The Young Priests Keepsake | Page 8

great forces to be reckoned with
in the immediate future.
Poison-thought has eaten the vitals of non-catholic sectaries. The
teaching of so-called Christian churches has evaporated into a mere
natural theism, the supernatural element has disappeared. Both the
Socialist and Agnostic frankly confess that the demolition of the sects
is but a preliminary skirmish: the real battle lies farther afield. The lines
of conflict between us and them are daily drawing closer, and it is a
question of brief time till we are locked in deadly grip. How are we
preparing for this struggle, which may yet convulse the world?
The future priest must be made familiar with the modern objections in
their native dress and form.
The aspirant for the foreign missions has a tough quarry before him: it
behoves him to steady his hand and point his weapon.
Young men complain of the length and tediousness of the years
consumed in preparation for the Ministry. Could I but engrave on their
minds the conviction as it lives, fixed and definite, on my own as to the
equipment requisite for the efficient discharge of their great office;
could I but show them the thousands untouched that might be within
her fold to-day, were the Church's workmen fully aware of the pressing
needs of modern life, they would count that hour as lost that did not
contribute its quota towards their arming for the future.

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P.S.--I cannot do better than here append a list of those books I found
in practical experience most valuable in meeting modern thought. I
would earnestly ask every aspirant for the foreign mission not to leave
the college till he has a familiar acquaintance with every page of them.
I take it for granted that the transcendent merits of "Catholic Belief"
and "Faith of our Fathers" are so well known, especially as books for
intending converts, that there is no need to add them to the list on the
following page.
Dealing with Agnosticism, &c. "Liberalism and the Church" Brownson.
"Notes on Ingersol" Lambert. "The Newest Answer to the Old Riddle"
Gerrard. "New Materialism" Gaynor.
Dealing with Socialism "Pope Leo XIII. on Labour." "Labour and
Popular Welfare" Mallock. "Socialism" Cathrein.
CHAPTER THIRD
SHOULD A YOUNG PRIEST WRITE HIS SERMONS?
[Side note: Clearing the ground]
That the young priest may discharge the office of preacher with
efficiency and honour, not only must he bring ability and industry to
his task, but he must approach it with a mind free from false theories.
One unsound principle may mean shipwreck. Amongst the many
questions discussed by aspirants to pulpit success, perhaps the greatest
prominence is given to the relative merits of the written or the
extemporary sermon. This is so important that its full treatment
demands an entire chapter.
Before coming to close quarters we may premise a question. If the
carefully prepared sermon cost as little trouble as the extemporary
effort, would the world ever have heard of this discussion? Oh! the fatal
tendency to move on the lines of least resistance, to glide on the
downward slope, and when we have reached the bottom to manufacture

arguments and apologies justifying the course we selected! When the
question is probed to the bottom you will find that all advocacy of
extemporary preaching resolves itself into an apology for laziness.
To me the question has long since ceased to be anything more than a
mere academic one, useful perhaps for a debating class, where youthful
gladiators flesh their harmless swords. In practical life, the well written,
the well prepared sermon was the only one I discovered able to bear the
test of experience.
[Side note: Manning]
At the threshold of this discussion the authority of Cardinal Manning
may be invoked against us, who, without condemning the written
sermon, shows a decided preference for speaking from notes. A written
sermon, such as advocated, could scarcely be before his mind when he
wrote that chapter in "The Eternal Priesthood." It is evident he had in
view the post-renaissance preacher--vain, pompous, decked in
borrowed ornament, anxious about the embroidery, and careless about
the soul of his discourse. The species, thank God, is extinct.
At any rate, if Cardinal Manning meant to condemn the written
discourse such as we understand it, is he triumphantly answered by
himself. The man who advises you to preach from notes and then
launches upon the world a goodly set of volumes of carefully written
sermons, every line of which passed under his correcting pen, requires
no refutation. His action nullifies his advice. It is to be feared, too, that
in forming his judgment he relied too much on his own experience, and
out of it drew conclusions for others, who could never hope to have his
exceptional advantages-- a fatal mistake.
Before his conversion he had completed