The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-03-15

think evil In your hearts! My dear
friends, did it ever occur to you that
in this matter you thought evil in your
hearts? Yet our Lord says it is evil.
That We may know that the Son of
man (not the Son of Cod has power
on earth (not in heavem to forgive
SINS Then He said to the man, ARISE
take up your bed and walk And
then, the Scripture says, the people
glorified God who had given such
power to men, What power? That
you may know that the Son of Man
has power on earth to forgive SINS
Dear children, it was only the Scribes
and Pharisees, hard-headed and proud
hearted, who questioned Christ. The
people, the poor, simple, common peo-
pie, believed Him and glortied God
who had given men the power to for
give sin.
ut was the night of Easter Sunday
(John M, 10Th and following verses,
the first day of the week, when the dis
ciples We're gathered together, the
doors being shut, and Christ came and
stood in the midst of them. He said,
Peace be to YOU 1t was His first ap-
Dearance to His disciples after His res
direction. He showed them His hands
and the marks of His wounds, and
said, Peace be to you. AS the Father
sent Me- even so l send YOU Pause q
moment and weigh those words. Think
of the tremendous commission which
He bestowed on them, then and there.
AS the Father has sent Me, even so l
send YOU. With the same power, with
the same authority as the Eternal
Father sent Me into the world, even so
1 send you. And having said this He
brcathed on them. What a significant
act! Receive We the Holy Ghost.
Whose sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven them, and whose sins you
shall retain, they are retained
"Now, all l have to say in comment
Ing on this passage is that l challenge
any man to put together any form OF
words more terse, more plain, more IL
rcsstible to show that He gave the
power of forgiveness of sins to HIS
Apostles. l have known Protestants,
when they faced this most unmistak-
able proof, to say that this great gift
was given to the Apostles, but to them
alone. Oh, how silly. II given to the
APOSTLES alone, then our Lord was do
ing, with all that wonderful solemnity,
something which was to be but transit
tory. If confession and forgiveness or
sins are not necessary now, they were
not necessary then, or the Christians OF
the first century were worse OIL tllan
those Of the twentieth. This is some
thing foolish. But how about the 9TH
or commissions to the Apostles? GO
into all the world and preach the Cos
pcl to every creature That was spok-
cn only to the Apostlcs-baptism, con-
firmaton, laying on of hands! Non
sense Dear brethren, when our Di-
vine Lord gave the power of forgiving
sins it was to last to the end of time.
One of the most glorious Of His gifts,
it was intended for all. But, says an
other objector, the gift was not trans
ferabIc. Speaking to Bible Christians.
let me ask what happened fifty days
later, when the Apostles were gathered
together. They chose a successor to
Judas and the lot fell on Matthias: and
they laid hands on him and conferred
on him the same powers that they pos
sesscd themselves; and if these powers
could be transferred to one, they could
be given to five hundred thousand. So
much for simple Scripture arguments.
eve come now to some minor argu-
ments which are nevertheless, suffi-
GENTLY convincing. We ask any his
torian if he can prove (not merely as
serD just when and where confession
started to he practiced in the Church.
st. Augustine said in the fourth cen
tury that "whcn any practice in vogue
in the Church cannot be traced, it's orr
gin must be ascribed to the Apostles"
Here Father Fidcis quoted st. AL
gustinc in Latin, asking those who I'M
derstood to see if he did not quote him
correctly; and then he submitted his
translation: "Lct no man say" said
the saint, at confess my sins secretly
Why, then, was it said, Whose sins
you shall forgive, they are forgiven
BY such an act you are making void
the Gospel, the words of Christ"
Brethren, continued the preacher,
"lt is no wonder Martin Luther and his
Reformers threw the Fathers and
Popcs overheard in one grand coup, be-
cause all bore testimony to Roman
Catholic doctrines and practices, and
particularly to the doctrine Of confess
sion.
"Any change in the way Of discl-
pine in the Church is in the way of
relaxation. Fasting is much easier
now. If confession had been an after
introduction. it would have been an in
novation in the way of rigorism, and
there would have been no end of row.
Some Episcopalans believe in confess
sion. Suppose the assembly of that
denomination made confession obliga-