MISSION AT ST MARY'S

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 4 March 1914, Page 4

MISSION AT ST MARY'S

SERMON ON CONFESSION, . ' A very large congregation, assembled at the Church la-3t evening; to hear the sermon on "Confession." Taking r or his text, the words,' '/Whose sins you shall forgive they .are forgiven them, etc.''" (John xx. I .23.)''•■'. Father Oreagh introduced his subject of •'Saoriuneni'il Confession." He led tip to h:s • subject by introducing' the parable of ! tli6 prodigal son. He showed that the human heart yearned! to unburden, itself when weighed'dbwn by sin. liike ithe prodigal son it yearned to cry ©ut> "I will returi* ■to my father-Vs house and' I'Sviil 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before thee.'" An all merciful Christdecided in His eternal wisdom to create a sacrament to satisfy this desire ,of the penitent heart,' with the power of jprqducing complete pardon. The iSayiQur , had promised jjliat He/ , would! give : to His priest-apostles the; power of binding and loosing. He fulfilled' His promise after ; His Resurrection, Ha appeared.* to His Apostles to give them an ambassadorial power, equal-, to' His own.;, saying, '* As the Living Father has sent me, so do I send you." , By these: words He proclaihied to the World, that- the po\yer about to be conferred' on the Christian, priesthood would in no wise differ -from His own. Breathing on them He said, "'Receive ye the Holy Ghost a " to show;. that the exercise of the power of absqlution would be through the Holy Ghost. Then in clear unequivocal words '.'" He conferred the great power ;by ..the words, "Whose sins you shall forgive, •they are forgiven them, whose. sins you fehall retain they are retained'.'' The preacher went on to ask' what, possible meaning these words and circumstances conveyed; Is it possible that there" be two meanings or more? If Christ \is God, if the Holy Scriptures are His inspired -word, then any. unbiassed Christian must declare that Christ the Infallible G-od conferred on -His Apostles and successors in the • Christian priesthood, the power of forgiving the sins,of' those truly repentant and humbly confessing ' those, sins. So, "clear were His that from the .'earliest days, -of _ the Church, confession, private auricular confession, was universally practised, as the history of the early ers clearly show.' To be logical, a Chris., tian must admit the truth of the words of Christ, or he must deny them, thus ceease to be Christian. Thifl; sacrament (of confession, the: preacher aaid,-is the one doctrine of the Church least understood, most Represented by the non-Cathohc .world, yet- it had the authority of Christ and .the Holy Scriptures, and the weight of near-' lv nineteen centuries to support, -it. i Father Creagh then .instanced the various objections against the doctrine, ,dectarinp: that they arose from mere igWance, and a total misconception,; of the nature and practice of confession. I He averred that the Catholic priesthood !. was the identical priesthood of .■ Qhrisfr* that the priest as. the Scripture said, wa* the "Ambassador of Christ.,'.' hence the priest, acting .officially, Vexercised ;.dh? Lme power as Christ. Though no man as man, has more power than anothe* as man, yet when divinely delegated, and empowered by God, he was capable of exercising a truly divine power quit*; bevond any ordinaryq. human power. Father Creas;h showed how erroneous was the idea that confession was a mere formal affair. - To obtain absolution, and to have that absolution ratified ■• n» Heaven, one must be - truly contrite, must make an integral .confession, and must make a firm purpose of amendment. Without these dispositionsC;«ie pnesuy absolution would be null; and ;yoid; T and the penitent would be guilty of sacrilege. He concluded by makinjr a- *}*™Z £? e l pealAo his Catholic brethren to go tie quently to confession in order to have their sins remitted, and to tliusobtam grace and help from God to avoid sin , f °Tne e warfistened to- with rapt attention.. A number rf were preseiit and were much interestea in the explanation of the Catholic doc trine of ■ . „ To-morrow evening there wul b?, a m on on "The Blessed Sacrament Du?_ W the service there will be a proces Son of the "Blessed Sacrament around the Church. ,■..'"■