The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-03-30
The erandsst Spectacle in tho world.

born Hes8tADS made prUSSanS.-C0rTeSpond
, encc London Tablet.
The Grandsst Spectacle In tho World.
Extract from Father Burtss lecture on Pope Plus
The grandest thing 10 the world save th,
conception of the sacred humanity of th'
Sen of God incarnate, tho grandest thing
that the world has ever seen is the CathO
lie Church, founded by our Divine Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. representing upon
eternity of the Almighty God, who
made il a unity all the moro wonderful
in world 80 divided as ours; q sanctity
all the moro wonderful in a world SO
nnholy and defiled as ours; an eternity
all tho more wonderful ia a world SO
as oars. And this is the. meaning Of the
word of Scripture when the Psalmist says,
Z" God is wonderful in all his works.
Every work of God is wonderful, because
everything that exists participates in some
| form or other in the attributes of God,
And the more largely any thing participates
| IN the divine attributes, tho more wonder
ful that thing becomes, because tho more
like to God. Now, among all the things
of the earth there is nothing that shows so
highly and so emphatisaiiy the attributes
of God, as Lis holy Catholic Church, for
| ty Of our doctrine Of unqesti0ning obedience.
We hare mnity Of doctrine.
We are two hundred millions. my friends,
scattered all the world over. We find our
selves in communities as, for instance, in
| the great cities of New York and Brook
i!yn, where Catholics are numbered by
hundreds of thousands. Sometimes we
find ourselves in communities of nations,
as in the green old mother-lapd that bore
me, where that whole paton-Blessed be
God lis Catholic. Sometimes again we
find ourselves broken up in TO small commu-
mites in the midst ofour Protestant brethren
and fellow citizens, the Catholics only re-
presenting anti in the community. You
sometimes find a Catholic family gone out in
the far West, out on the bosom of the vast
prairiss, settled down in little shanty on
the banks of little western river; but
wherever you fad them whether in nations,
In cities, in small communities, or individ-
uals, if you find one Catholic, you find
perssnified in him the certain faith of
two hundred millions of men. Question
one of them, and if he knows his Cate
chlsm you have tue response of ALL
Ask him, and Lie will tell you what the |
two hundred millions will tell you, if
you have only time and patience to
go through and ask every man among
them, and yeu will find no difference
of opinion or belief in their doctrines.
God, in His true Church, has welded
together two hundred millions Of intelli-
gences, varying and dissenting on every
other point. He has made them united in
faith, as He Himself has said, AS one"
In their obedience, Unlike manner, Cath
olics are one. Ask any Catholic in the
world, aud you have asked them all, who
is the head of the Church, and the answer
will be, " The Pope of Rome" Do YOU
ops and peoplef Yea, in every single
point, highest of oil unto US. Even as the
proud Egyptian pyramid taking hold of
the earth, covering acres of soil, sweeping
aside and resisting the power and might Of
successive ages, yet stal, taperiug up to
stone pointing to heaven so tho Catholic
Church spreading herself out and cover.
ing the whole world, in such strength that
neither time, nor the world, nor hell can
destroy her, she yeG reaches up toward
God through the succession of the clergy,
the clergy bearing their episcopacy, aud
The whole hierarchy of the Church termina-
Ting in one man who is the head of all
The com Mander whose voice all obey, be-
cause that man represents Peter, and Pc {
ter represents Jesus Christ the head of the
Catholic Church.
TIE REPREsENrAT1vE OF DIVINE sANCTIrY.
The Church represents the sanctity of
Sod. For two thousand years she has
food before the world, and every phioso-
bier, every learned man, has looked upon ,
Ter with keen, searching hostile eye
Every fault has been attributed to her, ev-
'ry sharp, cunning, conceiyable insult has ]
oeen thrown at her. Yet she stands before {
hem all with this smSle word upon her
Ups: Tell me, oh ye learned men, We :
at what time, in what day,
n what hour, at what moment of my ex-
stence of two thousand years, can YOU
prove that have sanctioned, encouraged
>r even tolerated the slightest sin Where :
8 the child OF mine that will be able to
rice up in the valley of Jehosephat and say,
o mother believed in you, and you
told me l might tell lie.'" ." never
'aid it," the Church answers, 4" o mother |!
believed in you, and you told me might
flourish an evil thought" The Church
zones forth and says, I" In the name of !
} rod thou liest. Thy perdition is on thine
'wn head" Not the slightest sin or ap-
oroach to sin is tolerated in the intelligent
md magnificent morality of tho Catholic ,,
Church. She reflects the sanctity of God
n the prayer that never dies from her lips,
or tho outpouring of those graces in the
that, when partakeu of, make
loly, even as the angels of God, the
greatest sinner on earth. If they submit
% the Church's influence, she, like God,
3 not only holy in herself, but sue is able
o make holy.