The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-06-14
PASTORAL LETTER OF JOHN oUMLAH.
By THE GRACE OF GOD AND FAVOR OF THE HOW
SEE, BISHOP OF MOBILE.

By THE GRACE OF GOD AND FAVOR oF THE HoI,
| SEE, BISHOP OF MOBILE.
| To the Clergy and Faithful OF His Diocese:
Beloved Brethren Of the Clergy, and Dear Chi,
dren Of the Laity We have already, in prope,
time made known to You by circular letts,
the favor granted to the faithful of this Dio'
cese, through the Venerable metropolitan =,
New Orleans, in union with the flock of hi,
own Archdiocese; stating at the same time in
detail the conditions, the fulillment of which
would secure to our dear children in Cbri,,
the plenary indulgence, which by concession q,
our Holy Father, Pope Plus TX, they obta;,
who visit IN person the Sanctuaries of Para,
lie Monial and Lourdes. We announced in tbs
same circular, that on Sunday, 14th of Juns
we would dedicate our Diocese to the Mo.t
Sacred Heart of our Divine Lord, and addres.
in fit time, few pastoral words, explapatorv
of SO solemn an act of religion; and now in all
humility, we try to redeem our promise.
| The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jes,.
though in its present developed form of com.
paratively recent origin, las spread SO RAPIDLY
and extensively throughout the Church Of God
as to attract the attention of the whole world.
1
| the severe scrutiny of the Church's most ah.
| and Jealous defenders, and guardians of thu
faith. Prayers, Litanies and Novenas bav.
been composed; confraternies have been estab.
lished, q Special Mass and Festival have been
instituted, and all these are manifestations ~
love and devotion, with the most cordial and
warm approval of the highest authority in the
Church, SO that, too day, SO sincere nay, enthu.
siastic, is the love of Catholics for the Sacred
Heart of our Dear Lord, that from every land
under Heaven, they are rushing in pilgrimase
to the Sanctuary of Paray le Monial, where
the humble Nun of the Visitation, Mary Mar.
garet Alacoque, was vouchsafed the vision of
the Sacred Heart and was privileged to behold
the mystery of divine love concealed therein,
and was specially commissioned to make
known Its blessings to the Christian world.
It is common error of those who differ
from us in religion to attribute the devotional
practices of the Catholic Church to some
eenseless or superstitious motive. They regard
them as they do the ceremonies that accom-.
papy the administration Of the Sacrament, %
empty signs and mere display, which check
the aspirations of faith and extinguish true
piety. Every days experience in the Church
o judgment. " The tree is known by it's fruitsH
Where are there nobler examples of heroic
sacrifice for the faith of Jesus Christ than
those given us to-day, as in the past, in the
lives of those missionaries of the Catholic
Church, who in barbarian lands, are doing
faithfully their Masters work, and cementipg
it with their blood Where is the evidence of
true piety to be found. if not in the labors of
those religious men and women who are weak
ing away their lives in the service of their
afflicted and forlorn fellow mortalsi And yet
these glorious children of God are the very
ones that far surpass all others in their love
for the devotional exercises of the Church.
No, my brethren, they are not meaningless,
not unspiritual in their nature and tendency, as
Ignorance would have it !; they are, on the
contrary, like blossoms and fruit on their ma.
tive tree-the genuine and necessary growth
of Christian doctrines. Repudiate these devo.
tions and candor and logic alike will force Us
to deny the truths which are the root and
principle Of them. So it has always been and
always will be. In the early portion of tho
fifth century, Nestorius, Patriarch of Con-
stantinople, in heretical mood, was offend
ed at the piety of the Faithful, which ad.
dressed Holy Mary, as "Motber of God" The
people had been taught from the beginning
by their fathers in the faith, that Jesus was
the Word" that "was God" from eternity;
hat in time to redeem the world "was made
iesh" in the chaste womb of Mary by the
sower of the Holy Ghost; that was born of
1er as the God Incarnate; that Heavenly One,
whose two natures, divine and human, insepa.
ably united in one undivided Divine Person,
Ippeared in the world and was known as our
Lord and Saviour. They knew that Mary's
'on was very God, and that she was oonss-
,uently the "Mother of God.D Nestorius
lenied this; was cited before General Coun-
Ill of the Church at Ephesus and condemned.
n attempting to defeat and main tain his
Ienial of Mary's dirine maternity, he was logi-
ally forced to reject the mystery of the Divine
incarnation. So intimate is the connection
etween the doctrines revealed by Christ and
aught by the Church and the devotions
bringing from them, that every attempt to
illify or belittle the latter is a death.blow
lined at the former.
so 10 NIT -. Ia