The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-25

Never in all her life had Mrs. Nc
| High Mass that was celebrated the
day she reached the college, for the
ceremony of the morrow. The lights
| and ornaments, the vestments, the in
cense, the music of a hundred voices,
| 1t seemed to her like foretaste of
| Heaven And when an old priest as
cended the pulpit, her heart was soft
and tender to everything he said. 1t
was beautiful and soothing-that was
all she knew at first. Then, with up
raised hands, he spoke of the Blessed
Virgin, present at the Passion Of her
| Son. mot only did she see Him hang
ing on the cross" he was saying, mot
| but, broken-hearted, it is true, yet
willingly she gave Him up for this.
| She gave Him up to suffering and to
| death. Think of it. A mother, for,
getting herself giving up her only Son
to suffering, to agony, to DEATH AS
he >pauseds there was hush through
| the whole church. "But she did it,
brethren, Mary did it, and willingly,
because it was for the saving of
souls. :"
There was more, much more, but
Mrs. McRory had learned her lesson.
Dry-eyed, broken-hearted, at the foot
of the altar where next day her boy
would make the offering of his man
hood to God, she, too, made her sacri-
| flee. At last the cloud between them.
was wiped away, and that with her
one word, "Fiat Thy will be done. ;"
The long, long ceremony was over
and John McRory was a priest for
ever. His mother had knelt at his
feet and kissed his anointed hands.
and now, for the first time, they were
alone together.
"My son" she said in low and
quiet voice, do you still feel a call
| to the missions?"
More than ever, Mother, now that
God has given me the power to help
| and save
He did not guess at what was COM
ing, till, very quietly, she spoke again.
GO, then, treasure of my heart"
| she said. 1T is not this mother who
will keep her son, when the Mother
of God gave hers for souls
With quick impulse he went upon
his knees before her, he who an hour
ago had had her at his feet. Priest
though he was, and powerful now to
bless, the blessing of his mother vas
the thing he sought, and with simple
dignity she laid her hands upon his
head, letting her fingers linger in the
! thickness of his hair
81 shall be missioner" he said,
"for that is what God wills of me, and
you will be martyr-mother, for it is
| you who are giving. the most to Cod
There was no difficulty in finding a
place on the missions for Father
McRory-in no other field is it so true
that the harvest is great and the labor
ers few-and not many weeks had
passed before the goodbye came
After that, when looking over the.
| sea lying below her door and reaching
| to the far horizon, the missioner's
mother pictured her son at the work to
which she had sent him. Her world
had widened since the day when the
parish priest had .re-read for her the
students letter. Then it was bound
ed by self and stretched no further
than the limits of her own diocese.
Now it spread away towards infinity.
She had given her son for the souls
Of all mankind.
BY day the sea was a shining path
way on which her thoughts and
lprayers travelled INCREASINGLY to him.
by night the stars twinkling in the
wide ark of the sky were to her the
lamps lit in Heaven by those whom
her son had set. free from the dark
mess Of paganism, and these, she al
ways felt sure, would some day make
Iclear the way for. him and her to
meet again, with God.
"a Arsr, s11rea