USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > The history of Catholicity in Stephenson County; Illinois > Part 8
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The large, respectable and attentive congregations that as- sembled in St. Mary's each day, during the great celebration, the church itself, with its chaste and beautiful altars, the soft, religious light, beaming through rare stained windows, the roll of the organ, the swell of the orchestra and the volume of fifty voices in choir, the number and high rank of the ecclesiastics, in rich and gorgeous vestments, celebrating the mass,-all this contrasted, strongly and strangely, with the first congregation of twenty de- vout souls, assembled in a log cabin, or in the simple home of the pioneer priest and his sister. No organ, no choir rejoiced their ears; neither acolyte nor altar boy served the priest standing at. the improvised altar, and no rich vestments, or costly altar furni-
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ture, added impressiveness to the sacred ceremonies. Faith, simple, fervent and unquestioning; piety, warm and enduring ; charity, prompt and generous-these were the sole riches of the pioneer, and who shall say whether he were not a millionaire, compared with Catholic Christians of our day ? The contrast in externals was great, indeed ; perhaps it was surpassed, in an op- posite sense, by the interior differences.
In the early times, there was little of the magnificent show of symbolism, little display of the power and grandeur of the Roman Catholic Church, as seen in these festival ceremonies. There existed then none of the conditions so essential to the pomp and dignity of the pontifical mass, that was offered each morning during the three days' celebration. These pioneers brought with them into the wilderness, they were to conquer and make fruitful, the early faith, which took root and flourished, until it has come to have as much force and influence, as in olden countries, where much longer established.
The services, on Sunday, Oct. 13, were only indirectly con- nected with the jubilee celebration ; they were preparatory, and the consecration of the church previous to the celebration of the Jubilee Mass, added to the grace and thankfulness with which the latter was offered, on Monday morning, Oct. 14. The elements were kind on Sunday, the sky clearing, after the night's rain, but Monday morning the rain, that unexpectedly began to come down in sheets before daylight, continued to fall until noon, and, though it did not interfere with any of the church arrangements, it kept a great many people at home, who would otherwise have attended the ceremonies.
The services began with the low masses at 5 o'clock, as on Sunday. At 9:30, Archbishop Feehan confirmed a class of about fifty boys and girls, who remained, after confirmation, to assist at the Jubilee Mass. By 10:15 o'clock the church was com- fortably filled.
Bishop Dunne, of Dallas, Texas, was to have sung the ponti- fical mass for the Golden Jubilee Day, but illness kept him at home, hence Bishop Burke was the celebrant, Archbishop Feehan being
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present in the sanctuary. The number of priests in attendance. was much larger than on Sunday. The Jubilee Sermon was. preached by Archbishop Hennessey, of Dubuque. His discourse was a forceful, logical, argumentative one. He is a powerful and graceful speaker. The following is a somewhat imperfect repro- duction of his sermon :
SERMON BY ARCHBISHOP HENNESSEY.
Allow me to congratulate you on the fiftieth anniversary of the Roman Catholic Church in Freeport, and on the magnificence of the ceremonies of this festival.
To-day the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which commemorates the restora- tion of the Holy Cross, taken from Jerusalem early in the seventh century by the Saracens and restored later in the century by Heraclius, emperor of Constantinople.
St. Paul tells us we should glory in the Cross of Christ, and the restoration of the Cross to the Church commends it. I deem it my duty to endeavor to show you the relations which you bear to the Cross of Jesus Christ, and your dependence on it, in time and in eternity.
Brethren, we were made for heaven. We were made for happiness. When God made man, He united the body and the soul ; the soul was the life of the body ; it was the intelligent force, but there was another element, which was the light of the soul; it is the light of the Lord within the soul. These three elements constitute the man of God, and, brethren, without these three elements, no man can enter into the kingdom of heaven. If there is no life in the soul, no soul within a soul, the individual shall never know the happiness for which he is made. The life of the soul shall shield the life of the body, and if it had been preserved, there would have been no death, either of the soul or of the body, in time or in eternity. But the life of the soul was unfortunately lost, and then was broken that special bond by which God united man to himself. Man fell; he fell
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dead, as to his soul, and under sentence of death, as to his body. he was dead also in all the powers and faculties of both soul and body.
The condition of the first man passed to his descendants, just as children are born into slavery; the condition of the father passing to the children, so the condition of Adam passed to all his descendants, for Adam was the father of the human race; and the human race was in Adam, as the oak is in the acorn, and when he fell, when he broke the bond that united him to God, the whole human race fell with him, dead as to their souls, crip- pled in all their faculties, and, being subject to the power of evil spirits, became strongly inclined to the commission of evil deeds.
So much, brethren, for the effects of one little sin ; it is quite common amongst us to treat it as such, but to the all holy God, who sees sin as it really is, it is infinitely hateful. Evil is of the world, and not of God ; it is an uprising against God ; an act in defiance of the omnipotence of God ; it is using God's gifts against himself.
By sin, we practically deny the sovereignty of God, an attri- bute which is essential to God. Deprive anything of an essential property, and you thereby destroy it. Deprive a triangle of one of its three angles and the triangle is gone. Deprive a quadrangle, having four equal sides, of one of the right angles, and you have a quad- rangle no longer. Deprive God of His sovereignty, and there is no God; then, if it were possible for God to die, sin would have caused His death. When God became man, took upon Himself our mortality, sin struck Him the fatal blow, in His humanity, since it might not attack His divinity.
Read the history of the human race, behold the work of the black passions of the human heart; how man hates man, how man wreaks his vengeance upon man. Wars, famines and other ravages, have come into every land, and the Gospel is everywhere torn into shreds.
Listen to the groans of sinners ; listen to their lamentations, which will be unavailing through all eternity. Look, then, at the Son of God ; See Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, bleeding
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in every pore, covered with blood; His heart is breaking and He cries to God, "O Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me !" Then He is dragged through the streets of Jerusalem, and, after enduring further indignities, He hangs to the cross, crying out in His pain, "My God, my God, why hast thou for- saken me?"
Again, God did not deal with man as He dealt with the angels, He did not leave man in the fallen state; He decreed that man should be reborn and restored to the dignity for which he was created; and how was this to be done ?
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MR. AND MRS. R. BARRON.
God might have forgiven the debt, as a creditor forgives the debt his neighbor owes him. God might have accepted partial satisfaction, but He did not do it. In His justice and His wis- dom, He saw it was better for man that He demand full satisfac- tion for the outrage offered Him, and He made that demand of man. The demand was for infinite satisfaction ; man could not make it; the whole human race could not make it; how, then, was it to be made ? God's Son came to earth ; " It is written that I shall do thy will, O God !" So God's eternal Son came down to earth ; He united man to God ; He became a man with a body like ours; He had a man's nature and being, that He might go to the altar and offer sacrifices and atone for our sins, and He did go, and satisfied the most rigorous demands of justice, and won for us merits of infinite value. He won life for us by His
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death. He bequeathed His infinite merits to us; they are our legacy ; they are our all. I wish you could realize the solemn fact that no man has ever entered heaven, that no man has ever escaped death, except through these inerits. It is not enough that He won these for us, that He bequeathed them to us, we must appropriate them, must make use of them. A man may die of thirst, beside a fountain, if he will not stoop down to drink ; he may die of hunger, in a banquet hall, if he will not eat. We are debtors, indeed, for rich and freely given treasures, and we have- no right to find fault, if we make no use of what the Lord has- · tendered us gratuitously.
How are these merits communicated to us ? This is a most important question, one which you should thoroughly consider. You will say, perhaps, that they will be communicated to us in the manner in which He wills.
He made us as we are; without Him, nothing was made; He made us composed of a soul and body, and such is our nature that spritual things come to us through the bodily senses. Our senses are the avenues of the soul; so there is nothing in the finite human being which has not been received through the senses.
Look at the children in school; how do they learn ? One man has knowledge that another has not; he wishes to com- municate it; how will he do it ? He will put his thoughts and ideas into words, and then he will give utterance to his words; he exercises certain parts of his body, and thus sends forth his words. They are received into the ear, and are presented to the intellect of his hearer, who then accepts them and the knowl- edge that comes with them. Thus an idea passes through two bodies before it reaches the soul of the person taught. Such is nature of man; in this way does he learn and receive the truth.
God classified the spiritual wants of the human race under seven heads, and then He instituted seven channels through which these needs could be supplied. By one of these seven cere- monies, He gives the soul life, makes a soul within a soul, as it were; by another, He perpetuates men who are to demonstrate
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these ceremonies and minister them for Christ, as Christ's repre- sentatives ; by another, the bond of marriage, He perpetuates the Church and her children, that in her and for them, these wonder- ful works may take place.
Why should any one man profess to know more than another, to have greater powers than another, and why should any man bow down his head before another man, while praying to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, to cleanse his soul from sin, unless there was a divine reason for it ?
Why should he throw himself upon his knees before the son of a neighbor, whom he may have known years before, as a school boy ? Why, on bended knees, and with weeping eyes, does he make known to this man the secrets of his life, unless he is con- vinced that his neighbor's son can do something for him? To conduct these ceremonies, human teaching and human agency is required. Human agency has been employed because the service of God is always a reasonable service. From among His disciples, then, Jesus Christ chose twelve to be teachers, and He placed one of these, St. Peter, at the head of the others, and, with St. Peter at the head, He formed a living body. Just as you do when you form a society ; you always elect a president. In order that the effect of their teaching should last to the end of time, they were authorized, even commanded, to teach to the end of time.
Brethren, seventy years from that time, every one of these twelve had passed away. How were their places to be filled ? Christ made a corporate body ; a corporate body never dies. It is like the city council ; you have aldermen and a mayor ; when they go out of office, others take their places; the council is continued as a living corporation. Thus was this corporation to continue in the future, and our Lord determined the manner in which the corporation was to continue; how the places of those who had passed away should be filled ; He made them teachers, and com- manded them to teach the nations; there were to be none left out. They were to teach in the name of Jesus Christ ; they were to be free from error ; that is to say, in delivering His message, they delivered it just as they received it. He made them infalli-
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ble. The message He gave to this corporation of twelve was needed by the nations. It was His message, and, as it came from the corporation, was no counterfeit, but the message as it came from the lips of Jesus Christ.
Brethren, if you were sending a message to a friend, and his life depended upon the receipt of it and compliance with its re- quirements, would you not choose a messenger whom you could trust to deliver it ? The lives of those whom Jesus Christ taught depended on receiving His message, Was He not able to send His message so it would surely be delivered ? Was He not will- ing to do it? If He had not delivered it to reliable persons, the message would have been lost, and the whole work and labor of His life would have been lost. But He did not leave His mes- sage to chance-He did not leave it to any family. He sent an escort with it to guard it, and that escort was Himself. He had said, " I will send the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, to abide with you forever," and, having thus guarded His message, He can say to His ministers, " He that hears you, hears Me; your words are my words; you teachings are my teachings ; your message is the message I gave you. I give it to you for my people, and to the peril of their souls they must receive it. He that hears and believes shall be saved, but he that hears and believes not shall be damned."
"They dare not refuse my teachings, for if they do, it shall be at the peril of their souls; they shall be damned." Who but a God of Justice could pronounce such a sentence? This corpora- tion was the infallible teacher of the Gospel for all time. St. Paul said of the apostles that they were ministers of Christ, and dis- pensers of the mysteries of God.
Teaching did not sanctify men ; teaching did not make them holy, or fit them for heaven, or put into them that soul within a soul, existing to the honor of God.
When men had received their teaching, what did the apos- tles do ? They baptised them. St. Paul baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. " Unless a man
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be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
You go through the ceremony of baptism and become new creatures, children of God and of His Church. Baptising in the Holy Ghost, that is what St. Peter and St. John did, and thus did the soul receive life, true life ; every life that is, comes from God and every life that comes from God bears life. Every life that comes from God needs sustenance, and the just God provides it. The plant lives, but not without nourishment ; the flowers in the field must have nourishment. Man eats three times a day to preserve his bodily life. There is the same need in his spiritual life, hence God furnishes bread for the soul, that is life and that gives life. He said, " And the bread I will give is my flesh, and the wine is my blood, shed for the life of the world, and unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you shall not have life ever- lasting." Thus He gave His apostles His own flesh and blood, saying, " Do this in commemoration of me; do what you have seen me do; change bread into my body and wine into my blood, and minister to the people, as you have seen me do." They did this and went from house to house, breaking bread and giv- ing the flesh of Jesus Christ and the blood of Jesus Christ to His followers. Thus they fed the soul, that its life might not be lost. Adam had lost it by his sin against God; they were to forgive sins ; it was said to them, " Men's sins you shall forgive. You have power of forgiving sins and of refusing to forgive them." This twofold power could not be exercised reasonably, without a knowl- edge of the sins to be forgiven : without a knowledge of the sin- ner. This knowledge must come from himself, must come from his own lips, and that communication from his lips is what we call confession, and thus the faithful confess their sins, knowing they will be forgiven. Some one will say, "How can man for- give sins ?" That has been said a thousand times, but we must remember these were not ordinary men; they were ministers of Jesus Christ, officers of His mysteries. To forgive sins is to restore life; God alone can do that; God alone lives and is the source of life ; He alone can restore life when it is lost.
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Sts. Peter and Paul did this by the power of God. They re- stored the dead to life, and if God employed human agency to re- store dead bodies, why may He not do the same to restore dead souls ? To raise a dead soul is not more difficult than to raise a dead body. He does this work through His ministers: they likewise anoint the sick with oil and prepare them to meet their God.
And the bond of marriage; it is the very foundation of soci- ety. It, too, has the seal of Jesus Christ, and its object is to make one grand family, uniting in the world all who are Christ's, and uniting, likewise, the Church and the State.
The acts, whereby these great powers were conferred on the apostles, were public ; they were done before men. This teach- ing was heard; these ceremonies were seen, and the effects of both will continue until the end of time. That corporation will ever exist to carry on, to the consumination of the world, the work assigned it. That body has never lost its identity ; it is the same to-day, as it was when our Lord formed it. It will be the same to the end of time. James or John may be thirty years old, forty years old, or fifty years old, but he does not lose his identity ; he remains the same individual. So does this body, whether it is twelve months or five hundred years old.
Brethren, where is that body to-day ? It exists and will exist to the end of time. Where is it? It is public and ought to be known. It is not hiding ; it is on the hill-tops, and it is very active. The Bishops of the holy Catholic Church are members of this body ; they have been in the world for 1800 years; they have been doing all the apostles did in their day. You can trace them back as easily as you can trace the presidents, from Cleveland to Washington ; you can trace them back from Leo XIII. to St. Peter. Every link in the chain is complete ; not one is wanting. When one head of the body has passed away, another has taken his place ; just like the mayor and the council. The Bishops, with the Pope of Rome at their head, have ever claimed infallibility in their teaching, and they are the only body of men who have- it, moreover they challenge the world to disprove their claim.
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CL
JOHN L. CARROLL, LEADER.
EDWARD LAWLESS.
.
MISS M. BRENNAN, ORGANIST.
JOHN H. RAU.
JOHN P. LAWLESS.
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Brethren, look over the history of the world; does it show you any other body or corporation that has existed for 1800 years, teaching and dispensing the mysteries of God, as the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church do? No, ten thousand times no- As there is but one sun in the heavens to light the earth, there is but one sun of justice, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, to light the Church ; one Lord, one baptism, one Church and one corporation which is to work until the end of time.
Verily, brethren, there are no persons, members of a corpora- tion, among those around you, who are ready to serve you at all times, except the apostles and their successors. They will deliver to you the message Jesus Christ sent you ; they will give you the truth of the Holy Ghost, and redeem your soul, through the merits of Jesus Christ. Have you that life of the soul that comes through Jesus Christ, through the ceremonies He has instituted to be ad- ministered by His chosen ministers ? Now is the time to receive these ministers ;to hear these words that give life to the soul. Why not receive them now ? They alone can forgive sins, and thus restore the life to the soul, through the merits of Jesus Christ. Will you then allow your souls to remain dead ? It is an all important question that I leave you to consider.
To appreciate this discourse, the reader should have heard it delivered in that decisive and convincing manner which char- acterizes the public utterances of His Grace of Dubuque.
The music given by the Jubilee Choir on Monday, during the ceremonies of confirmation, was as follows :
Veni Creator-
Mezzo Soprano
Miss Jennie Tracy
Tenor ..
J. P. Lawless
Baritone Ed. Lawless
With full chorus.
At the celebration of the Golden Jubilee " Missa pro pace " (mass for peace), by T. Von La Hache, was sung as presented in this programme :
Kyrie
Full Chorus
Gloria. Full Chorus
Et in Terra . Full Chorus
Stephenson! County, Illinois, 1896.
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MISS M. CAREY.
MRS. LEO THRO.
LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS' LIBRARY LOS ANGELES,
MISS J. P. TRACY.
MRS. M. ELLSWORTH.
MISS N. REARDON.
·
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Gratias, soprano solo. Mrs. Leo Thro
Qui Tollis. Bassos and Chorus
Quoniam, soprano solo. Miss Maggie Carey
Finale Quoniam Full Chorus
Credo.
Full Chorus
Visibilium, soprano solo .. Mrs. Leo Thro
Genitum. Bassos and Chorus Et incarnatus est, soprano solo Mrs. Leo Thro Crucifixus, soprano solo with full chorus. Mrs. Leo Thro
Et Resurrexit, duet with full chorus
.Soprano, Miss Maggie Carey ; tenor, J. P. Lawless
Et in Spiritum, bass solo. John Rau Qui Cum Patre, soprano solo. Mrs. Leo Thro Finale Full Chorus
Offertorium, Ave Maria, violin obligato ... W. H. Gibler, Miss Jennie Tracy Sanctus, soprano solo, obligato Mrs. Leo Thro
With full chorus.
Benedictus, soprano solo obligato Mrs. Leo Thro
With chorus accompaniment.
Agnus Dei-
Baritone Solo.
Ed. Lawless
Soprano Solo Miss Maggie Carey
Tenor Solo. J. P. Lawless
With full chorus accompaniment.
Dona Nobis and Finale Full Chorus
While all who were connected with the jubilee services mer- ited the heartiest congratulations for the magnificence and splen- dor of the ceremonies, high praise is due to those who prepared the music rendered at the Sunday morning service. Generali's military mass was beautifully sung by the Jubilee Choir, assisted by Gibler's Orchestra, and was one of the most important parts of the musical programme. On Monday, La Hache's mass was no less satisfactorily given, and added impressiveness to the solemn ceremonials. The chief credit for the excellence of the music is due to John L. Carroll, who worked indefatigably, for three months, to get the masses ready for satisfactory production. They were all long and difficult, but they were mastered, and both the solos and choruses were sung with precision and good effect, being altogether the most beautifully rendered sacred music ever heard in this city.
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The music at St. Joseph's Church was also of a high order, particularly the Millard Mass, by the Jubilee Choir, and St. Pius' ·Choir.
THE CHILDREN'S RECEPTION.
One of the prettiest events of the jubilee festival was the re- ception for Archbishop Feehan arranged by the Feehan Reading Circle of St. Mary's High School. Illness prevented the Arch- bishop from attending, but Bishop Burke was present, and the program was carried out as intended. At its close, the Bishop spoke briefly, praising the work and intentions of the circle.
The program was given in St. Mary's Hall, which was prettily decorated, and there was a large audience present, including nearly all the clergymen who were Father Horan's guests for the day. The entertainment was opened by an address by Clement Gordon, as follows :
" MOST REV. AND DEAR FATHER: It is with the deepest sentiments of affectionate reverence, mingled with a joyous grati- fication, that we behold you in our midst to-day. The affectionate reverence needs neither explanation nor comment; the joyous gratification is caused by the fact that we, the members of the Feehan Reading Circle, have long anticipated the pleasure that this hour realizes, the pleasure and honor of addressing Your Grace, and of presenting before you one of our exercises, that you may judge for yourself whether we are keeping the promises made to you, when you granted us the privilege of banding ourselves together under your honored name.
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