National Republican., 1883-03-19
THY WILL BE DONE.

THY WILL BE DONE.
ELOQUENT SERMON BY REV. FATHER CHA
PELLE AT ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.
The services of Palm Sunday in st. Mat
thew's church yesterday were interesting and
beautiful They lasted between 10 o'clock a.
IN. and 3 p. m, the distinguishing feature
being " the blessing Of the palms." The palms
were distributed by the officers Of the church
and their attendants to the congregation. The
singing Of the gospel and the Grafton Of the
passion and death of Christ which is given in
st. Matthew, chapters twenty-siX and twenty
seven, were conducted by the Rev. Fathers
Chapelle and Boland, assisted by the choir,
the music of which was unusually good
At night the services which were for men
only, consisted of the lessons of the retreat
and n sermon. Father Boland made few
preliminary remarks telling his hearers what
the retreat meant and what it called for from
them as Christians. "The retreat" said the
reverend speaker, "is period Of prayer. The
Lord gave his law 10 the Jews after they had
been in the wilderness for forty days. His
blessings and rewards are only procured by
living for God and for God alone
The three things for us to take into
consideration are meditation, self-examina-
tion, and resolution. We often forget God and
forget and neglect the truths given us through
and by His Son, Jesus Christ We must un-
dcrgo daily examination of our consciences
and settle up our accounts with God just as
we do with our fellow men. Firm resolutions
must be taken. They should be few, but
firmly kept. We must overcome our sins one
by one. Our sins are daily. We all possess
imperfections. We must practice generosity in
our daily life and in all our transactions Of this
life. We can pray and must pray at all times at
all places and under all circumstances. Sue
ceeding Father Boland Rev. Father Cha
pelle preached from the text, "Thy will be
done" Speaking of the time when the Savior
took few of His disciples and went into the
garden of Gethsemane to pray, he said: As
He went into the garden of Gethsemane to
pray SO must we come here to pray. This is
a time of serious reflection as to how we should
use these lives of ours which God has given us,
We need the grace of God to retain the
blessings--religious blessings-we now possess
and enjoy. We do not know the nature of
the storms we may encounter upon the sea of
life, but we do know that storms are in store
for us all and that we have die. To have to
leave those we love, to have our senses decay,
and to be separated from all our friends is the
lot of all. If we don't act as good
Christians should, we shall bear the bur-
den Of having broken the law of God.
We come here to prepare ourselves for the
future. If you will only recollect and
pray, the recollection of the past, the
consolation of the present and the promised
reward of the future will fully repay you for
your efforts while living. In allthings say
"Thy will be DONE"
The first question which presents itself to
the mind of every sensible man is, what am
here for?
Every rational man will use the things
given him in a manner most conducive to his
welfare and to meet the purposes for which
they were given. Is a man placed here simply
to spend n little time in getting an education,
working for little money, and procuring the
respect of those with whom he is associated
or is he here to SO conduct himself and regu-
latc his words and acts as to please "a higher
power?
Man was created to know and reverence
God, and thereby save his soul. 1t makes no
difference who's man is, nor what his station
II he reverence and serve God he will save his
soul. Obey the laws of the First Being for
He gave life to all. God makes and sustains
us tits His bounty which supports us through
all time, and it is only just and right that we
should obey His behests. That portion of life
is the most useful which produces the utmost
possible happiness. The greatest amount of
happiness is procured by obeying Gods laws
Worldly pleasures and sinful practices con-
stitute happiness according to Satan; but the
practice of patience, truth, and all virtues
constitutes happiness according to the moral
law, which is Gods law.
The enjoyments of this world are limited
and If n man succeeds in this life and is aware
that in doing so he has violated all moral
law, and violated it Intentionally, he will
feel and know that he is miserable wretch
If he has conscience.
Then take the man who has lived n Cody
life. Whether he be successful or not in
worldly goods his life is the height of
enjoyment and his happiness on this earth is
complete. The man who does his duty.
though he dies in the performance of IL, OBJ
tains more happiness than the coward who
al nd oil nfg Ia I,,t., A..
we feel and know that death is nigh We
have God to save our souls but we mast obey
His laws, and thereby win place in heaven.
God grant that you may consider these things
which prevent men from doing evil for what
will it profit n man if he gain the whole
world and lose his soul ~
You are called here to hear and learn Gods
truth. Follow the example of Jesus while in
the garden of Gethsemane-hope that the
bitter chalice may pass away from you but if |
1t be that you must bear the burden, bear il
patiently and resignedly, and believe it
right to serve God by saying, Thy will, not
mine, o, Father be done"
sTHE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.
ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES AT THE NEW |
YORK AVENUE CHURCH-AN INTERESTING |
REPORT.
The anniversary exercises of the American
Tract society were held at the New York |
Avenue Presbyterian church last night, Mr..
Justice Strong presiding and Rev. George l..
Shearcr secretary. The devotional services
were conducted by Rev. DIR. Butler, of the
Memorial Lutheran church. Judge Strong
made an interesting opening address, present
ing the claims of the society for support and
showing the great good it had accomplished.
Rev. Mr.. Shearer then presented the report of
the society.
With thankful acknowledgement of Gods
abounding mercies the officers and executive
committee of the American Tract society
present the greetings of another year.
Amid prevailing sin, with all its dire re-
suits, steadiast faith, devoted love, and quick
ened zeal have marked the efforts of the
and friends of the society in pre- ,
senting Christ, the antidote of death, as he is