Seveth-Day Adventists rejoice in a message of freedom and liberty in Jesus Christ of which the Catholic knows nothing. He is bound by a chain stronger than human hands have ever made,— a chain of dark superstition, mystery, and corruption, which 40 holds him with satanic power. The links of this chain are the erroneous doctrines of the " mystery of iniquity," — the Mass, worship of the virgin Mary, Peter the foundation of the church, the power of the priest Ultra Christus (another Christ) ; the auricular confession, purgatory, invocation of saints, rosary beads, penance, infant baptism, extreme unction, and many other such delusions. While this great network of error appears impregnable from a human viewpoint, yet we know that " the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." 2 Cor. 10:4, 5.
It may be of interest to study briefly the first of the above-mentioned links in this chain of error, I. e., the Mass, in the hope that a clearer understanding of this doctrine of Catholicism may make it possible to meet more intelligently and successfully the issue which confronts all ministers aid Bible workers as they come in contact
No with the general public. The Mass is a ceremony which involves all Catholic believers, and so great is its power that it holds every individual a helpless captive to its bondage. For anyone to absent himself from Mass when physically able to attend, is considered a mortal sin, and endangers the soul with eternal destruction. Like every other rite of the Catholic Church, the Mass is means of enlarging the coffers of the church, and in addition to the money paid in for Mass in behalf of the individual suppliant, vast sums are exacted from the people to pay for Masses for the dead.
As to the manner in which the sanctity of the Mass is presented to the people, the following quotation from a standard Catholic work is cited:
"After consecration, God fixes His eyes upon the altar.There is My beloved Son,' He says, in whom I am well pleased.' To the merits of the offering of that victim He can refuse nothing. You remember the story of the holy priest who prayed for his friend who, as God had apparently made known to him, was in purgatory. There came to him the thought that he could do nothing better than offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass for his friend's soul, and at the moment of the consecration he took the host in his hands, and said, Holy and eternal Father, let us make an exchange. Thou holdest the soul of my friend, which is in purgatory, and I hold the body of Thy Son, which is in my hands. Well, deliver my friend, and I offer Thee Thy Son with all the merits of His death and passion.' And, indeed, at the moment of the elevation he saw the soul of his friend going up to heaven all radiant with glory."—" Eucharistic Meditations," by Blessed J. M. Vianney, pp. 124, 125.
While there is a set price for a requiem and for Low Mass, yet each year, in the month of November, there is a special sale. At such a time envelopes are passed out, containing a blank upon which the purchaser may write as many names as he desires, and by inclosing the specified sum, he is assured that for each name a special Mass will be offered, which will become effective in lessening the penalty in purgatory. These sales of special Mass take place the world around, and multiplied thousands of Masses are purchased. But, according to Rev. R. L. Conway, of the Paulist Fathers, in a book entitled, " Question-Box Answers," " the church allows the priest to receive money for only one Mass a day; and If more Masses are asked for than he can say, he is bound to have them said by other priests." Consider the situation: These inducements to purchase special Masses are made in every Catholic church throughout the world, so to whom can the devout Catholic go for the additional Masses which he pays for? The whole thing is an impossibility — a fraud and delusion.
The words of the apostle Peter seem fraught with new significance in the light of this actual situation: " Through covetousness shall they [the priests] with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." 2 Peter 2: 3.
This delusion is carried still further, in that after the required amount of money is paid, and hopes are raised to heights of joy and confidence in the belief that loved ones in purgatory will be benefited thereby, the people are confronted with the uncertainty that "all Masses and prayers for the dead are applied ' by way of suffrage; ' . . . that is, are dependent on God's secret mercy and will, who, in His infinite justice may apply to another soul altogether the Masses said for a certain individual. . . . The value of each Mass is infinite, but we never know with perfect certainty whether or not God has applied it to the individual soul for whom it has been offered."— R. L. Conway, " Question-Box Answers."
A still further authentic statement on this point is, " No one can be certain with the certainty of faith, that he received a true sacrament, because the sacrament cannot be valid without the intention of the minister, and no one can see another's intention."—Cardinal Bellarntine, Disput, Contooy. De Jnstiftc III, V 115.
Associated with the Mass is the great delusion of transubstantiation, which to the Catholic means that the bread and the wine of the sacrament are changed, into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. This involves the erroneous teaching concerning the power of the priest. The following quotation will give some idea of the doctrine which is taught:
" Behold the power of the priest. The tongue of the priest makes God from a morsel of bread. It is more than creating the world. Some one said, ' Does St. Philomena, then, obey the Curd D'ars? Certainly, she may well obey him, since God obeys him. The blessed Virgin cannot make her divine Son descend into the host. A priest can, however simple he may be. How great is the priest. He will only rightly understand himself in heaven. . . . To understand it on earth would make one die, not of fear, but of love." —" Eucharistic Meditations," p. 112.
Transubstantiation received its first indorsement at the fourth Lateran Council, held 1215 A. D. But the final stamp of approval was placed upon it at the Council of Trent, held 1545-1563 A. n., and the following decision, as printed in the report of that Council, is significant:
" That by the consecration of the bread and wine a change is wrought of the bread's whole substance into the substance of Christ our Lord's body, and of the wine's whole substance into the substance of His blood, which change has been by the holy Catholic Church suitably and properly called transubstantiation."— " Question - Box Answers," p. 293.
The remedy for all these gross errors of Catholicism is found in the word of God. When its flaming searchlight is focused upon these superstitions, darkness is dispelled and the glorious light of the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings. In the ninth and tenth chapters of Hebrews, the apostle Paul clearly emphasizes that Christ died " once for all," which is exactly contrary to the teaching of the Catholics, " that at the moment of consecration the Lamb of God lies mystically slain upon the altar, for the sacrifice of Calvary and the altar are the same."—" Shan I Be a Priest?" p. 14.
On the altar in every Catholic church there is a compartment which contains the host, known as the " holy place." The apostle Paul states, however, " Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands." Heb. 9:24. Such texts as Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14; Revelation 1:18; Hebrews 10:11 prove that Christ died once, and that the sacrifice was complete.
I thank God for the third angel's message, which called me out from this system of error into the light of this truth; and I can truly say, with Paul, " After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets." Acts 24:14.
Boston, Mass.
(To be concluded in March)
