The San Francisco call., 1898-03-31
WORM THAT
 DIETH NOT Y" Father Yorke Portrays the Remorse of
 Conscience.
The Fundamental Truths That UnderIie Religion Vividly
 Presented.
St. Mary's Cathedral Was Crowded With a Vast Assenblage
 to Hear the Lecture

"The Worm That Dieth Not' was the title of Father Yorke's sermon delivered last evening in St. Mary's Cathedral on Van Ness avenue, and under this caption the eminent divine developed in master ly style the argument of the remorse or conscience. The cathedral was hlled to its utmost capacity. Every seat was oc- cunied while the aisles were also crowded.
 Following the brief devotional exercises Father Yorke aScended the pulpit and in substance spoke as follows:
 We have entered upon this mission in order 4o give ourselves time to think. It Is hard TOT us to put aside even for brief space Of time inc trfies that make up our lives and to bring our minds to dwell upon the truths that under lie relirfon IT is never a pleasant occupation to collect our wondering thoughts. The mind is greatly distracted by the reading Of the modern prints that are illed with gossip sean sean dals foolish alarms and lies without end Thus lose the power to think for ourselves, put It is necessary that we should give ourseNes to to serious thought matter how unpleasant IL may be. The problem does not aHect our neighbors. 1t affects us .,
 We stand alone before God and by our own hearts shall be justified or condemned me point from which We start Is the truth that God has given us something to Go- He Is great in his generosity to us and his one purpose Is to save our souls. We see upon our right anQ left hands his warnings and his mercleS. 1et despite them we free to fail or succeed It would be a relief to blot out the word fail ure from our minds The thought that flesh and blood may fail is hard one. God is good. | He will not ask Of us forever. He died bring us to himself If we would know how good he is we have only to read the life of his told and yet it is not finished. There was no form of suffering that he did not alleviate, no 10 cali the just but sinners to repentance.
 Yet he has taught that there Is a bound spite all that he has done and would do there are some who must fail The ten foolish vir- eii ciamored to obtain entrance after the bridegroom had closed the door. Theirs was bring us closer to himself if it need be only to cast out. for broader and broader does he make the conditions of salvation only in order to show us that failure is possible
 The king that made a marriage for his son and then found at the feast guest that had not on wedding garment had him cast oqt. This guest observed not the custom or the feast, and while 1t was a little thing yet he lost. This illustrates the facts that we must observe Gods laws and keep his com mandments.
 What does failure mean? The God of love and mercy has taken to tell us. His own gracious lips have again and again declared what the lesson of failure means. The parable of the unjust steward teaches us that God is full of mercy but that can provoke that wrath from which there Is no escape. God does not falter when he tells of the tor lures that be for those that set his words at defiance He likens his kingdom to a net that was let down into the sea and when 1t drawn up filled with fishes the good were kept but the bad were thrown out. So shall 1t be at the great and final end.
 There is suffering or sacrifice too hard to be endured upon this earth in order to escape words of him that died upon the cross to save us We have our Lords word that failure is possible because have own free will to choose either the good or the evil. We know why he has sent us into the world and we can defeat his wishes If we choose. If we reject God he will never force himself upon us. We have eaten of the fruit of knowl- edge and there Is excuse.
 When 1t Is too late we shall be tortured with a longing to love him, but it shall be turned into the bitterness of hate. Who can put into words all the gloom and despair in the word failure? What can compensate the soul pe fore the seat of judgment that knows that all is too late and that all Is lost? Once the soul is lost 1t is lost forever
 Each has his life to live: each has his own work to do. We each may fail. for saliva ton is guaranteed to none of Whether we succeed or fail depends upon ourselves. We are the keepers of our own souls we are the masters Of our own fates If we fail we alone must suffer the penalty. Forget not the day of Judgment.