The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-02-26
Three SERMONS ON Sin
Preached at the Mission Services at
the Cathedral Yesterday.
WINNING SOULS BACK TO GOD
Father BuchOlz Spoke in the Evening
and Took His Text from the Lamcnta.
tiOns of the Prophet jeremiah
sion Is Doing Much Good.

The mission in progress at the cathe-
dral will prove "a noble blessing to the
congregation If the attention and devo-
tion already noticeable is standard
to judge from. At o'clock mass the
church was filled to the doors yester-
day morning, and at all the other ser
vices of the day the eagerness of the
parishioners to benefit from the instruc-
tions of those Jealous fathers, must
ill the hearts of the latter with a rev.
erend joy.
Father DeHaza celebrated the :
O'Clock mass and delivered a short. bril-
liant sermon on sin. He pictured the
awful punishment that the Creator
visits upon the unrepenting sinner, The
s o'clock mass was read by Father Neu-
mueller, who spoke on the text, What
does 1t profit man to gain the whole
world and suffer the loss of his inn
mortal soul?" This quotation from the
writings of st. Paul was made the basis
of beautiful exhortaton for all to
serve God and be happy in his presence
forever in the Kingdom of Heaven. The
power with which Father Neumueller
depicted the wrath of God visibly af-
fected all present.
Father Bucholz preached the evening
sermon from the text, Know ye and
understand it that it is evil and bitter
to have abandoned the Lord your God"
jeremiah 2. Xviii. The sermon dealt
with the punishment of sin.
The Fate OF Lucifer.
Father Bucholz spoke first of the hap
piness of the angels in heaven. adoring
God, supremely blessed. The tempter
came among them, because God willed
it 50 to test their fidelity. Around Lu-
cifer, who was one of the brightest
stars, gathered a host of celestial spirits
who wanted to elevate his equal to
God. Pride entered Lucifer's heart,
and an angry God in an instant created
hell, opened the portals of heaven and
dashed to everlasting perdition the
once luminous Lucifer and all his fol-
lowers. That was the first instance of
Gods punishment of sin. The speaker
drew a parallel of the conditions of
the fallen angels before and after their
/ fall; described the torments which they
are now suffering, and how God allows
them the power to come upon earth
and tempt man.
God created Adam and Eve, our first
| parents, and placed them in the Gar.
| den of Eden, place so beautiful that
| almost next to heaven, it is impossible
| for the mind to conceive or the eye to
| behold its magnificence. Adam and
| Eve We're promised everlasting life; but
| they ate of the forbidden fruit and
| sinned against God. The penalty in
| ficted was Punishment from the gar
| den. and doomed to wander the earth
and earn their bread by the sweat of
their brow, and become weak mortals
| subject to death The same ban was
placed upon all their posterity. That
was Gods second punishment of sin.
Wrath of God Visited Man.
Once more. when the tribes of Adam
had spread over the earth, and when
they had grown sinful and no longer
needed the Master flood of water
swallowed up the earth and every liv-
ing thing perished except Noah and his
ark. This was the third awful punish
ment of sin.
In these three lessons man must
learn that the same God still exists and
will continue to punish sin as long as
sin exists Father Bucholz branched
out into practical talk on the common
and prevalent sins, what leads to them
and how they can be avoided. After
dwelling for time on these ideas, the
speaker turned toward a different
phase of the punishment of sin which
substantially was this; that no man
who is in sin can be at peace with his
conscience or with his fellow man.
There is a social punishment for sin.
The Mercy of God.
In concluding his sermon Father
Bucholz expatiated on the mercy of
God. Many men lead sinful lives and
daily offend Him; but yet God does not
strike them with His vengeance. be-
cause in His mercy He let's them live,
expecting them to return to Him.
Man is a free moral agent and is
| given the choice between heaven and
he'll. God loves man, created him after
His own image and likeness, and desires
| that he shall be happy forever. Whose
ever refuses mercy deserves the wrath
| of God.
The 3 o'clock mass was read By
| Father Neumueller.