PASTORAL LEITER 
 
 ADi)Kj;88ED TO THE 
 
 ' »-i.. 
 
 CLERGY AND LAITY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 \. 
 
 ARCHDIOCESE OF HALIFAX, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE MOST REV. CORNELIUS O'BRIEN, D. D., 
 
 Archbishop of Halifax. 
 
 HALIFAX, N. S. 
 
 PRINTED AT THE MORNING HERALD OFFICE, 
 
 No. 58 & 60 Gkanville Strkkt, 
 
 1883. 
 
' .V 'V: 
 
CORNELIUS, by the Grace of God, and favour 
 of the Apostolic See, Archbishop Elect of 
 Halifax. 
 
 ¥0 the (Hki-QB mxb faiti) of the §mtBt of Halifax, health 
 tint htntbkiion in the Jorb : 
 
 Dearly Beloved : 
 
 Called by the voice of the Supreme Pastor of souls on earth 
 to assume the duties and the responsibilities of the Episcopate 
 we hasten to address to you our first words of pastoral 
 greeting. For nine long months the Diocese of Halifax had 
 been grieving for the loss of its gentle, zealous and well-loved 
 Archbishop ; and, although it has now thrown aside its widow's 
 weeds, and has raised again an anthem of joy, the memory of 
 Dr. Hannan is not forgotten, but lives as freshly as ever in the 
 hearts of his grateful children. And just it is that so it should 
 be ; for a life-Ion^ devotion to duty merits a life-long remem- 
 brance. 
 
 But, although the man dies, the office lives on. The Church 
 of God is a divine institution, whilst its members are mortal. 
 Death can gain no victory over it, for death cannot destroy its 
 supernatural life. Unlike institutions of human device, which 
 change and perish like their authors, the Catholic Church, 
 partaking of the undying years of its Founder, keeps on its 
 ceaseless and unchanging course. " Go ye into the whole world, 
 and preach the Gospel to every creature " (Mark, xvii, 15) are 
 at once its mandate and its divine charter. "He that 
 
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 believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth 
 not shall be condemned," prove its claim to oui* obedience : 
 whilst the promise, " Behold I am with you all days, even to 
 the consummation of the world," (Matt., xxviii, 20) is its 
 warranty of endurance. Thus chartered, thus empowered, thus 
 guaranteed, the Church was established among men, and by 
 right divine took its place in the world. Its mission was 
 co-extensive with the world, and co-eval with all time. 
 Wherever there was a soul to be taught thither its mandate 
 extendsd. It lived not by the sufferance of Princes, and it 
 asked not their permission to teach and to baptize. Its 
 power being from the Lord of all, no mortal has a right to 
 interfere with its heaven-given commissi(»n. It speaks to 
 the souls of men with divine authority, but their freedom of 
 will is left untouched. They may, as many, alas ! do, reject 
 its teachings and revile its practices ; but they do this at their 
 peril of falling under the awful threat, " He that believeth not 
 shall be condemned." 
 
 Man may boast of his free will : it is indeed a noble pre- 
 rogative when nobly employed, but he should bear in mind 
 that God, also, is free. Freely he created man ; freely he 
 prepared for him the eternal joys of heaven ; and he is free 
 to prescribe the means through which alone man may attain 
 to that everlasting happiness. Whilst, then, we are free to 
 . accept or to reject the conditions under which our salvation 
 may be secured, God is free to condemn us if we refuse 
 subjection to his will. If this were borne in mind, men 
 would see the fallacy of making the freedom of the human 
 will an argument to prove that the nature of one's religion 
 is a matter of indifference. » ■ \ ' , 
 
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 In the question of religion we have no choice. Had Jesus 
 Christ simply died for mankind, without teaching any tru't.is, 
 or promulgating any laws, — had he merely told us to love 
 God above all, and our neighbors as ourselves, the case would 
 have been different. Man might then have chosen whatever 
 form of worship seemed to best ex])ress that command. 
 But Christ's mission was twofold, — to redeem and to teach. 
 The former he accomplished by his passion and death ; the 
 latter was fulfilled, first by his own preaching, and 
 then by founding a society, or Church, to which he confided 
 the truths he had tauojht. He gave at the same time to 
 that Church a comuiand to preach his gospel to every 
 creature, and a pledge of its triumph by promising to remain 
 with it for all time, even to the consummation of the world. 
 Thus religion ceased to bo a matter of choice ; for Christ, as 
 God, had a right to exact our obedience, and a right to prescribe 
 the conditions under which we might enjoy the fruits of his 
 redemption. To deny this is to deny God. Hence we are not 
 at liberty to make a religion for ourselves ; we must accept the 
 one which His Church was to preach to every creature. He 
 exacts the same obedience to the Church as to himself ; he 
 makes its voice one with his own. " He that heareth you, 
 heareth Me." He clothes it with his own power : " A.s the 
 Father hath sent me, I also send you " (John, xx, 21). It is 
 clearly, then, the duty of men to obey the voice of God's Holy 
 Church. 
 
 As there can be no properly formed society without a 
 recognized head, Jesus Christ, who intended that His Church 
 should be a perfect organizatior., constituted St. Peter and his 
 successors its supreme visible heads and His vice-gerents on 
 
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 earth. " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
 Church ; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven," are words which proclaim the place and power of the 
 Supreme Pontiffs. For they have inherited Peter's apostolate 
 with Peter's throne and prerogatives. Peter died, but his power 
 was transmitted, even as were the mission and mandate of 
 " preaching the Gospel to every creature." 
 
 Hence, from the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, where Peter's 
 voice ended the discussion and decided the controversy, down 
 through the ages to our own time, the Pope has? ever stood forth 
 as the central figure of Christianity, and the infallible head of 
 the Christian religion. " Who heareth von, heareth Me," is as 
 true of Leo as of Peter : for it is men, not principles, that die. 
 The power of the Apostolate, vested in the successors of St. 
 Peter, was ever exercised by them. From Rome went forth 
 duly commissioned teachers to all nations of the earth. From 
 Rome Europe derived its religion, its laws and its civilization. 
 From Rome was ever heard a voice, which no fears or perse- 
 cutions could still, proclaiming: the eternal truths through which 
 alone peace here and happiness hereafter can be attained. That 
 voice may be disregarded, even as was the voice of Christ ; but 
 the unchanging word remains : " He that believeth not shall be 
 condemned." 
 
 The divinely constituted authority of the Pope sends me, as 
 it has sent thousands of others, to rule a portion of Christ's 
 kingdom on earth. By no act, — by no seeking of my own, do I 
 come. Fully aware o£ my unworthiness, I trembled at the 
 mandate. There was, however, one thought that cheered and 
 consoled me. The golden bond of Faith united us, though 
 personally unknown. You knew me not ; but you knew that I 
 
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 came clothed with lawful power, aiul charged to preach the 
 (lospel taugiit by the Apostles. I knew you not ; but I knew 
 you were faithful children of Holy Church, and submissive 
 to her gentle rule. New and tender relations, born of the 
 act of consecration, liave spruno- up Itetween us. An 
 awful responsibility of ruling in prudence, in ju.stice and in 
 charity, rests on me ; and an awful responsibility rests on 
 you ot due docility and obedience. I can only cry out in 
 the beautiful words of Christ's prayer: "'Holy Father, keep 
 them in thy name, whom thou hast given me, that they may 
 
 be one sanctify them in truth. Thy word 
 
 is truth." — (John xvii). 
 
 We have no strange gospel to announce to you ; no 
 ;startlinfj and vague theories to enunciate. Christ, and him 
 crucified, do we 'preach ; in his cross, and in it alone, do we 
 glory, Jews may have been scandalized, and gentiles may 
 have laughed, at his Pa.sfeion ; but we know that through 
 his death we were redeemed, and through hig teachings we 
 are to be sanctified. The gift of faith received in Baptism, 
 enlightens the soul, and reveals to it much that is hidden 
 from the would be wise and prudent ones of the world. On 
 every side a cry goes up from weary mortals, vainly seeking 
 a rest which they cannot find. T^e whirl of modern life 
 leaves little room for thoughts of heaven. A restless pursuit 
 after riches and worldly enjoyments has violently divorced 
 innumerable hearts from that God, for whom they were 
 made. Souls, created with an unlimited capacity for happiness 
 and that yearn for untold joys, have, by false maxims and 
 unsound, though brilliant, theories, been led to seek their 
 heaven on earth ; and have forgotten, or, perhaps denied a 
 
future state. Disappointed, restless, and wearied, as all such 
 must sooner, or later be, they raise a cry in their wilderness of 
 misery, and ask with hopeless tone " Is life worth living ?" 
 This is at once the consequence^ and the punishment of a 
 denial of Christ's Gospel. The cross of daily life is only 
 heavy for those who revile the Cross of Christ ; and the path 
 of life is dreary only to those who look not to the road of 
 Calvary. Life is insupportable only for those who do not 
 lean on God, and who seek to smother within themselves the 
 voice of Conscience and of Religion. The Apostle St. Paul 
 (Rom. 1, 25) speaking af those \»'ho " changed the truth of God 
 into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather 
 than the Creator," shows the wretched and degraded state 
 into which they fell. They " became vain in their thoughts' 
 and their foolish heart was darkened. For professing them- 
 selves to be wise they became fools. Wherefore God gave 
 th'jm up to the desires of their heart, to uncleanness. As 
 ' they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered 
 them up t(j a reprobate sense, to do these things which are 
 not convenient." This picture of sin and shame drawn by the 
 inspired writer, is that of the Gentile world before the 
 coming of our Saviour. That world was not unlike many 
 in the present day. It had its pagan civilization ; arts and 
 sciences were held in high esteem ; literature of a high order 
 of excellence was not wanting ; an outward polish of manners 
 threw a thin veil over the seething mass of inward corrup- 
 tion. Now as then many " like not to have God in their 
 knowledge ;" now as then many change " the truth of God 
 into a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than 
 the Creator. What wonder, then, that they should be delivered 
 
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 over to a " reprobate sense," that their lives should be unhappy 
 and dreary ; that they should be " foolish, dissolute, without 
 affection, without fidelity, and without mercy ?" 
 
 The Church of Christ which was an ark of safetv to the 
 old heathen world, is still the tower of refuge from the 
 errors, and crimes, and wretchedness of moiiern unbelief. In it 
 the shadows of life are lit up by a ray cast down from the 
 heavenly source of eternal light ; in it the intellect is per- 
 fected by the kiiowledge of unchanging truths, and rests 
 securely in the infallible certainty of Christ's promise ; in it 
 crosses become light ; trials and afflictions are sweetened by the 
 reflection that the sufferings of this life are not to be compared 
 to the weight of future glory which will be revealed in all those 
 who observe its teachinors. 
 
 Do you then, dearly beloved, during this holy season of 
 Lent, which is a special time for prayer and penance, strive to 
 have " God in you)' knowledge." For Him you have been 
 created ; for Him vou should live and labour ; asfainst Him vou 
 should never sin. Remember that " the wrath of God is 
 revealed from Heaven against all impiety and injustice." Wash 
 your souls in the blood of the Crucified, by receiving worthily 
 the Holy Sacraments of Penance and Communion. vStir up the 
 grace within you by fervent prayer, by some acts of mortifica- 
 tion, by good and pious resolutions. Make the salvation of your 
 souls the one first and chief work of your lives ; let the light of 
 your virtuous example so shine before men that the darkness of 
 unbelief may be dispelled, even as it was put to flight by the 
 faith of the early Christians in Rome, so that all men may 
 know the true Church, and all souls may praise the one true 
 God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. .■■.■ ,. . ,s ; 
 
The <^vace of our Lord Jesus Christ be >vith your spirit, 
 
 brethren. 
 
 This Pastoral, shall be read in all the Churches of this 
 Diocese, as soon as possible after its reception by the Pastor. 
 
 t C. O'BRIEN. 
 
 K. F. Murphy, Secretary. 
 • Halifax, N. S., Ash Wednesday, 1883. 
 
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