Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/61

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 49 6 Know, brethren, that the Church has alwaj^s held that the intercession of the saints is very profitable to salva- tion. Call upon them to obtain for you that which is pleasing to God and good for you. But be careful that you pray aright, placing your confidence in God above all. Thus only will your prayer be acceptable.' The author of ' Seelenfiihrer ' seems in this passage to have borrowed from the ' Explanation of the Twelve Articles of the Creed,' which was printed at Ulm in 1486. With regard to the communion of the saints this book says : ' The Church triumphant prays for the Church militant ... for in heaven they have even more charity than when on earth. On earth they prayed for the living and the dead; after death they still pray for those on earth and those in Purgatory. He who denies this is guilty of the heresy that the saints cannot inter- cede ' 'All the things that we pray for are such only as are conducive to salvation, and such as God alone can grant. But the holy saints can help by their prayers and merits to have our petitions granted ; therefore our prayers are actually addressed only to God. The Church does not say, " Christ, pray for us," but " Christ, have mercy on us. . . . Christ, hear us."' In the ' Wiirzgartlein der andachtigen Uebung,' published in 1513, it says : ' We pray to God as our Creator and Eedeemer, begging Him to pardon our sin and to grant us His grace, while we ask the saints to obtain this for us by their prayers. To Christ we say, " Lord, have mercy on me, forgive me my sins, grant me Thy grace. Give me eternal life." : The Church doctrine of indulgences was laid down with equal clearness. ' An indulgence,' says Geiler of Kaisersberg, ' is the forgiveness of a debt. But what vol. I. E