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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEOBGIA
13
have known the perils of this world and are anx
ious for the greater glory of God, and among
whom are those who perhaps knew us while they
were here on earth; and so I said yesterday in the
name of the people this prayer: ‘O God, Who has
consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine
Apostles, Peter and Paul; vouchsafe that Thy
Church in all things obey the commandments of
those through whom Thou pleased in the begin
ning to establish her.’
“I then read the story of Peter’s release from the
prison, as found in the eleventh chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles, and afterwards the glorious
confession of Christ’s Divinity made at Caesarea
Phillippi by the same Apostle. I told him that
in the great Church of St. Peter in Rome, where
the body of this Apostle has for more than eigh
teen hundred years rested, high above the Altar
and circling the wonderful dome, were inscribed
the words spoken by Christ in reply to the old
Galilean fisherman’s confession of faith in Him:
‘Thou are Peter and upon this rock I will build
my Church.’ I read the Secret prayer and the
Communion and Post Communion prayers: ‘To
gether O Lord with the Divine Victim we are
about to offer up, may the prayer of Thine
Apostles mount before Thee, and in Thy mercy,
may it atone for and safeguard us. Thou art
Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.
Thou has filled us O Lord with bread from Heav
en; be moved by the prayers of Thine Apostles
and deliver us from all dangers.’ ”
Mr. W. seemed surprised; and yet he asked me
if there was any good reason why the Church
used so many ceremonies and had so many things
in the building itself which seemed strange to
those who were not Catholics; and when I asked
him what he meant by his objections, he asked me
to take him over to the Church where he could
better explain what he meant; so we walked
across the yard to the Church.
(To be continued).
WHY A GEORGIA METHODIST MINISTER
ENTERED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND THE SOCIETY OF JESUS
(Continued from page 6.)
my suffering. He said: “Do not fear, God will
never abandon you.” At the Conference I was
appointed home on furlough for rest. I returned
to Huchow to prepare for my journey. I packed
my library in such a way that it could be easily
shipped lated; for I felt in my inmost soul that
I should never again return to China as a Prot
estant.
During my homeward journey I traveled in com
pany with the Bishop and his wife, who were also
returning to the U. S. A. I never spoke to him
of the great question which was agitating my soul
to its profoundest depths. Once only, in a pass
ing conversation, I mentioned the fact I had been
reading some of J. H. Newman’s books, and that I
felt more and more the imperative need among
Protestants of some religious authority. He gave
me to understand that the works of Newman
were dangerous and not acceptable reading mat
ter, but of course, did not prohibit my reading
them, as no Protestant superior may do such a
thing; their very principle of “private examina
tion” precludes all such prerogatives.
At Honolulu I visited the Catholic Church and
met there a young Belgian, a religious, who gave
me a copy of “The Question Box,” a little volume
published by Father B. L. Conway, of the Paulist
Fathers. I found it full of good and useful know
ledge, as it answered in a splendid way, from a
Biblical, traditional and historical standpoint,
many of the old and hackneyed objections of Pro
testants against the Church of Rome. I read it
with profit during the remainder of my voyage.
As I neared my native land, my heart, although
it rejoiced in the anticipation of seeing once
again my loved ones, yet, O, how crushed by the
thought that I was going to bring sorrow upon
those whom I loved more than life. I would rath
er have gone anywhere else, for I knew well my
home-coming would only augment their perplex
ity and sadness. Of course, I was received with
the greatest love and tenderness that a dear moth
er and sisters can bestow upon a son and brother
greatly loved. But as soon as the Catholic ques
tion was mentioned, my dear mother, who had
never opposed me in anything in my religious life,
now set herself, seconded by my sisters, most
strongly in opposition to all I could say; opposi
tion which I felt the more keenly, because it came
from such loving and sincere hearts, which were
solicitous only for my good. And so when the
first Sunday morning came and she asked me to
accompany her to church, as in the old days, and
I refused, it was indeed hard for her and me also.
But how could I do otherwise? I had lost all
faith in Protestantism, and I felt what a travesty
the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was, and I
did not wish to be present at a rite which every
thing proclaimed to be false. And what did my
ordination as a minister amount to? Absolutely
nothing but an empty form or ceremony.
Finally, seeing that discussion was useless, they
left me alone in peace. I visited often the Sacred
Heart Church on Ivy Street and that of the Im
maculate Conception on Hunter Street. O! how
blessed to steal there for prayer, where, surround
ed by the sacred memorials of My Lord’s Passion
and Death, I could find that rest and refreshment
which He has promised to those who are bur
dened! Above all, what a privilege to kneel be
fore the High Altar, where He as a King upon
His throne, was actually, really and bodily pres
ent in the Blessed Sacrament, and deigned to re
ceive me, His poor subject and slave, and let me
talk to Him! Too, I can never forget how some
times, when present at High Mass and the choir
was singing the Credo, my soul would be moved
to the profoundest depths. For I knew that glo
rious symbol of the Christian faith had been sung
by the Saints of God for ages and ages; to them it
was indeed a true expression that “faith once de
livered to the Saints”; and when they chanted it
they believed it with all their heart and did not
attempt to rob it of its original meaning, nor mu
tilate it as had a party in a recent General Con
ference of the Methodist Church attempted to do
by proposing to strike out or change the words
“Holy Catholic Church.”
Before leaving China I had begun to make the
Sign of the Cross and to genuflect before the
Tabernacle. Usually, at the close of our discus
sions Father Bornand would pass into the
Church, saying, “Let us pray a moment as we have
the Blessed Lord always with us.” We would
then kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and pass
a few moments in silent prayer. When I had
reached San Francisco I had bought a Rosary
and a Catholic copy of “The Imitation of Christ.”
I had known this little book in former years, as
It was one of the first which John Wesley had had
published for the use of the Methodists, though,
of course, without the fourth book which treats of
the Real Presence and Holy Communion.
(To be concluded.)