You think we come to Mass because the Church is so strict in requiring us to do so; but the true state of the case is that the law of the Church is so strict because Christ is present in the Mass. You think it is the pomp and glitter of our altars that draws the crowds. Little you know of human nature if you think it can long be held by such things alone.
No; we adorn our altars because we believe Christ is present. This is our faith. It is no new thing with us. It is as old as Christianity . . .
We know that God is everywhere. We know that nature is His temple, wherein pure hearts can find him and adore Him; but we know that it is in the holy Mass alone that He offers Himself to His Father as the Lamb that was slain.
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Sermons of the Rev. Francis A. Baker, with a Memoir of His Life, by Rev. A. F. Hewit
