EMPIRE SELF-RAISING F LOUR The West AUSTRALIAN
RECORD
PERTH, SATURDAY, MAY 21,
I
Rises Above all Others.
1913
Universal Jubilee in Memory of the Peace of Constantine ren, slaves and women, those weaker
In deciding for Christianity, he was influenced by reasons of consciiinee reasons resulting from the impres-
In our last issue we gave the full text of the Apostolic Letter issued by, Our Holy Father Pope Pius X.,
Church.
An
extraordinary
jubilee
society whom the old (such as the present one) is granted - members Roman law had treated harshly. He at any time either to the whole
proclaiming a Universal Jubilee in memory of the peace conferred on the Church by the Emperor Constantine the Great, 1600 years ago. Following close upon the victory over Maxentius, obtained under the glorious standard of the Cross, an edict was issued putting an end to the cruel persecutions of the Christians and Placing them in possession of the liberty bought at the price of tbe
of
commanded that foundlings should belong to the finder, and did not permit the parents to claim the children they had exposed. He was the first to prohibit the abduction of girls, and he made divorce more difficult. In everything not referri.ig to religion Constantine followed the footsteps of Diocletian. He was generous in almsgiving, and adorned the Christian Churches magnificently. In
sion made on every unprejudiced mind both by the Christians and by the moral force of Christianity, and from the practical knowledge wLich the Emperors had of the Chr:stian military officers and State . Before Constantine advanced against his rival Maxentius, he saw a heavenly manifestation, a brilliant light, in which was the Cross bearing the
Church or to particular countries or cities, and not necessarily, or even usually, for a whole year. The first jubilee was granted in 1300, when 200,000 pilgrims visited the Eternal City. Pope Boniface VIII. decreed a jubilee for every hundred years ; Pope Clement VI. made an jubilee recur every 50th year ; Urban VI. in 1389 reduced the cycle of the jubilee to 33 years, and Paul II. to 25 years.
MONTH. It ranks among Ow four great BAstLic.\ iIF ST. JoHN LATERAN, ItoME, WHERE 11151,01' ,'1,1'N1: ()Mil ATED \ patriarchal basi'icas, is the chief or Cathedral Churcl., and take,- e cm'nence 0.,r ;ill other Churches, even St. Peter's. In this Church, besides an important Council in 649 against the Monothelite heretics, five General ciaincil-4 have been held. It is mentioned in the Apostolic letter of Poll. Pins X. ordaining a Pniversal Jubilee in memory of the pe.ice given the Church by the Emperor Constantine as the first of the three Churctes to be visited in Rome in connection with the Jubilee. here is a tradition that Constantine helped in the work of the original building with his own hands. Its splendour drew upon it the attack of the Vandals, who stripped it of all its treasures. St. Leo the great restored it about 460, and it was again restored by Hadrian I., but in 896 it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake. The second Church lasted for 400 years, and was then burned down. It was re-built by Clement V. and Jahn XXII., only to be burnt down once more in 1360, but again re -built by Urban V. Through these various changes the basilica retained its ancient form, being divided by rows of columns into aisles, and having in front an entrance hall surrounded by colonnades, with a fountain in the middle. t
r
I
Blood of the Divine Redeemer
and the martyrs. Constantine can rightfully claim the title of the GREAT, for tie turned the history of the .vorld, MA made Christianity the religion of the State. It is true that the eeeper reasons for this change are to be found in the religious movement of the time, but these via:vine ,,( re hardly imperative, as the clyistuins formed only a smill pnrtiati of the population, Icing a fifth aurt in the West, and the half of the population in a large section of the:East. His father. (avisar conetantiee, riaect ed the Christians (Imam! a i,a,s( -
cruel persecution, and Coust;tnt.ine O,grew up under the 'Minim g.f ther'e ideas and under th.: ator;riii of his good mother, St. tn.:len!, t
.,born belonrs the historical psi' Rove of having found the Trio cr.
inscription, "In this sign thou shalt Conquer. The pedestal of Constantine
Iris palace he had a chapel, to which he was fond of retiring, and enere
bore Ire read the Bible and prayed. He the inscription-"By the aid of this obeyed the precepts of Christianity, selutary token of strength, I have and observed especially the virtue of freed my city from the yoke of tyran- chastity, which his parents Led imny, and restored to the itoinan pressed upon him. Senate and people their ancient The word jubilee means " joyful splendour and glory." Directly alter sound" of horn or trumpet. In the his victory, Constantine eran:. al tol- Jewish Law the blast of the trumerance to the Christians, and in the pet proclaimed the jubilee throughfollowing yenr, 313 (1600 years aino, out the land on the day of atonehe and Lfeinias issued at Mil in the ment, when all lands reverted to famous joint Edict of toleran,te no n- their original owners or their heirs, tioned by the Sovereign Pontiff in and rill Hebrew slaves were set free. F .,Npo,tolie letter. A law ot 333 The catholic (lurch has adopted the r onmanded the State officials to enterm "jubilee" from the Jewish force the decisions of the Dish Lis a church, and proclaims from time to Kshci!).st tieti,iiny should he consid- time ':a year of remission"-from the ered suflicient by all judges and no tenal consepiences of sin. An orwitness was to be summoned ;:fter ;t dinary jubilee ocetirs Pir:lie every Ifishoo had testificd. tith yelr, and is extended in the The Fm eror did much for ch Iii - following year to the rest of the
The conditions for gaining the jubilee are visiting Churches, receiving the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion and giving alms.
Church of Our Lady
01
Camberwell
Victoria
12,990
3
12,990 Stones Wanted ^
SOLEMN BLESSING of the foundation stone by, tbe Archbishop of
Melbourne
on
Sunday, May 25th,
1913.
REV. G. A. ROBINSON, Camberwell, Vic.