By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM
Part 4
(Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment in a series by Wanderer contributor Raymond de Souza on Henry VIII’s book defending the seven sacraments against Martin Luther. De Souza edited this updated version of Henry’s work, which is presented to readers in this series.
(This series will appear on a regular basis, as space allows.)
+ + +
Preface by James Cardinal Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore, written for the 1907 edition of Henry VIII’s Defence of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther:
“The Assertio Septem Sacramentorum, or Defence of the Seven Sacraments, by Henry VIII, King of England and ‘Defender of the Faith,’ is a rare, royal, Catholic book. It is rare, inasmuch as it has probably been printed but twice in nearly 200 years. It is a royal book, by reason of its kingly author. It is Catholic, because no Catholic could write a more orthodox treatise on the subjects here explained by King Henry VIII.
“Yet he expounds such crucial dogmas as the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, indulgences, the mystery of the Real Presence and the Mass, the Sacrament of Confession, divorce, etc. And all this he has unfolded in as Catholic a manner as St. Thomas, or St. Francis de Sales, or St. Alphonsus Liguori could have done.
“But besides the matter of the treatise, the period also when it was composed — a most interesting, even if saddening, epoch in the history of the Church — makes the work most valuable.
“For just at that date — 1521 — the cauldron of the so-called Reformation was boiling furiously in Germany.
But in England, Henry boasted that its horrors had not yet begun, and, moreover, he posed as the champion of the Church, to see that Luther’s novelties should not appear there. And this freedom from the ‘reform’ he was ready to maintain by his sword if later need be, but at any rate now.
“And Henry was quite well equipped for his self-assumed task, having improved his natural talents by an education intended to prepare him to be Archbishop of Canterbury. Little wonder then that he should have written such a book as the Defence of the Seven Sacraments, which, after all, is only a simple, plain, yet strong explanation of the Church’s teachings on some of her most vital points.
“In act the first, Henry is a young, brilliant, powerful, Catholic king with the best of Catholic women for his queen, ruling in peace over Catholic, Merry England.
“In act the second, he has become the adulterer, the divorcé, the wife-killer, and with it all, and because of it all, he has become a schismatic, the head of a schism, dragging his subjects away from Catholic unity, and making them acknowledge himself not only their earthly king, but their spiritual head.
“And yet it was only a few years before that Henry had written this book, for which Pope Leo X had given him the title ‘Defender of the Faith,’ a title prized and used by every subsequent sovereign of England.
“This book, therefore, from so many points of view, is one that must be of interest to every student of either English history or of the history of religion in general. [It] should appeal to and reach many readers, not only in this country but especially in England.
“[It] brings before you King Henry’s own words, showing that he who later became the first head of the Protestant Church in England was, together with all the people of England in those olden days, truly Catholic and violently opposed to Luther and his destructive and murderous reform.
“I hope, therefore, that the work may be widely and carefully read, especially in this country, but indeed also in England, the land of its birth.
“James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, U.S.A.” [Excerpts].
+ + +
The Dedication To
Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen Of England
Dieu et mon Roi — Béni soit qui bien y pense
“To Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth; and to her successors to the throne according to Law, this New Millennium edition of Defence of the Seven Sacraments by King Henry VIII is devotedly dedicated.
“This edition is a respectful and fraternal reminder of that peaceful unity in ‘One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism’ (Eph. 4:5) which Merry England — the ‘Island of the Saints’ and ‘Dowry of the Virgin Mary’ — and the Apostolic See of Rome shared together for nearly one thousand years, especially in the glorious days of the sweet springtime of our Faith, when the philosophy of the Gospel governed the States in mediaeval Christendom.
“May Our Lady of Walsingham prayerfully intercede for Her Majesty, the Royal family and all religious denominations that issued from England; so that, by acknowledging the fullness of the Apostolic teaching on the seven Sacraments — so fiercely defended by King Henry VIII — they may help restore the unity of all the baptized in the Body of Christ, for the greater glory of God, salvation of souls and peace and prosperity for all Christian nations.
Raymond Joseph de Souza, KM
“Ubi Ecclesia ibi Christus, ubi Petrus ibi Ecclesia”
+ + +
The book is accompanied by two talks on CD: 1) The De-Christianization of the Western World and 2) The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It is available to Wanderer readers at $33.00 (shipping and handling free in the United States). Please make your check payable to: Sacred Heart Media, LLC and mail it to: P.O. Box 1144, Rochester, MN 55903.
+ + +
(Raymond de Souza KM is available to speak at Catholic events anywhere in the free world in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Please contact Chevalierdemalta@outlook.com or phone 507-450-4196.)
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress