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 well 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
| conSollng things that confeSSOr can
ENJOY as he sits through the long hours
sometimes eleven and twelve in a 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 a 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 eN-
amined their cOnsciences 50 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
10 81 ..1s nc
| the privilege of going to confession.
who has u consecrated friend in the
prieStly conIeSSOr. 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
| shriven heart. l have seen strong men,
who feared not to face the cannon
mouth, but who trembled as an aspen
leaf when they knelt in the confess
sional, but when ii was all over they
felt as though they We're 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 daTeS 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
nidGe a 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 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 COM
mandments. and then, and then only,
is he allowed to go to communion.
One may easily see what powerful
machinery for reformation of life a
mission is. l 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.
I 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
luSl uCtlOIS pGeCGQlnS Int 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-suung resolutions which
cannot be kept. 1t is simply a quiet.
determined and efficacious resolve to
avoid sin and love God. Many ill-regu-
lated Tevivals 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
to the will through the judgment and
it places a 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
500 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.