The times., 1901-04-22
BISHOP sATTERLEE's ADVICE.
Annual Services in Honor of the
Girls Friendly SOciety.

About 500 members of the Diocesan
Branch of the Girls Friendly Society oc-
cupied pews at the Church of the Epiph-
any last night The annual service in
honor of the society was held and the
sermon was delivered by Bishop Satter-
lee. The chancel was tastefully decor
ated with lilies and palms, and the ban
ners of the different local chapters Of
the society were displayed.
Bishop Satterlee chose for the text of
his sermon the words of st. Paul during
his imprisonment in Rome, in his epistle
to the Philippians. whom he admonished
to think of things pure and Of good re-
port Bishop Satterlee said. in part:
There is a beautiful flower in Egypt,
not unlike the pond lily. which blooms
in mud, and dank. and slime, the emblem
of purity and virtue, the chosen flower
of Egypt. sculptured on palace and
column. St. Paul, imprisoned in the
dungeons of the palace of Rome, amid
it's poisonous atmosphere and the evil
surroundings, was not an unapt illustra-
ton of the lotus flower. Upright and
pure of heart. he is not affected by the
obnoxious surroundings.
Here, within the palace. men and
women were constantly thinking Of
things impure. unjust, unlovely. and Of
bad report Nero. murderer of wife and
mother, stated with cruelty when 1000
gladiators were slaughtered to make a
Roman holiday, seized the Christians,
covered them with oil, and burned them
alive in the public parks. The virtuous
women of Rome at that time, it is said,
could be counted upon the fingers Of one
hand 1t is in this atmosphere that St
Paul wrote where the town talk was
about murders and assassinations, adul-
teries, and the corruption Of politicians.
Though there were those in the palace
who might have saved him. not one word
of complaint does he utter His letter
TO Philippi was private letter lie
writes as man who re1OiceS not III IN
iquity. but in the truth That letter was
addressed to the women, as well as TO
the men, of that city. And the first re-
corded sermon by St. Paul was addressed
to Women-the first Christian sermon In
Europe. St. Paul was placed in prison,
but he does not tell us the names even
of his enemies. He has not time for evil
.The foundation of all manhood is
righteousness, of womanhood, purity.
True manhood is first righteous and then
pure. True womanhood is first pure and
then righteous. The pure woman who
thinketh no evil eleVates and ennobles all
hearts by the nobility and purity of her
own thoughts. A persons thoughts are
their life, the well spring of their exist
euce. We are all apt to gauge people by
the expensiveness of their apparel, by the
shape Of their bonnet. How unworthy are
such thoughts.
"One should be gauged by character.
ami character is represented by our
thoughts. The one dressed in the finest
apparel may have the most ignoble
thoughts. while the thoughts of her clad
in homespun may be of things pure and Of
good report.
1t does not matter as much what we
say, as the way In which We say it.
Men do not judge us 80 much by what
we do as by what we are. II we keep
thinking of what is pure and Cleanly and
of good report we are keeping away from
evil. We cannot do two things at once.
One hour spent IN thinking pure thoughts
is one hour saved from impure thoughts.
And If we can spend one hour in pure
thinking we can spend a day, and II
day, a lifetime.
'iChrist, when he rose from the dead.
did not have time to speak of those who
had crucified him. or of Judas, who had
betrayed him. He had no thoughts for
these evil things.
I'VE can't afford TO know of impure
with evil The captions at the head on
newspaper columns are To show us. not
what to read, but what not to read. They
may call us ignorant. but We cannot tax
our memories with such things are
impure. We should shrink from such.
Look upon the good women OF the
Bible, look OF the Virgin herself, blessed
among women and make them and her
your examples. You are going To take
your place in the world and may 1t be
with pure thoughts.