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14 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (Continued from page 13.) if I can hear the message which the Church gives to her children, and I am trying to make myself believe that I am listening to some one who saw our Lord suf fer all these cruel punishments.” He at last made his profession of faith and was con ditionally baptized on the eve of our Blessed Lady’s As sumption; and on the feast itself he made his first com munion. The Priceless Gift of Faith I saw very little of him afterwards, for he went home immediately after hin baptism. But he wrote me a long letter expressing his thanks, and in it he said: ‘‘Ever day I thank God for the priceless gift of the Catholic faith; and every day I ask myself the ques tion: ‘Why was I so blind?’ The Mass grows on me, and I am finding new beauties in it daily. Oh! if my people could only see in the Church what I see, and know her! I have two brothers, as I told you, who are Methodist preachers. They are good men, and they have felt very keenly what they call my ‘‘fatal step”; but it has caused no break in our relations. We seldom talk on religion; but when we do I find that they have no real ground for what they believe. But how can they have it? since they have only their own private judgment to guide them, and though they are old fashioned Me.hodists and believe firmly in heaven and hell and in the Saviour, yet they have some queer ideas about our Lo:d and think it dreadful that I ask the Blessed Mother of Christ to pray for me. Why can’t Protestants see that those who have turned against the Mother will at least be in danger of deny ing the Son? or how can they hope to please the Son by refusing due honor to His Mother? We have no church at R., but I go every Sunday to C., and on week days at my home I try to join with those favored ones who are hearing Mass all over the world. I often think of what you told me of the story which the very Church building and its contents tell to the ears that will listen; and I am afraid that when I am in the Church after Mass I don’t do much praying, but my thoughts are with the wise men and Mary and the Blessed Child, or in the Catacombs with the first Christians, and I sometimes weave wondeiful stories and pretend that I am listening to Peter as he tells of his Master’s call and the many things he said to him; or I talk to Mary Magdalene, and she tells me the won derful story of Simon’s house and the washing of our Lord’s feet, and how He appeared to her in the gar den after He had risen from the dead. Am I wrong in so doing? What a wonderful thing is our Catholic Faith, and how good was God in bringing me to N. and to you.” Three years afterward he died. His wife and two children had always been Catholics and doubtless their example had much to do with his conversion. His widow wired me and I went up to C. for the funeral. The pastor of the Church said the Mass and asked me to give the Absolution over the remains afterwards. I said a few words before the Libera and toTd the simple story of his conversion to the Church. The Gospel of the preceding Sunday was the parable of the men who were hired to work in the vineyard, and how I applied it to his case, how that God had called him in the eleventh hour to work in the vineyard, and how promptly he had answered the call and how zealously he had labored. I followed his remains to the ceme tery and said there the last prayers for him, and as I went back to his home his widow said to me: ‘‘You will never know, Father, how grateful Will was to you for what you did for him at N. We have all of us been edified by his truly Catholic life; and no one would have thought that he was a convert, for he fell into our Catholic ways so readily and so easily, and he could never understand why everybody couldn’t see the Church as he saw it. We can hope for no better end than to die as he did.” Forty years have passed since Mr. W. came into the Church and thirty-seven since he died, and I have a firm trust that there in the Blessed Vision of Peace I am remembered by my “First Convert.” RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AMERICA’S GREAT GIFTS TO THE CAUSE OF HUMAN PROGRESS (From the Louisville Courier Journal) Judea gave the world religion—the concept of unity in the Godhead. Greece gave the world philosophy “all philoso phers are disciples either of Plato or of Aristotle.” Rome gave the world institutionalism. Spain inherited, and in the days of its power il lustrated, the Roman idea of dominion. France gave the world a sense of beauty unexcelled since Attic days. England gave the world a conception of orderly liberty wisely regulated by law. What distinct contribution has America made to v/orld civilization? Popular education? In a sense, yes. The democrat ic ideal that “respects not merely what is thought to be respectable, but only what is respectable”? In a tense, yes. Other things thought to be peculiarly American may come to mind. America’s unique contribution to the net sum of human progress, however, is religious tolerance. The first amendment to the American Constitution had this point in view. Jefferson enforced the idea in his fight to dises tablish the Church of England in the State of Vir ginia. On his tombstone, his epitaph, written by him self, includes “the statue of religious liberty in Vir ginia,” as one of the three things he wished to be known as the author of, the other two being the Dec laration of Independence and the University of Vir ginia. Is this precious deposit of America faith religious tolerance being properly safeguarded. Are Americans as religiously tolerant as once they were, or as men like Thomas Jefferson would have them be? Not religiously “liberal,” but religiously “tol erant” ? The American boast is that Jew, Catholic or Pro testant may, in America, profess and practice without restraint or criticism the religious faith that pleases his conscience. Is this boast justified by fact? Propaganda aspersing various religious faiths is abroad in the United States. Basically, the purpose of this propaganda is poli tical. Through religious prejudice certain vicious men reek power—power at the expensive sacrifice of Am erican institutions and in clear violation of the Con stitution of the United States each citizen is obliged to obey and to defend. The point needs not be either argued or demonstrat ed. It is recognized by all sober-minded Americans. The thing to do is to reckon with it promptly and intelligently. Enemies of the American spirit of religious toler ance work covertly. Friends of American institutions and of American laws, to combat successfully this insidious propaganda, need to work openly. It is time to do so—time to reenforce throughout the country the spirit, as well as the letter of the first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. America was much interested in the laying of the cornerstone of the new library for Louvain, Belgium. Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler laid the cornerstone. President Harding sent a message to Cardinal Mercier which was read by Ambassador Whitlock. Represen tatives of Princeton, Pennsylvania, Cornell, New York, Clark, Wilberforce, Virginia, Missouri, Catholic and other American universities journied to Europe for the ceremony.