The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-02-22
(Ubat a Catholic mission Is.
BY the Rev. A. Doyle, C. S. p.


arms of the loving Savior. The foun-
tains of the deep are broken up and he
is ready to pour out the story of his
sins in the solitude of the confessional
To get a man to make his confession
with deep contrition, to make him prom
| Use a complete amendment of life TO
urge him freely and of his own accord
to give up all the occasions of sin. to
make whatever restitution the justice
of God requires of him, to forgive his
enemies and be reconciled with those
with whom he has quarreled and to
purge his heart of all hatreds-these
are the ends to be attained by the
mission, and only the missionary
knows how we'll this is done by the
machinery of the mission. The day of
judgment alone will reveal the secrets
of the confessional but one of the most
conSoling things that confesSor can
enjoy as he sits through the long hours
sometimes eleven and twelve in day
during which all classes and conditions
OF people come to him one after an
other, is the manifest signs of deep
and thorough going repentance He
does not know who the penitents are,
he does not care. He knows they are
sinners with a load of sin, and while
kneeling on the other side of a parti-
ton, through wire screen they pour
out their tale of sin. This is the best
requital for the long hours of labor.
The previous days of prayer have eX-
amined their conSciences so that they
come not merely to say that they are
sinners in a general, perfunctory way,
but that they have violated this and
that commandment, and that if God
will blot out their offenses they are de-
termined to walk in the paths of rec
titude. No one but Catholic who has
the privilege of going to confession,
who has 4 consecrated friend in the
prieStly confeSSOr, one to whom he can
reveal the innermost secrets of his
heart, and do so with absolute conf
dence, can realize the joy of the
ShriYen heart l have seen strong men.
who feared not to face the lannon's
mouth, but who trembled as an aspen
leaf when they knelt in the confess
sional, bur when il was all over they
felt as though they were floating on
wings OF air. Their hearts were as
light as birds.
Then from the confessional they go
to communion. where they receive the
body and blood of Christ in a supreme
embrace of love. The sacrament of the
Eucharist places the standards of holy
living. No one dares TO approach the
altar unless he is purified from sin,
lest "he would eat and drink judgment
to himself" When he comes he has
done all that human nature, assisted
by grace can do to guarantee his per-
severance in his good resolutions. He
has come of his own accord, he has
made manifestation of heart in the
confessional, he has laid bare the mo-
tives of his repentance. and they have
been adjudged worthy; he has restored
all ill-gotten gain and repaired what
ever injury he has done to his neigh
Dor or has given a satisfactory prom
Use that it would be done as soon as
possible: he has pledged his word on
his knees that he will keep the conf
,uandments, and then, and then only,
is he allowed to go to communion.
One may easily see what powerful
machinery for reformation of life
mission is. / have known whole par
ishes regenerated through its Influence.
have known many a soul completely
transformed so that they have cast
their wickeduess behind them and have
become whole-souled in their service of
God.
/ must not neglect TO say that along
with the sermons goes a series of in
Structions on the nature of confession,
on the commandments and on the
means of perseverance. The evening
instructions preceding the important
sermons are on points of Church teach
ing.
The composite effect of the preach
ing is to produce d deep, strong and
yet quiet enthusiasm. There is no ply
steal frenzy about the effect. there are
no exalted mental states, to be in
evitably followed by detection and
prostration when the effect has worn
off. There is no morbid moroseness,
nor any high-strung resolutions which
cannot be kept. 1t is simply quiet,
determined and efficacious resolve to
avoid sin and love God. Many ill-regu-
lated revivals have their aftermath in
riotous backslidings and a repetition
of these sentiments soon disgusts one
with all religion.
A mission deprecates excitement, it
calms undue enthusiasms 1t appeals
10 the will through the judgment and
it places man in the attitude of serv-
ing God as best he can by keeping the
commandments
In the missions now going on in the
Upper West Side there will be between
1900 and 10000 confessions heard. The
mere statement of this fact in the light
of what has been said may easily per-
suade one how efficacious a means of
salvation a mission is.