RELIGION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2887, 29 October 1895, Page 2

RELIGION.

Oa Sunday evening last the llev. Father Lo Meuant des Chesuais delivered his ninth lecture ou the “ Reunion of Christendom ” to a large congregation in St. Joseph’s Church, Temuka. It was a continuation of “The Early Christian Church.” The subject was “ Apostolicity and holiness of the Church,” and the text “ You are fellow-citizens with the saints, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” —Ephes., ii., 19, 20. The following is a brief report of the lecture:—Jesus is the solid rock on which the Christian Church is built; Peter is the secondary rock, resting ou Jesus Christ, who imparts to him and to his legitimate successors strength and durability, so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against him, because He has prayed for him that his faith might never fail. (Matthew, xvi., 28; Luke, xxii., 32). He is the divinely-appointed expounder and interpreter of the Christian revelation, that he might be able to safely guide the whole flock of Christ, the sheep and the lambs, iu matters of faith and morals, confirm and enlighten them. (Luke, xii,, 32 ; xxii., 32). The twelve Apostles are the twelve pillars of the Church; they established it by their preaching and the shedding of their blood. Having received her doctrine through the Apostles, and been edified by ihoir virtues, examples, and heavenly miracles, the Church has always cherished their memory; she instituted a special festival in honor of each of them; she encourages her children to study their lives, follow their examples, imitate their virtues, and be over mindful of them and grateful to them for the benefit of Christian faith they have inherited through them, and also for the privilege of their fellow-citizenship with the saints they have obtained from Jesus Christ through their mediation, for “We are fellow-citizens with the saints, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.” (Ephes., ii., 19,20). Wo profess to believe nothing but what W as taught by Jesus Christ, the founder o£ iho Church, and by Hia Apostles, to ■ cave special powers to make whom - ’ ' u of HL revelation, known to ua file wno.- -hi We hold that not even the Pope can .... an vthi ng to or take anything from the A post al'ical teaching, and that ho IS empowered by Christ only to explain it to us and define it, as circumstances ot tune and places may re inire. Let us now ox;, lain more fully what is meant by the Apostolicity of the Church. By Apestolicity we mean that the Christian Church was, by the command of Christ, established and organised by the Apostles, that it received through them the constitution wit ch Our Blessed Lord had framed for it her doctrine, the powers of the priostoood, h r heirarchy, the mission of her pastors from the beginning, and that she must continue to the end of the

world unchanged, in the profession of the same faith and doctrine, in the uninterrupted succession of pastors, having received their order and mission mediately or immediately from the Apostles, hence the Christian Church must be Apostolical. I.—By its origin, since it was founded by Christ and Bis twelve Apostles. Our Lord empowered no one but the Apostles to establish His Church and give it its constitution. The true Church must, therefore, be Apostolical in this sense, that its pastors form one moral body extending from the Apostles to the present time ; or, if you prefer, they must be true successors of the Apostles. ll.—By its doctrine, the Christian and Apostolical revelation, as we have seen, is so complete, precise, and perfect, that nothing can be added to it; nothing can be taken away from it; no thing can be explained in a different way, or a different meaning attached to it besides that given by Jesus Christ himself and His twelve Apostles. No new revelation can ever take place till the end of the world. The Christian revelation is final, irreformable, irrevocable; consequently the teaching of the Church can never need a reformation. The members of the Church may need reforming, because they may fall into error, or lead criminal lives; abuses may have to be opposed, but in matters of faith and morals, the Church will ever be spotless, immaculate, because the spirit of truth will abide with her for ever (John xiv., 16,17), and because Christ himself will always guide and protect her, according to His promise. (Matt, xxviii,, 20). To maintain the contrary opinion is to deny the veracity of Christ, and give a death- blow to Christianity, flow can any one pretend to be more enlightened than Jesus Christ and His Church, which is the pillar of truth ? (I. Tim., ill., 15). How can any one have the presumption to set himself above the bride of Christ, whose mission is the perfecting of the saints 1 (Ephos. iv., 11,14). Any Church which rejects one or more truths contained in the Apostolic revelation—always believed from the beginning, or when, later on, it was contested or forgotten by many, defined by the Church—is a free selector in matters of faith, for such is the meaning of the word “ airesis,” to choose, to select. In matters of faith or morals there is no such thing as free selection or private judgment; when God speaks to us, either directly or through his approved representatives, the moment we are certain He has spoken, and aware of what He has said, we are bound to believe it, and if we refuse to do so, we, by the very fact, reject Him and completely separate ourselves from Him; we practically set ourselves above Him and His Church and become our own infallible guide, and to a certain, extent our own

God, since we consider ourselves wiser and more enlightened than He and the infallible Church He has established to teach us His religion, and lead us to sanctity and holiness, and to heavenly bliss. The Jewish synagogue was an image of the Christian Apostolical Church. In the Jewish synagogue, no one was admitted except the members of the family of Aaron, who was, as it were, the root of the priesthood in the synagogue. In like manner, in the Christian Church, there is a perpetuity of ministry by the right of Apostolical succession, that is, by the proper reception of holy orders and jurisdiction from Jesus Christ, Our High Priest, and the Apostles, and His first representative, the Roman Pontiff, (John xxi., 20 ; Romans x., 15; Acts xx., 28; I, Tim. xiv. 14, v. 22 : Tit. i., 5; Heb. v., 4). No one can be called a legitimate pastor who was not sent as Christ by His Father; When Jesns instituted the Apostolic ministry it was to endure for ever. How could it endure for ever if the ministers of the true Church were not, by an unbroken succession and unity of faith, united with His Apostolic Church ? If they had not inherited the powers and privileges He conferred on His Apostles and their legitimate successors, how could they be called ministers of Christ when they did not receive their orders or mission from Him 'I How would the words of Our Saviour bo verified in them “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” “ Sicut misit me Peter, ot ego mitto vos.” (John xx., 21). The visibility of the Church also requires this Apostolicity, lest intruders should usurp the sacred functions of the ministry and deceive the faithful. When Jesus said “ Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of (the world ” (Matt, xxviii., 20), surely Be meant only those who had been chosen, or would afterwards be chosen by Him, His Apostles, their legitimate successors, and Hia vicar on earth The pure doctrine of Jesus must come to us from His divine heart. Jesus promised His Apostles to be with them all days, even to the consummation of the world, that is, He promised to continue to guide and protect them that they might teach His religion and administer the sacraments, and lead souls to perfection. The miracles which the Apostles and the missionaries who succeeded them performed were their credential letters, iu proof that they were the ministers and ambassadors of Christ. The work of evangelisation from the beginning was carried on under the direction of the Apostles. Properly speaking, the Church begins with the Apostles; they are the first Church, the mother Church, which, in course of time gave birth to all the other Churches. The whole Christian Church is au expansion of the Apostolical Church, with the same unity of faith and government. All particular Christian Churches, in all ages and places, are linked with the Apostolical Church. As the Pope is the successor of St. Peter, so bishops are the successors of the Apostles, because the Apostles consecrated bishops and appointed them as their successors. All Christian antiquity recognises in bishops the successors of the Apostles. The Christian bishops, however, oannot discharge their office independently of the Pope. By their consecration they have a right in the share of the administration of the Church, but in union only with and subordinate to the vicar of Christ on earth. Bishops administer the dioceses entrusted to them and most in council with tho Pope to deliberatoon Church matters, and, iu union with him, frame decrees for the government of the whole Church. Tho faithful, as we have seen, have no voice in the government of the Church ; the State or Government c'lii claim no right iu ecclesiastical matters ; tho State is only for temporal tilings, and the Church for spiritual .mss? The Apostolic sap must flow through the veins of tho true Christian Church like blood through the humau frame. All the true Christian Churches of the world must be visibly united to the juaiu Church, as tho main Church u vU; Mv united -vitu Jesus Christ himself, its founder, and His Apostles, without any break or interruption, ihus Chnsl rules over all the faithful, and they are all united with him and He with thou. This is why tho Church is called u U j’h<) union oi all the faithful under one , ilf Thus it iValao- that Apostolicity head.-. LUUS u * , ia(l (foctfiuo is fhh of origin, succession, p V rest of tho true Church estabhatiea uj Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church caj show the list of all its poiuiffs, and hotf . t 1 its Churches wore started by Apostolic men in union with and vitlj th° ’JPg' bation of the vicar of Christ. It ib for this reason that from the Apostolic time*

it has been the custom to keep the exact catalogue of the pontiffs of each diocese until the present day. The same has been done for all the principal Churches. Whosoeiver had not a legitimate succession or mission was always looked upon as an intruder. Thus bt. Cyprian said to Novatianus: “Novatianus does not belong to the Church ; he cannot be called bishop, who despising Apostolic tradition, succeeding to no one, was self-appointed and ordained.” “Novatianus in Ecclosia non est, neque Episcopus conapntari potest, qui Apostolica traditiono contempta Nemini Succidens, a seipso ordinatus est.” S. Oyp. Epist. xxxxix., Ad. Mag. n. 6). Speaking to the Donatists, St. Optatus says: “ Show the origin of Your See, who pretend to belong to the Holy Church of Christ?” (S. Optat. De. Schism. Don. L, 11. n. 3—l) Tertullian makes use of the same argument in his Boojc of Prescriptions. (“ Tert. De Prescription.” n. 20. 29, 32.) We may distinguish a two-fold Apostolic!ty. Immediate Apostolicity, when by an unbroken succession of legitimate pastors a See is connected with the Apostolic times. Mediate Apostolicity, when a Church of more recent origin has been branched off from another Church of Apostolic origin, with the sanction of the Holy See; this Church, through the Mother Church, can be traced back to the very Apostles of Jesus Christ, and may truly be called Apostolical. In our next lecture, we shall speak of the Sanctity of the Church.