The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-25

confirmation was administered to thir- ty-three boys, thirty-six girls and nine adult converts.
 The aitars of the church were beauti- fully decorated with Easter lilies, and roses. ~
 The girls all in their pure white dresses. white wells and crowns of white flowers. the boys all in black suits with white ties. made a pretty picture as they marched to the altar to receive the sac rament.
 The sponsors were MT. Albert Kohn and Miss Octavia Kohn.
 Bishop Edward Allen, of Mobile, con- ducted the service. He spoke plainly, concisely. simply and interestingly as be- fitting the occasion
 He gave a brief outline. a simple state- ment of the doctrine of the church, couched In such language as the young est of the children could understand. He said: "The sacrament Is an out ward sign of an inward grace.' and wove into his address apt Illustrations of the life and deeds of the Saviour, while here on earth, as touching. vitaliy the sacrament he was administering.
 He spoke to the confirmation class of the grave responsibility which they were taking upon themselves and urged them to cultivate spirit of prayer, to be faithful in the discharge of their duties and their obligations.
 He also spoke to the parents of their obligation. regarding the responsibility of the Christian training of their chill dren. - s.,t
 The confirmation class was unusually large this year, owing to the fact that last year there was no confirmation.
 At High Mass at St. Peters the ser mon was delivered by Rev. Thomas J. Eason, who has recently come as an as- sistant to Father Savage. The sacra- menf of Confession was the subject of Father Eason's eloquent sermon. <
 His text was:
 Receive ye, the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiv- en them, and whose sins you shall re- tain they are retained" (St. John XIX: 2l-2a.)
 My Dear Brethren: The inspiring sight which we witnessed at the early mass prompts me to present to you this morning for your consideration a subject which is of vast importance to the Christian soul. Our blessed Lord tells us that unless i've become as lit- tie children we cannot enter the king dom of Heaven" Unless we regain the baptismaI innocence of our childhood we cannot hope to have any share in the joys promised to those who die red- olent of the sweet incense of purity and love. As this purity Is acquired in the Sacrament of Penance, we shall dwell this morning on two important features of the sacramental nature of what we commonly call confession. namely its institution and necessity. The sacrament of penance is defined as a sacrament of the new law In which Al. .G kAA oPt a n forgiven.
 Every sacrament has three charac- teristics--a visible sign. institution by Christ, and the conferring of grace. We find those three characteristic ver- flied in the sacrament of penance. The visible sign consists in the confession of sins, the evidences of sorrow, the absoIution of the priest and the per- formance of the enJoined penance, which are also the constituent parts of this life-giying principle and concern ing which we shall speak later.
 Regarding its institution by our Di- vine Lord and the conferring of grace, much might be said. The question narrows itself, however, to this--did Christ institute a means of remittfng sin and therefore conferring grace? In other words, did Christ give to His apostles and their lawful successors the power of forgiving sins? The mind of the Church is clear, and much of the misapprehension of modern times is due to the influence of what Is known as the reformation, Luther himself hesitated about accepting or denying the sacrament as did also his immediate followers. Melancthon, who may be styled the Saint of the reform
 movement, tells us that "absolution may be properly called the Sacrament of Penance." Calvin openly denied it's existence We notice corresponding ly conflicting feeling in modern reli- gious systems. Anglicans admit the utility of confession, but deny It's nec- essity. Ritualists speak of dissolution as a sacrament, but tell us that it must be numbered among what they call the minor sacrament Other systems not only reject 1t altogether, but ridicule its very name. In contradistinction to such doubts and absolute denials, we are confronted with the strong denun- ciation of the Council of Trent, which must be borne in mind by all true Catholics as constituting an article of our belief. "If any one shall say. the Council remarks, that the words of our Lord and Saviour are not to be under stood of the power of remitting ana retaining sins in the Sacrament or PenAnCe, understood them from the beginning, let him be nathema"-accursed. Let us then examine the grounds upon which the Council. bases this anathema. Dur ing His ministry on earth Christ prom ised exceptional power to His apostles He said to Peter: 'I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth. shall be Ioosed also In Heaven. (Matth. xvi:1S).
 Later on He said to all the apostles; Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upoa earth, shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth. shall be loosed also in Heaven" (Matth. xvii:1S) Both texts are remarkable, for we find them used In no other place of Scripture than in the context implied. The meta phor of the keys: T will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" is one that was known in Jewish and pagan history to signify supreme authority Who held the keys ruled supreme. The conclusion to be evidently drawn then is that Christ gave to His apostles su- preme authority in binding and looslns' We cannot, however. necessarily con cl,Ide that this was to be supreme au- tbority over sin, until we consider the very clear supplementary statement of our Divine Lord made to His apostles after His Resurrection. Peace be to you. as the father hath sent me. l also send you Receive ye, the Holy Ghost' whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven and whose sins you shall re-