The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

"352 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS.dition to admonish them of their obligation of appeasing the anger and invoking the blessings of theDivinity by victims and sacrifices. Plutarch, anancient writer who lived in the second century, saysof these heathen people: You mayfind cities without walls, without literature, and without the artsand sciences of civilized life but ; you will never finda city without priests and altars, or which has notsacrifices offered to the gods."The Indians of our own country were accustomedto offer sacrifice to the Great Spirit, as FatherJogues and other pioneermissionaries inform us.But all those ancient sacrifices were only the typesand figures of the great sacrifice of the New Law,from which they derived all their efficacy ;just asthe Old Law itself was the type of the New Law ofgrace. And because the ancient sacrifices were butfigures and shadows, they were imperfect and insufficient; for, "it is impossible," says St. Paul, "thatby the blood of oxen and of goats sins should betaken away. Wherefore, when He (Jesus) comethinto the world, He saith : Sacrifice and oblation Thouwouldst not, but a body Thou hast fitted to M.e.Holocausts for sin did not please Thee. Then saidI : Behold I come." l As if He should say: Theblood of oxen and of goatsis not sufficient to appease Thy vengeance, and to cleanse Thy people fromtheir sins ;therefore I come, that Imay offer Myselfan acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the world.1Heb. x. 4-7.