THE ADULATING REPORTER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 468, 31 March 1882, Page 7

THE ADULATING REPORTER.

In a recent issue of that sterling Catholic publication, '■ Donohue'a Magazine," Rev. Father Ryan, the poet-priest, very justly remarks : In descriptions of Catholic services every sermon preached, no matter by whom, is eloquent" and eloquently delivered, which is flattering, but false. Eloquence is a rare gift, and still more rare is oratory. Now, according to those hignly-colored descriptions of sacred celebrations, the immense naRJ >rity of the priests in this country must be eminently eloquent men, which is not true. Thank God. we can in our Holy Church, get along yery well without human eloquence, though we cannot do without the sacramental powers of the priests. Of course, a fortiori, if the priests be so very eloquent, why, the bishop must be more so. Now we have not in this country more than six bishops (if that many) gifted with eloquence of the highest order, as eloquence ought to be measured. Again, every discourse pronounced in church is designated as learned. Now the word learned is an adjective not to be lightly used. Catholics breathing an atmosphere impregnated with Protestantism catch the contagion of giving to the merely human more than its real value in our Holy Church. Protestantism needs eloquence, and has plenty of it as it goes in this country. Protestantism is simply a human organization which lives and thrives on the human. Now, in our Church the divine rules and reigns, despite the imperfections of the human. The pulpit in which the priest preaches the Gospel, has generally in our churches, an elevation higher than the altar. But that is only to the eyes in the Catholic head. In the eyes of faith in the Catholic's heart the lowly altar has an immeasurably higher position. And so also there is a tendency a long time growing to make the preacher supersede the priest and to place the sermon above the Holy Mass. The pulpit's stole is nothing to the altar's chasuble. The grandest sermon is not even a shadow of the great sacrifice. Now Catholic journals and writers seem to pander to this very false taste. Are they afraid to be frank ? 'Tis hard to tell. But the writer of this has often smiled and heard others laugh at the f ulsome flatteries which follow every preacher and every sermon. Does it make the faithful forget the priest for the preacher and the Mass for the so-called eloquent sermon ? It moitifies the priests themselves. They know better. And we have seen them wounded more by the exaggeration of unearned praise than by the honest criticism of sincere friends.*- Catlwlic /Sentinel.

I II 8-3