The herald., 1895-09-02
Feast Of Saint Vibiana at the
Cathedral
FATHER RM'AULIFFE'S SERMO,
BRO. Bradley on Th. Power Of Faith
at UniversaIist Church
Work In China at Y. M. c. A. Audi
tor.um-Y. W. G. A. Meeting

q,
tAe patron saint of the cathedral, and the
services were in consequence more elapor
ate and solemn tnan usual.
The altar in the sacred edifice had been
most elaborately decorated with beautiful
flowers by Miss Callahan and some as
sistants. Rt. Rev. Bishop Francis Mora
was in the sanctuary, and Bishop Mont.
gomsry celebrated the pontifcal high
mass. Father McAuliffe acted as assist.
ant priest and preached the sermon;
Father Cote was master of ceremonies
Father Doyle the deacon, and Father
Farrelly the sub-deacon. Professor A. J..
Stamm is now organist at the cathedral
and directs the new choir. and the music
was very fine, especially in Haydn's im-
perIal mass.
Esthe. McAnMffa took for his teat /:
''They sung, as it were. a new canticle.
They are virgins. These follow the Lam b
" hit hersoever He goeth. ."-Apoc. xiv:
nd A. In the sermon that followed he
made some strong points for chastity and
tcuchingly reviewed ST. Vibiana's life.
In substance be said:
: These words of the evangelist remind
us or the saint whose memory we cele-
brate today. For if it be the privilege of
virgins to follow Christ in His eternal
kingdom may we not believe that the
patfoness OF this church occupies an ex
Alted position among those favored souls.
especially since to the bright crown o
virginity is added the palm of martyr
dom, for st. Vibiana is venerated under
the tvo-fold title OF virgin and martyr.
In our devotions to st. Vibiana do we al
ways realize or understand the meaning
of those words, virgin and martyr? l put
the question thus because we all know
that in the use of language few under
stand the precise meaning of words. But
it is not so with the church; she is exact
in the use of terms. Thus. she defines
an apostle to be one sent forth to execute
some important mission; specifically one
of the twelve apostles of Christ sent to
preach the gospel. Again, bishop signi-
fies an cverseer; a spiritual superin tend
ent or director. You were as sheep
going astray, but are now returned unto
the shepherd and bishop of your souls. :"
II st. Peter: J, 25.
But to return to our saint, that mar
tyred virgin whom we invoke today as
our patroness. We honor her as virgin
that is, as one who has preserved her
chastity unsullied, or who has had no
knowledge OF man. The virtue of perpet-
ual virginity is a virtue o. the new law
inculcaJed by Jesus Christ, and ennobled
It is true that virginlty was not without
honor in Israel. God loved the prayers of
pure virgins. and it was a virgin and not
queen he selected to bring about the
redemption of the human race. ''No
price" says the sacred scripture. "is
worthy of chaste SOUL" The more man
reetrains his animal passions the m ore
ne becomes like to his Master and his
God. Christ might have appeared on
earth as full grown man, and so entered
upon his office of preacher. but he pre-
ferred to postpone the work of redemp-
tion and assume the form of an infant,
only that he might be the son OF a virgin.
The words and actions of the blessed
Virgin when The archangels saluted her
clearly show how highly she esteem ed
virginlty. She was frightened at his
greeting her as BLESSED among women"
because she would rather nave been bless
ed among virgins. How precious in the
sight of God is this virue! But st.
Vibiana was mora than virgin; she was
also martyr. We speak of a person who
suffers from any disease, or from any set
of adverse circumstances as a martyr to
that disease or TO those circums stances. A
man who sacrifices what is most dear to
him for any principle is said to be a
martyr to that principle, but when one
sheds his blood for any cause, he is a
martyr in the true sense of the word.
Hence Christian martyr is one who by
his death bears witness TO the truth of
the Gospel of Christ. How bright. then,
must be the crown which adorns the brow
of Vibiana, seeing that in it a:e set the
two precious gems Of virglnity and
martyrdom.
OF the life and death of St.Vibana very
little is known, except what.can be learned
from the inscription on the slab which
inclosed her tomb and from the mblems
of martyrdom which were found in and
IL .11 1o,.l.- +l.k A.
grave was that of Christian martyr.
Therefore. after most searching inves-
tigation by the ecclesiastical authorities,
the body of st. Vibiana was solemnly ex-
posed for public veneration in 1854, the
year after its discovery.
Many bishops sought to get possession
OF these precious relics, but they were be-
slowed by Plus TX of glorious memory,
on the late Bishop Amat, who had them
brought to California and subsequently
enshrIned in this cathedral. Thus by the
authority of the Holy See, st. Vibiana
was proclaimed patroness of tins diocese.
From what we have seen of the dignity
OF virginity and martyrdom, and how
precious these virtues are in the sight of
God, we may justly conclude that her
influence Is great for all, and a all times
but especially for the mem bers OF this
congregation. For in the dispensation OF
God ssprovidence she has been chosen to
protect and to advance the spiritual well
fare of the faithful of this parish and
diocese. Nothing happens by accident.
We cannot fail to recognize the finger oi
God in the mysterious cbain of events
which brought about the discovery of the
remains of this Christian maiden,
martyrsd to the faith of Christ, and con.
cealed in the bowels of the earth upwards
of fifteen centuries ago.
Let us then pray to st. Vibiana with
confidence at all times, but especially to.
day. Let us say to her, "Oh, Kind and
glorious patroness, we have recourse to
thee in all our needs, but especially to.
day. Do not abandon us. We know that