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Show THE RISEN CHRIST penance and Sorrow Followed by Joy and Victory. Catholic Church Mourns for Christ in His Death, and Rejoices in Hia Triumph Over the Grave. The Charter of Man's Immortality. Earthly Leaders. The Leadership of the Christ. Through i Kany Tribulations the Crown of Vic- tory Is Won. I l,nti:ioal High Mass was celebrated by Right ;, v. I.. Scanlan at St. Mary Magdalene's Cathedral I KtiiU'i' Sunday. The Bishop was assisted by Key. I. Slaitery ;s deacon, and Rev. T. Breunau ;lb-deao.ii. After the Gospel. Rev. Timothy LVumui preached on the '"Glory of the Resurrec-f Resurrec-f ;:,,T1" taking as his text: You seek Jesus of Naz-i Naz-i srelL. who was crucified. He is risen. He is not h-iv. St. Mark xvi. fi. : The Catholic Church, dearly beloved brethren, ! j heimiiful in her sorrow, is beautiful in her joy. Like the Divine Founder, she has her times of hu-i hu-i miliaiion and iwuflnoe and mourning, only to firing up to greater glory, greater joy and greater i idry. Ash Wednesday, with its ashes symbol ..(' maVs mortality came, and the Catholic Church s2:iivl ilie foreheads of her children with the dust f humility and dependence. The forty days' fast ' in im-inory of the Great Master's fast in the desert, l.,.irun. and the Catholic Church gave to her children chil-dren the robe of mortification and bade them in i v.nl of the Baptist: "Do penance.' Passion Week c:no. the wot-k of Christ's great agony of ( hint's great love and the Catholic Church, like the Apo-tls of old, sat with Christ during Holy Tlmt-d.iy and heard from His lips, "He that eats ; r:.y flc-h and drinks my blood hath life everlasting" everlast-ing" And the day broke over old Jerusalem it va- thr most eventful day in all ita history. We ml it (rood Friday, raid the Catholic Church cn-t.-rs the. spirit that olden city and journeys with Christ over the Way of the Cross, joining Mary in l,er sorrow. Magdalen in her repentance and John in his love. The days of mortification and Penance passed JV-ion Week with its Garden of Olives, Pilate's Court and Calvary's Hill connected forever with the agony, the patience, the love of Christ have drawn to a close, auid it is Easter Sunday, day of hope, day of joy, day of victory for man. "This i- the day which God hath made; let us be glad and rejoice therein." Ye fiimier and laborer out there on the plains of Ft ah leave the plow in its furrow, the horse in hi? pt all and pause and think and rejoice. Ye, worldly rih. whose mansions crown Utah's slopes linoe ihy riches, thy honors on the shelf, you have niily the use of them, place them there and listen to the ringing of the Easter bells and hearing them pauc end think and rejoice. Ye statesmen, whose voice rules the senate, ye men of science, whose pen and voice explain heaven mid earth away, forget, forget for a moment your little power and your little science and read these wnrd: "The weakness of God is stronger than men. and the foolishness of God is wiser than men," and, reading them, pause and think and rejoice. Why pause and think and "rejoice? Ah, ye la-lwr, la-lwr, worldly rih, statesman and scientist, look hack ever the years to the tomb where they laid the Chri-t. It is Easter Sunday morning. From the inouih of the tomb, the stone is rolled back and the risen Lord comes forth and the light of His Divinity lights up the world with a light that has r' failing, and the words of the Risen Lord ring ; down the ngo&, carrying hope and joy and consolation consola-tion to hearts where hope and joy and consolation existed not . Pause, ye eons of men, and hear these V'erds;-"! am the Resurrection and the life; he tvho believeth in me, although he be ded shall live, r.:id everyone who liveth and believeth in me shall J "t die forever." Yes, yes, pause and hearing these v..rd rejoice for Christ, our elder brother, stands '"'I'.-i. lc the tomb, the conqueror of death and hell, fc'id 1h holding Him there, the principle of our resurrection res-urrection and our life, we can today cry out in the ! ron -,he exultant voice of St. Paul, "O ; grave. here is thy victory, O death, where is thy sting." ' For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 'vi -n ?n than who have slept through Jesus, God iil bring with Him." lairing the centuries since the dawn of creation i!ii:;;y jrreat leaders have arisen, great in the do-rnrin do-rnrin of science, literature, politics, jurisprudence 211 J war. Each of these leaders have had their de-v de-v "'"1 followers, men who gloried in their name and held up their idol to the eyes of their fellows' the ejaculation the man on their lips. Hu-ii;iit, Hu-ii;iit, builds while they live will have their human Jd')L and him they will follow through his night of ' r.t 3m well as in his day of victory. Moses. Con-'i-js Mahomet, Budda, Caesar, Plato, Charle-iiiagnc, Charle-iiiagnc, A.-.poleon, Gladstone, Washington and Bismarck Bis-marck hiive had their devoted followers. From these j-' lit name 1 cull olie, and him I place where ;'(e ('TOv stood on tlie sunny side of the Alps, with 'lf j;iir and rich Italian plains beneath him. He stKi tlnre, and around him are his soldiers ill "i fmd ill dad and weary, for have not they 1'1r'r,nr'd that Alps of ice and snow, foaming torrent j;r-d ,','iv.i ;ntr p-ulcJh? He gazes upon them, and j' at'd -tronp the words come as he points to the plains of Lombardy: "Soldiers, before you if f(i flnj clothes and comfort and distinction, '!,ov nie.' and the grounded muskets seek the s.i"i;nei, t)P wearied bodies fall into line and and brave their answer rings out: "We fol-and fol-and Xapoloon led his men on to food and 'tnictj,,, aa vict;ory. Victory did I say? Yes. rti ly throuph the realms of time, A-ictory on to ! T s!ot of earth which men call the grave. He, '"V rv other leader of men. will struggle on suc-'.T'r'v suc-'.T'r'v or unsuccessfully at the head of their iianons until 1he narrow spot of earth, the grave, cn rr"'hed. and here the baton falls from their ihey otu no more, and their followers sadlv upon the marble monument that bears these vrU: '-Iore history has only one leader who was victorious , in life and victorious in death. AVhat name does he hear on the tongues and the memorials of the human race J I have no need to tell you. Every man knows it from love or hatred, and in naming Jesus Christ I am but the remote echo of all ages and all minds. Jesus Christ stands alone. Almost twenty centuries He unfurled His banuer in old Judea, and in no unwavering or uncertain voice He promised all His followers victory over the prici-palities prici-palities and powers of earth, the pagan sword and the pagan pen; aye, and not only over these, but victory over man's arch enemy death. "Come after Me, arm yourselves with my justice and my love. He that believeth in My name aud follows My commands, I will give him the strength to rise victorious over death and hell, I will give him the eternal crown, for I am the Resurrection and the Life." Jesus Christ, of all the leaders of men. dearly beloved brethren, remains for us. On this Easter Sunday morning the' hearts of all Christian men beat with love for Him, the swords of all Christian Chris-tian nien fight for Him, the minds of all Christian Chris-tian men ponder with ecstacy over His poverty and humiliations. His greatness and His victory, and the lives of all Christian men are modelled as far as human weakness will allow a fter Him. Yes, yes, today all Christian eyes are directed to nia tomb, and strong and brave they point out to the unbelieving, the tin-Godly world, the Risen Christ, while the words ring triumphantly from their lips: Our Leader, our Christ liveth and reign-eth; reign-eth; He is our Resurrection and our Life, we shall not altogether die." Christ, alone of all the great leaders of men, remains, and He has gathered from all the ages an allegiance which never fails. Today, after a lapse of twenty centuries, lie is visited in his cradle by the lowly and the great, the lettered and uidet.ttered who vie with each other in offering Him their gold frankincense and myrth. Today, all Christian men follow him over all the scenes of His bygone pilgrimage, over the still solitude of the de'sert that led to Egypt through the winding paths of Judea's mountains, by the shore of Galilee's sea and up Cal vary's hill, and ah, today they watch His tomb, watch it to see the Christ come forth clothed m victory and handing to man the charter of glorious immortality. "For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that we sorrow not as those who have no hope, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose .again, so all of them who fall asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him on the last day." It is Easter Sunday morning, and many dehd to the glory which it brings, feel not. ihe rays of the Divinity which brighten up the Christian life, many see not the eternal star of hope which rises above the night of the tomb, many desire not ! or are blind to the eternal day of happiness which j lies beyond this world of the vain fleeting things and that dull spot of earth men called the grave. Outside in the world today, there are scoffers of Christ and His Resurrection. Like the once unbelieving un-believing Thomas, they say: "Unless I see in his hands and feel the mark of the nails, T will not believe." These men sit in the university chairs, in the senate, in the law courts and are found in the other prominent walks of life. Urged on by the pride of their little proud intellects, they boldly proclaim to their disciples and to the world that the joy of Bethlehem, the humiliation of Calvary and the glory, the victory of the Easter morning belong only to the pages of fable. There are others whose hearts are consumed by the mad desire of earthly honors, riches and pleasures. They believe be-lieve in the lowly, the crucified, the risen, the victorious vic-torious Christ, but the path which lie trod is too difficult for them, the penance, the mortification the virtuous life are things which suit not their flesh and blood, they are weaklings, they are slaves and sitting down with their captors, earthly honors, hon-ors, riches and pleasures, they live under the Bhadow of everlasting death. They have refused to follow Christ in Hi6 lowliness, His passion and nis Cross, and when tlie Glory of the Resurrection Resurrec-tion morning breaks, they cannot partake of ita light and it victory. Those who have followed the Great Captains of the world's history paused not when obstacles lay in their way. The frowning mountains, the foaming torrents, the sun-parched tracts of desert, the pangs of hunger, the hail of bullet and the lines of serried steel stopped not their onward march. The Captain led, it was enough, they were his followers iu His hour of trial, and they were His sharers in His hour of victory. Aye, and still more, when the day of His defeat came, they rallied round his standard, stand-ard, their weakened arms still held the sword, and with their last breath they whispered His name. Many of you have gazed upon that famous picture, the Retreat from Moscow, and as you gazed upon the fortitude, the suffering, the unselfishness, the death depicted there, the ejaculation escaped your lips: "Brave, brave fellows!" Ah, what men 'will do for their human idol, and the most that he can give them is a few short years of success, a few short years of fame, and then comes what comes to all men and things under the sun oblivion We are Christians, and our leader is the Christ "Come after Me," he says to us, "take up thy cross and follow Me. Through many tribulations it he-hooveth he-hooveth you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There are the deserts of penance to be gone through, there are the mountains of pride and passion to be trod over, there are the shafts of ridicule ridi-cule from the enemies of ray cause to be encountered, encoun-tered, but fail not. there is no defeat for you. I will lead you on victorious over all, even death and hell, and your reward will not be th-- fleeting fame and riches of the earthly years. Your reward re-ward will be the Kingdom lighted' up forever with the Glory of God. Will we follow on? Will we fail? Will we be blind to the better, the brighter life bevond the tomb? Ah, no. Today our eyes are fixed on the risen, the victorious Christ; today we are cheered by His whisper, Where I have gone you will go too. I am the Resurrection and the Life. Today .our brave, strong shout rings out: "O, Risen , Christ, we follow, follow Thee, through the trials the tribulations, the crosses of life; follow Thee through the gates of death on to the glory of our Resurrection morning." Ameu. |