interested zeal of the holy fathers in the endowment of orphan asylums, and the special and almost paternal regard which they entertain for the nephews and nieces, with which a kind Providence bountifully supplies the defect of sons and daughters; for of course it is known that the reverend confessors are bound by a vow of perpetual celibacy, which under pain of sacrilege they may not forget.

But there is another view of the practical operation of the confessional, which is calculated to awaken alarm. We are not surprised at the strict injunction of secresy, because it is the only preservative of the confessional. Penitents would not resort to the priest, if this injunction were removed. But we call attention to the presumption which makes the authority of the confessional superior to all civil or judicial authority, and which absolves the priest from all guilt in concealing anything which he has learned in confession, although the life or salvation of a man, or the RUIN OF THE STATE should be involved in his silence. To cap the climax, if questioned concerning it, to use the language of Dens: “He must reply that he does not know it, and if it is necessary, HE MUST CONFIRM THE SAME WITH AN OATH! Again: "if a confessor be cited in a judicial case, that he may give his reason for refusing absolution, he must protest that in this case, he acknowledges no superior except God!" If we are not mistaken, a case in point was tried some years ago in the state of New York, in which the court actually recognized the priest's scruples; it is doubtful, however, if a confessor were detected in a flat perjury by a Philadelphia Court, whether his reverence would not have an opportunity of preparing a treatise on fasting, according to the rules of the Moyamensing Manual. The results of his experience would perhaps be very nearly as valuable as the brilliant dissertations of Pope Benedict XIV., on the drinking of chocolate, and the smoking of segars on a fast day; and, (which is a very great consideration,) the materials for the work would be collected at the expense of the state, so that, if the priest chose to be generous, he might devote the profits to the support of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum. The case as yet, however, is altogether hypothetical, and we would not be understood as presuming to dictate to a conscientious confessor.

CHAPTER XLI.

TREATISE CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF EXTREME UNCTION.

PREFACE.

"THE names of the sacrament of extreme unction, are various: from the matter, the Greeks call it holy oil; from the matter and form together, it is called by the same, prayer with oil; from the subject, upon whom it is conferred, it is called by the Latins, the anointing of the sick, also, the sacrament of the departing; from the effect which it produces, it is called by the Council of Trent, the consummating sacrament of Penance. We preface according to our custom

The Decree of the Council of Florence for the instruction of the Armenians.

"The fifth sacrament is extreme unction, the matter of which is olive oil, blessed by the bishop: this sacrament ought not to be dispensed except to a sick person whose death is apprehended; who is to be anointed on these parts: on the eyes, on account of vision; on the ears, on account of hearing; on the nostrils, on account of scent; on the mouth, for taste or speech; on the hands, for touching; on the feet, for walking; on the reins, for the pleasure, &c. &c.-The form of this sacrament is: Through this unction, and his own most gracious mercy, may God pardon thee, whatever thou hast done amiss through sight, &c., and likewise in the other members. The minister of this sacrament is the priest: but the effect is the healing of the mind, and in so far as is expedient, also, of the body itself. Concerning this sacrament, the blessed Apostle James says, ch. v. 14, 15: 'Is any sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.'

Canons of the Council of Trent concerning Extreme Unction.

“1. Whoever shall say that extreme unction is not truly and properly a sacrament, instituted by Christ our Lord, and promulgated by the blessed Apostle James, but only a rite received from the fathers, or a human invention; let him be accursed!

"2. Whoever shall say that the sacred anointing of the sick does not confer grace nor remit sins, nor raise up the sick, but that it has now ceased, as if the gift of healing existed only in past ages: let him be accursed!

"3. Whoever shall say that the ceremony of extreme unction, and the practice which the holy Roman Church observes, are repugnant to the meaning of the blessed Apostle James, and that therefore they are to be changed, and may be despised by Christians without sin; let him be accursed!

"4. Whoever shall say that the elders of the Church, who the blessed James advises should be sent for to anoint the sick, are not priests ordained by the bishop, but those who are the more advanced in age, in any community; and that on this account the proper minister of extreme unction is not the priest alone; let him be accursed!"

Extreme unction is defined as a sacrament in which the sick man is anointed with holy oil by the priest, under a prescribed form of words, for the healing of the mind and body. It is proved to be a sacrament from the words of James above quoted, from the definition of the councils of Trent and Florence, and from the constant practice of the Church, as well the Latin as the Greek: indeed, the Greek schismatics themselves, admit this sacrament: but Luther and Calvin have rejected it. That all the essentials of this sacrament are designated by James, is demonstrated thus:

"By saying, (v. 14.) If any one is sick, he designates the subject to be a person dangerously sick, and that he is baptized; by adding among you, that is the faithful: by saying, let him bring in the priests, he intimates that the minister is a priest; by these words, let them pray over him, and the prayer of faith, he denotes its deprecative form; by the word anointing, he intimates that the proximate matter is the unction, and by the following words, with oil in the name of the Lord, that the remote matter is oil that has been blessed in the words, shall save the sick man, and raise him up, &c., it explains the effects of this sacrament.

"OBJ. In this epistle, the question is discussed, merely concerning the natural efficacy of the oil for healing bodily diseases, and concerning the gift of healing, conferred gratuitously; therefore, &c.

"ANS. 1. I deny the antecedent; because he would not, in that case, have commanded the elders to be called, but

the physicians, or those who have the gift of healing; which was not given to all the elders, nor to them only.

"2. The gift of healing was not given only for the sick, of whom St. James treats, but also for the blind, the lame, &c. "3. The remission of sins, which St. James places as the effect of this anointing, cannot be attributed to the natural virtue of the oil, or to the gift of healing. The anointings applied by the apostles, Mark vi. 13, "they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them," were not sacramental, because they referred only or principally, to the healing of bodily disease: but the sacraments in themselves, pertain to the soul, to the body by accident, and at most secondarily: and hence, these anointings were only figures, by which this sacrament was insinuated, as the council of Trent says, sess. 14, concerning extreme unction, ch. 1."

Was this sacrament instituted immediately by Christ? "YES: (!!!) it is inferred from the council of Trent, sess. 14, &c., in which it teaches, that it was promulgated by St. James; it judged therefore, that it was instituted not by him, but immediately by Christ. When did Christ institute it? The time is uncertain: probably however, he instituted it after his resurrection, in the period of forty days, in which he spoke to his disciples concerning the kingdom of God, or concerning the affairs of the Church, and in which, as S. Leo says, the great sacraments were confirmed. Probably also, he instituted it after the sacrament of penance, of which it is the perfection and consummation, had been instituted."

"The oil of the sick, which is the matter of this sacrament, together with the chrism and the oil of catechumens, is solemnly blessed by the bishop, every year on the day of the Lord's supper, who distributes them to the archpresbyters, and they to the pastors; for this purpose each pastor brings three silver or pewter vessels, marked with letters for the sake of distinction, in which silk or some other spongy matter is usually deposited, in order to avoid the danger of spilling. When fresh oils are brought, the old ones are burned, and the ashes are sent into the sacristy, or if the quantity is considerable, it may be consumed in a lamp, before the adorable sacrament," &c.

In case the oil blessed by the bishop should fail before the annual period for preparing new has arrived, oil that

has not been blessed may be mixed with it, but the quantity must be less than the holy oil which remains. The proximate matter of the sacrament of extreme unction, is the anointing, or the use and application of the oil. Although the council of Florence requires the sick and dying to be anointed on the loins, yet for modesty's sake, the breast, or in females, the lower part of the throat has been substituted; so that the unction is applied to the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hands, and then to the breast and the feet.

Here there appears to us to be something of a dilemma. Why has the recommendation of the council of Florence been changed? Was it not an infallible, œcumenical council? So the Church of Rome would have us believe; and yet for MODESTY's sake, the mode of administering this sacrament of Christ's own institution, has been changed! Therefore the council of Florence has recommended a practice, which is too indecent even for Romish priests to perform, without material modification; and thus by their own act, they prove that the council of Florence was immodest, and hence not infallible. If the mode enjoined by this council, was suggested by the holy Spirit, what right have the priests to modify it? We apprehend, that serious injury must be done to the souls of the faithful, by this unwarrantable innovation. If I were a believer and an advocate of extreme unction, I would insist upon the literal fulfilment of the injunction of the council of Florence, in order to obviate all risk of invalidating the sacrament. The anointing upon the loins, has a special local signification, which is entirely lost in the application of the holy oil upon the throat.

The feet are anointed on the upper part, lest the holy oil might seem to be trodden under foot. The anointing of the eyes is not done on the pupil, but on the eyelid; the anointing for the sense of taste is performed on the lips, not on the tongue. When the sick man has neither hands nor feet, the unction must be made on that part of the body which is nearest to where they ought to be. The back of the hands must be anointed. Those who have been born blind must also be anointed, on account of vision; for though they have never seen any thing, and consequently could not sin by the organs of vision, yet they may have sinned by desiring to see improper things. The unction may be performed either with the thumb, or with a rod, at the option of the minister. If there is danger of infecting the oil, a fresh bit