Of Hallowed and Sanctified Creatures in God's Church

1. Is there any creature holier than another?

ALthough all sanctitie and holines be principally in God himselfe: yet from him as from a most plentifull fountaine of all goodnes, doth also spring and flowe holines into his creatures: first into his reasonable creatures, who onlie may by his grace be made his liuely men bers, and so be endowed with true holines: and than, both the Sacramentes by which hee worketh his grace, & whatsoeuer thing hath any speaciall relation or order vnto the holinesse which is in God or in his creatures, may iustly and truely be called holie. And concerning the sanctification of the members of Christs mystical body, and the holines of his Sacramentes by which we are sanctified to euerlasting life: enough hath beene said before in this wholle booke but of the holines of other creatures religiouslie deputed in the Church, for our spirituall good: we meane here briefly to intreate: and namely of Holy daies Holy water, Hallowed Palmes, Ashes, Oyle, and finally of Hallowed places.

2. Is not the different estimation of daies contrarie to holy Scriptures?

NO verely: for we account some daies holier than other, by the example of God himselfe who sanctified the¹ Sabaoth, & commanded also the same to be hallowed by² his people, with many other daies, which he calleth holy, solenne and venerable daies: yea the people of God, did not only Religiously obserue these daies, but also vpon new occasions of singuler benefites receiued from God, they instituted newe Feasts & deuoutely obserued the same. As wee reade of the Feast instituted by³ Mardocheus, & the dedication ⁴ ordained by Iudas Machabeus, & honored by our⁵ Sauiours owne presence. Neither doth this difference of daies so long as it is not obserued according to the ceremonious figures of the Iewes, which are nowe expired: nor according to the vaine and superstitious obseruation of the Gentiles, which⁶ the Apostle condemneth: euen in the newe Law of grace repugne against the Lawe of God: yea it is agreeable to holy Scriptures, and according to the continuall practise of the Church. So doe we see in steed of the Iewes Sabboth the⁷ Sunday to haue beene brought in, and alwaies obserued. Neither did Saint Paul superstitiously iudge between day & day,⁸ when he made hast if it were possible to keepe the day of , that is, of remission, and of the holy-Ghost, as noteth Beda at Hierusalem, giuing vs therin both example of Celebrating Christian Feasts, & also as S. Hierom ⁹ noteth: of the lawefulnesse of Pilgrimage; of which we will speake hereafter. So doe wee also obserue the Feastes of the Passion of our LORDE, of Easter, of Ascension, and others, which S. Augustine saith¹⁰ eitther vndoubtedly to haue beene instituted in generall Councels, or rather to haue proceeded from the Apostles themselues, as these forenamed Feastes must needes, whereas they are motioned of Fathers¹¹ more ancient than any general Counsail.

Finally of the holy-daies of our LORDE, thus saith¹² S. Augustine, Wee dedicate and consecrate the memorie of Gods benefites with solemnities, Feastes, and certaine appointed daies: least by tract of times there might creep in ingratefull and vnkind obliuion. But of Festiuities of Martyrs: the same saith thus.¹³ Christian people, Celebrate the memory of Gods Martyrs with religious solemnity, both to mooue themselues to imitaton of them, and that they may be partakers of their merits, and be holpen with their praiers. And of all Saints generally:¹⁴ Keepe yee and celebrate with sobriety, the natiuities of Saints, that we may imitate them which haue gone before vs, & they may reioice with vs, which pray for vs.

These daies therefore are worthely accounted more holy & reverend, than other ordinary & prophane daies: because they represent vnto vs the singular liberallity of Almighty God shewed in them, first in the person of oure Sauiour: as the Sunday: (of which insteede of all the Feasts of our LORDE, we we will exemplifie) on which day he was borne, rose againe and sent the holy-Ghost. And therefore that day representing vnto vs the Natiuity of Christ both vnto this life, & vnto immortall glory: and also the natiuity of the Church by the holy ghost: is no doubt of greater dignity than the Sabboth of the Iewes. For that day in that it signified a gratefull memorie of thinges passed: did onely carry a relation vnto the material creation of the world. And in that it represented things to come; partely it is to be abolished, for that those things now be¹⁵ fulfilled: (as the rest of Christ in the Sepulcher from his workes of our redemption:¹⁶ the rest & quiet of those which are regenerate in Christ from the seruile workes of sinne: and the¹⁷ rest of holy soules in the bosome of Abraham:) Partely it is more notably & excellently supplied by the DOMINICAL day. For the Sonday farre more exceeding that, in signification of rest: representethe vnto the deuoute obseruers therof, the euerlasting glorie reuealed in Christ rising from death, and expected of all those which are his liuely members. As S. Augustine ¹⁸ noteth.

Nowe in the Feasts of Saintes also, we both Celebrate the memory of so great a benefite, as is the birthday of our brethren into Heauen, and their Assumption to so high a dignity, and their glorious triumph ouer the worlde, the fleshe, and the diuell: & we reioice also at so good examples giuen to all the Church, and a newe patron in heauen, and a newe cause of ioy to all the Celestiall Courte.

This therefore is the conclusion of this our discourse: that some daies especially, and before others, according to the custome of holie Scripture, and the auncient Fathers of the Church,¹⁹ are truely called Holie, Sacred, Mysticall, & of religious solemnity.

3. And what must we esteeme of holie Water, & such like?

AS we call some daies more holy and religious than others, so do we also say the same of many other Creatures of God, which although they be good of themselues, as created by him which is essentiallie good, and²⁰ sawe that all thinges that he made were very good: Yet because both they for our punishement often-times become hurtfull vnto vs, either by their owne qualitie and disposition, or by the malice²¹ of the Diuell, & also for to bring to passe and signifie some spirituall effecte: they be very holesomly²² sanctified by the worde of God and Praier, as Saint Paul hath written, &²³ Christ himselfe in blessing the loaues which hee multiplied hath taught. So doth the Church²⁴ vse to blesse Water, of which we haue most auncient testimonies: as also miraculous²⁵ examples of the effecte thereof. And S. Basil calleth it an Apostolicall Tradition: as it may alos appeare by the Apostles own Scholers, who make mention of the same.

But S. Alexander, he who 50. yeeres after S. Peter gouerned the Church: of holy water saith thus. shewing both the auncient vse therof, & by giuing a generall commandement confirming that which before hee practised. Wee blesse water sprinckled with salte for the people: that al being sprinckled with it, may be sanctified & purified: which thing also we ordaine as to be done of all Priestes. For if the ashes of ²⁶ an Heifer being sprinckled with blood, did sanctifie and clense the people: much more water sprinckled with salte, & consecrated with diuine praiers, doth sanctifie & clense the people. And if by salte sprinckled by Heliseus the Prophet, the barrennes of the water was healed: how much more the same salte being consecrated with diuine praiers, taketh away the barrennes of humane things, & sanctifieth those which are defiled, and clenseth, and purgeth, and multiplieth other good thinges, and turneth away the deceites of the Deuill, and defendeth men from the craftines of the euill ghost. For if by the touching of the ²⁷ hemme of the garment of our Sauiour wee doe not doubte, but that the diseased were cured: how much more by the vertue of his holy wordes are his elementes consecrated, by which humane frailty doth receiue healthe both of bodie and soule. Thus farre S. Alexander in his Epistle.

The like is to be saied,²⁸ of holy Oile,²⁹ holy Bread,³⁰ holy Can dells,³¹ holy Ashes, holy Palmes, & such other; in euery one of which is some holy signification: either of spirituall medicine, or of celestiall food, or heauenly glory, or penance or victorie and triumph ouer the Deuill. Which sanctification and deputation of Gods creatures to certaine vses for Gods owne glory and the spirituall and corporall good of Christians: if it were superstitious: then would not God haue prescribed in the olde³² Testament, waters of ielosie, &³³ waters of expiation by sprinckling: neither would Eliseus haue vsed salte,³⁴ to sweeten miraculouslye the infected waters: neither would he haue sent³⁵ Naaman to washe himselfe seauen times in Iordan: neither should Christs Apostles haue vsed oile to³⁶ cure the sicke: Nor the Angell Raphael ³⁷ with the liuer of the fish haue driuen away the Deuill: nor Dauid ³⁸ with his Harpe haue kepte the euill spirit from Saull: Yea nor our Sauiour him selfe both in Sacraments and out of them occupied diuerse of his creatures, for the manifold good of man kinde, and his miraculous operations. That we may omitte the purging of veniall & quotidian sinnes,³⁹ which is by these Sacramentall thinges bestowed vpon vs, not only by the increase of our faith feruour & deuotion, which is procured by the vsing of them: but also by the high autority of the chiefe Ministers of the Church, granting vs the same as Saint Gregory ⁴⁰ vsed when he sent any holy tokens: & nowe is vsed besides the things aboue remembred: in hallowed memories of our religion.

4. But wherefore doe wee accounte one place more holy than another?

VVHo-soeuer deniethe that one place in holinesse exceedeth another, knoweth not the Scriptures, which in respect of the apparitions made by God in diuerse places attribute a certaine holinesse vnto them. And oftentimes in confirmation thereof imposeth⁴¹ vpon such places names to signify the presence of Gods power therein. Yea our Sauiour saieth⁴² that the temple sanctifieth the golde, & the Aultar the gifte, signifying thereby an extraordinarie holinesse in the temple: &⁴³ S. Peter calleth the mount Thabor because of the transfiguration of CHRIST therein, the holy Hill. That we need not⁴⁴ to doubt but the like holinesse is to bee attributed to the places of his Natiuitie, Passion, Buriall, Resurrection, and Ascension. For this cause was Moises ⁴⁵ commanded to loose his shooes from his feete, because the place wherein he stoode was holy ground. And by the like apparition made by an Angell vnto Iosue, ⁴⁶ the like holines was caused in the place. For this cause in the olde Temple was euen priuate praiers⁴⁷ made, as in a place speaciallie dedicated vnto praier, and therefore called a house of Praier. And Daniel being⁴⁸ in Babilon a captiue opening his window praied toward Hierusalem according to the common custome of the Iewes: and S. Peter and S. Ihon ⁴⁹ went vp into the Temple to pray. For this cause are and alwaies haue beene amongst Christians certaine particuler⁵⁰ places seuered from the common and prophane vse, to the religion and worship of God: which therefore, and for the solemne consecration & dedication of the same by Gods chiefe ministers; haue alwaies bene esteemed of a singuler kinde of holinesse. And that very worthelie. For vnlesse God were in a more speaciall manner in the Church than in other places: the Apostle woulde not haue proued God to dwel in his faithfull people after a peculiar⁵¹ manner, by his dwelling in then as in a temple. How often in the Scripture do we reade of the holinesse of the Temple, and of Sancta Sanctorum. And God promised⁵² to heare easely the praiers of his people offered vp to him in his temple: not that he doth⁵³ not heare euery where if he be⁵⁴ worshipped in spirit and truth, that is, with the spirituall and inwarde disposition of his holy faith and loue and with an humble harte, not neglecting⁵⁵ also in time and place the outwarde ceremonies, gestures and words: or that he may be comprehended in a Church made with hands;⁵⁶ whereas he filleth both heauen and earth; but because it pleaseth him, for our profitte, to worke his wonders, and to be worshipped rather in holy places than in prophane. And what maruaile if these places being once consecrated⁵⁷ and dedicated vnto God: haue in them a certaine heauenly vertue: when the thinges which are prophanely to be vsed be⁵⁸ sanctified by the worde of God and Praier? if God himselfe say⁵⁹ that he sanctified the temple at the sanctification of the same made by Salomon? Yea if, (as S. Chrysostome ⁶⁰ saith) the Angells doe fill that place espeacially which is about the Aultar? S. Gregory witnesseth⁶¹ that God by miracle shewed his presence at the dedication of a Church, whan (the Deuil being gone thence in the likenesse of a sowe) a cloude came from heauen, and lighting vpon the Aultar and couering it, filled the wholle Church with so great a reuerence and sweete sauour, that none durst presume to enter in. No otherwise than happened in the dedication of the Tabernacle⁶² by Moises and the⁶³ Temple by Salomon. Whose wonderful vertue Heliodorus a Gentile had felte: when he saide:⁶⁴ In that place is verely a certaine vertue of God; for he which dwelleth in heauen is a visiter and helper of that place. Finally to say, that because Almightie God is according to his Godhead in all places: hee doth no more sanctifie one place than another: is to confound diuine and prophane thinges, yea to ioine heauen & hell togither, as though the one were no more reuerend & holy than the other: whereas heauen therfore is holy, because in it God doth shew himselfe there vnto his Saintes and Angells: and for the presence of the humanitie of Christ and of his electe in the same.

Let vs therefore conclude this question in this maner: that, as God who is onely holy of himselfe, doth sanctifie his reasonable creatures by his grace: and hath instituted holie Sacraments as instruments of working the same grace: & hath Sanctified partely himselfe, partely by the Church his Spouse, certaine particular daies to the memory of his benefites & wonders: &⁶⁵ by his word at the prayers of his Church giueth a kinde of holinesse to diuerse of his Creatures ordained to the stirring & procuring our deuotion, & the purification of our soules: so doth he by a particular assistance & presence of his Maiesty, or of his Angels & Saints, sanctifie some speciall places, according as it seemeth to his diuine goodnesse & wisedome. As also shall bee more particularlie declared hereafter.

Gen, 2, 3 ↩
Exod. 0.1. ↩
Esth. 9, 27 ↩
1. Mach. 4, 56.
↩
Io. 20, 22 ↩
Ro. 14, 5. Gal. 4, 10. Col. 2, 16. vide Theod. & Theoph. Orig. Amb. Oecum. Primas. Ansel. in Ro. 14. Hier. lib. 2. in Iouin. Amb. in Gal 4. Aug. Enchir. c. 79. & ep. 119. c. 7. ↩
Act. 20 16. & ibid. Chrysost. & Beda. 1. Cor. 16, 2. & ibidem Chry Am Theoph. & ali. Apoc. 1, 10. et ibi omnes interpretes. Clem. can. 65. Apost. Ignat. ad Magnes. Iust. apol. 2. Tert. de cor. mil. & apol. c. 16. Clen. Alex. l. 7. stron. Orig. ho. 7. in Exod. Athan. ho. in illud. Omnia mihi tradita sunt. Amb. ep. 83. Hier. in Gal. 4. Aug. lib. cont. Adim. cap. 16. Greg. lib. 11. epist. 3. Leo. epist. 81. Hylar praefat. in Psal. ↩
Act. 20, 16. vide Bedan ibidem & Epiph. haeres. 75. ↩
Epist. 17. ad Marcellam. ↩
Epist. 118. ↩
Clem. lib. 5. const. c. 21 Iren. apud Iust. q. 115. Tert. lib. de cor. mil. Orig. lib. 8. Con Cels. ↩
Lib. 10. ciu. cap. 16. ↩
Lib. 20. cont. Faust. cap. 21. ↩
In Ps. 88. Conc. 2 vid. Clem. lib. 8. const. c. 39. Eccl. Smyrn. apud Euseb. lib. 4. hist. ca. 15. Orig. ho. 3. in diuersos Euangelij locos. Tert. de cor. mil. Cyp. l. 3. ep. 6. & l. 4. ep. 5. Bas. orat. in Gord. Nyss. orat. in Theod. Naz. orat. in Iul. Amb. ser. 66. 77. 78 Hier. in cap. 4. ad Gal. & epist. 19. ad Eustoch. Prudent. in Hymno de SS. Petro & Paulo. Chry. hom. 66. ad pop. Theod. l. 8. de Martyribus. Aug. in Ps. 63. & 88. Paulin. natali, 2. & 3. S. Felicis. Conc. Laod. ca. 51. Carth. 3. cap 47. Tolet. 3. cap. 23. Lugdun. can. pronuntiand. do Cons. d. 3 Mogunt. c. 36 ↩
He. 4, 10. ↩
Aug tra. 30. in Io. ↩
Aug. ep. 119. ↩
Ibid. ↩
Amb. ser. 62. Aug. Praef. in ep. Io. & l. 22. ciu. cap. 30. & lib. 20. cont. Faust. c. 21. & ser. 21. detemp. Leo. serm. 4. de quadr. ↩
Gen. 1, 31. ↩
Greg. lib. 1. dial. cap. 4 Aug. lib. 18. ciu. cap. 18. ↩
1. Tim. 4, 5.
↩
Mat. 14, 19. Luc. 9, 16. ↩
Clem. l. 8. Const. cap 35. Dion. de eccles. hier. c. de Baptism. Alex. 1. ep. 1 Cyr. catec. 3. Cypr. l. 1. ep. 12. Amb. l. 4 de Sacr. c. 5. & lib. delis qui initiant. c. 3. Bas. de spir. sanct. c. 27. Epiph. haer. 30. Aug. ho. 27. ex 50. & ser. 19. de sanct. & l. 6. in Iul. cap. 8. Conc. Nannet. c. 4. ↩
Epiph. haeres. 30. Theod. l. 5. cap. 21. Pallad. cap. 19. Greg. lib. 1. dial. cap. 10. Beda. lib. 5. hist. cap. 4. Bern. in vita Malach. See the histories of the newe Indies. ↩
Heb. 9, 13. ↩
Mat. 9, 11. ↩
Vide Clem. Dion Bas. vbi supr & Aug. tra. 118. in Io. Hier. in vita Hylar. ↩
Aug. l. 2. de pec. mer. cap. 26. Paulin. ep. ad Alip. & Roman. ↩
Strab. cap. 30. Conc. 4. Tolet. cap. 8 Zozim. in Pont. ↩
Vide Maxim. in hom. de die Ciner. & Palm. ↩
Num. 5, 14. ↩
Num. 19, 17. Heb. 9, 13. ↩
1. Reg. 2, 21.
↩
Ibid. 5, 10. ↩
Mar. 6, 13. ↩
Tob. 6, 8 ↩
1. Reg. 16, 23.
↩
Vide. S. Thom. 3. part. qu. 87. artic. 3. & Dom. Soto. 4, d 15. qu. 2. & dist. 3. de cons. can. Aquam. See the Test of Rhemes. page. 575. ↩
Lib. 7. ep. 126. & lib. 9. ep. 60. ↩
Gen. 22, 14. & 35, 16 ↩
Mat. 25, 17. ↩
1. Pet. 1, 18. Hier. ep. 17.
↩
Vide Hier. vbi supra. & epist. 17. & in Epita. Paulae. ↩
Exo. 3, 5. Act. 7, 33. ↩
Ios. 5, 15. ↩
1. Reg. 8, 30. 2. Par. 6, 21. 3. Reg. 9, 3. Esa. 56, 7. Mat. 21, 13. vide 1. Reg. 1, 11. 2. Reg. 7, 18. 1. Par. 21. 30 Luc. 2, 37. & 18, 10. Act. 8, 27.
↩
Dan. 6, 10. 3. Reg. 8, 48. 2. Par. 6, 37. ↩
Act. 3, 1. ↩
1. Cor. 11, 18.22.34. et 14, 34. Clem. l. 10. recogn. Eus. lib. 2. c. 17. ex Philo. Iust. in apol. 2. Tert. lib. cont. Valentinianos. Cypr. ser. de eleemosyn. Greg. Neoc. apud Euseb. lib. 7. hist. ca. 25. vide ibi cap. 26. secundun editionen Ruffin.
↩
1. Cor. 3, 16 & 6, 19. & 2. Cor. 6.16. Vide Aug l. . ad Simplic. q 4.
↩
1. Reg. 9, 3.
↩
1. Tim. 2, 8.
↩
Io. 4, 23. ↩
See before page. 366. ↩
Act. 7, 48 ↩
Euseb. l. 9 hist. cap. 10. & lib. 4. de vita Const. Ath. in apol ad. Const. Bas. in Psal. 114. Naz. orat. in nouam Dominicam. Soz. lib. 4. c. 13. Amb. l. 1. ep. 5. & ser. 92. Gaud tract. 4. de Dedic. Aug. ser. de temp. 251. & seq. Gelas. ep. 1. Foelix. 4. in ep. Prosp. de promiss. part. 3. c. 38. ↩
1. Tim. 4, 5.
↩
1. Reg. 9,
↩
Hom. 1. super vidi Dominum. ↩
1. Dial. cap. 30.
↩
Ex vlt. ↩
1. Reg. 8.
↩
1. Mach. 3, 39.
↩
1. Tim. 4, 5.
↩

Chapter 34 of 36

Of Hallowed and Sanctified Creatures in God's Church

Footnotes