Bishop Whyte at Lawrence

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 45, 12 November 1924, Page 27

Bishop Whyte at Lawrence

IMPORTANT CEREMONIALS.

. His Lordship Bishop' Whyte visited the Lawrence •parish on Sunday, the 2nd inst., for the purpose of unveiling a stained glass window, of the Hbly Family erected by the relatives of the., late Martin and Johanna Ryan, pioneers of Waitahuna, in the new Church of St. Bridget at Waitahuna, and also to erect the Stations of the Cross in the same church. His Lordship was accompanied.by the Rev. Father Farthing, parish priest, and was met by a large concourse of people. After the Mass the Bishop performed the double blessings, and made the way pf the .Cross with the congregation. Addressing the crowded congregation, his Lordship congratulated the people of Waitahuna on the subject chosen for the memorial window, viz., the Holy Family (the child Jesus, His Mother, Mary, and His foster-father, St. Joseph). He asked the parents to regard the scene as a mirror wherein might be seen their care and love for the spiritual as well as the bodily welfare of their children. He asked, the children to copy the love, and trust, but chiefly the obedience of the Holy Child to His parents. The Bishop also spoke eloquently on the necessity of upholding the sanctity and stability of the marriage tie. He greatly deplored the prevalence of divorce and its menace to all unity in the home life. He spoke of the low status of women in Pagan times and of the dignity to which they had been raised through Christianity. The facilities for gaining divorce were spreading throughout the world and thus aiming at the destruction of all home life. He asked the parents and children to follow in spirit the Holy Family to the humble home at Nazareth andythere to learn the lessons of peace and love, unity and obedience. He concluded By asking that Almighty God might grant those present spiritual union in this life and finally union for all eternity hereafter. Miss Hannah Sinclair, A.T.C.L., presided at the organ, and the choir rendered the music of the Mass very effectively In the afternoon the Bishop journeyed to Roxburgh for the purpose of unveiling the memorial (a magnificent Pieta) to the late Father D. O’Neill, formerly parish priest of Roxburgh. The beautiful Church of Our Lady of Peace, Roxburgh, was well filled for the occasion. His Lordship was assisted at the blessing by Father Farthing and Father Fenton. After the blessing the Bishop preached. Taking as his text, “0 all ye that pass by the way attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.” He complimented the priests and the people on their kindly, generous action in erecting the beautiful Pieta to the memory of Father O’Neill. When all were stunned by the news of his tragic death, he (the Bishop) felt that, outside the sisters and brothers of the deceased, none would be more deeply ’grieved than the Catholics of Roxburgh. While the memorial would stimulate them' to pray more fervently for the. eternal repose of their former pastor and friend, it would also arouse their pious sympathy with Our Saviour in His sufferings and with His Holy Mother. His Lordship then spoke of. the sorrows inseparable from life on earth and pointed out that we are unable to understand why God permits them. Sometimes, indeed, we can . fairly explain advantages arising from poverty and from ill-health, as, for instance, when we see the genuine happiness, which was denied to people in the days of their prosperity and strength, granted to them when God permits them to- be deprived of both. But if we could‘ comprehend all God s dealings with us, it would be tantamount to saying that our intellect is not finite. The inspired'"writer tells how God reproved Job for presuming to question His wisdom. . His Lordship quoted some of the saints who suffered in their own lives, and in their books extolled suffering and patience in suffering. He dwelt on the prevalence of grievances whether real or imaginery, and instanced some devout writers who claimed that humility is a cure for many, sorrows of both kinds. .The Christian should find

great assistance in adversity when he contemplates the sufferings of Our.'Lord in His Sacred Passion and the sorrows of His Blessed Mother' who stood at the foot of the Cross and afterwards nursed the bruised and broken' body of Her Son and Saviour. - The beautiful Pieta would remind them of those sufferings as well as urge them to continue praying for the soul of the good pastor to whose memory it was erected. The Bishop, assisted by Father Farthing as deacon, and Father Fenton as subdeacon, then gave Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The choir, under the conductorship of Mr. H. Waigth, jun., sang most effectively the music for the occasion; Miss Cromar presiding at the organ. s The beautiful decorations of the church were the work of Mrs. Murphy and Miss Cromar.