Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-05-21
MOTHER, HOME AND HEAVEN Are
GREATEST WORDS In ENGLISH
LANGUAGE, SAYS REV. MekEAA
Assistant Pastor of First Presbyterian Church
In Mothers Day Sermon Last Sunday Ex-
tolls Position of the Mother and Her Influ-
ence at Home and in World at Large.

Jesus Christ has a right to speak
on the subject of the home. Be-
fore the minister are the vows that
bind husband and wife together
taken. The minister administers
the sacrament of baptism to the
little child. The minister says the
last sad words over the departed
when the home is broken by
death. The minister is in close
touch with the home all along. AS
he enters homes he knows the
sweet happiness of the Christian
home and also does he know the
bitter sorrow Of the home where
there Is wrangling and strife.
One of the crying shames today
Is Americas record as a home
breaking nation. 1t Is one of the
greatest stains upon our national
life and the greatest source of
danger to the nation. The modern
conditions under which we live,
the diversity of interests and the
demands made upon us are placing
strain upon the home such as it
never had in America before. The
terrible drive and roar of modern
living, modern housing conditions,
the craze for amusement have
united to break down the
home ties and the home spirit and
the result is that the home of our
childhood and the homes Of our
mothers childhood are things too
nearly of the past. How little is i;
possible to get families together
| for an evening of pleasant fellow
ship. Even on the day of rest the
multiplied church organizations
make their demands and the fam
| lily sometimes suffers.
The greatest need of today Is not
better industrial conditions, the
settling Of the strike, the reducing
of the II. c. of L., or better hous-
| ing conditions, but better homes
The biggest question we have to
answer today is what sort Of sue
cess are we making of our prob
lem sof home building.
How true is it that the hand
that rocks the cradle is the hand
that rocks the world For the
home is the center of humanity.
Touch the state and you affect
the political world. Touch the
school and you affect the educa-
tional world" But touch the home
and you affect humanity itself.
| There is certain truth in the
conceit of each boy as he walks
out into the front yard of his
home and. looking what way he
will, he sees the sky centering
around his home. comes 10 the
conclusion that his home is the
center of the world. His home
is the center Of his world and 50
with every man, his homo should
be the center OF his world.
The home is the bedrock Of civil
lization. Certain disgruntled rad
ical elements In the world would
do away with the home. Could
this ever he brought about hui.
manity would be plunged into the
very pit of hell
Our civilization is but our status
in our efforts to learn to live to-
gether properly. our civilization
is high or low as we live together
on the principles of love and broth
erhood as Jesus Christ taught In
the home we learn to put these
principles into practice. The home
is the training ground for the
great field of life. But more, home
is the great city of refuge for us
in these exacting times. It is n
haven of peace in this world OF
strife.
The foundation OF every happy
home is love, mutual affection.
There are marriage vows taken
without affection; wealth, social
position or convenience being the
moving factor, but these never
make a home. There are families
where love is absent, but they are
not homes. God pity the child of
'such an arrangement. Only love
/ , can make a home, be it in cottage
or mansion. For "it takes a heap
o. livin' in a house to make 1t
home"
II love is the foundation Of the
happy home. religion Is its crown.
Henry w. Grady. southern Jour
nalist, one time made a trip 10
Washington and there gazed upon
the White House and said; There
is the home of my nation" Later
he entered humble cottage in
Georgia and there heard the hus-
band and father lead the family
devotions and raise his voice TO
God in prayer. Grady said: ~ was
mistaken. Here is the home OF my
nation. Here Americas heart beats
true" Verify. religion is the crown
of the home.
We lament today the near pass.
ing of the family altar. Many fond
memories go back to the old fam
lily altar. Many lives have been
moulded by the prayers that have
assembled to God round the family
altar. 1t is an inspiring sight to
see the head of the household take
his place as the priest of God and
lead his family to the throne OF
God. That home is safe where the
family altar is set up and that ma
tion is safe whose young people are
brought up round the family altar.
If love is the foundation of a
happy home and religion is its
crown, sacrifice is its beauty. Sell
| fishness kills the spirit of the
home. But sacrifice fosters that
| spirit. We are here today because
of the loving sacrifice OF father
and mother. There are homes
where the mother or some other
member OF the family slaves and
sometimes the rest OF the family
ora q bit salfisb hut n fter a II ~ ts