and forced attention. In fact, it has been forcing itself upon me most
uncomfortably, especially of late years."

"Again," said Father Murray, "a reason why you should have attended to
it. If there is a divine revelation confided to the care of a church,
that revelation is for the sake of men and not for the sake of the
church. A church has no right to existence for its own sake. He was a
wise Pope who called himself 'Servant of the Servants of God.' The
position of your Church--for I must look upon you as a Catholic--is,
that a divine revelation has been made. If it has been made it must be
conserved. Reason tells us that something then must have been
established to conserve it. That _something_ will last as long as the
revelation needs conserving, which is to the end of the world. Now,
only the Catholic Church claims that she has the care of that
revelation--that she is the conserving force; which means that she
is--as I have told you before--a 'City set upon a Mountain.' She can't
help making herself seen. She _must_ intrude on your thoughts. She
_must_ speak consistently through your life. She can permit no one to
ignore her. She _won't_ let anyone ignore her. Kick her out one door,
and she will come in another. She is in your art, your music, your
literature, your laws, your customs, your very vices as well as your
virtues--as she was destined to be. It is her destiny--her manifest
destiny--and she can't change it if she would."

Mark drew in a deep breath that sounded like a sigh. "I suppose,
Father," he said, "I could argue with you and dispute with you; under
other circumstances perhaps I should. I hate to think that I may have
to give up my liberty; yet I am not going to argue, and I am not going
to dispute. I wanted information, and I got it. The questions I asked
were only for the purpose of drawing you out. But here is another: Why