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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s A des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ier; T /' J ^ ^/ (eptep pastoral l95tm(;tio9 OF HIS GRACE The Most Rev, John Walsh, D. D. / ^ \ \ AKCHBISHOP OF TORONTO. ^ \s • •• m * » • « • • ••••;• • . , • t • • •. • • • I .^^ r Jf' ^-^' /9 3 Catholic Review PRiNV.(?4*Adtehiiv1 . 1 < I . I ' ' I C , < I • ,t • t '< < '< •*«'» «t • ••'««t,'lf • I t < t : < It I < < 1 '. t ' I t * < It ' ,' • « « < 3<^^l/ .*• pastoval Xettcr. John Walsh — /;// ///r (rifa-c <>f (iml itid tltc (ijiji/ the Iloh) Sir, .lnlil>>' tij Tdi'inito. 10 flic (,'l()-(iii, I!('li\ tlir offfi-iiP4 ii|) of iicriliccs of various kinds. i»iit the sacri- fice of tlic Afass, as tiic Coiiiicilof Ti'ciit tcaclics, *' is that obla- tion wiiicli was i)r('ti.uur((l l».v \arioiis types of sat-'riliceH dnriiif^ the period of nature and i^i the law; inasnnudi as it comprises all the i^ood tliinfrs si;4nilied l)y those sacrilices, as heini,' the consunnuation and jierfection >f them all !"" This holy saerilice j;ives inlinite honour and j;lory to (lod, it causes inexpressible joy to the au;j;elsand saints in lu^aven, l)rin;j;s down untold j-ji'aces and hlessin.u's on nu'n. it brink's li^^dit, re- freshufnt and peace to the souls in pur.^atoi-y. If all the [)rayers of lovin,'j; hearts IVoii; the bt'^inniufj; of the world, and all the seraphic worship of the thrones and i)rincipal- ities in heaven, and the burnin;j; devotion and bnc of the VirjJiin Mother of (lod ami the million voices of the universe, of all creatures in heaven and earth, and sea, were offered u[) in one universal and harmonious act of praise and adoration, they would not eipuil or even ai)i)roach in value and ef'ticacy the infinite worth of a single ^lass. In considerinL;; it we nuiy well exclaim with St. Paul, " the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowled<^o of (iod : How incomprehensible are his judgments and how unsearchalile his ways."' (Uomans xi. : 8;]). We should therefore have the j^reatest devotion, veneratioli and love fortius adorable sacrifice, we should never fail to assist at it, piously and reverently, on all Sundays and holidays of obli.:j;ation, we should try betimes to hear it even on week (hiys, especially dur- m^ Advent and Lent, and should not forget to have it offered, as the occasion and our piety may require, for the eternal rest of the faithful dei)arted. Z\K Sacrament of flDcrcv^. The Sacrament of Penance is another wondrous institu- tion of God's tender mercy and comi»assion for sinners, and it is a most powerful and efficacious means of salvation. Through this divine Sacrament the truly peiiitent are forgiven the most 5 m ,ui'i»'V'>iis sins, cvi'.i tlmimli ll)cy wcr.' as red as scarh't in lliiir < iioi'inity ninl as miiiH'rotis as tlic ^'raiiis of sands on {\\v. sea .sliorc. '' "WliaU'Vcr."* >aiil Clirist to liis niiiiistcrs. " you shall loiso on fai'tli shall he loosod in licnNcii." (Mathcw wiii : s.) And a}j;ain, " A> [\\r Fathor lialh smt me I send you. llrccivc ye th( Holy (iliost. Whose sins \ou shall for<4iv(' th(_\ arc for- •.'ivcn Ihtiii : and whose sins you shall retain they aif I'ctained." (St. John XX. : tiJJ.) As often a,s men sin, and howevei- ^lievou^ and lu'iiious and nutnerous theii' sins may he. sooften they may apidy to thissaci-ed Irihnnal of mercy, and its jiardoiiin,^; power forgives always with a divine and nerfeet ahsolution. l''oi' all transf^ressions, for all post-haptisnial sins whatsoever, foi' all tlie sad lonj;" ('ataloij;!ie of grievous ti'ansuressions that outrage God and ruin man there is hut one condilii^n of pardon reijuii'cd, and that is sincere sorrow and the th-ni resolvi' to sin no more, and then the ahsohition inii)arled is certain in its el'fects. is full and complete. " And now," as ("ardiinil ^Manning heautifuUy siys, " this Sacrament of the love of Jesus to nniny is necessary, and to all is a fountain of grace. To those who after liaptism have fallen into mortal sin it is necessai'v. No other Sacrament of- life rtanains to them: no other nutans of I'ising from the death of sin to the life of justice is oi'dained. They cannot raise themselves to life again. The charity of (lod has departed from them, and the llolyCihost has withdrawn Mis hahitual grace. The interior acts of their souls rimeval paradise the hody of unfall')n Adam was, hy a divine privilege, given immortality, so in the Church ot God the bodies of all who worthily eat of the Blessed F^ucharist arc given the gage and pledge of immortal lift!. True, the bodies of worthy communicants shall die the death, iind moulder away into dust and ashes in forgotten graves, but they bear within them the seeds of a glorious innnortality, and on the Ficsurrection morn- ing they will arise in power and honour and incorruptibility, shining with a special glory, and a special beauty of Inliness : " H( that eateth my Hesli," saitli the Lord, " and drinketh my l)lo(xl hath everlasting life, and I will raise him u}) on the last day." (John vi. : 55.) What an inestimable treasure we have in this adorable Sacrament I ! It is the mercy, and love, and compassion, and tenderness, and benignity, and kindness of Jesus Christ dwelling amongst us under sacramental veils. It is all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling corporally amongst us. It is our Fhninanuel, our Incarnate God, whose desire is to be with the children of me ^, whose loving In^irt iioes out to us in all the Ml ■Iff 8 strer.;;tli and power of His divine affections, in all tlie riches of His bounty, and all the bonndless wealth of Hiis goodness. It is the Good Shepherd that is tlui-e with ]iis love for the lost sheep, it is the friend of [)uhlicans and sinners, it is the father of the ])rodi<;al, it is He who proved His Divine personality and mission not by stupendous niirachsw that would over-awe and terrify, l)ut by the exercise of Ahui,i;hty power in healinjj; the ills that aftiict humanity, in comforting the aftiicted, consoling th -; sorrowful, in drying the tears of those who \vee[), in a word, in idling the earth witli His mercies {ind connuisserations and charities like the covering waters of the sea. " Go and tell .lohn," said He, "what you have seen. The l)lind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the leper^~ are cleansed, the dead rise again, and to the poor the Gospel is preached." (Matthew xi : 4-5.) And this same merciful liedeemer, through this Sacrament of Love, daily exercises His gracious mhiistry in the plentiful l)e- stowals of spiritual favours, graces and mercies that are but typified and adumbrated by the healings of bodily inlii^mities and diseases. From the tal)ernacle He sweetly invites all the wenry toilers ol tlu' world, all heavily laden and care-burdeiied men, all whone hearts ai'e heavy with sorrow, all whose spirits are faint with sore trials, all who are borne down }>\ difiiculties and disappointments, all for whom life is but one weary struggle, one vast sorrow and constant companionshi[) with hardship and poverty. He invite.- all to come to Him and He will refresh them and uplift the burden of their si)rro\\ , and dry tlirir tear.-^ and cheer up I he faint-hearted, and bring lio});^ and light and j(.y into sad iind darkened lives. " Come unto Me all you wh) are weary and heavy burdened and I will refresh you." Matthew xi.: 'is.) During the past year countless multitudes visited the city of Treves to venerate the Holv Goat, tiu' seamless gai'- ment once worn Itv the Incarnate God and made holy by contact with His adoral)le body. ]^ut in theBlessid Sacrament W'e have Jesus Himself, the fountain of all sanctity ; and yet how few there are who visit Him in the [)rison taberna.cle of His love ! He stays on our altars during the long weary days and the silent vigil-^ of the night, and vet we give Him no thought, we M •ic'lies ()\ less. It the lost e father lity and iwe and y the ills ing til ' word, ill ons and and tell the lame 5e a}j;ain. d : l-r>.) ment of itifiii he- are hut litinities ■'' ■s all the •urdened )irits are lies and itrii,gi>'le, ■^liip and ;sL them ■- ■ar.-^ and ail! I j(,.y wh') are d:itthew ..■..■ ' visited J ess <^a,r- cv)ntaet yj we have low few Is love ! 1 111(1 the « ij^lit, we 4 l>ii_v llim no \isit, or- ,irts are cold and IVozcii towards Mini. Where is our failii, wucie is our jjiratitudc', where is our loveV Afay we not well imagine our Blessed Loi'd coin[)laining of us as he did of His jieople of old, " Tota die crpinuli imiitaii mcaa ad ))()piiliiiii no/i rrcdrntciii. ct < o/itrttdicctttcin.'" The whole day long I reacdi out my hands in graeious invitation to a peo[)le that he- lieveth not and contradicteth me." (liomans x. : 21.) Dearly beloved brethren let us not continue to deserve this re}>roach from our Divine Saviour. Let us fre(iuently visit the Blessed Sacrament. There our Divine Saviour sits on His mercy seat, ti^ receive our petitions, to relieve our s[)iritual mis- eries, to console us in our sorrows, and help, encourage and sus- tain us in our trials. There He will quicken our faith, animate our ho))e and inilame our charity. There our hearts will warm and glow with the ilaines of divine charity caught from the tire of love that burns in the heart of the Man (lod, and there our souls can commune with their Lord and their God who is their centre and resthig [)lace. As the stag panteth after the fountains of water so should our souls punt after tlie living God who aliides with us in tlie Blessed Sacrament. Those who are truly devout to this Sacrament of love are on the high road to heaven. Let us frequently assitat the heavenly banquet of the Euch- arist, that Christ has prcqiared for us, let us feed our liungry souls on this hi'ea.d of life, let us slak(i our thirst at this f(Uin- tain of i)ur Saviour whose '"eg nerating waters spring up into life everlasting. Let us frequently eat of this heavenly mainia of which those who partake shall not taste death for ever. It is indeed a sad commentary on man's inditference to his highest interests, on his crimhial apathy and neglect in thealYair of his eternal salvation, and on his base ingratitude to God for ^lis innumerable mercies and boundless goodness and love in the institution of the sacrament of His mercy and in that o^" His love, that oui' holy .nother the Church has felt heiselt comiu'lled to enjoin on her children the worthy reception of these tw() great Sacraments at least once in the vear, and tliat under the most grievous penalties. In the 4th Council of Lateran the Church decrees as follows : — 10 •1 i( M The faithful of hoth soxoh after they come to the use of dis- cn>tioii shall in private faithfully confess all their sins at least once a year to their own pastors ; and take care to fulfil to the hest of their power the penance enjoined on them ; roceivinj,' rev- erently at least at Easter the Sacrament of the Eucharist, unless perhaps, hy the council of their own pastors, for some reasonable cause, they judge it pi-oi)er to abstain from it for a time ; other wise let them be kept out of tlie Church when living, and when they die let them be deprived of Christian bui-ial." prav>cr, Iprivatc an^ ipubllc. It is unnecessary to dwell here on the necessity and efficacy of pray(3r as a plentiful source of grace and a powerful means of salvation. Pi aver is the ordinary means by which we may ob- tain from the all-bountiful (lod, the graces of wliicli we may stand in need. Without the gi'.ice of (lod we can do nothing conducive to salvation, we cannot of ourselves have a good tiiought or express a good word that would make for our eternal destiny, "Without ^fe," says Christ, " you can do nothing." (John \v. : 5). Weare not, says St. Paul, " sufticient of ourselves as of ourselves to think anything, but our sulHciency comes from God." (;2 Cor. iii. ; 5). " We cannot," says the same Apostle, " pronounce the name of Jesus except in the Holy Ghost." (1 Cor. xii. 3). Now, this all-necessary grace comes to us in life- giving streams, through prayer as its ordinary channel. "Ask and you shall receive," says Christ, " seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you, for evei'v one that asketh reciiveth." (Matli. vii. 7). Pie also tells us that we ought al- ways to pray and not to faint, to watch and pray that we may not enter into temptation." (Mathew xxvi. : 41). As to the elHcacy of pra^'er, our Lord assures us that everyone that ask- eth receiveth, and he that seeketh iindeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened unto hini." (Luke xi. : 9) And again, " Amen, auien I say to you, if you ask the Father any- thing in my name He will give it to you. "Ask and you shall receive, that your joy maybe full." (John xvi. : 2:5). Invar- ■: 11 ie of dis- 'V at least S il to the ifl vin^' rov- ,t, unless asoimble •■'f • ; other lid when 1 efticacy means of mav ob- we may I iiothhi.!^ 3 a ^ood [;• eternal lothing." ourselves iiies from Apostle, ost." (1 IS ill life- " Ask hall Ihid, it asketh light al- we may s to the hat ask- him that J)) And her any- ►?ou shall In var- ■^; ious oth(}r parts of Holy Writ our Saviour gives us the same ex- press assurances of the efficacy and fruitfulness of prayer, and pledges His solemn word that prayer, ofiered to His Father in His name, shall not fail to obtain the most abundant graces and blessings from heaven. Prayer, then, is not only most neces- sary duty, but it is also a most powerful and efficacious means of siilviition. St. Alphonsus, somewhere says that no man ever went to heaven except througli prayer, and no man ever lost his soul and went to hell exce^)t through lu^glect of prayer. Our Lord tells us that it is only he that perseveres unto the end shall \w saved. (Mathew x : 2'2). And St. Augustine teaclif's that whereas some graces are given without prayer, such as tlie beginning of faith, there are others which are never given without prayer, sucli as final perseverance. Final pcjrseverance is a necessary condition of salvation. But final perseverance cannot be obtained witliout prayer. Therefore prayer is neces- sary for salvation. Prayei" may be classilied (1) as private or personal prayer, ('2) as family prayei', {'.]) as public prayer. The obligation and duty of prayer is personal, inalienable, and cannot be relegated to othors. It is true that tbe prayer of intercessicm is most useful and salutary, and can, and does, ol)tain great graces for others, but its efficacy may be obstructed and |)reveiited by the unwortl\v dispositions of those in whose beiialf it is jtfered. It is only when we pray for ourselves and with the requisite dis})ositions and conditions, tliat we can be sure of the unfailing efficacy of prayer. We should not, therefore, leave to others a duty which we owe to ^iod ji.nd to ourselves. We should say our pi'ayera eveiy moi-niiig and every night, and in all temptations, dangers and afflictions. We can make our daily actions and labours so many acts of prayer and of divine worsliip, by offering them up to (lod, for His honor and glorv, in fullilment of His holy will, in penalty for our sins, and in union with the labours and suffer- ings of Jesus Christ. We can make our life a habitual prayer we can mak(> it supernatural and holy, by fre(piently during the da,y raising our minds and hearts in short acts of faith, hope and charity, and in adoration of the Divine Presence, remem- 12 l)urinci\ Famih amily prayer is that which is shared in hy the family and is a, most potent meiins of sanctifyino; tiie Christian home,andof hring- in<;down ahundant <;Taccs and hlesshigs on the family. The (chris- tian home, in which family prayer is practised, hecomes a sacred oratory, a holy shrine which Christ honours and hlesses by Ilis presence. " Where two or three are p;athered in My name there T am in the midst of them." (?ilathew xviii. : ID). Oh, happy the Christian home which has Jesus Christ as its (j;uest, and blessed is the family that is modelled after the holy Family at Nazareth. In it the father and mother will be lion- oured and reverenced, their old age will be tendeidy cared for, and the gray hairs of aged pai'ents will be brought down with honour to the grave ; there the children will be docile, reverent and obedient, will grow up in virtue and the holy fear and love of God, will bring many blessings on themselves, will be pleasing to Cod, and will possess the respect, esteem and confidence of their fellow men, will, in a word, be faithful Catholics and good members of society". Such a home will be a blessed and holy place, abounding in peace and happiness, sweet and redolent of virtue " like the fragrance of a rich meadow that the Lord hath blessed." '' Slant odor a bore in h(;r womb, whom she tenderly nursed in His infancy, whom she faithfully cared for in the days of His child- hood, to whom she was the best of mothers during His hidden life ;it Nazaretli, who hungered with Jlim, toiled and suffered with Him, and wlio stood l»y Him during the long hours of His ci'iiciliKion, when even the Apostles stood afar off, andstayed there till the last dro[) of the [)reciou6 blood was shed, and the tre- mendous 'UJonsioiiiiKUiiiii r.s'/" was uttered and the last sigh was given, heroically fnithful and sublime in her mother's devo+ion to the last. ! how could such a Son refuse the petitions of su<'h a mother, h(nv could He be indifferent to her least wish, how could He, who shed His precious blood and died the death of the Cross for human salvation, reject the ])rayers that His loving ]\[other offei's up for the conversion and salvation of His people ? Her prayers and intercessions must be simply all- powerful with her adorable Son, and most efficacious in obtain- ing for us the greatest graces and mercies. But will our gracious Lady, now that she is enthroned in heaven at the right hand of lier divine Son, now that she is in the glory of heaven, clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and a crown of stars on her head, will she care for us, will she take an iir terest in our welfare, will she sympathize with our suff'er- ings, will she plead before the throne of God for the salvation of our souls and the securing of our immortal destinies '? To an- swer such questions it is sufficient to say that in the order of grace she is our Mother. J3eing the ^Mother of the Iledeemer she is the Mother also of the redeemed. J3y the dying breath of Jesus Christ she was solemnly given to us as our IMolher, and we were given to her as her children when our dying Lord said to us, in the person of St. John, " Son, behold thy mother," and i i 14 from that moment tlio children of tlie Cliiirch, in the person of St. Jolin, took Iter to themselves as their motlutr. As our heavenly ^lother she will not he ne<];lectful of our spiritual in- terests. The mother cannot forget the child of her womh. Unlovely and repulsive he may look to others, hut they do not re}j;ard him with a mother's eyes. He may have lost the in- nocence and moral heauty of his hoyhood, he may have hecome a hardened criminal and he ostracised and shunn(!d hy his fel- low-men, hut as lon^' as his mother lives he has one true, con- stai^t and undyin}^ friend. He may hecome an outlaw and he hidden away from the haunts of men, hut as long as^ his mother has a roof to cover her he will there nnset the warm welcome, and hright smile, and the comforting word,w1i(!n he conies home again. Even tiiough he should hreak her heart, yet will she cling to him, and even though human justice should for his crimes condemn him to an ignominious death the mother will stand under the shadow of the scaffold to I'eceive his last sigh and to utter a [)rayer and a henediction for the soul that is gone. Deep and hroad as the unfathomed sea is the mother's heu' t with its mighty love and undying affections. Now, the jilessed Virgin is the hest of mothers, she is deeply interested in our welfare, and she never ceases and nevei' will cease to plead for us with her mother's voice until all the elect chihh'en of God shall he gathered into their eternal home. The Rosary, therefore, must necessarily he a most powerful and eflica.cious form of prayer, and such it has always heen found to he, snice its tii-st use in the life and history of th(! Church, (lenerations and generations of our ('atholic fathers have heen sanctified hy the use of the Kosary, their hearts hest wislies and souls aspirations lia.ve reachd to lieaven on the wings of its prayers, tlu? holy Church has tri- umphed over its enemies through its instrumentality, and count- less Catholic homes have heen hriglitened and hlessed hy the contemplation of its mysteries and the recitation of its prayers. Hence, our Holy Father Loo XHI. has enriched it with many indulgences, and hy his supreme authority, as Yicar of Christ, has most earnestly reconnuended its use to the faithful. We, there- foi-e, earnestly exhort our people to make use of this venerahle »»>.. person of As our iritual iii- ^r woinl). ey do not it the in- re become y his fel- true, con- iw and ])e is mother ?ome, and line again. ig to hhn, condemn under the () utter a Deep and witli its Virgin is are, and with lier gathered cessarily such it Hfe and s of our Kosarv, aclic-1 to I has tri- id count- 1 by the prayers. h many rist, has e, there- nerable % 16 iiiid fruitful form of prayer in their family (Unotions ; and we r('(|U('st tlie pastors of souls touiake itenter largely into the i)uhlic devotions of the (-hurch in Advent and Lent as well as in iNlay and October. S^cvotlon to the Sacrc^ Ibcart of 300110. 'J'liis also is a beautiful, solid and fruitful cited here with profit and ediiication : Let us for a moment dwell on the consideration of the devo- tion to the Sacred Heart of .lesus, wliicli the lioly Church so recommends to her children at this particular time, and we sliall find that the object and end of this devotion are such as to ii[)i)eal with a mighty power to the heart and conscience of every Christian ; are such as to draw the soul as with the cords of Adam and the bands of love, to the foot of the cross and to its merciful and loving Saviour, who on that blessed rood purchased it witii a great price and died a cruel death that we might have everlasting life. The Sacred Heart of -lesus was aUva,ys an object of devotion and adoration to the Church, for it is the God-Man and is dei- fied by its hy]tostatic union with the Divinity. This devotionis the same in substance as that which is paid to the adorable ))er- son of Jesus Christ, whose Sacred Heart was the seat and centre of His ineffable love for us. Christ was very God and very ]\Ian. His human and divine natures were perfectly distinct, and yet were hypostatically united in the adorable [)erson of our blessed lledeemer, the second Person of the most blessed Trinity. The divinity and humanity do not separately, but unitedly exist in the person of Christ, and ncsither the one nor the other exclus- ively exists in any part of His glorious person, the union of the two natures being a real, indissoluble and eternal union. This is the teaching of the Church on this subject, and it follows from it, that each part of our Lord's sacred body is equally worthy 10 of iidoraiioii, IVoiii its prrsttiuil union with llio l)iviiiilv, l)nl \\v af<' sonictinics nioic powerfully mov^^d by tlie contcinphition of one [)iii't than tlial of anothor. In the lan«;ii{i;i;(! of mankind, tli(! licai't Ik said to he the seat of the affections. The soul op- erates })rincii)ally upon tlio heart, and hence we ascribe to the heart tlie various affe:'tionH and emotions of tlu' soul. Hence it is, that (rod accommodating Himself to our human notions, commands us to hjve Him " with oin* wliole hearts," The Heait of -lesus contains the fulness of the divine and human nature, in it "dw(>lletli all the fulness of the Godhead C()r[)orally." (Collos ii • !).) It loved us from the first moment of the Incar- nation, and will love us for evermore. Since the time it was pierced by the lance of the lloman soldier, it was an object of the deep vehement love of His cliildren, and together with the blood and water there fiowed with it the full tide of (rod's j^races and mercies on the world. St. Augustine says, the side of Jesus was opened for him by the lance, and that he entered in and al)ode in tlu! Sacred Heart as in a place of secure refuge. St. Ber- nard writes in sentiments of most tender devotion concerning the Heart of Jesus. St. Thomas of x\quin pictured that most loving heart as wounded for our sins, and i)ouring out through the opening its precious blood, to show the excess of His love, to intlame with His love the tepid hearts of His disciples. St. J3er- nardine of Sienna spealvs of this divine Heart as " a furnace of the most ardent love, capable of setting the whole world on lire." " love ! " cries out St. Francis of Sales, " (), sovereign love of the Heart of Jesus ! What li'.-art can praise and bless Thee as Thou dost deserve '? Let this adorable heart live forever in our hearts." In adoring the Sacred Heart, we adore Jesus Himself, the figure of the Father's substance, and the splendour of His glory; we adore Him whom the angels and saints adore in Heaven, of wdiom, when coming into the world, it was said, " let all the angels of God adore him." (Heb. i.: (]). We adore and lovt! our dearest liedeemer, our God and our All, our first be- ginning and last end, Him, who for us men and for ')ur salva- tion came down from Heaven and became man, who stooped in- 17 Imt \v»' itioii of iiikind, lOlll op- to tho Hencc! lotions, " Tho llUIUill) )nilly." L' liK'iir- 3 it was bject of dtli the s "Jiraces of .h'SUS ill and St. Blt- ccrninjj; at most lironi^h \o\c, to Ht. J3('i-- naeo of )n lire." iun lovt' ss Thee, fever in elf, the So-lory; iven, of all the re and first be" salva- Dped in- to the ahvss of our nothiiij^ness in asHuniin;^' liuni;m nature, "emptied Himself." says St. Paul. " tiikiii<^' the form of a ser- vant. hiMii;; made in the likeness of man, and in hahil found as a man: He humhled Himself, heeomin^- ohedient, even unto the death of the cross" (Phil, ii.: 7 and .S). We' adore that divine and lovin*^ Heart, every throb and beat of which W( i-c for our salvati(m and happiness, the Heart of Him who broke not the bruised reed, and the smokin;L; liax did not extinj^uisli, who was tile friend of publicans and sinners. We adore that divine Heart, which still, in the sacrament of the altar, al)ides with us in the valley of tears to cheer our exile, to dry up the tears of our sorrow, to lual the wou..ded heart, to dart into our bosoms the Haines of divine charity that f;low and burn in it, and to cast on the cold, bleak earth, tiie lire of love which Christ came upon the earth to enkindle. Well mav we crv out with the Church. "O l-\li.r chIiki, qihr tdli'in ac tantiiiii, iiicrnit lidhfrr Iu'(lcii,>)t()ri'iii." (), happy sin which deserved to have such and so jj;reat a Redeemer, wliose Sacred Heart abides with us for- e\'er. "(>, mini circa iios tiuc ])ictafis diiifiatio." (), wonderful and ineffiible condescension of the Sacred ileart of .lesus for us I \\ hat heart so cold as not to return it love for love, what l)osoni so dead to <^ratitude and to all the noble inii)ulses of our nature as not to be forever loyal and true to it! If 1 forj^'et thee, C) Sacri'd Honrt, let my light hand be forgotten, let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not make tbee the beginning of my joys and the burthen of my praise. "As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters, so panteth my soul after Thee, (iod : my soul hath thirsted after the strong living Ciod. i shall go over into the ])lace of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of (iod" (Fs. xiJ). wherein the Heart of Jesus abides in the sacrament of His love. Such are the sentiments that must fill the soul, such the ardent desires and the vehement longings for Heavfii and for (Iod, that must inflame all who contemplate and adore the Sacred Heart of Ji;sus, and inspire hearts of men with the hre of divine charity. Tliis devotion is "also intended to make reparation to our Lord for the cold neglect and ingratitude with which He is treated in the blessed sacrament. But its \H priiiciixil aim Ih, to cause lUslovt! to Im loved. I'lu' iiiibsion ol Jesus Clirist upon the eartli, was to eiikiiullc tlureon tlie lire of iliviiK! love. 1 liave eonie, said He, to cast lire on tlie earth, and wiiat will I .,ut that it he kiiulh'd (St. Luke, xii. : ID). When our Blessed Lord came in the incarnation, he found the world Kteened in corruption and envelo^a'd in the thick nin;ht of l)ajj;anism; it Wiis a lume, lifelesH carcass, with the coldness and [)allor of s])iritual death upon it. Kverythinj,' therein was wor- shii)ped save the irue (iod, and he was an outlaw in his own creation. Our divine IJedeemer came, enkindled in far distant (ialilee the lire of divine love, and hehold, this lire tlanies out ami spreads from east to W(!St, until it emhraced the world in its divine flames; until it pureed and purilied the earth, and nnide it a new creation; in the words of Holy Writ "lieiiewed the face of the eartli." When the Sacred Heart he^'an to heat and pal- pitate in the world, the idols fell shattered from their pedestals, the oracles hecame dumh, the nudtifarious errors of pai;anism uih!i[)peared like a wrack of stormy clouds hefore the rishi^ sun, and regenerate man rose from the grave of s[)iritual death, and his heart was changed and warmed into a new life: "was not our heart hurning within us whilst lie spake in the way (Luke wiv : 32). The patrician and pleleian, the nohle lady and lowly handmaid, the soldier and civilian, men and women of every state and social gra le, leave all for the love of Christ he- cause Christ lirst loved them, and died for their salvation. "The charity of Christ (;onstrains us (tays St. Paul), judging this, that if one died for all were dead; and Christ died for all, that thev also who live mav not live to themselves, hut unto Him who died for them and rose again (Jl v. : M aiid lo).'" JJut alas ! the fervour and the love of God that distinguished the early Christians have disappeared ; the charity of some has grown cold; tepidity and laxity flourish like lank noxious weeds, even in the Lord's vineyard; indilferentism has fallen like a "hlight upon the modern world, and Sirocco-hke, has dried up the very springs of piety and virtue; the sacred truths of religion are tpiestioned and assailed, Christian traditions arc fast disappear- ing, and douht and infidelity, Uke a wasting plague, are spread- Ill iiij4 their niviij^cH far and near: the thirst for ;j;ol(l, the idolatry nt'iiiaterialisin, tlie vain utl'ort to luaku a lieaven of earth, the i^'- iioriiig of an eternal world heyond the j^rave : those are the de- plorahle charaeteristics of the days upon which we luive fallen. Who shall heal this wicked and adulterous gi^neration! ''(Jui)i inrtlrliititr cjitti!'' For the remedy of these <:;reat evils our help and our hope lie in that wounded heart, whence salvation Ih'st streamed down with its own precious hlood on mankind. It is our sheet anchor of hope in tlu'se unhappy times. When St. Gertrude was fav- oured with a vision of St. John the Evanf:;elist, and asked him why he had not revealed all tlie heatinj^s of the heart of our Lord, shiee he had felt them all himself when leaninj^ on His hosom, he replied, tJiaf flic full pcrmiaHirc aivri'tni'ss of' tlif hrafinr/H of thaf IIt'(trf icdH ri'xctrcd fo Ih' rcn'ahil (if a Infer fimr, irhcn flic world Hhoiihl hfirf iiroini old and mniL in fc])idilii, thaf it niiijhf be find rclindled and rcnn-alu ual fo flic tore of (iod ! Oh, we must then turn t) the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and im- plore it to cast its divine Ih'e of love on the frozen earth once more, so that the winter of our desolation may paf^s away, and the sprinjj; time of holy hope and fervour may come hack a^'ain ; we must implore it to hreathe the l)reathof life into the numher- less souls that, Lazarus-like, lie asleep in the j^rave of sin, that they may arise to a life of grace and virtue ; we must heseech It to hanisli from the children of the Church all spiritual sloth and unconcern in God's holy service, and in the all-important work of their salvation to intlame their hearts with divine love, to en- liven their faith, to strengthen their lio})e, and to inliame their charity. In order to ])ropagate and perpetuate this great and heautiful devotion amongst the faithful, we earnestly exhort the Revd. clergy to establish in their respective missions the " League of the Sacred Heart." This holy league of souls, handed together to promote the love of Jesus and the sanctitieation of souls, can- not fail to be an abundant source of God's choicest gifts on each parish. 20 In thin ooniirction w*. wish to say a few \V(.rtls rfsiiet'liii'4 t)i»' ** Forty Horns IW-vntiMH." whifh Im-* pivvailtd in tliis diucfse for j^everal y»'ar.s imst. aii'l whifli we onU r t'> !'•• ht-M conseeiitivt'ly in all tilt' I'burchf^ of thi^ ritv .lurin;,' the ('"iiiiii;,' Lent. Thi- devotion ron.sists in the SMJcinn ex|)nsitii"n cf tht' Bh-s^-.l >arr;i- raent for fort} -tiL'ht hours. Ii i- . xito>f-(l iliu-in.u' ii soh-nm Mass of exposition. u!i the following day a Hiu'h Mass is celehrated for peace, and on the elosinu day a -olrinn Mass is snnt Mass a pro- cession takes plaoi- through the church, the proper hymns ar»' sun^', the Litany of the Saints is chanted. Jimediction of the Blessed Sacrament is given after the ^^a•.s of I»e[>o>ilion. Our- in-i tlie dvvotion tlu- altar is uhlaze with nunierons tapers, and is dtcorated with ti.,w.'rs. The ohjfct of this devotion is to }iivf [luhlic worship) and adoration to .U-us C'liri>t in this -.jreat Sacra- ment, to stimulate devotion towards it. t(j "piicken <:>ur faith, freshen and stren>4then our hop*- and contidtn adorahle presence and t^ intlame our charity and r.kindl*.' in our souls and fan int" holy tlames the sacred tire of love towards urin,L: it we pray tor our sjuriiual and corporal necessities, we pray fi)r the conversion of sinners, for the perse- verance of the just, and the relief of the souls in purgatory. It is also intended to offer to Clod solemn acts of reparation for the .~in^ of liad Chri-tiau:^ in general, and in particular f'>r the cold neglect of which so many lukewarm and had (.'atholics are guiltv towards our Lord in l\n< Sacrament, also t" atone for th" [»r()fanations and unworthy communions of which many are guilty, and fjr tlio seott's and insults offered t!:> the Ileal Presence of our L<;)rd hy heretics and inii<]els. Tiiis devotion is enriched liy many indulgences, and in particularity a plenary indulgence, that may he gained hy all who. hesides visiting the church where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed once in each of the three days an -I praying there according to the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff", also go to confession and receive Holv Communion. We •21 iiittirl to liold this l)l(.s.-.t;(l (lovotiou tliiriiiL; Lrni in all thr ch'ircht's of th«' city consecutively. iin«l w»' liojir tli»? t'aitht'iil will t'livJ^'i'ly avail tiit'!u>selve8 of thost- , mto Hi"^ taht-niarl.'. and adoiv in tlif i)lac»' wln-n.' His feet ha\f .stood," ir.-^alni c\\\i. : b that thty will ador.- Him a?^ tlu- treasurt' ot" tludr s mU. a^ th-^* (rod of thnii" hearts, and tln' (inil that will !>»' th«'ir iH)rti(»n for over, as their surest liopf in life and death, and tint th-y will ort'er Him their hearty trihute of re\ - erence an I lov-» in aton-"n'nt for tho scati's, revilin:;s and hlas- pheinies to wlii(di ho is -.ul)jeft in tlii?^ adorahle Sacrament, at the hamls of h'-reticsaml nni)elievers. God ^jrant that this nuiy he so; and tli'-n thi.-> comin.; Lent will indeed he an acceptable time to (iod. and days of salvation to our faithful peoide. The fore;^'oin4 ilev^^lop more fully each section of instruc- tion it contains, explaining,' it?« teachin;^ iii detail, entorcinf,' the duties tint tl )w fi-ijui tint teaehinu', and p'lintinir out the spirit- ual a Ivanta'^es and fruits tint mist r-sult from the faithful performance of these duties. M ly th-.' paace of G^A, wliic'i surpass-th all understanding, keep your hearts an Palace. Toronto, under our hand anil Seal, and the signature of our Secretary, on this the 'i5th of February, i Feast of St. ^rathias. Apostle.) A.D. l81)-2. \roHN WALSH. ArchliisJioj) nj' TofnUtu. By order of His Grace. JAMES WALSH, ^>cn:tani.