The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-25

| books. 1t would indeed be practically M
possible in some of our large churches TOT
the priest to be understood, even IL ne
did celebrate mass in English, ana as
matter of fact the liturgical laws OF Inc
church command that certain prayers be
read for sake of greater reverence IN
very low voice. There is no more neces-
sity for the people of our day understand
ing what the priest says than OF OLD
when Jewish priests prayed alone in the
tabernacle at the hour of sacrifice
Practice of Confession.
The Rev. Father Healy delivered the
lecture in the mission course. Comics
sion" was his theme. He began by re-
citing these words from the twentieth
chapter of St Johns gospel: And when
He had said this, He breather on them
and said, Receive we the Holy Ghost.
Whose sins We shall forgive, they are
forgiven them; whose sins ye shal re"
! tain, they are retained.
Father Healy spoke in part as follows:
1.-THE great objection of non-Catholics
to the Catholic doctrine Of confession Is
] that no man can forgive sin. Yet mere
we find Christ giving to the apostles, VINO
were men, the power to forgive sin. There
/ is no escaping the plain words OF Jesus
! Christ Though they were but men, CHRIST
| conferred on them the power TO PARDON
sin, Just as He gave them the power TO
preach and baptize. always, of course to
be exercised in the name OF Christ. Just
as they preached and baptized In His
name.
Second. that power was not to die with
| the apostles, but was to be transmitted
to the church of God forever For 1t is
a power that has to do with the sanct-
! dcation and salvation Of souls and every
! ofy
last in their successors to the end OF
time.
1.-THE power to baptize and the power
to preach did not die with the apostles.
Neither then did the power to forgive
sin, which was given by the same Christ,
to the same apostles, for the same end.
Third, that power implies. necessarily,
the confession of sins For the power is
judicial, that is to say, it leaves open to
the apostles two alternatives either to
| forgive or not to forgive Now it is abb
solutely impossible that they should know
which of these two alternatives to ex-
| ercise unless the state of the soul be
disclosed to them. In other words, with
out confession that solemn comforting OF
an extraordinary power becomes mean
| Ingless and worthless.
1.-THE sinner is to the law of Christ
| what the criminal is to the law of the
| land. The criminal judge, who has power
| to acquit or convict, must hear the case.
| So the apostles, the criminal judges, as
! it were of the offenders of Christ's law.
| must hear the CASE They can not know
| the case unless the sinner reveal the con-
| dition of his soul.
at matters not what I personally may
think is the proper way of obtaining God s
pardon: IL Christ has chosen to impart
| forgiveness for sin through the action
and decision of His apostles and their
successors, I must have recourse to them.
| Christ gave the power OF pardon to the
| apostles. who we're men, and certainly
He meant that power to be used by
them.
THE Catholic believes in praying to God
| for forgiveness, but at the same time
does not dare to ignore the power con-
! ferred on His apostles by Christ.
About Its Antiquity.
1.-THE best proof of the apostolic anti
| guilty of confession, and the most
| efficacious answer to the curiously I'M
| historical charge that confession was an
| invention of the thirteenth century is the
| fact that heretical sects which broke off
| from the Catholic unity in the early fifth
| century. sects like the HISTORIANS and the
| Eutychians, still retain confesson-proof
| that they practiced confession before their
| separation from the church; for of course
they would not have adopted In later ages
| any doctrines of the church then spurned.
but the mere confession to a priest of
| ones sins does not secure forgiveness.
| The Catholic penitent must also be heart
lily sorry for all his sins; he must be
| firmly determined to do his best to avoid
| these sins in the future; he must make
restitution In cases of injustice and repa-
ration wherein any harm to others has
been done; he must do some work of
penance for his sin, and only on these
| conditions can be obtain absolution."
Father Healy then answered a number
| of popular objections to confession. He
rdiculed the accusation that the con-
| fession was an invention of Roman
priestcraftry." He argued that,the result
of confession was beneficial from the spir-
itual and natural point of view.
Spiritually, confession Is he said, most
powerful help to the one who seeks to re-
form from a sinful life. it provides a
check to the passions, it offers an &C.
cason of self-examination and self-re-
proach, and If it does seem to be hui
initiating at times so much the better;
it purifies the soul a S fire cleanses the
gold"
Even from the natural point of
view, said Father Healy confession
has much to recommend it. 1t
answers to- a natural craving of the hu-
man heart, which cannot endure the bur-
| den of its secrets, but must have hui
man confidant. n sympathizing friend,
an adyisor-but one to whom it may tell
even its sins, In illustration of this
point, Father Healy referred to Haw-
thorne's two novels, "The Scarlet Letter"
and Marble Faun."
The subject of tonisht's lecture will be,
Invocation of the Saints"
During the services last night Erin
Farley sang IN fine style and with re-
ligious spirit, 1.-THE Palms" He has q
rich voice and is referred to as one of
the rising young singers of Birmingham.
Two Are Dead.
Nashville, March 24.-This afternoon,
Netty Green, colored, emptied the con-
tents of a revolver into the body of Mat
tie Goch, another negro woman, who
was instantly killed. The Green woman
then drank an ounce of carbolic acid,
| dying some two hours later in awful
agony at the city hospital The trag-
edy occurred in an alley near the union
station. Jealousy was the cause.