The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-07-22
ARCHBISHOP RYAN SPOKE.
Sermon Before the Summer school at
Plattsburg. N. ".

Sermon Before the Summer SchOoi at
Plattsburg, N. ".
PLATTSBURG, n. v, July H.-St. Johns
Church was crowded to the doors to-day.
The sermon was delivered by Rt. Rev. p. j.
Ryan. archbishop of Philadelphia. and
every member of the Catholic Summer
School was present. Archbishop Ryan
said in part:
whilst praising highly the truths Of the
natural order and realizing that knowledge
is power and that the more luminous and
enlarged the intellect becomes the more
it resembles it's divine original, the om-
niscent God. you should forget not the still
greater truths revealed by that God con-
corning His own nature and our relations
to Him. He is the fountain of all truth,
natural and supernatural Science reveals
truth, but God is truth itself. 1t is my
place to speak to you of the institution OF
the church, which was to preserve all the
revelations, primitive and Jewish, and to
proclaim the newer and greater ones made
manifest by Jesus ChruSt himself, and TO be
the kingdom of God on earth. prophesied by
Daniel. There are important analogies be-
tween the Jewish and Christian churches.
which enable US to understand more perfect
ly the latter. The Jewish Church was no
mere human institution, no mere fortuitous
collection of men who might happen to
agree in their Interpretation of certain
truths of revelation. No. IL was a living
organism, with a divinely constituted head,
who was the representative of God on this
earth-namely the Jewish high priest, who
spoke with authority. But the same power
that established it declared that it's mis-
sions and functions were to be but tenn
porary. The very date of their termination
was fixed by. Almighty God. and declared
by the prophet Daniel. This termination
took place only when Christ had proved
that he was the Messiah and the Great
High Priest of the new law: The Jewish
Church was succeeded by Christ himself
a c a W nj md rf1lo
Archbishop Ryan then developed the ma
ture and mission of the church as the
kingdom of God on earth, as foretold in
prophecies. described in parallels and open
ly announced by our divine Lord He dwelt
especially on the great mark which Christ
himself gave OF the divinity of his mission;
when De prayed that his followers might be
said, the most striking evidence of the di-
vine character Of Christ and of His church.
He continued to develop his subject Of the
institution Of the church and its character
as q kingdom, and closed his sermon thus:
Now this great institution founded by
Christ and blessed with such marvellous
| unity and stability is precisely what is need
religious unity to many divers denomina-
tions and permanent stability to the State
itself. Let US, then, go forth from this
summer school with increased knowledge
| both sacred and profane, but above all
things with profound conviction that we
| have in the institution of the church what
| the age and Nation require. And let us
| influence of that institution in governing
and sanctifying the individual and there
| fore with q power to influence the whole
Nation for God, and thus preserve It."