El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-17
FATHERB|EVER
ON THE PAPACY
Jesuit Missionary at Cattle
dral Explains the Found
ing of the Church.


yer and McCreary, explain the doc
trines of the Catholic church.
The subject of Fr. Biever's lecture
last night was the "Papacy." He
spoke in part as follows:
Two thousand years have we'll
nigh passed since two humble fisher
men, ready to go to sea to cast their
/ nets, saw a stranger on the SnOre- he
appeared the very perfection of hu-
mainly in form and feature. Come
ye after me- exclaimed this mysteri-
Gus stranger, and I will make you
/ fishers of men, They, drawn by the
/ irresistible persuasion Of his voice,
followed Him This stranger was
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son Of God
sublime vocation conferred upon him
on the shores of that picturesque lake,
! left all and followed Christ.
] IN their jOurneyings Christ and
His chosen apostles reached Caesarea
Philippi- On this significant spot
Christ asked the most momentoua
questions ever proposed on earth.
I Whom do men say that I am? Peter.
compelled by a heavenly inspiration,
rushes forward and exclaims: Thou
art Christ, the Son of the Living God
/ And Christ, answering. said to him
Blessed art thou, Simon. son of Jonas.
because flesh and blood have not re-
yealed this to you but my Father
who is in heaven, and say to you,
thou art Peter, and upon this rock ]
will build my church, and the gates
of he'll shall never prevail against it.
and will give to thee the Keys of the
kingdom Of heaven, and whatsoever
thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall
be bound also in heaven
Significance OF Christ's Words.
IN the English version the full
significance of Christ's words is not
apparent, but IN the Syriac language.
so closely allied to the Syro-Chaldaic,
the tongue in which our Savior con-
versed, the name given to Peter and
the word rock are identical Thou
art Chipha and upon this Chipha
will build my church In the Latin
and Greek TRANSACTIONS the similarity,
though more striking than in the
English text, is not perfect: 'Tu eS
Petrus, ct super hane Petrum-' But
in the French text the meaning OF
Christ is perfectly clear: 'Tu es Pierre
ct sur cette Pierre Je batirai mon
Eglise.'
s'Henceforward. Peter became the
object of particular honors, bestowed
upon him not only by Christ but by
the other apostles. For Peter and
Himself Christ caused tribute to be
paid Peter was the first whose feet
Christ washed To Peter alone Christ
predicted that He would die a mar
tyr's death. Peter is the first to con-
fess the faith, the first who saw
Christ after His resurrection, the
first TO complete the number OF the
the first to confirm the faith by a
miracle, the first 10 convert the Jews
the first TO receive the Gentiles.
las a further confirmation Of the
supreme power conferred upon Peter,
Christ, on the very shores He had
called him, makes Peter the supreme
shepherd of His flock Feed my
lambs not only my lambs, but my
sheep, There shall be one fold and
one shepherd
Again, Christ our Lord said to
Peter: Simon, behold satan has de-
sired TO have you Cplural) that he
might sift you (pluraD as wheat, but
have prayed for thee (singular) that
thy faith may not fail. and thou
being converted confirm thy breth-
rem
Peter Becomes Supreme Pastor.
Thus Peter becomes the founda-
ton, the head, the supreme pastor OF
the church established by Christ. Go
into the whole world and teach the
gospel TO every creature. He that
saved; he that believes you not shall
be condemned The divine commits
sion TO teach carries with it the
pledge of infallibility in teaching for
it is repugnanL TO reason that God
should authorize a church to teach
teach.
1t is true Peter dies but to live IN
a Linus, a Cletus, a Clement, an Ever
iste, in the 80 martyr bishops OF
Rome, in the 264 successors that
have filled the throne of the fisher
man from Peter to Benedict XIV.
If Peter live not, the Church Of
Christ has no foundation, the flock
no shepherd, the mystic body OF
Christ no head, and the promise OF
let a NJ
have failed
Peter Lives.
Peter lives and morally perseveres
in Benedict whose voice was heard
but yesterday above the din and rage
Of battle implOring the rulers OF the
world in the name Of Jesus Christ
to study the paths Of peace and wis
dom in this fearful war of slaughter
and devastation. Peter lived in a Plus
X, who implored Francis Joseph OF
Austria not TO affix his signature 70
the fateful document that set Europe
and the world aflame. He lived in the
pope that crowned Napoleon in the
18th century. in the pope that crowned
Pepin in the eighth century, IN the
pope that received the homage OF the
Christian emperor in the Fourth cen
fury. Peter lived, and lives now, IN
that unbrOken line Of pOntiffs from
Benedict XIV to the pope that sent
Francis Xavier to India, TO the pope
that sent Adalbert to Poland, to the
popes that set the world ablaze with
the spirit Of Christian chivlary am
placed the cross Of Christ upon the
mailed breasts Of the crusaders and
sent them forth TO fight the Turk on
his plains and kept MOslem rule out
OF Europe; to the pope who sent cyril
and Methodius to Prussia; to the
pope who sent Boniface to Germany,
Augustine TO England, Patrick to Ire
land; TO the pope who rescued Rome
from the wrath of an Atila, till you
come to Peter who died on the Jani-
culum hill in sight Of Rome, the cap
ital OF the new dispensation even as
his Divine Master died on Calvary's
hill in sight Of Jerusalem, the capital
Of the old dispensations, and whose
ashes now rest beneath the immortal
dome Of the mightiest temple ever
rearel by human hands to the honor
and glory Of the true God.
Comes Down Through Centuries.
Through 19 centuries the papacy
has come down to us. The powers OF
earth and hell have failed to destroy
it The papacy was great says lord
Macaulay, before the Saxon had set
foot on Britain, before the Frank had
passed the Rhine, when Grecian elo-
quence still flourished in Antioch, and
when idols were still wOrshipped in
the temple of Mecca"
Father McCreary This Evening.
This evening father McCreary is to
speak on The Catholic Church and
the Mother Of God" another topic OF
much interest to everybody regard
less Of what they may believe and
the Catholic church simply makes a
special effort to enlighten her. child
rem who have become lax in their duty
as members of the church and those