The Washington herald., 1910-01-23

duty that / do not hesitate to say that
Sunday is my day of very lightest least
firing labor. And this. Notwithstanding
the following programme for Sundays,
celebrate the Holy Communion at s
a. m. take the devotional exercises Of
the Sunday school at $3.50, the regular
service Of morning prayer and preach at
Il a. m, look in on our Chinese Sunday
school ar 2.30 D. m. take the children's
vesper service at 4:15. and say evening
prayer and preach at p. m. There IS
usually a baptism or an emergency sick
call ar some time during the day. All
this without clerical assistance. save for
the last thirty days Still Sunday is
decidedly my easiest day. | am buster
and work more hours every other day in
the week than on Sundays. l see my
family more. and have more quiet read
ing on Sunday than any other day.
How 90 Gsf Best Results
1T follows as a necessity result that
! preparation for all this Sunday work is
poorly done-that the command OF God
and nature that man have one days rest
Iresults-tO himself and his fellows IS
wholly disobeyed-by me. My work IS
/ such delight to me that ! am not con-
scious of the strain. but in calm thought
/ I know what the results must be. viz:
/ physical, mental. and spiritual loss. Who
/ is TO blame? No one. Ny vestry have
given me all the assistants for which I
/ have asked. Ny people trouble me very
/ little about matters that ought not to
come TO me as their rector. In my work
with them I always feel I am getting
more than I give. But if my experience
IS at all usual with the clergy-and I do
not doubt that it is-there Is great need
/ Of some remedy so that the clergy may
have one days rest out OF every seven.
What is the remedy? In my judgment
| smaller churches and more Of them. No
minister should have under his pastoral
/ care more people than he can become
closely acquainted with in close personal
touch by visit to the homes OF each at
! least three or four times a year. I
know my sheep and am known of mine
| said the master. II may be that the
| Pensioners are willing not to require or
expect this, but in my opinion no man
can be real minister who does not find
time and embrace the privilege of doing
this
Then. too. it is essential that the
minister, If he is to beSsuch I'm reality.
should have time for meditation. To be
alone, not for study or writing so much
as for real meditation-active communion
with Cod in loving fellowship with the
'Giver Of every good and perfect gift
"One of the wisest men. wise with
godly wisdom, I ever knew. the dean Of
a theological seminary taught that every
priest of God should have at least one
and a half hours each day for such medi-
tation, even If for no other purpose than
10 keep his own soul safe. I wonder how
many can possibly find the time for this.
Under our present system. in the cities
at least, there is certainly great need that
the Christian ministers should keep be-
fore him St Paurs words of caution.
lest that by any means, when have
preached to others, l myself should be
tcastawaye'''
Must Meet All Demands.
Rev. Father William Russell. of st.
Patrick's Church, thinks a provision by
which all the clergy should have one rest
day out of seven. a fine plan Not that
there is a moment of his life that he
does not hold himself in eager readiness
to do his Lords service but that II Is
a physical impOssibility to be In two
places at once, and equally impossible to
do two things we'll at the same moment
II is the efforts to meet all demands and
the imposslbility Of doing so that accounts
for much of the nerve strain under which
all priests live and under which only
the very strongest can keep up for any
great length Of time
The one duty, but a most insistent
duty, which drains to the utmost the
heart of the priest is the service in the
| confessional During the whole of the
last day of the year when a large pro-
portion of the parish of st. Patrick's came
to that solemn duty there were but seven
priests TO serve, and the intervals of rest
were of the briefest and far apart; Father
Russell, whose day had begun at dawn,
after a long day in the confessional cele-
brated mass at midnight and did not
reach his room until $50 a. m. After
few hours of the sleep that comes from
complete exhaustion the holy Father was
again cheerfully at his duties; but had
there been a plan by which ne could have
slipped away from everybody, and the