The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-27
IN HONOR OF THE PENTECoST.
Impressive Services in the Roman
CnthoIic Churches.


Catholic Churches.
There were several interesting ser
Vices in the Roman Catholic Churches
Yesterday. and all of them were largely
attended. In the Cathedral of St. John
the Baptist. in honor of the day, Pente-
! costal Sunday, a solemn pontihcal mass
was celebrated by Bishop Kelley at 1870
| o'clock a M. and a night, at O'Clock
| a confirmation class of about 70 were
/ received into the church. Because OF this
ceremony the usual Sunday afternoon yes
pers were omitted.
At the Sacred Heart Church a class of
10 were given their first communion in
the morning. and in the evening, at 6
o'clock, were confirmed In all of the
churches of the diocese a collection was
taken up at each service for the purpose
OF educating candidates for the priest
hood. The collections were very good.
June is the month in the Roman Catholic
Church especially dedicated to the devo-
ton of the Sacred Heart. And because of
this Bishop Kelley yesterday caused to
be read in all the churches of the diocese
the following pastoral letter:
AT the close of the present month, ded-
icated to the blessed mother of our Re-
deemeT, we enter on the month which is
peculiar TO the Son. There is nothing
which we so earnestly desire as to see
the devotion of the Sacred Heart increase
among the faithful of the diocese, and 20
obtain this, we beg the cooperation of
the clergy, who with us, bear the burden
of the work of God in sancufying souls
in this portion of the vineyard of the
Lord
The solemn and oft-repeated approval
given by the supreme head of the church
on earth to this devotion Is a sufficient
guarantee of its ultimate success in win
ming souls to God; Strengthening the
weak and increasing the faith of the
good. The experience of every pastor,
who has introduced and encouraged the
devotion at the Sacred Heart serves to
confirm this. Our present Holy Father,
whose length of days and wondrous re-
tention of mental and bodily vigor are
marvel, has frequently recommended
to his children the practice of this salu-
tary devotion, and with apostolic voice
has urged the dedication of families to
this abundant fount of mercy"
In another part of the letter the Bishop
warns the faithful of their duty to the
church as follows
THE devotion to the Sacred Heart has
AaA It's ~ AdA6 anu nus met with SeCICl
and open opposition. Heresy and schism
were arrayed against it, and its final
victory was the triumph of faith over
error; of the church over recreant chill
dren; of principle over expediency; of au
thority over REORGANIZATION.
Let this devotion inspire in us a loyal,
loving submission to the Vicar of Christ
on earth. He represents the authority
of Christ and the tenderness and love of
Christ A test of our devotion to our holy
faith is out filial submission to the VII
car of Him, whose heart is the object Of
our adoring love.
I'VE ought not blind ourselves to the
fact that amid all the evidences of prog
ress in our loved land, there is danger
lest we, intoxicated by our prosperity
and led astray by the false maxims
taught and pronounced on every side,
cast off from the old moorings of faith
and submission to divinely constituted
authority. and attach ourselves to some
of the novelties developed under our sys-
tenn of government
We suffer none to impugn our loyalty
to our Constitution and obedience to the
laws enacted in pursuance thereof; but
we will ever maintain the pre-eminence
of God and His Church. We are Catholics
first and loyal Americans afterwards, and
because we are Catholics
I'VE must first of all be loyal to Christ
and accept His plan for the sanctiication
of men. which includes the divine author
ity of His Holy Church speaking to us
from Peters chair. We will very cheer
fully render TO Caesar the things that are
Caesars, and TO God and not to Caesar
will we ever look for guidance in matters
spiritual
with all its greatness and giory-for
the attainment and prevention of which
we have done our share-our Republic has
brought no new principles of government
for the Church; has developed no theory
of revelation which we accept; has not
changed the old landmarks.
"Our Holy Father, Leo XIII, in letter
dated Jan. %, 1899. address to His Emf
hence Cardinal Gibbons expressly called
the attention of his children to some of
these dangers. and in no uncertain terms
condemns the erroneous and dangerous
opinions, which have been covertly or
openly proclaimed by some Catholics, who
seem unaware of the divine constitution
of the church and its supreme authority
in faith and morals.
He expressly condemns the theory,
that the church ought to adapt herself
somewhat to our advanced civilization,
and relaxing her ancient rigor, show
some Indulgence to modern popular the
cries and methods Many think that this
is to be understood not only with regard
to the rule of life, but also to the doc
trines in which the deposit of faith is
contained. For they contend that II is
opportune, in order to work In a more
attractive way upon the wills of those
who are not in accord with us, to pass
over certain heads of doctrine, as il Of
lesser moment, or to so soften them that
they may not have the same meaning
which the church has invariably held"