Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-12-19
AN INTERESTING SERMON.
Preached by Father Gull, Last Might. ut
81. Johns Church, Bellaire-A Full
SxuoDsis of His Able Sermon.

oil WHICH Inc 1ScN. ~. L. NuAA a sAAN @~~S'
was we'll filled last night by a large audi
cnce eager to hear the eloquent discourse
of the reverend gentleman on THE lntai-
Ubility of the Pope" This was the fourth
and last of a series of sermons upon the
above subject all of which have been OF
more than usual interest Below the REQ
IsTER publishes q very exhaustive synopsis
of the sermon. Father Gull, upon open
ing, said. -. ur,.
ments of Logic" gives this example sub
sfantially of q eircsIl,is ritiousus: A Catholic
proves the inspiration of the Scriptures
from the authority OF the Church, and
nroyes the authority of the Church from
The inspiration of the Scriptures.
Now this is false. You will remember
that in the first discourse of this series the
divinity of Christ was proved. We took
the books of the New Testament as true
histories, attaching as yet no divine author
itv TO them. They as histories proved that
sIich n being as Jesus Christ once did live
ON the earth; that he did miraculous
works whilst asserting that he was God;
that these miracles, and above all His reSur-
rection from the dead, proved that He was
what He called Himself-God. In other
words, we are led by the simple principle
of human investigation of an acknowledge
ment of the authority Of Christ to teach as
one who came from God, ana we are thus
led TO Weld implicit obedience to all we
find Him TO have taught. So far the inves-
tigation having been of outward and visible
facts cannot require anything more than
simple historical or human evidence. HAY
ing once thus established the divine author
inv OF Christ we naturally inquire
what is it that Christ tan"h''
We find he was not cort" ,,,eo with teach.
ing certain scrucral principles OF morality;
,h '' M n" was hot satisfied with unfolding to
mankind doctrines such as none before him
had ever attempted to teach, and thereby
making man acquainted with his own fallen
nature and future destiny; but that more
over he took means to preserve these doc
trinal communications to mankind. We
find that he intended his system should be
beneficial, not only to those who heard the
words as they fell from his lips, but also to
the entire world to the end OF time; that
he intended his religion to be something
permanent. Something commensurate
with the existence OF these wants OF hui
manity which he came to relieve.
As we showed, he chose twelve men
into the Apostalatc, invested them
with authority equal to his own;
''All praise is given 10 me IN heaven ana
on earth As the Father sent me | send
YOU" that He made the promise OF remain
ing among them and teaching them till the
end OF time. IL am with you all days even
to the cOnsummation OF the world. Il will
SEND THE HOLY GHOST,
also will teach you all things whatsoever l
have commanded you" and that they were
commissioned to teach the whole world Go
teach all nations" and that TO them the
whole world owed the cOrrelatiYe duty OF
obedience.
Inaword starting with human testimony,
we advanced step by step to the divinity OF
Jesus Christ; to the perpctuity and infalli-
bility of His church and TO the personal
infallibility of the pope, ex cathedra, teach
ing the whole world in matter OF faith and
morals. Now it is the undying and infalli-
bic authority of the church which is the
hand works of Jesus Christ that tells us
what books belong to the canon of the sa-
cred scriptures, in what inspiration
consists, and what meaning is to be
attached to certain texts, especially
these which are hard to be understood
as the Apostle says, and which often men
''wrest to their own perditiOn.'
1t is not true that the Catholic Church
proves her authority from the inspiration
OF the Scriptures, and the inspiration OF
the Scriptures from her authority. True,
she relies upon them as historical dOcu-
ments to prove the divinity of Jesus Christ,
anu IIOlll Ills lSdoOlIo I'LL lllpoIOIi
constitution and authority.
Let Inc illustrate. When a representa-
tive of our Government presents himself
to the Court to which he is accredited, he
is asked for his credentials and these he
produces. He then is the bearer OF these
certificates OF his own official standing that
cnttle him to authority. So the church
indeed points to the scriptures as the Gre
dentals accredting her to her mission, and
Il, 1nc. prnl;t hnnottgn
she is the bearer OF them and the custo-
dian of them.
Our authority then for the canon Of the
scriptures and their inspiration is the in
defeCtible and infallible church established
by our Lord and continued by an Unbroken
succession to our own days.
TIE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
has powers guaranteed it in the constitu-
ton, and though individual members die
others are elected to their places so that
the body itself never ceases by death OF in
dividuals nor the glide of time. And SO
our authority for the scripture is the i'm
mortal college of the apostles continued in
their successors the ecciesid d0ceuS Of our
times This is what ST. Augustine meant
when he said 81 would not believe the
Gospels unless the authority of the church
moved me thereto
BY the authority, then, OF the church,
and hence the authority of God, also can
neither deceive nor be deceived.
Outside of the Catholic church can there
be any such absolute certainty? Who is
to guarantee it? Christ? Behold, Christ
had left earth 1000 years ere the sects were
heard of. From the EApostles? Can their
succession To the Apostles be proved? Are
they in communion, in working order with
the head Jesus gave to theApOstleS? What
certainty, then, can there be?
The argument that men may be moved
to regard any book as inspired on the au-
thOrity of any of the seCts begotten in the
10th century, or later; or by their opinion
of the heavenly nature of the subject Mat
ter treated in the scriptures, or the efficacy
of their doctrine, majesty of style, agree
ment of parts, scope of the whole, etc,
rests only on human judgment, and is
therefore fallible and liable to error.
The charge is often made that the church
hides the scriptures from the people, and
that to the upheaval of the sixteenth CEN
fury, wrongfully called in history the
reformation, We owe the very existence OF
the Bible. Now this charge is not founded
on facts The church does not hide the
scriptures from the people She was the
guardian of the scriptures from the begin
ming. Her monks OF old most industrious
~ translated them. Yes, TO the dispised,
lazy monks" as they are often called, we
owe the preservation OF the scriptures, as
well as OF the classics. This is too we'll
known historical fact to ask any further
proofs. Hear Leibnitz. the great Proteatant
philosopher. He is speaking of the Able
Ranches opinion that monks should spend
their time only in prayer and manual labor
in the fields. al that opinion had pre-
vailed. we would have no crudition at the
present day. For it is manifest TIL, the
books and letters have been preserved by
the aid OF the monasteries." lie instances
one monastery at Corleia which through
its monks, excelling not less in learning
than in piety, spread the light of the faith
throughout the north of Europe"
The Church does not indeed approve of
the
SCATTERING OF THE OLD TESTAMENT,
with some Of its passages concerning I'M
4 4 l.