of all things, substantial? Can Omnipotence be an attribute of that which has no substance and no form? Is such an existence conceivable? Yet He is not material, and not visible or cognizable by any mortal sense. But we know that he is substantial; and if- as we have shown that reason clearly confirms-the soul is substantial, there is spiritual substance. And of such substance must be the world wherein the soul is eternally to dwell. It is the reality of the spiritual world-that makes this world real, just as it is the reality of the soul that makes the human body a reality and a possibility. As there could be no body without the soul, there could be no natural world without the spiritual. It is not rational to believe that the body which the soul briefly inhabits and which is then dissolved is more substantial than the soul itself which endures forever.

Not only is that world substantial, but it must be a world of surpassing loveliness and beauty.

Is it reasonable that this material world should be so full of life and loveliness and beauty, where

"Nature spreads for every sense a feast,"

to gratify every exalted faculty of the soul, and not the spiritual world wherein the soul is to abide forever?

And the life of that world is human life. The same laws of life and happiness obtain there that govern here, because they are grounded in human nature. Man is a social being, and everywhere in that world, as in this, desires and seeks the companionship of those that are congenial to him, that is, who are of similar quality to himself. Men are thus mutually drawn together by spiritual affinity.

And so it is for a time and in a measure, in the first state and region into which men come when they enter into the spiritual world. They go into that world as they are; and are at first in a mixed state, as in this world. This continues until the real character is clearly manifest, and good and evil are separated. When this state of separation is complete there can be no successful dissimulation; the good and the evil are seen and known as such, and the law of spiritual affinity becomes perfectly operative by their own free volition and choice. Then the evil and the good become entirely separated into their congenial societies. The various societies and communities of the good thus associated constitute heaven; and those of the evil constitute hell, not by any arbitrary judgment of an angry God, but of voluntary choice, by the perfect and unhindered operation of the law of human nature that leads men to prefer and seek the companionship of those most congenial to themselves.

As regards the permanency of the state of those who by established evil habit are fixed and determined in their love of evil life, it is not of the Lord's will, but of their own. We are taught in his holy Word, that he is ever “gracious and full of compassion." He would that they should turn from their evil ways and live, but they will not; as he said of those of

Jerusalem "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not. Therefore your house is left unto you desolate." There is no moment, in this or in the future life, when the infinite mercy of the Lord would not that an evil man should turn from his evil course and live a virtuous and upright and happy life; but they will not in that world for the same reason that they would not in this, because when evil habits are once fixed and confirmed they love them and will not turn from them even "as the sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mire " (2 Peter ii. 22). "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may they also do good that are accustomed to do evil" (Jer. xiii. 23). Heaven is a heaven of men and the life of heaven is human life. The conditions of life in that exalted state are greatly different from the conditions here, but it is human life, adapted to such transcendent conditions; and the laws of life in that world, as we have seen, are the same as in this. Man was created to be a free and willing agent of the Lord to bless his kind. His true happiness comes, not in seeking happiness for himself, but in seeking to promote the happiness of others. Where all are animated by this desire, all are mutually and reciprocally blest. Such a state is heaven, according to the day in which it is attained, whether measurably in this world or fully and perfectly in the next. Then must there be useful ways in heaven by which they can contribute to each others happiness. And of such kind will be the employments of heaven; for they must be useful employments. There could be no happiness without them to beings who are designed and formed for usefulness to others. What the employments are in that exalted condition, we cannot well know except as some of them are revealed to us; and of them we have faint and feeble conception. But undoubtedly one of them is attendance upon men in this world. It is written-and the words apply to every man-" He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways" (Ps. xci. 2); and "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation ?" (Heb. i. 14).

FOURTH DAY.

THE NEEDS OF HUMANITY SUPPLIED BY THE

CATHOLIC RELIGION.

BY JAMES, CARDINAL. GIBBONS, ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE.

[On being introduced to read part of the paper prepared by Cardinal Gibbons, Bishop Keane said:

Cardinal Gibbons has requested me to express his sincere regret that he is not able to be present this morning. He showed his sympathy in the Parliament of Religions by being here at the opening; he would gladly show his sympathy by being here every day during its continuance. He is here with you in spirit and affection, and his prayer is offered up to Almighty God that the Parliament may lead to God's own results. Now, as it is the desire of the Parliament, and as I trust it will be recognized all through, His Eminence desires to adhere strictly to the program, to treat only the theme suggested by the Parliament to-day-that is to say, the relation between God and man, Religion, the link between the Creator and the created. Whoever has watched the career of Cardinal Gibbons must have remarked that he is preeminently a practical man. He always takes a practical view of things; even in regard to the supernatural he always asks "Will it work?"

Profoundly blessed as he is in what I may call the divine philosophy of religion, he prefers always to regard it with practical eyes. Knowing that religion is the gift of the Creator to his creatures, he knows that religion was given by the Creator in order to benefit and bless his creatures. So Cardinal Gibbons looks and asks: How does religion bless mankind? That is the way he is going to view the great subject this morning. How does the Christian religion, how does the Catholic Church, as the divinely appointed exponent of the Christian religion, bless mankind, enlightening man, purifying man, comforting man, improving man's condition here below and leading him to happiness hereafter? It is in this practical light, therefore, the Cardinal will now answer the question, "The Needs of Humanity Supplied by the Catholic Religion."]

We live and move and have our being in the midst of a civilization which is the legitimate offspring of the Catholic religion. The blessings resulting from our Christian civilization are poured out so regularly and so abundantly on the intellectual, moral and social world, like the sunlight and the air of heaven and the fruits of the earth, that they have ceased to excite

any surprise except to those who visit lands where the religion of Christ is little known. In order to realize adequately our favored situation, we should transport ourselves in spirit to ante-Christian times and contrast the condition of the Pagan world with our own.

Before the advent of Christ the whole world, with the exception of the secluded Roman Province of Palestine, was buried in idolatry. Every striking object in nature had its tutelary divinities. Men worshiped the sun and moon and stars of heaven. They worshiped their very passions. They worshiped everything except God only to whom alone divine homage is due. In the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, "They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the corruptible man, and of birds and beasts and creeping things. They worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever." But at last the great light for which the prophets of Israel had sighed and prayed, and toward which even the Pagan sages had stretched forth their hands with eager longing, arose and shone unto them "that sat in darkness and the shadow of death." The truth concerning our Creator, which had hitherto been hidden in Judea, that there it might be sheltered from the world-wide idolatry, was now proclaimed, and in far greater clearness and fullness, unto the whole world. Jesus Christ taught all mankind to know the one true God, a God existing from eternity unto eternity, a God who created all things by his power, who governs all things by his wisdom, and whose superintending providence watches over the affairs of nations as well as men, "without whom not even a bird falls to the ground." He proclaimed a God infinitely holy, just and merciful. This idea of the Deity so consonant to our rational conceptions, was in striking contrast with the low and sensual notions which the Pagan world had formed of its divinities.

The religion of Christ imparts to us not only a sublime conception of God, but also a rational idea of man and of his relations to his Creator. Before the coming of Christ, man was a riddle and a mystery to himself. He knew not whence he came or whither he was going. He was groping in the dark. All he knew for certain was that he was passing through a brief phase of existence. The past and the future were enveloped in a mist which the light of philosophy was unable to penetrate. Our Redeemer has dispelled the cloud and enlightened us regarding our origin and destiny and the means of attaining it. He has rescued man from the frightful labyrinth of error in which Paganism had involved him.

The Gospel of Christ as propounded by the Catholic Church has brought not only light to the intellect, but comfort also to the heart. It has given us "that peace of God which surpasseth all understanding," the peace which springs from the conscious possession of truth. It has taught us how to enjoy that triple peace which constitutes true happiness as far as it is attainable in this life-peace with God by the observance of his commandments, peace with our neighbor by the exercise of charity and justice towards him, and