Article June 29, 1899 Issue

Why I became a Christian Scientist

BY W. JOHN MURRAY

How came you to renounce Catholicism?" is often asked of me by people who are surprised to find one who has ever believed in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, embracing any other form of religion. It would not occasion nearly so much surprise if I had been an avowed atheist, and I might say right here that, according to the opinion of my relatives and friends (which were), it would be much better if I were a lukewarm member, indulging in all sorts of vice and degradation, with some hope of being reconciled to the Catholic Church even at the expiration of an ill-spent life, and, with just enough time left in which to receive the last rites, than to be a Christian Scientist.

To give a few of my reasons for espousing The cause let me first say that I had been a weekly communicant, fully believing in the grace to be obtained from partaking of the sacrament, during which time my wife had been subjected to twelve surgical operations at the hands of some of the best doctors in our sections, assisted by the prayers of the faithful, both in this country and Europe, and all to no avail, for in spite of this strong combination, I was doomed to become a widower.

The last rites of the Church were administered to my (seemingly) dying wife, and my brother and mother-in-law were admitted to her room, no one having enjoyed that privilege but trained nurses and myself for some time. I permitted a Christian Scientist to visit her at this juncture, with this thought in my mind: they cannot nay more than kill her, and I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that nothing has been left undone that might have been done. Suffice it to say, that the stone which the builders rejected became the head of the corner, and our home was blessed by a strong, healthy wife and mother.

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End of the Mt. Vernon, N. Y. Case