The New York herald., 1872-11-04
ST. xARY's CHURCH.


"Ehe saints or OOd''--SermOn by the Rev.
Father Burke.
st. Marys church. corner Ridge and Grand
streets, crowded to Its utmost capacity yester
day, at the high mass services by the members OF
the parish who were fortunate enough beforehand
to have secured admission tickets, which were sold
at 81 apiece. or course the entrance fee was
not charged for the privilege OF hearing mass, but
for the privilege OF hearing the sermon preached by
Father Burke. The reverend father took for his
subject, 'The Saints OF God, and What the Catholic
Church Teaches Concerning Them" The discourse
was mastery one, the reverend gentleman SEEM
ing to be in one of his most eloquent moods.
He dlated at great length about what the
Church taught concerning the saints. how it
taught Catholics believe that their intercession
for man on earth was powerful with God and how
they served as examples Tor men to follow during
their pilgrimage through lie. He then ridiculed
the PrOtestant's disbeefin
THE POWER OF THE SAINTS
to intercede for us, and asked how 1t was that
PrOtestants believed that one Of their living fellow
ee his snr had esn ea To heaven 'ds his
power to pray to God for any one on earth ceased
altogether 1t was charged that Catholics committed
idOlatry when they prayed to the saints. He con-
ceded that they could be considered guilty or that
crime If they believed that the saints or themselves
could grant their prayers and, thus believing, they
prayed to them and paid them reverence. But
Catholics he said, only prayed to the saints to join
hv m The o WHAT
1t was charged Catholics did In addressing their
supplicatons to the saints and what they really did
was so plain that he did not think any Catholic
needed to be instructed greatly on the subject
Father Burke next pointed out what an encoarag-
OF the saints before them In their
TOlLsOME TRAVELLING THROUGH LIFE.
phy had al az sse n @ ane
same obstacles In lfe-aye, more than any one OF
us had ever met with; they had to undergo the
same temptations that we have and had been Just
as liable to fall as we are now IL they had not fol-
lowed the straight path and by Gods help gone
bravely on to the end without hinching before the
enemy OF their salvation When a man fe into
mortal sin in u moment Of thOughtlessness or per-
versity he felt the Nervousness Of his crime, and
his first afterthOught was how to regain Gods
favor. And yet in the ranks OF the saints were to
be found men who had fallen just as men nova
selves and finally died Ia the grace Of God, after
bathing for the right and doing good upon all sides
i0r many ny Years ;s 90 .e ~ IN n every depart
ness and human strength, as fortified by Gods
all-saving grace, always before him. Did man
deny his religion, his God before other men, and
then, realizing the blackness of his crime, despair
OF ever again becoming friend OF God, out stepped
from the highest ranks Of the saints st. Peter
himself, the great apostle the first Pope, and who
would say, 81, tOO once denied my Saviour, but
when He looked upon me my heart was nlled with
was again received by Him as one OF His followers.
You nave snned as have sinncd; now repent and
ciled to Him." And IL because degraded woman is
abhorred by all the world and at whose approach the
there is nothing but loathing and disgust should
she say, "Well there Is nothing left for me to do
but to go on my nyy way s1ss On so,D or s,s
regardless OF the future. the world despises me,
and am abhorred py all, and my soul is lost; so
Ill sweep on to the bitter end and work day and
night to throw my coils about others aud drag
down to pcrdition with me every soul can
an example among the saints. Mary Magdalene
walked the streets OF Jerusalem degraded wO-
man, and rs she passed the Pharisees gathered up
her touch. she was spurned by every
feet OF the Saviour, and when she found
softened, her soul was filed with anguish for her
sins and she was happy in hearing Jesus pronounce
the words OF pardon. From that time forth her
life was changed, and she became great saint.
woman, "YOu have sinned as have sinned; now
initiate my example by repenting ana coming to
God, who wishes not that you be damned, but that
you live and be saved.n
The reverend preacher then drew beautiful pic
ture OF the life OF the Just man and OF the love for
God that filed his soul, making him proof against
all temptations and OF the Intimate connection
there was between the saints in heaven and Chris
tians on earth-between the Church triumphant and
the Church militant; and he illustrated 1t In the most
touching manner by arguing TO show that though
sister, the mother and the child might be sepa.
rated from one another on earth by DEATH the love
that bound them together was not severed in
heaven; that In the kingdom or Gods glory the
souls or those who loved purely here on earth,
hallowcd by Gods presence in heaven, would re-
cognize each other, and that the love that bound
them together on earth, rendered AL the stronger
s6ackles would endure forever. After speaking
In an eloquent strain OF Irelands devotion to the
faith, the reverend gentleman closed by earnestly
exhorting his congregation to so act in this lie
that they, too, when their time came, would be
numbered among the saints OF God.