The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-12-30
THE VENERATION OF THE CROSS.
The Testimony Of the Early Fathers.
The Practice Of the Primitive Ages OF
Christianity. -.
A L z c TU r e,
Delivered In st Peters Church, by Rev. DR.
Pise, on Sunday Evening, Dec. 30, 1874.


Pise, ON Sunday Evening, Dec. 80, 1874.
But God forbid that should glory in the Cross Of
Lord Jesus Christ, by ,cho the Worid is crucied unto
Me, and + unto the worid. &c alatians, &c. l4v
There are peculiar characteristics by which the
Catholic religion is distinguished from that of other
denominations. One is the making on our persons
the sign OF The cross, as have just done; and the
second is the custom which prevails OF erecting
crucihxes on the steeples Of churches, on the top
sacred edifces, affairs, and our temples Of
worship OF every kind The question is very FIRE
quently put by individuals who have never made
themselves acquainted with the nature-much less
the religious intent OF those two characteristics
"What is the meaning of that external form with
which the Roman Catholic priest commences all
his official ceremonies! and why is il that the
is held in such external and general veneration by
all persons belonging to that peculiar denomination
of Chrlstlansf' And il is to answer these two
questions that | now direct your attention to
the topic which shall constitute the sub
Ject OF this evenings lecture-the Cross. The
Catholic, in adopting these characteristics, is
animated by the spirit contained in the text
have just quoted from the Epistle of Paul to the
Galatians Catholics, far from being guilty Of su
perstton in one way or the other, are governed by
the same principle of true religion that warmed
and animated the breast OF the great Apostle to
the Genliles; for as he declared that he gloried
only in the cross Of our Lord Jesus Christ-so is II
upon the same principle Of gloryag in that symbo
of redemption of the human race, that the Catho
lie churches, her children and her adults, arm
themselves with that sign, and pay external respect
and veneraton to it wherever ii displays itself
St. Paul was not ashamed Of the Cross; the Catho-
lie is by no means ashamed Of that the instru-
ment Of his salvation st. Paul was deeply YER
sed in the knowledge and spirit Of true
religion. He declares that the Cross was and ever
should be to him an object Of glory, and consc-
quenty OF veneration. That Cross, which was once
the instrument of shame and ignomny-co converted
into symbol oil glory and christianity that cross,
on which so many thousands, and thousands OF
thousands of malefactors died to expiate their
enormous crimes-was made the altar upon which
the Lamb was slain for the redemption of the hui
man race We glory in that Cross, because by that
Cross we have been redeemed we glory with ST.
Paul in that Cross, because on the wood Of that
Cross the pain Of death was removed from us we
glory in that Cross, because-in the words of ST
Augustine is that instrument by which, instead
of the sword, the world was conquered to christi
anity And fron, the days OF st. Paul down to the
sixteenth century theCrOss always had been in
sacred veneration. The Cross wa always yenerated
in the various ages OF christianity; In every
country into which the light OF the Gospel was ever
introduced by the zeal and holy adventures Of Chris
tian Missionaries, the Cross the symbol of re-
dempen, and the glory OF christianity and inse-
paraby found with the PRONUNCIATION OF the Cos
pei; inasmuch that IN every age preceding the Pc
Rod OF what is styled the reformation, we have no
document to prove TO us that there ever was the
slightest objection made to the respect which was
IA tha'Cv n he fraY he Grng WAS
always placed US remarkable sign upon the spires
of churches, ed6ces aad Innumerable monuments,
in all countrles on the continent, Ia the Eastern
| Church,; in England under the Anglo Saxons, af
an object Of respect, Of veneration-and may add
| in the language of st. Paul-of glory and II is a
| remarkable fact, that even In the 9th century,
when, as | have already stated, the spirit OF
| Iconoclasm ragged SO high against sacred
images and sta'ues-that spirit never dared to
question the propriety OF respect to the Cross And
even in that council OF recreant Bishops, to which
referred IN former lecture, VINO were assembled
| by the tyrdnt Constantine Capronymus, and who
| declared the arts OF painting and sculpture to be
| dabollcal, as black arts, which were to be con-
| demned. Even there, by an extraordinary ncon-
sisency, these very Bishops made all who were put
upon oath to destroy and put end to sacred ina
ges, swear upon the crucifix, as well upon the
gospel. Thus in the very act OF breaking and de-
| stroying sacred images, they were putting their
| need not go past the annals OF history to con-
vince the most incredulous of the fact, that the
Cross was held in universal respecs in England, as
| well as upon the continent, before the day
of the reformation But there ls oae cir
cuuIstanoe which deserves to be pointed out
to this audience; 1t 10 This. that the individual
who first took away the cruclfix from Queen Eli.
zabeths Chapel latter the reformatlon-ior she still
adhered to many OF the usages OF the church, even
as 1t were in spite Of herselfwas less person
age than the celebrated fool, whose name was
Patch. Dr. Plse here read from historical work,
the name of whose author we did not clearly hear,
passage narratlng the circumstances OF the above
act OF sacrlege.) Now II is certainly an argument
| in favor of the wisdom OF the Ancient Church,
| that this symbol was attacked by-not philoso
pher-not by any sage-but by the Court fool, and
| as TO this circumstance, In order to throw some
lightup these somewhat dull lectures, and make
| them more interesting, will read some extracts,
| extract from poem in Hudibrastic or mock
heroic style, IN which the above act of Patch, the
| fool, was descanted upon In half humorous, halt
mockng way land then proceeded.) In order to show
you again somewhat more seriously and TO the point
that the Cross was held in the highest veneration
by the ancestors OF those, who in the days Of Eli
| zabeth broke il in pieces, will quote some au-
| thorites. tDr Pse here read an extract from
| page l72 and also from Beza, to prove that the
Gross was introduced by the missionaries, by
whom Ethelbert was converted; that it was adopt
| ed as an honored symbol OF religion, and even
made the standard OF triumph and military pomp
| and confidence, by Oswald King of Northumber.
| land, and that II became OF general use amongst
1 the ancient English Church) Inns is really the
| spirit and character Of the Catholic religion
| contained in the two lines have taken from
| Beza that neither in bowling to the cruel
| fix, in paying external veneralion to il, aftel
all the procession in which 1t may be borne, nc
i matter with what p0mp IT may be displayed, prl
vaely or publicly, whether IT be painted on canvass
| or embodied IN marble. or any other material
/ whether we Impress IL on our foreheads or oul
PERSONS. IT amounts only to this, that we pay nc
| kind OF worship 10 that Cross--that Is, worship
| taken in the acceptatlon of alteration, which il
due to God alone; but that we adore him through
| that cross, whom believe to be a Divine
being. God made man, who hung and blet
| tor us on that once ignominIous, but now
| glorious tree. And that the objections agains
us, particularly against the ignorant part OF ou
| community, that the Cross is TO them an oh
ect of superstion-that they look upon i
as charm-that they bow in blind alteration
10 images of wood, especially TO that con
| ,ained in the Cross all these are charges, unfai
charges, and invented for purposes not religious
| Nutc OH xvhi have hoe iut ed nvera ar