IMPOSING CEREMONIES AT AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 30, 20 November 1896, Page 3

IMPOSING CEREMONIES AT AUCKLAND.

BRILLIANT CONVERSAZIONE TENDERED BY THE LAITY.

CONSECRATION OF HOST REV. DR. LENIHAN, 4 Discourses hy the Bishops of G-ouMrn, 0.W., and Christchurch.

ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. (Specially wired by our own Correspondent.) The greatest, the most important and most memorable event in the history of our Church in this diocese eventuated yesterday in the consecration of our Bishop the Right Rev. George Michael Lenihan, D.D. For weeks and months vast preparations have proceeded with a w qi a il vicing with each other in their exertion to lend a hand in making the event what its widespread importance entitled it to command. In the constant meeting* and labours entailed, other than our own people joined with us ; but no wonder need be expressed at this because our beloved Bishop, by his kindliness and geniality and large-heartedness. has literally drawn to him countless numbers of his own flock as well as numbers of those outside our communion. Go where you may in and around the city the young prelate of Auckland is revered and honoured. This is not exaggerated language but in every sense literally true— but to describe the never-to-be-forgotten ceremony. The decorations inside and outside the cathedral were all that could be desired. Inside they were under the charge of Mr. J. J. Daly, assisted by Misses Rita Tole, E. Lund on. Mulraney (2), Hankins, and Messrs P. J. G-race, Mulraney, Thomas Lonergan, Harkins and James O'Brien ; outside Mr. P. J. Nerherny took charge and he did more than a man's share, being ably assisted by Messrs. Thomas Corty, Duffin. James O'Brien and others. The beautiful marble altar was decorated under the charge of the good Sisters Beniguus and Francesco, assisted by Miss Gough. The main structure of the arches was ot a very substantial character, and formed with the western facade of the cathedral a hexagon. This was liberally decked with nikau and coloured lanterns, and bore on the side facing the Bishop-elect on his exit from the presbytery. '• Ad multos annos " (Many years of happiness). The floral decorations of the interior were the work of a number of ladies. The frieze over the divisional arches, between the old and new portions of the building, bore in white letters, on a crimson ground, " Ecce sacerdoa niagnus" (Behold the high priest), this being surmounted by a mitre and the device, " Right Rev. Ltr.'Lenihan, fifth bishop." This was flanked by medallions bearing the names of previous bishops, Drs. Pompallier, Croke, Steins and Luck. Along the organ loft was placed •' Gloria in excelsisDeo." The walls were tastefully festooned with green leaves and lilies, rarer flowers, artistically arranged, being placed on the high altar by the Sisters of Mercy and the Guard of Honour. The medallions were the work of Captain F. P. Blackmore. The whole of the arrangements, which were highly successful, were carried out by several committees working with one general committee, of which the Hon. J. A. Tole was chairman, Mr. W. Tole, vice-chairman ; Mr. P. Brophy, treasurer and Mr. M. J. Sheahan, secretary. THE PROCESSION. At 10 o'clock, the time appointed for the consecration, the members of the Hibernian Society formed between the presbytery and the cathedral in double line as a guard of honour to the procession of prelates and priests which was composed as follows :—: — Bishop Lenihan (Auckland), Bishop-elect; Bishop Grimes (Christchurch), consecrator ; Bishops Verdon (Dunedin) and Gallagher (Goulbourn). assistant prelates, Monsignor Paul (Onehunga) and Monsignor McDonald (Panmure and Howick). Fathers O'Hara (Otahuhu)

O'Reilly (Thames). Dr. Egan, 0.5.8. (St. Benedict's). M. Egan (Coromandcl), Purton. 0.5.8. (Pon^onby). Gillan(Ponsonby). Mulvihill (St. Patrick's). Kehoe (Te Aroha). Hackett (Pareora). McMillan (Pukekohe). Launuzel (Opotiki). Amandolini(Hsimilton). Ohalasen (Tonga), Gregory (Xewton). Cummings. S.M.. V.G. (Christchurch). Aubrey, S.M., Provincial (Sydney), Ginaty. S.M. (Christchurch), Kirk, S.M. )Wanganui), Grogan, S.M. (Napier), Smythe (Hastings), McGrath )Hawera), Golden (Patea), McKenna (New Plymouth), Buckley (St. Patrick's), Luck, 0.5.8. (Kihikihi), and four Maori missionaries accompanied by seven Maoris from the North, under charge of Father Lightheart. On arriving at the cathedral door the choir sang Sten's " Ecce sacerdos magnus." The Bishop-elect received the aspersorium, and having allowed the consecrating prelate (Bishop Grimes) and the assistant bishops to take the holy water sprinkled the clergy and people standing around. THE SOLEMX HIGH MASS. At the Solemn High Mass and the ceremony of consecration Right Rev. Dr. Grimes was celebrant and consecrator, Fathers Kirk and Hackett were deacon and sub-deacon respectively, Father Cumminga assistant priest, and Father Gillan master of ceremonies. The consecrating prelate having been vested in full pontificals by the assisting ministers, and the assistant bishops having received their amices, stoles, copes and mitres, Dr. Lenihan put the amice, alb, girdle and stole crossed on his breast as a priest. Then the consecrating prelate took his seat at the altar, and Dr. Lenihan, wearing his biretta, was led to him by the assistant bishop. All having made a reverence to the consecrator sat down, the Bishop-elect being in the centre. The apostolic commission was then publicly read by Dr. Egan, and the Bishop-elect, kneeling before the consecrator, recited the oath of duty and fidelity. When the formulary had been recited the consecrator, holding with both hands the Book of the Gospels open on his knees the elect still kneeling before him. touched the sacred text with his hands and said, •' So may God help me and these holy Gospels of God." Then followed the examination, which was made in almost the identical words prescribed by the fourth council of Carthage. The examination being finished the assistant bishop led the Bishop-elect to the consecrator, before whom he knelt and whose hand lie reverently ki«sed. Then the consecrator, having laid aside the mitre, turned with his ministers towards the altar and commenced Mass in the usual manner. While the consecrating Bishop was proceeding with the Ma.ss at the high altar the assistant bishops led the elect to the altar prepared for him. where he received the pectoral cross and wa* clothed with the tunic, dalmatic, chasuble and maniple. Standing at the side altar, assisted by the bishop*, he read the liturgical prayers until he came to the end of the gradual. The epistle and gradual being ended the consecrating prelate, recehing the mitre, took his seat before the altar. The assisting bishops led the elect again from his altar to the consecrator. All being seated the consecrator, addressing himselt to the elect, said — •■ It is the necessary office of a bishop to judge, to interpret, to consecrate, to ordain, to offer sacrifice, to baptise, and to confirm." Prayer was then offered thit Almighty God would bestow His grace upon His chosen one. The bishops and attending clergy then knelt with the elect prostrate on his face before the altar. The Litanies ended, the consecrating Bishop received the Book of the Gospel which he opened and placed on the shoulders and neck of the elect In this position it was held by one of the assisting clergy until the Gospels were given to the elect. Next, the consecrating Bishop touched the head of the elect with both hands saying, " Receive thou the Holy Ghost." The introduction, the more solemn part ot the service, having commenced all knelt before the altar and the consecrator began the hymn, " Veni creator spiritus." The first verse of the hymn being ended the consecrator aro«e and sat in front of the altar, He put en the mitre and laying aside the gloves prepared to anoint with holy chrism the head of the elect, who was kneeling before him. All knelt during the first verse and during the remaining verses. The head of the elect was anointed with the holy chrism, the consecrator saying meanwhile : " May thy head be anointed and consecrated in the order of high priest by heavenly benediction in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." At the conclusion of the preface the consecrating bishop commenced the psalm : " Like the precious ointment upon thy head." The elect with hands joined knelt before the consecrator, who anointed his hands with the holy chrism in the form of a cross. The hands of the elect were then bound up and Bishop Grimes proceeded to bless the crozier and the ring, and at the conclusion ot the latter ceremony the Book of the Gospels was delivered closed to the elect with the words : " Take thou the Gospel and go preach to the people committed tothee, for God is powerful to increase His grace within thee who liveth and reigneth forever and ever." The Bishop having received the elect with the kiss of peace the newly -consecrated Bishop | returned with the assistant bishops to his altar and having his

head ami hands cleansed from the chrism with crumb and clean linen, washed his hand and both he and the consecrating bishop continued the Mass at their respective altars. At the offertory the new Bishop returned to the high altar with his assistant-, and there, kneeling, made his offerings of two loaves, two lighted wax torches and two small barrels of wine, making reverence to the consecrating Bishop. The newly-consecrated Bishop and assistant bishops then proceeded to the high altar, and the Mass was continued, with some additional prayer- tor the occasion. The new Bishop communicated under both kinds with the consecrator. After the Post Communion prayer and the " Ite Missa est " the consecrator gave the blessing at the end of the Mass. He then sat on the faldstool and received the mitre, the newly-conse-crated kneeling before him. After a short pause the consecrator arose, having placed aside his mitre, and proceeded to bless the mitre and gloves of the new Bishop. THE ENTHRONEMENT then took place. The consecrating prelate arose and taking the right hand of the newly-consecrated and Bishop Verdon taking the left hand, the new Bishop was led to the throne and solemnly enthroned, the crozier being given into his hand by the consecrating prelate. The consecrator then turning towards the altar, having laid aside his mitre commenced, and the choir and people continued, the "Te Deum. ' The hymn begun. Bishop Lenihan. led by his assistants, passed through the church giving his blessing to the people. The "Tc Deum " being finished and prayer offered, the new Bishop made three reverences, singing each time. "Ad multos annos " (many years of happiness). THE MUSICAL PORTION OF THE SERVICE. The musical part of the ceremony was most impressively rendered, the choir being ably led by Mr. Hiscocks, Mr. Hartwell presiding at the organ. Great assistance was rendered by Mr. Arthur Towsey and some members of the Leidertafel, the orchestra being well balanced and effective. " Ecce sacerdos'' was sung on the entry of the procession. Millard's solemn Mass in G was fittingly rendered, the soloists being Misses C. Lorrigan. Harg reaves. Lonergan. Brinsden. Mrs. Hiscocks, Mons. Casier and Messrs Lonergan. Conway and Parish. The solos in the Mass were very finished. The offertorium, " 0 Salutaris," was sung by Mons Casier with his accustomed taste. Romberg's "Te Deum " — a grand piece of music — was equally well rendered, the solos here being taken by the Misses C. Lorrigan and Mons. Casier and Mr. T. Lonergan. THE CONSECRATION SEKMOK. The occasional preacher was the Right Rev. Dr. Gallagher, Bishop of Goulbourne. His Lordship delivered the following discourse :—: — •• Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock. • wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the Church of God which Pie hath purchased with His own blotxl. I know that after My departure ravening wohes will enter in among you. not sparing the flock.'" (Acts. xx.. 2s 1 ). My Lords. Very Rev. and Rev. Fathers, and dear brethren. — The sacred ceremony in which we are engaged is not mmely an occasion of religious joy. but of instruction also It is indeed suggestive ot proud memories- connected with the past. But still more is it suggestive of high and ennobling thoughts to choc r to bustain, to strengthen v- for the struggle ot the tutuie. A lu-hop has been consecrated . a fresh sentinel has been placed on the -watch tower of Israel : a new successor of the Apostles has been gnen to the Christian Church , a new link has boon added to the golden chain which binds you to the hill ot Cahary, to the rock ot I'eter. to the venerable hierarchy of the Catholic world. We are told in the Acts of the Apostles that when our Divine Lord had ascended from Mount Olivet, to take His seat at the right hand ot His Eternal Father, the Apostles, returning to Jerusalem, went up into an upper room and there awaited in retirement and prayer the fulfilment of the promises. But their number was not complete. One of the twelve, whom He had sent to heal the -i c k and to preach the kingdom of God — to proclaim the glory of Hi- name to the lost sheep of the House ot Israel and to the gentile world, had become an apostate. Judas, who had been Humbert d amongst them and obtained part ot their ministry, had fallen, and •• his bishopric should be taken by another." A selection is made, votes are taken and lots are cast. The lot tell upon Matthias, one ot those who had companied with them, whose coming in and going out were well known to them all. St. I'eter, chief of the Apostles, the rock on which He was to build His Church, to whom were given the keys of the kingdom ot heaven with commission to feed His lambs and sheep, approves ot the selection. St. Peter, as Christ's vicar on earth, ratines with the seal of the fisherman the choice which the chief pastors had made ; and through the imposition of apottolie hands St. Matthias becomes first Bishop of the Christian Church consecrated after the Ascension of our Saviour. That first consecration, not merely in its substance but in all essential details, is reproduced in the sacred ceremony of to-day. This important See of Auckland having ban w idowed by the death ol its late zealous, learned and pious Bishop. Dr. Luck, those priests of the diocese to whom the Holy Father lias granted a consultative voice in the nomination of their clnet pastor, commended your tuturc prelate to the bishops of the pro\moe as the one whom in their humble opinion the Lord had chosen as the one whom, atter reflection and prayer, they considered, for his learning 1 , his prudence and his good Works, most worthy to rule over them. The bishops, seconding the wishes of priests and people, sustained that recommendation with him who is the only source ot authority and jurisdiction within our holy Church— the \ icar ot Christ. He alone who sits in the Chair of Peter can iorin dioceses. He alone can constitute cathedral churches. He alone can appoint bishops to them and invent them with authority to iced and to rule their flocks. -The episcopal order is rightly judged to be in communion with its supreme head, as Christ commanded," says the last encyclical of our Holy Father,

"if it be subject to and obey Peter ; otherwise it of necessity becomes a lawless aud disordered mob." If the Church be a vine or tree St. Peter is the root from which sap and vigour and life must flow to each romotest branch — separated from the root the branch must wither and die. It the Church be a ship or barque, St. Peter is the captain or pilot, who, trusting to the pole-star of infallible guidance, steers it safely amid the rocks and storms and darkness to which, on the ocean of life, ii must ever be exposed. If the Church be a kingdom, St. Peter is tht ruler thereof. If the Church, in fine, be a house — and what figures in the inspired volume more frequent than these — St. Peter is the rock, bed, foundation on which the majestic structure of God's spiritual temple securely reposes. The electric cable — if we may borrow a simile from the greatest physical triumph of our century and apply it to the supernatural kingdom of Jesus Christ — must be continuous, must be unbroken, if it is to carry its message in safety without error to its destination. So the succession of the apostolic ministry must be without break, without solution of continuity, if the glad tidings of enlightenment and salvation are to be proclaimed, temper eadem, unchanged and unchangeable, as they came from their divine source, to all the nations of the earth and till the consummation of the world. The uninterrupted succession of Sovereign Pontiffs in the chair of the fisherman is that unbroken electric chain through which the message of salvation and of truth comes unbroken and unchanged from the upper -room of Jerusalem to us to-day. The 260 th successor, therefore, of St. Peter has given to our young prelate institution and jurisdiction and a flock. And in fine through the sacramental ministry of the consecrating prelate and assistant bishops, acting on the Apostolic commission, the episcopal character and grace of order are conferred by the imposition of hands. Thus duly consecrated your new Bishop takes his place as a lawful successor of that Apostolic band whose mission it was to proclaim the message of salvation in spite of dungeons and persecution and the sword — whose mission it now is to go forth, animated by the breath of the Divinity and invested with the power of Jesus Christ Himself, to guide, to bless and to instruct the nations, Bishop — what name is there that can justly claim from so many titles the esteem and gratitude of mankind ? What order is there amongst men that has done so much for the enlightenment, the elevation, the true progress of their fellow-creatures I What region in the world that is not full of their beneficent and unselfish labours ? To the bishops has been given, in their corporate capacity in union with their supreme head, the authoritative voice in defining doctrines of faith and in prescribing laws of universal discipline. Invested with the plenitude of sacerdotal power, it is the bishop alone who perpetuates the ministry of Jesus Christ by the ordaining of priests. It is the bishop alone who can consecrate the chrism — " the holy and Divine chrism " (as the ancient liturgy calls it) which is the visible sign of invisible grace in so many sacraments and consecrations ; which mingles with the tears of baptism ; which seals the brow of the confirmed Christian ; which sanctifies the hands of priests ; which strengthens the shoulders of emperors and of kings ; which consecrates the vessels for the oblation of the great sacrifice of the New Law ; which anoints the dying for their journey to eternity. It is the bishop who, in the solemn dedication of churches, gives as it were a living soul to the house of stone and the blessing of God to the work of the hands of man. To him in fine as representative of Christ is committed the care of consecrated virgins and the reception of those \ own by \\ hieh they bind themselves with the triple bond of poverty, chastity and obedience to the service of the eternal spouse ; to moulding on His Di\ me model the character of infancy and childhood , to relie\ ing the miseries and praying for the temporal and eternal wants of their fellow-creatures. Guardian of the deposit of faith, he should preach the word in season, out of season, entreating, reproving, rebuking in all patience and doctrine. Drawing his inspiration from the Sacred Volume, from the teachings of the Fathers, from the tradition of all ages, but above all from the infallible voice that speaks from St. Peter's chair, he should not place light for darkness nor darkness for light, but love the truth and abandon it never, led astray neither by the applauses nor by the vituperation of the world, | conquered neither by flattery or fear. Shepherd of the flock, he must nourish his sheep with the food of sound doctrine and ward them off from poisonous herbage ; he must not like the hireling flee, but grasp firmly his pastoral staff when the wolf of error or corruption comes to seize or scatter his sheep. Sentinel on the watch towers of Israel, he should ever be ready to cry out and to give the alarm when the enemy are openly attacking the gates or secretly undermining the walls. " For the sake of Sion I will not be silent ; for the hake of Jerusalem I will take no repose."' Labouring incessantly as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, attending to reading, to exhortation and to doctrine, he must strive to be — forma Jacti f/rr//ix r.r an/mo — an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in chastity, in sobriety, in charity and in faith — meditating on these things and wholly in them he must save himself and those whom God has entrusted to his spiritual care. But not to the sanctuary alone have the cares of the bishop in any age been exclusively confined. " Salt of the earth," they took possession of the empire of the Cajsarh when falling into decay and rescued it from corruption. •• Light of the world " they entered into the tents of the barbarians and led them from the bondage and darkness of paganism into the bright sunshine of Christian civilisation — endowed them with the unbought grace of life, the manly sentiment, the refinement and chivalry of the ages of faith. What university is there in Europe that does not owe its richest foundations, if not its origin, to the munificence and enlightened zeal of some Catholic bishop .' It was the schools of the bishops which, reposing under the inviolable shelter of the consecrated temple, imparted to the ingenuous youth of the Middle Ages, with enthusiasm of faith and nobility of sentiment, a love of letters and the fine spirit of an exalted freedom. " The episcopacy of the Middle Ages," says Coleridge. " was nothing 1 but a confederacy of the good and learned men of the West of Europe against the violence, barbarism and ignorance of the times. The Pope was the head of this confederacy." When the hearts of the barons quailed at Runnymede, was it not

*^c bishops that urged them on to win from a despotic king the charter of their liberty ? When in France and Spain the courage of the bravest lagged, did not the bishops even exchange the pastoral staff for the sword, and lead their people to find victory over the Saracen and the Moor .' Never perhaps did the Germanic Confederation enjoy so much of glory abroad and of happiness at home as during those long centuries when her prince-bishops wielded the double sceptre of temporal and of spiritual sway, created and fostered the municipal institutions of the free cities, and exercised a controlling power in the destinies of the Empire ' At the time of the Renaissance, paganism, under the guise ot literature and of art, threatened, as we all know, to once more take possession of the world. The Episcopate, most of them scholars of the highest order, with the supreme Pontiff at their head, encouraged their spiritual children to associate themselves with the literary and artistic movements of the age : furnished from the exhaustless treasure of holy Faith things new and old — subjects and inspirations which have immortalised so many names, and illustrated the sublime doctrines of our religion with the noblest monuments of human genius — Then sculpture and her sister arts revive, Stones leap to form and rocks begin to live, With sweeter notes each rising temple rung

A Raphael painted and a Vida sung. " Vida, Bishop of Alba, the most exquisite Latin poet of the modern world, was," says a great Protestant historian, "a distinguishrd member of the Council of Trent, if pood sense and good taste, learning and liberality, noble works and blameless life could distinguish one where nil were so distinguished." If, in fine, Ireland, the land of my birth, during age^ of untold sufferings, never allowed the iron of slavery to enter into her soul ; if, amid persecutions that have never been equalled she always preserved a love of learning, unblemished morals, and a spirit of exalted freedom that have never been surpassed, is it not because she had bishops who were patriots as well as prelates, who loved country and liberty none the less because they loved religion more — because in a word the succession of her pontiffs was never interrupted, was wound in one unbroken chain through Lawrence and Malachy and Patrick to the rock of ages ? Times are altered. The old order changeth giving place to the new. The Catholic Bishop may be no longer called upon like Ximenes or Richelieu to take upon his shoulders the destinies of a great nation ; or like Wolsey to administer civil justice and direct the counsels of his sovereign. But stripped of earthly splendour, set free from the odium which fell upon them from alliance with the State, standing on no other ground than that of apostolical authority, the bishop of the nineteenth century is all the stronger for the change. No longer the servant of princes he is tenfold the servant of the people. He still can. like those illustrious bishops whom Providence raised up in every age to combat heresy, to found and cherish new institutions. — St. Augustine, Bossuet, Wiseman — illustrate and adorn eternal truth by triumphs of eloquence, or enrich the domain of secular and divine science by the labours of his mind. In the day ot suffering or famine he can. like the Cardinal Archbishop ot Milan, melt down the golden yes-iK of the sanctuary to relieve the necessities of his people. In the time of pestilence he can. troni his lofty station. the example of true heroism, and. like Bel/.unee. the good Bishop ot Marseilles — Draw purer breath When nature sickens and each vale is death

And imitate the Good Shepherd by laying down his lite for his sheep He still can, like St. Ambrose, withstand oppression, and with holy courage forbid entrance into the holy temple to the tyrant, whether imperial or democrat, who is guilty ot the blood ot his people. With Cardinal Lavigerie he can briny the glad tidings ot treedom — ot enlightenment of Christian truth and grace to the cnsUued races ot the Dark Continent, and restore the land ot Cyprian and Augustine. rescued from Moslem bondage, to the empire ot Jesus Christ. Taking Cardinal Manning for his example he can defend with noble courage, even if not crowned with success, the cause of oppressed labour, of toiling suffering humanity at the commercial centre ot the universe. Like Cardinal Gibbons or Archbishop Ireland in Ameiica. he can strive to fashion the highest civilisation that the world has ever seen on the lines of ancient faith, and inform the brute mass ot their material progiess with the soul, the vivifying principles of religion. Or. like Archbishop Affre on the barricades ot Paris, if unable to make his voice heard above the cla«h and tumult of civil strife, he can. holding aloft the crosj-. interpose his lite as a holocaust of peace between the swords ot the contending armies. . . . But it this be true of every nation on the earth, nowhere does it apply with so much force as m this .Southern world. Never was there a nobler field for the activity and enlightened zeal of a true bishop than is presented in the free and progressive colonies ot Australia and New Zealand at the present day. Tlow youthful are they and yet how great / Their origin is but ot yesterday, yet how rich in glorious promise .' The most daring, the best and noblest elements of other lands have come here to form a new people, new in thought, new in energy, new in action. The traditions of the pa->t vanish. Fresh social forms arise and new political institutions. Wondrous are the discoveries of the secrets and ot the powers ot nature. Unwonted forces are at work in every sphere over which man's control may reach. There is a revolution in the feelings and thoughts and hopes of men. All things that can be changed will be changed ; and nothing will remain save those truths alone which God declares nhall not pass away— though heaven and earth may pass away : and that institution against which He wills it that the yates of hell shall not prevail tor ever. Now is the time and here is the place for the Catholic Bishop. Deputy of Him to whom all power hath been given in heaven and on earth, of Him who is the way. the truth, and the life ; consecrated minister of His undying Church, and bound to its infallible head, he alone, like the pillars ot Palmyra, amid the ruins of the desert, stands erect amidst the debns of intellectual, of political, of social and of religious systems that are passing- away. He alone dreads not the onslaught ot time ; he alone fears not

the threats as he courts not the applause nor seeks the favour of men, in the accomplishment of his mission of truth and of salvation. As in that reconstruction of society which succeeded the dissolution of the Roman Empire ; as in that new creation which arose from the chaos of the French Revolution, so now the ppirit of God through the agency of his apostolic ministry— that ministry which He instituted for the preservation of faith and morals amongst men — will move over the troubled waters. At its bidding light sha'l again be made out of darkness, and as at the beginning, so now confusion will hear its voice and mute uproar stand ruled. Itmtaurare omnia in Christ o Jetu. To renew all things in Christ Jesus, to place all things under the legitimate empire of God and His holy law ; to combat everywhere the sacrilegious substitution of man for God which is the deadly sin of the age ; to solve once more, by the precepts and counsels of the Gospel and by the teachings of the Church, those problems which the Church and the Gospel have solved so many times before — education, family power, property, the destiny of man ; to re-establish a Christian equilibrium between the different conditions and classes of society ; to bring peace on earth and to people heaven with saints. Such is the mission of the Catholic bishop, as it has been so often before, so now especially in the times and places in which we live. The liberty, the democracy, the intellectual activity, the spirit of progress, which constitute the glory of these young commonwealths, spring from the deepest principles of the teachings of our holy Faith. The most exacting of her precepts go to build up the true greatness of a people — self-abnegation, purity of personal life, loyalty to the State, charity to our fellow men. Who is a most ardent admirer of the legitimate aspirations of the age, its thirst for knowledge, its love of freedom, its triumphs over the forces of nature ? Is not the Catholic bishop also ? Has any one amongst you Dipt into the future far as human eye can see Seen the vision of the world and the wonders that shall be ? The Catholic bishop or priest more than any other man has seen that vision and is glad. The man of the nineteenth century Hears the heavens filled with shouting and there rains a ghastly dew From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue. The Catholic bishop hears it with a bounding heart and grasping the Gospel in one hand and the cross of our Saviour in the other yearns to sail, as did Las Casas the good bishop ©f the Incas in the Maria of Columbus, and carry the glad message of salvation to the peoples of those undiscovered worlds. Liberty, fraternity, progress — these watch-words of the age — rightly understood are they not also mine, bishop though I am of the ancient faith? Free as as the eagle that soars around the Alpine heights — in everything outside the eternal principles of morality and revealed truth — ambitious to march in the van of the world's progress, solicitous to bind all men together in unity of faith and love. '• The first aspect,"' s.iys Le ky, "in which Christianity presented itself to the world "was as a declaration of the fraternity and equality of men in Christ." The Bishop will bless these generous aspirations of the century on which we enter — of the people among whom his lot is east The people deeply imbued at heart with the hallowed instincts of religion will never impede his episcopal freedom in hia beneficent work of enlightenment, of grace, of salvation — in his pffnrt to proclaim the truth of God and to save the souls of men, Courage therefore, my dear brother, in the beautiful expression of our ancient liturgy — sursutn corda. Lift up your heart, trusting not in your own worth, or learning, or ability, but in the power of Him -tt ho sends you. God does not depend for the success of Hia work on the strength or genius of man. He rather glories in choosing the foolish things of this world to confound the wise ; the weak and contemptible things of this world that He may confound the kroner. St Paul, that vessel of election, when he proclaimed tl.c glad tidings before the kings and princes of the gentile world, came not in loftiness of speech or wisdom. He trloriid only in knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Courage I You have indeed been called to a high dignity — honoured and you obeyed You have been ordered to a post of labour and cheerfully saying with the priest-prophet of the ancient law cere adsum, you have not refused the burden. I question not the justice of the primitive canon — " Profeoto eDim indignus est episcopatu, nisi fuerit consecratus invitus ; rogatus recedat ; invitatus refugiat ; quaeratur cogendus." In the old countries of Europe where the episcop ite was synonymous with wealth and power and high place ; where the chief pastors were clothed in purple and fine linen and dwelt in the palaces of kings : where everything was regulated by law and little left to the initiative of man, nolo ejuscojtari may have had merit then. Jsut in these colonies where to be a successful bishop one must be a many sided man, fruitful in resources, endowed with exhau&tleHg latent energy; where he has so much to create, to organise, to develope, so many connoting elements to harmonibe ; where it is expected of him that he be the best theologian, the most eloquent preacher, the most reliable financier, the safest counsellor in things spiritual and temporal, and at the same time the most slavish worker of the diocese, literally sermis strrorum (hi, I recognise more virtue in accepting than in refusing that most exalted but oppressive dignity in times like these. Like the leaders of Israel in the days of Nehemias he must build up the walls of the city of God under difficulties exceeding great, ward off the enemy from without while shielding and protecting his own children from within. "With one of his hands he did the work and with the other he held a sword ' Becoming all things to all men that he may gain all, prudent as the serpent, simple as the dove ; trusting to God alone for the success of every undertaking, yet leaving to fortune nothing that foresight and resolution can wrest from her ; a man of prayer and study and yet a man of affairs ; able without any of the world's wealth to bring religion and all ,its manifold interests up to the level of the science and philanthrophy of the age, against the spirit of the age, surely he who desires the office of a bishop desires a work that is very good, in circumstances such as these. Courage then, my brother ; with diffidence in self, but high and holy trust in God enter upon the

duties of your Bacred office. "Feed the flock of God which is amongst you, exerting the episcopal office not in constraint, but willingly according to God ; not for Blthy lucre, but cheerfully ! not as lording it over the clergy, but becoming a pattern of the flock from the heart." Be jealous of the honour and dignity of the priesthood. The priests of the diocese are for the bishop an integral part of his episcopal efficiency. Their work is his work. If he steers the boat it is they that cast the nets. Encourage their efforts, increase their joys and lessen their sorrows by sharing both with them. Let your heart go out in sympathy with them, those zealous labourers in the vineyard, who bear unmurmuring the heat and burden of the day, those fishers of men those hearts, like the hearts of the Apostles on the Sea of Galilee, are often saddened, that though they have laboured all the day, they havo taken nothing. " Let those priests who rule well be esteemed worthy of double honour : especially those who labour in the word and doctrine." Join with us all in making a supreme effort that they may be me.i of learning as well as zeal, men of action as well as men of prayer, able to refute the errors and correct the abuses, but in thorough symp.ithywith the legitimate aspirations of the age. — that in a word like Moses, the heaven-selected leader of the chosen people, skilled in " all the learning of the Egyptians," they may guide their people throa h the wanderings of life's journey, through the confines of the enemy to their glorious and immortal home. To the Catholic school which reposing tranquilly beneath the shadow of the sanctuary, forms souls ot merely for thia world but for God — To the devout religious male and female, who, under different names accomplish the same vocation of penitence, of aelfabnegation, of charity and of prayer — To those pious confraternities of devotion, of beneficence which bind our faithful people into a holy union of good works for body and soul — to the rich and poor. to the young and old— but above all to the lambs of the flock, the little ones of the fold, your episcopal solicitude, your paternal affection must be shared impartially with all. In the beautiful words of the immortal Fenelon at the consecration of the prince bishop of Cologne, " O pastors, far from you let the narrow soul and contracted heart be banished, enlarge your bowels of affection. Ye know nothing, if you are only acquainted with the voice of authority, of reproof, of correction and with pointing out the letter of the law. Be fathers, this is not sufficient. Be mothers, travail in birth again till Jesus Christ His sweet spirit of heavenly love be formed in all heart* ■." Take heed to yourself and to the whole flock wherein the Holy Ghost has placed you a Inshap to rule the Church of God which He has purchased with His own blood. In conclusion, — As for you, my dear brethren of the laity, m the words of St. Paul. " Obey your prelates and be subject to thorn for they watch as having to give an account of your souls, th.it they may do so with joy and not with grieving." Pray for him who today is placed over you, that in the beautiful words of our holy liturgy he may have the light to know and the grace to do those duties well which are the portion of his sacred office— to judge, to interpret, to consecrate, to ordain, to offer sacrifice, to baptise, to confirm — that he may be the faithful servant whom God has placed over His family to give them food in due season, and present to them the model of a perfect man. Pray for him that fervent in spirit, a hater of pride, unwearied in activity, he may ever love humility and truth — that to the poor, to the orphan, to the stranger, to all that are in need, he may be affable, charitable, and kind. Pray for him that a faithful guardian of the divine treasure he may ever prefer labour to selfish ease ; truth and the sterling rin<r of its golden voice ; sacrifice, and the happiness of accomplished duty to base cowardice or to the vulgar ambition of human praise. Pray for him that he may know the obligations of his people to themselves. to their country and their God, and may have the courage to enforce them ; but that he may be one of those leaders — the builders up of true greatness in Church and State, who not only '" Their duties know, But know their rights and knowing dare maintain. Prevent the long-aimed blow And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain.' In one word, let us all unite in a common prayer that inheriting the missionary zeal of the illustrious founder of this diocese, saintly Bishop Pompallier ; the learning, eloquence, and prudent patriotism of Archbishop Croke ; the piety, humility, and self -sacrificing earnestness of his immediate predecessor Dr Luck, he may bring into action those personal qualities of his own which are most needed for the consolidation of the noble works already begun : for the further development of educational efficiency ; for the increase of priestly zeal, learning, holiness and discipline ; for the raising up of this important See of Auckland to the proud place which we trust it shall always occupy among the first dioceses of the Southern world. PONTIFICAL VESPERS. At solemn Pontifical Vespers in the evening Bishop Lenihan presided, there being again a crowded congregation. Fathers Kirk and Hackett were deacon and sub-deacon respectively, Father Cummings assistant priest, Fathers Egan and Aubrey cantors, and Fathers McKenna, McGrath, Grogan, and Smith copemen. The musical portions were again efficiently rendered. The first psalm was " Dixit Dominus." In Aldegar's " Laudate " the solos were taken by Miss C. Lorrigan Mrs Hiscocks, Miss Hargreaves, Miss Loncrgan, Mrs. Tuohy. Larnbilotte's " Magnificat" and " Iste confessor " were well given by the choir. In Eslavas " Salve Itagina "' the duets were taken by Mons. Casier and Mr. Parish and the MissesHargreaves and Lonergan. Herr Carl Schmidt composed an '• O Salutaris " as a duet specially for the occasion, this being sung by Miss C. Lorrigan and Mrs. Hiscocks and Borghis. The Litany and other musical items also received able interpretation. BISHOP GBIMES' DISCOURSE. After the " Magnificat " Bishop Grimes ascended the pulpit and delivered the following discourse. Taking as his text St. Matthew, 28th chapter, 18th to 20th verses, his Lordship said :—: —

My Lords, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, and dearly beloved in Christ,— Only a few hours ago a well known-priest lay prostrate at the foot of God's holy altar. He had made a solemn profession of faith, and taken an oath of allegiance to Leo XIII , bnrist s vicar upon earth. Bishops and priests and people united in sending- up fervent supplications on his behalf to the Almighty in the touching invocations of the litanies and other beautiful prayers of the pontifical. Anointed with hallowed chrism, seaied with a new and indelible mark, and strong in the strength of his ministry, he arose tun with the fullness of the priesthood and the sacramental grace like unto that conferred on the apostles in the God-spoken words which I have just chosen as my text. Speaking from the abundance ot his heart, one of the assistant prelates then addressed his newlyconsecrated brother in words of burning eloquence, which welled P^t from his loving soul as he reminded him and us of the dignity, the honour, and the responsibilities imposed upon him to-day That priest, dearly beloved, you knew him well. For fourteen years and more he worked most zealously and devotedly in your very midst. You saw him faithfully discharging the duties of a parish priest, you knew him as the friend and the father of the orphan and the poor. From this day forward you will know, and I trust have reason to love and revere him, as bishop, your eh ef pastor, placed over you by the Holy Ghost to rule this portion of the Church which Christ hath purchased with His own precious blood. From this day forward he will be eminently the friend and the father of the orphans and of the poor, the friend and the father of one and of all. Invited by your loving Bishop to speak to you at the close of this ever-memorable day, no more appropriate words occurred to me than those first spoken by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to the very first bishops of the Church. Do they not exhibit the Divine warrant, the heavenly commission, sanctioning the great deed done in your midst and for you to-day ? Do they not give your newlyconsecrated Bishop and all who are gathered here this moment the source and surest grounds of consolation, strength and gratitude ? For where else could we find truer source and surer grounds than in the privilege we possess, as children of the true Church of Christ Jesus. Let me, then, put before you in their Gospel simpli« city a few thoughts on the glorious Church to which it is our happiness to belong. It is a fundamental article of our faith that Christ Jesus the Son of God Himself came down from heaven to save and redeem poor fallen man making infinite atonement to His Eternal Father for the outrages inflicted on His majesty by accursed sin. He would blot out the handwriting of the decree against us ; free us from the thraldom of Satan and of self ; and restore to us a life of grace and of glory, forfeited by the primeval fall. Not only would He restore to us the supernatural lite but He would restore it more abundantly and point out to us •• the way. the truth and the life," that knowing and loving and seeing Him here on earth we might have the right to live and be happy with Him for ever in heaven. But how would He bring about all this ? How would the Almighty, essentially inaccessible, hold such intercouse with His fallen creatures ? Surely God will not clothe Himself with our infirmities, live with us and talk and walk with us, yea, suffer and die for us ! •• Father," cries out the eternal Son of God, '• sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not. All united were powerless to atone for the outrages inflicted on Thy adorable majesty. At the head of the book it is written of Me that I should do Thy will. 0 God, 10. a body Thou hast fitted for Me, I will go and take upon Myself a portion of humanity. Thus shall Ibe able to touch and heal man's wounds, and break to him the first accents of mercy and hope. I will take hold of his human nature as an instrument and organ whereby I shall become visible and palpable. He shall behold me speaking and acting a-, God and man. He shall see that in Me dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead corporally (Coloss. ii., D)." For four thousand years the world was eagerly looking- forward to the fulfilment of this wondrous design. At length a day of grace dawns upon mankind. You know the old oft-told, familiar but beautiful story. How on a cold winter's night in a stable at Itethleheni, Mary, His spotless virgin mother, as miraculously brought forth as she had miraculously conceived, the gentle Jesus ; how no sooner was He born than with her virgin spouse, St. Joseph, His immaculate mother fell down and adored in the child her Saviour, her Creator, her Lord and her God ; how that child grew up to manhood and the world beheld a man. but how also that man was filled with the Godhead. That man was God himself, appearing in the reality of human nature, the Emmanuel God with us ; how the lips of that man never opened save to transmit the words of God ; how the hands of that man were never raised save to impart a hidden, a God-like strength to all they touched. Do we not read in the oldest and most authentic Book on record that the outpouring of the divinity in that man was as unceasing as it was marvellous in its influence ? Do we not find ample proofs of all thit, in well nigh every page of the New Testament / Do we not there see Him giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb / Does He not more than once bnnj> back the very dead to life whilst His audible absolution is often pronounced over some poor sin-laden but sorrowful soul ? Do not the very crowds who gather around Him give utterance to the deepest mystery as they exclaim : '■ Virtue went out from Him and healed all" (Luke vi., 1!>) by the mere touch of His garments. But this was only a part of His work, the beginning of His mission ; it \\as not the fullness of the Messiah. The three and thirty years of His earthly career are but a span in His undying existence. The wonder of His public life is but an outline of his perfect apostolate. These thirty-* three years must go on to the end of time. The little corner of Nazareth shall soon give place to the whole world. Instead of the crowds of Galilee and Judea whole people*, whole nations shall flock around the Incarnate Got! come amongst them to teach and to heal. For this He will need a mighty organ, a powerful body, as vast as the world, all the parts whereof He will gather together and unite. He Himself will be the soul, the life, and the fullness thereof This was to be His Church, as our Holy Father, the Pope in his recent magnificent encyclical so emphatically reminds us, it was Hi»

Church, the one only Church of the Bible. By this, His own Church, and through this Church, Christ Jesus will reach the ends of the earth. His life, His actions, the miracles of grace wrought during His earthly career, shall continue in an unbroken course to the very threshold of eternity. He came to save all men, all then should be able to share in the benefits of the redemption. For this cause then, my reason no less than my faith proclaims the necessity of a visible Church to be the guardian, the interpreter, and dispenser of His word and of the graces purchased by tke shedding of His blood. That all men might know this, v His Church," He would seal her with certain characteristic marks, to be hers to the exclusion of all others. Upon her brow she should brai the Hear and unmistakable stamp of her divine origin and minion. Furthermore he would endow her with the gift of universality and indefectibility. The voice of history, ancient and modern, points out this Church to our view. The wonders wrought by her first Apostles and their successors ; the millions of her martyrs who have sealed their faith in her by their blood ; her wide spread upon the earth ; the perpetuity of her hierarchy, so vividly brought before us in the solemn ceremony of to-day ; the successive failures of her ungrateful children setting up rival Churches around her ; her unvarying unity and stability amidst the change and decay of all mere human institutions. These are among the many signs whereby those not wilfully blind must recognise the one only true Church of the Living God. Since the wondrous birth, the still more wondrous life and death of her divine Founder, the world has never beheld a more striking wonder than the birth, the life and unceasing warfare of Christ's mystical body, His Church, thp only true Church of the Bible. Strong in her claims, no less strong is she in the proofs of the same, and no less strong in the firmness wherewith she upholds those claims. Let us take up the Bible narrative of the origin and organisation of this grand and glorious Church. Though viewed as no more than an historical witness all must admit the Bible as a faithful record of the fact that the Church of God was established by Christ Jesus to be the depository and interpreter of His own Divine revelation. We read in the sixth chapter of the gospel according to St. Luke, twelfth and thirteenth verges, '• It came to pass in those days that He (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray and when it was day He called unto Him His disciples and He chose twelve of them whom He made Apostles." St. Matthew, twenty-eighth chapter, eighteenth and twentieth verses, represents our Lord saying to the first bishops of His Church, and to you my dear Lord and all their successors, these astounding words, •' All power is given unto Me in heaven and upon earth ; that same power I give unto you. Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptising Ihem in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and behold I am with you all days even unto the consummation of the world." Listen to this no less striking passage of St. Matthew sixteenth chapter, fourteenth and nineteenth verses. One day when the disciples gathered round the Divine Master He asked them : " Whom do men say that the Son of Man is ? " But they said, " Some John the Baptist and others some Elias, and others Jeremias or one of the prophets." Jesus said unto them, " But whom say you that lam.' " He who was to become their visible head, the chief over all. unlike the rest replied : " Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God," and Jesus said to him, '• Blessed art thou. Simon BarJona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thoe, but my Father who is in heaven." Then, changing his name from Simon. Christ said, " And I say to thee that th«u art Peter (namely, a rock"), and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hel[ shall not prevail against it ; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven (meaning, as the inspired writers assure us. the symbol of supreme government) ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven." To the apostle's exclamation the Divine Master at once answers with the most solemn promises. Peter's glorious outburst is immediately rewarded by another. From that moment it was as impossible to consider the Church without Peter and his successors as to conceive it without Christ Himself. Thus establishing this Church Jesus Christ shows there is but one Church, viz., that which He Himself built upon Peter, the rock. Outside her pale there may be associations calling themselves churches, but if they do not rest upon the foundation laid by God Himself, " for other foundation no man can lay but that which was laid which is Christ Jesus," these are not subject to the successor of Saint Peter. Now '• There alone," says Saint Augustine, more than fourteen hundred years ago, " where Peter is, is the true Church." the only Church of the Bible. The Fathers, following the example of Holy Writ, used the word " church " sometimes to point out the heads of the assembly separated from the faithful, sometimes the pastors and the flocks united. "'lf he will not hear thee, tell the Church ; if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican." Here the authority of the chief pastors is obviously intended. " Take heed to yourself and to the whole flock, over whom the Holy Ghost placed you bishop, to rule the Church which He hath purchased with His own blood." Here the people are called by the name "church." Being the congregation of the faithful, made up of souls, the Church is essentially spiritual. But the union must be kept up exteriorly by a community of laws and of observances and a government necessary for a society formed to live and last. The Church then is made up of a body and of a soul. It is at the same time visible and invisible. As a soul, it may be denned to be the society or the congregation of the faithful possessing faith, ' hope and charity in Christ Jesus ; as a body, with a mere verbal change of the catechism, the congregation of all the faithful throughout the world, possessing the same faith, hope and charity, believing the same dogmas, receiving the same sacraments, uniting in the same worship and obeying one head established by Christ Jesus. If we would clearly see the identity of Christ with His Chvirch, the members comprising this great family and their assured salvation, we must again turn to the inspired pages of Holy Writ. There we shall find figures and parables obviously typifying

or foreshadowing the Church of Jesus Christ. According to St. Augustine we already find in the earthly paradise the tree whereon the incarnate God was to be crucified ; here Eve came forth from the sleep of the first as the Church from the sleep of the second Adam. The Ark, floating upon the storm-tossed waters under the leadership of Noah, the temple of Jerusalem, the stone which the prophet Daniel saw cut out without hands from a lofty mountain, the mysterious vessel seen by St. Peter coming down from Heaven and extending to the four corners of the globe, are so many figures and types of the one universal church of Christ. In Christ's seamleas robe, which his very executioners dared neither tear nor divide, the Fathers love to see the oneness of that Church which nothing can break asunder. The marriage feast, the net filled with good and bad fish, the flock with its mingled sheep and goats, the field with its cockle and wheat growing together till the time of the harvest, umnistakeably point to the one true Church. Speaking of the Church as the fold, Christ Jesus Himself declares that He is the door thereof, the good shepherd ready to lay down His life to save His flock from the ravening wolves or the hireling. The Church is described by the sacred writers as the house of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth, the city and kingdom of God, a city and kingdom which will last for ever. One of the most striking figures — one of the most suggestive, too — is that wherein the Bible represents the Church as the body of Christ, He being the head and we the members. As the human soul animates the body to which it is united, so Jesus Christ is ever imparting life and action to his Church. Into her, perpetual and immortal, He has breathed the breath of His own Divine life. He has made her His own living body, alone powerful enough to withstand all the assaults of earth and hell united. Thus the Church and the Son of God are ever being manifested to men under a visible form, ever old but ever renewed in a perfect youth. According to the expression of an eminent writer, " The Church is a permanent incarnation." The logical consequence of this is patent to all. To attack or to glorify the Church is to attack or glorify Christ Jesus, so close is Christ's union with His Church. Well did Saint Paul understand this when struck down on his way to Damascus. From a furious persecutor he became an intrepid apostle, as a voice from heaven cried out, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me " (Acts ix., 4). Jesus Christ is in heaven, but His mystical body is upon earth. He does not say '"why persecutest thou My faithful or My Church ;" but '' why persecutest thou Me." So close is Christ's union with His Church," says Saint Augustine. " that He is everywhere — her mind, her soul, her word, and her life." Like the human body the Church is made up of different parts, forming a well-fashioned whole. She has her head and her members, her organs whence life goes forth to those who receive that life. S o th« order established in that Church is so perfect that we may thereby in some sort conceive the idea of Him who reigns and rules in the highest heavens but who is the head of this mystical body, the king of this great kingdom, no other than Jesus Christ Himself. Speaking of the Church, as the Holy Father reminds us in his admirable encyclical. Jesus Christ calls it '■ His own Church." He is her life and her light. His doctrine is her law. Having once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the cross he continues in His Church to offer Himself in an unbloody manner as a true victim, a true high priest in the wondrous mystery of the altar. Christ Himself has established the form of her government ; He Himself has traced the way each one must follow to sanctify himself and become worthy of entering into the kingdom of heaven. But, dearest in Christ, authority was to be exercised on a society of visible beings. Hence before leaving this world our Divine Lord imparted to the first bishops. His Apostles, and more especially to St. Peter, whom He made His vicar and vicegerent upon earth, the visible head of His Church. That this power has been conferred upon the Apostles united and subject to their head, that it has been transmitted to them and their successors, no sane man can deny unless he will challenge the authenticity of the Bible or give the lie to the Author thereof. More than once did our Blessed Lord declare this imparting of his wondrous power. Exercising the action of delegation as a God alone could, He said to His Apostles, " All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth, G o therefore teach ye all nations " (Matthew xvih). Appearing to them after His resurrection He said, v As the Father hath sent Me so I send you" ; thus clearly and uninistakeably affirming and proclaiming that He gave to the Apostles and to the Church the self same power which He had from His Father. The Church therefore possesses the three-fold power wherewith the Son of God Himself was invested, the power of teaching, the power of the priesthood, and the power of government. The words whereby Christ Jesus charged His Apostles to teach all nations, conferred not only a command but a power, giving them a right to teach with Christ's own authority and in His name. In preaching the revealed truths, a divine mission as the ambassador and messenger of the Son of God — this mission which you, my dear Lord, and brother bishops have duly received — was to be fulfilled to the end of time. It was then transmitted, in virtue of the words of Jesus Christ, to the successors of the Apostles, as it is transmitted to you to-day. Am I not, then, right in saying that you and all those who are gathered around you this moment, find therein the surewt source and grounds of true consolation, of strength and gratitude and love. In the early days ot Christianity the preaching of the Divine Word was one of the chief .functions of the episcopate. Writing to the Corinthians, St. Paul affirms that Christ sent him especially to preach the Gospel (I Cor. I. 17). '' Woe is unto me," he exclaims, % ' if I preach not the Gospel." The teaching and preaching of the word of God is one of the essential duties of the Church and of her bishops. To her it belongs and to her alone. Xo other power can claim it, for no other has received it from the Son of God. Hence this most logical maxim : '• It belongs to the true Church alone to direct and watch over the teaching of religious doctrines ; " and this other : " They only can lawfully teach the truths of religion who have received from the Church and her bishops the faculty of authorisation." There is need of a preacher, for the Apostle declares : " Faith

Cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Bufc he adds : " How shall they preach unless they be sent ? " Yes, our mission, as well as our orders, must come from the Church of the Living God. But to whom have we to preach and make known the word of God ? To all. without exception. Sending forth His first bishops, the apostles, Christ said to them and to us: '-Preach the Gospel to «very creature" (St. Matthew xvi). This mission which the Church fulfils, instructing all, young and old, prince and people, she holds from God Himself and she exercises it by His command. No earthly power then has a right to prevent her. She is essentially free in her teaching. It is written: "The word of God is not bound " (Timothy 11. It). The Church of God possesses the treasures of all the truths which the Son of God hath revealed. To His Church and to the Apostles of His Church has Christ Jesus confided these marvellous truths, saying : " You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth" (Matthew v., 1:5-14). That is, by your teaching you will enlighten the world, and in enlightening it you will preserve it from the corruption begotten of error. Have I not said more than enough to fill you with the deepest sentiment of grateful love and reverence for the Church of God, the living word. the perfect image of Christ Himself, ever living and acting in the midst of humanity. Let us believe in the Church, though in her midst we may be grieved to bjhold weakness, misery, corruption itself. The more the impious mar her immortal brow the more shall we admit the mind that sustains and the divinity that animates her. In assuming oar body with its infirmities and its wretchedness, Christ ennobled, exalted and deified it. By this union He did still more. One day taking bread into His sacred hands and leaving of it nought but the appearance, the shape, and taste and colour. He Himself became its very substance as He said : " This is My Body." By a like miracle He chose a group of lowly men, and to them, despite their faults and failings. He svid ■ •• This is My mysticial Body, My visible Church, another My-elt." Whilst rejoicing, dearly beloved, that one whom you have so long known and revered is to-day added to the ranks ot the successors of the apostles, help him to fulfil his exalted mission, to wield well the immense power with which he is now vested. You will pray that our glorious immaculate Mother will obtain from the Sacred Heart of her diviue Son all graces that he may in truth, and. indeed, become the worthy successor of his saintly predecessor and the other notable bish^is to whom, by the grace of God and the favour of the Apostolic b<_o. he now succeeds as the fifth bishop of the See of Auckland. Rally around , help him. very reverend and reverend dear Fathers and you his beloved flock, to fuliil the dying prayer of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ •• Other sheep 1 ha\e which arc not of this fold. Oh, Father, grant that they too may bo brought into the one true fold that as Thou m Me and I in Thee they may be united." Grant, oh grant, that being many we may all truly become one body in Christ, and members one of another. May they and we all deserve to share in the fullness of Christ Jesus who is our " all in all." May we glory in being faithful children of the Church upon earth so as to deserve to live and reign with our Divine Head and our fellow-members in the glorious kingdom of which there shall be no end. This is the grace which I wish you with the blessing of your newly-consecrated Bishop. THE CONVERSAZIONE. There was a crowded and brilliant assembly in the Choral Hall on Monday evening at the conversazione given as a reception to the bishops and clergy in honour of the consecration. The Hon. . I. A. Tole presided, and the Hon. Thomas Thompson, Minister lor .Justice. was amongst those present. ADuuush or 'ihi: cu:rgy. The following address from the clergy wa< presented, tog el her with the seals of the diocese, by Monsignor McDonald .— "To the Right Reverend George Michael Lenihan. filth Bishop of Auckland. My Lord Bishop, — The clergy ot the diocese of Auckland have chosen this evening as the most fitting occasion tor giving public expression, in the presence ot the lain, to the allegiance which the Catholic clergy readily profess to him who maybe appointed as the chief pastor over the flock of winch they are the shepherds. Fourteen years ago your saintly predecessor landed in Auckland and was welcomed by the clergy and people of his diocese, and now, on the very same day. wo have the pleiisiue of greeting as his successor and our newly-consecrated Bishop, one who had been his favourite pupil, one who was privileged to be the first priest to receive ordination from his treshlv -consecrated hands, one who generously relinquished the hope ot a brilliant career m the archdiocese of Westminster to accompany his old friend and master to these distant shores. Since then, my Lord, you have laboured in the ranks with us ; three out of the tour city parishes and the local orphanages bear the impress of your zealous and successful administration, and this, coupled with our intimate knowledge ot your priestly virtues, led us to choose you as the most worthy to be the coadjutor, and subsequently the successor to our late revered Bishop ! Together with the satisfaction that we naturally experience at our | repeated choice of you being confirmed by the Holy See. we feel that we are responsible, in great measure, for the heavy burthen placed upon your shoulders. For this reason we beg of your Lordship to consider our choice of you as an assurance of our willingness to ; help to lighten the weighty cares ot your ofhev. and as amaikoi our confidence m you as our leader and elm f pa-ior. In conclusion. my Lord, as priests ot your dioce-e. we will ever lvndei to jou the homage of obedience, fidelity and loyalty. DR. LENIHAN'b KEI'LY. | His Lordship said in reply. — Dear Rev. Fathers. — The spiritual graces given me yesterday in receiving from the Holy Ghost the plenitude and perfection of the priesthood, the favour done me by their Lordships the Bishops in presiding worthily over the glorious pageant of ceremonial, the welcome presence ot the visiting clergy, who came as representatives of the various dioceses, to show the goodwill of their brethren, these were surely a sufficient honour to last a lifetime. But in addition to this I saw my rev. friends and

companions of the last fourteen years gathering round me in the trying ordeal I had to go through, willing to assist and comfort and uphold me. and the thought occurred to me, I wonder whether they feel as proud of their representative as he has reason to feel proud of them, and to-night you prove in the kind words of your address that, at least, you are not displeased with me, and I am encouraged by your promise of loyalty, and, above all, affection. In your address you speak of our late revered Bishop, Or. Luck. On this day, fourteen years ago, he landed in Auckland, and was welcomed by the clergy and people of the diocese. Your welcome on this day encourages me in carrying on hi-, work, and if by our fruits we are known and the same measure of success attends my effort*. I shall not go before the judgment seat of -God with my hands empty and my works useless. You speak of me as Dr. Luck's favourite pupil. Well, like a spoilt child, I feel that at times I took advantage of his kindliness of heart, and my only regret now is that in all things 1 did not second him as I might have done. I look to you for more generous support than I gave : for there is this difference between our late Bishop and myself, that he did not need much of my support, for his earnestness, zeal and ability were of a marked order, but mine are of such a lowly nature that I require your united help, looking upon my position as simply primus inter parts — as sort of all being equal. But lam supposed to ba your chief in parochial work. Well, the parish work, after all, is the bounden and natural duty of a priest, but I do not take credit that under God I have been successful in the improvement and development of our orphanages, and while I must not speak of any success in temporal concerns, but leave that to others, I am naturally pleased in having secured the loving affection of the children committed to my care, and of the willing co-operation of the good Sisters of Mercy, who gave their time and their health and their lives for the benefit of these little waifs. An orphan myself at an early age, I have been able to understand their wants and needs, and gladly have I given my time and attention to secure for them a meed of happiness, which has proved of a lasting nature and which has borne fruit in the grateful recognition of many of those children who are now grown up and are an ornament to society by their goodness and virtue. The honour lately conferred upon me is in great measure due to you. I was chosen twice by you for so exalted a position, and I look to you for much constant help in the work and tor great commiseration in my humble endeavours to do good, noble work. You have been responsible for the burden imposed upon me. Chosen by you, your choice approved of by their Lordships of New Zealand aud then ratified by his Holiness, I naturally look to you that the work of your nominee may not be attended by disastrous results. You conclude by saying that you will ever render obedience fidelity aud loyalty to your chief pastor, and on my part I promise, with God"s help, to walk in the path of virtue, following in the footsteps of our late venerable prelate, and by kindness and meekness in the duties of my office, continuing the friend and companion of you, who are an example to your flocks, a credit to your diocese and an object of admiration to those who have the good fortune to have the pleasure of your acquaintance. This present you have so kindly given — the seal of the diocese — will sign the bond of affection between us. The fourth Bishop now comes upon the seene — I speak of his Lordship Bishop Luck who in ISS2, as the clergy have said in their address on this very day, landed at Auckland. I had the privilege and honour of accompanying him from England, and I was amazed at the gladness of the people and the desire they had to show honour to him who had been sent by his Holiness to rule over you. 1 fancy I see the old cathedral packed to excess, I hear the loving and respectful address read to him, expressive of your determination to uphold his dignity and follow where he would lead ; and on that night I felt that though far distant, from my native home. I was with true and devoted friends. I can. as a witness, speak ot his works. Are they not a standing memorial ot the love he had for the diocese / Among the monuments of his greatness in material buildings, erected with the willing co-operation ot his priests, we find the new Cathedral of St. Benedicts, the Church ot the Sacred Heart. Surrey Hills and a score oi other churches standing m country places. L"ok at the palace, which lie determined on leaving tree of debt to his successors and diocese, an object of admiration to the citizens of Auckland, a thing of beauty to the Catholics, and I may say under my breath, a thing of envy to visiting prelates and clergy. He {.aid off the debt in the cathedral nearly £1000 and reduced the debt of the Brother's school to a minimum. In spiritual matters we find him introducing the Little Sifters of the Poor whose lowly work amongst the old people is an object ot wonder and amazement. Then to assist the work that the Sisters of Mercy had done so brilliantly but single-handed at the school he introduced the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters ot the Mission, and insisted upon numerous, schools being erected tor the benefit ot our children's religious training. For the boys he brought over the Marist Brothers, and but two years ago resuscitated the orphanage for boys at Takapuna whose numbers now exceed forty. These are the proofs ot his industry, zeal and desire for the welfare ot his people, carrying out religiously the promises he made you on the day ot his reception to spend and be spent in your ser\ ice And now a new Bishop lias been given you. one who trembles at havinu to uphold that diguiU and accept that office t-o worthily tilled by his able and valiant predecessors. Luckily they ha\e broken the virgin soil of this our happy country, once without knowledge of God. They have cut down the dense forests of ignorance and superstition, enabling the sun ot God's grace to warm the earth with its rays 'I hey have been the pioneers * settling on the land and by their energy leaving it laden, smiling with the choicest of God's good gifts ; tilling it, making it ready tor the good seed which is the Word of God. Let us join together as a \illage settlement, helping one another, overlooking one another's peculiarities and eccentricities, and united in all things to

(Continnu it on jiayi' /<?.)