Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-12-26
breaches at PontificaI High
Mass at St. Patrick's
Cathedral.
M0NSlGNOR |. P. WHELAN
ASSISTS AS ARCH PRIEST
Bishop o'connor Also officiates
at PontifioaI Vespers in
Afternoon.

christmas sermon, taking as his sub
1ect the spiritual and temporal mys-
teries of the nativity. Senninarians
from the Seminary OF the Immacu-
late Conceution, at Seton Hall, served
as deacons and sub-deacons at the
mass Rev. Charles A. Smith, chan
cellor of the diocese of Newark. Of
ficiated as master of ceremonies.
Under the direction of Rev. John L.
Herman, the chancel choir OF thirty
/. Ave boys sang let Us Now Go to
Bethlehem" They also assisted in
the singing of Kalliwode's mass by
the choir, accompanied by Professor
William F. Hattersley and an or
chestra of stringed instruments.
Bishop O'Connor officiated at ponti-
f1cal vespers In the afternoon at 3
O'clock
The bishops sermon in full was as
follows:
The fact that He Whose birthday we
honor today was truly God Himself,
though He was also truly man, ls the
reason and explanation Of the trans
cendent JOY of Christmas. ss
We often altitude TO Christmas as the
birthday of the Son of God. But there
~ udnENT lest we OVERLOOK Int IutdHlHk
of the term Son of God. False teachers
have arisen at various epochs who, as in
the case of Arius in the fourth century
and the Rationalists in our own day,
profess to believe in the human birth of
the Son of God. And yet they had no
realization of the Incompatible majesty
and dignity OF the mystery which Christ
mas recalls to our minds. Patriarchs
and prophets, apostles and martyrs have
been called sons of God, sons merely by
adoption through sanctiying grace, as
we ourselves are children Of God by
baptism. As many as have received
Him. to them He gave power to be made
sons of God, to them that believeth in
His name"
But when we speak of the human birth
OF Christ, the Son of God, we have in
mind the birth of one who from all
eternity was the natural and co-equal
and only begotten Son Of God the Father
TN the beginning was the word" ETC.
This is the divine and eternal word to
whom we refer when we say that Christ
is the "Incarnate Word This Is the
word that was made flesh and dwelt
amongst us and we have seen His glory
the glory of the only begotten Son of
God. full of grace and truth. From all
eternity there were three divine and CO.
equal persons In God--the Father, Son
and Holy Ghost. No less than the Father,
the Son of God, the second person of the
Blessed Trinity, is truly God, possessing
all the infinite resources of divine ma
jesty wisdom and power. God the Son,
no less than God the Father, Is the
creator of the world, the author Of life,
Natural and supernatural the object of
our alteration and our love, the source of
our intelligence and freedom, the goal of
thc highest ambition of the human mind
and heart, .'He is God Of God, light of
light, begotten, not made consubstantial
with the Father, and by Him all things
we're made
This second person of the Blessed
Trinity, this eternal son of God the
Father, the splendor of His glory and the
figure of His substance, the uncreated
wisdom of the Gcdhead, the word who
was in the beginning and was with God
and who was God-He IL was who as
sumed to Himself body and soul like
ours He IL was who on the first Christ
mas Day was born into this world Of
the Virgin Mary and who appeared among
men as n human being without for an
Instant ceasing to be the Almighty and
Eternal God. The Babe of Bethlehem
was truly man in all the attributes of
humanity, one with us in human nature,
with a human intelligence and human
helpless child, reclining on its mothers
bosom, guarded by st. Joseph, adored by
the shepherds, announced by the celestial
music of the heavenly choirs. born in
stable and wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in manger was the same sec
ond person of the ever glorious Trinity
who from all eternity was as truly God
as God the Father Himself. That child
had but one personality, the personality
OF God though He had two natures, the
divine and the human His actions
whether OF His divine or Of His human
nature, were the actions of a divine per-
son, of infinite value and of ineffable
worth and dignity
Birth Beyond Understanding.
Such was the Son OF God, whose human
and Joseph we worship at the throne of
our new born king with the shepherds
we bow down with humble and contrlte
birth we commemorate today--the Son of
God not by the adoption of grace, but
by identity OF substance and essence, Of
intellect and will, of attribute and action
with God the Father and God the Holy
Ghost. The event, therefore, which we
celebrate On Christmas Day is one utterly
beyond the power of human language to
describe in its full significance. 1t is the
chief event In the history OF the world
It is more marvellous than the creation of
the universe, more wonderful than mans
elevation to the supernatural order of
grace in this life and glory in the life to
come. These were but external manifes-
tations of Gods power and love. The
birth of Christ was the visible coming
of God Himself in person and nature into
the world, MS nearly on level with His
creatures as 1t was possible even for
omnipotence to accomplish. The infinite
fba ftrff bo or and
creature. God and man became one. united
in indissolube union in the one person OF
the God man Jesus Christ our Lord. In
Him God is brought near to man to walk
with him, to speak with him, TO lift him
nm above himself. to redeem him from
sin and death and to clothe him with the
garb of heavenly light in faith and hope
and love in this life and everlasting glory
in the lie to come. Such wGs the result
Of infinite love. God so loyed the
world" etc.
The Light of Revelation.
1t is only in the light of the revelation
OF these sublime truths that we enter
fully into the spirit Of the celebration Of
this feast Hence il is that as WE conf
memorate the birth of the eternal Son of
God we recall that event in a spirit Of
joy and gratitude as the supreme mani
festation- Of Gods infinite love for man
kind. When Holy Scripture would give
expression to the idea OF the ineffable
goodness and mercy of God, the sacred
writer can find no description more fitting
than this ''God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that all
who would believe in Him might not perish,
but might have life everlasting" This
was indeed the supreme manifestation of
Gods love for man. That love, 1t is true.
was displayed in the creation OF the
vrorld n ,voR for fhp sake Of mankind