Stop because, they
say, "God has died"; but as soon as the death of Judas is announced,
at noon on Saturday, the noise of guns, pistols, squibs, etc., takes
the place of the death-like quiet that had reigned. After an hour or
two silence again prevails till Sunday morning, when all restraint is
removed, and people seem to make up for lost time. Drinking and
kindred evils run riot, and it is no uncommon thing on the Sunday
night to see the people drinking and dancing by the light of the
candles they were burning to their favorite virgin or saint.
In the large city of Lima, for centuries a very stronghold of image
worship, the interest in the Church has of late years been waning.
Perhaps one reason for this is the changing nature of the native
population of the city, for the deaths there exceed the births.
Seeing this falling away from the Church, the priests announced that
they had decided to send for the Sacred Heart of the Virgin, and
trusted that the presence of this holy relic would promote the more
faithful attendance of the flock. The heart arrived and was with
great solemnity hung from the roof of the cathedral as the incentive
to piety. Thousands flocked into the sacred building with reverent
awe. The women gazed upon the heart with tearful eyes, and as they
thought of Mary's sufferings and goodness they were emulated to
deeper acts of love and piety. One day the wind blew very strongly
through the open doorway, and the Sacred Heart began to sway to and
fro. Getting more and more momentum with every oscillation, the heart
finally struck against a sharp cornice, when lo - all the sawdust
fell out of the canvas bag they had worshipped as the heart of flesh
of their goddess. How they reconciled the existence of the heart of
the Virgin with their belief that she ascended to heaven in a bodily
form I do not pretend to imagine. It may be remarked that this is
surely Romanism corrupted. Nay, it is rather Romanism developed.
"Andacilli is a hamlet, at which there is an image of the Virgin.
Every year pilgrims resort thither, and a great feast to the Virgin
is celebrated, the most important day being December 26th. During the
last few years there has been a falling off in the number of
pilgrims, especially those of the better class, but this last year
the clerical authorities have left no stone unturned in order to get
together more people than ever. Six bishops were advertised to come,
and they were to crown the Virgin with a crown which cost thousands
of dollars. These proceedings rouse an incredible enthusiasm in the
people." [Footnote: "Regions Beyond."]
Sometimes Mary's image is baptized in the river, while men and women
line the bank, ready to leap into the holy water when she is lifted
out. Afterwards the water in which she was immersed is sold as a cure
for bodily ills. Sometimes the earth from under the building where
she is kept is also sold for the same purpose.
Imagine a church like that in Tucuru! "It consists of a palm-leaf
hut, with a bare floor and no furniture whatever. Round the sides
stand twelve life-size figures, made of canvas and stuffed with husks
of corn, which some one of the Indian worshippers has painted with
the features and dress of his own race. When I went in two women lay
prostrate on the floor, and one of them screamed in agonizing tones,
'My Lords, send the rod of your power to heal him!' - evidently
praying to these apostles on behalf of some sick relative. Here, once
a year, a priest celebrates mass, and when he last came he stuck a
paper over the entrance, which read: Hoec est Domus Del et Porta
Coeli (' This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.') In San
Jose we have the four walls of a new church, consecrated to the
'Virgin,' where, recently, a raffle was held on behalf of the
projected edifice. As we enter, the first thing seen is an
inscription, professing to be a message to each visitor from the
Virgin, which says, 'My son, behold me without a temple. Come, help
in building it, and I shall reward thee with Eternal Life."
[Footnote: Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society.]
Christ said: "I give unto My sheep eternal life"; but the record of
that saying is jealously kept from them.
When the early colonists left Spain for the New World, they took with
them the Creed of Pius IV. That creed expressly states that the Bible
is not for the people. "Whoever will be saved must renounce it. It
is a forbidden book."
"In 1850, when the Christian world was first being roused to the
darkness of South America, and philanthropic men were desirous of
sending Bibles there, Pope Pius IX. wrote an Encyclical letter in
which he spoke of Bible study as 'poisonous reading,' and urged all
his venerable brethren with vigilance and solicitude to put a stop to
it. Thus has South America been denied the revelation of God. The
priest has, because of this ignorance, been able to 'lord it over
God's heritage.'" [Footnote: Guiness's "Romanism and the
Reformation."]
With an open Bible, Spanish America would have progressed as North
America has done. Without the enlightening influences of that Word,
behold the darkness! Could anything be more eloquent than the
prosperity of the land of the Pilgrim Fathers in proclaiming the
value of the open Bible?
Mr. Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, speaking on a recent
occasion, said: "I always pray for South America. It is a most needy
part of the world, and wants your prayers as well as mine.
