St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-10-11


TO inspire by their holy lives and deeds with u
| love for supernal things, and an ambition to fol-
| low them upon the royal road of spiritual per-
| lection.
Born in France in 1899 of family noted for
| its piety and deserving well of the church for
loyal services during the regretable scenes of the
| French revolution, Joseph Cretin even as u
| boy and a student known to be and called a
saint. l have had the pleasure in his
home of conversing with the playmates of his
youth. with his teachers, with his near relatives.
| The theme was always his noble character, his
exemplary innocence, his spirit of prayer, his
| love of penance and modification. / have seen
| the instruments OF penance witch in those days
he wore upon his person, and which a parent 5
hand had taken from him, to be, the priests
| who were Intimate with him afterwards in
st. Paul can attest, replaced by others. His
intelligence and love OF study equalled his pety.
As the days of his ordination approached he re-
solved to spend his life for Gods greater glory
! in distant counties where priests more
needed than in France. He offered his services
| TO a bishop in China, and was already on his
! journey 10 the seaport to sail for the east when
| he was oYertaken by his father and compelled to
abandon his pioas design. The fourteen years
of his priesthood in France were spent at Fer
ney, Voltaire's home. The presence of the in
| fdel philosopher had almost banished Christian
| faith from the population. Joseph Cretin be-
came the apostle of Ferney and made religion TO
| flourish anew. He established there a college
which to-day takes rank among the foremost in
| stitutions of France. Ferney since the days of
J mis- ministry is known for its deep
religious spirit. He recognized u
leader among the clergy OF his native diocese
and whatever advantages and honors a priest
might ambition were open TO him. But advan-
tages and honors he desired not-but one thought
possessed his soul, 10 labor for Gods glory, and
when in 1895 Bishop Loras. of Dubuque, arrived
in France TO find missionaries for the northwest,
Father Cretin at once resolved to accompany
him. Lest flesh and blood might interfere, he
fled from his parish during night, saw neither
parents nor friends, ana TO the valley of the
Mississippi with five other clergymen, the sole
survivor of whom is with this morning doing
honor to his remains. For twelve years he
labored in Dubuque, in PIarie-du-C Chen, and
among the Winnebago Indians with the ZEAL the
disinterestedness, the self sacrifice which always
characterized his life. The second day of July,
1851, he landed in st. Paul, the first bishop of
this diocese, and what lie was among us until his
death in 1857 you all know.
Bishop Cretin' passion a love for God.
This was manifest from his sermons, his daily
conversation, his frequent prayer. This divine
love gave tone to his entire life a christian
and bishop He pTactised earnestly and .cOntin-
uously the virtues which should endear him to his
Savior and make him follower of this great
model. Humility, meekness and self denial were
his choice virtues. AS a bishop he was distin-
guished for burning zeal which was always tenn
! the diocese of st. Paul with fondness that be-
| tokened the tenderness of mother for its first
| born. How he labored, and wrote, and talked
and planned for the development of the diocese
| lie built the cathedral, the hospital, opened
schools, invited hither communities of nuns, es-
tablished societies. He was often in st. Paul
without priest to assist him. The poor and the
| infrm found him often at their door. He was
unceasing in preaching the word of God The
| people were poor, the country new, and many of
! the bishops plans were beyond his power of
| realizing them, They remembered, however,
as showing his wide range of mind, his judicious
forecast of the future. AS he intended to do,
| so we to-day may do. He had unbounded conf
! dence in the future of Minnesota and of the do
cese of st. Paul, and he worked in view of this
! great future; he sowed and we reap.
! What a happiness for us to-day to look ba ok
toward the early history of our diocese and see
| in its founder 4 saint, worthy follower and i'm
itator of him in whose honor it has been named.
From heaven, we may be confident, he looks
down upon US, gathered around his mortal re-
mains, and in his love for US he prays for US be-
! fore the throne of grace. May his life be ever
lesson to his successors, TO the priests and the
| people of Minnesota.
But, my Christian friends, my words this
morning would not please our venerable bishop
were they merely words OF eulogy for him.
must tell you the practical lesson which the Ger
| emony teaches us, which he from the coffin by
my side, and your friends and relatives from their
| graves hard by, repeat to 1t is this-live for
God, that you may live with God beyond the
| grave. 1t is a salutary act to withdraw from the
sin and excitement of the world into this city of
the dead. Here we may estimate at their true
value wealth, honor, pleasure. What, we may ask,
| are the treasures, the prizes of earth? What
| becomes of them after the brief days that we may
| enjoy them? Ask the aGtumnal winds what be-
| comes of the leaves that during summer beauti-
fed the trees of the forest? Ask the frosts of
| winter what of the roses that shed fragrance in
springtime over the lawn? All these things last
for a day and disappear. The visible, the tangi-
| bic upon earth does not remain, it is not truly
| real. We live and move amid fitting shadows
! pursuing dreams and Illusions The only real
| is God and the life with God, and this if we de-
| sire happiness we must seek. While living on
| earth let US work and plan for our welfare on
| earth and that of our fellow men-this is COM
manded to us. But let us dc it without forfeit
| ing our right to heaven. To gain heavenly life
on earth is Gods will, and this only is wisdom,
this only is happiness. Life without the faith
in the invisible, without the hope of heaven is
vanity, and illusion. All its promises
break, all its pleasures cease all
! its attractions vanish at the gateway
| of the cemetery. The grave, this is all that re-
mains of the world. Think, then, lightly of it.
Mans hope is in the cross which in the Chris
tian cemetery tops every tombstone and which
points to another life, guaranteed by Christs
words, earned by his blood, and which awaits all
if we but follow out in daily lives its inspra
| ton.
DEPosITTNG THE REMAINS.
At the conclusion of the address the re
| mains of RishOn Cretin were t]eDosited in the