The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-05-06
FATHER COYLE ON
EMPIRE OF CHRIST
Warriors and Philosophers in
Comparison With Jesus
KINGDOM THAT ENDURES
All Schools of Thought and All Ma,
tlons Pass, But christ's Empire
Will Last to the End
of Time.

Father Coyle, the pastor, was the cele-
brant at the $50 and the 7:SO o'clock
masses and the Rev. Father Schultz, the
new assistant, was the @celebrant at the
$3.50 and the 1890 o'clock masses. Among
the notices for the week was the order
of services for Ascension Day-next
Thursday-which is known as a feast of
obligation when the faithful are required
to attend mass, as on Sunday, under pain
of mortal sin. The masses on that day
will be at 6, Z, 8 and o'clock.
Father Coyle was the preacher at last
mass yesterday His theme was This
Empire of Christ" He said in part:
During the long history of our old earth,
it has happened, time and time again,
that men have endeavored to make for
themselves undying monuments among
mankind. Great warriors there have been
in every age, who tried to found empires
that should have limits where only the
world has limits; great thinkers have en-
deavored to mould mems opinions, so
that when they themselves should be
gone, their doctrine and teaching should
live forever among men. Not one has
succeeded
The Greek Alexander, the Roman Gaze
sar, the French Napoleon have gone, and
where is the fulhllment of their ambi-
tious dreams? What weight have the
philosophic creeds of the various philoso-
piers from Socrates of old to the latest
German subjectivest on the counsels and
the minds of men today? Vain alike the
m Of aprio md ba NH
The mighty warriors are dust. Dust, too,
are the founders of the various schools
that were to revolutionize human thought.
They all are gone, their dreams are I'M
fulfilled, their very names forgotten by
the majority of men. Their dreams like
all dreams, were "unsubstantial falicies
and airy nothings.'
And why is it that no man, for there
have been prodigies of valor and learning,
has yet unsucceeded in moulding others
to his will and keeping them so? There
are only two ways this could be eff
fected by brute force or by the influence
of persuasion. Both methods have been
tried, both have failed. Tyrants have
overrrun empires and provinces and sub
jected nation after nation to their sway,
but the olden empires are gone. Assyria,
Greece, Rome, Carthage where are they?
where will be England Germany, Japan.
the United States some centuries to come?
They will be gone, as the ancient en-
pires are gone and other nations and
other states will arise in their stead, to
be succeeded by others, and these others
by others STILL for it is true of all men,
what the great Roman general, a close
observer of mankind, wrote of the men of
his day, "Homines stunt cupid novarum
rerum." Mankind is fond of resolution.
and therefore no empire, no human form
of government can last forever.
Yet one empire has been established
one empire that has outlasted nineteen
centuries of change and progress. one
empire that is world wide today, that has
subjects in every cline, subjects of every
class and condition of men, one empire
that shall outlast the world. Jesus found
ed that empire and that empire is the
holy Catholic church.
In the little obscure eastern country of
Palestine, man appeared in the olden
time, who called Himself, and who was
called by His followers, Jesus Christ. Till
He reached the age of 80 years or there
abouts, He was unknown outside His
own little hamlet. He then went among
the people preaching a new, strange creed,
and He was mocked scorned reviled by
the great majority of His countrymen.
He was seized finally by the rulers of the
country as a dangerous and seditious
character, was condemned to death and
executed outside the sacred city of His
people, and there was nobody there to
mourn Him but the mother that bore
Him and one disciple and a woman that
had been a public sinner, who was then
a penitent He was placed in a tomb,
mourned over only by these. What hap
pened then? He left that tomb and the
church He established, the empire He
founded, is world wide today, and we, His
subjects, separated from the land He lived
in by weary leagues of land and sea. sepa-
ra ted from the time He lived in by nine
teen cycles, each hundred years, today
are in church and before an altar erect
ed to His honor Above this church and
over this altar is erected the cross, the
today call Him God. We make His life
our model We make His law the stand
ard of our lives. We adore Him present
in the eucharist. We hope and pray that
when our last hours come on us we may
utter with love and contrition His sacred
NAME and so be brought to the heavenly
court of Him, our Saviour, God and King
And how did this humble laborer, this
mechanic. called by His countrymen the
carpenters son, found an empire greater
than was ever dreamed of in widest
dream of warrior or philosopher? He did
not lead victorious legions Ger fields of
blood or glory. He did not, in persuasive
eloquence or glorious song, sway the souls
OF men. He did not choose rich follow
ers to propagate His doctrines. He did
not write immortal books. No, but this
He did--He constituted twelve poor, ig-
norant fishermen an infallible teaching