The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-12-17

ANA ANAo'-htpuUp NALL " lne Gatheuthl
yesterday morning, preached sermon
upon "The Future Fate Of Unbapti7ed
1ntanlsD taking his TEXT from John III,
3 8: "Unlesa a man be born again oil
water and The Holy Ghost, be cannot en-.
ter Into the Kingdom Of Heaven" The
following y u synopsis Of The sermon:
First abiding 10 his sermons Of last
Sunday, In which he showed that all Of
Adams pOsterity, Mary excepted, are
born 10 the state Of sin, the Bishop
stated that this doctrine gave rise 10 the
question, "What becomes olchildren who
die without receiving baptismP The
Catholic Church teaches that these will
not enjoy the bealifc vision Of God 10
heaven. But this doctrine In no way i'm.
plies that they are predestined to hell;
for the church does not teach that they
even 60 10 the hell Of the damned. The
decision OF the Council Of Florence must
not be 30 understood. God wills all to be
saved, and all are included in the So.
viour's scheme Of redemption. II Tim.
II 4'6). Adultsdying stained with no per-
sonal Gin, will share the fate Of unbaptiE.
ed infants, but dying in actual, grievous
sin, they are lost through their own fault,
for all receive sufficient help to escape
eternal perdition. This Is true, even Of
the heather, from. II 1915.
Tothrow more light on the fate OF the
unbaptized infant, the Protestant and
Catholic doctrines concerning original
justice and original sin were explained.
In the Protestant theory, original justice
was nothing more than the natural integ.
rity aud rectitude in which God created
the first man. Grace was not gratuit.
GUS gdt, but 1t belonged essentially to
human nature. God could not make
rational creature for any other end than
the enjoyment Of heaven. When man lost
original justice he Lost what was essential
to his nature, and he became totally de.
PRAYED. His posterity, are born In a
state Of total depravity. They can do and
think nothing but sin, and are doomed
from the irst moment OF existence 10 the
tormenH Of hell. This theory cannot be
reconCiled with the necessary goodness Of
God towards His rational creatures. God
cannot create beings in the necessity Of
shining, and suffering in consequence the
greatest Of torments. II ia idle 10 at.
tempt to reconcile such a doctrine with
the divine benevolence. Redemption Is
indeed pure mercy and a free grace.
God might have left the human race I'm.
redeemed, or He might have redeemed
only a part Of mankind. But this doc.
trine and the doctrine that God sincerely
loves His creatures cannot be reconCied
with those Protestant notions OF original
justice and original sin.
The Catholic Church teaches that orgi.
nal justice, with the promise Of the bea.
tl6C vision Of God in heaven, was a
wholly gratuitous and supernatural gift.
1t was not essential to human nature.
When Loot by the fall, human nature was
not totally depraved; it was deteriorated;
but it retained all that is essential 10 il;
il remains essentially good. The child
that dies unbaptised il in the same condi.
ton Adam would have been In, had he
not fallen and had he not received the
gift Of grace in his creation, with this
difference that then mans condition being
in the order established by God, would
not have been hateful 10 him; whereas
now, owing to its deordination, his pres.
ent state is displeasing 10 Almighty God.
1t is through the fundamentally of
baptism, that man is brought into union
with God through Christ; that he is
raised from his fallen condition to the
supernatural order; that he becomes q
child Of God and heir Of heaven.
Before citing proofs that such is the
effect Of baptism, the Bishop gave the
different views held by theologians, re.
garding the condition in the next world
OF unbIptized children. The weight Of
authority is all in favor OF the opinion
that their only punishment consists in the
privation Of the glory Of heaven. Some,
as Cardinal Sirondrati, concede to them
every kind Of natural happiness. All
that is Of faith, ia that they do not see
and enjoy Godin heaven. This ia certain
from the words Of the Saviour already
cited John Iii, 81. Scripture and tradi.
ton assure us that baptism RENTS sin,
and is true regeneration. (Acts ii, SO;
xii, lG; Eph. Y, %; l Cor. vi, ny. One
OF the earliest creeds-that OF Constanti-
nople-says. ~ confess one baptism for
the remission OF sins" Here the Bishop
introduced citations from the early faith
ers OF the churh-IrenEus, Origen, Au-
gustine and others.
Baptism being then the Sacrament OF
regeneration, children who have not re-
ceiyed it remain in their fallen condition,
and they have no claim 10 the glory OF
heaven, They are the children Of a father
who was raised to princely honors, which
he forfeited for himself and his posterity
by treason against his royal benetactor.
They have all their fallen nature may
justly demand Of the God who made
them, and they have no title to the prince
ly honors purchased anew by the Divine
Redeemer. The teachings OF the reform.
ers Of the 10Th century, that they are
doomed TO the torments Of the damned in
hell, we'll nigh met with the formal con-
demnation Of the Council Of Trent. Itis
not true-iL cannot be true. All that we
know TO have been certainly revealed ia
that they do not enter the Kingdom Of
Gods glory.
The Bishop closed with few consola.
tory reflections addressed TO parents
whose children, whether unbaptlzed or
baptized, it had pleased God to take from
them.
HOTEL ARR1yAIs.-The following are