The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-04-27
SERMON BY FIR. WALSH HEARD BY
 OVER 900 MEN
''Seek First the Kingdom of God and All Other Things Will be Added Unto
 YOu."
Tonight, Service at Sf. Mary's Church Open to Catholics and Non. Catholics. Questions Will be Answered for a Half HOnr.

not strong attraction for men would change his mind of he beheld the con- gregation of over 800 men that attend the the Paulist Mission at St. Mary's church last night.
 Fr. Moran who has charge of the mission answered questions for half hour that were deposited in the Cues tion Box. Then for solid hour Fr. Walsh held the attention of every man present while he told them in words never to be forgotten of the real pur- pose of life.
 Taking as his text these words Seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things will b added to you F'r. Walsh said in part:
 ''The purpose of life. for the great majority. can be stated in the words of one of their kind: Eat. drink, and be merry, he said, for tomorrow we d1e,' which is to say, Let your desires have free and loose rein- Get all the pleasure you can out of life, for the end will come all too Soon.' Such men instead of living for the soul. plan and desire means of satisfying the desires of the body. to the neglect of the soul And often they resort to practi iseS that any decent, clean-hearted, self-respect ing man. must abhor and deteSt. They care neither for the rights of man nor the law of God, when their pleasures are in question They make pleasure the purpose of life. They cat, drink and are merry. with no thought of the soul and the life to come. Thus the years pass away until they are no longer able to enjoy the sinful pleas ureS of the world. Then life for them has no meaning. Thoughts of their past, wasted. worthless. sinful life bring remorSe to sadden their old age and they go down to the grave in de- spair. Or perhaps they are cut off in the midst of their sins, and, without moment to prepare. they are hurled into eternity and lost forever.
 Our Lord tells us of a certain rich man who made the possession of wealth the purposes of life. His. fields were so great that his barns could not contain the fruits thereof. And he said, T will pull dowS my barns and build greater ones. and into them l will gather all my goods. and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thy rest: eat, drink, and make good cheer But God said to him, Thou fool. this night I will require thy soul of rhee-' He that layeth up treasures for himself is not rich with God 'Why was this man condemned? Evidently he obtained his wealth hon estly. He did not cheat or steal to get it Why, then. did God condemn him |? This is the reason. Not because he possessed wealth; but because he made the possession of wealth the great ob ject of his life. He spent all his best time and thought and energy. culti- vating fields. developing resources to gain unnecessary &earthly riches. and while so doing, neglected his soul paid no attention to its needs, and thought not of preparing for the life to come. He made this world the end and object and his soul. therefore his condemna- ton.
 Now. as then. there are many per sons like this man. What are they Twin, On xr-ha In their time and thought and energy? They scheme and labor to possess earthly riches, as if these were the one only object of life. They are so busy time for the things of the soul and God. Their business keeps them away from church. It gives them no time for confession and communion. No time for prayer. No time to use the gifts that God has given them for the elevation of their own souls and those less fortunate round about them.
 And worse still Many there are riches that they defraud and cheat and steal to obtain them. They grind down the poor; they squeeze the last dollar from the widow and orphan and unfortunate. The demon of worldly riches takes possession of their hearts to such an extent that it banishes all human sympathy and tenderness, ana leaves those hearts as hard and cold
 
 made the purpose of life.
 "Ohi can it be possible that anyone can imagine that God intended man should live such a life and have such placed them here to live for animal pleasures. to the neglect of the soul and in the end. conscious of a life of emptiness. vanity, and sin, die in re- morse and despair? Your instinct and reason both cry out No! It cannot be- And all the men that the world holds as best and wisest and most be- loved, have spurned the thought that the purpose of life is the qualification of the animal body. You have a high CT nature; you know it; you feel it: and if you did not, then life indeed. would not be. worth living.
 "And now comes an all-important question. Why is it that men make this world and its sinful pleasures the object of their life, when instinct and feeling. reason and faith, tell them such things cannot be the final end Of their creation?
 'There is only one possible answer to this question It is this. Such men do not stop to think. and consequently do not realize the noble nature they possess and the glorious destiny God offers them if they are true to their highest aspirations. In a word they have forgotten their soul Let us pause a moment and consider this all- important question:.
 Having considered the soul as in- tellisent, free and immortal Frr. Walsh continued:
 "Brethren, it is time to ask our selves the question which our Lord puts to each one of us: What doth it profit a man. if he gain the whole | world, and suffer the loss of his soul? | The answer of every honest man must be: Tt profits nothing.
 Ask the person who lives for the | pleasures and vanities of life and neg | lects his religion-ask him what it itc ld "a nothing in the end. It leaves only the | bitter remembrance of a wasted life and awful fear of judgment to come.' Ask the person who has chosen the pleasure of sin by intemperance, What l does it profit?' and he will answer, Tt 1 profits nothing. It leaves only con | sciousness of awful degradation, and | fear of Gods words: The drunkard shall not enter the kingdom of heav- en-
 Ask the person who has chosen the