Bishop Luck's First Pastoral.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4296, 7 October 1882, Page 4

Bishop Luck's First Pastoral.

The following pastoral was read in the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday :— "John Edmund, of the Order of St. Benedict, by the grace of God and the favor of the Holy Apostolic See, Bishop of Auckland.—To the Clergy, secular and regular, and the faithful of the said Diocese, health and benediction in the Lord, —Dear Reverend Brethren and Beloved Children in Jesus Christ,—Although unable, through want of time, to address our beloved flock in a manner at all commensurate with the occasion, we cannot refrain, on this the day of our Kpiscopal Consecration, from manifesting, io at least a few words, the earnestness and warmth of the sentiments of our heart. Our earnest desire and keen interest in the welfare of the portion of Christ's fold, committed to us by His Vicar on earth, our beloved Church of Auckland, which, in the language of tradition, is the Bride, whom it is our honorable duty to cherish, to love, and to serve during the remainder of oar life. Oar trust and consolation is the conviction of the superior worth and. capability of our beloved clergy, secular and regular, many of whom are so well known to us, and whose tried virtue and zeal are both our confusion and our glory. Then, again, the reports that have reached us of the faith and devotedhess of the i laity of pur Diocese aro to us a foundation of/a well grounded confidence, that their fidelity to their religion . will be proof against all perils, and that their endeavors to attain the one thing necessary will be constant and persevering. Our heart, in the hnguage of the Apostle, yearns towards you, and though the half of the earth's circumference at. present divides us, our heart, is with you ; our interests are all centred in youjs. Whilst, therefore, we recommend ourselves to your prayers, that we may be faithful to the grace which has been given this day, by the imposition of hands that we may be changed into another man, that we may be the true father of our flock, let us in turn exhort you, to further your own real interests by steadfastness in the unchanging and unchangeable principles of. your faith in assiduity in prayer, and the frequenting of the Sacraments and the performance of all good work's. We shall doubtless look for and ask for cooperation in the many goods works a young and vigorous Church demands, in order to promote and secure its well being; but our confidence falters not, as we have the assurance of your cooperation. Our work is mutual, our lsbor must be mutual, and the result—the grand result—will., be the furtherance, of God's honor and glory, which at the same,time, is our mutual sanctification io this world,, and eternal happiness in the next. Oh! my beloved children io

Jesus Christ, such is our first exhortation to you. Such also will be our constant prayer—our one anxiety in the future. May it be the consolation of our dying bed, to know that our desires and our efforts have been successful in your behalf. , On tbe occasion of our interview with the ' Euler of the Universal Church, His | Holiness, Pope Leo XIII., our first thought was to implore his special blessing on our flock, and this it will be our i privilege to impart to you on our arrival amongst you.—Given at Bamsgate, from St. Augustine's Priory, on Sunday, August 13th, 1882, being the fourth day within the octave of St. Lawrence, and the day of our Episcopal Consecration, and appointed to be read in all the ! churches of the Diocese on the first ! Sunday of October, 1882.—f John i Edmund, Bishop of Auckland.