The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-07-22

| Bou0 W 4loCuukBo V2AV8tOty tOW1t4b O0Ci
sngly the duty Of Oar gratitude. To you
therefore, Venerable Brethren, my crown
, ~ saith the Apostle, and my rejoicing d,
We both entertain, and express eiDgola
thanks, with those feelings and those sen
timents which by loyal souls can better b
tice to in words. You have caused youi
light 20 chine before men, you have glori
fed acd and the Church, you have meriteG
most highly of Christie Immaculate Spouse
and Christ's Vicar on earth, and by YOU
pious liberality you have made to your
selves an unfadiDg treasure In heaven
where rust doth not corrupt or moth de
strOy.
And a. regards Us the remem brance Of
your love shalt not fall from Our mind
yea it shall be recorded in the Church'i
annals, and shall go down to posterity fol-
their example, their edifcation, and their
encomiums, and We will make it Our
especial care to pray continually the Chiei
of PASTORS to bestow on you, who have
sowed in benedctions, TO reap also au
tabnndant increase of benedictions.
Now too at this point in Oar discourse
We cannot omit to take into Our consider
alton what is the real force and siguificance
great ardor on the part of the faithful, this
great alaerity and perseverance,, this great
| unanimity of theirs in alleviatiug the affl &c
| tions of their common Father, in aiding by
| their subsidies this Apostolic See, and in
| defending it's cause, in deploring the
| wrongs by which 1t is afflicted, and in
impiorfog the Divine mercy on it's behalf,
in undertaking these continual pilgrimsges,
what do all these acts of zeal and earnest
ness, without intermission, show, what do
they intimate to the world, to what do
they point, at what object do they aim Z
What these facts obviously and clearly
demonstrate and affirm is the same thing
tha hich Wa aunfhar nPcaainn rea
marke d, namely, the anxiety under which
the faithful are on account of their com
mon Fathers being subjected to a hostile
domination, and it has the force of one
universal, real, and solemn pronoCncement,
by which the whole of Catholic Christen-
dom signifies in contradiction of the pre-
tended prOnouncemepts OF rather false
hoods of the world, that it desires that the
Supreme Pastor of the Lords flock may
preside over the Church with dignity and
liberty, being subject to the power of no
man.
The facts in question also prove the
strength of the charity with which the
members of the Church cleave to their
Head, and likewise the firm bond of unity
in which the members are linked together
amongst Themselves; and the came facts
most luminously teach US that the Catholic
Church, although attecked in so many
wicked ways and with so great violence,
and though bereft of ali outward aid, is
not only never vanQuished or overthrown,
but on the contrary sustains with constau-
cy the tolls of her warfare, and develops
her strength more and more, having, as
st Chrysostom says, her roots in heaven
and flunrishes with divine and immortal
vitality. These facts utterly confound the
cry Of the ungodly, who dared to assert
that the holy spouse of Christ was super
annaated and effete, nay even already de-
funct.
These facts, lastly, refute the vain and
foolish counsels of those men who, wrong
fully, disorderly, and perversely,' to use
the words of the great st. Augustine,
"would elevate the water above the oil,
but the water will sink down, the oil will
float uppermost /; they would put the
light under the darkness, but the darkness
shall be put to fight and the light shall
remain; they would put the heaven under
meath the earth, but the earth shall fall by
it's own weight into it's place."
But We, Venerable Brethren, consider
ing the marvellous ways OF Divine Provi-|
dence, who mingleth comfort with tribula-
tion, that soul and strength fail not, but
trust may be confirmed and virtue fortified
and revived-We receive from these facts
au i'm mpnlse, and an increase of conetancy
aud alactity to fight the Lord's battles,
and faithfully to set about the duties of
Our Ministry, and fearleRsly to endure
adversely for the cause of God aud of the
ShuTCN " uueb Tue uTS6Olul SlIOClty VI
war at this time is staining the land with
carnage and blood, by which God wills all
men to understand what ia to be expected
when laws human and divine are over
thrown ard justice and truth trampled
upon, Our conflict also is prolonged with
equal intensity, but it is much more noble
and excellent in its nature, inasmuch as it
concerns the cause and preservation, not
of religion only, but of civil society itself,
and the restoration of those principles on
which peace and true prosperity are based.
Let US therefore fight mRnfully the fight
proposed to the arms of our warfare; let
ne wait for the Lord in the path of His
Judgments; let us persevere in fervent and
humble prayer to Him that He would
command the winds and the sea, and
restore the calm; and meanwhile let us
neither fear adversely nor the power of the
enemy. For greater is He that is in us than
he that is in the world.
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