to
rally our disbanded forces, to unite our sporadic efforts around the
great work of the "Catholic Church Extension Society of Canada"--such
is the object of these few pages. To place facts before the reader,
and suggest remedies; to sound the call of the West, loud and sonorous
as the bugle pealing a great "_reveille_," strong and clear as the
trumpet blast that stirs the blood; to prompt a timely and generous
response in the East, by uniting the Church of Canada in a crusade of
prayers and sacrifices for our Western Missions: this is our aim and
hopeful ambition.

_The Call of the Catholic Church in the West_

The call of the Church in the West is a cry for help. Great indeed are
the pressing needs of the Western Church, for numerous and various are
the difficulties with which Catholics have to contend on the prairie
and in the small towns.

The first barrier to surmount is _distance_. The very layout of the
country is to a great extent a hindrance to the efficient working of a
parish. The survey of the land has been made from a strictly economic
point of view. Large farms,--vast wheat fields--were the final object
of the survey. The social, educational, and religious phases of the
situation are in the background. This renders church and school
problems particularly difficult to solve, as was outlined in Dr.
Foght's report of the educational survey in the Province of
Saskatchewan (1918). This difficulty--let us not forget--will persist
for years to come in Western Canada. According to competent
authorities wheat growing, being essentially a large unit undertaking,
demands extensive farming. This statement is very important, for its
consequences in Church organization are far-reaching.

The planless settling of the Catholic homesteaders here and there on
the prairie, has also created for the Church one of its greatest
difficulties. Living often 30, 40 and 50 miles from a Catholic chapel,
these settlers drift away from the authority, teaching and sacraments
of the Church. To form self-supporting parishes in the sparsely
settled districts is often an impossibility.

To this barrier of immense distances are added for long months,
_unfavourable climatic conditions_. The very severe cold, the high
winds which have such a sweep on the boundless prairies, the terrific
blizzards of the long winter months, will always remain great obstacles
to an intense Catholic life in rural parishes. Many Sundays, fro