HIS LORDMIP THE BISHOP OF OTTAWA

establishing and organizing ecclesiastical

Conférences.

JOSEPH THOMAS DUHAMEL

By the Mercy of God and the favour of the Holy Apostolic See, BLshop of Ottawa.

To the Secular Clergy oj Our Diocèse, Health and Bénédiction m Our Lord.

Beloved Cooperators,

At the close of the Pastoral Retreat, when considering together the means of preserving in our hearts the fruits produced by the spiritual exercises we had perfbrmed in common, it was found that one same thought occupied us. It was the mind of ail that Ecclesiastical Conférences, judiciously organized and regularly attended, would develop in us a taste for study, train us to scek in wrork that strength necessary to bear worthily th<- burden of the priesthood, and

qualify us to correspond to the urgent wants of our days.

It is to recall the good resolutions then taken before the holy altar, that We now address you. We do so with ail the confidence which was inspired in Us by your unanimous concurrence in Our project to establish Ecclesiastical Conférences.

The Sovereign PontifFs hâve always been careful to remind priests of their obligation to study. The great and lamented Tius IX never ceased to insist upon this duty of pastors of the Church. And. as the press has repeatedly informed us, his worthy successor Léo XIII takes advantage of every occasion to exhort them to acquire ecclesiastical science.

Bishops also, in provincial councils, in synods and in pastoral letters, hâve ever sought to establish both in seminaries and presbyteries the reign of the true Science of the Church. In reading over the decrees of the Councils of Québec, you may witness the solicitude in this respect of the first pastors of this province — solicitude which is attached to their office. " The lips of the priest," says the Prophet, " shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts : " Labia enim sacerdotis custodient scientiam, et legem requirent ex are ejus : quia angélus Domini exercituum est. (Malach. II, T.). Let us meditate this sacred text, and we will understand our obligations.

As priests, St. Jérôme tells us, we are the bearers of great tidings, the interpreters of the Divine mind, the oracles who re\real to men the secrets of wisdom. To the faithful, it is our duty to deliver the word of

G-od, for we are his ambassadors : Pru Christo lega-

tione fungimur (2 Cor. V, 20.). But how can we deliver

ss

the word unless we know it? And how is it possible to know it unless we study it, both in the Sacred Scriptures, called by St. Ambrose Liber Saœrdotalis , and m those beautiful commentaries thereon by the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church ? At catechism and at prone, is it not chiefly our aim to establish strict truths or censure vices more or less smful ? Do not imagine fchat proud reason which must needs be brought under the yoke of faith, and wicked passions which must be Vanquished, shall ever surrender to a purely human effort. The word of Grod is necessary to remove obstacles and to bring forth virtues. Omnis scriptura divinitus impirata, utilû est ad docendum, ad arguendum, ad corripendwn, ad erudtendum in justifia. (2 Tim. III, 16.).

The work begun in the pulpit is finished and crowned m the confessional. The difficult ministry that a priest has there to perform requires much knowledge and prudence on his part. To the poor soûl who has made known his past faults, présent dimculties, and anxieties for the future, the confesser should explain, without any exaggeration whatever, the law of G-od, indicate the extent of his obligations, and point out the way to heaven. It is then évident that only long and continued study of moral theology çan assure the conscientious priest in giving his décisions. Yes indeed, though we give it little reflexion, the lips of the priest, engaged in preaching and conlessing, should be the depositary of science.

Again, let us consider well that this duty always senous becomes still more so during times of trouble and contention, and be convinced that it was not without ample reason and spécial regard to our days, that the Holy Grhost gave to the priest, on whom is laid the precept ofacquiring knowledge, the title of ' Angel of the Lord of hosts " : Quia angélus Domm

exercUuum est. (Malach. II, 7.) In the fierce struggle that rages between good and evil, of which the i'amily hearth, as well as the senate hall, is the scène, the really effectuai arm, besides virtue, is tme theology. For the truth is communicated from the soûl oi' the priest to that of the child or adult ; it nourishes and develops Christian life in I'amily and parish, and little by little raises up a people with sound principles and noble and generous sentiments.

The interests of the Church and the interests of our country summon us to action. To work, Beloved Cooperators, to work !

If betimes our duty should appear dimcult, let us ineditate this terrible threat of our Lord : Quia tu scientiam repulisti, repellam te, ne sacerdotio fungaris mihi. (Osée IV, 6.) The holy Fathers are loud in their condamnation of the priest who is ignorant of his duties 8t. Clément (Const. Apost. book VIII. C. 2) déclares that he is a false priest and that Grod had no hand in his promotion : falsus, non a Deo, sedab homnibus promotus. And St. Jérôme does not hesitate to déclare : Si sacerdos est, sciai legem Domini; si ignorât legem Domini, convincil se non esse Domini sacerdotem. (In Cap. 2o. Agg.)

But, Beloved Cooperators, your loyalty to the Church, your filial obédience to the Vicar of Jésus Christ and your ecclesiastical superiors, your zeal for the glory of G-od and the salvation of soûls, ail inciting you to study, will secure you against thèse threats. And does not our own salvation dépend in great part upon fidelity to this duty ? Can he be a truly piou.s priest who does not apply himself to study ? How is it possible for a soûl that indulges levity and idleness to engage itself in prayer ? Can it entertain a désire for, or even realize the want of that holiness of character without which a priest is sure tobecomeoneof the

most pliant instruments of satan ? Such a soûl is always oppressed with languor, and betimes, perhaps, with remorse ; and, will allow itself, accordingto St. Augustin, to become a prey to the distractions of the times and its own caprices. When once a priest's heart, burdened with lonesomeness, is besieged by the influences ofa world upon which Our Lord has pronounced malédiction, who will insure it, against indifférence, distaste, neglect, and, sad to conjecture, total abandonment of the most sacred of duties.

Against thèse evils, Beloved Cooperators, our Conférences, well conducted, will be a guard, and they will make holy priests of us as they hâve done of others. They will occasion the study of Holy Scripture, and cause us to seek in our works on Theology for the treasures there amassed by so many great saints ; at such schools the truth shall day by day increase in splendor. And, in the pages of history, seeing the hand of Providence directing ail events for the good of the Church, we shall be consoled and encouraged amidst the struggles of every day life. While reviewing with attention the deeds of men of renown whom the Almighty has raised up in every century, we shall be filled with new ardor to carry on the work of salvation to which we are devoted, and should our character as priests hâve been weakened in combat, it will receive anew ail the energy it requires to fight the good fight. Canon Law shall also hâve its place in our Conférences, since it is the Code of the Church of which no priest should be ignorant, as St. Celestine says : Nulli sacerdotum sacros liceat canones ignorare. (Epit., I, 3.) Finally, liturgy, the rules of sacred éloquence, provincial and diocesan statutes shall also be the subject of our studies.

And thus, answering truly to the aspiration of the Church, as expressed in this prayer in the ordina-

tion of priests : ut in lege Domini die et nocte méditantes, quod legerint credant, quod crediderint doceant, we shall ail become zealous and faithful priests, and by our labors and piety, merit that praise bestowed by Our Lord npon his Precursor, when He said of him : he was a burning light by bis charity, and a shining light by his knowledge : Itle erat lucerna ardens et lucens. (John, V, 35.)

Wherefore, the holy name of Grod being invoked, We hâve decreed and ordained, and We now decree and ordain as follows :

lo. The Ecclesiastical Conférences are hereby established, and ail priests of the secular Clergy are obliged to take part therein, according to the rules which We prescribe and which We or Our Successors may hereafter prescribe.

2o. We place the Conférences under the protection of St. Thomas Aquinas and of St. Alphonsus Liguori ;

3o. That priests may more conveniently attend the Conférences, the Diocèse of Ottawa is divided into seven districts, each of which includes the parishes and missions as following named :

I. District : Notre-Dame of Ottawa, St. Ann, St. John the Baptist, South Grloucester, Embrun, Notre- Dame de Lourdes, Orléans, Clarence-Creek, Masham- Mills, Wright, Bouchette ;

IL St. Patrick of Ottawa, Osgoode, Eichmond, Almonte, West Huntley, Pakenham, Cantley, Chelsea, Upper Wakeneld ;

III. St. Eugène, Yankleek-Hill, L'Orignal, Alfred Fournier, Curran, Plantagenet ;

IV. St. Jovite, St. Philipe d'Argenteuil, Grenville, Monte Bello, Hartwell, Ripon, St. André Avellin, Papineauville ;

Y. Thurso, Buckingham, Notre-Dame du Laus, Angers, Templeton, Aylmer ;

VI. Onslow, Portage-du-Fort, Calumet-Island,Vinton, Arnprior, Renfrew, Mount St. Patrick ;

VIL Pembroke, Allumettes-Island, Sheenboro, G-ower-Point, Osceola, Douglass, Eganville, Brudenell, Maynooth.

4o. ¥e appoint as Présidents of the Conférences until rescinded by Us or Our Successors Bishops :