St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1913-05-10
RELIGION IS MANS
ONLY SALVATION
Father Power Delivers Beautiful Ser
mon on Sunday Night.

points treated in the lecture de-
livered on Sunday night, May
: 4th, on the subject Religion
alone the Salvation of our Land =
No substitute can be found for
God-nor can any substitute be
found for religion that golden
band by which mortal man is
united to his God. This is a
principle which holds vigorously
true whether it be question OF
the individual, of the family, or
OF that great aggregate of fami-
lies that we call the state-a
principle proclaimed by faith and
reason alike and which the ex-
| Iperience of ages has amply con-
firmed. And yet strange to say
m en- still persis in
/ attempting the j m p 0 ssi b e
task of finding a substitute for
one and the other. We have a
notable instance of this in the
various remedies SO frequently
proposed for the social unrest
and discomfort SO prevalent now
adays and the many ills from
which our nation suffers as also
in the many theories proclaimed
concerning its true progress and
prosperity. Some seem to have
unbounded confidence in the
power of legislation, others,
witnesses of its repeated failures,
look rather to the diffusion of
knowledge and the multiplica-
tion of educational institutions,
others, intent rather on supply
ing our material needs, see moth
ing else in national prosperity
than improved methods of agri-
culture, manufacture and trans
portation, richer products from
our mines and harvests from our
fields and commerce on our
shores, others again impressed
with the futilitg of amassing
treasures without first providing
for their security, eager to mani
tain our safety at home and our
dignity abroad invoke the ge-
MUS of miIitarism as our pri-
mary resource and make arma-
ments, battleships and a huge
standing army the burden of
their song, to say nothing of
those who enlisted under the So
cialistie banner to secure for the
workman the full benefit Of his
toll would rob him of that which
he cherishes most his individual
ity, his personality, his liberty,
and would make of every citizen
a mere cog in the wheels of the
political machine.
All these as is apparent, each
representing a considerable sec
ton Of our fellow citizens, has
widely divergent views concern
ing the true welfare and pros !
perity of our country and the
means of procuring it, but in one
very important point they all
agree and that is that religion the
highest and hottest element in
human affairs and by far the /
mightiest factor for the accom-
plishment of good does not come
in even for a passing mention.
And yet I will boldly assert that
religion and religion alone can
go to the very root of all of our
social ills and provide for them
truly effective remedy. AS for
those theorists whose sentiments
I have just exposed, there may
be indeed in their respective con
tentions a certain element of
truth but if they imagine that
anyone of the specifics which
they offer or all taken together
can heal the many woe from
which the nation suffers they
and their followers are wofully
mistaken. Faith and reason as
I intend to show as also common
sense and every day experience
are ready to bear me out in MAX
ing this statement.
When I speak in the present
instance of religion as the saliva
ton of the state [ mean Of course
it's temporal salvation for where
is the man so weak as to mag
inc anything else Can serve as q
passport to life everlasting. And
If it be urged against me in this
connection that the proper OBJ
ject of religion is our eternal
rather than our temporal well
fare / will answer in the words
of Pope Leo's encyclical that
while religion has its avoWed OBJ
ject the promoting of our eternal
interests it nevertheless offers to
Us in this present life all that is
really worth the having. Great
such as Constantine,
Charlemagne and ST. Louis Of
France were so convinced that
religion is the best guarantee Of
a nations peace and prosperity /
that they used every means to
make it flourish within their do
minions. We have the authority