THE CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12422, 11 February 1901, Page 2

THE CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL.

__.—«, LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS. A BRILLIANT RECEPTION. Although there was a certain amount of disappointment expressed at the absence of Cardinal Moran from the ceremonies in connection with the laying of the foundation stone 'of the Catholic Cathedral,, the proceedings were of a'most imposing' nature. In addition ,to the Archbishops of Melbourne and Wellington, the following visiting prelates and priests were present:—-Bishop Verdon,Mbnsignor M'Kay (Oamaru), MonLCglnon O'Reilly (Auckland), Monsignor O'Le'ary (Dunediu), ..the Revs Fathers M'Cartby (secretary to the Bishop of;Melbourne), Cleary (Dunedin), Lewis, V.G. (Wellington), Smyth (Hastings), Coffey (Dunedin), Mahoney (Nelson), arid M'Nam'a'ra (Napier). THE RECEPTION. Every arrangement had "Deen made for the reception of the visiting prelates, who arrived after a mos>fc enjoyable visit to the West Coast at 6.30 p.m. on Saturday. Tne grounds of the Presbytery had been, artistically, decorated. At the front entrance an arch of greenery had been erected, over which was a flag, in which the Union Jack and the Irish flag had been combined, and the legend, " Welcome to our illustrious prelates' was shown. The drive to the Bishop's residence was festooned with greenery, and about half way along was another arch, with the inscription" BletSsed are they that dwell in Thy House, 0 Lord." Over the door of the Presbytery was-the motto, "Cead MiJle faikhe." At o p.m. a procession was formed up ,at the Presbytery, headed by a brass band, followed by the various Catholic Societies and members of the Church, and the carriages of the Bishop of Chnstchurch. and clergy. The procession wended res way to the Railway Stacion, and upon the arrival of the train the visitors were heartily welcorned by Bishop Grimes, and the procession then went on to the Presbytery, the occupants of the orheial ■ carriages being as follow : —Arthbishop Carr, Bishop Grimes, Revs M'Carthy and Cleary; Archbishop Redwood, Bishop Verdon, Revs Lewis and Coffey; Mom-signers M'Kay and O'Reilly, Revs ' Marnane and Regnault; Monsignor O'LeaTy, Father M'Namara, Father Smyth, and Father Tubman; Rev Fathers O'Donnell, Chastagnon, Bowers and O'Halianan.

AiUv a short interval - the procession was reformed,, and, headed by the 'Bishops and clergy in their rcbes, went by way of Baroadoes Street and t-hsFeiry Road, to the pio-Cathedral, which had been appropriately decorated for the occasion by,\a 'number of ladies. The i.iliuieh was crowded,- and alter Archbishop Carr was seated 1 , on • the throne, Air E. O'Connor (Church secretary), read the following address, vik.cn be presf.;J;ed:to the Archbishop'of Melbourne :—. •'To his Grace the Most Rev Thomas Joseph. Carr, D.D., Archbishop■ of Melbourne,—We, the clergy, and laity .of the diocese of Chris tchurcii, desire, to express our sincere gratitude to Your Grace, to Arcftfibshop Redwood, and.'to the other illustrious prelates, .and. clergy by ,whose-pre-sence we are honoured on this solemn occasion of laying the foundation. A-tone of our new Cathedral" and .we fully appreciate die great personal sacrifice and riskb entailed in undertaking' the wearisome journey to our shores. .'.through Your Grace we beg to offer our own beloved Bishop mca*. hearty congratulations on the inauguration of the work <of erecting, to the great honour and glory of God, sikjli a noble pile as the new Cathedral will prove to be. Tine incessant labcurs of his Lordship, during the past few years, in raising funcis for the .object so dear -to his heart, has'evoked our warmest admiration, and deserved our earnest thanks and constant prayers.. The magnifieeint result of the efforts made by your Grace.in completing the grand Cathedral of St Patrick in your own arohepiscepal city, an enduring memorial of your zeal, activity and devoteaness to our holy faith, die multiplication of educational and charitable institutions, and introduction of u-umer-ovf religious orders into the Archdiocese of Melbourne, your fearless advocacy of and diligent watchfulness over Catholi'c interests, are all objects of ardent rejoicing and 'our heaviest congratulations. In the world of let tens the profound-wisdom and deep learning, your ■'• facile and inexhaustible genius exhibited in your writings, has in the Australasian as well as in New Zealand, elicited universal commendation.. We are cognisant also of hew much the ascent remarkably successful Catholic Congress held in Sydney is indebted to the efforts and assistance "of your Grace and your diocesans. We. earnestly hope and. pray ..that

vcm may .succeed ;'.jn all your projects; and fee long spared to further expend the inffe ence of our Holy Faith, . 'and;■■ ; tb' assist in the vindication of. truth and right in all- things. We. tr-usfc. that the visitiof your Grace and of the other ■•distinguished prelates and ecclesiastics ; who have accompanied you to thi'l.s • city may .be a pleasant one, and we hope at no distant date to again welcome you all to Oh.ri-Sb-church on the occasion of the completion of the great work now so auspiciously.'com-; menced. Signed, on behalf -of the clergy and lai'tv, Th £<e Menant des . Chesnais, SM V.G., H. C. Bovvers, M. F. Marnane'.S.M., George Clifford, JI. Donnelly, E. O'Connor (honorary secretary). A'l'chlbishop CSarr, in replying, eudd.he had no idea in cour.'iig to Cnriitchunch that he' would be. the recipient of so much honour. He-regretted that .hisOEminence the Cardinal. had been unabte to fulfil hos intention; of being present to lay the foundation-erf the Cathedral. He congratulated the- Bishop, and his people on the progress made towards providing a Cathedral for Christchurcß, and expireseed the hope that the project would ■soon be brought to a siiccess'M •conßumum-' tiion. So fari as he could gather, a 'start/ was made with-the. erection of St.Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, when the <popula-

tiem was even less than that of Christchurch > ..at I the present day. The Cathedral had .been considerably enlarged and . improved' *m2e its erection. He gave a short account, of what had been done towards bringing the .Melbourne • Cathedral .up to its' present ..position. He was. glad to see by the plans that in Ohristckirch they were goihg to erect a building; of sufficient ( size to provide for the growth of the Church for miany years. He had come to New Zealand at some little inconvenience, but he bad been highly pleased at all he had seen, both in regard to the -country and in regard to. the spiritual welfare of the Church. He had been present at the laying of the foundation stone of the Rairisb. Church ..in Wellington, and s't was intended shortly to lay. the foundation stone of a grand' Cathedral there. He spoke o't the natural'beauties which had been lavished.on New Zealand by Nature, which wer.e superior to any he had seen in his travels in Switzerland and other places die .had visited. He trusted that the foundation stone to be laid on the following day would-be one mi which a substantial Cathedral would quiiokly arise, and 'that the Church would grow and prosper in proportion. Tn conclusion, he thanked the Catholics of Christchurch very heairtrily for their address. Archbishop RedHvood also expressed his pleasure at being present, and thanked the people for their kind reception. The people of Christchureh had been famous for the hearty recentions they always accorded to Catholic prelates, and'on behalf of himself amd his fellow visitors he expressed his appreciation of the good wili. They, were all pleased to be there to assist in the work of laying .the foundation stone of the noble cathedral which was now to be commenced. •Bishop Grimes thanked'the Archbishop of Melbourne for coming all the way from Australia to represent the Cardinal, who had written expressing his great regret at being unable to attend and lay the foundation stone of the Cathedial. He also-thanked thS Archbishop of Wellington and the other prelates who had come to'assist in the ceremony; Archbishop Carr then pronounced a solemn Benediction, and the procession reformed arid went through the Convent grounds to the Presbytery, where the visitors were entertained at supper.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE. The solemn ceremony of blessing and laying the foundation stone of the new Cathedral was performed at three o'clock yesterday afternoon in the presence of several thousand people. A platform had been erected on the site of the Cathedral, and at one corner was a dais around the corner-stone, which was suspended ready for lowering into its place. The stone bore the inscription, "D.0.M., Hie Lapis, Bened. et Pos. Die x., Feb. An. 1901. J. J. Crimes,." D.D., Bishop Primus, Christchureh Episc.-" Upon the platform were • the Mayor of Christchureh a;ad Mrs Reece, Mr and Mrs A. E. G.-Rhodes, and others. Shortly after three o'clock the procession •emerged"from, the Presbytery, the acolytes leading, the clergy, in their robes, following, and the distinguished prelates preceding his Grace Archbishop.Cm >\ who was in full canonicals, with Dean. Maher and the Rev Father Aubrey as attendant priests. The' Archbishop proceeded to u, spot- in. the centre of the foundations, where a cross had been erected, and here the ceremony of blessing the water and salt was wrformed. The prelates then mounted the dais, and the service, which was full choral, was proceeded with. After blessing the stone, his Grace laid it, using a very handsome trowel of silver with ivory handle, which had been supplied bv Mr G. T. White.- The trowel bore the following inscription .:—" Presented to his Grace the Most, Reverend T. Carr, D.D., Archbishop of Melbourne, on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of the Cathedral Church of the most Blessed Sacrament. Christchureh, New Zealand, Sesagesima Sunday, Feb. 10, 1901. Right Rev. J. J. Grimes, S.M., Bishop, Christchurehi. F. Pe-tre, architect.; J. andW. ■Jairijcsori, contractors." The. ceremony concluded, several addresses were given, and then.subscriptions began to pour on. to-the'stone'un-til the total had reached over £2OOO. Amongst the gifts was a basket containing 500 guineas in gold, sent by Mr G. O'Malley. ' • ; The. following inscription, together with copies of.the local papers and coins of, the realm, were placed in a casket under tine stone:— "To God, the Most Good-, the Most Great: On Sexagesima Sunday, Feb. 10, 1901, Leo XIII. Pope, in the first year of the reign of Edward VII.'-, King of Great Britain; Lord Ranfurly. being Governor of New Zealand and Mr W. Reece Mav-or of Christchureh, in- the presence of the* Meat Rev F. Redwood, S.M., Bishop of.'Wellington, the Right Rev. M. Verdun, Bishop of Dunedin, and of many of the clergy of New Zealand, a great concourse of people, t-hs Most Rev T.. J. Carr, Archbishop of Melbourne, at the request.of the Bight Rev J. J. Grimes, S.M., first Bishop o:f°Chr.;stchurch, blessed and laxl this foundation-stone of the cathedra! church to be erected in honcnr of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Architect, Mr FPebre; contractors, Messrs J. and' W. Jamieson."

In addressing the assemblage, Archbishop Carr said he felt it a great compliment to be' allowed to lay the foundation stone of the Cathedral of the Christehurch diocese, though' he regretted that lie was taking the place of Cardinal Moran, who was anxious to be present, but was detained in Australia. There were several points from which the matter could be viewed. In the first place, would the building upon which they had started be acceptable to God, and would He .assist them to carry out the project?. There. was! no doubt that, whether they looked on God in regard to Natxire, or as the Author of Grace, the offering would be acceptable to Him. Let them look at the natural order of things, and consider what the Almighty Himself had done in erecting a mighty temple in the natural world. What a glorious temple it was., It did not matter whether it was looked into minutely, or was viewed in its great expanse ; in every part of it the power and the glory of God were manifested. In history, they would find that instructions for the building of the most glorious work ever constructed by human hands had com© from God Himself. It was He who told Solomon to build the temple, and said that if the people held by it, He' would deliver the country from all calamities, in the shape of pestilence, flood and locusts. It was, therefore, clear that the work they had undertaken that day would be acceptable to the Almighty. But there was a practical aspect to the question. Would the people be able to carry out the undertaking? He did not wish to refer to their present circumstances or to their needs, but he would tell them what had been done hy their ancestors, and would ask them if, with the mora favourable circumstances under which they lived, they could not do as well. Most of them had descended from the Irish people, though there were among them both English and Scotch. When in old times, the means of the Irish people were poor and, scanty, they erected magnificent 'buildings for the honour and glory of the'Almighty. Where could they find l a greater, or a more remarkable proof of the artistic tense of the Irish people, and of their unyielding faith, than in the glorious monuments which were erected in the days of old, when Ireland was in reality an island of saints, as well as an island of doctrines? Even in their ruins, those buildings gave promise of remaining for centuries, and, with all the improvements of modern times, it would be impossible to erect anything which could excel them with regard to stability: or ornamentation. The buildings of old Catholic England excited the admiration ■ of the world, and the same might be said of the buildings of Scotland, though they were ■not so numerous. If such things were done in ancient times, what might not God' expect from the people of the present day, who had been favoured so much? So far from* being afraid of entering, on the .undertaking from a material. sense, they could look "forward to the future, when the cathedral would stand, . to the credit of the. people of Christehurch and the hoTiour; and glory of God. In conclusion, Archbishou Carr aszain exoressed his delight at

being present, and at the sight of a great concourse of people, who evidently took a lively interest in the function. No doubt, in a short time, many of those who were present would see a glorious temple' ari«o, ■where there was now an open spare. Those who had taken part in the laying of ttoa foundation stone would be blessed by Gfo&» in life, and their names would) fee-associated: for generations with a great work. Archbishop Redwood, of Wellington, who also addressed the assemblage, said that Ire i would not touch on the higher religious aspect of the function, but would iNke to refer to that grand demonstration' as a striking and decisive proof of the immense progress which the Church had made in New Zealand, and especially in Christehureh and Oamterhury. He asked those present to remember that on the site upon which the cathedral would be erected there were to be found, only a few years ago, as usual- denizens of the spot, the wood-hen, the pukaiki, and the wild-duck. " It was there that the first missioners, who lodged- in a small hut used to amuse themselves by throwing stones at wild ducks, while they were on their way through Canterbury. ' But, in a few years, what marvellous changes had been, wrought. Let them look around, and glance at the buildings there,—at that noble convent, an asylum of learning and of religious instruction for the children, and at the old church, which people were now, perhaps, beginning to look upon with scorn, but which was once looked upon with pride. Twenty-six years ago, when the speaker, as Bishop of Wellington, made his first public entry into Christehureh be found a very small church, which formed the nuckns of the one they could see. It was the pride of the Catholics of Christehureh, u,nd was built by the Rev Father Chataigner, whose name would be immortal in Canterbury. If lie had been' present that day, how his | heart would have been gladdened! He | was still living, but was spending his old age in retreat'and retirement, preparing for his eternal recompense. Had he been there, his heart, would have thrilled, and tears of joy would have streamed from his eyes, as he recalled his long journeyings from the north to the south of Canterbury. Another name suggested . itself, that of the Rev Dean Cheivier, who lately departed for his heavenly reward. They could now see that there had been, an end in view in selecting for the site of the church a large piece of ground, even though it was a lagoon, and all glory should be given to the name of those pioneer priests who, in - toil and suffering, sweat and hardships of every kind, laid the spiritual foundation of the cathedral, which was about to be started. They should look • to the past, see what had been done in the life of one man, in the episcopacy of one bishop, and then look forward to the future. The work they had undertaken was a great one, but they were willing to undertake it, and it would be done. Speaking in a jocular vein, Archbishop Redwood asked those present to ease rhmeselves of the cheques which were burning in their pockets—(laughter) —and. continuing, said that if they threw them, as it were, on the waters of divine Providence, they would return and increase tenfold, bringing blessings to the givers, their homes, and all that they held most dear. (Applause).' ilr W. Reece, Mayor of Christehureh, who was received with applause,' ascended /the platform, at the invitation- of Bishop Grimes, and said that he had not -had the slightest idea that he would be called on to speak that afternoon, or he would have prepared a speech. He would, however, congratulate the Catholics on the work that had been undertaken, though'he was sori-v that a more central site had not been 'obtained. He was sure that the new Cathedral would be a means of furthering the inI -terests of the people. (Applause.) Mr A. E. G. Rhodes congratulated the people on the undertaking, ar.d said that he, too, was sure that the building would be a means of doing good. . ""Bishop Grimes announced that he had a message to deliver from the head of their Church, the Sovereign Pontcff, Leo. Xlll. He had sent a special blessing, and had also done what neither he nor any other Pope had ever done before, which was to send a donation to this remote, country. The blessing was on the Catholics themselves, and the contribution amounted to a hundred guineas —(applause)—and when they considered the many demands on the Pope's resources it was a princely donation, -Not, only Catholics, but those who belonged to other denominations, must fed proud and grateitui- of the faot that that great Pontt'.fi who was e«teemed throughout the world lor ms learnin.o', wisdom and devdiedness to the cause of humanity, had se nt a hand;™ gift to Christehureh. (Applause.) Bi*nop Grim.es added that'many either, donations had been received, .and would be placed on the stone, with the Pontiff's. The Bishop went on to say that he had a tege number of apologies for absence, and among tnem to. a letter from Cardinal Moral, who .expreyed the'pain he felt ■**■the fact that official duties prevented ;ta . ££- ino- part in the general rejci.eings m UMtchufi The Hon J. G. Ward, the Bistops orßaliarat, Rockhampton Armadale, and others also apologised for -absence. At the Pro-Cathedral in the morning, Solemn Pontifical High Mas*_ was.celebrated, his Lordship the Right Rev Hi Verdon, Bishop of Dunedin, was the celebrant, the Rev Father Cleary assistant priest, and the Rev* Fathers O'Donnell and Marnane, deacon and sub-deacon lespectaveiv The Rev Fathers Bowers and M Done,.! were masters'of ceremonies. The choir was supplemented by an orchestra, a»d the singing was conducted by Mr U. a. Loughnan, and Miss Fimston was at the organ. Gounod's " Messe Solennelle was rendered, with the' omission of the Gloria, Miss Pender being the soprano soloist, Mrs Loughnan alto, Mi C, Read tenor, and Mr E. M'Namara baas. The solo, Gounod's "Ave Maria," was sung bv-Miss J. Moir, and the . March" was played as the.prelates left-the building. His Grace ArchbiEhopßedwood, of Wellington, preached for his text St John- i, 14-" And the Wo-id-was made flesh, and dwelt among us full o graceand truth," saying that m these word was revealed the knowledge of the greatest truth regarding the whole system o Christianity, the truVo! the Lord and' Savxoury Jesus Christ. The inspired Evangelist had written that the Word was God. Man had two natures,-a human and Divine nature, and in this was the great revelation, of the fundamental truths of humanity. Iruta and Divine love were the greatest gifts bestowed upon man.- The Lord Jesus had walked the earth as a speaker of truth, and He ■ had had made known to man the great super•tural truth, coming not to teach scientific or political truth, but supernatural andl Divine truth, necessary to man to work out his own salvation, and to prepare himself for his divine destiny before God Jesus had sent His apostles to teach truth, saying, "As the OFather sent Me, I also send you," and there f Apostles were to. form a mystic body of Christ, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. Men were only human beings without grace. They required grace and strength of will to fulfil the commandments laid upon, them by the Incarnate God, and thev could not so fulfil with their unaided . faculties, but the Lord. Jesus Christ in his admirable and sacred " life had established a system whereby man might obtain grace and strength. First was prayer, and secondly, that mysterious 'system of the seven Sacraments which Christ had mtoblished for His Church, with power to administer until 'the- find of time. The first Sacrament was baptism, and as in the natural life man needed first to be bom, so by the Sacrament of Baptism-he was born into the supernatural life. Man required to grow up and be strengthened) in .his natural body, and required the same in, the spiritual body.- That strengthening was supplied by the sacrament of Confirmation. .In-'the natural Mo food to give strength! was'required; this was necessary in the, supernatural life, and was supplied by the sacrament of the Ho.y Eucharist. That'food supernatural was the en Mime Person of Jesus Christ, and the food on which the. Divine. Shepherd fed!' His. flock,' being His. own glorified body under the appearance of bread, and wine. If the natural"body were stricken; by » disease it

required: a remedy, and as the supernatural death-of the soul was'sin, the supernatural body found its remedy in the Sacrament, of Penance. It was requisite that there should be a ministry of priests, to confer the sacraments, and this was provided in the 'Sacrament of Holy Order's, Them it was necessary that the raw maternal, as it might be called, the natural body, should be-"preserved, and that was provided for in the Sacrament of Matrimony. It had been raised to the dignity of a sacrament and conferred upon man to enable himi to bring up a family in the love of God. : In, the natural' life strength was required in the last hour when the soul was passing away, and as the soul required strengthening against temptations the Sacrament of Extreme Unction was administered. This could all be applied to the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone, for the ,building of a church was the means established for the carrying out of the Divine programme. In the church would be revealed the precepts of Divine law, and the childran would be admitted to baptism; and the mv&tic Bodv of Christ, There the sins of the penitent would be washed away, and there all would kneel before the Holy Table of the Faith and from that table would go ■the oil to annoint those ordained as priests and to anoint the dying. A cathedral was more; 'it was a great centre of life, because the teaching was handed forth by the bishop to all his clergy and so distributed amongst the people. It was a centre -of Divine life—» spiritual sun—for as the snn was a type of the great Son, Jesus Christ, radiating light, so "the bishoprics were like smaller sons radiating light and heat, and every cathedral .was, ' therefore, a Divine centre. The, preacher congratulated the congregation upon the greatest day in, their great undertaking. Their Bishop had come to part of the realisation of his great hope and 'desire to see a church erected worthy of the Divine majesty of God, and he (the preacher), tendered his warmest and sincerest 'congratulation's. . He felt glad and gratified to be present. THE EVENING SERVICE.

At 7 p.m. the Pro-Cathedral was again crowded, and Pontifical Vespers-.were sung by Archbishop Redwood. The Rev Fathers O'Donnell and Marnane were Deacons, 'at the Throne, and the Rev Father Lewis'was assistant priest. As an offertory Mr Macnamara sung "L-es Kameaux." Archbishop Cavr preached from the text, " This is the victory that overoometh the worid: our faith." His Grace referred to the building of the Cathedral, and -said it was no light thing to undertake such a task and to bring it to a successful conclusion. The same spirit which Avas found 1 'amongst those who raised the primitive revelation of the church, and which animated Noah and Solomon, was the mainspring of the present movement. From time immemorial the most beautiful places had been provided iir which to worship the Supreme ■ Being. The ancient Greek and Roman temples, gorgeous as they were and the Turkish mosque all showed that suitable buildings should ba provided. During the persecutions in Rome the only place the Christians could find to worship God in security was in the catacombs; and as the visitor passed through the streets of Rome he heard the melodies of praise to the Almighty ascending from various secluded nooks where they w*ire worshiping. The preacher spoke at length on the various'massive temples which had been erected in ancient and modern. times, and the same'ceremony which they had witnessed that day had been performed in connection .with 'these, many hundreds of years ago. Every endeavour had been .made to make these Cathedrals beautiful, while the ornamentation was symbolical, and in the ancient days before books were printed conveyed to the faithful, the truths of their religion by means ' of symbols. Throughout there had been- a devotion to art: in all the public, portions of the edifices, and, even the same care was taken with the secret recesses. Those, who built these churches were men who believed in their faith, and those Avho believed ih-ey would receive- their reward hereafter. It was this faith that had caused the beautiful and mas-. sive cathedrals to be scattered all over Eng-, land. In these buildings there was 'a- reflection of the sound and solid faith in which they lived, and were bound up., He drew a comparison between the solid foundation of the cathedral, and the fonndatiou o'f the faith in which the hope of the Christian' rested. This faith in the revelation of God should be unbounded and received without question. God had set np the Church so' that it'should be the repository and the organ of his revelation to nien, and through it He spoke; to them that day. They must be certain that God had 1 spoken, and also that His word was infallibly true, and was contained to a great extent in the New Testament, and also in the; unwritten traditions of the Church. The senses of the. body were given to people in order that through them the knowledge should be> conveyed to the mind, amd it was through the mind that faith was received. It was their duty to gain as much knowledge as possible and by doing so 'they would 'increase their faith. The generality of knowledge gained must .of necessity be to a great extent in material things, but' they must accept without doubt the word of God., They must believe- in a future state, although they knew nothing of it except by faith. Their reason, however, told them 'that such was the case. They could net always trust to the testimony of their,'fellowmen, because, in many instances, there might be "ulterior motives. They _ must, "therefore, depend entirely on their faith and reason,. Had- not. God revealed to them by His Holy Word! the.mysteries of the supernatural world, they would! have known nothing of it. The truths of that Word could alone be received by faith, and faith was the substance of things not seen, and: which realty meant a belief of the Divine veracity of the Scriptures. Their faith told tliem that beyond this world there was another in which those Who had fought the good fight would be rewarded, while those who died in sin would be punished. There wexe persons in the world who did their duty in this world without supernatural faith, and these might probably find .when they entered another life that they .had received their reward in this world and that there was nothing left, for them to receive. Before they could love or serve God thev must believe in Him and in His Divine revelation, and be prepared to accept ii. Faith was as necessary, to.their.,spiritual welfare, as was the breath of life to. their bodies. When Noah built the ark it was a practical revelation of his faith, as was it also when Abraham offered up his son Isaac as a- sacrifice, but God, having tested his faith and found him ready to obey, forbad the sacrifice. These were only ,'a few cases in which God had tested the faith, of His servants. Faith was the staff which God 1 had put into their hands,to assidst ,-tham in passing through the dangers and pitfalls of this world. . They'should remember that, they were always , under the all-seeing eye of God,-who'not-ed the. actions of each of them. It was their faith which had caused them to. commence the work of building the cathedral, and by faith they would complete it. The, work was a large and a costly one, but no : : one could say that it was too large or too ; spacious, or too expensive. God had endowed 'them'well in this place, and'out of ■gratitude' 'for the blessings"-''they"-".", should build.'a house worthy'of Hfe name. All 4he beauties (that surrounded •'•them, and all

the oomforte which-it wa&'evident they possessed', were the gifts of God, and they should erect and sanctify a cathedral which they could hand l down to. posterity as ail, evidence of their gmatitude...and faith in: God. God would be pteased"!asJwas\Soldinon wliexi. i he foiirJ3) ihbw ready Were has' ; as-'; sist in the building of the Temple. By.aseiistdTug in aits erection they would gratify their devoted and zealous Bishop, who had used such strenuous endeavours to have a cathediral » worthy of the city of Christehureh..

Bishop Grimes, in a short address, thanked the visiting prelates and clergy for having come to assist in the. ceremonies of that day, and also all who contributed in vara-'' ons ways to make the .proceedings so successful. He amoounced that over £2OOO had been laid on the foundation-stone that day, amd the sum, he believed, was a record for the colony for any such function. The service concluded with a solemn Benediction by Archbishop Redwood. THE CONVERSAZIONE. The visiting prelates and. clergy .will be ' entertained at a conversazione in, the Art Gallery at eight o'clock this evening, when there will be a programme of music and light refreshments will be dispensed. To-morrow evening thsi visitors will be the guests of the Mother Superior, at Mount Magdala." .; -, . . '" ;