The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-11

ana VI
Archbishop Ireland preached to an i'm
mense congregation at the 1880 mass at
the cathedral yesterday. Humility and
Charity was his topic, and the sermon
was preceded by the reading of the par
able of the wedding festival He said:
The parable seems very simple. AT a
wedding festival one is tempted to take
the first place. The warning of Christ is,
do not seek the first place, for perhaps
some one worthier than thou is expected
and thou shalt have with shame to take
a lower place. Rather take the lower
place, and allow the master of the feast,
ii he thinks well, to invite thee to htgner.
Then with honor to thyself thou canst
go to the higher place.
But beneath this parable Is this deep
lesson of Difference to our neighbors based
on humility in ones self. In pagan So
ciety as it existed before the preaching
of Christianity, such counsels would
scarcely have been understood. There the
principle of self reigned Each one thought
of self; imagined himself the worthiest
of all, and sought for self, without think
ing much of others pleasures and honors.
If others We're thought of, it was mas
much as others would cooperate to give
pleasure or do honor to self. In pagan
society it was the rule of pride, of osten-
tation There was contempt for those
whom one needed not, especially II those
W
wrap himself up completely, so to speak,
in self, and think and work only for self.
OF course the result of such pride and
ostentatiOn was to build UP the few over
the ruins of the many, to subject the
many to the whimS and pleasures Of the
few. How different the example given by
the Savior, of Palestine. He was, as His
miracles proved the master of the world.
He was, as His preaching indicated, the
wisest of men, and yet so kind, so gentle
to others that He was the servant Of all.
So forgetful was He of self that His whole
life was given for the welfare of others.
Learn of Me" He said, that | am meek
and humble of heart" While Christ was
speaking those simple words in Palestine
the powerful in Rome were lifting them
selves up even as gods toward the skies,
and demanding that the multitude should
do homage to them. Christ did not say
Learn of Me that 1 am powerful, give
meek and humble of heart" How tender
and compassionate to the weak, whose
ills He cured, to the sinners whom He
blessed and forgave, to the children whom
He caressed and took near unto Himself.
With His disciples at the last supper so
humble was He that He washed their feet
and said: II have given an example. Do
to one another as l have done" And this
humility of Christ, this Difference towards
others, became the rule of His church,
and marked throughout the saints of that
church. In this charity for others is the
towering of the humility which sinks
wards others is the result of pride. So
distinctive of Christian society, marking
the wide chasm between it and pagan So
wards Others based on humility for self,
that politeness is really a virtue of the
Christian law People. lin admiral
ton of the softening through history of
the manners of nations formerly bar
barous. They extol the humanity, as they
call it, of men for men.
They speak of the changed relations in
War, of one army toward the other, not
thinking, not saying, that if Christ had
not preached in Palestine 1000 years ago,
the world had continued moving along
the pathways over which pagan philoso--
since and now have been and would be
world of pride, world of harshness,
and world of cruelty, because when man
seeks only himself, as in pagan times,
1nasmuch as they may become the foot
stools upon which to lift himself into pow
er or to contribute to his pleasure, A
taught that mildness, that seftness Of
manners of which the world since Christ
boasts. To look really into our fellow
men as they are, there is nothing very
attractive about them. There is nothing
that in itself would draw out our affec-
tons and our esteem; nothing in them
that would. make US. forget ourselves to
charity for others is not the idea of sarv-
ing those who serve US, or of being polite
to those who are so attractive in them
selves that we could not we'll afford not
to be polite. The essence of charity is
forgetting ourselves for the sake of 9TH
ers, and forgetting ourselves for the sake
Of those who, humanity speaking, have
very little that'is attractive, from whom
we expect little or nothing in return. 1t
is no charity to bow before the powerful
upon whom we depend for our welfare,
but 1t is charity to be kind to our in
feriors from whom we expect nothing.
1t is charity to extend the helping hand
to the poor who can give US nothing.
1t is charity to be kind and gentle to-
wards those who. spurn us, who would
return for our kindness, unkindness, for
our charity. cruelty and persecution.
Leave humanity to that mere human phil
osOphy and you shall never create that
of Christian philosophy. A higher mo-
tive gives birth to charity. TO Eft man
up to such a standard it was needed that
the Son Of God come down from the
heavens, put out divine teachings, ac-
company those teachings with His own
grace, make those teachings powerful
by His own example. Only look into the
Savior's face remembering that He is our
God, how easy It is to initiate Christ
Jesus; how easy it is for His sake to for
get ones self in the service of others.
It is this divine principle of life, brought
to earth by Christ, that has changed
mankind. The Christian religion bids US
know that each one of himself is before