The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-11-18
Tho Trail Of the Serpent.

:
Interesting as an index of a very
general state of feeling in a large
wing of the Episcopal church is the
following article on the "rehabilita-
ton" of Mary. in the Lamp, the Or
gan of the High Church branch of
the Anglican communion. The ex-
remarkable:
Since the outset of the Oxford move
ment in nothing have Anglo Catholics
been more backward than in the eff
forts they have made to reinstate the
immaculate mother of God in the
place of honor which she held in the
English church prior to the Erastian
captivity.
The trail of the serpent across the
English reformation is indicated most
clearly by three chief marks of the
DEVILS handiwork, viz, the abolition
of objective worship offered to Jesus
Christ present in Mass; devotion to
the Mother of God throned beside her
Son in heaven, and obedience to
Christ's vicar throned in the chair of
Peter on earth.
There is no lie forged in hell more
in conflict with the will of God ex-
pressed in scripture and Catholic ira
dition than the Protestant conceit that
they honor Christ best who most ig-
more the existence of His Mother.
What God hath Joined together let
no man put asunder," and there is no
divorce more horrible as a fragrant
violation of the fiat of Almighty God
than the divorce made by the Protest.
ant reformer between Christ and the
Blessed Virgin. The fruit Of such vio-
lence to revealed truth must of neces-
sity be all sorts and kinds of heresy,
and goes far to explain the skepticism
and unbelief which honeycomb the
Church of England today.
Once again we repeat: What God
hath joined together let no man put
asunder."
How is it possible to keep alive
within us any vital sense of the in
carnation, 1.-The Word was made flesh
and dwelt among u.s." if we deliber-
ately shut out of our minds and hearts
all thought and devotion to Mary, the
mother who conceived "the Word made
flesh in her womb, nursed Him as
babe at her breast, lived with Him
as His constant companion for thirty
years at Nazareth, stood by Him while
He was crucifled, received into her
arms His Body taken down from the
cross, and after her glorious assump-
ton was seen by St. John enthroned
in heaven. the consort Of Christ?
The fault with Anglo Catholics is
not SO much in the theology with re-
gard to the Blessed Virgin as in their
failure to put it into practice. Ger
tain of our Anglican divines. begin
ming with John Keble, have said and
written many beautiful and orthodox
things about the Diepara, some of
which will live as long as Christian
literature lives, but when it comes
to saying the Hail Mary and employ
ing the Rosary as a means Of per-
sonal address to the holy Mother Of
God, the Anglo-Catholic who DOES this
is a rara avis among his fellows.
THE Communion of Sants' as Il
matter of actual. every day intercourse
between the members of the church on
earth and the saints who reign with
Christ in heaven. is a sealed book to
| nine tenthS of those Angelicans who
love to call themselves Catholics. 1,
makes us bow our heads in shame and
blush for our co-religionlsts when we
make this confession. but it is goOt
to own our faults and Shortcomings
and bewail our ignorances. for in do
ing so we are taking the first steps
toward reform.
What English and American church
men need to realize in order to be
come the same Jealous lovers of Mar.
that our forefathers We're. is that il
Mary we have a Mother who. like he
Divine Son, "can be foretold with tn
feeling of our infirmities." and by tn
side of our great high priest eve
stands ito make intercession for us.
We need to know that her knowledg
is great enough, her love boundles
enough, and her powe. vast enough t
embrace us every one, so that who
soever among us cries to her sets re
verberating the heart strings of ma
ternal love that has at Its comman
the inexhaustible resources of hcavel
AS to the ability of the Blessed Wiz
gin to hear and answer prayers. tn
testimony to be derived from the actu
al experience of the faithful from tim
! immemorial is limitless. What MOI
u crcditable witness could be brougt
into court than the men and wome
; who in their several generations al
: tanned to pre-eminencc over all Other
. for sanctity? And If one taxes ii
trouble to study the lives of the grea
. est Catholic saints they will find the
teeming with testimony to the live
II interest taken by the Mother of CT
J. I, tho Affairs of men, MANY of tl