СНАР.

1.

"to the souls of the faithful that are in the fire of purgatory," of which, it is acknowledged, "there is no memory remaining in this diocese." The faithful are, therefore, exhorted to procure masses to be said for the souls of their deceased friends, and to leave something by will that they may have masses said for their own souls.

seven Ave Maries to the seven joys of our Lady, he shall gain indulgences without number.

4. He that cannot go to the stations at Rome in Lent, if he shall say five paternosters, and five Ave Maries before a crucifix, he shall gain the said stations within and without the walls of Rome and Jerusalem.

"5. He that shall bring one of these beads along with him, and shall confess and communicate, shall gain a plenary indulgence and remission of all his sins.

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6. The priest that shall confess him, and give him the sacrament, shall likewise gain a plenary indulgence, and the remission of all his sins; and moreover, all the indulgences which are within and without Rome and Jerusalem.

"7. Having communicated, as often as he shall say a paternoster and Ave Mary, so many souls he shall take out of purgatory.

His Holiness does likewise grant, That these beads which have been blessed by his Holiness, may touch other beads, which being touched by them, shall have the same graces, saving that those which are touched cannot touch others.

"Dated at Rome, the 15th of January, an. 1607.

"We John Ambrosio, Referendary Apostolic, having seen this summary of indulgence to be conformable to the original, it may be published.

"Er Joan. de Vasconcel. Franc. Card. de Torn. Cæsar de Menezes. With Licence. In Lisbon, in the shop of Domingo Carneyro, 1660. Geddes, pp. 256-258."

8" Private masses are not only a flat contradiction to the primitive practice, but to the very office wherein they are celebrated, all that office being made in the name of a congregation, not only as present, but as communicating: -a demonstration that the offices of the Roman Church are older than her errors. It is plain likewise from the very canon of the mass, that when that office was composed, Transubstantiation was not so much as dreamt of in the Roman Church; but as to the thing in hand, Cardinal Bona, in the third chapter of

It is also commanded, in case any should die worth a given sum, without leaving any thing for certain number of masses to be said for their souls, that the price of five masses should be deducted from their estates before they are divided among their heirs. This sum was to be divided between five priests, provided there

his first Book of Liturgies, saith, Ab initio sacrificium principaliter,' &c. "At the beginning of the sacrifices (i. e. of the mass) it was ordained that they should be offered publicly and with solemnity, the clergy and people standing and communicating together, as is evident from the very tenor of the mass and the practice of the ancient church; for all their discourses and the very words of the canon speak in the plural number, as in the name of many. Hence, the priest invites the people to prayer, saying, Let us pray and after the Communion, he says, "That which we have taken in the mouth, &c." And almost all the discourses delivered at the celebration of the Communion are of the same tenor.

"And in the 18th chapter of the same Book he saith, "Solemne hoc fuit, &c. This was done annually both in the Greek and Latin Church, that one and the same sacrifice might be offered by many priests. For whether a Bishop or priest were officiating, the other Bishops or priests, as many as were present, officiated at the same time, and were partakers of the same sacrifice."

"And a little after he adds, Cur autem desierit,' &c. "But the reason why that custom was discontinued appears to me to have been, in the first place, because when the orders of mendicant friars were established and spread far and wide, the burdensome observances of mass were greatly increased, and thus it became necessary that individual priests should celebrate it privately, that they might complete it on each day. Afterwards, because the love of many waxed cold, the frequent coming to this sacrament was discontinued; so that at the present day, in many churches the priests themselves do not communicate, although they might officiate together."

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To which the Cardinal might have added the introduction of the Doctrine of Purgatory, and the consequent Doctrine of Masses, being the most effectual means of delivering the souls out of the torments thereof. So John IV. of Portugal, ordered ten thousand masses to be said for his soul, as soon as he was dead." Geddes, p. 259.

A. D. 1599.

CHAP.
I.

were that number to officiate in the church. If there were only one, the whole was to be given to him.

Penance

and extreme unction.

SESSION VI.

On the evening of the same day they held the sixth session, in which were passed the Decrees relating to penance and extreme unction, which till then were never heard of in Malabar.

Of the Holy Sacrament of Penance.

This is called the fourth sacrament, in which the acts of the penitent are distributed into three parts,

1st. Contrition of heart, the penitent being sorry at his soul for the sins he has committed, detesting them, and firmly resolved not to commit them any more.

2nd. Confession of the mouth, which is to be made to the priest. Sinful thoughts and feelings, covetous desires and evil intentions, are to be confessed, as well as crimes actually committed. These are called mortal sins, and, therefore, are not to be pardoned without confession. But there are said to be venial sins, which it is not absolutely necessary to confess to the priest. These are not described.

3rd. Satisfaction for sins according to the judgment of the confessor. This satisfaction is rendered chiefly by prayer, fasting, and alms.

After confession has been made, and the prescribed penance complied with to the satisfaction of the confessor, he, by the authority of

the keys committed to him, is to pronounce over the penitent this unqualified absolution. "I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

This sacrament is said to be absolutely necessary to salvation.9

Decree 1st. All who are come to the use of reason and years of discretion, are required to Confess and take the Sacrament, at least once a year, upon-pain of Mortal Sin. It is here confessed, that before this custom was introduced by the Romanists, the Syrians were "totally unacquainted with" it, and that it

9 If all that is here said about Confession and Satisfaction had related to God, against whom sin is committed, and to the party that had suffered by its commission, freely should we have subscribed to the conclusion, that without such a confession no pardon is to be expected. The only sacrifices that God requires of the sinner are, a broken spirit, and a contrite heart." (Psalm li. 16, 17). The only satisfaction we can make for sin is, to repair the wrongs we have done a fellow creature to the extent of our means, according to the demands of justice (Luke xix. 8, 9). But these do not constitute the grounds of our acceptance with God. No transgressor can be reconciled to Him except through that "full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world," which Jesus made "by his one oblation of himself once offered upon the cross." (Rom. v. 1-10). Our heartfelt contrition before God ; our unreserved confession to those whom we may have offended, and an entire satisfaction for the injury done to their characters, persons, or property; these tokens of the sincerity of our repentance, and of our faith in Jesus Christ alone to absolve us, are indispensable. Without such proofs of the reality of our profession, Penance, instead of being a Holy Sacrament, is a mere popish figment, invented to support the authority and fill the purses of a tyrannical and mercenary priesthood. It is surprising that Menezes should be so impolitic, to use a term appropriate to his character and to the work he was performing, as to omit in his preamble all allusion to these characteristics of true repentance.

VOL. II.

F

A. D.

1599.

I.

CHAP. required all the exertions and authority of the most Illustrious Metropolitan to deliver them from the "vain and superstitious opinion" about it, into which they "were persuaded by the devil," and to induce them to conform. The clergy are commanded to follow his example, and to use their best endeavours to bring the whole community to confession.

Decree 2nd. It is ordained, "That at eight years old and upward, all people shall confess themselves, and that without prohibiting such as are younger and capable to do it sooner,' which is "left to the discretion of the parish priests."

Decree 3rd. Masters of families are strictly commanded to oblige every member of their households to come to confession.

Decree 4th. Besides the annual confession, all persons are required to confess when very sick, or "in any probable danger of death."

Decree 5th. Women are to make confession before child-birth, especially if it is their first child.

Decree 6th. Instructs priests how to confess persons in the small-pox without incurring the danger of infection.

Decree 7th. Persons are exhorted to confess in proportion to their daily sins, and on certain festivities of the Church.

Decree 8th. No priests are to hear confessions but such as are licensed by the Bishop, except in cases of probable danger of death.

Decree 9th. Ordinary confessors have no power to absolve in cases of heinous crimes, which are to be reserved for the prelate. These crimes are contained in the Bulla Canæ Domini. The crime of heresy comes under the cognizance of the Holy Office of Inquisition, who may com