Page:A Pastoral Letter to the Parishioners of Frome.djvu/9



been called upon quite unexpectedly, and without any seeking on my own part, to undertake among you one of the most arduous as well as the most responsible duties which it is possible for man to undertake. I have been called upon to preside among you in the things of religion;—to be your teacher, guide, and Priest;—to perform for you all the manifold and indescribable duties which are tributary and belong to the office of a Pastor in the Church of

At all times this office is most onerous, and not to be undertaken by any one without many solemn thoughts, and much deliberation; not forgetting prayer to Almighty, (for "who is sufficient for these things?")—but at such a time as this, and by such an one as myself, it could not possibly be contemplated without much shrinking back and trembling, lest in the undertaking of such a holy duty I should be undertaking that which might in any way peril the salvation of souls.

By the expression, "such a time as this," I mean the dangers that press upon the Church from the miserable divisions which rend men's hearts asunder,—from the schism, dissent in religious opinion, and denial of the Faith by which the great enemy of and man is trampling over the Kingdom of  in the souls of so many—and I mean by alluding to myself to signify, as you most probably will readily