CHAPTER I.
Reverend and Dear Brethren,
In publishing, on the 27th of last May, the Apostolic Letters which direct us to invoke, in every Mass, the light of the Holy Ghost for the guidance of the coming Œcumenical Council, I refrained from adding any words of my own. But as the time now draws near when it will be my duty to leave you for a season, it seems fitting, and you may perhaps expect, that I should freely express to you the thoughts awakened by this event, and the intentions for which we ought to pray.
It has been said again and again, by those who desire what they say to be true, that the indiction of a General Council in ages past stirred the whole world, but in these days is received with complete indifference. If it be so, then the need of a General Council is proved, and the reason for convoking it is evident. If the Christian world be in a state of coma, it is time that the physicians should consult together. But is it the fact that the coming Council is ignored? What event in the last two years has excited so much attention? In what country of the Christian world has it been passed over in silence?
