26th. St. Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr.-The miracles which occurred at the martyrdom of this saint, were a great stumbling block to that anti-miracle writer, Dr. C. Middleton; they were too well authenticated to be absolutely denied by him. It was therefore necessary to account for them by natural means; and to do this, he has actually imagined that a miracle took place more extraordinary than those he objected to. 27th. St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor. "Who in Janiveer sows oats, gets gold and groats, Who sows in May, gets little that way. If Janiveer calends be summerly gay, 'Twill be winterly weather till the calends of May." 28th. Saint Marcellus, Priest and Martyr.-On this day, in the year 1547, died king Henry VIII. This regal reformer, and great destroyer of convents, churches, chapels, chantries, and hospitals, left at his death, six hundred pounds per annum to the church of Windsor, that mass might be daily said for the repose of his soul, and for four obits a year, with sermons and distribution of alms at every one of them; and for a sermon every Sunday, and a maintenance for thirteen poor knights; which was settled upon that church by his executors in due form of law. Query, How are the conditions of this bequest now complied with? 29th. Saint Francis of Sales, Bishop and Confessor.—On this day, in the year 1820, died George the Third; a king who first attempted to lighten the pains and penalties under which the Catholics of this kingdom had so long groaned. Still, were he and his ministers totally free from persecution? How would his Canadian Catholic subjects have answered this question? Although faith had not been kept with them, nevertheless they alone remained steadfast in their allegiance, when all his other American provinces had revolted. And why was this? Answer —Because they were Roman Catholics. 30th. Saint Martina, Virgin and Martyr.-In 1648, Charles I. another British king, expired on this day-but it was on the scaffold; whither he had been brought by his rebellious and fanatical subjects; while many brave Catholics whom he had treated with reckless severity, had risked their lives and fortunes in defence of his royal person. 31st. St. Peter Nolasco, Confessor. "Now, all amid the rigours of the year, Where ruddy fire and beaming tapers join, We are now in the coldest month of the year; and the cold is generally particularly intense towards the middle of the month; when frost does not occur, it usually rains or blows a strong gale. In the year 1683, the frost was so severe during great part of the month of January, that the river Thames was completely frozen over; many hundred booths were erected upon it. Coaches in Term time, went to and from the Tem. ple to Westminster, and foot passengers as thick as in the streets of London. There were also several diversions, as bull-baiting, nine-pin playing, &c. and a whole ox was roasted on the ice opposite Whitehall. Had this frost occurred at the present day, we should have had preaching and bible distributing upon the river. COLLECTANEA. In the same place was The rood-loft was a gallery in Catholic times, situated in every church between the nave and chancel. It was called the roodloft, from a great rood or image of the crucifixion set up in the midst of it; besides which there were two other images, a Mary and a John (as the common people called them,) standing by it, that of the blessed Virgin on the right, that of the beloved disciple on the left hand side of the rood. likewise a figure of the particular saint to whom the church was dedicated. All these had generally a veil or curtain let down before them when service was done; but at service time they were lighted up with lamps and wax tapers.And in many places the images had divers suits of vestments, which were put upon them, and varied pro tempore as the day was ferial or a high day. Nichol's Illust. of the Man, and Exp. of Ant. Times, "On the 17th Nov, 1547, was begun to be pulled down the roode in Paul's Church, with Mary and John, and the like was afterwards done in other Churches." Stowe. On the same day, texts from scripture, according to the new version of the bible into English, were written upon the church walls, these texts were so selected as to appear to condemn the practice of placing images in churches. The rood and images at Saint Paul's stood in the old church, partly where the organ now stands in the new, for they were always placed full over against the west door, so as to be immedi ately seen as you entered the church. "Doctor Storie and other were appointed by Cardinal Pole, 2nd Mary, to visit every church in Middlesex, to see their roodlofts repaired, and the images of the Crucifix with Mary and John thereon to be fixed." Stowe. Images were first removed out of churches in 1538, by command of king Henry VIII. and about 1559, queen Elizabeth took them away. The Protestant bishops had their crosses borne before them, and wore copes till the 1st of November 1552, 6th Edward VI, Then came out the new service book, called the 2nd book of king Edward VI. Whereby they were forbidden, because the hungry courtiers had an eye upon them." Nov. 1st the new licence book began in Paul's; the bishop of London, Ridley, executing the service in the forenoon in his rocket only, and without cope or vestment preached in the choir. At afternoon he preached at Paul's-cross to the setting fourth of the late made book. By this book all copes and vestments were forbidden through England, and the prebends of Paul's left off their hoods, the bishops left their crosses, &c. as by act of parliament, more at large is set forth. See Stowe. When altars were removed from the churches, and tables placed in their stead, veils or curtains were frequently substituted for altar-pieces. A painting of the general doom or judgment made the altarpiece of Enfield church before the reformation; and on the late repair in 1789 was found fastened up over the west face of the ́arch, dividing the nave from the chancel, concealed by the altar piece of 1665, which had been twisted up like its predecessor out of the way, when the liberality of Gascoigne Nightingale, Esq. the improprietor smothered a handsome east window, with a heavy grecian pediment and pillars." Nichol's Illust. of the Man, and Exp. of An. Times. In the year 1641 a reformation of the former reformation was commenced, then came in reformed protestants. "Since whose (Henry's) most blessed daies and times we have enjoyed the gos pel of peace, and peace of the gospel, almost one hundred years, and now are not only protestants but reformed protestants." "For about this time also our expert state-engineers, our worthies in parliament did most prudently countermine, and by their parliamentarie powder blow up the outworks, and Babel-batteries, and mischievous mounts of our Prelatical Canoneers, making their spurious synod to be utterly illegal, and turning the mouths of their accursed Canons on themselves." See Park Ament. Chron. "It is this day ordered by the commons of parliament assembled, that the church-wardens of every parish and chappell respectively, doe forthwith remove the communion-table from the east end of the church, chappell or chancell, unto some more convenient place, and levell the chancells as heretofore they were before the late innovations. That all crucifixes, scandalous pictures of any one or more persons of the Trinity, and all images of the Virgin Mary shall be taken away and abolished. And that all tapers, candle-sticks, and basons be removed from the communion-table. That all corporall bowing at the name of Jesus, or towards the east end of the church, chappell, or chancell, or towards the communion table be henceforth forborn." See The Order of Parliament dated Sep. 8th 1641. By a subsequent order all images, pictures of coats of arms, banners, figures upon monuments, &c. whether painted, or in glass, wood, stone, &c. were allowed in every house of prayer, provided that all these were free from every religious representation. "And now good reader take thankfull notice and cognizance to the everlasting praise and glory of God, that hears prayers and grants gracious returns to them in his due time, that upon these confluences of unanimous desires of the kingdome from all parts thereof, the bishops were voted against from having and intermedling with temporal affairs and dignities, and so uncapable of votes in parliament, it having pleased the Lord our most wise God, first to catch them in their own nooz, to entangle them in their own snare, whereby their persons were even by themselves first sequestered from the parliament by law, they being fast locked up in prison in the Tower. For on Feb. 5th 1641, the noble house of commons past a bill, nemine & contra dicente, against their having any vote in parliament, which being sent to the renowned house of Lords, those prudent Peers mended the said bill, and added that they should have no seat or place neither, as well as no voice among them." "To make this daies mesures more glorious and compleat, it pleased the Lord the very same day being thursday in the afternoon, to cause our most renowned worthies in parliament to vote down bishops, one of the very same things prayed for in effect the day before, quite out of the kingdom, yea root and branch, head and taile of them for ever." "And heer also I may most fitly hint and suggest to the reader another remarkable passage of like divine providence to the effect aforesaid: viz. that on the fourth instant it pleased our most wise God to put it into the hearts of our most noble Peers in parliament, that they should not only most sweetly converse with the house of commons on the amendments of the directory of God's pure worship, and passe the same, and thereby to subjoin an ordinance of parliament for utterly taking away and quite abolishing of the book of Common Prayer." " August 16th-Our most pious parliamentarie worthies religiously ordered that for the further advancement of the work of reformation in matters of religion, first, that no bibles should be vented in this kingdome without the perusall of the assembly of divines, or such other persons as should be thereunto appointed." See Parliamentarie Chronicle by J. Vicars. How would the members of our modern bible societies like such "pious parliamentarie worthies" as these? |