The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-09-14
Rev. Oliver Dolphin.
The Letter.
Somewhere in France,
Aug. 3, 1918.

Aug. o. 1910.
Dear Father:
Your letter reached me away up in
the front line, day or two after l
had mailed one to you. 1t had wan
dered about all over France; and,
Father, that letter of yours brought
great lump in my throat-yes, I'll TESS
up, there was tear or two, and
great happiness and gratitude-to
know that | (who am so unworthy
am remembered in your daily Mass.
l had just undergone a rather nasty
experience-we had altogether very
unpleasant trip in the line-so many
pals are gone; and perhaps, Father,
that's the saddest part of ADJUST
the being together today, making
plans, and dreaming dreams, and on
the morrow the chap who has shared
up with you is gone. Later, in the
little cemetery of the Seaforths (the
Shadows, you see the little white
cross, and you feel sort of pride
that you were one of his pals. You
also see the six little open graves, and
you wonder "Whose"-and then a
great peace comes over you. God
knows best-maybe, if it be His will?
But there is no faltering-never yet
has our battalion failed to live up to
it's old traditions. And this year we
instituted new one. Fellows are al
ways prone to thoughtless misuse of
the Holy Name. So the men got to-
Cnthpr n n h
stain from using any language often
sive to Our Lord or His Holy Name.
The penalty is one franc-for each
offense-and we are only allowed for
ty francs per month. When our chap
lain, Father mcdonnell, heard of it.
he thoroughly investigated, reported
| to Gen. Curry, and the result is it is
| now military crime to use the name,
Jesus Christ, profanely in the Cana
dian Corps. The Holy Father sent us
| his special blessing, and at a solemn
High Mass every Catholic pledged
himself to keep trust-and we became
Catholic members of the Holy Name
Society. History records no such &C
| ton on the part of any other battalion.
| Do you wonder God has been good,
and that we are known through Great
| Britain as a lucky battalion
At Easter time my mother became
a Catholic. When she wrote me, Il
have come to know your faith Eddie"
it seemed to bring so forcibly to mem
Dry the June day, fourteen years ago,
| when | started down the Roman Road
| alone.
Here in France, |, even as you,
| cannot help wondering sometimes
why there is any other faith And
the war has presented Catholicism to
many thousands who knew only the
name before. Everywhere one hears
the call of Jeanne d'Arc-everywhere
the soldiers beg her intercession-ev-
erywhere the wayside shrines are
kept by loving hands, and almost
every Tommy wears a crucifix or
medal of some sort SO many times
am asked questions by non-Cath-
olics. Thank God that | have had
such training that I'm able to give
the answer. They listen eagerly when
they know that l, too, was once a
non-Catholic.
Please pray for me, Father-that if
{ am to live | may have courage and
patience; that if it be His will, that
| may be brave, and may reach Him
soon. Pray too, that in all things l
may be worthy of His Church, and
, an honor to the Faith that has meant
more than life itself.
With all good wishes and much af.
lection,
E. w. STEVENS,
2137417, A, Co. I'D Seaforth High
| landers of Canada, C., E. F.. France