A New Convent for Blenheim.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIX, Issue 51, 19 December 1901, Page 3

A New Convent for Blenheim.

The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new convent, which took place on Sunday afternoon (says the Marlborough Express), attracted general interest, and was carried out under mosts t successful and auspicious circumstances. The weather was favorable, and at three o'clock a large number of people had assembled in St. Mary's Church and in the vicinity. The ceremony, which was of an impressive character, was commenced in the church, where his Grace Archbishop Redwood addressed a crowded congregation. His Grace delivered an eloquent and able discourse, which was listened to with the closest attention. He said that the convent, the foundation stone of which they were going to lay that afternoon, was a work that appealed most forcibly to their highest appreciation, their deepest sympathy, and most liberal support. As a mere building, a public edifice, it would be an ornament to the locality ; and as an institution it would respond to a great need. It would serve their nearest interests, the welfare of their children in this life and in the next. With a view to their fully realising this great blessing, he would briefly sketch the kind of life led by the Sisters and which would be led in the home that was being built for them. What he was going to say was applicable to all religious Orders. A nun, said his Grace, was a Christian woman who bound herself to God in order to attain Christian perfection, by means of three vows —

Poverty, Obedience, and Chastity —

and by the observance of a common rule. There was a kind of perfection without which it would be impossible to save our souls. This was shown by the keeping of the Commandments of God, and was required of all ; but, as there were various decrees of charity, so there were various degrees of perfection. To His words. ' Keep the Commandments,' our Saviour added the counsel ' If thou wilt be perfect, sell what thou hatt, and give it to the poor and thou Bhalt have treasure in heaven ' ; and this was the perfection which ■was contained in the binding 1 of ourselves to God by these vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, under a common rule approved by the Church. The first excellence of the religious lite consisted in the vow of poverty. The religious gave up all attachment to the things of the world. The nun could not receive, buy, sell, or do anything with property in her own independence, but only under obedience. By this vow she cut herself off from one of the most terrible attractions of the human heart, and by tbat poverty she became like unto the angels. The next excellence or happiness of the nun was the vow of chaßtity, and what words could he find to express the nobility of this bigh ideal. Our Saviour Faid. ' Blessed are the clear of heart for they fhall see God.' The third excellence was the vow of obedience. Nowadays much that was false was heard about the rights of man and the claims to liberty ; it was too often forgotten that every man has his duties, that it in obedience that makes tor security. And with obedience was marvellous unity and concentration of effort, and in following these principles the religious Orders rendered immense services to society The nun was no parasite. She works and she makes a liberal return for her daily bread. She received alms at limes, it is true, but not for herself. The real secret of the resources of monasteries and convents was continual work combined with careful economy. His Grace went on to quote a certain writer, no biassed authority in matters Catholic, who calculated that the activity of 1(50,000 in the communities of men and women in France resulted in a profit to the State of

Eighty Million Francs Per Annum

The Catholic Schools throughout Australia were taught almost exclusively by religiouß men and women, and in this connection was spared to the State and the taxpayers as much as £180,000 per annum. The Catholic schools in New Zealand were almost entirely taught by religious, and here it could be claimed, without exaggeration, that £40,000 was saved to the State and the taxpayers. His Grace went on to say that these religious showed mankind a noble example of unselfishness. The great God of the day in the richest and the leading countries of the world was gold ; men must have gold ; and by what scandalous methods and sacrificing of con-

sciences was it not being acquired t In the praotioe of chastity, too, the religious set an example which was of immense service to society. It counteracted an evil that was gnawing at the very vitals of society — the cancer of voluptuousness. Tonohing on the third great principle ' obedience,' his Grace said that the obedUnoe praotißed by the religious orders was not the servility of the whipped dog or the cringing slave. It was not fanaticism, which takes away responsibility and makes one a mere slave to a superior. It set the world a noble example of that obedient respect to authority so absolutely necessary to the peace and order of society. He then dwelt on the historical importance of the monasteries as the repositories of art, science, and literature, the part they had played in the fostering of the industries, and the advancement of learning. In the hospital and on the battlefield the members of the religious orders proved their zeal and heroism in the service of God and man ; and thousands of them leave their homes and their country and go forth as missionaries to raise up the ignorant, deluded savages, and tell them that there is a God above to save them. Such were the religious so calumniated, so persecuted. Such were the men and women whom greed and vice bad so often combined to destroy. In conclusion, his Grace expressed the hope that the work of the Sisters of Mercy would prosper, that the building of the new Convent would be attended by success, and that the institution would be a lasting means of good. At the conclusion of Archbishop Redwood's address, a procession was formed. This passed through the presbytery grounds, and wended its way to the site of the new Convent. Here hi 6 Grace carried out the ceremony of laying the foundation stone, after which the Rev. Father Servajean briefly addressed the large crowd of people, in acknowldgement of the response that had been given to the appeal for the means of providing a better home for the Sisters of Mercy. In the course of his remarks the Rev. Father Servajean described the progress of the movement for the Convent, and expressed great pleasure at the early accomplishment of the object so heartily taken up a few months ago. He thanked his Grace for coming over from Wellington to lay the foundation stone ; and expressed regret at the absence of his Worship the Mayor, who intimated at the last moment that his duties would prevent him from attending. He was sure that anything that tended to the embellishment of the town found a way to the heart of the Mayor. With the amount in hand as the outcome of the bazaar and private donations, and with promises, the building was started with a fund of £850, and this was a most handsome result, for which he had to thank most heartily both the Catholic oommunity and many nonCatholic friends.