a 4 h i Ch uro h ^ g y / : 4bfjétt I O D O H o C a t f c o l i c t C r u t i ) i S o c i e í p . REAPERS FOR THE HARVEST. BY THE REV. T. E. BRIDGET! , C. SS. R . INTRODUCTION. I recommend this little treatise, "Reapers for the Harvest," to the careful consideration of the mem- bers of "The Catholic Truth Society," and venture to ask them to circulate it among those who are not members of the Society. The publication of this treatise is most opportune in view of the near open- ing of the Diocesan Seminary for the formation of young men for the priesthood. The splendid building at Menlo Park will be ready for the reception of stu- dents next September, and under the experienced guidance of the Sulpician Fathers, our young men, who have vocations for the priesthood, will be trained in the ways of piety and knowledge to be in after years shepherds of the flock of Christ. We should bear in mind that our Beloved Lord has made the preservation of divine truth, the applica- tion through the Sacraments of His most precious Blood, and the governmental care of His people, de- 8 •REAPERS FOR THE HARVEST, pendent on an order of men who are responsible to Himself for the care of souls, a sublime dignity, in- deed, for which a special vocation is needed. ' 'Neither doth any man take the honor to himself, but he that is called by God,'.' (Heb. v. 4) and, when the voca- tion is given to a young man, it needs the most care- ful cultivation, running through many years of spiritual discipline and study, if it is to bring forth the fruit that will remain. Not only a careful and complete knowledge of the sacred science of Theology in its various branches, but of all the studies which in our day more than in the past, are necessary to complete it and to defend it. Hence the necessity of a thorough intellec- tual formation during the Seminary days, so that our young men, when prom< t to Sacred Orders, may be able not' only to speak to the consciences of the people, but to guide their intellects ; and indeed, one must be able to do the latter, if he expects his min- istry to be efficient in the former. And, as he is "or- dained for the things of God," to lead men to God, by the practice of virtue the priest must show forth in his life and conduct, not only the truth of Christ, but also the example and spirit of our Divine Master. That these two results may be accomplishedj is the reason of the erection at Menlo Park of the Diocesan Semin- ary. For a work so necessary for the preservation of our holy religion we ask the help of the Catholic peo- ple. Help can be given in two ways. , The best con- tribution of a Catholic family would be to offer a son for the ministry of the altar, and during the years of his childhood and boyhood to make sacrifices for his edu- cation, and to train him by counsel and by example to love virtue and the sublime work of building up the Kingdom of God. There will be no lack of vocations to the priesthood if Catholic parents, especially Cath- olic mothers, will instill into the children's hearts a deep sense of the importance of religion and a loyalty to that Church for which our Divine Master shed His Blood; and then, by constant prayer and sacrifice and holy living, receive from God the grace that one son Deaddified THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY. 3 at least should minister for them at the altar. And the next best contribution is to help the sons of others by making an education and training for the priest- hood possible for them. "All works of charity are good," says Cardinal Manning, " but the best of all are two—the education of children and the education of priests." Indeed, the lat ter contains the former, for there is no spiritual work which a true pastor will not accomplish; the seeds of all good work are in his heart. May this little treatise stimulate many to aid in the great work of preparing reapers for the har- vest. LI P A T R I C K W I L L I A M RIORDAN, Archbishop of San Francisco. February 12, 1898. My subject naturally divides itself into three par t s : I. What is the distinction between the clergy and the laity, and what are their mutual relations ? II. Whence come the clergy, and how do men be- come clergymen, validly and lawfully ? III. What par t have those who are not clergymen, whether they are men or women, in the making of the clergy, or in their work ? I. THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY. I. The Church's Constitution.—The whole Chris- tian Church is divided Into two great classes, the clergy and the laity. The clergy do not form one among several classes or professions. Clergymen are not one class, medical men a second, soldiers a third, lawyers a fourth, laborers a fiftn, and so on. «This may be so in the world's view; but before God and the M M . v^C&ofo* 8 • R E A P E R S FOR THE H A R V E S T , Church, medical men, soldiers, lawyers, laborers and the rest, together with women of every class, form one par t of Christ's mystical body, the Church. This portion is called the laity (from the Greek word laos, meaning people). The clergy, of all ranks (so cabled from the Greek word hleros, meaning a lot or allot- ment), form a second portion; and these two portions make up the whole. Certain writers call this dis- tinction a usurpation, and say that it was unknown to the Greeks and Romans. That may be so; in the false religions of the heathen the priesthood may have been a mere class or order of society, a trade or profession. But it was otherwise among the people of God. The Levites were, by origin, only one of the twelve tribes of Israel; but after their dedication by God to the ser- vice of the Tabernacle, the whole nation formed two classes, of which the Levites were one and the rest of the tribes the other. " Number not the tribe of Levi, neither shalt thou put down the sum of them with the children of Israel, but appoint them over the Tabernacle." " I have taken the Levites for (i. e., in the place of) every first born among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine : I am the Lord" (Numbers i. 49., iii. 12). So also, from the very beginning of Christ's Church, there was a class of men set apart , by Divine institu- tion, for the service of God and of their brethren; and this class, for reasons to be explained presently, was known from the beginning, and is still known, by the name of clergy, and thus distinguished from the laity. or the rest of God's people. , , I t is no slight or insult to a plebeian family if a branch of it is ennobled, On the contrary, the glory of that branch redounds to the honor of the rest. We read in the sacred history that Core, Dathan and others murmured and rebelled against Moses and Aaron, say- ing : " L e t it be enough for you that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them. Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord ? " Moses replied that the sin of ambition was THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY. 5 not in. him, but in those who, not content with the honor done them by God, wished " t o challenge to themselves the priesthood also," and God confirmed His legate's words by the terrible destruction of the rebels' (Numbers xvi.)- At a later period Moses re- minded the Israelites that they would be renowned through all nations for having the priesthood and law established amongst them. So also the whole Chris- tian Church is honored, not because all its members are of equal spiritual dignity, or capable of the same functions, but because the priesthood of Christ is vis- ibly perpetuated in their midst. 2. Clergy and Spiritual Priesthood.'—There is, however, a sense in which the laity, both men and women, as well as the clergy of all rarks, are priests : "You are a chosen generation," wrote St. Peter , " a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, that you may declare His virtues Who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light" (ISt . Pe ter ii. 9). Every Christian man, woman and child is a priest to praise God, to offer to Him spiritual sacri- fices, to make known His name by word and deed. But this universal and spiritual priesthood no more excludes a distinct, external and official priesthood in the Church, than the spiritual royalty belonging to all, excludes temporal kings, or the "declaring of God's graces," which is a universal duty, excludes the public teaching in the Church in which women have no share (1 Cor. xiv. 34). St. Peter , later on in the same epis- tle, wrote to specially ordained men, whom he calls the "ancients or presbyters," as follows : "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it not by constraint, but willingly, according to God; not for filthy lucre's sake, but voluntarily; neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pat tern of the flock from the heart . And when the Prince of Pas- tors shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory" (1 St. Pe ter v. 2-4). I t is clear from these words that the universal spir- 8 • R E A P E R S FOR THE H A R V E S T , itual priesthood of which the Apostle had before spoken is subject to the pastors specially ordained, and does not encroach on their functions. In this pas- sage the word clergy, which in the Greek has the plural form, is used in its original sense of "lots," and means, either the various ranks of the junior ecclesias- tics, or more probably the various congregations of the Christian people, the pens, so to say, of the Divine sheepfold. In either case the words of St. Peter clearly mark the two elements of the Church's consti- tution—the sheep and the shepherds; and they imply that the authority of the shepherds, or presbyters, was so great that they needed to be warned against its abuse. Whatever may be the sense of the word clergy, as here used by St. Peter, it is certain that, from the days of the Apostles, it has been universally and ex- clusively applied in its present sense, to ecclesiastics as distinct from the laity. Some think the clergy were so called as being divided into several ranks or orders, or as being "allotted" to various functions. St. Jerome, however, in the fourth century, writes: "They are called clerics because they belong to God's lot, or because the Lord Himself is the lot and portion of clerics;" and so the word is now understood. 3. Clergy and External Priesthood.—In the Chris- tian Church the clergy are those who participate in various degrees in the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the great High Priest for ever. He impresses His priestly character on some who are called priests and bishops, and the other orders grad- ually lead up to and prepare for these. Many speak and write as if a priest was in some way less than a layman; whereas he has everything he would have as a layman and something far beyond. That "some- thing" is a peculiar relation to Jesus Christ, the In- carnate Son of God and great High Priest. With' regard to the functions and duties of the clergy, it will be enough here to mention some of the THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY. 7 titles given to them in Holy Scripture. In relation to men they are God's ambassadors, God's messengers (the words apostle and angel both mean messenger); they are fishermen or shepherds, sowers, planters, reapers, architects, builders. They are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. They are called bish- ops and prelates, i. e., overseers and rulers. They are also called, according to their respective dignity, rank or function, ancients or elders (presbyters, priests), deacons, and by other names. "Being as- cended above all the heavens, that He might fill all things, Christ our Lord gave some (to be) apostles and some prophets, and others evangelists and others pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of. the Body of Christ" (Eph. iv. 10). I t is not necessary here to explain the work of the clergy in offering sacrifice, administering the Sacra- ments, preaching, ruling, consoling, assisting and in- terceding. These things are sufficiently familiar to those for whom I am writing. 4. Distinction Not Separation.—There could be no greater wrong and calumny than to attribute this distinction of state to the pride and usurpation of ec- clesiastics. I t is well known that priests are accus- tomed to assemble year after year in retreat, not to nourish pride and ambition, nor to puff themselves up by the consideration of their rights and privileges; but on the contrary to consider their duties, and how their position obliges them to stricter account. Far from wishing to draw apart and avoid contact with the people of God. they wish to multiply the bonds of union; and the object of this little paper is to point out and strengthen some of the links that bind them together. I now pass to the second branch of my subjec t - whence come the clergy, and how do men become clergymen, lawfully and validly. 8 REAPERS FOB THE HARVEST. II. WHENCE COME THE CLERGY? if The Jewish Priesthood Hereditary.—Among the Jews the s tate of a clergyman was hereditary. The priests were the descendants of Aaron, the bro- ther of Moses, of the tribe of Levi; and the whole tribe of Levi was set apar t to the service of the Altar, of the Tabernacle, or the Temple. When the Israeli- tes under the guidance of Moses had been led out of the captivity of Egypt, with a great display of God's miraculous power, they most wickedly and ungrate- fully relapsed into the impure idolatry with which they had become familiar in Egypt; but at the call of Moses the Levites became avengers of God's honor. While their hands were still re d with the blood of the idolators, Moses said, "You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord" (Exod. xxxii, 29). Later on Phinees, the grandson of Aaron, distinguished him- self by a terrible but most righteous act of zeal, in the slaughter of some scandalous sinners, and the covenant of the priesthood was confirmed to him and to his descendants (Numb. xxv). Such was the origin of the clergy and priesthood among the Jews. I t was founded in holy wrath against sin and in the bloodshed of sinners. Even the grea t annual rite of the Pas- chal Lamb, while it spoke of mercy to the Israelites ana prefigured our Divine Redeemer, commemorated the awful plague or chastisement of the death of all the first born of Egypt by the hands of the destroy- ing angel. And as the origin and functions of the Jewish priest- hood and clergy indicated rather God's justice than His mercy, so also its mode of transmission partook more of nature than of grace. The transmission ol the priesthood and of the service of the Tabernacle was by marriage. No one from another tribe than that of Levi could obtain admission to those functions; and no competent and qualified man ol the tribe oi Levi could evade them. WHENCS COME THE CLEROY ? 9 2. Christian Priesthood not Hereditary. 4iVery different is the origin and transmission of the Chris- tian priesthood and clerical state. Every properly qualified man may aspire to the Christian priesthood, or may be enrolled in the ranks of the clergy. The priesthood is not hereditary; and this is not merely because of the celibacy of the clergy. Even were the clergy married they could not transmit their priest- hood as an inheritance, though, of course their chil- dren might aspire, and be admitted, to the work and dignity of their father^. One great reason of this difference between the old dispensation and the new is this:—The Aaronic priesthood required only such gifts or qualifications as are the common lot of faithful men, and to be obtained by due education. Hence there was no hardship or in- convenience in obliging all the men of the tribe or family, age after age, to perform certain functions, especially as they were well provided for in temporal matters. The Christian priesthood, on the contrary, is so sublime as to require gifts and virtues which are not the ordinary portion even of Christians; and it en- tails sacrifices such as God would not impose on a whole race, though He expects them from the more generous and heroic. 3. Priests and the High Priest.—I have said that the Christian priesthood is a participation of our Lord's priesthood. The priest is not the successor of Jesus Christ. The Bishops of Rome or Popes are successors one to another and to St. Peter, but not to Jesus Christ. The Pope is called the Vicar of Jesus Christ, not His successor. All priests are in their de- gree the viears or lieutenants of our Lord. He is the High Priest, Who offered Himself a sacrifice on the Cross by the shedding of His Precious Blood; and in an unbloody manner at His Last Supper, in the in- stitution of the great Eucharistic Rite, which fulfilled and abolished* all former sacrifices. And it is our Lord Who offers Himself in everv Mass, though He to £ REAPEhS FOB THE HARVEST. does it by the hands and the mouth of a mortal man. In this great function of the priesthood, the least and youngest priest just ordained, is equal to the venerable bishop who has ordained him; nay, even to the Sovereign Pontiff, the chief of all bishops. There- fore, our Holy Father Pope Leo XIII. in 1888 called on the whole world to celebrate with him the Jubilee, or 50th anniversary, of his simple priesthood. He considered the fact of his having been ordained priest and allowed to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for fifty years, a matter so high, and a grace so splendid, that he invited all crowned heads and all nations to join in his joy and gratitude to God. 4. Grace of Priesthood.—If the Christian priest- hood is raised so far above the Jewish in its nature and mode of transmission, it is also contrasted with the Jewish priesthood in the grace and clemency of its origin. I have stated that the Jewish priesthood began in the'slaughter of sinners; whereas our Lord consecrated the hands of the Apostles, not in the blood of sinners, but in His own Precious Blood about to be shed for sinners, when He instituted the most holy Sacrifice and Sacrament of the altar. There- fore. at the present day the hands of the priest are annomted at his ordination with the holy oil, which typifies not justice, but mercy. For functions such as those of the Christian priest srreat graces are required, and great virtues may be demanded. We cannot have sinless priests, yet the candidate must be "without crime, holding the mys- tery of the faith in a pure conscience" (1 Tim. iii 9) Let anyone compare the list of virtues mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistles to St. Timothy and St. Titus with the list of bodily or physical qualities enumer- ated by Moses as necessary for the Jewish priest if he would understand the difference between the two covenants. 5-is Priests, how derived.—How then may a Chris- nan youth become a priest ? To become a priest, WHENCE COME THE CLERGY f 11 legitimately as well as validly, two things are neces- sary, Vocation and Ordination. I will say a few words about each, not to instruct the candidate, for he will seek more detailed instruction elsewhere, but so far as may be useful for fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, and for all Christian men and women to possess some knowledge of a mat ter which concerns thè glory of God and the welfare of every member of the Church. A. Vocation may mean God's Providence, gradually worked out, and gradually manifested, as when we say that St. Patr ick had the special vocation to be the Apostle of Ireland. I t is not in this sense we speak of vocation to the priesthood. We mean God's will manifested beforehand, indicating the choice that a youth should make of that specialstate of life, because God has chosen him to serve Him in it. When our Lord passing by the Lake of Galilee, saw Simon and Andrew casting their nets into the sea, and said to them "Come after Me' and I will make you to become fishers of men" (St. Mark i. 17), that was a vocation fully manifested beforehand, though our Lord's special Providence over St. Pe ter and St. Andrew was only revealed subsequently, and bit by bit. Now no man may lawfully enter the ministry of the Church unless the will of God, calling him to that ministry, is manifested to him, not indeed by the audi- ble voice of God Incarnate, yet sufficiently to assure him that he is not led by his own interests, or ambition, or caprice, or human zeal, but that he is obeying a Divine vocation. To select His own ministers is God's prerogative. The Apostle draws attention to this prerogative saying: "Neither doth any man take the honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as Aaron was ; so Christ also did not glorify Himself that He might be made a High Priest, but Hei that said to Him 'Thou a r t My Son, this day have I begotten Thee,' and He saith also in another place 'Thou a r t a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech' " (Heb. v. 4). 8 • R E A P E R S FOR THE H A R V E S T , Speaking of the ministry of the Christian Church, God said by the prophet Isaias, " I will take of them [the Gentiles] to be priests and Levites" (Is. lxvi. 21). Our Lord too reminded His Apostles, "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (St. John xv. 16). He chose His twelve Apostles s f ter spending the night in prayer to His heavenly Father, and He afterwards spoke of them as the gift of His Father : " I have manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou hast given me out of the world. Thine they were, and to Me Thou gavest them. . . . Holy Father keep them in Thy Name whom Thou hast given Me. . . . While I was with them, I kept them in Thy Name. . . . None of them is lost, but the son of perdition" (St. John xvii.). This son of perdition was Judas Iscariot. He had a t rue vocation. He was one of those given by the Eternal Father to His Son, and was loved and watched over by Jesus Christ, be- cause he was the gift of that Father. He became a son of perdition by his own fault and obstinacy. He threw away his vocation and his soul. He would be "lost. Alas ! if a man chosen by God may be lost even in the company of the Apostles, and of Jesus Christ, how can any one hope to save his soul, if, without being called and given by God, he intrude himself from unworthy motives, into that sacred company ? Not only should youths well consider this, but their parents also. I t is indeed a most holy work to develop and help forward a vocation given by God ; but it is a fearful and sacrilegious invasion of God's prerogative for parents to force or persuade their sons to become priests from motives of interest ; nor must they urge them to it from mistaken piety, with out considering seriously whether they have a divine vocation. It is also an invasion of God's right to prevent a son from following a clear vocation given to him by God. How the existence of a vocation may be known I do not explain here.* Parents should seek * There are several books In English on this subject:—I may WHENCE COME THE CLE ROY ? 13 the advice of a prudent priest- not indeed on the fact of their child's vocation, for that must be left of course to his confessor—but on their own duties with regard to him. I will explain presently how they may co- operate in a divine vocation. B. Ordination. In addition to vocation, there must be ordination before a man can become a lawful minis- ter of Jesus Christ and of His Church. When our. Lord Himself appeared to St. Paul for his conversion, He sent him to learn His will from human lips and to be baptized hy human hands (Acts ix). He ever acts in conjunction with the Church which He has Himself established. We read in the same holy book,? '"Now there were in the Church, which was at Antioch, prop- hets and doctors, among whom was Barnabas and Saul. And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Ghost said to them: 'Separate me Saul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have taken them.' Then they fasting and praying, and imposing their hands upon them sent them away" (Acts xiii.). God chose, the C'surch sent. One of the seven Sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ is called the Sacrament of Order.* I t is the Sacrament by which bishops, priests, and other min- isters of the Church are ordained, and receive power and grace to perform their sacred duties. I t is called Order, because though there are several degrees by mention especially the Choice of a State of Life| by Mgr. Malou, Bishop of Bruges, wi th a preface by Cardinal Vaughan. Lon- don, Burns and Oates. * Sometimes called the Sacrament of Holy Orders; but more properly called Order, in the singular. In speaking of the degrees conferred by ordination, we rightly use the plural form, and distinguish the four minor orders—of Porter, Reader, Exorcist and Acolyte—from the holy or greater ones—of Sub- deacon, Deacon and Pr ies t . The priesthood itself has two de- grees of power and digni ty; (t) tha t of the bishop, whose office i t is to govern the particular district given'to him (called a dio- cese), to give Confirmation and confer Orders, &c.: and (3) tha t of priest, whose office i t is to offer sacrifice, to preach, adminis- ter Sacraments, &c. 8 • R E A P E R S FOR THE H A R V E S T , which the candidate is advanced to the priesthood, yet all are ordered and tend harmoniously to one end,viz., a participation in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. ' The terrible warning of our Lord applies both to vocation and ordination. "Amen, amen, I say to you; he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climb- eth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber" (St. John x. 1). I now come to the third division of my subject. III. DUTIES OF LAYMEN. What pa r t have those who are not clergymen, whether they be men or women, in the making of thé clergy or in their work ? To this I may answer by enumerating some of the principal duties of the laity with regard to the clergy. They must show them respect and sympathy, render them material help and active co-operation, and espe- cially give them a large share in their prayers. r . Respect.—With regard to respect a very few words should be sufficient. No man can reflect with faith on the various titles given to priests, and the functions laid on them, without being moved by the highest reverence for their character and their work. I say their character, not their "cloth," according to the Protestant phrase; and by character I do not mean their personal dispositions, but the mark of the grea t High Priest indelibly imprinted on their souls I t is Jesus Christ Himself Who is reverenced in His priests. "Le t a man so account of us as of the minis- ters of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God" (I. Cor. iv. 1). Where this respect for the priesthood of Jesus Christ exists, the richest and noblest families will esteem it a grea t honor if one of their members is chosen by God for such an office, DUTIES OF LAYMEN. 15 even though he occupy but an humble position in the clerical ranks; while no poor man will dare to think of raising his family in respectability or wealth by pushing a son into the priesthood without vocation. Though respect for priests need not make us blind to personal faults or shortcomings, it should make us very silent with regard to them, except when we speak to God with hearts full of sorrow and compas- sion. 2. Sympathy.—The life of a priest is often a very lonely life, for his state is exalted and his work super- natural. By "lonely" I do not mean lacking domestic ties and little mixing in society, for this is~\his own choice. He has chosen a life undivided and entirely consecrated to God, and without solicitude except how he may please God and do God's work. I speak of the unsympathetic loneliness that he often experi- ences in doing the work of God, although he has the greatest claim on the interest of the laity, since he is working for their good and for the glory of a common Master. "Bear ye one another's burdens," writes St. Paul, "and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ" (Gal. vi. 2). The priest fulfils the law of Christ by bearing the burdens of the laity; of the ignorant when he instructs them, of the thoughtless when he reminds and entreats or reproves them, of the sad and afflict- ed when he consoles and relieves, of the penitent when he helps to lift the burden of their sins. God and the Church take care that he shall bear his people's bur- dens, for he is obliged to preach, to visit, to minister sacraments, to offer sacrifice, to intercede, aye, and to give an account of their souls. They must not then forget to bear the priest's burdens. "Obey your pre- lates," writes the Apostle, "and be subject to them; for they watch as being to render an account of your souls; that they may do this with joy and not with grief; for this is not expedient for you" (Heb. xiii. 17). There are generally some in every parish who posit- ively dislike the priest because he interrupts their 8 • R E A P E R S FOR THE H A R V E S T , easy walk along the broad road that leads to de- struction. There are always many to whom the priest and his work are indifferent for they care only for the things of this world. But there are also some, and often many, who sympathize with his priestly zeal. I cannot forbear copying some of the saluta- tions with which St. Paul concludes his Epistle to the Romans. "Salute Prisca and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks, to whom not I only give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. . . Salute Mary, who hath labored much among you. Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Salute Ampliatus, most beloved to me in the Lord," and so on through a long litany of saintly names. St. Paul writes of the "joy and refreshment" that he experienced in the company or even the memory of such men and women (Rom. xv.); and St. John that he "had no greater grace than this, that his children walked in t ruth" (2 St. John i. 4). 3. Help.—Sympathy will always show itself ac- tively by rendering, according to means or opportun- ities, both material help and spiritual co-operation. As regards the former, our Divine Lord had laid it down as a principle in teaching His Apostles : "Freely you have received, freely give.". Spiritual things cannot be bought or sold. On the other hand He had taught that the spiritual laborer should be supported by those for whom he labors. When He sent out the seventy-two disciples, He forbade them to take purse or money for their journey. They should seek for a house of good report, and "eat and drink such, things as they have, for the laborer is worthy of his hire" (St. Luke x. 7.) Not only the laborer must be main- tained, but he requires material help to accomplish his various works, especially those of mercy. Hence the Acts of the Apostles show us many of the first Christians reducing themselves to poverty, and liv- DUTIES OF LAYMEN. ISJ ing on a common stock, in order to enable the Apostles to carry on their various labors more effec- tively; and no small part of the letters of St. Paul are taken up with the question of collections made for those in need. This great Apostle would accept no help from those to whom he was ministering at the time (2 Cor. xi. 8); yet he took care to vindicate his right and the rights of others. "Who serveth as a soldier at any time at his own charges ? Who planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof 1 . . . . If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal things ? . . . The Lord hath ordained that they who preach the Gospel, shall live by the Gospel" (1 Cor. ix.). " Let him that is in- structed in the Word communicate to him that in- structeth him in all good things" (Gal. vi. 6). Mirac- ulous powers were seldom, if ever, used to dispense with this dependence on the justice or generosity of the Faithful; for it was in the interests of both priests and people that they should be drawn together by mutual offices of giving and receiving. These principles are for all times, but it has belonged to the varying discipline of the Church to determine the mode and measure of lay support as well as of clerical obligations; so that at one. time or place we have tithes, oblations, mortuaries; at another, dues, offertories, honoraries, stole-fees and the rest. For my purpose, it is enough to add here that no work has a stronger claim on the laity than the education of the candidates of the priesthood, whether among the sec- ular or the regular clergy. Far beyond money is free and active co-operation. St. Paul speaks of the names of his fellow laborers, both men and women, as being written in the Book of Life (Phil. iv. 3); not in a register of electors, a list of landed gentry, or a coart-guide, but in God's book of life eternal! There are many ways in which, without encroaching on the functions of the clergy, the laity can take a share in their work; as in instructing