Look, again, at the throng of converts who have cast aside position, wealth, and fame for that holy faith, and in turn become the heralds of truth to the world. A Prince Gallitzin chose banishment and the sacrifice of a princely fortune in becoming a Catholic; and when a priest, hiding even his rank and name, lived and toiled like an apostle in the wilds of the Alleghany Mountains. {191} Look at an Ives, who esteemed it greater to possess the faith in the humble position of a Catholic layman, than to hold the rank of Bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church without it. Thousands have given up parents, brothers, and sisters, and kindred, become poor and outcasts, to gain this pearl of great price, the gift of faith, thus fulfilling the words of our Lord, "He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." [Footnote 78] [Footnote 78: St. Matt. x. 37.] O holy faith for which the martyrs died, the missionaries and saints toiled, and for which houses, lands, parents, and friends, and all things, are counted as nothing! Do we prize thee, O divine gift, as these have done? Art thou to us above all price? If so, then to us the words of the apostle have a true and living meaning:-- "__Watch ye__," or else this gift will be stolen from you. Nations to which the Church gave birth, and under whose fostering care they have grown great, have lost the faith. There is not a people upon earth to-day, as a nation, to whom the Holy Church can look for defence against persecution, spoliation, and downright robbery. {192} As in the days of paganism, she is surrounded by enemies, and has no one to rely on but her Divine Founder. Why has the faith been stolen from the nations? Because it has first been stolen from the people. It will be stolen from each one of us, unless we keep a constant watch over ourselves. Watch over what we read. The literature of our time is filled with misrepresentations, calumnies, and falsehoods concerning our holy faith. The press, the most powerful engine of modern times, is on the side of the enemies of our faith. The very atmosphere we breathe is poisoned with scepticism, infidelity, and atheism. "__Stand fast in the faith__." Claim our rights. To claim these, we shall be charged with stirring up strife. But this must not disturb us. The same charge was made against our Lord. "He stirreth up the people," said the envious priests.