Arizona republican., 1922-01-08

efficaciously within the reach OF the
people living within the territory of
| the diocese of Tucson, and in the eff
fort to comply with this plea OF the
bishop, the lot fell upon a few, a
small band of heroic volunteers, and
Mother Paul was one of this small
band.
"They came in gladness, they came
and sowed the seed of mercy under
many privations, and tears also, but
they also saw the early fruits of their
labors and of their privations, or
their zeal: some of them, a few OF
them have gone to their eternal re-
ward; a few of them are here pres
ent to mourn the loss of one of their
companions, their guide and leader,
to mourn the loss of their leader,
Mother Paul. whose bodily frame lies
here in the coffin, but whose big soul
has taken flight to be united with her
companions that have gone before
her to be with the Christ whom they
served and loved in all sincerity in
truth and in deed.
"You, venerable sisters, compan-
ions of Mother Paul, and followers
of the same rule, which is to serve
God in the ignorant and the needy
and the sick. we mourn with you.
Mourn, 1 say! Yesi Although not
bound by carnal bonds, long COM
panionship has fettered you in spirit
ual bonds-in bonds that are hard to
break, and because you have lost the
most conspicuous and G@e of the
most active members of your COM
munity. Mourn with you? NO, not
if we look with you to the evening OF
life, the evening of life when the
soul goes to God for reward and the
body is buried, is laid in grave TO
await a resurrection in glory on the
day of universal judgment.
Il will not, dear sisters, review the
history of your activities, nor re-
late your privations, because there
are other pioneers who also under
went privations, other pioneers in the
country besides the priests and Sis
ters of Mercy and Sisters of st.
Joseph. But, we all, mark the dis
tinction. There are pioneers of ad-
venture, there are pioneers in guest
of earthly possession and there are
pioneers that became pioneers for the
sake of those other pioneers. They
are the pioneers that followed the
other pioneers who unconsciously
fled from the things that are to their
salvation, and these pioneers fol-
lowed the other pioneers. Why?
Why? To carry after them the bread
of the gospel and to furnish them
with the cooling water of the works
of mercy. Such pioneers are the
Sisters of Mercy in the state of Ari-
zona. Such pioneers are the Sis
ters of st. Joseph in this state. Such
pioneers are the old priests of the
diocese of whom there is in our
midst today the Reverend Father
Gerard, and last and not least, our
Lord, the bishop, himself-pioneers
of the gospel of the meek and humble
Savior pioneers of the works OF
mercy.
"You are rewarded. Your labors,
your courage, found recognition. The
people admired and do admire you;
they have loved you and do love you.
You found assistants and liberal
hands. The Lord has thus made true
the promise He made when you
vowed the evangelical counsels, He
that leaveth father or mother, brother
or sister, or fields, for my name
sake, shall receive a hundred fold in
this life and have a treasure in
heaven But did you turn the love
and admiration of the people to your
No, for like the work
ing bees that convert the juice, which
they take from the flowers, into use
full wax and honey, so you too con-
verted whatever assistance was CIV
en- you of encouragement or material
things into your field of activity,
and providing better facilities for
doing the works of mercy. God kept
His promise God will keep his
promise, provided, you continue to
serve Him in all fidelity.
"The world admires you, say, |
1ut it does not always give you re-
,ognition because it does not always |
'ealize that even the exercise of |
mercy cannot ignore prudence and |
sound principles of worldly affairs,
n order to insure stability and bet
.er service and success, but with all,
lear sisters, I want today to empha-
size that you are the Indispensable
of the church. Without
you the church could not unfold in
Ill it's fullness her missions of mercy
and her missions of instruction. You
ire simply indispensable to the /
church of God that she may not only
preach, but also practically show the
works of mercy, and this thought,
that in mind, dear Sisters,
must encourage you to persevere
in the service of the Lord,
n the sick, in the ignorant, in the
needy, for Gods sake, not for the
worlds sake, not for your own sake
for Gods sake, who rewards both
lere and in eternity.
"And now today that you, dear
sisters, mourn the loss of Mother
Paul, you must mourn like children