The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1906, Page 38

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38

Steadfast in Faith,

Not only in heathen, but also in other countries,
especially in Catholic communities, followers of the
Gospel must often suffer much for the truth’s sake,
as may be seen from the following incident which
we take from the report of a Protestant mission-
ary in Italy:

Giovanni Besso embraced the Gospel a few years
ago. His Romish friends and relatives did all in
their power to induce him to give up his faith; at
last they drove him from his home. Besso went to
Cantoncello, and supported himself by his labor.
He married, and led his wife and her relatives to
give up their Romish superstitions; and his in-
fluence was so much felt in the neighborhood that
whenever the missionary visited the place, he was
sure to find a large and attentive audience. At the
beginning of the year, Besso heard that his mother
was seriously ill; he immediately set out to visit
her, not without anxiety as to the reception he might
meet with. To his great consolation, his mother
welcomed him with affection, without referring to
the past. One evening, when they were together,
she took his hand and said,

“You love your mother, do you not?”

“More than I can tell.”

“J am dying; promise me that you will do what
I ask; and before you answer me, think of it as
the last request of your dying mother.”

“Mother, I will-do for you all that is in my
power; what is it?”

“No, I do not want a conditional promise; as-
sure me that you will do what I ask.”

“T can only repeat that I’ll do all in my power.”

“Very well; to-morrow morning I will tell you
what I expect from you.”

The next morning the mother said to her son:
“The priest is coming in an hour to give me the
communion; I ask you, as a last favor, to recite
the prayers to the holy Virgin with me.”

Poor Besso was cut to the heart. “O my mother,”
he said, “you know I cannot do that.”

“Then go away,” said the mother, “and do not
come here again,” and she turned her face to the

wall.
“Mother, mother,” exclaimed the son in his

anguish, “ask for all that I have; ask for my blood,
and you shall have it, but do not ask me to deny
my Savior, in giving to creatures the worship and
the trust that belong only to Him!”

“Go; you are no longer my son,” said the
mother.

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Full of gricf, Besso left the house, and wan-
dered about, often thinking of the Savior’s words:
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me.” ‘lo Him he prayed to deliver
him from this trial.

Toward evening he returned to the house and
ventured with much hesitation to enter his mother’s
room. To his great surprise, the mother held out
her hand to him and said,

“Be my son; I will respect your convictions
and not ask you to give up your faith. Stay with
me and close my eyes.”

Those who enjoy liberty of conscience should
thank God for this great blessing and remember
in their prayers those Christians who must often
suffer for their faith. ‘Therefore we pray in our
General Prayer: “Those who are in suffering for
Thy name and for Thy truth’s sake comfort, O God,
with Thy Holy Spirit!” °

Remembering Jesus Christ.

We recently read of an old preacher who died
in this country in 1807, nearly ninety years of age.
In his old age he could hardly recollect anything
and was for a long time unable to engage in public
services. ‘Towards the last days of his life he was
taken to the house of a beloved son, where he was
attended to with the most loving care. On the
evening before his death a neighboring pastor vis-
ited him, but the old preacher did not know his
friend. Being told who he was, he said: “No, I do
not remember any such person.” He did not rec-
ognize even his own son. “I do not remember,” he
said, “that I have a son.” In short, his memory
was so weakened that he knew none of his family
or friends about him. At last he was asked, “Do
you remember the Lord Jesus Christ?” His eyes
brightened as he exclaimed: “Oh yes! I do, I do!
He is my Lord and my God in whom I have sal-
vation.”

The story reminded us of an incident of our
college days. One of our schoolmates took sick,
and when he one night seemed to be seriously ill
with a very high fever, the Director, or President,
of the college was called to the sick-room. In order
to see whether the sick boy could yet recognize any
one, the Director asked him, “Do you know me?”

“No,” answered the boy.

“Do you know Jesus?” asked the Director.

“Yes, to be sure. I know Him. He is my
Savior,” replied the dying boy.