The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-02-14
- 80 49,
BAPTIST TRIBUTE
TO CATHOLICS.

/
nue. and st. Paul street, Baltimore,
speaking Jan. IS on What Protestants
| Should Learn from Catholics said in
substance:
Catholics teach us the lesson of reg
ular and constant attendance upon
, public worship. Protestants go when
the Weather is just to their liking. 1t
is high time that an umbrella was
invented that would protect Protestants
from the rain on Sunday. Who has
not heard early on Sunday mornings
the tramp, tramp, tramp Of persons,
with hard weeks work behind them,
and often hard days work before
them, while we are yet asleep, hasten
ing to the Catholic church with prayer
book in hand? Have we clearer ap-
rehensions of the ruth? What benefit
to us if we are unfaithful but how
fearful the responsibility. Would to
God Protestants were as faithful to
their church as Catholics are! If we
were we could take America for Christ.
The Catholic puts his church first.
Seek to employ Catholic, his first
inquiry is whether there is a church
handy. There may be Protestants
with whom that is the first question
but they are not numerous enough to
count for much
Catholics go to church to worship,
Protestants to hear an eloquent
preacher. At the appointed hour for
service the congregation, instead of be-
ing in the seats to join in the devo-
tional part of the service begins to
gather, and by sermon time the sup
posed worshipers are in their pews.
The devotional element in too many
of our churches is lost sight of. The
sermon is everything. If that is not
great. eloquent, magnificent, the pews
are empty. The Protestant pulpit has
become largely a lecture platform The
irreverence in the average Protestant
church is simply shocking. 1t is often
the gathering place of giggling nonenti-
ties. R' ii5e
Catholics seldom ever in their pros
perity turn against their church.
Would to God our rich Professionals
were as faithful! The rich Catholic
hesitates not to kneel by the side of
the poorest. The only real democracy
in the world is a Catholic church in
prayer before God. Protestants have
too keen a sense of smell. When the
doors of our Protestant churches are
not only open, but the world outside
feels that the rich and poor can meet
together without invidious compare
sons, the great masses now outside of
the Church will pour in like the tides
of the sea. God never calls an intel
ligent man to associate with ignor-
ance, or gentleman to associate with
boorishness, OR a .virtuous man to as
sociate with vice, but if there is one
place this side of heaven where men
ought to meet on a common level it
ought TO be in the house of God in
common brotherhood Frustrated in
prayed before common Father.
"Protestants should learn from
Catholics how to give. Catholics are
poor. But behold their
churches! Behold the earnings they
lay upon the altar of the church! Too
many Protestants never give anything
unless they are squeezed so hard that
they cannot help themselves. When
Lard times come they begin retrench-
ment at the Lords end of their in
come. Any church finance committee
will tell you that most of our church
members are protestants sure enough
when it comes TO supporting the
church.
Every Catholic is identified with
some parish. There are thousands of
Protestants in this city whose church
is in their trunk or in
the place where they used to live.
When they go to church they go
around. They remind me of those
matches that strike only on their box
IS; when you have the match you
haven't the box, and when you have
the box YOU haven't the match. These
Protestants who live within the
bounds of one church and insist on
adding their membership elsewhere,
where they can rarely or never at
END, and. consequently avaid support
ng any chuch-what shall we say of
hem? One church has the box, the
other the match, and therefore they
won't strike.
I'm caring for their children Cath
,lics teach US a lesson. Statistics show
hat Protestants do not hold their own
children to the church. There are A.
700 communicates in the Baptist |
of Maryland and only 5000 !
children in the Sunday schools. The |
Protestant laity need to be awakened
@ deep sense of the magnitude of |
heir duty toward the children. Here !
S the source of strength in the Cath
,lic church. The seed of divine truth |
s planted in the hearts of the children, !
ind if this is faithfully done we have |
he divine promise that the seed shall |
grow up into a goodly tree whose
shall cover the earth and its !
coughs shelter the fallen race.
1.-THE Catholic church has been
harged with putting too much stress
Upon good works and not enough upon |
aith. Professionalism has swung to
he other extreme and not put enough
tress upon good works. Good works
Won't save, but faith without works is
lead. i have no patience with those
ligher-life Christians who have not |
ime to do practical good Our re-
igion is too much talk. we have too |
many women's meetings and not J