The Irish standard., 1907-12-14
CHRISTIANS DUTY TO ANIMALS

the beauty of Argentine roses.
cHRIsTlANs' DUTY TO ANIMALS.
Sermon in Response to Request Of a
Humane Society.
The following sermon was preached
by the Rev. James NJ. Hayes in the
Sacred Heart Cathedral at Dallas. Tex,
on a recent Sunday in response to a
request of the Dallas Humane Society:
THE righteous man takes care of his
beast, but til eheart of the Goddess is
cruel" proverbs 12; lo.)
| "On many a Sunday morning I have
spoken to you Of your duty to God and
to your fellowmen. This morning will
raise my voice in the explanation of u
duty which. through forgetfulness and
lack of realizationI is often ignored
your duty TO the dumb animals that so
patiently and faithfully minister to
your comfort and your needs. might
say a great deal this morning in re-
minding you of your duty to the ami
mails but many will probably object to
the little I am goinE to say. and assert
that in SO speaking of the speechless
creatures of God ! am going beyond
the province of the Christian pulpit.
Those who SO object have not read
Gods words Alright, and have but lit
tie knowledge Of the spirit of the Cath
olic Church.
Are not the animals the creatures of
God and does not God love them? God
refused to destroy the wicked city of
Nineveh because Of the innocent chill
dren and the many. animals in 1t.
(Jona. ~ He gives the cattle their
food and feeds the young ravens that
call on Him (Psalms ia; 81 And
although so worthless in tho eyes of
men is the little sparrow that two are
bought for farthing, st. Luke tells
us that not one of them is forgotten
before God (Luke 12; 81 It cannot
even fall to the srasHa without the
knowledge of the rather. -
"'Pause where apart the fallen sparrow
lies,
And lightly tread
For there the pity Of Il fathers eyes
|. Enshrines the dead'
"In the Holy Scriptures Christ is al
times presented to ,ls under the symho
of an animal He is the lion of the
tribe of Judah But how much more
frequently is He not the gentle little
lamb, the lamb Of God that taketl1
away the sins OF the world" In the
home Of the sjncss animals the Sin
less One was born, and in the manger
bed, between the ass and the OK, He
found His rest. Christian art repre-
sents the sheep and the lambs sur
rounding the shepherds as they knelt
in alteration before the infant King
and Christ loved and blessed them all
"Christ's love for the animals has
lived all through the Christian cen
turtles, as We read in the history of the
Saints. AS far az it may be given tc
lis to Judge, perhaps the one who since
the days of the Apostles most faith
fully followed Christ was that gentle
monk of the Middle Ages, st. Francis
Of Assist. All-absorbing his love fol
God, all-embracing his love for his fel.
loWmen, his love for THE brute creation
was so great that it Isl still felt in the
world. With poetic eloQuence Tennysor
prays that the s1irito Of this friar OF
mediaeval days may live again anc
dominate the modern world:
"'Sweet ST. Francis of Assist, would
that he We're here again,
He that in his Catholic Wilderness usec
to call the very flowers
Sisters, brothers; aud the beasts, who's,
pains are hardly less than ours
II have in mind a Papal letter of tn,
sixteenth century, in which the saintet
; Pontiff, Pope Plus ", forbids cruelty t
certain animals under penalty Of ex'
} communication. In our days, in Eng
land, Cardinal Manning has in trumpe
tones spoken from the chair Of st
Augustine condcnning the teaching
that inasmuch as animals are not mora
persons we owe them no duties, snt
that, therefore, the inniction Of pain Il
} contrary to no obligation.
, "This spirit of Christ and of th'
, Saints and rulers Of the Church is no
} to be wondered at when We remenbe
that love is the essence of religion, ant
J that love in It's perfection reaches ou
to every creature Of God. When w
3 love God we love man and beast, AM
! every living thing for all have com
} from God and arc expressions Of HI