CHURCH AND WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2717, 11 March 1916, Page 9

CHURCH AND WAR

HOPE AS ONE OF THE GREAT VIRTUES AN URCENT SPIRITUAL PROBLEM. Tho following extracts ara taken from a fino article on "Hope" contributed to the January number of the "International Review of Missions," by Professor D. S. Oairns, of the TJnited Free Church College, Aberdeen: — _ The world is so real to us, so tenacious and _so aggressive,- that the real difficulty is to see where God comes in. When we turn to the study of our lord's life, and His deeds of faitli, we are forced to tlie conclusion, that His difficulty must have been precisely of tho opposite kind. To Him, God wa» bo real that tho difficulty must have been to see where the world came in. A ivcll-kuown modern New Testament scholar has put this for us in a momorable phrase, "To Jesus," he says, "God was all, and the world quite nothing.Now, either Ho or we are wrong in this vital matter. Either He was a dreamer, and visionary; or He was the Son of God. If He fce truly the Son of God, theli it clearly foTSnws that it is He who is the one waking being in human history, and that, as concerning God and the world/all the rest of us are as m?n that dream. If it indeed be so, then this is the time, i' ever there were a time in history, when we must awake to the sole enduring reality, the power and tho love and the liberty of the living God. . .- . It was into a world of pessimism that Jesus came with His message of present lionc. He said to those.. around Him, "Godhas not withdrawn from His world, He is here as much as ever He was: it is you who have become blind to His presence, to His power and His love and His liberty to "help,, men." Not only did He say this but He proved it by His life and by the deeds of blessing which God wrought through Hun. ... All the gospel sayings about faith are implicit revelations of God,' of His power, and of His lovo aud His liberty to help men. .They are only, intelligible ou the supposition that Jesus was seeing things in God about which His contemporaries, and even. .His. . disciples, were almost wholly blind,.... We..cannot read them with any insight or imagination, or lay hold on ffiem with the faintest faith-as true for our own day, without the whole world around us becoming luminous with God,'without'a dim suspicion stealing over us that there is something dream-like, something spiritually insane, in the condition of soul in which <we and. all our contemporaries stan3 to-day. , "W 0 are near waking when we dream that we dream." The real.; spiritual problem of the Church of to-day is .to have this dim and fleeting- consciousness transfigured into an . enduring and all-transforming possession.. Were it so with us, we should come to see why hope must needs rank with-faith and love as one of the great virtues of. the Christian life. For that sense, of God, a.f_ it deepened, would bring with it. a spiritual climate in which it was impossible for timidity or despair, to live, -iriey -would die away as. the., lichens' and mosses of the great ice .age died away before the oncoming warmth- and liglit of the age that followed.- > If we had this new and yet. ancient sense of God restored to us, it would be impossible to pray to Him without the whole nature becoming suffused with a vital expectancy of good. We could not help believing that the things, that .we asked for with' a 'pure and devoted spirit were already hastening to us out of the great treasure house of . God's power and lovo, and expecting great things from Him wo should have tho courage to attempt great things for Him. The promises to prayer, of which prudent modern- commentators ' are so afraid, would become living and modern again. Faith would incessantly verify itself, and in verifying itself would extend and deepen our knowledge of God. To : them that had, more should be given, and they should have abundance. Do such hopes seem dream-like to us to-day? It will at least bo admitted that we liave here a clear and consist- ] ent view and that no violence is done to the plain and natural moaning of our Lord's words. They assuredly call us to change many of our existing I thoughts about God and , His ways I with, men, and .about the spirit and character of the life which we are living now, but ,it may be that that is the next step which lies before-us, if we are to transcend the anguish and the despair Which are the temptation of all to-day and have olierislied the highest hopes of the coming of God's kingdom. To the writer it seems that the real issue before the 'Church is whether she;has to believe a great deal less in God than she. has done, or a greatideal more, and iMdoes not seem doubtful, in such an alternative of the spirit, which is the path of- Jesus of Nazareth. , , The review (which is published by the Oxford University Press) also contains in instructive missionary survey of tho year 1915, and a number of other interesting articles. ; HEROIC BELCIUM. STATEMENT BY THE POPE. The British Embassy in Washington lias it-sued the following statement 0 for publication:— A distinguished Belgian Jesuit priest lately received by the Holy Father has ;iven the following account-of his audinice to a Dutch chaplain'in the Belgian i.rniy:— ' . - "The Pope told me, and told me to •epeat it in the trenchcs to tho men, lie officers, and even to the King himiplf, that ho considers Belgium has a •iglit to complete reparation from Germany, and that he will never consent o olfer his good offices for tho re-estab-ishment of peace unless Belgium has ill her territories in Europe and Africa estored to lior, with the plenitude of ler liberties and her- international ights as they existed before, and this -ithout prejudice to her claim for adc|uate_ indemnity and the restitution of .11 private property." ' This public endorsement by the Sovireign Pontiff of the first of the coudiions of peace laid down by the British 'rime Minister at the Guildhall will be eeeived with unmixed satisfaction in ill the Allied countries.—London' "Tabet." _ ... .. Cardinal Mercier's presence in Homo nd tho_ opportunity it gives for comlunicating with him has been the sisal • for numberless letters and . telerams of congratulation and sympathy ■it'll him iukl his people, Amongst liese is a striking letter from tho Carinal Archbishop of Paris, who writes: 'With all our sonl ; we applaud your t-titude, your words, and your acts, •hicli are so great a credit to tho Iliurch, and place you in the ranks f the greatest prelates in history. It ; with theso sentiments of admiration liat we have just read the-letter which ou and the other- Bishops of Belgium live addressed to the Bishops of Germany, in which you so nobly vindicate io honour of your heroic country. Wo liarc all your sufferings and those of ' our people, and pray God to bring lem to a speedy end. With Your-Em- ; icnce, wo cherish tho firm confidence :iat the. hour of victory and rlolivcrneo will soon strike, both for Belgium nd for Franco, and that Providence ' ill grant that so many trials will le j iiccceded bv an era of peace, bettoricn, and Christian regeneration. 1 i nre not hope that you will he-able to •' ass 'through Franco aild Paris on\vour '< ay back to Belgium; but if-yon could. :>n will jrness with what enthusiastic clcomo you would be hailed amongst -If .we:cuai_na£d&jmii cflttii

secration of our basilica of Montmartre to see you again, we shall then ba happy to joiu our thanksgiving with yours, and to consecrate together our t-*\o nations, more closely united than ever, to the Sacrcd Heart." TROOPS AND HOLY COMMUNION. AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. An interesting experiment in convert, ing the usual Sunday parade service into the Holy Eucharist has been made with gratifying results at Fenny Stratford by the vicar of the parish, the Rev. J. H. Firminger, and tho missioner, tho Rov. Paul Bull, C.R. (says tho ."Guardvan''). The procedure lias been described in a letter which the vicar, and .tho missioner sent to tho Bishop of Oxford, which is-printed in the "Oxford Dio?u Sa " ,^ a Sazii)e." It had been not>xi that the ordinary parade service of . the traditional type was not really spiritual, ly effective, many men regar<W it as a nuisance:— "We saw that, provided the allotted time was not exceeded, thero was-no reason whatever why the parade service Rhould not always be the Holy Eucharist.- It was not necessaiy to consult the military authorities, as- they are only concerned in arranging tho'hour 'and length .of. the .'.sorvice. .The nature of tho sorvice lies in the discretion of tho chaplain or officiating clergyman, and he-alone is responsible. So it was decided to havo the Holy Eucharist as the parade service for the'future, and on the second Sunday of tho'mission we. mado ) this-change with most happy re- : Tim service is then 'described. Each man; was provided with a penny Communion Book ; for;lads,-.::"Tho Kinn'a Command," published by Messrs. Mowbray. Hie vicar celebrated. ' The missioner stood in the centre of the church, directed the movements of the men gave out the page of each prayer,, and made obvious explanations and commehts. .There followed a five minutes® sermon, explanatory of the symbolism' and significance of the Holy Eucharist. •Lue hymns were "Once, Only Once, and V t " OC J? r A]]." "And-now, 0 Father, Mindful of Thy Love," and "Draw Near and take the Body of tho Lord." Six i of the older choir boys ,led the music. After the -Consecration Prayer, when the "Agnus" had been 6ung, the missioner said,".Those -who -wish to receive Holy Communion will now go -up to the altar. The rest will stand and sing Draw-Near' and 'Jesuj -Lover of my, Soul.' The men were allowed tosifc till the. CoH6Goration Prayer, when they were told to kneel. Forty-five, out of 300 received Holy Communion, and on.' the following Sundays 18 to 23. Thai men left the church very quietly in a spirit of awe, which was in marked contrast to the us'ial spirit. ■ Subsequently the sergeant-major told the war and missioner that men had been coming to his office all day long to say- how much they had enjoyed the nervice. Manv of them had never been present at a Eu«. charist before. 1