The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-10-27

soul 1t was lost, but thou must save it. :"
ooh Mary, we poor sinners know no re-
fuge but thee Thou art our only hope.
To thee we entrust our salvation" etc.
Now what avails it to draw scholastic
distinctions of dulio and latqla in pres
ence of such Inscriptions to the Virgin
Mary as these?
But let us take another prayer, the one
quoted from the Pawqato79ian Co,asoler
in former letter, the one for the devout
offering of which before a statue or i,,,aqe
of the Virgin Mary, the Pope offers an
indulgence of 300 days. Now take a
single clause of that prayer. "Iworship
thee, 0 great Queen, and thank thee for
all the graces thou hast hitherto granted
me, and especially thank thee for having
delivered my soul from hell which I have
so often deserved That l suppose DR..
O'Connell would say is not lotq5a but h2yp-
erduhai Well, let us change but one
word. Substitute King for Queen, in the
first clause, 81 worship thee, Ogreat R7,o
and l thank thee for all the graces thou has
hitherto granted me and especially
thank thee for having delivered my soul
from hell, etc" and now l suppose it is
l0trl0i How futile all such distinctions !
What less than idolatry can it be to pray
to the Virgin Mary, leave me not until
thou seest me safe in heaven blessing thee
and singing thy mercies for all eternity,
Amen. Let DR.. O'Connell meet me
fairly by quoting this language and let
him show if he can that there is not the
ascriptlon in these passages of honor to a
creature which belongs to God alone.
But DR.. O'Connell amazes me by say
ing that the teaching of his Church
nowhere attributes to the creature any
attribute of the Creator" How could
he says this after reading the extracts
quoted in my letter? I ask him, is not
on1nlpote1ace one Of the attributes of God?
And yet does not that much lauded st.
Alphonsus in the passage quoted by NE
(Gfories of Mary, page 78) saw, address.
ing the Virgin Mary, I'VE know that
thou art 00anlpotent." What will DR..
O'Connell say about that? Does not the
Roman Church encourage millions of
suppliants all over the world to offer
their devotions to her at the same time,
and to believe that they will all be
heard? And what does this imply but
the attribution to her of ona,iscience.
another attribute of God-and when
they are taught to pray and expect, all
of them, that she will be with them in
the hour of temptation and of death, does
not this involve on11oipTeSence another
attribute of God? And so 1 might 90 on
and bring up still other of the incom-
municable attributes of God thus by open
assertion or by necessary implication attri-
buted to the Virgin Mary. And yet this,
even according to DR.. OConnell's canon,
is idolatry. No, [ wish could see some
way to avoid the conclusion that the
service Of the Roman Catholic Church
contains this element of idolatry. DR..
O'Connell says that seem to exult in
finding Roman Catholics idolators." God
who knows my heart better than DR..
OConnell does, knows that it pains me to
see Christian people systematically
taught to render to the Virgin Mary
homage due to God alone. I utter my
solemn and public remonstrance against
It, [ warn all whom my voice can reach
that these prayers to the Virgin are
idolatrous, and that to Join in services
In which they are employed is to par
ticipate in idolatrous worship If to do
SO is to make reflection upon the Ladies'
and gentlemen of Virginia, it is only to
do what the ancient prophets, and apos-
ties, and Christian fathers found it neces-
sary to do in reference to the ladies and
gentlemen of their own countries and
times. 1 cannot be withheld from this
testimony against superstition by the
fear of offending those for whom I enter
tain as high and chivalrous regard as
any living man. certainly cannot be
moved from it by the animadversions of
DR.. O'Connell. Painfully, tenderly, un-
der sense of responsibility to God,
warn our Christian people against ascrib-
ing to the Virgin Mary the attributes of
God, against worshipping her as the
only refuge and hope of sinners,
against binding themselves to praise
her and sing her mercies for all eternity.
[ declare that there is no authority in
Scripture for rendering her any worship,
either that of duJia or that of lat71a;
that the latter may be worse than the
former, but that both are against the
plain teaching of Scripture which says,
"Thou shalt worship the Lord tiny God and
Himonly shalt thou serve" They are both
alike forbidden by that canon and of the
decalogue which the Church of Rome has
suppressed and which says, "Thou shalt
roF Lorrr Jo,,,v, - -. =. Il