Two Eloquent Sermons By Two Catholic Dignitaries

Archbishop Ireland Preached in the Morning.

TRUTH OF RELIGION

Showing that all Men by their Consciousness Acknowledge Some Religion.

"But answered and said it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." [Math. 4:4.]

Archbishop John Ireland, D.D., of St. Paul, gave a most thoughtful, logical, eloquent and practical sermon on Matthew 4:4: "But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." He said the dedication of a temple of religion was an affirmation of the words of the Saviour. Temples of religion have always existed and always will exist in some form, from the rudest huts to the pagodas of India. From cathedrals to village chapels. Temples of religion would always exist because of the inward feeling of man. Religion primarily means the uniting of one person with another. It means the uniting of man with God. The universality of religion provides an argument that cannot be evaded. In the words of Herbert Spencer, religion was everywhere. Plutarch said :  "You may find cities without walls or writing, but a people without religion cannot be found." Cicero said people could be found that knew not what God to worship, but none that did not worship some God.

There were no tribes of people, no matter how degraded, but had some form of religion. If religion was merely a passing fashion, a groundless hope, its universality could not be explained. As man receded from the practices of religion, he receded from human nature. Religion had the approval of reason. History had shown that religion had not been without errors in the past, and superstition had crept in, but religion was what man needed. lts chief elements were worship, submission and hope.

Worship is the effusion of the soul toward a superior being. lt comprises adoration, the act of gratitude for favors received and supplication for those needed.

Worship is nothing else but the God consciousness put in us by Him who made us. There never was an effect without an original cause. There must have been an original cause for everything and that first cause we call God. They say science does away with the need of a God, but science tells us nothing of the causes of the laws of science, and this only goes to show the grandeur of the very cause of those laws. That we cannot reproduce God in our picture painting, we confess; but that we do not know enough about God to establish relations with him, we deny.

God is, indeed, mysterious, but He is uot unknowable. If God is our creator, we owe Him worship. If we belong to Him, why should we not ask favors of Him? If He is our benefactor, why should we not thank Him? Secondly, submission. It is the instinct to human nature. It is consciousness. There is above man a careful guardian of the law who will reward or smite according as the moral laws have been obeyed or violated. Consciousness is not merely a feeling of righteousness, but it is a feeling that there is a guardian of religiousness. This is the essential characteristic of human nature that differentiates it from a mere animal. The fact that we have consciousness is a confession that there is a God. The fact that man exists makes relations between himself and his creator necessary, and moral laws follow these relations. There ever will be morality. There can be no humanity without morality. And there can be no morality without religion. If there were no God we would invent one for the sake of humanity. Third, hope. It will ever live in the souls of man. It is the happiness of the soul. The realism of hopes must be found somewhere, but not upon earth. lts condition must be in the immorality of the soul. Often iniquity is triumphant on earth. Why is it, if there is a just God? It is because the place of judgment is not upon earth, but beyond. Religion ennobles life. Man is lifted up to the presence of God, his soul communes with the maker, and then returns to earth strengthened against temptation.

The archbishop then closed with a tribute to the pastor and people, who had erected the fine church.

Monseignor Conaty Preached in the Evening.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

To Show that Its Religion was the only Religion Pleasing to God Himself.

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is aid, which is Jesus Christ." [1 Cor.3:11.]

Mgr. Conaty, as if by some pre-arrangement with Archbishop Ireland, took up the thread of logical argument and presented a fine sequel to the latters' sermon at St. Thomas' church yesterday morning. Most Reverend Archbishop Ireland had shown that there was an absolute necessity of a religion and that all men, by their own consciousness, acknowledged that there was a religion, whatever the form. There he stopped, and right there is where Mgr. Conaty took it up and proceeded to show that some religion being of necessity, the Catholic religion was the only true one, the only commissioned one, the only one acceptable to God.

Said he in substance:

Reason tells us that religion is the tie that binds us to God, He demanding religion from us. He must, therefore, have shown us how we can offer to Him religion that would be acceptable to Him. It has never been demonstrated in history that God allowed men to choose for themselves their forms of religion. There can be but one great religion, and there can only be one great religion that is acceptable to God.

We immediately strike against the assertion that positive religion is a thing of the past--that is matters not what we believe. But if we read right, we will find that religion always bore the marks of positiveness. It is but an expression of what God demands. God would not be the God of Truth if He did not affirm the positive laws which would be pleasing to Him. We hear much against dogmatic religion. They go as far as to say that the dogma is beneath the dignity of religion. Yet, in their assertion, they are the most dogmatic of men, for they assume an infallibility when saying that dogma is not needed in religion. 

What is dogma? It is nothing more or less than the affirmation of principles underlying the truth. They say that it is enough for a man to be good. What is goodness? What is right? What is wrong? Underneath right and wrong are principles that dogmatic elements make into dogma, pure and simple. A dogma is the elucidation of truth that underlies all thinking. 

God has the character of a teacher or one who sends His servants with His message. He established how man should worship Him. Read your Old Testament. You will find in it a religion with a dogma. Was there any freedom of choice? No, it was to believe and to act according to that belief. All is subservient to a great positive teacher, a great dogma of religion.

They say that with Christ came a freedom from the old ceremonials. Yes, but with Christ came more dogma. The old ceremonial prepared for His coming. He came to perfect the religion of the old law. He came with a positive action to follow that belief. Believe and practice. Worship with submission. Look at His malediction on the Scribes and Pharisees. That was dogmatic. He did not appeal to one thing, however. It was to His resurrection. He pointed to His tomb and said: "The third day I will rise again." The resurrection day followed. The tomb opened and Christ stood among His followers. The truth was asserted. He had redeemed mankind from their sins. His doctrine was the only doctrine. His salvation was the only salvation. Read those chapters of Christ's life, believing them to the word of God, and how can you hesitate to concede that Christ was the leader of a positive religion? The apostles came with a message, and to teach that message -- not to argue. The authority under which they taught it was Christ Himself. They bade men confess their sins and they gave them absolution. When others said that none could give pardon but God, they replied that they had heard the commission. They preached the one gospel as it had been received from Christ. They established the Church of Christ upon the foundation built by Christ that it might stand till the end of time.