That all generations shall call her blessed. St. Luke, i, 48.

Must it not then be very wicked to worship the Virgin Mary, seeing she is but a Woman, and that all the honour she is to receive, is, that she should be called blessed?

Yes, it is a great sin to set up any created person, or thing, in the place of God.

(See 2nd Commandment.)

What branch of the Christian Church has fallen into grievous sin, by setting up the Blessed Virgin Mary, as an object of worship?

The Church of Rome.

What excuse does the Church of Rome bring forward, for setting up the Blessed Virgin Mary as an object of worship?

That Christ will answer prayer when addressed to His Blessed Mother, rather than when offered directly to Himself.

But has not Christ enjoined us in Scripture to pray to Him in His Name, and has He not given us a special promise that He will answer such prayers ? Yes.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. St. John, xiv, 13, 14.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. St. John, xvi, part of 23rd verse.

Is the Blessed Virgin Mary's Name mentioned in either of these texts of Scripture?

It is not.

Is there any passage of Scripture to prove that prayer may be offered in any other name than that of Jesus Christ?

There is not.

Would our Lord have made the promise he has, viz., to grant all prayers asked faithfully in His Name, if he had wished us to ask in any other Name ?

No.

What do we learn, then, from the fact that so many of our fellow Christians have fallen into the sin of worshipping the Virgin Mary ?

To keep close to Scripture, and to that truly Scriptural Branch of the Church, the Church of England, to which we belong.

You have said that our Lord was born of the Virgin Mary: what was the place of His Birth?

Bethlehem.

Is not the place of our Lord's Birth, a subject of prophecy, as well as the family from which He was to spring?

Yes.

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah, v, 2.

On what great Festival of the Church do we remember the Birth of Christ?

On the Feast of the Nativity, or Christmas Day.

Was our Lord brought up in the place where he was born?

No, He was brought up at Nazareth.

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. St. Matt. ii, 23. In what sense must we understand the word "Nazarene," in this text?

First, as an inhabitant of the city of Nazareth; secondly, the word is an Hebrew word, signifying a BRANCH, a name repeatedly given to Christ by the Prophets.

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah, xi, 1.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Jeremiah, xxiii, 5.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. Zechariah, iii, 8.

And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Zechariah, vi, 12. What great duties do we learn from the circumstances connected with our Lord's Birth and Childhood?

The great duties of Humility and Obedience.

How does the Birth of Christ set before us a pattern of Humility?

In that being God, He at His Birth took upon Him the form of a servant.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil. ii, 5 to 8.

How did our Lord in His childhood set us a pattern of Obedience?

By His obedience to His parents.

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. St. Luke, ii, part of 51st verse.

CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS, DEATH, AND BURIAL. Say, in the words of the Nicene Creed, the reason there given, why Christ, being God, became a Man.

"For us men and for our salvation." Could man have ever saved himself?

No.

Why could not man save himself?

Because he never could have satisfied the justice of God, who had pronounced the sentence of eternal death on sin.

What was required to satisfy the justice of God? Nothing less than the death of his onlybegotten Son.

Could our Lord have suffered death as God?

No.

Then in order to suffer death, what had he to become?

A Man.

And as Man, what to do?

To suffer, and to die.

Did our Lord suffer?

Yes, he did.

Mention any particular instances, in which evidence is clearly given in Scripture, that our Lord suffered.

His Agony in the Garden, and His Crucifixion.

What is there particularly mentioned, respecting our Lord's Agony, that shews he must have suffered as no one ever suffered before?

That "His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." St. Luke, xxii, 44.

What words uttered by our Lord, at His Crucifixion, shew that He must have suffered then ?

"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me." St, Matt. xxvii, 46.

What are the sufferings of Christ sometimes called? His Passion.

What is the meaning of the word "passion"?

It is a Latin word, meaning "suffering."