"But Christ had not then died; neither had the Christian dispensation
succeeded to the old Jewish rites and customs. If you will turn to
Jeremiah, you will also read how the curse of God was pronounced
against the idolaters who offered incense to the Queen of Heaven: yet
you do the same. Still, by the tradition of the elders, we will judge.
Hear the words of Paulinus on this subject--'Paul is not a mediator;
he is an ambassador for Christ. John intercedes not, but declares that
this mediator is the propitiation for our sin. The Son of Almighty
God, because he redeemed us with the price of his blood, is justly
called the true Redeemer,' Again, the great and good Ambrose--'We
follow thee, Lord Jesus, but draw us up that we may follow. No one
rises without thee. Let us seek him, and embrace his feet, and worship
him, that he may say to us, Fear not. I am the remission of sin, I am
the light, I am the life. He that cometh to me shall not see death;
because he is the fulness of divinity.' One more, Florry--'Come to
yourselves again, ye wretched transgressors! Return ye blind to your
light! Shall we not believe God, when he swears that neither Noah,
nor Daniel, or Job, shall deliver one son or daughter by their
righteousness. For this end he makes the declaration, that none might
put confidence in the intercession of saints. Ye fools! who run to
Rome to seek there for the intercession of an Apostle. When will ye
be wise? What would St. Augustine say of you, whom ye have so often
quoted?' Such, Florry, are the words of the celebrated Claud of Turin;
but as he is regarded by your church somewhat as a reformer, I will
just read one passage from Anselm, whose orthodoxy no Papist ever
questioned. Speaking of the intercession of Christ--'If the people sin
a thousand times, they need no other Saviour; because this suffices
for all things, and cleanses from all sin.' Florry, we have jointly
admired the character of one of the earliest martyrs, St. Cyprian.
Will you hear him on this subject?--'Christ, if it be possible, let us
all follow. Let us be baptized in his name. He opens to us the way
of life. He brings us back to Paradise. He leads us to the heavenly
kingdom. Redeemed by his blood, we shall be the blessed of God the
Father,' Yet you say in your prayers, 'We fly to thy patronage, oh!
holy Mother of God!' And again--
'Hail sacred gate.'
Florence, you have cited the Fathers: by their own words are you not
convinced as to intercession?"
"Mary, I was asking myself if vital Christianity could exist in any
church which allows such a system of deceit on the part of its clergy:
for deceived I assuredly have been."
"You should remember, Florry, that the promulgation of Papal
doctrines, and the aggrandizement of the Romish church, is the only
aim of its priesthood; consequently, all means which conduce to this
great object are unscrupulously employed. Even crime is sanctioned
where the good of the church can be promoted."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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