The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-09-26


Divine light to attain the knowledge o. ms
destiny, SO does his human viii require ID
vine strength to enable it to attain that des-
support can come, and that Divine source 10
the sacranrents. He who has said am the
light of the world. !" said also, am the life OF
the yrorld.n And not only does the Chufcn
supply the means of obtaining this Divine light
but SD e is also furnished with tho means of be-
slowing this Divine life. This she furnishes
in the dispensation of the sacraments I'm
less q man be born again of water and the
Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the, Kingdom oil
hcaven.n Therefore we have the baptisInal
font at the entrance to the church door, as it is
by this font that the child first enters that So
,ciety, that assembly wherein he learns how to
work out his eternal destiny. Here he receives
Divine principle in his soul. Here, at the
of his divine life But this divine life that has
been bestowed at the baptism needs susie
nance. 1t becomes weakened in contests with
the world. Here again come to his consola-
ton the words of God. He who has said
am the life of the world has also said, /" am
the bread of life )" and he has Furthermore
said, He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh
nv blood hath everlasting life; and will
raise him up at the last day" On the night OF
his last supper, he took bread and wine and con
secrated them, and declared them then to be his
body aud blood. He said to his Apostles, Do
this in remembrance of meg and 1T has been
done until the present, and will be until the
consummation of time. Therefore give us an
altar which this act of conservation may be
performed. Do you perceive the meaning
of that altar and its necessity That altar is
the place whereon Almighty God finds the
term of His love! 1t is the device of His di-
vine love which urges Him to surrender Him
self to His creatures. Truly, " The Lord is In
this place and knew it not; And, trem-
bling, he said: How terrible is this
place! this is no other but the house OF
God, and the gate of heaven" The sacrifice of
the altar is, not, however, concluded by Holy
Communion. 1t is worship. 1t is the con-
tiuuance of the sacrifice of the Son of God on
Mount Calvary. p divine object requires q
divine worship. Here God offers himself to
God I! He cannot refuse such intercession. He
cannot reject petitions supported by such
claims. That altar the place where the
sacrifice is accomplished. No wonder we should
excIaim: 'I This is no otheI but the house OF
God, and the gate of heavenw Then to the
falling spirit, to the soul that falterS and
trembles and falls away from the divine lite
implanted at baptism, comes the sacrament OF
penance. 1t is the plank after the shipwreck,
the safety from the ocean of evil by which he
is surrounded God has thus provided for our
weakness; He knew our frailty. He communi-
Gated to his apostles the power of forgiving
forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you shall
retain they retained. Whatsoever We shall
loose upon earth shall be1oosed also in heaven"
OH how intimately is Christ bound to the
priesthood and TO the Holy Church! Tho man
of nature, who found His temple amidst its
scenes told MS some truths, but truths which
we already know for Catholicity contains all
truths! 1t says to nature: bring in your gifts |;
bring the oil, water, and salt which We use in
baptism; bring the silk for the yestments of
the priests, and the linen for the altar, and the
wax of tho bee for the candles that stand upon
the altar; bring the precious metals the gold
and silver for the sacred vessels that are used
in the services of the Church; bring your
matte gums for the incense; and thus, nature
shall be consecrated to the highest worship by
the use that is made of all your productions in
the services of the Church. Could nature
speak she would proclaim aloud to the
world the greatness of her dignity in being so
largely used in the service of God, and of
being the means of raising the thoughts of men
to heaven. Let science come to the service of
the Church. and by it's aid structures like the
present shall be erected. Art is welcome in
tue painter or the composer. Tho great Ra-
IIhael contributes his masterpieces of painting
to adorn erwall and her affairs. Michael An
gelaa r. ehigel ss9ds
her churches. Mozart and Beethoven aui Ha-
dyn contribute their highest efforts to|fender
her tribute and homage. All that nature or art
produce most worthy are admitted , within her
! She embraces little children IN their early
years, to train them for heaven. She embraces
the poor! The Church is the palace of the
| poor! What noble sentiment animates heI
! in this. How grand an object to elevate the
poor despised and trampled upon by the world
! In the Church scientists might learn that the
knowledge of mans destiny is not thought
| to~be relegated to the unllnowable. Ask lit
tie child who is the author of creation, and he
replies God. Ask Socrates, and he replies that
| it is II matter on which opinions differ, on
which there is much TO be said for variety
4 of opinions. The philosophy of antiquity was
either pantheism or materialism, and it could
| give no explanation of creation. But the
Church teaches truth-divine truth. There
fore You see the value of n Catholic temple.
1t may be an enigma, it may be mystery to
others, bnt to you it is Ineligible. The
church is Gods revelation fashioned'into brick
II il ee+e4s Ell tsaHe-tftt,s5
loved brethren, endeavored to convey to you
| here present what the interior of the Church
represents, and what it means. To you, Ca
! tholics of Portland, it is only the beginning oi
your work. Your life must be in accordance
! with divine grace; your hearts must become
Gods affairs; you must become living temples
consecrated to Gods glory, this temple has
! been consecrated to-day. And when the whole
of this great country becomes converted to the
Faith, it will follow the good example given
here, and erect temples equal to the cathedrals
of the Middle Ages And she, under whose
protection the Church. is placed-Mary, the
Immaculate Queen of Heaven will watch
over y-oJt protect suUc0T You
in affection, and i'll she will not fail TO
intercede for you. 1t is great privilege to
have q Church dedicated to her, therefore let
her be your mother. Honor her, love her, and
she will remember You before the throne OF