the presence of angels at the mass. in the very hour of immolation or sacrifice, the heavens do open at the priest's voice, and that the choirs of angels be present there in that mystery of Jesus Christ?' And St. Chrysostom, handling the same, saith: At that time (the time of consecration in the mass) the angels stand by the priest, and the universal orders of the celestial powers do cry out, and the place nigh to the altar is full of choirs of angels, in the honour of him who is there sacrificed.' Two bisions of And, immediately after, he telleth two visions of holy men, whose eyes were by the power of God (as he saith) opened, and they in those visions saw the angels present at that time of consecration. And, in another place, he yet more at large explicateth the same, saying:+At that time, dear brother (at the time of consecration and elevation), not only men do give out that dreadful cry, saying, "We adore thee, O Lord," &c., but also the angels do bow their knees to our Lord, and the archangels do beseech him; for they account that fit time, having that sacred oblation in their favour. And therefore, as men are wont to move princes the more if they bear olive boughs in their hands (because by bearing that kind of wood they bring into the princes' mind mercy and gentleness); so the angels, at that time, holding out in their hands the very selfsame body of our Lord, they do entreat for all mankind, as though they said, 'We do enThat platner treat thee, O Lord, for the men of the world, whom thou hast so loved, that for their salvation thou wast content to die, and on the cross to breathe out thine own soul; for these men we make supplication, for the which thou hast given thine own blood; for these men we pray, for the which thou hast sacrificed this body of thine." " A fit similitude of St. Chrysostom. testimony can there be than this? 4. Thus there. And now let the reader consider the diversity of shifts and falsehoods used here by Mr. Sutcliffe to make his objection seem somewhat against Father Persons. For, first, he perverteth his words, making him to say that angels are present at the elevation of the sacrament of the Lord's body, as though he confessed that it were only the sacrament of Christ's body, and not his † Chrysost. Hom. 3, contra Anom.] * Chrysost. 1. de Sacerdotio. Variety of shifts in far. Sutcliffe. real body, and as though he spake of the sacrament, and not of the sacrifice, and as though he affirmed the angels to be present at the elevation and not consecration, which is the word thrice used by him, though once also he adjoin to consecration the word elevation, in respect of the common use thereof; but it is plain that Mr. Sutcliffe doth of fraud omit wholly the other word of consecration (which is the substantial, whereby Christ is made present), and useth the word elevation, as though, if there were no elevation, the angels, in Father Persons's opinion, would not be there; whereas the said father placeth the force out of the fathers' authority alleged, in the word consecration, or immolation, as St. Gregory speaketh. And if those words of St. Chrysostom, here cited, be true, that the angels at that time, holding out in their hands the very selfsame body of our Lord, do entreat for all mankind, their holding out Christ's body in their hands must needs be also a kind of elevation in their behalf, besides the priest. 5. And as for the last refuge of Mr. Sutcliffe, that no one father affirmeth this of the substantial presence of angels, I know not what distinction he will make here, of substantial and accidental presence. Sure it is, that the alleged fathers do speak plainly enough of this real and true presence, and that I take to be substantial in this matter. So as by all these shifts a man may see that Mr. Sutcliffe is sore pressed to find out a lie on Father Persons's behalf. And his demand for one holy father, where himself must needs see that his adversary had alleged two (and that in different places of their works so largely set down, as before you have heard), doth shew a strange resolution of boldness to say any thing. Second charge, about extreme unction. 6. There followeth the second charge of these last eight in these words: Persons saith that St. James speaketh of extreme unction, which is extreme impudency to affirm, unless he can prove it.*_A short, but sharp onset, as you see. But let us hear Father Persons's own words in the place cited, for they are very few. The grace (saith he) of extreme unction is so great, that, as St. James saith, besides the healing many * Sutcliffe, p. 104. times of the body, it also remitteth the sick man's sins. What impudency is there here? St. James's words are these: Infirmatur quis in vobis, &c.—“ Is there any man sick among you? let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of our Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick; and our Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins they shall be remitted unto him."* Which is so much as Father Persons avouched; † and so this objected impudency, in my opinion, either remaineth or returneth to Mr. Sutcliffe himself. Third charge. 7. Next after this, he objecteth in this manner: Persons affirmeth, that we have no reason to allege against Papists, but only temporal commodity, as if all that have died for the truth have respected temporal commodity, or as if we did not urge them with the truth of apostolical doctrine and the ancient Christian faith. In which words, truly, according to my judgment, I find plain calumniation to be used; for that Father Persons, treating of the state of things as they be now in England between Protestants and those of his religion, seemeth first to hold that none can be thought to be drawn to his said religion in these our days by any allurement of temporal commodities. Forsomuch as all such commodities are now of the Protestants' side; and, secondly, that if matters and men be well considered, very few that have once been well instructed in Catholic religion are drawn to be Protestants, but for respect of some temporal commodities, or carnal, which are often more strong than other temporal. 8. And, in this point, I have heard some of that religion to make sundry observations of such as have fallen from them, which they term apostates, who fell, as they say, from them principally upon these motives of good fellowship, good cheer, loose life, and women; and they give for examples, Messrs. Bell, Shaw, Tyrrell, Tydder, Mayre, Sacheverell, Bayly, Ithell, Skidmore, Rouse, and such like, who yet (say they) notwithstanding never lightly changed their judgments in religion, but only their affections for enjoying their appetites for some time; but yet afterward, + Reasons of Refusal, p. 47. * James v. * that being satisfied, they had many motions to return, if they might do it with their safety, as they say hath been made manifest by such as have indeed returned; as, namely, Shaw and Tyrrell, who, after many years living with wives, left them and went over the sea to do penance, which they performed with great austerity against themselves for their former looseness; the one dying in Naples, the other in Flanders, and confessing publicly, that whilst they preached most earnestly in defence of Protestant religion, they never believed it to be true, but only desired thereby to enjoy their sensualities. And the like they protested to know of sundry of their fellows before mentioned, though they have not yet received (say they) so great grace as the other did, to break from all at once and put their better desires in execution. And thus much have I received by information of such as pretend to know it very precisely. This then being the effect, as it seemeth, of Father Persons's meaning, it is but vainly objected by Mr. Sutcliffe, that such as died for Protestant religion in Queen Mary's days, respected not temporal commodities, for then the case was otherwise, the said temporal commodities not standing on the Protestant party, as now they do, the state and commonwealth favouring them, of which present state it appeareth evidently that Father Persons's words and meaning were. Fourth charge, tory. 9. Immediately again after this, he maketh a new charge upon Father Persons of four lies about purgatogether. In his preface (saith he) of his Directory, he saith that St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, and St. Bernard persuade men by their examples to be afraid of purgatory. A fourfold lie, for neither did St. Ambrose nor any of the rest speak of a purgatory wherein Christians did satisfy for the temporal punishment of sins committed in earth, nor did they believe any such purgatory. This he saith, but allegeth no one proof or authority for the same, which I would have been glad to have seen. Nay, I find marvellous slippery dealing in this * And now lately Mr. Rouse, who liveth, as I understand, in Flanders, where he persevereth in daily prayer and penance with no small comfort to his own soul, and to the great edification of others. Sutcliffe, p. 205. matter, for that in the preface of the "Directory," mentioned by Mr. Sutcliffe, Father Persons doth only rehearse what manner of striking out the names and authorities of ancient fathers Mr. Bunny did use in the former edition of the said book, when they made against him in the controversies of our times; and amongst others he, talking of purgatory, writeth thus of Mr. Bunny: He thrusteth out in like manner, p. 109, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, and St. Bernard altogether, for that they persuaded men by their examples to be afraid of purgatory. 10. But I marvel why Mr. Sutcliffe, after he had passed the preface, and waded far into the "Directory" itself in the beginning of these objections, as you may see by the 353rd page, before cited by him in the seventh objection, would steal back again into the beginning, as it were, of the same preface, to fetch thence this objection, which he passed over before, and would not rather mention the place itself of the "Directory," + where these four fathers' authorities and words are set down at large. 11. And certes there could be no other reasons, in my comprehension, but only that he was afraid to have his reader see and read the words of the said fathers, which are most evident against him and his assertion. For St. Ambrose, in the said "Directory," is cited in two several places, shewing his great fear of the pains of purgatory. O Lord (saith he), if thou reserve any thing in me to be revenged in the next life, yet humbly I beseech thee give me not up to the power of wicked spirits, whilst thou wipest away my sins by the pains of purgatory. St. Augustine also is alleged in two or three large discourses, wherein the grievousness of the purging fire is set forth by him to the terror of the reader. "Though men shall be saved (saith he) § † Pages 369, 370, 371. * Preface, fol. 13. Ambros. Precat. Præparat. 2 ad Missam;-Dùm scelus meum Purgatoria pœna detergis. [The prayer, though undoubtedly ancient, is not the composition of St. Ambrose.] Ambros. Sermo 20 in Psalm cxviii. [ii. 671, ed. Ven. Persons has given the passage in English. The words of the original are as follows: St. Ambrose says, in reference to Ecclus. ii. 5 (“in fornace"), and to Ps. lxxvi. 10 (igne nos examinasti):-sed ille examinabitur ut argentum, ego examinabor ut plumbum; donec plumbum tabescat ardebo. Si nihil argenti in me inventum fuerit, heu me ! in ultima inferni detrudar, aut ut stipula totus exurar.] § August. in Psal. xxxvii, et Hom. 16, ex 50. |