The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-06-25
FRATERNAL CHARITY


or butchered in the ito make Rome holt
day"
Jesus Christ came to the dwellings, of men and
His baby arms opened out In Bethlehem to en-
brace the world in love. His baby lips opened in
a smile and the angels took up the words which
His mind gave them to utter, GLORY be to God
on High and peace earth to men of good will"
Love, brotherly love- was the sermon of Bethle-
hem and Nazareth and Calvary, and brotherly love
was the message which Christ graved upon the
mind and heart of the Apostles.
81 give you a new commandment that you love
one another as l have loved you. By this shall all
men know that you are my disciples" Mark you,
Christ did not tell the world that that world would
recognize His disciples by their zeal, their elo-
quence their chastity, their humility. No, but
He told the world that charity would be the mark
by which it should know the men who bore His
standard, for charity is the in which all the
other virtues begin and end.
When Spartacus in the old day spoke to his
fellow slaves by the bay of Naples he aroused them
up to furl their banner and grid on the sword by
such words as these: "Yonder are our masters,
the proud, the effeminate, the great and the bru-
tai. Rise up and crush them" If Spartacus and
his men were successful what would happen? l
will tell you. The slaves would become the mas
tiers, and the masters slaves and the cruelty and
the butchery would go on as before Yes, Dearly
Beloved, charity and brotherly love spring not
from the sword are born not upon the battlefield,
but produced and nurtured in the souls of men
by the great loving hand of God.
Liberty equality and fraternity" yelled
France in the throes of her revolution, and men
with the cry "the brotherhood of man" upon their
lips dragged to the guillotne or hung upon the
lamp post the innocent and helpless, the mother
and her child. Yes France, you yelled out "broth-
erhood" and thy streets with blood shed by
hate of which history has no parallel. 1t was
Of fba Gle
the slaves masters, and then that cruelty blood
shed and savagery the reading of which today
causes strong men to shudder, and all this done
under the of brotherhood. All, France, thy
vaunted brotherhood was but hate, for brother
hood to lay claim to that sweet must be
virtue, must spring up in the human soul, placed
there and fostered by the Christ who called all
men His brothers, by the Christ who furled His
banner and fought and won His fights by the sweet
name Charity"
"By this shall all men know that you are my
disciples if you love one another" and with these
words singing in their hearts the Apostles went
forth to plant in the souls of men that charity
which their elder brother Christ gave them. The
Pagan world heard the Apostles message, and the
Pagan world spurned it, but the Apostles paused
not, tainted not. From the Danube to the Euphra-
ties and far beyond the lands that knew the victo-
rious flutter of the standard of Crassus and
Caesar went the message, Brothers, love God and
love one another"
Yes, Dear Brethren, back in that olden day,
when Christ's Church was in its infancy, and
when the might of emperor the science of philoso-
.pher the passion of the human heart fought to-
gether to crush it, what was the weapon that in
FAINT church used? The Pagan world itself sup
plies us with the answer, and the was this:
"See how these Christians love one another"
Slowly and surely and bravely the infant Church
of Christ advanced up the ages, displaying upon
its banner the Cross symbol of Christs great love
for his brothers, and she faces the world today
strong in her truth and justice she bears on her
standard the same symbol, while she echoes the
sermon which Christ gave John to preach at
Patmos, "Little children, love God and love one
another" Christianity is the love of God and the
love of our fellow for Gods sake, and Christ
has made beautiful this latter love by declaring
Whatsoever you do to the least of these my lit
tie ones, you do unto me-" If Christ were today
to appear in the midst of Christian people, no
human pen could describe the feelings of love and
respect and rejoicings which would burst from
prince and peasant, the lettered and unlettered
But, Dear Brethren, you have Christ in your. very
midst today. He Himself expressly states so 81
was poor and you took me in; / was naked and you
clothed me; | was hungry and you fed me- For
amen, | say unto you, whatsoever you do to the
least of these my little ones, you do unto me-"
Yes, Christ today is in the midst of you in the per-
son of his poor, his lowly and his sorrowfu Like
Martha and Mary, you can take Him into your
house and speak to Him words of love and cheer
Like Zacheus you place Him at your table
and give Him to eat. Like the holy women of
Jerusalem, you can speak to Him consoling words
and relieve Him somewhat of the heavy Cross that
presses on His shoulders aye like the Apostles,
you can have the Christ always with you
Dearly Beloved Brethren, life's road, though
short, is dark and dangerous, and for us almost
every step of it is marked with pain, sorrow,
but be strong and brave and patients you have the
Christ with you. Yes, you have Him with you,
and His grasp of you will be strong, His love
of you will be more ardent in proportion as you
embody in your life the love which He exhorted