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S76
MARY’S FIRST SHRINE IN THE WILDERNESS. 17
have had a relic of the shrine before which the good Father Baron
had proclaimed the praises of the Mother of God; but it was im-
possible, the flames had devoured all that could not be taken away.
But the memory of-our Mother was revived, and her faithful
children could again venerate her at the Point—the place of her
own selection. ‘To make this celebrated shrine still dearer to the
Catholic heart, our Rt. Rev. Bishop, by the special faculties
granted by the Vicar of Christ to prelates in missionary countries
like the United States, declared the memorial altar a privileged
altar, on the 14 of March, 1879. In what this privilege pre-
cisely consists will be explained further on. .
But time works changes, and none can resist it. The congrega-
tion that three years ago had increased to three hundred and eighty
families, has since decreased to two hundred and sixty, owing to
the fact that much of the leased property at the Point has been oc-
cupied by manufactories ; and, although a congregation must ever
exist here, it will probably decrease yet more. ‘To. add to the
embarrassment of the congregation and the peril of our Mother’s
shrine, the better off of a congregation are generally those first to
leave it in a case like this, while those who have no independence
are forced to remain.
The congregation has in this way been reduced to such a condi-
tion that it is no longer able to liquidate its heavy debt, and the spot
~ where the august Mother of God was first honored in this whole
country for hundredsof miles around is in imminent danger ; that
sanctuary which should be dear to every Catholic heart, the mere
sight of which should be esteemed a privilege, and which should
be doubly dear to those who entertain a special devotion for her
from whom, in the words of the Church, we have received the
Author of Life, Christ our Lord. Thither the devout client of
Mary should love to come, and there at the foot of her altar, on
the banks of the Beautiful River, that heaven-selected spot, he
should love to kneel and pray for final perseverence, where Mary
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