The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-24
CATHOLIC BISHOP
 BREACHES SERMON
Members of St. Pau.'s Receive
 PapaI Benediction
IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES
Services of Especial Interest and Con- ereeaton Crowds church-Father coyle Reads Form of indulgence
 Granted to the Faithful.

At St PauIS church yesterday the services at 10:30 o'clock were of es- peeial interest as the Right Rev. Bishop Edward P, Allen. D. D.. occupied the pulpit. and at the end of mass imparted i the papal benedietlon sent to the Cath olies of the diocese by Plus K i The congregation completely filled the church. The Rev. Father Piercea1l was : the celebrant at the altar, the mass be- ing style "missa cantata eoram epis- eopo.' meaning mass sung in the pres ence of the bishop. Bishop Allen sat on his throne on the gospel side of the sanctuary. attended by two acolytes of honor. The Rev. Father Coyle acted as the bishops chaplain and master of ceremonies.
 Just before the sermon Father Coyle read the notices for the week and re- minded Catholics who had not made their Easter duty" that Is, confessed their sins and received holy communion during paschal time had only two weeks left in which to comply with that precept of the church. He made it clear that those failing to approach the sacrament of penance on or before Trinity Sunday, June 6, would place themselves outside the pale of the church and would forfeit the right to Catholic burial.
 The time having arrived for the ser mon Bishop Allen ascended the pulpit and after reading the gospel for the day in English, he spoke in part as follows.
 The Bishops Sermon.
 "'And Jesus said to them: "Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned" ]" Mark 16 and 15.
 '"The words in the first part of the text which I have just quoted contain the divine commission given to the apostles by our blessed Lord before His l ascension into heaven. This commis- sion is more fully explained by St. Matthew in the 2Sth chapter of his ! gospel and IS and the following verses, when Jesus said: All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Go there fore, teach ye all nations, baptizing | of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world
 Had Jesus been merely a human teacher we might care very little what system He adopted to propagate and continue His instruction and what priv ileges He intended to bequeath to his disciples and what commission He gave them when leaving them. But very different must be our thoughts and our feelings when we know Him to be tn e eternal Son of God, Incarnate Truth and Wisdom Who shed His blood on tn he cross to redeem us and who sent Ills apostles to apply to us the merits of 1 His passion and death and carry the tidings of. the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.
 Great should be our concern to as certain the mind of Christ in this most important matter. And accordingly it is a subject on which thesstrongest and clearest light has been given to us in sacred scripture.
 Tt Is clear that Christ intended to establish one great universal church into which all the nations of tho earth | were to be called upon to enter The apostolic commission as quoted clearly proves this. It is proved by the prayer l of Christ, that all who through the preaching of the apostles should be- l lieve in Him, might be one as He and the Father are one, one so that the | world might know that the Father had sent Him. John 20-24.
 "It was to be a perpetual church. not | built on a sandy foundation, but on an solid rock, impregnable to every assault | of he'll It was a society at once hu- | man and divine. Human, because made 1 up of mortal beings. who. with all their frailties, profit in it by graces communi- | cated to them by the Son of God; divine | not only because founded by Almighty | God, but also as cherished by Him who | purchased 1t with His blood and made it | His spouse, as being guided, guarded and conducted in all ages in the path of holi- | ness and truth by the Holy Spirit; as be- l ing In fact, as St. Paul says The very pillar and ground of truth Thus viewed. l In all it's aspects the Catholic church is | the perfect representative of Jesus Christ on earth and the unfailing organ by
 
 teaching. guiding and saving them as | truly and as effectually as when He was visibly present here below. Thus His l work here on earth was not abandoned l when merely begun. Thus his voice still 1 sways the minds and the hearts of His l innumerable followers and the commission | which He gave His apostles was being l fulfilled in every age.
 The Apostleship.
 "But how did He bring about this l give life and form, power and action, perpetuity and infalliblity to that church 1 in which He still is and through which l He teaches, rules and sanctifes His elect ? l He accomplishes all this by a perpetual | apostleship and an organizatio which | though human In one of His clements is nevertheless in It's origin. it's powers and | it's preservation altogether divine' l The bishop then sought to show that l from the dawn of Christianity the gospel | was preached and the saeraments ad- | ministered not only by the original F. 1 but also by Saul, converted after our ] inspired evangelists; Titus and Timothy | and so on, from that epoch to our own l time, by their successors in unbroken | line, having the same ordination, fulfill | ing the same apostolic ministry, and ex- ercising the same divine powers for the | sanctification and the salvation of im- l mortal souls.
 Christian Hierarchy.
 The bishop. continuing, said:
 Now when our Lord sent the apos- l ties with the commission to convert the l world, He, knowing all things, knew that | they personally would not complete this