Has anyone here read "The Life of Fr. De Smet" -- it's a TAN book.

In that book, Fr. De Smet (basically a saint, though he hasn't been canonized yet) labored tirelessly to convert the various tribes of indians in the United States. He is known as the "apostle of the rocky mountains"

Anyhow, there were a couple tribes which were noteworthy in how fervently they embraced the Gospel. We're talking "first Christians" here -- being of one mind and soul, completely giving themselves to Christ and His Gospel. If you read the Acts of the Apostles you'll see another example of such fervor.

I was thinking -- why isn't this kind of wholesale conversion possible today? There MUST be some kind of obstacle. Obviously, God's grace is what converts people -- but what disposes men to that grace?

I think it was the hard, close-to-earth, very REAL life that the indians were leading. Also, many indians had a vestige of the primitive revelation about there being one God, ("the great spirit") etc. I know that much darkness had entered in their conceptions of God and religion, but they had a certain innocence -- at least some tribes did.

How come some tribes convert en masse like the primitive Christians, and today's man is so distracted with comforts and wealth that he can't do so?

As Bishop Williamson might say, these fervent Indians had a good "runway" on which the airplane of supernatural grace could easily land. All the Indians needed was for the plane to arrive -- and in their case, it was Fr. De Smet -- who happened to be saintly as well.

Modern man has blown up the runway -- by bringing all kinds of disorder to the natural level.

Matthew