National Republican., 1883-10-01
IN THE CHURCHES.
Eloquent Sermon by MonSeignOr Capel at st.
AlOysiuS Church.
The Eminent Catholic Prelate Discourses
TO an Immense Congregation
Rev. DR., Rankins Anniversary at the Congregational
ChurCh-An Interesting Sermon.
The Crisis OF the Reformation as Told by
Rev. Dir. Domer.
cAPEL AT sT. ALoYs1Us,.

CAPEL AT ST. ALOYSIUS'.
ST. Aloysius' was filed to overhowing yes
terday morning at the IL o'clock mass, the
occasion being sermon by the Right Rev.
Monsignor Thomas John Capel, d. ID. At the
point in the services set apart for the sermon
Monsignor Capel was presented to tho CEN
gregation by tho officiating priest, and
ascending the steps took his place in the pull
pit. In q clear, resonant voice ho read the
cpistle for the day, the twentieth Sunday
utter Pentecost which was taken from the
epistle of st. Paul to the Ephesian, v. chap,
1921, and the gospel which embraced from
the 46th to the SD verses. Then from the
xvii chap. of Genesis he quoted the words: I:
1t is the house of God and this Is the gate OF
Heaven. And it shall be called sacred to God.
Pausing for q moment, no ran his eye over
the dense mass of people that were packed In
the church, and said:
DEAR BRETHREN Tho words have just
cited are words that will recall well known
fact to your minds-a fact read by you in
your childhood, one that you have dwelt
upon, ever bringing to your mind your rela-
tion to that God you have to serve. jacob
was dreaming, and in that dream he saw
ladder set up ON earth, the top of 1t
reaching to Heaven, and angels of God as
cending and descending it. He learned in
deed from God himself that the ground upon
which he stood was sacred to the Almighty,
and that it would become the possession Of
his seed, the abiding place Of his children.
When he arose from that sleep he then real
lied that the place was sacred, and it was then
the expression fell from his lips: "This is
the house of God. This is the gate of Heaven.
This ground shall be called sacred to God AL
mighty"
On an occasion of this kind, dear friends,
when the doors of your church are again
opened and you again take possession of ii, |
know of no better text to bring to your mind
and place before you the glories of this the
residence of your God and resting place Of
Him you have TO serve. We will therefore
dwell upon the initial statement that this is
the house of God Almighty, the heavenly
Father whom we have to serve. When we
speak thus we are using no expression of the
Imagination. When Jesus was about to part
from us He declared that He would never
leave u.s. and that He would be with us al
ways, even to the end of time. We feel His
presence and influence here with us, and thus
we realize in fact that he resides here to
fulfill His sacred Office of priest and teacher
and to dispense His wonderful mercy.
Proceeding the speaker drew a picture OF
the last supper, and after recounting the
promises of the Saviour, he said that the in
junction laid upon the church, ''Do this in
remembrance of me" was meant to keep ever
present this promise that He would be with
them always, even to the end of time. The
church felt the value of this, and had realized
the truth of these promises day after day
when. by a miracle most wonderful God pre-
sented Himself in the substance of His body
and blood in the bread and wine, and the
Divine presence in the tabernacle on the altar
was an eternal reminder that this was tho house
of God and the gate Of Heaven. 1t was the
power and presence of God that made men
kneel in the privacy of their chambers before
they came to the confessional and ask fol
aid and assistanceto put off their sins as q
garment and for strength to resist the
temptations OF the future More than earthly y
aid was required to complete this wonderful
work, and Gods presence in his house wat
again manifested when the penitent felt him
self able to rise up with his burden lifted from
his shoulders. No man was without sin, and
therefore it was imperative that all men
should come within the influence of Gods
presence, even into this holy sanctuary
where pardon and strength were given
through His wondrous mercy. 1t was only
in Gods house that these priceless blessings
could be obtained, and this ground was
sacred to the Most High
The rulers of earth had piled up palaces for
their dwelling places and beautified them
with gold and precious stones. How much
more, then, should men adorn and beautify
the dwelling place of the King of Kings, the
house of the Almighty God. Here His chill
dren came to gather new strength while il
life, and in death their bodies were brought
here for the last rites, and from here prayers
were offered for their souls rcpOse He sale
it was the duty fall to contribute to this end
and that it was the part of wisdom to SO ar
range that the mind of the priest should be
free to devote himself entirely to admin
istering his functions as teacher
and this could not be when they were bur
dened with the care and anxiety, incident Il
10 nf ha fnr hnon ifxin nd hu III ,
ing Gods home-thc church. When mar
stood face to face with his Maker for the firs
time the most consoling thought that hi
could have in that awful moment would bC
that he had given his most precious jewel tC
beautify and build His house. In addressing
himself to those outside of the communion o
his church, the eminent ecclesiastic said that
the church had been present at the birth o
the Christian religion, and had come down
through long years of persecution, and to-day,
after twenty centuries had rolled by, it wa
stronger than ever The influences of the
church had always been exerted to tho utmost
andwhenthey surveyed the vast congregation!
that were gathered in every cline and coun'
try, they would at least say that these Catho
lies who held to the blessed truth as taugh
by the church, must under its influences be
como good men and worthy citizeus. In con
clusion, he said the work on the church had
been nearly completed, and It now remained
those in charge not only TO fully complet
but to assist other churches whose COngrega
tions were poorer. TO those who did so ther
were promises of rich reward both in this lif,
and in tho world to come.
The church was taxed to its utmost capac
ity to accommodate the crowd. The galleries
were solid mass of humanity and tho aisle
and the space in front of the altars wor,
filled with chairs. Many members of th
congregation who arrived late found it i'm
possible even TO get inside the doors of tn
church. Mgr. Capel wore tho purple vest
ments pertaining to his position in the church
attention. Ills delivery was rapid and i'm
passioned, aud he held his congregation spell
bound with his elOquence for nearly al
hour.
A PASTORS ANNIVERSARY.
REV. DIR, RANKIN COMMENCES HIS FIF