brought me to this place which I have desired, will not refuse the termination which I have also sought. As regards this worthless body, this is its place of rest: as regards my soul, God, who saveth those who trust in him, will provide; nor is it a small hope which is laid up for me respecting that day, upon which so many benefits are conferred by the living upon the dead."

Such was the doctrine that had prevailed in the Irish Church respecting the prayers for the dead, upon the great solemnity of "All Souls," and in this doctrine we shall see that she agreed with all other portions of the universal body of the faithful. In chapter xxx, St. Bernard relates the foundation of the knowledge which the monks of Clairvaux had of his desire to die upon the solemnity of "All Souls. When Malachy had been on a former occasion at the monastery,

"Being asked, at one time, in what place, if he had the choice, he should wish to die, for the brethren were conversing upon the subject, as to the choice of each; he hesitated, but being pressed, 'If I go hence,' said he, 'there is no place that I would prefer to that whence I may in the resurrection arise with our Apostle,' he meant St. Patrick. 'But if I were from home, and God so permitted it, I have chosen Clairvaux.' Being asked concerning the time, he said 'the solemnity of All Souls.'"

In another part of the work we have the account of his offering up the holy sacrifice of the mass, for the repose of the soul of his sister.

2. The venerable Peter, Abbot of Cluni, wrote a book in defence. of the doctrine of prayer for the relief of the dead, against the Petrobrusians, or disciples of Peter de Bruis, who denied that it was useful to them.

3. St. Bernard, in his 66th Sermon on the Canticles, charges the Petrobrusians with error in denying the utility of such prayer.

4. The learned commentator Theophylact, who flourished toward the close of the eleventh century, has several passages which bear upon the subject; I shall produce only one, from his Comment on Luke xii. "I say this respecting the oblation and alms which are made for the deceased, and which avail not a little even for those who have died under serious offences."

This as most of the other testimonies which I produce, regards a public and well known practice of the Church; not the opinion of an individual.

5. St. John Damascen, was son of a noble Christian, who was secretary to the Saracen Caliph towards the close of the seventh century: Ali the founder of the Persian Mohammedanism, appointed John to be governor of Dasmascus, and after the death of Ali, when the chief

power passed to Moawyah, the first dynast of the Omniad race, John, though a Christian, stood high in his esteem. Having resigned his offices and honors, John withdrew to the monastery of the great Laura, of St. Sabas, near Jerusalem, and there gave himself up to the study and contemplation of the Christian doctrine; about the year 780 he died full of years and good works; being the first who reduced Christian theology to a systematic course, in his great work, The Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. In his book Concerning Those Who Erred from the Faith, he adduced the testimony of St. Denis, St. Athanasius, SS. Gregory of Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, and others, to prove that at all times, orthodox Christians prayed for the repose of the deceased.

6. St. Isidore, of Seville, in his Book of Divine Offices, chapter xvii, has the following passage:

"Unless the Catholic Church believed that sins were forgiven to the faithful departed, she would not offer alms for their spirits, nor offer sacrifice for them to God."

Thus he alludes to the two well known practices of alms and sacrifice, as well as prayer being offered for the benefit of departed souls. 7. St. Gregory the Great, Pope, in his ivth book of Dialogues, chapter lv, [has] the following passage:

"The offering of the salutary victim is usually of great aid to souls, even after death, so that the souls of the departed appear even sometimes to demand it."

The custom of burying the dead in or near the Churches, is peculiar to Christianity. We shall see earlier testimony upon which to account for its introduction; but so far as it goes we shall now use the testimony of this great and enlightened Pope:-the passage is found in his Dialogues, book iv, chapter 50.

"For those whom weighty sins do not oppress, it is useful for the dead if their bodies be interred at the Church, because their relations sometimes coming thither, recollect them, and then pour out prayers for them to the Lord."

Surely it is one of the finest traits of religion, that it thus unites generations, linking in a bond of affection the living and the dead, and presenting the great bulk of mankind before the heavenly tribunal, as mutual suppliants for mercy for each other. Indeed it is a holy and an endearing communion.

8. Theodoret relates in chapter 26, book iv, of his History, that when the relics of St. John Chrysostom, were borne to Constantinople in the year 434, by St. Proclus; the emperor Theodosius and his sister Pulcheria accompanied them, and they both besought God for the pardon

and benefit of the souls of their deceased parents Arcadius and Eudoxia; this is related not as an extraordinary occurrence, but as one in the usual and well known order of things.

9. St. Paulinus, of Nola, was born in Bourdeaux, in Gaul, in the year 353; his father being prætorian prefect of that province, and at one time first magistrate of the western empire; his talents were of the first order, his masters of the most select description; the famous Ausonius was his teacher of rhetoric and poetry, and his acquirements were of the most extensive range: he was consul before the twenty-fifth year of his age. About the year 390, he and his wife having determined upon leading lives of retirement, he sold his vast possessions, the produce of which he bestowed in alms, and having resigned his seat in the Senate, and his other offices, entered a monastery: he was soon afterwards ordained priest, at the request of the people of Barcelona, in 393. His great devotion towards St. Felix, led him to a little sequestered spot in Italy, near the tomb of this holy priest, his desire being to serve in the most humble capacity, to decorate his soul with virtues, as it was enriched with learning. In the year 409, he was called from his retreat to fill the see of Nola: he died in the year 431. A virtuous lady named Flora having buried her son Cynægius in the Church of St. Felix, asked Paulinus what benefit was derived therefrom, and at the request of Paulinus, Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, as an explanation, wrote his book De Cura Mortuorum, "Of the Care of the Deceased." Writing to Pammachus after the death of his wife, he comforts him with the assurance that he had satisfied her body with the tears which he shed, and her soul with alms which he bestowed on her account. In his Epistle V to the Bishop Delphinus, concerning the death of his own brother, he recommends his soul to his prayers, and amongst others, has the following passage:

"Obtain by your prayers pardon for him, and that a drop flowing from the least finger of your holiness might sprinkle his soul with refreshment."

Writing upon the same subject in his first letter to Amandus, he has the following:

"Wherefore we earnestly entreat you as a brother to unite in our labors of prayer: that the merciful God would vouchsafe to refresh his soul with drops of compassion by your prayers."

10. St. Augustine has so much upon the subject that the difficulty consists not in the discovery but in the selection. In his book of the Care of the Departed, the occasion of which I have just shown, we have the following passage, chapter 1:

"We read in the book of the Macchabees, that sacrifice was offered for the dead; but, if this never had been read in the old Scriptures, the authority of the universal Church, which upon this subject is glaringly evident, is not small; where in the prayers of the priest which are poured out at the high altar to the Lord our God, their commendation of the departed has its proper place."

In this passage we have from St. Augustine evidence that the custom was glaring, general and authoritative, and that in the liturgy there was a proper place for such prayers. The next passage not only shows the doctrine of the Church in this day to be that those prayers of the faithful on earth were useful, but that the faithful also besought the saints in heaven to pray for their deceased friends, and that this was an additional benefit: it is found in chapter 4, of the same book.

"When, therefore, the mind recollects where the body of its beloved friend is interred, and there is brought to the memory the place venerable by the name of the martyr, the affection of the person who recollects and prays commends the beloved soul to the same martyr; which custom, when adhered to by the faithful, is, beyond doubt, most beneficial to the departed."

The following beautiful passage from the same chapter is not only a clear testimony of the doctrine and custom of the Church at that period, but moreover exhibits the charitable affection of the Church, and the excellence of the communion of saints.

"We must not pass over the supplications for the souls of the de parted, which the Church regulates to be made in a general commemoration for all those who die in the Christian and Catholic society, even though she does not mention all the names; that their one pious, common mother, the Church, might for this end supply the deficiency for those who left no parents, or children, or relations, or friends."

The same doctrine is found in an hundred other places of his works, and in his book Of Heresies, he mentions that the heresy of Aerius consisted in denying the utility and propriety of offering sacrifice for the dead.

11. St. John Chrysostom was born at Antioch, about the year 344; his father Secundus, was the master of the horse, or commander in chief of the imperial troops at Syria, his mother was left at the age of twenty a widow, with ample means, and a daughter and son, for whom she provided the best teachers. John's master of eloquence was the famous Libanius, who declared this pupil of his to be a treasure to the empire: in the study of philosophy under Andragatius he made astonishing progress: in early youth he paid great attention to the truths

of religion; at the age of twenty, he pleaded for some time at the bar; the first dignities of the empire lay open before him; but upon mature reflection he embraced a life of retirement; he was ordained deacon by St. Meletius, Bishop of Antioch, in the year 381, and priest by Flavian, the successor of this holy bishop in 386: twelve years afterwards, he was raised to the see of Constantinople: and after a variety of trials and persecutions, he died a prisoner and exile in Cappadocia on the 14th of September, 407. The extraordinary eloquence with which he was gifted, caused him to receive the appellation of Chrysostom or Golden mouth, and his erudition and virtue were conspicious. In his 41st Homily on the First Epistle of the Corinthians, we find the following passages.

"1. The deceased is aided not by tears, but by prayers, by supplications, and by alms deeds.

"2. Let us not be weary of giving to the departed by offering up prayers for them."

Those passages from amongst several others clearly exhibit his doctrine, which was that of the whole Church that was in his communion. The next extract from the 69th of his homilies to the people of Antioch shows not only that it was his doctrine and that of the Church, but that moreover it was a doctrine delivered by the Apostles, or else we must say that neither he nor his auditors knew what was the history of their doctrine in the three centuries that intervened.

"Those things were not rashly enacted by the Apostles, that in the tremendous mysteries there should be commemorations made of the departed; for they knew that great profit arises to them therefrom. A mighty benefit."

12. St. Jerome testifies the doctrine in many places; amongst others, in his Epistle to Pammachus, on the death of his wife Paulina.

"Other husbands scatter violets, roses, lilies, and purple flowers on the tombs of their consorts, our Pammachus moistens the holy remains, the venerated bones, with the balsam of alms; he cherishes the resting ashes with those ointments and odors, knowing that it is written, as water extinguishes life, so do alms deeds sin.'

13. St. Epiphanius was born about the year 310, at Eleutheropolis, a city of Judea: he was master of the Hebrew, Greek, Egyptian, Syrian and Latin languages, and very intimate with St. Hilarion, and other eminent anchorets and holy men. Having spent some time in retirement in Egypt, he returned to Palestine and built a monastery in the year 333, and devoted himself with great assiduity to prayer and study. He was looked upon as the oracle of religious information in