The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-24
ST. STEPHENS CHURCH.
Sermon by the Rev. DIR. McGlynn-Peter's
Faith-God's Mysterious Ways In Re
gard to His Church-Faith and Rca CON.

Sermon by the Rev. DIR. McGlynn-Peter's
Faith-God's Mysterious Ways I'm Re
gard TO His Church-Faith and Rca son.
At st. stephens church yesterday morning the
high mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father Nc
Gurck. The audience, as usual, was large, and the
singing excellent.
After the first Gospel the Rev. DR.. McClynn
preached, the subject being St. Peter and the faith
committed to us. Jesus had come into Casarea
Phippi and was speaking to his disciples, as it
were, testing the faith that was in them. He had
been already engaged in His mission, and it was
wondered who it was that had done the cXtraordi-
nary things He had done. The great ones of the
country fearing lest again the old prophecies
were to be fulfilled whether He Of whom they
had heard much was the Messiah indeed.
Herod feared that st. John the Baptist,
beheaded for his miracles, had again appeared;
Others thought 1t might be Elias or Jeremias, or
some of the other prophets. And Jesus therefore,
asked His disciples the question. "Whom do men
say that the Son OF Man isr When the disciples
had told Him the opinions that were circulated
about Him, He then asked them whom they be-
licvcd Him to be; and Simon Peter answered,
"Thou art Christ, the Son OF the living God.n
Jesus then replied, blessed art thou Simon Peter,
because flesh and blood hath not revealed this
to thee but My Father who is In heaven" Jesus,
hearing this expression OF Peters faith then
founded the Church OF God and made Peter the
cornerstone on which 1t was to rest forever. ''And
say unto thee thou art Peter, and upon this rock
viii build My Church, and the gates Of he'll shall
not prevail against IT, Here the then WAS CHRIST
men; at the very outset rewarding one
OF His disciples in most emphatic words
for the faith he had expressed and signiiying
beyond doubt the sort OF Kingdom lie was about
to establish. The great things OF earth had part
in this beginning, nor there aught TO tell that
the God Mans power now being exercised to
appoint the chef OF that Church lie had come to
establish. The history OF the religions Of the pre-
vious times had left no doubt about the persecu-
tons which the Messah's followers were to
undergo; the dread there was OF the presence OF
Jesus, which TO us should teach the more plainly
the divinity OF His nature was the unmistakable
evidence OF the power the Saviour displayed in the
works He had accomplished. With the Divine power
at His command, with the Fathers Will ever His,
He gave us In the words addressed TO Peter the
foundation of Church, the only true Church, to
establish which on basis of infinite strength
was the mission OF Christ And not
tent merely with this manifestation of HIS
power, seemingly wanting much OF importance, the
same infinite power went farther still and prom
ised that forever no opposition no persecution,
not even all the powers of hell combined could ever
destroy the Church. This was the promise which
we all saw fulfilled even TO our own day, and from
which in every trial and afliction the Church had
confidence and everabiding hope that the troubles
would pass away; that peace would triumph and
that the Church of God would still be the only en-
blem ON earth OF Gods inhnitude. We behold in
the history Of the Church from the beginning down
to the present how God had watched over it,
purified 1T when it needed publication and
made 1t ever shine resplendently
the more cruelty 1t had been attacked. TO
count the marvellous marks OF Gods own
guidance In the concerns OF His Church would be TO
trace the successive victories 1t had won, to dis
play the singleness OF It's universal existence, to
portray the lives of the successors Of Peter as the
successive link between Chiist and ourselves. For
all ages past that link had been unbroken and
would remain unbroken until the end OF time; the
faith OF the children OF the Church had been one
continuous prayer OF belief and duplication, and
that prayer was to-day as loud, true and as
enlcaclous as II had ever been. Unbeevers had
sco1ed; scence had stepped in to obliterate, If 1t
could, the grace OF God; fools had worried them
selves In deing the Infinite but the prayer OF the
faithful was still heard and reason and faith were
still found not necessarily to be I'm collision For
men TO think that they could scruiinize the ways
OF God, OF Him who Is infinite, Of Him who gave
them the intellects they possessed, were as
ldle ms Tor tnem TO command the sea 10 be STILL
Az best, what was the intellect OF a manY How
limited Its grasp-how feeble Its Judgment Was
the human mind infinite that IL might comprehend
the ways VI an Infinite BepgS Let 1t 10 It's utmost