The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-03-26
Ienten Services.

Lenten Services
It is gratifying TO read in French eX-
changes that never before in the his
tory of the great Cathedral of NOtre
Dame in Paris have the Lenten Sta
tons attracted greater attention
than during the present penitential
season The immense historic edifice is
packed 20 the very doors at the Lenten
services. the men outnumbering the
women almost four to one. Throughout
France indeed there has been a great
ouickening of the faith, especially
among men; and what is true Of Notre
Dame is true of almost every church
in The country.
The present eloquent and distinguish
ed preacher Of the Lenten Stations at
Notre Dame is the gifted Canon jan
yier. one of the most noted pulpit ora
tors of France. This is the eighth sea-
son that Father Janvier has been chos-
en- to preach the Lenten stations; his
immediate predecessors having been
sucn eminent lecturers as Father
Etourneau Father Olivier. Mgr.
dHulst. a former rector of the Catholic
University of Paris, and Father Mon
sabre.
The following translation from La
Croix' of Paris, in the New Orleans
Morning Star, tells of the origin of the
conferences of Notre Dame:
Although Lacordaire was the first
titular Of the pulpit Of NOtre Dame,
Fraysginous can be considered as really
the one to set on foot these conferences
ON Christian apologetics after the storm
OF the Revolution. 1t was probably the
very success achieved by the future
minister of public instruction that de-
termined LaCordaire to initiate him.
After the signing of the Concordat
a religious fever took hold of the minds
of many II was this ardent need of
believing. or learning anew the princi-
Jles Of a religion forgotten during
twelve years, that gave girth to the
Genius of Christianity" and deter
mined the widespread circulation of this
magnificent work. The Genius of
Christianity appeared in 1902, and in
1913 the Able Frayssinous inaugurated
at St Sulpice his lectures on the de-
Tense of Christianity which brought all
Paris tC hear him. 1t is certain that
Chateaubriand as writer and Frayssln-
Gus as orator were the principal factors
in the religious revival that followed.
In the beginning Napoleon the First,
the author of the Concordat. saw with
a kindly eye the efforts of Chateau
BRAND and FrayssinOus which subserv-
ed his political designs admirably. only
both the Catholic writer and sacred or
ator were royalists and took no trouble
10 hide their sentiments. Both of them
soon incurred his disple2sure and the
Able Frayssinous was obliged to inter-.
rupt his conferences in 1909, to resume
them again only in 1914, after Napoleon
was eXiled to Elba The series of lee
lures continued until 1921. They merited
for the Able the favor of Louis Xviii
and many hOnors, the office OF chaplain
10 the king. the title Of Bishop of Her
moDulis the ministry of public instrue-
ton. the French academy, the peeraee
and the title of count
When Frayssinous was closing his
lectures at St Sulpice, Lacordaire as
cended the pulpit of st. ROch after
long retreat in Rome.
II is a curious fact, one often met
with in the career of great orators as
in that of great writer's that the first
efforts of Lace rdaire did not rise above
the ordinary. On the other hand, in
1924 and the following years he achiev-
ed a brilliant success in the chapel OF
Stanislas college.
I'm 1885 Msgr de Cullen offered the
pulpit of Notre Dame to Lacordaire for
the Leten sermons. At that time, as
in our day. six sermons were preached
during this reason, from the first Sun
day of Lent to Palm Sunday.
the lectures of Iacordaire filled the
vast cdifice with listeners and admirers
Protestants. Jews, free-thinkers. crowd
Ell the main aisle and stood side by
side with practical Catholics drawn
there by the beautiful language and
Passionate cloquence, if not by the doc
trinc. Of the orator. In explaining Cath
Ollie doctrine Lacordaire touched upon
all the questions of the day-pOliticS,
liberty. nationality, industry, railroads.
Poland, the revolution, the empire, the
penitentiary system and other ques-
lions of universal interest, such as the
family. motherhood, friendship, love
According to st. Beuve, who regularly
attended these lectures despite his anti
clericalism. there was no other orator
who could be compared with Lacor-
dairo for his boldness of thought and
elevation of ideas. the freshness and
uttentimes the happiness of his express
sion, the vivacity of his movements. MS
IMAGINATION, and even his poetry. Aft
or Lent of 1886 Lacordaire again went
to Rome He did not appear again al
Notre Dame before 1S4S. During that
interval he preached in several cathed-
rails OUTSIDE of Paris and assumed the
Dominican habit.
To succeed Lacordaire was heavy
task. As Msgr de Cullen could not
hope to find another Lacordaire, he
chose to call upon an orator whose very
real genius was in perfect contrast to
that of his predecessor. Formerly one
Of the council Of the royal court of Par
Is and once upon time procurator of
The king, Father de Ravignan had en-
tered the Society of Jesus and still pre-
served the qualities of the eloquenee of
magistrate
He abhorred pretension. the ostenta-
ton Of great Tearing, rhetorical affec-
ton. etc. His eloquence rose naturally
from his piety. The papers of the day
speak in high terms of the charm OF
his JUNCTION and of his personality, the
distinction and asceticism of his coun-