SERMON VII.

FESTIVAL OF ALL SAINTS.

BRIEF VINDICATION OF THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINES RESPECTING THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS; AND THE HONOR DUE TO THEM: FOLLOWED BY AN EXHORTATION TO IMITATE THEIR EXAMPLE.

GOSPEL. Matthew, c. v. v. 1—12 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, aud when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. And opening his mouth he taught them saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake; be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.

THE Gospel of this festival may, with propriety, be considered as an introductory exordium to that admirable discourse delivered by our blessed Saviour from a mountain in Galilee to a promiscuous multitude, who, attracted by the fame of his doctrines and miracles, were assembled together in the plain below. It describes the kind of character which it was the design of his sacred ministry to form, representing it as a compound of a variety of quali

ties, which, though usually held in little estimation by the world, are distinguishing characteristics of his faithful followers. Those qualities are stated to be that lowliness of mind and disengagement of the affections from inordinate attachment to earthly things, denominated poverty of spirit: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven";-that placid meekness which no provocation can disturb :-"Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land";-that "godly sorrow, which," in the language of the Apostle, "is according to God, and worketh penance stedfast to salvation, and not the sorrow of the world which worketh death" (2 CORR., c.vii. v. 10.): “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted";-that ardent desire of internal holiness, which the phrase of hungering and thirsting after justice is used to designate: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice for they shall be filled" ;—that merciful disposition which habitually manifests itself in relieving the wants, both spiritual and temporal, assuaging the sorrows, and treating with tenderness the weaknesses of their fellow-men: "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy";-that complete exemption from the defilements of sin which is requisite for the fruition of the beatific vision: "Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God";—that pacific temper of soul which prompts to the promotion of agreement and harmony among mankind : "Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God";-and

finally, that undaunted, yet passive courage in the maintenance of the cause of righteousness displayed by its heroic champions in opposition to every hostile attack of the ungodly by which they may be assailed: "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake; be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven."

Such, my friends, are the qualities which the Gospel of this festival exhibits to our view as essential ingredients in the character of the true disciples of Jesus Christ, and to the possessors of which it also promises, under a variety of expressions analogous to those qualities, an eternal reward of boundless happiness. And as it is to exemplify that character in the persons of the Saints, that the Church appears to have selected this portion of the Sacred Scripture for the present occasion, with a view of stimulating the faithful to copy it in themselves, I purpose this day-after a brief vindication of its doctrines respecting the Invocation of Saints, and the honor which it recommends to be paid to their persons to endeavour to animate you to an imitation of their example.

The doctrines of the Catholic Church respecting the Invocation of Saints, and the honor to be paid to them, are frequently brought forward by its opponents as instances of its departure from the genuine principles of Christianity, and of its lapse into

error. By the first the all-sufficient merits of Jesus Christ our sole Redeemer and Mediator are said to be depreciated; and by the second the religious homage, which it is the exclusive privilege of the Creator to receive, is stated to be extended to the creatures of his hand. Were these two inferences fairly drawn from the articles which I have just mentioned of Catholic Belief, instead of undertaking to defend those articles, which I intend to do, I would condemn them, on the contrary, as erroneous and unchristian, and use every effort in my power to induce you to disclaim them. But what am I saying? Let me not be thought, even for a moment, that the Church of God can fall into erLet me not be thought, even for a moment, to suppose that it can teach doctrines incompatible with the most sacred and fundamental truths of the Christian Religion. That would be to arraign the veracity of its Divine Founder, who has pledged his word that against his church the gates of hell shall never prevail, and that he himself will be with it teaching it all truth to the end of time.

to suppose

ror.

Far be it from any one who professes himself a member of that Church, the establishment of which is coeval with the introduction of Christianity, to refuse to the merits of its Divine Founder that allpowerful efficacy which is essentially inherent in them. We all believe the sufferings of the Son of God to be the meritorious cause of the restoration of the human race. We believe that through him alone we have access to the Father; and that hav

I

ing obtained for us eternal redemption, he ceases not to intercede for us "that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid." Such, my friends, you well know, to be the doctrine which has been inculcated to you, and impressed upon your minds in your early years, which is frequently delivered to you by the ministers of God in your places of religious worship, and which is cherished by you as the foundation of your hope, and a source of unspeakable comfort. When therefore you invoke the intercession of the Saints in heaven, when you have recourse to their patronage, and implore their succour, it is not, you well know, by any means your intention to exclude the mediation of him who alone can give a value to their interposition in your behalf; and independently of whom their utmost endeavours to serve you would be fruitless and insignificant. No. You make application to the Saints of God as to the glorified members of that mystic body of which you also are members, but of which Christ Jesus is the head, and through him alone you solicit their pious offices with the Father of mercies, that you may be provided with every necessary assistance and relief which the exigencies of your conditions may require. Who will tell me that the intercession of the Saints, considered in this its true and genuine light, is at all injurious to the infinite merits of the Redeemer of mankind?

Moreover, my friends, it will not surely be denied by Christians of any denomination, that it is