Fr. David Sherry
District Superior of Canada

Dear Reader,

“The Americans,” wrote a certain rotund English writer, “have established a Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the fact that the Pilgrim Fathers reached America. The English might very well establish another Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the happy fact that the Pilgrim Fathers left England.” Perhaps the English were glad to see the Puritans go because they were killjoys, I would have been glad to see the Puritans go because they were even less Catholic than the Anglicans.

People often make the claim that it doesn’t really matter what religion you follow as there is much goodness to be found in differing sects. “Look, see how honest those Methodists are,” or “If only our girls dressed as modestly as the Mennonites!” or “Ah! The beauty of the Anglican liturgy!” This is to be expected. Heresy is not an apostasy from all truth and all goodness, but rather the elevating of a partial truth to the detriment of all others. The heretic—the Puritan in this case—says “God is all powerful.” This is true. Then comes his error. He elevates that truth above everything and concludes “Therefore, there is no free will outside of God.” This inexorably leads to “God is the cause of evil” or, as Philipp Melanchthon had it, “God is no less the cause of the treason of Judas than He is of the vocation of Paul.” This widening error’s practical conclusion was well understood by the author of this witty limerick.

At Geneva when Calvin had quitted
A young man said “Now I have hit it
Since I cannot do right
I must think out tonight
What sin to commit and commit it.”

For error to be believed, it has to be attached to truth; and for evil to be attractive it must needs be attached to good. And good there is: the Methodist is honest, and the Mennonite is modest and the Anglican liturgy? . . . well, compare it with your Roman missal and see where the good came from.

Many Catholics pray that their country returns to the Faith; the American or English Canadian can scarcely do that as his country never has been Catholic. The greatest thing he can pray for is a first and fervent conversion of his country to the true Faith of Christ and that His Church take our nations in Her maternal embrace. Now that would be cause for a Thanksgiving Day.

Fr. David Sherry