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Show 24 .) THE INTERMOUNTAIN CATHOLIC thank God, you have taken all that fear out of my heart by the love and the affection you have already showered upon me, and I come to you today, not as a stranger, but as one coming home to his very own. Today," I have been transported across oceans arid continents to the Holy Land of Palestine; I have been transported across centuries back to the days of Our Lord upon earth. I feel myself at the Lakeside of Genesareth, being called with Peter and James and John and chosen to follow Christ and to become His apostle and representative. I have been sitting at the Table ofthe Last Supper and have received from the hands of Christ the power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I have been in the Upper Chamber on Easter Sunday night, when Christ came back glorious and triumphant from the grave, and with the Apostles I have received from Him the power tri forgive sin. I have stood at the Lakeside of Genesareth with the repentant Peter and with him I have made my threefold profession of love to my Divine Master. I have been on the Mount of the Ascension where Christ gave His Apostles and their successors all the power He possessed: As the Father hath sent me, so I also send you. All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth. Going therefore teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world. And as the Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday and filled them with the Spirit of Christ and sent them forth as the chosen heralds of the Gospel, so has that same Holy Spirit come down upon me to carry on the work of Christ. And today from Pius the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, and at the hands of Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Prince of the Church, there come to me the power and the authority which Christ gave His Apostles. It is a solemn thought to feel that I have been chosen to be a successor of the Apostles. It is a solemn thought to feel that I have been chosen to rule over a portion of the Church of God. It is a solemn thought to feel that to me has been given the plenitude of the Priesthood of Christ. And I must remember that the Priesthood of Christ, with which I d am invested, has a character. Christ was not only the Minister of the Sacrifice of the Cross; He was also the Victim of that Sacrifice. By my consecration as a Bishop His power as Minister and Priest has been given to me in all its fullness. And likewise by my consecration as a Bishop I am expected to associate myself still more closely, still more intimately, with Christ as Victim. Holy Mother Church does not want me to forget this: She will not allow me to forget it. All my insignia as Bishop are redolent of Christs Passion. The ring on my finger is a pledge of union and fidelity to Christ, my Spouse. The purple of my robes recalls the purple rag that waa thrown in derision on His bruised and scourged shoulders. The mitre is placed upon my head as a reminder of that crown of thorns with which He was crowned. The crosier reminds me of the reed that was put in the hand that was to be pierced with the naiL The pectoral cross upon my breast is a constant reminder of the Cross upon which my Master died for you and for me., I come not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give my life a redemption for many. With all humility I repeat and make my own these sacred words of the Great High Priest. Here in the presence of my Lord and Master in the Blessed Sacrament, here in the sanctuary where have lain the bodies of my sainted predecessors, Bishop Scanlan and Bishop Glass, here in the presence of a Prince of the Church, here in the presence of the Metropolitan of this Province, here in the presence of these veteran Bishops and the clergy and the members of my flock, before the angels and saints and the court of heaven, I pledge ' my life, all that I am and all that I have, my body and soul, to the interest of your souls., This morning for the first time I offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on this altar and, as I offered up the Body and Blood of Our Divine Saviour, I offered my own body and blood for your sanctification and salvation. May Mary, the Mother of God, my Mother and your Mother, watch over me and strengthen me! May Mary Magdalen, to whom much was forgiven because she loved much, and to whom this Diocese and this people are dedicated, obtain for us, for you and for me, something of the great love she had for Our Divine Saviour! My the spirits of Bishop Scanlan and Bishop Glass watch over and protect us! May their prayers and their labors, their sacrifices and their sufferings, avail at the throne of God and obtain for you and for me the grace and the strength to follow in the footsteps of the Master. Mihi vivere Christus est. To me to live in Christ. It shall be my aim and my hope to live the life of Christ for you, to bring Christ into your hearts and souls. I hope and I pray that day by day, and month by month, and year by year, as the ties of love and affection will grow and deepen and strengthen between us, so we may grow up to the fullness of the life of Christ and prepare for the everlasting possession of Him in the life to two-fol- i come. j - A brief word of His Eminence, the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, ended the glorious ceremony. Cardinal Hayes said: Your Grace, Right Reverend Bishops, Dear Monsignors and Fathers, Religious, and Flock of this Diocese of Salt Lake: My dearly-beloved |