CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS NUMBER The Rt. Rev. Richard Henry Nelson, D.D., is the Bishop of Albany. The Rev. Lucius Waterman, D.D., has retired from the active exercise of his priesthood and is living at Tilton, New Hampshire. The Rev. George Craig Stewart, D.D., L.H.D., is Rector of St. Luke's Church, Evanston, Ill. The Rev. Laird Wingate Snell is Rector of St. Peter's Church, Helena, Montana. Miss Julia C. Emery is well known throughout the Church for her work in connection with the Woman's Auxiliary. The Rev. Henry K. Pierce is on the staff of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York. Monthly A Magazine of comment, criticism and review dealing with questions confronting the Anglican Communion and more especially the Church in the United States TEMPLE PUBLISHING CORPORATION 1-3 Peace St., New Brunswick, N. J. President: GEORGE A. ARMOUR, Princeton, N. J. Secretary: THE REV. CHARLES C. EDMUNDS, D.D., 6 Chelsea Square, New York The Ambition for Sanctity WHEN S. Francis Xavier was canonized, Francis de Sales-then a young man-is reported to have said to a friend: "There are already three saints of my name; I must make a fourth, though it cost me my life." Needless to say, he attained his ambition! The modern world would scoff at such an ambition. We think it nothing strange that a young man should strive for the highest possible rank in the army or the navy; or that musicians and artists should aim at perfection in their art. Why then should it be looked upon as anomalous or eccentric when a young man consciously exerts himself to attain the goal of a perfect character? Our Lord commanded us to aim at perfection: "Be ye there fore perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." The Holy Spirit most assuredly has that aim in His sanctifying work within us. Why should we not cooperate with Him? What holds us back from the toil and sacrifice that are the necessary conditions for growth in sanctity? In many cases perhaps it is the lure of the world and the flesh. If so, it might be well for us to ask those who have given their souls in exchange for the pleasures of the world and the flesh, whether in the long run they have been pleased with their bargain. It is best to consult those who have grown old in that service. It often takes men of the world a long time to become convinced of the worthlessness of the world's prizes. The intellectualist makes the discovery much sooner. The saint learns the secret the most quickly of all, by taking God's word for it, and actually being crucified with Christ to the world. The saints have given up all for God. They have played for the highest stakes and they have won! It is sobering to think of the vast multitude of mortals who have passed, like sheep unconscious of their destiny, along the way from birth to death. How petty and vain the aims of many of them have been,-money, pleasure, fame, influence! How immeasurably superior the ambition to be a saint! The quest for perfection is the only rational aim, the only explanation that can give an intelligible meaning to these few fleeting years of our life in this world. On Letting People Alone AMONG the arts that we most need to learn in our churches is the art of letting people alone. One can scarcely enter the average Anglican Church without being pounced upon by one of the clergy or an usher or the sex ton or the verger. If one does manage to slink into a pew without being caught, some good woman insists on handing one a prayer book or hymnal, open at the proper place. We can quite understand how people of the average degree of timidity, who have been so elaborately served and perhaps in addition have been asked to fill out a questionnaire with their name, age, names of parents, birthplace, previous religious affiliation, and so forth, would soberly resolve never to enter a church again. Things are not done quite so efficiently in the places which the people frequent in large numbers: the movies, the out-door concerts, the parks, the ocean beaches, soapbox orations, department stores, or Roman Catholic churches. There a man can enter as he pleases, roam about at his own sweet will, and come away in peace, without officious people intruding into his private affairs. It is a grave question whether it is best for the clergy tö stand at the door of the church to shake hands with people as they go out. It is commonly praised as indicative of cordial hospitality. There are many strangers, however, who do not like it, particularly when the clergy jot down their names and addresses in a little book. The ideal method would seem to be that the clergy should be standing near the door so as to be approachable to anyone who wishes to meet them or ask for spiritual ministrations, without attempting to speak to everybody. No sensible person goes to church simply to be welcomed by the clergy. The best managed department stores show their wisdom by allowing people, whether prospective buyers or not, to come in and wander about looking at what they like. If they express a desire to be waited on, a clerk is always at their service. That should be the policy of the Church. People should be permitted to come in and stand up if they want to, or kneel down to pray, or sit in a pew to listen, either dur-. ing public worship or at any other time. It is conducive to prayer outside of public worship to have the church dimly lighted. People should be encouraged to bring their babies if they want to, in their arms or in baby-carriages, -even at eleven o'clock on Sunday mornings. The clergy should be available if people want to see them. This may not fulfil the ideal of the parish recently set forth in an authoritative bulletin: "Every member a worshipper, every worshipper a worker, every worker a giver, every giver a spiritual force." That is a bit too efficient for a parish of the Catholic Church. Some worshippers must be permitted to remain only worshippers for a time, before being drawn into the system and enlisted as workers, definitely tagged and catalogued. Knowledge of Ceremonial HIGH Churchmen are often taunted with laying too much stress on the externals of worship and religion. They are dubbed "ritualists." They are compared to the Pharisees of old who thought only of the outside of the cup and the platter. The real truth of the matter is that they do not lay enough stress on these things. They are too often slovenly and ignorant in their ceremonial practices. They are badly in need of a more accurate and scholarly knowledge of ceremonial. Perhaps the majority of our clergy want to conduct the worship for which they are responsible in a dignified and beautiful manner, and in keeping with the ceremonial customs of the Catholic Church. They have never been properly instructed in these matters, nor have they seriously attempted to master the science of ceremonial for themselves. Perhaps they have thought it would be wrong |