Pal me r

PI

THIED LETTEE

N. WISEMAN, D.D.

ON THE ROMISH DOCTRINE OF

SATISFACTIONS.

BY THE REV. WILLIAM PALMER, M.A.
OF WORCESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD.

OXFORD,
JOHN HENRY PARKER ;
J. G. F. AND J. RIVINGTON, LONDON.
1841,

BAXTER, PRINTER, OXFORD.

THIRD LETTER,
SfC.

Sir,
In my last Letter I demonstrated, that, according
to the doctrines generally taught in the Church of
Rome, a justified and sanctified person still remains
subject to the wrath of God ; that a beloved child
of God has to dread His anger and His vengeance ;
that the same persons are at the same moment loved
and hated by their Creator and Saviour. These con
clusions are intimately and indissolubly connected
with your belief, that temporal punishments remain
to be endured after sin has been pardoned. They
lie at the foundation of your doctrine of Satisfaction,
Purgatory, and Indulgences. It is my intention
to pursue this error into all its ramifications, and
to expose the mass of dangerous errors and super
stitions, and of absurd contradictions to which it
leads, and in which it actually involves all your
theologians. On the present occasion, your doctrine of Satis
faction shall become the subject of discussion ; and
a2

6 LETTER III.
is afterwards described to be, " that sin is forgiven,
" but punishment still inflicted ; that God will
" chastise in his justice, but that the sinner may,
" by punishing himself, by performing certain
" works propitiatory before God, avert his anger,
" and obtain remission of this lesser chastise-
" mentc." Tournely lays down the following formal pro
position. " Penal satisfaction is necessarily to be exacted
" of penitents, not merely to preserve them in
" newness of life, to heal their infirmity, and to
"afford an example to others, as the Innovators
" imagine; but also in order to punish and chastise
" past sins, or to make real satisfaction, not only
" to the Church but to God ; as well to repair the
" injury done to Him by sin, as to redeem the
" temporal punishment, which after the guilt and
" eternal punishment has been forgiven, remains
"to be discharged by us, either in this life, or
" anotherd." Thus then it is plain, as I have said, that you
believe satisfactory or penitential works necessary
for the remission of the temporal penalty exacted
by the justice of a wrathful and angry God, after
the guilt and eternal punishment of sin have been
remitted, and after the penitent has been placed in
a state of grace.
c Ibid. p. 51.
6 Tournely, De Poenit. t. ii. p. 4.

LETTER III.

II. I now proceed to the second point — the
necessity of continual penance, or of works of
satisfaction during the remainder of life.
" We can never be certain," says Bouvier bishop
of Mans, " that we have obtained by many (even
' most plenary) indulgences, the complete remission
' of all the temporal punishment due to our sins ;
' for a plenary indulgence often becomes partial
' [i. e. remits only a part of the temporal punish-
1 ment] either through want of a sufficient cause,
' or through want of a work proportioned to the
1 end designed, or through defect of dispositions
' in the agent. Hence, first, an indulgence does
' not exempt from the obligation of doing penance
' [by satisfactions] ; and a fortiori, a believer can-
' not, of his own authority, omit a sacramental
' penance [satisfaction] enjoined to him, under
' pretext that he has gained or is about to gain
' an indulgence6." " Indulgences of a hundred
' years or more, if there are such, may be insuf-
' ficient to compensate the whole temporal punish-
' ment which a sinner is bound to pay . . . Hence,
' thirdly, sinners truly converted ought to endea-
' vour daily by good works [satisfactions] and in-
' dulgences, whether partial or plenary, to dimi-
' nish the debts which they owe to Divine justice,
' and to compensate for them entirely in this life,
' lest they be sent to the prisons of purgatory, and
' do not come out thence till they have paid the
c Bouvier, De Poenit. p. 300.

8 LETTER III.
" last farthing '.'* Dr. Milner, one of your nominal
bishops, says, "We do not believe an indulgence
" to imply any exemption from repentance . - . nor
" from the ivorks of penance, or other good works,
" because our Church teaches, that ' the life of a
" Christian ought to be a perpetual penance.' ''
" (Concil. Trid. de Extr. Unct.) ' No one can ever
" be sure that he has gained the entire benefit of
" an indulgence, though he has performed all the
" conditions appointed for this creed.' "
Thus 6 it appears that even Indulgences and the
execution of the works of satisfaction enjoined by
your priests in confession, do not render you secure
that sin has been remitted ; and hence you recom
mend in addition, voluntary works of satisfaction,
over and above those prescribed by the priest. To
these the Council of Trent alludes in the expres
sions above cited by Dr. Milner ; and the Cate
chism of the Council speaks thus of them, " Under
" the same name [satisfaction] is signified also any
" sort of punishment which we endure for our sins,
" not imposed by the priest, but undertaken of our
" own accord, and repeated by ourselves. This
" does not by any means belong to Penitence as a
"sacrament1'.'' The use and necessity of such
f Bouvier, ibid. p. 301 ; See also Tournely, De Pcenit. t. ii.
P- 299.
e Milner, End of Controversy, Lett. xiii.
'' Eodem vero nomine quodlibet etiam pcense genus signi-
ficatur, quam pro peccatis non quidem a sacerdote constitutam,

LETTER III. y
voluntary penances is thus stated in Dr. James
Butler's Catechism sanctioned by the authorities
of your schism in Ireland : " Q. Will the penance
" enjoined in confession always satisfy for our
" sins ? A. No ; but whatever else is wanting may
" be supplied by Indulgences, and our own peni-
" tential endeavours1."
And well indeed may you advise your penitents
not to remain satisfied with the satisfactions or
penances which are imposed on them at Confession,
when it is remembered, that according to your
most approved writers, the amount of penance
assigned in the Confessional is to be measured by
the wishes of the penitent ; that it is considered
better to impose so slight a penance as the repe
tition of a single Pater Noster, or even no penance
at all, rather than send the penitent away unab
solved k ; and that the penance, if inconvenient,
sed sponte nostra susceptam, atque a. nobis ipsis repetitam,
sustinemus. Nota. Veriim haec ad pcenitentiam, ut sacramentum
est, minime pertinet. Cat. Cone. Trid. Pars ii. de pcenit. c. 88.
' " The most Rev. Dr. James Butler's Catechism, &c. ap-
" proved and recommended by the four R. C. Archbishops of
" Ireland as a general Catechism for the kingdom." Eleventh
Edition, Coyne, Dublin.
k " Rituale Parisiense dicit, ' Confessarius poenitentem inter-
" roget, an possit posnitentiam sibi injunctam peragere, alioquin
" earn pro sua prudentia immutet, aut minuat.' . . . unde Gerson
" in regula mor. p. 2. c. de pmnilentia, dicit : ' Tutius est cum
" parva poenitentia, quas sponte suscipitur, et verosimiliter ad-
" impletur, ducere confessos ad purgatorium, quam cum magna
" non implenda praecipitare in infernum.' . . . item Scotus d. 15.

10 LETTER III.
may be commuted for another1. This system of
course makes the imposition of Satisfaction at
Confession a mere mockery ; although that Satis
faction is, all the time, loudly asserted to be a part
of the sacrament of Penance ; so that we need not
wonder to find you recommending penitents not to
put their whole confidence in such sacramental
Satisfactions. From all this then it is evident, that you are not
certain that the temporal penalty due to divine
justice for sin remitted, is removed by the per
formance of the satisfaction enjoined in Confession,
or by the subsequent acquisition of Indulgences.
No : you still urge the penitent to undertake volun
tary works of penance ; and as no human wisdom
" q. 1 . art. 5. loquens de pcenitente qui animo est infirmus, ait,
" ' Si adeo est delicatus, quod non velit jejunium adimplere,
" imo si nullam poenitentiam vult recipere, absolvendus est, et
" non respuendus, ne cadat in desperation em,' et sic demum
" concludit : ' Illud sibi imponendum quod libentius recipit,
" et quod creditur impleturus.' . . . Additque idem S. archie-
" piscopus (<S. Carolus Rorromceus') ' Talem imponat pceniten-
" tiam, qualem a pcenitente praestari posse judicet. Proinde
" aliquando, si ita expedire viderit, ilium interroget, an possit,
" anve dubitet pcenitentiam sibi injunctam peragere ; alioquin
" earn mutabit aut minuet  ' Itaque (ut inquit Host.)
" confessor nullo modo debet permittere peccatorem desperatum
" recedere a se, sed potius imponat ei unum Paler noster, vel
" aliud leve, et quod alia bona quas fecerit, et mala quae tolera-
" verit, sint ei in pcenitentia, concordante S. Thoma' &c."
Beati A. M. de Ligorio, Theologia M oralis, t. vi. p. 125 — 128.
Ed. Vesontio. 1834; see also Bouvier, de Pcenit. p. 147.
1 Ligorio, Theol. Mor. t. vi. p. 114; Bouvier, p. 1.58.

LETTER III. 11
can determine what amount of such acts may be
sufficient to satisfy the demands of Divine Justice,
it follows that, according to the doctrine of the
Council of Trent, " the life of a Christian ought
" to be a perpetual penance."
But, Sir, painful as such a thought must be, and
dispiriting to Christians, your doctrine goes much
further than this, if it be examined. For what do
you mean, when you say that a person owes a debt
to Divine justice, and is bound to satisfy for the
temporal punishment due to his remitted sin ?
You mean, that he is still subject to the wrath and
vengeance of an offended God. What is your own
language, when describing the object of satisfac
tions, or penitential works? " When God remits a
" weight of eternal punishment, it seems but fair,
" that the outrage done to his Divine Majesty
" should be repaired by outward acts, expressive
" of sorrow, and directed to appease his wrath, and
" avert those scourges which he still reserves in his
" hand." (Lectures, ii. 48.) You believe, as you
say, " that the sinner may, by punishing himself,
" by performing certain works propitiatory before
" God, avert his anger, and obtain a remission even
" of this lesser chastisement." (Lectures, ii. 51.)
Tournely, again, speaks of the temporal punishment
due to remitted sin, as " a revenging punishment,"
(De Pcen. ii. 4.) ; and the language of all your
writers is just the same. You all maintain, that
Satisfactions are intended to appease the " wrath,"

12 LETTER III.
to mitigate the " anger," to avert the " punish-
" ments" and " vengeance" of an offended God.
Such is the view which you take of God after he
has pardoned your sins. You believe that notwith
standing that pardon, his wrath burns against you,
and is so fierce, that if you are not sufficiently
tormented in this life, you must go into Purgatory
and suffer the torments of Hell ! Yes : you believe
that God consigns those whom he has justified and
sanctified, those whom he loves with a Father's
love, those whom he has endowed with the rich
and glorious gifts of faith, hope, and charity, those
who are themselves full of filial love and affection
to Him — to the torments of Hell ! " The constant
" doctrine of the Latins," says Bouvier bishop of
Mans, " is, that in Purgatory there is a material
"fire like the infernal fire, and therefore that the
" Church, in praying for the souls of the faithful,
" asks not only for a place of light and peace, but
" also of cooling (refrigerii) ; that is to say, against
" the ardour ofthe fire "'."
Bellarmine teaches the same doctrine in the
following terms. " As Cardinal Cajetan rightly
" explains, the punishment which remains to be
" expiated after the remission of guilt is that very
ra Constans Latinorum sententia est in purgatorio esse ignem
materialem similem igni infernali, et ideo Ecclesiam pro ani
mabus fidelium orantem, non petere tantum locum lucis et
pacis, sed et refrigerii, videlicet contra ignis ardorem. Bouvier,
De Pcenit. p. 285.

letter iii. 13
" same sensible punishment which the sinner ought
" to have suffered in Hell ; its eternity only being
" removed"." This, Sir, is the view which you uniformly take
of the disposition of God towards penitent and
pardoned sinners : you teach them still to tremble
under the apprehension of his wrath. And when is
this fear to be removed ? when is the sinner to
be at peace with God ? when is he to look with
joy and love to God as a reconciled and loving
Father ? never in this life. You tell him
that Absolution cannot appease the anger of
God — that sacramental satisfaction cannot do it —
that Indulgences even are uncertain — that he must
spend the remainder of his life in works of voluntary
penance — and at last, that he may and probably
will go into the torments of Hell for a time. He
is then to spend his whole life under the appre
hension that he is still subject to God's wrath and
vengeance, and still liable to the demands of his
justice. And is this the peace and consolation which you
offer to burdened consciences ? Are these the
blessings which are to flow on those who go to
you to heal their wounds, and soothe their afflic-
n Nam (ut recte explicat Card. Cajetan. in tract, de contritione,
quaest. 4.) poena illa quae luenda restat post culpa? remissionem,
est illa ipsa poena sensus, quam in Gehenna pati debuisset
peccator, remota solum aeternitate. Bellarmin. De Pcenitentia,
lib. iv. c. i.

14 letter nt.
tions V Let me contrast with this dark and melan
choly system, the consoling and joyful words of
encouragement offered to penitents by Jesus Christ.
" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
" laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
" upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and
" lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
" souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
" light." (Matt. xi. 28—30.) Does your system
afford rest to souls ? Is your yoke easy, and your
burden light ? I put this question solemnly to your
conscience, Whether a system so inconsistent with
that of Jesus Christ can be true ? You give no
" rest" to the souls of penitents, when you tell
them that they are still subject to the wrath of an
offended God. You impose on them no " easy
yoke," no " light burden," in enjoining laborious
works of satisfaction during life, under an uncertain
hope that they may deliver them from the excru
ciating tortures of Purgatory. Can your doctrine
then be true ? Can it be the doctrine of Jesus
Christ ?
Let me again draw your attention to the words
of St. Paul in describing the state of justification.
" Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
" with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. By
" whom also we have access by faith into this
" grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope
" of the glory of God. And not only so, but we
"glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribu-

letter iii. 15
" lation worketh patience ; and patience, expe-
" rience ; and experience, hope ; and hope maketh
" not ashamed ; because the love of God is shed
" abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which
" is given unto us. For when we were yet with-
" out strength, in due time Christ died for the
" ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will
" one die; yet peradventure for a good man some
" would even dare to die. But God commendeth
" his love towards us, in that, while we were
" yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more
" then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
" saved from wrath through him. For if, when we
" were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
" death of his Son, much more, being reconciled,
" we shall be saved by his life. And not only so,
" but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus
" Christ, by whom we have now received the
" atonement." (Rom. v. 1 — 11.)
Would to God that these words of the Apostle
might sink down into the heart of every one of
our separated brethren of the Romish persuasion !
It would almost seem as if the Apostle had
written them, under the direction of the Holy
Ghost, for the very purpose of refuting the errors
against which I am contending. What is your
view of the condition of the justified ? You believe
that, after their sins are pardoned, they still re
main subject to the wrath and vengeance of God.
Is this to have "peace with Gpd?" You believe

16 LETTER III.
that they are to look forward to painful afflictions
from God's anger in this world or the next ; to
" the scourges" of his wrath ; to the tortures of his
revenge in purgatory. Is this to " rejoice in hope
" ofthe glory of God?" You look with fear and
terror on temporal afflictions, believing them to be
punishments for your sins. Is this to " glory in
" tribulations also ?" You look on God as an angry
and vindictive judge, exacting payment to the last
farthing, either in this world or in purgatory. Is
this to have " the love of God shed abroad in your
" hearts by the Holy Ghost?" You think that
after you have been justified by the blood of Christ
applied in the sacrament of Penance, you are still
subject to " the wrath" of God. Is this to
believe that " being now justified by Christ's blood,
" we shall be saved from wrath through him?"
Let this one passage of Scripture be fully and
calmly considered, and compared with your doc
trines ; and there can be no doubt of the result.
1 would again solicit your attention to the words
of the Apostle John. " There is no fear in love ;
1 ' but perfect love casteth out fear ; because fear
" hath torment. He that feareth is not made
" perfect in love. We love Him because He first
" loved us." (1 John iv. 18, 19.) The Apostle
does not mean to forbid that godly fear of future
transgressions, which is necessary to preserve a
Christian from sin ; but he does most certainly
assert, that the perfect love of God casts out all

LETTER III. 17
slavish fear, all dread of God's wrath and vengeance
for remitted sin, all uneasiness, misery, anxiety
under a sense of the Divine anger. In this sense
" perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath
" torment." The man who trembles under a
sense of God's wrath, cannot perfectly love him ;
and thus, Sir, your doctrine renders it impossible
for those who receive it to love their Creator
" perfectly." How melancholy is it to see professing Christians
so blind to the real character of God ! Listen to
the Apostle John ; " God is love. In this was
" manifested the love of God toward us, because
" that God sent his only-begotten Son into the
" world, that we might live through him. Herein
" is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
" us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for
" our sins." (1 John iv. 8 — 10.) We have the
testimony of our Lord himself to the same con
solatory truth •. " God so loved the world, that he
" gave his only-begotten Son." (John iii. 16.)
" At that day ye shall ask in my name ; and I say
" not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you ;
" for the Father himself loveth you, because
" ye have loved me, and have believed that I came
" out from God." (John xvi. 26, 27.) This most
blessed truth is written in every page of the Gospel.
What but the most exceeding and infinite love and
mercy could have induced the Father to consign his
only-begotten Son to the death of the Cross, for

18 LETTER III.
those who were alienated from him, and dead in
trespasses and sins? What but love and mercy
could have devised such an awful sacrifice to bring
back sinners into the way of salvation, — a salvation
which no human merits could ever have obtained ?
It is this love and mercy which induces the Lord
to bear with the sins and offences of his creatures,
and which alone leads them to repentance. " De-
" spisest thou the riches of his goodness, and for-
" bearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that
" the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"
(Rom. ii. 4.) And is it this good, this merciful,
this loving Being, whom you regard as a God of
wrath and vengeance towards the objects of his
love? What deep ingratitude is this? what an
injury to that eternal love, which regards the
justified and sanctified members of Christ with an
affection beyond all human imagination !
In what light does our Saviour represent God in
his dealings with repentant sinners ? He describes
him as a Father rejoicing to receive an ungrateful
and prodigal son : " When he was yet a great way
" off, his father saw him, and had compassion on him,
" and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
" And the son said unto him, Father, I have
" sinned against Heaven, and in thy sight, and am
" no more worthy to be called thy son. But the
" father said to his servants, Bring forth the best
" robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his
" hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the

letter iii. 19
" fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat, and be
" merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive
" again ; he was lost, and is found." (Luke xv.
20 — 24.) Can any images more forcibly express
the love of God towards repentant sinners ? Here
is no " wrath" — no " vengeance" — no " anger" —
but all is joy, and exultation. Here is no " reserve
of punishment" — no partial forgiveness — no excep
tions out of the general amnesty — no store of bitter
and infernal " tortures" to be rigidly exacted even
" to the last farthing." And yet this is the point
of view in which our Lord wishes us to regard the
dispositions and dealings of God with real penitents.
Do not say to me, that the contrition of the prodigal
son was so intense, that it remitted all temporal
punishment ; but that his constitutes a peculiar
case, and ought not to lead penitents generally to
expect an equal degree of Divine love and mercy.
For if we examine this case, there was nothing to
take it out of the ordinary rules. The prodigal
son was reduced to distress by his own vices ;
" and when he came to himself," he resolved to
arise and go to his father. We do not read of any
signs of extreme contrition or anguish of soul. We
read of no tears, no fastings, no sackcloth, no
mortifications ; but he merely ' ' arose and came to
his father." This then is the description of every
one who is really penitent, and the conduct of God
here described is sufficient to shew the error and
unsoundness of your doctrine.

20 letter iii.
I will not weary the reader by accumulating
additional proofs from Scripture of what is so plain
and evident ; but shall proceed next to consider the
burdens which your doctrine of Satisfactions im
poses on Christians — burdens wholly useless and
ineffective for the end for which they are imposed —
the expiation of remitted sin.
Be it remembered then, that according to your
doctrine, penal works of Satisfaction are due to the
justice of an angry God, after sin has been pardoned;
and that such works must be continued through
life, notwithstanding the performance of the works
of Satisfaction assigned in confession, and notwith
standing the execution of all works necessary to
gain Indulgences. Now let us consider what these
Satisfactions are, which you thus recommend your
people to continue through life.
Amongst other penal Satisfactions for sin, the
following are mentioned by Amort0. Concealing
one's self for a time in some Monastery or other
secluded place, and living in penitence there.
Abstaining from meat and wine. Fasting on cer
tain days, especially on Wednesday, Friday, and
Saturday, or feeding only on bread and water.
Praying with bended knees, or with the arms
extended in the figure of the Cross for a certain
time, and at an appointed hour, before the Cross,
° Eusebii Amort, Theologia Eclectica Moralis et Scholastica
sub auspiciis SS. D. N. Benedicti xiv, &c. t. xiv. p. 405. Ed.
August. Vind. 1752.

letter iii. 21
or some other sacred image in the church. Lying
on the ground for some time, or on a hard couch.
Applying the scourge to one's self on certain days.
Putting on sackcloth. Undertaking some religious
pilgrimage. Reciting the penitential psalms and
other penitential prayers. Visiting certain churches
where there are stations, or some other great de
votion. Weekly fastings during life. Monthly
confessions. Prayers every hour or half hour.
The office of the Rosary on Sundays and Holy-
days. Amongst penances mentioned by Alphonsus
Liguori are, entering a Monastic order, Acts of
grief every evening, " to visit every day the holy
Sacrament, and also the image of St. Mary, be
seeching from them (!) the grace of perseverance ;
to recite at least the third part of the Rosary,
and the Angelical salutation three times, every
morning and evening, saying, ' My mother
assist me to-day, that I sin not against God ;'
which penance," says Liguori, " of thrice reciting
the Angelical salutation with the aforesaid sup
plication, it was my custom generally to enjoin,
or at least recommend to those who did not use
them." Another penitential work is, " unre
mitting recitation of the Angelical salutation in
honour of the purity of the most blessed Virgin,
morning and evening, repeating always before
her image the resolution not to commit sinp,"
11 Ligorio, Theologia Moralis, t. ix. p, 1 4.

22 LETTEIl III.
Another is, " to make the sign of the cross nine or
" five times on the ground with the tongue'1." Other
penances may be assigned at the particular desire
of the penitent, though at first with moderation :
" It will be enough to allow them at the beginning
" some small mortification, but seldom; such as
" scourging, an iron chain, abstinence, rather to
" inspire a wish for mortifications, than to mortify
" them as is fitting; and afterwards he [the Con-
" fessor] may deal more liberally7." Liguori adds,
that ordinary works of Christian piety may be
openly performed, such as " frequenting the Sacra-
" ments, mental prayer, visitation of the Sacrament,
" hearing mass with bended knees and recollection
" of spirit," &c. " But works of extraordinary
" supererogation, and which savour of singularity,
" such as the above-mentioned external penances
" oi sackcloth, scourges, prayer with expanded arms,
" eating bitter herbs, sighings, weeping at time of
" prayer, ought to be concealed as far as possible*."
i " Illi, qui solitus fuit blasphemias proferre, insinuatur ut
novies vel quinquies lingua signet crucem super terram."
Ib. p. 15.
r Satis erit ab initio eis concedere aliquam tennem sed raram
mortificationem, ut disciplinam, catenulam ferream, abstinen-
tiam, potius ad ingerendum in eorum animis mortificationis
desiderium, quam ad eos ut convenit mortificandos. Ligorio,
Theol. Mor. t. ix. p. 123. (Praxis Confessarii, n. 146.)
1 Opera autem quae sapiunt singularitatem, ut supra enarrataa
pcenitentise externa; ciliciorum, flagellorum, orationis cum
brachiis in crucem expansis, comestionis herbarum amariorum,

LETTER III. 23
Bouvier Bishop of Mans, in his Treatise on
penance, recommends the following penances.
Fasting on bread and water; abstinence from meat,
wine, and fermented liquors; flagellations and sack
cloth ; holy pilgrimages, especially those made on
foot ; watchings at night, and lying on the ground
or on a hard bed ; genuflexions ; extensions of the
arms ; or other painful postures of the body ; absti
nence from pleasures, entertainments, games, hunt
ing, riding, rich dress, &c. ; pecuniary payments ;
recitation of the psalms, Rosary, &c. ; meditation
and mental prayer ; a certain number of repetitions
of forms, called Acts of Faith, Hope, Charity,
Humility, Contrition, &c; visitation of Churches ;
adoration of the holy Sacrament ; exercises of re
ligion ; acts of piety towards our Lord, or towards
the blessed Virgin, or towards the Saints '.
Morinus mentions the following penances. Walk
ing with bare feet, or without shoes ; wearing
painful garments ; using no carriage or horse ;
scourging or discipline ; repetition of psalters ;
wearing iron hoops round the body ; imprisonment;
genuflexions ; prostrations on the ground ; alms
giving ; voluntary exile ; entering a monastery,
&c. &c.u According to Trevern, Bishop of Stras-
suspiriorum, fletus tempore orationis, &c. occultari debent
quantum possibile est. Ibid. p. 124. (n. 147.)
* Bouvier, De Pcenitentia, p. 150. (De operibus injun-
gendis.) " Morinus, Tract, de Pcenitentia, lib. vii. c. 13, 14, 15.

24 LETTER III.
burg; "true penitents, whether under the Law
" or the Gospel, taking in hand the interests of
" Heaven, have taken vengeance on themselves,
" by voluntary punishments, for the sins they
" have committed . . . witness those innumerable
" penitents in all ages, who have peopled deserts
" and monasteries, and lived there in privations,
" and austerities, to expiate faults pardoned long
" before*." So that, according to your view, the
mortifications of the Saints in all ages are to be
regarded as so many penances voluntarily imposed
for the expiation of their sins. These are the
models which are held up for the instruction of
those who wish to obtain remission of the tem
poral penalties supposed to be due to their re
mitted sins. And what then are the penances
which such examples teach you to inflict on your
selves ?
I shall not bring my readers to the Lives of the
Saints contained in your Breviary, and point out
the penances there held up to the admiration and
imitation of the faithful ; such as, Continued ab
stinence from food for many weeks ; fasting on
bread and water ; living for years in holes ex
cavated in the rocks ; the use of lacerating ban
dages, and iron chains continually worn round
the body ; immersions in freezing water ; the ap
plication of nettles and scourges ; rolling one's self
among thorns ; the use of belts set with needles ;
1 Trevern, Discussion Amicale, tom. ii. p. 206.

LETTER III. 25
of hair shirts ; of iron crowns filled with points
inside ; of beds made of rough trunks of trees,
and the interstices filled up with pottery. No,
these, and many other self-inflicted torments for
the expiation of sin already pardoned, are well known
to all who have investigated this subject, and I
therefore need not dwell on them here at any
length. But, Sir, I have to produce evidence as to the
penances recommended or allowed amongst you
at the present day, from a work to which I have
already referred, and which will have additional
weight as being known to proceed from your own
pen : I mean, " The Lives of St. Alphonsus Liguori,
&c.y" — a work published only two years ago, im
mediately after the Canonization ofthe distinguished
individuals whose lives it contains. Suffer me
then to make some extracts from this very au
thentic work, in illustration of the system which
prevails, and of the species of penances which are
authorized, in the Church of Rome.
St. Alphonsus Liguori. — His mode of life
with the Society he instituted was as follows.
" Their house was small and inconvenient, their
" beds a mere sack of straw resting on the floor ;
" and their only food, in general, was a dish of
' The Lives of St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Francis de Girolamo,
St. John Joseph of the Cross, St. Pacificus of San Severino,
and St. Veronica Giuliani, whose canonization took place on
Trinity Sunday, 26th of May, 1839- London, 1839-

26 LETTER III.
" soup, which was both insipid and disagreeable,
" with a small quantity of fruit. The bread was
" black and not even leavened, through the in-
" experience of the lay-brother who made it, and
" so hard that it was necessary to pound it in a
" mortar before they could eat it. This miserable
" food, which they ate kneeling or stretched upon
" the ground, they rendered still more nauseous,
" by sprinkling it over with some bitter stuff,
" and many of them, before eating, licked the
" floor with their tongue. They disciplined them-
" selves three times in each week." (p. 15.) " He
" surpassed all his companions in the exactness
" with which he observed all the rules and obli-
" gations of the order ; but seeing the severity
" with which he disciplined himself, and the
" austerity of his fasts and mortifications, it was
" a source of wonder how he could live. He
" was content with a small quantity of soup and
" bread with some fruit, although he never touched
" the latter upon Saturday, and the Vigils of our
" Lady. He wore continually rough hair-shirts,
" with small iron chains and a girdle of camel's
'* hair." (p. 20.)
" Every morning and evening, the missionaries
" preached to the adults and catechized the chil-
" dren. For the first three evenings, they went
" round the most populous streets with a crucifix,
" calling upon the inhabitants to remember the last
" things, and to come to hear the word of God.

LETTER III.

27

" Alphonsus, who delivered the principal sermon in
" the evening, was accustomed to discipline himself
" with a thick rope three times during the mission ;
" once during the sermon upon sin ; a second time
" during that upon hell; and a third during that
' ' upon scandal ; and when the women had left the
" church, after the evening sermon, and the men
" alone remained, a sermon upon compunction was
" addressed to them, to excite them to discipline
" themselves." (p. 24.) " His food was of the
" most inferior kind, and even this he sprinkled
" with wormwood and other bitter herbs, so that
" the poor, who flocked to him, refused to eat
" of what he had left of it. His attendants were
" few in number, and he treated them on every
" occasion with the greatest kindness and sweet-
" ness. His mortifications seemed to increase both
" in severity and frequency, and one day his secre-
" tary had to burst open his door, and snatch the
" discipline out of his hands, fearing lest the
" violence wherewith he scourged himself might
" cause his death." (p. 31.)
St. Francis di Girolamo. " When the Sunday
" came, he first spent two hours in mental prayer,
" after which he scourged himself long and severely
" with the discipline (a practice he observed daily
" at the hour of rising), then said mass." (p. 72.)
" After the discourse on his knees at the foot of
" the Cross, he scourged his shoulders with the
" discipline, and then once more betook himself to

28 LETTER III.
" the Confessional." (p. 73.) " A youth of dis-
" ordered life was so moved by another sermon
" of Francis, that in public, overcoming every
" human respect, he cast himself at the foot of the
"crucifix, exclaiming, 'Father, I am lost; for
" nearly twenty years I have not been a confessor,'
" and so saying, wept bitterly, and lashed himself
" with the discipline." (p. 93.)
St. John Joseph of the Cross. " He early
" manifested his attachment to the Cross, sleeping
" upon a narrow hard bed, and fasting on appointed
" days during the week ; and as he mortified the
" flesh betimes, so also he checked all pride, by
" constantly wearing mean clothes." (p. 121.)
" Once he had to perform a journey of considerable
" distance, and set out with alacrity, although his
" limbs were afflicted with grievous ulcers. . . . He
" had not gone far, when, slipping on the ice, he
" fell, and cruelly lacerated his wounded limbs, so
" that he could hardly stand upright ; still, with
" heroic fortitude and perseverance, he prosecuted
" and accomplished his task  A rough seat
" and a table, a bed consisting of two narrow
" planks, with two sheep-skins and a wretched
" woollen coverlet, a stool to rest his wounded legs
" upon — these, with his breviary, formed the whole
" furniture of his cell." (p. 143.)
" We come now to speak of his extraordinary
" mortifications. To the numerous penitential
" austerities enjoined by his order, he added as

LETTER III. 29
" many more as an ingenious self-denial could
" devise. He guarded his senses most particu-
" larly ; even in his youth he would not permit
" himself the liberty of lifting his eyes to the
" roof of his cell ; and when he was a priest, he
" made it a rule to look no one whomsoever
" in the face. His ears he mortified by denying
" them the gratification of music. He would not
" even smell a flower. Silent as long as possible,
" when he spoke, it was in a low voice. Bare-
" headed in all seasons, he wore under his rough
" and heavy habit divers hair-shirts and chains,
" which he was careful to vary to keep the sense
" of torment ever fresh. Besides, he used the
" discipline to a severe degree ; and when at the
" age of forty, his superior obliged him to wear
" sandals, he placed between them and his feet a
" quantity of small nails ; but the most tremendous
" instrument of torture which he devised against
" himself, was a cross about a foot in length,
" set with rows of sharp nails, which he fastened
" tight over his shoulders, so as to open there
" a wound which never after closed. Another
" similar but smaller cross he wore attached to
" his breast. But his abridgment of sleep was
" truly wonderful, and he never took it, save seated
" on the ground, or cramped up in his little bed,
" often with his head leaning against a piece of
" wood jutting from the wall. No less singular
" was his abstinence. For the last thirty years of

30 LETTER III.
" his life, he entirely overcame that most insatiable
" of wants, thirst, absolutely abstaining not merely
" from wine and water, but from every liquid
" whatsoever." (p. 147, 148.)
St. Pacificus of San Severino. " As about
" the middle of his life he became deaf, his brethren
" heard the prayers which he uttered almost with-
" out interruption, for he took only three or four
" hours of sleep on a bed, so rough and uncomfort-
" able, that it seemed made for mortification and
" torment, rather than ease and repose. Upon
" the vigils preceding the festivals of the Church,
" especially those dedicated to our blessed Lady, he
" fasted on water and a small piece of bread, which
" he had kept for the week before exposed to the
" scorching heat ofthe sun. He went almost barefoot
" and without any covering on his legs, although
" the ulcers before mentioned inspired compassion
" and horror in all who chanced to see them."
(p. 181.) " Pacificus felt a particular devotion
" towards his good angel, the chaste spouse of
" Mary, St. Joseph, and St. Francis of Asisium,
" whose custom of keeping seven lents during the
" year he faithfully followed,, even in his old age,
" until his superiors commanded him to abandon
"it." (p. 188.) "Trusting in the certainty of
" divine retribution, he subjected his body to
" rigorous fasts, and severe disciplines, to take
" which, besides the three times each week pre-
' ' scribed by the rule, he was often watched retiring

LETTER III. 31
" to the belfry, or some other secret place, that he
" might not be seen by men." (p. 191.)
' ' He used every artifice to hide his mortifications
" and cruel disciplines from others, and anxiously
" sought to conceal the supernatural powers which
" God had imparted to him. Who can say with
" what severe mortifications and fasts he subdued
" his body? Besides fasting, as we have seen,
" three times in the week, until his superiors re-
" stricted him to Friday and Saturday, whereon he
" sometimes did not even taste a morsel of bread
"ora drop of water, and the Lents of St. Francis,
" he made the little that he did eat a means of
" additional mortification, by mixing his food with
" ashes, as was attested by many who observed
"him attentively. And another more remarkable
" example will confirm what we have just said.
" On occasion of the pardon of Asisium, a fair
" used in his time to be held in a square, near the
" convent of Forano, Pacificus passing through it,
" and smelling the flesh of roasted pork, said
" several times to his companion, ' Do you perceive
" this smell ?' The other, supposing that he had
" a desire of tasting some of the flesh, told the
" superior, who immediately ordered a piece of it
" to be brought and placed before him at table.
" He did not touch it, but requested the brother
" who served at table to gratify him by placing it
" before him until he should have eaten it. His
" request was complied with, and each day it was

32 LETTER III.
' brought to table, until at last, when it was putrid,
' he eat it, saying to himself, ' Eat vile body ; it is
' not pork now as it was at first.' " (p. 207, 208.)
" Besides the regular disciplines prescribed by
'• rule three times in the week, he cruelly scourged
' himself thrice each day, with chains or cords, so
' as to fill all with horror, who heard the whistling
' of the lash, or saw the abundance of blood which
' he shed during the flagellation. Covered with
' hair-shirts, he undertook long journeys over
' thorns and sharp stones, slept little, never ap-
' proached the fire, and kept the window and door
' of his cell open, in the most rigorous winters,
' in order to hear the bell summoning him to the
' duties of the community." (p. 208.) " Not
' being aware, through his defect in sight and
' hearing, of the presence of any one in his room,
' he rose from his bed, and placing himself devoutly
' on his knees, recited three Ave Marias, saying at
' the end, with singular earnestness, ' Let these be,
' O my God, in satisfaction for my sins.' He
' would have prayed much longer, but his illness
' prevented him ; and as it became every moment
' more and more violent, the holy Sacrament of
' Extreme Unction was administered." (p. 217.)
St. Veronica Giuliani. " When she was about
' three years old, she heard an account of the
' sufferings of the saints, and especially of the
' martyrs, — when she instantly ran and placed -her
' hands in a fire, whence she did not draw them

letter iii. 33
" out until the whole family had been brought by
" the smell into the room." (p. 226.) " A desire,"
she said, " came into my head of asking my con-
" fessor for some mortification, but I did not yield
" to it. Still I made sufferings for myself, but all
" without my confessor's leave ; such as the disci-
" pline, walking on my bare knees, pricking myself
" with a pin, kissing some filthy spot, and beating
" myself with thistles. If I heard of the works
" of penance performed by others, I went to the
" image of my Saviour, and said, ' Lord, if I had
" their instruments of mortification, I would do the
" same ; but since I have them not, I offer thee my
" desire.' He has often let me know and remember
" that he made me (at that age) affectionate invi-
" tations." (p. 227, 228.) " One of the com-
" mands given to Veronica after her espousals
" [with our Saviour !], was, that she should encrease
" her fasting ; and about a year after that event,
" she received a direct injunction from God to fast
" for three whole years upon nothing but bread and
" water." (p. 257.)

I shall not further pursue this branch of the
subject. What has been now adduced is quite
enough for my purpose, which is, to afford some
general notion of the consequences which naturally
flow from your doctrine of Temporal penalties,
and Satisfactions for them. If it be true, as you
imagine, that God reserves awful " scourges" in
c

31 letter in.
his hands, when he receives the pardoned sinner
into his favour ; if God is still in " wrath" and
" anger" with justified believers ; if they are still
liable to the demands of his " justice," and of
his " vengeance ;" if the temporal punishments
which he " reserves" are, while they last, of the
same sort as those of Hell ; and if the wrath of
God and the infernal tortures which he designs
to inflict on his justified and sanctified children,
may be averted by their inflicting on themselves
torments in this life ; I most fully admit, that it
is the duty of every Christian to live in a state of
fear and of torment. No amount of bodily suffering
can be considered excessive, if it can appease the
wrath of God and avert his vengeance. A soul
bowed down beneath the miserable thought that
it is not at peace with God, will act naturally and
even piously in seeking for the greatest amount
of afflictions and mortifications that can be ob
tained during life. Who that believes in God,
and regards him as the Fountain of all good, —
who that feels the reality of his existence, his
promises, and his threatenings, would hesitate to
do any works, or submit to any sufferings, in order
to gain his favour ? Faith would oblige him to
stretch forth both his hands for this bitter cup,
and drain it to the very dregs.
You therefore act only consistently, when your
lives are spent in the most dreadful mortifications
and penances for remitted sins. You hold that Con-

LETTER III. 35
trition does not generally remit all the " scourges"
due to your sins, or restore you to peace with God ;
that Confession and Absolution still leave you in
the same state of uncertainty ; that Satisfaction
enjoined by the Confessor does not render you
secure ; that Indulgences may fail ; and, in fine,
that voluntary Satisfactions, voluntary penances
during life, are the only remedy which you can
adopt in this world. If therefore a Romanist
understands the system taught by authority in his
Church, and be earnest in his religious views, he
must spend a life of self-inflicted torment.
Nor is this all. If Contrition, and Confession,
and Absolution ; if imposed Satisfactions, and In
dulgences afford no assurance of the remission of
God's " scourges;" what assurance can there be,
that a life of torment will avert them ? What
reasonable assurance can there be, that self-imposed
obligations can succeed, when the Divine method of
obtaining remission of sin, — when true Repentance,
that " second plank," as St. Jerome calls it, has
failed ? For let us consider a moment, that accord
ing to your doctrine, a temporal punishment equal
to that of hell is due to your remitted sins.
Now is it to be imagined for a moment, that any
penances which we may suffer in this short life,
can be an equivalent for torments resembling those
of Hell ? Remember that you know not how long
the pains of Purgatory may continue; you know
nothing more about them, than that they are

36 LETTER III.
superior to any sufferings endured in this life, that
they resemble those of Hell. If then Divine
justice is to be satisfied even " to the last
farthing," as you allege ; what reasonable ground
is there for believing, that even a life of self-imposed
penances can appease the wrath of God, and save
you from the dread scourges of his vengeance in
Purgatory ?
The necessary result then of your doctrine of
Temporal punishments and Satisfactions is, that
the contrite and justified child of God, the chosen
vessel of his grace, the sanctified instrument of his
will, is bound to spend his life in penal labours
and self-inflicted torments, without any well-founded
hope of appeasing the wrath of God. He is to
look on his God as still frowning in anger upon
him ; to think with anguish of the scourges and
tortures of the damned, which God is preparing to
shower upon him. This is to be his feeling through
life ; and even in death he is to look on God as
still probably unreconciled; and as only awaiting
the moment of his departure from this life, to hurry
his soul into that fire which is prepared for the
Devil and his angels !
And is this the hope, is this the peace, the joy,
the consolation, which you offer to Christians?
You are loud in your assurances that the sacra
ment of Penance brings peace and consolation to
the wounded conscience. According to the Council
of Trent, " the substance and effect of the sacrament

letter iii. 37
' of Penance, as far as relates to its power and
" efficacy, is reconciliation with God, which some-
" times produces in pious persons, and those who
" receive this sacrament with devotion, peace and
" tranquillity of conscience, with vehement consolation
" of spirit*." In the same manner, the Catechism
of the Council of Trent observes, that " the whole
" efficacy of Penitence consists in its restoring us
" to the favour of God, and uniting us in the
" utmost friendship with Him ; and this reconcili-
" ation is sometimes followed in the case of pious
" men who receive this sacrament in a holy and
" religious manner, by the greatest peace and tran-
" quillity of conscience, with exceeding joy fulness of
"spirit*." Dr. Miller, one of your nominal
bishops, apostrophizes the sacrament of Penance
thus: "O sweet balm of the wounded spirit! O
" sovereign restorative of the soul's life and
" vigourb!" and observes, that Romanists con
tinually find persons who are desirous " of laying the
" sins of their youth and their ignorances at the feet
" of some one or other of" the Romish ministers,
" convinced that thereby they would procure ease
" to their afflicted souls V Trevern, Bishop of Stras
burg, in describing the penitence of a Roman
Catholic, says, that his spiritual director, " when he
1 Cone. Trid. Sessio xiv. c. iii.
a Catechismus, Pars ii. c. xxxiii.
* End of Controversy, Lett. xx.
c Ib. Lett. xii.

38 LETTER III.
" judges him sufficiently disposed, exhorts him to
" employ redoubled fervour in his approaches to
" reconciliation, in order to obtain by humble
" prayers God's ratification of the sentence of
" pardon which will be pronounced to him on
" earth : when the moment has arrived, he pro-
" nounces solemnly this wished for Absolution ;
" then consolation, calm, and ease, enter the con-
" science of the penitent, in place of the burden
" which had before oppressed him. He feels him-
" self altogether different from what he was; he is no
" more the same mmi'1 "
Such are the delights which you promise in
the sacrament of Penance ; but how delusively !
Is it consolation, to know that we are still, after
the remission of sins, liable to the demands of
" Divine justice ?" Is it peace, to feel that we are
still subject to God's " wrath?" Is it joy, to think
that we are subject to his " vengeance;" to the
" scourges which he still retains in his hands?"
Is it rest, to feel that a life of torment will not
suffice to appease the " anger" of God, and that
even beyond the grave his " vengeance" will
pursue us amidst the torments of the damned ?
Is this peace, consolation, reconciliation, calmness,
tranquillity of conscience, hope in this world and
in the next? Nay, is this remission of sins?
What is Remission of sins, if it be not remission
of their penalties, and of the anger of God so justly
d Discuss. Amic. t. ii. p. 201.

letter in, 39
due to them ? If the penalties of sin were retained,
sin would not be remitted. When we say that a
sin is pardoned, we mean that God forgives its
guilt and its penalties, that He is reconciled to the
penitent sinner, and that his anger is appeased.
If then, as you maintain, God is still unreconciled
to the sinner, still in wrath, still seeking for
punishment, still reserving some of the scourges
due to sin ; it cannot be that sin has been re
mitted — the sinner must still be alienated from
God ; unless you would maintain that God is
reconciled and unreconciled, forgiving and unfor
giving, appeased and unappeased, angry and well-
pleased at the same moment towards the same
person. Your doctrine, Sir, needs only to be known, to
secure its rejection by every one who can (even
imperfectly) feel the love and mercy of God, the
consistency of his dealings with his creatures, the
nature of the remission of sins, and the privileges
of a state of justification and grace. To state your
doctrine is to refute it. This is all I have been
able to do in this Letter ; I have not entered on
any refutation of the arguments you advance in its
favour, nor have I brought the weight of Scripture
and of Catholic Tradition to its overthrow. This
must form the subject of another Letter; but before
I close the present, I must make some further
observations on the subject of satisfactions and

40 LETTER III.
mortifications, with a view to prevent misrepre
sentations. Do not imagine then, that in condemning the
load of observances, of servile works, and of self-
inflicted tortures, which your system imposes on
its votaries, with a view to obtain remission of the
temporal penalties of their sins, we mean in any
degree to remove the obligation of self-denial, and
the expediency of a reasonable degree of mortifi
cation. We have no intention to speak with any
thing except reverence of the austerities of the
ancient saints, though they may appear to us in
several instances excessive, and not to be imitated.
But the reason for which we distinguish between
these austerities and those which you recommend
is, because they are performed on totally different
motives. The saints of old mortified their senses ;
underwent many afflictions ; sat in sackcloth and
ashes ; wept and mourned ; spent their lives in
self-denial ; were abundant in fruits of penitence :
but what was their motive ? It was either to obtain
remission of sin not yet remitted, or else to mortify
the passions and wishes of the natural man, and to
conform themselves to the image of their Divine
Master. Their motive then was what we cannot
but approve ; though we may not think it necessary
for Christians to undertake such severe exercises
of self-denial as many holy men have practised.
But what is your motive in recommending such

LETTER III. 41
painful works ? It is to obtain remission of a
portion of the penalties of sin already remitted : it
is to appease the anger of a God, whose anger is
already appeased. Mortifications have with you
taken a new character : they are no longer merely
what they were to the saints, means of subduing
evil habits and inclinations, and of detaching the
soul from sublunary concerns. No : they are expi
ations for sins remitted — atonements made to an
offended God for sins which He has pardoned.
Such mortifications and penances are worse than
useless. They are mistaken ; injurious to God ;
inconsistent with the spirit of the Gospel, and
with the belief and practice of Catholic Antiquity.
It is to such satisfactions that we do most strongly
object, and against which we shall always contend
to the utmost of our power. 1 am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
WILLIAM PALMER.
Oxford, May 3, 1841.

BAXTER, PRINTER, OXFORD.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
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