The New York herald., 1872-12-16
ST. FRANCIS xAvIER's CHURCH.

Sermon by the Rev. Father R0naync-
The Advent OF Christ.
The Rev. Father Ronayne delivered the sermon
yesterday at the high mass services in st. Francis
Xavier's church. The reverend gentleman took
for his text the words of the Gospel of the day. II
am the voice OF one crying out In the wilderness,
make straight the way Of the Lord" The time
was near at hand according to the liturgy OF the
Church, he said when the Saviour was to come
among US. 1t behooved US all, therefore, to be
ready to receive him and do him honor. And by
what means He was not coming as great con-
Queror with fire and sword TO desolate the land,
to put to the torture His enemies, to burn and
devastate everything that belonged to those who
were at His coming inimical to His reign; but He
was to come as q God Of Love. the Son OF the
Most High made man for mans salvation. He was
to come among men as fellow man, to love and
suffer with them ana teach them by word and
example how to
LIVE LIFE OF PURITY;
how 70 20 through this career OF ours on earth,
always doing right, always loving Gou His first
coming had been prophesied hundreds OF years
before the advent Itself and Daniel had even men
prophet had foretold the name Of the place Beth
leheml where he was to appear in the world. st.
runner, bade the world to make straight the way
for HIS coming. And now how were we to make
straight the way for His coming : The Church was
soon to celebrate His adventby loud acclamatiOns
OF Joy, by singing hosannas OF praise and glory to
the good God who so loved man as to give him HIS
only Son as q sacrifice to
APPEAsE THE WRATH OF GOD
aroused against the sinner; and 1t was the duty OF
every Christian to make ready for His coming.
Singing the praises OF God with one's lips was not
all that was necessary to make the way straight
Our hearts should be prepared to give Him q ft
abiding place. In order that they should be thus
prepared it was necessary that we should be
cleansed OF every stain OF sin and thoroughly re-
conced to God, whom we had so often offended.
BY penance alone could we satisfy for our past Of
fences and the sacrament instituted by the saviour
was now our means OF grace. Ii was, therefore,
the duty OF every good Catholic at this time to see
to 1t, that he would not be found among the scof
fers when the Saviour would come in our midst.
The recurrence OF the anniversary which celebrated
over eighteen hundred years ago filed every
Christian heart with
FEELINGS OF JOY AND GLADNEsS,
and the best way that our love Tor Him who had
done so much for us could be manifested would he
by renewing ourselves, as 1t were, drawing out the
old man and putting on the new. The Saviour was
to come full OF love for mankind, and our hearts
could not be full OF love for Him unless we repened
OF our sins and were sanctiied by His all-saying
grace. He had come into the world to
DO BATTLE WITH THE WORLD,
and had battled bravely and won the victory All
men had to do the same thing to gain their eternal
salvation. We were all battling with the world
and the fight was the same for all men. No one
could escape the heat OF the contest, and just ac-
cordlng to the way we fought fed from the fight
would we be saved or lost. The Saviour had set
us an example OF courage and determination. We
had only to follow 1t to win, and to do this we
.Now was the time, the acceptable day OF saliva
tion.