quantæ virtutum et studiorum divitiæ, augustum illud sacrarium impleverunt !

"As the council of Trent gains in antiquity, so it will constantly gain in glory. Good God! what a variety of nations, what a selection of bishops from all parts of the world, what splendour of kingdoms and republics, what flower of divines, what sanctity, what tears, what fastings, what exquisite learning, what tongues, what acuteness, what industry, what infinite reading, what treasures of virtue and knowledge, filled up that august shrine !"

Time has not, however, been able to cast its shadows upon the shameful arts by which Rome got up the show which was to delude her credulous sons into a long, long resistance to the pure light of the Scriptures. And shall that show be still held up to infatuate the multitude, and keep them in perpetual danger of following the steps of the unfortunate Campian !

7

APPENDIX II.

1

EXTRACTS from the DEVOTION AND OFFICE OF THE SAcred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ; with its Nature, Origin, Progress, &c. &c.; including the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of the B. V. Mary, &c. &c. &c. and the Recommendatory Pastoral Letter of the Bp. of Boulogne to the Faithful in his Diocese. Twelfth Edition; with an Appendix, on the Devotion to the S. H. of Jesus ;-Prayers for the Exercise of that Devotion; and the Indult of his Holiness P. Pius VII. in favour of it: for the Use of the Midland District. London, by Keating and Brown, 1821 *.

"What is the corporeal and sensible object of this devotion? It is the material heart of the Son of God, who was made man out of his pure love for us; it is the most noble part of his adorable body; it is the principal organ of all the affections, and consequently of all the virtues of his blessed.

* As it is impossible to give an adequate idea of the contents of this book without making extracts that would exceed all reasonable limits, I strongly recommend the perusal of it to those who wish to form a correct opinion of the true character of Roman Catholic devotion.

humanity; it is the seat and centre wherein corporeally dwells all the plenitude of his divinity, and which becoming by virtue of the hypostatical union the heart of the King of kings, of the Holy of holies, of the God of majesty, is raised to an infinite dignity, which makes it worthy of our profound homage and adoration."-Pages 10, 11.

"In a small town called Paroy le Monial, in the province of Burgundy, and diocese of Autun, there is a convent of the Visitation of the blessed Virgin Mary. Here a holy nun named Mary Margaret was consecrated to Jesus Christ at the age of twenty, and lived in retirement unknown. She died there in the odour of sanctity, aged forty, on the 17th of October, 1690. Her virtues are attested by her superiors, and we learn by a writing she gave in obedience to her director, how eminently she was favoured by Almighty God.

"This holy virgin was chosen by Jesus Christ to give a beginning to the devotion to his sacred heart. To dispose her to accomplish his design, he infused into her a perfect knowledge of the excellence, the perfections, and the sufferings of this heart. This gave her an ardent desire to see it known, honoured, and glorified by all creatures. When she was thus prepared, Jesus Christ one day appeared to her, and declared his intention of establishing a solemnity in honour of his sacred heart, adding that he chose her to be the instrument of carrying it into execution. Happy to find that the devotion was to be established, she trembled at the thought of being employed in it. Her youth, her natural diffidence, and her retirement from creatures, made her conclude that the execution of the design must in her hands be impossible. Under this impression she stu

But God still urging

diously concealed the revelation. her to obey, she at length conceived that she could no longer resist without guilt. Father Claude la Colombiere, of the Society of Jesus, coming providentially to Paroy, she determined to open herself fully to him. This holy man, whose eminent sanctity and excellent writings still preserve his memory fresh in the minds of the faithful, full of the spirit of God, not content with hearing from her mouth all that had passed as above mentioned, obliged her moreover to deliver in writing a circumstantial account of the revelation she had received and so long concealed, concerning this devotion to the sacred heart. We have in the foregoing chapter quoted and explained it.

"He was too well acquainted with the eminent sanctity of his penitent to doubt her sincerity, and he considered the concluding injunction as an order of Jesus Christ, obliging him to use all his endeavours to promote the design. But his absence from France, his infirmities, and the shortness of his remaining existence, prevented his making any considerable progress at the time. But we shall soon see that he was an instrument in the hands of Providence even after his death."-Page 58–61.

"In 1720, when Provence was afflicted with the plague, and saw its most flourishing cities fall a prey to the scourge ; when a general consternation pervaded the whole kingdom, God inspiring the suffering victims with a hope of safety from a devout address to his sacred heart, they had recourse to it to appease the vengeance of offended Heaven. One town followed another in adopting the means of delivery. Bishops and magistrates consecrated their respective people to the sacred heart, and engaged themselves

by oath to celebrate the feast annually to the end of time. It may be said with truth, that God employed this visitation as a means to promote the glory of his sacred heart, which was the fruit of it. Happy they who wait not for the scourge, but apply to this amiable heart in order to prevent the punishment which their sins have deserved."Pages 64, 65.

"OBJECTION.—If the church approves a feast in honour of the divine heart of Jesus Christ, why not approve of other feasts to honour every part of his sacred body? Why a particular feast in honour of his divine heart? Moreover, the feasts are already so numerous in the church, that it seems improper to multiply them; new offices interrupt those which the church has formerly instituted.

"As this objection has made great impression on many who have taken no pains to examine it, I have thought it necessary to mention it in a separate article, and to show the weakness of it.

"The numerous confraternities who celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart with great solemnity, the number of bishops who have approved them, the number of briefs of indulgences granted to them by the holy see, are a great proof that the above objection has nothing solid. It is of little purpose to dispute whether the feast of the sacred heart deserves to be approved. In a point of this nature, a great part of the church, authorized by so many bishops and the holy see, cannot mistake; for which reason, the objection which opposes the institution of this feast can make no impression on a faithful and devout soul.”—Pages 115, 116.