tiness. He denied that any adequate cause for the required concession existed. As for those who asked it, he would have them treated as disobedient sons of the church, and supporters of heresy, and would visit their obstinacy and pride with a direct refusal. Neither did he conceive that there was any ground for the alarms by which so many were afflicted. Let the fathers put their trust in the Son of God, in whose cause they were engaged: his church might be diminished in number, but it could not perish.* On the evening of the tenth day (Sept. 9), a division took place. It exhibited an extraordinary variety of opinion, proving that the fathers felt themselves placed in a very difficult situation. One hundred and sixty-six votes were thus divided: twenty-nine approved of the concession;-thirty-one were on the same side, but wished the execution of the proposed decree to be committed to the discretion and will of the Pope-thirtyeight opposed it altogether-twenty-four referred the whole matter absolutely to the Pope-nineteen inclined to the concession, as far as the Bohemians and Hungarians were concerned, but denied it to all others-fourteen desired the further postponement of the subject-and eleven were undecided or neutral. From this chaos of sentiments it was obviously impossible to frame a decree.t During the progress of these discussions, the French ambassadors renewed their endeavours for the postponement of the session. They had ascertained that the Cardinal of Lorraine and the prelates who were to accompany him could not arrive before the middle of October. But meanwhile, intelligence of the views and disposition of the French had reached Trent, and occasioned no inconsiderable alarm. It was strongly suspected that they would vigorously support the friends of reform, and resist the encroachments of papal power and authority; of the Cardinal of Lorraine it was said, that he not only intended to advocate the concession of the cup, but also the removal of the images from the churches. Instead, therefore, of yielding to the request of the ambassadors, the legates * Pallav. 1. xviii. c. 4. Sarpi, 1. vi. s. 53. The celebrated Andrew Dudith delivered a long and eloquent speech in favour of concession, which Le Plat has preserved, v. pp. 472-488. + Pallav. and Sarpi, ut sup. were stimulated by their fears to unusual activity, and hurried on the business of the council with a precipitancy that was sadly inconsistent with the dignity of the assembly, and totally destructive of calm and sober deliberation. Lanssac remon strated and threatened, but it was all in vain.* A reforming decree had been prepared under the superintendence of Simonetta, to whom that department was assigned. As might have been expected, it was extremely superficial, and fell far short of the wishes and demands of the friends of pure discipline. With the exception of the first chapter, which contained some enactments relative to the characters and lives of the clergy, (useful and salutary, if put in force,) it consisted only of articles of minor importance, and mostly destitute of general interest. The prelates received it with much discontent, and some of them uttered their complaints in free and bold language. A second decree, relative to certain abuses in the celebration of mass, passed almost sub silentio. The question of the cup was still undecided, as nothing certain could be gathered from the division on that subject. But by dint of artful management and active intrigue, the legates had persuaded a majority of the fathers to agree that it should be entirely referred to the Pope-a crafty expedient, adopted to neutralize the opposition of the reforming bishops, and procure a tacit acknowledgment of the inferiority of the council to the infallible head of the church. This was proposed by the Cardinal of Mantua at a congregation held on the morning of the day before the session. It was the easiest way to get rid of a troublesome difficulty: the fathers disregarded the censure they would deservedly incur for leaving unsettled one of the most important questions which they were convened to decide; and on a division, ninety-eight voted in the affirmative, and thirty-eight only in the negative.‡ * Pallav. I. xviii. c. 7. + Pallav. 1. xviii. c. 6, Pallav. ut sup. c. 8. 7. Sarpi, s. 51. Le Plat, v. pp. 470, 488. Drascovitch had previously proposed that in referring the question to the Pope the council should declare in favour of the concession, leaving the conditions to be fixed by his holiness: sixty-nine voted for this proposition, and seventy-nine against it. The imperial and French ambassadors remonstrated with the legates on the insignificance of the reform about to be enacted, and demanded that the next session should be wholly occupied with reformation. But the legates S 1 The twenty-second session was held Sept. 17, 1562, when the following decree was passed respecting the mass : "That the ancient, complete, and perfect faith and doctrine of the holy Catholic church respecting the great mystery of the eucharist may be retained and preserved in its purity, and all errors and heresies be banished away-the sacred, holy, œcumenical, and general Council of Trent, lawfully assembled, &c., instructed by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, teaches, declares, and hereby decrees to be announced to all Christian people, how far the same is to be regarded as a true and proper sacrifice. "CHAP. I. Of the institution of the most holy sacrifice of the mass. "Since there was no perfection under the first testament, as the Apostle Paul testifies, because of the weakness of the Levitical priesthood, it behoved God, the Father of mercies, to ordain that another priest should arise, after the order of Melchizedek, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who might complete and bring to perfection as many as should be sanctified. He therefore, our God and Lord, when about to offer himself once for all to God the Father by his death, on the altar of the cross, that there he might accomplish eternal redemption -knowing that his priesthood was not to be abolished by death-in the last supper, on the night in which he was betrayed, declared himself to be constituted a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek, offered his body and blood to God the Father under the species of bread and wine, and by, these symbols delivered the same to be received by his apostles, whom he then appointed priests of the new testament, and commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to offer the same, saying, Do this for a commemoration of me.' (Luke xxii. 19.) Thus hath the Catholic church always understood and taught this doctrine; and this the Saviour did, that he might leave to his beloved spouse, the church, a visible sacrifice, such as human nature required, by which the bloody were not to be turned from their purpose: doctrine and discipline, they said, must continue to be treated at the same time; but the ambassadors might be assured of their good intentions, and any suggestions they might be disposed to offer should be willingly heard and respectfully considered: so they were dismissed, with fair speeches, and promises light as air.-Le Plat, v. pp.505-508. sacrifice made on the cross might be represented, the memory thereof preserved to the end of the world, and its salutary virtue applied for the remission of those sins which are daily committed by us.* For as the Israelites of old sacrificed the passover in memory of their departure from Egypt, so the Redeemer instituted a new passover, wherein he is himself sacrificed by the church, through the priests, under visible signs, in memory of his passage from this world to the Father, after he had redeemed us by the shedding of his blood, delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into his kingdom. And truly, this is the clean oblation' which cannot be defiled by any unworthiness or sin of the offerer, respecting which the Lord foretold by Malachi, that it should be offered in every place to his name, which should be great among the Gentiles; as also the apostle did not obscurely intimate, when he said, in his epistle to the Corinthians, that those who were polluted by participation of the table of devils could not be partakers of the table of the Lord; understanding that the word 'table' was always used for altar.' Finally, this is the sacrifice which was figuratively represented by the various sacrifices offered in the times of nature and of the law; since it includes every good which was signified by them, and is the consummation and perfection of them all. "CHAP. II. That the sacrifice of the mass is propitiatory both for the living and the dead. "And since the same Christ who once offered himself by his blood on the altar of the cross is contained in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the mass, and offered without blood, the holy council teaches that this sacrifice is really propitiatory, and made by Christ himself; so that if we approach "The eucharist was instituted by our Lord for two great purposes, to be the celestial food of the soul, preserving and supporting spiritual life, and to give to the church a perpetual sacrifice, by which sin may be expiated, and our heavenly Father, whom our crimes have often grievously offended, may be turned from wrath to mercy, from the severity of just vengeance to the exercise of benignant clemency. . . . . .The difference between the eucharist as a sacrament and sacrifice is very great, and is two-fold: as a sacrament it is perfected by consecration; as a sacrifice, all its efficacy consists in its oblation. When deposited in a tabernacle, or borne to the sick, it is therefore a sacrament, not a sacrifice. As a sacrament, it is also to the worthy God contrite and penitent, with a true heart and sincere faith, with fear and reverence, we obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid.' (Heb. iv. 16.) For assuredly God is appeased by this oblation, bestows grace and the gift of repentance, and forgives all crimes and sins, how great soever: for the sacrifice which is now offered by the ministry of the priests is one and the same as that which Christ then offered on the cross, only the mode of offering is different.* And the fruits of that bloody oblation are plentifully enjoyed by means of this unbloody one; so untrue is it that the latter derogates from the glory of the former. Wherefore it is properly offered, according to apostolic tradition, not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities of living believers; but also for the dead in Christ, who are not yet thoroughly purified.† receiver a source of merit, and brings with it all those advantages which we have already mentioned; as a sacrifice, it is not only a source of merit but also of satisfaction. As, in his passion, our Lord merited and satisfied for us; so in the oblation of this sacrifice, which is a bond of Christian unity, Christians merit the fruit of his passion, and satisfy for sin.”—Catechism, p. 247. "We therefore confess that the sacrifice of the mass is one and the same sacrifice with that of the cross; the victim is one and the same Christ Jesus, who offered himself, once only, a bloody sacrifice on the altar of the cross. The bloody and unbloody victim is still one and the same, and the oblation of the cross is daily renewed in the eucharistic sacrifice, in obedience to the command of our Lord, 'This do for a commemoration of me.' The priest is also the same, Christ our Lord; the ministers who offer this sacrifice consecrate the holy mysteries not in their own, but in the person of Christ. . . . That the holy sacrifice of the mass, therefore, is not only a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or a commemoration of the sacrifice of the cross, but also a sacrifice of propitiation, by which God is appeased and rendered propitious, the pastor will teach as a dogma defined by the unerring authority of a general council of the church. As often as the commemoration of this victim is celebrated, so often is the work of our salvation promoted, and the plenteous fruits of that bloody victim flow in upon us abundantly through this unbloody sacrifice."-Ibid. pp. 249, 250. "Such is the efficacy of this sacrifice, that its benefits extend not only to the celebrant and communicant, but also to all the faithful, whether living or numbered amongst those who have died in the Lord, but whose sins have not yet been fully expiated."—Ibid. p. 250. The following prayer is presented at the "Oblation of the Host:"-"Accept, O Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this unspotted host, which I thy unworthy servant offer unto thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, and for all here present; as also for all faithful Christians, both living and dead; that it may avail both me and them to life everlasting. Amen."-Ordinary of the Mass. |
