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Show THE DOCTRINE OF THE CROSS. ITS MEANING AND SIGNIFI-,2J3ANCE. SIGNIFI-,2J3ANCE. IT SOLVES THE PROBLEM: OF LIFE. Lenten Season is drawing to a close. Passion Sunday will be commemorated commem-orated in a few days. The Church with its veiled statues symbolizes the Borrowful attitude which She wishes to impress on Her children. The Truth confided to Her, She proclaims in various ways by word of mouth, by writing, writ-ing, by ceremonies, and by symbols. Then in the words of Her Divine Founder, She asks the pertinent question, "If I say the Truth to you, why do you not bellave me?" ; : e How few concern themselves about the Trutn in religious matters. Religion, Re-ligion, one of the prime factors of man's history, is partly ignored. The great bulk of mankind simply take matters as they come. Guided by passion and the senses, they follow their inclinations, whenever a suitable opportunity opportun-ity presents itself. Pain and pleasure, not reason, principle and conscience, become their guiding star through life. Some unforeseen event in life may give a check to their thoughts. They reflect on this visible world, and the part they re playing in it. All is mystery. The explanations given to solve the problem of life are numerous; but nearly all are in line with man's thoughts, environments, and passions. , They think by a set rule, adjusting thoughts and actions by what Is seen in the outside world. Religion is judged, not on its merits, but by the actions of its members This yard measure, as applied to religion,- is, in most instances, incorrect, and that principally because "it is human to err." ; Christianity, rightly interpreted, solves the all-absorbing question the problem of life in the crucifixion of the Son of God. "For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an Lelfer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleanalng of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, by the Holy Ghost, offered Himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?" Heb. ix, 13-14. Herein is the solution of the great question the problem of life viz.: it will be found in the crucifixion of the Son of God. -j Gazing on the Cross, and its victim, a most valuable lesson regarding this visible world may be learned. Honors, dignities, wealth, pleasures, and the pride of life are measured according to their true value. It reconciles the apparent discrepancies of life and harmonizes what seems otherwise discordant. dis-cordant. It teaches man how to live, how to use the world, what to desire and hope. -- Beneath the shadow of the Cross all are on an equality. The birth of some royal dignitary is heralded. The daily press tell of the pomp that surrounds sur-rounds his cradle, and of the rich treasures placed at his feet. To what purpose? pur-pose? To honor the child of man. It is indeed vainglory. ,But what is its worth? With uplifted eyes fixed on the Cross and its victim, a ready answer will be found. Since the commencement of this present year we have been traily reading of the havoc made of human life In the Dark Continent. England, jealous of her national power, and greedy, has sent her army to destroy liberty, and in the unjust effort has sacrificed 17,000 of her brave soldiera Who is responsible re-sponsible for the yearnings of the ambitious, and the intrigues of the crafty? What has been the result? Death and its measure will be the Cross. Here ' all things meet. To it all Is subservient, and in it all find their completion. It is the center and interpretation of all: for Jesus lifted' on the Cross draws all mien and all things unto Himself. To this view of life, furnished by the cross, Is opposed that of the world and passion. Man left to himself naturally seeks the latter, and what he craves the world offers. Then with his tendency and capacity for such enjoyment, en-joyment, and the world supplying the means, why suppress those feelings and take, as a substitute, the cross, an entirely different road in the pathway of life? That difficulty founds its solution in Paradise. Adam and Eve saw that the fruit of the forbidden tree was good food, "and therefore to be desired." i They tasted the same, and the result was woe and misery, and ultimately death. The vision of the cross is gloomy and sorrowful, as compared with the gaiety- and attractions of the world. But the difference is superficial, and the surface always presents its best and brightest appearance. The doctrine of the cross. is concealed from human gaze. When the veil is removed the senses, if not trained to subjection, will revolt at its first sight. Yet this is the true doctrine and the only solution of the problem of life. Truth is rarely found on the surface. It lies deep down. "Error, like straws, upon the surface flows. He who would seek for pearls must dive below." As it is with true, so it is with the soul on which it is securely planted. It becomes the guiding principle of a truly religious life, but is carefully hidden from the vulgar gaze, and this in accordance with the command of the Good Master, who tells persons that fast "to aniont their heads and wash their face, to appear cheerful, so that their sorrow burned deep in their hearts be known only to God." 3 Physically considered, human nature is good. So is all creation, since every creature of a perfect and good Creator must be good. Morally, human vesture vest-ure is not so, as was fully demonstrated in Paradise. From the very beginning begin-ning man's natural direction is away from God, i. e., from the end which man is bound at all times to' seek, and try to attain. Man, in seeking his own pleasure, cannot serve God, since "no one can serve two masters. Man's i sensitive nature must be subjected to his rational; an impossibility unless ' man, by the grace of God, unceasingly fights; for the carnal mind is not, and cannot be subject to the law of God. In the battle of life there can be no compromise. The cross, the emblem of man's salvation, must be the standard stand-ard under which we fight. Being the antithesis of man's natural proclivities, it may cause wounds, but from those wounds issue forth the balm which heals. If there be sorrow at first it is sure to end in real happiness, the anticipation of which is the only solution of the problem of life. . ' " o : G |