The San Francisco call., 1897-12-06
Rev. Peter G. Yorke De-
SCribes the Road to
Heaven.
The Catholic Church, He De-
clared, Points Out
the Way.
The Chancellor Lectures to Aid st
James Parish in Paying Street
Assessments.

L
Church last evening, the proceeds going
TO aid the congregation in defraying the
expense resulting from recent street i'm
provements in front of the edifice. The
auditorium was crowded and emergency
seating facilities were required.
The subject of the discourse was s'The
Kings Highway" Father Yorke ex-
planned by way OF Introductory that his
topic had nothing to do with the pave
| ment recently laid on Guerrero street.
p, In ancient times" he said, "traveling
was matter of some difficulty. Commu-
nicatlon between town and town was be-
set with DANCE. Hence we find the earIi-
est efforts OF government were to obtain
the safest possible communication be-
tween LOCALITIES. Thus the road came TO
be called the kings highway and the man
who travelled it was under the protection
of the king and the man who molested
him was traitor to the king.
Man has with remarkable unanimity
compared human life to a journey. The
question comes to US, Have we any road
upon which to walk2 Have we any great
highway upon which we can travel under
the protection of the great king OF
heaven2
"AIl great thinkers who have pondered
on the questions of human life have come
to the conclusion that we are going some
where. Those who travel with serious
purpose consider the journey only means
to an end. You would not consider him a
sensible man VINO decided TO spend all his
life on the streetcars.
$50 when we come to consider the prob
lens OF human life we find there is no.h-
ing in 1t which IS worth while. Ii there
o. al "a ha
worth living. 1t Is the end for which we
are aiming, so II Is important for US TO
know whether we are on the right road
The question comes up, is there k ing 8
highwayY
Every one recognizes that we live un
der law. There Is no tribe OF men so low
that II is not under the law. The law, the
rule OF life under which we live Is The
road to travel. There are many men who
spend all their lives at the crossroads
and, saying one road is as good as another,
never step foot on any road.
At the end OF the road toward which
We are travelling there is judgment. So
1t is that the importance of the Journey
grows upon Us. We see, by thinking upon
+ ii even in this imperfect way, lie is a very
serious matter.
Now, for the men who stand at the
OssToads and say this is the road or that
ls the road. For 1000 years men have dis
puted his question. There is no doub
at all that human intelligence can tell US
that there is God. Il is impossible tor
man by his own unaiued efforts to find out
what Is the Kings highway, and so it was
he sent his only begOtten son to show US
Whatever road he pointed out to US that
is the King highway.
When we come to consider which is
the road which Christ has pointed out we
are almost as badly off as we were before.
The poor Christian stands at the cross.
roads, where are 200 or 300 highways all
Ia beled 'ChrIst's road Ii one religion is
as good as another; if all roads lead to
the same place, then certainly God took a
great deal of unnecessary trout Bile. When
Christ went through that awful passion
on Holy Thursday and on Good Friday
morning, if one religion is as good as an
other, then there was great ado about
nothing.
Many people say it matters not which
religion you take so long as you believe
in Christ and read the Scriptures. Catho-
lies, Methodists, BaDtists and Episco-
paIians, they say, are all travelling the
same way. When God sent Christ, who
said he was the way and he laid down the
rules of life, he must have meant that
they were to be observed. If one religion
IS as good a another, what a great was e
it was to send out those apos ties. Would
1t not have been easier to have sent bi bles
broadcast over the earth and let every
man study out his religion for himself?
'UOu uemanQS the homage OF the In tel
Iect by demanding our belief in certain
truths l say truths, because if he de-
manded that we believe some hing that is
not true he would cease to be God. Truth
must be the same the world over and for
everything. Ii it is true that baptism is
necessary for salvation it is a lie to say
that baptism is not necessary. If it is
true t. atGhrist is present in flesh at the
altar it is false to say he is not present. II
God demands the homage Of the intellect
by belief in truth, are we to believe that
IL is matter of indifference whether we
believe these truths2
There is an infall bic guide which we
can accept In the first place Jesus Christ
says 4 am the way AS we stand at the
crossroads we may see many roads which
seem easier to travel than the Kings
highway. We must follow only that road
to which we are invited by the represent
atives of the King, set there by his direc-
tion TO show the way.
Look upon that Kings highway known
as the Ca holic Church. LOOK upon il
and you will see that it has al the char
acteristics OF the way pointed out by
Christ. Even many who do not love it
are forced TO al nit that if ther- is a royal
way the mother church has found IT,"