RECONCILING THE NATION.
By T.
There is a very interesting and significant fact in connection with the controversy in Italy between the pope and the ruling monarchy there. “Innominata,” after speaking in the New York Sun about the Italian “monarchy” as “the symbol of the war against the Papacy,” and stating that this monarchy “would not listen,” says that “when Leo XIII. saw that no reconciliation was possible between king and pope, he took up the work of reconciling the nation to the Papacy.” It is interesting to note the activity of those not only in Catholic but in Protestant circles who seek to control the State in the interests of the church. But Jesus has left us no such example. Follow Him all the way from the manger to Calvary and you find His work wholly among the people. And He was not seeking to get them to change their form of government in this world, but in the tenderest and yet the most practical way he impressed them with the great advantages of turning whole-heartedly to the kingdom of God. And His voice rings out through His Word all down the ages, speaking to both Catholic and Protestant alike: “My kingdom is not of this world.” Let us follow the Lord Himself, for He has told us the way in His Word. Men are subject to prejudices and personal interests that may cause them to mislead us, no matter how good their intentions may be. But our Lord never makes a mistake, and it is always safe to trust fully to His guidance. T.