The times., 1900-12-24
THE LAST ADVENT SERMON.
The Rev. Father PardOw's Discourse
at st. Aioysius Church.

livered the sermon, which was one OF
a series of advent discourses that have
recently attracted considerable atten-
tion. In closing he said in part:
at sometimes happens that putting
Catholic?' we receive the following an
swer: I an n Catholic but not a Roman
Catholic. Has this answer any mean
ing? The word Catholic, derived from
two Greek words, means throughout the
whole world The negative part of the
catholicity of the Church is that the
Church of Christ is not to be national.
The synagogue was strictly national; the
Church was not to be national, but
catholic, or universal. Go ye therefore
said Christ; make disciples of all ma
tions, teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever l have commanded you He
was the divine character of the Church $
catnolicity. Catholicity, as mark of
the true Church, means that the Church
is in large numbers in all parts of the
world. a society composed of many mem
bers, but circumscribed within the limits
of one country as the Chinese Empire.
could not be called catholic society
widely dihused, but consisting of only a
lew scattered members in each particular
spot, could not be called catholic either.
OF late years We find many who are not
of our faith, and who still claim to be
called Catholic
They manifest violent opposition to
the principles of the so-called Reforma-
ton, and a desire to return to the anti
Reformation beliefs and customs. Some
OF the hardest things ever uttered against
the Reiormers have been recently said by
non-Catholics. Little by little many an
cient Catholic practices have been intro
duced into their worship. and one is some
times in danger of mistaking their
churches for the real Catholic churches.
They claim to have all that we have ex-
cept the Pope, and him they do not want;
they wish to be Catholic. but not Roman
Catholic But in all their discussions they
seem to forget that catholicity must also
include unity: it must be the one Church
which is spread throughout the whole
world, the same faith everywhere; other
wise catholicity is meaningless. The So
ciety diffused throughout the world must
rest on Identity of faith and of govern
rnent. Catholicity and unity thus stand
and fall together. A church might be one
without being Catholic; it could not be
Catholic without being one. The absence
Of unity is the impossihility of catholicity.
Now. in order to have unity, there must
be the bond of unity, and this is abso
lutely lacking outside the real Catholic
Church.
1T does, indeed, seem strange that
| thinking people in this thinking age
should try to satisfy their consciences by
clinging to the name Catholic when the
act of royal supremacy imposed by Henry
VIII in 1886. and sworn to by the clergy,
states explicitly that the King of Eng
land is the only supreme head on earth
of the Church of England Now, the acts
OF Parliament of one ration do not bind
the people of another nation. Thus. from
the year 1886 the Anglican Church Off
cially declared itself national. That is
| not Catholic. Moreover. the Queen of
| England takes an oath to protect the
Protestant Episcopal Church, thus de-
stroying the hopes OF any Anglicans who
would fain remain Anglicans and yet be
Catholics.
ITO avoid this chain of reasoning those
who wish to become Anglicans and Cath
| olics al the same time would sever all
connection with Henry VIII, would, so 10
speak, sidetraek the Reformation and
claim direct descent from an early British
Church. But in the light of impartial his
tory this is untenable; they cannot di-
vorce themselves from Henry. The early
| British Church protests against the ira
versity of facts. The early British Church
taught the faith OF the Catholic Church
as we hold IL today. St Jerome wrote in
| his time: The Church of the city of Rome
| is not different from that of the whole
world. Gaul and Britain and Africa and
| all the foreign nations follow one rule
of faith Moreover, the early British
| Church recognized the supremacy of the
| Pope for its Bishops took part in the
I councils convened by the Sovereign Pom
| tiff
There is no church that is Catholic
except that which is Roman, /. e.. in union
with the See of Rome. Do we object to
( being called Roman Catholics? If Roman
and Catholic are both taken territorially
We do not object. for then the words are
| self contradictory meaning at the same
! time both local and universal But if 'Ro-
man refers to the GENRE of the circle
! and Catholic of it's circumference; il
| Roman means our bond of authority and
| Catholic our breadth OF universally,
1 then we accept the title with pleasure.
We are not Roman Catholic; we are Ro-
man, Catholic. But are we Catholics
| really one2 Are there not many jarrine
| opinions among us? There are differences
| of opinion among Us outside the sphere
| of faith, but that does not destroy unity,
| for we are Roman-Rome is the power
| house Let discussion be ever so heated
so was there heated discussion in the
! council of Jerusalem, narrated in the Acts
! of the Apostles KS. But when the waves
| of discussion have risen high enough, the
! light flashes forth from Rome and the
angry waves sink to rest. We are one
| and we are Catholic because We are Ro-
| man"