Is It Honest? [pp. 239-255]

Is it Hoitest?
only God is an adequate offering
to God, and that the sacrifice of
the Mass is never offered to the
saints or to any but God alone.
There is a marked difference between our cultus sanctorurem and that
with which men like Mr. Bacon, of
Brooklyn, seek to identify it. The
heathen offered sacrifices, the highest form of worship they had, to their
idols, their demigods and heroes;
we offer the highest worship which
we hlave-and we have it only through
God's goodness-to the one, living,
true God only. This proves that the
accusation against Catholics of puttingthe Blessed Virgin and the saints,
as objects of worship, in the place of
God, is a false accusation, so well
known or so easily known to be
false, that no one of ordinary intelligence can honestly make it.
But the preacher supposes that
Catholics, in other respects, put them
in the place of God. This is impossible. Catholics hold that the saints,
with the Blessed Virgin at their head,
are men and womnen-creatures whom
God has made, has redeemed with
his own blood, and has elevated,
sanctified, and glorified by his grace,
and therefore they cannot identify
them with him or substitute them
for him. WNe hold that Mary is the
Mother of Christ, and that he is her
Lord as well as ours, and that it is
through his merits alone, applied
beforehand, that she was conceived
without original stain; and can anybody, so believing, mistake her for
her Son, in any respect put her in
his place, or assign to her his mediatorial work? The very fears expressed by our Protestant friends that we
do or are liable to do so, prove that
even they are able to discriminate
between her and her Son; why not
then we?
The reverend gentleman continues:
"We are invited to several inquiries.
First: Is it true that the prayers that are
offered by Roman Catholics to departed
saints, and especially to that holy woman
whom we with them in all generations unite
to call the blessed, are only of such a nature as we might offer to a fellow-Christian
here upon the earth in soliciting his prayers
in our behalf? Secondly: Are these supplications only for favor and influence, or are
they for the direct gift of blessing and salvation? Do they put Mary into the place of
Christ, the one Mediator between God and
manr; making of the All-Merciful Saviour
who inviteth all to come unto him, an inaccessible object of dread and terror, whom
we dare not approach except through the
mediation of Mary? Do they ascribe to her
the glory due to Christ, the only name given
under heaven among men whereby we may
be saved? Do they profess faith in her
alone for salvation? Do they put the saints
in the place of the Holy Ghost, by supplicating from them directly the divine gift of
holiness and the renewal of the sinful
heart?"
We have answered these questions
by anticipation. It is probable that
Catholics believe somewhat more distinctly and more firmly in "the one
mediator of God and men, the man
Christ Jesus," than do the sects, and
are less likely to forget it, seeing
that all their practical devotions, public and private, the great honors
given to Mary and the saints are
founded on it and tend directly to
keep us from forgetting it. Catholics do not pray to Mary because
they regard the All-merciful Saviour
as inaccessible, or as an object of
dread and terror; nor because she
comes in between them and him, represents him, or enables them to approach him through her, as is evident from the fact that we not unfrequently directly beseech him to grant
that she and other saints may pray
for us. We honor her as the mother
of God in his human nature. We
pray to her to pray to him for us, not
only because she is our mother as
well as his, but because she is dear
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