MARIOLATRY NOT CHRISTIANITY.
THE following is a peculiar reason for trusting the power of Mary. It is from a prayer to her:— "Nothing resists thy power, since thy Creator and ours, while he honors thee as his mother, considers thy glory as his own, and exulting in it, as a Son, grants thy petitions as if he were discharging an obligation."—Glories of Mary, page 32. The following is from what purports to be a revelation made by the Virgin herself to St. Bridget:— "No one, therefore, who is not entirely accursed, is so cast off by God that he may not return and enjoy his mercy if he invokes my aid. . . . Therefore he shall be miserable, and forever miserable in another life, who in this, being able, does not have recourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire to aid sinners." P. 34. This is but the reiteration of the statement before quoted, that mercy comes through Mary alone. As an "example" of her grace, Liguori relates an incident "in the life of St. Catherine, an Augustinian nun," who was accustomed to recommend to God the souls of those who died; but there was one woman who was so very wicked that "she was banished by her fellow-citizens, forced to live in a cave beyond the limits of the place, and died in a state of loathsome corruption, abandoned by all, and without the sacraments; and on this account was buried in a field, like a beast." No prayers or masses were offered for her soul. "Four years having past, a soul from purgatory one day appeared to her, and said, 'Sister Catherine, how unhappy is my fate! you commend to God the souls of all those who die, and for my soul alone you have had no pity!' 'And who are you?' said the servant of God.' 'I am,' she answered, 'that poor Mary who died in the cave.' 'How! are you saved?' exclaimed Sister Catherine. 'Yes, I am saved,' she said, 'by the mercy of the Virgin Mary.' 'And how?' 'When I saw death drawing near, finding myself laden with sins, and abandoned by all, I turned to the mother of God and said to her, Lady, thou art the refuge of the abandoned, behold me at this hour deserted by all; thou art my only hope, thou alone canst help me; have pity on me. The holy Virgin obtained for me the grace of making an act of contrition; I died and am saved. . . . A few masses only are needed to obtain my release from purgatory. I pray thee cause them to be offered for me, and I promise to pray God and Mary for thee.'" Pp. 36, 37. The masses were offered, and in a few days she saw that soul, "more brilliant than the sun," going to Paradise. Such, say they, is the power, the mercy, of Mary. And such, we add, is the profane trash which is palmed upon the Catholic laity as the way and means of salvation. Her love for God and humanity is thus described:— "She herself revealed to Sister Mary of the Crucifixion, that the fire of love with which she burned for God was so great, that it would in a moment inflame heaven and earth; and that, in comparison to it, all the flames of the burning love of the seraphim were as cool breezes. Therefore, as there is none among the blessed spirits who loves God more than Mary, so there is, and can be none, except God, who loves us more than this our most loving mother," etc. P. 53. And love for Mary is said to give an assurance which nothing else can. Of many declarations of this we quote the following:— "Ah, most sweet Mary, blessed is he who loves you! The venerable brother John Berchmans, of the Society of Jesus used to say: If I love Mary, I am sure of perseverance, and I shall obtain from God whatsoever I wish." P. 59. From the parable put forth by the wise woman of Tekoah to king David, 2 Sam. 14, he draws this lesson: "It appears that Mary offers the same petition when God is angry with a sinner, who has recourse to her: O my God, she says to him, I had two sons, Jesus and man; man has killed my Jesus on the cross; thy justice would now condemn man; my Lord, my Jesus is dead; have mercy upon me, and if I have lost one, do not condemn me to lose the other also. Ah, God assuredly does not condemn those sinners who have recourse to Mary, and for whom she prays; since God himself has given these sinners to Mary for her children. The devout Luspergius puts these words into the mouth of our Lord: I have commended sinners to Mary as her children." It is plainly seen from this that Mary, and not Jesus, is made the hope of the sinner. In view of this Liguori exclaims: "Though she should slay me, I will hope in her; and, confident in my trust, I would die near her image, and be saved." To her they apply the words of the Proverbs, and, indeed, in her is found all grace for all dispensations:— "He who finds me shall find life, and shall receive from God eternal salvation. Listen, as St. Bonaventure exclaims here upon these words; listen, all ye who desire the kingdom of God; honor the Virgin Mary, and ye shall have life and eternal salvation. St. Bernardine of Sienna says, that God did not destroy man after his fall, because of the peculiar love he bore his future child Mary. And the saint adds, that he doubts not all the mercy and pardon which sinners received under the Old Law, was granted solely for the sake of this blessed Virgin." P. 81. "Justly, then, does St. Lawrence Justinian call her the hope of evil-doers, since she alone can obtain their pardon from God. St. Bernard rightly names her the ladder of sinners, since she, this compassionate queen, offers her hand to poor fallen mortals, leads them from the precipice of sin, and helps them to ascend to God. St. Augustine rightly calls her the only hope of sinners, since by her means alone we hope for the remission of all our sins. And St. John Chrysostom repeats the same thing, namely, that sinners receive pardon only through the intercession of Mary." Pp. 83, 84. "It was revealed to St. Bridget by an angel, that the holy prophets were full of joy when they learned that God, by the humility and purity of Mary, would become reconciled to sinners, and receive into his favor those who had provoked his wrath." P. 86. "St. Francis Borgia, with reason, feared for the perseverance of those in whom he did not find a special devotion to the blessed Virgin. When once he asked some novices to what saint they had the most devotion, and found that some of them were not specially devoted to Mary, he warned the master to watch more carefully these unfortunate persons; and it happened that they all lost their vocation and quitted their religion. St. Germanus justly called the most holy Virgin the breath of Christians; because as the body cannot live without breathing, so the soul cannot live without having recourse and commending itself to Mary, through whose means the life of divine grace is obtained for us and preserved in us." P. 93. The following must be very satisfactory to the faithful:— "Father Bernardine de Bustis relates that a hawk darted upon a bird which had been taught to say, Ave Maria; the bird said Ave Maria, and the hawk fell dead." P. 96. "St. Bonaventure says that Mary sends the archangel Michael, with all the angels, to the defense of her dying servants, to protect them from the assaults of evil spirits, and to receive the souls of all those who have especially and constantly recommended themselves to her." P. 105. Chapter III treats of Mary specially as "our hope." It commences with a rebuke to heretics, thus:— "Modern heretics cannot endure that we should salute Mary in this manner by calling her our hope: Hail our hope. They say that God alone is our hope, and that he who places his hope in a creature is ac-cursed of God. Mary, they exclaim, is a creature, and, as a creature, how can she be our hope? Thus say the heretics, but notwithstanding this, the church requires all the clergy, and all religious daily to raise their voices, and in the name of all the faithful, invoke and call Mary by the sweet name of our hope, the hope of all: Hail, our hope." P. 115. He says this is not dishonoring God but pleasing to him, for:— "He has given us his own mother for our mother and advocate, and has given her all power to aid us; and hence he wishes us to place in her all our hopes of salvation, and of every blessing." P. 116. "God has ordained (as St. Bernard says, and we shall hereafter prove at length) that all those who are saved are saved by means of Mary. . . . St. Thomas of Villanova says the same thing, calling her our only refuge, help, and protection. . . . God ordered Mo-es to make a propitiatory of the purest gold, telling him that from it he would speak to him: 'Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold. Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee.' A certain author explains this propitiatory to be Mary, through whom the Lord speaks to men, and dispenses to them pardon, graces, and favors." Pp. 117, 118. "Also the Idiot remarks, that every blessing, every help, every grace that men have received or will receive from God, to the end of the world, has come to them, and will come to them, through the intercession and by means of Mary." P. 119. The following passages show how completely Mary is made the only advocate for sinners:— "Let us say with St. Thomas of Villanova: O Mary, we poor sinners know no refuge but thee. Thou art our only hope; to thee we intrust our salvation. Thou art the only advocate with Jesus Christ; to thee we all have recourse." P. 130. "St. Bonaventure remarks that Isaias, in his day, lamented, and said: 'Behold, thou art angry and we have sinned. . . . there is none that riseth up and taketh hold of thee;' because Mary was not yet born into the world. But now, if God is offended with any sinner, and Mary undertakes to protect him, she restrains the Son from punishing him, and saves him. Also, continues St. Bonaventure, no one can be found more fit than Mary to place her hand upon the sword of divine justice that it may not descend upon the head of the sinner. Richard of St. Laurence expresses the same thought, when he says: God lamented, before the birth of Mary, that there was no one to restrain him from punishing the sinner; but Mary being born, she appeased him." Pp. 134-5. "And to increase our confidence, St. Anselm adds, that when we have recourse to this divine mother, we may not only be sure of her protection, but that sometimes we shall be sooner heard and saved by invoking her holy name than that of Jesus our Saviour. And he gives this reason: Because it belongs to Christ, as our judge, to punish, but to Mary, as our advocate, to pity. By this he would give us to understand, that we sooner find salvation by recurring to the mother than the Son. . . . We may ask many things of God and do not obtain them; we ask them of Mary and obtain them." Pp. 149-50. St. Francis of Sales prayed thus: "O my queen, be my advocate with thy Son, whom I dare not approach." P. 153. Thus the office of advocate is taken altogether away from Jesus Christ and given to Mary, who is made advocate or mediator between Christ and the sinner. But this is not the gospel. It is not according to the Scriptures. It is the uniform teaching of the Catholic church. It is sustained by a host of saints and doctors; but it is contrary to the Bible. It is no wonder that the laity of that church are dissuaded from reading the Bible, for the worship and mediatorship of Mary are not allowed in the word of God. These are the inventions of men.