The New York herald., 1873-09-15
ST. STEPHENS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

oI, GIGfdhN'o HUMAN OhAuOAAO OhonoA
Sermon by the Rev. Father McCre"dy-
Sin the Only Real Evil-The lngrati-
tude Of the sinner-Sin the Cause or
Every Calamity.
The high mass at ST. stephens yesterday morn
ing was celebrated by the Rev. Father POWER
After the first Gospel the Rev. Father McCready
ascended the pulpit, and preached an unusually
effective discourse on SIN. Basing his argument
from analogy on the Gospel OF the day-Luke, vii,
II. 16-be portrayed the hideousness OF offences
against God In language simple and vigorous ana
made his sermon an unanswerable appeal TO tue
consciences OF his hearers without having recourse
to the stage tricks Of the elocuttOnist The ehecs
on the congregation was manifest. ON leaving the
church many were heard congratulating their
friends on their good fortune In hearing such
sermon.
The miracle recorded in to-day's Gospel said
the preacher, has, like all the other miracles OF
our Divine Lord, secondary meaning and signln-
canoe beyond the object Of proving to an sun
believing and contradicting people''-a people who
'Iaughed Him to scorn"-that He was the master
OF life and death; that He was God. who not by
prayers as the prophets, but by command. restored
the soul
TO THE LLFELEss TENEMENT
it had Just quilted. We have but three instances
Lord raising the dead TO life recorded in the
Widows son, mentioned in this days Gospels the
recall OF the soul OF the rulers daughter to Its
earthly prison and the resuscitat on of Lazarus:
In each the deatn Is embematic OF the spiritual
decease OF the SOUL and the restoration to lle Is
hgurative of the revivihcatOn OF the soul spiritually
dead by sin to the spiritual life OF grace. All men
naturally fear that awful ordeal through which al
the children OF Adam must pass but how few dread
the death OF the soul by sinl Corporal death s
looked upon as
Incident
misfortune of spiritual death, which separates the
soul from Him who Is her true ille, Is deemed @ OF
soul can be severed only by mortal SIM It Is, In
TRUTH that hidden rock on which thousands have
mserably pershed on their voyage to eternity 1t
is the mpassabe barrier which the soul erects
between herself and the divine mercy over which
| God pourS forth the walls OF His Justice ana His
| wrath on the unrepentant sinner: 1t is utterly
impossible to form any adequate idea OF the enor-
nous malice OF SIM OF the insult 1t oers the Deity
tisements He has inflicted on sinners. We may
however approximate to such an idea OF 1t as
should make us shrink from 1t with horror and fear
it the only evil in this world. Sin Is directly
opposed to the sanctity OF God, and as an infinitely
perfect being, He must hate II with an infnte
hatred and display that hatred by INJECTING
A PROPORTIONATE PUNISHMENT
powers of language to describe. The gravity of an
offence is proportionate to the position OF the
offender and the dignity OF the offended. Applying
ing the Creator, despicable worm OF the earth
raising itself nom the dust Of which it is made to
Insignificant man making war on the God OF power
and majesty Ana what has the King OF t neayen ven
creature made to His image and l!kenesss Obi
H. 4: H. has sssss"s man ',S !Srss m from T. nothing:
breath he breathes, for the very arms he
Master and King, but his most loving Father, "the
Father OF merces and the God OF all consolation,"
| who has sent His only beloved Son to suffer and
die for the wretch who wantonly and ungratefully
|
authority, and by his transgressons causes His
sacred honor to be despsed and His holy name
blasphemed among the Genttes. We speak with
while we, when we offend God mortally, are guilty
Of far greater baseness and ingrattude. II look
around us In the material world everything Is sug.
| gestive or
| THE TERRIBLE EXPECTS OF SIN.
| DO we ask why men are arrayed against each
other in mortal strife why brother stains his hands
| in brothers. blood; why famine and earthquakes
and pestilence and disease haunt the footsteps OF
humanity and seize upon man as their lawful prey
why the earth and the sea and the elements seem
to rejoice in the destruction OF human, lie the
effect OF sin. Man rebeiled against God. to whom
he owed allegiance, while the rest OF the creation
which was intended for mans use and gratiflca-
ton, rises in war and refuses to obey Him. II We
consider sin as exemplifed In the punishment in
ncted by God on the angels for single sin Of
thought; II We view 1t In the light OF Adams fall
and punishment II we estimate Its enOrmty from
the price paid by Christ on the cross for our
demption, we cannot fail to be impressed with
some idea of Its hdeous nature. IT, like the rulers
daughter, we have only Just died spiritual death
by sin, let us arise by penance; IT, ike the young
ior some time dead to God, let US hearken to His
voice, "Young man, arise" Or IT, like Lazarus in
the tomb, we are buried in sin, let not despair,
drink Of His blood and we shall have everlasting
llle."