The guardian., 1953-06-27

NA-6
The last words our Blessed
Saviour spoken on earth Just
before His ascension, consisted
of an overpowering command
and a sustaining promise.
60" He said, "andr make d.
scipIes OF all nations, bsptlzlns
them in the name Of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe
all / have commanded you.
This is the command, imposing
on fraiI human shoulders a task
as wide as. the world and as
long as human history. And
behold. / am with you all days,
even unto the contamination OF
the world" This is the. hearten7
ing promise of never-faillng
Divine assistance.
The words were a sort OF
last will and testament deliv-
cred by the Master to His little
flock in the hour of parting. he
said, in effect: "All nations are
My inheritance and the whole
world is My possession; ! en-
trust it all TO you, / place no
boundaries for your mission;
your field of labor is the
world
History bears witness how
literally the little band of Gal
ilean fishermen followed out
their Masters last will. 1t
shows the magnificent vision of
the pSaIrnists, founded in their
Iabors for the gospel. Their
voice has gone forth into all
the earth and their words unto
the. ends OF the world. With.
miraculous speed they carried
the message and the love of
their crucified Lord from City
to city and from country to
country, across the empire and
beyond. The pagan world mus
tered all its forces against them.
The NeroS and the Domitans,
the roaring lions of the arena
and the bIood-crazed mob dun
geons, exile, torture and death
. all unleashed their fury on
the defenseleSs men who pro-
fessed and preached a thorn
crowned King, crucified God.
But like the sea spending its
force against the unyielding
shore, they slew and tortured
in vain. Gamaliel, represented
Pharisee and member OF the
Sanhedrin, had been right when
he said: IF this work is of
men, it will be overthrown; but
if it is Of God, you will not
be able to overthrow it."
In every century since the
the Church has re-
faithful to her Found
er's last will. In every age
she has felt driven by the COM
pelling urgency of His COM
msnds. The right and the du-
ty to preach the gospel are
both fundamental to her. She
haos always jealousy guarded
the one and zeslously striVen
to to fulfil the other. Time sf-
ter time she has let Out the nets
and converted entire nations
to the sweet yoke of the gos-
pei. At other times, laboring
against the winds and the cur
rents, she has counted her vic
tories by ones instead of by
But whatever her
gains or her losses, whatever this
odds or, the prospects, she has
continued calmly and serenely to
fulfill her mission.
all mankind. He is not a reSpec
Gods saving purpose embraces
ter of persons, nor Of nations.
Whatever be the accident of
their geography, culture, lang
uage or color, in his sight thee
is no favored race or class OF
sex, neither Jew nor Greek, nell
ther slave no free man, neither
male nor female. Before their
Creator all men are equal and
all have an equal claim TO the
riches of grace and heaven, won
for them by their Saviour. If
He is the one mediator Of God
and men, il there is no other
name under heaven given to
men whereby they may be saved
than TIE name of Jesus; then
words can scarcely express the
urgency and Importance of the
She must open wide her gates.
missionary duty of the Church.
that all men may enter. She
must not wait for them to come
TO her, but she must seek them
out, even as the Founder came
to seek and to save what was
lost.
How shall we explain the on
ward march of Christianity in
the face Of every OBSTACLE? No
work was ever undertaken with
less adequate human means. Tine
Apostles were not men OF un-
usual talents, exceptional in
penuitY. social position. Most Of.