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Show REVERENCE IN GOD'S HOUSE Rev. Earl Hewson, a minister of a Congregational Congrega-tional church in St. Louis, visits a Catholic church in that city. He tells his congregation the impressions impres-sions made on him by the devout worshipers. "Catholics can teach us much in respect and reverence for church buildings. Protestants enter and leave their churches with about as much reverence rev-erence as they enter and leave a street car. I entered en-tered a Catholic church one night not long ago, and taking a back seat I watched the worshipers as they came and went, and was deeply impressed with their reverence and devotion. Before leaving I dropped on my knees and prayed that I might live to see the day when Protestants would enter and leave their churches in the same spirit that was manifested by the worshipers that night. ' "I was so deeply impressed at what I had seen that I went home and wrote to Archbishop Glennon and asked him for the opinion as to why Catholics were more reverent than Protestants. He made a prompt and courteous reply, setting forth a number num-ber of reasons. The two that made the strongest appeal to me were: 'Their belief in the Real Presence Pres-ence of Christ dwelling in the Church and 'The Catholic church teaches life, death and eternity in the spirit of realism, and the Catholic mind is subdued sub-dued and reverent in the presence of these mysteries mys-teries so presented.' " |