The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-04-22
REV. DOUCHERTY
WILL PREACH AT
SPECIAL SERVICE
SUBJECT FOR TOMORROW
WILL BE "cHRIsT'S EASTER
GIFT TO HIS APOSTLES AND
THEIR SUCCESSORS"
CONTRIBUTED

Il 4
sins.
| Christ's commission for sins re-
mission 10 centuries old.
Confession bogeyCan Christ
confer such power to man?
On Sunday Father Dougherty
will preach on "Christ's Easter
gift to His Apostles and their Sue
cessors." Only God can forgive
sin, is absolutely true, and only
God can delegate that power to
those He sends to carry on His
Salvation to all nations, is also
true. Did God SO delegate such
power to man? If He did-well,
why worry and wrangle about it?
You cannot change His Plan. He
paid the price of sin, and He has
right to dictate to us of how we
must be forgiven, and we have no
right to tell Him to forgive us by
our own private plan.
Express Biblical warrant for the
Sacrament is found in the goth
| chapter Of st. John, 1928. Open
your Bible and read Christ's own
words of the grant, and find out
His mind on the plan, and ask
yourself just a few common sense
questions. Who is speaking?
Does He know what He is saying?
To whom? About what? Are
His words purposeless meaning
less on such momentous occa-
sion? His own triumphant proof
of His claim to be God? To 81
lence all their questions: "Only
God can forgive SINS" He said to
the man, arise" so that they may
know that He was God. On Easter
He arose Himself from the dead,
and answered their question in
deed, and now since He proved
that He is God, He now shares His
power with those chosen by Him
Ito go and teach all nations" "As
the Father sent me, | send you.
Receive we the Holy Ghost, those
sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven, whose sins your shall
retain, they are retained" If He
has the power to send them to go
and teach and preach. to baptize,
why cannot He also confer power
to forgive sins, since their mission
is His mission to save sinners?
Whose sins We shall forgive"
Only one clear logical meaning
can be attached to the words.
(Forgive) No word warrants the
inference that He is merely max
ing them official anneuncers of
what He already had previously
actually forgiven. He binds Him.
self and His Father to ratify their
act and we believe Him, because
He is God and He is our Judge.
Whose sins you shall retain.
oh! Why did He think of that
part of it, which necessitates
knowledge, information. since they
cannot read minds before decid-
ing? Why such power to refuse
forgiveness to close with the keys
the Kingdom of Heaven to Souls
unless they meet Christ's plan OF
forgiveness. Still some childishiy
say: II have not found in the Bible
the words: Go to confession "
No, that is true but Christ does
not say to the people, go be
baptized, but He did say, to those
men, go teach and preach. He
who believes and is baptized" and
He sad to those same men;
Whose sins you shall forgive they
are forgiven.
Words are labels for thoughts
and things. We give new names
to old goods. Call man an I'M
dertaker or mortician, what is
the difference, his job is the same.
Racketeering and birth-control are
modern names for old vices. Com
panionate marriage is what our
ancestors honestly, commonly cali
ed concubinage.
Scripture, history, tradition,
complete faith in Christ and the
confidence in His promise Ito al
ways remain with His church UNI
ell the end of the world, and that
the gates Of hell shall not prevail
against it. give Us stabilized Sc
curity in our stand and support US
in our belief on this great Sacra-
ment.
What church knows best the
mind of Christ or one founded by
an apostate sixteen hundred years
afterwards II you believe the
Bible OF Christ, then you must &C
cepe His plans or insult Him and
remain in sin. To ignore these
words of Christ as meaningless j.
Co make q fool out Of Christ and
Christ win not be Knocked. To say
that you 90 straight to God for
forgiveness. and not mean by il
this plan Of Christ. but e render
il useless Is To blaspheme God,
and your SINS are not forgiven but
increased. Fer Christ says: Ne
one can come 10 the Father exceps
! hy Me- !" As the Father sent ms,
/ send you. asl power i given 70
Ne. receive sc the Heiy Chest,
whose sins van forgive. they are
forgiven. whose sans ron retain
they are retained. That i Eed's