The New York herald., 1879-03-02

OF your VOrftspOndents sugGesteu, Havt
too much church and too little truth is no less
true. That the tendency of the age is in religious
ritualism. in the secular world materialism is also
true This is not strange. Just as Pro-
fessor Edison described the beam of light
as dancing up and down the graduated
the micde. so feeling may oscillate from one
extremity to the other. but it must finally settle on
the line OF the true and good. The remedy for TINS
is going to come in the awakening that is even
now to be family discerned in the Church herself
II may be new revelation. 1t may end in the over
throw of what We call the Church. II the present
system of churches wishes to hold its own
II must strip for the ight; it must cast
old superstitions and. discardng the teachings of
either Moses or Paul, place itself squarely on the
theology Of Christ set forth in the Sermon on the
Mount" Say what will of the Church it is open
TO criticism; but in the light OF what Christianity
has DONE in the light of tine civilization it has fos-
tered and promoted in che light OF purer manners
and better laws that 1t has fostered in the light of
purified and enlightened humanity, let no one say
that Christianity is a failure. W. 5. WHITE.
The next is a city correspondent who writes:-
To THE EDITOR THE HERALD:-
read with interest your comments on the two
letters you published in your valuable paper some
time ago sent you by couple OF persons who evi'
IDENTIFY wish Christianity was failure and who, al
though they take right view of certain denomina-
tions calling themselves Christians, pass judg-
followers OF Saviour. Agreeing with you in the
main. inasmuch as you lament the decay of
rea, trsasrs 'He @ tho Ssriy
to differ with you as TO the extent of this falling
away from pure Christianity That it takes i'll that
vast body of the religious family called Catholic
am constrained to deny. Not but that the manners
and sinful habits of some of my cereligionists
rant you to arrive such a conclusion flor in all
select bodies of the members wanting). but
to condemn all for few is hardly fair You say that
the great need of the day is some apostolic man
body of men who will preach the Gospel truths with
primitive fervor and enkindle the earth with
their burning words. Now, if -you would but
take walk up to the Church Of the Immaculate
Conception on East Fourteenth street. in this CITY,
you would, am persuaded. say that such men
living and are doing very much toward that end
The Jesuit Fathers now giving mission in that
church. and from halfpast four o'clock In the morn
ing till after ten O'Clock at night those Jealous mis-
sionaries at work. The first is at five A. NJ,
and then, in rapid succession, mass aftermass
celebrated till hafpast eight O'Clock, when the last
mass is said; at the end of which sermon is
sionals. where they remain nearly all the day
almost to midnight. Between eighteen and
twenty thousand persons are making this mission.
Does this look like falling on from fervor? In the
evening. at half past O'Clock, long and power
Church are explained, such the real presence in
the blessed sacrament, &C.. particularly adapted for
Professionals and other non-Catholics. Another mis-
sion was going on in the Dominican Church Sixty
sixth street and Lexington avenue, last week. And
these only two among hundreds in this
grand land Of ours for missions are being held
nearly all the time somewhere i'll the country.
might go further, were 1t necessary and speak Of
the self-sacrifcing spirit of religious orders.
both OF men and women. to show that Christianity
is not failure The austerity of the Order of Trap
pists is well known is perhaps, also that of the
CarthuSanS But draw attention to the PasSiOniSts,
one of whose monasteries. st. Michaels is in Hobo
ken. The members of this Order fast three days in
every week OF the besides Lent of conrse take
the discipline THAT is, scourge thcmselves as often,
wear shoes stockings, only sandals, except
when they appear abroad on missions. &c.; rise
every morning at half-past o'clock to
chant mathis and lauds of the Divine Office, sweep
out their rooms, make their hard beds, and. i'll
common with all religious orders of the Catholic
Church, observe silence at their frugal meals while
of the community reads book aloud from a
pulpit. Then there the Sisters OF Charity
ladies that pass them Broadway and elsewhere
imagine that they arise i'll the morning. even
in the bitter cold Of winter. at the very
early hour of four o'clock? Then to what q degree
of calm perfection have not the Jesuits arrived
where, at a word from the Superior long cherished
plsns-the fruit perhaps Of much study and gifted
mind-have to be relinquished and the mind turned
to some other theme of good doing. Few
Of the interior perfection required Of the Jesuit But
have said enough to prove, think that Christian
ity is not failure and that 1t is not by any
dead. but is a grand success and in hourishng
dition. vERITAS.
"A Brooklyn Baptist" replies to James Owen
OConnor's attack on the cause of the Master and
writes
To THE EDITOR THE HERALp-
The sword of the spirit is the word Of God. What
is the Bible but the life and teachings of Lord
Jesus Christ and His apostes9 Before making his
assertions If J. .. OConnor had studied the subject,
which his writing proves he knows nothing about,
far As the New Testament is concerned % sI
which is all that we have to do with.
few words have been omitted or altered to
suit the present Romish Church, which substitutes
"do penance' for repent" and repentance" Any
by reading the Douay version itself attentively
this is . wrong version Christianity is Civ
ing whole hearts not to the Roman, tho Bap tist
the Methodist any other Church, but to the Lord
Jesus Christ, who redeemed us with His own pre-
cious blood. The Church OF Christ is in the hearts
of His people; therefore cannot be failure. Jesus
Christ is the rock which ii is built, and He has
told the gates OF he'll shall not prevail against it,
Founded by the salacous and adulterous Henry
WILL" Was there ever any one who dared to wor-
ship God according to the dictates of his
conscience who not q rascal and
villain who kicked out of the
Romsh Church? "Your medium Baptist. with his
O'Connor call himself a member OF the true Church
OF Christ and yet speak in such manner of one Of
the sacramens, instituted by Our Lord himself and
blessed by His example to keep US in remembrance of
His death and resurrection till He again? Is
j. o. OConnor SO blind that he cannot that the
Church of Clement VII has to give way to the
Church of Christ? What, suppose you. would Paul.
who says in his first cpistle to Corinthians
l.. 10, Us Christ divided? was Paul crucihed
for you, or were we baptized in the name Paul?"-
what would He say were He to come earth and go
through our cities and see churches claiming to fol-
low His teachings. with sucn names as St. Paurs
st. Peters, 81. AIMS and on, and people calling
themselves Christians with patron saints in every
city? The Romish Church claims to be founded on
the Lord and His apostles. defy her to give
word Of authority from the teachings or example Of
our Lord. or any. Of His apostles. to pray
to or give any honor to the Virgin Mary.
"Therc is no other name but that Of Jesus
given among men. whereby ye may be saved" the
apostle tells u.s. Thc Bible merely tells us that the
Virgin Mary said that all nations should mp and
call her blessed" she certainly was. in her
association with our Lord while He earth. II
she had not been of the Lords people she would
not have been chosen to bear the body Lord took
while on the earth. The first commandment
in the Douay Bible says, Thou shalt not
make thysef craven thing. the like
of anything that is in the heaven above. There
is scarcely Roman Catholic family that has not an
image OF the Virgin Mary. blessed by the priest.
which they hold in great veneraton. Where Is the
authority for this in the teachings of our Lord or
His apostles. Lastly. defy the komish Church to
give the least shadow of authority tor that practice
which holds its subjects in such complete bondage
to man-confession 10 it's priests. The Bible
tells the early Christians not to go to law
with unbclievers, all the nations around
them were either Jews, who their
bitterest enemies, or heathens, but to keep all
their troubles within the Church, and IL any one
committed any sin against his brother to confess it
not to any man, but to the Church of God which
all brethren there-not popes, bishops and
priests. Having both versions of the Bible, in my
Masters and in defence OF His cause defy any
one in the Romish Church to answer me these things
fro fha Worl 4 Go1 A