Chapter III: Part 3

The early half of the fourteenth century was a season of much agitation in philosophical and theological opinions. The ancient struggle between the Nominalists and the Realists entered at this time upon a new phase. The Realism of St. Thomas of Aquin was opposed by the Nominalism of Occam, and Fitz-Ralph found Oxford still agitated by the controversies that master had excited. The Franciscans were generally Nominalists; the secular clergy, as a body, were Realists. The entire university was divided into two opposite camps. The “Northern men” declared for Realism, the “Southern men” for Nominalism.(41) Fitz-Ralph became a leading Realist, and the marked divergence between his views and those of the Franciscans was probably not without its influence on the controversy to which hereafter we shall have occasion to refer.

How deep and how extensive were the studies of Fitz-Ralph shall best be learned from the list of his works at the conclusion of this notice. It will be enough for our present purpose to state here, that his labours cover almost the entire field of Catholic controversy with the Greeks and Armenians, as well as (by anticipation) with the Reformers. A remarkable element in his writings, and one the presence of which reveals the form of scepticism current in his age, is the contribution he has made to the literature of the Christian Demonstration. He defends the Christian religion against the Jews by contrasting the sacraments and ceremonies of the New Law with those of the Jewish dispensation. This line of defence was called for by the altered method of attack which the Jews about the twelfth century began to employ against the Church. In the early ages the controversy turned upon the question whether our Lord was the Messiah. In the middle ages they had recourse to the scriptural defence of their own position, and calumnious attacks on Christianity. It is not strange that he should have combated Mahometanism. It should be borne in mind that the age of Frederic II. had witnessed the birth of a strange admiration for Mahometan literature; that Pope Gregory IX. had fought against this novel danger; that against the Arabian Averroes and his philosophy St. Thomas of Aquin himself had entered the lists. It is not surprising therefore that the archbishop’s zeal urged him to provide a remedy for the evil by proving that the Saracenic law itself confirmed the authority of the books of the Old and New Testament.

Before 1333 he proceeded to his degree of Doctor of Theology.

§ V. His Preferments In England.

Ware(42) declares that Dr. Fitz-Ralph was made Chancellor of Oxford University in 1333. On the other hand, Wood asserts in his history that no record of this chancellorship exists either in the University or the Episcopal archives. However, the same Wood admits him to have been Commissarius of the university in that year, or, as we may describe it, vice-chancellor. Is there any way by which these different statements may be reconciled? It appears to us that an attentive consideration of the various phases through which the office of chancellor of Oxford has passed will supply a very probable solution of the difficulty.

First of all, we must bear in mind that Oxford was not at that time the seat of a bishop, but was included within the diocese of Lincoln. Next, we should consider that even during the course of the fourteenth century the chancellor was an episcopal officer, not an academical one; he represented the ordinary of the diocese, and from him drew all his jurisdiction and authority. As the university grew in importance and extent, the position of the chancellor, as a power extern to the university, became untenable, and by degrees, the nomination to the office passed from the hands of the bishop to those of the academicians.(43) For a time the bishop struggled to retain at least the right of confirming the election, but in the course of the fourteenth century even this claim was abandoned. The period 1300-1350 forms, therefore, a peculiar epoch in the history of the Oxford chancellors, marking as it does the transition period between the chancellors who were episcopal officers, and the chancellors elected by and out of the university. Now this transition was not effected suddenly, but almost by way of compromise: there was no sharp separation between the two classes of chancellors; the one gradually merged into the other. We should therefore expect to find some confusion in the list of chancellors; the bishop’s chancellor being considered as the legitimate chancellor by those who sided with the bishop, whereas the academicians would naturally look up to their own nominee. Now it is quite certain that Richard Fitz-Ralph, master of theology, was appointed Chancellor of Lincoln on the 6th of July, 1333, for the appointment is entered under that date on the register of Bishop Burghers. We may conclude, therefore, either that as Chancellor of Lincoln he was Chancellor of the University, as the episcopal officers before him had been, or that his appointment having fallen upon a time of some dispute about the nomination of the chancellor, he was styled _commissarius_ only, or that the story of his Oxford chancellorship took its rise from the fact that he was chancellor of the bishop in whose diocese Oxford was situated. According to some authors, he was also Archdeacon of Chester. But he was certainly Dean of Lichfield, at least from 1337, and held this office until his appointment to Armagh. Wood relates that shortly before his own time the first window on the northern side of the choir of Lichfield cathedral contained a picture of Richard Fitz-Ralph clothed in his sacerdotal vestments, and above the following inscription: _Richardus Radulphi filius, Armachanus, Hujus Ecclesiae Decanus._

(TO BE CONTINUED.)

PURGATORY OF ST. PATRICK IN LOUGH DERG.

As at this season many pious Christians visit the Purgatory of St. Patrick in Lough Derg, for the performance of penitential works, we have been requested to supply, from authentic sources, a history of that pilgrimage. In compliance with this request we give the following account of it, extracted from Dr. Moran’s _History of the Archbishops Of Dublin_, where he treats of Dr. Fleming.(44) That Archbishop writing on the 20th of August, 1625, to the Internuncio in Brusselles, makes the following statement:

“The pious and innumerable pilgrimages of the faithful this year
are a pledge of great fervour; for, like bees to the beehive, so
do they daily flock in such numbers from every corner of the
kingdom, for penitential purposes, to a certain island, which is
called the Purgatory of St. Patrick, and which is situated in the
centre of a lake, that many have been obliged to return without
satisfying their pious desire, there being no room for landing on
the island. This pilgrimage, though, through the bitter
persecutions of heresy, it has been almost abandoned for many
years, was once so celebrated throughout the Christian world, that
many from the most distant parts even of the continent visited it
in a spirit of devotion. The manner of performing the pilgrimage
as it is now observed from ancient tradition, is as follows:—Each
person, from the day he arrives in the island till the tenth
following day, never departs from it. All this time is, without
intermission, devoted to fasting, watching, and prayer. If they
wish to give rest to their body they must sleep on the bare
ground, and for the most part under the broad canopy of heaven.
They receive but one refection, and that consists of bread and
water. It is incredible what severe austerities and bodily
mortifications females, as well as men, and persons of every age
and of every condition, endure, whilst they perform this
penitential course; and during twenty-four hours they are shut up
in certain caves, like unto prisons, where they pass the whole day
and night entirely absorbed in prayer, and receiving nothing to
eat or to drink.

“I have thought it well to mention this fact, for, I am sure, your
excellency will be rejoiced to see that the natives of this
island, by this so great and so unparalleled an impetus of
devotion, seek to appease the anger of God; and we may confidently
hope, that by their fervour He will be appeased, who listens to
the prayers of those who have recourse to Him in their
afflictions.”

The contemporary, Messingham, describes the course of penance
performed in the island somewhat more in detail than has been
already given in the letter of Dr. Fleming. “During the nine days
of the pilgrimage”, he says, “a rigorous fast was observed on
oaten bread and the water of the lake. The pilgrim was first
conducted barefooted to the church of St. Patrick, around which he
moved on his knees seven times inside, and seven times outside,
repeating all the while stated prayers of the Church. He was then
conducted to the seven places of station, known as _lecti pœnosi_,
which were formerly small churches, or sanctuaries, dedicated to
various saints; and at each of these he repeated the visit as
above. The next station was around a cross in the cemetery, and
subsequently at another cross that was fixed in a mound of stones.
Thence he proceeded, _over a rough and rocky path_, to a spot on
the border of the lake, to which tradition pointed as the place on
which St. Patrick had knelt in prayer. Here, also, certain prayers
were appointed to be recited. All this pilgrimage and prayer was
repeated three times each day—morning, noon, and evening—during
the first seven days; on the eighth day it was repeated six times;
confession and communion followed on the morning of the ninth day;
and then the pilgrims entered the cave, where twenty-four hours
were devoted to fasting and meditation. Any that choose not to
enter the cave, passed these twenty-four hours in solitude at one
of the former stations”.(45) The seven _lecti pœnosi_ were
dedicated to SS. Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Brendan, Molaisre,
Catherine, and Dabeoc, who was the patron of the place. During
Catholic times there was an elegant church in the centre of the
cemetery, and, besides other relics, it possessed some of our
glorious apostle. This church, with the seven cells, or smaller
churches, was still standing at the time of Peter Lombard, who
adds, that “the English deputy did not dare to prevent the
pilgrimage or profane the place”.(46) He also describes the cave
as “situated a few paces to the north of the church, being a
narrow building, roofed with stone, which could contain twelve,
or, at most, fourteen persons, kneeling two and two.(47) There was
one small window, near which those were placed who were bound to
read the breviary”.

“This solitary island was looked on as a place which had been
chosen by saint Patrick for retreat and silent prayer, and for
exercising those deeds of penance for which his whole life was so
remarkable. Hence it derived its name of Purgatory, or place of
Penance, of St. Patrick.(48) But whilst it was thus for the
inhabitants of Ireland a chosen retreat of prayer and penance, its
fame on the continent assumed another form. With the troubadours
it became a favourite theme. Calderon immortalized it in Spanish;
in Italy, it attracted the attention of Dante and Ariosto; and
many popular tales about St. Patrick’s Purgatory are still extant
in French and Portuguese. It thus became a matter of romance; and
poetical imagination conducted the penitents who visited the
Island of Lough Derg, at first to the regions of Purgatory, and
subsequently to the abodes of the blessed or of the damned.

“On the dawn of the so-called Reformation, Protestant writers
seized on these poetic tales as if they were matters of sober
fact, and availed themselves of the fictions of romance to cast
ridicule on the practices of Catholic piety and devotion. For some
time, indeed, they did not dare to offer violence to the pilgrims,
who hastened thither with unabated fervour. During the reign of
James I., however, the chapels or oratories on the island were
demolished; but this did not satisfy the fury with which the
enemies of the Catholic faith assailed its sanctuaries and
shrines. Enraged at the numbers who, despite their threats,
continued to flock to this penitential retreat, the lords
justices, in 1632, made a last effort to desecrate ‘the holy
island’. After publicly announcing that, in the opinion of the
Papists, there was a passage from this island to the other world,
and an entrance to the realms of Purgatory, they gave orders to
have the whole island dug up, and that especially no portion of
the cave should remain undestroyed; and thus, says Dr. Mant, was
made known ‘the imposition of the Irish clergy’. But we should
much rather say, thus did the predecessors of Dr. Mant reveal to
the world the blindness of their bigotry, and afford a new
instance of the frenetical fury, by which alone they were guided,
in upturning the sanctuaries of Catholic devotion. Borlase, in his
reduction of Ireland,(49) mentions this sacrilegious act, and
adds, that ‘St. Patrick’s Purgatory was discovered to be a mere
illusion, a little cell hewn out of a rock, no confines of
Purgatory or Hell’.(50) Boate, too, in his _Natural History_ (p.
44), gives some further particulars; as he states that it was on
the 13th of September, 1632, that the order of the lords justices
was carried into execution, and that the religious who had it in
charge were driven from the island, their monasteries being
demolished, and the cell itself broken open; ‘in which state’, he
adds (writing in 1660), ‘it hath lain ever since’.

“In the Antistitis Icon, or Sketch of the Life of Dr. Kirwan,
bishop of Killala, written by John Lynch; the learned archdeacon
of Tuam, and first printed in 1669,(51) we have a faithful
description of the penitential severities of this place of
pilgrimage, and of the true motives which impelled the fervent
faithful to flock thither in such numbers:—

“ ‘That he (Dr. Kirwan) might not be wanting in any species of
piety, he reverenced in his soul the custom of undertaking
pilgrimages. Nor was he satisfied with visiting such places in
Connaught as were consecrated by the sojourn of the saints, and,
above all, the rugged mountain called _Cruagh Padrick_, which he
was wont to frequent, often ascending its steep sides, a thousand
paces in height, and there staying, according to usage, on the
very summit, which is covered with large stones, and creeping on
bended knees over the rough rock fragments, which struck one with
horror, not to speak of the danger of yawning chasms and
precipices; but often, too, did he go into Ulster, to the
far-famed _Purgatory of St. Patrick_, in which the pilgrims are
wont to abstain from meat for nine days, using no food, save a
little bread, and water from the lake. During one of the nine
days, they are shut up in the dismal darkness of a cavern, and,
therein fasting, partake of nothing save a little water, to
moisten their throats when parched with thirst. At noontide and
evening, they go on bended knees over paths beaten by the feet of
saints, and strewn with sharp stones. In other quarters, they walk
barefooted over rugged ways, in the olden time frequented by holy
men, to satisfy for their transgressions. Sometimes walking and
sometimes on their knees, they advance to a considerable distance
into the sea. Thus do they spend the day, pouring out their
prayers to God, and listening to holy discourses; nor in this
sacred place is there to be seen or heard anything scurrilous or
ludicrous. When night comes on, they lie down, not to enjoy
repose, but to snatch a few moments’ sleep; their beds are of
straw, nor do they use any pillow but their garments. Thrice each
day did Francis, with the other pilgrims, punctually perform these
duties, and, in addition, he diligently applied himself to hearing
confessions and preaching sermons’.(52)

“The nuncio Rinuccini, in the report of his nunciatura, made to
the Holy See on his return to home in 1649, mentions how anxiously
he had desired to snatch from the hands of the heretics the
_far-famed Purgatory of St. Patrick_; and he adds: ‘The devotions
of this deep cave are of great antiquity, though their first
origin is uncertain. It is agreed, that the saint chose that spot
for his holy retreats; and the visions(53) with which he was there
favoured by God, were well known, and approved of by succeeding
generations. At present, the fury of the Calvinists has levelled
everything with the ground, and filled up the cave; and as thus
they destroyed every vestige of the spot, so do they seek to
cancel every trace of its memory. It seemed to me that my mission
from Rome should embrace this, too, as one of its special objects,
and I would have been, in part, content, could I have re-planted
the cross on that island. But I was not blessed with the
fulfilment of this design’.(54)

“Despite, however, all the efforts of the Puritans, it continued
to be a place of resort for pilgrims from every quarter of
Ireland; so much so, that in the second year of queen Anne, the
parliament once more enacted, ‘that, whereas the superstitions of
popery are greatly increased and upheld by the pretended sanctity
of places, especially of a place called St. Patrick’s Purgatory in
the county of Donegal, and of wells to which pilgrimages are made
by vast numbers, ... be it enacted, that all such meetings be
deemed riots and unlawful assemblies, and all sheriffs, etc., are
hereby required to be diligent in executing the laws against all
offenders’.

“In the year 1714, Dr. Hugh M’Mahon, bishop of Clogher,(55)
presented to the Sacred Congregation a Relation of the diocese
entrusted to his care, and amongst other things, he details his
own experience of the place of penitential resort which we have
been describing. He had visited it disguised as a merchant from
Dublin; for, even then, a bishop incurred great risk were he
publicly recognized; and he describes in detail each particular of
its penitential course. From his description we may conclude, that
some changes had been introduced in its ritual since the time when
Lombard and Messingham penned their commentaries. We shall give
the extract in full in a note, as it has never before been
published.(56)

“About forty years later, the Purgatory of St. Patrick was visited
by another eminent prelate of our Irish Church, Dr. Thomas De
Burgo, who, in his _Hibernia Dominicana_, has recorded his
impressions on visiting that far-famed sanctuary. ‘So great’, he
says, ‘are the penitential deeds performed there, that they
exceed, in my opinion, those of any other pilgrimage in the
universe’;(57) and he adds: ‘Non quae audivi, sed quae vidi
refero; mihi enim feliciter contigit, insulam ipsam sanctissimi
Patritii habitatione et miraculis consecratam, praeclarumque
austeritatis primorum ecclesiae saeculorum praebentem exemplar,
invisere anno 1748’.

“As regards the relations of the Holy See with this place of
devotion, we learn from the Bollandists, that, in 1497, the cave
was destroyed by order from Rome, in consequence of its being
represented to the Pope as _an occasion of shameful avarice_, by a
monk from Holland, who had visited it, attracted by its
wide-spread fame, and yet saw there none of the wonderful visions
which he had heard so often described.(58) The Ulster Annals also
commemorate this destruction, but state that it was occasioned by
its not being the true cave hallowed by St. Patrick.(59) The
proper lessons for the feast of the Purgatory of St. Patrick were
inserted in the Roman Breviary, printed at Venice in 1522, but
were expunged by order of the Holy Father, in the next edition, by
the same printer, in 1524. The nature of the devotion was
subsequently explained to the Holy See; and we are informed by
Messingham, that indulgences were attached to its penitential
exercises before the close of the sixteenth century.(60) When Dr.
M’Mahon wrote his Relatio, the term of the indulgences granted by
pope Clement X. had just expired. A little later, the cardinal
archbishop of Benevento, who was subsequently raised to the papal
chair as Benedict XIII., made the Purgatory of St. Patrick the
theme of one of his homilies to his flock; and since that time
this devotion has been ever cherished and encouraged by the
sovereign pontiffs.

“In the Annals of the Four Masters, and other ancient records,
mention of pilgrimages to this island seldom recurs. It was a mere
matter of private devotion, and did not precisely fall within the
province of history. In the sixteenth century, we learn from the
Bollandists, that it was sometimes visited by 1,500 persons at the
same time.(61) Dr. Fleming tells us how such numbers flocked to it
in 1625, that many had to return without finding room to land upon
the island. Nor since then has its celebrity decreased; and we
find that, before the famine years of 1847, this sanctuary was
annually visited by no fewer than 10,000 pilgrims.(62) At the
present day the average number of daily pilgrims, during the
_station months_, is very considerable, and the total annual
number is estimated at several thousands.

“Besides the many accounts of this Purgatory, published more as
matters of romance(63) than history, there are several valuable
treatises which deserve attention. Not only Lombard and
Messingham, in the works already alluded to, but the Bollandists
(17 March); Dr. Lanigan (vol. iv. p. 290, seqq.); Colgan, in his
_Trias Thaumaturga_ (p. 27); and Feijoo, the celebrated Spanish
critic, in his _Theatro Critico_ (tom. vii. p. 157), give several
important facts, together with many judicious remarks concerning
this venerated sanctuary of Lough Derg. The valuable notes of Dr.
Matthew Kelly to the first volume of _Cambrensis Eversus_ (pp.
138-155), throw much light on the subject. See also, a very rare
treatise, entitled, _A Brief History of St. Patrick’s Purgatory_,
written by the Rev. Cornelius Nary, parish priest of Michan’s, and
published in Dublin in 1718.”

LITURGICAL QUESTIONS.

We purpose in this number of the _Record_ to answer a few practical questions connected with the office of the dead, which have been forwarded to us:

1. Is it proper for the president of the choir to wear the alb and cincture during the recitation of the office of the dead—the matins and lauds?

2. Should he wear stole and cope, or either?

3. Is it correct to say the Requiem aeternam after the prayer at lauds when the Mass follows?

4. is it proper for the priest who presides in the choir to perform the absolution after Mass?

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

1. It is not proper for the president of the choir to wear the alb and cincture at matins and lauds. There is a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites which appears to bear on this subject.

The question proposed was:

“Dubium LXI. Juxta Rituale, dum in officio dicuntur laudes:
sacerdos cum ministris paratur ad celebrandam missam solemnem pro
defuncto. Exinde autem oriuntur dubia de modo concludendi laudes:
nempe 1o Ubi sunt duo vel plures Presbyteri, alius debetne
concludere Laudes dum celebrans qui officium inchoavit paratur in
sacristia? 2. Ubi unicus est Presbyter debetne iste relinquere
officium Laudum sine Praeside et adire sacristiam ut paretur ad
missam et deinde opportuno tempore redire in Chorum, vel ante
Altare, alba, cingulo, et stola indutus ut concludat Laudes?

“Ad LXI. Affirmative ad primam partem. Quoad secundam debet
concludere laudes et postea sacristiam petere ut sese vestiat pro
Missae celebratione. Die 12 Augusti, 1864”.

It is evident from this decree that the vestments are not to be worn at the office of the dead, for they are not allowed even in a case which would appear one of necessity, viz.: when there is only one priest present, and when some delay must necessarily occur between the office and the mass, if the celebrant must wait to say the prayer at the end of Lauds before he puts on the vestments. If in such an extreme case, when there arises some delay between the office and mass, which is most objectionable and always to be avoided in ceremonies, the alb and cincture cannot be worn, they cannot surely be used on ordinary occasions when such necessity does not exist.

2. With regard to the second question, the Roman Ritual does not prescribe even the use of a stole or of a cope, as far as we are aware, and we think that the practice of not wearing one or the other at the office is the most correct and to be recommended, though we are well aware that the contrary practice is adopted by many. The Roman Ritual, treating of the procession in which the remains are carried to the church, has the following words:

“Parochus indutus superpelliceo et stola nigra vel pluvali ejusdem
coloris, clerico praeferente crucem et alio aquam benedictam ad
domum defuncti una cum aliis procedit”.

But these words do not apply to the office. The Caeremoniale Episcoporum, treating of the ceremony on All Souls’ Day, does make mention of the stole and cope (book ii., chap. 10, n. 10):

“Haec ut dixi servantur si ipse episcopus sit in his vesperis aut
matutinis officium facturus; sin minus posset manere cum cappa in
choro in loco suo et Canonicus hebdomadarius paratus pluviali
nigro supra Rocchetum vel cottam aut saltem stola nigra faceret
aut diceret omnia praedicta”.

The words of the _Caeremoniale_ gave rise to the following question proposed to the Sacred Congregation of Rites: “An in officio defunctorum celebrans inducre debeat stolam vel saltem possit, uti erui posse videtur ex Caeremoniali lib 2o. cap. 10.

“_Resp._ Negative extra casum in caeremoniali contemplatum. 7 Septembris, 1850”.

There is another decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites referring to this matter:—

“Dubium LVIII. An sacerdos qui juxta Rituale, superpelliceo et
stola indutus praefuit clationi corporis debeat retinere stolam
dum praeest matutino et Laudibus quae immediate sequuntur? Saltem
si in hac Functione utatur Pluviali, quum in eo casu non possit
deponere stolam quin per aliquantis Pluviale exuat?

“Ad LVIII. In utroque casu licere. Die 12 Augusti, 1864”.

We may observe that a direct answer is not given to the question, which was proposed with the view of ascertaining what should be done in two special cases, and the only answer given was “in utroque casu licere”. Hence a priest might wear the stole and cope, but should he not do so, he would not follow a course at variance with this decree. No doubt, in some rubrical works, express mention is made of the stole and cope, and still more frequently of one or the other; but the Roman Ritual, as we said, does not prescribe either at the office of the dead, and when their use is pointed out, it generally refers to the cathedral churches, where the ceremonies are carried out with greater pomp and solemnity, than in those rural churches to which our correspondent refers. We may also observe that the decree above quoted, does not contemplate the use of the stole and cope apart from the procession. On the whole, considering the circumstances of our churches, we would in practice dispense with stole and cope at the office, while we would be slow to condemn the use of the cope, if such a custom existed in any church that in other respects carried out the ceremonies of the Church with accuracy and decorum. But we consider that the decree of 7th September, 1850, above quoted, clearly lays down that the stole ought not to be used, though we find it more frequently used on such occasions than the cope, on the ground, perhaps, that it is an emblem of jurisdiction in the person who presides.

3. In reply to the third question, we beg to say that the Mass should commence immediately at the end of the lauds, which terminate with the prayer, and after the prayer, the Requiem aeternam, etc., and Requiescant in pace should not be said: it is only when the ceremony concludes that these are to be said.

“In fine Laudum dicta oratione, non adduntur versus Requiem
aeternam, nec Requiescant, sive sequatur Missa sive hac omissa
statim procedatur ad absolutionem, quia hi versus, qui deserviunt
in ultimum vale defunctis, sunt in fine precum reservandi”.(64)

The prayer at the end of Lauds on such occasions should be said cum conclusione brevi. We give the following extracts from Cavalieri, a distinguished rubricist, who writes, in tom. 3, cap. 2, decr. 16, n. 13:—

“In Rituali oratio ponitur _cum conclusione brevi_, sed hoc ideo,
quia supponit, quod non ibi terminetur officium, sed continenti
filo pergatur ad exequias: quare ut ponatur concordia Rituals
inter et Breviarium, quod longiorem notat conclusionem,
concludendi orationes haec erit regula; quoties una tantum dicitur
oratio, et ibi terminatur officium, conclusio sit integra; brevis
vero quando sequantur exequiae, seu absolutio ab tumulum, sive
haec fiant praesente vel absente corpore sive diebus 3. 7. 30.,
anniversario, vel alio officio quolibet. Confirmatur ex Rubricis
Breviarii Romani trium Ordinum S. Francisci, quae approbatae
fuerunt a Pio VI. an. 1785. In die Commemor. omnium Fidelium Def.
additur haec annotatio: _Conclusiones (orationum in officio pro
defunct.) longiores adhibentur semper, quando unica dicitur
oratio; nisi statim sequatur Missa de Requiem, vel absolutio ad
tumulum; tunc enim dicitur conclusio brevis._

“(2) Cavalieri, _ib. n._ 14. quia Rituale, terminata oratione sub
brevi conclusione, non subdit versiculos _Requiem aeternam_, sed
statim transit ad Missam, et quatenus haec non sit dicenda, ad
orationem _Non intres_, nec dubitamus, quod praedicti versiculi
taceri debeant, quoties post Defunctorum officium sequitur Missa
de requiem, aut absolutio ad tumulum. Tunc enim ex hujusmodi
officiis fit unum veluti continuatum, unde versus illi, qui
deserviunt ad dandum ultimum vale Defunctis, sunt in fine precum
reservandi. Huic doctrinae conformis est praescriptio Rubricarum
in praedicto Breviario Fr. S. Francisci. Loco cit. dicitur: _Duo
autem Versiculi (Requiem aeternam, et Requiescant) post orationem
omittuntur, si statim sequatur Missa de Requiem, vel Absolutio ad
tumulum_”.

With regard to the fourth question the Roman ritual is quite clear. “Finita Missa sacerdos deposita casula seu planeta et manipulo accipit pluviale nigri coloris”.... It is always laid down that the celebrant of the Mass, unless the bishop be present, performs this part of the ceremony. The _Caeremoniale Episcoporum_, cap. 37, lib. 2o, has the following words, which we here quote:—

“Aliquo die non impedito infra octavam Defunctorum arbitrio
Episcopi, Canonicus aliquis, seu dignitas Ecclesiae Cathedralis
celebrabit Missam pro animabus omnium Episcoporum et Ecclesiae
Cathedralis Canonicorum defunctorum cum paramentis nigris et
caeremoniis prout supra dictum est, cui Missae Episcopus praesens
erit cum cappa et in fine si voluerit, poterit, immo debebit
deposita cappa et accepto pluviali absolvere, prout dicitur capite
praecedenti.

“Quod si Episcopus hujusmodi Missae praesens non erit, vel
absolvere nequiverit, celebrans finita Missa, accedet ad cornu
Epistolae altaris, ubi in plano, deposita planeta et manipulo
accipiet pluviale nigrum et stans in dicto cornu Epistolae versus
ad altare expectabit finem responsorii”....

It is evident from all this what answer is to be given to the fourth question, viz.: that in all cases the celebrant, and no other priest, should give the absolution when the bishop is not present.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

_Adjamenta Oratoris Sacri, seu, Divisiones, Sententiae, et Documenta de iis Christianae vitae veritatibus et officiis, quae frequentius e sacro pulpito proponenda sunt_, collecta atque ordine digesta opera Francisci Xaverii Schouppe, S.J. Brussels, Goemare, pp. 543. 1865.

From the materials here collected and prepared by Father Schouppe, the preacher may build his discourse with ease and advantage. And yet, though the materials are placed ready to his hand, the work will still be all his own. The author does not undertake to supersede labour, but to lighten the preacher’s fatigue by lending his friendly help. He supplies matter for the discourse, he even traces the outline of its form, and then leaves to the preacher himself the task of construction. In the opening pages he addresses himself to the question, _how is a priest, especially a young priest, to render himself a useful and even a perfect preacher of the Word of God?_ In answer to this question, he touches in a masterly way on these two points, 1. What is a preacher of the Gospel, and what is the perfection that belongs to him? 2. By what process may a preacher attain to this perfection? Part of this process consists, of course, in the preparation of the sermon, and it is to facilitate this preparation that the work before us has been compiled. The author reduces to fifty heads the entire cycle of subjects suited for pastoral exhortation, embracing in this number whatever can serve to bring the sinner to justification, to guide him in the path of a Christian life, and to conduct him to Heaven. He gives on each of these fifty subjects a treatise which is a marvel of brevity and fulness. So judicious is the arrangement of the texts bearing on the subject; so clear and full the statement of the case; so simple the division of the arguments, that each of these little treatises makes the reader complete master of the subject of which it treats. On the more important subjects, and on those which require more frequent handling, the author supplies many and different divisions or outlines of sermons, thus guarding against the monotony that arises when a subject is presented often under the same form. One other merit we would signalise in this work. It deals with the wants, defects, and vices of the men of our own times. The books of sermons which are to be found on the shelves of the clergy generally belong to an extinct period; the exhortations they contain are coloured by circumstances that have long ceased to exist. Modern modes of thought, modern manners, modern literature, have given rise to a peculiar class of temptations and of dangers, and as these differ quite from those of a century ago, so also do they demand peculiar treatment and special remedies.

Father Schouppe has not forgotten this, and takes care to grapple with the difficulties that beset the Christian life of the nineteenth century. Two indexes close the volume. One exhibits a general synopsis of the contents; the other refers to the various passages whence materials may be drawn for a sermon appropriate to the gospel of each Sunday and holiday in the year. Both indexes enhance the practical value of this excellent book, which we do not hesitate to call a real boon for the clergy.

_The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland._ By John P. Prendergast, Esq. London: Longmans, 1865.

This is a valuable accession to Irish history. It gives an account of the cruelties practised on our people in the Cromwellian Confiscations. It confirms, from official sources, the painful details contained in Dr. Moran’s lately published sketch of the persecutions of the Irish Catholics in the seventeenth century. The Irish land question cannot be well understood without the aid of Mr. Prendergast’s excellent book.

FOOTNOTES

_ 1 Milton’s Prose: A Lecture delivered in the Museum of Irish
Industry, St. Stephen’s Green, by the Right Hon. Judge Keogh_: The
Irish Times, June 1, 1865.

2 We print the words of the judge as we find them, though it seems
irreverential, not to say worse, to compare a regicide, and a man
who denied the divinity of Christ, to the apostle of the nations.
Though Milton was gifted with the highest natural powers, yet, not
having the qualities of a true Christian, he was only like sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal.

_ 3 Works of Samuel Johnson_: Dublin, 1793, vol. v., p. 72.

4 The _Works of John Milton_. London: Bickers and Bush, 1863: vol. iv.
pp. 411, 412.

5 It is entitled _A Treatise of True Religion, Heresy, Schism,
Toleration, and the best means to prevent the growth of Popery_.

6 “As for tolerating the exercise of their [the Catholic] religion, I
answer, that toleration is either public or private; and the
exercise of their religion, as far as it is idolatrous, can be
tolerated neither way; _not publicly_, without grievous and
insufferable scandal given to all conscientious beholders; _not
privately_, without great offence to God, declared against all kind
of idolatry, though secret”—_Milton’s Works_, already quoted, vol.
v. p. 413.

7 See Bayle; _Dictionnaire Historique et Critique_: art. Milton, note
o; also _Johnson’s Works_, vol. v. pp. 95, 96.

_ 8 Quarterly Review_, October, 1825, p. 446.

9 Milton’s Works, Bickers and Bush; vol. iv. p. 428.

10 See the _Edinburgh Encyclopædia_, articles “Copernicus”, and
“Gallileo”.

11 See _The Martyrs of Science_, by Sir David Brewster; or the
_Edinburgh Review_, July, 1844, p. 173.

12 See _Martyrs of Science_; or the _Edinburgh Review_, July, 1844, p.
174.

13 It is singular that the sufferings of Irish Catholics should meet
with more sympathy from an English Protestant clergyman than from an
Irish Catholic lecturer. The relations between our country and “our
glorious deliverer” are thus described by the Rev. Sidney Smith:—

“The war carried on in Ireland against King William cannot deserve
the name of a rebellion: it was a struggle for their lawful prince,
whom they had sworn to maintain, and whose zeal for the Catholic
religion, whatever effect it might have produced in England, could
not by them be considered as a crime. This war was terminated by the
surrender of Limerick, upon conditions by which the Catholics hoped,
and very rationally hoped, to secure to themselves the free
enjoyment of their religion in future, and an exemption from all
those civil penalties and incapacities which the reigning creed is
so fond of heaping upon its subjugated rivals.

“By the various articles of this treaty, they are to enjoy such
privileges in the exercise of their religion as they did enjoy in
the time of Charles II.; and the king promises, upon the meeting of
parliament, ‘to endeavour to procure for them such _further
security_ in that particular as may preserve them _from any
disturbance_ on account of their said religion’. They are to be
restored to their estates, privileges, and immunities, as they
enjoyed them in the time of Charles II. The gentlemen are to be
allowed to carry arms; and no other oath is to be tendered to the
Catholics who submit to King William than the oath of allegiance.
These and other articles _King William ratifies for himself, his
heirs and successors, as far as in him lies, and confirms the same,
and every other clause and matter therein contained_.

“These articles were signed by the English general on the 3rd of
October, 1691; and diffused comfort, confidence, and tranquillity
among the Catholics. On the 22nd of October, the English parliament
excluded Catholics from the Irish Houses of Lords and Commons, by
compelling them to take the oaths of supremacy before admission.

“In 1695, the Catholics _were deprived of all means of educating
their children, at home or abroad_, and of the privilege of being
guardians to their own or to other persons’ children. Then all the
Catholics were disarmed, and then _all the priests banished. After
this_ (probably by way of joke) an act was passed to _confirm_ the
Treaty of Limerick,—the great and glorious King William totally
forgetting the contract he had entered into, of recommending the
religious liberties of Catholics to the attention of
Parliament”—_The Works of the Reverend Sidney Smith._ London:
Longman and Co., 1854, pp. 272, 273.

_ 14 The Life of Milton._ By the Rev. John Mitford: prefixed to his
Works. London: Bickers and Bush. Vol. i. p. cxlvi.

_ 15 Ib._, p. cxliii.

16 Ap. _Usher_, _loc. cit._, p. 47: _Villaneuva Synod. S. Patricii_, p.
3.

_ 17 Poenitentiale_, can. 5.

_ 18 De Arreis_, § 3 and § 4.

_ 19 Poenitent._, v. 12.

_ 20 Ibid._, ii. 16.

_ 21 Poenitentiale_, can. 14 and can. 23.

_ 22 Poenitentiale_, can. 30.

_ 23 Curry MSS._ § 60; and Dr. Reeves on _The Culdees_, pag. 209.

24 Reeves, loc. cit., pag. 202, seqq. The _cumhal_ in the Latin
documents is expressed by _ancilla_. Its literal meaning is
_bondmaid_, whose equivalent was reckoned at three cows. See
O’Donovan, _Book of Rights_, page 139.

25 Page 173.

26 “Accedens ad sacerdotem a quo sibi sperabat iter salutis posse
demonstrari confessus est reatum suum”, etc.—Bede, _H. Eccl._, iv.
25.

27 “Eadem hora omnia confessus peccata leges poenitentiae flexis
genibus se impleturum promisit”—_Vita S. Columb._, ii. 39, _edit.
I.A.S._, p. 157.

_ 28 Ibid._, p. 59. See also lib. i. cap. 17, p. 46.

29 Vita S. Pulcher, _alias_ Mochoemogue, who lived in the seventh
century, cap. xix., ap. Colgan, p. 592: “Videns eum vir Dei
visitatum verâ poenitentia, ait ei: confitere peccata tua et esto de
caetero fidelis in omnibus”.

30 See _Martyrol. of Donegal_, p. 211, and _Vita S. Maidoc_, cap. xx.,
and liv. ap. _Colgan_, p. 208, seqq. St. Dubthach of Armagh is also
famous in our annals as being the “chief confessor of Ireland and
Albany” (Colgan, _Tr. Thaum._, p. 298); and St. Gormgal of Ardoilean
is similarly eulogised by the Four Masters, ad. an. 1017. _Conf.
Colgan, Act. SS._, p. 141.

_ 31 Vita_, cap. 22, _Tr. Colgan_, p. 353; Reeves’ _Columba_, p. 213,
note _k_.

32 This couplet is quoted by Prince in his _Worthies of Devon_ from
_Paul_ Harris, c. 5, p. 88, who thus introduces it, “of whose
(Fitz-Ralph’s) sanctity the common people of Ireland by ancient
tradition were wont to chaunt this distich”. In the loose papers
prefixed to the _Martyrology of Donegal_, the verses are quoted from
_Henry_ Harris in _Apolu_. This false reference has led Dr. Todd
into a slight mistake, vide _Martyr. of Donegal_, App. to Int. p.
xlii.

_ 33 Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica_, vol. iv. London, 1847.
Pedigree of the Frechevilles and Musards.

_ 34 Danmonii Orientales Illustres, or the Worthies of Devon._

35 Theiner, _Monumenta_, p. 296-594.

_ 36 Martyrol. Angl._, tom. i. p. 296.

37 Huber, _English Universities_, vol. i., p. 438, Newman’s edition.

38 Grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

39 Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music.

40 Huber, _English Universities_, vol. i. p. 53.

41 Huber, note xx. p. 408, vol. i.

_ 42 De Presulibus Hib._, pag. 20-21.

43 Huber, vol. i. page 132.

44 For this reason we have enlarged the present number by a
half-sheet.—EDD. I. E. R.

45 “Messingham, p. 95. See also Carve, who in his _Lyra_ (edition of
1666), p. 112, gives a plate of the Insula Purgatorii S. Patricii;
and adds:—‘Certum est magnam olim hac in peninsula apparuisse
devotionem in qua etiam varios viri sancti circulos seu cavernas
maceriis introrsum circumdatas condiderunt; atque in iisdem
corpuscula sua jejuniis, orationibus, aliisque disciplinis assidue
domantes, auxiliumque divinae gratiae sine intermissione implorantes
ac insuper Deum pro communi ecclesiae bono, conservandaque inter
omnes Christianos vera concordia convenienter deprecantes’.”

46 “_Commentar._, p. 277.”

47 “Rothe apud Messingham states, that only nine persons were usually
admitted into the cave.”

48 “It is matter of dispute amongst our hagiologists, whether the St.
Patrick, from whose deeds of penance this island acquired its fame,
was our apostle, or another subsequent saint of the same name.”

49 “_The Reduction of Ireland to the Crown of England, with the
Governors_, etc., London, 1675, p. 207.”

50 “Had he taken the trouble to open the writings of Peter Lombard or
Messingham, he would have seen that the limits of the cell were well
known, and that _the confines of Purgatory or Hell_ existed only in
the distempered imaginations of the persecutors themselves.”

51 “This valuable work has been republished, accompanied with an
elegant translation and notes, by Rev. C. P. Meehan (Dublin, 1848).”

52 “_Ibid._, 61-63.”

53 “The poetical descriptions of ‘the Purgatory’ abound with fanciful
visions. We shall give a real one from a MSS. Relatio of the diocese
of Waterford, made by Dr. Patrick Comerford, on 16th Oct, 1632:—‘In
dioecesi Corcagiensi est quidam Anglus qui (ut a multis fertur)
biduum vel triduum mortuns revixit, et cum ante obitum esset
Calvinista, statim atque revixit abjuravit Calvinismum et publice
soepius declaravit se vidisse in inferno Lutherum et Calvinum et
proinde neminem salvari posse qui eorum dogmatibus adhaereret; hinc
excitati Protestantes eum iu carcerem detruserunt’.”

54 “_Nunziatura_, p. 414.”

55 “He was appointed in 1707, bishop of Clogher, and, in 1715, was
translated to Armagh. The Collections on the Church History
erroneously mark his appointment to Clogher in 1708, and his
translation to Armagh in 1709.”

56 “ ‘In septentrionali plaga hujus dioecesis Clogherensis, situs est
locus ille celeberrimus vulgo dictus Purgatorium S. Patricii in
parva insula circumdata lacu, quo ab initio Junii usque ad finem
Augusti confluunt ex omnibus regni partibus etiam remotissimis
quotannis omnis aetatis et conditionis milleni viri et mulieres
ibique conficiunt novenam semel in die solo pane avenaceo et aqua
victitantes, ac humi cubantes nudis pedibus semper, et non raro
offendiculo cruentatis: ter de die varias stationes visitant per
asperum iter acutis stratum lapillis cujus magna pars aquis ultra
genua excedentibus obtegitur, donec nona die, pracmissa generali
confessione, omnibus vitae noxis expiatis, sacro pabulo refecti ante
diluculum ingrediuntur subterraneam foveam quae purgatorium dicitur,
ibique viginti quatuor horis continuis semper vigiles et orantes
sine ullo cibi aut potus refrigerio perseverant et recurrente eadem
hora egressi sequenti die se ter immergunt algidis aquis sicque
perficitur peregrinatio cui otiosi fabularum fabricatores malta
commenta addiderunt de spectris ac visionibus quae nusquam comparent
nisi in vitiato cerebro comminiscentium; tribus mensibus, quibus
durat haec peregrinatio ab aurora ad meridiem celebrantur missae,
excipiuntur confessiones, fitque concio bis terve de die ad populum
qui uberrimis lachrymis, gemitibus aliisque poenitentiae signis cum
clamore editis concionantem frequenter interrumpit; tantaque
misericors Dominus asperam hanc et plane austeram peregrinationem
interioris gratiae suavitate accumulat ut qui antea videbantur
obdurati, vitiorum sordibus immersi acerrimos compunctionis stimulos
sentiant, nec contenti semel aut iterum accedere ad insulam, reperi
in dioecesi qui quatuordecim vicibus peregrinationem perfecerunt.
Non leve huic devotorum fervori addidit incrementum a SSmo D. N.
Clemente visitantibus concessa indulgentia plenaria quae brevi
expirabit et renovatione opus habet. Non absimile prodigio censetur
apud omnes quod peregrinatio haec primo loco et nominatim lege
parlamentaria sub gravissimus poenis prohibita, nullam vel certe
raram patiatur remoram a circumhabitantibus et alias supra modum
malignis Calvinistis Scotis. Et cum ipso accederem sub nomine
mercatoris Dublinensis (nam sub hujusmodi negotiatoris aut artificis
involucris latere necesse habent communiter Praelati et non
registrati sacerdotes), ministellus illius districtus satis
humaniter me excepit. Dum alibi per totem regnum ingruente
persecutione cessant functiones ecclesiasticae in hac insula quasi
in alio orbe posita, liberum fit et publicum exercitium quad divinae
providentiae hunc locum speciali favore protegenti gratum referunt
et meritis S. Patricii. Cum ibi essem haereticus Anglus fama loci et
curiositate movente eo accessit qui exemplo poenitentium compunctus
haeresim abjuravit. Praeter caeteros ecclesiasticos eo accedentes
strenuissimam navant operam Patres Franciscani. Unum in haec
peregrinatione deprehendi usum, ne dicam abusum; nam nona die foveam
ingressuri audiunt Missam, quae semper est de Requiem, seu
defunctorum applicata pro iisdem ingredientibus, quasi jam mortuis
mundo, et tradendis sepulturae; quad cum vellem abrogare saltem
diebus Dominicis et festivis praesertim majoribus, quibus dicenda
est missa conformis officio obtenditur immemorabilis possessio et
consuetudo in contrarium, ut fort traditio, ab ipso S. Patricio
primitus instituta quod a viris doctis et timoratis constantissime
assertum me perplexum reddidit et propterea humillime rogo edoceri
ad Eminentiis Vestris quid desuper agendum censeant.’ ”

57 “_Hib. Dom._, p. 4, not. 6. The same learned writer justly remarks,
that it was from the severity of its penitential exercises that this
island derived its name:—‘Locus iste luendis peccatorum poenis
destinatus _purgatorium_ dicitur, non quidem posthumum, sed vitale
seu viatorium in praesenti vita’.”

58 “_Bollandists_, March 17, p. 590.”

59 “From this, we might, perhaps, conclude, that the cave thus
destroyed was not the present sanctuary visited by pilgrims, but was
situated on one of the other islands of Lough Derg. In the Ordnance
Map, the site of some such deserted cave is marked on the adjoining
island, known as Saints’ Island.”

60 “Messingham, _Florileg._, p. 125.”

61 “_Boll._, March 17, p. 590.”

62 “See notes to _Camb. Evers._, vol. i. p. 146.”

63 “Amongst these we must reckon the narrative inserted in his _Hist.
Cath. Hib._ by O’Sullevan Beare, pp. 18-30. The Work on St.
Patrick’s Purgatory, published by Mr. Wright (London, 1844), is a
mere display of blind bigotry, by which he seeks to identify the
teaching of the Catholic Church with the romances about this
Purgatory of our saint.”

64 Vide P. J. B. De Herdt, Sacrae Liturgiae Praxis, tom. 3, part 6, no.
32. A very useful work, printed in Louvain in 1855.