The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-26


 Mary. of the royal house of David, and a virgin, has conceived a son, and His name is Emmanuel God Is with us" Truly was the Word made flesh" The quest of Psyche was at an end, and Truth was found. not in the call culating, splendid mockeries of pagan | fanes, where wealth was lavished for unholy purposes. but in the simplicity and self-denying poverty of a crib. | manifest Himself? Was 1t to the learned. proud philosopher. the astute- ly sensual courier, or the arbitrary Croesus tyrant? Was 1t to the Phar- | isee or Sadducee? To none of these But the simple shepherds. sleepily | tending their straying flocks on the dark and dismal hillsides saw in the | heavens the reflected light of angelic exultation: they heard the lingering | strains Of a new, delightful melody, and waited on angels wings came to | them the sweet, consoling words. Re Joice and be glad, for today Is born | to you a Saviour, who Is Christ the Lord, in a stable, at Bethlehem" Poor and mortified those midnight watchers were directed to swell the paen that | arose from invisible choirs of Cherub- I'm and Seraphim. lowing low in adoration before their King. "Gloria
 
 inibus bonae voluntaris-Glory to God In the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will" Twas ever thus. i Whether in the days of feudal torture and persecution, or sin the nights of holy calm and contemplation in the catecombs, whether subject to the fierce invectives of goddess intellectu- ality. or recreated by the mild expos- tula ations of submissive genius, wheth- fn ho am of baselisk world or disclosed by the warmth. and love of the flickering sanctuary light, whether in sorrow or Joy, the Christian. simple. poor and mortified at least in spirit, found his consolation In the message of love and peace that emanated from cheerless cave exposed to the cruel cold and bit ing blasts of winter. A message of love Glory in excelsis Dec, Glory to God in the highest. Love is an inestimable treasure. Praise. honor and glory are its handmaids. Glory to God then for love that surpasseth human under | standing. the wisdom, and the depth of that amazing love: its immensity is beyond our comprehension. The Babe of Bethlehem shrouded by the sweet | ness and the helplessness of childhood, , was, and is. He who formed the myriads of revolving worlds that re- fleet the splendor of His majesty; was, and Is. He who daZzles the resp1endant court of Heaven with a brilliancy In | the light of which even angels veil in awe their faces; was, and Is, He whom rash. presumptuous man, forgetful of His thunders. dared, and dares; was. and is. He who in later years twas re- | viled and did not revile," was mocked and spit upon without complaining. was crowned with thorns and was cru | cified in agony between two thieves. because He loved us. Greater lo"e | than this no man hath that man lay down his life for his friends" and | where Is the love that can compare with Christ's self f-sacrificing charity? Glory to God in the highest" Nay. | more Peace on earth to men of good will" Peace is the culmination of virtuous life: a true internal harmony has God-given power to quiet
 The restless pulse of care
 And comes like the benediction
 That follows after prayer.
 This peace, this harmony. which is pl ocIaimed today, is the order demand | ed of our faculties by nature and by grace by nature because peace and har-
 mony are the results of balanced l soul, where reason sits en:hrcned and sways the elements of matte" as 1t should by force of its superior essence and by grace. because the supernatcr- al gifts of God will never rcJoicc in a | fruitful reception hy ttc soul where conscience is subservnnt to sense.
 Right reason must gutin the person. ality. and this was the law that man | forgot, the law that the Redeemer came to re-enact as the rule or measure Of his final happiness. How often has 1t | been forgotten since that first alemCr- able Christmas, and how often will 1t
 be forgotten in the future. How oft en have men wrecked their oWn and nations peace when led away by over
 wbeiming pride or consumed by the
 burning fires of lusiful passion. and
 what turmoil and despair threaten a
 world devoid of a saving curb on pride and passion. Peace on earth, to men good will" If then we would be wor- | thy of that love exemplificd for us to-
 day, and would possess that peace
 which will be our consolation here and the harbinger of our destiny hereafter,
 we must initiate the men to whom the
 message of salvation was delivered. We
 too, as they were must be simple, pcor,
 and self-denying. and not proud and ar rogant usurpers devoted to the worlds wealth and pleasures I do not mean
 that we are not to derive any enjoy
 ment from life or the sinless pleasures
 of creation: by no means, Tor why was
 the world made at all, If not for mans
 good and happiness :n reasonable way? Innocent amusements are not only good but necessary at times. What l do mean Is that the simplicity of the shepherds and of the crib must teach
 us simplicity. that the poverty of the
 shepherds and of the crib must teach
 us poverty. That the self-denial of the shepherds and the crib must teach us
 to restrain our evil inclinations and cor
 rupt desires: that if we have not learned this lesson in the past we may repair the past ny lvailing ourselves
 of the means of penance and reconcili-
 ation which the Catholic Church in un-
 broken succession has inherited from
 the Redeemer. and that if we do not learn 1t for the future we cannot reas-
 onably expect at the last day to share
 in the joys that are promised us each
 recurring Christmas. That these joys | may be yours for all eternity Is the
 fervent prayer of your priests, fin the
 name of the Father, and of the Son and
 of the Holy Ghost. Amen"