God, to be eternal; so, in regard to those sinners, who have not denied their faith, and whose works will be proved and purged by fire, we conclude, that the sentence of the judge will be tempered by mercy."* Not to be tedious, I will quote only one Father more, the great St Augustine:-" The prayers of the Church," he writes, "or of good persons, are heard in favour of those Christians, who departed this life, not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness. So also, at the resurrection of the dead, there will some be found, to whom mercy will be imparted, having gone through those pains, to which the spirits of the dead are liable. Otherwise it would not have been said of some with truth, that their sin shall not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come, (Matt. xii. 32.) unless some sins were remitted in the next world."† St Augustine's reasoning is here precisely the same as I have used, and as every Catholic now uses. In another passage, he quotes the words of St Paul, as follows:- "If they had built gold and silver and precious stones, they would be secure from both fires; not only from that in which the wicked shall be punished for ever; but likewise from that fire which will purify those who shall be saved by fire. But because it is said, he shall be saved, that fire is thought lightly of; though the suffering will be more grievous than anything man can undergo in this life."

These passages contain precisely the same doctrine as the Catholic Church teaches; and had I introduced them into my discourse, without telling you from whom they are taken, no one would have supposed that I was swerving from the doctrine taught by our Church. It is impossible to imagine that the sentiments of these writers agreed, on this point, with that of any other religion.

I observed that there was one text which I had passed over, and on which I might be led to make a few remarks a little

*Comment. in c. lxv. Isai. T. ii. p. 492.

De Civit. Dei, Lib. xxi. c. xxiv. p. 642.

later; and I advert to it now, not so much for the purpose of discussing whether it applies to Purgatory, or not, as to show how misstatements may be made regarding the grounds of a doctrine. I alluded to the passage of St Paul, regarding building upon the true foundation, a superstructure of gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble; where he says, that the fire shall try every man's works, and that whatever is frail will be necessarily destroyed, while the foundation shall remain. Several Fathers, as you have heard, apply this text to the doctrine of Purgatory. Yet, very lately, a writer commenting upon the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, quotes this very text as an example of how the Church of Rome, as he calls us, perverts Scripture to prove her doctrine; for, he says, we have erected our doctrine of the fire of purgatory on this text, which has nothing to do with punishment hereafter, but only refers to the tribulations endured on earth.* This is manifestly an incorrect statement, and it places the author in this dilemma; either the Church of Rome was not the first to turn this text to prove the existence of Purgatory, and then his assertion is grossly inaccurate, or else those Fathers whom I have quoted, are to be included in the "Church of Rome,” and are to be considered as holding the Catholic doctrine. It is not essential to our belief, that this text should refer to the doctrine of Purgatory; it is a very important one, as showing St Paul's doctrine regarding God's conduct in punishing sin, and in distinguishing grievous transgressions and errors, from those of lesser moment; and even more directly proving, that there is a place of temporary probation, which has the power of cancelling imperfections not so completely in opposition to God's law.

In addition, I need hardly observe, that there is not a single liturgy existing, whether we consider the most ancient period of the Church, or the most distant part of the world, in which this doctrine is not laid down. In all the oriental liturgies, we find parts appointed, in which the Priest or Bishop is ordered

* Horne, vol. ii. p. 473, 7th ed.

to pray for the souls of the faithful departed; and tables were anciently kept in the churches, called the Dyptichs, on which the names of the deceased were enrolled, that they might be remembered in the sacrifice of the mass, and the prayers of the faithful.

inent.

The name of purgatory scarcely requires a passing com It has, indeed, been made a topic of abuse, on the ground that it is not to be found in Scripture. But where is the word Trinity to be met with? Where is the word Incarnation to be read in Scripture? Where are many other terms, held most sacred and important in the Christian religion? the doctrines are indeed found there; but these names were not given, until circumstances had rendered them necessary. We see that the Fathers of the Church have called it a purging fire-a place of expiation or purgation. The idea is precisely, the name almost, the same.

It has been said by divines of the English Church, that the two doctrines which I have joined together, of prayers for the dead and Purgatory, have no necessary connexion, and that, in fact, they were not united in the ancient Church. The answer to this assertion I leave to your memories, after the passages which I have read you from the Fathers. They surely speak of purgation by fire after death, whereby the imperfec. tions of this life are washed out, and satisfaction made to God for sins not sufficiently expiated; they speak, at the same time, of our prayers being beneficial to those who have departed this life in a state of sin; and these propositions contain our entire doctrine on purgatory. It has also been urged, that the established religion, or Protestantism, does not deny or discourage prayers for the dead, so long as they are independent of a belief in Purgatory: and, in this respect, it is stated to agree with the primitive Christian Church. But, my brethren, this dis tinction is exceedingly fallacious. Religion is a lively, prac tical profession; it is to be ascertained and judged by its sanctioned practices, and outward demonstration, rather than by the mere opinions of a few. I would at once fairly appeal to

the judgment of any Protestant here, whether he has been taught, and has understood, that such is the doctrine of his Church? If, from the services which he has attended, or the catechism which he has learnt, or the discourses which he has heard, he has been led to suppose that praying, in terms however general, for the souls departed, was noways a peculiarity of catholicism, but as much a permitted practice of protestantism? If among his many acquaintances who profess his creed, he has found men who perform such acts of devotion? And if not, nay, if on the contrary, he has always understood that this rite of praying for the dead is essentially a distinctive of the Catholic religion, what matters it that Bishop Bull, and one or two other divines, should have asserted it to be allowed in the English Church? Or how can conformity between the English and the primitive Church be proved from this tacit permission,-if such can be admitted on considering that prayers for the dead were allowed to remain in the first Anglican liturgy, and were formally withdrawn on revision, when the ancient Church not merely allowed, but enjoined the practice as a duty-you will remember Tertullian's words-not merely opposed not its private exercise, but made it a prominent part of its solemn liturgy?*

* Dr Pusey has lately written as follows:-" Since Rome has blended the cruel invention of Purgatory with the primitive custom of praying for the dead, it is not in communion with her, that any can seek comfort from this rite." An earnest remonstrance to the author of the Pope's Pastoral Letter. (1836, p. 25.) Dr Pusey's opinion is, 1st. that in the ancient Church, prayers were offered for all the departed, including apostles and martyrs, in the same manner; 2dly, that such prayers had reference, not to the alleviation of pain, but to the augmentation of happiness, or the hastening of perfect joy, not possessed by them till the end of time; 3dly, that the cruel invention of purgatory is modern; 4thly, that the English Church allows prayers for the dead, in that more comprehensive and general form. As to the first, there is no doubt, that in the ancient liturgies, the saints are mentioned in the same prayer as the other departed faithful; from the simple circumstance, that they were so united before the public suffrage of the Church proclaimed them to belong to a happier order. It is also true, that the Church then, as now, prayed for the consummation of their happiness after the resurrection. But it is no less true, that the ancients drew a line of distinction between the state of the two. and that the same as we.

As a practical doctrine in the Catholic Church, it has an influence highly consoling to humanity, and eminently worthy of a religion that came down from heaven to second all the purest feelings of the heart. Nature herself seems to revolt at the idea that the chain of attachment which binds us together in life, can be rudely snapped insunder by the hand of death, conquered and deprived of its sting since the victory of the cross. But it is not to the spoil of mortality, cold and

St Epiphanius, quoted in the text, makes the distinction, saying; "We mention both the just and sinners, that for the latter, we may obtain mercy." St Augustine also writes as follows: "When, therefore, the sacrifice of the altar, or alms, are offered for the dead; in regard to those whose lives were very good, such offices may be deemed acts of thanksgiving; for the imperfect, acts of propitiation; and though to the wicked they bring no aid, they may give some comfort to the living." (Enchirid. cap. cx.) Here the three classes of departed souls are mentioned, with the effects of the sacrifice of the mass on each. Dr Pusey, too, is doubt. less well acquainted with the saying of the same father, that "he does injury to a martyr who prays for a martyr." 'Injuriam facit martyri, qui

orat pro martyre."

66

With regard to the second and third points, I refer to the texts given in the body of this lecture; St Augustine uses the term purgatorial punishment (purgatorias pœnas) in the next world. (De Civit. Dei. lib. xxi. c. 16.) The passages which I have quoted are sufficient to prove a state of actual suffering in souls less perfect. There is another important reflection. The fathers speak of their prayers granting immediate relief to those for whom they offer them, and such relief as to take them from one state into another. St Ambrose expresses this effect of prayer, when he says of Theodosius; "I will not leave him, till by my prayers and lamentations he shall be admitted to God's holy mount.' This does not surely look to a distant effect, or to a mere perfection of happiness.

On the fourth, in addition to the remarks preceding this note in the text, I can only say, I wish it were better known that the Church of England considers prayers for the dead lawful and beneficial to them; for a judicial decision has lately annulled a bequest to Catholic chapels, because of there being annexed to it a condition of saying mass for the testatrix. Ap. 16, 1835. This was in the case of West and Shuttleworth, wherein the Master of the Rolls decided that, as the testatrix could not be benefited by such practices, they were to be held superstitious and not charitable; and declared the legacy null and void. Now, if his Honour had been aware, that the English Church admits prayers to be beneficial to the dead, and approves of them, and if he had judged, that our Eucharist (the oblation spoken of by the fathers) must be admitted by that Church to contain all that its own does at least, he surely would not have based a legal judgment, which, to say the least, savours much of old religious prejudices, upon so hollow a theological basis.Mylne and Keen. vol. ii. p. 697.