DR. PUSEY ON THE WORSHIP OF MARY IN THE CHURCH OF ROME

Sword and the Trowel ^ | 1866 | Charles Spurgeon

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Dr. Pusey on the Worship of Mary in the Church of Rome

by C. H. Spurgeon

From the January 1866 "Sword and Trowel Spurgeon"

According to promise, we have summarized the detailed account of the idolatrous worship of Mary by the Papists as exposed in full by Dr. Pusey in his new work. As his statements are not made at random, but are supported by quotations from Romish writers of recognised authority, they will be valuable to those who are met by the crafty denials of Romanists whenever they expose the genuine doctrines of Popish faith. Amid all the mischief which Pusey has done, it is well to note and acknowledge whatever service he may in this case render to truth. The headings of the paragraphs are ours; the quotations are given as they stand.

Blessings said to be obtained through Mary.

—"So, then, it is taught in authorized books, that 'it is morally impossible for those to be saved who neglect the devotion to the Blessed Virgin;' that 'it is the will of God that all graces should pass through her hands;' that 'no creature obtained any grace from God, save according to the dispensation of His holy Mother;' that Jesus has, in fact, said, 'no one shall be partaker of My Blood, unless through the intercession of My Mother;' that 'we can only hope to obtain perseverance through her;' that 'God granted all the pardons in the Old Testament absolutely for the reverence and love of this Blessed Virgin;' that 'our salvation is in her hand;' that 'it is impossible for any to be saved, who turns away from her, or is disregarded by her; or to be lost, who turns to her, or is regarded by her;' that 'whom the justice of God saves not, the infinite mercy of Mary saves by her intercession;' that God is 'subject to the command of Mary;' that 'God has resigned into her hands (if one might say so) His omnipotence in the sphere of grace;' that 'it is safer to seek salvation through her than directly from Jesus.'"

Mary worship held up as a cure for trouble.

—"F. Faber, in his popular books, is always bringing in the devotion to the Blessed Virgin.. He believes that the shortcomings of English Roman Catholics are owing to the inadequacy of their devotion to her. After instancing people's failures in overcoming their faults, want of devotion, unsubmission to God's special Providence for them, feeling domestic troubles almost-incompatible with salvation, and that 'for all these things prayer appears to bring so little remedy,' he asks, 'What is the remedy that is wanted? what is the remedy indicated by God himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady, but remember, nothing short of an immense one. Here, in England, Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. It is frightened out of its wits by the sneers of heresy. It is always invoking human respect and carnal prudence, wishing to make Mary so little of a Mary, that Protestants may feel at ease about her. Its ignorance of theology makes it unsubstantial and unworthy. It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is, that Jesus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls, which might be saints, wither and dwindle; that the sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelized. Jesus is obscured, because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish, because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin, that is the cause of all these wants and blights; these evils and omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a greater, wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to His Blessed Mother.'"

The Pope's whole reliance on the Virgin.

—In his Encyclical Letter of 1849, Pius IX wrote: "On this hope we chiefly rely, that the most Blessed Virgin—who raised the height of merits above all the choirs of Angels to the throne of the Deity, and by the foot of Virtue 'bruised the serpent's head,' and who, being constituted between Christ and His Church, and, being wholly sweet and full of graces, hath ever delivered the Christian people from calamities of all sorts and from the snares and assaults of all enemies and hath rescued them from destruction, and, commiserating our most sad and most sorrowful vicissitudes and our most severe straits, toils, necessities with that most large feeling of her motherly mind—will, by her most present and most powerful patronage with God, both turn away the scourges of Divine wrath wherewith we are afflicted for our sins, and will allay, dissipate the most turbulent storms of ills, wherewith, to the incredible sorrow of our mind, the Church everywhere is tossed, and will turn our sorrow into joy. For ye know very well, Ven. Brethren, that the whole of our confidence is placed in the most Holy Virgin, since God has placed in Mary the fullness of all good, that accordingly we may know that if there is any hope in us, if any grace, if any salvation, it redounds to us from her, because such is His will Who hath willed that we should have everything through Mary."

Mary blasphemously called Co-Redemptress with our Lord.

—"We had heard before, repeatedly, that she was the Mediatrix with the Redeemer; some of us, who do not read Marian books, have heard now for the first time, that she was ever our 'Co-Redemptress.' The evidence lies, not in any insulated passage of a devotional writer (which was alleged in plea for the language of M. Olier), but in formal answers from Archbishops and Bishops to the Pope as to what they desired in regard to the declaration of the Immaculate Conception as an Article of Faith. Thus the Archbishop of Syracuse wrote, 'Since we know certainly that she, in the fulness of time, was Co-redemptress of the human race, together with her Son Jesus Christ our Lord.' From North Italy the Bishop of Asti wrote of 'the dogma of the singular privilege granted by the Divine Redeemer to His pure mother, the Co-redemptress of the world.' In South Italy the Bishop of Gallipoli wrote, 'the human race, whom the Son of God, from her, redeemed; whom, together with Him, she herself co-redeemed.' The Bishop of Cariati prayed the Pope to 'command all the sons of Holy Mother Church and thy own, that no one of them should dare at any time hereafter to suspect as to the Immaculate Conception of their Co-redeemer.' From Sardinia, the Bishop of Alghero wrote, 'It is the common consent of all the faithful, and the common wish and desire of all, that our so beneficent Parent and Co-redeemer should be presented by the Apostolic See with the honour of this most illustrious mystery.' Spain, the Bishop of Almeria justified the attribute by appeal to the service of the Conception. The Church, adapting to the Mother of God in the Office of the Conception that text, 'Let Us make a help like unto Him,' assures us of it. and confirms those most ancient traditions, 'Companion of the Redeemer,' 'Co-Redemptress,' 'Authoress of everlasting salvation.' The Bishops refer to. these as ancient, well-known, traditionary titles, at least in their Churches in North and South Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Spain."

A Parallel infamously drawn between Jesus and Mary.

—"As our Redemption gained its sufficiency and might from Jesus, so, they say, did it gain its beauty and loveliness from the aid of Mary. As we are clothed with the merits of Christ, so also, they say, with the merits of Mary. As Jesus rose again the third day without seeing corruption, so they speak of her Resurrection so as to anticipate corruption, in some three days;' as He was the first-fruits of them that slept, so is she; as He was taken up into heaven in the body so, they say, was she; as He sits at the Right Hand of God, so she at His Right Hand; as He is there our perpetual Intercessor with the Father, so she with Him; as 'no man cometh to the Father.' Jesus saith, 'but by Me;' so 'no man cometh to Jesus', they say, 'but by her;' as He is our High Priest, so she, they say, a Priestess; He, our High Priest, gave us the sacrament of His Body and Blood; so, they say, did she, 'her will conspiring with the will of her Son to the making of the Eucharist, and assenting to her Son so giving and offering Himself for food and drink, since we confess that the sacrifice and gifts, given, to us under the form of bread and wine, are truly hers and appertain unto her. As in the Eucharist He is present and we receive Him, so she, they say, is present an received in that same sacrament. The priest is 'minister of Christ,' and 'minister of Mary.' They seem to assign to her an office, like that of God the Holy Ghost, in dwelling in the soul. They speak of 'souls born not of blood, nor of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God and Mary;' that 'the Holy Ghost chose to make use of our Blessed Lady to bring His fruitfulness into action by producing in her and by her Jesus Christ in His members;' that 'according to that word, 'the kingdom of God is within you,' in like manner the kingdom of our Blessed Lady is principally in the interior of a man, his soul; that 'when Mary has struck her roots in the soul, she produces there marvels of grace, which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful Virgin, who never has had, and never will have, her equal in purity and fruitfulness.'"

Shameless declaration that Mary is in the Eucharist.

—(Oswald.) "'We maintain a (co-)presence of Mary in the Eucharist. This is a necessary inference from our Marian theory, and we shrink back from no consequence.' 'We are much inclined,' he says afterwards, 'to believe an essential co-presence of Mary in her whole person, with body and soul, under the sacred species. Certainly to such a presence in the Eucharist, 1. there is required a glorious mode of being of the Virgin body of the Holy Mother. We are not only justified in holding this as to Mary, but we have well-nigh proved it. 2. The assumption of a bodily presence of Mary in the Eucharist compels self-evidently the assumption of a multi-location (i.e. a contemporaneous presence in different portions of space) of Mary, according to her flesh too. 3. One who would receive this must be ready to admit a compenetration of the Body of Christ and of that of the Virgin in the same portion of space, i.e. under the sacred species.' The writer subsequently explains that 'the "lac virginale" must be looked upon as that of Mary, which is primarily present in the Eucharist, whereto, in further consequence, the whole Christ the Head, the Blessed Virgin is, as also her soul, would be joined.' 'The Blood of the Lord, and the lac of His Virgin Mother, are both present in the sacrament.'"

Mariolotry to swallow up all other devotion.

—"'Assuming that, in and under Christ the Head, the Blessed Virgin is, after her Assumption, as it were, the neck of the Church, so that all grace whatever flows to the Body through her, that is, through her prayers, it might be argued, that, for such as have this belief to ask anything of or through her, is identical in sense, but in point of form better, than to ask it directly of Christ, in like manner as to ask anything of or through Christ, is identical in sense, but clearer and fuller in point of form, than to ask it directly of the Father. And hence, it might seem that it would bean improvement, if, reserving only the use of the appointed forms for the making of the Sacraments, and an occasional use of the Lord's Prayer (and this rather from respect to the letter of their outward institution than from any inward.199 necessity or propriety), every prayer, both of individuals and of the Church, were addressed to or through Blessed Mary, a form beginning, 'Our Lady, which art in heaven,' etc., being preferred for general use to the original letter of the Lord's Prayer; and the Psalter, the Te Deum, and all the daily Offices, being used in preference with similar accommodation.'" Horrid ravings of Faber, whose writings are very popular among Papists.—"'There is some portion of the Precious Blood which once was Mary's own blood, and which remains still in our Blessed Lord, incredibly exalted by its union with His Divine Person, yet still the same. This portion of Himself, it is piously believed, has not been allowed to undergo the usual changes of human substance. At this moment, in heaven, He retains something which was once His Mother's, and which is, possibly, visible, as such, to the saints and angels. He vouchsafed at mass to show to S. Ignatius the very part of the Host which had once belonged to the substance of Mary. It may have a distinct and singular beauty in heaven, where, by His compassion, it may one day be our blessed lot to see it and adore it. But with the exception of this portion of it, the Precious Blood was a growing thing,' "&c.

Enough! enough! every one of our readers will cry out, and therefore we stay our hand. Surely "for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

[Fichori]

I was just trying to be tactful.

[Quix]

Assumptions are hazardous on all sides.

[Huber]

Spurgeon was, of course, a Baptist. However Pusey was the consumate Anglican.

[Quix]

It would be more accurate to assert that one had seen no proofs etc. posted.

than to insist that I have never had any; or that I don’t have any in my realm currently; or that I don’t have any in my noggin currently;

Assumptions are hazardous on all sides.

[Quix]

LOL.

I gave up most of my tacts
for lent

or Christmas or Resurrection Sunday . . . or something.

And 7/11 was fresh out last time I checked.

---

Actually, tact does have it’s place . . .

And, I even trot some out even on such threads . . . occasionally.

Particularly to those showing restraint in their outlandish assertions!

[OpusatFR]

Sure. Sure.

LOL!

[BizarroNo1]

Quite disingenuous of you to fail to note that the term used to refer to the Blessed Mother, co-redemptrix, is Latin which when translated to English means the woman with the Redeemer. It in no way elevates the Blessed Mother to a "status" equivalent to that of Christ. Perhaps your anti-Catholic MO prevents you from learning Latin. Perhaps you have no desire to be honest. Perhaps you see nothing wrong with bearing false witness against the Catholic Church.

My, my, since you like Latin so much, how about I point out that you are quite skilled at argumentum ad hominem. Right off the bat, you attacked. It would soooooo easy to return the favor and say, "Perhaps you have no desire to be honest. Perhaps you see nothing wrong with bearing false witness against Christ's Church" back at you, wouldn't it? Here's a tip-if you don't think it's constructive when that kind of thing is done to you, don't do it to others, ok?

I have looked up what the RCC teaches about Mary being a co-redemptrix. This is what I got this a Catholic website: "Thus in her own suffering too, the Mother of the Redeemer participates in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ." I have to ask you, did Jesus need Mary, or anyone else, to redeem the world alongside Himself? Wasn't he the ultimate sacrifice all by Himself? So then, what purpose of God's could Mary possibly have been serving by being considered a co-redeemer, if Jesus' participation alone was all that was necessary for Redemption? It seems she is serving no purpose of God's as she is labeled co-redemptrix, rather she is serving someone else's. The Catholic position is that Jesus did all the Redemption work, but Mary still deserves some credit because she suffered as a mother during His death (isn't that some line a liberal would come up with?)

An analogy to the what the RCC position would be if it didn't let its worship of Mary interfere with logic: A woman gives me a banana, which I eat. She watches me eat it all by myself as she thinks about how tasty it must be. Another woman comes into the room afterwards and sees the banana peel. She asks, "Who ate the banana?" I tell her I did, at which point the banana-giver says, "I am the one who gave him the banana, and I enjoyed watching him eat it." The second woman says, "That's not what I asked. I asked who ate the banana, and you ate none of it. You don't actually consider yourself to be a participant in his eating of the banana, which would make you a co-eater, just because your mouth watered as you watched him eat it, do you?" To which the banana-giver replies, "No, I cannot fairly say that I co-ate the banana with him, even though I am the one who gave it to him and imagined how it must have tasted as he ate it."

[BizarroNo1]

Don't let it bother you, because we're all Christians here. You can tell by our fruits.

How can we all be Christians here when according to the RCC, people who reject its 'authority' cannot be real Christians? Catholics don't believe the RCC is wrong in any way, do they? Follow the logic from there...

[OLD REGGIE]

Time and again the distinctions between latria (worship) and dulia (veneration) have been explained to you.

Did you forget Hyperdulia?

[Running On Empty]

I noticed that. It seems as though any request to
“prove” is just a fulcrum for dispute and the triumph of one’s own opinion.

And this happens again and again and again and.........

I am glad to see you earnestly contend for the Faith and holding onto it.

Yes, the Mass is the pinnacle of our Faith. It’s obvious that there are those who will never accept that. That doesn’t change our faith in any way. In fact, it helps us to honor it all the more.

Pax Christi

ROE

[Iscool]

This is actually, demonstratively false, even if one agrees that "Catholics worship Mary". Even if one finds a relatively obscure (Catholic) source that directly states (or exhorts) Catholics worship Mary, this still doesn't necessarily violate Scripture. Why? Because the very usage of the word "worship" (proskyneō) in Scripture itself does not always mean the honor and respect shown to God. (cf. Matt 2:2, 8, 11 In these verses we see the Magi desiring "to worship" the King of the Jews; it's highly unlikely they thought the King of the Jews was God. Similarly for King Herod, who, in verse 8, desired to "worship him too". Thus, simply bowing down to a man, in Scripture itself does not always necessarily mean worshipping that man like one would worship God.)

I don't see where you're being very demonstrative...There are different kinds of worship...One is the one you are speaking of...Another is the aspect of serving God...

The one you are referring to is the same as in Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

The people that worshipped the baby Jesus worshipped Him the same as others worshipped God...

And exactly the same 'god' worship as the people in Act 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon

All the same word...All the same worship...

It's not different words used, or different uses of the word worship...It's the same word with the same usage with different gods, in some cases...

[Running On Empty]

It is not Truth to say that “according to the RCC, people who reject its authority cannot be real Christians”.

If something is said about Catholicism, what is said should be true and not false.

[Iscool]

Oh ho! You do realize what you just confirmed is TRADITION.

Hardly...

Jesus told the Apostles that He and the Father are ONE...Jesus told the Apostles that He had to leave but the third part of the Trinity would come and take His place...

And they received the Holy Spirit...

The Apostle Paul spent 3 years with the Resurrected Jesus...And of course was filled with the Holy Spirit as well...

That's not tradition, that's Scripture...They not only knew of the Trinity, they wrote about it, often...

Where did your church fathers get the knowledge??? Apparently not from Scripture...Lucky guess???

[tiki]

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

NICENE CREED:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
[bow during the next two lines:]
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.
All: Blessed be God for ever.

Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed be God for ever.

Holy, Holy (Sanctus):
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Memorial Acclamation:
Priest: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
All: A - Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
or B - Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.
or C - When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
or D - Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the World.

All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace.

Move along folks there is no worship of Jesus in the Mass. >S<

[OpusatFR]

“That’s not tradition, that’s Scripture...They not only knew of the Trinity, they wrote about it, often...

Where did your church fathers get the knowledge??? Apparently not from Scripture...Lucky guess???”

What is your stand on the hypostatic union? Is that a tenet of your faith? Where do you stand on Arianism?

The Church fathers were the ones who gave you what you believe if you are a Trinitarian. No one else. They used Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

[Quix]

goodness . . . what am I forgetting . . .

is it Super-ego in the service of the Id

or the Id in the service of the Super-ego . . . or

is it . . .

Super-dogmatica in the service of the Statue-pontifica in the service of the Magicsterical power mongers in the service of . . .

[OLD REGGIE]

Protestant Puritan British killed millions of Irish Catholics under Oliver Cromwell.

Wow! I have read estimates that the entire population of Ireland was as high as 1,800,000 at the time of Oliver Cromwell.

He killed th entire population of Ireland and a few hundred thousand "others" for good measure?

Let's make some small effort to be factual with our "history".

[OpusatFR]

BTW, the whole theology of the Catholic Church is Pauline.

Guess?

Answer: St. Paul

[tiki]

did Jesus need Mary, or anyone else, to redeem the world alongside Himself?

Does God NEED you? Evidently you are part of His plan because you exist. So the real question would be, did God use Mary as a part of His plan?

[Running On Empty]

Thanks, tiki