The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-01-03
MORNING STAR AND CATHOLIC MESSENGER.
NEwaoBI.EANs. SUNDAY, JANUARY 3. 1869.
Professionalism Destructive of Christianity.

This is q startling announcement Y" AiA''N''
and no doubt will be placed to the account Oh d
heated controversialist, who, anxious ZOE VIC
tory preciptately asserts what reason anu ue-
monstration fail to verify. But tne s'ateiiieh'
comes from Protestant minister-Dr. Ever
who from long experience, serious cohsioef"-
tion. and mature study, thus deliberately comes
to the conclusion contained in the sentence
forming the heading of this article:
The crv of the Protestant is, :" I want no Wis.,
;b1e Church; 1 want nothing of the kind to
come in between me and God want no rails /
at chaucels want no con'munlon-taDle snut
nm in am apartment by itself; bring it down
into the congregation your whole visible |
p scheme of intermediation is in the way; it is
impertinent; can and will go direct to God
myself without your cumbersome churchly ma
chinery; want no set lessons from Scripture
selected for my contemplation on set days;
can select for myself; want no days set apart
by the Church, in which l must mediate ON
certain truths can think of any of those
~truths at any time" And SO, Professionalism,
borne on by it's spirit of liberty, so-called,
clears away the whole. You can go direct to
God, indeed, Mr.. Protestant! Our scheme OF
visible INTERPRETATION is in the way and imper-
tinent? Alb, Brethren do you not see that this
strikes at the principle of any mediation what
everf By such assertions Professionalism yields
the vital principle itself to Rationalisn and 1T
is not at all strange that, in the hands of such
giants as Beecher, Charming, and Parker, the
Protestant mind should slowly sink into avow-
ed Rationalism. Here is the explanation of the
men-sons and granlsons of the old-fashioned
Professionals, either secret doubters or
avowed skeptics; and that our very churches
are crowded with semi-deists, who chafe under
any preaching save the preaching of glltterlng
generalities about moral and natural goodness.
The fact is, in abandoning Gods visible Church
Catholic PrOtestants have abandonedthe vital
outwork of the doctrine of mediatlOn-the sole
defence of that doctrine; and with the outwork
gone the city itself falls, IT !; fatal to 1omeh
Gus with, and which expresses and conserves
the great truth of the mediation Try, now,
the effect of the destruction of the outwork or
bulwark of the priesthood of Christ, the second
great spiritual fact of Christianity Strike down
the APOSTOLIC ministry of the Visible Church
Catholic, and You equally expose the sp1ri .,'
laid bare and unprotected. 1t also fails before
the attacks of Rationalsm. Let us look at
The Protestant cry is "There is no such
thing as visible priesthood on earth 5" the
ministry need not originate from the Apostles
alone and come down in the regular succession
which the Catholics claim. 1t originates as
we'll from the people, in whom primarily lts
powers are lodged in other words, as a recent
writer saws "the people, and not the Apostle.
are the Ultimate source of ecclesiastical ant
ministerial power :" the Christian ministry, &C
cording to the Protestant cry, are not dis
th us 1 az Christian prissthood in distinction
from the people ut large" every man his owl
sa to God iRSssa ssssx
Nothing between God and many An, beloved
do YOU not perceive that Professionalism, thougl
the spiritual priesthood of Christ, has, after all
by this fatal step, yielded the principle OF an
priesthood whateverf Do you not see tina
cal denial of the principle rooted in their minds
the mere intellectual notion OF Christ,s pres
hood which they still retain for while, ma
been undermined, and will sooner or later fai
if not in the first generation, then in the sc.
ond, third or fourthf 1t must logically fai
and, alas, it does fall practically. 1t viii NJ
Gods Church, namely, the Apostolic Ministr,
It will not do to raise to a level with it a mil
istry whose ultimate source of authority Is la
men or unauthorized Presbyt tiers, instead OF Il
holy Apostles. For, as the fountain cannot I'll
higher than its spring, the rearing OF suc nc
man-made ministry IS the breaking down %;
ministry to a level with laymen; and this
Il simply and solely, and logically blow at Il
cherished priesthood of Christ itself sin
lar course of remark might be madeo the go
eminent of the Church. which is the visible e
preston on earth of the spiritual truth OF Z
ROYALTY of Christ, and which is the school
which God in His wisdom has set us, that
= NAV learn, and not lose the knowledge OF III
prime fact. And similar course OF reni
might be made on the Blessed Eucharist,
the conserver of the fact OF the saGrl i y,
Christ But enough has been said to show Ii,
s., Professionalism is logically destructive OF Chri
ianity. Think of the millions it has dra,
away from Christ: Think how,lt mas f sapp
these are words not calculated to be popul
But they are words that need to be spok'
When some poor bewildereu mhnu goes ~ "
Rome some churchmen roll upeyes OF holy Il
ror But they forget the vastly more serlo
events that are taking place in the opposite
rection.
We are not so much in danger of superstiti
as we are of skepticism would have y
mark this, my beloved would have you
peat it to your friends, viz: That those exc
tional cases that have gone over to Rome,
as single star to all the myriads of stars,
comparison with the thousands who nave 1a al
innocently and unconsciously into the Ia
D.M drift of Professionalism, and been sucked 90
at last into the rushing whirl of Unitariani
and the dreadful vortex Of Int h1 ia,Ierst,
make this assertion, you Will not uhuers..
me as saving that it is the first general
which passes out of the Church into Protest:
ism, that runs this entire career into R;tioi
ism. 1t is only here and there that you nil
L. LII tl1rl