The Irish standard., 1897-11-20
THE WORSHIP OF SAINTS.
Father Cleary's Discourse ut st.
Charles Church,


night. The church was we'll filled with
an intelligent and attentive audience.
The following is brief sketch Of his
| timely discourse: Catholics" he said,
"are severely criticised because of the
honor and veneration given so gener-
ously to the saints Of God. We are &C.
cused OF neglecting to give God the
worship that belongs to him, and Of
giving the same to his creatures. Cath
olics are taught from their most tender
years, that it is crime of disloyalty,
OF high treason, against the sovereign
Lord Of heaven and earth to presume to
offer to any creature, no matter how
exalted, the supreme worship that is
due to God alone God alone we adore.
To God alone sacrifice Is offered, in
recognition of his supreme dominion
over all created things. God alone is
the giver of life, the dispenser of tenn
poral fayors and spiritual graces to men.
No religious society that has ever ap-
peared in the world has been more So
licitous than is the Catholic church
about giving to God the worship that
belongs to him from his reasoning
creatures.
Among all the Christian denomina-
lions the Catholic church is the only one
that makes a practical, earnest effort
to protect the rights of God to the
alteration, and public worship of his
intelligent creatures here on earth. The
Catholic church, by plain and positive
precept, binds its members, by virtue
of the authority it has received from
Christ, under pain of mortal sin to
assist at public, sacred worship of God
on every Sunday and holy day of obli-
cation. No non-Catholic religious de-.
nomination pretends to have any au-
thority to defend the rights Of God to
the public alteration and homage Of his
intelligent creatures. The Catholic
church has been most faithful to it's
solemn duty of securing as far as it
lies in its power, for our Creator and
sovereign Lord the public alteration and
Why will men not understand that
1t is perfectly proper to give to Gods
friends the relative and inferior hon.
age that belongs to them because If
their having won his amending friend
ship, as reward of holiness and virtuc?
We venerate the name and the memory
of the saints Of God, because they are
deserving of our affection and reverence,
on account of their heroic victory over
passion, sin and every evil. No man is
as great hero as he who conquers pas
sion and sin. No sane man can find
any reasonable objection'to giving honor
to whom honor is due.
Catholics are much less in danger Of
giving undeserved honor to men, when
they venerate the names and the men,
DRY of their saints than people are when
they give public honor to statesmen and
warriors. The Catholic church is most
careful and conservative in making I'D
the calendar of her saints. 1t is an
idle delusion to fancy that the stand
ards of holiness change in the Catholic
church. Her canonized saints are The
heroic men and women, who in every
age, have fully realized tho gospel pre-
cepts and evangelical counsels.
No people In the world are greater
relic hunters than the people of this
country. Our national museum at WASH
ington Is standing evidence of our
national instinct to treasure ,lp tho rel
les Of our statesmen and heroes. We
nave nothing of great antiquity. as we
are but in the infancy of nationhood.
But with affectionate reverence we ore
serve the relics Of Washington, of JEFF
| ferson, Of the slgners OF the declaration
| of independence, Of Lincoln and the
| great generals of our civil war. All
men know that we do not preserve
these things at great expense to the
| nation, because OF their intrinsic value,
but because Of their relation to the emil
nent men whose memories we feel it a
duty to revere. So also the Catholic
church, responsive to tho natural i'm
pulses Of the human heart, honors the
relics of saints, as they are memorials
of religions heroes.
Non Catholics, however, censurc us
most severely of all for invoking the
| prayers of the saints. They contend
that we should pray to God alone, him
only should we beseech for any favor,
| to invoke the prayers of the saints, 1t
| is claimed, is all Implied distrust of
| Gods goodness and mercfu Kindness.
Jesus Christ is the only mediator, they
claim. between God and men. to ac-
i knowledge any other is to insult our
| only Savior, Christ Jesus.
No Christians in the world understand
| as clearly as Catholics understand that
| Jesus Christ is the only mediator OF
atonement between Goo, and man. No
| Christians are so carefully Instructed
as Catholics are about the meaning OF
che atonement Of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. But the atoning mediator
ship of Christ does mot exclude the me-
diation by intercession Of the saints. In
the same spirit ms which we ask the
help of the prayers of our friends here