[1] I read as follows in the October number of the Protestant Observer:—“I remember hearing Father Ignatius tell an Oxford audience some years ago that he was called Ignatius, not after the famous Father of the early Church, but ‘after my patron-saint, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit Order.’ May we not call him Ignatius Loyola the Second?”

[2] “There are persons, even amongst ‘Religious,’ so insensible to the sorrows and sufferings of others, that we might ask whether they possess a human heart” (“Thoughts and Suggestions for [Ritualistic] Sisters of Charity,” page 81 London: Hodges, 1871).

[3] These were held in Hunter Street, Brunswick Square; the sisters were of the third order, or associate sisters, living in the world, but wearing a dress similar to that in my photograph. They used to accompany Father Ignatius when he went to preach or attend meetings of a more private character in Hunter Street. It was at one of these meetings that I first met the Feltham Mother, early in the year 1868.

[4] If the reader will look at the last verse of this chapter in the Book of Numbers, he will see that the vows there spoken of can have no connection with convent vows, nor can they supply any authority for them. We read in the last verse: “These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.” Please note this. Oh, how clever and subtle are some people in twisting Scripture and wresting it from its proper bearing!—Editor.

[5] In “The Rule of our Most Holy Father St. Benedict,” edited, with English translation and explanatory notes, by a monk of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Fort Augustus, occur these words, which show that the rules which regulate the convents connected with this Order are very similar to those regulating the monasteries of the same order in the Church of Rome:

“By no means let a monk be allowed to receive, either from his parents, or any one else, or from his brethren, letters, tokens, or any gifts whatsoever, or to give them to others, without permission of the abbot. And if anything be sent to him, even by his parents, let him not presume to receive it, until it hath been made known to the abbot. But even if the abbot order it to be received, it shall be in his power to bid it to be given to whom he pleaseth, and let not the brother to whom it may have been sent be grieved, lest occasion be given to the devil. Should any one, however, presume to act otherwise, let him be subjected to the discipline of the Rule” (p. 155).—Editor.

[6] John Berchmans was the son of a master shoemaker named John Charles Berchmans, and was born in the year 1599. His biographers tell us that as a child he grew up as gentle and guileless as a lamb, and early shared his time between the school and the altar.

When about fifteen years of age, he joined the Society of Jesus, although his parents were somewhat opposed to his taking this step. In a letter to his mother at that time he tried to bring his parents to be reconciled to his taking this step; he wrote, “God is now pleased, after much prayer, out of His goodness to give me a vocation to religion and to the ‘Society of Jesus,’ the hammer of all heresies, the vessel of virtue and perfection. I hope you will not be so unreasonable as to oppose Him, but as (as I have read in history,) the Egyptians offered their children to the crocodile, which they looked upon as a god, and, while it was eating them up, the parents made high festival, so too, I hope you will rejoice as they did, and praise God, and thank Him that your son should be found worthy,” etc.

This Jesuit saint seems to have been “celebrated for devotion to His Lord in the blessed Sacrament” and devotion to the Virgin Mary. He was looked upon as a “portent of holiness.” He is said “to have preserved unstained by grievous sin the white robe of baptism.” He died in the year 1621. At eight o’clock on Friday, Aug. 13th, 1621, with “his eyes on his crucifix,” and with “the holy names of Jesus and Mary on his lips he went to his reward.”

Miracles of course were said to be wrought through his relics. In 1865, Pius IX. published the decree for his beatification, and on Jan. 15th, 1888, Leo XIII., amidst the splendid festivities of his sacerdotal jubilee, solemnly canonized him as a saint.—Editor.

[7] The late Rev. Dr. Pusey recommended Ritualistic Father Confessors to give the following advice to those Sisters of Mercy who might happen to be their penitents: “I would have great respect paid in confession to your confessor, for (to say nothing of the honour due to the priesthood) we ought to look upon them as angels sent by God to reconcile us to His Divine goodness; and also as His lieutenants upon earth, and therefore we owe them all reverence, even though they may at times betray that they are human, and have human infirmities, and perhaps ask curious questions which are not part of the confession, such as your name, what penances or virtues you practise, what are your temptations, etc. I would have you answer, although you are not obliged to do so.” (“Manual for Confessors,” p. 190. London, 1878.) Heaven help the poor sisters who have to answer the “curious questions” of an inquisitive or wicked Father Confessor.—Editor.

[8] The following is an extract from a lecture delivered by Mr. W. Walsh, at Bath, reported in the English Churchman, Nov. 26, 1886:

“He (Mr. Walsh) had now to direct attention to the Vow of ‘Obedience,’ taken by many Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy. The rule as to ‘obedience’ varied considerably. In Dr. Pusey’s sisterhood, it was very objectionable indeed. The rule of holy obedience commands the sisters: ‘Ye shall ever address the spiritual Mother with honour and respect; avoid speaking of her among yourselves; cherish and obey her with holy love, without any murmur or sign of hesitation or repugnance, but simply, cordially, and promptly obey with cheerfulness, AND BANISH FROM YOUR MIND ANY QUESTION AS TO THE WISDOM OF THE COMMAND GIVEN YOU. If ye fail in this, ye have failed to resist a temptation of the evil one.’

“Would not such a rule as this, Mr. Walsh continued to say, if placed in the hands of a wicked Mother Superior, lead to the most fearful results? In Father Benson’s ‘Religious Life Portrayed for the Use of Sisters of Mercy,’ the teaching was, if possible, placed in a still more fearful light. In that book the sister is taught that—

“‘A religieuse has made the sacrifice of her will in taking the Vow of Obedience. She is no more her own, but God’s; and she must obey her Superiors for God’s sake, yielding herself as wax to be moulded unresistingly.’”

Well did Mr. Walsh observe: “Persons who had to submit to ‘obedience’ such as this were as truly slaves as any negro.”—Editor.

[9] There must be many similar lying legends of this kind, in order to stamp upon ignorant and superstitious minds the necessity of obedience.

In “The Secret Plan of the Jesuits,” by the Abbot Leone, the following story is told: “Father Saetti, knocking at my door one morning, according to his custom, I did not open it. ‘Why this delay?’ he asked me. I replied that I could not open the door sooner. He then reminded me that, in all things, the most prompt obedience was the most perfect; that, in obeying God, we must make every sacrifice, even that of a moment of time. ‘One of the brethren,’ he continued, ‘was occupied in writing, when some one knocked at the door. He had begun to make an “O,” but he did not stay to finish it. He opened the door, and on returning to his seat, he found the “O” completed, and all in gold! Thus you see how God rewards him who is obedient.’” Did not St. Paul prophesy that those would arise who would “speak lies in hypocrisy,” and did he not say, “Refuse profane and old wives’ fables”? (1 Tim. iv. 1-7).—Editor.

[10] See Appendix C. for the teaching we received concerning the nature of the Vow of Obedience.—Editor.

[11] While these pages were passing through the press, the Western Mail, of Cardiff, on March 3rd, 1890, published a report, from the pen of its special correspondent, of the reception of three new monks at Llanthony Abbey by Father Ignatius. We reprint this report, slightly abridged:

“The great event at the morning service was the consecration of three brethren as monks. They were given new names after their consecration. The abbot gave Cymric names to the three new monks, naming one Mihangel Dewi Fair, another Catwg Fair, and the third Dyfrig Fair. The great organ thundered forth sweetest melody, and the voices of unseen choristers singing a Welsh chant ushered in the solemn service. The three monks in reply to the abbot—who was most gorgeously appareled in cloth of gold and hood, which caught and held the lights which blazed forth from all parts of the building—who asked whether it was their wish to depart, said, ‘We wish to dwell in the House of the Lord for ever!’ The abbot asked, would they make a solemn vow of celibacy, obedience, and poverty. That was answered in the affirmative. After some other ceremonies of the most gorgeous description had been observed, the three brethren who sought to be made monks laid themselves down on their backs on the floor of the church. A funeral pall was placed over them to signify that they were henceforth dead to the things of this world. A long wax candle was placed at each of the four corners of the carpet on which they laid. This was followed by the Burial Service being performed by the abbot, and the great bell tolled as if for the dead, and the De Profundis was solemnly chanted. Moving around the prostrate figures, the abbot, now robed in black vestments, scattered ashes upon them, and said, ‘Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.’ He then sprinkled holy water upon the prostrate forms. A black curtain was now drawn across the church, hiding everything from the congregation. Subsequently that was withdrawn, and it was then seen that the three monks had commenced their spiritual existence. The head of each bore the tonsure, and was encircled with a wreath as described above. The abbot received the three monks, each of whom held beneath his chin the houseling white cloth. Later on in the service the abbot, standing in wedding garments on the steps of the altar, proclaimed the three new monks as being ‘the spouses of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ and on the third finger of the left hand of each he placed a plain wedding ring. After the ceremony of consecration was over, the three young monks took their seats, covered with crimson cloth, and thirteen or fourteen nuns, completely concealed in white wraps, descended from somewhere, and bowed low, to receive the blessing of the monks. The above will give the reader some idea of the extraordinary and gorgeous ritual observed on the occasion.”—Ed.

[12] In the “Little Manual of Devotions,” for the use of the “Pilgrims” to Llanthony Abbey, Father Ignatius teaches that—“It is a pious custom of devout Christians, on seeing a monk, to kneel and kiss the hem of the sacred habit; if done from love to Jesus, and reverence to the habit of the Consecrated Life, a great blessing will be received” (page 6).—Editor.

[13] At that period my letters were not kept back; but you will see that at any time that suits the Superiors letters may be and often are never sent.

[14] In the Church of England Catholic and Monastic Times for June 24, 1884 (which was the organ of Father Ignatius), there appears an article entitled “Lent at the Monastery.” It is stated that in the evening of Ash Wednesday, “Compline was said, and then, while the nuns retired to their Priory for the Service of the Discipline, the monks proceeded to the Discipline in the solemn choir” (page 5). This confirms the statement of Sister Mary Agnes that the “Discipline” was in use at Llanthony.—Editor.

[15] This last event, I should mention, took place in Devonshire. There are no stairs at the Llanthony convent.

[16] In the article on “Lent at the Monastery,” which we have already quoted from the Monastic Times, it is stated that on Ash Wednesday, at Llanthony, “First the Superior [Father Ignatius] received the holy ashes on his tonsured head, then the monks; after this the nuns descended.… One by one they knelt before the priest, received the ashes on their veiled heads, and disappeared behind the Great Shrine.… Nones, Litany, and the seven penitential Psalms were said; the latter kneeling or lying prostrate in the ashes in the centre of the choir.”—Editor.

[17] Probably few people credit what I know to be a fact, that such instruments of torture are in use in probably all monastic and conventual institutions. I have by me now a book called “Priests, Women, and Families,” by J. Michelet, published in 1874 by the Protestant Evangelical Mission.

In the editor’s preface to this book there are two sets of engravings of “Articles of Piety”; or, Instruments of Torture in English Convents. Under the first set of engravings, I read thus:

“Instruments of torture are now practised upon nuns in Romish convents in London, and in all parts of the country.”

The Romish “Articles of Piety,” named on the next page, were bought at Little’s Ecclesiastical Warehouse, 20, Cranbourne Street, and at the convent of the “Sisters of the Assumption of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.” (London.)

Such instruments of torture are fitter for the worshippers of Baal, than for the worshippers of God; and a person using them upon cattle would lay himself open to a prosecution by the “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.” Both the parties who purchased these articles are intimately known to Mr. Robert Steele, the secretary of the Protestant Evangelical Mission and Electoral Union, 5, Racquet Court, Fleet Street, E.C.

Christian reader, it is your duty to testify, on God’s behalf, against the blasphemy and cruelty of Romanism. The Maker and Preserver of man is the loving Father, who gave His only begotten Son to die for us, and thus make atonement for our sin.

The second engraving is headed, “Iron Disciplines of the Church.” There I read:

“Saint Liguori, the Doctor of the Romish Church” (and an author strongly recommended to the nuns and monks under Father Ignatius), “commends the use of Disciplines to the ‘True Spouse of Christ,’ thus:

“Disciplines, or Flagellations, are a species of mortifications strongly recommended by St. Francis of Sales, and universally adopted in religious communities of both sexes.”

Then after a minute description of some fifteen of the instruments of torture, I read these words:

“Were such cruelties perpetrated upon the heathen, all our Christian churches would resound with appeals to the sympathy of the people to come to the help of the sufferers. This would be commendable. Why, then, is the same course not adopted on behalf of nuns, who, as Rev. Pierce Connelly says, ‘are not only slaves, but who are, de facto, by a Satanic consecration, secret prisoners for life, and may any day be put an end to, or much worse, with less risk of vengeance here in England than in Italy and Spain’?”—Editor.

[18] An extern is a boarder, or associate.

[19] See Appendix A, and B, and C, where some Romish literature used is reviewed.—Editor.

[20] Father Ignatius has himself described this service in his book entitled “Brother Placidus,” and records, in connection with it, a wonderful “miracle,” which he declares actually occurred in his monastery. It is hard to understand how any person outside a lunatic asylum can believe in such a “miracle”:—

“Matins were over at five minutes before midnight. A procession quickly formed in the Refectory; and, as the hour of joy and gladness struck, the figure of the holy Child was borne in state to the crib, with lighted tapers, incense, and chanting—

The infant figure is lying on its linen swaddling bands, in the straw; the countless tapers are flaming, amid clouds of sweetest incense, and shouts of triumph song. The little figure was charmingly lifelike—the head slightly raised, the hand also lifted, as if in blessing. In due order all present approached to kiss the sacred emblems of Incarnate Love. With long, lighted tapers they approached, and kneeling down, kissed the upraised hand. First the Abbot; then Fathers Theodore, Philip, and Drostan; after them Brothers Pancras, Oswald, Ethelred, and then Placidus. How pale the fair face of the young novice looks! How his hand is trembling, as he grasps the burning taper!… The novice has been longing for this moment—longing to press his burning lips upon that infant hand—longing to make his adoring confession of faith in Mary’s little Babe. ‘O my Jesus, my King, my God, let me come and adore Thee.…’ With words like these bursting from his heart, but all unheard by aught save Him for whom they all were uttered, Brother Placidus knelt to kiss the little hand. ‘Oh! oh!’ burst from the lips of the children, while the elder brothers fell involuntarily on their knees. Brother Placidus had kissed the holy Child, and, as he did so, the figure became animated with life, and bowed its head, and returned the kiss, and the little hand had been laid on the novice’s head. The taper dropped from his hand, and he fell into a deep swoon, on the floor, before the shrine of the Nativity” (pages 115-118).

[21] I almost tremble at allowing such blasphemy as this to appear; it is too shocking.—Editor.

[22] I have seen this charm in the shape of a dried piece of leaf. Miss Povey has one now in her possession.—Editor.

[23] God grant that it may never be revived, and that it will never be recognised as a part of the Church of England’s machinery!—Editor.

[24] I believe there are now in England, Wales, and Scotland, no less than 458 Roman Catholic convents. Besides, there are about 48 houses for Jesuits, and 171 monasteries. If the people of England make no protest against this system, which is so essentially un-English, if our Government do not enforce the existing laws against the entrance of Jesuits into this country and the setting up of monasteries, and if our Government refuse to listen to the wishes of thousands in our land for convents to be impartially inspected, will not the masses, though such a course must be deplored, ere long feel almost impelled, at least with some convents, to take the law in their own hands?—Editor.