PANEGYRIC OF BLESSED PETER CHANEL, S.M., BY CARDINAL MANNING.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVIII, Issue 10, 4 July 1890, Page 27

PANEGYRIC OF BLESSED PETER CHANEL, S.M., BY CARDINAL MANNING.

Hia Eminence the Cardinal-Archbishop preached in the church of St. Anne, Spicer street, 8., at the Pontifical High Mass on Sunday morning, May 4, the occasion being the celebration of the first anniversary, after his solemn beatification, of the martyrdom of the French Marißt Father, Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, the first martyr of Oceanic*. His Eminence siid : You remember, dear brethren, how our Lord said, " Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone unfruitful ; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." And Who was that gram of wheat ? The son of God Himself. He died, and the harvest sprang ud in all the world. Three years Ha laboured and preached the Kingdom of God, and thesa three years filled the world from the sunrise to the sunset with the knowledge of God and of His Blessed Mother. I coma to you today to say a few words. I come to rejoice with these reverend Fathers and with yoa, dear children, over that great martyr who shed his blood and won a whole island to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. His history you already know. Ha was born in the diocese of Lyons, and his father and mother were humble aod pious souls, and the first words, we are told, that he learned to apeak were the names of Jesus aud Mary. His mother taught him to know God and our Blessed Mother and the fear of sin and the fear of Hell and the blessedness of heaven. Mothers take warning. On you it may depend whether your children shall be saints and martyrs in the kiogdom of God. Two of our great Archbishops of Cinterbary — St. AHselm was made a saint, I may say, in his childhood, and made to know bis Heavenly Father by the piety of hia mother ; St. Edmund, who was giving himself to the world and the science of the world, was won to the study of the cuanc? of God and the life of a saint by a vision of his mother, who trained him in childhood and was gone to her reward. So it may be with you. When the Blessed Peter Chanel had come to seven years of age, he went and kept his father's sheep. There is something blessed in the shepherd's life ; it is a forecast of the tiaining of the life of a holy priest. Two of your greatest saints who are united in this church were both shepherds, the great St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, and St. Vincent de Paul, to whom many wha hear me are devoted with all their hearts and souls. When the Holy Ghost had inspired this youth with a vocation, he entered into his seminary, and his life, like most of thc3e who were trained for the priesthood, had nothing very marked about it, except that he did common things with an uncommon perfection, and that is really and truly a perfect life. Not to do strange and out of the way things, but to do the common things of the Cnristian life with an uncommon perfection of mind ani spirit. I will not dwell on the particulars of his life. After passing through his training as a student be became a professor, and from a professor he became a director of the seminary, and from a director a superior of that seminary, Then it was that the desire of his heart was fulfilled, an i he was called to give himself to missionary labours. I need not dwell upon particulars. When tbey came to Valparaiso, the crew went to Communion, and one of them, an officer, hitherto not a Catholic, was brought into the fold. They then went to their destination, and Father Chanel would have gone on another island, but when he came to Futuna, which was his home and the place of his future martyrdom, it was decided for him to remain there. And he at once, in the spirit of an apostle, accepted his lot there with obedience. They went on shore, aad ho said to the king : " If you will give protection and food to our people, they will be loyal and faithful to you. They wish to learn the language and customs of your land.' And the king agreed. They went on board their ship again, and made all preparations to remain. When they came on shore their first act was to kneel down and consecrate the island to their Divine Master aod His Blessed Mother, and to affix a miraculous medal to a tree as a token of taking possession in the name of Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother. The Bishop had devoted that island to the special patronage of St. Francis of Assisi, and I shall have to call your mind to that fact, For the first month the blessed father did not venture to say Holy Mass. He was atraid lest it should be suddenly interrupted — lest there should ba any clanger, and the first Mass he said was a midnight Mass on Christmas Day, at which the king and fifteen of his attendants assisted, and weie deeply impressed by the mysteries of that which as yet they did not understand. After that he continued to say Holy Mass daily, and the people of that country began to come through curiosity. For three years the blessel Father was learning the language. During that time there were between forty and fifty baptisms, chiefly of infants, and some catechumens gathered about him, I may say, therefore, that tor the first three ye*rs, it would seem, humanely speaking, that little change had taken place. After that there was a great movement among the people. More came for instruction, and instruction was possible, and was given. But there was working the great work of the Holy Ghost, hearts were being prepared by those graces that go before conversion, those lights that spread ultimately into the faith, and all those gifts of the Holy Spirit of God were being poured out upon that people. Then there broke out a war, and the people of the island were divided into two parties, and were continually at warfare. One party was called the conqueror, and the other the conquered. One of the former was murdered by one of the conquered, and the stronger were about to retaliate, but the blessed father came and put himself between them and averted further bloodshedding. Nevertheless there was growing up an ill-will against him, for that population was intensely superstitioup, and I may say idolatrous. They believed in many gods, and tbey believed that those gods were full of vengeance and anger, and that tbey would slay anyone who forsook them. And as the truth began to spread the terror of their gods spread likewise, and the King himself, when he knew that the faith was beginning to spread among the people, began to be alarmed, a id when the folessei fathe- told dim it was his duty to submit himself to the faith he 8-iid : "No; if anyone believes in the faith let him do ao. Ido not ;I am afraid that the gods will slay me." Tnat fear kept him back, and he grea'ly spread that fear in the hearts of thoae around

him. The end of it was that a tumult arose about the house where the blessed father dwelt. They threatened him, and gave all signs of an intent to do him violent harm. At last, one day two of them broke into his house, and finding him there, one struck him with a gAit club, or mallet, and broke his right arm. He struck him again } om*he temple, and the blood flowed. The other with a lance endeavoured to pierce him. but only threw him on the ground, the blood flowing from the wounds. And then the leader of these murderers, seizing a hatchet, upbraided them for not destroying his life, and struck him on the head, cleaving it in twain. Such was the martyrdom of Peter Louis Marie Chanel. The grain of wheat falla into the ground and dies, and in a wonderful manner from that day began the conversion of the island. The Word of Christ, which is always at work in the hearts of the people, began to melt them to come for instruction, There wa3 great horror at this deed of blood, and to see a man whom they had learned to love, although they had not learned to believe his teachings, thus put to death, was to them one of thoße outrages committed by the Evil One, and thus began the work in their hearts. At the same time the brother of tbeK iog died suddenly. The King himself wts struck by a horrible disease and died in agony, and the people began to be alarmed and terrified, and the fear of the living God above prevailed over the fear of the many deities of vengeance and of hatred, and the people began to turn to the Cross of Jesus Christ. We are told that within a month some hundred or more were baptised. In eight months there were two churches and there were already eight hundred baptised, while two hundred more were under instruction. It was said that at that time not one died in the island without Baptism. There was camplete victory and conquest by the faith. The blood of the martyr had sprung up into a great harvest, and the island was won to the empire of Jesus Christ. There is no need, and I am not able to say more, but there are two or three thoughts which we ought to carry away with us to-day. I told you that the island had been placed under the patronage of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a wonderful thing. In Italy the words " the preaching of St. Francis " means a holy life. It does not mean what St. Francis said, but whit St. Francis did. A holy life was the preaching of St. Francis, and it would seem to me that the Blessed Peter Chanel, in the most singular manner, even during those three years when be did not know the language, was preaching like St. Francis, and winning the hearts of that simple savage people by the light of his love and the warmth that goes with the light of love. They could not understand what he said, but they could understand his life, his purity, his charity, his going about like his Divine Master, doing good in the homes of the poor, and visiting tneeick. He was winning their hearts by the precepts of St. Francis during these three years. That is one thought for us to carry away You, dear, brethren, are not priests or nuns, nevertheless you may preach with the preaching of Sr. Francis, with the preaching of a holy life, and that will do more for the people about you in this great evil city than any words you can speak. The other great power the blessed martyr had, was tbe Holy Mass. The Holy Mass preach * for itself. It is Jesus Christ Our Lord in the silence of the great Hacrince. The Holy Mass preaches to those who come and look on even without understanding its Divine Mysteries of tbe Kingdom of Uod. My last word is this. I don't know whether you are aware — because by special privilege in this church the Holy Mass offered today has not been the same as we have offered elsewhere— that we are to-day offering in our churches the Holy Mass of the Blessed John Cardinal Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and the Blessed Thomas, Lord Hign Chancellor of England, and some fifty-two other martyrs who laid down their lives for tbe Faith under Henry VIII. and the Queen his daughter. They laid dow Q their lives for the Vicar of Jesus Christ, for the Vicar of the one only true Faith, and the one ouly Divine authority on earth. We are rejoicing to-day over our martyrs and you are rejoicing over yours. We are now in that great country in which all are one. Fiance has its glories, and its glories are not in its arms and victories, but in its saints and martyrs, which are a multitude. And the glory of England is not in its imperial power which is passing away, but in the multitude of its martyrs and saints' who are mingled together with yours in the Kingdom of Eternal Life' Let us lift up our hearts to-day, dear brethren, and though you may never be crowned with the martyrs, yet you may hay* the martyrs' spirit and martyrs' soul in you-tnat is to say, you may be ready to sutler anything for our Divine Master, and even to lay down your life lor ills sake, if you are called to do so. Gad give us that spirit, and may we carry away with us to-day some higher and nobler thoughts and Borne more inspiring a-p. rations to live and die aa disciples of Jesus Christ.

According to the Propaganda there are two hundred and eighteen million Catholics in the world. 5

The Syrian Catholics of New York have now in Father Abraham a priest to minis-er to their spiritual wants in the tiynac rite I (Truth) commend tathe special perusal of Mr. Jos -ph Chamber lain the case of that unfortunate Chinaman who endeavoured the other day to reach Canadian soil by walkmg across the bridge over the Niagara. The Canadian officials having promptly stormed him at their end of the bridge with a demand for fifty dollars which h» did not possess, he at once turned back to regain :he country he had left. But the American officials, having once got rid of Ah Sin de chned to readm t him to toe States, and ao John Com imaQ had to camp out in the middle of the bridge. Surely, the memb,r for North-west BirmingLa-n will gee i Q this incident a curioush «W apologue of his own pohtic.il position. He too is, ivi v lff , ct> campmg out in the middle of a bridge, with the Liberals he has left and betrayed behind him, and the Torits he had made up his mind to ijin K-.fore him. Joseph, too bke Jobn, has fouud tbe price asked of him before he can be admitted to the Tory camp rather more than J§ is prepared to pay, whilst his old comrades have certain v no in tcation of allowing him to return to tht'tn on any terms. Mi>a»tim^ he must, I fancy, be finding his position in u, e midd.e of fie bri i»' all the more uupleasrtiit, bince tie cannot but be aware thitbe.Jw him aie boiling and surging the waters of political oblivi- n !