Norwich bulletin., 1916-10-11
AN ANCIENT PRACTICE
Has a Lesson for Us in These Days
 of Profanity, Says Mission Preacher Father Matthew at St. Patrick's

large congregation of women assem- | bled in St. Patrick's church for the i second week day exercises of the mis- | sion being given by Franciscan Fa- thers from New York. The preacher 1 was Father Chryoston on The Second | commandment. At g o'clock low mass was read by Rev. Myles P. Calvin of the parish and the preacher was Father Matthew, leader of the mission band. His topic was The Second mmandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Under the old law, the preacher said, so reveranced was the name of Jeho- yah, the Creator, that among all the tribes of Israel only once a year was | it permitted to be spoken, and t6en solely by the high priest. With what reverence did the people assemble priest, in even greater reverence, en- tered the tabernacle and before the 1 Ark of the Covenant invoked this name of might and power!
 Even in our day, men and women revere the name of their parents; are l hurt if these names are spoken slight l ingly. How much more so, then, should | they resent the carelss speaking of that holy name of their Father, God, 1 of their Divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ!
 Three Glasses of Sins. Sins against the second command l ment are divided into three classes | swearing, cursing and blasphemy. | Swearing is the calling of God to l witness anything we do or promise to perform. The commonest expressions l are ''So help me God" T call God to | witness and the like. There are times 1 when to swear is not only permissible i but honorable. For instance, one of 1 the most solemn acts of a president of l these United States, on the day of his 1 iS on the holy Bible, to perform his duties ! as chief executive of this nation faith fully, to the hest of his ability; and this is a worthy action since it shows recognizing God and acknowledging | dependence upon His power. l Again, in courts, there are times when swearing is a legal and proper | act; and to swear falsely is a sin l against God and the law of the land, ized. To swear either honestly or | falsely can be done also without 1 speaking a word; if a witness merely 1 places his hand upon the Bible, it is l calling God to witness, through His holy book, to the truth of the testi- mony given.
 l Depiorable Prevalence of Perjury. The preacher deplored the preva- | fence of perjury in American courts, 1 1nsomuch that a certain leading judge l has recently declared that it would be almost benefit to cease having wit | nesses swear before giving testimony | since fully one-half the oaths taken I are perjury.
 The seriousness of thus invoking the name of the Almighty as a witness to | what IS virtually a lie was pointed out by Father Matthew.
 Unchristian Parents.
 The second sin against the second | 9 Tl6 1ar,t Lo | upon God to work harm to some crea- | ture. Such terrible demands as May God strike you blindI'' and the like were cited as horrible examples of this sin 1n their thoughtlessness and an l ger even parents sometimes curse their children, something one can scarcely credit. The blessing of a parent means so much: a. parents curse is so, terri ble! The malice of this sin was con- demned at length.
 The Prayer of Reparation.
 Then there is the too common fault so many trivial matters; in speaking lirreverently that holy nanc of the Blessed Savior and Redeemer The preacher exhorted his hearers to do all in their power to discourage this | terrible sin, to protest against it; and when, as so often happens, ones ears are offended by cursing and irrever- ence when on the street. to seek to make reearation for such profanity by saving little prayer in the heart, if only the three words ''Ny Jesus, mer- cyl" in atonement for such vile speech and to repair in some measure, for the outrage against the Almighty.
 To Slight the Bible BIaspherny. Blasphenay, the third sin against the second commandment, is, fortunately, less common than are the other two sins. A person blasphemes who should say God is net tust!" or The Bible is a book of fabIes,'' thus denying that the inspired book is Gods holy word.
 Names to Be Cherished. Instead of this careless and irrever- ent use of names which mean so much to the thoughtful Christian, especially the name of God, which is the one | visible, concrete sign we have of the Creator infinite, hence not to be repre- sented by any finite form, the source of all things, without beginning and with out end, the preacher adnlonished his congregation rather to cherish this name and the name of Jesus, and to speak both only in prayer, with the greatest reverence, so that at the. hour Of death, when there will be but brief | time for utterjng prayers, when the mind is failing, from the habit of a lifetime the dying lips will pronounce with love and confidence that only one name under heaven whereby men may l be saved.
 Evening Services.
 The evening preacher was Father Matthew. whose subject was Death.
 At the evening services the choir, directed by Organist Frank L. Farrell. sings several hymns, singing also dur ing the time of the benediction of the blessed sacrament, which ends each evenings exercises.
 l Children's Mission.
 Father Seraphim is conducting the mission for children at o'clock each afternoon. many boys and girls attend ing.
 | MANY WILL ATTEND THE
 BUSINESS MEMS LUNCHEON