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[For the Banner of the South.]
To My Beautiful.
BY KEVILO.
was not born in the Northland, forlorn,
Where the cold wind blows so chilly,
j mo ng cotton and corn, kiss'd by the morn,
in the home of the rose and the lily.
Twin stars, at her birth, came down to the earth,
1 To dwe ll in her beautiful eyes,
WLhb twinkle with mirth, or flash now in wrath,
” An j rival the hue of the skies.
j yiWi -f or e the shrine of this beauty divine,
1 plead with the passion of love :
Oh. darling be mine! say "yes, ever thine !”
j sCD fI this as Noah did the dove.
August 19, 1808. m
[For the Banner of the South.]
the catholic church the church
OF CONSOLATION.
by a lady convert.
None but a Catholic can realize, in all
;*j! depth and fullness, the rich and un
suitable consolations which our Holy
Mother Church freely offers to her true
and faithful children. Like her Divine
Founder, she is all love and mercy. In
boundless charity, she opens wide her
doors, and lovingly invites Earth’s
sorrow stricken children there to en
ter, and find that peace for which
they so ardently sigh. Like her bless
ed Lord and Master, she bids all
weary, heavy laden souls, all fainting
under the burden of Life’s sorrows, to
come to her, and she will give them
rest. Tenderly she entreats them to
bring to her their wounded hearts; ear
nestly she beseeches them to tell her
their tale of anguish, and, with a divine
voice, speaking, as it were, from Heaven,
she assures them Earth has no sorrow
she cannot cure.
Number over every trial, every grief
and woe that can fall upon and break
poor human hearts, and yet, great though
they be, she has power to heal them all.
Have you given your young heart in
all its gladness and freshness to the world?
Have you lavished on it your dearest
affections? Have you blindly confided
to it your highest hopes, and then have
you wakened from your delusion only to
realize, in bitterness of spirit, its vanity
and insufficiency, to find the world has
deceived you—wronged you—that it has
blighted and destroyed your hopes—
wrecked your earthly happiness, and left
vou tears of unavailing regret and ’an
►,o t o
guish to weep over the sad ruin? In your
sorrow and suffering, baa this world oold
ly frowned upon you, and pierced your
poor bleeding heart with its cruel calum
nies? Ah! then, in this hour of your grief
and desolation our loving Mother comes
to you, and, with tender hands, dries
vour weeping eyes, and, in voice of saintly
benediction, whispers such words of di
vine comfort and hope, that, in exaltatkm
of soul, you rejoice in suffering, and even
bless the cruel wounds which the world
has inflicted on you, because, by these
very wounds, you have been led to the
feet of the dear Mother who, alone, pos
sesses the balm for healing bleeding,
broken hearts.
Again : Have you been called on to
endure the greatest of all earthly sor
rows ? Has Death, the ruthless destroyer,
entered your home, and rudely broken
the charmed circle, which united the be
loved members of a happy household ?
Has there been rent from your loving
embrace and clinging arms the object of
.vour most cherished affection ? lias it
been your bitter lot to stand beside the
dying couch of one you loved with all the
strength of human love, and see that one
struggling in the cold grasp of Death,
while you stood by, in mute despair, feel
ing your utter helplessness? Have you
caught the last expiring sigh, and that a
prayer for you ? Have you, in agony,
iistened to the faint, gentle accents of
l°ve which lingered on the lips till closed
in death ? Have you felt the clasp of
affection loosened from your hand of
hesh but to remain forever on your heart ?
Have you seen the beloved one clothed
n the vestments of Death, and covered
with the mystery of the Grave, and, the
bitterest of all trials, have you seen all
that was earthly consigned to the dark
mansions of corruption ? In woe unut
terable, have you gazed on that cruel
grave which held those precious remains,
and felt that there, in loneliness and
s-nence, they must rest until the morn of
Resurrection, watched and guarded only
* lo< i s Angels, while you return to the
home once brightened by happiness, now
shadowed by Death ? As you sit beside
vour desolate hearth, how you loner, once
more, to hear that dear, familia°r voice
vHuch rejoiced with you in prosperity
sympathized with you in sorrow, soothed
you in pain ; how you long to hear once
more that step which came only to brino
you joy ; how you long for one glance
from those eyes which never looked on
you save with love and tenderness. Then
there rushes over you the consciousness
that all these longings are in vain. In
one moment the reality overwhelms you
in all its force and agony, that the beloved
of your heart and home is imprisoned in
the grave—-that the voice is forever
hushed—the feet forever stayed—the
eyes forever dimmed, and you are alone.
\\ ho shall express the anguish in that
little word, alone! Who can tell the
sorrow of that bereaved heart ? Who has
power to give peace to that troubled soul ?
Blessed be the God of all consolation
there is one—it h our Holy Mother
Church; and she holds her divine commis
sion from Him who has power to break
the bonds of Death and the Grave. Yes,
this loving Mother comes and raises the
bowed head of the mourner, bidding her
look upward to that beautiful home in the
skies, those eternal mansions beyond the
grave where God keepeth His own through
Life and thruugh Death. Shespeaks of a
Faith which, with eyes not of this earth,
beholds the vision of the blest, and sees
the emancipated soul of the beloved and
lost, happj? in the embrace of a Saviour’s
love, dwelling in a home “ not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens.” To
the bereaved and sorrowing the super
natural light of Faith is given, to behold,
with spiritual eyes, this glorious vision;
and then she, like the mourner we have
just spoken of, breaks forth in songs of
thanksgiving, and rejoices that, through
pain and suffering, she has been led into
that true fold of the Good Shepherd,
where all bruised, broken hearts are com
forted and healed.
Do you ask whence has the Catholic
Church this power of consolation and
healing which no Protestant Church can,
or ever has possessed ? Do you ask why
there is such reality in the comforts which
she bestows on her children, and which
has been so vainly, so repeatedly sought
for among Protestants ?
Her divine power lies in her blessed
Sacraments. In these there is a vitality
and strength which sustains ’mid every
vicissitude of life, which robs the death
hour of all its terrors.
Let us examine each one of her Holy
Sacraments, and then we shall understand
how they are the strength and nourish
ment of her children from the very com
mencement to the close of life.
Our Saviour, Christ, commanded that
the little children should be brought unto
Him that He might bless them ; so, our
Holy Church, following in all tilings, as
she does, the footprints of our Lord, re
quires little children to be brought unto
her that they may receive the baptismal
waters of regeneration. The Catholic
joyfully obeys this mandate of the Church;
and, as her little babe is laved in the
pure waters of Baptism, and receives on
its stainless, sinless, forehead the sign of
the Cross, the mother wafts a prayer to
Heaven that her little lamb may be folded
forever in the arms of the Good Shepherd.
In Baptism the name of some Saint is be
stowed, so that, by bearing the same name,
the child may be excited to imitate his
virtues and sanctity, and while endeavor
ing to imitate him, he may invoke him,
pray to him, in the confident hope that
lie will be his patron and advocate for
his happiness here and the salvation of
his soui. What consolation in this blessed
faith !
The Protestants recite in their creed,
“ I believe in the communion of Saints.”
What is it to them bnt a mere vain form
of words? But to the Catholic it is a
glowing reality. Again, what sweet
comfort in the knowledge that our guar
dian Angels are ever watching over us
with the tenderest love and care. At all
times, in all places, they are with us,
always at our side, to defend us from
every danger and temptation; “for He
hath given His Angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.” In sorrows
and trials they minister to us, just as
they did to our Lord in the garden of
Gethseniane.
These, and many other consolations of
our Holy Church, Protestants- cannot
comprehend, or realize, for the simple
reason, they have not the grace to discern
or receive them.
Next in the order of her Divine Sacra
ments, conies Confirmation, by which the
faithful, who have already been made the
children of God by their Baptism, re
ceive the Holy Ghost by the prayers and
imposition of the hands of the Bishop.
The effects of this Sacrament, are a for
tifying grace, which strengthens the soul
against the visible and invisible enemies
of the Faith. They receive the holy sign
sign of the Cross, in token that they are,
henceforth, to be known as the soldiers of
Jesus. They enlist in the cause of the
Great King, to whom they make their
vows of loyal and perpetual allegiance,
and, under the glorious standard of the
Cross, they fight their battles against the
world, the flesh, and the devil, coming
forth victors from the contest; they pro
mise to be faithful unto death—rather to
I die than to desert from His service, or go
■ over to the enemy of wilful sin.
gas
Let us now approach with trembling
steps, with profound reverence and hu
mility, the most solemn of her Sacra
ments—the Holy Eucharist. Well has
it been said, that of all the Holy Sacra
ments the Sacrament of the Altar is the
holiest, the most exalted, and the great
est. The other Sacraments contain the
graces and the gifts of God; but the Sac
rament of the Altar contains God him
self. In Holy Communion, the soul be
comes one, as it were, with Jesus, as He
himself declared : “He that eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in
me, and lin Him.” And again : “ Ex
cept ye eat my flesh and drink my blood,
ye have no life in you.” According to
the Council of Trent, “it is the most
powerful remedy to free us from our
daily faults, and preserve us from mortal
sin. ” The greatest Saints made use often
of Holy Communion as the most effectual
means of advancing in piety and virtue.
In the contemplation of this most adora
ble Sacrifice, the soul is filled with joy—
overwhelmed with gratitude, penetrated
with sentiments of the utmost love and
devotion towards the Blessed Redeemer,
who condescends to feed His creatures
with the bread of Angels. The world be
holds with amazement, and yet admira
tion, the self-sacrificing, toilsome, and la
borious lives ot the Priests of the Catholic
Church. The world cannot understand
how they labor in works of charity from
morn till night, and yet, are never weary
in well doing, The world cannot under
stand that courage and spirit of endu
rance which never faints, be the struggle
ever so great and arduous. The world
cannot understand that miraculous strength
which gives them power to overcome all
the frailties and weaknesses of the flesh.
But, to the Catholic, the problem is easily
solved, lor the mystery lies in the Sacra
ment of the Altar, where the Priest is
fed with the food of immortality and
drinks from the inexhaustible fountains
ot Grace. This heavenly food is their
nourishment, infusing into their hearts
that love of God which is beautifully il
lustrated in every act of their daily* lives.
In the afflicted and sorrowing, they be
hold the suffering members of Jesus.
Their Christ-like mission on earth is to
grant forgiveness of sins to all true peni
tents ; give peace and rest to all heavy
laden souls. This spiritual power and
grace they received from the Church in
the Sacrament of Holy Orders, when she
gave them the Divine commission, in the
woids ot their Lord, “Go ye, therefore,
and toaob all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost,” adding the gracious
promise, “ I am with you all days, even
unto the consummation of the world.”
A little incident came under our ob
servation, illustrative of the entire for
getfulness of self by the Priests, in their
zeal and devotion for the cause of Christ.
During the war there was stationed near
the city of , a regiment of sol
diers. The Surgeon of this regiment was
an infidel, very wicked and profane,
who openly boasted that he believed in no
religion, and never lost an opportunity of
casting contempt and ridicule on every
thing pertaining to holy things. Small
pox broke out in the regiment, and it
proved to be of such a virulent and ma
lignant type, that the whole community
became so terrified and panic-stricken,
that not even the call of Christian charity
could induce them to approach the hospi
tal where raged this 'fearful pestilence.
One night there lay dying, a poor soldier,
who, in anguish and distress of mind, be
sought someone to bring him a clergy
man to pray with and comfort him in the
hour ol death. A messenger was hasti
ly despatched to the city for this purpose.
He went to the house of every Protestant
clergyman; told them his errand; each
one excused himself, saying he was sorry
he could not go—that he a had wife and
children, and could not think of exposing
them to the fatal infection. The messen
ger turned away in grief and disappoint
ment, as he thought of his poor dying
comrade ; he determined, however, to
make one more effort, and, accordingly,
went to the house of a Catholic Priest, who
no sooner heard his errand, than he
quickly made ready to accompany him
and perform this mission of mercy. Ar
riving at the hospital, he instantly passed
to the cot of the dying soldier, utterly
regardless of contagion and infection.
He sat beside him; spoke to him of the
love and forgiveness of a Saviour: com
forted him with the prayers of the Church,
and then the soul of the # sufferer de
parted in peace. When the Surgeon
witnessed all this, he was so wonderfully
impressed by the noble conduct of the
Priest, that he determined to inquire
and learn something of this religion,
whose followers possessed the strange
power of braving death in the perform
ance of duty. He had often, as he ex
pressed it, heard ministers style them
selves Soldiers of the Cross, but now, for
the first time, he met one worthy to bear
the name. He went to ttie good Priest
and begged to be instructed in the my&l
terics ot a Faith which was, to him, "in
comprehensible. Grace was given * him
to discern its truths, and he is, to-day, a
devout and consistent member of the
Catholic Church.
Our Heavenly Father, who knoweth
the weakness of our nature, who is full
of compassion towards us, aud ever
ready to receive again into His grace the
sinner who sincerely desires to return to
Him, has instituted in His Church the
Sacrament of Penance, as a means of
pardon and reconciliation for those who
have lost their Baptismal innocence. The
power of absolution is given to the Priest
by Jesus Christ, when he said : “Whose
sins ye forgive, they are forgiven ; and
whose sins ye retain, they are retained.”
To obtain absolution, it is necessary
that the penitent should confess his sins
with true contrition, and a firm purpose
of amendment of life. Christ tells us,
“ If we confess our sins, God is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse
us from all iniquity.” In this Sacrament
of Penance, the soul is cleansed from all
stain of sin, and receives the sweet pledge
of forgiveness.
Oh! how unspeakable is the joy of the
poor penitent, when there falls on his ear
the words of absolution, freeing him from
the burden of sin, and causing him to
behold the reconciled face of his Father
in Heaven ! How he rejoices iu the
blessed consciousness that he is restored
to His favor and friendship, and possesses
an inheritance in that home of the skies,
which God has prepared for His faithful
children.
We read in Holy Scripture, that Christ
sanctified by His presence a marriage in
Cana, of Galilee, and in His Holy Church
he has elevated marriage to the rank and
dignity of a Sacrament. The writings
of the early Fathers, show us that, in
primitive times, marriage was regarded
in a most exalted light, and St. Paul
compares it to the wonderful union of
Christ with His Church. According to
Catholic doctrine, it is considered a true
Sacrament, and as such entered upon by
her children with all due solemnity, be
ing prepared by prayer and meditation
for its sanctifying graces. The parties
who enter this holy state, are required
to purify their hearts by Confession, and
then devoutly receive the Holy Commu
nion. W hereas, in the Protestant Church
it is made a fete of gaiety and pleasure,
entered upon with such thoughtlessness
and frivolity that it is not at all sur
prising that such marriages should result
in misery and unhappiness.
The last Sacrament of the Church is
Extreme Unction, instituted for the bene
fit of the sick and dying. By it the soul
is fortified against temptation, supported
in the hour of anguish, and prepared for
a happy passage to Eternity.
We haye seen how our loving Mother
Church received the little children, who
came in their weakness and helplessness
to ask her blessing, which she granted
them, in the strength and nourishment of
her Sacraments; and now, after passing
through every stage of earthly existence,
with its sorrows, trials, and struggles,
they come to its close. The hour of
death approaches—that dreadful moment
which is to decide their fate for all
eternity—yet, they know no fear, for the
same compassionate Mother is still beside
them, giving them comfort in their last
hour. It is in this, the dying hour, the
Catholic realizes the wondrous power and
comfort of his Faith—a Faith so bright
and glorious, its light illuminates even
the “ dark valley of the shadow of death,”
spanning the stormy billows of Jordan,
reaching over to the other shining shore,
and is there lost in the full glory.of
fruition.
The Catholic Church, alone, remem
bers her dead. Frotestants consign their
dead to the grave, cover them with the
pall of silence and oblivion, and they
seem lost forever. Not so with the
Catholic Church. Death has no power
to sever her children from her—her
dead are just as dear to her as her living
members. Her prayers follow them to
the place of their departed spirits, and
she never ceases to pray our dear Lord
to have compassion on the souls of those
who are detained in the purifying flames
of Purgatory. She ceases not to make
supplications for their release, and prays
they may be conveyed by Angels to the
abodes of rest and peace.
We have now seen how truly the
Catholic is the Church of all consola
tion. Many a poor pilgrim of earth
comes to lay at her feet his burden of
sorrows ; many come to Jicv who have
never kuown the pure gfod joys of child
hood, whose hopes of youth have been
blighted and destroyed, whose homes of
luxury have been exchanged for abodes
of stern want and poverty, whose hearts
have been rent and desolated by death,
whose lives are one long sigh of regret
—one ceaseless wail for the loved and
lost. To all these afflicted, homeless
friendless, and bereaved ones, she freely
dispenses her divine gifts of comfort, re
signation, and healing.
We should, indeed, have no need of
Catholic Hope and Faith, were this world
ot ours free from sin and suffering—were
there here no weary, fainting spirits, no
bruised and broken hearts. But, alas!
we know this lifo is full of the wrecks of
ruined hopes and departed joys ;
“ The air is full of farewells to the dying,
And mournings for the lost.”
We would fain seek some refuse to
shelter us from its blasting, desolating
storms, and there is but one harbor of
safety, and that is in the bosom of the
one Holy Catholio Church.
Sisters of Mercy in Oregon.— The
Oregon Daily Unionist gives us a glow
ing account of the exhibition of the Acade
my of the Sacred Heart, given in Salem
early in July. That paper says :
“1 he school of the Sisters is a great
success. It has wrought out its own high
status in spite of prejudice and opposition,
aud it now stands the first female Acade
my in the State, not because of its loca
tion, not because of any outside influence,
but simply because people are aware that
their school is the very best female acade
my in the State. These are facts that
cannot be controverted, and it becomes
the Protestants who would make prose
lytes, or maintain their present prestige,
to take note of them, and also note that
the best schools which female scholars
can attend, are those now managed by
the Roman Catholics.
“M e cite the schools at Jacksonville,
Salem, Portland, Vancouver, and other
places in support of this opinion. There
are no schools or academies for girls,
conducted by Protestants, at either of the
places named, which are not inferior to
those managed by the Roman Catholics.
And this being true, it is not strange
that Protestants, whose means are limit
ed, and whose desire to give their daugh
ters as superior an education as possible,
is predominant, should prefer to put
their daughters under the tutelage of
a set of teachers whom they may con
sider heterodox in dogmas and heretics
in faith, but whose purity of life is
spotless, and whose ability to educate
is unexplained.
“We repeat, the schools conducted
in this State, for the education of girls,
by the several Protestant denominations,
are deplorably behind those conducted by
the Catholics!”
In no part of the country is Catho
licity making greater progress than in
the enterprising little State of Connecti
cut. The erection of new Churches, and
the enlargement of old ones, the creation
of new Parishes, and establishment of
well conducted Schools, are the evidences
of the zeal of the Clergy and liberality of
the people. New Haven, which, not
many years ago, had but one Church,
now has three; and, but recently, the
Pastor of St. Mary’s Church, Rev. E. J.
O'Brien, secured a site in one of the most
fashionable localities in the city for anew
Church and Pastoral residence. Then,
again, the new Church in course of build
ing, under the charge of the Rev. Father
Gaynor, in Fairhaven, a portion of Saint
Patrick’s Parish. The new Church of
Saint James, at Bridgeport (Rev. Thos.
J. Sunnott), by both its size and style,
speaks of life and purpose. Hartford, a
few Sundays ago, witnessed the dedica
tion of the splendid Gothic Church of St.
Peter, Rev. John Lynch, Pastor; and,
on Sunday, the 16th ult., the Catholics
of Birmingham and Ansonia had their
day of religious joy on witnessing the
dedication of the Church of the Assump
tion in the latter town.
\ Cor. N. Y. Freeman's Journal .
Cardinal Cullen.— The grand 4i Te
Deum" was sung in Cathedral Church,
Marlborough street, on Sunday, to return
thanks to the Almighty God for having
heard the prayers of His people in restoring
to health the illustrious and deeply vene
rated Cardinal Archbishop. The sacred
edifice was crowded to the doors long be
fore the time appointed for the ceremonies
to commence. During the protracted and
painful illness of his Eminence, fervent
prayers w r ere offered up to God for his re
covery, not only throughout the city and
Diocese, and all Ireland, but throughout
the entire of Europe, and no one was more
ardent in supplication for the restoration
of the good Cardinal than the sainted and
illustrious head of the Catholic Church.
Throughout France, Belgium, Italy, Spain,
Portugal, and Germany, public" prayers
were offered for the recovery of his Emi
nence, the Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin,
and it was not to be wondered at that the
vast congregation that assembled in the
Cathedral, on Sunday, were filled with a
fervent gratitude to the Giver of all good
for having brought their venerated Prelate,
and one so dear to his people, over the
trials of the long and painful malady by
which he had been afflicted.
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