These are days of brutal truth from Tyndale. Saints are not your friends and they will not protect you. They cannot help you to salvation. You cannot engage them to your service with prayers and candles, as you might hire a man for the harvest. Christ's sacrifice was done on Calvary; it is not done in the Mass. Priests cannot help you to Heaven; you need no priest to stand between you and your God. No merits of yours can save you: only the merits of the living Christ.
The quote from Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" presents a stark reminder about the nature of faith and salvation. It emphasizes that saints, while perhaps revered, are not protectors and cannot aid in one's journey toward salvation. Instead, it rebukes the notion of seeking spiritual assistance through rituals like prayers or candles, likening such attempts to hiring workers for a task, which underlines the futility of depending on external figures for spiritual fulfillment.
Moreover, the quote asserts the centrality of Christ’s sacrifice, emphasizing that salvation is not found in the rituals of the Mass or through the mediation of priests. It stresses the personal relationship between the believer and God, suggesting that individual faith and reliance on Christ's merits are what ultimately lead one to Heaven. This underscores a direct and personal approach to spirituality that negates the need for intermediaries.
