earth, how much more so must they be now that she reigns with him in glory in his kingdom? (6.) The sacred dignity she possesses, in being the Mother of Christ, and the great regard he pays to her as such, must surely make her requests more agreeable to him, and of greater weight in his eyes than those of any other of his saints, who, however holy they be, are but his servants, whereas the holiness of the blessed virgin far exceeds the greatest of them; and over and above, she is his mother.

Q. 32. What is the true devotion we ought to pay to the Blessed Virgin?

A. We observed above, that devotion to any, properly signifies a great readiness of our will to do what is pleasing and agreeable to them. Now, the most agreeable thing we can possibly do to the Blessed Virgin, or, indeed, to any of the saints in heaven, is to live in innocence, to obey the will of God, and to save our own souls. But, as in this view, our devotion is equally agreeable to all the saints in general, for they all rejoice at the repentance of sinners and the sanctification of souls; in order to make it proper to any particular saint, we must so direct our devotion, that they may be in a particular manner concerned in promoting our salvation. Hence the true devotion which we owe to the Blessed Virgin consists in what follows: (1.) In endeavouring to save our souls, by imitating her example in those sacred virtues for which she was most remarkable: particularly her profound humility, her great purity, her admirable patience and meekness, her ardent love for Jesus Christ, her perfect conformity to the will of God in all her afflictions, and her tender love and compassion for others. (2.) In often meditating upon her great virtues, and the sublime reward she has received for them in heaven, encouraging

ourselves, by that consideration, to go on with courage and perseverance in following her sacred example, with a firm hope in the mercy of God, that, through the merits of her blessed Son, we shall one day come to enjoy her blessed company in heaven. (3.) In often thanking and praising God for all the glorious privileges and graces bestowed upon her, and for the great glory she now enjoys in heaven. And, (4.) in frequently begging the assistance of her prayers for grace to enable us to imitate her example, with a firm confidence that Almighty God, through the merits of her blessed Son," will accept her face" for us, as he accepted the face of Job for his three friends, and, through her intercession, grant us those graces which he may justly refuse to our unworthiness.

SECTION VII.

OF THE HOLY IMAGES AND RELICS.

Q. 33. WHAT is meant by holy images?

A. Holy images are representations of Jesus Christ and his saints, or of the historical parts of the sacred Scripture, representing, in a striking manner, to the eye, what we read of being done or suffered by our Saviour and his holy servants; and they are called holy, from the relation they bear to the holy persons or things which they represent.

Q. 34. As the command of God says, "Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are

in the waters under the earth; thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them; I am the Lord thy God, mighty and jealous," Exod. xx. 4. Does not this absolutely forbid the making or using of holy pictures or images?

A. By no means: as is evident from several reasons; for, (1.) If these words were intended to prohibit the making of images of any kind, as they include every thing without exception, "Thou shalt not make to thyself the likeness of any thing in heaven, or earth, or under the earth," it would be unlawful to make any picture at all; because all are included, whether holy or profane; so that it would be a sin to make the picture of a friend, or to imprint the king's image upon coin, or to paint a horse or a house, or any creature whatsoever, which no man in his wits ever imagined to be the meaning of that command; consequently it does not prohibit the making of images in general. (2.) Neither does it absolutely prohibit the making of holy images, for a very palpable reason: because God himself absolutely commanded holy images to be made; for he said to Moses, "Thou shalt also make two cherubim of beaten gold on the two sides of the oracle: let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other: let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, (or mercy-seat, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, Exod. xxv. 18.; "and looking the one towards the other," Exod. xxxvii. 9. And when Solomon built the temple, "he graved cherubim on the walls," 2 Chron. iii. 3. Where also are described at large the magnificent manner in which be "made in the house of the Holy of Holies, cherubim of image work, and overlaid them with gold," verse10.; "and" they stood upright on their feet, and their faces were turned toward the house without," verse 13.

All this was done by orders of his father, king David, who "gave Solomon the purest gold to make the likeness of the chariot of the cherubim, spreading their wings, and covering the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All these things (said he) came to me written by the hand of the Lord," 1 Chron. xxviii. 18. Also, "the Lord said to Moses, Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck (with the fiery serpents) shall look on it, shall live," Num. xxi. 8. This was a holy image, representing Christ upon the cross, as he himself assures us, John iii. 14. Now, as this shews to a demonstration, that the words of the command do not forbid the making of holy images, otherwise God would never have commanded them, on so many occasions, to be made. (3.) Neither does the command forbid to honour holy images, and to use them for religious purposes; for God not only commanded the images of the two cherubim to be placed upon the mercy-seat, upon the ark of the covenant, which was doing them a great honour, but he also said to Moses, "thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee of the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubim." Exod. xxv. 22. What greater honour will be done to these two images than to be the seat of God, the throne on which he should appear, and declare his orders to his people? The other two also which Solomon made by God's command to David, were set with their faces towards the house without, before all the people, who therefore prayed before, or towards them. And could any image be used for a more religious purpose than the brazen serpent, which was set up to be an instrument in the hand of God, for performing a continual series of the greatest miracles?

Q. 35. What then is the meaning of the words of the command?

A. The words of the command fully explain their own true meaning; for, after forbidding to make the likeness of any thing, &c., it is immediately added, "thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them,' which manifestly shews, that the command only forbids the making these things as idols, to be adored and served as if they were gods, or could either see or hear, or help us; for this was the horrid crime of idolatry, which was then become so common in the world, and to which the Israelites were extremely prone, as appears from their whole history, and particularly from their worshipping the golden calf, offering sacrifice to it, and saying, "These are thy gods, O Israel, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt," Exod. xxxii. 4, 6. What God immediately adds, shews the same truth; for immediately after this prohibition he says, "I am the Lord thy God, strong and jealous," putting them in mind, that he only is their God, and jealous of his honour, who will severely punish those who serve idols, or any other God' than him. By all which, it is also manifest, that the words of the command above cited, are only an application and illustration of the former words, "thou shalt have no strange gods before me," and by no means a distinct command from it.*

Q. 36. What is meant by holy relics?

A. A holy relic is any thing that belonged to any saint of God, and now remains with us after the saint to whom it belonged is either departed out of this life, or at a distance from us. We may consider three different kinds of relics which fall under this general description, (1.) When the relic is any part of a saint's body which remains with us after his death; this is properly a relic in the strictest