human
Little thought I, Father, when I came here with defiance and distrust in my heart, that I would fling myself on my knees before you; yet it is true that I feel it as a great personal sorrow that I cannot both stay with you and also answer the call of my master. But I cannot desert my people. Where they turn up the soil, where they guide the plough, where their tired backs bend, where the wind and the hail beat down upon them in the fields, there is my place, and there I must go.
gpt
Wilt promise me one thing?
human
If I can, Father.
gpt
Wilt preach the sermon in the Cathedral next Sunday?
human
Only to give the sermon,
gpt
I shall celebrate the Mass myself. I would like you to give the sermon just as you are. There will be a goodly number of people, and it is my whim that you should be heard once from the pulpit. It will come with a new authority. Besides, he added, with a twinkle in his eye,
human
I should like to have some of our priests hear it. It might not be a bad thing for the Nuncio himself.