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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. 5