The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-02-20


as the daughter of the Church of Eng
land I determined to become an Episco
palian. This church claimed to have
Apostolic Succession. It hailed to its
standard the maxim "Primitive Truth
and Apostolic Order It proclaimed its
belief in the words of the Catholic Creeds
and Liturgical forms Of worship handed
down through successive generations
from the days of the Apostles.
I felt fully satisfied and after going
through the literary and theological
training required of candidates for Holy
Orders I was ordained priest of the
Protestant Episcopal Church. After
some years study of Sacred Scriptures
and ancient authors, especially the Early
Fathers cf the Christian Church I found
great difficulty in attempting to harmon
ize Professionalism with what these au-
thorities taught as tie doctrines of
Christianity.
On the question of the ministry was
quite certain that the Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists and others known
as Protestants were in error, while I be-
lieved that the Anglican Church and her
American daughter, the Episcopal
Church had retained the primitive truth
of Apostolic Succession. On the ques-
tion of Baptism I found the various
churches of Professionalism administering
this Sacrament as mere ceremony. not
in any way essential to salvation, while
the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers and
the Anglican theologians teach clearly
that Baptism is sacramental means of
regeneration and of admission into the
fold Of Chrjst's Kingdom. On the ques-
tion of the Holy Eucharist [ found the
different denominations of Professionalism
denying most vigorously the presence
of Christ in the Sacrament, regarding it
merely as a memorial OF our Lords suf-
ferlngs and death, while the Sacred
Scriptures, the Fathers and theologians
of Anglicanism teach definitely the Real
Presence OF Christ's Body and Blood un-
der the sacramental wells of bread and
wine. s4
Reason, as well as faith, teaches that
the Christian Church is undeniably one.
Faith says: II believe i'll ona Catholic
| Chnrch." Reason tells lis that oneness
cannot be divided, therefore, the Church
Of Christ is one. AS truth is one and
cannot admit of conflicting or contradic~
tory interpretations, reason of it, elf
can sufficiently conceive that unity must,
as an essential quality, attach to the
Church Of God, for if it could be divided
it would cease to be one: it would cease
to be 'ths pillar and ground of truth
| The visible unity of the Church of
Christ is clearly taught in the Sacred
Scriptures, and is the theme of all
Christian antiquity. But, not to weary
you with quotations, Ishall consider only
one very impressive and conclusive proof.
| We behold our divine Lord in the midst
Of his apostles, their hearts still burning
with the first participation of His body.
1t is the eve of His passion. Raising Ills
eyes to heaven, be prouounces that sub
lime invocation recorded by st. John in
these words: ''Holy Father keep them IN
Thy name whom Thou hast given Me,
that they may be one as we also are"
Thus Christ prayed for His apostles.
Continuing, He prayed for all Chri ,tians
in a. ter ages. "And not for these the
apostles do 1 pray, but for those
also who through their word shall be-
lieve in Me, that they all may beone AZ
Thou Father art in Me, and in Thee,
that they also may be one in us, that the
world may believe that Thou hast sent
Me" Here find that the special mark
which our Lord gives Of the divine mis-
| sion of His Church is the visible unity of
His disciples. AS He, Himself, by His
visible presence, was the manifestation
Of God to the world, and by His words
and by His miracles proved His oneness
in divine nature with the Father so the
ViSsDIe, uAkCu VI LILO NA5Cl S1OS lis OuS'
tical body was to be the perpetual man
ifestations of his oneness with the Father
OF his divine mission and of the divine
mission of His Church Again. Christ
prays that all who believe in Him may
be one as He and the Father are one,
and, the more to arrest attention, incul-
Gates the reason Of His prayer by the
emphasis of repetition, ';that the world
may believe that Thou has sent Me-
| This unity was to be mark to the world,
therefore it must be visible It was to
extend as such to all believers, and there
fore it must not only be visible but it
must be permanent. It must be an out
| ward as we'll as an inward unity, or it
would not be visible. 1t must be an in
ward as we'll as an outward unity, or it
would not be real. The unity Of the
aod-head il both It's model and it's
& IL 49, - 4 3 4