Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Next Page
OCR
coer y
senna nh nnn re it rp
THE CATHOLIC HERALD
IS PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY
M. I >
No. 61 North Second Street, Philadelphia.
Terms.—Two Dollars and Fifty Cents, if patd
in advance, or Three Dollars, payable half yearly
No paper discontinued until all arrearages are
settled.
All Communications,except from Agents or Sub-
cribers enclosing remittances, must be post pai
and addressed To the Editor of the Catholic
Herald, Philadelphia, Pa.”
By permission of the Post-Master General, any
Post-Master can frank a letter containing a remit-
ance, for a Subscriber.
‘Poetry.
For the Catholic Herald.
CHRIST’S OWN CHURCH.
Ere Christ departed {rom this world He saved—
Or persecution for its victims raved,
He laid with care, by Heaven itself approved,
Tho strong foundations of the Church He loved.
At His command the mizhty structure rose,
Amid the hisses of its angry foes,—
For Jew and Gentile viewed with easels scorn,
A Christian temple heathen lands adorn
‘Though Oceans leave their bed, and wildly sweep,
er subject lands—th victims of the deep ;—
Or Planets from their cou ses madly fly,
In strange confusion through the startled sky—
Still Christ's own church, in youthful beauty smiles,
‘The Queen of Earth- the mistress of the Isles!
THE NAVE OF THE ‘CHURCH.
CHAPTER 1,
“ Coclestis urbs Jerusalem,
Beata pacis vi
Que celsa de viventibus
Saxis ad astra tolleris
Spouseeque ritu cingeris
Mille angelorum millibus.”
Hymn in Com. Fest. Ded. Eccl.
+ O city of Jerasalem,
Thou vision fair of peace and rest,
Whose walls exalted to the skies,
Are built of many a liviog gem;—
Who, like a bride in sponsal guise,
Dost stand mid countless angels blest.”
*O quam metuendus est locus iste : veré
nonest hie aliud, nisi domus Det, et porta
eceli.”*(1) “O how awful.is this place; tru-
ly it is none other than the house of Gop,
and the gate of heaven.” ‘Truly this place
is holy! With what reverenee and godly
fear, with what recollection of spirit, and sub-
missive thought, does it become us to rise
from our lowly seat in tHE Porcn, and pass
into Te Nave of THE Cuurcn!
we bow, in spirit, to the very dust, and cleave
like the holy king of Israel to the pavement.(2)
‘With what awe should we stand in this
Place. the walls of which have been conse-
crated by the hands of holy pontiffs, by so
many solemn mysteries and moving rites.
Holy men have annointed with the chrism of
salvation the foundation: stones, and have
blessed the ground on which they stand ;—
they have solemnly consecrated every stone
and corner of this hallowed pile ;—the altar,
the Roop, the font, the walls, the holy image
of our dear Mother, the solemn bell, “that
gives praise to very Gep, summons the faith-
ful, assembles the clergy, mourns for the
dead, puts the pestilence to flight, and adds
new joy to the festal’ day.’°(3) Yea, in
ve) Antiph. ad Magnif. in 2 Vesp. Fest, Ded.
Adhest pavimecto apima mea.” | (Ps.
“rt3) “tbe bell is intended frequently tc to preach
to us. It will break in upon our occupations,
whether serious or gay, whether lawful or up:
lawful. Like the voice of Christ to Martba, it
will remiud us of the iontility of much that we
are doing, perhaps even of its siufulness. It will
course, wisely aod forcibly, of the soul, aod
of the value of the importaoce of attending to its
solvation ; of the shortness of time, aod the awful
length of eternity. It will sound like the solemo
waraings of the last trumpet, aod teach: us to
Philadetphia, Thursday, -, July 20, 1843.
the plenitude of Catholic power, they have
driven out the evil spirit from all thatis used
hereafter in Gon’s service here, and, in the
cecumenic languages of Greece and Rome,
have writ on ashes from corner to corner,
those letters which are, as it were, acombina-
tion, in symbolic praise, of all that the tongue
of man can utter to the glory of Gop, with
faltering lips from the ashes of his weak hu-
manity,(4) For, as our blessed Saviour stoop-
own, and wrote on the ground mysterious
*| words, of which all we know is, that mercy
and forbearance was the result (St. John viii.
8-11,) so still, in the consecration of his holy
house, there is written with the pastoral staff,
that Gop is the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end of all things; and to
what end is this done, but to show, that, from
this time forward, ‘this place,” as St. Bern-
says, “is set apart for the frequency of
holy lessons; for the devout whispering of
holy prayers ; for the honouring of the bliss-
ful presence of holy relics ; and for the spirit
of the holy here to keep unwearied virgil now
and forever.” “Ex tune quoque, et deinceps
sanctarum inibilectionum resultare frequentia;
sanctarum orationum devota murmurare su-
surria; sanctarum reliquiarum honorari beata
presentia; santorum spiritum indefessa nosci-
tur custodia vigilare,”’(5)
Tlow then should we stand with reverence
in this place, which is, as it were, the ladder
of heaven,—whence God worketh and help-
ed the ascending and descending angels,(6)
that continually gather in this better Eden
the manna of holy vows, devout aspirations,
sobs of contrition, tears o
Oh, truly, then, it tecomes us to watch
here in penance and expectation ;(7) for this
is the gate of heaven, and we. humble
supplicants, must speak in sighs, and ask in
tears.~; For, alas! how should we tremble
and abase ourselves in very lowliness ; for
thatthe Almighty God hath given us grace,
and called on us, to enter into the very place
of his dwelling, where [Iz who BECAME MAN
for us, eventhe Lamb of God who taketh
away the sins of the world, vouchsafeth to
visit in corporal presence, and on that very
altar'to give “himself to be the food of our
souls, while he is at the same time “the light
of our hearts ;"°(8) for, not only is Ile our
light, but he is also our food, as St.
‘Nec tantum est lumen, sed est et
ciBUs.
With what abasement and contrition should
we humble ourselves and bow
very threshold, when we look into our hearts,
and eall to mind that Holiness becometh Ilis
house. for length of days.” © Domum tuam
Domine decet: sanctitudo, in longitudinem
dierum.”’(9) With what solemn preparation
will entove the angelical salutation three times
each day, and bid ur heads, aud hum-
ble our hearts, j in the adoration ofthe adorable
mystery of the Iocaroation. It will regulate a
variety of duties, as ils ancient inscription * pur-
How should | P°
Laudo Deox yerum; plebem voco; congrego
Defunetos ploro pestem fogo; festa decoro:
It will summon us to prayer morniog aud
evening; it will notify ia deeper tove, the cele-
bration of the awful mysteries, It w
will multiply its admonition
baths, and give a cheerfal solemoity to the days
consectated to a more particular worship. . And,
oh! if our good God shall listen to the prayers
of the Church, and give his additional blessiog
to that which will this day be solemoly invoked,
how many we hope to see piety increase, and
flourish amongst us. Prayer ond praise drawn
sweetly frown ‘tbe mouths of children; seeds of
virtue’ planted, and sheltered; virtuous babits
formed ; grovelling minds detached from vice,
aud holy thoughtengendered; hearts diseagaged
from things, and carried . forward
in advance to heaven, “Until, we enter the
Sanctuary of God, and understand concerning’ our
latter end (Ps. Ixxii. 17.) —Dr. Weedall’s Dis.
courseon the Doctrine and Meaning of the Cathotie
Church in consecrating Bells, p-
Seo the magnificent office for the conse-
eration of a Church in the Romau PontiGeal.\'
L) Sti. Bernardi, Ser. iv. Dedic. Ecel. fol. 19.
. in Kader, fol. 70, L.
Prossa in Fest. Peat
cy Bjusdem
8) ‘SLumen Cordium,”,
(9) 1 I. Antiph, Vesperas, comm, id Ollie. Ded.
prepare, while preparation is practicable. It
Eccles.
of heart, and recollection, yea, with what
faith, when we remember that God's house
is called the house of prayer
domus orationis vocabitor.”(10), Ilow earnest-
ly should we look, and trustfally bow in
holy hope to Him, when we reflect “that the
house of the Lord is strongly built its goodly
foundation is laid ona firm r —“Hee
est domus Domini firmiter ikem, bene
fundata est supra firmam petram."(11) With
what assured hope, when we hear it repeat-
ed a second time, ‘that the house of the Lord
is well founded upona firm rock.” “Bene
fundata estdomus Domini supra firmam pe-
tram.”"(12) And with what feelings of affec-
tion, dove, and adoration, that speaks but in
tears, should we hear the anthem sung:—
That thy walls are all of precious stones, and
the lowers of Jerusalem are built with jew-
les.” “Lapides pretiosi omnes muri tui, et
turres Jerusalem gemmis edificabuntur.”"(13)
ith mingled feelings, then, of reverence,
awe, love, hope, and devotion, let us humbly
bow on the blessed pavement. We are sin-
ners, but within the circuit of these walls is
to be fonnd reconciliation; we may have
wandered faraway in the maze of error and
sin, but within these precincts is the court of
peace, Here may we againbe eee
and made bold in the path of dan
the circuit of these walls our peace i
“A blessed vision of peace.”
pacis visio,”(14) arises in material, as well as
etherial ;exterior as well a inward, earthly
(15) as well as heavenly beauty. The bride
suffused with the grace of the Spouse,
“Respersa Sponst gratia.
Regioa formosissima,”(16)
ce
e
s
asa queen stands before us in surpassing
lovliness, she becons us to advance; she
stands welcoming us in bridal array,—even
s that vision of peace which awaits all her
faithful children, whom in like saintly garb
as she herself wears, she presents as suitable
guests for the Sponsal feast of the heavenly
Jerusalem !
Unseen angels watch over the hallowed
walls, and those who enterthere. Her vaulis,
odorous with sweet-smelling incense are but
faint emblems of those golden vials of the in-
cense of prayer, which those invisible min-
istering spirits gather, to pour forth before
the throne of the Eternal; and not a sigh is
breathed, not asob is utiered, nor a tear, hid
behind a clustered pillar, but what they gath-
er upin their holy censors.
1, *Come, then, let us worship, and fall
down ; let us weep before the Lord that made
us.” For, Oh | how awful isthis! ‘I'roly,
this is none other than the house of God, and
the gate of heaven!”
There is a sorrow which the poet describes
as being “too deep for tears ;'"(17)—but there
isan emotion of the human heart thatis deeper
still; it is the sorrow of a contrite heart,—-it
is the sighing of a bruised spirit, that yet
smiles through jis tears, and, rainbow-like,
draws out the joys of love,even from the very
bitterness and gall of penance. ‘There is not
astonein this hallowed place, which the mer-
cy of our good God hath now called us to en-
ter, that hath not a tongue that could bear
witness to this blessed truth. J/ere, in this
very place, countless souls, that now live in
everlasting Joy in heaven, have felt this bles-
sed truth. The innocent and guilty,—thatis,
those that have kept in peace the gift of holy
baptism, have fel that holy sorrow. which is
too deep for tears; and those thathave fallen,
and gone astray, but who in this very place
have done penance, and mourned with bruised
and contrite hearts, have felt this holy sorrow,
which is too deep for tears. Both one and
the other may have gone away to thesilence of
the tomb long since :—the inscription which
marked their departure may have been worn
by the feet of the faithful, soas scarcely to be
deciphered, sacrilegious ‘hands have
torn off the monumental brass, or delaced the
inscription from the remembrance of their
descendants; yet, in the worn characters, or
(10) 2 Ant. ad easdem.
CL) 3 Ant.
(12) 4 Ant
3) 5
ayy inp Eccl. in Fest.
Str.
v(l5), Beati nites, vaneniam ipsi. possidebuot
Dedie.» Eccles,
ram.” ate
(16) tiga, Eccl. ia Fest. Dedie. Eccles. Str.
ii,
(7) Wordsworth.
emply spaces, orbroken tomb, there is one
word which cannot be erased,—the ora is
included on every mark that still remains; if
not in words, atleast,by inference. vey can
tell that it was good for them to have sown
in tears, for they have reaped in joy ; and we,
who call to mind the like bequest, and pray
for them, shall, for our charity, receive in-
stead a benediction from above; for those
may now be our intercessors, and restore an
hundred-fold what they themselves sowed in
tears. For in this very place, those blessed
ones who experienced on earth those sorrows,
—the germs and seeds {of those fruits,—but
which we, too, may plant and gather, have
long since passed to bliss ; and as charity is
iffusive, and knows no bounds, so they re-
turn with prayers, what they here learned in
prayer, and thus aid us, who aided, or meant
to aid them, and complete the infinite . cir-
cles, which like stones thrown on a still wa-
ter, emanate from one point, but ever as they
recede from it, enlarge the orbit of love, and
communicate its fire to others.
‘Thus, then, it is that we are not alone when
we enter this hallowed pile. Yea,should we
enter seemingly alone, yet are we not alone.
Angels are here, and saints; the court of
heaven is here ; the pale lamp glimmering in
in| the far and solemn sanctuary, shows that we
are not alone: Godis here, and in passing
love resis on ¢hat altar, and countless minis-
tering spirits do Ilim homage and veneration.
Yea, God is here in this awful place, which
truly is none other than the bouse of God, and
the gate of heaven,
“Liftup your gates, ane be yelified up,O
eternal gates, and the King of Glory shall
come in.’ (Ps. xxiv. 7,)—sung of old the
saintly sovran of Israel, in Prophetic anvicipa-
tion of the holy Church of G ho
is the King of glory?’ He is ihe omnipotent,
the everlasting, the infinite, the all-wise, the
all-good, Creator of all; our bulwark of de-
fence, our protector, friend, and father. | But
whatare we? Alas! we are weak, and mor-
tal, finite, and foolish, wicked, and making
wickedness, the last and least of all his goods
ly creatures; ever frail and falling ; ever need-
ing his helpin hand; for we are faithless”
friends, and disobedient children.» We are led
away, alas! how often, by every breath that
blows; like the frail reed, we are bent, how
often! whithersoever the light winds incline.
Holy thoughts now rise in the heart, and all
is fervour and content;—a shadow passes
across the soul, and baply, ere we are aware,
the memory, the will, and the understanding
are wandering, under the guidance of imagina-
tion, far away over the hills of vanity. Like
the dazzling fairy-like bird of the tropics, we
uiter on the wing from flower to flower; we
hardly rest on one ere another ‘strikes our
eye, and to that we dart off, humming con-
tentment in the fond variety; we crown us
with roses, but forget that they fade; we
prank ourselves inthe sunshine of pleasure,
but overlook the tempest; we launch our
boat, and trust to summer skies, but forget
that the windis fickle, as the sea is treache-
ous; we forget that we are dust; we forget
that though regenerated in baptism, the pen-
alty and proneness to sin remains ; we forget
that we have acteally sinned, and that every
step in its paths weakens the life of the soul.
For, as the constitution of the body may have
been hale and hearty, yetevery disease and
ailment that inflicts itso impairs its strength,
that the man cannot do, what the bold-heart-
ed youth rejoiced in, unscathed ;—so we im-
pair the hold of virtue: and as we cannot be
cleansed again in the font of baptism, we must
seek to grow young again only through that
of tears, in the laver of penance.
ence we are weak, and need help from
within, aid from -without, and grace from
above. But this is not all; nor are these our
only, nor our least foes, from a knowledge of
which we must learn humility, and to bow
with awe at this—the gate of heaven! 1s there
not in every unblessed creature, evil spirits
watching around us, if not with power enough
tolure us to our ruin, yet for the annoyance:
and disturbance of the heart, into the depths
of whieh their unseen agency will creep, and
lurk, unnoticed and unobserved, watching eve-
ry thought, and perverting what is innocent
to an occasion of sin? . Is there not the wily
acertain restraint, watches continually over.
the weak impulse, the wavering thought, the.
loose free-will, the heedless heart, the vain
liagination, the misjudging head? Does he
adversary, who though bound and kept within ©
oP