Authored by: Sarah Miller

Sermon on the Duties of Parents

In the 1850’s, America began to split apart in the wake of the Civil War, and it was because of this impending segregation that Father Isaac Hecker founded the Paulist Fathers in 1858. Hecker believed that the root of America’s troubles was the lack of common religion, and that “there must be a “Church” in America and not denominations, for only this kind of religion could prevent sectional and political differences from leading to hostility”. [1] With this vision in mind, the Paulist missionary’s set out in an effort to calm the impending war.

One of the most revered missionary’s of the Paulists, and devoted friend to Father Hecker, was Father Walter Elliot. Father Elliott was born in Detroit Michigan in 1842 to Irish Immigrants.[2] When the Civil War broke out he immediately enlisted in the Fifth Ohio Infantry. According to correspondences between Walter Elliott and his brothers, located at the Paulist Father Archive in Washington, DC, put Elliott at two of the wars great battles: Antietam & Gettysburg.[3] After his service to the war, Father Elliott joined the Paulist Fathers and began his missionary work in the West in an effort to convert Non-Catholics. He continued spreading the Word of God and his own thoughts with the force and vigor for the next twenty-two years.[4]

Throughout his years as a missionary, Father Walter Elliott created a Spiritual Journal of sermons that he would preach to his congregation of Non-Catholics. After the opening hymn and prayers, Father Elliott would read an appropriate passage and speak on the importance of the Scripture.[5] An example of one of his sermons used in converting Catholics is The Duties of Parents, which teaches parents the importance of their role in a child’s upbringing.[6] Loving a child and providing adequate housing and welfare for them will allow them to grow into strong individuals who have respect for themselves and others. In order to unite America in Catholicism, one must start at the beginning by teaching parents their roles as instructors for the future Catholics of America.

Bibliography

Elliott, Walter. “The Duties of Parents.” In Spiritual Journal of Reverend Walter Elliott. Washington, DC: Paulist Fathers.

Farina, John. Hecker Studies: essays on the thought of Isaac Hecker. New York: Paulist Press, 1983.

McNamara, Pat. “The Blue, the Gray, and the Black: The Paulists and the American Civil War.” McNamaras Blog. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mcnamarasblog/2010/11/the-blue-the-gray-and-the-black-the-paulists-and-the-american-civil-war.html.

Mcnamaras, Pat. “Father Walter Elliott, C.S.P. (1842-1928): Union Army Veteran.” McNamaras Blog. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mcnamarasblog/2011/05/father-walter-elliott-c-s-p-1842-1928-union-army-veteran.html.

McNamaras, Pat. “Paulist Outreach to Non-Catholics Explained, 1896.” McNamaras Blog. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mcnamarasblog/2013/11/paulist-outreach-to-non-catholics-explained-1896.html.