THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, TEMUKA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1562, 28 September 1886, Page 3

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, TEMUKA.

The mission in the Roman Catholic Church, Temuka, came to a close last Sunday at 1-p.ro. On S«»urd»y the attendance woe very larg-, and the rev. missionary delivered tbre» sermons BS usual, the last one being on the subject of Temperance, which ho treats! most exhaustively. On Sunday at the last mass, which commenced at 10.30 a.m., the church we* crowded. The Rev, Father Fsuvel officiated as celebrant of the mass, and the Rev. Father Le Msnunt Des Chesnuis preached a : splendid ‘closing sermon, taking for hi* text tbs 12tb verse of the 6th chapter of the First Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy—" Fight the good fight of - faith/' etc. He felt highly pleased ami thankful to Almighty God for the man? blessings he had bestowed on them dnr- ' ing the past weak. It was a grand sight to f 1 *o many of them come »r listen to lm Word of G d ; to wash .... their souls and make them white in the blood of the lamb, and to receive in their souls the Bread of Life. All the work was not done ; they had a long journey to perform. Heaven was a city on the opposite side of a river, bat the river was very large, ioep, and rapid, v , „aod it was infested by alligators always ■ iwady to jwallc.w any who might fall in. They bad only a little boat to take them •cross, and they must pull very bard they reached the other wide. They • must not slop in the middle of the Stream, or else they might be swept down the waterfalls, and their little boat •masked to pieces, and they would be Jost. The river was the nver of life, the alligators were the sins which they had to encounter, and the racks and waterfalls were the bad company they Would have to avoid. If they wanted to preserve their innocence they must lead a Christian life and avoid bad company. It was impossible to preserve innocence in bad company. Thev must avoid the public boose as a deadly . tiper, and also immoral company. He •ibid how St. Augustine was led away ! by bad company, to show how impossible it was to be pure in evil surround- ,. lags. They mast not be rude or unkind to wicked people; they mast be good to all, but they must not keep company with them. They must av- id the drunkard, persons of loose character, those who curse and swear and blaspheme the name God. They must takp no part in the wicked amassment') of modern times. The early Christians never were allowed to go_ to theatres and

dances, but. tha customs now were to allow the young to go where they pleaeed. ; God bad told them they could act please him and please tha world. They : must be on tbeir guard ; they lived amongst much wickedness and evil, and tome of. th? persons they would meet were as poisonous as the sting of the deadly scorpion. The malediction of God would fall- on parents who allowed their children to keep bad company ; they would hare to account to God for any such negligence. They most avoid reading bad books, There were books:showing how passions might be gratified ; books ridicallng religion, and books dealing with every wicked thing, finely out of every hundred books were bad, and they aust be-ware of them. 1 here were delightful books dealing with insects, birds, and other animals, and they would lud them pleasant reading. They must fight against sin. There was nothing more beautiful; tbah the law of God, and . BO thing better than to keep it. They must give up all the occasions of sin, He told a'atory of the conversion of Bt, : Augustine and others, and urged them < to follow tbeir example. They must attend to their religious duties at least every ' three months, they must keep the Sunday holy, and attend at the Holy Sacrifice of Mass. There was no excuse for them. If some of them lived at a dis-

tance thef bad traps to bring them to

Chvrcb. Hon gladly would their fore- ‘ fathers bare come. They used to attend Mass in caves in the mountains of Wicklow when tba ground was covered with frost and snow. They had done tell daring the pail week, but it would 'wo"mrunless they persevered, After the Mass a procession was the Church. Ihe girle attending the abnvent school were all dressed in white and led the procession. - At tfae door they were met by the choir, tinging a hymn, hiext came the boys, r'and then 12 men carrying lighted candles", and then the Kev. Father attended by two acolytes. Tbe procession went once ronnd the Chnrcb, .-after .which those who took part ia it assembled ronnd the sjtsr, and Miss Luoy QQinn read in a nice clear voice a renewal of 4be baptismal rows. The / congregation was then again addressed by |Hs rev, missionary who explained the 1 ceremoDv aad how all the early Christian* • were dressed in white as an emblem of innocence when received into the Church. felt thankful to God for the many blessings He had bestowed ..on them during tbe week j al«o < to the Rev. Father Fauvel for his kindness. He need not say anything in his praise, the Church, the convent, the tower, ■ and its Chime of bells were living mono meats of his zeal in the interests of religion. He hoped that he would be spared y for years to continue the good work he bad so happily began. He thanked the priests who had assisted during . the wsek, and felt extremely thankful to the nuns for tbe way they bafl trained Ihe children. He felt • r diflel-|?y-the conduct of the children, as well as by their gi’qyple but h e * a ’l/ uf ifqgipg.fie concluded by wishing them all good-bye, and hoped he would ■ i" meat them all in Heaven. The choir tender Sipter Anielmi with bliss Qsfaney

presiding at the harmonium, rendered excellent services. At 10.30 last Sutidav High Mas* was chanted, the •* Kyrie Elcison ” being from Bauman’s Mass, the “ Gloria ” and “ Credo ” from Webbe’s Mas* in A, and the “Bandas” and “Agnus Dei” from Webbe’s 4th Masa in D ; the offertory selection being “ 0 Maria.” The singing was excellent, considering the principal portion of the choir consists of school girls, and their training refiects great credit on Sister Anselm, under whose care they hire acquired so much proficiency. The mission was extremely successful, as evidence by the fact that 527 persons received Holy Communion daring the week. The Rev. Father Le Menant Deg Chesneis left last Bunday afternoon for Ximara where he opened a mission the same evening. He will be in Titnaru daring the whole week, a(tw which he will go to Geraldin*.