CORNELIUS, HV THE Gkace op^ God, and Favor of the 
 Apostolic See, Auciiiusiioi* of Halifax. 
 
 To tlie Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of JIalifa«.^ heallli 
 and benediction in the Lord: 
 
 Deaklv Beloved : 
 
 Man, the work of God's right hand, being composed of a 
 body that is visible, and an invisible soul, belongs partly to the 
 Material and partly to the Spiritual Order. He has, moreover, 
 been raised by the will of his Maker to a supernatural state, 
 having been endowed with an almost unlimited capacity for 
 happiness, and titted for the attainment of everlasting bliss. 
 By reason of his material part man tends to earthly and sensual 
 things ; but on account of his spiritual soul he can never be 
 satistied with these ; he longs for and aspires to something above 
 and beyond the vulgar pleasures of the sense. It is a sad truth 
 that many lead the lives of brutes, degrading their nature by 
 living " according to the flesh," glorying, sometimes, in theii- 
 shame, or seeking to excuse their conduct by asserting that all 
 are equally vicious. These " animal men," like those of whom 
 St. Peter spoke, " who have walked in riotousness, lusts, 
 excess of wine, revellings, banquettings and unlawful worship- 
 ing of idols" (I P«t. IV — 3) are not, and cannot be satistied 
 with these things ; yeb, do they, as the same apostle speaks, 
 "think it strange that you run not with them into the same 
 confusion of riotousness, speaking evil of you." They cannot 
 destroy the spiritual nature of the soul, but they succeed in 
 degrading it. In the war that is waged between the body and 
 the spirit they weakly yield the victory to the Hesh : they for- 
 get the warning words of the apostle — " For if you live according 
 to the flesh, you shall die : but if by the spirit you mortify the 
 deeds of the flesh, you shall live." — (Rom. VIII — 13). How 
 few, alas ! heed those words ; how many look upon them as 
 mere empty sounds. " The animal man," living " according to 
 the flesh," abounds on every side. Hence it is that the world" 
 offers a premium for vice ; the scoffer of Holy Scripture is called 
 "learned"; the drivelling sceptic is an "advanced thinker"; 
 the miserable sophistries, the senseless jargon of materialists are 
 
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 looked ii})On as doep philosophy I immoral pul)licati()ns timt tl 
 ready sale : social honours are showered upon the successful 
 swindler, and only the believers in (iod's Providence are held 
 up to ridicule. 
 
 This is no overdrawn picture : it is no diseased imajiination i 
 it is a sad and sober truth. Let any man cahnly look at the 
 world, its modes of speech, and its heroes, and he will see how 
 little they are in accord with the Gosj)el ()f Christ, but hoVv likci 
 to the state of the Gentiles, describes by St. Peter4 who have 
 walked in riotousncss, lusts, excess of Avine, revellinp;s, bamjuet- 
 ings and unlawful worshiping of idols." 
 
 But our Holy ('hurch. Dearly Beloved, is not content with 
 pointing out and deploring the evils that atilict society. Like 
 a skilful physician she probes the wound, and applies the 
 remedy. Her mission is a mission of labor, not of empty talk 
 and unprofitable theorizing. Her ministers are not to asc^end 
 the pulpit to beat the air with high-flown phrase and sensational 
 declamation; they are to " utter by the tongue })lain speech," 
 otherwise, "how shall it be known what is spoken"? (CW. 
 XIV — 9.) They are warned to be exact, " for if the trumpet 
 give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to battle "? 
 The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ ccTutinued to 
 our own day ; her methods are His methods ; her voice is His 
 voice — " who hears you hears me." Just as throu<;li him " men 
 were made alive," so through her men are to be sanctified. She 
 may be despised and persecuted even as He was, but still she 
 will labor for the conversion of .souls, and triumph by divine 
 charity in the end. 
 
 What then is the si)ecial remedy for the pnde, and lust, and 
 drunkenness, which are the fountain sources of nearly all the 
 sins of our time ? Are we to look upon these as inseparable from 
 our nature, and almost, if not entirely, incurable? Our Church, 
 the trumpet of Christ, "gives no uncertain sound " ', hence those 
 who prepare not to battle are inexcusable. We are first 
 admonisl ed of the pi'evalence of these evils, so that we may 
 realize our danger, and realizing it apply tl>e prevention or 
 cure. But we are taught ; " Let no num, when he i» tempted, 
 say that he is tempted of God : for God is not a tempter of evils } 
 1 and he tempteth no man." Then there is placed l>efore us the 
 glorious example of God's holy ones, — mortals like ourselves, — 
 who lived undefiled in the midst of an unclean world, and 
 amongst a faithless people were faithful to God's law. If they, 
 strengthened by the graces received through the sacraments, 
 could do this, why cannot we, aided by these same saeraments,- 
 d<> likewise ? 
 
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 In the midst, then, of tlie faithlessness, pride sind corruption 
 of the world what an incentive to virtue i)^ a serious considera- 
 tion of the life of (Jod's most grace-endowed creature. Perfect 
 humility in the most exalted station : absolute chjistity in the 
 midst of a carnal-minded people, entire self-denial in ever^' 
 stage of her life, — such is the beautiful and consoling picture 
 l)resentAHl for our imitation by the life of tiie Rlessed Virgin. 
 And how completely is not that life opi)()sed to the life of the 
 •-animal man." Little wonder that he is impatient of her 
 praises, or that he even blasphemes her holy name. Every 
 word spoken in her praise is a condemnation of himself: every 
 exaltation of her incomi)aral)le virtue shows more fully the 
 lojithsomeness of his base deeds. lie lives "according to the 
 tiesh," and, conseciuently, shall die"; she mortified by the 
 S})irit, "the deeds of the flesh," and, therefore, she " shall live." 
 
 Whilst, then, it is only natural that the " animal man" should 
 hate the name of the Blessed Virgin, so it is e(]ually natural 
 that Holy Ciuirch should love her, and should propose her life 
 as a model for those who wish to walk as children of light. 
 Hence tlie Pope has ordered a Solenm Triduum to be celebrated 
 in each Diocese on the sixth, seventh and eighth of the coming 
 Septeml)er, in honour of the (ilorious Virgin Mary. For cen- 
 turies the eighth of September has been kept in the ('hurch as 
 the day of nativity of our Lady. This celebration goes back to 
 the early ages of (Mu'istianity ; it was always a day of joy for 
 the Faithful. St. Peter Damian gives us the reason: "Let 
 us rejoice," he says, " on this day, dearly beloved, on which, 
 whilst venerating the birth of the ^lost Blessed Virgin, we also 
 celebrate the l)eginning of all the Festivals of the New Testa- 
 ment." Ye.s ; as she was mother of the God-made man through 
 whom all Christian celebrations have come, her birth is truly 
 the beginning of them all, for, without her, they would never 
 have been. And before him Peter of Sicily had said: " To- 
 day clear signs of our reconciliation with God are seen ; to-day 
 our humanity, formerly cast away, rejoices beholdinij; the be- 
 ginning of its restoration." — (In Goncep. Deip. Or.) Isidore 
 of Thessaly, after relating the crejition of light, as recorded by 
 Moses, adds : " Hut I say that after the ])irth of man, and for 
 a long scries of years, aiu)ther kind of darkness was spread over 
 the whole earth until the joyous birth of the most pure and 
 Blessed Virgin shed light over all the world." — Orat. in Xativ. 
 W. V.) 
 
 Thus through the ages the nativity of our sweet Mother was 
 celebrated with joy by her loving children ; they offered her 
 their homage, and they asked her prayer.s. This i.s what we are 
 DOW called upon to do. But as the teaching of our religion re- 
 
irar(lin<j: dovotion to the Blessed Virjjfiii is so often, iind, it 
 would seem, at times, wilfully, misrepresented, a few words on 
 this subject may not oe amiss. We believe that to (iod only 
 is suj)reme honour due ; only He can give grace, sanctity souls, 
 and bestow on the deserving everlasting hai)i)iness. There is 
 only one Redeemer, Jesus Christ ; there is no other name under 
 heaven through which salvation can be obtained. This is what 
 (-atholics believe, what they are taught in their Catechism, what 
 they hear from the })ulpit, what they i)r()fess publicly and i)ri- 
 vately. But whilst they hold fast to this, they know that it is 
 lawful to honor God's holy ones, and especially our Blessed 
 Lady ; they know that it is as liiwtul to ask her prayers as to 
 ask those of our friends on earth; and they know of a surety 
 that God will listen to her more readily than to those who are 
 less perfect. 
 
 That we should honor our Blessed Lady and sing Her praises, 
 (iod himself taught us. In the tirst Chapter of St. Luke we are 
 told how God sent Plis Angel to the Virgin ]Mary. The angel 
 was sent on the most important of Missions ; the Son of God 
 was about to assume human flesh, and the angel Avas to make 
 this known to His future mother. The words spoken by the 
 Angel were the words of God, the respect shown by the Angel 
 was the outcome of God-given knowledge. What were these 
 words? Will it be believed that they were the same which we 
 are blamed for repeating ! But there they stand recorded for ever 
 in Holy Writ; Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee : Bles- 
 sed art thou amon<»: women." What more do we want? God 
 teaches us through His Angel, the measure of res[)ect and i)raise 
 which is to be accorded to our Lady. She is " full of grace" — 
 that is, without any room for shade or thought of sin ; the Lord 
 is with her, — therefore most dear to Him, most beloved by 
 Him, most powerful to obtain favors from Him. She is "bles- 
 sed among women," — therefore tiie noblest type of womanly 
 l)erfection, the grandest embodime'it of human virtue. This is 
 what God teaches regardim; our Blessed Ladv ; our devotion to 
 her requires no other justitication. ' 
 
 But not only are we taught to honor her, we are, also, taught 
 that through her God is pleased to work His greatest wonders. 
 Through her all good has come to mankind, for through her has 
 come the Redeemer, the incarnate God. To give us confi- 
 deni^e in her intercession for the obtaining ot sj)ecial graces, 
 Holy Scripture records that the tirst spiritual favor conferred by 
 the incarnate Lord, viz., the sanctiiication of the Baptist, was 
 conferred through the instrumentality of the Blessed Virgin. 
 The words of the Gospel are unmistakable; Elizabeth "filled 
 with the Holy Ghost" asserts that "as soon us the voice of thy 
 
salutiition soundod in my oars, tlio infant in my wonilt loajiod to • 
 joy.' Treating of this event the great St. .lohn ( 'liryaostom 
 wrote fourteen centuries ago; "For although Christ rejwsing 
 in the womb of liis mother could liave sanctified Jolm as his 
 precursor lie could not have done it in a manner ai)))arent to all. 
 Therefore he caused Mary to salute Elizaheth so that the word, 
 proceeding from the bosom of the mother, where the Lord was 
 indwelling, and })assing through the ears of Elizabeth, might 
 descend to John, and thus anoint him as a prophet. (Hm. 21 
 in C. 2 Math. ) And in the third century Origenes wrote : 
 "iiefore Mary had arrived and had saluted Elizabeth, the in- 
 fant did not rejoice in her womb ; but as soon as Afary had 
 spoken the word, which the Son of God, in the womb suggested 
 to his mother, the infant exulted tor joy, and then first Jesus 
 made his precursor also his prophet." (Ilom. VII in Luc.) 
 
 Holy Scripture also records that Christ's first miracle was per- 
 formed at the re(iuest of his Blessed Mother. At the marriage 
 feast, in Cana of (ialilee, Christ did a "beginning of miracles," 
 and he did it sooner than he would have have done, because 
 asked by her, for he tells us " My hour is not yet come." 
 (John 22.) According to Christ Himself, His almighty i)ower 
 \v'ould not have been used so soon, were it not for the request of 
 our dear Mother. And still men, whose knowledge is just 
 sufficient to enable them to blaspheme, would have us l)e- 
 lieve that her intercession is of no avail, and that God 
 never exercises His omnipotence, in modifying the forces of 
 nature, at the prayer of the just man. God abrogates no 
 law when working a miracle ; he who is the author of natural 
 forces and as a consequence of natural laws, has not abdicated 
 his mastery over them ; they exist because he has willed it ; 
 they act* in this, or that manner l)ecause he gave them that 
 initial direction. As the skilled engineer, by a slight movement 
 of his finger, can, without changing or destroying the laws of 
 action in a complicated machine, produce various and, apparent- 
 ly, contradictory effects, can make the huge hammer or threat- 
 ening saw arrest its destructive course, and turn l)ack when 
 within an inch of a human head ; so God, the architect and en- 
 gineer of the universe, without destroying his own laws, can 
 guide and govern their action, can stay the march of disease, 
 arrest the storm cloud, or send to the j)arched earth refreshing 
 showers. A little understanding of the relation between God 
 the cause, and natural laws — e fleets produced by Him — would 
 silence the outcry, born of ignorance and materialism, against 
 the j)088ibility of miracles. 
 
 Since, then, dearly beloved, the Blessed Virgin is the highest 
 and holiest type of womanhood, the glory of the human race, a 
 
model for all who do not wish to live " according to the tlesh," 
 h^st they should die, but who wish to mortify by the spirit the 
 " deeds of the flesh" so that they may live, do ye all celebrate 
 with loving hearts the least of her nativity. Reflect on h<'r 
 beautiful life, so pure, so unsclflsh, so humble, so filled with 
 love for (rod and her neighbour. The world may laugh at you, 
 it may go on in its brutal animal way, steeped in pride and lust ; 
 but what of that? The world hated and persecuted Christ; it 
 hated and persecuted His Apostles and holy ones ; if it hates 
 and persecutes you, it is a sign that you strive to imitate them. 
 Whilst humblv doinir vour dutv towards God and man, defend 
 manfully your own rights. 
 
 In order to carry out the instructions of the Holy Father, we 
 ordain that in each (yhiuvh of this diocese, where a priest is re- 
 siding, a solenm triduinn, in honor of the blessed Virgin, shall 
 be celel)rated on the sixth, seventh and eighth of September of 
 this year. The devotions to consist of the recitation of five de- 
 cades of the Rosary, after which the Blessed Sacrament will be 
 exposed, the O ! Salutaris, and I litany of Loretto, with versicle 
 and prayer to be sung, followed by the Tantum Ergo and Ben- 
 ediction. An Indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines 
 is granted by the Holy See for each time one is i)resent at the ' 
 devotions ; those who attend on the three days, can gain a Plen- 
 ary Indulgence, applicable to the souls in Purgatory, by confes- 
 sing and receiving Holy Conununion within the triduum, and 
 praying according to the intention of the Holy Father. 
 
 Do you, dear brethren of the Clergy, exhort your people to 
 devoutly celebrate this triduum in honor of the Queen of Heaven. 
 I'^ntold blessings will be broujjht down on the Parish in which 
 l)riest and people will unite with pure heart, and trustii^s spirit, 
 in adoring God and honouring the Immaculate Virgin. Dissen- 
 sions will be healed, hardened hearts will be softened, the good 
 will be strengthened, the wavering confirmed, sinners converted. 
 A moment of grace for which, perhaps, you have been praying, 
 is about to be given to your people : souls for which you will 
 have to give an account may now be rescued, if only your zeal 
 will second the intentions of Holy Church. Whilst inculcating 
 true and tender devotion to our Lady during these days, strive 
 to make it lasting by spreading good books, and by inducing 
 all to join some pious Sodality or Confraternity. Endeavour 
 to get boys after making their first Communion to join some 
 Sodality for the young. By prudent rules, and the watching 
 care of the Pastor, these Sodalities for the young can be mtide 
 to produce incalculable good. Our Holy Father has repeatedly 
 exhorted all, old and young, to become members of some pious 
 Confraternity. The Children of Mary, St. Vincent of Paul, 
 
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 iind the Third Order of St. Francis, hav«^ heeh specially men- 
 noiied. For youiio- boys a special Sodality could 1)0 forinod, 
 ill wiiich the leadiii<>: feature would be monthly ('(mnnunion. 
 It we are to have virtuous men, — men of faith and prayer, — wo 
 must train up boys to a fre«iuentjltion of the Sacraments. This 
 can be {lccomi)Iished moi'e readily throu<iii means of a So(hility 
 than in any other way. 
 
 The ^n-ace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 
 
 This Pastoral shall be read in every Cliurch of the Diocese, 
 on the fii-st Sunday aftoi' its reception. 
 
 t (\ O'BKIEN, 
 
 Abp^ of Halifax. 
 K. F. MUKPIIY, 
 
 Halifax » 
 I'east of the Assuinj)tion.