The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-29
THE STRANGER IN OUR PARISH.

The unkind treatment of the stran-
ger in our midst is a charge too often
made against our Catholic people in
cities. Nor in the charge often exag-
gerated or unfounded. Il have lived"
once said u woman to me, for nearly
twelve years in this parish, and yet |
am practically a stranger here. l.
was from country town, and wholly
unprepared for the GOODNESS that met
every advance of mine toward friend
ship with my new co-religionists, who
persisted in holding me at arms
length, when they did not ignore me.
We had even been accustomed to TAX
ing and active part in parish affairs at
home and should have been glad to
continue our work here, but we were
given no opportunity. You may find
it difficult to believe, but in all the
years we have lived among them, with
the exception of three families, we
never received a call from any of the
older members of the congregation,
save when there are tickets to be sold
for some entertainment, or provisions
needed for the parish outing or chill
dren's day. Even when death entered
our family only two or three came to
condole with us. The only new
friends and neighbors we have are
Professionals and those later arrived
Catholics, whom we decided should re-
ceive from us treatment different from
that which had been accorded to us"
That surely is a sad arraignment,
and yet it's truth will be bitterly adj
mitted by many. But should this be
so? Do you, who were born in the
parish, attended it's school and are
consequently among your own people,
realize the loneliness of those who
come in as strangers, separated from
all their friends, perhaps from their
family? 1t is true that in city
churches there are many transient
members whose acquaintance we may
not be expected to make, although, it
must be said, little friendliness on
our part would in no way injure us,
while it would be grateful to the heart
of the strangers who could carry
away with them kind remembrances
of the brief time spent in our midst,
q lingering wish that their destiny
might have permitted them to fix
their abode among such warm-hearted
folk. But when Sunday after Sunday
we find the same people occupying
the same place in our church, when
they seek membership in the parish
societies, and our children announce
the admission of their children into
the school, we may rightly assume
they have taken up permanent resi-
dence among us and it is plainly our
duty to extend to them the hand of a
neighbor.
With all our professed Christianity
we are selfish to the core. We are
satisfied with our own circle, and as
the acquaintance of these newcomers
would not, as far as we can see, bene-
fit us, and it is something of a trou-
BILE to seek them, we leave them to
find new friends as best they can.
And sometimes we have seen mis-
takes made concerning these stran-
gers. 1t has happened that these peo.
pie whose lack of ostentation, whose
quietness of coming among us has
let us to think them out of the crowd,
have qualifications that bring them to
higher places as naturally as water
seeks it's level. Then we should be
glad to know them, but they have
passed far beyond us, and no longer
have need of us.
. Such motive should not, of course,
be the one to prompt our friendship
toward the strangers. We should act
toward them out of pure kindness, do
ing unto them as we would that others
should do to us, were we like them,
strangers in strange land.
Anna c. Mfno0ue. in Catholic Columbian.