The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-11-18
THE DEDTC4TIoN OF THE CHURCHES.

and is another shining PROOF OF tne WhbcniuA
ness of mother Church, and of the oare with
which she instructs souls unto salvation.
On this day she solemnly commentaries |
the dedication of all her churches, from the
humblest structure in an Indian village. to |
the grandest cathedral in European capitals
for in every one is the "clean oblation" of. !
fered to the Lord of Hosts, and each one is |
"the place where His glory dwelleth."
In order to realize all the significance of this
bean tiful Feast of tie Churches. we must fully |
| understand the sublime character of q building |
erected to the true Faith and consecrated to
the service of God; in a word, we must know
what q church really is, and why it's dedica-
tion is made the subject of especial COM
memoration upon the aitars of Christendom
An hours visit, at almost any period of the
day, to one of these "houses of the Lord" will
teach US a holy lesson, impressing upon onr
minds the beauty and sanctity of the place,
and the mysterious meaning of all that we
find within it's walls
The water.fonts at the very threshold of the
sacred building are the first teachers to whom
! we listen. They speak to souls Of purity
and innocence, and as We dip cur fingers in
| the water, we are admonished with what
cleanliness of heart and hand we must appear
| in the presence of our Maker. AS the blessed
drops trickle upon our forehead, we are re-
! minded of the sacred obligations of our bap-
| tism and we find ourselves brought face to
face with the solemn promises which bind ne
to'the service of God. The sign we make up
on our person recalls the cause in which we
have enlisted, and We stand, like the sentinel
on duty, resolved to keep every faculty awake,
so that the enemy mey not sarPriss u.
As we step inside the Church we see the
tribunals of Penance, at whose lowly bar
every knee must bend in humility and contri-
tion. The crowned monarch kneels as humbly
there the poorest peasant in the land. The
brayest warrior bows his head as meeky as
the gentlest maiden. The man of science'
whose researches fill the world with admiro-
tiou, comes "poor in spirit" as the onetter-
ei clown who ignores all truths save the one
thing necessary. What lesson these silent
tribunals teach! Children of a common
Father, we can claim no exception from His
laws, no privileges opposed to His commands.
| Sons of common Mother, we must all learn
: from Her how best to love and serve our God.
Another step within the building, and we
see written upon the walls in characters which
, all can read, the solemn history of Our Lords
Passion and Death. These are no fancy
sketches, but realities engraven upon the heart
Of every Catholic and familiar to him from his
childhood. What a difference there is in this
, resp cot between members of the True Fold and
all outsiders. These seem to shun the very
thought of the infinite suffering, of the infinite
desolation of the Msn-God. 1t is true they
sometimes place cross upon their walls, but
they wreathe it with flowers, or they festoon
it with vines. They place graceful figures
l near it, they veil it with musty clouds, OIL
1,.NJ !
nerer put Our Lord upon it. 1t is only in a
, Catholic Church that one learns how truly he
was a "msn of sorrows" "broken for our sins,
and " sorrowf full even unto death"
Another step, and We see the pulpit-th
chair of authority, from which the anointet
Q ministers of the Lord teach His words TO tn
: faithful. There truth is eDthroned, and thenc
9 her glorious rays shine deep into the hearts O
Q men aud out into the rayless world beyond
If Who can count the minds illumined, tn
At hearts made pure, the souls redeemed by tn
words of instruction dropped from the lips o
one of Gods holy priests Let our thought
' 90 back only to the pulpit of saint {
> our own dsy-the Cure d'Ars-and we wi
~ understand all that is meant by this symbol {
ol authority-this Sacred Chair around whic
y cluster the children of the Faith, as round
mothers knee, in order to be led nearer
ce their Heavenly Father.
he And now we stand before the Alter whel
he the Treasure of the Church lies concealed-sb
he Sacramental Presence which is the heart (
,er Faith and the life of Christianity. The Alta
is- Here We were brought in our infancy, hel
he, we were fed in our youth, here we wei
he strer gthened in our manhood-here we wi
it rest in our age.
elf AS we gaze upon the tabern acle, earth seen
wn to recede and Heaven draws near; for th
er- sacri6cial throne bringe God to men, and rails
bat men to Godl
ley Such is the Church that We can see-tl
cir material building which our hands ha'
on erected-but whose use and mission extern
ed, beyond our human reach and develops into
cir supernatural aud eternal character. LoDgf'
vas low says:
The Cathedral walls bridges thrown across
The dark and terrible abyss Of DEATH
kx,f kIof frnfh h HI