The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-11-19

iish Jesuit I will present what he says
 verbatim:
 This we know is considered to be a singularly conclusive condemnation of
 prayer 10 the saints For when we ask saint to be our intercessor, do we not make him into mediator between God and ourselves?
 "Unquestionably we do in some sense
 But in what sense2 There is famous phrase of Lord Bacon's, that words are the fools coins and the wise man, s counters" He means to say, that foolish people are led by words just as they stand, whereas wise people always ask carefully what precise meaning is attach cd to words by the particular speaker who uses them at the time. Thus we are told that there is but One Lord, one faith one baptism, one God and Father of us all: (Eph. iy:5) and Matt xxfii:s,9 we have even command forbidding us to be called rabbi d. e. masteD, flor one is your master, even Christ: and (to) call no man your father upon the earth for one is your father. which is in heaven. Such is the solemn injunction of our Lord Himself, and yet we do-that Is, all sensi- ble people do-apply these names Of
 Lord Master Father to others beside God; for we understand well that the pro- hibition is directed not against the bare words, but against a certain meaning of them. None can be 10 Us Lord, Master or Father in the full sense in which God is our Ford, our Master, and our Father. And so in like manner no one can be our mediator in the full sense in which our Lord is such, and yet others may be our medators in lesser sense, as indeed Moses is so called In Holy Scripture itself Gal ii:le). Our Lord is our Mediator, inasmuch as He redeemed us by His pre- ciors blood as St. Paul says in the very place quoted against ns, Who gave Him. self to be a ransom for all. Except in virtue of this ransom we could have no hope of reconciliation with God And now that our risen Lord stands before His Fathers throne, ever living to make interoession for us, the nature of His in-I teroession corresponds with the nature of His redemption He does not plead in our behalf the merits of another; He claims as of Hi sown right, in virtue of His own merits, that God should hear Him on our behalf The saints, on the other hand though they add their prayers to ours, and though their prayers are specially acceptable to God in view of their holf- ness, plead for us ever through the mer- its of Jesus Christ. Our doctrine, there fore, in no sense conflicts with the sole mediatorship of our Lord
 But if that point be waived, the objeo- tion will still be, What authority nave you
 
 Let us see. The same author quoted above says:
 Holy Scripture tells Us plainly that we ought to pray for our neighbors as well as for ourselves, and asures us that the earnest prayer of good man, when of- fered up for some necessity of his fellow men, has great weight with God tSt. James v:1e-lS). The Bible also gives us striking Illustrations of the value and eff faCf n fntarraaaorV The T1ild rem of Israel Exodus xxvii:D during their wanderings, whilst Moses was with God on the Mount relapsed into grevious ldolatry and incurred the divine wrath. God was then kept from destroying them, according to His own word, by the pray ers of Moses. And He said He would destroy them, had not Moses, His elect. stood before Him In the breach, in order that he might avert His anger lest 1t should destroy them Psalm xv:2S). This one instance, to which others could easily be added is enough to prove that at least whilst on earth we ought to pray for each other. and sould attach special value to the prayer of those whose lives are marked by evident sanctity. Indeed this Is so clear that no one would contest it If we are members one of another, ana as members should abound In charity to- ward our fellow members, manifestly our charity should include microscopy prayer among it's primary works.
 Now, if on earth microscopy prayer is so natural an outcome of Christian charity, and is, therefore, so acceptable to God, are we to think that it perishes in the tomb? Surely not The soul itself of the saint survives the tomb and passes to the throne of God We cannot imagine that with it's mortal coil it casts off all interest in those whom it has known and loved on earth. We cannot suppose that if it retains its interest 1t will fail to assert that interest in prayers, just as it was wont to do on earth. Rather we can not bu think that with the deeper reali- zation of what 1t is to save the soul and of Gods readiness to hear prayer, the interest in those still fighting for their crown will grow in the heart of the Elori- fled saint, and along with 1t the earnest ness of his prayers. If says St. Jerome in the fourth century, apostles and mar tyrs, whilst still in the flesh and stii! needing to care for themselves can pray for others, how much more (will they pray for others) after they have won their crowns, their victories, their triumpsl Moses, a single man, obtains Gods par don for 600000 armed men, and Stephen prays for his prosecutors. When they are with Christ will they be less powerful Paul says that PFC souls were granted to his prayers when they were in the ship with him, and when Il eis dead shall be close his lips and not mutter a syllable for those who throughout the world have believed in his gospel?'
 There is not much, If anything, in Holy Scripture which amounts to direct authorization, although we have seen that Holy Scripture lays down the principles from which it is legitimately inferred If the Protestant doctrine of the all-suffi- eiency of Scripture were true, the ab- nf r-trataf frol f,aft rttA ts> invoke the saints would tell against us. But the all sufficiency of scripture is. ac- cording to Catholics. the very thing that cording to Catholics, the very thing that the twenty-second of the Thirty-nine Anglican articles calls jaint invocation, a fond thing vainly invented and ground ed upon no warranty of scripture, but rather repugnant to the plain word of God
 '~rhe authority of the Catholic church. ever studious of God s honor and of sound doctrine, is ample warrant for a Catholic devotion and this voice of the church re- veals itself alike in her solemn defini- tions, in the practice of hen saints. and in the testimony of her fathers. It would be Impossible in short letter to give many passages in support of this state ment. It must suffice to cite one or two. Thus, St. Chrysostom has a sermon on SIS. Bernice and Prosdoce, two martyrs. in which he says: Not only on this their festival, but also at other times, let us approach them, pray to them, invite them to be our patrons. They appeal to God with great confidence, not only whilst alive, but even after death, nay. much more after death. For now they bear the marks (stigmata) of Christ. and whilst they display these marks there is nothing they cannot persuade our (heavenly King
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