Pastor Chiniquys Lecture.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3452, 17 January 1880, Page 2

Pastor Chiniquys Lecture.

Pastor Chiniquy's first meeting on the Thames was held at the Theatre Royal last evening. There was a large but not crowded attendance. On the platform, besides Pastor Chiniquy were a number of the Kecfption Committee and the following Ministers:—The Revs. Geo. Smith (who occupied the Chair), S. J. Heill, K. Laishley and J. Watkin.

The Chairman called upon the audience tossing tho hymn " Hock of Ages," which was heartily joined in by the audience. The i?ev. E». S. Laishley engaged in prayer, after which the Secretary to the .Reception Committee read an address of welcome to Pastor Chiniquy, which was as follows :—" To the Rev. Charles ©hiniquy/ Key. and dear sir,—We, bn behalf of the Protestant comm.utrity at the Thames, welcome you among us. We have heard of your lame and success in the great and good work ; and we recognise that it is not yourself that is doing this work, but that it is Christ in you by the spirit that accomplishes these wonders of grace. Your intimate knowledge of the Iloman Catholic Church in all its ramifications, your firmness, your fearlessness, your earnestness, and yet calmness ; also your perseverance in the midst of so many dangers, because of the terrible doctrines of the enemy you contend with, eminently fit you ior the work. All proclaim you to be under the special protection and guidance of our Almightly Father, and we trust that under that guidance you will remain till you life is done. Assuring you of our earnest desire to aid you in your good work, we are, dear sir and brother in the Lord Jesus, yours faithfully, G. Smith, Chairman ; S. J. Neili, Secretary." The Chairman then introduced to the audience the rev. lecture*, who was received with applause. He said they all had read the words of David in the 66th Psalm, " Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul." When the Psalmist considered what God had done fpr his soul, he wanted to tell the whole world. It was the same with him. He wanted to go over the world to tell what God had done for him. They had heard that Chiniquy had been bora in the

Church, of Rome and was ordained a priosfc. No man served the Church more faithfully than he did. He alluded to the Bible, and the writings of the Fathers day and night, so that he might the better be able to combat the arguments of the enemies of the Church. He had'read in the Council of Trent that all Protestants were lost, and believed and preached it, and his heart was sad when he thought of the numbers that were doomed to eternal torments. He thought it was his duty to convert them to the Church of Home, and so successful was he that during his ministry 93 Protestants were converted. Thank God since his own conversion many had come back to Protestantism again. When he was studying one day, there came a voice to him showing that he did not invoke the named Christ but called on Mary. The lecturer further referred to the first workings of conscience. He had one day preached at the Montreal Cathedral on j the " Intercession of the Virgin," pointing out that Jesus could never refuse his beloved mother any favor, and she could obtain pardon for sinners. He was complimented by the bishop for his excellent sermon. In the evening he read instances in the Gospel where Christ had refused the petition of Mary, and had even rebuked her. Jesus, in turning the water into wine at Cana did not perform the miracle to please his mother. He did not want anyone between himselftand the sinner. Every one had to look to Jesus directly for salvation. Then the voice came to him again, saying, "Don't you see you have presched a lie." He was shown that Jesus, in rebuking Mary, wanted to protest against the Church of Rome. As he lay trembling that night, the thought came to him that no mother could love the sinner as much as Jesus, and the sinner must go to him direct. In going to Mary he had insulted both Jesus and his mother. He could not be persuaded to believe that the Church was wrong, and he passed a sleepless night, and might every priest passed through th*e same struggle. The lecturer briefly referred to the newspapers that had stigmatised him as a firebrand, and spoke of the lies that had been written about him. Returning to the ■ thread of the narrative of his conversion he said: In the morning he had breakfast with the bishop, who noticed that something was wrong, and asked him if he was sick, lie then described to the bishop what had occurred to him, and read him the instances of Christ refusing Mary's petition. The bishop asked him if he had turned a Protestant, but he said no. He would as soon then have been turned into a dog as a Protestant. He thought they were a lot of fools, always fighting like wild cats, and always divided. He had not then received the saving light, but he now knew that these divisions were good. He assimilated the Church of Christ to a vine tree in his garden in Illinois. The branches were the different denominations, some were straight, some crooked, some large and some small, but they all produced good grapes. Though different in form the divisions of the Church of Christ were united and loved each other. The speaker again digressed for a few minutes on the subject of some works he had published, their prices, etc. Returning again to the. subject, he referred to the doctrine of transubstantiation, and idolatrous worship by Catholics of the consecrated wafer, and the struggle he had had when he found he could not make it agree with Holy Writ. It was, however, bis last great struggle. About this time the Bishop of Chicago wished to taken possession of the splendid valley of the Mississippi,-and colonise it entirely with Catholics. He was deputed to visit the country, and then wrote letters to Prance, Belgium and Canada, praising th" country and inviting them to emigrate. His letters were printed in these countries, and he was soon glad to see 75,000 Catholics covering the magnificent prairies,' while colleges, towns and' churches arose. The lecturer then went on to the circumstances which had led to his secession from the Church of Rome. One notorious bishop having been removed through his instrumentality, he was required to give in his submission to the Church of Rome to his successor. This he would only do in a modified form and hence the rupture. The wonderful conversation of his parishioners and Protestantism was next related, the lecturer saying that, there were now 25,000 converts in America, while his mission in Australia had been most successful, 300 catholics having been converted through his instrumentality. He prayed that he might be similarly blessed in this land. • The proceedings terminated with the dozology and the benediction.