THE NEW CONVENT OF MERCY, SOUTH DUNEDIN. THE OPENING CEREMONIES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 8, 20 February 1902, Page 3

THE NEW CONVENT OF MERCY, SOUTH DUNEDIN. THE OPENING CEREMONIES.

Just a year ago, Sunday, February 17, 1901, the foundation-stone of the new Convent of Mercy, South Dunedin, was laid by his Graoe the Archbishop of Wellington in the presence of a distinguished gathering of prelates, priests, and laity, among those present being his Graoe the Archbishop of Melbourne (who preached the occasional sermon), the Right Rev. Dr. Grimes, the Right Rev. Dr. Verdon, and Right Rev. Mgr. O'Reilly (representing his Lordship the Bishop of Auckland). On that occasion the Archbishop of Melbourne said that the convent when completed would be one that might well be envied in any city of Australasia. If his Graoe could 60 express himself after seeing the plans, we can easily understand, how complimentary he would have been on Sunday had he seen the building as it now stands fully completed. It is one in every way worthy of the purpose for which it is intended, and, so far as it is finished, complete in every detail. The Sisters of Meroy are to be congratulated on the poßßession of suoh a fine convent, and the Catholics of South Dunedin are tq be warmly complimented on their generosity in thus enabling the good Sisters to undertake a work of such magnitude. The old convent was altogether unsuited for the purposes of the community, want of accommodation being the least among its many drawbacks. The new convent presents a handsome and substantial appearance, and is one of the landmarks of South Dunedin. The grounds have been considerably improved of late. When the fences are erected, walks formed, and trees planted the institution will be quite a feature of the district. The ceremony of blessing and opening began with Pontifical High Mass in Patrick's Basilica, which was oelebrated by his Lordship th bishop of Auokland, Right Rev. Mgr. Maokay being assistant pnest, Rev. Father Murphy deacon, Rev. Father O'Reilly subdeaoon, and Rev. Father Cleary master of ceremonies. His Graoe the Archbishop of Wellington, his Lordship the Bishop of Christchurch, his Lordship the Bishop of Dunedin, and the Rev. Father Coffey were also present in the sanctuary. His Grace Arohbishop Redwood preached an eloquent discourse on the < Religious Life,' the first portion of which appears in this issue. The music of the Mass was ' Weber's in G,' whioh was admirably rendered by the choir under the conduotorship of Mr Eagar. The prinoipal soloists were Miss Blauey and Mies Fitzpatriok. A numerous orchestra, under Mr Stokes, assisted the choir. Immediately after the Masß the prelates, clergy, and altar boys went in processional order to the new convent which was solemnly blessed by Mb Grace Archbishop Redwood. The collection, whioh was taken up in the ohuroh on behalf of the building fund of the convent, realised over £200. The total cost of the building is about £3,500. At the conclusion of the ceremonies the Sisters of Meroy entertained the prelates, olergy, and a number of the laity at lunoheon, when several ladies of the congregation waited on the guests. During the afternoon the building was thrown open to the public, large numbers taking advantyge of the opportunity to inspect it. The convent consists of two wings connected by the main body, the whole forming a substantial erection of brickwork, with cement facings. The building has a total length of 120 ft by 51ft, and rises to a height of 41ft. It stands baok 90ft from the street line. The building ia designed for a large community, and has all the necessary room and conveniences for their accommodation. On the ground floor is a chapel 20ft by 48ft, with apse and saoristy. The infirmary, 12ft 6in by 16ft, is immediately next to the chapel, with a door of communication between. There are also on on the ground floor the dining room, 33ft by 16ft ; the kitohen, 20ft by 14ft ; community room, 20ft by 35ft ; library, 12ft by 16ft ; and two parlors, 17ft by 16ft. Access to these rooms is obtained by means of a veßtibule 10ft by 16ft communicating with a porch 10ft by Bft, and a corridor 75ft 6in long. A wide Btaircase in the oentre of the building communicates with the first floor on whioh are situated 21 bedrooms of the average size of 10ft by 16ft, and three bathrooms each completely fitted up with baths having hot and cold water complete. The chapel and community room are both well fitted up with Wunderlich and Co.'s zino emboßsed ceilings. The kitchen is also well fitted up with one of Barningham and Co.'s 5f b 6in high-pressure ranges, which distributes hot water all over the building. The ventilation throughout the building has been well attended to, as not only has ample window space been arranged— no room having borrowed light — but the heated air is extracted by means of a large number of metre tubes bedded in the partition of the upper floor and communicating with the ventilating ports set in every room. The contractors for the building were Messrs. Crawford and Watson, of Dunedin ; and Mr. Frank W. Petre was the architect. THE SERMON. The occasional sermon was preached by his Grace the Arohbishop of Wellington from the following text : — ' Everyone that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or ohildrea, or lands, for My name's sake, Bhall receive a hundred-fold, and shall possess life everlasting.' (Matt. XIX., 29.) The convent which we solemnly open and dedicate to-day, (said his Grace), has high claims to your appreciation, sympathy, and support. It is an institution which will greatly promote your dearest interests, especially in regard to the welfare of your ohildren in this world and in the next. In order that yon may prize it at its first value, I will sketch for you the kind of life whioh is led by the Sisters who will make it their home. It may be, my dear brethren, that, devoted as you are to the works of your

holy religion, you have not hitherto adequately realised the treasure you possess in the persons of these saored Brides of Ohriet, and the great blessings they daily and hourly bring upon the parish and district by the power of their prayers, the example of their virtues, and the usefulness of their works. I shall delineate for you the nature, happiness, and utility of nuns in general, and you will easily make the application to the Sisters of Mercy. What, then, is & Nun 7 A nun is a Christian woman who has bound herself to God, in order to tend to perfection, by the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedienoe, and by the observance of a common rule. There is a true and essential perfection in this world which is strictly required of all men as a means of eternal salvation. It consists in the union of the soul with God by charity, which proves itself by keeping the Commandments of God. But as the degrees of charity are variable, so also are the grades of perfection. It suffices for our present purpose to distinguish two such grades which divide good people into two distinct classes. When the Son of God came into the world to be our model, He opened before us two ways to Heaven — the one, within the reach of everybody, which consists in keeping the Commandments, and without which there is no salvation for those who have attained the use of reason. 'If thou wilt enter into life' — He says — 'keep the Commandments' (Matt, xiz., 17). The other, more narrow and steep, adds to the keeping of the Commandments the practice of the Counsels, and it is proposed only to nobler minds and more generous hearts, eager to attain a higher perfection in the Church of God and a brighter crown in Heaven. 'If thou wilt be perfect ' — He says — ' go Bell what thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven ' (Matt, xiz., 21). He had just been pointing out to His disciples the excellence of chastity, and, by exhibiting to them its great reward, had exhorted them to embrace perfect continency. He had declared it to be a way so sublime that, without a Bpeoial gift, men oould neither understand its merits nor embrace its constant lifelong practice. ' All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given ' (Matt, xix., 11). And again : 'He that can take, let him take it' (ZJ. 12). Then to the good young man who had asked Him what he should do to have life everlasting, and whom He had told to keep the Commandments, He finally said : ' Come, follow Me ' Qlb. 21) — that is, walk in that way of obedience which I require in My more perfect disciples ; imitate Me who became obedient unto death ; die unto your own will, that you may lead a higher life with Me. Eusebius of Caesarea, in the fourth century (315), after stating that our Blessed Saviour gave His Commandments for the bulk of Christians and His Counsels for more generous boulb, draws out this natural consequence which is the Summary of the Whole Plan of Christianity. ( Wherefore,' — he says — ' two distinct ways of living have been instituted in the Church of God. The one exceeds the condition of your nature and the usual life of men ; it discards marriage, posterity, wealth, fortune, and. out of an immense love of heavenly things, dedicates itself entirely to God. Such is the way of the perfect. The other is less elevated and more accessible to human weakness ; it engages in lawful wedlock, perpetuates itself in posterity, is bußy with household concerns and private or publio affairs, agriculture, trade, war, and so forth, together with the practice of religion. Such is cthe way of ordinary Christians who are in earnest about their salvation' (Euseb. Deut. Evang. 1-8). 1 Our Lord ' — says St. Cyprian in his discourse to virgins (third century, 248) — ' does not command you to embrace perfect continency, but exhorts you thereto ; He lay* not upon you the yoke of necessity, but appeals to the generosity of your free will. He tells you that there are many dwelling-places in the realm of His Father, and points to the best ; He exhorts you to win the higher throne and the brighter crown.' St. Jerome represents Christ as the public prize giver on the race-course. 'He invites you to run, He holds out the prize of virginity ; He points to the pure fountain and cries out : if anyone thirat let him come and drink. He does not say : you must run, you must drink, whether you will or not. But He says : whoever will, whoever can drink at the fount and run in the race, he shall win, he shall quenoh his thirst forever. Hence the special love of Christ for pure souls who give spontaneously what is not commanded, who offer in love what is not due in justice ' (St. Jer. Contra Iov.). Such is the better part proposed to the Christian virgin. It is a higher standard of holiness, fit only for generous and thoroughly unselfish souls. It is a right to enlist under Christ's royal banner. No constraint on His part ; but sweet invitation, high promise, and especial grace. And oh ! how excellent and how happy is this higher calling for those who have responded to it 1 First of all it partakes of The Excellence of the Apostolate ; for, the vocation of the Apostles was the model of the religious vocation ; and ie is even of faith that Christ promised to the religious life what He promised His Apostles, since He concluded in general and without exception that ' Every one that hath left house or brethren, or wife or children, or lands for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting ' (Matt. xix., 29). Everyone who renc unces th« world like the Apontles shall receive with them a hundredfold. This hundredfold consists in the incomparable happiness which the true religious enjoys. The nun is bound by vow to perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience under a common rule approved by the Church of God. These three vows, together with charity, constitute the bappines* of the nun — a happiness so great that Our Saviour calls it a hundredfold. But does not this involve a contradiction ? Does it not flatly contradict the world's received notion of the religious life? And, what is more, do9S it not appear at variance with certain texts of the Gospel, which strongly inculcate self-denial, penance, sacrifice, and death,

when they invite us to perfection ? 'If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, etc.' It is true that a peruon does not become a religious on purpose to find happiness in this world, but rather to serve God more faithfully, and give a higher proof of love for Jesus by embracing His crosH, yet it id a certain fact, and » dogmatio truth, that the grace of God renders the religious state, on the whole, a hundredfold happier than that of the world. Let us see how. Jesus Christ had spent neatly 30 yeais of His life as a poor carpenter in the Bolitude of Nazareth. The time had .come for His manifestation to the world, and the revelation of His great truths. He climbs a mountain near the City of David and opens His mouth to speak, and what are His first words ? ' Blessed are the poor.' What an astounding assertion, so contrary to the universal opinion of men ! Yet it was true, being the utterance of Divine wisdom. And if it was true of any poverty of spirit, any genuine Christian poverty, how much more of the perfection of poverty— religions poverty ! What is Religious Poverty 1 It is, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, the voluntary abdication of temporal goods both in heart and in effect. By the vow of poverty the nun positively and absolutely deprives herself of all right to the use of her property ; she oan neither retain, nor give, nor buy, nor sell, of her own independent will. Now this spoliation constitutes real happiness. How 1 Because it saves the religious from the bitter pains, the dark chagrin, the racking anxiety attendant on wealth ; it saves from the ' Thorns of riches," as Our Saviour rightly ottls them— cruel thorns, universal thorns — thorns of toil in their acquisition, thorns of fear in their preservation, thorns of grief and despair in their loss ; it saves from their spiritual dangers, from that pride, sensuality, and sloth which they naturally breed— the threefold source of all evil ; it saves from the hard slavery of wealth, consisting in the incessant multiplication of cravings and wants, whioh bind their struggling victims with strong chains to the earth, turn their eyea from their true greatness, the victory over their passions, the empire over self, and miserably avert them from their last end. Detachment from worldly goods, or poverty of heart, is necessary for salvation : for we cannot serve two masters, God and mammon ; but it is extremely hard to be detached from them while we actually possess and enjoy them ; therefore the safest and happiest way is to renounce their possession and use, by embracing voluntary and actual poverty. The best ship afloat cannot move onward when fastened to the ground with many cables : break the cables, and away she sails in glorious career. Moreover, by poverty the religious resembles the Apostles — for the virtue of poverty is essentially Apostolic. To become Apostles the Disciples of Christ had to leave all things. And the missioner of our day also, what wealth has be but the poor cross which he plants in a foreign strand ? But look especially at the Mendicant orders, the poorest of the poor, how great the glory of their Apostolic conquests 1 Behold St. Francis of Assisi, how grand, how kingly he is 1 Tracing a cross with his staff on the sands, he shares out the world as a conquest to his three companions. ' You, Friar Egidius, take the North ; you Friar Borromeo, the South ; you, Friar Juniper the East ; and I will take the West.' And they went forth mighty in their poverty and gained great victories over sin and hell ; they marvellously regenerated the world. Again, by poverty the nun resembles the Angels. Where are their vase domains, their stately palaces, their coffers of silver and gold, their sparkling jewels, their wardrobes of silk and purple, their treasures in gems and diamonds ? They are poor in earthly wealth, but they are rich in knowledge, rich in grace, rich in love, rich of the wealth of god. So, to a great extent, is the truly poor religious. By poverty the nun resembles Mary the Queen of Angels, nay, she resembles Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God, the King of Heaven and earth. What a happiness ! For us He became poor, our glory is to be poor like Him. He loved poverty so much that He wedded it from His birth. His couch was the crib. He was poor in youth, poor in manhood, extremely poor in His apostolic career, poorer than the beast or the bird ; but poor above all at His death. The perfection of our happiness is to be like Him. Suoh then is religious poverty ; it preserves from many evils, it unlocks the door to countless blessings ; by it the nun becomes an Apostle ; she vies with Angels ; with the Queen of Angels, and with the Son of God. Can greater happiness be ? Such is religious poverty even in this world where its prerogatives only b^gin ; in the world to come it will sit on a throne with Jesus Christ judging the world. The next spring of happiness for the nun is The Vow of Chastity. Where shall I find words for so great a theme ? Oh, the beauty of that celestial gem 1 Open the Scriptures and the Fathers and read their transports and admiration for this virtue. ' How beautiful is the chaste generation t Its memory is immortal before God and man.' And again 'He that loveth oleanliness of heart shall have the King— that is God— for his friend.' But above all ponder the words of our Divine Lord : ' Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God.' What" is promised to them ? The light of angels, the litrht of God. c*n b 3 more baautif ul tnan|Cha*tity,' exclaims St. Bernard, ( whioh transforms man into an angel ? But with a difference all in favor of man : in the angel, chastity is the happy endowment of his nature ; in man, it is the conquest of virtue.' And St. Chrysostom tells the reason why chastity transcends even the angelic state. ' Che angels,' he says, ' ate not male up, as we are, of fleuhand blood; they are not living, as we are, on this unclean earth ; nor are they liable to the upheavings of passion ; they use no food or drink ; they are not affeoted by the harmony and softness of song, or the beauty of

form ; they are impervious to all these allurements. What wonder then that they should be chaste ? Bat that man, bo inferior to them by nature, with bo many drawbacks, should yet strive to equal them in purity — this indeed ib a height of virtue worthy of all admiration,' The angels are pure spirits, all intelligence and love. But the nun. by the vow of chastity, is disengaged from matter, superior to the senses, and as it were delivered from the prison of the body. The angels burn with Divine love; so does the nun i f she is faichf ul to her vow. Look at St. Teresa — was Fhe not an angel, a seraph in human frame 1 Besides, the angels ever see the face of the Father Who is in heaven — so the nun's pnre heart will see Qod in the light of faith, in the contemplation of His mysteries. Her prayer will become more ardent, continual, incessant, like that of the Cherr jim who enoircle the Almighty's throne. ' Chastity alone,' says St. Augustine, ' leads to the vision of God in the manner in whioh that vision is possible to the present life, and in a perfect way in the world to come.' What happiness again in This Life of Light and Love 1 The angels in heaven keep ever singing glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost — Sanctus, Sanotus, Sanotus ; and nuns those angels on earth, imitate them to some extent in the recitation of their holy Office ; day and night the hymn of glory is on their lips, until they sing it in the realm of eternal bliss. The angels come down from heaven on missions of mercy and love. An angel is at our side in the cradle, in the dangers of headlong youth, in the prime of manhood, in the decline of age and the dread shadow of death. But surely the nnns are like them here, for they pray, watch, weep, and work for boulb. And though they may never move a step from their cells, they can and do convert many souls. One of St. Teresa's burning darts of love so wounded the heart of Jesus one day, aB He told her, that He granted to her the salvation of six thousand souls. The salvation of six thousand souls for one prayer I What a glory, what a happiness. In a word, to sum up all these touching analogies, the angels of heaven are in peaoe, in light, in glory, in love 1 They see, they love ; and bright mirrors they spread the beams of love and light around them. And so do chaste and faithful nuns. But it is little to say they are angels — nay, they are like the Queen of Angels, like tr>e Incarnate Word Himself. What more can be thought or said / The Third Element of the Nun's Happiness is Obedience. All men without exception ought to be the children of obedience, since all have masters and duties. But in an age when our ears are dinned with the words ' Rights of man, liberties of man,' there are but few who do not aspire to command rather than to obey. True obedience is hard to find outside the cloister ; and hence there alone are found true peace and happiness, the precious fruits of order and discipline. • Peace,' says St. Augustine, 'is the tranquility of order,' and order among men is obedience. Oh, the happiness of religious obedience! First it gives the nun perfect eeourity, whioh rids her soul of a vast amount of uneasiness and of responsibility before God, both during life and at death. Surely one of the greatest pains of life is doubt, incertitude. What must I do ? How must I aot in such and snob, a case ? What must be my decision here — there ? I fear to do evil, and 1 fear I have done evil. Obedience delivers the religious from this perplexity, and she is sure to do good as long as Bhe keeps to the command given in the name of God. Like Jesus Christ she always does the will of her Heavenly Father. Oh 1 who could tell the peace and security of the good, simple-minded, obedient nun ? She blesses God daily for having taught her the way of solid lifelong comfort. She is a child in her mother's arms. Look at the Infant Jesus in His flight to Egypt. He obeyed, sweetly sleeping on Mary's bosom. Joseph, who had to give the order for starting, must have been preoccupied. Even Mary could not be altogether unanxious ; but the Divine Babe, who had but to obey, was not even awakened ; He kept softly sleeping on. An admirable image of the peace which beautifies the heart of the child of obedience. She is happy like Jeans ; Bhe obeys even when asleep ; she goes whithersoever she is carried in the arms of obedience, but always in the company of the saints, always on the way to Heaven. But especially at death is this peace experienced by the obedient nun. She has always obeyed ; what has she to fear ? At the dreadful bar of Divine Justice ehe has one plea always available — ' I obeyed.' Oh ! need we wonder now that the Saints often declined, with holy obstinacy, every speoiea of authority — some hiding in the wilderness, others in dismal tombs, to escape the government of a church or the administration of a monastery ; others laying down the orown, the mitre, and even the tiara, to become obedient monks. It is safer, happier, to be the children of obedience. There is still another wonderfully consoling thought in obedience I mean the peouliar merit whioh the vow of obedience Buperadds to the life of the religious. And the same holds good in regard to the other two vows. Though all the nun's actions do not fall under the vow, though the observance of the rules cannot be regarded as a direct and positive aot of the virtue of obedience, and though the infraction of certain rules and the unfaithfulness to the order of the superior is not formally a fault against the vow, unless the order was given in virtue of the vow of obedience, nevertheless it is true to say that, independently of the ordinary merit attached to the nun's actions, which are done to please God, they acquire a new merit, because they were inspired and directed by the love of order and obedience. This is that finish, that master-polish which the Saints, already perfect in the world, come to seek in the cloister. There they may say fewe* prayers and perform fewer penances, they may communicate seldomer ; but they obey, they always obey, and so they achieve in a short time the great work of their sanotification. Thus St. Aloysius Gonzaga made greater progress in the novitiate, and in a few years at the Roman College, than in all his former life in the world ; and yet he had to abate his austerities by

obedience, and fhorten the honrs of hi B prayer. Hapry the soul that fo'lows tl is infallible rule of perfection ; the pt=ace of God shall come upon her. (To be ooncludt d in our next issue').