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siting” Vgmastn,” iar warwe och cnt” Cana! a Tai mi a Ta ge
ye amen Tey SE ie ae Sage Ee ong er aie Sa a Se ‘as ae wow Say
Se kek ROK Ta ia Rg Bae ete eat asd ic ai a a le” oma koe ti i en =
= : : oy {
~))
WORD OF CONCLUSION. :
, , : U
Church: console yourself and take courage from the examples of the
\ early Christians, our forefathers, who fearlessly faced the storms of
( \
. their times. Present picture, painted by the hand of a fossor on the
wall-in the cemetery “St. Callistus” at a time, where hundreds of
; ‘ Christians were groaning in prison and shedding their blood from s
i the ax of the executor, is the representation of our holy mother,
- the Church, persecuted and vexed by her enemies. The person '
standing erect on the waves, lifting up his hands towards heaven is the
baptized Christian, who stands faithful to his spiritual mother the —
' Church, in the-hour of need; the other person swimming outside
i of the ship is a figure of a man who has left the guidance of his
: Church, given himself over to the turbulent waves of the sea
i of infidelity. or heresy and sinks miserably to the bottom.
pO Catholic Christian! What happiness to be a member of that
Church, which the Lord conducts safely through all storms of tribu-
lation, to the harbor of eternal salvation, and which h
‘ - the ark of Noah, outside of which nobody was saved; — but my dear
: reader! perhaps you are Standing far off from this Church prejudiced
from carly youth or badly instructed about the true way of salvation, ,
vexed by the numberless so called Christian Creeds and in consequence
you have turned altogether indifferent: please devote a moment of your
leisure time to the earnest reading of
this book, study the faith of
_ your Christian ancestors, see whether they were indifferent to what
. they should believe or to what Church or religion they belonged;
“i and examine finally whether those over and over repeated slanders about
the Catholic Church contain any truth, that she was once the true
Church of God (during the first three centuries) but in the course
of time — to speak in M. Luther’s language — ghe has become the :
: Church of the devil. Do you venture to declare our Saviour a lyer
| or impostor when He assures, His Church: should last forever and
that He will be with her until the consummation of the world (for |
her protection and guidance)? —
as its figure in