God Calls You To Come Home

 

GOD CALLS YOU TO COME HOME

 
This little book is finished now. It was written to let you know that, whatever the cause that took you away from home, your home is still waiting to receive you back. In that home God has furnished two things of which you will always stand in need. The first is a sure guide for you, that on this earthly pilgrimage you may make your way back to God. The Church is the guide God established. For you and for all men, it is the voice of God, a voice that you can listen to in all security in matters that pertain to the salvation of your soul.

The second thing that He furnished for you in the Church is spiritual food, His own Body and Blood. He knew that you would need the comfort of His divine presence upon earth; He knew that you would need spiritual food whereby you might live unto God. The Voice of God and the living Body and Blood of your divine Savior are waiting for you to return home.

Suffer the Little Children

Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me  

This will be just a short chapter, but it will be a very important one. It is a serious mistake to neglect God, to be indifferent in the matter of one's own salvation. It is just as serious a mistake to neglect the care of those souls entrusted to our care. And yet there are so many parents today who are not only indifferent to their own salvation but who are also indifferent to the salvation of the souls of the children God has given them. They are very anxious that their children receive a good education in worldly affairs but show little anxiety if their children grow up ignorant of God. They are very careful that their children receive bodily food; they care not if their children starve spiritually. There will come a time when this nation will pay a terrible penalty for the godless generation it is rearing. But there will come a time when the parents responsible will pay a much heavier penalty because they did not do their duty. They committed this crime in the sight of the Almighty God; they have allowed the precious little souls God has given them, to grow up in ignorance of their Maker. Christ Himself has warned us: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Photo History:

Hoover Family Moving Into La Puente, California, 1957

Christ Thirsts For Souls

Christ Thirsts For Souls

When the Savior of the world hung upon the Cross of Calvary, one of the seven last words He uttered was: "I thirst." Bitter and painful, however, as His physical thirst was at that moment, He thirsted yet more for the souls of men. Realizing this, it is sad and distressing to see how many men and women there are who refuse to accept His invitation to unite themselves to Him in His faith, in order to take the proper care of the salvation of their immortal souls. How many there are who are in doubt as to whether or not they are in the true Church, and yet who do nothing about it. The wise man tries to solve his doubts in every other concern of life. Will not God hold him to account for not trying to solve his doubt in this the greatest concern of all! God gave him to use it above all in order to know God, that knowing Him, man might love Him and serve Him in this life and thus possess Him eternally in the next.

On a certain occasion I attended a convention of professional men. While there I met many men prominent in public life who told me frankly: "Father, I'm not of your faith. In fact, I haven't any religion to speak of. But I admire the Catholic Church, and I am willing to do anything I can to assist her in the great work that she does." It struck me then that the so-called Reformation had not only taken countless men and women away from the Catholic religion but from all religion.

But Christ as He hung on the Cross, did not want admiration. He wanted and thirsted after the souls of men. He did not want assistance from the outside. He wanted men to assist themselves, as much as He wanted them to assist Him. He wanted them to do penance and be baptized, to be members of the one Fold and under the one Shepherd He would establish in Peter. If a man has the intelligence to be a lawyer or a doctor or an engineer, the type of men by whom I was surrounded, the same man ought to have the intelligence and the courage to inquire into the claims of Christ. Such men are very wide awake and concerned and interested in the affairs of this life, in the success of their business or profession. But in the success of the greatest concern of all, they just don't care. And they try to hide their guilt in this matter, for they are guilty before God by saying that it really doesn't matter whether I practice any religion or not as long as I try to be honest. In reality however, no man can be honest, who refuses to give to God both publicly and privately worship that his position as creature of God demands. God will surely call such men to account when they stand before His judgment seat to give an account of stewardship. How will they excuse themselves then for having ignored Him, for having refused Him loyalty and service. "He who will confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father in heaven."

Charitable Works

WORLD-WIDE
Charitable Works of The Church

I say it is relatively easy to lead the life of a good Catholic for when we know the tremendous scope of the work that men and women in the Church carry on for God, are we reassured that we ourselves can, at least, lead our simple lives for God. In entering the Catholic Church, you will enter the Church that for nearly two thousand years has done the work of Christ with Christlike zeal. Americans, I know, will want concrete proof for such a statement. They want the facts, but so often it is so difficult to get the facts to them.

Not long ago a non-Catholic newspaper man was assigned to write an article entitled, 'Charity Over the World.' Having but the general impression that the Catholic Church was active in this work, he visited the headquarters of one of its missionary organizations to see what help he could obtain there in the way of facts and figures. For the most part only those activities were discussed which the Church considers her ordinary work. The reporter was astounded.

"What a magnificent organization your Church is!" he exclaimed. "Why it is all over the world, in every nook and cranny, doing good. I never had any idea of this before. Why don't you Catholics tell us these things?"

"Well," replied the official, in charge, "our own Catholics themselves hardly realize the world-wide magnitude of Catholic charity. They too would be astoned if they but knew the half of it. Since the Church is universal, it brings its works of mercy to every human being it can reach, regardless of race, color or creed." Statistics, no matter how complete, tell only a part of the story. Here are some of the figures compiled giving some account of the work done in the mission areas in one year alone.

In 31,410 hospitals and dispensaries over 35,000,000 medical treatments were administered.

In 1,846 orphanages 109,601 homeless children were cared for.

In 409 homes for the aged, 15,089 poor people were given shelter.

In 121 leper colonies 13,265 lepers were given a home and spiritual aid.

In 34,743 schools of all kinds 2,022,058 students were provided with a free education.

And who carries on this gigantic work of Christ? Catholic men and women do, priests and nuns and lay-brothers, in whose souls Christ's faith is so strong, that they are willing even in the first bloom of their youth, to dedicate their entire life to the service of Christ in the service of their fellowman. They are willing to sacrifice all, home and parents and friends, to go to the ends of the earth to carry Christ's message to all men, like the good Samaritan to bind up the wounds of humanity. If further proof were needed, this is the living proof that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. This is proof that she received her mission from the Son of God, He who with His perpetual assistance has made it possible for her to be true to her mission all down the long stretch of twenty centuries even unto this hour. 

I'm Afraid I Cannot be a Good Catholic

I'm Afraid I Cannot Be a Good Catholic

Nor should you say as some do: "I'm afraid I will not be able to live up to the high standard of morality that shall be expected of me." If that were true, God would not be calling you. For he would not be calling you if it were impossible for you to live up to the morality of the Catholic Church with His grace. God expects the impossible from no one. There is no excuse that is a valid excuse for not answering His call.

Christ came as the divine physician. He came as a physician comes, not to those who were well and needed Him not, but to those who were sick. He came to save sinners. It is true that the Church like Christ condemns sin, but it is also true that the Church like Christ, loves the sinner. And in the Church you will find those plentiful helps that Christ left us, precisely for this, that we might be enabled to rise above our sinning. God, as we have said, does not expect the impossible from any one of us, but He does expect that each one of us, with the help of His grace, will make a sincere attempt to live up to His commandments and to follow His inspirations.

To embrace the Catholic faith means, of course, a certain amount of investigation and study. But life in the Church means much more than the mere cold study of its doctrines. It means the everyday practice of religion. It means prayer and union with God. It means the reception of the sacraments. It means worship and sacrifice. It means the fulness of the Christian life, such as you in your heart at this moment aspire for. Christ, your Savior, living again upon your altar, will also live again in your heart, so that you can then say with the great convert St. Paul: "I live now, not I, but Christ liveth in me." And all this is not only possible but relatively easy with the grace of God.

Photo: Under the Streetlight, Alfred Eisenstaedt

Location: Montmartre (Sacred Heart Basilica) Paris, France, 1963

On The Way Back Home - Chapter 32

Easy Index

Perhaps I Ought to Wait a While

But perhaps I ought to wait a while. Perhaps my relatives and friends will give their consent later on to my entering the Church. Perhaps I'm not ready. Perhaps this and perhaps that. It is dangerous however, to put off God. It is risky to make God wait, once He has made plain His invitation. If God calls, it is folly to take his invitation lightly. It is dangerous to temporize with your Creator in the matter of the salvation of your immortal soul. The inspiration to embrace the Catholic faith is a grace that God now gives you. If you do not correspond with it now, it may not be given again. How many there are who lost the grace of conversion to God's Church, because they put off answering it until it was too late!

Photo: Farewell Embrace, 

Location: New York City, 1943

On The Way Back Home - Chapter 31

Easy Index

What Will My Friends Say if I Become Catholic?

But if I enter the Catholic Church, you may say, I may have to make sacrifices. I may encounter difficulties. My friends may not like it. My relatives may object to it. Yes, it is true, some of your friends may not like it, and they may be less friendly with you for a time. And your relatives may object to it. But if you lose the company of earthly friends, you shall gain the friendship of God Himself. If your relatives object to it, never-the-less it is God who commands before whose judgment seat you will one day appear, when neither your relatives nor your friends will be able to answer for you but only you yourself.

Nor are there any sacrifices too great to make in return for receiving the gift of faith from God Himself.  "The sufferings of this time are not to be compared," says St. Paul, "with the glory that shall be revealed in us."  For no sacrifice is too great when the sacrifice of your immortal soul is concerned.

Jos. Frederick Kinsman was a Bishop in the Episcopalian Church, Bishop of the diocese of Delaware, one of the highest ranking officials of that church in the United States. But like so many other Bishops and ministers of his church, when at length he realized after study and prayer that only one Christian Church had the right to exist, and that one was the Church founded by Christ upon Peter, he did not hesitate to put off the robes of his office, renounce his rank in the Episcopalian church and become a simple Catholic layman. It meant for him the loss of many friends. It meant the loss of his position in society. It meant the loss of a fixed income coming from his office, when he was no longer a young man. Like the Apostle however, he counted all as lost if he could not gain Christ. He knew, as we all know, that we must not put relatives or friends, social position or wealth before the call of Christ. He knew, as all men should know, that man's first and most solemn duty is to God.

Christ Himself has said: "Unless you hate not father and mother, you cannot be my disciple." Christ did not mean that one should hate his father or his mother. That would contradict the fourth commandment which commands us to love our parents. That would be contrary to Christ's own example, who showed by His actions, the great love He bore His own mother. These words do mean, however, that no matter how deeply we love our parents, our relatives and our friends, we should not love them more than we love God; we should not put their wishes before God's commands.

One of the most touching lessons taught in the Gospel, is woven around this distinction between the love we should bear God and the love we should bear our parents. On a certain occasion Christ had been preaching to the multitudes and so moving were his words that a woman in the crowd cried out: "Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck." Yet though Christ loved His Mother dearly, He replied: "Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke11. 28) Our relationship to God is our first and our highest relationship. It takes rank above all others. Hence when I stand before the judgment seat of God, I shall not be asked to answer for the soul of my parents or my friends. I must answer for my own. Nor can they answer for me. Neither should they then interfere with the affairs of my soul upon this earth. They must not stand in the way of my following out what my conscience tells me is the will of God. Nor must I allow them to stand in the way. For other reasons, too, one must not be too dismayed by the objections of relatives or friends. If you embrace the Catholic faith and live up to the Catholic faith, your good example will shine forth before their eyes. It often happens that relatives who begin by objecting, end up by not only consenting but by following your example and they themselves following your lead back home.

Photo:  Friends, 

Location:  France, 1956

Photographer:  Thomas Mcavoy