The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-25
EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE TAO Pennington Avenue
 Hartford. Connecticut

EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE
 140 Pennington Avenue
 Hartford. Connecticut
 Dear Father:
 Sunday, February 26th. is Mis- sion Sunday in the Diocese of Hartford. It is a day that reminds us of the mission of the Church to preach the Gospel to every creature. You shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and even to the uttermost ends of the earth" (Acts I-8). It is day when we lift our hearts in thanksgiving 10 God for the gift of Faith. We are reminded of the missionaries of other days through whose zeal and sacrifices the good tidings were made known to our fore bears. We can never appreciate fully the tireless labors of these ambassadors from heaven. Today how vast are the fields and how few the laborers! The Lord com mands us to pray that the labor CTS be multiplied and the fields harvested for eternal life. Make Sunday a day of prayer for the Missions; receive Holy Com- munion visit the Church and im- plore the great Divine Missioner to bless his servants.
 Our missionaries give their all 10 the cause of God. They suffer all manner of privations and hard ships; hunger and thirst, heat and cold, exile and death that Christ may reign in His kingdom. The missionaries feel today the ravages of war: the labors of generations have been destroyed. Tn many places they are without shelter and food. What they receive they give largely to the poor the sick and the refugee. Who will carefor them? They appeal to us. We live in a land of plenty, of boundless resources, of peace and freedom. They cry out to us from China and Japan from the depths of Africa. from the South Sea Is- land-from very ends of the earth. They appeal for the children of God. They need hospitals, asylums, leper compounds, orphanages, churches and schools. Remember the words of Christ: "Give and 1t shall be given unto you" Can we make no sacrifice? Can we not curtail our luxuries and pleasures during Lent and help the Mis- sions?
 If the Church is to accomplish her mission she must train and educate a native clergy. This is a work very dear to the heart of the late Holy Father. We can never send missionaries in suffi- cient numbers. The field is too vast. The sons and daughters of natives must be formed for the work. They know their own people, their language, customs and char acter. Such a work requires sem- inaries schools and novitiates. This Of itself means a large outlay of money. We must supply the funds and in the measure of our gener- osity these heaven blessed under takings will prosper and bear fruit. Give generously and your reward will be exceedingly great.
 At home we have the Negro and the Indian missions. They are at our very doors. Hundreds of priests. nuns and catechists labor among them. Here again the workers are few and the funds inadequate. A grave responsibility rests upon the Church in Amer lea. Our late Holy Father has re- minded us of this charge andhas appealed to our sense Of duty. Shall we be remiss? May our peo- pie respond to the call of the Ms. sions and prove worthy of Gods sublimest gift--our Faith.
 Sincerely yours in Christ.
 Maurice F. McAuliffe
 Bishop of Hartford