The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-02-16
BISHOP KAlA's LECTURg.
A Full House Grssts the bishops First
Effort Of This Season.

BISHOP KAIAS LECTURE.
. A Full House GFests the DIshop'S FRI
Effort Of This Season.
The first OF this series Of lenten lee
, lures was delivered last evening in ST
JoSeph's Cathedral. and was attentivsl,
listened to by a very large audience
The subject, "The Rites and Ceremonies
Of the Catholic Church" was selected BY
the Rt. Rev. Bishop for the instruction
Of both his own people and OF others
who may take an interest in religious
ceremonies. List evening the Bishop
dwelt mainly on the necessity and law
fulness Of ceremonies In the public w0r.
ship OF God, contendiug In the first place
that these cannot be entirely eliminated
from divine services, and secondly, that
barrenness OF ceremonial observances is
no guarantee OF pnrer christianity.
He called attention to the fact that In
every class Of society, IS in every pro.
fession, there are rules OF propriety, q
code Of ceremonial obserVances, that had
to be regarded "a Of hiuding obligation.
Though purely conventional, these for.
malities could not be altogether abfo.
gated, although, they might be modified
by circumstances. So, too, in assemblies
where men gather for the public worship
Of God. Some kind OF religious cere-
mony Is absolutely necessary, and no M.
ton has ever dispensed with them in
their religious meetings.
Every rational man feels that he owes
10 God the homage OF his body as well
as Of his soul, and this homage implies
external forms or ceremonies. Men
may reduce these formalities in number
aud denude them OF all that ia grand and
imposing. and still adhere as tenacious-
ly 10 few simple ceremonies as Ritual
lists OF the most pronounced type do 10
their more numerous and complicated
ones. The principle underlying both
the one and the other Is the same. The
Bishop referred in illustration Of this
statement to the Quakers, whose severe
amounts to decided Journalism.
Admitting, as we must, the imperative
necessity Of using ceremonies Of some
sort in public worship, we naturally ask,
said the Bishop, why 1t is that so many
persons coptound meagfeness and bar.
renness Of church ceremonial with
greater purity and deeper spirituality OF
worship. They seem TO regard 1t as q
first principle that ceremonial observ.
ances, especially as these are numerous
or imposing In beauty or grandeur, are
with heart worship.
Hence the contrast so often drawn be.
tween the spiritual character Of Protest
ant worship and the outward forms
observed in the Catholic church. Is
then the spirituality OF our worship TO
be measured by the absence Of religious
The holy men OF old
knew no such test. It is not the test
given us by God Himself In the order ol
worship which He was pleased to di.
rectIy establish for the Jewish people.
It does not seem to be the test by
which to gauge the heavenly worship as
witnessed by st. John and seconded by
him in his Book OF Revelations. Grant.
isg that the ceremonial prescriptions OF
Lsviticus are no longer binding, We are
surely justified in concluding that prac.
tices sanctioned-nay, ordained-by God
Himself to be used in his worship, can
not be OF their own nature hindranCe
10 the purest and holiest sentiments to.
ward the Deity.
Those who hold the contrary opinion
are fond OF quoting in their favor the
words spoken by our Lord to the Samar.
itan woman at jacobs well. But the
Savior's words cannot be twisted into
any such signifcation. 1t might, 10.
deed, seem to follow from those words
that, under the New Dispensation, tenn
Piles as places OF worship would be abol-
ished; but our Lord says absolutely
nothing about the abolition Of rites and
in the worship Of His Father,
or OF their inCompatibility with aGora.
tion in spirit aud truth. In his refuta.
tion Of the common error upon this
point the Bishop entered into some
lengthy details.
In the Christian church, he continued,
thers is no need OF an inspired code Of
ritual observances like that contained in
Leyiticus. In proof OF this position he
argued that the Christian religion was to
be universal, not local and national like
the former dEspensation-hence, there
should be more elasticity in adapting
ceremonies to suit the various nations
Of the earth. Again: In the Jewish
many Of the prescribed rites
were not only symbolical, but truly
prophetical; and no prophesy can be
made save under special inspiration;
all the sacred truths symbol.
lied in the ceremonies Of the Christian
church had been already revealed, For
the institution of such mystic rites, in.
spiration was not required, since the
promised presence and guidance OF Gods
spirit in the church were all.suHlcient
for that pupose.
"The use and advantage Of ritual OBJ.
will form the subject OF the
second lecture Of this course, TO be given
at 3 p. m. next Sunday.