The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-04-02

OF triumph-the celebration of victory That victory
is the great event which has lately occurred. II il
the definition doctrine which although believed
private sentiment the heart OF the church for eighteen
hundred years. had not yet before received the ocia
seal of the church speak Of the doctrine Of the ImmA
.ulate Conception 1f the ble sed vrsn Mary. And
ground Of triumph In respect 10 ths topic IA, not that
any definition any belief could make that most distn
guished and most elevated Of all God sntelectval
lures, whether in heaven earth, more hoaored,
that any definition could add to her glory to hsr
prerogativts but that all the hereses by which the
church has assailed from the beginning contains
without single exception, In the which they
teach ome principle calculated to weaken or destroy
and IL possible to bring into degradation in the sssma
ton Of the blessed Vir gin Mother Of God Tha
has been more particularly the case within tho last thre
hundred years The least ancient OF the hereses witch
have beer Ia thst especisy which made
point to wound her and her of Their theory 10
adore her indeed, but at the time by Of
Increasing his honor they would deprecate her preroga
tves and almost call into question the attributes which
render her the servant Of God, high respect. And
because they pretended to reject things the
time which had into the holy practices
ing other errors untoucbed the 6rst reiormers until
6psy every doctrine OF the church. the divinity
OF the Son Of God has been not only disputed bu, denied
and the time rational and worthy OF intelligent
beings. These have gone lar they possby
could 90. And, on the other hand while the church
has maintained those doctrines which she always had
maintained II In remarkable that In proportion to the
assaults Of the adversares of truth the faith Of her
children becomes and more warmly intense to-
wards every dogma which her enemies had denied and
among them more especially the honor Of the blessed
Virgin Mary is, will not soy among the Catholics Of
this community but Of the world, more lovingly up
held. Among the opponents OF the Church no sound
is heard now except the sound Of hostility 70 the pre-
negatives Mary Catholics may have found themselves
times under the necessity, IL through the
of expedency at least OF not urging this doctrine
but they believed II the ess Finally at tms when
many OF these idle speculators these
without Cod these humanta rans without any divin-
ty these men who look AZ human nature a. q kind Of
d ava M kew
to It's my steries-these men who believed at last sup
pose that the Church of Christ had fulfilled her high
mission, and was thing which had out lived the
period OF its usefulness and should be cast asdethe
Church CT Christ determined great point OF faith Ali
messed Rome the Sth Of December, 1854 and they
win probably understand that the church is not dead
that the church is not oldthat the church has not
outved its usefulnessthat she lives and reigns and
that as she has seen the rise and the ruin Of
pres and cynasties during eighteen hundred
years-hersen unmoved-so she will live to wit.
all the changes and vckstudes Of these silly spe
culations human philosophy and human humanity by
which these would attempt to come to
the relief OF mankind. by raising and elsvatng this
fallen and otherwise depressed and unhappy 1t
my privilege dearly beloved brt thren be among
the favored who witnessed the assembly bishops
at Rome. As it not my desire to pronounce any
thing like formal discourse day, shall perhaps bet
ter fulfil Gesirss II give you in brief narrative OF
things they occurred, in connection with this great
subject OF universal joy and triumph. win therefore
proceed 10 AS have remarked for the last three
bundled years, but particularly since the beginning Of
this century, those who we're most nearly in com.
munion with God-the bishops or many OF the
h s'hSn, the priests and holy persons ssvGted @
the sovereign Pontf should define article of faith
that belief which had been floating from the beginning
the Of Catholic tradition aud abiding in the Caho
lie heart with reference the immaculate Conception
The holy Father entertained with favor the expression OF
besiee the tonbs Of the apostles, when AT Gaeta, he
issued epcycca letter all the bishops Of cbrsen
DOM recurring or requesting them to furnah him with
their c.eIgy and people the subject. Of 1t
quirtd long time 10 receive answers to such letter,
TO the various parts OF the earth; but little by
little, after another these responses came in, TO
the number of think, 564, from so many bish.
ops scattered throughout the world and Of these
there less than fifty whose writers considered
that, although the doctrine true, believed
by them and by their people was not expeeisnt to &C.
fine 1t at that moment. There only tour out OF
that immense number whose writer's not prepsred
for the definition These letters published and
owing to the difficulty Of In such remote and
pagan lands OF the bishops dwell in, they had
NOT YET received the eneyecs letter or had not been
received, the Holy Father then while yet At Gasta,
appointed commission Of twenty OF the most learned
theoosans Tor the purpose OF investigating everything
which history had recorded on this subject These
again, alter their return, were aided by others In
Rome; and finally, after much prayer and fasting
and duplication of God, both by himself and
by others whom he required TO unite with him,
the Holy Father determinee-no doubt under the
ration of the doctrine. For this purpose he invited
certain number Of bishops that the epscopacy Of each
represented,
at home He did not invite many because he was aware
that 10 some bishops II would be matter Of grest
convenience to CO. and he knew that anything like
Invitation formal request would be corresponded with
matter at what sacrifice Nevertheless even this,
for days previous TO the sth Of December there
were assembled from day TO day, 1854 bishops OF
the Catholic church, representing every nation and
may say, every and tribe under the sky These
had come together, and the question was submitted
10 them, not indeed to the doctrine, for that
they had already been the first to profess, nor
as to the appropriateness or fitness Of the
70 the form and words of what called "bul"-ths
form and articles OF the proclamation In which this
trne was TO be Defined had been drawn up by the
theoogans. II was this which submitted 20 them.
This their duty to CANVASS paragraph by para
graph line by line; and they did So having for pur-
any authority had been quoted in support Of the doc
,rine, which authority could be questioned II
their province to see that slight Of the theo
what spectacle was the meeting q these bi.hops A1
semblsd in public ban adjoining the great ST.
Peters There was no introduction necessary
On the second, third third and ii, fourth days ther. hers
come from the distant East or from the far Oh
South. These men, who had journeyed thousands and
Thousands Of miles, had but inst time TO refresh them
selves and put on their episcopal robes before they
walked into ha assembly they took part in the discus
sion Of the matter before the body in the very hour
within which they bad arrived There
pairing Of bstes as to what each one beeved-there
question Of high doctrine or low docirnethsre
what had been the influence which the sentiments
Of the government, the effect OF the church North
or South, or Fast or West had had upon the minds Of
thcse who TO take part In the proceedings Of that
august assembly. 1hsre was the oneness, the univer
salty Of truth-one heart, faith, and Ian
gusge. II every bishop had spoken his mother tongue
what iargon would have been there What an
imitation OF the At the Tower OF Babel But there
language used-the language Of the church. and
faithful and truthful ID that language, by which
every bishop under stood the other, and read his
thoughts without ambiguity There was no time, Tsay
for intIoductions making uain tsnces but they
able TO read each others countenances. And thus
having transacted the business for which they came
they returned home each TO the fold he had left behind
vithout-wiih a few exceptons-having mads the &C
quaintsnce OF the brethrsn whom they had
that assembly. Finally the Cay for the promura.
ton Of the dogma That sth OF December deserves 10
be ceebated the annals Of the church for AL time 70
come day of JOY 10 every Christian heart The holy
Pontif himself-the supreme Poniid-ofciatsd and At
the proper time in the OF the whole Catholic
chuTch-neluding the Greek and Armenian-receved,
in the OF the whole Catholic world from the lips Of
the ean OF the Sacred College Of Cardina supported
# A~.L ~.