Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/29

 REVILLE

REVOLUTION

patient or discouraged, shows that he has very little confidence in the power of God and is but little con- formed to His will. If God wishes the project to succeed, He can make the obstacles suddenly dis- appear at the time appointed by Him. A very striking example of this Divine delay is to be found in the life of St. Juliana, the Cistercian prioress of Mont-Cor- nillon, near Liege (1192-1258). It is to her that the institution of the feast of the Blessed Sacrament is due. All her life was passed in awaiting the hour of God, which she was .lever to see, for it came only more than the cemury after the beginning of the revelations.

As regards inspirations ordinarily, those who have not passed the period of tranquillity or a complete union, must beware of the idea that they hear su- pernatural words; unless the evidence is irresistible, they should attribute them to the activity of their own imaginations. But they may at least experience in- spirations or impulses more or less strong, which seem to point out to them how to act in difficult circum- stances. This is a minor form of revelation. The same line of conduct should be followed as in the latter case. We must not accept them blindly and against the dictates of reason, but weigh the reasons for and against, consult a prudent director, and decide only after applying the rules for the discernment of spirits. The attitude of reserve that has just been laid down does not apply to simple sudden and illu- minating views of faith, which enable one to understand in a higher manner not novelties, but the truths admitted by the Church. Such enlightenment can- not have any evil result. It is on the contrary a very precious grace, which should be carefully welcomed and utilized.

Consult the writings of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, passim; Philip of the Blessed Trinity, Summa theologiw mysticm (Lyons, 1656), pt. II, tr. iii; de V.\llgornera, Mystica theologia (Barcelona, 1662), Q. ii, disp. 5; Lopez de Ezquerra, Lucerna mystica (Venice, 1692), tr. v; Amort, De revelationibus (Augsburg, 1744) ; Benedict XIV, De servorum Dei canonizatione (Rome, 1767), 1. Ill, c. liii; Scaramelli, Dire«oriomiis<ico (Venice, 1754), tr. iv; Schram, Insiitutiones theologiw mysticcE (Ausgburg, 1777), pt. II, c. iv; St. Liguori, Homo aposlolicus (Venice, 1782), append, i, n. 19; Ribet, La mystique divine, II (Paris, 1879); Poulain, Des graces d'oraison (5th ed., Paris, 1909), tr. The Graces of Interior Prayer (London, 1910).

Aug. Poulain.

Reville, Stephen. See Sandhurst, Diocese of.

Revocation, the act of recalling or annulling, the reversal of an act, the recalling of a grant, or the making void of some deed previously existing. This term is of wide application in canon law. Grants, laws, contracts, sentences, jurisdiction, appointments are at times revoked by the grantor, his successor, or superior according to the prescriptions of law. Revocation without just cause is illicit, though often valid. Laws and customs are revoked when, owing to change of circumstances, they cease to be just and reasonable. Concordats (q. v.) are revocable when they redound to the serious injury of the Church. Minors and ecclesiastical institutions may have sentences in certain civil trials set aside {Restitutio in integrum). Contracts by which ecclesiastical prop- erty is alienated are sometimes rescindable. A judge may revoke his own interlocutory sentence but not a definitive judicial sentence. Many appoint- ments are revocable at will; others require a judicial trial or other formalities. (See Benefice; Facul- ties, Canonical; Indults, Pontifical; Jurisdic- tion, Ecclesiastical.)

Andrew B. Meehan.

Revolution, English, of 1688.— James II, hav- ing reached the climax of his power after the suc- cessful suppression of Monmouth's rebellion in 1685, then had the Tory reaction in his favour, complete control over Parliament and the town corporations, a regular army in England, a thoroughly Catholic army in process of formation in Ireland, and a large

revenue granted by Parliament for life. His policy was to govern England as absolute monarch and to restore Catholics to their full civil and rehgious rights. Unfortunately, both prudence and statesmanship were lacking, with the result that in three years the king lost his throne. The history of the Revolution resolves itself into a catalogue of various ill-judged measures which alienated the support of the Es- tablished Church, the Tory party, and the nation as a whole. The execution of Monmouth (July, 1685) made the Revolution possible, for it led to the Whig party accepting William of Orange as the natural champion of Protestantism against the attempts of James. Thus the opposition gained a centre round which it consolidated with ever-increasing force.

What the Catholics as a body desired was freedom of worship and the repeal of the penal laws; but a small section of them, desirous of political power, aimed chiefly at the repeal of the Test Act of 1673 and the Act of 1678 which excluded Catholics from both houses of Parliament. Unfortunately James fell under the influence of this section, which was directed by the unprincipled Earl of Sunderland, and he de- cided on a policy of repeal of the Test Act. Circum- stances had caused this question to be closely bound up with that of the army. For James, who placed his chief reliance on his soldiers, had increased the standing army to .30,000, 13,000 of whom, partly officered by Catholics, were encamped on Hounslow Heath to the great indignation of London which re- garded the camp as a menace to its liberties and a centre of disorder. ParUament demanded that the army should be reduced to normal dimensions and the Catholic officers dismissed; but James, realizing that the test would not be repealed, prorogued Parlia- ment and proceeded to exercise the "dispensing and suspending power". By this he claimed that it was the prerogative of the crown to dispense with the execution of the penal laws in individual cases and to suspend the operation of any law altogether. To obtain the sanction of the Law Courts for this doc- trine a test case, known as Hales's case, was brought to decide whether the king could allow a Catholic to hold office in the army without complying with the Test Act. After James had replaced some of the judges by more complaisant lawyers, he obtained a decision that "it was of the king's prerogative to dispense with penal laws in particular instances". He acted on the decision by appointing Catholics to various positions. Lord Tyrconnel becoming Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Arundel Lord Privy Seal, and Lord Bellasyse Lord Treasurer in place of the Tory minister Lord Rochester, who was regarded as the chief mainstay of the Established Church. The Church of England, which was rendered uneasy by the dismissal of Rochester, was further alienated by the king's action in appointing a Court of High Commis.sion, which suspended the Bishop of London for refusing to inhibit one of his clergy from preach- ing anti-Catholic sermons. The feehng was in- tensified by the liberty which Catholics enjoyed in London during 1686. Public chapels were opened, including one in the Royal Palace, the Jesuits founded a large school in the Savoy, and Catholic ecclesiastics appeared openly at Court.

At this juncture James, desiring to counterbalance the loss of Anglican support, offered toleration to the dissenters, who at the beginning of his reign had been severely persecuted. The influence of William Penn induced the king to issue on 4 April, 1687, the Dec- laration of Indulgence, by which liberty of worship was granted to all. Catholic and Protestant alike. He also replaced Tory churchmen by Whig dissenters on the municipal corporations and the commission of the peace, and, having dissolved ParHament, hoped to secure a new House of Commons which would repeal both the penal laws and the Test. But