Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 December 1916 — The Message of Christmas Day [ARTICLE]

The Message of Christmas Day

TTHHE message of Christmas day is intended for all men, I for all times, for all conditions of existence. Christ JL alone of all religions founders has the courage to say to his disciples: “Go teach all nations.” “You shall be witnesses to me in Judea and Samaria and even to the uttermost bounds of the earth.” Be not restrained in your mission by national or state lines. Let my gospel be as free and universal as the air of heaven. “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.” All mankind are the children of my Father and my brethren. I embrace all in my charity. Let the whole human race be your audience and the world be the theater of your labors. These, then, are in broad outline some of the grand truths and consoling experiences which “the gladtiding-s of great joy” reveal in their unfolding. Only by stern adhesion to the principles therein contained can individuals and nations hope to share in that peace which has been promised to men of good will. To violate them is to reverse the order established by God, and disorder is the synonym for sin and strife. On the other hand, as beauty is the splendor of order, so peace is the tranquillity of order or joy in repose. Cardinal Gibbons.