St. Paul daily globe., 1894-06-25
LESSON on SEIF-0EHIAl.
ST. JOHN TYE BAPTIST HELD UP rs
the MODEL. 49,
ASNIvHRsARx OF THE sAIxrs
DR.. Hefrron breaches = strea97
and Practical Sermon at af1e
Cathedral ON Temperance
Dweiis Upon selfDenial. One
of the Most important OF Hnns
man Attachments. s.ssf

SslElS
Yesterday morning DR.. Heffrone de-
livered a sermon at the Cathedral Oh
the virtue Of temperance. and the feast
OF st. John the Baptist. Yesterday was
the ST Johns Day and the sermon WAS
/ pertinent TO the event. Following il an
abstract of the sermon: tdos
We celebrate this season of the 1eaFe
the nativity. Of st. John the Baptist. st.
John the Baptist was the prOcurserof
our bfessed Lord Himself. 1t wass8t.-
John the Baptist who called as voice
out in the desert, Prepare We the way
Of the Lord and make straight His
paths" St. John the Baptist was re-
mar kabte Tor his manly virtue; lie was
remarkable for hiss5rength of character,
1 and II we may single out one OF the
causes which to the eyes Of man was
the most productive in bringing about
this strength Of character, we shall
name the virtue of self denial. -,
- Christ. the Redeemer, chose ST. John
to be HIS precursor; chose him to 60
'f0fthaRiId announce to the people the
Gaming of The Redeemer; and among
] all thesvfrtues that he possessed. tie
most eminent was that Of self.denial 4
What is the meaning of virtue? Does
virtue mean a passive state of Oue's
mind,a fixed, all invariable. rule in ones
i'conddct?i Does virtue mean compla-
eency2 Does virtue mean the exterior
graceS and attractions which we often
observe sadorning the persons of those
about us? Virtue, my brethren, means
all those only In its effects. 1t means
/ all those only in secondary meaning
attributed to the word. Virtue means
strength; virtue means manliness aud
wonranliness: virtue means manhood
and wonlanhoed.
st. John the Baptist sent some of his
dlsci pies to our blessed Lord to ask II
He was indeed the Messiah who was To
come, or ii He was Elias, or whether
they might expect yet another one.
: Christ sent back word Of all the works
He had done, and He asked those vito
went forth into the desert where st.
John baptized: Ibid you go out" says
He, ITO see reed shaken by the wild?
Did you go into the desert to see nlaI
clothed III soft garments? Behold. these
who are clothed in soft garments are to
be found in the houses of klngs.'
st. John. was in the desert. What
hen was the secret of the
treHgth of character eX hibited by
st. John the Baptist. 1t was self-denial.;
and it is related. if | mistake not, i'll
'"osJ 0StfPSnkVstAtte dtuOuS Gi0oC tAta&o
which st. John denied himself was
wine. st. John did not drink wiIre..
The use Of wine ill the times OF ST.
John had a different meaning than in
our day. Wine in those days was as;f
sumed almost necessary OF life; now
1t Is more or less OF luxury, and yet
ST. John DID not drink wine. Hex;
therefore, was all exemplar of temper!
ance; he was Il riouei to the Christian
man. This virtue is one that ought 10
be lauded most heartily in our day.
l ask W0nlell, are you sad. and do you
not weep for people who are en=
shaved by inTemperanee? And ask Of,
men. what has been your experience II
you have been the victims yourselves;
ii you lave been wrecked in business; :;
il you have been cursed with drunk :
ard for son? How can father say
that he is not IN favor Of temperance,
and an enemy to intemperance? F
shall not be unreasonable. i know as
well as you can tell me- theresis iiu
harm in taking a glass of beer Or swine..
and know as well as you can tell NE;
that 1t is no Sill; then ffany Will say.
'.Wny not give me liberty? take what I
wish, and when L feel that / have
enough | let it alene. II you are pos,
sessed OF that self-controI. you are, ill.,.
uCCus AOItuuAtc. UUbi d0 -10L InERe1, L
pray you. that there is something else
asked of sensible Christians. We must
not only consider ourselves, but must
consider the evil of example. Ii father
drinks moderately. why mot the son?
1t father frequents saloons and gam
! bling houses, tnen why cannot the son
do likewise. My brethren. do not mis-
take my meaning III this respect; we.
must work; it is not enough for us 10
profess that we love our blessed Lord;
we must be willing TO labor for the.
virtue which He has recognized.
My brethren. we nfust not forget this
Simple lesson; we must control our
selves; we must be active in the practice
of self denial. Today. on the occasion
of the celebration Of the feast of St.
John the Baptist. while we admire the
great privilege which was his, to be the
precursor OF Christ; while we admire
The praise bestowed upon him by the
Redeemer Himself, while we admire
all the virtues of his character, let MS
not forget to select enc of them and
initiate 1t, and recommend to you the
one Of self denial, this great virtue. the
virtue Of temperance. q