The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-11-11
FATHER COYLE ON
CHRIST, MEDIATOR.
Explains Catholic Attitude
Toward the Saints.
QUOTES ST. PAUL
SAYS Church is Sometimes Accused of
Idolatry For Honoring Those
Whom God Himself Did
Honor.

AT high mass at st. Pauls church yes
terday the Rev Father coyle preached
on the "Medlatorship of Christ The
epistle read in the mass was a passage
from letter Of St Paul to the Christians
of the little town of Colossae.
Paul himself, said Father coyle. had
never visited coossae, though he had
been in the neghborhood. The band of
Christians that formed the church of the
Colassians had been converted to the
faith By one of Pauls most earnest ana
Jealous disciples. Epaphas. Like the
Galatians and other new converts, con-
tinued the preacher, these were, shortly
after their conversion, besieged by false
teachers. These teachers taught many
errors, some of them exceedingly degrad-
ing but the one which was most insidious
and which struck at the very root of
Christianity was the error regarding the
mediatorship between God and man.
Some OF THESE false teachers disseminated
the doctrines that as In the early times
the chief mediators were angels, so even
now, since God had not taken the medi-
atorship from the blessed spirits angels.
not Christ were chief mediators. And
the news of this teaching was brought to
Paul. then a prisoner in Rome. and at
once the great apostle wrote vigorous
letter to the Christians OF Colossae and
sent It by two trusty messengers, In
this letter while incidentally denouncing
errors OF less moment, he vigorously de-
Tended the mediatorship OF Christ and
proves in the strongest and clearest terms
that not angels but Christ alone, the
Son of God, is our Mediator.
THE teaching OF Paul Is. and ever
has been. the teaching of the Catholic
church. Following Paul, she, too, de-
clares that it was Gods Will from all
eternity that His Son should be sole
mediator, She says with Paul, For in
Him Christ were all things created in
heaven and on EARTH visible and invisible.
And He is before all and by Him all
things consist. And He is the head OF
the body, the church, that in all things
He may hold the primary. Because in
Him II hath we'll pleased the Father that
all fullness shall dwell And through Him
to reconcile all things to Himself max
ing peace through the blood of His cross,
both as to the things that are in earth
and the things that are in heaven. Has
not the church ever proclaimed in every
age, at all times, that through the Son
alone was our redemption accomplished,
and the price of our ransom paid. To the
Son, to use again Paul's vigorous words.
was nailed the handwriting of the de-
cree that was contrary to us.
Yes, Christ redeemed us, atoned for
o{r al 10 Of car MOI
channels of grace, 10 be, through Him,
efficacious. He left to His priests's power
to forgive sins, but by His power and
through His merits. Does not every
prayer of the church express this? Do
we not end our prayers, Through Christ
our Lord. Amen? DO you not
hear on Sundays the priest end
the orations of holy mass, Per dominum
nostrum Jesum Christum Tiluum tuum,
etc.-Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy
Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee.
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world
without end Z? II there is one thing more
cleap. more plain than another in our
Catholic faith and in Catholic devotions.
II is this, that we assert against all com
ers, the divinity of Christ, and proclaim
that there is no other name under heaven.
given to men, whereby they may be
saved.
But our mont Catholic friends will ask,
What about your saint worship? Your
virgin worship? You surely pray to them,
they assert, and praise them and invoke
them. How. then, do you say that the
church holds Christ the sole mediator?
All, this objection, as old as the icono-
elastic heresy, has been answered again
and again, but again and again 1t is
brought forward and cast in our faces.
Once again will l answer. Our reverence
for the saints and holy servants of God,
our worship and invocation OF Mary.
ever virgin, blessed among all women,
and full of Gods grace, differs from our
worship of God and Gods Son, as earth
differs from heaven. God and Gods Son
alone we adore. Mary and the saints we
reverence, respect, admire and initiate.
God and Gods Son alone, give US all
good gifts. Mary and the blessed serv-
ants of God in heaven make intercessions
In our behalf, add their prayers to ours
indorse our applications, press our cause.
and by their influence and assistance,
we win what unaided, perchance, we
would never gain The most ordinary
understanding can grasp the difference.
Why, when our position Is explained, is
not our statement accepted? Why are we
accused of idolatry. when we honor those
whom God himself did honor, His mother.
and his faithful servants and loyal
friends?
us not this honor of saints reasonable?