The New York Herald Newspaper, May 26, 1873, Page 4

aoe an ke , . 4 POPULAR PIETY, Sabbath Services in the Sanctuaries of the City and Suburbs. DUTIES OF DECORATION DAY. Frothingham Strewing Flowers of Rhetoric on the Soldiers’ Sepulchres. -—- ‘THE PIOUS LOCAL PROHIBITION LAW, —_—_-+_—_ Governor Dix's Veto Viewed with Crisp Criti- cism by a Caustic Divine. Great Accomplishment of Good and Im- mense Congregations in the Catholic Churches, BEECHER AND THE BIBLE. A Sermon on the Sermon on the Mount. Both Bellows and Chapin Absent from Their Charges and Bishop Foster Taking His Leave. Sunday worship in the metropolis is becoming oppressive, to judge from the congregations in the various churches yesterday morning and even- Ing. The sultry sun caused piety and fashion to perspire freely, and did not increase the satisfac- tion of either. The public services were not more brilliant than usual, nor were the sermons mere interesting. The Society of Friends opened the yearly session of their Conference in this city with Worship, very impressive in its peculiar way, and there was gathered in their modest temple in Stuy- ‘vesant place an immense crowd ef delegates and others from all parts of the country. The business of the Assembly continues during the week. Reports of the most interesting discourses of the pastors, delivered yesterday, will be found below. The congregations of suburban churches, as will be seen, are beginning to be swelled by recruits from the city, who take early flight from the dust and heat. LYRIC HALL. The Decoration of Soldiers’ Graves—Ser- mon by the Rev. O. B. Frothingham,. All the possible vagaries of the weather have no @ffect upon the congregation at Lyric Hall. The attendance was large and select yesterday morn- ing. The Rev. Mr. Frothingham preached on the decoration of soldiers’ graves which takes place on next Friday. This observance, he began, has grown into an institution, and we appeal tothe hearts of men and women to mingle in the as" clation. We have few solemn festivals, but this has elements in it so tender and grave that the significance of it cannot be lost, and it touches the most solemn parts of our souls, The association of fowers with the grave has a very deep significance. The graves of the old and young, the worn and faint at heart, @re decorated alike with flowers, Even grim grthodoxy covers its casket with these - BENEDICTIONS OF NATURE. This association of flowers with gravestones shows the new birth of a sentiment in connection With nature. Death has always been associated ‘With nature. The idea of nature was that it repre ented the opposite of God, It was represented as @ power of darkness and of itself deadly. Nature, sin and evil were always associated together. The natural life’ was the sensual life. Death was the offspring of nature. The contlict of religion was to break the bond of mature, and is the doetrine of the Church to-day. The flower fades because the breath of the Lord blew upen it. What a new light is thrown upon nature now and upon all natural things! All modern pvetry 1s full of na- ture, beauty and freshness, and ‘science is de- voting itself to the study of nature. Even the reacher scatters flowers through his sermon. joes not death share the glory ol tis transfigura- tion?) When the human organization becomes unfit for the soul’s environment the golden chain should be snapped, the bond broken and the use- Jess frame committed to the dust. DEATH OPENS THE DOOR into the future, takes away the useless and in- capable, and the fresh, bright and strong. It is death issues an invitation to the newcomer to the feast of lite. He must learn nature’s laws and then the young will not be taken away. Flowers show @ tender teeling towards the dead, and they Preach sermons im their own way. The ceremony Of putting flowers upon the GRAVES OF SOLDIERS is & very appropriate gilt, because the flowers ex- press tenderness and pity. They dropa tear on the grave, and it is one that must Interpret itself. We do not put olive branches on the grave, nor crown them with laurels, but simply drop a tear of gratitude and regret, They were not all heroes, Some were adventurers with little thought for the country in whose cause they tell. They all obeyed the same decree and were at last covered by Mother Earth. They expiated the sume errors and stood side by side. They were all soldiers and Moved to ihe front when the erder came. There- fore spread flowers on all the graves. Did our dead gione leave home and family? Some entertain » feeling of distinction between the dead that keeps them from participating in the services. Did not destitution and death mean as much to them as to us? What a werid of sorrow is buried in the CONFEDERATE GRAVES! Let the Northerner drop a tear into a Southern grave and the Southerner one into a Northern & » The very war that made our sorrow made heirs, and if they dug vur graves we dug theirs. Nature makes no distinction, The grass is as green and the dew glitters as brightly on their @raves as on ours. Heroism on the one side im- lied heroism on the other. It was a struggle of eroes. They were Americans and brothers, and they fought for what they considered the cause of their country, but were overwhelmed by numbers at last. They fought in an unholy cause ‘and were rebels and traitors against tpeir mother country—against the government that had always Wished them weil. ‘ibey were the champions of slavery and despotism. but were we ail innocent et all guilty? The past is past, and let it be 8T, PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, Sermon by the Rev. Father McNamee— “The Ascension of the Lord’’—Its Sig- mificance and Triumphant Results, A large congregation attended high mass at the Cathedral yesterday with the usual apparent de- gree of devotion. Everything looked cheeriul- The san poured in upon the alsiesin all its bril- Vianey, casting the variegated shadows of the stained windows upon the ornamentations of the interior, making roseate cheeks and blue Spring toilets look brilliant. The altars were, as is cus- tomary, richly decorated. The Rev. Father Kearney offictated as celebrant, the Very Rev. Viear General Quinn assisting in the sanctuary The sacred music was exceedingly well executed by the organist, Mr. Gustavus Schmit, (and the choirrendered the solos and quartets with grand and poetic effect. The sermom; which was preached by the Rev. Father McNamee, was on “The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven.’ After reading the Gospel ef the day he chose his text trom St. John, xvi, 7— “It is expedient for you that I go, because 111 go Dot the Paraclete will not come to you.” The great feat of the ascension, which was the crowning work of our Saviour’s career, was worthy of deep consideration and universal acknowledgment, as that which augments the fatth and increases the hope of the earnest and straight-thinking Chris- tuan, Jesus in the prime of manhood, in all the loveliness and beauty of His Personal character asa po og forth from His “yi habitation in N: areth to cary out the will of Father, — All tha: ‘was necessary to accomplish this object He per- formed without hesitation of rest, until that day ‘when, like another Isaac, He mounted the rugged heights of Calvary, bearing with Him the w for the sacrifice which he himself was to expitte—as the Lamb that was slain for the sins of world, ‘Then after His death aad triamphant resurrection He spent forty days onearth, during which time He built His church upon @ throne s0 solid and mag- nificent that all the attacks of ages have not been able to subject or subvert it. Butls way by Mls avceusion Ue robed Uimsels in the majesty and glory of His Father, sitting at His right hand, a mediator between Him and t ee loa creature whom He had come on earth to redeem, Why did Jesus leave His apostles desolate and lonely aiter those innumerabie hours which they shared in His companionship? The words of the text were sufficient answer to this—Itis expe- dient,” He said, “tor you that I go, because if I .0 not the Paraciete will not come ty you,” It was thus He promised ‘that He would seud the Holy Ghost—the suirit of truuh—which was .o teach them all things and abide with them forever.” Did He leave ahy memento—any real representation of His personality benind? Most assurediy, In the holy sacrament of the aitar He has leit us himsell, coutinued the preacher, In that sacri- fices which He himself predicted should be univer- sally acknowledged 110m “the rising of the sun to the ‘going down thereof” He has leit us in the blessed eucharist His body ana blood, soul and divinity, really and nly prorat and theretore re- mains » itn us to the end o1 time—tne only differ- ence being tuat as Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem He was visivle to all, while in the divine sacrament, which He himsell instituted, and trans- mitted power to his apostles and their successors to pe. petuate, He remains invisiole to tue human eye, although visibie to the eye o. faith, The rev- erend preacher conciudea by exhorting all present to avail themselves of the’ grat.tuae of the Lord Jesus Christ proving themselves worthy ef the numerous benefits He had cunterred upon them, Next Sunday being Woit Sunday, @ grand pontifical high mass will be celebrated in the Ca- Sore at which the Most Key, Archbishop will oficiate, ALL SOULS’ CHURCH. Past and Present—Sermon by the Rev. Oscar Clute, The sermon at Ail Souls’ church, Twentieth street and Fourth avenue, was preached by the Rev. Oscar Clute, ef Newark. He took his text from the Ecclesiastics, 1, 9. One o! those meteors, he said, that swept sometimes down on the flelds of art and literature proclaimed that he celebrattd himself, It was one of thepresent'aims of men to celebrate themselves and glorify the times in which they lived, Politicians said this was the only country in the world worth living in; that here were the noblest men and the purest women; magazines .| and newspapers glorified the present age as the grealest the world ever saw. Was. thera any foundation for the lofty opinions of these men of themselves and the times in which they lived? Was there any good reason why they should sing such a‘poem of the present time and forget all that the past had done for them? There never was a grander time tuan the present; there never was a grander time for those who had their work to do in this world, Now was the accepted time for all who would not be laggards or cowards in the great battle of life. It was true, in some measure, that there was no new thing under the sun, ‘The sunshine was no more bright, the winds whispered not more musically than they had = done in the thousands of years that had gone by. All the phenomena of the ma- verial world occurred then just as they did now, If they could trust human reason, the millions of worlds that they could see with te telescope obeyed the same mighty rule that this world did, ‘There really had been no new thing under the sun, As regards the realin o! thought, this was also true in Measure. Man's progress was not 80 much mafked by absolutely new d.scovertes as by 1m- provements and new applications of old things, Man saw the beauties of nature in ancient times, and a flame of poetry leaped up, but the poets of the present age could not surpass Homer and Virgil, They had evidences that tunnels and other works of the ancients surpassed anything they could boast of But surely men would say that humanity had reached a greater spiritual light. Much had been done to lead the great surging mass of humanity out of darkness into light. There were some people who talked of new religious truths that were unknown to Job and David, but this assertion had no real foundation, God was the same yesterday as to-day and for- ever. Remembering that there was no new thing under the sun, let them look at the changes that were ever going forward in matter and in man. The more clearly they could perceive eternal truth the more woula they appreciate the manner in which they manifested themselves in the past. There always had been in matter and in man an element of progress; but this progresa did not come through new elements, but through changes in the elements that were already there. There had been a great many changes, but it was thought that no new Jorces or elements had been introduced. They had all seen changes in the forms of already exist- ingelements. One class made the past its tyrant; the other would not have the thought and the in- spiration of the past even as guides of the present. What now was to hinder the combination of these two elements of good? Because they believed in yesterday must they reject to-day? How deep were those in error who rejected all the good of the past, and how foolish were they who would cramp Christianity into the unsuitable forms of the past. ‘The practical question of the hour was:—How shall the everlasting Gospel be taught jn forms that are sulted to the ever-changing timés! CHURCH OF THE DIVINE PATERNITY. God as a Consuming Fire—Sermon by the Rev. Mr. Pullman. The departure on Saturday of the Rev. Dr. Chapin for Europe on his Summer vacation was sensibly manifest in the diminished attendance at the charch yesterday morning, and this notwith- standing the fact that during his absence the Rev. Mr. Pullman’s congregation met also in this church for religious worship. The Rev, Mr. Pull- man preached the discourse from the text Hebrews, xii, 29—“For our God is a consuming fire.” This highest trnth of the world it took @ long time to find out. And yet it was @ most simple truth, This great truth was that this world 1g ruled by love. It was the love of God which sur- passeth the understanding. There were three grades of love. The first was that inducing to seek companionship—the gregariousness of man. This was a selfish love, The next was that holding society together. This was a higher love—eur fam- ily love, our church love, society love. The third is God’s love—the highest, greatest, strongest love -olall, The consuming tire was not the old hell. It was the fire that burned us clean, It carried with it an awful terror or @ cheerful promise. Ged came as the only possible hope. He would burn all that was destructible out of them—all that was unclean and unholy. False notiona led you abroad as to the views of this Church. It seemed to many that the floodgates of evil were opened by the doctrine that every human soul, however wicked, would be saved at last. On the contrary, theirs was not a doctrine likely to encourage men in their sins. God was against sin, and as He was against sin He was for the sinner, God loves us— that is why He hates sin. The theology founded on man’s dread of pain appeals to man to be good so as to avoid pain, Not the selfish can ap- preciate the great law of God, but only the spirit- ual and aspiring. The fire of God's eternal love lays hold of everything; it burns all that will burn. The fire tries every man’s work and proves what sort of work it is. Man may kill his body; but the ‘soul has no weapons for killing itself. God's laws are working all the time, They might banish, as they think, God for a time ; but God’s consuming fire was at workall the time. Everything not rightly built goes away in smoke and flame, All the while God’s love will pursue them, CHUROH OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL The “Little Sisters of the Poor’—A Noble Appeal to the Christian World. The tollowing sermon was preached at the Church of St. Vincent de Paul yesterday, in Twenty-third street, by the well known French preacher, Father Ronay:— I have, he said, the noble privilege, my brethren, of appealing to you to-aay on behalf of the aged poor. In my previous sermons I have Spoken of the young who need our fostering aid, but to-day my topic will be the aged poor and their protectors “the Little Sisters of the Poor.” These old people, for whom I plead, whose sands of life have nearly run out, whose weak and tottering lmbs need support, are treated with leving kind- ness by the “Little Sisters.” The helplessness of old age in no wise resembles that of younger years, for youth daily gains strength, while old age, a8 @ necessary appanage, has given up all hope, and leeks forward with pleasure atid happiness to the crossing of that bouroe from which no traveller returns, Youth looks forward to bright days; old age looks back merely to @ long vista of sadly spent years. The exigencies of old age have become doubled by bighted hopes, and peevishness and ertalocenen are often a@ ruling characteristic, erhaps the veteran sui r may have been dis- carded by his family or have undergone the sorrow of possessing thankless children. add to this the proverbial injustice of the world, calumny, the loss of old friends, and It will be seen that old age has many sorrows, Of course I am not alluding to weil educated oid age, which ts Ilable to the soften- ing influence oi religious instruction; but 1 aliude to the poor old man struggling apart from family, with his gray hairs against him and misery staring him in the face. The Church of Christ, by the medium of the Little Sisters oi the Poor, here steps in to his relief, The love of kith and kin is far sur- passed by the love of the “Little Sisters,”’ wiro con- tain inthemselves the entire love of mother, wife and sister, for they are sanctified in their task by the help of God Almighty. Color and race are as naught to them, for the world is their brother, and they have abandoned father, mother and family, all for Christ’s sake, ‘This is the great Catholic miracle. I remember once how that noble priest Pierre Clavet devoted himself to the helping of the negro race, and one day arrived at @ negro’s hut, where its oceu- pant was wounded, and in a condition of filth and squalor, Clavet turned back aghast, but subsequently returned and kissed his suffering brother and dressed his wounds, thereby conquer: tug huusell, The Order of tue Little Sisters is about thirty years old, and its principles are poverty and strict obedience to the commands of the Supe- rior, who speaks as God. I remember, at Varennes, six Sisters who had only two pairs of shoes among them. (One day one of them, while begging for her poor, was struck in the face. She suid:—That was for me, sir; now give me something for my poor.” In France, lately, Archbishop pupenioup ways, they declined receiving a gilt of 125,000 trancs. Two Americans lately visited our principal home in this city al aw a beautiful Little Sister wash- ing the ulcerous jeet of a dirty old man and attend- ing to his wants with a mother’s leve, and the visitors were surprised to learn that she received no wages. In France there are about one hundred apd twenty houses of the Little Sisters, In Amer- ica we have fifteen houses, notably at New Orieans and Brovuklyn, and take charge of over two thou- sand poor. We can obtain food for our poor from the kind friends o1 the Little Sisters, but we want funds tor building operations, and I now Srpeat to you to give liberally for Christ's sake; and, in con- clusion, I would say whut Father Pierre Felix said at Notre Dame, in Paris, while preaching on behalf of the Little Sisters, viz. :--'Remember that any one of you may be glad to fall into the hands of the Little Sisters shoud misfortune overtake you!" A very large amount of funds was collected in answer to the appeal. 81. FRANOIS XAVIER'S OHUROE. Close of the M lon—A Great Work and Gratifying Results—A New Church To Be Built. ‘The mission of the Jesult Fathers at theif churoh in Sixteenth street closed last night as auspiciously as it began. The earnest labors of the good fathers have brought forth good fruit, and many reclaimed souls ‘will have reason to remember long the week of the great festival of the Ascension. At solemn high mass yesterday, as yell as at the after- nodn and evening services, the little church was crowded, At high mass Rev. Father Glackmeyer delivered one of those eloquent ana impressive ser- mes which the occasion of @ mission calls forth, and he besought bis hearers not to forget the lessons taught them during the mission. The regults of the good work have been very gratifying. Hundreds have been drawn to the participation of the sacraments who neglected their religious duties for years; lukewarm Catholics have been re- claimed and no insignificant number of converts have been received into the bosom of the Catholic Church, The inadequacy of the church in point of size to accommodate the parishioners has led the Jesuit Fathers to consider the question of erecting a@ new stately building, more in keeping wit the dignity of the order, the necessities of the parish and the comfort and conven- ience of the congregation on Sunday, To this end they have purchased a very large portion of the adjoining property, and pre- pose building a church extending {rem Sixteenth to Fifteenth street, 100 feet front and 200 feet in depth. According to the plans it will be, excepting the new Cathedral, the finest Catholic church in the Cig An appeal has been made by Rev. Father Merrick, the pastor, for assistance to carry out and complete this noble design, The present church wiil remain as it 1s, ana after the completion of the new building gill be used as a college chapel. At high mass yéSterday the choir, largely increased for the occasion, sung Mozart’s ‘Twelfth Mass, This work is frequently heard in this city, but seldom receives justice irom the hands of choirs or organists. 1t would be difficult to recall a ren- dering oi it as spirited, correct and etfective as thatol yesterday. This was principally owing to the ability of the organist, Willlam Berge, who, dis- carding the usual accompaniments to be found in Noveilo's editions, selected an old German arrange- ment ol the organ part, in which every orchestral effect from the full score isretained, This arrange- ment is extremely aificult, but it adds a lustre to the glorious vocal parts almost as vivid as violins, reeds and brasses could effect. The choir is so well trained that even the formidable fugue at the end of the “Gloria” did not cause them to vary from the right path fora moment, Benediction in the afternoon, with Berge’s *‘fantuma Ergo’’ and Lambillotte’s “Te Deum” in the evening, again testified to the efficiency of the choir, An organist is to a choir what a pilotis toa ship. He can guide them salely through the intricacies of Beethoven, Haydn or Mozart, or by his incompetency leave them hope- lessly floundering in the quicksands of a fugue or, concerted piece. Work on the new church will be commenced at an early date, and perhaps next year Pentecost will be duly celebrated in it. At four o’clock P. M. the reverend Father again preached to over five thousand women—every available part of the church being densely thronged, including galleries, aisles and porticoes, while crowds lined the street outside who could not find entrance. At eight o’cleck the indefatl- gable priest again preached to over three thou- sand men, Dot a single female being in the church. ST, STEPHEN'S ROMAN OATHOLIO CHUROH. Sermon by the Rev. Dr. McGlynn—An Appeal for the Pope=St. Stephen’s Home for Destitute Children—Congre- gational Singing. At St. Stephen’s church yesteraay there wasa large congregation at high mass, many non- Catholics being present, as well as a considerable number of persons from other parishes, attracted, no doubt, by the novelty of congregational singing and the beauty and dignity of the ceremonial with which the services are conducted in that spacious and beautiful temple of God. To the non-Catholic observer, who sees only the outside of the Catholic religion, the judicious combination of that which affects the senses and touches the heart must have been an edifying spectacle. The music was rendered with characteristic skill by the choir, under the direction of the organist, Mr. Danforth, while the singing of the responses by the faithful worshippers present added an unusual impressive- ness and completeness to the services. The Rev. Father Power, who has a particularly youthful and saintly appearance on the aitar, celebrated the high mass in @ graceful and dignified manner. After the first gospel the Rev, Dr. McGlynn ascended the pulpit and read A CIRCULAR LETTER from the most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey, an- nouncing that the annual collection for the Holy Father would be made in all the churches of the archdiocese en Trinity Sunday, June 8, He then announced that # concert would be given in the Academy of Music in aid of St. Stephen’s Home for destitute children. Having read the gospel and epistle of the Sunday, he said:—The words which I have read to you can,I think, without much straining be applied to our obligation to help our Holy Father in his great need and do what we can to provide for tne wants of the destitute little ones who find a home in the orphanage under the shadow of this church, All Catholics admit that they are bound, not only in charity but in justice, to contribute to the support of their pastors and aid them in their necessities, Can anyone hesitate To recognize his duties te “THE PASTOR OF PASTORS,” the illustrious Pontiff, who occupies the chair of St. Peter? He isin the midst of diMculttes and danger, He has been Briere of his temporal kingdom and deprived of the revenues attached to it, Convents of holy men and women have been suppressed, their ore confiscated and the in- mates driven by cruel laws from their sacred re- treats to seek protection and assistance at the centre of catholicity from the Vicar of Christ. These urgent calls on the eharity and sympathetic heart of the Pope have impoverished the Papal treasury, and make it an imperative duty on us to contribute liberally on the occasion of the annual collection for the Holy Father. Your generosity and liberality are well known to me, and I have no aoubt that you will practically recognize your duties to the sovereign Pontiff by giving largely of your means to be: him to act the part of tather to these nuns and monks and priests who have been thrown on Nis charity. The claims of the inmates of St. Stephen's Home on your charity are clearly founded on the injunction of the prince of the apostles in to-day’s epistie, “But, above all things, have a mutual charity among yourselves, for, charity covereth a muititude of sins; using hospitality towards one another with- out murmurjng.” It is A FREQUENT REPROACH OF CATHOLICS in this city that they do not look after the desti- tute children of their poorer brethren, but leave them to be cared for by non-Catholic societies—a burden on Protestant chari| There is but too much truth in that rebuke, ousands of Catho- lie children have been taken and previded for by non-Catholic associations; but their redemption from misery, and want has been at the price of the inestimable gift of the true faith. This congregation has done its ja towards removing that just reproach. We ave an ee or rather @ home for destitute children, attached to the church, under the eare of the good Sisters of Charity, where every attention is paid to the corporeal and spiritual wants of the inmates, And I do not see any qo04 Teasen why it should not extend the sphere of its usefulness, and in time become quite a large institution. You can materially nelp, it by patronising the concert to be given in ald of it by the members of ST. STEPHEN'S MUSICAL ASSOCIATION. And I would here commend to your earnest at- tention the merits of that excellent society, by which @ leve for sacred music is fostered and trained. Before closing, it may be well to make & few remarks on congregational singing. It is net an innovation, a8 some suppose. It is but @ artial return to the discipline of the Charch of the 'y ages, and in fact in conformity to the prac- tice In many European countries. The very form of the mass and the spirit of the Church expect the, congregation to reply to the salutations of the om- ciating priest, as ‘Bom true vobiscum (the Lord be With you), et cum sptritu tuo (and with thy spirit), &c., clearly show. Again the mass is evidently dl- vided into three parts—the priests, the trained choirs and the congregations, ee ational singing is nothing more than the faithful taking their ewn part in the services, And that you may NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, MAY 26, 1873.—TRIPLE SHEET. a SSN: MEP RMR Ee RE iat Ei RS A eB rg take your part well it 1s only necessary that you ticipate in the services: @ determination to lo your dest and you will soon have committed to memory the designedly short responses and the lain chant; and then you will truly open your earts to God in the solemn strains ef the Grego: rian chant, FIFTH AVENUE REFORMED OHUROEH. Sermon on the Truth of the Christian Religion—The Mission of Ohrist and Its Fultilment—The Ascension Its Re- sults, Yesterday morning Dr. Ormisten was absent from his church and Dr. Vermilyea teok iis place. After the prayer and singing of the hymn Dr. Vermilyea, taking his text from one of the Epistles of Paul, preached on the inherent truths of the Christian religion and the many evidences which exist that it is founded on all that is righteous and readily de- monstrable. He spoke of the'residence of God—of the evidence tnat @ dhad a place of abode. In the: old time His holy speakers said that God had several residences—one the Ark of the Covenant, and coers, the highest being the heaven of heavens, But it was evident in all this that there was some place. -‘he ‘Tabernacle was the place where God dwelt on earth among men and heaven the place where he dwells among the angels and disembodied spirits of the saved, among the cheru- bim of Flor . There, seated on the throne, He was enabled to allow mercy to override strict jus- tice. Christ made many promises to us, and one of them was tha we should, under certain conditions, be with God and see him io heaven. promise had been made and Christ had Beg himsel! to fulfil it. His promise was sumlcient— all-suMcient, This indeed was no special work of Christ in heaven, 1¢ was told us in the Holy Scrip- tures that Christ was risen trom the dead and had ascended into heaven, The speaker was talking of wonderiul things, and we were to believe they were true and accept them; but if these things be not true, then the Bible is not true, and then all our hopes of an after lite, of a redemption, must vanish. One necessity brougit on another, It is certain, then, that Christ was taken up te heaven and in the body. How this was done, of course we cannot understand, but we may sup) that there Was some change 10 his body, though he was still material, having ascended in his earthly shape. Some ople doubt, therefore, that Christ is to enter into the presence of God the Father, but that he remains in some outer court. But we have no reagon to belteve this, Christ has gone into the presence of His heavenly Father, and there he intercedes for us. He went there for us, and to satisfy the law He must be made perlect. All the prophecies of the Old Testament and the subse- quent developments of the New Testameat prove the truth of the Christian religion, and that we cannot but love and revere the One who sacrificed Himself jor us, 8T. LUKE'S METHODIST OHUROH The Paternity of God—Farewell Sermon of Bishop Foster. Yesterday morning the pulpit of St. Luke’s Methodist Kpiscepal church, in Forty-first street, was occupied by Bishop R. 8. Foster, D. D., who was announced to deliver a parting discourse pre- vious to going upon an episcopal tour to Europ and South America. A large congregation was present, filling the church to repletion, After the customary introductory devotional exercises, Bishop Foster said that it was twenty-three years ago that day since he first opened his mouth in this city as the pastor of the then Mulberry street (now the St. Paul’s) church of this city; and after the lapse of the period spoken of, during which time ke had been mostly employed as a pastor in New York, he was about to retire from its neighborhood, not simply for the journey, to which he saw refer- ence was made in the public notice of the service of that day, but permanently. It was, therefore, with no ordinary emotion that he looked upon the faces of many to whom he had ministered for nearly a quarter of a century; to whom he was endeared by most cordial and tender friendships, and in whose families he found not only an exter- nal home, but @ residence in the heart, The Bishop then proceeded to deliver an able dis- course, taking for his text Ephesians iii., 15—Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth ts named.” In his introductory remarks the preacher said that SUPERSTITION BEGRIMS THE CHARACTER OF GOD, setting Him forth under every hideous conception of which the mind of man was capable, and clothing Him with the aspect of terror and abhor- rence. It mvariably missed the only true conce| tion of the character of God, which was, that He is a being of ineffable and infinite tenderness and love, and popular Christian theology falls but little short of the hideous portraiture given of God by the gross superstitions of ignorant and terror- stricken men. From many @ Christian pwipit He has been so represented as to chill the blood and to make the heart stand still with terror, as if He were & monster, who created only that He might have the delight of destroying; who begat children only that He might devour them with in- execrable cruelty in their helplessness and frailty; as if He took knowledgejof the sins of men only that He might spy out thelr infirmities and sins and hasten to their destruction, and as if it re- uired infinite pleadings, repentances and humilia- tions that His erring children of earth might be re- stored to His favor. Such was not the character of Goa given in the Holy Scriptures, nor as set forth in the history of His providentiai action and in all departments of His activity, and certainly such was not the character of God as it was revealed to us in and by Jesus Christ, Jesus seemed to come from the heavens that He might teach the stricken andjfrightened children of the world, who in their sins were afraid of God, that He was not an object of terror, but rather A TENDER AND LOVING FATHER, who knew them only to do them good; who watched over them and made Himseif acquainted with their wants and woes and sins; not to punish or to hasten with unquenchable fires to burn them, but that He might at- tract them with voices of tenderness and love to His bosom; that He might kiss them with tears of tenderness and sweetness and say to them, ‘My children, thy sins, which were many, are all forgiven thee.” He (the Bishop) was a firm believer in the doctrine that all the attrib- utes of God—dmnipotence, omniscience, holiness and justice—were but forms of love. The idea of the fatherhood of God was pean elaborated, and the statement made that in the construction of the material universe its Maker, like an artist whose genius gnd skill had produced a great work— he admired and cities it very good, but he did not leve it. The universe was created lor the Legere of God’s children, The Bishop proceeded to elucidate his text by showing that the angelic and saintly inhabitants of the celestial world and the children of God on earth were parts of one family. He alluded pathetically to the members or the apie tion who had passed away during the years of their acquaintance, and dwelt in glowing Strains upon THE BLISSFUL FUTURE that awaited God's children after they left the nur- sery of the present state and were introduced to the family circle of their older brethren in heaven. Tn closing he said he wasfroing upon a journey of 25,000 miles, and if during the me he should be called to depart from this mortal state, he had the firm faith that he would enter inte life, and hoped to meet them all before the throne of the Eternal. After the sermon Bishop Foster made an earnest appeal to Iris friends in behalf of those students tn the Drew Theological Seminary who needed pecu- niary help in preparation for the work of the ministry. It seemed from his statement that a number of Methodist ladies in New York formed themsolves inte a society called the “McClintock Association,” in honor of the distinguished first President of the Drew Seminary (the Presidenc; of which Bishop Foster has just resigned), ai through their efforts a number of students were assisted in the prosecution of their studies. There were over a hundred young men now in the insti- tution, and he (the Bishop) pressed upon his hear- ers, a8 & parting word, that they would see to it that these young ministers were helped in pre- paring for the great work of the Christian ministry, FATHER FLATTERY'S NEW OHUROE, Services Yesterday at 105th Street and Second Avenue: for the First Time—An Immense Congrtgation Formed=—Move. ments of the Future. Services took place for the first time at the new Roman Catholic church, corner of 105th street and Second avenue, yesterday morning. Archbishop McCloskey has selected the Rev. Hugh Flattery to take charge of the new parish, This district promises to be one of the most influential in the metropolis after it has been properly organized, The immediate vicinity of the edifice ewill be rapidly built up, according to present appearances, and the Catholic population is constantly increasing. Alarge building on the corner Of 105th street and Second avenue Is at present occupted by Father Flattery, in the rear of which he intends te erect within the next two months @ temporary ‘frame church, Yesterday morning mass was celebrated in this building, Crewds flocked to both of the masses, and at late services hundreds had to leave without being able to enter. Father Flattery’s popularity asa preacher and an able Catholic divine has endeared him to those of his faith throughout the entire city, Previous to his departure from St, Teresa's church, corner of Rutgers and Henry streets, where he labored fer some six years, the parishioners of that distriet presented him with nearly five thousand dollars. This was given as @ personal compliment to the reverend gentleman and exhibits the earnest feeling oflove and respect entertained for him by residents of the Prae where he has labored so long and so faithfully. The ladies vied with the geatiemen in this com- pliment, They held their meetings and con- tributed over one thousand dollars towards this object, the gentlemen contributing over three thousand dollars, The residents of bjs new varish have teely spirit of advancement of Catho- licity in the ins districts of the city. At last ther Fiattery announced @ meet- ing of the ladies, to take place at the pastoral resi- dence, on Wednesday evening next, in order to make arrangements for future movements as to the organization of his parish, BROOKLYN CHURCHES. Mr, Beecher on the Letter and the Spirit of the Word—A Sermon on the Sermon om the Mount—The Folly of Non-Re- sistancejPrincipies and Universal Char. ity—A Tribe of Indians Won’t Make One Average Yankee. Mr. Beecher preached yesterday morning to a congregation, not diminished in numbers by the heat of the day, a companion sermon to that of the previous Sundaymorning on the letter and spirit of the Scriptures. He selected for his text the last clause of the sixth verse of the seventh chap- ter of Romana,—“That we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” The larger part of mankind, said Mr, Beecher, are morally and intellectually lazy. They prefer to reap the benefit of thought without thinking, to have the pathway laid down for their thought, so that they shall haveno more trouble as to knowing right or wrong than the locomotive has to know the road on which it travels. It travels upon it for twenty years and is not more intelligent at the end than it was at the beginning. Men would have their thought very muchin the same way. Everybody wants to go right without any trouble to himself. The woman said to the Saviour, ‘Give me water, so thay I shall not have to come to this well to draw.” It is the spirit of this woman that animates mankind. Man desires so to regulate himself that he shall NEVER GO WRONG, and the best way to do that would be never to go atall, But the only thing which does go wrong is that which has life, The majority of men, there- fore, want a priest. We may talk as we like about being priest-ridden; but all men want a priest to ride, They wanta church thas shali supply their religion for them. Now itisa distinct peculiarity of our Saviour’s teaching that it cannot be taken literally; neither can it be easily explained. These sayings of Jesus excite men; they don’t end con- troversies, they produce them, They theretore de- mand from everyone the exercise of judgment and ther right use of it. The whole Bible, therefore, aims to produce a seif-registered manhood. The Old Testament failed to do it, andif to the present there has been a failure to do it it is because men have interpreted the New Testament in the Levit- ical method, rather than in the spirit of the New Yestament. In the light, then, of these general principles he proposed to direct the attention of is hearers to words of Scripture that had nota mystical or an internal or spiritual meaning, but which were considered generally as outward and easily understood, and show how they must be reflected upon and spiritualiv discerned before their true meaning was attained, He would, there- fore, take the Sermon on the Mount—a sermon which is as much believed in by theists as by Christians. There was no part of the Scripture that required more responsibility of thougnt and exercise of judgment than this. Mr. Beecher said he would take up some day, if he lived, the POLITICAL ECONOMY} of the Sermon on the Mount and preach a series of sermons thereon. He then proceeded to consider the teachings of Christ as to physical force and the right of men to employ other than moral agencies. “Unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other.” If that were to be taken literally, there was no right of physical force; then, if the in- dividual had no right the family had no right, the city had no right and the nation no right. To carry out this principle to its literal ending would send this age to barbarism. Men are brought into dis- cipline by a saeey: government and by a hard government in early times; a subsequent civiliza- tion prepares them for these higher truths. Take the Modocs and the Indians. Would it do anything to hel Christianity to let them rush in and take wnal they like and make no attempt to reduce them. The whole Christian world has certainly taken this view, for fighting kas been the vehicle by which civilization has been progressed. What is possible in the apple when it is ripe is not possible when it iggreen. Then you inquire, “When may I use phy- sical force ?”? 1 CANNOT TELL.\ Itis your business to find that out. That is your education, Consider, too, the directions of Chirist as to almsgiving—‘“Give to every man that asketh of thee.” @ literal carrying out of that would break up a nation and make business impossible. It would produce a carnival ef laziness, This we have proved to us in the Indians, who, luxuriating in a sunny climate, have everything that is need- ful to sustain life withoutlabor. Bring all these Indians together, and. the lot of them would not make an average Yankee. The Romish Church, by its doing everything for man, and taking from him the nerve of self-reliance, has produced nations of mendicants. Old England, by a false system of capital and the distribution of land and lapor, has produced a pauperism that is the result of making provision for the indigent and those who cannot make a living for themselves, The rule, then, for the interpretation of these words of Christ as to giving, sheuld be this:—‘So far as I think it well I will give.’ “So far asi think it beneficial I will distribute.” “Take no thought for the morrow” was then referred to. To adopt this would be to Tob the world of all the joys, the pleasures and the delights that the world gives. The whole world bears A SIGNET MARK OF GOLD. Gold was a very fine servant, but a very bad master. The political economy of the Sermon on the Mount is absolutely impracticable if taken literally ; but, ifyou take its spiritual meaning, it becomes eminently practical. The Church in two great systems had given an illustration of this theory. In one system, under the Romish, men were to be provided for, thought for, saved all responsibility. is system or- ganizes highly. The other system—the Pro- testant—throws everything on the individ- ual. It is this throwing everything on to the in- dividual that has made America what it is; has made old England what itis, has made Switzer- land what it is, has made Geneva what itis. What was true in the Church was true in the individual. Men even in the Roman Church broke away from its enthraiment, and out of it came architects, ainters, discoverers, astronomers and great men. Let us then accept and treasure this written reve- lation of God, and study it with the inspiring in- fluences of His holy spirit. HEDDING CHURCH AT POUGH- KEEPSIE, Sermon by the Rev. A. L. Culver on Governor Dix’s Veto of the Local Prohibition Bill—Vigorous Arguments. POUGHKEEPSIE, May 25, 1873. The Rev. A. L. Culver, of the Hedding church, of this city, preached a sermon to-night in answer to the Governor’s veto of the Local Prohibition bill. He took for his text “Touch not, taste not, handle not.” He commenced by saying that temperance men have been working and waiting for alaw which would assist them in the work of this reform. This law of Local Prohibition was not all they could wish, but they hailed any movement in this direction, and when the bill was introduced it was considered an advance for the better, He did not believe that public sentiment was educated to the TRUE STANDARD OF PROHIBITION; too few have their eyes open to the enormities con- sequent upon the sale of intoxicating liquors. There is a lack of interest necessary to widespread reform, yet there has been a genefal alertness, which bid fair to successful conquests until we ex- perienced the sad discouragement of this veto. However, I believe the time will come when a power will touch the pulseless form of public senti- ment and restore it to life and activity for this great work, Here Mr, Culver gave a digest ef the provi- sions of the bill, He differed seriously with the Governor in the latter’s opposition to making town oMleers responsible for notifying ail sellers to those who are habitual drunkards, on the ground that the greater number held responsible the greater the LL a fer detecting wrong. He though that men should not be less vigilant in suppressing intemperance than MURDER OR GAMBLING. Public men are public servants and are held re- sponsible for the performance of the duties of their offices, Mr. Culver again ditfered with the Gover- nor as to the obligations of the vender of liquors. He said the bill had all necessary safeguards; it provides that liquor shallbe sold only jor specific purposes—medicinal, mechanical, chemical and sacramental—and the ‘vender is’ bound in some way to know for what purpose he sells tne’ liquor. Having a list of the drunkards he need not sell to them, The public may object and say the vender is liaple to be mistaken or duped by fraud or false- hood on the part of the buyer, In answer to that Mr. Culver said the law allows THE VENDER TO BE THE JUDGE, and if there are any doubts the vender may re- frain from allowing the iiquor to go. The third ebdjection to the bill by the Governor was that there is no limit to the number of places and no qualifications for sellers, In thts Mr. Culver did not differ materially with the Governor. ‘The bo na then passed to the consideration of the Governer’s primal objections, namely, that the bill contained a limitation of popular liberty. No one, said Mr. Culver, can deprecate more than I measure that would interfere with the rights and privileges guaranteed to every citizen, for 1 hold that we may use all that Divine Previdence has biaced in our power only so that wa usa Jt, not ta im. terfere with the rights of ferred ar of imitations are the birth: ofalilaw. We live in a land of liberty, and certain political privileges, social and educational eye are ours, but they are all restricted or limited by law. ‘These same restrictions are found in the kingdom of moral and spiritual things. Miracles are pro wa which the Divine government may bad a y. Soubt wneses a lee oe without imitations in mo: spiritual or nal things. T believe it is useless to talk about the LIMITATION OF POPULAR LIBERTY, he to all limited. These are the safeguards of the The second int is “perfect statutory pro. visions are ot expected. Tue greatest of all R lems ig to enact justed to all, The vill propesed to submit to the people the privilege of deciding by ballot whether Or not intoxicating Mquors should be sold as @ beverage. The Governor, in his veto, makes A DISTINCTION IN LIQUORS, calling them “spirituous liquors and the lighter beverages,” and brings to support this opinion the fact that communities exist in the which a desire prevails to banish spirituous liquors and leave the ule beverages” unrestycted. Mr. Uulver here said, ‘What are intoxicating bevet "? has been decided by the Court of Appeals and by the commons sense @nd intelligence of a vast mujority of our citizens, The desire ef our Executive, therefore, to open the question is certainly out of place, be- cause it hag been virtually settled. Toe question settled, we suim.t the opinion—Is it not right te low the people to decide this matter of the sale of intoxicatin; independent of the tm- vidious tincti made by the Gov- good in that it privileged them te appoint or press the liquor trafic. The veto ‘diet acknowt edges the correctness of the proposition, but im- mediately denies it on the ground that it does not allow the people to say whether all or only a part of the trafic shull be restricted. We resort to pre- cedent to show how little force there 1s in the objection. Nearly every objection submitted to the peeple is pro er con.—for or against. The ballot concerning the canal debt was a whole, and not a divided issue, and a majority of the bailots thug cast were to decide whether the debt should or should not be paid, and not whether a part or the whole of it shovid be cancelled, Indeed, we do not remember of ever having an fsaue submitted to us containing the elements of division, The bill was framed in the INTERESTS OF TEMPRRANOR, and had for its object the restriction by popniat liberty of each and every kind and class of liquors detrimental to the interests o1 the peo le. A bild which privileged the peoole to elect what class of liquors should be sold might with equal propriety submit to them to say what kinds of a certain class might be sold, and so on adinjinitum. Anything else would be a restriction of popular liberty. The objection, therefore, of the Governor, instead of being valid, loses its power or force in that it ob- Jects too much. In closing Mr. Culver said:—‘John the Baptist had his Herod, who, through the witchery of dancing Hebe, served his head on a charger. Jesus had His Pilate, and by the clamor of an enra; populace He stifled his own convictiens of right and sent Christ, the Son of, God, to Goigotl Governor Dix has become the Herod of our John the Baptist, and through the illusions of his own mind he has killed by his veto the bill which was the forerunner of pelitical and religious liberties,” FIRST REFORMED CHURCH OF KINGSTON. visional Sermon by the Rev. D. N. Vandevere= Society Vibrating Between Two Ex- tremes—Undue Severity and Unright- eous Laxity. Kineston, N. Y., May 25, 1873, ‘The large and handsome edifice of the First Re formed church, ot this city was filled this morning by a throng of earnest devotees, who had assem- bled to tender their tribute of praise to tue Almighty, and to listen to an instructive and elo- quent discourse from the Itps of their talented young pastor, the Rev. D. N. Vandevere. After the usual opening services the reverend gentleman took his text from Romans v., 8—“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us,” and com- menced his discourse by saying:—In the estimate put upon sin society is ever vibrating between two polar extremes—undue severity and un- righteous laxity. Inthe days of the Pilgrims vir- tue had the Cromwellian quality. Law was sensi- tive along every nerve; morality was painfully severe; the statute book was streaked with blood. But A SPIRIT OF EXPERIMENTALISM has arisen. We have drifted to the other extreme of public opinion, We call it an eccentricity; a dis- ease; a natural but irresponsible tendency. We sugar it over. There is no backbone in society; no grip to our civilization. There is a flabbiness in popular virtue that renders it atterly useless, THE DIVINITY OF THE SCRIPTURES is seen in the straightforward, above-board way in which it deals ‘with this terrible problem. It does not affect to be shocked or startled at the out- breakings of evil; accepts it as a fixed fact in the universe; calls men sinners without preamble er apology ; speaks of hell without making a wry face; regards these frail and truant hearts in a real, large Way; talks aboutsinners, and in the same breath whispers of divine love. CHRISTIANITY 18 PERFECTLY SPHERED, The next generation, pérhaps, will see the pendm lum limited within legitimate bounds. The Bible does not attempt to prove moral obliquity; it as sumes it. Man’s ending is here; God’s pepnsiee There is 20 wisdom in trying to demolish sin wit! @ handful of proof-texts. Sin is a fact that proves itself—comes out in what man says and does. You get ne adequate conception by observing it in society; yeu do not get the depth ofa well by measuring the circumierence of the curb, No complete idea of sin is derived from the statistica of the Penitentiary or THE CONFESSIONS OF MURDERERS before they die. Carry the torch of investigation into your own heart. Memory and conscience say that there have been moments when yeu were more pure and honest and vigilant than you are now. Every man has been tempted, and, in the tax that has been levied on his virtue and endur- ance, has realized the powers and audacity of the enemy. He paddled far enough into the stream to feel the dip downward of that Niagara which sinks souls in ghastly spray. SOCIETY IS FULL OF MONSTERS that prey and ravin. There are centuries whose suggestive symbol would be a pistol; generations whose voice in history is a smothered groan, Remove the repressive force of law and education and religion, and into what a hell of wickednesa the race would go at asingle bound! Civilization bas pushed her triumphal chariot forward like @ regiment sweeping to the front, in face of eae batteries and showers o/ shells. Evilhas the a of secrecy accompanied by mest patient malignity, Eternity will disclose a wickedness more appalling than the vindication of its penalty. Now, there is creeping into society A PERNICIOUS PHILOSOPHY. Men say that the Bibie descriptions are exagger ated—meant to startie and scare. The philosophy of evil is elbowing aside the fact of evil, But that must be @ false bmn bd that ignores the exist- ence of sin; it is contradicted by every sheriff's warrant and magistrate’s chair. It is a libel on common sense to shackle a man for an attack of insanity. Here is our very peril to-day. Incom- plete notions of crime produce erronevus cence) tions of justice, and an imbecile government wi be overrun by unruly subjects. it is not a temple to Justice, but an asylum for crime! The real is more precious than the accidental; character than condition. Manhood overtops all its own attributes and possibilities, The most valuable thing in mam ig man. Itis this that the heart loves; net intel- ligence nor beauty. You often see love fastened en those who are deficient in these. Parental affec- tion deepens towards the idiot child, and thisis THR SECRET OF DIVINE LOVE TO MAN. If God should love man because ef his capacities, then divine regard would fluctuate as one man was more or less lovely—would rise and fall as the same man should be more or less efficient at different times. What are intelligenee ana skill to Him who is the full, round orb of all wisdom and power? God does not love any man for his capacities; the absence of these does not exclude divine favor. Here is a piatiorm on whieh SAVAGES AND. PAGANS can pend Ail ciamCsnoe Agata i Ben and large and noble gaze 0! you can understand the possibility of Christ dying for sinners. When He came into the world they had nothing to add to the werld’s stock of diguity and rapture, They were the appendages of Christ saw man outline 3 saw the soul im its divine design and destiny; knew the OM NS EMPATHIRS AWAKENED IN HEAVEN ders! the exertions put forth for his ram- oon. buck pure and genereus and universal eon- ception of humanity had never arisen irom man. It proved Chrisé to divine, Where is the evi- dence that Christ died for sinners? In the New ‘Testament? Yes, andin experience, Conversion isa fact in the world. Thousands have become new creatures by practising those principies of which Christ was creator and example, Just here is the radical weakness of scepticism. That is @ nameless stupidity that ignores the existence of wind when the current is pressing against the cheek. Thatis ‘A FLABBY PHILOSOPHY that denies the existence of what it condemns, Society is supremely selfish. There isa vulgar de- mand for utility. The first question asked when & man Knocks at the door is, “What can you do? What can yon giveme? How much can you com tribute to the bulk of the world’s advantage?’ If you can do nothing you are worth nothing—you are ‘a cipher, and nobody cares for ciphers, ‘This a may be commercially right, but it is celestially wrong. You must see man as Christ saw him—im- mortal, beioved of God. Christianhike toward Him; then true reformal ‘will set laws that are equitably ad.’ and then you will 16et ? tien