THE APOSTOLATE OF THE LAITY

New Zealand Tablet, 23 October 1913, Page 15

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE LAITY

In the course of an address delivered at the Convention of the American Federation of Catholic Societies, his Eminence Cardinal Gibbons dwelt on the value of intelligent co-operation on the part of the laity in fostering the spread of Catholicity. He said in part: An enlightened and zealous laity is the glory of the Christian Church. • The. most luminous periods of the Church's history have been epochs conspicuous for laymen who have vindicated the cause of Christianity by their eloquence and their writings as well as by the sanctity of their lives. The golden age of Christendom gave birth to a long line of learned and intrepid apologists of the Gospel. Among them I might mention Justin Martyr, Minutius Felix, Athanasius, Arnobius, and Lactantius, who is styled the Christian Cicero. Among the noble defenders, of the Catholic religion in the nineteenth century, I mention Chateaubriand, Montalembert, the Count do Maistre, and Frederic Ozanam in France; Gorres, Windthorst, Mallinckrodt in Germany; Donoso Cortes in Spain; Sir Kenelm Digby, Allies, William G. Ward, and Frederick Lucas in England; the peerless O'Connell in Ireland Brownson and many other lights in the United States. Let

us indulge" the hope that God will raise up in our own country and in our own day ' a ■ formidable* number -of champions of Christ, who will be a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the- glory of the people of Israel. When the laity are united with the bishop" and the clergy in . .-....,--•-,:.■ " '

The Cause of Religion. and Humanity, then there is no such word as fail. We are bound to succeed, for God is with us, and if God is with us who can be against us If, where two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, He declares 'that He is with them, surely His influence, is paramount''and irresistible when the voice of the bishop and clergy iis re-echoed by the multitude of earnest workers assembled before me to-day. Then, indeed, we form ' a triple cord which cannot be broken.' We establish a triple alliance far more formidable and enduring than the triple alliance of earthly potentates, for theirs is an alliance only of flesh and blood, but ours is a- confederation cemented by the divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity. And why, my brethren,, should you not co-operate with us? Are we not all, clergy and laity, children of x the same heavenly Fathers? . . . We are all in the same barque- of Peter, tossed about by the same storms and sharing the same sunshine. Your interests are our interests. We are all steering our course toward the same eternal shores. We are all heirs prospective of the same heavenly kingdom. There is not one reward for the priest and another for the laity. There is not one kind of crown for the Pope and another for the peasant. The tiara of the Pope and the bishop's mitre will not shine more brightly than the widow's hood in the kingdom of heaven unless they are adorned with the jewels of righteousness. Brethren of the laity, we of the clergy need your help. We learn from The History of the Primitive Church ,'.' "" what valuable aid the early Christians rendered to the apostles in the propagation of the Gospel. And if the Apostles with all their piety, zeal, and grace,- fresh from the inspiring presence of their Master, could not have accomplished what they did without the assistance of the laity, how can we who have not the measure of their gifts, how can we hope to spread the light of truth without your hearty concurrence. How then are you to co-operate with us? In the first place, by the open and manly profession of your faith, by "being always ready to satisfy everyone that- asketh you a reason for that hope which is in you." While you will accord to those who differ from you the right of expressing their religious opinions, you must claim for yourselves the same privilege. You will ask for nothing more. You will be content with nothing less. And surely, if there is anything in this world; of which you ought to be justly proud, it is this: that you are members of the religion of Christ. ... the Roman was proud of being a citizen of Rome, how much should you glory in being Citizens of the Republic of the Church. Do you seek for antiquity 'of origin? Nearly 2000 years have rolled over her head, and she is to-day fresh and vigorous as when she issued from the Cenacle of Jerusalem. Time writes no wrinkles on her heavenly brow. Do you seek for wide expanse of territory ? Her spiritual dominion extends over the .surface .of the globe. And where will you find a wisdom comparable to that of her saints, a wisdom which is born not of man but of God? Where will you find a heroism so sublime as that of her martyrs ? Theirs is a heroism not aroused by the sound of martial music or by the clash of arms on the battlefield, or by a lust for fame or by the emulation of comrades, but a heroism inspired by a love for God and their fellow beings. ' Above all, you can- co-operate with us by the rectitude, of your private lives and the influence of your good example: "Having your conversation good among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak of you as evil-doers, considering you by your good example they may glorify God in the day of visitation." "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, Who is in heaven." ' " - - . -