a Protestant refused to believe her dogmas, he was subject to the death penalty. To make Rome’s teaching quite clear, we quote Cardinal Mundelein, who, when speaking at the Romanist Congress in Chicago, said: “We believe that behind that Taber nacle veil, under the species of bread, there is the flesh and blood, the soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. The same Christ that hung on the Cross and died for our salvation, the same Christ Who on the last day will sit in judgment on us; the same Christ Who will be the joy and glory of the saints in heaven for all eternity.” And because our forefathers would not believe this teaching, which the Anglican Church for centuries has desig nated a “ blasphemous fable,” they were burned at the stake. To make it still clearer: The Roman Church teaches that the consecrated wafer is the literal Christ; that a whole Christ is in every crumb; and that the supreme worship of Latria is to be paid this wafer god. Note this authoritative statement from the Catechism of the Council of Trent: “ The Sacrifice of the Mass is the same with that offered on the Cross . . . as the victim is one and the' same, namely, Christ our Lord.” We are Protestants because we pro test against this horrid blasphemy, which asserts that the Roman priests immolate afresh our blessed Lord on the thousand altars of their sacrilegious church. We are Protestants because we pro test against this horrid blasphemy, assurance our Lord gave to mankind when He cried from the Cross of Cal vary, “It is finished,” in that the Roman Church wickedly teaches that the Sacri fice of the Mass is a repetition of the sufferings and death of Christ, given in unmistakable terms by one of the Jesuit authorities, viz., Father Lanciscius: “Holy Mass is a repetition of the sufferings and death of Christ not only in words, as anything may be repro duced upon the stage, but in deed and reality; hence the Fathers of the Church call the Mass a repetition of Christ’s Passion, and allege that in it, after a mystical manner, He again suffers and is crucified.” (See Daily Mass, by Rev. J. McDonnell, S.J.) No wonder our Protestant forebears died at the stake rather than deny their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by ac knowledging the Roman Mass, which is a denial of the efficacy of Christ’s fin ished work of redemption. Witnesses for the Truth Further, we are Protestants, not only because we protest against error, but because we stand as witnesses for the truth. This twofold witness—against error and for the truth, is inherent in the name Protestant. As Protestants, we are witnesses to the veracity and finality of Holy Scrip ture, placing the emphasis, as our Lord did, on the sufficiency and completeness N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 2
of His atonement for sin: “ It is fin ished.” This all-important truth is given in the Epistle to the Hebrews, virtually the same in the Douay Version as in the Protestant Bible, where we read: “ In the which will we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ once. And every priest indeed standeth daily ministering, and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins . . . for by one oblation he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” (Douay: Hebrews 10:10, 11, 14; also 9:25-28.) Prom ise and Fulfillment Those who find heaven over there Are first partakers of it here; The heavenly pastures earthward grow; That future bliss is known below. And this is heaven’s high delight, To dwell with Christ who is the light: But Christ dwells in our hearts down here; Thus heaven’s glories now appear. God’s best is yet to be fulfilled, But what rich foretaste He has willed. Redemption's fullness we must wait— Still heaven is a present state. The faith which brings no present joy, The coming judgment will destroy.
Rome's Intrusion of the Virgin Mary While Protestants honor the Virgin Mary, they refuse to accord her the prerogatives which belong to Christ alone, rhe Roman Church teaches that Christ the Almighty is subject to Mary. This is taught in the book entitled A Crown for Our Queen, by Rev. Abram J. Ryan, where he says: “ St. Peter Damian writes that all power is given to Mary in Heaven and upon earth as even Christ the Almighty is subject to her, since she herself gave unto Him a power which He had not received from God the Father — the power to die and redeem sinners with His precious blood.” (Pp. 231, 232.) St. Alphonsus Liguori, Rome’s au dacious advocate of Mariolatry, teaches: “ Therefore St. Augustine says, ‘that Mary, having merited to give flesh to the Divine Word, and thus supply the price of our redemption, that we might be delivered from eternal death; there fore she is more powerful than all other to help us to gain eternal life.’ ” (The Glories of Mary; vol. 1, p. 186.) How can a truly Christian heart re main indifferent or silent while Rome promulgates her manifold assaults on the Person and dignities of Jesus Christ. Let this quotation, with all its blasphemous implications, speak to the utter condemnation of the Roman Church in her effort to place Mary on an equality with Jesus Christ in the work of redemption. “ Two souls were never more united than theirs on Calvary . . . that blood which was shed . . . the drops of His precious blood .. . . had their far-off sinless fount in the heart of Mary. They began to flow from her heart on the day of the Annunciation . . . and what she gave Him, He gave us for our redemption.” (A Crown for Our Queen, p. 173.) Why W e Are Protestants We are Protestants, not only because we witness against this fatal error, but because it robs Christ of the glory which is His alone. We are Protestants because we bear witness to the Truth—“ Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.” (Douay Version, Acts b:12.) We are Protestants in that we reject the teaching of the Church of Rome, as given by Arnold of Chartres and Al phonsus Liguori, that “ The wills of Christ and of Mary were then united, so that both offered the same holocaust; she thereby producing with Him the one effect, the salvation of the world . . . both offered one and the same sacrifice.” (The Glories of Mary; vol. 1, p. 409). We are Protestants because we bear witness to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who said: “ I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:16). We are Protestants because we stand with Mary in her confession, as she de- ( Continued on Page 28) Page Thirteen
A dead faith is a living lie — A living faith will never die.
God’s promise makes fulfillment sure; Fulfillment promises still more: Provision for each day we see, And also for eternity. —Blanton W. Jones.
Thus Holy Scripture sounds the death-knell to the Mass, and Rome’s thousands of sacrifices as repetitions of Christ’s Passion. Our forefathers held fast to the truth, even as they were held by the truth; and they died for the faith rather than compromise. To what extent are we Protestants? Would we be willing to be burned alive at the stake rather than deny our Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on Calvary? Are we Protestants? Romanists deny the efficacy of the Sacrifice of Calvary by the addition of their Masses; and many so-called Protestants deny the efficacy of the Sacrifice of Calvary by refusing to. live redeemed lives. The great need of the hour is to get back to the Christ of Calvary, and to go forward in a deeper devotion to our blessed Lord.
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