FATHER HENNEBERY'S MISSION.

Southland Times, Issue 3362, 31 March 1879, Page 2

FATHER HENNEBERY'S MISSION.

St. Mary's Roman Cath olic Church Avas croAvded yesterday morning, Avhen, the Rev. Father Hennebery commenced one of his "missions" here. He arrived by the express on Saturday, and, although;suffering from some fatigue consequent upon the journey, still he preached a most poAverf ill' and lengthy sermon— in fact, the length of the discourse may be very fairly judged state that the whole exercises ;6fthe church occupied two hours and a half. The priest, it- may be stated, delivered a most: homely discourse, and those who attended "with the idea that Father Hennebery: Avould 'have; -^^^ either Vupon the question of temperance or that of mixed marriages Avere disappointed, for throughout not a single allusion Avas made to either of these subjects. At the outset-Father Hennebery explained that he had comeVto open :•'•_■ niissoh in7lnvercargill, and refen*ed} at great to the object ; 'of such a mission.:. He then Avent on to refer to -the -terrible' sins that raged in the present day, asking his auditors to ;look at the ■ large number of pebple;whp 'did not trouble ; about heavenly. thingS;V ! He number of miserable Avonien who dressed themselves ".up to Vgratify their own ideas, and to please their neighbors. -.- He begged of them to look at the men of tiie present: generation imbued with a fatal; idea' that' ,all;they had;:tO ; liveVf6r was 7 Ayhat was to be ; gained on earth ;— men avlio " cursed and swore and damned like troopers," and lived ah ungodly iife. 'Whfit,. he; asked. Avould , become Vof. ": these;.: peoplje in. . the end ? 'What : -excu|es" J 7 could "they makeV for their conduct ; Ayhen;they: av ere broiight before the ;Great--ThfpVe ; .''?. ; - : XVhat' ! would be their thoughts Avlien they sawthe gates of heaven closed on account of their. sinsjVAvhen -they s^;the awful Vpvtr. of hell open to them, and the fearful devils like : hpundsCw&ting fOi-Vtheir . blood :?;,; .. . TheyV ; ihightlsee in ; Heaven the priest -whose ■ direc- ; tiOnk^hey had> disdained, but ■ could they . blamehim.Avheh he had . put forth all his i efforts toisa^ethem? yNo, not him' non aoyonev-el^i ' themselves ;• : it wasV they who; ciirsedV aridv swbre^V]ivedvittVd;state ;;of ; sitijyand re"V mained ;aAvay f Wnri ; vthe ; ; Sacrifice r of the;: rxuis^V ;If they did at ■' any! time come tb ' mass, they came like he noticed some in thatVGhurcliv tliat Vday '. had come—- ih ;fhe middle: of v if- T^ese vsinners VWOulcl; beg ; for one diayi more in; which to return^o^he - AyorldVand do r penance jfor ; tiieir .but their desires.: would perish. What -would be the case when the. awful judgment .would be delivered- against the sinners when they found tlimriselyes V enveloped in the 'flames of hell .?,.; VThey woiild in vain ask God to open the gates of lieaven, but, as was the case with the fobhsh virgins, it would i)e of rio : use. : Tho was . held partly to save such men as . these. When they considered^ too,' thitt over v84,Q00 people : died daily, and that the great ; majority of these were; lost to all eternity," what' cause for Ayondeivwasv there .that the : Catholic Church sliouldvput forth extraor- • dinary efforts to save ' poor guilty: souls ? Her : ministers: Avere actively: doing their duty ■ iri ; ;preparing; souls for; heaven, and saving theni from hell;- but notwithstanding this ;.the people went astray. Catholics were made for heaven as well as others ; theirs Avas the truVreligibn ; but still many wandered by the ; .way. In the colonies especially was this; th'ecase :. old relations had been "done away Syith, and Avhat a nuin ber of Catholics Avere; in the jvide ;path ! Now, a mission Avas: calculated to put these men on- the right road. VHe then referred to the confession, and its -special relation to missions, and. in the course, of-relat-ing an anecdote said, that it had.be6h mentioned that a priest ';' had been going about the colonies disclosing* the" confession.: This; he did not Vbelieve, for i£ he did describe it God-Avould" strike him deadi He then alluded to the power of these missions, stating his conviction that if Judas Iscariot had attended one he; would have been converted. And -what'Avould be the effect if they did riot attend? Why, Avhen in America, he had asked a man to attend one; the man pleaded as an excuse that lie had to soa\/ a crop of bats, and throughout his mission Vhe did riot make his appearance. His. neighbors did. And Avhat was the result? Simply this, that his neighbors' crops Avere good, and only weeds resulted from. the labors of the man avlio had refused to attend the mission. In another case,Va rich -American!" lady Avas asked to attend, messages: w-enj; sent, but she refused. ; ' : Bfefoi*e the rilissidn Avas over that woman Ayas struck deal, and ohe of her children died without baptism: He (the speaker) Avas now expecting to hear of the fate of her husband, Avho also had refused to attend the service.' But why noed he go to America for such instances ? Here in New Zealand: they had; examples of a 'similar character. During his mission in Blenheim a Avretched Catholic refused to attend, arid before the ser\rices were' oyer he Avas^ a corpse. At Ahaura there Avas a-Avretched Avoman Avho \vas fond of ; the. ballrroom (iri fact, she Avas called the "belle of the 1 ball"), and she .could J drink like a fish. She was asjeed to attend tive mission, f and refused. Before the mission Avas over she w r as found dead Avithj va. vbottle of Avhisky half empty by her. side- •; He appealed to them not to risk the matter. MeriVwho' refused Avere branded for -hell. The mission Avould not bfea long, one, and he urged all to eome, 'not for "the" sake of. curiosity,' but with the 'idea of rectifying their lives. He should be glad to see present asmWnyprotesiants as could make it convenient, to be there, and he thought they Avbuldjind out that many of those mendacious telegrams;- that had beeri^ sent by -the Press, Association: were falsehoods, and that; he (Father H.enriebeiy) was not that^firebrand they^ made 'Wm but to be; v ' y lii the evening; he^ again ;p^reached;'to a large 'congregation. V ; ; ' ; To-day, Father Hennebery -will ■preach at 6 a.m., 9 a.m,, and 7 : p'm^ and services at these: : hours .will :be continued throughout the week. ;V " „ V V; V y yax