The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-07-28

III I oSllCdl HSI d u LII ~ IS lS
known as one Of the most practical of
linen.
| He is annually in receipt of treasures
iof gold 50 vast pc to max the income
lof princes contemplate. yet to the end
he lived in three rooms furnished to the
of barenFES and poverty He is
!held in universal reverence beo2use he
islands for the great simplicities, those
iuniversals OF Christianity, called Love,
peace and Good Will. His ambition
Twas one OF the modest POSSIBLE to the
mind of man-viz. to SO sp~iritualiZe his
ichurch as to make it worthy TO control
the destiny of the millions who follow-
led him. Above III else, to use the ex-
tpression OF the prophets. He was a
imam who feared Cod" being of good
mess, all conpac
J And now that mis- career is eraed the
world beholds Leo standing forth in
the form Of a man without adnixture
of or vice or Grim, but
clothed with justice and virtue and
goodness as with garments. We can
SAY OF Lee as TyTaS said of Bernard,
We thank Thee. Lord, that Tho hast
counted the world worthy to have had
him so long
LEO'S PLACE IN HISTORY.
| a OF his achievements TOR the
}church all scholars have already given
Leo a place among the greatest Of the
tpopes. Strictly speaking, the giant
PCPNS a. oho III 1IuIIlDSI- | WIS Tic
tSlory OF Leo the Great that ne sound
Fd the Pdpacy ana organized tina vast
whose ines from Rome. web
like, stretched out over all ~" earth.
! Then came Gregury-the Missionary
in $50, sent his teachers to
the Unacceptable shores of England,
lWnere they won over the savage ances-
TORS OF Shakespeare and conquered
King E.tfeIbert by their plea for inn
mortaiity- Ldter came Hi1deDrand.
THAT Gregory n was not content hat
the pope should be the equal of kings
Iand princes. 1t wstS his ambition to
IeXa4t the spiritual power above aIl-tem-
'pOral power. EmperOrS-- kings and
iqueenS must be SuDJect to the worlds
spiritual ruler. He denied to Henry the
Fourth of Germany the right of inves-
|titure OF bishops. n when Henry in
SISTED Gregory promptly eXcornmuni-
Gated him, forbade any of his subjects
to serve him. In that hour Hildebrand
'provef that the pope 4Fas the k ing GS-er
emperOrS. ruler of all tempo al mon
archs. and from that day Greg, Dry was
master and Henry subject. All the ser
wants IN. Henry'S palace fed. tt ~ mtnE-
arch had COAL. but no enc to kIndle a
fire; flour, but no n to make z. loaf;
horses, but no man to tend them, When
the King appeared on the sire els all
men fled, and every snOp door Wa
locked in his face. At last Hem y took
i SldIl dttu maui Ills way 70 1ld -, Dul
the pope refused to see hin. FOl three
AMI three nights. 6arafoote Il n
bareheaded. amid the blasts of Tinter,
Henry stood knocking at the door be-
fore he received audience and pa trdon.
for centuries. the Ope was q
sovereign
Then came the great popeS of tire De
perio, who built the catheClrals,
were the patrons of men like Bra
mante. Michael Angelo. Raphael, titan
and Da Vinci. and that grea- com oany
of immortal artists. In thai era when
the pOntiff was 4 secular pr nee came
the Reformation also. hat rent the
Church in twain: and long after came
Plus with his decree of lnfalliaility; and
last of all came Leo the Good. who ac-
.cOmplished the impOssibl, even n
.Luther'S own country.
WHAT HIS EFFORTS HAVE AU-i
COMPLISHED.
If any man doubt. let him ask this
question: Which churches are he
more crowded-the Lutheran churches
jim Berlin OF the Catholic churches? n
I'm New York city itself. what shall we
the churches where the faith ne 1
holds is taught are full to the doors? 1
Wonderful. indeed. this great Urgani- |
.zation, with its fifteen centuries OF his I
tory. What c~atiledrals 1t has built!
What Madonnas and TRANSFORMATIONS
IL mas DtlllJcu- " SoiOAii- =
it has written! What saints
named Fenelon heroes like Bernard!
Little wonder thai IT has ruled princes
and peasants alike. That 1t a con-
.trolJed political institutions and shaped
the destiny of states
Take it all in all, the Catholic has
been the most marvellous political force
of the last 1,5OO years, has survived em-
.pireS. states and civilizations. And the
new position and influence that the
Catholic church low holds is largely
due to the wisdom 4 noble character
'of Leo .the Pontiff.
He was lot a great ,s~heOlogian. like
Augustine. giving US Il vast body OF d-
Ivinity. He was not a great orator, Ike
|ChrySOstou. Swaying the thousands
weeping in the Cathedral of st. Sophia.
did Not have the military instinct
iron %NIll of Hildebrand. !
But he was a great Bishop. like Am
IbrOSe. who ruled by love. He was az
great propasandist like Gregory, send
ing his missionaries into the uttermoSt
parts of tbs earth. He was a great
statesman. who proved himself a march
for the most aStute diplomats He held
himself TO he a sovereign and spoke Of
himself as a prisoner in the vatican
he was the equal of princes n
ambassadors whom he met But. great
las he was. We forget his greatness
we remember his goodness. The
F1lsISn OdIUllldl II WHY ~ NAiN |
his Lead Kindly Light was
lnot more v~enerated for the purify and
Isimp5icity of his character.
THE POPE WHOSE INTERESTS |
WERE UNIVERSAL
In the nobleSt sense of the term Leo
was q man whose interests We're world |
wide. In reading his letters and adj
dresses We are impressed with the uni
|yersaIity of his themes. He writes and
speaks not from the viewpoint OF an
italian bat from the viewpoint of Fl
citizen of all countries. |
ALWAYS he strikes the universal note
that appeals TO all people. The most !
Of his encyclicals deal with |
the condition of the working classes,
|chief duties OF Christian as citizens, on
marriage and divorce, on socialism and
ANARCHY. on workingmen's clubs and
trades unions. In these noble papers
he speaks not from the viewpoint OF
the prelate. but from the viewpoint OF