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Show EASTER SUNDAY "Christ, Rising From the Dead, Death Mow No More, Death Shall No More Have Dominion Do-minion Over Him." Romans vi:9. To the solemnities of Faster services at. St. Mary's cathedral. Father Brennan's simple but impressive im-pressive sermon added to the grandeur of the occasion. oc-casion. He said in part: "This is a day of gladness, glad-ness, a day of universal joy. throughout the whole Christian world. During last week our altars were clothed in mourning to commemorate the passion and death of our dear Lord. Today they are decked with festive garments to celebrate his glorious glori-ous resurrection. The glad Alleluia and the joyous joy-ous Gloria in Fxcellsis Deo ring out once more in our temples Avhere last week were, heard the mournful mourn-ful strains of the Lamentations and the Miserere. We no longer contemplate in spirit Christ, drag painfully his heavy cross, but we behold the apostles apos-tles and disciples with Mary Magdalen and the other women gaze with loving, glad eyes upon Christ's empty tomb, while their hearts give vent to the joyous expression of the angel, 'The Lord has risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they have laid him.' The Lorcfaiias risen, and the event looked forward to so eagerly by patriarch and prophet has been fulfilled. The Lord has risen and rolled back forever the darkness from around the tomb, the grave has at length lost its horrors for mankind, for Christ, our elder brother, has arisen and conquered death and hell. Christ, says the apostle, rising from the dead, dicth now no more; death shall no more have dominion over him. Christ has arisen, and Christ, dearly beloved, is the precursor and the hope of our resurrection. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them who havs slept through Jesus, God will bring with him. (I Thes. iv., 13.) I am the resurrection and the life; he who believeth, though he be dead, shall live, and everyone that believeth shall not taste death forever. This is, indeed, dearly., dear-ly., bcleved, for -us-a joyous 'day; this is a dajr in which wc can sing with one accord the glorious words. Kejoicc in the Lord, again, I say, rejoice, for this is the day which the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice therein. Christ has risen, .and by his glorious resurrection has opened for us again the gates of our inheritance, Tost by the sin of Adam. The reproach of men and the outcast of the people, he on whose countenance were visibly impressed sorroAv and suffering, is today radiant with the glory of his divinity; the temples crowned with thorns wear today another crown, that of celestial glory; the eyes that were closed in death amid the horrors of Calvary beam today with majesty ma-jesty and power. The Christ looked upon by Herod . as a fool is today raised above the thrones and denominations, de-nominations, the principalities and powers, the cherubin and cherubin, and the. sceptre of right and justice is in his hands. Glory, glory in this day, ye sons of men, and join with the angel and archangel in, the hymn of praise. Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and benediction forever and ever, amen. Christ by his glo.rious resurrection has opened heaven for us. Where he has gone we shall go to if we comply with certain conditions. St. Luke, Writing about the Savior, ays 'Ought not Christ to have suffered suf-fered these things, and so to enter into his glory?' These self-same words mark the condition of our following after our master, of our gaining the celestial crown. Ought you not to suffer these things like the master, and so to enter into your glory? Through many tribulations, through trials and temptations, says the apostle, it behooveth you to enter into the kingdom of God. 'If you wish to come' after me, if you wish to conquer death and hell, if you wish to attain a glorious resurrection, resurrec-tion, take up your cross and follow me.' So speaks the Master to. each one of us today. As the road of sufferings led to Christ's glory, so there is no other way for us. Engrave it well on your minds, dearly beloved, bring it home with you the path of trials, sufferings and temptations is the only way to the city of God. Consider for one moment how men attain human glory. Take the great leaders of the olden day. Caesar," Alexander and Hannibal, with the generals who have made history great; the generals of our modern day, Bonaparte Washington, and Wellington what privations, dangers dan-gers and hardships these men endured to achieve human glory. Through the smoke of the battlefield, battle-field, with the red hot shot singing the anthem of death around them, they have led on their soldiers to victory or defeat. Nelson and Dewey won not fame by seeking the snug harbors, but with the sailor's fire of patriotism burning in their breasts they drove their ships out to sea, and there, midst storm and hail of shell, won undying laurels for their country. Gladstone and Disraeli, Lincoln and Wilberforce and the rest, the philosopher and the student gained for themselves, not human fame by sitting quietly at their oars, hut by laying themselves them-selves down with all the strength of mind and body to the task in hand. " 'Through long burnings of the midnight oil They, won for themselves glory's spoil.' "If temporal honors, worldly glory, which is as fleeting as the wild wind's breath, are achieved only by self-sacrifice and toil, so cterual glory is won only in the same manner. We fight not for corruptible crowns, but out fight is for the uncorruptible uncor-ruptible ones which the Lord God, the just judge, will give us. We are not followers in the full sense of any earthly leaders; we seek not human glory as I the final resting place of all our ambitions. No, my dear brethren, we are soldiers of the Christ; we are Christians, aid our dearest desire is to carry car-ry about with us, as St. Paul says, 'the mortification mortifica-tion of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be i c made manifest in our mortal flesh.' Our lives ought to be . as the name Christian signifies, lives of self-restraint. self-restraint. We are other Christs as willing and ready to follow the Master up to Calvary as up to the glorious heights of Thaboc. Today we hear Christ's voice saying to us. 'Take up thy cross and follow me.' Today, too, above the storms of a wicked -world, we give ear to his warning voice, j 'Fnter ye at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate j and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.' j and many are they that go in thereat.' Yes, yes, dear brethren, even on this glad day of Faster our war cry rings out and it is the war cry of the great St. Paul. "God forbid that he should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, sal-vation, life and resurrection, by whom wc are saved and delivered. "It is more than four hundred years ago since Columbus set sail from his own sunny Spain in quest of the great American continent. The trials which he encountered at the hands of the winds , and man will never be chronicled, but that man of grim determination conquered all obstacles and found this God's own land, the land of liberty. Returning to his own Spain again he told his countrymen coun-trymen of the treasures of the land beyond the western main, and they, fire.d by his recital, cried out, 'Though angry seas divide us from that land, though all kinds of hardships and privations stare us in the face, let us go to that land.' Another leader, infinitely greater than Columbus, has found for us a new land opened up for us a new heaven and a new earth. He has told us about the treasures treas-ures of that land. 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and the first earth wag gone, and the sea is now no more. And I heard a voice from the throne saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people, and God himself with them shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes, and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. And the city hath no need of the sun, nor the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God had enlightened it, and the lamb' is the lamp thereof. And the spirit ancLthe bride saycome.' -And the risen Lrrrd says "Come" to this land. Come after rae, for I am the way, the truth and the life. Come after me. for I am the author and finisher of your faith. Yes. oh, Lord, we will come; we will follow on, but we are weak, oh Lord, and do thou stay with us. "It is related that as two of our Lord's disciples dis-ciples were coming from Emmaus after the passion and death of their master, the master appeared to them, just as their hearts were heavy and they were lost in conjecture as to what had happened to him. He conversed to them about many things, and by his presence and consoling words comforted them. After the conversation, just as he was about to leave them, they, fearing lest they should lose him again, cried out: "Oh, Lord, stay with us for the night is at hand.' "We, dearly beloved, are just like those disciples. In the company of the Lord we can do all things; without his presence we can do nothing. Young boys and girls, you are beginning life; your hearts today are full of high hopes and great expectations, but you have a wicked world to contend against, a world that will attempt to drag you from the way of the cross and extinguish in your hearts the living liv-ing hope of a glorious resurrection. Insidious voices will whisper to you, 'Eat. drink and make merry, for tomorrow you die, and after death there is no resurrection, for humanity is humanity's only God.' Steady, young boys and girls, steady; heed not the siren voice of those who would drag you from the way of the cross, from the path of virtue, honor and truth; steady, and let your every step be marked with the cry, 'Oh, Lord, stay with us to help us in the struggle.' Ye, fathers and mothers, your days arp full of struggle; you have your own salvation, your own resurrection, to win. and you have to teach your little ones the nam of God and Mary, and mark out for them by the example ex-ample of your lives the footprints of the Christ. Steady, fathers and mothei-3, steady; let your war cry be, 'Oh, Lord, stay with us, and aided by you we will achieve the end.' And you old soldiers of Christ, you on whose foreheads are the wrinkles of service in the Master's cause, steady, steady, there are but a few more steps of the way of the cross to be tread; steadj', within sight of you is the glorious glori-ous resurrection; steady. 'Oh. Lord, for those few remaining steps, stay with us.' Yes, my brethren we, old and young, will glory not in the worldly honors and riches, but we glory with the great apostle apos-tle m the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid for-bid that we should glory save in the cross- of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation life and resurrection, in whom we are saved and delivered. de-livered. Ye dear Lord, we will follow on to the end, but we are weak and do thou, Oh, Lord stay with us.'' . |