The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1915. THE LATE BISHOP GRIMES

New Zealand Tablet, 18 March 1915, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1915. THE LATE BISHOP GRIMES

E A 111 is the great revealer— not alone to those who cross the threshold, but in a sense, also, to those who are left behind. As in a flash, it displays to us the life and character of the departed in their true setting and perspective. The element of imperfection, the common inheritance of our poor humanity, is now seen and judged in its relation to the whole life and lifepurpose : and where these have been sincere and earnest, the noble effort, the lofty aims, the high ideals stand out in clear outline, and all else is as if it were not. The human heart, with all its faults, has no need of the precept which bids us to think and speak nothing but good of the departed. We would not if we .could, and could not if we would, cherish other than kindest thoughts of those who have gone. The memories of unwearied labors, of unceasing and unselfish devotion, of unnumbered and at the time almost unnoticed acts of goodness and kindness, crowd upon the mind, and fill the heart with grief. The dead are dearest, be who will alive.’ It is with some such sentiments as these that the sorrowing hearts of the Catholics of the Christchurch diocese —and in a measure, also, the hearts of all the Catholics of the Dominion who have ever come in contact with the late beloved prelatewill now be filled. The detailed story of his life and life-work is told elsewhere in our columns. Viewed merely in its external aspect, as expressed in bricks and stone, in provision for the spread of religion and education, and for easing the burdens of the sick and suffering and destitute, it is a noble record. It is with the erection of the great Cathedral, that beautiful and stately pile, that the late Bishop’s name will be especially associated. It is a pathetic circumstance that the good Bishop should have been called away when the one great object of his later years — extinction of the debt on the Cathedral and the solemn consecration of the building to Godwas within sight of being realised. Thanks to his untiring energy and indomitable purpose, the liability had been rapidly reduced from the sum of £30,000 to the trifling amount of some £3OOO or £4OOO. But though, like Moses, taken away when just within sight of the realisation of his hopes, his great work was really done. As one looks upon the long colonnades, pilasters, and walls of massive stone and the soaring, bronze-clad domes of this ‘ tabernacle of God with men,’ the words of Buskin’s

Seven Lamps come before the mind. ‘Therefore,’ says he, ‘ when we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight, nor for present use alone, let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and, that men will say as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them: “See! this our fathers did for us.” That time has now come; and every pillar and column of this noble edifice will be sacred to the memory of Bishop Grimes. * * Of the personality of the beloved Bishop, of his hold on the hearts of his people, of his place in popular esteem and in the public life of the community, and of the tremendous work which he accomplished for God and the Church during his arduous episcopate, it is not necessary for us to speak. Few men of his province—and certainly no other ecclesiastic of any religious denominationhave such an honored record of public and civic activity. To this the daily papers of his city —papers which hold a place in the forefront of New Zealand journalism bear cheerful witness. ‘Of singularly amiable disposition,’ wrote the Lyttelton Times on the occasion of his episcopal jubilee, ‘ and possessed of an unaffected manner in which kindliness and courtliness are admirably blended, Bishop Grimes has won the whole-hearted love of his own people and the sincere respect of those outside his pastorate. . . . While he has proved himself a good Churchman, a capable administrator, and a worthy exponent of the Christian virtues. Bishop Grimes has not neglected the duties of citizenship. His erudition and his experience in affairs, as well as his kindly heart and generous hand, have made him a valuable member of the community, and he has not allowed denominational barriers to hamper his activities in co-operative service. The people of this city and province, no matter what their creed, will join with us in offering hearty congratulations to his Lordship upon the completion of a quarter of a century of faithful service on behalf of his Church and his adopted country.’ And the Christchurch Press, commenting on the public meeting held in his honor on the same occasion, remarked : ‘ He has, indeed, during his twenty-five years’ occupancy of the episcopate, rendered magnificent service to his Church. His zeal and energy in promoting its welfare and its usefulness have triumphed over all obstacles, and Mount Magdala, Nazareth House, and the great Cathedral, which must be for ever associated with his name, to say nothing of numbers of churches and schools, stand to-day as monuments to his untiring devotion to good works. But Bishop Grimes has been more than the head of the Catholic Church here; he has proved himself a good citizen, ever ready to lend his eloquence and his wise counsel to humanitarian movements, and concerning himself with the work of higher education, while on numerous occasions he has shown himself possessed of a spirit of patriotism of a high and noble, standard. He can hardly have needed the assurance offorded by the representative character of last night’s gathering that he holds a high place in the esteem of the community, but it is gratifying that an opportunity was given to the citizens of demonstrating their personal regard for him. ‘Ad midtos felicissimosque annos ’ — may lie live for many and most happy years — a wish in which all who know his Lordship, and the still larger number who know of his work, will heartily join with the members of his Church.’ * It has been said, and truly said, that the magni-< r ficent Cathedral, the finest of its kind in these southern lands, will stand as a monument and memorial of the late Bishop. But beautiful and worthy though that .memorial is, it is in the hearts of his devoted people that Bishop Grimes has won for himself ah even greater memorial. * The bond between Bishop and people was very real, and the affection between them increased with the increasing years. Though the end, latterly, had not been unexpected, the irreparable loss will be none the less keenly felt; and profound sympathy will be ex-

tended to -the people of Christchurch in the heavy blow which has fallen upon the diocese. Gifts of head and heart, grace of speech, an attractive and lovable personality, a burning zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, a profound humility, a fatherly affection for his priests, a great-hearted love for all his people, unfailing kindliness and charity for .those who are not of the household of the faith, public-spirited-uess and statesmanlike breadth of view in civic affairs these are some of the qualities which made Bishop Grimes revered and beloved of his people, and admired and esteemed by all who knew him. 1 Ecce sacerdos magnus.’ Behold a great priest, who has added lustre to the Church in the Dominion and mad© the Catholic name respected wherever his influence has been felt. And now the laborer’s , task is o’er, and the battleclay is past. ‘ Life’s race well run, Life’s work well done. Life’s victory won ; Now comes rest ’ — and, let us pray, rest eternal !