Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow

them."

With respect to Fathers, some of them had the notion that believers would pass through fire. But many of them, spoke thus of the fire which at the last day was to destroy the world, which is not the Roman purgatory; and they made the Apostles, Martyrs, &c. pass through it, which the Romanists deny. It must also be observed, that prayers for the dead do not necessarily imply purgatory. For prayers are offered up for what we know will come to pass: as, for instance, we say in the Lord's prayer, "thy kingdom come;" and thus prayers might be offered up for those who were believed to be saved. And prayers might be offered up for a better resurrection; or they might be erroneously offered for those who were lost. There is every reason to believe that the Apostles and saints were first mentioned in the liturgies and at the Lord's Supper eucharistically; and that God was praised for having saved and glorified them. Purgatory could not have been an article of faith in the fourth century; for if it had been, Augustine must have known it; but he speaks very doubtfully about it, and says that it is not incredible, and that we may inquire whether it is true, that certain of the faithful, passing through a certain purgatorial fire, are sooner or later saved, in proportion as they have more or less loved perishing things.

Sacros. et œcum. Concilii Tridentini, Paulo III. Julio III. et Pio IV. pontificibus maximis celebrati, canones et decreta. (a Paris. 1823.)

Sessio xxv.

Decretum de Purgatorio.

Cum Catholica ecclesia, Spiritu sancto edocta, ex sacris litteris, et antiquâ patrum traditione, in sacris conciliis et novissimè in hac sancto synodo docuerit Purgatorium esse, animasque ibi detentas, fidelium suffragiis, potissimùm verò acceptabili altaris sacrificio, juvari; præcipit sancta synodus, &c.

Catechism of the Council of Trent.

On the Vth Article of the Creed," He descended into hell." Prætereà est purgatorius ignis, quo piorum animæ ad definitum tempus cruciate expiantur, ut eis in æternam patriam

ingressus patere possit, in quam nihil coinquinatum ingreditur.-(Cat. ex decreto Concilii Tridentini ad Parochos, Piis V. Pont. Max. jussu editus. Venetiis, 1582.)

Bellarminus de Purgatorio.

Cap. xiv. De gravitate Pœnarum.

De quarto poenas purgatorii esse atrocissimas et cum illis nullas pœnas hujus vitæ comparandas docent constanter patres. Augus. in Ps. xxxvii. "Quamvis inquit, salvi per ignem, gravior tamen erit ille ignis, quam quicquid potest homo pati in hac vitâ." Gregorius in Ps. iii. pœnitentialem : "Illum, inquit, transitorium ignem omni tribulatione præsenti existimo intolerabiliorem." Beda in eundem Psalmum dicit, nulla esse supplicia martyrum, vel latronum cum illis purgatoriis pœnis conferenda. Idem habet beatus Anselmus in 1 Cor. iii. et B. Bernardus, sermo. de obitu Humberti.

Ibidem.

Cap. vi. De loco Purgatorio.

Deinde quòd purgatorium sit etiam sub terrâ et inferno damnatorum vicinum, probatur primò ex illis verbis Actorum 2. "Solutis doloribus inferni," &c.

[ocr errors]

Denique theologi ferè omnes docent eodem in loco esse, et eodem igne torqueri damnatos et animas purgatorii.

Cap. xi. Ignem purgatorii esse corporeum.

Quantum ad primum, communis sententia theologorum est, verum et proprium esse ignem, et ejusdem speciei cum nostro elemento. Quae sententia non est quidem de fide, quia nusquam ab ecclesiâ definita est, &c.*

Tamen est sententia probabilissima. Primò, propter consensum scholasticorum, quod non potest nisi temerè contemni.

Bellarmine has given seven arguments to prove the probability of the above opinion. The seventh is rather entertaining: "Septimo, id confirmatur ex eruptionibus ignis in Monte Ethna, aliisque locis, de quibus diximus," cap. vi.

It is strange that the Romish pastors should be instructed by the Trentine Catechism to teach their parishioners that there is purgatorial fire, if the existence of this fire is not de fide.

Cap. ix. De tempore quo durat purgatorium. Repugnat* etiam ecclesiæ consuetudo, quæ anniversaria sacra celebrat pro defunctis, etiamsi constet eos ante centum vel ducentos annos esse mortuos, quod certè non fieret, si ecclesia crederet, non puniri animas ultra decem annos. Res igitur est incertissima, et non nisi temerè definiri potest.

Several of the Fathers held that even the Apostles and Prophets would pass through a purgatorial fire.

Bell. lib. ii. de personis quibus purgatorium convenit. (Ingolstadii, 1590.)

Multi autem extiterunt de ejusmodi errores. Primus fuit, purgari debere post hunc vitam tam bonos quam malos, uno Christo excepto. Hæc sententia Sed. tribuit Alcuino, sed videtur non ejus esse solùm, sed multorum Patrum.

Bell. de Purgatorio. Lib. i. c. iv. p. 1804. The various interpretations of the Fathers of the passage, (Matth. v. et Luc. xii.), "Esto consentiens adversario tuo citò, dum es cum eo in viâ, ne fortè tradat te adversarius judici, et judex tortori, et mittaris in carcerem. Amen dico tibi, non exies inde, donec reddas novissimum quadrantem. Exponendum est quid sit via, quid adversarius, quid judex, quid tortor, quid carcer, quid quadrans."

De primo Chrysostomus in c. v. Matt. docet hic viam accipi propriè pro verâ viâ quâ itur ad judicem in hoc mundo, &c.

De qua explicatione duo dico. Primò eam simpliciter non esse probabilem, tum quòd repugnent omnes alii expositores, Origenes, Cyprianus, Hilarius, Ambrosius, Hieronymus, Augustinus, Beda, &c. qui omnes docent hic viam significare vitam præsentem, &c.

De secundo, &c. Quidam per adversarium intelligunt diabolum, ut Origenes hom. xxxv. in Lucam; Ambrosius, Euthymius, et Theophylactus in c. xii. Lucæ; et Hieronymus in epist. viii. ad Demetriadem, &c.

Hæc opinio non est multum probabilis, et ab Augustino refellitur lib. i. de sermone in monte, c. xxii.

Alii intelligunt per adversarium alterum hominem qui To the opinion that it will last only ten years.

nimirùm nos læsit, aut nos illum. Ita Hilarius, Anselmus, et Hieronymus in caput Matt. v.

Es tergo verissima expositio, adversarium esse Dei legem, sive Deum ipsum, quatenus præcipit contraria carni, sive conscientiam, quæ Dei legem semper objicit peccanti. Ita exponunt Ambrosius, Beda et Bonaventura in c. xii. Lucæ. Item Anselmus et Augustinus hom. i. de verbis Domini. Hom. v. in lib. 50. homiliarum et in libro de decem chordis c. iii. Gregorius hom. xxxix. et Bernardus sermo lxxxv. in Cant.

De quarto Ambrosius in c. xii. Lucæ et Augustinus lib. i. de sermone in monte c. xxi. intelligunt per ministros angelos bonos. Gregorius et Theophylactus in xii. Lucæ intelligunt dæmones, utrumque est probabile.

The Romanists sometimes refer to the following passage, but the patristic differences forbid their interpreting it, and it has nothing to say to purgatory.

Bellarminus de Purgatorio, lib. i. c. iv. p. 1800, tom. i. (Ingolstadii, 1590.)

1 Cor. xv.-" Quid facient qui baptizantur pro mortuis si mortui non resurgunt? Ut quid baptizantur pro illis ? Hic locus apertè convincit quod volumus, si bene intelligatur, ideò breviter eum expendamus. Sex invenio hujus loci expositiones.

Prima est, quòd apostolus probet futuram resurrectionem ex errore quorundam, qui baptismum suscipiebant nomine alicujus defuncti sine baptismo; existimabant enim, quod sicut orationes et jejunia vivorum prosunt defunctis, ita et baptismus prodesset. Ita exponunt Tertullianus, lib. v. in Marcionem, et libro de resurrectione, Ambrosius, Anselmus, et Haymo, &c. tamen non puto veram hanc expositionem. Altera expositio est, quod Apostolus nomine mortuorum intelligat peccata, &c. Quid facient, qui baptizantur pro mortuis, id est, pro peccatis diluendis ? Ita Sedulius et B. Thomas in hunc locum Apostoli.

At contra, &c.

Tertia expositio est, baptizari pro mortuis esse, baptizari simpliciter baptismo Christi, sed ideò dicuntur baptizari pro mortuis, qui baptismum suscipiunt, quia antequam baptizentur recitant symbolum, in quo est unus articulus "Carnis resurrectionem, ita illud "pro mortuis" significat pro spe resurrectionis, vel pro corporibus mortuis," &c.

Ita Chrysostomus, Ecumenius, et Theophylactus; sed certè dura et violenta expositio est.

Quarta expositio est, baptizari pro mortuis esse baptizari baptismo Christi: ita exponunt Theodoretus et Cajetanus. At contra, &c.

Quinta expositio est Epiphanii, heresi 28, quam adfert Petrus Martyr, quod Paulus loquatur de baptismo eorum, qui baptizabantur in lecto cùm essent in extremis, &c.

Hæc expositio refellitur, &c.

Est igitur sexta expositio vera et germana, quod apostolus loquatur de baptismo lacrymarum et pænitentiæ, &c. Quid facient, qui orant, jejunant, gemunt, affligunt se pro mortuis, si mortui non resurgunt ? Ita exponunt Ephrem in suo testamento, Petrus Cluniacensis in lib. contra Petrobasianos, Dionysius, Hugo, Gagneius et alii in hunc locum.

Here we may observe, first, that the Fathers have given five different interpretations of this passage.

Secondly, that Bellarmine, supported by one Father, Ephrem, does not hesitate to reject the interpretations of Epiphanius, Theodoret, Chrysostom, Theophilact, Tertullian, and Ambrose.

Thirdly, that we have the Romish Churchmen, and doctors Petrus Cluniacensis, Dionysius, Hugo, Gagneius, and others, differing from B. Thomas, Anselm, Sedulius, and Cajetan.

Fourthly, that the B. Thomas proves his respect for the Fathers, by differing from all of them.

Fifthly, that from the above passage, and its various interpretations, nothing can be gathered in favour of purgatory.

INDULGENCES

GRANTED BY THE POPES FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

Horæ beatissimæ Virginis ad legitimum Sarisburiensis ecclesiæ ritum cum quindecim orationibus beatæ Brigittæ, ac multis aliis orationibus pulcherrimis et indulgentiis. (Parisiis, 1533.)

Ave, sanctissima Maria, mater Dei, regina cœli, porta paradisi, domina mundi, &c.

[ocr errors]

Fol. 51. Our holy Father, Sixtus the IVth, Pope, hath granted to all them that say this prayer before the image of our Lady, the sum of eleven thousand years of pardon."

« PredošláPokračovať »