National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-02-08
st. Aloysius',

The audience at st. Aloysus' yesterday morn.
ing was not q large one, but the services were
very interesting. The Rev. Father Mcguire, be-
loved and venerated by his parish, and deeply re-
spected by all citizens, occupied the pulpit. He
read the gospel Of the day" from the eight
zenith chapter Of Luke. from the thirty first to
the fortythird verses, inclusive and in enforcing
the lessons Of the gospel said, in substance:
The Jews had formed a very erroneous idea of
the kingdom that Christ came to establish on
earth. They faneied that he was to make them
the Teigning people Of the world, to gratify their
ambition for power, and Christ, the Messiah, was
to rule the nations as the temporal sovereign Of
the world. In the gospel Of the day the Saviour
false idea of the Jewish people, and to let them
understand that he had come to establish q spr-
itual kingdom on the earth, and that instead OF
refgning with the hOnors Of royalty he was to be
Knocked and scourged and spit upon, ana, finally,
to be put to death as O malefactor on the cross.
and by the sufferings Of Christ mankind was to
be redeemed.
The Church of God reads this beautiful gospel
to-day, whilst at the same time we proclaim the
great fact OF Lent TO remind us that We too, have
10 suffer after the example Of our divine model,
and that the way to Heaven, taught to-day BY
Gated by Christ more than eighteen hundred
years ago in the way Of suffering, humiliation self
Saviour. 1 propose, therefore, my friends, 10
prove to you to-day the necessity Of this spirit OF
selEdenial. First from the fallen state of human
nature; second, from the spirit Of the Gospel OF
Christ, and third, because we are all sinners.
Had man never fallen from the original state of
bliss and innocence in which he was crested we
could have no need Of penance, no selfdenial.
But as man is q fallen being, as he feels within
his own breast the war Of his inferior and su-
perior instincts. the flesh rebelling against the
spirit TO keep down this rebellion and 10 preserve
him in that condition in which he can serve his
maker properly, selfdenial becomes absolutely
necessary. Even Pagan philosophy recognizes
this, and one Of the great sages OF antiquity
places the sum Of moral teaching In two words
I'gUstfne ef GbSffne." Bear up under trials and
difficulties, and abstain from all that would be
detrimental to your superior nature.
In the second place, Father Mcguire proved
the necessity OF selfoenial from the fact of our
Christian character. As o Christian am q fol-
lower Of Christ. The life Of Christ was q life Of
seli-deniaI and penance. From the mauHer Of
Bethlehem, in which he was born, to the cross on
which he died, his life was one Of sorroWs humlli-
alton and sadness.
we cannot expect as Christians, in the language
Of one OF the Fathers of the Church, ito be delft
cate members of head crowned with thorns;r
and WI en- the Saviour of the world invited men to
follow him, he says, emphatically: ''1f any man
will come after me, let him take up his cross and
follow met and again: "Unless you do penance
you shall all perish" "The Kingdom Of Heaven
luereth violence, aud only the Violent shall bear
II away"
In the third place, as sinners we all must do
penance. Now the man who says that he is not
sinner St. John declares does not tell the truth.
Therefore pennance Is absolutely necessary for us
all. Had We preserved unsullied the white robe
given rs at the baptismal font, had we never
violated seriously the commands Of our Maker,
there would be no necessity for Lent no preaching
oi Penauee; but a. We Gil feel that We are SIN