OCR Text |
Show TELLS HEARERS OF NEED OFPENANGE Rev. Ryan at Cathedral Points Out Why Lent Is Set Apart. FATHER KIELY AT NIGHT i "DECAY OF FAITH" IS SUBJECT OF EVENING SERMON. Pre-Lenten services were conducted at St. Mary's cathedral yesterday, beginning- with sijecia.1 reference to the approach ap-proach of the season, by Rev. W. K. Ryan at early mass, by Rev. D. Kiely at high mass and again at the vesper services. serv-ices. At the 9 o'clock service high mass wee sung by Rev. L. Alb. Rev. W. K. Ryun preached the sermon, and in a forcible manner reminded his hearers of the necessity of penance. 'While we do a lot for the world." he said, we should do something for our God, for the salvation salva-tion of our souls. Lent is the season set apart by the church for the practice of those salutary truths which are the. salt of the spiritual life. 'Do penance or you shall all likewise perish.' was the cry of the church in the days of John the BaDtist. At the vesper services last evening F;ither Kiely read the pospel for Quin-pi.tgesima Quin-pi.tgesima Sunday and preached on "The Decay of Faith," showing the inconsistency inconsist-ency of unbelievers in their reasons for not serving God. His arguments were on sel on the text, '.Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." J.nke xviii:S. Jle said in part: The Evening Sermon. "The gospel read contains a most touch-ins touch-ins example of the merciful goodness of our Lord for the afflicted and one of high moral importance for till souls that are wandering from the road of salva- tion. "A poor blind man. learning from the crowd that Jesus was passing, appealed to him for mercy. In fulfillment of the prophecies. Jesus wbs making his last journey to the city of Jerusalem. So ardent ar-dent and strong was the faith of the lilind beggar that, notwithstanding the remonstrances remon-strances of ttie crowd, he only cried much more. . 'Jesus, have mercy.' "His misery, coupled "with his great faith, touched the tender heart of the Savior. He granted his request. 'Receive thy sight. Vhy faith hath made thee whole.' In performing this miracle the all-seeing eyi- of the God man extended into the future. It whs to show future gem rations that His omnipotent power would be always exercised in behalf of suffering humanity. Looking down the vale of time through future generations, he foresaw that after his departure from earth th church, his mystical body, or ratlir Himself mystically and efficiently, would be doing His work by healing all the infirmities of the soul. She would be climbing the rugged hillside, and extending extend-ing her search into the fastness of the mountains for the lost sheep, facing the danger of the battlefield, or entering the camp of the plague-stricken people to prepare souls for heaven, with only one condition imposed, namely, that they acknowledge ack-nowledge tiieir infirmities and cry like the beggar mentioned in the gospel, 'Lord, have mercy upon me.' "Simple as this condition is. it is very often denied on the part of the sinner. The blind mendicant, learning that Jesus was passing, immediately gave up begging beg-ging and sought relief from his infirmity. The' sinner hears the footsteps of Jesus either through the gentle promptings of conscience or through the sudden and unexpected death of some friend or relative. rela-tive. R is a notice served on him, and he can not fail to realize his own sad state. Still he fails in his duty, and refuses re-fuses to take the necessary steps towards reconciliation with his offended Father. Ho will not say. 'Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." Although the work of conversion conver-sion is the most important assigned to man in this world, 'What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world If in th'' end lie loseth his soul?' yet it is treated generally as the most insignificant of all. being often sacrificed to petty motives of human respect, cowardice and childish apprehension. Sinners Lack Light. "Encircled by such motives and enslaved en-slaved by his passions, the sinner moves through life in a circuitous path with no light to direct him. and darkness always ahead of him. rather than choose to walk in the road of life by the light of the sun. What are the reasons for such unwise selection? Why refuse to bridge over the abyss that separates the soul from God? Whv refuse to listen and follow the promptings of conscience? Some of the reasons given are: First, that God does not give the necessary help to abandon sin. The charge is old. being first made by the father of the human race in paradise. para-dise. "To vindicate the mercy of God, we take as en illustration the case of the habitual sinner. We suppose a soul that has for many years made sin its companion through life, and in which remorse survived. sur-vived. At certain intervals it realizes its own misery, which causes a weak determination de-termination or half will to return to the service of God. That sinner, when questioned, ques-tioned, will answer, that very willingly would he return to a life of virtue, or the practice of religion, but he has no faith. Jle can not see. therefore, not wishing 1" t the hypocrite, he does not act. lie has even at times prayed for the faith whii-h once consoled him. and in which he found real happiness. Now, it being extinct, and Vicing, as it is. a gift of God. he must wait till God enkindles it in his soul. Why Was Faith Lost. "To this same person may be propounded a very pertinent question, namely, how camo that faith to be well nigh lost? That faith received in baptism, developed on the knees of a pious mother, intensified by the ardent offering morning morn-ing and night of prayer to God, later on sealing his pure friendship with his Savior in first communion and becoming a soldier of the cross through tin; sacrament sacra-ment of confirmation. The faith of the future unbeliever was then as fresh and unsullied as the lily of the valley. But, later on, the storm of passion broke out, and tho lily, no longer watered by the pious practices of other days, could not resist the shock and wilted before the burning rays of passion. Possibly, at first, there was a severe struggle before faith yielded. Certain it is that faith was not driven away till passion conquered con-quered the will, and the supernatural life of the soul was destroyed. The sinner has only himself and infidelities to reproach re-proach for tho loss of that precious talent which God gave him, and the date of his loss was when his passions overcame his will. "For the sinner to say he would gladly embrace the work of his conversion if prompted by faith, if sincere, is a deception; de-ception; for if he realizes his own sad state, in view of even a probable future life, for which he is ill prepared, to be consistent he should select the sen-ice of God and obey his commands. The sinner, sin-ner, who admits that his present condition condi-tion is a dangerous one in view of a future fu-ture life which unbelievers cannot absolutely abso-lutely deny, and which at worst is probable, prob-able, have within themselves all the element ele-ment of faith that are needed for a good conversion. The intellect forces the con clusion that a change of life is the only wise cours to adopt; so the question rests entirely with the will, namely, are they willing to rise from the wayside of crime, go to Jesus and say: 'Be merciful to me, a sinner?' That is all that is needed. "Every honest soul must admit that the will is the great stumbling block to conversion. con-version. The mere probability, nav, even possibility, of a future life "is sufficient for the intellect to decide in favor of the practice of virtue. But the will, that Is, the heart and passions, in a word, the practice which is strictly consistent with I the dictates of a believing mind constitute consti-tute the unsurmountable obstacles to numberless conversions. That is the reason why persons refuse to be practical They know they are doing wrong and have not the will to resist. Thev realize their sad state, know that they have strayed, like the lost sheep, far into th mountains and hope some day to retrace re-trace their steps. But each dav the will grows weaker, the chasm which separates sep-arates them from God grows wider, till the cup of their inlquitv . is filled, and justice demands satisfaction. No more pleading then, all is In the hands of a just God who will treat each person according ac-cording to his deserts." I |