INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

Brethren, beloved in the Lord,

It has seemed good to me to restore, at the present time, the ancient practice enjoined by our Church of publicly catechising or instructing the younger portion of my flock, in the principles of the Christian religion. Enjoined by our Church, I say, for her direction is thus expressed in the Rubric, which immediately follows the Catechism :-"The Curate of every parish (that is, every Minister to whom the cure of souls in any parish has been entrusted), shall diligently, upon Sundays and Holy Days, after the second lesson at evening prayer, openly in the Church instruct and examine so many children of his parish sent unto him, as he shall think convenient, in some part of this Catechism." This, then,

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INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

is my warrant and authority for now introducing the practice; and I have been led to introduce it from an anxious desire both to render obedience to the injunctions of the Church, and to promote, by every means, the advancement of you all, both young and old, in the knowledge of those things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul's health; and I heartily pray that the blessing of God may attend my endeavours in this, as well as in every other part of the sacred office and ministry which I bear among you. But that it may be attended with good results, the co-operation of you, who are parents and heads of families, is necessary. You have your part to perform, as well as myself. The Church requires of you that you shall cause your children, servants, and apprentices (which have not learned the Catechism), to come to the Church at the time appointed, and obediently to hear and be ordered by the Curate, until such time as they have learned all that is here appointed for them to learn. Thus we have each our respective duties to fulfil; your duty is to send your children and servants to be instructed, and mine is to instruct them when they come. May God beget in us a full sense of our separate responsibilities, and incline our hearts and give us grace to fulfil them.

Having made these few introductory remarks, I will next state the plan which it is my intention to adopt. I propose, first, to examine and instruct such as are sent for the purpose, in a small portion of the Catechism, on each succeeding afternoon, until the whole has been gone through; and after having examined them, I shall then, in the form of a short lecture, make some observations further to explain and illustrate, in a simple way, that part which has formed the subject of the afternoon's instruction. This method I conceive to be in accordance with the intentions of our Church, and as most likely to prove of good service to all present; and I therefore proceed to examine in the first part of the Catechism, and shall afterwards address to you a few remarks suggested by it.

[Here the first question of the Catechism is answered by any one to whom it may be put; but the second is replied to by the whole of the children present. Then questions, explanatory and illustrative of the above two, with references to Scripture, are asked in familiar language: practical remarks are also introduced.]

LECTURE I.

Q. What is your Name?-A. M. or N. Q. Who gave you this Name?-A. My Godfathers and my Godmothers in my Baptism.

In thus reviving the ancient practice of publicly catechising, it appears a favourable opportunity for saying a few words in explanation of the object for which our Church requires the Catechism to be learned of all, who are received into her communion by the Sacrament of Baptism, She, in a manner, is our spiritual Mother, and as such is desirous to train up all her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to instruct them in the knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, that as they grow in years, so they may grow in grace, and increase not in stature only, but "in wisdom and in favour with God and man;" and, therefore, with this pious end in view, she has provided the Catechism, which contains a short but comprehensive summary of all the doctrines