Norwich bulletin., 1922-12-11

by Augustine ard which brought the light tO Ou- fvrcfat!.vrs il Ireland | tlTcugh st. Patrick. For We know that the spiris of C Jd resides in the church un- til the consunmation of tine world. an1 that it can teach nothing contrary to that which was taught one century or nineteen l centuries ago. Jesus Christ. the same | yesterday. today and forever
 My dear bTethren-let me congratulate | your energetic pastor on his noble and | courageous work for the upbuildng Of : religion on this parish. And you, too. | . without whose whole-hearted cooperation | l these results could never have been ob- | tained. This church stands as a monu- ! nlcnt 10 the courageous. zeal and eXecu- I 1 tive ability of your hard-Working pastor. ' and will proclaim 10 future generations | the extraordinary generosity Of the peo- pie of St. Mary's parish and their decp abiding lore for their holy faith 1 God has always rewarded the builders of temples in His honor. When David manifested his intentions of erecting a temple God promised him in return tho perpetuation of his reign. That reign was Perpetuated by one who came out Of the house of David, Our Lord and Saw jour Jesus Christ. When Solomon car
 ried into execution the project Of his father Cod bestowed upon him the gift of his wisdom which has never been sur passed or even equAlled. If for a tenn pie that contained only the tables of the law, God bestowed such blessings on David and Solomon, what blessings are in store for your priests and yourselves, be-
 cause of the sacrifices that you have
 made in construction so magnificent a
 temple?
 May God bless and sustain your pastor
 and may He reward you for your sacri-
 fees by preserving untainted among you the faith-the simple cllild-llke faith the greatest blessins God can give you.
 Oh, my dear brethran-our faith. our holy faith. what a blessing it is 10 us. Sometimes I wonder if our Catholic peo-
 pie really realize what their faith means
 to them-the faith that brings them 70
 church--the faith that makes them know and feel that they are in the real sub , stantislly living presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the blessed sacrament of the altar. Do they appreciate the faith that teaches them the consoling doctrine . of the mystic power of absoIution. grant } ed by Christ to His priests-the faith that is the only real consolation of a Chris r tion at the hour of death?
 ] Our holy faith. Gods most precious , gift-the great possession left to this fall 3 len world of ours! But Gods gifts carry ? with them corresponding obligations. So r with the faith. It carries with IL the : obligation of guarding, nourishing and 7 protecting that faith-of doing, my dear |, brethren, making generous sacrifices for 3 the building and support of schools and s churches that teach and preserve that P faith.
 Each one bears personal obligation
 for his own individual faith, that Is. to I be on guard against the dangers that be- . set that faith. These dangers are many.
 They stalk about day by day and Turk in 2 dark places by night. They are found in = every thought of the day. in every axiom t of the world-yes Tn the very atmosphere V we breathe.
 o Th--e was time when the lives of - our reople were simple-when they e worked day in and day out and found l recreation in the church and in her devo- q tions. But times have changed. We have s progressed with the world. We now know l. more about the world and her doings and Q her sins. We read the daily newspapers O and they fairly reek with the crimes and e the scandals and infidelities from the Y ends Of the earth printed in heavy head lines. We do indeed, thank God for ma e terial progress. but 1t behooves us to re- e member the necessity of redoubllnr oU
 precautions to guard our faith.
 This poor world of ours has lost its
 moorings. In the mad rush for pleasur.
 and riches which marks our days, thi
 anchorage of faith seems to be losing it!
 grip on man, and all sense of justice ana
 modesty seems to have been lost-th'
 very qualities that are the outward
 semblance of the inward faith.
 Bear fin mind that history has a habi
 of repeating itself and if we read arigh
 the signs of the times there is reason t'
 fear for the faith of our people. There Il
 nation that had received the faith a
 It's fountain head. They loved the faitl
 and gave testimony Of it by strewin:
 their fair lands with churches and monas
 teries which even today are the wonde
 of Christendom; and yet that nation i
 now a by-word of atheism and infidelity
 The same story can be told of other ma
 tions.
 As with nations, go with individuals
 No one is so secure In the faith that h
 may not lose 1t and will surely lose [
 unless he be vlgilant and guard it. H
 alone Is not in danger of losing his faith
 who cherishes 1t. guards 1t, practices il
 and makes sacrifices for 1t. For sacrifice
 arc the soil in which faith fioHrishes.
 Faith IS not a domestic plant in thI
 world of ours It is a mysterious fiowei
 or rather a stem brought down froI
 heaven and grafted in our human naturt
 When you bring a tropical plant to
 northern cline, you must use every di o. igence to protect it. IL must have art "a fcial light, heat. a special temperatur S a and a certain degree of moisture. ~ must be protected against the burnin heats of summer and rigors of winter n- guarded against violent winds and heay .A rains lest it wither, fade and die. al 50 with our faith If we wish 10 kee ne 1t strong and robust, we must guard I to we must cherish 1t, we must love 1t. W ed must overcome the inoorn sterility (
 our nature in which it Is planted on guard it against the blighting rigors ( x- ignorance and the blasting heat of tl al lpassions-nourish 1t with virtue-keep a safe from the chilling atmosphere of fl V. difference and nddelity-strengthen .. against the law of sin that St. Paul tel os us in our members always fightir VI against the law of the spirit-build abo, lus it the hedge of Christian charity an nss water 1t with the dew of holy purit eu Then, and only then, will our faith - strong robust, undoubting and bearir ot fruit. Carelessness and lack of precautio cs simply means that our faith like q flower will wither and die.
 This Is the reason why all the tathel E of the church from St. Paul, dow .L through the centuries never tire m preaching the necessity of watchln He cherishing our dearest treasure--our ho ss faith. For they know from the histoi ,MA M of nations that once people, no matt iz a,. how strong in the faith let down the ba At riers, the loss of faith was inevitable. TrhArefore my dear brethren if is thi