The daily sentinel., 1913-09-08
LETTER
ANNOUNCED At
ST. j0SEPH'S
Apostolic Communication Pro-
claiming Jubilee Will Be
Read Next Sunday.

An apostolic letter of Pope Plus X.
proclaiming a universal Jubilee in
memory of the peace given by En-
peror Constantine the Great to the
church. was announced yesterday at
st. Joseph's church The letter an
nouncing the jubilee will be read
next Sunday at St Joseph's Catholic
church, and an explanation of what
Is necessary for the jubilee will also
be given.
This jubilee is proclaimed in
commemoration of the great victory
of Emperor Constantine. under the
standard of the Cross, over the ty-
rant Maxentius at the Milvian
bridge, said Father Boyle of st.
Josephs this morning. in explaining
the historical Significance of the
event to The Sentinel.
''If we look into the pages of the
first years of Christianity. we shall
see that, from the days of Nero till
the days OF Diocletian and Galerius,
the whole power of the Roman EN-
pire was at the disposal Of the enc
mics of Christianity" said Father
Boyle. with few short intervals
of unguaranteed liberation. persecu-
tion had followed persecution in reg
ular succession, so that there was
left not a single province of the em-
pire, however far 1t might be situat-
ed from the center, which could not
beast Of the martyrs who had shed
their blood for Christ. The emper-
ors and their advisers were determ-
ined to crush the new religious sect,
the rise OF which they deemed to be
fatal to the stability of their own
power, and to achieve their purpose
they were ready to encourage attacks
on the Christian body by aiding and
abetting popular outbursts against
the enemies of the gods by issuing
special edicts and proclamations, and
by the promotion of Legislative de-
crees which plaed the most loyal and
the most exemplary of their subjects
in the position of outlaws.
But Notwithstanding the efforts
of the imperial authorities, the Chris
tian religion was not extinguished,
II for no other reason than that man
could not undo the work OF God. On
the contrary, the Christians as body
stood manfully by their religion, and
all classes-lay. as well as cleric,
men and women. senators and slaves,
We're prepared to die in torture and
suffering rather than abandon the
faith they had received The con-
stancy of the martyrs, their patience
and their eagerness to be deemed
worthy to suffer as their divine Mas
ter had suffered, won the respect and
admiration of the pagans, and proved
to he the best means of securing new
converts. AS a result, the number
OF Christians in the empire increased
steadily, till at last even their bit
terest opponents-men like Galerius
and MaXimin-were forced to admit
that the struggle, lasting over $50
years, had been carried on in vain
and that nothing remained but to
abandon persecution and to tolerate
the practice of the Christian religion.
1T is to Constantine the Great,
however, and to the decree which he
issued in conjunction with Licinius
at Milan in 313, that the church is
indebted for its complete emancipa-
tion. Such decree meant nothing
less than a complete revolution in
the attitude which the Roman empire
had adopted hitherto in regard to
Christianity, and was destined to pro-
duce most important effects on the
fortunes of the church as well as on
the fortunes of the empire. II
marked the beginning of new era
both in the history of church and
state, when, instead of being in con-
stant conflict, both We're to unite
their forces for the uplifting of the
human race and for the promotion
OF the reign of Christ. In these
days. in the midst of war and rumors
of war, it was singularly appropriate
that Pope PiuX X should have re-
called TO mems minds the Edict of
Milan by the great centenary cele-
brations which he has proclaimed in
honor of this event for the whole
Catholic world
Mrs NJ II Tv-er of oma CANA nm