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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 2, 28 February 1907, Page 12

would pray that the Colony, would' be blessed with holy, learned, and perfect priests. It is a rule, like priests like .people. 'Learned, holy, and zealous priests will band .down to .remote posterity tha^t faith which leads to the salvation and the" establishment andj>re T servation of true Christian civilisation. '_". ", Vespers,- ■ ■ \ J. - : His Lordship Bishop Verdon presided at Vespers, and his Grace the Archibishop of Wellingit/on gave benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. .The sermon was preached by the Very Rev. Dean Burke, onvthe Transfiguration of Our Lord as related in tine Gospel of St. Matthew xvii., 1-9. In the Gospel account of ' the Transfiguration (said the Very Key. preacher) ' Jesus was shown to be somebody superhuman by the gjory wherewith. He was clothed ; somebody superior .to "the illustrious men of the Old , Testament by the attendance of Moses and Elias upon; Him.' He was shown to be the Son of God by. the voice from the cloud. What was the reason of that moment for this peculiar manifestation of His divine origin ? After a long schooling and the witnessing of many miracles, the Apostles just declared their belief in Him, as the Son of God, "Whom, do men say that I. am?' They ■ replied : ' Some John the Baptist ; others". Elia.s, and . others Jeremdas, or one of the prophets.' ' But who do you say that 1 am?' Simon Peter made the great declaration of faith,—' Thou art Christ, the Son of the " living- God.' That" declaration of faith was comparatively easy in the days of -peace, in the days when the journeys of Jesus excited admiration and enthusiasm, and were a kind -of triumphal marches, joined in by crowds. But dark and. evil days were coming, the days of His contests with Pharisees and- Scribes—^contests which ended in His apparent defeat and death. Coming to- other, times and other circumstances there was a period when all Christendom was one r in faith ; -when all was peace , when religion ruled and triumphed. Then .to elicit an ' act of faith in the Christian Revelation was the easiest of mental processes. But times have changed. The divisions arid disruption of a great heresy have, in lands where it"' prevailed, thrown man into doubt and scepticism. It is necessary then in the days of such apostacy to understand our position and to keep the reasons for the faith t'ha,t is in- us well before us. By the brilliancy that shone round Him on the Transfiguration' day the Apostles were confirmed in their faith against the day of trial. - By "the brilliancy of the Christian evidences, by the brilliancy with which Jesus shines on the world to-day, we too, when we think of it, are confirmed amid the trials of our time, .in the faith of our fathers, in the Revelation and divine misssion of our Lord Jesus Christ. What an extraordinary thing it is that our eyes behold : A carpenter of Nazareth, a rustic village' of Palestine, declared nineteen centuries ago that He was the ' 'Light- of the World,' and that to all who would ' follow Him He would be the light and the principle "of their life. To be clearer, let- us put the matter thus :— (1.) A ' carpenter of Nazareth, unlearned, untravelled, afterwards betrayed and crucified, declared, ' I am the Light of the World." (2..) It is. a fact of- history that He gradually became the Light of the World. It is a fact of present observation, that He is now the great illuminator of the world. ~ (3.) So wondrous a result must have a proportionate cause. v We know frorhT" " certain genuine and truthful records that Jesus", said : ' I am the Light of the World ; he that followetb Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have 'the li^ht of life. '. To the contemporaries of the speaker, this must have appeared - as the wildest of speeches. .What ! a man who for . the first 30 years of His life lived in a village, making yokes for oxen, One -Who never studied letters, Who never saw any of the great doctors- to proclaim himself ' the Light of the World ! ' -~- - What then is the- fact ? Has the unexpected the absurd, taken place ? Has the, superhuman been" realised ? Has the, village mechanic, . <the son of the carpenter,- He who knew -no letters, turned the greatest of teachers, the most- effective of moralists ?Is He even now ' tlie< Light of the World ?' Enter, the towns and cities of the most progressive, the most .cultured, the most highly civilised nations' of the day. Look • at the most elaborate buildings raised* in • them — those - on which architects, sculptors and painters have spent most pains, . those on which the populations have spent most money. What are they ? Temples used .to commemorate the memory, and carry on the teachings *of the Carpenter, of Nazareth. Listen to the. men , who speak from their pulpits ; they are proctajjmd'ragi the praise and inculcating the parables ancTN/eaehings of

Jesus to a reverent "multitude who look upon Him as - the light of their life. There was an abundance of great -men in the world" ."about the,, times of Jesus 'Chrdstrr-gflea't. statesmen, , great orators, great philosophers, great writers, great emperors and rulers. But - their - names a/ie forgotten.'. -1 he. name- of one is indeed mentioned often, by the people— one of the ' mosti insig- . nificant of those statesmen— Pontius Pilate, Why ? hc'cause of his accidental connection with. Jesus Christ. The cross, the- instrument *of torture and of- disgrace in those days long ago, now surmounts pur finest buildings, is. embroidered on the vestments of v the priest, is worm as a symbol of religion 'by high and low. Why ? Because Jesus of Nazareth was" condemned to die on, it by that " same — Pontius Pilate. Look - .more closely into the power being exerted by Him on the thoughts, la,ws, custojns — on the ' national life of the . people. Look, and you will ,see that He is the Light of the civilised ' worfd— that His kingdom • leavens the whole mass. Wjhat are the chief ends towards wtoicihlegislation'is now directed-? 'Listen to the party cries at election " times ydu" hear: — 'The elevation oi the miasses, ' ' The protection of workers, ' '- The amelioration of the' condition of the poor,' ' Provision for theaged and for orphans.' To whom is this spirit of kindness, to " the workers, to - the poor, and the aged *■ . due ? To non-Christian rulers ? Their only care was .to keep them in- subjection and quiet." " -To moralists? No; they regarded the masses, as beyond elevation -and redemption, and so theyjwere and are as far- as " any good they, could do., • Under the illumination of Christianity the slave • and serf , have become the freeiborn workers, the equal of. their former masters. Assuredly the Carpenter of Galilee has . become- the light "of life to therm. So, too, have- all the ; weaker classes , ' been . elevated. Women were the slaves of -their ; fathers, who parted with or sold them to become the "slaves of their husbands, who in turn -might divorce ' and dismiss them on any frivolous" pretext. - -If the husband died the widow : became the slave of his relatives, mayhap of her own eldest -son.. Woman, so despised, Christianity has ennobled, making- her the ■ equal -of. man, offering her, in fact, special marks of respect -and -reverence. , Surely to wonian Jesus Christ ■' is the Light of her life. . Pre-Christian- laws devoted children to exposure,- sale, or strangling if it pleased ' the father. But the Carpenter,, of Nazareth has sur- ■ rounded them with all the more pity -and i pro- . tection because^ of /their helplessness. Christian P'rin- ■ oiples as_to -self-denial, chastity, repression of the lower nature, subordmalion .of the passions to law of a holy God have influenced human morals in a way undreamed of by heathen moralists. The Very Rev. .preacher here drew a vivid pic-" - ture of the greatness-, of ancient Greece and Home, " and .showed -that self-indulgence, deception, fraud,- and a contempt for human life lay hidden heMnd all this. But the- lofty example and the principles of self-denial, of charity, of humility and obedience to. law and L reason changed, does. - change, even debauched multitudes into pure, self-controlled men and women. ■ Imitation of the example of the Light of the World , has raised many to- that great height of virtue which- ; wjb canonize in the saints- of God. The enemies of 1 1 Christianity admit - that the mightiest influence for- the ■ elevation of the human race that, history presents is . : that of Jesus of Nazareth — mightiest, not merely on the subject of -morals* but in -the advancement of .all ! the arts and industries that make the olives of men happy and refined;. How could they deny. >. this.! There - are the facts; they may be -seen \ with the eyes and touched with -^the hands." What nations are the -first in the world at present ?. What nations have piro^ dujced' the gtceat thinkers anid inventors of the 'past' 2000 ,years. ' Those that .walk in the Light -of Christianity. •.' ' i v • • -. ' , The Very Rev. Dean here quoted from the . works -of Renan, Richter, Stuart Mill, Ewald, and Lecky, in which these rationalists bear testimony to the , marvellous influence of the teachings of Jesus Christ on the world. The last-named said: " J He has been not only the ; highest pattern ■of virtue, but - the highest' incentive to its practice. He has exerted so deep an influence on the world that it may be truly said that the. simple record of three short years has done more to soften and regenerate r the world than all the dispositions" of the philosophers and than all the exhortations of the moralists.' i ! When the Apostles saw the glory on^Thabor and "heard thai . voice, they exclaimed :. ' It is good for us to be Here.' When, we see the brilliancy of the evidence for our faith in Jesus Christ, we may well ■ exclaim, •' It is good for us to be here.' Yes, it is good for us to be of' the society' of His Church on

earth ; it is good for us to be of the faith. But let us remember that the faith brings. with it responsibilities, supports on which we" shall save our- ' selves are good works, self-denial, the' active sincere practice of tha duties of religion; the knowledge .of' Christianity, and the persevering practice of its teachings, making Jesus Clnist the "Light and the Life 'of our lives. - On Monday the- new additions were blessed and opened by his Grace the Archbishop of Wellington, Very Rev. Mgr. O'Leary being deacon, Very Rev. Dean . Burke subdeacon, Rev. Father Liston master of ceremonies. His Lordship Bishop Verdon was" present, as were also the following : Very Rev. Father O'Neill (Milton), Rev. Father Coiley, Adm. St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rev. Father Ryan (.Geraldton), Rev. Fajther Howard, Rev. Father Hearn, Key. ' Father M. Ryan, Rev. Father Buckley, and Key. Dr. Kavanagh. Later on his Grace opened the .term, and delivered an ."address to the students. Style and Dimensions. The additions, which were blessed and opened ~~ on .Monday by his -Grace the Archbishop of Wellington, consist- of a two-storey wing, lußft long by- 37ft wide. The style is very simple, aiming at solidity, durability, and fitness for its purpose, and a very sparing use of decorative feature. The foundations and, base of the building are of cement concrete, the outer walls and all the internal partition walls are of brick, so that the fire-resisting property of the building has been well looked after. The new wing is so placed on the south side of the present building as - to form with it a quadrangle open on one side, and that the sunny side. The accommodation provided in the new wing gives on the ground floor a library. 62ft'x^•23ft x 15ft high, two class* rooms, -each 23ffx % 17ft x 15ft high, and a' smaller -room 12ft x 12ft. Access is given to these rooms by means of a long corridor on the south side 70ft x 9ft, with a wide doorway; having folding doors giving out on to the grounds of 'the college. On this floor at the end of the long corridor is ihe stair hall, continuing the stairway to the upper floor. This floor has repeated along Ihe south side a similar corridor to that of the ground floor, and gives access to a. dormitory 70ft x 23ft x 15ft .high, with 19 bed places each partitioned off with a neat partition 7ft high. On this floor there are also two' professors' rooms, each 23ft x 17ft, and a small infirmary bedroom to accommodate any invalid ■ from the large dormitory. All these rooms are well lighted'by means of ample window arrangement, the library having four double windows, the dormitory five double windows, and each of the class rooms four large size single windows, the professors' room two single windows and one double window. Every room ,is amply provided with fireplace arrangement, so that in the coldest weather the ample solid walling and partitions will enable the thorough warming and keeping warm of the whole building. Outwardly, in order to prevent ihe too sombre effect of such a mass of brickwork, surmounted by the plain single span roof, relief is ob-' tamed by means of finishing the angles, the reveals of the windows and doors with cement groins and cement heads to the windows. Water is laid into the building, and every sanitary convenience is provided for on both floors. 'The main building is connected with the new part of the college by a handsome^ cloister, - in the centre of which rises a belfry. With this number of the ' N.Z. Tablet ' is issudd anillustrated supplement, giving views of the college with the new additions. " •