^DJBYJTH^STUDENTS OF PENNSYLVANIA (GETTYSBURG) COLLEGE. ! AIJVKRTISiJMKNTS. I, mmw Importers and Jobbers of «» Nos. 16 and 18 W. German Street, BALTIMORE, Offer to the trade their large and well-selected ; stock of llli ! &mm l«tlf, Make a specialty to have on hand everything required by Pharmacists. A complete stock can at any time be selected or wants supplied. ALQNZO L, THQMSEN,^- KAOE, WINDEB, snAitp AND LEADENHALL STS., P. o. Box 557, Baltimore, Md. I beg to call to the attention of the Trade that I have re-cently added to my Plant a complete set of Drug Milling Ma-chinery ot the most Improved pattern. HtfS, CAPS, ^ BOOTS * SHOES. G^Satisfaction Guaranteed.^?; No. 6 S. Baltimore Street, GETTYSBURG, PA. Accumulated Wealth, Laying up of riches isn't the only thing in life, for fre-quently a sour disposition is the result. You want to take comfort in life as you go along, one of the best ways to take comfort is to buy well-fit-ting clothing. My Spring Styles are now here and the selection is large and varied. Suits made to your order from $12 up. Pressing and Repairing done at short notice. ). D. UPPV, ^sss^ 43 Chambersburg St., GETTYSBURG, PA. -DEALER IN— Hats, Skirts, Shoes, Ties, Umbrellas, Glcvn Satchels, Hose, rPocket (Books, Trunks, Telescopes, (Rubbenl Etc., Etc. AMOS ECKERT. BCX^:R,:DI::LTG By Day, \Afeel FOII CATAMItiUK AMI JOUKNAI. TO lj»B t':, Eev. 0. L. KBBDT^A. II., M. D., President, Hagerstown, Hd. j. A TAWNEY" -mm ready to furnish clubs and boarding houses BREAD, ROLLS, ER, ^ ^ PHOTOGRAPHED, SS Balto. St., GETTYSBURG. SPECIAL ATTENTION PAID TO C0JLMG1H Wmil BATTLEFIELD YIEWS ALWAYS ON HAND. MAIL ORDERS RECEIVE PROMPT ATTENTION. ADVERTISEMENTS. *R.$H.$REININGER,«> MERCHANT TAILOR e tatt Work at %) NEXT DOO^ TO $ Suits from $12,00 to $10,1 Lowest Prices. V p?|T ST 0AmS CE' ? Pants ^m WO to 9V C , PICTURE FRAMES. Baltimore street, Gettysburg, Pa. FURNITURE. Settysburg, !Penn'a, -WILL FIND THE-Cumberland Valley R. R. running in a South-Westerly direction from Harrisbnrg, Pa., through Carlisle, Chambersburg, Hagerstown and Martinsburg to Winchester, Va., a direct and available Q route from the North, East and West to Gettysburg, Pa., via. Harrisbnrg and Carlisle. Through tickets via. this route on sale at all P. E. R. offices, and baggage checked through to destination. Also, a popular route to the South via. Carlisle. Ask for your tickets via. Ctuntelanil Valley Railroad anil Carlisle, Pa, J. F. BOYD, Superintendent. H. A. RIDDLE, Gen. Passenger Agent. rPH. H. fylMNlCtl, ^^~w*~*~*~T"TT^—TWIIIIM IIW I Il'l Wllll—^l Mantifdctnrer, Wholesale and (ionfeetionepv,! OYSTERS Manvfartmer, Retail Dealer in -^Q AND O^- IN- |ee (§>i*eam. ] SEASON. NEWS DEPOT & SUBSCRIPTION AGENCY. Main street, - - Gettysburg, F=e>. SOLE MANUFACTURER OF DR. TYLERS COUGH DROPS SIMON X^ODORT .DEALER IN. BEEF, PORK, LAMB, VEAL, SAUSAGE, York Street, Gettysburg. peoial Rates to Clubs.ia R. A. WONDERS' Corner Cigar ZParlors. -A PTJLL LINE OF., CIGARS, TOBACCOS, PIPES, &C, Scott's Cor. Opp. Eagle Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa ADVliRTISUMKNTS. gOLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS S SURGEONS, The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Balti-more, Maryland, is a well-equipped school. Four ses-sions are required for graduation. For full informa-tion send for the annual catalogue, or write to THOMAS OPIE, M. D., Dean, Cor. Calvert and Saratoga Sts. t-S^Established \&j6.^~r-> WATSHMAKER AND Gettysburg Souvenir Spoons, College Souvenir Spoons, No. 10 Baltimore Street, GETTYSBURG, PENN'A. John n. Minnigh^ ^onfeetionepxj (Jjee^peam, OYSTERS Stewed and Fried. No. 17 Baltimore St. GETTYSBURG, PA., - Main sh FP.EE BUS TO AND FROM ALL T^AIH RATES $1J?o PER DAY. SQ) Seeojtjucfs Watk tfirara EBtSterr Depot. DINNER WITH DRIVE OVER FIEID WITH 4 OR MORE 111 Ji Li HUGHES; PBOPRI Calvin F. Solt, 2nd Floor Spangler Building, dfhe fashionable dfailc: Satisfaction Suaranteed. Prices to Suit (h? Tine:. I Webster's Send a Postal for Specimen Pages, etc. International Successor of the " Unabridged." Dictionary; c THE BEST FOR TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS BECAUSE IN THIS DICTIONARY It is easy to find the word wanted. It is easy to ascertain the pronunciation. It is easy to learn what a word means. It is easy to trace the growth of a word. o _ Sic:—elarrcl of the TJ. S. Supremo Court, of all the State Supreme Courts, of the (■) u. U. Government Printing Ofiice, and of nearly all tho Schoolbooks. Warmly com- I "otl by Stato Superintendents of Schools and other Educators almost without number. 'The Pennsylvania School Journal says:—The Internationa] Webster is a tTCCCuro Itouse of universal knowledge to which all the world, in all its ages, has made ccatri) , and any ono of us may nave it at his elbow. Of itj half hundred bpeoial-cf value and importance, the most attractive to uo i.i itj otymolopy, an un-failin :. i iiirce of interest and enjoyment, ofteu of surpriseand wonder.—OCTOM'EI:, 18%. G. & C. HEKRIA9I CO., Publishers. Springfield, Mass. The College Metcufy. fOL. V. GETTYSBURG, PA., JULY, 1897. No. THE COLLEGE MEfiCUfiY', blished each month during the college year by the Students of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. ■ SMITH, 'g8. : E. FLECK '98. : W. WOODS, '9! STAFF. Editor: E. L. ,KOLLER, '98. Associate Editors : J. H. MEYER, '99. J. H. BEERITS, '99. H, C'. ROEHNER, '99. R. D. CLARE, 1900. Alumni Association Editor: REV. D. FRANK GARLAND, A. M., Taneytown, Md. Business Manager: J. W. WEETER, '99. Assistant Business Manager: j. A. MCALLISTER, '98. T f One volume (tell months), . . . $1.00 1 ERMS ■ j Single copies, . . ' . . 15 Payable in advance .11 students are requested to hand us matter for publication, he Alumni and ex-members of the College will favor us by sending information concerning their whereabouts or any items they may think would be interesting for publication. All subscriptions and business matters should be addressed to the Business Manager. Matter intended for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address, THE COLLEGE MERCURY, Gettysburg, Pa CONTENTS. COMMENCEMENT WEEK, - 79 BACCALAUREATE SERMON, - - 79 ADDRESS TO Y. M. C. A , 80 CONCERT BY THE MUSICAL CLUBS, 80 JUNIOR ORATORICAL CONTEST, 81 CLASS DAY EXERCISES, 8r CLASS AND FRATERNITY BANQUETS, - - - - 82 COMMENCEMENT ORATIONS, 84 GRADUATES AND HOME ADDRESSES, - - 85 DEGREES CONFERRED, 8? CLASS POEM, '97, --■-• --- .*.* g- UGHTH ANNUAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT, - - - - gg A RESUME OF ATHLETIC MATTERS, - - . 86 COLLEGE LOCALS, . 87 MOVEMENTS OF OUR ALUMNI IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS, - SS AMERICA'S NOBLE SON, - " STATE POLITICS IN PENNSYLVANIA. - - - - - 9o COWIWIENCEIVIENT WEEK. SUNDAY, MAY 30 TO FRIDAY, JUNE 4. Commencement is over. The class of '97 have been graduated and have gone. The ex-ercises of the past week have been of the most enjoyable nature, and everything has been done without a flaw—truly a grand success. For the greater part of the week we were fort-unate in having the most perfect days for our Commencement, especially Wednesday, and. this added in no small degree to the magnifi-cent success of the whole occasion. The Senior class who have just been gradu-ated, will indeed be missed from the ranks of old Gettysburg. Their successes in literary matters and in athletics have raised them to such a position in the estimation of all the un-dergraduates that we feel as if the vacancies occasioned in all departments of college ac-tivity by their departure will indeed be hard to fill. While we do not believe in all this talk about "fighting the battle of life," etc., yet the MERCURY hopes that each and every member of the class of '97 will attain the best of success in whatever they undertake. The order of exercises during the week will be followed in the recounting, just as they oc-curred, and the most important events will be given. BACCALAUREATE SERMON. COLLEGE CHURCH, SUNDAY, IO.30 A. M. The Commencement exercises of the Col-lege and Seminary opened in Christ Lutheran church, Sunday morning. The Baccalaureate sermon was delivered by Rev. M. Valentine, D. D. LL,. D., President of the Theological Seminary, to the graduating classes of both institutions. He based his remarks upon the 18th verse of the 4th chapter of the Second 8o THE COLLEGE MERCURY. Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen ; for the things which are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen are eternal." The theme of the discourse was based on the right relation of the things of life to per-manent good. Life has its rightful setting in the perspective of eternity. Every life is a failure which is not directed toward the invisi-ble things which endure. The discourse was a masterful one and no partial report could do it justice. Dr. Valentine, in all his many scholarly sermons from the College church pulpit seldom, if ever, surpassed the effort of Sunday, May 30th. ADDRESS"TOT. M. C. A. COLLEGE CHURCH, SUNDAY, 7.3O P. M. In the evening an earnest and forcible ad-dress was delivered to the Young Men's Chris-tian Association of the College, by Hon. W. N. Ashman, of Philadelphia. His discourse was founded on answers to certain objections to religion as raised by men of business and men of science. The speaker argued that the principles and truths of the Christian religion could be fully established when tried by the same tests as are applied in the determination of ordinary busi-ness propositions. The element of the supernatural in religion prevented the application of the rules and methods of scientific investigation where ma-terial facts and substances alone are dealt with. The scientific man is therefore unfair when he applies his methods to the examination of re-ligious questions. The large audience was highly edified with the Judge's clear, forcible, earnest and ex-haustive presentation of the subject. The music at the morning and evening serv-ices was an attractive feature of the session. It was furnished by the highly efficient choir of the church, assisted by Miss Leopold, in-structor of vocal music at Wilson College, who sang several beautiful solos with fine effect, Mr. Segrist, of Lebanon, playing the organ accompaniments. 1 » » CONCERT BT THE MUSICAL CLUBS. BRUA CHAPEL, TUESDAY, EIGHT P. M. The concert this year was a grand success in every way. The audience was without doubt the largest that has ever attended a concert by our musical clubs, and their ability to appre-ciate the selections of the clubs was shown by their judicious applauding, enthusiastic for the humorous songs, and appreciative for the more classic selections. The best selections render-ed were the opening ones of each part, "Schu-bert's Serenade," arranged by C. Kuntze, and "Lead Kindly Light," by Dudley Buck, al-though the humorous encores seemed to elicit the heartiest applause from the boys. Our glee club is to be congratulated upon its excel-lent taste in the selection and rendition of music that is undoubtedly far above that sung by the average glee club; and the college may well feel proud in having had a glee club of such pronounced ability during this year. Four of the eight have been graduated this commencement, Messrs. Ott, White, Arm-strong and Manges, and they will be greatly missed. Our hope is that the next year's class may have excellent material to fill the breach, The stage on Tuesday evening was very taste-fully decorated with potted plants, palms, with the class flower of '97, the daisy. The whole affair was one of beauty, both to the eye and ear. PROGRAMME. PART I. i. Schubert's Serenade, - - arr. C. Kuntze GLEE CLUB. 2. The Serenade, VIOLIN CLUB. 3. Recitation—The Swan Song, Miss GERTRUDE SIEBER, 4. Solo—The Old Grave Digger, • A. G. Henderson MR. MANGES. 5. The Phantom Band, - ' - - A. W. Thayer GLEE CLUB. 6. Violin Solo-Obertass, - - - H. Wieniawski MR. ERDMAN. THK COLLKGK MERCURY. ,r- Lead Kindly Light, Dudley Buck Selected Franz Abt GLEE CLUB. 2. Quartette—(Instrumental) VIOLIN CLUB. 3. Solo—Because I Love You Dear, Mr. NICHOLAS. 4. The Wandering Minstrel's Patrol, - Willis Clark GLEE CLUB. 5. Quartette—(vocal) Selected. Messrs. NICHOLAS, WHITE, KOLLEB and MANGES. . 6. Good Night, - Frank Thayer GLEE CLUB. ORGANIZATIONS. GLEE CLUB. 1st Tenors, C. M. Nicholas, '98 17. W. Ott, '97 1st Bass, E L. Roller, '98 C. T. Lark, '98 2nd Tenors. C. G. White, '97 E. A. Armstrong, 2nd Bass, Lewis C. Manges, '98 Harry Musselman. VIOLIN CLUB. H. B. Erdman, '96 C. T. Lark, '98 John M. Gates, '01 A. T. Smith, '00 ELOCUTIONIST, Miss Gertrude Sieber, '97 PIANIST, Geo. A. Englar, '97 JUNIOR ORATORICAL CONTEST. BRUA CHAPEL,, WEDNESDAY, IO A. M. The contest this year, by the six members f the class of '98, for the Recklig prize iu ora-tory, has been pronounced, by those who are competent judges of such matters, better than any for the past few years. There were but Ex contestants, three from each of the Liter-ary societies, but the number was large enough |o make the exercises interesting and not tire-me. The music for the intermissions was famished by the Harrisburg orchestra. The attendance was very large, and, with the ex-ception of the stir and bustle made by those coming and going, excellent order was ob-served throughout. It might be well to say, a word, to the coming Junior class, that they fcould do well to start early to make their preparations for next year's Junior Oratorical, and not only get their best men to compete, put also see that these men do their best. PROGRAM. MUSIC—' Gay Coney Island March"—M. Levi. PRAYER. MUSIC—"Anita" (Mexican Waltzes)—Barnard. The New Slavery, CHARLES E. FLECK* New Kingston Tragedies of the Present. CHARLES M. NICHOLAS,! Beerett, Md. MUSIC—A Kansas Two Step—Pryor. The Emancipation of Cuba, CHARLES B. KEPHART,* Taneytown, Md. True Nobility, ALBERTUS G. Fuss,t Williamsport, Md. MUSIC—Intermezzo (Cavalleria Rusticana)—Mascagni. America's Noble Son, IRA G. BRINER,* New Bloomfield The Present Social Discontent RALPH L. SMITH,! Pittsburg MUSIC—March, "The Girl of '99"—Zickel. BENEDICTION. *Phrenakosmian. fPhilomathsean. The judges, Dr. Weigle, of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Rev. A. R. Steck, pastor of St. James Lutheran church, Gettysburg, and Rev. D. W. Woods, pastor of the Presbyterian church, Gettysburg, made their decision as follows : REDDIG PRIZE IN ORATORY. IBA G. BEINEB, New Bloomfield, Pa. WITH HONOEABLE MENTION OF CHAELES E. FLECK New Kingston, Pa. CHAELES M. NICHOLAS Beerett, Md. Mr. Briner's oration, "America's Noble Son," is published in the Literary Department of this issue. CLASS DAY EXERCISES. COLLEGE CAMPUS, WEDNESDAY, 2 P. M. To some, these exercises by the graduating class constitute the most enjoyable feature of the whole Commencement. And they really are a diversion from the somewhat heavy na-ture of the matter of Commencement week. It lias been the custom to hold the exercises on Tuesday evening of Commencement week, but the change to Wednesday afternoon, has certainly been to make it more convenient for everyone concerned. On the occasion of this year's Class Day exercises, everything seemed to join to make them successful in every way. The afternoon was the most pleasant that could have been desired—not too warm and a slight breeze through the branches above the speakers' platform and the audience made these out-door exercises a delightful affair. 82 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. The platform was decorated with the '97 class colors, nile green and pink, and with potted plants, and the class flower—the daisy. Benches and chairs were provided for the large crowd that was present and all were comfort-ably fixed. The music was furnished by the Commencement Orchestra. The Seniors, in cap and gown, were all seated on the speakers' platform, and certainly made an imposing spectacle. In spite of the general strain of humor and roasting notice-able in all the speeches, there was nevertheless an under-current of sadness at parting, deep down beneath this gay exterior of mirth. Many of the parts were excellent, and we are sorry that space will not permit our pub-lishing several of the papers, for a very meagre idea of the character of them can be gotten from the program. PROGRAM. Muster 01' Ceremonies,.:.: :.: :::: BIKLK MUSIC. Class Roll ^!V.K-.::-.:::::y.v.w.v.-.-.v.-:.v.v. WHITE Ivy OMitIo&i:::'.v.»»i:»u:s'.u.'.u»usisn ENGLAR Ivy Poem,.; :.OTT MUSIC. . Ciass History,. '■■'■ • KAIN Class Poem FRIDAY-Our Absent Ones, BUTTON ■ MUSIC. The Loving Cup ERB Conferring of Degrees , MILLER Miintlc Qrationv, .'. LEISENKING Junior Response LABK MUSIC. Presentation of Gifts,. WOLF Prophecy WHEELER MUSIC. At "the close of the exercises, after the mo-tion for adjournment had been put and passed, the class yell was given. (LASS AND FRATERNITY BANQUETS. TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY NIGHTS. This Commencement was made especially interesting by the several reunions of classes and fraternities, thus bringing back to the old walls those who have been away for many years. Three of the classes, '82, '87 and '93 held reunions, and two of the fraternities, the Alpha Tau Omega, and the Phi Delta Theta. The seniors, also, held their banquet, Thursday night. THE FIRST REUNION OP '93. TUESDAY NIGHT. [Written for the MERCURY by Rev. Diffenderfer, '93.] In reply to the call of the Secretary of the class, Rev. A. J. Rudisill, of New Bloomfield. twenty of the survivors of the class assembled at the Eagle Hotel, on Tuesday evening, June 1st. At 8 p. m., they attended the concerto: the musical clubs in Brua Chapel, in a body. There was a strong temptation to renew old-time customs and habits when some familiar faces entered. An occasional "guy" and out-burst of friendly joking, and a hearty applause for the clubs were the only features of interest. Immediately after the concert was over, the class gathered at the tower door of the chapel and gave their good old yell with a vim and ring, that made the dead spirits of former days arise and hover about them in eager expecta-tion for some old-time trick, or class-rush. At 10.00 p. m., all went to the dining hall of the Eagle Hotel to partake of the splendid "banquet" which "Mine host" Eberhart had prepared. The dining hall was beautifully decorated with plants and palms, and bloom-ing flowers. In the centre of the room, at tie head of the table, was placed a beautiful dis-play of colored electric lights, on a background of Class colors. The bill of fare was elabor-ately prepared, and served in the best style. Mr. Eberhart and his efficient corps of waiter-did all they could to make the banquet a grand success. Well, did we have any fun? There U Niels L. J. Gron, our Danish brother, with his sedate and dignified bearing; dreaming of some fair and beautiful form which had presented to his sight in some far off across the sea. "Niels" looks as genteel refined as ever, ready at a moment's noticett| say "maecanos el evis," etc. Then "Bisl Grimes' calm, sedate, peaceful countenance wondering why Prof. Himes didn't call 011M to recite, as it was his "turn up," and Frank' THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 83 Melanchton Bortner with his favorite ■Penn'a Dutch" brogue, saying to Dr. Martin, "I am sitting on the front row, and never of-fered any criticism, but made that noise.'' And I'Judge" Alleman, with his serious counte-lance and dignified demeanor, wondering 'What the deuce we can get up to start a racket." And "Bill" Vastine, the Catawissa iase ball magnate, singing his beautiful ('falsetto," to "The Old Oaken Bucket," and leclaring that either he or Prof. Nixon must |ake more physical exercise, or travel with a Dime Museum. Then think of "Sail" Tur-ber "kicking" about the bill of fare not pro-biding the extras, "Mumm's Dry," etc., rais-ing a row about everything in general, then laughing at the excitement he had caused. Ime old "Ajax," boisterous and demonstra-te Andrew Jackson Rudisill, who always vas the "noisiest" man about the Dormitory. Then all the others, Geesy, Kline, Hilton, 3aum, "Neudy," "Whiskers" Ehrhart, oh, they were all boys back to college again, and "Diff," the Proctor, as lenient as ever. A beautiful menu card had been engraved by E. A. Wright, the class cut on first page, ind menu in class colors next, toast and offi-cers following: Toast master, Hilton. "Our First Reunion,'' E. Gettier; "Our Alma Mater," G. M. Mffenderfer; "The Future Prospects of a Col-lege Widow," E. E. Parsons; "Daw: What it is, and What it Does," F. M. Bortner; "The Traveller in all Eands," N. L. J. Gron; "Gos-pel: What it is, and what it Does," M. J. nine; "Eife in a University," E. E. Seyfert; "The Blessings of a Bachelor," E. E. Neude-vitz; "High Eife at Washington," J. C. Bow-rs; "Fun we had in College," W. M. Vastine; "Pleasures of a Doctor's Eife," M. S. Boyer; "What '93 Did for Athletics," G. E- Hipsleyj 'Our Honored Dead," W. H. Ehrhart; "Our lost," A. J. Rudisill. In the "wee small" hours of the morning ye adjourned, after having passed a Resolu-tion to meet again in 1900, the same commit-tee to be continued. What a pleasure it was to meet again amid these old familiar scenes; even the town "kids" recognized us and shouted "there goes '93." Let us all endeavor to be present in 1900, if we live, and make it the occasion of our life, and aii epoch in the history of the College. REUNION OP '82. [Written for the MERCURY.] The reunion of '82 was held at the Eagle Hotel, on Wednesdaj' evening of Commence-ment week. The menu was excellent—such as the Eagle knows how to arrange—and all the old fellows who were back enjoyed this part immensely. The banquet was not marked by its lengthy addresses or "toasts," but there was a general good social time had, and the whole affair was very informal. Of course we all had to tell what happened since we met last, and this really constituted a greater pleasure than "toasts" would have af-forded. The proposal of a reunion at Phila-delphia in the near future was met with ap-plause. Of the twenty-three living members of the class, there were thirteen present at the banquet. . REUNION OF '87. [Written for the MERCURY by Rev. H. C. Allemau, '87.] The announced reunion of the class was abandoned because so few of the boys could be present at Commencement this year. Charles E. Stahle, Esq., invited the six faithful who made the pilgrimage to his home Wednesday evening, where an impromptu reunion was en-joyed. Those present were Parr, Crouse, Sny-der, Snively, Wolf and Alleman. After re-freshments the silver class-cup was presented to Harold F. Snyder, the first son of'87, born May 19, 1891. Regrets were read from Hol-zapfel, Coover, Croll, Brame, Fishburn, Fisher, McDermod, Dreibelbis and Bateman. "Non vi sed saepo cadendo" was again ex-tolled, and pledges made for social meetings every year and a reunion every decade. ALPHA TAU OMEtJA BANQUET. WEDNESDAY NIGHT. The Banquet was held at the Eagle Hotel at 11.30. Many of the Alumni of the Chapter ,84 THK COU,EGK MKRCURY. were present, making an attendance of twenty-three in all. The toasts were as follows : Franklin Menges, Ph. D., '86, Toast Mas-ter; Geo. M. Hosack, Esq., "TheFraternity;" L. DeWitt Gerhardt, Esq., '84, "Our Early Days;" Morris T. Brown, '92, "A. T. O. in Business;" F. M. Bortner, Esq., '93, "A. T. O. in the Professions;" Win. O. Nieklas, Esq., '94, "College Reminiscences of an A. T. O.;" W. H. Menges, '96, "The Spirit of Our Alumni;" C. B. Erb, '97, "Our Ladies;" J. A. McAllister, '98, "The Goat." PHI DELTA THETA BANQUET. WEDNESDAY NIGHT. The Hotel Gettysburg was the place of the banquet. The Ahunni of the Chapter helped to add to the spirit of the occasion by their presence. The toasts were as follows : Rev. H. H. Weber, Toast Master. "Why We are Here," Rev. L. S. Black, '88; "Our Position in the Fraternity World," J. S. Eng-lish, '94; Our Alumni Phi's," G. H. Eckels, '95; Our College Phi's," J. H. Beerits, '99; "A Phi's Start in Life," J. W. Ott, '97; "Our Bumper Billy," B. F. Carver, '00; "My New Guardians," Rev. M. J. Killian, Va. Alpha; "Phi Recollections," B. R. Lantz, '94; "Next Year's Chapter," J. C. Markle, '00. SENIOB CLASS BANQUET. THURSDAY NIGHT. A very fitting close to the existence of '97 at Gettysburg, was the Banquet held at the Hotel Gettysburg, on Thursday night. The intention was to have a final reunion of the class and its ex-members before the class leaves. Ten ex-members were invited to be present, some of whom responded. The Ban-quet was a purely informal affair, its object being, as expressed by one of the Seniors, to have "a good time;" and from all accounts they had it. There were twenty present, and little informal addresses were made by R. N. Stable, H. Sheely, and C. G. Smith, M. D., ex-members of'97, and by C. B. Erb, White Hutton and P. J. Shriver, of the graduating class. The menu was an excellent one, and from many sources and for many reasons, we know that everybody had "a good time." (OHMENCEM ENT ORATIONS. BY THE TEN MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATING! CLASS, BRUA CHAPEL, THURSDAY, 9 A. M. Up to Thursday, the weather during Com-I mencement week was of the finest, but on the■ morning of Commencement day, it rainedl quite heavily for some time. However, the I audience that assembled in the Chapel to hear the orations, did not seem to be at all fright-ened by the unfavorable condition of the elej rnents and the Chapel was well filled. ORDER OF EXERCISES. MUSIC—March "Corps do Sards"—Oodfrej. PRAYER. MUSIC-Melody in F-Eu.binstein. Latin Salutatory GEORGE F ABEL, Philadelptil Chri-tian Socialism, ELKANAH M, DUCK, Spring Mill The Extiniof the Laborer'sGrievance, ARTHUR B. COBLE, Lyki«| MUSIC— "Pilgrim Chorus" (Tannhaonser)—Wagner. The Unification of Science GEORGE HAY KAIN, Vat| State Politics in Pennsylvania,.HORACE E. CLUTE, Harriskil The Chief Religious Problem of the Age, HENRY R. SMITH, Chamberslui|| MUSIC—March, "The American Girl"—Herbert, Physical Training for the Twentieth Century, CLIFTON G. WHITE, Manhtii| Greece and the European Concert, ROBBIN B. WOLF, Gettysbnil MUSIC—"Bolero" (Spanish Dance)—Moszkowsky. Sixty Years of Queen Victoria, A. GERTRUDE SIEBER, Gettysbin| The Curtitls for To day, with Valedictory, HENRY WOLF BIKLE, Gettysteq| MUSIC -"Im Tiefen Keller" Fantasie—Lovenberg. CONFERRING OF DEGREES BY THE PRESIDENT. MUSIC-March, "Old Club "—Schremser. BENEDICTION. HONORS AND PRIZES. FIRST HONOR. HENRY WOLF BIKLE Gettysburg. GEORGE F. ABEL Philadelphia. ELKANAH M. DUCK Spring Mills. SECOND HONOR. HORACE E. CLUTE, Harrisburg. G. HAY KAIN York. ANNA G. SIEBER, (two years) Gettysburg GR/EFF PRIZE, FOR BEST E9SAV ON 7HE RELIGIOUS FAITH OF ROBERT BURNS. AS SHOWN IN HIS PO*' GEORGE F. ABEL Philadelphia. | WITH HONORABLE MENTION OP HENRY WOLF BIKLE Gettysburg. THE COEEEGE MERCURY. 85 HASSLER GOLD MEDAL, JUNIOR LATIN PRIZE. B>MUND W. MEISENHELDER York. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF b. L. KOLLER, Hanover. BtALPH L. SMITH Pittsburg BAUM SOPHOMORE MATHEMATICAL PRIZE. feRTHUR S. BRUMBAUGH Roaring Spring. BOS. N. K. HICKMAN Steelton. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF &ACOB D. SNYDER McKnightstown. J(HIX F. STALEY, Middletown. [WHEN 0. DIEHL Bedminster. MUHLENBERG FRESHMAN PRIZE. FOR BEST GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP. OTHER A. WEIGLE Mechanicsburg. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF [WILLIAM W. FREY York. BEDDIC PRIZE IN ORATORY. [iKA G. BRINER ; New Blcomfield. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF EA.RLES E. FLECK, New Kingston. 3ARLES M. NICHOLAS, Berrett, Md. ♦—♦—♦ I GRADUATES AND HOME ADDRESSES. BACHELOR OF ARTS. George Ferdinand Able, Philadelphia, Pa. [Ernest Adelbert Armstrong, Hellam, Pa. [Henry Wolf Bikle, Gettysburg, Pa. :harles Roy Coble, Eykens, Pa. jthur Byron Coble, Lykens, Pa. Elkanah Maximillian Duck, Spring Mills, Pa. [George William Englar, Linwood, Md. Frederick Whipp Friday, Jefferson, Md. White Hutton, Chambersburg, Pa. Bamuel Jacob Miller, Edgemont, Md. John William Ott, Rocky Ridge, Md. Pearl Johnston Shriver, Gettysburg, Pa. Anna Gertrude Sieber, Gettysburg, Pa. Henry Rouzer Smith, Chambersburg, Pa. William Rufus Stahl, Hay's Mills, Pa. Philip Thos.Em'y Stockslager,Funkstown,Md. William Edward Wheeler, Baltimore, Md. [Clifton Glemm White, Manheim, Pa. [obbin Bayard Wolf, Gettysburg, Pa. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE. Horace Edwin Clute, Harrisburg, Pa. Charles Eeroy Boyer Erb, Boyertown, Pa. George Hay Kain, York, Pa. Fran'l'n Schoch Eeisenring,Chambersburg,Pa. r^wis Clarence Manges, Felton, Pa. John Elmer Meisenhelder, Hanover, Pa. Class Motto—Pertinax Animo. Class Colors—Pink and Nile Green. Class Flower—Daisy. Class Yell— Pertinax Animo, Rah ! Rah !.! Rah ! ! ! Ninety-Seven, Ninety-Seven, Gettysburgia. ~*-~^ ♦- DEGREES CONFERRED. COMMENCEMENT DAY JUNE 3. A. M. Prof. H. A. Allison, '94, Rev. R. W. Mottern, '94 " c- p- Bastian, 94, • koehuer, c f. Burns, p Herman, 1. f. Brown, r f. Spealman, r. f Wolf, 1. f. Loudon, r. f. Lawyer, r. t Gettysburg College, Opponents, 273 ::s 63 269 19 12 S". .11 .125 .875 .292 .171 .340 .233 .304 .222 .000 .200 .000 .143 .231 .15fi Pastor of the Quincy charge, in Franklin ounty, Pa. '94- Rev. Matthew S. Kemp, of Hazleton, Pa., has received a call from Smithsburg, Pa. Mr. Kemp graduated last week from Gettys-burg Seminary. '94. Fred. Bloomhardt, of the University of Pennsylvania, spent a short time at his home Tiring the latter part of May. >" AMERICA'S NOBLE SON. JNIOR PRIZE ORATION BY I. G. BRINER. We are to-day standing upon sacred ground. Q the war of '63 these hills and mountains echoed and re-echoed with the cannon's awful roar. For three days the mighty columns of the Southern Confederacy surged against our hues. Sometimes our phalanx faltered. Some-times it broke. But in the final and awful charge, made by Pickett's men, victory was forever emblazoned upon our immaculate ban-ner. To-day, behold ! how changed. The gory and tattered flag has been cleansed by more than three decades of sweet peace and wel-comed prosperity. In our National Cemetery those, who loved their country and their homes better than their lives, now repose in silent sleep. Their tombs are covered with earth's richest mantle. By their side stand stately trees with waving boughs and wide spreading branches. Over them the happy children scatter fragrant flowers, while the sun looks down, from the vaulted sky, and smiles. The relatives and friends of the heroes come close to those mounds and shed a loving and parting tear. But even weeping will not make sacred this ground. In his dedicatory speech Abraham Lincoln said, "We cannot hallow this ground, the brave men living and dead who fought here, have hallowed it far above our powers to add or detract." Not only do we revere and honor the meni-of those who sleep here, but we would hold in grateful remembrance every man who has p'-oven a friend and defender of our national faith and honor. Many there are to whom we can point with pride. Men, who, on the bat-tlefield, exhibited the greatest skill, bravery and courage. Those, when duty called, pressed forward into the thickest of the con-flict, that our freedom might be won and our beloved Union preserved. Those, when en-trusted with national honor, had dignity and manhood enough to keep it pure and unsullied. Among the host of such Americans shines, in undimmed splendor and glory, the name of* Ulysses S. Grant. His deeds of courage and bravery, his genuine high statesmanship and Christian character will ever be remembered and held in high esteem by all men who love the land of the free and the home of the brave. In our sister state, only four weeks ago was dedicated to his memory a beautiful and mas-sive memorial. By this act a premium was placed upon the actions of great and good men. This silent witness, as its beauty is reflected in the peaceful waters of the Hudson, is but a slight token of the Nation's gratitude for him. Historians tell us, as a soldier General Grant stood without a peer. To him was entrusted the closing scenes of an awful conflict. In him the nation saw a leader fearless and un-daunted as well as tender and kind. When his forces stormed Fort Donelson with heavy charges, the commander asked for terms. THE COLLEGE MERCURY General Grant replied : "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I purpose to move immediately upon your works." On the other hand, when Lee was over-powered and the Southern army shattered, it was General Grant who proposed that the soldiers who had horses should retain them. He said, "The men will need them in plowing their fields, when they return to their homes." During the four years of this civil strife he had the confidence and esteem of soldiers and officers. With a unanimity that was never disturbed by an audible voice of dissent, the two million veterans gave to him supremacy over all the other officers under whom they served. The battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Five Forks have immortalized his name among the greatest generals of the earth. How beautiful thus to see blended in one man true humanity, mingled with pure patriotism and undaunted courage. When our beloved country was yet tremb-ling and groaning from the shock received by the Civil war, news came to General Grant that he had been nominated for President of the United States. In his letter of acceptance he penned the words which are sweetest to those who have seen the horrors and ravages of war: ' 'Let us have peace.'' But this man was opposed to even having peace until he was sure it would be universal and abiding. Later in his official capacity he affirms that he would have "no policy to enforce against the will of the people." His entire adminis-tration is a living testimony that these words came forth from a heart radiant with truth. The character of this great man stands out clear and strong. Those that know him best saw in him a man in the truest sense of the term. Other men might be swerved from the path of duty by the temptations so numerous and strong in public life, by disappointed and coveting office seekers, by streams of immor-ality and waves of infidelity, but General Grant turned these discouragements and sins into stepping stones by which he arose to where his character to-day shines with tin-dimmed luster. When he assumed the functions of the Presi-dential office his highest ambition was to prove a worthy and trusted leader. He had learned through the great and far-reaching lessons taught by Jesus of Nazareth, "he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." He possessed abiding confidence! the honesty and intelligence of his coiuitr men, and always retained his deep holdup their affections. With Washington and Li: coin, Grant has an exalted place in our com try's history. When his monument was dedicated tha were present representatives from all brands of our Government, the resident officials < foreign nations, the Governors of the state and the sovereign people from every sectio of our common country. What a glowii tribute thus to pa}' to one who has reachedti; highest pinnacle of human distinction. Tt story of this man's life is worthy the conten plation of the ages. Now that beautiful memorial, honor of this General, Statesman, and Christian Gentleman, risees majesty before us. May it thus point us a individuals, and as a nation, to a higher splie of living, and clearer and more sublime fellow-ship with the God who rules the destiny rf Nations. erected i: President in siletl STATE POLITICS IN PENNSYLYANIl SENIOR ORATION, BY HORACE E. CLUTE, ') In examining the political situation in Pen sylvania we must feel, first of all, the needo! liberal point of view. If our position be thati patriots, we must consider all sides. It is nea less to say that this is, in its very nature, « a party question but one appealing to the leji imate interest of every loyal citizen of ti "laud of Penn." At a time when so much:: terest is being taken in the political affairs! our own Commonwealth, a broad basis for criticism must seem important. A certain gree of conservatism on the one hand, anda the other, an insistence on a full and da light on every part of our political svstea should characterize our consideration. In a question of this kind, the compart view will be found helpful to the broader bas we have referred to. What conditions at problems are met and settled in other state Nor need our range be confined to this con-try. European systems will be found uioreo less rich in political suggestion, when co: pared with our own. And we can readilyni derstand how a foreigner should be able! take this comparative view better perhaps tb any of us. The question touches us • closely. Professor Bryce, an Englishman eminence, furnishes, in his "American Cd THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 9i The! IS legit- I lb stec rafc bas ; as .ate :oE mi co: yd ile: tkjl ■an |Cc: I mwealth," an excellent illustration of this, onsiders the working and conditions of j"r political institutions in relation both to Hose of his own country and to each other in |e different sections and Commonwealths in ,is country. He says: "The spirit and force fcarty has, in America, been as essential to lie action of the machinery of government as team is to the locomotive engine. His view i briefly this: "in Europe the parties stand for jiiciples, in America they do not;" in the one 1'issues have never been lacking which Sought their respective principles into opera- En:" in the other "the chief practical issues which once divided the parties have been set-fled." In spite of the heated discussion and the definiteness in issue of the last-presidential campaign, we Americans cannot deny that fhere is much truth in his view and particu-larly as applied to State politics. What great principle does the Republican or the Demo-cratic party stand for in State elections? Does the citizen vote on some State issue or because R: wants his party to get the spoil? Bryce aptly says: "Bringing men up to the polls is like passing a stone roller over stones newly laid on a road." As the angularities in the stones are pressed out so individuality is merged into party. We fear this is what has happened very largely in Pennsylvania. Yet if asked to analyze the present political condition, we should say that it is perhaps nearer a transition, a revolution, from the existing order of things, than a solid-fying in them; recent indications seem to point in that direction. Prominent among these we might mention the withdrawal from power of a. U. S. Senator whose sway has extended for a number of years; though a candidate put forward by a boss took his place it was not without comparatively formidable opposition and the absence of the impliciteness with which many former behests were obeyed; and it is believed by some that if brought up now this candidate could not be elected. It is prob-ably true, as some one suggests, that the pres-ent legislature —the House at least—is more its own than in some former sessions. Citizens Reform Leagues and Associations, though aim-g more especially at municipal reform, show a marked tendency, not always appearing on e surface, to wipe out political corruption. The recent formation of Business Men's Leagues throughout the State, whatever news-papers may say about the aims of the leaders Jf the movement, shows a rebellion on the part 'fa very substantial proportion of our citizen-ship against the existing order of things. The recent exposure, on the part of contractors and others in possession of the facts, the waste of the people's money in "padded" bills, appro-priations, &c, may also be added to the gen-eral indications. We may think that a great hue and cry is raised about the corruption and degradation of Pennsylvania politics, and that the real con-dition is exaggerated. Perhaps the way to get anything like an accurate idea, is to investigate along the line of just what a real reform would mean, how many points it must touch, and how fundamental it must be, to cope with the enormousness of the task. It is not an overstatement to say that the system of bossism has in this State received flattering encouragement. (It is a continuation of the medieval "sale of indulgences" and we need a Luther to expose it!) It is the people we ought to censure, to censure the boss is a waste of breath. Yet we would not say this without two words, one as to the boss, the other from the side of the people. To one who says to us : "We need men of executive ability, bosses if you please," it is sufficient to reply simply by distinguishing the term "leader and boss;" by the former is suggested the idea of one who by natural selection or otherwise leads a new movement, by the latter the foreman of a gang of foreign laborers out in some Western railway cut; the arguments of the one are listened to; the orders of the other are mechanically obeyed. Why do the people endure it? Well, first of all, they have arrayed against them a machine, and to resist its clock-like movement is 110 easy matter. You will perhaps meet one class of persons who speak of "necessary evils." We deny their existence ! There is no reason under the sun, save the weakness of men, why our Commonwealth should not be a perfect Utopia! Eltwood Pomeroy, in the April Arena, char-acterizes another class." "I know of men," he says, "honest, honorable, capable, who have refused to vote for over a quarter of a century. They say it is no use." As cit-izens, however, we must remember that the use of that silent weapon, the ballot, is not only a privilege but a duty. Let us be sure that there are thousands in Pennsylvania who have not in their heart of hearts bowed the knee to the Baal of bossism. Perhaps no bet-ter counsel can be given to the true citizen than the words of the poet: "Be noble and the nobleness that lies In others, sleeping but never dead, Will rise in majesty to greet thine own." ADVERTISEMENTS. Classical Course for the Degree of A. B. II. Scientific Course for the Degree of B. S. III. Post-Graduate Course fcr the Degree of Ph. D. IV. Special Course in all Departments. V. Elective Studies in Junior and Senior Years. VI. New Testament Greek and Hebrew in English Bible Departinj Observatory, Laboratories and new Gymnasium. Four large buildings. All b heated with steam from central plant. Libraries, 25,000 volumes. Fine Museum. Expi low. Department of Hygiene and Physical Culture in charge of an experienced physid Accessible by frequent railroad trains. Location, on BATTLEFIELD of Gettysburg;" pleasant and healthy. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT, in separate buildings, for I and young men preparing for business or college, under special care of the principal andtl assistants, residing with students in the building. For full particulars, apply for catalog^ HARVEY w. MCKNIGHT, D. D., LL. D., ?m\ F@ras]?(]w*iiiiia (MUtege, Gettysburg
Issue 32.2 of the Review for Religious, 1973. ; Review ]or Religious is edited by faculty members of the School of Divinity of St. Louis University, the editorial offices being located at 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. It is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute; St. Louis, Missouri. Published bimonthly and copy-right (~) 1973 by Review ]or Religious. Composed, printed, and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. Single copies: $1.25. Sub-scription U.S.A. and Canada: $6.00 a year; $11.00 for two years; other countries, $7.00 a year, $13.00 for two years. Orders should indicate whether they are for new or renewal subscriptions and should" be accompanied by check or money order payable to Review ]or Religious in U.S.A. currency only. Pay no money to persons claiming to represent Review ]or Religious. Change of address requests should include former address. R. F. Smith, S.J. Everett A. Diederich, S.J. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Editor Associate Editor Questions and Answers Editor March 1973 Volume 32 Number 2 Renewals, new subscriptions, and changes of address should be sent to Review for Religious; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, Minnesota 55802. Correspondence with the editor and the associate editor together with manuscripts, books for review, and materials for "Subject Bibliography for Religious" should be sent to Review for Religious; 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gallen, S.J.; St. Joseph's Church; 321 Willings Alley; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106. Religious and Social. Security William Quinn, F.S. . Brother William Quinn,F.S.C., is the Assistant to the President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men of the USA; Suite 114; 1330 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20036. For some years the Internal Re~)enue Service of the U.S. Government has recognized that religious with the vow of poverty require a specific treatment under the law. In virtue of their vow of poverty, religious have no income in the sense in which this word is used by Internal Revenue Service. What-ever salary they might earn is in reality earned as an agent of their order, not for themselves personally. Because of this, religious have been exempt from the federal income tax; when the Social Security System was begun in 1936, .religious were excluded for the same reason: They had no income upon which to base the Social Security tax and which would serve to determine the level of benefits upon retirement or disability. In 1967 the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress passed legislation extending Social Security coverage to members of religious orders under a vow of poverty. However, when the matter was considered in the Senate, representatives of religious orders requested time for further study of the effects of coverage. The provision was not included in the Senate: passed bill which went to conference, and th~ conference agreed to post-pone the matter pending study of the orders. The status of religious under Social Security was not changed in the Social Security Amendments of 1967. The 1972 Provisions The provision for extending coverage to members of religious orders that is contained in the 1972 Amendments to the Social Security Act is based upon recommendations submitted to the Congress by a joint Social Security study committee, established by the two conferences of religious superiors in the U.S., LCWR and CMSM. 210 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 On October 30, 1972, President Nixon signed into law the Bill, H.R. 1, entitled Social Security Amendments of 1972; this Bill is now known as P.L. 92.603. The Bill provided many modifications in the existing Social Security legislation, but Section 123 is of particular interest to religious since its heading is: Coverage for Vow-of-poverty Members of Religious Orders. Religious orders are given the option of electing coverage under Social Security for their members under a series of rather well-defined conditions. The option is open-ended, that is, there is no time limit for when this option must be exercised, but it is irrevocable once it has been made. It will then be binding upon all present and all future members of the order. This new legislation recognizes the special situation of religious with the vow of poverty by creating for the purpose of Social Security coverage a unique definition of "wages": "The term 'wages' shall include the fair market value of any board, lodging, clothing, and other perquisites furnished to such member." Two things might be remarked about this definition: First, it is in no way related to the salary a particular religious might be receiving, and second, every religious in the order has an assignable "wage." The services performed by the religious might actually be carried out in an institution such as a school or hospital, but for the purposes of this Bill these services are deemed to be performed by the religious as an employee of the religious order. The obligation of paying the Social Security taxes members of the order falls upon the order, and not the particular institution for which the religious might be working. The effect of this legislation is to allow religious orders (or an autono-mous subdivision, such as a province or an independent monastery) the option of entering the Social Security system. The rates of taxation, the conditions for claiming disability, and the requirements for old-age benefits are the same for religious as all other participants in the Social Security pro-gram. A retroactive feature is built into the legislation, to allow the order to make the effective date of coverage any time'up to five years previous to the date of election of coverage. The order must pay the accumulated back taxes for all of its members, starting with the chosen effective date, but in so doing a number of older religious Will qualify immediately for old-age and Medicare benefits. The answers to specific questions about eligibility, tax rates, and bene-fits must be found in publicatigns of the Social Security Administration, or by consulting local offices of the Administration. These questions and answers are part of the daily routine of these offices and should not present any great difficulty. Special Questions Some questions, however, do pertain directly to religious, and some of these present rather difficult technical considerations. Examples of these Religious and Social Security might be: What is an autonomous subdivision of an order; are alien mem-bers of the order living in the United States covered; what about U.S.A. citizens, living and working in a foreign country; when is a religious retired? It is relatively easy to know when a lay worker in a business enterprise is retired. The case of one who stops working and who is no longer paid a salary is rather obvious, but even with the layman there may be some diffi-culty in establishing the fact of retirement. This would occur, for example, in the case of a self-employed person who would substantially reduce the time devoted to employment. In the case of a religious, where the "wage" is calculated on the basis of room and board and other perquisites furnished to him by the order, the question as to when the religious is to be considered as retired becomes more difficult. Retirement, for a religious under Social Security, is defined in the new legislation as the situation in which the religious no longer performs the duties usually required (and to the extent usually required) of an active member of the order. In spelling out the interpretation of this definition for the benefit of the religious superiors who will have to make the certification of retirement, the Social Security Administration calls attention to two con-siderations: a comparison of the nature of the work being performed before retirement with that performed after, and the amount of time devoted to this service. Should a sister, for example, be assigned to the motherhouse after fifty years of teaching and there devote herself to monitoring the phone, it is clear that she has retired. The case is more difficult, say, for a con-templative sister who gradually grows more feeble with age and who is not able to keep up the pace of former years. She is considered to be retired, for Social Security purposes, when the religious superior certifies that she is no longer able to perform the services required of active members. A Typical Illustration The operation of the new Social Security legislation could perhaps best be appreciated by considering a particular case as a typical illustration of how the law would work out in practice. Suppose, for example, that Brother John Doe, born in 1917, has taken a vow of poverty as a member of a re-ligious order. Suppose further thai the prov.ince of his order elects to partici-pate in Social Security by filing the appropriate Certificate of Election, with an effective date of January 1, 1973. The tables of eligibility for retirement benefits and for hospital insurance (Medicare) indicate that 31 quarters of coverage are needed in order to be fully insured; this means that Brother John Doe must have paid Social Security taxes on his "wages" for 31 quarters, at least, in order to be fully insured. An important parameter in the discussion is the amount of "wages" on which Brother John Doe pays the tax. This is an amount arrived at by the religious superior of his province as a result of considering the fair market 212 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 value of the board, lodging, clothing, and other perquisites furnished mem-bers of the province. Suppose for the sake of our illustration that this figure is $2,500 per year. The province, beginning in 1973, must pay a Social Se-curity tax for Brother John Doe at a rate of 11.7%, or $292.50 per year. The tax rate will remain at 11.7% until 1978, when it will increase to 12.1%. This rate will continue through 1980; from 1981-85 it will be 12.3%; 1986-1997 it will be 12.5%. This tax must be paid until Brother John Doe becomes disabled or until he retires. Brother John Doe will reach the age of 65 in 1982. At this time he may apply for old-age benefits. By 1982 he will have earned 36 quarters of coverage, and he will therefore be qualified for both retirement and Medi-care benefits. The amount of Brother's retirement benefits are calculated on the basis of his average "wage" over a period of 26 years (this number is given in a Social Security table, depending on date of birth and whether the person is a man or woman). In Brother John Doe's case his total earnings are 9 × $2,500 or $22,500; this divided by 26 gives his average yearly earn-ings as $865, or $72 a month. The Social Security Administration table of benefits indicates that Brother John Doe qualifies for the minimum benefit of $84.50 per month, or $1,014 per year. American Experience of Mortality Tables show that, on the average, men who reach age 65 will live another 15 years. Applying this figure to Brother John Doe gives his total old-age benefits as $15,210. Medicare Provisions After reaching 65, Brother John Doe automatically qualifies for Medi-care, Part A, the hospital insurance part of the health insurance program. This provides payment for services received as a bed patient in a hospital, or in an extended care facility, or at home as a patient up to 90 "hospital days" or 100 "extended care days" or 100 "homeohealth visits." The details of these benefits are spelled out in Your Medicare Handbook published by the Social Security Administration. After reaching age 65, Brother John Doe may elect to participate in Part B of Medicare which is a medical insurance program that helps pay for doctors' services, medical services and supplies, and other health care services. The cost of this insurance is reevaluated by the Government an-nually, but was $5.60 per month for the period July 1971-July 1972. Again, the details of this insurance program are contained in the same Handbook referred to above. Brother John Doe may continue to work after reaching age 65; should he do so, he will continue to pay Social Security on his wages. Further, the first $2,100 of his wages do not influence the old-age retirement benefits he receives, but the $400 beyond $2,100 (recall that our example set Brother John Doe's wages at $2,500) reduces his benefits by a proportion of one dollar for each two dollars earned over $2,100, or, in our example, by Religious and Social Security $200. Upon retirement, Brother John Doe would receive the full amount of his retirement benefit and would no longer pay the Social Security tax. Upon his death, a cash benefit of $251 is paid the beneficiary of Brother John Doe. However, for Social Security purposes Brother John Doe has no dependent survivors; after the deathbenefit is paid, no further benefits are paid on Brother John Doe's account. The Question Facing Each Religious Order Each religious order is now faced with a rather complex question-- what would be the economic consequence of exercising the option of joining the Social Security system. The order becomes liable to the Social Security tax on all its present members add all future members; it also gradually qualifies its members through quar.ters of coverage for the benefits of the Social Security program, chiefly disability, retirement, and Medicare. The order must make a careful evaluation of its age profile, its wage level, and its health and mortality experience.', to arrive at a prudent judgment as to lhe advisability of joining the Social Security program. The retroactive feature of P.IS. 92.605, Section 123, requires special consideration. This will allow religious who have recently retired, or those who will retire in the next several years, to qualify for full coverage, but the price that must be paid is the back Social Security tax for all members of the order who were active at the effective retroactive date. This date may be any number of quarters up to '~a maximum of 20 prior to the date of election of coverage. The effect of not choosing the retroactive feature is that some of the present older religious will not qualify for Social Security benefits, nor will they be eligible for Part A of Medicare after reaching age 65. Detailed information on Social Security matters is contained in the .publications listed below. Also, more specific reference to Social Security as it affects religious with a vow of poverty is given in the series of questions and answers that follow. Critical Social Security Questions Question 1. For purposes of the law relating to the Social Security coverage of religious (P.L. 92.603), what are considered wages? Answer. Wages for the purpose of this law shall include the fair market value of any board, lodging, clothing, and other perquisites furnished to a member by the order or autonomous subdivision thereof or by any other person or organization pursuant to an agreement with the order or subdivi-vision. Question 2. Does the law provide for a minimum or maximum amount for evaluated maintenance? Answer. The legislation specifically provides that the evaluated mainte-nance shall not be less than $100 per month. The maximum of course 214 / Review [or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 would be $10,800 under the 1972 amendments. The committee reports emphasize that the evaluation shall be on a reasonable basis. There is no indication that cost accounting principles must be applied. The committee reports also emphasize the understanding that there will be one established or evaluated wage for all of the members of the order regardless of the position which they occupy. Question 3. Are religious subject to both Social Security and income taxes? Answer. This law does not affect the vow of poverty but rather confirms it. Therefore, there would be no income tax liability on evaluated board and lodging. The Social Security taxes imposed on wages are limited by the law to orders which waive their tax exempt status for the limited purpose of Social Security coverage. Question 4. Will the religious be required to file any income tax forms? Answer. No, this law is not based on the self-employment concept as in ~the case of ministers. The only form filed is that which is required of tile employer; that is, the order or a subdivision thereof. Question 5. Who determines the level of income for a particular religious order or autonomous subdivision thereof? Answer. This is determined by the religious super:,or, based on a study of the actual situation existing with the members of the order or subdivi-sion thereof. Question 6. The order or subdivision thereof decides whether or not to come into the Social Security System; how is this decision made? Answer. The law does not specify how the decision is to be made. The provincial may get to~ether with the council and make the decision. Alterna-tively, the entire membership might be polled on the question. Question 7. If the order elects to come under Social Security, is this election irrevocable? Answer. Yes. Question 8. How many quarters of coverage are necessary in order to be fully insured under Social Security? Answer. Ultimately, the answer depends on the date of birth of the person being considered. It is necessary to go to a table supplied by the Social Security Administration to find the answer to this question. It should be observed here that, depending on the age of the individual, it may not be necessary to have as many quarters of coverage to secure Medicare coverage. This too depends on Social Security Administration tables. Question 9. Is it economically advantageous for a religious order to participate in Social Security? Answer. It is difficult to give a generalized answer to this question. It must be determined for each individual order. Three of the most signifi-cant factors are: the level of wages of the members of the order, the age distribution of the members of th+ order, and the benefits which would be Religious and Social Security / :215 receivable, that is, old age and survivors benefits, Medicare coverage and disability insurance and death benefits. Question 10. What retirement benefits are paid to a retired religious who has been fully insured under Social Security? Answer. This depends on the level of "income" on which the religious paid Social Security taxes during the years he was acquiring the necessary number of quarters of coverage; however, there is a minimum benefit paid to everyone who has the requisite number of quarters. At present this minimum is $84.50 per month or $1,014 per annum. Question 11. What is the situation with respect to a religious who pays Social Security taxes for ten years and then leaves the order? Answer. The credits a religious earns toward Social Security coverage belong to him/her as an individual; should the religious leave the order he takes the earned eligibility with him into secular life. Question 12. A religious man with sufficient quarters of coverage to be fully insured reaches age 65 but continues to work; that is, he is not retired in the technical sense of the term. What is his status under Social Security? Answer. Upon reaching the age of 65 the religious who has earned the required quarters of coverage may apply for Social Security benefits and he would be entitled to the same. If he continues to work, that is, he is not retired, the order must pay the Social Security taxes on his wages even though he is receiving old age benefits. If his wages are $2,100 or less, there would be no reduction of his old age benefits. If, on the other hand, they are in excess of $2,100 there would be a reduction of one dollar for every two dollars in excess of $2,100. The above answer would apply to a member of a religious order of women with the exception that she would be eligible for Social Security at the age of 62. Her benefits, however, would be somewhat reduced. Under the 1972 amendment a man may likewise be retired at 62 but his benefits would be reduced. Question 13. Is there any significant difference in the Social Security law as it applies to men or to women? Answer. The age at which women may receive benefits, and is the nor-mal retirement age for women, is 62, whereas it is 65 for men; however, men may retire at 62 and receive i'educed benefits. The required quarters of coverage to be fully insured differs for men and for women. The exact details should be checked with table~ supplied by the Social Security Administration. Question 14. Is there any time limit in which to elect coverage? Answer. No, an election may be made at. any time the order so desires. Question 15. Is there any time limit for electing retroactive coverage? Answer. No; however, if. the order defers the election of retroactive coverage for a significant amount of time it will be more costly when the order does elect to come in on a retroactive basis. The rate for the retro-active purchase of coverage is determined by, existing tax rates during the :216 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 five year period. For example, if an order elected five years retroactive cov-erage in December the tax rate for 1967 and 1968 would be 8.80%; for 1969 and 1970 it would be 9.60 and for 1971 and 1972 it would be 10.40. In 1973 the rate will be 11.70 and by 1978 it will rise to 12.10. In addi-tion to the increased costs it is possible that some religious will not be covered if the retroactive buy-in is deferred for a substantial period of time. Some members, for example, may retire and, consequently, will not be cov-ered in the retroactive purchase. Question 16. Must one elect for a retroactive period of five years or may one elect for a lesser number of years? Answer. The order may elect to "buy in" for any number of years it wishes, the maximum being five. Question 17. If a religious is active during the retroactive period and alive at the time of election but no longer a member of the order should he be counted in determining retroactive coverage? Answer. Yes. Question 18. When must the order pay for the retroactive coverage? Answer. By the end of the quarter in which the election is made. This payment must be made in a lump sum; there is no provision for an install-ment buy-in. Question 19. May an order elect coverage before the forms and regula-tions are finalized? Answer. Yes; notification of election of coverage may be sent to your district Social Security office. Question 20. When should a religious secure a Social Security number? Answer. As soon as possible. It is not necessary to have Social Security coverage in order to acquire a number. Acquisition of a number might speed receipt of benefits when an election is finally made. Question 21. If a religious subject to a vow of poverty performs ser-vices not required by the order but merely with the approval of his or her superior may he or she receive the benefit of this law? Answer. No, the services performed must be at the requirement of the religious order or subdivision thereof. Question 22. If a religious receives board and lodging from another organization (parish) how shall the wages be determined for Social Se-curity purposes? Answer. The tlat rate which is adopted for all religious shall prevail. Question 23. How much would it cost to buy in retroactively for a five year period at an evaluated wage of $100 per month? Answer. It would cost $612 per member who was active during the five year period and alive at the time of election. Some Available Literature 1. Social Security Handbook (SSI 135). This is available from the Religious and Social Security / 217 Superintendent of Documents and provides o]~erall ~nformatlon but nothing more recently than 1969. It will be 3 to 6 rrionths, before anything like its counterpart will be brought out. The volume c~sts $2.25. 2. Your Medicare Handbook (DHEW ,Publication; SSA 72-10050). This is available from the Superintendent of Documents at 35 cents in bulk rate, free for a few copies. The Handbook is available to anyone entitled to Medicare. 3. Your Social Security (DHEW SSA 72-10035). This provides gen-eral information and is available free from the Superintendent of Documents. 4. If You Become Disabled (SSA 73-10029). Available free even in bulk. 5. Your Social Security Earnings Recordi (DHEW 73-10044). Avail-able from the Superintendent of Documents. 6. How Medicare Helps You When You Go to the Hospital (DHEW 72-10039). This may be free in bulk. 7. Estimating Your Social Security Retirement Check (SSI 47). Avail-able free. Theological Reflections on the Ordination of Women Committee on Pastoral Research and Practices The Committee on Pastoral Research and Practices is a committee of the' National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Foreword This report prepared by the Committee on Pastoral Research and Practices has been approved for publication by the Administrative Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The report is not definitive. It deals only with the question of ordination to diaconate and priesthood, leaving aside the question of installation of women in ministries of lector and acolyte. It is a contribution to the con-tinuing dialogue on a subject of great importance. Its purpose is to encour-age further study and discussion while making honest efforts to identify the major questions which must be examined in depth before conclusive answers can be given. We are conscious of the deep love for the Church which underlies the growing interest of many women in the possibility of ordination. Our own appreciation of their indispensable contribution to the life of the Church underlies this effort at honest dialogue. Other churches are also engaged in a study of this question. While their reflections have been helpful to us, we hope ours may be helpful to them. Theological Reflections on the Ordination ot Women The question of ordaining women is an old one in the Church, but it has not yet been thoroughly researched for Catholic theology. There is no explicit authoritative teaching concerning the ordination of women that settles the question. The topic should be given exhaustive study. The theological reasons for and against the ordination of women need to be developed in careful and 218 The Ordination of Women / 219 objective fashion. A thorough study is required not because of sociological trends, but because of developments in the Church within the past decade. The encyclical Pacem in terris (no. 41) in 1963 listed the emancipation of women as a positive development of modern times. The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (nos. 9, 29) in 1965 rejected any discrimination based on sex. The admission of women as auditors to the last two sessions of Vatican II (1964-65), the proclamation of St. Theresa of Avila as Doctor of the Church (1970), the discussions on this subject in the Third Synod of Bishops (1971)--these trace a considerable recent development concerning woman's role in the Church. The revelation given in Galatians 3:28 shows the equality before God of every Christian: "There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus." In the Church then there is no distinction of persons: Discriminatory lines have been erased by Christ. In the Church there can be no discrimination. The basic text and basic teaching, however, do not mean that there are not different ministries in the Church, or that one ministry is to be pre-ferred over another--as the same St. Paul taught in 1 Cor 12:4-14: 1. In spite of this doctrine of the equality of all in Christ, no woman has ever been pope, bishop, or priest. At the present time it cannot be proven or disproven that women were ever ordained deacons. It is Church law (Canon 968) that women are not eligible for orders. Several scriptural and theological justifications have been proposed to explain why women are not eligible for ordination. They are here listed-- in a general order of increasing importance--with some brief comments. 1. In the Old Testament, authentic priesthood was limited to males. The Aaronic priesthood and the levitical service (a service somewhat analogous to the diaconate) were similarly limited to males (cf. Exodus 28, Leviticus 8). This was in keeping with the strongly patriarchal Hebrew society. Be-cause we accept the law as invested with divine authority, we accept this limitation of Old Testament priesthood to men of one family within one tribe of Israel as expressing God's will-for the Old Testament. The exclusion of most males and of all females was then also God's will. This entire presen-tation, however, seemingly has no direct bearing on the issue at hand. We of the New Testament are studying the will of God concerning the New Testa-ment priesthood of Jesus Christ. 2. In the New Testament there is mention of a woman who was called "deaconess" (Rom 16:1) and of other women serving as deacons (1 Tim 3:11). Similarly in the early centuries of the Church, and especially in the East, there were deaconesses. Unfortunately no clear conclusions can be drawn from this information. There is no way at present to determine whether these women were called by this title in a formal or an informal way, whether the women in scripture were wives of deacons .who aided their deacon hus-bands, whether they were ordained, whether any ordination they received 220 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 was sacramental, etc. The uncertainty of Scripture scholars concerning an "order" of deaconess is illustrated in the Jerome Biblical Commentary, 53: 136; 57: 21. A similar uncertainty seemingly exists concerning the deaconess in the early Oriental Church. This deaconess tradition is helpful in approach-ing the present question. However, we must beware of constructing a case for or against the sacramental ordination of women on such fragmentary and indefinite information. 3. Saint Paul repeatedly directed that women hold to a subordinate posi-tion in the Church, keep silence in the Church, keep their heads covered, tend the home and family, etc. (cf. 1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:33-36; Eph 5:22-24; Col 3: 18; Titus 2:5; cf. 1 Pet 3: 1-7). There seems to be little question but these texts are of Pauline authority alone. The developments of the past decade in the Church listed in this letter, and the authorized functioning of women as lectors and commentators, further demonstrate that these Pauline texts should not be cited as arguing against the ordination of women. 4. The New Testament doctrine on "headship" as reflected in the order of creation is given to justify the leadership of men and the subordination of women in the Church (cf. 1 Cor 11:3-12; 1 Tim 2:8-15). This same reasoning is advanced to explain the ordination to the priesthood of men but not of women. This doctrine of the dependence of woman on man is seem-ingly the teaching of Genesis (cf. JCB 2:18) as well as of Saint Paul (cf. supra). However, much further study is needed before conclusions can be drawn. 5. The incarnation is given as a reason for the ordination of men only. The word of God took on flesh and was made man--as a male. This then was the divine plan. It is stated that this divine plan is expressed in the person of Christ (cf. Decree on the Ministry and Li]e o[ Priests, no. 2). It is argued that a male priest is required to act in the person of the male Christ. 6. The selectivity of Christ and of the early Church presents another ap-proach. It is known that Jesus did not hesitate to contravene the law and sociological customs of his time. Yet Jesus selected only men as his apostles and disciples. Further, the replacement for Judas was to be specifically one of male sex (Acts, 1:21 in the Greek), even though women who fulfilled the other conditions were present and available. Similarly the seven assistants to the apostles (Acts 6:3) were all men, even though the work was to be that of serving widows. This limitation to men, it is argued, goes beyond socio-logical conditions of that day and points to a divine choice. 7. Revelation is made known to us from tradition as well as from Sacred Scripture (cf. Constitution on Divine Revelation, nos. 8-10). It is then necessary for theology in this question to look to the life and practice of the Spirit-guided Church. The constant practice and tradition of the Catholic Church has excluded women from the episcopal and priestly office. The-ologians and canonists have been unanimous until modern times in con- The Ordination of Women / 221 sidering this exclusion as absolute and of divine origin. Until recent times no theologian or canonist seemingly has judged this to be only of ecclesiasti-cal law. It would be pointless to list the many authorities and the theological note that each assigns to this teaching. However, the constant tradition and practice of the Catholic Church against the ordination of women, interpreted (whenever interpreted) as of divine law, is of such a nature as to constitute a clear teaching of the ordinary magisterium of the Church. Though not formally defined, this is Catholic doctrine. These seven approaches have been used to document the exclusion from ordination of women. From them we attempt to draw six somewhat tentative conclusions: 1. Reasons no. 5 and no. 6 call for considerable further study in order to measure their validity. 2. Reason no. 7 is of ponderous theological import. Its force will not be appreciated by those who look for revelation and theology in Scripture alone, and who do not appreciate tradition as a source of theology. Because of rea-son no. 7 a negative answer to the possible ordination of women is indicated. The well-founded present discipline will continue to have and to hold the entire field unless and until a contrary theological development takes place, leading ultimately to a clarifying statement from the magisterium. 3. This question is extraordinarily complex. It is influenced by the indi-vidual's point of departure, viewpoint, and choice of terminology. Even in this study some helpful distinctions have not been spelled out for the sake of brevity. It would seem that neither Scriptural exegesis nor theology alone can give a clear answer to this question. The ultimate answer must come from the magisterium, and the current question is whether the magisterium (as reason no. 7 explains) has already given a definite and final answer. And at this level of doubt, only the magisterium itself can give" ultimate clarification. 4. It is possible to draw distinctions between the diaconate and the epis-copal- priestly order, and within the diaconate itself. Assuming that the diaconate is of ecclesial and not divine, institution, and that it can be sep-arated from the sacrament of orders, it would seem possible that special study be given to the possibility of a diaconate of service, non-sacramental and non-liturgical, which would be conferred on women. It has been noted that Pseudo-Denys in the 5th century made such a distinction within the diaconate. 5. Some contemporary writings on this subject approach priestly ordina-tion as "power" rather than service, and speak of a "right to ordination." Such views appear to overlook the clear doctrine that priestly ministry is service to the People of God, that no Christian has any right to ordination, and that it involves the mystery of God's free election. One who is not an ordained priest is not thereby, a lesser Christian, a lesser minister, or a victim of discrimination. In the Church there are many ministries, but all Christians do not have all charisms, and the hearts of all should be set on the greater 222 / Review ]or Religious, l/olume 32, 1973/2 gifts of God's love (1 Cor 12:4-13:3). Further, all Christians share in the common priesthood of the faithful (cf. Constitution on the Church, no. 10); from among these some are chosen by God to minister to the others by priestly service. In such a context should this question be presented. 6. Beyond the question of theological possibility is the further considera-tion o~ what is pastorally prudent. For the present, however, we can see from theology only a continuation of the established discipline. Considering the strength of that discipline and the numerous uncertainties detailed in this paper, the needed study on this question is now just beginning. As is evident, every one of the points listed in this report calls for a major study. The German theologian Ida Friederike Gorres reminds us that it is God's will and plan that must be determinant in this question: The Catholic priesthood is a unique phenomenon, springing solely from the faith, the doctrine, the history, the growing self-consciousness of the Church: not from the religious needs of the Catholic people, certainly not from any principles or theories concerning the rights of men and women, nor yet from the necessity of particular functions which could be assigned at will to various persons. The one and only exemplar of the Catholic priest is the living person of Jesus Christ, in his relationship to the Church: in the mystery of the one, perfect, indissoluble life he leads, with her (Catholic Transcript, Dec. 17, 1965). Pluralism in the Works of Karl Rahner with Applications to Religious Life Philip S. Keane, S.S. Philip S. Keane, S.S., is the Vice Rector of St. Patrick's Seminary; 320 Middlefield Road; Menlo Park, California 94025. As a working theologian moves from place to place, he finds himself being asked questions on a wide variety of subjects and his interests tend naturally to move towards those questions which he is asked over and over again. In the past twelve to eighteen months there is no question which I have been asked about more frequently than the theological meaning of pluralism. The question has come from virtually all segments of the Christian community, but it has been asked with special urgency by the members of religious communities, with at least one religious community having enough concern about the issue that it has called for a serious study of pluralism in its newly adopted constitutions.1 Pluralism a Perennial P~oblem In a certain sense I have found the repeated questions about pluralism amusing. My amusement has come from the fact that my questioners (sisters in particular) so often seem to be presupposing that pluralism is a brand new issue, perhaps even a .brand new toy, which theologians have just lately discovered. Some of the questioners seem very excited about this new issue as if it will solve all their community living problems while others are quite frightened by it, but they all seem to have the idea that pluralism is a totally new problem. This I find amusing inasmuch as pluralism is a perennial problem which theologians have .wrestled with for centuries; it is hardly a new issue. Many of today's older theologians such as Karl Rahner aConstitutions o] the Sisters o] St. Joseph o] Carondelet, a Congregation o] Pontifical Right, St. Louis, 1972, p. 29. 223 224 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 have been working with pluralism for 30 or 40 years, that is, since before a number of my excited questioners were born. Thus perhaps the first point to be made to those who are either nervously or excitedly asking about theologi-cal pluralism today is that it is anything but a totally new theological concept. Nonetheless, theological plurfilism is a most important issue for the whole Church today and for religious communities in particular. Also, it is an issue which is not well understood especially from the theological view- . point. Hence, the goal of this article will be to aid our understanding of pluralism as a theological reality by presenting the concept of pluralism found in the works of Karl Rahner and by applying this concept to the situation of the religious community today. In the past 10 or 15 years Rahner has written very extensively and incisively on pluralism'-' and his work on the theme should surely be a help to us in forming a workable theological concept of pluralism. Divisions and Presuppositions Our reflections on the theology of pluralism will be divided into five parts: first, pluralism as a basic theological reality; second, the unique character of pluralism today; third, some consequences of today's pluralism for the Church as a whole; fourth, pluralism and the oneness of our faith; and finally the implications of pluralism for religious community life. The first four parts will gather and coherently organize Rahner's ideas on plural-ism. The final section will move beyond what Rahner says explicitly, but it will seek to be faithful to his views on pluralism. An important note before beginning the explanation of Rahner's writings on pluralism is that, as with any Rahnerian topic, the vastness and.depth of Rahner's total theological synthesis are such as to render the treatment of a particular Rahnerian theme such as pluralism somewhat difficult without at least some grasp of the whole of Rahner. In our particular case, for example, Rahner's metaphysics of human knowing as bipolar (explicit and implicit), his concept of God as indescribable mystery, his explanation of Christianity as an openness to all that is genuinely human, and his concept of man as ~Rahner's major articles on pluralism include "The Theological Concept of Con-cupiscentia," Theological Investigations (hereinafter T1) [8 volumes 1961-71; vs. 1-6, Baltimore: Helicon; vs. 7-8, New York: Herder and Herder], v. 1, pp. 347-82; "The Man of Today and Religion," TI 6, pp. 3-20; "A Small Question Regarding the Contemporary Pluralism in the Intellectual Situation of Catholics and the Church," ibid., pp. 21-30; "Reflections on Dialogue within a Pluralistic Society," ibid., pp. 31-42; "Philosophy and Philosophizing in Theology," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial issue, 1968, pp. 17-29; "Philosophy and Theology," Sacramentum Mundi (New York: Herder and Herder, 1968-70), v. 5, pp. 20-4; "Theological Reflections on the Prob-lem of Secularization," Theology o] Renewal (New York: Herder and Herder, 1968), v. 1, pp. 167-92; "Pluralism in Theology and the Oneness of the Church's Profession of Faith," Concilium, v. 46 (1969), pp. 103-23; and "Glaube des Christen und Lehre der Kirche," Stimmen der Zeit, July 1972, pp. 3-19. Pluralism in Rahner / 225 a future-oriented being whose most fundamental virtue is hope are all themes which form a substratum for his theology of pluralism? These themes will be given brief explanations as needed and the reader less familiar with Rahner is advised to consider them carefully when they occur. Pluralism as a Basic Theological Reality First of all then, what is the basic theological meaning of pluralism? Rahner began to develop his thinking on this matter in his well known 1941 article on concupiscence.4 Therein while discussing Heidegger's distinction between human person and human nature, Rahner makes the point that the human person, the source of human freedom and human longing for God, can never fully dispose of himself in a single action. Instead, man's person finds himself limited by man's nature as a material or incarnate spirit. Man cannot make a total act of movement towards God, an act which is uni-formly effective in all the aspects of human nature. For man's person which freely seeks God lives in an insuperable tension with his nature which limits his ability to move towards God. Some years later (1959) Rahner explained this kind of thinking further in another context when writing about the mystery of God) Here the point is that the mystery of God so totally tran-scends human knowledge that no concrete human experience or human expression can ever fully encapsulate the mystery of God. This mystery which is at the very root of man's being constantly eludes man's efforts to grasp or formulate it. At the level of concrete human knowing man does not have a total understanding of God. Rather man in his materiality and there-fore in his limitation has only partial knowledge of the mystery of God. The more he learns about God the more there is to learn, for God will always be the mystery who exceeds the depths of our understanding.~ Our life then is a day by day effort to see, follow, and love God more clearly, nearly, and dearly as the popular song from Godspell puts it. All this of course is no new insight. St. Paul said the same thing centuries ago: "Oh, :~Good background reading on these themes includes "Dogmatic Reflections on the Knowledge and Self-Consciousness of Christ," TI 5, pp. 199-201; "The Concept of Mystery in Catholic Theology," TI 4, pp. 36-73; "Anonymous Christians," TI 6, pp. 390-8; "On the Theology of the Incarnation," T) 4, pp. 105-20; and "The Theology of Hope," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial issue, 1968, pp. 78-87. ¯ ~"The Theologi~:al Concept of Concupiscentia," TI 1, pp. 347-82. For what follows see especially pp. 368-9. In recent articles Rahner has explicitly shown how his present thinking on pluralism is rooted in his early writings on concupiscence; for example, "Theological Reflections on the Problem of Secularization," Theology o] Renewal, v. 1, pp. 187-8. 5"The Concept of Mystery in Catholic Theology," TI 4, pp. 36-73, especially pp. 46-8. 6Rahner pushes this position about God as absolute mystery to its ultimate radicality when he argues that God will still be m. ystery for us in heaven (ibid., pp. 53-60), and that in God all the mysteries of our faith are ultimately one (ibid., pp. 61-73). 226 / Review ]or Religious, Vohtme 32, 1973/2 the depths and the richness of the wisdom of God; how incomprehensible his judgments are, how unsearchable his ways" (Rom 11:33). Unavoidable Pluralism Putting these ideas together, we can see that both man's unlimited desire to choose God in freedom and his ceaseless yearning to know God with his intellect are limited in such a way that in actual fact man only chooses and knows God through a series of particular or partial acts of choice or knowledge. His choice of God comes through a multiplicity of human choices, his knowledge of God comes through a multiplicity of human acts of knowing.; All this leads Rahner to a basic dictum of his religious or theological anthropology, namely, that the inherently limited and seriated character of all human choice and knowledge of God means that all human experi-ence of God has about it a necessary and unavoidable element of multiplicity or pluralism. Since man cannot fully embrace the mystery of God in single actions, he must experience God through many actions. Pluralism thus be-comes a basic or fundamental element of man's relationship to God. Rahner states this in many ways in his works. He states that man is ever subjected to the agony of pluralism,s and even more strongly he calls pluralism a radical or irreducible fact of human existence.'~ Because God made man as a material or embodied spirit, man cannot escape from pluralism, from the fact that he must learn about God, and indeed about all of life bit by bit, part by part. There just is no other way for the human spirit. Any form of mysticism which tries to escape from man's bodiliness and multiplicity is a pseudo-mysticism in the opinion of Rahner?° It is particularly important to note that since Rahner's concept of plural-ism is founded upon man's way of knowing and choosing God, it is a radi-cally theological concept, that is, a concept asserting a basic aspe.ct of man's relationship to God. This is significant today because very often pluralism is bandied about as a sociological or political concept, whereas Rahner's idea of it is much deeper. The trouble with those who limit their concept of pluralism to sociology or political science is that, whether they like pluralism or not, they can very easily look upon it as a fad which will pass away. In :Rahner uses both Scotist approaches (the limitations of our freedom) and Thomist approaches (the limitations of our knowledge) in explaining pluralism theologically. In later years he tends mostly towards knowledge oriented or Thomist examples, perhaps most celebratedly with his concept of "gnoseological concupiscence" ("The-ological Reflections on the Problem of Secularization," Theology o] Renewal, v. 1, p. 187). But both ways are possible for him. Slbid., pp. 190-1. :"'Philosophy and Philosophizing in Theology," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial issue, 1968, p. 22. 1°Hearers o] the Word (New York: Herder and Herder, 1969), pp. 77-9. Pluralism in Rahner / 227 particular those threatened by pluralism will wait for it to pass if they view it as a fad. But pluralism is not a passing fad. Its basic point is that no two of us ever experience and formulate our approach to God in exactly the same way. We are truly moving towards the "many mansions in our father's house." Ultimately then we must see pluralism as a theological issue. Problems of Pluralism Rahner's language in describing the fundamental phenomenon of pluralism raises some interesting questions. Why does he describe man as "subjected" to pluralism? Why does he call pluralism agonizing? Why did he begin to develop his treatment of it in the context of a theology of con-cupiscence? The answer to all these questions is that in Rahner's view it is man's irreducible pluralism which makes it possible for man to sin. It is precisely man's ability to explicitly grasp only partial goods or values which enables him to sin, to sin by absolutizing one or some of these partial values and thus shutting himself up in the finite,~1 closing himself to the unfathom-able mystery of God. The agony for man is that he experiences or perceives value only in partial and thus plural realizations. His very way o~ being drives him towards the multiple or plural values. The temptation to ab-solutize such values is the temptation to sin. Rahner's whole theology of hope, of man as a being who must be open to the future, a being who must refuse to absolutize the partial values of the present, is, of course, echoed here.l~ These thoughts bring up another problem. Do pluralism's close connec-tions with concupiscence, and hence its status as the occasion which renders sin possible make pluralism a bad or evil thing? Definitely not! This rejection of a condemnation of pluralism is one of the most emphatic rejections in Rahner's entire theological system. His whole reason for beginning to write about man's concupiscent movement after multiple and partial values was to insist that such movement cannot be called fundamentally evil?:' Rahner holds that it was the all good God who made us .as material and pluralistic beings and that, therefore, we must accept ourselves as we are in faith, in hope, and in love. Rahner is determined to teach that we should love the nature God gave us and this means that we must openly embrace our radi-cal, God-given pluralistic state. We simply cannot flee from it, agonizing though it may be. Are we ready to accept Rahner's challenge on this point? The Unique Character of Pluralism Today Our reflections so far have shown us that pluralism is a basic constituent of man's experience of God affecting all men at all times. But another vital 11,,Thoughts on the Possibility of Belief Today," 7~1 5, p. 10. V-'For a position similar to Rahner's on this point see Wolfhart Pannenberg, What is Matt? (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1970), pp. 68-73. ~:t"'The Theological Concept of Concupiscentia," TI 1, pp. 369-71. 228 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 point needs to be made. Why is it that pluralism, always a part of man's situation before God, has become such a particularly pressing concern in our times? Why are so many in religious communities suddenly talking about it? Why has a man like Rahner written so much on pluralism in recent years? To put all these questions more precisely we should ask the following: Is there something specifically unique about pluralism in the 20th century? Are there new factors today which further complicate man's fundamentally pluralistic situation? In answer, the first assertion to be made is that Rahner very definitely feels that 20th century pluralism is a specifically unique phenomenon in the history of the human race. He explains the uniqueness of 20th century pluralism by referring to the tremendous, historically unparalleled explosion in human knowledge which is taking place in our century.TM Man has prob-ably learned more (and therefore appropriated more multiple or plural values) since the beginning of our century than he learned in all the previous centuries combined. Thus, specialization has become the byword of our age. Each individual human being is learning more and more about less and less. Human communication is becoming harder and harder. In the 19th century those who went to college or graduate school could be rela-tively certain that their studies would include a good deal of the "liberal arts" and that they would arrive at basically similar value systems. Even in the early 20th century this was still so. Today, however, people are sent away to school to study various disciplines (art, sociology, psychology, literature, mathematics, and so forth) and they come home with such varied value systems that for all practical purposes they are speaking in different languages. Many segments of society experience this problem in-cluding religious communities. The situation is especially burdensome for persons in authority insofar as persons in authority are never again going to be able to learn enough to understand all the varied value systems and languages of the people under them. A Qualitatively New Situation Rahner gives his position on the uniqueness of 20th century pluralism a deeply radical meaning when he refuses to explain today's pluralism on a merely quantitative basis, that is, on the basis of the increased number of plural values which different men are learning about today. Rather he holds that the numerical increase in man's knowledge of pluralistic values has placed mankind in a qualitatively new situation,x'' The qualitative l~"Reflections on the Contemporary Intellectual Formation of Future Priests," T! 6, pp. 114-20; "Reflections on Dialogue in a Pluralistic Society," ibid., pp. 39-40; and repeatedly elsewhere in Rahner's works on pluralism. ~z"Pluralism in Theology and the Oneness of the Church's Profession of Faith," Concilium 46 (1969), p. 104. Pluralism in Rahner / 229 difference is this: In the past the number of insights and values known to man was limited enough that it was at least possible in principle for one person or one group of persons to gather together the known human insights and values in such a way as to formulate one coherent worldview or philosophy of life which could be accepted and embraced by all men at least in a given part of the world. Further, in the past, the world's great civiliza-tions (Western, Oriental, African, American) were so insulated from one another by "cultural no-man's lands" that the fact of one civilization's philosophy of life not including the values known to other civilizations made no difference in practice,a'~ Today, however, the whole world is different; the barriers between the great civilizations are collapsing, and the number of pluralistic insights and values has so increased that it is simply impossible for any person or group to embrace all known values and thus establish a worldview which can attain anything approaching a universal acceptance by a civilization or civilizations.1~ This is why Rahner says that 20th century pluralism has put man in a qualitatively new situation: man can no longer thematize universally acceptable worldviews. 20th century pluralism is therefore radi-cally new. The adjectives which Rahner uses to describe it become stronger and stronger as the years pass. He describes today's pluralism as irreduc-ible, indomitable, unconquerable, unsurpassable, and so forth,as Another way of describing the qualitative difference between today's pluralism and that of the past might be to say that in former times the plural values perceived by man could be conquered by inclusion within one philosophical worldview so that they were reduced to diverse aspects of that worldview, to diversities within one philosophical system. But the differing values of today cannot be conquered or reduced to one system; thus we no longer have diversities within a system but instead we have something much more radical, we have a pluralism which is in Rahner's words unconquerable and irreducible. Rahner never precisely uses the words diversity and pluralism to characterize the old and new aspects of human multiplicity, but such a terminology certainly seems to fit in with his description of the qualitative difference between today's pluralism and that of former centuries. In any case the point is that pluralism, while ~"Philosophy and Philosophizing in Theology," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial issue, 1968, p. 22. ~r"A Small Question Regarding the Contemporary Pluralism in the Intellectual Situa-tion of Catholics and the Church," TI 6, p. 22, and in a number of other places in Rahner's works. ~SAmong many examples of Rahnerian language of this type are: "Theological Reflec-tions on the Problem of Secularization," Theology o] Renewal, v. 1, pp. 188-90; "Reflections on the Contemporary Intellectual Formation of Future Priests," TI 6, p. 117; "The Man of Today and Religion," ibid., p. 20; "Pluralism in Theology and the Oneness of the Church's Profession of Faith," Concilium 46 (1969), p. 107. Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 always a fact for man before God, presents us with a new series of problems in our times. Consequences of Today's Pluralism for the Church What should be the attitude or response of Christianity towards the qualitatively new phenomenon of 20th century pluralism? Six different aspects of Christianity's response to today's pluralism can be distinguished. The first of these aspects is a general picture of Christianity's response to pluralism; the remaining five are specific consequences of the new pluralism for the Church. First then and in a general way, it can be said that throughout his writings Rahner comes across very strongly as a man who is deeply con-vinced that one of Christianity's most vital and essential tasks for our times is to accept and embrace the pluralistic situation which God has given us today just as all men in ages past have had to accept the experience of pluralism which God gave them. This open thinking is found in Rahner's works on non-Christian religions,19 on the secularity and godlessness of today's world (which Rahner says we must bravely and courageously accept because it has a positive meaning and challenge for us),-°° and on the pluralistic sciences which he espouses and encourages.21 Even the shrinking of the Church in today's pluralistic world must be accepted ~vithout fear and loved by the Christian as part of God's plan for us, part of salvation history?-° Definitely, theret~ore, Rahner sounds a clarion call to the 20th cen-tury Church to face without fear or escapism the task which God has given us of coping with the new pluralism. I have little doubt but that in future centuries, Rahner's brilliant and insightful challenge to the Church on this matter will be one of the things for which he will be most remembered. In so many ways it can be said that for Rahner the name of the game for the Christian today is to be open. The whole thrust of Rahner's thinking on anonymous Christianity suggests this. Specific Consequences Secondly and more specifically, Rahner holds that in the light of modem pluralism Christianity must give up the idea that its entire message and value system can be embraced in any one philosophical system and in par: ticular it must give up the idea that the Thomistic philosophical system can continue to be the one decisive dialogue partner in which all Christian in-ag" Christianity and the non-Christian Religions," TI 5, pp. 115-34. =°"The Man of Today and Religion," TI 6, pp. 1 I-2. '-'1"Philosophy and Philosophizing in Theology," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial issue, 1968, p. 27. "-'~"The Present Situation of Christians: A Theological Interpretation of the Position of Christians in the Modem World," The Christian Commitment (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1963), pp. 3-37. Pluralism in Rahner / 231 sights can be expressed to the world. Rather in the future Christianity will simply have to accept a who~le host of diaiogue partners (the arts, the be-havioral, social, and pure sciences, Oriental philosophies, and so forth) in expressing the Gospel messa'ge to the world. Rahner says this explicitly at least twice~3 and gives many other hints of it as well. For instance, he says that we must study all the great philosophies of the world because in an anonymous way they may be,' as much or more Christian than our explicitly Christian philosophy. In other words we are moving into an age of Christian philosophies and worldview!, instead of an age of a univocal Christian philosophy and worldview. Note carefully that Rahner who is a Thomist never says that Thomism sl~ould be abandoned as a philosophy. What he does say is that Thomism can no longer be given the absolute, monolithic status ascribed to it in the 15ast by the Church. Instead it must constantly criticize itself, realizing that it can never express the fullness of the truth of God. It must relentlessly op.en itself to the lns~ghts of other philosophies, which must in their turn be~ open to it. No longer will there be any one philosophy of life (in the sense values) upon which the Chu~rch or communities within it can operate.~' Thirdly as a consequence of pluralism for the Church Rahner holds that since theology depends on philosophical thinking for its mode of ex-pression, the fact that there can no longer be only one exclusively Christian philosophy suggests directly that there can no longer be one theology in the Church. Instead there Will be many theologies, a fact that the Church I ¯ " must bravely accept as Rahner puts it. no way denies our oneness of faith (Rahner calls it credal oneness) but it does demand that in the future our expressions of the one faith will be plural, in accord with the plu~iformtty of human experience. Next, and closely related to the idea of many theologies, Rahner argues I . that the magisterium or teac, hmg office of the Church finds itself cast into a whole new situation by tod.ay's pluralism.-oG Rahner points out that on rare occasions the teaching office[of the Church will have to continue to operate in the traditional mode, that [is, by rejecting this or that theological formula-tion as inconsistent with the faith,z7 Much more often, however, Rahner holds that in today's plurahst~c world the magisterium will have to take on z~"Philosophy and Philosophizing in Theology," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial ~ssue, 1968, p. 18; 'Phdosophy ~nd Theology" Sacramentum Mundt, v. 5, p. 23. ~4This position does not deny the underlying unity of our faith, a matter we shall consider later. '-'SIbid., pp. 23-6. Rahner does speak herein of a sense in which there is still one theology, but this will emerge in our forthcoming consideration of our one faith. "-'Glbid., p. 26; "Pluralism in Theology and the Oneness of the Church's Profession of Faith," Concilium 46 (1969), pp. 112-3. ~7"Pluralism in. Theology and the Oneness of the Church's Profession of Faith," Concilium 46 (1969), p. 113. 232 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 a new function, a function which can be well described as a challenge func-tion rather than a judgment function. The idea of this challenge function of the magisterium is that no longer can the teaching Church understand all the formulations of all the theologians as it did in the past. Thus the Church will often not be in a position to judge the works of an individual theologian. But she can challenge him. She can urge him to be certain that his formula-tions are faithful to the Christian tradition. By so doing the teaching Church can render real service to the individual theologian and to the Christian community as a whole. Obviously a magisterium which challenges more than it judges will have to be more trusting of its theologians, trusting that they are faithful to our traditions even when the magisterium is not totally clear on how the new formulas of theology relate to the faith. Rahner states that this new challenge aspect of the Church's teaching office is already occur-ring. 2s The whole situation also suggests to Rahner that today's magisterium will generally refrain from proclaiming new dogmas, as it refrained at Vatican II. A fifth consequence of pluralism for the Church today is a fact which we previously alluded to, namely, that persons bearing authority in the Church (including bishops, pastors, religious superiors, and so forth) are placed in an extremely difficult but still very important position by con-temporary pluralism. All of us, therefore, should be deeply sensitive to the burdens of those who hold ecclesial office. Rahner points out that at times such authorities may have to exercise authority traditionally, saying no to this or that.-09 In most cases, however, office bearers in today's Church will follow the style of the new magisterium by challenging their subjects rather than judging them. In this context a particularly important task for Church authority figures will be to maintain openness, that is, to keep any of their subjects or groups of subjects from so locking themselves to a partial set of values (whether liberal values or conservative values) that they fail to be genuinely open to the mystery of God and thus commit the ultimate human sin of absolutizing finite values. Need for Constant Dialogue The last and perhaps most important implication of contemporary plural-ism is that in our times Christianity must engage in a constant and genuine dialogue with itself and with the world around it. Since today's man realizes that his philosophy of life can never be a total or absolute system, he must constantly seek to correct and expand his own viewpoint by dialoguing with other men. Rahner points out that genuine Christian dialogue is truly possible in a pluralistic society because for the man of faith all true values in 2s"Philosophy and Philosophizing in Theology," Theology Digest, Sesquicentennial issue, 1968, p. 27. 29"The Future of Religious Orders in the World and Church of Today," Sister Forma-tion Bulletin, Winter, 1972, p. 7. Pluralism in Rahner / 233 various philosophical and theological systems are seen to be rooted in the one mystery of God. Values not rooted in the mystery of God are not true values and will be shown as such in the dialogue. Hence as we journey through history together, there is hope that men can come to understand how their partial expressions of value are integrated in the absolute mystery or absolute future of man which is God. Those of course who lack faith will not see human differences as resolvable even in our future in God. But for those of us who do believe, there is hope that full unity will be attained in the eschaton. And in this hope we can keep on talking with each other despite repeated misunderstandings. Our age is peculiarly an age of going to meetings, and no doubt many of us get tired of meeting after meeting. But, if we are to be Christians in these pluralistic times, it seems we must keep on having meetings no matter how boring they, become. As Rahner sees it, dialogue is the only possible mode of coexistence for mod-ern Christian persons."~° In ending this section an observation which ought to be made is that none of these consequences of pluralism we have just reviewed really solve the problem of how the Christian is to live and form community today. For in all honesty we have to face the fact that pluralism as it now exists is a new problem which the generations who have preceded us did not face in the way we face it. Thus nobody today really knows how to cope with our pluralism and our inability to form worldviews which large scale segments of society can accept. Rahner makes some suggestions on the matter for the Church as a whole, but even he admits that he is far more asking the question about pluralism than answering it.~1 This lack of answers to the challenge of pluralism may not make us feel comfortable, but we must realize that that is where we are. Pluralism and the Oneness of Our Faith An especially nagging question seems to underlie much that we have said. Is pluralism something like the dualisms of former centuries with their many gods? Does pluralism have some effect on our faith in one God? In the Rahnerian thought world the answer is quite simple. Theological plural-ism positively does not weaken the oneness of our faith; if anything it strengthens that oneness by focusing us on the true source of our faith instead 'of on the more superficial sources of unity upon which we too often relied in the past. To understand Our oneness in faith in Rahner's system, we must advert to a basic theme of Rahner's theological anthropology or vision of man, namely that there are two poles or levels to human exis- :~°"Reflections on Dialogue within a Pluralistic Society," TI 6, p. 35. The whole article is valuable on dialogue. :~lThis point is made clear by the title and substance of Rahner's article, "A Small Question Regarding the Contemporary Pluralism in the Intellectual Situation of Catholics and the Church," TI 6, pp. 21-30. 234 / Review lor Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 tence.3~ One of these poles, in fact the more obvious of them, is the pole of concrete human activity and experience. This is the pole of human expres-sion, of human speech, of explicit consciousness and choice. On this pole or level the effects of man's materiality and limitation are clear, and thus man operates from this pole in a radically pluralistic fashion. He has many con-crete acts of learning and many forms of speech. He makes many choices. There is, however, another, a deeper and ultimately more significant level to human existence, a level which precedes the level of the concrete and multiple. This is the level of man's preconscious existence, of his deepest self-awareness before his God. Those who speak of man's funda-mental option are referring to this level of man's life. On this level rather than multiplicity and a myriad variety of human acts of knowledge and choice, man, if he is a believer, has a basic and simple openness to his God. On this level man in his radical openness no longer experiences a pluralism of values. Instead he knows one Lord and one faith. He and his neighbor may not be able to describe their faith in the same way, but as believers they are surely experiencing the one ineffable God. This level of transcen-dent human openness to God makes Christian faith community real. Our faith, therefore, is not hindered by pluralism. In fact, pluralism only serves to buttress our faith, because it forces us to realize that our faith can only be genuine faith if it is based on the unfathgmable mystery of God. No other source but this mystery can stand as an adequate ground for us as believers. Surely with this ground we can cry out in the words of Malachy: "Have we not all one father? Has not the one God created us?" (Mal 2:10). The Foundation in Tradition Rahner's position on human openness to the ineffability of God as the source of our faith and upon (he inevitable pluralism which begins to ensue as soon as we start expressing that faith finds much support both in the tradition of the Church and in modern authors. Traditionally, for instance, Christian authors have emphasized that the ways of knowing God by specific affirmation (via allirmativa) or negation (via negativa) had a validity .but still a clear limitation. Thus traditional authors appealed to a third way of knowing God, to the way of eminence or transcendence (via eminentiae), that is, to a primal recognition by man of the mystery of God. As Henri de Lubac has pointed out this third way is really the first and most fundamental way. a3 Among modern authors Bernard Lonergan in his new book, Method in Theology,34 gives particularly noteworthy support to Rahner's idea that we 3'-'"Dogmatic Reflections on the Knowledge and Self-Consciousness of Christ," TI 5, pp. 199-201. a:~Henri de Lubac, The Discovery o! God (New York: Kenedy, 1960), pp. 122-3. 34New York: Herder and Herder, 1972. In our context see especially pp. 265, 323, 326-30. Pluralism in Rahner / :235 all share one ineffable faith despite our various perceptions of that faith. Lonergan's insistence that true objectivity in man is not an "out there now real" set of facts, but rather man's honest habit of mind as he keeps him-self attentive, intelligent, reasonable, and responsible would seem to place faith on the deepest level of human openness while realizing that faith will be expressed in various formulations. Even more explicitly, Lonergan's carefully reasoned argument that what is permanent in our dogmas is their meaning, not their formula supports Rahner's effort to place faith at the core of the human person while being open to pluralism on other levels of human perception or choice. Perhaps the title of Rahner's article "Pluralism in Theology and the Oneness of the Church's Profession of Faith" sum-marizes all this very nicely?5 We may have to use many words but we still have the Word of God. Pluralism thus creates no fundamental faith problem. It helps us to see that our faith must be based on the mystery of God. Our openness to this mystery is the primary source of our existence as a faith community. It is true, of course, that Christians need other levels of communal togetherness and organization besides this primary mystery of faith level. Some of these other or "second level" approaches to community will be considered in what follows about religious communities. First, however, we must realize that none of these other levels will have any meaning unless we begin by seeing ourselves as united on the primal level of faith in God. Implications of Pluralism for Religious Community Life~ With less specific guidance from Rahner, but in the spirit of all that we have seen, what can be said about the implications of contemporary plural-ism for religious communities in the Church? First, if we accept the idea that a religious community is called to be a genuine sign of hope to the whole Church and if contenlporary theological pluralism is one of the most critical and fundamental challenges facing the Church today, the task of opening itself to and coping with man's radically pluralistic situation is one of the most formidable and vital tasks facing the religious community today. It seems to be the kind of issue concerfiing which the religious community must live up to its eschatological nature as a sign of transcendent hope for the whole Church, a sign that real Christianity is possible in the modern pluralistic world, a sign to the Church of where she is going. It is an historical fact that over the centuries, religious com-munities have been leadership organizations in the Church in times of crisis. :~SA section of Lonergan's new book has almost exactly the same title (pp. 326-30). a6White the title of this section speaks of religious communities, surely the remarks herein can be taken as referring to the various n6ncanonical religious groups in the Church today as well as to the canonically approved religious communities. Indeed, the noncanonical groups may have an especially important task in showing religious communities their possibilities in our pluralistic world. 236 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 In our times pluralism is the crisis and millions of persons throughout the world are seeking to overcome the alienation which can exist in our plural-istic world. New experiments in communal living abound. In the crisis of pluralism can the religious community live up to its historic role of leader-ship for the future? Second, if religious communities do face up to this challenge of assuming a leadership function in showing the Church its role in a pluralistic society, probably the most realistic forecast which can be made is that the days ahead are going to be days of agony and suffering for religious communi-ties, agony because of the very nature of pluralism, and because no one right now knows precisely what to do about pluralism. This does not mean at all that religious communities should give up hope or lose faith, but it does mean that the years ahead and the paths to adapting to pluralism are going to be most difficult. Just one example of this difficulty will be that almost in-evitably more religious will have crises of faith and perhaps leave com-munities, even later in life?7 For an honest facing of pluralism will create more options for the religious and these options will create more crises. Third, it would seem that the option being taken by a few communities of refusing virtually all change and forward movement simply is not a viable option in the light of the theology of pluralism. With the greatest respect for the good faith of the leaders and members of these communities, there is an honest question about how such nondialoguing communities can continue to exist in our pluralistic .world. It is true that these communities are doing rather well as far as incoming candidates are concerned. But are these candidates accepting the vocational task of building community amidst the pluralism which God has given us all? Or are they fleeing from that task and seeking after a security which refuses to admit that pluralism exists? The Option of Fragmentation Fourth, and of special importance, the option of "fragmentation," the option of a larger religious community dividing itself into two or more smaller groups with each group representing a particular viewpoint would also seem to be foreign, at least in principle, to Rahner's theology of plural-ism. Many religious are heard to call for this option today when there is so much clamor about the bigness of organizations and the value of small, intimate communities. While I can see real value in religious communities working out living arrangements based on small, relatively homogeneous groups, I would argue that the large community structure with its varying viewpoints should be retained in our pluralistic world. My reasons for saying this is that there would seem to be a great possibility that smaller groups of religious in cutting off dialogue with other thinking about religious ::rKarl Rahner, "The Future of Religious Commonities in the World and Church of Today," Sister Formation Bulletin, Winter, 1972, p. 4. Pluralism in Rahner / life would become ineffectual, would fail to grow in maturity, and would stand in a real danger of closing in on themselves in such a way as to become unresponsive to the demands of a pluralistic society. Incidentally, the danger of a select group becoming closed would be just as great for a progressive group as for a conservative group. The Pharisees are the classical example of a progressive group who closed in on themselves and subsequently became of little value to society. Further, the fragmentation option for religious seems to ignore another of Rahner's noteworthy themes, namely that the power inherent in a larger organization can be a genuinely redemptive value in a pluralistic society.3s The foregoing remarks against the fragmentation of religious com-munities should not be taken as an absolute stand against such fragmenta-tion. Rather these remarks are a general or "in principle" statement. Rahner himself points out that in some hopefully exceptional cases in life there is so little possibility of creating understanding that a particular dialogue must be broken off so that a group can keep dialoguing at all."~ In these cases other forms of dialogue must replace the broken ones, since genuine dialogue is essential for human coexistence in a pluralistic society. There have been a few cases in recent years of religious communities dividing; and who are we to say that these particular terminations of dialogue were not genuine in-spirations of the Holy Spirit, genuine efforts to establish other forms of dia-logue when one form had become impossible? In general, however, dialogue between differing viewpoints is so essential in a pluralistic society that the option of fragmentation should not be taken except under extreme and oppressive circumstances. Experimentation and Incarnationalism Fifth, if the religious community accepts its leadership mission for the world, and if it refuses the anti-change and fragmentation options, it be-comes clear that the most helpful (and also most difficult) option for a religious community today is to let its structures become open to genuine dialogue and pluralism in such a way that the community becomes truly re-flective of the actual condition of the whole Church today. This will mean as Rahner sees it that the religious community will be engaged in a constant process of. experimentation as it seeks to face up to new perceptions of value in our pluralistic world?" Such experimentation will stem from all levels in a community: individuals, groups, and organized authority. Only through such experimentation will a religious community achieve the true openness and dialogue needed in a pluralistic ~ociety. ~S"Theology of Power," TI 4, pp. 391-409. :~:~"Reflections on Dialogue within a Pluralistic Society," Ti 6, pp. 40ol. ¯ "~"The Future of Religious Communities in the World and Church of Today," Sister Formation Bulletin, Winter 1972, pp. 6-7. 238 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 Lastly, a religious community living amidst pluralism must advert to what Rahner calls the "incarnational principle" of Christianity.'1 This principle means that the ineffable faith unity which we share in the depth of our being must somehow become incarnate, must somehow be incorpo-rated into tangible structures. Otherwise we could never experience our faith unity. More particularly, a religious community as a small unit in the Church can never embrace all the possible incarnations or concrete ex-pressions of faith value. A religious community is thus only one form of faith expression. It is only one "social institutionalization''42 of Christianity. All this implies that in addition to its underlying faith unity, a religious community will necessarily have to embrace certain second level values (the first level is always our faith), certain particular incarnations of the mystery of God. Such second level values are genuinely worthwhile in a pluralistic society for they do lead us to the one God, though in a limited way. Traditionally, the second level values around which religious com-munities have been organized have included the confession of the members of a community (Roman Catholic), their apostolate, their sex, their vowed life, their prayer, their communal living, and so forth. Openness and Second Level Unifiers Now what, in our pluralistic society, can be said about religious com-munities' second level sources of unity? Two main points must be made. First, important though these second level unifiers are, they are not ab-solute expressions of the mystery of God. Thus the place, meaning, and even the continued existence of such second level unifiers of a religious community are subjects which cannot be exempted from dialogue if a re-ligious community is going to be genuinely open to the pluralism of today's world, to our inability to form a total worldview as we did in the past. A religious community which seeks to be open to the absolute mystery of God is not absolutely open to that mystery if it absolutizes any other points besides the one mystery. And when a religious community says that values such as the vows do not call for further dialogue and understanding, it is precisely absolutizing something other than the mystery of God; it is sub-mitting to the ultimate temptation created by our pluralistic situation, the temptation of seeking particular goods instead of the good. It would be most paradoxical if today's religious community were to submit to this temptation. The whole history of religious communities has been one of protest (by vows) against the absolutization of partial human goods such as marriage, wealth, and power. And even though this protest has had tremendous impact in the history of salvation, can a religious corn- 41"Membership of the Church according to the Teaching of Pius XII's Encyclical 'Mystici Corporis Christi,'" TI 2, p. 34. a~Karl Rahner, "Reflections on Dialogue within a Pluralistic Society," TI 6, p. 31. Pluralism in Rahner / 239 munity absolutize its means (and its understanding of this means) of dialoguing with the world, of showing the world where it must move in the spirit of Christian hope? Many examples of how a religious community must be open to dialogue about second level values could be cited. Apostolates obviously need to be reconsidered today. The vow of poverty is in great need of reassessment inasmuch as the mere fact that one cannot dispose of his or her own funds does not make one poor if he or she belongs to a rich community.4'~ To take another example which has probably been thought of a good deal less, who are we to say that religious communities are always going to remain ex-clusively Roman Catholic? Granted that Vatican II has already described the other Churches as true ecclesial realities, granted that Eucharistic Inter-communion is probably not too far off, granted that many young people in the other Christian confessions (especiall.y young women) find an idealism, way of life and apostolic zeal in Catholic-religious communities for which there is no parallel in their own confessions, and finally granted that more and more the real need is for a united Christianity to show its value to a secular (and sometimes atheistic) world rather than for Catholicism to show its value to Protestantism or vice versa, might it not ultimately be-come a genuine call of the Spirit for the Catholic religious communities to accept members from other confessions? While not offering an absolute answer, I hope the example at least helps make the point that dialogue on the values which I have called second level in the religious life seems to be an inescapable consequence of the theology of pluralism. Necessity of Second Level Unifiers Our second major observation on religious communities and second level values or unity sources is a strong reminder that, granted that these values are a constant subject of dialogue, growth, and change, a religious community movement simply cannot exist without some sort of second level value commitment and organization. The religious community must operate through a concrete value-unity structure in order to be open to ultimate value. It must have a concrete vocation if it is going to have a vocation at all. It cannot have its absolute, transcendental goal (the mystery of God) without expressing this goal in concrete goals. A religious community's concrete vocation and concrete goals are so necessary sociologically that, in the midst of all the open dialogue about them, they should be seen as a requirement for membership in the community. Those who do not agree with a religious community's particular goals may be perfectly good Christians, but a community will only retain its societal identity insofar as its members agree upon a particular sociological format for moving towards the mystery of God. This is why Rahner argues that authority in a religious community 43On this point see Karl Rahner, "The Theology of. Poverty," TI 8, especially p. 172. 240 / Review jor Religious, Volume 321 1973/2 may sometimes have to operate in the traditional yes or no method. Surely the yeses or noes of a religious community's authority can never be more than provisional since the community's self understanding and consequent second level values will grow and change in dialogue. But the fact remains that the growth process of permanent religious commitment (and this is what permanent commitment is, a growth process) can only function at a particular point in space and time through the acceptance of second level goals.44 Religious communities which have forgotten this point in recent years have had their troubles as a result. Conclusion By way of a concluding thought, especially for those who are fearful of what will happen to religious communities as they face their future with all its pluralism, I would like to make the very joyful and hopeful point that there are already some indications that an honest, pluralistic dialogue on religious life's second level values will probably do a great deal more to reinforce rather than to downgrade the traditional wisdom of the Church on religious life even though this wisdom may not be asserted as absolutisti-cally as it was in the past. For instance, I have noted and been truly inspired by the fact that Christian virginity has been emerging as a very deep seated value in the lives of some members of the noncanonical religious com-munities in which it is required neither by Church law nor by any public vow. In an era when so many priests, brothers, and sisters are questioning celibacy and virginity, this is most refreshing; it suggests that our pluralistic, open-ended society (which is, after all, God's gift to us) is not so much a thing to be feared as it is a genuine opportunity for spiritual growth. Per-haps it will teach us some things we have been trying to learn all along. ¯ ~4The insistence of second level goals does not of course imply anything like the detailed agreement which existed when religious communities operated from a homogeneous worldview. But some admittedly evolutionary sociological coherence on the second level is a necessity. Pluralism and Polarization among Religious George M. Regan, C.M. Father George Regan is associate professor of theology at St. John's University; Grand Central and Utopia Parkways; Jamaica, New York 11432. The recently published sociological and psychological studies of priests in the United States have no counterpart as yet in special studies about religious men and women. Tempting hypotheses could be constructed on the basis of personal experience and impressions about the levels of maturity and self-actualization among religious, about their attitudes toward authority, and about their opinions on specific issues such as birth control, celibacy, divorce, and liturgical practices. The surveys of priests indicated that widespread disagreement exists among various segments of the Catholic clergy on such issues and that deeply polarized attitudes seem rooted in profound ideologi-cal differences. In the absence of hard data leading to actual percentages of religious who hold certain views, one can nevertheless reflect on the divergence experienced firsthand in contacts with religious communities these days. Pluralism of approach, outlook, and conviction characterize religious at all levels of the same community at times, and comparison of one community with others easily substantiates this impression of diversity, which has re-placed the former uniformity. Pluralism reaches into all levels of community life, encompassing not only particular questions such as order of day, con-crete regulations on government, poverty, and style of dress, but also more fundamental aspects of the institute's l!fe, such as its purpose and nature in the larger Church, its basic ideals and values, and its charismatic qualities for today's world. Members thus find themselves split deeply at official chapters and in less formal gatherings on the most fundamental meanings of their religious life and on many more superficial issues. Coupled with this pluralism has arisen a sense of alienation, an outright bitterness about 241 242 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 the frustrating experience of division, or an aimless confusion. Polarization of groups may be discerned not infrequently. The vitality of individual religious and of entire communities has suffered immeasurably as a conse-quence. This extensive pluralism and the resulting polarization constitute a rich and inviting ground for thorough exploration by specialists in various fields. At times in recent years, some religious have tended to look upon their problems as mainly theological in nature, but further reflection casts grave doubt on the accuracy of this claim. In particular, the psychological and social factors of given attitudinal differences and divisions often feed into the situation more than do the theological and philosophical viewpoints espoused. This may be seen clearly in many contemporary divisions which have emerged between young and old, or between liberals and conservatives. Such divergences often manifest features closely resembling matters dis-cussed in development psychology or sociology in general. This article will concentrate principally on the more theoretical and intellectual roots of today's pluralism which underlie the theological, psychological, and sociological differences. In a sense, it will address the issue of the basic framework within which various groups of religious operate. It will not offer a litany of the specific differences which separate religious, nor will it provide a "medicine chest" of remedies. Our more limited purpose is simply to reflect on the different levels and .origins of pluralism in the ways of thinking and acting among relig!pus and to inquire into some possible means of coping with its sometimes unhappy results. The Death of Old Theory In an address to a committee of American bishops in which he inter-preted the results of the sociological survey of priests, Andrew Greeley claimed that "we have not yet discovered that our fundamental problem is the collapse of old theory combined with the non-appearance of new theory." In his usage, theory means those goals, values, models, and basic assumptions that allow the given human grouping to interpret and order phenomena, to justify its own existence, to explain its purposes to outsiders and new members, to underwrite its standard procedures and methodologies, and to motivate its members toward its goals. Though Greeley's comments regarding such theory concern priests alone, his approach has direct bear-ing on the question of the emergence of pluralism in all areas of American Church life, including religious communities. According to Greeley, the old theoretical structure began to crumble in the United States about ten years ago, and it has now disappeared, never to be restored. This rigid and unconscious theory emerged as a mixture of post-Tridentine garrison Catholicism and American immigrant Catholicism. It laid stress on loyalty to the Church, certainty and immutability of an-swers, strict discipline and unquestioning obedience, a comprehensive Pluralism and Polarization Catholic community, suspicion of the world beyond the Church, avoidance of re-examination of fundamental principles, and clearly defined models of behavior. The reasons substantiating .this theory were largely extrinsic and suasive, not decisive, for they were justified by one's loyalty to the teachings and structures of the Church and not by their intrinsic rationality. When various elements of this theoretical structure were thrown into doubt, the entire theoretical structure collapsed without warning. Since all rules, however minor, were viewed as immutable and unquestioned, change in even a few rules such as "meat on Friday" exposed the shaky foundations of the whole structure. The very suddenness of the change had excluded any opportunity to rethink the grounds of past assumptions and when these assumptions fell into disrepute, confusion resulted. Greeley believes that there exists virtually no theoretical perspective to replace the old theory, for the fads and fashions, clich6s and slogans of recent years lack sound and solid scholarship. His remedies for this situation center on the indis-pensability of scholarship in all areas of Church life. Scholars must get to work on building a new theory; and all levels of the Christian community must manifest openness, respect, and understanding for the results of their scholarship. One might justifiably criticize various elements of Greeley's presenta-tion, which sometimes verges more on polemical journalism than on ob-jective analysis. Sweeping generalizations about the old theory's "avoidance of re-examination of fundamental principles," and about the former lack of rational foundations do not ring completely accurate. One may well disagree with the actual cogency of the intrinsic reasons advanced for many past approaches, but it strikes one as gross exaggeration to deny their very existence, as Greeley seems to do. Consequences ot the Loss o~ the "Old Theory" His overall analysis seems true enough, however, and its application to the current situation which exists in many religious communities also seems clear. In a peculiar fashion and perhaps more strongly than in the priesthood, many religious institutes had embodied the chief marks of the "old theory" which Greeley describes. Disappearance of these characteristics or questionings about their presentday relevance have split many a com-munity or left it adrift aimlessly. The basic goals, values, and assumptions of past approaches to religious life constitute the kind of "old theory" which has undergone increasing challenge. Debates about such funda-mentals have obviously far more import than does disagreement about more superficial features in religious communities. How often does one not hear religious, usually older in age, wondering about the seeming decrease in loyalty to the community and its traditions among some members, the ever-changing views of the young, the lack of discipline and compliance with authority which has grown, the intrusion ~/44 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 of what seems a worldly spirit, the lessening in time devoted to formal prayer, an overstress on personal fulfillment, an endless questioning of basic goals, values, and principles, and the advancement of vague and im-precise models of religious conduct? It takes little effort to draw the sharp contrast between these tendencies and the "old theory" formerly in effect. Another group of members, on the other hand, may criticize the present situation and urge change from precisely an opposite vantage point: Why has the community not updated more its apostolate, life style, government, and spirituality? Why do institutional requirements outweigh personal needs? Such conflicting comments and complaints signal at the least that the members of the religious community have failed to agree on some essential aspects of their life together. Onguing Crisis If one were to accept Greeley's views, then a religious community which lacks agreement on a theory in this deep sense of goals, values, and basic assumptions must of necessity expect ongoing crisis, for it lacks the founda-tions needed by any human organization. Without such organizational ele-ments agreed to substantially by the members, the religious community will lack the tools to provide a rationale for its existence, thereby undercutting its ability to attract new candidates and to motivate its present members. The conflicting expectations of its members, furthermore, would in all likeli-hood lead to frustration and anger, which may become repressed and then manifested only in hidden agendas. The real issues which separate may appear rarely in open discussion; a superficial facade of friendly toleration may mask underlying divisions. Instead of religious' testing one another's assumptions in healthy confrontation and seeking to incorporate whatever seems of value, defensive listening may begin whereby one person listens caret~ully in order to gather information, or better ammunition, to contra-dict. In extreme cases, open hostility or full withdrawal into silence may eventuate. Such problems parallel closely communications difficulties de-scribed extensively in marriage counseling literature. In such an atmosphere, not only deterioration of the human relationships involved, but also de-terioration of the persons themselves must set in eventually. Need for Substantial Agreement This sobering prospect lends a special urgency to the continuing task of striving to clarify and reach substantial agreement on the fundamentals of each religious community. If the members differ broadly on the very purpose and values of the community, how can they realistically expect one another to pursue vigorously and in unison some common goals? The various issues which polarize groups may, in fact, be symptoms of the deeper pathology in the religious community: a lack of common goals, values, and assump-tions essential to the life of the organism. For example, when large numbers Pluralism and Polarization / 245 of religious in a teaching community favor direct social work for the poor, the issue of the apostolic purpose of the institute should be addressed courageously. Similarly, communities which experience sharp and immense diversity among the members on their inner identity as contemplatives or apostolically oriented religious should discuss the matter openly, rather than avoiding the problem or simply drifting indecisively into a new identity through the sheer force of circumstances. When religious of the same community differ enormously on such a basic point of their common life as that of the character of the institute, they have little reason to hope for harmonious concord on lesser ideals and values. The more that significant pluralism enters these foundational areas of goals, values,, and basic assumptions regarding the community itself, the more the members should expect a sense of aimlessness, disunity, and confusion, it would seem. Unless some shared meanings emerge at these deep levels of their life together, religious must prepare for the inevitable results which flow from vague and overly general goals and values. Un-fortunately, dialogue may at times neglect these basic levels of religious life and concentrate on the more superficial, day-to-day aspects or happenings. Such failure may even carry over into official discussions at chapter and the like where extreme defensiveness or closed-mindedness can prevent needed exchange of opinions among the members. In a positive way, therefore, it seems incumbent on religious, especially those in higher authority, to raise these issues when disagreement exists below the surface and to foster free airing of views in the hope of clarifying goals and values. This seems a healthier solution than pretending outwardly that the members amicably share the same opinions. Some meeting of minds may follow more readily in this unhampered atmosphere, despite the anxieties created by confronta-tion. The Roots of Change Greeley's analysis of the contemporary situation in the Church and in the American priesthood is professedly that of a sociologist. When he speaks of the disappearance or collapse of the old theory, therefore, he refers hardly at all to the philosophical and theological underpinnings of the old theory, which he discusses more in empirical terms. Appreciation of these more theoretical dimensions may assist us in gaining additional insight into the roots of pluralism and in evaluating proposed means of coping with it. We shall direct our attention to two matters in particular: the emergence of pluralism in ecclesiology today, and the shift from a classicist to an his-torically conscious worldview. Pluralism in Ecdesiology Though Greeley mentions the death of post-Tridentine garrison Cathol-icism, he does not explore the highly juridical theology of the Church which 246 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 had justified these tightly knit patterns of behavior. This ecclesiology often found direct application to the models of authority and the corresponding structures employed in religious communities. The overcentralization, lack of sufficient subsidiarity, and overly juridical conception of authority found in the Church at large and in diocesan structures existed in religious com~ munities as well and rested its common roots in this understanding of the Church. This former approach to a theology of the Church had the added implication of overstressing the divine element of the holy Church, in too great contrast at times with the so-called profane world. In failing to give enough weight to positive elements outside the Church and to see God present there among men, "this understanding lent a basis to a spirituality tinged with suspicion of the world, "merely natural" or human values, and human institutions. God's self-communication seems relegated more readily to the more narrowly institutional context of the Church and open dialogue with the world appears foreign or dangerous in this conception. Religious communities which operated within this conceptual framework more natur-ally took on reservations about contacts with the world and the need to separate oneself from its perverting influences gained favor. By way of contrast, many contemporary writings which view the Church as servant and healer of the total human society understand her as essentially related to the world; and they take a far more accepting view of human values and institutions: the Church "goes forward together with humanity and experiences the same earthly lot which the world does. She serves as a leaven and as a kind of soul for human society as it is to be renewed in Christ and transformed into God's family" (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, no. 40). The more that individual religious communities as a whole have taken on this more openly secular approach, which views the world and human values more favorably, the more they customarily take a somewhat negative view of factors which are viewed as separating the religious from the world or from human customs. Resulting Disagreements Inevitable disagreements must exist in religious communities and throughout the entire Church so long as disagreement exists on such funda-mental approaches to a theology of the Church. Pluralism among religious in this basic theological area sometimes underlies the members' differing convictions on contact with or separation from other people, openness or closedness to human standards and patterns of conduct, and general in-volvement with or disassociation from ordinary human events. Disputes about religious garb, about freedom to come and go, about visiting with laity or entering into friendship with them, and about attendance at or participa-tion in recreational or sports activities sometimes stem from more profound differences about the way in .which religious are conceived of in their rela-tionship to "the world." An implicit ecclesiology often seems at work in the Pluralism and Polarization / 247 way people think about such concrete matters. Similarly, disagreements in ecclesiology are bound to influence one's notions of Church authority. These disagreements become manifest frequently in the comments or criticisms by religious that they find their community's authority too centralized in the person of the provincial authorities or the local superior; or that col-legial bodies such as consultations of the local house are given mere lip service by the local superior; or that decisions which can be reached by themselves individually or at the local level are reserved to higher authority. Once again, these issues seem symptomatic of the more profound ideological differences in ecclesiology which separate Catholics today. Though such disagreements seem inevitable in today's climate of plural-ism, the destructive manner of coping with them found so often need not exist. More comments will be made on this topic later in this article, but some reflections seem pertinent even at this stage. Disagreement can at times be a constructive and enriching force in human relationships, within toler-able limits and depending on how people react. Deep differences should be faced squarely in a climate of open communication, if some valid hope remains of fostering closer harmony and unity in community. To bury di-vergences o~r to treat only the symptoms or external manifestations of pluralism and the resulting polarization insures an eventual destruction of interpersonal sharings promotive of personal growth. It would be more worthwhile to plunge tactfully into the more basic levels of disagreements, which in this case touch on the very nature of the Church and of ecclesiasti-cal authority. One's assumptions, spoken and outspoken, should be brought to light in mutual respect and openness. A willingness to temper one's views, to grant honesty and good will to the other party, and to speak about issues, not personalities, seems a minimum condition in such dialogue. In this deeper context where lie the roots of more shallow differences, mere pragmatic techniques for bettering the current situation will prove in-sufficient. Though the American passion for such practical programs may obscure one's vision, religious communities must accept the need of dealing with these more profound, theoretical dimensions of these issues. If reli-gious communities are to adopt even more moderate thrusts of contemporary theologies of the Church and of ecclesiastical authority, for example, they should at least acquaint all members with a more positive view of the world beyond the Church. Leaders in each community must also embody the con-viction that authority means service, not naked power disguised under new forms; that collegial functioning flows from Christian coresponsibility as members of the community; that love, trust, and friendship must be present in any effective Church leader and perhaps even more in a leader within a religious community. This kind of new theory, if it be that in contrast to some past distorted notions, surpasses mechanical techniques of improving government and the community's stance vis-?a-vis the rest of mankind. To expect that religious superiors familiar with another approach to authority 248 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 can automatically learn and adopt this new theory and behavior seems rather unrealistic. Practice based on such theory would go a long way in alleviating some tensions which exist among those who doggedly hold to outmoded con-ceptions of the Church and of authority, and those who stridently favor newness uncritically, perhaps urging the abandonment of most structures and of practically any interpretation of authority. Once more, unless some attempt is made to deal with issues below their surface and to strive for some limited agreement in fundamentals, religious communities cannot rightfully expect polarization to lessen, let alone disappear. A Changed Worldview Beyond Greeley's empirical analysis and the implications of the ecclesi-ological factors described above, we can explore still further to the deeper roots of today's pluralism in religious communities. Catholic authors in recent years have noted a significant shift in the basic worldview whereby we do philosophy and theology these days, and whereby we approach prac-tical solutions to questions in Church life. By worldview, these authors mean the fundamental framework whereby one interprets and orders reality and thus arrives at more detailed convictions. Bernard Lonergan in dogmatic theology, Charles Curran in moral theology, John Courtney Murray in matters pertaining to religious freedom, and Avery Dulles in ecclesiology have all referred to a contemporary change from a classicist worldview to an historically conscious worldview, which they all see as having immense ramifications in their areas of concern. Greek philosophy and Christian thought represented by thinkers ranging from Augustine to Thomas Aquinas to nearly all Catholic theologians until quite recently employed an approach which emphasized man's ability to grasp the essence of reality through his reasoning faculty. This so-called "classicist worldview" left little room for change, variation, or uncertitude. Since reason can easily enough penetrate to the essence of reality, im-mutability, certitude, timelessness, and absoluteness characterized such varied matters as moral principles, images of the Church, Church laws, and inherited patterns of conduct. In moral issues, for example, this thought pattern leaves little room for variability and relativity because of cultural diversity, historical development, or concrete circumstances. A variety of universal, negative norms, "Thou shalt nots," became part and parcel of the moral theology built on this worldview. In ecclesiology, this approach favored descriptive notes which emphasized similar qualities of unchange-ableness, universality, absoluteness, and certainty. The canon law elaborated in former times also mirrored this conception of reality. Modern influences of personalism, phenomenology, and existentialism and the scientific spirit of modern times bore in on Catholic philosophers and theologians in recent decades and turned the tide against this classicist Pluralism and Polarization / 249 worldview for many an author and, seemingly, for our entire Western cul-ture. The historically conscious worldview embodied in many Catholic writ-ings today views man and his world as evolving and historical, rather than as static and unchanging. Progress, development, and growth are seen as marking man and his world, and these qualities should carry into all philosophical, theological, and practical understandings of Christian life. A stress on the human person in his subjectivity and concreteness, on this man or men, rather than simply on "man," characterizes the contemporary in-quiry. The individual's feelings and non-rational states understandably receive more attention in this approach. Since concreteness, change, and diversity are such prominent features, tentativeness and openness to excep-tion replace the past tendency to formulate a host of absolute understand-ings. Pluralism and Worldviews Results of this shift in worldviews can be seen clearly in recent debates in the field of Christian moral theology. The uniqueness and unrepeatability of the individual person and his myriad moral situations have eroded for some authors the very possibility of articulating general moral norms with an absolute force, the "Thou shalt nots" so familiar in past presentations of Catholic morality. Rather than centering their treatment of a question like divorce, contraception, or pre-marital relations on the essence of marriage and human sexuality, for instance, authors writing in this vein will tend to discuss the empirical consequences and concrete circumstances of divorce, contraception, and pre-marital relations in order to arrive at their moral reflections on the proposed conduct. Nearly all authors show some reliance these days on this historically conscious view of man, though most have combined this with some continuing reliance on man's essential structures. This eclecticism does, however, lead inevitably to a spectrum of theological opinions, instead of the one "Catholic opinion" found in moral writings in use even into the past decade. A main result of this shift in worldviews and the accompanying eclecti-cism, consequently, has been the emergence of pluralism in many areas of Catholic thinking and living. One answer no longer exists for many issues in theology, philosophy, and Church life. Catholics' opinions run the spectrum from the essentialism inherited from past approaches through all shades of combinations to the other pole, new approaches heavily conditioned by existentialism, process thought, and consequ.entialism. Many common em-phases can, of course, be discerned in contemporary writings: a stress on the human person in his freedom, dignity, and personal fulfillment; the possibility of more room for change in previously accepted theological opinions, in social customs and law, and in Church structures; a thrust toward service in the world, rather than an emphasis on the dangers of con-tamination from the world; and an understanding of the Church more in 250 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/2 terms of the persons involved than in terms of institutions. These common emphases do not, however, lead to one new theory; they lead instead to new theories, new theologies, new understandings of the Church and ecclesiastical laws, customs, and structures. In a real sense, a new theory has developed which permits and even fosters a plurality of theories, of theologies, and of understandings. Pluralism constitutes a key-note of such "new theory." Disappointment may well await those who urge and expect some new univocal theory in the sense of an all-comprehensive and wholly coherent system of goals, values, and models of appropriate behavior and assumptions for the Church at large. Such a theory seems un-likely to appear on the horizon in the foreseeable future, if at all. What seems far more plausible and realistic to expect is an acceptance of pluralism in theology, philosophy, Church structures, and social customs and laws. Worldviews and Polarization This contrast between the classicist and historically conscious worldviews has influenced greatly the polarization so evident in religious communities today. At the roots of the various groupings whose labels have become pop-ularized-- liberal vs. conservative, old vs. young, secular-minded vs. cultic --often lies this more fundamental difference in the very approach to reality which religious and other Catholics now have. Inevitably, religious working within the historically conscious worldview will be more prone to accept or even to foster change in structures, in theological understandings, in the manner of doing Christian service to the world, in the proper exercise of authority in their community, and in traditional laws and customs. Since their entire outlook on reality promotes change and development in the name of human and Christian progress, and diversity and tentativeness in all formulations, which must of necessity be time-conditioned, they will urge these qualities in all aspects of religious life. Bedause their worldview con-centrates more on the human person in his concreteness and uniqueness, they will react strongly against whatever structures, institutions, and under-standings hinder the individual's fulfillment. A deeper interpersonal sharing at a different level of friendship than found in traditional approaches to religious life will leave these religious unsatisfied with forms of life which they find impersonal, institutionalized, and shallow. De~ires for small group-living frequently result from their reaction to such weaknesses, which they discern in large religious houses. Such issues as those of optional celibacy for secular priests, the ordination to priestly ministry of women, freedom of life style for priests and religious in such matters as dress, residence, and occupation, remarriage or readmis-sion to the sacraments of the divorced, and collegial living without a local authority in the person of a superior flow more naturally from a person whose fundamental outlook remains open to newness and progress in the sense described and whose value system places great emphasis on the indi- Pluralism and Polarization / :251 vidual person's development. Often enough, the individual religious will not have clearly articulated the theoretical foundations of his basic worldview or framework for thinking and judging; he simply finds himself doing it rather consistently without much reflection. No more than for many a person operating within the classicist worldview, his basic presuppositions and unarticulated theory rarely enter formally into discussion. Unless other members of religious communities come to appreciate this basic contrast in worldviews, they will find it most difficult to understand the rationale for many present-day movements and for viewpoints like those described previously. They will greet each new issue in the community with dismay, wondering why large numbers of their own community fail to see things their way. "Where have they gone wrong?" may be their continuing puzzled query. They will not grasp that an entirely different framework, the historically conscious worldview, has its own inner logic, as compelling for its adherents as their own classicist approach. One need not, of course, actually agree with the historically conscious worldview in its main lines or certainly in its applications. Unless one has some minimal understanding ot~ its overall thrust, however, one seems doomed to confusion, so far-reaching has been its influence and acceptance. Rancor and anger leading to hardened opposition of polarized camps may eventually set in. This seems already to have occurred in numerous instances in religious communities and rela-tions have become strained or, in some cases, non-existent. The Danger of Worsening The pluralism of opinions has threatened and disturbed many religious precisely because it has unsettled the foundations of their entire worldview and the conclusions which flow from it. The wonder, at times is that more polarization fails to exist, given the chasms in viewpoints. A hankering after the former uniformity in outlook and the accompanying security may under-standably have crept into one's (onsciousness in this charged atmosphere. Condemnation of unexamined new approaches as untenable or foofish may prove the only sustainable defense for the threatened and vulnerable person trained in another way in a different era. Conversely, religious who operate within the historically conscious Worldview may retreat into an unsubstan-tiated dogmatism in reaction to this rejection which they sense in their fellow religious. The wounded feelings they experience may lead some into frustrated withdrawal, whose sequel will be loneliness and depression. In overreaction, others may lash out negatively against traditional values and customs, denying in the process the continuity with the past which will insure the future. This unhealthy and mutally destructive atmosphere will breed a polarization far removed from the ideals of Christian community. Unless some steps toward amelioration of this situation can be under-taken, the current crisis in some religious communities seems likely to con-tinue and to deepen. An already bad situation may worsen. In particular, 252 / Review ]or Religious, l/olume 32, 1973/2 the strong, balanced, and idealistic candidates needed so badly in religious communities will not be attracted to a divided and polarized group who seem unable to live the unity their very notion implies. A deep and urgent crisis exists; yet the tone of given communities sometimes manifests business as usual in an atmosphere of unrealistic hope for a better future. Doomsday prophets are usually proved wrong and their message hardly accords with Christian hope. Yet Christian hope has always avoided the twin shoals of despair and presumption. Both undue pessimism and unwarranted optimism remain excluded. Coping With Pluralism and Polarization What suggestions can be offered for coping with pluralism and its fre-quent companion, polarization? At the outset, it would be profitable to recall that any such discussion should proceed within the prayerful recol-lection of Jesus' prayer "that they may all be one, even as you Father in me and I in you; that they may all be one in us." Religious communities' unity must fit within this larger context of the unity among men and the unity of the Church, as prayed for by Jesus. Constant prayer for faithfulness to the gospel ideal of loving union with all one's neighbors should mark every Christian. I-Iow much more so in those situations when religious experience disunity, discord, and polarization? Prayer for one another, reflection on those features which the religious share in common, and a positive desire for loving union should receive more emphasis than often seems the case. Besides these most fundamental suggestions, several more come to mind. First, it would seem helpful as a starting point to realize and expect that pluralism will be unavoidable in the years ahead in most areas of Church life and theology. Pluralism will not simply go away overnight, if at all. The fundamental differences in outlooks among Catholic moral theologians, for example, in such basic matters as the existence of absolute norms, the epistemology of theological ethics, the use of Sacred Scripture, the binding force of the Church's teachings on moral matters, the importance of esti-mating consequences and employing empirical data, all point to long-reaching splintering into various camps of moral theologians for the fore-seeable future. Logically, authors who disagree on such basic items must disagree also in matters pertaining to medical ethics, sexual ethics, social issues, or any other concrete moral question. Similarly, the different worldviews employed by religious who live under the same roof or in the same province dictate perforce some degree of continued divergence on matters pertaining to their religious lives. Keeping these facts in mind, expectation of pluralism in a realistic way may cut away some of the unnecessary emotional defenses which hinder rational analysis of the new premises and conclusions. In this unhampered atmosphere, de-fensiveness will diminish, hopefully, and reasoned consideration and genuine dialogue, in the sense of a candid exchange of views, may follow the more Pluralism and Polarization / 25
Issue 21.3 of the Review for Religious, 1962. ; International Congress on Vocations In the spring of 1960 His Eminence, Valerio Cardinal Valeri, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, announced that there would be an international congress in Rome of the two hundred most famous vocation spe-cialists of the world from December 10-16, 1961. From the discussions and resolutions of such competent men would be formulated a program which subsequently would be put into effect by the Pontifical Organization for Religious Vocations. A year was spent in selecting the speakers and partici-pants and arranging topics for discussion. Then in Au-gust, Father Godfrey Poage, C.P., Director of the Reli-gious Vocation Clubs in America and Delegate of the Conference of Major Superiors, was summoned to Rome to undertake the directorship of the Congress. The Domus Mariae, a beautiful new convention center in west suburban Rome, was chosen as the site of the Congress, and contracts were let for building the displays and exhibitions. Twenty-six nations through their Con-ferences of Major Superiors agreed to demonstrate their materials and techniques used in the promotion of voca-tions. Also the most prominent publishers of vocational materials were invited to participate. The two companies in America so honored were George Pflaum Inc., of Day-ton, Ohio, publishers of the Catholic Messengers and the Paulist Press of New York City, publishers of the zldult Education Program for Vocations. As arrangements progressed, His Eminence, Cardinal Valeri, decided to increase the number of participants in order to extend the effectiveness of this great meeting. Invitations, therefore, were sent to all superiors general in the world as well as to seven hundred and sixty-one selected fathers and brothers provincial. All Conferences of Major Superiors, likewise, were asked to send delegates. 4- 4- 4- on Vocatlo~ VOLUME 21, 1962 Congress REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS Specialists in sociology, psychology, pastoral theology, and allied subjects were invited from the principal universi-ties of the world. National directors of youth groups and vocation associations were also welcomed. Thus.during the days of the Congress there were in attendance 7 cardinals, 't2 bishops, 18 abbots, 179 supe-riors general, and 1'~89 delegates and auditors from '[1 nations, making it the largest gathering of authorities in the history of the Church to study one specific problem; namely, the recruitment of more priests, brothers, and sisters. One month prior to the Congress all religious com-munities in the world and all dioceses with vocation office:; were asked to make a spiritual contribution. Over one' million Masses were.offered for this intention, as well as innumerable prayers, sacrifices, and good works from both religious and faithful. Five special Masses were prepared by the Sacred Con-gregation of Rites and released just before the Congress for insertion in the Roman Missal. They are: 1) For the Seeking and Fostering of Religious Voca-tions; 2) For the Seeking of Ecclesiastical Vocations; 3) For the Preserving of Vocations; 4) For the Day of Profession Of Religious Men; 5) For the Day of Profession of Religious Women.1 The solemn opening of the Congress took place on Sunday evening, December 10, 1961, at the Basilica of St. Mary Major. His Eminence, Valerio Cardinal Valeri, offered the special Vocation Mass, assisted by officials of the Sacred Congregation of Religious. Since thousands of posters had been distributed throughout the city ask-ing the laity to participate with prayers and attendance at Mass, the Basilica was filled to overflowing for the func-tion and sermon. As the prelates, superiors, delegates, and specialists ar-rived at Doraus Mariae on Monday morning, December 11, they were directed by a corps of professional ushers to registration desks, identified by position, tagged, given lapel flags of their various nations, programs, and copies of the addresses in the language of their preference. An-nouncements were made in six languages, seating was in order of ecclesiastical dignity, and multi-lingual tran:;la-tors were on hand for discussion periods. All sessions be-gan and concluded promptly at the designated times, .and the addresses of the principal speakers were carried by Vatican Radio. In his opening address Cardinal Valeri pointed out that a generation ago Europe furnished eighty-five per cent of 1 C~opies of these Masses may be obtained from local church good stores or from the Vatican Polyglot Press, Vatican City. the foreign mission personnel. Now European dioceses and communities are not able to maintain their own in-stitutions, much less send out missionaries. "To find ways and means of remedying this situation," he explained, "all present have been invited to discuss the problems involved and suggest a program for the PontificaiOi~gani-zation for Religious Vocations to promote." The first speaker was Dr. Francis Houtart, Director of the Brussels Center for Social Research. He pointed out that while there is a slight increase in the numbers of priests and religious being currently recruited and trained, it is not sufficient to keep pace with the progres-sive growth of the world's population. The annual birth-rate of the world is now forty-seven million---or approxi-mately the total population of Ita!y or Great Britain. Of this number the Catholics are able to reach or influence only eighteen per cent. In the discussion that followed, Father James Forrestal of England, author of a number of statistical studies on priestly and religious vocations, gave the 'percentiles of priests and religious in various parts of the world. In the past year, for example, there were 4,238 priests ordained in the world. Exactly fifty per cent of that number were in America (2,119) and just slightly over half of all the priests ordained in the American Continent were in the United States (1,149). Reports were then made by delegates of all the nations represented. Particular attention was given to the reports of the South American delegates, where Mexico has 4,663 Catholics for each priest; Central America has 6,332 for each priest; and South America, 4,461. To obtain the desired ratio of priests to people, which is one priest per 800 souls; there is an immediate need" for 130,000 priestsl In the afternoon the address was given by Father God-frey Poage, C.P., on the subject "Recruiting and Re-cruiters of Religious Vocations." He explained not only all the means that have been used in the different coun-tries by various recruiters to obtain prospects, but also how to develop new techniques---how to "brainstorm" for more effective recruiting procedures. This was the first time a major address was ever delivered by a Vatican Official before a Roman Congress in English. Afterwards the superiors and delegates present expressed their ap-preciation of the American method with a standing ova-tion. The discussion was led by Father Bertrand de Margerie, S.J., Secretary of the Conference of Major Superiors of Brazil. He pointed out that two great handicaps of the recruiters in South America are ignorance and prejudice. These can be overcome only by proper advertising and public relations. Some of the more conservative delegates ÷ ÷ ÷ Congress on Vocations VOLUME 21, 1962 felt there was no place for "Madison Avenue" techniques in winning souls for Christ and a very spirited debate ensued. The Italians were confident that they would carry the vote at the end, but were dismayed to find they had only the delegates of their own country,. Malta, the North Countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), Spain, and South Africa on their side. On Tuesday morning Father Raymond Izard, Director of the Vocation Center of Paris, spoke on "Pastoral Prac-tice and Religious Vocations." He explained the role of the diocesan priest in fostering vocations and the respon-sibility the pastor has in developing the various religious apostolates. He then explained the French system, where direction of vocations is under the guidance of the repre-sentatives of the Bishops' Conference, while the work of the office is shared mutually with representatives of the Conferences of Major Superiors. In the discussion, directed by His Excellency, Joseph Carraro, Bishop of Verona, emphasis was put on how to achieve greater collaboration between diocesan and re. ligious recruiters. The Archdiocese of Chicago, repre-sented by Father ~]ohn Kennelly, the Archdiocesan Voca-tion Director, was singled out as one of several in the world deserving special praise for being areas in which religious recruiters, as coadjutors of the diocesan clergy, work for the common good of all vocations. In the afternoon began a series of theological discus-sions, which was like a dress-rehearsal for the ecumenic~ll council in that the foremost theologians of the world joined in debate with one another, bishops, major su-periors, and cardinals. On Saturday morning, December 16, at nine o'clock all participants in the Congress assembled in the Hall of Benediction at the Vatican to hear a special allocution by His Holiness, Pope John XXIII, on the subject of religious vocations. The text of the allocution is given elsewhere in this issue of the REviEw. The final session of the Congress was devoted to the business of the Vocation Office and to resolutions which will be implemented by the Pontifical Organization for Vocations in the coming year. Congress on Vocations REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS JOHN XXIII Religious Vocations Beloved sonsl Today's meeting1 and the pleasure it evokes in Our heart dispenses with any introduction. Let Us say only this--and We think it sufficient to prove the intensity of Our interest--from the very beginning Our prayers have followed the preparation and realization of this First In-ternational Congress on Religious Vocations. It now gives Us great pleasure to thank the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious and especially you, Cardinal Valeri, for wanting to undertake such an enormous em terprise, a work which the competence of many experts has brought to a successful conclusion. Sublimity o[ the Religious Vocation This Congress has accentuated a very delicate and urgent problem; namely, the increasing of vocations to the states of perfection in the world today. The simple merition of this theme of the Congress conjures up many images in which there are reasons for profound joy and hope, and at the same time reasons for apprehension and uncertainty. On the one hand We see the different reli-gious families being constantly renewed with young as-pirants because of the fascinating attraction of their in-numerable forms of ordered life. On the other hand, We see the obstacles which the spirit of the world raises against producing vocations-~obstacles of the ever-recur-ring attractions of the threefold concupiscences (1 Jn 2:16) which are diametrically opposed to the vows of re-ligious perfection. Suffice it to refer to the lax mentality which today makes use of the press, radio and television, to defile even the sanctuary of the home. This state of affairs, however, is not something new. It is only more noticed today because of its diffusion and gravity. Moreover, it poses new problems and difficulties for the director of souls and for those who are concerned with recruiting, directing, and safeguarding vocations. ~The following is an English translation of the allocution deliv-ered on December 16, 1961 to those attending the First International Congress on Vocations to the State of Perfection. 4. Religious Vocations VOLUME 21, 1962 179 ÷ ÷ ÷ John XXIII REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS Accordingly, We salute with special praise and en-couragement this important undertaking of the Sacred Congregation of Religious. This problem of religious and priestly vocations is the daily worry of the Holy Father; it is ~he intention of his prayer, and the ardent aspiration' of his soul. This is the intention for which We offer the fourth joyful mystery of Our Rosary as We contemplate Mary giying the Eternal Priest of the New Law to the heavenly Father. As We said in the beginning of October: "It is beautiful to see in that mystery our highest hopes regarding the priesthood perennially fulfilled: young students in seminaries, religious houses, missionary col-leges, whose expansion, despite difl~cuhies and obstacles in the present day, is a consoling sight, evoking exclama-tions of admiration and joy" (L'Osservatore Romano, Oct. I, 1961, p. 2). Regarding the training of vocations to the religious and priestly, life, We have already offered paternal sug-gestions in Our discourse to the rectors of major and minor seminaries of Italy on July 29 of this year. We con-sidered at that time the great respon.sibility of this work. We treated the spiritual formation of the young seminar-ians for the priestly and religious life as well as their in-tellectual training (AAS, v. 53 [1961], pp. 559-65). Today, therefore, We wish rather to emphasize the beauty of the vocation to the priestly and religious state. Moreover, the religious congregations of women repre-sented here widen the scope of this meeting. There are countless numbers who through their example show a life hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3), a life of abnega-tion, of zealous service, of following the dictates of God's will. They offer to the world, which is scarcely able to appreciate it, the living example of perfect virginity o~! heart and supreme generosity. This evokes a joyous re-sponse from so many good daughters of cities and towns, who, coming mostly from Catholic Vocation Clubs, are attracted by these ideals and wish to follow them in live~ lived solely for God and neighbor. Many Forms of Total Consecration o[ Self to God Such is the wonder of a vocation that We anxiously and confidently praise those wholesome and virtuous Christian families in which flower the new generation, "the new olive plants" (Ps 127:3) of tomorrow. Particularly do We praise the young men and women who are more aware of the needs for the expansion of the Kingdom of God and are consequently thinking of their own perfec-tion and the salvation of souls. We remind them that the voice of Christ resounds continuously throughout the world, gently persuading those habituated to prayer, apostolic service, and sacrifice to become hunters of souls. Jesus calls invitingly: "If you wish to.be perfect, go,. sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me" (Mr 19:21). This is losing oneself in order to find; it is a giving to Him Who is able to reserve for us in eternal life a hun-dredfold more than we now give on. earth of our energies, talents, and abilities. The innumerable religious families which exercise their apostolate throughout the world give to youth a most complete ideal for which they can well live and die. In these families the Church offers many modes of conse-cration to God, ranging from the ancient monastic orders to the most active modern congregations, all of which in one way or another prolong in time some particular as-pect of Christ's mission. To joifi one of these groups, when called, means to find again His life and imitate it for the spread of the Gospel (Mk 8:35). Sometimes contemplative communities are misunderstood and do not seem to contribute to the apos-tolate. But as Our predecessor, Pope Pius XI, explained: "Much more is contributed to the growth and develop-ment of the Church by contemplative groups than by those who perform the actual labors, for it is they who call down from heaven the vivifying graces to irrigate the plowed fields of the other apostolic workers" (Bull Um-bratilera, AAS v. 16 [1924], p. 389). The fields of religious perfection are almost limitless, since the impulse for the apostolate derives its motivation from the constant seeking after God alone, from fidelity to His grace, and from continual efforts for greater in-terior recollection. Now the fields are ripe for the harvest, needing apostolic hands and helping hands. There is the missionary apostolate which needs many vocations in order to meet the increased contingencies of spreading the gospel throughout the world. Then there is the care of souls in parishes of our large cities where so many re-ligious families are already working with great success. There is also the very speEialized work of the moral and intellectual instruction of youths whose parents with a confidence that will not go unrewarded entrust them to religious men and women. Moreover, there are the in-numerable forms of charity and works of mercy in which so many orders and congregations distinguish themselves, all perpetuating on earth the charity of our Lord, of whom it is written, "He went about doing good and healing all" (Acts 10:38). New Horizons Ior the Harvest o[ Christ These tremendous needs for more workers for the harvest oblige all of us to study and do our utmost that from our modern society, as in the days of the famous ÷ ÷ Religious Vocations VOLUME 21, 1962 ]8] 4. ]elm REV;EW FOR REL;G~OUS 182 founders and reformers, great numbers of youths will respond to our Lord's invitation. New horizons are open-ing in the very near future during the celebration of the ecumenical council. Moreove.r, history teaches that there is always a period of extraordinary spiritual fecundity after an ecumenical council, for the Holy Spirit evokes generous vocations and gives to the Church the right and necessary men. This promise of faith and hope stirs Our heart with a divine yearning. Continue, therefore, your combined efforts to encour-age reIigious vocations by every means, presenting to the youths the beauty and attraction of your life in ways that are more appealing. Make use of the extraordinary means which the press, the radio, and television offer for spread-ing these great ideas. Moreover, remember it is necessary. to work together with order and mutual respect, having always in mind the greater welfare of the universal Church in which there is room for all. Study how. to dis-tribute both priests and religious to those places which have the most need, overcoming understandable preoc-cupations. In a word, exert every effort to increase voca-tions everywhere. The activity which will commence at the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious and in each of your institutes at the conclusion of this Congress will be multiple and de-manding. But We shall be with you in spirit, in blessing, and in prayer. 0 Jesus, send laborers into Your fields, which are await-ing holy apostles, saintly priests, heroic missionaries, gentle and indefatigible sistersl Enkindle in the hearts of young men and women the spark of a vocation. Grant that Christian families may desire to be distinguished by giving to Your Church cooperators in the work of to-morrowl Anxiety [or the People o] the Congo Beloved sons and daughtersl Since We are speaking under very opportune circum-stances in that you represent all the countries of the world; let Us, your Father, share with you a deep sorrow, as if to garner encouragement and renewed confidence from the common sharing of this sorrow. The considerations which We have made have opened. before your eyes promising horizons for a fruitful apos, tolate and generous, charitable service in all countries without distinction, even beyond those barriers where Christianity is not acknowledged. News reports which reach the Holy Father are not all joyful. You know what has been happening for the past fifteen months and especially the past few days in the Congo. In the act of reaping from the tree of political in- dependence those hoped-for fruits of prosperity, prestige, and works of peace, the earth of that blessed country is now bathed in bloodl The people, and especially the youth, are suffering so acutely that the outlook for the future is most uncertain. Having daily contact with the Blood of Christ ~in' the mystery of the Eucharist, We cannot remain unmoved at the sight of so much suffering, such ruin of the moral and social order. The consequences produced by this state of affairs greatly distress Us. Even as you understand my words, beloved sons and daughters, so We are certain that others cannot do other-wise than understand them, wherever Our sad message may reach. The affliction caused by this evil oppresses Our soul. Therefore We turn beseechingly to those who can and ought to intervene, so that with disinterested counsel, ob-jective information, and an appreciation of rights, they may cooperate in reestablishing peace in that country and bring about peaceful and serene days for all. This is the fervent prayer, which We raise to the om-nipotent God through the intercession of Our heavenly Mother. We would like to see all here present and all those of good heart and soul, who would like to be united with Us, to join in this prayer. These paternal desires are accompanied with a special Apostolic Blessing, first to you, Cardinal Prefect, and your collaborators in the Sacred Congregation; for the of-ficials of the Pontifical Work for Religious Vocations; for all here present; for all your religious institutes; and for your own families; and, finally, in the spirit of good-will, to all youths in seminaries and houses of formation, who are preparing to consecrate themselves totally to God, to the Church, and to the service of their fellowmen. Religious gocatiom VOLUME 21, 1962 ]83 GODFREY POAGE, C.P. Recruiting Religious Vocations ÷ ÷ ÷ God[rey Poage, C.P., is the Director of the Religious Voca-tions Clubs in America. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 184 For1 the past eight hundred years Dante Alighieri has brightened men's mind~ and stirred their hearts with the profound and wholesome message of his Divine Comedy. In this great poem the Italian master tells how he was per-suaded to undertake a long journey, first of purgation. then purification., and finally union. His guide the most important part of the way was the incomparable Beatrice, and the closer he approached to Divine Union, the brighter and more beautiful became the face of his guide. Somehow this journey is analogous to the work of re-cruiting religious vocations. We, like Beatrice, are called upon to lead others on a difficult way. First we must take our proteges through a period of purgation and trial-- then we must develop in them habits of virtue and purify them for a new life. Finally, we must bring them to the th~:eshold of the seminary or novitiate and there say, as Beatrice did to Dante, "Turn now and look, for here is found Paradisel" First Step: Setting Objectives To succeed in such important work, we must have clear-cut objectives and practical means of attaining them. To help us the Holy See has outlined the principles and norms that must be followed. The experience of prudent and capable recruiters has shown the practical applica-tion of these directives. If only we combine the two with prayer, success will follow. In the General Statutes accompanying the apostolic constitution of Pope Pius XII, Sedes Sapientiae, we are told that three things are needed to increase vocations: 1) Fervent. prayer to the Lord of the harvest that ]-Ie send laborers into His harvest (Mt 9:38); 1 This is the text of an address delivered to the First International Congress on Vocations to the State of Perfection. 2) the resplendent example of religious sanctity; 3) the ardent and perpetual exercise of apostolic zeal. (Art 23, ¶ l) Through prayer we win for the youths the grace of a vocation and the generosity to respond. Through advertising and .various promotidnal"tech-niques, we acquaint youths and their parents with the na-ture of our life. Seeing our happiness and the good we are accomplishing, they are forced to the speculative judg-ment: "The priesthood or religious life is goodY' But before anyone can make the practical judgment-- "The priesthood or religious life is good for mel"--it is necessary that he see the intrinsic good of the religious state. This good is not immediately evident in itself, so the will must be induced by some force outside itself to make the choice. Helping a youth to make this practical "judgment is the most important work of the recruiter. Sometimes we hear it said that every priest or religious is a recruiter ex officio. The pastor in his pulpit is a re-cruiter. So is the brother in the classroom, the nurse at the patient's bedside, or the missionary in foreign lands. The truth of these statements depends on what we mean by recruiting. The ability to recruit--to inspire and direct youths-- is not something every priest or religious has instinctively. It is a skill that is developed--something a person is trained to use expertly. It is based on knowledge; knowl-edge of how God calls an individual to His service; knowlo edge of how the Church calls a person to the religious life or priesthood; and knowledge of human nature. All this, however, is matter for other sessions of the Congress. Here we are confining ourselves to techniques and pro-cedures in recruitment. Second Step: Contacting Suitable Youths Once our objectives are determined, we then proceed to the most effective means of contacting suitable youths. Recently a report, entitled "Methods of Recruiting," was published by Father Leonard P. Stocker, O.M.I., at the Catholic University of America. It was a compilation of one hundred replies from seminaries and novitiates re-garding the methods they had used to obtain their pres-ent enrollments. Here, in summary, are his findings: Techniques Groups Using Literature: Pamphlets, folders, etc .8.1 Visits to elementary schools .6.5 Visits to high schools .5.6 Magazine advertisements .43 Response from "Vocation Sundays" . .43 Publicity in diocesan papers .35 Faculty preaching on vocations .30 ÷ ÷ + Recruiting VOLUME 21, 1962 ÷ ÷ Godfrey Poage, C.P. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS ]86 Other paid publicity programs .30 Visits to ho,nes of likely candidates .30 Vocation exhibits . 29 Posters . 26 "Open-House" days at the seminary for prospects . 18 Vocation retreats . 11 Vocation movies . . 9 Vocation correspondence courses for prospects . : . 6 Missions . 4 Seminary bulletin or newspaper .3 Picnics at the seminary for altar boy groups . 2 Vocation talk by bishop at confirmation . 1 Ordination held in home parish . 1 Essay" contest . l By studying how other seminaries and novitiates have obtained candidates we learn what has been done. Some of the techniques we can use; other ideas we can develop. But our vocation work should be more than a simple imi-tation of others. Each one of us should contribute some-thing new to the vocation movement. There should be some way of utilizing the wisdom and experience of all our members, that more effective means of meeting our vocation problems might be found. More El~ective Recruiting One of the great secrets of progress in science and dustry has been the fact that scientists and manufacturers have joined in associations of creative research. The~ have studied not only the how and why of things, but they have also exerted a conscious creative effort to discover new lacts, arrive at new combinations, and find new ap-plications. Our problem as recruiters is not the improvement things, but the improvement of personal relations. We want to obtain better response from youths, greater co-operation from parents, and a deeper understanding the religious life in the laity. But how can this be achieved? Only by prayerful reflection and diligent exer-cise of our God-given facultiesl When we exercise our memories and imaginations in prayerful meditation, the gift of understanding--under the excitation of grace--becomes operative. We see things in a different light; we go deeper into the problem. Some spiritual writers call these insights and inspirations the "lights of prayer." This same method should be used in tackling our voca-tion problems. After prayer to the Holy Spirit for better understanding, we must set about exercising our natural faculties. First of all, we should read as much on the subject as possible. We should fill our memories with the facts and statistics of vocational research. We should study re-cruiters' reports and analyze their surveys. We should visit exhibits to observe the techniques and procedures that have been found most successful by prudent and learned recruiters in various areas. Then in association with our fellow recruiters .we should give our imagination priority over judgment and let it roam around our objectives. We might even mal~e a conscious effort to think up the most unique ways of in-spiring and motivating youths .towards our own state of life. At this point we are simply trying to separate imagi-nation from judgment. With most of us there is a strong tendency, as a result of education and experience, to think judicially rather than creatively. In consequence, we tend to impede the fluency of ideas by applying our critical judgment too soon. On the other hand, if only we defer judgment, we can think up far more alternatives from which later to choose. In his book, Applied Imagination, Alex F. Osborn, President of the Creative Education Foundation in Amer-ica, warns: It is most important to guard against being both critical and creative at one and the same time. Inevitably, if we let our judgment intrude prematurely, we tend to abort ideas which could prove to be the most valuable of all. Therefore, we should consciously defer evaluation until a later period. Thus we can think up more and better ideas. Then later we can screen and weigh these ideas more judiciously. This in no way belittles the value of judgment, for imagination-without-judgment is even more deplorable than judgment-without-imagination. The warning is sim-ply that we use both faculties., but one at a time. This technique has come to be known in America as "Organized Ideation," or more popularly, "Brainstorm Sessions." The system is aptly named, for those who par-ticipate in such a session use their brains to storm a prob-lem, with each participant audaciously attacking the same objective. "Brainstorming" ]or Vocations At a Vocation Institute for the Franciscan recruiters of the United States, held at San Juan Bautista, Califor-nia, in 1958, this "brainstorming" technique was used. Six of the recruiters present were selected as a core'group, and a seventh was chosen as recorder or secretary. This latter religious stood at a large, portable blackboard which had been set off to the side. The conference began very informally--the core group at a table in front, the others sitting in a semicircle. The host provincial began with a prayer. Since I had been asked to serve as moderator of this group, I reminded the participants that, if they tried to get hot and cold water out of the same faucet at the same + + + Recruiting VOLUME 21, 1962 ÷ ÷ Godf!'cy Poage, C.P. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS ]88 time, they would get only tepid water. "If you try to criti-cize and create simultaneously," I said, "you don't turn out enough cold criticisms or enough hot ideas. You are simply lukewarm. Accordingly, I ask you today to stick to ideas. Tomorrow you will do .the criticizing. Conse-quently, if I hear a belittling or derogatory remark, I will ring this bell before me. Whoever is speak.ing will thereby be reminded either to thinl~ up or shut Earlier in the day we had considered the contribution that motivational analysts can make to our understand. ing of why people think and act the way they do. We had attempted to explore the new science of psychodynamics, known popularly as the "depth approach." Could the insights gleaned from psychiatry and the social sciences, we asked ourselves, give clues to some the problems facing the modern recruiter? How, for ex-ample, with the complexity of orders and congregations in the Church can we account for a young man having a strong preference for one particular group of religious, though he may never have met one of them in person? Why do some good Catholics praise a parent who lets a son go of[ to the brotherhood and in the next breath com-ment: "That boy certainly doesn't love his homel" The use of mass psychoanalysis to guide campaigns persuasion, we know, has become the basis of a multi-million dollar industry. Professional persuaders have seized upon psychological techniques in their groping for more ef[ective ways to sell .us their wares--whether prod-ucts, ideas, attitudes, candidates, goals, or states of mind. The recruiters present were'well-primed and ready to go. A time limit from five to eight minutes was set for each subject. The secretary was instructed to write down on the blackboard all the ideas suggested. The list was to be reportorial, rather than stenographic. This was a good provision, for at times the ideas tumbled out so fast that even a short-hand expert would have given up. The first problem considered was the finding of a "key-factor" for Franciscan advertising. In five minutes the core group suggested fifteen themes, ranging from the glorification of the "capuche" to a description of their "soup-kitchens for the poor." In the eight minutes devoted to the problem of how they might get more boys interested in their community, forty-one proposals were given. They ran the gamut from publicizing the "flying friars" to "Franciscan firsts--like Christmas cribs and credit-unions." Since one ef[ective strategy of merchandisers is to have personages of indisputably high status invite others to join them in the use of some product or service, I next risked the panel to name all the prominent national and international ~gures who would willingly give an en. dorsement to the Franciscan way of life. In three minutes they tallied eighteen names. When we took up the problem of how to get more lay brothers, we first admitted that domestic work and clean-ing of monasteries, which is the principal employment of these men, is not an appealing work for modern°youth. It implies servility, meniality, and drudgery. Accordingly, how could the propaganda for the brotherhood bring out a sense of worth and esteem? In five minutes eighteen new approaches were sug. gested. None of them were in direct praise of housekeep-ing, but indirectly they brought out how essential the lay brother is to the life and work of the Order. He is "God's marine in the fox-hole of the cloister," the "hands and feet of Christ," and so forth. Evaluation o[ the Session In just a little over an hour this "Brainstorm Session" covered ten different problems and produced one hun-dred and seventy-eight new ideas. The provincial then recessed the meeting with a prayer of thanksgiving. Later each recruiter present was given a mimeographed copy of all the ideas mentioned, each listed under its proper heading. He was asked to study the suggestions, discuss them with others, add or subtract as he wished. The next day we met for an evaluation of the ideas produced. After the opening prayer, the secretary read off each proposal under its proper heading. All the recruiters now participated: Some suggestions they dismissed with a laugh. Others they tore to shreds and then tried to sal-vage. Some ideas they combined and came up with hy-brids. It was a most interesting discussion and the older and wiser heads seemed to dominate. Constantly we heard re-marks like: "That was tried once before . " "Let's not overlook the effect such a thing will have on other groups," and so on. In the end, the fathers were asked to vote on which suggestion they considered the best in each category. After the merciless screening and discussion that had been given every good proposal, one idea invariably domi-nated. When the votes were tallied, it was found that most of the fathers wanted to put this idea into effect. Thus they gained an unanimity of judgment and a more imaginative approach to their recruitment. Third Step: Conditioning Prospects During the first six months of this year through various recruiting programs, an estimated twenty-six thousand Catholic boys in the United States signed vocation "in-terest- cards" or wrote to a religious seminary or novitiate Recruiting VOLUME 21, 1%2 189 ÷ ÷ Go~ey ~.P. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS for further information. Of this number just a little over two thousand eventually made application and entered upon their religious training last September. Why were there so many who did not even try the life? As all re-cruiters know, it was due principally to a loss of enthusi-asm. At first the youths were most interested. Then they found out what was expected of them and their enthusi-asm waned. If you had asked these young men why they gave up, they would have replied: "I didn't know it was so hard," or "It wasn't what I expected." Perhaps if we had given more of these promising youths a proper conditioning, greater numbers would have signed up. Many of them needed to be prepared for the life. They needed to be initiated into what would be expected of them in a seminary or novitiate. This conditioning, however, is something very few re-cruiters can handle personally. Besides the fact that those recruiters who are not priests are unable to hear con-, fessions or undertake personal spiritual direction of pros-pects, there is the matter of time and distance. A good recruiter is rarely found at home, waiting for youths to come calling. He is out visiting schools and homes where they are to be found. This often means weeks "on the road." Spiritual direction to be effective must extend over several months prior to the youth's acceptance into a seminary or novitiate and it must be continued with a measure of regularity. Practically the only one capable of giving this time and attention is the youth's pastor or some zealous priest stationed in the area. Recruiters who recognize the importance of this spirit-ual direction invariably refer their prospects to one 0f these priests. They urge the youth to go regularly to this director for confession and counsel. At their Vocational Congress, held at De La Salle Nor-mal in Lafayette, Louisiana, the Christian Brothers drafted a "Recruiter's Rule," which has since become the standard practice for the recruiters in their five Provinces of the United 'States. In this "Rule" they insist that each boy applying to their community have his own spiritual director. The brothers also drafted a plan of spiritual formation which each of their teachers is required to follow. It con-sists of five points: 1) Mental Prayer: After giving the youth instruction in how to make mental" prayer, urge him to devote at least ten minutes to it daily in ~hurch. 2) Spiritual Reading: Recommend reading of the Cos- pels, the Imitation o[ Christ, the Life of Christ, biog-raphies of the saints, and so forth. 3) Examination o[ Conscience: Have the youth make this examination daily and stress the importance of con-trition. 4) Virtue o[ Religion: Inculcate it by daily Mass and Communion, rosary, visits, aspirations, and all other forms of consciously acknowledging God's supremacy. 5) Virtue o[ Generosity: Urge the young man to cultivate it in school and at home, by. pointing out. how he can give himself for others. Vocation Clubs One of the best systems for achieving these purposes is the Vocation Club. It not only strengthens the interest of younger prospects, but also dispels the ignorance and overcomes the timidity of older boys. Through its activi-ties suitable youths are given a systematic indoctrination on all aspects of the priesthood and religious life as well as the regular motivation needed to develop habits of piety and devotion. At every meeting of the club there is some new instruc-tion on what a religious vocation is and how the members can best respond to God's call. Talks are given; round-table discussions are held; and vocational films are shown. On special occasions there are trips to religious institutes in the area, where the youths observe at first-hand the life and work of the religious. At the regular meetings, moreover, there is ample op-portunity not only for group encouragement to more fre-quent prayer and faithful reception of the sacraments but also for private counseling and regular spiritual direction. Thus, as habits of virtue are developed in the youth, he is gradually disposed to' the supreme act of religion; namely, giving himself completely to God. At present in the United States there are affiliated with our National Office for Vocational Clubs over six hun-dred elementary school units and approximately three hundred and seventy secondary school groups-~having a combined membership of approximately thirty-eight thousand boys. There is an even greater number of girls enrolled in similar clubs conducted by sisters. Handbooks on both groups can be obtained at the booth exhibiting American materials. Final Step: Developing a Sense of Vocation During this period of preparation or formation all re-cruiters agree that the youth should be encouraged to go weekly to the spiritual director for confession. Then every two or three weeks there should be a spiritual conference. ÷ ÷ ÷ Recruiting VOLUME 21, 1962 ]9] 4. 4" 4" God,roy Poage, C.P. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS During these conferences the director should treat of the love of God, the necessity of sacrifice, purity of intention, the nature of temptation, devotion to the Blessed Mother, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the like. Life in the seminary or novitiate should also be ex-plained. Special emphasis should be given to the possible problems of homesickness, dryness at prayer, fear of studies, and difficulties with companiqns. At the same time the director should try to deepen the youth's aware-ness of the uniqueness of his vocation and elicit a great willingness to make any sacrifice to follow it. During this time, too, the youth should be encquraged to disclose any doubts or fears. The director might ask: "Who put this idea of a vocation in your mind? Where did it come from? Did it come from the devil? Nol Do you think the devil wants you to be a leader in Christ's army? Of course not! The inspiration, then, must be from God, and if He has chosen you, He doesn't demand anything beyond your strength. He simply offers you an invitation. You can accept or reject. What will it be?" It is particularly important that the spiritual director develop in these youths a sense of vocation. Each one should think: "If God is really calling me, then I should prepare myself immediately so as not to lose time in giv-ing Christ the benefit of my capacities, my faculties, my love. I am going to continue in this conviction, until my spiritual director or a religious superior in Christ's name tells me that I have no vocation." Once a boy has reached this degree of conviction, problems of a different nature arise. Sometimes the pros.- pect will say, "I never had any worry about purity until now. Just when I want to do something worthwhile and enter religious life, I start getting all kinds of temptations. I never realized I was so weak until now." This should be a cue to the spiritual director to bring in a thorough explanation of' the reason for temptation. Many youths have the erroneous notion that the moment they put on a cassock or habit, they will become immune to any rebellion of the flesh. The director, therefore, should point out to them that when the devil sees one erl-tering religion he only renews his assaults the more fiercely. Mortification and prayer, however, will quickly rout him. The director s.hould constantly emphasize that what-ever comes, it is but a test of one's love for God. It is a test of one's trust. It is a test of one's absolute abandon-ment to God's holy will. Many of us would have given up the struggle years ago, if we had not been schooled from the very beginning to ask ourselves, "What am I here for? Is it not for God? I expect to suffer like Christ. The more I can take for Him, the more generously I can give in return." With these same thoughts our prospects should now be prepared for the seminary or novitiate, lest they become disheartened later when trials and temptations beset them. Making the Decision ¯ To the inevitable and final question of youths, "Do you advise me to enter?" most experienced recruiters think it best to say, "You must make the decision. It is yourself and your will that you are offering to Christ." Others would go a little further and say, "I give my approval to your decision to enter. You have shown a love of Christ, a desire to please Him and live for Him, a gpirit of sacrifice, of humility, docility, and obedience. Why not offer yourself to Christ saying, 'Here I am, if you can use me'? Trust Him to give you the right answer through your superiors, His representatives. Even if you should leave, your doubts will be settled for all time. You will have gained immensely by the spiritual training and Christ will bless you always for having offered yourself." Most recruiters never have to go this far. Long before they reach this point, they notice that the love for God in the genuine prospect has reached such an intensity that the response is almost instantaneous. There is a generosity that wants to sweep away all obstacles, a willingness that brooks no rival and needs no apology or defense. It is something hard to define, and yet you can see it filling the heart of the youth with an eager desire to do that which is so dit~icult to human nature. It prompts such a one to give up heroically all that the world offers that the divine life within the soul might be brought to a greater perfection. This phenomenon almost defies description. For lack of a better explanation, I can say only that it is like a "light in their eyes." It is something found in every generous prospect for the seminary or novitiate. Our responsibility in all this is very clear. We must encourage, nourish, and protect, this manifestation of grace. For once we have said, "This boy has a vocation," then we mean that we have seen in such an individual an act of devotion in a degree which is superlative. We have found a soul in whom there are strong, firm habits of vir-tue, and that soul now shows a prompt,, eager willto serve God. Like Beatrice with Dante, we must be both guide and guardian to such a favored youth, leading him on to the threshold of the seminary or novitiate. That, in a word, is the role of the recruiter and the purpose of our recruit-ing procedures. ÷ ÷ ÷ Recruiting VOLUME 21, 1962 195 BROTHER JOHN JOSEPH, C.F.X. Challenging Youth to Follow Christ ÷ ÷ + Brother John Jo-seph, C.F.X., is the general counsellor and the general vo-cation director of the Xaverian broth-ers. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS Therex is a joyful ring in the word challenge that evokes a responsive echo in noble hearts. This response would almost appear to be a natural reaction of the human heart, for we note it even in the very young. Watching them at play you see how eagerly they respond and "follow the leader" in whatever dangerous exploit he may devise to challenge their bravery. This reaction is equally dis-cernible in the growing youth when he engages in ath-letic competition or similar activities. The recent example in the United States of the call for youth to join the Peace Corps furnishes another proof of the eagerness of young people to respond to a challenge When the purposes are clearly set forth. Likewise, a brief glance down the page of history reveals how responsive men can be when they have found a leader in whom they believe, a cause they really value, or an emergency that brooks no hesitation. Consider the legions of Alexander,, Hannibal, Caesar, or Napoleon, or any other great leader and you will see how men accept a challenge with utter disregard for personal sacrifice. Note, too, the power of men of ideas. Men like Plato and. Aristotle, Mohammed and Marx, have left their imprint on the countless indi-viduals whom they have challenged. In each case we find a forceful man with. a special message which he has suc-ceeded in getting others to spread. Now in our case we find the ingredients for the most attractive and inspiring challenge in the world's history. For the Leader who brings His challenging ideas is no passing general or philosopher but the Son of God made man. And the message which He has brought, the Gospel which He asks men to spread abroad contains the greatest doctrine and the happiest news of all ages. Its purpose is the eternal happiness of all men. But this purpose will be ~ This is the text oI an address delivered to the First International Congress on Vocations to the State of Perfection, achieved only in the measure that the challenge of Christ is accepted and His gospel made known. This achievement demands that men and women be fully prepared to do more for God than Communists or other misguided per-sons are prepared to do for the spread of their causes. With this in mind we ~ish, first, to stress the character-istics which are essential, we believe, both for the re-cruiter and the one who is recruited. Secondly, we wish to explain one proven method of actually reaching our young people. Then, in the discussion to follow, the dele-gates may tell us of other methods equally effective. The method of which I speak is the result, no~ of the study and thought of any one person or congregation, but rather of the efforts and experiences of many different communities over a period of years. The various congre-gations of teaching brothers in the United States, using an adaptation of the general program, have made aston-ishing progress during the past ten years. From the year 1950 to 1960 every community of brothers in the United States has shown a remarkable growth, ranging from twenty-four and two-tenths percent to an almost incredi-ble ninety and three-tenths percent. As a result of this expansion they have established additional provinces and houses of training, opened many new schools, and now find themselves poised for another period of growth which is expected to outstrip that of the last decade. This is the type of progress that is desired and needed everywhere, but it can be achieved only by planning and hard work. Recruits are obtained only by recruiters and the best recruiters for the religious life are certainly those who have themselves lived that life best and found it to be all or even more than they had anticipated. Now since the primary purpose of the religious life is not some activity like teaching, nursing, preaching, or the like, but rather the perfection of the individual religious, those men and women will be the best recruiters who have best lived the religious life. This explains why some of the saints found it so easy to attract the youth with whom they came in contact. Great souls like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Theresa, and Mother Cabrini drew numei'ous young people to the religious state, because the very fire of their own love for God made this state seem desirable. The Blessed Brother Benilde left hundreds of religious to carry on his work after his .death, all his former pupils. Don Bosco, too, was a tremendously suc-cessful recruiter, attracting hundreds of previously neg-lected children to the holiness of the priestly or religious state. We can conclude, therefore, that the better we follow the example of the saints, the more successful we shall be in helping to fill our monasteries and convents. ÷ ÷ Challenging Youth VOLUME 21~ 1962 195 + + 4. Brother John Joseph, C.F.X. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 196 If we wish to attract idealistic youths to Christ we must let the love of Christ shine out through our own eyes. As one successful moderator of boys in New York City wrote me: "The religious himself must personify Christ to the students. Modern psychology reveals how much youth needs a model, a hero. It is easier for a boy to see Christ as a model, if he sees Christ in the religious. To do this the religious must be Christ, not just a spokesman for Him." And if he is an Alter Christus he will be kindly, polite, and understanding, demonstrating without hesita-tion a personal interest in each individual, allowing Christ to appeal through his mediation. Again, a successful recruiter must be the very epitome of enthusiasm. He is, in a way, a salesman, and he will make very few sales if he doesn't believe in his product. His own happiness and satisfaction with the kind of life he is presenting to others must be at the bottom of hi,,; appeal. And this-must be based upon his personal faith in Christ and the divine cause. His basic contentment must never appear dimmed by the minor happenings of a par-ticular day, by a temporary indisposition, a disappoint-ment over some failure, or the dissatisfaction with his current superior. While his feet are on the earth, his head must be above the clouds where the source 6f his enthusiasm never changes. Finally, the man who appears before a group of modern youngsters or who must pass the more severe test of giving personal interviews, must be representative of the kind of person our young people would like to imitate. Surely a poorly dressed salesman for wearing apparel would ap-pear ridiculous. Likewise, a recruiter of future clergymen, educational leaders, missionaries, or nurses must, by his professional appearance and speech, make these callings and the noble religious state itself appear in all their in-nate dignity, as states of life attractive to youth and their parents. But no matter how holy, understanding, enthusiastic, and professional the recruiter may be, success will largely depend upon the qualities he finds or develops in the potential candidates he contacts. I need not enumerate the usual qualities of mind and body required for ac-ceptance. But before considering how to challenge our youth, I must stress the fact that the success of any re-cruiter depends in equal measure on the extent to which the potential recruits are blessed with a love for Christ, solid faith, and a willingness to make sacrifices to prove their love. To begin with, why should anyone give up all pros-pects of success in life, the chance of a happy marriage and family? The only possible answer is that such a one has perceived a greater good. He has realized that Jesus Christ is God and worth following no matter what natu-ral attractions must be sacrificed. This demands faith. Of course, every Catholic has received this theological gift, but unless it is nurtured and strengthened by the solid food of doctrine, it won't support one in a time of crisis, such as when making a choice of one's vocation. This faith must be fed on catechetical instruction, good read-ing, and prayerful thinking on such topics as God's great-ness and goodness, the happiness of others who have served Him, the vanity of earthly achievements, and the like. If our youths have a strong faith, their souls are pre-pared for the encouraging words of the recruiter~ who must never stress the secondary aims of his particular con-gregation to the neglect of the primary purpose of all chosen souls, which is to see God, their end. However, believing is in itself only the basic ingredient of vocation. For it is love that will give the unction and desire to follow where faith points the way. Love removes the thorns from the rose. The lover considers no pain un-bearable, nor any sacrifice too great, if only he can please his beloved. In fact, the more he can suffer for the beloved the greater is his joy that he is privileged to prove his love. And in this fact lies the answer to our principal question: How can we challenge modern youth to follow Christ? The answer lies in the development in youth of a fer-vent love for Christ. But they don't see Christ as they see others whom they love. They discern Him only with the eyes of faith. Accordingly the teacher must introduce them to the love of Christ. Leading them to the Sacred Heart is the prelude to their falling in love with Him. By this, I mean, of course, the strengthening of their life of prayer while encouraging the frequent reception of the sacraments. If a young person prays well, receives Christ frequently in Communion, and visits Him often in. the Blessed Sacrament, thus becoming closely attached to Him, then he is certainly better disposed to make the sac-rifice of self required in the priesthood or the religious life. Finally, youth must face the test of generosity. Many will fail the test as did the young man of the Gospel who loved Christ but would_not give up his wealth to follow Him. Others, however, will appreciate the truth in the old adage: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." They will admit that sacrifice hurts, yet they will take up the cross and follow Christ. For this, though, they must be prepared. They must come to realize that the real challenge of any worthwhile activity lies in the sacrifices that must be endured. Once a youth has really understood how to look up smilingly, though tearfully, to a crucified Christ and to see through His broken Body the Godhead, 4- 4- Challenging Youth VOLUME 21, 1962 197 4" 4. Brother ~ohn Joseph, ~.X. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 198 then will he understand that his wiser choice is not the limited love of creatures, but the all-embracing eternal love. Having now indicated some of the fundamental traits of recruiters and prospective candidates that are essential for a successful contact between the two, we will devote our attention to a concrete program which can be organ-ized within the framework of a religious congregation, particularly if its secondary purpose is teaching. Such a program is already functioning in various organizations within the Church, each adapting the means to its own purpose and traditions. The program brings best results when well coordinated and designed to include every member of the congregation, for the more who are pray-ing, planning, and working, the greater will be the de-gree of success. Accordingly we will consider the pro-gram on the general, provincial, local, and classroom levels, since each level has its own director and particular duties suitable to that level and since the cooperation of each level with those both above and below it is very im-portant. General Level The general vocation director is usually also a coun-sellor or assistant to the superior general with whom he lives at the generalate of the congregation. Thus he is in a good position to see the strong and weak spots in the recruiting programs in each province as well as in the mission fields or vice-provinces. Through correspondence, bulletins, and personal visits, he keeps informed concern.- ing methods and progress throughout the congregation. and in turn keeps the superior general informed. Some of the activities by which he assists the recruiters in the provinces and in the various schools are the following: First, he studies the trends, problems, and methods be-ing used by others, in order to pass along to the provinces any ideas which they may use in the light of their own program. There are three principal ways by which he can maintain an alertness to developing ideas: a) by reading widely in this field, gradually building up a useful file of written materials, reports, propaganda releases, and programs of various other congregations~ as well as a shelf of books on the theology and method: ology of vocation work; b) by consultation with other religious on the gener-alate level in order to compare notes and adapt the proven ideas of others. It can also be useful to study the methods of other organizations to see how they do their enlisting of members; and c) by attendance at vocation conferences, meetings, and exhibitions on the national and international level, since it is especially here that others with similar interests are found and where current problems and trends are re-ported on. Secondly, the general vocation director, through his correspondence and personal c6ntacts with the recruiting leaders in the various provinces of his own congregation, is in a position to pass. on ideas from one province to an-other and so to furnish information on programs which have met with success elsewhere within the community. Thirdly, he is able, either directly in correspondence with provincials or with the province vocation director to offer suggestions for strengthening the program of in-dividual schools. For he receives twice a year a vocation report from each house. These reports are made out in triplicate with a copy being retained in the community itself and two copies being sent to the provincial who, in turn, forwards to the generalate one copy of each report. The chief aim of this report is to ascertain that an active program is carried out in every school of the congregation. This report gives detailed information on the spiritual activities in each school that have as their end the win-ning of God's blessing on the recruiting program, as also on the promotional efforts being used, statistics on the number of students being interviewed, the likely pros-pects, and the number of vocations already obtained for various seminaries or novitiates. Fourthly, the general vocation director can also serve as a publicity director for the congregation as a whole, being aware that the better his community is known the more inquiries will be received from interested persons, and the more candidates will normally apply. This ac-tivity could include the distribution of literature in places where the congregation has no other contacts; spreading knowledge of the institute through the use of slides, pic-tures, or magazine articles; encouraging the preparation within the provinces of articles, pamphlets, pertinent leaflets, book marks, calendars, and the like. This kind of activity can be multiplied according to the policy of the superior general and the time available to the di-rector. However, in my opinion the principal contribution of a vocation director at the general level, is to encourage, Encourage, ENCOURAGEI The work of gathering young people for our novitiates in this day and age is frequently most discouraging, and this work must, in the last analysis, be done on the local and classroom levels. Many a religious teacher does the daily work of instruct-ing, interviewing, and otherwise promoting vocations only to find that at the end of the school year he has not obtained a single candidate from his class. Now if he feels all alone in this discouraging effort, he may easily let up ÷ ÷ ÷ Challenging Youth VOLUME 21~ 1962 199 4. 4, 4. Brother lohn ]oseph, C.F.X. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 200 on his efforts the following year. However, if he knows that he is not alone, but senses that' he is being encour-aged, prayed for, and supported by his brethren and su-periors, then he is less inclined to slacken his efforts. The general vocation director, conscious of the fact that any such slackening of effort tends to lead to the failure of the whole program, must be always optimistic and cheer-ful, ever encouraging the.teachers to keep trying, always suggesting new approaches. The office of general vocation director is still rather new in the developing program of modern vocation re-cruiting but unless there is an officer on the generalate staff to help organize and encourage a congregation-wide program of increasing membership, there is less likelihood that the community will keep pace with the ever-increas-ing demands for personnel that all of us find confronting us today. So important a part of the growth of an insti-tute deserves special consideration by the highest authori-ties of the Order. Provincial Level It is, however, on the level of the separate provinces that most programs of recruitment begin. It is here that methods will begin to vary according to the traditions and religious background of the region in which the houses are situated. Here it is, too, that the representative of the recruiting organization first comes into direct con-tact with the prospects themselves. Though policies and programs may differ, the general aim will always be the same; namely, to lead young men and women to know and to love Christ so that they may be alert to the call which He may deign to give them. So let us here outline a few general steps which have been found useful at this level. The provincial vocation director works according to the instructions of his particular provincial. He may be a member of the council, though in many congregations he is not. In any case it is important that he work .closely with his superior and with the other programs of the separate schools. And it is essential that he have adequate time to carry out a well-planned program. He has a full-. time job and should not be encumbered with other du-ties to the extent of causing the work of recruiting to suffer in the province. For the task of obtaining new postulants cannot be left to chance. Nor to a program of prayer alone. The Lord does, indeed, bid us to pray the Lord to send required laborers into His vineyard, but He uses men to further His purposes and seldom extends His invitation by a direct apparition or heavenly voice. In this matter we can learn from successful organiza-tions in the world. The army and navy, all business firms, every political group or social club has its clearly defined method of obtaining new members. A personnel depart-ment is set up, equipped to supply in[ormation, present the attractive features of membership, as well as to ex-amine and select potentially useful members. Frankly, this is what the office of the provincial vocati0ndirector is also designed to do. This religious must attract poten-tial candidates and then select members for the congre-gation from among those who apply. Though policies vary, and it is a healthy sign that they do, some of the usual activities o[ this office are the following: l) He assists the provincial and the local superiors in the selection o~ at least one vocation director for each of the schools in the province. It is chiefly through their cooperation that the director will carry out the program of the province. 2) He trains, advises, and guides these recruiters. An annual gathering of them all for at least a few days is a usual and useful practice. 3) He sees to the composition and actual preparation of a variety of pamphlets, leaflets, posters, and other ma-terials for distribution to the schools. 4) He publishes a regular (usual!y monthly) bulletin to keep all the religious interested in the programs, poli-cies, and results of the same. G) He visits every school at least two or three times dur-ing the school year, checks on the program of the local directors and the teachers, speaks in the classes or at school assemblies, interviews students who have been recommended to him by the local director, by a teacher, or who present themselves to him following an invitation to do so during his talks to the students; gives a confer-ence each year to every community so that the members will be constantly aware of the needs and aims of the program; develops a library of slides and sometimes of moving pictures to help him in clarifying the mode of life lived in the training schools anal religious communi-ties; and also addresses groups of parents, alumni, or other adult groups among whose members he wishes to arouse interest in vocations. 6) He plans and places advertisements through which Catholic magazines and newspapers may carry informa-tion about the congregation to potential candidates who could not otherwise be reached. 7) He sponsors such events in the schools as essay or poster contests on a province-wide competitive basis, as also vocation exhibitions, prayer campaigns, mission crusades, and other activities which serve to arouse inter-est in the work and needs of the Church. 8) He helps to develop both at the provincial house and in all the communities Small libraries of selected ÷ ,,I-÷ Challenging Youth VOLUME 21, 1962 201 + + ÷ Brother John Joseph, C.F.X. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 202 books and pamphlets concerning religious vocations, oc-casionally preparing an up-to-date bibliography of these publications. 9) He attends conferences and conventions dealing with the problems of vocation recruiting, and maintains contact with other provincial directors. 10) He organizes week-end retreats for students who are interested in vocations so they can prayerfully con-sider this matter in a quiet atmosphere. He may also ar-range for interested students to spend a few days at the training centers of the province. For the good recruiter believes firmly with Canon Jacques Leclercq that "It is the orders which insist most strongly on the supernatural aspect of vocations which receive the most recruits" (The Religious Vocation, p. 85). 11) He represents the provincial in interviewing all candidates, having them fill out all the required forms and then make formal application to the provincial upon whom it usually rests to accept or reject the prospect. 12) He may arrange for special tests of the potential postulants since these tests~ if given prudently, often sup-ply useful information. 13) He visits the homes of the applicants if informa-tion on the family background is needed or if parental opposition makes avisit necessary. 14) He may accompany the new class of aspirants or postulants to the juniorate or novitiate, in order to help them through the period of adjustment to the new en-vironment. He occasionally visits them, especially on the days of the reception of the habit or the taking of vows. 15) Finally, he keeps the general vocation director and, through him, the superior general informed about the progress of recruiting in the province. These numer-ous activities give us an idea of the tremendous impor-tance of the post of provincial vocation director for the successful carrying out of the program of recruitment in the congregation. Local Level We now come to the task of the local vocation director. Here we are getting closer in our systematic approach to reach, inform, and guide youth{For we are now consider-ing the school itself, where the boy and girl are actuallv found. Right here, and not at the provincialate or gen-eralate, are the vocations in person. Accordingly, here it is that the challenge to follow Christ the King must ring out the dearest. The chief responsibility for this lies with that religious who, working closely with the superior and other authorities of the school, encourages and directs the individual teadbers who are in the last analysis the real recruiters. All depends npon the latter just as in a battle the general, captains, and lieutenants depend on the non-commissioned soldier in the ranks. However, let us first consider the essential part of the one who must organize the program in the whole school. His chief du-ties include the following: 1) He must be well-informed on all matters" concern-ing the history of the congregation, its founder and pio-neers, its provinces, numbers, and missions. 2) He must have a pleasant office, well-equipped for interviewing prospects, containing supplies of literature, needed forms, suitable files, and so forth, 3) He must have the school program of recruiting or-ganized, supplying teachers with definite outlines of such program, and checking its success. 4) He should arrange to speak in each class, invite students to visit his office, supply information needed, and aim by a program of education and inspiration to develop the latent vocations in the school. 5) He can sponsor a vocation club for the more thor-ough cultivating of potential vocations, and can encour-age such groups as the Sodality of Our Lady, the various Third Orders, the Legion of Mary, and the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade, since these deepen the spirit-ual life of the students while offering them an outlet for their zeal. 6) He arranges for publicity' for the congregation in local and school publications, featuring activities such as profession, ordination, or jubilees. 7) He does the preliminary work of interviewing defi-nite prospects so that they will be ready to meet the pro-vincial director when he visits the school, In cases where the student is interested in the diocesan priesthood or in a congregation other than that of the counsellor, the con-tact can be made for him and every assistance given him to accomplish his aim. 8) He may find opportunities for seeking out vocations beyond the limits of the school, through talks in other schools or colleges, or to parochial groups of young people who do not attend the Catholic schools. 9). Finally, the local vocation director is the keym~n in the community for all matters pertaining to recruiting although he must avoid the pitfall of believing that it is .his exclusive right to foster vocations in the school. He assists the superior in filling out the required vocation re-ports, if such are a part of the system. He aids the teach-ers by supplying them with needed materials and fresh ideas. He takes a special interest in candidates who have been accepted so as to encourage them to live .closer to Christ through a definite program of prayer, reading, and frequentation of the sacraments. Thus does the local director, if he is efficient, zealous, and capable of winning + + + Challenging Youth VOLUME 21~ 1962 ÷ ÷ B~oth~ John ]o~eph, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 204 the backing of the teachers, do much toward ensuring a successful program. Classroom Level Now we come to speak about the teachers themselves. Nobody is in a better position to challenge youth than the teacher who, day by day, appears before them. If he is truly zealous for the welfare of the Church, he can do much toward planting the seed of vocation in these youthful hearts. His is the actual contact with the future priest, brother, and sister. The success of the program will fail or succeed as he does. Cognizant, then, that there before him sits the future religious of the Church, the teacher must unhesitatingly challenge the very best that is in the hearts and souls of his students. Some suggestions for teachers, then, are in order: 1) The teacher must prepare the soil for religious vo-cations by encouraging attention at prayer and regular attendance at the sacraments. 2) He should stress Christ's love for us and teach youth to reciprocate that love. 3) He should go into detail in explaining the problems of the Church, both at home and in the mission fields; suggesting the part his students can play in solving them. He should dwell upon the loftiness of working for God. 4) In his religion lessons he should not neglect to dis~ cuss the great truths of life that have led so many persons to dedicate their lives to God. Consideration should be given to the fleeting quality of earthly .possessions and pleasures, the dangers of the world, and man's responsi-bility to his Creator. Thus the teacher causes his students to think seriously about life. 5) He should talk to his class occasionally about the religious life, its various apostolates, missionary activities, and lofty purpose. He will find the students interested in the life of the founder and history of the order. He can explain the special privileges and obligations of the priesthood, the difference between a priest and the vari-ous kinds of brothers, the meaning of the vows, the dif-ference between the secular and religio.us clergy, and be-tween the active and contemplative life. These are all interesting topics. 6) The teacher, while keeping all things in perspective, should also point out the joys, benefits, and rewards of the priestly and religious states. 7) He should be pleasant at all times, drawing youth by his kindness. His cheerful, friendly manner shoul~ also be noted in his relations with his fellow religious. For nothing repels youth more than a sour, unfair teacher. 8) He must try to win their confidence that he may intuence their wills and help them to combat the ob-stacles which everywhere oppose vocations. 9) The teacher need not hesitate to suggest, in a pru-dent way, to a particular student that he prayedully con-sider whether he has a vocation. This personal, in.dividual approach is a potent one as success[ul recruiters' know. Personal interviews are more effective than group talks. 10) The teacher should cooperate with the lodal direc-tor in all programs, contests, outings, retreats, or other activities sponsored in the school. The real success of all these depends largely upon him. 11) Finally, the teacher should constantly pray that God may bless his efforts. Such a program, it well organized and put into prac-tice, adapted and modified to the needs and limitations of the area, will certainly carry to the youths o[ today the great challenge of this mid-twentieth century. It will also arouse many of them to give themselves to the service of Christ, our King. To effect such programs we religious must likewise hear and answer the challenge. We must be great-souled in the service o[ a Church that is proud to proclaim itself Catho-lic, seeking as it does to spread the message of Christ to all men in all parts of the world. To be worthy of this service we need a broad outlook, for in such a service the small-minded religious is a contradiction. It is the Church as a whole that is important. Believing this, let us all take a keen interest in filling the seminaries of our dio-ceses, while the same zeal will lead us also to encourage vocations to the religious congregations, which carry on so great a part of the burden of the Church. Our brothers and sisters must realize the privilege that is theirs to lead young men to the sacred priesthood, while the. clergy must recognize the importance of a tremendously en-larged army of well-trained religiou~ [or the advance-ment o[ the educational and charitable systems of the universal Church. Working together under Christ and His Vicar, we can indeed meet the challenge to bring the world to the Sacred Heartl ÷ ÷ ÷ Challenging Youth VOLIJMI: 21~ 205 RENI~ CARPENTIER, S.J. Priestly Vocation and Religious Vocation ÷ ÷ gen~ Carpentier, S.J., is a member of the faculty of Col-l~ ge Saint-Albert, 95, Chauss~e de Mont-Saint-Jean, Eegenhoven - Lou-vain, Belgium. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 206 What is the Will oI the Holy Spirit? The juxtaposition1 of these two terms demands that a comparison of the two be undertaken. As the words indi-cate, an abstract comparison of the content of these two vocations is not in question. Between the priesthood and the state of evangelical perfection the difference is evi-dent: The ministerial priesthood implies sacramental character, strictly divine powers, a sacred responsibility for. the service of the people of God, and the highest, kind of dignity. The state of perfection signifies nothing of the kind. The theoretical comparison, it seems, poses no prob-lem. But it is an altogether different matter when voca-tion to the priesthood and vocation to the religious life are placed face to face in the concrete. In both cases a way of life is chosen. In today's Church these two ways of life appear to young Christians as two ways of consecrating oneself entirely to the Kingdom of God. Necessarily, then, these two ways of life are being com-pared and the comparison brings up a complex problem. Each of these two vocations is fixed within a system of laws and institutions which form a unit; yet both can be chosen at the. same time. In practicE, the two ways of life meet and overlap. It remains true, nevertheless, that or-dinarily priestly vocation means the life of the diocesan priest; and religious vocation means the r~ligious insti-tute with or without the priesthood. The question is then asked--and it is this question which I wish to answer: How is one to explain objectively to young Christians, for example, the meaning Of the two vocations? "Objectively," that is, what does G6d and what does the. Church ask and expect of each? And how is this to be explained without arbitrarily doing an injustice to one or the other, without a This is the text of an address delivered tO the First International Congress on Vocations to the State of Perfection. The translation was made by John E. Becker, S.J. glorifying one at the expense of the other? In short, how is this to be expressed according to the desires of the Holy Spirit in order to cooperate with Him and not to obstruct His action? Exterior Aspect ol the Two Vocations It is necessary, I believe, to distinguish from this objec-tive or essential aspect of the comparison another aspect which I may term exterior; by this I mean what a young person of today, confronted with the great institutions of the Church, can see from the outside before he has en-tered them. This aspect must be of equal interest to us if we wish to know how to enlighten a young candidate and how to develop public action in the Church in favor of vocations, Certainly, the objective value is of greatest interest to us; it is the only one which is true in itself. Whether I am a priest or a religious, what am I really called to? Since this is the most important aspect, it is what should govern the exterior aspect. Nevertheless, the two vocations are mysterious. The young person, the adolescent, and even the adult who approaches the priesthood or the religious state without having lived either of them has not yet fully understood them. What they see are the most superficial differences. For example, a diocesan priest may live with his mother; the religious is fully enfolded in a powerful family. These features are true but nonessential. The priestly or religious ideal appears to the young man in this priest or that religious he has been close to or whose life he has read. I certainly do not wish to speak here of those strictly individual points of view which characterize voca-tions in the concrete; but there will always be an exterior picture of the two vocations which is more or less pro-found, more or less complete. Still, it must not falsify the objective meaning. We seek here the reality of a vocation, its deep and objective meaning, and also its true exterior meaning, the true supernatural psychology of the call which is addressed to Christian people. Recent Discussion The question of the two vocations was very vividly high-lighted thirty or forty years ago. The reason was a most holy and necessary one, an evident appeal of the Lord for the sanctification of diocesan priests. Some of these accord-ing to Cardinal Mercier object: "We are not religious." But are you not, comes the rejoinder, of a quite superior and more demanding "ordbr," "the order of St. Peter," or "the order of Christ," whose priests you are? Here, then, is posed the question of the religious vocation and the vocation to the diocesan priesthood. The matter is complicated by another factor, that of Priest and Religious ,4. Ren~ ¢a~pentier, $.1. REVIEW FOR REL;GIOUS 208 belonging to a diocese. The priest seeks to discover more intimate links with his bishop; but does not the religious priest, and especially the exempt religious, live at the fringe of the influence of the diocesan bishop, "at the fringe of the hierarchy," as it is sometimes expressed? Why does the religious live in this way, on the fringe? Is it not through concern for his own salvation? .If he withdraws from the world, is it not to concern himself with his own salvation? But in that case is not the diocesan priest who from morning to night is focused on the salvation of others actually living out to a greater degree the life of charity, the state of perfection? The vocation to the diocesan priesthood is then not only the vocation with the greatest obligation to perfection, but it is the call to an authentic "diocesan perfection," and even to true evangelical perfection, that is, fraternal charity. And this seems to give the lie to the name and the institution of the s0-called "state of perfection.". On the other hand, this conclusion seems to contradict the facts; for, practically .speaking and because of his state of life, the Church imposes a greater obligation to perfection on the religious. And do not the greater part of religious men and women vow their whole life to the heroic service of the neighbor? And finally, is not the religious fully joined to the Church by a vow of obedience which is frequently directed to the bishop of Rome? Holiness and Fisibility Carried on in this way, the discussions recalled that the question of the two vocations has had a long history. At root, it would seem to derive from the very nature of the Kingdom of God here on earth; that is, unless I am mi.~;- taken, from its twofold essential values, holiness and visi-bility: holiness under the free impulse of the Spirit which gives life to the Church; visibility which makes of the Kingdom of God an institution perfectly adapted to the Spirit. Holiness is the aim; it is the call of all who are baptized and especially of all priests. It is for this, her end, that the Church institutes the states of perfection. On the other hand, visibility, the visible and organiza-tional Church, is the way for all men. An admirable gift from on high, visibility implies the sacramental transmis-sion of holiness, the liturgy of adoration, the soverei~ society of the Church, the sacred jurisdiction that governs the people of God in Christ's name, and finally also, at the very heart of this visible Church, the official institu-tion of the community of perfection. Sanctity and visibility are strictly associated. Concretely they make up but one thing: the Body of Christ which is the Church. Nevertheless, religious life seems centered on sanctity, perfection to be acquired. The vocation to the priesthood is more concerned with the visible aspect, for it must assure the validity bf the Eucharistic cult, the efficaciousness of the sacraments, the solidity of doctrine, the prudent direction of the people of God. The two voca-tions, like the two functions they must fulfill~ are dif-ferent. Nevertheless, the religious life, a public state, is of the highest interest to the visibleGhurch and leads very frequently toward the priesthood; the priesthood, for its part, can have no other aim than the sanctification of the world; and it therefore aims first at the sanctification of the priest and often at his belonging to the state of per-fection. Duality-Unity Here we are at the heart of our problem. Between the two.vocations there is an evident, profound difference and at the same time an intimate connection. It is as if the two values of the. Church, inseparable but necessarily distinct, should appear here with maximum emphasis: spiritual power and institutional power. This distinction between two realities mutually inte-grated, this otherness-oneness of two sets of values which seek one another out and will always do so, this is the point of this paper. We will clarify it first by means of the sacred history of the Church; then we will venture into its theology; finally we would like to deduce some practical attitudes for.success in the sacred task common to all priests and all religious of cultivating the vocations by means of which the Church and humanity survive. First we must take a very brief look at the historical evolution of the two vocations and at their mutual unity-in- tension. In doing this we will distinguish three stages for each of which only a few characteristics will be pro-posed. The Primitive Community The first stage to be considered is that of the primitive community extending throughout the first two centuries up to the time when, in the third century, persecution became intermittent and the separation of the monks occurred as an ecclesiastical event. During this period there was as yet no problem with the two vocations. It is evident that they existed; but the people of God had not yet felt the need to divide itself into distinct com-munities; indeed, the persecutions would have prevented it. It is true that at the call of the apostles the Christians of the first centuries spontaneously answered by adopting a communal and fraternal way of life in which the spirit 0f what would later be called "the counsels" reigned. So it was that in their eyes earthly goods, their own prop- + 4. 4. Priest and Religious VOLUME 21. 1962 209 ÷ ÷ ÷ Ren~ Carpentie~, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 210 erty, are in a certain way destined by charity for the use of all. Catechetical instruction in the first centuries re-peats this principle without creating any problem. Within the community, each one applied it freely. Some kept their goods to support their family. Others, sometimes a large group, the ascetics, and those who practiced celi-bacy, followed Christ more literally. They gave their goods to the poor of the community and lived on the re-sources of all. There were also virgins who definitively renounced marriage and lived in their families. These men and women had a special place in the Church but were not separated out. They were charged with the dis. tribution of the alms of the community and with other works of charity. Perhaps also they may frequently have been deacons and deaconesses. In this fraternal community the priests were very close to the faithful. At the beginning they were virtuous men upon whom the founding Apostle had imposed hands and who could thenceforward consecrate the Eucharist. If the community grew in number, there arose among the priests and bishops one bishop who inherited the author-ity of the Apostle. Soon, it seems, it was from among the ascetics, the celibates, the voluntarily poor that these priests were chosen. Today, the parish of the simple faith-ful is separate from the communities of perfection, and a double catechesis has been formed; one is centered on the counsels while the other often no longer considers them, It is quite a'task to represent ourselves as a community in which the preaching of the counsels in words and deeds is always present, as a community in which there is only one catechesis and where the same spirit is shared by all: those who own as well as those who have given away what they own; those who profess virginity and those who live holy married lives in the Lord. This apostolic cate-chesis demands an extended treatment. The "'Apostolic Life" and the Monks The end of this first period, between 250 and 350, is marked by the separation of the monks. After the new study of the Vita Antonii published by Father Bouyer in 1950, historians have almost reached agreement on the meaning of this event in the history of the Church. The whole Church of that time saw in this new life a return to the ancient "apostolic life" which was no longer truly practiced in the numerous communities of the period. It is a noteworthy historical fact that these "fugitives" separated themselves from their communities. In modern times, we would say that "they exempted themselves from jurisdiction." Were they then criticized and condemned? On the contrary, everyone admired them. Although some bishops in Egypt and even in Rome had to be convinced by the enthusiasm of Athanasius, they fully recognized this more vigorous "apostolic life." Let it be noted, then, that the apostolic life became more specialized and in-stitutionalized in order that it might continue to exist. But it remained at bottom the same thing, and the whole Church bore witness to this. Everyone recognized it by the same name as the primitive apostolic life which had been taught to all during the first two centuries and which had never ceased to exist. This event, then, places the two vocations face to face, but once more without any practical problem arising. There were evidently priests among the "hermits" or "Chris(ians of the desert," whether these lived near their former community or whether they banded together to form a new community. The Problem o] the Two Vocations In the second period we group the whole of the Middle Ages up to the Council of Trent. The two vocations are distinct from here on, and the problem concerning them promptly arises. It is a long story with many detours over which I need not delay this audience. I would only like to propose a general conclusion. As soon as they are sepa-rated, we see the two vocations seek one another out. From the side of the priesthood, it seems, two convergent inspirations are followed. One is represented by St. Augustine. If the great bishop did not ordain any prie.sts except those who were deter-mined to live a common life with him in a "clerical mon-astery" without personal possessions and evidently celi-bate, this was, he declared, a simple return to the apostolic life as it was lived in primitive times. It was by this primi-tive teaching that he justified common life even in its institutionalized form. Imitated from the beginning by neighboring bishops, this ideal passed on to a line of clerics, the canons, who will defend it throughout the Middle Ages. The other inspiration began, according to the testi-mony of St. Ambrose, with St. Eusebius of Vercelli who was the first "to make monks of those who were clerics," although he was subsequently imitated by a large num-ber of the bishops of Italy. He required that his clergy adopt the monastic life. Although this antedated by a half century the common life of St. Augustine, this com-mon life fonnd its motivating force in an already evolved understanding of monasticism. Henceforth monasticism spread magnificently, helped especially by the highly in-fluential work of Athanasius, Vita Antonii, which ap-peared around 357. The nuance which subtly distinguishes the two inspira-tions should be noted. For Augustine the return to the + ÷ + Priest and Religious VOLUME 21, 1962 211 ÷ ÷ ÷ Ren~ Carpentie~, S.I. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 212 beginnings seems a "duty" upon which he vigorously in-sists. On the other hand, imitation of monks cannot ap-pear as anything other than a counsel, though Eusebius made a diocesan institution of it. It is because of the presence of this double orientation of mind that we are able to understand the directives of Gregory the Great to the monks sent to England (they were to establish a clergT of the "apostolic life"); and it would also seem to explain the totally monastic character which the English church kept for a long time. But it is especially to the influence of the evangelical ideal that we must attribute the law of virginity imposed on priests of the Latin Church from the time of Pope Siricius in 386. For if poverty introduces one to the evangelical life and if obedience is its culmination in its institutionalized form of monastic life, it is still vi~- ginity, espousal to Christ, which is its central value. The two vocations seek each other out. I confine my considera-tions here to the Latin Church; for the Greek Church, reference can be made to the words of Plus XI and Piu~ XII on the honor in which virginity is held in it. I need not further emphasize this theme. The efforts of local councils and of the popes to draw the clergy to a common life are well known. The immediate reason is evidently to safeguard chastity; the basis, neverthele~;, is found in the apostolic life. As for detachment from riches, the two vocations also coincide in this. With the great reformer of the clergy, St. Peter Damian, and Pope Nicholas II, the two just missed being identified forever, since the Pope almost decided to impose common life on all priests as seven centuries before the popes and the councils had prescribed celibacy for them. This projected obligatory common life is the historical climax of the Church's effort to unite the two vocations. But the rural parish was clearly more necessary. Priests living alone had been accepted for a long time without criticism by the time the Council of Trent wrote the in-stitution of the secular clergy into law and placed the accent on the creation of common seminaries for the formation of all priests. The Three Canonical States Then the third period began, the one in which we live; it prepared the way for the Code with its three "states of persons." On this canonical classification (which is often very confusedly understood) were based the various docu-ments of Plus XII which clarified and, it may be said, re-solved recent controversy. In presenting the teaching of Pius XII, I begin the second part of this address: the comparative theology of the priestly and religious vocations. Without attempting to give this theology in all its details, I will take as a framework the three following divisions: the teaching of Pius XII; the two vocations and their relationships; fi-nally, the main elements of a theological synthesis. Teaching of Pius XII on the Two Vocations Pius XII had frequent ofcasion to compare' the two vocations, particularly with respect to religious clerics. But he also stated the excellence and the contemporary value of the vocation of lay religious (for example, that of the teaching brother) existing along with the priestly vocation. (See his Letter of March 31, 1954, to Cardinal Valerio Valeri.) Since these congregations of teaching brothers could today, without the difficulties of former times, become clerical congregations, the Pope, .by de-claring them fully approved, implicitly affirmed the proper value of the religious vocation in itself. What then in brief was his teaching on the two vocations? 1) The priestly vocation and the vocation to the state of perfection are different. The state of life of a diocesan priest cannot be called a state of perfection. For the priest as such is not held to the effective practice of the three evangelical counsels as is the state of perfection ~(Dis-course, December 8, 1950). 2) The priestly vocation is distinguished from that of the simple baptized faithful by reason of the divine hier-archical constitution of the Church. The vocation of the religious is another matter. Its significance is not related to the distinction between priests and laity. It can be a call of priests as well as of laity. Its significance is that it "relates strictly to the proper end of the .Church, which is to conduct men to sanctity" (Discourse,~ December 8, 1950). It is the state of life which publicly professes to aim at evangelical perfection; that is, the common prac-tice of the counsels by the three vows of obedience, chas-tity, and poverty (Provida Mater of February 2, 1947). 3) There is another sign that the religious vocation is different from the vocation to the priesthood. The priest-hood and its exercise are of exactly the same value in the two clergies. The priesthood, then, is distinct from the state of perfection. There is certainly a sharing of apostolic labor between the two clergies, but the Church freely de-c: ides about this sharing according to time and place. In the same way, dependence upon a bishop is perfectly realized in the religious priest, even if he is "exempt" (Dis-course, December 8, 1950). Finally, we must conclude that properly speaking the two vocations are not comparable. The religious life has no other meaning than the effective practice of the three counsels in a recognized state of life in order to aim at evangelical perfection. The priestly vocation as such does not have this significance. 4. 4' 4" Priest and Religious VOLUME 21, 196~ 213 ÷ Ren~ Carpentier, $.1. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 214 Mutual Attraction o] the Two Vocations Nevertheless, this difference does not hinder the mutual attraction of the two vocations. As Plus XH added: "Nothing prevents the diocesan p.riest from adopting the three counsels, either privately or in a state of perfection" (Discourse, December 8, 1950). As is.evident, in the pre-ceding outline of th6 problem there was never any ques-tion of absolutely excluding the priest, from evangelical perfection as the Church teaches it in the states of per-fection. There was question only of keeping [or each vo-cation its own significance. On the other hand, when in Menti Nostrae the Pope described the "active charity" that is demanded of every priest by reason of his priest-hood, he presented it by means of the three characteris-tics of the states of perfection: humility and obedience, chastity, disinterestedness and poverty. For reasons of per-fection and of edification, he recalled to priests the counsel of the common life (c. 134), although in the Code this does not seem even to imply an invitation to live in the insti-tutional community of goods of the Middle Ages. And in his encyclical on the centenary of the Cur~ of Ars, His Holiness Pope John XXIII spoke in the same way. The teaching in Cardinal Suhard's pastoral letter (The Priest in the Modern World), though obviously of much less universal importance, was also the same. Especially in-teresting is the testimony of. Cardinal Mercier which is sometimes appealed to as a justification for a different spirituality for the diocesan priest. In the statutes of the society of priestly perfection which he founded, he pro-posed to his priests the three vows of religion; and he passed the last twelve years of his life trying to obtain from Plus XI recognition of these vows as public with-out, nevertheless, detaching priests from their diocese and. tl~eir bishop. Without this public status, he wrote, dio-cesan priests would be unable to fulfill their priestly vo-cation; and this is why he hoped for its extension to the universal Church. This last point, however, goes beyond the position o.~ the popes and need not be held. As Pius XII insisted, "the state of perfection" is not necessary. What we do hold is a conclusion fully conformed to the teaching of history: The two vocations are different and yet they cannot re-main strangers to one another. Monks as a group and the majority of male institutes today are clerical insti-tutes (and many even, since the time of the canons regular and the Dominicans, have become religious in order to become priests). Likewise, every diocesan priest, by reason of his priestly vocation, is oriented by his own pastors toward evangelical perfection, toward its spirit. To em-ploy the expressions of Pius XII, "nothing will be lacking to his practice of evangelical perfection if he wishes to adopt, even privately, the vows of the three counsels" (Discourse, December 9, 1957). Theology o] the "Duality-Unity" o[ the Two Voca-tions , In view of this teaching, I would now like to attempt a theological comparison of the two vocations. Naturally, it will be only a brief exposition, and I ask the indulgence of the theologians who hear me. As.I have already indi-cated, I think that the mystery of these two vocations re-flects in itself the unsuspected depths of the principal treasures of the Kingdom of God. This requires an ex-tensive treatment; but here we can give only a few indi-cations. The Priestly Vocation First of all, the priestly vocation appears from the be-ginning as fully independent of the vocation to the state of evangelical perfection; and so it has remained in spite of the efforts made from the beginning 0f the Middle Ages by bishops, popes, and saints to join it indissolubly to the institutionalized apostolic life of religious. In this distinction between the two vocations, which always for-bids calling the priestly life as such "a state of perfec-tion," is hidden, unless I am mistaken, a subtle teaching of the greatest importance. It is this: The powers of the priest are strictly divine. As Plus XII wrote in Mediator Dei, "The power which is entrusted to the priest is in no way human, since it is entirely from above and comes down from God." Since this is the case, it would be ex-tremely dangerous for the priest or the faithful to confuse the exercise of these powers with the exercise of personal holiness, the reception of these powers in the sacrament of orders with the reception of a personal sanctifying grace proportioned to these powers. The priest would risk considering himself as a sanctifying power, whereas in reality he is but a channel for such. And the faithful would risk stopping short at the minister as at a screen which masked Christ from them. A central principle of the Kingdom would be thereby compromised, the prin-ciple of the ministry as a transparent medium. From this would follow an easily made conclusion that has already torn the Church: Because of the weakness and the un-worthiness of the minister, the divinity of his powers would be rejected. Thig transparency of the minister (that is, the doc-trinal affirmation, on the one hand, of the validity of his powers independently of his sanctity and, on the other hand, his personal duty of complete humility, of abso-lute disinterestedness) was demanded by Christ, especially 4. 4. 4- Priest and Religious VOLUME 21~ 1962 ÷ Ren~ Carp~ati~r, SJ. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 216 at the moment of the first priestly ordination, as the proper mark of the evangelical priest: "I am," He said, "in the midst of you. as one who serves." "The kings of the' gentiles" lord it over them. But not so among you." You must have nothing in common with the egoism of the powerful of.this world. You must be the servants (Jn 13:14.16; Lk 22:25-27). It is with this same intent that theology teaches the instrumental causality of the minister of the sacraments. As Plus XII expressed it in Mediator Dei, priests are made into instruments of the divinity by which heavenly and supernatural life is communicated to the Mystical Body of Christ. My priestly vocation, then, is for others, not for re.y-self. This is a difficult requirement which ought to be well understood. Certainly it gives no dispensation from the duty of personal sanctification. Quite the contrary. If "Christ is a priest," wrote Pius XII again in Mediator Dei, "it is for us, not for Himself. In the same way is He a victim~ for us." In giving to His priests an active partici-pation in His priesthood, Christ does not have primarily in view their own enrichment by exceptional gifts. "The priestly ministry," writes Father de Lubac, "is not a kind of super-baptism which constitutes a class of super- Christians." The priest communicates to the members of Christ the marvelous deeds of Christ. He imitates Christ's unselfish act of love. Certainly if he desires it, he will receive in abundance the personal graces to love as a priest ought to love; but these graces are to intensify in him his own baptism, his privileges as an adopted child. Along with all his brothers, he remains a humble adopted child, even though he wields the true powers of the only Son. "There is, then, in the Church," writes Father Con-gar, "a double participation in the priesthood of Christ, one along the lines of the relationship of life-giving, of pure and simple communion, which Christ has with Hi:; Body; the other according to the relation of power which He exercises upon His Body as a means of communion." The first sanctifies all the faithful, and the priest is first of all one of the faithful. It unites them to the Father in Christ. It is from this participation in Christ's priesthood that the state of perfection takes its development. The second participation entrusts to those ordained for the ministry to others the powers and the sacramental means of sanctification. This explains the refusal of the priesthood by Francis of Assisi and the flight from the episcopal o~fice of so many eminent saints. Knowing that others of their time could be priests and bishops, they affirmed in this way the radical difference there is between spiritual, moral imi- tation of Christ and the priesthood which does not per-tain to the order of sanctification-to-be-acquired. Finally, let us give one more sign of this otherness. If the priestly character is indelible and will forever mark those who have received it, the exercise of the priesthood will have but one time: It will' disappear when' ~l~e ~E~ple of God are fully assembled in the life to come. On the contrary, it is then that communion with the Father and communion between brothers will be fully established, and these are the very exercise of the vocation to perfec-tion, especially to the state of perfection. The Religious Vocation We have just established the otherness of these two vocations from the point of view of the priestly vocation. No less specified is the proper mission of the vocation to the religious state. If the priestly life ought first of all to bring down the divine gifts upon the people of God through the sacraments, the religious vocation under-takes to give to these gifts of God the Church's public and fullest response. This response is the building up here below of the Kingdom of Heaven. The response is evi-dently personal, but it is even more social. The personal imitation of Christ by profession, the program given by our Mother the Church to her states of perfection can only be the Gospel adapted by love; that is, the counsels of Jesus and the following of Christ. But even more is it a social response. The Kingdom is the Mystical Body of Christ. To love Christ is to build up His Body to unite His members in a community of charity and in a definitive liturgy of adoration for the glory of the Father. Since the Church is herself a public reality, the state of perfection, when consecrated by public vows, brings into being a fully developed cell of Christ. It recreates here be-low a truly social order based on mutuaI love and on a return to the living God, a social order which constitutes a permanent appeal addressed to disunited men that they find their brotherhood again. "That he might gather into one the children who were scattered abroad, (Ps 11:52). This is a mission of the highest importance, since by it alone does the Church fully succeed in bringing about a visible evangelical community, the new order of God's children. It is clearly a mission, one that is altogether different from that of the priestly vocation and that can-not, properly speaking, be compared with it. But it is essential to the realization of the Church here below; without it the priest would not preach in full the social order of the gospel since he would have no example of it to point out. + .+ + Priest and Religious VOLUME 21, 1962 ÷ ÷ Rend Carpentier, $.J. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS Correlation oI the Two Vocations This public mission, which is both individual and so-cial, explains to us as a consequence how the two voca-tions are different. But it is this same public and social value which demonstrates their intimate and necessary connection. We will now consider the mutual relation that exists between the two. The priestly vocation, a service of love of the Mystical Body, is totally oriented toward the Christian people. It has no concern but to bring to being, to nourish, to teach the Mystical Body on earth, and to guide it to eternal life. But the state of perfection is nothing else (I speak of its professed program) than the most perfect public community within the Mystical Body. Moreover, it is the Church herself who, recognizing her own mystery, or-ganizes the religious community. The priest is the man of the Church, the servant of the Church. He is, then, above all the servant of religious life. It is his most excel-lent creation. Another consideration is the following. The priest is the man of the Mass. He lives but to offer Christ to the Father and to place at the disposition of the children of God the Eucharistic sacrifice where they can consecrate themselves in Christ. But the religious life consecrates it-self entirely by the three public vows which cover the whole of existence. It responds fully, then, to the appeal of the priest. It does not exist except as an echo of the voice of the priest which, in turn, is but the instrument of the voice of Christ. Everyday the priest is the immedi-ate witness of the Eucharistic consecration of Christ. But it is in religious life that this offering of consecration is accepted and fulfilled as a state and a program of life. There it is that Christ the Victim can make Himself vis-ible. It follows that the two vocations, arising from two dis-tinct missions, unceasingly tend to resemble one another. To all that we have seen of history and theological re-flection, we add what is suggested by the spiritual as-pirations of the two vocations. On the one hand, the religious vocation aspires to the complete realization of the Mass which the priest cele-brates within the heart of the community. At the moment when religious life culminates at perpetual profession, it fulfills the most complete act of the priesthood of the Church and of the faithful, the definitive offering of the whole life~ Its model, then, is the .sacrifice of Christ and the Mass which represents it. On the other hand, the priest centers his spirituality around the Mass. He will find no more perfect mirror of it than the one which exists at the heart of the Church, the public state of per- fection. There it is that he may contemplate the ideal of his own aspirations for sanctity. In order to understand this well, we must return to a capital truth. The priest is only an instrument of the ministry. He preaches perfection, but he does .oqtsr.eate it. He does not invent the evangelical program; he'is its servant. He does not produce grace, he is the humble channel of the grace of Christ. As does everyone of the faithful, as does every man, he. contemplates perfection not in himself but there where it shines; that is, in the Church, the great sign lifted up before the nations, and, above all, as Pius XII has said, in that chosen portion of the Church where, under the assiduous leadership of the priesthood, the way of life of Christ is fully adopted (Plus XII, Discourse to Superiors General, February 11, 1958, and previously in his Letter to Cardinal Micara of November II, 1950). "Imitate what you handle." What the priest handles is the Eucharistic Body, and it is the Mystical Body; for both are but one. It is only right to speak of the "fatherhood" of the priest. In actuality, however, he only holds the place of the Father, as he fills the role of Jesus. Passing through his humble hands, the splendor of the Father shines forth in the way of life of Christ, which the Church, having the Son as her Spouse, teaches to her states of perfection. Frequent Union of the Two Vocations Accordingly, the priestly vocation has always sought to unite itself with the religious vocation. This historical movement of the Church can only come from the Holy Spirit. That is the source of the vocation of the canons regular, of the Dominicans, of the very numerous insti-tutes of religious clerics. A different case, but one which demonstrates nevertheless the same mutual integration of the two vocations, is that of the monk-priest. Since he seeks the perfect public consecration of himself and of his community, it is natural that the monk should, if he can, unite in the same person the divine instrumental power of consecrating and the most complete of the Church's responses to the divine consecration; that is, the public state of perfection. It might be asked if the monk does not re-orient to himself the priesthood that he receives. But it would be wrong to consider the matter in this way. What the monk seeks is not an egocentric perfection which would no longer be Christian. More than anyone, he with his brothers brings to reality the Mystical Body; and it is in the Church, in the perfect community of charity and adoration, that he finds his sanctification. When he celebrates Mass, as does every priest, he offers the Church; he builds up the Kingdom of 4. 4. 4. Priest and Religious VOLUME 21~ 1962 219 + + ÷ Ren~ Ca~pentier, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 220 ,God and, first of all, that perfect kingdom which is con-stituted by the monastic community. The priesthood is not necessary to him; but if the Church gives it to him, it is to achieve a greater integration within herself of the person of the monk, his community, and the divine official praise which this community celebrates and carries on in the world. Clarifications When the resemblance between the two vocations, priestly and religious, is spoken of, what is considered is the essential matter of evangelical perfection, and not the difference in the observance of details which are so considerable from institute to institute. In his discourse to the Second General Congress of the States of Perfection (December 7, 1957), Pius XII pointed up this "essential" matter of perfection; it is the imitation of Christ defini-tively embraced in the great counsels that sums up all the other matters. If, to make an impossible supposition, the priest sought to create for himself an ideal of holiness of another kind than that of the baptised, he would put himself, so to speak, outside the Church, the Body of holiness; he would be ambitioning something else in his plan of holiness than to be as perfectly as possible the adopted child of the Father in Christ. He would be boldly directing his as-pirations towards a life conformed to his divine powers; that is, he would seem to be making his spiritual lift.' equal to that of the only-begotten Son Himself. No priest has ever thought of such a thing. By reason of the sacer-dotal character he is instrumentally a man of God, but his whole mission makes him a man among men. Cer-tainly, he reveres in himself with full humility the mys-terious efficacy of Christ, as do also the faithful; but not for an instant does he or the faithful confuse the lowly man with the transcendence of that God who works through him as through an intermediary. "It is, then, quite true," wrote Father de Lubac, "that the institution of the priesthood and the sacrament of orders did not create within the Church two degrees of attachment to Christ, as it were, two kinds of Christians. This is a fun-damental truth of our faith. All are united in the same essential dignity, the dignity of Christians, a marvelous renewal of the dignity of man, which has been so mag-nificently sung by the great Pope St. Leo." Against the similarity of the two vocations a difficulty might still be raised. Does not the religious withdraw from the world, and ought not the diocesan priest root himself in the world? In order to follow the vocation of a diocesan priest, is. it not fitting to place the accent on that which is peculiar to it as opposed to the religious state? By this means it would be ~reed of an imitation which would paralyze it; left to its own initiative in enter-ing into the mass of men, it would be free to communicate to all men those things which are necessary here below. There is a general problem here, that of action and contemplation, of renouncement ~ihd of use. It is a prob-lem which exceeds the limits of this article. Recent popes have spoken of this problem, especially to priests. In his heart, Pius XII declared, the priest should be an entire stranger to the world, one who wishes to live for the Lord only and to serve Him perfectly (Discourse to Superiors General, February 11, 1958; see also the third part of the Discourse of December 8, 1950). In this difficulty as formulated, we confine ourselves to noting a mistake which would be a grave danger for religious vocations if it were not corrected. In the truest sense of the word, the religious, even the most contemplative, does not abandon "the world." He-builds it up into its full reality if it is true that the evangelical order of brotherhood is the ex-ample given by Christ to disunited human society so that it might find peace and life. During the Middle Ages the monks literally created a new people, western civiliza-tion (see Pius XII's encyclical F.ulgens Radiatur on St. Benedict, March 21, 1947). Even today, does not the re-ligious life devote itself to all human sciences, to all the services of the health of souls and of bodies, to all the forms of education of children, adolescents, young adults, and adults. It remains true, nevertheless, and this is what it proclaims by its very existence, that "he who would save his life will lose it" (Mt 16:25) and "What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul?" (Mt 16:26). No ConIusion of the Two Vocations Finally, if the two vocations necessarily tend to resem-ble one another in their efforts at sanctification, they should by no means be confused in the Church of today. On the contrary, it may be believed that their differentia-tion, completed by canon law, enriches the Church. For the religious state, the correct independence of local juris-diction assured it by ecclesiastical law is a life or death condition. The very nature of the evangelical society, as the often sad history of the Church demonstrates, requires that it be able to live according to its own principles if it is to give the services which the Holy Spirit and the Church entrust to it. And on the other hand, the Church has too much respect for the liberty and the differences of her children, and too great a need for priests, not to leave to those of her elect who desire it the choice of their own means of sanctification and not to impose any more 4. 4. + Priest and Religious VOLUME 21, 1962 221 ,4" Ren~ Cavpentier, S.$. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS than what in her own view she has judged to be indis-pensable. Synthesis A summary of this theological evidence in a single synthesis is long overdue. To formulate it, I will draw upon a very recent little work of His Excellency, Msgr. DeSmedt, Bishop of Bruges, entitled The Priesthood oI the Faithlul. I have found it very illuminating. The bishop's intent is to explain the priestly vocation to his flock. He considers he can do no better than first of all to develop before their eyes the broad perspective of the priesthood of the faithful. The end of the Church is holi-ness. The Church is accordingly, a Body of holiness, hence a priesthood of the faithful. This is the major and basic principle which gi,~es proper value to all ecclesiasti-cal realities, above all to the two fundamental vocations which are at the center of the Church. In the priesthood of the faithful, all--the simply bap-tized, priests, bishops, the pope himself---are united to offer themselves and to join themselves to Christ so as to be efficaciously offered by His all powerful adoration and to be finally gathered together by Christ into a single people of brotherhood in communion with the Blessed Trinity. In this Body of holiness the mission of the states of perfection easily takes its proper place. It is the vocation of the states of perfection to respond fully, under the guidance of the Church, to the appeal of the baptismal dignity. It is for them to make concrete the people of God, fraternally united and consecrated to the Father by the vows of the three counsels. In this way they are at the service of their brothers, all Christians and all men, to win them and orient them to brotherly consecration in Christ. Among the states of perfection, the religious state is at the heart of the visible Church; it is com-missioned by her and closely linked with her to be the public w!tness of the social order of the gospel, the witness of the community of love and of worship in the midst of men. Secular institutes and all the baptized and con-firmed, priests included, who in actual fact or in spirit practice evangelical perfection in mutual charity and the faithful adoration of the Lord, also witness to this true life, at least in a personal way, each one according to his position and according to the innumerable adaptations which the apostolic approach to men require. It is with respect to the priesthood of the faithful that the diocesan priesthood is situated with full clarity. Es-sentially, it is its servant. Consecrated by Christ, it dis-tributes to the people the word and the bread in His name and in His place. It directs the people to eternal life. It has its powers and its commission. It is the object of the veneration of lay persons who absorb its presence, its help, its teaching, its edification. This is what Bishop DeSmedt shows in the second part of his work. But by this very fact the priest centers his life on his flock as its pastor, dn the *family of God asr its father. Above all, he is pastor and father for the states of perfec-tion. He must count on them above all to assure the spread of the apostolic life in the world. He is always, then, the central figure of the state of perfection even if he is not charged directly with its care. That is to say, he makes it known, he reveals it to the world, since it is he who must reveal the Church as a brotherhood conse-crated to God and since it is he who must reveal the full gospel. Objective Dil~erence of the Two Vocations Thus the objective difference which we were to find between
Issue 1.1 of the Review for Religious, 1942. This is the first issue of the publication. ; A.M.D.G.- -~ Review for ehg ous " " JANUARY 15, 1942 ,~>The Vow of P~overfy . ~The oE udta÷ O~Iotn er ¯ Hygienic M6rfificafio~ -- Exemptions from F~s+ing ~.~ ~Bellar~ine's S[gn of The:~Lmfurgy ih'Mo~ern ~r ¯ Religious Cg~secration : . By M~ffhew Germlng,-S.J. . By Adam C. Ellis, S.J. ~.By, William J. McGucken, S.J. ~' " By,'~. Augustine Ellard, S;J. '~ ~. By Gerald Kelly, ~S.J. '/ By C!pm~nt DeMufh, S.J. B~. ~rald Ellard, SfJ. .° VOLUME. NUMBER 1 Review ~:or Religious Volume I January--December 1942 Published at THE COLLEGE PRESS Topeka, Kansas Edited by THE JESUIT FATHERS SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE St. Marys, Kansas REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME I JANUARY 15, 1942 NUMBER CONTENTS GREETINGS FROM THE BISHOP OF LEAVENWORTH Tlie Most Reverend Paul C. Schulte, D.D. 4 PLANS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS~The Editors .6 RELIGIOUS CONSECRATION--Matthew Germing, S.J . 8 JOHN NEPOMUCENE NEUMANN . 14 THE VOW OF POVERTY IN THE CODE OF CANON LAW Adam C. Ellis, S.J . 15 THE EDUCATION OF SISTERS--William J. McGucken, S.J .2.7. HYGIENIC MORTIFICATION---G. Augustine Ellard. S.J .3.2 EXEMPTIONS FROM FASTING--Gerald Kelly, S.J .4.2. SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE'S SIGN OF THE CROSS Clement DeMuth, S.J . 47 LITURGY IN THE PATTERN OF MODERN PRAYING Gerald Ellard, S.J . 51 BOOK REVIEWS .THE MASS. By the Reverend Joseph A. Dunney . 63 A CATHOLIC DICTIONARY. Edited by Donald Attwater . 63 ALL THE DAY LONG. By Daniel Sargent . 64 "FEAR NOT, I~ITTLE FLOCK.'" By the Reverend George Zimpfer 65 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. Period of Recollection before Perpetual Vows . . " . 68 2. Shortening the Second Year of Novitiate . 68 3. Permission of Parents for Emergency Operation .69 4. Recital of Little Office by those absent from Community Recitation 69 5. Private Vows by Professed Religious . 70 6. Curtain between Priest and Penitent in Convent Confessional 70 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS 71 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, January, 1942. Vol. I, No. 1. Published bi-monthly: ,January, March, May, July, September, and November, at The College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Application for second class entry pending. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.3.,~ G. Augustine Ellard, S.3., Gerald Kelly, $.J. Copyright; 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted~for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Address all communications to: Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, St. Mar/s, Kansas. Printed in U.S.A. Greet:ings-t: 'om !:he Bishop ot: Leavenw0rt:h WE ARE reminded of the striking analogy that exists between the Mystical Body of Christ and our own physical body. As the human body is made up of mil-lions of tiny ~ells, each cell in a sense a distinct entity having its .own function, so too, the Church is made up of millions of individual members, living individual lives; yet, even as ehch cell in our body draws life from the soul, ~so also is ~ach member of the Mystical Body of Christ quickened by the spiritual life of Sanctifying Grace. Carrying the analog~r further, we are reminded that, as the tiny individual cells are grouped so as to form individu.al organs and members of ~our body,, so too, in the Mystical .Body of Christ, individual men and women are o/~ten grouped into societies andorganizations, distinct, yet work-ing for the common good and drawing life and inspiration from th~ one spiritual head. As St. Paul reminds us,, "the eye cannot say to the hand: I need not thy help; nor again the head to the feet: I have no need of you,'; neither can the various groups within the Church be self-centered, but" they must work for the common good of the whole Church under the guidance of its head, Christ's Vicar on earth. The religious form what might be called the right arm of the Mystical Body of Christ. Ever since our Divine Savior gave the invitation to the young man in the Gospel, "if thou Wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to .the poor . and come, follow me," noble souls have been inspired to lea~e all things and seek perfection in the life of the religious. The very earliest centuries of the Church already found the deserts filled with the cells of the anchor-ites, from which soon was to be born the great monastic sys-tem as we have it today. Naturally, the unusual form of life led by the religious presents for them unusual problems. The Church in her canon law has taken cognizance of this and has devoted much space to defining the rights and duties of religious, both as indi'viduals and as institutions. However, the rami-fications of these rights and duties are so far reaching, and the field of direction towards spiritual perfection is so vast that the volumes upon volumes of commentaries that have been Written have not begun to exhaust the subje.cts. Besides, new .problems are ever arising. We have today many reviews of a general ecclesias-tical character dealing withthe multitudinou~s phases of the Church ~n general, yet we can readily see the need of a special review for the religious, not only to explain .the general laws governing their lives, but also to keep them abreast of the problems that theever-changing world is presenting to them. We feel confident therefoie that REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, which is making its bow. with this issue, will be .not .only very helpful to the religious but welcomed by the entire Church. We are happy to give it our personal approbation and fed honored that it is to be published in our Diocese. We are confident of its success under the editorial guidance of the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's. May it live long and effect much "pro Deo et Ecclesia!" PAUL C. SCHULTE, Bishop of Leaventvortl~. Plans :nd. ' . Acknowl dgem.ents N THIS initial number of REVIEW FoR RELIGIOus .wish tO say something Of our purpose,and ourplans, so that our readers may know rather definitely what to expect of us. ,, Our 'review is for all religious, clerical and non-clerical. However, we shall consider primarily the needs of brothe~ and nuns, bec~iuse clerics, particularly those in sacred orders, already have many excellent reviews at their disposal. This policy need not make the review less interesting to clerics, and it should increase its utility for those who may be entrusted with the spiritual guidance of other religious. In this latter connection, the review may also be of service to diocesan priests, as many of them are confessors and spiritual directors of religious. We have founded this magazine for a two-fold purpose: first, to aid °religi"ous in their personal sanctification; and secondly, to be of some service to them in carrying on their respective °apostolic works. The first purpose evidently call~ for articles of a purely ascetical nature; also for solid articles on the doctrines, legislation, and liturgy of the Church, as all true piety must ultimately conform to the Church's doctrine and practice. In line with the second purpose w~ll be a~'ticles which may have no direct bearing on ~he personal li:¢es of the religious themselves, such as background articles on various sections of the catechism, suggestions.for the care of the sick and the dying and for the ~arrying on of other ministries. Our general policy will be to offer articles of interest to all, but this policy cannot be inflexible. Some topics will be of use to superiorsand of slight value to subjects; some will be esl~ecially for brothers, others for nuns: some may concern only those engaged ina definite work such-as teaching, caring for the sick, and so forth. We think it well to adopt no general policy that would exclude such special-ized articles; otherwise our power for good would be great-ly diminished. We antidpate difficulties. The war situation evidently increases the difficulty .of .making definite plans. Some of our articles will be quite theological in content, yet these must be written in a non-technical, and understandable manner--an accomplishment that is not easy. On the part of our subscribers, some superiors have already suggested to us that a huge difficulty will be to find time for reading the review. We realize the force of. this practical objection: yet we hope that a fair number of individuals will find the time for private reading, and we suggest, that some articles frbm each issue will be suitable for community reading. The launching of. this project is the result of extensive dreaming and planning. Indeed, we should have begun many years ago, had not a certain unforeseen event delayed 9ur plans. Today, as we finally go to press, we are moved with an intense spirit of gratitude, to God for His assistance, and to all others who have helped us. Almost universally we have met with encouragement andcooperation. Our Bishop has been most kind in appro;cing our venture; our own and other re.ligious superiors were constantly helpful. Higher superiors, in general, responded very promptly and generously to our request for lists of houses to circularize: in many instances the superiors themselves sent subscrip-tions for entire congregations or provinces, thus saving us considerable labor and expense. May God bless them a11, and may He prosper this work begun for His greater glory! -~THE EDITORS. Religious Consecrat:ion Matthew .Germing, S.3. HOLY,SCRIPTURE says: "He that contemneth small things ~hall fall by little and little" (Ecclesiasticus 19:1). Spiritual writers commenting on these words rightly insist on the importance of little thing~ in the spiritual life. In the present consideration I wish to call attention, primarily, not to little things but to a big truth. I say, "primarily," because I believe that often enough interest in little things is best promoted by insistence on some large fundamental truth or fact on which the little ¯ things depend. Such a truth, once it has been thoroughly understood and assimilated, once it has. permeated the very marrow of our being and is thereafter kept vig.or.ously alive in mind an, d heart, will be a wonderfully energ,zmg force in the daily routine of life. It will extend its influence to the smallest actions of the day and thus compel us to take heed of even the little things. . Of this character is the consecration to God made by the members of every religious order and congregation. We are familiar in a general way with the meaning of consecration. Persons or things are consecrated when they are set apart and with the proper ceremonies dedicated to God or the Service of God. Thus the chalice used by the priest at Mass is consecrated; it is sacred and may not be used for any other purpose. To use it for other purposes would be sinful and sacrilegious. The same holds of a consecrated church. All religious are consecrated to Gdd by means of the three vows of religion. They are sacred in the eyes of God, far more sacred than consecrated church or ~halice. Whether they bel6ng to an active or a contemplative order, whether they are engaged in school work or hospital duties, whether in charge of orphans or caring for the aged and infirm, no matter what their function or task or position in the com-munity, all are consecrated to God. And they are so con-secrated by their three vows. There is a twofold aspect to these vows, the .negative and the positive. The negative aspect is "the privation involved in the vows, but privation is not the distinctive feature of religious poverty, chastity, and obedience. The mere lack of temporal goods does not make anyone accept.- able or sacred in God's sight. Poverty .as'such makes.many people in the world at large discontented and miserable, leading to complaints and rebellion against Providence. Nor does celibacy with its privations have of itself a sancti-fying effect. And as for obedience, a man may be a slave and be far from Christian and ev.angelical obedience. It is the motive that counts. It. is the love of Christ, the conse-cration to God which is the purpose and end of.all these sacrifices and privations, that makes them precious in the sight of heaven. And this is the positive aspect of the vows of religion. When we pronounced our vows for the first time we offered to God, to Christ our King and to His Sacred Heart all we had or possessed, and made ourselves entirely depen-dent on God and His representatives on earth. When St. Francis of Assisi bade farewell to his father and gave away the very clothes he wore, he said: "Now I can truly say, our-Father who art in heaven," Certainly Francis knew that God was his Father before that time, but he meant to say that only now was he absolutely without all earthly support whatever; he had only his Father in ¯ heaven to rely upon. And this gave him perfect joy and perfect cbnfidence. Blessed are we if our renunciation of the things of earth was nearly as complete as that of St. Francis and made in the same joyous~spirit. Then we can exclaim with him in ~ransportsof seraphic love, "My God and my all!" and pray to God in the word of another saint, "Give me only Thy love and Thy grace and I am rich enough and desire nothing more." But in pronouncing our vows we did much more than despoil ourselves of all temporal possessions out of love for Christ our Lord. We offered ourselves. There is recorded for us in Holy Scripture (I Paralipomenon 29: 16, 17) the touching prayer of King David when, surrounded by a vast multitude of his people, he offered to Almighty God the gold and silver and precious stones he had gathered from far and near for the temple which his son Solomon was to build. And David prayed: "O Lord our God, all this store ¯ that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name is from thy hand, and all things are thine. I know, my God, that thou provest hearts and lovest simplicity, wherefore I also in the simplicity of my heart have 'joyfully offered all these things." We also on the day of our vows made our offerings to God in joyful spirit, presenting not gold or silver or precious stones but gifts, far more precious m the sight of heaven--the loyalty and devotion of a con-secrated soul. We knelt before the altar and in simplicity and sincerity of heart pronounced the vows of poverty, chas-tity, and obedience. Thus we made an oblat.ion to God of our entire being, our body with its senses and all their pleasures, our soul with its intellect and free will, promising to understand and do all things in accordance with the rules and constitutions of the religious life we then and there embraced in all its fulness. And we made these promises solemnly before the throne of God, in the pres-ence of Mary, Queen of heaven, of our Guardian Angel, our patron saints and the whole heavenly court as witnesses of our oblation. With holy David we acknowledged to God, "All things are thine, and we have given thee what we received of thy hand." Thus we vowed eternal loyalty to Christ and became consecrated and sacred in His eyes. This consecration was the most important event in our life, a spiritual fact of tremendous import. For it meant the abandonment of all selfish interests and complete devo-tion to the cause of Christ. Up to that time self had chiefly been the focus of our thoughts and desires; now our L6rd and Savior was to be enthroned in our mind and heart. Our. aims in life, our thinking and planning, .our capabilities of soul and body, our work and r.ecreation, our time itself, all were consecrated and must be directed to God. We are en-tirely His. We ought to make it our serious effort to understand and appreciate this fact. We should do what the Blessed Virgin did during her life on earth. And what did she do? St. Luke tells us in the second chapter of his Gospel. Toward the end of his account of the nativity Of our Lord, after narrating the apparition of the angel to the shepherds and the visit of the latter to Bethlehem, he adds: "But Mary kept in mind all these words, pondering them in her heart." We may be sure that what is told us so explicitly of her conduct in the present instance she did on many other occa.- sions in connection with the mysteries in the life of our divine Lord in which she had a large part. She treasured up in her memory the words and events, meditated on them, 10 prayed over them in the silence and quiet of her chamber, thus ever increasing in faith, hope, and the 10ve of God. Thus too she secured for herself the divine assistance, sup-port and guidance and encouragement in the daily happen-ings and sufferings of her life on earth. We ought to imitate this practice of our Blessed Mother in regard to so sacred an event in our life as our consecration to God. In the first place, we should recall it often and prayerfMly. Many religious have the commendable custom of making the renewal of'their consecration part of their morning prayer, using for the purpose a short formula; even purely mental renewal is .beneficial. We may do the same at intervals .between exercises during the day, even in the course of work which does not require dose and continu-ous attention. Our Blessed Lady gave us the example. Doubtless her mind and 1,ieart were frequently, if not habitually, occupied, with thoughts of sbme of the great mysteries in the life of her divine Son. This kept her in a state of recollection, transforming all her work into .prayer. Because of the difference of circumstances and the nature of their occupation, religious living in the modern world with its multiplic!ty of work are unable to practise recollection to. the same extent to which our Blessed Lady practised it in her home at Nazareth. Nevertheless, we must not lose sight of the fact that some degree of recoll~ction is essential for living the religious life as it should be lived. For all religious, whether members of an active or contemplative order, are consecrated to God. Consecration means total devotion to the cause of God, the cause of Christ and His Church. But they cannot effectively promote the cause of Christ unless they are devoted to prayer. And the prayer of consecrated souls must be something more than a casual and routine performance at stated times and places. Reli-gious must be penetrated and imbued with the true spirit of prayer, which comes only with thought and reflection and intimate converse between God and the soul. How can they achieve this spirit and continue it once they have achieved it if they do not strive with all the means at their disposal to attain to some degree of interior recollection? It is easier to keep up a high degree of recollection in somepositions or spheres of duty than in others. This holds of all religious communities whose members are engaged in the active life. But to whatever duty individual religious are assigned, all 11 must remember that their life of prayer, their spiritual life in generall will not take care of itself. The' saying is true that no one will be much more in prayer than he or she is out of prayer. In other words, they who outside of praye~ scatter their attention over a variety of interests, neither necessary nor useful for their work, will be unable to pray well beyond a few minutes when the hour comes for their devotional exercises. The inference is not that recollection is to interfere with attention to duty. Duty comes first. But there are moments and intervals when thoughts are free from assigned work and the employment of time is left to each one's discretion. These are favorable moments for the care and attentio.n which religious ought to have for their personal spiritual welfare. And if at such times they follow the promptings of mere curiosity, seeking the news of the day or other information not necessary or useful for them, thus spending the time in useless reading or. idle con-versation, they are losing precious opportunities' for sanc-tifying themselves. I said above that, in the first place, we ought frequently and prayerfully to recall the fact of our consecration to God. It is a thought pregnant with meaning for all of us and will be a great aid to recollection in the course of the day. Secondly, it will be decidedly profitable to take~ our consecration now and then for the subject of daily medita-tion. In such a meditation we may first consider, the ¯ meaning of our consecration. It means complete dedication ¯ "to God by means of the three vows, oblation of all that we have, all that we are, all that we are able to do--our thoughts, words, and actions; it means an act of the most perfect love of God. Then we may reflect on its obliga-tions. They are the observance of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; of the rules and constitutions of the order, and obedience to the commands of superiors. Finally, we may think of its adoantages. The most impor-tant ones are that it frees us from many s~rious dangers of sin, furnishes numerous aids in the practice of every kind of virtue, aligns us with that choice company of the army of Christ which would signalize itself by special service to its Leader, renders us sacred in the eyes of God, is a sign of God's predilection, has Christ's promise of the highest reward-- they "shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life ever-lasting" (Matthew 19:29). Conclusion. We may Con- 12 clude-with sentiments of esteem and love of our vocation with its consecration to God; humility; gratitude to God. Another opportunity for strengthening ourselves in our consecration to God is the Monthly Recollection. It is a time of spiritual grace, when God reveals Himself more fully to our souls. We should do our part by making a brief survey of the month that has passed, considering in detail and with more than ordinary scrutiny whether we are living up to ~:he requirements of our state. It is not a question of merely seeing whether we have avoided deliber-ate sin. This too merits our attention, as a matter of course. We must look to our religious ideals, the perfection of our daily actions, the motives that animate us from early .morning till late at night. Are we seeking God in all things in all our doings? Are ,Jesus Christ and His interests habitually in our thoughts, or is self frequently uppermost in our minds, controlling and directing our purposes and policies? Our Blessed Lord said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whold strength" (Mark 12:30). This is the perfection we are bound to strive after in its literal sense. It is the epitome, the compendium of all that is contained in our consecration to God. We are consecrated to God, sacred in His eyes. It would be quite wrong and detrimental to our spiritual life if, by reason of this, we were to fall into the error of conceiving and fostering self-complacency, as though we were the favorite~ of Almighty God and better than other people. If God has manifested His predilection towards us by bestowing the efficacious grace of a religious vocation, He has by that very fact also imposed on us graver obligations and responsibilities. In all humility we should thank God for what He has done for us and for all other men, each of us saying with the patriarch ,Jacob, "I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of thy truth which thou hast f.ulfilled to thy servant" (Genesis 32:10). It is very important for .us to maintain~ an attitude of thankfulness and humility. Let us remember our Lord's words to His Apostles: "You have not chosen me, .but I have chosen you". (,John 15:16). He has chosen us out of the world and transferred us into a kingdom of light and grace that, like the Apostles; we might "bring forth fruit." It-remains for us to distinguish ourselves in His service by an ever increasing love and generosity, a more steadfast loyalty to the consecration which we made of ourselves when we pronounced our vows. In this way a big fundamental spiritual truth, kept fresh in mind and heart by daily prayer and recollection, will exercise oa salutary influence On the little things of every day life. It will have the effect Of sweepingaside in a moment the petty and narrow views arising from selfish-ness, just as the bright rising sun scatters the mist on a mid-summer day.' JOHN NEPOMUCENE NEUMANN Just before the first issue of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS went to press, we received a letter from the Reverend Albert H. Waible, C.SS.R., Vice-Postulator of the Cause for Beatification of the Venerable John Neumann, C.SS.R. John Nepomucene Neumann was the first pro-fessed Redemptorist in the United States and the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. On December 11, 1921, Pope Benedict XV approved the decree declaring that John Neumann had practised heroic virtue, and he was given the title of Venerable. The Holy Father's words on that occasion are singularly appropriate for readers of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS : "We deem it proper to say that all our children should profit by the. Decree of today by reason of the peculiar character of the heroic virtues of Ven. Neumann. Perhaps the very simplicity of these virtues has been misunderstood by those Who thought there was no heroic degree in the virtues of the Servant of God. because in their eyes the good works and holy deeds performed by Neumann are. the holy .and good deeds which every good religious, every zealous missionary, every good bishop should perform. ¯ We need not repeat that works even the most simple, performed with constant perfection in the midst of i~aevitable difficulties, spell heroism in any servant of God. Just because of the simplicity of his works, We find in them a strong argu-ment for saying to the faithful of whatever age, sex, or condition: You are all bound to imitate the Ven. Neumann.,. If, in spite of this, there should be some who still seem surprised and cannot pic-ture him to themselves as a hero apart from grand undertakings, We hasten to say that wonderful results can spring from simple deeds, . provided these are performed as perfectly as possible and with unre-mitting constancy." Those interested in Bishop Neumann's cause can procure a small pamphlet biography from the Mission Church Press, 1545 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 5 cents a copy; $3.50 per 100. 14 The Vow ot: Poverl:y in !:he Code ot: Canon Law Adam C. Ellis, S.,L IIF't LESSED are the poor in spirit, .for theirs is the king-dom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). This poverty of spirit for which the Gospel promises the kingdom of heaven consists essentially in keeping one's heart free from attachment to temporal goods. It is the first means, though not the most important, which man must make use of to win heaven.or to attain to perfection. The reason for this is that poverty of spirit is the cure for that evil which is the root of all others according to the Apostle: "For covet-ousness is the root of all evil" (I Timothy 6:10). That is why our Lord not only began his preaching with it, but also gave us the example in His own person of a life of pov-erty from the crib in the stable of Bethlehem to the cross on Calvary. And when He wished to teach men the secret and the way ot~ perfection, he tells us again, in the instance of the rich young man, that. poverty is the starting point. "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast. and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21). The first persons who took this lesson to heart and put it into practice were the Apostles, who in turn imparted it to the primitive church, and thus impressed upon religious communities the form of perfect poverty. In canon 488 of the Code ot: Canon Law, the Church tells us that the three vows ot~ religion, obedience, chastity, and poverty, are means by ~vhich religious strive at~ter per-t: ecfion; Hence in all orders and congregations approved by the Church these three essential vows must be taken, either explicitly, as in modern congregations, or as least implicitly, as in the older orders. In its essentials the vow 6f poverty is the same: for all religious, but the constitutions of different orders and congregations add details to these fundamental notions according to the particular spirit ot~ each institute. Evangelical poverty as set forth in the constitutions of a religious institute, may be considered from different points of view. It-is not our intention to give an ascetical ¯ or a moral.interpretation of the vow of poverty; we leave .15 that to others, who, we trust, will favor us later on with articles in the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS dealing with these aspects. It is our purpose now to study the present laws of the Ghurch regarding the personal poverty of religious, as promulgated in the Code of Canon Law, since these laws are applicable to all religious, and are usually incorporated into the constitutions o~ all religious institutes. The Nature of the Vow of Pooert~/. The vow of pov-erty is a promise made to God by whicla the religious deprives himself of the right to place any act of proprietor-sbip over any material thing having a money value, with-out the lawful permission of his superior, The proper and distinctive character of proprietorship or ownership of property is the power to dispose of it freely and independently/: that is, to use it, to give it away, to sell it, to destroy it, at will, as an absolute master over it. without any obligation of having recourse to the will of another, hence independently of the will or permission of another. The essence of the simple vow of poverty consists, therefore, in the privation of this right to dispose freely and independently of temporal goods, of whatsoever kind they may be. The subject-matter of the vow is the possession and use of temporal things, independently of the will of superiors. Whatever the degree of poverty prescribed by the con-stitutions of any particular institute may be, only such things as come under the heading of temporal goods or property constitute the subject-matter of poverty. Other things, such as health, the use of one's bodily members, one's mental and spiritual faculties, talents, supernatural gifts, are not the subject-matter of the vow of poverty. Temporal goods or property, therefore, include any object of money value that a person can acquire and possess or hold, anything that can be owned. Personal goods or property are such things as can be kept on or near one's per-son, usually all movable goods. Real property or real estate consists in lands and whatever is attached to the land, houses and buildings of any kind. The general term, prop-. erty or temporal goods, therefore, comprises every material thing which has a money value, such as: money, real estate, stocks, bonds, mortgages, jewelry, and all movable and per-sonal objects having a money value. By his vow of poverty 16 the religious refiounces his right to place any act of owner- Ship over such goods without the permission of his supe-rior. The vow of poverty, therefore, forbids the religious: 1) every independent act of appropriation, e.g. to acquire, keep, use, receive, borrow from another; 2) every act of disposal of property: to give away, to sell, to lend, or lease to another, to allow goods to deteriorate or perish. All these acts, placed without the permission of the superior or of the constitutions, are contrary to the vow of poverty. The various degrees of sinfulness of these acts is a moral question and outside the limits of this article. Let us now take up the general legislation of the Church regarding the vow of poverty, keeping in mind that these laws obligate all religious, and that any contrary leg-islation in the constitutions has been revoked by the Code of Canon Law, unless a special apostolic privilege has been obtained. I. A religious who has tatien a simple vow of poverty, whether temporar!t or perpetual, retains the ownership of his property, as well as the capacity to acquire, more, unless the constitutions provide otherwise (cf. canon 580, § 1). The distinction between a simple and a solemn vow ~s the result of church legislation. ~ A religious who takes a solemn vow of poverty deprives himself not only of every right to place act~ proprietorship, as explained above, but he freely gives up even the right to own temporal goods. Such a religious must give away all that he. possesses, within sixty days preceding his solemn profession. After taking the solemn vow, he can no longer acquire temporal goods for himself, since by his vow he has renounced his very right to own, hence whatever may come to him by way of inheri-tance or gift, he acquires for his institute (cf. canons 581 and 582). The religious who takes a simple vow of poverty, on the contrary, retains his right to own, that is to possess property; hence he is not deprived of his property by the simple vow, but continues to be the owner of all that he possessed at the time of his religious profession. Further-more, he retains the capacity to acquire more property or temporal goods even after he has taken the simple vow of poverty. Such is the provision of. the general law of the Church today for all religious. The Church allows the constitutions to limit this right, but since there are very few constitutions ;which do so,,we.shall omit any comment On this detail, and we shall suppose hereafter that no such limitation has been placed. iI. The simple vow of poverty makes a" contrary a~t illticit, but not invalid, unless the contrarg, has been expressly decreed (cf. canon 579). The effects of the vow of poverty are determined by the law of the Church. That law says that the simple vow of poverty makes a.contrary act illicit, which means that if a religious with a simple vow of poverty disposes of or in any way exercises rights over his property without permis-sion, he-.commits a sin,. venial or grave acc.ording, to the gravity of the illicit transaction. However, the act which he places, for example, the gift or s~ile of temporal goods, is valid, that is, it is recognized as legal by canon law, unless the contrary is expresslydecreed. Such a prohibition may be contained in the general law of the Church," as 'happens in the case of a religious who takes a simple vow of poverty in an order in which he is to take solemn vows later on. Canon 581 § 1. forbids .him under pain of invalidity to give away his property, except within sixty days preceding his solemn profession. If such a religious gives away any property, the act is null and void, ~which means that the person to whom he,gave it must return it, and may not keep it. Thus if Sister Generosa, a member of a religious congregation, gave all her property to her needy family off the day 9n which she took her first vows, her parents may keep it, since the act is a valid act. Sister Generosa, how-ever, acted illicitly, that is, she violated her vow of povert.y :by transgressing the law of the church, unless she. did so m good faith, being ignorant of the law. Off'the other hand, if Brother John, a member of the Carmelite order, gave away all his property on the day he took his first simple vows, the person to whom he gave it would be obliged to give it back to him, because his act was not only illicit but also invalid. He can give away his property validly only within sixty days of his solemn profession. III.' If during his novitiate, a novice in any way what-ever renounces his property, or.encumbers it, such a renun-ciation or encumbrance is not only illicit, but also null and void (cf. canon 568). This legislation comes down to us from the Council of Trent. It applies to all novices, whether in a pontifical or 18 in a diocesan institute, and to all their temporal goods, whether movable or immovable, real or personal. The pur-poseof the legislation is to safeguard the freedom of action of both the novice and of the institute regarding the profes-sion to be made at the end of the novitiate. The novice may wish to leave, the institute may be unwilling to admit him to profession. Hence the wisdom of the legislation. To renounce one's property means to give up the right to it by freely and lawfully transferring it to another with-out recompense. A novice may, therefore, sell his.property and invest the proceeds, or. put the money in a bank for the time being. He may, likewise, freely~dispose of the income of his property during the novitiate, or add it .to his capital. He must pay his.debts, of course, and may pay for his board and clothing during the'novitiate provided this is required by the constitutions, or agreed upon before entrance into the postulancy, or novitiate in conformity with canon 5 70, §1. To er~carnber one's property means to put a burden or obligation upon it. Hence a novice may not promise to give away a certain part of 'his property or all of it on condition that he perseveres in the religious state and is admitted to profession. He may not mortgage his property.,-as that would be placing an encumbrance .upon it. While the law of the Church does not forbid such renunciation and encumbrance during the postulancy, the same reasons make such an act inadvisable. If such a renun-ciation is made for grave reason during the postulancy, it should be made conditionally, so that the postulant may be able to regain his property in case he does not persevere in religion, and must return to the world. Even before the Code went into effect i~ was a common opinion of canonists that novices could give alms to the poor, to pious causes, and even to their own institute, pro-vided that small amounts were given on rare occasions, The same is permitted under the Code. Thus a novice would be allowed to have a number of Masses said for the repose of. the soul of his father or mother who dies during his novitiate. Supposing that our novice persevere~, and that his institute is ready to admit him to his first profession~, the .law. of the Church requires him to place certain acts in rdgard to his property before he takes his first ~vows. 19 IV. Before the profession of simple vows, whether temporory or perpetual., the novice must cede, for the entire period during Which he wilt be bound bg simple vows, the administration of bis~ 15ropertg to whomsoever he wishes, and dispose freelg of its use and usufruct, unless the consti-tutions determine otberu;ise (cf. canon 569, § 1). We have seen above that the simple vow of poverty does not deprive the novice who takes it of the ownership of his property or of the right to acquire more property after he. has taken the simple vow of poverty. On the other hand, one of the purposes of the vow is to free the religious from the worries and distractions connected with the care and management of temporal goods. Hence the Church wisely decrees that the novice must turn over to another the administration of his property if he has any. He may choose any person he wishes to act as his administrator: his parents, a brother or sister, a friend, a lawyer, a trust com-pany. He may also ask his institute or province or house to assume this task if superiorslare willing tO accept it. Let us u.nderstand what an administrator is. All of us have heard on occasion, after the death of a person, that the deceased had appointed an administrator of his estate in his will, or if he died intestate, the court appointed somebody to fill this office until the estate could besettled. The per-son appointed cares for the estate or collection of temporal goods owned by the deceased, pay bills, collects rents, as well as interest on money deposited in banks or due on stocks and bonds, keeps buildings in repair, pays taxes and the like. In a word, an administrator performs all those ordinary acts which the deceased person performed during his lifetime for the preservation and increase of his prop-erty. Once the novice has appointed his administrator, he must leave to him all these acts of ordinary administration of his property. He may be consulted as regards extra-ordinary acts of administration, such as the sale of his property, and the investment of the money derived from such a sale, and be has the right to receive an annual report of the condition of his property. The administrator is entitled to some recompense in proportion to his labor. Once the administrator has been freely appointed, the religious may not replace him by another without the per-mission of his superior general, unless the constitutions of his institute allow him to do so of his own accord (cf.canon 20 580, § 3). It4s evident that the novice who has no prop-erty at the-time of his first profession .need not appoint an administrator. The disposition or: his income: The novice must dispose freely of the use and usufruct of his pr.operty, if he has any. If his property consists of real estate, a farm, a house and lot, etc. he may ~rant the use of such property to anybody he wishes. If his property is productive, real estate which brings in rents, or stocks and bonds producing income or interest, such income is called the fruits of his property, or .the usufruct. It is evident that were the religious to retain the free disposal¯ of such income in his own hands, it would become a source of distraction and worry to him. Hence the Code prescribes that, before he takes his first vows, he must determine, once for all, the person or persons who are to be given the use of or the income of his property for the duration of his vows. He may choose whomsoever he wishes as the beneficiary of bis income: his parents, a brother or sister, some charitable work, his own institute. It would be well for the novice, before making his decision, to think seriously on those words of our Lord: "give to the poor." His parents may be in need, or he may have a brother or sister struggling to raise a family or to get an education; then there are so many forms of Christian char-ity in need of funds to carry on their work: hospitals, or-phanages, homes for the poor, etc; lastly the novzce should also consider the needs of his own institute before coming to a decision. But the final decision rests with him, unless the constitutions of his institute determine otherwise. There are some constitutions approved before the promultzation of the Code which deprive the novice of the right to dispose of the use and usufruct of his property, or restrict that right or define it, e.g. by limiting such disposal in favor of a char-itable work, or by designating or excluding the institute as the beneficiary. Whatever the dispositions of such consti-tutions may be, they must be observed (Code Commission, Oct. 16, 1919). Once the novice has made this disposition of the use or income of his property, he may not change it in favor of someone else without the permission of his superior gen-eral, unless the constitutions' allow him to do so of his own accord (canon 580, § 3). It will-be Well to call attention here to a restriction which this same canon places on 'th~ 2I right to chahge the beneficiary with the permission ~of the superior general.~ Such modification or change mustnot be made, at least for a notable part of the income, in favor of the institute. Permission of the Holy See is necessary to make such a change in favor of the institute (Code Com-mission, May 15, 1936), if there is question of a notable part, say one-fourth, or certainly one-third Of the same. This point should be made clear to the novice before he chooses the person who is to have the use or the income of his property. While he is free before taking his first vows to appoint hisown institute (orhis province or house) as the beneficiary of his income, ifas a matter of fact, he does not do so, but appoints some other person, he may not later " cbang.e .this disposition in favor of.his ihstitute without the permission of the Holy See, if there is question of one third or more of the entire income. If, later on, after having taken his vows, the religious should leave his institute and the religious life, these appointments of an administrator and of the beneficiary of his income cease to have a.ny effect, and he regains comple.te control of his property. It may happen that a novice has no property at the time be takes his first vows. Later on, after takin~ his vows, he acquires pkoperty by inheritance or gift. What is to be don~? " " V. :In case the novice, because he possessed no property, omitted to make the cession and disposition mentioned above, but later on acquires p. ropertq, or i~:, after making the cession and disposition ~n question, be becomes the possessor of more property under whatever title, be must then' make the cession and disposition for the ~irst time, or repeat it, iri regard to the newI~/ acquired property/, his simple vow o~: povern.] notwit.bstanding (cf. canon 569, §2). In this case the religious whopossessed no property at the time of his first profession, but. later on acquires prop-erty, needs no permission to appoint an administrator and to determine who is to have the use of this newly acquired property, or the income thereof. The law obliges him to do .so. Similarly, if, after having appointed an adminis-trator and determined a beneficiary of the income of his property, a religious, after taking his vows, acquires new property by inheritance, gift, and so forth, he must then 22 repeat the same acts in regard to h!,s. newly acquired prop-erty. Of course he may simply say: I wish the same admin-istrator, already appointed, to take care of it, and I wish the same person or persons, already recei~,ing the income of my property, to receive the income of this new property like-wise." He may, howe.ver, appoint a different person administrator, and a different person the beneficiary of the income of this newly acquired property, if he wishes to do so, It may be noted in 1Sassing that an increase in value of property already possessed does not constitute a new acquirement of property .within the meaning of the law. Hence if the real estate, or the stocks and bonds which a religious owns, increase in value because of a land boom, or because of a rise in the stock market, such a religious may not consider that increase in value as a new acquirement of property. Nothing is to be done in such a case. VI. In ever{] religious congregation the novice, before taking his temporarg vouJs, must freetg make a will or tes-tament regarding all the propertg he actuatl~l possesses, or mag subsequentl~l possess (cf. canon 569, § .3). A will is a legal declaration of a man's intentions as to the disposition of his property that he wills to be carried out afterhis death. Strictly speaking, a testament differs from a will in that it bequeaths personal property only; but the terms are used interchangeably. By his will, there-fore, the novice does not give away his property here and now. ° He merely indicates the person Or persons whom he wishes to come into possession of it after his death. As long as he lives he retains the ownership of all his prop-erty. The beneficiary of his will becomes possessor of the property of the. religious only after the latter dies. Every novice in a religious congregation must make a will before taking his first, temporary vows, whether he actually owns any property or not, the reason being that the will includes everything that may come to the religious dur!ng his life-time, and of which he dies possessed. Novices about to take their first, temporary vows in an order are not obliged to make a will, since they must give away whatever they possess before they take their solemn vows. They are not forbidden, howe~er, to make a will valid for the period of their profession of simple vows, ~hould their wish to do so. ¯ Members of a religious congregation who took their 23 first vows before the Code went into effect (May 19, 1918), are not obliged to make a will, even though they acquired more property after that date, or will akquire such property in the future. But they ar~ not forbidden to make a will, should they wish to do so, and generally speaking, it is advisable for them to make a will.But all religious in every congregation who took their first, temporary vows after May 19, 1918 are obliged to make a will as soon as possible, if they have not done so already. The law requires this, even though it had been omitted in good faith. Even though the novice who is about to take his first vows cannot make a will valid in civil law because of a lack of the required age, he is still bound by canon law to make his will, and later on, when he becomes of legal age, he must tlake the steps necessary to make his will'valid in divil law as well. The Code says that the novice must freel~t make a will. This does not mean that he is free to make a will. or not, but that he who makes the will prescribed by canon law is free to choose the beneficiary of his will, that is he freely chooses the person or persons he wishes to take possession of any property he may own at the time of his death. May a religious ever change his will after he has freely made it? VII. No religious may change his will once made in "conformity with the requirements of canon law as explained above without the permission of the Hotel See, or. in case of urgencq, abd time does not permit of recourse to the Holg See, without the permission o3 his superior gen-eral, or of his local superior if the former cannot be' reached (cf. canon 583, 2°). A will is not considered altered or changed if certain prescriptions are merely made clearer, or if a will'which is invalid in civil law is changed merely to conform with the requirements of that law, so long as in both cases the bene-ficiary remains the same. Should the person named as bene-ficiary in the will of a religious die, the will becomes ineffec-tive and has no value. Hence no permission is needed to make a new will, since by so doing the religious is simply fialfilling the law of the Church which requires him to make a will. The will he had made is no longer valid, hence he is without a will, and must make another in order to fulfill the law, 24 As long as the religious with simple vows continues, to live in a religious congregation he may ~not give away his property. VIII. It is forbidden to the professed of simple" uows in a congregation to abdicate gratuitously the dominion ouer their property b~/ a voluntary deed of conveyance (cf. canon 583, 1°). To abdicate gratuitously means to give away one's property without receiving any monetary recompense in return. The motive for giving away one's property may be a spirit of gratitude, or friendship, or a charitable desire to help others in need, or to further 'the cause of some pious work. No matter what the motive may be, the Church forbids all religious with simple vows in a congregation to give away their property as long as they remain in religion. Due to the uncertain times in which we live, it can and does happen that religious freely leave or are obliged to leave their institute, or the institute itself may be dispersed by reason of persecution which is 'always present in the Church in some part of the world. Should any one of these con-tingencies arise, the religious will not be obliged to return to the world penniless, thus bringing Shame on religion, or becomin~ a burden to others, but he will be able to support himself with the aid of the temporal goods he brought with him when he entered religion, or which he received by. way of inheritance or gift during his stay in the religious life. Since the law says a religious is forbidden to give away his property, but does not say that such an act is invalid as it does in the case of a novice and of the religious with simple vows in an order in which he is to take solemn vows later on, it follows-that if a religious in a congregation has actually freely given away his property contrary to the pre-scription of the law, the act is a valid act, and.the religious cannot reclaim his prbperty. If he did so in good faith, in ignorance of the law, he will be free from all moral guilt in the matter. But all religious in congregations, whether papal or diocesan, should understand clearly that their supe-riors cannot give them permission to dispose of thei~ patri-money, as the sum total of their temporal goods is. called, during th~i~ lifetime in religion. The permission of the Holy See would have to be obtained before this couId be done licitly. A final question arises with regard to the property of O~ 25 religious with simple vows. We have seen that such a re!igidus retains his ownership over the property, he-pos-sessed at the time of his entrance into religion, as well as the capacity to acquire more property, even after he has taken his simple vow of pover~;y. How are we to decide what a religious may and must keep and add to his patrimony, what be must give to his institute of the temporal things which come to him during his life in religion? IX. Whatever a religious acquires b~j l~is own industrg, or in respect to his institute, he acquires for his institute (cf. canon 580, § 2). A religious with simple vows acquires for himself, that~ is, as part of his patrimony or collection of his temporal possessions, whatever he receives by way of inheritance, legacy or personal gift. But whatever comes to him by reason of his own industry goes to his institute. To acquire b.u one's own industrtl means by one's mental and physical efforts, such as writing a book, or making a work of art, a painting or fancy needle work, or by reason of one's profes-sion, recompense received for teaching, nursing and the like. Since the religious has become a member of thereligious family by his profession of vows, and is suppotted, fed, clothed and educated by the institute, which supplies all his reasonable wants, it is but meet and just that the fruits of his:labors should go to the institute. To acquire in respect to the institute refers to what is given to a religious not as an individual person, to John Jones; or to Mary Blank, but to the religious as a religious, to Brother Plus, or to Sister Martha, for the community to which he or she belongs, in order to help the Charitable or educational work in which the community is engaged, or because of the confidence and respect which the institute as a whole inspires in the donor because of its religious activ-ity. In a word a religious acquires in repect to his insti-tute whatever is g.iven to him because be is a religious. In cases of doubt, when it is not certain that the gift was per-sonal to the religious, the presumption will be that it was made in favor of the institute. This presumption applies especially to superiors. Small gifts given on special occa-sions such as feast days or at Christmas time to a teacher by his pupils, and so forth, are presumed to be given to the religious because he is a religious, not for personal reasons. The constitutions usually regulate such gifts. 26 The I::ducafion ot: Sis :ers William 3. McGucken, S.,J. THIS IS an altogether extraordinary book that should be of particular interest to the readers of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIDU$. It is not a dull book, despite the fact that it is in the genre of the much despised doctoral dissertations in Education (with a capital E). Sister Bertrande has a reporter's sense of what constitutes news, a reporter's abil-ity to penetrate beyond the barriers and get a "story" from. her unwilling victim. Very briefly, the book is the narra-tive of what has been done in America for the religious, social, cultural, and professional education of sisters, what is being done, and, most significant of all, what should be done. With the first two parts of the book no one can disagree; the facts are presented with such ingenious clarity that he who runs may read.In the third part one may question some of the proposals on the ground that they are too detailed, too rigidly regimented after the immemorial fashion of nuns, but with the main features of her proposal to give a truly sound and truly Catholic education (this time without the capital E) to American nuns there can be no disagreement. The true story of Catholic education in the United States, especially the education .of women, has yet to be written: its tale of heroisms, sacrifices, blunderings, and fatal failures have been chronicled in part. here and there. notably in Mother Callan's excellent study, The Society! of the Sacred Heart in North America, but nowhere can one find a complete picture of the whole scene. Particularly is this the case with American Catholic ~ducational policy as it affects the religious qua religious. The old saying "Cucullus non.facit monachum" is all too dreadfully true, but unfortunately many religious superiors believed the wimple made the nun. Every religious over fifty years of age knows that there was a time in the history of the sister-hoods in America when a young woman, often not even a high school graduate, was passed through a rapid postu- 1 THE EDUCATION OF SISTERS. A. plan for Integrating the Religious~ Social, Cul-tural, an'd Professional Training of Sisters. By Sister Bertrande Meyers. New York: Sh~ed add Ward, 194i. Pp. xxxiii + 255. $3.75. 27 l~ncy, given a Veil, and sent out to teach. Granted that mother superiors were forced by circumstances, the impor-tunings of bishops and parish priests, granted that the nuns thus sent off the assembly line with less than a year's training made up for their lack of acquaintance with the vchole idea and ideals of ~eligious life by their practices of piety, their simple devotion, their childlike faith, yet it still remains an inscrutable mystery of divine providence that there were not more individual catastrophes as a result of this short-sighted policy. The first .World War came along; there was a multi-plication of school~; especially of sisters' high schools and colleges: there was also a tightening of the reins by the accrediting agencies. .Moreover, Rome. was insistent on religious communities adhering to their constitutions. At last, it is true, the nuns were obliged to, spend, at least a canonical yeay in the novitiate, but in order to satisfy the professional requirements necessary to teach, many .of the sisterhoods had to resort to miserable subterfuges in order° to securethese "credits." A tragic.story, truly, this filching from the r~eligious training 9f the novice to satisfy ttie craze for credits. Nor is it over even now. Sister Bertrande says (of the year 1940) : "Isolated instances were even found where credit was given [dur!ng the Canonical Year] in Church History or World History for reading Lives of the Saints, in Home Economics for the daily.domestid work, and in Philosophy Of Education for the daily instructions of the' Mistress of Novices. iiO,,ne of ~he Mistresses of N0yices co,mplai~is bitterly: In the first place, there is a sii nion~h s postulate. But. lJefore the postulant can be.inducted into religious life She :is made conscious of credits to be earned towards her teaching credentials;.so her day is full of classes. That is not so bad, since this is just the Posti~late, but it would be better if she ~studied something like Logic--that would teach her how to think. But no. Methods of teaching, all professional subje.cts come togeth~er to make the girl more conscious of the need to become a good teacher rather than a true religious. " 'Then--the Canonical YEar. It is so taken, up with studies in the field of education that when a novice is asked how she is coming along in recollection, she says: "Recollec- 28 tion? Why I can think of nothing but getting my school work"done--there is no time even for class preparation." Spiritual exercises ar~ curtailed; classwork takes precedenc~ over interviews with the. Mistress of Novices--often I have to scheme little ways of finding an opportunity to give direction to a novice-who stands in need. " 'Two and one-half hours a day are allowed for Novi-tiate routine such as. instructions, spiritual reading, confes-sions, etc. If anything must be put aside it must be any-thing but classwork. Thus it happens that a thin, super-ficial religious decorum takes the place of depth and breadth in the spiritual life. And no real, permanent culture comes from this cramming of normal work. " 'The second, year the novices are sent out to teach. They go out to teach with good will, but with no concept of the interior life. There was a time when the second year was strictly a part of the Novitiate; .but it began With "bor-rowing" two or three novices for sorely pressed missions, and the Borrowed novices, were .never returned. Then, a few more were borrowed. Now, there is no pretence at leaving them in the Novitiate for a second year. They are robbed of their Canonical Year with a full program 0f studies; the second year they leave for the local schools, and as a~result we have teachers with no real Understanding of their Community or of' the obligations of religious life'." It should be noted that this condition has held ever since the State Departments have insisted on professional requirements for teachers; it still holds today, let us hope only in "isolated instances." It can be left to the reader's imagination what the situation was in the period immedi-ately after World War I when every major superior was confronted with the choice of closing a certain number~of schools or getting credits for her sisters somehow, some-where. The result: a conflict, was set up in the mind of the young religious; she was told that her spiritual develop-ment comes first, and yet much was done to interfere with her allowing her religious life to take first place. A very interesting part of the book is Sister Bertrande's discussion of the effect of secular universities on religious women. The majority of provincials,~mistresses of novices, deans of nuns' colleges feel that it does~harm, that there is a weakening of the Catholic: sense, but some are sure that they are forced to attend for certain courses in the graduate field. 29 It is not explicitly stated that the real reason for the danger tO sisters at secular graduate schools is the haphazard quality of the undergraduate preparation received by many of them: they have not a Catholic view of life, even though they may be very devout religious. "One point was uniformly expressed.m that the courtesy and consideration which sisters met in dealing with the officials and the faculties in secular universities outdis-tanced that which was experienced in Catholic centers." One just wonders if it is not possible that the more poorly prepared for graduate work attend Catholic universities, the brilliant students, the ones superiors are absolutely sure of, frequent the non-Catholic institution. Moreover, Catholic institutions have possibly far more experience of those "isolated instances" where nuns present transcripts of worthless credits than the officials of the secular universi-ties. It is g.ratifying to see from Sister Bertrande's tables that there is a tremendous increase in the attendance of sis-ters at Catholic institutions and a corresponding decrease in attendance at secular universities. One startling fact in the picture presented of the con-temporary education of Catholic sisters is this: relatively t~ew ot~ our nuns receive a thorough grounding in liberal arts. Even where the situation in the Canonical Year has been bettered, 'it is very rare indeed for a sister to be set aside to complete her course for the Bachelor of Arts degree. ~here. there is a second year of novitiate, studies are crowded, into this year--too many, alas, professional studies; that year ended, the novicepronounces her vows and is immediately sent on a mission. Carrying a full teach-ing schedule, she attempts to garner credits after school hours, on Saturday mornings, and in summer sessions. After she has attained the mystica! number of 120, she may be sent to graduate school, utterly unprepared for graduate work by this hurried amassing of credits which she has had no time to digest. It is not thus that bachelors of ar~s are made. One can say that many, not all, bachelors of arts in American colleges are in no better fix. This may be true, but the fact remains that sisters because of their profession as teachers should be thoroughly grounded in systematic fashion in the liberal arts. What this crowding of the day of the young religious does to her spiritual life can be left to the imagination. If this or a similar condition were bad a 30 generation ago, when life was .simpler, when our' novices came from good Catholic families with a tradition of reli-gious practice,, what must it not be today when we find the product even of our convent schools woefully lacking in Catholic principles and practices because of poor home training and the prevalent paganism of the American scen~. Sister Bertrande's plan for the education of postulants, with its emphasis on instruction in Catholic faith and prac-tice, so necessary at all times but especially in these times, its ignoring of all secular subjects except. Speech and Music, is espe.cially commended to all major superiors. So too her plan for the Canonical Year--one might wish that this part~ were continued everywhere for two years--with its rigid exclusion of everything but Religion and Gregorian Music will help to make our sisters strong religious women. Some Will quarrel with the curriculum Sister Bertrande out-lines for the two-year curriculum for the Community Jun-ior College. Too many of the courses, some would think, bear the mark of superficiality so characteristic of survey courses. However, that is a minor detail. The one point is brought Out that the postulancy and novitiate are devoted to God and the development of the spiritual life in the indi-vidual; two yeais of junior college are to be added to com-plete the foundation of their liberal arts program, with the leisure necessary for that. purpose. After that Sister Bert-rande recommends that the new sister be sent to a Catholic college for the completion of the work that is needed for the degree. The author does not say that they should be sent immediately. Perhaps it is too far away from the prac-ticalities of American convent life for her to recommend that. All in all this is a book that should be read and digested by everyone who has anything to do with the education of sisters,--major superiors, Catholic college professors and administrators, at least that they may acquire the saooir i:aire~ of their non-Catholic confr~res,.last but not least, pastors, that they may understand the difficulties under which the sisters in their parish schools are laboring. It is a book that had to be written: the candid objective presen-tation of facts can do no harm; it may prove to be of ines-timable benefit to future generations of sisters, if .present superiors heed the pointed lesson that is written here. 31 i~lygienic Morfit:ic~fion G. Augustine Ellard, S.J. ~'~NE of the most prominent ascetical writers of the ~ J twentieth century and at the same time an authority ~ on the history of the spiritual life in the Church, namely, Msgr. Saudreau, states that the principal defect in the cultivation of the interior life in our days is a lack of bodily mortification (1). Moreover, the want of mortifi-cation is assigned by Father De Guibert, of Rome, a leader among contemporary ascetical and mystical theologians, as the reason why so few pass beyond mediocrity in the spir-itual life (2). Perhaps one of the main reasons or pretexts why most devout people do not practice more external mortification is the fear that it would injure their health, or at least lessen their strength and capacity for work. One might answer that an abundance of mortification, and that too of a supe-rior form, may be found precisely in learning and living up to the principles of hygiene. Let us assume, for the present purpose; that mortifica-tign consists in any or all acts of virtue in as much as these involve foregoing what is pleasant or undergoing what is unpleasant. Thus it would be coexten,s, ive with the spher, e, covered by the old rule of the Stoics: bear and fork;ear. Though the word mortification (putting to death) may suggest the contrary, all sound ascetical authorities would hold that the purpose of it is posltix;e: life, a~nd more life. If inferior vital tendencies are checked and thwarted, it is only in order that the higher vital tendencies may bd saved from being checked and thwarted, and that they may be more freelyand richly developed. By all means, the aim of sound mortification is more and better life rather than less. "Ever we bear about in our body the dying of Jesus, so that the life, too, of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies. For we who live are ever being delivered up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life, too, of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (II Corinthians 4: I0-1 ! -~Westminster Version). (I) Auguste Saudreau. La Pi~tl d Travers Les Ages, page 661. (2) J. De Guibert. J:h'ctionnaire de SpiritualitY, Fascicule Premier. page 106. Hygienic mortification would consist in foregoing whatever is pleasant and undergoing whatever is unpleas-ant with a view to preserving, or improving, o.r regaining, one's health and vigor, and ultimately to.furth~ering God's glory and to-growing in that participation of, the divine life which comes with grace. Three degrees of hygienic mortification may be distinguished: first, avoiding any sin-ful neglect in the care of one's health; second, steering clear of whatever would .involve danger of such neglect; and third, refraining from wh~itever is less commendable in favor of the more commendable in this matter. Health is either physical or psychical. For the present, let us confine our. discussion to physical hygienic mortifica-tion. The psychic is more important in many respects, and more akin to the° "interior mortification" of the spiritual masters. Possibly in a subesequent paper we may revert.to it. Up to a certain point there is a strict obligation from the divine natural law to care for one's life and health. "Thou shalt not kill," either others or thyself. It is ethical to regulate our conduct in accordance with rational human nature and to avoid what tends to damage or destroy it. This d.uty requires .that one should use the ordinary means of sa.feguarding and preserving life and health. Nature is necessary for the supernatural life. If nature can do nothing in the supernatural order without grace; "neither can grace do anything without nature. It is .equally helpless. The Code of Canon Law, 1369, pr~scrib'es that those who are in charge, of seminaries should exhort the ~emii~arians Con-stant. ly to obs'erve the principles of hygiene and personal cleanliness. Presumably it is in .keeping with the mind of the Church that religious should do at lea~t~ as much. One who is. striving to become perfect will not stop with what is of strict obligation. He will constantly endeavor to do the better thing. Thebetter thing will indlude what-ever, other things being equal, is more conducive to bodily strength and effid~ncy. God counsels solicitude for health. "Better is a poor man who is sound, and strong of constitution, than a rich man who is weak and afflicted with evils. Health of the soul in holiness of justice, is better than all gold and silver: .and a sound body, than immense revenues. There is no riches above the riches of health of the body; and there is no pleasure above the joy of the heart. Better is death 33 t/~an a bit~ter life: and everlasting rest; than continual" sick-ness" (Ecclesiasticus 30: 14-17), In his inspired epistle to Timothy, St. Paul did not disdain to give this advice to one of the first bishops: "Drink no longer water only, but use a little wine, on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illness" (I Timothy 5:23). The divine counsel to have a concern for health is implied in all the numerous exhorta-tions to accomplish good works. As Pope Plus XI wrote in his "Encyclical on Education,"--.something, by the way, especially deserving notice by teadhers--"The true Chris-tian does not., stunt his natural faculties; but he develops and perfects them, by coordinating them with the super-natural. He thus ennobles what is merely natural in life and secures for it new strength in the material ond temporal order, no less than in the spiritual and eternal" (3). This is not the place for a presentation of the principles of hygiene, nor, even if it~ were, should I be presumptuous enough to. attempt such a thing. I should be:like the patient in the medical adage: "He who has himself for a doctor, has a fool for. a patient." If any religious should not know the elementary rules of h~giene, that is, the ~ules for living on the physiological plane, then let him begin his hygienic mortification by taking the trouble to-l~arn them. This is not an original suggestion ot: mine. A first-rate ascetical theologian of the twentieth century, namely, Zimmermann, the author of the excellent treatise Lel~rbucl~ der Asz~tik, counsels everyone seeking perfection to learn both the general prindiples of hygiene which may be studied, and the individual applica-tions and variations which must be gathered by personal experience (4). My attempt will be confined to indicatingcertain points on which the autldorities in hygiene do have something to prescribe, and to suggesting certain possible deviations that may perchance be found among religious. Posture migh~ be considered first. Constantly to pre-serve a wholesome and becoming posture of the body would not 6nly make for health, especially of the lungs, but it would also be something that would please others, and it would add to the influence of one's personality on others. Were it better observed, there would be fewer ill-looking (3) Pius XI. Christian Education of Youth; The Paulist Press: page 37. " '(4) Zimmermann. Otto. Lerhbueb d~r Asz.e. tiko page 516. 3# religious whose very appearance is, to put it mildly, not pleasing nor apt to inspire respect in Others. Certain religious seem to be given to the use of an exces-sive amount of clothing. To see them Out in winter weather, one might suspect from the. great number of thi~ngs 'which they are wearing, that they were planning on visiting the polar regions. Habitu'ally they are over-dressed. Then, sooner or later, iinevitably they are caught in some unex-pected exposure to cold, and, being sensitive like hot-house plants, rather than possessing the normal adaptability .to moderate variations in temperature, they~may catch cold,~ or develop a sore-throat or something of the sort. In any case, one would not expect a man who is ~eally mortified to be meticulous about slight changes in the temperature. Per- 'haps just the same persons are those who, believing that, as everything has its place, the proper place for fresh ai~ in winter is outside, insist on an immoderately high tempera- ~ure, and along with it, a bad atmosphere in the room. Thus .they diminish their alertness and efficiency, and at the same time waste steam and coal. Keeping the rules df etiquette at table would presum-ably be beneficial rather than harmful to one's health. At all events, it could be real charity and mortification. Cer-tainly, very certainly, it would be a great kindness to others, and tend to promote good appetite and health in the com-munity, as the neglect of good manners may be so great as to become disgusting to others. If there should be any re-" ligious who do not already know the ordinary pr~escriptions of table etiquette, then, by. all means, let them get Emily ¯ Post, and study her. It could be a very genuine act of vir-tue. Probably there are very few religious, those excepted who are already on a diet ordered by a physician, who could not make some change in their habits of eating and drinking that would not redound both to their physical well-being and to the glory of God. The right amount, the right balance of,diet, the right way of taking it,--these are points in which it is most human to err. Some, like chil-dren, may be inclined to slight the simple, solid substantials, and to show themselves too fond of sweets, desserts, and such better-tasting things. Possibly there are some who could at the same time reduce the community butcher-bill and improve their health. Some, though they lead a very 35 Sedentary lifd, may eat as if they had to dig ditches or. pitch. hay all day. .It i~ often said now that many Americans, even thosewho eat as much as and 'whatever they like, are star.ring themselves for the want of certain necessary ele-ments in their,diet: vitamines; for instance. Perhaps some ~.religious could drink less coffee, and thus improvetheir nerves, their t.emp~rs, their sleep, and their work. ~ The problems.of overweight and underweight, and all .their consequence.s, which may be 3r.ery serious indeed,hatur- :ally.suggest~ themselves in this context. Perhaps one ~eli-gi0us needs tO drink more milk, though he ~tislikes it~ and .another ought to'take.less of it, though he Iovesit. Pos-sibly one religious should mortify his pride and ask for permission to have an extra lunch~ between meals; "and an: other would do w~ll to obtain leave.to Omit the midday l_uneh. Iridi.vidual applic.ations of this point are~ infinite: If one realizes that he should dos0mething, gut not ~know what, it .would be easy to question the community phys, ician and find out. Thereare many religious who CgUld pr.actice this particular form of hygienic mortification, arid while making themselves more healthy and robust and fit for work and for a lon.ger life, also add very great!~; ~o the glory of God and the glory of His Elect in the hereafter. If one were to accuse, many male religious of smoking too much and thug really injuring themselves, one wduld only be repeating what they themselves accuse themselves of. Their oportunityiS obvious~ and the mortification involved would b~ great; but So ~ouldothe returris, at least in supernatural merit. T, he possibilities for mortification and for edific~ation, in connection with alc6h61 need only to ¯ be suggested. No,doubt there are many religious, who, if they be well-informed and sincere, would have to admit that some ~hangeinz~their lives ~ith respect to exercise Would, even from the spiritual pointof view, be an excellent thihg for them. If they need more physical exercise and can get it in some pleasant way, relaxing the nerves and mind as well as stirring the muscles, somuch the bett~r. " But get itthey ought, if they are fully to accomplish the tasks assigned to them by Providence. If nothing else .be possible; some form of calisthenics or setting-up exercise~ might be" tried fo~ a. prescribed number of minutes every day. If anybody think that there is no great mortification in faithfully per~ severing° in such a routine day after day and' month after m0nth,~let him try it . Many religious women would probably: be spared many troubles of mind and conscience, would performtheir exeicises of.piety with more energy and devotion, and would be more ready°in their obedience~ and work, as well, as morse healthy, if they h'ad a little walk every day' in the fresh air. Younger sisters, who until rather recently were college girls taking part in college athletics, might play a short game of tennis, or something of the kind. It would make for sound nerves and clear heads, and these in turn could obviate many. temptations and worries. It is:.true indeed that St. Paul wrote to Timothy: "For whereas bodily training oi~.,profitable for little, pietyis profitable for'all,things, .pos-sessing promise of life both here and hereafter" (I Tim-othy' 4:8). I take this to mean th~it bodily.training is of .little value in comparison with piety; but in as much as it is subordinated to.the purposes of wirtue and is a requisite condition for more vigorous piety, or piety in a longer life, its .wo.rthmay bereallY~very~great. ' " -" The ancient ascetics by way of reaction, it seems, to abuses connected with.the old public baths, mortified them-selves by not bathing. Could it be true that some.modern ascetics might practice mortification and virtue .by-making more use of it? ~ Care of the eyes deserves special mention. Apparently there are many who could deny themselves at times by taking the trouble to get better light when they are reading. Work, since it takes most of .the time and energy of religious, is a very fertile field for mortification. Some over-w' 6rk themselves for a time, and then for. a longer time they ¯ cannot do the normal amount, and perhaps~ ~hey evens:need the work of others to attend to them. Their ~problem is to avoid excess here, asin the practice of virtue generally. would Seem to be a good rule that there should.~nev~er:~.be overwork or overstrain except in emergencies. In the long run it is very poor economy and ef[iciency. They especially should cultivate self-abnegation'm avoiding overfatigue wh6 do not let superiors know that too much has been assigned to them; or who deceive themselves into believing that they. are heroically sacrificing themselves for noble motives when in 'reality there is an admixture of piide or human respect or merely human desire of success in thei:r 37 motivation. Sisters who in difficult days are attempting the double tasks of teaching and of getting their own edu-: cation at the Same time need more than others to guard themselves, even as the dreaded examinations approach, against overstudy and excessive exhaustion. Overfatigue -begets irritability, diminishes intelligence and liberty, and unbalances the nerves. Then the way is open to evils of all sorts, physical, mental, and moral. "So that ye may not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:3). Humbly to be satisfied with a modest accomplishment when that is all that is possible without injuring oneself, or diminishing one's achievement in the end, is a very salutary form of mortification. There are others whose fault is too little exertion. Some of these, could benefit themselves physically, and perhaps mentally, as well as spiritually, by increasing their efforts until they reach the mean between excess and defect. Occu-pational therapy is an important kind of treatment for certain cases. After work, recreation and rest. For people who lead a life as strenuous and tense and uniform as the religious life is, recreation is of great importance. If they do not unbend at times, they will break. But are there not some religious who do not take even that minimum amount of recreation which is enjoined for them by their rules or their superiors? Here, in a peculiarway, to mortification charity could also be added. It is understood of course that what is supposed to be recreation or relaxation, really is recreation. Prob-ably no one will deny that there are at least a few religious who could advance in self-abnegation, and in prayer (especially the next morning), and in .virtue generally, by beginning their night's sleep betimes. Thus far certain points which may be the subject of ~mortification that is good for the body as well as for the soul. Only those in normal health, or at least in health that is nearly normal, have been considered. If one be sick already, evidently one has a greater need for hygienic mortification, and a greater opportunity to bear what is unpleasant and to forbear what is pleasant. Those who as yet are well, but, through some neglect or other, are slowly but surely undermining their health, could more easily and readily mend their ways if they could imagine to some slight extent what pain and torture, whaf 38 disappointment, what bitter sense of frustration, they are bringing upon thems~elves. Mortification is hard; other-wise it would not be mortification. But it is still worse to be sickand incapacitated, particularly if that be owing to some negligence or fault. An initial, though negative, advantage of hygienic mortification is that nobody can object to it on the score that it might injure his health. By definition, it makes for better health. Then, it possesses the-advantages and values of other forms of mortification, and besides, it is more thor-oughly positive and constructive than some of them. It is real and genuine mortification, involving, as it does, the suppression of much that is pleasant and the enduring of much that is unpleasant. :If anyone should think other-wise, he can try the experiment. Religious have a special need of keeping fit physically. There is the importance, in time and eternity, of their work, and this depends in great measure, on health and strength. An intense interior life--and this is always the ideal of religious--makes greater demands upon physical resources than the intellectual life, which in turn is hard enough upon the physique. The cultivation of mental prayer, of supreme importance in the spiritual life, demands that one's physical resources be at their best. Community o,bservances require health in the members of the com-munity, and if a sickly person drags himself along somehow to follow them, he is likely to become still worse and more incapable of continued community life. The great foundress, St. Theresa of Avila, who knew well the problems of religious women, and particularly the difficulties of mental prayer, wrote: "It is this resolution [to be always thinking of Him and loving Him] that He [God] seeks in us; the o~her anxieties which we inflkt upon ourselves serve to no other end but to disquiet the soul-- which, if it be unable to derive any profit, in one hour [of prayer], will-by ttiem be disabled for four. This comes most frequently from bodily indisposition--I have had very ~reat experience in the matter, and I l~now it is true; for I have carefully observed it and discussed it afterwards with spiritual persons--for we are so wretched, that this poor prisoner of a soul shares in the miseries of the body. The.change.s of season, and the-alterations of the humors,,. very often compel it, without fault of its own, not to do what if would,, but rather to suffer in every way. Mean-while, the more we force the soul on these occasions, the greater the mischief, and the longer it lasts. Some discre-tion must be used, in order to ascertain whether ill-health be the occasion or not. The poor soul must not be stifled. Let those who suffer thus, understa'nd that they are i11: a change should be made in the hour of prayer, and often-times that change should be continued for some days. Let souls pass out of this desert as they can, for it is very often the misery of one that loves God to see itself living in such wretchedness, unable to do what it would, because it has to keepso evil a guest as the body" (5). Other things being equal, alacrity of spiritand intensity of good will in exercises of piety, in keeping religi0us disci-pline, and in doing the work of the order or congregation, are to be expected rather from those who are physically fit ai~d strong than .from those who ,are unfit. The supernatural values of sickness and suffering~are very great, but it is understood and presupposed that the illness should not be due to indiscretion or negligence. ¯ Hygienic mortification~ will. contribute to poverty, because it is cheal~er to be well than to be paying for medi-cines, hospitalizations, and operations, and because healthx,, religious do more work. It will help chastity, by precluding certain temptations due to abnormal physical conditions, and by promoting, that soundness and stability of the ner-vous system which are so necessary for self-control. It will promote obedience, by removing obstacles both to readiness of will ai~d to actual performance, and by conferring greater positive strength and effciency. It will enhance charity and perfectibn it~self, by forestalling irritability and other impediments, and by enabling one to accomplish better and greater things for God and for souls. The present incumbent of the See of Peter and his immediate predecessor seem to offer an illustration in point. If Msgr. Ratti ha~d not been a very energetic Alpine climber, it is not likely that as Pius XI, and as a septuagenarian and an octogenarian, he could have achieved so much for the good of the Church. If I mistake not, the ascetical Car.- dinal Pacelli,while Secretary of State at the Vatican, used gymnastic apparatus installed in a room near his office. (5) St. Theresa, Life, translated b.y D. Lewis: chapter-XI. 40 There is one group of re.ligious for whom hygienic, mor~ tification, as thus far suggested, is not at all recommended. They are the hypochondriacs, to be found, here and there throughout the whole body of religiousl that is, those who are already excessively or even morbidly, solicitous about their health and all that appertains to it. For them it would be poison. However, they still need hygienic mortification: only it is of the psychic form. This they may need very rfiuch ideed. To quote St. Theresa again: "Take care, then, of the body, for the love of God, because at many other times the body must serve tl~e s0ul;.and let recourse be had to some recreations~holy ones such as conversation; or going out intothe fields . . . Altogether, experience is a great matter, and it makes us understand what is convenient for us. Let God be served in all things--His yoke is sweet; and it is of great importance that the soul should not be dragged, as they say, but carried gently, that it may make greater pro-gress" (6.). In conc!usion, a religious practicing physical hygienic mortification, as here proposed, will not by any means put care of his health above things that are of greater value, but rather, with the purest and noblest motives, make the most of the physical constitution that God has given him, and thus be better prepared and disposed to accomplish the very utmost for the glory of the Triune God, for the devel-opment of his own supernatural life, and for the sanctifica-tion of his brethren. He would simply and fully be helping to carry out the grand objective of the Incarnation: "I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abun-dantly" ¯ (2ohn 10: 10). (6) Ibidem. l:::xernpl:ions J:rom Fasting Gerald Kelly, S.J. THE PENITENTIAL season of Lent always brings with it the personal question: what should I do about fasting? Very likely the practical solution to thi~ problem in most religious communities is a regulation to consult one's confessor' and abide by his decision. This is certainly a wholesome custom; and it is notthe purpose of this article to criticize it in any way. Nevertheless, it seems profitable for the religious themselves to know something of the mind of the Church regarding exemptions from fast-ing. This .knowledge should be particularly helpful to superiors, since there may be times when they must pass judgment on their subjects' obligation to fast. Other re-ligious also can profit by the knowledge, for it sometimes happens that they cannot consult their confessor, at least for several days, and, even when they can consult, they can do so more intelligently and follow advice more reasonably if they are familiar with the principles governing their cases. This article, therefore, is intended to answer only one question, which may be phrased as follows: In what cir-cumstances is one exempt from the general law of fasting? The only point to be considered is the obligation to keep the general fasts of the Church. There is no question here of the obligations of rule concerning fasting as these exist in various religious communities. Nor is there question of the ascetical aspect of fasting. We can take for granted that fasting is. a splendid act of penance and mortification, as is evidenced by the entire Catholic tradition in the matter; take for granted also that the keeping of the common fasts of the Church in union with the other members of the Church is highly pleasing to God and of great profit to souls. These are interesting questions, but beside the point of the present article, the whole purpose of which is to determine who, according to the mind of the Church, may omit fasting without violating her law. The first expression of the Church's mind is found in the ecclesiastical law itself. Canon 1254, which contains the fasting law, exempts al! who have not completed their twenty-first year and all who have begun their sixtieth year. 42 Canon.1245 makes provision for other exemptions by granting the power of dispensing to local Ordinaries~ pas-tors, and superiors of exempt clerical orders. Custom, the unwritten law of the Church, exempts all who are engaged in hard and protracted manual labor. The foregoing are the only reasons for exemption con-tained explicitly in the law of the Church. They do not, however, exhaust the reasons which the Church acknowl-edges as valid excuses from the obligation of fasting. By far the greater number of excuses can be found in the teaching of the moral theologians. To put the matter briefly, these theologians, applying a principle approved by the Church as a legitimate method of interpreting the law, teach that fasting is not obligatory when it involves extraordinary difficulty. The word, extraordinarg, has a technical meaning which is perhaps best explained by contrasting it with what might be termed ordinarg difficulty. Evidently, the fasting law is intended to impose on the faithful some inconven-ience, that is, the inconvenience of self-denial. An incon-venience of this kind is termed ordinarg, and it would not excuse anyone from the observance of the fast. On the other hand, in a general law of this nature, the Church does not wish to impose exceptional hardship on anyone; much less does she wish to do harm or to hinder greater good. Such difficulties as these would be termed extraordinaru~, with respect to this law; that is, they are outside the scope of the law, and they excuse the faithful from the obligation of observing it. Applying this principle of extraordinary inconvenience, moralists teach that the sick and convalescent are excused from the obligation of fasting. Also exempt are those who, though perhaps not technically "sick," are of frail consti-tution; also extremely nervous people. Such persons nor-mally need nourishment frequently; fasting would prove harmful to them. It sometimes happens that even those in rather normal health cannot fast without severe headaches or dizzy, spells; also that the fast will render it impossible for them to get ¯ their needed rest at night. Some people are unable to get the one substantial meal allowed to those who fast; some are physically unable to eat or digest such a meal. Finally,. there are many who find that fasting interferes with their 43 necessary work; they lose valuable time and are quite inef-ficient. All cases like these are included under the exemp-tion by reason of extraordinary inconvenience. One might ask this very practical question: How am I to know if fasting would be exceptionally difficult for me or be harmful to me or my work? Perhaps the simplest way of answering this question is to tell such people to experiment a bit. This is the simplest but not always the most prudent method. Unless the experimentation is car-ried on very cautiously, it can work harm, and it can do this so quietly that the harmful effects are not perceived until it is too late. To avoid such injurious effects, one may legiti-mately follow certain recognized presumptions in deciding one's obligations to fast. The presumption of excuse favors those who are engaged in hard mental labor, for example, teachers and students. Regarding teachers, one may notice an interesting development~ in the opinions of theologians. The older theologians were quite ready to excuse a. professor of the higher branches, even though he had to lecture only one hour a day. They presupposed, of course, that he had to spend the day in preparation and that he did not merely read lectures which bad long since been cast into permanent mold. But these theologians were not always so benevo-lently inclined toward teachers of the lower grades (the equivalent of our high schools and grammar schools), even though these had to spend several hours a day in the. class-room. Father Ballerini, an eminent moral theologian of the last century, citing the especially severe opinion of one older school, remarked very tartly: "we should note that these great doctors were always engaged in teaching the higher branches; they had no experience in this humbler art." Also in the case of students there has been a progres-sive development towards leniency. Today, it is quite safe to say that the presumption of excuse favors those who spend several hours a day in teaching the lower grades, as well as diligent students who spend most of the day either in attending lectures or in preparing their lessons. When I say "the presumption of excuse favors" those mentioned in this paragraph, I mean that these persons may consider that they are not obliged to fast, unless they have very solid grounds for assurance that they can fast without, harm to 44 themselves, or their work. Those able to fast while carrying on these works are the.exception, rather than the rule. . The same presumption favors those who must spend long hours in the confessional or who are engaged in strenu-ous preaching.It may also be used in favor of those who are engaged in fatiguing works of mercy, such as caring for the sick. It should be noted that. in a!l these.cases, it is not only the strain of ~the work which favors exemption, but also the fact that the works themselves are of, great impor-tance. There should .be no danger that fasting will inter-fete with their proper performance. The foregoing examples of extraordinary ir~con~cen~ ience were chosen because they are of particular interest or practical value to the readers of this magazine. In cases such as these, the Church law does not bind. Furthermore, merely from the point of view of general legislation, there is no strict obligation Of consulting anyone, if one can form a prudent judgment of his~own case. A community regula-tion of consulting the confessor or spiritual director should; of course, be followed; and in general it is considered wise for everyone to consult about the matter. Often enough, it is diflScult to form a prudent, and especially a quieting; judgment of one's own case. Mention has already been made of those who have the power of granting a dispensation from fasting; local Ordi~ naries, pastors, and superiors of clerical exempt orders. These generally delegate the power to other priests, espe-cially at a time like-Lent: and the Holy. See. occasionally delegates other priests by special indults. None of these, even the Bishop, can give a dispensation without some rea-son; but the reason need not b~ so serious as would be required for exemption by reason of extraordinary~incon-venience. A dispensation is perhaps the best of all means for setting one's mind at rest regarding the obligation 0~ fasting. Even those religious superiors who have no power to dispense can pass judgment on their subjects' ability to keep the fast, and if they judge that a reason such as those described as extraordinary inconveniences is present, they may tell the subject not to fast. For passing such a judg-ment, no special jurisdiction is necessary. Certainly supe-riors are in a position to make a prudent judgment, for they 45 should know both the capacity of their subjects and the strain or importance Of their work. From what has been written here, it will appear that a fairly large number of religious engaged in the active life are not strictly obliged to keep the general fasts of the -Church. They have the same right as others to take advan-tage of exemptions. Someone might object, of course, that religious have an added obligation to give good example. The objection does not appear to have much weight in the :present instance. Religious should, by all means, give example to the world of a spirit of self-denial and mortifi. cation, but it is not necessary that this example extend to ,the letter of the law concerning fasting. In fact, without attempting in any way to minimize the general importance of the fasting law, one might advance several obvious reasons why religious have less need of this particular austerity than have others. ' Their life is a well-regulated, well-disciplined one, and those who lead it faithfully are being constantly schooled in self-denial. Furthermore, the very regularity of their life makes them feel more keenly the change brought about by fasting and renders them more apt to be upset by it. Finally, their work itself is of great spiritual importance.i As for bad example, the sharp or sarcastic word spoken by the confessor, teacher, or nurse is much more harmful than the so-called "scandal" of religious who do not fast. Perhaps these few remarks Will prove helpful to reli-gious, particularly to those who are inclined to worry about the fasting obligation or to lament the fact that they are judged unable to fast. They should take consolation in the thought that they can practise an even more meritorious self-denial by observance of their rule, by fidelity to duty, and especially by a constant and delicate charity. The inability to fast does not deprive them of the opportunity of glorifying God or of helping souls. 46 Saint: Rober Bellarmine's . Sign of the Cross Clement DeMuth, S. J. CATHOLICS with a greater than average knowledge of their religion are ~sometimes at a loss when they are called upon to render an. account of some simple reli-gious truth. They discover in themselves, not so much a lack of technical knowledge that lends itself to explanation only in learned phrase_s, but rather a failure to appreciate thd mental capacity of the child or other unlettered person to be instructed. To adapt one's knowledge of even the simpler God-give~i truths to the understanding of such a person is an art that must be cultivated, and developed, and integrated with one's deepening knowledge of human nature itself. The great catechists in the course of the Church's history practiced this art in signal fashion. One of the greatest of these, if indeed not the very greatest, was St. Robert Bellar-mine, Cardinal, Theologian, and Doctor of the Universal Church. In 1597 Pope Clement VIII requested St. Robert to publish his catecheticai method which was proving so successful With the unlettered people of Rome. The saint prepared two catechisms, the first of which was a compen-dium of Christian Doctrine in form suitable for learning by rote. The second, with Which we are here partkularly con-cerned, was a kind of teacher's manual and was entitled An explanation of Christian Doctrine u;ritten in the form of a Dialogue, for the use of those who teach it to children and to other simple people. The success of the little, two-fold work, written in Italian, was immediate and, What is more significant, enduring to an extraordinary degree. In the words of St. Robert's biographer, Father Brodrick, "wi~h the exception of the Bible and the Imitation of Christ, it would be difficult to name any other book which went round the world so rapidly and became familiar to so many different races." A series of Roman Pontiffs com-mended, prescribed, and in general promoted the little work down through the years from the time of Clement VIII. until our own century. With its richness of content, the saint's early chapter on that most obvious---and not always fully appreciated~ ~prayer, the Sign of the Cross, is representative. Its atten-tive perusal brings the conviction that "children and other simple people" are not the only ones who may profit by the saintly, Doctor's explanation of a simple prayer. The style of composition is informally conversational, with the pupil thoughtfully asking questions which would naturally occur to one listening attentively to the explanation of a rather difficult truth. It may be noted that the teacher makes, continual use of examples and illustrations, never permitting himself to forget that the pupil is little used to abstractions. Here is a translation of the chapter on THE SIGN OF THE CROSS PUPIL: Please give me a brief account of the more important mysteries contained in the Creed. TEACHER: There are two principal mysteries of our faith, and both are included in that sign which we call the Sign of the Cross. The first is the unity and trinity of God. Thesecond is the Incarnation and Death of the Savior PUPIL: What is meant by the unity and trinity of God? TEACHER: These are very deep truths and the explana-tion of them is a very slow process. For the time being, however, it will be enough to learn just the names, :and a very little bit more. The unity of God means that besides all created things there is one thing that had no beginning. It has always been and it will always be. It has made all ¯ other things, and it supports them and governs them. It is the highest, noblest, most beautiful, most powerful, the absolute master of every thing; and this being is called God. There is just one God. There can be only one true Divin-ity, that is, one nature, one essence infinitely powerful, wise, good, and so forth. Nevertheless, this Divinity is found in three persons that are called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are just one God ¯ because they have the same Divinity, the same essence. As for example, if three persons here on earth, named Peter, Paul, and John, had the same body and the same soul, they would remain three persons; because one would be Peter, and another Paul, and another John. Nevertheless, there would be just one man, not three men, there not being three bodies and thr~e souls, but just one body and one soul. 48 Such a state of affairs is not possible among men, because the being of man is little ~and finite, .so it cannot be in many persons. But the being of God, the Divinity of~ God,. is infinite. The same being, the same Divinity is found in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. There are then three persons because one i~ the Father~ the second.is the Son, an.d the third is the Holy Spirit, and there remains nevertheless just one God, because these persons have the same being, the same power, wisdom, goodness, and so forth. PUPIL: Now tell me what is meant by the Incarnation and.Death of the .Savior'. TEACHER: The second divine person, whom we called the Son, besides his divine being, which he had before the 'world was created, indeed from all eternity, this second person took for himself a human body and a human soul, that is, our whole human nature, in the womb of a most pure virgin. Thus he who-was at first just God now began to bd both God and man. After living among men for thirty-three years, during which time he taught the wa~ of salvatioh and worked m~an~r miracles, at last he let him-self be crucified, and on the Cross he died tO make satisfac-tion to God for the sins of the whole world. After thfee days he rose from death to life, and after forty days he a~cended into hea~ce.n, as we say in the article of the Creed.~ That is what we mean by the Incarnation ~ind Death of the Savior. '~PUPIL~ Why are these the principal mysteries of fdith? " " ~FEACHER: Because in the fi~st ~is contained the first principle and last end of man; in the second we have ttie unique and most efficacious means of knowing that first piinciple and of arriving at that last end. And beck/use by our belief in arid confession of th4se two mysteries we~ are distinguished from all th4 false sects, from Turks, ~dews; and heretics. And finally, because without b41ieving and confessing these two mysteries, no one can be saved. PupIi~:. How are these two mysteries included in the Sign of the Cross? TEACHER: ;The Sign of the Cross is made saying: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 49 Spirit; at the same time signing oneself in the form of a cross, putting the right hand to the foreh_.ead when one says: In the name of the Father, and then to the breast when one says: and of the Son; finally to the left and right shoulders when one says: and of the Holy Spirit. The words, in the ' Name, show the unity of God, because we say name and not names; and by name is meant the power, and the divine authority, which is one in all three persons. The words, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, show the trinity of persons, Signing oneself in the form of a cross represents the Passion, and consequently the Incarnation, of the Son of God. Moving the hand from the left to the right, and not from the right to the left, means that by the Passion of our Lord we are transferred from temporal to eternal things, from sin to grace, and from death to life. ~ (NOTE: It may be well to observe that St. Robert, in illustrating certain spiritual realities by the movement of the hand from left to right, can be said to be exercising his ingenuity. He'would no doubt find another interpretation if his catechism were for oriental Catholics, who make the Sign of the Cross moving the hand from right to left!) PUPIL: What is. the effect of making the Sign of the Cross? TEACHER: First, it shows that we are Christians, that is, soldiers of our High Commander, Christ: because this sign is like a flag, or uniform, which distinguishes the sol-diers of Christ from all the enemies of Holy Church; from . gentiles, Jews, Turks, and heretics. Further, this sign is made to invoke the divine assistance in all our works. With ¯ it we summon the aid of the most Holy Trinity, through the Passion of the savior. Accordingly good Christians are .accustomed to make the Sign of the Cross when they rise from bed, when they leave the house, when they sit at table to eat, when they are about to go to bed, and at the beginning of every action that ~hey have to perform. Finally, this sign is made to arm oneself against eirery as-sault of~the devil, because the devil is terrified by it, and flees from it, as do criminals when they encounter the sign of th~i~ police. Very often by means 6f this sign of the holy - Cross man has escaped many evils, both spiritual and tem-p6ral; when he makes it with faith and confidence in the divine meicy and in the merits of Christ, our Lord. 50 Li!:urgy in !:he ¯ P !:t:ern of Modern Praying Gerald Ellard, S.J. WHEN the history o~ our times is written, chroniclers will dwell on the fact that they are characterized by three great, world-embracing prayer-movements. They will speak of the widespread initiation of large groups of the laity of both sexes into systematic asceticism,, be it that of the Spiritual Exercises, or other forms, collectively centering in what is known as the retreat movement~. Again, they will point how this age, .the world,over, has shown a sudden deep concern' practical as well as theoreti-cal, in that communion with God, that apperception of God, known as Catholic mysticism. Lastly historians will take pains to record that twentienth century Catholicism is endeavoring once more to integrate the layman and lay-woman into the offices of public worship. Doubtless, too, the portrait-painters of our age will pause a bit to discourse on the mysterious power possessed by this Church twenty. centuries young to renew its life and reform its institutions by drawing upon fresh streams of vita!it~ welling strong within her. ".So it has been in each great crisis," we can well imagine one of them concluding-; "when the forces of the Church seems spent, then it is she finds new power surging up within her: in the twentieth century the Church refreshed herself and the world by refashioning the pattern of her praying." This article concerns itself in elementary fashion with indicating what is to be expected from the restoration to the people, in the pews, after many long ages, of their organic contact with the ministry in the sanctuary in the joint performance of divine service. The better to visualize the goal o[ this reform in Cath-olic corporate worship, suppose we ask ourselves why such a thing as the. current liturgical movement was simply inevitable, and must have come sooner or later, if the Church were not content to see one. of her chief organs wither to full atrophy. The present-day reform of Cath-olic worship seeks to redress the multiple losses that laymen. and laywomen have suffered in the course of time in their parr in our common worship, seeks to lower the wall of separation, which quite literally in many medieval churches to be seen to this day, and figuratively in them all, shuts the laity out from active sharing in what went on within the holy place where the priestly mediator stood at the altar. It was characteristic of Christian worship from the very outset that it was planned precisely to allow the fullest understanding on thd part of all, the fullest sharing in their respective roles .by ministry and people in their joint asso- Ciation with Christ, theirPriest, their Liturgist. Pagan altars were accessible to the pagan priests alone; the ,Jewish Temple admitted' lay-worshippers to the outer court near to the altar. But with Christians the altar itself stood con- ~picuous and accessible to every least, last Christian, because m the new priestly race, all had some sharing, priestly or lay, in the perpetuation of Christ's priestly ministry in the covenant of 10ve. St. Paul thankedGod that he efijoyed the miraculous gift of speaking God's praises in unknown tongues: "Nevertheless," he said, "in church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, so as to instruct Others, than ten thousand words in a 'tongue' " I and my hearers do not understand" (I Corinthenians 14:: 19). Now Catholic worship in the West turned from the primitive Greek to the Latin, when that became the tongue the com-mon man understood best. It then took the liturgy of 'the Western Church a fairly long period in which to grow and develop, until at Rome under Gregory I, Pop.e from 590 to .°.6. 04, it achieved its zenith, the perfect expression of the Latin Christian's corporate worship of almighty God. How regrettable that Gregory lived in an age of indescrib-able upheaval, which rendered the realization of his ideal in worship impossible in any ecumenical manner! Particu- ¯ lar features excepted, the liturgy of the Roman Rite has never since received such a thorough-going reform and readjustment to current life as Gregory gave it then. In one way or another the layman's place in the liturgy has become more circumscribed with every century since Gregor3~ lived. To illustrate how this has been the case, suppose we imagine a sevent.h-century man or woman living on as a 'Wandering Christian" through the intervening centuries, and note how such a pilgrim would find lay-participation in worship further impoverished age by age. 52 In Gregory's day, for all greater occasions, people met at a fixed rendezvous and then marched to church .with Cross and banners, prayer and song~ At the common type of Mass, what we call high Mass, pedple and choir of clerics together madd, in the language of everydayiife, those responses to the celebrant, which, if they are not exactly the structure of the service, are nonetheless so many short, vibrant bonds with the altar. At the entrance of the clergy, in alternation with the choir, there was singing. So, too, did the people come singing to bring their gifts to the altar at the Offering (Offertory). They shared the~cle'rgy's ceremonial postures, standing, extending their arms, bowing or kneeling with the ministers, and gave each other the kiss of peace. So did they join in the psalmody, singing at leas~ the Gloria Patti, the K~rie, the Sanctus, and, when it was later introduced, the Agnus Dei. Singing too they came to the altar, the Table of Union, itself the sign, as the Fathers of Trent were to phrase it later, "of that one Body of which He is the Head, and to which He would fain have us as members united by the closest bond of faith, hope and love." The Roman of Gregory's day could in many ways feel himself "concorporate" in his' worship with every one sharing that worship with him. In the following century, had our pilgrim attended Mass in England, France, Germany, notto mention other coun-tries, he would look in vain for the procession to Mass. Save on Christmas, Easter or Pentecost there would be few communicants at Mass, and correspondingly few offerers giving visible expression of the basic concept of the worship of God by sacrifice. Then, too, he would have found him-self one of the very few laymen able to follow the stately Latin,and, as we see from conciliar enactments, not all the priests able to translate for him! But.our pilgrim would: note with a sigh the people's' eagerness in singing as far.as circumstances allowed. There at least he could still join. with them in prayer that sang. After a second century of wandering, during let us say the pontificate of Nicholas I ( 8 5 8- 8 6 7), our pilgrim would have noted with growing apprehension how elementary part-singing had already been discovered. "I sadly fear this may in course of time lead to the neglect, or even-the corruption, of unison singing, planesong,* alone possible to *Concerning this spelling, see note at the end of the article. 53 the congregation as a whole." But he would have hailed with delight the opportunity given him in the appearance of the sequences,~ to sing simple, homely rhyming lines with lustiness and joy, Could he have foreseen the future, he would have known that after their period of development, and luxuriance, there would follow such decay that with fewest exceptions the sequences were all to be expunged from the Missal. When that happened, there was taken from the layman the last impoitant element of the Mass he could still sing. And so it goes across the ages. When St. Thomas was writing in the thirteenth century his explanation of the Mass, he takes it- for~granted that "there are words which the l~riest begins and thd people take up . the Creed and the Gloria.'" In St. Thomas' day the people stil.1 answered Et cam st~iritu tuo, Amen and the like. Shall we follow our weary pilgrim into-the fourteenth century? In The Low Countries, England, France, Ger-many and elsewhere we find him complaining that the new measured music in such rising vogue everywhere was by its very difticulty robbing him of his chance to sing his prayer to God. "Soon.all singing in church will be the monopoly of the expert musicians, and to them will be restricted the fulfillment of St. Augustine's words, 'He that sings prays double.' " What was more, the new type of music, by its sensuous character, so said Pope John XXII, was under-mining his virility of soul. But Pope John XXII was one of the popes of the so-called Avignon Captivity; and for that reason people considere~l him unduly influenced by the French court. His admonitions drew little attention. ~ There was a period when the Council of, Basle was Cath-olic and well-inspired, and thither our pilgrim might have looked for reform of long-standing abuses. How he would have been cheered to note the Council's condemnation and abolition (?) of that abuse whereby "low Mass was said in such a tow .tone that it cannot be heard by those attending." That abuse seems to-have been spreading then in the northern parts of Europe: "If this is not stopped,~' our pilgrim grimly reflects,"even my few answers at low Mass will soon be made impossible." But that was at a day when the Church hadjust healed :the great scandal of the Great Western.Schism, and papal prestige stood too low to effect far-teaching reforms just then. in 15.18 Cardinal Louis of Aragon went into The Low Countries. ~Hadour pilgrim gonein his train be might .have seen the cardinal's secretary~ write in his journal about the Flemish priests:"They say .[Mass] . . . so low that no ohe hears their voices. They do not permit anyone .to make the responses, except the servers, and no one else."' That was~ noted, of course, because it was cbntrary to Roman practice come down from time beyond memory. But in 1518 Rome was suffering the baleful consequences of Italian Humanism, and suggestions a cardinal.might make on 1.ittle points like letting the'people respon~l at low Mass would fall with little weight. Then, too, when the car; dinal's secretary made that entry in his notebook, it was already soinemonthssinceMartin Luther had appended.his theses to the door of the Cathedral of Wittenburg, and thereby set in motion a chain of events that led to the calling of.the Council of Trent. "At long last the-layman'~s losses over a_period of a thousand years will surely be redressed at this greht Council," said our pilgrim as he faced the journey to Trent.Let us see how Trent prescribed for the cure of this pernicious aenemia of the layman's worship, only to have the administration of the remedy, postponed by yet further troubles. The aging Luther ,did not see fit to attend the Council, to .which he had once so solemnly appealed, and indeed he was in- his grave beforeits sessions were completed. But despite~his absence, he was the greatest chalienge to the Council, because he had become the symbol of every kind of error, the accuser of every discoverable abuse. Not a few,of those abuses were related to public worship, and as our pilgrim could have testified, were associated-with th~ fact that for centuries the layman was being deprived by force of circumstances ,of an active and intelligent part in divine service. All.this, it Was then hoped, would be remedied in this great Council. ~' Of all the Cotincils, Trent claims a position unique in many ways, one of which was that from the very outset the definition of. doctrine and the enactment of reform-decrees went forward simultaneously. From the Second Session (the decree opening the Council being the sole. business, of the First Sesson), ,lanuary 7, 1546, to the Twenty-Fifth 55 Session, December 4, 1563, the multiple questions to.ucl~ing the reform of Catholic public worship came up again and again. The Council's solicitude' was most in evidence in all that referred to holy Mass, becau.~e, as the Fathers said, "of all holy things this Sacrifice is the most holy." In resisting the Protestant demands, the Council deemed it "inadvisable that Mass should be celebrated everywhere in the vulgar tongue." Yet on all having the care of souls it laid the obligation, "lest the little ones ask for bread and there be none to break unto them, to explain frequently during the celebration of the Mass, especially on Sundays and festival days . some mystery of this most holy Sac-rifice." If Trent similarly rejected the Reformers' petition " that the entire Mass be said aloud, it did reaffirm "that some .things in the Mass be pronounced in a low tone and others m a louder tone." Masses at which the priest alone com-municated were emphatically declared to be valid Masses, yet in crystal-clear language is affirmed the desirability of having all worshippers communicate: "The holy Council wishes indeed that at each Mass the faithful who are present should communicate, not only in spiritual desire, but also by the sacramental partaking of the Eucharist, that thereby they may derive from this most holy Sacrifice a more abun-dant fruit." With regard to nuns the. Council here went .further and decreed that they must communicate .at least once a month: "Bishops and other superiors of monasteries° shall t~ike special care that the nuns., confess their sins and receive the most holy Eucharist at least once a month." The reforms of the Missal and the Breviary, begun at the .Council, were then handed over to the Holy See for com-pletion. In a hundred minor ways the Council showed its zeal that anything savoring in the least degree of unworthi-ness be kept from the public worship of the Church. The thorny problem of having only proper music in the churches was given much more serious consideration than might be judged from the brevity, of this enactment: "They [local Ordinaries] shall also banish from the churches those types of music in which, whether by the organ or in the singing, there is mixed up anything unbe-coming., so that the house of God.may be truly a house of prayer." Indeed many a bishop at the Council may have had the painful experience of the force of that saying, that .more people were sung into Protestantism than argued into 56 it. As early as 1523; in his Form for Mass and Communion, Luther had touched upon the desirability of German singing: "I would wish among us to l~ave as much as pos-sible in the vernacular what the people sing at Mass." Within a year Luther had contributed no less than twenty hymns of his own composition to his cause, and after Ein /:este Burg had made its sensational reputation, reli-gious rebels in non-German countries began to sweep peop!e into their conventicles by giving .them the chance to sing at divine service. Small wonder that the Fathers of Trent, with all this before their eyes, wished to purge away the corruption that had overlaid the ChUrch's once so popular planesong. This once restored to the people, these would be saved the sad choice of active participation in unorthodox worship, or mute and silent worship in the Church of Rome. Thus our long-suffering pilgrim, attending the ses-sions of Trent, might have envisaged a veri
HAY, 1906 1T0L. XIT. HO. 3 GETTYSBURG COLLEGE GETTYSBURG, PA. i »»^wiiw»ir^Ww>BffwwuWiii>ii come; and there too we become subject to the great discipline of suffering from which we learn how to meet the real prob-lems of life. Some time ago a contractor of New York City, advertised for twenty five laborers at two dollars a day. Within a (ew hours scores of applicancs thronged his office, until it became almost an angry mob. Each one attempted to make applica-tion before his competitors, and in that way increase his chances lor appointment. This contractor at the same time advertised for a high class specialist to manage a branch of the work, wages twenty-five dollars a day. Days passed and not one man made application. The difference between the re-quirements of the two positions was largely a difference of ex-perience. What the polishing is to the beauty of a diamond discipline and experience are to the usefulness of a life. The experience of nations again and again have shown that an army is of value in active service only to the extent that it is well equipped and trained So the life of an individual is of true value to the world in so far as the powers of that life are cultivated to perform such service as will contribute to the bet-terment of mankind. The man made wise by experience endeavors to judge cor-rectly of the things which come under his observation, and form the thoughts of his daily life. " What we call common sense is for the most part, but the result of common experience wisely improved." The whole of life may be regarded as a great school of experience in which men and women are the pupils. The world today sends forth the cry for men and women of experience, men who are trained and equipped for action. The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have to serve. It is a good stimulus and discipline of THE MERCURV. 73 character. It often brings forth powers that without it would have remained dormant. Just as an electric current passing through a wire requires resistance in order to produce light and heat, so men are often caused to shine brightly in some chosen profession or work because of the resistance they en-counter. It seems as if in the lives of some, the sharp and sudden blow of adversity is required to bring out the divine spark. There are natures that blossom and ripen amidst trial that would only wither and decay in an atmosphere of ease, and comfort Some men only require a great difficulty set in theif way to exhibit the force of their character and genius ; and that diffi-culty once conquered becomes the greatest incentive to their future progress. When a boy fourteen years of age Joseph Lancaster after reading " Clarkson on the Slave Trade " formed the resolution of leaving his home and going to the West In-dies to teach the poor Blacks to read the Bible. He set out with a Bible and " Pilgrims Progress " in his valise, and a few shillings in his purse. The difficulties he encountered were al-most beyond conception, yet they were only a means of strengthening his courage. Soon one thousand pupils were under his instructions. Above the door of his school room were written the words—" If people will not send their chil-dren to school here and have them educated free they may pay for it." Thus Joseph Lancaster was one of the precursors of our present system of National Education. Men do not always succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failure. Many have to make up their minds to encounter failure again and again before they succeed. Talma the great actor was hissed off the stage when he first appeared. Montalembert said of his first public appearance in the church of St. Roch, " I failed completely," and coming out every one said, " Though he be a man of talent he will never be a preacher." He made one attempt after another until he succeeded; and two years after was preaching to large audiences. Each mind makes its own little world. The cheerful mind makes it pleasant, the discontented mind makes it miserable. n JLiiiiiiiMiL i Z 1 74 THE MERCURY. " My mind to me a kingdom is " applies the same to the peas-ant as to the monarch. Life is for the most part but the mirror of our own individual selves; and he who regards it as a sphere of useful efforts of working for others good as well as his own will find this earthly existence joyful, hopeful, and blessed. AN HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED SCENE FROM ROMEO AND JULIET. S. E. SMITH, '07. SCENE—A Street in Venice. Enter Benvolio and Mercutio. Ben. The sun now sinks and ends the rule of day, And night her sable mantle spreads abroad, Save where the moon doth rend her dark'ning folds, And stars like moths do pierce her sombre woof. Mer. .Through my blue veins a sultry flood doth pour Encouraged by the blazing orb of day And should old Capulet and his fell fiends Approach, my swora should feed his hungry point. Marry ! I would give them what ardent Sol Doth thrust into my blood, a poison rank. Ben. Kind sir, forget our deadly strife this eve When springs a breeze from out the deep blue sea, That has the kiss of Venus for its mesh And tangles hearts of men in stouter folds Than ever fisher wove to snare the fish Which sport in wanton glee in cool sea caves. Mer. Then come, let's hasten from the street to where The moonbeams chase each other through the leaves And while the calm and sleepless night is young By music's charms invite old Morpheus To come to nurse our minds till dawn returns. But look ! young Romeo, with head adroop Comes slowly down the street like one whose friends Have faithless proved. Dost thou surmise the cause THE MERCURY. 75 Which drives the heir of Montague To sulk ? Enter Romeo. Ben. To what fair maiden's bower now My Romeo do you your mind address ? Rom. Zounds ! Thy thoughts are ever far from truth, Ben. Now hear ! Mer. Behold the youthful champion of truth ! This night, my honor e'en will vouch for it, I saw him stand beneath a linden tree And rail against the fate that prompted him To look at Luna's silver bow across That shoulder which foretells ill luck 'tis said ; His calf like love was shocked at thought of this And now he pines lest Rosaline should spurn His ardent love. Rom. False babbler hold thy tongue Your wisdom keep for dumber men than I. Exeunt Benvolia and Mercutio Romeo 'goes toward villa of Rosaline. Rom. It is beyond my comprehension quite Why Rosaline doth so indif'rent prove, In spite of all my growing burning love She seems as cold as snow on mountain tops, Or can it be my heart has hid its fire And kept from her its fierce enkindling flame. Well should that be ; tonight I'll leave no spot In her fair heart unscorched by foul desire. Come Orpheus and lend thy mellow art That I may touch and melt her hardened heart. He sings under her window. Sea waves gleam with a tint of blue, The heavens vault is azure too, Yet their hues so rich and rare With thy soft eyes cannot compare, Cho. Come love come and hear my pleading Come and kiss me and caress me Or my heart will pine away. . J 76 THE MERCURY. The lily blooms so sweet and fair The violet gently drugs the air Yet all their beauty and perfume If thou art nigh, are forgotten soon, Cho. Come love, etc., etc. Rosaline appears at the window aboi'e. Ros. Who comes at this quiet hour of night And rends the air with woeful songs of love; It is not love but passion's fiery breath That desecrates the holy calm of eve; This passion is a treach'rOus, murd'rous fiend Who steals abroad beneath the name of love And poisons minds of maids with that unrest Which blights the budding flowers of virgin minds. Rom. Oh Rosaline be not unkind I pray But come and sit with me beneath the moon ; Enjoy the evening cool mid sighing trees While I declare to thee my heartfelt love Which bounds and struggles till it tears my breast. Ros. Oh youth entrapped by Venus give good heed To what I say, and do not come again To haunt the garden of my father's house, Thy passion fierce does not arouse my heart To join with thee in amorous delights, Minerva, chaste my patron goddess is And follow her I will through all my years, For she preserves the happiness of life While Venus blights the ones who trust in her. Romeo goes away. Rom. What pity that such wondrous charms should be Untouched by love's divine consuming fire For from such burning would arise anew Fair forms of beauty which would bless the world. Now sadly to my couch I take my way With unrequited love to pine away; m THE MERCURY. 77 WHAT IS THE RIGHT USE OF BOOKS? E. G. HESS '06. TO those who are students and scholars books are of in-calculable value. By properly using them their minds become vastly enriched, filled with noble and graceful images and guided to profound truths. They are their masters in-structing them in history, philosophy, literature and art. By them the entire line of one's mental horizon is sometimes changed. In the lonely hours of solitude books are one's cheer-ful companions. In deep heart-rending sorrow they have the power to console effectually. When one is confronted by trials and temptations, they beeome a firm and unbending shield. Deep inspiration and renewed life may be found directly back of the print. A library of choice books, therefore, is more precious than great wealth without them. When the imagi-nation constructs its gorgeous and fantastic forms or builds its magnificent air castles, the library is a veritable fairyland. Your handsomely illustrated geographies and well worded geologies speak of the earth with its beautiful mountains, whose gentle slopes with red roofed huts scattered among green groves of pine and hemlock, with here and there an open heath, arch gracefully upward until their majestic snow-capped summits pierce the very vault of heaven, or of clear swiftly flowing streams, rushing over beds of solid rock, suddenly breaking over a perpendicular ledge, then falling, mantled with fleecy clouds of spray, over which hover the brilliant colors of the rainbow, and dashing its hissing torrents into the raging foam-ing gulf below while the eternal roar of the water echoes along the stupendous gorge. Others give knowledge of plant life, from the tender mosses and the tiny delicate flowers to the gigantic trees of the forest. And, yet, has anyone ever obtained the pleasing, refreshing odors of the most fragrant blossoms from reading books, or have the leafy boughs shaded and protected him from the scorching rays of the noon day sun? Can one, while read-ing, hear the ceaseless roaring waters or see the grandeur of the fall ? Hume says : " The poet using the most glowing colors I .:*)*. .11 _ » i',> I 1 Hi f 78 THE MERCURY. of his art cannot depict a scene in such a way that his de-scription might be mistaken for the real landscope." Our histories speak concerning the great men of the past and their remarkable achievements. They tell us of Napoleon, Caesar, Alexander and hosts of others. These interesting his-toric recitals thrill and inspire us, yet we who know only American life frequently fail to think ourselves into those far away lands, and that distant past, into the very conditions un-der which these people lived, thought and fought. They and their deeds belong to the dark dominion of the past, and no book,however well written, can perfectly reflect the past. They, thus, generally appear to us as mere names upon the printed page rather than actual living historic characters who had bodies of flesh and blood very similar to our own. What then do we have in books more than signs for thoughts ? Can real knowledge and actual thoughts be found in books? Can knowledge be found elsewhere than in some one's consciousness ? Truth may exist independent of our minds. But the alphabet, Latin, Greek or Hebrew, the Cunei-form system of the ancient Persians and Assyrians, the Egypt-ian Hieroglyphics are only symbols for ideas and thoughts. The benefit derived from the printed page is wholly a matter of interpretation. Let one hold in his hand a Chinese book, there is a world of truth printed upon its pages, but, unless he understands the language he is unable to interpret it, thus the book conveys no thought. Let him stand before Cleopatra's Needle in New York and unless he be versed in Egyptology, the golden key of interpre-tation is wanting and those curious hieroglyphics are meaning-less. Let two men read a page of English, there is a differ-ence in interpretation proportionate to the difference in capa-city and development. There is also a vast difference in the mental experiences of the same person when he gets his con-ception of an object, or event from the pages ot a printed book or has it indelibly stamped upon his memory by actual personal experience. In the former case, because of the asso-ciation of ideas the words have for him a certain coloring which they had not for the author, and his imagnation working THE MERCURY. 79 over the ideas produces a picture unlike that which was in the author's mind. We hear much about impure drugs and adulterated food. We want our Rio coffee of the same quality and value as when it departed from the port of Brazil. But in our acquisition of knowledge we do not apply these same strict business princi-ples but permit ourselves to be satisfied with second-hand experiences. Some have read books on travel, perhaps the very guide books which are indespensible to a man treading his way amid the cloud-hidden heights or appalling depths of an Alpine glazier. A fatal step may be saved by the book. But no one would read these books and say he has had actual experiences of travel. Thus, when one is struggling with the grave prob-lems of life earnestly striving toward the highest development, a good book may save him much effort, perhaps a disas-trous mistake. But we would not conclude that we gain ex-periences of actual life by reading these (so-called) life books. Only in our imagination can we follow the experiences of great men, leaving an infinite gulf between the experiences gained by reading and those gained from actual life. Let books, therefore, serve us as a pair of eye glasses, as a microscope or telescope. Let them help us to see through the eyes of the authors what otherwise we should not see. Dur-ing leisure hours, let them inspire us, but whenever we can see directly, let us waste neither time nor effort in studying other men's records of what they saw. Emerson says: " Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given; forgetful that Cicero, Locke and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote these books." Thus as scholars we look toward the future and see unwritten books waiting to chronicle our own original investigations. 8o THE MERCURY. SHOULD THE VOTING MACHINE BE INTRO-DUCED INTO PENNSYLVANIA? FRANK W. MOSER, '07. THERE is an old saying that the Yankee will do nothing by hand that he can invent a machine to do for him. He maintains the astonishing record of patenting twenty-three thousand new mechanisms every year and a study of all the complications almost overwhelms one. Outside of the realm of electricity no invention has met the need of the hour so thoroughly and efficiently as the voting machine. This state-ment can be proved by the citing of several facts and its special application to Pennsylvania can then be inferred from general conditions. In the first place voting machines have worked well wher-ever they have been tried. This fact alone is exceedingly sig-nificant when we consider the conditions of turmoil in politics and labor that have marked the last few years. A trial under such circumstances is a trial indeed and the fact that it has proved thoroughly satisfactory is splendid evidence of its value to any state. Considering the rapidity with which the Aus-tralian ballot came into use, we can almost predict that, after the complications in the larger cities, especially in Philadelphia, voting by machine would spring into the front all over the land. Buffalo has voted by machine for several years and seems more than satisfied with the result. This satisfaction is splendid evidence of its worth among the recent inventions tending toward the bettering of conditions in the state. Secondly, when voting is carried on by machines, none of the troubles of a recount can arise. The machine is run some-what on the principle of the cash register and records unerr-ingly and promptly. In tabulating the results, the viewers make numerous errors both by accident and even sometimes it may be with intention and in the press of a hard fight the er-rors are unnoticed and the result, if close, may not embody the will of the people. The automatic action of the machine makes such mistakes an impossibility. The importance of this point can hardly be overestimated since the charges of fraud THE MERCURY. 8l In voting and criminality in the recounts have been spread so broadcast in the daily papers. There is only one immediate and final remedy for this; only one thing that will make such action impossible ; only one thing that can prevent libelous in-dictments from flying on every daily sheet; and that one thing is the voting machine. Thirdly, the result is ready as soon as the voting ceases- There are no long hours of waiting for the results to be an-nounced nor of wearisome labor by the officers. Immediately upon the closing of the polls the machine is ready to hand out its tabulated account arranged in neat and systematic order. Like many other.things in the world the voting machine is shunned because the people are not used to it. There has hardly been an invention in the history of the world's progress, but the people were wary of it, called it a hoax and its inventor a lunatic, and applied a multitude of like foolish accusations, and it is often only after long and severe test that they can be urged to take up with it. The voting machine is simple, very simple, when once it is understood. There is no red tape about the machine nor any patent levers nor anything else of the kind to confuse or annoy the voter. It is as simple as the cash register, a touch and your vote is cast. That these facts are especially applicable to Pennsylvania cannot be doubted by any sound-minded person. Whenever in state or city the power falls into the hands of corrupt and reckless men, pessimism cries out that popular government is a failure. The crisis through which Pennsylvania has just passed, the smoke of the conflict still lingering over the battle-field, ought to be an object lesson at once forceful and abiding. Were the power of corruption in machine and gang entirely dead, then we might settle down to our newspapers and maga-zines with some degree of security, but the lightening that ever and anon illuminates the edge of the cloud shows that there is still dormant energy behind the apparent calm, which may break into a storm at any minute. Superficial remedies, advocated by would-be reform societies, are worse than useless. The reform must come from within and be deep and perma-nent to achieve the best results, and the introduction of the 82 THE MERCURY. voting machine would be a big step toward preventing any such conditions from becoming prevalent in the future. Penn-sylvania needs the voting machine because, having just passed through a stormy period, she is still hanging in suspense to-await future events ; she needs the machine because the ma-chine would give a reasonable guarantee of fairness at the polls; she needs the machine because she is the keystone of the union and should be solidly for the right, a position it would assist her to maintain ; she ought to have the machine because her citizens are ever broad-minded enough to put away prejudice against the new and fall into line on any improvement in state government. To repeat, the machine ought to be introduced into Pennsyl-vania because it has met with decided success wherever it has been tried; because none of the troubles of a recount can arise; because the result is ready as soon as the voting ceases ; because Pennsylvania is now in such condition as to render the introduction of the voting machine not only advantageous but imperative. It is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth make man better be ; Or standing long an oak, three hundred year To fall a log at last, dry, bald and sear : A lily of a day Is fairer far in May, Although it fall and die that night, It was the plant and flower of light. In small proportions we just beauties see ; And in short measures life may perfect be. —Ben Jonson. mmwwm**— • THE MERCURY. 83 IN THE SHELTER OF A ROCK. E. A. CHAMBERLIN, '08. WILLIAM BLODGETT always was an enthusiastic pho-tographer. Although only an amateur, yet some of his battlefield views rivaled even those of the professionals, Mumper and Tipton. His mountain views, water scenes, and views of historic spots, had won a name for him among his numerous college friends and outside admirers. Scarcely did a publication of the " Amateur Photographer," appear without the use of one of Blodgctt's reproductions as an illustration. One afternoon, after he had puzzled his brain over Prof. Nixon's cycloids and hypocycloids, he strapped his camera over his shoulder, placed his tripod beneath his arm, and strolled forth in the direction of Culp's Hill in quest of speci-mens for his botanical collection, and for further purpose of adding to his already numerous supply of battlefield views. After walking about a mile, finding only a few flowers, he came upon a scene which made the heart of the young photographer leap for joy. He had often seen it before but it was never so inviting as now. The avenue had been built in the side of the hill, and, as he halted upon its white surface to feast his eyes upon this garden spot of nature, he beheld stretched below him in a small valley, masses of rock, one upon the other, between which flowed Rock Creek now flooded to its banks by early spring rains. One mass of rock in particular showed the results of the hor-rible struggle which had taken place at this point nearly forty years before. Even now upon the rock could be seen the marks of many bullets, and streaks of white lead oxidized by the rains of many years. The trees here thick and tall were beginning to bud, while in the background loomed up a wooded hill, the only sentinel which had withstood the victorious charge of O'Neal's men. An excursion from Baltimore was upon the field but, as luck would have it, all seemed to be elsewhere sightseeing. So with no one to disturb him he planted his tripod and arranged his camera for a view which in his opinion would far surpass a similar scene, taken by a Princeton student, which had been 84 THE MERCURY. published a few weeks before. Not a breeze disturbed the leaves in the tree-tops—not a creature could be seen, with the exception of a distant buzzard sailing over the ground once made fruitful, in his aviarian mind, by the inhuman struggles of two contending armies. With a last look upon the scene he turned, removed the cover from the plateholder and gently pressed the bulb. That night after he had worked for two hours upon his Latin, he went to his dark room and proceeded to develop his treasure. How carefully he measured the powders and liquids, how gently he removed the plate from its holder and placed it in the tray. The image arose upon the plate resplendent in the ruby light. Yet Blodgett's heart sank within him as he looked upon it, for, in the very centre of the picture, just above the rock, appeared a small black spot which would render the negative practically' worthless. Tired, disgusted and discouraged, he finished the process and went to bed. As the first rays of the morning sun shone in his window he jumped out of bed to take a better look in the daylight at the defective spot. Imagine his surprise when upon holding it to the window he discovered that the black spot was caused by no other object than the head of a beautiful girl, made even more beautiful by its surroundings. She had undoubtedly been concealed and, at the very moment in which he had pressed the bulb had looked over the moss covered edge of the rock. The face was one of exceptional beauty. During the day, and those which followed, Blodgett often looked at the small features, the dark waving hair and the eyes which he knew, from their expression, must be of the deepest blue. He had never seen the young lady in question, and, make inquiry as he would, no information upon the subject could he gain. He searched the spot sheltered by the rock for some clew; this was also in vain. He found nothing save a few dainty foot prints upon the mossy bank. The months and years flew past. Blodgett graduated from college and entered a school in Baltimore, where it was his pur-pose to make a special study of photography, his great hobby ; yet he never forgot the face which had appeared from behind ,.-. --- r—i THE MERCUKY. 85 the sheltering rock, and never failed to look for it even in the busy city in which he now lived. One day while passing through Druid Hill Park he was struck by an automobile and lay seemingly lifeless upon the speedway. A burly policeman lifted him tenderly, placed him gently upon a grassy bank and after noting the number of the machine sent in a hurry call for an ambulance. Blodgett thought himself in a deep pit while ever and anon there would appear above him in bold outline against the outer light, a face the same which had in his college days appeared in like manner from behind the rock. At last the pit vanished and there bending over him was the face with a small nurse's cap surmounting it. The face although now slightly older was nevertheless the same. His air castles had materalized. He had been injured internally, and it was several months before he was able to leave his cot. In the meantime he had told the owner of the face, a certain Miss Hartman, about the photograph of the rock and had received her side of the story. At the end of a week they were fast friends, and, as the weeks lengthened into months their friendship changed to something even deeper. He is now one of the leading photographers in Baltimore while she although her name is changed yet her face is the same as on that day when it so suddenly appeared and then as quickly vanished behind the shelter of the rock. THE ]\|ERCURY Entered at the Postoffi.ee at Gettysburg as second-class Matter VOL. XIV GETTYSBURG, PA., MAY, 1906 No. 3 Editor-in-chief WARD B. S. RICE, '07 Exchange Editor . THOS. E. SHEARER, '07 Business Manager THOMAS A. FAUST, '07 Ass'l Bus. Managers. HENRY M. BOWER, '08 H. WATSON DAVISON, '08 Associate Editors GEO. W. KESSLER, '08 J. K. ROBB, '08 EDMUND L. MANGES, '08 . Advisory Board PROF. J. A. HIMES, LITT.TX PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M.D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD, D.D. Published each month, from October to June inclusive, by the joint literary societies of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription price, one dollar a year in advance; single copies 15 cents. Notice to discontinue sending the MERCURY to any address must be accompanied by all arrearages. Students, Professors and Alumni are cordially invited to contribute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Busi-ness Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORIALS. Every young GOLDEN MOMENTS. man ^Q ;«. about to enter an institution of learning has to a certain extent made plans which when he makes them does it in all sin-cerity and fully intends to carry them through. The majority realize that they are entering into a course of training which when completed will have changed them and made them entirely new persons. There is such a Pt».H»^f| THE MERCURY. 87 diversity in men's lives that no two men will receive the same amount of benefits. Some who have laid extensive plans and are ambitious may not accomplish as much as a man whose intentions are not so extensive but has the natural faculty of making use of his time. Spare moments have well been called the gold dust of time. At this time of the year when nature has taken on her •summer clothing it is especially easy to waste our precious moments in which we should be carrying out our plans. We are now nearing the close of another school year and for this very reason we should not even let nature or any other factor •waylay us or take advantage of us, but we should do as the runner who on the home stretch puts forth his best efforts and finishes his race in an admirable manner. It is a hard thing to go to one's room and work when one could enjoy the beauti-ful evenings on the campus. But when time has been idled away there is always a feeling of discontent while on the other hand when time is well spent there comes a feeling of content. There is a question now being agitated A PERSONAL QUESTION. wh, i•ch, i• s ofc vi.tal, i.mportance to every Gettysburg student, those who may oppose it as well as those who may favor it. It is that of a compulsory athletic fee, pro-viding that each student shall be required to pay a yearly athletic fee, and that there shall be free admission to all games, also carrying with it the provision that the student will not be required to assist financially except as above stated. Every-one acquainted with the present system of meeting the athletic debts must confess that it is faulty and is largely chance, and that the only results of its workings have been debt and dissatisfaction. Of course this reform, like all others, has ob-jections raised against it, but we believe that the merits of the system proposed will high override all objections. But before we come to a conclusion, let us look at some of the benefits to be derived as set over against the objections. In the first place the present system is working to the de-triment of the college. It does not provide the funds neces-sary for the best results. This is a serious drawback because 88 THE MERCURY. the the athletic success of a college plays an important part in influencing prospective students. Especially students of means-will consider this point, and they are generally most influential for the college. It may be well to state that we are not depre-ciating our success along atheletic lines, but believe that with a good coach for each branch of our athletics, which we would have under the system proposed, we would surprise some of our old rivals. Take for example the last football season. Again since there would be free admission to all games, the student body would make a better showing, and the teams would re-ceive better support. In the next place, the burden would not fall so heavily upon those who are willing to contribute, but the responsibility would fall equally upon all, and each could claim an equal share in the success. In connection with the forego-ing reason, an objection arises, and we may say the only one which can be brought up. That is, that it would not be fair to-those of limited means. We have all respect for students of that kind, but we are of the opinion that a reasonable fee would not inconvenience them any more than some necessity which may present itself. There may be a few-exceptions, but they would-be provided for with ease in comparison with what would have to be overcome if the present system continues. If the college is to be conducted for those of very limited means, then abolish athletics and show true colors. On the other hand if we are go-ing to support this branch, let up us adopt a system, such as-the one proposed, that will be beneficial to the student body and the college, instead of pursuing one which is unsatisfactory and unbusinesslike for the sake of a difficulty which can be easily provided for. With regard to next month's issue we would urge the hearty cooperation of all. Although, this is the busiest season of the school year, the Seniors have ing their class exercises, the Juniors having the oratorical con-test, and the Sophomores orations to deliver, let us have this-issue measure up to the standard, if not surpass it. At this-time we are apt to say that we are too busy, but we hope that LEST WE FORGET. THE MERCURY. 89 you will consider it well before you declare yourself in such a strait. Let everybody get to work, we must have a good selec-tion. Begin to write immediately and hand it in on time as the number will have to be published before commencement. EXCHANGES. As the Commencement season draws near, the attention of the college world is directed toward oratory, commencement speeches and class oratorical contests. This is plainly shown in the exchanges of the past month. The March number of the Maniton Messenger is an Oratori-cal Number, containing the orations of St. Olaf's representa-tives in an Inter-collegiate Contest. The orations are good of their kind, but as a comment upon them we, will quote from an editorial in the April number of the same journal which has just come to hand. The editor says : " The tendency of current college oratory seems to be in favor of character sketches- Instead of whetting his intellect on intricate present day prob-lems, our college orator turns to the musty records of past ages, and from the mouldering bones of ancient heroes draws a pencil sketch of the man who was. The warrior, the states-man, the orator, and the reformer each has his turn. We are told of the life they lived, the work they did, and the death they died. That is all. The grand passions that filled their hearts and swayed their minds we never feel because the prob-lems that shook the foundations of society in their time no longer exist. * * * * Our sympathies are in the present. The great orators of the past became great because the subjects of their orations were the problems of the time in which they lived. They were themselves fired with the theme and could therefore kindle the fire in others." "The Mob Mind in Social Life," in the Augustana Observer, is, without doubt, the best article of a serious nature that we have seen in that paper in many issues. The writer defines a mob as " a number of individuals under the absolute influence of a common idea or sentiment, temporarily void of individuals, personality, and ruled by unconscious or sub-conscious forces!' Under this definition he works out the psychology of the 9o THE MERCURY. mob mind to the conclusion that direct legislation providing for the punishment of individuals of the mob must be useless in controlling, or guiding its forces, but that ' thetonly ulti-mate ' solution of the mob problem is to fill the ' sub-con-sciousness of mankind with noble ideas.' " And this," he says, " is the task of unnumbered centuries." Some of the other articles that we would like to commend are : " An Idyll of the Grove," a story, in The Haverfordian ; " Ruskin on War," in The Albright Bulletin; " Insurance or No Insurance," a parody on Hamlet's soliloquy, in The Moun-taineer; "Child Labor Problem " in Dickinsonian ; " The Man Who Spent His Father's Money," a story in The Red and Blue ; " The Flower Maiden," a poem, in The Philomathean Monthly; and " Undine," as a product of the German Romantic School," in The Forum. In searching the month's exchanges we were surprised at the scarcity of good editorials. Only one or two contained any of any length and merit. This is something unusual. Heretofore they have proved to be good reading, but this month they are weak. Are the editors so busy reading copy that they have no time to* write, or are they out among the students hunting up copy ? It is very likely perhaps that the new staffs are not yet in good working order and that this de-fect will be remedied in the next issue. There seems to be an inclination in some of the college papers to place in their " Locals " so very many nonsensical items. Although we realize that an exchange editor is hardly in a position to make mention of local items, yet we cannot refrain from doing so when this practice mentioned above is carried to such an extent that it lowers our opinion of the paper and incidentally of the school. For example, we have in mind the " Class Items " in The College Folio ; " Locals " in The Midland; " Local Items " in The Grove City Collegian ; and " Things Said and Done " in The Drury Mirror. These papers usually contain but two contributed articles—some-times three, if short—which is a small number for a monthly publication. Now we do not mean that any news item should be suppressed, but if a page or so of these personal jokes and foolish puns were replaced by a good essay or story, we feel sure that the general tone of the papers would be heightened. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISER'S I FURNITURE Mattresses, Bed Springs, Iron Beds, Picture Frames. Repair Work done promptly. Under-taking a specialty. * Telephone No. 97. H. B. ^erLcLer 37 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, Pa. The Windsor Hotel 1217=2 Filbert St., Philadelphia. Headquarters for Students. Thoroughly Renovated, Refurnished and Remodeled FRANK M. SCHEIBLEY, Manager. Graduate of Lafayette College 1898. A. G. Spalding & Bros. Largest Manufacturers in the World of Official Athletic Supplies Base Ball Lawn Ten is Foot Ball Archery Roque Quoits Cricket Lacrosse Golf Implements for al Sports Spalding's Official Base Ba.ll Guide for 1906. Edited by Henry Chadwick. The most complete and up-to-date book ever published on the subject. Fully illustrated. Price 10 Cents. For over a quarter of a century Spalding's Trade-Mark on Base Ball implements has marked the advancement in this particular sport. Spalding's O&cial League Ball is the adopted ball ol the National League, and must he used in all match games. Every requisite for Lawn ten-nis and Golf. Spalding's Trade Mark. on our Athletic Implement gives you an advantage over the other player as you have a better article, lasts longer, gives more satisfaction. Every Base Ball Manager should send at once/or a copy of Spalding's Spring and Sum-mer Catalogue—FREE. A. G. SPALDING
Issue 1.2 of the Review for Religious, 1942. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MARCH 15, 1942 S,~f. Joseph's Titles to Honor ¯ . .Aloysius C. Kemper The Scapular Devotion. : . William A. Donaghy Perfection and +he Religious . Augustine Kl~as LeoJ on the Incarnation . Cyril Vollert Profession of a Dying No,~ice . Adam C. Ellis The S+udy of +he Decalogue ¯ .- . Gerald Kelly Some Recommended Spiritual Books Book Reviews (~ues÷ions Answered Decisions of the Holy See VOLUME I "" "~-':. NUMBER 2 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS ¯ VOLUME' I MARCH 15, 1942 NUMBER 2 CONTENTS SAINT JOSEPH'S TITLES TO RELIGIOUS HONOR Aloysius C. Kemper, S:J . 74 THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION AND THE SABBATINE PRIVILEGE William A. PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS--Augustine Klaas, S.J. 9.4 ANNOUNCEMENT --'The Editors . ¯ . SOME RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS . 105 THE DOCTRINAL LETTER OF LEO I ON THE INCARNATION Cyril Vollert, S.J . 112 PROFESSION OF A NOVICE IN DANGER OF DEATH Adam C. Ellis, S.J . ¯ . 117 PAMPHLET REVIEWS . 122 RELIGIOUS AND. THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE Gerald Kelly, S,J . 123 BOOKS RECEIVED . ' 135 BOOK REVIEWS PROGRESS IN DIVINE UNION. By the Reverend Raoul Plus, S.J. 136 COLORED CATHOLICS IN THE UNITED STATES By the Reverend John T. Gillard. S.SIJ. 136 ONE INCH OF SPLENDOR. By Sister Rosalia of Maryknoll . 137- LITURGICAL WORSHIP. By the Reverend J. A. Jungmann, S.J. 138 MARYKNOLL MISSION LETTERS ~ . , . . 140 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 7,. Communion on Holy Thursday . 1,41 8. Obligation of Sponsor in Baptism or Confirmation . 141 9. Separation of Novices and Postulants at Recreation . 142 10. Superior's Right to Read.Mail of Subjects . . . 142 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS 143 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, March, 1942. Vol. I. No. 2. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and November, at The College Pre~s, 606 Harrison Street, Tope~ka~ Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Application for second class entry pending. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Copyright, 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S'. A. Saint: Joseph's Titles t:o Religious Honor Aloysius C. Kemper, S.J. THERE is no need at the present day to undertake a § vindication of the honor paid to St. 'joseph, foster-father of our Lord and most chaste spouse of Mary. Devotion to. him has taken so firm a hold on the popular mind, and his cult hag been so repeatedly and unstintingly approved by the Church, that St. ,Joseph stands next to Mary as the Saint °most highly esteemed and honored in the celestial hierar~chy. It is perhaps no vain hope to look for a marked increase in devotion to him and in a more insistent, confident appeal to his mighty intercession in the stress of the actual national and international crisis. St. ,Joseph ~was indeed from time immemorial regarded as eminently a social patron by various groups and religious families, in view of his headship of that singular holy group, the Family of Nazareth.- In 1621 the General Chapter of the Carmelites chose him officially as patron of the whole Reformed Order. Soon after began to appear for the first time the title of Patronage of St. 'jose~ph under which the holy Patriarch was'honored by numerous orders, religious bOdies, kingdoms and states both in the old and new world. It was not until 1847, however, that Plus IX extended the feast of the Patronage to the universal Church. From that papal grant the devotion received a new, vivifying impulse that resulted in a truly phenomenal growth. It was again Pius IX who, during a particularly calamitous period of his pontificate, bethought himself of a new title which had not until then been bestowed on any angel or saint. 'On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in 1870, the " 74 ST. J,OSEPH'S~ TITLES TO HONOR Holy Father declared St. Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, the proximate motive for this elevatioff, being that "at this most sorrowful time the Church herself is beset by enemies on every side,, and oppressed by grievous cidamities, so that .wicked men imagine that at last the gates of hell are prevailing against her." The immediate occasion, then, for the new title was the urgent crisis of the Church at the moment. But in the same decree a more general motive for the papal action is al!eged: '"On account of this sublime dignity (of foster-father of Jesus) which God conferred on His most faithful servant, the Church has always most highly honored and lauded the most Blessed Joseph next after his Spouse, the Virgin Mother of God, and. has implored his intercession in all her great necessities." No one can fail to detect in this pontifical utterance a very sig-nificant placing of St. Joseph as one to be honored next to Mary. Nearly twenty years later, on August 15, 1889, Leo XIII issued a warmly enthusiastic encyclical letter1 -on devotion to St. Joseph. It is worthy of note that he ~hose another principal feast of Mary for this pronouncement. In it, in a more explicit manner, he placed Joseph after Mary . in the hierarchyof the Blessed, insisting "that the Christiafl people should grow accustomed to implore with an especial piety and confidence, together with the Virgin Mother of God, also her rnos~ chaste spouse, the Blessed Joseph." After recognizing that the cult of St. Joseph had advanced notably since the declaration of the Universal Patronage, Leo XIII wished to add his own authority in moving Chris-tian piety to new endeavors. He not only vindicated to St. Joseph his proper place in the devotion of the faithful next to the Virgin Mary, but for this he assigned two out- 1Quaraquarn pluries. Cf. The Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. 1, P. 362. 75 AI~OYSIUS C. KEMPI~R standing reasons, whicl~ he first briefly Stated, then feelingly expounded: "Jos.eph was the husband of Mary and the reputed father of Jesus Christ. From these two prerogatives derive all his dignity, grace, sanctity, and glory. Undoubtedly the dignity of the Mother of God is so sublime that nothing can excel it. Yet because between ,Joseph and the Blessed Virgin there existed the bond of matrimony, there can be no doubt that he approached more closely than any One else to that most lofty dignity by which the Mother of God sofar surpassed all other creatures . . . Again" he alone stands forth amongst all men by the singular dignity of having been divinely chosen to be the guardian of the Son of God, and considered by men to be His father." Here, then, is officially stated the basis of all solid devo-tion to St. Joseph, namely, his eminent dignity which sur-passes that of all the saints excepting only the Blessed Mother of the Redeemer. This dignity moreover is due to Joseph's position in the Holy Family of which he is the divinely appointed head and guardian, as husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus. The marital and parental func-tions which he thus exercised in that l~lessed Family impli-cate him as closely as may be in the carrying into execution of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. "When the fulness of~ time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adop-tion of sons" (Galatians 4:4). In tha~ tremendous drama 3oseph had more than an accessory par~ to play. His coop-eration was essential. He was appointed to live and labor within the inner circle of the Incarnation, and his whole activity was displayed in the secret unfolding of this mystery. 76 ST. JOSEPH'S TITLES TO HONOR Joseph's actual presence and operation .within the circle of the Incarnation is vouched for by the simple gospel nar-rative familiar to every child. Je,sus, Mary, andJoseph are there always found together, the latter as husband of Mary and father of Jesus. In the genealogy according to St. Mat- . thew (1: 16) we read, "And Jacob begot Joseph the hus-band of Mary." Again (1:18) "When Mary his Mother was betrothed to Joseph"; ( 1 : 19) "But Joseph her husband being a just man. "; (1:20) "Do not be afraid' Joseph ¯. to take to thee Mary thy u2ife"; (1:24) "So Joseph. to0k.unto him his u2ife.'" The relation of husband and wife between Mary and Joseph is thus plainly asserted in St. Matthew. Both Matthew and Luke frequently place the three holy persons inimmediate j.uxta-position. Thus, (Matthew 2:13) "An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, 'Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into.Egypt'." Four times in the brief nar-rative of the flight into Egypt are the three names thus brought together. St.Luke (2-:16) tells us of the shep-herds that "they found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger." This Evangelist is particularly intent on calling attention to a true parental relationship that bound .Joseph .to the divine Child. Thus (2:27) "And when his parents brought in the child Jesus" (at the Purification); (2:33) "And his father and mother were marvelling at the things spoken concerning him"; (2:41) "His parents were wont to go every year to J.erusalem"; (2:48) "Behold thy father and I have been seeking thee. sorrowing." These latter words, spoken under stress of strong emotion, quite unconsciously reproduce the manner of address current in the holy house at Nazareth. The character of the mutual relations within the Holy Family is thus clearly established in the gospel; Joseph is the bus- 77 ALOY$1US C. KEMPER band of Mary and in a true sense the father of Jesus. The point that should be emphasized on reading this narrative is, that Joseph is not an extrinsic companion to a closely united pair, nor a mere accessory, interested specta-tor, or helper, but is an integral and essential member of this sacred trio. This is a truth that seems often not to have been fully recognized even by those bent on showing Joseph ~his due honor. In the popular mind particularly,due per-haps inpart to catechetical instruction that was calculated to.be both safe and adequate, St. Joseph is the victim of a minimizing p~ocess that deprives him of his full dignity. Frequently the negative statement is stressed that as man 3esus had no father, and that consequently all genuine paternity should be denied his appointed guardian; or that Joseph was merely reputed to be the father by men who mistakenly looked upon Jesus as the carpenter's Son, Jesus not being his Son at all. Similarly it is often thought that ~Joseph was not the real husband of Mary, but only a faith, ful protector, serving as a safeguard to Mary's undoubted ¯ genuine motherhood in. the public eye, a consort-in name but not in reality. Besides, Mary's ~rirginity, sealed by vow, might seem to preclude the possibility of a true mar- ¯ .riage contract that would mak~ the two strictly man and wife. As a result of this endeavor to shield the exclusive divine sonship of the Child, and the virginal conception of the Mother, Joseph's full dignity is sacrificed; and he is denied the glory of the very position whence "derives all his dignity, grace, sanctity and glory," as we heard Leo XIII claim. Joseph is thus reduced almost to the status of an honorary member of the Holy Family and counts for little in the scheme of the Incarnation, Indeed, what appear to us unworthy travesties of the true glory of St. Joseph were 78 ST. JOSEPH'S TITLES TO HONOR seriously maintained and defended by more than one Cath-olic author even during the pontificate Of Leo XIII. How false such a rating of the position of the great Patrihrch would be becomes at once evident if we briefly examine the reasons that underlie the succinct gospel state-ments above enumerated. First of all, the Blessed Virgin contracted a true and proper marriage with Joseph, and this is a truth of faith according to all theologians. There was, therefore, no true sense in which it might .have been said of Mary that she was the reputed wife of Joseph. In the case of both, virginity and marriage were most perfectly con-joined, so that, as LeoXIII strongly urges, bothoare at the same time perfect exemplars of virgins and spouses. The teaching of the Church, confirmed by the Council of Trent, supposes that a true and perfect marriage bond subsists, even ihough the parties do not consummate their union. Such a marriage bond, with all its consequent .rights and duties, existed between the virgin Joseph and the Virgin Mary. They were mutually possessors and guardians of each other's spotless virginity. In the second place, it must ever be borne in mind that Joseph was the father of Jesus in a very real sense. The express statement of the gospel to this effect is not-to ~be qualified by reducing this relationship to a paternity that was only apparent. It was indeed a paternity entirely unique in kind, but most true in every, sense except the one which would make Jesus the Son of Joseph by natural gen-eration. This latter relation Scripture itself is careful to exclude; and it is with reference to this wholly natural paternity that Joseph is asserted to have been merely the reputed father of the Child. Jesus was not the carpenter's Son in the only way the people probably suspected. But He was the virginal, fruit of Mary's womb which could 79 ALOYSIUS C. KEMPER never becomingly and above suspicion have been brought into the world except within the chaste union and intimacy of two virginal spouses. It was entirely necessary for the blessed consort to shield in public esteem the fruitful vir-ginity of his true spouse: and even in this restiicted sense his paternity was no empty name. In what other sense it was real and w~olly admirable will be presently shown. Another consideration to be carefully weighed is this. In the divine plan the whole mystery of God becoming man was to remain profoundly hidden until such time as the reality of this divine prodigy of love could profitably be made public. 3esus Himseff only very gradually and with consummate prudence revealed His divine filiation during His public ministry; and its full import, inclusive of the virgin birth, was scarcely even surmised during Christ's earthly lifetime except by a favored few. Before it became finally known, 3oseph had already departed~this life, when his office of duly obscuring and shielding both the divine Son and the Virgin Mother bad been brought to a close. But this function of obscuring for a time both the Son and the Mother, necessary though it was for the proper execution of the divine decree, was neither the only one nor the most important one to give reality and splendor to the paternity of 3oseph. Suarez2 tersely says: "The Blessed 3oseph not only bore the name of father, but also the sub- Stance and reality which belongs to this name, in as far as it can be participated by any man, carnal_ generation alone excepted. He possessed accordingly a father's affection, solicitude, and even authority." He was fully and admi-rably a father to 3esus in providing Him a true home with all its unspeakable, charming intimacy, with early educa-tion, protection against danger, sustenance earned in the ZDe M~Isteriis Vitae Cbristif'Q. 29, Disp. 8, Sect. 1, n. 4. 80 ST. JOSI~PH'S TITLES TO HONOR sweat of his brow, and all of these exercised in a most per-fect and holy way, towards a Son truly his, as no father either before or after him, In addition to this intimacy Leo XIII, in the encyclical already referred to, thus expresses the reality of Joseph's fatherly office: "Accordingly, from this double dignity (as husband of Mary and father of Jesus) there followed spon-taneously the duties which nature prescribes for fathers of families, so that Joseph was the legitimate and natural guardian, curator, and defender of the divine house over which' he presided. These offices and duties he zealously exercised until the end of his lifel He strove to protect his spouse and the divine Child with supreme love and daily assiduity. He provided by his labor whatever was neces-sary in diet and maintenance for both. He was ever the unfailing companion, helper and consoler of the Virgin and Jesus." These are titles to a singularly sublime father-hood that is ill served by heaping about it the familiai denaturing negatives: "as man, Jesus had no earthly father; Joseph was only/ the foster-father, the reputed father of Jesus, not His real father in any sense." Such, then, are the titles on which isbased the dignity of St. Joseph: he is the true husband of Mary, a real father of Jesus, and an intimate, necessary cooperator in the strategic~ us.hdring into the world of the Incarnate Word. We haye. already heard two popes conclude frbm this unique and exalted position of Joseph that in dignity he excelled all the saints except bnly Mary Immaculate. It is true the Imitation (Book III, 58, n. 2) cautions us not to compa.re the saints one with another or to dispute their relative graces and merits. But for the Virgin and St. Joseph the comparative method alone does justice to the father and mother of Jesus, and most of the Fathers and ecclesiastical ALOYSIUS C. KEMPER writers have resorted to it in their case. Mary's incompa-rable excellence amongst the saints as the Mother of God entitles.her to a special worship reserved exclusively to her which, theologians style h~/perdatia. Since St. 2oseph is now by common consent ranked next to her as belonging to the hypostatic order, as we have seen, attempts hace been made to secure for him also a singular worship to be styled protoclalia, that is, the highest honor paid to any saint after Mary. The Church has not yet yielded to these entreaties, as she has also thus far refused to admit his name into the Cor~iiteor and the Canon of the Mass. On the other hand she has not shown herself averse to the claim now every-where urged that ~loseph is after Mary the greatest of the saints. Rival claims might be made in the case of St. ,lohn the Baptist and the Apostles, and these claims have been care-fully weighed by theologians. Of the Baptist our Lord Himself declared, "Amen I say to you, among those born of women there has ndt risen a greater than ,lohn the Bap-tist" (Matthew 11: 11). Yet our Lord could not have meant tl~is in an absolute sense, for He immediately adds, "Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Relatively to all the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Law the Precursor of the Lamb of God must be placed at the head of them all. It is revealed that he was cleansed from original sin before his birth, but even this extraordinary privilege leaves him still outside the exalted circle of the Holy Family and the immediate actors in the execution of the Incarnation. The question of the superiority of the Apostles in dig-nity over all the other saints except the Mother of God has been reverently asked through the centuries, and conflicting answers have been given. St. Anselm amongst others 82 ST. JOSEPH'S TITLES TO HONOR declares: "Even the Baptist was inferior to'the Apostles in dignity for there is no ministry greater than the aposto-late." St. Thomas seems to favor this view. Suarez~ how-ever; ventures it as a probable opinion that the ministry of St. 3osepb was of a higher order than that of the Apostles for the reason that the latter pertained to the simple order of grace, while Joseph was immediately associated with the Author of grace within the order of the hypostatic union. Hence this theologian modestly concludes, "it is not temer-arious or improbable, but on the contrary a pious and very likely opinion thatSt. 3oseph excelled all other saints in grace and beatitude." The view of St. Thomas he explains by remarking that the Angelic Doctor regarded the aposto-late as the highest ministry in the New Testament; whereas the office of the foster-father of Jesusbelonged properly neither to the 01d nor to the New Testament, but to the Author of both who as the "cornerstone joined them into one." This probable and still too conservative opinion of Suarez, however, has long ago yielded to the unquestioned belief voiced by Leo XIII when he unhesitatingly declares: "There can be no doubt that he (Joseph) approached more closely than any one else .to that most lofty dignity by which the Mother of God so far excelled all other creatures. " We have thus considered the sublime dignity attaching to the double office of Joseph as father of JeSus and spouse of Mary. From this dignity may at once be deduced the eminent gifts of grace with which he was endowed and the incomparable sanctity he attained. It is a theological axiom that God duly apportions grace according to the state and office to Which He calls a soul. Joseph's correspondence with this grace was so perfect that Scripture is content to style him, even before his union with Mary, simply "a just BLoc. tit. sect. 1, n. 10; sect. 2, n. 6. ALOYSIUS C. KEMPER man." How he must have advanced to unspeakable per-fection of sanctity through all the years of daily contem-plation and intimate association with the holy and Immacu-late Virgin, his spouse, and the Holy of Holies, the Incar-nate Son of God! Truly, the life of heaven on earth! A second corollary is deduced by Leo XIII from Joseph's position in the Holy Family. "The divine house," says the.Pontiff, "which Joseph ruled by. fatherly author-ity contained the beginnings of the nascent Church." As a consequence "the blessed Patriarch considers the innu-merable multitudes of Christians that compose the family of the universal Church as entrusted to him in a .special way, and that in it, as the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus, he enjoys practically paternal authority." The dig-nity, sanctity, and power of Joseph, these three are on a par in the mind of the Holy Father; hence his whole ericyclical is a ringing exhortation to all the faithful and to the uni-versal Church to "go to Joseph," to honor him as his exalted dignity demands, to emulate the virtues of his sanc-tity which are resplendent for all classes in the Church, and to have recourse with unfailing confidence to his very real 'fatherly authority by which he is still "lord over his house-hold and ruler of all his possessions." The exhortation of Leo XIII is as timely today as when first uttered; nay if possible, it has grown in timeliness and urgency. Today more than ever, under stress of the most colossal menace that has ever threatened Church, .state, and civilization itself, we shall not fhil to remember one cer-tain haven of refuge, and to make it a precious habit of our spiritual life' in all our needs, to "go to Joseph," after Mary, the greatest of saints. 84 The Scapular Devo!:ion and !:he Sabba!:ine Privilege William A. Donaghy, S.3. ALTHOUGH thousands of Catholic~ loyally wear the little cloth yoke which is the symbol of their ~levo. tion to our Lad~, many of them are unaware of the Spiritual wealth with which the Church has endowed the Scapular. Most Catholics~ moreover; are ignorant of the wide variety of scapulars; and there are many minor points and problems connected with the devotion that even reli-gious might profitably consider. It is the purpose of this article to present a brief sketch of the devotion's historical background, to give some of the theology connected with it, and to indicate moral and pastoral aspects of it. The traditional account of the rise and growth of the Scapular devotion brings us back tO the thirteenth cen-tury. In those ancient days, the English Crusaders brought back to England from Palestine a little group of .hermits who had been living the religious life on Mount Carmel, the rugged backdrop against which Elias the prophet had confounded the priests of Baal, as the Third Book of Kings recounts. In England, these brethern were joined by a fiery hermit named Stock--so called, because he had been living peni-tentially in the trunk, or stock, of a tree. Much like the Baptist was this shaggy zealot, in his rough clothing, his gauntness, and his white-hot devotion to God. When he attached himself to the Carmelites, he took tl~e significant name of Simon, a name wealthy in memories and prophetic of leadership. The tiny band prospered so well in England that soon WILLIAM A. DONAGHY their numbers demanded some sort of local supervision and jurisdiction. Simon Stock was named Vicar-General and, in the year 1245, he was designated General of the whole. ¯ order. ~ All along, the ideal of these holy men had been one of strict seclusion, prayer, and penance. But at that time, even as in our own, students were thronging to the universi-ties; and the need of a highly educated clergy to guide this intellectual generation became increasingly apparent. Simon decided to train his younger members to meet this demand: buk some of the elders regarded his decision as a desertion of the cloister and a dangerous innovation against which they "firmly set their faces. Meanwhile, outside the cloister walls, jealous eyes had been observing the rise and growing influ-ence of the Friars, and now these enemies raised an outcry for the suppression of this "upstart" order. Sagging beneath his ninety years and the burdens of office, besieged from Without and suspected within his own household, Simon Stock withdrew, in 125f, to the mon-astery at Cambridge, where he begged a sign of solace from the Queen of Heaven. Apparelled in light and attended by angels our Lady appeared to him holding in her hand the- B~own"Scapular: "Receive, my beloved son," she said, "this habit of thy order; this shall be to thee and to all Carmel-ites a privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire." Almost a century later, Mary appeared again, this time to the man who was short!y to become Pope 3ohn XXII. To the future Pontiff, she gave new evidence of her gener-osity and extended and enlarged the Scapular Promise by an addition which has come to be known as the Sabbatine or Saturday Privilege." Afterhis elevation to Peter's chair, 3ohn published this private revelation in a Papal Bull. Our 86 THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION Lady had assured him that she would release from Purga-tory any members of her order on the Saturday following their deaths. Let us now examine these promises more in detail to see what they mean and imply: The Scapular promise, in the first place, comprises.two elements: 1) "Whoever dies clothed in this habit"; 2) "shall not suffer the fires of Hell." Now, only the members of the Carmelite Confraternity are entitled to wear the "habit," that is, the Brown Scapu~ lar. Hence the words of our Lady, "clothed in this habit," involve membership in that confraternity. One must, therefore, voluntarily enlist in Mary's great brotherhood before a priest authorized either by the Holy See or by the Carmelite General, to receive members. The officiating priest, moreover, unless he has a special privilege to the contrary, must enter the name of any new confrfire in a reg-ister of the Confraternity. Now formally admitted, the candidate is allowed to wear the Scapular; he is now "clothed in this habit." Obviously the large habit of Carmel fulfills this condi-tion; as does its small imitation, the Brown Scapular. And by grant of Plus X, in 1910, the scapular medal may now take the place of any cloth scapular in which one has been validly ~nrolled1. The subsequent words of the Scapular promise guaran-. tee that any wearer of the "habit" will escape the fires of hell. We must not, however, interpret this falsely. A man who dies in mortal sin, no matter what his garb, cannot be saved; that is eternal truth. What, then, does the assurance 1In allowing the substitution of the medal for the various scapulars, Pins X stated that those wearing the medal could gain all indulgences and participate in all spiritual favors attached to the scapulars. Nevertheless, some consider it safer to use the Brown Scapular itself when trying to bring about the death-bed conversion of impeni-tent sinners. Cf, The Ecclesiastical Reoiew, 3ul~r, 1941, p. 43. reED. 87 WILLIAM A. DONAGHY . mean? To determine the meaning, it will help to recall the general nature of the various scapular confraternities. As we shall see later, there are many scapulars and many ¯ scapular confraternities. Through the years, the Popes have decreed the patronage, ,guidance, and control of these pious org:inizations to different religiqus orders and con-gregations of the Church., When, therefore, a man joins a confraternity, he aggregates himself in some degree to the religious body which has special control of that confra-ternity; and he thereby participates in the end and purpose of that order or congregation. All these great religious :communities have this in common, that it is their aim and intent to strive towards perfection in the spirit and accord-ing to the path of the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and. obedience. In their .degree, the scapular con,- fraternities share the aim and object of the parent order or congregation; .hence the confreres, to a limited extent, pledge fidelity, to the same high evangelical ideal. Merely to wear the scapular without baying this spirit in the soul would not only not be virtuous; it would be perilously close to, the,dry and sterile Pharisaism which our Lord so mercilessly, .ondemned. The scapular, .too, is a link which binds the wearer to the members of the first and second orders and to his fellow .members in the confraternity, thus enabling him to share on earth some of .the special fruits of the communion of saints. How absi~rd'and dangerous it would be, then, to imag-ine that th~ scapular is a magical amulet, charm, or fool-proofs. passport to heaven! Against the Semi-Pelagians who exalted man's natural powers and self-sufficiency the Coun-cil of Orange hurled a definition which re-echoed in Trent. For the Church teaches that even for the just man, the actual grace of perseverance requires a special help from 88 THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION God. It is in the light of this dogma, in fact, that some great theologians seem to understand the Scapular p.romise; for they interpret it to mean that anyone dying in our Lady's . confraternity and wearing her scapular will receive through her at the hour of death either t.he grace of perseverance or the grace of final contrition. The lessons for the office of St. Simon Stock quote the promise. But before he sanc-tioned- the office, Pope Leo XIII inserted the adverb "piously" ("pie"), to make the promise read: "Whoever dies piously wearing this habit will not suffer the flames of hell." Turning now to the Sabbatine or Saturday Privilege, .we find that the Bull of John XXII proclaiming the privi-lege declares that our Lady wanted John "to. make known to all that on the Saturday following their death she would deliver from Purgatory all who wore the Carmelite Scapu-lar." In a Bull of approbation, Paul V confirms the prom-ise but confines its application to those "who in life wore our Lady's habit, were chaste according to their state, recited the Little Office, and abstained on Wednesdays and Satur-days except when Christmas fell on one of those days. These: clients will Mary help by her intercession and her special protection after their death, especially on Saturday, the day which the Church has especially dedicated to. her." It is worthy of note that a priest who has the faculty of receiving candidates into the Scapulhr Confraternity. has also the power to commute the conditions necessary for the Sabbatine Privilege and to substitute other devotional practices. As Pope Paul. lays them down, the requirements whereby one renders oneself eligible for the Sabbatine privilege are too clear to need further explanation. Once again the shining sanity and unshakable love of truth WILLIAM A. DONAGHY which characterize the Church have removed any danger of pre.sumption or superstition. Thus far we have given the traditionally accepted accounts 6f these two private revelations to St. Simon Stock and Pope 3ohn XXII and have made the obvious commentary on them. However, it is only fair to admit that these revelations have been attacked not only by non- Catholics but by sincere Catholic scholars as well.- For-tunately, ¯ we do not have to examine the evidence of the conflicting parties and decide the matter for ourselves. .We can raise the whole controversy to the higher plane of dogmatic values. Several Pontiffs have blessed and approved the scapular promise and the Sabbatine privi-lege; under the watchful eye of the Church, thesedevotions have been preached for centuries; and such confirmation of their validity is sufficient proof for the Catholic mind which realizes that the living, teaching Church rests not on the cornerstone of a library but on the Rock that is°Peter. It is true, .of course, that the great public revelation which Christ committed to His Apostles closed with the death of the last Apostle. It is this. fixed and unchanging body of truth which the Church guards. When from time totime She defines a dogma; she affirms that the truth in question,, actually and really is part of ,that' Apostolic deposit of faith. Other private revelations which have come to individuals down through the ages/neither augment nor complement the Apostolic revelation. Strictly speaking, therefore, one is not bound ,to beli~v,e in them; nor, do they. as such, pertain to the authority of the Church. But it is the office of the Church authentically to interpret and authoritatively to decide whether or not the content of such revelations agrees with the eternal truth of which she is divinely instituted custodian. She could not condone any 90 THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION offense against either faith or morals. In his great work on the Sacred Heart devotion, which was privately revealed to St. Margaret Mary, Father Bain-vel points out that the Church's approbation signifies that there is nothing in the devotion contrary to faith or morals. Moreover, Margaret Mary's holiness, on which the Church has set the crown of canonization, is ampl~ testimony of her right to,be believed. The apparition to her is, as Father Pesch notes, only the occasion of public worship of the Sacred Heart; the real reason for the worship is the author-ity of the teaching Church accepting the devotion and incorporating it into her liturgy. So, too, with the Scapular devotion. No matter what one may think of its historical foundations, it rests on the bed-rock of divine authority. Perhaps there is no bette~r proof of the Church's attitude towards the Scapular than the indulgences, almost "innumerable" as St. Alphonsus exclaims, which she has heaped on it. Best known and most widespread of all scapulars is the Carmelite Brown Scapular, to which the foregoing remarks apply. But there are many other scapulars. One fre-quently hears references to the "five scapulars"; and it might be interesting to mention and describe them sketchily. The white scapular of the Most Bleised Trinity, marked by a blue and red cross, is the badge of the confraternity associ-ated with the ~Trinitarians. Then there is the red scapular of the Passion, control and direction of which Pius IX com-mitted to the Lazarists; the blue scapular of the Immaculate Conception, under the Theatine Fathers; the black scapular .of the Seven Dolors represents the confraternity which the Servite Fathers direct. These, with the Carmelite scapular, are the "five scapulars." As we have mentioned, a priest receives the faculty to 91 WILLIAM A. DONAGHY admit members into these various confraternities either from the Holy See or from the General Superior ofthe reli-gious family in charge of the confraternity. The receiving priest must-bless the scapular and invest the candidate with it, although it is sufficient investitureif the priest simply lays the scapular across the shoulder of the recipient. During a mission, or when there is a great crowd of candidates to be admitted, some priests have the power of enrolling people in the scapular without personally placing it on the person who is to wear it. For the blessing of a scapular, the simple .sign of the cross is not sufficient; the priest must use the prescribed formula, which is necessary for validity, though he may always use the shortest of the three blessings given in the Roman Ritual. Furthermore, any priest who has the faculty to bless scapulars and the resultant power to enroll candidates in the corresponding confraternities, has also the power to enroll himself. What of the scapulars themselves? They must not be round or oval but must be square or oblong; they must be made Qf wool, and, although it is permitted to ornament them with needlework.or painting,, the color proper to each must prevail. These conditions all affect validity. In the Ecclesiastical. Review for August, 19411 Mr. John Haffert pointed out that approximately half a million worthless Scapulars are bought annually in the United States. Unscrupulous dealers make them of felt, which is cheaper ¯ than wool. The cords binding the oblongs of the scapular may be of any material or color, except for the scapular of the Pas-sion which requires red woolen strings. The scapulars must be. worn constantly, but if one has laid them aside for a perio~t, he may resume wearing them and thus revive his title to the privileges and indulgences attached to them. 92 THE SCAPUL,~R DEVOTION Only the first scapular needs to be blessed; after that, one simply get a new pair and puts them on. The scapular medal is a substitute for the cloth scapu-lar, granted by Plus X, in 1910. Missionaries request~ed the concession, because the wearing of the cloth scapular was a great inconvenience for their native converts. The l~ontiff did not wish to have the medal supplant the cloth scapular, however: and his successor Plus XI permitted a protected scapular, enclosed in ~loth, to overcome objec-tions of a sanitary sort. Other great theologians look with regret on the passing of the cloth scapular and the popu-larity of the medal; but the medal has official approval and styles have changed so radically since 1910 that many more now have reason to substitute the medal for the cloth scapu-lar. ~!~rho may bles~ the scapular medal? Any priest having the power to bless that scapular which the medal is to replace; and a simple sign of the cross is sufficient to endow the medal with precisely the same indulgences which the cloth- scapular would enjoy.° In fact, the priest may bless many scapular medals, even if he cannot see them--as would be the case in a crowded church. But if a medal is to represent several different scapulars, the Sign of the cross should be repeated for each of those different scapulars. These are only a few aspec[s of, the scapular, the humble heraldic symbol of devotion to the Queen of Heaveri. There are many others and one might write a long work on the subject. But the whole matter is .admirably summed up for us, as far as its practical side goes, in the words of St. J~lphonsus de Liguori, the Church's great Doctor of Morals. He epitomizes his own attitude towards this devo-tion briefly and significantly: "For my own part," he writes, "I havebeen careful.to receive all these scapulars." Pert:ec!:ion and !:he Religious Augustine Klaas, S.J. " I. Introduction //r~EI~FECTION is for priests and religious. I am only a layman. I am fortunate to keep my soul in sanc-tifying grace. Perfection is not for me." --- Religious have often enough heard similar views expressed by good, exemplary layfolk, who seem to imply that they would lead the perfect life if only it were "for them." Is the life of perfection "'for them" ? Most certainly it is. Priests and religious have no monopoly on perfection. The invitation to it comes to the laity from the lips of Our Lord, Who, after He had explained the principles of perfection in the Sermon on the Mount, said to the multitude: "You there-fore are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is per.- .fect" (Matthew 5:48). St. Peter echoes these words in a letter to the Christian communities of Asia Minor: "As the One who called you is holy, be you also holy in all your behavior" (I Peter 1 : 15). And St. Paul: "This is the will ofGod,your sanctification". (I Thessalonians 4:3). Later St. Paul clarifies this. idea when he transmits to the Colos-sians the greetings of Epaphras, "who is ever solicitous for you in his prayers, that you may remain perfect and com-pl'etely in accord with all the will of God" (Colossians 4:12). That this is not an easy task was declared by Christ Himielf when He said to all: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Though not always cor-rectly understood, even by religious, this doctrine of uni-versal perfection has been the constant teaching of the Cath- 94 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS olic Church. It is forcefully reiterated by Pius XI in his encyclical on St. Francis de Sales ($anuary 26, 1923) ;. "We cannot accept the belief that this command of' Christ (Matthew 5:48 above, previously cited by the Holy Father) concerns only a select and privileged group of souls and that all others may consider themselves pleasing to Him if they have attained to a lower degree of holiness. Quite. the contrary is true, as appears from the very generality of His words. The law of holiness embraces all men and admits of no exception. What is more, it appears that Francis de Sales was given to the Church by God for a very special mission. His task was to give the lie to the prejudice which in his lifetime was deeply rooted and has not been destroyed even today, that the ideal of genuine sanctity held UP for our imitation by the Church is impossible of attain-ment or, at best, is so difficult that it surpasses the capabili-ties of the great majority of the faithful and is, therefore, to be thought of as the exclusive possession of a few great souls. St. Francis likewise disproved the false idea that holiness was so hedged around by annoyances and hard-ships that it is inadaptable to a life lived outside cloister walls." Again, in the Encyclical on Marriage (December 31, 1930) : "For all men, of every condition and in whatever honorable walk of life they may be, can and ought to imi-tate that most perfect example of holiness, placed before man by God, namely, Christ our Lord, and by God's grace to arrive at the summit of perfection:" Hence, we see that men, women, and children, of every age, condition of society, and state of life not only can but should ascend the mountain of perfection even to its lofty summits. And they have done so. Some, like King Louis of 95 AUGUSTINE KLAAS France or Henry Of Germany, Queen Elizabeth of Hun-gary, Chancellor Thomas More of England or the lowly Benedict Labre of France, have been declared officially to have reached a heroic degree of perfection. Many more, like Matt Talbot, the lumberyard worker; Jerome Jaegen, the banker; Anna-Maria Taigi, the housewife; Frederick Ozanam, the professor; and Guy de Fontgalland, the pupil, have not yet been canonized. Tens of thousands more have their lives of heroic perfection writtdn only in the Book of' Life!. If the laity have a.strong invitation to strive for perfec-tion, the clergyhave a~command to seek that perfection implied in their high vocation. The Canon Law of the Church declares that "clerics must lead an interior and exterior life holiertha'n that of the laity and give thes~ the good example of virtu'e and good works." The .Bishop must see to it "that allclerics receive.~frequently the Sacra-ment of Pen;ince to be purified of their faults; that each day they apply themselves duriffg a certain length of time to the exercise of mental prayer, visit the Most Blessed Sacrament, recite the beads in honor of the Blessed M6ther of God, and make their examination of conscience . . . " (Cf. Canons 124-127). These-are essential spiritual practices leading directly to that high spiritual perfection demanded of the priesthood by.Christ and His Church., No one~ can read the ',Exhortation to the Catholic Clergy" of Pius X or.the Encyclical of Plus XI on the Priesthoodwithout being con-vinced of the necessity of perfection for the clergy. Their sublime calling to be "other Christs," their daily ministry 1Canon Arendzen raises an interesting question in The Clergg Review for October, 1941, p. 248. He wants to know whether the Church has ever canonized a married saint, apar~ from martyrdom? By married person he means one who ,actually lived in conjugal life till death, not widowers or widows, or persons who, though m~rried. lived as brother and Sister, at least for many years. If the answer is negative, it Would seem to indicate that abstinence from conjugal life is a prerequisite of heroic sanctity, or at least of canonization. What do our readers think about it? 96 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS of offering the Holy Sacrifice and of dispensing the Sacra-ments to the faithful requires much more than ordinary holiness of life. indeed, St. Thomas says that to serve Christ - in the Sacrament of the Altar "a greater interior sanctity is required than even the religious state demands." Then, too, effectiveness in apostolic work is altogether bound up with spiritual perfection. The Cur~ of Ars brought an averag~ of three hundred penitents a day to his confessional, not so much by eloquence of sermon or exactitude of litur-gical function as by his eminent personal holiness. So important is perfection for the clergy that theologians speak of a "state of perfection" for him who has the plentitude of the priesthood, the Bishop: his consecration presupposes in him a high degree of perfection already attained. Religious also are said tO be in the "state of perfection," that is, the state of perfection to be acquired. Religious are not necessarily perfect when they enter into the religious life, but they have the obligation to strive for perfection; they must put forth an honest effort to attain to it. The Canon Law of the Church defines the religious state as "the firmly established manner of living in community, by which the faithful undertake to observe not only the ordinary pre-cepts but also the ~vangelical counsels, by means of the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty" (Canon 487), ~and declares that "each and every religious, superior as well as subject, is bound to tend toward the perfection of his state" (Canon 593). Hence, perfection is the specialty of reli-gious, the object and goal of their whole lives. They must strive earnestly for it, according to their particular institute and rule. Indeed, to refuse outright to do so, cannot-be excused from sin. The nature and limits of this obligation upon religious to strive for perfection will be discussed in a later section of thi~ article. This, at least, is true: there is AUGUSTINE KLAAS no state of life in which perfection is easier of attainment,. since in the religious life so many obstacles t6 it are removed and so many efficacious means to achieve it ~are provided. Hence, .it is not at all surprising to note the preponderance of religious who have been raised to the honors Of the altar. Statistics show that of the one hundred and forty-six saints canonized between 1600 and 1926, one hundred and ten were religious~. In a world-wide radio broadcast on Febru-ary 12, 1931, Pope Pius XI addressed to the religious of the Whole world these encouragin~ words on the excellence Of the religious life: "Sfriving after thebetter gifts and observing not only ' the precepts but also the wishes and counsels of the Divine King and Spouse by the faithful observance of your holy vows and by the religious discipli.ne of your entire lives, you render the Church of God fragrant with the odor Of vir-ginity, you enlighten her by your contemplations, you support her by your prayers, you enrich her by your knowl-edge and teaching, you daily perfect and strengthen her by your ministry of the word and by the works of your apos: tolate. Therefore, as you are partakers of a truly heavenly and angelical vocation, the more precious the treasure you carry, the,more careful watch you must keep, so that you do Got only make. your vocation and election certain, but also .that in you, as in most faithful and devoted servants, the Heart of .the King and Spouse may find some consolation and reparation for the infinite offenses and negligences with which men requite His ineffable love." II. Perfection, In General Perfection, then, is for the layman, the cleric, anti in a peiuliar way for the religious. Whatever may be the pre- 2Incidentall~r. the first nun to be solemnl~r canonized b~i the Church was Saint Clare of Assisi. She died in 1253 and was canonized in 1255. Her feast is celebrated on August 12. PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS cise nature of the obligation and invitation to perfection, it is certain that perfection is possible for all. and strongly urged upon every one without exception. Does this mean that perfection is manifold? Is there one kind of perfection for the layman, another for the priest, and still another for the religious? By no m~ans. Perfection is one. Essentially, perfection is the sameforall. It is the same as to object and general means. What differences occur, are only incidental, a matter of different specific means employed, a matter of different circumstances, environment, and opportunity. Nor do religious orders and dongregations differ essentially as to the perfection for which they strive, each in its own particular way. Basically, the perfection of Francis of Assisi, Benedict, Dominic, or Ignatius Loyola does not differ from that of Theresa of Avila, 2oan of Arc, Sophie Barat, .Pius the Fifth, Charles Borromeo, John Vianney, Thomas More, or Francis de Sales. There are many lanes and many types of ~ars On the lanes and various travellers in the cars, but there is only one broad highway of perfed-tion leading to God. What is the nature of this common essential perfec-tionmperfection in the strict sense--sought after by lay-man, priest, and religious alike? A simple illustration or two will help to clarify our ideas. A watch is perfect when~ it fulfills the purpose for whic~ it was made, namely,, to tell the correct time. This it will unfa!lingly do if all its parts are in place and if it functions exactly. Presupposing the parts, a watch's perfection lies mainly in its functioning, in its faultless activity. Not that a perfect watch must always be running. It must however be capableof running per-fectly, capable of achieving its purpose, the telling of ,the exact time. Hence, we may say that the perfection of a watch consists in its habitual disposition to' function so as 99 AUGUSTINE KLAAS to unerringly tell the time. Or consider the student. The purpose of the student is to acquire the knowledge and intellectual proficiency demanded by the academic degree he is seeking. Granted that he has talent, sufgicient health, books, and other necessary acquirements, he will secure this kriowledge and consequently his degree by his activity,, his mental activity reflection, study, and research. And, other things being equa.1, the more develof0ed and precise his intellectual activity~ is, the .more perfectly will he achieve his purpose, the acquirement of knowledge and his degree. The perfection of the student therefore consists mainly in his intellectual activity. This does not mean that he ceases "to be a student the moment he stops studying, for he remains a student even though he '. sleeps~-of course, at-the proper time and place! What~makes him a student is an acquired disposition, a habit of intellectual activity in the pursuit of knowledge. The m6re perfect his mental habit and activity are, the more perfect a student will he be and the more per, fectly .will he .acqui/e knowledge and his degree. The purpose for which God. made man is that~ ulti-mately man be united to God in the enjoyment of the beatific vision in heaven. Now, this union admits of degrees. It will be more perfect in proportion as-sancti, lying grace is gr~eater in the soul when man comes :to the end of his earthly life. Thus, practically speaking, man's~per~ fection in this life consists in maintaining and increasing sanctifying grace in his soul, so that this life of grace may grow more and more "to perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). How is this sanctifying grace increased in the soul? In two ways: first, by the worthy reception of the sacraments, which of themselves, as God's instruments for imparting grace,---ex, opere operato, as the theologians say,mincrease 100 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOU6 sanctifying grace in the soul; and secondly, by our activ-ity, bex opere operantis which can merit an increase of sanctifying grace. Like .that of the watch and student above, our perfection will consist principally in our activity. But what kind of activity? Not necessarilyphysical activity, for the Brother who excels as an athlete will not inevitably be more perfect than the Brother bound by paralysis to a wheel-chair. Neither does perfec~tion consist in mere intellectual activity, since Sister Mary Sapientia hugging her doctorate of philosophy is not necessarily more perfect than Sister Mary Martha hugging her pots and pans in the kitchen. Possibly Anna-Maria Taigi, that incom-parable plebeian housewife and mother, was more perfect than her learned confessor, and Guy de Fontgalland than some of his professors. Perfection does not consist in physi-cal prowess or intellectual acumen; perfection is concerned principally with will activity, that is, moral activity, the doing of good. And this moral activity is not merely natural: many pagans in the modern world do an immense amount of good but they are far from the perfection we are speaking of. When we speak of perfection we mean super-natural moral activity, that will activity which presupposes sanctifying grace in the soul and has the assistance of actual grace in its performance. Furthermore, perfection does not mean a bare minimum of doing good, but the utmost in quantity and quality, according to our capacities of nature and of grace, according to our circumstances of time, place, and opportunity. By frequent acts of doing good we merit an increase of sanctifying grace in the soul. By frequent acts of doing good a stable disposition or readiness" to do good. is formed, which in turn facilitates further good acts. Hence,- spiritual perfection may be defined as fi habitual supernatural disposition or readiness to accomplish as much good as one's IOL . AUGUSTINE KLAAS capac.ities and opportunities permit. By the' acts that flow from this disposition, by doing the maximum good, we achieve our life's purpose, the maximum growth of sancti-fying- grace in our souls and ultimately a greater union with God in the happiness of heavens. In heaven alone shall we ac.complish good to the t:ult extent of our capacities of nature and of grace. On earth, only two persons have done so, Jesus Christ, because He was the God-Man, and the Blessed Virgin, by special privi-lege. Ordinarily, however, it is impossible to realize this supreme ideal of perfection. In fact, it could be heresy to say that it were possible, for Catholic theology teaches that without a special privilege we cannot abstain for a lengthy period of time from committing at least semi-deliberate venial sins, that is,.sins of frailty and surprise, and hence, to that extent, we shall always fail to do our full measure of good. To the end of our lives we shall ever sincerely pray "forgive us this day our trespasses." The Church has condemned repiatedly the doctrine of an entirely~ sinless perfection in thisworld, as was taught by Pelagius, Molin0s, and others. On the other hand, the Church has also con-demhed in no uncertain terms the Alumbrados and the Qaietists for maintaining that we can arrive at such a state of lofty perfection that, overflowing~ with divine grace, we can neither progress nor regress any more in the spiritual life. Now, if there are limits to our sinlessness and limits tff our positive capacity for doing good, we can never accom-plish all the good of which we are theoretically capable: we can never reach the ideal norm of perfection. Neither did the saints attain tO it upon this earth. What, then, does aFor a fuller development of these ideas, confer Zimmerm~nn, Otto, S.J., Lebrbacb dee Aszetik, Herder, 1932, p. 16 ft. 102 DERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS perfection in this life really mean? It means an ~ver closer approximation to the ideal, the getting as near to the ideal as is humanly possible with the measure of God's grace.- given to us. This is exactly what the saints did. It means negatively, the avoidance of. deliberate venial sins and the greatest possible avoidance, of imperfections and semi-deliberate venial sins; and positively, the utmost perform-ance ofall good, whether¯ of precept or of counsel. Coun~ sel, of course, as here understood, is not restricted to the evangelical olaes of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but is taken in its w~dest sense, as referring to anything not of obligation: for example, to hear Mass on Sunday is a pre-cept, but to hear Mass on an ~ ordinary week-day may be a counsel for a particular individual. There is now no ques-tion of ~mortal sin. The ,battle against fully deliberate venial sin has been won, though occasional lapses may still . occur. Imperfections and semi-deliberate venial sins are avoided as much as possible. God's commandments and precepts, and above all. His counsels are faithfully carried out as far as is humhnly possible with the aid of God's grace in our particular position and circumstances of life. Hence, practically speaking, spiritual perfection consists in the habitual disposition and readiness of soul tO avoid imper-fections" and semi-deliberate venial sins as much as possible and, presupposing the observance of the precepts, in the utmost carrying out of the counsels, according to one's par-ticular circumstances of life and measure of God's grace imparted. This common perfection, sought after so earnestly by priests, religious, and laity, cannot be computed mathe-matically; it will vary with the individual, according to the many factors involved. ~lust as we cannot estimate the heroic perfection of the canonized saints relative to each 103 AUGUSTINE KLAA8 other or indeed to uncanonized ones, so we cannot estimate the perfection of individuals on this earth, except in a very general way: Perhaps spiritual perfection may be com-pared to exquisite perfume; individuals to vials. The vials are of various types, colors, capacities, artistic designs, and values: the excellent perfume in them is of almost countless blends, some very rare and costly. All, however, have a quality in common; all give forth the sweet fragrance of perfection, so pleasing to God and to. man. Perfection, as we have said, consists mainly in activity. Now, spiritual activity implies the possession and exercise of the virtues. Among the varied combination of virtues found in persons striving for perfection, is there one which always predominates? Is there one virtue which rules all the others like a queen and may be called the essence of perfe.ction? (To be continued) ANNOUNCEMENT After the publication of the first issue of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, we received many kind letters ofcommendation. We tried to answer ¯ each.letter, but we found that impossible. We wish to take the pres-ent occasion of thanking all who have sent us encouragement and suggestions. When the ,January issue was published, we printed what we con-sidered an amply sufl~cien~ number to satisfy all requests for back numbers and sample copies. But our supply was soon exhausted. However, we have arranged for a reprinting, and we shall soon be ablk to satisfy those who wish their subscriptions to begin with Volume 1, Number 1. --THE EDITORS. 104 RecornrnendecJ Spiritual Books THE PRESENT list of spiritual books and those that will follow from time to time are designed to be of practical assistance to religious, who by rule and inclination do a considerable amount of spiritual reading each year. The lists will include the spiritual classics of the past and also those more modern sl~iritual books which are of greater worth to religious. Only works written in English or that have been translated into English will be listed. Communities that are gradually building up a spiritual library will find in these guiding lists that fundamental nucleus of worthwhile books that must be the foundation of any spiritual library. No attempt was made to make this list complete, as it will be added to periodically. The books listed are for genera/, spiritual reading, unless otherwise indicated. Another list for general use will appear in an early issue of the REVIEW; and these will be fol-lowed by lists of a more specialized nature, for example, books for young religious, for more mature religious, meditation books, books on higher prayer, and so forth. Suggestions will be welcomed. In citing the books, it was deemed sufficient to give the name of the author in alphabetical order, the yearof his death if he is no loriger living, and the title of the book. Occasionally a short com-ment is added. Publishers are not mentioned, as these books can be procured through any large publishing house or bookstore. Read-ers may find it helpful to make a card-index list of these authors, as this can be conveniently augmented. I would suggest to those who are beginning a library to purchase the more modern books first, and then add the older classics progres-sively. Specifically, I would recommend starting with the following authors: Goodier, Leen, Marmion, Maturin, Mother Loyola, ~Plus, Pourrat, Saudreau, and Tanquerey. Of course, spiritual books per-tinent to one's own order or congregation will generally be given the ~reference in any library. Small communities that cannot afford a large library might obtain the advantages of such a library by pooling resources with other houses, and establishing some practical circulating system. ---~UGUSTINE KLAAS, S.J. 105 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS ADAM, KARL The Spirit ,of Catholicism. Christ Our Brother. The Son of God. All excellent books for inspiration. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, SAINT (1787) Ascetical Works, transJated by Grimm. 12 vols. AUGUSTINE, SAINT (430) The Confessions, edited by Dora ¯Roger Huddleston. Readings from St. Augustine on the Psalms, edited by Jos. Rickaby, S.J. The Teachings of St. Augustine on Prayer and the Contempla-tive Life, by Hugh Pope, O.P. BASIL, SAINT (379) Ascetical Works, edited by W. Clarke. 1 volume. These works describe the fundamental principles of monastic asceticism. BENEDICT, SAINT (543) The Rule of St. Benedict, translated with an introduction by Cardinal Gasquet. .The Rule of St. Benedict: A Commentary, by D0m Paul De-latte. Benedictine' Monachisrn, by Dom Cuthbert Butler. BERNARD, SAINT (1 153) Treatise on Consideration. translated by a priest of Mount Melleray. Treatise on the Love of God, translated by R. Terence Connolly. The Steps of Humility, translated by G~ B. Burch. The Life and Teachings of St. Bernard, by A. 3. Luddy, O. Cist. (Expensive.) Plus XI, in an Apostolic Letter recommended the reading of St. Bernard to religious. BLOS!US, ABBOT LOUIS, O.S.B. (1566) Spiritual Works. 6 volumes. ~ BONAVENTURE, SAINT (1274) Holiness of Life, edited by Ft. Wilfrid, O.F.M. Franciscan View of the Spiritual and Religious Life,mthree ,treatisds of St. Bonaventure, translated by P. D. Devas. Meditations on the Life of Christ, translated by Sister M. Em-manuel, O:S.B. (Excellent Fianciscan meditations, but of doubtful authenticity.) The works of St. Bonaventure were also recommended by Pius XI. 106 RECOLLV~NDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS BRUYERE, MADAME CECILIA (1909) Spiritual Life and Prayer. CABROL, ABBOT ~'-'ERNAND, O.S.B. Liturgical Prayer, Its History and Spirit. The Mass, Its Doctrine, Its History. The Year's Liturgy: Volume I, The Seasons; Volume II, The Sanctoral. CATHERINE OF SIENA, SAINT (1380) The Dialogue, translated by A. Thorold. Letters, edited by V. D. Scudder. CHAOTARD, JOHN B., O. CIST. (1936) The True Apostolate, translated by F. Girardey,C.SS.R. (On the relation of spiritual life to apostolic activity.) FABER FREDERICK W. (1863) Bethlehem. At the Foot of the Cross. All for Jesus. The Creator and the Creature. The Blessed Sacrament. Growth in Holiness. The Precious Blood. Spiritual Conferences. Faber's works are devotional and acutely psychological. FARGES, MSGR. ALBERT The Ordinary Ways of the Spiritual Life. (One of the best treatises on ascetical life.) FRANCIS DE SALES, SAINT (1622) Library of St. Francis de Sales. 7 volumes. St. Francis is the patron Saint of spiritual writers. His works were also recommended to religious by Plus XI. All religious should read them. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, SAINT (1226) The Wdtings of St. Francis of Assisi, translated by P. Robin-son, O.F.M. The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi. The Ideals of St. Francis of Assisi, by H. Felder, O.M.Cap. GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE, REGINALD, O.P. Christian Perfection and Contemplation, translated by Sister M. Timothea, O.P. (One of the most widely discussed books in recent years.) GASQUET, F.AIDAN CARDINAL (1929) Religio Religiosi, (On the purpose and end of the religious life.) GAY, BISHOP CHARLES (1892) Christian Life and Virtues. Religious Life and Vows. 107 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOI~ GOODIER, ARCHBISHOP ALBAN (1939) The Public Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 vols. The Passion and Death of. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Ascetical and Mgstical Theologg. The Life that is Light. 3 vols. (Meditation Outlines.) The Meaning of Life, and Other Essags." Witnesses to .Christ: Studies in the Gospels. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ, the Model of Manhood. A More Excellent .Wag. (A ~pamphlet.) The School of Love. The Prince of Peace, Meditations. The Crown of Sorrow, Meditations~ Fiftg Meditations on the Passion. The Risen Jesus, Meditations. GOURAUD, MSGR. ALSlME. A Return to the Novitiate. (For monthly recollection.) GUARDINI, ROMANO The Spirit of the Lit~rgg. The Church and the Catholic. Sacred Signs. HEDLEY, BISHOP JOHN (19,15) The Holg Eucharist. The Light of Life. "['he Spirit of Faith. Wisdom from Abooe. Our Divine Saviour and Other Discourses. Lex Levitarum. or Preparation for the Cure o( Souls. A Spiritual Retreat for Priests. : A Spiritual Retreat for Religious. A Retreat: Thirtg-Three Discourses. IGNATIUS LOYOLA, SAINT (1556) The Spiritual Exercises. The Spiritual Exercises of ~St. Ignati'us, translation and commen-tary by J. Rickaby, S.J. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, .with commentary by A. Ambruzzi, S.J. A Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by A. Ambruzzi, S.J. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL, SAINT (1641 ): The "Spiritual Life. JOHN OF THE CROSS, SAINT (15 91 )' Complete Works. translated and edited by E. Allison Peers. 3 vols. (For mature religious.) 108 RECO/vIMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS JUERGENSMEIER, FRIEDRICH The Mystical Body of Christ as the Basic Principle of Religious Life. (A complete treatise on the spiritual life in terms ¯ . of the Mystical Body.) KEPPLER, BISHOP PAUL WILHELM (1926) " More Joy. On Suffering. LALLEMANT, LOUIS, S.3. ' (1635) Spiritual Doctrine. (For mature religious.) LEEN, EDWARD, C.S.SP. Progress through Mental Prayer. In the Likeness of Christ. The Holy Ghost and His Work in.Souls. Why the Cross? The True Vine and Its Branches. All are highly recommended. LOYOLA, MOTHER MARY (1933 The Child of God. Confession and Communion. Trust, A Book of Meditations. Welcome! Holy Communion: Before and :~fter. Hail Full of Gracer. Thoughts on the Rosary. With the Church. 2 vols. CoramSanct~simo desus of Nazareth. Heavenwards. MARMION, ABBOT COLUMBA, O.S.B. (1923)~ Christ the Life of the Soul. ,~ Christ in His Mysteries. Christ the Ideal o~ the Monk. Sponsa Verbi. The Way of the Cross. Words of Life on ~he Margin of the M~ssal. Sayings of Abbot Marmion, edited by Mother Mary St. Thomas. Certainly one of the greatest spiritual masters. MATURIN, BASLE WILLIAM. (1915) Self-knowledge and Self-discipline. Some Principles and Practices ~of t,h.e Spiritual ,Life. Laws of the Spiritual Life. Practical Studies on the Parables. MESCHLER, MAURICE, S.J. (1912) ~ Three Fundamental Principles of the Spiritual Life. Life of Our Lord desus Christ, in Meditations. 2 x~61s.' The Humanity of desus. St. doseph. The Gift of Pentecost. RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS MULLALY, CHARLES, J., S.J. Spiritual ReHections for Sisters. 2 volume series. NEWMAN, JOHN HENRY CARDINAL (1890) Favorite Newman Sermons, selected, by Daniel M. O'Con-nell, $.J. Heart to Heart: a Cardinal Newman Pra~lerbook, compiled by same. Kindhj Light: a Second Cardinal Newman Pra~lerbooh, com-piled by same. The Spiritual Le.qac.u of Newman, by William Robert Lamm. S.M. (A splendid synthesis of Newman's spirituality.) POURRAT, PIERRE Christian Spirituality. 3 vols. (A basic work; the only history of spirituality in English. The final fourth volume has not yet appeared in translation. A "must'; book. for serious study. Rather expensive.) PLUS, RAOUL, S.J. God Within Us. Living with God. Reparation. In Christ Jesus. Radiating Christ. The Eucharist. How to Pra[t Alwa[ls. How to pra[t Well. Facing Life---Series I: --Series H: Christ in His Brethren. The Folly of the Cross. " The Ideal of Reparation. Mary in Our Soul-life. Baptism and Confirmation. Meditations for Religious. Holiness in the Church. Progress in Divine Union. Meditations for Young Men. Meditations for Young Women. Dust, Remember Thou Art Splendor. RODRIGUEZ, ALPHONSUS, S.J. (1616) Practice of Perfection and Christian Virtues, translated by J. Rickaby, S.J. (Also recommended to religious by Plus XI.) SAUDREAU, MSGR. AUGUSTE The Degrees of the Spiritual Life. 2 vols. The Wail that Leads to God. The Life of Union with God. The Ideal of ~he Fervent Soul, These books cover all phases of the spiritual life; originally de-livered as instructions to nuns. SCARAMELLI, JOHN, S.J. (1752) The Oirectorium Asceticum, or Guide to the Spiritual Life'. 4 vols. 110 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS TANQUEREY,ADOLPHE, S.S. (1932) Doctrine and Deootion. ~ The Spiritual Life. (This is the best'systematic work on ascetical theology in English. It is used as a text-book in some colleges. A "mus.t".) THERESA OF AVILA, SAINT (1582) Complete Works, translated by L~wis, edited by B. Zimmer- .man, O.C.D. (For mature religious.) THERESA OF LISIEUX, SAINT Autobiography. THOMAS A KEMPIS (1471) The Imitation of Christ. Groote or others.) (1897) (Sometimes attributed to Gerard THOMAS AQUINAS, SAINT (1274) Apology for Religious Orders. Religious State, Episcopate and Priestly Office. The Commandments of God. The Three Greatest Prayers. On Prayer and Thb Contemplative L~fe. These books must be studied, not merely read. TISSOT, JOSEPH (1894) The Interior Life Simplified. ULLATHORNE, BISHOP WILLIAM B. (1889) The Endowments of Man. Groundwork of theChristian.Virtues. Christian Patience. VONIER, ABBOT ANSCAR, O.S.B. (1938) Christ the King of Glory. A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist. The New and Eternal Covenant. Death and Judgement. The Life of the World t~ Come. The Angels. The Divine Motherhood. WILL)~M, DR. FRANZ The Life of desus Christ. Mary the Mother of Jesus. These books place Christ and His Blessed Mother against a background of Jewish life and customs, minutely but interest-ingly described. 11.1. The Doct:rinal Le!:!:er ot: Leo I on !:he Incarna!:ion Cyril Vollert, 8.3. THE recurrence of the Feast of the Annunciation centers our attention on an event which is never very far from the consciousness of a religious. It is the most astounding event that ever took place on this earth, the Incarnation of the Son of God. We shake our heads help-lessly when we try to appreciate what happened that day. It is too vast for the imagination to picture, too tremendous for the mind to grasp. How can we understand, with our feeble intellects, a Being who is both God and man? How can human language explain such a fact? Here, if any-where, we have need of a teacher, an interpreter. And such alone is the Church. He who will not hear the Church will go astray. No wonder, then, that throughout these two thou-sand years those who reject the Church reject this truth or, impatierit with God's revelation, pare down the truth to fit their own narrow minds. Some have insisted thai the Ttiing is impossible; and therefore Christ is only God, not man; or He is only man, not God. Others have taught that Christ was not a single Person, but two persons, God with His own divine nature, man with his own human nature. Still others, rebelling against this absurdity, and seeing in Christ only a single Person, concluded that He could have only one nature; and so, while before God became man there were two natures, one divine and one human, after the union of the two the human nature was swallowed up in the divine. Such was the notion of an ignorant and opin-ionated old monk, Eutyches by name, who in the fifth cen- 112. LEO I ON THE INCARNATION tury started a heresy which caused a theological hurricane in his own day, and which, with variations, still persists. But by the Providence of God the See of Peter was at thatl, turbulent moment Occupied by a saint and a learned theologian, Pope Leo I. Upon receipt of a full report of the error of Eutyches and the commotion stirred up by his heresy, Leo wrote a doctrinal letter about the matter to Flavian, then Bishop of Constantinople. In this letter the Pope set forth the truth in a statement so clear and exact that the Bishops assembled at the General Council of Chal-cedon a few years later acclaimed with enthusiasm. "Peter himself has spoken by the mouth of Leo"; and, "whoever does not accept the letter of our sainted Bishop Leo is a heretic." This is the famous dogmatic epistle or so-called "Tome" of Pope Saint Leo, an epistle justly cele-brated as one of the most important documents ever penned by a Roman Pontiff. In the conviction that the golden words of Leo are too precious to remain locked up in the Latin language and stored away in Volumes thumbed only by theologians and research scholars, the editors ~)f this REVIEW have desired that the principal sections of this letter be made available in an English translation. The rest of this article is devoted to such an attempt. St. Leo's Letter . All the faithful knowthe creed by which we profess belief in God the Father Almighty and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, who was born by the Holy Spirit of Mary the Virgin. By these'three propositions the machina-tions of almost all the heretics are thwarted. For belief in the omnipotent Father points out the Son, who is co-eternal ¯ with the Father and in nothing differs from the Father. because He is God born of God, Omnipotent of Omnipo- 113 CYRIL VOLLERT tint, Co-eternal of Eteraal; not later in time, not less 'in power, not Unequal in majesty, not divided in essence: And this same eternal, only-begotten Son of the eternal Father Was born by the Holy Spirit of Mary the Virgin. His birth in time, however, has taken nothing from that other divine and eternal birth from the Father; nor did it add anything, but was wholly contrived .for the redemption of man, who had been ensnared; for its purpose was to conquer death, and by its power to overthrow the tyiann~r Which the'devil exercised over death. We could not overcome the author of sin and death, unless He whom neither sin could besmirch nor death hold captive had taken.up our nature and made it His own. And so by the power ofthe Holy Spirit He was conceived in the Womb of His Virgin Mother, who gave birth to Him without hurt to her viriginity, just as she had conceived Himi without loss of the same. But we must take care not to misunders~tand this birth, which is so uniquely wonderful and so wonderfully unique. The nature proper, to the human race was not takefi away, by this new and unheard of procreation. The Ho~ly S16iri~, it is true, gave fruitfulness to the'Vir~gin, but the real body of the Son was derived from (he bod~r of the Mother. And so "the Word was made flesh, and"dwelt among hs"; .that is, the Wisdom of God built a house in the flesh which He took from a human being, and which He animated with a rational soul. ~ Thus, then, with everything pertaining to both of these natures and: substances remaining intact and coming together in one P~rson, lowliness was taken over by Majesty, weakness by Strength, mortality by Eternity. In order to pay the debt of our deplorable state, an inviolable nature was united to one that could suffer, so that one and the same Mediator between God and man, the man Jesus 114 LEO I ON THE INCARNATION Christ, could die according to one nature, even though in the other He could not die. Such was the remedy suitable to our distress. Therefore the true God was born with the complete and perfect nature of a real man, whole and entire in His own divinity, whole and entire in our humanity; in our humanity, I mean, such as the Creator made it in the beginning. This nature Christ assumed in order to restore it. The Son of God, then, has come upon our lowly earth, descending from His celestial throne without quitting the glo~ of His Father, heralding a new order of things, with a birth that is utterly unique. A new order: that is to say, He who is invisible in His own nature, has become visible in ours; He who is incomprehensible has will'ed to be com-prehended; He who exists before all time began to exist in time; the Lord of the universe, veiling His ihfinite majesty,. took the form of a servant; God incapable of suffering did not disdain to become a suffering man; God immortal did not refuse tO submit to the laws of death. And His birth was unique: for undefiled virginity, without experiencing con-cupiscence, has furnished a body of flesh. He received human nature from His Mother, but assumed no sin. But His miraculous birth does not make the human nature of our Lord ~lesus Christ, born of a Virgin, different from ours. For He who is truly God is also truly man; and although the lowliness of man and the sublimity of Deity are con-joined, there is nothing contradictory in this union. For just as God is not changed by the mercy which caused Him to become man, so neither is His humanity absorbed by His divine majesty. Each of these .natures, though in union with the other, performs functions proper to itself: ~the. Word does that which belongs to the Word, and the flesh does that which belongs to the flesh. One of these is resplend-ent with miracles, the other succumbs to injuries. And 115 CYRIL VOLLERT just as the Wor~l does not relinquish equality with the glory of the. Father, the flesh does not surrender the nature belonging to our race. One and the same Person, as we cannot repeat too often, is really the Son of God and really the son of man; God, because "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; man, because "the Word was made-flesh and dwelt among us"; God, because "all things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing"; man, because he was "born of a woman, born under the Law." His birth according to the flesh is proof of His human nature, birth from a Virgin is a sign of His divine power. Surely when He says, "I and the Father are one," He is not speaking of the same nature as when He says, "the Father is greater than I." In a word., then, although in our Lord Jesus Christ. there is only one Person, who is both God and man, the lowliness which He~ has in common with us is from a dif-ferent source than the grandeur which He has in common with the Father. From us He has the humanity in which He is inferior to the Father, from the Father He has the divinity in which He is equal to the Father. ' This,. then, is the faith in which the Catholic Church lives, in this she grows: we believe that in Christ Jesus there is neither humanity without true divinity, nor divinity without true humanity. ~ Such in part, and without any indication of the sec-tions omitted, is the authoritative dogmatic letter written by Pope Leo I, on the 13th of June, 449. Several General Councils later incorporated some of its phrases into infallible pronouncements which in the face of heretical, opposition defined-the true. doctrine concerning Christ as revealed to the world byGod. 116 ¯ Prot:ession ot: a Novice in Danger of: Deat:h Adam C. Ellis, S.~I. pOPE Saint Pius V, a member of the Order of Preachers, issued a Constitution called Summi" Sacerdotii on August 23, 1570, whereby he allowed any novice of the second order of Dominican nuns who was in danger of death ~to make her religious profession, even though she had not completed her canonical novitiate.His motive in doing so, as stated in the Constitution, was to provide spiritual consolation for the dying novice who would otherwise be deprived of the merit of the religious profession inheaven. To the onovice thus professed at the hour of death he fur~ thermore granted all the indulgences and Other favors which the professed nuns enjoyed in the same dircumstances, and added a plenary indulgence to be gainedat the moment 6f death. By reason ~f the communication ot~ privili~ges wiaich existed between the first and second orders of St. DominiC, this favor of Saint Pius V was extendedto the first order of Friars Preachers. Later on othe~r~religious institutes obtained the same favor from the Holy See by special indult or by way of. approval of their constitutions in which it was con-tained. Pope Pius X extended this privilege to all novices of every religious order or congregation or religious society by the Decree Spirituali Consolationi of September 3, 1912, which was published by the S. Congregation Of Religious on September 10, 1912. This Decree laid down detailed regulations regarding the profession tO be made by a novice at the hour of death and regulated its effects: 117 ADAM C. ELLIS The new Code of Canon Law, which was promulgated in 1917, made no mention of the aforesaid privilege; hence the question was raised whether it was still in effect. At a -.,plenary session Of the Eminent Cardinals who form the S. Congregation of Religious, held on December 29, 1922, it was decided that the privilege still existed, and the pro-visions for this profession established by Pius X were repeated with certain additions, .and approved by Pius XI on December 30, 1922,. and ordered published the same day. We shall give the text of this document of the S. Con-gregation of Religious with a brief explanation of each point. In everg order, congregation, religious societg, or mon-asterg of men or women, likewise in institutes in which common life is observed although Oows are not taken, henceforth it is allowed to admit to profession, consecration or promise, according to the rules and constitutions, novices or probationers who, in the opinion of a doctor, are so gravely ill that they are considered to be at the point of death, even though they have not completed the period of novitiate or probation. The privilege is general, and extends to all novices, not ~onty in an order or congregation or society in which vows are taken,, but also in institutes whose members live a com- .mon life without taking public vows, but who usually, according to their constitutions, make some form of conse-cration or promise of perseverance. The only condition laid down in the general grant is that the novice, in the opinion of a ,doctor, is sick unto death. However, in order that novices or probationers ma~l be admitted to the above-mentioned profession or consecration-or promise, it is necessary: I. That they shall have canonically begun their novi-tiate or probation. 118 PROFESSION OF A DYING NOVICE The text is the same as that issued by the S. Congrega-tion of Religious in 1912. Up to that time the terms "novitiate" and "probation," "novice" and "probationer" were used synonymously. In the Code, however, the terms "probation" and "probationer" have been omitted in favor of "novitiate" and "novice", which are used exclusively to indicate those who hax;e been admitted to the period of trial preceding the religious profession. Canon 553 tells us that the novitiate begins with the reception of the habit, or in some other manner prescribed by the constitutions. This is what is meant here by beginning the novitiate or probation canonically. Postulants have not as yet begun their canon-ical novitiat.e; hence they are excluded from the privilege in question. Such is the opinion followed in practice by the S. Congregation of Religious. 2. That the superior who admits the novice or proba-tioner to the pro[ession or consecration or promise mag be, not onlg the respective major superior to whom this power belongs bg reason of the constitutions, but also the actual superior of the monasterg or novitiate or house of proba-tion, or a delegate of ang one of these superiors. Under normal' circumstances only the superior indi-cated in the constitutions can admit a novice to the profes-sion of vows. UsuallTthis power is reserved by the consti-tutions either to the superior general or to major superiors such as provincials~or their equivalent. In the case of the novice who is at the point o.f death, the local superiorof the monastery or no;gitiate house also has this power. If time permits, however, it would seem proper to refer the case t~ the major superior. To admit to profession means to give the novice permission to make his profession. The superior who does so in the case of a novice at the point of death does ¯ not need to .refer the case to his. council or to the chapter. 119 ADAM C. ELLIS Even though the dying novice be outside the monastery or novitiate house, in a hospital or sanatorium, for instance, he may be admitted to his profession, so long as .he is a canonical novice. Superiors may delegate their power of admitting the dying novice to profession, either to some other member of their institute, or to any other religious or priest, e.g. to the superior or to the chaplain of a hospital. 3. That the formula of profession or consecration or promise shall be that in use in the institute outside the case of sickness; and the vows, if taken, shall be made without determination of time or of perpetuitg. The ordinary formula of the vows, consecration, or promise is to be used, without any reference to time. There-fore such terms as: "for three years," "for ever," "for my entire life," are to be omitted. 4. That the novice who made such a profession or con-secration or promise shall share in all the indulgences, suf-frages, and other graces which the trulg professed religious receive at death; the dging novice is moreover mercifultg granted in the Lord the remission of all his sins in the form of a plenarg indulgence. This provision of the original decree of Pius X has been incorporated into .the Code in canon 567, except for the plenary indulgence. Hence every novice shares in all the privileges and spiritual graces granted to his institute, and if he dies, even though he does not make the profession in question, he has a right to the same suffrage.s which are pre.: scribed for the professed. If the novice does make his pro-fession before death, he receives a plenary indulgence granted him by the Holy See. This plenary indulgence is enjoyed only at the moment of death, since Pius V expressly states this, and Plus X intended to grant this favor in the same way in which it was originally granted. 120 PROFESSION OF A DYING NOVICE 5. That this profession or consec?ation or promise shall have no effect other than to confer the graces' (favors) men-tioned in the precedingonumber. Hence: (A) If the no~2ice 6r probationer dies intestate after ~uch 'a profession or con-secration or promise, the institute cannot lay claim .to any of the property or rights which belonged to him. (B) If the novice recovers before the expiration, of the time required for his, noviceship or pr.obation, he shall be in exactly the same condition as if he had made no profession. Accord- .inglg : a) he may freetg return to the world if he wishes to do so; b) superiors can dismiss him; c) he must fill out the entire time prescribed in each institute for the novitiate or probation, even though it eJcceed one year; d) at the expira-tion of this time, if he perseveres, the novice must make a new profession or consecration or promise. ¯ The profession made by the novice at the hour of death is personal 'and conditional. If ,the novice dies, he enters eternity as-a true religious, and receivesthe same merit as any other religious by reason of his corisecration of himself to God. " I.f he recovers, the profession made has no, canoni-cal effect whatsoever. The novice is in the same condition as he was before be .fell ill, and consequently, he, on his part, must fulfill .all the requirements of the law for his subse-quent profession. He is canonically free to leave.the novi-tiate at any time, if he so desires: Superiors, on their part, may dismiss him as they may dismiss any other novic~. The entire purpose of allowing a novice to make his profession at the hour of death is to give him the spiritual consolation of dying as a religious. Finally, the Sacred Congregation declares that there is no objection to inserting the foregoing provision in consti-tutions of orders and congregations, if the institutes them-selves ask to do so~ i21 ADAM C. ELLIS The use of the privilege contained in the declaration of the S: Congregation given above does not depend upon its being inserted in the constitutions of an institute. All dying ¯ ~novices may be allowed the use of the privilege, even though it is not contained in the constitutions of their institute. But if the institute wishes to insert the provisions of this instruc-tion in its constitutions, it must first obtain the permission of the S. Congregation of Religious, which will grant it for the asking. PAMPHLET REVIEWS ~ We have received several booklets that are deserving of special notice in a periodical such as ours. A Novena to St. Francis Xavier is a series of reflections on salva-tion and missionary work, written especially for children. The Wag of the Cross, by a Maryknoll Missionary, is a manual for the Stations which is particularly interesting because the illustrations are artistic woodcuts representing the characters of the Passion as Chinese. For information about the booklets, write to The Maryknoll Bookshelf, Maryknoll P.O., New York. A Saintly Shepherd of Souls is a pamphlet life of the Venerable John Neumann, C.SS.R., the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. Itcon-tains 47 pages of interesting and inspiring facts. The author is the Reverend Albert Waible, C.SS.R., Vice-Postulator ofthe cause of the Venerable Neumann. The pamphlet may be procured from the Mis-sion Church Press, 1545 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 5 cents a copy: $3.50 per hundred. Besides the foregoing, we have received two booklets by the Right Reverend Raphael J. Markham, S.T.D. : Apostolate to Assist Dying Non-Catholics; and Apostolate of Prayer for S~roinarians. We hope to treat Monsignor Markham's messages at some length in future issues of THE REVIEW. 122 I eligious and 0t: he Decalogue Gerald Kelly, S,J. I1| T IS the imperative duty of the pastor to give his days I and nights to the consideration of it (the Decalogue) : and to this he should be prompted by a desire not only to regulate his own life by its precepts, but also to instruct in the law of God th~ people committed to his care." These very strong words are quoted from the most authoritative of all catechisms, Tl~e Catechism of the Council of Trent, (also called The Ro~an Catechism). The injunction is, of course, directed to pastors of souls: but it scarcely need be pointed out howap ipropr¯iate it is for all religious, even though they be n0~ pastors, or even priests. The per-sonal reason is applid~ble to all of us; the fact that we have embraced the life of t,he Counsels does not exempt us from a careful observance of: the Commandments, The apostolic reason is also apphc,able to a very large percentage of us. Comparatively few of us.are not called upon at one time or another to:give catechetical instruction. I. Content of the Decalogue One may state, therefore, without fear of contradic-tion that religious should study and meditate over the Commandments of God. But a further question might well be asked: What should they study? What ought they to know as an aid to their personal observance of the Deca-logue and as the proper and sufficient equipment for apos- ~tolic work, should they be called upon to catechize? ~Thi~s is an important practical question, and it can hardly be answered without a few preliminary remarks concerning the content, or subject-matter, of the Decalogue. 123 GERALD KELLY It is sometimes said that every Commandment, even though it be phrased negatively ("Thou shalt not") ,, really contains two sides, an affirmative and a negative. It com-mands some things and forbids Others. This statement is a step in the right direction. It helps to counteract a purely negative attitude toward God's law. But, though a step in the right direction, the statement does not go far enough. It stil! leaves the Commandments difficult to explain. It is, perhaps, better to say that each Commandment, even though phrased in a purely negative manner, really does three things: First, it indicates a whole field of virtuous acts which it is both natural and becoming for a human being to perform; secondly, it commands certain minimum essentials of.virtue necessary for preserving the dignity of a o human being; and thirdly, it forbids certain thoughts and acts which either mar or destroy thebeauty of human nature. In subsequent issues of~this REVIEW we shall give thor-ough explanations of these Various aspects of the Com-mandments., For the present purpose, each aspect can be illustrated by a brief reference to the First Commandment. At the beginning of the Decalogue, we find the expres-sion: "I am the Lord, thy God." This is rather the foun-dation of the Commandments than a part of any one of them. It expresses a great and fundamental truth from which the Commandments flow in logical,' natural sequence. Itpresents us with a sublime picture of reality.~ On the one hand is God, almighty, eternal, a being 0f supreme and infinite excellence, and the Creator of the world; on the other hand is man; a creature endowed with intellect and free will, produced entirely by God and depending absolutely on God for all the good that he is or has or does. One who appreciates this basic relationship between 124 THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE man and God will not find it difficult to conclude that man ought to acknowledge his. relationship. A whole-souled devotion to his Creator is a good thing for man; and-any: acts by which he can honor God are good and appropriate for him. Fit expressions of his place with referenc~ to God are such things as adoration, the prayer of petition,~ praise, or thanksgiving. If God should speak to him, man should listen reverently and should place the most absolute faith in His word and the most unhesitating trust in His promises and in His power, and so forth. Thus, even the first glance at the reality of God and man, shows a whole field of per-fection that it is appropriate for man to cultivate. That is What is mean~ by saying that each Commandment ir~dicates a sphere of virtuous acts that it is natural and becoming fdr man to perform. From the point of view of mere appro-priateness, there is no limit to this sphere of action; the more frequently and the more fervently man can thus honor God, the better it is, The only actual limit is man's small capacity and the fact that his other needs and duties in life must necessarily prevent him from spending his entire time in explicit acts of worship. Realizing now the fitness of man's worshipping God, We come to the Second point. Are all of these acts of wor-ship optional for man, or are some of them obligatory? The very law of nature answers the question. Man must per-form some of these acts of virtue; without some worship of God, he fails to live up to the dignity of his created human nature. So this is the second thing that the Commandment does: it prescribes the minimum essentials of virtue in this field, some acts of adoration, some prayer, and so forth. Finally, we come logically to the third aspect. If acts of divine worship are appropriate for human nature, and certain acts are obligatory, it follows that any acts which conflict with~ this fundamental law of worship are 125 GERALD KELLY unworthy of man. Thus, he is forbidden to give to a crea-ture the honor belonging uniquely to God, forbidden to worship God in an unbecoming manner. These prohibi- ¯tio, s form an important part of the Commandment, bht by no means the principal part of it. They are not even understood without some reference to the positive side. The foregoing brief analysis of the First Commandment illustrates the statement that each Commandment may-be considered under three heads: the virtue indicated; the vir-tuous acts.prescribed; and the vicious acts t:orbidden. With this divisidn clearly in mind, we are now in a position to take up the question: what should a religious study in regard to the Decalogue? II. What a Religious Should Know To reverse the order and begin with the prohibitions, all religious should have a clear, well-defined knowledge of those things in which they themselves are likely to be tempted. They should know what precisely is forbidden, and to what extent it is forbidden, .that is, whether a viola-tion would be a mortal or a venial sin. This degree of knowledge is necessary for personal peace of conscience, and it should be imparted bymeans of adequate instruction. The policy of leaving all personal perplexities of conscience to be solved by an occasional word from a confessor is not a sound one. Very often a person who has not received ade-quate instruction is unable to express his difficulty to the confessor or unable to appreciatethe congessor's advice, and this sometimes leads to long periods of racking and entirely needless doubt. Moreover, the policy of hedging when explaining moral obligations to religious, of confusing ascetical norms with moral norms, slight obligations with serious obligations, is also difficult to justify. It breeds false consciences and often enough is the cause of scruples. 126 THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE Of course, it may be said that many of the prohibitions of the Decalogue will not affect religious: they will be seldom or never tempted in some matters. However, there is the further fact that a large percentage of our religious do give catechetical instruction on the Commandments. Now, even the small Baltimore Catechism, treating of the First Commandment, lists suchforbidden things as these: making use of spells and charms; belief in dreams, spiritists. and fortune-tellers: presumption; despair. The ability to teach the First Commandment requires that one have a. dear, soundly-theologicalknowledge of~ what constitutes sin in these matters. And the ability to teach the other Commandments requires, among other things, that one know the difference bdtween such things as blasphemy, cursing, and profane words; between just anger and inex-cusable anger; between thoughts and actions which are directly against purity and thoughts and actions which are merely dangerous to purity. A teacher should know these differences, should know also what makes a sin of injustice, disobedience, hatred: and when such sins are venial, when mortal. One does nbt get these notions by intuition: nor do the simple ,definitions of the c~itechism furnish a sufficient knowledge fo~? the teacher, inregard to almost; every sin listed here, great theologians draw sharp distinctions. These distinctions can be known only when they are studied and competently explaine& As fbr the things prescribed by the Commandments, the same:limits may be set for the minimum essentials of knowledge demanded of the' religious. He should know precisely what is commanded, and. whether itis commanded under pain of serious or Venial sin. He should know these things f0i his own peace of conscience; he should know them as a necessfiry background for his teaching, in case he should ,be called upon to instruct others ~,' i27" GERALD KELLY All this is not intended to carry the inference that reli-gious need a confessor's knowledge of the Decalogue. Nor is it even insinuated that teachers of the catechism should give their pupils complete descriptions of all the sins listed in the catechism or all the subtle distinctions that can be made between mortal and venial sin. But religious should know what is necessary for their own peace of conscience, as well as those things that form a necessary background for giving catechetical instruction, so that, when called upon for an explanation, they can give something that is simple and adapted to the listener and, above all, that they may avoid giving inaccurate answers that imbed themselves into a young soul like a malignant germ and that breed what eventually becomes a practically incurable case of scruples. Strictly speaking, the Commandments, in the sense of Divine Laws imposing moral obligations under pain of sin, consist only in preceptsand prohibitions~ Yet the study of the Commandments should not be limited to such things. These obligations cannot be correc~tly understood without some appreciation of what has been called the first aspect of the Commandments, that is, the virtues indicated by them, For how is. one to perceive the reason why he must worsbilo at some time and in some manner, unless he first realizes that the worship of God is a good and beauti-ful thing in itself? How is one to understand the obliga-tion of obedience, unless he first perceives the inherent good-ness of respect for legitimate authority? How is one to appreciate the obligations of chastity unless he first, becomes conscious of the dignity and beauty of the divine plan of paternity and family life, of which chastity is the guardian? Evidently, for th~ religious themselves, this first and eminently positive phase of the Comma'ndments is a decid-edly salutary subject of study and meditation. They may have relatively few temptations to violate them; but they 128 THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE have abundant oppbrtunities for living them and for loving them. Surely the refrain of the ll8th Psalm, "O Lord, how have I loved Thy law," should fill the soul of every-one dedicated to the service of God. It ~should lighten an'd make joyous the burden of his own obligations; it should communicate inspiration tO those with whom he exercises his apostolate. And the,people with whom we deal are sadly in need of inspiration; it is surprising how many of them, even ~he good people, have a decidedly negative and uninspired attitude towards the Commandments. All of us are, no doubt, familiar with the following typical scene of boy life. ~We can call the boy 3ohn, aged ten. He has finished his supper and is paging somewhat listlessly through the newspaper. He has seen the comics and the sports page' so there is reall~r nothing in the paper to-interest him. Actually he is not perfectly at ease. One gloomy eye is straining toward his bedroom where certain evil things called schoolbooks await him, another gloomy eye is straining toward the' kitchen, whence his mother will presently emerge' and order him to betake himself to those same sctiool books. (There are still some mothers like that.) Suddenly he h~ars welcome sounds. He rushes to the door and peers Out. Yes, it's "the gang" getting ready for an evening game. No more gloom in his eyes now; ~hey are all eagerness. ' "Morn," he calls, "How about letting me go out and play just one game? I'll be back in a little while." "No, 3ohn," comes the firm answer. "You've had plenty of platy today. It's time to study now, so get to your books." No amount of coaxing prevails over his mother's firm-ness, and finally 3ohn turns from the door. But the bright-ness is gone again from his eyes. Heavy feet, heavy heart, 129 GERALD KELLY slumping shoulders: he is the picture of youthful misery as he trudges his way from the sounds of boyish delight and slumps down into a chair over the dreaded school books. "She's a good mother," would run his thoughts translated into words, "but she doesn't understand. Otherwise she wouldn't make it so hard." That little drama of the child-world exemplifies the negative attitude of many even good people toward the Commandments. They find in the Commandments only ten negations of comfort and ease and content, ten privations of pleasure and freedom. They turn away from these for-bidden pleasures with a heavy Step and a heavy heart. They find no thrill in the keeping of the Commandments: often they seem to have a sneaking suspicion that God, like 3ohn's mother, just doesn't understand: otherwise He -would not make it so hard. In the various moral crises of life they overcome themselves, they keep the law, but even their victories are dulled by that boy-like heaviness of soul. They will be faithful, cost what it may: but the only joy of it lies in the subsequent good conscience. They deny them-selves, they repress themselves, and in these conflicts with self, it never occurs to them to lift up their heads and lighten their hearts with the thought that in thus repressing their lower selves they are really expressing their better selves. If possible, we should prevent or change this negative attitude. But we shall hardly do this unless we ourselves appreciate the beauty of God's law. The Roraar~ Cate-chism suggests several motives calculated to inspire a love of the Decalogue, and in particular it. stresses the fact that the observance of the moral law "proclaims more eloquently the .glory and the majesty of God than even the celestial bodies, which by their beauty and order excite the admira-tion of the most barbarous nations and compel them to acknowledge and proclaim the glory, the wisdom, and the 130 THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE power, of the Creator arid Architect of the universe." These solemn words touch on something fundamental to the Commandments: their relation to the glory of God. This theme is too large for fuli~ treatmen~ here. " The next section of this article contains a merely partial development of it, an indication of one kind of prayerful reflection that may serve to increase our appreciation of the Decalogue as a code of moral beauty. III. The Decalogue and Moral Beautg The observance of the Decalogue gives God great glory. In order to avoid theological technicalities in expanding on this motive, it will not be out of place for us to indul'ge in. the following bit of reverent fantasy. Imagine you have a pair of wings that will take yo~u back through time'. Swiftly you pass the century marks, the nineteenth, eighteenth., first., on into the ages before Christ, before Moses, until at last you come to the dividing line between time and eternity. You cross that line, then you turn back and rub it out; and, though it all seems quite absurd and impossible, you are alone with God before the creation of the world! You are alone with God, and you have this problem ~to solve: Why might God create the world? Remember that God is an intelligent being, and if He is to create, He must have a reason; yes, and a reason that is worthy of Himself. You are looking for that reason. Where shall you look for this reason for creating? Only in God; nothing else exists. So you must look intently upon God; you must, so to speak, search the depths of God for some possible reason for the existence of creatures. Your first search, though filled with wonders, is a dis-appointment. ,Here in God is all perfection in an infinite degree; here is the marvelous inner life, the Blessed Trinity. revealed: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, infinitely 131 GERALD KELLY happy and blessed in Their possession of the Divine Essence and of One Another. But this is no reason for creating; this is rather a reason for not creating. There appears to be neither need, 'nor use, nor even the possibility of any other being. So you shake your head and turn away; you have not solved the riddle of creation. But look again, look deeper, as it were; and in- the clear placid ocean of Divine perfection you begin to see-the pat-terns of a limitless number of tiny beings, none of them equal to God, but each of them reflecting something of God. Here is one of the vast treasures of the Divinity, the tremen-dous possibility of s~arino His loveliness. Here you see the types of a great variety of beings, each of which God could bring into existence, each of which in its own way and according to its own limited capacity,, could manifest some-thing of the Divine Perfection. You have solved the riddle; you have discovered a reason for creation worthy of God Himself. It is His own Goodness which is, so to speak, a fountain of perfection that He can share with others, without loss to Himself. Thus, our little trip of fantasy has brought us face to face with the truth solemnly defined by the Vatican Council, that God created the world, not to acquire anything for Him-self or to increase His own perfection; but simply to com-municate it to otl~ers. This sublime truth, the object of our fantastic journey into the creative mind of God is intimately associated with the glory that man gives to God by the observance of the Commandments. If we return now from the mind of God into the realm of creatures, we na~turally expect to find that every creature, be it tiny, be it great; is a finite.expression of God, a reflection of some divine perfection. The drop of water, the grain of sand, the flower in the field, the family kitten, the sun, the moon, the stars, the entire universe-- 132 THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE each and all of these things show forth in some way the beauty, the loveliness, the majesty .of God. And they do this simply/~ beir~g tt~emseloes, by being faithful copies of~ the original masterpiece hidden within the depths of God. Everything in the world reflects God's goodness, and thus gives God glory, by following the law of its nature. Even those who never think of God are constantlT recognizing this law of the nature of things in their search for comfort and beauty and goodness. The cook enters her kitchen and bakes a cake that makes one's mouth ,water. She does not do this by seizing a. number of things at ran-dom, kneading them into some kind of dough, and tossing the mixture into the oven. She follows a definite recipe, and this recipe is only a formula worked out on the prin~ ciple that certain things react in a certain way with other things and produce a definite result. The engineer goes into his laboratory and plans a stream-lined train or some elec-trical marvel. He is searching for the laws that God wrote into the materials. The physical culturist who specializes in the body beautiful simply makes use of God's laws of sound and symmetrical bodies. The orchestra, playing a symphony that almost transports one into another world, follows the same notes that once burned through the brain of the composer. The composer is called a creator, yet he has not created. The music is also God's creature; the com-poser merely discovered .and applied the laws of harmony to produce this thing of entrancing beauty. So it is all through nature, true beauty is achieved by having things act according to their natures. That law is apparent in the simplest and in the grandest things---in the cake, in the symphony, in the splendors of the heavens. And the same law holds for man's contribution to the beauty of the universe; he must follow the law of his na-ture, the Decalogue. Man's duty and privilege is to sing 133 . GERALD KELLY unto God a glorious hymn of praise; the notes are the Com-mandments. Following these notes faithfully; he constantly ¯ raises toward heaven a sweet-toned benedicite which far ,surpasses any human composition. His unique contribu-tion to the beauty of the universe is moral beauty, and this, as The Roman Catechism points out, excels all the splen-dors of the irrational world. We all know something of the beauty of a single human soul in which the divine likeness is unblemished by sin. What if all souls were like that; what if all men at all times and in all places observed the Commandments of God! The combined interior beauty of all those souis 'would be indescribable; and exteriorly also the world would be a paradise. The one true God would be worshipped every-where according to His will; His holy name would be sounded only in reverence; all authority, as it comes from Him, would be pledged to Him .and exercised only according to His wise laws; parents would be devoted to their children, and children to their parents; human life and property and honor would be sacred;~ purity and marital fidelity would be everywhere esteemed. No idolatry, no persecutions, no blasphemies, no murder, no thefts, no .unjust. wages,, no obscenity, no backbiting or slander, no wars, no class conflict!! We could close our jails, divorce courts, reform schools; we could do away with burglar alarms and safes. There would be noarmaments to con-sume our capital, no death-weapons to slay our youth. A picture such as this reminds one of the Garden of Eden. Of course, when we view the moral turmoil that actually exists, we must label such a picture another fantasy. Yet it is .well for us to contemplate it, unreal though it happens to be; for it shows us the beauty and harmony the Com-mandments are supposed to produce. It shows us what the world could be, if man, like the irrational things, lived up 134 THE STUDY OF THE DECALOGUE to his nature. In the last section of this article, some considerations were offered that may help towards an appreciation of the Commandments as laws of moral beauty. Only the Deca-logue was mentioned exp!icitly, but for their personal meditations, religious might easily build upon that notion and see how all the laws that govern them are intended to bring out more sharply.some form of goodness. For in-stance, we know that God has given us not merely human natures, but super-natures; the life of Grace; and for pre-serving and developing this higher form of goodness He has supplemented the Decalogue with the laws of the super-natural life. The Church, legislating with authority from God, has given .us other laws, planned to make us good Catholics. The founders and foundresses of our religious societies, captivated by some particular form of Christlike-hess, have drawn up their constitutions with the aim of developing this Christlikeness in their followers. By the observance of these various laws, we can scale a tall pyramid of moral beauty. But we should ever keep in mind that at the base of this pyramid is the law that St. Augustine rightly called the foundation and epitome of all laws, the Decalogue. BOOKS RECEIVED (To be reviewed later.) MEDIEVAL HUMANISM. pan),. New York. THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN ENGLAND. By John J. O'Connor. MacMillan Compan),. New York. FAST BY THE ROAD. B), John Mood),. The MacMillan Compan)'. York. PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTIOI~L Brothers. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. By Gerald G, Walsh, S.J. The MacMillan Coat- The . New Marist 135 ook Reviews PROGRESS IN DIVINE UNION. By the R6~,erend Raoul Phs, S.J. Pp. 142. Translated from the French by Sister M. Bertlile and Sister iVl. St. Thomas, Sisters of Notre Dame, of Cleveland, Ohio. Frederick Pustet, Inc., New York, 1941. $1.S0. This little work of the well-known French ascetical writer treats cl~arly and forcefully of two. great means of making progress in union with God: namely, "generous self-conquest," and "the spirit of prayer." To the former, four chapters are devoted, each one devel-oping a major motive for self-conquest: self:preservation, expiation, imitation of our Lord, and redemption. If the redemptive process is to be completedby the Mystical Christ, that is, if more and more individual soul~ are actually to be brought to the divine life, then it is simply necessary that more and more good Chri.~tians, themselves already members, should make up in their persons what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ and thus put themselves into condition to enable others to enter that mystical incorporation or to grow in it. Christians need not only to be assimilated to Christ themselves and to be united with Him; they must go beyond this point and carry out the work of Christ in bringing others, as many as possible, to the saving knowledge and love of God. But self-conquest alone is not sufficient. To it must be added prayer, especially mental prayer, in it one learns "to experience in one's wh01e being the reality considered: the greatness of God, the immensity of His love, the infinite mercy of our Savior . the expiatory or redemptive pow. er of suffering, the incomparable price of life, or the splendor of deatfi." The work closes with a section on recollection and th~ continuous maintenance of union with God throughout all of one's occupations. No doubt this little book of Fr. Plus's xvill be much welcomed by the many for whom he has become a favorite devotional author:--G. A. ELLARD, S.,J. COLORED CATHOLICS IN THE UNITED STATES. By the Reverend John T. Gillard, S.S.J. Pp. x -f- 298. Josephlte Press, Baltimore, 1941. $3.00. All who are interested in, the Negro problem, whether from a purely scholarly or a practical point of view, will welcome this new 136 BOOK REVIEWS statistical study. Father Gillard is a well known authority on the Negro question. This, together with the care with which he has gathered his statistics and the caution with which he presents his findings, renders Colored Catholics in the United States a valuable reference book. It is not a new venture for Father Gillard. Rather it is an improvement and amplification of an earlier volume published in 1929. The book contains a pleasant mixture of facts and comment. The facts were gathered from the dioceses of the United States and the numerous organized enterprises that are predominantly Negro, and are presented in convenient tables. They cover: the Colored Catholic population according to dioceses, sections, states; free colored, slave, and white population for Southern and Northern Louisiana for the years 1810 and 1860; capacity of Negro Catholic churches in Louisi. ana in 1860; a scholarly estimate of the number of Negro Catholics in the United States at the time of emancipation; and statistics, on the churches, schools, missions, priests, nuns, and welfare works dedicated to Colored Catholics. Throughout the book Father Gillard contrasts the condition of the various fields of work in the past with the present, and offers some explanation of the losses and gains. He gives a full treatment of the difficult problems of indifference, prejudice, and migration. Since this book is something of the nature of an almanac, it is unfortunate that it is not available in an inexpensive paper-bound edition. While there is need of a well-bound edition for schools and libraries, a paper-covered copy would be convenient on the desk of every student of the race problem or worker in any of the many fields of endeavor for the betterment of the Colored race. This is especially true since the available census statistics on Colored Catholics are admittedly inaccurate.--J. T. WHITE, 8.3. [NOTE: Our readers are very likely aware of the fact that Father Gillard died quite unexpe.ctedly since this book review was written, mED.] ONE INCH OF SPLENDOR. By Sister Maw Rosalla of Ma~knoll. Pp. 90. Field Afar Press, New York, 1941. $1.00. It is good for us all to realize that the Catholic Church is truly catholic. This is one of the effects of this book. Here is a tale of old China, a whitened harvest field of souls crying for reapers. It is into this distant land that the Sisters of Maryknoll carry the torch of faith. ¯. 137 BOOK REVIEWS We go at once into the home of Chinese peasants, we see the women fingering and studying the crucifix on the Sisters' habits. The Sisters go on from village to village0 from that of Long Sand Bar to Dangerous Rapids and farther to the village of the Fr~igrance of. the Cinnamon Tree. And everywhere, into both Catholic and pagan homes, they bring the good news, the truth of the Lord of Heaven. In towns, far removed from priest and chapel, they form Rosary Sodalities which will meet on Sunday for the benefit of those unable to travel the 19ng distance to the mission church. Everywhere they recruit members for the Study-the-Doctrine- Time, the catechumenate, to be held within a few months at Rosary Convent. All their work is directed towards this goal f to get pagans to come to this instructiori class. Then, at the convent, during forty days, intensive instruction is given the neophytes. We see old women, young children, all trying to master the fundamentals of our religion. Red marks appear on brown foreheads, as the long nails of Chinese fingers bruise the skin in their effort to trace the sign of the cross. Finally, the examinations are held and the three score and odd pagans are baptized. The Church has grown another inch irr China. This book is recommended for convent community reading. Readers will find that the problems of missionary Sisters are not altogether different from those which they themselves experience. And a greater love for our Faith, which is so eagerly embraced by the Chinese, should spring up in the soul. An'inspiring oneness will.be experienced with these courageous Sisters who have left home, with all the word means, to bring light where before there had been 0nly darknes~.--M. J. DONNELLY, S.~I'. LITURGICAL WORSHIP. By ~1. A. Jungmann, S,J. Translated by a monk of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville: foreword by Rt. Ray. Alculn Deufsch, ¯ Abbot of Collecjeville. Pp.xil -k 141. Frederick Pustet, Inc., New York. 1941. $1.2S. This is a very precious little book, the best in its field known to the reviewer, and, though meant in~fiist instance for priests, both in subject-matter and in presentation, it' should appeal to all religious as Christians and as worshippers of God. In the late Summer of 1938 the Carffsianam at Innsbruck held an institute for priests on "The Theology of Today," at which '~the 138 BOOK REVIEW8 central topic of discussion was the matter of giving a mor~ forceful and dynamic expression to'abstract theological truths." Father 3ung-mann's lectures there delivered, although advanced by the author as something of a rough sketch, were demanded for publication, The German original appeared, in consequence, in 1939. The present reviewer has had the work within arm's length since then and has read it, not once or twice, but six or seven times. No author, so it seemed, had so clearly "isolated" the essentials of Christian worship, none so felicitously outlined the basic laws of development inherent in the very nature of theliturgy. Whether one is interested in some small point" of the present stiucture of the Office, or concerned with the place of the vernacular in modern Dialog Mass, the ultimate a'nswer, illustrated, by historical facts and instances, was almost sure to be indicated in 2ungmann's slender book. It is a great boon to have this now. made available in the.incomparably wider circles of the English-language public. One can list in a moment the themes handled in the volume, but only familiarity with the book itself can convey an idea of how much light is shed on a whole array of pointsall to the fore in the current liturgical movement. Starting with the elemental definition, "Liturgy is the public worship of the Church," the author with skill, and logic, and tact, shows the shortcomings of other definitions, while he draws out the unsuspected depths contained in the formula defended. The second chapter, "In Whom is the Liturgy Reposed?," deals with priesthood, the Priesthood of Christ in Head and members, and the relation of.the ministerial priesthood of Holy Orders towards both Head' and members. "Two Tendencies" are briefly sketched in Chapter Three, that of liturgy toward the beautiful and that of liturgy toward popular appeal. In tracing the working out of these tendencies, a good deal of basic religious psychology is mirrored in miniature. Chapter Four is the kernel of the book: it deals With the Ground- Plan, that worship (ideally) begins with a reading, which is followed by a song, then prayer by the people, and finally, prayer by the priest. In the remaining chapters each of these elements is handled at greater length by itself: The Reading (V), The Singing .(VI), The Prgyer of the People (VII), and The Prayer of the Priest (VIII). Each chapter is scholarly, each chapter is valuable, and their cumulative effect is irresistible. 139 ¯ BOOK. R
