Catholic Problems in Western CanadaDaly, George Thomas
Religion
Catholic Problems in Western Canada
Daly, George Thomas
Catholic Church -- Canada
Nature indeed is then most beautiful in the West. But for the
Christian soul to whom Faith "is the evidence of things unseen and the
substances of things we hope for," the visible harvest leads to the
thought of that spiritual harvest to which the Master so often points
in the Gospel. Under all the feverish activities which characterize
our Western communities lie deep in the consciences of men those unseen
realities, those spiritual values and eternal issues which constitute
the religious world. In the mysterious furrows of the human heart is
ripening the harvest of eternity.
The Church of God ever stands as Christ by the mysterious well of
Jacob, at the intersection of the highways of History. Now, as in the
days of the Saviour, winter has set in; a cold blast of indifference
and unbelief sweeps over the land. Yet with the Master's vision and
boundless confidence, the Church, pointing to the Western plains,
repeats to us all the divine challenge. "Do not you say there are yet
four months and then the harvest cometh? Behold I say to you lift up
your eyes and see the countries for they are white already to the
harvest." (Jo. iv, 35.)
Before parting with you, kind reader, may we make ours this pressing
invitation of the Master. Yes, the immense West is "white already to
the harvest." There stand as immense fields of ripening wheat, the
Catholic youth of Eastern Canada, the sturdy and thrifty Catholic
settlers of the British Isles and continental Europe. There the rising
generation of Catholic children, like the tender green blades of the
future harvest, is springing into manhood. Staring us in the face,
their eyes in our eyes, the children of foreign parentage wonder what
account we will make of their faith, what protection we will offer it.
They are the new Canadians, the nation of to-morrow.
To focus the Catholic mind of the nation on the great problems which
the West with its scattered population has forced upon our attention,
has been the object we have consistently pursued through the pages of
this book. _For it is a fact of every day experience that problems are
only solved by those who know them, who understand their full meaning,
and grasp their vital importance_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account