The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-02-22

-
me catholic World and is very active
~, developing the efficiency of the Cath
1f. church and in organizing various
,,.ovements for the social betterment
III the people. In such service he may
d., called the leading representative Of
ais Church in this city. The Paulist
Fathers we're originally converts from
Professionalism, and have introduced or
developed fresh methods of religious
work. among them the missions de-
Editor Independent New
York;
mission in the Roman Catholic
church is differentiated by its essen
tai characteristics from a revival or
from "proTacted meetings. or from
amy other method employed in nom
Catholic churches whereby dormant
spiritual energies are aroused.
The revival is an appeal 70 the people
.to have faith Ito believe in Christ.
.ro come to Jesus, but with the Cath
IT,. people the grounds Of their faith are
SD secure that they offer stable foun-
dafi0n and they are rarely, if ever. dis
iurhed. I'm giving a Catholic mission
aaDcais are made for right living. The
Ie1ple are cXhorted to keep the COM
maudments.
The pertnency Of these remarks just
= u.r is i'm the fa-rt that there are going
pa since the beginning of the year. in
The upper west side. in two of the
catholic churches, missions which are
C,mmanding the attendance of 5000
people each night. and tWO-thirds OF
this number each morning at , o'clock.
These missions are being given under
The auspices of the Paulist fathers,
eul inasmuch as they are awakening
81 profound interest among all classes
ua people ii will not be out of place to
say something of the methods followed
ar mission and the results attained.
Missions are held at periodical inter
.sIs in every Catholic parish. In the
larger city parishes, where the people
have more TO contend With spiritually,
and where there is constant coming
and going of the parishioners the usual
interval is three years. In country par
iahes. where the people are more or less
permanent every five years is consid-
eled good interval. Missionaries are
generally the members of religious or
dprs. They are invited by the pastor
III give mission" The date is an
nounced for some weeks beforehand,
and the people are urged by the local
clergy to prepare for the mission. II
is plainly given out that the mission
j., intended for every one and that no
cations. and that no worldly affairs
should be permitted TO interfere with
ones attendance at the services. When
the missionaries come to the parish
they find the people well prepared,
eager to listen. ready TO learn, pre-
pared 10 do 1t is generally understood
among the Catholic people that so
great a season Of grace as a mission
is should not be neglected, and not TO
have come to the mission is a stigma
that very few care to carry. 1t is not
difficult under the influence of a senti-
ment like this to command the pres
euce of the entire Catholic population
OF . parish.
So eager are the people TO make a
mission, and, as a consequence. such
crowds are in attendance, that in a
large parish il is often necessary to di-
vide the people in order that all may
attend and be comfortably seated dur
ing the exercises. 1t is usual to take
the women the first week and the men
the second week, and sometimes it IS
necessary 10 divide the women and the
men into the married and single pe0-
1le. In the mission now going on in the
church Of the Paulist fathers the first
week was devoted to the married
women the second to the unmarried
women. the third to the married men,
and the fourth to the unmarried men:
and then there is always found large
number of non-Catholics in whom
certain interest has been awakened by
the thTongs attending the services, and
who are therefore. DESTROYS of know
ing more OF the Catholic doctrine and
practice. For this latter class a sep
arate week Of instructions is given
explaining the teachings of the Church.
the missions for Catholics, in
order to gite point to their inquiries
Ihev are invited TO write out their
Queries concerning dOctrinal matters
and place them i'm a question box that
i3 located in a convenient place and
each evening these questions are an
SEVERED from the pulpit.
a good mission invariably results in
stirring up the careless to more
active practice of their religious life
and in calling back 10 practical Chris
tan living many who had fallen away
from their duty.
The first note of the mission is the
note OF penance-that is, sorrow for
SIM with desire to do something not
able i'm order TO make evident the sin
c,rity of the purpose.
ft was the great sermon of John the
baptist by which he prepared the way
tol the coming Of Christ. Under the
Mluouce of this sentiment of penance
Jhc people are aroused to make sacri-
tiuas. They shorten their hours of
sleep. they arise at half-past in the
morning, and are present at the first
r"irc which begins exactly at
"..auk I remember hearing DR.. Hast
Sings t0o venerable president of Union
|.gioaI Seminary, some years ago,
.a eH address to the students. tell OF
IN. o1miration he felt for the Catholic
people whom he heard hurrying along
q" The mission i'm a neighboring church
III Ha'-rasr four in the morning the
.'a".ain- of The crisp snow under
te.. and The. CHEEKY salutations as
.''' 'sn along. 1t is not only the plain
who are used to early rising
2" come 20 Tho five o'clock service,
.'"' ."r ..|-'o-dO-WOmen who have
JUN .lioa- homes and men who are
3n1t's engaged in professional life all
Gay long. They too. feel that as long
,.' AsaIlh permits there is no privi-
%. station or wealth that eXempts
z. 20 from tae obligations of early ris-
.- during The entire week of the mis-
sion
a' mission is usually week long.
81" course of sermons is as follows:
sunday night the soul is the topic. its
h|ae and the necessity of making
aNOuS efforts TO save ii. The key
-'.e of this sermon is What doth it
profit q man if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?" The ser
mons are always carefully prepared.
a"E are couched not in oratorical
phrases, bat they are made in a power
I.' direct appeal suited to the capa-
~ %. ths nearer. The missionary by
-s work IN the confessional acquires
.H intimate knowledge of the human
.'@it He meets men face to face and
learns their thoughts and the inner Sc
cts of their souls. This knowledge