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Wednesday, October 06, 2004
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Newman's Essay, Part X: Application of the Fifth Note of a True Development: Anticipation of its Future
The fifth note is exemplified when a development is anticipated in the earliest stages of its existence. We shall find out of the current doctrines called Catholic can be found in the scanty records of the early Church.
A greatly contested doctrine of the Church is the honour that is paid to the bodies of deceased Saints. This practice arises from the principle that matter can be endowed with divine grace, that matter is good, being created by God, and even more so because matter was ultimately sanctified by the Incarnation of the Son of God. From this doctrine arises the doctrines of the resurrection, the sanctity of relics, the merit of virginity, and the dignity of the Mother of God. Though this doctrine was denied by both Greek philosophers and Eastern heresies, and though both Jews and pagans displayed an abhorrence for the bodies of the dead and their burial places, while Christians always showed great care for the dead, not to mention a deep reverence for the bodies of the Saints. The remains of the martyrs, from blood to limbs, were from the beginning collected by the Christians, and revered with great care and veneration.
Similarly, the virgin life, or celibacy, was greatly honored by the early Church, and the glory of this life was held next to martyrdom. There is no time in the Church when virginity was not held in the highest esteem. Similarly, the cult of the cult of saints is found in ante-Nicene Spain, and the principle which grants honor and esteem to the saints and angels can be found to be implicit in all of the earliest writers of our Church. Lastly, the dignity of the Mother of God has been testified by countless Fathers, and is especially connected with the doctrine of the Incarnation. Elaborate visions of the Virgin Mary, as well as glowing testimonies to her sanctity and preeminence, can be found among the earliest Fathers in the East.
# posted by Jamie : 11:55 AM
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