The herald., 1896-09-07

some years ago. IN the CatacOmO8 OF
Rome. her body was found and was
brought across the sea to q land of
which the wisest men Of her time knew
nothing and here her altar was raised.
Today thousands cherish her life, her
example. her qualities, in their minds,
and here we see multitude of another
race gathered to celebrate the heroic
memory of the Iowly Christian girl
who suffered ALL in the strength Of her
piety, for her religion. Her prosecutors,
her butchers, have passed to dust un-
honored. The tyrants who brought to
her and to others like her suffering and
torture are unhonored and have fallen
into oblivion. But, though we know lit
tie or nothing about Vibiana more than
the noble end, she stands today before
us, great and glorious, for she repre-
sents the idea of duty accomplished, of
duty done. even through sore suffering
and unto death.
The sense Of duty in the public mind
today seems to be largely blunted. The
old motives, apparently. have been set
aside, and now one Is actuated by am
bition, by desire for fame, and, above
all. by desire for pecuniary success.
Men have abandoned the ten command
ments, the beatitudes, and all Christian
rules and preeepts for their guidance in
matters of daily life, and appear to have
but one standard of judgment, but one
apothegm. that they acknowledge and
strive to follow out, and that is, Blessed
are those who succeed
SUCCESS ONLY WORSHIPED.
"All honor, all f1attery. all adulation
Is given to the man who has gained his
point, no matter how or what means he
employed, as long as his success was
assured in the form Of wealth and DOW.
er. .as#
The mantle of success is used to cover
all misdoing, all sins. 1t does not mat
ter If man successfully and deliberate
ly breaks all the laws of the decalogue,
If he repudiates all he promises, il he
breaks the laws of God and man, If his
word and his bond are equally worth
less, If he has entailed suffering and sor-
row on the innocent, If he succeeds he 10
lauded and honored and Initiated
This was not so when Christ set up
a standard for His followers. told them
what they must do and what they must
not do. and now we see His standard
cast down and trampled upon.
1T is strange sign Of the times when
many leaders in the various walks of
life proclaim to the world that modern
politics, business and social life cannot
be carried on on the basis of the ten
commandments, or Of the sermon on the
mount.
1T shows that there has been a turn
ing of backs on Calvary and on Christ
and that Mammon is being worshiped
by thousands.
when our Lord founded His religion
He established 1t on truth of word, of
action and of thought. He left nothing
to the instinct Of mans corrupt will He
laid down His law so plainly and so per-
fectly that 1t could be understood by
old and young and by all classes
ana conditions Of mankind. His
law in all its details. no matter how
disastrous such obedience might result
to what appeared to be their interests.
no matter how much apparent suffering
1t might entail, no matter If death itself
was the consequence.
Christ was not merciless. He was not
cruel. nor harsh, nor hard-hearted.
Christ was pre-eminently meek and
lowly, tender and loving and merciful
and 1t is impossible to conceive of His
asking anything of mankind for whom
He suffered and died but what was sure
ly to result for their happiness.
HE knew what was for our good, |
salvation of the world.
HE told his disciples end the world !
that no man loving his father and his !
mother more than Him was worthy to !,
follow Him. He taught that If an eye !
lnterferred with ones devotion, or a |
law to pluck out the one or to cut off the |
other.
AS BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS
DISCIPLES.
There Is nothing so rich, nothing 20
grand. nothing so profitable that 1t can
be allowed to stand between Christ and
his disciples.
when the early Christian went unto
the pagan world which, fancy, was hard
ly less pagan than the one we now live
in, 1t was not strange that every one
rose UP against them. They were called
conspirators. Their enemies said that
they set father against son, mother
against daughter and they were charged
with being against the well-being Of
I'm fact, they had to face the whole
world and were put to torture and death
Yet in spite Of the rack and the sword
and the faggot old men, young men and
gentle maidens stood up as witnesses for
Christ, as martyrs.
THE very word martyr means q wit
ness. They were living, immortal wit
nesses to the law of Christ. that we must |
do our duty even If we seal the act with
the last drop Of our hearts bloNl.
This is the significance of the feast
today. Christ's religion has out-stepped
the bounds Of Europe and reached out
to this great continent.
I'VE profess to follow the meek and
humble Jesus, we profess that we obey
his law and model our lives on his ex-
ample.
yet sad 1t is to see SO little exercise
and practise of the true spirit of Christ's
gospel; SO little of the devotion of the
martyr to duty and to right.
THE GREAT BATTLE.
"A great battle is now being waged
between truth and calumny; contest
between right and wrong. The ideas of
modern progression are often antagon-
istic to and against God and his gospel.
Let us not deceive ourselves by imagin-
~