ARCHBISHOP MORAN AS A PREACHER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 27, 24 October 1884, Page 31

ARCHBISHOP MORAN AS A PREACHER.

Thb daily Press of the city have shewn his Grace the Archbishop marked attention since his arrival, and while his Grace's speeches have not escaped criticism, the comments of the papers have been free from any tinge of bitterness or malice. In the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Monday last (6th inst.) there appeared a descriptive sketch of t.he Archbishop as a preacher, and feeling sure it will be interesting to our readers, we (Sydney Freeman} repiint it : — Yesterday, for the fourth time since his arrival, the new Roman. Catholic Archbishop occupied the pulpit of Stf Mary's Cathedral. The day was a Church festival known under the title of the Feast of the Holy Bosary, and the Archbishop's discourse was entirely confined to an explanation of the devotion known as The Rosary, with appropriate remarks on its utility and efficacy as a means of prayer. Dr. Moran is evidently not of the sensational order of preachers. There had been no previous announcement of the Archbishop's sermon, and the discourse was evidently intended to be nothing more or less than a pious lecture or in struction of the ordinary description. A sermon by the late Archbishop Vaughan was invariably regarded in the light of an " attraction," and there was generally ample public announce* merit whenever the eloquent prelate was to hold forth at the cathedral. It is no secret that the late Dr. Vaughan made elaborate preparation for his discourses, and as they were always delivered with rare oratorical power, crowded congregations were the rule— the earnest manner and' thrill ing voice of the late prelate possessing a peculiar fascination for strangers as well as those who were accustomed to hear him. Every sermon of Dr. Vaughan was an effort—mentally, oratorically, or physically— and these addresses were perhaps among the moat trying and exhausting labours of his Episcopal life. Dr. Vaughan rarely preached at St. Mary's on ordinary occasions. He reserved himself for special days, preaching not more than four or five times a year, excepting when he had a series of lectures, r uch as the Advent Conferences and the Lenten Sermons. Archbishop Vaughan with bis great reputation appeared to consider himself boisflSl to deliver something brilliant when he preached, whether at tea cathedral or in any of the smaller churches, and it was not often tie disappointed. Dr. Moran appaiently regards preaching as one of the ordinary duties cf his office, and he is likely to occupy the cathedral pulpit as frequently as any of the clergy attached to St. Mary's. The contrast in the style of the two Archbishops is as striking as it is great. Dr. Moran's manner is remarkably quiet, dignified, unassuming. There is no ostentatious display either of learning and erudition on the one hand, or of rhetoric and elocution on the other. He speaks, with the calmness and preciseness of a judge, betraying no emotion and never making the slightest effort in the way of oratorical effect. His is more the manner of a grave professor instructing a class of students that that of an advocate pleading a cause. He speaks deliberately, with emphasis, and with unmistakeable earnest ne6». At first he appears to speak slowly, but on attention one finds that his thoughts flow quickly and clearly, and that he gives them fluent and even graceful expression. As a rule laborious students and active intellectual workers are not gifted with oratorical powers in any marked degree, and Dr. Moran is no exception. His voice is not strong, but it is of a sympathetic quality which should make it agreeable in a email building, pnd it may be assumed with some degree of confidence that the undisguised flavour of the Irish accent is not unwelcome to the ears of those who, as a matter of course, form the majority in the Archbishop's audiences. There is one thing Dr. Moran does not do — and it i 9 by no means a small point in his favour — he does not preach at his congregation. He does not address the people from any pedantic pedestal, but speaks to them in language that is not the less effective because it is simple and natural. The sermon yesterday occupied some 20 minutes in delivery, and the Archbishop concluded with a beautifully worded benediction.