The Facts About Luther by Rev. Msgr. Patrick F. O'Hare

Author:Rev. Msgr. Patrick F. O'Hare [O'Hare, Rev. Msgr. Patrick F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Personal Growth, Christian Life, Religion, spirituality, Subject Value, Catholic, Christianity
ISBN: 9781618903815
Google: 3rrHCgAAQBAJ
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 1994-10-15T04:09:01+00:00

Chapter 7

Luther, a Fomenter of Rebellion

LUTHER was a regularly ordained priest of the Catholic Church and “his lips,” according to Holy Writ, should “keep knowledge” for all who would “seek the law at his mouth; because he is the angel of the Lord of Hosts.” In assuming the sacred office of the priesthood, his mission was not only to the religious, but to the social order, for both are from God their Founder. Like all priests before and after his time, he understood that his duty was not only to acquire, but to keep that knowledge which was necessary for all who sought the law at his mouth, in order to teach the things men should render to God and the things they should render to Caesar. The mission of the priest, as the keeper and expositor of divine knowledge and heavenly truth, is not merely to the individual, but to the nation in its corporate capacity. This was manifestly the will and the design of Christ when He commissioned His Apostles to go and teach the nations all things whatsoever He had commanded. This Gospel embodies all knowledge and all truth, and its message, which is one of peace and good will, is intended to promote among the peoples the blessings of tranquillity, good feeling and fraternal union.

“Anointed,” as Luther was, “to preach the Gospel of peace,” and commissioned to communicate to all the knowledge which uplifts, sanctifies and saves, it is certainly pertinent to ask what was his attitude towards the ministry of the divine word, and in what manner did he show by speech and behavior the heavenly sanctions of law: divine, international and social?

As we draw near this man and carefully examine his career, we find that in an evil moment he abandoned the spirit of discipline, became a pursuer of novelty, and put on the ways and the manners of the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” whose teeth and claws rent asunder the seamless garment of divine knowledge which should have been kept whole for the instruction and the comfort of all who were to seek the law at his lips. His words lost their savor and influence for good, and only foulness and mocking blasphemy filled his mouth, to deceive the ignorant and lead them into error, license and rebellion against both Church and state. Out of the abundance of a corrupt heart this fallen priest, who had departed from the divine source of that knowledge which is unto peace, shamelessly advanced theories and principles which cut at the root of all order, authority and obedience, and inaugurated an antagonism and a disregard for the sanctity of law such as the world had not known since pagan times. His Gospel was not that of the Apostles, who issued from the upper room of Jerusalem in the power of those “parted tongues, as it were of fire.” His doctrine, stripped of its cunning and deceit, was nothing else, to use the words of St. James describing

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.