The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1919-01-18
CHURCH UNITY OCTAVE.

CHURCH UNITY OCTAVE.
Beginning on Saturday Jan. 10, Catholics through
out the world are urgently called upon to observe
the octave of prayer for the return of all separated
Christians to the Unity of the One Fold under
the One Shepherd This is an annual observance
Peter, Jan. 49, to the Feast of the Conversion of
St. Paul, Jan rs, but the occasion takes on
than its usual Importance in this year of grace,
following the close of the world war and coming
in the midst of the mighty upheavals that trans
piring among the peoples of the earth. The whole
body of the faithful is urged to pray with intense
devotion that the prayer of Christ for those who
believe in him, shall be realized. That they all may
be one, as Thou, Father, i'll and l in Thee; that
they also may be one in u.s. that the world may be-
lieve that Thou has sent Me-"
Below we give few striking paragraphs taken
from an inspiring leaflet devoted to the of
the Octave, which has been issued from ST. Paul's
Frary (Graymour) Garrison, N. Y:
above the ruin of ancient thrones and the wreck
of the Houses of Romanotf Hapsburgh and Hohen-
zollern vast Democracy has arisen i'm Central and
Eastern Europe and Northern Asia in fact the
whole world seems in fair way to become con-
enfranchised peoples of the earth whose spirit is to
preside? Is it to be the Spirit of Christ or Anti
christ? That is the question of supreme import and
whether the new epoch dawning is to reveal a
condition of the human family, better of worse, de-
ponds upon the answer
among the object lessons taught us by the great
est in history none has been striking than
the necessity of Unity essential condition of
success. AS long as the Central Powers maintained
la greater Unity than the Allies although outnurn-
bered in men and material resources they neverthe-
less gained victory after victory and almost reached
the goal of final success. 1t was only when that
Gray Man of Christ" as Marshal Foch has been
called, was appointed Generalissimo and given SUI
preme command over all the forces of the Allies that
the eagles of victory lighted upon the battle flags of
the Entente and crowned the cause of humanity
with swift and complete success"
If society is to be reconstructed on the basis
OF truly Christian Democracy and the autocracy
of the Gar and the Kaiser is not to be succeeded
permanently by the yet more dreadful autocracy of
such blood-thrsty demagogues as Lenine and Trot-
zky or to come nearer home of brutal brigands of
the Villa and Carranza type then it must be because
the disciples of Christ somehow going to forget
the divisions of the sixteenth century and to stand
together in worldwide Unity against cosmic So
ciasm, imbued with the spirit of Antchrist and
which the Prince eof Darkness has already mar
shaed in battle array for the debauching of society
and the denonizing of Democracy
That the spirit of the Holy Ghost is behind the
observance of the octave is shown, the eaet sets
forth, by the fact that it has been adopted by the
oint Commissions of the Anglican Communion in
have also officially invited all the other Commissions
OF the Orthodox Schismatics of Russia and the vari
Gus Protestant denominations of the world to unite
with them in this observance-the first time since
the Protestant Reformation that anything like this
has happened. They have also adopted the same
prayer for Christian Unity that has been ordered
by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XIV
What would seem to be impossible events have
been of frequent in the political and civil
life of the world during the past few months It
is too much to expect that equally extraordinary or
perhaps miraculous happenings may come in the
religious life of mankind in response to the univer-
sal prayers of Christendom for that unity which
seems essential for the salvation of the
trace?