THE BISHOP OF AUCKLAND'S FIRST PASTORAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume X, Issue 498, 27 October 1882, Page 19

THE BISHOP OF AUCKLAND'S FIRST PASTORAL.

The following pastoral has been read in the churches of the diocese :—: — John Edmund, of the Order of St Benedict, by the Grace of God and the favour of the Holy Apostolic Bee, Bishop of Auckland.— To the Clergy, secular and regular, and the faithful of the said diocese, health and benediction in the Lord. — Dear Reverend Brethern and Beloved Children iv Jesus Christ,— Although unable, through want of Ume, to address our beloved flock in a manner at all commensurate with the occasion, we canr.ot refrain, on this the day of our episcopal consecration, from manifesting, in at least a few words, the earnestness and warmth of the sentiments of our heart, our earnest and keen interest in the welfare of the portion of Christ's fold committed to us by His Vicar on earth, our beloved church of Auckland, which, in the language of tradition, is the Bride, whom it in our honourable duty to cLensb, to love, and to serve during the remainder of our life. Our trust and consolation is the conviction of the superior worth and capability of our beloved clergy, secular and regular, many of whom are so well known to us, and whose tried virtue and real are both our confusion and our glory. TheD, a?ain, the reports that have reached us of the faith and devotedness of the laiety of our diocese are to us a foundation of a well-grounded confidence that their fidelity to their religion will be proof <*gainst all perils, and that their endeavours to attain the one tbh.g necessary will be constant and preserving. JSRT heart, in the language of the apostle, yearn* towards you, and tnongh the half of the earth's circumference at present divides us, our heart is with yon ; our interests are all centred in yours. Whilst, therefore, we recommeud ourselves to your prayers, that we may be faithful to the grace which has been given this day, by the imposition of hands, that we cay be changed into another man, that we may be the true father of our flock, let us in turn exhort you, to further your real interests by steadfastness in the unchanging and unchangeable principles of your faith, in assiduity, in prayer, and|the frequenting of the sacraments and the preformance of all good works. We shall doubtless look for and ask for co-operation in the many good works a young and vigorous Church demands, in order to promote and secure its well being : but our confidence falters not, as we have the assurance of your co-operation. Our work is mutual, our labour must be mutual, and the result— the grand result— will be the furtherance of God's honour and glory, which, at the same time, is our mutual sanctificatioa in this world, and eternal happiness in the

next Oh Imy beloved children in Jesus Christ, such is our first exhortation to you. Such, also, will be our constant prayer— our one aoxietj in the future. May it be the consolation of our dying bod to know that our desires aad our efforts have been successful in your behalf I On the occasion of our interview with the ruler of the Universal Church, His Holiness, Pope Leo XllL, our first thought was to implore his special blessing on our flock, and this it will be our privilege to impart to you on our arrival amongst you.— Given at Ramsgate, from St. Augustine's Priory, on Sunday, August 13, 1882, being the fourth day within the octave of St. Lawrence, *ndthed»y of our episcopal consecration, and appointed to be read in all the churches of the diocese on the first Sunday of October, 1882.— f JOHN Kdmu.nd, Bishop of Auckland.