As for the Jewish worship of the golden calf in the wilderness, and afterwards of the calves of Jeroboam at Bethel and Dan, which some are willing to extenuate, as if they did not take these images to be gods, and thereby only meant to worship the God of Israel, the Scripture gives us a quite different account; witness these texts: Exod. XXXII. 8: "They have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;" ver. 31: "They have made them gods of gold." Psalm CVI, alias CV. 19, 20, 21: "They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image, they changed their glory (their God) into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass: they forgot God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt." Acts VII. 39, 40, 41: "To Whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust Him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, saying to Aaron, make us gods to go before us. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven." And of the calves of Jeroboam, 1 Kings XII. 28: "He made two calves of gold and said unto them: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;" and ver. 32: "He sacrificed to the calves that he had made." And I Kings XIV. 9: "he is accused by the prophet Abijah to have gone and made him other gods and molten images," and "to have cast the Lord behind his back." п Chron. XI. "He ordained him priest for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made." I Chron. XIII. 8. "There are with you golden calves which Jeroboam made unto you for gods;" ver. 9: "Have ye not cast out the priests, etc., and made you priests after the manner of the nations - of them that be no gods?" ver. 10: "But as for us, the Lord is our God."

15:

But if any one will be contentious and maintain that these idolatrous Israelites intended to worship in these calves, not the Egyptian Osiris, nor any other false divinity, but the God of Israel, because Aaron (who made the calf against His will by compulsion of the people) seems to give it the proper name of the God of Israel (Exod. xxxIII. 5): "To-morrow is a feast to the Lord"; supposing this to be true, their worship would still have been idolatrous, and these calves properly idols; because they believed (as is manifest from the text above quoted) these very calves to be gods; or, if you will have it so, to be the Lord of Israel, or, at least, that the divinity had upon their dedication insinuated itself into them; and accordingly they gave divine praises and offered sacrifice to them. Now, to believe any image to be God, or to imagine any divinity, power or virtue in it, for which it is to be worshipped, or to offer sacrifice to an image, is an idolatrous worship, and cannot be excused, however the image be pretended by its worshippers to represent the true God.

Is there not in one of the Church hymns, and in one of the anthems of the Roman Breviary, a prayer to the cross? How then do you maintain that the Catholic Church does not attribute any power to images, nor prays to them?

A. The prayer you speak of is not directed to the wood of the cross, but Christ crucified, by a figure of speech, as when St. Paul says (Gal. VL 14), "that he glories in the cross of Jesus Christ."

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Of Exorcisms and Benedictions or Blessings of Creatures in the Catholic Church, and the Use of Holy Water.

Q. What do you mean by Exorcism?

A. The rites and prayers instituted by the Church for casting out devils, or restraining them from hurting persons, disquieting places, or abusing any of God's creatures to our harm.

Q. Has Christ given His Church any such power over the devils?

A. Yes, He has; see St. Matt. x. 1; St. Mark III. 13; St. Luke IX. 1: "where this power was given to the Apostles;" "and to the seventy-two Disciples," St. Luke x. 19; "and to other believers," St. Mark xvI. 17. And that this power was not to die with the Apostles, nor to cease after the apostolic age, we learn from the perpetual practice of the Church and the experience of all ages.

Q. What is the meaning of blessing so many things in the Catholic Church? A. We bless churches and other places, set aside for divine service; altars, chalices, vestments, etc., by way of devoting them to holy uses; we bless our meats and other inanimate things which God has given us for our use, that we may use them in moderation, in a manner agreeable to God's institution; that they may be serviceable to us, and that the devil may have no power to abuse them to our prejudice: we bless candles, salt, water, etc., by way of begging of God that such as religiously use them may obtain His blessing, etc.

Q. But does it not savor of superstition to attribute any virtue to such inanimate things as blessed candles, holy water, Agnus Deis, etc.

A. It is no superstition to look for a good effect from the prayers of the Church of God; and it is in virtue of these prayers that we hope for benefit from these things, when used with faith, and daily experience shows that our hopes are not vain.

Q. What do you mean by Agnus Deis?

A. Wax, stamped with the image of the Lamb of God, blessed by the Pope with solemn prayers, and anointed with the holy chrism.

Q. What warrant have you in Scripture for blessing inanimate things?

A. I Tim. IV. 4, 5: "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer."

Q. Why does the Church make use of the Sign of the Cross in all her blessings and consecrations?

A. To signify that all our good must come through Christ crucified.

Q. What do you mean by Holy Water?

A. Water sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.

Q. What is the use of Holy Water?

Ă. It is used by the Church in solemn prayers, to beg God's protection and

blessing upon those that use it, and in particular that they may be defended from all the powers of darkness.

Q. Is the use of Holy Water very ancient in the Church of God?

A. It is very ancient, since it is mentioned in the Apostolical Constitutions (1. 8, c. 29). And as for the English nation in particular, it is visible from the epistles of St. Gregory the Great (I. 9, epist. 71), "that we received it together with our Christianity."

Q. Have the holy fathers and ancient Church writers left upon record any miracles done by Holy Water?

A. Yes, they have; more particularly upon those occasions when it has been used against magical enchantments and the powers of the devil. See instances in St. Epiphanius (Hær. 30), in St. Hierome, in the life of St. Hilarion, in Theodoret, (1. 5, Histor. Eccle. c. 21) in Palladius, Histor. Laus, c. 6, etc.

Q. What is the order and manner of blessing Holy Water?

A. First, the priest signs himself with the sign of the cross, saying, "Our help is in the name of the Lord." Ans. "Who made heaven and earth." Then he proceeds to the blessing of the salt which is to be mingled with the water, saying:

The Exorcism of the Salt.

I exorcise thee, O creature of salt! by the living God; by the true God, by the holy God; by that God, Who by the prophet Elisha commanded thee to be cast into the water to cure its barrenness, that thou mayest by this exorcism be made beneficial to the faithful, and become to all them that make use of thee healthful both to soul and body, and that in what place soever thou wilt be sprinkled, all illusions and wickedness and crafty wiles of Satan may be chased away and depart from that place; and every unclean spirit commanded in His name, who is to come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. Amen.

Let us pray.

O Almighty and everlasting God! we most humbly implore Thy infinite mercy that Thou wouldst vouchsafe by Thy piety to bless and to sanctify this Thy creature of salt, which Thou hast given for the use of mankind: that it may be to all that take it for the health of mind and body; and that whatever shall be touched or sprinkled with it may be free from all uncleanness, and from all assaults of wicked spirits, through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.

After this the Priest proceeds to the blessing of the water, as follows:

I exorcise thee, O creature of water! in the name of God the Father Almighty, and in the name of Christ His Son our Lord, and in the virtue of the Holy Ghost; that thou mayest by this exorcism have power to chase away all the power of the enemy; that thou mayest be enabled to cast him out, and put him to flight with all his apostate angels, by the virtue of the same Jesus Christ our Lord, Who is to come to judge the living, and the dead, and the world by fire. Amen.

Let us pray.

O God! who for the benefit of mankind hast made use of the element of water in the greatest sacraments, mercifully hear our prayers, and impart the virtue of Thy blessing to this element prepared by many kinds of purifications; that this

Thy creature, made use of in Thy mysteries, may receive the effect of Thy divine grace for the chasing away devils and curing diseases; and that whosoever shall be sprinkled with this water in the houses or the places of the faithful, may be free from all uncleanness, and delivered from evil: let no pestilential spirit reside there, no infectious air: let all the snares of the hidden enemy fly away; and may whatever envies the safety or repose of the inhabitants of that place be put to flight by the sprinkling of this water, that the welfare which we seek by the invocation of Thy holy name may be defended from all sorts of assaults. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.

Then the Priest mingles the salt with the water, saying:

May this salt and water be mixed together, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Amen.

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

Ghost.

Let us pray.

O God the author of invincible power, King of an empire that cannot be overcome, and forever magnificently triumphant; who restrainest the forces of the adversary, who defeatest the fury of the roaring enemy, who mightily conquerest his malicious wiles; we pray and beseech Thee, O Lord! with dread and humility, to regard with a favorable countenance this creature of salt and water, to enlighten it with Thy bounty, and to sanctify it with the dew of Thy fatherly goodness, that wheresoever it shall be sprinkled, all annoyance of the unclean spirit may be chased away, through the invocation of Thy holy name, that the presence of the Holy Ghost may be everywhere with us, who seek Thy mercy. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who with Thee and the same Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

The Blessing being ended, the Priest sprinkles himself and the people with the water, saying:

Anthem. Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord! with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.

Psalm. Have mercy on me, O God! according to Thy great mercy, etc.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

After which he repeats the Anthem: "Thou shalt sprinkle," etc. Then return

ing to the altar, he says:

V. O Lord! show us Thy mercy.

R. And give us Thy salvation.

V. O Lord! hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come to Thee.
V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with Thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Hear us, O Lord Holy, Almighty Father, everlasting God! and vouchsafe to send Thy holy angel from heaven to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all that dwell in His habitation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Memoriam.

Rev. James Major, S. J., who slept in the Lord at the Church of St. Joseph's, Providence, R. L., on January 1st, 1898.

Methought I saw the Holy Infant lying

In Mary's arms on Circumcision Day,
Close to the couch whereon this saint lay dying,
(Even as died the Old Year's shadow gray.)

Smiling, the Babe, in accents soft and gracious, Called to the suffering soul that strove in prayer; "O meek and humble son of Saint Ignatius!

Come to My Heart, and find thy refuge there!"

And, straightway on the Infant's snowy bosom,
A thorn-encircled Heart was bold revealed;

And in Its midst, a crown where blood-drops blossomed,
Red as a rose of a summer field.