they acted Neither had all they that were cured by them who had the Gift of Healing any assurance by that Cure of the Forgiveness of their Sins This again is false The Sin here promised to be forgiven is that for which the Sickness was sent if it was sent for any Now St. James expresly promise that in this case whenever the Health of the Body was restored this Sin should be forgiven too and therefore it must be false to say it was not He adds lastly That St. James promises that the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up Which if it had been meant of bodily Health those only would have died in the Apostle's Time who either neglected this Advice or whose Deaths prevented the accomplishment of this Ceremony And if it must be understood of the Soul's Health then it will follow that none were damned either then or now but what neglect this Advice or whose Deaths prevent the accomplishment of this Ceremony concerning the Truth of which the Vindicator may please to give us his Opinion But the Vanity of this Objection proceeds from the want of a true Notion of the Nature of these Gifts They who had the greatest measure of them could not yet exercise them when they would The same Spirit that helped them to perform the Miracle instructed them also when they should do it So that they never attempted it but when they saw the sick Person had Faith to be healed and that it would be for the greater Glory of God to do it St. Paul had doubtless this Gift of Healing and yet he neither cured Timothy of the weakness of his Stomach 1 Tim. 5.22 and his other frequent Infirmities and left Trophimus at Miletum sick 2 Tim. 4.20 That this Gift of Healing was in the Church at this time is not to be doubted though this place should not belong to it Will the Vindicator argue against this that then none died till it went out of the Church but such as refused the benefit of it or died suddenly before they had time to do it It may appear by this Vindicat. p. 69 70. how little they have to object against the true Design and Interpretation of this passage Nec ex verbis nec ex effectu verba haec loquuntur de Sacramentali Unctione Extremae Unctionis sed magis de Unctione quam instituit Dominus Jesus à Discipulis exercendam in aegrotis Cajet Annot. in Loc. For Cardinal Cajetan's Authority the Vindicator tells us That had I said only that he thought it could not be proved neither from the Words nor the Effect that St. James speaks of the Sacramental Vnction of Extreme Vnction but rather of that Vnction which our Lord Jesus instituted in the Gospel to be exercised by his Disciples upon the Sick I had been a faithful Quoter of his Sense But to tell us he freely confesses it can belong to no other is to impose upon him and the Readers As if when two Things only are in controversy for the Cardinal absolutely to exclude the one and apply it to the other were not in effect for I design'd not to translate his words to confess that it could belong only to that But that which is most considerable is that the Antient Liturgies of the Church and the publick practice of it for above 800 Years shew that they esteemed this Vnction to belong primarily to bodily Cures and but secondarily only to the sickness of the Soul And because these Rituals are not in every bodies hands to argue at once the truth of my Assertion and shew how little conversant the Vindicator has been in them I will here insert some particular proofs of it Upon the Thursday in the Holy Week when this Oil was wont to be consecrated they did it with this Prayer Ex S. Gregorii Libr. Sacram. p. 66. Fer. 5. post Palm Emitte domine Spiritum S. tuum paraclitum de Coelis in hanc pinguedidem Olivae quem de Viridi ligno producere dignatus es ad refectionem Corporis ut tuâ sanctâ benedictione sit omni hoc unguentum tangenti tutamen Mentis Corporis ad Evacuandos omnes Dolores omnesque infirmitates omnem aegritudinem corporis That by this Blessing it might become the Defence both of the Mind and Body The same is in effect the Prayer of the Greek Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euch. p. 863. Nor is it much different in that publish'd by Thomasius as P. Gelasius's Ritual before P. Gregories upon the same day p. 69. only that he generally joins Mentis Corporis to cure all Pains and Infirmities and sickness of the Body nothing else mentioned In the Office of Visiting the Sick several Introductory Prayers all for the Bodies Recovery are first said such as this pag. 251 c. Ad visitand infirm p. 251. Deus qui famulo tuo Hezekiae ter quinos Annos ad vitam donâsti ita famulum tuum N. à lecto aegritudinis tua potentia erigat ad salutem Per. O God who didst add to the 〈…〉 thy Servant Hezekiah fifteen Years let thy Power in like manner raise up this thy Servant from his Bed of Sickness Through c. Some of these being said the Priest goes on thus Domine Deus qui per Apostolum locutus es Infirmatur quis in Vobis S. James 5.14 15. inducat Presbyteros Ecclesiae orent super eum ungentes eum oleo Sancto in Nomine Domini c. Cura quaesumus Redemptor noster gratiâ Spiritûs Sancti languores istius Infirmi sua sana vulnera ejusque dimitte peccata atque dolores cunctos cordis corporis expelle plenamque interius exteriusque sanitatem miserecorditer redde ut ope miserecordiae tuae restitutus Sanatus ad pristina Pietatis tuae reparetur Officia Per c. O Lord God who by thy Apostle hast said If any Man be sick let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him anointing him with Oil in the Name of the Lord c Cure we beseech thee O our Redeemer by the Grace of the Holy Spirit the sickness of this infirm Person Heal his Wounds and forgive his Sins and expel all the Pains both of his Heart and of his Body and restore him mercifully to full health both inward and outward that being by thy merciful Aid Recovered and Healed he may be strengthned to the former Duties of thy Service Through c. Then the sick Person kneels down upon the right Hand of the Priest and this Antiphona is sung Dominus locutus est Discipulis suis In Nomine meo Daemonia ejicite super Infirmos manus vestras imponite bene habebunt Psalm Deus Deorum Dominus locutus est Et repetit In Nomine meo c. The Lord said unto his Disciples In my Name
9. Consult Cassandr adds to these Inter Veteres Scriptorem quaestionum ad Antiochum quae Athanasio tribuuntur Nazianzenum de S. Baptismate duobus locis Scholiastem ejus Nicetam Fathers themselves have many of them declared for this Doctrine even St. * sed ipsum Augustinum antequam in certamine cum Pelagio incalesceret l. 3. de lib. arb c. 23. locum Joan. 3. intelligendum de iis qui possunt contemnunt baptizari asserit Lombard l. 4. dist 4. Augustine himself not excepted till his Dispute with Pelagius provoked him to deny that which in his cooler thoughts he had more reasonably allow'd before ARTICLE X. Of Confirmation IN the Article of Confirmation Vindicat. p. 63. I affirm'd that several of their own Party had deny'd the Divine Institution of this pretended Sacrament and that neither the Council of Trent or their Catechism had offered any thing to prove it The Vindicator replies That my Confession that the Apostles used Imposition of Hands and that when our Bishops after their Examples do the like and pray for the Blessing of the Holy Spirit upon us we piously hope that their Prayers are heard is a sufficient proof of an outward Visible Sign of an inward and Spiritul Grace Had I indeed affirm'd that the Apostles had instituted this Imposition of Hands to be continu'd in the Church and promised that the Grace of the Holy Ghost should certainly descend at their doing of it for all those great Ends our Prayers design this might have made Confirmation look somewhat like a Sacrament to Us. But to argue from a meer indifferent Ceremony continued only in imitation of the Apostles and to which no blessing is ascribed that may not equally be allow'd to any Other the like Prayer and then cry out that this must needs argue the Divine Institution of it because none but God can promise Grace to an outward Sign this is in effect to confess that there is nothing at all to be said for it It is wonderful to see with what confidence those of the Church of Rome urge the Apostles Imposition of Hands for proof of Confirmation as it is now practised amongst them in which there is not any the least resemblance Our Bishops lay on Hands after their Example But for theirs they anoint make Crosses in the Forehead tie a Fillet about their Heads give them a box on the Ear c. for which there is neither Promise Precept nor Example of the Apostles but for Imposition of Hands the only thing they did this they have resolved to be but an ‖ So Estius in 4. Sent. dist 7. §. 7. p. 81. Accidental Ceremony and accordingly have in their * So the same Estius proves from the Council of Florence In quo says he legitur quòd loco illius manùs impositionis per quam Apostoli dabant Spiritum S. in Ecclefiâ datur Confirmatio cujus materia est Chrisma Ex quibus verbis utrumque colligitur initio necessariam fuisse manuum impositionem Sacramenti necessitate eandem ejus necessitatem signaculo Chrismatis introducto cessâsse practice wholly laid it by ARTICLE XI Of Penance THat Penance is not truly and properly a Sacrament Vindicat. p. 64. nor was ever esteemed so by the Primitive Church I at large proved in my Exposition of it and the Vindicator has not in his Reply advanced any one thing to answer the Objections that were brought against it He allows Publick Confession to have been a part of Discipline only and alterable at pleasure Ibid. p. 65. but then affirms that either Publick or Private was always necessary and this we are to take of him upon his own word In short he repeats the Sum of their Doctrine to us Ibid. p. 67. and then as if he had done his Business This says he we have always held and practised and this we affirm to be conformable to the practice of the most Antient and Orthodox Churches and adds that He is astonish'd at our rejection of it All which Stuff is easily said and may with the same ease and reasonableness be deny'd And therefore to conclude this in a word If ever he gets so well out of his Astonishment as to come to his Reason again and will then undertake to prove Penance to be truly and properly a Sacrament instituted by Christ and necessary to Salvation either in Act or Desire he shall not fail of an ingenuous Reply to his Arguments In the mean time I have before shewn that we do practise it as far as is either necessary or convenient and farther than this we shall not think our selves bound to go till we are somewhat better convinced of our Obligations to it than the Vindicator has hitherto been willing or able to do ARTICLE XII Of Extreme Unction IN explaining the words of St. Vindicat. p. 68. James brought for this pretended Sacrament I follow'd the Interpretation which both the practice of the Primitive Church naturally leads to and which Cardinal Cajetan confesses and their own publick Liturgies shew was for above 800 Years esteem'd the undoubted meaning of them The Vindicator from Bellarmine advances many Things as he supposes contrary to this Exposition but the greatest part of which are utterly false the rest impertinent The Grace of curing the Sick he says was not given to all Priests and Elders alike but only to some select Persons If this be true it was then best like St. James's Intention that they should send for those Priests to whom it was given And however some Others might have this Grace yet certainly it was principally at least given to the Priests and Elders for the honour and benefit of their Ministry These did not only cure the Sick but the Lame and the Blind And therefore he would I suppose have had St. James taken notice of these two He might have added the Dead likewise for those who healed the Lame and the Blind raised the Dead also But what if St. James's word be * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 answers to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and signifies all sorts of INfirmities and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no unheard of phrase for being Lame general and may very well be extended to all these Yet since these Gifts were but rare in the Church in respect of that the Apostle here speaks of and did evidently belong to a greater Power We deny his Supposition that those who ordinarily cured the Sick by anointing had also the Power to heal the Lame and the Blind Their Power of Miracles was not tied to Vnction only Mark 6.13 But yet since we find in St. Mark that this was the ordinary Sign what wonder if St. James describe it by that which was the most common and frequent amongst them All those that were anointed were not cured This is false Vindicat. p. 69. and cannot be maintain'd without dishonour to that Spirit by which
cast out Devils and lay your hands upon the Sick and they shall Recover Then the 49 Psalm The Lord the Mighty God hath spoken c. After which they repeat again In my Name c. as before Then follows this Prayer Oremus Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum cum omni supplicatione rogemus ut hunc famulum suum N. per Angelum Sanctum suum visitare laetificare confortare dignetur Let us pray unto our Lord Jesus Christ and beseech him with all supplication that he would vouchsafe by his Holy Angel to visit make glad and comfort this his Servant Afterwards this Antiphona Succurre Domine Infirmo isti N. Medica eum spirituali Medicamine ut in pristinâ sanitate restitutus gratiarum tibi sanus referat Actiones Succour O Lord this Infirm Person N. and heal Him with a spiritual Medicine that being restored to his former Health when he is Well he may return thanks unto thee Then follows another Psalm and after it this Antiphona Sana Domine infirmum istum cujus Ossa turbata sunt cujus Anima turbata est Valdè sed tu Domine convertere sana eum eripe animam ejus Heal O Lord this sick Person whose Bones are troubled and whose Soul is very much afflicted but turn thou O Lord and heal him and deliver his Soul After this is said the 6th Psalm from whence the Antiphona was taken which being ended they anoint the sick Person in several parts but especially in that where the pain lies saying this Prayer Inungo te de Oleo sancto in Nomine Patris Filii Spiritûs Sancti ut non lateat in Te Spiritus immundus neque in membris neque in medullis neque in nullâ compagine membrorum sed in te habitet virtus Christi Altissimi Spiritûs Sancti quatenus per hujus Operationem Mysterii atque per hanc Sacrati Olei Vnctionem atque nostram deprecationem virtute Sanctae Trinitatis medicatus sive fotus pristinam immelioratam recipere merearis sanitatem Per eundem I anoint thee with this Holy Oil Instead of this Arcudius gives us this Form out of a very ancient Manuscript in the Greek Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And in another Office 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arcudius de Sac. Ext. Vnct. p. 394. And the Prayers in the Office of the Euchelaion are all exactly conformable to what I have here observed in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost that no unclean Spirit my remain in thee but that the vertue of the most highest of Christ and the Holy Ghost may dwell in thee to the End that by the Operation of this Mysterie and through the Vnction of this holy Oil and our Prayers thou may'st be healed and restored by the Vertue of the Holy Trinity and receive thy former and better health Through the same Then follows this Prayer Domine Deus Salvator noster qui es vera salus Medicina à quo omnis Sanitas Medicamentum venit quique nos Apostoli documento instruis ut languentes Olei liquore Orantes tangeremus respice propitius super hunc famulum tuum N. quem languor curvat ad exitum virium defectus trahit ad Occasum medela tuae gratiae restituat in Salutem Sana quoque quaesumus omnium medicator ejus febrium cunctorum languorum Cruciatus aegritudinemque dolorum omnium dissolve tormenta viscerumque ac cordium interna Medica Medullorum quoque Cogitationum Sana discrimina ulcerum vanitatumque putredines evacua Conscientiarumque atque plagarum obducito cicatrices veteres immensasque remove passiones Carnis ac Sanguinis materiam reforma delictorumque cunctorum veniam tribue sicque illum tua pietas jugiter custodiat ut nec ad Correptionem aliquando Sanitas nec ad perditionem nunc Te auxiliante perducat Infirmitas sed fiat illi haec Olei Sacri perunctio morbi languoris praesentis expulsio atque peccatorum omnium optata remissio Per Dominum nostrum O Lord God our Saviour who art the true Health and Medicine and from whom all Health and Medicine doth proceed who also by the Instruction of thy Holy Apostle hast taught us that we should anoint the Sick with Oil look down we beseech thee in mercy upon this thy Servant N and whom his weakness has brought down to Death and the decay of his strength draws towards his End Let the power of thy Grace restore to Health Heal we beseech thee his Feavours c. And let the Holy Vnction of this Oil be the Expulsion of his present Sickness and Infirmity and the remission of all his Sins Through Then let the Priest give him the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ and if occasion be let them repeat this seven days And the Lord shall raise him up and IF he be in Sins they shall be remitted The Priest ought also to say the Morning and Evening Service every day to the Sick Person adding the Hymn ‖ See the Hymn Cassaadr Oper. p. 287. Christe Coelestis Medicina Patris which is a Prayer entirely for the recovery of the Bodily Health This was the method of their Vnction in Pope Gregory's Missal and which I suppose shews that it had somewhat more than a bare respect to bodily Cures indeed was as I before affirm'd especially designed for them It were an easy matter to shew the very same to be the practice of the Greek Church at this Day insomuch that * Arcud de Sacram Extr. Unct. l. 5. c. 5. de formâ hujus Sacramenti Arcudius himself could not dissemble it But I shall close this with one Observation more which †Cassander Oper. p. 289. where he also cites Cusanus for the same Remark Cassander has given us that it was anciently the custom to anoint not only the Elder Persons but even Infants after the same manner not sure for the forgiveness of those remains of Sin which the former Sacraments had not sufficiently cleared but for the same End for which they then did all others the Recovery of their bodily Health ARTICLE XIII Of Marriage THat Marriage is not a Sacrament truly and properly so called Vindicat. p. 70. as the Council of Trent has defined it their own Authors sufficiently shew ‖ Cassaud Consult Art 13. de num Sacram in fine De Matrimonio verò non modò P. Lombardus negavit in eo gratiam conferri sed longè post eum Durandus disertè inquit non esse Matrimonium univocè Sacramentum sicut alia Sacramenta novae legis nam nec conferre gratiam non habenti nec augere habenti non esse itaque Sacramentum propriè ac strictè dictum Lombard denies that there is any Grace conferr'd in it and affirms it as a †Lib. 4. d. 2. l. C. p. 696. Fuit tamen Conjugium ante
not in this last on which Eternity depends Holy Michaël Archangel who camest to help the People of God Prince of the Heavenly Host Deliver me from the Snare of unclean Spirits and bring my Soul into a Place of comfort and refreshment And thou Holy Angel to whose Safeguard and Protection I unworthy Sinner have been committed Assist me in this moment Drive far from me all the Power of Satan Save me from the Mouth of the Lion Draw me out of the Snare which they have laid for me and Preserve my soul from their evil designs Assist me you also O my Patrons and turelary Saints Thou first of all O St. JOHN forerunner of Christ Make my Paths straight and Direct my way in the sight of the Lord. Blessed PETER Key-Bearer of the Heavenly Kingdom Prince of the Apostles by the Power that is committed to thee Loose thou the Bonds of my Sins and Open unto me the Gate of Paradise And thou O Glorious Father of the Monks of St. Benedict impute not thou unto me to my Damnation the innumerable transgressions that I have made of thy Rule O ye Captains and Heads of the Holy Order of the Cistercians St. ROBERT St. ALBERIC St. STEPHEN and St. BERNARD who have so long patiently endured me an unfruitful Tree in this your Vineyard O Forsake me not in this Hour But Remember that I am your Son tho' unworthy the Name The Cardinal goes still further on with the rest of his Patrons for he had taken care to provide enough of them but I fear I have tired the Reader with these I have already transcribed Monsieur de Meaux I know will tell us that all this is no more than if he had desired as many of the good Company that were about him at this time to have done the same and for his Expressions though they are some of them a little Extraordinary yet the Cardinal's intention no doubt like that of the Church was to have them all reduced to this one and the same Catholick meaning PRAY FOR ME. And for those who are resolved to believe this fond Pretence there is no hopes of conviction But for unprejudiced Persons who see the Vanity indeed the unreasonableness and absurdity of this Evasion I doubt not but they will find a plain Opposition between Monsieur de Meaux's Principles and the Cardinal 's and that this good Man needed a very great Apology to his Patrons for having approved a Doctrine so derogatory to their Power and Honour as that of the Exposition in his Opinion undoubtedly was But I shall say no more to shew the unsincerity of Cardinal BONA in this matter I might have added a yet greater instance than either of these Cardinals of the same pious Fraud in the Approbation of the POPE himself See the Procez verbal de l'Assembleé eatraordinaire des Messeigneurs l'Archeveques Eveques en Mars May 1681. Mr. de Meaux himself was one of this Assembly and signed with the rest the Report of the A. B. of Reims in which there is abundantly sufficient to shew how repugnant his Holiness's Proceedings were to the Doctrine of the Exposition approved by him at the very same time that he was engaged in these attempts so contrary to it I know not whether it be worth the observing that the very same day the Pope sent his complementing Brief to Monsieur de Meaux in approbation of his Exposition he sent another to the Bishop of Pamiéz to approve his defending the Rights of his Church against the King which was judg'd in the Assembly of which Mr. de Meaux was one to be an interposing in an Affair which neither the Holy Councils nor Fathers had given him any Authority to meddle with whose Briefs with reference to the Affairs of France and which this Bishop who has had so great a part in them could not be ignorant of however publish'd at the same time that he sent his Complement to Mr. de Meaux do but ill agree with his Exposition Indeed they run in such a strain as plainly shews that were but his Power equal to his Will he would soon convince the World that not this Mans Pretences but the Dictates of Pope GREGORY VII the UNAM SANCTAM Bull and the Canon of LATERAN were the true Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholick Church And of this I am ready to make an ample proof from the several pieces set out by publick Authority in France when ever Mr. de Meaux or his Vindicator shall think fit to question the truth of what I now say NUM IV. Copie d'une Lettre ecrite à Monsieur l'Evêque de Meaux cy devant Evêque de Condom Au Port de St. Marie ce 13. Juin 1683. Monseigneur VOtre Grandeur rapellera sans doute mieux l'Ideé de mon nom lors que je luy dirai que je suis celuy pour qui elle a eu la bonté de parler il y a environ 16 ans à Madame de Chaune pour avoir son consentement d'une Chapelle comme tutrice de Monsieur de j ' eûs l'Honneur de la voir plusieurs fois à St. Thomas du Louvre avec Messeigneurs de Perigueux de Xainte Depuis ce tems la j'ai souffert la Persecution particulierement depuis l'Exposition de la Foi que vôtre grandeur a publiée Ses Enemis qui n'osent pas se declarer contre Elle se declarent contre ceux qui disent la même chose Et aujourdui Monseigneur l' Archevêque de Bourdeaux me fait faire le Proces pour avoir expliqué à l' Epargne le jour de Vendredi Saint Que nous adorions Jesus Christ crucifié en presence de la Croix que nous n'adorions rien de ce que nous voyons Et parce que le Curé dit sur le champ assez haut Le Bois Le Bois j ' ajoutai Non non C'est Jesus Christ non pas le Bois Et comme il ajouta Ecce Lignum Venite Adoremus je le relevai en luy disant Auquel le Salut du Monde a eté ataché Venez adorons ce Salut de Monde J ' ajoutai que le sentiment de l'Eglise etoit que si par impossible nous pouvions separer la Divinité da Fils de Dieu d'avec son humanité nous n' adorerions pas l'humanité puis qu'il est certain qu'il n' y a rien d'adorable que Dieu qu' ainsi nous devions nous persuader que nous allions au Calvaire adorer Jesus Christ sans nous arreter au Crucifix Que l'Eglise comme une bonne Mere nous l'avoit donné par une sainte Invention pour aider à nôtre Foi pour fraper plus vivement nôtre imagination non pour etre l'Objet de nôtre Culte 〈◊〉 se termine à Jesus Christ Voila Monseigneur tout mon crime ce que l'on me