A most excellent and thorough treatise on prayer. The spirit and intention of the rev. author are best gained from a perusal of the introduction, which warms one's heart and gives a new and stronger impulse to every hope and desire which the Christian reader may have for the greater glory of God. We cannot, however, entirely agree with the gloomy and discouraging view which is taken of the success of Christianity in the world. Christianity is not, nor has it ever been, a failure; and it is something to which we cannot subscribe when the author attributes "apparent barrenness" to the incarnation, and "comparative uselessness" to the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Neither do we think it suffices to answer the infidel, "Who hath aided the Spirit of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor and taught him?" when he points us to the great portion of the world yet unchristianized. And if prayer be good, both individual and associated; if it be absolutely necessary, as it is in the Christian economy; if it be, as it were, the soul which gives life to every work of the Christian; still we do not imagine that of all the means of grace this alone deserves our earnest thought or demands our undivided attention.
We are not called upon, in any sense, to apologize for Christianity. It is not worthy of us as men of strong faith to treat of religion as though it were a subject that needed to be excused in the face of the unbeliever, or which humbly supplicates the notice of the philosopher and the statesman. The truly great minds which have not professed Christianity have sought rather [{429}] to excuse the world for not submitting to the force of its arguments and to the charms of its beauty. Christianity is no failure, if there be anything which deserves the name of success. What other institutions can compare with it for actual and permanent success? The propagation of the faith, its preservation, and its enormous diffusion, may well put all past, present, and future works of man to the blush. What else is it now, but the great FACT of the world's history and of the world's present advanced and civilized state? We are not a petty, insignificant sect of thinkers, nor a despicable school of philosophers, seeking a momentary acknowledgment from the great unchristian world. On the contrary, Christianity rules the world; and all that is great and noble in humanity, all that has sanctified the past, sustains the present, and inspires hope for the future; all that is free, civilized, and enlightened in society, depends now for its life, as it has received its seed, from the divine power and light of the Christian faith. Truly, we must pray, and that "without ceasing," for those who are not of the fold of Christ, and for the coming of the kingdom of God upon earth; and any one who peruses the work before us will feel the depth of this obligation; and if he has any real, practical desire for the salvation and sanctification of man, will not fail to be stimulated to constant and earnest prayer. But have we reflected, as well as we might, that before men will pray to God they must first believe in him? The man of enlightened faith prays naturally; the ignorant and the superstitious are noted for their want of confidence in prayer. Prayer is the union of the soul with God, and the better God is known, the better is the heart of man prepared for the influences of the Holy Spirit. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" We may urge our faithful Christians to pray for the conversion of the world, and we may mourn that they do not pray for this end more than they do; but whatsoever arms God has placed at our disposal for conquering the world unto himself, we, like good soldiers of Jesus Christ, must use them with alacrity, with zeal, and, above all, with that spirit of sacrifice which our holy faith alone has the power to inspire. Whilst we need not neglect the apostolic manner of preaching the word of God, we should also lay to heart the oft-repeated and wise admonition of the Holy Father to make diligent use of the providential means of the press, to diffuse the knowledge of the Christian faith, and promulgate the saving principles of strict Christian morality, and thus prevent defection from the congregation of the just, and enlighten them that sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death. The people need more light, more instruction. The masses among non-Catholics are very ignorant of religion. They are living upon only the poor remnants of Catholic faith and tradition which have been left to them by the ruthless hand of the despoiler. None have felt this more than the clergy and enlightened laity of our own country, where religion is thrown upon its own merits for support and progress, and where the hold upon the ancient Christian tradition is so slight; and it is a happy augury for the conversion of the American people that these sentiments are beginning to have a practical and encouraging result. We must make the truth known, for it is that which enlightens man. And Christianity is truth. There is no form of truth so broad, so exalting, so truly progressive, so noble and so tree. Men will accept it when you make it known to them--accept it with joy, and a reverent enthusiasm. The tone of our remarks must not be misunderstood as attributing to the spirit of the work before us any want of appreciation of the great needs of which we have spoken, or that we think the rev. author displays a want of confidence in the power of Christian truth. On the contrary, we have seldom met with a book so urgent in earnestness and so fall of faith. We can only say, in conclusion, God send the church many more such zealous souls as the Père Ramière, now that the harvest is so full and the laborers are so few.
REPORT OF THE TRIAL OF DR. W. H. STOKES, PHYSICIAN, AND MARY BLENKINSOP, SISTER SUPERIOR, OF MOUNT HOPE INSTITUTION, BEFORE THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY. Reported by Eugene L. Didier. 8vo pamphlet, pp. 202. Baltimore: Kelly & Piet. 1866.
The famous Mount Hope case, which was brought to trial in February last, ended in a verdict for the defendants, and we have here a full report of it. We trust the projectors of this magnificent fiasco are abundantly pleased with the fruits of their endeavors, although they seem to have forgotten that, failing to sustain their indictment, the odium they sought to fix upon others would be sure to recoil upon themselves. Hence we think that popular judgment will incline to the belief that the only conspiracy in the case (if there be any) was upon the part of the prosecution. The fact that an attempt was made to deprive the defendants of a plea secured to them by positive law would rather favor this opinion. We should be happy to believe that sectarian prejudice had nothing to do in founding this accusation; but the animus which prompted it will soon be apparent to any one who will take the trouble to read the charge. The estimable and pious ladies, whose life of sacrifice in the interests of religion and humanity has compelled the admiration of the world, are deemed unfit to undertake their office of charity because they are women! because they are religious and governed by a foreign priest! This tells the whole story, and simply means that ladies of the Catholic religion, who choose to unite in a religious order for the purpose of relieving human suffering, are unworthy of public sympathy or confidence. We strongly doubt if all the testimony sought to be introduced on the trial, could it have been admitted, would have materially changed the result. To say nothing of the equivocal character of that evidence, as coming from persons but recently inmates of the institution, and whose perfect competency to testify is far from certain, we know the proneness of those living under the government and direction of others to deem themselves the objects of harsh treatment and neglect. There is not an establishment of such persons in the country, not even a common boarding-school, against which similar charges are not constantly made. The well-known character of these admirable sisters and their unwearied efforts to do good--for the most part far removed from human recognition or applause--afford a strong presumption that the management of their asylum will stand the test of rigorous scrutiny.
A case not wholly unlike the present, got up in a similar spirit, in Boston, some years since, under the Know-Nothing regime, is doubtless still fresh in public recollection. Affairs directed to the same end as this of Mount Hope are got up from time to time, but they serve only to arouse feelings which had much better lie dormant where they cannot be eradicated, and invoke a spirit entirely opposed to the plainest dictates of Christian charity.
The report of the trial appears to be very complete, and we commend it to those who are at all acquainted with the circumstances of the case, or have felt any interest in its result.
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS:
Their Agents and Their Results. By T. W. M. Marshall. 2 volumes. New York: Sadliers, No. 31 Barclay street. Reprint from an English edition.
It is somewhat late to notice this valuable work; but, as the publishers have recently sent us a copy, we take the occasion to recommend it to all who are desirous of knowing what has been accomplished both by Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
Mr. Marshall's work has attained a high reputation abroad, and has been translated into several European languages. It is very thorough, and its statements are backed up by a vast array of citations, chiefly from Protestant writers. Catholic missions form a beautiful and attractive page of ecclesiastical history. Their great success and abundant fruits are demonstrated beyond a cavil by the author, as they have been many times before. The majority of Catholics are too indifferent to the great work of missions, and ought to take a deeper interest in them than they do.