The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-10-25
EDUCATION.
FINE SERMON BY ARCHBISHOP MANNING

FINE SERMON By ARCHBISHOP MANNING.
london Register. September %.
On Sunday HIS Grace, the Archbishop of
Westminster preached two sermons at st.
Chadis Cathedral in aid of the schools. The
Cathedral was crowded at each service. In
the morning, the Archbishop selected his text
from the last chapter of the Gospel according
to ST. Matthew" All power in heaven and
earth is given unto me. Go 70, therefore, and
of the Father, and OF the Son. and Of the Holy
Ghost, teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever have commanded you." He said
oan understand no man who processes to be
o Christian that does not believe that to the
Church of Christ has been committed the au-
-thority to educate the nations of the world.
We are come to the time hen men must speak
plainly, and men must choose their side. We
cannot halt between two opinions. If the
Lord be God, let follow Him and if the
world be God, let us fall down and worship it:
In these words the Son of God Incarnate, and
in this world, declared that all power in heaven
and in earth, aud therefore, all power, spirit
ual and te mporal, belongs 70 Him. He makes
NO reserve. He claims absolute aud supreme
authority over all powers. And He said to the
disciples, Because all power in heaven and
on earth is given unto BE, therefore delegate
to you SO much of My power as is according to
My will. And delegate to you the power to
teach all nations. I delegate to you the power
to baptize them, and thereby to make them
NV disciples. 1 delegate to You the power to
declare to them Ny commandments, which
have commanded you that they shall obey. l
constitute you the sole fountain from whom
the knowledge Of My faith and of My com
mandments shall flow throughout the world. I
constitute you, therefore, the sole guides and
pastors of the nations of mankind; and l con-
stitute you the sole source of all spiritual ju-
risdiction over the souls of men," If these
words of our Divine Lord do not mean this,
am bold to say they mean nothing Let as
have done with the half hearted, Inconsistent,
incoberent, facilitating interpretations of these
latter days. Here is the charter and commits
sion Of tt . Church of Christ. The world was
heather when this commission was given. 1t
was the execution of this great commission
that created the Christian world. Aud, ask
you, what is the condition of the perpetuity of
the Christian worid7 The education of chill
Decentralization education. The Church edu-
Gates her children to be Christians; the world
educateB it's children to be it's own servants.
A world that maintains Christianity will per-
petuate Christianity; world that has lapsed
from Christianity will stamp it's children with
an anti-Cbrstlau mind. And now am going
to enter upon a subject which know is what
is called burning question; but Gcd s my
witness. / have desire to be contentious,
but have a desire to be perfectly plain and
if in what say shalt clash with the OPTIONS
and with the theories of anybody l am very
sorry for it-f am very sorry we do not agree.
1 have will to say anything to dsplease
anybody, but I must speak the truth. We
hear, then, at this time, of systems of educa-
ton which are to be universal, compulsory,
free and secular. If am not mistaken there
are many in this striving and intelligent place
who hold and who teach this doctrine There
is one thing which, it seems to me, those who
use this language altogether leave out, and
that is, the charter and commission OF the
Christian Church, and contained under these,
the rights of parents and the rights OF chll-
dren. In these latter times we have theories
by which the father is Invested altogether of
authority over his child. The child is
held to be the property of Commune
or of a State Parents may rid themselves of
their responsibilities, and those who have no
heart are willing to do it, and the public must
educate them. A more base violation OF the
laws of nature, of the instincts OF humanity,
cannot be conceived. Well, what then are the
laws of Christianity in respect of parents and
children 2 will begin first with the children.
The first law of Christianity in respect to
children is this-that child is not chattel,
or o thing, bat living being, creature of
God, and, as q creature of God, has rights of
his own. What say is true in the law of
nature, but in the Christian law every child
that has been baptized is made child of God.
A baptized child becomes the brother of Jesus
Christ; an infant in arms is the brother of the
Incarnate Son of God, and has entered into re-
lations with the Divine Infant that was born
in Bethlehem. Next, Christian children have
fright to two things. They have rghf to
of God, and they have right to all the Sac
raments and the means of grace whereby they
may be saved. And no power on earth can
come between them and this inheritance with
out guilt before God. Further than this, every
Christian child has o right to Christian educa-
ton. And what is educationf Does it mean
and how to cast mp figures, aud how to write
Is this education Some of the basest, some
of the Erossest natures that can be found on
earth are far more highly instructed in these
things than some of the purest and some of
the noblest and if 1 had to choose between a
man highly cultivated in literary instruction
or q simple man whose literary instruction has
been detective, but whose Christian formation
has been complete, know that in the latter
should find nobleness, dignity, parity, justice,
modesty, and delicacy of character that in the
other shoul Id find skill in computatiOn-greaG,
exquisite skill, it may be-literary power, and
cultivation, and when have looked upon the
varnish upon the outside what is there below
An utterly Uniformed will, an uninstructed
conscience, unchastened heart and charac-
ter the very contradiction of the example of
Jesus Christ. Let man deceive you by
passing off instruction in literary things for
education. Instruction only touches the in
telIects YOu may cultivate the intellect Of .