The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-06-29
WEDDlNo RINGS
S1niCSeist
GOLD AND SiLVERSMITH
% East Sixth Street
Continued from page 81
MY FIRST MISSION.

ate?' OF course, must keep his name
secret. f+"..'"l
Why, yes l said. You're not hep
Yes, Father, l am. You'll be sur
prised what shall tell you, but want
to make full confession and get your
advice. | left the seminary, not as l
told the rector and my confessor, be-
cause I was convinced / had no voca-
ton to the priesthood, but in spite of
the conviction that l had--in order to
marry. | had become interested in
| young woman whom ] had met at
home during one of my vacations, and
after half-hearted fight against the
temptation, I left and married. AS |
might have expected, gained nothing
for having given up all. My wife died
three months after our marriage. In
stead of seeing in this Gods judgment
and providence, and accepting it hum
bly,, I told myself that it was unjust,
that [ had a right to happiness, and
that God had been harsh in His retri-
button. In the frightful years since
that time, | have bordered on apos
tasy; tried to become an atheist; when
this failed, turned to Humanitarian
ism. In word, I've been up and down
all the treacherous by-paths that lead
away from the faith and end-noWhere.
I've drifted from place to place. And
at last | am utterly miserable, without
courage, without even the desire to
repair my failure
My dear boy | said, Pm sorry for
you, but you realize, don't you, that
God has been extremely merciful to
you, in forcing you, by sorrow and dis
appointment, back to the right?"
Most assuredly, Father. And the
strange part is, Father, that it seems
like mere accident. | was passing
here the other evening" on my way
to the library to kill time, and noticed
the crowds coming in. | had heard
much of the services here, so, Won
dering what was the special attrac-
ton, looked in for moment. While
| was looking around, wondering at
the crowd, you entered the pulpit. l
cannot tell you all that l teII when
saw you. Overwhelming regret, and
then terror, took possession of me.
Somehow the. sight of you as a priest,
who had one time been my companion,
was like searchlight thrown on my
own life. To think that l might with
the grace of God, have been all that a
good priest should be, and now be en-
joying the august privileges of that
holy state! And had voluntarily for
feited that God-given opportunity-for
what? Then you preached that ser7l
mon, contrasting the judgment of
Elizabeth with that of her victim, the
tortured and martyred priest, and that
settled me. So 1 have come tonight
to ask you to help me to start in
anew!' Bhen we went back to the
confessional.
81 heard his confession and gave
him his dissolution. But sent him to
Father De S, who could, l knew,
deal with him better than anyone else,
and a month or so afterward, learned
that he had gone to little college in
the far west and was teaching there
In a years time he was safe in the
seminary at D.. In due time, | as
sisted at his ordination and preached
at his first Mass.
And SO God in His goodness and
kindness was pleased to let me reap
some of the harvest of my first mis-
sion in joy and gratitude, before left
the scene of it. And doesn't that give
you courage, young man? You're not
the first young missionary who ever
quailed at the thought of his first mis-
sion, and as God has upheld the arms
of others, SO He will do for you. So
cheer up and put it all in His hands,
and remember Dabitur vobis, it shall
be given unto YOU
I left Father Edwards room, reas-
sured in spite of myself, and wonder
ing if God would let any such glorious
gift reward my own humble effort.
The MiSsfondyD