Interesting letters of Pope Clement XIV Author:Clement Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OTHER REFLECTIONS PREACHING. ADDRESSED TO THE SAME PRELATE AFTER THE FOREGOING. AS to the manner of Preaching, we fhould dedicate much more of our at... more »tention to correcting the morals of the people, than in difcourfing upon myfteries. Subjects of contemplation, efpecially if they are fublime, elevate the mind, but leave the heart totally unaffected; while on the contrary, practical difcourfes influence the conduct of men, and lead their inclinations to that tenor of life which they recommend. The myfteries of the Chriilian Religion make a grand and moft magnificent picture with a mixture of light aud made, which fhould be prefented from time to time to the view of the Faithful, as the moft complete proof proof of the greatnefs and the incompre- henfibility of the Deity; but evangelical morals being the proper guides to our practice, which mould affect all our actions and become the very fubftance of them, ought to be exhibited daily, becaufe we mould continually behave like true Chriftians, and pVove by all our works that we hold to our Religion invariably. Attention mould be had to prevent Preachers from giving vent to invectives againft people of a different perfuafion, whom we do not think in the bofom of the Church. Abufive declamations difhonour our facred minifhy, and only irritate; it was neither the language of the Apoftles, nor of Jefus Chrift. There cannot be greater moderation than what was employed in the recital which they gave of the paffion of their heavenly Maf- ter. They did not pronounce the leaft imprecation againft Pilate, againft Caiphas, nor even againft Barabbas, that notorious robber who was preferred before Jefus Chrift. The truth needs only to be difplay- ed with ftrength and underftanding; it is not by apoftrophizing Luther or C...« less