THE LATE DEAN MAHONEY

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 21, 21 May 1903, Page 18

THE LATE DEAN MAHONEY

(Special Correspondence.)

n ( <£«? < a? Re^iem Mass for the repose of the soul ?ii *n £f e^ cry . Re ;f- Dean Mahoney, SM., was celebrated in fet Mary's Church, Nelson, on Wednesday, May 7 1I Ti s ,,. race Archbishop Redwood and several priests I'Xd e r h r ngt ° n and Christchurch were present. Pn ?n£ ?n£ ?-n« f ° WaS crowded > many of thos^ present hay! ing come from a considerable distance, whilst prominent of 01 Vho at rio°c lICS also attended out of respect totfi S£S£ 1 thn , el The - Church was appropriately draped TVnvinrio? ° m " occas ! on ' Th « Yen. Archdeacon Devoy, lioymcial, was celebrant of the Mass, Rev Father Fa C ther la cn, d^ aC ° n ' + KeY - , Fnther Marnane subdeacon. Rev 'nn (h A fl, ni f tf>t^° f ceremonies. In addition to his VmvlV v i C S lsh V P t , h , cre woro P'-esent in the sanctuary Ve.y Rev. lather Le Menant des Chesnais VG Very Am^, n X\ LowiH ' VG ' aml liiev - fathers Holley, Ams^orfh, Moloney, and G Mahonv

The Sermon

uas pieached by his Grace the Archbishop from the Mml ii r\ C ( Uypse: ' Blessed ' ir « they xv ho dio in tho La>i I, that they may rest from their labors, lor their o,ks remain after them ' 'We are assembled hero today (s.ud his Grace) to Lake part m the offering of the holy SacrK.ce of the Mass for the repose of the soul of our M-ry dear and lamented Dean Mahonev. Jt is the teaching of the Catholic Church that in order to go straight to heaven the soul must be entirely free from sin and lrom all the consequences of sm 'that is it must be hoe from any temporal punishment that has to lx> discharged in this world or m the next If a soul ap"mis hciore(.od with any stain of sin or with n part of that temporal penalty not >et paid, then >t has to go o. some time at least into a place called purgatory uhe.e it may be freed from all stains of sin and prepared for its entrance to the everlasting glory of God ,Vt S n, . l lo^fl that the soul of our dear lnend and ff? ;as boe " £ ou "d P lll< e enough to already ascend to the throne of God to be crowned with his eternal rewiard But we are in doubt We know that nothing defiled can enter hea\en, God alone can judge the degree ol punty that is requ.red before w e can be associated with Him m heaxen. Jt may bo that this dear one requires our assistance, and it is an article of Catholic h t n 7 +i horc ' s :l P»rq.\lorv and that we can assist the souls there by our prayers and good works and particularly by the Sacrifice of the Mass. It ,s for that purpose we are hero to-day, and we are here also to lecall to our mind the lite of (his one so dear to us so highly esteemed by c-xerv class and creed of society' tho'h^h ♦ ill b(>iU ! tl ' ul lilp in various aspects, but the highest, noblest, and holiest aspect is that of his priesthood lie was a priest. a holy priest, a priest uoithy of the name, worthy of the name of Jesus Christ We as Christians admit that the ideal man in every regain, intellectual, moral, and spiritual, is Jesus Christnow a great chai actensi ie of Chiist is that he was a 1>n i mr ou an? a I"" 10^ f °i- ever according to the oiuVr of Melchisedech." said the prophet to Him, a priest that has to offer some

Great Sacrifice connected with bread and wine, and we know what that sacrifice was He offered it at Jlis last supper when He instituted the adorable Eucharist as a sacrament and n sacnf.ee, A C'athohc pnest is so to speak another U-inst ,he ought, therefore, to shine with the virtues of t nnst as he offers the adorable Sacrifice of the Mass and also receives the power to lemit sin in the name and authority of Jesus Christ. AYe may say lhat the one who has gone before us lived up to his high calling-, he

lived up to that high ideal when he sot a noble example of the priesthood of Christ. That is ttfe highest aspect in the beautiful life he has set before us. But he was not only a priest— he was a servant of Mary, he belonged to the Society of Mary, a society of priests whose aim it is to preach the rule and empire of Jesus Christ through Mary : those virtues of gentleness, of compassion, and that soothing nature which appear to us so beautiful in Mary the Mother of God. The one we lament to day did give an example of these virtues of Mary. How far removed he was from any harshness, how gentle and kind in his ways; he showed to us the virtues of Mary, her gentleness, her humility. This dear one whom we lament gave an admirable example of humility. When looking- for .a priest who would be kindness, gentleness, and humility itfelf, one that could take the place of the late Rev. Father Garin, I chose Dean Mahoney, and. indeed he made that dear old man happy. He was the soul of all the- work 4hat went on, yet gave all the credit to his old pastor. Had it not been for his kindness that old man would not have passed such cheerful and happy days. I say that Dean Mahoney gave to the world an admirable example of meekness and humility, gave to others the credit of the work that he himself suggested and carried out to its accomplishment. If we look upon him in other aspects, we find that he was most zealous as a pastor of this flock. We could point out numbers of people who now belong to the Catho.ic Church that he gained over, first by his kindness, by his human qualities and vh'tues, and then leading them by the instructions he gave them to join the body of the hob? Catholic Church. So in a noiseless manner he was carrying out the work of our Divine Lord, bringing many into His fold. To those who did not belong to his Church, you all know

His Kindness, His Liberality ; you know the broadness of view he had with regard to all. Pie had none that he did not care for whether they belonged to his flock or not, but doing them all the good he could. He had a really Catholic charity, one extending to all just alike, the charity of Jesus Christ extending to all, even to those who put him to death. A real Catholic charity ; and so he had many friends outside his own fold. Some of his dearest friends, some of those in whom he confided most in matters of friendship, belonged not to his fold. There is a noble example of the conduct a priest ought to have in a country of divided creed like ours. He should be all zeal for his own flock, and at the same time all kindness, justice, and charity to all who do not belong to his own flock ; and he set a noble example in this similar to the example set by the one to whom he succeeded, the Rev. Father Garin, who had that same broad and Catholic spirit. " Blessed are they who die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labors for their works remain after them." He worked hard in this world, he was always diligent in everything he undertook. I knew him long before you, years ago in Dublin, where I was his professor of theology, and there I knew him as a young man not yet in Orders, who was always the joy and happiness of his fellow-companions and students by his kindness, his gentleness, his genial humor, and at the same time his strictness to the rules he had to observe in his works and study under my tuition. I can say that he was a model student : he had fair abilities and he used them well, he used them according to his power, and he had so many other gifts that the result was great indeed and never will be forgotten in this district. " Blessed are they who die in the Lord that they may rest from their labors." We hore that now he has gone to his eternal rest, where we all hope one day to "•o. We are here only for a passing moment, but our home, the house of our eternity is there expecting us. May we be happy with him one day, may we share with him his eternal re. c t ! In order to do that, we must share with him the practice of every Christian virtue. r lhe tribulations of this life are momentary, they a.ye nothing compared to the joy in store for those who serve God. We hope he has already .gone to share in that peace and happiness. " Blessed are they who die in the Lord for their works remain after them." How

His Spiritual Works Remain after him and all those souls he gained to God, all those children he brought up prepared to take their place in society ! How everything about us speaks of his works ! This very church in which we stand is a monument to his faith. Then we have other institutions around us that have sprung up under his administration — that large and noble convent, the. presbytery and hall which is so useful. Then we have the orphanages, the one for girls in the town, and Ihe one for hoys at Stoke. If he were living, what happened a few days ago would have been a heavy blow to hia charitable heart, he would have had to make a great appeal to his resignation to the will of God to bear that blow. It is a blow that has b,een stricken by an all-wise Providence. We may look upon it as a certainty that that orphanage will rise from its ruins in increased efficiency and splendor. You wish to raise a monument to the memory of that noble Dean Mahoney whom you lancnt. There is no monument he would appreciate so much as the orphanage erected upon the ruins of the one which has disappeared, in order, to continue that noble \'M*k of charity. As you love yoiir lamented pastor, as <ou wish to do something to his memory so that he may never be forgotten, I say there is the opportunity. You are going to raise a small monument to his memow, but this is a larger monument,' one that will speak powerfully. This building that we are*going shortly to undertake will rise as a

monument to the memory of this dear and lamented Father. There is no need to say more, but II may add a few words to console you upon some matters. I am happy to tell you that Dean Mahoney received every possible attention, every kindness, evei*ything that could' be done by the most celebrated doctors and the most perfect nurses in one of the finest hospitals in the world; and he had a friend there who was a friend indeed because he was a friend in need, and that was the Very Rev. Dr. Watters. He was all kindness to him, did everything in his power to comfort him and make his end har>-- and peaceful. 'Everything was done indeed that could be done to make the passing away of this dear one as easy and as happy as possible. We are all called to see God for eternity if we lead a virtuous life. Let us resolve to lead good lives and discharge our duties to God and to man, that when the time comes for us to go, we shall be able to hear what 1 hope he has already heard, those beautiful, touching, familiar, and entrancing words of Jesus Christ : " Well done thou good and faithful servant, because thou has been faithful in small things I will set thee over great ones, enter thou into the joy of the Lord." With such a hope andsuch a prayer I now give you my blessing.'