Cornelius, bn tl)c (Bxatt of ©ob, mtb faoour of 
 tl)e 'Apostolic See, '!]Vrcl)btsl)op of ^alifair. 
 
 Zo ti)e Ciergt), Religious Writers anb faitt) of ti)e piorrse, 
 gralti) anb penebictian in tl)e fori). 
 
 Dearly Beloved : 
 
 You who have had the inestimable privilege of 
 having been brought up in the Faith of Jesus Christ, 
 whose souls have been enlightened by the Spirit of God, 
 and whose hearts have been filled with the outpourings 
 of grace through the Sacraments, might well exclaim 
 with the Apostle St. Paul — ** O the depth of the riches 
 of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God ! how 
 incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearch- 
 able are his ways." (Horn. XI — 33.) It was not 
 through ignorance, nor superstition, that the Apostle 
 spoke thus ; nor would it be from these causes that you 
 might repeat his words. It was his very knowledge 
 that drew this grand exclamation from St. Paul ; for 
 then as now the truly learned realized more fully than 
 others the infinite superiority of God over all created 
 beings. And your knowledge as "children of the light," 
 and heirs of all the ages, gives even to the weakest 
 intellect amongst you a wisdom of expression, and a 
 security of judgment, in all that pertains to God, immea- 
 surabl}' more exalted than those of the wisest without 
 the fold. In purely scientific su))jects the half instructed 
 see no difficulties, whilst the learned are more than ever 
 conscious of their limited intellectual power, and clearly 
 realize how much is beyond their comprehension. And 
 so whilst the proud of heart in the Pagan world, and 
 among the blinded Jews, perceived no mystery in the 
 
2 
 
 working's of Providence, the ins])ired Apostle was lost 
 in wonder at its incomprehensibility, and the nnsearch- 
 ableness of its ways. He knew, indeed, mnch, both by 
 reason of his thorouf^h edncation in secnlar knowledge, 
 and i^till more by the llevelation received direct fiom 
 Chrisi ; ((ial. I — 1*2) yet this only made him more 
 effectively realize hovv much was still shrouded in 
 mystery, and inexplicable by man. Hence he con- 
 tinues : " For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? 
 Or who hath been His counsellor ?" From this it 
 follows that whilst Revelation has made known God's 
 will in our regard, and has laid down a line of ccmduct 
 to be pursued, and has guaranteed to us an indefectible 
 and unerring Teacher in Holy duirch, still very many 
 questions concerning God's dealings with His creatures, 
 are left unexplained. Why there should be sin and 
 misery in a world created by a loving God ; why some 
 are brought to the truth and others not; why the just 
 so often suffer whilst the wicked triumph — these and 
 other similar questions, although we may give them an 
 answer sufficient to vindicate God's mercy and justice, 
 can only find their complete solution in the " depth of 
 the riches of the wisdom of God." We know and can 
 prove that His ways are just and right ; still they 
 remain inscrutable. 
 
 It is sometimes by reason of the unsearchableness 
 ot God's ways that Faith in a soul tried by the disap- 
 pointments of life, may, through impatience at not 
 knowing the reasons of these trials, nor God's designs 
 in permitting them, grow weak and lapse into doubt 
 and error ; and that many who have not the gift of 
 Faith — thinking there should be no mystery hidden 
 from them, refuse to accept the Revelation of Christ. 
 Not only that, but they deny the existence of a super- 
 natural order, and seek to bring down the human soul 
 and its noble faculties to the level of mere material 
 things. With a wearisome iteration of obscure phrases, 
 
3 
 
 and of words that express old-time ideas in polysyllables 
 of recent adaptation, they succeed in making themselves 
 believe that they are profoundly learned ; and if they 
 can only copy a sentence from some German writer 
 they impress on a certain number of the i)ublic a 
 similar belief. It is disheartening;" to see how readily 
 the average man outside the fold is misled by every 
 catch-phrase, and how eagerly he pins his faith to novel 
 theories, provided only they are not Catholic. A man 
 who may have acquired distinction in some one branch 
 of physical science endeavours to explain all facts and 
 phenomena of creation by the laws of that one branch. 
 A moment's reflection should teach us that he can no 
 more succeed in this, than could an ape in constructing 
 and operating a steam engine. Yet, by a dexterous 
 use of the magic word " Evolution," or that other one 
 of which dabblers in science are so fond, viz., " Environ- 
 ment," with the addition of some hazy expressions that 
 have no particular meaning, the Professor leads captive 
 the intelligence of fairly intelligent men, and they join 
 with him in doubting, or denying the existence of God ; 
 or they seek to lull their conscience to rest by adopting 
 the creed of cowards and superficial thinkers, viz , 
 Agnosticism, or in other words, that God's existence 
 can neither be proved nor disproved. This is the 
 fashionable form of unbelief at present. Its professors 
 hope to escape the reproach of Atheism, as well as the 
 stigma of vulgar materialism. But they insult God by 
 practically denying with the Atheist His existence ; and 
 they degrade reason with the materialist, not by making 
 it a function of matter, but in that they deny its power 
 and ca[)abilities. — And yet these are the very men who 
 pose as the champions of human reason, whilst in truth 
 they are its assailers. 
 
 This error of Agnosticism, although new in name, 
 i« very old in reality. It may come like a revelation to 
 some that it is old and vulgar, and altogether unreason- 
 
able. It was quite widespread in the days wlien St. 
 Paul wrote to the Komans. Then, as now, its professors 
 mocked at the Gospel, and " professing themselves to 
 be wise, they became fools": then, as now, ** God gave 
 them up to the desires of their heart, to uncleanness, 
 to dishonour their own bodies among themselves ": then, 
 as now, they changed the "truth of God into a lie, and 
 worshipped and served the creature rather than the 
 Creator." (Kom. 1—22.) Did their airs of superior 
 wisdom impress St. Paul ? Did he fear their laughter, 
 or their wrath, and deny God's truth, or only profess it 
 with bated breath, and with an air of apology ? Far 
 from it : like the Catholic Church of to-day he boldly 
 proclaimed : " For I am not ashamed of the (jospel, for 
 it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
 believeth." (Kom. I — 16.) Nor did he fear to announce 
 that the " wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against 
 all impiety and injustice of those men that detain the 
 truth of God in injustice." (18.) 
 
 >or was he satisfied with proclaiming the Faith 
 that had been revealed : like the Catholic Church he 
 was the champion of human reason, and upheld the 
 dignity of its power. He met the Agnostics of that 
 day on their own ground, and pointed out how they 
 could learn to know God through His works. He 
 says : " For the invisible things of Him, from the crea- 
 tion of the world, are clearly seen, being understood 
 by the things that are made, His eternal power also and 
 divinity ; so that they are inexcusabk;." (liom. I — 20.) 
 Therefore, the supernatural and unseen order can be 
 known by man with invincible certainty. The visible 
 things of creation, the trees, flowers, birds of the air, 
 the running waters instinct with myriad life, are so 
 many books in whidh the mind of men can read the 
 existence of their invisible Creator. Human reason 
 can prove with absolute certainty that a Supreme and 
 final cause, endowed with intelligence and free will, 
 
actually exists. It is no " workinf^; hypothesis ;" no 
 mere scientific assumption introduced for reasoninjij out 
 to a desired end ; it is no tlieory more or less probable ; 
 it is no ])ostulate even ; it is a fact which can be demon- 
 strated with the severest mathematical precision This 
 is why the Aj)ostle proncmnced the Agnostics of his 
 day " inexcusable." What shall we say of those of our 
 age ? Their advantages are as sunlight to the glow- 
 worm's lamp when compared with those enjoyed by men 
 whom St Paul held to be "inexcusable." They have 
 eighteen centuries of Christian enlightenment ; they 
 have vast storehouses of philosophic knowledge in the 
 works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and a sufficiency in any 
 of the innumerable hand books of Catholic Philosophy 
 in use in our Colleges. Perhaps from prejudice, or 
 pride of intellect, or from oversight, they may have 
 neglected these ; yet were they to reason calmly, with 
 a desire to know the truth, from effect to cause, they 
 could deduce with all the rigour of a demonstration in 
 Euclid, from the existence of a simple primrose the 
 existence of an omnipotent Creator. There must be a 
 cause for the existence of that primrose ; and though 
 we may go back through a long chain of intermediate 
 causes, working through ages and eons, back before the 
 formation of the earliest geological stratum, back to the 
 vapour period of our sphere, back to the first plasma, 
 or elementary matter, w^e must, as an absolute necessity 
 of logical induction, eventually come to a first cause, 
 the fountain and source of all these intermediate ones. 
 To deny this is to deny one's reason ; and this is pre- 
 cisely what those loud-mouthed Professors who are 
 opposed to Christianity are continually doing : and yet 
 they are applauded, and quoted as authorities by 
 professing Christians. 
 
 In our reasoning from effect to cause there is no 
 assumption, no ''working hypothesis," no begging the 
 question, and no obscurity of language to confuse and 
 
6 
 
 mislead. All is clothed witli the invincible certainty of 
 the lo<^ic of causality When we see human footprints 
 in the snow we are certain some one has passed by ; we 
 see such marks less clearly, however, than we note 
 God's footprints in visible creation. Thus by the 
 "things that are made," we clearly understand God's 
 *' eternal power and divinity ;" and we recognize this 
 natural and visible order as a veil which hides fiom our 
 mortal view the beauty and glory, but not the power 
 and action of the Supernatural. 
 
 Sound principles of philosophy must prevail, and 
 reason's noble attributes must be recognized, if we 
 would spread the truth of Christ. Men must have 
 reason before they can have Faith in act. The modern 
 unbeliever, as a rule, degrades reason and denies its 
 capabilities ; there is, therefore, no basis for Faith in 
 his soul. Those who have inherited the Faith lose it in 
 proportion to the misuse they make of their reason. It 
 is the old story, " esteeming themselves to be wise they 
 became fools." They would not read Catholic books, 
 nor listen to instruction ; they were above all that ! 
 Not having been grounded in the first principles of true 
 philosophy they undertook to discuss its most knotty 
 questions ; they read the glib, but superficial writings 
 in current literature, in which style appears to make up 
 for absence of ideas and connection of thought, and 
 imbued with its fallacies, and neglecting their religious 
 duties, they easily fell under the tempter's sway. Having 
 abused and in part denied their reason, Faith was sapped, 
 and soon destroyed. This is the genesis and the 
 abridged history of the fall from the Faith of some 
 young men in our day. 
 
 Our duty, dearly Beloved Brethren of the Clergy, 
 is plain. In the confusion of shifting creeds and loud- 
 mouthed denials of the Supernatural, we must, like St. 
 Paul, uphold the dignity of human reason, the oneness 
 of Revealed Truth, and the evidence of God's action in 
 
the universe. Take occasion from time to time to ^ivc 
 short and })lain instructions on these subjects, usin<(, 
 like the Apostk^, both the conchisions of reason, as 
 shown in our philosophies, and the teachings of divine 
 Faith. Never weary of setting forth a fact too often 
 overlookefl, viz., that only in the Catholic system can 
 the conclusions of right reason and the truths of IJeve- 
 lation be harmonized and made mutually helpful. Not 
 being "ashamed of the Gospel;" knowing it to be the 
 "power of God unto Salvation;" and being assured of 
 the unchanging nature of its message, the Catholic 
 Church fears no truth of science, no development of 
 knowledge, no results of investigations in the depths of 
 the sea, or in the bowels of the earth, or in the starry 
 firmament above. Whatever of truth human research 
 may bring to light can only add fresh evidence to the 
 faithfulness of the testimony she has so long borne to 
 God's unfailing word. 
 
 Long centuries ago, in what the ignorant call the 
 " dark ages," she proclaimed in a General Council that 
 " truth cannot contradict truth;" and she imposed on the 
 teachers of Philosophy the duty of proving from human 
 reason the existence of God, and the simplicity and 
 spirituality of the soul ; adding that these can be known 
 by the light of reason As truth, then, can never be 
 opposed to truth, it follows that no discovery in any 
 branch of knowledge can be opposed to, or can injure 
 by one jot or tittle, any other truth whatsoever, whether 
 natural or supernatural. The reason of all truth, both 
 revealed and naturally acquired, is in God the source and 
 cause of all being and all reality. Hence, whilst by Ills 
 revealed word, He may and does teach higher and more 
 profound truths, than He teaches by the intelligence 
 through the book of nature, still, when rightly under- 
 stood, they can by no possibility involve a contradiction. 
 Scientists from time to time are obliged to readjust their 
 views, and to abandon their pet theories. The gelatin* 
 
8 
 
 ous mud from the depths of the ocean, called Bathybius, 
 and thought by Huxley to be of or<^anic origin, has 
 been shown to be the outcome of chemical action ; and 
 the explosion of Darwin's elaborate theory on coral 
 formation, which, like BathybiuSy it was i)roclaimed 
 would shatter Christendom, and shiver the Bible into 
 atoms, are instances in point. We learn from them to 
 be cautious in admitting novel conclusions, and to smile 
 at the vain attempts so often made to oppose the truth 
 of the Gospel. Should St, Paul, or an Angel from Hea- 
 ven, preach a Gospel different from that which we have 
 received, we would cry, " let him be anathema." (Gal. 
 I — 8.) This is our security, and the insurmountable 
 barrier to unbelief. In this we have to fight single- 
 handed ; for any man, or body of men, who admit the 
 possibility of a change, or revision in the smallest 
 article of revealed truth, much though they protest or 
 deny, open the door to Agnosticism. We ask in all 
 charity, and good will, where, outside the Catholic 
 Church, is the power to stay and conquer modern 
 unbelief? All, all, except she admit the fatal weakness 
 of not being absolutely certain of the truth of their 
 teachings. Would that men of good will might think 
 sei iously on this, and strive to understand the nature of 
 the Citadel of truth — the Catholic Church — " One 
 Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of 
 all," is her motto for the Supernatural Order; and 
 ** truth cannot contradict truth," her device for the 
 natural. With these authoritatively expounded she is 
 impregnable against all assaults of unbelief. 
 
 But, dearly Beloved, it is not enough to put on the 
 ** armour of Faith," we must have the " helmet of 
 Justice," so that our dealings and actions be in keeping 
 with the principles of honesty ; and we must have the 
 testimony of a blameless life. Faith is necessary, but 
 good works, good moral, sober lives are also essential to 
 Salvation. Only the grace of God can enable us to lead 
 
 
 
9 
 
 such lives. Strive, then, hy fervent prayer, and by a 
 devout reception of tl)e Sacraments during this Holy 
 Season, to obtain grace and strength to win the 
 promised crown. 
 
 Whilst from various causes it may not be possible for 
 many to observe the Fast of Lent, all can perform some 
 act, at least, of mortification. Begin this Lent by 
 abandoning once for all, in honour of the Sacred thi^'^t 
 of our Saviour on the Cross, indulgence in intoxicating 
 liquors. Do you, dear l^rethren of the Clergy, strive 
 to extirpjte the evil of drunkenness, and to foster and 
 encourage habits of Sobriety and Christian restraint 
 among your flock. Devote some of your Lenten 
 instructions to this purpose, pointing out the manifold 
 evils, socially and morally, that are engendered by the 
 vice of intemperance, as well as the innumerable com- 
 forts and blessings that a sober and virtuous life can 
 enjoy. Like the Good Shepherd of souls do not be 
 satisfied with giving these instructions from the Altar, 
 but go forth and seek the lost sheep. Seek out the 
 victims of their own intemperance, and by kind words 
 of advice and admonition, endeavour to lift them up 
 from the degradation of vice ; help them to overcome 
 their bad habits by sympathy and encouragement, and 
 especially by inducing them to attend to prayer and a 
 frequent reception of the Sacraments. 
 
 By desire of our Holy Father, The Pope, we 
 ordain that a Collection for the help of the Christian 
 Missions in Africa be taken up on the Second Sunday 
 of Lent You are also reminded of the one for the 
 Holy Places to be made on Passion Sunday. These 
 must be taken up without fail, and the amounts of each 
 forwarded to us as soon as possible. Whether much 
 or little can be realized the collection should be made, 
 and amounts transmitted with reasonable promptness. 
 
 During the past year a Residence for the Arch- 
 I)ishop was purchased, the post of which is to be 
 
10 
 
 borne by the various Parislies of the Diocese, both in 
 the City and Country. Several have ah'eady paid the 
 amount assessed. We trust the lievereud Clergy will 
 see that the portion levied on their respective Missions 
 shall reach us by the first of April. 
 
 The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you 
 all, Brethren. 
 
 This Pastoral shall be read in each Church of the 
 Diocese on the first Sunday after its reception, that the 
 Pastor shall officiate therein 
 
 E. F. MURPHY, 
 
 Pro Secretary. 
 
 * C. O'BRIEN, 
 
 Archbishop of Halifax. 
 
 Given at Halifax, on the Feast of the Purification 
 of the Blessed Virgin, 1891. 
 
 .r::''