ARCHBISHOP REDWOOD’S GOLDEN EPISCOPAL JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS (Continued)

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 10, 6 March 1924, Page 1 (Supplement)

ARCHBISHOP REDWOOD’S GOLDEN EPISCOPAL JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS (Continued)

CELEBRATIONS AT THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF ', THE ANGELS. The main celebrations on Sunday night were centred in St. Mary of the Angels' Church, Boulcott Street, a huge crowd attending the devotions. DR. DUHIG'S SERMON. Taking as Ins text: "Behold I have given him for a Leader and Commander to the people" (Isaias, c 55, v 4), the Most Rev. Dr. Duhig, Archbishop of Brisbane, preached the following eloquent sermon: Right from the dawn of history the qualities of leadership have been the most prized of human endowments. Every nation, ancient and modern, has placed the names of its leaders first on. the scroll of fame. Even among the highly civilised races where culture and learning are most appreciated, the leaders of the people, in peace and in war, achieve vastly greater lame than do men of science or of letters. Above the poet, the orator, the author, the genius of a hundred inventions, is the man who leads his country successfully through .some grave 'crisis in its history. The more sacred the cause and the more difficult the road to victory, the greater is the renown of the man in the vanguard. Profane history affords striking examples of valiant leaders. Greece and Rome produced many men skilled in the arts of government and of war that, allowing for the change of time and the development of civilisation, .it is doubtful if their genius has ever been eclipsed. They were familiar with every form of government that we know today and their endurance and strategy in warfare has been the wonder of every student of military science. Not only highly-cultured peoples, but even the most savage tribes all had their chiefs and leaders—men with qualities that raised them above their fellow men and fitted them to be entrusted with the most cherished interests of the rare to which they belonged. Man is by nature the same,' whether his sphere of action be in carrying out new conquests for his country or in extending the Kingdom of Christ among men. God from the beginning chose leaders for His people. The Old Testament is full of glorious examples of leadership from Abraham and Moses to the Machabees. Nowhere else in pre-christian history will you find more towering examples of magnificent heroism than the pages of that .sacred volume record. It was the heroism of statesmen, warriors, prophets, priests of the Most High, endowed with supreme qualities of leadership— a heroism which, because of.the supernatural motive power behind it, shone with a special lustre. ■? The Christian era opened up the greatest opportunity for leadership ever presented to men. Christ Himself became the model of all who would labor in His army of Apostolic men, and He gave His chosen leaders the whole world for their field of action. Never before was a more sublime mission entrusted to human beings than the Saviour committed to His Apostles when He said to them "Going forth teach all nations" (Matt, xxviii., 19). y. To carry the Roman eagles across- the Alps to make -incursions into African or Gaul or Spain was the ambition of the Roman general. To bring the knowledge of the Gospel to all men; to carry the cross of Christ and plant it. in the remotest corner of the globe has been the ambition of | the Apostles of Christianity. The Cross of Christ is the only standard under which it is possible, to unite all nations, and the men: who have borne it aloft to the ends of the earth are God's own heroes. . -"' "''.■' ■ '■'*'-'■ Our Divine Master recognised the need for leadership in His Church and laid down; the special qualifications of fearlessness, patience'and endurance, which should mark the lives of men chosen for 1 this office. Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders He would endow them with a special grace of-their calling. 0,. -.; - , He told His Apostle plainly that opposition and difficultly of mmy kinds* w«uldbcß«feihefflitt th§it work,

(From our special reporter.)

There could not possibly be any earthly motive for assuming the office of leadership in Christ's army. The Master Himself enjoined on His disciples Detachment from earthly possessions. Do not," He said, "possess gold nor silver nor money in your purse; nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats nor shoes nor a staff." (Matt x., 9 and 10). And this injunction was given lest the success of the mission might be attributed to any personal gifts or'worldly influence. We know that in the end every one of the Apostles, with the- exception of the betrayer, won the crown of mar- ' tyrdom." As r an example of apostolic leadership picture to' yourselves that weary, travel-stained pilgrim from the East who in the day of Rome's glory, appears at her gates. He is a stranger whose language is not understood by the soldiers on guard % at the entrance to the Imperial City; but he is let pass, for he can be bent on no harm. Little do they who in the narrow streets draw aside their togas from the touch of his dust-laiden garments, suspect that he is the bearer of a light before which all the glory of pagan Rome will one day pale into insignificance: that he is entrusted with a commission of leadership mofe sublime than has-ever been carried by a Roman general or ambassador. The stranger is none other than Peter, Vicegerent of Christ, Prince and Leader of the Apostles. Were his mission disclosed, he would be looked upon as insane on account of his folly or be cast to the lions for his daring rashness in assuming that he could depose the gods of that pagan stronghold and convert the proudest people on earth to the religion preached by Him who died an ignominious death on the Cross. The task was tremendous, and at one stage of his mission Peter left Rome to stave off from his followers the severity of a dreadful persecution. But tradition re- . lates how-, the Master carrying the Cross appeared to him in vision on the Appian Way and to his ques'tion, "Quo Vadis"--whither goest thou, replied: "I am going back to Rome to be crucified again." Peter applied the answer to himself, and' returned to the city to complete his work there and seal his mission with his life's blood. The gift of leadership so sublime in Christ, j so conspicuous in apostolic times, so great in Peter, so wonful and uncompromising in Paul, and so irresistibly attractive in. John did not die out with the Apostles. It has been characteristic of every age down to our own. Chrysostoms, Augustines, Ambroses, and Basils have arisen in ■ every countryfearless custodians and defenders of the deposit of the Faith, intrepid leaders of - God's people. The Fathers who composed the first General Council of the Church were men who bore upon their bodies the scars of persecution, many of those who composed the Vatican Council wereAtpen who had carried the name of Christ to the ends of the earth, converting to Christianity wild and savage races, and verifying the prophetic words of the Saviour, "Ye shall be witnesses to Me ... to the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1,8.) The unfolding of the resources of Christianity has been the wonder of the ages. A Pope dies, and one but little heard of is, elected to replace him and found to possess all the elements of great and inspiring leadership. A Bishon'passes away and some unlikely one with a concealed wealth of talent is elected to feed the flock in his nlace. Practically every religious order has sprung into being for some special work rendered necessary by special circumstances. Each order is a regiment in the. great army of God's Church, fighting in the noblest of all causes -—•the cause; of Christ. < . \ -For organisation, discipline, self-denial, and unity of purpose there never has appeared on earth anything comparable to the forces of the Catholic Church under the supreme cochin*tic! of Christ's Vicar. .the end is not earthly dottfiMtioii or material gain, but v the honor of , uod qtid tWk salvation of ifliffldftal souls, .->'■-■• ' i To ; honor on* of those iliuitrbus &U fearless lswta tn 004'* «eir¥te» ill the :'. : ... /

Hierarchy of New Zealand and nine-tenths of the Archbishops and Bishops of Australia '. . with an immense number of priests and concourse of laity are gathered -in Wellington at the present time. ; To have completed fifty years in the Episcopate; to be abb to look back over half a century of • life as a leader in a vast field of missionary activity; to watch the growth to marvellous fruitfulness of . the seed of faith planted by one's own hand is a privilege granted but to few men. ; The Venerable Archbishop of Wellington not only has that privilege, but he enjoys it with the strength and health of a wonderfully preserved youthfulness of mind and body. Coming with his parents to this country when he was little more than an infant and when the country itself was only in its first stages of development, he grew with the Land of his adoption. With its free air he imbibed its spirit of self-confidence and hopefulness. He revelled in its fertile plains, its rivers and lakes, the inspiring grandeur of its snow-capped mountains and its rugged majestic scenery. But its spiritual desolation saddened him as had the spiritual desolation of Ireland saddened the youthful exile Patrick fourteen centuries before. The ,Church had got a foothold in New Zealand only about the time of his own birth. It was still in its swaddling clothes. / The spiritual wilderness presented by a country so richly endowed by God and destined to become one day a great Dominion, appealed to the youthful heart of Francis Redwood. He manifested to his pious parentsnoble pioneers of faith and industry—the feelings working within him, and his wish to dedicate himself to work for the salvation of souls in this neglected portion of the Lord's Vineyard had their most cordial approval. The bright prospects of a brilliant career in some worldly calling were cast aside; the long and perilous "sea voyage was undertaken in a small craft and the youthful levite said good-bye to home and parents for what, for all he knew might be for ever, but certainly would be for many long years. V Little did the youth whom Heaven was honoring with the privilege of The first priestly vocation bestowed on New Zealand think that he would . be not only the first priest and the first Bishop from this land, but that ho would one day be the chief ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic Church in his adopted country, and live to be by date of consecration the senior Bishop in Christendom. Of the thirteen hundred prelates who composed the Catholic Hierarchy of the world when he was consecrated your Venerable Archbishop, is to-day the sole survivor. A brilliant course of studies so fitted young Father Redwood for scholastic work that he. seemed to be destined for the schools rather than for the mission field, and this was borne out by his early appointment to a professor's chair. Providence, however, wisely directed the course of events that brought him back to New Zealand with the distinction of being the youngest Bishop in the Church. "Behold I have given him for a leader and commander to the people." As St. Patrick of old was reserved as a leader and commander to the people of the land' to which in his youth he had been exiled, so was Francis Redwood chosen as a leader and commander for the expansion of the Church in the country to which he had. come, as a child. The parallel between the two is emphasised by the fact that the youthful Bishop of Wellington, though an Englishman, chose as his consecration day the Feast of the National Apostle of Ireland. • I need not dwell on the work of the illustrious Prelate whom we are honoring to-day. That was done this morning by one far more competent to speak of it than I. No stranger can come to New Zealand or into' this city of Wellington without being impressed by the marvellous growth and development of the Church here. The vitality of the Faith expressed in a thousand lasting' monuments, but above all, in the lives of the people, is ; a splendid tribute to the work done by bishops, clergy, and people under the inspiring leadership of the Venerable Jubilarian Archbishop. • ' ■ } -\ , ' 7 : We behold everywhere churches, schools,, convents, hospitals, Orphanages, homes far the aged and ftfflieted, until

we ask ourselves is there" an ill of soul or body which the Church here is not ministering to alleviate. "When we are told that all this ,is the growth r of seventy or eighty years, we realise how abundantly fruitful have, been the labors of bishops, priests; sisters, and brothers ;** how bountiful the generosity of the - people, and how faithful the fulfilment of God's promises.. ' " .'•'.'...'■ The Fathers and Brothers of the Society of Mary have had a large .share in this wonderful spiritual harvest. It was an intrepid missionary Bishop Pompallier, , who, - with the assistance of that Society, planted the first seed of the Catholic Faith in this land. It is an Archbishop of that same society that has lived to see the growth of the mustard seed of faith into a mighty tree spreading its branches all over the Dominion. It is peculiarly fitting that an important portion of these jubilee celebrations of one whose whole life has been lived under the special protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary should take place within the walls of this exquisite temple bearing her Name and erected on the site of the first church in Wellington. Your Grace, from my heart of hearts, I express to you this evening the congratulations of this vast, assemblage of your flock and of your friends from far and near. We rejoice with you on this memorable occasion and thank God for the wonderful gifts He has bestowed upon you all through your eventful life. We thank you for the inspiration which that life has been to all of us, and we pray Heaven to prolong it. "Blessed," indeed, "are the eyes which see the things which you have seen and the ears which hear the things which you have heard." You are our most precious link with the past, a bulwark of strength to us in the present, and a guide to us by your clear vision of the future. You have been not only a great leader in God's" Church, but a noble citizen shedding lustre on this land which is so dear to your heart and on its capital city, wherein you have so long resided. In your vast travels you have never failed to proclaim your patriotic attachment to this country or to make known its richness- and charm. Your abiding love of its people and your intimate knowledge of its great natural resources exceptionally fitted you to speak of its attractions. Apart altogether from your exalted position as a Churchman, all classes and creeds recognise, and appreciate your distinguished leadership in public questions affecting the morality, freedom, and happiness of your fellow-country-men. By word and example you have promoted peace and concord and rendered splendid service in civic affairs. New Zealand, I am sure, is proud to claim you as one of its most illustrious citizens. Our fervent wish is that the remaining years may find you still vigorous and active directing the work of the Church from the watch towers of Israel. And when the close of a great life comes, as come it must, may it be to exchange the mitre of the Bishop and Leader for the immortal crown of the good and faithful servant. ' .. . THE MUSIC. : ; .- Special, pains were taken to make , the musical programme one to be remembered, and a specially-chosen choir, under the conductorship of Signor A. Truda, rendered it in a style which earned the warmest commendation from every:, one present. The numbers rendered were: —"Ecce Sacerdos Magnus" (Stadler), "Magnificat" (Wiegand), "Ave Maria" (Franz Abt), "0 Salutaris" (Wiegand), "Te Deum" (Zingarelli), "Tantum Ergo" (Verdussen), "Adoremus in Aeternum" (J. S.Turner, S.M.). :;/: His Grace Archbishop Redwood, who was; assisted by the Rev. Fathers Connolly and Mahony, \ %M : £ . respectively, officiated at Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. *"' ;'. . , ';' :; .■■■•"; ' ,'" y '■ i v ■ '" ■ ■ » ' '"' ' . "'•'■.''.■■'"• '.' ■ "5! AT THE OTHER, CITY AND SUBURBAN CHURCHES: In every Catholic church in the city and suburbs gatherings, less in magnitude, but no less devoted in faith, i did honor to the venerable Archbishop/ . • •.. \ >':.. |f ':-. Visiting prelates associated themselveswithi the respective congregations, and assisted at their devotions. :; The whole atmosphere of the. ever memorable day was one of jubilation, " ~->

Sections of the Great Jubilee Procession in Wellington, Sunday, February 24