The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-03-06

tHG SHtllGH IueS0 IOly anu Lou
fearing souls were barbarously driven
from their country in time of peace
for no other cause than that of their
Holy Religion and their clinging to the
Church.; but are now summoned and
welcomed back to serve their country
in time of war, while their prosecutors
are safe in secluded places.
A Call to Penance.
BY, the scourge of war, God is call
ing to penance many who have wan
dered from the path of virtue and
who are now eXpiating their sins OF
lust, their trampling under foot the
Cross Of Christ and their utter ire.
ligion and ungodliness. Evil will not
go unpublished "He will bring those
evil men to an evil end" says Holy
Scripture.
Poor, thoughtless mortals- had be
come negligent in the service of God
by the shameful violation of His
eternal commandments, by the open
denunciation of all that is holy and
sacred, by every effort to eradicate
the thought of God from the minds
of the people, by diabolicaI schemes
and endeavors to drive God from
their shores, by the vilest persecu
tons of Gods devoted servants, by
despising Gods many appeals to re
turn to Him and by their repeated
unfaithfulness towards His infinite
love. The war is the means that God
assumes to urge His people to a super
natural life of self-denial. The guilty
will be aroused to sense of their
guilt and the innocent will be purified
the more. People have become toe
much absorbed in the pursuit of money
and in the seeking of pleasure, at nc
matter what cost, too much attached
to ease, comfort and luxury. Poor
human beings, they must confess that
they have grievously sinned against
the Lord and must cry to Him from
the innermost recesses of their souls
with tears of conjunction and sorrow
Of heart, and beseech, for mercy and
pardon, their Creator and Benefactor
Whom they have forgotten, while MAX
ing merry in sin, clinging to the in
credulous notion: "The evil shall moi
come upon lis" Ridicule of God anG
sacred things, cultured vice, piteous
chase after worldly honor and agree
able positions, such are the dominant
evils in the present world Yea
worldlings have even gone so far in
their iniquity as to deny the very
existence of God. "They have denied
the Lord and said, it is not He." The
fool said in his heart, there is nc
Cod" says Holy Writ.
Recognition of the PapaI Authority.
Another beneficent result of the
European war consists in the more
general recognition of the supreme
Authority of the Vicar of Christ OF
the part of the worlds rulers. Hi.
most exalted position is being more
esteemed and priced. The belligerent
European powers, with the exception
of one to date, are now represented
at the Vatican. The rulers have era
ciously accepted the proposal of tht
Holy Father for an exchange of per
manently disabled prisoners of war
Kings and emperors begin again, a.
in bygone ages, to effectively under
stand that Difference to the power O
the Church of God constitutes the
wholesome means of maintaining their
own power, their stability ana theil
authority. Religion indeed secure.
the tranquility OF the nations ~ max
ing men submissive from obligation O
conscience. Religion makes the elem
ent ruler and the faithful subject
Without religion society is d stitut,
of its safeguards, crime is committed
without salutary dread of punishment