other of Christ. God recognized her
as a helper in restoring man from the ruins of sin. To her the angel
spake, saying, "Hail, thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with
thee. Blessed art thou among women." And in pondering in her heart the
strange coincidences, she exclaimed, "God hath regarded the low estate
of his handmaiden; for behold from henceforth all generations shall
call me blessed."

From these words it is evident that Mary appreciated the honor
conferred upon her by her Creator and rightful Ruler. It is a singular
fact, that Eve, betrayed by Satan, betrayed the race. Mary held
steadfast to God and to truth; and yet Satan has the second time taken
woman and used her as an ally, and so has brought an influence to bear
upon the minds of men which has led millions astray, and covers vast
portions of the world with the gloom of a moral night. Mary, the
"Mother of Jesus," is made to take the place of "Christ, the Son of
God," and is declared to be the Mother of God. In this land we can
form no conception of the extent to which this worship of Mary is
carried in Roman Catholic countries. To the Italians Mary is God, and
worship is simply the adoration of the Virgin. Viewing Romanism in the
light of the Bible, this is its crowning sin; viewing it as a system
combined to seduce and enslave, this is its masterpiece. To understand
how it is so, let us think how deep in man's nature is placed the
feeling of the need of a being like unto himself, to mediate between
him and God. The Bible completely meets this want in the God-man. But
Popery blots out the God-man as mediator, and in his stead presents us
with Mary, who is to the devotee the "one living and true God;" for,
though the Father and Son are known, they are accessible only through
Mary, and they stand so far behind and beyond her, that to the
Romanist they are vague, shadowy, and unknown. Mary is the first name
to be lisped in childhood, the last to be uttered by the quivering
lips before they are closed in death. Around the neck of the infant is
suspended a small image of the Virgin; when the babe seeks the breast
it must kiss the image, and thus literally does it draw in the
adoration of Mary with its mother's milk. "Were the New Testament to
be written at this hour, Rome would blot out the name of Christ and
substitute that of Mary. Take a proof: The church close by the Vatican
has upon its marble pediment, graven in large letters, 'Let us come to
the t