THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY \ PREACHER’S VADE-MECUM PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON THE PREACHEE’S VADE-MECUM SKETCHES OF ADDEESSES AND INSTEUCTIONS ON VAEIOUS SUBJECTS FOE DIFFEEENT PAEOCHIAL OCCASIONS BY THE AUTHOR OF ^SIMPLE CHUBCH TEACHING^ /-/e. rt I. LONDON J. T, HAYES, 17 HENEIETTA STEEET, COVENT GAEDEN 1886 Vn 3 0 J M V a ^ 73 f 3 p PEEFACE. The following outlines of Addresses were suggested to the writer by knowing how difficult it often is at the present day to find time to compose addresses on the spur of the moment for many and various occasions, amidst the pressure of ordinary parish work. The sketches in this little book follow very much on the lines of his ‘ Simple Church Teaching ’ and ‘ Simple Mission Teaching,’ previously published, which have been found useful in some quarters for the same pur- pose. The idea throughout is to present to the mind, in as few words as possible, some leading thoughts which may, without difficulty, be expanded into addresses of the length required for the occasion. An endeavour has been made to meet the require- ments most frequent in ordinary parishes worked on sound Church principles. If those who make use of this little book will be kind enough to make suggestions, the writer will be glad to give them due consideration in another series. He trusts that his present endeavours will not be unacceptable nor unfruitful in the field of the Church of God. 668693 Digitized by the Internet Archive - in 2016 https://archive.org/details/preachersvademecOObenn CONTENTS PAGE Addresses at Celebrations 1 V „ C.B.S. Ward Meetings . . . . CO V „ Guild of All Souls’ Ward Meetings . . 21 V „ E.C.U. Meetings . . . . . . 25 yy „ C.E.W.M.S. Festivals .... . 28 yy ,, C.E.T.S. Meetings ...... . 31 yy TO Church Workers . 33 yy „ District Visitors . . 35 yy „ Sunday School Teachers . 37 yy „ A Choir . . 39 yy „ Various Guilds . 41 yy „ Heathen . . 48 yy „ Converts . 52 yy ,. Catechumens . . 56 yy „ Confirmation Candidates . 62 yy „ Candidates for First Communion . . 74 Instructions to a Communicant Class .... . 82 Addresses to a Bible Class . . 88 yy FOR Ember-tide . 94 Address for •Eogation-tide . . 96 Missionary Addresses . 97 ADDKESSES AT CELEBEATIONS. ^io. 1.— Communion. The wonderful mystery of the Incarnation. The Son of God made Man. He ever will be Man as well as God. Our Human Nature taken into the Godhead with- out any loss to His Divinity. Men thereby have become capable of being ^ partakers of the Divine Nature/ children of God, co-heirs with Christ of the kingdom — Immortality thus brought within the reach of mortality. Holy Communion is the extension of the Incar- nation, and the application of its merits to each of us. Explain — ‘Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you.’ ‘ Whoso eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up.’ By union with our Lord’s Divine Nature alone are we promised a share in those blessings and glorious hopes which He in His Human Nature procured for us when upon earth, and is still procuring for us in heaven. No true Christian ought to turn away from Christ when He calls him, especially in so loving a way. Yet how many do for various causes, all summed up in the Parable of the Marriage Feast. Many too, especially in these days, turn away from a feeling of unworthiness. This is a better motive, but ought rather to bring at once to the Feet of Him Who alone can make us worthy, in deep penitence. Let us be careful that our attendance is regular, and that our lives are such as to show that we have been with Jesus. So shall we best influence others. But let us also, when we have a chance, help those who, for one cause or another, hold back from their loving Lord and Saviour. B 2 ADDRESSES AT CELEBRATIONS ^ 0 . 2.— cf^olg Sacrifice. God’s requirement of a living sacrifice from the time of Abel. Exact rules given as to sacrifices under the Law. The Burnt Offering, the Sin Offering, the Trespass Offering, the Peace Offering, the Passover, the Day of Atonement. None could take away sins. Only types and shadows. Our Lord’s Sacrifice summed up every kind in itself, and made the great Atonement for the sins of the whole world ; past, present, and to come. It restored God’s pardon and favour to man, and opened the gate of Paradise once closed by sin. Jesus took away the curse of sin by nailing it in His sinless Person to the Cross, and the sting of death by dying. He is ‘ a Priest for ever,’ and ‘ ever liveth to make intercession for us.’ He still pleads the merits of His Sacrifice before the Father’s throne on behalf of each of us, and thus obtains for us all that we need. He has appointed a means by which we on earth may, at the same time, ' show forth His Death,’ pleading it in union with His Intercession in heaven. ‘ Do this ’ or ‘ offer this ’ ‘ as a memorial of Me.’ The Church’s Eucharistic Sacrifice not a repetition, but a continuation and representation. What we offer, and how. The Ministerial Priesthood, and the Lay Priesthood. Our duty to see that this be made the highest act of Worship, and adorned with all that can make it beautiful and instructive to the heart through the eye and ear. Our duty to be present, and join with heart and lips, as often as possible. ADDEESSES AT CELEBRATIONS 3 ilo. of The power of the Sacraments in bringing light to our spiritual sight, and opening our eyes to Divine Mysteries. Holy Communion especially has this power. The two disciples going to Emmaus. Their eyes holden that they should not know our Lord. Their hearts burned within them, but they had no power of themselves to believe in His Eesurrection, and to see and know Him. But in His Blessed Sacrament He revealed Himself to them, and they both saw and knew Him to be their crucified Lord. Just so are men’s spiritual eyes now unable to pierce through the mists that surround them, and to see Jesus and the mysteries recorded in the Holy Scriptures aright, without the aid of that wonderful Sacrament. By means of It our Lord Himself comes and touches our eyes, as it were, and says, ‘ Be opened.’ He is Himself ' the true Light, Which lighteth every man that cometh into the world ’ ; and He brings down the uncreated Light of heaven to us in Holy Com- munion, giving Himself to us. He has said, ‘ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ For only the pure in heart are worthy in any measure of drawing near to Him, still less of receiving Him into themselves. He alone can purify our hearts and make them fxt for His coming, and by that coming enable us to see Him. Though it be through a glass darkly now, we hope hereafter to see Him as He is, when our eyes have no longer any earthly impediment to the full Beatific Vision. 4 ADDEESSES AT CELEBEATIONS Wo. 4.-®i)c mn of Mfc. The gift of all others which our Lord came on earth to bring was that of life — a new life in Him here, and eternal life through Him hereafter. ‘ In Him was life ’ from all eternity, and ‘ the life was manifested ’ when He took our Flesh, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. By His Death He overcame Death, and by His Eesurrection He restored to us ever- lasting life. This great gift is ours by our union with Him. It is the special work of that Blessed Food which He gives us. ‘ Whoso eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, hath eternal life ’ (even now, as the seed, as it were, of his future immortality). Holy Baptism plants the first principle of that new life in us ; but it must needs after- wards be fertilised and enriched by Holy Communion, so that it may bring forth fruit unto everlasting life. Doubtless in some mysterious way there is a real truth too in that which is expressed in our Prayer-book by the words, The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . preserve thy body . . . unto everlasting life.’ We have our hopes, as Christians, fixed in the Eesurrection of the flesh, or of the body. And it can only be through our communion with that immortal and immaculate Human Body of our Lord in its glorified state that our bodies are made capable of resisting the power of death. Let our life be ‘ hid with Christ in God,’ and let us reasure that great gift so as never to forfeit it by sin. ADDRESSES AT CELEBRATIONS 5 ilo. 5.-f #ifi of §txcxxQtt). God-given spiritual strength an absolute necessity to us in our contests with the evil around. The longer we live, the more we feel our own help- lessness to resist evil in our own strength. God is Almighty, and He is always ready to aid us with His great might. The gift of spiritual strength comes to us especially in Confirmation. But one who is confirmed without becoming a Communicant is like a man who allows his sword to grow rusty and so useless to him. We need continually fresh stores of grace and strength, and these we may find abundantly in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. ' He that spared not His own Son . . . shall He not with Him also freely give us all things ? ’ None knows our weakness better than our Heavenly Father. He has given His Son not only to die for us, but also to be our spiritual Food. The Israelites were sustained and strengthened during forty years by the bread which fell from heaven, as a type of The true Bread which strengthens God’s people now. Elijah, too, was fed with Angels’ food to strengthen him for his forty days’ journey, as a type of that Angels’ Food by which we are strengthened for our journey through this barren world, full of deadly serpents and beasts of prey, till we come to the Mount of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. If we come to Jesus with truly penitent hearts for past failures, trusting only in Him, He in His Blessed Sacrament will ever shield and strengthen us. 6 ADDRESSES AT CELEBRATIONS 'ilo. 6.— #iff of S^oUness. God is perfect in holiness. Jesus as Man is perfect in holiness. ‘ Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.’ How can we, defiled with sin, be made holy ? Only by putting on the robe of Christ’s righteousness, by apply- ing the merits of His Death and Passion to our sinful souls. By confession of our sins we may cast off the load of past sins, but holiness means much more than this. Only by intimate union with the All-holy can we in any measure partake of His»holiness, and by Him alone can we have access to the Father. This is assured to all the faithful in Holy Communion, wherein it is no longer we that live, but Christ (the Holy One) Who liveth in us. This may well make us pause to think of the awful- ness of an unworthy reception. At the same time, the thought of their own un- worthiness should never deter anyone from receiving ; for none can be holy till they come to the Fount of all holiness to be made so. If we could but make one really good Communion, how many sins might we not conquer, how many virtues might we not acquire ? It is well always to make some special petition at each of our Communions for grace to resist one or two particular sins to which we are liable, or to acquire the contrary virtues. So may we hope to grow in holiness and become more Christ-like now while there is time, that we may ‘ see the Lord ’ here by faith and hereafter face to face. ADDEESSES AT CELEBEATIONS 7 '5X0. 7 —Sove of our ^oxb for The love of our Lord Jesus Christ, as shown forth in our Eedemption, at the cost of His most precious Blood, was indeed wonderful. No less wonderful is that love which He has shown in offering His sacred Body and Blood to every faithful Christian in Holy Communion. In spite of all the irreverences and profanations to which He in His Blessed Sacrament has been subjected. He has never withdrawn His Divine Presence from us. His love is shown in Holy Communion by His entire self-surrender to the lowliest humiliation for our benefit. It is shown by His patience in coming again and again to us, in spite of our frequent falls. It is shown by His bringing with Him all the grace which He came on earth to purchase for us. It is shown by the pardon which He bestows through Holy Communion, and the new life and vigour which He imparts in it. It is shown by the opportunity which He therein gives us of drawing so very near to the Father through Him in that holy mystery. These are only some of the many ways in which our Lord shows His love in bestowing Himself upon His people. Think out others for yourselves. The love of Jesus is far beyond all that human tongue can express, or human thought understand. It surpasses the tenderest human affection as far as heaven surpasses earth. It never changes towards its, even when we resist it ; so long as we do not quite abandon our faith and drive away the Holy Spirit. The love of Jesus in Holy Communion is a foretaste of heaven. 8 ADDRESSES AT CELEBRATIONS ^ 0 . 8—^ovc for our ^or6. ^ We love Him because He first loved us ’ — that should be the motive of our love for God. The Eedemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ should not only be the theme of our highest thanksgivings, but of our most ardent love. That Blessed Sacrament which extends to us the benefits of the Eedemption once wrought for us is the Sacrament of love. We cannot show our love to God better than by being regular and earnest Communicants. Thereby we prov3 that Christ dwells in our hearts, and that we are really anxious to return His love in the best way that we can. Thereby we prove our desire to be drawn nearer to God, the Object of our love. Thereby we prove that we are anxious to forsake and avoid all that offends Him Whom we love, by a careful preparation for the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lord said, ‘ If ye love Me, keep My command- ments ’ ; and He gave us the command, ‘ Do this in remembrance of Me.’ On the other hand, we cannot show that we love the world, ourselves, and our sins better than by staying away from Holy Communion. We ought to find pleasure in doing everything in our power to adorn and beautify the Celebration of that Blessed Sacrament. He Who did not despise the widow’s mite, nor scorn the offering of the precious ointment, will accept what little we can do as a labour of love done unto Him. Our whole lives ought to show forth perpetually our love to our Lord, by our giving ourselves up wholly to Him Who gave Himself wholly for us, and still gives Himself wholly to us. ADDEESSES AT CELEBKATIONS 9 ^io. for eac^) oti)ev. ‘ God is Love,’ and His will is that His love should dwell in our hearts continually and abundantly, and be shown forth by acts of love to our neighbour. This love of our neighbour should appear throughout our whole daily life. Still more should it be shown in everything con- nected with religion. Above all should it be shown in our common recep- tion of the Holy Communion. In that Blessed Sacrament high and low, rich and poor, meet at the Altar as equals and as brethren. All distinctions of family, race, and colour are merged in the one great Family under the one great Father of all. In Holy Communion we are all united to our Lord Jesus Christ by the most intimate bond. In Holy Communion we are all united to one another, in and through Him, as members of the mystical Body of which He is the Head. Our fellow-communicants are not merely our neigh- bours, whom by the Christian law of charity we are bound to love ; but they are brethren in very deed, for ‘ we, being many are one Body in Christ, and every one members one of another.’ Our love for them, therefore, should be such that we should never allow anything to hinder its bearing fruit in acts and words of gentleness, kindness, and helpful- ness. If love be our ruling motive, there is not much fear of our making enemies. Love to each other in Christ through Holy Com- munion will open to us more and more of ‘ the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.’ 10 ADDKESSES AT CELEBRATIONS ^ 0 . 10— ^ovc for t^e §ainfs. The Communion of Saints is never more vividly brought to our mind than in the Holy Eucharist. We join with all the Saints, living and departed, in the worship of the Lamb once slain for all. The prayers of the Saints departed, so much nearer as they are to God, go up with greater efficacy than ours. And on earth ‘ the prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ The old custom of reading the Diptychs at the Divine Liturgy. We ought to ask God to hear the prayers of the Saints for us and for all men. We should love the Saints as the noblest and worthi- est recipients of the love of God. We should love them as our models and exemplars, wffio go before us to show us the way to the love of God, which is true happiness. We should love them out of our thankfulness to God for making us their ‘ fellow-citizens.’ But above all we should love them as the truest and best members of the same mystical Body as ourselves by virtue of the Blessed Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. In the Saints we see all those virtues after which we ourselves ought to strive. So that by hearing and read- ing of them we may learn how to love and serve God, and how to love and help our fellow-men, better than we have been wont to do. Thus will our love to God be manifested, and our love to all mankind be increased. Whenever we come to Holy Communion, let us think of that great ‘ cloud of witnesses ’ around us here below, and of our fellowship with them in Jesus. ADDEESSES AT CELEBEATIONS 11 ^0. ii.Sovc for '^epaxicb. All the faithful departed are one with us still in the Holy Catholic Church (though in different portions of it), and in the Communion of Saints. They are above all especially near to us in the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion. Heaven, Paradise, and Earth are then brought closer together than at any other time. If the Holy Eucharist is a foretaste of future bliss to us, doubtless it avails also for them, to bring them still nearer to their Lord. If our love for our friends be real and true, the grave cannot swallow it up. They are not lost, but gone before, whither we hope to follow them. It is a mistake never to talk of them, or to surround their memories with gloom. If they have been all that we could have wished, we may now have the most blessed hopes for them. And even if they have not been always good and faithful, at least they are now beyond the power of temptation ; and we may trust and pray that those sins which they have committed may not be im- puted to them. At least they can no longer give us anxiety as to their falling away. Let us seek to love their memory, and think of them especially at Holy Communion. We are but separated outwardly for a very little while compared with eternity, which we hope to spend with them. Let us keep them especially in mind at the Altar on the anniversary of the day on which they were delivered from the miseries of this sinful world. 12 ADDKESSES AT CELEBRATIONS 'glo. 12.— ^ot)c for t^e Jlngcls. The angels are our constant companions, though unseen by mortal eyes. They are also our fellow-worshippers of God and of the Lamb. The worship of heaven, as represented in the Eevelation, is a Eucharistic worship. Our worship below is fashioned after the pattern of theirs. They are especially near to us when we offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Their love to us is so great that there is joy in their presence over one sinner even that repenteth ; and each of us individually is watched over by one of their glorious band, who rejoices when he does what is right, grieves when he does wrong, and carries up his prayers to the throne on high. They are sent to minister to our spiritual needs. We ought to love them as our fellow-creatures, as our fellow-worshippers, as our ever-watchful guardians, as our spiritual helpers, as our faithful friends through all the changes and chances of life. We ought to show our love to them by praying to God for their help, and by being ever mindful of their presence, especially at the Holy Eucharist. We look forward one day to joining them, and being more fully conscious of their presence and loving com- panionship. When we think of their wonderful purity and holi- ness, and also of their profound humility, lowly adora- tion, and instant obedience to the commands of the Almighty, we ought to learn to correct our own foolish pride and disobedience, and to imitate the holy angels, especially at those Divine Mysteries in which we join our voices with theirs. 13 ADDEESSES AT WAED MEETINGS OF THE CON- FEATEENITY OF THE BLESSED SACEAMENT. ^ 0 . 1.— §ommcmorafion. The Holy Eucharist a continual remembrance (or memorial) of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ. Our Lord’s command, ^ Do this,’ or ‘ Offer this,’ as a memo- rial of Me. The Sacrifice on Calvary complete and entire in itself as a Propitiatory, yet incomplete as a Mediatorial, Sacrifice. Our High Priest is still completing it by His Intercessions. We are permitted to join in that glorious work (in a certain sense) on behalf of ourselves and all men. When we come before Him in His Blessed Sacra- ment, we see Him by faith on His Cross, ‘ evidently set forth.’ There we adore Him as the Lamb slain for us, while we join with Him as our High Priest pleading the merits of His sacrifice on Calvary. The Oblation is but one, passing through all time from the Crucifixion till our Lord come again to Judgment, and the work of grace be over. The Holy Eucharist also a continual remembrance of the benefits which we receive by the Sacrifice of the Cross. For when we see our Lord’s holy actions represented, and hear His holy words spoken, it is as if we saw Him raising us from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, and heard Him bidding us take His easy yoke and light burden upon us and follow Him through the shadow of death to eternal life. In connection with the Eucharistic Sacrifice, too, we commemorate all the Saints, all our relations and friends, all the faithful (living and departed) as part of the mystical Body of our Saviour, and join with them in that great Eucharistic act of prayer and praise. 14 ADDRESSES AT C.B.S. WARD MEETINGS ^ 0 . 2.~Jl6orafiott. The great condescension of the Almighty in per- mitting us, defiled by sins as we are, to wwship Him. The even greater condescension of the Son of God in coming to us in such a lowly aspect in the Holy Eucharist, that we may not be afraid. The presence of God on the holy mount brought terror with it, and His people shrank from it in awe. The presence of God in the Tabernacle and the Temple could be approached but once a year, by the High Priest alone, and that with fear and trembling. But the presence of God now is in all Catholic Churches, accessible to all, and calling to all with a still small voice to draw near and adore our loving Saviour. All other Services ought to be supplementary to the Holy Oblation ; all connected with it and pointing to it, as it were, by their whole character and ^ raison d’etre.’ Before the Blessed Sacrament we may best pour out our hearts to God, make known our wants, offer our thanksgivings, plead for all mankind. But worship and adoration imply something more than all this — a quiet resting on God, submitting our wills entirely to His, offering our whole selves to His service, praising and honouring Him for all His majesty and glory as well as for His unspeakable condescension. Let us see that we value these privileges, and let our whole lives speak to the world of ‘ Jesus only.’ Thus shall we make preparation for that time when we shall ‘ see Him as He is,’ and worship Him without a veil between. ADDKESSES AT C.B.S. WARD MEETINGS 15 'glo. 3 — ^ransftgurafion. Our bodies are to be hereafter fashioned like unto the glorious Body of our Lord, His risen and spiritual Body, if we remain faithful to Him. The Holy Communion works that change in us now whereby both our souls and bodies will be enabled to rise glorious to everlasting life. ^ He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.’ That life which is inherent in our Lord by His Divine Nature, and which by the hypostatic union became the property of His Human Nature also, becomes our inheritance by communion with Him in the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood. We thereby undergo a glorious transfiguration, so to speak, making us partakers of the Divine Nature, which is immortal, indestructible, eternal. Not for us to inquire whether, in the infinite com- passion of the Father of all, there may not be hope for some, at least, outside the Christian Faith who have never wilfully and knowingly rejected it. These we trust to God’s uncovenanted mercies. The Christian covenant only speaks of one way of obtaining that change of soul and body to fit them for eternity. But that Holy Communion may be the channel of this stupendous gift to us, there must be a correspond- ing effort on our part. The careless and indifferent Communicant is a sight to make angels weep. Alas ! our sinful desires, Satan, and the world are so strong that they often prevail over us in spite of all our frequent Communions. Let our life be hid, henceforth, with Christ in God. Then, when Christ our Life shall appear, we shall appear with Him in glory. 16 ADDRESSES AT C.B.S. WARD MEETINGS '^lo. 4.— 'Reparation. Every devout Catholic must necessarily grieve over the terrible profanations to which the Holy Eucharist is subjected by those who do not discern the Lord’s Body. Anything that it is in our power to do, in order to avert God’s wrath on account of these abuses, ought surely to be our earnest desire. What can we do ? Very little, but yet something. We can by influence, or at least by example, show before the world our own faith, and let our light shine before men. We can, by our alms and by our prayers, assist in providing proper ornaments for the Altars of the Church and for use at the Blessed Sacrament. We can, perhaps, spare some little time to do some work of adornment ourselves, permanent or floral. We can pray, especially at the Celebration itself, for those who, from ignorance or any other cause, commit sacrilegious acts, as well as for those who are careless about their behaviour in the more intimate presence of the Almighty. We can offer our own feelings of sorrow, in union with the Blessed Sacrament, for the many injuries done to Jesus in that holy mystery. Of course nothing that we can do or say can, of itself, make any amends to God for all those insults and injuries to His Holy Name. But, by virtue of the one great all-atoning Sacrifice, and its continual memorial re-presented before the Throne, we may plead in hope that our Heavenly Father will not ‘ be extreme to mark what is done amiss,’ and that He will not impute to our Church that which its unworthy members have done. ADDEESSES AT C.B.S. WAED MEETINGS 17 ^ 0 . 5—(^xoxvt^ in /holiness. Our spiritual life must be progressive. To stand still is to be overcome. The path that Jesus and His Saints have trodden is ours to tread too, far as it seems above us, for we are bidden to ‘ be holy ’ and ‘ called to be Saints.’ Progress possible only by partaking of the Food of the Saints, and by walking ‘ in the strength of that Food.’ Each Communion may add something to our store of strength, and advance us one step nearer to that holiness without which we shall never see the Lord. All our energies, therefore, should be concentrated on one or two points at each Communion and for the following days. Good habits are not so easily formed, unfortunately, as bad ones ; but, when once formed, they are just as tenacious and even more powerful, for they are supported by the Almighty Himself. The enlightenment which is granted to a devout Communion is sufficient to show us our path clearly. The Divine life and energy which proceed from such a reception are sufficient to ward off all the assaults of temptation, and to advance us far on the road to holi- ness and heaven. When we think of these things, and of our own shortcomings, how we must mourn over our lack of fervour and of perseverance in the past, which has lost us so much grace ! Let our very next Communion be made with fresh resolutions, and a determination to make it a stepping- stone to a holy life, and in God’s own good time to a holy death. c 18 ADDEESSES AT C.B.S. WARD MEETINGS ^io. 6.—§oxpoxate The life which we receive from our Lord Jesus Christ through the Blessed Sacrament is not merely of an indi- vidual, but of a corporate, nature. We are knit together in one with all the other members of His Mystical Body, living and departed. We are all branches of the true Vine, deriving all our sustenance and vitality from the One Stem and Boot. From this we gather the reason why charity is placed in the forefront of Christian virtues, and also why it was said by our Blessed Lord, ‘ If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them.’ Guilds and Societies, such as this Confraternity, represent to us this truth as to our union with one another. But they are only figures of that which is indeed a most blessed reality, the Communion of Saints in and through our Divine Head. Each of us is truly ^ our brother’s keeper.’ We can do and say nothing but what may gain greater import- ance than we imagine by its echoes, as it were, in the thoughts, words, or deeds of others. We must, there- fore, be careful about our example, and keep watch over our tongues ; for we may do incalculable harm in a very short time, and in very simple ways. As members of the C.B.S., we ought to have even a higher aim than other Communicants who do not belong to the Confraternity. Our duty it is to set before the world an example of love to Jesus on the Altar, and in the hearts of His people, as both faithful Churchmen and loving brethren. ADDKESSES AT C.B.S. WARD MEETINGS 19 ^0. 7 .— ^uxe Offering. The sacrifices and offerings which, under the Old Covenant, spoke of better things to come, were confined to one nation — to one city — to one Temple in that city. The ‘ Pure Offering ’ foretold by Malachi was to be offered in every place. Under the New Covenant we enjoy the blessed privi- lege of the presentation of that Offering to the Father in our midst, in whatever Christian land we may be. It is offered in the Name, the sacred Name and Power, of Jesus. It pleads effectually for us and all mankind. The pure and spotless Lamb of God has made Him- self the Pure Offering on the Altar of the Cross, with its extension and re-presentation on the Altar of each Christian Church holding the faith in its integrity. The offerings of old were many and various. The Pure Offering is but one and the same most precious Body and Blood, broken and shed once for all. Thence have all the Saints and Martyrs gained strength to fight manfully, and to win the crown of victory. Thither have they gathered as the eagles, while the Sun of Eighteousness shone upon their eyes, which by faith pierced through the clouds of doubt. To us sinners Jesus is still the Lamb of God, the One Offering from all the world to its Creator and Sovereign Euler. Let our every prayer be offered in union with the Pure Offering; in lowly humility esteeming ourselves and all that we can offer at less than nothing apart from the all-prevailing Sacrifice. 20 ADDKESSES AT C.B.S. WAED MEETINGS 'iXo. 8 — perpetual Offering. The commemorative Christian Sacrifice is a per- petual offering. It is to be offered continually till our Lord’s return. Indeed, there is probably some part of the world where it is being offered at each hour of the day as the earth rolls round. The sin of the whole world in one awful load lay on the shoulders of the spotless Lamb of God, and is being taken away by virtue of His One Sacrifice once offered. There is now no more offering for sin ; but the merits^ of the Atonement are applied to each sinner, and to every sin which he commits day by day continually. There is therefore need of the ‘ continual remembrance ’ before God ‘ of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ.’ The thought of the Perpetual Offering may well be a help to us in prayer. ‘ Through Jesus Christ our Lord ’ a petition to be heard not for the sake of an absent Saviour but of One ever present, ever pleading in, with, and for us, both in heaven and on earth. The Perpetual Offering is indeed the centre of our devotions and of our spiritual life, through which our poor prayers are made acceptable on high, through which all grace flows down to us below. The worship of the Church on earth should be a kind of reflection of the worship above, so far as it is revealed to us. The eye and the ear are great instructors of the mind, and it is of immense importance that they should themselves be instructed aright. 21 ADDEESSES AT GUILD OF ALL SOULS’ WAED MEETINGS. ^ 0 . 1 .— §^xistian ^ictv of pcaf^. In these days, with the gloomy shadows of the last century still over us to some extent, we need to remind ourselves continually of the different way in which the Church of Christ looks at things to what the world does. This especially true of the subject of Death. Death must necessarily bring a feeling of awe even to a good man. But all feelings of superstitious terror are unbefitting the disciples of a Master Who was dead and is alive again. Jesus is the Eesurrection and the Life. All live in Him, whether in the body or out of the body. We on earth have His Sacramental Presence. The faithful departed have been admitted by Him to the ante-chamber (as it were) of His unveiled Presence, where they begin to see His Face more clearly, and to hear His Voice more plainly, in the spirit. For aught we know, they may often be nearer to us and more interested in our welfare than our friends in distant lands. Meanwhile their bodies ‘sleep’ — it is the word our Lord would have us use. They rest from their earthly labours before entering on the new and better life in store for them. They too have been partakers of the Sacramental Presence, and by It will be preserved, how we know not. Some germ of .eternal life is doubtless planted in them which will hereafter develop into full growth. These truths should be shown forth in our dealing with the bodies of the departed, from first to last, as well as in our prayers, &c., for the repose of their souls. 22 ADDKESSES AT O.A.S. WARD MEETINGS ^ 0 . 2—"§^e §ontmmtion of §aints. The Communion of Saints one of our greatest con- solations when thinking of the faithful departed. We know that they are still united to us most closely in that holy fellowship, and are one with us in Christ our Lord. In God’s house above there are many mansions ; and also in the place of departed spirits there are, doubtless, many degrees of peace and happiness, many grades of preparation, of one kind or another, for eternity, and also many varieties of development of the different talents and powers exhibited imperfectly while in this world, preparatory to their full perfection in the heavenly city. The cold heathen idea of the departed being sepa- rated from us entirely has too much hold upon us in these days. The expressions which we use about them in common talk give too much countenance to this. As fellow-members of the Communion of Saints their prayers go up with ours still to the Throne on high. They plead for us, and we for them, in union with the same all-atoning Sacrifice and Its Commemo- ration. Their names should be often mentioned, not hushed up in gloomy silence. The days of their departure out of the miseries of this sinful world should be ever held in honour, and should be special days of devotion for us who loved them when they were with us, and who love them equally still. We should take great care of their resting-places, not for a year or two, but all our lives, till we ourselves are laid to rest by others. ADDRESSES AT G.A.S. WARD MEETINGS 23 ^ 0 . S—^eacc after §txife. That which we pray for above all other things for our departed ones is that they may rest in peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, and in one sense He came to bring peace on earth — peace at least to men of good-will. But in another sense He came to bring a sword, and to set men to encounter even their nearest and dearest, nay, to hate even their own lives, when called upon to follow Him. The life of the faithful Christian soldier cannot be one of outward peace. We therefore long for the time when the conflict shall be over, the victory won. And we pray that none of the unknown changes which it seems to us might disturb the repose of those who have passed out of this world with many imper- fections in them, may interfere with the blessed peace which they enjoy from their nearer approach to Jesus and to heaven. Theirs is but a vision of that perfect peace which they will enjoy hereafter, when the last enemy shall be destroyed, and in their flesh they shall see God their Saviour. The peace of the intermediate state was w^ell de- scribed by the Jews of old as the bosom of Abraham (the friend of God), in distinction from the Bosom of the Almighty Father, Who will hereafter fold His people in the embrace of His own eternal peace. If we let the peace of God which passeth all under- standing reign in our hearts now, amidst the turmoil of life, we may look forward with confidence to enjoy that everlasting peace. 24 ADDKESSES AT G.A.S. WAED MEETINGS 4.— 'Resting in ^ope. After the toil of this world comes a time for rest, just as night follows day. This rest to the faithful Christian is a rest in hope of a glorious resurrection to eternal life. The Psalmist King wrote in the Name of his future Divine Son, ‘ My Flesh shall rest in hope.’ Our Lord remained but a portion of three days in the grave, and then burst the bonds of death, ^ because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.’ By virtue of His Kesurrection our bodies too will rest in hope. They, unlike His, will ‘ see corruption ’ as their rightful inheritance ; but, by the power of that Blessed Sacrament whereby they have been made par- takers of the incorruptible Body of their Saviour, they will one day rise again, never henceforth to see corrup- tion more. Hope is then the special mark of the intermediate state of the faithful. There will be less room for faith then, for many of the greatest mysteries will have been revealed, wholly or in part. But happiness will not be complete, peace will not be absolutely perfected, the full beauty of the Beatific Vision will still be hidden. But they who have fought the good fight valiantly and well may then rest in hope of all that blessedness in store for them when body and soul shall be re-united, never again to be separated by death. 25 ADDEESSES AT ENGLISH CHUECH UNION MEETINGS. ^ 0 . 1 pocfrinc. This is an age of speculation and free thought, and men in these days are waging a perpetual war against old ideas and dogmas. This spirit has penetrated largely indeed into religious matters. There is a restless craving after novelty, and a dissatisfied feeling with regard to the Faith of our fathers among many, who think that they can elaborate systems of religion of their own, or who love to apply the grand old name of ‘ Catholic ’ to a wide sympathy with every form of theism and even of atheism. Thus by means of a counterfeit charity does the Enemy of men strive in these latter days to turn Chris- tians from the true Catholic Faith ‘ once delivered to the Saints.’ He does not impugn our Lord’s own words as to the awful danger of unbelief in Himself. But he attacks all statements of the Church which bear the same mean- ing ; and even goes so far as to persuade men that there should be no doctrinal teaching at all, but that each should follow the guidance of the light of knowledge, or in other words do that which is right in his own eyes. This is not the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, which say plainly, ‘ This is the way, walk ye in it.’ In standing up for the doctrine of the Church we are standing up for God. Our Lord has promised that whoever shall confess Him before men shall be confessed by Him before the angels of God. 26 ADDEESSES AT E.C.U. MEETINGS ilo. 2.-'ilituar. A certain amount of ritual is essential to the per- formance of all the Public Service of Almighty God, and especially to the Celebration of the Blessed Sacrament. Eitual observance is therefore only a matter of degree, to be regulated according to the needs of the Church in her several devotional Offices. There ought to be a well-marked meaning, either real or symbolical, in every rite and ceremony. It is very evident that these ought not to be left to chance or to the taste of individuals, whether clergy or laity, but to be regulated by authority. Those six points of ritual, for instance, for which the English Church Union has made so valiant a stand, come down to us on the authority not only of the uni- versal Church, but, as we believe, of our portion of the Church separately as well. Mention of each of these, with then’ meaning, &c. In other matters connected with ritual, even ‘ minu- tiae,’ it should be our endeavour always to follow the rule, or at least the mind, of the Church Catholic, of the Western Church as a whole, or of that portion planted in these islands from time immemorial. All our efforts should be constantly directed to making our material churches instructive to the eye as well as to the ear ; and also to representing on earth, as far as possible, that worship in which we hope to join here- after. So shall we in time make the term ‘ ritualist ’ once more a term of honour instead of undeserved reproach. ADDRESSES AT E.C.U. MEETINGS 27 ^ 0 . 3—§vanqelisation. God has been pleased to bless the work of the English Church Union in restoring somewhat of beauty to the Services of the Church, as well as some of the underlying doctrines. Now, there is a further and yet more glorious work before the Union, the proclaiming of the Good Tidings to the poor, the ignorant, the hard-hearted, the un- believing. There is plenty of work of this sort to be done ; and the various means employed, whether by parish priests, by assistant clergy, by lay-helpers, by Missionary Societies, are yet quite inadequate to its con- tinual growth, especially in our great cities. The E.C.U. is pledged to help in this work. As a body consisting wholly of Communicants, it has one great advantage over all Missionary Societies, not only on account of the probable greater unanimity with which all may work together, but above all on account of the greater efficacy of the prayers of those who with one accord join in the pleading of the Holy Sacrifice. United intercessory prayer for the conversion of sinners is greatly needed, and will undoubtedly obtain grace for those for whom it is offered as well as for those who offer it. And they who commit their own work of evangelisa- tion to God before beginning it, asking that it may turn to His greater glory, may then go forth to whatever branch of work they undertake, feeling that no hostile power can stand against the assaults of the Sacramental strength of the Communion of- Saints, 28 ADDEESSES AT FESTIVALS OF THE CHUECH OF ENGLAND WOEKING MEN’S SOCIETY. i—§pixitxtal iSorfe. God has a work for each of us to do of two kinds: 1. Each has to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, and 2. Each has to do something in one way or another for his neighbour’s salvation, even if it be only by the example of a religious and well- conducted life. As individuals we feel both of these wwks at times hard to carry on, and the toil is very greatly lightened wEen we become members of a Society which has these objects in view. The Working Men’s Society may be a very great help to men’s own religious life, by helping them to realise that they are not alone in the difficult toil of resistance to the evil around them in the world. Other workers for God, of their own or nearly their own rank in life, join with them in helping one another on, and making the toil seem less. People with similar occupations are often exposed to similar temptations and difficulties in their religious life, and they must know better how to face them than those in a different social sphere. Often too a weak brother is gradually nerved to greater courage hy companionship with courageous God-fearing men. And doubtless the example set by a body of working- men, faithful to their God and their Church, has, and will have in the future, a great influence over the minds of the doubting, the careless and the erring, and by God’s blessing will bring many back to religion. ADDKESSES AT C.E.W.M.S. FESTIVALS 29 ^ 0 . 2—§ontenbinq for The duty of contending for the Faith of our fathers is one which presents itself especially to the C.E.W.M.S. as of supreme importance. The Society has from the first been active in the cause of sound doctrine and of the outward expression of that doctrine. Ever since the Faith of Christ first began to spread throughout the world, it has been assailed by open enemies from without and by heresies and schisms arising from within. False doctrine has at different times put on different shapes, and has sometimes been more pronounced, and sometimes concealed under an appearance of law and order or of a world-wide charity. Our duty as faithful Christians and Catholics is, while showing the utmost charity to all men, to state plainly that there is such a thing as ‘ the Faith once delivered to the Saints,’ which demands the surrender of all our natural faculties and of the whole devotion of our hearts and souls. In every way we can we ought to seek to be pioneers of the army of the Cross in its march against the strongholds of lukewarmness, worldly indifference, infi- delity, &c., &c. The Apostles and first preachers of the Cross were only working-men for the most part, but inspired by the Holy Ghost they converted thousands to the Faith. Though they were great Saints, and we are sinners, yet the call comes to each and all of us to be saints, and by our faithfulness to help to sanctify the world. 30 ADDRESSES AT C.E.W.M.S. EESTIVALS 'glo. 3—§^xist t^c pattern for forking ^Scn. Our Lord’s Life on earth is set before us for our imitation, in whatever position we may be, and whatever occupations we may have. But in His infinite humility He was Himself pleased to become a poor Working Man, and to pursue for many years the trade of a carpenter. This ought to endear Him in His hidden Life at Nazareth to the hearts of the poor, and to the trades from which members of the C.E.W.M.S. are mostly drawn. The virtues of love, diligence, humility and obe- dience shine forth conspicuously in the little that is told us of our Lord’s early home Life. These are some of the principal virtues which He was ever bringing forward in His teaching afterwards. We have Him therefore as our Exemplar as well as our Teacher. Only at an infinite distance are we enabled by the grace of His Holy Spirit to follow Him, taking up our cross and learning of Him. But He is pleased to accept the will for the deed, and to reward even the feeblest attempts with fresh grace to strive harder and do better. It is our blessed privilege also to carry on Christ’s own peculiar work of the conversion of sinners. The C.E.W.M.S. as a Society is able to offer itself to Him for this great work, and to set Him before its members and before other working men as their Fellow Man, W'ho has finished most perfectly the work on earth given Him to do for them, and Who is still carrying on His work for them in heaven. 31 ADDEESSES AT CHUECH OF ENGLAND TEMPEEANCE SOCIETY MEETINGS. ^0. ^acxebness of our gobies. The especial wickedness of any misuse of our faculties consists in the fact that our bodies have been made by Baptism ^ temples of the Holy Ghost.’ We are not our own, but belong to an all-pure, all-holy God. Intemperance in any of its forms is an insult to Him Who sanctifies us. At our Baptism a vow was made that we would resist all the temptations of the flesh. Intemperance is included amongst these. The C.E.T.S. takes its stand on a truly Christian basis, and assumes the Baptismal vow as binding on all. It does not compel any to take fresh vows against that particular form of intemperance with which it is con- nected, but sets before people several ways in which they may learn good habits. We have One with us Who can and will help us. He Who has made our bodies His temples will not readily suffer them to be defiled, as long as He is not driven quite away by our sin. By the power of His in-dwelling grace He will strengthen and sustain us ; and by the voice of conscience He will urge us to exert ourselves against our evil inclinations, and to form habits contrary to those which have led us, or might lead us, astray. The great hope of every Christian is in the Eesur- rection of the body, and its glorious change after the fashion of the risen Body of our Lord. How free from every defilement ought we to keep a trust so precious in the sight of God, for the deeds done in which we shall have to give account to the great Judge. 32 ADDRESSES AT C.E.T.S. MEETINGS ^ 0 . 2 — §cIf-confroI. No virtue is more needful in all circumstances of life than that of self-control. It is that which the habitually intemperate have lost. It is that which must be regained before the intem- perate can become temperate again. All outward rules are but so many means to help in gaining this important virtue, and are valueless apart from it. The grace of God alone can restore self-control when it is almost lost, but by our own free-will even God’s grace may be limited. We must co-operate with the grace given, or it is useless as far as we are con- cerned. It is a thing to be very thankful for if we feel that we are strong in the strength of the Almighty. But yet let us be all the more watchful, and ‘ let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.’ It is just when we feel most secure, and begin to think that we can never be moved, that some sudden and sharp temptation is liable to come upon us, and find us trusting too much in self and too little in God ; or not watching, and so unprepared to resist an unforeseen assault. The mean has always to be drawn between too much and too little self-reliance, especially perhaps in tempta- tions to intemperance of any kind. Experience is our best teacher, and oftentimes our very falls may become by God’s grace the means of teaching us how we may best control ourselves while trusting only in God. 33 ADDEESSES TO A GUILD OP CHUECH WOEKEES. ^ 0 . t—^ovk for #o6. The blessedness of being permitted to work for God. The Almighty Father of all permits His children to carry on His work on earth, and so to make what re- turn they can to Him for all that He has done for them. The Divine Son permits His brethren to carry on the work which He did when Himself upon earth, while aiding them by His Mediatorial Intercession in heaven. The Holy Spirit permits those in whom He dwells to be instruments in His hands to carry on that work of grace which is His own. If we valued these great privileges as much as we ought, we should never tire of taking part in so glorious a work, which is not ours but God’s, whatever form it may take. The holy Angels are our fellow-workers. The Saints departed have found their best and noblest employment in work for God while upon earth. We must not be always expecting success in our work. If we have any apparent success we should be very thankful for it, and strive the more heartily. Very often the greatest success is the most hidden, so that if there is none apparent even after years of patient toil we need not be disheartened. We shall at least have our reward; and God knows best how to further our work, which is not ours but His. Let our endeavour be always to promote His honour and glory, and we may safely leave the rest to Him. D 34 ADDKESSES TO CHUKCH WOKKERS ^0. 2 — 5taif^ ^orfeing £>s JTot)c. A living faith is what all ought to seek for, i.e. faith showing forth its vitality in acts of love. The deeper and more true our faith is, the better shall we be able to exhibit such acts in our lives. We have the perfect Pattern of our Blessed Lord before us in His dealings with the wants, spiritual and bodily, of mankind. In His Parable of the Good Samaritan He has taught us how to follow His example, summing up therein both what He has done for us all and what we ought to do for our neighbour. His Saints in every age have also been patterns to us, in one way or another, of faith working by love. There is plenty to be done in many and various ways, suited to our several abilities. If we are doubtful how best to show our faith by our works, we should ask God earnestly in prayer to show us (especially at Holy Communion) what He would have us do, and to enable us to do it to His honour and glory. If still in doubt, it is well to consult someone with more religious experience than ourselves, especially our Parish Priest. The great advantage of a Society for Church work is that it combines and systematises our various efforts ; so that all may feel that they are of use in helping, each in their own way, the one great cause so dear to the hearts of all. 35 ADDEESSES TO DISTEICT VISITOES. 1.— Jl Spirit of Eraser. Disteict Visitors should never go out on their errands of mercy without very earnest prayer for guidance. There are so many difficulties, bodily, mental, and spiritual, in dealing with the poor and the distressed, that no mere human wisdom is sufficient. God’s guid- ance must be sought, and all plans and projects must be laid before Him, with a request that they may be blessed to His honour and glory and the good of those about to be visited. We are apt to forget sometim.es that the poor as well as the rich have each a marked individuality, and require very different modes of approach. Besides this, each family has its own cares and trials, its sicknesses and bereavements, its hopes and joys ; all of which need to be taken into consideration when visiting them and seeking to do them good in one way or another. Experience will teach a good deal, but much can- only be learnt by the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, to be sought by prayer. And, when the visiting itself is over for the day, the needs of each person or of each family should be brought before God in intercession, and any special cases should be remembered afterwards at the Altar. A prayerful District Visitor may be of the greatest use in a parish, while one who trusts to self may do the very greatest harm, and even interfere with the work of the clergy, which they ought to supplement. D 2 36 ADDRESSES TO DISTRICT VISITORS ^ 0 . 2—^eac^inq tf)c ggnoranf. Much of the work of a District Visitor is comprised under teaching the ignorant. Vast strides have to be taken in these days to over- take the ignorance in religious matters which has been fostered by past years of neglect. Most of the poorer classes of Nonconformists are so from ignorance. Most of the poorer non-communicating Church people abstain from Holy Communion through igno- rance. Most unbaptised children are in that sad state on account of the same cause. But ignorance of this kind does not long remain passive. It produces prejudice, which is a far more difficult foe to combat. A District Visitor, therefore, needs not only knowledge and zeal, but great discretion in dealing with the ignorant. There must be no compromise where doctrine is con- cerned. Either a thing is right or it is wrong, true or false. But, remembering that ignorance is generally the cause of opposition to Church doctrines, they must be carefully explained in the simplest language, and per- suasion must be resorted to in preference to any other mode of address. If in any case difficulties should arise of any sort, recourse should be had to the clergy of the parish for advice or help. Instructing the ignorant, whatever form it may assume, is a most blessed work, under the immediate sanction of Him Who came to teach us all. 37 ADDEESSES TO SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHEES. ilo. 1 -f W^attex. No one can say that the result of the religious education of the poor in the past has been very satisfactory. Sunday Schools have now been established for some time, and in National Day Schools there is religious teaching also, yet the effects are not all they should be. One reason probably because the matter is not always well chosen ; or not carefully explained, illus- trated, and applied. The historical books of the Old Testament are far too often read as a mere ordinary history ; even the New Testament is sometimes treated in the same way, while the Catechism is learnt too much by rote. School teachers who really desire to instil religion, as distinct from religious knowledge, into their pupils, must set this object always before them. The outlines of morality, of the doctrines of the Faith, , of the worship and service of God, of active charity to all men, have to be brought home to every child. All religious teaching should tend towards these, and be the means of bringing out some definite points of Church or Scriptural teaching, by illustration, by proof, by authority, or in some other way. Children’s minds are very receptive ; and many a moral or doctrinal lesson, well enforced and illustrated, even though seeming lost at the time, will very likely bear fruit in later years. Above all ought school teachers to pray frequently for those under their instruction, that the seed sown may bring forth fruit abundantly in their lives. 88 ADDRESSES TO SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHERS '2Xo. 2—^^e Nothing is more important in teaching, next to the matter, than the method employed. This must necessarily vary according to the age and capabilities of the scholars. These must be taken into consideration when arranging a plan to be followed. It is very necessary to have some definite plan, and not to teach at random. In many Churches there is catechising on Sunday afternoons, the subject for which is announced before- hand. This may well form the basis for part of the class teaching in School. The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, each of which need careful explanation, may also take up part of the time profitably. By following these throughout the year we get the whole round of Church and Scripture doc- trine, with no fear of omission through forgetfulness. It is also a good plan to arrange a combined system of instruction throughout the School ; so that children, when raised from a lower to a higher class, may not have to go through the first principles of Christian doctrine again, or the same Book in the Bible ; but may proceed to more advanced teaching, and to a further knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, of the Catechism and the Prayer-book generally, and at the same time may be led a step further in the spiritual life. One should always be careful to make all teaching as interesting as possible, and also to combine interro- gation with instruction in such a way as not to let either preponderate too much. 39 ADDEESSES TO A CHOIR. ^0. of a §^oir. The Chancel of a Church, consisting of the Sanctuary and Choir, represent heaven ; and those who sing in the Choir, clothed in white robes, represent that great company which no man can number before the throne of God on high. Just as the Saints in heaven lead the praises of the whole Church, and present them before God, so do Choristers on earth lead the praises of the congregation and present them, as it were, before the Altar, God’s Mercy-seat on earth. And just as our great High Priest in heaven, plead- ing the all-atoning Sacrifice, brings the voices of that great company together into one grand song of praise, so do those who minister in His Name as His priests on earth at times in Divine Service exhort the Choir and Congregation to join together by Responses and Amens with one accord. The Choir also forms part of the teaching staff of the Church by means of musical notes, which have a teaching power of their own, wedded to ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,’ expressing every form of devotion and every phase of religious life, all that God has done for us, and all that we ought to do for Him as well as for one another and for ourselves. Thus your place in the Choir is a most important one, with very glorious privileges, very great respon- sibilities, very wonderful powers for good or for evil. Pray God that you may use them aright to His greater glory. 40 ADDEESSES TO A CHOIR 'glo. 2 —Religious of a §^oix. By becoming members of a Choir you have been placed in a very responsible position. The eyes of men are upon you, and, what is of still greater importance, the eyes of God are upon you. You have to set an example in one most important Christian duty, that of the worship of the Almighty: Carefulness and reverence, or on the other hand care- lessness and indifference, on your part, will be sure to influence the behaviour of the congregation for good or for evil. But there is a higher motive than this for reverence in devotion, even the fact that your duty is one with that of the angels, to sing the praises of God and adore Him in the place where He specially manifests His Presence. But it is not in Church alone that members of a Choir must take heed to their behaviour. They are, as it were, separated for the service of the Sanctuary, and their whole life ought to be in unison with the note to which their voices are tuned. You do not put off responsibility with your cassocks and surplices. The eyes of God are still upon you. The eyes of men are still upon you. Your lives ought to be better than the lives of those who are not so often in God’s House praising Him. Above all avoid sensuality and impurity, which sins blacken those white robes of which surplices are but a symbol, ay ! and defile the very Temple of God in which the Holy Spirit dwells. 41 ADDEESSES TO GUILDS. 'gio. ^ Union is strength.’ In earthly warfare this is con- stantly proved true. It is no less true in spiritual war- fare against the principalities and powers of darkness and the strongholds of Satan. The Church herself teaches us this lesson. When she was all that her name, ^ Catholic,’ implies .in the fullest sense, her power seemed irresistible ; king- dom after kingdom submitted to it, and renounced false gods. But when she began to feel the evil effects of division, the might of Satan was not so easily subdued ; nay, even in places he began to recover his lost supre- macy, and never again has the Church of Christ spread so rapidly as in the first ages. . There is no doubt that a Guild is a very great help to unity of purpose in religious matters, besides being of service to the needs of our own individual souls. You may by your united action in your Guild have a great influence, far more than you may yourselves ever know, over your fellow-men both inside and outside the Guild, and even both inside and outside the Church of England and the whole Church of Christ. Example has generally far more effect than precept. The example of a body of men united in the common service of God and antagonism to the evil in the world around them, as well as within themselves, will, by God’s help, have a more telling influence than many sermons, however eloquent or stirring. 42 ADDRESSES TO GUILDS ^0. 2 — ^omcn. The cares, troubles, anxieties, disappointments, vexations of life become as a rule much easier to bear by companionship. And if one’s^ companions be good ones there is a real benefit from their friendship. A Guild brings us into companionship with those who are presumably trying to lead good lives amongst the changes and chances of this mortal life, and who are therefore very suitable for us to associate with. The few plain rules which serve to bind you all together in one common aim, serve also to lead you onward and upward, and draw you nearer to Him Who is your best and truest Friend and Companion, Who has Himself made proof of the worst that this world and the Prince of this World can do. If He sees you trying to live according to His teach- ing by the help of a simple rule of life. He will give you grace to do and suffer, if need be, greater things for Him ; and He will, if you are faithful, give you hereafter a great reward in return for all your trials. By realising our intimate union with Him, and with others in Him, we come to understand better the benefits of intercessory prayer as well as of corporate Communion. All true Church people must understand these to some extent ; but by narrowing the circle, as a Guild does, one is taught more directly to see the benefits of all the ways in which, by God’s mercy, we can help one another on in the road that leads to Him. ADDRESSES TO GUILDS 43 ilo. 3.— ^ofis. If you are ambitious, and want to become great or clever in any way when you grow up, there is no better plan than to make companions of those who are more skilful than yourselves in that particular way in which you hope to make your mark in the world. And if you are ambitious of being good and noble, and of an entrance hereafter into God’s heavenly king- dom, there is no better plan than to make companions of those who are wiser and better than yourselves, and who are also striving after the same end. In a Guild you have this advantage put in your way, to make a good use of. Sometimes it is very hard to do right and keep straight ; and you may be sure that you will never be at a loss for companions to help you by their advice and their company to take the easy down-hill road. It is often very hard at first to say ‘ No ’ to a friendly invitation to evil, but it will become easier by degrees. And nothing can better help it to become easier than the Guild, with its cheery and helpful companions, its innocent amusements, its simple rule of life to remind you of your duty to God, your neighbour and yourself. By allowing yourselves thus to be influenced for good, you are not merely making your future upward course more easy, but you are in your way becoming an influence for good to others younger or less steady than yourselves. This is the path of true happiness. 44 ADDEESSES TO GUILDS ^ 0 . 4 — When life is opening out to us, and we begin to find ourselves of some importance in the world, then is the time that we need every help that we can have to keep us from being led astray by the world’s pomps and vanities, or by our own naturally evil hearts. God’s grace alone, aiding our own faithful efforts, can keep us true to Him under the various temptations of life. But there are many helps that He gives us, if we will only make a good use of them. Not the least of these is a Guild such as this to which you belong. In it you may not only get good advice from those set over you, but may form good and lasting friendships with your fellow-members ; and, by acting up to what you profess, may make a real advance in a holy life : so that when temptations come, as come they will, they may find you well fortified against them. The good lessons which you have learnt, whether at home or at school, will very easily pass from your hearts as well as your minds if not put in practice at once, and kept constantly in practice. The Guild enables you thus to make proof of yourself, and to train yourself, as it were, for the battle of life. No one can resist temptations, or do what is right, without regular and earnest prayer. The Guild will help you greatly in this, by enabling you both to learn better how to pray, and to put in practice what you have learnt. ADDRESSES TO GUILDS 45 ^0. 5.— general. The Christian religion is one of communion and of corporate life — communion with our Lord and with one another in Him : the Communion of Saints knit together into one great Body by means of the Holy Communion of our Lord’s Body and Blood, all receiving life from Him through their fellowship one with another. As members of a Guild we are constantly being re- minded of all this. Our great privileges as members of the one Body are continually being brought before us in various ways. Our consequent responsibilities, both towards our Divine Head and towards our fellow-members, are also continually being brought before us. We do not seek, as members of a Guild, to put our- selves apart in any way, still less to exalt ourselves in any way ; but rather to be a humble influence for good to one another and to all men, especially those of the household of faith, in all those ways which the Church and Holy Scriptures urge upon us, and which the Guild brings home to us by its special rules. Those with whom we associate in a Guild are our fellow-Churchmen, our fellow-Communicants, or at least intending Communicants. We form no fresh alliances. We only strengthen those that already exist, and give them opportunities of proving their reality and sincerity by acts of greater devotion and more abundant charity. Let us take heed that these opportunities be the means of drawing us nearer to God. 46 ADDRESSES TO GUILDS ^ 0 . 6—^encxat Misjudgment of others is a very common failing. We are always too ready to pass judgment on our neighbours for what they say or do, without considering their pecu- liar positions, characters, training, temptations, diffi- culties, and all the other differences by which they are distinguished both from us and one another, and without making due allowance for all these. Our positions as members of a Guild may be made helpful to us with regard to this matter in two respects : 1. By self-enlightenment, and 2. By influence with one another. 1. By associating with others in a semi-reflgious and semi-social way, we get by degrees to see how false our first impressions of people often are, how much real good there often is under the most unpromising exterior, and how many circumstances often combine to make a seem- ing fault turn out to be much less than people thought, or at least much more excusable. 2. By our influence with one another we, as it were, rub off angles and smooth out rough places, and thus help, each in our own way, to prevent false and unkind judgments of one another from arising in our hearts. Thus, by practice on a smaller scale, we shall get in time to extend the same good principles far and wide to the world without, and to learn always to think others better than ourselves, and, according to S. Paul’s advice, to ‘honour all men.’ 47 ADDEESS TO A GUILD OF EINGEES. A VERY honourable office is yours in the society to which you belong. The Church bells, in the manifold duties which they perform, are a voice from heaven to earth delivered by your means. Sometimes they call rich and poor, young and old, to the worship of God. Sometimes they express the joy of heaven and earth at some high festival, or at the union between man and wife in Holy Matrimony. Sometimes they ask for prayer to speed a passing soul, or with slow or muffled sound call the weary body to its last resting-place. In all these religious observances you have your share. Well is it for you if you lay to heart the lessons which the voices of the Church bells teach you. As members of a body of ringers you are constantly thrown into one another’s company. You have a respon- sibility given to you, one for another. A man who is known to be thoroughly temperate in all things, regular in his habits, punctual in his attend- ance at practices as well as at other times, earnest and reverent in his whole demeanour, has an influence for good more effectual than any amount of talk. Let the aim of all in this Guild be to encourage one another in leading upright and honourable lives, worthy of that office which you have taken upon yourselves. 48 ADDEESSES TO HEATHEN. ^0. 1.— ^o6. How did we come here ? How did all the world come into being ? We cannot make anything alive with all our skill. We can only alter, arrange, and build up. There must be some great Power which has brought everything and everyone into being. That Power must be One, because division of supreme Power would make endless confusion. It is also made known by revelation from heaven that this Power, whom we call God, is One, perfect in holiness, in might, in love, but also in justice. He created all things. He keeps us and all living things alive, and we cannot die without His knowledge and approval when our time comes. He wishes us all to be happy, gives us much to make us happy now, and promises that if we love and serve Him He will give us far greater and more lasting happiness after death. It has also been made known to us that in the God- head there are Three Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but that these Three are perfectly One. Illustrations. We ought to love God as well as fear Him ; for He loves us, even though so many never think of Him, and thousands have never even heard of Him. The Christian religion tells us all that we can know in this world about God, and will make us happy both here and hereafter if we follow its teaching faithfully ; forsaking all heathen practices, which are the invention of an evil one hostile both to God and to us. ADDKESSES TO HEATHEN 49 ^ 0 . 2—§in anb Repentance. Everyone rebels against God every day of their lives in one way or another, of their own free will. This rebel- lion against God is called Sin, and is the work of the evil one, and of our own hearts, which have always been evil by our descent from others who have sinned, and have become still more so by yielding to the assaults of the evil one. These assaults are called temptations, and are not evil in themselves, but may become good for us by our resistance to them in the strength which God gives us in the Christian Church. But, when they lead us into sin, they become the cause of much misery to us even in this world, and will, if persisted in, shut us out hereafter from God and all happiness. Sin is the cause of all the evil, all the disease, and all the death, that has ever come into the world. God is so merciful that, even when we have sinned ever so grievously against Him, He offers us forgiveness by means of repentance. But this is only secured to us in His Church; and, as long as people remain unbaptised, they have no security against the punishment due to their sins. You like your children or your friends to ask your forgiveness when they have offended you. Will you not seek the forgiveness of the great Father of all, that He may restore you to His favour and make you ever happy in His love ? E 50 ADDKESSES TO HEATHEN ^ 0 . S—§^xistiaxiitVi. Christianity is the only religion that can really satisfy the desires of our minds as well as of our souls and bodies. It gives an answer to the questions what we are, whence we come, and whither we go. It assures us of protection and help from an Almighty Being, while it bids us distrust our own strength. It teaches us to hope for a happy and glorious life beyond the grave, while it bids us despise the troubles and trials of this world. It teaches us to fear Him Who is able to destroy both our souls and bodies, while it warns us not to fear what man can do to us. Christianity is founded on faith and love. Faith tells us of all the wonderful things that God has done for us : how that God the Father made us ; God the Son came into the world and took our nature, died on the Cross, and rose again, to save us from the power of sin and death ; God the Holy Ghost comes and dwells in us to make us good. Love, in a Christian sense, is world-wide and utterly unbounded. God, the source of all love, has bestowed His love upon us in fullest measure, and we are taught that He expects a return of such love as we are able to give Him, and that this is to show itself in acts of love to all men, as all being brothers under the common Father of all. Faith will one day vanish into sight, but love will last on beyond the grave. ADDKESSES TO HEATHEN 51 ^ 0 . 4f—^ebcxnption. The longer we live in the world the more we feel our weakness in every way. The Christian Faith teaches the cause of this weak- ness, and points to One Who, although all powerful, yet took our human weakness upon Him that in it He might triumph, and by it He might give us power to triumph and become strong. None other than the Son of God, One with the Father, came down from heaven to offer Himself for us to the Father, and so to restore us to His favour, which we had lost through sin. The Cross which Jesus Christ endured was the greatest mark of humility and weakness ; but by it He overcame all the powers of darkness, and founded a Kingdom of heaven which has spread through the whole world. Strength from weakness, glory from shame, riches from poverty, wisdom from foolishness, these are all marks of that great religion which raises and ennobles man’s nature and gives him something to live for and to die for. Almost all religions have sacrifices. But no sacrifice can have any power to save from sin and death except the one great Sacrifice offered on the Cross. All others have arisen from, and are perversions of, that which God from the first appointed to draw all men to look to the Sacrifice of His own Son for salvation. Jesus Christ as God was able to offer what would be acceptable to God, and as Man that which had fallen away and needed to be restored. 52 ADDEESSES TO CONYEETS. iXo. l.-^o6 ti)c ^af^cr. The first thing of the utmost importance of which con- verts to Christianity have to assure themselves is that they have a right faith in God. Eevelation teaches, what Nature could never teach, that there are Three Persons in the One Godhead. Of these Three, the Father is the Fountain or Source of Deity. He is the Ernst Person of the Holy Trinity, not m time, or power, or glory, but m origin — ‘ The Father is made of none.’ To Him is specially ascribed in the Holy Scriptures the work of Creation ; not that He made anything with- out the Son and the Holy Ghost, but that He is the First Cause from which all things had their being ; and this work of Creation He performed through the other two Holy Persons of the Divine Trinity. ‘ By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the Breath of His mouth.’ Preservation is a natural consequence of creation, and this too is specially ascribed to God the Father. The Old Testament treats more particularly of the First Person of the Holy Trinity: the older dispensa- tion being more peculiarly that of God the Father in His Supreme Majesty and perfect Justice, unapproach- able by sinners without sacrificial purification. ADDEESSES TO CONVEETS 53 ^ 0 . 2 — t^e §on. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, in His infinite love and compassion for us sinners, came down from heaven and took our Nature upon Him, in order that He might offer Himself as an atoning Sacrifice for us on the Cross, and, by rising again from the grave, open the Kingdom of heaven to all believers. In His Human Life on earth He took the Sacred Name of Jesus (the Lord our Saviour) ; and He is also called Christ (the Anointed One) as being our Prophet, Priest, and King. He was born on earth of a pure Virgin by the power of the Holy Ghost. At about thirty years of age He began His ministry by receiving Baptism, that He might sanctify water to wash away our sins. For about three years He preached the Gospel, healed the sick and infirm, raised the dead. Then followed the Passion, the Crucifixion, the Piesurrection, the Ascension. He now pleads for us in heaven as our High Priest, by virtue of the great Sacrifice which He offered when on earth. As God and man He will one day come again to judge the living and the dead, who will be raised in their bodies to meet Him and hear His sentence. We must learn to love Him as our Saviour, and to worship and serve Him as our God, that we may not fear Him as our Judge. 54 ADDRESSES TO CONVERTS ^ 0 . Z—^ob t^C The Third Person of the Holy Trinity is the Spirit or Breath of God, through Whom all life is given, natural as well as spiritual. Since our Lord’s departure into heaven. He has come into the world in fuller measure to supply our Lord’s place, and to fashion the whole Church as well as the in- dividual hearts of men after the example of the Head of the Church, the One perfect Man. The Holy Ghost’s work is called ‘ Sanctification,’ or making holy. We are utterly unable to become holy of ourselves, and we are told that ‘ without holiness no man shall see the Lord.’ Our Lord Jesus Christ has provided a robe of holi- ness, as it were, for us to put on, and the Holy Spirit clothes us with that robe if we permit Him and do not oppose His gracious dealings with us. Sin of every kind grieves Him, and, if persisted in, will at last drive Him from us, and we shall be left to ourselves in our weakness. Sin must be subdued by the help of the grace which it is the Holy Spirit’s office to give us through the Church, and especially through the Ministry of the Church. We must pray to Him continually, after having re- ceived His grace, never to leave us, but to make us holy and fit for heaven. Far more will be required of a Christian at the last, who has had the Holy Ghost to dwell with him and in him, than of those outside the Church of Christ. ADDEESSES TO CONVERTS 55 ^ 0 . 4.— Jlifc of a §^xislian. The Christian life is described in the Holy Scrip- tures sometimes as a warfare, sometimes as a single combat, sometimes as a race, sometimes as a journey along a narrow road. It is a warfare in that the Christian soldier is pledged to fight all his life long against the enemies of God and of his soul. It is a single combat in that no man may deliver his brother, and each has to stand up for himself, armed with the whole armour of God. It is a race in that we have to run with patience, with our eyes fixed on the goal and the prize to be obtained. It is a journey along a narrow road, for our Lord says, ‘ Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ All these similitudes teach us that the life of a true Christian must be one of constant watchfulness, lest he should be led astray or overthrown. It must be also one of constant prayer, for prayer brings down God’s grace to us, without which we are helpless. Our dear Lord Himself has run the race before us, and we have only to look to Him to obtain His instant aid. He has fought the battle as the Captain of our salvation, and we have only to fight manfully under His banner, clad in His armour, to be sure of being ‘ more than conquerors.’ 56 ADDEESSES TO CATECHUMENS (PAETLY FEOM ST. CYEIL’S CATECHESES). ^ 0 . 1 .— A FAITHFUL man, even in the things of this world, is something great, and in the things that concern eternity and the unseen world faith is of all importance. ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ Abraham our example of faith working by love. Some, as Lazarus, have even received a great bless- ing from the faith of others. The faith given by the Holy Spirit has wonderful power, so as to remove mountains. • The Catholic Faith, which we are bound to believe, is contained in the Holy Scriptures and in the Creeds of the Church which sum up the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. These tell us that God is One in Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That God the Father made us, God the Son redeemed us, God the Holy Ghost sanctifies us. That our souls are free to serve God or to rebel against Him. That our bodies as well as our souls are the dwelling-place of God, and will be raised by Him to eternal life if we are faithful to the end. That the Holy Scriptures are God’s revelation to man, handed down to us by the Church as containing all things necessary to salvation. That all faithful Christians are members of one Body, of which our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head. In these and all other doctrines of the Faith we pro- fess our belief at our Baptism. ADDKESSES TO CATECHUMENS 57 ^ 0 . 2—^^e §ovcxciQXttVi of ($ob. God is the Supreme Governor of the Universe which He has made, which consists not only of things which we can see, but of much that is invisible to our fleshly eyes. God the Father is, rightly speaking, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ; but we are His children by adoption when we have been baptised and made mem- bers of Christ, by Whom we have all been redeemed (or bought back) for God. No man can see or know God the Father except so far as He has been pleased that God the Son, with Whom He is One, should reveal Him. God is Almighty, and everything must serve Him voluntarily or involuntarily. He has dominion over the heathen and unbelievers of every kind as well as Chris- tians, nay, even over Satan himself. The riches of the world do not belong to men nor to evil spirits, but all are God’s ; so that they are really good, and only become evil by a bad use. God is everywhere present, and we cannot escape His Eyes. He is also eternal in the fullest sense, so that He ever has been and ever will be, and time is one continual present to Him. ‘ In Him we live, and move, and have our being ; ’ and, however little we think of Him, we are ever objects of His loving and watchful care. God’s will is that we should all be happy both in this world and in the next. It is man’s will alone that mars all happiness by rebellion against the Sovereignty of God. 58 ADDRESSES TO CATECHUMENS 'ilo. 3— gncarnaiion anb its Results. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Word, the Son of God, Who was in the beginning with God. He became by the Incarnation the good Physician to heal what was sick, the perfect Teacher to make wise the foolish, the Bread of Heaven on earth to nourish the famishing. ‘ The Word was made Flesh ’ that He might be our Saviour from the power of sin and death. His coming foretold unmistakably by the Prophets, who gave signs by which He should be known when He came, yet ‘ His own received Him not.’ Since we could not look on Him or enjoy Him as He was. He became what we are that we might become like Him, He came that He might be baptised, and so sanctify water to the mystical washing away of sin. The very time and place of His coming were foretold, and that He should be born of a pure Virgin of the House of David. All this took place by the operation of the Holy Ghost, Who has now been given to the Church to lead her into all truth on this great subject. All our hopes rest on Him Who came on earth and became man to save us, and Who has now gone to prepare a place for us. Though absent in the Flesh, He is present in the midst of us in the Spirit, hearing and answering our prayers, and making our approach to God the Father possible through His Mediation ; Who also is now ready Himself to present all who come to Baptism in the Holy Ghost to the Father. ADDRESSES TO CATECHUMENS 59 ^ 0 . 4 — ^ifts of t^)c c^ols Great and all-powerful in gifts is the Holy Ghost. For each of us He is working as is suitable, beholding the thoughts and conscience and temper of each. He preached concerning Christ in the Prophets, He wrought in the Apostles, He seals souls in Baptism and Confirmation. He is called the Comforter ; and also the Spirit of holiness, of adoption, of wisdom, of revelation, of under- standing, of promise, of grace, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, of truth, of the fear of God, with reference to His various and manifold gifts. He rested in fullest measure on our Lord as Man. By Him the Blessed Virgin received grace to conceive, and bare the Saviour. He descended on our Lord at His Baptism, to anoint Him for His Ministry. Our Lord, when He had returned to heaven, sent the Holy Spirit down to supply His place with the Church till His return in glory. The Holy Spirit loves to dwell with the pure in heart, and the meek and lowly of heart, and to impart to them His heavenly gifts of grace and wisdom. He Who, in unison with the Father and the Son, has established the New Testament in the Church Catholic, has set us free from the grievous burdens of the Law, speaking through the voice of Councils, and guiding the Church into all truth. Through the Sacraments He dispenses to the whole Body and its several members grace sufficient for their every need. 60 ADDEESSES TO CATECHUMENS ^ 0 . 5 — 'gSapfism (1). In Holy Baptism the old man (i.e. our former cor- rupt self, dead in sins) is altogether put off ; and the new man (that formed in us by the Holy Ghost after the pattern of our Lord) is put on. Holy Baptism purges our sins away ; and it conveys to us the gift of the Holy Ghost, to strengthen us against future temptations, and to enable us to attain to holiness and salvation. It is also the antitype, or counterpart, of Christ’s sufferings, for ‘ we are buried with Him by Baptism into death,’ that we may learn that what things He endured He suffered them for us and for our salvation. It is also a new birth into a higher and better life, in which we become members of Christ, children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. It places us in a state of salvation — i.e. a state in which salvation is freely offered to us, and it is entirely our own fault if we lose it. In order to prepare for that Holy Sacrament two things are needful — repentance and faith. Both of these are the gift of God and must be sought for by prayer. But we have something to do ourselves in order to gain both. Self-knowledge, obtained by careful self-examination, is necessary for a true repentance. Knowledge of the great truths of Christianity, ob- tained by instruction and reading, is necessary for a right faith. If we show ourselves diligent in seeking to obtain these, God will pardon our deficiency and receive us graciously for His Son’s sake. ADDEESSES TO CATECHUMENS 61 6 — ^ols 'baptism (2). There are two parts in Holy Baptism, as in other Sacraments — the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace — because man’s nature is twofold, and both soul and body need cleansing. The water gains its power, when it is consecrated, by virtue of our Lord’s Baptism in Jordan. As types of this great Sacrament the dry land — fit for man’s abode, and from which man was made — arose out of the waters on which the Holy Spirit brooded ; and, again, after the Flood had purified the world, it arose once more for the habitation of righteous Noah. The finding of Moses, and the passing of the Children of Israel through the Bed Sea are also types, and there are many others in the Old Testament. The Laver in the court of the Tabernacle prefigured the Christian Font, and Circumcision prefigured, and supplied the place of. Baptism to God’s people of old. Baptism ended the Old Testament and began the New in St. John the Baptist, the last of the Prophets, and the first-fruits of the Gospel-state. But, until the Holy Ghost was given by One greater than the Baptist, it was represented only by a Baptism to repentance pointing to better things to come in the kingdom of heaven. Unless a man receive Baptism he hath not salvation ; except martyrs alone, who, even without the water, re- ceive the Kingdom, being, as it were, baptised in blood. 62 ADDEESSES TO CONFIEMATION CANDIDATES. ^ 0 . 1.— §in. Sin is the cause of all the misery, the sorrow, the disease, and death in the world. We inherit a sinful nature from our first parents, Adam and Eve, who, by their transgression of the one commandment laid upon them by God, brought sin and all its consequences into the world. For this original sin we are, of course, not ourselves responsible ; and well is it for us when we have had the stains of it washed away in our infancy, and we are born anew to God, and enabled by the grace given to us to make a stand against actual sins of our own. For, as soon as we are able to think for ourselves, and have a will of our own, we are tempted to sin against God, and need strength to resist temptations. But temptations become worse and stronger as we grow older ; and we need still greater strength, such as God gives in Confirmation and Holy Communion, in order to stand against them. All sin is most hurtful in God’s sight, whether what we call ‘deadly,’ or those lesser sins which are named ‘ venial ’ (or pardonable) . For all sin is rebellion against God’s majesty and goodness, and must lead, if unforgiven, to eternal separation from His presence. One sin has no forgiveness, that against the Holy Ghost — i.e. probably a conscious and persistent rejection of all good. All others, however bad, will be pardoned on our true repentance. ADDRESSES TO CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES 63 'gXo. 2—^ebemption. When sin had gained such a mastery over our race that we were altogether cut off and shut out from God and subject to His wrath, in His infinite mercy He sent His Only-begotten Son to save us. Our Lord came down from heaven and was made Man that He might live and die to reconcile God and man. He paid the price of our Eedemption on the Cross. His Crucifixion was the one all-atoning Sacrifice for the sins of the world, of which all other sacrifices were but types or figures. When we say our prayers we offer them ‘ through Jesus Christ our Lord ’ — i.e. we plead His Sacrifice, and ask God to grant our requests for His sake. Through Him alone can we draw near to the Father. He has revealed the Father to us, as far as we are able to know God in this world, and by Him alone do we hope to be presented as His redeemed children to the Father hereafter. By His Blood He has purchased for Himself His Bride, the Holy Catholic Church. We are no longer bound in the service of sin, whereof the wages is death, but are free to serve God as His redeemed and elect children by virtue of our Baptism into the death of Christ. We may, indeed — and, alas ! many do — prefer that bondage, and place themselves under it again, but our Eedemption has been won and Salvation is offered to us freely. 64 ADDRESSES TO CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES ^0. 3 — §^urc^. The Church of Christ is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic — One in her Faith (though now outwardly divided on account of the sins of her children) ; Holy in being the Spiritual Body of Christ ; Catholic in her extension over all the world ; Apostolic in being built on the foundation of the Apostles. Apart from the Church there is no safety. She is the Ark that bears men over the waves of this trouble- some world ; the little ship that, manned by Apostles, and containing the precious freight of Christ’s presence, will bring us through the stormy sea to the haven of rest. The only entrance into the Church is by Holy Baptism, for which reason the Font is usually placed near the door of God’s House. As members of Christ we can have no spiritual life apart from Him Who is our Head, in Whom the Whole Body is fitly joined together. His life is ours by union with Him and with one another, just as the branches of a tree receive life from the stem. The Holy Spirit works in the Church, leading her into all truth. Our Church of England is a part only of the Catholic Church. She dates back to very early, perhaps Apostolic, times ; but she has undergone many changes of various kinds. Though separated outwardly from other parts of the Church, she desires and prays continually for re- union. ADDKESSES TO CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES 65 ^ 0 . 4.— §acraments. The grace or help of God which He gives us in His Church is ordinarily imparted through the Sacraments, which are outward visible signs conveying that grace to our souls and bodies. Two only of these are generally (i.e. universally) necessary to salvation — Baptism and the Supper of the Lord, or Holy Communion. The others, generally reck- oned as five in number, of which Confirmation is one, may be distinguished as Sacramental ordinances, not being of the same nature as the two Sacraments of the Gospel, but yet for the most part necessary in particular states or conditions of life. God’s grace is quite free, and He can bestow it wher- ever, whenever, and however He may choose. But as we have bodies as well as spirits, it is His Will ordinarily to use outward means that affect our bodies as channels of mercy to our souls. We should seek humbly to use all the means provided for our eternal welfare. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that all means of grace are administered. He applies the Precious Blood of Christ shed on Calvary to the wants of the whole Church and of each individual soul in every age. He imparts to us the supernatural life, and removes all that may hinder our growth in holiness and our com- munion with our Lord Jesus Christ.^ He makes us His temples by Holy Baptism, and pours down His riches upon us in ever increasing abundance to our lives’ end. F 66 ADDRESSES TO CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES ^ 0 . 5 — §xccb. The Catholic Faith is summed up in the Creeds of the Church. That which every Christian child is specially bidden to learn before Confirmation is known as the Apostles’ Creed, as containing the Apostles’ doctrine, and possibly having been composed by them, in part at least. It is in three main portions, relating respectively to each Person of the Holy Trinity and His work for us. We profess our belief in the Father as Almighty Maker of heaven and earth — i.e. of all things visible and invisible (as the Nicene Creed further explains). We then profess our belief in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord ; Who became Man, died, rose, ascended to the Eight Hand of the Father for us, whence He will return to judge the living and the dead. Lastly, we profess our belief in the Holy Ghost, living and working in the Holy Catholic Church ; binding all the faithful, living and departed, together in the Com- munion of Saints ; bringing down the absolving power of the Precious Blood for the Forgiveness of Sins; quickening our bodies so that they may rise again to life everlasting. Our Lord said, ‘ He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.’ So we see our responsibility of holding the Faith as it has been handed down to us by the Church in her Councils, and by the Holy Scriptures which she has put into our hands. God made all, Jesus died for all, the Holy Spirit longs to dwell with all. Only unbelief and wilful sin can separate us from God. ADDRESSES TO CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES 67 ^0. 6.— c£or6’s Eraser. Our Lord, when asked by His disciples to teach them how to pray, gave them His prayer as a model for all others. We can never use that prayer too often, as it sums up all our needs. The Church shows us this by her frequent use of it in Divine Service. All other prayers addressed to God the Father differ from this in one way, that they are offered ‘ through Jesus Christ our Lord,’ without Whom we dare not draw near to God. But this being the Lord’s own Prayer, given us by Himself, is understood throughout to be offered through, and by, and in Him alone. At the beginning of this Prayer we ask God, as our Father in heaven, that His Name (i.e. all belonging and relating to Him) may be kept holy, and that His Kingdom of grace may be extended and His Kingdom of glory may come. Next we pray that we may do God’s will on earth as the angels do in heaven. Then that He will give us all things needful for our souls and bodies. Then that He will forgive us our offences as we forgive those that offend us. After this we ask that we may not be led into the way of temptation, but delivered from our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. In S. Matthew’s Gospel the ascription follows, which we add when the Prayer is used as an act of praise or thanksgiving. Our souls cannot live without prayer. If ever we feel our need of anything, and know not how to ask aright, or are not sure that it will be good for us, we can say the ‘ Our Father,’ dwelling especially on ‘ Thy Will be done.’ 68 ADBEESSES TO COXEIRMATION CAN^DIDATES '2To. 7.— ©ctt ^omman5mcnfs. The holy Law of God is the same in every age, as far as regards morality. Only the ceremonial part of the Jewish Law has given place to the better Sacrifice which it typified. The Ten Commandments which sum up the moral Law are still binding upon Christians, and our Lord has shown us how we are to interpret them as guiding our thoughts and words as well as deeds. Thus, the first Commandment should teach us to love God above everybody and everything, and to devote our- selves to serve Him alone. The second should teach us to be regular in attendance at Church, m saying our prayers, etc. The third should teach us to be very reverent, and to guard our tongues from bad or strong language. The fourth should teach us to honour Sun- days and all holy-days in every way we can, and to devote our time and talents, directly or indirectly, to God. The fifth should teach us to respect all set over us, and to care for all iDlaced under us by God. The sixth bids us stay the angry word, and keep our tempers under control. The seventh warns us to keep watch over our senses, and to avoid occasions of sin. The eighth bids us be strictly truthful in every way, and not to rob God of praise for what He enables us to do. The ninth bids us he kind to others, and avoid all harmful gossip. The tenth teaches us to be contented and thankful, and to do our duty. Our Lord sums up the Commandments under love to God and to our neighbour, for ‘ love is the fulfilling of the Law.’ ADDKESSES TO CONEIKMATION CANDIDATES 69 ' 3 X 0 . 8—^^e ^^ole c^rmour of ^o5. S. Paul bids the Christian soldier put on the whole armour of God, that he may be able to resist the ene- mies of his soul and to stand fast in the Faith. It is that armour which God the Holy Ghostj offers in Con- firmation, and with which every newly-confirmed child of God is clad. The first thing mentioned is the girdle, which is that of truth. We must be sincere, with a single eye to God’s glory, and our own and our neighbour’s eternal profit. The next is the breast-plate of righteousness, to cover the heart, and guard it from every insidious form of evil. Then the feet must be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, that we may hasten to extend to others those blessed hopes and privileges which we our- selves enjoy. S. Paul then speaks of the shield of faith, which wards off the fiery darts of everything hostile to God’s truth and the power of His grace. The Apostle bids us take the helmet of salvation, that our highest hopes may be set in heaven. He charges us to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, whereby we may smite down all that opposes itself to our perfect sanctification. To all these must be added continual prayer, without which all will fail us in the hour of conflict. ‘ Praying always ’ — i.e. always feeling our dependence upon God, realising His presence, and being always ready to flee to Him for succour, lest we be taken unawares. 70 ADDEESSES TO CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES ^ 0 . Habits, whether good or bad, are proverbially a second nature. They grow upon us imperceptibly ; and, before we are aware, w^e find ourselves following them naturally. This is especially true of bad habits wdiich, unfor- tunately, are far easier to acquire than good ones. That which is known as our besetting sin (i.e. the sin into which we most easily and frequently fall) usually springs from some bad habit, or is itself a bad habit. Therefore there is nothing about which we should be more careful than about forming habits. Constant self-examination, accompanied by earnest prayer, is one great remedy for bad habits. But of course we must seek for grace through the means pro- vided in Christ’s Church, especially Holy Communion, or w^e shall find ourselves giving up the struggle. At the same time it is w^ell to try to form good habits just contrary to those bad ones into wdiich we have fallen. There are many habits too which are not in them- selves bad, but wdiich, by enslaving us, so w^eaken our wills as to make us unfit to fight against new forms of temptation when they arise, or to acquire new virtues. So W'O must be very careful to keep a constant wEtch over ourselves, putting our wdiole trust in God’s never- failing providential care. ADDEESSES TO CONFIEMATION CANDIDATES 71 ^ 0 . iO—^exscvcxance. It is of little use leading a good life for a certain time and then giving up. The grace of perseverance is there- fore one that we require above everything. He who intends really to persevere must expect sometimes (perhaps often) to fail ; but he must be pre- pared to go on again, after repenting, as if no check had occurred at all. We must never be discouraged nor give way to despair. Despair comes from Satan, and is to be shunned by the children of an all-merciful Father. The majority even of those who are trying to lead good lives find that they have to make fresh starts over and over again, perhaps up to the very last. But by degrees it becomes less easy for them to fail and more easy to persevere, till perseverance meets its promised reward in the salvation of their souls. A frequent reception of Holy Communion, with the intention of asking God for the grace of perseverance, is the best, indeed the only, way in which we can hope to gain this crown of all Christian graces. May God grant that you may endure to the end in the great work of your own salvation, and in whatever duties He may give you to perform through life, that at the last you may hear those gracious words of welcome, ‘ Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’ 72 ADDKESSES TO CONEIKMATION CANDIDATES ^ 0 . 11— §onfirmaiion. Confirmation, or laying on of hands, was instituted by the Apostles of our Lord under the guidance and by the authority of the Holy Ghost. It was at first accompanied by miraculous gifts, which after a time ceased to show themselves in the newly confirmed ; the greater spiritual gifts alone remaining when there was no longer occasion for the others. In early times it was the custom for children to be confirmed in infancy, immediately after Baptism, and this custom still continues in the Eastern Church ; but the Western Church has thought better to defer this rite till the children were of age to know good from evil, and to learn the articles of the Faith and what God requires of .them. In Confirmation the Holy Ghost gives a fuller abun- dance of His gifts than before, with the main object of strengthening the young Christian soldier for the battle of life against the enemies of his soul, and giving him power to grow in holiness by drawing near to his Lord in Holy Communion. At the time of Confirmation in our Church there is a solemn profession of faith and renewal of Baptismal vows made. But this is only secondary to the main object of that holy rite. The requirements before Confirmation are three. A knowledge of the Creed (i.e. of our Faith), of the Lord’s Prayer (i.e. of how to pray), and of the Ten Commandments (i.e. of our duty). But to these we must add repentance for all past sins, accompanied by good resolutions. ADDEESSES TO CONEIEMATION CANDIDATES 73 ^ 0 . 12 — Pag of §onfixmation. The day of one’s Confirmation is one of those great landmarks which stand out conspicuously in our journey through life. It is a day which can never come again, and which, for weal or for woe, must have a lasting influence on us. On our Confirmation day the Holy Ghost seals us for the work of our lives, pours down upon us His sevenfold gifts in fullest abundance, and devotes us in a special manner to God. It is, therefore, of very great importance how you spend that day. ,Eise early, with your thoughts fixed on what God is going to do for you and in you, and on the solemn promise you are going to make. Keep apart as much as possible, that your minds may not be distracted too much from what is coming. Be in good time at Church, or where you are ap- pointed to meet. When in Church, think over your past life, making good resolutions for the future, and asking God to help you to keep them. Be ready to answer audibly to the Bishop’s question, and, when there is a pause made, again pray for God’s help. When others are being confirmed think of the Holy Spirit’s presence ; and when your turn comes, as also afterwards, when you have opportunity, ask for His special guidance. Be watchful the rest of the day, lest Satan steal from you any portion of those gifts you have received, and often praise God for His bounty. 74 ADDEESSES TO CANDIDATES FOE FIEST COMMUNION. ^To. 1.— gomtmtnion. In drawing near for the first time to the Altar, it is right that you should know as much as possible of that great Gift which God is going to give you. And yet it is quite impossible for anyone to fathom the wonders of that heavenly Feast, still less to speak of It worthily. But, in order to learn what we can about It, let us follow the teaching of our Church in her Catechism. She says that it was ordained (i.e. appointed) ^ for a continual remembrance (or memorial) of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby.’ These benefits are said to be ‘ the strengthen- ing and refreshing of our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ.’ For the Body and Blood of .Christ ‘ are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord’s Supper.’ So we must believe that in that Blessed Sacrament Jesus Himself is really present as truly as He is in heaven, or as He was once in Bodily Form on earth. This is far beyond our comprehension. We know not how the Bread and Wine become His Body and Blood, but we must believe what He says Himself. In Holy Communion Jesus comes and dwells in us. We are made one with Him after a heavenly manner. He implants in us that great gift of eternal life which He came from heaven to bring, as well as all other graces in fullest measure. And we are also by Him knit together in one with His whole mystical Body, the Church. Holy Communion is the greatest blessing we can possibly receive, if we come to It with due preparation. ADDKESSES TO CANDIDATES FOE EIEST COMMUNION 75 ^ 0 . 2—'§^e §uc^axistic Sacrifice, The Lord’s Supper was ordained ‘ for a continual re- membrance (or memorial) of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ ’ until His coming again. So that It may rightly be called a Sacrifice, yet not one apart by Itself, but a showing forth and an extension of the One all- atoning Sacrifice on the Cross. Our Lord offered the Holy Sacrifice on Calvary on the first Good Friday, but, before He did so. He showed His disciples how they were to take their part in the Offering, when He said, ‘ This do,’ or ‘ This offer as the memorial of Me.’ He is still our High Priest, Who has now entered within the veil into the true ‘ Holy of holies,’ with His own Blood, to plead the merits of His Sacrifice of Atone- ment before the Father. Meanwhile He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with His Church in His place till His return in glory. Who enables her to take her share in the great intercession by means of the Eucharistic or ‘ thanksgiving ’ Sacrifice. By It Jesus Christ is ‘ evidently set forth ’ before us. All His Sufferings, His Death, His Eesurrection and Ascension are commemorated in the most solemn manner, and thanks and praise of the highest kind are thereby offered to God, while all things needful for ourselves and all mankind are sought for in the most effectual way. In this great Act of Worship, whereby heaven and earth are joined in one, every faithful Christian is privi- leged to take part. 76 ALDEESSJ^S TO CANDIDATES EOK FIEST COMMUNION 'STo. 3 .— institution at t^e ^ast §uppcr. The Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion was in- stituted by our Blessed Lord at His last Paschal Supper the night before He was crucified. He thus connected It with the Passover, which was a type of the Offering of the Lamb of God and of that Feast on the Sacrifice which would commemorate the deliverance of the true Israel from a worse slavery than that of Pharaoh. The Bread which our Lord broke was the unleavened bread provided for the Paschal Festival ; the Wine, mingled with Water, was the Cup which it was cus- tomary to drink at the Paschal Supper. Taking these earthly elements, our Lord consecrated them into a glorious Mystery : breaking the Bread, and saying, ‘ This is My Body ; ’ taking the Cup, giving thanks, and saying, ‘ This is My Blood.’ ‘ To God all things are possible,’ and Jesus Christ is God. We must, therefore, submit our reason to our faith, and, when we see the Priest consecrating the elements, and hear him using Christ’s own words, say with S. Thomas, ‘ My Lord, and my God.’ The Blessed Sacrament was instituted in the evening, and at the Paschal meal, that all the types might be fulfilled, and that It might be seen to be connected with the solemn events of the Day of the Passion (for the Jewish day begins from the evening). But we receive It in the morning, fasting, out of reverence for that holy Food. ADDEESSES TO CANDIDATES POE EIEST COMMUNION 77 'gXo. 4— piDinc Service, When we speak of Divine Service we are generally understood to mean one of the daily Offices of the Church. But the truly Divine Service is that which the Divine Head of the Church Himself appointed to be offered till His coming to Judgment. People have got so careless about their attendance at this highest Christian act of Worship, that they are apt to forget their duty towards their Lord’s dying com- mand. In early times it was not so, They continued stead- fastly in the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in (the) Breaking of (the) Bread, and in (the) Prayers.’ No one dared to absent himself from that highest and holiest Service unless he were excommunicated on account of some grievous sin ; and then he would come to the Church door to beseech the faithful to pray for his restoration. All Christians who are not excommunicate have a right to be present whenever the Blessed Sacrament is celebrated, whether they receive or not ; though of course it should be our endeavour to fit ourselves for a frequent reception of that Gift of Grace without which our souls can have no life in them, and with the help of which we can do all things. Our prayers can never be so effectual as when they are offered at the time of the pleading of the Holy Sacri- fice. Our thanksgivings can never be truer and better than when offered at the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. 78 ADDEESSES TO CANDIDATES EOE EIEST COMMUNION 'glo. 5—^xcpaxatxon. (1.) Repentance. There are terrible warnings in the Holy Scriptures against receiving the Blessed Sacrament unworthily. But this does not mean that people are to stay away till they become really worthy, for that could never be at all. What it does mean is that we are to prepare ourselves, as best we can, in a certain way, looking to our Blessed Lord to supply what is lacking in our worthiness. The first thing we have to do is to repent of our sins, and, in order to do this, we must examine ourselves carefully by the rule of God’s Commandments in the way that the Church teaches us. Then, when we know what our sins have been, we must ask God very earnestly to make us truly sorry for them. Next we must confess them — i.e. tell them out to God one by one, as many as we can remember : and, if we need further comfort or counsel (as we shall very likely do, if we are in earnest) , tell them also to some Minister of His Word, who can advise us, and declare to us God’s absolution. And, lastly, we must resolve earnestly, by God’s help, to lead a new life ; forsaking our old evil habits, and especially striving against those sins which do most easily beset us. Thus shall we have made a good repentance, and have so far prepared ourselves for a worthy reception of God’s great Gift, by the help of His Holy Spirit Who ‘ searcheth the hearts.’ ADDEESSES TO CANDIDATES EOE FIEST COMMUNION 79 6.— '^reparation. (2.) ^aitt> The second thing that is required of all who come to Holy Communion is a steadfast faith in God’s mercies through Christ, accompanied by a thankful remem- brance of His Death on our behalf. Holy Communion being essentially a partaking in the benefits of God’s mercies assured to us by our Lord’s Death, it is necessary that, when we come to receive it, we should have a full belief in those benefits, and truly thankful hearts for the same. We believe, then, that when we were altogether lost in sin, and liable to the penalty of eternal death, the Son of the Highest stooped from heaven to do His Father’s Will in our salvation. We believe that, through our union with His Human Nature by means of the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood, through the infinite mercies of God we are restored to His favour, and even ‘ made partakers of the Divine Nature.’ If we sincerely believe all this, we can never be thankful enough for what our dear Lord did for us upon the Cross, which is the centre of all our present peace and happiness, and of all our future hopes of glory. These feelings must accompany us to the holy Altar, and remain in our hearts afterwards, if we would become worthy and faithful Communicants in the Holy Mysteries celebrated there. God will give them to us if we ask Him earnestly. 80 ADDEESSES TO CANDIDATES FOE EIEST COMMUNION ^ 0 . 7—^vcpaxation. ( 3 .) §^axit^. All other preparation for coming to God in any way, and especially in Holy Communion, is worse than useless without charity. S. Paul, in I. Cor. xiii., tells us all about charity (or Christian love), what it is, what if does, and how grievous a thing it is to be without it. Faith and hope are necessary for us in this world, but charity has her home in eternity. Our Lord tells us that all the Commandments are to be summed up in love to God and to our neighbour for His sake, so that ‘ love is the fulfilling of the Law.’ Our love to God must be with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength ; and our love to men must be world- wide — we must be ‘ in charity with all men ’ ; and we are even, according to our Lord’s command, to love our enemies, bless them that curse us, and pray for them that despitefully use and persecute us. We can only expect God to forgive us our sins if we forgive them that trespass against us ; and this must be done, not until seven times, but as often as we are offended. Holy Communion is the Sacrament of Love, and it used to be celebrated in connection with what was called a ^ Love Feast,’ at which all ranks and classes shared a common meal as a sign of their Christian brotherhood. We ought to examine ourselves very carefully to see that we have this grace in our hearts before coming to the Blessed Sacrament. ADDEESSES TO CANDIDATES EOE EIEST COMMUNION 81 Wo. 8 — §eUhxation of t^c §uc^arisf. Prom the earliest times the very greatest care has been taken to surround the Divine Service with all that can assist devotion, and make it, as far as possible, acceptable to Almighty God. Each of the customs and ritual practices connected with the Celebration has a meaning of its own, and is full of teaching to the eye about those great mysteries of our Eedemption with which the Holy Eucharist is con- cerned. (Explanation of some of these.) The Service has varied at different periods and in different countries, but the words of Consecration have always been those used by our Lord Himself— we dare not use others. The ‘ Sanctus ’ and the ‘ Gloria in excelsis ’ have also come down from the earliest times as part of this solemn Service ; and the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, and the recitation of the Nicene Creed, are always connected with it. When we come to that holy Service we ought to remember that we are entering into the immediate pre- sence of our Lord Jesus Christ, brought near to us by the power of the Holy Ghost ; and that our worship is one with that of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, and with all the faithful on earth and in Paradise. And when we come to receive at an early Celebration we must remember that we are asking Jesus to enter into our very souls and bodies, and to make them His dwelling-place. We cannot, therefore, be too reverent or careful about our behaviour at that most solemn occasion, nor spend too much time in thanksgiving afterwards. G / ■- - t/ 82 I A X ^ / /: I h^ IXSTEUCTIONS TO A COMMUNICANT CLASS. ./ i X^ /;.'' '■ '^ioji—'^^e "^xee of > [J^ ^ -‘ ■ A- ■ Our first parents m the Garden of Eden had access to all the trees of the Garden except one, that tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was the cause of the Fall. They might, therefore, in their state of innocency eat of the fruit of the tree of life. But, as soon as they had fallen, they were in mercy turned out of the Garden lest they should eat of the tree of life, and live for ever in a state of sin. ' * ' We Christians are provided by our Heavenly Father with a substitute for the tree of life, far better than that tree itself. Holy Communion does for us much more than the fruit of that tree could have done. It provides us with a Food for the soul as well as for the body, and one capable of nourishing us to eternal life, free from the power of sin, which the other could not do. Jesus our Lord hung upon the Tree of scorn that we might be partakers of the Fruit of the better Tree of Life, which, by His Death, the Cross has become to us. The curse on the ground due to the first Adam's sin has been rolled away by the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, as was signified by the thorns uj)on His sacred Brow. So that by the Fruits of the field and of the vine, consecrated into a heavenly mystery, we verily and indeed partake of Him Who is our Life, that by eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood we may have eternal life. INSTEUCTIONS TO A COMMUNICANT CLASS 83 ^ 0 . 2 — ^xicst^oob of Melchizedek was a High Priest to Almighty God in the time of Abraham. He was also King of Salem, afterwards called Jerusalem. He appears in the Sacred History without any parentage or descent ; and he is only noticed once, when he brought forth bread and wine for Abraham and blessed him, and Abraham gave him tithes of the spoil which he had taken in battle. In all this Melchizedek was a type of our Lord Jesus Christy Who is our High Priest and King. The Priesthood appointed by God amongst the Israelites was confined to one family, that of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. But our Lord was not of the family of Aaron, nor of the tribe of Levi, but of Judah. Like Melchizedek, only in a truer sense. He was without beginning or end. He is the Prince of Peace, like Melchizedek, for ‘ Salem ’ means ‘ peace.’ Abraham, the father of all the Aaronic priests, paid tithes to Melchizedek, and was blessed by him, thus showing the greatness of that High Priesthood after which our Lord was called ; and the only sacrifice of which we hear in connection with Melchizedek was the offering of bread and wine, which typified the Christian mysteries. The bloody sacrifices of the Law came to an end when the Lamb of God was slain, and had instituted the Unbloody Sa'crifice as the memorial re- presentation of the Sacrifice of the Cross. 84 INSTKUCTIONS TO A COMMUNICANT CLASS ^0. 3 — ^Uanna. When the Israelites were in want of food in the desert, God sent them the manna, which fell every day except the Sabbath during their forty years’ wandering. It is called by the Psalmist ‘Angel’s food.’ When our Lord had worked the miracle of feeding five thousand with the five loaves and two fishes, the people thought, and thought rightly, that the Prophet like unto Moses had come Who would provide for all their needs. So they sought to take Him and crown Him as their King. Having escaped from them and returned to Capernaum, He began to teach the people what they ought to learn from His miracle. But they kept seeking for some further sign of His power than that which Moses had wrought, that they might acknow- ledge Him as their Messiah. Our Lord then taught them by degrees, as they put their ignorant questions to Him, more and more of the mysterious truths of the Incar- nation, and of that Blessed Sacrament which He would afterwards institute, whereby men should feed on the true Bread of Heaven, which He said was His Flesh. The manna only fed a limited number, and preserved their bodily lives in this world for forty years : but the Blessed Sacrament has fed, and still feeds, all the faithful throughout the whole world, of every nation, and nourishes both their souls and bodies for eternity. That was ‘ Angel’s food,’ but this Food is super-angelic and super-celestial. INSTEUCTIONS TO A COMMUNICANT CLASS 85 ^0. §^cw-hveab. It was appointed under the Law that twelve loaves of bread should be placed before God in the holy place of the Tabernacle and of the Temple, as an offering of the best of the fruits of the earth, that which was ap- pointed ^ to strengthen man’s heart.’ There were particular directions given by the Al- mighty as to the Shew-bread. It was to be placed fresh every Sabbath, and that which was taken away was then to be eaten by the Priests only — as it was accounted holy, having been offered to God in His House. By the Shew-bread was typified that Bread of God ^ which came down from heaven,’ and ‘ giveth life unto the world.’ Our Lord’s Divine Nature was mingled with our Humanity at the Incarnation, yet without any ‘ confusion of Substance ’ ; and He thereby took us, the many earthly grains of wheat (as it were), into very close union with Himself, thereby making us ‘ one Bread and one Body, for we are all partakers of that one Bread,’ which is the Blessed Sacrament. All faithful Christians are, in a sense, priests to God. We are called ^a royal priesthood’ by the Apostle; and as priests we are all admitted to partake of the offering of the better Shew-bread, after it has been con- secrated by our great High Priest in heaven through the instrumentality of His ministering Priests on earth. In union with the Blessed Sacrament we offer our own souls and bodies to be made clean by the precious Body and Blood of our Lord, and by and in Him to be presented to the Father, 86 INSTRUCTIONS TO A COMMUNICANT CLASS '^ 0 . 5 — ^ifc in gcsus. The life of the faithful is so entirely one with that of their Lord, that S. Paul is constrained to say, ‘ I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’ And as He lives in us so do we live in Him in a far higher and truer sense than that in which all men live in God — as the Apostle taught the Athenians, * In Him we live, and move, and have our being.’ What does this involve ? 1. Eecollection — i.e. a sense of our Lord’s continual presence in us and with us. If we are always taken up with the things of this world, and give our whole atten- tion to them, that true life wherewith we live in Christ will grow weaker, and in time we may lose it altogether. 2. Growth in holiness, for life implies growth, and where there is no growth there must be decay. We must grow in grace, and in the knowledge and love of God and of Jesus Christ, or our life in Christ will de- crease in vigour, and our spiritual enemies will gain an advantage over us. 3. Prayer, for without prayer our souls must die. And prayer must be offered in faith, or it will be of no avail. 4. To these must be added constant watchfulness against both open and secret assaults ; for our great foe is sometimes a raging lion, sometimes a wily serpent, and his aim is by every means to take from us our spiritual life. Eemember that our life in Jesus can only be main- tained by constant, regular, and devout Communions with Him in His Blessed Sacrament. INSTRUCTIONS TO A COMMUNICANT CLASS 87 6—§lecp in If the Blessed Sacrament is to be our support through life, it should also be our ‘ viaticum ’ (or provision for the way) through the valley of the shadow of death. For the presence of our Blessed Lord at that hour changes death itself into a shadow, or, as He Himself calls it, a sleep. It is a very sad thing when any professing Christian goes out of this world without his provision for the way. How can he dare to meet Jesus Christ as his Judge who has never come to Him as his Saviour even in the last hour of his trial here below ? Let us who are now, we trust, reckoned among His faithful, see that, if it be by any means possible, we receive Him in Holy Communion on our death-bed ; that we may be provided against the last assaults of the enemy, and brought safely to our rest in Paradise. In the hour of mortal weakness we need His strong Arm to hold us up lest we despair. ‘ My strength is made perfect in weakness,’ He says, and we shall be able to place ourselves more unreservedly in His Hands when we feel how little man can do for us and how little we can do for ourselves when death approaches. Eemember that our due reception of our last Com- munion depends much upon our care in preparing for, and receiving, all our Communions while in health and in full possession of our faculties. A holy death depends much upon a well-regulated life. 88 ADDEESSES TO A BIBLE CLASS. ^0. 1.— S^olVi Scriptures. The writings which we call the Holy Scriptures, con- tained in the Bible, were written by many different men, at different times, in different styles, and under different circumstances. But they are all alike in the fact that they were inspired by God the Holy Ghost, and so are the written Word or Eevelation of God to man, and they contain all things that it is necessary to believe and do in order to be saved. The Holy Scriptures received the most careful scru- tiny before they were pronounced by those in authority in fhe Church to be the only true Eevelation from God. They consist of three parts — the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the so-called Apocrypha, the latter containing many useful lessons, but no article of faith not taught by the others. It is a great privilege that we English people can procure the Holy Scriptures so cheaply in our own tongue. But it is also a great responsibility. We are apt to think that, because there is so much in them that even a child can understand, we can grasp the whole of its teaching ourselves. Let us rather listen to S. Peter : ‘No prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation ’ ; and let us attend to the ex- planations which have been always put upon the more difficult parts by the Church, which our Parish Priests are commissioned to teach us. Thus will the Holy Scriptures be a blessing to us in life, and a preparation for eternity. ADDRESSES TO A BIBLE CLASS 89 ^ 0 . 2.— ^16 "§estament The Old Testament is a very different thing to us to what it was to even the pious Jews of old. Eead in the light of the New Testament and of Church History, it is full of Christ and of Christianity ; so that even histories of wars and other secular events have their lessons for us in these latter days when studied under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, leading the Church into all truth. Those Holy Scriptures which v/e now call the Old Testament were divided by God’s ancient people into two parts, called respectively ‘ the Law ’ and ‘ the Prophets ’ — the Law consisting of what we now call ‘ the Pentateuch,’ or Five Books of Moses, and the Prophets including the later historical books and the Psalms, as well as the actual Prophetic writings. The language used in most cases was the old Hebrew tongue, which even at the time of our Lord was a dead language; and from this our Old Testament is trans- lated. S. Paul says that ‘ the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ,’ and the Prophets foretold, not only all about Him, but also what would happen in the Chris- tian era, and at the final Judgment. But there was, as it were, a veil thrown over everything until the Holy Spirit came down and enlightened the Church on the Day of Pentecost, and showed us all things more clearly. So the Old Testament is just as necessary for us as the New, and just as necessary now as for the Jews in old times, and even yet more precious. 90 ADDEESSES TO A BIBLE CLASS ^0. 3—'§^c ^cn> ^c^tament The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the text-book of the Christian religion, from which the Church derives her Creeds, and from which each member of the Church derives his knowledge of the Christian Faith and his duty. It consists of four parts: 1. The Holy Gospel according to each of the four Evangelists ; 2. The Acts, carrying on the history of the foundation of the kingdom of heaven upon earth ; 3. The Epistles of S. Paul, S. James, S. Peter, S. John, and S. Jude, with that of the Hebrews ; and 4. The Eevelation of S. John, mystically foretelling what should be hereafter, and even disclosing something of the worship of heaven and of the end of all time. The Old Testament was mostly written in Greek, from which our version is translated. We see in it the gradual development of ‘ the grain of mustard-seed,’ from the Incarnation to the Judgment Day. By the teaching of our Lord, and of the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostles, we learn something of the deeper mysteries of the unseen world which the Old Testament only shadowed forth, and of the true princi- ples of morality of which the Old Testament only sketched the outlines. The Books which compose the New Testament have all been pronounced by the Councils of the Church to be written by inspiration of God, and have been care- fully preserved by the Church from age to age, and handed down to us with the interpretation which nearly nineteen centuries have placed upon them. ADDRESSES TO A BIBLE CLASS 91 ilo. 4.— fspcs. The Holy Scriptures are full of types of many kinds, which foretold under a figure some greater spiritual truths, especially about our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Church and her mysteries. The types of Christ in the Old Testament sometimes take the form of the life of some Saint, such as Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, David ; each in his several way re- presenting one or more of the characteristics of the perfect Life. Sometimes they take the form of incidents, such as the miraculous birth of Isaac, the calling of Israel out of Egypt, the miracles of Elijah and Elisha, the Passover, the fiery Serpent, the ascent of Elijah to heaven. The Church is represented in type by Eve taken from the side of Adam, by the Ark, by the Israelites journeying through the Wilderness after passing the Eed Sea, by the Holy City and Temple (one only for all the tribes), by the Holy Place with its seven-branched Candlestick, Incense, and Shew-bread, etc. Holy Baptism was represented by many types, in- cluding the Flood, the passage of the Eed Sea, the drawing-out of Moses from the water, the Molten Sea in the Court of the Temple. Holy Communion was typified by the Tree of Life, the bread and wine of Melchizedek, the Paschal feast, the Manna, the Shew-bread, the angelic food which sup- ported Elijah, etc. Most of the Old Testament types are now fulfilled in the great Antitype, our Lord, and in His Church, so that we may confidently expect the fulfilment of the rest hereafter. 92 ADDKESSES TO A BIBLE CLASS ^ 0 . 5—^xop^ccxcs. In both the Old and New Testaments we meet with great multitudes of prophecies of future events, most of which have already come to pass. Only the Omniscient God can foresee and foretell the future. Evil spirits have often endeavoured to do so for their own ends, sending false prophets in order to try to undermine the power of the true prophets of God, and so to get men to rebel against God, but their prophecies have always proved deceitful. Most of the Old Testament prophecies (like the types) centre in the Messiah. He came to fulfil the prophetic Scriptures, and Himself to foretell the future of the world and of those whom He would choose out of the world to the end of time. He gives the reason for His prophecies of future events, which is, ‘ that when they come to pass ye may remember that I told you of them.’ So that we may learn to believe that He Who ‘ spake as never man spake ’ is none other than the Omniscient God Himself, to Whom a thousand years are but as yesterday, and believing in Him we may obtain salva- tion through Him. The fulfilment of nearly all that the Prophets, in- spired by God, and that our great Prophet Himself, fore- told, should make us so certain of the fulfilment of the rest that nothing in this present time ought to be com- pared for an instant with our eternal future. ADDEESSES TO A BIBLE CLASS 93 '^ 0 . 6—^axahles. There are a few Parables in the Old Testament (such as that of Jotham), and it was quite a familiar mode amongst the Jews of instruction in things relating to God. Our Lord Jesus Christ largely adopted this way of teaching, and illustrated to the people the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in Parables as they were able to bear it : and, when they were alone. He explained all things to His disciples who were better able to under- stand the deep truths of God. His Parables were mostly homely illustrations, gathered from scenes in the country, or the city, or amongst the people themselves. Some of them show the nature of the Church, or kingdom of heaven in this world ; while some look beyond the grave and show the same kingdom purified from all that now defiles it, by the great separation between the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, the wise and foolish virgins, those clad in the wedding-garments and the man with- out one. To us, to whom the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven have been more fully revealed by the Holy Spirit, and who have seen the fulfilment of many of the Parables in the past history of the Church, they are yet just as useful in teaching the value of the true riches, the pearl without price; and showing us how we ought to count everything as nought compared with the righteous- ness of that kingdom which we must show forth as a living power within us by the graces of faith, hope, and charity, by watchfulness and constant prayer. 94 EMBEE-TIDB ADDEESSES. ^0. 1— iJJinisfrp. The Ember seasons remind us all of a most important duty, viz. that of praying for those about to be ordained to the ministry of Christ’s Holy Church. When we pray for the Clergy we pray for the whole of the Church, for upon them depends the administration of the Word and Sacraments to the whole body. None can tell the harm done to the whole body by the precept and example of ungodly or negligent Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. The teaching of one who does not seek for the guid- ance of the Holy Spirit in his work is sure to be un- profitable, if not pernicious. While the example of the shepherds of the flock is sure to tell on the lives and conduct of the sheep. The Christian Ministry have a twofold office to perform — towards God, and towards their fellows. They minister to God by all the acts of worship and devotion which they perform or lead. They minister to the needs of men by all the means of grace and blessings from God which they are commissioned to bring. They act, indeed, as ambassadors for Christ, beseeching men to be reconciled with God, and offering them the terms of reconciliation. In all this they need the prayers of the whole Church, that their acts may be acceptable to God, and that their words may be effectual in extending Christ’s kingdom iJpon earth and building up Christian souls in their ^^st holy Faith. EMBER- TIDE ADDRESSES 95 ^0. 2—'§^e Succession. The Holy Orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons form one great distinguishing mark of the Catholic Church. To these Holy Orders no one is called of himself, or of any man, but of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself founded the ministry in His Church, ordaining to it His Apostles with the words, ^ As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you,’ and breathing on them to impart the special gift of the Holy Ghost for their work. During the forty days between the Eesurrection and the Ascension He spoke to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God — i.e. He instructed them how to found and govern His Church, and how to hand on those powers which He had committed to them. By laying-on of hands, or what we now call Ordina- tion, the Apostles appointed first a body of Deacons, then Elders (or Priests) in every place in which a con- gregation of Christians was formed, and lastly Bishops (or overseers), with the power of ordaining others to the ministry. During the lifetime of the Apostles the names of the two higher orders were used indiscriminately, but after- wards they came to be employed as we use them now. To us of the Church of England the Apostolical suc- cession has been mercifully handed down in an unbroken chain through all her troublous history, for which we cannot be sufficiently thankful to Almighty God. 96 EOGATION-TIDE ADDEESS. Eogation-tide reminds us of the value of prayer, especially united prayer, without which no Christian can dare to live, and with the help of which the weakest becomes strong in the Almighty power of God. The subject for our prayers set before us particularly by the Church on these Eogation Days is the fruits of the earth, that we may receive them in due season and be supplied with all things needful for our bodies. But when we pray for our bodily wants we must not forget the still more important needs of our souls. They must be supplied with the true Bread from heaven, or they will languish and die. Yet millions know not of the Food of the soul, nor even feel their lack. So we must offer our intercession for all mankind, and particularly for those outside God’s covenant, that they may be prepared for the great Harvest whenever it shall come. Prayer must be offered in faith, trusting fully in God’s will as well as power to grant what we most need, and what will most conduce to His glory and the good of mankind. A prayer of words alone is of no avail at all. Only through the merits of Jesus Christ can we dare to draw near to God and find Him a loving Father. Prayer must be humble and self-accusing, like the publican’s in the Parable, if we would be justified for Jesus’ sake and obtain a favourable answer. 97 MISSIONAEY ADDEESSES. 'gXo. 1.— general. Our religion must not be selfish, or it is worth nothing at all. Being all members one of another in the Body of Christ, it is necessary that we should each of us do our utmost on behalf of other members of the Body. There are, alas ! thousands of baptised Christians in all parts of the world who are spending lives utterly at variance with their holy profession. Some have fixed their homes so far from the ministrations of religion that, by degrees, they have come to forget all that they learnt in childhood, and have degenerated into heathen- ism. Others, from bad associations in our large cities, and even in our country villages, have sunk to the same level. To these it is the duty of every right- minded man and woman to hold out a helping hand. It is also our duty to extend the Gospel and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ to those in all parts of the world who are outside God’s covenant of grace. If we can do nothing in the way of missionary work ourselves (but let us be quite sure about this first), we ought at any rate to be regular and earnest in our prayers on behalf of both home and foreign missions, especially at the Celebration of Holy Communion. Besides this, we should not be satisfied unless we give in proportion to our means to the support of mis- sions, with cheerfulness and thankfulness for the bless- ings we ourselves enjoy. H 98 MISSIONAKY ADDKESSES 2 — Jlf a §elehtation. That Sacred Banquet to which the great King has sent to call all mankind, whilst here spread for us, may- well remind us of the many souls to whom It is freely offered, but in vain. The great love of our Blessed Lord for all men was never shown more deeply than when He instituted this adorable Sacrament of His love, whereby He would have all men to be united to Him and to partake of His fulness. Yet Christians think so little of this His bounty that the majority not only come very infrequently, or not at all, to those heavenly mysteries themselves ; but they do little, or nothing, to extend the effects of Christ’s love to those who are ignorant of Him, but who have souls to be saved, and are only waiting for the call to come and offer themselves to Him. The Holy Eucharist is also the service of all others at which to bring the spiritual needs of all mankind before our merciful Father, pleading for them the merits of His dear Son. Let us to-day offer our petitions with truly thankful hearts for all the grace bestowed on us, especially in this Blessed Sacrament ; asking that many more may be brought to taste and see how gracious the Lord is, and to find satisfaction in His love. Let our alms be offered in union with the holy obla- tions, that they may be sanctified to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. MISSIONAKY ADDKESSES 99 3—^omc '^^issions. During the years, now happily past, in which the Church of this land was neglectful of her duties to the people, multitudes have been lost to her and to Christi- anity itself who might otherwise have been numbered amongst her faithful children. We have now not only to keep pace with a rapidly- growing population, but also to make up the arrears of past losses. To this end there is need that all, both priests and people, should set their shoulders to the wheel, and endeavour, both by personal activity and by prayer and almsgiving, to extend the blessings of the Church of Christ to the semi-heathen in our midst. God has been very bountiful in His gifts both to our country and to our Church hitherto, in spiritual as well as in temporal matters. Let us show our gratitude to Him for these benefits in a really practical way ; that the thankfulness of our hearts may be made manifest to all men, and that they, seeing our light shining forth, may glorify our Father Which is in heaven. We cannot expect thak our Heavenly Father’s bless- ings will be continued so abundantly if such multi- tudes in this nominally Christian land continue to dis- honour His Holy Name and to do despite to the Spirit of grace. Let us see that our example be always steadfastly on the side of right, and let us pray earnestly and frequently for others. 100 MISSIONARY ADDRESSES ^ 0 . 4 —foreign 'giXissions. The cry is still heard from many lands, as of old from Macedonia, ‘ Come over and help us.’ In spite of all the active missionary work that has been going on for more than eighteen centuries, millions are still bowing down to wood and stone, or worshipping demons or the powers of nature. The followers of the false prophet are innumerable. The Jews as a nation still retain their degraded and imperfect faith in all parts of the world. Yet the mercy of God the Father is offered to all mankind. Christ died for the whole world. The Holy Spirit cam*e to enlighten the human race. Shall we not offer ourselves, or our substance, or at least our prayers, to further the glorious kingdom of our Lord and Master ? The Prince of Peace wills that the kingdom of His grace should be spread by peaceful means. Love is the principal force to be employed, and this every true child of God must have. Love will not only point out the way to act so as to be of most service to the good cause, but it will supply the motive power also, as well as the constraining force on those who are to be brought by God’s mercy under the influence of the Gospel of His dear Son. Only let our hearts be set aright and our faith true and steadfast, and God will show us what He would have us to do so as to advance His glory. Printed by Spottiswoode Co., New-street Square, London. W O K. IC s BY THE REV. H. MORDEN BENNETT PUBLISHED BY J. T. HAYES. In cloth boards, fcp. 8vo. price 2s. 6d. ; postage, 2d. ^^Tc6itation0 for anb ot^cr ‘A helpful little work.’ — Literary Churchman, ‘ The meditations are well within the compass of the simplest understanding. ’ — Guardian. ‘ Clergymen may find the book useful in suggesting the out- lines of sermons and addresses.’ — Banner. ‘ The arrangement is most methodical, and therefore renders them easy to use and remember ; in fact, they might well be used as short sermons at mid-day celebrations of the Holy Communion. We have seen nothing better of their kind.’ Church Review. ‘ Will be found profitable and suggestive.’ — Church Times. ‘ Simple, short, easily followed out, full of teaching. ’ Church Union Gazette. ‘For brevity, simplicity, and practicalness, it is much to be praised. ... It is a valuable little help, especially to the young, the busy and the weary.’ — Guildsman. 2 Works by the Bev. H. Morden Bennett, In cloth, fcp. 8vo. price Is. ; postage, Id, ®ailg ^^Tc5itatiottJ5 for ^bveni anb g^^ri^tma^. ‘ The thoughts suggested are very good, simply and briefly given ; and each meditation has a text at the end, something after the manner of S. Francis’ Bouquet Spirituel.” ’ Literary Churchman, ‘ The points are clearly and tersely put, and are not too difficult to follow.’ — Church Times, ‘ Full of spiritual hints, and may be used with much profit.’ Church Beview, In cloth, fcp. 8vo. price Is. ; postage, Id. <^ing of #Iorp: SHOET MEDITATIONS FOE EASTEE AND ASCENSION-TIDE. ‘ The writer exhibits the Eesurrection of our Blessed Lord as a victory in which each true member of the Church takes an interested part. The Ascension is fitly represented as the return of the Victor to His Heavenly TJirone, leading captivity captive. The language is easy and encouraging.’ — Church Times, Works by the Bev, H, Morden Bennett, 3 In wrapper, price ^d. ; postage, Id, Simple '3^Ti00ion “^cac^ing. BY THE Rev. H. MORDEH BENNETT, M.A., Oxon, Author op ‘At the Foot of the Cross,’ &c. In Pamphlet form, 48 subjects, each on a single page. ^ The subjects chosen are just those which would be brought forward with more or less prominence in a parochial mission.’ Church Union Gazette, ^ The teaching is dogmatic . . . yet, withal, simple in ex- pression . . . would be very serviceable in parishes where lay preaching is practised.’ — Northern Churchman, ‘ This admirable little work . . . will be of real use to those engaged in the special work of extending the Kingdom of Christ upon earth.’ — Guildsman, Uniform with the above, price 9d. ; postage. Id. Simple gbitrcb ^caching. ‘ Important topics, which are simply and piously explained.’ Literary Churchman, ‘A collection of separate leaflets which we have already recommended.’ — Church Times. ‘ The plan is excellent, and the matter exactly what is wanted everywhere for instruction in the truths of our most Holy Faith. Simple language, clear and unambiguous statements, and thoroughness and fidelity in delivering the teaching of the Catholic Church . . . for class meetings of various kinds they would be invaluable.’ — Church Union Gazette, ‘ A collected reprint of the admirable leaflets. . . . Each subject is confined to a single page, and is simplicity itself.’ Guildsman. 4 Works hy the Bev. H. Morden Bennett. In wrapper, price 4cZ. ; postage, ^d. lit t^)c §toot of t^)e DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOE PASSION-TIDE AND HOLY WEEK. ‘ Will be found of great service as aids to the development of true piety and love to our Blessed Lord.’ — Weekly Churchman. In crown 8vo. stitched, price 3d. ; postage, at '^a^arctb : AN ADDKESS TO WOEKING MEN. The proceeds to be given to the C.E.W.M.S. ‘ The larger the number of working men who have an opportunity of reading it, the better.’ — Weekly Churchman. By the same Author, price 4d. ; postage, Jd. ^ini^ for '^riuatc pcuotion;^ in ‘ We thoroughly sympathise with the object of this earnest little tract.’ — Literary Churchman. ‘ The subject is worked out in a simple and scriptural manner.’ — Weekly Churchrr.an. London : J. T. HAYES, 17 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA