sure I do, please your reverence,' replied the man promptly. The priest's countenance and tone expressed anything but that gentleness with which St. Paul commanded Timothy to administer reproof, as he vociferated, 'You lie, you don't-you rascal!' This ended the controversy; for the poor turnkey sneaked off as fast as he could, observing, in a subdued tone, 'Sure your reverence knows best." 1

We adduce this anecdote chiefly to illustrate the readiness with which the mind of the ignorant worshipper seizes hold of the object presented to it by the Romish church, and thus avoids the necessity which the Bible lays upon him, of seeking God, who is a Spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, through the alone mediation and intercession of Christ. The Romish controversialist may define what he calls latria and what he calls dulia; but the poor mechanic or the simple child knows only one thing, which is worship. This worship he pays to a piece of wafer, when uplifted by the priest at what he calls the altar.' He pays it again before the image of the virgin, so soon as the 'mass' is over. He then returns home, and before he sleeps, he says his rosary, which includes a vain and senseless repetion of the Lord's Prayer ten times; but a still more senseless address to the virgin of fifty prayers. All that is really accomplished by this idle ceremony, is the offering an insult to God, by elevating Mary to greater honour than her Creator and Redeemer! But ask this poor deluded votary touching the difference between his prayers to God and to the virgin. What can he tell you, beyond the verbal distinction, that

1 Protestant Magazine, vol. i. p. 150.

one is latria and the other dulia? Practically, however, there is no real difference; or if there be any, it consists in a greater degree of faith and hope, exercised with respect to his addresses to Mary, than with reference to those to God or to Christ. He believes, he is taught to believe, that Mary's ears are more open to his cry, that her heart more readily sympathizes with his wants and his sorrows, than does the heart of his Saviour. And therefore it is that this idol-worship is so universally a favourite among these poor people. The rosary,' says Mr. O'Croly, which should be called their devotion to the virgin, forms the sum total of their religious worship.' And, placed in this elevated rank, as hiding the Saviour almost wholly from the sinner's view, it could not be otherwise than dreadfully offensive to God, even were it less sinful and unscriptural in itself. But when we remember that this worship, which, it is thus admitted, absorbs and swallows up the whole soul of devotion among the people, is in itself altogether opposed to the word of God, to reason, and to common sense, and can rank no higher, with any rightly-judging man, than the worship of Juno or of Minerva among the ancient heathen, how frightful does the view become! The whole church, falsely called "Catholic," bowing down with one consent before the effigy of a poor human creature! Men and women, called Christians, addressing, from the four quarters of the globe, prayers to one who cannot hear them! Priests and laity, in all parts of the world, calling upon her as 'the Queen of heaven,' 'the Empress of the universe;' their Life, their Hope, 'the great Mediator between Christ and sinners!' And as the result of the whole, that result which is

Satan's grand aim, the Saviour disregarded; scarcely ever addressed in prayer, or when so addressed, insulted with the petition, that he will do so and so, in respect to the merits of St. Clementina, or St. Carlino, or some other poor creature, whose salvation, if achieved at all, was solely his own work, and the reward of his own sufferings! No! it is impossible for any calm and unbiassed mind, to contemplate seriously the habitual worship of the poor Romanist, without being convinced, that the worship of God has been superseded and pushed aside among them; and that it is replaced by another worship, the worship of dead men and women, which is neither more or less than IDOLATRY.

XVII.

ROMISH DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

WE have now arrived at the consideration of that grand corruption of the Romish church which closed and completed her career of apostacy; which gave the last and finishing stroke to the work of Satan; and which constituted the chief ground of contest throughout all the struggles of the church's regeneration. The simple rite of the Lord's Supper, the canon and order of which is comprehended, in scripture, in three or four verses in each gospel, and as many in one of St. Paul's epistles, is to be considered on the one hand; and on the other, that immense mass of ceremonial, and that alleged awful import and value, which is assigned in the Romish church, to what is termed the Sacrifice of the Mass.'

But as this seems rather a large subject,-in what form or order shall we conduct the inquiry ?

Probably the natural order will be this :-first, to deal with the main question of Transubstantiation, or

the alleged change in the sacramental elements; and then to pass on to the remaining question, the sacrificial nature of the rite, and its alleged worth and power.

Now in dealing with the first of these questions, it may seem that it is only necessary for any one to take the plain text of either of the evangelists, and if he does but address himself to the investigation with a humble and submissive mind, he cannot be long at a loss as to a doctrine so clearly and so positively stated.

But do not let us anticipate the argument, or imagine that we can dispose of a question in half a sentence, which has occupied the minds of some of our greatest theologians for their whole lives. Let us begin the subject with method and order; and these will be best consulted by comparing authoritative statements of the opposing churches, on both sides of the question.

In the first place, let us notice the solemn decree or canon of the Council of Trent, on this subject. 'If any shall deny, that in the sacrament of the holy eucharist, there is contained, truly, really, and substantially, the blood, together with the soul and body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so whole Christ; but shall say that he is only in it in sign, or figure, or power—let him be ACCURSED.'

'If any shall say, that in the holy sacrament of the eucharist there remains the substance of bread and wine, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; and shall deny that wonderful and remarkable conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, while only the appearance of