Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-10-30
BELL CONSIDERATION AT PLYMOUTH ROCK
Report Of Ceremony Of Consecrating Bell
for New Catholic Church at Ply
mouth Rock.

Following is a report of the conse
Grafton of the new bell and the result
of the voting contest for sponsors
each vote cost 10 cents.
Father Losebrock, of Cresco, was
delegated by the Archbishop to Ter
form the solemn ceremony; the cross
bearer was Francis Kell; acolytes
were Emmett Knox and Frank Snider
and Will Gaul was thurifer. Mr..
and Mrs. William Mullaney were
sponsors, the value of the Mullaney
votes being S422.27; Thomas H.
Whalen returned the sum of $3.50. sc
from the contest and Francis Kelly.
not over a year known here, returned
$31. 10.
While Messrs. Pust and Swenson
& Co. were hosting the bell into the
tower for all the people to ring,
Father Loosebrock preached in a
faultless manner an eloquent dis
course from the words in ST. Matthew
that are inscribed on the bell: HE
That Heareth You, Heareth Me- No
man is church in himself or can go
to God independently and alone, for
Christ has commanded the association
of his followers into some form of
eternal society. 1t is in this society
that we become children of God, and
parents should not consider their
offspring as fully born until it is born
in Christ and his church in baptism.
"Unless man be born again of
water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot
enter into heaven. Parents should
remember furthermore that the nur-
ture, training and education of their
children has for it's principal aim,
not merely earthly comforts and
honors that perish, but more especial
ly the engagement of the child and
its supernatural sanctification, and so
essential is headship in religion that
without it there could be no Catholic
church. Therefore. Christ appoint ed
Peter visible head of the church. and
we have Plus tie Tenth the success.
sor of Peter and Vicar Of Christ.
The power of the Pope does not come
from those who elect him, but direct
ly from Jesus Christ whose vicar he
is, and the jurisdiction of a bishop
does not depend upon the priests and
people over whom he presides; nor is
the authority Of a priest in his ad-
ministration of the spirituals and
temporals of parish proceed from
his parishoners, but is derived from
his bishop in union with the Holy
Sea. To say otherwise is opposed to
the very constitution of the Catholic
church, which proclaims that her
authority is divine.
We owe obedience to our ecclesiasti-
cal superior for conscience sake, >
not for his personal superiority but
on account of his official superiority.
The superior is to be obeyed on this
account, that he holds the place and
exercises the authority of Christ who
has said: He that heareth you,
heareth me- 4" And it is the same
spirit of Divine Love which quickens
the pope, the vicar of Christ, the
bishops, priests and all Christians.
II is the same vital spark OF the spirit
of Christ which warns them all. 1t
is the fire of.one and the same divine
charity which burns in all it's inten-
sity and ardor in Christ, which truly
but perhaps feebly burns in Chris
tians. for this fire is kindled and
famed by the inspiration of One
Single Spirit.
From youth to age. the sound OF the
bell will float with sweet melody
above our quiet fields. 1t will be the
voice of rejoicing at festivals and
marriages, and of mourning at the de-
parture of the soul. From our grave
ward it will summon the faithful OF
hill and valley to the house OF God,
and when life is ended most OF us
shall sleep in the same graveyard
:4l;x, tho snu,,d of tha hell