DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

New Zealand Tablet, 23 October 1919, Page 21

DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

(From our own correspondent.) ; ' October. 17. , Although the ways of raising funds for Church purposes are numerous, with varying degrees of success, the "garden party" seems to be one of the most enjoyable and profitable. The children's carnival held recently in Vermont Street School grounds, in aid of the Cathedral funds, was very successful,: over £2OO being cleared by the function. Rev/ Fathers Forde : and Bleakly are .to be comgratulated on tho result. ; ' ' --* r A , .' ,- Onehunga parish is to have its day on November 1, and Grey Lynn parish will hold a Christmas Fair, in aid

of parish funds,"about the second week in^November. ,- .^ r ; Sunday, November 2, will be a red-letter day for Devonport parish, for then, the beautiful new church will be solemnly I blessed and opened. 1 It is hoped that his Lordship the Bishop will preside at the Solemn High Mass, and a large gathering of clergy and laity is expected. Very Rev. Father Whelan, C.SS.R., ' Superior, will preach the occasional sermon." The Redemptorist Fathers will conduct a mission in the Devonport parish during November. The retreat for the clergy next January will be conducted in the Sacred; Heart College, by the Very Rev. Father Maurice O'Reilly, CM., rector of St: John's University College, Sydney.. The same eloquent (preacher will give the religious exercises in connection with ! the retreat of the Sisters of Mercy at St. Mary's Convent, Ponsonby. The retreats for the Marist Brothers, Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of the Mission, and Little Sisters of the Poor will be conducted by the Redemptorist) Fathers. - ,f His Lordship the Bishop is still a patient: in the Mater Misericordiaj Hospital, Mount Eden, and wo regret that he is making but slow progress towards recovery. The Rev. Father Bradley is at present conducting the annual examination in Christian Doctrine in tho various schools in the city and suburbs. The following appeal in aid of the seminary fund is being made during October :—"The purposes of Christian education, under any circumstances, are simply amongst the grandest that) can stir the energies of man, for they aim at leading, to its highest perfection, tho noblest of God's works on earth —the human soul. The Catholic notion is the only complete one, for it alone embraces the whole of human nature, and consults at once for the temporal and for the eternal interests of man. Now, if the purposes of education rank amongst the highest, if the conception of education prevailing in the Catholic Church be the only complete and the most perfect, how surpassingly noble must be the purposes of an ecclesiastical training—for the priesthood of the Churchto enable the Levite —in the reception of. Holy Orders, to share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ .Himself. It has always been the desire and the aim of the Church that the Ministers of God should be as well prepared, both in mind and heart, for their great office as training and education can make them. There is necessarily' much to be learnt before a man can be trusted to teach and guide the flock. Such a man must be cultivated in literature and science, well acquainted with Holy Scripture, skilled in divinity, and prepared to give prudent direction in matters of conduct and morality. Moreover, he must be a spiritual man, both in principle and practice; he must not only know what Christian virtue is, and how it is to ho acquired, but he must have schooled himself for many years in the school of Jesus Christ —learning to drug to God,- to subdue himself, and to show" forth in his life the,,fruit .of tflie Holy Spirit. The more effectively he is thus prepared..the better will he succeed in, the work''of the ministry for although it is God who commissions him and God who makes his efforts fruitful,, yet we know that Our Lord wishes His instruments to take pains to fit themselves for His work, and that, to undertake the priesthood without due instruction and training is to be guilty of criminal presumption and to tempt Almighty God. Hence a priest's course of education is. a long one. It is Cardinal Gibbons' opinion that students at the time of their ordination are, as a rule, more thoroughly grounded in sacred science than graduating lawyers are in the abstract knowledge of their profession, . because the curriculum of the former covers. a longer period of time than that of the latter. The aspirant to the priesthood, after the years of his schooling as a child, and the secondary-''course, then enters on a Special course of study, lasting from five to seven years longer, during wlr'c']f / Tie is occupied in the acouirement of that learning f 'and that perfection of personal character which are specially required by his holy vocation and profession. It is for this reason so 'much expense has to be incurred'at the various seminaries where our Levites are preparing to give themselves to God and your service in this diocese, and, further, the travelling expenses from the Old Land are very considerable. Our desire is to have as many of our young New Zealanders join the ranks of the priesthood as circumstances permit, but we have still to rely largely on the Irish Colleges for , our vocations. Since the present Bishop's first arrival in our midst, some eight years ago, as many as 24 young priests have com© to the diocese, and work awaits many more. Our present indebtedness is over £SO0 —and this appeal for the Seminary Fund is to clear off that liability. A pleasing feature of recent years is the keen interest manifested in this appeal by the various legacies bequeathed to ; this fund. All these are now well invested, and our present intention is, that, as far as possible, only the

interest on these investments shall be available; so that in time, we may - husband our resources, and : make the fund self-supporting. All, priests and s people, who have the interest of the Catholic Faith at heart, in this young land o promise, should continue to take a lively and practical Jw? S f ln + i thlS - Se ™ n T y l Fund'for the' education of stuped ior ’ co r tr ; bl,ti ” K to the best of their powei f°i this purpose, and often directing their prayers priests/ 1 ’ 11 trom Gd Messing of “hoty and