The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-07-19 00:00:00

MONSIGNOR CAPEL on MATERIALISM.

Preaching at St. George'ii Cathedral, Southwark
last Sunday zooming, at High Mass. on the iriraole
performed by Christ in feeding the four thousand, an
described in the gospel of the day, Monsignor Capel
contramtad the fervour of soul and the desire for spiritual knowledge exhibited by the multitude with the
neglect of spiritual life in our own day.
if, said the preacher, (we are quoting from the Pall
Mall Gazette) tour theuttand men were now to leave
',melon Bridge for some distant spot to hear the tidings
of the gospel, the world would treat them as bereft of
reason, our newspaper writers would have ample mate- I
rial for leading articles on the folly of such an act,
while others with more materialistic ideas would en-
large on the wickeduens of wasting time which might
be better used to promote temporal interest.. Even
among Catholics we should probably hear words of
cond, mnation of such conduct. Proceedieg to discuss,
the Callself of this general abeorptiou in materialism
directly leading to much feelings, the preacher noticed
first the clogging influence of the body, ever dragging the
soul—sauctilied and blessed theugh it le—down to the
earth, and proving that there he a kind of attraction be-
tween outward objects and the humaneoul, and skim' of
reciprocal attraction between the human soul and I
these objects. But, secondly, he continued, there is'
'We earnestness with which men lose themselves in !
their surroundings, bringing into play every force of
body and mind in the pursuit of mere worldly ende,
and forgetting that these faculties were meant to I
bring them into communion with God. Ate the boy I
at school league many lantimges, and then finds that
be forgets them in after life owing to the inevitable
concentration of his mind on ens olje t leseening
his faculty or further study, so the soul finds it the
1 more difficult to live to God as if becomes more en.
I grossed with the world. As the third cause the
1 preacher adduced our habits of imitation, tiro current
I —even in such matters as fashion about deems, about
the furnishing of nur bonne., or about the times of
our siting and drinkintz—meeming to bear us on as
if we had no power of reed-dance. The result of this
I is that we live in an ego when men are c enetantly
I talking of wealth, and when 16. y are estimated by
I their material possessions, we are too prone to imitate
their modes of life and procenees of thought until we be-
come almost unable to govern ourselves. Ihe growing
power of evil habit.., not only leading to actual sin but
weakening impulses for good, was next pointed toss a
great hindrance t earnestness, rendering the mind
indifferent to the things of God. As a hfth agent in
the materiatisii influences of the day the preecher
referred to intellectual pride, the natural result of an
increase of education which is not carried far enough,
and which lead., men to trust to their individual power
for the solution of every problem, while it also causes
them to think that knowledge can be extended illimit-
ably. Running i arallel with intellectual pride, con-
tinued the preacher, is the terrible sin of sensuality,
wheffi, mitwithstanding its mental and bodily punish-
ments, carries with it no great evil than incapacity to
appreciate spiritual life. As a remedy for these six
evils, all tending to materialism, and for the lack of
earnestness in religion no generally noticeable, the
preacher pointed to meditation and self-examination,
to whtch he recommended every one to devote at least
twenty minutes daily before COMMt ncing work; and,
lastly, to an Increased use of the Sacraments of the
Church.