The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-07-17
REV. FATHER JAMES M. CLEARY.
Sermon Delivered by DR.. Degnan,
of New Richmond, Wis.
DIGNITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD.
Splendid Pulpit Disco lr5e on a
Memorable Occasion.

At ST. Charlie; church las, Sunday tho
following eloquent discourse was deliv
cred from the ralpi by Rev Or. Deg
nan, of New Richmond. Mis-. ON the
occasion of the splcnn celebration OF
Father Clcnry's silver jubilee, Il full
account of which is given rsewher.
In this issu" OF the Irish Standard.
Taking for his text the words from
ST. John 2o-2l: AS the Father Hath
Sent Me. also Send You" Dr. Dcgnan
said:
When We study the designs of Divine
Provid"nre and compare them with The
plans of men. we find that the former
are as far above the latter ;ls the :.ul
outshineS the stats or as the works of
nature sulpaSs those of art The
works of art. at first view. may appear
polished and beautiful; hu, when ;hay
are closely inspected their fines, work.
manship is found to be marrcd and
blemishrh
whereas the works of nature, no mat
ter how rough or detective they appear,
when they are intimately scrutinized
reveal perfect construction and an
inimitable beauty. In the same manner
the systems of worldly policy. which at
first, seem plausible and profound they
soon betray, in their progress. the mar.
rOwness OF the human understanding;
while all the disrHnsa,ions OF Divine
Providence. the more they are studied
the more they manifest Il wonderful
harmony, symmetry and unity. and tn,
more rcsplrndrntly they reflect the
goodness. the beauty and the wisdom
of the Creator
The great mystery of the Inrarna-
tion he fac: than, the Son IF God bc-
came man WAS IL stumbling block tt
the Jews and fuolishnrss to the Gen
tiles Ii contradiclrd their every Idea
of religion and philosophy It a media
tor was to in,rrpOs" for tn" restoration
Of fallen man. they concluded that he
must certainly appear in IL heavenly
panupIy. But "ihr thoughts of God ar,
not as the thoughts of men The divine
wisdom saw fit that the Saviour of man
kind should be made like unto those
whom He came to save" BY living us
Il man among mrn. in The most winning
manner, He dispensed tll,sr truths and
principles. suited to every condition OF
man. and which shall las; for all limo.
And in that nature which had offended
lie offered Il solemn and complete sat
isfartiOn to God for human guilt Yes
the WORD made flesh" who in the. be-
ginning was with God and was God
who was the beauty. the truth and the
goodness of God. in time Wa, made man
that all men might know and love tho
beauty, tn" truth and the goodness of
the Creator. He came ON earth, not
merely to save ana redeem fallen man
but also to eslabifh a sacrifice. a wor.
ship. Il religion that would be worthy
OF God and o! man. And the ronlinua.
tiOn of that same mission, which He
received from His heavenly Father, He
conferred upon His chosen priesthood
when He said: "As the Father hath
sent me, also send you" The priest
then, is the amba ,sHdu.' of God, the
vice-g -gerent of Christ The power OF
Christ is in his lips; the law OF
Christ upon his lips: the seal of Christ
upon his forehrad: aud the mission Of
Christ cngravcn upon his heart and
stamped upon his soul. "Al power is
given to Me in heaven and on earth'
said Jesus Christ to his apostles AS
the Father hath srni Ne, | also send
you lie thai he rs you, hears Me-
My power ! give to You, my authority
! transmit to you. for the fufillment
and pcrprtnation of that same mission
assigned Me by My Father; for the oiler-
ing to My eternal F..:hcr of tina: wor-
ship, that sacrifice, which accomplishe.
My mission upon earth. and which
will be continued before My Fathers
; throne in heaven until time shall be nc
| more.
On the night before Jesus Chris, as
cended the altar of the cross, He pre-
pared His apostles iOr their life work
the salvation O souls, the continuation
of His mission on earth. He invested
them with His owns piri. and life He
nOuriShed them with His own body aud
blood. This is my i,otly. take We anG
eat. This is my blood. take ye anG
drink. He that eatcth MY flesh and
drinketh my blood. abideth in me and
in him" He wished to remain united
to them that He himself might he
flesh of their flesh, and life of their
| life, that they might be sharers Of His
Sonship, partakers of His newborn