THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 49, 6 April 1894, Page 26

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The followiog is taken from a pastoral recently issued by the Cardinal-Archbishop of Sydney : — What a contrast does the Catholic Church preeen f to th° conflicting theories and the ever-varying phases of religious life of those who are outside her pale. She stands bpfore the world arrayed in th a . comeliness of virtue as the chosen spouse of Christ — her brow adorned with the diadem of divine truth. Fearleeely she proc aims before a hostile world her commission to be the representative of Christ on earth, and to preserve to mankind till the cod of time the inheri'ance of Hiableßsings. Though spread throughout every nation, she yet maintains a perfect unity in her teaching, in her sacramental life, in the worship that is offered to God. Even those who raise their voice in enmity against her cannot fail to recognise thi9 sublime attribute, and they go so far as to commend the unity of the Catholic Church as a model which the conflicting sects of Protes'antism would do well to emula'e. Her grand communion spans the whole eartb, and yet her children, whilst differing in everything else, are in matters of religion of one mind, one belief, one hope. She is to be found in every known land, leading every tribe and every tongue to give glory to the Most High. In the ice-bound regions of Alaska and Labrador, and on the inhospitable coasts of Terra del Fuego, as in our own fair tsunny lands, her missionaries will be everywhere found spreading the kingdom of our Blessed Lord. In the East and in the West, in the islands of the Pacific and in the fores's of Central Africa, in the old centres of civilisation and in the newest republics rejoicing in the freedom and freshness of youth, the Church ia ever the same — preaching the lessons of beavenly wisdom alike to the rulers and their Bubjectp, to the rich and the poor, lifting up the fallen, extending to the outcast her merciful embrace, unfolding the beauty of Divine truth to the pure of heart, proclaiming to as all our brotherhood with the Redeemer, and enriching us with the inheritance of His graces. All her children^ no matter what their language and candition of life, whether they be free citizeneof a Christian State, or receiving in their rude wigwams the first rudiments of civilisation, or suffering all the hardships of exile for the faith in Siberia, all alike ob?y the supreme spiritual authority of the successor of St Peter, all worship at the same altar, believe the same Divine truths, aad are sanctified in the same Sacraments. In hsr communion is found every blossom of cheering hope, every richest fruit of peace and spiritual joy for which the human heart can yearn. No other unity like hers can anywhere be seen. The powers of this world have assailed her ; all the devices of Satan have been brought to bear against her, yet she has with9ood them all. In the ways of men she is weakness itself, yet. strengthened by the promise of Chri9t, ' I am with you all days," she is fearless amid every assault. As she has come forth victorious from every conflict in the past, she serenely advances towards the future, confilen' that her triumph shall endure from age to age, and shall never cease to give glory to the Most High. In the Catholic Church, the words of the Prophet have been fulfilled, "Thygates Bhall be open continually ; they shall not be shut day or nigbt, that the strength of the (entiles may be brought to thee and their kings may come. . . . Ani the childreu of them that afflict thee shall come bowing down to thee, and all that slandered thee Bhall worship the steps of thy feet, and snail call thee the city of the Lord, the Sion of the Holy One of Israel (Is. lx., 11)." And again : "No weapon that is formed agaioat tbee shall prosper ; and every tongue that resisteth thee in judgment thou pbalt condemn (Ib. liv., 17)." It was not after the fashion of human wisdom or of earthly power that our Saviour instituted His Church to be the Channel of the blessings of redemption to man. It is not from tbe riches of the wisdom of the world, but from Him alone that ail her life-giving graces flow; from Him proceed all the authority and digoity with which she is equipped. All merely human orsranisitionß are subject to the vicissitudes of time, and to gradual ducay, and when they hive fulfilled their destiny they, of their own weight, fall to the ground. Bit the Church is founded by Christ, to whom is given all power in heaven and on earth ; and ia quickened by tbe Holy Ghost, who abides with her for ever. Tbus she bears wih her the seal and sanction of heaven, and holding aloft the standard of redemption, till the end of time her mission cannot (ail. By a singular feature in the Church's mission God in His mercy so overrule! the thoughts and deeds of evil-designing mea that all their assaults only add to her strength and give new glory to His name. The persecutions of the first three centuries only resulted in the whole Roman Empire being gathered into her fold. The heresies and sects that went forth from her communion in the fourth century caused her teaching to shine before tbe world in brighter light. The barbarian na ions that rushed in npon the fated Empire to trampie out every spark of religion and civilisation lit-le thought that they were being led to receive at the Church's hands the waters of regeneration and the birth to Christian life. The fierce tempests that swept over the domain of

Holy Cbnrch at the Reformation period only served to clear the atmosphere, and to separate the chaff from the good grain. 80 that it ia from age to age the Ohurch pursues her onward course, unfolding more and more the merciful disignß of God in regard to man. During the prtsent century how m my times have her enemies foretold that her course was rua aad that her end was at hand 7 Their wish, indeed, inspired their prophecy, for it is a glorious prerogative of the one true Church that when wicked men seek to spread corruption around them, their deadliest shafts are aimed at her destruction. Tet now, at the close of the nineteenth century, who will say she has been overcjme ? la she njt as fearless to-day and as confident in the Redeemer's promise as wheo the legions cf Imperial Rome first bowed down before the standard of the crosß? As in the past, so in the present, her energies are devoted to nphold the principles of Christian civilisation, and to strengthen the foundations on which morality and social order rest. Even the sovereigDS and statesmen that have comba'ed against her hire been forced to acknowledge her power and to leir her if t* ey do not love her. Through the same marvellous unity of the Church we may regard as our own the victories «nd triumphs of the Faith in past ages. The countless martyrs who joyfully offered up their lives in witness to their fidelity to our Blessed Lord are oar brothers ; their heroism, which won the admiration of their Pagan persecutors, their lore, which was stronger than death ; their patience, which overcame the world ; their hopp, which amidst the most cruel torments intoned canticles of glory to the Most High, form part of our rich inheritance So, too, we rejoice in the general achievements of the missionaries of , medieval times. They went forth from their tranquil abodes of' piety to bring into the fold of Christ nations that knew not God, and they imparted to thsm together with the teachings of heavenly truth all the purest blessings of true civilisation and of Christian life. " How beautiful are the feet of those who evangelise good tidings' who evangelise peace " Those champions of the crisa are our fellowcitizens. Their trophies and their triumphs are ours. And so it ia through the marvellous unity of the Church ihat all that was best and brightes- and most glorious in the past eighteen centuiies, the virtues of the cloister, the austerities of the desert, the peace and perfection of domestic life, the motherly charity extended to th» poor, the mercy shown to sinners, the loving care of the widow and the orphan, the shelter of the oppressed, the repose found in her sanctuaries by the weary of heart, the untiring watchfulness in the education of youth ; all these form part of the Church's rich store of merit, and are our inheritance as coheirs of our Blessed Lord. We shoul 1 never cease to return thanks to God for the manifold blessings which He has thus v mchsafeil to us in Holy Church. It should, moreover, be our constant prayer that thosj who are separated from us may, through the mercy of our Blessed Lord, be made participators of the same priceless blessings, so that the truths of Divine faith may shine the more brightly before men, and all wbo profess to be followers of Christ may offer to God the homage of their hearts in '■ oae fold, under the one Shepherd."