This is the continuation from the previous chapter of The God of Rome Eaten by a Rat

The learned Cardinal Gibbons, through his eloquent priest, Lynch, denied some time ago, that the Virgin Mary is adored and put above Christ in the Church of Rome.

This denial, in the face of the undeniable facts which I will bring forth, is really one of the most inexplicable mysteries.

If there is a thing which is as evident as two and two make four, it is that Romanism is the old idolatry of Babylon, Egypt and Rome, under a Christian mask. But this new form of idolatry is so boldly denied by some of the great dignitaries of Rome, and so skillfully concealed by others, under the spotless robe of Jesus, that not only the too unsuspecting nominal Protestants, but even the “very elect,” are in danger of being entrapped and deceived.

Go to the magnificent cathedrals, as well as to the humblest chapels of the Church of Rome, if you had any knowledge of the old mythology, and you will see that, today, Minerva, Juno, Venus are worshipped under the sweet and blessed name of Mary; they see again the clouds of incense burning on their altars, and the multitude of male and female devotees humbly prostrated at the feet of their idols, asking them now, as formerly, to appease the wrath of their angry God. But, today, very few read the books which could throw any light on that subject, and among the few who read these books, unfortunately, the greater part remain under the impression that there is a great deal of exaggeration in what is said by Protestants against Rome.

When they meet a Roman Catholic priest, or still more, a bishop, it seems to those Protestants a want of fairness, courtesy and Christian charity to accuse, or even suspect, such refined gentlemen of idolatry.

It is that misguided charity, founded on sheer ignorance, which paralyzes today the arm of the Church of Christ everywhere, and makes the Church of Rome so bold and so strong that she is carrying almost everything before her in Great Britain, the United States, in Canada, and even in Australia. In consequence of that misguided charity, founded on the criminal ignorance of modern Protestants, the Church of Rome is surely marching to the conquest of England and the United States, and, through them to the conquest of the world, except God Almighty interferes, by a miracle, to stop her triumphs. Today, the great Captain of our salvation sees his armies filled with multitudes who think more to live in peace with their implacable enemy than to fight him. For the foe has so skillfully given to his rebellious flag the colors and appearance of the loyal one, that the deception is as complete as it is deplorable in its effects.

It is to open the eyes of the good but too confident Protestants of Baltimore that I write this short treatise to show that Cardinal Gibbons and all the priests of Rome, in spite of their denials, put the Virgin Mary much above Christ, and that they attribute to her powers, honors and praises which ought to be given to God alone.

But like the horse thief, the Church of Rome has a thousand ways to conceal this, her great iniquity. If you meet the thief riding on the very horse he has just stolen, and ask him whose horse he is riding, he has the most ingenious stories at hand to prove that he is honest; that there is nothing wrong about the way he got that horse. He assures you that he has bought it in such a town, or from such a traveler, or that he has borrowed it, or found it loose on the highway, and took it for a moment, with the honest determination to send it back to the owner. So it is with the soul-stealing Church of Rome. Luther, Calvin, Knox and a million other unimpeachable witnesses and martyrs, have detected that church in the flagrante delicto of idolatry. They have proved their charges with the clearest, the most crushing evidence. But, at every time, she has denied her guilt with an impudence which makes one remember the great Father of lies who deceived our first parents in the garden of Eden.

But I have been twenty-five years one of those — not horse-thieves, but soul-thieves and soul-murderers. I know all their great and small tricks, all their pious lies, all their dark caves and tight recesses. I have been a quarter of a century swimming in the filthy waters in which the poor priests and the haughty cardinals, and bishops are plunged, and, with the grace of God, will show that Rome is idolatrous in her worship of Mary, with such proofs that Cardinal Gibbons will not dare to deny them.

There is a book in the Church of Rome which is esteemed sacred above every other book. It is called “Breviarium.” Every bishop and priest of Rome is bound, under pain of eternal damnation, to read every word of it at least once a year. Among the things that the learned bishop is bound to read, repeat and believe, from the bottom of his heart, every week to the glory of Mary, from that book are the following words: “Gaude, Virgo Maria, quia cunctas hereses sola interemisti in universo mundo;” “Rejoice, Virgin Mary, for thou ALONE hath destroyed all the heresies in the whole world.”

Of course, to address, in the presence of God and man, these blasphemous words to Mary; to believe that the Virgin Mary ALONE has destroyed “all” heresies which were in the world, the unfortunate priests and bishops of Rome must silence the voice of reason, which tells them that this is sheer absurdity and nonsense; they must silence the voice of the conscience, which tells them that this is a blasphemous as well as a ridiculous lie; they must make asses of themselves to please their modern goddess.

For if there is a thing which is evident, it is that God has never yet seen fit to destroy all the heresies in the world. Go and consult the theologians of Rome. Ask them when all the heresies had been destroyed in the world, and they will answer you there has never been such happy days. Nay, they will assure you that all the old heresies have been continued, preached and revived by the arch heretics Luther, Calvin, Zwingle, Knox, Chiniquy, etc. If, from the theologians of Rome you go to consult the Roman Catholic historians, and ask them to tell you when all the heresies were destroyed, and the heretics confounded and silenced, they will, without a dissenting voice, answer you that this is one of the most egregious and stupendous lies that the world has ever heard. They will unanimously tell you that God Almighty has never extinguished and destroyed all the heresies which were in the world.

But to show to the Roman Catholics how the Virgin Mary is above God, the Roman Catholic Cardinal of Baltimore tells them at least once a week, “that the Virgin Mary ALONE has destroyed all the heresies which were in the world!”

What would be the feelings and the surprise of the Virgin Mary if she heard from the lips of those reverend high dignitaries of Rome that pious lie proclaimed at the feet of her altars?

Many among the admirers of Cardinal Gibbons will hardly believe me, when I tell them he has to proclaim that puerile falsehood once a week! But it is an undeniable fact. If, in his honesty and in his perfect knowledge, he refuses to proffer that theological as well as historical and scriptural falsehood, and shrinks from repeating it, his infallible church tells him that he will be forever damned! And I here, publicly, challenge him to deny it.

In the famous encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI. (the predecessor of Pius IX.) against liberty of conscience, dated September 18, 1832, which begins with these words: “Mirari vos,” we read: “Sed ut onmia hae prospere et feliciter eveniant, levemus occulos manusgue ad sauctissiman Virginem Mariam, quae sola universas haereses interemit, nostra que maxima fiducia, imo, Tota ratio est spei nostrae.”

“But, in order that we may receive all these blessings, let us raise our eyes and our hands to the most holy Virgin Mary, who ALONE has destroyed all the heresies; who is the surest foundation of our hope; nay. who is all the foundation of our hope.”

Here, the infallible Pope says again, “ex-cathedra,” in his most infallible way. that the holy Virgin Mary, alone, by her power without the help of God, ALONE, has destroyed all the heresies! But, fearing lest this infinite power given to Mary may not sufficiently convey the super-Divine power of that almighty Queen of heaven and earth, the infallible Pope adds that the Virgin Mary is “all the foundation” of the hope of mankind! “the greatest (mark the word ‘maxima’) source of their confidence.’”

You see that if Cardinal Gibbons is allowed to put a great confidence in Christ, he is bound, by his church, to put his greatest (“maxima”) confidence in Mary!

I congratulate the learned Roman Catholic Cardinal of Baltimore, who seems to have the good sense not to put all his confidence in Mary, but to keep some for Christ, his Saviour. I hope he will soon inform us that he has taken away the little (though very big) word ALL from before the name of Mary, and put it before the name of Jesus. Yes, I respectfully advise him to refuse to say any longer with his church that ALL his confidence is in Mary, but to proclaim that it is ALL in Jesus. Then he will be a true Christian and a good Protestant.

But let us come again to the Breviarium. In the office of the “Immaculate Conception” we find the following prayer, which Cardinal Gibbons is bound to address, several times a year; “Aceipe quod offerimus, redona quod rogamus, excusa quodtimemus; quia tu es spes unica peccatorum” — Receive what we offer, give what we ask, excuse what we fear; for thou art the only hope of sinners.”

No doubt that some of our readers here will again say: “Poor Father Chiniquy is always exaggerating, but he will never persuade us that such a refined gentleman, such a learned Christian as Cardinal Gibbons has ever said to the Virgin Mary that she was the only hope of sinners. No! Never such a blasphemy has fallen from the lips of a Christian so universally known and esteemed as the present Cardinal of Baltimore.”

But such is nevertheless the case. And I here again solemnly challenge Cardinal Gibbons to deny it.

That Cardinal Gibbons, with all his priests and people, are bound, under pain of eternal damnation, to say to the Virgin Mary, many times every year: “Thou art the ONLY hope of sinners!”

It is amusing to hear the bishops and priests of Rome speaking on that matter before Protestants. It is then evident that they see their idolatry — and they are ashamed of it. They then tell us that it is Jesus who is the “only” hope of sinners.

Yes! when in the presence of a Protestant public. I am glad to hear that Cardinal Gibbons protests against the ordinances of his Church, which wants him to say to Mary, “Thou art the ONLY hope of sinners.”

I know there are many priests of Rome today (and I hope Cardinal Gibbons is one of them) who are disgusted with the idolatrous doctrines of their Church; they see with true horror the abomination of her doctrines, but they feel they are her children, and as such they put their mantle over her shoulders to conceal her shame as much as possible from the eye of the outside world. They know well the errors of their guilty mother; but, as dutiful children, they don’t like to hear any bad talking against her; they, perhaps secretly, hope she will reform, give up her iniquities, and become a truly honest mother again. Though depraved in many things, she is such a good mother to her children, particularly when they are bishops or priests! She feeds, clothes and lodges them so well! She is so rich! Those with whom she prostitutes herself are so powerful, so numerous, so great, so noble! There are such splendors inside the walls of her house! Does she not extend her power all over the world? Does she not see several of the mightiest nations at her feet? Has she not a matchless unity? Does she not march to the conquest of the world with an irresistible power?

But, though I congratulate Cardinal Gibbons, by anticipation, for the declaration I expect from him that he protests against the idea that “Mary is the ONLY hope for sinners,” I cannot congratulate him for saying to Mary, several times a week, when alone with his people, “Thou art the ONLY hope for sinners.” Nor can I congratulate him when, to throw dust in the eyes of the Protestants, he cites the text to the Council of Trent, “The Catholic Church teaches it is good and profitable prayerfully to invoke saints reigning in heaven with Christ, in order to obtain favors from God.”

For, to say that it is “good” to invoke Mary is not denying that it is “necessary” to invoke her. We can say “It is good to invoke the name of Jesus,” without contradicting those who say “It is necessary to invoke the name of Jesus.” So, when the Church of Rome says, “It is good to invoke Mary and the other saints,” she does not deny that it is “necessary to invoke them.” When a thing is necessary to salvation it is surely “good.” The word “good” is left on the same side of the truth with the word “necessary,” by the Church of Rome, when speaking of Jesus as when speaking of Mary. It is in the same line of errors when applied to Mary and the saints alone. In the apostate Church of Rome, in spite of all her bold denials, the word “necessary” is contained in the word “good,” as the tree is contained in the seed.

In the days of the Council of Trent, the Church of Rome, through many of her most approved books, and through the teachings of the so-called saints, preached to her blind and ignorant slaves, as she does today, that Mary was “the ONLY hope for sinners,” the “ONLY foundation of their hopes,” and, on that account, it was then, as it is now, considered “necessary” in the minds of multitudes to invoke her. But, as an abandoned woman will sometimes blush for her own iniquities, put on airs of virtue, and speak words which the most virtuous woman would repeat, so the Church of Rome, at the Council of Trent, was frightened at her own impieties and idolatries. She did not dare to proclaim, as absolutely necessary, the worship of Mary as a dogma. The eyes of an indignant Christian world were upon her; she then chose a word which could be used as a kind of veil, to conceal as much as possible her gross idolatry; though there was enough in it to help to continue her implacable war against God and His Christ. True to her diabolical mission, which is to be at the head of the enemies of Christ, and to offer another Saviour to sinners, she contented herself with saying,“It is good and profitable to go to Mary, to invoke her name to obtain favors from God through His son, Jesus Christ.” In that decree she calls Christ “the only Redeemer and Saviour of the world.” But this was mere dust thrown into the eyes of the world, for she knew very well that her slaves firmly believe that “Mary was the ONLY hope — the ONLY refuge of sinners.”

When the learned Cardinal Gibbons reads this letter he will be forced, in spite of himself, to confess that his Church says, ’Mary is the ONLY hope for sinners,” and very often he himself is obliged to say, “Mary is the ONLY hope for sinners.” But to save appearances, and in order not to be forced to publicly acknowledge that his Church is idolatrous, and that he is himself an idolater, he will tell you that the word “only” does not mean “only.” He will bravely tell you that when he says, “Mary is the ‘only’ hope of sinners, this does not mean at all that”Mary is the ONLY hope of sinners.”

And if you ask him, What then, is the meaning of the word “only?” he will tell you that the infamous Chiniquy is an apostate, who, for good reasons, has been a hundred times interdicted, suspended, excommunicated: which will be a clear argument to prove that the Church of Rome does not insult Jesus Christ, and that she is not only idolatrous when she says to Mary, “Thou art the ONLY hope for sinners.”

We have a French proverb which says, “Le menteur n’a pas de memoire et se contredit souvent” — “The liar has no memory and often contradicts himself.” So the Church Of Rome soon forgets and contradicts the few good words she says about Jesus Christ. True to her tendency to idolatry, after having said that Jesus was the only Saviour of the world, she employed all the eloquence of her orators, all the science of her theologians to persuade sinners to address themselves to Mary, by assuring them that “she is the door of heaven, and the ONLY HOPE OF SINNERS.

The learned Cardinal will not be worse than his Church if he tells you that the word ONLY, used in connection with the name of Mary, as the only hope of sinners, does not mean only.

When speaking to the Protestants, and trying to deceive them by her enchantments, that Church says, with great solemnity and emphasis, “Jesus is the only hope — the only Saviour of sinners.” But laughs at these expressions when speaking to her obedient priests and blind slaves. She then says, “It is Mary, and Mary ALONE, who destroys all the heresies of the world! It is Mary, and Mary ALONE, who is the hope of sinners! It is to Mary. and through Mary ALONE, that the poor sinner must look to be saved.” “Maria unica spes peccatorum.”

The more one studies and knows Rome as she is, the more he is struck by the duplicity with which she speaks and the audacity with which she denies what she has just said and done; the more he is saddened at the strange mixture of gold and dust which compose her doctrines; the more he is alarmed at the deadly poison she puts into the bread which she offers to the world.

The ignorant and blind multitudes of her followers eat the bread without suspecting the poison which is in it, and they die far from God and eternal life, in the arms of the modern goddess Mary.

It is that duplicity, that double-faced doctrine which makes the bold priest of Rome so strong, sometimes, when he is arguing with an unsuspecting Protestant. The ambassador of Rome shows only one side of his doctrine — the right side, the gospel side; and the honest Protestant, finding everything right in his adversary, expresses his regret at having been unjust towards his Roman Catholic neighbor, and is soon caught in her trap.

But it is that duplicity, that double-faced doctrine of Rome which renders her priests so timid, so weak, so ridiculously ignorant when arguing with men like Luther, Calvin, Knox, Gavazzi, or even the poor, a hundred times excommunicated, Chiniquy. For we know all the tricks of Rome; we have drank her poisonous waters; we have plunged into the bottomless sea of her iniquities; we have in our hands all the proofs that Rome is the great mother of abominations, the great Babylon who has made the kings and nations drunk with the wine of her prostitution; but we know also that the Lord will destroy her with be brightness of His coming.

Let the Protestants of Baltimore and the whole of the United States read the following extracts, which I copy, word by word, from one of the most approved books of the Church of Rome, and they will understand what brazen faces Cardinal Gibbons and his priests have, when they deny that their Church is idolatrous in her worship of Mary:

“The High Chancellor of Paris, John Gerson, meditating on the words of David — ‘These two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God. and mercy to thee, O Lord,’ (Ps. 61:12) — says, that the kingdom of God, consisting of justice and mercy, the Lord has divided it; He has reserved the kingdom of justice for Himself, and He has granted the kingdom of mercy to Mary, ordaining that all the mercies which are dispensed to man should pass through the hands of Mary, and should be bestowed according to her good pleasure. (Ps. iii. Tr. 4th, S. Magn.) St. Thomas confirms this in his preface to the Canonical Epistle, saying that the Holy Virgin, when she conceived the Divine Word in her womb, and brought Him forth, obtained the half of the Kingdom of God by becoming Queen of Mercy, Jesus Christ remaining King of Justice.

“The Eternal Father constituted Jesus Christ King of Justice, and therefore made Him the Universal Judge of the world; hence the prophet sang, Give to the King Thy Judgment, O God; and to the King’s Son Thy justice, (Ps. 71:2.) Here a learned interpreter takes up the subject, and says: ‘O Lord, thou hast given Thy Son Thy justice, because Thou hast given to the Mother of the King Thy mercy.’ And St. Bonaventure happily varies the passage above quoted by saying, ‘Give to the King Thy judgment, O God; and to His Mother Thy mercy.’ Ernest, Archbishop of Prague, also says, ’That the Eternal Father has given to the Son the office of judging and punishing, and to the mother the office of compassionating and relieving the wretched.” (Glories of Mary, by St. Liguori, pages 27-29.)

If these blasphemous words are not sufficient to prove that Cardinal Gibbons and his priests give an idolatrous worship to Mary, let the Protestants of the United States read the following page, from the same book, which the three last Popes have approved. They will see with their own eyes, and hear with their own ears, not from the lips of Chiniquy, but from the very lips of the Church of Rome, that the Virgin Mary is worshipped as being the intercessor between the sinner and God the Father. One of the most impudent falsehoods with which the priests of Rome blind their poor dupes, and even the Protestants who are not on their guard against the enchantments of the great mother sorceress of the Vatican, is that Mary is the only intercessor between the sinner and Christ. There they will see how it is to God the Father directly she carries her petitions, and how she is considered by her devotees, and considers herself, the only mediator between the sinner and God the Father:

“We read in the second book of Kings that the wise woman of Tekoa said to David: ‘My Lord, I had two sons, and for my misfortune one has killed the other, so that I have already lost a child; justice would not take from me my other and only son; have mercy upon me, a poor mother, and not let me be deprived of both my children.’ Then David had compassion on this mother, liberated the criminal, and returned him to her.

“It appears that Mary offers the same petition when God is angry with a sinner who has recourse to her. ‘O my God!’ she says to Him, ‘I had two sons, Jesus and man; man has killed my Jesus, on the cross: Thy justice would now condemn man: my Lord, my Jesus is dead; have mercy upon me, and if I have lost one, do not condemn me to lose the other also.’ Ah, God assuredly does not condemn the sinners who have recourse to Mary, and for whom she prays, since God has given the sinners to Mary for her children.” (Glories of Mary, by St. Liguori, pages 73-74.)

Here is the true doctrine of Rome about Mary, given, not by me, nor any enemy of the Church of Rome, but given by one of the greatest saints and theologians of that Church. In this blasphemous prayer, put on the lips of their modern goddess, the resurrection of Christ is forgotten and denied! He is dead. He can not be any more the intercessor between His Father and the guilty children of Adam! but, happily, they don’t want Him to pray and intercede for them. They have Mary, who says to God the Father, “Man has killed my son Jesus. Do not deprive me, then, of my only surviving son man!”

And with such a book in his hands — such doctrine in his mind — such blasphemies on his lips, Cardinal Gibbons bravely tells us, through his priest Lynch, that the relative worship of Mary is not idolatry!

At page 118 of the same book we read: “Saint Irenaeus says that the Divine WORD, before incarnating himself in the womb of Mary, sent the archangel to obtain her consent, because he would have the world indebted to Mary for the mystery of incarnation!”

Has ever hell let more blasphemous words go from its dark recess than this? In the Church of Rome it is not the infinite compassion and love of God that we are indebted to for the incarnation of Christ — it is to Mary!

On page 119 of the same book we read: “Also Idiot remarks that every grace, every blessing that men have received or will receive from God, to the end of the world, has come to them and will come to them through the intercession and by the means of Mary.” (Glories of Mary, page 119)

St. Germanus, recognizing Mary to be the source of every blessing, and the deliverance from every evil, thus invokes her: “O my Lady, thou alone art my help given me by God; thou art the guide of my pilgrimage, the support of my weakness, my riches in poverty, my deliverance from bondage, the hope of my salvation; graciously listen, I pray thee, to my supplications, take compassion on my sighs, thou my Queen, my refuge, my life, my help, my hope, my strength.” (Glories of Mary, page 120.)

But in order to show in what manner Christ is exalted above Mary in the Church of Rome, let the Protestants, whom Cardinal Gibbons wanted to blind on the 8th of December last, read the following story, published with the infallible authorities of the Popes:

“In the Franciscan chronicle it is related of Brother Leo, that he once saw a red ladder, upon which Jesus Christ was standing, and a white one upon which stood His holy Mother. He saw many persons attempting to ascend the red ladder; they ascended a few steps and then fell. Then they were exhorted to ascend the white ladder, and on that he saw them succeed, for the blessed Virgin offered them her hand, and they arrived in that manner safe in Paradise. St. Denys, the Carthusian, asks:”Who will ever be saved? Who will ever reign in heaven? They are saved and will certainly reign for whom this Queen of Mercy offers her prayers.” (Glories of Mary, page 279.)

I may here be asked by many, “How is it possible that a man of the ability and learning of Cardinal Gibbons does not see that his church is idolatrous? How can he come so boldly before the world and deny that idolatry, when it is so evident?”

There is only one way of answering that question; it is to read the second chapter of the 2nd Thessalonians:

“That mystery of iniquity doth already work.

“And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.

“Even Him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders.

“And with all the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie.

“That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

I will not accuse Cardinal Gibbons, or any of his priests, of dishonesty. My firm belief is that many, if not all, are honest in their awful errors. Yes, they are honest as many priests of the White Elephant in Siam, or the priests of the Sun in Persia, and the priests of Mahomet in Constantinople are honest. The priests and bishops of Rome are as honest at the feet of the wafer-gods and their goddess Mary as the priests of Baal were at the feet of their idols. Such honesty at the feet of mute and contemptible idols is one of the saddest mysteries of our poor, corrupt and fallen human nature. We must not insult or despise these men; we must pity them, and pray for them.

In order to enlist more surely the pity and compassion of the disciples of the Gospel in favor of Cardinal Gibbons and his poor deluded and blind slaves, I will end this short treatise by copying two facts given by St. Liguori in that most approved and circulated book of Rome, “The Glories of Mary.” These are facts will explain why the Roman Catholics are fallen, everywhere, into such a bottomless abyss of immorality and degradation that they seem unable to be raised again to the level of the Christan atmosphere of honesty. In reading these histories, which the bishops and priests of Rome present to the people as most edifying ones, every one will see how the modern idolatry of Rome, as its old idolatry, has brought her into the most deplorable state of moral degradation and intellectual depravity.

First Story

“Our advocate (the Virgin Mary) has shown how great is her kindness towards sinners by her mercy to Beatrix, a nun in the monastery of Fontebraldo, as related by Cesarius and Father Rho. This unhappy nun, having contracted a passion for a certain youth, agreed to flee with him from the convent; and, in fact, she went one day before a statue of the blessed Virgin, there deposited the keys of the monastery — for she was portress — and boldly departed. Arrived in another country, she led the miserable life of a prostitute for fifteen years. It happened that she met, one day, the agent of the monastery in the city where she was living, and asked of him, thinking he would not recognize her again, if he knew Sister Beatrice? ‘I know her well,’ he said, ‘she is a holy nun, and at present is Mistress of Novices.’

“At this intelligence she was confounded and amazed, not knowing how to understand it. In order to ascertain the truth, she put on another dress and went to the monastery. She asked for Sister Beatrice, and, behold! the most holy Virgin appeared before her in the form of that same image to which, at parting, she had committed her keys and her dress. And the divine Mother spoke thus: ‘Beatrice, be it known to thee, that, in order to prevent thy disgrace, I assumed thy form, and have filled thy office for the fifteen years that thou hast lived far from the monastery and from God. My child return and do penance: for my Son is still waiting for thee: and strive by thy holy life to preserve the good name I have gained thee.’

“She spoke thus and disappeared. Beatrice re-entered the nunnery; and, gratified for the mercy of Mary, led the life of a saint. At her death she made known the foregoing incident, to the glory of this great Queen.” (Glories of Mary, page 224.)

Second Story.

“A servant of Mary went, one day, to visit a church of our Blessed Lady, without the knowledge of her husband, and she was prevented, by a severe storm, from returning that night to her own house. She felt a great fear lest her husband should be very angry with her; but she recommended herself to Mary, and when she returned home, her husband was very kind and gracious to her. Upon questioning him, she found that the evening before, the divine Mother had taken her form and attended to all the little affairs of the household. She then related the occurrence to her husband, and they both, afterwards, practiced great devotion to the blessed Virgin.” (Glories of Mary, page 701.)

Thus it is that after having raised Mary above Christ, by calling her the only hope of sinners, the only foundation of our salvation, the only destroyer of heresy, the gate of heaven, etc., etc., the Church of Rome degrades and dishonors her by bringing her down to a level with women we cannot name. Thus it is that, everywhere, the idolatrous Church of Rome has killed and destroyed the idea of what is pure and right, honest and holy among men.

C. Chiniquy.

(To be continued)