LENTEN PASTORAL FOR 1879.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 304, 14 February 1879, Page 5

LENTEN PASTORAL FOR 1879.

Francis, BY THE GKACE OP GOD AND FAVOUR OP THE APOSTOLIC SEE BISHOP OP WELLINGTON". TO THE CLERGY AND PAITHPU^ THE SAID DIOCESE, HEALTH AND BENEDICTION IN THE LORD. Dearly Beloved Brethren and Dear Children in Jesus Christ — Anncti • ,i' *• Ot to x WC T y you with quotations, we may conclude the Apostle s testimony to the duty of thanksgiving by the observation ''wLSev\ g tO h ™>X™ y t ar^ CtcAkic t/eheathonSS tbi!Xs« 7p *o G ,^' 4 Ley Scorified Him not as God, nor gave CiSed'bv tl -\ fV Hence the Holy Church, which is filled and S M -il uS Tl'T 1 ' Ot GG I°d>1 ° d> pi ; efa - Ces tlle Canon ' or more solemn part XnSv ? ltbthesc WOI 7 cls r" lt is iTa] y mett aud J*"*. right and So OHnllT" 6^" l^^?/ 8-'8 -' snd5 nd I" aU l' l^, give thanks to out Lord" ' gy> teinal Got1 ' lhlou S b Christ tW^T' M ? at b f- nefU deaerve s our heartfelt tribute of gratitude more than the extraordinary graces of a mission ? Wherefore we eagerly i tins long-desired opportunity to rejoice with you over* the ftiS? Pioduced by thc 'late Missions, to /eturn solemn "VSirm ♦? i I .SO** I"**1 "** towaids us, and to beg of Him to conhim the work which He has wrought in us." (Ps. lxvii 29) We owe you, Dearly Beloved Brethren, a well-earned meed of ]>raise, and we wish it to be heard in all the churches of our diocese. inn! i T g gracC antl mercy of Gotl - y° u bave uofc received the heavenly dew on an ungrateful soil. When the word of God was pieaeiictt to you, urging you to penance and a change of life, "you received it not as the word of men, but (as it is indeed) the word of only VOrketh M", yOU that baVe believed -"' (1 ThcM. ii. 18). Not fondorf ll™ wo T r f tblly ni i s ?' er <»"• aPPeal, but you surpassed our WW P • 1S S - Weet *° reCall lo your men >ory and ours those touching and impressive scenes. The confessional thronged with earful penitents ; the ministers of reconciliation weary with up iS their hand to forgive ; the table of the Heavenly Father sun-ounded

ttoS iKlfiK \J ff K1?K 1 ? 6 f f St year of our e P isc °P al ad'ministrapSious Sod lfnl h Gfat l g f ble P reach « of the order of the Most or tne Missson that you engaged to keep the law of God. He is the no wm be to-morrow and always — always vonr FitTir^ hSZmUfISSS } hG V? SVet tb .% time ° f Si »' the cUys of unwhomsoverinn C hisgive. I,of1 ,of him much shall be rcqS" (Luke sii. 48). Leal penance is not a mere truce with sin ; it is not if we Star wlS^S^rf °! aCC ° UntS With God aild our conscience: atici wbichne are at liberty to contract new debts in hoDes of iWH S s Pe «iS^iM dUlgenC ? T}^' ISSiOn - ' Cancel notTLok3Kn t ? 7 1 , man bobeld his cm^enanc G and went his way, and picscntly forgot what manner of man he was." (James i. 24) S^ops^ b -- S ISd eLecSv nAy, bj ) l r ° f^ tbful dißcb "Be of a Chiiatian's duties ; and especially of the obligations connected with the holy season of Lent. What more unmistakable evidence can you "ive Tof the sincerity cf your conversion, than your fidelity to the practices of faX ing and abstinence, those salutary observances desK? by iwS SfficiStS? 11 * 51011^ bUt mo&t deaX> aiKl i 0 to all^S? theniookil" wV™ 1O , ng lOUl 0U Wb ° " put their hand to the I^oagh and the MhSon whL ■ be 1 » an ' land1 and l jartiall y attended the exercises of II m n T mSC , d <°o be conv crtcd, but were not, we might Si Twh St wS C i WO i ° f ?, t! PaUl t0 the Galatia "s ! " You did n,n ?gli v 7 , v / ndcmlyou that you should not obey the truth?" add tot & V-l!!n yy ° U f Ve P , lty more tban blame - Why should we Godi\stnfJ:^?^ proacbeß °^' 0U1 " rcason ' faitb ' and conscience? hone of "foi3iS?' a T dWeeJch . Orty . OU t0 I>etUrn t0 Him with full Son ffiXT niG> y° U have l r^trievably lost the grace of the vi^ p nil . rfortuno you cannot sufficiently doploi-e ; but is that a T oni , Z glVm ? 0 " 1 " S ° Ul alt °S^er ? The Mission is «r O ne, but Lent is here, and it too is a time overflowing with divine merer The Mission was a favour to be accepted with "thanksgiving, but iastc? SZ-eTnd w d H ty i ° h V^S^ied without gnevous sin Come ih. iS ii' t , C I U ? dls P°s'tio"s, confess your sins, and receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Then you will have that peace which yon refused to obtain in the days of the Mission P MiJT 7 mT tO y °- U Wb ° totally nc - lected or despised the Mission. Without pretending to enter the secret of your hearts, we muKe ooid io say tnat you are sorry for your omission, and you regret your coldness and indifference in the mi Ist of general fervour If our judgment of your feelings be too indulgent, our mistake i redounds to your honour and affords us an agn-Jable illusion Have confidence, then, in the Lord ;He is more mcrciiul than w re wicked' SJS? tl^. asures of fo^ our wonnds, remedies for our most, inveterate diseases, and forgiveness for all our si us. Is there not always a mission going on in the Church ? Are not the copious gmccoTthe

Sacraments, of the Word of God, of the Holy Mass, and other fountains ot sanctification, one continuous Mission ? Is not the Sacred Heart of Jesus always open to the repentant sinner? Come then, seize the golden opportunity and redeem your sinful neglect. The Church summons you once more to her standard. Take up the weapons of lasting, abstinence, prayer, and penance ; " redeem your sins with alms and your iniquities with works of mercy," (Dan. iv , 24). and we promise you the victory over your spiritual foes, we warrant to you peace of heart and solid happiness. 2. We again call your earnest attention, Beloved Brethren, to the all-important subject of Catholic Education, and exhort you to ponder well the following noble and deeply instructive letter recently addressed by the present Pope Leo XIII to his Cardinal Vicar. Its farrcaching observations and paternal warnings are so applicable to our present situation, that we deem its perusal most fit to intensify your zeal for the establishment of Catholic Schools, wherever they arc possible, or for the organization of Catechism classes, or other arrangements— such as, in remote districts, the co-operation of Catholic men and women— whereby our rising generation may receive adequate religious instruction, and learn the way of eternal life. His Holiness writes, — " A decree has recently been issued by those the duties of whose office should have bound them to guard the true interests of the inhabitants of Home, banishing the Catholic Catechism from the municipal schools, and, by this most reprehensible measure, throwing down the bulwark against the eruption of heresy and infidelity, and leaving open the way to a new kind of foreign invasion, much more deadly and perilous than the old, as it more directly tends to tear from the hearts of Romans the precious treasure of the faith and the fruits which it brings forth. This new attempt against the religion and piety of our people fills our soul with a deep and pungent sorrow, and constrains us to write to you, my Lord Cardinal, who fill our place in the spiritual government of Korne, the present letter upon the melancholy subject, to complain loudly in the presenceof God and man.

"An 1 here from the very beginning, in virtue of the pastoral ministry, we must recall to the mind of every Catholic the very serious duty which by the natural and the divine law, is incumbent on him of instructing his offspring in the supernatural truths of faith, and the duty which, in a Catholic city, binds those who rule its destinies to assist and promote its fulfilment. And whilst in the came of religion we raise our voice for tbe guardianship of its most sacred rights, we likewise desire that it should be shown how this ill-advised measure is contrary to the well-being of society itself.

Certainly no one could imagine what pretext could have counselled such a measure, except, perhaps, that unreasonable and pernicious indifference in matters of religion in which it is now wished that the people should grow up. Heretofore reason and natural good sense have taught men to set aside and put out of use that which experience has not approved, or which has become useless through the changed conditions of society. But who can affirm that the teaching of the Catechism has not heretofore been productive of great good 1 Was it not religious instruction which renewed the world, which sanctified and softened mutual relations amongst men, which made the moral seDse more delicate, and educated that Christian conscience which represses excesses, reproves acts of injustice, and raises the people who are faithful above all others ? Will it be said that the social conditions of the present age have rendered it useless or noxious ? But the safety and prosperity of na*ions have no sco u re protection apart from truth and justice, of which society at present so deeply feels the need, and whose rights the Catholic Catechism preserves in their integrity. Through love, however, of the precious fruits which have already been gathered and are expected with such justice from this instruction, it should not only not have been banished from the public schools, but it should rather .have been piomoted by eveiy means. " Likewise the nature of the child, and all the special conditions of the times in which we live, require this. By no compact can the judgment of Solomon on the child be renewed, and he cannot be divided by an unreasonable and cruel division between his intelligence and his will. If the cultivation of the first be undertaken, it is necessary to direct the second to the pursuits of virtuous habits and of its last end. Whosoever in education neglects the will concentrating every effort on the culture of the mind, makes instruction a perilous weapon in the hands of the wicked. For it is the working of the intelligence which sometimes, strengthening the evil inclinations of the will, endows them with a force which it is impossible to resist.

"The teaching of tbe Catechism enobles and raises tnan in his own idea, teaching him to respect at the same time himself and others. It is a great misfortune that so many who would banish the Catechism from the schools should have forgotten, or are unwilling to reflect, that they themselves learnt the Catechism when they were children. It would have been easy enough for them to understand how by teaching the child that he issues from the hands of God and is the fruit of His love ; that all that he sees is ordained of God, King and Lord of Creation ; that he is so great and of such worth, that the Eternal Son of God to redeem him did not disdain to take his flesh ; that by the blood of the Man-God his forehead is bathed in baptism ; that by the fleßh of the Divine Lamb his spiritual life is nourished ; that the Holy Spirit dwelling in him as in His living temple infuses in him life and virtue wholly Divine. This is that which gives him efficacious impulses to keep the glorious character of son of God and to honour it by virtuous conduct. They would likewise understand that great things may be expected from a child who in the school of Catholic Catechism learns that he is destined to a most high end in the vision and in the love of God ; that he is taught to watch over himself continually and comforted by all manner of helps in sustaining the warfare which his implacable enemies wage agaiust him; that he is induced to be docile and obedient, learning to venerate in his parents the image of his Father who is in heaven, and in the Prince the authority which comes from God, and from God draws its existence* and its majesty ; that he is drawn to respect in his

brethren the Divine likeness which shines upon his own forehead, and to recognise uudcr the miserable appearances of ;the poor the same Redeemer ; that he is saved in. good time from doubts and from uncertainties by the benefit of the Catholic doctrine, whose title to infallibility and authenticity are its Divine ori-in, the prodigious fact of its establishment upon earth, the abundance of the most sweet and salutary fruits which it brings. Finally, they would understand that Catholic morality, armed with the fear of chastisement and the certain hope of the most high rewards, runs not the risk of those civil ethics which they would substitute for the religious j nor would they ever have taken the fatal resolution of depriving the present generation of so many and of such precious advantages by banishing the teaching of the Catechism from the schools.

" And we say Vanishing, since the proposal to bestow religious instruction solely on those children for whom their parents make exprefs demand is thoroughly illusory. Nor, in fact, can it be understood how the authors of this ill-omened proposal have not been aware of the sinister impression which must be made upon the mind of the child by seeing religious teaching placed in conditions so different from all other instruction. What inducement can a child — which will only apply itself with ardour to a study the necessity and importance of which it can appreciate — have to pay attention to instructions towards which the school authority is cold or hostile, and which are only accorded a half-hearted toleration ? And then, if there should be (as it is not difficult to find) parents who, either through wickedness of mind, or more probably through ignorance and negligence, should not think of requiring for their children the benefit of religious instruction, a great portion of youth would remain deprived of the most salutary precepts, with extreme prejudice not only to those innocent souls, but to civil society itself. And this being so, would it not be a duty of whoever presides over the school to remedy the malice or heedlessness of parents ? Hoping for advantages undoubtedly less important, it was lately thought to render elementary instruction compulsory by law, obliging the parents, even with fines, to send their children to school ; and now, how can they have the heart to withdraw religious instruction from the Catholic youth, which is without doubt, the soundest guarantee of a wise and virtuous direction given to life 1 Is it not cruel to allow children to grow without ideas and sentiments of religion, until overtaken by fervid adolescence they arc found in presence of seductive and violent passions, disarmed, unprovided with any curb, with a certainty of being drawn down into the slippery paths of crime ? It is a pain to our paternal heart to see the deplorable consequences of this senseless scheme ; and our paiii is increased, considering at the present day the incitements to all kinds of vice are stronger and more numerous than ever. You, my Lord Cardinal, who, by your high office of our Vicar follow closely the development of the war which in our day is waged against God and His Church in our Rome, know well without our speaking of it at length, what and how many are the perils of perversion which youth encounters ; pernicious doctrines, subversive of all constituted order ; audacious and violent proposals to the prejudice and discredit of every legitimate authority ; finally, immorality, which without hindrance proceeds openly by a thousand ways to contaminate the eyes and to corrupt the hearts of youth.

" When those and sirnjlar assaults arc made against faith and morals, each one can judge for himself how opportunely the moment has been selected to drive religious education away from the public schools. Is it, perchance, sought by thesa proposals, instead of the Roman people, which was celebrated in all the world for its faith, even from Apostolic times, and was until the present admired for integrity and the religious culture of its morals, to form an irreligious and dissolute people, and thus lead them to a condition of barbarism and savagery.

"We do not doubt that the clergy of Rome will not at all be found wanting to the sacred duties of their sacerdotal ministry, and that they will employ themselves with the most affectionate care in preserving the Roman youth from the perils which .threaten its faith and morality, We are certain, likewise, that the Catholic Associations, flourishing in this city with such advantage to religion, will contribute all the means placed in their hands to the pious undertaking of saving their holy city from losing the sacred and august character of religion and the envied boast of being the Holy City, and becoming the victim of error and the theatre of unbelief. And you, my Lord Cardinal, with the wisdom and firmness with which you are adorned, strive that oratories and schools may be increased, where the young may be gathered together to be instructed concerning the most holy Catholic religion, in which, by a particular grace of God, they have been born. Seek, according as it has already brought good fruit in some churches, that virtuous and charitable laymen, under the vigilance of one or more priests, may lend their labour to teach the Catechism to the children, and strive that the parents be exhorted by their respective parish priests to send their children, and that they be reminded likewise of the duty incumbent on all of requiring religious instruction for their children in the schools. It will be useful likewise that catechetical instruction for adults be established in the places which are believed to be the most fitting for them, in order to maintain ever living in souls the salutary precepts which they learned in their childhood's days. Never fail to enkindle piety and to direct always still better the labour of the priests and laity, placing before their eyes the importance of their work, the merits which they will acquire before God, before us, and before the whole of society, and which most stienuously we will study to hold in due consideration."

Now. Beloved Brethren, this mixed education so strongly condemned by our Holy Father is the public school system of this colony. Adequate Catholic religious instruction cannot be imparted by schools which close their doors on religion, much less by teachers who are, or may be, the bitterest foes of the Catholic Church. Wherefore, that secular education which brings together into one school teachers and pupils of every creed, or no creed, and system., i ieally professes to teach the doctrines of no church, has again been -v igorousJy reprobated by the Holy See, and declared unfit for Cathu.ics, being the straight road to scepticism and infidelity. Let us the a renew our zeal to provide for our rising generation a thoroughly Catholic training, and

meanwhile employ every .legitimate means to* bring about the repeal, or modification, of the unjust and insane law by which we are oppressed. ' Our position is this : our holy faith requires that Catholic children shall be taught religion and morality along with secular knowledge. Hence, the present purely secular system is utterly repugnant to our conscientious convictions. Yet we arc constrained to pay taxes for the support of a system which we abhor, and of which we arc debarred by conscience from availing ourselves. And, further, nothing is given in aid of the schools which we approve, and which we have erected at great cost and sacrifice. Is not our case parallel to that of £he Dissenters in England, and the Catholics in Ireland, who were formerly obliged to pay church rates for an Establishment whose tenets they did not admit? Good sense and justice have abolished those obnoxious church rates in England and Ireland, and erelong, we hope, they will sweep awny our present galling grievance. What we want is that the State should pay us only for secular results. The so-called religious difficulty is, in a great measure, as far as we are concerned, of easy solution, by the introduction of on auxiliary system of payment by results under Government inspection. Let any fair number of persons be free to establish a school under the Education Act, which would receive the periodical visit of a Government inspector, and let all, and only, such pupils as would reach a fixed secular standard, obtain a liberal grant. Let this be the fundamental principle round which all minor practical details would revolve. This system would greatly stimulate secular instruction, secure the rights of conscience, and be a lasting bond of social peace and harmony. Let us pray that God, by whom " Kings reign, and Lawgivers decree just things," may turn the minds and hearts of our rulers to counsels of fairness and justice, and that, come what may, our children may keep inviolate the priceless treasure of their Catholic faith and morality. " Now the God of peace be with yon all. Amen." (Romans xv. 33.) £< FRANCIS, Bishop of Wellington. Given at Wellington on the 11th day of Feb., 1879. Regulations. All who have arrived at the years of discretion are bound to goto Communion within Easter time, which, in the Diocese of Wellington, begins on the first Sunday in Lent, and ends on Trinity Sunday, both days included. All days in Lent, except Sundays, are days of fast and abstinence, subject to the following regulations which* we make in virtue of special faculties received from the Holy Sec :—: — 1. We grant permission for the use of flcfch meat at dinner only on all Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and also on all Saturdays except two, viz., the second Saturday in Lent and the last. 2. Lard and dripping may be used after the manner of butter at all meals on all days of fast and abstiuence during Lent (and also on all Fridays and fast days throughout the year) with the exception of the first and la^t Wednesday of Lent, and Good Friday. 3. White meats — such as butter, milk, cheese, and eggs — arc allowed on all days at all meals, with the exception of Ash Wednesday, and the Wednesday and Friday of Holy Week. 4. Fish and flesh arc not allowed at the same meal during Lent. There is neither fast nor abstinence on Sundays in Lent. All who have completed their 21st year are bound to fast and abstain— unless excused by the state of their health or the nature of their employments — according to the regulations stated above : and .ill who Lave arrived at the use of reason, though not bounl to fast before the completion of their 21st year, are nevertheless bound 1o abntuiu from the use of flesh meat on the days appointed — unless exempted for a legitimate cause, of which the respective Pastors are to be the judges. The clergy are requested to read this Pastoral from the several altars as soon as possible, and to cause a copy of its regulations to be placed during Lent in a conspicuous place in their respective churches aud chapels. FRANCIS, Bishop of Wellington. The usual collection for the Holy See will be made in all the Missions of our Diocese on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the iJ'Jth of June.