The Washington herald., 1918-02-25


was a nervous wreck for an hour. un-
til a drink of rum brought me round.
CONTINUED TOMORROW.
Greece. St John evangelizes Ephe-
sus and Asia Minor. st. James an
nounces the glad tidings in Judea
and Galilee. st. Thomas carries the
light of the Gospel to the remote
Indies. and traces OF the Christian
ity that he there established were
discovered by st. Francis Xavier
when he visited that country in the
sixteenth century. And so on with
the other Apostles. In the words
of the prophet. as applied by st.
Paul, their sound hath gone forth
to all the earth, and their words to
the ends of the whole world
And II We are amazed at what !
might call the pious audacity of the
Apostles and their immediate sue
cessors, in undertaking the hercu-
lean task of converting the nations,
we are still more astonished when
we contemplate the result of their
labors. st. Paul, about thirty years
after our Lords crucifxion, writes
these words to the Romans: I give
Thanks to my God through Jesus
Christ. because your faith is spoken
of throughout the whole world.
and. Of course. spoken of by men
who were in sympathy and COM
munion with the faith of Rome.
The religion of Christ had not only
spread among the people of Rome,
but neophytes were found even in
the palace of Nero.
"St Justin. whose martyrdom oc-
CURED sixty-six years after the death
of st. John the Evangelist. saysI There
, is no race of people. whether
Greeks or barbarians. among whom
prayers and the Eucharist are not
offered to God the Father and Max
.er of all Things, in the name OF
Jesus Christ crucified.'
''Tertullian. who was born about
the year 16O OF the Christian era,
does not hesitate to address these
words to the Roman Emperor: We
are but of yesterday. and we have
filled your empire. Your cities,
your towns. your islands. your
forts. your army, your senate. your
palace and forum swarm with
Christians. We have left nothing
to you except your empty temples
''St. Irena aeus, who lived in the
same century. bears witness also to
the marvellous growth of the gos-
pei in his day, and he is careful to
tell us that the faith of those times
was everywhere identical. AS the
light he says. which illumines
this world is everywhere the same,
because it proceeds from the same
great luminary of day. SO is the
light of faith that shines on the in
tellects of men everywhere identi-
cal. because it proceeds from Jesus
Christ, the eternal Sun of Justice
What a cantrast presents itself to
our minds between the peaceful con-
quests of the Apostles and their sue
Cessors on the one hand and the
bloody victories achieved by the
great generals of antiquity on the
other, whether We consider the wea-
pons with which they fought. the bat
ties which they won or the duration
of their victories. Alexander the
Great, who may be considered one
of the greatest generals of ancient
times. subdued nations by wading
through the blood of his fellow-be-
ings. By the sword he conquered
and by the sword he kept his sub
jects in bondage. But scarcely was
he consigned to the grave when his
empire was dismembered and his sub
jects shook of the yoke that had been
imposed upon them.
''The Apostles conquered kingdoms
to their Divine Master, not by force,
but by persuasion, not by the ma
terial sword, but by the sword of
the Spirit which is the word of God,
not by shedding the blood Of others,
but the voluntary shedding of their
own blood; not by enslaving the
| bodies Of men. but by rcscuing their
souls from the slavery of sin. And
the spiritual republic which they
| founded exists unto this day, is
constantly extending its lines and is
consolidated, not by frowning forti-
hcations and standing armies, but
by the divine influence of religious
and moral sanctions.
What does this prove? It proves
that the pen and the voice are
mightier than the sword. 1t proves
that peace hath her victories no less
renowned than war; aye, victories
more substantial and more enduring.
| mat oil SCneIneS conceived
In passion and fomented by lawless
ambition of which the present world
wide war is striking illustration,
are doomed, like the mountain tor
rent, to carry terror before them,
and to leave ruin and desolation after
them; while the mission of men Ia
boring in the name and under the
inspiration of Heaven, is destined,
like the gentle dew of Heaven. to
shed silent blessings around them and
to bring forth abundant fruit in due
| season.
NO rational or dispassionate mind
can review the history of the infant
church without discerning the stamr
OF divinity impressed upon her brow
When We consider the rapid growth
OF the Christian religion and the
feeble instruments that were employ.
ed to produce such results, when we
consider the hostility the Apostles
encountered in the whole course OF
their ministry. when we contemplate
the opposition they met with from
the learned and fSam the populace,
for every author ol note whose writ.