. She is one, Holy, Ca-
tholic, and Apostolic.—By these distinguish-
ing marks she is always known—by these the
path of the enquirer after truth is enlightened
as he travels onward century after century,
till he reaches the very epoch of the Apostles.
‘There he will find a St. Clement, disciple of the
Apostles, and one of St. Peter's successors in
the See of Rome ; also an Ignatius, Martyr,
disciple of St. John, a St. Cyprian, a St. Au-
gustine with a host of others—all inculcating
these a¥ the principal marks by which the —
true Church of Christ will be always known.
St. Cyril of Alexandria thus advises travel-
lers ‘not to ask simply, where is the Church,
but where is the Catholic Church, for this is - -
the proper name of this holy Church, which -
is the Mother of all and the Spouse of Jesus ~
Christ, the only begotten Son of God.” .
Suz 1s Oset.—Vhis unity is manifested in ~
all her members, believing the same truths, 4
having the same sacraments and sacrifice and >
are governed by the same visible’ head on
earth. "Ibis is the guardian of purity, for
Christ himself has established it and command- +
ed all the faithful to be united in the indissolu-
ble bonds of charity, .It is for this reason
that he has not left to the faithful indiscrims
nately the power of judging for themselves
about articles of faith, but gave to the body of
Bishops the full authority of testifying to what
he revealed, promising them at the same time,
that he will be with them all days, to guard
them from every error and preserve them inthe
bonds of unity and peace, St. Paul thus de-
scribes the unity of the Church, writing tothe
Ephes. 1. 6. ** Ja being one body and one
fold, animated by one Spirit, under one Su-
preme head, Jesus Christ, who is over ull
the Church.” ‘This established unity, with
a visible head on earth is the pap that gives
milk to all tue particular’ churches and nou-.,
rishes the faithful with the sound doetrines of.
truch io the bonds of fraternal charity.
Sune is Hoty, because of her Founder
Jesus Christ, who is the Author of all sanc-
tity—of the purity of her doctrines and sa-
craments—of the sanctity and holiness of
these, Whom Christ principally used in*the
establishment of his cturch, and of the nua-
ber of her children who have been eminent for
their virtue in every age since the commence-
ment of Christianity... ‘The preaching of ibe
‘uinisters will uever be without effect, as the
word of God is always fertile and because
grace 18 never Wanting to accompany holy
sootrine, it will always produce saints. If w
cast our eyes over the pages of ecclesiastucal
history ; we shall there find the most eminent ©
examples of virtue in every age even the must
wicked. God never fails to raise vp frou
me to time Apustulic men, who employ their”
talents, their knowledge and zeal to arrest the ~
current ol error and bring those back who had
eration by John vi. (see this argument fully carried
outin the Ich sermon of Newmans sixth
Volume). Again, 1 Cor. x. 17, is mere estrava-
ance and mysticism, except upon the Catholic
hypothesis; whereas by that hypothesis it obtains
a natural and most edifying sense.
qg E. g. Luke, ii. 525 Mark, xiii. 32; John, xx.
17; 1 Cor, xv, 28, Several others might be added.
*