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Journeys to the Catholic Church

(No. 3)

My Reasons For Entering the True Fold

By E- MARY A. THOMAS

AND

The Story of My Conversion

By WILLIAM E. JONES

International Catholic Truth Society

407 Bergen Street

Brooklyn, N. Y.

Price, Five Cents



OUR SUNDAY VISITOR LIBRARY

HUNTINGTON, INDIANA



My Reasons for Entering the True Fold

By E. MARY A. THOMAS

O
N the fifth of March, 1914, I had the happiness
of embracing the Catholic religion, and becom-

ing thereby a member of the true Church which

Our Divine Lord established on earth. On that mem-

orable day when I received conditional Baptism at the

hands of Rev. Father Clarke, pastor of the Church of

the Holy Name in Providence, all my doubts and un-
certainty about the spiritual life ceased, and the con-

viction that I chose like Mary, the better part, that I

had taken the right path that leads to my Divine
Master’s Home, has every day since been strengthened.

“The snare was broken,” as the Royal Psalmist said,

which held me in cruel suspense, and I felt overwhelmed
with joy and consolation at the thought that, though

at a late hour of my life, I sought admission into
Christ’s fold, I was not repelled like the foolish Virgins

in the Gospel, but was received with such a cordial

welcome that its memory will ever remain the brightest
and most delightful episode of my life.

I have often been asked by many of my former co-
religionists why I deserted them and went to Rome:
It is to answer this question plainly and straightly that

I have ventured to write the following lines, hoping

that their perusal will set aside many little prejudices,
which, like me, they entertain in good faith against the

One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, of which

I glory today in being a member.

Before beginning, I wish to express my warmest
gratitude to my dear old Baptist and Episcopalian
friends for the generous treatment they extended to

me; for, unlike most converts, I have not had one

positively unpleasant experience with any person on

account of my action. My old friends, as from time to
time I meet them, have ever been in almost every case

as friendly and cordial as before.

My girlhood was passed without any special leaning
to any religious denomination, though, if asked what I



2 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

was, I would have unhesitatingly answered that I was

a Protestant. The name of “Catholic” was abhorrent

to me, for I imbibed from my elders a great animosity
against that Church. They told me that it was a verit-

able cesspool of damnable superstitions and the centre

of all idolatrous worship; that its members gave the

same honor and adoration to statues of men and women

as they pay to the great Creator of Heaven and Earth;

that that Church had always been in the past, and

is still, antagonistic to- the spread of education, among

its members. With the removal of these two objections,

I found my way to Rome both clear and pleasant.
For I remembered reading in the Bible that Our Lord

said as the world hated and persecuted Him, so would

it hate and persecute His faithful followers. Calumnies

of this kind, held in good faith by the majority of

Protestants have formed the basis of mean persecutions

during 300 years against the Grand Old Church of

Rome, but it has unflinchingly withstood not only these

and many cruel ones, because Christ has promised to
remain with it until the end of time.

Charitable Acts of Catholic Young Lady Awakened

Desire to Embrace Same Faith.

Twenty-five years ago, just as I reached woman-

hood, I thought it about time to adopt some definite

form of worship and become a church member. As

most of my associates in those days belonged to the
Baptist Communion, I joined their congregation. At

this period I came to know a Catholic young lady
whose kindly nature, genial character and most estimable

qualities of heart and mind so charmed me that a very
close friendship has ever since existed between us to

my great benefit and edification. In her modesty she
has begged me not to mention her name; else it would
be my greatest joy to publish through the wide world
that she it was who was the chief factor in making

me a Catholic. For to see her soothing the last mom-
ents of the dying, counselling the wayward to keep

on the path of righteousness, bringing peace to families



MY REASONS FOR ENTERING THE TRUE FOLD 3

which had lived in discord, flitting like an angel of

charity from house to house whenever an accident,

sickness or any other cause became the source of

sorrow and affliction, everywhere pouring sunshine by

her very presence on rich and poor alike— and this,
not once or twice, but almost daily for so many years—

*

would bring conviction home to the most inveterate

free-thinker, that the religion she professed must be

divine. I am confident that God has already prepared
for her a throne in heaven in recompense for the

thousand and one kindnesses she has performed, and

not the least of these, for that of removing all my
difficulties against her Church.

I had joined the Baptists without inquiring much

into their doctrine, because I simply wanted to be a

member of some church. Religious tenets did hot then

bother me. For five years I remained with them.

During that time my Catholic friend had become a
member of the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of

Jesus at the Cathedral. Her hour of adoration was

from 3 to 4 o’clock p. m. In her own sweet way she in-

vited me to go and pass the Holy Hour in her company.
Many times I knelt by her side in the church, and
while I observed her deep recollection, prayerful atti-

tude and her fixed gaze on the tabernacle, just as if

she was speaking face to face with her Divine Lord

and Redeemer, strange sensations would often over-

whelm me; thoughts, that previously never troubled

me, would then arise and keep their ground despite

distractions of various kinds
;
thoughts that have in

the past worried countless souls and that will continue

their work of perplexity and uneasiness as long as

there shall exist so many religious denominations in
the world, each of which is claiming the prerogative

of being Christ’s representative here below. “Am I on
the right road to Heaven?” “Do I belong to God’s

own church?” The persistence of these thoughts quite

unnerved me, filled me with fear and consternation,
and I there and then regretted that I had not chosen



4 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

Episcopalianism instead of Wesleyism when I wished

to become a church member. I thought somehow that

the former religion would lead me more securely and
directly to Heaven. I sought the advice of my dear
friend on this matter; she laughingly answered that

my mistake can be easily rectified. She would call on
the Rev. Dr. Bassett, the Episcopalian minister, that

very evening and tell him to go and visit me on the
following day. He would be delighted to get a new
parishioner. She never uttered a word to encourage

me to embrace her own Faith she only hoped that I
would not waver in my resolution. She was certain
that this change from one church to another would

eventually lead me Romewards.

Conflicting Practices of Protestant Sects Impelled a

Desire to Seek the True Faith.

For 20 years I was an Episcopalian and tried to

live up to all the requirements of that church. To my
great surprise I often heard lay persons of both sexes

severely criticising the sermons that the rector and

other ministers had delivered, declaring certain tenets

propounded by them to be nothing but rank heresy.

I found out that there were three different standards

of belief in that church—high, low and broad—and
still, though divided in doctrine, these three branches

appeared to flourish under the one title of Anglicanism

or Episcopalianism. Some there were who believed in

the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Communion;

others, and they formed a large majority, did not;

some went to confession, whilst others ridiculed their

action, saying it was a mere imitation of Popery.

Some, too, prayed fervently for the repose of the souls

of their deceased relatives and friends, and others

looked down upon this pious practice and called it

superstitition. Times and times again I heard of my co-
religionists styling themselves “Catholics.” My reason
revolted at the absurdity of this claim. I was certain

that if a stranger asked any one in Providence to be

guided to the nearest Catholic Church, he would be



MY REASONS FOR ENTERING THE TRUE FOLD 5

directed to the Roman Catholic and never to the

Episcopalian place of worship. The more anxious I

grew to serve my God faithfully the greater the un-

certainty I felt about my spiritual position. My very
instinct called for unity of worship among all classes

embraced by the one Church that Our Blessed Lord

established. All around me I saw confusion and divers-
ity of opinions on most essential articles of belef.

Grave doubt naturally arose whether this church of

which I was a member and which allows antagonistic

views of religion was that church instituted by Christ

and propagated by the Apostles throughout the world.

‘‘One Faith, One Baptism, One Lord,” as the Bible tells

us. One Faith that will bind the consciences of all

who profess it—wealthy or poor—the learned or illiter-
ate—the king on his throne or the ploughman in his
humble cot. All must believe the same creed and live

up to it if they wish to reign with Our Divine Lord

in Heaven after death.

I asked one day my trustworthy friend if her
church permitted a divergence of opinions on funda-

mental articles of the Faith. The answer came sprightly:

“No; should any one contradict publicly the teachings of

our Catechism, he is at once cut off like a rotten

branch from a tree and excommunicated.” I continued

the conversation by seeking information about statue

worship of which the Church was accused and which,

since my girlhood, I sincerely believed to be true. She
said: “There exists no person on earth who so heartily
detests and condemns the adoration of images and

statues as the Catholic. When we pray before the
statues or images of Jesus Christ and His Saints, we
pray not to the statues and images, but to Jesus Christ

and to the Saints whom they represent. The honor we
pay to the Saints is not the same as we pay to God;
we adore God, but we do not adore the Saints; we pray
to God to hear our prayers and petitions and to the

Saints to intercede for us.”

I then asked: “Is it true that your church has



e THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

always been, and is still, inimical to the spread of

education ?”

“That accusation is as old as Protestantism itself,”

she replied. “It first saw the light when Martin

Cuther had broken his vows in the Augustinian Order,

started a church of his own and married an ex-

Cistercian Nun. He had to give the world some reasons

to palliate his apostasy, and what you have just stated

was one of them. There never was a proposition more

flagrantly opposed to the truth than that the Catholic

church ever put hindrances to the cultivation of the

human mind either in sacred or in profane learning.

Nib person conversant with the history of the by-gone

centuries will show the least doubt on the fact that

it was the Catholic Church which upheld and con-

solidated civilization—converted the barbarous hordes
that overran Europe with fire and sword, and which,

whilst planting the standard of the Cross in their

midst, strove with might and main to curb their savage

passions—to wean them from war and violence and in-
still into their hearts the love of peaceful pursuits.”

“If she had ever looked with an evil eye on educa-

tion, it was in her power during the Middle Ages to

destroy the manuscripts of the immortal geniuses who

had flourished both before and after the birth of Christ.

There were then no printing presses, throwing out

thousands of copies every hour. The works of the old

Roman and Greek orators, poets and philosophers,
could never survive the wear and tear of time to reach

us at the present day, were it not for the industry and

care bestowed by that church in gathering them into

her monasteries and having her saintly children devote

several hours a day to transcribe them word for word,

so that the wisdom of the past ages might be trans-

mitted to posterity. In those ages of faith when the
nations basked under the balmy influence of one

church—when rich and poor everywhere breathed
forth their petitions to heaven with the same prayers

on their lips, schools were always found attached to



MY REASONS FOR ENTERING THE TRUE FOLD 7

the monasteries in which all that was then known was

taught. To some of these schools thousands had re-

course for education. They had not to pay entry or

tuition fees—so essentially in these days in our big
educational establishments. All they had to do was to

enroll their names on the register and mention the

special course of study they wished to take. The

Abbot would then tell them to go and build a hut

which would be their kitchen, refectory, study and

bedroom, as long as they remained. The scholars who

were too poor to supply their own meals were fed by

the monks, as also were all the very poor of the

environs. Today her motherly heart beats with the

same ardor to promote learning among her children,

besides building and maintaining parochial schools with-

out state aid in order to give the young a knowledge of

God and Divine things as well as the elementary train-

ing in secular .education, she has opened up, wherever

she flourishes, colleges, convents and universities in

which sacred and profane learning are taught, and in

which her members are equipped to take the foremost

ranks in the legal, medical and the other learned pro-

fessions. Yes—the Catholic Church is charged with
ignorance by bigots, and we find her the mother of
learning

;
with children at the forefront of every con-

structive and progressive effort in literature, science,

art, mechanics and in every field of human endeavor.”
Impressive Sacrifices Made by Catholics Due to Adverse

Conditions of Weather.

As the wind dispels the clouds and reveals to our
gaze the blue vault of the heavens, so did the potency

of my friend’s arguments sweep away my old bigoted
notions and disclose to my mind the beauty, grandeur
and magnificence of the Catholic Church. I felt at
that moment inclined to declare my firm purpose to
enter its fold, but thought it more prudent to make
further close-range investigation into its discipline and
government.

What struck me most forcibly at the start was the



8 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

great crowds that could be seen every Sunday morn-

ing wending their way to hear Mass in all kinds of

weather; whilst the other places of worship in the

neighborhood would have very thin attendance if it

were raining, snowing or very cold. And all these

people, despite the danger they ran of catching influ-

enza, or worse sickness, appeared joyful and eager to

leave at the feet of their Crucified Lord their rich

bouquets of pious prayers.

Again, I came to know of the wonderful sacrifice

that thousands of my own sex have made by conse-
crating their lives to the arduous duties of teaching,

serving the sick and old and uplifting the unfortunates

who have fallen by the wayside. They left comfortable

homes to live under austere rules which forbid them

associating as formerly, with the world and which keep

them busy from morning to night in the exercises of

charity. All their actions are generously performed

through their pure love of God and not to win attrac-

tion or any earthly recompense from their fellow

creatures. They are chaste spouses of Our Lord, Who
will one day reward them exceedingly in Heaven for the

edifying and painstaking manner they discharge their

many duties. I was brought into companionship with
some beautiful souls in the convents and hospitals. 1

saw what the Church was doing for those around me,

building day by day, characters that had in them an

aroma of saintliness, and I was convinced that the faith

which could produce such loveliness of daily living must

be the true one.

A simple explanation of the manner of reciting the
Rosary gave the final blow to my Episcopalianism.
From that moment I resolved to embrace the Catholic

Faith. As soon as I heard for the first time the words

of the beautiful prayer
—

“Hail Mary”—I seemed to be
carried away in spirit to the foot of that August Lady’s

throne and to beg most earnestly Her powerful inter-

cession. My feelings on that occasion recalled to my
mind the story of a lay-brother in a monastery in the



MY REASONS FOR ENTERING THE TRUE FOLD 9

olden times who possessed a very poor memory. The

monks had great trouble in teaching the prayers pre-

scribed by the rule. When, however, he heard them

saying “Ave Maria,” his face brightened up, and he

exclaimed: “Oh! that is beautiful music; I shall of a

certainty quickly learn that, and never weary of repeat-

ing it.” There is something so sublime, so supplicating

in it that it won my heart, and I took the resolution
never to let a day pass without invoking Mary, the

Mother of God, to pray for me now and at the hour
of death. Little did I dream that I was following in the

footsteps of many distinguished Anglicans such as, for

instance, the Rev. Frederick Faber, who implored Her

and while championing the prerogatives of their English

Church. On account of their loving devotedness to

Her, the Mother, most Amiable, obtained from them

from Her Divine Son, the grace to abjure their errors

and the strength of will to turn aside from their kith

and kindred and to life-long friends, and devote their

genius to further God’s interests on earth in the bosom

ol the Church of Ronm.

Our Blessed Lady Guided Her Footsteps to the True

Path of Heavenly Father’s Home.

My heartfelt thanks are given every day to Our
Blessed Lady for the grace of conversion She gained

for me. She guided my steps to the true path that
leads to my Heavenly Father’s Home, on which alone
security from spiritual shipwreck is found and where

all mankind have at their disposal plentiful resources

to fortify themselves against the snares and allure-

ments of the world, the flesh and the devil.

Have I been happy since I took this step? Most

assuredly. The simplicity of my present faith is to me
its greatest attraction, for it is the faith of a child

without which Our Divine Lord has said, no one may
enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I have no more conflict-
ing dogmas to contend with; ho more do the vagaries

of private judgment affright me. All now is peace
and harmony. The Vicegerent of Jesus Christ on



10 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

earth, the Pope of Rome, speaks and all bow in submis-

sion without one dissentient voice. This is the unity

which bespeaks the divinity of her mission to teach

all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

I regret very much, when some 25 years ago, 1

wished to become a church member, that I did not then

embrace the Catholic belief. I feel and know now that

l lost thousands of heavenly graces during that period

which would have been at my disposal had I been a
Catholic.

Should these lines fall into the hands of any of my
former co-religionists, I hope their perusal will dissi-

pate the false ideas they harbor against the Catholic

Church, and induce them, with God’s help, to enter

that fold which possesses alone the means to calm the

tempests of the heart and bring peace and contentment

to troubled minds.



The Story of My Conversion

A Plain Statement of Facts

By WILLIAM E. JONES

F
ROM the Baptist denomination to the Catholic
Church may seem like a long jump and in a sense
it is, for they are fundamentally unlike in creed

and form of organization. Being given the Baptist

promise, I was led to believe that it was the only safe

path to eternal salvation; that other Protestant denomi-

nations were more or less in error, but the Catholic

church was wholly out of tune with divine teaching and

her clergy more or less aware of it. The Catholic mil-

lions I pitied for their “superstitious ignorance,” but

the priests deserved no such charity. Fortunately, how-

ever, I married a Catholic girl and was necessarily mar-

ried by a priest, Father Francis Gavisk of Indianapolis,

in that I was conscious that nothing was surrendered

while the girl would otherwise suffer the pains of an

outraged conscience. Our delightful union has been

blessed with three happy children, all of whom have
received Catholic baptism, their father not h.aving been

sufficiently interested to be present at the christening

nor at all inclining to object, feeling that it would

neither help nor hinder them. To him it was a minor

matter, wholly immaterial, but of the greatest import-

ance from the mother’s point of view. That is as far

as he thought his wife’s religion would ever influence

him. On the contrary, he had entertained a conviction
that some day he would win wife and children by fair

means, without malice or offense, to his own religious
faith. The good wife on occasions indeed courteously

and calmly listened to the husband draw parallels and

contrasts between her religion and his, but when in his
own wisdom he flattered himself with having driven a
nail into the Catholic coffin and even clinched his “argu-

ment,” just then she would calmly reply without the

slightest evidence of malice that I should enjoy my belief
in the fullest measure and she would continue to enjoy



12 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

hers undisturbed. And the only explanation I could find
to justify her state of mind, her perfect serenity, was

“superstitious ignorance.” You know, when the Protest-

ant minister is asked to pray at a dying man’s bed-

side, that is faith; but when a Catholic implores the

saints in heaven to intercede with God in behalf of a

dying soul, that is “superstitious ignorance.” It ruffled

my patience a little to note her total indifference to my
“logic,” though that impatience was carefully concealed

out of respect due her, but the hope always remained

that another opportunity would be afforded to awaken

her from her lethargy.

Failing ultimately in my good intentions, thera
arose to haunt me an unpleasant and embarrassing
possibility. I could not consistently interfere with the

mother’s efforts to instruct the children, to shape their

religious course. Neither did she ever attempt to pre-

vent their attendance at the services of their father’s

church. They were enrolled in both Sunday schools and

were therefore in a fair way to imbibe the doctrines of

both and would eventually have to choose between them.

I dreaded more or less the final outcome of this dual

instruction, but my greatest apprehension was that
they might be so confused and uncertain as to be lost

to both. And since I could not possibly prescribe to a

religion of “idolatry and superstition,” it remained for

me to “convert” my wife, and her willingness to listen
as well as to visit with me on occasions gave hope. But
in turn she kindly suggested an exchange of courtesy,

and here commences the most interesting phase of the

case.

I saw the people bless themselves as they entered

the church, making the sign of the cross. I saw them

kneel in silent prayer before being seated and twice

more making the sign of the cross. I watched the priest

as he went through the impressive Mass and saw the

people worship in conjunction with him. I heard him

read a passage of Scripture and expound its meaning to

them, and was especially impressed by the fact that at

no time during the sermon did he stray away from his



MY REASONS FOR ENTERING THE TRUE FOLD 13

text. Again, I heard him answer explicitly the question

propounded to him through the question box, questions

asked by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It all inter-

ested me. In the lobby I saw a collection of books for

sale, modest in binding and equally modest in price.

The titles were conspicuous and their arrangement con-

venient. My curiosity was aroused and I purchased first
one, then another, until several had been read and I was

fairly enraptured. It would be difficult perhaps to find

any people more prejudiced against the Catholic religion

than the Welsh and Scotch, and the writer is a native

Welshman, born and reared in that sphere of prejudice,

except as the American labor movement softened it. My
embarrassment lest my good wife might entertain the
idea that her husband was weakening, can be surmised.

However, the force of circumstances herein related

gradually penetrated the dark veil of prejudice and the

new environment brought on an awakening in my soul,
a sudden change of viewpoint, a vital reality, to replace

a doubtful uncertainty.

I read “The Faith of Our Fathers’' and other books

with astonishing interest. I listened to the priest with

profound respect. I first was curious, then slightly

interested, but soon intensely in earnest in search of

truth. There came rapidly a conviction that the Cath-

olic Church was grossly misrepresented, followed by an

unmistakable conviction that Protestantism is based on

a false premise, a foundation of sand. It suddenly

dawned upon me that my religion was but a shadow
and my creed the work of man. I had studied the
history of the church to which I belonged, had heard

many sermons from other Protestant pulpits than my
own church and read much Protestant literature. But
somehow there always seemed a something vague about

Protestant religion, a something vitally lacking in the

plan and origin of it. What it was I did not Know and
could not know, worshiping as I did within that sphere.

I had observed that interest in any Protestant church

was contingent on the minister’s ability to attract and



14 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

to hold. It is continually pointed out to them that

interest and service are due to God, irrespective of the

personality of the minister, but practically interest

nevertheless abounds in direct relation to the likes or

dislikes of the memberships toward the pastor. The

apparent spirituality of the membership hinges on the

intellectuality and fervor of the minister. The congre-

gation is large or small according as to whether the

minister is a big man mentally or a little fellow. If the
sermons are interesting, whether they be real sermons

or mere lectures, the attendance will be correspondingly

large; if uninteresting, correspondingly small. Hence

the efforts to attract with musical specials to please the

people, sensational pulpit topics to attract the curious,

the various societies and clubs to arouse interest in-

directly, and finally, the revivals, modest and sensa-

tional, to stimulate a waning faith. I would not dis-

count any means contemplated to do good, but is it not

true that Protestantism, generally speaking, is uncon-

sciously responsible for the lack of interest displayed

toward religion? In the minds of its misdirected mil-

lions it has destroyed the very germ of religion when

it denies a visible authority. Protestantism reduced to

its logical finality is to be good and do good, which is

most laudable in itself, but that essence of religion, it is

but a material fruit of it. Socialists and anarchists

teach that. It is materialism pure and simple. Religion

goes further. It makes definite requirements aside from

this, requirements of faith and sacrificial obedience to

His will in matters wholly spiritual.

“Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my
church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against

it.” This sentence uttered by Our Saviour, even Protest-

ants do not deny, though they do not try to explain away

its real signification. This they must do to establish a

church “invisible,” to destroy the infallibility of the

Catholic Church. Any church in order to establish its

claims to divine origin must base its origin on divine

inspiration, and thus inspired it must surely be infalli-

ble, else the gates of hell will surely prevail against it.



MY REASONS FOR ENTERING THE TRUE FOLD 15

Its religious creed, then, and church discipline must

harmonize with the plan of salvation as prescribed by

the Author of that salvation. There can be no guess

work about it and no doubt. But accepting our Protest-

ant friend’s version of the matter, it must be self-

evident that God did forsake the world for many cen-
turies and the last clause of our Lord’s most positive

statement is at once clouded in serious doubt, to say the

least. There was only the one Christ sent to instruct

man as to his relations to God, and to be crucified for
him. That Christ taught no conflicting doctrines.

Neither did He establish a multiplicity of conflicting
churches. He established a church, with the full stamp

of His authoritative approval and there and then ap-

pointed a visible head with full authority to forgive

sins or to withhold forgiveness as each case merited

;

a visible, earthly executive, divinely ordained to govern

a visible church similarly ordained. “What you

shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and

what you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Why did He not say to the people: “Now, I go to my
Father in heaven. I leave you and the generations to

follow you to your fate. These men who have traveled
with Me will record the things I have said and done
together with their own experiences. They will reveal

to the generations the will of my Father, but there will
be no human authority to interpret this will to them.
They must be guided by their own individual wisdom.

Each child must figure salvation out for himself with-

out assistance other than the influence of the Holy

Spirit. The plan is to be that of spiritual instinct rather

than visible guidance. Of discipline there will be none.

Those who can not read what shall be written must
necessarily trust to luck or fate for an interpretation

of My will, for none will there be with authority to
interpret for them. My Father has systematized the
universe and all His creations, except the most vital

of all, the salvation of your*souls. In this all important

matter, so important, indeed, that He sent Me, His only
begotten Son, to die for it, I must confess that in His



16 THE STORY OF MY CONVERSION

infinite wisdom He has seen fit not to provide any
particular, tangible plan. You are to be left to grope

in darkness, each to establish his own system in a hit

or miss plan of salvation. But as all roads lead to

Rome, so all religious routes, however remote from one

another and inconsistent in essentials, will lead to

heaven. It matters not how little now how much you

believe, so you believe something and that conscienti-

ously. True, if Paul continues to persecute as he has

he will suffer the penalty in spite of his unruffled

conscience. But My Father will be more tolerant with
you. Believe what you will and I shall be fulTy satisfied

with your fate, but believe something.” Such is the

real logic of the Protestant position. But such is not

what Christ did say. And pinned down to the author-
ity, Himself, can any Protestant church hope to trace

its origin even remotely near to the real beginning of

the Christian Church? On the contrary, it must be
admitted that only the Catholic Church can lay such

claim. And here is the point to which my study
brought me. Having satisfied myself on that score

there was no further need to argue seriously. The

struggle was over except as to details. The rest was

quite easy. I could readily understand and as readily

believe. The Apostles’ Creed at once became my creed
and the beautiful Hail Mary became my own fervent
prayer with abounding satisfaction. Why should I not
appeal to the beautiful mother of Christ to intercede

for me? She was honored above all earthly beings and
must surely be most favored with God.

I go no more to church to hear the minister preach

and to enjoy the sermon or be bored by it, according

as to whether it is interesting or dry. But I go to

worship, beginning as I enter and ending only as I leave,

except for a brief interval during which I listen attent-

ively and profitably to the instruction of the priest. The

service has an equal attraction and fascination for men
as for women and that is .why there is no particular
complaint from the Catholic Church concerning the

absence of men from the place of worship. Sheridan, Wyo.



The Great Need of Our Day:

A Well Instructed Catholic Laity

The Pamphlets listed below are clear, sound, instruc-

tive and you can find in them a clear exposition of

doctrine and an answer for the honest non-Catholic

inquirer.

“Freemasonry,” by Rev. Lucian Johnston.

“After All, What is the State?” by Rev. Lucian

Johnston.

“What the Catholic Church Is and What She Teaches,”

by Rev. E. R. Hull, S. J.

“Catholic Answers to Protestant Charges,” by G.

Elliott Anstruther.

“What Men of Science Say About God and Religion,”

by Rev. E. R. Hull, S. J.

“American Masonry and Catholic Education,” by Rev.

Michael Kenny, S. J.

x
—“Ways of Rome, The Reasoner’s Way,” by Rev.

J. M. Prendergast, S. J.

*“Credo,” A Simple Explanation of the Chief Points
of Catholic Doctrine, by Mother Mary Loyola.

*“An Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of
- the Mass,” From the French of the Abbe F. Hallet.

*“Craniotomy and Abortion from a Moral Stand-

point,” by Captain G. B. O’Toole, Ph. D., D. D.,

U. S. A.

“After All, What is Law?” by Lucian Johnston.
“Catholics and Freemasonry.”

Price five cents each.

Pamphlet marked x, six cents a copy.

Pamphlets marked *, seven cents each.

Special rates when ordered by the hundred.

International Catholic Truth Society

407 Bergen Avenue Brooklyn, N. Y.



NOTHING TO FEAR FROM

THE TRUTH

[The Ave Maria, Nov. 1. 1924.]

The Church has nothing to fear or to suffer

from the truth. She suffers only when it is

distorted, or when it is hidden or ignored.

Ignorance is ever with us, and old errors die

hard on account of being constantly revived.

This is the case with regard to the Church and

Democracy. It has been so widely proclaimed

that “Democracy and Civil Liberty are fruits of

the philosophy of the Reformation” that, owing

to incessant reiteration on the part of ill-

informed writers and a still less informed public,

the assertion passes for a well-established fact.

To correct this error, and to dispel this ignor-

ance, is the twofold purpose of Mr. Sylvester J.

McNamara, M. A., in his treatise entitled •

“American Democracy and Catholic Doctrine.”

In some 160 well-documented pages he shows

the “great debt Democracy owes to Catholicism.”

Published by the International Catholic Truth

Society, Brooklyn, N. Y.

(The price of “American Democracy and

Catholic Doctrine” is 25 cents a copy—$20.00
per hundred. Address 407 Bergen Street, Brook-

lyn, N. Y.)