Suchergebnisse

Issue 13.5 of the Review for Religious, 1954. ; Review for Religious SEPTEMBER 15, 1954 Study and the Spiritual Life . John R. Post The World Around Us . John H. Ziegler Pilgrims on theRoad to Love . George Byrne Secular Institutes . Francls N. Korfh Book Reviews Questions and Answers Quinquennial Report VOLUMI~ XIII NUMBER 5 RI::VII::W FOR RI:LI IOUS VOLUME XIII SEPTEMBER, 1954 NUMBER 5 CONTENTS BLENDING STUDY WITH THE SPIRITUAL LIFE--John R. Post, S.d. 225 OUR ADDRESSES . 233 THE WORLD AROUND US--John H. Ziegler, C.S.P . 234 COMMUNICATIONS . 239 FOR YOUR INFORMATION . 240 PILGRIMS ON THE ROAD TO LOVE--George Byrne, S.J .2.4.1 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 244 SECULAR INSTITUTES: SOME QUESTIONS--Francis N. Korth, S.2J.45 PAMPHLETS . , . . . 250 MARIAN YEAR PLAY . 250 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT (By Nonfederated Autonomous Houses and Monhsterles) . 251 REGIONAL CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS .2.6.9 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 26. Little Office during Mass . 270 27. Confession without Verbal Act of Contrition . 270 28. Drinking Water before Communion . 271 29. Confession before Communion . 271 30. Communion when Mortal Sin is Doubtful . 272 BOOK REVIEWS-- The N~w Testament; The Church and Infallibility; Mary in Our Life . 273 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS . 278 NOTICE FOR PUBLISHERS . 280 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, September, 1954. Vol. XIII, No. 5. 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. Entered as second class matter ,lannary 15, 1942, at the Post Office, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Augustine G. E!lard, S.J., Adam C. Ellis, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J., Francis N. Korth, S.J. Copyright, 1954, by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. Permission is hereby granted for quota-tions of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us. please consult notice on Inside back cover. / Blending St:udy wit:h t:he Spiri!:ual Lit:e John R. Post, S.J. MANY young religious who are preparing for the priesthood must spend eigh~ or ten years in the quiet of a seminary be-fore they are confronted with actual work for souls. During that time they look forward with great eagerness to a busy minis-try; but when it comes, it often comes with something of a shock to their interior life. Why is this? The answer seems to be that now for the first time they have had to face up to the age-old problem of blending the active with the contemplative life. A certain amount of shock from this problem is inevitable, as it is in every new ex-perience to be worked out by themselves; but some help can be given them to soften the shock if during their seminary days they are taught to solve another problem, or rather, the same problem on a smaller scale, namely, how to blend the life of study with the spir-itual life. One young student, for instance, finds himself in this frame of mifid: in the morning he offers up to God all his p~ayers, works (studies included), and sufferings, and then is content if during the day he can keep his life of study from interfering with his life of prayer. The most he asks is that study and prayer just keep running in parallel lanes like two runners on a track. Another sees the pursiait of knowledge as a help to perfection, and'so, being a sensible religious, he determines to make the two desires fuse or blend into one organic whole. With him the life of study and the life of prayer, while really distifict, penetrate and help each other just as the soul does the body. T, he second theory will be explained in this article, which, though tailored to suit the'cleric, can, it is hoped, with a tuck and a hem be made to fit the student sister and brother as well. As with the problem of the active ministry, sb too here, the so-lution lies in the interpenetration of motives. In the years of for-mation the young men must learn two things: first, to study their Latin and Greek, their philosophy and theology, with an earnest intention of progressing in the service of God; then, to pray with an ardent desire to advance in the studies in which they are engaged. For, although the time set aside for spiritual duties is generally dis- 225 JOHN R. POST Review for Religious tinct from that given to studies, still the service of God should be made the predominant and actual motive in both. The theory, then, can be summed up in two phrases of St. Ignatius: "Let [scho-lastics] strive to have a right intention in their studies".and. "in their prayers let them frequently beg for the grace of knowl-edge." That is the theory, but some eager student might ask: "How in practice would you go about preparing an assignment in G~:eek or theology and at the same time maintain this right intention? In other words, tell us how each particular branch of our studies can be made.to help our spiritual lives and how our spiritual lives can at the same time help our studies." This is a rather large order, but let me try to fill it. To begin with, then, in practice a man blends his studies with his spiritual life simply by choosing a virtuous intention to keep working in class or at his desk. Seize upon some honest motive or motives from the many that are available, let those motives draw your mind into the heart of the matter and keep it there, and they will turn that hour of class or study into an hour of obedience, of zeal for souls, or of any other virtue. Some motives, it is true, are higher and more meritorious than others; some are more effective in stimulating the desire to learn; but every intention, provided it be virtuous and supernatural, is a "right intention" in the sense in which spiritual writers use the expression. And this leads to the consideration of a most fundamental and essential virtue in the whole life of study--the virtue of studiositas. St. Thomas, who ought to know, defines studiositas, or zeal for knowledge, as a moral virtue which stimulates and controls a man's curiosity. According to him a student, to be a student at all, must be curious. He must come to his books hungry to learn, with a hun-dred questions in his mind begging to be answered. "How did Cicero and St. 3erome express a concessive clause in Latin? What is that slight difference in meaning between quarnquarn and quarnois? I wonder how this particular clause in English would look dressed up in perfect Latin idiom." And so on and so on. These are the questions real students of Latin ask themselves, ask their books and the teachers because they want to know. It is studiositas, then, that makes the life of sudy. Other higher and more supernatural motives may be used to elevate this virtue, but none can take its place. No one can be a student without it. St. Thomas Aquinas, who was 226 September, 1954 STUDY AND SPIRITUAL LIFE both saint and scholar, prayed God to keep this natural curiosity of his ever alive. "Grant, I beseech Thee, O merciful God, that I may ardently desire, prudently inquire, .truthfully understand and per-fectly fulfill what is pleasing to Thee." These last words of the saint give us a glimpse into his inner life and show us how he blended his life of studies with his spiritual life. "May I ardently desire . . . what is pleasing to Thee." Thomas Aquinas, prince and patron of all students, was first of all as curi-ous as ever a man could be, curious about Aristotle and Cicero, about the nature of man and the world about him. And he never lost his curiosity. His Summa Tbeotogica alone contains some 4,000 questions. Yet, his natural love for knowledge was con-trolled and intensified, not lessened, by his love for the will of God declared to him by his superiors. "May I ardently desire . . . what is pleasing to Thee," he says. Besides the motive of stddiositas, therefore, two other motives attracted him to his studies, the motives of obedience and 'of charity. He was curious first because he natu-rally loved the truth which he found in a book of Aristotle; and he became more curious because he knew that God wanted him to study this book of Aristotle; and most curious because he knew that he would please God by studying Aristotle. By these means, then, his study became triply fascinating to St. Thomas. Two high motives drawn from his spiritual life combined with a natural motive and all three blending together drew his mind to the study of one and the same work. So, the blending of which we speak is the blending of a supernatural desire, or desires, with the natural desire of studiositas. The motives of obedience and charity, which we have just toudhed upon, are, I suppose, the easiest for the average religious to manage throughout his course and at the same time the most meri-torious. Another which can blend with all branches of his study is the motive for zeal for souls. In all the studies which the Church has arranged with admirable foresight and wisdom, there is a verti-cal intention which looks up from the different subjects to be studied, rising step by step from the elements of Latin and Greek grammar right up to theology, and based on the following chain of reasoning: the better prepared I am in the,lower subjects, the better grasp will I also have of sacred doctrine and so be the better equipped to preach the word of God to others. This is one way of looking at the course and drawing from the apostolate at the top a greater attraction for all the studies which lead up to it. But, even on the lower levels-- 227 JOHN R. POST Ret~iew /'or Religious that is to say," while one is studying Latin and Greek and philosophy --there is room for a horizontal intention of putting this very matter to good use for souls. I mean the apostolate of the class-room. In teaching orders especially, in which a large percentage of each province is engaged in the work of education, superiors and students alike are forced to think of their houses of study as normal schools and of the time of studies as a period of training for future teachers and professors. The novice who is studying the different uses of the Greek dative should remind himself that he may be teaching that very same lesson one day in any one of the order's schools. Students of the humanities and of philosophy will be given greater motivation if they are told from time to time how many of their religious brethren are teaching those subjects in the colleges. Theologians know that every priest is teaching theology in one way or another, either in the classroom, or in the pulpit or in the confessional. Thus, the teaching vocation provides a specia! in-centive for applying oneself with greater vigor to that part of the course in which one is now engaged. At this point I would like to pause and answer a question that must be bothering the reader as all these different motives (and we haven't come to the end of them yet) are being passed in review be-fore him. The quesion might be phrased as follows: How is it pos-sible to keep all these motives in mind at once? To increase in knowledge, to obey God, to please God, to teach others--how can one manage them psychologically? The answer is that is one is not obliged to use them all. To blend a life of study with the spiritual life, only two are required, the motive of studiositas and one other. But, if. others are used, only that of studiositas is to be kept in the front of the mind, while the others are lined up behind it as ulterior motives--just as in arranging a hand of cards you keep only one in the foreground in full view while all the others are held behind it peeking out a little over the edge. Does that mean that God will have to "take a back seat" to ablative absolutes or ens ut sic? Yes, at least while one is studying ablative absolutes or ens ut sic. Or, to put it another way, God Himself tells you to study and.by so doing He "takes a back seat" for Himself, always continuing, however, to occupy the first place in your heart. Study of the Humanities The study of the humanities presents its own peculiar motive to the religious who is engaged in it, a motive which, if employed with 228 September, 1954 STUDY ~.ND SPIRITUAL LIFE care and discretion, can give to his spiritual life a greater depth and breadth than it ever bad before. This motive is found in the word humanitas, for, as I see it, the purpose .of all classical studies in Latin, Greek, and English is to increase and intensify ar sense of kin-ship between the student and all the other members of the human family. Thus, with his symiJathetic understanding broadened and deepened and his sensibilities more refined, he can more easily respond to motives of faith which teach him to love all men in Christ and for Christ. As is~ clear from looking at ourselves, not all men are saints. The exercises of the novitiate may lead religious to expect too much of their fellow men. From reading the, lives of the saints and the ways of reaching sanctity they can acquire a partial, not a total view of life. Spiritual theology is likely to idealize and adorn too much. Philosophy, on the other hand, strips life of its warmth and color. History and literature, correcting the other two views, show us human beings as they are. They show us man as the "noble, lawless savage" that Newman speaks of, "whose morals find interests are disfigured and perverted by all the imperfections of passion, 'folly and ambition." So, we must not expect from litera-ture any more than it in'tends to teach us, or any more than we can reasonably expect to find in nature itself, whose mirror it aims to be, and certainly we must not expect to find in it a guide to (he highest sanctity. We have that in Christ and in the Church. "It is the business of art and literature," as Fleckner says, "not to save men's souls, but to make them more worth the saving." The most literature intends to teach us, then, is that human nature with all its faults is very lovable in itself. Then, after viewing its faults through the medium of literature, we ourselves can reason to the great need nature always had, and still has, for the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ. Outside the monastery walls, for instance, it is a very human thing for a young man to fail in love. Men are like that. And so Shakespeare enters into the heart of one of them and gives us his Romeo in all the pangs of love-sickness, saying: "See how she leans her cheek upon that hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That l might touch that cbeek t."" That hand, he says, and that cheek, as if there were no others in 229 JOHN R. POST Review [or Religious the world. But, there are no others for Romeo. Isn't that ~he way lovers act? Isn't it human for young men to "moon" that way. Shakespeare has caught this universal trait, loved it, and invited us to love it too. It is also very human for men who have done great things for their country to take compl~acency in it, and so we sense something of our own humanity in every speech of Cicero as he struts across the floor of the Senate letting men know how lucky they are to have him as consul. Yet, boastful as Cicero is, his love for his friends and his family, his loyalty to Rome and hatred for all corruption give us an example of a very noble Roman. Achilles, the greatest warrior of them all, pouts in his tent before the walls of Troy when his prize is taken from him. Antigone has become for all time the personification of sisterly affection, just as Hecuba has of aged grief, and Aeneas of filial piety. Now, the Church thinks that it .will be good for the future priests to realize how many different kinds of souls it takes to make up the human race, and to know them and love them for what they are. We know from faith that they are lovable for a higher reason, but lit-erature teaches us that they are also lovable for the basic humanity that is in them, that image of God, warped and twisted by human passion in a way that is so much like our own. So, the special pur-pose put before the student of literature, and the one he should grasp and blend with the others, may be summed up in one phrase-- to love human beings. Motioes for Studying Philosophy The subject of philosophy, too, is not without its intrinsic motives which can be made to blend with the spiritual life. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," says Hamlet: but, we might add, not many more. For philosophy is the study of all things knowable according to their ultimate causes. The matter of philosophy, therefore, in-cludes the world, the nature of man, and even the very being of God, as far as these things can be known by the light of reason. In natural theology, for instance, students are taught to prove the. ex-istence of God and His attributes, and how all things come from Him by creation, are kept in existence by His conservation and con-' currence, and finally have Him for their ultimate purpose. In this whole field no religious who has ever made the Spiritual Exercises can fail to see the very subject matter of the Foundation and the Contemplation to Obtain Divine Love. Moreover, the laws of 230 September, 1954 STUDY AND SPIRITUAL LIFE thought which God has implanted in our intellect, and the laws of conduct in our will, the nature 6f the human soul, its origin and its destiny are treated of in logic, ethics, and psychology. That such knowledge can, and should be, of immense profit to a religious in acquiring a more intimate knowledge of himself goes without saying. But, apart from this bearing of philosophy on his own personal life, it is in this branch of his studies that the student is forging some of his strongest weapons for his future apostolate. It is agreed, I think, by Catholic apologists that the most dangerous at-tacks on the faith today come .from ~hilosophical quarters, and hence they must be met with philosophical weapons. The Church is assailed by the false doctrines of Communism, of the rights of the state in education; she has to meet the ~rguments of those who would justify birth control and so-called mercy killing: she has to be able to give the answers to so many who question her about the very existenc~ of God and the immortality of the soul. And all of these questions have their answers--solid, reasonable answers-- in Scholastic. philosophy. Knowing this, then, a young religious would be foolish and failing in his duty if he did not study his phi-losophy with the idea of defending the Church in this all-important field. Motives For Studgin9 Theologg It takes little effort to understand how the study of theology, which is the science of God, can have a stimulating effect on the spiritual life of a theologian. The reason is that the subject matter of theology is exactly the same as the matter of our prayer and the interior life. All that God has revealed about Himself and about His plans for the sanctification of the world, all that one needs to know, and more than one needs to know, by way of credenda and agenda, to make one a saint is presented to us over a period of four years in lectures and books, arranged according to the most scientific system of thought yet devised. Treatises on the Unity and Trinity of God; treatises on God as Creator and Redeemer; treatises on the Incarnate God, Jesus Christ, and the mysteries of His life; a treatise on the Blessed Mother of God: treatises on God's ways of drawing men to Himself by means of grace and the sacraments; the Church of God and the four last things; the laws of God and of the Church --- each and every one of these subjects speaks to us of God . . . God ¯ . . God. Theology is the science of God. We must not conclude, however, that classes in theology are 231 30HN R. POST Reoiew ~or Religious meant to be spiritual exhortations. Thgy are not. Moreover, some of the theses may seem as lacking in warmth as mathematics: but like mathematids, they are necessary to show the strength and logic of the system. The hnowledye of God, then, not the love of Him, is the immediate object of theology--clear, solid, profound knowledge based on divine revelation. But since knowledge prepares for love, one's knowledge of God cannot help but prepare his soul for acts of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and ch;irity, not only during the times of formal prayer, but also during class as one listens to professors expounding the sacred doctrine and in one's roo~m when one can delve into the depths of Sdripture and tradition for oneself. That is why St. Augusti.ne likens the students of the-ology to the contemplative Mary who sat at the feet of desus listen-ing to His words. "Let them choose for themselves the better part," he says, "which shall not be taken from them, and let them give themselves up to the word, drink in eagerly the sweetness of doc-trine, and be taken up with the science of salvation." One of the aims of this article has, I hope, been achieved. It was to explain how in practice the life of studies can be made to help the spiritual life throughout the course. To this end some of the super-natural mo'tives or desires which can be blended with the natural desire of studiositas have been developed in detail. And doubtless there are others. One can, for instance, find great inspiration in studying out of gratitude to his own order, or out of reparation to the Sacred Heart. This last becomes especially valuable when the studies appear to be difficult or dull. But, those intentions we have discussed show at least how one can go about supernaturalizing his study habits right from the beginning of the course. Using the motives of studiositas, obedience, charity, and zeal for souls, ,which are common to every branch of knowledge, a student can also apply himself to the humanities because he wants to deepen his love for his fellow man, to philosophy to help him d~efend the Church, and to the61ogy because he wants to increase his faith, hope, and love of God. Entering upon his studies with any or all of these motives the young levite will turn his hours of class and study into exercises of the spiritual life and win great merit for himself, the merit of these lofty virtues. Nothing remains now but the easy task of pointing out how a young man's life of prayer can be made to help his life of study. In a perfect blending of the two it is clear that each must contribute 232 September, 1954 STUDY AND SPIRITUAL LIFE something to the other; and if, by means of the lot:ty mqtives we have just described, one's study-life has been turned into an instru-ment of the highest virtue, does it not seem just that in times of prayer a religious should make some return and beg of God the grace of making greater progress in his studies? He knows that grace is necessary for every supernatural work, and the more supernatural, it is, the more grace is needed. As he tries, therefore, to manage the higher motives in his study, it becomes increasingly clear that, al, though'we apply ourselves to the lesson in Greek or philosophy, still it is God who must give the increase. Moreover, when we plead with God to increase our spirit of curiosity or to give us a more re-tentive memory, we are asking Him only for what He Himself de-sires. St. John Damascene defines prayer as "the petition of fitting things from God." What can be more fitting, or more in accordance with God's will, than th~it a student, should make progress in his studies? If God asks every religious in his years of formation to strive seriously and eonstantly to acquire a mastery of his subject, surely He cannot take it amiss or accuse us of bringing in distractions if we beg Him now and then in our colloquies to assist us in carry-ing out" His own will, especially if the fulfillment of His will re-dounds so much to the defense of the t:aith, the spread of Catholi~ education, and the sanctification of .our own souls. This was done byi.St. Thomas, as we have seen. One's examination of conscience, toO, can be made to serve the cause of study by keeping a careful watch over one's motives and nourishing the solid habits of indus-try, ~bedience, and the others. And thus it will come about that by." a sort of interpenetration our studies will help our prayer and our prayer will help our studies, and both, thus joined toge~her, will bring ~:orth much fruit--in the spirit of the saints--to the greater glory of God. OUR ADDRESSES We have three different addresses. It would~ help considerably if all who com-municate with us would note them: 1. Bdsiness communications, sfich" as subscriptions, renewals, etc., should be sent to: REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 606 Harrison St., Topeka, Kansas. 2. Books for review should be sent to: Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RE-LIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana. 3. All other editorial communications, such as manuscripts, questions, letters for\publication, etc., should be sent to: The Editors, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS" St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. 233' The World Around Us John H. Ziegler, C.S.P. THE families and friends of religious continually have to make lightning-like mental adjustments when conversing with Father Luke, Brother Bede, or Sister Mary Francis. Blithely we speak of a joke heard in the "common room," of having to at- ~end."particular examen," or of being assigned a new "obedience" next week--all terms capable of various interpretations besides the consecrated meanings we have attached to them. Most mysterious of all, however, must be our use of "the .world." When heard for the first time from young, red-cheeked Frater Paul, a statement like "I used to play left end for Catholic CentraE but that was before I left the world," could give some unititiated layman the eerie sensa-tion of being in the presence of a departed soul--appearances to the contrary notwithstanding. Occasionally too we are guilty of downright equivocation when referring to "the world," thereby indreasing our chances of being misunderstood. In one sense we left the world as soon as we" begin to live in a religious house, free from such worldly ways as catching [he 8:20 bus to work every' mornin'g and saving to buy a spring hat br a new pair of shoes. That world, however, is not in itself the world which hates Christ nor that which the spiritual writers un-animously warn us to shun under pain of losing our souls. "Our parents, to whom above all others under God we owe our vocations, live or lived in that world, along with countless other lay Catholics whose solid goodness we dare not question. In another sense, of course, there is "the world" which we as well as all Christians mdst renounce, the world which is its own idol, the world which makes of pleasure, power, and wealth the supreme goals of living. This world the religious not only leaves, but in doing so burns his bridges behind him so to speak by ceding to God his legitimate" rights tb use what the worldlings abuse. Hence it is always dangerous and some- ~:imes sinful to return to this seductive world even in our thotights and imaginings. But to dwell occasionally upon the present condi-tion of other men and women living in that world of cares and iinxieties from which mercifully we are sheltered can be very profit-able. Never to do so 'may even be to risk emotional immaturity,, a 234 THE WORLD AROUND US serious if not fatal flaw in a religious. For, although at first it sounds shocking, we can indeed learn much from the world. For example, our self-complacency shatters into a million pieces at the thought of how many good, prayerful, mortified people there are who have no title but Miss, Mr., or Mrs. At five in the morning the jangling of a lone alarm clock strikes the ear no more pleasant!y than the clanging of a bell or a throaty "Benedicamus Domino." Yet there are lay Catholics who rise at such an hour, say morning prayers, and set out for Mass in the nearest church. Perhaps they have had a full-night's sleep, perhaps they have been up and down half a dozen times with a restless child or a sick husband or wife. Others, particularly young women who work in offices, attend a noonday Mass during their lunch hour and receive Holy Commun-ion- which meant before the new Eucharistic fast regulations that they had been pounding a typewriter for three or four hours without so much as a sip of water. Man.y say their rosary daily; some steady old breadwinners have spent a few minutes before the Blessed Sac- .rament on their way home from work every day for years. These are by no means all the Catholics living in the world, not even the majority; but the point is that these few pray and sacrifice regularly or~ their own, without our schedule and rule, without the support and good example of our religious brethren, without, yes, the leisure time for prayer afforded us by our state of life. In the parable it was the servant who received only one talent and buried it unprofitably who was so severely reprimanded and punished. We shtidder.to think how severe would ~ave been the condemnation of the servant who received five talents if he had not made good use of them ! Paradoxically, it may also help us to be better religious to recall at times how many bad people there are in the world, crude, cruel, sensual, selfish people whom we seldom meet even in our apostolic contacts. How trifling the annoying faults of our confreres seem beside the gross wickedness of many who pass as respectable in the wgrld. Day in and day out, for instance, fine Catholic men and w,gmen must shut their ears against the flood of foul talk,~which sv~.irls around.workbenches and desks in, the,places they-~are~employed a demorali.zin.g source~ of temptation vce are spared. They must e~i~rn a living.ami~o fierce and often, unethical competition where it is every man for himself. Admittedly that blustering member c~f the. local community who somehow irritates us may not yet have at- 235 JOHN I-~. ZIEGLER Reolew [or Religious tained the highest reaches of humility and charity, but in 6ur .heart we can always be sure that 'if we w~r'e hungry, or sick, or in distress of any kind, he or she would be among the first to come to our aid no matter what the cost. :"' Speaking of per~gnality clashes and apparent lncompat~blhty agwe l~tbel it today, it would be enormously na'ive to suppose that these are restricted to convents and monasteries. Most religious had the good fortune to grow up in homes where father and mother settled their differences amicably and pulled together. Unfortun-ately this is not a universal pattern. The eloquent instruction be-fore marriage used in this country reminds the couple that "the fu,~ ture, with its hopes and disappoint .m. ents, its successes and its fail'- U~es, ii~s pleasures and its pains, its joys and its sorrows" is hidden from their eyes.' Often enough that" future soon reveals itself to be ¯ a bitter disappointment when one or the other partner under the stress of married and family life sho, ws up as a spiteful, unbending, irresponsible person.,. The ea~.y arid 15o, pular way out leads to a divorce court. But eyery parish priest knows of more than one case of sheer heroism on the part of a husband or wife who for years has ~t~d up under this cross rather than renege on a sacred promise and break up a home. So when we find the company of Father Glum oi Sister Garrhlous especially trying, our supernatural charity towards them will be no less meritorious and may even be more effective if we realize that since the fall of Adam human relations have been'an ifi-escapable problem for everybody. Enlarging our horizons and having a world vision can:in many. ways be a tonic to our sometimes sluggish spiritual lives. It is, we must never forget, our world since by .entering the common life we do not and in fact cannot resign from membership in the human race[ Moreover, our apostolic vocation compels us to see in every sinner a potential saint, and without indulging in the dubious esti-mate Of our age as the most wicked in history, we can safely say that objectively at least innumerable mortal sins are being committed. How puny and cowardly do our sacrifices appear against such a backdrop! Listlessly we dally over hundreds of opportunities to merit graces for the spiritually underprivileged while whole nations fall away from God. While Rome burns--thank God, not yet literally--we fritter away our time in the careless performance of our duties of state. Psychologists, say a well-adjusted person must be orientated; he must realize the circumstances of time and place 236 ' September, 1954 THE WORLD AROUND US and people in which he as an individual moves. Spiritual orientation --realizing our vital position in the Mystical Body--is even more necessary, particularly for the .religious assigned by obedience to work that naturally speaking is unattractive and unrewarding. Only when he or she fully appreciates the far-reaching; world-wide conse-quences of any task well done out of love for God can there be achieved that inner contentment and peaceful adjustment to the de-tails of daily life which should characterize every servant of God. A wilfully discontented religious is something of an "Indian giver," since it must be presumed that we knew at least confusedly what we were promising when we gave ourselves to God. Only the wilfully discontented, however, can be blamed, because everyone is apt to feel discontented now and then. Here, too, in these 6ccasional periods of dissatisfaction, turning to the stark reality of the outside World can do wonders for our morale. Imagine us standing before a group of young Catholic mothers and fathers of not poor but moderate circumstances and telling them with a straight face our most recent cause for dissatisfaction: that Sister Fortunata was deemed worthy of a new habit while we were told to put up with our patched one for awhile, or that Father Procurator's fondness for ginger snaps has led him to buy another case of them with the result that the whole comm.unity will be munching on the tasteless things for some weeks to come. While being somewhat amused and per-haps a bit surprised to find such utterly human reactions beneath the religious garb, these Catholic couples could very well give us an en-lightening five-minute lecture on how much it costs to house, clothe, and feed a growing family today, presenting as evidence a handful of unpaid bills. For all its inconveniences and privations. our poverty is at least secure. Their support depends on a monthly pay check which an extraordinary expense like illness can shrink to almost nothing. And then there are always the really poor whose existence, if we are not privileged t!o work among them, we may tend to forget. If we are stationed in a large city, the chances are that less than' a mile or two from our front door there are slums, the decrepitude and squalor of which would send us hurrying back gratefully to our neat little convents. There is little disagreement that over the course of a lifetime the~ most painful sacrifices~made by a religious: stem: from~ obedience. As the venerable Trappist~ lay brother is supposed to have admitted: 'Tve gotten used to almost everything but doing what I'm told." 237 JOHN H, ZIEGLER Reoiew for Religious Again it would be unrealistic to forget that not only religious have superiors. One thing that can be affirmed of our superiors is that however imprudent at times we may think their commands--how seldom all the facts warrant this opinion--their designs are moti-vated by a sincere desire for the good of the community and each of its members. Some of the most embittered persons one can meet in the world are those whose careers were blighted by an unscrupulous executive"s passing over their genuine ability and service to give the nod to some less worthy but conniving crony. The religious who harbors the suspicion that s.uperiors lie awake after night prayers de-vising ways to make him miserable is rapidly becoming pathological, both mentally and spiritually. Our rules and constitutions, or more often customs, sometimes reach a directing or restraining finger into nearly every department of life. But with admirable self-control in view of their past experience with red tape and army regulations, veterans of military service calmly assure us that we have no mon-opoly on minutiae. A West Point graduate confessed that, after the discipline of the Point, the externals of novitiate training did not seem overly difficult. Considerations such as these are not based upon a vision of re-ligious men and women, faithful to their obligations, but for the most part unhappy and disgruntled, dragging their way through life like dreary prisoners. Not at all! But is it unfair and untrue to concede that sooner or later into the life of even the most fervent among us there slink the twin devils of discouragement and self-pity? When they come, bent upon upsetting our spiritual equili-brium, should we not have some natural defense at hand as well as sound supernatural principles? All of creation is at our disposal to use in attaining our eternal destiny. Why not turn the contempo-rary world with its crosses and problems and temptations into a re-minder that the yoke we bear and the burden we shoulder are not altogether unique? ' And yet in one way they are unique. Because we are cross-- bearers not only by necessity as all men are, not only by Christian resignation as most good layfolk are, but by choice, as are all those who voluntarily follow the counsels. In return we above all others have Christ's promise of a hundredfold and life everlasting. This hundredfold we can spoil for ourselves if, too intent upon our own little world, we see our daily sacrifices magnified out of all propor-tion to what they really are. And even our store of eternal merit 238 September, 1954 COMMUNICATIONS can be decreased if, without a world-wide vision of the urgent needs of this hour, we fail to realize how much more we could help if we tried. Com rn un ica!:ions Reverend Fathers: This communication was prompted by Father Gallen's excellent article in the May issue of the REVIEW, "Pray Reasonably." He men-tions common difficulties in retreats for religious women, many of which, I feel, d~pend upon the methods of the retreat master. Often the presentation of points for n~editation loses its essential character through excessive length. Souls wearied by prolonged oratory are deprived of both the leisure and the inclination for fur-ther lengthy reflection. If these points are to retain their purpose of preparation for mental prayer, twenty minutes or half an hour would not seem to be an unreasonable limit, with the explicit in-junction that the retreatants continue the meditation themselves, al-though not necessarily remaining in the chapel to do so. A novel and perhaps very fruitful method of presenting the points would be that of the retreat master "meditating aloud" with brief pauses for the individual to add her own affections, even perhaps with both retreat master and retreatants kneeling. The additional time provided by this shortening of the points might be profitably used in individual contact with souls in the con-fessional. Many sisters do not have an opportunity for spiritual direction during the year and wish to seek advice during the annual retreat. If the hearing of confessions is delayed until the last few days of the retreat, or if the period allotted each day is very limited, the brevity which consideration for others demands makes it difficult to obtain adequate counsel. :~ I am sure that many would benefit by a series of articles on the subject of the retreat in the REVIEW, similar to the excellent treat-ment of spiritual direction a few years ago. Undoubtedly both re-treat masters and retreatants could share many suggestions in this way.--A SISTER. 239 lZor Your/n[orma!:ion Our Proiects In our March, 1954, number (p. 61) we suggested a "project" in the form of pooling ideas as to what it takes to be a good superior. We fiave received some response (even though rather meager) to this suggestion, but we have not yet had time to organize the material. We hope to have it ready for the November number. Also in the March number (p. 62) we suggested an "American Founders' Series." The response to this has also been meager; but the first article of what ,may (or may not) be a series will appear in November. Pharmacists' Guilds It is no easy thing today for the Catholic pharmacist to live up to the moral principles and ideals taught by the Church. One help-ful means of doing this is mutual cooperation in the form of phar-macists' guilds. One such guild is The Druggists' Guild of St. dames, of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky. This guild has published a pamphlet entitled Our Faith in Pharrnac~j, which explains the moral principles and ideals, tells how to organize a guild, and gives a model of an appropriate constitution and by-laws. The ~0rice of the pam-phlet is twenty-five cents. It can be obtained from: The Druggists' Guild of St. James, 109 W. 6th St., Covington, Ky. Trapplsfs Leave New Mexico" The Trappist community of Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey, Pecos, New Mexico is soon to be moved to a new site in Oregon. Their New Mexico property is now for sale. It is considered suitable for a convalescent home or some such purpose for any religious group not dependent on natural resources for its support. An illus-trated brochure with pertinent information may be had by writing the Father Abbot, Right Reverend M. Columban 'Hawkins, o.c.s.o., Guadalupe Abbey, Pecos,.New Mexico. 240 Pilgrims on !:he Road t:o Love George Byrne, S,J. THE strangest answer ever given to a questioner was given by Christ to Nicodemus. A doctor of the Law, he had been im-pressed by this "Rabbi, who came a teacher from God." From him, if from anyone, he could learn the ideal of life. What on earth did Christ's answer mean? "A man must be~ born again of water and the Holy Ghost." If there had been question only of some reno-vation by water, he might have understood. John the Baptist's work was not so enigmatic. But to be "born of the Spirit,". and so "to be spirit," entering on a new life unlike the "birth of the flesh," was something unheard of in the schools where the "masters in Israel" taught. Frankly, he did not understand. He was familiar~ with the book of Deuteronomy. He l~new its precept to love God with the whole heart, with the whole strength. But he did not know the meaning of real love; the love which "whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be'destroyed, never falleth away." This love bad nothing of earth in it; his mind had not yet been opened to "heav-enly things." He fancied that he loved, and with him we all so fancy; but our love is a love of desire, a yearning of the heart to clasp for self something that will enrich us. When personal gain disal~- pears, the "love" vanishes. It is still more fickle when faced with the cost of suffering. It was not love, pure love. Shakespeare merely repeats St. Paul: "Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds." Pure love is uncaused. It is of heaven; it is heaven, fo~ "God is Love." A complete birth of the spirit is needed to secure it: "Create a dean heart in me, 0 God." Nicodemus must realize how "God so loved the wi~rld as to give His only begotten Son." Nico-demus, with his fellow Jews, practiced an observance calculated to hasten the "restoration of Israel." Self was the kernel of apparent fidelity. The Apostles, too, gave that they might get: "Wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel?" Their feet were not firmly set, as pilgrims, on the road to love--pure love, God's love. For three years the Master had been pointing the way; but their "hearts were slow to believe." About to leave them, He de-clared: "I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear 241 GEORGE BYRNE Reuieto ~:or Religious them now." They had to be "born agai'n" of the Holy Spirit; He "would teach them all truth." He would do more. He would come; He would abide with them. They would not remain "or-phans." They were to find their 'way to the school of love. Born of God, they would love; and, loving with the real love, they would know Him. Before Pentecost the Apostles remained behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. After Pentecost they were "wit-nesses of the Holy Ghost." They bad been born again to the true love of God. Now. they wanted to give that they "might be chil-dren of their Father in heaven": "They went from the pr~esence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer re-proach for the name of Jesus." "To GIVE AND NOT TO COUNT THE COST" We saw in a previous article (REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, XIII [July, 1954], 211) that, though all of us would resent' being told that we are inc.apable of love, we should be read9 enough to demur about the epithet. "holy." Even though we might count ourselves among the class of "good religious," there would be a lurking feeling that "holy" is reserved for the "saints." We rather think of it as applicable to some rare supermen, who have shaken the world's dust from their feet and have reached a No-Ordinary-Man's Land, through an asceticism, and a still more esoteric mysticism, beyond our range. A fundamental mistake, since "holiness" and "'real love" are identified: "He who loveth is born of God." St. John, who bad pondered over Christ's reply to Nicodemus, at last under-stood it fully at Pentecost. When he began to write his Epistle, he had "been born again" and had come to "know God" with the knowledge that "is eternal life: that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." The truth is easily stated. In practice, however, it seems one of those easy lessons hard to learn. John could speak of that "which we have heard, which we have seen with our ~yes . and our hands hav~ handled, of the word of life." St. Peter would strengthen our faith in its trial with the words, "Whom having not seen, you love." We remain doubtful: "how, where, and when have we shown this love? The Master Himself has removed all uncertainty: "Lord, when did we see Thee hungry . . . ? Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." The test of love is generosity; the test of pure love is unselfish generosity: "to give, and not to count the cost . . . to labor and not 242 September, 1954 PILGRIMS ON THE ROAD TO LOVt~ to seek reward": "Do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: ¯ . . and you shall be the sons of the Highest." The "rich man" may well, like the Pharisee, have pridec] himself on his religion of temple service and Law, observance; growth in holiness he neglected. Lazarus, at his gate, offered him an oppor- ¯ -tunity. of growing in love by compassion. He neglected it; he was buried in hell, where all the loveless go! St. Francis de Sales has been called the saint of love: his pen distilled the word; his actions breathed it. His friends asked him the way to holiness. "You must love God with all your heart; and your neighbor as yourself," he.answered. "Yes," they said, "we know all that; but bow is one to do it?" To their insistence he replied: "Methods and systems I have.n't, got. You learn to love by loving; as you learn to speak by spe~iking, to run by running. ¯ . . Begin as a mefe~pprentice, and the very power of love will lead you on to become master of the art." " St. 'Paul, certainI~ a fire-eater, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter aga~nst~the d~sc~ple~of the Lord," d~d sit down as an ap-prentice to learn. He mastered th~ lesson and left it as an heirloom for us in his beautiful "Song of Love." If we would be "holy," we could do no better than constantly sing to ourselves this song, and let its melody harmonize with all we think about or do to oust. fellowmen. Let us begin the apprenticeship at home before looking for arctic regions to whrm with rays of our kindliness. This was the "little way" of Thgr~se of Lisieux. ~She daily tended, in her own little garden, roses whose perfume spread far and wide. Let us take St. Paul's Song of Love, and place in an opposite column the growl of selfishness. CHARITY is patient . . . is kind: on the look-out to help . . . envieth not: encourages, praises . . . dealeth not perversely . . . is not puffed up . . . is not ambitious . . . seeketh'not her own . . . .SELFISHNESS is impatient: "I can't stand thls"; "give it to me now" . . . is intolerant, bored: keeps what it has; looks for more . . . is jealous: criticizes, condemns to ap-pear bigger . . . loves to "hit back," to "take dowa that fellow's prideV' . . . lets others know what it has done; thrives on flattery . . . is full of its own importance; expects due reqognition . . . insists on its rights; "number one" is never second . . . 243 GEORGE BYRNE CHARITY is not provoked to anger . rejoiceth not in iniquity, but . . . with the truth . . . SELFISHNr:SS is touchy: flares up at a word or an act . . . admires the crafty; is afraid of sin-cerity . . . beareth all things . . . believeth all things . . . hopeth all things . . . endureth all things, . never falleth away. complains of each pin-prick . . . is suspicious, on its guard . . . is cynical: throws cold water . . . has little staying power when sacrifice is needed: is fickle. As religious, we make an examination of conscience at least once, peihaps twice a day. A mere inventory of so many duties well done, poorly done, or forgotten, does not carry us very far on the way to real improvement. The point to be stressed is not the work done, but the motive, the spirit, animating it. Our divine Master made this clear in commendin~g Mary Magdalen: "Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much." If instead of "Charity" w~ read in the first column, "Jesus," we see how true it is: "Jesus is patient, is kind, beareth all things, etc." Then try our own name: "John, Mary, etc." We soon see how little we fit into the "Char-ity" column; on the contrary, how much we are at home in the selfishness parade. Having made the discovery, let us look forward to possible op-portunities during the next hour, this morning, or this afternoon, of being "patient, kind, enduring," and the rest: let us resolve to profit by some of them. It is thus. that we "learn to love b,y loving." It is thus that we really start as pilgrims on the road to love and find to our surprise that we have more in common with the Heart of Love, the Sacred Heart, than we imagined. Holiness, wl~ich is growth in love, is not an empty dream. OUR CONTRIBUTORS JOHN R. POST is master of novices at the Jesuit novitiate, Shadowbrook, at Lenox, Massachusetts. JOHN H. ZIEGLER is doing graduate studies at the Catholic University of America. GEORGE BYRNE is professor of ascetical theology at Mill-town Park, Dublin, Ireland. FRANCIS N. KORTH is a member of our editorial. board. 244 'i Secular Ins!:d:u!:es: Some ( ues!:ions Francis N. Korth, S.J. IN A PREVIOUS ISSUE of this REVIEW (XIII [1954], 108)~, I referred to a number of interesting points about secular insti-tutes, many of which came up during the discussions of the ruary, 1954, Chicago meeting dealing with secular institutes. At the time I mentioned that I hoped to present these points in a future article, possibly in question-and-answer form. This is'the redemp-tion of that promise. The items are more or less iso'lated points. They are being presented with a view to filling out to some extent the general picture of what a secular institute is. It is hoped they will fulfill the purpose for which they are intended. I. Must applicants necessarily go to a distant city where a house of the secular institute is located? Personal acquaintance of the applicant should be had by the adviser who acts for the secular institute. This usually means a trip on someone's part. Later ori some other provision for the training of successful can~lidates closer to their home might possibly be worked out, especially if there are several such candidates living in about the same vicinity. However, that solution would depend upon a number of circumstances: sometimes it might be possible, other times it would be impossible. It would be better not to count upon it but rather to more or less plan on going for the necessary training.to the place where the house of the secular institute is lo-cated, at least for some period of time. 2. Is it adoisable to admit ex-religious as candidates to a secular institute? At least at the beginning of a new secular institute it would seem to be advisable not to take in too many ex-religious, since they already have undergone a systematic training different from that proper to candidates for a secular institute. That previous training might binder the development of the true spirit of a budding secular institute. 3. Are middle-aged people likely candidates for a'dmittance to secular institutes? 245 " FRANCIS N. KORTH Review for Religious M.any otherwise good people of that age group might not have all the?necessary q~J'alifications.for .such a vocation. One of these would be the proper age requirement for admittance to a specified institute. Hence one who is channeling possible vocations to dif-ferent secular institutes should make himself acquainted with the age requirements of the various groups. 4. Are widows acceptable as candidates for a secular institute? Widows can be admitted, unless the individual constitutions forbid it. If the widow has children, that might make a difference. Depending upon circumstances, .such applicants might be accepted or might be refused. 5. Would divorced persons be admitted? Under the supposition that the constitutions allow it, if the divorced person is the innocent party, such applicant could be ad-mitted provided there was no scandal: for example, if the identity of the person as a member of the secular institute is kept hidden if that be necessary to avoid scandal, or if the person goes to a place far removed from the locality where he is known. 6. What is the length of the aspirancy and of the novitiate? A six-months' aspirancy seems to be rather common. The period of training which corresponds to the novitiate in religious institutes varies: it is of one- or two-years' duration in some existing institutes. 7. Could the vows or promises made in a secular institute be termed semipublic? Yes, that term has been applied to them at'times since those vows, oaths, consecrations, or promises have a juridical effect. How-ever, all such vows, oaths, consecrations, and promises are, abso-lutely speaking, juridically private and not public; they are not recognized as public by the Church. But to distinguish them from ordinary private vows (which have no juridical effects) those vows have been termed by some commentators as semipublic or social VOWS. 8. What type or courses of studies might be suggested for the intel-lectual formation of members? Courses or lectures in dogmatic theology and in~ some branches of philosophy could be given. Also there is place-for courses in 246 September, 1954 SECULAR INSTITUTES asceticism. Dependent upon the particular apostolate of an institute, courses in languages, missiology, sociology, and other subjects would be suitable. 9. How much time would be given to prayer? In some institutes about one or two hours daily are required. This includes attendance at Mass, saying the rosary, a ball bout or more of meditation, some spiritual reading, and the like. Because many members are busy during the day earning their livelihood or doing their usual tasks, the suitable time for prayer would be the morning or evening hours. In some institutes the Divine Office (usually only a pari of it) is said privately each day. An annual retreat of five or six days is the regular thing. There might also be a monthly day of recollection. 10. Is any means used for checking on faithfulness to those prayer obligations? One possible means could be a written report on the external ful-fillment of the prayer obligations. However, no data is available on how much, if any, of this is done in practice. I1. What provision is made for the observance of the vow or promise of poverty? When the members are living in a common house and bare goods in common, the matter can be provided for quite easily. This is rarely the case. When the members do not live in a common house, a "budget" method could be used. This budget might be drawn up to cover ordinary expenses, such as light, food, heat, and so on. It might also be extended to include another category, extraordinary ex-penses: necessary or useful expenses that arise only occasionally. In either case, the estimated budget of expenses could be submitted periodically to the superior for approval, perhaps once a year. After- ~vards, at stated intervals the discrepancies between this estimated budget and the real budget, of which a record bad been kept, would be submitted to the superior for approval of the discrepancies. This budget would be individual; it would take into account such facts as the resources or income of the subject and his status in society. If the budget covers only ordinary expenses, then for extraordinary expenses (for example, the purchase of a new coat) permission could be obtained each time from the superior. Or provision might be 247 FRANCIS N. KORTH Review for Religious made to allow the subject to presume permission for the extraordi-nary expense and then report the matter later on. Similarly, in regard to the amount of money to be contributed by each member for the general needs of the institute, an agreement could be made between the institute (superior) and the subject. This might be made on a somewhat permanent basis, or as something to be re-examined and possibly revised periodically, say annually. If the former, then a clause could be added requiring re-examination in case the financial .condition of the subject became notably c.hanged. Again in drawing up this agreement, account is taken of the financial status of the individual. In general, in the matter of poverty a member could try to get along with a little less than other persons in his state of life or social position require. 12. Could a me~ber of a secular institute ~wn and operate a busi-ness? : Owning and operating a business in the name of the institute is forbidden, but it does not seem forbidden for an individual member to own and operate one. 13. Could a member prot)ide.for his parents financially it: the latter were in need? If the parents of a member fell int~ need, it seems that the supe-rior could approve such assistance as a necessary expense. In that case, however, the institute itself would not support the parents of the member, but it,would permit the member to support them. 14. Do members of secular institutes mal~e a will? Yes, a will or last testament is made before profess)on. 15. What about dealing with the opposite sex? Aside from professional or other necessary contact, it would seem that steady or regular contact with members of the opposite sex is to be avoided. This would also extend to correspondence. In the matter of dancing, members could sponsor or chaperon dances, but they .would not themselves dance with persons of the opposite sex. However, it is possible that such provisions might vary some-what in different institutes. . 16. Is it permissible fgr members to attend movies? to use cos-metics? to smoke? to go swimming? , 248 September, 1954 SECULAR INSTITUTES In these matters, there very likely might be divergent practices among various institutes. According to one report it is all right for the members to attend movies for recreational purposes if the pic-tures are good; moderate use of cosmetics is allowed; no mention is made for or against smoking; swimming is permissible. The deci-sion as to what is permissible or not in these and similar matters might depend to a considerable extent upon the customs of places and peoples. 1.7. For what purpose would a secular institute be established? A secular institute would have the general purpose of aiming at the sanctification of its members. There would also be a specific purpose, such as doing some particular apostolic work to meet a special apostolic need, or simply placing its members at the disposal of the local ordinary (or of the Holy See) to do what, he wishes done. 18. In u2hose hands is the government of a secular institute? In general the government of a secular institute is in the hands of its lay members, at least for the lay sections. In some institutes, however, a priest is serving in the capacity of superior general or provincial superior. But as a rule priest members might act rather in the capacity of spiritual advisers or confessors. 19. What is an ecclesiastical assistant? An ecclesiastical assistant (who might be known possibly~ by some other term) is a priest specially designated to give help to a secular institute. He might be chosen from the ranks of the diocesan or religious clergy. In general the function of an ecclesiastical as-sistant would be that of counseling, giving spiritual help, and the like in the external forum; but his work might vary somewhat at times in accordance with the wishes of the local ordinary. The in-. ternal government of a group, however, should be left to thegroup itself, unless possibly at 'the beginning more than spiritual help is needed from this priest to keep things going. 20. Would it be advisable for this ecclesiastical assistant, ~vbo has authoritq in spiritual matters in the external forum, also to be the ordinartj confessor or spiritual director of a member? If a discussion of t'bis point were held, the conclusion migbt be reached that a negative answer would seem to/be the better one, al- 249 FR,~,NCIS N. KORTH though in some instances such a combination might work out all right. 21. Is it advisable to use terms, such as "'novitiate," "profession," and so on in connection with secular institutes? At present some of the terminology which is common usage in regard to religious institutes is being used by some writers to explain similar matters relating to secular institutes. Terms such as "no-vitiate" and others which are proper to religious institutes are usu-ally not to be applied in their technical sense to secular institutes; rather it is hoped that a distinct body of terminology proper to secular institutes will be built up gradually. One purpose of such separate terminology might be to stress the important fact that members of secular institutes are not religious. PAMPHLETS Looe Letter (on the love of God) by John M. Scott, S.J. l0 cents.-- Twenty-four Rosaries and Chaplets, by Patrick Shaughnessy, O.S.B. 15 cents.- The Grail, St. Meinrad, Indiana. The Teacher and Vocations, by John B. Delaunay, C.S.C. 10 cents-- Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana. The Ladtl Was Immaculate, by Daniel A. Lord, S.J.--I Can't Cope/ That Family, by Francis L. Filas, S.d.--Death Is Life, by John M. Scott, S.J.--Heart of Our World," by Arthur R. McGratty, S.J.--Don't Go to Hell, by Winfrid Herbst, S.J.--Each 10 cents. The Queen's Work, 3115 3outh Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18,, Mo. MARIAN YEAR PLAY Counted as Mine is a play of three acts, six scenes, with a modern-dress cho-rus, suitable for performance by high school and college students or by little the-atre groups and parish drama clubs. It is the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Hope of America. Written by a Poor Clare, the author of the play, Candle in Umbria, and of the boqk of poems, Whom. I Have Loued. $1.00 per copy. Order from: t(ev. Mother M.'Immaculata, P.C., Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Route 1, Box 285-C, Roswell, New Mexico. 25O Quinquennial Repor!: By Nonfederated Autonomous Monasteries and Houses EDITORS' INTRODUCTION THE decree of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, 3uly 9, 1947 (cf. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, VIII [Sept., 1949], 234- 40), extended the obligation of m~lking the quinquennial re-port beyond the terms of canon 510, which requires it only of the abbot primate, the superior of every monastic congregation, and the superior general of every institute approved by the Holy See. Now, however, the superiors of all nonfederated autonomous monasteries and houses, as well as the superiors general of all diocesan congrega-tions, are obliged to send in this quinquennial report. Here are the provisions regarding these latter classes of religious: 1. Major superiors of autonomous, monasteries or houses o[ men which, although approved by the Holy See, do not belong to any monastic congregation or federation, shall send in their reports in the foIlowing order: In 1953, 1958, 1963, canons regular, monks, military orders. In 1954, 1959, 1964, all other regulars. In 1955, 1960, 1965, clerical congregations. In 1956, 1961, 1966, lay congregations. In 1957, 1962, 1967, societies of common life, secular insti-tutes and federations. 2. Major superioresses of autonomous monasteries and houses not belonging to any federation, as well as superioresses general of diocesan congregations, societies of common life, and of secular in-stitutes, shall send their report as follows: In I953, 1958, I963, the superioresses of Italy, Spain, Portu-gal. In 1954, 1959, 1964, the superioresses of France, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland. In 1955, 1960, 1965, the superioresses of the other countries of Europe. In 1956, 1961, 1966, the superioresses of America (North,. Central, South). Shortly after the publication of its decree, the Sacred Congrega- "25t QUINQUENNIAL REPORT tion issued a new questionnaire to replace the official one of March 25, 1922 (AAS, XV, [1923], 459-466) which contained 106 questions. The new questionnaire, printed in Latin, has three forms: (1) for pontifical institutes and societies (342 questions); (2) for diocesan congregations and societies (322 questions); (3) for nonfederated autonomous monasteries and houses (171 questions). The first of these questionnaires, for pontifical institutes a, nd societies, has been translated into English and published by the Sa-cred Congregation. It is available for $1.50 from Rev. Giulio Mandelli, Archivist, S. Congregation of Religious, Palazzo San Cal-listo, Rome, Italy. With the permission of the Sacred Congrega: tion of Religious, this complete official English text was also pub-lished in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS during the course of the year 1950. The two shorter questionnaires have never been translated officially into English. As a matter of fact, the questionnaires fbr pontifical and diocesan institutes are practically identical after one omits some twenty questions dealing with provinces and their government. The complete text for diocesan congregations may be found in Creusen-Ellis: Religious Men and Women in the Code, ed. 5, 1953, pp. 278-316. The questionnaire for nonfederated autonomous monas.teries and houses, however, contains only about half the questions pro-posed for pontifical institutes. It was decided to publish this ques-tionnaire in our REVIEW for the benefit of these small houses because they cannot find the qfiestions elsewhere in English, And, since the monasteries and houses in England and Ireland must send in their reports this year, this questionnaire is being printed now, even though American houses will not need it until 1956. We should like to add that, though these various questionnaires may directly concern only limited numbers of religious, yet all of us can learn a great deal about the mind of the Church by reading the questions. What follows is an unofficial English translation of the official Latin text of the questionnaire: POINTS TO BE NOTED A) Regarding the drawing up, and writing of the quinquennial re-port: a) ]~efore the reply to each question, there should be a clear 252 ~ September, 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT ¯indication of the number and letter by which that question is desig- ~aated in this list. b) Whenever a pontifical or episcopal document is brought in, its date and protocol number should be faithfully and uniformly given. c) The reply is to be developed as each case may require, and is not to be dismissed with a simple affirmation or denial. d) The report is to be made out in Latin or in any of the fol-lowing modern languages: English, French, German, Spanish, or Italian. e) The report should be typed and in clear characters. If for some just cause the report is written by hand, the handwriting must be clear. f) The paper to be used must not be translucent nor too thick, but durable, so as to resist the ravages of time. B)" Regarding the manner in which this report is to be made to the ordinaGl and transmitted b~] him to the Sacred Congregation of Religious: 1. Superiors of autonomous monasteries and religious houses are not to send the quinquennia! report directly to the Holy See, but rather to their own local ordinary, if they are subject to him, other-. wise to the regular ordinary upon whom they depend (cf. decree Cure transactis, IV, 1°, 2°). 2. The report is to be signed by the superior of the autono-mous monastery or house and by all his councilors. 3. Either the local ordinary or the regular ordinary, as the case may be, shall send a copy of the report, signed by himself and an-notated by his own personal observations, to the Sacred Congrega-tion of Religious within the year itself during which the report is to be made. 4. Together with the first report following the publication of the present questionnaire, the following documents also are to be sent to the Sacred Congregation of Religious: a) Two well-bound copies of the Rule and the constitutions, revised to conform with the Code of Canon Law. .b) One copy each, if there are such, of the books in which particular laws, practices, customs, the ceremonial, and proper prayers are contained. c) A historico-juridical report in which are indicate.c[.the origin of the autonomous monastery or house, its establishment or 253 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT Reoiew for Religious approval, as well as the principal historical events. To this shall be added, if there are any such, copies of those books which describe the history and activity of the monastery. " ¯ ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THE REPORT PUT THE FOLLOWING: The Name, of the monastery or house: . . . ~ (the of{iclal title in Latin, and the common name) Complete address: postal, telegraphic. The years which are covered by the report: . . . THE LIST OF OUESTIONS CONCERNING THE PRECEDING REPORT 1. a) When was the last report sent to the ordinary? b) Were the observations on the report which may have been made by the Sacred Congregation and transmitted by the or-dinary faithfully carried out in practice? 2. Can the matters of information contained in the last report be conscientiously considered reliable and complete, or does anything concerning them seem to require modification? CHAPTER I THE MONASTERY AND ITS GOVERNMENT ARTICLE I The autonomous monastery or house in general 3. What is the juridical nature of the monastery or house: a) To which order, if any, does it belong and which Rule is followed? b) Are the vows solemn or simple; or simple, though sol-emn according to the institute (c. 488, 7°) ? 4. Is the house provided with those things which are neces-sary for the common life, especially: a) A separate cell for each person; or, if the dormitories are common, at least a separate bed for each person, properly set apart from the others? 254 September, 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT b) A separate place fully suitable for the care and assistance of the sick? c) Are the rooms for receiving guests sufficiently separate from the part of the house which is reserved to the community? 5. Are there an.y filial houses subject to the autonomous mon-astery or house? How many? 6. Does the monastery depend on the local ordinary or on the regular superior? ARTICLE II Concernin9 he juridical 9overnmen÷ 7. Is the general council of the monastery or house up to its full membership at present? 8. Within the period covered by the report, has there been a session of the chapter of elections? 9. Were the norms [for the chapter] prescribed by the com-mon law and by particular law "(the constitutions, etc.) faithfully observed as regards: a) The time of the session? b) The elections of the superior, of the consultors or assist-ants, and of other general officials who are elected by the chapter? 10. In all these matters, even in seeking information about the candidates, did all avoid procuring votes either directly or indirectly for themselves or for others (c. 507, § 2) i1. Who presided at the chapter? 12. Were the norms of the common law and of the constitu-tions observed: a) Regarding the requisites and qualifications of superiors and officials (cc. 504, 516)? b) Regarding the duration of offices (c. 505) 13. How many and what dispensations from the provisions of the common or particular law were granted by the Holy See: a) For appointments to positions or offices? b) For the renewal of the same? c) Were the conditions attached to these dispensations faithfully observed ? 14. How do superiors see to it that the decrees of the Holy See which concern religious are known and observed by their own sub-jects (c. 509, § 1)? 15. Is perfect freedom left to subjects, without any inspec-tion of letters by superiors, in their epistolary correspondence with 255 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT those persons who, according to the common (c. 611) and particu-lar law, have this right? 16. Were there any cases of secret and clandestin~ epistolary correspondence, either between religious or between these and secu-lar persons, and what ,was done to correct these abuses? 17. Has the canonical, visitation of the local ordinary taken place, as well as that of the regular superior, if the monastery is sub-ject to him? 18. Have chapters and council meetings been held at prescribed times and in the required cases? 19. Are the matters in which, according to the common and particular law, councilors have a deliberative or consultative vote, faithfully submitted to a meeting of the council? 20. Is the proper liberty of all and each of the councilors duly recognized in the council meetings? And'in the decisions, appoint-ments and votes of whatever kind, were the norms of the common law (cc. 101, 105, 1°, 2°, 3°) and of the particular law always ob-served ? 21. Are the minutes of the meetings duly drawn up and signed? 22. Are the archives of the monastery or house properly equipped and carefully arranged? 23. Is there also for each house a chronicle in which the prin-cipal events are carefully recorded? ARTICLE III Concerning the spiritual government 24. Are there confessors appointed for each house according to c. 518, § i? 25. Without prejudice to the constitutions which may pre-scribe or recommend that confessions be made at stated times to ap-pointed confessors, are the religious left free to go, in accordance with canon 519, without prejudice however to religious discipline, to a confessor approved by the local ordinary, even though he is not among the appointed confessors? 26. Are the norms of the common law and of the constitu-tions faithfully observed regarding the appointment and reappoint-ment of the ordinary, extraordinary, special, and supplementary confessors (cc. 520, §§ 1-2, 521, 524, 526, 527)? 27. Did superioresses faithfully observe the prescriptions made for them regarding supplementary confessors (c. 521, § 3), occa- 256 September, 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT sional confessors (c. 522), and confessors in case of grave illness (c. 523) ? 28. Do superiors take means and exercise a prudent vigilance to see that all the religious, according to law" (c. 595, § 1, 3,°) and the constitutions (c. 519), receive the sacrament of penance at least once a week? 29. Have superiors been guilty of any abuses, and if so what were they, by which the liberty of conscience of their subjects has been restricted (cc. 518, § 3, 519, 520, § 2, 521,§ 3, 522, 2414)? 30. Has there been, under pretext of.liberty of conscience, any detriment to religious discipline on the part of subjects? Did any other abuses arise? 31. Do superiors, in accordance with canon law (c. 530, §§ 1, 2) leave their subjects free in regard to making a strict mani-festation of conscience to them? 32. Is there an appointed chaplain, or have other provisions been made by sacred functions sufficient for the spiritual welfare of the religious? Are there any difficulties with regard to the spiritual welfare? 33. Do superiors, in accordance with c. 5'95, §§ 2-3, promote among their subjects frequent and even daily reception of the Most Sacred Body of Christ, always without prejudice to full liberty of conscience according to law (c. 595, § 4) and the instructioris of the Holy See? 34. Do superiors diligently see to it that confessors are easily available before Communion, and do they allow their religious sub-jects a suitable time for preparation and thanksgiving? 35. Do superiors see to it that, according to the constitutions and the common law, there are spiritual and catechetical instructions for the entire house (c. 509, § 2, 2°), for the novices (c. 565, § 2), for the conversi [lay brothers and lay sisters], for the domes-tics and servants .(c. 509, § 2, 2°) ? ARTICLE IV Concern[n9 fhe f[nanclal 9overnmenf 36. a) Did the house 'acquire any immovable property or precious movable property? What was the value of these acquisi-tions? b) Was the aforesaid property acquired by gift or other gra-tuitous title, or by purchase, and in this latter case was it with the funds of the house or with borrowed money? 257 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT Review for Religious 37. Has the house an inventory of its movable property, espe-cially of that which is classed as precious (by reason of art, his-tory, or material) (c. 1522, 2°) and of its immovable property? 38. When must these inventories be revised, and are they in fact revised? 39. By what method or in whose name before the civil law is the religious property registered? Can this registration be regarded as safe in civil law? 40. Were extraordinary expenses paid from their own ordi-nary or extraordinary income, or on the contrary with borrowed funds? 41. What capital property, whether immovable, or stable [i.e. consisting of capital funds], or precious, was alienated, and by what authority? 42. In the alienation of property, were the provisions of law (cc. 534, 1531), especially regarding the previous appraisal by ex-perts, and the norms of the constitutions, observed? 43. Did the house consume any stable or founded property or capital funds? For what reasons and by what authority? 44. Are superiors making serious efforts to recover this prop-erty ? 45. a) What debts were contracted, and by whom? b) What debts are actually outstanding~ 46. In contracting debts and obligations, were the following faithfully observed : a) The provisions of c. 534? b) The precautions mentioned in c. 536, § 5? c) The norms of the constitutions regarding permissions, the consent of the council, etc. ? 47. Was the interest on debts and obligations faithfully paid, and is diligent care being taken toward the gradual payment of the debt; or the amortization of the capital sum borrowed (c. 536, § 5)? 48. Are there any difficulties of an economic nature, and what are they ? 49. Is the administration of property conducted, not abitrar-ily, but according to the common law and the constitutions, under the direction and vigilance of the superior and of his council (cc. 516, § 2, 532, § 1)? 50. Was a clear and complete rendering of account demanded 258 September, 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT of all and each of the bursars and administrators during the five-year period ? 51. Were there presented, together .with the accounts, the documents showing the expenditures and receipts? 52. Was there regularly an inspection and checking of the safe? 53. Did superiors, councils, and administrators lawfully, safely, and profitably invest the money which was to be invested according to law and the will of benefactors, observing the rules of law and the constitutions (c. 533) ? 54. Are money, securities, contracts, precious articles carefully preserved, observing exactly the common norms and the provisions of the constitutions? 55. Do superiors, bursars, administrators conscientiously strive to have all the property of the institute religiously preserved and providently administered (c. 532, § 1)? 56. What legacies and pious foundations were accepted? 57. In accepting pious foundations and legacies, were the rule~ of law (c. 1544, ss.) and of the constitutions observed? 58. Was the money of foundations and pious causes, accord-ing to law and with the consent of the 16cal ordinary when that was required, invested (cc. 535,. §§ 1,. 2: 1547)' and separately and faithfully administered (cc. 535, § 3, 2°; 1546; 1549)? 59. Were the obligations attached to foundations faithfully and conscientiously fulfilled (cc. 151,4, 1549, § 2)? 60. Did visitors demand documentary proof of their fulfil-ment and an account of the administration of the property? 61. Did any religious, superiors or subjects, personally or through others, engage in illicit business, that is, business not per-mitted to religious, in violaton of cc. 142, 592? 62. Were superiors and councils attentively watchful that, ac-cording to c. 1539, § 2, in the administrative exchange of securities payable to bearer, all appearance of commerce or trading was avoid-ed? 63. How did superiors exercise vigilance over the actions and dealings of their subjects from which there might arise according to law a financial responsibility on the part of tbe house (c. 536, § 2) or of the individual religious (c. 536, § 3) ? 64. Do superiors see to it that, in all matters which concern finances, or in those generally which could give occasion for litiga-tion in the canonical or civil courts, everything is done exactly ac- 259 QUINQUENNIAL" "R EPOR.T Review for Religious cording to law, on the basis of previous written contracts and with the guarantee of perfectly valid signed agreements, etc. (c. 1529)? 65. How are the economic needs of the monastery provided for: by the labor of the community or by alms? 66. What, if any, activity does the community engage in for its own support? CHAPTER II CONCERNING THE RELIGIOUS AND THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND DISCIPLINE 67. What are the different classes, if any, among the members of the monastery? Does harmony exist among the different classes and is fraternal charity observed among them? 68. What is the actual number of those professed of tempo-rary vows and of perpetual vows, according to the various classes? 69. Besides the persons who belong to the institute or society as members, by religious profession or lawful incorporation, are there others who are dedicated or given to it, or the like, without being members? 70. Is provision made in fairness and charity for the spiritual life of these persons and also for their material security? 71. Are there any legitimately approved statutes for them? ARTICLE I Concerning the admission, formation, and profession or incorporation of members 72. Is the condition of the extern sisters regulated according to the statutes promulgated by the S. Congregation on 3uly 16, 19317 73. Are the postulantships properly conducted according to law in the novitiate house (c. 540, § 1), or in houses where perfect religious observance exists (c. 540) ? 74. Was the time assigned by the common law (c. 539) or by the constitutions for the postulantship abbreviated or prolonged? If so,~for how long a time and by what authority? 75. What means are used to arouse and attract vocations? 76. Taking into account the different circumstances of various localities, what causes are regarded as having an influence on the in-crease or diminution of vocations? 77. What are the obstacles which aspirants most frequently have to overcome in order to follow th~ir vocation? 260 September, 195"4 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT 78. Were the documents required by the 'common law (c. 544) and by the constitutions demanded before admission in the case of each aspirant? 79. At least before entrance into the novitiate, were the fol-lowing testimonial letters demanded and obtained: a) The common testimonial letters which are to be given by the local ordinaries and are prescribed for all (c. 544, § 2) ? b) The special testimonial letters which are to be given under oath by the rector or major superior fo~ those who have been in a seminary or a college which is equivalent to an ecclesiastical one, or in a postulantship or novitiate of a religious institute (c. 544, §3)? c) Likewise the testimonial letters which are required in the case.of clerics and professed religious (c. 544, §§ 4, 5) ? 80. Besides the documents and testimonials which are spe-cially prescribed by law or by the constitutions, were further infor-mations which seemed necessary or useful in order to judge with certainty of the vocation and fitness of the aspirants diligently sought (c. 544, § 6)? 8 I. From what impediments¯ or defects, if any, of the common or particular law, were dispensations granted? How often and by what authority was this done? 82. Were aspirants always admitted by the competent su-periors, according to the prescriptions of the law (c. 543) ? 83. Is the right of the institute to demand payment for the expenses of the religious habit and board during the postulantship and noviceship given in the constitutions or customarily recognized by express agreement? 84. Who determines the amount to be paid? 85. How many novices are there at present? 86. Did each and every novice have a complete copy of the constitutions from the beginning of the novitiate? 87. Are ~he novices, according to law and the constitutions, kept separate from the professed, and is any undue communication between them tolerated (c. 564, § 1, 2) ? 88. Did each and every novice before profession make a com-plete and continuous canonical year of noviceship, without counting the first day, in a novitiate house lawfully erected, under the care and direction of a master (cc. 555, § 1, 556, 557) ? 89. Was the noviceship extended or shortened beyond the 261 QUINQUEN.NIAL REPORT Review for Religio. us limits fixed by law (c. 571, §2) and the constitutions? If so, for how long a time and by w.hat authority was this done? 90. Was there always in the novitiate a master of novices duly appointed or elected (c. 560) ? 91. Have the novice master and his socius all the qualifications and all the requisites prescribed by the common law (c. 559, § 1, 2) and the cgnstitutions, or did dispensations have to be asl~ed for" and obtained ? 92. A~ the master and socius free from all offices and minis-~ tries in or out of the house which might interfere with their care a'nd direction of the novices( c. 559, § 3)? 93. Did all the novices, according to c. 569, § 1, before the first profession of simple vows, freely cede the administration, and either cede or dispose of the use and usufruct, of their propett~y? 94. In case the aforesaid cession and disposition were n6t:':duly made before the profession, or in case new property was acquired thereafter, were they made or completed after the profession (c. 569, § 2)? 95. Were any changes of the aforesaid cession and disposition after the profession made always in accordance with c. 580, § 37 96. Did the novices of the monasteries of simple vows, before their first profession of temporary vows, freely make a will in due.: form, valid according to the civil law, regarding their present or future property (c. 569, § 3)? 97. Were any changes in this will which may have been made after profession, made according to c. 583, 2°? . .: 98. Do the superior and council carefully and constan.tly keep-a strict watchfulness as regards admissions? ¯ 99. Has the first profession, after eight 'full .days of spiritual exercises, always been made validly and licitly according to law and the constitutions (cc. 572, 573, 575)? 100. Did the superioresses, two months before admission to the noviceship, and to the first temporary profession, and to perpetual profession, give timely notice to the local ordinary (c. 552, § 1), so that he or his delegate might gratuito.usly conduct the canonical-ex-amination regarding the free and conscious will of the postulant or candidate (c. 552, § 2)?. : 101. Was the prescribed examination always made? ' 102. Is the dowry obligatory, or, on the contrary, is it left en-. tirely or partly optional (c. 547, § 3) ? 262 September, 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT . 103. Was the delivery of .the dowry made according to law (c. 547, § 2) and the constitutions? 104. Were the dowries, immediately after the first profession, always invested by the superioress, with the deliberative vote of her council and the consent of the ordinary of the place where the capi-tal of the dowries is kept (c. 549) ? 105. Were the dowries spent or encumbered in any way before the death of the religious concerned? If so, by what authority Was this done? Were the dowries so spent or encumbered, even though it was done after obtaining lawful permission, afterward restored or cleared of the encumbrance? What is their condition at the present time (c. 549) ? 106. Where and how are the dowries administered? Are the rules of law faithfully observed regarding their administration (cc. 550, 535, § 2)? 107. Is all property which is brought in as dowry, even though it be in excess of the sum required for a dowry in the constitutions or even though there be in ihe congregation no obligation to bring in a dowry, accepted, invested, administered, etc. with the observance of the norms which govern dowries? 108. In case of the departure of a professed religious, for what-ever was needed that she might safely and decently return borne and likewise the personal belongings which t.he novice brought with her at her entrance, in the condition in which they were when she left, restored to the religious departing or transferring~ without the in-come which had a.lready accrued (cc. 551, 570, § 2)? 109. In case of the departure of a professed religious who had been received without a dowry or with an insufficient one, if she was unable to provide for herself out of her own property, did the insti-tute out of charity according to law (c. 643, § 2), give her what-ever was needed thatshe might safely and decently return home and be fittingly supported for a tim~? 110. What, if any, dispensations were necessary for the pro-nouncement of the vows? 111. How many and what sanations-were afterward necessary? 112. Were the temporary vows which are prescribed by law and by the constitutions (c. 574, § 1), when the tittle for which they were taken had elapsed (c. 577, § 1), always renewed according to law (c. 577, § 2), so that no one ever remained without vows? 113. How often was the temporary profession extended beyond 263 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT Reoieta for Religious the six-year period allowed by law, and by what authority was this done (c. 574, § 2)? 114. ]Did all the professed of simple vows in orders, within sixty days before their profession of solemn vows, duly make the prescribed renunciation of the property which they actually pos-sessed, in the form of a true cession but not in the form of a will, to whomever they chose, on condition of their future profession (c. 581, § 1)? 115. After the profession was made, were all things immedi-ately done which were necessary in order that the renunciation be effective in civil law (c. 581, § 2) ? 116. Did the superior who received the solemn profession give notice of it to the pastor of baptism in accordance with cc. 470, § 2, 576', § 2? ARTICLE II Concerning the relicjious life and discipline 117. Is perfect common life according'to c. 594, the Rule, and the constitutions observed everywhere? 118. What has been done and is being done positively to safe-guard and promote the virtue and. spirit of poverty? 119. Do superiors and officials, out of religious charity and in order to ward off from the religious occasions of sinning against poverty, provide, within the limits of poverty itself, what is neces-sary and appropriate in the way of food, clothing, and other things? 120. Do they allow the religious to ask for or receive these things from externs? 121. Are the sick and the aged religious, attended to with special care and helped in both body and soul with paternal charity, so that, within the limits of religious poverty, they lack nothi'ng which seems necessary for the recovery ot their .health and for their spir-itual consolation? 122. Did all superiors make it a matter of conscientious duty to be attentively vigilant regarding those things, both in and out of the house, which may easily contain dangers against religious chas-tity ? 123. What kind of cloister is observed? Are the places subject to cloister clearly marked and sufficiently guarded? Are the pre-scriptions of the law and of the constitutions regarding cloister faithfully observed (cc. 589-599; 604) ? 264 ~epte,-nber, 124. frequent, principal 125. 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT Were the cases of dispensation from the law of cloister either for going but,- or for entering? Which were the ones? Are difficulties experienced in the observance of cloister, esl~ecially when nuns~ are engaged in the works of the apostolate, of education, etc. ? 126. a) Are the parlors so arranged that what goes on in them ~an be seen from the outside? b) Is the frequency of parlor visits regulated according to the constitutions and religious prudence? 127. Do the rooms which are reserved for chaplains and confeS-sors or preachers have a separate entrance and no internal communi-cation with the quarters of the religious? 128. Is religious discipline observed, and is the,government of superiors made easy by the docility of the subjects? Was it neces-sary often to impose formal precepts in virtue of the vow of obedi-ence? 129. Were such precepts given in due form according to the 'constitutions, and always for a grave reason? 130. Are the Rule and the constitutions faithfully observed (c. 593) ? 131. Are the Rule and the constitutions read publicly at the prescribed times (c. 509, § 2, 1°) ? 132. Do superiors see to it that in all the houses the exercises of piety which are prescribed for every day, every week, every month, every year, or for other fixed times, are faithfully and worthily per-formed according to the constitutions? 133. Do superiors see to it that all the religious: a) Make a retreat every year? b) ,Are present at Mass every day if not legitimately pre-vented ? c) Give themselves to mental prayer every day? d) Attend earnestly to the other offices of piety which are prescribed by the rules and constitutions (c. 595, § 1, 1 ° and 2°) ? 134. Do superiors see to it that all the members are able to be present at community exercises? 135. If choir service is prescribed by the constitutions, is it held exactly and worthily in each of the houses according to the same constitutions and the common law (c. 610, § i), the religious who are bound to choir and not actually lawfully impeded being present? 265 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT 136. Do superiors see to it that priests, clerics in major orders, and the solemnly professed, who were absent from choir, recite the Divine Office privately with attention and devotion (c. 610, § 3) ?. 137. Are the relations between the different members of the house, between superiors and subjects, etc., characterized by a spirit of true charity? 138. Are defects against charity severely corrected? 139. Are superiors watchful that no book~ be used, whether in manuscript or published form, which are not entirely safe? 140. Are the spiritual books which, according to law, the reli-gious use privately, approved by the Church and in keeping with the religious state, and suitable for the spiritual welfare of the indi-vidual ieligious to whom they are permitted? ARTICLE III Concernincj those Who have departed or been dismissed and others who leave the institute 141. a) How many in the house, at the expiration of their. vows, did not renew them, either because they chose not to do so or because they were not allowed to do so? b) How many of the professed of temporary vows were dispensed from their vows during this period, and how many of the professed of perpetual vows were dispensed? 142. Were those who were dispensed from their vows at their own request or with their consent, forced or, without serious and grave reasons and precautions, permitted to leave the religious house before the rescript was duly executed? 143. How many transfers, if any, were there to another insti-tute ? 144. How many apostates and fugitives, if any, were there during the five-year period? 145. a) Since the last report, how many of the professed of temporary vows and how many of the professed of perpetual vows have been dismissed? b) In the dismissal of religious, whether of" temp~[ary or of perpetual vows, were the norms of the common law "('cd." 647, § 2, 4°; 649-672) as well as those of the constitutions observed? Was the same done in regard to not admitting the prqfe~se~l 0f ~emporary vows to the renewal of their vows or to perpetu~il pro-fession (c. 637) ? 266 September, 1954 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT. 146. Were the dismissed of 'temporary vows, while the recourse duly made within ten days was pending (c. 647, § 2; S. C. of Reli-gious, 20 July 1923, AAS, XV [1923], 457), and the dismissed of perpetual vows, before the decree or judgment of dismissal had been confirmed by the Sacred Congregation (cc. 652, 666). forced to leave the institute? 147. What were the cases, and the causes which led to them,, among both the professed of temporary vows and those of per-petual vows, in which they were either sent back to the world on account of grave scandal or very grave harm (cc. 653, 668) or dis-missed by the law itself :(c. 646) ? 148. How many ~ses of exclaustration were there, if any? Were the causes carefull) and conscientiously pondered in the pres-ence of God before the petition was recommended and the rescript executed ? 149. Does the institute take care: a) That indults are renewed in due time, if it seems neces-sary to ask for an extension? b) That the persons who are excloistered lead a worthy religious life and return as soon as possible to the cloister? 150. Do superiors see to it that subjects remain out of the house only for a just and grave reason and for the shortest possible time, according to the constitutions (c. 606, § 2) ? 151. Were 'the prescribed suffrages faithfully and promptly per-formed for all the deceased? " " 152. Do superiors, in accordance with c. 509, § 2, 2°, give to those religious who belong to the class of conversi, instruction in Christian doctrine? And do superiors, carefully attend to the training of these same religious, both before and after their profes-sion, especially during the earlier years, according to the offices~ which are entrusted to them? 153. Do superiors with paternal charity diligently provide also for the bodily health of the conuersi or coadjutors? CHAPTER III C;ONI31:RNING THE WORKS AND MINISTRIES OF THE MONASTERY 154. What works are carried on in the house (apostolate, edu-cation, manual labor for pay) ? 155. Was begging from door to door, according to law 267 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT Reoieu2 for Religious (cc. 621, 622) and their own constitutions, done with the required permissions ? 156. Moreover, in begging, were the rules of law (c. 623), the instructions of the Holy See (c. 624), and the norms of the con-stitutions observed ? 157. What precautions are taken in this communication with seculars to avoid harm to the religious and scandal to seculars? 158. How often and by what superiors are the books of Masses of each house examined and signed? 159. As regards the manual stipend of~ Masses, did all the houses obser;ce the decrees of the local ordinaries and the customs of the dioceses according to cc. 831, §§ 2-3; 832? 160. In each of the houses were the obligations of Masses, both perpetual and manual, faithfully satisfied in due time according to cc. 834, 15177 161. Were any special concessions made in this matter, either as regards the reduction of the stipends or intentions, or as to deferring the celebration of the Masses? If so, what were they? CONCLUSION A ~summary compara÷ive judcjmenf recjardln9 fhe stale of fhe monas.fery 162. Is the autonomous monastery or house fully self-sufficient with regard to the personnel needed to fill the various offices of gov-ernment and to carry out its proper work, also with regard to relig-ious formation, as well' as with regard to economic means, so that regular observance can flourish fully? 163. What is to be said about the desire for and the actual striving toward evangelical perfection on the part of the members (cc. 487, 488, 1°) ? 164. In this respect is there in the institute progress.or retro-gression as compared with the preceding five-year period, and how is this manifested or proved? What are the reasons for either the progress or the retrogression? 165. What has been done by superiors during the five-year period to promote the tendency toward perfection and to prevent relaxation? 166. What is to be said summarily about the observance of the: vows and of the provisions of canon law, the Rule, 'and the consti-tutions, both absolutely and in comparison with the preceding five- 268 September, 1954 REGIONAL CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS year period ? 167. What are the points of religious discipline which are more easily and frequently violated? I68. What causes may be assigned for the progress in religious observance or for its decline? 169. What has been done by superiors to secure faithful and ~omplete regular observance? 170. As regards capital and finances what is the condition of the house in itself and in comparison v~ith the preceding five-year period ? 171. To what causes is the growth or diminution of capital and income to be attributed ? Given at Rome; from the headquarters of the S. Congregation ~of Religious, December 9, 1948. ALOYSIUS CARD. LAVITRANO, Prefect FR. L. H. PASSETTO, Secretaru REGIONAE CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS 1954-55 OF THE CATHOLIC: HOSPITAL AssoCIATION This year's program includes eight such special conferences., The first general subject, The Improvement of Patient Care, is pre-sented for religious in large hospitals on October 4 to 6,.1954, at the Sheraton Hotel,'St. Louis, Missouri. For religious in small hospitals another regional workshop on this subject will be presented Novem-ber 28 to 30, 1954, also at the Sheraton Hotel in St. Louis. Conferences on Medical-Moral Problems are also planned. These special group meetings are presented under the direction of Reverend Gerald Kelly, S.J., of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, con-sultant for the Association's activity in this field. The first is to takd place at St. Michael's Hospital, Grand Forks, North Dakota, October 25 to 27, 1.954. Two others are in the process of development--one for the East. ¯ and another to be held in the Mid-West. Further announcement will be made when this information .is available. On January 17, 18, and 19, 1955, at the Sheraton Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, there will be a Special Conference for Treasureis (Continued on page 272) ¯, o 269 Questions and Answers 26 Suppose a sister can hear only one Mass on Sunday and during thai' Mass she performs her duty of saying her morning prayer or reading the, Liffle Office: is it possible to fulfill both th~se obligations at one and the same time, according to the mind of the Church? As regards merely the fulfillment of the diverse obligations, there seems to be no difficulty. Even the serious obligation (e.g., of a deacon or subdeacon) of reciting the Divine OtSce in private can be fulfilled while one is hearing a Mass of obligation. Certainly, there-fore, the sister's lesser duties of saying morning prayers or of recit-ing the Little Office can be fulfilled during a Mass of obligation-- unless the constitutions expressly provide otherwise. The "mind of the Church" for religious includes more than the mere fulfillment of obligations; it includes not only what is neces-sary but~ what is appropriate. And in the sense of what is appropri-ate it is certainly the mind of the Church that the prayers prescribed for religious, even when the prescription does not bind under pain of sin, should ordinarily be said at some time other than the 'Sunday Mass of obligation or the weekday community Mass. The saying of such prayers during these Masses should at most be merely by way of exception, e.g., because of the special pressure of other duties. And it seems to us that in these exceptional cases it would be better to follow the Mass in the usual way and to omit the other prayers. If conditions become such that tl'iis "pressure pf other duties" is habitual and not merely exceptional, then superiors should see to it that these ~otber duties are lessened so that their subjects have time for their prayers: --27m If one is rushed at confession time and in the confusion fails to make an act of contritlon.in.the confessional, is the confession invalid? True contrition is certainly necessary for valid absolution; and' according to most theologians some external manifestation of this contrition is also required for validity. But this external manifesta-tion of contrition does not have to be according to any .set formula,. nor does it even have to be expressed in words. A dolorosa confes- 270 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS sio--tbat is, confession itself when sincerely made with a view to receiving absolution by one who, has internal sorrow-~-is~a suffi'cient external sign of the contrition; and absolution given to one who has made such a confession is certainly valid. It is true that we should always train the faithful to make a verbal act of contrition in the confessional, after having confessed their sins. But the making of this verbal act is rather a matter of good procedure--and for some people a means of being sure ot: the requisite expression of sorrow--than an absolute essential As for the case proposed in the question: we would tell any sin-cere religious or devout lay person that the absolution was undoubt-. edly valid and tbat there is no reason for anxiety. --28-- Is a sister superior justified in insisting that her subjects must not drink water before Holy C;ommunion unless there is some real necessity for doincj so? Accordin~ to the ApOstolic Constitution Christus Dominus plain water no longer breaks the Eucharistic fast. No reason either of nec_essity or even of special utility is required for drinking water before Holy Communion. Consequently, a religious superior is no more justified now in insisting that subjects should not drink water without necessity after midnight than she would have been justified before .3anuary 16, 1953, in insisting that subjects should not drink water without necessity before midnight. m29D Is it ever permissible to receive Hob/ Gommunlon without flrs~ cjo[ncj to confession when one has committed a mortal sin? Canon 856 states that one who is conscious of having committed a mortal sin shouldnot receive'Holy Communion without first go-ing to confession. This is the ordinary rule. The canon adds, bow-ever, that in a case of urgent necessity, when there is no opportunity of going to confession, one may receive Holy Comunion after having made an act of perfect contrition. There are many aspects to this question; and all of them require careful explanation. For such explanation the questioner is referred to the article "Confession befo*re Communion," in REVIEW FOR RE-LIGIOUS, XII (May, 1953), 135-50. : 271 Q~JESTIONS AND ANSWERS Re~;iew lot Religious --30-- /. If one is in doubt about having given the consent necessary-'for a mortal sin, is it preferable to abstain from Holy Communion until one can get to confession? Generally speaking, it is not preferable.to omit Holy commun-ion; although it might be preferable in some cases, e.g., b~cause a person has a special proneness to laxity. The proper judge c~f such a case is the spiritufil director or confessor of that person. Although it is certainly not obligatory and generally not even preferable to omit Holy Communion because of a do.ubt; yet it is at least advisable--and in our opinion obligatory--for one who has d really solid doubt (and not a mere scruple) about having committed a mortal sin to take some reasonable means of making sure he is in the state of grace before he receives Holy Communion. In the case proposed in the question a reasonable means would be to make an act of perfect contrition for all one's sins, including the doubtful matter. This problem of doubt is also explained more fully in the article referred'to in the preceding question, pp. 139-40. Regional Conferences and Workshops (Continued from page 269) and General Accountants of Religious Groups Conducting Hospi: tals. This particular meeting is especially planned by the Assoda-tion's Council on Financial Management and will focus upon poli-cies, techniques, and procedures involved in the handling of financial affairs of these groups. Other meetings for special groups have also been scheduled. These include a Conference on Collegiate Programs in Nursing Edu-cation at the Sheraton Hotel, St. Louis, February 19 to 21, 1955; a Conference on Accounting for Administration (especially for the small hospital) at the Hotel Piedmont, Atlanta, Georgia, April 18 to 19, 1955; the Western Conference of Catholic Hospitals is spon-soring a Workshop on Purchasing for Hospital Purchasing Officers on April 23 to 24, 1955, at St. Mary's Hospital, San Francisco: also a Conference on Public Relations for Administrators and Public Rela2 tions Officers of Catholic Hospitals--April 23 to 24, 1955, also St. Mary's Hospital, San Francisco, California. 272 THE NEW TESTAMENT. By James A. Klelst, S.J., and Joseph M. Lilly, C.M. The Bruce Publlshln9 Co., Milwaukee. 1954. Pp. bg0. $5.00. The work of Fathers Kleist and Lilly as presented in this book is a marked example of the progress which Scriptural studies in general and New Testament efforts in particular have made in the last fifty years. A quarter of a century ago, appreciating the ad~ vances scholarship had made in the study of the post-classical Greek language as well as in Hellenistic civilization, Father Kleist surmised that the gospels translated from the Greek of that period might convey to the Christian reader a better understanding of Christ's life and message than could be derived from the more or less slavish ren-dition from the Latin Vulgate into quite antiquated English phrase-ology which was' all.tbat the Catholic reader had; he considered that such a translation would afford Catholics the opportunity, in a prac-tical way, of realizing the hope whicb the Church was expressing-- namely that her members should read the Bible more assiduously. He set himself to that task, and the result of his labors makes up nearly half of the present volume. The gospel translation is in clear, flowing, modern literary Eng-lish; it conveys the G/~eek thought accurately. To achieve this ac-curacy the translation interprets the meaning of words and phrases, uses synonyms for the same Greek word to bring out the shades of thought, employs expressions which do not require the learning of a theologian or of an expert exegete to grasp. The word pneutna, for example, is not always translated by "spirit" and the passages in which this word occurs are so well phrased that no commentary is required to explain them. Thus: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Mr. 5:3) becomes, "Blessed are the humble souls"; "And sighing deeply in spirit" (Mk. 8:12) becomes, "He sighed from the depths of his soul"; "When Jesus saw the Jews weeping .he grbaned in spirit and was troubled" (Jo. 11:33) becomes, "The sight of them stirred Jesus deeply and shook his inmost soul." There is a pleasing, natural ease, simplicity, and spontaneity throughout the translation. Christ's Words are not, "Woman, thou art delivered from thy in-firmity" (Lk. 13:12), but, "My good woman, you are now rid of your infirmity." Notabl.yhappy is the rendition of 3o. 3:8 which, 273 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious instead of, "So is everyone who is born of the Spirit," reads, "Some-thing like this takes place in everyone born of the Spirit." What~- ever notes are appended to the gospels are the work of Rev. Henr~; Willmering, S.J., New Testament professor at St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. The notes are always pointed, clear, concise. All the rest of the translation in this volume is the product of Father Lilly. Emboldened by the various encyclicals on Biblical studies from Leo XIII to Pius XII, his experience as a seminary" professor ot: Sacred Scripture indicating the need of a good transla-tion from the Greek, Father Lilly generously undertook to do all the rest of the New Testament, a task which Father Kleist had said he would never venture to do~ Father Lilly succeeded admirably in his efforts. He concentrated his best energies on the letters of the Apos-tles; only secondarily did he give consideration to the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles. The result is that this narrative does not vary in any notable way from the Confraternity translation, for the phraseology of the two translations is often identical. But in the letters and in the Apocalypse, Father Lilly took greater liberty to clarify the meaning of the texts. A few instances of his excellent work may be here cited: "Who have the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh," he expresses as, "The patriarchs are theirs, and from them has been derived the human nature of Christ" (Rom. 9:3). The less intelligible wording of "the work of each will be made manifest, for the day of the Lord will declare. it, since the day is to be revealed in fire. The fire will assay the quality of everyone's work: if his work abides which he has built thereon, he will receive reward; if his work burns he will lose his. reward, but himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:13-15) is clarified thus: "Each individual's work will be made manifest. The day will make it known because fire will lay it bare, and will test the quality of each individual's work. If the work any-one has put into the superstructure stands firm, he will be rewarded, but if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer a loss, yet he him-self will be saved, though only by passing, so to speak, through fire." Simple sentences and expressions are expertly turned. Apoc. 4:2 may serve as one example: "Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold there was a throne in heaven," gets this phrasing: "Suddenly I was thrown into an ecstacy. To my surprise, there was a throne set up in heaven." This book is the latest and till~ now the best product of a happy I 27.4 September, 1934 BOOK REVIEWS tendency to which New Testament studies have been yielding in recent years amongst Catholic'English-speaklng scholars. It is a co-ordinated result of two lines of modern effort: to translate from tile Greek rather than from the Latin ~Vulgate, and secondly, to make the translations interpretative rather than rigidly literal. In 1901 Father Seymour Hobart Spencer, O.P., laid a milestone when he translated the four gospels from the Greek; before he died in 1913 he had finished the entire New Testament. Not until 1937, how-ever, was his entire opus published for the first time. Leo XIII's Providentissimus Deus lent spark to this line of effort, and in the 1930s the Westminster Version of the New Testament from the Greek appeared. Both Father Spencer, however, and the Westminster translators employed a prudent restraint in their venturesome task. They kept themselves considerably constrained and adhered largely to literalness in their translations. Yet there was a kind of restiveness arising amongst scholars to offer a translation which would be quite sufficiently interpretative and would' not require much comment of exegetes to explain the meaning of the text. This restiveness began to assert itself in the 1940s. It chose as the object on which it could exercise itself the Latin Vulgate and the reason for this choice was that the more in- .terpretative translation could be read at the Catholic church services. In 1941 the Confraternity translation of the New Testament ap-peared in the United States, and its purpose was rather to modernize antiquated expressions than to translate with the freedom which interpretation requires; but three years later Msgr. Ronald Knox published his work in England with a freedom and ease of phrase-ology hitherto unemployed, modestly interpreting the meaning of the Vulgate. Both these translations, as well as those from the Greek mentioned above, were quite well accepted generally, though in cer-tain circles they did suffer severe criticism. There was something of heroism, tberefore, in carrying out to completion the present work, since this volume, no doubt, will be criticized for precisely the two characteristics which make it a sign of true advancement in .scholarship: it is a translation from the Greek; it is made with a considerable amount of freedom to express in an interpretative Catholic way what the inspired authors of the New Testament are trying to say. The book seems to be a must in the libraries of theologians, scholars, exegetes, priests, and laymen who are" interested in understanding the New Testament. It is not, 275 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious however, the last product of the trend from which it evolved. Some future translator from the Greek may interpert more easily and more clearly passages like 1 Cor. 7:29-35; 9:24-27; 10:29 and 30; but that must await the time when Catholic readers will have become more adjusfed to having a clear, expository text before them to ponder. The present work will help toward that adjustment and is paving the way toward the entrance of the Word of God into the hearts of men.--EDWARD J. HODOUS, S.J. THE CHURCH AND INFALLIBILITY. By Dom B. C. Buffer. Sheed and Ward, New York. 1954. Pp. 230. $3.50. Back in 1889 Dr. George Salmon, Provost ok Trinity College, Dublin, published The Infallibility of the Church, a celebrated pole-mical work in which he vigorously attacked and in the minds of many contemporary Protestant readers thoroughly demolished the "Roman" position on the nature of infallibility, the primacy and infallible teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, and the legiti-macy if tradition as a font of divine revelation. Two years ago an abridged edition of this work came from the press, and it is in the hope of breaking a lance or two with the "abridged Salmon" that the Abbot of Downside, Dora Christopher Butler, a frequent and gifted contributor to The Downside Review, has e'ntered the lists with the book here under r'eview. It will be no surprise to those who know Dom Butler's profi2 ciency in the field of Patristics and Early Church History to dis-cover that in this altogether irenic rebuttal the Abbot of Downside has time after time driven home through the chinks in Dr. Salmon's armor, chinks that have been in not a few places widened consider-ably by the scientific findings and the more balanced historical eval- .uations of the past fifty years. If the work will prove an ornament to the apologetic section of the school or community library, it may still be said (and I think that Dom Christopher would be the first to agree) that the book is not intended as an organized positive ex-position of the Church's infallibility, its meaning, its necessity, its causes, its organs; nor despite its clarity of presentation and cogency of argumentation will it supply for such an exposition. The reader destined to profit most from the book will be the reader who has already a firm grip on the fundamental principles of the th.eology of the Church, her organization and doctrinal mission. -~S. E. DONLON, S.J: 2 6. September, 1954 BOOK REVIEWS MARY IN OUR LIFE. By William G. Most, Ph.D.P.J. Kenedy and Sons, New York. 19S4. Pp. 323. $4.00. Mar~l in our Life was first written as a series of chapters for Mariology study clubs at Loras College, where the author is associ-ate professor of classical languages. It has the double merit, there-fore, of being instructive in subject matter and at the same time per-sonal and direct in its manner of presentation. The body of the book is divided into twenty-three chapters of about ten pages each that range over a wide area of patristics, dogma, ascetics, and liturgy in their bearing on the general theme that "since God has given Mary an all-pervading place in His scheme for the redemption of man, it follows that if we wish to grow in love of God . . . we will give Mary a corresponding place in our soul-life." Chapter titles like The Popes and Co-redemptrix, Mary on Calvary, Mystical Rose, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Marian Visions and Revelations suggest the balance of doctrine and devotion which the writer set himself to achieve. The strictly dogmatic section cov-ers the first sixty-five pages, in which the main purpose is to analyse the recent papal statements on Mary's place in the economy of sal-vation. In the remaining fifteen chapters, the principles of the spiritual life are explained in their relation to the Mother of God as the perfect model of sanctity and the channel of all graces. The longest chapter in the book, Pondering in Our Hearts with Mary, is an earnest apologia for the practice of mental prayer among the laity, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin, "whose communion with God in mental prayer or meditation was constant." Eminently prac-tical, it is intended to answer the objection that "Formal meditation may be all right for priests and religious, but how could a working man or woman or a housewife manage to undertake so complex an exercise?" Each chapter is followed by a set of notes, up to several pages in length, which give the sources for the quotations used and further explanation of various problems in the text. Particularly commendable is the frequent use of primary sources, e.g., from the Fathers, papal documents, and writings of the saints. By actual count, there are 530 reference notations, with an emphasis on mod-ern writers such as Garrigou-Lagrange. The latter part of the book contains an Appendix and a set of Questions for Discussion. The Appendix supplies a certain amount of documentary detail that was properly omitted from the body of the book, for example, a llst of passages from the Fathers on the 277 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious New Eve, papal texts on the question of Mary's Co-redemption of the human race, St. Dominic as author of the Rosary, and the his-toricity of the vision of St. Simon Stock. The Questions for Dis-cussion are intended for private, class, or study-dub use. Approxi-mately two hundred questions, answerable from the text, are pointed to arousing ~houghtful reflection: for instance, "Did Mary merit to be the Mother of God? . . . Is devotion to Mary optional?" As an instance of the mature balance which characterizes the en-' tire book may be cited the treatment of Marian Visions and Revela-tions. With scores of possible pitfalls, the author carefully dis-tinguishes the meaning and necessity of private and public revela-tion, explaining that "ali the means that we need for salvation are contained in public revelation." Some people, he complains, practi-cally identify their devotion to the Mother of God with recounting the stories of visions and revelations. "On the other hand, through the right attitude we can derive great value from the messages given to us by Our Lady in such genuine apparitions as those at Lourdes and Fatima," whose genuinity is attested by the Church's official ap-proval.-- JOHN A. HARDON, S.J. BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS BRUCE PUBLISHING CO., 400 N. Broadway, Milwaukee 1, Wis. The Catholic College in the World Today. By Edward A. Fitzpatrick. The author, retiring president of Mount Mary College, here weaves into book form a series of addresses about Catholic col-lege education. He stresses the opportunity of the Catholic college to leaven present-day American culture with the riches of Catholic cul-ture, particularly its emphasis on moral and spiritual values and its focus on the importance of the individual. He looks to crusading graduates to assume their manifest duty to carry out this mission. Pp. 269. $6.00. His Heart in Our Work. Thoughts for a Priestl~t Apostolate. Edited by Francis L. Filas, S.J. This book is a collection of articles selected from Alter Christus, the periodical published from 1937 to 1950 as an American quarterly bulletin of The League of Sacerdotal Sanctity. Although the essays here presented were originally meant for priests, to provide them with material for meditation and with exhortation in their work, still they will benefit religious .and others 278 September: 1954 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS as well. The brevity of the articles (few run over five pages) and the pleasing variety of subjects included (Holy Spirit, Sacred Heart, B1. Virgin, St. Joseph, Apostolate, Prayer, Virtues, Liturgy) m

Issue 12.4 of the Review for Religious, 1953. ; The Spiril: ot: SI:, Clare and I-ler Order Sister M. Immaculata, P.C: CEVEN centuries'ago, on August 11, 1253, the shadows of death ~ were lengthening around a group of sorrowing nuns whose ~ foundress and Mother lay dying. In ecstatic joy, she clasped to her heart a roll of parchment sealed with the Fisherman's seal. Clare Sceffi, a. noble lady of Assisi, had fled from her castle home when she was eighteen to follow Francis Bernardone. Francis had dreamed of adventure for. Christ, and no one had caught~ the flame of love that burned in his heart more ardently than Clare. Fran~is's course had now been run a full quarter of a century, and he was already b.eing venerated as the great saint whose popularity would grow even to our own day. pope Innocent IV had ascended the throne of Peter but the year before. His keen vision scanned the lower!rig storm clouds over a Europe ever beset by the Moslem threat. Could he but make the rulers of the Christian countries bestir themselves out of their com-fortable and only too often lustful letha/gy, to heed his call "God wills it !" With the burdens of ~his exalted, office heavy upon him, he, the Vicar of Christ thought of one little virgin, hidden behind cloister walls in Assisi. He knew Clare, heard she was dying; and he remem-bered the intrepid courage with which she had pleaded with him and some of his predecessors for approval Of her Rule, and of the Seraphic poverty to which she and her Daughters aspired. Innocent, like several Pontiffs before him, had,hesitated to approve a rule of life requiring such poverty as Saint Francis had bequea.thed to Saint Clare and her Daughters. Men, they thought, might oblige themselves to observe it,-but what of cloistered nuns? What would become of a community thus deprived of all revenue and financial security? Innocent was thinking of Clare, thinking of how she lay dying, her one wish and desire unfulfilled. He did not send her a message of comfort and his blessing. Under the inspiration, no doubt of~ the Holy Spirit, he grasped his pen, signed the Bull of approval con-taining her Rule; and then, with his retinue, turned his face toward Assisi. There at San Damiano he entered tl~e lowly cell of Clare and placed in her hands the approval for which she had prayed and 169 SISTER M. IMMACULATA Re~evo :or Religious ~)leaded and suffered for over f.orty years. We can imagine" the astonishment of Clare and her Sisters when the Holy Father himself stood at the convent portals. How she must have pre,ssed that docu-ment to her heart and sung her last hymn of love to Christ her Spouse. Clare had imbibed th.e spirit of Francis at its source, .cher-ishing it firmly and wholly, and bequeathing it to her Daughters as they knelt at her death bed. And they have cherished, loved, and guarded it. They have preserved it unchanged since 1253. Through 700 years the Rule of Saint Clar~ has often been buffeted by storms, and has been wounded at times by the infidelity of her children, but it has always emerged in its first freshness and .strength. It still lives in 1953, and today there.are 19 houses of Poor Clares in the United Stat~s. Our modern age has not been able to undermine the observance of the Rule nor destroy its spirit. The order has grown silently, spreading its branches in neaily every country of the world. No nationality but has found the Rule and its spirit congenial, so that the daughters of Saint Clare scattered throughout the countries of the world have always been able to adapt themselves to her Rule, which .has proved .independent of time or place. Today our American girls still observe the Rule Innocent IV placed in the hands 0f the dying foundress. " What is the spirit, contained in the Rule of Saint Clare? As. in ¯ her own time, her Daughters live a contemplative life in strict en-closure. The spirit, one of poverty, love of prayer leading to closest union with God, is joyous, and their personal sanctification is as much for the efficacious gaining of gra~e for"soul~ as for the strength-ening of the bond of love in the order. It is a life of joyful giving, closing the doors to what the world calls pleasure by the vow of en-closure, thus finding the treasure which is worth more than all pos-sessions. Though it embraces the deprivation of "the things the world de-sires and cherishes, this seclusion with its penance does not entail a sad, bleak; and joyless existence. It is not the thing~ that are barred from the cloister which bring peace and joy to the soul, but those that are found within, of which the world knows nothing. There is song in the heart of the cloistered nun. for she is not burdened with the superfluous gadgets and noises which fill so many hours of our com-plex modern life. Saint Francis has been coi~sidered a model of penance and self-abnegation, but was ever saint more joyous? Hadever a saint a heart 170 ,July, 1953 SPIRIT OF ST. CLARE more full of music? His seemed to be an overflowing fountain of happiness, and he communicated it to those around him. In this, as in all else, Saint Clare was his faithful follower. Penance for her was not practiced for penance's sake. It was an outlet for the love burning in her heart ,and reaching out for more adequate fuel to feed its flame. This joyous spirit still pervades the cloisters where the Daughters of Saint Clare follow in her footsteps and observe her Rule. Their hearts are the cups that still hold the happiness of which the world has now so little, because their lives are still spent in genuine love and wholehearted giving. The worlff today is filled with sorrow and suffering,, and count: less hearts.are bearing a burden they could well consider supreme penance, did they but think of accepting all in a spirit of penance. The heart's most loving, if inarticulate, acceptance of penance is the willing b~aring of the unwelcome burdens so often placed on it by God. To be silent and lovingly resigned is always, to practice pen-ance in a very perfect form. The Daughters of Saint Clare vowing a Rule which imposes manypenances are but reaching out for greater love, ~vhich is warded With greater joy in God's service. Penance is not ugly, harsh, and fearsome. The bell which call~ one to ri~e from welcome sleep to seek the light of the sanctuary in the dead of night may sound un-welcome to a tired body: but is theie anything rfiore beautifuf_than the religious wending their silent 'way to the choir to make their first act of adoration before their Lord in the taberf.acle when the day has just begun? Standing in their stalls, they offer the praise of virgins before the face of~God, a prayer with the Son of God, ",bhile the world sleeps or sins. Does anyone know the joy in the hearts of those who give Him this homage? So it is with all the penances.prac7 ticed by the Daughters 6f Saint Clare. Penance for penance's sake is repugnant, meaningless, and very often food- for pride and phari-saism, so entirely alien to the spirit of Saint Clare. Penance for "love's sake is sweet. If there are still hearts in the world today which know unalloyed joy, they are undoubtedly those whose lives are being poured out in the most unselfish and wholehearted giving. Their joy is most full because their lives are most full of giving. The transition from the life of our modern girl to a postu!a~nt the cloister is not so drastic as some would suppose. Young, eager, lighthearted, with a soul attuned to God's grace, she assumes by slow degrees the duties and customs to which she adapts herself. She learns 171 SISTER M. IMMACULATA Review for Religious to love the hours of prayer, the Divine Office, the silence and regu-larity, The joyous acceptance of the sacrifices imposed by the Rule creatds a deep happiness and peace, which is found" especially in the hours of prayer. Prayer is not a ready-made gift in anyone. It en-tails mortification, is often itself mortification, but a mortification that decreases as the spirit of prayer and union with God increases There are no secrets of rapid progress over the rough path that leads to union with God, except the secret of persistent self-abnegation and striving for that wlsich obliterates self, and builds up in us the Christlikeness which alone makes us one with Him. But God does not lure us into the wilderness of. the contemplative life to forsake us and l'eave us to our own helplessness. True, we seem to take a leap in the dark When we embrace the contemplative life, but our Lover is not a human being whom we fear to trust. Like Clare who left her castle home in the dead of night, her Daughters follow where their Divine Spouse leads, and the path. is ever to union with God and the embrace of the Holy Spirit. While the enclosed life of contemplation should not be glamor-ized, neither should it be made a fearful existence df joyless sacrifice and penance. Too often is either mistake made. Those who look for a thrill rush to embrace what they do not understand, looking for something occult, dxpecting tangible thrills of gra.ce or ecstatic prayer before they have hid anything like the foundations of the spiritual life. On the other hand, ferszent though timid souls are often over-come by fear of what may be expected of them once they step behind the cloister walls. Neither is the correct attitude. Those to whom God gives a vocation to the contemplative life, have, nearly always, a natural yearning for God. They want Him, are looking for means of. union with~Him, "have a certain joy in prayer, and, with the light affd guidance of the Holy" Spirit, find pehce of soul in the difficult stretchds of the way as well as happiness in His tornforts. Union with God is a growing state, and though it often advances in dark-ness there are times when it comes into the light, and a light that does not fade entirely even when the way is again through dryness. There is too much emphasis put on the trials, sufferings, and dark-ness of the interior life and not enough on the joy in God and peace Of soul found therein. It has been said that Saint Clare, had she lived in our day, would have founded a missionary order. No Daughter of hers would ever consent to this opinion. Clare knew without a doubt to what she 172 dulg, 1953 SPIRIT OF ST. CLARE was called and she never wavered. She did not simply follow a pat-tern of her time. Indeed, we know that a number of:Benedictine houses, especially the large one at Florence, took the Rule of Saint Clare. It was Agnes, her sister, who was sent there to be the abbess under the new Rule. Francis knew Clare was a contemplative, as he was himself, and the hearts of both were so much the missionary's that no field of labor would ever satisfy' their zeal. Nothing less than the entire world would be Clare's mission field, as it was that of Francis and his Order. Italy and Assisi were no closer to her than the farthest-flung mission. No contempla.tive is one indeed if she has not' the heart of a missionary. Francis's was the call to go out and preach,. Clare's the outstretched arms of a Moses on the mount of contemplation. Clare would give to Christ, her Spouse, not only herself, but all the world. She'knew the fields were white for the harvest and she would obey the words of Christ and pray that the Master send laborers into it. He did not bid her go out and gather it in, bu~ strengthen the arms of the workers. She knew the limita-tions of her own weakness, but prayer and sacrifice, united with the prayer of Christ in the Divine Office, in in~erior love and union, were and are the all-powerful weapons which can reach the opposite ends of the earth at one and the same time. It was the spirit of Clare. as it was the spirit of Francis, to be daring enough to wish to support the Church, on her own weak shoulders, knowing that the Hands and Heart of her Divine Spouse were supporting her. The Spirit of Saint Clare, the foundress of the "Poor Clares, is still living and burning brightly after seven centuries. It calls to the heart cJf the modern girl of our cities as it did t6 those of the middle ages. The life she and Francis instituted for her Daughters is not outmoded in the 20th century, but instead is as living, warm, and joyous in the hearts of the novices of ~oday as in the days of Saint Clare in the little monastery of San Dami~no in 1253. ST. CLARE PLAY BY A POOR CLARE Candle in Umbria is the story of Saint Clare of /~ssisi told in a verse play by a Poor Clare Nun. The play of four acts, eight scenes is suitable for production by college :students or by high schools with special direction. The play was written to honor the foundress of the Poor Clares on the seventh centenary (1953) of her death. The authi~r is a regular contributor to Spirit magazine. ~$1.00 per copy, including the music for the "Canticle of the Sun" which is embodied in the play. Those interested in obtaining a copy of this productior~ should write to: Poor Clare Monastery, Route 1, Box 285 C, Roswell, New Mexico. 173 News and Views Yocational Institute at Fordl~am The Third Annual Institute on Religious and Sacerdotal Voca-tions will be held by. the School of Education, Fordham University, Wednesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 30, on the Fordham. campus. Ways of encouraging, fostering, and guiding vocations~.to the diocesan priesthood an/d to the religious life will be~ discussed by outstanding experts. For further information write to Rev. John F. Gilson,.S.J.,' Fordham Univ. Sch6ol of Education, 302 Broad-way, New York 7, N.Y. ,~ Institute of Spirituality At the National Congress of Religious, held last summer at the .University of Notre Dame, it ,was suggested that the University offer summer school courses in spiritual theology and an institute of spir-ituality each year for the Sisterhoods. This suggestion was favorably received by the representati(,es of the Sacred Congrdgation of Reli-gious and by th.e religious superiors who attended the congress. To carry the suggestion into effe~0 the Notre Dame Department of Religion is inaugurating this summer a program of courses in spir-itual- theology as part of its graduate work in view of a Master's De-gree in Religion. Moreover, since many superiors and mistresses of novices are unable to be present for the summer school, courses, the University is offering a distinct. Institute of Spirituality for them. This is also sponsored by the Department of Religion. The Institute is not a part of the academic program and offers no credits towards a degree. All the lectures and discussions are specially arranged for Sisters superior and novice mistresses. A~ the formal opening of the Institute, on the evening of July 31, His Excellency,. the Most Reverend John F. O'Hara, C.S.C., D.D., will deliver the address. From August I to 7, there will be three lectures each morning. Topics and speakers for these series of lectures are: "'The Role of the Sister Superior and Novice Mistress," by Rev. Paul Philippe, O.P.; "The Theology of the Religious Life and the Vows," by Rev. Joseph Buckley, S.M.; and "Ascetical and Mystical Theology," by Rev. Charles Corcoran, C.S.C. Each after~ noon, August 1-6, the three lecturers will cbnduct workshops on their subject-matter. On four evenings, August I-4, there will be 174 Julg, 1953 NEws AND VIEWS special lectures, running simultaneously, as follows: "The Liturgy and the R~ligious Life," by Rt. Rev. Martin Hellriegel; "Canon Law for Religious," by Rev. Romaeus O'Brien, O.Carm.; and "Psycho-physiology and Religious Sisterhoods," by Rev. Gerald Kelly, S.J. The Institute will close on the morning of August 7 with an address by Very Rev. Theodore M. He.sbargh, C:S.C., President of the Uni-versity of Notre Dame. Morol Theology ond Love There was a day when the science of Christian moralit~r included everything that is now partitioned into moral theology, ascetical the-ology, and mystical theology: in othei~'words, it included the entire Christian life, in all its degreesof perfection. Bdt the very growth of the su,bject-matter made some kin~i of division necessary, at least for teaching purposes. This division more or less limited moral the-ology to the sphere of what is obli~Tator(/: tb the study of laws, of the exact limits of the obligations imposed by the laws, to the.conditions which might constitute exemptions from these laws. and so foith. There is one great advantage of this ~partiti0n: it makes a dear distinction between what is obli~Tator~l and what is superero~lator~t; and this distinction is ext~rbmely important for the preservation of peace of soul. Nevertheless, from the point of view of moral the-ology, there is also a decided disadvantage: the science is made to ap-. pear too negative. Perhaps every student and professor of moral the-ology has been conscious of this disadgantage, and perhaps many of them h:~ve tried to find some way of introducing a more.positive and inspirational dement into moral theology without, of course, scaring its basic clarity. Father G. Gilleman, S.J., a Belgian Jesuit who teaches theology in India, suggests that moral theology can gain its necessary inspira-tional note by emphasizing charity as the very soul of the Christian life--which it truly is, whether in the sphere of obligation or' of supererogation. Those who ire'intdr~sted in improving.the method of moral theology should nbt fail to read Father Gilleman's book. The title is, Le primat de la charitd en thdologlie morale. It is pob-lished by E. Nauwelaerts, Louvain, Belgium. The price is 225 Bel-gian fr'ancs. $t. Joseph Research Center A St. Joseph" Research and Documentation Center has been estab-lished at St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal 26, Quebec. The constitu- 7.5 NEWS AND VIEWS tions of this organization have the approval of His Eminence, Paul Cardinal Lel~er, Archbishop of Montreal. The purpose of the so-ciety is to encourage a more profound study of the position of St. 2o-seph, and eventually to subsidize works published on the saint. It will sponsor research in fields such as church history, liturgy, and the arts, as well asin theology. Membership is open to' all interested in-dividuals or groups. Inquiries can be sent directly to St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal or to Rev. F. L. Filas, S.J., at Loyola Univer-sity, Chicago 26, Illinois. Scholarships at Catholic University" The Catholic University of America has made provision for. 160 half-tuition scholarships for post graduate studies for the next aca-demic year. Open to lay men and women, priests, Brothers, and Sisters, the grants/ worth $300 towards 'tuition, will be awarded on the basis of scholastic excellence and financial need of the applicant who is entering on post graduate work. Grants are available in all studies except philosophy, engineering, and architecture. Appli-cants should write to the Registrar, Department G, Catholic Univer- ¯ sity of America, Washington, D.C., for additional details on the program. Office of the Passion in English The Confraternity of the Passion, in answer to many requests, has had The Little Ofl$ce of the Passion of Our Lord desus Christ translated into English and made available in Small booklet form. The booklet may be obtained for 25 cents from the Confraternity of the Passion, Sacred Heart Retreat, 1924 Newburg Road', Louisville, Kentucky', or from any Passionist Monastery. ~ Layos Catholic Records Layos Records is a Hollywood recording company devoted ex-clusively to the production of Catholic records. The first record, " "Act of Contrition," is already in circulation. Original music was composed by Peter; Jona Korn, and the piece is performed by the Roger Wagner Chorale. The company plans to sell the recordings through advertisements in the Catholic press. A five-year schedule calls for the production of a new Catholic record, at six-week inter-vals. The firm is being advised in its musical program by Father John Cremins, head of the music depastment of the Los Angele~s Archdiocese. The record company is anxious to ha~,e suggestions from Catholic music and audio-visual departments regarding the type of material to be recorded. 176 On !:he Particular i:::xamen [EDITORS' NOTE: The first two articles on the particulmr examen .arrive~l almost simultaneously. The fact that the first is from an American Brother studying in Switzerland and the second from a Belgian missionary in India would seem" to indicate, universal interest in this practice of asceticism. The third contribution to this "sytfiposium"'is .from a member of the Jesuit Mission Band of the New Yot;k province. Communications from Our readers that may bring some more hdpful ideas to the practice of the particular examen are: welcome.] William T. Anderson, S.M. UMAN nature is prone tO falling into a rut. Those who lead very ordered lives often become slaves to routine. Religious sometimes feel the deadening effe~ct of routine and.habit: in fact, if we ark not car~eful, we find ourselves going to chapel without any preparation and without ~any aim. Day after day slips by and, before we know it, a year is gone. When .we 'take inventory at the annual-retreat, the shelves of our spiritual warehouse look" bare indeed. Perhaps we ought once in a while to ask ourselves a few embar-rassing questions on our religious duties. The reflections listed below are the result of just such a scrubbing of the~ soul. What effect has particular examen had on me? What is my attitude towards this ex-ercise? What importance has this exercise ir~ the spiritual life? Is there any direct ratio between successful zeal and progress in particu-lar examen? After .asking yourself these questions, try to answer them honestly. Then read on and see whetheroyou agree with the ideas given below. 1. A written record is a "'must" for examen. A record book for examen was insisted on in the novitiate. Over and over we heard how necessary this was. Yetsome 'religious perhapscast their examen book out the window of the car carrying them from the novitiate to the train station. Some of us used it for a while, but then discarded it. And that ~ras the beginning of the end. Perhaps most religious who do not make examen with a record as a help do not make exa-men. I~ this a rash statement? Do .you make examen faithfully without a iecord? Does your personal experience agree with this observation ? 177 "~,VILLIAM T, ./~NDERSON Re~iea2 for Religious 2. The subject for~ examen must be specific. If the subject is not limited to definite occasions during the day, or to specific'times scat-tered oxier the usual schedule, after a time the examen, period becomes' " 6nd during which 6u~ Stomach continually reminds us "that a meal is not,far off, or it is a p~eriod of planning unconsciously our work for the rest of the day or the morrow. Vagueness here is the deadly ene-my of progress. 3. Our apostolic influence is in direct ratio to our efforts at par-ticular examen. We learned in the scholasticate that while knowl-edge is very necessary for a teacher, the more important ingredient for a successful teacher and religious educator was the hbility to get along with people and to attract souls. Anyone who has taught fora few years will attest to the authenticity of this statement. Any one will also agree that teaching boys, especially adolescent b.oys,.can be a very nerve-racking job. Nervous tension may ruin any influence which we might have with students when we use sarcasm or unjust punishments, show favoritism or laxity on some occa-sions, or exercise undue ~ever!ty on others. Examen is the means which we have at our disposal to develop in us that self=control which is so necessary for the teacher. To be kind when words of sarcasm rise to outlips, to be exacting ~h~n we fed sluggish and lazy, to give words of correction which yet, do not cut, to be patient when we have had little sleep or food (as on fast days), ~o work steadily despite the fact that "results" are not forthcoming--is M1 this.poisible without examen? Most prob-ably not. As soon as we stop working at examen, we find ourselves difficult to get along with, harsh, lazy, or sarcastic. The weeds of our defects spring up rapidly'bnce we lay down the hoe of particular exam'en. 4. Particular examen is a sine qua non for communit~l life. All of the.foregoing can be just as well applied to community life. Com-munity life sometimes causes a lot of friction, some heat, and at times, even fire. Examen is the~exercise we need to mold our charac-ters so that we learn to avoid occasions which.cause arguments' or to cement, fraternal relations, once they are broken.~ Community life is sometimes a big cross; there is no need to make Jrbigger for a fellow r~ligious. 5. Examen is one of the best means we have of attaining our ideal, desus,'Son of Marv. Putting off the old man and putting on the new man is quite a job for us weak mortals, afflicted as we.are by 1"78 953 PARTICULAR EXAMEN the effects of original sin. It seems impossible that a religious can be sincere and continue hi~ striving for perfection in religious life with-out keeping up with the daily examen. Progress tgward making ourselves like to Jesus, Son of Mary, is made only by the grace of God and constant striving on,our part. Much of oar progress in the spiritual life proceeds, ex opere operantis. And examen is an excel-lent measuring rod for our own effort. 6. Examen is one of our most poten~t means of recruitment. Stu-dents join our ranks, not because of what we say or what we write. but because o~ what we are. If we are real religious, if we are. happy in the knowledge that we are striving to perfect ourselves,, if we show the acquired virtues of patience, charity, humility, and piety, it is ~mpossible that recruits will not come to us. Is there a. better adver, tisement for the religious life than a real religious, one who is daily advancing in virtue? Holiness attracts. Examen is a potent means of holiness. . Perhaps you do not agree with all or even any of the foregoing reflections. 'Be that as it may, you must admit that, granted that particular examen is necessary, we often negl.ect this important reli-gious exercise. Not only must we strive to be present for the examen each day, but we must make it fruitful by daily striving.~ Growth. in" virtue seems to demand the daily examen. As his particular examen goes, so goes the religious. P. De Letter, S.J. The particular examen i~ a common practice of modern spiritual-ity, As every canonical fiovice knows, it consists in direct.ing atten-tion to a particular point, either a fault to be corrected or some practice of virtue, to be fostered. Popularized if not originated by St. Ignatius~ of Loyola, this has become a common tactic in the spir-itual life. All have a passing acquaintance with it. As proposed in the Spiritual ExWcises, attention is to be focused on the particular examen three times every day: at the morning oblation, in theexam-ination of conscience at noon, and again 'during the evening exam-ination. Through this practice gifferent defects, are "gradually elim-inated and needed virtues acquired. 179 ~ P DE LETTER Remeto for Rehgtous A Fact from Experience Yet some religious do not succeed with the particular examen. They apparently fail to see its use 6r grasp its meaning: At any rate, they draw little, profit from it even whrn they do not drop it alto-gether as a useless formality. This is true even among religious who in no way neglect their interior life. Their failure is not due to wil-ful neglect or to tepidity. They simply do not' see their way to making a success of the practice. . Since sound spiritual writers speak so highly of the worth of the particular examen, it seems desirable to examine some apparent neglect and to revalue._.this spiritual exercise. We may sum up its importance by saying it is a sign of spiritual vitality, especially for those who have spent some years in religion. It may not be all-important m itself, at least when it is thought of and practiced in too narrow a manner. Generally its practice is a good indication that.the interior life is thriving. More often than not, its neglect means alack of spiritual vitality. In a limited sense, fidelity to" the practice of the examen can serve as a barometer reading of spiriti~al fervor. A Restricted Conception of the. Exarnen The formal idea of the particular examen can be applied in two different ways regarding both the choice of the subject matter and the manner of conceiving its pragtice. One way is very concrete and definite, perhaps too mechanical and artificial at least for life-span practice. For instance, we decide on rooting out a habitual fault such as the neglect of silence, resolve to avoid transgressions, and keep a record of the eventually-decreasing faults. Or we concentrate our attention on a specific practice of virtue such as kind interpretation of the actions of others and endeavor to. increase the number of these acts throughout the day, checking at noon and night to see how we have succeeded. This method is very rightly advised in the beginning of the religious life. It is an effective means of correcting exterior faults and defects and of gradually developing a religious way of thinking, speaking, and acting. It is also useful at other periods in life when it is necessary to remedy some faulty way of speaking'or acting that has crept in unnoticed. Another Approach If the particular examen is to measure up to what writers say about it and be a really powerful means of progress, there ought to be another way of conceiving its practice which does justice to its 180 1953 PARTICULAR EXAMEN importance. A number of religious have given the assurance that the following approach "works." Instead of taking just any particular fault or practice of virtue, we should fix on some central interest or need of our spiritual life. If the subiect is important it will less easily be forgotten. Then its !~ractlce, oreferably positive rather than nega-tive, should be conceived in a broad and inclusive manner. By means of the resolve made and renewdd at the three times--morning, noon, and night--we work at gradually penetrating our working day with an ideal or conviction rather than at c.ounting a number of particular acts 6r ,defects. To be more specific, the most suitable ;sub.iect matter for our par-ticul~ r examen is the main resolution or resolutions of our annual re- " treat. When this subiect is properly" chosen, it answers a real need and generMly our great~st one. It may crystallize into some maxim or mqtto. Then the oractice will consist in keeping this before our mind or recalling it when needed and pbssible. We thus slowly come to live in the atmost)here or disposition which our watchword con-veys. ¯ We begin to think, speak, and act accordingly. Some examples are: "The LordIoves a cheerful giver": "Ndt for me, Lord, but for Thee": "To have that mind in you which is in Christ." The prac-tice of framing our resolution in a driving maxim or a quotation from Scripture can be very helpful 'though it is not essential. What is essential is to keep before our mind a definite objective, sufficiently central and important for our personal interior life, such as cannot be lost sight of as long as our effort for spiritual "progress is kept alive. In this method our faithfulness and success in the,practice of the par-ticular examen are the criterion of our vitality and fervor. This will create a .congenial interior climate in which our souls can thrive. The importance of tEis concep~ion of the examen is evident at once. Nor is there any danger that we shall overlook and forget it throughout a busy day. If our work is permeated with a driving spiritual ideal, as it should be if it is to be different from mere secular work, a particular examen that looks after 6ur present main spiritual need will help sustain this retreat-clear inspiration. It is only in moments of forgetfulness when we neglect grace and allow natural-ism to guide our thought or conduct that the particular examen will also suffer from this spiritual thoughtlessness, But the examen itself, by reason of the resolve and the effort it implies, helps to forestall or exclude and .certainly to dimi6ish these "secular moments" in our days. 181 P. DE LETTER Review [or Religious Room [or Varietg We need not fear that this method will leave no room for a helpful variety that will maintain interest. When our particular examen aims at our central, yet definite, spiritual interest or need, its subject, matter can and naturally will take on many different aspects according to the variations of that interest or need, directed both by grace and by our psychology. As a matter of fact, our spiritual needs and interests evolve gradhally according to seasons and circumstances and to the inspirations of grace. These will reveal now one,e, ~now another side which before remained more or less hidden or unnoficed. Moreover, when our retreat resolutio.n, as is gener~ally the case, is not restricted to one but foresees several particular needs, we can alternate the practice and change from one to the other when the 'one seems to have worn out and lost its grip. Later, we can often return to the first with a refreshed outlook and new ardor. ( Dispositions and/or Acts Does this manner of practicing the examen require specific acts as does the first, or may we dispense with these? It may require them and generally does. That depends on the subject matter and on in-dividual dispositions. Some people can maintain a habitual disposi-tion of recollectedness or selflessness without insis(ing on or multiply- , ing definite acts. Others are in need of such acts, which arise spon-taneously from their resolve to be recollected or self-forgetful. spirit of praye.r normally demands some explicit acts of formal prayer; habitual or virtual prayer alone would not be sufficient. Self-lessness, trust, apostolic zeal can be habitual dispositions, but some explicit acts, whether exterior or interior, would not do any harm but would help very much even if they were not altogether necessary. The marking in a book after the noon "and evening check-up, which is generally a real help to our dodging human nature,'is not to be overlooked in this second way. But it need not be done in numer-als. Some people are congenitally poor in.arithmetic. Instead of marking the number of acts or df faults, a gener~al notation may suf-fice, for instance: good, average, poor; or A, B, C; or any way one prefers. When we mean business with our particular examen and make use of all the means to succeed, we still must expect times when our effort will have little success. Some days everything goes well spir-itually; other days it does not. These ups and downs need not be 182 July, 1953 PARTICULAR EXAMEN ; magnified; even in0 the "downs:' our effort can and generally does remain substantially faithful and successful to an extent. This should not be oveHooked: otherwise unwarranted and naive optim-ism may flounder during low moods, Provided our desire and effort .does not flag, even this partly unsuccessful particular examen still marks a steady progress. - The second way of conceiving and. practicing the particular exa-men makes the exercise not just a small device for casual use if it suits but rather an important ~nd obligatory factor in every serious effort for progress. Without it. spiritual life~.slackens if it does not die down. Perhaps we should say that every, fervent life actually keeps this practice of the particular examen, though possibly without giving it that name. Every fervent spirituality is practically boun,d to aim at and concentrate on some definite objective required by the present need. Fervent sduls do so spontaneously. It can only make for better ~esults if they are aware of this law of spiritual vitality and resolve to follow it. Seen in this light, the particular examen-is an essential unit inthe structureof spiritual progress. It is, not just a decorative trifle. We need not fear that this determined and steady effort at lJrog-ress in one particular direction will result in a state of uneasy t~nslon and nervousness. As in the whole spiritual life, so also here, ti~e-de-sire and endeavor for advancement must combine ardor and peace,, earnestness and patience, genuine'effort and disinterested acceptance of the results. For is it not grace that makes our effort possible and suc-cessful? Human endeavor is a subordinate factor. It is no doubt, necessary: grace does ndt replaceit. But it is trust in grace combined with sincerity in not sparing ourselves unduly that makes a burning, yet peaceful ardor possible. The particular examen, understood in this grand and realistic way,, repays, th~ effort we make in a measure which it is impossible,to anticipate. Fidelity to grace is often re-warded beyond human expectation. Gabriel A. Zema, S.J. 1. Let us take, for example, the habit of passing on to a friend or acquaintance our low opinion of the fault or sin 0f another. De-pending on circumstances, the thing may be no sin at all, a.venial, or a mortal sin. Even if no actual sin, it is a habit that belongs to no 183 GABRIEL A. ZEMA lady or gentleman; and it can lead to a lot of trouble. 2. On rising, or after morning prayer, write a figure, say "3," some place where you can again see it at the end of the day. (Even nosey people will never know what "3" stands for.) For you "Y' means you are determined to control your tongue three times that day on the habit you set ouk to break. 3. When you look at the figure at the end of the day while examining your conscience as every sincere re!igious.should--it is pos- Sible you won't know what it stands for yourself. You may even have forgotten you put it there. ,But a little reflection will bring back the breaking-that-habit idea. 4. Very well, begin all over again. On the second day you may find that you have not controlled your tongue even once. Go to the third day more determined than ever. 5. I~eep'up the practice for ten or twelve days. You will find a definite improvement if you are at all serious about it. 6. At the end of ten or twelve days take tip another fault and give it ~he same treatment. Follow the same procedure. After you have worked on three or four faults.--never forgetting to keep im-' proving on them--go back to the first one and see how the patient looks! 7. In morning and evening prayers ask Our Lady to come to your aid. BOOK NOTICE THE INTERIOR CARMEL: THE THREEFOLD WAY OF LOVE, by John C. H. Wu, a very brilliant Chinese. convert, diplomat, and scholar, "wi'll help highly intellectual.lay men and women to raise their spiritual lives of contemplation and divine love td an equal height and to give them something of the lofty mysticism that char-acterized St. John of the Cross. It will also aid very busy religious or priests to make their exterior activities conducive to a ,higher and more intense internal spirit. Interestingly and inspiringly Dr. Wu quotes the ancient Cbiriese sages, Confucius and Mencius, to rein-force the lessons of modern Catholic and Spanish Carmelite mysti-cism. (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1953. Pp. xii + 257. $3.25.) 184 Child Mo!:her: r cious ynt:hesis Mother Winifred Corrigan, r.c. AT HOLY COMMUNION, the soul authentically in love with ~ God, is sometimes conscious of itself as a banq~ethall in which the memorable gospel of the anointing of the Lord's feet by "a sinner" is being reenacted. This soul becomes aware in itself of two sep.arate impulses. One is the generous spirit of the Magdalen, utterly expending self for the beloved Master, freely offering to spend its best years in obscurity or lovingly giving its body to be burned. The other impulse, also within .the soul, is viewing, rea-soning, even objecting: "To what purpose is this waste?" It is the soul speaking in terms of the apostle 3udas, not yet the traitor, who prudently considers the extravagance of broken alabaster."For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor." That Our Blessed Lord openly favored and approved the sym-bolic self-surrender ~f Mary Magdalen, the sinner, we know. "The poor you have always with you but me you have not.always." We have experienced, too, bow the logic of Divine Wisdom reconciles our opposing desires and restores equilibrium. "Thy. sins are for-given thee. Thy faith hath'made thee safe, go in peace." Devotion to Mary performs a similar function. It tends to unify two spiritual realities sometimes thought to be at variance: the doctrines of spir-itual" cbildbood and spir!tual motherhood. Why are these doctrines ever considered incomigatible? In the natural order, it is plain that the two states, childhood and mother-hood, are not in opposition. Obviously, the same person can be both child and mother. The basic concept, mother, one who merci-fully sustains the life of her offspring ("do not kill it"), is unfor-gettably presented to us as illustrating the wisdom of Solomon. "Give the living Child to this woman.for she is the mother there-of." This concept of mother ~choes the first woman's name, Eve, mother of the living. The concept of child, in the Divine Mind, is expressed for us in the Fourth Commandment. In the Book of Ec-clesiasticus (Chapter 3) the blessings of fruitfulness and long life are promised in detail to the loving, obedient child. Writing to his dear Ephesians, St. Paul confirms this divine revelation for New Testa- 185 MOTHER WINIFRED CORRIGAN Review for Religious merit times.- "Children, obey your parents in. the Lord, for this is just. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first command-ment with a prorriise: that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest be long lived upon earth." Thus, for the Christian, it is natural for the faithful child to become fruitful, nor would the sacrifice of mar- ¯ riage and family usually be required in order to keep the Fourth Commandment. In the supernatural order, the harmonious' sequence between the roles of child and mother is less apparent. In making ready to lighten up the mists by reference to M.ary, it may be well to clarify the meaning of the terms, spiritual childhood and spiritual mother-hood, according to Scripture and the lives of the saints. Spiritual Childhood Our Lord has strongly set forth the reality, even. the necessity of spiritual childhood. "Amen, I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little, children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." He then counsels the humility of a little child for his disciples, and for all who would be "greater in the kingdom of heaven." The reality of spiritual motherhood is presented for us in the forceful language of St. Paul. "My little dhildren," he wrote to the Galatians, "of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you." His apostolic cry for souls re-echoes the appeal of the Divine Lover, heard in the Old Testament (Isaias 49:15). There it tran-scends rather than distinguishes itself from the pangs of .natural motherhood. "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her wombs. And if she should forget, y.et will I not forget thee/' Amid the miracles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we find this divine, motherly concern for human needs manifesting itself in a sweet, considerate way. He took the hand of Jairus' 12"-year-old daughter and raised her from the dead. Then, having counselled her parents to secrecy, he "commanded that something should be given her to eat." Some of tl'Je saints have discovdred the .beautiful qualities of spir-itual childhood and spiritual motherhood.contained in the above and similar passages. At Holy Communion, they have explored the mystery of their Eucharistic Lord .entering the human body, resting there like a helpless, unborn child, in order to nourish the life of the soul. The Divine Word, repeating the mother's cry: "Do not kill 186 Jul~,1953 GRACIOUS SYNTHESIS it!" 'daily fulfills His own promise: "The bread that I will give. is my flesh, for the life of the world." The saints have understood how, by their very self-effacement, by being belittled and becoming as little children, they too can maternally assis~ in the birth, growth, and' development of the Mystical Body. St. Th~r~se of the Ch'ild Jesus (1873-1897) has renewed the interest of the modern world in the doctrine Of spiritual.childhood: Her position as youngest child of the Martin family and her early entrance into religious life preserved in her soul the true attitude of a child. How this spirit of utter dependence on her heavenly Father helped her to fulfill her maternal duties as nox}ice mistress to the souls "who came to me asking for food," she tells with unique charm in her Autobiographgt (p. 213). Her present title of patroness of the missions suggests the breadth of her spiritual moFherh0od, hidden deep in her youth and Carmel. No discordant contrast is the spirituality of Blessed Th~r~se Couderc (1805-1885), foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacl~. As the oldest girl in a large family and as young superior of a religious community, sloe early developed the valiant traits characteristi(of spiritual motherhood. Then. con-sequent upon bet consecration to Our Lady, shesaw her responsibili-ties removed and she went down willingly into years of oblivion. In her 60th year, Blessed Th~r~se or, as we know her better, Mother Th~r~se, had emerged from the darkness of humiliation and failure, to find herself a humble, cherished adorer confronted with the holi-ness of God. "He treats me always." she wrote at this time, "like a child who would not have the strength to bear trials, Also the sweetness He makes me feel in His service makes me forget and bear all." This is the stage at which she detailed her doctrine of self-surrender. While it graduall~ led her into the thicket of unitive suffering and reparation, she continued to call it an easy means of sanctification, noting that there is "nothing so sweet to practice.': Marg, the Ideal The ideal of self-surrender is Our Lady of the Cenacle. It is Our- Blessed Mother in th~ last. perhaps 15-year, epoch of her earthly life. She has already received her Divine son's formal commission for the motherhood of mankind, on Calvary. In the Cenacle or "upper room," by a mother's persevering prayer and a claild's anonymity- ("who when she was first of all became-the last" St. Bernard), 187 COMMUNICATIONS ReotetO [or Reltgtot~s Mary continues to attract us to the sublime by the gracious synthesis of her life. In religious life, Mary's spirit is learned and gained in a'variety o.f ways: perhaps in the shared intimacy of Holy Communion, perhaps in the fragrant solitude of a retreat. Our Lady is ever the, true child ,and the true mother. Her spirit, '!meek and strong, zealous and prudent, humble and courageous, pure and fruitful," imparts to us our own proper measure of both these roles. When we have reverently analyzed ~and appreciated the doctrines of spiritual childhood and spiritual motherhood, we may be allowed to accommodate an angel's words as our simple directive,. "Take the Child and His mother." Thus, sincere, day to day imitatio'n of Our Blessed Mother. gradually becomes our meaningful response to an ever more imRerative invitation. We then find that we have tended to integrate in our spiritual .life the two ways'of which Mary, our model, is the gracious synthesis. Reverend Fathers: I agree with Sr. Ma~y Jude', 0.P., in her articl~, "The Summa for Sisters" (March, 1953), that a study of the works of St. Thomas would help our Sisters become better religious and better teachers However, I do not agree with Sister regarding "the distinctive phe-nomenon of the active orders today." Professed religious who are seeking admission to contemplative orders are a growing concern of the Church, but they are not a phe-nomenon. They are the logical result of the transition that has been taking place within active orders. Truly "their final profession is far enough behind," but a glance at those former days may illuminate the darkness, mistrust, and mis-understanding that surrounds them. When ~hey entered religious life the goal was one--it was clear-cut, that is, perfection which would I, mean intimate union with God. During their novitiate and perhaps I' for the first ten years of their religious life their concentrated all their it efforts to attain this end. Then stress was not on education, nursing, i! or Catholic Action, but on the presence of God and the pursuit of I virtue; however, because of pressure from without, the change of l 188 duly, 1953 COMMUNICATIONS standards, and the requirements by the St'ate, professional knowledge, ability, and skill became a necessity. Therefore. higher education with Saturday and weekday classes was added to teaching, plus parent-teacher m~etings, sodalities, public relation groups, discussion clubs and first~id courses. These religious lack neither intelligence nor good will. They readily admit with St. Thomas the greatness of the charity of the apostolate. Theylive, for the most part, lives of self-renunciation and sacrific6. Other,wise they would not be seeking admission to the cloister.- Nor are they seeking only the joys of contemplation. Most of them would gladly spend themselves and be spent in the apostdlate if they could still be c~rtain that their union with God was increasing not decreasing. But the signs point in the opposite direction. Let us look at one of these Sisters of fifteen y~ars ago. Today, instead of the one goal of 'union with God, she has another, that of professional competence. What has happened to her.as a result? First, the intensity of her desires and her efforts in the spir~itual life has naturally been weakened by her concentration on her work. Second!y, the virtues of the interior life, silence, and recollection do not have the opportunity for development they had in fdrmer days. Distractions in one form or another and activity hinder their growth. Thirdly, the virtues of the hiddefi life have become watery. They lack the positive yirility that so characterizes interior souls. She is in the world and does not wish to be of the world, yet its spirit of ac-tivity and distraction are now hers. ~ Viewing these results, she finds a growing conviction that her. spiritual life is deprived of the degree of vitality that once was hers and thai the culprit is activity. From this conviction flows the fear that her work and its accessories are separating her from Christ. It is not the fear of a neurotic; it is a well:founded fear that demands recognition and attention. No zealous religious desires to go to heaven alone; no thinking religious denies the value of the apostolic life,, but there is much ac-tivity in the life of the religious today that could not conceivably be put in the category of Apostolic. Those who strive to unite prayer and action as St. Paul and St. Thomas, St. Catherine and St, Teresa of Avila did, find they fall short of the ideal, in fact they fail. Tl~is is not just subjective thinking. It can be proven without much spiritual examination. As in nations, so in groups, and so with the individual, the pe- 189 COMMUNICATIONS ~" riod of adjustment is 'fraught with dangers. These must not be spurned. They should be recognized and analyzed. It is the chal- . lenge of our age. , The desire for contemplation is rapidly growing in America, not o~ly.in orders of women but also among men. We have a Father Moore, a Father Raymond, and a Father Merton, to name only a few outstanding ones, to prove this. Not only is contemplation sought by' religious in active orders, but so many young, eager Americans have sought admission to the Trappist Monastery in Kentucky that they .have had to build five new foundations in a short time, The Carthusians, stiil in their infancy in America, have a waiting list. All. this is significant. ¯ Would Sr. Mary Jude say all these people were exceptions, or that they lack the ability to find the delicate balance between prayer and work. I doubt it. Looking at it from this' broader .point of view, we see that this cbndition of which~ Sister M, Jude speaks i~ only a branch of a much larger river that is sweeping America from coast to coast. If we wish to insure the vitality and growth of our active orders, we must see that. the desire for intimate union 'with Christ is given outlets and opportunities for development, .even if it means the curtailment of many activities. We can do without the latter, but without the for-mer all action is but sounding brass and tinklilag cymbals. --A SYMPATHIZER. "BLESSED BE HER GLORIOUS ASSUMPTION" .On December 23, 1952, Our Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, decreed that the in-vocation printed above is.to be added, to'the Divine Praises whenever they are re-cited after Mass or'after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.' In the official publi-cation of this decree, which appeared in the Acti~ Apostolica Sed~'s under date of March 21, 1953, vol. 45, p. 194, it was stated that this new invocation should be inserted after the invocation "!Blessed be~ th~ Name of Mary Virgin and Mother." However, L'Osseroatore Romano for April 9 contained a correction, issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on Apr!l 8, to the effect that it should be inserted im-mediately after the other invocation: ',',Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate C.oncep, tion." ,. The ob'.i~ati0n of inserting this new. invocation into the Divine Praises begins on dune 21, 1953, that date being three months from the date of the ACtu Apos-tolicae Sedis in which the decree appeared, in conformity with canon 9 of the Code of Canon Law. We take this occasion to remind our readers that on Oc~0ber 31-, 1950, in con-nection with the formal definition, Pope Pius XII decreed that the invocation Queen assumed into f-leaven should be added to the Litany of Loretto after the ~'oCation "Queen conceived without original :sin." At the same time he also up-, proved a new Mass which is to replace the Mass formerly said on the Feast of the Assumption. 190 I Spiri :ual Progress and Regress Charles A. Nash, S.J. AN IDEA as old as St, Augustine, and. rebbrn in Rodriguez, pic-tures the spiritual life "as a ,b~all of string you are carefully winding up. IL once you drop it, it readily unwinds, and it takes a long time and much effort to .wind it up again. This same idea, on a natural plane, permeates the business day of six thousand psychiatrists in the United States who have become profoundly, interested in what happens once the ball of life is dropped and starts to unwind. Their technical name for it is regression or the reversal of t~ae normal steps Of growth. Regression is of such paramount im-portance in psychiatry that it is often .defined as "the science of re-gressive phenomena." The aim of this article is to picture regression in the spiritual life and.to use psychiatric data in order to empha.size certain psychological factbrs that underlie spiritual progress. " Because it is their.daily, business, psychiatrists today are fast be-coming experts in the delicate art of character change or the forward step to maturity, As modern scientific.innovators in an ancient field. these medical specialists have made many valuable scientific investi-gations and acquired much practical experience in the last twenty-five years. Religious ark wise to profit by some of their ideas on regress and pr,og~ess toward maturity 'which have a direct practical bearing on the religiou~ life. Like the psychiatrist, a religious, too, practices daily the delicate art of character change, but be aims at a greater spiritual maturity. The forward progress at which a psy-chiatrist aims in treating his patient strikes a close parallel to the for-ward progress of a religious in the spiritual life. Both involve a gradual change of character. Psychiatrists must know character change in two directions, both Zegre~s and progress. The classic exampl,e of regression or unwinding in human life is old age. We are often a casual witness when time, by its slow process, lays its fingeron a man. We have watched elderly PerSons gradually drop things most cherished in !ife, one by one. first a man b~gins to lose the wide ifiterests he once had. Sports no longer interest him; he stops traveling is much as he used to; his friendships narrow dow.n; interest in his daily, work begins to lag. All gradually culminate in his retirement.1 If he.k~eps his mind open '~Leland El Hinsie?Concepts and Problems of Ps~ychotherapg, p. 124: Understand-able Psgchiatrg, chapter on "Regression." * 191 ¯ CHARLES A. NA~H Reoietu for Religious and pliant and is ready to welcome whatever the future may bring, the elderly pers.on often mqves gracefully through his last years. Often enough, however, his mind closes up and he loses track of the day and the hour. He becomes hostile to what is new, to change, to innovation, closing off hislmind to the future. In the ,course of time he may become self-centered and petulant, and fall back upon the 'manners of his childhood, then of his infancy. He may have to be bathed, fed, dressed, assisted in walking. For him it is a haven of repose, a citadel of safety. He has reverted to his "second child-hood" and regressed to the activities of an infant. Besides the com-plete unwinding of habits of maturity in "second childhood," there are many pictures of partially unwound habits which are but-smaller portraits on a much reduced scale. Unwinding Spiritual Life Complete spiritual regression can be 'seen in-the nominal of "fallen-away" Catholic of any age who knows his religion but drops. its practice entirely. The unwinding spiritual, life runs down a path more or_ less parallel to "old age and ~econd childhood." The ¯"fallen-away" .Catholic's practical interest in religion slowly wanes, and he gradually closes off his mind to religion, becoming spiritually self-centered. One by one he drops the religious practices he once cher-ished. -Sunday is like any other day; the churchdoor remains ever .i:los~d. He stops going to Mass; he falls away from the Sacraments: his prayer life diminishes to a minimum or none at all. Gradually, his acquired spiritual habits Unwind until he is back to "childhood," where spiritual obligations and.moral responsibilities are at a mini-mum. He has traded away God for careless, vacant ioaming. As far as religion is concerned, he is once' again like a small boy, sans reason and his seventh birthday. Instead of progressing to an ever greater possession of God, he has gone backwards. Here, too, miniature por-traits of regression are quite common in the spiritual life where a spiritual habit or two may start to unwind. Progress and regress follow definite patterns. .One is a dynamic, forward-moving pattern toward maturity; the other moves back-ward down the path a man has come up, Life experience normally present~ the picture of a continuum of, forward growth along a life-line which falls into natural periods: birth, childhood,, adolescence, young manhood, adulthood, change of life, and decline. It is the common lot of mortal man to :crown his numberless daily experi- 192 Jul~j, 1953 PROGRESS AND REGRESS ences with.an ever greater maturity. This growing maturity is dearly won through countless small successes. In sharp contrast, the re-gression pattern, at any age and at any level of development, is a're-versal of the' normal steps of growth along', this life-line. Read the life-line forward and you have progress; read it backward and you have regression. Psychiatrists'~tell us that every man takes a backward step now and then. No one, save Christ our Lord and His Blessed Mother, is co,mple.te master of his every action. For religious, the single back-ward step may occur in problems of obedience,' the daily order, pov-erty, t~he practice of virtue, the daily rosary, spiritual reading--to name but a few possibilities. The single backward step is not. so significant. When this backward step becomes a definite pattern, then real spiritual regression is beginning. But despite" occasional backward steps, psychiatrists say the nor-real person is about ninety per cent adjusted to life.~ About ten per "cent of life he cannot quite master and he dodges it in one way or another. In other words, man's daily batting average is about .900; the ratio of small successes in life to small failures is about ninety to ten. Whether saint or sinner, some failure pursues him every day, but success (forward progress) definitely predominates in his actions. Dgnamic Equilibrium Because he is fundamentally successful but always carries some failure in tow, the average person strikes a balance with life. He reacts in terms of an equilibrium--a dynamic, forward-moving equilibrium in which progressive factors predominate, ,but regressive ones are also present. This equilibrium ,is built into the very struc-ture of his mind through the years. It is his own practical system of reacting to life, his working method of dealing with experience de-rived ,from his past.psychological history. Psychiatrists have learned~ to investigate this equilibrium scientifically and now actually measure it,.with~scientific formulas,a When it breaks down, regression begins. If it does not break down, progress continues. ~This figure refers to the over-all or.comprehensive picture of all man's actions in meeting life. Personal success in one particular action, however, may vary from mastery, to littleor no control. Leland E. Hinsie, Concepts and Problems of Pay-. chotherapt./, p. 77. Edward A. Strecker, Fundamentals of Ps~/chiatr~/, graph on p. 231, 3E~lward A. Strecker, Fundamentals of Psv. chiatr~t, p. 51. Franz Alexander and H~len Ross, Dgnamic Psgchiatrg, p. 140. CHARLES A. NASH Reoieto for Religious This dynamic equilibrium produces manifold effects. It gives an even tenor to, man's ways and stability to his character. It embeds past success in the human system for'future successful operation. As a result, whatever a man does in his normal day leaves most of his old order standing. A singld act, forward or backward, leaves most of his autobiography of character largely unchanged. Occasional back-ward steps are readily tolerated and absorbed without throwing the forward motion offstride. Because of it, a major change of character. occurs slowly. A spiritual character change requires many actions over a considerable period of time. In many aspects of life this equilibrium acts as a shock-absorber, an internal ,resistance built right into the structure of personality for resisting the "blows of outrageous foitune." For instance, a death in the family may score a temporary psychological and emotional knockout in other members of the family~. But soon the pendulum swings back to normal and old habits take over once again. Gradu-ally, the appreciation of life built up through the years prevails, and life goes forward once more. Because of his equilibrium, a man does not deteriorate psychologically at one major blow, nor can ,he turn himself'inside out, for better or worse, overnight. Role o~ Failure After much failure or long-enduring stress, this same personal balance or equiliblium can wear thin or even "break down." When this occurs, the backward pattern of regression slowly begins. Then, a religious falls back upon lower and lower levels of his spiritual life, and becomes beset by earlier and earlier habits of his career. The first failure is easy to take, but not a series of them. Failtire is hard on morale, and daily failure has a numbing effect on our effort. The effect of failure is to close off the mind to the difficulty and 0fall back upon.earlier habits. After repeated failure, for instance, a religious may gradually close off his mind to formal mental prayer, and fall back upon his earlier habits when mental prayer was not part of the daily schedule. All spiritual regression has one point in common: it is a back-ward step to an earlier and easiei adjustment to the difficulties of the spiritual life. At the, same time, unfortunately, spiritual progress either slows down or stops. Part of the goal drops out of the picture "for the present," and there is a partial farewell to hopes of greater things. Instead of the "new man in Cl~rist," it is a return to the 194 PROGRESS AND REGRESS "old man" of self when spiritually less mature. The significance of regression in the spiritual life is that it sounds the knell of forward progress. Continued progress requires that a religious take failure~ in stride. Often small successes in life become so integrated into a religious per-sonality that they almost go unnoticed. We only see and take note of our failures, and they can come to loom large on the daily hori-zon. After repeated failure, therd is danger that a religious will close his mind and chart his future course by past failure. The true measure of the future, bower(r, is past success. There is no small touch of humility and wisdom in expecting some daily failure and not charting our future course by it. Man normally moves forward in a dynamic equilibrium with a ninety per-cent rate of success. American Stgiritualitg The pace or tempo of character chahge is a slow one. Being' American-minded, we naturally expe.~t rapid results. The very at- . mosphere of our times--an era of modern machine .efficiency, high- 13ressure business methods, production miracles, and high-speed travel--promotes an ingrained bent toward immediate success. Rightly' or wrongly, we feel there should be a twentieth-century ¯ masterkey to the spiritual life, a foolproof device as dependable ?s the multiplication table. Yet strangely enough, our spiritual life seems to move at the tempo of the first centuiy in a twentieth-century World. True character change may be hard to see. We Americans see the, entrancing picture of industrial production, but we look upon spiritual progress in our own lives as a vague or blank picture. Sanc-tifying grace and internal actual grace are both intangible and invis-ible. We sow the representative crops, the seeds of humility, love of God, obedience, and the other virtues, yet always wonder2--when's the harvest? To see results, we often make one good resolution suc-ceed another in rapid succession, turning our spiritual life into a series of short-term cycles, partly for variety, partly to convince ourselves that we are getting somewhere and making progress. But after six months of short-term cycles we are ready to doubt whether we are changed an iota. That old spiritual problem which we settled once, and for all two weeks ago somehow surges back to life again today. A series of .these experiences can readily warp ore: spiritual judgment or ~lgrudence and lead to loss of effort and discouragement. Then 195 CHARLES A. NASH Review for Religious failure charts our course. Being constitutiOnall~y successful, we shift our effort to some more promising line of_ endeavor, and the spirit of' spiritual progress becomes like a ghost on the outermost rim of the real business of daily living. 200-300 Hours Psychiatrists have much this same time-problem. How much time is required to make a permanent change in a patient's character~ How long to turn a man around and start him forward again on the life-line to maturity? A considerable body of evidence indicates that it takes two hundred to three hundred hours, roughly speaking; to make a permanent character change.4 This means one hour a day, seven days a week for about nine months devoted to making the change, whate;cer that change may be. No matter how un-American it may sound, there seems to be normally no substitute for time in a 'permanent character change. Even if our minds thunder and rever-berate in syllogisms, it still takes from two to three hundred hours to drive' the lesson home permanently and to relate it in experience to the concrete parts of life. A religious may profitably add a bit of timing to his spiritual motor; Permanent growth is not like reading through a spiritual book in three or four days ~nd expecting the result; it is more l,!ke the slow, nine-months' nurturing of the child in the mother's womb. It is not the work of a day or a week, but it finds a closer parallel in the one hour a day for nine months thata student devotes, say, to mathe-matics ~r history or language in school. Putting on a facet of Christ's personality is not done in one meditation; it slowly develops like the b.aby slowly developing back and neck muscles, balancin'g on his feet at six months, and finally learning to walk near the end of a year. Permanent character change, is more in the image of St.,Peter and the Apostles learning confidence in Christ over a period of several years, and still being a bit shaky at His death when confronted with actual life experience. But worth noting is the ever-recurring fact of suc-cess. After nine months in the womb the baby actually is born; a year later he walks; in nine months the student knows his history, mathematics, and language. In time the Apostles did attain cona-dence in Christ. Actual success is the constant experience of the hu-man race if timk and energy are dev6ted to the task. 4Leland E. Hinsie, Concepts and Problems of Psychotherapy, 11-12. 169. John Knight, S~o'ry oI My Psychoanalysis, 2-3. 196 155, 166- Ju~,~, ! 953 PROGRESS AND REGRESS ¥~rhat l~appens in two or three hundred hours? In that time our perso.nal equilibrium changes. Through ~ur mind and emotions there slowly winds a new track of virtue all its own. Character change invoIyes a rather thoroughgoing shift in our habitual reaction to life. It requires a new appreciation of life as a permanent part of the m~nd, a' new emotional pattern, a new reaction to a vast number of concrete situations. Suppose, for example, a close friend dies with whom you have associated night and day for ten years. In all the old situations which constantly remind you of this lost friend you m~lst make clear to yourself that you have this friend no longer, and that a renunciation is necessary. He is Vividly represented {n many personal memories and experiences. You will have to correct your reactions for many a day, and detachment must t~ke place separately in each instance. Similarly in character chan, ge. "The single action, the passing thought hardly dents the human system: it remains more like a feeble echo in the soul. A single action leaves one's equilibr!uin for meeting life largely unchanged. In two or three hundred" hours, however, the new reaction "works through" and permeates our mind and our thinking~ In that time it develops its own emotional pat-tern and becomes permanently related in experience to most of the concrete parts of life. Factors in Adult Progress As adults, we tend to sell human nature short. We frequently forget what a long way we have come since childhood, the countless number of small successes involved in our present degree of maturity. Starting out as a helpless babe, man slowly learns t6 walk, to speak, to run, to master language, to enjoy countless new experiences,, to cope with school life, to earn a living, to marry and support a fam-ily. Any one of thesehas practical difficulties of time and energy and personal ability somewhat like those in the spiritual life: Yet by the common experience of mankind, their attainment ih practically cer-~ rain if sufficient time and energy is devoted to the task. As adults we tend to forget the countless milestones we have already passed, and even come to expect no new milestones in the future. Often as adults we cut down on spiritual time and energy, and act in the practical order as if religious experience had been exhausted. If a religious tries to compress thirty hours int6 twenty-four, it is inevitable that he will have to scalp time from his spiritual life to ac-complish this feat. In this regard it would seem that all of us are endowed with a certain native shrewdness of the horse-trading vari- 197 CHARLES A. NASH ety. But little time means little progress. Sometimes we run our spiritual life like a carburetor with too thin a mixture of energy to operate the machine. Life's fast teinpo drains away energy. The more our limited daily energy is channeled to other things, the less remains available for character change or spiritual growth. ~ If there is no time and energy, there is no progress. As we grow older, our ideas of spiritual experience tend to become mote and more .rigid. Spiritual progress is difficult in a rigid mind, like mov, ement in a. straitjacket. Progress demands an open and pliant mifid with the door ever open to wider spiritual experience. Often in order to pro-gress we first have to unstiffen our spiritual ideas and keep them lim-ber. Age is not a true limit to spiritual growth. Remai'ning ever an experiencing being, man normally moves ever forward irma dynamic equilibrium toward an ever greater maturity in God. If the human mind closes to the future, it falls back upon the past. Not age but the man himself puts a stop to progress, by refusing new spiritual ex-perience. The Divine Plan Time, energy, and an open mind docile to the Holy Spirit fit into God's design for human experience on earth. In His divine plan as the Creator of human nature and every human experience, God has an eminently skilful regard for bo~h the strength and the weakness of the earthly pilgrim in his slow daily progress. He assists the slo~v, three-hundred-hour pace by the superior motivation of divine reve-lation, by countless actual graces, by the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and charity. When only a miracle can be substituted for time, when our very best efforts are always attended by some failure, we catch no small glimmer of the "divinity that shape~ our ends" in the gift of-the three theological virtues. For without hope progress stops; without faith the path grows dim: without love the heart grows faint along the way. But in God's design for religious ex-perience ,the pilgrim is fortified by God Himself. Faith illumines our mind along the road to God; hop~ keeps effort alive and the goal be-fore our eyes; and love is even now a participation of the goal itself while progressing along the way: Divine assistanc~ and a ready w~l-come ever await the pilgrim at every step of his journey. "Come to Me all you that'labor and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you." The lq.ng-run trend of spiritual growth, in God's design, is a quickening triumphal march. ~ 198 The Unseen World Jerom~ Breunig, S.J. THE telescope and microscope have extended our horizons im- | measurably. They have opened up unseen worlds for us. "How mean is earth when I look to heaven," said St. Ignatius one night in Rome more than 400 years ago. Hbw much more mean-ingful this remark is today when the giant eye at Mt. Palomar, California, a 200 inch telescope, helps us penetrate into the sky to the staggering limits of more than one billion light years" and reveals millions of suns like our own moving at the incredible .speed of 500,000 miles, per hour. .~Apart from the findings of the great ob-servatories, even a good telescope on a clear night can reveal wonders hidden to the eye. We can see the pock marks that craters ma~ke on our next ~lo~r neighbor, the moon, which is a scant 238,000 miles fr6m our planet. We. can see the nine moons that cluster about Jupiter, the'ring of light about Saturn, as well as the fiery masses said to be billions of stars. ~The inicroscope opens another unseen world. To the unaided eye what is on the glass slide lo6ks like'a drop of water. Under the microscope we see many protozoa of all kinds. We can see scores of little slipper-shaped animals called paramecia caromin~ about in the water. Perhaps a sluggish, slow-moving amoeba can be sighted or a green euglena of the mastigophora (whip-bearing) family, propel-ling itself by its whiplike tail. After human vision gtopped, the zo-ologist has pushe,d on with his microscdpe to discover 30,000 kinds of protozoa in an unseen world. But there is another world still more 'marvelous and far more important than the worlds that the magnifying glass reveals. It is the unseen world of spiritual realities. Higher visual aid is required to penetrate far into this invisible but real world. We are blind and helpless without the eyes of faith. St. Paul speaks right to the point. "What is faith? It is that which'gives substance to our hopes, which convinces, us of things we cannot see." What are some of the realities in this unseen world? What are some of the "things we cannot see" except with the eyes of fai'th? No one has ever seen a soul at the moment God created it,'when it.left the body, or at any other time. Nor has anyone seen the re-birth of a soul at Baptism when the higher life of grace is infused and the human clay is made immortal diamond, when the bap'tized 199 ,In I JEROME BREUNIG Reoieto for Religious is made a son of God and heir of heaven, when the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity come and make their home in the soul, trans-forming it into a temple of God. "Blessed are those who have not .seen and have believed." Faith convinces us of things we cannot see. No one has seen a soul red as scarlet washed whiter than snow by the absolution of a priest. Nor has anyone seen the bread of heaven restoring the waning strength of the soul. No one has seen the inexpressible joy of the elect in the mansion,s of heaven, the chastening anguish of the souls in the prison of purgatory, or the black despair of the damned 'in hell. "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Faith convinces us of things we can-not see. Opposition of the Sense-World It is essential to salvation to stay aware of the unseen world but it is not easy. We live in a world of sense. Our very mode of learning is rboted in sense impressions. There is nothing in the mind / that was not first in the senses. Even faith comes by hearing. Our convictions about what we cannot see are constantly being challenged by things we can see. It is a losing battle, naturally. For instance, we will ordinarily be more vividly impressed by paging through a national picture magazine for a few minutes than we will by reading the Imitation of Christ for the same length of time. Unless we con, stan.tly cultivate supra-sensible reality by reading, reflection, and prayer, we will not be able to offset the ever-present attraction of the sensible. We.are also at the m'ercy of our less immediate environment. We are influenced by what we see, hear, feel; and much of this is secular. It is not informed with respect for the sacred unseen realities. There are also abundant examples of godlessness. To claim there are no atheists in foxholes, on the operating tables in our hospitals, among the alumni of our schools; Or ("there but for the grace of God go I") among ex-religious is to close one's eyes to the facts. The lack of respect for God's creative co-operation in h.uman generation is widespread and appalling. There are hardened, blinded men who look on death like the fallen-away who "assured" the hos-pital chaplain: "If I die on the operating table, there will not b'e any-one to take me away." Many non-believers patronize our "naivete" in accepting the sacramental system. A Catholic mayor was openly ridiculed in the public press: "How can he be fit to manage the city goverttment when he is foolish enough to believe a little wafer is his 200 duly, 1953 THE UNSEEN WORLD God." Communists use brutal methods.to eradicate, "to wash away," a sense of the supernatural, but secularism has a smooth ap-proach that sometimes is even more effective in uprooting faith, hope, and charity. The recent ~u.rvey of religion in the United States has produced some startlin~ data. The first report that 99% of the people be-lieved in the existence of G~od was heartening, but the subsequent studies revealed the shallowness of much of this belief. Thd eighth" of the series, "What Americans Think of Heaven and Hell," reported the following statistics in the March number of the Catholic Digest. "Do you think there is any real possibility of your going to.hell? Yes, answered .I 2 %; No, 29 % : Don't know, 17 %; Do not beh.eve in hell, 42 %." In other words, 88 % of those questioned were not greatly concerned with .a truth that Christ underlined clearly, in His teaching. And this is the. environment, through the press, radio, television(?), and a thousand other contacts, we live in. The un-seen world of faith has competition. Witnesses to the Unseen The greatest Witness to the reality of the unseen world was" Christ, God2s Son, who clothed Himself with flesh and blood, a true human nature, worked miracl~s, and founded a ,visible Church to bear witness to the invisible grandeur of divine realities. He invites religious in a special way to continue to bear witness. He has invited them to prove the eternal value of.a better world to a money-mingled, sex-sick, rugged-individual generation by being poor, chaste, and obedieht as He was in the wor'ld. "But if religious are not inhabi-tants of this unseen world they will never impart the irresistible con-viction that the unseen world exists." The recent communication from a Poor Clare (REVIEW, No-vember~ 1952, 312-14) contained the eloquent witness to the un-seen world that is afforded by contemplatives. "There is an unseen world which to her (a Poor Clare) is very real. The incidents of daily lilt'are mere accidentals which are of value so far as they pur-chase for her more perfect union with God. This unseen world is as real to her as the things she can reach out and touch, and touching it she can make every action of hers prayer. I am speaking of prayer,mnot prayers," Until the unseen world is as real to us as the things we can reach out and touch, we will not convey the conviction so badly needed. 201 C. A. HERBST Reuieto for Religious, There is on~ way to make this world that real. It is by living in it. I remember a retreat master's remark on tills point. "You have to have darkness to find a picture on the sensitive plate, and you ha~e to have prayer to bring out the invisible presence of God." Again, it is ' prayer and not prayers that will enable us to live the convictions of our faith. Chari!:y C. A. Herbst, S.J. W~HEN a learned man among the Jews asked Our Lord: "Which is the great commandment in the law?" Christ answered: "Thou shalt love the' Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, andwith thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment." (Mt. 22: 37, 38). This was not new with Christ. It is the burden not only of the New but als0 of the Old Testament. written, as St. Paul says, "with the Spirit 6f the living God.in the fleshly tables of the heart" (II Cot. 3:3). The theological virtues are the greatest of all the virtues. Thdre are three of them: faith, hope, and charity. "And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three." Of these three, love of God' for His own sake is the queen: "But the greatest of these is charity" (I Cot. 13:13). Its object is God Himself, and our motive for loving Him,. too, is His own dear Self, "because Thou are all good and worthy of all love." "I call charity that virtue which moves the soul to love God 'for His own sake and oneself and the neighbor for God's ~ake," said St. Augustine. Charity makes all the virtues live. It is the soul even of faith, without which it is impossible to please God. "The life. of the body is the soul. By it the body moves and feels. Even so the life of faith is charity, because it works through charity, as you read in the Apostle: 'faith that worketh by charity' (Gal. 5:6). When charity grows cold, f~ith dies, just as the body does when the soul leaves it." (St. Bernard, Serrn. "2 In Resurr.) "O my God, ,I love Thee above all things." How can I truth-fully say this when I prove many times every day by committing venial sins that I love even tiny creatures more than I love God? Or why is it that I do not cry for love of God wheaa I lqse Him by mor-tal sin but I do cry when I lose my mother by death? Although ¯ 202 drain, 1953 CHARITY these actions seem to be contradicting my words "0 my God, I love Thee above all things," they, really do not. I can weep over my mother's death and commit venial sins and" still love God objectively above all things. That is, I can, and do, go on sincerely and earnest-ly wishing Him the l~reatest good, .that He will continue to be the supreme object of all love and receive divine honors. I can commit venial sins and weep over temporal ld~s and still love God above all things appreciative4 , too. by preferring God with an efficacious will to all created things, by esteeming Him as thehighest good. I can so value and esteem Him ak to be r~eady to lose all else rather than abandon God. We canndt recall too often that true love is in the will, not in the fe~!ings or ~motions. A mother's instinctive and spontaneous feelings and enfotions may draw her to love her child more ir~rensel~, with greater ease, tenderness, and alacrity, than she does God, yet she is ~eady to lose her child rather than offend God seriously. Her love for God is greater and deeper, and influences her soul more p[ofoundly. She loves God objectively and appreciatively more, and intensively and emotionally less. Thihgs of sense appeal more directly and affec-tively than spiritual things do. That in the supreme test, love for God is greater and stronger than any natural love is wonderfully shown in the death of St. Perpetua, martyr. "Neither the tears and oft-repeated prayers of her. aged father, nor the mother-love for the baby boy at her breast, nor the ferocity of her tormentors could move Perpetua from her faith in 3esus Christ." This is brought out, too. by the incidents in the daily lives of the "little people" in Christ's Church' in this living present, so well presented by Father Trese. " 'We've a good pastor,' my.people say --and I am ashamed. Ashamed as I stand beside Katie Connelly at the bed of her just-dead son, and hear her say, 'It's God's will. isn't it, Father?' while she clutches my. hand. Ashamed as I stand beside Ed Fetter at his wife's bier, and hear him say, with three little tykes hanging to his pants-legs, 'If this is what God wants,, we've got to take it, Father.' Ashamed as I ride with the Martins to the Stat~ Hospital where they are taking their son, and hear the mother say, as she bites her lip, 'Well, we've all got to have our cross, Father.' " (Leo Tress, Vessel of Clapt, 24.) Love has various degrees. - In the love of concupiscence there is something of self. I love another because I will get something out of it for myself. This is love of God for my own sake, with selfishness, 203 C. A. HERBST but a very good selfishness. This is the great virtue of hope. Then there is the love of complacency, in which I am glad and rejoice, take pleasure in, another's good, just~ because it ishis good. By it I re-joice in ~the divine perfections~ "Thus approving the good which we see in God, and rejoicing in it, we make the act of l~ve which is called complace-ncy; for we please ourselves in the divine pleasure infinitely more than in our own,' (St. Francis de Sales, Looe of God, V, i). A third and higher'degree of love is~ the love of benevolence, By it we wish another well, want good to come to him. This love we express in the Our Father when we pray: "Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom ~ome, Thy will be done!" Love consists more in deeds than in words. "If you love me, keep my commandments," Our Lord said (John 14: 15). Every-body knows that "talk is che~p,'° but actions filled with love are purest gold. A fine expression of love is a gift. That is why we give gifts on birthdays and on other joyous occasions. Gifts are the language of love. This is shown most strikingly at Christmas time. It is ~ the . feast of giving, of the Gift. Men give then because God taught them to show love that way. He gave the first Christmas Gift by giving Jesus Christ, His son. "God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son" (John 3:16). That was Bethlehem. That was Calvary, too. "God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son." The .lesson ChriSt taught from the crib and from the cross is the same lesson; love in deed, in giving. The soul that loves God cannot miss that. It is convinced that love consists in a mutual exchange of gifts. "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for cnrlst. The answer leaps forth: "Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding~ and my whole will." One gives oneself whole and entire. We cannot do more. But we can do it more solemnly and more specifically, and we have. Religious surrender to God the goods of the world by the vow of poverty. They surrender to .God the goods of the body and of family, life by the vow of chastity. They surrender to God the goods of the soul, especially that most precious thing, their will, by ~he vow of obedience. "Almighty and Eternal God, I vow to Thee perpetual poverty: chastity, and obedience." This is our answer to the divine challenge: "Thou shalt love'the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy .whole soul, and with all thy strength, and wi'th all thy mind . This do, and thou shalt live." 204 The Moral Code Cat:holic I-lospit:als Gerald Kelly, S.J. SOME years ago there was a colorful basketball official who used to delight (and sometime~ enrage) spectators by his dramatic way of telling players, "You can't do that[" Again and again his whistle would be heard and he would be seen speeding across the floor, an accusing finger' pointed at some offending player, as his piercing voice insisted," "You can't do that!" ¯ For all too many people, I fear, this officialmminus his pleasing dramatics--might represent the Catholic hospital and its moral code. Engraven in the minds of these people is the picture Of a devoted non- Catholic physician bending over his patient in the operating or de-livery room, yearning to do something to save the patient's life, but frustrated in this salutary design by the Church, which, through the Sister superior or supervisor or chaplain, raises its restraining hand 'and says unsympathetically, "You can't do that!" Certainly much of the publicity given to v~arious events that take place in our hos-pitals caters to this impression. For example, a few years ago, in Brownsville, Texas, a physician who had sterilized a woman in defiance of the hospital code was dis-missed from the staff. The incident received nation-wide publicity in the daily'papers; and the correspondent of one widely-read weekly devoted to it considerable space and ev?n more emotion. The Sisters of Mercy had closed the doors of mercy to the doctor whose only purpose was mercy~ Follow-up letters from doctors, including one from the vice-chief'-of-staff of their hospital, favored the Sisters and showed little sympathy for the expelled physician. Other letters, however, showed marked sympathy for the doctor and for his emo-tional reporter. One letter in particular expressed great !mpatience with this.Church which insists on projecting the taboos .(a favorite epithet for commandments, divine and human) of the Dark Ages into the twentieth-century operating and delivery rooms. In this and similar incidents We have examples of the old prob-lem of misunderstanding.' The critics usually do not understand our hospital code. Even Catholics, I think, seldom realize what goes into a code. In fact, many seem to have the impression that a Cath- 205 GERALD KELLY Review fur Religious olic hospital moral code consists in ond supreme principle (which, incidentally, is "best-seller" nonsense at its best) that mothers must die fortheir babies. These people ought ko have more accurate in-formation, and it seems logical that they might expect to get it from religious because the Catholic hospital, is one of the most distinctive and extensive achievements of our religious institutes. The following paragraphs p~ovide at least the minimum essentials for giving correct information. ~ Why a Code? Since.the administrators of Catholic hospitals are men and women whose lives are consecrated to God, they can conscientiously conduct these hospitals only when they have a reasonable assurance that the law of God will be observed in the treatment of the sick. One way of obtaining this assurance is to formulate the pertinent moral prin-ciples and their applications into a code and to have the staff-members guarantee that they will observe this code. The first reason for having a code, therefore, is to satisfy the conscience of the admin-istrators. This is aptly stated in the introduction to the present code of the Catholic Hospital Association: "Catholic hospitals exist to render medical and spiritual care to the sick. The .patient adequately considered, and inclusive of his spiritual status and his claim to the helps of the Catholic religion, is the primary concern of those entrusted with the management of Catholic hospitals. Trustees and administrators of Catholic hos-pitals understand this responsibility tbwards each patient whom they accept, to be seriously binding in conscience. "A partial statement of this basic obligation is contained in the present Code of Ethical and Religious Directives. All who associate themselves with a Catholic hospital, and particularly the members of the medical and nursing staffs, must understand the moral and reli-gious obligations binding on those responsible for the management and operation of the hospital, and must realize that they are allowed to perform only such acts and to carry out only such procedures as will enable the owners and administrators to fulfill their obligations." What was .lust said might be construed as meaning that the sole or primary purpose for having a moral code is to protect administra-tor~ against doctors who might perform illicit opera.tions in their hospitals. This" is not true. Generally speaking, doctors and nurses, both Catholic and to a large extent the non-Catholics, want clear 206 July, 1953 ~ HOSPITAL CODE guidance in the ethical problems of their profession. And they want it because they are conscious of a need. As members of a. profession ithat deals constantly with life and death, with mutilation of the hu-man body, with expensive and sometimes dangerous remedies, they are faced again and again With acute ethical problems. Yet large numbers of them, even among tl~e Catholics, have never had the op-portunity of taking~a course in medical ethics. Others who have had such a course have grown "rusty" and need some convenient way of refreshing their memories. For all of these a moral code, which con-tains concisely-stated principles and practical applications to the field of medicine, satisfies a definite need. Making a Code What have our Catholi~ hospitals done to provide the needed guidance through a moral code? For many years the hospitals of the United States and Canada used a very brief ~ode which was excellent at the time it was formulated but which became more and mor~ in-adequate as the progress of medicine introduced new problems and threw new light on old ones. A new and more complete code was needed, and many dioceses prepared such a cod~ for their own use. It was not until 1947 that work was begun on a revised code for the Catholic Hospital Association of the United States and Canada. The work done by the committee on this revised code may be of interest., The committee first made a careful examinationof all the recently-composed diocesan codes, selected what seemed the best material from them. and arranged this material plus their own contributions in a manner that seemed best for handy reference. When this was done, a preliminary draft of a new code was sent for criticism to a large number of doctors and moralists in various parts of the United States and Canada. The doctors consulted included both Catholics and non-Catholics. They were chosen for eminence in their profession and not for ~hei~'religion. These consultants, doctors and moralists;: submitted criticisms some of them. very detailed---of the prelim-inary formula. The criticisms were carefully weighed by the com-mittee and a new formula was drafted. , This was referred again to the original critics; more suggestions were offered; and the code was finally formulated in a manner that met"with universal apprbval. This code was publ!shed in 1949 by the Catholic Hospital Associa-tion of the United States arid Cahada, and it is used today in most o'f the dioceses of these two countries. Some dioceses which had gone~ 207 GERALD KELLY Review [ur Religious to great trouble to prepak-e their own codes still use these in preference to the revised code of the C~tholic Hospital Association. Two observations are in place here in order to ~0revent misunder-standings. First, there is a question pertinent to revising a code: does this mean that morM principles change, or, as some people would put it, does it mean that the Church has changed its moral ~tandards? Obviously, the revision of a hospital code should have no such im-plications. Moral principles do not change: and, from the stand-point of ~principles, the only'reasons for revising an approved code might be to include some principle not beret0fore included, or to ex-press more clearly and simply one of the principles already included. But the application of moral principles to medicine can change be-cause this application depends on the medical facts, which can change with the progress of.science. For example, there was a time when the only way of successfully treating certain infections was' by surgical operation, but tod~ay many of these infections can be arrested by the use of recently-discovered drugs. A fact like this can be the basis for declaring that an operation which was permissible several years ago because necessary for the patient's welfare is no longer permissible. This is but one example of how the application of principles to con-crete cases can change. The revision of a code is largely concerned with these concrete cases. A second observation concerns ~he fact that different codes are fol-lowed in various dioceses. Does this mean that what is morally good in one place is immoral in another? Again the answer is in the nega-tive. The differences in the codes concern neither the moral prin-ciples nor the licitness of specific operations and treatments. They concern rather the selection and arrangement of materi.al, with per-haps the addition of some purely disciplinary regulation .which may be thought necessary in one place but not in another: for example, on the need of consultation before some operation is allowed. Content of Code .: At this point, if not before, someone might well ask just wh~it, is a code, and what goes into it. I can best answer this question by're-ferring specifically to the revised code of the Cat.holic Hospital As-sociation, which is entitled Ethical and Religious .Directives/~or Cath-oti~ Hospitals. As the title implies, this code contains two sections. The second section contains directives of a religious nature which concern the reception and administration of the ~acraments and the 208 dulg, 1953 HOSPITAL CODE reverent disposal of.amputated members and immature babies. For the most part, this sectibn of the code would directly concern only Catholics or those who wish to become Catholics. The first section contains ethical directives, that is, principles of the natural law with applications to medicine. Since the natural law binds all men, the provisions of this section apply to all patients, doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel, regardless of their religion. This is really the moral code of our hospitals. My subsequent remarks app.ly to this section. Basic Principles The,baslc moral principles which are ~ formulated and applied in ¯ our ethical directive~ can be reduced to these six: (a) the .need of the / patient's consent; (b) the inviolability of innocent human life: the intrinsic.evil 'of contraceptive practices: (d) the principle~.of the "double effect"; (e) the principle of "liberty" and (f) the principle of "totality." Perhaps a few words about each of these principles will .be informative without being unduly soporific. ~) The patient's consent. Each individual human being has bqth ~the right and the duty to care for his health. When a doctor treats a patient, he is simply exercising the patient's own right of self-preservation for him, and he may not perform even legitimate operations without the consent of the patient.,. This Consent may be' given explicitly, as would be the case if an operation would be ex-plained to the patient and he ~would then agree to it. Or it may.be implicit, as would be the case if the patient asl~ed for a cure, with the understanding that he is.willingto Submit to all the necessary pro-ce. dures, even without .explanation. Or it may be reasonabtg pre-sumed, as is the case when a doctor gives emergency treatment to an unconscious man. Sound morality requires consent in one of these forms and l~oth civil law and medical associations recognize ~his. For infants and others who are incapable of acting rationally, the parents or guardians have the right to give the consent., b) The inviolabilitg of innocent human life. The meaning bf this principle is strongly and clearly explained in a memorable pas-sage of our present Holy Father's Allocution on the moral problems of married life (October 29, 195 I). This.passage Should be f~imiliar, not 0nly to religigus in hospital work, but to educators as well. "Now the.child, ~ven the unborn child," said the Pope, "is a hu-man being, a human being in .the same degree and by ~he same title as 209 ,,It GERALD KELLY Review for Religious is its mother. Moreover, every human being, even the child¯ in its mother's womb, receives its right to life directly from God, not frdm its parents, nor from any human society or authority. Therefore there is no man, no human authority, no science, no 'indication,,' whether medical, eugenical, social, economic/or moral, that can show or give a valid juridical title for a deliberate and direct disposing of an innocent human life, that is to say, for an action which aims at its destruction, whether such destruction be intended as an end or as a means towards some other end which may "itself be in no way illicit. So, for example, to save the life of the mother is a most noble end, but the direct killing of the cl~ild as a means to that end is not law-ful. The direct destruction of the 'so-called 'valueless life,' whether born or unborn, which was practised a few years ago in numerous in-stances, can in no way be justified. And therefore when this i~ractice began the Church formally declared that it is contrary to the natural law and to the positive law of God, and consequently" illicit--even under instruction from the public authority to kill those who, al: though innocent, are nevertheless by reason of some physical or-ps3;- chical taint useless to the nation and even become a burden on the ¯ community. The life of an innocent human being is inviolable, .and any direct assault or. attack on it violates one of those fundamental laws without which it is impossible for human beings to live safely in society. We have no need to teach you the particular significance of this fundamental law and its bearing upon your profession. But do not forget it: above any human law, above any 'indication' whatso-ever, there stands the indefectible law¯ of God." The Pope's words are obviously directed against doctbrs and others who think that in certain situations there are good reasons (they call them "indications") for the direct killing of an unborn child. Against these men he defends the right of the child. But he does not limit his words to the child; he defends all innocent human life. The direct (i.e., the intentional) taking of such life is never permissible. Any procedure which'would result in death for either the mother or the child (or for any other innocent person) can be justi-fied only when the death is an unintended and unavoidable by-product of the procedure. Incidentally, this principle of the inviola-bility of human life also condemns the so-called mercy-~killing (the taking of a patient's life to relieve him of suffering), whether it is done with or without the patient's consent. c) The intrinsic evil of contraception. The Church, especially in 210 July, 1953 HOSPITAL CODE the oi~cial t~aching,of the two last Popes, has'constantly branded artificial birth control as contrary to the law of nature, and therefore intrinsically evil. The most ~adical form of this evil is direct steri-lization, which means the intentional destruction of the procreative power. Doctors have many ways of accomplishing this, and all of of them.are forbidden by our code. .d) The principle oF the "'double effect.'" Students of ethics are familiar with this principle and know that it contains the solution to many of the practical,~problems of life. Conscientious people often use it without knowing it exists. The aviator who bombs an im-portant military target, foreseeing but not desiring the deaths of some civilians, is perhaps unwittingly using this principle. The student who must read a treatise on sex, foreseeing but not wanting tempta-tions against chastity, is using perhaps also unwittingly the p~inciple of the double effect. And all of us. whether we realize it or not, are following this same principle when we perform some good and neces-sary action, realizing that, despite our best intentions, certain others will misunderstand and will be'led to rash judgments and to criti-cism. The deaths of the civilians, the sexual temptations, and the harsh thoughts and criticism, are all simply unavoidable and un-wanted by-products of actions that are good in themselves and of sufficient importance to be performed despite the evil effects that at-company them. The principle of the double effect has many applications in medicine, especially as regards surgical operations on diseased repro-ductive organs with the unavoidable destruction of the procreative power and as regards treatment of a pregnant mother with some un-intentional but unavoidable risk either to herself or to her child. This last point was clearly explained by. Pope Plus XII in his Allodution to the "Family Front" (November 26, 1951): "On purpose," he said, "We have always used the expression "direct attempt on the life of an innocent person,' "direct killing.' Be-cause if, for example,-the saving of the life of the future mother, in-dependently of her pregnant state, should urgently require a surgical act or other therapeutic treatment which would~have as an accessory consequence, in no way desired or intended but inevitable, the death of the fetus, such an act could no longer be called a direct attempt on innocent life. Under these conditions the operation can be licit, like other similar medical interventions, granted always that a good of high worth is concerned, such as life, and that it is not possible to 211 GERALD KELLY Review fur Religious postpone the operation until after the birth of the child, or to 'have recourse to other efficacious remedies." e) The principle of ."libertt.t." Physicians do. not always see eye-to-eye on the value of certain treatments or operations. For ex-a.~ ple, take the much-discussed and too-much-popularized operation called Idbotomy. Thisoperation consists essentially in severing cer-tain fibers in the brain, and its general purpose seems to be to reduce emotional tension and thus help in the cure of some mental illnesses and in relieving otherwise unbearable pain. The sharpest kind of con-troversy exists among reputable physicians as to the good produced by the operation, the risks it involves, the types of patients that might benefit from it, and so forth. And this is but one example of many decidedly controversial questions in the sphere of medicine: Theologians, too, have their differences of opinion; and this is especially true when they are faced with a new problem. "There are pros and cons to many of these problems, and it may take a long time before the issues are sufficiently clarified to have a ffnanimous opinion for either side or until the teaching authority of the Church inter-venes to settle the matter. Sound morality supplies this practical principle that may be fol-lowed in these legitimately debated matters: obligations (i.e., pre-cepts and prohibitions) are not to be imposed unless they are certain. This is what I mean by the principle of "liberty." For the doctor, this means that, with the consent of the patient, he and his consult-ants may follow what they sincerely judge to be the proper medical procedure as long as this procedure is not certainly wrong. I f) The principle of "totality." I have taken this woful from Pope Pius XII, who said in his address on the moral limits of medical research a~ad treatment (September 14, 1952): "By virtue of the principle of totality, by virtue of his right to use the services of his organism as a whole, the patient can allow individual parts to be destroyed or mutilated when and to the extent~necessary for the good of his being as a whole." Obviously, this is an extremely important principle in medi'cal practice. Every time a doctor, acting according to the principles of sound medicine, and with the consent of his pa-tient, removes an eye, a hand, a gall-bladder, etc., he is following this principle of totality. He removes the member, which is a part of the whole, because it has become in some way.a threat to the survival or the well-being of the whole. 212 Jul~, 1953 HOSPITAL CODE Conclusion The foregoing are. the main, if not the only, principle~ that form the core of an~] sound medico-moral code. Perhaps I have giventhem too much space: yet it seems to me that one really appreciates our hos-pital codes only when he sees these basic principles grouped together and briefly explained. It may be taken for granted that an~ doctor who conscientiously follows these principles will act, not ~nly ac-cording to sound morality, but also according to sound medicine. Earlier in this article I suggested that in the minds of many people the supreme moral principle of Catholic hospitals seems to be that mothers must die for their babies. This, as I said, is best-seller non-sense at its best, and perhaps I should have said at its worst. Implicit in this attitude is the idea that in a critical situation a Catholic mother must always prefer her baby's life to her own. The idea is erroneous. Obviously, no mother may allow the direct taking of her life in order to save her baby, because, as Plus XlI declared, the direct destruction of any innocent life is morally wrong. And even a~ regards the risking of her life, e.g., by submitting to a dangerous operation, for thd sake of her baby, we must be very careful about making universal state-ments. We would have to consider many concrete factors before we could decide whether such a risk is obligatory or even permissible. Closely related to this erroneous notion that in our hospitals mothers must die for their babies is the idea that, since Catholic hos-pitals do not permit thereapeutic abortion (a "gentle" expression for the practice of killing babies to "save" mothers), they lose more mothers than do other hospitals. Not only is there no statistical basis for this, but what statistics we have indicate the very opposite. /~or example, two Boston doctors, Roy J. Heffernan and William "A. Lynch, recently obtained information about maternal deaths from 171 hospitals in various paris of our country. This information covers a period of eleven years, 1940-1950. In these hospitals, during this long period, there were more than ~hree million deliveries, about evenly di~iided, between hospitals that permit therapeutic abortions and hospitals that exclude this practice. The maternal death rate in the hospitals that do not allow therapeutic abortions was .87 .per thousand deli~ceries, whereas in the hospitals that do allow therapeu-tic abortion the maternal death rate was .98 per .thousand deliverles. According to these and similar statistics', the keeping of God's law saves not only babies but their mothers, as well. This is a too-littld-known aspect of the apostolate of Catholic hospitals. 213 .ues!: ons and AnSwers ~18m What can be done to counteract some Iong-sfandincj practlce, s en-gaged in during time of retreat by Sister-retreatants, for example, re-hearslng daily for one or two hours the Mass and hymns to be used ,for the reception ceremony; embroidering and crocheting between conferences2 The Sisters who participate in these works find that it interferes with thei~ recollection. ¯ Some work ab.out the house, some choir practice, and other little jobs (like needlework) would not seem to interfere ,too much with retreat recollection if indulged in only for about aft hour or so a day. That would still allow the retreatants a fair amount of time for un-disturbed private reflection an~l personal duties. If, however, the re-treat schedule were already extraordinarily crowded (which is usually not the case), there might be little time left for such tasks as indi-cated in our question. In any case, it is important that retreatants h~ve a fair amount of leisure time for private reflection, for jotting down. spirittlal "lights," for additional rest, and the like. ml9m At times it is necessary to post items pertinent to religious' in various departments of an establishment in regard to keeping rooms in order, having greater care of furniture, and the like. Would it not further a bet-ter ~om;nunity spirit if such directions were posted in the community room rather than on the doors of the different departments where outsiders may read them and make comments? Yes, it would be better to post items of a personal or private na-ture, whether they pertain to the community as a whole or to indi-vidual members of the community, in some place reserved to the reli-gious family .in preference to other more or less public places. Thus criticism might be lessened. It is possible, :though, that sometimes superiors ihtend such notices not merely nor primarily for religious who are in charge of or are working in a department, but especially for the outside help. Then such notices would be posted where those for whom they a~e intended would see them. In these cases, however, care should be taken that the wording of the notice does not occasion criticism of the religious. 214 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS In a religious congregation (in which simple vows are taken) may a ~ell-glous who is subiect fo a provincial superior have a right of appeal to the superior general when the religlous wants a farad or extra permission? To begin with, religious have the right of communicating with higher superio.rs: such correspondence is sealed. Religidus could. therefore, ask for various permissions from higher superiors. Some extraordinary permissions are usually asked of higher superiors ra~ber than of the immediate superior. Ordinary permissions, however, as a general rule are to be sought from the immediate superior. If that superior refuses the permission, one should not request the same per-mission from a higher superior without informing him that the per-mission was refused by the lower superior." Good government dic-tates that procedure, as ~ell as courtesy ahd possibly the rules of the institute. Before asking for any extra permissions or "favors," religious should remember .that superiors are to help their subjects observe common life; hence superior~ may not readily grant extra permission.s to a subject unless the Circumstances of the case warrant it. Likewise superiors must then be willing, and able, to grant the same permission to any other, subject in the same circuhastances. Subjects should try to lighten° the superior's burden' of of~ce by not requesting permis-sions which superiors should not grant either because they are not consonant with religious life, or because they would violate or harm common life, or because of some other good reason. Besides being a violation of common life, "favoritism" in a community is always odious. The cause of our Venerable Founder has been in progress at Rome for thirty years. In order to help Stimulate popular devotion to our Founderu particularly among ou~ students and their parents--our Order is in the habit of prlntlng, from time to time pictures and devotional pamphlets about him. Up to now. printed matter of that type only bore the nlhll obsfaf of the ordinary of the diocese where our motherhouse is located. It was brough~t to our attention lately that we need the approbation of the Holy See ~or an~ printed material about our Fo, under who has been de-clared Venerable. Is that observation correct? Canon 1387, of the, Code of Canon Law states that what per-tains in any way to the causes of beatification and canonization of 215. QUESTIONS ~ND ~NSWERS Servants of God may not be published without the permission of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. @his restriction applies only~to causes which are pending before the Sacred. Congregation; not to those which are finished (person b~s been canonized), or are pending be-fore some other body "than the Sacred'Congregation of Rites. During the time permission must be obtained from the Sacred Congregation, no further permission of the local ordinary is necessary for publica-tion of matter approved by the Sacred Congregation. The Codex pro Postulatoribus Causarum Beatiffcationis et Can-onizationis i4th edition, 1929, page 26, nos. 21 and 22) repeats the abo~ce and includes pictures (imagines) under the provision of can-on 1387. Several author~ who comment on canon. 1387 say that it seems to refer only t6 documents and. acts connected with the prosecution of th~ cause, such as summaries and proofs proposed for furthering the cause, opinions of consultors; comments of. the prornotor tidei, and the like. These authors rely on a Monitum of the Sacred Congrega-tion of Rites of February 12, 1909, which required previous' permis-sion of the Sacred Congregation for the publication of accounts,of the llfe, virtues, and "wonders" of Servants of God. Consequently it seems probable that the devotional pamphlets and pictures mentioned in our question need not be submitted to the Sacred Congregation for approval. m22-., Postulants are being sent out to the missions to hel'p with the teaching in schools*. They return to the motherhouse fop the week-ends. Are supe-riors justified in extending the postulancy for,three or four months, because the number of novices to be 'professed is not sufficient to fill the places of Fhe postulants? The Normae of 1901 (which have been used as a model for the constitgtions of rehgzous ,congregations) allowed a period of pos-tulancy ranging between gik--and twelve months. They permitted the superior general f~ a ~just cause to prolong the postulancy up to three additional months i~ particular cases (n. 65). A just cause was considered to exist if superiors remained uncertain about the vocation of the candidate, about his qualifications Or defects, or about his ad, justment to the life of the institute. ¯ The Code of Canon Law speaks of a postulancy of at least six entire months which must. be made by all women in religious insti- 216 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS tutes with perpetual vows and by the lay brothers in the.institutes of men. It permits the major superior ,to prolong the postulancy, but not beyond another six months (canon 539). This may be done in particular cases. The purpose of the prolongation is again to allow superiors more time to size up the applicant's vocation and more pre-cisely. his aptitude or fitnes~ for their religious institute. In the light of the above, it is rather difficult to see how superiors wbuld be justified in extending the postulancy for three or four months in the case under consideration. It might be well to add that the Apostolic Delegate has special .faculties to shorten or prolong the postulancy pre~scribed by the Code of Canon Law. Relatives of a relig;ous send money to a mutual friend with the under-standing that the religious will let that friend knowwhat he wants the friend to buy for him on the occasion of his blrfhday, Christmas, Easter, and the like. Is such procedure in keeping with poverty, or would the religious be considered as having a reserved fund of money? In the final .analysis the practice outlined' in the question reduces itself to a private fund of money at the disposal of the religious, a form of peculium generally contrary t~o the poverty professed by most. religious institutes, At best, this is contrary to cohamon life and the spirit of povert, y. A religious who countenanced such a practice could very well profit from reading Father Gallen's excellent article on "The Spirit of Poverty'" (REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, VIII .[1949], 35-43), not to me.ntion various other articles on common life arid the vow of poverty. As a practical solution, the religious could advise his relatives, who wish to give him a present, to send the money.to 'him rather than to the mutual friend. It would be understood that the reli-gious will turn in the money to his superiors to be added to the com-munity funds; then, when the religious needs something, the superior will provide it from the community funds. In that way both the vow and the spirit of poverty, as well as commott life, will be safe-guarded. A Sister acts as organist for the children's choir and for the adult choir during Mass and other services. Does canon law forbid this? A similar questi6n about a Sister organist was answered in the 217 Review ?or Religious BOOK REVIEWS pages of this REVIEW, VIII (1949), 325. Attention was called to possible diocesan regulations on the matter, even though the Code of Canon Law says nothing about it. In genera~ it seems that there would riot be much objection to a Sister acting as organist for a chil-dren's choir. In case of reai need this might also be stretched to in-clude an adult Choir of women only. But for a mixed adult choir:. "In practice,no Sister should undertake to play the organ for amixed choir of men and women without the express permission of the local ordinary and of her ownhigher superior" ibid.). / Book Reviews .~IRACLES. By Jean Hell~. Translated by Lancelot CL Sheppard. Pp. v~ -h. 288. David McKa¥ (~omp~ny, Inc., New York, 1952. $3.~0. This work is not a philosophical or tbeo16gical treatise on mir-acle. s. Rather, by a fairly detailed historical presentation of selec.ted cases, it is designed to give the reader a fairly general knowledge of, them. It is "a synthesis, or more modestly perhaps, an attempt at a synthesis" (p. 14). The whole story is built around persons, and l~eferably persons Who are not very remote from us in time. The language is not technical, but adapted to all intelligent readers. ,, The first chapter is an account of "miracles of humility": it: pre-sents the "stories of the Cur{ .of ~Ars and of Bernadette Soubi~ous; Then there follows, "Fatima, or the Age of Mary." Therese Neu-mann does not measure up to the author's standards and require-ments. But--surprisingly enough--"Catberine Emmerich, 'Narra, tot' of .the Gospels" and her writir~gs touched up by Clement Bren-tano meet with his full approval. The apparitions at Beauraing, BelgiUm, 1932-1933, are judged t6 be "childish fiction.'" Neverthe~ less' this is one of the few among recent cases that have received epis-copal approbatton. A particularly interesting feature of th~s book is the final chapter: "imitators and Fakers of Miracles." By contrast it serves especially well to bring out the great differences that obtain be-tween, genuine supernatural signs and others that are ~fraudulent, and how the pretended marvelous can be detected and distinguished from whaTt his~ a wuthhoelnet iwc.ork emphasizes the prudent reserve and critical spirb of the Church toward whatever is proposed as surpassing the limiv 218 duly, 1953 BOOK REVIEWS of nature, and tends to,bring about in the mind of the reader a simi-lar wise attitude.---AUGUSTINE G. ELLARD. ., A LIFE OF CHRIST. By Aloys Dirksen, C.PP.S. Dryden Press, New York, 1952. Pp. 340. $3.75. This book is unique in two respects: first, it has the '.'split-p~ge format." that is to say, in the upper part we find the Confraternity text of' the Gospels, and entirely separated from this section, a com-mentary on the Gospel text. One can turn the pages of the upper section without disturbing those below. Secondly, the Commentary and its Introduction are models of intelligent compression. Eight introd_uctory chapters furnish,,~i background for a better understanding of the actual commentary. These include a brief dis-cussion of the sources for a life of Christ, an outline of the geography of Palestine, a survey of the l~revious history of the Jews. the politi-cal and social conditions and prevalent religious beliefs of the period when our Lord was onearth. Such a comprehensive introduction can treat these matters only in barest outline, and if a few inaccuracies have crept in, this can readily be excused. The commentary, too, is suggestive rather thar~ exhaustive: but it is usually very much to the point. The ordinary reader will find there what he wants to know about the Gospel text he is reading. At the end of the commentary, by way of appendix, is a list of messi-anic prophecies found in the-Old Testainent. and of the Old Testa-ment quotations found in the four Gospels. Since the author uses many tec

Issue 10.3 of the Review for Religious, 1951. ; Blesssed Claude Colombiere and Devotion !:he Sacre bleart: C. A. Herbst, S.d. 44~rHIS is he whom. I send thee." Margaret Mary heard these | words interiorly as she sat listening to the first instruction Father Claude de la Colombi~re gave the Visitandine com-munity at Paray-le-Monial towards the end of February, 1675. Here was the fulfillment of a promise. Our Lord had appeared many times, asking her to promote devotion to His Sacred Heart. Over-whelmed at the thought, "My sovereign Master had promised me shortly after I had consecrated myself to Him that He would send: me one of His servants, to whom He wished me to make known'. according to the knowledge He would give me thereof, all the treas-ures and secrets of His Sacred Heart which He had confided to.me. H~ added that He sent him to reassure me with regard to my interior way, and that He would impart to him signal graces from His Sacred Heart, showering them abundantly over our interviews." (Autobiography of St. Margaret Mary, .Visitation Library, 1930. No. 80.) That the Sacred Heart, the heart of Margaret Mary, and the heart of the young Jesuit should be united in love, Our Lord. showed the Saint in a vision. "As I went up to receive Him in Holy Com-munion, He showed His Sacred Heart as a burning furnace, and two 6ther hearts were on the point of uniting themselves to It, and of being absorbed therein. At the same time He said to me: 'It is thus My pure love unites these three hearts for ever.' He afterwards gave me to understand that this union was all for the glory of Hi,s Sacred Heart, the"treasures of Which He wished me to reveal to him that he might spread them abroad, and make known to others their value and utility. To this end He wished we should be brother and sister, sharing equally these spiritual treasures." (Ibid., No. 82.) The Extraordinary Confessor "'So it was according to a very special providence of God that Father Colombi~re was appointed superior of the small Jesuit com-munity in Paray ~arly in 1675. Our Lord wanted him to bethe sympathetic, enlightened, and fearless director of Margaret Mary and 1'13 C. A. HERBST Review for Religious the first public promoter of devotion to His Sacred Heart. Named extraordinary confessor to the convent, he came on the Lenten Ember Days towards the beginn{ng of March, .1675. Margaret Mary herself relatds what took place on that occasion. "Although .we had never either seen or spoken with each other, the Reverend Father kept me a very long time and spoke with me as though he understood what was passing within me. But I would not in any way ope, n my heart to him just then, and, seeing that I wished to withdraw for fear of. inconveniencing the community, he asked me if I would allow him to come and speak with me again in tl~is same place~ But in my natural timidity which shrank from all such communications, I re- .plied that, not being~ at my own disposal, I would dO whatever obedience ordered me. I'then withdrew having remained with him about an hour and a half." (Ibid., No. 80.) She was still timid, uncertain, afraid. But shortly after, her superior, M~re de Saumaise, "having had him return, ordered our virtuous sister to talk to him, in order to reassure herself as to what was taking place in her" (Gauthey, Vie et Oeuores, ~i, 133). Mar-garet Mary continues: "Before long he again returned, and although I kn~w it to be the Will of God that I should speak with him,, I nevertheless felt an extreme repugnance to be oblig(d.to do so. I'told him so at once. He replied that"he was very pleased to have given me an opportunity of making a sacrifice to God. Then, without trouble~or method, I opened my heart and made known to him my inmost soul, both the good and bad; ,whereupon he greatly consoled me, ~issuring me that there was nothing to fear in, the guidafice~of that Spirit, since It did not withdraw me from obedience; that I ought to follow Its movements, abandoning to It my whole being, sacrificing arid :imhaol~i~ myself according to Its good pleasure . Having mentioned some of the more special favors and .expressions of love which I received from this Beloved of my soul, arid which I refrain from describing here, he said that ~n all ~his, I had great cause to humble .myself and to admire the mercy of God in my regard." (Autobio~rapby~ No. 81.) First Dis'closure This was the first time she had ever told anyone of the revela-tions of the Sacred Heart to her. "I assure you," .she wrote later, "that it was to this good Father that I made the first disclosure. My sovereigri Master ordered m~ to do so. He showered on him on this 114 ' Mag, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE occasion more graces than He had ever given him before." (Vie et Oeuvres, II, 543.) ~ But humiliations came, too. "The Reverend Father himself had much to suffer on my account. For it was said that I wanted to deceive him and mislead him by my illusions, as I had done others. He was, however, in no way troubled by what was said. but con-tinued none the less to help me, not Only during the short time he remained in this town, but always. Many a time I have been sur-prised that he did not abandon me as others had done, for the way in which I acted towards him v~ould have repulsed any other." (Autobiography, No. 81.) Here indeed was put to the test the promise ~he had made to God of never doing or omitting through human respect anything that he thought to be' for the glory of God. Behold This Heart In June, 1675. during the octave of Corpt~s Christi, Our Lord made the last great revelation of His Sacred Heart to Margaret Mary. "Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much. that It has spared nothing, even to exhhusting and consuming Itself, in 6rder to testify to ~hem Its love: and in return I receive from the greater ~number nothing but i.ngrati~ude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love. But yghat I feel-the mo~t keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me that treat Me thus. Therefore, I ask of thee that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special Feast to honour My Heart, by communikating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during thb tim~, It has been e~posed on the altars. I promise thee that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed in abundance the influence of Its divine love upon those who Shall thus honour It, and cause It to be honoured." (Autobiography, No. 92.) Here was a clear statement, a bitter complaint, a definite and manifold request,-and a rich promise., And yet, what could a poor timid young nun in the cloister do about it? "'And when I replied that I knew not bow to accomplish what He bad so long desired of me, He told me to address, myself to His servant, .Wh, om He had sent me for the accomplishment of this design. Having done this, he (Father de la Colombi~re)~ ordered me to commit to writing all that I had .made known to him concerning "the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as several other thing,s.~whicb referred to It for the greater glory C. A. HERBST Review for Religious of God. This Was a cause of great ~omfor~ to me, as this holy man not only taught me how to correspond to His designs, but also reas-sured me in the great fear I had of being deceived which was a con-stant trouble to me."' (Ibid., No. 92.) The Guide for Falterin~l Steps So Father Colombi~re was ~be answer. He would guide her fab tering steps.and encourage her. T, he Life by' her contemporaries ex-pands the" narrative. "Address yourself to My servant, Father de la Colombi~re, Jesuit, and tell him for Me that he should do all in his power to establish this devotion and give this pleasure to My divine Heart. Let him not be discouraged by the difficulties he will en-counter, for they will not be wanting. But he should know that he is all-powerful who, putting off confidence in self, trusts i,mplicitly in Me." (Vie et Oeuvres, I, 138, 13.9.) It takes great courage and great spiritual insight to guide a mystic soul, especially when a riew devotion is to be introduced into the world through this soul. But "Father de la Colombi~re was a man of fine discernment. 'He was riot a man to g!ve credence to anything easily. But he had too striking proofs of the solid virtue of the per-son who was speaking to him to have the slightest fear of delusion in this matter. He accordingly took' up at once the ministry whikh God had just committed to him. In order to acquit himself of it effectively and perfectly, be decided to begin with himself. He ac-cordingly consecrated himself (together with Margaret Mary and only~ a few days aft+r the great apparition) completely to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He offered It everything in himself he thought capable of honoring an'd pleasing It. The extraordinary graces Which he received from this practice soon confirmed him in the esteem which he already bad of tbeimp6rtance and solidity of this devotion." (Ibid.) These Three Hearts Thus it was that "My pure love t~nites these three hearts for ever." M~rgaret Mary and Father Colombi~re bad truly become "brother and sister, sharing equally these spiritual treasures." But he must spread tl~e fire, too, as much as his little world and the 'short time allowed. "Though. he remained but a short time in the town, he never ceased inculcating this devotion in all his spiritual daugh-ters. He had them receive holy Communion in honor of the Sacred Heart on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christ." (Ibid., 116 Ma~l, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE 138, 139.) His apostola~te would become more extensive in another land. Late in the summer of 1676 Father Colombi~re was sent by his sunperiors to England to be confessor to th.e eighteen-year-old Mary of Modena, Duchess of York. He 'left Paray towards the latter part of September. Naturally, Margaret Mary.could not but have a sense of foreboding and feel the loss-of him very much, but Christ's "my grace is sufficient for thee" of another day brought her the same courage and strength it did St. Paul. "I received this blow with perfe.ct submission-to the Will of God, Who had allowed him to be of such use to me during the short time he had been here. When I ventured afterwards to reflect upon my loss, my Divine Master forth-with reproved me, saying: 'What! am I not sufficient for thee, I Who am thy beginning ~and thy last end?' This sufficed to make me abandon all to Him, for I was convined that He would not fail to provide me with'everything that was necessary." (Autobiographg, No. 93.) A Threefold Warning Before leaving Paray, a note from her was handed Father Co-" lombi~re. It contained a three-fold warning from heaven for him who was truly going to be a sheep among wolves. "1. Father de la Colombi~re's talent is to lead souls to God; therefore the devils-will do all in their power against him. He will meet with trouble,~ even from persons consecrated to God, who will not approve of what he says in his sermons t"o convert them; but in these crosses the goodness of God will be his support, so .long as he continu,es to trust in Him. 2. He must have a compassionate gentleness for si~nners, and only use severe measures when especially inspired by God to do so. 3. Let him be particularly careful not to separate good,from its source. ~This sentence is shortl but contains much which God will enable him to understand according to the diligence with 'which he applies himself to find its meaning." (Sister Mary Philip,,A Jesuit at the English Court, 115.) J , He accepted this note a~ a message from heaven. Although contained almost as many mysteries as it did words," he would be shown in his London retreat during the second half of January, 1677, its immediate and immensely~practical and detailed usefulness. "Truly," he ~wrote February 7, 1677, "Our Lord left nothing more to be said. There was (in that note) saving advic@ against all the evils that could befall me" (Vie et Oeuvres, I, 142). "These were " 1 17 C. A. HERBSr Review ior Religious counsels to fit p~sent circumstances and°'remedies against thoughts and plans that were troubling me and that were Very much opposed to those of God" (Ibid.). And later: "That helped very much to steady me. For I was tempted to abandon everything for fear of an outburst which might give scandal and wound charity" (Ibid.; 143). "The'note from Sister Alacoque strengthens me very much and gives me reassurance in a thousand doubts which come to me every~day" (Ibid., 144). It is x;ery clear that a few enlightened,words from Margaret Mary were helping her director to make his soul ready to be a great apostle of the Sacred Heart. Colorobi~re's Consecration By the time his retreat of 1677 ended, Father Colombibre was prepared to give himself over' fully and solemnly to the Sacred Heart. Six months before at Paray he had consecrated himself in a simple way to that Heart.' Since then, much light and. many graces had come to him. Under the influence of these he had slowly and care-fully, determined that, from now,on~ his life would be c6mplet'ely "dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "This offering is made' in order to honour that Divine Heart, 'the seat of all virtues, the source¯ ¯ of all blessings, and the refuge of all holy souls . In reparation 'f~r so many outrages and for such cruel ingratitude, most adorable and amiable Heart of Jesus, and to avoid as far as I can such a mis-fortune, I offer .to Thee my heart, with all its movements. I give myself entirely to Thee, and henceforth I protest most sincerely that I desire to forget myself and all that. relates to me, in order to remove any obstacle which might impede an entrance into this Divine Heart, which Thou hast the goodness to open to me, and into which I hope: to enter, to live. and die there with Thy most faithful servants, penetrated and inflamed with Thy~love. I offer to this H~art all the 'merit and all the satisfaction of all the Masses, pkayers, acts of mortification, religious practices, acts of zeal, of humility, of obedience, and of all the other virtues which I shall practise until the. last moment of my life. I do so not only to honour the Heart'of Jesus and its admirable dispositions, but I also humbly beg Him to accept the entire oblation which I make to Him, to dispose of it ,in the manner which shall please Him, and in favour of whom pleases . " (A Jesuit of the E.nglish Court; 125, 1"26.) His offering and his retreat end with a prayer to the Sacred Heart. "Sacred Heart of Jesus, teach me perfect forgetfulness of self, since 118 M a~ , 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE , this is~the only way one can enter into Thee. Since everyth!ng.I shall do in the future will be Thine. grant that I may do nothing unworthy of Thee. Teach me what I'must do to obtain pule love for Thee. that pure love for which Thou ha~t inspired the desire in me. I feel within me a great desire of pleasing Thee and an even greater powerlessness of doing so without very special light and help. These I can obtain only from Thee. Do all Thy will in me. 0 Lord. I well know that I oppose,It, but I'earnestl~ desire not to do so. "Thou must do everything, divine Heart of Jesus. and oTbou alone shalt have all the glory of my sanctification if I-become holy. That appears to me as clear as day. All this will. bring gr~at glory to Thee, and it is for that alone that I desire to be perfect.Amen." (A. Haman, Histoire de la D~votion au Sacr~ Coeur, III. 296) The apostle was now immolated to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The apostle at once set to work. He wrote from London soon after: "I knew that God wanted me to serve Him by obtaining the accomplisbment of His designs with regard to the devotion which He has revealed to a person He communicates with very intimately. For this it has pleased Him to make use of my weakness. I have alreadY, inspired many people in England with it. I have also written of it to France and asked one of my friends to spread it in the place where he is. This devotion will be very useful there, and the great number of chosen souls in this community leads me to think that its practke in that fervent house will be very pleasing to God." (Georges Guit-ton, Le Bienbeureux Claude La Co[ombi~re, 444.) First Sermon on Sacred Heart March 24, 1677, the third Wednesday of. Lent and th%~ve, of the feast of the Annunciation, Father Colombi~re thought the hour bad come for him to speak publicly of devotion to the Sacre, d Heart, In his sermon, On .the Patience of Jesus'Suffering, he invited his hearers in St. James palace: "Let.us enter into the Heart of the Son of God and see what are Its sentiments with regard to His enemies. .They are sentiments of indescribable sweetness. Note their various degrees and effects. All He suffers from His persecutors does not pre-vent Him from excusing them. He knows they are acting through ignorance, and no matter how great .their envy, human respect, self interest, barred, pride, injustice, and the intensity of their wrath, this Heart, full of goodness, is eager rather to excuse and diminish the 'gravity oftheir sin than to make them more guilty . .~. Jesus.not 119 C. A. HERBST Reuieto for Religious only excuses His executioners. He is moved with deep compassion for them. He bewails their blindness and the evils they are drawing on themselves. - He says in His Hearti 'If thou didst but. know in this thy day the things that are to thy peace.' He knows that the evils that befall Him are scarcely evils'at all compared with theirs. 'Weep not over Me ' Jesus is moved with love for His enemies. , He feels a real and efficacious compassion for them. He prays for them, He suffers for them, He suffers for them with tenderness. He wishes to save them, and He does so. His prayer, is not in vain. These same souls are the ones converted by the sermon of St. Peter . Let the Heart of Jesus be our teacher, our school. Let us make our abode in this Heart during this Lent. Let us study Its every movement and endeavor to conform ours to them. Yes, divine Jesus, i want to live in this Heart. I want to pour all my bitterness into It. TlSere it will be consumed. I do not fear that impatience will attack me in this place Of refuge. There in perfect security I shall exercise myself in.silence, in resignation to the divine will, in invin-cible constancy. Every day I shall offer prayers of thanksgiving for the crosses Thou sendest me and ask Thee to give grace to those who persecute me . " (Oeuvres du R. P. Claude de la Cotombi~re, VI, '249-251.) ~ This was the first sermon ever preached on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form. It is remarkable how it re-echoes the virtues expressly mentioned by Our Lord as characteristic of His Heart the one and only time He expressly mentions that Heart in the gospels: "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart" (Matt. I 1:29). Around this same theme and these same sweet and consolii~g words ~3f Christ the Church has built one of h~r most. poPular and' practical p~rayers to th,e SaCred Heart: "Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make my heart like unto Thine." English Queen's Request 4. Father Colombi~re remained two years in London. There he continued, in public and in private, to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart. The prime object of his zeal naturally would be his spiritual child, Mary, Duchess of York, later (1.685-1688) Queen ¯ of England as wife of James II. She was the first royal conquest for the devotion. Exiled after 1688 and living in France, ~he was the first royal personage to petition the Holy Father for the establish-ment of a solemn feast in honor of the Sacred Heart.of Jesus, for 1~20 May, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE which Our Lord Himself had:asked. A feast'in honor of the Sacred Heart was not granted because of the many difficulties of the times, but on March 30, 1697 "the Sacred Congregation of Rites, in response to the~urgent request of Her Most Serene Maiesty, Mary, Queen of England, has graciously grar~ted the Nuns of the ~Visitation of the Most Blessed ,Virgin of St. Francis de Sales that in their churches each. year on the Friday following the octave of Corpus Christi not only priests attached to their churches but others also coming there on this day may celebrate the Mass of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ." His Holiness, Innocent XII, approved.this decree April 3, 1697. ( Histoire de la D~votion art Sacr~ Coeur, III, 375.) Not until 1765 was a Mass of the Sacred Heart approved. In 1856 it was extended to'the whole Church and in 1929 raised to the rank - of a feast of the first class. Accused in England of taking part in a conspiracy, the queen's chaplain was arrested and imprisoned about the middle of November, 1678, and "exiled" to France. Ill and very weak from tuberculosis and imprisonment he passed through FranCe in slow stages, arriving in Dijon about the end of January. There his old friend from Paray, M~re de Saumaise, was mistress of the Visitandine novices. He bad to address them, of course. One of them, Sister Jeanne- Madeleine Joly, wbuld one day compose the first collection of prac-tices of piety in honor of the Sacred Heart and make one .of the first images of It. He told ~this Sister: "Anyone striving to spread this devotion will do a wonderful work for the glory of God." Sojourn at Paray Early in January, 1679, he had order0d Margaret Mary by letter to make to the Sacred Heart "a testament or donation without re-serve, in writing, of all that she could do or suffer, of all the prayers and spiritual goods anyone should offer for her during her life and after her ,death" (Vie et Oettt;res, I, 172). Father Colombi~re himsclf was to sign this if her superior refused. Towards the end Of Febru-ary he appeared in Paray in person, and spent ten' happy and fruit-ful days there, reassuring Margaret Mary and her new superior, M~re Greyfi~, with regard to the revelations of the Sac~ed Heart. When he arrived at Lyons March 23, he wrote "Our Lord taught me some days ago to make Him a sacrifice even greater still: to be de-termined to do nothing at all, if that be His will." While. taking his native air in the country at Saint-Symphorien ,121 C;. A. HERBST Review/:or Religious he wrote, as June 1, I679, feast of ~Corpus Christi, approached, to the superioress of the Visitation at.CharoHes: "I am writing you today only to urge you to have your whole commuhity~ make a special Communion, the day after the octave of Corpus Christi, not for my intention, but to make reparation, as far as lies in your power, for all the irreverences committed a.gainst Jesus Christ d_uring the whole octave He is exposed on our altars throughout the Chris-tian world. I assure you that this manifestation of love will draw down great blessings upon you. I advise you to continue this prac-tice all your life." (Le Bienheureux Claude La Colombi&e. 624.) He had hardly returned to Lyons at the end of May when he wrote his sister Elizabeth: "This practice was recommended to me by a persom of extraordinary piety. She assured me that all,those who ,gave Our Lord this mark of love would draw great profit" from it, Try gently to draw your friends to do the same thing. I'hope more communities will begin this devotion this year and continue it . always." (Ibid.) 'His Stairi~ual Son, Father Galliffet Somewhat recovered," Father Colombi~re was made spiritual father to some sixteen young Jesuits studying at Lyons during the two scholastic years 1679-1681. In one of these, Joseph de Galliffet. he,was to llve again. This man's great spiritul influence, knowledge of tbeolbgy, and gentle persevering way in spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart were to overcome many an obstacle put in its way. Half a century later, in the preface to his book, The Excellence of the Devotion to the Adorable Heart of Jesus Christ, he wrote: "In 1680, on leaving the noviciate, I had the good fortune of coming under the spiritual direction of Reverend Father Claude la Colombi~re, the director God had given Mother Margaret, then still living. It is from this servant of God that 'I received my first instructions on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. I began then to appre-ciate and love it." F~ther Galliffet's book, still a classic on dev, otion to the Sacred Heart, is the voice of Father Colombi~re coming down to us through the years. He was removed from Lyons, very ill and weak, to Pa.ray in August, 1681. Naturally, he communicated with Margaret Mary. About November first.he writes: "Our Lord told her that, if I were well, I would glorify Him by my zeal, but that now, being ill, He is glorifying Himself in me." But Paray was no place for the sick 122 May, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE man either, so his brother sent a corn, fortable carriage to remove him to Vienne. It was January 29, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, a day dear to both himself and Sister Margaret. A note came from her: he should not leave Paray if he could remain without being dis-obedient. In writing he asked why: in writing he received an an answer. He stayed. Of what happened the next ten days we know nothing. Febru-ary 15, 1682,'at seven o'clock in the evening, he died of a violent hemorrhage. He was forty-two years of age, had been a Jesuit twenty-two years. At five o'clock next. morning a friend carried the news of his death to Margaret Mary. "Pray for him, and get Others to pray for him," she said. But at ten~o'clock the sarrie morning she sent a note: "Weep no longer. Pray to him. Fear nothing. He is more powerful to help you now than ~ver." Sister Margaret begged her friend to do all in her power to get back the last note she had sent Father Colombi~re. But the Jesuit :superior absolutely refused to surrender it, saying he had rather hand over all the archives of the house. To explain, he read it to her. "He has told me that it is here He wishes the sacrifice of your life," it said (Vie et Oeuores, I, 499). The Sacked Heart wanted His "faithful servant and p,erfect friend" tomremain always in Paray. The Retreat Brings Deootion to the Public The Retreat Father Colombi~re made in London in 1677 was published two years after his death. It became at once the great in-strument for promoting the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it con-tained the great revelation "Behold this Heart . " and his act of consecration and prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His sanctity threw a halo around the devotion Sister ,Margaret"was trying to propagate, and his words that the revelatiofl was made "to a person with whom He communicates very intimately" pointed clearly to her. To her great humiliation, the Retreat was read in the dining room at Paray, but that removed prejudice against the devotion there. She concealed herself behind the Retreat. "We found this devotion in the book of the retreat of ReverendFather Colombi~re." she.wrote, "whom everyone venerates as a saint. I do not know whether 'you know him, or if you have the book of which I am speaking. But it would give me great pleasure to send it to you." (Vie et Oeuores, IE 324, 325.) "You would scarcely believe the good effects It (th( Sacred Heart) produces in 'souls who have the good fortune to know of It through this holy man who himself was 123 C. A. HER~3ST Review for Religious altogether devoted to It and lived only to make It loved,, honored, and glorified" (1bid., 328). Devotion to the Sacred Heart "is spreading everywhere through the medium of the Retreat of Rev-erefid Father. Colombi~re (Ibid., 476). Many decades later Father de Galliffet would say of the Retreat: "It was the first means Our Lord used to make public both the .revelation and the devotion to His Sacred Heart." Colombi~re's Intercession in Heathen Father Colombi~re continues ih heaven the mission begun here on earth of propagating devotion to the Sacred Heart~ Consoling his old friend and hers in difficulties she met with in spreading the devotion, Mother Margaret wrote Mother de Saumaise: "It ought to be a great consolation to you to have so close a union with the good Father' de la Colombi~re. For by his intercession in heaven he is re-sponsible for what is being done here on earth for the glory of the Sacred Heart. Bear up courageously, therefore, under all these little contradictions." (Ibid., II., 427.) "We must address,ourselves to His faithful friend, the good Father de la Colombi~re, to whom he has given great power and to whom, so to speak, He has:handed over whatever has to do with this devotion. I assure you in confidence that-I have received great help from him, even more than when he was here on earth. For, if I am not dece!ving myself, this devotion to the Sacred Heart has made him very powerful in heaven, 9nd has raised him higher in glory than everything else he did during his whole life." (Ibid., 551.) The Society of Jesus, Father Colombi~re's order, was to have a special place in promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart. In a vision of July 2, 1688 Margaret Mary saw the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mother, St. Francis de Sales, the Daughters of the Visitation, and Father Colombi~re. After confiding to the care of the Daughters of' Holy Mary the precious treasure of the Sacred Heart, "turning to the good Father de la Colombi~re, this mother of goodness said: 'As for you, faithful servant of my divine Son," you have a great share in this precious treasure. For if it is granted the Daughters of the. Visita-tion to know and propagate it, it is reserved to the Fathers of your Society to make its utility and value known and understood, so that all may profit by it." (Ibid., 406.) Apostle of the Sacred Heart ¯ The process for the beatification of Father Claude de la Colom-blare, of the Society of-Jesus, was begun in 1874. He was declared 124 May, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE Blessed in 1929. In the considered judgment of the Church he is "an outstanding champion and promoter of devotion to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus . Given as guide and master to the holy virgin, Margaret Mary Alacoque, he directed her in ,a wise and holy fashion, especially with regard to devotion,to the most august Heart of Jesus, which from the beginning had not a few adversaries. Cham-pioning and defending it, he merited to be numbered among it chief promoters and outstanding apostles." (Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1929, 505.) Holy Church now prays: "Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast deigned to make Blessed Claude the faithful servant and outstanding lover of Thy Sacrdd Heart, grant us, through his intercession, that we may put on the virtues ~ind be inflamed with the affections of this same Sacred Heart." A prayer Sister Margaret wrote on the back of a picture of Father Claude is not so dissimilar to this. "O blessed Father Claude de la Colombi~re, I take you as my intercessor with ¯ the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. Obtain for me from His goodness the 'grace not to resist' the designs He has on my soul, and that I may imitate perfectly the virtues of His divine Heart." (~r[e et Oeuvres,, II, 826.) BIBLIOGRAPHY Books are listed in the order in which they are cited in the article. Autobiograph'y. Life of Saint Margare~ Mary Alacoque. Written by" Herself. Translation of the Autentic French Text by the Sisters of the Visitation. Rose-lands, Walmer, Kent. Visitation Library. 1930. A small book written by Sis-ter Margaret Mary with great pain under obedience. Simple, intimate, prayerful. Gauthey, Monseigneur. Ed. Vie et Oeuvres de la Bienheureuse Marguerite Marie Alacoque. Paris. Anclenne Librairie Poussielgue. 1915. 3 volumes. Volume one contains Sister Margaret Mary's Life written by her contemporaries, documents of the process begun in 1715 for her beatification, and some minor let-ters, etc. Volume twocontains her autobiography and 140 letters written by her. Volume three contains documents concerning miracles, archives, her superiors, fam-ily and parish. The three volumes are critically edited. Philip, Sister Mary. A desuit at the English Court. London. Burns, Oates and Washbourne. 1922. An excellent and very readable llfe ot~ Blessed Claude de la Colombi~re. Chapter 17 gives the Retreat he made in London in 1677. an appendix is printed the notes of his long retreat made in his third year of pro-bation after ordination. Hamon, A. Histoire de la Ddt~otion au SacN Coeur. Paris. Beauchesne. 1928 --4 volumes (incomplete). Volume one contains a critical life of St. Margaret Mary. Volume two sketches the history of the devotion to the Sacred Heart till the sixteenth century. Volume three deals with the religious orders and outstanding men and women connected with the devotion in France during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, .especially St. orohn Eudes and St. Margaret Mary. Volume 4 outlines the difficulties the new devotion met with and its progress to 1765, when 125 C. A. HERBST ~: " the Holy See'.approved the first Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart. Volume five, still~in prepar~tlon, will ;aarrate the royal triumph., Guitton, Georges. Le Bienbeureux Claude La Colo.mbi~re. Lyon. Librairie Catholique Emmanuel Vitte. 1943. Quite a long and very critical life: he takes even Hereon to task. Quotes heavily from Blessed Claude's sermons, correspond-ence, the documents of his beatification and the archives of the Society of Jesus. Gives thorough religious and political milieu and background of his life and times. Oeuvres du R.P. Claude de la Colornbi~re de la Compagne de dEsus. Lyon. Librairie Catholique de P~risse Fr~res. 1864. 6 volumes. Contains his sermons, retreat notes, correspondence. This, of course, is the great source on which all writers draw. This is an old edition, with paper turnin~g brown, small print and hard to read, but was the only one at hand. The newer edition is by Chattier, Oeuvres Cornpl&es, Grenoble, 1900-1901, 6 volumes. Volume six of this newer edition contains the Retreat and his letters. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Rornae, typis polyglottis Vaticanis. In this work are printed the official acts of the Hbly See and the various Roman Congregations dealing with the canonization of saints and the like. It is published serially each year. REPRINTS: SINGLE SETS We are now able to sell sets of our reprint booklets for one dollar per set. The set includes on~ copy each of these bo.~klets~ No. 1: Articles on Prayer by Father Ellard; No. 2: Articles on "Gifts to Re-ligious," by Father Ellis; No. 3: Articles on Emotiotial Maturity, Vocational Counseling and the Particular Friendship., by Father Kelly. To order these single sets, please send one dollar and ask [or one set of reprints. Please address, your. order to: The Editors, Review for Religious, St. Mary's Colle~je, St. Marys, Kansas. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY The" subscription price of REVI'EW FOR RELIGIOUS is now: $3.00 per year for Domestic and Canadian subscriptions: $3.35 per year for all foreign subscriptions. For further details-please see inside back cover. ~ 126 Franciscan Spiri ualit:y Alexander Wyse, O.F.M. THE personality of Francis of Assisi was at once so singular, so attractive and so powerful that' today, seven and a quarter cen- " turies after his death, it truthfully is as familiar to the world as that of many living notables. His charm is perennial, his in-fluence seemingly indestructible, his life the subject of an exhaustless series of studies. But this persevering popularity is not merely the result of the unusually felicitous biographies that, even from his very age, have not ceased to paint and interpret his life. While he has indeed had the good fortune of a long train of articulate, admirers --some nai've, others penetrating; some objective, more partisan-- his fame rests clearly on the captivating force of his individual char-acter, on the strength of his personal winsomeness. His clients.may contribute to his undying reputation--but they bare success only because Francis himself is too living a figure ever to die. The Influence of St: Francis This fact is fundamental to a consideration of the specific nature of Franciscan spirituality, because in a sense and a measure perhaps unparalleled in any similar instance the individuality of Francis has founded and oriented the Franciscan school. The venerable Benedictine tradition, as an example, has its own distinctive qualities, deriving from the holy Rule. As the source of Benedictinism, that is a singularly unique document--precise, .mas-terly, definitive as a provision fo~ all possible needs of monasticism: but it is not. in any comparable way, a reflection of the personality of Benedict. By contrast, Franciscan spirituality leans but lightly on the several Rules which the Poverello wrote for his friars,-his nuns, and his followers in the world.1 Rather it looks to the person 1As a matter of fact. while he properly wrote no Rule for either the Second or the Third Order he wrote successively two Rules for the First Order, the Order "of Friars Minor. This fact would bear out the contention that the Rule occupies a relatively secondary place in Franciscan spirituality. It likewise helps to explain the ancient division--whlch in centuries past often amounted to very violent dis-sension-- over the meaning and the force of some of the prescriptions.of the Rule, notabl~; poverty. The Holy See had often to intervene in these disputes, had to promulgate official declarations of the true impbrt of, the disputed points, and has sanctioned three autonomous branches of the Order, each interpreting the mind of the Founder with its own constitutions. Since each of the three families looks with equal devotion to Francis. and with.equal right claims him as Founder and Father, in discussing Franciscan spirituality no distinction is necessary because of these diverse streams. 127 ALEXANDER WYSE Reoiew [or Religious of its founder--which, in his lifetime, was so highly original that it could only with difficulty be confined in the legal" terms' of a rule, and, after his death, has remained singularly fresbl highly distinctive, and extraordinarily fruitful. Rooted thus in the individuafity of the Seraphic Saint, the Franciscan school of spiritual theology has about it many of the features which explain the wide appeal of Francis himself.-° The same qualities that made and make him universally loved, make also the spiritual way that derives from him appealing to a vast army of Christians.~ By imitating his delightfully reasonable and joyfully direct methods of reaching God, countless millions through these seven centuries have grown in spiritual" understanding and advanced in mys, tical union. Cbristocentricisrn of Franciscan Spirituality The basic and most far-reaching quality of Franciscan .spiritual-ity is that it is wholly centered about the Incarnate Son of God.4 The positive and avowed attempt to reproduce ~he life of Christ is the simplest summary of the Franciscan vocation--as.Francis put it, "to obs~erve the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Though the imitation of Christ is radically the heart and soul of all Christian 2That there is a rich fruitfulness in Franciscanism is seen'in the large number of saints and blessed who have worn the distinctive three-knotted cord. There are 48 Saints of the First Order, 4 of the Second, and 42 of the Third: there are 112 Blessed of" the First Order, 21 of the Second, and 80 of the Third (of. Acta Ordinis Fratrum Minorum, LXIX, iii, pp. 126~135). Excluding the causes of these beati being promoted for canonization, there are pending before the., Sacred Congregation of Rites or Diocesan Courts the causes of more than 203 members of the First Order, 25 of the Second, and a numberless group of the Third (Ibid., "LXIX, i, pp. 20-34). aThe prihciples of Franciscan spirituality have not ceased to attract enormous num-bers of Christians even in our day. In 1950 the First Order had a combined total of more than 42,000 members; the Second Order approximately 2,000: the Third Order Regular, in its various congregations of priests, Brothers and Sisters, at least 70,000; the Third Order Secular an estimated 2,800,000. ~'For a more extensive treatment of Franciscan spirituality the following studies may be consulted: ValentinSM~ Breton, O.F.M, La Spiritualit~ Franciscaine (Paris, 1948); Vitus a Bussum, OIF.M.Cap., De Spiritualitate Franciscana (Rome, 1949); Pacificus M. Perantoni, O.F.M., "De Spiritualitate Franciscana," in Acta Ordinis Fratrum Minorurn, LXIX, v, pp. 214-243: Agostino Gemelli, O.F:M., "La Spiritualit~ Francescana," in Le Scuole Catrolicfie di Spiritualit~ (Milan, 1949) ; Franciscan Educational Conference, Report of the Eighth Annual Meeting, (Washington, 1926); Philibert Ramstetter, OIF.M., "Introduction to a Francis-can Spirituality," in Franciscan Studies, December, 1942; Valentin-M. Breton, O.F.M., Le Christ de L'Arne Franciscaine (Paris, 1927). Additional ligh~t is to be 'had from the reading of such classics" as Hilarin Felder, O.F.M.Cap. Thd 1deals oF St. Francis of Assisi (New York, 1925)~ Agostino Gemelli, O.F.M., The Franciscan Message to the World (London, 1934), as well as the many standard biographies of St. Francis. 128 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY living, about Franciscan asceticism there is a more distinctive desire and a special effort t6 conform the life of the dedicated one to that of the Incarnate Son of God. In ngthing is the influence of the founder's life and personality more discernible than in this. For Francis, Christ was the center of all things--the focus of all thought, the object of all_ striving, the inspiration of all action. Christ, Francis loved with a consuming passion, as the most tangible proof of God's all-pervading goodness. He could never cease marveling at the divine goodness: it was a theme that both fascinated and transformed him. ]ks he reflected on it, he w~ould~ cry out in the rapture of his contemplation: "Thou, Lord, art the highest Good, the Eternal Good; from Thee cometh all good, and there is no good without Thee." It is primarily and eminently in the Incarnation of th~ Eternal Son that God has shown forth t6 the world that infinite love which is His essential perfection; and this, to Francis, became the most profound and, at the same time, the most penetrable of mysteries. His soul found in it the most, exalted of divine revelations, reaching into the very bosom of the Godhead ~nd manifesting in a singular way God's in.finite life of love. That in God there should be an Eternal Son generated by love, and that the Eternal Father should give this only-begotten Son for the world's redemption, was for Francis the climaxing proof of God's goodness. It opened up to him--as nothing else in all reality could--the depth of charity with which the Creator cherishes every last one of His creatures. For him, it explained all of life and creation ; it served as the foundation for all his spiritual action. "O Lord, we thank Thee," he wrote in the First Rule, "because, just as Thou hast created us through Thy Soft, so also through that true and holy charity with which Thou hast loved us, Thou hast caused Him to be born of the glorious and most blessed Mary,' ever Virgin most holy, and Thou hast Willed that through His cross and blood and death we sinners be redeemed." ./kbove all else, the Incarnation proves God's goodness in that it teaches us how we must live. Jesus is our model, "leaving us an example"; and hence--as Francis saw with an enviable directness-- the ideal of all spiritual striving is that we imitate His steps. This was the desire which burned in Francis' heart for himself and which he held up to his followers. Thomas of Celano says: "His supreme endeavor, his most ardent wish and foremost principle was to observe the holy Gospel in all and above all things, and to follow 129 ALEXANDER WYSE Review for Religious perfectl'y, 'with all zeal, with the fullest ardor of his spirit, with all "the love of his heart, the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to imitate His example. In constant meditation he reflected on His Words, and with deep.intentness he pondered on His works.''~ So fruitful was this contemplation, and so completely did Fran-dis succeed in this. holy ambition to imitate Christ, that he is gen-erally admitted to have been a humanly perfect copy of the Master. Renan, the great skeptic, called him the only true Christian after ~Jesus; and (at the other pole of orthodoxy) St. Bonaver~ture cites the imprinting on his body of the stigmata,as heaven's seal on the ~onformity of Francis' life with Christ's. Love--the Well of Action His d~sire to imitate the supernal example of the Incarnate Son of God was nurtured by an ardent love for Him which literally surpasses our capacity. The "Three Companions" tell us of this burning devotion as the source of Francisr spirituality: "From the time,of his conversion to his death, he loved Christ with his whole heart, bearing, the memory of Him constantly in his mind, praising ,Him .with his lips, and glorifying Him in good works.''6 And Celano expatiates the theme: "His tongue spoke out of the fullness of his heart, and the stream of enraptured love which filled his soul overflowed outwardly. Always he was occupied with Jesus. Jesus he carried in his heart, Jesus in his mou~th, Jesus in his ears,. Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his hands, Jesus in all his members.''v This attachment to his Saviour revealed itself by Francis' con-stant- preoccupation with the details of the sacred life of the Lord. He had a wholly special attachment to the. feast of Christmas, observing it with a transporting joy and a moving piety. For him it was the feast of feasts--and, if it has become that also for after-generati. ons, his part in making it such is not inconsiderable. He found a fathomless proof of God's love in His condescending to become Man. That the Incomprehensible, the Unchangeable, the Infinite One should humble Himself so wonderfully for our sakes," demonstrated the measureless extent of God's love for us. Not con-tent with having the vision for himself, he longed to make the whole world aware of it. Whether or not it can be demonstrated his- 5.Thomas de Celano, Legenda Prima (Rome, 1906), n. 84. STies Socii, Legenda (Foligno, 1898), n. 68. ~Op. cir., n. I15. 130 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY torically that he did give us the first Christmas crib, it is certain that he had a leading role in helping to establish the custom,s Perhaps more than any other of our popular Christmas observances, in making visible to us the tenderness of the Birth of Christ the Crib has served to establish in the hearts of Christians a new under-' standing and appreciation of the love of God for the human race; in spirit, at least, it is the product of Francis' intense love of the Christ- Child. At the other terminus of that divine life, the saint likewise found another strong motive to honor the love of God for man. His rever-ence for the Passion of Christ colored his whole think~ing; moulded his whole devotion. From the day when he heard the mysterious voice from the crucifix at San Damiano bidding him repair the Church which was in ruins, to that climax of seraphic love in the Five Wounds of the Redeemer imprinted on his body, the sufferings of 3esus were ever before his eyes. Early in his religious life he was one day walking along the road, bathed in tears, expressions of the most profound sorrow issuing from the depths of his soul. When someone asked" him what he was lamenting, he answered that he was weeping for the sufferings of hi's Lord. Moved by the unction and the sincerity with which the saint uttered these words, the other, too, began to weep and sigh in com-passion for the suffering Son of God. This" is more than an anecdote from his legend--it is a symbol of the vast influence of St. Francis in riveting the attention, first, of his followers, and then of all Chris-tianity, upon the Passion of Christ. For it is true that Francis by his devotion to the sacred sufferings has conferred upon Franciscan spirituality a truly distinctive mark. At the same time, by reason of this new note of tender and human feeling which Francis intro-duced into~or, at least so effectively propagated within--Catholic devotional life, he served to give a new orientation to the spiritual life of the whole Church.9 By stressing, as his own character demanded, the element of love in his approach to God, and by 8Cf. Stephen M. Donovan, O.F.M., The Catholic Encyclopedia (New .York, 1913), sub verbo "Crib," IV, p. 489. 9Francis, of course, did not completely disrupt the traditional lines of devotion in the Church. nor did he accomplish the new orientation singlehandedly. Following by less than a century the age of St. Bernard, he solidified the notable contribu-tions of the great Abbot of Clairvaux toward establishing a love and affection for the humanity of God's Son. For a brief summary of the inter-relation of Bernard and Francis in this" spiritual revival, cf. Philip Hughes, A History of the Church (New York, 1935), II, pp. 306-307, 403-404. 131 ALEXANDER WYSE Review for looking more fixedly upon those aspects of God's relations with men which show forth the divine benignity and condescension, he rekindled in the hearts of men the flame of divine charity. He taught his followers--and the world--to serve God, in a special way, out of regard for the love which God has first shown us. Christocentric Theology/ Francis made the love of God--as proven by the Incarnation of Christ---the basis for his whole system of living. More philo-sophical minds than his would expand this notion into a whole explanation of reality[ The idea which Francis established by his preaching, his prayers, his very act of living, his more learned fol-lowers took and worked into a theology that begins and ends with Christ, the fruit of divine love. The concept of the glorification of the Ingarn~ate Son of God-- which Francis instinctively felt and lived--becomes in Franciscan theology the explanation of all things, the prime motive for the cre-ation of the world. Christ, God made Man, in this system was the First Thought of the Creator; He was destined, before the fall of our first parents, before even the making of the world, to receive the homage, the love, th~ service of the human race. All creatures what-soever enjoy the gift of being in view of the preordained Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The supreme mani-festation of God's love and power in the Person of the God-Man was to raise up to the life of the Trinity the'human brothers of Christ. In an excess of divine benignity, God conferred upon the human race the riches of the supernatural life--but with, in, and thrgugh Christ, the Head of all things. It was thus that human creatures, endowed'with intelligence and free will, were predestined to share in the personal life of God. In Christ they were willed and destined and called to glory.~ In view of that .high vocation they were elevated to a supernatural plane by the foreseen graces merited for them by 3esus Christ. That man should have failed to correspond to God's purpose in creating him does not, in Franciscan theology, militate~ against God's primary motive in decreeing the Incarnation of His Son. True, historically, Christ did not come as the King of Glory to receive in His earthly days the adoration and the homage of the world; He came rather as the Man of Sorrows, the suffering Redeemer, the Messias making satisfaction for our sins. Yet this but further illus-trates and enhances God's love. In permitting His Son thus to come, 132 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY to suffer and die on the cross for our redemption, God showed forth His love in a still more striking fashion. Thus in Franciscan theological speculation, as developed by the masters of the school, St. Bonaventure and especially John Duns Scotus, Christ assumes the central position which He already occu-pied in the thought and the life of the unlettered Poverello. All things depend on Him, all things grow through Him, all gifts come from Him to all beings. There is no merit, no promise of eternal life, no blessedness which does not derive from Him. From the part of God, any offering, any virtue, any prayer, has value only insofar as it reflects Jesus Christ. From the part of man, no one arrives at the divine union, no. one knows God, no one serves or pleases the Creator, except through Christ, the Firstborn, the Center and Head of all things. Franciscan theology furthermore eschews the notion of God as the strict Judge demanding vengeance and satisfaction, and sees in Him rather the loving Father who grahts to the Son the privilege of the Incarnation for His human brethren, together with the right to restore them to supernatural life. The Saviour is not so much the victim of divine justice, as He is the friend who, out of love for His Eternal Father and His brothers in the flesh, sacrifices Himself to atone for men's sins. The Passion and the Cross are, in this view, not so much the price demanded for human redemption as they are the yoluntary outpouring of divine love, setting the tone and the pat-tern of the relations between God and man. Povert~l' For all these reasons, as Francis of Assisi insisted, though with-out himself ever formulating his thoughts in such theological termin-ology, there is need of penance and mortification and a voluntary crucifixion on the part of those who know and would repay God's love. If God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, and if the Son so loved us that He willingly emptied Himself of His glory and became obedient even to the death of the cross," there can be little choice for a creature except to imitate that self-sacrificing love and surpassing abnegation. As a logical cohsequence, therefore, of these considerations the three basic qualities 6f Francis-can ascetiscism are generated: poverty, humility, and mortification. In the sixth chapter of the Second Rule of the Friars Minor, St. Francis' speaks of "the sublimity of the highest poverty which has made you, my dearest brothers, heirs and kings of the kingdom 13~3 ALEXANDER WYSE Reoieto t~or Religious of heaven: poor in goods, but exalted in virtu(." In these few words he succinctly demonstrates the pivotal importance which the Fran-ciscan ideal attaches to the observance of poverty as a means of reaching eternal life. Tl~e voluntary stripping oneself of the things of this earth and all attachment to them predisposes one to the practice of all other virtues which, spelling perfection, infallibly lead to ever-lasting l~appiness. Accepting as the most literal truth the promise of the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs i~ the king-dom of heaven," the Franciscan world has enthroned Lady Poverty as its queen. She has reigned by the clearest title in the hearts and homes of all those who call Francis "father." St. Clare of Assisi-- that gentle maid who more completely than any other caught Fran- Cis' holy enthusiasm for this Seraphic virtue par excellence--success-fully resisted even the efforts of the Holy See to take away from her what she called "the privilege of poverty." St. Bonaventure refers to poverty as "the sublime prerogative" of the Franciscan Order. A thousand examples might be cited, from the bulging Seraphic chron-icles, of this undying fealty and devotion to poverty, for in a true sense this attachment to Lady Poverty is the history of the order. Her saints have been great, her reformers have been virtuous, .her life has been varied and at time even exuberantly stormy--simply because, in days of fervor as of decadence, the haunting image of "that noble and queenly, that most beautiful of women" whom the Poor Man of Assisi made his bride has never ceased to fascinate the Franciscan soul. If the Order of Friars Minor has been divided into three autonomous groups, this has been because the sons of Francis have never failed to be interested in the question of poverty, and have always wanted to safeguard and the more truly cherish that heritage which is the "'privilegium paupertatis," the "'nostii ordinis praeroga-tioa sublimis." The Franciscan views poverty, as a privilege because it enables him the more perfectly to reproduce ~the life of'the Incarnate Son of God. He was po,or; He deliberately chose the privations of a work-ingman's home for Himself and labored as a carpenter. He had nowhere to lay His head. "Being rich, He became poor" for our sakes. This is the source and the inspiration for the unflinching attachment .to this virtue that Francis conceived: as he is made to say in the hauntingly beautiful Salutation of Poverty, she was with' Christ, God's Son made Man, in all the hours of His life, and when _all other, abandoned Him she mounted the cross with Him, to 134 May, l~51 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY embrace Him as He hung dying.1° Struck with the truth of the sanctifying power of this virtue so closely the companion of Holi-ness Incarnate, St. Bonaventure, expresses the traditional Franciscar~ ideal when he praises poverty as the very source and fountainhead of evangelical perfection, 'and the first ]~oundation of the entire edifice of .spirituality. Humility The abasement of the Incarnation must find its counterphrt in the life of him who would grow up to thd stature of Christ. "Humil-iavit semetipsum," said St. Paul of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity--and the words re-echoed in Francis' heart with a new and challenging meaning. If Christ could deprive Himself of the glory that was His everlasting and inalienable due, Ought nor the creatures "redeemed by His sacrifice at least avoid all vainglory, all frivolous pride, all empty self-seeking? Francis admonishes his friars to .appropriate nothing to themselves; they must even beg for the neces-sities~ o[ life--"noi should they be ashan~ed, because the Lord made Himself poor for us in this world." With a true understanding of human nature, Francis recognized his own sinfulness, his proneness tb evil, and his entire dependence upon God for the grace to save him from eternal damnation. So, likewise, he exhorted his friars to be always mindful of their lowli-ness and nothingness. Especially those constituted in high places-- preachers, superiors, the learned-=-he exhorted to remember that, of themselves, they are nothing, and that any dignity, any influence, any learning they possess is theirs by the donation of God. The superiors of his brotherhood are "ministers and servants of the other friars": the fraternity:itself is the Order of Lesser Brethren. Repeatedly Francis praised and cited poverty ands humility, holding them up as the double cornerstone of the Franciscan life: "Let all the brethren strive to follow the humility and poverty of our Lord 3e~us Christ." Humility is the companion of poverty,, but it is more--it is the perfection of the other virtue in that it reaches into the soul. It strips the mind of all encumbrances of human origin, it cleanses the heart of all man-made ideals and values. It is genuine poverty of the spirit. With a tender tenacity the Francis-can soul holds to this ideal of a humble poverty and a detached 10Though this tender apostrophe to his beloved Lady Poverty" is no longer regarded as a genuine writing of St. Francis, its spirit is certainly authentic. The same thought is expressed by Dante, Dioine Comedy, Paradiso, XI, 64-72. 135 ALEXANDER WYSE Review [or Religious humility. The most learned among the friars have been humble men: St. Anthony in the retirement of the friary at Montepaolo meekly hid' those great resources of theological intuition which lately won for him the title of Doctor of the Universal Church; and St. Bonaventure (at least in the legend which cannot 'have been made up from whole cloth) was discovered washing dishes when the papal envoys came bearing the cardinal's hat. The large number of can-onized Franciscan lay-brothers is assuredly a standing testimonial to the high esteem which the traditions of the order place on humility as a means of perfection: it shows that the life of lowly service of others, so perfect an imitation of Christ's self-emptying, is an inte-gral part of Franciscan spirituality. Mortification The whole idea of Franciscansim being to reproduce the life of the Saviour, positive penance has a palmary place in Franciscan living. The example of the suffering Saviour demands of His fol-lowers mortification and discipline. This universal obligation of Christians is, in Franciscan asceticism, elevated to the status of a positive and primary pursuit, the chief means and the most abiding guarantee of which are '~the poverty and humility of our Lord Jesus Christ." With a holy delight the Seraphic Father embraced this means of becoming more like the Ideal. Frequently he exposed himself to the cold,, simply that he might feel in his members the bitterness of that which nature abhors. In his eating, he refrained from anything over and above what was necessary to sustain life, on at least one occa-sion taking, absolutely nothing for forty days except half a loaf of bread. By the disciplines wherewith he chastised his body he sought to bring into subjection every unruly passion and emotion. If the extreme mortification of the Seraphic Lawgiver ha.s been tempered in the case of his followers (for how many will ever receive the extraordinary inspirations which were his wholly personal gift from the Holy Spirit? or will be called by grace to the degree of poverty and humility and penitential chastisements which have so set him apart?), there is yet incumbent upon all the obligation of a positive mortification in imitation of Christ. His followers have included such paragons of corporal p~nance as St. Peter of Alcantara. who for forty-six years scourged himself twice daily, and St. Felix of Cantalice who took his nightly repose kneeling on the floor after 136 Mag, 1951 FR~kNC[SC~kN SPIRITUALITY his daily rounds of begging in the streets of Rome. Yet, for the most part, a certain mildness (stemming from another no less holy facet of Francis' spirit) pervades the Franciscan concept of discipline. The Saviour Himself bade His disciples not to be sad while the BridegroOm was with them, and Francis instinctively" was one of the most joyous of beings. He arose at midnight to eat with the young friar ,who cried out with pangs of hunger. And he legislated that ordinarily the friars should not be obliged to fast, except on Fridays (a wholly revolutionary concept: for Christian religious), and that .those going through the world might use the Gospel-privilege of eating whatsoever was placed before them. The Noble Function of the Wilt These three qualities of poverty, ,humility, and mortification, constitute what may be termed the negative, the privative (or, in the consecrated terminology, the purgative) steps in Franciscan spiritual-ity. The ascent is completed with the positive and active forces of charity and prayer (which correspond to the unitive and illuminative ways). It is in this phase that Franciscan spirituality attains its perfection and sanctifyihg power. Having learned the boundless extent of divine charity, the Franciscan soul yearns to make a return; in its poverty and humility it has nothing else to give God but a return of love. The next step is the unreserved attachment to God, and limitless devotion to the creatures made by God for Christ. A deep awareness of his adopted sonsbip makes him ready to proclaim wlth,Francis, stripped even of the clothes his earthly father bad given him: "Now I can truly say; 'Our Father Who art in heaven.' " This sense of belonging tb God is fostered and st.rengthened by an ever-deepening devotion to Him in whom and for whom this sonship has been brought about. Thus .Franciscan spirituality, with a new intentnes_s, comes back to Christ, its starting point. Whatever honors, exaltsl and glorifies Christ, that is seen to be a means o~ displaying this charity toward God. Hence the Franciscan emphasis on devotion to the historical Christ-- particularly, as in the piety of Francis himself, to His Incarnation and Passion. Hence also that touching reverence for Christ as He yet lives among us in the Eucharist,11 in the priesthood and tlae- 11Francis' devotion to the Eucharist is one of the most important facets of his spiritual life. Father Felder's treatment of this theme (op. cir., chap. III) is ~specially illuminating. 137 ALEXANDER WYSE Review for Religious Church,12 and in the souls of the redeemed,is The will, the faculty of love, occupies in all Franciscan the- 91ogy, philosophy, and life a unique distinction of I51ace. A l~eritage clearly from Francis himself~with his ardent nature, his impulsive and forthright way of proceeding, his unqiaalified and unlimited dis-play of love for the God-Man--the role of the wilI .is, in the Fran-ciscan tradition, a pivotal one. There is a subtle but profound rela-tion between Franciscan~poverty and the generous use made of the agent of human .choice. Divested of all material things, the Francis-can soul finds itself endowed with "the freedom w.herewith Christ has made us free." No longer tied to the passing things of this earth, neither is it bound to the conventionalities of routine, custom, or society. The Poverello himself was one of the most uninhibited char-acters of history, a man da,ringly original and boldly enterprising. In an ever-expanding resolve to save souls for Christ, his venturesome spirit led him fo distant and dangerous shores, where he fearlessly presented himself to the Sultan before whom all Christendom was quaking. Unashamedly he asked (and obtained!) from the Pope for the little chapel of St: Mary of the Angels that plenary indulgence which had been previously conceded only for a pilgri.mage to the Holy Land. He entered into a holy pact with God Himself, wherein the mortified servant of Christ deserved to feel in his own'~flesh the sufferings of the Crucified. This same quality of directness, of daring, of wilful aiad pur-poseful action is always inherent in genuine Franciscanism, and shows itself no less in Franciscan spirituality. Tamed, modified, kept within reasonable check, it is a characteiistic which eminently befits the ~poor of sp!rit. Stripped of all desire of self-aggrandize-ment, the Franciscan seeks nothing of this world, fears nothing of its powerful ones. He is in a position to use the liberty of the sons of God. In a sort of reeling climax to liberty, he subjects himself to .the most complete obedience to God and God's delegates--for obedience is the ultimate in self-assertion, the wild and r~ckless sac-rificing of the right to self-will. 1-'2Cf. Felder, op. cit., for the testimony of Francis' profound reverence for the Church of Christ (chap. IV). 13Among the outstanding evidences of his zea! for the salvation of souls is the twelfth chapter of the "Regula II." It is one of the chief glories of the Franciscan tradition that Francis was the first founder to propose for his followers the ideal 6f '~going among the Saracens and other infidels." He thus helped to launch the greatest era of missionary activity after the Apostolic Age. 138 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY As the will attains its realization in action, inevitably the Fran- " ciscan vocation is one that stresses the apostolate~ Francis--.t,hough at times his soul craved the sweet delights of withdrawal from the world--discovered that the truest way of imitating the Master was, like Him, to go about, "doing good." In labors for the salvation of others Francis and his order seek to live the GoslSel of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Non sibi soli vivere, sed aliis proficere vult, Dei zelo ductus," the Church sings of him.14 In novel and revolutionary-~often 'in all but unpredictablem ways, the Franciscan spirit uses this liberty to bring all things into the kingdom ~designed, from before the foundation of the earth, for God's Eternal Son. There is indeed a great and challenging diversity of methods in the Franciscan apostolate, just as ,there is a most startling, originality discoverable in the Seraphic hosts. Men and women of rare indiyiduality, of almost unclassifiable "character, ~have pledged themselves to reproduce Christ--in themselves and in the world---by living the Gospel. Can there be in the legends of any othe'r religious institute a man so singular as Brother Juniper? so simple as Brother Giles? so unspoiled as Brother Masseo? Has any" other founder welcomed so enthusiastically into his foundation rob-bers who had infested the countryside? or been succeeded in his very lifetime by one so completely his opposite as Elias of Cortona? The Franciscan spirit can embrace, and Franciscan spiritualit~ does sanctify, with equal impartiality, a Duns Scotus of Oxford Univer-sity and a Benedict the Moor from the scullery of Palermo's dark monas~tery. The royal Louis of Toulouse professed the same Rule as the unlettered Paschal Baylon. The mystical Joseph of Cuper-tino is brother to the energetic Leonard of Port Maurice. It is indeed true that, as has been said, by the variety of its manifestations Fran-ciscanism takes on a character of universality, like Christianity itself, which in the Gospel is likened to a tree to which all the birds of the air may come to make their nests. Prayer ' While stressing apostolic actik, ity as an unceasing tribute to Christ the King, the Franciscart soul does not forget the value of prayer. After the example of the Master, Francis himself often interrupted his apostolic labors to refresh and restore his soul in a period of contemplation. Such contemplation, nonetheless, is 14Breoiariura Rornano-Seraphicurn, In festo S. P. N. Francisci, ad Laudes, Ant. 1. 139 ALEXANDER WYSE designed (as is the poverty and humility of the Gospel) to subserve the apostolic vocation. In contemplation the Franciscan draws "waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains"-~but only that in his preaching and ministry he may the more efficaciously slake the thirst of those who,~ like the hart panting after the fountains .of water, are thirsting after the strong Living God. Seraphic prayer finds its perfect symbol in the figure of Francis on Mount Alverno, his arms raised in the form of a cross. It finds its truest expression in the fervent and heartfelt prayer of the Poor Man on that mystical height: "Who art Thou, my God most sweet? What am I, Thy unprofitable servant and vilest of worms?''15 In explaining later to Brother Leo, his beloved com-panion, that these words expressed his grasp of the depths of the infinite goodness and wisdom and power of God, and the 'deplorable depths of his own vileness and misery, Francis left a classic outline of Franciscan prayer and meditation. It would, of course, be impossible here to explain the special characteristics of mental prayer and contemplation, as elaborated by the masters of Franciscan spirituality. It must suffice to point out two of its salient points: first, it manifests the common Franciscan dependence on the faculty of the will, being affective rather than intuitive; and, second, in prayer as in all else Christ remains the -center. The subjects of predilection for Franciscan meditation are the various phases of the life of the Incarnate Word, while the affec-tions of the heart are offered to the Eternal Father t~hrough the mediumship of Him who is the Source of all things. The truly Franciscan soul but borrows the words of the Seraphic Father: "Because we all are miserable sinners and are not worthy to call upon Thee, weo humbly.ask our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son in whom Thou wast well pleased, together with the Holy Ghost the Paraclete, to thank Thee." lSThe Little Flowers of St. Francis (Everyman's Library), p. 11 1. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY The subscription price of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is now: $3.00 per year for Domestic and Canadian Subscriptions; $3.35 per year for all foreign subscriptions. For further details please" see inside back cover. 140 Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi [EDITORS' NOTE: We present here the positive legislation contained in ,Sponsa Christi, the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII, given under date of Novem-ber 21, 1950, and published in the Acta Apostolicae 8edis, official publication of the Holy See, under date of January 10, 1951, pp. 15-21. The general statutes from the papal document given below are preceded by a lengthy historical and ex-hortatory introduction on the origin and development of the contemplative life for women consecrated" to God, pp. 5-15. ] GENERAL STATUTES FOR NUNS Article 1 § 1. The term nuns is used in this Apostolic Constitution as it is in the Code (c. 488, 7°). In addition to religious women with solemn vows, it includes those who have pronounced simple vows, perpetual or temporary, in moqasteries where solemn vows are actually taken or should be taken according to the institute, unless it certainly appears otherwise from the context or from the nature of the case. § 2. The legitimate use of the term nuns (c. 488, 7°) and the application of the laws concerning nuns are not at variance with the following: (1) s.imple profession made in monasteries according to law (§ 1); (2) minor pontilical cloister prescribed or duly granted for mo~iasteries; (3) the pe?formance of apostolic works which are joined with the contemplative life either by reason of a provision approved and confirmed by the Holy See for certain orders or by the " lawful prescription or grant of the Holy See to certain monasteries. § 3. This Apostolic Constitution does not affect the juridical status of: (1) religious congregations (c. 488, 2°) and the Sisters who are members of them (c. 488, 7°), who take only simple vows according to their institute; (2) societies of women living in com-mon after the manner of religious and their members (c. 673). Article 2 § 1. The special form of religious monastic life which nuns are obliged to follow carefully and for which they are destined by the Church .is the canonical contemplative life. § 2. The term, canonical contemplative life, does not denote that internal and theological contemplation to which all persons in religious.institutes as well as those living in the world are invited, 141 POPE PIUS Xll Revieto for Religious and which individuals everywhere can lead by themselves, but it sig-nifies the external profession of religious discipline which, by reason of cloister, or the exercises of piety, prayer, and mortification, or finally by reason of the work which the nuns are obliged to under-take, is directed to interior contemplation in such a way that their whole life and whole activity can easily and should etficaciously be imbued with zeal for it. § 3.If canonical contemplative life cannot be habitually ob-served under a strict, regular discipline, ,the monastic character is neither to be granted nor, if it be had already, is it to be retained. Article 3 § 1. The solemn vows of religion which are pronounced by all the members of a monastery or at least by the members o17 one, class constitute the characteristic note in virtue of which a monastery of women is legally considered among the regular orders and not among the religious congregations (c. 488, 2°). Moreover, all the pro-fessed religious women in, these monasteries come under the term regulars according to'canon 490, and are properly speaking not called Sisters but nuns (c. 488, 7°). § 2. All monasteries in which only simple vows are taken can obtain a restoration of solemn vows. Indeed, unless truly grave rea-sons prevent it, they will be solicitous about taking them again. Article 4 While always keeping for all monasteries those character-istics which are, as it were, natural to it, the stricter cloister of nuns which is called pontifical shall in future be distinguished into two classes: major and minor. § 2. i o Major pontifical cloister, namely, that which is described in the Code (cc. 600-602) ,is clearly confirmed by this Our Apostolic Constitution. By Our Authority, the Sacred Congregatio~i of Reli-gious will declare the causes for which a dispensation fromthe major cloister may be given, so that, while the nature of cloister is kept unimpaired, it may more suitably be adapted to the circumstances of our times. 2° Major pontifical cloister, without prejudice to § 3, 3°, must flourish by reason of law in all monasteries which profess the contemplative life exclusively. § 3. i° Minor pontifical cloister will retain those characteristics of the old cloister of nuns and will be protected with those sanc- 142 May, 1951 SPONSA CHRISTI tions which the Instructions of the Holy See expressly define as neces-sary for the preservation and safeguardifig of its natural purpose. 2° Subject to this minor pontifical cloister are the monas-teries of nuns with solemn vows which, by their institute or by legitimate gran~, undertake work with externs in such a way that quite a number of religious and a notable part of the house are habitually devoted to these occupations. 3° Similarly, each and every monastery in which only simple vows are taken, even though devoted exclusively to contem-plation, must be subject at least to the prescriptions of this cloister. § 4. 1° Pontifical major or minor cloister must be considered a ¯ necessa)y condition not only that solemn vows may be taken (§ 2) but also that those monasteries in which simple vows are taken (§ 3) may in the future l~e considered as true monasteries of nuns according .to canon 488, 7°. 2° If even the rules for the minor pontifical cloister cannot be generally observed, the solemn vows which may have been had are to be taken away. § 5. 1° The minor pontifical cloister is to be observed in places where the nuns do not take solemn vows, especially in those points in,which it is distinguished from the cloister of congregations or that of orders of men. 2° Howeve'r, if it is clearly evident that even the minor cloister cannot be observed in an individual monastery, that monas-tery must be changed into a house of a congregatibn or of a society. Article 5 § 1. Among women consecra[ed to God the Church deputes only nuns to offer public prayer to God in her name, in choir (c. 610, § 1) or privately (c.'610, § 3) ; and she places upon them a grave obligation by law to carry out this public prayer daily at'the canon-ical hours according to the norm of their constitutions. § 2. All monasteries of nuns as well as individual nuns, whether professed of simple or solemn vows, are everywhere obliged to recite the Divine Office in .choir according to c. 610, § 1 and the norms of their constiti~tions, § 3. According to c. 610, § 3, nuns who have not taken solemn vows are not strictly obligated to the private recitation of the canon-ical hours when they have been absent from choir unless their con-stitutions expressly provide otherwise (c. 578, 2°). Nevertheless, 143 POPE PlUS XII Reuiew for Religious as was stated above (Art, 4), it is the mind of the Church not only that solemn vows should be restored everywhere but also that, if they cannot be restored for the present, nuns who have simple perpetual vows in place of solemn vows should faithfully fulfill the work of the Divine Office. § 4. In all monasteries the conventual Mass corresponding to the Office of the day according to the rubrics is to be celebrated in so far as this is possible (c. 610, § 2). Article 6 § 1. 1° Unlike other religious houses of women, monasteries 9f nuns are autonomous (sui iurfs) by reason of the Code and according to its norms (c. 488, 8°). 2° The superiors (antistitae) of individual monasteries of nuns are major superiors by law and are endowed with all th~ pow- ,ers which are due to major superiors (c.48'8, 8°), except some that from the context or from the nature of the power would concern men only (c. 490). § 2. 1° The extent of the condition of independence or autonomy (sui iuris), as it is called, of monasteries of nuns is defined by both common and particular law. 2° The juridical guardianship which the law grants tO the local ordinary or to the superiors regular over individual mon-asteries is in no way derogated from by this Constitution or by federations of monasteries allowed by the Constitution (Art. 7) and ,established by its authority. 3° The juridical relations of individual monasteries with the local ordinaries or with the superiors regular continue to be regu-lated by ~he common law as well as by particular law. § 3. This Constitution does not determine whether individual monasteries are subject to the authority of the local ordinary or, within the 'limits of the law, are exempt from it and. are subject to the superior regular. Article 7 § I. Monasteries of nuns are not only autonomous (c. 488, 8°) but also juridically ~ distinct and independent of each other and only united and joined together by spiritual and moral bonds even though by law they be subject to the same first order or religious institute. § 2. 1° The formation of federations is in no way opposed to May, 1951 SPONSA CHRISTI the common liberty of monasteries,'which is accepted as a m.atter of fact rather ,than imposed by law; nor should, these federations be considered as forbidden by law or in any way less in accordance with ¯ the nature and purposes of the religious life 6f the nuns. 2° Though not prescribed by any general law, federations of monasteries are, nevertheless, strongly recommended by the Holy See not only to prevent the evils and disadvantages which can arise from complete separation bug also to promote regular observance and the contemplative life. § 3~. The formation'of every kind of federation of monasteries of nuns or of a union of federation~ is reserved to the Holy See. § 4. Every federation or union must necessarily be ruled and governed by its own laws approved by the Holy See. § 5. 1° Without prejudice to Article 6;§§ 2 and 3. and to the special type of autonomy defined above (§ 1), there is no objection, in the formation of federations of monasterieS, ',to the introduction of equitable conditions and mitigations of autonomy, which may seem to-be necessary or more useful, after the example of certain monastic congregations and orders, whether of canons or of monks. 2° Nevertheless, any types of federation which seem con-trary to the aforesaid autonomy (§ 1) and which tend towards centralization of government are reserved to the Holy See in a special manner and may not be introduced without Its express permission. § 6. Federations of monasteries are of pontifical right according to the norms of canon law both because of their source of origin and - of the authority upon which they directly depend and by which they are governed. § 7. The'Holy See may exercise immediate supervision and authority, as the case may require, over a federation through a reli-gious assistant, whose duty it will be not only to represent the Holy See but alsb to foster the genuine spirit proper to the order and to give superiors assistanc~ and advice in the right and prudent govern-ment of the federation. §8. 1° The statutes of a federation should conform to the pre-scribed norms to be prepared by the Sacred Congregation of Religious by Our Authority and to the nature, laws, spirit, and traditions, whether ascetical or disciplinary or juridicgl and apostolic, of the reli-gious order concerned. 2° The principal purpose of federations of monasteries is 145 POPE PIUS XII Review for Religious to f~rnish mutual fraternal a~sistance not only by fostering the reli-gious spirit and regular monastic discipline, but also by promoting ¯ the economic welfare. 3° Should the case arise, special norms are to be proVided in order to approve statutes through which the permission and moral obligation of transferring nuns from one monastery to another should be regulated when these measures are considered necessary for the government of the monasteries, the training of the novices {n~ a common novitiate established for all or for many of the monasteries, and for other moral or mate}ial needs of the monasteries or of the nuns. Article 8 " § 1. The monastic work, which even the nuns who lead a con-templative life are obliged to perform, should as far as possible be suited to the rule, constitutions, and traditions of the individuaI .orders. ~. § 2. ,This work should be regulated in such a way that, along 'with other sources of income approved by the Church (cc. 547-551, 582) and with the abundant assistance of Divine Providence, it will provide secure and fitting support for the nuns. § 3. 1° Local ordinaries, superiors regular, and superiors, of monasteries and of federations are obliged to use all diligence that the nuns may never be wanting in necessary, adequate, and profitable work. 2° On ~heir part, nuns are bound in conscience not only to earn their doily bread by the honest sweat of their brow, as the Apostle teaches (II Them. 3:10), but they should also make them-selves more skillful day by day in the different kinds of work required by present times. Article 9 In order to be found faithful to their divine, apostolic vocation, all nuns must not only use the general means o~ the monastic aposto-late, but they shall also attend to the following:- . § 1. Nuns who have definite works of a particular apostolate prescribdd in their constitutions or in approved rules are obliged to devote themselves entirely and constantly to these works according to the norms of their constitfitions, statutes, or rules. § 2. Nuns who lead an exclusively contemplative life should observe .the .following: 146 May, 1951 MEDITATION FOR A MOTHER SUPERIOR 1° If, according to their particular traditions, they now have or bare had a special kind of external apostolate, let them faith-fully retain it after having adapted it, without harm to their life of contemplation, to modern needs; if they have lost it, let them dili-gently take means to restore it. If there is any doubt about adapta-tion, let them consult the Holy See. 2° On the other hand, if the purely contemplative life, according to the approved constitutions of the order or its traditions, has never, been joined to the external apostolate' in a permanent and enduring manner up to.the present time, then, only in cases of neces-sity and for a limited time, the nuns may, and at lea~t out of charity should, occupy themselves with those forms of the apostolate, "espe-cially such as are unique or personal, which may seem to be com-patible with the contemplative life as observed in their order according to the norms to .be fixed by the Holy See. h edi!:a!:ion t:or a Nkot:her Superior Mother Mary Elizabeth, D.C. Love knoweth no measure Feareth no labor Maketh sweet all that is bitter Findeth rest in God alone LOVE knoweth no measure, no measure of forgiveness. A group of persons living in such. close proximity as religious must, are keenly aware of the weakness of human nature. They begin to understand why Our Lord on the cross prayed: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." And if this understanding comes to those who have no special rseponsibility for other souls, how ~rnuch more dearly to those whom God invests with His authority? So the Sister Superior must learn to love without measure, in the sa'me manner as Christ has lo~ved her. It is well to recall that the rulers of the Jews said that Christ was guided by Beelzebub . Superiors follow (or should follow) more closely in the footsteps of Christ, and they musthave His spirit. He dictated a very beautiful com-mand one evening: '"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 147 Ma~!, 1951 MEDITATION FOR A MOTHER SUPERIOR Feareth no labor: The superior must never call a moment her own." Her time belongs to the Sisters; consequently there should be no so-called "inter,ruptions" in her life. In. giving herself to the community, either directly to the individual members or indirectly. by her care of the house, she is but doing her duty. She should be the last to think of rest, of ease from work, of consolations. "It is for thee to be the support of tl~y brethren." To be the support, the strength, of the weak, the despondent, the discouraged religious. The superior has to deal with each soul in these categories asa mother does with a sick (or peevish) child. She makes sweet the wood of the cross so that her daughters may carry it willingly, carry it joyfu~ly, and, at the end, triumphantly, to the portal of Heaven. Maketh sweet all that is bitter: To give one's will into the hands of another, a symbol of slavery, is the hardest sacrifice God asks of man. To make light the burden of obedience and to sweeten the bitterness found in community life is the task of the superior of the house. In doing this she will be called upon to. forget herself :i thousand times. In each community the superior should image the Rule. In her the religious should find the peace, the joy of laboring for Christ, and the rest tfiat comes to a contented heart doing all for God. Findeth rest in God alone: Truly this is the only consolation worthy of the name. It is reserved, not to superiors, but to the superior after God's own heart. In distractions often, in cares with-out number, in burdens multiplied, the superior should seek rest only in the Heart of Christ. When the power that comes from God alone was conferred upon her, she was set apart. Not that she was made better than others, not that by the very fact of authority she was made perfect, but only because God delegated to her the power that is His by righ,.t. "'Going-up-into the mountain He called unto Him whom He would . " Not because of the spiritual worth of the individual but only because God wills it is a man or a woman set apart to lead and govern other souls. If Christ called all to come to Him that they might be refreshed, how much more those who are burdened with a greater share of the Cross of the Lord? OUR CONTRIBUTORS ALEXANDER WYSE is the director of the Academy of American Franciscan History, Washington, D.C. MOTHER MARY ELIZABETH is prioress of the Carmel of St. Joseph, Long Beach, California. C. A. HERBST and AUGUSTINE KLAAS are members of the faculty at St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. 148 Current: Spiri!:ual Writ:ing Augustine Klaas~ S.3. From La Vie Spirituelle IN.THE MARCH .1950 number of La Vie Spirituelle there is an intriguing little symposium on the subject: "It is difficult to grow old." The matter is of current, practical interest for religious, who too must learn the not-so-easy art of growing old gracefully. Doctor H. Muller pres.ents an introductory survey, noting the marked increase in the number of old people, owing to the reduction of infant mortality, the increasingly successful fight against disease, and. other factors, all of which are adding years to the life-span of society's various classes, including religious. (In the U. S. A. since 1900, a period in which the population has doubled, the.number of persons over sixty-five years old has quadrupled, from three to twelve million in the fifty-year period.) Unfortunately, along with an increase in numbers, has Come a noticeable change of status. When the old were comparatively few, they were honored and respected, and their advice was dutifully sought, but the situation has now greatly altered, presenting nev~ problems of adjustment both psychological and social. Also; the old today are too often "bad patients," discouraging attention and affection, precisely because many have not learned how to grow old in a calm, mature .way. When the life-span was barely thirty years, the saying used to be: "Brother, you are going to have to die." Today it is rather: "Brother, you are going to have to get old." You will be old, perhaps ten, twenty, and even thirty years. The prob-lem must be courageously met and solved on the material and~ above all, on the spiritual plane. H. Duesberg draws a charming portrait of the aged as found in the Old Testament, comparing it not unfavorably with the one sketched in the ancient classical writers and those of the Middle and Far East. After an upright, useful life, the aged man is represented as living out his long years with dignity, while at the same time going down steadily and inexorably to the tomb. Old age may be burdensome and subject to various untoward vicissitudes: never-theless, it is always preferable to death, for as Ecclesiastes (9:4) says 149 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reuieu~ [or Religious somewhat quaintly: "A living dog is better than a dead lion." Old age merits respect and reverence: "Rise up before the hoary head, and honor the person of the aged man" (Leviticus 19:32). Old age is itself the reward for honoring the old, especially one's parents: "Honor thy father and mother . that thou mayest live a long time" (Deuteronom~ 5:16). What splendid examples of old age there are in the Old Testament: Tobias, Sara~ Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David. Of course, as we might expect, there were also some unworthy old persons, such as the two accusers of Susanna. The old are the living embodiment of the 15ast, particu-larly of the previous generation. Even after they have died they continue to live on in their children and in the memory they leave behind them of their wisdom and experience. Duesberg concludes: "The serenity of the aged ih the. Old Testament is remarkable, for they drew a maximum of confidence and resignation from what they themselves had learned and from what God had taught them." The increasing number of the old presents also an economic problem, a problem of material assistance, which the symposium does not cover. However, Armand Marquisat tells of an interesting association of men, formed in Paris to help solve the social probl,em of the aged. The men call themselves the Little Brothers of the Poor. The group was started by three gentlemen in Paris at Easter 1946: it now numbers over thirty. These laymen, propose to help the old in ev~ry possible way in the places where they live, fre- "quently alone and in need. Some of the Brothers are part-time, others full-time workers, who visit these aged people several times a week, to look after their food, lodging, clothing, medical, and spir-itual care. Professional men and workers of all types are members, and all have placed themselves under the patronage of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a lay institute that vows to serve the aged in this ,very practical, effective, ChriStian way. The symposium, concerned mainly with the spiritual side of the problem, contains a good article by Father Ji Perinelle, O.P., a reli-gious of advanced age and wide experience. He notes that people grow old unevenly. Some keep their mental and bodily faculties intact almost till the very _end; others deteriorate more rapidly and are subject to disease: All experience a certain loss of liberty, a growing dependence on others, and a gradual isolation that does not: lighten their.physical or moral iils. Countering'the~e, there is a tendency among the old themselves to excess in one direction or May, 1951 (]URR~NT WRITING another, and very frequently a pronounced egotism, showing itself in constant speaking onl~ of self and one'Sqlls, or complaining, or demanding that every whim be satisfied, or a lack of gratitude for favors done. Certainly these are not the .proper attitudes that age should bring along with it.' ¯ Old age is'a sthge of life willed by God and like the other stages should contribute to the advancement of one's spiritual good. God governs old age by His Providence; He is all--powerful, all-wise, and all-loving (Rorn. 8:28). The old have the grace at hand to meet the trials of this period of life (II. Corr. 4:16).~ Perhaps St. Paul is the great example of a man growing old in the right way; he did not falter towards the end, but finished victoriously the combat and the race (II. Tim. 4:6-8). Father Perinelle gives some wise counsels for the aging. The first group pertain to the exterior, the second to the interior life. a) Health: Don't become obsessed with care for your health, always an.xiously looking at the thermometer, taking the pulse count, noticing the draughts, etc. Restrict gradually your external activity; live a well~ordered life; keep up a certain minimum of physical exer-cise; attend, faithfully to personal hygiene; watch eating habits; meet weakness~ illness, and finally death itself with resignation and cheer-fulness, as preludes to the call of the Master. b) Work: Keep on doing some real work, physical or mental, at a fixed time every day, no matter how little it may be. But do not persist in doing'work, for which you are no longer fitted. You are not a good judge in this matter; hence listen to the advice of others. Hand over your principal tasks to younger hands, even though this is not an easy thing to do. And don't imp0se.your advice on others, either. Accept the fact that your counsel, when asked, often will not be followed and finally will no longer even be asked for. c) Relations with others: Try to keep in touch with your life-long friends, but do not be locked-up l in the past. Giveyourself generously to the rising generation. Y~u are the bridge between the old and the new. Times change and certainly some real progress is. being made in the wo~ld. Your e.xperience can .contribute to it, if you are not intr.ansigent in clinging to the past. Be like the Catholic Church in this matter, sanely adapting herself to modern conditions. And keep up with the times, if you ~an, but above all keep an open, mind. Read something daily in a slow, reflecting way~ Maintain a 151 AUGUSTINE KLRAS Reoieto for Religious kindly sense of humor in your dealings 'with others. There are two dangerous .attitudes regarding the new members of your religious order or congregation: the first is to have little con-fidence in their capacity and hence to lower the standards of religious life in their favor. This must not be done, but rather a total giving of s~lf must be demanded of young religious. The second wrong attitude is to wish to impose rigidly on the newcomers what you yourself went through. No, prudent adaptation is what is wanted here. Let them prefer reading St. Paul tb reading Rodriguez! And do not attempt to impose inflexibly on the younger generation o.f religious your methods of teaching and apostolate. Guide them, surely, but leave them some initiative of their own. Finally, do not try to appear younger than you really are and thus make yourself ridiculous. Act your age. As for the interior life, remember that God loves the old in a special way because they .are weak and feeble, just as ,for the same reason He has a particular love for children. If you are faithful and prayerful, God will keep you company to your Emmaus when "it is towards evening and the day is now far spent." Two things are to be noted spiritually: you must acquire a spirit of detachment and an understanding or feeling for eternity. All things are passing: the old are very much aware of this. It should make them reflect and pass a true judgment on the fleeting things of time. Past sins must be acknowledged. There must be contrition and penance, but also an immense trust and confidence in God. The o!d feel their poverty-- empty hands after such a long life; God must be their riches now. The old feel their weakness; let God be their strength. They feel powerless to do good; God is now their all. , A sense of eternity must be gradually acquired by the old, for the beatific vision and all that it implies is drawing near. Live in the hope of it; await it longingly. Be humble, be kind, be tolerant of others, pray much, offer up the remaining days of suffering and your Ideath, pray continually throughout the day for y6urself, for your dear ones, for the world, for the Church. See to it that extreme unction and the last rites be administered to you betimes.' Death is the gate,way to eternity: be at peace, cheerful, joyful, expectant. Father A. Masson, ordained recently at the age of seventy-four, likens old age to the season of Advent. It is a time of hope,, ending in a birth. All the Advent liturgy and the prophecies of the Old 152 Mug, 1951 Q~URRENT WRITING Testament can be al3plied luminously to old age. There are three births: the physical one to natural life; the spiritual one of baptism to supernatural life; and the last one to the life of the beatific vision. Are not the death-days of the saints and martyrs called their bi~th-days? Let me close this subject with this little paragraph by Father Sertillanges, O.P., who at the age of eighty-five wrote as beautifully as ever: "For the Christian, old age is not a final farewell to what-ever appeals and desperately clings to our lust for life. Quite the contrary, it is the full growth and final flowering of hope. It is the threshold of what had merely been suggested by t.he springtime of life. It is the first sight of land after an apparently interminable voyage. It is the veil which has been torn from an illusion and exposes to view the supreme realities. Old age is the approach to God. Descent into the grave, since i~ represents, but a partial truth, is an illusion. Rather do we ascend." From Reoue d'Asc~tique et de Mgstique In the January-March 1950 number of Revue d'Asc~tique et de M~tstique there is a seven-article symposium on the general subject: Spiritual Problems of Our Times and Ignatian Spiritualitg. I should like to summarize the article by Father Louis Verny, S.J., on a vital point of Ignatian spirituality, namely, Ignatian prayer, a subject about which there is sometimes misunderstanding and error. The title is "in actione contemplatious," which may be translated approxi-mately: "in action contemplative," or "contemplative in the midst of action," or "contemplative while active." This type of prayer, along with others, is mentioned in a letter of Father Jerome Nadal, S.J., who wasin close contact ~ith Saint Ignatius Loyola for many years. I quote the passage of Nadal's letter from the French of Father Verny: "That prayer is a capital item of prime necessity in a religious institute is most evident. I am speaking of the prayer referred, to in this text of St. Paul: "I will pray with the spirit, but I will'pray with the understanding also" (I Cot. 14:15). It is the prayer which contains, all the phases of spiritual development: the purga-tive, illuminative, and unitive. Wherefore actively, and even avidly, does the Society give herself to it in full measure in Christ Jesus, For there is no one of her members that she does not at first start off .with meditations suited to first conversion and to the putting off of the 153 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reoieto for Religious old man. Then, by means of contemplations on all the mysteries of Christ ~we seek.to develop ever more in ourselves the realized knowl-edge of Him who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Finally, we find repose in love. What is the necessary beginning of. prayer we find again at its term: charity, the highest and sublimest of the virtues. So that, filled with a very ardent zeal drawn from prayer, we set out for our ministries full of joy in Christ 3esus, with humil-ity of heart, satisfaction, and courage. This is what we draw from the~ book of Exercises. "Although this is no't the time to treat of prayer, there is a fact which I do not wish to omit. Father Ignatius had received from God the .special grace to rise without effort 'to the contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity and to repose in it a lon~ time~ Sometimes he was led by grace to contemplate the whole Trinity; he was 'trans-ported' into it and united himself to it with his whole heart, with ¯ intense sentiments o~ devotion, and a deep spiritual relish. Some-times he contemplated the Father alone, sometimes' the Son, some-times the Holy Spirit. This contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity was accorded him often at other periods of his life, but he received it principally, and almost exclusively even, during the last years of his earthly pilgrimage. "If such prayer was granted to Saint Ignatius, it was a great privilege and of an entirely different order. But "he likewise had another privilege which made him see God present in all things and in every action, with a lively sense of spiritual realities; contem-plative in the midst of action, according to his ordinary expression: finding God in all things. Now, this grace which illumined his soul 'was revealed to us as much by a kind of brightness which emanated from his countenance as by the enlightened sureness with which he acted in Christ. We were filled with admiration for it, our hearts were much consoled by it, and we felt as though the overflow of these graces was descending on ourselves. Furthermore we believe that this privilege which we noted in Saint Ignatius is likewise granted to the whole Society; we are confident that the gift of this prayer and contemplation awaits us all in the Society, and we strongly assert that it is a part of our vocation." Three tfiings are brought out in the text of Father Nadal's rev.ealing letter: 1) ordinary prayer~ and ordinary contemplation, .that is, contemplation in the sense in which it is used in the Spiritual Exercises; 2) infused contemplation, or mystical prayer, with which 154 May, 1951 CURRENT WRITING Saint Ignatius was greatly favored; 3) a state of soul described by the phrase "in action contemplative" or "contemplative in the midst of action," which Saint Ignatius cultivated himself and recommended most highly for his sons, and Father Nadal considered an integral part of a Jesuit's vocation. We are interested here in this last type of prayer, to which Father Verny devotes most of his article. Although it does characterize Jesuit spirituality, it is not for Jesuits only, but can be utilized, at least to some extent, by all.orders and congregations engaged in the active apostolat.e. At the outset Father Verny compares the Jesuit formula "in actione contemplatious . in action contemplativeS' with the forrrfula -of.St. Thomas Aquinas, which can be expressed somewhat like this: "'contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere'" ("to contemplate and to communicate to others .what one has contemplated"). There is some dispute as to whether St. Thomas's formula ref~s to what is technically called the "mixed life," the life of the active apostolate, because it seems rather to accentuate the contemplative element. If it does, it differs from :the Ignatian formula, since the latter certainly puts the stress on the active apostolate. Also, the Thomistic formula seems to refer to alternate activities, namely, to contemplate and then to impart the fruit of one's contemplation, .whereas the Ignatian formula indicates something simultaneous, apostolic action perme-ated with contemplation. Father Verny then takes up the Jesuit formula and has no diffi-culty proving from the Spiritual Exercises and the Formula of the Institute that apostolic action is the vocation of the Jesuit. The Society of Jesus is an essentially active order, a mobile force ready to give apostolic service of almost any and every kind. What is the contemplative element that must permeate its active apostolate? Father Verny says that it can be expressed in two ways, each one implying the other. The contemplative element in the active apostolate is the state of soul resulting from the complete, unconditional, definitive self-surrender to Jesus Christ and total enlistment in H~s cause, spoken of in The Spiritual Exercises. It is begun in the Kingdom meditation, enhanced by the Two Standards, perfected by the Three Degrees of Humility, completed and actuated day after day by the intimacy with Our Lord that is derived from the daily contemplation of Him in the Gospels. This close intimacy with Christ is the fruit of the Second Week, perfected and made more 155 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Ret@to ~or Religious precise in the rest "of the Exercises, and extended throughout life, since the contemplation of the Gospels is a life-long task. It" is renewed every day at Holy Mass and Holy Communion, and in visits to the Blessed Sacrament. It expresses itself in frequent thought of' Christ, confidences, exchange of gifts, and the acquire-ment of a common mind with Christ. It is the asslmilation and "putting on of Christ," who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Father Leonce de Grandmaison calls it "virtual prayer"--a recalling of the presence of God and an actuation more or less'explicit of "that transcendental love which we owe to God Our Lord." He points out some of' its qualities: "apostolic interests placed above selfish interests; divine views over human views; the spirit of Christ pre-ferred to the spirit of the world." This thinking with Christ, this participation in His interior dis-positions, this ever more perfect assimilation and putting on of Christ, can be expressed in a second way, namely, by using the language of the Institute. I cite some of the more important pas-sages. For instance, he who enters the Society of 3esus must take care "always to have before his eyes first God, th~n the spirit of the Insti-tute, which is a way of ascending to Him." Again, the seventeenth of .the Rules of the Surnrnar~ : "Let all endeavor to have a right intention, not only in their state of life, but in all particulars, seeking in them always sin.cerely to serve and please the divine Goodness for itself . And in all things let them seek God, casting off as much as possible all love of creatures, that they may place their whole affection on the Creator of them, loving Him in all creatures and them all in Him, according to His most holy and divine Will." The significant phrases "for the greater glory, of God," "for the greater service of God" constantly recur in the Spiritual Exercises and in the Constitutions. Here is what we read in the preamble to the Election: "In every good Election, as far as regards ourselves, the eye of the intention ought to be single, looking only to the end for which I was ~reated, which is, for the praise of God our Lord . . ." Besides a right intention, a spirit of faith must be had, especially" with regard to obedience. A few selections at random from the Constitutions: "acknowledging the Superior, whoever he be, as holding the place of Christ our Lord." With regard to illness: "using pious and edifying words, showing that he accepts l~is sick-ness as a gift of our Creator. and Lord." These ideas are especially clear in the seventh part of the Constitutions, where there is question 156 Ma~t, 1951 CURRENT WRITING of apostolic ministries in the strict sense, but they also form an under-current in all the parts and also in the General Examen. The twenty-ninth rule, on external comportment, ends: "and hence it will follow that, considering one another, they will increase in devo-tion and praise our Lord God, whom every one must strive to acknowledge in another as in His image." Thus we see sufficiently that to be "contemplative in the midst of action" involves essentially a kno~ving, a loving, and a putting on of Christ ever more and more, and various ways of seeking and finding God in all things, persons, and events, especially by a right intention and the spirit of faith. Father Verny points out three saints in whom we can easily recognize this excellent state of soul, because they were eminently "contemplative in the midst of action." The first is St. Ignatius himself, whom Father Nadal describes in the last part of the letter cited above. The second is blessed Peter Faber. After noting his manifold works for the Church, the fifth lesson of his Office con-tinues: "And while unceasingly he was doing such great deeds for the glory of God, he was with heart and mind so united to God that he seemed to be occupied With nothing but heavenly things." May we not apply to him the words of Holy ~Scripture: oculi mei semper ad Dominum . my eyes are always on the Lord"? The third example is $t. Vincent de Paul, as can also be readily seen from his Office. No doubt we could add many more: Francis. Xavier, Peter Canisius, Francis Regis, Isaac Jogues, Peter Claver, but also Charles Borromeo, Francis de Sales, Alphonsus Liguori, the holy Cur~ of Ars, Francesca Cabrini, and many others, both men and women. For them God has become an atmosphere, and all their activity takes place in this atmosphere. The activity may be very intense, overwhelming and extremely distracting, still it leaves intact unity and liberty of soul. Amid all the bustle and confusion, interiorly there is real silence and recollection. Send Saint Francis Xavier or Blessed Peter Faber on as many missions as you will, you will not change the spiritual atmosphere in which they move. ~ Multiply the" letters of St. Ignatius or the human miseries which St. Vincent de Paul tried to alleviate, deep down within, their tranquility of soul remains, their "conversation is in heaven." They are "contemplative in the mids~ of action." Their "eyes are always on the Lord." Of course, all this is an ideal, and a very high one. To reach it the~e are two stage~. The first emphasizes~the ascetical element. It 157 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reviev., for Religious consists in the systematic and persevering practice of various spiritual ~exercises: prayer, intimacy with Christ, right intention, purity of heart, spirit of faith, presence of God, mortification of the external senses and the internal powers of the soul, faithfulness to grace and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, the examen of conscience playing a major role. The second phase has no fixed rules or chartered course. It makes use of Father de Caussade's "sacrament of the present ;noment." It employs more frequently Father de Maumigny's "interior retreats." It consists essentially in a steady increase of faith, hope, and love of God and fellow-men, together with a growing docility to the Holy Spirit and use of His gifts. Perhaps the second stage can' be summdd up by Father Louis Lallemant in his Fourth Principle (chapter 2, article 1) : "The goal for which we should aim, after having for long time exercised ourselves in purity of heart, is to be so possessed and ruled by the Holy Spirit, that it is He alone who directs our p0wers,and our senses, and go.verns all our movements both interior and exterior, and that we abandon ourselves entirely by a spiritual renouncement of all our desires and personal gratifications. Thus we shall live no more in ourselves, but in 2esus Christ, by faithful cooperation with His divine Spirit, and by perfect subjection of all 'our rebelliousness to the power of His grace." The more this takes place, the closer we are coming to holiness and also to the mystical state, though the latter seems to be only for the very few. At this advanced level there is scarcely any difference between action and prayer, so much is action impregnated and permeated with prayer. The striving for this type of prayer amidst action is what St. Ignatius wanted in his followers. It is about this that Father Polanco wrote in behalf of Ignatius to Father Urban Fernandez, Rector of Coimbra, on June 1, 1551 : "As for prayer and meditation, except in a case of special necessity . our Father prefers that we t~y to find God in all things rather than devote much consecutive time to that exercise. He desires to see all the members of the Society animated with such a spirit that they do not find less devotion in works of charity and obedience than in prayer and meditation, since they ought to do nothing except for the love and service of Our Lord." This is the grand objective for which not only Jesuits But all religious and diocesan priests engaged in the active apostolate may and should strive~ and with God's grace ultimately achieve. 158 B ook/ eviews Four works by H. Pinard de la Boullaye, S.J.-- SAINT IGNACE DE LOYOLA, DIRECTEUR D'AMES. Pp. Ixxlx ,--1- 362. Aubier, I-=dltions Montaigne. LA SPIRITUALIT¢ IGNATIENNE: Textes. Choisls et pr&sent6s. Pp. I "-t- 4S7. Libralrle Plon, Paris. EXERCISES SPIRITUELS Selon la M6thode .de Saint Icjnace. Tome Pre-mier, Les Exercises, 7 ~:dltlon, revue et augment~e. Pp. xxvill ~ 314. Beauchesne ef Ses Fils, Paris, 1950. LES I~TAPES DE RI~DACTION DES EXERCISES DE S. IGNACE. 7 l'=-dltion, revue et corrig~e. Pp. viii -I- 76. Beauchesne et Ses Fils, Paris, 1950. After acquiring eminent distinction in such fields as comparative religion and religious experience and in giving the Lenten conferences at Notre-Dame, Paris, Fr. Pinard de la Boullaye has in recent years been devoting his great talents to writing on Ignatian spirituality. Among several volume~ on that general theme there are four to which we would call attention. Saint lgnace de Lo.qola, Directeur d'Ames opens with a long preface ~vhich presents the sources of Ignatian spirituality, its leading ideas, its general characteristics, and its value, and then an account of the writings of St. Ignatius and their character. The main body of the work consists of 314 pages of extracts, with notes and explana.- tions, from the original Sources. These excerpts are arranged according to different topics; for example, "the apostle of order and the greater glory of God," ". of self-control," ". of zeal," and so on. Thus in a moment one'could easily find in their authentic form St. Ig-natius's thoughts on many important points in the interior life. La Spiritualitd lqnatienne is similar in structure; and in content it is complementary. First a fairly lengthy preface gives a general description of Ignatian spiritual doctrine. Then in a systematic way the whole of the spiritual life, ascetical and mystical, is presented in selections, not so much this time from St. Ignatius himself, as from his 3esuit sons. This book therefore is an anthology, topically ar-ranged, of 3esuit spirituality. After a brief indication of a basic idea from the saint; various developments of it from 3esuit spiritual lit-erature are presented. Numerous notes and references could intro-duce one to further study of the same subject. A't the end of the book there is a very useful collection of brief biographical and biblio- 159 BOOK REVIEWS graphical notices of the Society's spiritual authors. Exercises Spiri(uels is the first of a four-volume set on St. Ig-natius's Exercises. It may be said that it is designed to explain them, whereas those that follow deoelop them in the form of retreats. However, it is not simply a commentary. It is proposed as "notes," and rather deals with what seem td be the essential ideas of St. Ig-natius, and the principal reasons why he chose such considerations and arranged them as he did. Thus, it is hoped, the right under-standing of the text will be facilitated. This book will no doubt 0 take a foremost place among writings on the Exercises.One special merit of it is a certain wholesome originality. ~ Les t~tapes de Rddaction is a small, but very interesting work on the evolution of the Exercises themselves. The process went on from 1521 to 1548, and in it six different stages or phases are distinguished and studied, If the author:s conclusions be correct, some old ad-mirers of the Exercises will be surprised to learn the dates at which certain of the more characteristic pieces appeared. --(3. AUG. F-LLARD, S.J. JEANNE JUGAN. By Mgr. Francis Trochu. Translated by Hugh Mont-gomery. Pp. xil -I- 288. Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, 1950. $3.75. If there is one phenomenon in modern Catholic life from which no one can withhold the tribute of spontaneous admiration, it is the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor. It must have been a wonder-ful personality, one feels, that, under God, brought that body into being. Here is the story of that personality, so wonderful that even in the order she inspired and first "established--owing to the fact that it was "kidnapped" by a priest-director and: held captive incredibly long--she was not known by most of her fellow-religious as their founder. "Jeanne Jugan will be canonized some day, but there will be many.difficulties in the way, for we have no dstails about her life," said a priest of Jeanne, when all the.facts were still being cov-ered under conspiratorial silence. Truth can hide in strange places. In this instance it was the records of the French Academy (which had conferred the Montyon Prize on Jeanne before the "kidnapping"), and it was through that source that it came home to the Little Sisters, and the world, what a wonderful woman had called their work into existence. God is wonderful in Jeanne Jugan.--CIERALD ELLARD, S.J. 160 May, 1951 BOOK NOTICES THE TRUE STORY OF SAINT BERNADETTE. By Henri petitotl O.P. Translated by a Benedictine of Stanbrook Abbey. Pp. viii -I- 19S. The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. $2.50. This book is not intended to be a complete biography of St. Ber-nadette. It is more in the line of an appreciation. It supposes that the reader already has a fair knowledge of the facts of Bernadette's life. What the autho~ tries to do is reproduce the spirit behind the facts of her life. The common reaction to a book with a~title like "the true story" of something or other is the suspicion that the author is setting about to correct some popular notions about his subject. Whether the popular concept of Bernadette contains some false notions, the author does not explicitly say. But he wants to be sure that the reader has two things straight by the time he finishes, the book. First of all, Bernadette was not an unintelligent girl. Her intelligence was above average, although her education was neglected until she entered the ,religious life. Secondly, she was not just an ordinary good religious (as her mother superior claimed). It is true that Bernadette was favored with special graces before her entrance into the religious life, But this is not the reason she is a saint. She developed the practice of heroic virtue in tile religious life, especially by the way she accepted suffering and humiliation. The author stresses the heroism that Bernadette manifested in a particular kind of suffering that was harder to bear than physical pain. Two of her superiors took on themselves the job of seeing that Bernadette stayed humble. Some of the other Sisters, taking their cue .from the superiors, took up the crusade to keep Bernadette humble. The uncharitableness that can be cloaked underneath such a crusading attitude is obvious. A fault into which the author seems to fall occasionally is to squeeze heroicity out of insignificant incidents. He has plenty of arguments for her heroism without exaggerating the significance of minor incidents.--JOHN R. SHEETS, S.J. BOOK NOTICES On June seventeenth will be beatified the saintly MotherCouderc, Foundress of the Cenacle Sisters, who died in her eightieth year in 1885. If you wish to see why God so obviously blesses the Society "161 BOOK NOTICES ' Reuietu for Religious of the Retreat of Our Lady in the Cenacle in its very rapid diffusion in the United States and elsewhere, you will find in this biography, SURRENDER TO THE SPIRIT, that supernatural self-surrender to the Holy Ghost, who in the Cenacle came upon the infant C~aurch in Pentecostal tongues of fire. Mother Surles of the Boston Cenacle presents her heroic subject in an inspiring, but slightly "novelized" biography, in casting much of it in conversational form. Blessed ThOr}se Couderc should henceforth bare many friends among girls and women of all walks of life. (New York: Kenedy, 1951. Pp. xxi -b 243. $3.00.) OUR HAPPY LOT, written by Aurelio Espinosa Polit, S.J., and translated by William J. Young, S.J., is directed to all religious and priests. 'It presents various considerations intended to inculcate fer-vor and consolation in those consecrated to God. The unique gi.ft of vocation, its assurance ofsalvation, its call to intimacy with Christ, its sufferings and temptations, the'zeal which it postulates, the means of grace which it affords--all these topics are treated in a spirit of piety and elucidated ,by citations and explanations of Holy Scripture. The last fifty pages (pp. 195-245) are a summary, or recapitulation of the book. The various subjects are condensed into brief medi-tations. (St. Louis: B. Herder Co., 1951. Pp. xi + 245. $3.50.) CAN CHRIST HELP ME?, by C. C. Martindale, S.J., is addressed to the World at large and aims at bringing all 'men to. the knowledge and love of Christ. Nevertheless, the last three parts (pp'. 81-205), comprisifig almost two-thirds of the volume, furnish stimulating spiritual reading for religious and priests. This section develops the Ignatian retreat meditation called the Kingdom of Christ and from it the reader becomes enthusiastic not only for Christ's doctrine'or His past achievements, but e~pecially for the Person who can help me right now "as one living person helps another." This zest and love for Christ are developed by explaining the miracles, the parables, the sermons, the attitudes, the anecdotes: and the ordinary actions of Christ as these are portray.ed in the Gospels. Upon all of these Father Martindale throws new light and be does so in that simple, graphic style which belongs to a master of English prose. (West-minster, Md.: The Newman Press, 1950. Pp. 205. $2.25.) 162 Ma~l, 1951 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS [For the most part. these notices are purely descriptive, based on a cursory exam-ination of the books listed.] AMI PRESS, Washington, New Jersey. Matins in a Leafy~ Wood. The Story of Mother M. Germaine. By Sister Mary Charitas, I.H.M. Pp. 124. $2.50. An inspiring life of an educator dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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PLEASE REMEMBER That by sending your orders to us you help build up and devel-op one of the church institutions with pecuniary advantage to yourself. Address HENRY. S. BONER, Supt. The fllcreary. The Literary Journal of Gettysburg College. VOL. XIV. GETTYSBURG, PA., JUNE 1906. No. 4 CONTENTS "■COLLEGE JOURNALISM"—Oration. '■. . 92 N. R. WHITNEY, '06. "JUNE NIGHT "—Sonnet 95 W. WISSLER HACKMAN, '08. "SALUTATORY"—Oration 96 H. CLYDE BRILLHART, '06. "TENNIS AS AN EXERCISE"—Essay 100 L. W. T., '09. "HIS APOLOGY"—Poem. . . . . . . .101 F. W. MOSER, '07. " OUR ENTRANCE INTO CITIZENSHIP " With Valedictory. —Oration 103 H. BRUA CAMPBELL, '06. "THE OLD DORM IN THE MOONLIGHT "—Poem. . . 109 ROE EMMERT, '06. "THE SCENERY ABOUT MILLERSBURG, PA."—Essay. . no G. L. KlEFFER, '09. "HOME SWEET HOME "—Essay 112 J. EDWARD LOWE, '06. " SAVED BY GRACE "—Story . 114 EDITORIALS, . • 118 EXCHANGES, . . . 120 92 THE MERCURY. COLLEGE JOURNALISM. N. R. WHITNEY, '06. FROM the day when Daniel Webster, as a student, started the first college newspaper at Dartmouth College to the present time, college journalism has had a steady growth in extent and influence. Just as our great newspapers have grown and the number of these publications has increased un-til now every town of at least five thousand inhabitants has its daily, and as we have come to consider these papers the chief factor in the struggle for civic righteousness, so college journ-alism has developed until it occupies a wholly unique position in the college world, and now no institution that claims to be progressive is without its journal. The history and evolution of the college newspaper would provide material for a long and interesting discussion, but that would be chiefly of historic value. Today, let us seek rather to obtain something of immediate and more practical value. Let us strive to set up an ideal towards which college journ-alism shall strive. Commencement is a peculiarly fitting time to look forward rather than backward, and, therefore, we will consider, instead of what has been done, what ought to be done. To do this it will first be necessary to get the status of the college journal, and in this search we shall consider the college newspaper as the only periodical which exerts any considerable influence in the college world. The newspaper is the connect-ing link between the alumni and the college. It serves to keep those who have gone out informed as to the events which tran-spire and the condition of affairs at the college, and thus keeps alive their interest in their Alma Mater, while it contains news in regard to the alumni which keeps the student body informed as to the success with which former college men are meeting, and thus it fulfills the function of a medium of exchange be-tween the alumni and the students. Of course, being pub-lished by the students it is largely devoted to college news and reflects student sentiment. Hence, he who wishes to learn how certain measures are regarded and what schemes are en- \ THE MERCURY. 93 tertained by the students for the improvement of the institution needs but to read the college paper. Keeping this idea in view, that the alumni determine very largely the condition of affairs at the school from its journal, those in charge of its publication should be careful of its char-acter. Its tone should be high. Of course, it goes without saying, that being the work of those who are presumably well-educated, and intended to circulate among intelligent and well educated men, it must be correct in English; and this in-volves a careful and exact use of words as well as obedience to those rules of grammer which have become crystallized by usage in our best literature. This lofty tone which is desirable precludes the use of slang, for such expressions are ephemeral. They seize upon the fan-cy of one generation and in the next are forgotten. A college paper wants permanence in style and maintenance of dignity. To be lofty is to be dignified. Slang is a product of street gamins whose vocabulary is limited, and hence possesses no dignity and should not be found in a college periodical. The tone of the best college paper will not only be pure and lofty, but it will be hopeful, not pessimistic. It will seek to find some ground for hope in the poorest athletic team ; it will find cause for congratulation in some feature of the most poor-ly rendered concert by a musical club. In other words, the ideal college journal is not a fault-finder. It is easy to criticise and tear down; the difficulty lies in building up. Of course there is such a thing as being too optimistic and such an edi-tor imagines his college and everything connected with it as being without flaw. However, we are contending for that vis-ion which, while seeing the faults around it, will invariably re-gard them as less obtrusive than the virtues. Each institu-tion has rules and practices which some of us would change if we were able to do so, but should one give expression to the opinion that, because such practices exist therefore the college is behind the times or is a partial failure ? Is it in the province of the college newspaper to place the school in an unfavorable light before the world ? These queries lead necessarily to the statement that the 94 THE MERCURY. periodical should be large and liberal in its judgements. Since it has this power, to a very great extent, of giving good or ill-fame to an institution, the journal must exercise the judicial function with great caution. We are living in an iconoclastic age and nothing gives us quite so much pleasure as to shy a brick metaphorically at those in authority. Their personalities and their deeds stand out so clearly that we cannot resist the temptation to criticise them. If the paper seeks popularity among a certain large group of students it needs only to find fault with the administration of affairs pertaining to the college. Hence the journal requires at its head a man who is able to detach himself, as it were, from the student body and its pre-judices and rise to a height where he can more clearly discern the interests of the college. It is not always an easy task to rise above prejudice and it sometimes demands the exercise of .more courage than one would imagine. Thus, when the whole body of students commits a deed or assumes a position which a dispassionate judical consideration compells an editor to dis-approve of, he will need all the moral courage he can command to do his duty in the face of the hostile criticism of his class and college mates. We have said that the paper represents the student body. This statement ought to be amended by saying " the whole student body." A judgment which is large and liberal will not per-mit of favoritism towards any one class. Such a policy would be disastrous to the usefulness of the paper. Of course some publications disregard even this danger signal, but when it is remembered that the editor is almost always closely identified with a certain class and its interests, it is surprising that the number of papers which fail in this respect is as small as it is. Nor can a successful journal be unfair in its attitude towards its contemporaries. Great care must be used in passing judg-ment upon the acts or statements made by a rival institution. Too easily are we led by our sympathy and prejudice to put the wrong construction upon our neighbors' actions. And now we come to the aim of the college journal. Is its highest purpose realized and its fullest duty performed when it simply gives the news of the college world ? No, its des- r THE MERCURY. 95 tiny is grander than that of being merely a purveyor of news. Its work is more inspiring. It seeks to benefit the college. Advancement and success for the institution are the goals. Many advantages will accrue to the school just because the paper itself is a good one and meets the requirements which we have laid down. But this is not sufficient. There must be conscious and uninterrupted effort to make known the good qualities of the college and to secure more students and more money for it by arousing and keeping alive the enthus-iasm and support of its friends. To accomplish this purpose it is imperative that the end be kept always in view. Since a college journal is published by the students it might seem that student interest ought to be given the first consideration. Occasionally there may be such a conflict of interests, but, at such times, the editor must keep clearly in view the fact that the college journal is a power only when it is a power for good for its college, and is fulfilling its high destiny only when it is using every means to keep glow-ing the love and interest of the students and alumni for their Alma Mater. JUNE NIGHT. W. WlSSLER HACKMAN, 'OS. • TJNDOWN and crescent noon ; The passing truths of a glaring day Now fade and soften into gloom Until they vanish quite away. The dreaming trees soft-breathing sigh, And whispering quiver as they stand ; Like drowsing giants o'er the land They nod beneath a faint-starred sky. Afar the marsh-frogs rasp their strings The livelong night, nor pause, nor rest ; A night bird stirring in her nest Sings with a rapture of fluttering wings, While fairies bear their lamps about Though brooding shadows in and out. 96 THE MERCURY. ENGLISH SALUTATORY—TRANSITION PERIODS. H. CLYDE BRILLHART, '06. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : The class of 1906 extends to you all a hearty welcome. As-we are about to celebrate one of the most important events in the lives of each one of us, we are glad for the presence of so-large a number of our friends. These four years of care-free iun and earnest study are about to close. This day to which we have long been looking forward with commingled feelings of joy and sadness has at length arrived. To this, the goal of our four long, yet seemingly short, years of training and uncon-cern and the commencement of the more serious responsibili-ties of life, each of the thirty-four members of our class bids you an earnest welcome. To you, alumni and friends, who out of loyalty to our Alma Mater have been wont to see other classes from time to time pass from this stage out onto the larger stage of life; to you, the members of the board of trustees from among whose number one is absent today who for many years has helped to shape the destinies of our Alma Mater, whose wisdom was a tower of strength to her, whose learning was her glory, whose life was an inspiration and an example to her sons and daughters; to you, the members of the faculty, who-have so patiently led us in the ways of knowledge; to you, the relatives and friends of the individual members of the class; to you, undergraduates, who are not yet called upon to sever these bonds of association, but who will in time come to stand where we now stand—to all in the name of the class of 1906,1 extend most cordial greetings. We stand today on a dividing line with fond memories of the Past and hope for the Future. The time is at hand when it is necessary for us, as a class, to part; but we can dety those circumstances to arise which can /weaken these ties of friendship so dearly formed by us during these four years just passed, or to counter-act their influence upon our Future. Today we leave as undergradu-ates, to return in future years as alumni, in an attempt to review in a few short days those never-to-be-forgotten lessons learned within these sacred walls. The time of preparation has passed ; the time for achieve- THE MERCURY. 97 f ment is at hand. In the evolution of life we have reached the end of one of those periods which because of their peculiar position and character are of the utmost importance. They form the connecting links between the larger epochs of life. They are periods in which certain tendencies and movements are gaining momentum and slowly but surely changing the character of the life of the nation or the individual. The vital forces of one age and one set of circumstances are recast and readjusted to meet the demands of a new age and a new set of circumstances. It is true that in the great scheme of development every period is a transition period, but it is also true that some per-iods by the suddenness of the changes and the rapidity of the readjustments which take place in them, are in a special sense transition periods. In reading the record of the formation of the earth, the geologist often comes upon a place where the continuity of his record is broken. When he again finds it continued the character of the life forms is so widely different that he con-cludes that a great length of time must have elapsed between the formation of the records, but when he has made a more care-ful investigation and found the missing pages of his record and has properly interpreted them he finds that the period was a com-paratively short one; but One in which h'fe forms were un-dergoing very rapid changes, Such a period he calls a transi-tion period. The wise student of history realizing the great significance of such periods in the evolution of human progress makes them his special care. He knows that only by the mastery of rhe forcesand tendencies at work in them do the events of the subse-quent periods become clear. This is nowhere better illus-trated than in the Renaissance-Reformation period. It forms the connecting link between the Middle Ages and the Modern Times. No other period in the history of the world has set in motion so many forces which were world wide in their results. The Middle Age was ruled by asceticism. The monk's view of life was the ideal of the age. The authority of the Roman See was unquestioned and its power unlimited. But all this, 98 THE MERCURY. is now changed. The ascetic view of life is broken ; the unity of the Middle Ages destroyed; the world view transformed. The new age with its revelations and achievements discovered to man the truth about himself and the truth made him free. It led him out of the dungeon of Monasticism into the light of Christian freedom. It broke the shackles which the petty fendal lord had forged upon him and started him on the high-way to political freedom. It transformed Ecclesiastical abso-lutism into indivi dual nationality. In the intellectual realm the transformation was truly mar-velous. For a small earth-centered universe, the Copernican system of astronomy gave to man a limitless sun-centered uni-verse. Instead of a common compulsory church it gave him a free church. In place of the useless and subtle quibbling of the schoolmen there appears the beginning of real philosophy. Alchemy is supplanted by Chemistry, Astrology by Astronomy. In no department of human knowledge has the transformation been more marvelous or longer delayed than in the study of history. The impulse was given in the 16th century. It struggled hopelessly for recognition but was soon lost in the rapid march of events. It was not until the 19th century that history again commanded attention, when the events of a single decade, from 1820 to 1830, called forth more volumes of history than were called forth by the events of a thousand years before. History is no longer a narration of memorable events com-memorating the deeds of a hero, a family or a nation. Our historians no longer write to strike the imagination or arouse the feelings with poetical images of vanished realities. Their aim is not to please, nor to give practical maxims of conduct, but knowledge pure and simple. In order to make its facts useful they must be criticized and organized and in this way the rules of its interpretation and the formulae of its exposition have become as severe as those of the so-called " exact science " and the genetic method has been applied to all the sciences. While these periods are of great importance in science they are of even greater importance in our own lives. Of these none is more worthy of thoughtful consideration than the col-lege period which marks the transition from youth to manhood, THE MERCURY. 99 from care-free preparation to responsibility and achievement. The habits and tendencies of youth are swept away, or trans-formed into fixed habits of character and manhood. Psychologists tell us that about the 19th year in one's life there comes a period which is marked by a cessation of growth for a time, sometimes to be resumed later. This seems to suggest that nature after having cast up the youth by a flood-tide on the shores of manhood, is a little exhausted and wants time for rest and readjustment. The advantages of size and strength begin to give way to those of the higher mentality, and the main current of evolution is turned thoughtward. The newly awakened feelings, impulses and ideals are being knit into individual character and personality. The dogmatic opin-ion and prejudices of youth are breaking down before the keener analysis and wider horizon of manhood. In this wider horizon the youthful complexity of nature vanishes and we catch glimpses of the great harmony'of the universe and come face to face with the mysteries of life. The importance of the transitional character of this period has not always been recognized. Too often it has been thought of as a period of seclusion and aloofness from the busy world of affairs. The indiscretions and misdemeanors of the College man been have excused and apologized for, too frequently, on this ground alone. We are beginning to see our mistake and perhaps the best evidence of our change of heart is the almost universal condemnation of hazing and horse-play engaged in by college men, and the action taken by some of our institu-tions of learning, particilarly by the United States government in the schools under its care. It is a step in the right direc-tion, but it is not enough. May we not hope that the time will soon come when we shall not only hold the college man strictly accountable for his acts, but shall treat him as a citizen and not as an irresponsible hermit, when we shall give him complete and rational systems of self-government in the class room and in the dormitory. For it is only by rational self-government that the cardinal virtues of self-control and self-direction are developed, and if they are not cultivated during this period of transition they may never be acquired. IOO THE MERCURY. TENNIS AS AN EXERCISE. L. W. T. '09. AS an exercise both of muscle and brain, the game of ten-nis is hardly excelled. It is in this form of sport and recreation that all the faculties are trained and developed more or less. There are chiefly three beneficial results besides many minor advantages derived from indulging in this- pleasure, namely.—quickness of thought, muscular control and muscular strength. Chief of these is rapidity of thought, that great quality so essential in the battle of life. To play tennis successfully, or rather, to play it at all, one must be ever on the alert, wide awake, and ready to seize any opportunity to score a point. And when the chance presents itself in the form of a lightning-like ball, he must decide on the instant how to act. In the twinkling of an eye he must conclude on the best and most advantageous way of returning the ball whether it shall be high, low, swift, slow, to the middle, the left or the right, curved or straight. All the conditions of the situation—the position of the players, the distance from the net, the force of the wind, perhaps, and many other details must be caught up, balanced and used to advantage in one sweeping glance of the eyes. The decision as to the best disposal of the ball having been made, then muscular control is the necessary quality for the carrying out of the plan. A novice at the game, in trying to return the ball, is pretty sure to knock it at random far out of bounds, no matter how carefully he endeavors to control him-self. This is due to the fact that his muscles have not been trained to the way in which he should handle his strength. He is unaccustomed to the slight twist of the shoulder, to the presenting of the surface of the racket at just the right angle, to the slight almost imperceptible swerve of the whole body, to the graceful side-step, and to the many other requisite move-ments, so minute, so delicate, as to be almost indefinable but which, nevertheless, every experienced player has felt himself un-con sciously perform, and which are, taken altogether, so impor- THE MERCURY. 101 tant. But now observe our former novice at some later time. See how he holds himself, how perfectly every muscle and every tendon is under the influence of his will. Deftly he strikes, now "cutting " the ball sending a most exasperating and tan-talizing slow curve up into the air, now driving it swift and hard at any desired angle, and again to all appearances, throw-ing all his strength into a vicious swing, only to drop the ball close to the net far out of his opponent's reach. All these tactics and many others he performs with such easy and grace-ful movements as to win the admiration of all spectators. And together with these other qualities, a certain very desir-able tenacity and litheness of muscle is acquired. It is true that huge bunches and knots of muscle and brawn are not de-veloped, but nevertheless, that more sought-for strength, the strength which draws the distinction between the racer and the cart-horse, the athlete and the laborer, the reserve strength which is denoted by an erect and graceful bearing is attained. In tennis the utmost activity of body is required. One must continually run forward and backward, bend and twist this way and that, and go through many other maneuvers which could never be give by gymnasium apparatus. Thus, is constantly being knitted a symmetrical and elastic set of muscles. We may say then in conclusion, that tennis is a most de-lightful and beneficial form of recreation, producing a clear head, a beautiful body, and a flow of clear, red blood, not to mention a deep sense of wholesome pleasure which it imbues. HIS APOLOGY. F. W. MOSER, '07. PAIR of eyes so soft and blue, With lashes of the raven's hue, And lips that matched in sweet repose The crimson of the blushing rose. A pair of overshoes, size three, Which none could wear but such as she, And now beneath the cushioned seat Reposed in safety at her feet. 102 THE MERCURY. Another maid beside the first Who seemed in pleasant thought immersed ; Hair black as night and midnight e3'es, A mirror for Venetian skies. A man of stalwart limb and frame, Whose deeds were not unknown to fame; But now in dreams his fancy ran To build a world within a span. And with a swish in top-notch style Maid number two rushed down the aisle, He roused and saw with read}' mind That she had left her shoes behind ; And, stooping with an eager face, He pulled the rubbers from their place, And rushing to the open door He flung them from the moving car. But hardly was the action done When up the aisle rushed number one, And in a chilling tone cried she " Those overshoes belonged to me." " Oh ! now ! I say ! can this be true ! '' Those overshoes belonged to you ? " What can I say ? Oh, don't you see ! "Oh, can you ever pardon me. The train dashed on, the moments sped, Until beneath the next dark shed The engine shot with direful shriek That brought a pallor to her cheek. But in a moment as before The crimson blood returned once more, And. that was all there was to see Of that most sweet apology. THE MERCURY. 103 •'OUR ENTRANCE INTO CITIZENSHIP," WITH VALEDICTORY. H. BRUA CAMPBELL, '06. NEVER at any time has the question as to what is the re-lation of the young man to his country and its institutions or in other words what are the duties and responsibilities which citizenship imposes upon the young manhood of our land, pressed upon us more insistently than at the present time. The age in which we are living is one characterized by great movements and vital problems, upon the successful solution of which our most complete growth and advancement is depen-dent. It would be difficult indeed to find an American today in whom there dwels not one vestige of pride in his country's institutions and whose heart does not expand at one time or another in the thought of his country's glorious achievements and still more splendid possibilties. But there is less likeli-hood that any American could be found with mind so narrow that he would refuse to admit that certain insidious and de-structive tendencies totally hostile to the best interests of true democracy, had crept into our government. Due to the " in-ertness and apathy " of a large number of citizens who are best fitted for the task of carrying on successfully affairs of gov-ernment, methods contradictory and subversive of democracy have been allowed to enter into our political system and abide there unmolested. The exposures of moral rottenness in pub-lic affairs and of political turpitude in city, state and nation have clearly revealed how true is the charge that machine politics and bossism have usurped and are continuing to usurp the field that of right ought to be controlled by forces of less selfish and more moral character and that the highest interests of the many are being sacrificed daily to the cupidity and lust for power of the few. Throughout this present period of startling revelations of the betrayal of public trust which have brought to light conditions that are of the gravest menace to our prosperity the inquiry has been advanced as to what is the remedy that will serve to ef-fectively heal the deep wound which civic corruption has caused in the body politic. And with startling unanimity 104 THE MERCURY. Comes the answer—Rouse the citizens from their political somnolency and the Republic is secure. The cure, therefore, lies in the interest which each man ought to manifest in the politics of his country, state and union by reason of the privi-leges he enjoys under the law and order which our political institutions vouchsafe to him. The responsibilities of citizenship strike with peculiar force the young men of today. The coming generation, clothed as it will be with " unprecedented privileges," is confronted with the obligation to cure some of the excesses of liberty which •mar our civilization. It has been well said that the first lesson a young man should learn in the principles of government is that national problems and public questions are his own per-sonal concern and responsibility and that he will have to answer for his conduct toward them as exactly as for his in-dividual moral behavior. He should appreciate thoroughly in the very beginning that the privileges of citizenship which he possesses have been secured not without terrific struggles against autocracy entrenched behind the fortified strength of centuries of existence and that they should be cherished and enjoyed as a priceless heritage—not spurned and disregarded for the sheltered cloisters of cultured ease. Our nation's hope, lies in the young men upon whom the burdenr. and responsi-bility of directing its affairs must at length rest and the young men should show their appreciation of this tremendous obliga-tion by a keen and intelligent interest in all matters politic. The earlier this interest is manifested, the more deeply will it become implanted, and at length, as Bishop Brent eloquently says, it will " fairly burn itself into flesh and blood, nerves and muscles, until the flame of patriotism is kindled in the soul and a citizen worthy of the name moves out into the nations need, equipped to wrestle with the problems and overthrow its enemies." Ah, when we come to think of what it actually means to be an American citizen, when we fully realize the na-tion's power and influence and the political freedom delegated to those under its flag we ought to firmly resolve ever to re-main true to the principles in which our country was founded, and whenever its principles and institutions are endangered to V' THE MERCURY. I05 battle for civic righteousness and put to flight those who seek to pervert its true destiny. The young men have it in their power to prevent those who seek to control politics for selfish ends from attaining their de-sire and it also lies with them whether the government be managed with regard only to the best interest of a majority of its citizens or whether it be run to benefit the privileged few alone. We thus see that a deep responsibility rests upon the citi-zens of this land—an obligation to manifest a vital interest in affairs of state, a responsibility which applies particularly to the young men of our country. But among these there exists a particular class—the college men—to whom goes out with especial force the clarion call to duty-—to meet the civic obli-gations and to assist in directing the management of political government be it in a lofty or lowly sphere. The college man is particulary fitted for an active participa-tion in civic affairs by reason of his collegiate training, and after graduation he should at once indentify himself with the work of promoting good government. Upon departing from college he is entering more largely into the active work of life. The •college man during his years of study has pursued in a some-what isolated way his course of intellectual training and now enters into the wider sphere of professional or business activity. His brain has not increased one ounce by his persistent search for knowledge but it has been so thoroughly disciplined that he can grasp more quickly and more comprehensively problems which would as a rule, defy the intellects of those not possessing the advantages of collegiate training. The scope of his perception has been vastly widened. It must be admitted that the college man, endowed as he is, ought to be a potent factor in the politics of a nation. And so he is, to a certain extent, but the opportunities still continue to beckon him, for all to often is he heedless of his duty and responsibility in this direction. He owes an especial debt to his country by reason of his superior endowment and yet how often does he repudiate the obligation and as a result, Justice, spurned by those who ought to defend her rule, must bow to the forces of Self-interest. io6 THE MERCURY. There is nothing from which the public suffers more today than the silence of its educated classes, that is, the small amount of criticism which comes from its disinterested sources. Educated men say very little about the question of the day but devote their time to science, literature and art or in the practice of their profession or conduct of business. The edu-cated man should, however, speak out upon matters of public interest if for no other reason than that he is peculiarly able to comprehend the right and wrong involved therein. As a writer puts it no educated man can talk intimately upon any subject without contributing something however small to the unseen forces which carry us on to our final destiny. College men are too oft drawn from the proper performance of their civic duties by the desire to follow peacefully and within the narrow confines perchance of their libraries a life of purely intellectual activity which withdraws them from their proper civic interests and lessens greatly their concern for the conduct of the affairs of their government. And it is to be deplored also that Corinthianism or in other words " the moral enervation and decadence that is born of the soft uses of prosperity " pre-sents a grave danger to our institutions. Adversity indeed has its uses; prosperity its perils. And it behooves the college man to beware of the luring voice which urges him so impell-ingly to forsake the true course of energetic devotion to duty and to endanger the frail craft of his life upon the Scylla of intellectual enervation or the Charybdis of moral decadence. It is inevitable that if the citizens of a nation are blind to all else but self, then the end will be corruption and death. The service which the college man renders his country of right ought to be unselfish. He ought to be thoroughly cog-nizant of the fact that there are things of far more importance than his own material advancement. It is this unselfishness which is so essential to true growth and if its spirit be im-planted in the breasts of the young men of today the strength of the nation will know no deterioration. And with regard to the attitude of the college man toward public affairs there is one quality which must be present and that is honesty—honesty of thought, word and deed. The world requires that only those THE MERCURY. I07 can serve her faithfully who are of integrity and firm moral purpose. There need be no complaint from the college man who feels his responsibility that there are no present opportunities for service to his nation—the opportunities exist in every place and sphere. " The time worn humdrum tasks of the older civili-zation with its painful and seemingly insoluble problems beckon," the undeveloped and partly developed land is calling to the able youth for aid, evils, social, political and moral re-quire those with the courage to stamp them out. Everywhere are opportunities ; where are the opportunists ? These are some of the responsibilities of citizenship which confront every college man of today. It lies with him whether he shall meet them courageously as befits a citizen not alone in name but in reality or whether he shall reject those privileges of free government . which alone make our nation a true republic. These are the civic responsibilities which confront the class of 1906 as it leaves behind it the college walls and enters other spheres of activity and let us hope that the class departs fully awakened to its obligations and fully determined to meet them intelligently and courageously. GENTLEMEN OF THE FACULTY : You may feel assured that the class of 1906 is fully aware of its obligations to you, an obligation so great that it can never be fully repaid. It appreciates to the fullest extent the sacrifices you have made upon the altar of scholarship and likewise your untiring energy and unremitting devotion to the task of so moulding the intellect ^ind character of its members that they may now go out into life fitted for careers of honor and usefulness. Your labor has been singularly unselfish, your concern alone having been to advance the best interests of each and every one under your instruction. And we are not insensible of the fact that the very pleasant relationship which has invariably existed between you, gentlemen, and the class of 1906 can be justly ascribed to your continued regard for its welfare and your unfailing courtesy to its members. Time cannot efface the impression which you have wrought upon us and years will not lessen our respect for the teachers of our college days. And so it is with deep regret that we arrive at ■M 108 THE MEKCURV. the parting of our ways and must reluctantly bid you farewell. FELLOW CLASSMATES : We are come where the paths of our lives diverge, and our thoughts at this moment are of a two-fold character. Our glance is turned retrospectively to the past four years, during which time we have walked together through the harvest-fields of intellectual effort, gathering in the products of our toil and stooping now and then to pluck the fragrant flower of whole-some pleasure. Ah ! they were indeed delightful years, full of brightest sunshine. And we recall with keenest pleasure how each passing year seemed to bring us more firmly together in a bond of loyal friendship, a bond which years of separation will vainly strive to sever. And the depth of our sorrow and regret in this hour of parting is tempered only by our gaze ahead where Hope clothed in glorious splendor stands with a smile of warmth upon her countenance beside the curtains which close from our sight the mysteries of the future. En-couraged by this inspiring vision we feel an eager longing to meet what lies before us, confident in our strength and as-sured that in the conflict we will conduct ourselves as befits noble men and women. It is eminently fitting that we should at this point in our journey look back upon the path traversed and then forward to where the attennated road fades from sight upon the plain or loses itself among "the purple peaks re-mote." Inspiration may be gained from either glance. But no matter with what eagerness we look ahead the porgnant grief of parting continues to be felt. We realize that no more will we meet as fellow-studeryts in the various class rooms or beneath the lofty trees which stand guard upon the campus with arms outspread above its green and beautiful expanse. We know that this hour marks the final time when we as a class shall stand together, and the fact that we throughout these years have moved on in continued good fellowship, ever with regard and affection toward one another seems to make the parting even more painful. But we cannot dwell to long, my classmates, upon words of farewell. And so full of confi-dence in your ability to successfully cope with life's responsi-bilities and implicit faith in your ultimate success, I bid you God-speed. ■ 1- THE MERCURY. THE OLD DORM IN THE MOONLIGHT. ROE EMMERT, '06. 109 H v : AVE you seen the Old Dorm shining in the moonlight; And the silver softly sifting through the trees ? Have you heard the fellows singing on the Dorm steps ; And the mandolins a'tinkle in the breeze ? Ah, fellows, on the campus in the moonlight You can hear the sweetest music ever sung, And see beauties that surpass the Grecian sculpture, Whose praises in our ears have ever rung. And fellows, do you ever stop to listen, When they play the mandolins upon the steps? Does your better nature swell and sway within you ; Do the songs of this old College stir its depths? Do you ever watch the Old Dorm in the evening, When the lights begin to flash out one by one Like the eastern stars burn out upon the heavens, Upon the glorious setting of the sun ? And when the lights have dropped away at midnight, And the moonlight sheds its brightness over all ; Do you ever stand and gaze in silent rapture At the grandeur of this old and noble hall ? Ah, fellows, how we love this old white building With its mighty columns, beautiful and strong, With its memories, haunting every nook and corner ; It has been our second home place for so long. Too soon we'll leave this grand and noble College, And leave behind this long familiar hall, But the picture that we'll always carry with us Is the Old Dorm and the moonlight over all. no THE MERCURY. THE SCENERY ABOUT MILLERSBURG, PA. G. L. KlEFFER, '09. 4 while he gazed off to the town on the hill in a manner which bespoke satisfaction and contentment. Overhanging all I be-held the crimson sun sinking as a fiery ball behind the moun-tains, a little to the north of the vertex of the angle, pointing out the very trees upon its summit as sentinels of this majestic scenery. And overhanging all was the white and crimson sky as a halo. Satisfied with the employment of my leisure time I wended my way to the station and pursued my journey as in a dream. -A.: 112 THE MERCURY. HOME SWEET HOME. J. EDWARD LOWE, '06. MR. J. HOWARD PAYNE whom we admire and rev-erence so much was homeless. In his weary and soli-tary walk on the farm of Mr. Talbot, his friend, he stopped to rest under a large chestnut tree near the brink of the Po-tomac, a mile south of Washington. While sitting there he became unconscious of his environments, the verdure of the beautiful terrace sloping down towards the Potomac river, was lovely to behold, but he saw it not. He was deeply involved in spiritual themes. While in his concentrated, emotional and imaginative state of mind, he wrote those beautiful and mem-orable words, that will vibrate in human minds throughout eternity. " 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home ; A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, Which, seek thro' the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere." " Home, home, sweet, sweet, home, There's no place like home, Oh, there's no place like hcme." There is something in the word home, that wakes the kind-liest feelings of the heart. It is not merely kindred and friends who render this place so dear; but the very hills, rocks and rivulets throw a charm around the place of one's nativity. It is no wonder that the loftiest harps have been turned to sing of " Home Sweet Home!' The rose that bloomed in the garden, where one has wondered in early years, a thoughtless and innocent child, careless of what its future may be, is lovely in its bloom, and lovelier in its decay. No songs are sweet like those we heard among the boughs, that shade our parent's dwelling, when the morning or the evening hour found us as gay as the birds that warbled over us. No waters are so bright and clear as the silver streams that wind among the flower decked knolls, where in adventur-ous childhood we so often strayed to pluck the violet or lily, or to twine a garland for some loved school-mate. Your dreams of reputation, your swift determination, your ^". piai >i> mr-.iMi THE MERCURY. 113 impulsive pride, your deep uttered vows to win a name, will all sober into affection ; will all blend into that glow of feeling, which finds its center, hope, and joy in home. From my soul, I pity him whose heart does not leap at the mere sound of the name. A home ! It is the bright, blessed, adorable phantom, which sits highest on the sunny horizon that guideth life. It is not the house, though that may have its charms ; nor the fields carefully tilled, and streaked with your own foot-prints ; nor the trees though their shadows be to you, like that of a great rock in a weary-land ; nor yet is it the fire-side with its sweet blaze play; nor the pictures which tell of loved ones; nor the cherished book ; but far more than all these, it is the presence. The altar of your confidence is there; the end of your worldly faith is there. Adorning all these, and sending your blood in passionate-flow, is the ecstasy or con-viction, that there at least, you are beloved; there you are un-derstood ; there your errors are all met with gentlest forgiv-ness ; there your troubles will be smiled away ; there you may unburden your soul, fearless of harsh unsympathizing ears and that there you may be entirely and joyfully yourself. We may wander away, and mingle in the world's fierce strife, and find new associations, and friendships; and fancy we have almost forgotten the land of our birth ; but at some evening hour, as we listen to the autumn winds, the remem-brances of other days come over our souls, and fancy bears us back to childhood's scenes. We roam again the old fami-liar haunts, and press the hands of companions, long since cold in the grave; and listen to voices we shall never hear on earth any more. The American-trooper who is borne away to the green isles of the Pacific, weeps when he thinks of home, and sighs and pines for the vine-covered cottage beyond the sea ; though the hand of time may have faded his ebon locks, and care plowed deep furrows on his brow, and his heart has been chilled by the fierce winds of the typhoon, till the fountains of his love have almost ceased ; yet upon some summer's evening as he looks upon the sun sinking behind the western hill, he will ! 114 THE MERCURY. think of home, his heart will yearn for the loved of other days, and his tears will flow like the summer's rain. After long years of absence the heart of the wanderer beats, and his eyes fill, as he catches a glimpse of the hills of his nativity. When he has pressed the lips of a brother or sister, how soon does he hasten to see if the garden, the orchard and the stream look as in the days gone by ? We may find climes as beautiful, skies as bright, and friends as devoted ; but all these will not take the place of home, the dearest spot on earth. o SAVED BY GRACE. '08. N a hillside, about one mile west of Gettysburg, a vine-yard was conducted by a man who was very well-known to the present and many of the past generations of students. From the product of this vineyard, the owner packed and shipped to various markets the greater portion of the grapes, while he manufactured wine from the poorer quality and sold it in the unfermented form to many of the students and towns-people. The plot of ground on which the vineyard and the home of the farmer were located, consisted of about six acres. The west and north sides were bounded by woodland, while the southern and eastern limits were marked by two country roads. At the junction of these roads, in the southern corner of the farm, a cottage stood, and directly back of this was a small barn. There were also numerous other buildings necessary to complete the fixtures of a small farm. In the family there were only three people, the father, mother and a daughter, who at that time was in her eighteenth year. The father was an eldery looking man of fifty-five, his form showing the results of many years of hard work ; his wife, a woman of small build and plump form ; the daughter, a tall graceful girl, with black shining hair, brown eyes and a fair skin. She was beautiful to look at and of a kind and - "^_^.^.^.-.-M- rflWWi^iHWW "■■! »M| 'I THE MERCURY. us pleasing disposition, proving decidedly the watchfulness under which she was reared by her fond parents. As has been stated in the beginning of our story, the scene is laid near the historic town of Gettysburg, which is almost surrounded by the hills and mountains where was fought the decisive battle of our great Civil War. In the village is located Pennsylvania College, a Lutheran Institution founded early in the nineteenth century. Many men have been graduated from this college, who have made for themselves places of promin-ence in all avenues of life. Among all the students who at-tended this institution during the time in which the vineyard flourished, few indeed there were who did not visit the grape farm, and who were not well acquainted with the farmer and his family. Undoubtedly many of the students were honest enough to purchase what they wished, either of grapes or wine, but it also stands that many of the students made unlawful visits to the vineyard. It was the result of such a visit that brings us to the. interesting part of our story. On an early autumn evening, several young men, students in the college, were gathered in a room, all overflowing with mischevous ideas. Not a few suggestions were made as to what they should do, but all seemed undecided as to which idea would be best to follow, until a visit to the vineyard was proposed. The vote was unanimous that three of the " Boys" should leave promptly at eleven o'clock for the farm, and that without fail a plenteous supply of the fruit should be brought in. At the appointed time, Bob Stewart, Jack Wills, and Tom Bonner met on the campus, and in a short time were on their way. After walking for about a half hour, during which period they had almost encircled the small farm, the trio made ready to enter the vineyard from the west side. One of the number, Tom Bonner, was sent to a spot, within a hundred yards of the house to stand guard while Bob and Jack filled the bags with grapes. Everything ran smoothly until all were ready [or the departure, when all of a sudden, Tom was seized by a strong pair of hands and was commanded to make an ex- u6 THE MERCURY. planation of his presence in such a place at that hour of the night. Tom was completely unnerved, and during the time he was recuperating from the shock, Bob. and Jack made their escape, leaving their plunder behind. After a short while, Tom gathered enough courage to tell, in broken sentences, a falsehood, which he thought would set him free. The result, however, was to the contrary, for his captor, who was no other than the farmer, compelled him to accom-pany him to the house. Here he was held until morning, as it was the full intention of the owner of the vineyard to turn him over to the proper authorities. Tom passed a very rest-less night; but how could one do otherwise, especially one whose imagnative power had already landed him in prison. Early the next morning, the farmer with his family called Tom. before them. He was told in plain words what was to be done. The farmer accused him of being the person who had been robbing him for sometime. This made things all the more serious, and under the strain of a restless night, together with the relization of what he had imagined during the hours he spent in captivity, Tom broke down completely. He sobbed and cried bitterly, thinking of the foolhardy expedi-tions young fellows often take, and of the disgrace which would surely befall his name and family. The farmer and his wife had gone about their early morning duties and Tom was still hoping and praying against what seemed almost inevitable, when the daughter, Grace, walked into the room, and without the slightest hesitation tried in her girlish way to console him. Her efforts worked admirably, for in a short time our hero was instilled with new hope. He confessed all to Miss Grace, and it was with no little sincerity that she promised to save him, if possible, from-the dishonor which he felt sure would come. It was only a few minutes after Grace had left Tom that the farmer entered the room and commanded him to make the necessary preparation for the trip to town. In the meantime Grace had convinced her mother that Tom was, as all boys are apt to be, mischevious, and that he should not be punished for this, which she felt sure was his first offense. THE MERCURY. 117 All was in readiness for the start; the team was standing by the gate, and the farmer with his captive had just left the house and was walking toward the conveyance, when Grace called to her father. He stopped, but little did he suspect what her in-tention was, and before he had time to think, Grace begged and plead in her own effective way, for her father to change his plan. She confronted him with one argument after another, the principal ones being these: That undoubtedly it was Tom's first offense of such a serious nature; furthermore she asked her father what he should hope for, were a child of his ever to be found in a like predicament. Grace's father saw things in a different light and instead of bringing Tom to town and placing him in the hands of the law, he was driven up to the entrance of Old Pennsylvania Hall. The farmer gave Tom all the grapes his companions had gathered the night before and the privilege of the vine-yard whenever he wished. He was also asked in a very urgent way, to visit the family. It is needless to say, after Tom's most pleasant experience with Miss Grace, that he took advantange of the invitation. His visits were made often, and it seemed as though the more frequent they became, the still more frequent Tom wished them to be. The two young people grew to be the best of friends, and it was only a short time after his graduation from Penn-sylvania College, that the expedition on which he had started one autumnal eve, was brought to a close by his marriage to Grace. Often now as Tom and Grace sit in their cozy home, with children romping about them, do they speak of Tom's trip to the vineyard and its happy ending. THE MERCURY Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class Matter Voi,. XIV GETTYSBURG, PA., JUNE, 1906 No. 4 Associate Editors GEO. W. KESSLER, '08 J. K. ROBB, '08 EDMUND L. MANGES, '08 Advisory Board PROF. J. A. HIMES, LITT.D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M.D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD, D.D. Editor-in-ch ief WARD B. S. RICE, '07 Exchange Editor THOS. E. SHEARER, '07 Business Manager THOMAS A. FAUST, '07 Ass't Bus. Managers. HENRY M. BOWER, '08 H. WATSON DAVISON, '08 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. SENIOR FAREWELL. The time has again arrived L=JUf3f===4 '-—I f°r tne graduation of another class from our college. The MERCURY staff deplore the fact that we must bid farewell to the Seniors—you who have aided us so much by your advice and kindly criticism ; but most of all by your literary contributions. We will feel your loss keenly,^but sincerely hope that as you depart from our Alma Mater your interest in the Literary aawww.iili 11 in iwip'mi' «ni|n / THE MERCURY. 119 Journal, whose standard you have done so much to maintain, will not cease, and that you will continue to give us your aid. An article or two from our alumni in each edition adds dignity to the paper, and insures the student body and the alumni that you are still interested in the welfare of your College Journal. Not only do the students enjoy reading the articles of our alumni, but they become more desirous of producing a writing worthy of publication in the same paper. Since we know your time for departure has come, and that you have reached the coveted goal, and are now ready to en gage in the real battle ot life, we bid you God-speed, and hope each member of the class of 1906 has chosen a vocation that will be a source of continual pleasure to him. Sincerely, " THE STAFF." REVIEW. We now stand at the close of another college year ; a year has past that will never return; we have passed through a stage of our college course which we shall not ex-perience again, however much we may wish to do so at a future time. We hope that they are not among us, who can not say that this was the best year of their lite. If there should be those who can not say this, surely their environment this year has not affected them ; either the individual did not have the capacity, or the spirit too weak, for doubtless it was present, as a slight glance backward will readily show, from the very beginning until this the end. In truth this has been the condition all over our fair land, but especially we can say this of our own dear Alma Mater. This year she has enrolled more students than ever before—men who promise to support high purposes and to make real men. Also she has played no little part in the intellectual realm. Her students have main tained a high standard of scholarship; they have shown an unusual interest in matters of inter collegiate as well as collegi-ate concern; in almost every literary pursuit a new standard has been set up. Not only along intellectual lines has she been so successful but physically as well. Her athletic teams 120 THE MERCURY. deserve the highest praise; they have not only borne the flower 'bt victory from the accustomed places, but have cap-tured new" trbphies with which they adorn the fond days of old. 'So Without hesitation we can say that this year has been a' grand success, but our ideal has "not yet been realized, there-fore, let each one come back next year with a stout determi-nation to reach higher. The very fact that we have your subscription To THE ALUMNI. , , . • , . * , i shows that you are interested in us, but we would more than appreciate an article from your, or a word of criticism. It is our constant aim to improve our paper and we' believe that you can . help us. We sincerely hope that you Will not forget this, arid that' when we g'o to make up the •October issue we will find some alumni contributions. ■:■ EXCHANGES. . ■ . Our exchanges all put in their appearance'in due time this mon'th, some in bright new spring attire and the others in their regular dignified garb. All are full of the spirit of springtime and commencement. The Havetfordian still maintains its high standard from month to "month. The newly installed Board of Editors in forming its policy has considered the advisability of publishing a monthly literary journal and a bi-weekly newspaper instead of the present combined monthly, and has decided that such a change cannot be made at present. However after the June issue there will be no Exchange Department, that space being devoted to the Alumni and College Departments. The Owl published by the students of Temple College, Phila-delphia, is now one of our exchanges. The May number is the second issue and does entire credit to its Board. We par tjcularly admire the drawings in the different departments. As we close our Exchange Column for the year, we wish to thank pur contemporaries for their kind commendation and criticism of our work, and we wish to assure them that we have enjoyed and profited by the results of their labors. We wish you all a happy and successful vacation. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS FURNITURE Mattresses, Bed Springs, Iron Beds, Picture Frames. Repair Work done promptly. Under-taking a specialty. * Telephone No. 97. EE. IB. Bender 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. LargeJt 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 Ball 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 Official League Ball is the adopted ball of the ■National League, and must be 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 ^better article, lasts longer, gives more satisfaction. Every Base Ball Manager should send at oncefor a copy of Spalding's Spring and Sum-mer Catalogue—FREE. A. G. SPALDING The Peoples Drug Store-invites you to visit them and select your needs from a fresh, new, and up-to-date stock. C. WM. BEALES, Ph.Gr., Prop. D. J. Swartz Dealer in Country Produce Groceries Ciprs ani Tobacco GE TTYSBURG. Shoes Repaired —BV— J. H- BA^ES, 115 Baltimore St., near Court House. Good Work Guaranteed. WEBSTER'S JNNTTEERTM? DICTIONARY RECENTLY ADDED, 25,000 NEW WORDS and PHRASES| New GazetteeroftheWorld. New Biographical Dictionary. 2380 QUARTO PAGES. DOOO ILLUSTRATIONS. Editor in Chief, W. T. HARRIS, L.L.D., U.S. Com.ofEdu. GRAND PRIZE, WORLD'S FAIR ST. LOUIS FREE,"Dictionary "Wrinkles." Also pamphlet. G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Mass. GET THE BEST WEBSTER'S INTERNATIONAL! DICTIONARY .J OTHWaaOTOP** -•**">""" ""->' PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. fc. r EMIL ZOTHE COLLEGE EMBLEMS Engraver, Designer and Manufacturing Jeweler, 716 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA. Specialties: Masonic Marks, Society Badges, College Buttons, Pins, Scarf Pins, Stick Pins and Athletic Prizes All Goods ordered through F. A. Faust. Picture Frames of All Sorts. Repair work done promptly. $3?I will also buy or exchange any second-hand furniture 4 0hambersburgSt., GETTYSBURG, FA. Sunday School Lesson Helps and Supplies. P. ANSTADT & SONS PUBLISHERS BOOK AND JOB PRINTING OF ALL KINDS Write for Prices. YORK, PA. Our Microscopes, Microtomes, Laboratory Glass-ware, Chemical Apparatus, Chemicals, Photo I Leases and Shutters, Field Glasses, Projection I Apparatus, Photo-Micro Cameras are used by I the leading Lab-«^B^HMKI oratories and I Gover'nt Dep'ts fffe 53 Round the World | SCOPES Catalogs teg Iff Pree Bausch & Lomb Opt. Co. I ROCHESTER, N. Y. LNewYork Chicago Boston Frankfurt. G'yJ PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. I HOTEL GETTYSBURG HEADQUARTERS FOR BANQUETS. Electric Lights, Steam Heat, All Conveniences. Free Bus to and from station. Convenient for Commencement Visitors. 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AjN \Z r t SK*-*—*— DECEMBER, 1900 Qettysbtiir Mercury CONTENTS The End of the Nineteenth Cen-tury, 205 Pennsylvania College at the Close of the Nineteenth Cen-tury, 206 The Belles 208 The Mysterious Picture, . . 211 Father Hawkin's Observations, 215 King- of Reformers, . . .217 An Old Camera, . . .220 Editor's Desk 222 Elements of Inspiration in the Earliest Greek Poets, . . 224 Words add Things, . 228 A Financier, . 233 Book Review 236 Among Our Contemporaries . 236 FAVOR THOSE WHO FAVOR US. For Fine. Printing go to Tk J° Co Wile Prifltiig ftwe CARLISLE ST. GETTYSBURG, PA. C. B. Kitzmiller Leadership Dealer in Hats, Caps, Boots and Douglas Shoes GETTYSBURG, PA. R. M. Elliott Dealer in Hats, Caps, Shoes and. Gents' Furnishing Goods Corner Center Square and Carlisle Street GETTYSBURG, PA. IN THE CLOTHING and MEN'S fURNISHING Business It is strictly here—everybody knows it. Testimony'! The stock itself. The pen suffi-ciently nimble to tell all the good points of our ::::::: FALL AND WINTER. SUITS AND OVERCOATS has not been found. We will keep you dressed right up-to-date if you buy your Clothing and Furnishings here. : : : EDGARS. MARTIN, F^CIGARS AND SMOKERS' ARTICLES Chambersburg St., Gettysburg ST McPherson Block. No. li BALTIMORE STREET THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY, The Literary Journal of Pennsylvania College. Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter. VOL. IX. GETTYSBURG. PA., DECEMBER, 1900. No. 7. THE END OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. "Old Time's great clock, that never stops, Nor runs too fast nor slow, Hung up amid the worlds of space Where wheeling planets glow; Its dial-plate the orbit vast Where whirls our old earth free— Has pushed its pointers round again And marked a century." «^2> 'T'HE century ends. The startling records of to-day are being ■^ stamped upon the last lap of the scroll. Marvelous have been the achievements of the last ten decades. Strange are the inscriptions on the escutcheons of the nations of the world. May the American not cease to hallow the ground where rest the ashes of the sages, patriots and warriors! Remembered be the deeds of the fathers ; long live their admonition ! Soft be the breeze that sways the trees on the famous fields of battle! Forgotten the strife that stained our soil with blood! Firm be the future grasp of Labor's callous hand—recognized, in every sphere, the noble and the true! Appreciated be the heritage of the fathers ! Bared be every arm in defense of our common, sacred trust! Solid be the phalanx in freedom's holy cause! 206 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE AT THE CLOSE OP THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. E. S. BREIDENBAUGH, SC. D. T N this last issue of the MERCURY for the nineteenth century it *■ is proper to consider Pennsylvania College in connection with the present condition of higher education in our country. While not attempting a complete survey, a few glimpses of the field will be a source of congratulation and encouragement in our work, and may be an incentive to further effort for advancing the interests of our college. During the last third of the century there has been a large in-crease in the number of college students, proportionally a larger increase than the increase in population. There are no available statistics to show whether the number of Lutheran young people in institutions of learning has grown in proportion to the growth of our church membership, there are sufficient facts to show that there has been a very decided increase in the number of our young peo-ple who are having the advantages of the higher education. This increase in number of college students is due in part, if not wholly, to the growing conviction that a higher education is advantageous to men in every field of activity. While formerly the college graduates rarely entered any other profession than the ministry, law or medicine, we now find a minority of all the college graduates entering these professions. In our own college we find in recent years an increasing number of our graduates entering on business or technical pursuits. This change in the life work of college men has accompanied and has been in part the cause of and in part the effect of changes in the college curriculum. There have been introduced into the curriculum many important subjects, which in the early part of the century were hardly thought of in connection with a college education. This large increase in number of subjects taught has necessitated the introduction of electives into the requirements for entrance to and graduation from college. The same conditions have lead to the opportunity being given to the student to substi-tute for Greek, L,atin and Mathematics, which formerly occupied nearly the whole of the college time, Modern Languages, Natural and Physical Sciences, History, Politics, etc., thus giving the student the choice of subjects in which he may specialize. At the same time the requirements for entrance and graduations have THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 207 been notably increased. In all departments of study there have been changes in method of work which increase the labors of the teachers and require more and better study on the part of the pupils. Pennsylvania College has enlarged her courses of study —has adopted to a fair degree elective courses of study—and in every department has increased the requirements for graduation. These changes in subjects of study and methods of work have necessitated an increased teaching force and enlarged equipment. Our college has in recent years somewhat increased her teaching force and added laboratories of chemistry, biology and elementary mechanics. We have also greatly improved our accommodations for class work in new and convenient buildings. The duty of our college is not rivalry with our neighbors, nor is it at present to do university or technical work, but is to do the best possible for our constituency in providing a sound college training such as is demanded by the present times, to this end we need, and we need greatly, additional teaching force, increased facilities for laboratory work and larger library equipment. Our professors are required to teach too many subjects, and other subjects barely included or not included in our curriculum require attention which cannot be given them. While there has been no increase in the personal interest teachers have for their pupils, there has been a change in methods which requires more immediate individual work between teacher and pupil. This personal teaching in all subjects, while greatly benefiting the student, is a great drain on the vital power of the teacher. As the number of pupils increases the personal attention to individual pupils must lessen unless the teaching force is in-creased, thus enabling each teacher to have fewer subjects and a smaller number of pupils. Co-education has been adopted to a limited degree by Penn-sylvania College. If we desire to enlarge this work, which can easily be done, we must have suitable accommodations for the young women. There has been in our colleges a great change in the dormitory and other accommodations for students. What thirty or forty years ago was regarded as excellent is now deemed wholly inadequate by parents and pupils. In some places these provisions have grown to extravagant proportions, while Pennsylvania College 208 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY has not developed to such a degree, we are in these respects fully abreast of the times. We find the college student yearly taking a greater interest in matters outside the college curriculum—this when properly guarded, is wise and of educational advantage. Our students have shown reasonable activity and had fair success in many of these enterprises, such as athletics, musical clubs, publications and debating clubs. With all these changes in college work—with the greater pressure of material things, with the ever increasing claims of study on the energy of the student and the accompanying greatly increased personal freedom and self-control of the individual student there has been an equally increased interest in religious subjects—this is shown in many ways, not the least being the activity of the College Y. M. C. A. and the accompanying Bible study. In this brief summary of the changing conditions of college work—and we believe they are changes for the better—we find that Pennsylvania College has been advancing in the same direction as the general educational world, and while there is always room for fuller growth, we feel encouraged with the past and are hope-ful for the future. These improving conditions are due to the diversified and united labors of trustees, presidents, professors,students,numerous liberal friends and the general loyalty of the alumni of the college. It is in reliance on the continued energy and loyalty of all these friends that we are assuredly hopeful for the future of our college. THE BELLES. J. B. BAKER, '01. Hear the singing of the belles— Choir belles! What a world of vanity their rhapsody foretells ! How they wrinkle, wrinkle, wrinkle, All the muscles of their bite 1 While the gems that oversprinkle All their tresses, seem to twinkle With a hyaline delight; THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 209 Keeping time, time, time, In a faintly falling: rime, To the nasal proclamation that so dissonantly wells From the belles, belles, belles, belles, Belles, belles, belles— From the singing and the ringing- of the belles. II Hear the flippant summer belles, Giddy belles! What a string- of soda bills their coquetry foretells ! Throug-h the balmy air of nig-ht How they draw us out of sight! From their starting, darting eyes All aglow, What a funny feeling hies To the bosom of the lover, while he spies Not the bow. Oh, from out those spheric cells, What a gush of repartee extravagantly wells ! How it swells ! How it dwells On the future ! how it tells Oh the philter that impels To the flushing and the blushing Of the belles, belles, belles, Of the belles, belles, belles, Belles, belles, belles— To the flushing and the blushing of the belles. Ill Hear the loud alarum belles— Infant belles ! What a train of muffled oaths their noisiness compels ! In the startled ear of night How they scream out their affright! Too much horrified to speak, They can only shriek, shriek, Out of tune, In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the sire, In a mad expostulation with his warm erratic ire Leaping higher, higher, higher, With a desperate desire, And a resolute endeavor To resign the job forever That he undertook alas, too soon. Oh, the belles, belles, belles What a tale their horror tells Of the crier! 210 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY How they squirm, and kick, and roar, What a horror they outpour On the palpitating bosom of the sire ! Nor the father fully knows, By the wiggling-. And the wriggling, How the sulphur ebbs and flows ; But the mother t'is who tells, In the jangling, And the wrangling, How the danger sinks and swells, By the sinking and the swelling in the squealing of the belles,- Of the belles— Of the belles, belles, belles, belles, Belles, belles, belles— In the squealing and the reeling of the belles. IV Hear the moaning of the belles— Ancient belles ! What a world of sympathy their monody compels ! Through the day and oft by night, How our tears spring into light, At the melancholy mumble of their tone ; For every sound that floats From the rust within their throats Is a groan. And the lovers—ah, the lovers— They who go and wed some others, Altar prone, And who strolling, strolling, strolling, By discarded belles alone, Feel a glory in so rolling On the human heart a stone— They are neither false nor true men— They are neither brute nor human— They are fiends, And their king the devil, tolls, And he rolls, rolls, rolls, Rolls A threnode from the belles ! And his scaly bosom swells With a threnode from the belles! And he dances and he yells ; Keeping time, time, time, In his Tartarean grime, To the threnode of the belles— Of the belles; Keeping time, time, time, THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 211 In his Tartarean grime, To the throbbing- of the belles— Of the belles, belles, belles,— To the sobbing- of the belles ; Keeping time, time, time, As he knells, knells, knells, In his Tartarean grime, To the groaning of the belles— Of the belles, belles, belles,— To the moaning of the belles Of the belles, belles, belles, belles— Belles, belles, belles— To the moaning and the groaning- of the belles. THE MYSTERIOUS PICTURE. STANLEY C. FOWLER, '04. 44QPEAKING of mysteries reminds me of a very curious, yes, ^ startling experience I had when a struggling young artist in Paris," said Wilbur Cutting. " What was that? " we asked. " Go ahead, let her rip, said Coleman, the irrepressible, "we're all attention." Wilbur puffed at his favorite corn-cob pipe and we all drew our chairs nearer the grate fire which burned cheerily and lighted up our cozy club-room. Presently we heard Wilbur's voice from behind a cloud of tobacco smoke, saying: "I was searching for a new model to pose for my 'Abraham.' I had been told of an old, patriarchal Jew, living in one of the many by-ways in the Latin quarter. While walking down a dingy, narrow alley, my attention was attracted by a picture lying on a heap of canvasses, in an old curiosity shop. Drawn by an irresistible impulse I entered and purchased it from the shop-keeper, a queer, little, old Orient, who seemed eager to dispose of it. I took it under my arm and hurried back to my studio, in-tending to retouch it. I placed it on my easel and scrutinizing it closely, marked what a peculiar face it was. Pure oval, the fore-head low and square, eyebrows high-arched meeting over a long, Roman nose, the nostrils were contracted, the mouth, tight shut, was cruel and sinister. The eyes had been scratched through the pupils, completely destroying its expression ; the hair, long 212 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY and black as a raven's wing, was painted as though blown by the wind and finally blended into the deep crimson background. The head had the appearance of flying through the air, for there was neither shoulders nor neck. I failed to recognize the style and searched in vain for the artist's name. "I was soon at work on the eyes, hoping to complete them before the arrival of Archie Armstrong, a young American, who, attracted by the gayeties of Bohemian life, had adopted them as his profession. He had a rich, indulgent, spinster aunt, living in Paris, who descended periodically upon his studio, which was across the hall from mine, and purchased all his masterpieces. To tell the truth, the only parts of them not painted by me were his signatures, which he persistently painted in the brightest colors and in the most conspicuous places. He was expecting a visit from his aunt that afternoon and was about to make a raid upon my studio and carry off all the paintings, finished or not. "As I painted the eyes, it seemed as though an invisible hand was guiding or directing my brush. They were soon finished and I stepped back to see my work. What an expression ! Simply hellish. The eyes seemed like living coals of fire. They burned and blazed and seemed to pierce one through and through. I felt a most peculiar tingling sensation. "I looked at lny hands. No longer were they covered with oil and paint stains, but were changed to long, slender white hands with tapering fingers. My velvet jacket and paint covered trous-ers were changed to an evening suit. Even the studio had changed to a drawing-room elegantly furnished. "Stepping over to one of the mirrors that adorned the wall, I looked in. I started back with a cry of surprise and alarm. The face that had stared at me from the canvass now gazed back at me from the mirror. Could it be possible? Was it I? I raised my hand to my face and when the glass reflected the action, I knew then that I had changed. "Presently I heard footsteps and turning, beheld a young man advancing towards me with outstretched hands to welcome me. I hastened to meet him and he led me into an inner room where a young woman was reclining gracefully on a high-backed, old-fashioned seat. She blushed prettily as we entered and he presented me to her—his wife. As I bowed low and kissed the tips of her dainty fingers, I had an uncontrollable desire to kill THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 213 her, take possession of me. I cannot explain it. It seemed as though I must kill her or myself. "The young man took me to his "den" where we were soon drinking her health. I took up a jeweled dagger from a table and told him of some murders I had heard of done under hypnotic influence. He asked if I believed in hypnotism and I replied in the affirmative, saying, that I could hypnotize him if I so desired. He seemed startled but continuing to drink heavily was soon in a stupor. "Seizing the dagger I stole into the room where his wife was; I raised it aloft and struck with all my might, again and again. As I felt the blade sink into the soft flesh, I could not refrain from laughing exultingly. I knew that when he was aroused from his stupor he would believe himself guilty of the crime. I think I must have been changed into the devil, for I chuckled and gloated over the misery that would come to the young man. "I stole away still gloating over my crime. Suddenly my face grew warmer and warmer. It seemed that flames were creeping slowly over my head. I screamed aloud for agony and then I must have fainted. "When I regained consciousness, I found myself in my own bed with Archie leaning over me and the.morning sun pouring in the window. " 'What has happened ?' I asked. " 'Blamed if I know,'said Archie, rubbing his head. 'Icame yesterday afternoon and nearly banged my fists off, trying to make you let me in. I heard you sputtering and as time was valuable, I pushed the door in and found you staring at the queerest picture I ever saw. You turned around to me sputtering gibberish and I took you into your room. I thought you had been indulging too freely. In the night you stabbed your lay figure with your pallet knife. You'll have a nice job replacing that gown. You had it spoiled before I discovered you. You've been raving until you screamed just now,' said Archie, looking disgustedly at me. ' 'I looked at my easel. The picture was gone. "'Where's the picture?' I asked. Archie looked sheepish and said: 'Well, auntie would have it. There's the check on the table.' % % if. ■%. % "That afternoon as I was relating my experience to Archie, the 214 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY door flew open with a bang and in stepped his aunt with head erect and fire in her eye. Without returning Archie's greeting, she opened hostilities thus: " 'What do you mean by selling me that picture, sir ! I don't believe you painted it at all! I think the devil did ! ' " 'Why, auntie, you surprise me. What's the trouble,' asked Archie. " 'Trouble! Humph! I should say so. Trouble! There's been nothing but trouble since I brought that thing to my house. Why, when I had Henry hang it in my saloon with the rest of your paintings, he acted like a lunatic. Tried to stab me ! He raved so all last night about that picture that I took it down this morning and threw it in the fire, and as I did so, it shrieked! My nerves have had such a fright that it'll be months before they'll get quieted again. How did you ever get it, tor I don't believe you painted it? ' she finally asked Archie. " 'Well, I'll confess I didn't paint it. My friend Wilbur bought it in an old shop and I thought since you liked it, you know, when—er—that is—I thought you would like it better if you thought that I painted it. I am sorry that I deceived you, but shan't do it again,' said Archie, looking very penitent. " 'You'd better not, for I am very shrewd. I thought you didn't paint it,' said his aunt, and turning to me said: " 'Mr. Wilbur, if you would turn your attention toward art, as my gifted nephew has, and paint a few pictures like his, it would be better than tramping around buying such things as that picture and calling them your own as I guess you were going to do. I hope this will be a lesson to you, Archie. Don't follow in your friend's footsteps again or attempt to deceive me again, for I am too shrewd for you !' and off she stamped, followed by Archie, whose face was purple with suppressed laughter. I was in deadly fear of the eruption and heaved a sigh of relief as they disappeared. "All those symptoms Archie's aunt attributed to his shame and mortification he felt at being caught trying to fool her. "I made inquiries afterwards at the shop about the picture. All that I could learn was that the shop-keeper had bought it at the auction of the art treasures of a young man who had killed his wife and died crazy. It was said that he had imported the picture from the Orient, where it had been, probably, for many I THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 215 years. It was the shop-keeper who had scratched out the eyes, for he said they haunted him. Whether or not I should have died mad, as did its former possessor, had it not been destroyed, I can't tell." e^pj FATHER HAWKINS' OBSERVATIONS. CHAS. W. WEISER, '01. Well, Lizer, I'se been up ter town, Ther college fur ter see, And talk about yer country Jakes— Ther same as you and me. Of bildins fine I saw a heft, That's fine as ever I've seen, And trees, and signs—"Keep off ther grass' I guess because its green. The Profs' got lots of larnin, And plenty fur ter spare ; But me thinks they need it all, Ter train thim fellers thare. So guess we'll send our Kier, Ter eddicated be, Fur he must have more larnin, Than ever you an me. I saw thim fellers go A stragglin long ther walk, Ther one he looked so strait ahead As any line of chalk. He looked not ter ther right er left, But just strait down his nose, And where that little nose did point, He always surly goes. Ther one did run his hands, Inter his pockets deep. With hangin head and crooked back, He ter the class did creep. His knees did knock each other gainst, And pigeoned were his toes. Well such er sight I niver seed Where ever I do goes. 216 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Another one went walkin long, A lookin at ther cloud ; His nose er pointin in ther air, His heels er stumpin loud. He wore er collar high er enough, Fer any six months calf ; And tie like my red handkichief, That made er feller laugh. And one he said "Wha don chu knaw" I took my "cut" ter day ; Another one he got er "zip," And wished he'd stayed away. They say they "horse," and "make a stab, An some times make a "break." But if I had them in my field, I'd make them take a rake. When yer do hear a college chap, Yer don't know what he says I guess its Latin—but don know, In all my born days. We send our men from off ther farm— They have some common sense ; Ther "city's" call them "greenies" But grapple for ther pence. But soon they larn to shporty dress, And know ther college slang, They come back with swellin heads, Too fine ter help er lang. They think they know a heft of stuff, And flaunt it in yer face, But 'fore ther thro' ther college course, They've set another pace. But don't cher know, I often see, Ther boys from off ther farm, Who think ther "dad" has got ther "mon," Make oft ther shports—yes marm. And tho I kin not spaik mam Like eddicated men I'm not so dull as ruff mam Tho' kin not hold ther pen. And so they musn't judge mam, 'Cause farmin is our lot, THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 217 That we are slow and kin not tell Ef they're er man er not. They ortend fur ter be mam, More than thay really was, But live ter what ther trained fur, And not make sich a fuss. " KIING OP REFORMERS." GEO. W. NICELY, '01. Honorable mention Junior Oratorical. HPHE sixteenth century gave birth to the most remarkable man A the world has ever known. Welcome must have been the change in all Germany, created by the reformation. " From Germany proceeded the power which caused Rome, the once proud mistress of almost the whole world, to tremble, even when she was at the zenith of her potency. And from Germany also proceeded the power which shook the triple crown of the most artful religious and temporal usurper at modern Rome, and brought her to the very brink of inevitable ruin; it was in Ger-many where the morning dawn of a pure worship of the Supreme Being, and of a wise liberty of conscience was destined to arise." In order to realize, to some extent, the magnitude and im-portance of Luther's services to mankind in promoting the cause of freedom and progress, as well as in reformiug the church, it is necessary to recall the condition of the civilized world at the time he appeared and began his career on the stage of human affairs. In the beginning of the 15th century the church was almost universally corrupt, and popes and bishops and people were alike involved in the general demoralization. For a hundred years before the papal chair was occupied by princes, most of whom attained their elevation by intrigue and bribery, and some even by assassination. " It was an age of monasticism." Thousands of men and women in all countries had renounced the world and entered into monasteries and convents to lead lives of superior holiness, but these retreats from the world had changed from their original character and many of them were now places of in-dolence and sensuality. Guiler Von Kaiserburg declares that convent life had become a mere mockery. Infessura, a Roman 218 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY historian, says: "Everyone in Rome knows, alas, that monas-teries have now become dens of corruption.'' Such was the general character of the clergy, from the pope down to the lowest priest; and such also was the condition of religious teachers. Ignorance, superstition and immorality prevailed generally among them. All who questioned the authority of this complex despotism, or denounced its usurpations, were soon silenced or crushed. John Huss and Jerome Prague suffered martydom at Constance for preaching the truths of the gospel a hundred years before Luther; Savoiiavola, at Florence, met a similar fate in 1498. Thousands of others were persecuted, imprisoned, assassinated, tortured to death; hunted down like the wild beasts, or burned to the stake, for worshiping God according to the dictates of their own con-science, for reading the scriptures or for exposing the wickedness and usurpations of the clergy. It was under this state of civil and ecclesiastical despotism, when corruption and profligacy were dominant in the church, and ignorance and superstition prevailed among the people, that Luther appeared and entered upon the great work of reform, for which God had prepared him. It is difficult, if not impossible, at the present day to appreciate the magnitude of that work. All sources of power and influence in church and state; all customs and habits of the people for generations; all existing institutions and the entire structure of society were against him, and had to be assailed, confronted, overthrown and reformed. The word of God was buried in the Latin vulgate version, which only the educated few could read, and copies were so dear and scarce that they were inaccessible to the common people, even if they had been able to read them. " It was one of the achievements of Luther, and a service of ines-timable value to the Germanic nation, that he translated the Bible and gave it to the people in their own tongue, so that all could read it and know that the doctrines he proclaimed were the living truths of the living God, before whom popes and kings and priests and all men were alike accountable." But Luther's work was not confined to reforming the church and furnishing the Bible to the people. It was not only the overthrow of usurped ecclesi-astical power and the restoration of religious toleration and free-dom in Europe. It was all this, but it was also more. There is not an interest or reform affecting human welfare in modern civilization—whether educational, social, industrial or THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 219 political—upon which Luther did not shed the light of his great intellect and soul, enlightened by the word and spirit of God. He taught that it was the duty of the state to educate all the children of the people in order that they might become intelligent and useful citizens; and thus he was the pioneer advocate of uni-versal education four centuries ago. In quelling the outbreak of communism in Germany, known as the "peasant war," he de-clared it to be the duty of all to be subject to " the powers that be," and to acquire property, not by the plunder and robbery of others, but by industry, frugality and honesty. In an address to the princes and nobles of Germany, he taught the reciprocal duties of rulers to their subjects, and of subjects to their rulers, suggest-ing the fundamental principle announced in our Declaration of Independence, that governments, though " ordained of God, de-rive their just powers from the consent of the governed." " I will call this Luther a true, great man," says Carlyle. " Great in intellect, in courage, affection and integrity, one of our most lovable and precious men; great, not as a hewn obelisk, but as an Alpine mountain, so simple, spontaneous, honest, not set-ting up to be great at all; therefore quite another purpose than being great. A.h, yes, unsubduable granite, piercing far and wide into the heavens; yet, in the clefts of its fountains, green, beautiful valleys with flowers ! " "In my judgment," said Senator Wellington of Maryland, " Luther is the greatest man that hath yet lived." "Challenging the license To make gain of sin, Luther nails his protest; Listen to the din. "Striking with his hammer— How the panels shake— How the gateway trembles— How the timid quake! "Blows on blows resounding, Echoed from afar; How the world is shaken, How the churches jar. "We to-day are feeling Heart and conscience thrill, And throughout the ages Men will feel it still. 220 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY "Till the death-stroke's given To all force and fraud; For the striking' hammer Is the word of God." AN OLD CAMERA. P. W. EYSTEB, '03. A BOUT twenty years ago there lived in Dowingtown, about •**■ thirty miles west from Philadelphia, a young man by the name of Warren, whose ambition it was to succeed. He started out in life by teaching school in his native town. So, during the school term he was busy, but during vacation he did all kinds of work about his home. His neighbor was a photographer, and business being dull, he sold his old camera to Mr. Warren at a small price. After young Warren's school had closed, he packed up his camera and left the town, visiting the small villages and towns, to take the pictures of buildings and family groups. Finally he came to a small vil-lage called Pleasant Hill. There was at the time a small show in the place, and as Warren was strolling over the show grounds, he saw an Italian organ-grinder, and a curly-headed boy about six years old on whose face were the features of an American parent-age. Just then the intoxicated assistant-manager of the show came out of a nearby hotel, and tossing to the organ grinder a dime, said, "Make the little rascal dance." The organ grinder, after a few kicks and cuffs, got the boy to dance. The photographer, Mr. Warren, was among the onlookers and took a picture of the Italian and the daucing boy. Warren went to his lodging place, and after developing the picture, put it with others in his traveling case, forgetting all about it. Not meeting with much success at Pleasant Hill, he went to Ardmore, a suburb of Phila-delphia. He took the pictures of the pretty houses and beautiful scenes to be seen in and about Ardmore. One morning as he was stopping before a large sandstone house, preparing to take a pic-ture of it, a handsome lady, on whose face were signs of inward grief, came walking across the lawn, and commenced to talk with the photographer. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 221 This was the house of Mr. Sheffield, a wealthy Philadelphia banker, who lived in Ardmore, and conducted his business in the city. About five years before, his little only son, then one year old, had wandered into the street and was kidnapped. Mr. Shef-field offered a large reward to any one who would make known the whereabouts of his child, but was not successful. Mrs. Shef-field, who admired children, was so grieved at the loss of her only child that she, at times, came near losing her reason. She would every morning, at the time the child was kidnapped, walk across the lawn as if looking for some one; and she Could frequently be heard repeating a low prayer, in which she asked but one favor from God—the return of her sou. This accounted for her pres-ence on the lawn at this time. Mr. Warren invited her to look over the pictures in his travel-ing case while he was fixing the camera. She examined them all till she came to the last, the picture of the organ-grinder and the curly-headed boy; and as she recognized the boy's picture, she exclaimed , "Oh, my boy, my dear little George," and fell over fainting. Just then Mr. Sheffield came; arid Mrs. Sheffield soon recovered sufficient to hand the picture to Mr. Sheffield, He took a long look at it, and judging from the tears that rolled down his cheeks, one could easily tell what his feelings were. Mr. Sheffield asked young Warren where and when he had last seen the organ-grinder and the little boy. Warren gave Mr. Sheffield the desired information, and in less than four hours the police in every town and village in eastern Pennsylvania were looking for an organ-grinder and a little boy, who answered the description of those on the picture. Both were soon found. The organ-grinder, who was the kidnapper, was dealt with according to law and the child was sent to the home of his loving mother. The boy grew up to take part in his father's business, and to-day the Philadelphia firm of Sheffield & Son is well known. The young photographer received from Mr. Sheffield the reward which gave him a good start in business. At present Mr. Warren lives in Baltimore as a retired mer-chant, and he often tells his friends about the old camera stored on the garret of his house. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter. VOL. IX. GETTYSBURG, PA., DECEMBER, 1900. No. 7. Editor-in- Chief, S. A. VAN ORMEK, '01. Assistant Editors, W. H. HBTEICK, W. A. KOIILEH. Business Manager, H. C. HOFFMAN. Alumni Editor, REV. F. D. GARLAND. Assistant Business Manager, WILLIAM C. NEY. Advisory Board, PROF. J. A. HIMES, LIT. D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M. D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD. D. D. Published monthly by the students of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription price, One Dollar a year in advance; single copies Ten 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 Business Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE GETTYBURG MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORS' DESK. "VVTE hear with regret of the death of Business Manager Hoff- " man's father. Mr. Hoffman was summoned home some weeks ago on account of his father's illness, and accompanied him to a Philadelphia hospital, where an operation to save his life was performed in vain. The MERCURY extends sincere sym-pathy to the bereaved family. Since the close of the foot ball season there is a noticeable in-crease in interest in the work of the literary societies. Special programs were rendered in both societies last evening (Dec. 7)— THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 223 in Philo, "An Evening with Kipling"; in Phrena, "A Mock Trial.'' Both halls were filled. It is to be hoped that enthusiasm in and the healthy rivalry between the two societies will continue increasing as time advances. A college man is expected not only to talk intelligently on the current topics of the day but also to meet his adversary in debate with clean-cut, forcible arguments. Men are needed who can think accurately and think on their feet. That Gettysburg men may be the better able to meet these de-mands, a course in Argumentation has been provided for. It is in charge of Professor Klinger, whose enthusiasm and magnetism will prove a source of inspiration to the members of the class, which, added to a knowledge of the principles of Argumentation and practice in the application of these principles, will amply pay for the time and energy expended. As this is the last issue of THE MERCURY for the year and for the century, we wish to bespeak a continuance of the kindly feeling and hearty support of the journal on the part of the stu-dents, alumni and friends of the college. We wish all a pleas-ant vacation, and hope that all may return with renewed ambition and high ideals. When we shall have been transported by the machinery of the world into a new century, may we behold a "New Era" that con-tains bright visions for the coming years ! *3^ab Do not look for wrong- and evil, You will find them if you do; As you measure to your neighbor, He will measure back to you. Look for gladness, look for gladness, You will meet them all the while; If you bring a smiling visage To the glass, you meet a smile. —Alice Cary. 224 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY ELEMENTS Of INSPIRATION IN TME EARLIEST CREEK POETS. C. M. A. STINE, '01. "VVTHAT do we mean when we speak of a book as inspired ? " What is the signification of the word inspiration? These two questions present themselves at the very outset of the subject. The word inspiration means, literally, a breathing into, that is, it is the breathing of God's spirit into the mind of man. When we speak of a book as inspired we mean that it makes the divine will known to man, or contains some great principle or truth in regard to the life of man. It is in this sense of the word that we use the terms inspired and inspiration. In considering the elements of inspiration in the earliest Greek poets we naturally inquire what these elements are in order that we may know what to look for. Let us consider the subject from three standpoints: first, the revelations of God and of the hereafter which they gave to their readers ; second, any prophecies which they contain ; third, their influence upon Greek morals and civilization. Homer and Hesiod are the earliest Greek poets of whose works we have any definite knowledge. The great epics of Homer and the "Theogouy" and the "Works and Days" of Hesiod may fairly be considered as representative of this earliest known period of Greek poetry. Hesiod, in his "Theogouy," as the name indicates, endeavored to harmonize and systematize the numerous myths in regard to the gods b}' arranging the gods themselves in the order of exact genealogy. Homer portrays the gods as grand in the strength of their passions and in their power, yet they leave the impression of being scarcely more than human beings endowed with great power and with immortality. In the Iliad they take sides against one another. Zeus at first is not favorable to the Greeks, and they realize that without the favor of Zeus it is useless to fight. They therefore prosecute the war by wiles and by spies till Zeus has been propitiated. The power of Zeus is recognized, but there are none of the attributes portrayed as pertaining to him which belong to the true God. In his portrayal of the character of Athena, Homer gives the loftiest conception of the Deity. Athena is mind personified. She is without the lower attributes and the petty jealousies which attach to the. other gods. Athena, "the flashing eyed," is essentially the goddess of the keeu-witted THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 225 Greeks. It is necessary that the Greek be constantly on the lookout not to offend the Deities, and if by some mischance a god or goddess is offended, it is necessary that the offended deity be placated at any cost. The various divinities have their favorites over whom they watch and whose actions they direct. In the first book of the Iliad Athena is represented as restraining Achilles by his yellow hair when he is about to draw his sword against Agamemnon : ***** jiffy g> •AOrjvrj ******* * * * l-avOTfi $k ho/ir/i HX* TTTjXziwya, (II. I. 193-201.) Again, in the Odyssey, she assists Teleuiachus to set out from Ithaca in search of his father, and watches over the wandering Odysseus. But how far is all this from the love of the Christian Jehovah ! There is a power spoken of against which it is useless to strug-gle or to appeal to the gods. The decrees of the fates are unalter-able. Even the gods themselves are subject to them. As com-pared with the Christian idea of God as the supreme power there is a wide difference to be noted here. Homer gives a high con-ception of God, when it is remembered that he was a pagan, but the Zeus of Homer and of Hesiod is far indeed from the God of the Christian. From the foregoing we see, first, that there is no clear revela-tion of the attributes of God; second, that there is no idea of Provi-dence; when a guiding hand is revealed it is still within the limitations of stern fate. As to revelations of the future life, the hereafter as painted by Homer is gloomy and forbidding. Instead of regarding the soul as the real ego, and the body merely as a fetter from which the soul is freed at death, the soul is regarded by him merely as a "shade," the shadow of the physical body. This life is all, and there awaited the Greek after death a joyless exist-ence in a gloomy twilight at best, and perhaps even the tortures of Tartarus. He makes the shade of the great Achilles in Hades to say: "I would be A laborer on earth, and serve for hire Some nian of mean estate, who makes scant cheer, Rather than reig-n o'er all who have gone down To death." Od. XI. 489-90, (Bryant's Trans.) 226 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Such a conception of the hereafter must certainly be regarded as unfavorable to the attainment of the highest and noblest life. As to the revelations of God and of the hereafter as contained in these poems we may say that God never reveals half of himself, or in contradictory lights, nor can an idea of the hereafter be for a moment entertained as the correct one if it is hostile to the attainment of the noblest life and the fulfillment of man's highest ideals. Second, as to the element of prophecy as contained in these poems. Prophecy, strictly defined, is "a prediction under divine influence or direction." We ask then, what predictions are there in the works of these poets and what indications do these predic-tions give of having been made under divine influence or direction ? These poems contain not a single instance of this kind of prophecy. It is true that Homer represents predictions as uttered and later on as fulfilled, but there is no prophecy made by either Hesiod or Homer in regard to the future. The predictions of oiacles are mentioned, and later on we see the fulfillment of these predictions worked out as the action of the poem moves on, but in no case is a prophecy in regard to future ages uttered. We come next to the influence which the works of these poets had on the morals and civilization of the Greek people. It is from this third standpoint that we are most likely to speak of these poems as inspired. The"Theogony" of Hesiod moulded the vast number of myths which we find to have existed in that early period into an orderly, polytheistic theology and was accepted as authority by the Greeks. Any book which brings the idea of God nearer to a people and gives more definite form to that idea, whatever form it may be, will have an influence for good upon the morals of that people. In this way such a book as the "Theogony" must have influenced Greek morals. Hesiod's "Works and Days," however, came nearer home to the hearts of the common people. This poem is a sort of a farm-er's calendar, and in addition to the enumeration of the various lucky days for sowing, etc., it contains a collection of precepts, ethical, economical and political. While the style is homely and unimaginative there is a lofty and solemn feeling throughout, found-ed on the "idea that the gods have ordained justice among men, have made labor the only road to prosperity, and have so ordered THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 227 the year that every work has its appointed season, the sign of which may be discerned." A poem of this character certainly had a beneficent effect upon the minds of the people. It is before the immortal Homer that we must pause in wonder and almost in awe. The influence of the Iliad and the Odyssey upon the Greek mind can hardly be over-estimated. Tbe char-acters which stand forth in his poems, with their matchless symmetry and trueness to life, even to this day, twenty-five hundred years after the writing of the poems, play a part in the formation of the ideals of all who read them, and cannot but enoble the reader. Nausicaa, the loveliest of Homer's female creations, is a character which, in her innocence and her queenly maidenhood, has scarcely ever been equaled. Penelope is the ideal of a con-stant wife, faithful and unswerving in her affections through the most trying experiences. Hector is an ideal of a loyal, unselfish patriot. While no less brave than the fiery Achilles, he is yet more human than that mighty warrior, who has been rendered by the gods practically invulnerable. The appeal of the white-haired Priam for the body of his son will never fail to touch human hearts. With characters such as these ever before them in the lofty poetry of Homer, Greek minds could not fail to be purified and ennobled. Their influence upon the general culture of the age must have been very great, and they are therefore treated as one of the great factors in Greek civilization by many historians. To sum up, we find that while these early poems failed to give the highest conceptions of God, contain nothing of the idea of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and were entirely lacking in the element of prophecy, they, nevertheless, were of the greatest value in the education of the Greek people and the advancement of civilization. In this third aspect, at least, they do not fall short of that lofty ideal which we expect an inspired work to fulfill. While we are not warranted in conclud-ing that they were inspired, yet so long as either Hesiod or Homer are read, the homely truth of the former and the superb genius of the latter must command our highest admiration. 228 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY WORDS AND THINGS. D. C. BUBNITK, '01. I ANGUAGE is God's gift to man. The lower animals pos- *~* sess memory, will and intellect, and in a few cases even the ability to repeat words; but to man alone has the Creator given the power of expressing his thoughts in words. This dis-criminate use of words is the most prominent mark of difference between man and beast. The value of language is realized when we try to imagine man without it. How limited would be his knowledge and how nar-row his range of thought, for he would be unable to receive from his fellows one single idea with which to compare his own thoughts, and thus arrive at new conclusions. Nor would reason have any value without words to communicate to others its re-sults. What would be the extent of scientific knowledge today had Copernicus, Newton, Franklin and all the host of discoverers been unable to preserve their results in words? "Thoughts without words are nothing." * Words are valueless without a knowledge of the relations they bear to the things for which they are the symbols. But an ex-tensive knowledge of their significance is inestimable, for upon this foundation rests all learning—that alone which can procure true appreciation of life and its blessings. Acquaintance with the real meanings of words is necessary to scholarship. One must be able at a glance to discern that which lies back of a word, the thing for which a word stands. He must have appropriate terms with which he can readily give accurate expression to his own thoughts. "A word fitly spoken," says Solomon, "is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." T_et us attempt to substitute one word for another in a passage of Milton, and we destroy the effect of the whole. It was Webster's accurate selection of words that placed him in history. How do we acquire this ability to join the right word with the right thing ? This faculty, like most other endowments, develops with age. The infant hears a word and learns by mere observa-tion what thing it represents. He wishes to denote an object or express a thought, and his elders supply him with the necessary words. And this process of obtaining the meanings of words may be pursued in this same manner all through life. No con- *Max Muller. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 229 scious effort in this direction need be made in order to prosper, but to pass into the sphere of education one must apply himself to the work of definition; he must faithfully consult his dic-tionary. The student's vocabulary is also increased, as in the case of the infant, by being supplied with the ideas before he is given the corresponding terms. That is, a definition may precede the word it explains. This is the modern inductive method of teaching, especially in the natural sciences. By it we are lead first to form a conception and then given the appropriate word. By repeated use every word whose meaning is understood be-comes a complete possession. But not only mere definition and repetition suffice to procure for us in all cases true appreciation of the meanings of words. The things for which some words stand must be experienced before their real significance lies open before us. Who knows what the word "sorrow" really means but him who has had trouble ? The mild tempered person can-not realize fully what lies back of the word "anger." The true meaning of "ocean" is inconceivable to him who has never be-held its beauty. Words are living beings to one who has expe-rienced the things they represent. One of the greatest obstacles to retard our progress is the lack of this absolute requirement for advancement—total command of the words in common use. We wonder why this is. Of course some of us lack original capacity to understand words, and some of us have not had sufficient opportunities to obtain a good vocabulary. But most of us have this capacity and have had the best of chances, and yet we are deficient. The failure to understand and use words in their true import can generally be traced to the habitual disinclination to do that which requires .special effort; in short, we have been lazy. It is surprising how few of us are willing to attribute some of our fail-ings to that cause. Many of our present shortcomings are owing to wilful neglect in the past. In the case in hand we have failed to perform the fundamental process. We have procrastinated, deferring the definition of unfamiliar words till "the next time." We have done this again and again, and now when we attempt higher pursuits, we find our error. An exceedingly large proportion of persons are in this condi-tion. And it is to be deplored that a very large part of those in 230 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY this plight do not seem at all anxious to remedy their condition. How shiftless and inaccurate is their use of words. How feeble their attempts to argue, or even to hold intelligent conversation. The artisan must have materials with which to work. He who would make his thoughts known must have suitable words. But these persons are satisfied with their poor attempts, both to ex-press their thoughts and to understand the thoughts of others. "The world," says Paschal, "is satisfied with words; few care to dive beneath the surface." How true this is. We see it everywhere. Where it is possible the student uses his memory. Words, empty words, are all he tries to obtain; and, sad to say, he gets what he is after. He fails to see beyond the narrow present into the broad future. He strives for present reputation and marks, and he gets them; and that is all. He soon loses words, and he has never received their corresponding ideas, and all that is left is a record "on the books," which in these days of the survival of the fittest, counts for naught. But then there is that large class of persons who do thoroughly realize the necessity of greater command of language, who do want to make up for past neglect. How can we accomplish this ? "There is no royal road to learning." The rudiments of any study must be mastered before there can be advancement. We must now do what we have before neglected. We must use our dictionaries and weigh the significance of each word before we attempt to use it. To attain the highest use of language we must not pass by a single word without thoroughly understanding the thing it stands for. Extreme care must be exercised in the selec-tion of words with which to express our thoughts. Constant watchfulness is the price of success. This work of improvement is an arduous task, the performance of which persistence alone can accomplish, but the end fully repays the effort. Who that has reached this goal would trade his accomplish-ment for all that man could offer? With this possession one dwells upon a higher plane than that of his less intelligent fellow. By it he is brought a step nearer to the Being with whose help he obtains it. No other acquirement can produce such pleasure as this knowledge of the relations of words to things. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 231 THE REFINING FIRE IN NATURE. J. R. STONER, '01. A T that period of the year when the process of oxidation is **• going on more rapidly than at any other, preparing nature for a state in which she may resume anew the forms of activity and life,—look out over the landscape ! The autumnal equinox has ushered in another season to succeed the vanished summer, and the robe of verdure is changed into the beautiful golden garb of autumn. The forest and the grove reflect a hue of amber and gold as they lie in the distance, bathed in the rich sunlight against the blue background of the sky. It is but the flame of this burning process in nature now fanned into a great conflagration consum-ing all that has flourished in the past year that is no longer of value in the economy of nature, except it be decomposed into its elements and taken up in the formation of other substances. But all is not consumed. The golden grain and the fruit of the tree; that which at one time appeared but as an obstructed growth of leaves, now contains within its narrow shell the capability of un-folding in another life. By its persistence in complying with the law that turns all hindrances to good effects, while it could not assume the beauty and prominence of a leaf in the bright robe of the herb or the tree, but submitting to its allotted destiny, it grad-ually developed into the permanent kernel, able to survive in the test under which the leaf must perish. We see all around us the work of nature purging the earth of all that is useless at the end of a period of creative activity or growth, preparing for another period of vigor and work. By means of this oxidation or slow burning "all effete substances that have served their purpose in the old form are burnt up" and only that which has the promise of life and usefulness passes un-harmed through the ordeal. Without this conflagration by which the earth is swept in autumn, there could be no.new, fresh growth in nature. Through the amber flames of autumn comes the pure, fresh verdure of spring. Everywhere is this refining fire purg-ing the universe of all that is worthless, perpetually tending to bring it into a purer state. Even the rivulet, whose crystal waters have been made foul by the natural contamination of the soil over which it has flown, is made purer by being thrown into a state of agitation as it ripples down over the obstructions in its way. The grand column that dashes precipitately over the awful 232 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY cataract and is separated into multitudinous particles of spray reaches the plane below in a purer state ; because the molecules have been bathed in the refining element of oxygen pervading the atmosphere. Thus we see that hindrances or adversity in nature are the means through which all great and phenomenal feats are brought about. And may not this principle be traced into the ethical life of man ? Surely all great heroes of the past, whose deeds are worthy of immortality, and whose careers merit the height of fame they have attained, have been disciplined by the stern school of adversity. They were men who met the hindrances with a de-termined will that would not flinch, when faced by difficulties, or cower in the presence of misfortune, their destinies were not moulded by circumstances ; but circumstances were controlled by their high destiny, the goal of their illustrious lives. And as a consequence the hindrances they met and surmounted prepared them to survive in the refining fire of trial, and instilled into their very sinews pure and noble principles of life. Thus estab-lished in character, they came from the ordeal all the more beauti-ful for having been submitted to the test. Arduous accomplishments that require an extraordinary amount of perseverence, patience, tact, and earnest toil should not be looked upon disparagingly. They are but the means, the testing fire, as it were, by which those who are fit to rise high in the walks of life, to take charge of responsible positions and to wield the sceptre of influence over the world in a manner to di-rect it in the channels of righteousness, are separated from those who are frivolous, trifling, insignificant idlers. And like the evergreen,—fitting emblem of the eternal that it is,—as it stands robed in its brilliant garb, unscathed by the withering effect of the autumn frost and the snows of winter, an object of life stand-ing out in sharp contrast with the seemingly lifeless world around it; so shall those, who have stood the test, be clothed in immor-tality though all things else may perish. CQgj 111 fares the land to hastening' ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay. —Goldsmith. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 233 A PINANCIER. FRANK 8. FITE, '01. \ HAD the rare privilege, some forty years ago, to make the ac- * quaintance and to be favored with the confidence of a finan-cier who had risen to eminence from the lowest social grade. As a beggar boy, his exceptional talent for begging had roused the enthusiasm of a set of elderly maidens, who were attracted by his peculiar cry of helplessness and his boast of honesty. They put him to school. He learned there the fundamental principles of arithmetic, and little else; but his aptitude for trade was devel-oped in a marvelous degree. All the spending money of the scholars was invariably found at the end of a vacation in Chaucey Alcott's pockets. Yet, no boy could say that he had been cheated. All the fellows felt that their bits of silver coin had mysteriously disappeared in their various business relations with Alcott; but still they reluctantly confessed that everything had been "fair and square." He was said to be "on the dead level," yet plucked them, it would seem, pitilessly; but he stood by his own contracts, as he compelled them to stand by theirs. No act of positive dishonesty was ever proved against this plausible, cautious and relentless trader. The boys declared that he was shrewd, cunning and hard, yet he was "so obliging!" They disliked him, and at the same time accepted his services. Could they have caught him in any act of rascality his life would have been made a misery, but he was so discreet in his early preparation for his future career that, at the age of ten, he already gave promise of the great merchant and banker he eventually became. On leaving school, young Alcott found that his possessions amounted to thirty dollars. Instead of rushing at once to the elderly maidens who had helped him he went to the city and offered himself as clerk in a wholesale fish house. The senior partner was attracted by his evident talent and felt his youth renewed in looking at the youngster; he gave him a position in his counting room at once with a salary of fifty dollars a year. The keen youth, seeing at a glance that his employers were pious misers, instantly became, to all appearances, a pious miser himself. But in the course of five or six years he astonished the firm by show-ing that he knew more about the wholesale fish business than they did, and had made some money by quiet speculation of his 234 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY own. They oSered to double, treble, quadruple his salary, but nothing would satisfy Alcott but a partnership in their question-ablegaius. This they refused and Alcott promptly set up for himself on a small capital of money but a large capital of knowledge and intelligence, and soon cornered his former employers in a few heavy dealings and put them into bankruptcy in twenty-four months after he had left them, with the skillful use of their own methods. In the course of a few years he ventured cautiously but surely into other departments of commerce. He became a general merchant and at last assumed the dignity of ship owner and shipped his o-oods in his own vessels. He had two grand qualifications for business: his mind was quick and his heart was hard. In all financial panics he collected what was his due relentlessly, regard-less of the suffering it might bring upon nobler people than him-self; and paid all his own notes punctually as they fell due. To "fail'' was to him the worst of crimes. Almost everybody detested him, yet all knew that they could rely both on his word and his bond. Such a merchant, perhaps, should be judged by his own prin-ciples ; he had no sympathy with the great body of merchants of the country and laughed at all such sentimentality. "Get the better of 'em," was his motto. About this time he was a little wearied with commerce and bonds and stocks held for him the charm which merchandise had lost. He had obtained about two million dollars and amazed the moneyed world by a rush into Wall street, where he became a gigantic stock-jobber and banker. Here, as in school, the same shrewd, cunning characteristics were manifest, and slowly at first, but surely, his fortune increased and he obtained big commissions on the doubtful and worthless securities he sold; but just as his school-mates, those wbo relied on him could not assert that he had done anything to forfeit his reputation for honesty. It was at this point that I happened to have the honor of being one of his clerks, and in a short time his confidential one. I at once noticed his profanity. Everybody and everything interfering with his business designs brought forth a volley of oaths. There is probably no greater shock to the mind of an honest, well-intentioned country lad who is sent to confront the tempta- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 235 tions of a city, with a mother's prayers hovering over him, than when he finds his employer is a rascal disguised as an honest man. Shall he also become a rascal ? Shall he stoop to scoundrelisms which his inmost soul abhors ! His behavior under such circum-stances is a test of his character ; his father, mother and sister, if he is fortunate enough to have a sister, combine all their moral energies to help him. There is no reason why the boy should have more privileges thau the girl, but the fact that he has is too evident to admit of a doubt. The denial of sisters to advance their brothers is one of the tragedies of human life. The re-verse SHOULD be the case, but unfortunately is not. But to return to my theme. As soon as I found out Mr. Al-cott, I began to look upon him with a certain horror. He had the greatest confidence in my honesty and even allowed me to sign his name to checks, but when I suggested that my services were worth more than I received, and that fifteen hundred would but partly recompense my unceasing work in his journal and ledger, he used his favorite formula and cursed me and my ser-vices roundly. He really thought that my services were due his pre-eminent position, though he was aware that I might ruin him in a single day had I chosen to "skip" at the close of business hours with his stocks and bonds. It is curious that I never had the slightest temptation to use the vast powers with which Mr. Alcott endowed me, for I might easily have become a millionaire in some European country had I chosen, like my employer, to become a rogue. I witnessed, as do clerks every day, the process of plundering, without any desire to plunder the plunderer. His wife, a meek woman, whom he swiftly scared into the grave, left him a daughter. She appeared to me a foolish, gig-gling creature, with large black eyes, a pug nose, and a complex-ion which was red to the point of ignition. A younger clerk in the office, much to our amusement, with a salary of five hundred dollars a year, declared that he was madly in love with her and convinced her of his sincerity ; as it was ridiculous to suppose that the father would consent to such a match, the clerk and heiress eloped and were married. When Alcott heard of it, he blasphemed with a savage fluency that was Wonderful even in him. His son-in-law was a bright fellow, however, with some rich connections, and with their backing, soon appeared in Wall Street. He made money, backed as he was, and Mr. Alcott went deliberately to work to ruin him, but at first he didn't succeed, as the son-in-law, in an early "corner in Erie," took eight hundred thousand out of his father-in-law's pocket: but this only stimu-lated Mr. Alcott and he ventured his millions without stint in an attempt to "corner" his son-in-law. [Continued.] 236 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY BOOK REVIEW. Quicksand, by Hervey White :—Small, Maynard, and Co., $1.50. QUICKSAND is the life history of a family with many more downs than ups. It is divided into three parts, in each of which a particular member of the family is the central figure, although all the members of the family enter into each divi-sion. The birth, boyhood, education, marriage, struggle for literary fame, and tragic death of Hubert form a conspicuous current in the narration. The varying dispositions of the members of the family, the appearance of the Indian, Maude, and the faithful hired man give an abundance of variety. The characters are depicted in striking detail, and the descriptions of the three homes (which the cover-ing of shame made necessary) are complete. The effect of a number of follies (crimes in some instances) are so clearly brought out as to emphasize the necessity of straight forward living. AMONG OUR CONTEMPORARIES, TT has not been the policy of THE MERCURY to devote much *■ space to an exchange article, but we feel it our duty to say something at intervals of those journals of other institutions, the reading of which gives us much pleasure and is profitable. The fact that an exchange article was crowded out of the November number explains why, in a few instances, reference is made to October numbers. The University of Virginia Magazi?ie is one of the most com-plete literary journals on our table, and the November number is an especially good one. It contains an article on "Keats—A Conscious Reformer of English Poetry," that is worthy of study. "The Quiet Indian's Ghost" in the November Touchstone is a well written story. The editor makes a strong appeal to the "men of Lafayette" in behalf of the literary journal of the insti-tution . The recent changes in the form and general get-up of the Pharetra make it the neatest and most attractive of our exchanges. The material is of a high grade, and the pen-sketches add ma-terially to its attractiveness. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 237 "The Living Relic of Barbarism" in the October Ursinus Col-lege Bulletin is decidedly above the average oration in beauty and in force. An increased number of pages of literary material should accompany the change of The Bulletin from a biweekly to a monthly. The November Midland contains in its literary department a poem by Longfellow and one from the Denver News, an article by an alumnus and one by a student. Will this encourage liter-ary work among the students at Midland f The Dickinson Literary Monthly has materially raised its standard and, in general, does not suffer in comparison with the best; but the November number contains a partisan article that is unworthy a place in a college journal. Those interested in the educational condition of Puerto Rico will find an interesting article by Dr. M. G. Brumbaugh in the Juniata Echo for October. The Echo is to be congratulated on being able to publish these articles. We regret that the Novem-ber number did not contain one. "The Spanish Arnaida," an outline with explanations, by Stanley Ecker in The Western University Couranl reflects credit upon the author and the journal. It is the result of effort and thought. The poetry of The Lesbian Herald is an important feature of the publication. A well written article on "The Sun's Eclipse," accompanied by a photograph of the total eclipse at Centreville, Va., May 28, 1900, appears in the last issue. ««*£> "Over and over again, No matter which way I turn, I always find in the book of life Some lesson that I must learn ; I must take my turn at the mill, I must grind out the golden grain, I must work at my task with a resolute will, Over and over again." PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. C. F?. SOLT MERCHANT TAILOR Masonic Bldg., GETTYSBURG Our collection of Woolens for the coming- Fall and Winter season cannot be surpassed for variety, attractive designs and general completeness. The latest styles of fashionable novelties in the most approved shades. Staples of exceptional merit, value and wearing durability. Also altering-, repairing-, dyeing and scouring at moderate prices. .FOR UP-TO-DATE. Clothing, Hats, Shoes, And Men's Furnishing- Goods, go to I. HALLEM'S MAMMOTH CLOTHING HOUSE, Chambersburg St., GETTYSBURG, PA. ESTABLISHED 1867 BY ALLEN WALTON. ALLEN K. WALTON, President and Treasurer. ROBT. J. WALTON Superintendent. Hummelstomn Bromn Stone Gompany Quarrymen and Manufacturers of Building Stone, Sawed Flagging and Tile Waltonville, Dauphin Co-, Pa. Contractors for all kinds of Telegraph and Express Address. Cut Stone Work. BROWNSTONE, PA. Parties visiting the Quarries will leave cars at Brownstone Station on the P. & R. R. R. For a nice sweet loaf of Bread call on J. RAWER Baker of Bread and Fancy Cakes, GETTYSBURG. PA. EIMER & AMEND, Manufacturers and Importers of Chemicals and Chemical Apparatus 205, 207, 209 and 211 Third Avenue, Corner 18th Street NEW YORK. Finest Bohemian and German Glassware, Royal Berlin and Meissen Porcelain, Pure Hammered Platinum, Balances and Weights. Xeiss Mi-croscopes and Bacteriological Apparatus; Chemical Pure Acids and Assay Goods. SCOTT PAPER COMPANY MAKERS OF FINE TOILET PAPER 7th and Greenwood Ave. PHILADELPHIA PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. The Century Double-Feed Fountain Pen. Fully Warranted J6 Kt. Gold Pen, Iridium Pointed. GEO. EVELER, Agent for Gettysburg College PRICE LIST. No. 1. Chased, long or short $2 00 No. 1. Gold Mounted 3 00 No. 3. Chased 3 00 No. 3. Gold Mounted 4 00 Spiral, Black or Mottled |2 SO Twist, " 2 SO Hexagxm, Black or Mottled 2 SO Pearl Holder, Gold Mounted S 00 THE CENTURY PEN CO., WHITEWATER, WIS. Askyour Stationer or our Agent to show them to you. Agood local agent wanted in every school ^Mirmm^fr^wmmwwMmmmmmmwmm^ Printingand Binding We Print This Book THE MT. HOLLY STATIONERY AND PRINTING CO. does all classes of Printing- and Binding-, and can furnish you any Book, Bill Head, Letter Head, Envelope, Card, Blank, or anything- pertain-ing to their business in just as good style and at less cost than you can obtain same elsewhere. They are located among the mountains but their work is metropolitan. You can be convinced of this if you g-ive them the opportunity. Mt. Holly Stationery and Printing Co. K SPRINGS, PA. 73iUMtimU4UMtMlJUiUJUiUiU4UJUJUJUiUM R H. S. BENNEP, .DEALER IN. Groceries, Notions, Queenswcire, Glassware, Etc., Tobacco and Ggars. 17 CHAMBERSBURG ST. WE RECOMMEND THESE BUSINESS MEN. Pitzer House, (Temperance) JNO. E. PITZER, Prop. Rates $1.00 to $1.25 per day. Battlefield a specialty. Dinner and ride to all pointsof interest.including the tb ree days" fight, $1.25. No. 127 Main Street. You will find a full line of Pure Drugs and Fine Sta-tionery at the People's Drug Store Prescriptions a Specialty. J. A. TAWNEY^_ Is ready to furnish Clubs and Boarding' Houses with Bread, Rolls, Etc At short notice and reasonable rates. ■Washington & Middle Sts., Gettysburg. R. A. WONDERS, Corner Cigar Parlors. A full line of Cigars, Tobacco, Pipes, Etc. Scott's Corner, Opp Eagle Hotel. GETTYSBURG, PA. MUMPER & BENDER Furniture Cabinet Making, Picture Frames Beds, Springs, Mattresses, Etc. Baltimore St., GETTYSBURG, PA. .GO TO. fyotd (Gettysburg 3arber Sfyop. Centre Square. B. M. SEFTON W.F.CODORI, S£Sf)op (Successor to C. C. Sefton) Having thoroughly remodeled the place is now ready to accommodate the public Barber Supplies a Specialty. .Baltimore Street. (itrrT*l5£UR(i, PA. ESTABLISHED 1876 PENROSE MYERS, Watchmaker and Jeweler Gettysburg Souvenir Spoons, Col-lege Souvenir Spoons. NO. lO BALTIMORE ST., GETTYSBURG, PENNA. L. f\. MltW Manufacturers' Agent and Jobber of Hardware, Oils, Paints and Queensware. GETTYSBURG, PA. The Only Jobbing House in Adams County.

THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY, The Literary Journal of Pennsylvania College. Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter. VOL. IX. GETTYSBURG, PA., OCTOBER, 1900. No. S RALLY 'ROUND THE STANDARD. CHAS. W. WEISER, '01. Those days are gone, they've swiftly flown, With pleasures fraught, and joys well known, When by the sea or mountain town We gaily roamed, or lithe, sat down— Or in the country on the farm Renewed our health thro' nature's charm. We'd often sport throughout the day, And when the zephyrs held their sway We'd chat with friends and loved ones light, 'Neath Hesper islands of the night, Of actions done which time had sealed, Or of the future unrevealed. Those days are gone, and back to toil, We've come, and burn the midnight oil— Aye eagerly once more we've come, 'Though minds are full of thoughts of home, For thro' it all we get a view Of the orange and the blue. We see our standard in the air, Floating high in noon-tide glare, And feel that we must lead the ranks Which cross the yellow Tiber's banks, And bravely 'neath our ensign stand,— A glorious future's now at hand. 138 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY BARNACLES. [First Gies Prize.] R. D. CLARE, '00. My soul is sailing' through the sea, But the Past is heavy and hindereth me. The Past hath crusted cumbrous shells That hold the flesh of cold sea-mells About my soul. The huge waves wash, the high waves roll, Each barnacle clingeth and worketh dole And hindreth me from sailing-. Old Past, let go, and drop i' the sea Till fathomless waters cover thee ! For I am living but thou art dead; Thou drawest back, I strive ahead The Day to find. Thy shells unbind ! Night comes behind, I needs must .hurry with the wind And trim me best for sailing'. —SlDNBV L,ANIER. We have in the lines just quoted the forcible and correct im-plication of a great and eternal truth—great in its significance and comprehensiveness, eternal in its applicability to existence in all ages and the constant uniformity of its operation. The Past is ever exercising a mighty controlling influence on the Present and is at the same time determining with wonderful ac-curacy the character of the Future. L,ike a dread sovereign, clothed with absolute power, it secures the complete enactment of its every edict. Even the forces of nature are subservient to it and yield unquestioning obedience to its behests. Its influence is at the same time beneficent and tyrannical, benign and arrogant, uplifting and debasing. Its realm of activity being infinite, all men come within its potent sway. Every individual is therefore to a great extent, in his intellectual, moral and physical char-acteristics, a product of past ages. Innumerable habits and tendencies are transmitted from generation to generation, now in-creasing in strength, now weakening or disappearing, all the time carrying with them blessing or destruction. To those who have a deep and sympathetic insight into human nature with all its frailties and ceaseless struggles, these choice lines of Eanier will appeal with special force and significance. The analogy between the soul and a vessel upon the sea is both THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 139 beautiful and appropriate. Who has witnessed the departure of an ocean liner on its solitary journey to some far distant port without being reminded of the passage of a human soul across the broad ocean of life ? Imagine the scene. In a sheltered harbor, riding at anchor upon the gently undulating surface of the water, is a stately ship. Her highly polished decks, glitter-ing sides and burnished armorings suggest immaculate cleanliness and youth, while her dazzlingly white sails, bathed in the warm sunlight, are the very emblems of purity. On board, stationed at their respective posts of duty, are the hardy sailors, eager for the cruise. Finally the signal is given; the anchor is lifted, and the sails are spread to the ready breeze. Slowly at first, but with ever increasing speed, the beautiful ship, like a huge white-winged bird, passes majestically from the harbor out into the open sea. The shores rapidly recede from view until they describe to the fond farewell gaze of the sailors nothing more than a thin haze along the horizon. This too soon disappears, and ere long our proud ship is far from all lauds, pursuing her solitary course upon the trackless depths of the ocean. Days come and go and the ship is still on her watery way, propitious winds co-operating with the unerring intelligence of the pilot in directing her to her destined harbor. From time to time the hearts of the sailors are cheered by the appearance of a sail on the horizon and the passing of another vessel with its precious burden of human beings. But the interest is only tem-porary ; halloos and good-byes are exchanged and the vessels soon lose sight of one another. Each has its own peculiar mission to perform, just as different souls, which in life's experiences may come into close contact one with another, must always remain individual existences with their own peculiar missions and obli-gations. Following our ship in her onward course we find her still staunch and true. Nor does she escape untoward conditions; the fury of the elements threatens her repeatedly; the thunders roar and the lightnings play about her masts. But she successfully braves every tempestuous sea, as though confident of her own soundness and safety. In time her first port is made; her first achievement gloriously won. The cruise is continued and the ship sails from port to port in the performance of her responsible mission. But in the course of time there gradually appear signs mmm 140 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY of deterioration in the vessel. Not only is there a decided dimi-nution in her speed, but her draught is increased and her sailing more laborious. An investigation reveals the startling fact that clinging to her once smooth and clean hull with tenacious grasp are many small barnacles, whose appearance there had been so gradual as to be at first almost without any perceptible effects. The ship is hundreds of miles from a dock and consequently the evil cannot be remedied. The number of barnacles is rapidly increasing now and the sailing of the ship is continually becom-ing more laborious. Our once proud and beautiful ship begins to show unmistakable signs of decay. She is ever sinking deeper in the briny deep and can continue her course only with the greatest difficulty. No longer is she able to withstand the buffet-ing storms; and those in charge of her make strenuous efforts to get her into the nearest port before calamity overtake her. But alas their efforts are vain ! A terrific storm, arises; again the winds toss up huge overwhelming billows. The thunders roar and the vivid lightnings flash, and in their flash can be read the doom of our vessel, whose early fortitude and strength now gone, rides helplessly in the cruel sea. Repeatedly submerged beneath the mountain waves, she can no longer be managed by her terror-stricken crew. At last comes the fatal moment. The ship is in sight of land and makes frantic efforts to reach safety, but the thousands of barnacles now adhering to her hull drag her down and impede her progress. About her the breakers are roaring. Suddenly and with a crash of doom the ship is dashed upon the hidden rocks; her well-built frame trembles and yields to the rending force of the waves; her brave crew are sacrificed to the deep, and a proud and promising career is ended in ruin. Was it the tempest that did it? No, it was the small and apparently in-significant barnacle. After the foregoing elaboration on the chief thought of the poem it would be a reflection on the intelligence of our readers to explain the applicability of this thought to human life and ex-perience. Into every life there come at an earlier or later period mischievous and destructive habits and tendencies. Like the barnacles in the poem their coming is gradual and unobserved, calling for the greatest watchfulness on the part of the individual. They quietly and insinuatingly implant themselves into the very moral fibre of our being, and cling to us with an almost inextric- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 141 able grasp. They are furthermore like the real barnacle in that they continually multiply in number and evil effects, until at last they bring about ignominious death and destruction. A discussion of the formation of habits aud the cultivation of tendencies in early life from a purely psychological standpoint would necessarily be more comprehensive than the scope of this essay permits or the ability of the writer justifies. We shall con-. tent ourselves therefore with the mere facts and their applications. Man, in his moral and spiritual nature, has been defined as a "bundle of habits and tendencies." While this definition may be opeu to just criticism it nevertheless expresses a great psy-chological truth and implies an almost terrifying moral responsi-bility for our daily life and conduct. That character chiefly determines the nature of man's ethical distinctions and mental acts and states is generally acknowledged. That man is morally accountable for most of his own peculiar habits is no less true. This simple truth, from which men are prone to flee, invests life with the greatest responsibility. It is a serious thing to live. Barnacles of habit! What failures, sorrow aud wide-spread misery they are accountable for! Although restricted in their operations to no particular periods of life, they are most likely to appear in the early and formative periods. They meet us at the very threshold of our earthly existence, and with insinuating art invade the sacredness of pure, sweet childhood and youth, firmly attaching themselves to innocent souls and implanting therein the germs of all those evils which go to rob life of its rightful happiness and peace,and render existence through time and eternity one dreary round of sorrow and remorse. In order that we may get a more comprehensive view of the modes of operation of those barnacles of habit as well as their far-reaching effects, we shall now consider the state of the indi-vidual who has become a victim to them : and for our present purpose it is desirable that we treat first the objective influence of this individual in his social relations. We distinguish in this objective influence a two-fold division: First, the influence on others ; Second, the reflex influence, or the influence on self through the solidarity of the race. Both divisions are very important and far-reaching, but between them can be drawn no entirely clear line of demarkation. Clearly an individual's objective influence will be determined largely by his 142 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY intellectual and social status. But laying this consideration aside, it is evident that the average individual exerts a wonderfully great influence upon those about him. His habits of action and even of thought are bound to become, to a certain extent, theirs also, and to just this extent does he become morally responsible for their course of life and conduct. Since men love darkness rather than light, it would seem that his evil habits possess a more operative and effective influence than his good habits. This evil influence, emanating from him, affects not only his immediate companions, but it also leaves its deadly stamp upon the com-munity at large. Indeed the moral tone of the entire human race suffers a positive lowering because of the evil influence of this single individual. We come now to the reflex objective influence of the indi-vidual to whom these barnacles of habit adhere. It is an un-deniable fact that every individual creates to a large extent his own environment. Whether he shall be surrounded by light or darkness, joy or sorrow, righteousness or sin depends largely upon his own course of life and conduct. As an image is reflected in a mirror so is the influence of evil habits reflected in those upon whom it operates, to be seen and experienced again by him in whom it first had its origin. From the standpoint of self-interest, it is just as unreasonable to draw a fellow-man from the path of rectitude and duty as to drag him by main force into a bed of quick sand, for in both cases the aggressor must share the fate of his victim. Thus we see that he who wields an evil influence is not only a dangerous enemy to society, but is also a curse to himself, for he is continually preparing pitfalls for his own feet, and jeopardizing all chance of his ever attaining to moral worth. The subjective influence of the individual calls for treatment now, and it is here that we observe the saddest and most destruc-tive workings of these barnacles of habit. Like the unfortunate ship, whose career we have described, many a life has its begin-ning in comparative purity and strength. Full of confidence in its own powers, it presses boldly on, overcoming obstacle after obstacle. But just as the watery environment of our ship con-tained many hidden and unsuspected dangers, so is the environ-ment of this life teeming with evils which ere long begin to assert themselves. Pernicious habits of temperament, disposition, or passion appear. Silently, but with the inexorableness of Fate THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 143 they undermine all that which is best and noblest in human nature, and in the end bring moral wreck and ruin. Nor is this hideous transformation limited only to the outward expression of char-acter. There is a marked physiological change in the very brain cells of the individual. The very citadel of man's superior glory and strength is attacked and laid low. The intellect is debased and misdirected in its operations. The sensibility is rendered weak and misleading; the will is helplessly bound, as in ada-mantine chains. Beautiful and lofty thoughts, refined feelings, and noble resolves are no longer possible. In their place are low and unworthy conceptions, coarse feelings and ignoble desires and resolutions. If perchance there flash through this night of sin and shame a faint auroral beam of truth and purity, the fettered will can only by the most strenuous effort respond to its uplifting influence. Weoffer no apology for the dark picture here presented; human experience in all ages will testify to its fidelity to stern reality. These hell-born barnacles of habit have destroyed the highest in-tellects and debased the most beautiful characters. All spiritual worth falls before them. For an unutterably sad illustration of this truth, let us take a brief glance at the life of one of England's most distinguished poets, Lord Byron. Although a man of great genius, rank, fame and power, his life was in the end a miserable failure. The barnacles of habit, which first made their appear-ance in him in early youth, clun'g to him to the close of his life with ever increasing bane and deadening influence. Throughout his sad and romantic life he was in continually abject slavery to the Past. The vicious habits formed then asserted their dread power even in his best moments, and, like the hideous Eumenides of old, allowed him no rest, but drove him from shore to shore until, with a prematurely worn out body and destroyed peace of mind, his life, once full of glorious promise but now bereft of all its charm,was sadly ended. The unutterable sorrow and regret of the following lines, written but three months before his death, bar comment: "My days are in the yellow leaf ; The flowers and fruit of love are gone; The worm, the canker, and the grief, Are mine alone. 144 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY But probably the most important phase of our subject is the influence of the individual upon posterity. We stand face to face with the great law of heredity, whose workings are now receiving such general recognition by all intelligent people. If there is one thing which more than any other gives to life solemn and tremendous responsibility it is heredity, for literally, "none of us liveth to himself," but he lives for the whole race, both in this age and in all subsequent ages. We can no longer believe that " each soul is an emanation, fresh and unpolluted, from a divine fountain of being." It is entirely opposed to all our knowledge of psychical phenomena and the modern views on evolution. On the other hand, we must refrain from going to the opposite extreme of the materialist and say that " men are what they were born." The former view imposes upon poor man a terrible burden of responsibility for every slight violation of right which causes him to fall from a state of absolute purity, render-ing his moral condition utterly hopeless. The latter view would lead us to fatalism, and the denial of all responsibility. The former view ignores the existence of the law of heredity ; the lat-ter view would endeavor to explain everything by this law. Heredity is not all. Environment plays an inestimably import-ant part in the development of every human being. The evolu-tion of man is but the history of the operations of these two great forces. Like two Titans, engaged in work upon some great structure, heredity and environment ply their respective tasks, the former continually building with utmost constancy of pur-pose ; the latter capriciously assisting for a time, and then again hindering or destroying the work of the former. It is only by recognizing the existence of these influences, and their effect upon character, that we can arrive at even an elementary knowledge and appreciation of life's problems. We have thus far said but little relative to the will, and its functions in the development of character. We have, however, by our frequent references to moral responsibility in life, implied its existence and over-ruling power. Heredity and environment are not all. Towering above them in dignity and power is the human will, which, if rightly exercised, can overcome to a greater or lesser extent many of their most potent influences. This will necessarily operates in freedom, and it is in this freedom that the responsibilities of life arise. " Each human being is free, and THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 145 therefore responsible, in a measure ; and yet no child has any voice in saying where he shall be born, what blood shall course in his veins, what tendencies shall impel, or what aspirations thrill him."—(Amory H. Bradford.) In thus opposing will to heredity and environment we do not wish to imply that it operates in a field distinctly its own, and is altogether above and free from the influences of the latter. The character of the will is indeed determined to a very large degree by heredity and environment. Should the will of the parent be affected by the barnacles of weakness, indecision and cowardice, we would have reason to expect the same condition in the case of the child. For the sake of illustrating the manner in which a weakness of the will may be inherited, let us cite a sad example. The English poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, was addicted to the use of stimulants. Although he earnestly strove to overcome this tendency, he found that he lacked the will-power necessary for complete abstinence. His son, Hartly Coleridge, also a poet, inherited all his father's weakness in this direction ; and his entire life was a constant and unsuccessful struggle against temptation. In a spirit of despair he wrote of himself: " O ! woeful impotence of weak resolve, Recorded rashly to the writer's shame, Da3rs pass away, and time's large orbs revolve, And every day beholds me still the same ; 'Till oft neglected purpose loses aim, And hope becomes a flat, unheeded lie." And thus these barnacles of habit beset the individual, and accomplish their deadly work. They appear when life is young and sweet, and, like the Sirens, entice him with their soft allure-ments to destruction. As time progresses they tighten their re-morseless hold upon him, and weigh him down beneath their slimy weight of shame remorse and despair. At last death, with a thousand terrors, overtakes him, and another lost soul enters the realm of everlasting darkness. But the evil effects of the barnacles of habit do not end with the death of the individual. The curse is transmitted to subsequent generations. There is started a stream of death, which flows on down through the ages, continually exhaling from its poisonous waters, mixed with tears and blood, the germs of sin, grief, agony and unutterable despair. We shall now conclude this rather meagre and unsatisfactory 146 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY treatment of some of life's great problems. If our essay partakes of too gloomy and despondent a tone to please our reader's ears, its theme should be held accountable, but not its writer. We have endeavored to the best of our ability to set forth some of the more obvious evil effects resulting from the formation of wrong habits of life ; and throughout we have conscientiously endeavored to develop the central thought of L,auier's poem—the powerful influence of the past upon the present. Danier recognized the fact that life, for many an individual, is a ceaseless struggle ; that every attainment of virtue and true worth is reached only by the overcoming of innumerable obstacles, and the resolute and deter-mined resistance to the restraining grasp of the spectral hand which the dead past is ever reaching out to us. In conclusion, we wish to say that, by the very nature of our subject, we have been compelled to depict the darkest side of human nature. That there is a bright side, too, we confidently believe. While it is a serious thing to live, because of life's re-sponsibilities, it is also a blessed thing to live, because of life's glorious opportunities. And for us to invest life with deep gloom and sorrow is not only the height of folly, but it is an insult to ourallwise and loving Maker. The Reign of Righteousness will come ; for, while that which is true and holy will abide and in-crease throughout all time, sin has in itself the seeds of its own decay. " The wages of sin is death." THE BLACK CURL. MAY BELLE DIEHL, '03. TT was a warm day, about the middle of June, when Detective A Elair got to Richard's house. He could see it when he entered the wood, a small house, painted white, with a porch running all around it. Blair was on the search for Richard, better known as "Sly Bill." He had skipped off with about a thousand, one dark night, from the bank in which he was working. Blair had never seen him, but he was sure he would know him as soon as he would see him. As he drew near the house he heard singing, and stopping to listen, he thought he recognized a woman's voice. When he rapped on the door it was opened by a withered old woman who THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 147 curtly inquired what he wanted there. Her face grew a little pale when he asked for her son, but she straightened herself up and said that he had gone. Blair's face fell, but he asked leave to search the house. When that was ended he sat down to think. No trace whatever had he found of the fellow. Instead he found, sitting in her room, the loveliest girl he had ever seen, dark as night. Blair adored dark girls. As he was far from New York he was invited to stay over night. He declined to stay, but afterwards decided to do so and go back the next day. That evening they had a pleasant time chatting on the porch, but Blair had no idea whether either of them suspected what he was there for. He grew to love the girl in those few hours. When they took a walk the next day she coyly asked why he could not stay a little longer. He was delighted and determined to stay until he was ordered to leave. And he did. These two took a great many walks, and one pleasant evening when Blair thought the time had come, he asked her to be his wife. Of course she accepted him and he told her all about New York, and where they would live, etc. But there was only one cloud to mar the pleasure. She shunned him a little, a very little, but Blair saw it and wondered to himself. One evening he asked her why she did this;—they were sitting under a weeping willow by the brook, their favorite spot—she started a little when the question was asked, but looking at the water at her feet she coyly said, "I am afraid if I were with you always I would not be able to let you go when—a—when—the time came to part." He put his arm about her and drew her towards him; but just then there were footsteps and Mrs. Richards called her daughter. The girl arose and rau forward to her mother and they went toward the house together. The next day he got word to start and hunt Richard at another place where he was supposed to have been seen. He decided to go, and on his way stop for "Blanche." The day he left they were in their old place by the brook. Blair had asked her for a certain curl that hung lovingly over her little ear. She cut it off, and when he took it he pressed it to his lips and put it in his card case. While he was on the way to find the thief he received a tele-gram: "Come back at once; thief found." He decided to come 148 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY for his sweetheart later, and set out for New York-. He arrived there a few days later, and when he walked into the office one of the men came up to him and slapped him on the back and said: "Well, old boy, so you were entrapped ?" At this all the other men laughed. Blair looked bewildered, and he was led to a door, which, when it was unlocked was thrown open to his gaze. Blair staggered back and covered his eyes, then opened them and looked again. There in a corner by an opeii window stood— "Blanche," yet not "Blanche." The same dark skin and black eyes and pretty ringlets that Blair had so admired. She(?) held a cigarette between her pearly teeth and a cap sat back on the clustering curls. There came a sneering laugh from between those teeth when Blair came in but "fool!" was the only word that came. But he certainly made a pretty girl! ONE OP COD'S WAIPS. [Second Gies Prize.] C. M. A. STINE, '01. '"pHB train had just roared out of its miles of snowsheds and ■"■ paused for a moment on the summit of the Sierras. It was dusk. The sun had sunk behind the cloud-capped peaks and the platform before the little box of a station was very quiet after the long vestibuled train vanished into the fast approaching night. At the one end of the platform, playing with the pebbles and singing softly to himself, was a rosy cheeked, brown-eyed little boy. He was clothed in a rough suit of jeans many sizes too large, and his soft brown curls peeped through his ragged straw hat. The boy's name was Tom. Tom's father worked in the mines and sometimes Tom became very lonesome with no companions save the great, silent moun-tains. But the moutains answered Tom when he shouted in his childish sports and he thought they sympathized with him en-tirely. His mother had died six long years before, and nobody had thought it worth while to explain to him that it was an echo. To-night, when Tom spied his father in the distance and ran to meet him as usual, he was put aside and told to run away and not bother his father. It was the first time that he had not met THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 149 with a loving welcome and been lifted to his father's shoulder. His soft red lips quivered a moment and the brown eyes filled as he turned silently away. A little later when Tom had eaten his meagre supper and then gone to his bed in one corner, the little cabin was filled with men and Tom heard his father deny some-thing again and again, but he could not quite understand what it was all about. Finally one of the men sprang up, with an oath, and threatened to shoot his father, but the other men pulled him out of the cabin, saying that they offered one alternative, that was that his father go away and not show himself again. His father promised and then came and told Tom to dress himself and come. The trouble was about a large nugget of gold which had dis-appeared mysteriously. Tom's father had been working near the place where the nugget was last seen, and when it disappeared the readiness to suspicion by the rough miners at once asserted itself, and it was agreed that Tom's father could tell more about the lost nugget than he was willing to admit. He was a new-comer and had no friends, so things went hard with him. As the two stole away in the night, Tom, looking back over his father's shoulder as he was carried, saw their little cabin in flames, and when he reported the discovery his father only walked faster and didn't seem to care. But Tom cried a little to himself as he was hurried off, and finally went to sleep on his father's shoulder. The man plodded wearily on for awhile and then laid Tom down under a pine and wrapping him up in his coat, paced up and down till the gray light of dawn crept down from its resting place in the towering peaks. As he walked he talked to himself softly; " Oh, Mary, if you had only stayed. Why did God have to take you ? The brutes! To burn my home and drive me out with my little boy into the mountains to die! I did not take the cursed nugget. Oh, God ! I dare not kill myself. My poor little boy ! You can't realize what it means to you to be the son of a man who has been branded a thief.'' Finally he threw himself beside Tom and, exhausted with work and anxiety, slept till the rays of the morning sun kissed the closed eye-lids of his little boy and awoke him. The little fellow called his father, and the two trudged wearily on till they came to another mining town. The father bought a meagre dinner from one of the cabins ISO THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY which a huge board proclaimed a " Restournt." He took Tom to a cabin and gave a woman some money, asking her to keep the little fellow till he came back. Then he took Tom aside, looking at him a long time, told him to grow up to be a good man, and stroked Tom's soft brown hair awhile. At last he took a tiny locket from within his ragged blue shirt and hung the delicate chain around Tom's neck and showed him how to look at the picture of the sweet, girlish face within. He held Tom's head in his hands and gazed into the deep brown eyes as if looking for the resemblance to the face in the locket. The look in his father's face made the little fellow feel like crying, though he knew it wasn't manly to cry. That evening they brought his father back to the little town and a couple men hastily buried the body for decency's sake- There was a bullet hole in the forehead. " He had committed suicide, because his revolver had one chamber empty and was found lying beside him." Such was the verdict of the astute coroner. No one took the trouble to look about near the scene of the supposed suicide or they might have found the loaded shell which had been taken from one chamber of the revolver tossed there by the coward who had threatened to shoot him by his very fireside, and now had accomplished his craven will from a con-cealed spot among the rocks. The same villain who took the gold now had covered up his crime with an almost devilish cun-ning. He escaped punishment on earth, unless his own dark thoughts tormented him. The woman kept Tom for awhile, but she had many cares of her own and finally Tom was left to make a living for himself. The little fellow (just five summers he had seen) did all sorts of odd jobs, but was hungry always, only sometimes not quite as much as at others. One night it rained and Tom caught cold. The next day he couldn't work and one of the miners pitied the little fellow and took him to his home. For a few weeks Tom was very sick, but he was carefully watched over by the great-hearted Christian mother, who willingly undertook the care of the homeless, ragged little stranger, a part of whose pitiful ex-perience she knew. At last, one day, the great brown eyes opened and the fire of intelligence was once more alight within THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 151 them. He finally got well and received work in the company store. We must pass over a period of ten years, during which the little lad grew to be a strong, intelligent, kind-hearted youth. His restless spirit and his thirst for knowledge induced him, at the end of his sixteenth year, to take a sad leave of the woman who had cared for him as tenderly as a mother, and whom he had learned to love. At parting he left with her the delicate gold chain of peculiar workmanship, but took the locket himself. He said that he intended to find work, get a college education, and some day he would return. When, he did not know. Three years more slipped away. The little mining town had grown with a mushroom-like growth to the size of a great city. Many new mining industries had arisen. One morning a grey haired, withered old woman offered flowers for sale to an equally grey and old, but richly dressed and proud-faced woman, who, attracted by the magnificent roses of the old flower-woman, had ordered her carriage to stop. She bestowed a passing glance on the poorly dressed little woman and was about to turn again to the roses when she uttered an exclamation and demanded to know where this woman, who probably had never had money enough to buy a fine dress, could have gotten the strangely fashioned and costly chain which had slipped into view from beneath the old flower-woman's wrap. She became more agitated as the old flower-woman took the chain off and permitted her to examine it. Passers-by were astonished to see the rich and fashionable Mrs. Grayson in earnest conversation with a poor old flower-woman. Finally she out-raged the refined sensibilities of her sister, who had been leaning listlessly back in the carriage, by actually taking the shabby old woman into her carriage and ordering the coachman to drive home. "Oh, Marion, what will our friends say?" But this phrase, which usually had the desired effect, seemed spoken to deaf ears. A look into Mrs. Grayson's pale face silenced her. The old flower-woman related how Tom had come to her when a little sick lad and left her after he had grown almost to manhood, and how she had never heard of him since. The old woman's voice trembled and her faded old face took additional ti. i ii. ,.«■——w ii minim HW.IU. 152 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY lines as she told bow she longed to see her lost boy. And then her grief gave place to wonder as she discovered that the woman beside her was shedding tears from eyes that had almost forgotten what tears were. " It is certainly my daughter's son," she exclaimed, noticing the look of wonder on the face of the old flower-woman. " But where is the locket?" and she indicated the place on the chain where the locket had hung. " He kept the locket," the old flower-woman answered. Then Mrs. Grayson explained in a voice frequently inter-rupted by grief how her daughter, when but a young girl, had fallen in love with a wild young civil engineer, and on her parents' absolute refusal of their consent, had disappeared and not been heard from. The chain and locket with a picture of the young girl had been given to her daughter by her on a birthday before she left home. The mother had loved her daughter most tenderly, and when the little boy, Tom, was but a few months old the mother had received a letter asking her, if anything should happen his mother, to take care of the little fellow. She had then tried to find her daughter, but they had gone farther West and she never again heard, and did not know that her daughter was dead, though she had feared that such must be the case. That night the wires sang and operators were astonished at the number of messages and inquiries, all relating to the same man. They hesitated between the belief that the man who created all this inquiry was a murderer and the belief that he was an absconding bank cashier. But all inquiry was in vain. The past refused to give a clue to the present. Detectives who had never failed before gave up the vain search. Mrs. Grayson came to the end of her resources. All that wealth could do had been done, without result. She had shown her gratitude to the old flower-woman by making her comfortable for the remainder of her life. She, herself, decided to go abroad in search for lost health, and perhaps, deep down in her heart, she thought that some kind providence would reveal her grandson, for whom she had a very tender and deep affection as the son of her erring, but well be-loved, daughter. One day on the deck of the steamer she found a man's watch THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 153 and chain, and at once the charm on the chain caught her eye. It was the missing locket. She touched a spring and found her-self gazing, with tear dimmed eyes, at the smiling face of her daughter pictured within. A moment later a young man inquired of her for a watch and chain that he thought must have slipped from his clothing as he lounged in a steamer chair. The law of heredity had told. The strain of refinement showed itself in that, through all these years of hard work and rough surroundings, he had succeeded, and was the quiet, re-fined looking fellow the grandmother had longed to see. He had managed to earn his way through a business college, and now as private secretary of a well-to-do merchant was in a fair way to reach his goal, a higher education. Without a word the grandmother fastened the locket in its place on the curious old chain which she had received again through the old flower-woman, and handed the beautiful bit of jewelry to him. Ten minutes later the lazy passengers were astonished to see Mrs. Grayson go by leaning on the arm of a tall, brown-eyed fel-low (for she was old and the ship swayed on the ocean swell), and to notice that there were actually tears on the aristocratic old face, and a suspicious moisture in the eyes of the young fellow who helped her along so carefully, and with such a caressing touch. God had cared for and watched over the motherless waif, and when human strength had failed to unite relatives, in His fathomless love He gave the young man a loving mother in place of the mother he had lost so many years ago. CONSCIOUSNESS. Within the silent rock exist A billion yearning- lives. Man is a petty egotist To think he only strives, To think he only struggles up To God through toil and pain. He is but one drop in a cup Filled from the mighty main. The flowers have tender little souls, That love, repine, aspire. 1S4 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Each star that on its orbit rolls, Feels infinite desire. The diamond longs to scintillate When hid beneath the sod. The universe is animate With consciousness of God. —E1.1.A WHEELER WILCOX, IN COLLIER'S WEEKLY. G^U HONOR, OR HONORS? (Gits Prut Production, Third Prize.) D. C. BURNITE, '01. "TN the world's broad field of battle" each contestant must have •*■ a purpose. This life has been called the "struggle for existence." This might be said, with some measure of truth, of some of the meanest of God's creatures, but such a purpose is unworthy of one made in His image. We struggle for more than mere existence. Each has a definite end towards which he strives, an ideal he seeks to imitate. A man's moral character is measured by his ideal. The higher his ideal, the nobler his traits of character. And how many there are who fail to realize the importance of the choice of an ideal! Many persons are, unfortunately, accustomed to act before they think. They do not consider tbat there are two sides to every question. Attracted by the brilliant achievements of others, without considering the means and methods by which such persons have attained their ends, they set up a goal, towards which they blindly direct their course of action, forgetful of everything but success. Comparatively few men can stand success. As in the case of the misguided Mohammed, with the attainment of distinction comes a change of character. Too often do men forsake honor in the strife for honors. Yet honors are not to be wholly despised. Even the most modest persons experience some satisfaction when the success of their efforts meets with the approval of their fellows. And the pursuit of such approval cannot justly be condemned if attended by sturdiness of character and the pre-servation of honor. On the contrary, such a course can be com-mended, for its successful outcome is not only a source of gratifi- THE GETl^YSBURG MERCURY 155 cation to the participant himself, but brings joy to his friends and credit to his community. But not all the honors that mankind can bestow can compensate for the loss of one grain of honor. "An honest man's the noblest work of God." Shall we, then, labor to win the empty praises of men, or to fulfill our Maker's design? With honors as the one end for which we strive, honor may be lost; but if all we do is done with this one purpose in view, the building up of an honorable character, sufficient honors will surely come. What man's name is more honored than that of "honest Abe Lincoln?" Each year our nation celebrates the memory of the virtuous Washington. The humble works ofMoody have brought him esteem, more sincere than could any other achievement, political or military. These are men who have worked, not for honors, but for honor, and obtained both. But what a host of men have forgotten character in the race for glory! The pursuit of honors under such circumstances is vain. What availed all the distinctions won by the intriguing Caesar? The name of Nero is remembered, not so much as that of a great Roman emperor, as that of history's most cruel tyrant. It was checked ambition which led Benedict Arnold to give his name to history, not as a successful American general, but as a traitor. For those the maintenance of honor was impossible, with honors alone in view. This fault of excessive ambition appears not only in past history, but also in that of the present. Men are no less inclined to endanger their good names in the pursuit of honors now than they have always been. But the means taken are somewhat different. The days of bloodshed and outright robbery to gain distinction are past; but the practice of falsehood, cheating and inti'igue has scarcely abated. It is too true that in these days honors accompany riches. By a large majority of people the wealthy are respected and courted because of their possessions only. And this being realized, many are the means taken to acquire wealth. Many a man starts out into business with the avowed intention of letting right rule his every act and word. But the ever appearing opportunity of telling a "business lie," or perpetrating one of the numerous "tricks of trade," assails him at every turn. Unless he recalls and clings to his good resolve, the first step below the level of 1S6 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY honesty is too frequently the beginning of a general weakening of character, the loss of which he imagines is repaid by the acquirement of wealth and all the honors it brings. The honors attendant upon political eminence are particularly attractive. It is very easy for the political aspirant to be induced to employ falsehood and intrigue as assistants in reaching coveted ends, and it is to be deplored that these means too often are successful in producing the desired results, not only in connection with our town and state affairs, but in the government of our nation itself. So prevalent are such practices that a great pro-portion of our populace firmly believe that political honors and personal honor are incompatible. But business and politics are not the only directions in which honor can be lost to honors. There is scarcely one line of labor which does not offer abundant chances for deterioration of character. And not only at one time of life may we have this delusive ambition. It appears alike in the old and young. In fact, the evil practices of men are generally the continuation of dishonorable habits formed in early life. Nowhere is this sacrifice of honor for honors practiced so much as in our institutions of learning—those places where young men are finishing the mould-ing of characters that are to endure all through manhood. It is a cause of regret that so many in such places seem not to realize the importance of right dealing at this period of life. The bestowal of honors in the shape of high grades, in most schools and colleges, is based, not upon what the student has the ability to do—for it would be impossible to ascertain that accu-rately— but upon what he makes his instructors think he can do. What an inducement for wrong-doing, especially if these honors take the form of material rewards, or even verbal approval. He who in his zeal for honors lays aside honor, can find countless methods by which he may create the required good impression upon the minds of his tutors. And many do find and use these methods. The bane of our institutions of learning is the extensive practice of cheating, the great prevalence of the inclination to do wrong for the sake of advanced notation. Too many students are willing to give honor for honors. College credits, rightly acquired, are worthy of attainment, for they are evidence to the student himself of his real worth. But dishonestly obtained, they are nothing. And the excessive THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 157 use of this latter method of obtaining honors renders the whole system of numerical or alphabetical notation almost useless as a standard for the judgment of ability. But the majority of students fail to see this, and regard these honors as the one goal towards which they must bend their efforts, and to make the process easy, many stoop to unworthy methods. How utterly foolish such deeds ! For a few short years of self-satisfaction, for the praise of friends, and for the sake of transient credit, they are willing to injure that which is designed to regulate the whole course of life, the character. Too frequently we are mistaken in our conception of what true honors are. We consider the approval of a large number of persons as sufficient to call an attainment an honor. But true honors are not those regarded as such by many, but by certain men—the wise, the good, and by One who is infinitely wiser and better, the Great Judge. It is in His sight that the deepening of character becomes in itself an honor. With these thoughts in mind, let us ask ourselves, "For what shall we strive ? For that which will please our Maker or for the praise of men ; for self-improvement or vain glory ; for honor or honors?' ' Let Fate do her worst, there are relics of joy— Bright dreams of the past, which she cannot destroy. They come in the night-time of sorrow and care, And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my heart with such memories filled, Like the vase in which roses have once been distilled; You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, But the scent of the roses will cling 'round it still. -MOOKK. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. Entertd at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter. Voi,. IX. GETTYSBURG, PA., OCTOBER, 1900. No. 5. Editor-in- Chief, S. A. VAN ORMEK, '01. Assistant Editors, W. H. HBTRICK, W. A. KOHLER. Business Manager, H. C. HOFFMAN. Alumni Editor, REV. F. D. GARLAND. Assistant Business Manager, WILLIAM C. NEY. Advisory Board, PROF. J. A. HIMES, LIT. D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M. D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD, D. D. Published monthly by the students of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg") College. Subscription price, One Dollar a year in advance; single copies Ten 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 Business Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE GETTYBURG MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORS' DESK. "EVERYTHING points to a successful year for Pennsylvania *-* College ! A larger Freshman class, to the members of which—though too late to extend a welcome—THE MERCURY extends a greeting and an invitation to contribute to her columns ; a lively, healthy, interesting athletics ; a rival of the old-time enthusiasm in getting new men into the literary societies; an exceptional feeling of good-will among the students ; and a com-mendable harmony pervading the whole institution ; all these signs seem to augur a " star" year in the history of the college. Let us all conduct ourselves as students worthy the proffered privileges ! THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 159 HPHERE is no more opportune time to urge the expediency of * regularly attending and actively participating in the work of our literary societies than at the beginning of the college year for the old students, and of the college course for the new. The college graduate, no matter in what profession he may be engaged, will frequently be called upon in public meetings, either to conduct the proceedings or give his opinion and counsel. How often, with a brilliant college record behind him, he hesitates or reluctantly accepts, only to stumble and falter in speech, or dis-play a grievous ignorance of parliamentary practice, to his own confusion and the disgust of those assembled. Opportunities to rise into public notice, to win the confidence of his community, and, in general, to exhibit qualifications for public duty and trust, are thus allowed to pass unimproved, and the disappointed aspirant is obliged to confine his interests and activities to the narrow channels of professional routine, and tamely work out his ordinary destiny on the dead level of professional common-place ; all because in his struggle for class standing, distinction in col-lege sports or general college activities, if not because of utter indifference, he has neglected the literary societies and their training. Too often the training there imparted is depreciated, and re-garded as a college incidental of collateral importance and in-terest, and not an essential and supplementary part of one's equipment for life—a part, indeed, of higher market value in the world to-day than that any department of study in the college curriculum can furnish. The literary societies are both animated by a spirit of earnest endeavor—a spirit which, though it savors of rivalry and competition, is modified by a sympathetic interest in the literary culture of all members. Their doors are ever open to visitors, and welcome ever warm to applicants. -K. **p LITERARY INOTES. HTHE publication at this time of the United States Government's *■ History of the Civil War in 128 volumes of narrative, and 35 volumes of maps, makes very tiniely the publication of Col. Thomas L,. Iyivermore's " Numbers and L,osses in the Civil War." The work is based upon official information contained in per- 160 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY mauent department records of both sides in the struggle, and gives the numbers engaged and the losses sustained in the long contest between the North and the South. Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. will publish the work. Jt Edna Dean Proctor, whose " Poems," chiefly of New England subjects, have won for her an enviable reputation, has in press with the Messrs. Houghton, Miffliu&Co. a new volume of verse, which relates entirely to New Hampshire, her native State. The book will be issued under the title, " A Mountain Maid, and Other Poems of New Hampshire." It will be illustrated by a number of reproductions of photographs of some of the romantic mountain and other scenery of the " Old Granite State." j* The publishers of " David Harum" give some interesting statistics regarding that work, now in its 436th thousand : Over 5,000 pounds of ink, 5,865 reams of paper, and 1,900 miles of thread have been used in making the books. If placed end to end they would extend for more than fifty miles. e^b THE MAIDEN ALL PORLORN. STANLEY C FOWLEB, '04. "IT'S de gospel truff I'm a tellin yo'. Dis yere house am ■*■ ha'nted shur nuff." " What's up now ?" asked Mr. Bently, looking up from his morning paper. George Washington rolled his eyes and twiddled his thumbs as he repeated his former assertion : " Dat de house am ha'nted." "Where did you obtain this pleasant information?" Mr. Bently demanded. " W'a a young gen'lenian, dats a stayin' downhe'ar, tole me dat de spook ob a beau'ful lady walks up in de garret. Dis lady used ter lib he'ar, when dis yer house was fust built, wid an ole uncle who wanted ter marry her ter his son, so's he'd git her money, but she wa' dead in lub wid a young fellar dat she used to meet ' clandistinctly.' One night dis ole uncle spied her a goin' up ter de garret an' cotched her a makin' signals out of dat THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 161 ' oriole' window to de fellar. De ole wretch locked her in de room, an' stole down an' waited fo' de young man, an' killed him while she wa' a lookin' at 'em. She went crazy, an'used ter steal up dere ebery Wednesday night (fo' dat's de night her uncle killed him), an' moan an' groan about him, an' when she died her spook walked. De people called her ' De Maiden All Forlorn.' " And having delivered this pleasant piece of news, George Washington retired. Here was a pretty state of affairs. Mr. Bently had spent three days with his wife and nephews at the large, old-fashioned man-sion on the Hudson, that he had recenttypurchased for a summer residence. These nephews, while at college, had earned the reputation of being " wild," but had developed into two quiet cads during the three days spent in the company of their aunt; much to the de-light of that estimable lady, and disgust of her husband. Mr. Bently rubbed his ears reflectively, and said, " George Washington's name is a warrant for his veracity, but, Good Dord ! just think of living in a house inhabited by a spook ! It's just like you, Tom Bently, to buy a place like this. What will you poor boys do when she begins to walk and groan ?" asked Mr. Bently. '' I will lay me down in peace and take my rest; for it is Thine, Dord only, that makest me dwell in safety," said Fred, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. Will, the younger nephew, was too deeply interested in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which he had been reading for the past few days, to pay any attention to the conversation. Well, if she's going to walk she'll do it to-night. But say, Fred, how will that club of yours, that you have invited to spend every Wednesday night here, stand it?" asked Mr. Bently. " They are all Christian boys, and fear nothing," said Fred. Mr. Bently's foot itched to connect with Fred, but, fearing his wife's anger, he found satisfaction in kicking the dog. " Well, it's queer that the agent forgot to mention ' The Maiden All Forlorn.' I'm going to examine the garret," and off Mr. Bently stamped. The garret had two very large rooms. One which had an oriel window, overlooking the river, opened into another smaller room, in which were a wooden table and several large packing 162 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY cases. This room opened into a large closet with a door at one end. Mr. Bently found it to be locked and the key missing. After getting the lay of the land for future emergencies, he hur-ried down to welcome the guests. They were six of the gayest looking " Christian" boys he had ever seen. His spirits rose only to fall again, for they proved to be the exact counterparts of his nephews. Mr. Bently's blissful snoring was brought to an abrupt end. " There, that's her ! Don't youhearthat noise ? Go up and see what it is !" said Mrs. Bently, who was sitting bolt upright in bed. It is needless to say that Mr. Bently failed to display a proper spirit of eagerness or enthusiasm at his wife's command, but a few prods from her succeeded in instilling the proper degree of courageousness necessary for such an undertaking. Calling for George Washington, who came running along with a bamboo cane in his hand, Mr. Bently handed him a pistol, some matches and a lighted candle; and after taking the cane from him, ordered him to lead the way. Trembling with fear they climbed the garret stairs, and just as George Washington was opening the garret door he sneezed, and out went the candle. " Light that candle ! " screamed Mr. Bently. Poor George was so excited that he succeeded in dropping the matches, and after Mr. Bently groped about in the dark, consol-ing himself and blessing George audibly, he was forced to proceed in total darkness. George plucked up sufficient courage to open the door very slowly, and both stole in. The moonlight was stealing through the window, and there, walking, or rather gliding over to it, her gauzy drapery floating gracefully behind her, was a beautiful young girl. George Wash-ington gave one yell and fled, tripping Mr. Bently, who did not take the time to rise to his feet, but scampered on all fours, fin-ishing a close second to George ; for Mr. Bently, instead of run-ning down stairs, jumped. He sailed through the air like a comet, his dressing gown floating majestically behind him as stiff as a board. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 163 When he lauded he imagined that he heard a chuckle, but turning he beheld George Washington shaking like a lump of jelly and muttering his prayers. "Say, George, I'll give you five dollars ifyou will completely forget this little excursion," said Mr. Bently. " All right, sah," said George. The next day, while strolling in the grounds, Mr. Bently was surprised to hear voices coming from behind a clump of bushes. Hearing his name mentioned, he listened and heard his nephew's voice say, " George, tell us how he looked when he sailed down stairs." Then he heard George Washington's voice answer, " Well, Massa Fred, he done went so fast ah could only see a streak ob him from de top to de bottom ob de stairs.'' Here then was a burst of laughter. Mr. Bently turned savagely on his heel and stalked away muttering, " The black snoozer. I'll choke him. Wait, I'll surprise them yet." Next Wednesday Mrs. Bently announced her intention of sleeping in the left wing of the house, far from the stamping ground of the maiden. Mr. Bently said nothing, but looked very wise. It was almost midnight, and Mr. Bently, fully dressed, his feet shod with soft felt slippers, and carrying a dark-lantern, slowly ascended the garret stairs. He trembled so violently as he turned the knob of the door that he was forced to lean against the wall for a minute. He finally opened it and peeped in. All was quiet and serene, so he tiptoed into the room. Presently he heard footsteps, and hastily shading the lantern saw George Washington walk by and enter the smaller room. As the door opened a flood of light came out, and he heard the sound of many feet tramping. Then he heard Will singing : " O, the youngest son, was a son of a gun, He was, he was, He shuffled the cards and he played for mon, He did, he did." Mr. Bently stole up and peeped into the room through the crack, for George had neglected to shut the door tightly. There sat Will and five "Christian boys" around the wooden table, on which were cards and chips. Fred was boxing with the re-maining " Christian boy," both clad in scant attire. George Washington was opening some bottles of champagne. 164 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY " Come, Ed, it's time that you did your act," said Will. Ed, a big, broad-shouldered fellow, arose aud placed a big blonde wig on his head and donned a long white wrapper. Then he draped some gauze about his shoulders. As he took off his shoe he dropped it. " Are they blasting rock as late as this?" innocently asked Will. " You horrid thing, to make fun of my little shoes. I'll hit you real hard," said Ed as he sent the other number eight sail-ing through the air in the direction of Will's head. When Ed had completed his toilet he stole up to Will, and laying his head on his shoulder, gazed up into his eyes and said, " Does 'oo love 'oo little tootsey-wootsey ?" " He should, ior he lost enough filthy lucre to you last club night," said Fred. Will sang " Thou'rt Like Unto a Flower," and was telling Ed how he " longed on those golden tresses his folded hands to lay," when Ed threw back his head and gave voice to such a howl as human ear had never heard before. It was the bray-ing of a donkey and the howling of a clog, blended harmoniously into one cry, " in linked sweetness long drawn out." "Suffering Moses! When did you cultivate that howl?" asked Will. " I got my inspiration from a Wagnerian chorus that I had the agony of listening to for about four hours and a half. I've practiced it for the past week. Dos't think it sounds like The Maiden All Forlorn singing, " Where Art Thou Now, My Be-loved?" said Ed. " She must have sung like a snorting gale," said Fred. " Say, George Washington, you told that tale with good effect. Who coached you?" asked Ed. " Ah belong to de ' Moonlight Dramatic Association,' " said George, proudly. " Gee," whispered Will, "I should think so many clouds would spoil the moonlight." " Go on, Ed, and do your act. The old gentleman may in-vestigate again," said Will. " Not much. He has his nightcap pulled down over his ears and his head buried under the pillows," said Ed. This was too much, and Mr. Beutly threw open the door and —MI im>i»nm—P THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 165 walked in. What a scene ! George Washington dropped on his knees, saying, " "Tis me father's ghost," in tones that would make the " Divine Sarah" turn green with envy. The Maiden All Forlorn, like the proverbial ostrich, had her head buried in a packing case, and her pedal extremities waving frantically in the air. A row of coat-tails were fast disappearing under the table. Only Fred remained cool and collected. " Good morning, gentlemen," said Mr. Bently. "Good morning, uncle. Won't you join the 'Precious Pearls' in their exercises ?" said Fred. " Don't care if I do," said Mr. Bently. A howl came from the depth of the packing case, where the Damsel Crowned With Rue had taken refuge. A head slowly appeared from the opposite side of the table. " But, uncle, I thought that you didn't approve of poker ?" " That's when your aunt's listening," said Mr. Bently, giving a sly wink. " Whose idea was this ?" " Mine," answered Will. " You see, Aunt Ann insisted on my reading ' Uncle Tom's Cabin,' and I thought that Cassy's racket might work here. It's diplomacy, you know." " And blamed good diplomacy. How do you get up here ?" asked Mr. Bently. " There's a flight of stairs leading from a closet in our room to that door in there," said Fred, pointing to the door in the closet of the room. " Well, it's a mighty good racket so long as your aunt don't investigate," said Mr. Bently. c^p THE NATIONAL NOMINATING CONVENTION. T}RIOR to the year 1825 candidates for President and Vice- A President were nominated by what was called the Con-gressional Caucus. Its power had become so great that a nomi-nation by the Caucus had come to be equivalent to an election. But when it attempted to force upon the people as candidates for the Presidency ir in whom the rank and file of the party did not wish, its usefulness was in question, and because of its persistence 166 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY in such obnoxious actions it lost all its power and influence and came to an inglorious end during the campaign of 1824. Throughout the stage of transition from the Congressional Caucus to the National Nominating Convention the State Legis-lative Caucus assumed the duty of making the presidential nomi-nations. The plan for nominating presidential candidates by means of a national convention had been proposed by different individuals and newspapers opposed to the Congressional Caucus and was under discussion for several years ; but the difficulties in the way, together with the lack of agreement on the part of the people, had prevented a general movement in favor of the plan. Some of the difficulties began to disappear as facilities for com-munication between the States improved with the improved roads and the building of railways. The first call for a national nominating convention was sent out by the Anti-Masonic party in 1830. Thirteen States were represented in this first national convention. An address to the people of the United States was issued and nominations for President and Vice-President were made. The convention idea was now in the air and was promptly adopted by the two great parties. The city of Baltimore has the honor of being the place where candidates for President and Vice-President were first nominated by national conventions. The procedure of these Baltimore conventions was in many particulars much like that of National Conventions to-day. There was the temporary organi-zation, the examination of credentials, the permanent organization, the address to the people setting forth party principles and assail-ing the principles of other parties, the "nominating speeches," and the committee to notify those nominated of the honor conferred. There was no formal"platform " adopted at the first conventions. This feature was introduced by a gathering of young men which met in May, 1832, in the interest of Henry Clay's candidacy. At this meeting a series of resolutions were adopted which, in the language of Mr. Bryce, "constituted the first political plat-form ever put forth by a nominating body." In the National Convention of the present the "platform" occupies a conspicuous place. Three ideas are now seen to enter necessarily into a political platform. There is first a statement of the general fundamental principles for which the party stands. Secondly, THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 167 there is a conscious effort to set forth a specific policy to be pursued under existing circumstances and conditions. And, third, the platform carries with it a pledge, stated or implied, that the party will be true to its historic principles and will carry out the policy outlined. The Anti-Masons contributed to convention organization the suggestion that each State should send as many delegates as it had electoral votes, and the National Republicans the suggestion that the delegates be elected by Congressional districts. In the early conventions the number of delegates from each State was not limited, though the number of votes was restricted to the number of electors. For twenty years from 1852 the number of delegates from each State to Democratic conventions was fixed at double the number of electors and each delegate was given a half a vote. In 1872 this rule was changed so as to give to each delegate a full vote and retain the number of delegates at double that of the electors. The Republicans had adopted this latter rule twelve years before, and it is still in force in both parties. Two delegates from each territory are admitted to Republican conventions, with the privilege of voting. Democratic conventions do not grant this privilege to territorial delegates. Since the year 1892 the Republican party requires every State to elect its delegates by Congressional districts. The Democratic party has two methods in general use. The two delegates to which each Congressional district is entitled are chosen by that district, while the State Convention elects the four "delegates-at-large" for the whole State. There is also a difference between the Republican and Democratic Conventions with respect to some other important rules—the Two-Thirds Rule, the Majority Rule and the Unit Rule. The first Democratic Convention adopted a rule declaring "that two-thirds of the whole number of votes in the convention shall be necessary to constitute a choice." This rule has been reaffirmed by every subsequent Democratic Convention. The Majority Rule was adopted by the Whigs in 1840, and is the rule which has been used by the Republican Conventions up to the present time. The first Democratic Convention also adopted a rule which has been understood to give to the majority of the delegates from any State the right to cast the vote of the State. This is known 168 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY as the Unit Rule. It disregards the wishes of the minority in any particular State and at the same time makes it possible for candi-dates to be nominated who are approved by a minority only of the party voters of the country. But as tending to exalt the rights of the State as such, the Unit Rule has been much favored by Democratic State Conventions, which have often instructed their delegates to national conventions to vote as a unit. In Republican National Conventions the Unit Rule never gained foothold, though efforts have been made to impose it upon the party. The rule which is now in force was adopted in 1880. It requires that in case any delegate objects to the announcement made by the chairman of his delegation, "the president of the convention shall direct the roll of members of such delegation to be called and the result recorded in accordance with the votes individually given." The National Nominating Convention has come to be such an important factor in our form of government that every citizen should become as familiar with its organization and manner of working as with the Constitution itself. An insight into the methods of the great political leaders framing the future policies of the nation, together with an opportunity to witness the delib-erations of the men who control the destinies of the country— especially at this important period of our national existence— ought to be sought by every young man who glories in the proud name of an American citizen. "PROMETHEUS." AN EXPOSITION.—THE LAW OF ENERGY. HAVING cut a small square out of a card-board screen, hold the screen in a vertical position near a lighted lamp be-tween the lamp and the wall. In your imagination, connect the corners of the illumined surface on the wall with the corresponding corners of the square hole in the screen. The connecting cords converge, and, if con-tinued through the hole, will meet in the flame of your lamp. The square pyramid thus formed may be seen if there is dust in the atmosphere. The part of this pyramid between the lamp and the screen, is also a pyramid, similarto the whole. By geometry, we know that the sides of these two squares are proportional to their respective distances from the point in the flame where the imaginary cords meet; hence, their areas are proportional to the squares of their distances from the flame. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 169 A bunch of rays of light that will light up the surface the size of the hole in the screen, if let pass on, will illuminate the much larger surface on the wall. Evidently, the degree of brightness is not so. great at the wall as at the screen. This degree of brightness varies as the respective areas, just as a given quantity of paint is four times as thick on a certain surface as on another surface four times as great, supposing it is evenly distributed in each case. But, we have shown that the illumined surfaces are to each other as the squares of the distances from the source of light, hence the first part of the law for the intensity of light energy. The amount of radiant energy of light to the square inch of surface varies inversely as the square of the distance from the source. Now, turn up the wick and the amount is a certain part greater at both places. It can at once be seen that the amount increases in direct ratio with the increase at the source of light. This gives us the second part of the law ; and the entire law may be stated thus: The amount of light received per unit area is inversely pro-portional to the squares of the distances from the source, and directly proportional to the intensity of light possessed by the luminous body. A student of physics has but this one law to learn for intensity of energy, and he may apply it to physical energy of whatever form. By using a screen of alum solution we might produce a similar pyramid of heat energy, able to be outlined as definitely by using a thermometer. You know it better perhaps by trying to get into the shade, as it were, of the hot rays from a stove or grate, by placing a screen, it may be of glass even, before your face. Then, as to the law, how instinctively you move back from a stove becoming too hot. The same law holds the solar system together, and we call the force, there acting in couformity with the law, the force of gravitation. There is also a similar force acting between the earth and objects upon it, and between these objects themselves. This, too, varies inversely as the square of the distances, and directly as the product of the masses. By it, electrical attraction is governed; hence, the specific inductivity of substances. Magnetic force and sound as well as light and heat vary accord-ing to the same law. In short, all physical energy varies inversely as the square of the distance, and directly as the product of the amounts. Nature is simple if we put ourselves into the spirit of her actions. She is open, ready to be read by all who will. As to the degree of energy we have learned her simple law and may apply it theoretically without a question. L,ucus. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. C. F?. SOLT MERCHANT TAILOR Masonic Bldg., GETTYSBURG . Our collection of Woolens for the coming Kail and "Winter season cannot be surpassed for variety, attractive designs and general completeness. The latest styles of fashionable novelties in the most approved shades. Staples of exceptional merit, value and wearing durability. Also altering, repairing, dyeing and scouring at moderate prices. .FOR UP-TO-DATE. Clothing, Hats, Shoes, And Men's Furnishing Goods, go to I. HALLEM'S MAMMOTH CLOTHING HOUSE, Chambersburg St., GETTYSBURG, PA. ESTABLISHED 1867 BY ALLEN WALTON. ALLEN K. WALTON, President and Treasurer. ROBT. J. WALTON Superintendent. flammelstoiun Bromn Stone Gompany Quarrynieu and Manufacturers of Building Stone, Sawed Flagging and Tile Waltonville, Dauphin Co., Pa. Contractors for all kinds of Telegraph and Express Address. Cut Stone Work. BROWNSTONE, PA. Parties visiting the Quarries will leave cars at Brownstone Station on the P. & R. R. R. For a nice sweet loaf of Bread call on J. RAiHER Baker of Bread and Fancy Cakes, GETTYSBURG. PA. EIMER & AMEND, Manufacturers and Importers of Chemicals and Chemical Apparatus 205, 207, 209 and 211 Third Avenue, Corner 18th Street NEW YORK. Finest Bohemian and German Glassware, Royal Berlin and Meissen Porcelain, Pure Hammered Platinum, Balances and Weights. Zeiss Mi-croscopes and Bacteriological Apparatus; Chemical Pure Acids and Assay- Goods. SCOTT PAPER COMPANY MAKERS OF FINE TOILET PAPER 7th and Greenwood Ave. PHILADELPHIA ■'""■"■""/'*»

Issue 27.4 of the Review for Religious, 1968. ; ASSOCIATE EDITORS Everett A. Diederich, S.J. Augustine G. Ellard, S.J. ASSISTANT EDITORS Ralph F. Taylor, S.J. John C. Treloar, S.J. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS EDITOR Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Correspondence with the editor, the associate editors, and the assistant editor, as well as books for review, should be sent to l~vmw FOR I~LmmUS; 6~ Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; Saint Louis, Missouri 63xo3. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gallen, S.J.; St. Joseph's Church; 3=I Willings Alley; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ~9m6. + + + REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS Edited with ecclesiastical approval by faculty members of the School of Divinity of Saint Louis University~ the editorial offices being located at 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; Saint Louis, Missouri 63103. Owned by the Missouri Province Edu-cational Institute. Published bimonthly and copyright © 1968 by REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS at428 East Preston Street; Bahirnore, Mary-land 21202. Printed in U.S.A. Second class post.age paid at Baltimore, Maryhmd. Single cop~es: $1.00. Subscription U.S.A. and Canada: $5.00 a year, $9.00 for two )'ears; other countries: 55.50 a year, $10.00 for two years. Orders should indicate whether they are for new or renewal subscriptions and should be accompanied by check or money order paya-ble to REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS in U.S.A. currency only. Pay no money to persons claiming to represent REVIE~,' FOR RELIGIOUS. Change of address requests should include former address. Renewals and new subscriptions, wher~ accom-panied by a remittance, should be sent to REWEW vo~ RELIGIOUS; P. O. Box 671; Baltimore, Maryland 21203. Changes of address, business correspondence, and orders not accompanied by a remittance should be sent to REVIEW ~OR RELIGIOUS ; 428 East Preston Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Manuscripts, editorial cor-respondence, and books for review should be sent to REview ro~ R~LIGIOGS; 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; Saint Louis, Missouri 63103. Questions for answering should be sent to the address of the Questions and Answers editor. JULY 1968 VOLUME 27 NUMBER 4 DAVID T. ASSELIN, s.J. Christian Maturity and Spiritual Discernment My purpose is to situate personal spiritual discernment in the context of faith-growth, that is, Christian matu-rity. From this viewpoint, to educate the faith is less a question of theological instruction than one of guided. spiritual experience. I am thinking of the teleioi of Hebrews 5:14, "the mat~[re who have their faculties trained by experience to discern between good and evil," an excellent summary of the Spirit's work of restoration out of the chaos which resulted from man's original attempt to determine good and evil for himself and on his own. The term could also be translated "the perfect," or, perhaps, "the personally fulfilled." Faith, throughout this discussion, should be under-stood in the sense of Vatican II's Decree on the At~osto-late of the Laity: Only by the light of'faith [the impressive word is "only"] and by meditation on the word of God, can one always and everywhere recognize God, in whom "we live and move and have our being," seek His will in every event, see Christ in all men whether they are close to us or strangers, make correct judgments about the true meaning and value of temporal things, both in themselves and in their relationship to man's final goal. ¯ Ex.cept for meditation on Scripture nothing is said in this text about the means of maturing the faith. The Council simply outlines the content of adult faith. What I should like to explore is an indispensable element in the process of maturation of this content. The truth of the matter is that faith is not primarily a source of answers to our questions but rather our answer to the Lord's question; "Lovest thou me?" In other words, I take faith not as quest for answers (to our in-tellectual problems) nor as a set of answers (to the ques-tions of "others), but as the answer "of the whole person 4, David T. Asselin, S.J., is spiritual di-rector at Regis Col-lege; 3425 Bayview Avenue; Willow-dale, Ontario; Can-ada. VOLUME 27, 1968 581 ÷ ÷ ÷ D. T. Asselin, S.]. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 582 to the Lord inserting His Person and Spirit, and thus articulating Himself as the divine Word, in human life. My general proposition is that at the very heart of growing in faith we find, necessarily, a refinement and increase of the grace of spiritual discernment. Without discernment there is no growth in faith. Spiritual dis-cernment, therefore, is less a question of being intellec-tually clever than of being graced and called by the Lord to grow in knowledge of Him. All things serve the Lord of history; all persons are called to be the vehicles of His creative will; all men willy-nilly serve the God of human history's purposes. Otherwise, they would not be introduced into ongoing incarnational history. However, not everyone, so far, seems to hear the call to know the Lord he se~wes, to know Him as a friend does a friend, as a son his father, a wife her husband. To know Him is the mark of spiritual growth and maturity. Faith-growth is God's work. Man can do no better than collaborate with the divine initiative in his spiritual life. This seems to imply several things. First of all, as the spiritual point of departure, it de-mands an openness to being moved by God. This is the key to obedience as well as to all spiritual encounter. The fundamental Christian attitude, then, is that of a listener, one who is open to divine initiatives whatever they might be. It is radically and essentially a prayer-attitude, one that continues, or ought to continue, be-yond prayer into the apostolate and every other work or experience. The second implication is a need for some continual scrutiny and reflection in regard to the experiences inte-rior to 6neself in prayer and in all life's situations. This self-examination is needed not merely to lay hold of juridically impt.~table faults but more importantly to grow in habitual discrimination and discernment-by-faith of the various, interior experiences and personal spiritual calls--impulses, inclinations, attractions, re-pugnances, assaults--that occur much more frequently than perhaps we either admit or spiritually discern. The third demand is a growing ability to recognize and respond only to those experiences which are dis-cernibly frotn the Lord. Here, in the area of concrete affectivity, are the contacts with the Lord's divine initia-tives guiding the individual person or community. The difference between personal spiritual direction and spir-itual government of a community involves a difference in the mode of spiritual scrutiny and recognition of the divine will in the concrete. Whatever accidental dif-ference may emerge in the mode of reflection on ex-perience, both the community scrutiny and the ifldi- .vidual scrutiny lead ultimately to the possibility of a response which we may call "rightly ordered," a direct response to inner vocation that gives first place to answer-ing the.Lord's question, "Lovest thou me?" In brief, these three requirements---openness to spir-itual experience, reflection on it, and response-ability to it--are basic elements in the growth of personal sensi-tivity to the initiatives of the Lord, or spiritual discern-ment. Whether on the community or individual level, in order to achieve government, spiritual direction, or faith-growth, the cooperation of several is required. The director 'and the directed, the superior and the subject, the spiritual father and his "son,'~ must both be. humbly alert in a collaboration of listening to the Lord's Spirit~ The basic relationship of spiritual direction and govern-ment is a structured team-work of director and directed in discerning the will of the Lord in concrete~ situations. Both, then, must be continually subordinated to the Lord's Spirit and His word as the principal director. The hierarchy of subordination, in the context of spir-itual direction, is that of a human directo]: who by his calling is the servant of a relationship growing between the one directed and the Spirit of the Lord. In a sense, then, the human director takes his stand, spiritually, in the lower, not the higher, place. In this relationship of spiritual direction, destined to serve the Lord's creative work in the individual and in the ~ommunity, the responsibility falls first on the Lord Himself, secondly on the group or the individual' called to Him, and finally on the servant of their relationship, the spiritual director. If there" is any subordination to human direction in responding to God, this sub-ordination must be established by the Lord and guaran-teed. by Him (or by a convenant or pact freely entered into on the part of the subject). Growth in discernment of the action of God's Spirit is, then, the thing which truly matures and estab-lishes in the faith a spiritual person or community. An authentic spiritual community is one which can be described in terms of its real awareness of being moved and directed by the Holy Spirit, on many levels. This awareness is not just found vaguely throughout the com-munity but according to the clearly defined functions of properly subordinated individuals. As we find in the Gospels, to be great in the community° of the Lord is to be the least and servant of all. The work of the one wh~)se responsibility it is to direct others is a work of assisting them, as individuals and as a group, to hear and respond better to the Lord's initiatives in every ,situa-tion. This direction or government is a spiritual thing pre2 ÷ 4, Maturity and ¯ Discernment ~VOLUME 27, 1968 583 ÷ ÷ ÷ D. T. Asselin, S.]. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 584 cisely to the extent that it is collaboration with the Lord's Spirit, the ultimate director and superior. The Lord's indications, leads, initiatives, must be discerned as coming from Him and then followed, if a man is to serve the Lord in a way befitting man, that is by knowing the Lord he serves. There is, then, a need today to respect the importance and centrality of interior, personal, spiritual experience without undue fear of false mysticism or of the folly of the enthusiasts, quietists, alumbrados. Moreover, we must investigate the area of spiritual experience today because the Church is not only inviting ns but requiring us to do so, in the words of one who cries out: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Ap 2:11). The word "maturity" has been aptly defined by the Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget, who made extensive studies of children in their process of development. Mh-turity, he found, is simply an increase in the capacity to differentiate in a practical manner interior experiences and operations. If we adopt this definition, then the life of faith in a man is mature to the extent that it involves a capacity to reflect upon, understand, discriminate be-tween, and respond to, the inner spiritual stimuli that he experiences within himself. The Lord's Personal Call It might be well here to suggest some relationships between general law or principle on the one hand, and individuated personal experience on the other. To di-vorce the two is to fall into legalism and moralism, or into a kind of situation-ethic. The problem is how to relate these poles. It is true that general law and principle rightly and concretely circumscribe each personal situation. But they do so only to the extent that this situation is common to all men, and not proper to this person as such. I mean that the situations of Peter and of Paul are cor-rectly guided by general principle only insofar as Peter and Paul are men, therefore impersonally considered, not insofar as they are distinguished from each other by name. Peter qua Peter is more than just a man. In this regard permit me to draw attention to the per-fect way of knowing a man, intimately and personally, which is the Lord's way of knowing him, that is, by name. We read in Isaiah 43:1: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine." Or again, in John 10:3: "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them forth." Scripture continually reveals the personal and intimate knowledge that the Lord has of each of His creatures: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you" (Jer 1:5); "Lord, you have pi:obed me and you know me, you understand my thoughts from afar, with all my ways you are familiar, even~ before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it, where can I go from your Spirit, from your presence where can I flee" (Ps 138:139). Just as it is clear that the Lord knows and calls each man by name, it is equally clear that man becomes spir-itually mature to the extent that he can recognize and acknowledge who it is that is calling him, responding to . the Lord by name in all things: The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt. For they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the Lord. All, the least to the greatest, shall know Me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evil doing and remember their sin no more (Jer 31:31ff.). It seems clear, here and elsewhere in Scripture, that God is establishing with each human person as well as with His community a new spiritual relatiqnship of tremendous value which exceeds the expectations of authentic Chris-tian personalism today. In order to discover the meaning of Peter qua Peter, and of Paul as unique and distinct from Peter, in the context of universal salvation history (which, after all, is the task in which spiritual directors and superiors are, I believe, primarily intended to assist), it is necessary to discover the unique meaning, value, and orientation that is proper to Peter's spiritual situation precisely as distinct from Paul's, before the Lord. By what kind of logic is this sort of knowledge attained? Over and above the universal validity of general principle and law, Peter, as an unrepeatable, unique individual, must be guided by a logic that is other than the logic of general principle and universal law. In other words, there are two kinds of logic. One logic, which .we might call conceptual or proposi-tional, is the basis for reasoning in universally valid terms. The point of departure, the principle or the foun-dation from which the successive insights and conclu-sions proceed according to this logic will be an axiom. It begins therefore with a self-evident proposition. ÷ ÷ ÷ Maturity and Discernment VOLUME 27, 1968 585 D. T. As~elin, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 586 Logic o[ the Concret~ .There is another logic, however, the Jogic of con-crete, unique, and individual events and persons (which, inCidentally, is the w, ay God apprehends things). Here, . the human foundation or first principle will no longer be an axiom but an experience. As the logic of conceptual knowledge is based on axiomatic, propositions, so the logic of concrete knowledge is based on concrete ex-perience. Mature faith-response to the Lord's word can emerge only from personal encounter with Him. I think it is the job of superiors and spiritual directors to point to those authentic experiences whereby the Lord is communicating Himself to individuals and communi-ties, thus guiding their spiritual growth and governing their development as Christian persons. This concret~ knowledge of the Lord and of His ways. can only be had, as the Vatican Council proposes, "by meditation on the word of God." Faith-growth is inseparable from prayer-life. Both are areas of fundamental concern to all who are called not only by the Lord's, "Lovest thou me?" but also by His, "Feed my lambs and sheep." What, therefore, the individual as such ought to de-cide in the area of liberty and private responsibility cannot be fully determined by general principle or law. It is of vital importance, however, that what is decided be determined with spiritual certitude, not merely by guesswork, accident, or whim. This is precisely why reliable, that is, mature, faith-discernment of interior experiences and, events is important. Otherwise, we run a risk of considering these experiences as mere psycho-logical phenomena, avoiding the whole world of con-crete events in function of which spiritual discernment and maturity can take place. Rather, we must approach the world of private and group e~perience as filled with the glorious presence (shekinah) of the Lord, the indications of His will and concrete providence, and perhaps .the presence of an adverse spirit. Hence, it is only a faith-awareness and dis-cernment of these events which can lead to an under-standing of the individual or community relationship to the Lord, an estimation of their spiritual maturity, and a reliable ifi~rease in their personal freedom and re- + sponsibility. + No concrete choice can be well ordered in the faith + unless it coincides with the determination~ of the Lord 'of all human history. To be aware of these things in the concrete is the only way for a man to be "with it" spir-itually, or "where the action is." To be with the Lord of history, who revealed Himself as being so continually and intimately with us, we must be in personal corn- munication with Him in all things. Therefore, the particular experience that functions as a self-evident first principle for the logic of concrete individual knowl-edge is nothing short of a real experience of the Lord communicating Himself and uttering His invitation and call directly to a pers9n for his u.nique situation, Growth in discernment presupposes several elements. There must be, first of all, inner experience; second,. repeated reflection, on this experience; third, a dis-crimination between various experiences, not from the pbint of view of mere natural causalities (psychological or otherwise), but from that of personal faith in the Lord of concrete history; fourth, an evaluation of these interior experiences from this faith-standpoint; finally, the ca-pacity to receive and obey those movements which are discernibly from the Lord, or.at least clearly not inspired by an adverse spirit. This is the only way to be with the Lord, and where His action is, in reality. Only thus can a man truly grow as a mature person and find. fulfillment. He must find his own personal relationship with the Creator and Lord of all things, and place himself at His service unre-servedly. Experience, then, of encounter and contact with .the Lord, of listening to and of being guided by Him di-rectly, must lie within the capacities of ordinary Chris-tian faith-maturity. Otherwise, how could an adult Chris-tian enjoy an authentic spiritual calling? The only way a man can be divinely called to a personal vocation is "bY name," which means by a unique and personal en-counter with tbe Lord in terms of incommunicable inner experience. Surely our adult Christians, in the light of Vatican II, are not merely destined to serve the Lord, but intimately to know the Lord they serve. Surely their service must flow from a personal.knowledge of Him, a concrete knowledge which cannot be grasped from the-ology or from psychology or even from the mere absence of "impediments to vocation," but from personal ex-perience and prayer. There is question here of something mystical, at least on an elementary level, in the ordinary faith-growth of a Christian--something entailing immediate conscious con-tact with the person of the Lord. Hence, we confront today a mysticism that is to be recognized and fostered within the ordinary providence of God's grace for anyone called to know Him. This kind of knowledge is what specifies the relationship between. God and His people, God and the individual, in the whole Judaeo-Christian history of vocation. I submit that today the discernmentof spirits, as it is called, is the most relevant focal, point in our spiritual ÷ Maturity and Discernment VOLUME 27, 1968 587 ÷ ÷ D. T. Asselin, S.]. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS heritage, because it is the concrete., logic of personal spiritual knowledge of las cosas internas, the "interior things," the life of inner spiritual experience. Only a refined spiritual discernment will guide a man to mature self-possession, freeing him from inner disorder in his choosing so that he may enjoy a growing, divine en-counter of faith in all circumstances. In this way, his faith-awareness will envelop, enlighten, guide everything else in his life, so that he will not be able to love any-thing ~r anyone save "in the Lord." It is only within this world of each man's personal experience that his faith-response can be given to the evocative word of the Lord. " Today.in this age of personalism, of self-discovery, of fulfillment, of communication and dialogue, there is a dyifig interest, in any gospel that might limit itself to spiriyual absolutes and generalities, to moralism or trite devotionalism, just as there is a reaction against the spiritual anonymity of the" "lonely crowd" and. the impersonality of the "organization man" in our "secular city.:' Such-labels indicate' the personal alienation that threatens urbanized man today. We all know the reac-tion formation which arises against this situation, offering a purely secular salvation in terms of this-worldly ful-fillment of man's four basic desires: his desire for security, affection, variety, and esteem. Man's real salvation today, however, according to our Christian world-view based on the 'new covenant announced in Jeremiah 31, 31 ft., entails being radicallygraced by God in such a way that the divine presence and will can be known and hcknowl- ' edged personally by each man. Confronted exclusively with general principles and laws, or the enunciation of general truths based upon them which do not focus on each man as a unique per-son but necessarily treat him merely as another instance of numerically multipliable human nature undistin-guished by any name, modern man will remain deaf to ¯ his true personal call to greatness, spiritually immature. If the Christian logic of concrete personal vocation is ignored today, there is a growing danger that tomorrow both Peter and Paul will search for their identity out, side the authentic Christian view of things., perhaps against it. It is only through the gradual and inevitably painful education of a man's faith-view of concrete particulars, that is, the education of his capacity spiritually to dis-cern concrete reality within himself or others, that he can be entrusted with the responsibility of personally determining the steps and measures which bear on his own salvation or that of others. ~ We are far from endorsing, therefore, an undiscerning confidence and blind acceptance of everything that a man spontaneously is inclined to think best. According to the view of some, everything is acceptable or good which inwardly attracts or moves a man, as long as it is not a clear inclination to sin. As a matter of fact, if it were all that easy it would hardly be worth discussing. Spiritual responsibility is insured only by an authentic growth of the capacity to discern the personal word and will of Christ for onself or for another. This merely re-affirms the central Christian position which is one of lis-tening to and following the word of God addressed to man: "Blessed is hewho hears the word of God and keeps it"; or again: "My mother and brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and keep it." To some degree or other all of us have this problem of faith-maturity. Therefore, we must consider maturity not as a terminal achievement but rather as maturation, a continuum of emerging awareness of interior en-counter and personal vocation initiated by the Lord. All this applies to community experience as well as to that of the individual, and it includes in its ambit the beginner as well as the teleios in the sense of Hebrews 5:14, "the one who has faculties trained by experience to discern good from evil." This points to faith-guided discernment as the cor-rection of Adam's fault who attempted, :according to Genesis 3, on his own and independently of the Lord's personal indication, to "eht of the fruit of the tree of. the knowledge of good and evil," that is, to discern for himself independently of God what was good and evil in the concrete. Hence any education in the discernment of right from wrong must emerge from the radical faith-position of one who is a listener to the Lord: "All that is not of faith is sin" (Rom 14:23). Structure and Individuation We are always confronted with the necessity of ad-mitting the young into formation structures in such a way as to allow for varying degrees of spiritual maturity already achieved and to foster further personal growth in the knowledge of God's will and love by discernment. Moreover, at the beginning of the process of formation there are two factors polarized, which, I feel, need to undergo considerable change in their basic relationship .by the end of that formative process. We can label those two factors "structure" and "in-dividuation." Structure, here, means a generally pre-dictable behavior pattern within which the individual and the group are directed to maturity in their en-counter with the Lord. For beginners there is need of a ÷ ÷ ÷ Maturity and Discernment. ,~.~ VOLUME 27~ 1968" 589 ÷ ÷ ÷ D. T. Asselin~ REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS ~90 meaningful and reasonable overall structure in which the young candidates are .introduced to spiritual re-sponsibility. This structure will be more extensive and more detailed in virtue of the greater need for assistance and protection required in the period of initial growth. By individuation, in the context of formation, I mean everything that falls under the general heading of per-sonal admonition, directive, prescription, correction, or guidance. It is my general i~npression that we have not been afflicted so'much with overstructure in formation (we have had much structure but I think much is needed to ¯ .begin the process of faith-growth) as with a kind of rev-erence for this structure which tends to find maturity in terms of structural function and hence to preserve initial structures unchanged throughout religious life. ¯ I also believe we have been afflicted with an anxious protection and maintenance of this structure by over-stricture, so that the individual has been given to feel that the structure is an absolute value and that his least exterior failure or fault will be judged as maximal when, in fact, it might be objectively and spiritually minimal. A process of destructuring must occur. But, more im-portantly, we ought to begin formation with complete gentleness, patience, and the allowance for personal uniqueness, in the application of strictures within the required structure. With structure and individuation polarized in this way at the point of departure of formation, let me. degcribe the general evolution .which hopefully might occur with respect to the relationship between structure and individuation over the years, By its end a period of formation ought to reveal much less structure (because we' can presume that with discernment the spiritual adult has become more personally aware of his Lord and has achieved a more refined sensitivity to the promptings of the Holy Spirit) and much more stricture (because he has grown in spiritual sensitivity, in his capacity for self-direction, for discerning the Lord in all things by faith and love, and is consequently more accountable, that is, responsible, for these things). No community ought to aim at being completely un-structured or informal as long as men are mortal and original sin still, affects their motivation, decisions, and efforts. But I believe much failure in formation is due to the initial overemphasis of both stricture and struc-ture, producing a reaction against¯ both. We often end up with serious:difficulties not so much with the young as the old and religiously "formed," who, when it is safe to throw off structures, will no longer listen to stric-ture either. This, of course, reveals that their formation left them spiritually immature. How difficult it is at times to tell a man who has been~ twenty-five years in religious life what to do or not to do. It is not easy, if he is obstinate. It is not easy if he feels: "Now that I have gone through that formation bit, you don't push me around." I think a lot of our scandal emerges precisely when the process of destructuring takes place reveali.ng little faith-education or spiritual maturity to fill up the vac-uum created by ~his process. It shows that no growth in spiritual responsibility has.supplanted the firmness of protective structures. By the end of our periods of formation, when the col-lective factors have been diminished on the level of structure, there ought to emerge a deeper spiritual rela-tionship with the superior, confessor, personal director, on the individual level, that is, on the level of concrete prescription, spiritual direction, and discernment. I feel that little faults in mature persons are much more serf-otis than little faults in beginners. Perhaps we ought to increase the importance of private direction for the ma-ture, not only in the sense of reprehension and correction of faults, but also of more tailored discernment of the will of the Lord. Existentially, this continuum of for-mation ought to be a movement, from external law to the interior law of love. , St. Paul had insight int~ such freedom. He claims that we are freed by learning to love like Christ. He does not mean by freedom that we are no longer bound by ex-ternal law, but rather that we are no longer driven, cap-tured, or urged by anything except by divine love: "Caritas Christi urget nos." To the degree that mature Christian love existentially directs a man's choices, his need for external law and direction is lessened. Only.by the "strength of the Lord's personal initiati~ces of love in his regar~l wi!l he be stimulated to respond to the Lord's word calling him to share responsibility for his own salvation and that of others. This call in its fullness is identical with the vocation to enter the paschal mystery of the Lord's suffering service, death, and resurrection. Hence, we can say with Vatican II that it is "only by faith and by meditation on the word of God" that we can find God's will in anything, discover Christ in our fellow man, or evaluate temporal things in their true light, that is, in the light of salvation history into which all things have happily been assumed by the risen Lord. There is no possibility of mature faith-growth unless, between the beginning and the end of its spectrum, there is inserted personal, incommunicable experience of en-trance into the mystery of Christ's dying and rising. The problem today is a growing tendency to skip the + + + Maturity and Discernment" VOLUME 27, '1968 591 ÷ ÷ ÷ D. T. Asselin, SJ. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 592 passion and death in an attempt to establish the Resur-rection. We need more than ever a spiritual awareness of the contemporary dimensions of the passion and death, such as you find in St. Paul who identifies the mystery of Christ's nekrosis with his own experiences of suffering, persecution, and rejection in the apostolate and. ministry . of the word. The word "mystery" in this context means a human experience of the Word made flesh such as we imply when we speak of the "mysteries" of the rosary Or when we contemplate the "mysteries of the public life of Jesus." The definitive mystery of the Word made ttesh is His redemptive experience of dying and rising, which is the matrix of all Christian formation and maturity. Growth and formation involve the development of a conscious love relationship with the Lord. Lovers are those who share intimately each other's experiences of joy and suffering and know by experience the depth and the breadth and the mystery of the unique other. The Lord has this kind of knowledge of us--a knowledge which can become the friendship of .mutual love only if we dwell also in this kind of knowledge of Him. Therefore, our entrance into His mystery of passion and death implies, in the first place, a growth in our aware-ness of His complete entrance into our mystery, His complete appropriation of our personhood and life ex-perience. Neither this awareness nor the experience of entry into His mystery are vague abstractions. His definitive entrance into our present life was by a very real dying and rising. It is this experience of His that has become the key to our faith-awareness of Him. Thus, His suffer-ing, dying, rising, unfold anew in our life experience because of our intimate, mutual involvement with Him, revealed by faith. Conclusion The real spiritual theology of action, of renewal, and of labor (including the labors of the apostolate and min, istry of the word), centers on this contemporary sharing in Christ's redemptive death and resurrection. You will find this everywhere in St. Paul, for instance in I Corin-thians 1:3 ft. and 4:7 ff: "The sufferings of Christ abound in us, the consolation in you"; or again: "We are con-tinually carrying about in our bodies the dying state of Jesus so that the living state of Jesus may be manifest in our bodies too." So, too, Paul speaks of the personal mandate through Christian baptism of entering into the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, which implies finding the dimensions of His mystery as it is realized concretely in one's own. This Will involve a personal sharing of the emptying-out or kenosis of Christ, an experience of hu-man b~irrenness, agony, and dereliction out of which alone can emerge the marvelous truthfulness of the Lord rising in our personal world, today. I do not think this is going to be appreciated if it is merely described, as I do here. It is something that must be learned from experience under the guidance of that kind of spiritual discernment that calls a thing by its right name, as it is occurring in a man's experience. No natural terms or categories are sufficient, to capture the meaning of this experience of.entry into the mystery of Christ that is ours. Hence, the language of faith is the principal language to be used in spiritual direction and discernment. Nobody can accomplish for me this work of collabora-tion with Christ to which I am personally called. With-out personal inner encounter I have knowledge only of a kind of "unknown God," which really is no knowl-edge at all; and the danger of not knowing God is of be-coming adokimos, someone of an undiscerning mind, who knows created reality by experience without dis-cerning the Lord and Creator. This was the failure of the pagans according to Romans 1:18 ft., where Paul degcribes their decline through various stages of degrada-tion because they were unable to discern the will and love of the Lord of all creation. The human conversation with God was broken off in the garden of Eden, not because God stopped speaking to man but because man stopped listening to God. All sacred history recounts the restoration not only in the individual but in the city of man of the ability to listen to the word olz God articulated in the contemporary events and realities of each successive age, as in a con-tinuing kaleidoscope of the Lord's presence articulated in the eternal '~today" of man's relationship to his Lord. The builders of the tower of Babel were dispersed by God because they attempted to build the city on their own, without His initiative, His word. Abraham, in the next chapter, is the one in whom the listening to God's word historically begins to be restored. Eventually, the city image of Babel in Chapter 11 of Genesis, the city which is almost a bad word in theearly parts of Scrip-ture, becomes the very end-time symbol of the awareness of God's intimate presence and conversation in Apoc-alypse 21, where the new city created by God, the new Jerusalem, needs neither temple nor source of light other than God Himself and his Son the Lamb. Eventually, the Lord who is Father and the Lamb will themselves be both temple-of worship and source of light for the city of man. This symbol marks the terminal point of + + + Maturity and Discernment VOLUME "27, 1968 593 + ÷ ÷ D. T.'Asselin, REVIE~FOR RELIGIOUS community salvation. If you read Apocalypse 21, you will find that the individual relationship to the Lord emerges as perfect along with the destructured com-munity relationship to the Lord: "He who overcomes shall possess these things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Ap 21:7). There is no opposition, then, between the community-growth and individual fulfillment. We reach full person-hood in the community of the Lord's people by sharing an awareness of God's personal presence and glory. We celebrate this in our daily Eucharist. We announce these Christian facts of life and we promote them, there. We increase and grow in our realization of them by listening privately and together to the word of God, and together and in private responding wholeheartedly. In conclusion I should like to indicate a fundamental criterion by which the authenticity of faith-growth and spiritual discernment must. always be measured. The fundamental attitude of the believer is of one who lis-tens. It is to the Lord's utterances that he gives ear. In as many different ways and on as many varied levels as the listener can discern the word and will of the Lord mani-fested to ,him, he must respond with all the Pauline "obedience of faith." Obedience always implies an attitude of listening, signified by the Latin ob-audire and Greek hupo-akouo. It is the attitude of receptivity, passivity, and poverty of one who is always in need, radically dependent, con-scious of his creaturehood. Freedom, faith-growth, and spiritual maturity must always begin with fundamental obedience to the Lord's laws, directives, and providence for the individual and the community. The evolution of faith to spiritual adulthood is measured not by neglecting or escaping these basic divine dispositions so as to be no longer bound by them, but rather by transcending external laws and prescriptions so as to be bonnd more deeply and intimately by the greater demands of an internal law uttered in the heart. One is always bound by general law and principle and by external authority legitimately exercised, but one can transcend this dimension as the motive of response to the Lord to the degree that one can discern and obey the internal law of love imprinted in the heart by the Spirit, establishing the new covenant announced by Jeremiah 31:31 ft. Bound by external law and authority, our faith-growth consists in being moved by the internal: "Caritas Christi urget nosl" No internal discernment of the Lord's will and vocation is valid if it disobeys or degtroys the Lord's external dispositions exercised by legitimate auo thority and institution. There is only one Spirit breath-ing on many levels where and how He wills. The authentic maturity of faith by spiritual discern-anent will manifest itself in a fourfold reconciliation of man, matching the fourfold human conflict introduced by man's primitive disobedience: a reconciliation (1) with the Lord in a Spirit of prayerful sonship crying "Abba," (2) within oneself by the peace that replaces the shame of guilt, (3) with one's neighbor by the love that replaces anger and fear, (4) and with ktisis or physical creation by a resurrection. ÷ ÷ ÷ Maturity and Discernment VOLUME 27, 1968 ". . 595 BERNARD LEE, S~M. The Spring Wants to Come: A Study in Community ÷ ÷ ÷ Bernard Lee, S.M., is on the fac-ulty of St. Mary's High School; 4701 South Grand Boule-vard; St. Louis, Mis-souri 6311 I. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 596 Introduction I had originally intended to cast these introductory remarks into footnotes in very brief form. But a discus-sion and very helpful critique with members of my communi.ty suggested the importance of beginning with two observations that appear necessary for keeping the discussion in the" right context. The first point is this: what the article is not is a comparison between art and community life in which certain aesthetic principles are analogically applied to community. Beauty is a transcendental, and it is a real characteristic-of all that is. There are degrees of beauty and kinds of beauty. It can be recognized and experi-enced. Like many of the practical items we use and need, community is a practical response to a need: psychologi-cal needs stemming from our social nature, pragmatic needs for coping with the world around us. But over and above this, both the practical items and the practical community are capable of being works of art, pieces of beauty, as well. The application of asesthetic principles to community life is, therefore, a direct application of principles that are, in the philosophical sense, proper to it. This second introductory remark might seem a bit academic for the discussion that follows. But it has to do with basic presuppositions that govern the thought of the article. The characterization of beauty that I use is based very much upon the thgught of Alfred North Whitehead, the whole of his thought, but in particular his treatment of beauty in Adventure of Ideas. What is presumed is a world of reality whose nature is to be in process. Process is at the heart of the way things are. Process is reality. And an important qualifidation of this process is that it is evolutionary; it is directed to the creation of higher: forms and modes of existence. In Aristotelian thought the possibility of changing neces-sarily implies imperfection: "All change is by its nature an undoing" (Physics, IV, 222b). But in process philos-ophy, change is actually constitutive of reality. Becoming is no longer inferior to being. This obviously affects a philosophy of beauty--and therefore a philosophy of community--because process will be constitutive of beauty as well as of being. This is not the place to attempt a further characteri-zation of process philosophy. May I instead retommend the brief but superb introduction Charles Hartshorne wrote for Browning's Philosophers of Process, and the excellent second part of Eulalio Baltazar's Teilhard and the Supernatural which treats in more detail "The Phi-losophy of Process." The implications of all ttiis for theology and spirituality are immense--so immense that it almost seems ludicrous to toss off the observation so casually. I would like to conclude these introductory re-marks with some lines from Rilke: What keeps you from projecting His birth into times That are in the process of becoming, And living your life Like a painful and beautiful day In the history of a great gestation? For do you not see How everything that happens Keeps on being a beginning Since beginning is in itself Always so beautiful?. These very days Of your transition Are perhaps the time When everything in you Is working at him. And think that the least We can do is to make His becoming Not more difficult for Him Than theearth ¯ Makes its for the Spring When it wants to come. --Rainer Maria Rilke Community The history of humanity is the history of an evolution towards a more finely wrought community. The evolu-tion is not unmarked by failures, neither in the past nor now. But progress has been steady. And higher com-munity has normally been achieved when the demands 4, 4, ÷ Community VOLUME 27, 597 ÷ ÷ Bernar~ I=~ $.M. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 598 of new social conditions have been responded to crea-tively. Today is a day of new demands, and we are on the verge of higher community if we can bring to those demands an adequately creative response. The movement towards the perfection of community has always been a part of human history, but a new inner urgency is communicated to the movement in Christ who calls men to brotherhood in God's love: "This solidarity must be constantly increased until that day on which it will be brought to perfection. Then, saved by grace, men will offer flawless glory to God as a family beloved of God and of Christ their brother" (gaudium et spes, § 32). In this discussion we would like to deal with the dynamics of building community. And here dynamics must bear the full weight of its meaning; for the evolutionary nature of community among men neces-sarily implies movement and change, trial and error, mutual tensions and continual interactions. The para-dox is that these factors are not manifestations of rest-lessness and caprice, but are the only basis for in-tensified solidarity. There are many valid points of departure for a dis-cussion of community. Our point of departure Will be aesthetic. It is peculiar to man, of all earth's creatures, to recognize beauty, to be moved and exhilarated by it. Because the quest for beauty and the response to it are both deeply human and deeply humanizing, we ought to be conscious of the beauty of community life that we work towards. We must even make that beauty a conscious aim--for it goes way beyond simply making community through the common task of meeting practi-cal exigencies; it calls us to create community. Throughout this discussion we will be thinking es-pecially of "community" in religious life. But the prin-ciples should be valid and operative within any social structure. The plan of this discussion is as follows. We will first talk about beauty and the degrees of harmony that mark it (and also that mark community life). Then we will try to show how greater intensity is possible in beauty (and how this is related to the perfection of community life). Then, from the psychological point of view of man's enjoyment of beauty, we will discuss the "move-ment" that is demanded by human appreciation of beauty (and the "movement" that is demanded for a constant human satisfaction with community life). I can recall having been asked for a reaction to some piece of architecture or other, and having replied that while I didn't really think it was great, it was at least pleasing and didn't jar. That something "isn't jarring" is an acknowledgement of at least a minor form of beauty, an absence of elements that would disturb the harmony. There are many elements in an art work (color in painting, rhythm, tone, and harmony in music) that might be independently quite pleasing, but which to-gether in certain combinations inhibit beauty. It is pos-sible to juxtapose two brilliant colors so that when they are together the b,rillance of neither comes through fully, though alone each would be striking. In this case there is a mutual inhibition that keeps either color from rising to the strength proper to it. It is likewise possible in music to counter two rhythms ~o each other in suchwise that neither is discernible; of course, a counterplay of two rhythms might well put each of the rhythms in bolder relief and make them easier to ap-preciate. In the first case, the mutual incompatibility of two rhythms is not only inhibitive of beauty, the two elements are actually destructive of each other. A minor form of beauty, oi: pleasingness, then, consists in the absence of elements that are either destructive of one another, or that keep each other from rising to the strength proper to each. This same aesthetique applies to community. When the fact of community is the result of the juxtaposition. of certain individuals within the same house, and not much more than that, the minor form of beauty just described.is probably the limit of communitarianbeauty available. There is a certain smoothness and harmony that results from not having personalities that are to-tally incompatible, and from having personalities that are enough alike (or have been made so by the repres-sion of differences) that they do not inhibit each other member from "being himself." The walls of a living room may be painted a 'very pleasing color and may provide quite a satis[actory experience. But if the walls are done in several colors, and if furnishings are chosen which blend and con-trast, much attention has to be given to composition. Two colors which cannot be tolerated next to each other might, in composition with a third and fourth color, give a heightened aesthetic experience not possible with the minor beauty of the one-color room. For this height-ened aesthetic experience derived from a contrast of contents, composition becomes increasingly important. For each element must stand in relation to every other element as well as to the whole. This is the only con-dition under which different elements can, by virtue of their very differences, not simply coexist juxtaposed, but become a truly powerful experience together. And there is a corollary to this. Not only does the individual element help heighten the aesthetic value of the compo- + + ÷ Community VOLUME 27, ~.968 ,599 + 4. 4. Bernard Lee, $.M. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS sition as a whole, but the whole itself ~s a setting for the individual element enhances the individual element. The whole uses and profits from that which is most unique in the individual element. It is what is different about this individual element that heightens the effect" of good composition. But that difference only becomes valuable and desirable in this setting of effective con-trast. Alone it is. well, just different. Again, ~his aesthefique applies to community living. A more intense community experience is possible through effective contrasts of personalities. This can only be a reality if ther6 is a community consciousness directed toward the creation of such a "composition." A minor form of beauty attained simply through the absence of jarring elements does not put upon "relationship" the premium it has in the heightened aesthetic experience towards which we work. "Relationship" is the basis of composition, and it requires conscious and deliberate effort to bring it off. By conscious effort we cannot mean a belabored preoccupation with improving or building interpersonal bonds--that is almost doomed to failure by the artificiality that would destroy what can only be fully natural, or else not be at all. But it does mean being quite conscious of the fact that differ-ences between us are the seed of greater community beauty. It does mean consciously and openly and hon-estly dealing with differences rather than shu~ing them under the carpet in favor of a minor and easier harmony. It is from the very desirable (and often painful) per-sonal confrontations in view of differences that such consciousness occasions interpersonal relationships really happening, and "composition" really occurring. And be-cause we are human beings, something happens in the composition of good community that does not happen in the'composition of good art: we individual elements have to stretch ourselves intellectually, socially, emo-tionally, psychologically, to contain the contrasts of our community. But what grow.th! And growing pains too. Only a community like this can address itself to the yearning of the contemporary man who wants to be where the personal identity he has worked so hard foI is 'appreciated and desired. He wants to be part of a community that challenges him to become and, in be-coming, to be his unique self. Only an aesthetique of striving for great communitarian beauty can provide for a whole that frames rather than swallows individuality. A beautiful nature scene which is exciting on a 16mm screen might well be overwhelming on the Cinerama screen. This introduces a new consideration into our discussion of beauty. There is something about the hu-man spirit, perhaps allied to the appetite for tran- scendence, that makes it reach out for what is grand. "A man's reach must exceed his grasp, else what's a heaven for?" Traditionally, being big-souled is being virtuous: magnanimity. In our aesthetic satisfaction there is a certain proper kind of intensity just in comparative magnitude. Nor is this to devalue the beauty of small delicate things--there are beautiful things that would suffer violence in enlargement. Yet it does remain true that sheer magnitude awakens the human spirit and issues a call to it to be likewise grand. This is as true of the aesthetic exlSerience as of other realms of our. ex-perience. Let us again apply our aesthetique to community life. Perhaps we should begin with the acknowledgement that there is a kind of intensity in the relationship between two friends that cannot be enlarged to a whole com-munity- this would be a naive aim. Yet on the other hand, there is a magnificence in the spirited unity of a large community that is an inspiration to behold, and that is an even greater inspiration to be part of. There is a strength and a power in such a unity. Of course, in speakirig of comparative magnitude as adding strength to beauty, we mean not sheer size alone, but one that is marked by the aesthetic qualities we dis-cussed already. The final point in our discussion of the qualities of aesthetic perfection has to do with variety of detail. Variety of detail can be worked at in many ways. The baroque and rococo are not our ways. But variety is im-portant even in an age that wants its architecture to have a naked beauty often drawn from nothing more or less than the unadorned structural elements. Variety of detail, then, is not extravagance. It is variation and contrast that, from a negative point of v.iew, prevents monotony and boredom; and, from a positive point of view, adds interest and excitement. This aesthetic qual-ity is somewhat akin to the previous one we spoke of. There is a grandeur in variety of detail. Mere variety is not the point; the variety must be well composed so that the contrast is effective. But all else being equal, variety of detail does add an aesthetic perfection. And, of course, variety exacts a keener attention to insure such an ef-fective composition. It doesn't just happen. Effective unity does not just happen in a community marked by a great variety of temperaments and per-sonalities. It can only be brought about by careful and patient care. Again, that must be conscious effort. It cannot happen unless a community has decided that it wills to work for a greater degree of communitarian beauty and then has begun the communitarian creativity which alone can bring it off. + ÷ ÷ Community ¯ VOLUME 27, 1968 601 Bernard Lee, $.M. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 602 At this point something should be said about discord and disharmony, about their positive worth and de-sirability, or rather, about the circumstances in which they are desirable. Effective contrast of different elements makes possible a higher form of beauty. It is discord which makes known the fact that different elements are present which have not been unified in effective contrast. It is dis-cord, then, that points a finger to the spot where at-tention is needed, where effective relating is needed, to incorporate these different elements into a community which will be richer for having taken them unto its own. Even if the minor forms of communitarian beauty have been attained quite well, it is probably humanly im-possible to move to a higher form based on effective contrast without experiencing discord. The discord must be expected. It must be welcomed as the herald of something better to come if it can be dealt with openly and sincerely. And it must not linger to haunt the new unity when it is born. In music the transition from a single tone into a harmony might well--and often does--pass through an intermedi~i(e disharmony. That disharmony often serves to heighten the experience of a ricli harmony which it (even in its split second existence) teased us into yearn-ing for. The application to many of the disharmonies of community life is obvious enough to need no com-mentary. Thus far we have discussed, from a somewhat philo-sophical point of view, the qualities of what is beauti-ful, the qualities which occasion the aesthetic experience for the human spirit. We would like to turn now to the human spirit~ and from that point of view discuss one further factor of prime i.importance in'our experience of beauty. So let us speak of the human spirit. There is a certain restlessness that makes it tire'of repetition. Even if it ha~ accommodated itself to the ease of repetition, it is un-likely that much of the deeper yearning of the human spirit can thus be satisfied. It can at best be anaesthe-tized. Clumsily but accurately rendered, the word "an-aesthetized" means unbeautied, deadened to the aes-thetic. Even beauty can anaesthetize when it is endlessly repeated in the same form. "Perfection will not bear the tedium of indefinite repetition" (Whitehead). To sus-tain the ardor of aesthetic enjoyment requires a con-stant' search for new perfection. Sometimes the new perfection need not even be a higher one, only an equal perfection. The new experience keeps the spirit aes-thetically intent, alive, and active. Change for the sake of change is capricious. But change, even when the practical situation does not de-mand it, even when the new thing is not an improve-ment, may still be quite desirable if it can sustain the intensity of our aesthetic experience of communitarian beauty. We must emphasize again that conscious recog-nition of striving for communitarian beauty as it has been described is a necessary context for welcoming change and movement and variation. Outside of this context, the change that is not pragmatically necessary is indeed obnoxious. If a com.munity has opted to strive for higher forms o[ beauty in its life together, the element of change needs attention; but to some extent it will take care of itself. The texture of a community changes with every personnel change. The addition or subtraction 6f even one member is bound to affect the quality of a com-munity that has determined its "composition" in view of each unique individual member, ff one member o~ a community has grown and been enriched through per-sonal, experience, the community grows too and accom-modates itself to the new experience within it. In this way each community should have a personality of its own, a beauty of its own that is particular to this com-munity because it is composed of these unique, indi-vidual persons. To the extent that communities have not achieved a beauty characteristic of each, one com-munity will look quite the same as any other. And per-haps we should be reminded here by Bishop Robinson that God is as much in the rapids as in the rocks. Nor is all of this discussion without import for that celebration of community which is the Eucharist. We h~ve probably all reflected how daily repetition of Mass ~can weaken the quality of our experience of it. I think we salve the situation too unctuously by countering that the eye of faith sees behind any possible tedium in the daily repetition. Mass is not simply the presence of God through the signs of bread and wine; the full symbol is the community that is gathered there to further in-tensify its unity in the breaking of one bread and the sharing of a Common cup. Because each community is-- or should be--unique, it must vitalize its celebration of the Eucharist by finding ways of expressing its unique-ness (and thus its beauty) in Mass, for this is how the community offers to God what is most beautiful to Him. The dynamic interaction of individuals in community is constantly modifying the texture of community, be it ever so little. There is, then, the challenge always to find new ways of offering God the new beauties that come to be in our midst, the new Beauties that ARE our Midst. ÷ ÷ ÷ ~,ommunity VOLUME 27, 1968 603 JOHN COWBURN, S.J. The Analogy of Religious Authority and Obedience ÷ ÷ ÷ John Cowburn, s.J., is a faculty member at Loyola College; Watsonia, Victoria S087; Aus-tralia. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS In discussions of authority it is sometimes assumed, I think, that the authority of a father over his children is the first experienced and universally understood form of authority, and that all other forms of authority are ultimately analogous to it. On the basis of these as-sumptions, then, other forms of authority are explained by comparing them with this primordial form: God's authority over us is explained as being that of a father; the pope is called the Holy Father, bishops are told to be like fathers to their priests and people, pastors like fathers to their parishioners, and religious superiors like fathers and mothers to their subjects; and secular rulers, too, are thought to be like fathers to their subjects. On the other hand, it has been maintained that every form of authority is completely sui generis, so that argu-ments a pari from one form to another are never valid; or that, whatever may be said about secular forms of authority, at any rate the kinds of authority found in the Church are not analogous to natural forms, so that it is not really enlightening to compare them with these. Since, however, theology continually presupposes that analogy is possible and that one can argue by means of it, and since the. gospel has always been preached with the aid of analogies, it is surely reasonable to suppose that analogy can be used in discussions of authority. And if this is agreed on, perhap~ it can also be agreed that the family is the fundamental human society, that all forms of authority are ultimately analogous to forms of au-, thority found in the family, and that reflection on au-thority and obedience as they are exercised there can be helpful for an understanding of the nature of religious authority (not to mention other forms) and of the way in which it ought to be exercised. What I wish to question, however, is that this means that all authority, including that of the religious superior, is analogous to that of a father over his children--but I anticipate. Authority in the Family A family, surely, should not be seen simply as a group of people one of whom has authority over all the others. Rather, it should' be seen as constituted by two different relationships, or kinds of relationship: there is the re-lationship which binds the husband and wife to each other, and there are the relationships which bind the parents to the children and the children to the parents. Both these relationships involve authority on one side, and the.~recognition of that authority, or obedience, on the other: a husband is the head of the couple formed by his wife and himself, and she promises to love, honor and obey him; and of course parents have authority over their children, who owe them obedience. However, I suggest that we find here two distinct kinds of au-thority and obedience, and that reflection quickly shows that there are radical differences between them.1 Firstly, children do not choose to enter a family and they do not choose their parents, but a woman chooses. to marry and to become the wife of this man rather than of any other. The authority of parents over their chil-dren, then, is not given to them by the children, whereas a husband obtains authority over his wife when she freely gives it to him. The facts, that a woman cannot marry a man without giving him authority over her and that the authority once given may not arbitrarily be taken back do not affect the contention that one of the relationships is constituted by the free consent of both parties and the other is not. Secondly, one relationship is essentially between two adults, whereas the other is essentially between adults and children. If this were not obvious already, it could be shown by stating that a woman cannot marry until she is capable of making freely an important decision that will affect her whole life, that is, until she is no longer a child. Thirdly, in a normal family the parents are superior to their children in knowledge, understanding, wisdom, ¯ common sense, fortitude, and almost every other respect, and the lack of these qualities in children is the reason why they are subject to their parents in the way they are. In a normal family, however, the husband and wife are much more nearly equal in human qualities than par-x I have made this contention in The Person and Love (New York: Alba House, 1968), p. 157. (The English edition, published in London by Geoffrey Chapman, is called Love and the Person.) + + + Authority and Obedience VOLUME 27, 1968 605 ÷ ÷ 1ohn Cowburn, $.]. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 60g ents and children are; indeed, if there is very great in-equality a true marriage is virtually impossible. And if in a normal family the husband is usually somewhat older than his wife and in some respects superior to her, this is not the reason why he has authority over her, as is shown by the wives who are actually superior to their husbands in intelligence and other human qualities and who nevertheless give them obedience. That is, if one asks in general why children are always under someone's dominion the answer is that they are incapable of being left in charge of themselves. If, however, one asks why most women are under the dominion of husbands, the answer is not that. It is, one supposes, that for the unity of a couple it is necessary that one partner be the leader and that the other--who, if she were living alone, would be quite capable of looking after herself--accept his leadership. Fourthly, the authority of parents over their children is transient, whereas that of husband over wife is perma-nent. The authority of parents over their children is greatest when the children are small; as they grow up it lessens; eventually, it ceases--for although adults respect their parents they do not strictly speaking owe them obedience. In contrast to this, the authority of husband over wife is constant and permanent. Fifthly, it would be abnormal for a grown person to obey his parents just as he did when he was a child; and to train anyone to obey in this way all his life would be to prevent him from achieving maturity. But it is per-fectly normal for a mature woman to recognize her husband's authority--indeed, to be unwilling to accept or acknowledge this kind of authority would, generally speaking, be a sign of immaturity--and a married woman achieves maturity and fulfillment partly by schooling herself to give recognition and willing obedi-ence to her husband. Sixthly, in both cases the exercise of authority and the obedience are expressions of love: a man gives himself to his wife partly by assuming responsibili.ty for her welfare, with the authority that that responsibility car-ries with it, and she gives herself to him in accepting him as head; and parents express their love for their children by not letting them run wild but authoritatively con-trolling their development, while children show their loving acceptance of their parents by obeying them. However, conjugal love and parental-filial love are surely different in kind; and so the authority and obedi-ence in which they are expressed are also different in kind. We come, th(n, to this conclusion: in a family there are two radically.different kinds of authority and obedio ence. In previous ages, I suppose, people would have disagreed with this by maintaining that the authority of husband over wife is not essentially different from that of father over children. When fathers retained their authority over their daughters .not until these were twenty-one but until they were married; and when fathers chose husbands for their daughters and then led the girls to the altar where they handed them over to the bridegrooms; then it seemed to everyone that it was from her father that a man obtained his authority over his wife, and so it was supposed that his authority was essentially of the same kind as that which the father had had, and men supposed that their wives and children were all subject to their authority in much the same way. Today, however, disagreement with my thesis is likely to take a very different form, for it is now being said that husbands do not have real authority over their wives, and that wives do not strictly speaking owe obedi-ence to their husbands. It is, says Julian Gosling, very unnatural and misleading to describe in terms of "au-thority" and "obedience" the relationship between hus-gand and wife, given that the wife has the right and duty to enter fully with her husband into discussion of any decisions that are to be made.~ But discussion is in-compatible with authority and obedience only if these are understood in a very restricted way; and since even today a husband is in some. sense the head or leader of the couple, it seems reasonable to continue to talk Of con-jugal authority and obedience--provided that these are sharply distinguished from parental authority and filial obedience. Religious Obedience Let us now put the question: to which of these two kinds of authority is that of the religious superior analo-gous? Well, firstly, a person is a Christian by virtue of his own free option, and he is a religious by virtue of a choice which in a sense is even more free, since there is" no obligation to make it. If these facts were once ob-scured, when people thought they were Catholics be-cause they were born citizens of Catholic countries br members of Catholic families, while some people~ were religious because their parents had given them into religion at an early age, they are now very clear. Secondly, the relationship between religious superior and subject i~ essentially between two adults, since a person taking religious vows is presumed to be mature "Rhetoric and Marriage," Month, January, 1967, p. 29. + + + Authority and Obedience VOLUME 27, 1968 607 enough to do so. Moreover, many reli, gious superiors are younger than some of their subjects. Thirdly, the precise reason why in religious orders. there are superiors and subjects is not that the superiors have knowledge and virtue,' while the subjects are stupid and irresponsible. It may well be that on the average those who are superiors are more gifted than those who are subjects, but if all were equally intelligent and prudent it would still be necessary for religious com-munities to have superiors. Fourthly, the state of religious obedience is not tran-sient, extending only over a period of growth, but life-long. 'Fifthly, if the authority of a religious superior were thought of as being analogous to that of a father over his children, then it would be implied that either the subjects ought to live all their lives in a situation which. is abnormal for mature persons, or else that once they have finished their training they can reasonably consider that they have outgrown obedience, strictly so called, and claim a very large measure of independence. If, however, it is thought of as being analogous to conjugal authority, then obedience presents itself as quite con-sonant with personal maturity; indeed, it becomes rea-sonably easy to see how a religious can achieve personal fulfillment and maturity partly by schooling himself to give recognition and willing obedience to a superior. The conclusion seems inescapable: religious authority and obedience are analogous to conjugal authority and obedience rather than to parental authority and filial obedience,a But is this theologically sound? Firstly, it is traditional doctrine that a religious ought to see Christ in his su-perior. But Christ, surely, was Master to the Apostles and He is our Lord, Master, friend, brother or spouse; but He was not their father and He is not ours. It seems, then, entirely in accord with this traditional doctrine to say that a religious superior is lord or master of his subjects in the way that a husband is the head of a couple, and not in the way that a father is in authority over his children.4 However, secondly, it is also tradi-÷ ÷ ÷ .lohn Cowburn, $o~o REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 608 s Karl Rahner says that religious obedience is not analogous to that of children because this is (1) based on lack of knowledge and responsi-bility in the child as compared with the parents; (2) temporary, having as its aim its own eventual disappearance; (3) given by nature, not chosen by personal election ("A Basic Ignatian Concept: Some Reflec-tions on Obedience," Woodstock Letters, v. 86 [1957], pp. 293--4). This is exactly what I maintain, but Rahner does not develop an alterna-tive analogy. ~ Dora Olivier Rousseau writes that St. Benedict "would have the subject see Christ himself in his Abbot with whom he lives con-stantly: Christi enim agere vices in monasterio creditur [abbas]" tional to compare a religious superior to a father or mother. Could it be that this was simply because it was assumed that paternal authority is the basic form of authority to which all other authority---including con-jugal authority--is analogous; and if this assumption is modified, so may the traditional comparison be cor-rected? Some authors begin by affirming that all authority is analogous to that of a father over his children, but they then go on to point out how vastly different is the authority of a religious superior from that of a parent and end by virtually denying their original affirmation.5 It seems more consistent to suppose that all authority is analogous either to that of a father over his children or to that of a husband over his wife; one can then deny that there is any analogy between a religious superior and a parent without coming into conflict with one's own supposition. Qualifications Firstly, let it be clearly stated that, as with every analogy, there are differences between the terms under comparison. The husband-wife relationship is sexual, which the superior-subject one is not. A husband has only one wife, whereas a religious superior may have many subjects. In most religious orders, superiors are regularly changed, as husbands are not. And so on. Secondly, to say that religious authority is analogous to that of a husband is not to say all that can be said about it. That is, this article makes a point about re-ligious authority but does not attempt to give a com-plete account of it. Thirdly, in all I have been saying I have been con-sidering the normal case, which is that of a superior and a formed religious, rather than that of a superior and a religious who is still in training. In his early years a religious is perhaps something of a child in his order, learning the elements of religious life, and the au-thority of superiors over him has something of a pa- (Introduction to Obedience [London: Blackfriars, 1953], p. 15). "The abbot," Dora Olivier then goes on to say as if it followed naturally, "ought to be the father of his community." But this, surely, is pre-cisely what does not follow from St. Benedict's principle. ~ For instance, Desmond F. McGoldrick ~ays that the prototype of "dominative power" is that of parents in the home; but he then--and this is what seems to me to be somewhat inconsistent--plays down and even denies any analogy between a parent and a religious superior (Fostering Development [Pittsburgh: Duquesne University, 1965], pp. 77-8); and he says: "The attitude which an enlightened Superior should not use towards the other members of the Community is that of the parent-child relationship. She is not a parent; her subjects are not children" (ibid., p. 151). + + + Authority. and Obedience VOLUME 27, lO68 609 ÷ ÷ John Cowbu~n, SJ. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 6111 rental character; but, firstly, this is plainly not the case to have in mind when working out a theory of religious authority and obedience, hnd, secondly, the authority of stiperiors over subjects in their years of formation ought even then to be mainly "conjugal" and it ought grad-ually to lose its partly parental character as the subject develops. Practical Implications The thesis maintained above has certain practical implications. Firstly, there is frequently a certain "distance" between parents and children, and some fathers even deliberately maintain a degree of aloofness from their children. Also, some political and military leaders, understanding their authority to be quasi-paternal, have quite deliberately kept aloof from their subjects, and they have incited their subjects to think of them as mysterious, superior beings, to be almost worshipped from afar below, and to be obeyed without question in all things. But since no husband should be aloof from his wife, no religious su-perior should be distant from his subjects or use mys-terious aloofness as a device for obtaining unquestioning obedience. Secondly, parents usually call their children by their Christian names or family nicknames, whereas children call their parents by some respectful form of address such as "Father," "Mother," or abridgements of these; but husbands and wives use reciprocal forms of address towards each other. Also, children are frequently taught to adopt a respectful posture when addressing their parents or other adults, at least when asking for some-thing or "being spoken to"; but wives do not as it were stand to attention when a.ddressing their husbands or being addressed by them. It would, then, seem to be nor-mal for a religious to address his superior in much the same way as he would address the same man if he were not the superior--which in many cases means his Chris-tain name, his name in the order, o~ his nickname if he has one. Thirdly, it frequently happens that parents~if one may put it this way--live more expensively than their children do. They do not, for instance, give to their children as much money to spend .on an outing as they themselves would spend; and if from time to time they entertain friends at restaurants they do not make it pos-sible for their children to'entertain thdir friends at those same restaurants. Similarly, in many armies the officers have a higher standard of living than the men. But husbands and wives share and share alike. Of course, it may sometimes happen that a man has an expensive business lunch while his wife, in town for the day, is having a cheap lunch at a department-store cafeteria; but in general they have the same standard of living. Just so, in a religious community superiors and subjects share and share alike, and superiors do not, because they are superiors, have a higher standard of room furni-ture, dress, means of transport, and so on. Fourthly, parents do not ordinarily bring their chil-dren fully into their consultations, but find it su~cient to give them some sort of explanation of whatever de-cisions have been made which affect them, after they have been made. Children for their part exercise filial obedience by trusting their parents and accepting their decisions without argument. Between husbands and wives, however, full consultation is the rule. It may oc-casionally happen that a man must make some decision without consulting his wife, because he is not given enough time to get in touch with her, because the de-cision involves some information which he is obliged to keep secret even from her, or for some other reason; but such an action must be seen as exceptional and in need of a good reason to justify it. In normal circumstances it would be positively wrong for a husband to take an important decision without genuine consultation with his wife--and this means listening to her really seri-ously- for she has a right to be consulted; and for that matter it would be wrong for her to refuse to enter .into consultation, for he has a right to her participation in the decision-making and the responsibility that it en-tails. Usually the final result is a decision which they feel comes from both of them-~either a wife or a hus-band will often say "We have decided" to do this or that--and yet from first to last it is understood between them that the husband is the head, and that the final word rests with him. He feels this and accepts the re-sponsibility that it carries with it; the wife feels it, positively wants it, and participates in the discussion, which may become an argument, in such a way as never to challenge her husband's position but rather always to maintain him in it. In view of this we may perhaps sum up a good deal that is being said about the need for dialogue between religious superiors and their subjects by saying that in the past religious superiors often acted as if they were parents and as if their subjects were children, whereas the superior-subject relationship ought to be modeled on that of husband and wife. That is, in the past superiors did not bring the majority of their subjects into their consultations and merely announced decisions to their subjects after they were made, sometimes adding a brief explanation; and subjects exercised a filial obedience by + + + ,Authority and° Obedience VOLUME 27, 1968 611 trusting their superiors and accepting without argument the decisions they made. Now, however, it is everywhere being said that the fullest possible sharing of informa-tion ought to be the rule. Also, while there are times when general discussion is impossible and when su-periors are fully justified in acting on their own, it should be seen as exceptional and as only justified when there are good reasons, for superiors to act without prior consultation of their communities.6 That is, the re-sponsibility for the right government of a community and the carrying out of its work should be shared by all its members--and yet it must be clearly understood and willed by all that the superior is the head of the com-munity, with real authority over its members. In conclusion it might be said, firstly, that present developments are sometimes described--by both those who favor them and those who oppose them--as amount-ing to a change from monarchical to democratic govern-ment in religious orders. It seems better, however, to look for analogies in the family rather than in the po-litical arena, because the family is the fundamental ' human society and also because in the family authority and obedience both plainly spring from love, as they do in the Church. Secondly, it might be said that those who think of the religious superior as essentially analo-gous to a father or mother inevitably see in contemporary developments a weakening of religious authority. If, how- .ever~ they can accept the proposition that the relation-ship between superior and subject is not'as a rule anal-ogous to the parent-child relationship but to the husband-wife relationship, then they will see that con-temporary developments are tending to realize the true nature of religious authority and obedience,, not to weaken them. o Particularly significant, perhaps, is the suggestion which is being made in various quarters that information about the finances of a house and even of a province or an entire order should be made avail-. able to all members of the house, province, or order; for parents do not normally tell their children how much money they have or keep them informed about income and expenses, whereas modern husbands do normally share this information with their wives and discuss finan-cial problems with them. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS SISTER M. RUTH FOX, O.S.B. PrOviding an Atmosphere for Personality Growth in the Postulancy Religious life* has long been regarded by many as a mode of living almost wholly distinct from human life. Religious men and women were often in the past looked upon as creatures set apart to live an angelic life, a life free of all that was naturally human. They actually tried to live this way and tried to form the candidates to this life in the same manner. That is, the candidates were put into a mold when they entered the postulancy, and they spent their lifetime assimilating this mold into their very being. This procedure turned out molded religious who were not angelic nor human--nor happy. Today, however, we once again realize the basic Christian belief that our human nature is the greatest natural gift we have. It is to be enhanced, not destroyed, during our temporal life. Therefore, it does not matter what specific work or way of life we undertake, we all have a vocation to be human first of all. We cannot be Christian, much less religious, unless we are first of all human. This realization is especially important for those re-ligious who have the responsibility of "formation" in their communities. These sisters have been entrusted with the growth and maturity of not one but many human personalities. They should .be aware that it is possible in the first years of religious life to completely stunt the natural personality growth of the candidates. * This article was written with the help and supervision of Leo R. Kennedy, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Psychology, Creigh-ton University, Omaha. Dr. Kennedy; who has given professional service to many religious communities of men and women, encouraged the publishing of the article in the hopes that the suggestions con-tained in it would be implemented in Sister Formation prggrams. ÷ ÷ ÷ : Sister M. Ruth Fox, O.S.B., is the postulant directress at Sacred Heart Pri-ory; Richardton, North Dakota 58652. VOkUME 27~ 1968 613 ÷ ÷ ÷ Sister M. Ruth REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 614 But on the other hand, it is also possible, and impera-tive, to accept the human personality and to help it grow to its fullest capacity.1 In order to help the postulants achieve a mature per-sonality, the directress must first be aware of the char-acteristics of these young women o{ the 1960's. She should also have a kn6wledge of the process of per-sonalit) growth and the means to encourage proper growth. These topics will be discussed in this article. Who are these young women that come to the postu-lancy in 1968-69? Most of them are in their late teens or early twenties; therefore, they belong to a class of our society commonly called young adults. They are no longer adolescents or teen-agers, or at least they are in the last stages of that group. But neither are they adults. So the postulant directress cannot base her guidance of them on either adolescent or adult psychology exclu-sively, but must choose from both. An excellent way to get to know them is to read current articles written by, on, or for young adults. But the articles must be cur-rent. Even to go back to material written in the 1950's could be detrimental, because our young people have different ways of expressing their needs in the 1960's. Though it is true that the basic needs of human nature do not seem to change, there are certain needs that are either more emphasized now or are expressed differently than they were 5, 10, or 100 years ago. In current writing, today's young adults are classified as the New Breed, the Restless Generation, the Hippies, the Now Generation. But no matter what they are called, their main concerns are fulfillment, personalism, honesty, integrity, authenticity, and love.2 They have been raised in an era of prosperity and plenty. When they ask how to find personal worth, they are only told to take another helping from the silver platter. But they see that materialism does not give any meaning to life. They see the American society as a cold, mechanical, abstract, and emotionally mean-ingless place.3 Because society offers them so little that x W. W. Meissner, S.J., Group Dynamics in the Religious Li/e (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1965) presents a thorough discussion of the community's responsibility to foster growth. ~ See John Evoy, S.J., "How Neurotic is the New Breed?" Catholic Mind, v. 64 (December, 1966), pp. 28-42; Daniel Goulding, "The Rest-less Generation," Vital Speeches ol the Day, v. 32 (1966), pp. 506-508; Andrew Greeley, "A New Breed," America, CX, 21 (1964), pp. 706-709 and "A Farewell to the New Breed," America, CXIV, 23 (1966), pp. 801-804; George Herndl, "Time of the Now Generation," Liberal Education, LIII, 2 (1967); "The Hippies: Philosophy of a Subculture," Time, July 7, 1967, pp. 18-22; Robert Jones, "Man of the Year: The Inheritor," Time, January 6, 1967, pp. 18-23. 3See "Meet the Restless Generation," Changing Times, XXI, 6 (June, 1967), pp. 6-11. is meaningful and relevant, they are often forced into cynicism. But they nonetheless wish they could find val-ues, goals, or institutions to which they could commit themselvesA. They reject formal organization, legalism, and out-moded forms and regulations because these seem to stifle individualism. They want to be concerned with persons as persons.5 Perhaps this accounts for their~ emphasis on love and fulfillment. They desperately want to love and be loved for what they are. But they are afraid they are loved only for what they, do. In fact, they have been raised this way: "Do what I tell you, and I will show you I love.you." So they have no real faith in them-selves as persons, no real proof that they are lovable for what they are. Thus they preach love to the world in a frantic effort to find it in themselves and others. Our young people are deeply committed to decency, tolerance, and brotherhood--not as a goal, but as a reality to be lived now. "This generation has no utopia. Its idea is the happening. Let. it be concrete, let it be vivid, let it be personal. Let it be nowl" n Because tomorrow is so unsure and ever changing, today must be lived to the fullest. Living and experiencing cannot b.e postponed. It must be made to happen now. In summary then, the 1968-69 postulant is a member of the Now Generation who comes to the convent not to be "formed into a religious; she comes to be fulfilled as a person." 7 The goal of fulfillment need not frighten the postu-lant directress if she is aware of the process of per-sonality growth. The fundamental theory that should dominate the planning of formation (or fulfillment) is that the growth and development of the candidate must come from within the person. Growth cannot be di-rected from the outside because each individual must develop in terms of his own inner capacities. "The a~- tempt to produce growth by putting man into a mold or demanding conformity is based on a total misunder-standing of man, of his nature and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is sacrificing the person for the con-venience of the system; it is the mechanizing of man. It is a basic lack of respect for the mystery of the human person." 8 If growth and development are individual inner proc- 4 A good presentation of what youth is looking for is found in Erik Erikson, ed., The Challenge of Youth (New York: Doubleday, 1965). ~ Consult the articles by Andrew Greeley mentioned above. o Jones, p. 20. 7 Sister Miriam Rooney, O.P., "The New Breed Enters the Con-vent," C~;oss and Crown, v. 16 (1964), 397. s Paul D'Arcy and Eugene Kennedy, The Genius o] the Apostolate (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1965) p. 5. + ÷ ÷ P o stul ancy " . . VOLUME 27, 1968 615 esses, what is the role of the postulant directress? She must provide the atmosphere in which the maximum growth and development are possible. To do this, she must first of all be aware of the psychological process called ego identity. Although this is a lifelong process in which the self links the past, present, and future into one person, there is a crisis of identity which occurs duri.ng late adolescence. At this time the young person realizes he is leaving the security of childhood and entering the uncertainties of young adulthood. He is wavering be-tween what he was and what he hopes to be.a Thus the postulant is seeking to clarify her understanding of who she is and what her role is to be. She is seeking for a sense of self and self-acceptance. "The adolescent hopes to forge for himself a perspective and direction, to achieve an effective integration out of the remnants of his childhood and the hopes of his anticipated adult-hood. Failure to resolve this crisis can result in neurosis, psychosis, or delinquent behavior." x0 To help the postulant through this identity crisis, the directress must provide her with acceptance and un-derstanding. Experiencing warm acceptance by impor-tant people in one's life is a prerequisite for knowing and accepting oneself. Obviously the important person in the postulant's life is her directress. So if the postu-lant is to grow, she must know she is loved by her superior. This means that the directress must be warm and loving, not just toward the group but toward each individual in the group. She must take each one into her lieart and really love her. She must be so warm and ac-cepting that the postulant would feel free to confide in her all that she was, is, and hopes to be. Each postulant should realize that she would be loved no matter how many unlovable things she may have done or will do. It is in this atmosphere that the girl can admit and accept her feelings and failures. A person who accepts him-self is also secure enough to accept others. So when each postulant can accept herself and the other postulants, a Christian community of love is. Sister M. Ruth REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 616 ~ A complete explanation of the identity process is found in Erik Erikson, lnsight and Responsibility (New York: Norton, 1964) and "Identity and the Life Cycle," Psychological Issues, v. I (New York: International Universities Press, 1959), pp. 111-117, by the same au-thor. The application of the process to religious life is found in Walter DeBont, O.P., "Identity Crisis and the Male Novice," Rrw~w roR RELigiOUS, v. 21 (1962), pp. 104-128; Barry McLaughlin, S.J., Nature, Grace, and Religious Development (Westminster: Newman, 1964); and Sister Thomas More, C.S.J., "Self Identification and Religious Li~e," in The Retreat Master Faces the Nun in the Modern World, ed. John Powell and others (St. MarTs, Kansas: St. Mary's College, 1965). ~ McLaughlin, p. $4. formed. Having experienced a sense of love and security in the postulancy, the young woman is better prepared to be an apostle of love. Not only should the directress be warm and loving, but the very surroundings in the convent should reflect this feminine warmth. Why can't postulancies (and con-vents) look homey? Warmth and growth would be en-couraged by such things as colorful drapes on the windows; a vase of flowers on the table, pictures '(not just saints!) on the wall, end tables cluttered with cur-rent magazines and newspapers, family photographs on the piano, a knitting bag on the floor. If we have nor-mal healthy conditions, we will. foster normal healthy growth. Many times, normal people leave our convents because they cannot lead abnormal lives in abnormal living conditions. Let's keep the normal ones111 In an atmosphere of warmth and affection, the postu-lant will feel more free to be herself, and her per-sonality will thus grow in a healthful manner. To make her growth and establishment of identity easier, the directress should realize another difficulty that the postu-lant faces. If the girl experienced normal adolescent de-velopment, she probably established a certain sense of identity before her entrance into the convent. She had a secure place in her family and probably had definite responsibilities to fulfill at home. She possessed ~a certain status in her peer group and perhaps held offices of importance in her high school or college. But in entering the religious community, all these former securities and relationships are either greatly modified or broken en-tirely. She is no longer able to live her identity in the same way. Therefore, to give her a sense of security and continuity, couldn't these healthy relationships be al-lowed to continue? The postulant's family was the main environment for her personality growth since birth. Should it suddenly be .discarded as if it were no longer of value? "The breakdown of family ties magnifies the identity crisis." 12 Thus the postulant's family should feel free and welcome to visit her anytime. Frequent letters should be en-couraged. Perhaps she could go home for weddings, graduations, anniversaries, and an occasional weekend. There is no apparent reason for cutting off all ties with her former friends either. Letters should be allowed to come and go without inspection or limitation. As the postulant gets involved with college and new friend- ~ See Eugene Kenned)', M.M., "Differentiated Discipline in the Seminary," National Catholic Education Association Bulletin, LX, 1 (August, 1964), pp. 79--89. m Joseph Simmons, C.S.C., "The Catholic College Student: His War against Protection," Ave Maria, CIV, 16 (October 15, 1966), p. 6. 4. 4- Postulancy VOLUME 27, 1968 617 ÷ ÷ ÷ Sister M. Ruth REVIEW FOR REI;IGIOUS 618 ships, the letters will gradually decrease. Perhaps rthe postulant's closest friends could spend a weekend with her at the convent. (This would not only .be good for ,her, but also for the convent's public relations program.) Discarding uniforms for the postulants might also favor personality growth. If the postulant continues ¯ wearing' the same dresses she wore before entrance, she has another source of security. At a time when many former securities are left behind, this will give her a sense of identity with her past. It might also help to abolish the notion that "the habit makes the nun." Such a notion is harmful because the postulant may ex-pect the uniform to produce automatic changes in her behavior. She is thus disappointed in herself and in the life when she discovers that she remains the same per-son. Perhaps there is a reason for the donning of a habit at the time of reception into the ,novitiate or at profes-sion of vows. But it seems that at this time of identity crisis, the postulant would be "more secure in her own clothing. Obedience also poses a problem for the directress and the postulants. Today's youth feel that obedience de-stroys their freedom and perhaps smothers their in-dividual identity. They will ordinarily not refuse to obey; but before carrying out a command, they want to sit down and discuss th~ "why" of it with the superior. This is not to be taken as disrespect or unwillingness to obey. They only wish to obey in a more human manner by understanding what they are doing.13 When they un-derstand, they are able to commit themselves to the deed in a responsible manner. If the directress can find no r~asonable answer to the postulant's question, "Why should I~do this?" perhaps it should not be done. Even occasional rebellion on the part of an individual may be a healthy assertion of self. Though often referred to as obedience, strict ad-herence to rules and schedules is frequently an escape from responsible, decision making. Directresses should provide as many opportunities as possible for the postu-lants to make their own decisions. It is difficult to see how this can be accomplished if every minute of the day is scheduled for the girls. Other college girls of their age devise their own schedules. They decide the times to study, to write letters, to ~lean their rooms, to retire. A postulant- will soon learn that if she spends all her study time reading novels or watching TV, she will begin to fail in her college classes. She learns this through per-sonal expgrience the hard way. But this is much more ~ See Stafford Poole, C.M., "The New Breed and the Old Semi-nary," Jubilee, XIII, 2 (June, 1965), pp. 8-13. effective in producing healthy growth in responsibility than if she were simply told the first night in the con-vent: "We study from 8:00 to I0:00 every night." The minimizing of rules and scheduled living is not a relaxation. It is just putting responsibility where it be-longs, on the person. It is changing enforced discipline to self-discipline. Related to rules and schedules is the assignment of household chores such as cleani.ng, ironing, and washing dishes. It is certainly profitable for all members of a community to participate in keeping house. These tasks should be looked upon as means of serving the other members o[ the community. Again, as much initiative as possible should be left to the girls in deciding when and how to do the work. They could also decide among themselves who would do what, and how often they wanted to exchange tasks. These are just a few of the small but important ways in which postulants can be encouraged to grow in maturity. "When we take youngsters out of high school who are still adolescents--a rebellious stage, still longing for adult status--and never let them get a taste of what it means to be an adult, what can we expect but that they will be unhappy subjects." 14 Too often, our candi-dates are not only kept in adolescence, but are even thrown back to childhood. We can help them grow into adulthood simply by giving them trust and responsi-bility. 15 However, there is really not much initiative and re-sponsibility involved in pushing a broom, and a young woman's need for self-actualization is not met in this way. College girls of our day see themselves as creative and productive, and they have great social concern.1~ They want challenging and difficult work with little intervention from others. If they are not stimulated in this direction, they may withdraw into themselves or develop other signs of maladjustment. If we wish to have zealous sisters, we must not let this youthful enthusiasm of the postulant wither while she is busy writing term papers and wiping dishes. Since she is a member of the Now Generation, she wants to do something meaningful for others now. She wants to undertake a task where there is a definite need for her services and self. In doing a~ John Evoy, S.J., and Van Cristoph, S.J., Personality Development in the Religious LiIe (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1963), p. 183. an A very helpful book is Psychological Aspects of Spiritual Develop-ment, Michael O'Brien and Raymond Steimel, ed., (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1964). a0 See Elizabeth Monroe Drews, "Counseling for Self-actualization in Gifted Girls and Young Women," Journal of Counseling Psy-chology, XII, 2 (Summer, 1965), pp. 167-175. ÷ ÷ ÷ P ostulancy VOLUME 27, 1968 619 Sister M. ~ Ruth REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 620 a task in which she i~ needed, the young woman comes to 'see her own personal worth. "Every man needs to know that he has an intrinsic' value, that he is im-portant, worthwhile." lz It often happens in the religious life that people who want to do great things are de-mobilized. But it should be realized that it is a sign of health if a person longs to do something important with his life.is Since postulants are expected to be normal young women, they should be allowed to fulfill this normal need by doing something meaningful for others. Op-portunities within the convent can be found to satisfy some of this need. The older sisters, especially those in the infirmary, need and appreciate the friendship of youth. And youth, in turn, can profit greatly from the wisdom and experience of age. The postulants should be permitted the enrichment of their personalities by close association with all the other members of the com-munity. A meaningful apostolate for action should also be sought outside the convent. Some areas of investigation might be the parish CCD program, high school or young adult discussion clubs, Newman Club, homes for the aged, hospitals, schools, and so forth. Of course, these are only temporary apostolates, but they will satisfy the need for meaningful action now. Howevdr, the postulant must also be well aware of the !ongterm goal toward which she is working. That is, she should have some idea of her future status in the com-munity so that she sees her future role in the group as an important one, one that is worthwhile waiting for. In the fulfillment of self-enjoined and community-appointed apostolates, the postulant will reveal her psy-chological maturity. The directress should watch for manifestations of inferidrity feelings, egotism, undue competitiveness, hbstility, rigidity, and a false sense of reality.~9 Because the girls are not conforming to rigid standards of performance, their personal strengths and weaknesses will appear. The directress can then counsel them accordingly and either help them to grow toward maturity or to realize that they would find greater ful-fillment in another way of life. One other means of providing an atmosphere favor-able to personality growth will be mentioned. Postu-lants, like other normal young women, negd to be free to agsociate with young people of their own age who are 1~Thomas Dubay, S.M., "Psychological Needs in the Religious Context," REvmw FOR Ra~LIGXOUS, V. 21 (1962), p. 525. ~s Refer' to the article by Eugene Kennedy noted above. ~ Trafford Maher, s.J., Lest We Build on Sand, (St. Louis: Catholic Hospital Association, 1962), pp. 203-208. not necessarily in the religious state. Means should some-how be provided for them to meet and make friends out-side the convent on an intellectual and social level. They will grow through these new interpersonal relationships, for in growing concerned and interested in others, there is a loss of self-centeredness. In listening to the prob-lems of a new college girl friend, the postulant may come to appreciate her own life more. And in relating to a boy of her own age, she will grow in maturity and womanliness. Yes, the postulant should have contact with boys. She grew up amid boys in her family, neighborhood,: and school. She hopefully had the experience of dating. Now after she enters the convent, why should the sight of a person of the opposite sex be denied her? Will the sight of a boy suddenly be harmful to her? It would be so much healthier if she could continue to relate to young men of her own age especially. In relating to them, she grows in femininity, which is very important to her as a young woman. If there is a danger to chastity, if the postulant is not able to control her sexual drives, then it is certainly best for her and for the community to find this out soon. How sad it is for women who have taken vows to discover they cannot speak to a man on the school faculty or a doctor on the staff without becom-ing either rigid and afraid or sexually stimulated. To permit these healthful relationships with other young people, the postulants could be permitted tO at-tend (sometimes without their directress) Newman Club gatherings, interfaith meetings, weekend retreats, and an occasional evening concert or drama. Healthful personality growth in the convent does not just happen. The proper atmosphere has to be prepared and sustained. This is the task of the postulant di-rectress. She must know the characteristics and needs of the young women she is guiding. She must accept and love them unconditionally and provide them with op-portunities for growth in love, responsibility, and womanliness. "Every state in life is meant to lead its followers to a rich personality development together with (and we might add because of) their achievement of the beatific vision of the divine Trinity." ~0 SUPPLEMENTARY ]~IBLIOGRAPHY Allport, Gordon. Pattern and Growth in Personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1961. Cameron, Norman. Personality Development and Psychopathol-ogy: A Dynamic Approach. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1963. Edward Carney, OSFS. "The Seminary Rule," National Catholic ~0 Dubay, p. 523. ÷ ÷ Pos~laney VOLUME 27, 1%8 62] Education Association Bulletin, LXIII, 1 (August, 1966), 108-114. D'Arcy, Paul."'Differentlated Seminary Discipline," NCEA Bul-letin, LX, 1 (August, 1964), 85-91. Dignan, Sister Howard, B.V.M. "Identity and Change in Re-ligious Life," RrvIEw fOR RV.LICIOUS, XXV, 4 (July, 1966), 669-677. Dondero, Autin, F.S.C. No Borrowed Light: Mental Health for Religious. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1965. Frick, Willard. "Healthy Interpersonal Relationships'. an Ex-ploratory Study," Journal of Individual Psychology, XXIII, 1 (May, 1967), 59-66. Gallen, Joseph, s.J., "Femininity and Spirituality," REVIEW for RrL~G~OUS, XX, 4 (July, 1964), 237-256. Goldberg, Arthur. "J.uvenatrics'. Study of Prolonged Adoles-cence," The Cleartng House, XLI, 5 (December, 1966), 218- 222. Hargadon, Kevin, F.S.C. "Psychological Requirement for Re-ligious Vocation," National Catholic Guidance Conference Journal, X, 4 (Summer, 1966), 271-279. Huyghe, Gerard. Tension and Change: The Problems of Re-ligious Orders Today. Westminster: Newman, 1966. McKinney, Fred. Psychology o[ Personal ~ld]ustment. New York: Wiley, 1941. Maher, Trafford, S.J. Self--.4 Measureless Sea (Cou.nseling: Theory and Practice). St. Louis: Catholic Hospital Associa-tion, 1966. Regan, Francis. "Authority and Obedience in Seminary Train-ing," NCE/1 Bulletin, LXIII, 1 (August, 1966), 103-107. Rogers, Carl. On Becoming a Person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960. Schneiders, Alexander. "Adolescence and the Challenge of Ma-turity," National Catholic Guidance ConIerence Journal, X, 2 (Winter, 1966), 109-117. Simmons, Joseph, C.S.C. "Seminary as Institution," Catholic Education Review, LXIV, 26 (February 1966), 97-105. Stafford, John, C.S.V. "The Religious Rule and Psychological Development," Rrvxv.w voR R~ioIo~s, XXV, 2 (March, 1966), 294-304. Van Kaam, Adrian. Personality Fulfillment in the Religious Life. ~.Vilkes-Barre: Dimension Books, 1967. Walters, Sister Annette, S.C.J. "Attitudes, Values, and Motiva-tional Systems of the American Catholic Woman College Student," Catholic Psychological Record, IV, 1 (Spring, 1966), 20-34. Wilson, C. R. "Self-Acceptance and Religious Security," R~vi~w vo~ R~Lxcxoos, XXI, 6 (November, 1962), 555-559. 4- 4- $i~t~r M." Ruth REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS JOSEPH F. GALLEN, S.J. Proper Juridical Articles of.Constitutions In the article, "Constitutions without Canons," REw~.w fOR R~.LIOIOUS, May, 1968, the purpose was to eliminate as far as possible the canons or laws of the Church from the constitutions of congregations of sisters and brothers. The result would be that the constitutions would almost completely consist of laws proper to the particular institute, which is the nature and definition of constitntions. These proper juridical laws are n~cessary determinations of matters that are undetermined in canon law or' matters over and above the norms of canon law. It was also advised in the same article that all detailed matters now found in constitutions should be placed in the custom book or in a similar book. The present article lists in 'the first section the juridical topics of proper law that should be in the constitutions, and in the second section gives added matters that I now believe should also be placed in the custom book, that is, matters over and above those put in the custom book in the "Constitutions Without Canons" article. The number in parenthesis after each topic is that of the corresponding article in "Typical Constitutions of Lay Religious Congregations," RrwEw for REL~C~OUS, 25 (1966), 361--~57. The vote of a council is mentioned in the first sec-tion for the purpose of information, but we recom-mended in the "Constitutions without Canons" article that all votes of councils be confined to lists in the cus-tom book. The listing of the matters proper to each institute will also enable all o[ these to make a more accurate study of the juridical matters that should constitute the proper law of an institute. This can result ultimately at least in the increase,or decrease o[ the matters listed in this article. A close study of this aspect was not too easy ÷ ÷ ÷ Joseph F. Gallen, $.J.," writes ~rom St. Joseph's Church; ~1 Willings Alley; Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania VOLUME 27, 1968 in the past due to the large number of canons contained in the constitutions. I. MATTERS THAT MUST BE l~TAINED IN THE CONSTITUTIONS ]oseph F. Gallen, s.l. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 1. General purpose (1) 2. Special purpose (2) 3. Authorization necessary [or a change in the special purpose or in the particular works (3-4) 4. Classes of members (5)1 5. Authorization necessary for a change in the reli-gious habit (16) 6. Superior competent to admit to the postulancy and any vote of a council (38)2 7. Duration of postulancy beyond six months (40) 8. Higher superior competent' to prolong the postu-lancy and any vote of a council (40); to abbreviate a postulancy longer than six months and any vote of a council (40)3 9, Superior competent to dismiss a postulant and any vote of a council (38)4 1 "Unless the state of affairs suggests otherwise, care must be taken to produce in women's communities a single category of sisters" (Ab-bott- Gallagher, The Documents oI Vatican li [paperback edition], 478). * The Code of Canon Law contains no legislation concerning the superior competent to admit to the postulancy. The matter is there-fore governed by the particular constitutions. In the modern practice of the Holy See the mother general has the right of admission when the congregation is not divided into provinces; if such a division exists, this right is given to the higher superiors or to the mother general for the entire congregation and to the mothers provincial for their own provinces. In the latter type of congregation the right is sometimes given only to the mother general. A very small number of congregations demand the consultative vote of the respective council and an equally small number prescribe a deliberative vote. * Canon 539, § 2, gives the right of prolonging the postulancy to higher superiors. In the constitutions the higher superior who has the right of admission is also the one who has the right of prolonga-tion. Therefore, this matter was explained in the preceding note, and the statements there made on the consultative' and deliberative vote are also applicable here. Recent constitutiofis permit the mother general, provincial, or higher superiors to abbreviate a postulancy longer than six months provided a postulancy of six months is preserved. At times no vote, th( consultative, or even the deliberative vote o[ the respective council has been prescribed for the abbreviation (REVIEW for RELI¢IOVS, 21 [1962], 409). * In the practice o[ the Sacred Congregation of Religious, the dis-missal of postulants is reserved in the same manner as admission to higher superiors. Some constitutions demand a consultative vote of the council for dismissal even though no vote was required for ad-mission. A few constitutions give a local superior the right of dis-missing a postulant in an urgent case. I0. Higher superior competent to admit to the novice-ship and vote of a council (44)5 11. Authority competen.t for the establishment or transfer of a novitiate (46) 12. Necessity or advisability of a novitiate in each province (47)° 13. Duration of a noviceship beyond a year (50)7 14. Authority competent to dispense from the second year of noviceship (50) 15. Manner of beginning the noviceship (52) 16. Superior competent for the dismissal of a novice and any vote of a council (67)s "In virtue of canon 543 admission to the noviceship appertains to a higher superior, and consequently to the mother general or provincial in a centralized institute, to the superior of a monastery of nuns, and to the mother superior in a congregation that has a similar monastic structure. The same canon demands that the council or chapter have a vote in this admission. The particular constitutions decide whether the council or the chapter has the vote. In centralized institutes the council will always have the vote; in monasteries of nuns and insti. tutes of similar structure the chapter has the vote, but there can be also a previous vote of the council. It is likewise left to the constitu-tions to determine whether this vote of the council or chapter is deliberative or consultative. According to the ordinary practice of the Sacred Congregation the vote is deliberative, but in a few congre-gations it is only consultative. Congregations divided into provinces can have variations. The competent higher superior is frequently the mother provincial with the deliberative vote of her council, but often this must be supple-mented by the confirmation, approval, or consent'of the mother general either alone or with the deliberative or consultative vote of the general council. In other constitutions admission appertains to the mother general or the higher superior with the deliberative or consultative vote of the council, and, finally, in some institutes the mother provincial with the deliberative vote of her council merely proposes the admission to the mother general, who admits with the deliberative vote of her council. ~ Canon law does not oblige each province to have its own novitb ate, but the constitutions impose this obligation either absolutely or as far as it is possible. The Normae of 1901 stated that it was appro-priate for each province to have its own novitiate (n. 303). ¢ Canon 555, § 2, states that a period beyond a year demanded for the noviceship by the particular constitutions is not required for validity unless this is expressly stated in the constitutions. In practice it is required only for liceity. This longer period is practically always two years, but a few institutes have a noviceship of eighteen months. S According to canon'571, § 1, the competent authority for the dismissal of a novice is the superior or the chapter according to the constitutions. In the practice of the Sacred Congregation, the dis-missal of a novice is reserved to higher superiors with the vote of the council, which is more frequently consultative than deliberative. In congregations without provinces, this higher superior is the mother general. In congregations with provinces, the right is more frequently reserved to the mother general, but in some institutes it is given to the higher superior or the mother provincial. When the right is reserved to the mother general, the constitutions at times enact that the mother provincial and her council are to be con-sulted. Constitutions VOLUME 27, 1968 ÷ ÷ ÷ SJ. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 17. Superior competent for the prolongation of the noviceship and any vote of a council (68)9 18. Duration. of temporary vows beyond three years; length of each temporary profession, for example, one of three, another of two years, or vice versa; five annual professions, and so forth (72) 19. Higher superior competent to admit to the pro-fessions, to prolong temporary profession, and vote of a council (73)1° ~ Canon 571, § 2, gives the right of prolongation of the noviceship to higher superiors but does not prescribe any vote of the council. Great variety is found in this matter in constitutions. In congregations without provinces, the right appertains to the mother general. The constitutions often demand no vote but in some the consultative and less frequently the deliberative vote of the council is prescribed. In congregations divided into provinces, the right of prolongation is given to the higher superior or the mother general, alone or with the consultative or deliberative vote of the respective council. 10 In virtue of canon 543, only a higher superior is competent to admit to any religious profession, whether temporary (first, renewal, or prolongation), or perpetual (solemn or simple). The competent higher superior is the mother superior in a congregation that has the monastic'structure and the mother general in a~centralized congrega-tion that is not divided into pr6vinces. In a congregation that has provinces, the constitutions determine whether the one admitting is the mother general or the mother provincial. Such constitutions fre-quently reserve the admissions to all professions to the mother gen-eral. This right is often given also to the mother provincial or higher superiors. Frequently also, and especially for perpetual profession, the mother provincial admits but her admission mnst be confirmed by the mother general. In a few institutes, at least sonde admissions ap-pertain to the mother general and her council but the request for the admission is made by the mother provincial with her council, for example, with the deliberative vote of this council for admiss!on to first temporary profession. If the constitutions do not determine the legitimate higher superior for the prolongation of temporary vows (c. 574, § 2), this appertains to the higher superior who has the right of admitting to either temporary or perpetual profession, but more probably to the latter when the higher superior for both of these admissions is not the same in the law of the constitutions. Canon 543 demands that there be a vote of the council or chapter, without specifying whether the vote is to be deliberative or consulta-tive, for admission to first temporary profession and perpetual pro-fession, whether simple 9r solemn, but not for the renewal of tem-porary vows nor for the prolongation of temporary profession. Canon 575, § 2, demands that the vote for the first temporary profession be deliberative, which is also to be extended to institutes in which the first profession is perpetual by privilege. The same canon appears to prescribe that the vote for the perpetual profession, simple or solemn, be only consultative; but the Holy See in approving consti-tutions interprets the canon as permitting a deliberative vote. There-fore, the Code of Canon Law permits either a consultative or delibera-tive vote for perpetual profession. In centralized congregations the council of the competent higher superior always has the vote. In congregations that have the monastic structure, the chapter has the vote; but there can also be a previous vote of the council. In the constitutions of centralized congregations: (1) the vote of the council.for the first temporary prgfession must be deliberative by reason of canon 575, § 2; (2) for renewals of temporary professions the constitutions commonly prescribe the consultative 20. Superior competent to permit an anticipated re-newal of temporary vows and any vote of a council (78)11 21. Authority competent to dispense from duration of temporary vows beyond three years (74) 22. Superior competent to receive the vows (74) 23. Formula of professions (75) 24. Definition of the vow of poverty (82) 25. Prescription on common life with regard to pov-erty (93) 26. Definition of the vow of chastity (94) 27. Definition of the vow of obedience (95-6, 100) 28. Obligation to obey constitutions and other orders of superiors (99) 29. Superior competent to exclude from renewing temporary vows or from making perpetual profession and any vote of a council (152)t-° 30. (Diocesan) A petition for dismissal of a professed of temporary vows must be made by the mother general and any vote of her council (155)la 31. Previous judgment on the incorrigibility and dis-missal of a. professed of perpetual vows and vote of coun-cil (158)a4 32. Superior competent for the declaration of fact in an automatic dismissal and vote of council (161)15 vote; (3) for the prolongation of temporary vows, the constitutions more frequently demand no vote but some require the consultative and a few the deliberative vote; (4) for perpetual profession the vote prescribed by the constitutions is practically always consultative. a According to canon 577, § 2, an anticipation as such may be per-mitted by any superior, whether a higher or minor local. However, this right is only to admit an anticipation. Since the renewal is a juridical profession, all the requisites of such a profession must be observed, and therefore the admission must be made by the compe-tent higher superior according to the constitutions, as explained in the preceding note. In constitutions an anticipation is usually re-served to a higher superior or to a particular higher superior. ~ Canon 637 leaves to the constitutions the determination of the superior competent for exclusion. The constitutions usually assign this right to the superior general with the consultative vote of her couucil, but a few demand the deliberative vote. A small number of constitutions give this power to the provincial or higher superiors cither alone or with the consultative or, less frequently, the delibera-tive vote of the council (REvmw FOR RELIGIOUS, 25 [1966], 391). ~ In a diocesan congregation the superior general will present the petition for a dismissal to the local ordinary, but the constitutions will frequently require the consultative or deliberative vote of her council for such a petition (REVIEW fOR RELmtOUS, 16 [1957], 272). x, Canon law does not clearly demand the intervention of the mother general nor of her council in the dismissal of a professed of perpetual vows. However, from analogy with the law on the dismis-sal of religious men of perpetual vows and the constant practice of the Sacred Congregation of Religious in the approval of constitutions, the dismissal of a professed woman of perpetual vows in both pon-tifical and diocesan congregations is to be referred to the mot

Issue 17.2 of the Review for Religious, 1958. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MARCH 15, 1958 Teaching Brothers . Pope Plus XII Religious and Psychotherapy . Richard P. Vaughan A Sense of Balance . Robert W. Gleason Pattern for Religious Life . Da.ie~ J. M. Ca~aha. The Might of ~ood . c. A. I-lerbst Summer Sessions Book Reviews Communications (~uestions and Answers Roman Documents about: Movies, Radio, Television Seminarians and Religious The Role of the Laity VOLUME 17 NUMBER 2 RI::VII:::W FOR RI::LIGIOUS VOLUME 17 MARCH, 1958 NUMBER 2 CONTI::NTS THE HOLY SEE AND TEACHING BROTHERS . 65 SUMMER SESSIONS . 72 RELIGIOUS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY-- Richard P. Vaughan, S.J . 73 A SENSE OF BALANCE~Robert W. Gleason, S.J . 83 COMMUNICATIONS . 90 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 90 THE PERFECT PATTERN FOR RELIGIOUS LIFEm Daniel J. M. Callahan, s.J . ' . 91 THE MIGHT OF GOD--C. A. Herbst, S.J . 97 SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS~R. lq. Smith, S.J . 101 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana . 112 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: 7. Sisters Overworked . 121 8. Elimination of Silence .¯ . 122 9. Illegitimacy and the Office of Local Superior . 123 10. True Meaning of Tradition in the Religious Life .124 11. General Councilor as Treasurer General . 126 12. Unsuitable Spiritual Reading . 127 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, March, 1958. Vol. 17, No. 2. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J.; Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F. Weiss, S.J. Copyright, 1958, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please send all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard. St. Louis 18. Missouri. The Holy See and Teaching Bro!:hers A LETTER BY Pope Plus XII, dated March 31, 1954, and addressed to Cardizial Valeri, prefect of the Sacred Congre-gation of Religious, discussed the nature and dignity of the teaching brothers' vocation. The official Latin text of this letter is in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 46 (1954), 202-5. Several English translations have appeared in our country. C, ornmen-tarium .pro religiosis, 33 (1954), 150-61, published the Latin text, with some annotations by Father A. Guti~rrez, C.M.F., and some interesting background. According to the Commentariurn, the procurators general of~i~!ght institutes of teaching brothers have the custom of meet-ing.~.' in Rome and discussing their mutual problems. The insti-tutes are: Christian Brothers; Christian Brothers of Ireland; Marists; Marianists; Brothers of Christian Instruction mel; Brothers of the Sacred Heart; Brothers of St. Gabriel; and the Xaverian Brothers. The main point discussed in their meeting in the spring of 1953 was the problem of vocations to their institutes, and especially the very delicate problem of mis-understanding by the clergy. Deeply concerned about this prob-lem, the procurators general de.cided to ask His Holiness for an official statement concerning the nature, .dignity, and value the teaching brothers' vocation and apostolate. Thus, with the approval of their own superiors and of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, they addressed a letter to the Pope. The French text of their letter, dated October 15, 1953, is given, in. the Commentarium /~ro religiosis. The Annotations Since Father Guti~rrez' remarks serve as a so~rt of brief commentary on the papal letter, the Gommenlarium publishes them immediately after the letter. It seems better for our 65 TEACHING BROTHERS Review for Religious purpose, however, to incorporate his principal points into this introductory background material because this will help to appre-ciate the' content of the papal letter, as well as of the letter addressed to the Pope by the procurators general. The principal points stressed by Father Guti~rrez are these: (1) The teaching brothers are religious in the full sense of canon law. (2) They have a special divine vocation, which is approved and specially protected by the Church. (3) Their apostolate of teaching is given to them by the Church itself; and the Church recognizes this apostolate as a higher call than Catholic Action. (4) The object of this apostolate is to form good men, good Catholics, and leaders; and this is accomplished not only by having excellent schools and teaching methods, but also and especially by teaching Christian doctrine and morality. (5) Since the pontifical institutes of brothers have received from the Holy See a commission to teach religion, they have a .right to exercise this apostolate within the limits of canon law. (6) One sign of the fruitfulness of the brothers' apostolate of teach-ing is the number oi: ecclesiastical vocations among their alumni. On the last point, Father Guti~rrez gives some interesting statistics concerning seven it~stitutes of teaching brothers with a total professed membeiship of 31,006. Of their former pupils who were still living in 19~3, there were 10 cardinals, 218 bishops, 31,938 priests, and 11,398 seminarians. I. Letter of the Procurators General Most Holy Father: The undersigned procurators general of eight institutes of teaching brothers lay at the feet of Your Holiness their respect-ful homage as loyal and obedient sons; and, in full agreement with the officials of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, they beg you graciously to consider a problem which their superiors are now making efforts to solve, that is, the misunderstanding by certain members of the clergy of the usefulness and canonical 66 TEACHING BROTHERS status of our vocation as lay religious men engaged in the teach-ing apostolate. Recalling the provisions of canon law (c. 107), Your Holi-ness declared to the religious' assembled in an international congress at the end of the Holy Year, I950, that "Between the two states--clerical and lay--which .constitute the Church, there falls the religious state." As religious with simple vows, our profession places us in the humblest category of the religious state. We are religious in so ~ar as we tend toward the perfection of charity by the practice of the ~three vows of the state of per-fection; we are laymen inasmuch as we have deliberately offered to God our sacrifice of~th_e priestly dignity and of the spiritual privileges which priests enjoy in order to concentrate all our activity on one apostolate alone: the Christian education of youth. This apostolate wa~ entrusted to us by the Holy Church. It is "a tedious work and a thankless task,''~ as Your Holiness pointed out when speaking to the m~sters of the French uni-versities on April 10, 1950; -But divine Providence. has con-tinually blessed such work and has rewarded it with the most noble of harvests through the priestly and religious vocations which spring up in our schools. "It is an unassailable fact that the number of p~iestly voca-tions is, if not the only criterion, at least one of the surest criterions for measuring the strength and fruitfulness of a Catholic school or of any Catholic educational institution." This is the judgment Your Holiness pronounced on May 28, 1951, at an audience marking the fifth centenary of the College Marc-antonio Colonna. The statistics on this subject which we have. the honor submitting to Your Holiness are based on the most recent research and are of such a nature as to console the heart of the Holy Father by showing in just what proportion the labors 6¸7 TEACHING BROTHERS Review for R~ligious teaching brothers contribute to the increase of the clergy through-ou~. the entire world. These results would be even more noteworthy if the nu-merical growth of our own institutes permitted us to answer all the appeals we are constantly receiving for the further expan-sion of our present works and for ventures into new fields of apostolic endeavor. We here touch upon the unfortunate problem which we wish to bring to the attention of Your Holiness. In many places our recruiting is hindered and the perseverance of those whom we do recruit is jeopardized by the misunderstanding or the opposition of certain members of the clergy. These ecclesi-astics are ignorant, or appear to be ignorant, of the canonical status of our vocation as well as of the mission which the Church, by its approbation of our institutes, has confided to us. In Appendix No. 2 0f this petition, we recount to Your Holiness some of the fallacious arguments disseminated against ui and some of the methods used in certain regions to turn young men away from our novitiates or to direct toward the clerical state some of our own religious even though already bound by perpetual profession. We thought, Most Holy Father, that a word from the Chair of Truth would-be most helpful to us in our efforts to refute these fallacies, to break down the prejudices which they engender, to encourage and guide souls of good will somewhat confused by these false ideas. The recent yearly congress of the Union of Teaching Brothers held at Paris--the report of which we beg you to receive as a humble testimony of our loyalty--seemed an appro-priate occasion for addressing the present petition to Your Holiness. Confident of the gracious welcome it will receive from the head of Christendom and the father of all religious and implor-ing your blessing, very respectfully we profess ourselves once 68 March, 1958 TEACHING BROTHERS more Your Holiness's most humble and obedient sonsR. ome, October 15, 1953. II. Letter of Pius XlI to Cardinal Valeri Beloved Son, Health and Apostolic Benediction: The procurators general of eight religious institutes of brothers, whose special mission is the instruction and education of youth, have presented Us with an official report of the annual meeting of the French provinces of their institutes, held last year at Paris, in order to inform Us of what had been accom-plished there and what they hope to accomplish in the future. At the same time, they besought Us in a submissive and respect-ful spirit to give them paternal instruction and to point out to them the best means to increase their numbers and to achieve the happiest results in their recruitment of vocations. That is what We gladly do in succinct form by means of this letter. And in the first place, We congratulate them very much, because We know with what zealous and untiring will these brothers are fulfilling the mission confided to them, a mission that can be of the greatest assistance to the Church, to the family, and to civil society itself. Indeed, their work is of great importance. Boys and young men are the blossoming hope of the future. And the course of events in the years ahead will depend especially upon those young men who are.instructed in the liberal arts and every type of discipline, so that they may assume the direction not only of their private affairs but also of public matters. If their minds are illumined by the light of the gospel, if their wills are formed by Christian principles and fortified by divine grace, then we may hope that a new gen-eration of youth will era"" t, appily triumph over the difficulties, beil -esently assail us a:ad which by its I e can establish a better and health. It is Our grent c~. ~nat these religious institutes are laboring to that end, guided by those wise rules 69 TEACHING BROTHERS Review for Religious which their founders have bequeathed to their respective insti-tutes as a sacred inheritance. We desire that they perform this task not only ~vith the greatest alertness, diligence, and devotion, but also animated by ~that supernatural spirit by which human efforts can flourish and bring forth salutary fruits. And specif-ically We wish that they strive to imbue the youth confided to them with a doctrine that is not only certain and free from all error, but which also takes account of those special arts and prodesses which the present age has introduced into each of the disciplines. But what is most !mportant is this, that they draw super-natural strength from their religious life, which they ought most intensively to live, by which they may form to Christian virtue the students committed to their care, as the mission confided to them by the Church demands. For if this virtue were relegated to a subordinate position or neglected entirely, 'neitl~er literary nor any other type of human knowledge would be able to estab-lish their lives in rectitude. In fact, these merely human attain-ments° can become effective instruments of "evil and unhappiness, especially at the age "which~ is as wax, so easily can it be fashioned to evil" (Horace, De arte l~Oetlca, 163). Therefore, let them watch over the minds and souls of their pupils; let them have a profound understanding of youth-ful indifference, of its hidden motivations, of its deep-seated drives, of its inner unrest and distress, and let them wisely guide them. Let them act with vigor to drive away at once and with the utmost determination, those false principles which are a threat to virtue, to avert every dange~ that-can tarnish the brightness of- their souls, and to so order all things about them that while the mind is being illumined by truth, the will may be tightly and courageously controlled and moved to embrace all that is good. While these religious brothers know that the education of youth is the art of arts and the science of sciences, they know, 70 March, 1958 TEACHING BROTHERS too, that they can do all these things with the divine aid, for which they pray, mindful of the word of the Apostle of the Gentiles: "I can do all things in Him who strengthenth Me" (Phil. 4:13). Therefore, let them cultivate their own piety as much as they can, as is only right for those who, although not called to the religious priesthood, yet have been admitted to the lay form of the religious life (c. 488, 4). Such a religious institute, although~ composed almost entirely of those who by God's special calling have renounced the dignity of the priest-hood and the consolations that flow therefrom, is all the same held in high honor by 'the Church and is of the gr.eatest assist-ance to the sacred ministry by the Christian formation of youth. On a previous occasion we turned our attention to this subject, saying: "The religious state is in no sense reserved to either the one or the other of the two types which by divine right exist in the Church, since not only the clergy but likewise the laity can be religious" (Allocution to the meeting of re-ligious orders held at Rome, AAS, 1951, p. 28). And by the very fact that the Church has endowed laymen with this dignity and status, it is quite plainly signified to all that each part this holy militia can labor, and very ~ffectively, both for its own salvation and that of others, according to the special canonical rules and norms by which each is regulated. Wherefore, let no one lack esteem for the members these institutes because they do rmt embrace the priesthood, or think that their apostolate is less fruitful. Moreover, it is afact well known to Us that they gladly encourage the youths com-mitted to their care for instruction and education to embrace the priesthood when it seems that" divine, grace is calling them. Nor is there any lack of instances of their former pupils who now adorn the ranks of the episcopate and even the Sacred College of Cardinals. These religious institutes merit and de-serve Our praise and that of the whole Church; they deserve, also, the good will of the bishops ~and" the ~ clergy, since they give them their fullest support, not o.nly in providing a fitting 71 TEACHING BROTHERS education for youth, but also in cultivating the vocations oi~ those students whom divine grace attracts to the sacred priest-hood. Therefore, let them hold to the way upon whichthey have entered, their vigor increasing day by day; and one with the other religious orders and congregations to whom this work has been confided, let them devote themselves to the instructior~ and education of youth with peaceful an~d willing souls. As a pledge of the divine help, which" we implore for them with earnest prayer, and as a testimony of Our personal benevo-lence, we lovingly impart the apostolic blessing to you, Our beloved son, and to each of the superiors of these institutes, to their subjects and to their pupils. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the 31st day of the month of March, of the year 1954, the sixteenth year of Our pontificate. SUMMER SESSIONS [EDITORS' NOTE: The deadlinefor summer-session announcements to be included in our May number was March 1. Since the May number is the last one to be published before the summer sessions begin, it will be useless to send us further announcements for 1958. We wish to take this occasion to make one candid remark. In our November, 1957, number, page 32~, we outlined several specifications to be observed in draw-ing up summer-session announcements. Most deans who sent us announcements either completely or partially ignored these specifications. May we suggest that someone who reads this magazine might call his or her dean's attention to this?] St. Louis University will feature an institute in liturgical music: Gre~gorian Chant and Polyphony, June 9-13. During the six-week summer session, June 17 to July 25, there will be graduate courses .in the Theology .of the Mystical Body and in Moral and Ascetical Theology, together with undergraduate courses in Sacred Scripture, Divine Grace and Corporate Christianity, and in other topics. For further details write to: Department of Religion, St. Louis University, St. Louis 3, Missouri. Registration for the summer session at St. Bonaventure Uni-versity will take place on June 30. Classes will extend from July 1 until August 7. Special attention is called to the School of Sacred Services for the sisters. The purpose of this program is to afford teaching sisterhoods an opportunity of broaderiing and deepening their knowledge of religion and of acquiring a scientific and scholarly (Continued on page 81 ) 72 Religious and Psycho!:herapy Richard P. Vaughan, ~.J. THE PAST TWO decades have seen an ever-increasing awareness of the p~esence of mental illness in our midst. Newspapers and magazines have served as media to educate the public. As a result, the person who previously had been ac-cepted by his family and friends as "just naturally odd" is looked upon as mentally disturbed and in need of psychiatric care. The usual treatment of twenty or thirty years ago, which consisted of relegating the peculiar member of the family to the back of the house or excusing his presence by an embarrassing wink, has to a great extent given way to the realization that the emotion-ally and mentally ill can be helped only by adequate psychiatric treatment: Within the cloister and the convent, however, this changing attitude has been slow to make its appearance. Many superiors recognize signs of mental disorder in one or more ot: ¯ their subjects, but they are hesitant even to consider the pos-sibility of psychiatric aid. In general, they will exhaust every other possible source-of assistance before they will send the subject to a psychiatrist. If one stops to analyze this distrust, a number of reasons come to mind. Sources of Negative Attitudes In the first place, this negative attitude toward psychiatry is partially due to the historic role of the priest. From the earliest days of the Church, the clergy have been the accepted pastors of souls. The very notion of pastor implies a duty to guide and direct. Since there was no other source of profes-sional guidance until quite recently, the full burden of this duty fell upon the shoulders of the priest. It became the accepted practice for the faithful to seek his help when confronted with the vexing problems of phobias or compulsions as well as in their strivings toward spiritual perfection. As a matter of fact, many looked upon these purely psychological disorders as spiri-tual difficulties. 73 RICHARD P. VAUGHAN Review [or Religious This attitude has persisted uniil our own day. It is espe-cially prevalent among priests, brothers, and sisters. Even though experiende has shown that most prie.sts are not equipped to deal with pathological emotional disturbances, many religious cling to the outdated view that the priest should be the sole ~source of assistance. They are convinced that spiritual guidance and the frequent reception of the sacraments are the best remedies for neurotic disordeks. Psychiatric care is deemed necessary only in those cases where the individual can no longer live in the religious community. A further source of antagonism is tl~e materialistic and anti-religious philosophy held by some of the most important psy-chiatrists. Foremost among these is Sigrnund Freud, who. has done more to shape psychiatric thought than any other individual. Unfortunately, most rdligious have heard only of Freud's errors. They have made no attempt to understand his valuable contribu-tions to the science of treating the mentally ill or to sort out his scientific findings from a biased and i'rreligious philosophy, which came as an after-thought. They summarily dismiss Freud's works on the false assumption that their sole topic is sex in its basest form. This view has led to a condemnation of the scien-tific as well as the philosophical teachings of Freud. Since most psychiatrists are Freudian to a degree, a distrust for the whole profession has resulted. Finally, there are the often-quoted examples of seemingly immoral advice given by some psychiatrists. One of the traits of the mentally ill is a resistance to treatment. It sometimes hap-pens that this resistance takes the form of trying to undermine the reputation ot~ the therapist. If this can be successfully ac-complished, the neurotic feels justified in discontinuing treatment. Thus, he sometimes either consciously or unconsciously misin-terprets the words of the psychotherapist. This misinterpreta-tion gives rise to some of the stories of immoral suggestions offered during 'the sessions ot: therapy. Of course, it cannot be 0 74 Marck, 1958 RELIGIOUS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY said that this is true in every instance.~ Undoubtedly, thereare genuine cases of psychiatrists advocating sinful actions. Such advice does not, however, constitute good therapy. It is not the function 0~ the psychotherapist to make moral judgments 'for his patients. It is rather a sign of incompetence. However, just as there is a certain amount of incompetence in the other branches of medicine, so too we should expect it in psychiatry. We do not condone such incompetence, but look forward to the day when it will be eliminated. The s01ution to the problem is not to ~ondemn the whole .profession, but to know the qualifications of the psychotherapist to whom we refer a patient. Church's Position As can r~eadily be seen, the three above-mentioned sources of hostility toward psychiatry as a medium for treating mental illness are the product of personal attitudes and personal ex-perience. They in no way express the official view of the Church. Up to a few y~ars ago, the Church had not as yet officially indicated her position in regard ~o psychiatry. She prudently and cautiously waited before making any statement. The nega-tive views that were prevalent among Catholics some ten or fifteen years ago simpIy reflected the personal attitudes of a large percentage of the clergy. In 1953 th~ Holy Father, Pius XI.I, at the Fifth Congress of Psyhotherapy and Clinical Psychology concluded his address to the delegates with these words: "Further-more, be assured that the Church follows your research and your medical practice with warm interest and best wishes. You work on a terrain that is very difficult. Your activity, however, is capable of achieving precious results .for medicine, for the~ knowledge of souls in general, for the religious dispositions of man and for their development. May providence and divine grace light your path!" These words represent an official statement of the Church. They certainly indidate anything but a negative and hostile attitude toward the arduous work oi: the psycho.therapist. 75 RICHARD P. VAUGHAN Review for Religious Types of Psychiatry In general, therapy for the mentally ill takes two forms: one which is strictly medical and one which is psychological. The medical approach makes use of such means as brain surgery, electric shock tre~i~ment, and the use of drugs. This approach is entirely in the hands of medical specialists. The second ap-proach, which is called psychotherapy, makes use of a continuing series of interviews. This latter approach is not limited exclu-sively to the medical profession. At present, not only psychia-trists but also psychologists and psychiatric social workers are practicing psychotherapy. In a number 0f instances, the mem-bers of the latter two professions practice psychotherapy under the supervision of a psychiatrist, because of the physical impli-cations involved in many cases of mental illness. With those who are so seriously ill that little personal con-tact can be established, the purely medical techniques are used until such a time as psychotherapy can be profitable. With the less seriously disturbed, some psychiatrists make use of a com-bination of psychotherapy anddrugs, while others look upon drugs as a crutch and prefer to depend entirely upon psycho-therapy. It is this latter type of treatment toward which numer-ous religious are so antagonistic. If the only technique used by psychiatry were the administration of drugs or surgery, there would probably be much less oppogition to it. Psychotherapy If one surveys the history of mankind, it becomes apparent that a type of psychotherapy has been practiced for centuries. It seems safe to say that people have always had problems that they were unable to solve without the help of others, and these problems disturbed their emotional equilibrium in" varying de-grees of seriousness. The writings of ancient Greece and Rome tell of troubled individuals seeking advice and aid from the wise and learned. From the very beginnings of the Church, people brought their troubles and problems to the priest. In past 76 RELIGIOUS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY generations, most had a dlose friend with whom they could dis-cuss their most intimate affairs. The help derived from these above-mentioned sources came not only from the advice given by the friend, priest, or learned counselor, but also from the relationship that was established through numerous sessions of conversation and from the insight into the problem that the disturbed party g~ined through the very act of talking about it. However, because of a lack of knowledge and skill in deal-ing with human emotions and feelings, those consulted fre-quently found themseives at a loss to help those who sought their assistance. With the development of scientific methods in psychiatry, men discovered that they could apply the results of their in-vestigations to the emotionally and mentally ill and thus aid those who had previously been immune to all known sources of help. In this manner, psychotherapy, as it is known today, was born. One practices scientific psychotherapy when he car~ analyze an emotional disorder and then during the course of his dealings with the afflicted person apply the psychological techniques that are the product of fifty years of clinical experi-ence and research. The good therapist must have learning, skill, and experience. Basically, therefore, psychotherapy is nothing more than the age-old practice of aiding others through communication, but now built upon a scientific foundation. It has the added factor that the therapist has a psychological knowledge and skill which his predecessor lacked. Morality and Psychotherapy Since religious men and women are by no means free from emotional and mental disorders, the development of psycho-therapy should have offered a welcome solution to a very vexing and persistent problem. However, owing to the previously mentioned factors, a negative and hostile attitude arose among religious toward the whole movement. As a result of this at-titude, today when a religious superior is faced with the necessity of seeking psychiatric help for a subject, he frequently hesitates 77 RICHARD P. VAUGHAN Review for Religious for a "considerable length of time, questioning the advisability of such a step. Because of the seemingly close connection between religion, morality, and psychiatry, the superior sees in psycho-therapy a potential danger to the faith and religious vocation of the subject. Psychiatric aid has, therefore, become in most instances a last resort. For the most part, this attitude is built upon a false notion of the nature of psychiatric treatment. The treatment of mental illness pertains to the science of medidine. Just as there are specialists in the fields of surgery, obstetrics, and internal medicine, so too there are specialists in the area of mental disease. The specialist in this branch of medicine is the psychiatrist. His training, which consists of three years of concentrated study and work with the mentally ill over and beyond his general course in medicine, adequately equips the psychiatrist to treat the mentally ill. His auxiliaries, the psychologiit and psychiatric social worker, likewise have an in- ¯ tensive training; but the orientation of their studies restricts their activity to psychotherapy and diagnostic testing. The religious who .is psychotic or neurotic is just as sick as the religious with a heart or stomach disorder. And he is just as much in need of treatment. He, therefore, has an equal righ~ to the specialized services of those who have been trained to treat his particular disorder. In all probability, unless he does obtain this specialized care, his condition will grow progressively worse. In view of this fact, the emotionally afflicted priest, brother, or sister is certainly justified in making a request for psychiatric care. And in those cases where the mentally ill are unable to make such a request because of their disorder, superiors have the obligation to see that these sick religious obtain specialized treatment. We are all bound to preserve our life and health. Severe mental diseases sometimes hasten death, and in almost every instance undermine physical health. More-over, mental health is equally as important as physical health for happy and efficient living. The superior, therefore, who disregards the condition of a severely neurotic or psychotic sub- 78 March, 1958 RELIGIOUS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY ject because of an erroneous prejudice against psychiatric treat-ment works a gross injustice upon the afflicted religious. Any Psychiatrist? Granted that a religious is given permission to seek psy-chiatric treatme.nt, the next problem that presents itself deals with the particular therapist to whom the religious is sent. In brief, should a priest, brother, or sister seek the services of any psychiatrist? Obviously, some psychiatrists have a'better reputa-tion than others, just as some heart specialists have a better repu-tation than others. Thus, it seems needless to say that religious should seek out the best possible psychiatric treatment available in the area. This means that the therapist should be competent in his profession.One of the foremost characteristics of a com-petent psychiatrist, in addition to knowledge and skill, is a deep understanding and respect for the person of his patient. These two factors result in a relationship between the patient and the therapist that becomes the cornerstone of successful treatment. Understanding and respect naturally include an appreciation of the religious and moral convictions of the patient, since these are an integral part of'his ipersonality. Thus, contrary to the thinking of a number of priests and sisters, the competent psychiatrist does not try to undermine the faith and moral principles of his patient but rather accepts these convictions. He knows that he has had no specialized training in religion and morality which would qualify him as an authority in these areas, Furthermore, he looks upon these areas as foreign to his "function as a professional man. Should a religious problem arise with a patient, he sends the patient to a specialist; namely, the priest who is a trained theologian. Thus, any conflict that might arise between morality and psychiatry is the product of incompetency rather than the natural outcome of the psychotherapeutic process. A Catholic Psychiatrist? One of the questions which is most frequently asked is whether a Catholic should seek the services of a Catholic psy- 79 RICHARD P. VAUGHAN Review for Religious chiatrist in preference to those of a non-Catholic. This question is especially pertinent when one is dealing with a religious who is in. need of psychotherapy. If there is a choice between two psychiatrists who are equally skilled, but one is a Catholic and the other is notl then it would seem that the better choice would be ~he Catholic. The reason for such a choice does not rest upon moral issues, but rather upon the need for full under-standing of the patient. A Catholic psychiatrist is in a much 'better position to understand the religious life and all its implications than the non-Catholic. Thus he is more likely to be able to offer greater assistance to the mentally-ill religious. However, it sometimes happens that a particular non-Catholic psychiatrist has a deep interest in priests, brothers, and nuns and, as a result, has spent considerable time and effort in trying to gain an appreciation of the religious life. In such instances, it may well be that the non-Catholic psychiatrist is equally as well equipped to treat the religious as the Catholic psychiatrist. It should also be noted that the fact that a psychiatrist is a Catholic does not mean that he is a good psychiatrist and capable of treating religious. Some Catholics have little understanding of or sym-pathy for the religious life. In those few cases where religious and moral problems are deeply interwoven with the neurotic co.ndition, the Catholic psychiatrist who is well versed in his faith is in a considerably better position to help the religious patient than the non-Catholic, because he has a better understanding of what his patient is trying to convey to him. It is needless to say that in these instances the priest with training in psychotherapy is in a unique position. Unfortunately, however, there are very few priests who have sufficient skill and experience in psychotherapy. In the majority of psychological problems found among religious, however, faith and mo.rality play a relatively minor role. Generally speaking, the roots of the disorder spring from those periods of life which preceded entrance into the convent 80 March, 1958 RELIGIOUS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY or cloister. The conflicts" and problems that have to be faced are of such a nature as to be experienced by any patient, re-gardless of faith or walk of life. In these instances, psycho-therapy aims at helping religious get at the source of the neurosis and then change the patterns of thinking and feeling that pro-duce the condition. Thus, for many emotionally disturbed religious the non-Catholic psychiatrist who has some under-standing of the religious life is adequately equipped to handle treatment. Conclusion The pr~actice of psychotherapy is a rapidly developing method of treating mental illness. Because of certain negative attitudes and a lack of understanding, many religious hesitate to make use of it or turn to ~t only as a last resort. As a result, numerous priests, brothers, and sisters needlessly continue to suffer untold anguish from the various forms of mental and emotional illness. In as much as mental and emotional dis-turbances disrupt the whole personality and hinder advance in the spiritual life, this usually unfounded distrust of psychiatry is in all likelihood damaging the growth of the religious 'spit:it in our country. Summer Sessions (Continued from page 72) understanding of the teaching of the Church. Further information will be gladly supplied by the Director of Admissions, St. Bona-venture University, Olean, New York. The Theology Department of Mai'quette University will offer two non-credit summer institdtes from June 30 to July 12. An institute on canon law for religious will be conducted by Father Francis N. Korth, S.J., J,C.D., a specialized lecturer and consultant in canon law. The institute will provid~ a thorough course in the current church law for religious. Although the lectures are designed especially for superiors, mistresses of novices, councilors, bursars, and others engaged in administrative or governing functions," other religious would profit from the course. These lectures will be held in the mornings. In the afternoons an institute on prayer will be 81 SUMMER SESSIONS conducted by Father Vincent P. McCorry, s.J, author, professor, and spiritual director. The purpose of the institute is strictly prac-tical: to provide for an interested group such exposition and direction as will enable the individual religious to practice mental prayer with greater fidelity and profit. Campus housing for the institute par-tidipants will be the new Schroeder Hall. For further information write: Director of Summer Institutes, Marquette University, Mil-waukee 3, Wisconsin. Graduate courses in theology leading to the Master of Arts degree will also be offered. The two introductory courses i:or those students entering the graduate theology program are: Fundamental Theology which will be taught by Father Bernard .L Cooke, S.J'., S.T.D., of Marquette University, and the Church of Christ to be conducted by Father Cyril O. Vollert, s.J., S.T.D., professor of theology at St. Mary's, Kansas. For advanced students, The Unity and Trinity of God will 'be taught by Father John J. Walsh, s.J., S~T.D., of Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts; and Father R. A. F. MacKenzie, S.J., S.S.D., of the Jesuit Seminary, Toronto, Canada, will conduct the course on Special Topics in Scripture. For further information about the program write to: The Graduate School, Marquette University, Milwaukee 3, Wisconsin. In the Canadian capital, the Pontifical Catholic University of Ottawa offers courses in its summer school, July 2 to August 6, leadin~ to the degree of Master of Arts in Sacred Studies. The curriculum stresses the kerygmatic presentation ot: theology. It is planned particularly to meet the needs of sisters and brothers teach-ing religion, and of novice mistresses or others giving religious or spiritual instrudtion. These courses are also open to students work-ing toward other degrees. The summer school offers a separate series of courses in sacred studies in which the language of instruc-tion is French. For the sacred studies prospectus and the complete summer school announcement, write: Reverend Gerard Cloutier, O.M.I., Director of the Summer School, or Reverend Maurice Giroux, O.M.I., Head of the Department of Sacred Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa 2, Canada. Immaculate Heart College, Los Angeles, California, will open a iix-week summer session on June 24. An extensive liberal arts program leading to the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees will be supplemented by workshops in art, drama, language arts, and library science. T[fe curriculum of undergraduate courses lead-ing to a Certificate in Theology will be continued this summer. The Immaculate" Heart Graduate School will ina~ugurate a new depart-ment of religious education, offering a major ia theology and minors in Sacred Scripture or church history. Elective courses will be given in Catholic Social Thought and Liturgy. Designed especially to prepare teachers of religion ~•or high school and college, this program .is open to those who hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from an accredited college (with a major in any field) and. have sufficient (Continued on page 128) 82 A Sense Balance Robert ~X/. Gleasonr S.J. IT IS CHARACTERISTIC of Christian doctrine to maintain the delicate balance between extremes. Moreover, without los-ing hold of any aspect of a" complex truth, the Church unites all its elements in a synthesis that throws light on each of them. And the Christian himself is often called upon to do something of the same sort in his spiritual life. He has to tread a careful path between attitudes which are apparently opposed, though each of them reflects some truth. This di~i-culty is sometimes experienced when the Christian soul ap-proaches the antinomy between the natural and the supernatural or between what we migh't call the accent of optimism and the accent of pessimism in Christianity. For both currents, opti-mism and pessimism, have played an historic role in Christian thinking; and both seem destined to be with us for ~quite awhile. Each of these perspectives is capable of dangerous exaggeration', ~for Pelagianism is an overblown optimism and Jansenism is pessimism run riot. As an examl61e of a thoroughly unchristian pessimism, we might point to those words of the French novelist Andr~ Gide: "Commandments of God you have embittered my soul; com-mandments of God you have rendered my soul sick; will you never draw a limit? Will you go on forever forbidding new things? Is all that I have thirsted for as beautiful on earth, forbidden, punishable? Commandments of God you have poisone.d my soul." Gide was a tortured personality, even to the end of his life; and in these lines we can perhaps glimpse a reason for his unhappiness. For they reveal a fundamentally unchristian point of view, a thoroughly pessimistic point of view that perfectly reflects his Calvinistic background. In striking contrast to those lines are two sentences from St. John's Gospel which are almost startling in their optimism. 83 ROBERT W. GLEASON Review for Religious In the tenth chapter of that Gospel, Christ the Lord, the Alpha and Omega of truth, gives us a summary of His plat-form. "I am come that you may have life and have it more abundantly." In this direct utterance Christ enuntiates a posi-tion of relative optimism. He explains the purpose of His existence as Incarnate Word, both God and Man, and He explains it in terms of an increase of life---an optimistic point 'of view, surely. He put it in other words at other times, but they all come down to the same thing in the end. He also said: "Those who are well have no need of a doctor; I am come to the sick." And He said: "I am come to rescue all that which was in the act of perishing." But perhaps the clearest expression of His purpose is that simple declaration: am come that you may have life and have more of it." In that one line Christ compressed the whole spirit of what we might call Christian optimism. It has taken philosophers and theologians a good many years to unravel some of the implica-tions of the program summed up in these few words. God has planned a new life for us; He has planned to expand, to increase our capacity for living beyond any capacity we might have dreamed of. In fact, He has planned for us an entirely new grade of life~-known as the life of sanctifying grace. The story of Christ's coming we usually call the Gospels; and the Gospels, the e.vangels,are the great and good news, the announcement of the definitive victory of this new life over death, over sin, and over Satan. As the whole of human history unfolds before us centered in this momentous figure of Christ in whom God wrote the definitive chapter of the history of our salvation, we cannot but feel the optimistic position in which we Christians of these latter days find ourselves. The victory belongs to the Christian; that is the meaning of Christ. The victory over death, sin, and Satan is ours. Is ours, we must say, not will be ours, for Christ, our Victory, already exists. We have conquered in Him; and 84 Ma~'ch, 1958 A SENSE OF BALANCE the victory is ours for we ,are not separated from the conquering hero, rather we are closely united by physico-mystical ~bonds to Him who has the victory, who won it on Calvary. There is one of our race and family, one of .us, crowned with victory in the glory of the Trinity in heaven. And His victory i.s ours for He did not enter into it as an isolated individual alone, but as the Head of the Body, His Church, .of which we are mem-bers. The Head of the great column o.f humanity to which we belong has already entered upon His triumph; and, if we but remain united to Him, our victory too is assured and inevitable. After the conquest which was Calvary, then, there is really no place in the Christian life for a depressed pessimism. There is no place for a spirit of defeatism. There is no place for a small-spirited, mean-spirited mentality. We are the victors al-ready, and ours is a ~spirit of optimism. Despite this, life still has its dangers and its difficulties. The roses did not lose their thorns on Easter day. Because this is true, the Christian must be realistic about the dangers ~nd the difficulties of life. His traditional asceticism, maintained in a spirit of optimism, will preserve him from both'. But at bottom there still remain two fundamentally opposed ways of looking at life. One we have labeled pessimistic, and Gide's words exemplify it. The other we may call optimistic, and the words of St. John are its charter. The pessimistic attitude is negative. It is a depressed view 6f things ifi wh~ich the vic-torious Redemption which has already taken place appears to be forgotten. It might seem a~ though such an attitude could never creep into authentically Christian li~es, yet, since error is al-ways possible, even for the well-intentioned, such negati~,e at-titudes have not been entirely unknown even among earne'st Christians. It is surprisingly easy t6 drift into these" dangerous waters, particularly if one's theological perspectives are' awry. This will be clear if we think for a moment on the rigfi't and the wro_ng understandings of certain religious realities. 85 ROBERT W. GLEASON Review fo~" Religious Consider, for example, the way in which these two classes of souls, the negative and the positive, approach the great mystery of God. The negative ~oul will light at once upon certain isolated texts from Scripture and come up with a picture of God as a hard Master who reaps where He did not sow, who lies hidden in the shadows of our life, always prepared to fall upon us in a moment of surprise and seize us in some misdoing or sin. The God of these people is a hard God, ready at any moment to drag out the account books and show us our deficits, not omitting the idle words. Alas, if God takes to playing the mathematician, how few of us can endure. For as the De Pro/undis puts it: "Lord, if you take to numbering our in-iquities, who ot: us shall survive?" ,. The attitude of the op.timistic Christian, on the other hand, is quite different. He knows that God is the absolute Lord and Master, the unapproachably holy and just one, the transcendent, the totally.other. But He also recalls God's recorded definition of Himself, "For God is love." St. John gives Us this phrase, and St. John was neither pietistic nor particularly poetic. He was an excellent theologian, the best in this respect of all the evangelists; and his definition is inspired. God' is indeed a just God, but He is als0 a justifying God. He justifies us irz His sight by the free, undeserved gift of His grace. He is indeed a demanding God--"I am a jealous God"--but He is never hard, uncomprehending, or cruel. He is very demanding, and His demands are ever-increasing. But they all go in the same direction. For they all rgquire us to accept more from Him. God insists that we prepare ourselves, with His help, to receive His floods of generosity. He asks us, to be sure, for ~more--more acceptance, more readiness to receive the new gifts He has laid up for us. His demaads are the demands of one who loves, not the demands of a suspicious bank auditor. We see somewhat the same contrasts if we look at the way these two classes of souls regard man himself. For ~he 86 March, 1958 A SENSE OF BALANCE pessimistic soul, man is essentially/ a spoiled creature, a ruined, unbalanced creature all too heavily laden with the effects of original sin. Evil seems so often triumphant in him. Hell is always just around the corner. Satan appears to 'be the real victor in this world, and man is his victim. Man is a poor thing; his nature is fallen. The phrase "fallen human nature" is repeated even with a certain relish. Fallen indeed, but fallen and redeemed, replies the Christian soul. We cannot underrate the Redemption of Christ our God. Satan is not triumphant. His back was broken on a certain hill outside Jerusalem, and the victory of Christ is written large for all to see who have eyes to.look upon a crusifix. Man is no .ruined, spoiled .creature, half-demon and victim of his own determinisms. He is the spoils of the victory of Christ. He is the prize of the Redemption, won in the sweat and the blood and the tears of Calvary and valued at a great price, bought with no blood of oxen or goats, but with the blood of Him who is God. In. the center of :all creation stands Jesus Christ, and with Him stands man. We two, He and I, are members of the same race, members of the same family. Where sin did abound now grace does superabound. Grace it is which replaces sin at baptism and raises us to the heights of quasi-equality, where we can claim the friendship of the God of the Old and the New Testaments. We Christians are a family with a great tradition. We are wounded but remade and more marvelously remade, for God does not do a poor patchwork job when He repairs us. In our family we have legions of martyrs, men like us. We have legions of virgins, men like us. We have legions of con-lessors in our family, and t.hey have all put their merits at our disposal for this is only normal in a loving family. When we turn trrom the question of the meaning of God and of man to the third great problem of the spiritual life, the 87 ROBERT W. GLEASON Review for Religion,s meaning of creatures, we find the same two contrasting attitudes. For the negative, pessimistic soul creatures are all deformed, twisted beings with little value or meaning in themselves. They are only tenuous beings serving us as instruments. In general they are things to be feared, for they are all traps for the unwary soul. They all conspire to ensnare man and to destroy him. But the genuine Christian insight discovers in creatures.a meaning, and a dignity of their own; for they, too, are mirrors of God. The sacred humanity of our Lord is a creature; and, if it is a net, it is a net designed to catch and save us--that I may be caught by Christ, says St. Paul. The wine at Mass and the water at baptism and the oi! of 'confirmation . . . all are creatures. We live in a sacramental universe in which all crea-tures speak of God. For they are the means God has given us to form us as His children. They are called by" a wise and ancient writer "our viaticum," our sustenance during this period when we are on the way. It is on creatures that we practice our apprenticeship in the art of loving God. They do demand of us a wise, lucid, and generous choice; but they 'are not evil. We learn much about loving God from our use of them--a use that can take many forms from contemplation to absention. Creatures always have a role to play in our lives, and we cannot forget that we too have a role to play in theirs. We have to reconsecrate them to God and rededicate them to Christ, the Center and Owner of all cre~turedom. We have to bless them by our use and stamp them with the image of the risen Lord. Does not the Church write special blessings for such shiny new creatures as typewriters and fountain pens? In doing so she resp'onds to the age-old appeal of creaturedom for its redemption. For the very material world about us groans for the day of its liberation, and we are called upon to extend to it the effects of the Redemption.~ 88 March, 1958 ASENSE OF BALANCE Of course, with such different conceptions of the world, the two classes of souls we have been envisaging will regard the moral or spiritual life in very different lights. For the negative soul the moral life is a long battle, a series of prohibitions, an ever-expanding Decalogue that is purely negative. Above all, one must be on his guard to do nothing to .anger a God who is always ready for anger. Do nothing that can be punished . . and there is almost nothing that is not tainted in some fashion, and so punishable. Such a view, replies the truer Christian, is essentially in. adequate. The moral life consists above all in living, in doing something, in being something. It consists in life and an expansion of our divinized life so that we may live for God and gro.w in love and make our talents fructify. Virtues ire not negative dispositions but positive .dispositions. And prime among all the don'ts on that list is the one great and transcendently great do. "Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God." The spiritual life is not one long escapism. It is not a flight from life. It is a positive living of love for God and my neighbor. The Christian soul's apostrophe would run quite differently from Gide's. "Commandments of God," the Christian would say, "you are all so many-signposts on 'the road toward the lasting city; you point out the road to love and of developing life to foolish humanity. And if I but read you right, you are all so many declarations of love on the part of God for me. Commandments of God, you indicate and you preserve all that life has to offer that is beautiful and worthy of search. Without you beauty would dry up from the face of a scorched earth." The pessimist has an unrealistic view of God and the world, for he lives as though the Redemption had an incomplete efficacy. The realism of the Christian's optimism takes into account both his own weakness and the power of God who has conquered the world. The pessimist's view is an incomplete view and an incomplete truth; it needs to be completed with 89 COMMUNICATIONS a real assent to the truth of the Redemption, gloriously accom-plished. For an incomplete truth is a half-truth, and a half-truth is nearly as dangerous as a lie. Communica!:ions More on Delayed Vocations (See REVIEW Fog RELIGIOUS, May', 1957, page 154) Reveiend Fathers: The Congregation of Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus professes a special worship of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, above all in the Blessed Sacrament. This spirit of reparation is concentrated in daily adoration before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and offered in an active apostolate in the education of youth, retreat work, catechetical instruction, and foreign missions. The spiritual training is based on the rules of St. Ignatius. The Handmaids have some sixty houses throughout the world. The mother house is in Rome. Mission work has taken 'root both in South America and in Japan. A future field of work is opening up in India. The foundress of the congregation, Blessed Raphaela Mary oic the Sacred Heart, was beatified in 1952, only twenty-seven years after her death. Her process of canonization is now,going on. Candidates are accepted up to the age of thirty. Those who wish to dedicate themselv'es to domestic work are accepted up to the age of thirty-eight. We accept widows. Our novitiate is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Private retreats, may be made there by a candidate to decide her vocation. Mother Maria Angelica Iq'an, A.C~J. Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 700 East Church Lan~ Philadelphia 44, Pennsylvania OUR CONTRIBUTORS RICHARD P. VAUGHAN, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of San Francisdo and a staff member of the McAuley Clinic, St. Mary's Hospital, is currently engaged, in psychotherapy with religious men and women. ROBERT W. GLEASON is a professor of dogmatic theology in the Graduate School of Fordham University, New York. DANIEL J. M. CALLAHAN is professor of ascetical and mystical theology at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. C. A, HERBST is now a missionary in Seoul, Korea. 9O The Pert:ec(: Pa!:l:ern t:or Religious Lit:e Daniel J. M. Callahan, S.J. DIVINE REVELATION assures us of our elevation to the supernatural state and of'the o.rganism which equips us for life and action on that superhuman level. The question immediately presents itself: Who will inspire us to respond to God's .beneficence and supply the pattern for such a life? God predestines us to be, not creatures only, but His children through adoption and heirs of His beatitude. ~Voblesse oblige; rank has its obligations; nobility of station demands nobility of con-duct. As God's children we should resemble our Father in our conduct no less than in our nature, and such is the injunction placed on us by Christ: "~ou therefore are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48) and resumed by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (5:1): "Be you, there-fore, imitators of God, as very dear children and walk in love, as Christ also loved us." To imitate God we must first know Him, and this is one reason why He has manifested I-Iimself to us. in His Son and through His Son. It is by means of the Incarnation that the Son has revealed to us the Father. Christ, the incarnate Son of the Father, is God brought within human reach under a human expression, and in Him and through Him we know the Father. In reply to Philip's request: "Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us," Jesus said to him, "Have I been so l~ng a time with you, and you have riot knowa Me? t~hilip, he who sees Me, sees also the Father . . . I am in the Fathe.r and the Father in Me" (John 14:8 ft.). To know and imitate God, we have only to know and imitate H~s Son, who i~ the expression at once divine and human of the perfec-tions of the Father. Jesus is perfect God and perfect, man, and under both aspects He is the ideal for every one, for religious most of all. 91 DANIEL J. M. CALLAHAN Review for Religio~ts He is the natural Son of Go,d, and it is His divine sonship that is the primary type or pattern of our divine adoption. Our filiation is a participation of His eternal filiation; through Him and from Him we share in divine grace, are in reality God's children and partake of His life. Such is to be the fundamental characteristic of our likeness to Jesus, the indispensable requisite for our sanctity. Unless we possess sanctifying grace, we are dead spiritually; and all that we can do is of no strict merit entitling us to our everlasting inheritance. We shall be coheirs with Christ only if we are His brethren through habitual grace. Here it may not be amiss to examine our appraisement of sanctifying grace, our prudence in safeguarding it, and our diligencd in its increment in our souls. Do we ~ippreciate its embellishing effects and how unlovely and helpless we are with-out it? Mortal sin alone despoils us of this precious treasure; and, because we are subject to temptation from within and from without, it is expedient, at least occasionally, to probe our atti-tude to sin, to the frailties and perhaps unmortified passions that induce it, and to the constructive measures to be adopted. Growth is the law of life, and it is through the cultivation of the theological and moral virtues that we are to fortify and expand our supernatural life. . Every least good action per-formed with the requisite intention by one in the state of grace, as well as every sacrament worthily received, effects in us an iricrease in grace and in all the infused virtues. Christ is in truth a perfect man, and in this He is for us the attractive and accessible model of all holiness. In an in-comparable degree" He practiced all the virtues compatible with His condition. He did not have faith in God, for this theo-logcal virtue exists only in a soul which does not enjoy the immediate vision of God, a vision that was Christ's privilege from the mbment of the Incarnation. He did, however, have that submission of will inherent in faith, that reverence and adoration of God the supreme truth that imparts to faith its excellence. Neither did Christ possess the virtue of hope in the proper sense, 92 March, 1958 PATTERN FOR RELIGIOUS LIFE since the function of this 'virtue is to enable us to ddsire and'to expect the possession of God and the means necessary for its attainment. Only in the sense that Christ could desire and expect the glorification of His body and the accidental honor that would accrue to Him after the Resurrection, could He have hope. Charity He possessed and practiced to a supreme degree: the purest love of the Father and of His adopted children in-undated His soul and motivated His activities. Love unites the wills of the lovers, fusing them into oneness of desire and con-duct. Christ's first act in entering into the world was one of ardent love: "Behold I come . . . to do Thy will, O God" (Matt. 10:7), and His subsequent life was the prolongation of His initial sacrifice: "Of Myself I do nothing He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, because I do always the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:26 ft.). Our Blessed Lord's soul was adorned with all the moral vir-tues: humility, meekness, kindness, patience, prudence, jus-tice, temperance, chastity, fortitude, zeal, each in its own per-fection. His every least action glorified and eulogized His Father, and was the object of the latter's complacency, as voiced by Himself: "This is My beloved Son in whom I am ~ell pleased" (Matt. 3:17), a proclamation which covered everymome.nt and every deed of Christ's life. His actions as man, while in them-selves human, were divine in their principle, for there was in Him only one person, a divine person, performing all in union with the Father and in the most complete dependence on the divinity and therefore confdrring on the Father infinite glory. Religious, obligated by their state to strive for perfection, have need of an ideal, of a perfect pattern to be realized in their lives. Mere human beings are too imperfect. God in His divine nature seems too distant from us and beyond our repro-duction. The God-man is the consummate ideal for all, at all times, for childhood, youth, maturity; for the hidden, public, apostolic, and suffering life. There is no phase of human life' which He does not exemplify, illustrate, adorn, and enoble. 93 DANIEL J. i~I. CALLAHAN Review fo~" Religious Far from resembling the cold blueprint of the architect or the lifeless page of our favorite author, Jesus is always the most attractive and appealing man who lived in circumstances similar to our own; and, while He enlightens our mind, He awakens love and emulation in the will, meanwhile offering the necessary strength and the assurance of ultimate success. In our endeavor to fashion a Christlike character, obviously there is need of intelligent interpretation. As we turn over the pages of our New Testament, often we read of deeds that were the outcome of superhuman power and clearly beyond us. However, even in such instances we can fall back on the spirit and motive of these achievements. Christ used His infinite ¯ power, not for His selfish aggrandizement, but for the honor of the Father and the benefit of souls--a procedure within our finite reach and sedulously to be duplicaked. In our attempt to imitate Christ we are constrained by the nature of the case to reduce His traits to terms of human capability. We cannot, for instance, forgive sins against God; but we can pardon offences against self. We are unable immediately to cure the sick, but we can alleviate their sufferings by sympathy and kind-ness. We may not be permitted to spend the night on the mountain in prayer with Jesus, but we can cultivate the spirit of communion with God amidst our activities throughout the day and pray with attention when we do pray. We may not be in a position to teach with authority, but we can say a salutary word of instruction and counsel when occasion offers. We may not hope to die for mankind, but we can sacrifice our-selves for the convenience and happiness of our fellow religious. 'We are not called on to undergo the scourging and the crown-ing with thorns, but we are expected to endure a little pain or accept a humiliation without becoming ill-tempered and render-ing others miserable. We cannot redeem the world from sin, but we can exercise zeal in promoting the fruits of the redemp-tion by shunning sins ourselves and prudently doing what may be feasible to draw our neighbor to a better life. Thus, every- 94 March, 1958 PATTERN FOR RELIGIOUS LIFE where we can reduce our Lord's example to the humbler terms of ordinary life; and, out of the result, together with appropriate precepts from His moral teaching, we can construct for our-selves an ideal which, ever haunting our minds, is to be pon-dered and realized, or at least aspired to systematically in shap-ing our lives. "A Christian is another Christ" applies with' additional force to every religious. These have dedicated their lives to Jesus in order to share through sanctifying grace in His divine filiation and to reproduce by their virtues the features of His asceticism. To ambition a career so sublime, far frora being presumption, is God's eternal design for them and His sincere will Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). Such is the pattern faith proposes to us, truly transcendent and yet easy of access, since through grace we share in the divine filiation of Christ and our activity is supernaturalized. Clearly we keep our personality, remaining by nature merely human creatures. Our union with God, however intimate, is accidental, not substantial; but it in-creases in perfection the more the autonomy of our personality, in the order of activity, is effaced before the divine. If we "desire to intensify our intimacy to the extent that nothing interposes between God and us, we are to renounce not only sin and willfdl imperfection, but moreover we are to despoil ourselves of our personality in so far as it obstructs perfect union. It is such an obstacle when our self-will, our inordinate self-love, our suscepti-bilities lead us to think and to behave otherwise than in accord-ance with the divine will. The habitual attitude of soul which wills to keep in everything the proprietorship of its activities seri-ously hampers familiarity with God. We must, therefore, bring our personality to a complete capitulation before Him and make Him the supreme, mover of our thoughts, volitions, words, and actions, entire life. Only when we have divested ourselves of our excessive attachment to self and to other creatures, in order to surrender ourselves to God in absolute dependence on His good 95 DANIEL J. M. CA~LAHAN pleasure, shall we have attained to the perfect imitation of Christ and be able to say with St. Paul: "It is now no longer I that live, but Chrisf lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not cast away the grace of God" (Gal. 2:20-21). And we should apply to ourselves his plea to the Romans (12:.I): "I exhort you therefore brethren, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, pleasing to God, your spiritual se~rvice. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed in the newness of your mind, that you may discern what is the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God." Christ is the head of the Mystical Body of which we are the members, and there should be identity of life and conduct in both. He has merited for us the courage and strength ¯ requisite; and divine revelation assures us that with Him, in Him, and through Him we are competent to travel the one and only way to the Father. Our persevering endeavor consequently should be to know Christ more thoroughly and more intimately through prayer, study, and our manner of life: "He who has My command-ments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. But he who loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). Love issues from knowledge, and love adjusts our daily conduct to that of Jesus. This was the mind of St. Paul when he reminded his converts of Ephesus that they were to be: "No longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine devised in the wicked-ness of men, in craftiness, according to the wiles of error. Rather are we to practice the truth in love and to grow up in all things in Him who is the head, Christ . Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man which has been created acdording to God in justice and holiness of truth" (Eph. 4:14- 24). To accomplish in us this transformation is the precise pur-pose for which Jesus comes to us in Holy Communion. 96 The MighI: o1: C. A. I-.lerberI:, S.J. A meditation made at sea enroute to the Korean missions AS THE S. S. Fair/~ort plows her way through the wild Pacific a few thousand miles out of San Francisco, the thought that strikes one forcefully is the thought of the might of God. Religious seem not to emphasize this attribute of God so much, seem almost to de-emphasize it, in fact. It is rather God's love and mercy that occupy their thoughts and prayers. Yet in God's mind and in that of His Church, His almighty power stands out. "I believe in God, the Father. al-mighty, Creator of heaven and earth." The creator-creature relationship is most fundamental to all religion. Only the Al-mighty can create. In the creed, both in and outside of Mass, "almighty" is the only attribute of God mentioned at all. And how often the official prayer of the Church begins with "al-mighty!" The Old Testament is full of almighty God, the God of armies, and very, very often the God of the sea. As I sit here on the boat-deck reading the Invitatorium of the Office I pray: "His is the sea: for He made it" (Ps. 94:5). Only He could. One realizes that more and more as one looks out or~ the vast circle of water stretching away to the horizon in every direction. Yet those are only a few of the seventy million square miles of the Pacific. God reaches from end to end of it mightily, up-holding every particle of it by the word of His power. A great artist works miracles with his brush and a little pair~t. He tries to imitate nature. What a masterpiece the almighty Artist creates in each sunset at sea! Tonight, Hallo-ween, I watch the sun sink into mountains of gold and silver clouds and make the whole ocean a cauldron of blazing gold. There is no imitation of nature by this Artist; He is at play 97 C. A. HF_~BST Review for Religious creating the most exquisite origina!. The more delicate shades and colors come. as the evening deepens. This is the time for the most loving and awesome thoughts of God. Somehow, on this particular night, I cannot help thinking of the little lights flickering on each grave in southern Austria on All Souls' eve. As the last rich violet cloud is absorbed into the night up north toward Siberia, I think of the suffering, silenced Church behind the iron curtain. The moon is high in the east now, building a silvery bridge to the Philippines three thousand' miles from here. The shep-herdess of the night is queen over her flock of woolpack clouds. She is a type of Mary, our queen, reflecting the light of her Son as the moon does. The stars seem so near and companion-able out here so far away from home and everyone. The big-gest and brightest are the ones we long to see in the crown encircling the head of the Artist's virgin mother. We constantly hear of the power and destructive force of typhoons. We are running into the typhoon area now. Again, we are reminded of the might of God: God of old came in the whirlwind. We struck south several hundred miles in order to get away from the wild weather the equinox brings to the north Pacific but ran into a gale. As the wind thunders through the gear fore and howls through the rigging aft and one sees the angry ocean all around, one feels very small and helpless. The largest ship is a tiny toy in an angry ocean. It is good to be at peace with the Almighty out here. I think of the heavy toll the ocean has taken. How many a guardian angel has had to plead the cause of his charge in these depths! Perhaps the angel of the Pacific helped him. Countries have their angels to watch over them, the Scripture says. Should not these boundless waters have one, too? The Far East radio network out of Tokyo is telling us these days of the troubles in Egypt and the sinking of ships in the Suez Canal. Their number is zero compared with the burden 98 Marck, 1958 THE MIGHT OF GOD this north Pacific bears. What are the secrets of the sea? They have always enticed man. But to them again only the almighty mind of God can reach. One of the mates says there are eight thousand feet of water under this ship; ahead of us there are forty thousand and more. What lies down there and what goes on down there only God knows. Uncounted ships and men have perished here. Here the almighty Judge sat enthroned to pass the sentence of justice and mercy on many a lonely,child of God since Pearl Harbo.r struck. Only He and this restless, silent ocean know the anguish of those-days. Time means nothing to the great timeless One. But its mystery, too, confuses us. We have just crossed the one hundred and eightieth meridian and passed from Monday to Wednesday. There will be no Tuesday for us this week. But for us time is the stuff of which we make our eternity. God gave it to us for that and it goes by quickly. For wasted time and every idle thought we shall have to give an account. Such an occasion as this is like the year's ending. It gives us pause for some serious thinking on the value of time. Here one is impressed by almighty God's providence, too. Large albatross-like birds, "gooney birds" the seamen call them, have been following the ship since San Francisco. For hundreds, even thousands of miles now, they have been following: soaring, soaring all the while, never flying or exerting themselves. Beauti-fully colored little birds appear, too, just out of nowhere, catch-ing insects and feeding, then resting on the water. They are very content ' and carefree. ~At night they sleep on the sea. Naturally there come to mind some of the most consoling words the almighty Christ spoke in the Magna Carta He gave His Church: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they?" (Matt. 6:26). A school of porpoises went sporting by today. Their omnipotent Father has given them a happy disposition. They 99 C. A. HERBST are playful and friendly to men, yet are one of the few watery creatures a shark holds in dread. Then a whale went spouting by: big, showy, always attracting attention, but terrible, too, in his way, and almost the hero of the sea since Moby Dick. How big the Almighty has made him, the largest of all known animals, to supply so many products for man! In the evening, as I say the fifth glorious mystery, the Coronation of Offr Blessed Mother Queen,of Heaven, I look up into the big comfortable-looking clouds "over the East China Sea towards Nanking and Shanghai. I wonder what our Lady of China is thinking about tonight. A missionary to China wrote: "Our men are still rotting in Shanghai. They really must be suffering now because the winters in Shanghai are grim." Mary was assumed and crowned for China, too, even for today's China. This evening we are slipping through the East China Sea toward Korea. Off to the right over fifty miles of beautiful blue water to the northe~tst lie Nagasaki and Nagasaki Hill, the hill of the martyrs. Again I think ~f the might of God: how these poor frail men needed His .almighty arm to support them in the terrible torment they had to undergo. Three hundred years later came to the same spot a manifestation of might of another kind; August, 1945, brought the atom bomb that smashed this same Nagasaki to pieces. The power of God, at work in the death of the martyrs and the fissure of the atom, is also bringing a second spring to the Church in Japan. As we pass among the countless rocky islands along the west coast of Korea, mighty China lies four hundred miles to the west over the Yellow Sea. Its iron curtain closes her to Christ toda~ as her exclusiveness made her impenetrable to St. Francis Xavier four hundred years ago. But all things are pos-' sible to almighty God. The length of His arm is not shortened. The exquisite sunrise over the hills around Inchon Bay at the end of this voyage seems like a promise that in these Far Eastern lands the might of God will bring forth a rich harvest. I00 Survey oJ: Roman Document:s R. F. Smlth~ S.J. IN THE FOLLOWING pages there will be given a survey of the documents which appeared in the ~cta /Ipostolicae Se~/z's (AAS) during the months of October and Novem-ber, 1957. Throughout the article all page references will be. to the 1957 AAS (v. 49). Motion Pictures, Radio, and Television Under the date of September 8, 1957 (AAS, pp. 765-805), the Holy Father issued a lengthy encyclical which, is entitled IVIiranda/~r~rsus and which treats of the mass communication arts of the contemporary world. After an introduction wherein he gives the reasons why the Church must be interested in the matter of movies, radio, and television and outlines a brief history of previous papal documents on the subject, Pius XII begins the main body of the encyclical, dividing it into four principal parts which treat in succession the following topics: general norms for the movies, radio, and television; the movies; the radio; television. In developing the first principal part of the encyclical, the ViCar of Christ points out that God who communicates all good things to men has also. desired that men themselves share in the power of communication; human communication, therefore, is an activity which of its very nature possesses nobility and if evil is found in it, that evil can come only from the" misuse of human freedom. Because true human freedom demands that men use for themselves and communicate to others whatever augments vir-tue and perfection, it follows that the Church, the state, and the private individual have the right to use the communication arts for their differing purposes. It is blameworthy, however, to maintain that these arts may be utilized for the dissemination 101 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious of matter that is contrary to sound~mora!ity, provided only ~hat the laws of art are observed. Human art, the Pontiff remarks, need not perform a specifically ethical or religious function; nevertheless, if it leads men to evil, then it corrupts its own nobility and departs from its first and necessary principle. To avoid such evils the Church, the state, and the communication industries should cooperate with each other in working for the attainment of the legitimate goals of the communication arts; this is particularly necessary in the case of the cinema, the radio, the television, for each of these arts is a remarkably effective way of large scale communication. Motion pictures, radio, and television, the Pontiff points out, must first bf all serve the truth by. avoiding the false and the erroneous; they must also aim at the moral p'erfecting of their audience, and this especially in th~ case of those enter-tainment programs where vivid scenes, dramatic dialogue, and music are united and which, by appealing to the whole man, induce him to identify himself with the scene being presented. The power of these communication arts to affect the whole man together with the fact that these arts are destined not for a select audience but foi ~he great masses of the people leads the Holy Father to consider solutionsto the moral problems connected with these arts. He accordingly proposes three practical means by which the mass audience can be led to pass a mature judgment on the products of the communication arts and to escape being carried away uncritically by their superficial attractiveness. The first of these means is that of education, whereby men will be given the artistic and moral norms by which the products of communication arts can be ~orrectly evaluated. Accordingly, the Holy Father expresses the desire that training in the right .appreciation of motion pictures, radio, and television be in-cluded in schools of every kind, in associations of Catholic Action, and in parish activities. The second means is that care be taken that young people should not be exposed to programs 102 March, .I958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS which can harm them psychologically and morally. The third means is that in each country the bishops should set up a na~ tional office for the supervision of motion pictures, radio, and television. The second principal part of the encyclical then considers the problems of motion pictures in particular. The bishops should see. to it that the national office of supervision imparts needed advice and information concerning the movies and moral evaluations of current films should be published. The faithful should be reminded of their obligations to inform themselves of the decisions of ecclesiastical authorities ~ith re-gard to films. All those connected with the movie industry, from the exhibitor to the director and the producer, must be mindful of their duty of fostering morally wholesome produc-tions. Finally, the Holy Father urges that the approval and t.he applause of the. general public be generously given as a reward to those motion pictures that are really worthwhile. The third principal part of the encyclical concerns the radio. Listeners should admit into their homes, only programs which encourage truth and goodness. National Catholic offices for radio should attempt to keep the public informed of the nature of radio programs, and listeners should make known to radio stations and chains their preferences and criticisms. The bishops are encouraged by the Holy Father to increase the use of radio for apostolic and doctrinal purpose~, taking care, however, that such programs meet the highest artistic and technical, standards. The fourth part of the encyclical concerns itself with tele-vision which, among other advantages, has that of inducing members of the family to stay at home together. The obliga-tions with regard to television are the same as for the movies and for radio. In the conclusion to his encyclical the Holy Father encour-ages priests to acquire a sound knowledge of all questions per-taining to motion pictures, radio, and television; moreover, as 103 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious far as it is possible and usefu!, they should utilize these aids for their pastoral work. The same subject matter of the communication arts was the topic of the Pontiff's talk on October 27, 1957 (AAS, pp. 961-65), on the occasion of the blessing of the new quarters for the Vatican radio. In the course of his talk the Vicar of Christ pointed out that radio furnishes Christians a new means' for the better fulfillment of the command to preach the gospel to every creature; and he expressed the hope that the new and more powerful.radio station of the Vatican will prove a new bond of unity among the Christian community, since by its aid more peoples will be able to hear the voice of the Vicar of Christ. To Seminarians and Religious On September 5, 1957 (AAS, pp. 845-49), the Pope addressed a group of students from the minor seminaries of France. After encouraging them to look forward to their priesthood with the greatest of eagerness, he praised their clas- " sical studies as an unrivaled means of' developing penetration of judgment, largeness of outlook, and keenness of analysis. The Pontiff concluded his talk to the seminarians by extolling the value of minor seminaries for the good of the whole Church. On July 30, 1957 (AAS, pp. 871-74), the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious published an important decree, M'ilitare servitium, which henceforth will be the controlling legislation in the matter of religious who must undergo military service for at least six months. Full and exact knowledge of all the provisions of the decree can be obtained only by a direct study of the docu-ment, and no more than the principal points of the legislation will be noted here. According to the decree perpetual vows may not be taken unless a religious has already served his required time in the armed forces or unless it is certain that a given religious is immune from such service. During milit.ary sekvice temporary vows are suspended, though in given-cases the major superior can allow a religious to retain his vow~ during such service. 104 March, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS In either case, however, the person involved remains a member of his religio~s institute and under the authority of its superiors. One whose vows are suspended during the period of mili-tary service may leave religion •luring that time according to the norms of canon 637, provided that he has declared his intention of leaving to superiors either in writing or orally in the presence of witnesses. The decree also gives directives concerning temporal possessions acquired during the time of military service and stipulates that between the conclusion of military service and the taking'of perpetual vows there must be a probation period which generally should not be less than three months. The final provision of the decree is to extend the above legislation, where applicable, to all societies liging in common, but without vows. The same Congregation of Religious issued on March 12, 1957 (AAS, pp. 869-71), a decree giving the norms for aggre-gation to the pontifical institute Re~ina 2V~undi. (For the nature and purpose of this institute, see REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, January, 1957, p. 25.) Aggregation places a house of studies of religious women under the patronage of the institute Regina Mun~/~" and allows the house the right to confer pontifical diplomas, with the reservation that the highest diploma can be granted only to those students who have studied at least one year at Regina 2"V~unc/i. The decree concludes by noting that a house of studies may acquire a special relationship to Regina 2V~unc/i by reason of a special act of recognition, which, how-ever, does not give the house the right to confer pontifical diplomas. By an apostolic letter dated December 27, 1956 (AAS, pp. 889-94), the Holy Father united the two parts of the Order of the Daughters of Mary Our Lady' under the new title, Order of the Company of the Daughters of Mary Our Lady. Two documents of the period surveyed were addressed to religious orders of men. The first was a letter from His 105 SMITH Review fo~" Religfous Holiness to Very Reverend Michael Browne, Master General of the Order of Preachers. Written on the occasion of the seven hundreth anniversary of the death of St. Hyacinth, the letter proposes the saint as a clear image of the apostolic work entrusted to the Dominican order. On September 10, 1957 (AAS, pp. 806-12), the Pope addressed the members of the general congregation of the Society of Jesus, recalling to their attention their ideals of loyalty and obedience to the Holy See. He urged superiors to be vigilant in their care for re-ligious observance and discipline. The Pontiff insisted on the need for austerity of life to be manifested especially by an observance of poverty involving not only a dependance upon superiors but a moderate use of temporal things and the priva-tion of many comforts. In conclusion the Vicar of Christ insisted, to his listeners upon the need to retain the Society's traditional monarchical form of government. For Laymen and Laywomen A large number of the documents published in AAS during October-November, 1957, were devoted to the role of the laity in the .life of the Church today. In a radio message deliv-ered September 15, 1957 (AAS, pp. 854-57), to the faithful present at the Marian shrine of Mariazell in Austria, the Holy Father touched briefly on the subject of the urgenc.y of the lay apostolate in the Church today; three weeks later on Oc-tober 5, 1957 (AAS, pp. 922-39), th.e same topic formed the subject matter of the long and important allocution which the Pope delivered to the Second World Congress for the Lay. Apostolate. The Pontiff began his allocution by framing and answering the question whether a layman who has an ecclesi-astical mandate to teach religion, and whose professional work is almost exclusively such teaching does not therefore pass from the lay apostolate to the "hierarchical" apostolate. The Holy Father replies to the query in the negative, for the layman possesses neither the power of orders 'nor that of jurisdiction. It is interesting to note that at the end of this part of the allocu- 106 Marck, 1958 .ROMAN DOCUMENTS tion the Holy Father refers to the possibility of re:establishing in the Church deacons who would have no intention of going on for the priesthood. His Holiness does not show himself unsympathetic to this idea, but nevertheless notes that the times are not yet ready for such a practice. The Pontiff continues by noting that it is wrong to dis-tinguish in the Church a purely active element (ecclesiastical authorities) and a p.urely passive element (the laity), for all the members of the Church are called to collaborate in the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ. Even apart from a scarcity of priests, the work of the laity is necessary, for the task of the "consecration of the world" is essentially the work of laymen, intimately associated as they are with the economic, social, political, and industrial life of the world. In showing the relations between the lay apostolate and Catholic Action the Pontiff begins by saying that the lay apostolate is the performance by the laity of tasks which derive from the mission given the Church by Christ. Accordingly, the apostolat~ of prayer and personal example and the Christian practice of one's profession are lay apostolates only in a wide sense of that word; the Pontiff emphasizes, however, that lay Christians who exercise their professions in an exemplary fashion perform an activity that is comparable to the best kind of lay apostolate in the stric~ sense of the word. Catholic Action, the Pope remarks, always bears the char-acter of an official apostolate of laymen. It cannot, however, claim for itself a monopoly of the lay apostolate, for alongside of Catholic Action there always remains the free lay apostolate. In this connection the Holy Father discusses a possible change in terminology and structure which may eventually be put into effect. According to this plan the term. "Catholic Action" would be used only in a generic, sense to signify the sum of organized lay apostolates recognized on the national level by the bishops or by the Holy See on the international level. Each individual movement would then be designated by its own proper and 107 R. F. SM~ Review for Religious specific name and not by the generic term "Catholic Action.;' Each bishop would remain free to admit or reject such or such an individual movement, but he would not be free to reject it on the grounds that of its nature it Was not Catholic Action. Observing that not all Christians are called to the lay apos-tolate in the strict sense of the word, the Pope then notes that the lay apostles will always form an elite, not indeed because they stand apart from others, but precisely because they can influence others. As such, they need to be given a serious formation; and this training of lay apostles should be taken care of by organizations within the lay apostolate itself, though diocesan and religious priests, secular institutes, and women religious should assist in this formation. The final part of the allocution is devoted to a detailed consideration of the many areas where lay apostles are urgently needed today; and the Roman Pontiff concludes his allocution by urging his listeners to conquer the world, but only by the weapons of Christ. On ~ugust 25, 1957 (AAS, pp. 837-45), His Holiness addressed thirty thousand members of the Young Catholic Workers. He spoke of his audience as a great hope for the Christian regeneration of the world and urged them to re-establish the Christian notion of work as the personal act of a son of God and of a brother of Christ for the service of God and of the human community. On September 29, 1957 (AAS, pp. 906-22), the Holy Father addressed the Fourteenth International Congress of the World Union of Catholic Organizations of Women, speaking on the mission and apostolate of women. Women's apostolate, he notes, must be rooted in the tru.th, that she comes from God; that she is an image of God;" and that h'er everlasting destiny is God. Not only has God created woman, He has also given her her proper physical and psych!cal structure. 108 March, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS She has been given the gifts which permit her to transmit not only physical life, but also qualities of a spiritual and moral nature---and this not only to the children she bears, but to social and cultural life in general. In married life woman expresses the gift of oneself; this symbolization, however, of self-giving receives a higher form in consecrated virginity, for there her giving is more total, more pure, and more generous. Moreover, the Pope continues, woman belongs to Christ; accordingly no form of heroism or sanctity is inaccessible to her. This belonging of woman to Christ attains its perfect realization in the Blessed Virgin. If actual life sometimes reveals to what depths of evil woman can descend, Mary shows how woman in and through Christ can be raised above all .created things. In the exercise of the apostolate, says the Pontiff, woman finds herself in a welter of ideas, opinions, tendencies, and systems. She needs, therefore, a guide and a norm of judg-ment and action; and this she will find in the Church which is the guardian and interpreter of divine revelation. The aposto-late of woman, concludes the Holy Father, even when rooted in the above truths, will remain largely ineffective, unless it is inspired by a deep love of God that flows over into a universal and fruitful activity which seeks to bring all men into one fold under one pastor. In an allocution given on September 16, 1957 (AAS, pp. 898-904), the Vicar of Christ gave a moving allocution on the nature of Christian widowhood. The Church, he ob-served, does not condemn second marriages; neve~rtheless she has a special love for those who remain faithful to their spouses and to the perfect symbolism of marriage. Christian widow-hood is based on the conviction that death does not destroy the human and supernatural love of marriage, but rather per-fects and strengthens it. Doubtless after~death the juridical institution of marriage does not exist;¢~but that which con- 109 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious situted the soul of the marriage--conjugal love--still continues in existence, for it is a spiritual reality. If the sacrament of marriage is a symbol of the redemptive love of Christ for the Church, it may be said that widowhood is a symbol of the Church militant deprived of the visible presence of Christ, but nevertheless indefectibly united to Him. Socially too the widow has a definite mission to perform, for she participates in the mystery of the cross and the gravity of her comportment should show the message she carries: she is one who has through sorrow gained entrance to a more serene and supernatural world. "In times of trial and discourage-ment the Christian widow should strengthen herself by the thought of the Blessed Virgin who lived as a widow during the early years of Christianity and who by her prayer, interior life, and devotion called down divine blessings on the infant com-munity. Miscellaneous Matters By a decree of July 1, 1957 (AAS, pp.'943-44), the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments announced that local ordinaries need no longe~ send an annual report to the congre-gation concerning the number of confirmations conferred in their territories by extraordinary ministers of that sacrament. On October 7, 1957 (AAS, pp. 954-58), the Holy Father spoke to a group of sick persons reminding them that they do not suffer alone, for Christ lives in them and makes of them in a real but mysterious sense tabernacles of His presence; moreover, they must complete the Passion of Christ by their suffering and the offering of their pain can preserve the in-nocence of many, recall sinners to the right path, assist the indecisive, and reassure the troubled. In a message dated August 5, 1957 (AAS, pp. 857-61), His Holiness wrote to a group of teachers meeting at Vienna that the Catholic teacher who perfectly exercises his profession I10 March, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS performs an activity which is equal to the best lay apostolate', adding that this is true of those who teach in Catholic schools and almost more so of those teaching in non-Catholic schools. In a later letter dated September 18, 1957 (AAS, pp. 830-36), and directed to Cardinal Siri, President of the Italian Council of Social Weeks, the Pope urged the necessity of protecting the human values of rural life and stressed the need for an increase of faith in agricultural areas. On November 4, 1957 (AAS, pp. 966-69), the Holy Father addressed the parliamen-tary representatives of the European Coal and Steel Authority, congratulating them on the success of their work and expressing the wish that their accomplishments may lead to a greater federation ofEurope. On September 8, 1957 (ASS, pp. 849- 53), His Holiness addressed a group of dentists, showing a competent grasp of the latest phases of dentistry and manifest-ing a delightfully human side of his personality by his solicitude for children who suck their thumbs or bite their nails and by' his hope that the newly discovered method of painless drill-ing of teeth may prove to be really effective. The Sacred Consistorial Congregation issued three decrees by which it canonically established military xiicariates in Argen-tina (AAS, pp. 866-68), in Belgium (AAS, pp. 940-43), and in the United States (AAS, pp. 970-73). The Sacred Con- ¯ gregation of Seminaries and Uni~iersities by a decree of July 28, 1957 (AAS, pp. 975-77), canonically erected De Paul University, Chicago, as a Catholic University according to the norm of canon 1376; moreover, the faculty of music of the same institution was a~liated to the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. Finally, by the same decree the metropolitan archbishop of Chicago was made grand chancellor of De. Paul Catholic University. In the last document to be noted, an apostolic letter of May 9, 1957 (AAS, p. 823), the Holy Father announced the inauguration of an apostolic internhntia-ture for the country of Ethiopia. 111 Book Reviews [Material for this department should be sent to Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] MARIOLOGY, VOL. II. Edited by Juniper B. Carol, O.F.M. Pp. 606. The Bruce Publishing Company, 400 North Broadway, Milwaukee 1. 1957. $9.50. This second volume of a most ambitious trilogy on Marian theology contains fourteen articles by some of America's leading theologians. The treatment is scholarly; the articles are well docu-mented; proofs are advanced soberly in an attempt to shed light, not generate heat. . Primarily a reference work, Mariology, Vol. II, covers the major fea'tures of Marian dogma: Mary s-- predestination, divine maternity, perpetual virginity, fullness of grace, knowledge, universal queenship, etc. Among the better parts of the volume are Father Cyril Vollert's two introductory essays, "The Scientific Structure of Mariology" and "The Fundamental Principle of Mariology." The latter serves as a natural basis for some of the articles that follow. Father John Bonnefoy's article "The Predestination of Our Blessed Lady" and Father Gerald Van Ackeren's "The Divine Mother-hood" should provoke discussion and stimulate theological specula-tion among readers of the book. The latter article contains a brief interesting account of modern Protestantism's attitude toward the Mother of God which is worthy of study. Since the volume's bent is less devotional than scientific, the reader should not expect from it what the editor and his contributors did by no means intend. This second volume offers the reader considerable insight into the past progress and present status of the science of Mariology; it makes a distinct, and quite co~ivincing, apology for Mariology's place in the traditional theological dis-ciplines. Religious and priests will especially profit from a thoughtful reading of the book. Seminarians and teachers will find in it a concise and ready reference work on the more important tenets of Marian dogma as it has developed to this day. But for the study of Marian devotion we must await Volume III. To prove the numerous theses presented in Mariology, Vol. II, the individual authors invoke the Church's magisterium, Scripture, tradition, and theological reasoning--the traditional approach. The 112 BOOK REVIEWS general method of presentation is excellent; it is orderly and clear. If there be a flaw in this mode of argumentation, it will probably be found in the scriptural interpretations advanced by some of the theo~ logians in this volume. Quite briefly, they fail to convince. This is especially true of the treatment given the oft-invoked text of Genesis 3:15, which, according to Father Wenceslaus Sebastian, refers to Mary alone "and that in the strict literal sense" (p. 355). The case for Mary's prerogatives as found in the Old Testament seems in this article--fis well as in some others--to be somewhat overstated. But these are slight blemishes on the canvas. No better reason for this entire series can be assigned than that employed in a more specific context by Father Francis Connell. At the conclusion" of his article on Mary's knowledge, he asserts: "And so it is not unprofitable to seek some definite ideas on Mary's knowledge, since a study of this kind helps us to understand the sub-lime dignity of the Mother of God and inspires us to be more ready to seek through her intercession the wisdom and the understanding that we need in the journey of life" (p. 324). What Father Connell remarks about Mary's knowledge may legitimately be predicated of the other facets of her unique personality and character, about which a volume such as this affords us all the opportunity to learn more and more.--THo.x~AS G. SAVAGE, S.J. MANUAL FOR NOVICES. By Felix D. Duffey, C.S.C. Pp. 232. B. Herder Book Company, 15 South Broadway, St. Louis 2. 1957. $3.50. Father Duffey is to be congratulated on his book Manual for Novices. As the title indicates, the book is written primarily for novices and those who have the care of novices; but it is pertinent, profitable, and of interest even to those formed religious who have been away from the novitiate training for a number of years. Is not a good treatment of the vows always a welcome book for our spiritual reading! Manual for Novices is geared to a better understanding of the three vows and their corresponding virtues, which we know to be the essence of the religious life. Father Duffey's thesis is that novices should be carefully schooled in the science of the vows; they should know what the vows entail, what is demanded by the rules and con-stitutions that they might enter the life of the vows with "minds pre-pared." Thus the novitiate is a place where the novice is to form 113 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious the proper religious attitudes, where each novice has ample time to test himself and to be tested to see if he can live the life of the vows. It is a time to consider and pray over the great privileges and duties of being a vowed laborer with Christ; /~ time to examine his intention and motives and even to purify them if necessary; the novitiate is a time to understand himself as he has never understood himself before and establish a correct hierarchy of valui~s based on Christ, the model of the vows. Father Duffey tries to give, and quite successfully too, the moral and canonical demands of the vows together with a doctrinal back-ground and ascetical incentive for the faithful living out of the vows. He emphasizes over and over again that the vows are a supernatural way of life led in imitation of Christ; they are something positive, and not a series of "suffocating denials" nor a legalistic ladder to heaven. The living of the vows gives the religious freedom from creatures to do God's will. It is on this positive character of the vows that novices should fix their minds and hearts, for it is the vows that permeate the whole day of the religious! The-book is well planned. There are twelve interesting chapters dealing" with such subjects as: The Novitiate, The Religious Life, Perfection, The Meaning of a Vow; two chapters on each of the three vows; one on Authority and Obedience, which is a very fine treatment of the duties of superiors; and a final chapter on Religious Profession. As the book stands it is broad enough to embrace all spiritualities. It is not meant to be a substitute for the instruction that the master or mistress is accustomed to give, but rather a complement to that instruction. The novice has a source to which he can go if he wishes to refresh his knowledge. The great insistance on the dynamism of the vows as the religious way of living in imitation of Christ is to be commended. "The chap-ters on chastity and obedience are especially well done and bring out the positive character of the vows exceptionally well. However,' the chapters on poverty fall short when compared with the treat-ment of the other two vows. In general the book is instructignal, motivational, full of good common, as well as supernatural, sense. It will be easily understood by the novices. Like a good teacher, Father Duffey repeats his key ideas throughout the book and frequently makes a summary of what has been seen in various chapters. In all the book is most worth-while, highly recommended, and will repay with. interest the time one spends reading it.--RALPH H. T~.LK~N, S.J." 114 March, 1958 BOOK REVIEWS THE YOKE OF DIVINE LOVE. By Dom Hubert Van Zeller, ¯ O.S.B. Pp. 238. Templegate, Springfield, Illinois, 1957. $3.75. The tireless pen of Dom Hubert has, in this small volume, pre-sented another challenge to comfort-loving nature, this time taking for his audience the seekers after conventual perfection. He makes it clear from the outset that he is not writing merely for monks, and certainly not exclusively for those of Benedictine Rule, but for all religious, men and women, though the medium through which he aptly chooses to impart his lessons and deliver his frank and kindly blows is Benedictine vocabulary culled from the wisdom of St. Benedict and his greatest interpreter St. Bernard, The whole concern of his book, as he tells us in the preface, is to show how to work up from the fundamentals of religion, prayer, reading, silence, labor, and enclosure to God and not inward toward self. Such a caution is of vital interest to all religious; and they will eagerly submit to Dom Hubert's admoni-tions, delivered with a freshness and candid realism not too often encountered in spiritual treatises. The volume might almbst be ~ermed a "Book of Sentences," or another version of The Following of Christ, with its many incisive, diminutive paragraphs. Thus the first chapter on Supernatural Motive of less than nine pages is presented in gixty-two thought-packed para-graphs. Any one of them might serve as an outline for a more pro-found meditation. And almost a good third of them would present the thesis of the book, the yoke of divin~ love, in a nutshell. There is always love in the background to give light and warmth whenever it does not appear explicitly or at the head. But it is not an easy doctrine of love the book preaches. It can and does issue startling warnings. "The heart of the monk, if it deviates from the love of God alone, can become an unquiet evil. It wanders, looking for rest and finding none. It fastens on other hearts and drains them of the love of God. If it shrivelled up in solitude it would be a waste enough, but the heart that has tired of the love of God and that hungers still for love is a menace." Dom Hubert tells us exactly what his method in writing the book will be. "What we have to do is to find principles common to most religious orders and examine them in the light of love, prayer, and faith. To agree on foundations is at least a start." From' this humble beginning he develops a gripping code of religious life as he finds it substantially presented by all religious founders. The Yoke of 115 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious Divine Love, a clever title for the book that follows, is broken down into three minor "books" treating of the religious life, prayer, and community life. Each of these essential constituents of religious life is reviewed with a freshness and vigor that opens the eyes of the reader to a number of surprising subterfuges and alibis that even sincere religious may construct for themselves to escape the more exacting pressures of the yoke of love. One might cite countless instances of plain-spoken axioms of religious living which in one form or another bear out the author's verdict: "The trouble about renouncing the world is that it comes back in another form. You bar the windows of your cell against it, and it comes up through the boards of the floor. You throw it out by the door, and it comes in through the ventilator." It appears that this candid volume to be truly appreciated had better be read first cursorily, with many a smile and more than one mea cull~a, and henceforth be left on the desk or priedieu as a vade mecum for the purpose of snatching now and then tiny crumbs from its pages to be refreshed by its invigorating frankness. More than one reader will be disappointed at the lack of definite references to the many scripture passages cited. St. Thomas, too, St. Benedict, and the Fathers are frequently quoted by name only. ~ALoYSIUS C. KEMPER, S.J. BOOK ANNOUNCI:MI:NTS THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 400 North Broadway, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. Conferences on the Religious Life. By Aloysius Biskupek, S.V.D. You will find these conferences refreshing and original both as .re-gards the topics chosen and as to the treatment accorded them. Some of the unusual topics are: The Religious Habit, Patrons, The Refectory, Living the Mass, Sick Religious. The author is forthright in his treatment. Part of his answer to those who say that they cannot meditate reads as follows: "Meditation requires the exercise of memory, mind, and will; the use of these faculties is wholly or partially impossible in the case of infants, mental defectives, and insane persons. Does any one who claims he cannot meditate classify himself as belonging to these categories?" Pp. 204. $3.50. Live in the Holy Spirit.By Bruno M. Hagspiel, S.V.D: This is a book" of conferences onthe religious life written for religious 116 l~larch, 1958 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS women. The author speaks with the authority 6f one who has done much work for religious women and knows their virtues as well as their faults. It is a modern book and does not omit to discuss modern topics such as motion pictures, radio, television. Pp. 170. $3.50. You. By Father M. Raymond O.C.S.O. Living in an age that looks on the individual as expendable and negligible, we have great need to realize anew the dignity, sublimity, exalted vocation, and priceless character of even the least of the children of men. Father Raymond emphasizes these truths not in the abstract but in the concrete; not as applied to some one else but to you. His exhortations, . each chapter is a fervent exhortation, are addressed to both religious and lay people. There are no chapters applicable only to religious, and only one (14) intended specifically for parents. It makes encouraging spiritual reading. Pp. 301. $4.50. My Sunday Reading. A Popular Explanation and Application of the Sunday Epistles and Gospels. By Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M. We have all heard the Sunday Epistles and Gospels oftener than we care to admit. Do we understand them? This .book serves as an excellent introduction to such understanding. It is written primarily for the layman, but even the religious can profit by a study of this volume. Pp. 345. $5.00. A Christian Philosophy of Life. By Bernard J. Wuellner, S.J. We are guided on our journey through life on earth by the light of reason and by the light of faith. Both are necessary, and both should come into play many times each day. Both also need to be developed. As we may grow in faith by the study of revela-tion, so we perfect reason by the study of philosophy. If you have had the advantages of a college education, you will find Father Wuellner's book an excellent refresher course in philosophy; if you have not, it will give you a brief introduction to the most significant course a Catholic college has to offer. A great merit of the book is that the author does not hesitate to appeal to revelation to supplement the findings of reason. Here is a book which a religious can afford not only to read but to study. Pp. 278. $4.25. Angels Under Wraps. By Edward. Vincent Dailey. A book of stories, all about angels. They are interesting and enjoyable, and it would be surprising if they did not increase your devotion to your own guardian angel. Pp. 149. $2.95. 117 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS .Review for Religious FIDES PUBLISHERS, 744 East 79th Street, Chicago 19, Illinois. One in Christ. By Illtud Evans, O.P. The author accurately describes this collection of essays in these words: "The purpose of these pages is not to argue or to prove. It is simply to say that the life of the Church is the life of Christ continued in time and place, made available to men. The truths we believe are declared every day and the prayer of the Church (which is the prayer of Christ) exists to express them. The life of charity exists to make them incarnate here and now." Pp. 82. Paper $0.95. The Modern Apostle. By Louis J. Putz, C.S.C: Priests and religious will be interested in this book as a means to learn more about the modern lay apostolate and to help to spread this move-ment among the laity. It was written by a priest who has probably done more for this movement in America than any other. The material in the book first appeared as a series of articles in Our Sunday Visitor. Pp. 148. $2.95. Key. to the Psalms. By Mary Perkins Ryan. More and more lay people are beginning to discover the treasure of the Psalms. To help them Mary Perkins Ryan has written this book. She has made her own all the latest findings of the scripture scholars and has written a book that is both authoritative and popular. The translations of the Psalms are particularly excellent. Read this book and discover for yourself why the Church has always made the Psalms such a large part of her liturgical prayer. Pp. 187. $3.50. Together in Marriage. By John J. Kane. This i~ another volume in the "Fides Family Readers Series." It is of special interest to priests who are engaged in Cana Conference work and very suitable for the libraries of 'all houses for lay retreats. Pp. 154. $2.95, The Meaning Of Christmas. By A. M. Avril, O.P. Translated by S. D. Palleske. This is a volume of sermons that were orig-inally broadcast on the National "French Chain. Their subject matter is the Christmas cycle, from the first Sunday of Advent to the sixth Sunday after Epiphany. Pp. 153. $2.75. Going to God. By Sister Jane Marie" Murray, O.P. This is the first volume of a four-year series of textbooks in religion for high schools. The series bears the title "The Christian Life." These books are the product of much thought, study, planning, and con-sultation with fifteen experts in the fields of theology, Sacred Scrip- 118 March, 1958 ~BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS ture, education, the apostolate, and art. All four of the volumes are to be available by the summer of 1958. Before adopting a new set of texts for the religion classes in high school~ be sure that you examine these new books. Pp. 430. GRAIL PUBLICATIONS, St. Meinrad, Indiana. Pope Plus XII and Catholic Education. Edited by Vincent A. Yzermans. We owe a debt of gratitude both tb the editor and to the publishers for collecting in d single volume twenty-two addresses of Pope Plus XII on Catholic education. Teachers will find in them encouragement, wise directives, and much matter for fruitful examination of conscience. Pp. "180. Paper $1.00. B. HERDER BOOK COMPANY, 15-17 South Broadway, St. Louis 2, Missouri. The Sacred Canons. A Concise Presentation of the Current Disciplinary Norms of the Church. Volume I, Canons 1-869; Vol. II, Canons 870.2~14. Revised Edition. By John A. Abbo and Jerome D. Hannan. The purpose of this commentary on the Code of Canon Law is explained in the preface: "The work was begun to answer in some degree the spontaneous demand for a better knowledge of ecclesiastical law that has arisen in~ English-speaking countries among religious who are not clerics and among laymen, especially those engaged in the professions." Vol. I, pp. 871; Vol. II, pp. 936. $19.00 the set. P. J. KENEDY & SONS, 12 Barclay Street, New York 8, New York. Handbook of Moral Theology. By Dominic M. Priimmer, O,P. Translated by Gerald Shelton. Adapted for American usage by John Gavin Nolan. This is0 an English compendium of the justly celebrated four-volume Latin edition. It requires no gift of proph-ecy to predict that it will prove very popular with priesis, sem-inarians, and any who have frequent occasion to familiarize them-selves with the moral teachings of the Church. Pp. 496. $4.00. Maryknoll Missal. If you are looking for an English missal, you will want to examine this one, the first to be published since the recent decrees simplifying the rubrics. It is dom. pletely up-to- . date, and the translation is in modern English. References have been reduced to a minimum. It is a very handsome and convenient missal. Pp. 1699. 119 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review ]or Religious LONGMANS, GREEN & COMPANY, INCORPORATED, 55 Fifth Avenue, New York 3, New York. Catholicism and the Ecumenical Movement. By John M. Todd. Introduction by the Abbot of Downside. Mr. Todd, author, as-sistant editor of the Downside Review, and radio commentator, writes for both Catholics and non-Catholics. His aim is: "(1) To inform Catholics of the nature of the ecumenical problem and of the solu-tions that are offered by the non-Catholic world; (2) To inform non-Catholics of the reasons for the contemporary (Roman) Catholic attitude to the problem, and to show how a Catholic layman ap-proaches the situation today." Pp. 111. Paper $1.50. THE NEWMAN PRESS, Westminster, Maryland. God's Bandit. The Story of Don Orione, Father of the Poor. By Douglas Hyde. The author, a newspaper reporter by training and temperament, writes the dramatic story of a priest possessed of an immense love of the poor and unfortunate. To promote his work he founded four religious congregations, of which the principal one is the Sons of Divine Providence. As a boy he spent two years with St. Don Bosco. As a priest he was on intimate termswith St. Plus X. He died in 1940 and already many legends have grown up around his memory. It is probable that we shali one day honor him as a saint, for the causeof his beatification has been introduced in Rome. Pp. 208. $3.50. New Life in Christ. By Ludwig Esch, S.J. Translated from the German by W. T. Swain. The author spent forty years working for youth and in' this very comprehensive book gathers together what he has learned so that others may profit by his experience. There are four main divisions. ¯ The Fundamental Principles Gov-erning Our Growing Up in Christ, Our Life in Christ, The Growth of Life in Christ, and Maturing in Christ. Any of the problems that youth must meet today you will find treated in these pages. The book will be useful not only for youth but also for all those who have to assist in their training and education. Pp. 294. $4.50. SHEED & WARD, 840 Broadway, New York 3, New York. Martyrs from St. Stephen to John Tung. By Donald Attwater. Here are fifty-eight graphic and gripping accounts of martyrdom. They will make many a saint you know only as a name come to life for you and, as a result, become a real influence in your life. Pp. 236. $4.00. 120 March, 1958 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS The Roots of the Reformation by" Karl Adam; Marriage and the Family by F. J. Sheed; Confession by John C. Heenan; The Rosary by Maisie Ward; The Devil by' WC'a[ter lCarreI[, O.P., and Bernard Leeming, S,J. These are the first five books of a new series called "Canterbury Books." They are paper-covered books that average one hundred pages and sell for seventy-five cents. They treat their subject matter in greater detail than is possible in a pamphlet but more concisely than a full-length book. They are to be on religious topics and are intended for both Catholics and inquiring non-Catholics. The Making of Church' Vestments. By Graham Jenkins. Part One details the history of the liturgical vestments. Part Two gives easy-to-follow instructions abundantly illustrated on how ~o make church vestments. Pp. 32. $0.95. The New Guest Room Book. Assembled by F. J. Sheed. Illus-trated by Enrico Arno. Here we have a miniature library guaranteed to contain something to please any taste. Pp. 448. $7.50. ( ues ions and Answers [The following answers are given by'Father Joseph F. Gallen, S.J., professor canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland.] When you repeatedly state that sisters are overworked, don't you realize that almost universally the blame is cast on their superiors? And yet what can the superiors do? Are they to blame for the num-ber of Catholic children to be educated? for the opening of new schools? for the vacation schools? for the added demands of modern education? The fact that sisters are overworked is an evident and incontro-vertible fact, and the harmful effects are equally evident. The sense of the remarks on this point has never been that superiors are wholly to blame but that they can do something to lighten the burden. This thought is also completely evident and has been expressed by many others. "In my opinion, a policy almost heroic adopted by certain superiors is deserving of signal praise, that is, the refusal to accept 121 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religious new works, certainly useful, but which would overwhelm their religious men or women. A more cogent reason is that these religious are already overburdened as they become too few to accomplish the works already accepted which become progressively more compli-cated. The religious who is overburdened, exhausted, iaervous is in danger not only of doing his work poorly but, what is more serious, of being unable to draw spiritual profit from the time of prayer pre-scribed by the constitutions. He thus falls into activism, and there is no need to demonstrate here that this is the contradiction of the . primary and common purpose of the state of perfection" (Reverend A. Pl~, O.P., ztcta et Documenta Congressus Generalis de Statibus Per-fectionis, II, 146). "Superiors should be forbidden to accept new foundations unless they are able to staff them in such a way that their subjects are given the leisure needed for their own souls. What 'is needed are fervent foundations, not mere physical buildings in which a few religious, overwrought and exhausted, live and work in a frenzied round of activity. I believe that the cause of the Church would prosper far more with fewer buildings and projects, erected at the cost of the religious spirit, and with more prayerful religious" (Reverend F. Rice, C.P., ibid., III, 517). "Overwork will inevitably pull down the sl~iritual life. It is al-most impossible to live up to the ideals of the religious life when we are launched upon a troublesome sea ill-prepared and ill-equipped. Careful training and a good, broad education will do much to obviate this and so help considerably in preserving the religious spirit" (Brother P. C. Curran, F.S.C.H., Religious Life Today, 181). Since we are not contemplative, couldn't we dispense with the rule of silence? You are partially contemplative. The mixed religious life is the harmonious union of the contemplative life with apostolic activity. Every religious is supposed to attain a deep spirit of prayer and interior life. Neither of these is possible without recollection

Issue 16.6 of the Review for Religious, 1957. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious NOVEMBER 15, 1957 Current Spiritual Writing . Thomas G. O'Callaghan The Intellectual Life of Religious Sister Emily Joseph Survey of Roman Documents . R. I:. Smith Persevering in Prayer . Mother Marie Vandenbergh Book Reviews Communications Questions and Answers I:::or Your Information Index for 1957 VOLUME 16 NUMBER 6 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS \7o~,~.~E 16 NOVEMBER, 1957 NUMBER CONTENTS FOR YOUR INFORMATION . SOME BOOKS RECEIVED . OUR CONTRIBUTORS . CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING-- Thomas G. O'Callaghan, S.J . THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE RELIGIOUS: PRACTICAL ASPECTS--Sister Emily Joseph, c.s.J . FATHER GALLEN'S ABSENCE . BOUSCAREN-ELLIS . COMMUNICATIONS . SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS--R. F. Smith, S.J . PERSEVERING IN PRAYER-- Mother Marie Vandenbergh, R.C . BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana . QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: 34. Simplification of the Habit . 35. Bibliography on Renovation and Adaptation . 36. Minimizing the Religious Exercises . 37. Anticipation of Perpetual Profession Not Permitted . 38. Using Personal Gifts for Masses . 39. Reciting the Formula of the Vows Collectively . INDEX FOR VOLUME 16 . 321 ¯323 323 324 337 341 341 342 343 350 366 375 377 378 379 ¯ 380 380 381 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, November, 1957. Vol. 16, No. 6. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J., Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F. Weiss, S.J. Copyright, 1957, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please send all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard. St. Louis 18o Missouri. I:or Your Inl:ormat:ion Regarding Summer Sessions For many years we have been publishing announcements of sum-mer sessions. Our purpose in doing this is to help our readers to know where they may attend courses or institutes of special per-tinence to religious. Directors and deans of summer sessions who wish to avail themselves of this service should carefully observe the following points: 1) Only courses of special pertinence to religious should be listed. 2) The announcement should be limited to a single paragraph. The length of this paragraph is irrelevant, provided it contains only matters of special pertinence to religious. 3) The paragraph should be triple-spaced and prepared in such a manner that it can be sent to the printer without re-typing or editing. 4) There should be a reasonable minimum of capital letters, and no words should be typed entirely in capital letters. 5) The dates of the summer sessions or institutes should be clearly specified. 6) The best time for publishing these announcements is our March number. The deadline for this number is January 5. The next best time is the May number. The deadline for this number is March I. Plus XII on Self-love We receive many articles that refer to self-love as something opposed to love of God and love of neighbor, as something that must be stifled at all costs. No doubt, similar statements can be found in the writings of saints and in classical spiritual books. The basic mistake in such writings seems to be an unjustifiable identifica-tion of self-love with selfishness, or inordinate self-love. According to sound theology, self-love itself is good and a matter of divine precept. This was emphatically taught by Pope Plus XII in his address to psychotherapists (April 13, 1953), when he said: "From certain psychological explanations, the thesis is formulated that the unconditional extroversion of the ego constitutes the funda-mental law of congenital altruism and of its dynamic tendencies. This 321 FOR YOUR INFORMATION Review for Religious is a logical, psychological, and ethical error. There exists in fact a defense, an esteem, a love, and a service of one's personal self which is not only justified but demanded by psychology and morality. Nature makes this plain, and it is also a lesson of the Christian Faith. Our Lord taught, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' Christ, then, proposes as the rule of love of neighbor, charity towards onself, not the contrary." The Religious Habit In our January number (pp. 3-9), we published an article by Father Lee Teufel, S.J., which gave the results of a questionnaire on adapting the religious garb of sisters. Our May number (pp. 176-79) contained a lengthy communication from a sister, who criticized the attitude of those religious who had answered Father Teufel's ques-tionnaire. This sister also expressed the fear that seculars who read this article would be shocked. We have received four more communications on the same topic. All these communications are from sisters. Two defend Father Teufel and those who answered his questionnaire; and two defend the view expressed in the May communication. We should like to publish ali these letters, but we cannot do so for two reasons: (1) the communications are too long; and (2) the letters on both sides manifest too many misunderstandings of others' views and actions. Unless all write about the same thing, and do so briefly, there seems to be little use in continuing the discussion. Although we cannot publish the communications themselves, we believe we should mention, and comment on, some of the points brought out in them. One sister, for instance, protests that we showed poor taste in publishing Father Teufel's article--in fact, she thinks the Communists should feel happy about it. We leave it to others to judge our taste. It seems appropriate, however, to call attention to the fact that one of our purposes in founding this magazine was to have a medium through which religious could discuss their common problems. And since the change of garb advocated by the Holy See has many aspects that are common to numerous religious in-stitutes, we think this an appropriate topic for discussion in our pages and that those who take part in such a discussion are not showing any disloyalty to their own institutes. Perhaps the basic difficulty is really expressed in the other letter against Father Teufel's article, as well as in the communication 322 November, 1957 FOR YOUR INFORMATION published in May: namely, the fear that public discussion of this topic will disedify seculars. On this point, we should like to inform our readers that we try to limit the circulation of this periodical to religious and diocesan priests. We do not encourage other sub-scriptions, and we have very few of them. It is true that in some institutions the REVIEW is placed in the library where it is available to students and others. We are not responsible for this custom, and we should like to have it changed. SOME BOOKS RECEIVED [Only books sent directly to the Book Review Editor, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana, are included in our Reviews and Announcements. The following books were sent to St. Marys.] Lutero en EspaF~a yen la Am6~rica espahola. By Ricardo V. Feliu. Protestant Founders, 15 Whitehall Street, New York 4, New York. 90 pesetas (paper cover). Priestly and Religious Formation. By Edmund T. Dunne, C.SS.R. Clonmore and Reynolds Ltd., 29 Kildare Street, Dublin. 18/-. The Art of Teaching Christian Doctrine. By Johannes Hofinger, S.J. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana. $3.50. Ontologia. By Salvator Cuesta, S.J. Sal Terrae, Santander, Spain. 60 pesetas (paper cover~. People's Participation and Holy Week. Seventeenth North Ameri-can Liturgical Week, London, Canada, 1956. The Liturgical Confer-ence, Elsberry, Missouri. $2.08 (paper cover). The Image of God in Man According to Cyril of Alexandria. By Walter J. Burghardt, S.J. The Catholic University of America Press, 620 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Washington 17, D. C. $3.00 (paper cover). Praelectiones theologicoomorales Comillenses. Tomus IV. Trac-tatus de conscientia morali. Pars altera. Theoria de conscientia morali reflexa. By Lucius Rodrigo, S.a!. Sal Terrae, Santander, Spain. L'Apostolat. Probl~mes de la Religieuse d'aujourd'hui. Les edi-tions du cerf, 29, Bld de Latour-Maubourg, Paris. Memento canonique sur le noviciat et al profession religieuse. By Dom Pierre Minard, O.S.B. Editions Fides, 25 est, rue Saint-Jacques, Montreal 1, Canada. $2.60 (paper cover). OUR CONTRIBUTORS THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN is professor of ascetical and mystical theology at Weston College, Weston 93, Massachusetts. SISTER EMILY JOSEPH is head of the classics department at the College of St. Rose, Albany 3, New York. R.F. SMITH is a member of the faculty of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. MOTHER MARIE VANDENBERGH is guest mistress at the Cenacle Retreat House, Route 1, Box 97-A, Rosharon, Texas. 323 Current Spiritual Writ:ing Thomas ~. O'Calhgh~n~ S.J. Sacred Heart ON THE OCCASION of the first centenary of the extension to the universal Church of the feast of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XII issued the encyclical letter Haurietis aquas. The subject matter of this encyclical is devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, its scriptural and traditional foundation, its true meaning and place in the Church. The Holy Father assured us that this devotion is not only the most complete profession of the Chris-tian religion, but that it is also of obligation for all the faithful. Because of this importance of the devotion to the Heart of the Incarnate Word, there is a real need for a clear understanding of its true meaning. To read, reread, and study carefully Haurietis aquas itself is of primary importance. It might be mentioned here that in re.ading it one of the points to be observed is the constant emphasis which the Holy Father places on the triple love which the Incarnate Word has for each of us. He loves us with a divine love, with a human spiritual love, and also--perhaps this has never been stressed so much before-- with a human sensible love. The adorable Heart of Christ is the symbol of this triple love. As a help to the study of this encyclical some of the follow-ing articles, which comment on Haurietis aquas, could be read: M. J. Donnelly, s.J., "Haurietis aquas and Devotion to the Sacred Heart," Theological Studies, XVIII ( 1957), 17-40; P. J. Hamell, "Devotion to the Sacred Heart: Encyclical Haurietis Aquas," The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, LXXXVI (1956), 217- 241; G. Dupont, S.J., "Pius XII on the Cult of the Sacred Heart," The Clergy Monthly, XX (1956), 248-260, and also "The Cult of the Sacred Heart," The Clergy Monthly, XXI (1957), 161-171; C. K. Riepe, "Some Thoughts on Devotion to the Sacred Heart," Worship, XXXI (1957), 328-333; F. 324 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING Courtney, S.J., "Devotion to the Sacred Heart," The Clergy Review, XLII (1957), 332-342. The best and most scholarly of these articles is that of Father Donnelly. Two quotations from his article might be of interest. First, his statement of the purpose of the encyclical: "To elucidate the soul's journey back to God through the Sacred Heart, the heart of flesh, symbol of Christ's human (sensible and spiritual) love and of His divine love, and to show that such a path to God is deeply rooted in Scripture, tradition, and the liturgy of the Church--this is the purpose of the encyclical letter Haurietis aquas" (p. 39). The other quotation which we would like to cite from Father Donnelly is a commentary which he makes upon the following words of Haurietis aquas: Therefore the Heart of our Savior in a way expresses the image of the Divine Person of the Word and His two-fold nature, human and divine. In it we can contemplate not only the symbol, but also, as it were, the sum of the whole mystery of our redemption. When we adore the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, we adore in it and through it both the uncreated love of the Divine Word and His human love and other affections and virtues, because both loves moved our. Redeemer to sacrifice Himself for us and for the whole Church, His Spouse (N.C.W.C. translation). Commenting on this passage, Father Donnelly writes: . . this passage sets forth the whole theology of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, because any reader will at once see therein the following teaching. (1) There is question of the physical heart of the Savior. (2} This heart is in a certain sense an image of the Person of the Word and also of His twofold nature, human and divine. (3) We can see in this physical heart, not only a symbol, but, as it were, the epitome of the whole mystery of our Redemption. (4) We adore this physical heart. (5} In the very act of adoring the physical heart, we adore in and through this same physical heart (a) the uncreated love of the divine Word, (b) His human love (sensible and spiritual), and (c) all the other affections and virtues which the Incarnate Word possesses. (6) The reason for this is that His divine and human love alike moved Him to sacrifice Himself for us and the universal Church, His Spouse, that we might be redeemed from our sins. In the light of this passage, it is clear why the Holy Father calls the devotion the most perfect profession of the Christian religion (pp. 30-31). 325 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN Review fo~ Religious The Saints Gregory tells us in his Book of Dialogues that a certain nun, on going into .the garden, saw a head of lettuce and desired it; and, forgetting to make the sign of the cross over it she greedily bit into it; but forthwith she fell to the ground possessed by a devil. When the blessed Equitius came to exorcize her, the devil began to cry out, saying, "What did I do? What did I do? I was just sitting here on the lettuce, and she came and bit me!''1 This is one of those humorous anecdotes which during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance delighted the readers of the Golden Legend. This book is a collection of saints' lives, compiled during the latter half of the thirteenth century by the learned and saintly Dominican, Jacobus de Voragine. In the article from which we have cited the anecdote above--an article which makes for pleasant reading--William F. Manning points out that the distinguished Dominican hagiographer was not a simple and gullible soul. He was well aware that these accounts of the saints were a blend of fact, fiction, and humor. What Jacobus de Voragine was primarily concerned with was not the historical truth of these stories; he was much more interested in using them as examples--they were known as exempla during the Middle Ages--to illustrate pleasantly some moral or spiritual principle. His goal was not objective history, but to foster among the faithful a fervent love of, and devotion to, the saints and God. Considering the extraordinary influence which the Golden Legend has had in the history of spirituality, his work was a complete success. But books like the Golden Legend make the life of a modern hagiographer a very troubled one. In addition to the ordinary difficulties which any historian or biographer meets, the hagiographer has a few special ones of his own. These are discussed by Lancelot C. Sheppard in "Some Problems of a Hagiographer.'' If the biography of a saint is to be a true 1This quotation from the Golden Legend is cited by William F. Manning, "Humor in the Golden Legend," Cross and Cro,wn, IX (1957), 168. 2 The Li/e of the 8pirit, XI, 454-461. 326 November, 1957 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING and living portrait, the first problem of a hagiographer is to remember that he is "dealing with a man or woman in the world" (p. 456), and thus he has to pay attention to the ordin-ary things of everyday life. Otherwise he will be presenting "an unnatural wooden figure of his saint . . . no example or help to the ordinary reader, but . . . a hindrance to the develop-ment of the Christian life in the souls of many" (p. 457). Another problem is that which is occasioned by the miracu-lous events which at times take place in the lives of the saints. If something miraculous occurs in the life of a saint, it should be historically verified, and then it should be treated as a miracle, and not as a normal and everyday occurrence. Closely allied to the question of miracles is that of those other extraordinary phenomena--stigmata, etc.--which sometimes occur. Since some of these phenomena can be explained at times by natural causes, a hagiographer should be very hesitant in assigning to them a divine cause. Some of these observations of Sheppard are very just, but I am sure that he would readily admit that these prob-lems are much more easily mentioned than solved. In the same issue of The Life of the Spirit there is an interesting article by Donald Attwater on the martyrs of the early Church.3 In the Christian Church the cultus of the saints began with the veneration of these early martyrs. In fact, one of the first definitions of sanctity was based on the idea of martyrdom: the perfect imitation of Christ even to the sacrifice of one's life; or, as Attwater says, a man is "never so Christlike as when he wil!ingly goes to death for his Saviour . . ." (p. 441). This article is a series of short sketches of some of the early saints and martyrs--th'ose who suffered in the early persecutions, up to 313, and whose accounts are based on reliable documenta-tion: Ignatius ot: Antioch, Polycarp, Justin, Blandina, Cyprian, Perpetua, Felicity, etc. Although these sketches are most brief, "They are enough to show these martyrs as men and women, "The Early Martyrs," pp. 441-454. 327 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious not as puppets . . ." (p. 451). Indeed, they were men and women whose lives were centered, in a simple yet firm way, or~ God and Jesus Christ. They were ~fully conscious of being ~a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a consecrated nation,' a society of which, in the words of St. Augustine, ~the king is Truth, the law is love and the duration is Eternity' " (p. 453). Why did Bruno of Hartenfaust leave the world and found the Carthusians? It was once piously believed that his decision, was occasioned by an event which took place during the funeral of a certain Canon Docr~s in Paris. The canon's only known failing was a worldly desire for literary fame, and yet he seems to have been damned for it. According to the legend, three times during the funeral the canon raised himself up; first, to announce that he had been accused; then, judged; and, finally, that he had been condemned to eternal damnation. Supposedly witnessing this, Bruno decided that the world was no place for him; so off: to the deserts of the Grande Chartreuse. All this is pious legend. The real reason and motive why Bruno sought the hidden life of solitude and rooted his order in contempt of the world is explained in a fine article by Dr. Borisz de Balla, a former Hungarian diplomat and at present an associate professor of history at Le Moyne College) Since the spirit of silent solitude with which the Carthusians have moved through the last nine centuries has kept them well hidden, an article such as this is most welcome. For in it Dr. de Balla uncovers the historical and psychological background of Bruno's vocation and clarifies the Carthusians' contempt for the world, which is merely a negative way of expressing their fervent love of God. The life of St. Thomas Aquinas was dedicated in an extra-ordinary degree to intellectual work. Since this was a most substantial part of his life, it must have been very closely linked with his sanctity. What was the connection between these two? In 4'~Contempt of the World," Cross and Crop, n, IX (1957), I1-23. 328 November, 1957 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING a very penetrating article Father Thomas Deman, O.P., shows how closely St. Thomas's knowledge was tied to his sanctity.~ The connection between the Angelic Doctor's knowledge and sanctity is not merely that he studied with a pure intention, nor merely that his intellectual activity demanded great abnega-tion. These things manifest more the link between effort and sanctity rather than between knowledge and sanctity. The far more interesting problem is in establishing the relation between these latter two, for in the connection of these two, according to Father Deman, "lies the ultimate secret of St. Thomas' sanctity" (p. 404). To summarize Father Deman's solution to this prob-lem would be to do it an injustice; but to recommend the study of it, especially to seminarians and theologians, would be far from unjust. F~nelon, onetime archbishop of Cambrai, although not a saint, was certainly an outstanding personality. Derek Stanford gives us in a two-part article a general overall view of his life, doctrine, writing, and great appeal.6 Even those who met him through his written word were charmed by him. " 'If F~nelon were alive today you would be a Catholic,' Bernadin de St. Pierre once wagered Rousseau. 'Oh, if F~nelon were alive,' Rousseau replied,, his eyes moist with tears, 'I should try to become his lackey in order to deserve to be his valet' " (p. 15). Perhaps the part of F~nelon's life which was most im-portant in the history of spirituality, and best known for that reason, is his rather bitter dispute with Bossuet, his former friend and bishop of Meaux, over the quietistic doctrine of Mme. Guyon. This was settled only by a papal brief from Pope Innocent XII condemning twenty-three propositions taken from Fenelon's Maxims of the Saints. To this condemnation he com-pletely and humbly submitted. Stanford's articles are a fine summary of the life of this man who was a cultured scholar, distinguished prelate, and grand seigneur. 5"'Knowledge and Holiness and St. Thomas Aquinas," The Life of the Spirit, XI, 394-406. 6"A Word for F~nelon," The Cler#y Relieve, XLII (1957), 14-25, 76-84. 329 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious Sin One of the basic needs in the spiritual life is to acquire a sincere detestation of sin, a real hatred of the evil which sin is. But what is sin? The Catholic faith has always considered sin as an offense against God. But what does it mean to offend God? Obviously sin cannot harm God himself; it cannot touch God or injure Him. The harm which is done by sin is done to man, not to God. Yet, how is this an offense against God? Father DeLetter, s.J., suggests a solution to this problem, a solution which in its full explanation depends upon the philo-sophical doctrine of relation.~ He writes: ¯ . . the sinner . . . by rejecting God's love, rejects the gift of that love, sanctifying grace. Accordingly, in this case, because of the relative character of grace . . . it is easy to see how the "malum hominis," loss of sanctifying grace, is at once "malum Dei," offence against God . The wilful destruction on the part of man of God's gift of grace is an offence against God . . . because grace is a relation to God, unites man to God; and so by refusing or rejecting grace man refuses or rejects God, to whom grace orientates and unites him (p. 338). It is basically this same problem which Father Lyonnet, S.J., tries to solve by studying the nature of sin in the Old Testament) Judging from the words used in the Old Testa-ment to designate sin, sin is not only an evil of man, malum horninis, but also malum Dei, insofar as it is against God, in opposition to God. "The sinner despises and contemns the commands of God, and therefore in some true sense God Him-self" (p. 78; translation ours). But going beyond the words used to designate sin and con-sidering sin in the whole context of the Old Testament, Father Lyonnet points out various ways of looking at sin as an offense against God. Sin offends God insofar as it harms man whom God loves and desires to protect as His very own. Sin is also 7"Offense against God," The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, LXXXVII (1957), 329-342. S"De natura peccati quid doceat V. T.," l~erburn Dornini, XXXV (1957), 75-88. 330 November, 1957 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING described as an offense against God insofar as it breaks the bond of conjugal love between God and His people, His beloved spouse. Thus sin is likened to adultery, God being the offended spouse. (Based upon this idea, God is portrayed in the Old Testament as a husband who cannot live without his beloved spouse; and, even though she is unfaithful, he pursues her with his merciful and forgiving love until she returns to him.) But in any understanding of sin the divine transcendence must always be preserved; sin never takes from God anything divine. But it does snatch away from Him man, whom God loves as the very apple of His eye. The Liturgy Those who are actively engaged in pastoral work in a parish will find food for serious reflection in an article written by Father Josef Jungmann, s.J., one of the world's most outstanding schol-ars of the liturgy.'~ The main theme of his article may be stated in his own words: "In the concrete community of the Church, which normally appears in the form of the parish, the liturgy does not represent merely one set of tasks, however holy, among many others. The Sunday and holy day Eucharist constitutes nothing less than the goal and ultimate meaning of all pastoral work here on earth" (p. 67). There is a fine article in The Life of the Spirit on the active participation of the faithful in the sacrifice of the Mass.1° The primary purpose of the article is to explain why the people should be active at Mass. The answer to this is based upon the proper understanding of the nature of the Mass and the nature of the Christian people. The nature of the Mass is that, being the principal act of the Mystical Body, it is a social, community act, in which all the faithful have their part. As regards the Christian people, by baptism they were made members of the Mystical Body of Christ the Priest; and by the character im- '°"The Liturgy and the Parish," l#ors/~ila, XXXI (1957), 62-67. 10j. D. Crichton, "The Mass and the People," The Life of t/~e 8~irit, XI, 548-560. 331 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN Review for Religiou.~ printed on their soul at baptism they share in the priesthood of their Head. These ideas are developed in the first part of this article, while a second part suggests ways of educating the faith-ful to take an active part in both the dialogue and high Mass. When Christ at the Last Supper said, ~This is My blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many," what would the apostles understand by the words blood of the new covenant? Father Siegman, C.PP.S., the editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, discusses this question and in so doing offers a few points which might be helpful in understanding better the Sacrifice of the Mass.11 He shows that the words blood of the covenant, spoken by our Lord at the Last Supper, ~'must have suggested to the Apostles the sacrificial character of the rite that Jesus was performing. Blood that was shed had to be offered to God in sacrifice, as acknowledgment of His absolute dominion" (pp. 171-172), and also as an atonement for sin. Further, the apostles must have understood that the covenant, the pact be-tween God and His people, was now fulfilled. ~What Jahweh had done on Mt. Sinai was a beginning, a first aspect of the perfect covenant-act to be realized in the future" (p. 172), when this covenant would be ratified not by '~the blood of goats and calves," but by the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:12). Finally, this fulfilled covenant would have meant "community of life"(p. 172), Christ the victim sharing His life with His apostles. A few months ago there was published in Worship the translation of an address which Father Athanasius Miller, O.S.B., secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, gave last De-cember at the Biblical Institute in Rome.l~ His concern in the paper was to discuss the problem "whether or not a harmony can be established between the psalms on the one hand, and a Christian prayer and a Christian devotion to the psalms on the other" (p. 334). Since the book of the Psalms is pre-Christian, H"The Blood of the Covenant," 7"he American Ecclesiastical Re,view, CXXXVI (1957), 167-174. 1'-, "The Psalms from a Christian Viewpoint," l'Forship, XXXI (1957), 334-345. 332 November, 1957 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING many priests or religious, whether in reading the Office or in using the Psalter for private prayer, have difficulty in giving the psalms a Christian character and interpretation. Their devotion suffers in attempting to make an Old Law prayerbook into a Christian prayerbook. Father Miller's answer to this problem may be summed up in his own words: Thus the psalter is for the Church of the martyrs a Christ-book. Its songs center around the Kyrios raised on the cross, whether she speaks of Him, or to Him, or He Himself speaks to the Father: "The psalm is a voice speaking of Christ; the psalm is the voice of the Church speaking to Christ; the psalm is the voice of Christ speaking to the Father." It was left to the ingenious hand of Augustine later to combine all these aspects into one: "The psalm is the voice of the whole Christ, Head and body": Psalmus vox totius Christi, capitis et corl~oris (p. 340). In an address, given May 1, 1955, to members of the Chris-tian Association of Italian Workers, the Holy Father instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker and he assigned it to the first day of May. This new feast took the place of the Solemnity of St. Joseph. In this exchange, however, nothing was really lost; in fact, much was gained. In order to show this, Father Francis J. Filas, S.J., an authority on the theology of St. Joseph, examines and comments very simply and intelligently on the text of the Mass and Office of the new feast.1:~ Of particular interest are the few remarks which he makes about "father Joseph" (p. 296). This com-mentary on the Mass and Office of St. Joseph could be used ior "points" for prayer by those who desire to "Go to Joseph." "In the providence of God, for the greater glory of God, to know Jesus and Mary better and to imitate St. Joseph more closely, may this new feast of St. Joseph the Worker be a promise of even greater liturgical honors to come" (p. 303). 13,'The Mass and Office of St. Joseph the Worker," The /lmerican Ecclesi-astical Re~ie~, CXXXVI, (1957), 289-303. 333 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN Review fo~ Religious Priestly and Religious Vocation What is a vocation? How do I know if I have a vocation? The answer to these questions is given by Father Columba Ryan, O.P., in three helpful articles.14 A good part of the matter of these articles is a commentary on the important apostolic con-stitution Sedes Sap¯len¯tla15e. The Holy Father had written in this document: ". the divine vocation . . . consists of two essential elements, one divine and the other ecclesiastical." Father Ryan uses these words of the Pope both as a point of departure and also as a suggested division of the matter of his articles. The first article considers the divine element, the divine call, but looked at from the side of God, as God's signified will. The second article examines this same divine call, but insofar as it is a grace received in a man's soul. The final article treats the ecclesiastical element of a divine vocation, the ecclesiastical call, and that which is closely associated with it, the necessary qualities which ought to be found in the aspirant. In regard to the first element of a divine vocation, the invitation of the soul by God, this is so necessary that without it the foundation of the whole structure will be lacking. Whether it be a call to the priestly life, or the religious life, or both combined, the initiative must come from God; without it there is no vocation. Because of this Father Ryan reiterates and comments upon the strong warning of the Holy Father about forcing or alluring or admitting to the religious or priestly life those who do not show the true signs of a divine vocation. But if these signs are clear, if God's loving will for a man is that he be a priest or a religious, there arises a problem: What is the obligation of following this signified will of God? There is some obligation, says Father Ryan, but this obligation falls not so much upon the acceptance or rejection ot? the voca- 14Vocations and Their Recognition," The Life of the Spirit, XI, 217-223, 258-263, 517-527. 15 The English translation of this document may be found in gEVlEW FOg LIGIOUS, March, 1957, 88-101. 334 November, 1957 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING tion as "upon the deliberations preceding . . . [the] decision . . an obligation in the line of the virtue of prudence" (p. 223). Let us observe that one should be careful about insisting upon this obligation with the young, since they could easily confuse what is of counsel and what is of obligation in this matter. In the second article Father Ryan takes up the problem of how we may know whether there is present in the soul the grace of a vocation. The most we can do is to "detect it by signs of its presence, by the outward effects which it produces" (p. 259). The signs which he indicates are: a conscious and felt attraction to religious or priestly life; an obscure drawing towards it, perhaps with a sense of duty attached, but without attraction; such a drawing, accompanied by positive repug-nance for the life in question; a calculation, from the recognition that a man may have from his whole providential setting, that he ought to follow such and such a life; the sense of the emptiness for him of any other life (p. 259). These signs are not a proof of a vocation; in fact, they are often counterfeited. Many of the observations which the author makes about these signs, their counterfeits, and the faulty motives behind the latter, are well worth careful study by those who are engaged in the work of vocational directing. Besides the divine call there must also be, in order to have a divine vocation, the ecclesiastical call, that is, being called by lawful ministers of the Church. No person with a genuinely divine vocation can fail to be received by legitimate superiors. This does not mean that every first refusal of ecclesiastical superiors proves the lack of a true vocation. But it does mean that against the refusal of a superior there can be "no ultimate appeal to some subjectively experienced call of God as a con-clusive proof" (p. 519) of a divine vocation. An ecclesiastical superior must determine whether a can-didate possesses the necessary qualities. What are these? Father Ryan classifies them under three headings: "first, qualities of health, physical and mental; secondly, general character and dis- 335 THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN position; thirdly, talents appropriate to the special vocation undertaken" (p. 521). In commenting upon these Father Ryan makes some very solid observations about emotional maturity, general strength of character, intelligence, docility, and affability. These articles will well repay careful study. The question of fostering vocations, a very important ques-tion these days because of the growing need of priests and religious, is discussed by Father Baier.1' In the fostering of vocations, one point which is to be carefully noted is that which Pope Pius XI mentioned in Ad Catholici Sacerdotii. In the ordinary course of divine providence, he remarked in this encyclical, the %rst and most natural place" where the God-sown seeds of vocation "grow and bloom remains always the truly and deeply Christian family." Another point which Father Baier mentions is that young Catholics do not understand the real meaning and excellence of the religious life. Too much attention is given to the "externals." '~If we want more vocations, we must tell young people about the 'inside' story of God's call. Only the inner meaning and the full significance of a vocation can inspire the qualities of enthusiasm, self-sacrifice and heroism for Christ" (p. 3:23). l°"Toward More Vocations," The llomiletic and Pastoral Revie.w, LVII (1957), 320-324. 336 The Int:elled:ual Li e ot: t:he Religious: Prad:ical Aspect:s Sister Emily Joseph, C.S.J. THAT THIS ARTICLE may have a practical aspect in substance as well as in name, I have presumed to borrow heavily from a source that has directed the intellectual progress of many scholars. The advice here presented comes from a man who was the outstanding humanist of his day; a man of letters as well as of action who figured prominently in the political, ecclesiastical, and diplomatic affairs of his times; a man whose profound learning, both religious and secular, lent a brilliance and charm to his spoken and written word. This man was the twelfth-century scholar, John of Salisbury, secretary of St. Thomas of Canterbury, author, poet, ecclesiastic, diplomat, and an intellectual of the first order. Among John's writings we find an account of certain at-titudes prevalent in the educational circles of his day--a day which, we note with a smile, John calls these "modern times." He deplores the tendency to specialization, the immoderate tribute paid to cleverness, and the influence of a segment of educators who would over-emphasize the "practical" at the expense of the humanistic studies. Then, paying tribute to his revered old teacher, Bernard of Chartres, John quotes the pair of fluid Latin hexameters in which Bernard neatly packaged his recom-mendations for scholars-to-be. John himself called these the "Six Keys to True Learning." As a practical aspect of the intellectual life of the religious, I give you John's six keys) First: mens humilis--a humble mind. Recently I came upon this definition of humility in an article entitled "Vocation of the Intellectual; Its Requisites and Rewards.''~' "Humility is a per- 1 All references to John of Salisbury are from his Policraticus, VII, 13 (ed. C. J. Webb). Z Whalen, Reverend John P., "Vocation of the Intellectual; Its Requisites and Rewards," The Catholic Educational Re~ie~, LII (Dec. 1954), 597-601. 337 SISTER EMILY JOSEPH Review for Religious sonal evaluation without personal interest . It is observing ourselves as part of the creation of God with an unjaundiced eye, neither allowing our egoism to exaggerate our vision nor our insecurity to underestimate it." Such an attitude is funda-mental, not only for the acquisition of the moral virtues but for the intellectual ones as well. It is the guarantee of an objective approach to the search for knowledge; it precludes an interpreta-tion of research findings which accords with one'~ own prejudices or inclinations rather than with the objective evidence. Above all, it is a safeguard against one of the most pernicious spiritual ills to which man is subject--intellectual pride. The second key: studium quaerendi--the eager, questing spirit. The phrase carries a twofold implication: first, a steady, zealous, self-sacrificing devotion to the research entailed by scho-larship; secondly, it betokens the inquiring outlook which is the hallmark of a scholar. It implies, too, the proper attitude toward the intellectual life. With regret, we acknowledge that this attitude, latent in everyone who has consecrated his or her life to incarnate Wisdom, fails, in many cases, to develop and in-fluence the religious. Some hold intellectual efforts and attain-ments suspect. By their attitude of aloofness they try to cloak their own apathy where research is concerned. Others contend that the present need of the Church calls for concentration on a vigorous social apostolate. Still others avow their respect for intellectual activity but modestly place themselves outside its periphery. That all might acquire a correct attitude toward the importance, both for time and eternity, of personal intellectual growth we would strongly recommend two classic works: Cardinal Newman's Idea of a University and Cardinal Suhard's peerless pastoral letter, Groi~lh or Decline? The third key which John recommends is vita quieta--a life of tranquillity. John's own life as a scholar was interrupted by ecclesiastical responsibilities which plunged him into incessant activity. He crossed the continent of Europe ten t:.mes on diplo-matic missions and such extensive traveling in the twelfth century 338 November, ~957 THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF RELIGIOUS was only at the cost of much time and considerable inconvenience. Such a life is not compatible with the atmosphere that the scholar needs. His must be a well-ordered life---a life of dedication to intellectual pursuits. His energies must be concentrated upon this one end, not dissipated upon a multiplicity of activities, how-ever worthy each in itself may be. From his life all non-essentials must be (often painfully) pruned. One in whom secular tastes and worldly attitudes develop and foster a craving for recreation, for indulgence in entertainment provided by radio, television, or light reading, for needless travel and social contacts will find neither the inclination nor the time for intellectual growth. In a recent article in the NGEH Bulletin, Father Gustave Weigel, s.J., underlines the special responsibility of the college faculty, which he calls the "soul of the collegiate community," to foster the intellectual life. Exploring the meaning of the term, "intellectual life," Father Weigel contends that it is a life of contemplation. "The true intellectual," he says, "always seeks for essences and essences are not obvious . Hence the practi-tioner of the intellectual life is a contemplative." He maintains that "the intellectual life is the very essence of the college" and that contemplation is the essence of the intellectual life; and he intimates that there are dangerous attitudes, social and economic forces, that make incursions upon and destroy the vita quieta that is a sine qua non of scholarly pursuits? Closely allied to this third key is the fourth--scrutinium taciturn--a study room where silence reigns. Just as the silence of the chapel is most conducive to contempletion of God and His attributes, so for the scholar's contemplation there must be freedom from distractions, prolonged periods for undisturbed thinking. Here is a problem which superiors should acknowledge and try to solve. The religious whose teaching assignments, ex-tracurricular responsibilities, and community obligations exhaust 3 Weigel, Gustave, S.J., "Enriching the Intellectual Life of the Catholic Col-lege," NCE/I Bulletin, LII (May 1956), 7-21. 339 SISTER EMILY JOSEPH Review for Religious his or her physical powers and necessitate constant contact with students, institutional personnel, and externs cannot be expected to develop the intellectual life, regardless of personal inclination and intellectual endowment. Paupertas--poverty--is the fifth key in John's list. Our vocation, then, in which we are privileged to bind ourselves by vow to a life of poverty, ought to insure us this key without further worry. But does it? In the pursuit of higher education what is the end in view for the majority of religious who flock in such numbers to the universities? Is their goal those spiritual entities, knowledge and truth, toward which, like a shining beacon, they are willing to press on resolutely in spite of summer heat and winter snow, demanding professors and elusive research articles, frustrating language barriers and disappointing lab ex-periments? Or does a motive which is, at least in part, pragmatic and materialistic, namely, the determination to acquire a degree and thus satisfy certain educational standards and demands, com-mit them to a temporary and half-hearted educational episode which they dispatch with a minimum of research and a maximum of compensating recreation? All will acknowledge that the poverty of a monk or nun differs from the poverty of a derelict in the slums. How does the poverty of a scholar differ from the poverty of a religious? Or does it? Was John of Salisbury implying that this fifth key imposes upon the scholar a form of discipline and a degree of detachment that is unique and un-paralleled, which demands renunciations over and above those required by the vow of poverty? The last of John's six keys s~iows his penetrating wisdom: terra aliena. We might presume to interpret it rather freely to mean: ~Get away from home base." One of the most practical aspects of this question of intellectual growth is that of time. It is one of the limitations imposed upon us by our mortal state. Certain legitimate demands upon our time are inextricably associated with our observance of community life. Charity obliges even where temporary dispensations exempt. Religious 340 November, 1957 THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF RELIGIOUS superiors, then, should take this into consideration and, to the extent possible, assign students to graduate studies in universities where they will reside away from home. Financial and other practical considerations may render this difficult. Still, anyone who has attempted scholarly study or writing will insist that this sixth key is oi~ prime importance. These, then, are the six golden keys which John of Salis-bury left us nearly eight hundred years ago. I repeat them, as they are found in the seventh chapter of his work entitled Policraticus." ~Iens kurnilis, studiurn quaerendi, ~dta quieta, Scrutiniurn taciturn, paupertas, terra aliena. I rather suspect that, were John listening to me, he would repeat what he said, referring to Bernard's hexameters: "Though I am not taken by the smoothness of the meter, I approve the sense and I believe it should be faithfully impressed on the minds of those seeking true learning." FATHER GALLEN~S ABSENCE Father Gallen, who answers questions for the REVIEW, has been in Europe for several months; and we are not sure when he will return. This is the reason why answers to questions have been delayed. Since we have no other canonist on our staff, we suggest that those who have canonical problems requiring prompt answers send their questions to a canonist of their own diocese. BOUSCAREN-ELLIS It is a little more than ten years since Fathers T. Lincoln Bous-caren, S.J., and Adam C. Ellis, S.J., first published their Canon Law: A Text and Commentary. The third edition completely revised is now available. This edition incorporates papal decrees and decisions issued since 1951 and adds current literature to the bibliography fol-lowing each chapter. It includes new material on the alienation of property and on secular institutes. Father Ellis, it will be remembered, was one of the founders of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS and was one of the active members of the editorial board until very recently. The book is published by the Bruce Publishing Company, 400 North Broadway, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. 980 pages. $10.50. 341 Com rnun icat:ions On Delayed Vocations Reverend Fathers: In accordance with the announcement in the May number of gEWEW FOg RELIGIOUS (p. 154), we are happy to send you the fol-lowing information. We are Dominican Sisters established for foreign mission work and for social and catechetical work in the United States. We are at present approved as a Pious Union by Cardinal Stritch. Our habit is the regular Dominican habit. We accept candidates between the ages of 20 and 40. We do accept widows or previously married women whose marriage was annulled or invalid, if they give signs of a true vocation. Mother M. Agatha, O.P. Missionary Servants of St. Dominic Rosary Mission House 656 West 44th Street Chicago 9, Illinois Reverend Fathers: In response to your note on Delayed Vocations, we wish to say that we would consider accepting the classes of persons mentioned in the announcement. Ours is a cloistered order. We have perpetual adoration. We accept candidates up to the age of 35, and even a little older if their health is good. If the spiritual directors who seek this information have possible candidates on the waiting list we would be glad to make their acquaintance. Mother Mary Edwina Franciscan Nuns of the Most Blessed Sacrament 2311 Timlin Hill Portsmouth, Ohio [EDITORS' NOTE: Regarding communications on the religious habit please see page 322.] 342 Survey.of Roman Document:s R. F. Smit:h, S.J. THE DOCUMENTS which appeared in the ~lcta ~lpos-tolicae Sedis (AAS) from June 1, 1957, to August 15, 1957, will be the subject matter of the present article. Page references to AAS in the course of the survey will accordingly refer to the 1957 AAS (volume 49). The Saints On May 16, 1957 (AAS, pp. 321-31), two days after the Pope had received in audience the recently liberated Car-dinal Wyszynski, His Holiness issued the encyclical, Invicti athletae Christi, in commemoration of the three hundreth anniversary of the death of the Polish martyr, St. Andrew Bobola. In the first section of the encyclical, Pius XII briefly sketches the life of the martyr. Born in 1591, Andrew entered the Society of Jesus at the age of 19. The future saint gave himself wholeheartedly to the conquest of Christian perfection, seeking only the glory of God. After his ordination to the priesthood, his life was devoted to the faith he professed. It was this love of his faith that led him to work in the eastern marches of his country where dissident churches strove to separate the faithful from the unity of the true Church. When the Cossack persecution of the Church broke out, it was this same love of the faith that prompted him to do everything in his power to keep Catholics from denying their faith and to reconcile those who under pressure of the persecutors had deserted their faith. It was, finally, the ~ame love of the faith that enkindled in him the courage to endure the fright-ful martyrdom which the Cossacks inflicted on him on the feast of the Ascension, May 16, 1657. In the second part of the encyclical, the Vicar of Christ urges the faithful to imitate in their own lives the faith and 343 R. F. SMITH Review for Religiou~ courage of Bobola. The need for similar faith, he notes, is especially great today, for materialism continues to grow and to seduce men by the mirage of an earthly happiness without God. No less necessary today is the courage of St. Andrew. Every Christian life must have something of the martyr in it; for a Christian gives testimony to his faith not only by shedding his blood for it, but also by a constant war against sin and by a complete consecration of himself and all he has to Him who is his Creator and Redeemer and who someday will be his eternal joy. The Holy Father concludes the encyclical with a special plea to the Polish nation that they of all men may imitate the faith and courage of their sainted compatriot so that Poland, today as yesterday, may be a rampart of Christianity. Three documents concern Mother Mary of Providence (1825-71), foundress of the Helpers of the Holy Souls. The first of these was a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites which was dated April 21, 1957 (AAS, pp. 374-76), and which stated that the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God could safely be proceeded with. On May 26, 1957 (AAS, pp. 339-44), Pius XII proclaimed her beatification and the day after (AAS, pp. 361-64) addressed a group of the Helpers of the Holy Souls who had come to Rome for the beatification of their foundress. In his allocution to them the Pontiff stressed the Blessed's devotion to Providence which led her to repay Provi-dence by rescuing souls from purgatory and by devoting herself to an active and universa! apostolate. The last document concerning the saints is a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, issued on April 9, 1957 (AAS, pp. 424-25}, and ordering that henceforth a determined part of the consultors of the congregation shall have consultative vote with regard to the official scrutiny of the writings of persons whose causes of beatification are introduced. The Eucharist Three documents of the period surveyed are concerned with the Eucharist. On May 19, 1957 (AAS, pp. 364-68), His 344 November', 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Holiness broadcast a message to the Eucharistic Congress of Spain, which was being held at Granada, telling the faithful assembled there that in the Eucharist is to be found the same Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life for all men. He also reminded them that in the Eucharist there is the highest manifestation of that greatest of all truths: God is love. On May 23, 1957 (AAS, p. 370), the Holy Office an-swered the following question with regard to the concelebration of Mass: Do several priests validly concelebrate Mass if only one of them utters the words "This is My Body" and "This is My Blood" over the bread and wine, while the rest do not pronounce the words, but, with the knowledge and the consent of the aforesaid celebrant, have and manifest the intention of making their own the words and actions of the same celebrant? The Holy Office answered the question in the negative, since, as it said, by the institution of Christ only he validly celebrates who pronounces the consecrating words. The Sacred Congregation of Rites issued a decree on June 1, 1957 (AAS, pp. 425-26), dealing with the tabernacle and the manner of conserving the Holy Eucharist. The decree states that the pertinent norms of canon law (canons 1268-69) should be carefully observed. Moreover, the tabernacle is to be so fixed to the altar that it is irremovable. Ordinarily the taber-nacles should be affixed to the main altar, unless in certain cir-cumstances the veneration of the Eucharist can be provided for better elsewhere. Such circumstances are ordinarily found in cathedral, collegiate, and conventual churches where choir func-tions are exercised. Similar extraordinary circumstances can sometimes be found, the decree continues, in larger devotional centers where, because of popular devotion to some venerated object, the veneration due the Blessed Sacrament might be over-shadowed. The decree goes on to state that Mass should be habitually celebrated at the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is kept; and, 345 R. F. SMITH Review .for Religious in churches where there is only one altar, this should not be so constructed that the priest celebrates Mass facing the people, for in the middle of such an altar there should be placed a tabernacle for keeping the Blessed Sacrament. The tabernacle should be strong and secure so that all danger of profanation is avoided. When the Blessed Sacrament is in it, the tabernacle should be covered with a veil and a light should always burn in front of it. The tabernacle should con-form to the style of the altar and the church and should not differ too much from the style of tabernacles already in use. The tabernacle should represent a true dwelling-place of God with men and should not be adorned with unusual or misleading symbols. Finally, the Sacred Congregation notes that tabernacles that are off and apart from altars are strictly forbidden. More-over, with regard to the way of keeping the Blessed Sacrament or with regard to the form of the tabernacle, there is no presump-tion in favor of contrary customs, unless the custom is centenary or immemorial. Social Questions Speaking on May 3, 1957 (AAS, pp. 351-55), to a group of Belgians, the Holy Father underlined the necessity of better housing for a large number of people. Ten to twenty per cent of the total population of European countries, he pointed out, live in subhuman circumstances where they can not live a decent and truly human life. Such circumstances not only weaken health and physical stamina but also induce extensive moral damage: immorality; juvenile delinquency; loss of the desire to work; and revolt against the society that allows such subhuman conditions to exist. On May 26, 1957 (AAS, pp. 403-14), the Vicar of Christ addressed a group of Italian Catholic lawyers on the right way of giving assistance to those in prison. The Holy Father began his allocution by studying the presuppositions of all effec- 346 November, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS tive aid to prisoners. The first of these presuppositions is con-. cerned with the relationship that exists between the punishment and the crime committed. Only the conviction that the prisoner is culpable can furnish a sure basis for all consequent aid. It must be remembered, the Holy Father stated, that even in con-crete situations the great majority of men have the possibility of regulating their personal conduct and hence of contracting obli-gations and responsibilities. This is the reason why morality and law are correct when they assert that in a given case cessation of free will must be proved, not the presence of free will. The second presupposition to be borne in mind when work-ing for prisoners is concerned with the suffering that is necessarily included in the punishment. A prisoner, the Pontiff remarked, is not comparable to a sick person; since the latter has no obliga-tion to suffer, it is right to seek to lighten his sufferings as much as possible. The prisoner, however, deserves to suffer, hence the removal of all suffering cannot be desired in the case of prisoners. The third and final presupposition to be considered cen-ters around the meaning and purpose of the punishment that has been inflicted on the prisoner. Since human punishment should in its own way imitate divine punishment, the Holy Father turned to a consideration of the meaning and purpose of the punish-ments inflicted by God on sin. The primary and essential pur-pose of divine punishment, he observed, is the reestablishment of the order of things violated by sin. By sin, man prefers him-self to God; by imposing suffering on the sinner, God constrains him to submit himself to the divine will and hence to restore the order he has previously violated. This, however, is not the sole purpose of divine punishment as far as this world is concerned. Often the punishments willed by God in this life are rather medic-inal than vindictive. They are meant to reeducate the sinner, to lead him to repentance, and to turn him toward goodness and justice. All these aims of divine punishment should be striven for also by human punishment. 347 R. F. SMITH Review .for Religious His Holiness then took up the manner in which prisoners can best be aided. The first aid to be given to prisoners is to know them thoroughly: their origin, their formation, their life up to the present time. Secondly, one should attempt to con-vince them that through their detention they can efface the errors of their past and remake their lives. Finally, one must love the prisoner. It is not sufficient to approach him with correct ideas and notions; along with this must go a love that is as comprehensive and devoted as is maternal love. In conclu-sion the Holy Father advises his listeners to look on prisoners as God looks upon them: in a spirit of justice tempered with mercy. Miscellaneous Matters On June 2, 1957 (AAS, pp. 433-603), Pius XII issued the Motu Proprio Cleri sanctita¢i, promulgating a new section of the projected Code of Canon Law for the Oriental Churches. This new section contains 558 canons and corresponds roughly to the second book of the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church. The section deals successively with the following points: the oriental rites; physical and moral persons; clerics in general; clerics in particular from patriarchs to assistant and substitute pastors; the laity. The prescriptions of these new canons will go into effect March 25, 1958. On May t9, 1957 (AAS, pp. 414-17), the Roman Pontiff delivered a radio message to the Third Portuguese Congress of the Apostleship of Prayer held at Braga. In the message the Pope expressed his great desire to see the Apostleship of Prayer propagated among all catagories of persons in the Church. The principal part of his message, however, is concerned with what he called the proper essence and the secret of the immense effectiveness of the Apostleship of Prayer. This is nothing else than the practice of the morning offering of all one's actions and sufferings of the coming day for the intentions of the Sacred Heart and of the Roman Pontiff. This practice, the Holy Father 348 Nove~ber, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS noted, is an elementary and simple one, but when motivated by a conscientious desire to live it out completely, it can revolution-ize a life. On May 20, 1957 (AAS, pp. 355-61), the Holy Father gave an inaugural address for the week of astronomical studies held under the auspices of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The body of the address is devoted to a summary of recent findings with regard to the nature of the stars, in the course of which the Holy Father accepts five billion years as a reason-able estimate of the age of the universe. At the end of the allocution the Pope remarked that that man is fortunate who can read in the stars the message they carry, inviting man to rise to the knowledge of Him who gives truth and life and who estab-lishes His dwelling in the hearts of those who adore and love Him. On May 10, 1957 (AAS, pp. 427-29), the Sacred Peni-tentiary published the text of two prayers composed by His Holiness. The first is a prayer to our Lady of Lourdes; an indulgence of three years can be gained by the faithful each time they recite the prayer with contrite heart. The second prayer is a prayer to be recited by physicians; physicians can gain an indulgence of three years whenever they say the prayer with contrite heart. On June 4, 1957 (AAS, p. 429), the Sacred Penitentiary announced that a plenary indulgence could be gained in connec-tion with the practice of the twelve Sundays in honor of the infancy of our Lord. The conditions for the indulgence are the following: prayers and pious meditations in honor of the mysteries of Christ's infancy on twelve consecutive Sundays of one's own choosing; confession; Communion; visit to a church or public oratory with prayers there for the intention of the Holy Father. 349 Persevering in Prayer Mot:her Marie Vandenbergh, R.C. I. Introduction CONCERNING IGNATIAN spirituality less has been writ-ten perhaps than about some other schools of perfection; nevertheless, there are enough articles and books extant on the subject to make one pause before adding to their number. Especially if one's years in religion are not many, will the query arise, "What do you have to contribute?" The answer is, "Not very much." The best to be hoped for is that being relatively lately come to the field of interior combat might lend freshness to one's point of view. The re-cently won scars of battle might generate a more sympathetic and generally helpful approach to the problems confronting beginners about to enter the lists. There are, conceivably, certain advantages that derive from having traveled far enough along the road of the interior life to get some perspective, but not so far as to have forgotten what it felt like to be just start-ing out. Furthermore, and more importantly as a credential, the Cenacle, keynoted by its motto, "Perseverantes in oratione," has, throughout its brief history of less than two hundred years, upheld in its constitutions an ideal of high spiritual excellence. However large the discrepancy between these ideals of the con-gregation and one's personal attainments, it is surely nonetheless permissible to set forth this heritage and let it speak for itself, at least in regard to one or two problems of beginners in prayer. The Cenacle Religious have an Ignatian Rule and are devoted to the work of providing retreats for laywomen and teaching Christian doctrine. It is not, then, surprising that St. Ignatius's book, The Spiritual Exercises, figures largely in our novitiate training, as well as all through our religious life. 350 PERSEVERING IN PRAYER We are told early in our formation that a Cenacle Religious must learn to love "the solitude of the heart" and "live in prayer as in her proper element." As means toward this spiritual growth, we are given, to quote a superior general, both "meth-ods" and "liberty." The "liberty" is that inspired by the Holy Spirit; the "methods" are those suggested by St. Ignatius--his "Spiritual Exercises." If his directives applying to the special circumstances of retreat time are set aside, there remains a remarkable body of instruction for those who wish to learn the science of the saints and for those who are constituted their guides. In this article we shall prescind entirely from the retreat relationship and, using the Exercises as a manual of spirituality, concentrate on the part methodical meditation is meant to play in our spiritual lives. II. Pro's and Con's The ultimate purpose of any sort of meditation, formal or informal, is to bring a soul to give itself to God by a process of instruction, reasoning, and resolution resulting in the formation of religious convictions and in great purity of life. Training in the use of formal meditation methods often starts with ready-made outlines, developing into personally prepared meditation outlines. This has two principal advantages. First, it prevents waste of time and energy to have something definite in mind to do when you go to your meditation. Second, as a result of the first, it helps develop the habit of prayer. Unless a girl has been living a modified rule of life in the world, the likelihood is that she has been praying "when she felt like it." Entering religious life she must learn to pray at a set time--whether she feels like it or not. A knowledge of prayer technique, i.e., an outlined meditation, will help her get started on days when she doesn't feel like it. It will keep her busy and trying to pray at times when prayer is more or less distasteful. Furthermore, fidelity to the attempt to "contact God," espe-cially when sensible consolation dries up, is a sine qua non 351 MOTHER MARIE VANDENBERGH Re~iew for Religious of real progress. This fidelity is a fruit of habitual use of a method. St. Teresa of Avila :lays down two rules for the would-be saint: refuse God nothing and never abandon the practice of prayer. Use of meditation methods can keep a soul from idleness in prayer time and prevent its giving up from sheer boredom with itself in time of dryness. There are, however, dangers to be avoided in the use of a method: strain and slavish fidelity to mechanics. While bridging the gap between the free and easy ~pray when you please" of life in the world and the regular, disciplined ~pray when you ought" of religious life, it is of paramount importance to avoid undue strain. The spontaneity of the soul's response to God must be safeguarded. It is that element of sweet familiarity with God which, as far as God's grace allows, makes of prayer the personal relationship it is meant to be. Undue efforts such as straining for ~success" in meditation, in-sistence on completion of the full meditation outline, or self-induced fixation of the imagination are sure to result in a ~broken head." Some such form of tension becomes a danger wherever emphasis on high ideals is combined with strict discipline. Ex-aggerated fidelity is one of the occupational hazards of religious life. Especially in the atmosphere of a novitiate, a spirit of holy emulation can make it contagious. To such an extent is this true that over-eagerness can be suspected of spoiling more voca-tions than laxity; for tension, though combined with all the good will in the world, has a paralyzing effect. In certain cases it persists as a chronic ailment through the early years of professed life, sooner or later, let us hope, to be outgrown. In extreme cases, however, the victim may be spiritually crippled for life. The cause of the difficulty does not lie, needless to say, in the traditional methods of prayer. The trouble arises when, instead of the neophyte's mastering the method, the method masters the neophyte. What was intended as a help toward union 352 November, 1957 PERSEVERING IN PRAYER with God becomes an end instead of a means and acts as a hindrance to that very union. The exasperating part of it is that often the victim of this malady, if questioned, would reply glibly that, of course, a method is a means, not an end in itself--and then go right on clinging inordinately to his little shell of prayer technique. In his mind, though he does not realize it, prayer formality has become an indispensible means to union with God; whereas authors and advocates of prepared methods intend them to be used tantum-quantum, just insofar as they help to attain this union. An inexperienced soul can become more attached to its method than to its God. It makes him feel so secure. If ever doubts as to his fidelity to prayer arise, he has only to point to his daily "two preludes, three points, and a colloquy." There, he feels, is concrete evidence that he has not been wasting his prayer time. He does not realize until much later, perhaps, that he has been slowly strangling his spiritual life. Retreat masters have dealt with this difficulty, books have been written about it; but still it can happen that a suffering soul will not recognize itself to be a victim of prayer-tension until the sterility of its meditation and its self-imposed rigidity threaten to kill its religious life entirely. Sheer starvation of soul is its inevitable result. In order to forestall this turn of events if possible, those in charge of the spiritual formation of young people exercise a great deal of vigilance. "I watched my young men like a hawk," said one novice master, "to detect signs of strain." As soon as they began to pray spontaneously and to speak familiarly with God, they were instructed to leave their prepared meditation outline for as long as they could pray without reference to it. "Be relaxed in the presence of God," was the advice they were given. There is a possible hazard, too, for people with a studious turn of mind. They, more easily than others, can be tempted to make a purely mental exercise of their meditation and never 353 MOTHER MARIE VANDENBERGH Review for Religious really pray. There is no real "contact" with God at all. This makes of meditation nothing but a sterile academic study instead of an affair of the heart that leads them to fall in love with their Lord Christ. III. Liberty of Spirit Besides these rather obvious dangers to be avoided in the use of meditation methods, there is a further point it might be well to discuss here. The principal charge leveled against tech-niques of prayer is that slavish fidelity to "two preludes, three points, and a colloquy" hinders a soul's progress toward God in the more simplified forms of prayer. The Spiritual ercises of St. Ignatius are often called upon to bear the brunt of such criticism. For some reason it has been difficult to convince the praying public that to advocate methods of prayer is not the same as to advocate slavish fidelity to them. St. Ignatius of Loyola, himself a contemplative and even a mystic, could hardly have recommended a spirituality which excluded such graces a priori. Anyone thoroughly grounded in Ignatian spirituality knows well enough that there is in it wide margin for originality and freedom. In the beginning of the life of prayer, however, the method is more in evidence than the freedom. The same is true of playing the piano. You learn the scales before you improvise. Benson, in his The Friendship o.f Christ, and Boylan, in This Tremendous Lover, point out that one's prayer life develops along the same lines as human friendship. In the early stages of mere "bowing acquaintance," formalities and conven-tional conversation topics like politics and the weather make up the larger part of the relationship. As the acquaintance deepens, there is growing mutual self-revelation, a sharing of tastes, of personal history, of hopes and fears. There is mutual interest in and support of one another's projects and plans. Should friend-ship ripen to the point of falling in love, the amount of con-versation is reduced to a minimum, and the silent language of 354 November, 1957 PERSEVERING IN PRAYER love takes its place. There is a ~honeymoon" stage, followed by inevitable trials and tests which strengthen and mature the soul. The maturing of married love has frequently been de-scribed as a process of transition from eros to agape, from selfish to unselfish love. A similar process goes on in the prayer life. Eventually prayer comes to the point where it lives by a continuous, silent sacrifice of self for the sake of the Beloved. Such prayer is a life of love and is consonant with a great deal of suffering and self-forgetfulness. Married couples who have lived and loved together for many years have no great need of words; they are content to share each other's silent company. Even so does the soul's happiness come to consist of being silent together with God. In human love this silent togetherness can be such a dear and deep and precious thing that when one partner dies, the other does not linger on much longer. The whole reason for living has disappeared. So in prayer one's whole self can come to be lost in God who is one's only reason for living, moving, being. IV. Variety of Method Although all comparisons limp, at least it should be obvious that in our friendship with the most wonderful Person in the universe we should expect growth and development and change. The purpose of the variety of methods provided by St. Ignatius is to allow for this most desirable adaptability to the attractions of grace. Furthermore, the key to this adaptation is St. Ignatius's direction, "In that point in which I find what I desire, there I will rest, without being anxious to proceed . . . until I have satisfied myself" (Addition IV). This varying of meditation methods to suit one's need of the moment is sometimes a matter wherein a well-meaning young person is too timid. Wisely reluctant to trust her own instincts unless they receive the approval of authority, a beginner must still remember that obedience is controlled initiative. With cer-tain personalities the emphasis must be on the control; with 355 MOTHER ~ARIE VANDENBERGH .Review for Religious others, on the initiative. During the years of religious formation especially, there should be the control of reporting to the novice mistress or superior on how one's time of prayer was spent-- this at intervals of at least two weeks--together with submission to her judgment as to one's success or failure. However, the temptation to cling to a method already approved simply for fear that any other will not receive a similar approval is a kind of human respect. Reduced to its ultimate form, this is hoping to please men at the price of failing to please God. God looks for our initiatives; indeed, if they are good, it is He who inspires them. The novice will do well to remember that she is being led by the hand in order to learn to travel the road alone. Over-dependence on the novice mistress is at least equally as bad as failure to have sufficient recourse to her guidance. Like a good physician, the novice mistress aims at making her ministrations unnecessary. Second year novices, other things being equal, should expect to need less counseling than in their first year, etc. It should not take long for a reasonably intelligent person to acquire enough facility in the use of prayer techniques to begin a little experimentation in method variations. The more personal and familiar our prayer becomes, the better it accomplishes its purpose of uniting us to our Lord and transforming us into His likeness. Of course, if we fall as it were naturally into one or other method, there is no great need to force ourselves to vary our approach--except occasionally to counteract monotony, weariness, boredom; in general, to avoid getting into an unthinking rut. Some people more easily think their way to God, and their meditations reflect this trait. Others lead with their heart. Some can study our Lord in the gospel text with a ready, but quiet, imagination. Some whose imagination tends to run riot, stirring up over-strong emotions, pray best by a loving attention to the presence of God--a simple, peaceful, wordless gaze of the soul focused upon its invisible Guest. 356 Novembe~, 1957 PERSEYERING IN PRAYER Sometimes our prayer is a kind of seeking, searching, asking, wanting. It is a quest for God, a thirst for God, a need for more and more of Him and His love and peace. This is another form of wordless prayer. We may come away from it with no specific resolution, with just an increased consciousness of our need for God, God alone, God first and foremost. It would still be a very good prayer. Some are able to speak familiarly with God, telling Him all the events and hopes and needs of their daily life. So long as there are moments of pause when we can listen to Him, this is a very helpful prayer. It should, however, be a conversation, not a monologue. Too many words can be a barricade between the soul and God. In our daily mental prayer one of these methods may pre-dominate or we may use a combination. On certain days, at certain times in our lives, our prayer methods will almost auto-matically take on certain changes of pattern, simply from neces-sity. As Father R. H. J. Steuart liked to say, the level of our prayer is the level of our lives. Chameleon-like, our prayer adapts to our presefit state of soul, of emotion, or of physical well-being. A real effort to pray when we are in a state of high excitement or deep depression will have a tranquilizing, stabilizing effect. When we are very tired, just to remain numbly in the presence of God is an appropriate prayer. Just to be with Him suffices for us then. The very sick can sometimes unite themselves to God only by the loving contemplation of a crucifix; sometimes even that is beyond them. A weak grip on a crucifix or rosary can symbolize their intention to pray, becoming an outward sign of the inward turning heavenward. When a person is in a state of dryness, interior trial, or is interiorly agitated by a difficulty from without, his prayer is a prayer of spiritual pain. The soul suffers; suffers, it may be, with little hope of respite, with no alleviating sense of vitality as sometimes accompanies a beginner's cross. Father Caussade 357 MOTHER MARIE VANDENBERGH Review for Religious considers it a great grace thus to "suffer weakly," unable to find satisfaction in the thought that one is bearing up nobly under one's cross. This state of pure suffering is extremely pleasing to God and highly profitable to the soul. A person's prayer in this state may be a continual interior Miserere, springing from a great sense of unworthiness and guilt, and in spite of having no specific blemish of conscience to which it may be attributed. Later on, depending upon the degree of purification already accomplished by this state, one's prayer may be an inner attitude of oblation, willingly offering one's suffering self in sacrifice to God. "Take, O Lord, and receive all that I am and all that I have." Lastly, when the purgation of suffering has nearly run its course, an attitude of adoration, of God-regarding prostration of soul, may begin to predominate. These are all methods of prayer which, explicitly or im-plicity, can be found in St. Ignatius's book, The F~xercises. In his very first annotation St. Ignatius gives the title of "spiritual exercises" to "all methods of preparing and disposing the soul ¯ . . to seek and to find the divine will," adding a little later on that "in these spiritual exercises it is more fitting and much better, in seeking the divine will, that the Creator and Lord Himself should communicate Himself to the devout soul . . ." (Annota-tion XV). As Father Peeters has pointed out, "The Exercises in their entirety are presented to us as a means of entering into con-tact with God." V. Discursive Prayer a Preparation for Contemplation Used properly and suitably adapted to the individual, these techniques of prayer are calculated to leave the door open for the divine initiatives by which God leads a soul through darkness into light. Fruitful meditations result in a generosity and purity of soul which dispose a person, insofar as it depends on him, to receive the graces of infused contemplation. In this "gift of prayer," as it is sometimes called, God's action, though imper-ceptible in itself, is powerful in its effects and may temporarily 358 November, 1957 PERSE~CERING IN PRAYER put an end to our ability to meditate discursively. The soul is reduced to a state which seems to be one of comparative inaction, weakness, and passivity. This is because God is taking the lead and the soul is willingly following Him. St. John of the Cross gives three signs by which the director may recognize the beginnings of passive union: impossibility of meditation, painful anxiety as to fervor, and dryness, wi~out consolation in God or in creatures. A soul accustomed to discursive prayer finds a most dis-concerting adaptation necessary when it arrives at the threshold of contemplative prayer. The main reason for the element of surprise is that we cannot possibly imagine ahead of time what the direct action of God will be like or what precise form the purification will take. Secondly, it is a fairly common, though unwarranted, assumption that the habit of prayer increases ac-cording to the familiar pattern of a purely natural habit. But there is this remarkable difference between the habit of prayer and, say, the habit of playing the piano. In the latter case, repetition breeds facility, the habit increasing in kind; whereas the unpredictable element of the supernatural in the habit of prayer allows for an otherwise unaccountable psychological phenomenon. Dom Chapman in one of his letters puts it most clearly: "Progress in prayer is not (1) from troublesome discursive meditation to easy contemplation of a beautiful thought; and from weak affections to fervent and strong affections, but (2) from easy discursive meditations to the impossibility of medi-tating at all (except by ceasing to pray), and from easily warmed affections to no affections at all--to aridity, that is, and to 'night.'" The paradoxical fact about meditation is that we expect it to become easier and easier~'and instead it becomes harder and harder, then "nauseous or impossible." Dom Chapman says in another letter, "Meditation is usually necessary in order to induce souls to love God and to give them-selves to Him. But at that point--when it begins to be reached 359 MOTHER MARIE VANDENBERGH Review for Religious --the power of meditation usually stops and something better begins." It is not our purpose here to analyze the ~something better," but to indicate the point at which there must be a radical change in our technique of prayer. That St. Ignatius envisaged the possiblity of such a transi-tion is evident in his F~xerc[s~s, pronouncedly in the contrast between Annotations IX and X. He presupposes knowledge of the different phases of prayer in his instructions to the director, though he includes nothing specific in regard to passive prayer in his instructions for the retreatant. The reason for this is primarily historical, for the Jesuit founder had been called up before the Spanish inquisitors two and three times to have his writings examined for teaching a false mysticism. In such cir-cumstances it was better not to put everything he knew into print. Secondarily, there is a reason for his reticence that to some extent still applies. This is simply that it is almighty God who decides when and if a soul is to enter upon the way of contempla-tion, and it is the director who decides whether or not this has actually been the case. St. Ignatius allows for the possibility of a soul's discontinuing discursive prayer in his instruction that it rests where it finds satisfaction. He expects the director to do the further instruction when the need arises. Naturally, a soul is not incapable of recognizing in itself the symptoms mentioned by St. John of the Cross. But no man is a good judge in his own case, and far too often wishful thinkers in the spiritual life have attributed to almighty God phenomena that were actually the natural products of their own faculties and pas-sions, the result, say, of insomnia or indigestion, or in some cases the work of the devil. Hence the need for solid guidance. In the text of the F~xercises, St. Ignatius divides the retreat into four ~weeks" which correspond roughly to the purgative (first week), illuminative (second and third weeks), and unitive (fourth week) ways so often mentioned by spiritual writers. He 360 November, 1957 PERSEYERING IN PRAYER makes a noteworthy distinction between the treatment to be ac-corded souls suited only for the meditations on the purpose of life, on sin, and on repentance customary in the first "week" and the treatment of souls capable of the greater service of God asked of them in the ensuing "weeks." He has two sets of "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits," applying to the age-old principles whereby the director decides if a soul is being influenced by the good or the evil spirit or by its own self. The rules for souls of the first-week category are rules for beginners in the spiritual life, i.e., either souls struggling to break with habits of mortal sin or innocent souls just learn-ing how to meditate. (Discursive meditation is good for both alike.) The rules for the second week are for the more pro-ficient. Their application extends indefinitely onward into the heights of union with God. This marked difference between the advice St. Ignatius would give beginners and the advice suitable to the more advanced shows plainly that the author of the Exercises took it for granted that the time would come when a radical change would take place in the soul's activity. In other words, he allows for the fact that discursive meditation in many cases develops into something very different, while taking into con-sideration the instances where it does not. "If Ithe retreatant] be a person who has been little versed in spiritual matters and . . if he betrays impediments to making further progress in the service of God our Lord . . . , then let not the person giving the Exercises converse with him upon the rules of the second week for discerning various spirits, because in the pro-portion that those of the first week will benefit him, those of the second will do him harm, because they contain matter too subtle and too high for him to understand" (Annotation IX). St. Ignatius never intended his methods to be set above the valid inspirations of grace, though some of his devotees have at times given that impression. His admonition, "It is 361 MOTHF~R MARIE VANDENBERGH Review for Religious not to know much, but to savor the matter interiorly that fills and satisfies the soul," certainly shows that he meant meditation to be used in such a manner as to pave the way for the simpli-fying process God so often undertakes in the prayer of the generous. A person who remembers this advice will find Igna-tian spirituality an excellent preparation for "the gift of prayer." By way of further example we might point out that a soul formed by the asceticism of St. Ignatius is told, when prayer is dry and disgusting, to prolong it somewhat beyond the usual space of time; when prayer is sweet and easy, to resist the temptation to linger longer. This discipline breeds the detach-ment from even spiritual delights and the perseverance through times of desolate prayer that are the necessary preparation for higher gifts of God. This teaching trains a soul not to give up when ~he going gets tough and, contrariwise, not to make sweetness or facility the criterion of its success in prayer, safely guiding it between the Scylla and Charybdis of its spiritual Odyssey. VI. Adapting the Exercises to the More Proficient Throughout the Exercises there is a noticeable progres-sion of thought, an ascending scale of higher and higher moti-vation, designed to overtake a soul at whatever point it has reached in its journey toward God and guide it further, as far as the grace of God permits. St. Ignatius, though unwilling to speak to beginners about the conduct of the more advanced, did not believe that an earnest soul who has made some progress should be allowed to think that there is no other sort of prayer possible except discursive meditation for "ordinary" Christians and mystical phe-nomena for the saints. This is a common misconception castigated by Father M. Eugene Boylan, O.C.S.C., in his practical little vol-ume, Difficulties in ~ental Prayer. Although St. Ignatius in Annotation XI exhorts the retreatant "so to toil in the first week as if he did not hope to obtain anything in the second," 362 November, 1957 PERSEVER,ING IN PRAYER he does not intend this to mean that a soul should be kept in ignorance of the fact that there is something further to attain, especially if he is generous in striving to correct his defects and to remove the obstacles to his further progress. The sign St. Ignatius gives as an indication to the director that it is safe to instruct a soul in the ways of more advanced spirituality is the discovery that the soul ~is assaulted and tempted under the semblance of good," because this is characteristic of a per-son who ~is exercising himself in the illuminative way" (Anno-tation X). Sometimes in the providence of God it is not very long before the neophyte needs to know what lies ahead for him. When a soul, then, has reached the degree of purity of life where its temptations are not of a ~gross and sensual nature," or when discursive meditation is ceasing for some legitimate reason to be profitable, it is time for him to learn what the future may hold in store. Then, if his prayer begins to dry up, there will be less danger that he will do himself harm by violent efforts to ~pray as I used to," not realizing that there can come a time when a person who says, ~I can no longer meditate," must learn to pray another way. What is the part to be played by methodical meditation during the confusing transition period when the soul is not as yet accustomed to its new role as patient rather than agent? Dom Chapman's advice at this point was always, ~Pray as you can and don't try to pray as you can't,t'' With some persons, the transition between discursive prayer and passive prayer is' abrupt. With others it is gradual, periods of passivity being interspersed with times when meditation is possible to some degree. There is likely to be danger of illusion in refusing to meditate when it becomes possible, even as there is danger in making violent efforts to meditate when it is not possible. Here one's early training in outlined meditation becomes very useful, for the safe course seems to be to make an initial try at medi-tation when beginning the time of prayer, but to rest content if the trial proves a failure. The habit of turning to a preo 363 MOTHER MARIE VANDENBERGH Review for Religious pared outline is a safeguard, in spite of the fact that more and more the method of "doing something" must be replaced by a method of ~doing nothing," of learning to take one's cues from God, God working within the sanctuary of the soul. Sometimes a soul finds it helpful to pray, as it were, by means of an attitude of soul, of humility, supplication, and self-oblation. For such a soul has received ~the call of the King," inviting those who wish to distinguish themselves ir~ God's service to follow their Lord in poverty and suffering. If a person cannot make the offering of himself and all he posses-ses to serve the kingdom of Christ, he obviously has neither the grace nor the capacity for the sacrifices necessary for further progress in the prayer life. If he has made the offering, he must be prepared to fulfill it literally; for, stripped of even the spiritual armor in which he trusted, he will suffer unbearably in the experience of his poverty in the sight of God. This, however, is the way God must treat a soul in order to make it pliant in His hands. When a person has learned how to remain tranquil under the direct action of God, he has learned how to pull in the oars of meditation-technique and let ,:he breath of the Spirit fill his sails. He has learned how to launch out into the deep. Let it be noted, though, that, if the soul may ~pull in the oars," it does not throw them away. As Father 1~. H. J. Steuart put it, "You don't tear down the staircase just because you have arrived at the top." Father Boylan makes the sage re-mark that we must have "the humility" to return to discursive prayer when the facility for it is restored. In many an instance the course grace takes after passive stages have done their work is to restore the discursive ability in combination with the infused contemplation that is the fruit of the purification the soul has undergone. It would be a tempting digression to go more into detail in regard to the rules for discerning spirits, but that would be beyond the scope of this article which set out to be no 364 November, 1957 PERSEVERING IN PRAYER more than a general survey. The point we have tried to em-phasize is that in the text of the Exercises can be found the evidence that St. Ignatius, though he teaches methodical prayer, by no means intended to limit souls to it if they were drawn by God to something simpler. He definitely planned the F~xercises to prepare and dispose a soul to find more quickly the will of God in its own regard--and devotion to the will of God is one of the marks of a contemplative soul. There are references in rules 2 and 8 of the second week to "consolation without any preceding cause" as being the work of God par excellence in the soul. There follow warn-ings against pseudo-consolation inspired by the devil and the illusions of auto-suggestion apt to follow upon actual and God-sent "consolation." These show how familiar St. Ignatius was--and how familiar he expected the director to be--with the hazards attendant upon even the most legitimate graces of infused prayer. Without doubt, Ignatian spirituality, rightly understood, is designed to prepare a soul for God's direct action, protect it during the dangers of the transition period, and safeguard it from illusion when it has accustomed itself to surrender to the will of God. Mother Marie Aimee Lautier, superior general of the Cenacle for nearly fifty years, stressed the function of prayer in our "mixed" vocation as "contemplative in action." "Masters of the spiritual life," she wrote, "teach that the soul called to perfection, after being exercised in the exterior practice of charity, is drawn by the contemplation of divine things to an interior conversion and purification, so that being wholly en-kindled and burning with divine love, it is impelled anew by the strength of this love towards creatures in order to give them of its fullness: 'The love of Christ impels us' (II Cor. 5:14). "Its charity, then, is quite different from what it was at the beginning; and its zeal which at first was the auxiliary of natural activity now becomes the disinterested fruit of love." 365 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious This same holy religious exhorted her daughters, "Ask for this precious gift [of prayer]; we must prepare ourselves to receive it, and we must await it with confidence. It is the gift par excellence of our vocation." Of course, the Cenacle tlas no monopoly on it. We are grateful, though, to have the strong guidance of St. Ignatius to help us achieve our goal. Book Reviews [Material for this department should be sent to Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] THE FIRST JESUIT, ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA. By Mary Purcell. Pp. 417. The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. 1957. 5.oo. In her preface to this delightful life of St. Ignatius, Miss Purcell says that if he were better known, he would be better loved and oftener invoked. Her own efforts are no small contribution to this happy con-summation. Too often St. Ignatius has been presented to us in the guise of what Father La Farge, in his forward, calls "a glorified efficiency expert," with the result that the lovable qualities of the saint are frequently overlooked, thus leaving him in these later days a figure more feared and admired than loved. "It is interesting to note," writes Miss Purcell, "how many people in so many different walks of life 'become fond of Inigo.' He seems to have had an easy and spontaneous manner, a nature that led him to make friends quickly. In the places where he lived, people soon got to know of him . He had an extraordinary flair for knowing exactly which ap-proach would win the heart of the particular individual or group he was contacting at any given time. And 'When he gazed at one,' writes a contemporary, 'while his conversation was benign, his eyes seemed to pierce the heart, to see all; conversing with him only once, you felt that he knew you through and through.' " It would seem that the reaction has well begun; and future biographers, taking their cue from writers like PSre Dudon, Father Brodrick, and Miss Purcell, will in the future give us an Ignatius 366 November, 1957 BOOK REVIEWS who, besides being a founder and a general, is also a fellow-pilgrim and a father. A preliminary glance at the bibliography might suggest that Miss Purcell has undertaken to write something more than a merely popular life of St. Ignatius, and the reader will not have gone very far before he realizes that there is a great deal of scholarship to it; and once he gets himself tangled up in the notes at the end of the volume, he won't have any doubt about it. Miss Purcell has gone to original sources, some of which may have been within easy reach, like the seventy-seven volumes of the ~lonumenta llistorica Societatis Jesu. But others must have been farther removed, like the diaries of the pilgrims who accompanied Inigo on his pilgrimage to Jeru-salem or about his time made pilgrimages of their own. There is a very thorough treatment of the Irish mission of Fathers Broet and Salmeron, but this reviewer feels that Miss Purcell is too sweeping when she calls it the only complete failure in the life of Ignatius. After all, they were not missionaries bent on the conversion of a pagan land. They were papal nuncios. They came, they saw, they returned. Uoila! Since they were papal nuncios, we might have wished that their visitation had been carried on with a little more leisure and something of the ceremonial becoming their exalted rank. But they knew they were putting their heads into the lion's mouth, even if St. Ignatius thought that Ireland was another Guipuzcoa when in fact it was what we should call today hardly more than a satellite state. The very fact that they survived, surveyed conditions, and escaped with their lives to make their report is by itself a considerable achievement and deserves to be regarded as some measure of success. Some readers will be very sceptical about accepting one or other of Miss Purcell's conclusions, for instance, that Inigo was "barely five feet tall" and that he was "red-headed." Consulting the sources given I can find none that warrants such a conclusion. He is described as being of "medium height" or "a little below medium." Barely five feet would place him in the under-sized class completely. One wonders how a man of such small proportions (even remember-ing Napoleon) could hope for any notable success in the use of arms on battlefield or jousting court, or expect to play Amadis to any Oriana. Yet we know that Inigo, the caballero, made no bones about aiming at glorious successes in both instances. 367 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious There is a text in the Monumenta which refers to the caput aereum, and although the term occurs twice in the same paragraph, the editors of the hlonumenta seem to be convinced that aereunt should be cor-rected to cereum, since it evidently refers to the wax effigy which was taken from the death-mask. His complexion seems to have been what we should today call blond verging on ruddy. Juan Pascual, who described him as he remembered meeting him on his way down from Montserrat, wrote of him as being "'no molt alt, pero blanc j ros, j de molt bona cara" (p. 83), which is the Catalan for "medium height, fair complexion, and handsome." Occasionally Miss Purcell is a bit unguarded and leaves herself open to misinterpretation, as when she says: "One cannot think of Ignatius of Loyola limping a little at times as he trudges from Rome out to Monte Cassino to give the Exercises to Dr. Ortiz and back again to see how Cardinal Contarini is faring in his contemplations, without recalling a veritable litany of great names . " The reader is not always ready to interpose a month or more between these two excursions; and, while Miss Purcell of course knows better, this sentence can easily give the the untraveled reader the impression that Monte Cassino is one of the outlying hills of Rome and that St. Ignatius was giving the Exercises simultaneously, but separately, to these two veritably great men, Pedro Ortiz and Cardinal Contarini. We do know that once he had three exercitants in retreat simul-taneously in different parts of Rome, a task which obliged him daily to trudge practically the periphery of the city, "limping a little," not only at times, but every step of the way. Limitations of space may be responsible for other false impres-sions as that in St. Ignatius's dealing with Father Simon Rodrigues, whom he did not threaten with "excommunication," or even dismissal, although he was fully prepared to proceed to this latter extreme if Rodrigues persisted in his refusal to leave Portugal and come to Rome, as his Father General had begged him to do in letter after letter. But, then, Miss Purcell did not write this book for specialists. She has given us a delightful picture of St. Ignatius, but an in-complete one. In fact, who would ever think of making it complete? For what she has given us we should be deeply grateful. The points here adversely touched upon are minor indeed and do not in the least impair the picture that is actually presented. The reader is 368 November, 1957 ~OOK REVIEWS given a fair and unbroken page to examine, typographically speaking; but he pays for this satisfaction in the added labor of tracking down references. But Miss Purcell's publisher is to blame for that; and, after all, it is for the most part only rugged reviewers or determined researchers who will have to bear that burden. Their growling should not be taken as an attempt to bite.--WH,LI,.\.x~ J. Youxc,, S.J. A WOMAN OF UNITY. By Sister Mary Celine, S.A. Pp 357. Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement, Graymoor, Garrison, New York. 1956. $4.50. A Woman of Unity tells the story of Mother Lurana of Gray-moor. The career of this "remarkable woman" is traced through her childhood, her searchings as a young woman for a life of perfect poverty in Anglican communities, her founding of Graymoor with Father Paul Francis, her reception into the Church with her com-munity in 1909, and her direction of the Society of the Atonement in her mature years. Mother Lurana is an inspiring personality; and in these days, when church unity is talked of more seriously than at any time since the Protestant Revolt, her life and vocation are of especial significance. It is most interesting to read of the humble beginnings of the Chair of Unity Octave at Graymoor during Mother Lurana's Anglican days and also to know of her dissatisfaction even then with the Anglican position on the unity and leadership of the Church: "In legislative bodies not so much as a committee of three can discharge its functions, unless one of the three presides in the chair of unity. It is a futile dream to contemplate a united Church on earth without a visible head. If every parish must have its rector, and every diocese its bishop, and every province its archbishop, how could the whole Catholic Church throughout the world exist as one fold without having one supreme or chief shepherd over all?" Mother Lurana conceived her life's task and the task of her society to be that of "repairer of the breach," to use one of her favorite ways of expressing her vocation to work for church unity. Sister Mary Celine, a member of Mother Lurana's community who knew her personally, has faithfully reconstructed her story from letters, official documents, and personal recollections. The biography proceeds in clear and chronogical sequences, and Mother Lurana is given ample opportunity to speak for herself in letters and exhorta-tations to the community. Sister Mary Celine brings the reader into the Graymoor community to share the joys and sorrows of the mother 369 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious foundress and the pioneer nuns. The book, however, has a tone reminiscent of the sweet and moralizing hagiography popular in an earlier day, a tone to this reviewer somewhat distasteful, and abounds in phrases and reflections which seem a little worn. On the other hand, even though in the pages of A Woman of Unity Mother Lurana loses a trifle of the vibrant humanity which must have been hers, she clearly has aroused in her biographer and all her religious daughters an admiration which is at once warm and contagious. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to see how anyone who knew her could help but admire the courage and spirit of this woman who braved all in order to lead others to the Chair of Unity. --JOHN W. O'~IALLEY, THE WORD OF SALVATION. Translation and Explanation of I. The Gospel According to St. Matthew by Alfred Durand, S.J., and II. The Gospel According to St. Mark by Joseph Huby, S.J. Translated into English by John J. Heenan, S.J. Pp. 937. The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee 1, Wis. consin. 1957. $12.50. A translation of the famous Verbum Salutis series has been long overdue. Father Heenan is to be congratulated for making two of the volumes of this popular commentary available to English-speak-ing Catholics. The English version of both text and commentary is fortunately unabridged, and the translator has thoughtfully added a handy index for each Gospel. Father Heenan has preferred to reproduce the text of the Gospels with an eye to the French rather than to follow strictly any one of the standard English versions. But the words of the Gospel flow at least as smoothly as they do in the Confra-ternity edition, and to many they will have a more familiar ring. Some may be disconcerted by the alternation of you and thou in the text. However, the former is used consistently for the plural; and it seems that Father Heenan wisely opted for accuracy in this instance as in all other respects, since the main feature of the book is the commentary which closely follows the translation of the gospel text. The style of the English commentary follows the French quite well: simple, direct, concise, with occasional fluent passages. As for content, technical discussions are limited to a bit more than the minimum 370 November, 1957 ]lOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS claimed by the authors, but will prove to be of interest even to the layman in biblical studies. It should be noted that these few learned asides are written in non-technical language and can easily be handled by the average intelligent reader. They serve, too, to undergird what might otherwise be considered a pious commentary with little basis in historical fact. One cannot ignore history if one seeks a fuller understanding of the words of Christ. The Savior became incarnate for all men, but taught and toiled primarily for the lost sheep of the House of Israel. It was in their language, thought-patterns, and history that He voiced the Word of Salvation. This volume will go far to re-create for the preacher, student, and religious the atmosphere of the Gospel and its interpretation throughout the course of Christian tradition. It will be quite help-ful to those who prefer spiritual reading and meditation material which is more directly in touch with the words of the Gospel than is usually the case in a "life of Christ." The text and commentary are neatly divided into sections averaging about six pages of com-mentary for every five of ten verses of text. The apologetic value of the work should not be overlooked by teachers of high school and college. Father Smith Instructs Jackson, for all its merits, is often completely unacceptable to the college student or to the prospective convert whose chief difficulties lie in understanding the paradoxical words of Christ Himself. In this connection, Sodality study clubs (at least on the high school senior level) might use the Word of Salva-tion with much profit. May this excellent work see even more editions than its French original. It is to be hoped that the companion volume (Luke and John) will appear shortly.--CH.~RI, ES H. (~J~L~X', S.J. 8OOK ANNOUNCI:MI:NT$ THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 400 North Broadway, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. De Ordine. Tom. I. De Institutione. By Emmanuel Doronzo, O.M.I. Priests and seminarians will certainly want to read this monumental Latin work on the sacrament of orders. This first volume of more than a thousand large, closely printed pages begins with an eighty-two page introduction to the whole treatise which is to consist of seven chapters. The introduction is followed by the first chapter 371 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious which takes up all the remaining pages. This chapter is divided into three articles: the first on the existence of orders; the second on the sacramental nature of orders; and the last on the three grades of orders. There are exceptionally complete bibliographies and indices. The work gives promise in this first volume of being even more exhaustive than the author's justly renowned work on the sacrament of penance. Pp. 962 ~- 41. $19.00. Canon Law Digest. Annual Supplement Through 1956. By Lincoln T. Bouscaran, S.J., and James I. O'Connor, S.J. $1.75. CARMELITE SISTERS, Santa Teresita Hospital, Duarte, Calif. The Doctor's Widow. By William M. Queen. This is the first biography of Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacra-ment, foundress of the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of the Third Order. This congregation was born at the turn of the century and has two provinces, one in Mexico, the land of its birth, the other in California. Its expansion to California was one of God's ways of drawing good out of the evil of the persecution of the Church in Mexico. This inspiring book will be of interest to both religious and lay women since Mother Josefa was an exemplary wife before she became a religious. Pp 127. Cloth $1.00. The Soul's Elevation, by a Discalced Carmelite Father, a master of novices, is a meditation book for religious. In the introduction we find an explanation of meditation in which the author outlines both the Ignatian and the Sulpician methods. There is also a brief outline of prayer in general. In Part I there are eight meditations on the four last things. Part II contains nine meditations on the gifts of God to man. Part III devotes eight meditations to the Passion of our Lord. Part IV consists of three considerations on Holy Communion. There is also an appendix which contains "Mirror of the Good Religious" and meditations for the day of investiture, of first vows, of final vows, and of jubilee. Pp. 94. Paper $1.00. GRAIL PUBLICATIONS, St. Meinrad,Indiana. Follow Christ. No 18. This largepamphlet on vocation to the priesthood and the religious life, profusely illustrated with excellent photographs, deserves wide distribution. In it the questions which eighth grade boys and girls of today are actually asking about the important topic of vocation are answered by experts. It 372 November, 1957 [~OOK ANNOUNCEMENTS contains much information about seminaries and many religious orders and congregations for both men and women. Pp. 134. $0.75. SHEED AND WARD, 840 Broadway, New York 3, New York. Terrible Farmer Timson and Other Stories. By Caryll House-lander. Pictures by Renee George. Here are twelve stories for children which first appeared in The Children's Messenger of Lon-don, England. Children will be pleased with them and learn 'some very profitable truths without pain or effort. Pp. 152. $2.50. Soeur Angele and the Bell Ringer's Niece. By Henri Catalan. This is the third detective story by the author in which a Sister of Charity appears in the role of detective, and she does so without derogating in any way from her role as religious. The setting and characters are typically French. Pp. 179. $2.50. SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS, Mount Alvernia, Pittsburgh 9, Penn-sylvania. As a Living Oak. Biography of Mother Baptista Etzel, O.S.F. By Sister Mary Aurelia Arenth, O.S.F. There should be more, many more biographies of the men and women who have rendered out-standing service to God and religion. Such biographies would extend the sphere of influence for good which they exercised while living to the men and women of ~he present generation. We have the material; what seems to be lacking are authors to put it to good use. Hence we welcome the present biography with a great deal of satisfaction. It is the biography of Mother Baptista who was one of the pioneers of the Franciscan Sisters in Pennsylvania, and their third mother superior. That so many of the hardships of the pioneer days are now a matter of history for this congregation and that their sphere of influence has been so greatly enlarged is due very largely to her courage, vision, and fortitude. May this biography inspire many more souls to follow where she led; may it also inspire authors to gather material from the same fertile field, the pioneer religious in the United States. Pp. 133. $3.00. SISTERS OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN, St. Scholastica's, Glebe Point, Australia. The Wheeling Years. The Sisters of the Good Samaritan. 1857. 1957. Faith and reason prove the providence of God for His crea-tion. History illustrates it for the discerning reader. In The Wheel- 373 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS ing Years we have such an illustration. The book, made more graphic with drawings and many photographs, recounts the story of the foundation in Sydney, Australia, of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan just one hundred years ago. It tells the story of the first difficult years and their subsequent growth. Houses of the congregation are now found in the whole length and breadth of the island continent. This new congregation adapted the rule of St. Benedict to the needs and requirements of life on a continent at that time rapidly growing to the stature of a new nation. In this centenary publication we also find an account of their spirit, the training imparted to their members, and the work that they do for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Despite the many demands made on them at home, they have not been deaf to the call of the missions and have two foundations in Japan. We join with these sisters in thanking God for the innumerable graces of the past one hundred years. SOCIETY OF ST. PAUL, 2187 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island 14, New York. Holy Mass and Life. By Aloysius Biskupek, S.V.D. "The more the significance of the Mass is understood, and the more its power is used for the realization of the ideal Christian living, the more holiness there will be among the faithful." With these words the author sums up his book in the final chapter titled Conclusion. To offer adequate means to the faithful to attain this end was the motive which guided his pen. His explanations are clear, his exhortations persuasive, and his meditations on the unchanging prayers of the Mass even priests who have said Mass for many years would find helpful. There are twenty-three full page photographs of a priest at various parts of the Mass. Pp. 189. $2.50. 374 ( uestdons and Answers [The following answers are given by Father Joseph F. Gallen, S.J., professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland.] Why has the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS emphasized so frequently the simplification of the habit of religious women? The articles and statements in the R.EVIEW have been mere ex-planations of the principles of Plus XII and the Roman congregations. They have been relatively conservative, as may be seen from some of the following quotations. "The first is that of particular observances. Each of these, even the most material, should bear at least indirectly on the sanctification of the religious. We find a characteristic example in the habit. It is certain that in itself, especially as regards form or color, it contributes very little to the perfection of charity. Nevertheless, it places the re: ligious in a state of separation which is visible to the world and sym-bolizes and favors that interior separation which is the first step of the soul in search of God" (Dora Basset, O.S.B., Religious Sisters. 87). "When the different religious habits were adopted by the founders, they resembled the dress of the poor people of the period. Today a habit is required that helps the body, not one that embarrasses it; it should be practical, simple. A long habit and a simple veil are always graceful and becoming. They offer many practical advantages and are in perfect keeping with modesty and with religious consecration. In order that in our day the religious habit may keep its aesthetic appeal and its character of poverty together with its attractive symbolism of consecration, it would suffice to simplify it. It would thus become more practical, fewer pleats, narrower sleeves, less pretentious coifs and cornettes" (Reverend Victor de la Vierge, O.C.D., ibid., 272-73). "The choice of religious habits for each order was not necessarily motivated by rules of hygiene but frequently by contemporary usage and certain principles of mortification and decency. In recent years a number of religious habits have undergone simplification and a wholesome process of alleviation. Still, it must be recognized that many remain far from healthy either on account of weight (some 375 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religion, s weigh as much as fifteen pounds), or of difficulty of washing, or of headdresses and winged coifs worn tightly around the head and fore-head" (Sister Germaine Marie, Ckastity, 252). "It is simply not permissible that religious should pay more for their clothing than people of the world. There are habits that have become simply impossible with regard to both health and work, and some have become ridiculous and endanger the acceptance of a voca-tion" lMost Reverend A. Ancel, deta et Documenta (~'on.qressus (;en-eralis de Statibus Perfectionis, I, 381). '~In general, the people approve simplicity and practicality. In those consecrated to God, they desire a habit that is serious, but not eccentric, clean but not ostentatious. Therefore they cannot compre-hend today some religious habits, for example, of some sisters. The eccentricity and at times the awkwardness of their headdress is really incomprehensible. One cannot grasp the purpose of those yards of material in folds and pleats, of the starched cloth that makes the imprisoned face look like a mask, of an obstructive and ridiculous headcovering" (Reverend G. Amorth, S.S.P., ibid., I, 308-09). "Dear Father, many, very many of us are one hundred per cent in agreement with you. Please keep pushing, pushing, pushing and talking, talking, talking until results are obtained. It isn't our fault that we must wear the ridiculously conspicuous and unsuitable out-tits we do. We would be eternally grateful to you if you could do anything to hasten our release from these swaddling bands, this en-casement of the face, the starch, ruffles, pleats, quantity of cloth, number of articles of clothing, the many pins which relentlessly stick our fingers and neck, the dangling, rustling rosary which catches into everything, gets caught in train and bus seats, and is forever break-ing into a dozen pieces and constantly in the repair shop. The Blessed Mother did not make herself conspicuous by adopting a singular mode of dress; she conformed to the style of her day. Religious men when working wear suitable clothes, and neither do they have their heads all bundled up. Give me a habit which is extremely simple, suitable in color and for work, and something that can be thrown into a wash-ing machine and washed at least once a week the way common sense and decency demand. Deliver me from this intricate and unwieldy headdress whose weight and pressure cause so many headaches, eye troubles, sinus troubles, and many nervous troubles as well as adverse comments" (,1 communication from a sister on the missions). 376 Nove~nber, 1957 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 35- Will you please give a bibliography on renovation and adaptation? The primary sources are the statements of Pope Pius XII and the Roman congregations. These were given in the REV[E\V FOR RF.LI(;IOUS, 14-1955-3-11; 85-92; 123-38; 15-1956-309-27. The acts and documents of the first general congress on the states of perfection, held in Rome in 1950, are next in importance. They have been published in four volumes by the Edizioni Paoline under the title of Acta et Documenta Congressus Generalis de Statibus Per-fectionis. Many of the articles of these volumes are in Latin, French, Italian, other modern languages, but very few in English. The next place must be given to other Roman meetings, which can be found in the following works: Acta et Documenta Congressus Internationalis Superiorissarum Generalium; Atti e Documenti del Primo Convegno Internazionale delle Religiose Educatrici; Atti e Documenti del Primo Convegno delle Religiose Rieducatrici, all pub-lished by Edizioni Paoline. In the fourth place are the acts and documents of the various na-tional congresses, e. g., that held for the United States at the University of Notre Dame and published by the Paulist Press in separate volumes for the sisters' and men's sections under the title, Religious Community Life in the United States. The English congress has been published by the Salesian Press under the title, Religious Life Today. In the order of practicality, the next place must be given to the Religious Life Series. These are translations from the French published by the Newman Press and Blackfriars. The volumes that have been translated and published are Religious Sisters, Vocation, Poverty, Chas-tity, Obedience, Doctrinal Instruction of Religious Sisters, and The Direction of Nuns. The volume on common life, La Vie Commune, published in French by Les Editions du Cerf, has not as yet been translated. Again in the order of practicality, the next place is given to Eng-lish works and articles, e. g., The Mind of the Church in the Forma-tion of Sisters, published by Fordham University Press; the Sister Formation Bulletin, published at Marycrest College, Davenport, Iowa; and articles in the l~EVl~.W FOR REL[C, mUS, e. g., 8-1949-86-96; 9-1950- 131-39; 10-1951-75-81; 12-1953-252-72;12-1953-285-90; 12-1953-291-304; 13-1954-13-27; 13-1954-87-92; 13-1954-125-37; 13-1954-169-78; 14-1955- 205-15; 14-1955-293-318; 16-1957-3-9. 377 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religious A really great source in quantity and quality of thoughts on reno-vation and adaptation will be found in the French periodical, La Vie Spirituelle and its Supplement, from 1946. Many modern spiritual books, especially in French, are affected by the movement and contribute to it. Our work the essentials, included, why the customary is a prayer. Therefore, why not get along with just Mass and Holy Communion? If meditation must be not make a good fifteen-minute meditation rather than one of a half hour? Work is not infallibly nor by any means always a prayer, and it is rarely a prayer in those who do not give sufficient time to formal prayer. The regime of prayer you favor is that of a devout person of the world, not of a religious who professes to be striving for sanctity. The prayer in the religious life must be of a duration and quality sufficient and capable of inspiring and developing a really saintly life. Some words of Plus XII can also be pondered. "However, We cannot refrain from giving utterance to Our solici-tude and anxiety for those who, because of the special circumstances of the times, have lost themselves so completely in a maze of external activities that they have forgotten the first duty of priests, namely, that of securing their own personal sanctification. We have already publicly proclaimed that those so rash as to hold that salvation can be brougl'~t to men by what has been aptly termed the 'heresy of activity' are to be brought back to the right path. We refer to that kind of activity which is not based on divine grace and does not make constant use of the aids provided by Jesus Christ for the attainment of holiness." "With the growth of devotion to exterior works therefore, let there shine forth a corresponding increase in faith, in the life of prayer, in zealous consecration of self and talents to God, in spotless purity of conscience, in obedience, in patient endurance of hardship, and in active charity tirelessly expended for God and one's neighbor. The Church insistently demands of you that your external wor

Issue 16.4 of the Review for Religious, 1957. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Reh ious JULY 15, 1957 St. ~John of the Cross . Sister'Mary St. Rose R~vitalizing Our Spiritual Life . Harold F. Cohe. Departure After Temporary Profession . . .Joseph F. Gallen AIIocution Concerning Tertianship . pope plus- Book Reviews Questions and Answers Roman Documents VOLUME 16 NUMBER 4 RI::VII::W FOR R LIGIOUS VOLUM/~ 16 JULY, 1957 NUMBER 4 CONT£NTS ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS: DOCTOR OF DIVINE LOVE-- Sister Mary St. Rose, S.N.D . 193 REVITALIZING OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE-- Harold F. Cohen, S.J . 211 DEPARTURE FROM RELIGION ON THE EXPIRATION OF A TEMPORARY PROFESSION--Joseph F. Gallen, S.J . 215 FONTI FIFE . 223 SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS~R. F. Smith, S.J . 224 ALLOCUTION CONCERNING TERTIANSHIP-- Pope Pius XII . 236 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 240 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS-- Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana . 241 REVIEW OF CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC . 249 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: 19. Bows at Benediction . 250 20. Recourse Against Exclusion from Profession . 250 21. Seasonal Prefaces . 251 22. Ordinary Confessor and Cases Reserved in the Institute . 251 23. Occasional Confessor and Jurisdiction for One Other Woman. 252 24. Occasional Confessor Only for Professed and Novices . 252 25. Transfer to Another Monastery . 253 26. Using School Section of Minor Cloister for Community During Vacations . 254 27. Restoration of Solemn Vows in Monasteiies of Nuns . 255 28. Mass To Be Said on a Ferial Day . 256 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, July, 1957. Vol. 16, No. 4. Published bimonthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J.; Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F. Weiss, S.J. Copyright, 1957, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please send all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis 18, Missouri. St. dbhn ot: the Cross Doctor ot: Divine Love Sister Mary St. Rose, S.N.D. THE name of St. John of the Cross sometimes elicits a strange reaction: a gentle, modest man.who sincerely pre-ferred oblivion-to power, solitude to lecture hall, and peace to self-justification or defense of the major work of his life, he seems to cause a kind of recoil; perhaps an awe-inspiring viril-ity beneath the disarming serenity, is sensed even after the lapse of almost four hundred years; perhaps to too many he is the Doctor of the Nothing rather than the Doctor of Divine Love. Born Juan de Yepes in the little village of Fontiveros, just thirty miles north of Avila, in 1542, of relatively poor artisans, he was moved at seven years of age, after the death of'his father, to Medina del Campo, where his mother had better pros- . pects of supporting her small family. John early showed such aptitude for study rather than for crafts that he became the prot~g~ of Don Antonio Alvarez de Toledo and, while work-ing in the hospital of his patron, studied till he was nineteen at the Jesuit college in Medina. At twenty, he entered the Order of Carmel, was professed a year later, and studied arts and theology for three yea~s in Salamanca, where one of the four leading universities of the time was located. Ordained in 1567, he met St.'_Teresa_in the same year and was persuaded to abandon his desire to become a Carthusian in favor of help-ing initiate a restoration of the primitive Carmelite rule. Together with the rather impractical but fervent Fra~ Antonio and his five clocks, he planted in a miserable hut in Duruelo the seedling which eventually developed into the Dis-calced Carmelites. Eight happy years of peaceful spiritual and intellectual maturing were followed by a year as professor in the Discalced College of the University of Alcala and by five years in Avila, where as confessor of the hundred nuns of the 193 SISTER MARY ST. ROSE Review for Religious Incarnation, to which St. Teresa had been forced to return as prioress, he wrought a miracle of reformation. But the peaceful years were over; the. Mitigated Carmelites, increasingly embittered by the success of the reform, forcibly seized John on December 3, 1577, and, when their efforts to induce him to abandon the reform were fruitless, flogged and imprisoned him, first at Avila and later--after a confirma-tion of the sentence by the General, Tostado--at Toledo. In a six by ten, windowless cell, during eight and a half months of .bread, water, and fish, with almost daily floggings and no change of clothing, he etched in his own soul the masterpiece of cooperation with God's grace of which we get echoes in his-poems, begun even during his imprisonment, finished and de-veloped later into those unique commentaries which have earned for him the supreme doctorate of the Church itself in the science of mystical theology. Escaping from his prison on August 15, i578, he went south into Andalusia, stopped at Beas, where the lovable Anne of Jesus was prioress, and where he began for 'the devoted nuns his oral commentary on .the "Spiritual Canticle." At Monte Calvario, where he spent eight months recuperating, he began the .4scent o[ Mount Carmel and the Dark Night, finish-ing them, as well as the S/~ir.itual Canticle and the Living Flame o[ Love, during six years as prior in Granada. This was a relatively quiet interlude before the final storm. By a Bull of Gregory XIII in 1580, the Discalced had been separated from the Calced, and the ambitious Doria had been made general of the former. John was' his vicar-general till the chapter of 1591, in which he opposed the revocation of the'Teresian constitutions and other drastic alterations. Sent after the chapter to La Pefiuela as a simple friar and a virtual exile, he experienced the cruel trial of defamation to such an extent that his friends feared that he, even as his old associate. Gracian, would be expelled in disgrace from the order. But the purification was to be of another kind. He fell ill of fever 194 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS and erysipelas and was sent for medical attention to Ubeda, where the prior had an old score~a pievious reprimand--to settle with him; fobd, medicin.e, visitors, all were denied John or given grudgingly till the intervention of the provincial brought relief--but too late. At midnight on December 14, 1591, John diedl true to his name and like ihe God-man he had so loved~ unknown, suffering, disgraced, abandoned. Guide to the Highest Sanctity To those of us who, inspired at first perhaps by curiosity. about this reputed mystic of mystics, persist in cultivating his friendship, he reveals himself as one of the most human and tender of saints, a corisummate psychologist, a master theo-logian, an uncompromisi.ng guide to the highest sanctity. To prove this assertion from his works would be a relatively easy but decidedly lengthy task. My aim is more modest but still sufficiently ambitious, perhaps even presumptuous: to show from his most logically constructed work, the Ascent of Mount Carmel and its sequel, even its integral part, the D'ark Night, how he responds to the age-old longing of a soul in love with God for a sure road and a swift road to the embrace of the Divine Lover. But first to consult a recent Baedeker for a panoramic view: The end of man is the vision of God-~or, perhaps more ac-curately, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.~ . . . It is easier to intoxicate people's minds with a desire for contemplation than it is to persuade them of what is required before that gift can be received. ¯ . . Briefly it may be said that the gift of contemplation will always be given to. those who make themselves poor enough in spirit and pure enough in hear~ to receive it. Let me hasten to add, in line with the masteri of the spiritual life, that this poverty of spirit and purity of heart call for detachment but not violent asceticism . But if physical austerities are relativel~ of little importance, what is of fundamental importance is the mortification of self; that is to say, the eli~nination of self-will, self-interest, self-centered think-ing, wishing, and imagining. May I suggest that contemplation-- often conceived of in too intellectualist terms--is nothing else but the realization of God's presence and of our utter dependence on Him. The contemplative is simply one. who sees the divine-human situation as it is. Hence the contemplative state is essentially pas- 195 SISTER MARY ST. ROSE Review for Religious sive; that is, an alert passivity by which we are, in varying degrees of clarity, aware of God--both as transcendent above His creation and immanent within it . The impediments are whatever concentrates our thoughts on the ego--vices, obviously; but also self-centered virtues. Self-for-getting love is of course the key--that agape of the New Testament. This does not mean an anxious striving after God, but letting Him work His wil! in us; imitating God's love for us by a correspondent compassion toward our neighbor, loving the unlovable . When a man can from his heart realize that the only thing that makes sense is that he shall submit to God's invasion of his own little world, on the principle that if God's kingdom is to come then 'my kingdom must go, he will then be as near to the state of contemplation as makes no difference.~ The Nature of Infused Contemplation Now this is the theory, succinctly put by a modern theo-logian. Before we clothe this skeletal outline with living flesh, it may be advisable to take sides in the controversy about the precise nature of infused contemplation, for itis fatally easy to read one's own views into St. John's words. Without at-tempting to justify my choice, I turn. from the position main-tained by Father Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, O.P., to that of Father Elmer O'Brien, S.J., and Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. The former puts the matter neatly: I can find no positive reason for asserting that God's sanctify-ing presence must, in the laws of grace, eventually rise above the threshold of spiritual consciousness (except, of course, if one holds for a materialistic concept of grace), and on the other hand the burden of witness in the Christian tradition is against it.'-' The latter, in a passage worth quoting at length for its clarity and charity, has this to say: We have seen how, from the teaching of St. John of the Cross, it follows that the activity of the contemplative gifts of the Holy Ghost may be either hidden or experimental. Both forms are proper actuations of these gifts, which proceed from one and the same principle but are distinct as regards the effect they produce in the subject which receives them. Sometimes they are perceived, some- 1 Graham, Aelred, O.S.B, and others, "Infused Contemplation as the Nor-mal Development of the Life of Grace and the Virtues," Proceedings of the Ninth ~l'nnual Convention (Catholic Theological Society of America, 1954). 203-205. ¯ 2 Ibid., 221. 196 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS times not, but the soul is always really a~ted upon b~, the gifts and hence there is real infusion. The speculative theologian, who is not directly considering the different form~ which this divine action may take in different souls and at different periods of the spiritual life, will easily give the name of infused contemplation to every form of contemplation in which the action of the gifts intervenes. The Teresian mystical teaching, on the other hand, which distinguishes two modes of divine action, will give the name of acquired to the contemplation resulting from the hidden action which assists the soul's activity, and reserve the name infused for the contemplation in which God makes Himself pei'ceived. Hence the term infused contemplation takes on a different meaning in.the different schools of spirituality.~ With this background and with the prospect of an ex-perienced, intrepid, compassionate guide, we are ready to put on our seven-league boots and take the hand of St. John. He charmingly suggests this procedure in his St~iritua/ Canticle." "And, to the end that this thirsty soul may come to find her Spouse and be united with Him through union of love in this life, so far as she may, and allay her thirst with this drop that can be tasted of Him in this life, it will be well, since the soul asks this of her Spouse, that we should take her hand on His behalf and answer her by showing her the surest place where He is hidden, so that she may surely find Him there with the perfection and pleasure that is possible in this life, and thus may not begin to roam about vainly in the tracks of her companions.''~ With little more than a thread of comments as road signs, I shall let St. John speak for himself. And first, his motive, purpose, and outline of the journey as given in ./lscent o/: Mount Carmel." "It is sad to see many souls to whom God gives both favor and capacity for making progress, remaining in an elementary a Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., St. John o/ the Cross (Newman Book-shop, Maryland, 1946). 95. 4 Peers, E. Allison, tVorks of St. John of the Cross (Burns, Oates and Wash-bourne Ltd., 1934). All the quotations throughout the remainder of the article are taken from this two volume work. Because of the extent of the quoted mat-ter, quotation marks rather than reduced type will be used from this point to the end. 197 SISTER MARY ST, ROSZ Review for Religious stage of communion with God, .for want of will, or knowledge, or becatise there is none who will lead them in the right path or teach them how to get away from these beginnings. ",Wherefore, to the end that all, whether beginners or proficients, may know how to commit themselves to God's guid-ance, when His Majesty desires to lead them onward, we shall give instruction and counsel, by His help, so that they may be able to understand His will, or, at the least, allow Him to lead them . "For a soul to attain to the state of perfection, it has ordinarily first to _pass through two principal kinds of night, which spiritual persons call purgations or purifications of the soul; and here we call them nights, for in both of them the soul journeys, as it were, by .night, in darkness. "The first '~ight or purgation is of the sensual part of the soul, which . . . will be treated in the first part of this book. And the second is of the spiritual part; of this . . . we shall treat likewise, in the second and the third part, with respect to the activity of the soul; and in the fourth part, with respect to its passivity. "And this first night pertains to beginners, occurring at the time when God begins to bring them into the state of con-templation; in this night the spirit likewise has a part, as we shall say in due course. And the second night or purification pertains to those Who are already proficient, occurring at the time w'-h~n God desires to set them in the state of union with God. And this latter night is a more obscure and dark ~and terrible purgation, as we shall say afterwards." Night of the Senses Good pedagogue that he is, St. John believes not in goad.s but in stimulants for the arduous uphill climb; speaking of the yearnings of love which' are the effects of generosity, he con-tinues: 198 Ju~, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS ~ "In order to conquer all the desires and to deny itself the pleasures which it has in everything, and for v)hich its love and affection are wont to enkindle the will that it may enjoy them, it would be necessary to experience another and a greater enkindling by another and a better love, which is that of its Spouse; to the end that, having its pleasure set upon Him and deriving from Him ~ts strength, it should have courage and constancy to deny itself all other things with ease." In earnest he begins the stripping of all impediments from the sensitive appetites: "He that loves a creature becomes as low as is that ~reature, and, in some ways, lower; for love not only makes the lover equal to the object of his love, but even subjects him to it. Wherefore in the same way it comes to pass that the soul that loves anything else becomes incapable of pure union with God and transformation in him. All the being of Creation, then, compared with the infinite ~Being of God, is nothing. And therefore the soul that sets its affections upon the being of creation is likewise nothing in the eyes of God, and 'less than nothing; for, as we have said, love makes equality and similitude, and even sets the lover below .the object of his love . The soul that. is ravished by the graces and beauties of the creatures has only supreme misery and unattractiveness in the eyes of God. Any soul that makes" account of all its knowledge and ability in order to come to union with the wisdom of God is supremely ignorant in the eyes of God and will remain far removed from that wisdom. [In summary,] as long as the soul rejects not all things, it has no capacity to receive the spirit of God in pure transformation . . . [for the philo-sophical reason that] as in natural generation no. form can be introduced unless the preceding, contrary form is first expelled from the subject, which form, while present, is an impediment to the other by reason of the contrariety which the two have between each other; even so, for as long as the soul is sub- 199 SISTER MARY ST." ROSE Review for Religious jected to the sensual spirit, the spirit which is pure and spiritual cannot enter it." But to prevent the appalling error of Stoicism, he care-fully distinguishes involuntary movements of the appetites from voluntary: "It is true that all the desires are not equally hurtful, nor do they equally embarrass the soul . . . for the natural desires hinder the soul little, or not at' all, from attaining to union, when they are not consented to nor pass beyond the first move-ments-- that is, all those wherein the rational will has had no part, whether at first Or afterward--and to take away these-- that is, to mortify them wholly in this life--is impossible . "The other voluntary desires, whether they be of mortal sin, which are the gravest, or of venial sin, which are less grave, or whether they be only of imperfections, which are the least grave of all, must be driven away every one, and the soul must be fre~ t:rom them all, howsoever small they be, it~ it is to come to this complete union; and the reason is that the state of this. divine union consists in the soul's transformation, accord-ing to the will, in the will of God, so that there may be naught in the soul that is contrary to the will of God, but that, in all and through all, its movement may be that of the will of God alone . "Although a person .who suffers them (natural desires which are not voluntary, and . . . thoughts that go not beyond the first movements, and other temptations to which the soul is not consenting) may believe that the passion and disturbance which they then cause him are defiling and blinding him, it is not so; rather they are bringing him the opposite advantages. For, insofar as he resists them, he gains fortitude, purity, light, and consolation, and many blessings, even as our Lord said to St. Paul that virtue was made perfect in weakness." When our eagerness to start is hardly to be restrained, he gives us the road map at last. How strongly suggestive it is of 200 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS the tantum quantum "of St. Ignatius; indeed, that simple but infinitely challenging Ignatian norm permeates all the detailed directions by which St. John implements the ltscent's 'famous Chapter Thirteen. "First, let him have an habitual desire to imitate ~hrist in everything that he does, conforming himself to His life; upon which life he must meditate so that he may know how to imitate it, and to behave in all things as Christ would behave. "Secondly, in order that he may' be able to do this well, every pleasure that presents itself to the senses, if it be not ¯ purely for the honor and glory of God, must be renounced and completely rejected for the love of Jesus Christ, who in this lifd had no other pleasure, neither desired such, than to do the will of His Father, which He called His meat and drink . "For the mortifying and calming of the four natural pas-sions, which are joy, hope, fear, and grief, from the concord and pacification of which come these blessings, and others like-wise, the counsels which follow are of'the gr~test help, and of great merit, and' the source of great virtues." .~ Night of the Spirit Then follow the famous counsels for which all the world remembers St. John and which he concludes with the singing words, a refrain to haunt one's soul: "When thou thinkest upon anything, Thou ceasest to cast thyself upon the All. For, in order to pass from the all to the All, Thou has to deny thyself wholly in all. And, when thou comest to possess it wholly, Thou must possess it without desiring anything. For, if thou wilt have anything in all, Thou hast not thy treasure purely in God." Turning now his attention to the spirit of man, St, John shows that the.intellect is purified by faith; the memory, by 201 Si~TER M.~Y ST. ROSE Review for Religious hope; the will, by ~harity. He begins with the definition, the necessity, and the danger of not living by faith; then, be-cause of .the special difficulties of this stage of the venture, he presents a clear view of the goal. "Faith, Say the theologians, is a habit of the soul,, certain and obscure. And the reason for its being an obscure habit is that it makes us believe truths revealed by God Himself, which transcend all natural light, and exceed all human under-standing, beyond all proportion . In the same way [as a partially blind man], a soul may lean upon any knowledge of its own, or any feeling or experience of God; yet, however great this may be, it is very little and far different from what God i.s; and, in going along this road, a soul is easily led astray or forced to halt, because it will not remain in faith like one that is blind, and faith is its true guide . And thus a soul is greatly impeded from reaching this high estate of union with God when it clings to any understanding or feeling or imagina-tion or appearance or will or manner of its own, or to any other act or to anything of its own, and cannot detach and strip itself of these . "Here I treat only of this permanent and total union ac-cording to the substance of the soul and its faculties with re-spect to the obscure habit of union: for with respect to the act, we shall explain later, with the divine favor, how there is no permanent i~nion in the faculties, in this'life, but a transitory union only . When fhe soul rids itself totally of that which is repugnant to the divine will "and conforms not with it, it is transformed in God through love. God cbnlmunicates Himself most'to that soul tliat has progressed farthest in love, namely, that has its will in closest conformity with the ~vill of God. And the soul that has attained~ complete conformity and likeness of will is totally uni~:ed and transf6rmed, in God super-naturally . But the. soul that attains not to such a measure of purity as is in conformity with its capacity never attains 202 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS true peace and satisfaction, since it has not attained to the possession of that detachment ~and emptiness in its faculties which is required for simple union." Returning. to his concern for the cleansing of the under-standing by faith, he breaks into a cry of anguish over those who will never take seriously our Saviour's counsel to deny themselves utterly and, hence, will never reach the gbal in this life. I quote only the concluding words of a long passage: '~Herein they become spiritually enemies of the cross of Christ; for true spirituality' seeks for~ God's sake that which is distasteful rather than that which is delectable; and inclines itself rather to sufl:ering than to. consolation; and desires to go without all blessings for God'g sake rather th~n to enjoy sweet' communications', knowing that" this is to follow Christ and to deny oneself, and that the other is perchance to seek oneself in. God, which is clean contrary, to lox~e.'~' All kinds of knowledge other than faith are relatively use-~ less: "The farther the soul progresses. !n spirituality,, the .re. ore it ceases from the operation of the faculties in particular acts, for it becomes more and more occupiedin one act. that.is gen-eral and pure;.and thus the faculties that were journeying to a place whither the soul has arri;ced cease to Work, even as the feet stop and cease ~o move when their journey'is over . And, as such so~uls know not the mystery of this new experience, the idea comes to them that they are being idle and doing noth-ing; and thus they allow themselves not to be quiet, but endeavor to meditate and reason. Herice they are filled with aridity and affliction, because they seek ~to~ find sweetness where it is no longer to be found.' . St. John ~hen gi~es the signg by; which We may know whethe~r we have' reached this point in our progress, signs too frequently, reproduced for me to quote them here." Then, after examining one by on'd'the various natural' and supernatural kinds' of kriowl- 203" SISTER MARY ST. ROSE Review for Religious edge which the soul may receive and from which it should detach itself, he comes at last to the intuition of naked truth, aboutJwhich he becomes almost lyrical: "And these lofty manifestations of knowledge can only come to the soul that attains to union with God, for they are themselves that union; and to receive them is equivalent to a certain contact with the Divinity which the soul experiences, and thus it is God Himself who is perceived and tasted therein. And, although He cannot be experienced manifestly and clearly, as in glory, this touch of knowledge and delight is nevertheless so sublime and profound that it penetrates the substance of the soul . . . for such kinds of knowl.edge savor of the Divine Essence and of eternal life . And I say not that the soul should behave in the same negative manner with regard to these apprehensions as with regard to the rest, for . . . they are a part of the union, towards which we are directing the soul; to which end we are teaching it to detach and stril5 itself of all other apprehensions. And the means by which God will do this must be humility and suffering for love of God with resignation as regards all reward; for these favors are not granted to the soul which still cherishes attachments, inas-much as they are granted through a very special love of God toward the soul which loves Him likewise with great detachment." To the purification of the memory, St. John gives detailed attention, concludes with a powerful paragraph, and then focuses the major portion of Book III of the ~sc~'nt on the will. Purgation of Memory and Will "Hence, the more the soul dispossesses the memory of forms and things which may be recalled by it, which are not God,. the more will it set its memory upon God, and the emptier will its memory become, so that i~ may hope for Him who shall fill it. What must be done, the:,, that the soul may live in the perfect and pure hope of God is that, whensoever these distinct images, forms, and notions come to it, it must not re~t in them, but must turn immediately to God, voiding the memory of them entirely, with 2O4 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS loving-affectioh. It must neither think of these things nor don-sider them beyond the degree which is necessary for the under-standing and performing of its obligations, if they have any con-cern with these. And this it must do without setting any affection or inclination upon them, so that they may produce no effects in the soul . "We should have accomplished nothing by the purgation of the understanding in order to ground it in the virtue of faith, and by the purgation of the memory in order to ground it in hope, if we purged not the will also according to the third virtue, which is charity, whereby the works that are done in faith live and have great merit, and without it are of no worth . The st~:ength of the soul consists in its faculties, passions, and desires, all of which are governed by the will. Now when these faculties, passions, and desires are directed by. the will toward God, and turned away from all .that is not God, then the strength of the soul is kept for God, and thus the soul is able to love God with all its stiength. And, to the end that the soul may do this, we shall here treat of the purgation from the will of all its unruly affections . These affections and passions are four, namely: joy, hope, grief, and fenr." Apparently St. John intended to give instructions concern-ing each of these passions in their impact on the will and every good to which the will of man is attracted. He did not complete the project; yet even the truncated treatise is a masterpiece of analysis of all the subterfuges by which we seek ourselves instead of God.__:_ The general truth W]~l~--which he prefaced his treatment will serve as a summary: "This truth is that the will must never rejoice save only in that which is to the honor and gloi:y of God; and that the greatest honor we can show to Him is that of serving Him according to evangelical perfection; and anything that has naught to do with this is of no value and profit to man." 205 SISTER MARY ST. ROSE Review for Religious The Dark Night St. John abruptly ended the Ascent, having completed only half of what he had promised, the t~o purgations "with respect to the activity of the soul," of the sensual part and of the spiritual part of the "soul. The two purgations "with respect to its passivity" he reserved for treatment in his Dark Night, a work considered his especially original .contribution to~ my~stical theol-ogy. In it he tharks clearly the point of departure, th~ neces-sity, thd general conspectus, and the signs that the soul is ready f6r this'last and most trying part of its ascent tO" perfect uniofi with God. "Into this dark night souls begin to enter when God draws them'forth from the state of beginners--w~hich is the state of those that meditate upon the spiritual roadmand begins to set them in the state of progressives--which is that of,those who are already contemplatives--to the end that, after passing through it, they may arrive at the state of the perfect, which is that of divine union of the soul with God . ¯ "However greatly the soul itself labors, it~ ~annot actively purify itself so as to be in the least degree prepared for the divine union of perfection of love, if God takes not its hand and purges it not in that dark fire, in the way and manner that we have to describe. "The night of senseis common and comes to many; these are the beginners; and of this night we shall first speak. The night of the spirit is the portion of very ~few, and thes~e are they that are already practise.d and profi.cient,~ of whom we shall treat hereafter . "For the making of this distinction ['between aridities from the night of the sensual desires and from sins and imperfec-tions] I find that there are three principal'signs. The first is whether, when 'a soul finds no pleasure or consolation in the things of God, ~it also fails to find it in any thing" created; for, as God sets the soul in this dark night to' the end that He may 206 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS quench and ~purge its sensual desire, ~He allows it not to find attraction or sweetness in anything whatsoever. . . The sec-ond sign whereby a man may believehimself to be experiencing the said purgation is. that ordinarily the memory is centered upon God, with painful care and solicitude, thinking that it is not serving God, but is backsliding, because it finds itself without sweetness in the. things of God, . . The third sign . . is that the soul can no longer meditat~e or reflect in its sense of the imagination, as it was wont, however much it may endeavor to do so." St. John assures us that if we follow the procedure he suggests in the Dark Night we shall surely receive the prom-ised fruits, which to any one who has not experienced them sound" like cold comfort. "What they must do is merely to leave'the soul free and disencumbered and at rest from all knowledge and thought, troubling not themselves, in that state, about what they shall think or meditate, but Contenting themselves with no more than a peaceful and loving a~tentiveness toward God, and in being without anxiety', without the ability and without desire to .have experience of Him or to perceive Him . "This is the first and principal benefit caused by this arid and dark night of contemplation: the knowledge of oneself and of one's misery . And the smallness of this self-satis-faction, together with the soul's affliction at not serving God, is considered and esteemed by God as greater than all the con-solations which the soul formerly experienced and the works which it wrought, however great they were, inasmuch as they were the occasion of many imperfections and ignorances." For fear we should consider ourselves aimost at our jour-ney's end, St. John disillusions us gently but firmly, tells the nature of the dark night of the spirit through ~ which we must grope, its effects, and its distinctive characteristic, and at last reveals to us th~ consummation of our~ quest. 2O7 SISTER MARY ST. ROSE Review for Religious "These proficients have two kinds of imperfection: the one kind is habitual; the other actual. The habitual imperfec-tions are the imperfect habits and affections which tfave re-mained all the time in the spirit, and are like roots, to which the purgation of sense has been unable to penetrate. The dif-ference between the purgation of these and that of this other kind is the difference between the root and the branch, or be-tween the removing of a stain which is fresh and one which is old and of long standing. For, as we said, the purgation of sense is only the entrance and beginning of contemplation leading to the purgation of the spirit, which, as we have like-wise said, serves rather to accommodate sense to spirit than to unite spirit with God. But there still remain in the spirit the stains of the old man, although the. spirit thinks not that this is so, neither can it perceive them; if these stains be iaot re-moved with the soap and strong lye of the purgation of this night, the spirit will be unable to come to the purity of divine union . "This dark night is an inflowing of God into the soul, which purges it from its ignorances and imperfections, habitual, natural, and spiritual, and which is called by contemplatives in-fused contemplation, or mystical theology. Herein God secretly teaches the soul and instructs it in perfection of love, Without its doing anything, or understanding of what manner .is this infused contemplation . "And when the "soul is indeed assailed by this divine light, its pain, which results from its impurity, is immense; because, when this pur~ light assails' the soul, in order to expel its im-purity, the soul feels itself to be so impure and miserable that it believes God to be against it, and thinks that it has set itself up against God . The second Way in which the soul suffers pain is by reason of its weakness . . . for sense and spirit,-as if beneath some immense and dark load, are in such great .pain and agony th. at the soul would find advantage and relief in 208 July, 1957 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS death . The third kind of suffering .~. results from the fact that two other extremes meet here in one, namely, the Divine and the human . As a ~result of this, the soul feels itself to be perishing and melting away, in the presence and sight of its miseries, by a cruel spiritual death . The fourth kind of pain is caused in the soul by another excellence of this dark contemplation, which .is its majesty and greatness, from which arises in the soul a consciousness of the other extreme which is in itself, namely, that of the deepest poverty and wretchedness: this is one of the "chiefest pains that it suffers in this purgation . "For spiritual things in the soul have this characteristic, when they are most purely spirit.ual, that, when they are trials, the soul believes that it will never escape from them, ~and that all ~its blessings are ndw over, as has been seen in the passages quoted; and when they are spiritual blessings, the soul believes in the same way that its troubles are now ove.r, and that bless-ings will never fail it . "In the midst of these dark afflictions, the soul feels itself to be keenly and acutdy wounded in strong divine love, and to havea certain realization and foretaste of God . It some-times comes to pass that this mystical and loving theology, as well as enkindling the will, strikes and illumines the other faculty also--that of the understanding--with a certain divine light and k-fiowledge, so delectably and delicately that it aids the will to conceive a marvelous fervor, and, without any action of its own, there burns in it this divine fire of love, in living flames, so that it now appears to the soul a living fire by reason of the living understanding which is given to it . Thus the pres-ence of God is felt, now after one manner, now after another. ¯ . . That dark love cleaves to the soul, causing it a most watch-ful care and an inward solicitude concerning that which it must do, or must not do, for His sake, in order to please Him. It will consider and ask itself a thousand times if it has given Him 209 SISTER MARY ST. ROSE cause to be offended; and all this it will do with much greater care and solicitude than before . For here all the desires and energies and faculties of the soul are recollected from all things else, and its effort and strength are employed in pleasing God alone . After this manner, b'y this mystical theology and secret love, the soul continues to rise above all things .and above itself, and to mount upward to God. For love is like fire, which ever rises upward with the desire to be absorbed in the center of its sphere." But prose is a poor vehicle now. Even St. John stops trying to finish the Dark Niyht. To the Spiritual Canticle or the Living Flame of Love we must turn for the epitha-lamium of God. and the soul: "My love is as the hills, The lonely valleys clad with forest trees, The rushing, sounding rills, Strange isles in distant seas, Lover-like whisperings, murmurs of the breeze. "My love is hush-of-night, Is dawn's first breathings in the heaven above, Still music veiled from sight, Calm that can echoes move, The feast that brings new strdngthmthe feast of love." and "O living flame of love That, burning, dost assail My inmost soul with tenderness untold, Since thou dost freely move Deign to consume the veil Which sunders this sweet converse that we hold." Revit:alizing Our Spiri!:ual Lit:e I-larold I::. Cohen, S.J. WE MUST be struck, at least occasionally, by the difference between ourselves and what our religious institutes would have us be, and by the difference between ourselves and those of our brothers in Christ whom the Church holds up as models of sanctity, and finally, by the difference in the fruit produced by our saints and that produced by ourselves. Per-haps in our more serious moments we ask ourselves the reason for this. We may answer that God gives more grace to some than to others and let it go at that. But then we are not being honest with ourselves, for whatever the measure of God's grace, our own correspondence to that grace can give us serious concern. The answer is not difficult to state--it is difficult to admit. The reason we lack sanctity and fruitfulness in the apostolate is that we are not united with God. We are not the men of prayer, recollection, and study,that God wants us to be. We try to ser~,e two masters, God and the world. We turn, as if mag-netized, to the distraction of-TV, radio, sports, movies, and magazines--and we have to admit that these things withdraw us from silence and recollection in God. We all know, of course, that these things are not only not sinful, but a moderate use of them is helpful to us. But in seeking a solution to our own-lack of high spirituality and consequent weak apostolate, we certainly should give serious consideration to just how moderately we use them. For if we find that instead of being men of faith who have cut ourselves away from creatures by poverty and. self-denial, exuding the fragrance of Christ to all we come in contact with, we are men given over to our own ease and comfort, with more interest in picture magazines than hungry, poorly housed human beings; that we who profess as our purpos~ in life the salvation of souls are more interested in watching a 211 HAROLD F. COHEN Review for Religious game on TV than hearing confessions, more interested in cock-tail parties than visiting the sick~if we find these thi,ngs, we must admit that we lack .moderation in our use of legitimate diversions, and that now, no longer, a means, they have become an end in themselves. Once we realize that we are not united with Goc~, and that at least one of the causes is our effusio ad exteriora, we might again ask ourselves, "Why?" Have we lost the secret of sanc-tity of the saints? Or are we living in an age that necessar!ly precludes doing great things for Christ? Certainly we started off seeking union with God in the beginning of our religious life--the trouble is that having learned our lessons in the noviti-ate, we have let our vivid ideals grow dull with the passage of time. A new set of ideals has replaced them subconsciously, the ideal of the "good" priest or religious: faithful (more or less) to spiritual exercises, at least in the beginriing of his change-over, he none the less .frequently enjoys himself at the entertainments of externs; and he over-emphasizes the "breaks" affor_ded by his institute, freely partaking of '~the good things of this world," push-ing far to the back of his mind the crucified Christ. " Of course he loves Christ; he can even tolerate the idea of a crucified Master, but His cross is fast becoming to him, as to the world of which he is a part, something hard to understand. Nights are not a time of prayer, study, and apostolic labo~, but for "neces~'ary" relaxation. The hungry souls waiting for the bread he alone can give them are still waiting. _ How can we get back to our novitiate ideals of prayer, self-sacrifice, and' hard work for God? How can we get back to them in a practical way? Here a litany of meang opens before us. I will suggest only one, but one that'is the means of re-vitalizing our spiritual life. It is a return to serious prayer. "He who abides in Me and I in him, he it is that b:ears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:4). If we daily share the intimacy of our divine Friend, His pres-ence can't help but have its effect on us. But if we are to 212 July, 1957 REVITALIZING OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE share this,intimacy, our prayer must be serious¯ We often-- or perhaps less--put in our daily time of prayer; yet few would dare call themselves men of prayer. We are not making con-tact. The vitalizing grace of the Vine is not flowing into the ¯ branches, and consequently we bear little fruit. The juncture, the point of union, is closed up. To establish the contact with Christ. our thirsting souls need, we have to make prayer our primary interest. Once we truly are making a serious effort in prayer, God will show us what changes have to be made in our lives, and He will give us the grace to make them. When we respond to these graces, our prayer takes on its deepest meaning: "Thy will be done," His will for our own shedding of self to put on the generosity of Christ, to put afide comforts to dedicate ourselves to the salvation of the souls He died for. Once. we are in this state of self-dedication, God usually eases with His consolations the difficulties of prayer. For after all, as Father Boylan s6 well points out in his Difficulties in Mental Prayer, our main difficulty in prayer is that we are afraid to come face to face with God because we are not doing His will in some way or another. For our prayer to reach this full flowering, we have to do the spade work of daily effort. And here is the crisis, for our wills are weak. It is.a decision we must all make--to give up the pleasures of long nights to get up in the morning and down on our knees--or to live in a lethargy that can look only with concern to the day of accounting before the divine Shepherd, who sees His sheep dying of hunger because we would not feed them. Once the decision to pray seriously is made, we have to take the means to make our decision effec-tive: the preparation of points the night before, and hardest of all, the excluding of all the distracting thoughts that crowd into our minds at night and in the morning. (With regard to points, choosing a good book is a problem; the Gospels; the Psalms, and the Imitation are good stand-bys. New matter 213 HAROLD F., COHEN isn't necessary every day, for the same over a period of time often supplies all the spiritual food we need. Sometimes a book isn't at all necessary for determining the actual matter of the meditation, "for we simply can jot down a few thoughts that occur to us and fill in the remaining time by reading.) " In the moining we have to have the grim determination to stick at it despite the difficulty and not to consent to any dis-tractions. The final point is a check-up afterwards to see how it has gone, why thdse points helped, why I did or didn't do well, etc. We often neglect this; so it is good to recall that those wiser than we have suggested--or prescribed--it and that it is the means to progress in prayer. Before concluding, I would like to make three pertinent remarks. (1) A daily reading from the Gospels, if only one or two incidents, at the beginning of spiritual reading or points will be helpful in bringing about contact in prayer, bringing before us as it does Jesus in all His attractiveness. (2) There is no subject like the Passion of Christ to stir up our love and gratitude and zeal. (3) Some make no progress in prayer be-cause they have gotten all they can out of meditation and affective prayer. They need that simpler form of prayer, called by spiritual writers the prayer of simplicity. This prayer is described by Tanquerey in The Spiritual Life, and more at length by Lehodey, o.C.S.O., in Tke I~ays of Prayer and Pou-lain, s.J., in Tke Graces of Interior Prayer. The time has come" for the~e souls to slow down their rowing and start letting out their sails. To conclude, then, our weak interior life and poor apos-tolate are~ due mainly to a lack of serious prayer. Once we begin to pray in earnest and grow in friendship with Christ, He will give us the graces to lead a life united to Him and to pass on our love and enthusiasm to others. It is one of the promises of His Heart to make tepid souls fervent. What better time to remind Him of His promise than in our daily prayer? 214 Depart:ure From Religion on t:he I::xpira!:ion ot: a Temporary Prot:esslon ,Joseph F. Galleh, S.,J. 1. Definition. On the expiration of any temporary profession, e. g., of one, two, or three years, a religious is free to leave his institute; and the institute, for just and reasonable causes, may exclude the religious from making any further profession, i. e., a renewal of temporary vows or perpetual profession. An exclu-sion is not a dismissal. Dismissal in canon law is verified only by an expulsion during the. time of the vows. An exclusion is an expulsion at the expiration of the vows. Therefore, the canoni-ca~ norms on dismissal do not apply to an exclusion. In its nature, an exclusion is not so much an expulsion of a member but rather a refusal to admit to further profession and a judgment and decision that a subject in a probationary period of the reli-gious life does not possess a vocation at least for the particular institute) 2. Leaving. The religious has no canonical or moral obligation to remain. The code explicitly asserts his canonical freedom to leave (cc. 575, § I; 637). He is also morally free to leave, since no law of God commands him to remain in a life of counsel on the expiration of his vows. A moral obligation would arise only accidentally and in cases that are not very practical, i. e., if one had vowed to remain in religion or intended to leave because of a sinful motive.: Furthermore, in practically all these cases there would be a sufficient reason for a dispe~nsation or commutation of the private vow; find in the instance of the 1Cl¢. Bastien, Directoire Canonique, n. 607, 1-2; Goyeneche, De Religiosis, 194, note 10; D'Arnbrosio, /ll~ollinaris, 4-1931-124. zCf. Goyeneche, Commentarium Pro Religiosis, 5-1924-86-93; Schaefer, De Religidsis, n. 1519; Geser, Canon Law Governing Communities o/ Sisters, n. 1072. 215 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religion, s sinful motive, there would rarely be lacking also morally good and, at least in some cases, even compelling motives for such a religious to leave. The religious is not obliged to obt~iin the consent or approval of his superior of his intention to leave, but prudence would practically always demand that he consult his superiors or a prudent confessor concerning so important a decision. 3. Exclusion. (a) Competent superior. Canon 637 leaves to the constitutions the determination of the superior competent for exclusion. The constitutions of lay congregations .usually assign this right to the superior general with the consultive vote of his council, but a few demand the deliberative vote. A small number of constitutions give this power to the provincial or higher superiors either alone or with the consultive or, less fresluently, the deliberative vote of the council. If the consti-tutions contain no determination, the competent higher superior is the one who has the right to admit to the profession from which the religious is excluded. Since exclusion is merely the denial or correlative of admission to profession and admission require~ at least a consultive vote (c. 575, ~ 2), it would be more in conformity with the code for this higher superior to consult his council. Such consultation is not strictly obligatory, since canon 637 treats exclusion separately from admission and does not .impose any vote of a council. The same principle applies in a monastery of nuns to the superioress and the vote of her council or chapter when the matter of exclusion is not determined in the constitutions. No particular process is prescribed by the code for the decision oi~ exclusion. Since exclusion is merely the .negation of admission to profession, it is part .of the delibera-tions or decision on admissibn to the profession in question. A few authors state the eviden~ fact that canon 637 does not reserve exclusion to a higher superior and conclude that the constitu-tions may.assign this right to a local superior. Howev.er, this is not the practice of constitutions nor does it seem to be in con-formity with the evident nature of an exclusion, which is a re- 216 July, 1957 DEPARTURE AFTER TEMPORARY PROFESSION fusal of admission. Canon law reserves admission to profession to higher superiors (c. 543). (b) Sufficient reasons for exclusion. Evidently the sufficient reasons are those that render the, subject either certainly finsuited or only dubiously suited for admission to the profession in. ques-tion. It is permissible but not obligatory to grant a renewal or prolongation of. temporary vows in the latter case provided there is solid hope that certain suitability will be attained by the renewal or prolongation. The doctrine of many authors that the judg-ment of the sufficiency of the reasons for exclusibn is left to the conscience of the competent higher supe. rior is evident from the fact and law that the judgment of the suitability for a profession appertains to the competent higher superior (c. 543). The code expresses this principle of suitability in canon 637 by demanding merely just and reasonable, not serious'or grave, reasons for an exclfision. In judging the sufficieficy of the ~easons, the general good of the institute is to be considered above" that of" ~he indi-vidual. The following are the particular sufficient reasons usually listed by authors by way of example: the lack of a religious vocation or of a firm and constant vocation; serious doubts as to the general suitability of the subjecf for the religious life; inepti-tui: ie for the work of the institute, even if fully known to ~uperiors before profession, whether the ineptitude arises from~ a lack of general ability, intelligence, ol appl;c.ation, from ~i defect of pru-dent jtidgment, laziness, negligerice; or from culpable or inculp-able causes; if it is. foreseen'that th~ subject will be only a' very mediocre religious, will be tepid, careless in the spiritual life, or worldly; those who are habitually negligenh careless, or tepid in religious observance, even though not in gerious matters, and wh6 have refused to correct their conduct; those who cause serious discord in the community; those who will find community life very. difficult and will make it difficult for others; and when it-is foreseen that the subject will be rather harmful than ~usefu! to the institute. An exclusion without a just and reasonable motive 2~17 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious is a sin against charity and the law of the Church but it is not unjust nor invalid. In the very few institutes that have only temporary vows or in which the prescribed temporary profession is longer than six years, it is the more probable and common opinion that after more than six years in temporary vows merely just and reason-able causes do not suffice for exclusion but serious and' culpable reasons joined with incorrigibility are necessary. The argu. ments for this opinion are that canon 642, § 2, appears to liken a tem-~ porary profession beyond six years to perpetual vows and that it seems inequitable to exclude one who has been so long in religion for merely just and reasonable causes.3 (c) Ill Health. Ill health is a sufficient motive for exclusion only if it is proved with certainty that it had been contracted and fraudulently concealed or dissimulated before the first profession of temporary vows (c. 637). The same principle is true of dismissal (c. 647, § 2, 2°). Ill health is therefore not a sufficient motive for exclusion if it was contracted after the first profes-' sion or if it was contracted before this profession but was then known to the superior or, if unknown, was not fraudulently con-cealed or dissimulated before the first profession. The fraud must be proved with certainty. It is sufficient that the fraud have been committed by anyone who had the obligation of mani-esting th~ illness, i. e., the religious, his parents, or guardians.4 Lack of ability for the duties of the institute is not a suffi-cient reason for exclusion if it is the result of an infirmity that was not fraudulently concealed or dissimulated before first profes-sion, since What is true of sickness is also to be affirmed o.f the consequences of sickness. Such a religious may be counselled and 3D'Ambrosio, 05. cit., "4-1931-124-28; Vermeersch-Creusen, l!l~itome luri~ Canonici, I, n. 795; Creusen, Religious Men and IVomen in the Code n. 331, 2; Jombart, Tra",t "e de Dro"*t Canot*'*que, I, n. 903, 6; Jone,. Commenta"'r m" m *n C'od*- cem luris Canonici, I~ n. 560; Schaefer, 01b. cit., n. 1523; Sipos, En~t~iridion luris Canonici, 333. 4 Goyeneche, De Religiosis, 194. 218 ~ July, 1957 DEPARTURE AFTER TEMPORARY PROFESSION persuaded to leave religibr[ ~oluntarily 0~'~o transfer to the class of lay brother or sister. The principle with regard to ill health is true also of ail-ments such as hysteria and neurasthenia. Superiors, without using constraint, may counsel and persuade all such persons t6 leave religion voluntarily) If they will not leave, their ailment and conduct can constitute a serious problem. If their improper or strange conduct certainly or probably has its source in the ail-ment, they may not be excluded; if the malady is certainly only a pretext for such conduct, they may be excluded. Frequently at least, they should be taken to a specialist and may be sent to an institution for the care of such patients. The case may be presented with all its circumstances to the Sacred Congregation of Religious.6 These difficult cases make evident the care and decisiveness superiors should exercise in admission to the pos-tulanc); and noviceship and in dismissing unsuitable subjects dur-ing these periods of probation. The master of novices should promptly consult higher superiors concerning even probable man-ifestations of such conc~mons. Since canon 637 permits an exclusion for ill health only if it was fraudulently concealed before first profession, a novice may not be admitted to temporary profession as an experiment and on the condition that he will be excluded at the end of tem-porary vows if his health does not improve.6 (d) Insanity. The Sacred Congregation of Religious replied on February 5, 1925, that a religious could not be excluded from an institute because of habitual and complete insanity (total lack of use of reason), whether temporary (curable) or perpetual 5 Cf. Berutti, De Religiosis, 325. o Cf. Jombart, Revue des Communaute's Reli#ieuses, 5-1929-200-201; Bastien, o1~. cit., n. 631, 6. ~ Cf. Bastien, 0~. cir., 450, note ~. SCreusen, 0p. cir., n. 331, 1; Jombart, Trait[de Droit Canonique, I, n. 903, 5; Coronata, lnstitutiones luris Canonici, I, 838, note 5; Palombo, De Dimissione Religiosorum, 202, Bastien, o~. cir., n. 607, 5; Jone, olb. cir., I, 561; Goyeneche, Quaestiones Canonicae, II, 123-24. 219 JOSEPH F, GALLEN Review for Religious (incurable), contracted after first temporary profession.:' Evi-dently such a religious may not be admitted to a renewal of tem-porary vows or to perpetual p'rofession during the tim~ of his insanity, since he is incapable of a human act. He must be re-tained by the institute and therefore may not be sent away either by exclusion or dismissal. He remains in the same juridical con-dition as at the time he lost his mind; and consequently he has the same rights and the instiLute has the same obligations to him as to any professed of temporary vows. He may be sent to an institution and even to his own family, if the family freely asks or accepts his care. He is still a member of the institute, and the expenses of his support and care are to be borne by the institute unless the family freely accepts them. An absence of more than six months outside any house of the institute do~s not demand the permission of the Holy See in such a case J" If he recovers and is found suitable, he is to be admitted to further profession. Prudence would, practically always demand a pro-longation of temporary vows, and ordinarily such a person is to be advised to leave the institute for his own goodJ~ It is more probable that the time of the temporary profession continues to run during the insanity. From the reply of the Sacred Congre-gation, however, it is also probable that the time of such profes-sion is suspend.ed during the insanity. Even in the former opin-ion, the subject is still a member of the institute and must be retained when the time of the vows has expired. 4. Manifestation of reasons. The religious is to be informed ot~ his exclusion in due time, orally or in writing, by the com-petent higher superior, either personally or through another. The latter should be at least a local superior. Kindness is to be shown to the excluded religious. The code does not oblige the compe- '~ B.ouscaren, Canon La~" Digest, I, 309-10. ¯ ~o gEVtEW FOg gEt.tGIOUS, November, 1956, 290-91. ~ Cf. Maroto, Commentarium Pro Religiosis, 6-1925-177-79; Goyeneche, Quaes-tiones Canonicae, I, 430-31; Coronata, op. cit., I, n. 639; Regatillo-Zalba, De Statibus Particularibus, n. 25 I. 220 July, 1957 DEPARTURE AFTER TEMPORARY PROFESSION tent supdrior to manifdst "tl~e.reasons for ~the exclusion to the religious. This may be done, and some authors counsel it that the religious may institute a recourse to a higher superior or the Holy See if he chooses to do so. The reasons should always be drawn up completely and accurately and retained in the files of the institute so that a replK may be given in the event of a recourse, .par'ticularly of one to the Holy See. 5. Recourse. The code says nothing about a recourse against an exclusion. The religious may institute a recourse to a higher superior or the Sacred Congregation of Religious simply because a religious may always do this against an action of a lower author-ity that he believes to be unreasonable or unjustified. There is no special right either from canon law or the nature of the matter of making a recourse against an exclusion. A recourse to the Sacred Congregation has very little hope.of, success except in the case of a clearly illeg'al exclusion,r' The Holy See evidently knows that by canon law (c. 54J) the competent superior is the judge of the suitabiliW of a subject for profession and conse- .quently of.the sufficiency of the motives for exclusion from pro-fession. It" is equally clear that motives that may not appear sufficient in. themselves are often such when viewed as a whole and joined with observation of the .subje~t. A recourse does not suspend ttie effect of the exclusion. The religious should leave the institfite and put ~ff the religious habit. He may be per-mitted to r~main in a: house of the institute and to wear the habit until i~he recourse is definitively settled. 6. Effects of a voluntary departure and of exclusion. If a re-ligious voluntarily leaves or is excluded at the expiration of a temporary profession, the vows cease. There is no need of a dis-pensation from the vows. The other effects in either case are the same as in secularization, which were explained in the RE'CIF~W FOR RELIGIOUS, September, 1956, 233-36. r2Bastien, op. tit., n. 607, 3; Jombart, Re¢aur des Communaute's Reliyieuses, 5-1929-164. 221 JOSEPH F, GALLEN Review for Religious 7. Moment at which the religious fully departs. The i,mportance of the answer to .this question is that it determines the exact mo-ment in which the religious is freed of his vows, ceases to be a religious, is bound by the diriment impediment of a previous religious profession, and rendered incapable of valid admission to the noviceship of any institute without a dispensation from the Holy See (c. 542, 1°). After such an admission, a noviceship and temporary profession must be made for the full time pre-scribed by the constitutions of the particular institute. The religious fully departs at the moment in which his external and absolute declaration of not making a further profession or the external and absolute declaration of the competent superior of not admitting him to a further profession is joined with the expiration of temporary vows.~3 There are two probable opinions on the moment of the expiration of temporary vows, caused by conflicting interpreta-tions of canon 34, § 3, 5; but either of these opinions may be followed. In the first opinion, the vows expire at any moment on the anniversary day when such a declaration is made or, if made .previously, has not been retracted: Therefore,. if the vows were made for a year, Augut 15, 1956-August 15, 1957, and such a declaration was previously made, the vows expire at midnight of August 14-15, 1957. In this opinion, the sub-ject may depart from the institute at any hour on the anniversary day, i. e., August 15, 1957. If no such declaration has been made, the vows expire at midnight of August 15-16, 1957.14 A second opinion maintains that the vows, when they are not renewed or perpetual profession is not made, never expire before midnight of the anniversary day, i. e., August 15-16, 1957. In this opinion, the subject may depart from the institute at any hour on the day after the anniversary day, i. e., August 16, 1957.1'~ la Cf. Abbo-Hannan, The Sacred Canons, I; 656; Beste, lntroductio in Codicem, 431; Cervia, De Proiessione Religiosa, 110; Coronata, op, cir., I, r~. 639; Goy-eneche, De Reli#iosis, 193; Jone, o,~. cir., I, 562; Schaefer, o,~. clt., nn. 1519-20; Regatillo-Zalba, o/~. cit., n. 250. 14 Cf. Vermeersch-Creusen. o~0. cir., I, n. 728, and the authors there cited. ~sCf. Michiels, Normae Generales Juris Canonici, II, 269, and the authors 222 July, 1957 DEPARTURE AFTER TEMPORARY PROFESSION Neither opinion demands tha't the religiotis have actually departed from the institute. In the rare absence of an explicit declaration, a departure from the institute would constitute an implicit declara-tion not to make a further profession. An external and absolute declaration is necessary. If the religious does not renew his vows or make perpetual profession for some time after the expiration, e. g., because of doubts about his vocation or illness, and later wishes to make profession, he may be admitted to the profession. A merely interior, doubtful, or hesitant declaration of not making or excluding from profession does not suffice. The absolute declaration of not making or of excluding from profession may be revoked before the vows have cergainly expired, i. e., at midnight of the anniversary day, August 15-16 in the example given ,above. Neither declaration may be revoked after the ~iows have certainly expired, even if the religious has not as yet left the institute. 8. Departure before expiration. If serious reasons so demand, superiors may permit a religious to leave a day or two before the. expiration of his vows ~rovided he puts off the religious habit and intends to observe his vows until the anni,~ersary day. Such a reason is the difficulty or embarrassment his .presence would cause as profession proximately approaches or on the profession day.~ If so required by urgent reasons, superiors, in virtue of canon 606, § 2, may permit an earlier departure, e. g., two or three weeks. If a much earlier departure is judged necessary, application should be made for an indult of secularization. FONTI VIVE In March, 1957, Fonti Vive, a quarterly Review of Passion Spir-ituality, began its third year of publication in Caravate (Varese), Italy. The varied articles on theological, liturgical, biblical, and mystical sub-jects seek to promote the understanding, contemplation, and the living out in our lives of Christ's Passion. Those readers of gEVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS who are able to read Italian will be interested in this new publication devoted to Passion spirituality. The editor is Reverend Costante Brovetto, C.P., S.T.D. .there cited. ~6 Creusen, op. cir., n. 331, 3. 223 Survey ot: Roman Document:s R. F. SmiEh, S.J. IN THIS article a survey will be given of those docu-ments which appeared in the Acta Al~Ostolicae ,Sedis (AAS) from January 1, 1957, to March 31, 1957. It should be noted that all page references in the present article are to the 1957 AAS (volume 49}, even when th~o document discussed may bear a date from 1956. Christmas Message of 1956 The Holy Father's Christmas message of 1956 (AAS, pp. 5-22) was easily the outstanding doclament published, in AAS during the period surveyed. The document is a long one of some seven thousand words; it is interesting to note that a large part of the message was not actually spoken b~; the Holy Fafher on Christmas Eve, but was merely published in the official text of the message. In the introduction to his message the Holy Father empha-sizes the contradictidn to be found in the twentieth century: On the one hand there is the confident hope, of modern man that he, as author of the second technical revolution~ c~n bring a life of fullness and plenty to all; and on the other hand there is the bitter fact of the long, long years of grief, ruiri, and fear that the modern world has just endured. His Holiness then begins the first of the three parts into which his message 'is divided by remarking't~hat' the above, con-tradiction can be resolved only by a knowledge and acceptance of human reality in all its completeness. From the crib of Bethlehem man can learn the origins/1 goodness and power given to him in paradise; but he also learns the weakness of human nature that was first manifested in the sin of Adam and Eve and that then became the heritage of all later generations. 22_4 ROMAN DOCUMENTS We know, continues the Vicar of Christ, that man's co.ntrol over nature was given him for the benefit, not the endangering, of human society; original sin has not removed man's dominion 6ver the world, but only security in the exercise of that domin-ion. Neither has original sin destroyed man's capacity to shape history, though it is no less c.ertain that after original sin human life is a mixture of confidence and misery, of security and un-certainty, of life and death. At the crib, however, we also learn that Christ is our Redeemer, come to restore man to his divine sonship and to bestow the grace whereby the disorder produced by original sin and by later personal sins can be overcome at least in the interior of man, if not always exteriorly. The Christian then possesses all the elements necessary to overcome the contra-diction of the twentieth cent~ury in his interior life; this, how-ever, gives him no right to excuse himself from contributing to the external solution of .that contradiction. To make such a contribution, the Pontiff adds, the Chris-tian must have a Clear idea of what modern man thinks of sin. Because modern man does not ddmit sin, he attributes the per-verse inclinations of man to a kind of sickness and functional weakness which of themselves are curable. Modern man~the~ awaits the day when a perfecting of human knowledge will allow him to heal all such moral sicknesses. This technological solution to the problem of moral evil completely overlooks the truth that man is a subject of free action--good or bad--and leads to innumerable evil results: softness in education; indul-gence to crime; aversion to even just punishment; the a~tempt to solve social problems not through the consciende and respon-sibility of individuals, but by the' attainment of a greater knowl-edge of the mechanics of social structures. In the second part of his message Piu~ XII says that one of. the bases of the twentiet,h-century[ contradiction onsists in the hope to create a completely_ new society without reference to 225 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious the history that has shaped man. This attitude is the 'result of that technological realism which admits no limits to human power, subjects every reality to a method of technique, and places unlimited confidence in technological know-how. For technological man, the entire world is but a laboratory wherein he treats social life like a machine which he dismantles and then attempts to reconstruct according to his own pre-conceived pattern. It is here that technological man encounters the insur-mountable obstacle of history. For social life has been created slowly through the contributions of many generations; and it is only upon those contributions that new progress can be built. The dynamics of reform must always respect the traditions of society which safeguard human security without destroying the free and personal action of any part of society. The third part of the Christmas message is the one that most drew the world's attention to the Pope's speech. Thd Holy .Father begins this part by noting that while liberty, per-sonal responsibility, social order, and genuine progress are truly human values, they are in their origin religious and divine values. This religious foundation, however, is today being replaced by economic and political explanations which deny all absolute values. The Holy Father then turns to consider l~ractical ways by which world peace can be achieved. First of all, he says, it is necessary that all men of good will unite together against their common enemy who seeks to impose on all peoples an intolerable form of life. Today's situation, says the Vicar of Christ, is clear to all. There can no longer be any doubts about the purposes and methods that lie behind armed tanks, when.these crash through border frontiers and force a people into a life they abhor. No doubt of purposes, or methods can remain, when possibilities of mediation and negotiation a~e dis-regarded and threats are made to use atomic power for the gaining of specific demands, whether or not these demands are justified. 226- July, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS In the present circumstances it is ~ossible to have the case where, after all efforts to avoid it have been useless, war for the purpose of effective self-defense and with the hope of favorable results cannot be considered as illicit. Hence, if in a case of extreme need a. government chosen by free elections decides on defensive precautions and puts into execution the means necessary for. this, such an action is not immoral; and a Catholic citizen cannot appeal to his own conscience to refuse his services or to fail in the duties assigned by law. The Pontiff then considers the United Nations, the first time that he has spoken of this organization at great length. The United Nations, he remarks, intends to secure absolute values in the co-existence of peoples. Still, the recent past has shown that the false realism of self-interest and power has influ-enced not a few of the members of the United Nations, so that cases of destroying the peace have been treated quite differ-ently. It is reasonable to expect that the authority of the United Nations should be felt, at least through its observers, in all those places where"the essential values of man are in extreme danger. It is desirable that nations who refuse the admission of observers and thereby show that their. concept of national sovereignty threatens the very foundations of the United Na-tions should not be permitted the exercise of their rights as members of that organization. Moreover, the United Nations should have the right and the power to prevent every military intervention of one nation into another and to assume through a sufficient police force the safeguarding of order in a nation so threatened. The Holy Father adds that he refers to these defects only because he wishes to strengthen the authority of the United Nations, for i,t is only through such an organization' that the promise to reduce armaments and to renounce the production and use of certain kinds of weapons can be exchanged between nations ~lnder a strict obligation of international law. Like- 227 R. F. SMITH Review for Religion,s wise, only the United Nations can demand the observance of this obligation by hssuming effective control of the armaments of all nations through a systematic and permanent p'rogram of aerial observation. The Holy Father then adds that the acceptance of such armament control is the crucial point of today; in accepting such control, each nation of the world will manifest the sincerity of its will for peace. Pain, Anesthesia, and the Christian On February 24, 1957 (AAS, pp. 129-47), the Holy Father delivered a long allocution in reply to three questions concerning anesthesia which had been submitted td him by the ninth National Congress of the Italian Society of Anesthesi-ology. After an introduction in which the Holy Father gives an appreciative statement of the importance of the anesthetist in modern surgery and describes the history of anesthesia in ¯ modern times, the Pontiff takes up the first question asked of him: Is there a general moral obligation to refuse anesthetics and to accept physical pain in the spirit of faith? Putting aside the case where a Christian must endure pain rather than offend God, Pius XII points out that there is no obligation to accept all suffering and to refuse the use of anesthesia; for man, even after the fall, has the right to dominate the forces of nature and to use all its resources to avoid or. suppress physical pain. On the other hand, for the Christian, suffering is not some-thing merely negative but is associated with the highest religious and moral values; hence, suffering can be willed and sought for even when there is no moral obligation to do so. Moreover, a Christian is bound to mortify his body and to purify himself interiorly; to the extent that this cannot be achieved without physical pain, to that extent the Christian must accept such pain. Outside of that case, hbwever, it cannot .be said that a Christian has a strict obligation to accept pain. The Vicar of Christ then takes up the question from the viewpoint of Christian perfection: Should a Christian accept 228 ROMAN DOCUMENTS physical pain in order that h~ may not put himself in contradic-tion to the ideal proposed to him by his faith? While it is true, the Holy Father replies, that a Christian experiences the desire to accept and even to seek physical' pain in order to participate the more closely in the Passion of Christ, still it is necessary to interpret this tendency in a correct way. When a Christian, day after day, from mo.rning till night, fulfills the duties of his state in life and of his profession, when he keeps the commandments of God and of men, when he prays, loves his neighbor, accepts without murmuring what God sends him, then his life is surely under the sign of the cross, whether physical suffering be present or not, and whether he endures such suf-fering or avoids it by licit means. The acceptance of physical suffering is only one way, among many, of manifesting what is essential: the will to love and serve God in all things. His Holiness then considers the reasons which permit the avoidance of physical pain. All these reasons, he says, can be reduced to a single general principle: pain prevents the attain-ment of higher goods and interests. Pain may be better for a given person in a given set of circumstances; but, generally speaking, the losses which pain provokes force men to defend themselves against it. A Christian will use pain as a stimulant in his ascent towards God, but the application of this principle will always be a personal matter to be decided by the rules of Christian prudence and with the help of an experienced director of souls. In conclusion~ the Holy Father sums up his. answer to the first question under three headings: (1) Anesthesiology in its fundamental principles is not morally wrong, for it seeks to combat forces which from many points of view produce evil effects and prevent greater goods. (2) The physician who accepts anesthesiology is in contradiction neither with the nat-ural moral order nor with the specifically Christian ideal, for hd is seeking, as God Himself orders in Genesis 1:28, to submit 229 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious pain to the power of man. (3) The patient who wishes to avoid or lessen pain can, without disquiet to his conscience, use the means found by this science. Particular circumstances may im-pose another line of conduct; but the Christian ideal of renuncia-tion does not constitute an obstacle to the use of anesthesia, for that ideal can be fulfilled in other ways. The second question submitted to the Holy Father was this: Is the privation or diminution of consciousness and of the use of mail's higher faculties that is induced by narcotics com-patible with the spirit of the Gospel? In other words, does the example of Christ in abstaining from the wine offered Him before the crucifixion mean that a Christian may not accept total or partial loss of consciousness? The Pope begins by reflecting that a human being is bound to conform his actions to the requirements of the moral order; this, however, can be done only by the use of his higher faculties. This is the reason why there is a moral obli-gation not to deprive oneself of consciousness unless there is a true necessity for such deprivation. Hence, one cannot inter-fere with or suppress consciousness merely for the sake of obtaining pleasant sensations and a certain kind of euphoria. In the case of surgery, the Pontiff points out, what the surgeon primarily wishes to secure is the suppression of painful sensation, not of consciousness. Violent pain can easily provoke involuntary and reflex actions which are capable of producing undesirable complications and even fatal cardiac difficulties. The preservation then of psychic and organic equilibrium constitutes for the surgeon and the patient an important objective which only narcosis can effect. In concluding his reflections on the second question asked him, the Holy Father says that from the action of Christ on Calvary it follows that a 'man ought to accept and drink the chalice of pain whenever God desires it. But it doeg not follow that God desires this whenever and wherever suffering presents 230 July, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS itself to a man. Often the acceptance of guffering is not obliga-tory nor a matter of, perfection. Regularly enough there exist serious motives for easing pain and suffering. J~n such cases one can avoid pain without in any way compromising the doctrine of the Gospel. The third question proposed .to the Vicar of Christ was' composed of two parts: (1) Is the use of narcotics licit in the case of .the dying, supposing that such use is medically indi-cated? . (2) May narcotics be used in cases where the' lessening of pain will probably be accompanied by a shortening of life? In reply the Holy Father asserts fhat neither reason nor rdvelation teaches that the dying, more than others, have a moral obligation to accept pain or to refuse to avoid it. Since, how'ever, pain contributes to the expiation of personal sin and to the acquisition of greater merit, the dying have special motives for accepting pain, because their time of merit is draw-ing to a close. These motives, however, must be understood correctly. Growth in.the lo~¢e of God and abandonment to His will do not proceed from the sufferings which a person accepts, but from the intention of the will supported by grace. In the case of many dying persons this intention can be strengthened if their suffering is lessened, for pain aggravates their physical weakness and hence diminishes their moral strength, while the suppression of pain secures organic and psychic relaxation, facilitates prayer, and makes possible a more generous gift of self. If the dying consent to suffering as a means of expiation and a source of merit, then one should not force anesthesia on them. Nor is it always opportune to suggest to the dying the ascetical considerations of expiation and merit mentiQned above, and it should .always be remembered that pain may even be the occasion of new faults. With regard to depriving a dying person of consciousness, one should recall that Christ died in full consciousndss and that the Church's prayers for the dying presuppose that the dying 231 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious person is conscious. Hence, men should not of their own initiative deprive a dying person of consciousness, unless serious motives for such action are present. A dying person, continues the P~ntiff, may not permit or demand anesthesia if thereby he puts himself in a state where he cannot fulfill g~ave obligations which are incumbent on him, such as the making of a will or of going to confession. If in such cases the dying person dema~ads narcosis for which sound medical reasons are present, a physician should not administer it without first inviting the patient to fulfill his duties. If the sick person refuses to do so and continues to demand narcosis, the physician may administer it without being guilty of formal collaboration in the fault committed by the dying man. But if the dying person has performed all his duties and has received the last sacraments, if there are medical reasons for anesthesia, if the correct doses are given., if the intensity and duration of the anesthesia is carefully watched, and if the patient consents, then anesthesia is morally permissible. As to the licitness of using narcotics which will probably shorten life, the Pope warns that in such cases all direct euthan-asia, that is, the administration of narcotics to provoke or hasten death, is illicit, for such action directly disposes of human life. Bt~t when narcotic.s are administered only to avoid intolerable pain for the patient, th~ administration of narcosis is licit if it produces two distinct effects: the cessation of pain on the one hand and on the other the shortening of life. However, there must also be a reasonable proportion between the two effects and it should be ascertained if means other than the depriving of consciousness could achieve the desired result. The Holy Father concludes his allocution by recalling to the minds of his" listeners the infinitely higher and more beau-tiful life to which man is called and which i~ perceptible even here below in those into whom Christ pours His" redemptive 232 Jldy, 1957 ROMAN. DOCUMENTS love, which alone definitively triumphs over both suffering and death. Miscellaneous Matters On February 1, 1957 (AAS," pp. 91-95), the Sacred Con-gregation of Rites issued a decree introducing a number of modifications into the rites of Holy Week as. set forth in a pre-ceding decree of November 16, 1955. Several documents of early 1957 dealt with saints or with processes of canonization. By an apostolic letter (AAS, pp. 61-62) the Roman Pontiff designated the sainted martyrs Clau-dius, Nicostratus, Symphorianus, Castorius, and Simplicius the special patrons of all stone and marble workers. On January 22, 1957 (AAS, pp. 169-71), the Sacred Congregation of Rites approved the two miracles necessary for the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God Mire Marie de la Providence, foundress of the Helpersof the Holy Souls (1825-71). The same congregation (AAS, pp. 40-42; 82-85; 85-87; 88-90) also approved the introduction of the causes of the following servants of God: Mary Lichtenegger (1906-23); Stephen of Adoain, priest and professed Capuchin (1808-80); Sister Frances of the Wounds of Jesus (1860-99); and Joseph Mafianet y Vires, priest and founder of the Sons of the Holy Family and of the Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (1833-1901). On January 13, 1957 (AAS, pp. 43-44) the Sacred Peni-tentiary attached an indulgence of a thousand days to a prayer for C.hristian families composed by the Holy Father on the feast of Christ the King, October 31, 1954. On February 9, 1957 (AAS, pp. 100-101), an indulgence was attached to the recita-tion of the prayer of the Holy Father for religious vocations; the text of the prayer and the details of the indulgence were given in the May, 1957, issue of REVIE~V FOR RELIGIOUS (p. 165). Several shorter addresses of the Holy Father were published in AAS during the first three months .of 1957. Speaking on 233 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious December 16, 1956 (AAS, pp. 68-72), to the second Eucha-ristic Congress of Bolivia, Plus XII said that the Eucharist is the principal means of knowing Jesus Christ, of penetrating oneself with the greatness of His mission, and of feeling the impulse to continue that mission through the priesthood. In a written message to the third general assembly of the Internal tional Federation of Catholic Youth the Pope urged the group to grow in love and' respect for the Church and to deepen their spiritual lives as the necesshry condition for any fruitful apostolate. When he spoke to the council of the International Federation of Catholic Men, the Vicar of Christ pointed out to them that the visible unity of Christians intensely living their faith is in itself a massive apostolate and a vast testimony that obliges all men of good will to salutary reflection. The Holy Father took the occasion of the Italian Mother's Day (AAS, pp. 72-76) to speak on the duty of all adults to secure for all children the possibility of a full physical and moral development. The Association of Catholic Teachers of Bavaria was told by the Pope (AAS, pp. 63-65) that it is against one of the fundamental human rights to force parents to confide their children to a school whose ~eachers are indifferent or even hostile to the religious convictions of the home. In an address to a group of teachers and students from the newly formed Catholic University in Mexico, the Holy Father remarked that their institution was to be a true Catholic University, dedicated to the training of well-educated and outstanding sons of the Church who can constitute the leaders of their country. Five documents issuing from the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities (AAS, pp. 95-96; 97; 97-98; 172- 73; 173-74) give continued evidence of the growth of intel-lectual activity in the Church. The documents provided for the canonical establishment of the following: a higher institute of pedagogy in the faculty of philosophy of the Pontifical Salesian Athenaeum; a philosophical institute in the faculty of 234 July, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS theology of Angers; a faculty of philosophy in the Pontifical University of Salamanca; a second Catholic University in Brazil; and a faculty of medicine in the Catholic University of Peru. o A set of questions was published (AAS, pp. 150~63) for the use of military vicars in making their triennial reports to the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory. A decree and a set of norms were issued (AAS, pp. 163-69) for the establish-ingo of ecclesiastical tribunals in the Philippine Islands to deal with matrimonial cases of nullity. On January 21, 1957 (AAS, p. 77), the Holy Office answered in the affirmative the ques-tion whether affinity, contracted before baptism, is an impedi-ment for marriages entered upon after the baptism of only one of the parties. The Holy Office (AAS, p. 34) also warned ordinaries and clergy that the Institute of the Apostles of the Infinite Love and the institute Magnificat are not recognized by the Church and are forbidden to the faithful. Norms for the abso-lution of secular "and regular priests in Hungary whose nom-inations to ecclesiastical offices and benefices were not in accord-ance with canon law were published by the Sacred Congregation of the Council (AAS, pp. 38-39). Finally, .the Holy Office by a decree of January 30, 1957 (AAS, pp. 77-78), placed on the Index of Forbidden Books the two following works of Miguel de Unamuno: Del senti~niento trelgico de la vida and La agonia del Cristianisrno, at the same time warning the faithful that other books of the same author contain a a number of matters contrary to faith and morals. (Both of the books mentioned above have been translated into English under the following titles: The Tragic Sense of Life [New York: Dover, 1954]; and The Agony of Christianity [New York: Brewer, 1928]). With this the survey of AAS for January through March of 1957 is concluded; succeeding articles will continue the survey with later issues of AAS. 235 AIIocufion Concerning TerfiansFfip Pope Pius XII Introductory Note According to the the plan of St. Ignatius .Loyola for the training of his sons for the priesthood, there is a short introductory stage called the first probation in which the candidate becomes acquainted with the religious life and superiors with him. Following this intro-duction is the regular novitiate which, together with the first proba-tion, is to l~ist at least two full years and which is also called the second probation. Next come the long years of study and work in the juniorate, philosophy, regency or teaching, aad theology. St. Ignatius realized that such a course could and often would cool the fervor of the novitiate and dim the-spiritual vision of his sons. Consequently, he piescribed at the end of the whole course of forma-tion another period of spiritual discipline which was to last a tea-month year and is called the third probation or, more commonly, the tertianship. During this year the fervor of the earlier years is rekindled and the appreciation of and-attachment to the Society olc Jesus deepened by an intense study of the constitutions. In rather recent years a number of other religious communi-ties have introduced a tertianship period of varying lengths of time. Some other communities are considering whether to require a tertianship of their members. Fr., Larraona of the Sacred Con-gregation for Religious has said that "Rome views with favor the so-called 'third year of probation' " because it "has incalculabl~ advantages" but it "is not in any way imposed by the Sacred Con-gregation" (gEvIEw FOP. RELIGIOUS, November, 1954, 302). In an allocution to the Jesuit instructors (masters) of tertians, March 25, 1956 (AAS) 48(1956)269-72), Pope Pius XII dwells on the purpose and program of a tertianship and the importance and in-fluence of the instructor on his tertians. Moreover, he ~rges the preservation of the tertianship against those who propose arguments against it which reflect a spirit which on at least two other occasions he has labelled the "heresy of action" (cf. apostolic letter on the centenary of the Apostleship of Prayer, June 16, 1944~English ver- 236 AL.LOCUTION ~ONCERNING TERTIANSHIP sion in the Messenger o/ the Sacred Heart, 79(Dec.,1944) 13; exhorta-tion on the priesthood, Menti Nostrae, Sept. 23, 1950, paragraph 60). Because it was thought that the Holy Father's allocution on the ter-tianship would be ot: interest to those already requiring a tertianship as well as to those considering whether to have one, the following translation is given.--James I. O'Connor, s.J. The Allocution Beloved sons now present before Us, members of the curia of the Society of Jesus, and you, especially, instructors of the third probation, summoned to Rome by the very wise zeal of your Father General, who is very dear to Us, We know that your request is so reasonable and restrained that it would suffice for you to receive from Us the apostolic blessing in a public audience. And yet, although pressed at the present time with so great a host of occupations and cares, We still wish to go aside for a little while with you so that opening Our paternal heart, We may give testimony of Our singular good will to your whole illustrious order and especially to you, instructors, to whom has been committed an office requiring great understand-ing and' prudence. You certainly are a most select section of tl~e Society of Jesus, especially since you have been chosen and numbered among those of your members having special authority: "those who possess authority" (cf. Epit. Inst., S.J., p. V, cap. II, n. 340). For you discharge an office of the greatest importance since it pertains to that class of matters which your institute lists as "substantials of the second order" (Ibid., Proem., tit. V, n. 22). That it should be so is very easy~to understand. For this is the highest and final touch to the work and labor extended over a long period of time in forming souls in the ways of religion and piety. If We may so speak, this is another way whereby the spear is returned to the forge before it is used in apostolic warfare. It is during this interval that the young person is exercised in the "school of affection" to develop thor-oughly the special gifts of his soul. Finally, then, he is urged 237 Pxus XII Review for Religious on to very arduous undertakings, namely, to "a greater abne-gation of himself and, as 'far as possible, to continual mortifica-tion in all things" (Exam., cap. IV, n. [1031, p. 59), so that "when they have advanced in these, they mhy the better help on other souls to perfection to the glory of God and our Lord" (Const. cure Dec/ar., p. V, cap. II, n. I). I. This was your 'founder's ingenious and sagacious pur-pose which has been continuously reduced to practice with great progress in the religious life and which was later more and more accepted and imitated by other institutes.as well. Nevertheless, because four centuries have elapsed since this plan dawned upon his mind and was brought into effect, it can happen that to some people of our time it appears less fitting for various rea-sons, e.g., because people of today are prone to act more promptly and hastily or because the needs of the 'apostolate are more demanding than in times past. Ours is the completely opposite opinion, for the great need of our time is an interior religious life distinguished by constancy, soundness, and strength, most especially because the service and good of souls demand better-trained apostles. As a result, the period of tertianship should be considered really sacred, divinely inspired, and fully and justly worthy of every effort to preserve it. For this reason We exhort you to see to it that, when the course of studies has been completed, each and every one without any exception be given this whole year devoted to intense meditation in houses set aside for this purpose, in which, as far as possible, the tests and probations of the novitiate be again undergone and the prescriptions and rules observed to the letter. II. Nevertheless, in the whole ascetical training of the ter-tianship We desire that you direct singular care to the matter of special importance, namely, that you devote mind and effort to obtaining a thorough kr~owledge of your institute and to im-bibing the spirit with which it is imbued (Epit., p. V, c. III, n. 435). Moreover, the very resplendent character of this form 238 July, 1957 ALLOCUTION CONCERNING TERTIANSHIP of religious life is manifest in the golden book of the Spiritual Exercises which time and again We have highly praised. See to it that. your tertians more and more understand, search into, relish, esteem, and love everything contained in those pages: the notes, additional directions, meditations, contemplations, rules. In each matter let them carefully discern what is the underlying reason, its aim, and why it is found in this or that place. Exercise vigilant care that, when the tertianship is com-pleted, they are thoroughly convinced that the Ignatian way and plan must be fully preserved and that nothing which clearly per-tains to its nature is ever to be removed from it. This observ-ance and reverence Will have this special effect, that such prudent safeguards will continue their effectiveness in accomplishing won-ders as they have done in the past, provided, of course, there is no let-up by an inconstant will or a breakdown of moral fibre. III. Finally, dearly beloved instructors,.spare no labor, spare no effort, strive earnestly and pour out prayers to God that what is especially sought in this important period may have a most favorable outcome. For young religious, after they have been set free from. so many years of study, easily fall into the danger of neglecting spiritual matters or of holding them in little esteem because the fires enkindled earlier die down. But if they betake themselves again into the solitude of this retreat and give them-selves over to voluntary bodily chastisement, they not only will regain their early moral strength but will also acquire new strength, increased and steadfast, which will serve them profitably ~ven in the subsequent years of their life. Great will be their incen-tive to the study of devout prayer, to the austerity of life and the restraint of the senses which, with eyes full of wonderment, they behold in you. Your. words, at once a source of light and of fire, will illumine their minds and impart to their souls the sparks of divine flame. For their journey along safe paths you will be guides, clearly and conspicuously prudent, safe and trustworthy, keeping them by warning and exhortation from running after 239 P~us XII doctrines which pertain to Catholic dogma, morality, asceticism, and sociology but which by their alluring novel ideas show a certain false and insidious nature. By means of your characteristic active charity and your lov-able zeal you will discover how to ward off tedium, if it should arise, from your fellow-members, returned from a freer form of life, and how to curb what may be immoderate apostolic ardor in those who now experience in caring for the salvation of souls the sweet consolations of heavenly grace. It seemed to Us fitting to address to you in this audience these words, few and hasty because of the limitations of time. From all parts of the world you have assembled here and soon, when your meetings have come to an end, you will return, .each to his own province. Take with you the special apostolic bless-ing We lovingly impart to you in the present auspicious year in which with public joy you observe the solemn celebration of the glorious passing of your lawgiver and father. 'And let this be the outstanding fruit of this celebration that the spirit by which you are called by God fo lay hold on the religious life may more and more breathe upon you in greater intensity and ardor. How-ever, these desirable and magnificent gains will deriye their most providential increase from you especially, instructors, and your activity. Finally, may God, the bestower of gifts, bless all of you and each of your tertians. May He bless and bestow plenteous heavenly solace on your most praiseworthy Father General; on the members associated with him in the curia as well as on the whole Society of Jesus to which We are bound by ever sweeter and closer bonds of paternal charity and high esteem. OUR CONTRIBUTORS SfSTER MARY ST. ROSE teaches at Summit Country Day School, 2161 Grandin Road, Cincinnati 8, Ohio. HAROLD F. COHEN is studying at the Colegio Maximo de San Francisco Javier, Ofia (Burgos), Spain. JOSEPH F. GALLEN is profes~sor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. R. F. SMITH is a member of the faculty of St; Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. JAMES I. O'CON-NOR is professor of .canon law at West Baden College,. West Baden Springs, Indiana. 240 t oo1 Reviews [Material for this department should be sent to Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] FAITH AND PREJUDICE AND OTHER UNPUBLISHED SER-MONS OF CARDINAL NEWMAN. Edited by the Birmingham Oratory. Pp. 128. Sheed and Ward, New York 3, New ~York. 1956. $2.50. Faith and Prejudice is a short book containing some hitherto unpublished sermons of Cardinal Newman. It is only the third volume to be published of the sermons Newman preached as a Catholic, and it follows the first two after a gap of seventy~ years. The first seven sermons of the book were preached in the year 1848, three years after Newman joined the Catholic Church. Their style has much of the beautiful simplicity noted ia Newman's youth. The Sunday gospel is the subject matter of these sermons. They are addressed to the congregations of an ordiaary city parish. New-man is especially adept at taking a single thought and dwelling on it with warmth and unction. In the first sermon, for example, his thought could 13e crystallized into the sentence: The omnipotence of God is the reason for our faith and hope. Yet Newman takes this somewhat'cold statement ot: fact, so clothes it in familiar examples from the life of Christ, that it becomes no longer a mere theological thesis but rather a living person asking, "Why, then, are you fearful?" For a man of such tremendous learning Newman shows a remark-able ability to understand the circumstances of everyday life in which his hearers had to live out their Catholicism. His application of theory is both concrete and practical. Thus, in a sermon preached on tl~e first Sunday ofLent, 1848, he points out the need for. the modern age to find its penance in a mortification of the reason and the will. His application of this idea to curiosity is perhaps even more perti-nent to our own day, one hundred years and more after Newman spoke these words: "What a deal of time is lost, to say nothing else, in this day by curiosity, about things which in no ways concern us. I am not speaking' against interest in the news of the day altogether, for' the course of the world must ever be interesting to a Christian from its bearing upon the fortunes of the Church, but I speak of vain curios- 241 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious ity, love of sc~indal,, love of idle tales, curious prying into the private histo# of people, curibsity about trials and offences, and personal matters, nay often what is much worse than this, curiosity into sin. What strange diseased curiosity is sometimes felt about the history of murders and the malefactors themselves! Worse still, it is shock-ing to say, but there is so much evil curiosity to know about deeds of darkness, of which the Apostle' says that it is shameful to speak. ¯ . . Hen'ce this is the way in which we are called upon, with this Lent we now begin, to mortify ourselves[ Let u's mortify our curiosity" (p. 71). Perhaps the most interesting sermon is that preached in 1873 at the opening of a diocesan seminary. The growth of unbelief is the subject, and it must have had a powerful impact on Newman. With a keen eye for what the future would bring, he shows the difficulties which the weakening of Protestantism entails for the Catholic Church. It weakens or removes a common ally in the battle against those God-less men who would destroy Christianity. The preacher also recog-nizes what problems would arise from the growing strength of the Catholic Church in a Protestant country, problems of suspicion, fear, and prejudice. He exhorts the semin'arians to the practice of the presence of God as a powerful means of overcoming an age of un-belief. To this they must add a sound, accurate, complete knowledge of Catholic theology; with these weapons the future priests will be strong for the combat. As a whole; these sermons reflect Newman's confidence in prayer and faith and obedience more than do his university sermons which are pitched on a higher intellectual plane~ The present volume is. a welcome addition to Newman's published works. It is a book whose true worth will only be fully appreciated after repeated thoughtful reading. --J. DOtC~,LD" H,~YES,. S.J. PRINCIPLES OF SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY. By Bernard Leeming~ S.J. Pp, 690. The Newman Press, Westminster, Mary-land. 1956. $6.75. Father Leeming's book, a treatise on the sacraments in ~general, is written for everyone~whether expert theologian, teacher of religion, or competent layman--who is interested in theology for its own. sake. The author, a vetera'n professor of dogmatic theology /it Heythrop College,. England, has made every effort to be scientific ~iithout being 242 July, 1957 BOOK REVIEWS too technical for the non-theologian. He has spared no pains to facilitate the work of the reader. A detailed table of contents is presented at the outset; the volume is equipped with an impressive index in which each entry carries a symbol to signify the type of reference made; there is a thirty-page bibliography of general titles and of titles, pertinent .to each of the six general sections of the book. These general sections are entitled: The Sacraments and Grace; The Sacraments and the Character; Sacramental Causality; The Institution of the Sacraments; The Sacramental Economy. The sections are further divided into chapters, and the substance of most chapters is presented in a ~oncise "Principle" which summarizes the doctrine defended. These principles are stated and 'defended as regards the sacraments in general, Above all, Father Leeming's treatment is distinguished by its clarity; that is, matters of faith upon.which there can be no possibility of debate are cldarly stated and clearly differentiated from matters in which free discussion is allowed, and the vie.wpoints which Father Leeming defends as more p_robable are presented with notification of the precise value of the opinion proposed. Father Leeming's method is traditional, yet modern. He at-tempts to combine the scholastic method (sketching the whole history of thd question and the various opinions proposed, presenting the declarations of the .Church, stating a thesis and advancing reasons for it, and answering objections) with a modern, critico-historical ap-proach. The treatment is therefore complete; that is~ the author attempts to treat all pertinent questions, and to present all pertinent evidence --from scriptural and patristic sources, from the councils of the Church, and from the writings of orthodox and" heterodox scholars, andient and modern--in full translation, critically presented and care-fully annotated. The exhaustive historical analyses do not leave the impression that the book ig merely reportorial. Though the research is encyclo-pedic and ~scholarly; the author's oi'iginal handling of the anaterial is equally appealing. Father Leeming is of. the opinion that the key to the meaning of the sacraments is found in their connection with the Mystical Body of Christ; and in the section dealing with sacra-mental causality, he develops the :notion that "the effect of the sacraments . . . is to make those, who through them communicate 243 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious with Christ, special cells in the organism of His body." In developing this statement, he suggests a reformulation of the definition of a sacra-ment: "an effective sign of a particular form of union ~vith the Mystical Body, the Church, instituted by Jesus Chiist, which gives grace t'o those who receive it rightly." This viewpoint is also the key to the unity of the book itself, for it is applied to each of the sacraments, it is developed in the areas in which theological discussion is permitted, and it pervades the interpretation of the official sacramental doctrines of the Church. --JAMES J. DAGENAIs,°S.J. THE MASS IN TRANSITION. By Gerald Ellard, S.J. Pp. 387. The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. 1956. $6.00. The value of this book is that it is not limited to a presentation of the author's personal views on liturgical reform. Because of its liberal use of official and semi-official documents bearing on liturgical modifications, Father Ellard's present contribution is dispassionfite and to a high degree objective. As a result, one reads with a sense of security that more rhetorical but less solid works on the subject fail to convey. This is not to say that Father Ellard frowns on liturgical reform or that he is indifferent to it. His stated purpos~e in taking what must have been considerable pains to assemble selections from the two hundred or so documents upon which his observations are based is to advance "toward maturity and toward clarity" current ideas on the modification of the Mass. The theme that runs through mist of the book is taken from the ll.ledialor Dei of Pope Pius XII: that the worship of the Eucharist should be the fountain-head of genuine Christian devotion. The various chapters are concerned with the aspects of liturgical modifica-tion that tend to promote this goal. With a short history of de-velopment in the Mass from apostolic times as a background, the succeeding chapters discuss the efforts made, the results achieved, and the difficulties encountered by the Holy See and by lesser interested groups in promoting lay participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. chapter each is devoted to the reform of the Breviary and to the recent tendency of many non-Catholic sects to ~lpproach closer to the Catholic form of worship. 244 July, 1957 BOOK REVIEWS While the extensive use 0f documents does not always make for easy .reading, their very bulk and wide range produce an effect that more than justifies the reader's efforts. Through them one experi-ences the tremendous energy which in the past fifty years has set the liturgical reform in motion; and he is assured that this energy and determination, especially as found in the Holy See and the hierarchy, will succeed in fully restoring the Mass to the people in spite of all the difficulties involved. For the reader with a more professional interest in the liturgy Father Ellard's book gathers into one place a rich collection of up-to-date source material. --PAUL F. CONEY, THE SALVATION OF THE UNBELIEVER." By Riccardo Lombardi, S.J. Translated by Dorothy M. White. Pp. 376. The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. 1956. $5.00. Father Lombardi's crusading zeal for "a better world" in accord-ance with the social teachings of the papal encyclicals has occasioned much favorable comment in the Catholic press as well as in non- Catholic news journals like Time magazine. His work as professor of ~heology deserves equally favorable comment, and the proof of this is this volume. The book ig written' for all who are Catholic eno~agh to realize that being Catholic means being apostolic and who are educated enough to follow a skillful teacher through 362 pages of reasoning that is pleasingly adorned with quotations from Scrip-ture, St. Thomas Aquinas, Dante, and papal encyclicals. Specifically, this important volume is for high school or higher units of the Catho-lic Students' Mission Crusade, missionary congregations of religious, and for all Catholics who work or pray especially for our non-Catholic contemporaries, the seventeen million Jews, three hundred and twenty million heretics and schismatics, eleven hundred millior~ heathen or unbelievers in the Judaeo-Christian revelation. Father Lombardi studies honestfy and feelingly and with great charity the chances for salvation for this vast multitude as well for the about fifty billion (Ct6ca~/o Tribune, Nov. 25, 1955) human beings who have so far been inhabitants of this earth. On the one hand, by far the majority of this enormous number are not counted in the "little flock" of Christ. On the other hand are the clear words of Holy Scripture, "God our Savior . . . wishes all men to be saved" (I Tim. 2:3, 4). "But my just one lives by faith" (Heb. 10:38). "Without faith it is. impossible to please God. For. he who comes to God must believe thht God exists and is rewarder to those who 245 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religio'us seek him" (Heb. 11:6). Father Lombardi's study of the problem presented to us by these words and by the all but infinite multitude of unbelievers is consoling to our hope, convincing to our reason, arousing to our zeal. The volume would have profitted by a study of Hinduism in at least as much detail as the author gives to the three other very widespread but very much less intellectually organi~zed non-Christian religions which he studies specifically, Confucianism, BuddhiSm,' Islam~ Hinduism's pre-Homeric Vedas and pre-Socratic Upanishads are re-markable (and vastly voluminousI records of the anitna humana naturaliter Ghristiana.in its quest for God.' The prayer of the: Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad (1, 3, 28), '.'From untruth lead me to truth, from darkness lead me'to light, from death lead me to immortali:y!" is perhaps the greatest prayer outside.the sacred world of the Judaeo- Christian revelation, yet so "naturally Christian" is~ the prayer that it might well have been written by Cardinal Newman in his Anglican d.ays as a note to his Anglican hymn "Le.ad, Kindly Light!" If Father Lombardi issues a ndw edition of his volume, the writings which B.dlgi~n Jesuit scholar missioharies Johanns a~nd Dandoy have published on Hinduism can help l~im show his readers still more reason for l~ope .and for zeal than even this admirable edition does. ---' PAUL DENT, S.J. BOOK ANNOUNCE~AENTS THE BRUCE PUBLISHING CO., 400 N. Broadway, Milwaukee 1, Wiscoiisin. Mother of Fair Love. By Augustine Schroe~ler. Translated by Veronica Kir~land. The medium that the author of this latest life of the Blessed Virgin has chosen ~is the psychological novel. It is a happy choice for it enables her to paint a very vivid picture of our Lady. The book is carefully written anduses tO the full all that scholarship' in various fields has to offer one who would .paint a true-to-life poi'trait of God's most favored creature. Pp. 195. $3.50. An Introduction to' Philosophy. By Daniel J. Suliivan.To master the fundamentals of any subject is usually quite difficult. This is especially true of philosophy and particularly so for those who 246 July, 1957 "~OOK ANNOUNCEMENTS have no scientific background. This book was written with such im dividuals in mind. You will find in it a history of philosophy and a clear exposition of the problems that philosophy labors to solve. The book was the March selection of the Thomas More Book Club. Pp. 288. $3.75. The Catholic Priest in the Modern World, by James A. M~gner, is a very careful analysis of the many problems which 'the priest, and particularly the pastor of a parish, must solve. Pastors, ctirates, and seminarians who read the book will find th;~ time spent on it well spent. There is an adequate index. Pp. 286~ $4.75. Ho!y Week Manual for Servers. By Revo Waiter J. Schmitz, S,S. A copy of this book in the hands of each server should do much to add to the dignity and smooth performance of the compli, cared Holy Week services. Pp. 60. $0.50. Fundamental Marriage Counseling. A Catholic Viewpoint. By John R. Cavanagh, M.D. This is a very complete book on all aspects of marriage counseling and the many problems the counselor has to solve. There are 531 'pages of text, a bibliography of 31 pages, an 8 page glossaryl and a 25 page index. $&00. FIDES PUBLISHERS, 7~44 E. 79th St., Chicago 19, ~llinois. In Father of the Family, by Eugene S. Geissler, we have a con-tribution to sociology. The author, himself the father of ten, writes about the family from the father's point of view interestingly and seriously. The book is recommended ~eading for fathers and mothers of families both actual and prospective. Pp. 157. $2.95. FORDHAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, New York 58, New York. ; Spiritual and Intellectual Elements in the Formation of Sistei~s. Edited by Sister Ritamary, C.H.M. This is the second volume which has grown out of the six regional meetings of the Sister Formation Conference, 1955-56, The first volume bore the" title-The Mind of the Church in the Formation of Sisters and was reviewed in these pages in September, 1956 (pp. 273-74). Part I of the present volume deals with the viewpoin~ of keynote speakers and priest panelists 6n tl'ie spiritual and intellectual elements in the formationof sisters; Part II considers the viewpoint of religious sisters themselves; Part III summarizes replies and comments to questionnaires, while Part.IV deals with communications and commentaries. The reader is im-pressed by the energy and zeal with which the sisters themselves have 247 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious attacked their problems¯ Such zeal and energy cannot but lead to a happy solution. Pp. 261. $3.00. GRAIL PUBLICATIONS, St. Meinrad, Indiana. Pope Pius XII and Theological Studies. Edited by A. Yzermans. In addition to the encyclical letter //umani Generis, there are five addresses of the reigning Holy Father and an introductory essay on "Pius XII and TheologiCal Novelty" by the editor. Pp. 100. $0.50. THE NEWMAN PRESS, Westminister, Maryland. Methods of Mental Prayer. By Cardinal Lercaro. Translated by T. F. Lindsay. As the title indicates, this book is concerned exclusively with methods of mental prayer. It presents all of the better-known methods and does so objectively. The important thing in mental prayer is, of course, prayer; the method is secondary, yet still important. For if a method does not help you to pray, that method is not for you. You should choose another. With the aid of this .book the choice of a different method becomes easy since so many are listed and described in detail. The book, however, is not recommended for indiscriminate reading by novices, who might easily become confused and overwhelmed by the wealth of material offered. It should prove very helpful to the mature religious and to priests. Pp. 308. $5.75. The Gospel to Every Creature. By Bishop Leon-Joseph Suenens. Translated by' Louise Gavan Duffy. Catholics admire the missionary spirit which sends individuals to the ends of the earth to save souls. Many of them, however, do not realize that they too must be mis-sionaries even though they cannot travel to fields afar;~ tha't they too must labor to bring others to their true home in the Catholic Church. You will find a complete discussion of the missionary vocation as it applies to every individual in the pages of this book. Pp. 163. $3.00. The Angels and Their Mission According to the Fathers of tl~e Church. By Jean Danielou, S.J. Translated by. David Heimann. Devotion to the angels is traditional for Catholics, and for the ma-jority a reality, at least so we hope. It would help if Catholics were reminded more frequently of the role angels play in their lives. They are not so reminded by the books in English that they read. I know oi: only one, and that one was published more than thirty years ago. So the present volume is surely timely and will help to fill a great need. Pp, 118. $2.75. 248 July, 1957 BOOK ANNOUI~CEMENTS Christ, Our Lady and the Church. A Study in Eirenic Theology. By Yves M-J. Congar, O.P. Translated by Henry St. John, O.P. Eirenic theology may be described as that branch of. theology which endeavors to bring back to the unity of one faith our Protestant neighbors. It does so by finding the common ground we share with them, ana!ysing the divergences, and pointing out errors and mis-placed emphasis wherever it may exist. Since the greatest divergence between our Protestant brethren and the Church concerns precisely the Catholic doctrine on the nature of the Church and the place of our Lady in it, this book deals with these topics. Pp. 103. $2.75. Problems in Theology. Vol. I. The Sacraments. By John McCarthy, D.D., D.C.L. This book is a compilation of material that appeared in the section "Notes and Queries" of The Irish Ecclesiastical Record during the past fifteen years. The author and publishers promise a second volume to deal with principles and precepts. There is no index. Pp. 433. $6.75. Problems in Canon Law. By William Conway, D.D., D.C.L. In this volume Father Conway, who has long answered the canonical difficulties of the readers of 7'he Irish Ecclesiastical Record, has col-lected and classified a great many of the practical problems he has received. The publishers announce that this is the first volume of a new series on practical problems in theology and canon law. There is an eight page index. Pp. 345. $5.50. REVIEWOF CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC The appearance of a new Catholic periodical is always noteworthy, especially of one devoted to music. The Caecilia appearing in Feb-ruary, 1957, is marked "Volume 85, Number 1"; 13ut it is the first issue of the venerable magazine under the new management of the Society of St. Caecilia, recently revitalized through the efforts of Reverend Francis Schmitt. Father Schmitt has achieved a noteworthy place in the ranks of American Catholic church musicians through his inspiring work with the Boystown choir, with his annual choirmasters' workshop, and now, with the restoration of the Caecilian Society. The "new" Caecilia appears as a quartqrly review devoted to the liturgical music apostolate. Besides editor Schmitt and "editor emeri-tus" Dom Ermin Vitry, O.S.B., the con.tr~butmg editors include: Theodore Marier, Reverend Richard Schule~, James Welch, Reverend Francis Brunner, C.Ss.R., Paul Koch, and R~verend Francis Guentner, S.J. Under such management the journal gives promise of outspoken but scholarly criticism as well as appreciation of current efforts in liturgical music. The address is: Box 1012, Omaha I, Nebraska. 249 Ques!:ions and Answers [The following answers are given by Father Joseph F. Gallen, S.J., professor of canon law. at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland.] --19-- What bows does the priest make at Benediction of the Moit Blessed Sacrament? The priest makes a moderate.bow of the body before rising to put in incense(S. R. C., 4179, 6) and at Veneremur cern'ui and a pro-found bow of the head immediately before and after incensing (S. R. C., 3086, 3) and at Oremus. A moderate bow of the body is a bow of the head accompanied by a slight inclination of the shoulders (S. R. C., 4179, 1). A profound bow of the body is never made while kneel-ing. Cf. J. O'Connell, Benedictionale, 4-5; The Celebration' of Ma~s, 298; De Amicis, Caeremoniale Parochorum, 79-80. 20 Has a religious who has been excluded from renovation of tem-porary vows or from making perpetual profession the right of sus-pensive recourse to the Holy See against the exclusion? No. The contrary impression arises from a confusion of exclia-sion with dismissal. The two are not the same. A dismissal in canon law is verified only by an expulsion during the time of the vows; an exclusion is an expulsion at the expiration of the vows. It is also merely the refusal of admission to a further profession. Therefore, the canonical prescriptions on dismissal do n

Issue 8.6 of the Review for Religious, 1949. ; ¯ A.M. D~G. Reviewfor Relig°ions NOVEMBER 15, 1949 Roman Con.grecjations :. ¯ ¯ ¯ . JosephCreusen How Often Must We Pray? . Gerald Kelly Acjes of the Interior Life .". G. Augustine Ellard "We Are His Members!" . M. Raymond Questions Answered Books' Reviewed Annual Index :h VOLUME VIII NUMBEk 6 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME VIII NOVEMBER, 1949 NUMBER 6 CONTENTS THE ROMAN CONGREGATIONS-~3oseph Creusen, 8.3. . . . 281 HOW OFTEN MUST WE PRAY?--Gerald Kelly, S.J . 289 THE THREE AGES OF T'HE INTERIOR LIFE-- G. Augustine Ellard, S.J . 297 "WE ARE HIS MEMBERS!"--M. Raymond, O.C.S.O . 317 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 40. "Reform" of Cloistered Communities . 323 41. Religious Wears Graduation Pin . 324 42. Sister as Organist in Parish Church ." . 325 43. "Class Money" for Personal Needs . ' . 325 BOOK REVIEWS-- The Day with Jesus and Mary; She Who Lived Her name; The Happi-ness of Heaven . 326 BOOK NOTICES . : . . 328 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS . 331 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 332 ANNUAL INDEX . . . ." . " . 333 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, .November 1949, Vol. VIII, No. 6. 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. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Editorial Secretary: Alfred F. Schneider, S.J. Copyright, 1949, 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. Before writing to us, please consult notice on inside back cover. The Roman Congregat:ions Joseph Creusen, S.J. gO,~ religious who, have not made a study of canon law the terms Roman Curia' and "Sacred Congregation" will not suggest a clear picture or ide~. Superiors, of course, know that recourse "to Rome" is necessary in order to obtain certain permissions or dispensations and that their petition will be forwarded to the Sacred Congregation of Religious by their local ordinary o~. by the Apostolic Delegate. Eventually an answer will arrive from the Sacred Con-gregation through the same channel, signed by a cardinal prefect or by the secretary, and there will be a fee to pay. And that is about the extent of their knowledge. Hence the purpose of the following pages is to introduce our readers to this ancient and important institution. Name and Oflfce of Cardinals The early popes like other bishops had their particular clergy, consisting of clerics of both lower and higher rank, among whom priests and deacons held a special place. They were attached to the principal churches of the diocese of Rome, and therefore to the "title" of the church, being attached to it as :it were by a "'cardo'" or hinge. Hence, they were said to be "'intitulati'" or "'incardinatL'" On account of their higher rank the deacons and priests of the Roman diocese so connected with a special church were called "'cardinales'" (cardinal priest, cardinal deacon). Little by little the term "'card[nalis'" (cardinal) was restricted to designate the first priest or deacon of the main churches of Rome. When freedom was granted to the Church by the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, the popes began to call the bishops of the " neighboring dioceses to assist them in certain solemn ceremonies and to ask their advice in more important matters. This was done par-ticularly in provincial Roman councils. Thus it happened that the bishops of the nearby dioceses, who were summoned more frequently to assist the pope, were also called cardinals, or "cardinal bishops." The evolution of this institution of ca~rdinals took a long time. By the end of the fifth century the city of Rome had been divided into seven districts each under the authority of'a "cardinal deacon" 281 JOSHPH CRHUSHN Reeiew ~or Religious who cared for the economic condition of that district and especially for the welfare of the poor. The "cardinal priests" were at the head of the great basilicas and the other principal churches of Rome. From the twelfth century on the "cardinal bishops," called "'suburbicadi'" or "suburban" .(of the cities adjacent to Rome), numbered six. Plus V. (Const. Feb. 17, 1568) for the first time reserved the tide "cardinals" to" his councillors. During the early centuries of the Church the right to choose the new pope was exercised exclusively, or at least partially, by the clergy of Rome, by the citizens of that city, by the noble families, and by the Emperor. Finally, when it became possibIe for the popes to reserve this important right to the cardinals, their dignity and influence were much increased. They were then entrusted with the most important offices of the Roman curia. Those who resided in Rome were more or less frequently gathered in a "consistoriurn'" and became, as it were, the senate of the pope. The legates sent to vari-ous parts of the world by the Holy Father were chosen from among the resident cardinals. With greater centralization of Church government, the number and the difficulty of matters submitted to the Holy See became con-siderably increased. In imitation of civil governments, the pope was obliged to establish "offices" (boards of cardinals, councillors, and clerks) to assist in making new laws and in governing the extensive organization which was required to handle the great volume of business relating to such things as financial affairs, faculties of bishops and their relation to regulars, the struggle against heresy, the interpretation and the introduction of the decrees of the Council of Trent--~to m~ntion only the more important ones. Sixtus V is regarded as the real founder of the Roman congrega-tions. He fixed the number of cardinals at seventy--six cardinal bishops, fifty cardinal priests, and fourteen cardinal deacons1. He also reorganized the sacred congregations, incre.asing their number to fifteen (January 22, 1588). Reform of Pius X From the very beginning of his reign Dius X determined to revise the law of the Church. He made a start with the constitution 1A cardinal deacon is, of course, at least a priest, but his "title" is a church which in early ages belonged to a deacon. Many. of the cardinal priests are bishops, but they have a °'presbyteral ~itle." 282 Nouember, 1949 THE ROMAN CONGREGATIONS Sapienti consilio, dated June 29, 1908, by which he reformed the Roman Curia. This legislation was incorporated latei: on, almost without change, into the new Code of Canon Lau), which was promulgated in 1917. According to the. reform of Plus X the Roman Curia now consists of fifteen sacred congregations, three papal tribunals or courts, and five offices, such as that of the secretarg of state.In this article, however, we shall confine ourselves to the sacred congregations and make practical applications of what is said to the Sacred Congregation of Religious. Roman Congregations A Roman congregation is a board of ~ardinals who have a very accurately defined part in the government of the Church. They are assisted by a group of major and minor officers, and by a body of councillors called consultors. At the head of every congregation we find a cardinal prefect, except in the cases of the Holy Office, the Congregation for the F~astern Church, and the Consistorial Congre-gation. The pope himself is the head of these three congregations, and the cardinal who would otherwise be the prefect takes the place of the secretary and is called assessor. All the other congregations have a secretary and a subsecretary. The secretary of a congregation plays a very important part in transacting its business. Consultors To assist in the study of difficult questions proposed to the con-gregations, each one of them has a board of councillors who are called consultors. They are chosen from among the diocesan clergy and from among religious, are specialists in their field, come from various countries of the world, and most of them reside in Rome where they are engaged as professors or hold a post in.the curia of their order or congregation. Some of these consultors are Roman prelates. Minor Ot~cials To help the secretary and the subsecretary in the solution of the ordinary problems and cases which are presented to a congregation, we find a group of monsignori and priests who are called "'aiutanti di studio." These are internal councillors as contrasted with the consultors mentioned above, who may be termed external councillors since they do not ordinarily meet for consultation in the congrega-tion. Then another group called "'minutanti'" are in charge of 283 JOSEPH CREUSEN Review for Religious summing up the petition.s, while the "'protocolist'" (one or more~ takes care of the documents and puts them in order. Finally, each congregation.has a bursar, an archivist, and a group of lay helpers who are called ushers. The Sacred Congregation of Religious Let us now pay a visit to the Sacred Congregation of Religious. This will be the best way of explaining what a Roman congregation is and what it does. Pius XI built a modern office building to house the Sacred Con-gregations. It is called the Palazzo delle Congregazioni (palazzo meaning any large, ornate building),, and it is situated in the Piazza San Callisto near the old church of S. Maria Trasteoere (across the Tiber). Nearly all the congregations have their quarters in this modern building, and the two upper floors afford lodging for many officers of the congregations. Entering a courtyard we have an immediate view of this imposing edifice. On the right, as we pass along we see a beautiful fountain flanked by a statue of Plus XI, a memorial to the founder of this new home of the congregations. In the driveway immedi-ately in front of the building, we may see several autos with the legend "S C V" (Servizio Cittd Vaticano) in lieu of license plates. This indicates that one or more cardinals are already in their offices. We enter the building at a door marked "Congregation of Religious'" and find ourselves in a long corridor with high windows and ceilings. Going to the end of this corridor, on the left we find a large assembly room where various committees and consultors meet under the chairmanship of the cardinal prefect or the secretary of the con-gregation; then comes a series of smaller waiting rooms for visitors. On the right we find a waiting room and the office of the cardinal prefect and that of the secretary of the congregation. Smaller offices house the roinutanti, protocolist, bursar, and archivist. This latter is the antechamber to a very large room which has a balcony all around, and is used to keep all the documents of the Sacred Congre-gation. These are contained in steel files, in alphabetical order of the diocese in wh.ich the mother house of an institute is situated. To the right of the entrance we find another series of offices-- subsecretary, various business offices for religious men, for teaching and nursing sisters, and for the past two years an office for the secretary and committee in charge of secular institutes. 284 Nooember, 1949 THE ROMAN CONGREGATIONS The offices of the congregation are open to the public for business from 9:00 A.i~, to 1:00 P.M. During these hours the waiting rooms are filled'with religious priests, Brothers, and Sisters, who wear various habits, some ~f which would appear strange to us. Some are dressed in civilian clothes and have no religious habit. These are members of the recently established secular institutes. During office hours the officers and employees are kept very busy, and during an interview with the secretary one will ordinarily be interrupted two or three times in twenty minutes by an usher who brings a document to be signed. The Congregation of Religious is competent to handle almost any matter which concerns religious. When necessary, the secretary will send a petition to another congre-gation or ask for special faculties from the Holy Father. The subject matter of petitions sent to the Sacred Congregation of Religious covers a great variety of things of greater or less importance. For ordinary dispensations the cardinal prefect or the secretary have habitual faculties, and they will grant directly the dispensation requested. Thus, by way of example, we may mention: permission to change a last will and testament, to remain outside the religious house for more than six months, to leave papal cloister in order ~o undergo a surgical operation. For all petitions which require some discussion, a meeting called a congresso is held at least once a week. At this meeting the car-dinal prefect, the secretary, and the subsecretary are present. Som~- times one or more consultors are asked to be present to give their opinions or to discuss the report ("ootum") they have written on the subject. According to an ancient practice all questions of some importance were submitted to the "congregation," that is, to the cardinals who form the Congregation of Religious; but Pius XII has enlarged the competence of the "'cor~gresso pieno'" (full meetings)', that is, when some consultors are called to discuss questions with the cardinal prefect, the secretary, and the subsecretary, and sometimes one or other members of the congregation. The cardinals who are members of the Congregation of Religious gather in the Vatican Palace every Friday for a meeting which is called "'plenaria.'" There are twenty-three cardinals who are mem-bers of the Congregation of Religious at present, but only eleven of them reside in Rome. The others may sit in at a meeting when they happen to be in Rome for their "'ad limina'" visit, or on some other occasion. The cardinals who live in Rome are called "Cardinals in 285 ¯ .JOSEPH CREUSEN Revieto [or Religious Curia." A week before the meeting, each one receives a copy of printed documents regarding the case or cases to be ~.iscussed. These will ordinarily consist of a copy of the petition to be heard, the ,doubt to be solved, and the report (called "'votum") of one or more consultors. One of the cardinals is designated to explain the case to the assembly. He is called the Cardinal Ponens. Instructions or decrees to be issued by the Sacred Congregation, the approval of new religious institutes, difficult juridical questions, are examples of mat-ters discussed in the plenary session of the congregation. Every second and fourth Monday of the month, the cardinal prefect is received in private audience by the Holy Father who makes the final decision-~either approving the results of the plenary session or requesting a further study of the question. In the Congregation of Religious there are five boards or "com-missions" made up of various consultors according to their special competence. Among the more difficult tasks of the congregation is the preparation of instructions and decrees. These require long and arduous study on the part of the higher officials and of certain con-suitors. Our readers may be familiar with some of th~ more recent ones such as the following: the decree on military service for religious (January 1, 1911) ; the instruction on the second year of novitiate (Noyember 5, 1921); on the papal cloister 6f nuns (February 5, 1924); on secular institutes (March 19, 1948). Only canonists can. appreciate how much time and work are consumed in the preparation of such documents. Usually the preparatory work is entrusted to a board of consultors tinder the direction.of the secretary or subsecretary. The final meetings will be presided over by the cardinal pre.fect himself. Ordinarily one or two consultors prepare a draft which will then be discussed by the entire board. Being canonists themselves, many of the consultors realize how accurately terms must be chosen to avoid criticisms of the text and doubts which might arise as to the meaning of this or that word. Even the,non-canonists contribute useful suggestions. Since the consultors come from various 'countries, they look at the matter in the light of the special conditions in their own countries. Hence no one will be surprised to learn that some instructions are discussed for one, or two, or even three years before they are ready for publication. 286 Nouember, 1949 THE ROMAN CONGREGATIONS Procedure in the Congregation A simple example will give us an idea of how ordinary routine business is conducted by the Congregation of Religious. A superior general with the approval of his council decides to ask the Sacred Congregation for permission to contract a debt of $100,000 to enlarge or to equip a school or hospital. The petition must be writ-ten in Latin, Italian, or French. The petition is usually addressed to The Holy Father according tO a well-known form: "Most Holy Father: The undersigned N.N., superior general of the congregation of N.N. (mother house in the diocese of X), pros-trate at the feet of Your Holiness, sets forth the following." ' Then come~ the petition itself: "With the approval of my gen-eral council I ask for permission to contract a debt of :;100,000 to equip on a more modern scale, a hospital, school . . ." ~ Then the need for the improvement will be briefly and clearly exposed. If the congregation has other debts the superior is obliged to mention them also. It is very important to assure the Sacred Congregation that the religious institute will be able to pay the interest regularly fiom ordinary income and, after not too long a time, to retire the capital debt. The petition ends with the form: "And may God, etc." without finishing the clause. Then a final "Your Holiness' most humble servant in Christ," followed by the signatures of the superior gen-eral and his general councillors. If the approval of the general coun-cil is not required, the councillors do not sign the petition. If the congregation has a cardinal protector, the petition may be sent to him, and he will forward it to the congregation with his recommendation. For less important matters it will be sufficient to have the document signed and sealed by the local ordinary and by tbe religious major superior. It should be addressed directly to: ."His Eminence, Cardinal Lavitrano, Prefect of the S. Congregation of Religious, Piazza S. Calli~to, Rome, Italy." According to the importance of the matter, the favor will be granted immediately by the cardinal prefect or by the secretary, with or without having been examined by a consuhor. Certain matters are frequently discussed in the congresso; and if it be something still more important or difficult, it will go through a "plenary session" of the cardinals and will finally be submitted to the pope in private 287 ,JOSEPH CREUSEN audience by the cardinal prefect. For many indults a printed form is used, and the clerk has only to fill in the name of the petitioner and perhaps add a brief remark. If the petition was not presented by the cardinal protector, the indult will have to be claimed at the treasurer's office by an agent. Small religious congregations which have no agent of their own in Rome usually send in their petitions through the diocesan chancery of the mother house, and then the local ordinary's agent will take care of them. In such cases the favor is frequently not granted directly but faculties are given to the local ordinary of the mother house (general or provincial) to grant the favor "if he finds the motives and the circumstances alleged to be true." On the back of the indult are.indicated the various fees to be paid. The first is an alms to be given the Sacred Congregation on the occasion of the granting of the favors; the second is a tax in compensation for the expenses involved (work of the clerks, report of the consultor, and so forth); the third is an alms for whoever executes the indult; the fourth fixes the sum the agent may ask for his work and expenses. Conclusion Perhaps one of my readers will ask me in a low voice, "Why does it occasionally take such a long time to get an answer back from the congregation?" I could igive many reasons. It is not always the fault of the officers of the congregation. Let me remind my readers of what I said above, that the Sacred Congregation has general com-petency for practically all matters concerning religious. Now, according to very incotnplete statistics, published in 1942, the reli-gious congregations with papal approval number about 111,000 religious men and 587,000 religious women. These figures do not include the numerous members of diocesan congregations, nor the r~ligious orders; hence, no mention at all of the hundreds of monas-teries of religious nuns. To give but one small example of the num-bers of diocesan religious, a Belgian bishop once told me that he had ii/:ty (yes, I mean i/fry) smaller or larger mother houses in his dio-cese. This being so, it will not be useless to have a friend in Rome who can go to the Sacred Congregation and inquire of some employee about your business. 288 l-low Orq:en Must We Pray? Gerald Kelly, S.J. DURING the years I have.been teaching religious, particularly Sisters, I have often been presented with this problem: "Exam-inations of conscience sometimes contain the.question, 'Did I miss my morning and even!ng prayers, and my grace before and after meals?' Does this question mean that such daily prayers are obliga-tory? And if they are not obligatory, how are we to explain the question to children?" The problem, be it noted, concerns obligation. It pertains there-fore to moral, not to ascetical, theology; and it is as a moral problem that I intend to treat it. But before I touch upon the actual ques-tion, I should like to make some preliminary observations that may prevent misuntterstandings. Preliminary Observations I lay claim to no special knowledge, acquired or infused, natural or supernatural, concerning the teaching of catechism to children. In fact, I may state quite frankly that at the end of the one year of my Jesuit life in which I had the duty (or privilege) of teaching cate-chism to third-graders I was thoroughly convinced that I had not reached their minds with a single idea. As a fellow Jesuit once put it to me when we were returning home after a catechism session, "Every time I leave that class, it's with a feeling of having been thwarted." Despite that year of frustration, I still retain certain notions concerning what ought and what ought not to be taught to children. For one thing, I believe it is much better to show children (and per-haps adults, too) the fittingness, the loveliness, and the beauty of the various acts of prayer than to try to make precise distinctions con-cerning their obligation to pray) If they love prayer, they will pray; and thus they will fulfill these obligations even though they cannot define them. This seems to be in keeping with the common opinion of theologians to th~ effect that Catholics who lead a devout lFor material on the fittingness and beauty of some of the acts of prayer mentioned in this article confer, among other things, these articles in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS: Moral Beautg in Our Duties toward God (I, 244-52) ; The Life of Faith (II, 41- 51); and Are You Sorrg for Your Sins? (III, 335-48). 289 GERALD KELLY Reoiew /~or Religious life need never worry about failing to fulfill their various duties to pray. Nevertheless, it is not right, merely in order to encourage children to do good, to foster an erroneous notion concerning their obliga-tions. Consequently, when any book or statement gives them the impression that they have a strict obligation though in reality they do not, that impression should be tactfully corrected. As regards daily prayers in particular, I might observe before discussing the main question that, even if there should be an obliga-tion to pray every day, there is certainly no duty to pray at definite times of the day, for example, in the morning or evening. Evidently these are fitting times. Yet pious Catholics who humbly confess that they did not say (heir morning prayers but said them later in the day surely have a false conscience if they think that in so acting they sin. Moreover, even if there should be an obligation to pray daily, there is clearly no obligation to say the prayers in some definite posi-tion. Some people seem to think that if they do not kneel when they pray they are doing wrong. A notion of this kind should be ~orrected--or, better still, prevented. Now for the question: is it obligatory, at least under pain of venial sin, to pray every day? Official pronouncements of the Churcl'i do not answer this question. A casual reading of Sacred Scripture seems to answer it in the affirmative. For instance, we are told: "Pray without ceasing" (I Thess. 5:17); "We ought always to pray" (Lk. 18 : 1) ; and "Be instant in prayer" (Col. 4:2). Texts like these appear to demand at least daily prayer; yet we know, from the traditional teaching of approved theologians, that such texts need not be taken in their full literal force. In part, at least, they express a counsel, not a command. To know the extent of the Obligation we have to turn to the writings of the moral theologians. Meaning of Prayer What do theologians mean by prayer? In general they distin-guish between prayer in the strict sense and prayer in the wide sense. In the strict sense prayer refers to petition, and it is defined as the "asking for becoming things from God." In the wide sense itmeans "any lifting of the soul to God," or any attual "communion with God." In this latter sense prayer includes acts. of faith, hope, love, adoration, petition, thanksgiving, praise, contrition, and so forth. It seems unquestionable that when we consider the problem of 290 November, 1949 HOW OFTEN MUST WE PRAY? daily prayers we are referring not merely to the prayer of petition but to prayer in the wide sense. To determine the exact obligation of praying, therefore, we ought to study what theologians have to say about the necessity of each of the acts mentioned in the previous paragraph. As a matter of fact, with reference to the necessity of prayer, moralists do not treat all these acts; but they do treat the principal ones: faith, hope, charity, contrition, and petition. These five acts, as treated by theologians, are primarily considered as inter-nal acts; though at times, of course, as when we speak of the neces-sity of certain acts with reference to confession, some external expres-sion is understood. Besides these various internal acts, theologians also treat of the necessity of social worship, which might include in some way many of the prayers not specifically treated elsewhere. A brief survey of these various sections of moral theology will give us all the background we need for a correct answer to th~ question: are daily prayers of obligation? Various Acts The Catholic life is a supernatural life: and faith is the founda-tion of supernatural living. It is evident, therefore, that faith must play an important part in the Catholic life. In fact, a truly devout life undoubtedly includes many acts of faith, at least implicitly, every day. But the fervent life is not the measure of obligation. Obligation refers to the minimum. And. when tbey speak of the obligation of making acts of faith, theologians are very conservative in estimating the required frequency. Treating of the necessity of making acts of faith, moralists first consider the nature of faith itself and its importance in the Christian life. From this consideration they conclude that every Catholic must make an act of faith at the beginning of his conscious moral life when he first realizes ~hat God has revealed certain truths to be believed. Another occasion that calls for an act of faith is had when the Church solemnly defines a certain doctrine and thus imposes upon us the duty of accepting it as divinely revealed. Besides specifying these two occasions, the most that theologians can say about the precept of faith in itself is that we must make acts of faith "at times" during life. Some have tried to define this obligation more accur-ately in terms of years, months, or weeks. These opinions are der-tainly worth reading; but they are merely opinions, not binding on anyone. 291 GERALD KELLY Review for Religious In the preceding paragraph I have indicated duties imposed on all Catholics by the precept of faith itself. Besides these, there are certain occasions when some other precept or special circumstance includes at least implicitly the necessity of making an act of faith. For instance, the duties of making acts of hope, charity, and contri-tion include the duty of making implicit acts of faith because such acts are impossible without faith. So, too, the duty of making a good confession or a good Communion. But in all these cases faith is not necessarily a separate act. Also, if one is facing a strong temptation which he cannot overcome without an act of faith, this act is obligatory. And if one has denied his faith by the sin of heresy or by apostasy from the true religion, he must, in reparation, make a new act of acceptance of the revealed truths he bad denied. The theol6gy on the necessity of acts of hope follows much the same pattern as I have outlined with regard to faith. From the dog-matic and ascetical points of view it would be difficult to e~aggerate the importance of hope. It must be present in the repentance of the sinner, in the heroism of the saint, and in the salutary perseverance of all the just. But concerning its prescribed frequency one must be cautious. Like faith, an act of hope is required at the beginning of one's moral life and "at times" during life. And like faith., it is at least implicitly required in certain other acts, for example, in an act of contrition, in a good confession, and in any effective prayer for grace. Also, an act of hope is required in reparation for a sin. of desperation. We next consider the best of all prayers, the act of love of God. That there are certain special occasions when an act of charity is imperative, is evident. For example, if a man is dying in the state of mortal sin and cannot receive a ~acrament, he can save his soul only by making an act of perfect contrition, which includes an act of charity. Also, if a person is in the state of mortal sin and must receive one of the sacraments of the living but cannot go to confes-sion, he is bound to regain the state of grace by means of perfect contrition. Even apart from these special occasions, one must at least occa-sionally during life make explicit acts of charity. This is the con-stant and universal teaching of eminent theologians, and the only teaching that the Church wilI'tolerat~. Absurd opinions such as these: it is enough to make an act of charity once in a life time, or once every five years--have been condemned. How anyone cc~uld* 292 Nooember, .I 9 4 9 HOW OFTEN MUST WE PRAY? hold opinions of this nature in view of the facts that the very ~ssence of the New Law is ~harity and that Sacred Scripture. urges us again and again to love God is somewhat of a mystery. Yet it is one thing to say that we must make acts of charity occa-sionally or even frequently; it is quite another to say how often they must be made. There is nothing defined on this point; and the theologians cannot determine it. All that can be said with certainty is that acts of charity should be made occasionally, or perhaps rather often, during life. In the preceding paragraphs I have made some references to the act of contrition. These were merely passing references. A sum-mary of the approved teaching concerning the necessity of this par-ticular act would run somewhat as follows. It is a conditional obli-gation; it depends on the fact that one has sinned. The Blessed" Virgin, for instance, could not make an act of contrition--and therefore could have no obligation to do so--because she never sinned. But for one who has sinned, contrition of some kind is an absolute requirement for forgiveness. For one who has committed a mortal sin, this clearly means that he has a serious obligation to make an act of contrition (perfect or imperfect, according to circum-stances) on the following occasions: when he is in danger of death; when he makes his yearly confession; when he is 'obliged for some special reason to 'acquire the state of grace (for example, when he receives a sacrament of the living). Venial sin does not require con-fession and is not an obstacle to the fruitful reception of the sacra-ments of the living; hence it seems that there is no definite occasion when contrition for venial sin is absolutely called for. Confession. of course, would make it conditionally necessary: that is, if one who has only venial sins wishes to go to confession, he is obliged to make an act of contrition. We come now to prayer in its strictest theological meaning, peti-tion. This kind of prayer may be considered under a twofold aspect: it is an act of worship of God, and it is a means of helping ourselves. As an act of worship, petition expresses our reverence for and dependence on God. Understood in this sense, prayer is certainly of obligation for all men, independently of their personal sanctity and of their special personal needs. Yet, if we limit our consideration of prayer to this sense, we can say no more about the frequency of the obligation than we said about the necessity of making acts of" faith. hope, and charity. We can simply say that every man, even the least 293 GERALD KELLY Review ?or Religious tempted, even the most perfect, even one confirmed in grace must pray occasionally. His very nature demands that he express his dependence on God in this way; but neither reason nor revelation tells clearly just how often he must so express himself. Prayer, however, is not merely a means of honoring God; it is also a personal necessity. In the providence of God, humble petition is the ordinary means of obtaining His blessings, particularly His grace, and grace is a necessity both for salvation and ~anctification. Since man is obliged to do at least what is required for his salvation, he is certainly obliged to pray. But how often must we direct our petitions to God? Must it be every day, or every time we need help? Theologians, having care-fully considered the data afforded by Scripture and Tradition, do not feel justified in giving an unqualified "yes" to such questions. The most that they can give as a general rule is that we must pray "very often." Beyond this, the answer is~ relative; some need to pray more frequently than others. As regards the prayers we have considered in the preceding para-graphs, one difficulty in estimating the obligations is that this must be done almost entirely without the help of definite statements by the Church. The case is different with reference to social worship; hence we need but mention this ~opic very briefly. The Mass is our principal form of social worship; and the Church.has stated quite definitely that we must assist at Mass on all Sundays and on clearly determined feasts of obligation. Conclusions I suppose that up to this point my discussion sounds m?re mathematical than religious. If it does, it is unintentional; I have not been inspired by any love of mathematics. I have no desire to urge people to count their prayers or their obligations. And I earnestly recommend for the comfort of all the common opinion of theologians to which I referred earlier in this article: namely, that those who lead a good Catholic life need not be concerned about any possible failure to fulfill their various duties to pray. Nevertheless, mathematics has its place; and one place is right here, in this conclusion. We have to ask ourselves whether all the duties to pray that have been outlined in this article add up to an obligation to say daily prayers. The answer is negative. If we prescind for a moment from the relative duty of praying for the 294 November, 1949 HOW OFTEN MUST WE PRAY ? graces we need, it seems that all the other duties can generally be fulfilled by the devout attendance at Mass at the prescribed times. The necessity of prayer for personal needs might increase this some-what, but there is no evidence that it is a daily duty for everyone. Do all moral theologians agree with the conclusion that daily prayer is not of strict obligation? The answer seems to be "yes, and no." They agree with,the conclusion ir~ theor~t; but many prefer to give a qualified answer for practice. These moralists would answer the questi6n concerning the duty of saying daily prayers somewhat as follows: "Theoretically, there is no obligation to pray every day. But in practice there is usually a sin in the omission of these prayers, because when daily prayers are omitted without a sufficient reason this is often due to a small fault of laziness, sensuality, or human respect." This formula, or one somewhat similar, is sponsored by eminent theologians; and catechists who wish to follow it in explaining the duty of praying are certainly justified in doing so. But I would not recommend it. I find it confusing. It says, on the one hand, that daily prayers are not of obligation; yet, on the other, it demands a sufficient reason under pain of sin for omitting them. This seems to beg the entire question. For if there is no obligation to say daily prayers, why should a reason be required under pain of sit~ for omitting them? As for the statement that failure to say these prayers could be a sin of laziness, this seems to ignore completely the distinction between imperfection and venial sin.2 For laziness is not a sin in the strict sense; it is an inordinate disposition or tendency, and it becomes sinful only when it leads to the neglect of some duty binding under pain of sin. In other words, laziness is an imperfec-tion when it induces one to'act against a counsel (e.g., to break a rule which does not bind under pain of sin), and it is a sin when it leads one to violate a precept (e.g., to miss Sunday Mass in whole or in part).8 And what I have said of laziness is similarly true of such things as sensuality and human respect. 2Some authors hold that a positive imperfection is a venial sin. These men might logically defend.the formula I am here criticizing. But many moralists who pro-pose this kind of formula also hold firmly to the distinction between positive imperfections and venial sins. aEven here, when we speak of the "sin of laziness," it is not a specific kind of sin, but merely the source of sin. This is obvious from the fact that when ones misses Mass through laziness, all that he is obliged to confess is the fact that he missed Mass. 295 GERALD KELLY Because of these difficulties, I would not personally recommend the formula. I prefer the practical explanation given by Father Tan-querey m his moral theology, which may be roughly translated as follows: "The faithful are to be urged to pray daily, especially in the morning to ask the graces they need for the day, and in the evening to thank God for benefits received, to make .an act of contrition for their sins, and to commend their souls to God before going to sleep. Those who omit their morning and evening prayers do not sin directly by this omission; but experience proves that, all other things being equal, those who do not say these prayers fall into sin more frequently than those who. do.TM One final point. In view of all that has been said, what is a catechism teacher to do when the examination of conscience for children includes the question: ':Did I miss my morning and evening prayers, and my grace before and after meals?" Before I answer, let me recall my own experience in teaching third-graders. With this experience in mind, I have not the temerity to suggest the precise method of illuminating young minds. All that I dare suggest is that the teacher try in some way to convey the following ideas to the children : "This question does not mean that you would commit a sin every time you omit these prayers. The question is put there to remind you that all of us must often p~ay and that those times are especially fitting times for prayer. If you do not pray at these times, there is a good chance that you won't pray at other times, either; and this would mean that you do not pray even when you really need it, and that would be a sin. So, keep the habit of saying these daily prayers, and when you go to confession check up on yourselves to see whether you have been saying them. If you find that you often miss your daily prayers, you will know that you are getting a bad habit, and you ought to correct it." 4Cf. A. Tanquerey, Synopsis Tbeologiae Moralis et Pastoraiis, II (1936), n. 861. 296 The Three Ages of the Interior Life G. Augustine Ellard, S.J. WITH the publication of the second volume of T~e Three Ages of the Interior Life1 the work is now. complete in English. The first volume was considered in this REVIEW, VI (July, 1947), 249. In what follows the work as a whole is discussed. I. Content As the title suggests, spiritual development is conceived and pre-sented after the analogy of organic growth. Corresponding to the periods of childhood, adolescence, and maturity in natural human life, there are in the supernatural life also three stages of spiritual evolution, namely, progress along the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways. Moreover in both the natural and the supernatural orders each of the three periods is ushered in by a crisis. Of these the first is birth for one's physical life; corresponding to it there is justifi-cation, or the beginning of one's interior life. Adolescence is intro-duced by the second crisis, puberty; and, analogously to it, with "the night of sense" a person enters upon the illuminative way. Finally, the third natural crisis consists in attaining one's majority or reaching maturity; the spiritual correlate is "the night of the spirit," which is followed by the transforming union, the state of full super-natural maturation. It will be noticed that two of the three ages are mystical. In case one should fail to make sufficient progress, or grow up, one would become a dwarf or midget. In an elaborate arrange-ment, summarized diagrammatically on page 245 of volume I, degrees of the virtues, the functions of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, various purifications, and the grades of prayer are assigned to each of the three ages. So much for the general idea indicated by the title. The second volume covers the second and third ages, that is, the illuminative way of proficients and the unitive way Of the perfect. Treatment of the illuminative way is introduced with a discus-sion of "the second conversion" and the necessity for it. Here, 1THE THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE, Prelude of Eternal Life. B~ The Rev. R. Gattigou-Lagrartge, O.P. Translated by Sister M. Timothea Doyle, O.P., Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois. Volume Two. Pp. xiv -b 668. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis 2, Missouri, 1948. $7.50. 297 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Review for Religious besides Father Lallemant, who originated the expression, St. Cath-erine of Siena, Suso, and Tauler are drawn upon. Then the passive purification of the senses is handled; for this the great authority is St. John of the Cross. The principal characteristics of proficients are pointed out. After a chapter in which with the aid of a drawing the virtues and gifts of persons in this stage are fitted together into an imposing "spiritual edifice," the virtues, both moral and theo-logical, are taken up separately. There follows a section on docility to the Holy Spirit, ohe of the supernatural traits peculiarly empha-sized in this' work. Next the discernment of spirits, the Sacrifice of the Mass, Holy Communion, and devotion to Mary are dealt with inasmuch as they pertain specifically to this second age. After some pages on "the universal accessibility of the mysticism of The Imita-tion," we come to what in all this matter seems to be the author's leading preoccupation, namely, a series of chapters on contemplation. The author professes-to describe the passage from acquired prayer to initial infused contemplation in accordance with the teaching of St. Francis de Sales, St. Thomas, St. Teresa, and St. John ot: the Cross. In the official condemnation by the Church of the errors of the Quietists Father Garrigou-Lagrange finds a confirmation of his doctrine on the beginnings of infused prayer. Then there follows a more cbntroversial discussion of certain questions ~elative to infused contemplation; how, for instance, it should be defined, what its intimate nature is, what forms its progress takes, what it does not require, what the call to it is, and so on. Finally, the treatment of the illuminative way and of the third part of The Three Ages is concluded with a consideration of the agreements and disagreements between St. Teresa and St. John. The one is not a theologian and the other is. Part Four is concerned with the mature age and the unitive way of the perfect. In particular, it describes the passive purification .of the spirit, the habitual union of perfect souls with God, "the way of spiritual childhood" constituting a special form of the perfect life, the heroic degree of the virtues, and lastly different forms and degrees of the unitive life. Under this general heading come the perfect apostolic life, advanced reparation, the influence of the Holy Spirit in those who have reached this period, arid mystical union and ecstatic union according to St. Teresa, and then at last the trans-forming union, prelude to the union of heaven. At this point by way of appendix the author does a most unusual thing: he inserts a whole article by another writer who shares the same opinions on the 298 Not~ember, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE mystical problems that have been much debated in recent years. The fifth part deals briefly with extraordinary graces, that is, those miraculous favors which sometimes accompany high sanctity. The differences between facts of divine origin and morbid phenomena are pointed out. The diabolical manifestations of possession and obsession are also considered. The "Epilogue" returns again tb controversy. The first part is on "the axis of the spiritual life and its unity," the axis being faith, hope, and charity, and is made up mostly of a discussion about the distinction between ascetical and mystical theology. The second part deals with "the beatific vision and its normal prelude." One might think that this prelude, mentioned so often, would be a high degree of purity or virtue. Rather it is infused contemplation, especially as it occurs in the transforming union. The great raison d'etre of this whole large work, treating the spiritual life from beginning to end, seems to be to propound the thesis that infused contemplation comes within the normal develop-ment of the interior life and is morally necessary for the full perfec-tion of Christian life. Everything appears to be centered around that thesis. Over and over again it is indefatigably reiterated. On this more than on anything else will probably depend the permanent value and importance of the work. According to the author beginners meditate, that is, practice a discursive method of prayer, though their meditation may become simplified. Of course they receive help from the gifts of the Holy Spirit, present in all just souls, but this influence is latent and is not characteristic of their kind of prayer. If they advance as they should and if no special obstacles intervene, they will be given the grace of. infused contemplation. All contemplation practically, or at least contemplation as "the great masters" understood it, is infused. It is so called because it is due to a special inspiration coming through the gifts and is not at our disposal, like, for example, the ability to meditate, It proceeds from living faith illumined by the gifts of wisdom and understanding. Ordinarily the first form of infused contemplation granted by , the Holy Spirit is that described by St. dohn of the Cross as "the night of sense.". Then, if one be faithful and continue to make sufficient progress, one will also go through all the mystic ascensions as set forth by St. Teresa and St. 3ohn and finally come to rest in the transforming union or mystic marriage. Here the full perfection both of contemplation and of the Christian life are attained. More- 299 G.AUGUSTINE F~LLARD for Religious over, to this happy state all are called. As a matterof fact it is rare, but that is only because men are not generous enough in accepting the graces that would bring them to it. Thus a magnificent prospect is opened out before one who undertakes to pursue the spiritual life in earnest. I[. Merits Among the special values of The Three Ages would be included, I should say, these points: it is the latest and best expression of a very eminent theologian's doctrine; it is an excellent presentation of the spirituality of the present-day Dominican School; one can learn a considerable amount of theology from it; and, most of all, it has great inspirational power and force. Father Garrigou-Lagrange has long been a theologian of great distinction. In the Thomist school he has been among the first and foremost for a generation. To his credit there stands a long list of learned works in philosophy and dogmatic theology. For a number of years he has also taken a very keen interest in ascetical and mysti-cal theology and here too he has written very much. Altogether he is said to have published more than two hundred articles or books. His influence, in spiritual matters and ideas is very great, and any-thing that he proposes is apt to be taken up and propagated by numerous lesser authorities. The Three Ages sums up, completes, and puts in convenient form most of the ideas which be has pre-viously taught in his other spiritual writings. Hence it is now, and very probably will remain, the definitive expression of his thought in ascetical and mystical matters. It is also an admirable presentation of the general spiritual doc-trine of a group of Dominican Fathers, and in varying degrees also of others who agree with them. In other words, it gives the teaching of a certain school of spirituality within the Church, and one, too, which in our time enjoys special favor and exerts great influence. The simplest way now to indicate the substance of their doctrine is to say that it is just that which is set forth in The Three Ages. No other work synthesizes it so well. One could also say that it is that sys-tem of spirituality which is proposed in France by La Vie Spirituelle, in Spain by La Vida Sobrenatural, and now in this country by the new Cross and Crown. Now that several of Father Garrigou- Lagrange's spiritual books have been translated into English, he is by all means the chief representative of this school in our language as well as in his own. 3OO November, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE From what has been said it will surprise nobody that from n careful reading of The Three Ages one could learn much theology. The author is nothing if not a theologian; not, for instance, a psy-chologist. But one would have to remember carefully that it is the-ology of the Thomist school, not always simply Catholic theology. Throughout this work, from the first page to the last, St. Thomas is quoted over and over again; consequently one can learn much of the Saint's doctrine from it. An example of how theology enters into this second volume: the first chapter is concerned mostly with the language of spiritual writers as compared with that of the theo-logians. It is concluded that the language of the mystics, expressing infused contemplation, is the loftier of the two. Naturally those parts of theology are drawn upon most which relate to the practical living and development of the supernatural life: ~he inhabitation of the Blessed Trinity, sanctifying grace, the virtues, both moral and theological, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the nature ot? Christian perfection, the Sacrifice of the Mass, Holy Com-munion, prayer, and contemplation. There is a chapter on the errors of the Quietists about contemplation and pure love. On this latter Father Garrigou-Lagrange wrote at great length in L'Amour de Dieu et la Croix de des.us. Of all the excellences of this work, the principal one, I should say, is its inspirational value. Eminent theologian that he is, the author keeps reminding his readers of the grand dogmas of Chris-tianity, their "infinite elevation," their implications for our affective and practical lives, and the supreme motive power that they could and should have for our wills. One who is looking for something on a favorite minor devotion will not find it in The Three Ages; but one will be treated therein to a wealth o1: dogmatic material that makes an unsurpassed background for the spiritual life and subject matter for ennobling reflection and mental prayer. From the way and manner in which Father Garrigou-Lagrange handles such important doctrines as the inhabitation of the Blessed Trinity, the worth of sanctifying grace, the superiority of the infused virtues, the humility and magnanimity of Christ, the values of faith, hope, and charity, the Sacrifice of the Mass, reception of the Holy Eucharist, the fruits of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and so on, a reader feels his heart warmed and his enthusiasm enkindled for these great truths. III. Demerits On the debit side some deficiences are observable in The Three 301 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Reoieto for Religious Ages. It is all the more necessary and important to point them out-- and this is the reason for these criticisms--inasmuch as the work will most likely be read very widely and exert a very great influence. To many readers, less conversant with modern mystical controversies or less critical in accepting what a noted theologian writes, the book could easily be misleading in certain matters. The greater an author's reputation and the more excellent his work, the worse may be the consequences of its defects. The Three Ages is theoretical rather than practical; it is one-sided and narrow; an essential part of it, namely, its doctrine on the gifts of the hoIy Spirit, is uncertain; and its main thesis is not after all really so significant. 1. For a work that is directed to interior souls generally and has the professed aim of inviting them "to become more interior and to tend to union with God" (II, p. 8), The Three Ages has overmuch that is speculative and controversial. It inclines rather to stress the-ory than practice, metaphysics than psychology, contemplation than life, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit rather than the virtues. From the practical point of view, there are some surprising omissions. The particular examination of conscience seems not even to be mentioned, although surely it is one of the major techniques in modern Catholic asceticism. For the general examination no precise method is sug-gested. What is more strange, for all those who do not as yet enjoy infused contemplation--and surely, they would, be-numerous-- only 19 of the 1162 pages are given to mental prayer. Those who" struggle with the difficulties of meditation will not find much help or consolation. No definite method of: meditation or of any other form of mental prayer is offered. The well-known methods used in the Church are not even named. Of the little written on method a con-siderable part is rather in disparagement of it or against the abuses of it. A beginner might well ask what he is to do until.the time comes --and that may be in the distant future--when he is favored with mystical contemplation. In another and more general way The Three Ages does not seem to be as practical a work on spirituality as most people could rightly desire. Throughout, the emphasis is on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in contrast to the virtues. The "special inspirations" of the gifts are quite beyond our reach, except that indirectly by co-operating with previous graces we can dispose ourselves to receive .them. A practical-minded person bent on applying what he reads to his life might ask: "What can I do about the gifts that I am not doing anyway in culti- 302 November, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE vating the virtues? Wait for their, inspirations? Then, when they come, how shall I recognize them?" It would appear, both on theoretical and practical grounds, much better to emphasize the vir-tues, at least the theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity. The gifts are supposed to be subordinated to these latter. In general it is true of the whole work that it does not get down, except by way of inspiration and motivation, to the everyday details of actually living the good life. 2. The Three Ages is a very splendid exposition of one concep-tion of the spiritual life, but it is only one, and not simply the Cath-olic view. Nor does it make this fact sufficiently clear in its text. Consider, for example, the division of three ways, fundamental in this work. A leading contemporary spiritual author, whose doc-trine is on the whole very much like that of Father Garrigou- Lagrange and to whom this latter seems to be much indebted, is Msgr. Saudreau, the author of The Degrees of the Spiritual Life and other books. Saudreau, who also makes much use of St. John of the Cross, assigns infused contemplation to the unitive way (see the whole second volume of The Degrees) ; Garrlgou-Lagrange assigns it to both the illuminative and unitive ways--a great difference indeed. The manual now most widely used in ascetical and mystical matters is the Sulpician Tanquerey's The Spiritual Life. He has the three ways without any necessary inclusion of infused contemplation at all; it may or may not come within the unitive way (pp. 301, 461, 606, 736). The last Carmelite to write a full systematic treatise on ascetical and mystical theology is Crisogono del Jesus Sacramentado, Compendio de Ascetica ~1 Mistica (1933). He provides for a double set of three ways: one without infused contemplation, the other with it (pp. 53, 156). So does Naval, of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart, in Tbeologiae Asceticae et M~tsticae Cursus (p. 32). On contemplation also there is a difference. Among all the schools of spirituality in the Church, the one which has, so to speak, specialized most on contemplation is that of the Carmelites, and of course they glory in presenting the teaching of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross. Their doctrine, or at least the expression of it, is not the same as what we find in The Three Ages. The leading representative now of the Carmelites is Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, professor of spiritual theology in the International Col-lege of-St. Teresa, Rome. He has written much on acquired contem-plation. Half of his work, St. John of the Cross, recently published 303 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Review for Religious in English, is devoted to it. Besides, in Ecole Teresiene et Problems M~lstiques Contemporains, he writes: "By their doctrine on the con-templation that belongs to beginners, the Carmelite authors of the first generation gave the first indication of the doctrine of acquired contemplation that soon became one of the characteristics of the Carmelite School. They teach in fact the existence of a contempla-tion that follows meditation, that proceeds from it, though one may easily find in it some infusion of celestial light. Does not a con-templation which is the fruit of our activity in meditation merit the name 'acquired'? (p. 79) . It is certain . . . that this teaching on acquired contemplation is one of the characteristics of the Carmelite School" (p. 86). Very recently, at the end of a study on Thomas of Jesus and acquired contemplation, Father Gabriel writes: "Nothing that we have found contradicts, rather on the contrary everything favors, the traditional teaching of the Teresian school which sees in the doctrine of St. John of the Cross on the transition from meditation to contemplation the origin of the doctrine of acquired contempla-tion, and we need not fear to give to him whom that school names its Mystical Doctor the title also, more humble indeed but still impor-tant, of 'the Master of active contemplation' " (Revue d'Ascetique et Mystique, 1949, 17). In Father Garrigou-Lagrange's view of how mental prayer develops there is hardly any place for acquired contemplation. Con-templation, as "the great spiritual writers, especially St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa" understood it, is infused, and "ordinarily" (II, p. 337) it follows meditation. Quite fundamental to The Three Ages is the general interpreta-tion which it takes of the whole system of St. John of the Cross. According to one of the foremost contemporary Benedictine authori-ties on mysticism, it is not at all the right one. In commenting upon Garrigou-Lagrange's previous book, Christian Perfection and Con-templation, identical in this matter with the present work, and after saying that he presents in an incomparable way the doctrine of St. Thomas on Christian perfection, he adds: "but the conception that St. John of the Cross had of mysticism and contemplation entirely escaped him" (Mayer, M~stik als Lehre und Leben, p. 225). Other scholars also who have specialized in mystical studies take a very different view of St. John; for example, Marechal (Etudes sur la Ps~lcbologie des Mttstiques, v. II, especially pp. 321-359), and 304 November, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE Crisogono del ,)esus Sacramentado, San Juan de Ia Cruz, su Obra Cientitica g Literaria. 3. Next we come to the gravest defect that I find in The Three Ages, namely the uncertaintg of much of it, and the fact that this uncertainty is not sufficiently acknowledged by the author. Making a clear-cut distinction between recognized Catholic dogma or doc-trine and the conclusions or theological speculations that he shares is surely not one of Father Garrigou-Lagrange's excellences. This has been true of his writings in general. The whole vast construction presented in these two large volumes stands or falls with the special doctrine on the gifts of the Holy Spirit which forms as it were the supporting framework of it. How fully it enters into the whol~ system can be seen at a glance by consulting the diagrammatic outline on page 245 of volume I. And still this particular theory is proposed without any adequate indidation of its speculative and uncertain character. As a matter of fact there is very little in the theology of the gifts that is certain and commonly acknowledged as such. After quoting Leo XIII, Father Garrigou-Lagrange himself thus summarizes the papal teaching: "Encyclical Divinum illud munus (May 9, 1897), circa iinem. This text shows: (1) the necessity of the gifts ('has need of') ; (2) their nature: they make us docile to the Holy Ghost; (3) their effects: they can lead us to the summit of sanctity." (Vol. I, p. 70.) There is a great difference between these three simple points and the whole theory that forms the skeleton, so to speak, of The Three Ages. There never has been and is not now any consensus among theo-logians as to how the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be conceived." Scotus denied the very existence of the gifts as distinct entities. Apparently his whole school, especially the Franciscan theologians, still does. From a recent Franciscan publication: "The doctrine of the Franciscan school and especially that of Scotus, tends to a simpli-fication of the spiritual life. The supereminence of charity and its effectiveness in the Christian life as stressed by our school show the unity of that life very clearly. This same trait in the teaching of Scotus is seen in his doctrine on the nature of the gifts of the Holy Spirit . Here again Scotus insist~ that entities must not be multi-plied without necessity. And once more we are impressed with the marvelous synthesis and unity in these various phases of the spiritual life as explained by the Subtle Doctor .Scotus maintains that the 305 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Reoieto for Religious gifts are not distinct from the virtues. He points out that there is no necessity for distinct habits, since the three theological virtues and the four cardinal virtues perfect man sufficiently for even the most heroic and very highest action." (The Virtues according to Franciscan School, Franciscan Clerics, Old Mission Santa Barbara, 1946.) In this denial Scotus was followed by the great doctor of the Church and master in spirituality, St.' Francis de Sales, who also is one of Father Garrigou-Lagrange!s preferred authorities. On the gifts St. Francis says: "Now they are not only inseparable from charity, but, all things well considered, and speaking precisely, they are the principal virtues, properties and qualities of charity. For (1) Wisdom is in fact no other thing than the love which relishes, tastes and experiences, how sweet and delicious God is; (2) Under-standing is nothing else than love attentive to consider and penetrate the beauty of the truths of faith, to know thereby.God in Himself, and then descending from this to consider Him in creatures; (3) Science, on the other hand, is but the same love, keeping us attentive to the knowledge of ourselves and creatures, to make us reascend to a more perfect knowledge of the service which we owe to God"; and so on, through the other four gifts. (The Lot~e ot: God, XI, 15.) Again, in a later chapter: "So that, Theotimus, most holy charity is a virtue, a gift [in the context clearly a gift of the Holy Spirit], a fruit and a beatitude . As being a gift, charity makes us docile and tractable to interior inspirations, which are, as it were, God's secret commandments and counsels, in the execution of which the.seven gifts of the Holy Ghost are employed, so that charity is the gift of gifts." (XI, 19.) One of the few works in English on dogmatic theology has the following to say on the gifts: "Thesis III: The seven gifts of the Holy Ghost are also infused with sanctifying grace. This proposi-tion may be qualified as "probabilis' . . . . Are these seven gifts (or some of them) really distinct from the infused moral virtues? Are they habits or habitual dispositions, or merely transient~ impulses or inspirations? What are their mutual relations and how can they be divided off from one another? These and similar questions are in dispute among theologians." (Pohle-Preuss, Grace, Actual and Habitual, p. 369.) In the Catholic Encyclopedia, over the signature of Forget, pro-fessor of dogmatic theolqgy in the University of Louvain, we find: 306 November, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE "As to the inner nature of these gifts of the Holy Ghost, theologians consider them to be supernatural and .perinanent qualities, which make us attenti,~e to the voice of God, which render us susceptible to the workings of actual grace, which make us love the things of God, and, consequently, render us more obedient and docile to the inspira-tions of the Holy Ghost. But holy do they differ from the virtues? Some writers think they are not really distinct from them, that they are the virtues inasmuch as the latter are free gifts of God, and that they are identified essentially with grace, charity, and the virtues. That opinion has the particular merit of avoiding a multiplication of the entities infused into the soul. Other writers look upon the gifts as perfections of a higher order than the virtues; the latter, the.y say, dispose us to follow the impulse and guidance of rehson; the former are functionally intended to render the will obedient and docile to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost." (Vol. vii, p. 413.) Among contemporary dogmatic theologians who propose the basic doctrine on the gifts as only probable or more probable one could cite the following: Van der Meersch, De Gratia, p. 215; Parente, De Gratia, pp. 26.7, 283: Diekamp-Hoffmann, O.P., Tbeologiae Dogmaticae Manuate III, 19, 155; Van Noort, De Gratia, (brd ed.), p. 155. Father De Guibert gave much attention to a stu~iy.of the gifts, and in particular he made a special effort to determine what is certain and what probable concerning them. His conclusion was that we could hold with certainty, or at least very great probability, that there exist in the souls of the just habitual infused dispositions of docility toward the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. This appears to him to be the basis upon which rest the speculative conclusions of theologians about the gifts (Revue d'Ascetique et Mgstique, 1933, 1-26). Father De Guibert's finding is indeed a long.~ay from Father Garrigou-Lagrange's coflception of the gifts. Among the best and most important studies on the gifts pub-lished in recent years seems to be a long article by Father De Blic, Pour l'Historie de la Tbeotogie des Dons. He judges that Father De Guibert went too far and that still less even can be said in favor of the prevailing theory of the gifts (Revue d'Ascetique et Mystique, 1946, 117-179). Of the theologians of this century who are special authorities on the gifts the outstanding one by far is the Dominican Father A. Gardeil. In the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catbolique he writes: 307 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Reoieto for Religious "In our days the debate still goes on among theologians over the dis-tinction between the infused virtues and the g!fts. If the distinction is debated, much more are other and" lesser points in the doctrines" (IV-2, 1778.) The Dominican Joret, in a good-sized work on the mystical theology of St. Thomas, points .out that it was .not until the thir-teenth century that the distinction between the gifts and the infused virtues was well worked out. "St, Thomas seems to have made .pre-cise and definitive the theory of the gifts of the Holy Spirit." Then, after a brief passage in which he gives St: Thomas's general idea of the gifts (divine inspirations as opposed to human, reflections), he writes: "In speaking thus we leave altogether the domain of faith to enter theological speculation. And we are going to remain there in the course of the following'paragraphs which will only set forth the teaching of St. Thomas." (La Contemplation M~tstique d'a~r~s Saint Thomas d'Aquin, 1927, p. 39,) ~ Among the most eminent Dominican theologians of the twen= tieth century is Hugon. On the gifts he writes: "There is a dispute as to whether the gifts differ from the infused virtues objectively and essentially or only after a fashion (secundum quid). This last is defended by a number of theologians, following the leadership of Scotus; but the Angelic ,Doctor and the Thomists teach that the gifts are specifically distinguished from the virtues as perfections of a superi-or and higher order by which a man is easily moved by, the Holy Spir-it." (Italics in the original: Tractatus Dogmatici, Ed. 10, II, 4~8.) Father Garrigou~Lagrange himself, in the, epil~gue to his French work,2 Perfection Cbretienne et Contemplgtion (Vol.II, [89]), after discussing "the minimizing conceptions of the gifts of the Holy, Spirit and the oscillations of theological eclecticism" and then "the superiority of the doctrine of St. Thomas o'n the gifts," concludes: "Thus there are four notably different theories of the gifts. Two are manifestly minimizing, but opposed to each other; one is eclectic and tends to rise higher; and finally the one which seems to us to be at the culminating point of truth. These four theories can be summed up as follows [italics as in the original French] : "The gifts, distinct from the virtues, are something normal and eminent and grow With charity. 2This epilogue does not appear in the English Christian Perfection and Contemplation. 308 Not~ember, 1949 AGES OF: THE INTERIOR LIFE "The acts of the gifts take place sometimes according to an ordinary human mbde; sometimes they are extraordinary. "'The gifts are distinct from the virtues and are principles of extraQrdinary acts. "'The gifts are not distinct from the oirtues.'" In The Three Ages there is little indication of any,other "the-ory" of the gifts than the one which the author himself adopts. So much for the existence and distinction of the gifts. . If now one should inquire into the number of them. there is much .less cer-tainty. To quote the Dominican Joret again: "The Septuagint version followed by the Vulgate gave seven characteristics to the Spirit of God resting upon the Messias: the spirit of wisdom . Thus one obtained seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, just as there are seven virtues, theological and moral¯ But neither in the one case nor the'other should we regard this number as limitative. For the sacred writers, as we know,.it rather designates the pleriitude of the divine operations. The single light of the sun divides into seven principal colors which can then have an infinite variety of shades. So it is with the Holy Spirit and His gifts." (Op. cir., p. 36.) Less certain than the number is the general function of the gifts, that is, the kind of work that they perform in the process of sancti-fying a person. A glance at the relevant places in different theo- .logians would readily convince one of this fact¯ Much less certain still are the functions of~, the particular gifts. Consider for a moment the case of St. Thomas. In a recent scholarly work devoted entirely to his mystical theology and wholebeartedly in sympathy with it, the author points out four ways in which at successive times St. Thomas endeavored to classify the workings of the different gifts, and then he conclude~: "The question, taken up four times, has resulted in four different constructions; once even with an explicit disavowal of what St. Thomas bad previously estab-lished. Who will assure us that the last is perfect?" (L. Roy, Lumiere et Sagesse. La Gra~e Mystique dans la Theologie de Saint Tho'mas d'Aquin, p. 185.) Father Garrigou-Lagrange's.conception of the various function~ of the gifts seems to have been developed from a combination of elements in three of St. Thomas's ways (The Three ~Ages, I, 76; III, 68, 4 and II II, 8, 4; 3 D. 34 q. 1 a. 2) His correlation of the virtues and gifts (I, pp. 51, 76) is ¯ 309 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Retffew for Religious criticized by De Guibert as not being quite in accord with St. Thom- ¯ as's (Theologia Spiritualis, 1937, p. 135). Of all these ways, and others too which could be cited, of assigning specific functions to each of the gifts, not one seems to agree :with the exegetes when they comment on and explain the original Scripture text (Isaias 11:2-3) that is the first foundation for all the doctrine on the gifts. Moreover there are two different forms of the modern Thomistic theory of the gifts. Besides the one which Father Garrigou- Lagrange espouses (that with the virtues one acts in a human way and with the gifts in a superhuman way), there is another one, defended in our time especially by Cardinal Billot. "The gifts have two modes, that is, an ordinary and an extraordinary one according to the differences in the many operations of the Holy Spirit, who freely breathes where He wills and apportions to all as He wishes . There is another way and one that is quite extraordinary; although it is not td be said to be at all necessary, even for high sanctity, it is'nevertheless as a rule found in those whom the grace of God calls to the supreme heights of perfection. Moreover this mode i~ concerned mostly with extraordinary contemplation, that is, with the prayer of quietude, simple union, ecstatic union, and consummate union." (De Virtutibus Infusis, Ed. 4, pp. 169, 173.) A contemporary mystical theologian in whose system this idea of two modes, ordinary and extraordinary, is most important is the Carmelite Father Crisogono. de Jesus Sacramentado. For him this is the true thought of St. Thomas himself, and also of some at least of his best commentators (La Perfection et La Mystique selon Led Prin-cipes de Saint Thomas, p. 44). Another point about the present-day Thomistic hypothesis of the gifts that will make many people pause is this: it appears to be indissolubly bound up with the contention that grace is intrinsi-cally efficacious. "We do not find anything in his system [Suarez's] corresponding to the idea, dear to St. Thomas, of actual operating grace, understood in the sense of instrumental prevenient and pre-determining motion, by which the Angelic .Doctor characterized the special nature of the gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Dictionnaire de The-ologie Catholique, in thd article Dons du Saint Esprit, A. Gardeil, 1778). "This interpretation [the doctrine of St. Thomas on grace and the gifts as understood by the great interpreters Cajetan, Bannez, John ~f St. Thomas, and the Carmelites of Salamanca] is for us the 310 November, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE only true one, the only one which safeguards the two great, prin-ciples of the intrinsic efficacy of grace and the specification of habitus by their formal object" (Garrigou-Lagrange, Perfection Chretienne etContemplation, II, [99]; see also [54], [59-62], [95]). From ail that has been said, especially in the form of quotations from leading Thomist theologians, on the uncertainties attaching to our knowledge of the gifts ot: the Holy Spirit, it would seem abun-dantly clear that no elaborate, doctrine about them should be pro-. posed as more than a theory or hypothesis. Nor should any major practical norm based on such a doctrine be set up as more than prob-able. I have made a special effort to find indications of these uncer-tainties in The Three Ages, I found very little indeed. The princi-pal' one seems to be implicit in this sentence: "The great majority of theologians hold with St. Thomas that the gifts are really and spe-cifically distinct from the infused virtues" (I, p. 73). Therefore it ¯ .is admitted that not all theologians agree on this particular funda-mental point. On the other hand a reader might expect that he is being treated to something that is especially reliable. Under the heading, "The Aim of This Work," the author announces that he will try to avoid the danger of "many pious books that lack a solid doctrinal foun-dation" (I, p. 9). In the Preface he writes: "We insist far more on the principles ge.nerall~ accepted in. theology!, by showing their value and their radiation, than on the variety of opinions on one particular point or another proposed by often quite secondary authors . The complexity of certain questions ought not to make us lose sight of tb~ certitude of the great directive principles that illuminate all spirituality" (I, p. xi; italics inserted). "For a clear understanding of the nature of the mystical union, we must treat of the influence of the Holy Ghost in the perfect, soul by recalling the most indisputable and lofty principles commonly taught on this subject" (II, p. 511) ,, The fact remai.ns, unfortunately, that much of The Three Ages is uncertain and questioned by perfectly orthodox Catholic authori- .ties. 4. To come now to the great central thesis of The Three Ages, namely, that infused contemplation comes within the normal devel-opment of the supernatural life. It is after all much less significant than one might at first think. (1) It embodies no great new dis-covery nor corrects any old error; (2) the attenuated-infused con- 311 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Review for Religious templa.tlon which it holds out in prospect for all whose supernatural life evolves normally is not, considered as a form of human action or experience, very different from mental prayer that is acquirable; (3) the thesis suffers from being so closely associated with a ques-tionable theory of the gifts; and lastly, (4) various e~ceptions to it are admitted. (1) Father Garrigou-Lagrange writes: "In contradistinction to acquired prayer, infused contemplation is generally defined as a simple and loving knowledge of God and His works, whicFi is the fruit, not of human activity aided by grace, but of a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost" (p. 310). Contemplation "proceeds . . . from living faith enlightened by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, especially by those of understanding and wisdom, which render faith penetrating and sweet. "Supernatural contemplation thus conceived, supposes the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, which His gifts dispose us to receive with promptness and docility, as the widespread sails on a boat receive the impulsion of a favorable wind; then the boat advances more easily than by the labor of the rowers, a symbol of discursive meditation united to the practice of the virtues. From this point of view, contemplation, because of the special inspiration which it supposes, deserves to be called, not acquired but infused, although at the beginning it may quite frequently be prepared for. by reading, affective meditation, and the" prayer of petition. The soul thus actively prepares itself to receive the special inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which will at times be strong enough so that discursive medi-tation will no longer be necessary . These acts of love and 6f penetrating .and sweet faith are said to be infused not only because they proceed from infused virtues, in this case from the theological virtues, but because they suppose a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and because we cannot move ourselves to them with the help of common actual grace. In this case God mov.es us, not by inclining us to deliberate, but to acts above all discursive deliberation." (II, 281--2.) If this is all that is meant by infused contemplation, wh~ would deny the thesis, and what has all the argument been about?. Some. would quegtion what is said about the gifts, but hardly anybody would directly and categorically contradict the thesis itself. Since all acknowledge some sort of doctrine, at least as probable, about the gifts, who would not admit that in accordance with the providence and designs of God the mental prayer of all should be enlightened 312 No~emb~r, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE and enhanced as much as possible by special inspirations coming from the Holy Spirit through the gifts? Certainly this is not the essential analysis which certain theo-logians have had in mind in denying that infused contemplation comes within the regular development of the interior life. For Father Poulain mystical contemplation consists essentially in an experimental perception of God's presence (The Graces of Interior Pra~ter, chapters V and VI) ;and for Farges, in "an experimental sen-sation of the divine, that is, in an immediate intuition by the con-sciousness, more or less clear o~ obscure, of the presence in our souls of' God or a supernaturai object, the essence whereof remains unknown, which produces a sentiment of admiration and love, suspending more or less the powers of the soul" (Mgstical Pheno-mena, p. 57). According to Father Crisogono del Jesus Sacramen-tado, "infused contemplation is an affective intuition of divine things, resulting from a special influence of God in the soul . This actual grace is received in the habits of the gifts of understanding, knowledge and wisddm, which, at receiving it, are actuated according to their extraordinary operation . This operation of the gifts, which takes place in a superhuman way, is the act itself of infused ¯ contemplation." (Compendio de Ascetica g Mistica, pp. 164-5.) Father Crisogono holds that all are called to the perfection of the gifts working in their ordinary, but not in their extraordinary, mode. The two great doctors of the Church, St. Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus de' Liguori, specialists also in spirituality, and, one would presume, cognizant of tradition, surely would have advocated for all a form of mental prayer that is full of inspirations from the Holy Spirit. If highly developed gifts and the resulting graces had been sufficient in their opinion to entail infused contemplation, they could hardly have written as they did. Thus St. Francis wrote: "Blessed are they who live a superhuman and ecstatic life, raised above themselves, though they may not be ravished above themselves in prayer. There are many saints in heaven who were never in ecstasy or rapture of contemplation. For how many martyrs and great saints do we see in history never to have had any other privi-lege in prayer than that of devotion and fervor." (The Love of God, VII, 7.) And St. Alphonsus: "The aim of the soul here ought to be single, namely, union with God; but that the soul should attain to perfection, there is no necessity of passive union. It is sufficient for 313 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Reuiew for Religious it to arrive at active union . Active union is perfect conformity with the divine will, and in this certainly the whole perfection of divine love consists. 'Perfection,' St. Teresa says, 'does not consist in ecstasy; on the contrary, true union of soul with God is union of will with the divine will.' This union is necessary, but not the pas-sive; and those souls that have only the active, the same saint says, 'can have far greater merit; because they suffer greater toil, and the Lord directs them like strong men, and the consolations which they do not have in this life are reserved for them by God and will be given by Him in the next life.' Cardinal Petrucci says that without infused contemplation the soul can indeed well arrive, with the benefit ¯ of ordinary grace, at a~nnihilation of its own will and at transforming it into God's, willing nothing else than the will of God . Whence he adds that since in this is the whole of sanctity, nobody ought to desire and seek from God anything else than to be directed by Him and with His help to accomplish His will."(Praxis Confessarii, Num. 136 ; italics as in the original.) , .Similarly, Pope Benedict XIV in writing his famous standard work De Servorum Dei Beati~icatione attributes infused contempla-tion to "a special favor of God" (XXVI, 7). Moreover he observes that a number of perfect persons have been canonized although in their processes nothing was said about infused contemplation (Op. cir., XXVI, 8). From the foregoing we may safely conclude that besides infused contemplation understood as prayer characterized by the gifts of the Holy Spirit there has also evidently been another concept of it in quite orthodox Catholic authorities. If in interpreting the thesis it be added also that prayer consti-tuted by the influence of the gifts (II, 313) is essentially just what the mystics and in particular what Saints Teresa and John describe, a critical reader might interpose: "Do you propose this analysis of fact and this theory of the gifts as certain or as probable? If prob-able, .very well; no objection. But if certain, on what grounds? What is the evidence?" (2) The infused contemplation proposed as coming within the normal development of the spiritual life is not, in terms of what is humanly noticeable, very different from the highest form of acquired prayer. Neither at its inception nor in the course of its progress nor at its culmination does it appear to be a strikingly different phenome-non in consciousness. Whatever is to be said metaphysically about 314 November, 1949 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE the nature, formal objects, and so forth of the virtues, the gifts, the various kinds of mental prayer, and so on, psychologically and morally and practically there may be no observable difference oetween this infused contemplation and the prayer which just pre-cedes it. Into the two forms both the virtues and the gifts enter. If it be (according to the theory) the influence of the gifts which "constitutes" (II, 313) infused contemplation, the change need not be great enough to be discernible in consciousness. The author fully admits "that the transition from the last acquired prayer to initial infused prayer is not so clearly distinguished" (II, 328-330). Repeatedly he suggests that it may take "an experienced director" to notice that the one has succeeded the other. "A simple and loving.attention to God . . . cannot, in fact, be prolonged without a rather manifest intervention of the gifts" (Christian Perfection and Contemplation, 329). In this case it would seem that nothing but the prolongation calls for infusion. This quotation is taken from a context in which "the nature of the mystical state" is being explained. Moreover even in the course of the acquired prayer of recollec-tion the~e will be isolated acts of infused contemplation (I, 245). So much for the beginning of infused contemplation considered as a conscious experience. If now in the ulterior stages of it, espe-cially as they are described by St. Teresa, one separate the accidentals from the essential, surprisingly little will be left. "The degrees of contemplative prayer are chiefly those of the growing intensity of living faith, of charity, and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost which correspond to them" (II, 299). It seems that nothing is essential~ beyond "only an infused light: the special illumination of the gifts of understanding and wisdom" (II, 317). It even appears that ecstasy is not essential t(~ the stage called "ecstatic union" (II, 344). By what criterion the distinction between essence and accidents is made does not stand out very clearly. Not even the supreme and rare state of the mystical marriage is very marvelous as an experience. "According to St. John of the Cross, the essential basis of this wholly eminent state is in no way miraculous; it is, says the Saint, 'the perfect state of the spiritual life,' being here on earth the culminating point of the development of the life of grace and of the love of God . In the transforming union the higher faculties are drawn to the innermost center of the soul where the Blessed Trinity dwells." (II, 529.) The gift of 315 AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE Review for Religious wisdom, which exists also in the most stupid soul possessing grace, is, when fully developed, sufficient to account for it. One might well wonder whether the great mystics who vehe-mently lamented their utter inability to describe (heir absolutely ineffable experiences would recognize them in the results of Father Garrigou-Lagrange's analysis. (3) Nor are the force and significance of the central thesis 'increased by having it lean so heavily for support upon the author's uncertain theory of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In itself the thesis is quite independent of that particular doctrine and need not stand or fall with it. But as a matter of fact it is proposed as in part a consequence of the theory and from this point of view it cannot lay claim to greater probability than the theory upon which it is based. (4) Lastly, the doctrine that infused contemplation comes within the normal development of the spiritual life is rendered still less significant by a rather liberal admission of exceptions: "Infused contemplation is,. in principle or in theory, in the normal way of sanctity, although there are exceptions arising from the individual temperament or from absorbing occupations or from less favorable surroundings, and so on" (I, x). If, therefore, to return again to the general import of the central thesis of The Three Ages, it be taken to mean merely that contempla-tion marked or constituted by the "special inspirations" of the gifts comes within the evolution of the supernatural life, hardly anybody will simply deny it, but some careful thinkers will have doubts about the theory of the gifts, and some may ask: "But what does it mean in terms of human experience or action? What noteworthy difference does it make in one's substantive kn6wledge and love of God?" If the thesis be interpreted also to signify that these effects of the gifts and what is essential in the experiences, say, of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross are one and the same reality, then there is the problem of determining what in empirical terms that essential is (the conclusions of others differ very widely from Father Garrigou- Lagrange's), of adequately accounting for it with the uncertain theory of the gifts, and thirdly of showing that it is in store for everyone whose spiritual life evolves as it should. The thesis is not that St. Weresa's or St. John's experiences in their integrity are part of the regular spiritual growth. Whether the principal contention of the work be true or not, 316 November, 1949 "WE ARE HIS MEMBERS !" it will, I think, because of the way in which it is presented, be mis-understood by many devout people and lead to much disillusionment and discouragement. Thus it seems, to conclude very briefly, that The Three Ages of the Interior Life is a great work, great in its faults as well as in its excellences. "We His Members!" M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. When men shall say to you: "'Lo, Christ is bete! Lo, Christ is there!'" Belieue them! And know that thou art seer When all thy crging clear Is but: "'Lo, here! Lo, tberet. Ah, me. Lo, everywheret."" --- ~RANCIS THOMPSON. IWANT every priest of God and every religious vowed to Him to be unalterably happy.I i know that they can be so if they will become rightly self-conscious and consequently acutely Christ-conscious. There is the ~vord that spells beatitude here as well as hereafter; for there is the ~vord that means sanctity. It was the great St. Francis de Sales, I believe, who said that one motto lived is enough to make a saint.IrvMay I suggest as a life-line and as a saint-making motto the thrilling truth that "We are His members!" To see any baptized person sad has always given me pain, but when that person wears the livery of Jesus Christ that pain becomes acutely agonizing; for it is so simple a matter to develop a Christ-consciousness that will preclude forever all possibility of real sadness entering the center of our souls! Now do understand me. I am not saying that there is a short cut to sanctity. There isn't. The road winds up hill all the way. But there are means of simplifying life, of unifying our efforts, of integrating our personalities ,~0 that the uphill climb is less difficult, our complex existences become intelligible wholes, and our every act or omission conspires to our grand objective. One such means is that 3!7 M. RAYMOND Review [or Religious offered in our day by Divine Providence--the doctrine of the Mysti-cal Body; or, as I put it above: living conscious of the fact that "We are His members." What happiness does not this consciousness bring to self! It tells you your dignity as an individual in a d;iy when individual dig-nity in every sphere of life from the economic and political to the military and social is utterly denied. It tells you, you are a member of Him who is Might and Majesty, Meekness and Marvel,' true God and true man. It tells you that you have been lifted from the insig-nificant to a position wherein you mean much to the all-independent Divinity. It tells you that you have a work to do for the Almighty, which, if not done by you, will remain undone forever. In letters that shine like gold against black velvet Plus XII made this truth real in his Mgstici Corport's when he wrote: "The Head needs His members." How can you be unhappy when you realize you mean so much to God and have so important a work to do for Him? The Cur~ of Ars once said: "Even if there were no hereafter, ' it is Heaven enough to work for God on earth." No religious, conscious of his calling, will question the Cur~'s statement. But that does not mean that you will not know difficulty. That does not mean that humiliations will not come your way; that you will not fail in many an enterprise; know shame, ignominy, defeat. That does not mean that you will not suffer both physically and mentally. It does mean that you will know what to do with all these things when they do come your way. It means that you will be happy not only in the midst of sufferings but precisely because you are suffering. For you will ever live conscious of the fact that you are to "fill up what is wanting to His Passion," as St. Paul so joyously states it; conscious of the fact that you can now "rejoice that you, in some slight degree, resemble your Lord and Master," as St. Ignatius so pointedly puts it; conscious of the fact that it ill becomes you to be a "weak member under a Thorn-crowned Head," as St. Bernard so boldly and beautifully expressed it. Let the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" batter and pierce you through and through, you can't be unhappy so long as you are con-scious of the fact that you are His member. And oh! how your attitudes toward all others change once you have this truth in your blood and being. How you love every human being just because he or she is an actual or a potential member of 318 Nooember, 1949 "WE ARE HIS MEMBERS !" your Christ; has a part to play in the Great Drama of the Redeem-ing; can complete the Passion of your Savior; has a work to do that no one but be or she can do; is dear to your Father, God; beloved of your.Mother, Mary; is, further, part of the same Body as you! How can jealousy, envy, bitterness, enmit3~, antipathy enter your soul? "The eye cannot say to the hand: I need not thy help; nor again the head to the feet'" (I Cot. 12:21). Your hand does not envy your eye because it caffnot see. Your. ear is not jealous of your tongue because it cannot taste. Then why should you be jealous or envious of some other member of Christ because he or she can do things you cannot do? You won't be. You can't be. Rather you will rejoice if this one has ten talents and you only one. You will exult over such a one's ability to do so much more for your Head than you are capable of doing. Yes, all smallness leaves your life as soon as you live the truth that "We are His members." And how kind you become! The great Flemish mystic, Ruysbroeck, once said: "Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. And you'll be a saint." Here's a motto that makes kindness not only easy but an urge. In times past, some of us have been unhappy because of the work assigned us. Had we been living the doctrine of the Mystical Body we should never have known anything but blessed content-ment, even exul~ant joy; for we would have realized that our every act done "through Him, and with Him, and in Him" was powerful beyond all expression! "Actions," philosophers tell us, "belong to the person," not to the members. We pay the typist, not the typist's fingers. We honor the hero, not his eyes, hands, or feet. For we know actions belong to the person, not to his members. Think, then, of your every act when you act as a member of Christ's Mysti-cal Body. Think of your tiniest deed: sweeping a floor, making a bed, washing a dish, dusting a chair--they are acts of.the Mystical Christ! Can any assignment, then, be a cause of unhappiness? Do you see how this doctrine covers everything: Yourself, others, your works, your sufferings, your triumphs and defeats. Will you allow me one short example of how it works? Last 2anuary I was out of my monastery for the first time in thirteen years. 2ust what such a strange experience would mean to others, I do not know, but I do know that for me it was something in the nature of a "vision." I saw Christ. For over a month I saw Him suffer, agonize, and die in a hospital called St. Joseph's Infirmary. 319 M. RAYMOND "Review t:or Religious I saw Christ in old Brother Hugh whose sight was dim, hearing gone, and power of speech paralyzed. In him I saw Christ agonize as cancer gnawed his vitals away. I saw Jesus even more clearly in an infant of two months whose rapidly growing brain tumor would soon bow that head in death, and Innocence would once again have "given up the ghost" because of sin. I saw our suffering, sacrificing Savior in two nurses, one just about to graduate, the other a gradu-ate of two years, who, standing star-eyed and eager, ready for life, learned that they had better make ready for death, since creeping paralysis had made its first appearance in one and cancer of the lymph had doomed the other. From dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn that hospital breathed for me, and it was the breath of Jesus Christ. For over a month I was witness to the Great Drama of the Redeeming as I saw Christ paying for sin in bodies that were His by right of baptism. I saw Salvation being won for the world; for that hospital appeared to me as a chalice and every pang of pain as so much blood being poured into it. How could I view it otherwise when I know that we are the "pIeroma of Christ" who are to fill up what is wanting to His Passion? (Cf. Col. ~:24.) . How could I or anyone else fail to see the crucifixion when I stood staring at bap-tized human beings on the cross? Yes, I saw Christ; for "we are His members'!" Do you see how easy it is? Do you see what a different outlook it gives, on life and all things in lif~, The late Archbishop Goodier, S.J., gave a formula for happiness in his brochure A More Excellent Wa~1. It is to "crawl in through the wound on Christ's side, go down deep into His Heart, then look out on the world and all things in the world with His eyes." Had we not the doctrine of the Mystical Body that formula might se~m impossible of fulfill-ment. How does Jesus look upon human beings? Does He not see them as either actual or potential members of His Body? Can't we see them in the same light? How does Christ see the "feeble" and "less honorable members"? St. Paul tells us. "Those that seem to be the more feeble members of the body, are more necessary" (I Cor. 12:22). Don't you see the utter impossibility of ever looking dgwn on anyone? of ever despising a single human being? of ever having a low or mean opinion of anyone who breathes? So long as I am Christ-conscious, I love; so long as I love, I am like God. The Archbishop's formula is possible of fulfillment, else God the 320 November, 1949 "WE ARE Ills MEMBERS !" Holy Ghost would never have commanded us through St. Paul: "Put ye on the Lord, Jesus Christ" (Rom. 13:14). Nor would He have told us to "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). Hilaire Belloc has rightly said, "A man is his mind." If we would be what God made us to be and our deepest instinct craves to be, we will acquire the mind of Jesus; for Dietrich yon Hildebrand stated truth truthfully when he said, "The essence of sanctity is transformation into Christ." Sanctity is made relatively easy, then, by the development of Christ-consciousness: for nothing is better calculated to work this transfo.rmation than the constant appreciation of the fact that "We are His members." There is not a true religious who does not long to "radiate Christ" pedectt~l. But that longing will be like the barren fig tree--a thing Of beautiful foliage but bare of fruit--until the Light of the World glows in the very core of our beings, until the last feature of.the Face iaf Christ is sealed into our souls, until every beat of our hearts synchronizes with the pulse of His great Heart. Baptism sufficed for incorporation in Christ, but it does not suffice for transformation into Him. No. For that we need to be im-mersed, absorbed, lost in Christ Jesus. All of which is possible by living the truth of the Mystical Body. But by living I mean living. Look!. There is not one of us who does not know that the life of Christ pulsates in the person of every-one who is in the state of grace; that down in the depths of those souls the Holy Trinity dwells; that thelight in their eyes tells the same tremendous truth as does the flickering flame of the Sanctuary Lamp: God is here. Yes, we all know that. .But how many of us live conscious of those facts? Which of us does not know that the Holy Ghost is the soul of the Mystical Body? that, being the soul, He is present "'totus in toto, et totus in qualibet parte'" ("entire in the whole, and entire in every part of the whole")? Who does not know that the soul elevates, unifies, identifies, and vivifies? But bow many of us make the appli-cations and draw the consequences? My fellow priest, my brother or sister in religion has been elevated to a dignity that astounds. He or she can not only be defined as a "creature composed of body and soul," but also may be described as "body, soul, and Holy Ghost!" He or she is more than human; has been made so by God the Holy Ghost. What respect, reverence, awe, and admiration I should have 321 M. RAYMOND ~evieu~ [or Religious for my fellow! But besides elevating, the soul identifies and unifies. The Holy Ghost unites all the cells of the Mystical Body to the Person whose Body it is. How close my fellow is to God! How close he or she is to me!. We know these mind-staggering truths. We even teach these marvels and mysteries to others. But how often do we live conscious of these facts? The rod of Aaron is in our hands. It is in beautiful flower. But we . May I suggest a plan whereby you can become wide awake to these joy-filled and joy-producing realities? Why not integrate your life by-means of this marvelous doctrine? Let your meditations for an entire year be on nothing but this wondrous truth. You know, M. Anger has proved in a masterly thesis that this doctrine is the white heart of the Kohinoor which is Dogmatic Theology. He shows that every light that leaps from those mahy facets has its origin in Christ who is the Light of the World. Our meditations should be on nothing that is not ioundly dogmatic. - But to make these meditations fruitful we needs must read. Thanks be to God, whole shelves can now be devoted to literature on the Mystical Body. After Anger-Burke one could read Emile Mersch, S.2., then John Gruden, and Edward Leen, C.S.Sp. Fol-low'these with Fulton Sheen, Raoul Plus, S.J., Daniel Lord, S.d., Carl Adam, and William McGarry, S.d.,--to name but a few. There is more than a year's reading matter for any religious, and reading that will make meditations throb. To integrate our lives we must add examen to our readings and meditations. Couldn't we spend a year--or even two--with this doctrine as our particular examen? The development of this Christ-consciousness would be a main objective. We could practice it in so many different ways: conscious of my own membership; of my neighbors; of all men; conscious of the soul of the Mystical Body throbbing in me--in others; conscious of the dignity and worth of my actions when done "through, with, and in Hfm." Variety would not be wanting and unity would be assured. If reading, meditation, and examen go together for a year promise a consciousness that will have you "looking out on the world and all things in the world with the eyes of Christ." I promise you an integration that will effect a transformation. I promise a happiness the world canfiot give"or take away. I am sure that most of you will see how this simplifies the spit- 322 Noaernber, 1949 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS itual life since it is a system that includes all other systems. In it abandonment, trust, detachment, purity of intention, presence of God, union with the Divine Will are all contained. I cannot be Christ-conscious without being or having all the others. It is a system that will unify one's entire existence; for there is nothing that I can think, do, or say legitimately that cannot be thought, done, and said "through Him, with Him, and in Him." It is a system from which all movements derive and to which they'all lead; for what is the Liturgical Movement if it is not centered in the Mass; and what is the Mass if not the Sacrifice of the Mystical Body, as Pius XII has so insistently proved in his Mediator Dei. What is Catholic Action if not begun, continued, and ended through, with, and in Christ 3esus? That is why I have dared to offer the motto and to say: "Try it and see if it doesn't simplify, unify, integrate your life, and make you what God made you to be and what I long for you to be--verd happy!'" The rod is in your hand. It is flowerin!! Ques Jons and Answers What is to be thought about the followlncj statement which appeared in the pubffe press last August: "Plans for a profound reform . . . likely the most drastic the cloistered monasteries and nunneries have undergone since the Council of Trent ended in 1563 . . . are in an advanced stage ¯ . . and are planned for promulgation in 19S0. The reform is designed in large part to make inmates of cloistered convents more effective as agents of the Church in its current world-wide struggle." Lik~ so many newspaper reports concerning religious events, this one, while having a foundation in fact, is grossly exaggerated. For-tunately an answer to the above statement was given by Father Arcadio Larraona, undersecretary of the Sacred Congregation of Reli-gious, on August 22, 1949. He explained that there is no question of a vast reform of cloistered orders, but of certain mitigations, required by the ~xigencies of modern times. He mentions two such mitigations. Modern conditions require that a mitigation in. the rule of cloister be made to allow nuns to leave the enclosure for medical and dental treatment, and for similar purposes. Again,.in the after- 323 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Revieu~ [or Religious math of the war, some monasteries of nuns are literally starving because they can no longer support themselves aft they did before the war. In such cases the Holy See has advised a modification of the rule of enclosure to permit the nuns to engage in activities providing an income for the communities, such as conducting schools, orphan-ages, and the like. However, in such cases, the essentials of the con-templative life must always be maintained. Father Larraona also indicated that there exists a tendency toward confederating cloistered communities of religious women in countries where economic reasons or a reduction in the number of cloistered nuns indicate the need for such a trend. There is however, no ques-tion of any imposed reform, but the spirit of the autonomous insti-tutions is always considered and preserved. Such federations are on a purely voluntary and very limited basis. In conclusion Father Larraona explained that papal directives to religious institutes, urging them to organize their activities in accord-ance with the changes in the social conditions of the world, do not signify any impending reforms to be imposed by the Holy Father. May a Sister on nursing duty in a hospital wear a gold and silver graduation pin on the religious habit? Is this contrary fo article 67 of the Normae of 1901 which forbids ornaments of gold or silver to be included in the rel~glous dress? Let us first quote article 67 of the Normae in full before answer-ing our question. It reads as follows: "With the possible exception of a small and simple cross or medal of silver, no gold or silver orna-ments should be worn. In those ornaments which are allowed new images or inscriptions not as yet approved by the Church are not to be tolerated. Silk garments are not allowed, nor silk ornaments or others which betray vanity and cause complaints or laughter." Generally speaking, graduation pins are not to be worn by reli-gious women except on special Occasions such as alumnae reunions and the like, provided superiors think it well to let the Sisters iden-tify themselves as alumnae. It can happen in a hospital that graduate nurses are required to carry on their person some sign of identification. In that case the superior could allow the Sisters to wear their graduation pins. But no Sister should take it upon herself to wear such a pin without the permission of her superior. What was forbidden by the Norroae was 324 Nooember, 1949 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS the wearing of ornaments as sucli, f~)r vanity's sake. The wearingof a graduation pin for purposes of identificationwould not come under that head. It may not be out of place Norrnae of 1901 were not laws a set of ideal constitutions for Sacred Congregation set up for constitutions submitted to it for article 67 of the Norrnae found tions during the course of the article 67 of the Norrnae, but as approved by the Holy See. here to remind our readers that the binding religious directly, but rather a religious congregation which the itself as a guide in approving new the approval of the Holy See. Thus its way into many sets of constitu-years. It obliges religious, not as an article of their own constitutions ~2-- Is there any ecclesiastical regulation that prohibits Sisters from holding the position of organist in parish choirs that have both men and women members.'; While there is no express prohibition to be found in the Code ot? Canon Law nor in the Councils of Baltimore, still anumber of diocesan statutes forbid Sisters to function as .organists in parish churches. To give but one example, Statute 184 of the Fourth Pro-vincial Council of Portland in Oregon (1934) reads as follows: "We forbid religious women to act as organists or choir directors, except in the case in which boys and girls still attending school make up the choir." Moreover, we think it is not in conformity with the general spirit of the religious life for a Sister to act as organist for a mixed adult choir and it may be a source of disedification to the faithful. In practice, no Sister should undertake to play the organ for a mixed choir of men and women without theexpress permission of the local ordinary and of her own higher superior. ---43-- May a religious teacher who has "class money" in his keeping, or extra-curricular funds, use these in whole or in part for personal reasons? Is his superior at liberty to give him such a permission? Or must such funds be used for the purpose for which they were collected, or for things to be used by the students for their betterment, such as charts, reference-books, and the I~ke? If we understand this question correctly, the "class money" 325 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious referred to is money that actually belongs to the class: not to the school as such, nor to the religious community. In o~her words, it is a common fund to which individual students have contributed with the understanding that the money be used for certain specific pur-poses. A religious superior has no power to give.permission to use such money for personal reasons; and neither the superior nor the teacher should use the money for any but the specified purposes unless the class freely consents to this. 1 oo1 Reviews THE DAY WITH JESUS AND MARY. By the Dominican Sisfers. Pp. 143. The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1949. $2.50. This book seeks to help one develop a consciousness of God's presence during the day through recalling the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. The hour from five to six is dedicated to the Annunciation, from six to seven to the Visitation, and so forth. At the beginning of each hour one offers his own work bf that hour in union with the work of Jesus and Mary suggested by the mystery of that hour. And with the discussion of each mystery, this book gives'a few biographi-cal facts about two saints (one Dominican and one other) who were outstanding in the virtue suggested by this mystery. For instance, upon awakening in the morning, one recalls the Annunciation and offers the coming hour in union with the joy of all the saints, espe-cially St. Dominic or St. Philip Neri, in the blessings of the Incarna-tion. The moral reflections are the standard ones, the saints chosen are appropriate enough, the style of writing very plain. The value of the book will lie in the appeal of the idea of dedicating each hour of the day to a mystery of the Rosary. For those to whom it does appeal it has a double advantage; it makes the Rosary a living thing, and it gives one a clear center or focus for his spiritual thought~ of that hour. For how many would such a plan work? The Holy Spirit has many ways of aiding our growth; one way of finding out whether any plan will suit me is to give it an honest trial. That God wishes us to recall His presence habitually, that He wishes us to model our lives upon the mysteries of the Incarnation, that the hourly recollec-tion method has worked for some--all this is clear. It: the number 326 Not~ember, 1949 BOOK REVIEWS is comparatively small, I think the chief reason is that the number of those who have made persevering effort to live in God's presence is also comparatively small. God certainly wishes all religious to have a spirit of recollection through the day; theref6re He wishes us to use what natural means we find at hand to develop this spirit. The end is valuable enough to urge us to try various means until we find one suitable to us. This book could help many in this searching. --2T. N. JORGENSEN, S.d. SHE WHO LIVED HER NAME. By Marie Rene-Bazln. Pp. 208. The Newman Press, Wesfm~nsfer, Maryland, 1949. $3.00. "The ways of Providence are, as a rule, of a marvelous sim-plicity, but they are made intricate by man's timidity and blindness. When, however, God finds a soul childlike enough to trust Him unflinchingly and eager to follow wherever He leads, He enfolds it in the unity of His plan and mirrors in its depths something of His unique simplicity." Thus opens the biography of the Foundress of the Helpers of the Holy Souls. Mary of Providence, or as she was known in the world, Eugenie Marie Joseph Smet, was born on March 25, 1825, at Lille, France. Reared in a good Catholic home, she was struck by two important teachings of the Church: Divine Providence and purgatory. A woman of action, an enthusiast and organizer, she was driven by a spiritual life dominated by these two truths to found a congregation which by prayer and suffering would make its principal aim the release of the suffering souls from purgatory. Fearful of illusion on her part, Eugenie set up several "signs" by which she would know that her plan was pleasing to God. Among them was that the Holy Father would send her his blessing on the venture, prior to the sanction of the bishop of the diocese. All the "signs" were fulfilled. The Cur~ of Ars, when asked his advice, told her to found the order whenever she pleased. On July 1, 1856, the Helpers of the Holy Souls had their motto, "Pray, Suffer, Labor" (for the souls in purgatory), their name, their motherhouse, and not much else. By" 1867, they .were landing in China to establish the Seng-Mou-Yeu house near Shang-hai. At the same time in Paris, Mary of Providence was suffering much. The Helper of the Holy Souls felt that she was being con-sumed by fire herself. While Prussian shells whistled over the house-tops during the siege of Paris, she lay dying of malignant cancer. ,327 BOOK NOTICES She had always had a dread of five things: leaving her family, founding a community, seeing her daughters in want, getting into debt, having cancer. "Well, by the grace of God," she said, "all five happened to me." The heroic foundress died February 7, 1871, at the age of 46. The author of the biography, daughter of the late novelist Ren~ Francois Bazin, has written the work carefully enough, quoting heavily from the d, iary and writings of Mary of Providence. One could wish, however, for the personality traits, the telling touches which make a holy person flesh and blood.-~R. A. RUDOLF, S.J. THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. By a Father of the Soclefy of Jesus. Pp. 372. The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, 1949. $2.50. After. having been hidden aw~y nearly eighty years in convents, monasteries, and novitiates, this gem is now dusted off and presented once more for the enjoyment of the Catholic reader. The author, Father Isidore Boudreaux, was a master of novices in the Jesuit novitiate at Florissant, Missouri, but his name was withheld from most of the early editions. The present edition is planographed and is presented without revision of the original. Besides. discussing the essence of heavenly happiness, namely, the beatific vision, Father Boudreaux also answers many little questions of interest to the earthbound. Is there a social life in heaven? What will our bodies be like? Will all be equally happy? Answering these and many other queries, the author has covered practically all that we can know about the next life. The subject matter, due to the its very sublimity, is quite diffi-cult. Father Boudreaux witl~out abandoning sound theology has treated heaven in.a way that should make The Happiness of Heaveb required reading for all priests and religious, and a source of great comfort and courage to Catholic laymen.--M. HAGhN, S.J. BOOK NOTICES Fatima is truly of great importance to us today. The passage of the "Pilgrim Virgin" through our country has led many hundreds o.f thousands to a deeper consideration and understanding of this importance. Wherever the statue went, great crowds flocked to venerate it and to fulfill Mary's desires by confessions, Communions, Masses, and rosaries., One of the highlights of the trip was the. week at St. Meinrad's Abbey, Indiana. A detailed history of the careful 328 Noeember, 1949 BOOK NOTICES preparation for the week and of the complete success of the celebra-tion is given in the book FATIMA WEEK SERMONS. A sixteen page introduction by. the Abbot (Rt. Rev. Ignatius Esser, O.S.B.) tells of the pre!barations, of the handling of the crowd of 125,000 that attended, and of that crowd's devout spirit. The thirty-eight sermons given in the book are the Marian talks delivered during the week. They treat of Fatima and of the Marian virtues most closely associated with the Fatima message. These talks were given by thirty-eight different priests and naturally vary in value, but a judicious assigning of topics to the speakers kept repetition of thought to a minimum. This is a valuable book for one studying the history of the Fatima devotion and for one who plans any big Marian celebration. (St. Meinrad, Indiana: The Grail, 1949. Pp. 170. $1.00 [paper].) THE MYSTICAL ROSE, by Father Hubert, O.F.M.Cap., is a small book of scarcely more than pamphlet size treating of Mary's hidden beai~ty and love through a discussion of her fullness of grace, her virginity, and her divine maternity. The style is fluent and poetic, but the book is often repetitious and verbose with a wordi-ness that hinders rather than heightens clarity. Despite this fault of style, the book has merits which lead one to a meditative reading and rereading of many passages which tease one to further thought. (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Bookshop, 1948. Pp. 79. $1.75.) FAITH AND A FISHHOOK, by Sr. M. Charitas, S.S.N.D., is a book of thirteen chapters presenting in chatty style selected anecdotes from the lives of our Lgrd, eleven saints, and the Archangel Raphael. "It is unfortunate that the author attempts to attract youthful readers to the religious life by telling them that this life "asks far less sacrifices than any other state"! In fact, the religious life is so easy that "it takes huge courage not to become a religious" (p. 122). Not only are such statements false, but they are apt to dissuade, rather than to encourage prospective postulants. (Milwaukee: ~Fhe Bruce Pub-lishing Company, 1949. Pp: ix q- 164. $2.50.) HOT EMBERS, by Sister M. Charitas, I.H.M., devotes most of its short twenty-eight chapters to narrating and devoutly commenting on various episodes of our Lord's Infancy, Passion, and Resurrection. A special section makes observations on the lives of St. Theresa of .329 Book NOTICES Review for Religious Lisieux, St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Angelus, Simon Stock, Elias. The remaining chapters treat of the Scapular Feast, the Good Shepherd, the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart, and the Feast of the Immaculate Hea.rt of Mary. (New York: The Scapular Press, 1948. Pp. 205. $2.75.) LITURGICAL ~VIEDITATIONS (Volume I: From Advent to the Ascension; Volume II: From Ascension to Advent), by the Sisters of Saint Dominic, Adrian, Michigan, provides daily meditations for an entire year. Each is in some way connected with the liturgy of the day. Three short points tie Scripture, meditations, and Mass together. The Sanctoral Cycle is naturally devoted to the Saints and. Blessed of the Order of Preachers, as. the work was originally intended by the anonymous writers for the members of their own Order. (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Company, 1949. Pp. viii + 533: 479. $10.00 [set].) THE CURE D'ARS, by Abb~ Francis Trochu, is a reprint of the "standard" life of the great Cur~. The author drew upon the volu-minous records of the process of canonization for his. material. The life was done into English by Dora Ernest Gra.f, O.S.B., and was first published in 1927. As hagiography it is in the older analytical style with the saint's every virtue described in its own chapter. This is "bad" for the plot--but the wh6le plot here is the boundless love of God. (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1949. Pp. xxiii -ff 586. $5.50.) TRANSFORMATION IN CHRIST, by Dietrich yon Hildebrand, will give many a new self-knowledge, a new surehess, and some "know-how" in their efforts at Christlikeness. The book has a solid, earnest, inspiring message for all who admit that "before all else, it is necessary for us to grasp the 'height, breadth, and depth' of our vocation, and fully to comprehend the message of the" Gospel which invites us not merely to become disciples of Chris't and children of God, but to enter into a.process of transformation in Christ." The somewhat technical vocabulary of the book will at times make heavy reading for those who have not enjoyed the opportunity of a classicaI education or philosopical training; but

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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 of the most Improved pattern. GEORGE SMGLES, Successor to J. W. Eicholtz & Co., DEALER IN No. 127 Chambersburg St., GETTYSBURG, PA. JOHN E. PITZER, MEMBER POST 9, G. A. R. [C^SHI9, —DEALER IN— Hats, Shirts, Shoes, Ties, Umbrellas, Gloves, Satchels, Hose, (pocket ^ooks, Trunks, Telescopes, Rubbers, Etc., Etc. AMOS ECKERT. W HOTEL, Gettysfofcifa, Pa. J0HI2 E, HIMHE2, PRorft THIS Hotel is situated on Main street, one square from I', and II. and W. M. R. K. Depots and within one-half minute's walk of the Diamond. Every room is heated, and lighted by electricity. Parlors on first and second floors. Bath and Toilet rooms on second floor, gratis to guests. Hates $1 50 to $2.50 per day. Booms without Hoard 50 cents and upward according to location. Excellent accommo-dations for 250 people. Electric cars stop at the door eveiy half hour. Livery Connected, with first-class Teams, and Battle-field Guides at Low Rates. Dinner with Drive over the — attle-field $1.: 5. Commencement Number. The College Mefcufy. VOL. II. GETTYSBURG, PA., JULY, 1894. No. 5. THE COLLEGE MEftCUfiY, Published each month during the college year by the Students of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. STAFF. Editor : WALDO D. MAYNARD, '95. Associate Editors : SYLVESTER C. BERGER. '95. WILLIAM A. KUMP. '95. J. EDWARD BYERS, '95. GRAYSON Z. STUP, '96 WILMER A. HARTMAN/95. HORACE M. WITMAN.'gs. ROSCOE C. WRIGHT, '95 Alumni Association Editor: REV. n. FRANK GARLAND, A. M , Baltimore, Md. Business Manager: MORITZ G. L. RIETZ, '95. Assistant Business Manager: HENRY E. CLARE, '95. m*.,,™, fOne volume (ten months). . . . $l.ro IEKMS-\Slngle copies : . . . .15 Payable in advance. All Students are requested to hand us matter for publication. The 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 MERCUKY, Gettysburg, Pa. CONTENTS. ABSTRACT OF BACCALAUREATE SERMON, - - - - 85 ABSTRACT OF Y. M. C. A. ADDRESS, 87 CLASS DAY PROGRAMME, - - - - - - - - 89 CLASS PROPHECY, 89 SCIENTIFIC Srmrr, - - - - 92 IN THE CONFLICT, - - 94 IVY POEM, 9s LOCAL GOVERNMENT, - -96 JUNIOR ORATORICAL CONTEST. - 98 OUR MENTAL LIVES, - - - - 9S ROLL OF HONOR, 100 COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT PROGRAMME, - - - - 100 CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES, --- 100 COMMENCEMENT NOTES AND COLLEGE LOCALS, - - - 101 ALUMNI, 103 TENNIS, 104 SEMINARY NOTES, - - - 105 ABSTRACT OE PEES. MoKNIGHT'S BACCALAUREATE SERMON, Matt., 17:14 : "Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Ellas." Peter was one of the three disciples who were permitted to be with Christ on the Mount of his transfiguration. The glories of that scene which was like a sublime coronation hour dazzled and entranced him. He was awe-struck—dazed by the strange magnifi-cence. It was to him a moment of supreme privilege, and the very place where he en-joyed it was converted into sacred ground. IvOngiug to remain and to continue the vision, and experience he uttered the request: "Mas-ter, let us build and stay here, let us make a resting-place of this mount of vision, and not go down again to the valleys of common ex-perience where toil and tears and weariness and suffering await both thee and us.'' It was a natural request which he had thus expressed, but, for his own good and that of the great and needy world to serve and help which he was being prepared by that very vis-ion, it conld not be granted. Instead, Jesus led him and his fellow-disciples down the slopes of the mountain at whose base a stricken boy and his heart-broken parent awaited them, and where a miracle of mercy and deliverance was to be wrought. By his act, therefore, He taught Peter and teaches us that, while privi-lege is good, duty is better; that the valleys of waiting and watching, of toil and sacrifice are to be preferred to the summits of ease and re-ceptivity and enjoyment; that privilege, the highest and most transporting, serves its true purpose only when it acts and re-acts upon daily duty and ordinary life, transfiguring all that we are and do. No doubt, my young friends, you are able 86 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. to sympathize with Peter this morning, and are ready to breathe his prayer: "Let us j stay.'' You have been on a mount of special i privilege, enjoying what is permitted to but few. The years of liberalizing study you have spent here have afforded you opportunities of growth and enrichment beyond the possibility of exact calculation. And now that they have ended, and you are to go out from us and be, in the old sense, of us no more, there must be ' a quickening of 3'our appreciation of what you have enjoyed. As others crowd you out of the places you have held, and forward to the scenes of stern and responsible action, you may feel like drawing back and pleading: "Let us stay." But believe me when, speak-ing to you in the name of those who have been . your instructors and friends, I say to you, in these parting words, it is better for you to go. God himself commands you away to duty, and ' in the service to which he appoints you. Your { gains will be greater and richer than they can be on any heights of mere receptivity and ease. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." This truth so hard to ap-prehend and appreciate in advance, we wish to emphasize and illustrate for your encourage-ment and guidance as you now face outward towards your respective spheres of experience and activity. The superiority of service over privilege or of productive energy over mere receptivity was then shown in the discussion of the following points : i. In its relation to the right and full development of God-given powers, and fa-cilities. 2. In its relation to character. 3. As the condition of all true greatness. 4. As the source of true blessedness. After discuss-ing these points, the Doctor addressed the class as follows: "My young friends of the class of '94: We have sought thus, in a practical way, to impress you with the dignity and im-portance of earnest and unselfish work. It is more needful than any circumstances or special privileges for the best and fullest development of your powers and faculties. It bears a vital relation to your character, calling.for the^exer-cise of those gifts and graces which are es-sential to a worthy manhood and womanhood. It must form the basis of all true greatness you can ever achieve, and condition the enthrone-ment you would gain in the esteem and confi-dence and love of your fellow men. It is the real source of the blessedness which sweetens life and gives foretastes of "the joy that is un-speakable and full of glory." We have sought to impress you with the truth that in entering on an earthly, you are in reality entering on an eternal career, and to set before you aims which belong equally to the life that now is and to that which is to come. Let not the gains or pleasures of time obscure and hide your better portion. Let not the engagements of earth so absorb your attention that you shall forget the claims of heaven, or your cares so overshadow you that the light of a better world cannot reach you. Let yours be the holy am-bition which filled the heart of David and con-trolled his aims and actions—"to serve your generation according to the will of God." Let the thought, not of ease or pleasure, or posi-tion, or gain, but of usefulness determine your occupation or profession in life, and control you in it. Not what you do, but the spirit in which you do it shall fix the actual and abid-ing results of your living and working. This spirit—the spirit of all right action—has been forcefully indicated in the device and motto on the seal of a well-known Missionary So-ciety. The device is an ox standing between a plough and an altar, and the motto is: "Ready for either." Readiness for service or sacrifice, or for both! What noble spirit can control a human life, or give impulse to human activity! God himself has approved this ideal, and marshalled all the forces and agencies of the universe to it. It makes the music of the spheres, and gives harmony and majesty to the ceaseless song before His throne. Serve or suffer in the spirit of that holy enthusiasm which made Christ's mission to Him "more than his meat and his drink," and, whatever may be your allotted sphere, humble or high, THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 87 it will be found at last that you have neither lived nor labored in vain. Your glory and joy will be, not that you have possessed talents and had high and peculiar privileges, but that you have used them aright. Let this spirit of service be carried into the commonest of duties and minutest details of the spheres you ma)- fill, for, if you reach for the stars, and forget the flowers that bloom at your feet, you will miss much, perhaps all. He, who waits for great occasions tq display his talents and prove his serviceableness, neg-lects the real conditions of success, and his plans are likely to come to naught. Little tilings, common duties, ordinary occasions con-stitute the larger portion of every life, and he who despises these, misses the choicest oppor-tunities for filling his mission and serving the world. The world's greatest servants and most honored chieftains have been wiser and nobler. In business, in literature, in art or in war, they have been distinguished for their conscientious attention to details. Carry a similar spirit of fidelity into all that you do. Serve in everything, if you would reach the only distinction that men will lastingly recog-nize and God eternally approve. "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is un-just also in much." Fidelity to all your tal-ents and opportunities, whether they be few or many, great or small, only can and surely will gain for you the plaudits of the skies—the ulti-mate welcome: "Well done, good and faith-ful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord Thou has been faithful over a few things. I will make thee, ruler over many." ABSTRACT OF Y. M. C, A. ADDRESS BY REV. FISCHER, OK EASTON. I .Tollll -2 : l(i Solomon says "the glory of young men is their strength" and we are born with an in-stinctive admiration for ph\'sical power. It was the primary glory of the race. The first picture the live boy hangs upon the walls of his room are not those of apostles and martyrs but of athletes and heroes, so in the world's pic-ture gallery, we find Hercules, Theseus, Sam-son and David. Although the days of giants and Olympian games are past, time will never destroy man's admiration for strong muscle and mighty sinews. The popular idol to-day is the pitcher of the champion nine, the rusher of the winning foot ball team, the bowler of the eleven that holds the cup, or the stroke oar of the successful crew. But Christianity has lifted and proposes still more to lift these things to a higher plane. She recognizes that physical culture is conducive to mental health. Hence she has equipped her gymnasium with every apparatus to accomplish this purpose as a means to an end. She desires to subordinate the material to the mental. Brain not brawn tells in this age. The prize-fighter is an out-law and plies his business in barns and unfre-quented places. "There is nothing great in the world but man. There is nothing great in man but mind." Three elements are in the strength referred to in this message: 1. That zvhich character-izes the period of life here addressed '' Young men," those who occupy the golden mean be-tween childlike weakness and the period of wakening manhood. "Fathets": There is a strength peculiar to young men to which is at-tached a corresponding responsibility. This is the period of life never affected by drought. The channels of vigor run bank-full with the greatest force of life. The growth of a year is soon accomplished. Little growth is made in the branch after the spring days are gone. But this stream must be regulated or it will ruin. Man is God's workmanship, hence his life dare not tear its own channels or spread in miasmatic waste over this period of his being, but flow in channels of divine ordering. This is the strong period of life because it has not yet felt the chill of disappointment. They have not yet been the victims of betrayed con-fidence. The child-like spirit of trust marks every approach. Their future has no failures in it. When Napoleon asked for 100 young men out of a regiment who were ready to die, THE COLLEGE MERCURY. all stepped forth. They never doubted their ability to take the battery or their readiness to die. This spirit is not to be despised, for con-fidence is the very essence of achievement. 2- Second element of strength is Education. The Greeks soon discovered that physical de-velopment was not the true line for a man to follow. In this the brute was his superior. Soon the glory of the athlete was conferred on the poet and philosopher and the school was sought as eagerly as the arena. The college is more than a ' 'crew," a ' 'nine'' or a "foot-ball team." Mind rules the world and education is the great social equalizer. As you cultivate your minds you add to your strength and give breadth to your sphere of usefulness. 3. Tim de lement is strength of soul. '' Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might." This lifts man above self and unites him to an unfailing source of power. Religion gives sight, direction, trend to what you have by natural endowment. Seneca says: "No mind is good without God." The world recognizes the superiority of this. To keep your body under places you in the final and real conquest way above the athlete and the mental genius. "Ye have overcome" does not mean that you can neglect watchfulness and lay aside your armor as if all life's work were done. No! But as the acorn contains the oak, so your faith has in it all its fruit, "For this is the victory that overcometh even your faith." That faith made Luther a conqueror. All the liberties of our day, civil and religious, were wrapped up in germ in the faith of that one man. Without this new life in Christ you will only be a sort of refined, highly developed animal. The' electric car will not budge an inch unless connected with the power-house. Man is a creature of two worlds. Your spirit can never grow by sticking its roots in the soil that nourishes your flesh. Without a sun this world would be an iceberg revolving in space. Your spirit must be warmed by the Son of Righteousness. A living, growing faith is neces-sary, for life without faith is an earth without a sky. Your institution has not neglected this part of your training. Education and Chris-tianity are sisters. It is more important for the student to practice virtue than to decline virtuse; to form his character along the lines of righteousness than to demonstrate all the prop-ositions of plane geometry. What now is the duty that arises from this trinity of endowments f Blessed with trained bodies and minds and added grace, what will you do with them? "Stand fast in the faith." "Quit you like men." "Hold fast what thou hast, lest any man take thy crown." You must call up all the power you can command in order to hold the advanced posi-tion which by nature and grace you occupy. You dare not waste an ounce of your strength. Only the fittest survive. You must have the whole armor or you will go clown. Do not tamper with evil because you want to know something about it. "Only once" has ruined many a soul. Let God direct your steps into the right track and keep them there. Keep yourselves pure. You may repeitt, but a whole garment is better than a patched one. "The greatest spiritual strength is born out of that moral strength which has never been broken by vice." Ireland's great leader, Par-nell, from lack ot moral strength, was ruined in the very hour of victory. Meeting his De-lilah he was shorn of his locks, and his strength departed from him. Great self-denial is required. To be any-thing you must deny some part of yourself. To be a ttiie man you have only to deny that part of yourself which is unworthy of you. You must live for others. This is best done by a consistent life. We need not less preach-ing but more practice. The professor makes the college more than does the curriculum or the library. The teacher is often of more value than his teaching; no name is more fra-grant in the long list of teachers of this cen-tury than Arnold of Rugby. His tenderness of conscience, his sympathy with the heart of youth, his self-forgetfulness, his hatred of the mean, his love for youth and God made him the great teacher of- our time. Not Hopkins THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 89 I the teacher or philosopher, but Hopkins the man formed the character of the graduates at Williainstown. Nor can we refrain from re-ferring, in part, to a late vice-Pres. and Pro-fessor in our own Alma Mater; whose sweet, courteous Christian life did more to mould character, and kindle aspiration for a nobler and truer manhood than all the sines and tan-gents of his department could do to strengthen the mind. And "being dead he yet speak-eth." Such is the power of a true life every-where. Do not lament that the professions are over-crowded. The world is not'overcrowded with such men. There is room in the business world for men who despise a false balance and love a "just weight." There is room in the political world, swarming with a hungry crowd, for young men whose back bones will not bend though a whole party try to do it; whose knees will not bow to the "boss's" will, though ejectment from office and political ob-scurity be threatened. There is room for more than "four hundred" in society, where the Christian Sabbath is degraded into that of the continent, and where men through intem-perance are dammed body and soul by "dtce process of law.'' There is not only room but need for you in the sphere of the pulpit where a rationalizing tendency is seeking to rob relig-ion of its faith, into which secularism with its blighting influence is slowly creeping, and which is being changed into the platform, the sermon into the lecture and the preacher into the lecturer. We need ' 'not echoes but voices.'' This is God's message to you. Will you heed it and find your true strength in Him or waste even the strength you have ? Your suc-cess, position and usefulness depend upon the characters you are forming now. Be true men. Do not disappoint the God who made you and the Redeemer who bled to save you. Live for God and humanity. Such a life will be beset by dangers, but also arched with flowers and palms of victory. By living it boldly and in faith many a sweet blossom and green palm will be shaken down to gladden you by the way, and the joy and safety of your strength will be to you a taste of that great reward that awaits the victor when the final goal of this earthly life is reached. _ ♦ ♦ ♦ CLASS-DAY PROG-RAMME. TUESDAY EVENING, JUNTE 19. 1804. 0 P. M. Maser of Ceremonies. - - W. O. NICIILAS. IVY EXERCISES. Iny Poem, Ivy Oration, Miss HAKTMAN. R. W. MOTTERN. CLASS EXERCISES. Class Boll, - - - - C. F. KLOSS. Class Hi.stoty, - JOHN HOFFKR, JR. Class Poem, - Presentation Oration, Pifiphecy, Miss HIMES. F. BARNDT. J. S. ENGLISH. CLASS SONG. CLASS PROPHECY. To write a prophecy a man ought to be a prophet. To be a successful prophet he should be inspired; but we lay claim to inspiration neither infernal nor divine, and we are just going to run off your futures in grind organ style. Now, we might begiu this prophecy by making some allusions to the old Greek and Roman Gods, but this thing of referring to the mythological dieties has become so old and chestnutty, so antiquated and mossbacky, so kindergarden like and so universally prev-alent among the would-be crack orators of to-day that we raise our hands in holy horror and say, begone, vile thought begone! You know I might say that I laid my Adonis like carcass down on the banks of a beautiful sylvan stream and as the crystal waters danced musically over the beautiful pebbles Minerva scratched my scalp with the point of her helmet and lo and behold prophecy seethed from between my teeth in a perfect stream. But we are not going to indulge in any such nonsense. To some extent we are going to draw upon our imagination, and if we don't predict future greatness from present indica- ^^^^^^■^^^^^^^■■■H ^^^^■■■■^■l^H^^^^H^H ■■UHB^^B 9o THE COLLEGE MERCURY. tions yon can draw all the hair from our heads with a pair of tweezers and make switches for your wives. (Bush please take notice.) Now there are the ladies. What future too grand or brilliant can be predicted for those who have extended such a beneficial influence upon the masculine element of " '94?" Even now Miss Hartman is looking wistfully toward the Seminary, and in the near future, present indications will be realized. The marriage bells will proclaim the bliss of two more mor-tals, and after that will follow a life of great usefulness in teaching poor fallen humanity what is best for their own eternal interests. Miss Himes will be the possessor of a beautiful home in sunny Florida and will set the world on fire with the products of her literary genius, and Julius won't be in it at all. In the near future Allison will no longer kick the stones from off the country roads in Adams county with his copper-toed boots. He will become the 20th century Ward McAllis-ter, of New York City. He will be distin-guished far and wide for his social ability and will be nightly sought after during the but-terfly season to lead the Germans. The future Oscar Wildes will be laid under the willow trees mud-pies at Call Piatt. The reformer will then begin to admire himself in his usual style, and say: '' What a dandy good looking fellow I am! Don't I have a dandy personal appear-ance?" The native Chief observing this will say: "Him makey heap ob good soup." Put him in de kettle, and lo and behold the calcium light of Bastian's intelligence will be extermi-nated forever. Bloomhardt will write a book entitled ' 'The World and Freddy Bloomhardt.'' It will con-tain three chapters of a thousand words each. Chap. I. Why Bloomhardt was born and why the world was made for him. Chap. II. Why all creatures should bow the knee to Bloom-hardt. Chap. III. What's the matter with Fred Bloomhardt becoming the ruler of the Universe. The work he will affectionately dedicate to himself, the only man fit to live. He will finally metamorphose into a bird of Paradise, and will be placed on public exhibi-tion at the Phila. Zoo. Bush will become a Professor in the Chicago University, and will make his fortune by writing a text book on International Law. He will squander this same fortune in seeking a divorce in the Chicago courts, and will finally settle down to collecting rags and when this Adams county farmer with his i bones in the streets of Gettysburg. silken mustache shall spring into prominence. Now there is that man Barndt. Ah, ye iron Fates and Chinese Gods, please deliver us! Once crazy, always crazy. He will study medicine but will be expelled from the pro-fession because of his attempt to saw the toes off the feet of a club-footed man. He will then join a wild-west show in the capacity of a clown, and when the circus monkeys die he will take their places and ride the ponies. Here is a sample of his circus jokes. A trained dog will come in the ring with a piece of stove wood on its back and Sumneytown will say: "You would better take that off." He will die in the Montgomery county insane asylum. Bastian will go to Africa as a missionary and immediately on landing, the natives will throw Duttera will become business manager of the St. Louis Fake Opera Company. In at-tempting to introduce his company to a Phila. audience he will make so many breaks that the gallery gods will shoot a volley of anti-quated eggs at him, and he will retire in dis-gust to a Home of the Friendless for the rest of his natural life. Fickinger and Fair will enter the ring as champion prize fighters and hair pullers. Jimmy Gladhill will sprout a great pair of wings and will be so anxious to get to the Golden City, that he won't take time to die, but will fly there. Hoffer will be employed by all the leading colleges and universities of both this and the old world, to teach the young students how to recite. The first lesson will consist of a drill, THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 9i in teaching the young student how to sprawl his hands all over the face of the young man directly in front of him, when he is called upon to tell what he knows. Lesson No. 2 will be to teach the student to say everything the Prof, says, in a regular parrot style, and then when he does make an attempt to say something of his own accord, to so jumble his words together, that no earthly man can un-derstand what he says. Ibach will study for the ministry, but will give that up, and make his fortune pla3'ing a hand organ. Kemp will spend his whole life-time in writ-ing a book, entitled "A Proof that the Human Species is capable of Hibernating." The facts will be deduced from his own experiences while a college student. Kloss will be the fond possessor of a sheep ranch in New Mexico, and will make $20,000 the first year. He will never have enough music in him to be able to call the sheep, so he will get an old Mexican Shepherd to sing in his graphophone, and after that you will be able to see ' 'Shorty'' strolling over the pasture with his talking machine on his back. Kohler will go West as a Home Missionary, but he will fall away from the straight and narrow path;will take to stealing Indian ponies "and will finally be hung as a horse thief. Count Lantz will become a noted lecturer on Geology. He will pick up wrinkled potatoes and use them as good examples of sea urchins. However his crack lecture will be on the Archegosaurus. The following is an extract: "Gentlemen this is a wonderful thing. Some say it is a magnificent tree, 50 feet high, in the branches of which the Bald Eagles build their nests. Others say it is a big animal with a heteorical tail with a curve on the end, and that it had big feet; which is proved by the foot-piints which it has left in the sands of time. It has its habitat in a con-duit and feeds on that custard material known as ice cream. Lutz will study for the ministsy under the direction of your worthy President, and will some day become an awful factor for good in the world. Miller will work 011 a farm for 50 cents a day, and it will keep him scratching to get that. . Mottern, the fiend of originality, will in-vent a perpetual motion machine, and in mak-ing experiments with it will be carried to the moon. There he will be encased in a great thickness of ice, and in the 30th century will be dug out and exhibited as a crank. The day after his departure from earth the Presi-dent will issue a proclamation, stating that a day of rejoicing will be observed on account of the nation's deliverance. "I don't think this here man," Billy Nick-las will make much of a lawyer, but Dr. Martin has promised to will him the German Chair when he dies, and Billy will make a howling success as a teacher of Dutch. Big Nick will make a reputation as an orni-thologist, and his hobbies will be the dear lit-tle wren and the cute little sparrow. Although Stahl is old and gray there is still time for him to become a Mormon preacher. The subject of his discourses will be the Ark. 1 'And the sides thereof were tight as unto a dish, and the top thereof was tight as unto a dise, and the ends thereof were peaked." Dearly beloved Julius, the idol of his class-mates and the pet of the College at large, will metamorphose into a foxy detective and champion leg-puller of the world. He will be-come the satellite of dark schemes, and will breathe his last in Sing Sing. Sorrick will publish a book entitled "The Bitter Experiences of a Man pursuing a college course and at the same time burdened down with household cares.'' Clyde Bill Stover will become a Chauncey Depew, after dinner speaker and a golden ton-gued orator. Further he will become a female heart-breaker and woman fascinator and will finally turn his brain in trying to make an im-provement on Edison's graphophone. Dave Van Camp will become a foreign traveller; but the curse of his cast iron walk Q2 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. will finally be the death of him. While walk-ing through the streets of St. Petersburg he will be mistaken for the Czar of Russia and will be blown to atoms by a dynamite bomb. And now our melancholy task is ended. May the fates be with you—you monsters of "94" and may the divinities smooth the rough road of your future experiences. SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT. When we speak of the sciences we generally mean the natural sciences such as geology, chemistry, natural history, and the like; but when we speak of a scientific spirit we mean more. The idea it awakens is a comprehen-sive one. It includes the idea of method and purpose and is the animating spirit not only of the natural sciences but also of philosophy, history, the languages, and indeed of all the prominent branches of learning of to-day. In all of them we find the student observing, com-paring, classifying. The spirit of this age is truly scientific. The so-called rivalry existing between the classics and the sciences is not a justifiable rivalry. It is only the result of bigotry and short-sightedness and we are glad to see that it is gradually disappearing. Both are neces-sary but it was through the proper study of the natural sciences that we have been led to apply practical methods and practical purposes to all branches of learning. The scientific leaven has permeated and modified our entire system of education. That it should have done so is but natural on account of the sub-ject matter with which science deals. "And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good." This is what science offers to man for contemplation, and is it not infi-nitely better than what man can offer? By studying the imperfect works of man we may be led into error, but the close observation and proper interpretation of nature, God's work, cannot help but lead us to the truth. The methods and purposes of science are such as will naturally lead us to good methods in all our work and inspire us with the true spirit of progress. Science takes us directly to nature where we find progress stamped on every side. The purpose of science is ever the same. The watch-word is truth, truth, truth. This may be seen in the character and meth-ods of the men who pursue scientific investiga-tion. They are beyond a doubt among the most honest and truthful of men. One of our leading educated men said a few years ago that he never heard of but two cases where a scientific man willingly said in scientific re-search what he knew to be untrue; and this was in regard to the classification of two shells. Can this be said of other professions? The scientific man is required to put aside all pre-conceived notion and theories and prepare his mind for the reception of the truth. He has no more victory to gain; for so long as victory and not truth is the primary object the contest is sure to be bitter and unjust. In his experi-ments he works carefully, he observes closely, he interprets according to the best light and knowledge that he has and announces the re-sult to the world whether it agrees with a the-ory that he may have advanced or not. If the facts do not sustain his theory he rejects it and turns to what the facts seem to justify. Thus he approaches nearer and nearer to the truth. This may be seen in the long series of experi: ments made to establish or overthrow the the-ory of spontaneous generation. And in giving the arguments in favor of a theory the scien-tist also gives its objections, and indeed some of the strongest objections came from the very men themselves who advanced the theory. And again, the methods of science are such as lead most surely and directly to the object sought; to express the unknown in terms of the known; to lead to a truth not before realized. "Science above all things demands personal concentration. Its home is the study of the mathematician, the quiet laboratory of the ex-perimenter, and the cabinet of the meditative observer of nature." Science realizes the truth that to accept a fact on mere authority means intellectual death. Man has been THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 93 termed, "Das rastlose ursachenthier," the rest- \ less cause-seeking animal. The intuition of causality is in man and will assert itself. Rec-ognizing this fact, science is ever striving to bring to man's notice secondary causes which, when viewed aright, point us on and on to a great First Cause which true science not only requires but demands. Scientists have also had to learn many things by experience, and one of these is not to form a conclusion until the facts justify it. They have made many errors in this way and have been taught that there are times when the judgment must be held in suspense, the data upon which the decision should be based may be just what is wanting. The high aim of scientific work, its practical methods, and the high order of subject matter with which science deals have furnished a suit-able basis for the growth and development of scientific spirit. It began to manifest itself very early but its progress for a long time was slow. It was thought to lead to error and for this reason stifled and suppressed from the be-ginning. Probably the greatest and most act-ive agent in suppressing scientific research was the church. The conclusions reached by science seemed to contradict the teachings of the Bible. The theory of the antipodes was not found in the Bible. Evolution contra-dicted the doctrine that the world was created in six days, Joshua commanded the sun to stand still. The ideas of scientists with respect to these were looked upon by the church as false. But it may be said of them in the words of Gamaliel: "If they be of God, ye cannot overthrow them; if they be of man, they will come to naught.'' The victory thus far seems to have been on the side of science. The re-sult of this attempt to suppress the searching after truth has been just the opposite from what was expected. Instead of restraining it by the rigid envelope thrown about it they in reality gave it explosive force, and when it did burst forth it was with a power that was con- ! vincing. And to-day we find these very theo- \ ries advocated by many Christian teachers, j Indeed they are no longer looked upon as the-ories but as facts. It is also often urged that scientific research leads to atheism. While it is a fact that many of our leading scientists were not professed Christians, yet is science entirely to blame for this ? May not much of the blame lie with the church rather than with science ? The church was at variance with what science knew to be true. Her conduct toward these was such as would drive them to renounce the church and make them hate religion. Bruno, for believing in the doctrine of Ca-pernicus, was burned at the stake. Galileo, thirty-three years later, to save himself from the same fate, was obliged to abjure, on bended knees and with his hands upon the Holy Gos-pels, the heliocentric doctrine which he knew to be true. No wonder that these men were led to hate the church and through the errors of the church to spurn Christianity. It put science and religion at war with each other. But to-day we are glad to see that this difference is gradually disappearing and the church is willing to accept many of the teach-ings of science as in harmony with the Bible. And in turn we find that many of our leading scientists are now professed Christians. Kep-ler gave voice to the true scientific spirit when he said: "Oh, God, I think thy thoughts after Thee!" Science is ever striving to know God's thoughts as expressed in nature. Although the growth of scientific spirit was slow until quite recently, yet its practical ben-efits have been many. It has been applied to the study of history. By its methods we are enabled, as it were, to get back of the histor-ian. We wish to learn his character and his methods of working; we wish to know whether he used the best material at his command, whether he suppressed any of the facts or took them out of their connection, thus giving them a wrong interpretation. We wish to know whether he had some political purpose in view or not; whether he told the whole truth as he saw it for the truth's own sake. It has also been of advantage to history indirectly through 94 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. the comparative study of language. By its methods we have been able to bridge over chasms between nations, thus establishing the nation's origin which would otherwise have been imposssible. It has also been of value to the church. A proper application of scientific methods tends to eliminate many of the errors which man has read into the Bible. Sin has dulled man's per-ception and a struggle is necessary for him to regain his lost position. To accomplish this man's nature requires that science and religion •go hand in hand; that scientific methods be complemented and enlightened by Christian revelation. We can thus see scientific spirit playing an important part in every department of daily life. It is the motive power of the age. It brings about invention after invention. It enthuses the age with its true progressive spirit and urges us on and on to a higher state of civili-zation. E. M. STAHL. IN THE CONFLICT. Perfection is the aim of all true manhood; perfection is the moral, intellectual, and phys-ical qualities which we possess. We turn over history's pages, and we see tier upon tier of anxious faces in the arena with eager eye set upon the gladiator, physically perfect, as he strains every muscle to win the conflict. Year after year he has trained those brawny arms for the final encounter. At first it seemed that this would be a fitting representa-tion of the "Conflict of Life," into which the class of '94 is to enter. But second thought suggested (with no intention of making any plea for athletic sports,) that the modern ath-lete as he contends for glory and victory is more fitting because a more familiar represent-ative. 'Tis a perfect day in autumn on which the final contest upon the field of manly sport is to take place. Thousands of anxious faces are watching for the heroes of the hour. In that great throng are friends and relations of each participant, who have come to cheer their favorite on to victory. But they need not wait long, for here comes that well-trained band led by its alert Captain, who thinks thoughts worthy of a Napoleon or a Washing-ton, while planning for victory in the struggle. Can you faintly hear those words of exhor-tation from the lips of that captain, as his men are gathered about him, drinking in those final words intended for no other ears than theirs: "My men, we must win. Glory, honor, supremacy, lie in victory, while these will all be lost if we lose. I want every man to do his very best; remember what you are contending for, never give up until the last moment is gone, and if it brings defeat, I want to feel that every man has done his duty. This is all I can expect." I dare say those noble words of Nelson, "England ex-pects every man to do his duty," awakened no nobler sentiments, no truer courage. But the conflict begins, yet it is not one of brute force, for these are gentlemen who con-tend to-day for victory and for nothing else. The great masses of human strength heave to and fro. But see! At the moment when every man's best is needed, the one from whom much was expected, lags behind or makes a blunder, because he is not the true athlete, because he has shirked some duty or scorned some word of advice. The conflict intensifies, victory is seated on the banners of neither contestant as yet and the precious moments are flying. Ere long, the contest must be decided; if hopes are to be realized, now is the time. Summoning every particle of strength, and the whole power of will, they make one grand movement, one united effort and the victory is won. The hour has brought reward for toil. "This is the only part of an athlete's career of which the public knows anything, this brilliant climax of half a year's daily work and sacrifice." People know nothing of that self-denial, which has given up pleasures in-numerable, which has declined solicitations THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 95 to self-indulgence, which has given up things which made College life what it is. There is no more room for the indolent man in athletics than there is for the lazy bee in the hive. He is stung by the piercing words of ridicule until life is made a burden for him. But energy alone does not make the victors. Mental discipline is no less a factor to his suc-cess than physical power. Brawn and will, a cool, calm intellect, these are the requisites. Were I making a plea for athletics, I could point you to example after example, where the man who led his team to victory, also led his class; where the fingers which pitched the winning game, penned the grandest words which won the prize. Manly self-respect and refinement are im-portant requisites in an athlete's training. Evil habits and wrong ideas, which mar many a life, have been given up, because it was ab-solutely necessary. These having been given up, and the man having been made a man, cruel appetite and seemingly irresistible desire .lost their sway and he remains a man forever. Many harsh words of criticism have come to his ears from the lips of superiors, who have shown him his faults, and who have plainly told him just what was expected of him. But these only give a tenderer tone, a sweeter sound to the final words of exhortation and are forgotten in the moments of victory. If there is one thing which towers high above everything else, it is courage. The coward, no matter what other qualities he may possess, is not wanted. He is a hindrance. It takes a Heffiefinger to stand by a poor, for-lorn man, who is at the mercy of an angry lynching mob and defy them to carry out their awful purpose. It takes a Frederick Brokaw to plunge into the angry, roaring waters to save a servant girl and to give his own young, promising life in the attempt. These are some of the stages of the athlete's training. I trust that you have been able to see the analogy of our own lives, but a few words of application may make it plainer. Not unlike this training has been our own. For four years we have been in preparation for the conflict upon which we enter to-day. As the true athlete learns to receive the kindly criticism of his superiors, so we, too, have learned to be grateful to those who point out errors to us. Although it is not pleasant to stand up to be criticised, yet when we think of it, we really ought to congratulate our-selves, every time we learn of a new fault, not because we have such a fault, but because we have now discovered it. For the discovery of a fault is to anyone who is living worthily, an opportunity for fresh conquest, and for a new advance in the evolution of a noble character. In our preparation for Eife's Conflict, refine-ment in word and manner, has been an im-portant factor. "True nobleness is always gentle. Eove is the law of life, and whatever is unloving is a blemish." We may not be familiar with the rules of etiquette, may not be able to appear gracefully in a drawing room; and yet we may have a grace and gentleness of heart, which will give to our bearing and acts the truest refinement. Have you ever known a true athlete to be a coward? Has the true man ever shown cow-ardice ? No, it is he who can bear the scorns and sneers of those who oppose him in his de-fense of truth and right. Energy. especially has been a part of our training. Some men who never get on in life blame their failure on unfavorable circum-stances. They think if their conditions had only been different, they would have been suc-cessful. But the way to make the most of life is not to get easy conditions, it is to take the conditions we have and by energy, faithful-ness, indomitable courage, and unsparing, un-relaxing toil, to make our conditions and circumstances serve Us in doing the work of life well. The ambition to win the contest has been a powerful influence. Without enthusiastic am-bition, we are not worthy the lofty name of men. God did not make us to grovel like worms. He made us to rise to glory. The world has neither .use nor room for men who 96 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. are without energy and persistence. They can only be dropped out and left behind while the conflict rages. People do not dream them-selves into grand characters and lofty posi-tions. And there never was a time when it was grander to live than now, when true men have larger opportunities to do noble deeds and make a worthy record for themselves. The ambition of the athlete is to win. "The desire of every true-hearted and worthy young man is to reach that vision of beauty and nobleness which he himself earnestly desires to attain. It is radiant and spotless." Some one says "God never yet permitted us to frame a theory too beautiful for his power to make practicable.'' The conflict is not to be won in a day; a lifetime alone is sufficient. Yet the victory should be kept before the eye all the time, and the effort to obtain that victory should never faint nor lag for an instant. Through all experiences, through trial, temptation, discouragement, opposition, defeat and failure, the eye should rest unwaveringly upon the goal and the purpose to conquer should never be abandoned. "The thoughts of victory dawning on the soul Are glorious heaven gleams; And God's eternal Truth lies folded deep In all man's lofty dreams. F. H. BLOOMHARDT. IVY POEM. BY COKA B. HAKTMAN. oh, green twining Ivy, true emblem of friendship, That friendship which lives through all sorrow and care, That spurns the rude thrust ot the blast of misfortune And grows still more dear, be the sky dark or fair. Oh, bright glossy Ivy with silver-veined foliage, ' That ever is green and ne'er becomes sere, How like to fond memory thy very existence, Hemembrance of life and of things that were dear. Oh, small Ivy sprig, with thy dainty young tendrils That tell of the ties of devotion and love, We look on thy beauty and think of the future. We trust thee our sentiments nobly to prove. By the side of this hall, the Chapel Memorial, We plant thee with joy and an uprising prayer That dear mother Earth may love thee and cherish. And give thee the best of her motherly care. Grow onward and upward, dear plant, on thy mission, Cling close to the wall with a gentle embrace, Heed not the loud threat of the nearing dread tempest, Nor clouds darkly hiding the sun's smiling face. Enshroud this high wall with thy evergreen mantle, Adorn every part with thy tap'stry of life; Preserve from decay and shield it from ruin, Protect from the storm and from time's ruthless strife. Then, emblem of friendship, remembrance, devotion, Speak fervently, lovingly, words sweet to hear, Recall to the mem'riesof those who shall follow The class '94, the class of this year. Tell how all its members are faithful and earnest In the struggle of life as onward time runs, Tell how they are loyal to dear Alma Mater, Now devoted to her are her daughters and sons. LOCAL G-OVERNMENT. It is our favorite boast as American citizens that we are the freest people on the face of the globe. And such, indeed we are. This is the sentiment of the political philosopher, as well as the patriotic citizen, filled with a par-donable pride. Here liberty, in the truest sense of that much misused term, has found a secure abode. Our government was "conceived in lib-erty." This was the spirit that animated even our pilgrim forefathers who, to secure it, left home and country to brave the mighty deep. This was the spirit of the heroes of the revo-lution who poured out their life-blood upon the altar of their country. This was the spirit of the framers of our Constitution, which was established, as they said, "to secure the bless-ings of liberty to ourselves and our poster-ity." In the government of a people so jealous of their rights, so filled with the love of liberty and self-government, it is natural to expect that they would keep a large part of the power of government as near to themselves and as directly under their own immediate control as possible. So we find it in our coun-try to-day. A local government has been es-tablished in our midst, forming a most im-portant part of our governmental structure. It is not the purpose, at present, to point out the wisdom of this course on the part of our ancestors, to show how necessary this step was to the securing of real liberty, but rather to point out the importance of this branch of our government to the welfare of the citizen THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 97 to-day, and the necessity of a wise and eco-nomic administration of our local affairs. It is the function of local government, broadly speaking, to administer the laws. These the State government for the most part enacts while with the local government it re-mains to carry them out. In other words, the State Legislature enacts laws for the benefit of the people, the local authorities determine how much benefit they shall be to the people and how much such benefit shall cost the peo-ple. The local government thus has virtually under its own control, matters that are of vital concern to the welfare of the people, matters that are of practical importance to the every-day life of every citizen. Education, high-ways, the care of the poor and taxation to pay the expenses incurred are some of the matters in the hands of the local authorities. Educa-tion, for instance, is mostly in the hands of school boards, who erect and furnish school buildings, employ teachers and exercise a gen-eral supervision over the schools. The high-ways are in the hands of road supervisors whose duty it is to keep the roads in repair. The care of the poor is in the hands of poor directors whose duty it is to see that those un-fortunates among us, who are no longer able to care for themselves are comfortably fed and clothed. And so through a long list of officers and duties to describe, which would be ex-tremely tedious and at the same time unnec-essary for the present purpose. The impor-tance of the local government, as seen in these offices, is unquestionable. It is concerned with matters that are of immediate interest to every citizen, and it follows naturally, as be-ing of importance, that it should be adminis-tered well. It is important, in the first place, that it should be administered efficiently—that the ends for which these laws were designed should be accomplished. We see the impor-tance of this in the school management of the borough or township where the condition of our public schools depends largely upon the in-telligence of the school board. We see it too in the care of our public roads where, upon the intelligence of the supervisor—only too often a minus quantity—depends this most im-portant factor of civilization and progress. It is important, in the next place, that it should be administered economically; that the expense connected with such administration should be as little as possible. This consider-ation has been left for the last because it is the one that perhaps most needs emphasis at the present day. We hear, occasionally, of the im-portance of limiting our State and National expenditures "to the necessities of govern-ment, honestly and economically administered. And that is right. But if it is true of our State and National governments how much more is it true of our local government ? It is to the citizen, by all odds, the most expen-sive of all. To the National government we pay no money in direct taxes, and to the State government we pay comparatively little. It is to the local government that we pay the larger part. While economy in our State and Na-tional affairs, it is true, is highly desirable, in our local affairs it becomes essential to the welfare and progress of the citizen. Taxation, though necessary to the carrying on of all government, is none the less a burden, and if a heavy one, may seriously cripple the welfare of a community. Especially is this question of taxation of importance in boroughs and cities, where the burden of taxation often be-becomes almost unbearable and often proves a serious menace to business prosperity. There is economy in government as well as in the home, and it should be practiced as rigorously in the one place as in the other. Extrava-gance in government is robbery. If, by reck-less expenditures on the part of our local of-ficials, the citizen is compelled to pay taxes for which he receives no benefit, he is no less being robbed than if he is met upon the highway and made to give up his money un-der the threat of death as the alternative. Ex-travagance in government is a baneful evil that should be removed as speedily as possible wherever found. As a means of checking reckless expendi- BSBKBHT 98 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. tures on the part of our local officials the local office-holders should be made to feel that he is directly responsible to the citizen for every dollar that he expends. The spirit of those local papers which are disposed to acquaint the citizen with the manner in which our local affairs are being carried on is highly com-mendable. The citizen has a right to know what his money goes for and at the same time the honest, conscientious official will not fear publicity. Above all, that our local affairs may be ad-ministered well, we must place good men in charge. To this end let us use our best ef-forts. Let us not stay at home on election day under the mistaken impression that our local affairs are of little importance. But let us go to the polls and vote. Political apathy has no right among a self-governing people. Let us throw aside party prejudices. "Principles, not men," may be a good motto for a Na-tional election but it certainly is not for a local one. Let us vote for the best man regardless of party differences. Let the men who have charge of our local affairs be the most honest, the most intelligent, the most energetic that the commvmity can offord. H. A. ALLISON. * ♦ ♦ JUNIOR ORATORICAL CONTEST. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20TH, 18 ♦Progress and Triumph of Democracy, tThe Courage of Conviction, - *Our Present Peril, - - - - tThe True Shekinah, - ♦Ships that Go Down in the Night, - ffrue Greatness of Man, - *Our Mental Lives, - tSeeking the Goal, - J. E. BYERS. W. A. HARTMAN. M. G. L. RIETZ. H. E. CLARE. • W. A. KUMP. W. D. MAYNARD. - H. M. WlTMAN. A. R. LONGANECKER. •Phruiiiikoxmiiill. tl'llUumatlitoan. OUR MENTAL LIVES. "In the world there is nothing great but man; In man there is nothing great but mind." This is an aphorism of Sir William Hamilton. What sublime truth! But we may go yet further and say that man is the world. All forms of matter and of life were created for him, to serve his ends. The world is his, he rules it—he is the world. Again, we may as-sert that the mind, or more strongly, the soul is the man. By natural conclusion, therefore, the mind, the soul is the world. And truly, indeed, is the soul man's real world. We are to treat of this world, more particu-larly of the mind. What a symbol of power in very grandeur! Crowning endowment of man, God's noblest work! The image of the Divine mind, its faculties and powers approach those of the Creator. Designed to comprehend and interpret His thoughts and His laws as written on the tablets of nature and in man himself, it thinks over again these thoughts of the great uncreated Thinker. Vast and ex-haustive sciences and philosophies has this thinking mind established, wherein are re-corded its analyses and explanations of the laws of nature, of man and of God. Un-checked by the narrow confines of the world, the bounds of space, or the limits of time, it may wander at pleasure amid empires and wonderlands of its own creation, and even pierce the woeful borders of Hell or enter the blissful gates of Heaven as did the inspired soul of Milton. Reason, Understanding, all the capacities for thought and for knowledge! What pro-found powers are these ! Dominating influ-ences of the world! Imagination, Memory! What wonderful and delightful kingdoms! Girt in such robes of majesty, with a dignity both grand and sublime, adorned with almost angelic graces, the lofty soul of man, acknowl-edging its Lord and Maker and gaining its mighty power from that divine source, by its soul-quickening, soul-inspiring personality, has conquered the world and reigns supreme in its vast realms. What wonder that Plato called the faculties gods and that France was led to worship Reason! In the infinite wisdom of God, and in the divine harmony of the creation, all minds were not endowed alike, but each with its peculiar talents and capacities. Again, Mr. Emerson says: "It seems as if the Deity dressed each THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 99 soul which He sends into nature in certain vir-tues and powers not communicable to other men, and, sending it to perform one more turn through the circle of beings, wrote, 'Not trans-ferrable' and 'Good for this trip only' on these garments of the soul." Each soul, in its sov-ereign freedom and in the exercise of its di-vinely appointed prerogatives, may use and develop its talents for its own betterment and the good of mankind, or it may consign them to decay and death, abandoning itself to sen-sual pleasures, the glamours and enchant-ments of the world. Man's talents are the gifts of God, the signature of Divinity written on his soul. To despise them is to despise God Himself. What cowards, what robbers we are! What very pigmy souls in compari-son to the grandeurs possible to us? What soul has ever attained to its highest possibility? Yea, how many attain to even a middle de-gree ? What a world of wasted power! No less a mind than that of Mr. Emerson thus observes: "There is an American dis-ease, a paralysis of the active faculties, which falls on young men of this country, as soon as they have finished their college education, which strips them of all manly aims and be-reaves them of animal spirits; so that the no-blest youths are in a few years converted into pale Caryatides to uphold the temple of con-vention. Is there not room, then, for a most serious consideration of our subject? Mental j paralysis, mental lethargy, mental loafing are diseases which have blighted and ruined the powers of many thousands of minds. From non-use, disuse, as well as abuse of the facul-ties of the mind, men become intellectual sui-cides and the evil is a most prevalent one. De-based and degraded, the soul is dragged from its throne, the sceptre, which is conscience, is broken, and the crown, which is reason, is thrown away. We make our lives the fulfillment or the failure of a grand purpose. According to his individual concept of this purpose so will each man fashion his life. Some merely live, es-teeming only health and bodily sustenance; others esteem wealth; others worldly power; others social distinction; and of a great major-ity pleasure is the highest aim. With such use the higher faculties of the mind must be-come dwarfed and well-nigh lost. How many mere sentient beings there are in the world, who go by the name of men, but who know not the higher intellections of the soul ? Says Bovee : '' Mind unemployed is mind unenjoyed." And Spenser : "It is the mind that makes good or ill That maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor." Our lives, then, are truly our thoughts. If we have beautiful and happy thoughts, our ' lives are beautiful and happy. If the resources of our souls are marked with richness or pov-erty, our lives are virtually rich or poor. It is in the quality of our pleasures not in the amount that the soul is truly and lastingly happy. Oh, the dignity and joy of the true life of the soul! Happy indeed was Sir Wm. Byrd, who could muse thus : "My mind to me a kingdom Is; Such perfect joy therein I And, As far exceeds all earthly bliss, That God and nature hath assigned." "Every mind,", says Channing, "was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance. We owe it to ourselves, our fellowmen and our God to cultivate and develop our indi-vidual powers. The responsibility is tremen-dous, and, in contemplating it, even souls that are most brave in the heat of life's battle grow coward. Were it possible to resign this life for that better, even without having accom-plished anything in the world, how many of us would have the courage to stand forth and say : I will live out and accomplish the pur-pose for which I was created ? What miserable courage we have-! It is said of Michael Angelo, that, when he had finished his statue of Moses, and the figure stood there in its perfect form and beautiful S3'mmetry, seeming to beam forth a living soul, yet lifeless, in his desperation he struck it on the knee with his hammer, saying in the intense feeling of his soul : "I can do every-thing for you but give you life." And we IOO THE COLLEGE MERCURY. can well understand his despair. Oh, man that hast life, that art "so noble in reason, so infinite in faculty, in form and moving so ex-press and admirable, in action so like an angel, in apprehension so like to God, the beauty of the world, and the paragon of animals," shalt thou not be more than statue, not more than caryatide ! If there is no other reason why we should develop our individual powers of mind, then for a defense: If we would escape a life of comparative blankness and loneliness, of con-tinued dissatisfaction and endless despair, we would lay up in our own souls stores of knowl-edge and truth, that we might ever find in their rich resources an abundance of wealth and precious stones of inestimable worth, of ever newer and more delightful form, and in our own noble and beautiful thoughts most pleasant and congenial companionship. Let each fact which we attain be, as Mr. Emerson calls it, "a fulcrum of the spirit," and let the will in its purity be the lever by which to raise the spirit higher. Let each expansion of the soul be as an invitation from heaven to explore loftier regions of thought. Finally, we are each of us writing a book of our lives, which shall be opened on that Great Day in the presence of the angel hosts and the multitudes of earthly souls ranged before the Judgment Bar of God. In it shall be found a strict record of the soul as to every thought and every deed. Shall its pages be filled with beautiful and refined thoughts that shall shine forth in characters of living light ? Shall the pages be written in dull monotony ? or shall they be blank ? We are each day numbering them. H. M. WITMAN. BOLL OF HONOR. FIRST GRADE. MARGARET R. HIMES, DAVID W. VAN CAMP, - HERBERT A. ALLISON, JULIUS F. SEEBACH, FRED H. BLOOMHARDT, - SECOND GRADE. FRANK E. FICKINGER, PAUL W. KOLLER, Gettysburg. Plainfield. Gettysburg. Waynesboro. Altoona. New Bloomfield. Hanover. GR^FF PRIZE, For best Essay on Tennyson's '-Princess." CORA E. HARTMAN, - - - - Mummasburg. HASSLER GOLD MEDAL-Junior Latin Prize. NATHANIEL C. BARBEHENN, - - Gettysburg. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF WALDO D. MAYNARD, - - - Schoharie, N. Y. M. G. L. RIETZ, - Amsterdam, N. Y. HERBERT F. RICHARDS, - - - Zanesville, O. BAUM SOPHOMORE MATHEMATICAL PRIZE. LUTHER P. EISENHART, - - - York. DAVID E. RICE, - - - - Chambersburg. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF EDNA M. LOOMIS, . - Troy. MUHLENBERG FRESHMAN PRIZE, For best general Scholarship. HENRY WOLF BIKLE, - - - Gettysburg. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF GEORGE F. ABLE, - Philadelphia. ELKANAH M. DUCK, - - - Spring Mills. REDDIG PRIZE IN ORATORY. HORACE M. WITMAN, - - ' - Harrisburg. WITH HONORABLE MENTION OF WILLIAM A. KUMP, - - - Hanover. HONORARY DEGREES. Doctor of Divinity, Rev. Frank Richards, Zanesville, Ohio. " " " " J. A. Singmaster, Allentown, Pa. " " " " J. L. Smith, E. End, Pittsburg, Pa. " " " " M. G. Boyer, Aitch, Pa. " " Science, Prof. Geo. W. Gross, York, Pa. Master of Arts, Clarence J. Reddig, Shippensburg, Pa. Doctor of Philosophy, (on examination) Rev. M. M. Kinard, Columbia, S. C. COLLEGE C0MM2NCENENT PROGRAMME. THURSDAY, JUNE Latin Salutatory, - Scientific Spirit, - . - - National Sentiment, The Retirement of Gladstone, The Benefits of Opposition, The Lesson of the Mountains, Lynch Law, its Cause and Cure, - Local Government, - The Academic Atmosphere, In the Conflict, with the Valedictory, 21ST, 1894. - DAVID W. VAN CAMP. ELMER M. STAHL. - WILLIAM F. LUTZ. BENJAMIN R. LANTZ. - FRANK E. FICKINGER. JULIUS F. SEEBACH. - PAUL W. KOLLER. HERBERT A. ALLISON. - MARGARET R. HIMES. - F. H. BLOOMHARDT. CONFERRING OF DEGREES. H. W. MCKNIGHT, D. D., LL. D., President of the College' CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES. Rev. John M. Axe, " Thomas B. Birch, Garnet Gehr, Esq., Rev. Samuel G. Heffelbower, Rev. John E- Hoick, " Albert O. Mullen, " August Pohlmann, " William G. Slifer, MASTER OF ARTS. Rev. Stanley Billheimer, " Wilton C. Dunlap, Robert N. Hartman, Ph. D., William Hersh, Esq., Rev. J. B. Markward, Luther C. Peter, M. D., Rev. Charles L. Ritter, William L. Smyser, THE COLLEGE MERCURY. IOI Rev. George F. Snyder, Charles W. Walker, Esq., Rev. Robert B. Wolf, F. P. Whitmer, '90. Rev. Martin L. Tate, " Edmund J. Wolf, " Noah Yeiser, '90, BACHELOR OF AKTS. Herbert Allen Allison, - call Platt Bastlan, - Fred Herman Bloomhardt, Frank Barndt, - Luekctt Ashton Bush, William Babylon Duttera John Super English, John Sherman Fair, - Frank Flcklnger, - James Whit e Gladhlll, Cora Elizabeth llartman, ■ Margaret Rebecca Hlmes, William Oscar Ibach, - Matthew Kemp, Charles Froneileld Kloss, Paul Warren Roller, Benjamin Eelgle Lantz, William Filler I.utz, Richard Warren Mottern, Jacob Crayton Nicholas, Julias Frederick seebach, Samuel Blddle Sorrlck, - Elmer McClellan Stahl, Clyde Bell Stover, David William Van Camp, - Gettysburg, Pa. Maple Hill, Pa. - Altoona, Pa. - Sumneytown, Pa. Harney, Md. - Gettysburg, Pa. Harrisburg, Pa. - Altoona, Pa. New Bloomfleld, Pa. - Jersey Shore, Mummasburg, Pa. - Gettysburg, Pa. Philadelphia, Pa. - Hazleton, Pa, Tyrone, Pa. Hanover, Pa - Hagerstown, Md. Bedford, Pa. Watsontown, Pa. - West Falrvlew, Pa. Waynesboro', Pa. Willlamsburg, Pa. - Hay's Mills, Pa. Hagerstown, Md. Plain Held, pa. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE. John Hoffer, Jr., Ralph Eaton Miller, William otterbine NIcklas, Harrisburg, Pa. Plnegrove, Pa. Chambersburg, Pa. COWIMENCEWIENT NOTES AND COL-LEGE LOCALS. The old officers of the Alumni Association were re-elected, at the meeting held in Brua Chapel, on Wednesday evening of Commence-ment week. The annual address before the alumni was delivered by George J. Benner, '78, of the Gettysburg Bar. His subject was: "The Signs of the Times.'' H. M. Clabaugh, Esq., '77, was elected alumni orator for next Commencement. Rev. Daniel Garland was re-elected alumni editor of THE MERCURY. Notices were read by the chairman of the obituary committee, of nine Alumni who died during the year: Rev. W. H. Lilly, '71; Rev. Dr. C. A. Hay, '39; Rev. J. Phillip Willard, '39; Rev. C. G. Focht, '87; Rev. H. M. Bickel, '48; Rev. A. C. Stup, '91; Rev. Henry Baker, '41; Rev. Henry L- Ziegenfuss, '66; J. Cassatt Neely, Esq, '56. FOUND.—A gold watch chain, the owner may procure the same by calling upon or ad-dressing Dr. P. M. Bikle, Gettysburg, Pa. The beautiful new flag that now wave from our dormitory merit and receive the admira-tion of every college man. The purchase of these flags is the accomplishment of a general student's movement. It is gratifying to see the patriotic spirit of the boys manifested in this way, especially here where all the sur-roundings call forth the highest and noblest feelings of patriotism. The college wishes to extend its thanks for the following contribu-tions:- From the Faculty, $7.50; class of '94, $5-Oo; '95. $4-5o; '97, $5-oo. The Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity held a banquet on Wednesday evening of Commence-ment week. The large and beautifully fur-nished halls of the new "Eagle Hotel" were used. Rev. D. Frank Garland, the alumni editor of the MERCURY was toast-master for the evening. The following toasts were pro-posed and ably responded to: "Welcome,"—E. H. Wert. "The Fraternity Idea,"—Rev. H. C. Alle-man. "Our Fraternity,"—Sterling Valentine. "The Early Days,"—Prof. E. S. Breiden-baugh, Sc. D. "Reminiscences,"—E. G. Miller. "The'Alumni,"—Geo. J. Benner. "The Active Chapter,"—F. H. Knubel. "The Ladies,"—L. A. Brewer. Some other addresses by the visiting Alumni followed. A very pleasant and enjoyable time was had by all. The annual banquet of "Philo Debating Club" was held on Thursday evening, June 7th, in Minuigh's parlors, on Baltimore street. A very pleasant time was enjoyed by all pres-ent. About 10 o'clock, were served, in a very tasteful and inviting manner, all the rich deli-cacies that go toward adorning the tables of modern Epicureans. After the voluptuous re-past was enjoyed, Mr. Rietz, President of the Club and toastmaster for the evening, called fe 102 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. upon a number of the boys, who kept the merry ball rolling for more than an hour by their witty and much appreciated responses. The boys then returned to College highly pleased, and with a secret vow to be more faithful and to do better work for old Philo. in the future. On Tuesday evening, the 19th inst., the Glee, Banjo and Mandolin Clubs of College, gave an entertainment in Brua Chapel. A new programme was rendered upon this occa-sion, and the performance throughout was es-pecially fine, meriting and receiving much praise from all who were present. The organ-izations are much indebted to Messrs. Nicho-las, Seminary, G. C. Baum, '93, for their act-ive interest in, and highly appreciated serv-ices for the several clubs. The second annual banquet of the Peisel-fannish Deitsch Gesellschaft was held in Min-nigh's parlors, on Chambersburg street, on Thursday evening, June 14th. The attendance was large and the evening was pleasantly spent by all. Toasts were responded to by a number of the members. The President, Mr. E. N. B. Erb, acted as toast master. The organization is in a nourishing condition. The President's reception was held on Thurs-day evening. It was a brilliant and successful affair. The recitation Hall was beautifully deco-rated with flowers and palms. The attendance was larger this year than it has been for a long time. The large number of Alumni and friends present was a gratifying feature. The Metronome Orchestra of Harrisburg furnished the music for the occasion as well as for the other exercises. They have received many compliments for their fine music. The Junior Annual, "The Spectrum," was put on sale last week. The book is the finest annual ever published here. The artistic finish as well as the nature of the matter has been deservedly commented upon. The class is to be congratulated upon its success in getting out such a meritorious annual. We hope other classes will meet with the same support from our loyal Alumni and friends, and that succeeding annuals will even surpass this one in beauty and elegance. The Board of Trustees met on June 20th 1894. Pres. McKnight's report was read and was very satisfactory, showing the college to be in a flourishing condition. The recommendation of Principal Klinger for the appointment of C. B. Van Ormer, as Tutor in the Preparatory Department was con-firmed by the Board. Rev. C. M. Stock, Rev. H. B. Wile, Mr. T. B. Patton and M. G. Boyer were elected members of the Board of Trustees to fill va-cancies. Mr. Benjamin Kunkle and Rev. Dr. Conrad were re-elected. Mr. McPherson succeeds himself as a mem-ber of the Executive Committee. The question of considering the advisability of establishing additional courses of degrees was referred to the Executive Committee to be reported next year. Among the visiting Alumni who were pres-ent at Commencement are the following: '46. Rev. W. M. Baum, D. D. '47. Rev. L. E. Albert, D. D. '48. Hon. Edw. McPherson, E. E- D. '50. Prof. M. Valentine, D. D., E. E- D. '51. Hon. David Wills. '55. Jacob Rinehart, M. D. '56. Robert E. Sibbet, M. D. 57. Rev. Prof. C. E. Keedy, M. D., Rev. D. McC. Gilbert, D. D. '58. Rev. E. S. Johnston. '59. Rev. J. G. Goettman, D. D. '61. Andrew T. Kistler. '62. Rev. M. L. Culler. '63. Prof. E. J. Wolf, D. D. '64. Rev. Frank Richards. '65. Rev T. C. Billheimer, D. D., Rev. M. G. Boyer, Rev. J. C. Roller, D. D. '66. Rev. H. S. Cook. '67. Hart Gilbert, Esq. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 103 '68. John W. Hay, M. D., Prof. J. W. Richard, D. D. '70. Rev. J. T. Gladhill. '71. Rev Charles E. Hay, Rev. D. T. Koser, Rev. John Wagner. '72. George N. Acker, M. D., Rev. J. A. Koser, S. McC. Swope, Esq. '73. Rev. E. H. Leisenring, Rev. J. A. Singmaster. '74. Rev Chas. M. Stock, G. E. Titus, M. D. '75. Rev. E. D. Weigle, D. D., Rev. M. L-Young, Ph. D. '77. Rev. W. M. Baum, Jr., H. M. Cla-baugh, Esq., Rev. Harry B. Wile. '78. George J. Benner, Rev. J. A. Hart-man, Rev. J. F. Mackley. '79. J. F. Graff, Rev. Luther Kuhlman, H. C. Picking, A. C. Wentz, M. D. '80. Rev. A. H. F. Fischer, Rev. J. A. Metzgar, Rev. W. E. Stabler, Sterling G. Val-entine, Ph. D. '82. C. S. Duncan, Esq., Rev. M. H. Val-entine, Rev. H. H. Weber, G. M. Walter, Esq. '83. L. A. Brewer, Esq., J. B. McPherson, Esq., J. E. Musselman. '84. Rev. A. S. Fichthorn. '85. Rev. Edgar Grim Miller, Rev. Ed. Everett Hoshour, Rev. C. Reinewald, Rev. R. Stare. '87. Rev. H. C. Alleman, Rev. Amos A. Parr. '88. Rev. L. S. Black, Rev. D. Frank Gar-land. '89. Donald P. McPherson, John Reed Scott, Esq., Ira L. Tipton. '90. Rev. H. Anstadt, Rev. H. C. Bixler, Rev. E. E. Blint, Rev. F. S. Geesey, Rev. J. F. W. Kitzmeyer, George B. Kunkel, M. D., Rev. W. G. Minnick, Wm. B. Small, M. D. '91. Rev. Stanley Billheimer, Rev. T. B. Birch, Rev. S. G. Hefelbower, Wm. Hersh, Esq., Rev. E. J. Wolf, Rev. R. B. Wolf. '92. H. E. Berkey, C. G. Bikle, M. T. Brown, W. K. Damuth, D. P. Drawbaugh, Frank Hesse, C. H. Huber, G. J. M. Ketner. '93. G. C. Baum, J. J. Brallier, G. M. K. Diffenderfer, H. E. Gettier, A. A. Kelly, F. H. Knubel, J. R. Plank, A. J. Rudisill. Many other Alumni were present whose names could not be obtained. ALUiviNl- '68. Rev. J. W. Richard, D. D., of the Seminary, delivered the Baccalaureate Sermon to the graduating class of Kee Mar College, Hagerstown, Md., on June 3rd. '71. Rev. Dr. E. F. Bartholomew, of Au-gustana College, Rock Island, 111., will spend a year abroad for study. 'Rev. W. E. Fischer, of Shamokin, Pa., de-livered the Baccalaureate to the graduates of the High School of that place on June 3rd. The class numbered twenty-six and their com-mencement was a most creditable and delight-ful affair. '75. Rev. E. D. Weigle, of Altoona, Pa., received the title of D. D., when degrees were conferred at Selins Grove, Pa. '76. Rev. Prof. Jacob Yutzy, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church, of Selins Grove, has issued a "Memorial Jubilee Volume," con-taining a history of the church for the past half century. The work is a valuable acqui-sition to the history of the Lutheran church. '78. Mr. George J. Benner, Esq., of Gettys-burg, delivered the address before the alumni of the College on Wednesday evening, June 21st. '82. Rev. A. R. Steck, of Indianapolis, Ind., who preached a trial sermon lately in St. James church, has accepted the call extended to him by the congregation to be the successor of Dr. Swartz. Mr. Steck will soon enter upon his duties. '86. Rev. Prof. O. G. Klinger, Principal of the Preparatory department of College, deliv-ered the annual address before the Irving Col-lege C. E. Society, Sunday evening, June 3rd. '90. Rev. S. T. Nicholas, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church, of Allegheny, io4 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. was married to Miss Elizabeth Spangler, of Areudtsville, Pa. '90. Mr. George P. Kunkel, who has been engaged in the Reading Hospital for the past year will now set up practice for himself in Harrisburg. '90. Rev. W. G. Minnick, who was with us during commencement, is meeting with good success in his new field of labor, Harney, Md. Mr. Minnick had charge of the exercises at the dedication of the new cemetery in that place. '90. The many friends of Rev. J. W. F. Kitzmeyer, were glad to welcome him here again. Mr. Kitzmeyer has been engaged in Davis, W. Va., for the past year as a Lutheran pioneer and has been so successful that he has built a beautiful church. '91. Rev. W. C. Dunlap, of the graduating class of the Seminary, was married on June 6th, to Miss Irene Beck. Mr. and Mrs. Dun-lap will reside at Duncannon, Pa., to the pas-torate of which Mr. Dunlap was called. '91. Rev. C. L. Ritter, of the Senior Class J at Gettysburg Seminary has accepted a unani-mous call to the Fayetteville charge in Frank-lin Co., Pa. '91. Rev. A. O. Mullen, of the Seminary, has been elected pastor at Altamont, N. Y. '92. Mr. Maurice T. Brown, who is mer-chandising with his brother in Waynesboro, Pa., visited his many friends here during com-mencement. '92. Rev. G. Albert Getty, of Baltimore, was married to Miss Alathea W. Bernard, of Harford Co., Md. Rev. Milton Valentine per-formed the ceremony. '93. Mr. W. H. Ehrhart, of the Theological Seminary, is supplying a mission charge at Red Lion, York Co., Pa. '93. Mr. George Baum, for the past year a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of their Banjo Club, was with us prior to commencement coaching the Instru-mental Clubs for the concert. '93. Mr. Wm. J. Gies, of Manheim, Pa., who has been a student at Yale for the past year, acquitted himself so well that he has been awarded a special scholarship by the University as an inducement for him to con-tinue his studies there in the cause of Biology, leading in two years to the degree of Ph. D. In addition, he has been offered the position for the coming year of assistant to Prof. R. H. Chittenden, the greatest Physiological Chem-istry expert in the United States and Professor in the Biological Laboratory of the University. '93. Mr. Wm. F. Bare, of the Seminary, will supply the mission charge at Greenmount, York Co., Pa., during the summer vacation. '93. Mr. Marion J. Kline, of Frederick, Md., a student in the Seminary, recently preached a very able sermon in his own church, of which Rev. Luther Kuhlman is pastor. Mr. Kline will supply St. Paul's Luth-eran church, Washington, D. C, during the absence of Rev. Dr. Domer. We congratu-late Mr. Kline on this excellent opportunity. JENNIS. DOUBLES—FIRST SERIES. Bloomhardt and Wheeler vs. Stover and Keffer. Dloorahardt and Wheeler: 6-1, 6-3. Barndt and Forney vs. Graff and Danner. Graff and Danner: 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Baum and Byers vs. T,oudon and Stup. Baum and Byers: 6-4, 6-4. Fair and Monath vs. Carty and Bixler. Fair and Monath: 6-3, 6-4. Gladhill and Kain vs. Wiest and Hollinger. Gladhill and Kain: 6-4, 7-5. Kloss and Wolf vs. Hoffer and Feldman. Kloss and Wolf: 6-1, 6-4. Herr and Apple vs. I^antz and Heindel. I^antz and Heindel: 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Fickinger and Moser vs. Keefer and Enniss. Fickinger and Moser: 6-1, 6-2. Crilly and Brosius vs. Eckels and Auckerman. Crilly and Brosius: 7-5. 6-2. SECOND SERIES. Graff and Danner vs. Kloss and Wolf. Kloss and Wolf: 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Bloomhardt and Wheeler vs. Crilly and Brosius. Bloomhardt and Wheeler: 6-2, 6-1. Fair and Monath vs. Gladhill and Kain. Gladhill and Kain: 63, 6-4. Baum and Byers vs. Crilly and Brosius. Crilly and Brosius: 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 105 RECITATION HALL LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY GETTVJ5URG, PENN'A y A DeMPWOLF. ARCH'T. YORK, PENN'A. VIEW mOM THE NORTH THE NEW SEMINARY BUILDING. THIRD SERIES. Kloss and Wolf vs. Fickinger and Moser. Kloss and Wolf: 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Crilly and Brosins vs. Gladliill and Kain. Gladhill and Kain: 6-i, 6-2. FOURTH SERIES. . Bloomhardt and Wheeler vs. Kloss and Wolf. Bloomhardt and Wheeler: 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1. 6-2. FIFTH SERIES. Bloomhardt and Wheeler vs. Gladhill and Kain. Bloomhardt and Wheeler: 6-2, 6*1, 9-7. SINGLES—FIRST SERIES. Gladhill vs. Barndt. Gladhill: 6-3,6-2. Lantz vs. Crilly. Crilly: 6-4, 6-4. Bloomhardt vs. Graff. Bloomhardt. (Forfeited.) Fair vs. London. Fair: 6-2, 6-0. Fickinger vs. Kloss. Fickinger: 6-2, 6-4. SECOND SERIES. Gladhill vs. Miller. Miller: 12-10, 6-4. Fickinger vs. Crilly. Crilly: 6-2, 6-8, 6-0. Bloomhardt vs. Fair. Bloomhardt: 6-0, 6-4. THIRD SERIES. Bloomhardt vs. Miller. Bloomhardt: 6-4, 6-2, 6-i. FOURTH SERIES. Bloomhardt vs. Crilly. 1 Bloomhardt: 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. INTER-FRATERNITY TOURNAMENT. Phi Delta Theta vs. Phi Gamma Delta. Phi Gamma Delta: 7-5, 6-3. Phi Kappa Psi vs. Sigma Chi. Phi Kappa Psi: 6-1, 6-0. Phi Kappa Psi vs. Phi Gamma Delta. Phi Gamma Delta: 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Phi Gamma Delta vs. Alpha Tau Omega. Phi Gamma Delta: 6-0, 6-0. SEWIINARY NOTES. We are pleased to present to our readers a view of the new Seminary building, taken from plans submitted by the architect. The view is from the north-west side. The esti-mated cost of the new building and re-mod-eling of the old is sixty thousand dollars. On Sunday, May 27th, Rev. Dr. M. Valen-tine preached the baccalaureate sermon, tak-ing as his text: "The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee." On Monday evening the Rev. Frank Man-hart, of Selin's Grove, delivered the annual lecture on "Christian Worship, its Forms and Spirit," and on Wednesday evening the ad- io6 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. dress to the Alumni was made by the Rev. E. D. Weigle, of Altoona. Thursday evening the regular graduating exercises were held in Christ church, and ora-tions were delivered by the following: "Ap-plied Christianity," John E. Hoick, Oswego, N. Y.; "Spener and his Influence," Harry Anstadt, York; "Christianity's Conquest of the World," G. Albert Getty, Baltimore. Dr. Valentine then delivered diplomas to the fol-lowing graduates: Harry Anstadt, York; John McM. Axe, Bellville; Fuller Bergstresser, Middletown, Md.; Johannes S. Braren, Brecklum, Ger-many; Stanley Billheimer, Gettysburg; Thos. B. Birch, Bloomsburg; Milton C. Dunlap, Pine Grove Mills; George Albert Getty, Bal-timore, Md.; S. Gring Hefelbower, Newville; William W. Hess, Gettysburg; Henderson N. Miller, Salisbury, N. C; Albert O. Mullen, Baltimore, Md.; Robert E. Patterson, China Grove, N. C, Charles E. Ritter, Keysville; William G. Slifer, Rohrersville, Md.; H. E. Sloop, China Grove, N. C; George F. Sny-der, Port Royal; Martin E. Tate, Everett; Robert B. Wolf, Edmund J. Wolf, Centre Hall. Nearly all the members of the graduating class have received calls and many have al-ready commenced their work. At a special meeting of the Board of Di-rectors, held on Thursday morning, the con-tract for the new building was given to Geo. S. Yinger, at $34,240. The following propositions, which the com-mittee wished the Board to consider, were recommended by them: I. The plans and specifications for re-modeling and re-constructing the old building. It is to be turned into a dormitory with 59 rooms, steam heating introduced, the middle stairway taken out, roof replaced with slate, and walls and chimneys repaired. These re-pairs to cost not less than $8,000. II. The completion of the dormer story of the new building. There are to be nineteen rooms in it and the sum is to be $3,559. III. Plans for the heating by steam. The time for opening bids was extended. IV. The erection of a boiler house, the bid of C. H. Stallsmith being the lowest at $2,- 591-93- V. The placing of steel shelving in the li-brary. The price is $2,550. VI. The water supply for the building and the houses of the professors. It will be neces-sary to get water from the town supply or pump it from the well to a tank, to be placed in the old building. VII. The erection of a house on the Sem-inary grounds for Prof. Richard, who has been living under discomforts and disadvantages, the cost not to exceed $4,500. Rev. P. G. Bell, of Altoona, has been ap-pointed Financial Agent of the Seminary, at a salary of $1,000 and traveling expenses. Messrs. P. H. and W. E. Gladfelter have con-tributed $3,000 towards the fund for the new building; Dr. Charles Baum and Mr. Getty have each contributed $250. ''Takes First (Place." The ramn stands for just what it is, flUje tot Biejefe built ~% for $125.00. »9 1032 Chestnut Street, PHILADELPHIA. BASEBALL AND LAWN TENNIS SS5S-? used exclusively through-out the U s. and Canada. Spalding's Trade mark is a guaran-tee that the goods are the best, complete Illustrated Catalogue ready. Sent free. ADVERTISEMENTS. EATON & BURNETT'S ENGLISH, BUSINESS, SHORT HAND UNO TYPE1IIING, (Training School FOR YOUNG MEN fl^D WOMEN-YOHN BROS., ^>-Sol© j\cjonts FOP-V JAUIGV, Hardrqan,, Voso, ©oqoVop, Sol'^ubept, AND OTHKR PIANOS. Harqli'n, F^aol-^ard, ©l^ieago ©ottage, AND OTHKR ORGANS. Its course of study is the most advanced, thor ough and practical Business and Counting House Training ever introdicced in any Busi-ness College. Catalogue Sen Free by Addressing BATON & BUFflVGTT, Baltimore and Charles Sts., BALTIMORE, MI) «S-No Vacation. JOEWZ. SHEtfDS. N£W GlGAR STORED Next door to W. M. 'Depot, Gettysburg, Ta. BARBERSHOP, Carlisle St., below Centre Square, H. W. EONG, Prop'r. MUSIC }E MUSICAL MEpAfpSE. We Guarantee Satisfaction in Timing, Replenishing and Retailing. No. 307 Market Street, HARRISBURC, PA. Sirtter & Selimidt. PLEASE GIVE US A CALL AND TRIAL. 2 doors above the Eagle Hotel, Main Street. TOLL Y HINESE LAUNDRY, Carlisle street, first square. All work done with readi?iess and dispatch. Give Hop a call. n 0., Hats and Gent's Furnisher, 33 North Third Street, Opera House Block, HARRISBURG, PA. BOOKS BOUGHT, SOLO 4 EXCHANGED. , £■ j*- 7>XEUS School and Theological 'Boohs A. SIFEOI-A-LT^-. 327 NOKTn CIIARI.ES ST., - - - - Baltimore, Md. 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Issue 71.1 of the Review for Religious, 2012. This was the final issue. ; Volume 71 2012 Editor Michael G. Harter sj Associate Editor Garth L. Hallett sj Book Review Editor Rosemary Jermann Scripture Scope Eugene Hensell osb Editorial Staff Mary Ann Foppe Tracy Gramm Judy Sharp e v i e w f o r r e l i g i o u s A Journal of Catholic Spirituality contents prisms 4 Prisms Ignatian spirituality 8 Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? We Are Sent Kathleen Hughes rscj explores the provocative parallels between the Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises and the four-part rhythm of the Eucharist as two ways we are caught up in the work of God in Christ, and two invitations to replicate the whole life, death, and rising of Jesus. This article was one of the keynote presentations at Ignatian Spirituality Conference V held in St. Louis, Missouri, July 21-24, 2011. 29 Without the Drama: The Transition from Third to Fourth Week Ronald Mercier sj explores how those who make the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are invited to enter into a grand silence where they contemplate the empty space without answers that follows the crucifixion—the space that remains the context of our lives, the place of our ministries, and the space within which joy dawns for those who know the Risen Lord. Questions for Reflection 58 Finding or Seeking God in All Things: A Few Cautionary Notes Peter J. Schineller sj researches the phrase "finding God in all things," common in writings about Ignatian spirituality, and discovers that it is rare in the writings of Ignatius. He finds that phrases such as "searching for and seeking God in all things" more accurately describe the Ignatian approach. 2 Review for Religious sharing experience 69 The Warmth, the Will, and the Way Ben Harrison mc is discovering that it helps him be more consistent in his spiritual journey if he is attentive to the warmth of the Spirit's presence in his heart and to the vows as an expression of the will to move deeper in his relationship with God. 78 Getting with the Program A young man writes of his experience of coming to terms during the novitiate with his addiction to pornography. This article could be used profitably as a case study during a novitiate class or read as background for a community discussion. Questions for Personal Reflection and Group Study discernment models 86 Dialogue with the Radically Other: Models of Discernment in the Old Testament Ligita Ryliskyte md phd sje explores the rich imagery of the Old Testament and offers valuable paradigms to understand spiritual discernment as a dialogue with God. In this essay she describes four models of discernment that might be distinguished in Old Testament imagery. departments 100 Scripture Scope: Vocation and the Call to Discipleship: A Reflection on Mark 1:16-20 105 Book Reviews 71.1 2012 3 Review for Religious prisms 4 A wise man once said: "It's a shame to waste a good crisis." If that is true, Review for Religious is facing a moment of great opportunity. In recent years the number of subscribers has steadily fallen off, and the cost of publication has risen to the point that our future as a print journal is in jeop-ardy. The recent deaths of Fathers Fischer and Fleming have taken their toll. We have reached a critical point in our history. When my provincial assigned me to succeed David Fleming as editor, he gave me a specific mission: Assess the viability of the publication. So for the past year, the staff and our advisory board have taken that mission seriously even as we worked to meet our ordinary production schedule. While we all hoped to be able to keep this good work alive, the real goal of our discernment was not to save or to close the journal, but to explore ways to more effectively serve the church. In the past months we have consulted widely. We looked at the shifting demographics of reli-gious life and understood that younger reli-gious are getting more of their information on 71.1 2012 5 the Internet than through printed periodicals. We sorted through spreadsheets of detailed financial information. We looked hard at our available resources and realized that we could sustain publication of the journal in its present format for a maximum of three to five years. The hand-writing on the wall could not be clearer: Simply maintain-ing operations as they are will inevitably lead to closure. Maintenance, without change, is not an option. Part of our analysis took us back to look at our history. Our journal came into being in 1941 at a Jesuit theolo-gate in St. Marys, Kansas, where three enterprising faculty members—Augustine Ellard, Adam Ellis, and Gerald Kelly (later joined by Henry Willmering)—invited their students to edit and publish the papers they wrote as class assignments in what became the early incarnation of this journal which has served the church and religious life proudly for the past 70 years. Richard Smith, Daniel F. X. Meenan, Philip Fischer and David Fleming edited the publi-cation over the subsequent decades. Since Review for Religious was founded at a small theology school, we began exploring the idea that a theology center, rather than the confines of our office, would be a more logical site for the publication of this journal. As we realized that a network of theology centers around the world linked through the Internet could have great potential for producing articles and generating lively discussion, we began exploring that path. We contacted the moderators of Jesuit Conferences that have significant centers of religious formation in Africa, India, and the Asia-Pacific region—in parts of the world Augustine Ellard, Adam Ellis, Gerald Kelly, Henry Willmering Review for Religious Author • Title 6 where religious life is growing—to see if any of them would have an interest in assuming responsibility for the journal. As a result of our inquiries, we are engaged in a conversa-tion with just such a center about continuing the mission of Review for Religious. We are not looking to replicate the journal as it cur-rently exists, but are talking about re-envisioning and re-designing it with current and future generations of religious in mind. As a result of our discussions and discernment, we have determined that this copy of Review for Religious is the final issue that will be produced by our St. Louis office. Whether the journal remains as a print publication, or is redesigned for delivery on the Internet, or ceases publication altogether is yet to be determined. In the meantime, we are suspending publication and putting a moratorium on renewals or new subscriptions until our discernment is completed. To say that we have reached the end is premature. A hiatus or pause is a more accurate description. As Ron Mercier points out in his article in this issue, a rest is as important a part of a musical score as is a chord or a whole string of arpeggios. And such a time of waiting can be a rich moment. We are not sitting idly while the discussion goes on but are in the process of digitizing our entire collection. We plan to make every article, poem, and book review we have published available on the Internet. It should be an invalu- Richard Smith, Daniel Meenan, Philip Fischer, and David Fleming. 71.1 2012 7 able archive for anyone wishing to research the shifts in religious life during the past 70 years. I am grateful to our current staff: Mary Ann Foppe, who has been the office manager for the past 25 years; Judy Sharp, our receptionist, who has handled subscriptions; Rosemary Jermann, who has written the Bookshelf column; Garth Hallett sj, who has served as Associate Editor; Tracy Gramm, who has done layout and graphic design. I have appreciated Ed Hensell osb, Elizabeth McDonough op, Richard Hill sj, and Joseph Gallen sj, who have provided regular columns over the years, and Jean Read, Iris Ann Ledden ssnd, Regina Siegfried asc, Claire Boehmer asc, Joe Meek, and many oth-ers who have made major behind-the-scenes contri-butions. They have been an excellent staff. We are grateful to the countless number of con-tributors who have sent us manuscripts and poetry for our consideration. They helped us keep our finger on the pulse of religious life. And finally, we thank you, our faithful subscribers. We are grateful for your support, and we trust that we have been an important resource for you over the years. Please read the inside of the back cover of this issue. It contains details about how to keep informed about the progress of our discernment. We will notify each subscriber about the outcome of that discernment. Please pray that the Spirit will lead us to a good conclusion. Michael Harter SJ Rosemary Jermann, Mary Ann Foppe, Tracy Gramm, Judy Sharp and Michael Harter Review for Religious Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? We Are Sent I need to begin with a confession. I was given an assignment to speak about the Eucharist, particularly as it describes a way of life flowing from Weeks Three and Four of the Exercises. I am not an expert on the Spiritual Exercises, but I have been a student of the Eucharist for many decades, so I was happy to think about this topic. And, though the talk was still non-existent, a description had to be prepared for the program booklet. Many of you have prob-ably had the same experience. You make up a description of a talk right out of thin air, hop-ing to be sufficiently generic so you can talk about almost anything at all. kathleen hughes ignatian spirituality 8 Kathleen Hughes rscj, former professor of Word and Worship at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and former provincial of her order's United States prov-ince, is currently a mission consultant in the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. Her address is 541 S. Mason Road; St. Louis, Missouri 63141. 71.1 2012 9 But a funny thing happened to me on the way to the topic assigned. I took a detour. I stumbled onto what I regard as an amazing new insight about how the Eucharist and the Spiritual Exercises mirror each other. At first I thought I was the last to arrive. Then I checked with those who have far greater familiarity with the literature on the Spiritual Exercises, and no one had heard any reflection on such a topic. That, too, gave me pause and left me wondering how far out on a limb I was climbing. Nevertheless, here's the insight I want to develop in the first part of this talk: there seems to be a quite provocative parallel between the Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises and the four-part rhythm of the Eucharist. The gathering rites of the Eucharist include elements of praise and penitence, as are typical of movements in Week One of the Spiritual Exercises; the Liturgy of the Word is the gradual unfolding of the person and work of Jesus Christ, as occurs in Week Two; the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the celebration of Jesus' death for the life of the world, is the heart of Week Three; and the concluding rites of the Eucharist have an affinity with the rhythms of Week Four. In these pages I intend to develop this thesis in more detail, hoping in the process to give fresh insight into God's activity in these two parallel celebrations of the paschal mystery—these two ways we are being caught up in the work of God in Christ. Then I will move to a focus on the Eucharist itself, as it flows from Week Three, incarnates the intimacy of Week Four, and remains the abiding experience of consolation, chal-lenge, and invitation to faithful living, parallel to leav-ing retreat and picking up everyday life. Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 10 Part I: Parallels Overview First, then, before we look at the Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises and the four parts of the Eucharist in more detail, let me offer an overview of the resonances I've discovered between them. Both the Eucharist and the Spiritual Exercises are a series of movements or stages that, negotiated with grace, realize the Christian ideal of identification with Christ. Both are invitations to conversion; both, at their heart, are offers of holi-ness and transformation. Both the Exercises and the Eucharist have a basic psychological rhythm that facili-tates growth in the spiritual life. The Exercises and the Eucharist as we know them only gradually evolved to their present form. The Exercises began as jottings in Ignatius's personal notebook—conso-lations, desolations, graces received—and this collec-tion of insights developed into a practical manual as Ignatius gave them to oth-ers and learned from their experience. They remain a core series of spiritual exercises that are endlessly flexible as enfleshed in the lives of individuals. The Eucharist, too, is the result of a gradual evolution over time around the core of readings and the breaking of bread, making every age and every human commu-nity a fresh inculturation of a basic pattern. Happily, in our day the basic four-part structure of gathering, listening, responding, and sending has been recovered in the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Both the Eucharist and the Spiritual Exercises interrupt our ordinary time with extraordinary grace. 71.1 2012 11 Interestingly, both the Exercises and the Eucharist are filled with words, indeed with dialogue, and with spaces of silence. Both also make appeal to all of our senses and stir up mystagogical insights in those who are attentive. Both the Eucharist and the Spiritual Exercises interrupt our ordinary time with extraordinary grace; they help us to make sense of our life as it is unfolding before the living God. And both the Eucharist and the Exercises send us to live, in deed, what we have just experienced in this time of encounter with the divine. Finally, both these patterns of prayer follow, for most of us, familiar and predictable dynamics and so, for each, we need the grace to pay attention, to move beyond the familiar in order to get inside the mysteries. The First Week and the Gathering Rites of the Eucharist We come to retreat or to Eucharist just as we are, and we bring our history and our particular world with us into this sacred time and place. We come, sometimes breathlessly, from the work we have just left behind and the preoccupations that fill our minds and hearts. We come always with unfinished business and with distrac-tions, even burdens, of body and spirit. We come with our crosses and our inexhaustible needs. We come because we are drawn to a time and space of intimacy and prayer, of encounter with the Lord who will tutor our hearts, of transformation to new and deeper life. We come to be nourished. We come remembering God's goodness and God's fidelity to us, no matter our own response. We come hoping to touch our finger to the flame once again, placing ourselves, for this span of time, on holy ground. God's unconditional and ever-faithful love perme-ates our awareness in Week One. Each one of us has Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 12 been blessed with divine life; God's creative activity has showered each of us in unique ways and has supported and sustained us throughout our lives. In face of the immense goodness of God, we acknowledge our inade-quate response; we know that sin has hindered our rela-tionships with self and others and, above all, with God. Week One provides the opportunity to recognize sin as our failure to respond with love to God always present, to express our own sorrow and repentance, and then to know God's ever-greater love, mercy, and forgiveness. We reflect on our lives in light of God's boundless love for us, knowing that God wants to free us of everything that gets in the way of a loving response. The focus is less on particular sins than on our relationship with God that has been damaged, perhaps even shattered. Yet it is a relationship always available, for God longs for intimacy with us far more than we could ask or even imagine. Our personal history gives us hope: God is filled with mercy and compassion, slow to anger, full of kindness. God's response to our repentance is mercy and forgiveness. By the end of the First Week, we know ourselves as sinners, loved and rescued by a God who is so much greater than our hearts. These same heart movements are present in the gathering rites of the Eucharist. We generally begin the celebration with a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. We are then invited into a time of silence before the liv-ing God, and we cannot but realize our unworthiness and our experience of sin. In the language of the new Missal we own our complicity in sin "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault," and we join with one another in begging for mercy and for-giveness: "Lord, have mercy." Then the Gloria is our hymn of praise after the words of absolution: "May 71.1 2012 13 almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting. Amen." We begin the Eucharist knowing ourselves as loved sinners, disposed to open our hearts to the word proclaimed in our midst. There are two additional striking parallels between the First Week of the Exercises and the gathering rites of Eucharist. The first has to do with the cross of Christ, for the cross is prominent at the beginning of both experiences. The retreatant is invited to make a first meditation before the cross; similarly, when we gather for the Eucharist, the entrance procession places the cross at the very beginning of the celebration. There is nothing like the cross of Christ to sharpen our focus, to bring us to the sober reality that relationships have consequences, that the paschal mystery of Jesus' life, death, and rising is what has made it possible to draw near to the throne of grace. And here's a second intriguing possibility with the Eucharist. There is a presidential prayer at the conclu-sion of the entrance rites, another at the preparation of the table and the gifts, and a third after Communion. These are all, essentially, prayers of petition; they each ask for a specific grace that is dependent for its focus on the place of the prayer in the rite. We really could think of these prayers as "preludes" that name and ask for a specific grace as we move from one week to the next, from one part of the Eucharist to the next. For example, the opening prayer for today's liturgy, the Seventeenth Sunday, Year A, from icel's Missal of 1998, reads: God of eternal wisdom, You alone impart the gift of right judgment. Grant us an understanding heart that we may value wisely the treasure of your kingdom Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 14 and gladly forego all lesser gifts to possess that kingdom's incomparable joy. We make our prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit God for ever and ever. Amen.1 What a perfect presidential prayer to open our hearts to the Word of God; what a perfect prelude to move to Week Two of the Exercises. The Second Week and the Liturgy of the Word The parallels between the Second Week of the Exercises and the Liturgy of the Word are easily dis-cernible. Both focus on the scriptures, and both invite decision; both are grounded in the Gospels and in the Mystery who is Christ; both the Spiritual Exercises and the Liturgy of the Word, over time, offer an intimate encounter with Jesus of Nazareth—healing, teaching, sharing meals, welcoming sinners, going about doing good, spending the night in union with his Abba, gath-ering disciples and forming their hearts. We reflect on scripture passages, in retreat as at Mass, one after another, not in order to know the scriptures better but to discover ever more fully the One whom they disclose to us. During the Second Week of the Exercises, like Martha's sister, Mary, the retreatant sits at the feet of Jesus, the teacher, drawn to his person, absorbing his attitudes and values, his choices, his preaching of the dream of God for the world, for humankind, for each of us. The Second Week, of course, is not full only of the consolation of spending time with a dear friend. That 71.1 2012 15 dear friend of ours also reveals to us the cost of dis-cipleship, the misunderstandings, the disappointments, the gathering storm of criticism and anger. We take in the whole of the life of Jesus Christ and are drawn to know him more intimately, to love him more ardently, and to follow him more faithfully. We choose to be dis-ciples of the perfect disciple. Empowered by the love of God experienced in Week One and by Jesus' friendship, which deepens for us in Week Two, we choose an ever closer relationship with him, no matter what. Loved sin-ners become loving servants, embracing and following Jesus, setting our faces, with him, to Jerusalem. It has been written that during the Second Week "We find ourselves drinking in the experiences of Jesus, so that we begin to assimilate his values, his loves, his freedom. This style of praying provides the necessary content of decision-making or discernment, which forms an essential part of the Second Week and is meant to be an abiding part of a Christian's life that is shaped by the Exercises."2 Of course, those statements also describe a regu-lar pattern of solitary prayer in daily life that reaches its summit in the Eucharist. God speaks to our hearts, opening up for us the mystery of redemption and salva-tion and offering us spiritual nourishment; Christ him-self is present in the midst of the community through the Word proclaimed.3 The cycle of readings, highlighting first one evange-list's portrait of Christ and then another's in the three-year cycle, invites our reflection on the life and ministry of Jesus, his proclamation of the Good News, his say-ings and parables, his teachings and miracles, and, espe-cially during Lent and the triduum, how his face was set to Jerusalem during his last days on earth. The Gospel is the highpoint of the Liturgy of the Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 16 Word, and we mark it with various signs of reverence for the book and with the tracing of the cross on our forehead, lips, and breast, praying that our mind be opened, that our words be true, and that our whole being be exposed to the consolation and the challenge of a Gospel way of life. The homily follows. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal describes the homily as a necessary source of nourishment of the Christian life.4 In fact, for a majority of Christians it is often the only source of spir-itual nourishment in a busy week. The Second Week of the Exercises illuminates the challenge to those who give the homily in the Eucharist. The point of the hom-ily is identical to the grace sought in Week Two of the Exercises, namely, to enable the assembly to know Jesus more intimately, to love him more ardently and to follow him more faithfully. Nothing less! Not entertainment. Not exegesis. Not personal self-disclosure. Nothing less than knowing, loving, and following Christ, choosing his choices, becoming gradually and almost imperceptibly more like him, putting on his mind and heart. Just as one chooses discipleship at the end of Week Two, so too there is a choice at the end of the Liturgy of the Word. As we prepare to move from the Table of God's Word to the Table of the Lord's Supper, we join ourselves to Christ and ask that we too be transformed every bit as much as the bread and the wine, that we and they may become for us and for our world the Body and Blood of Christ. The Third Week and the Liturgy of the Eucharist The focus of Week Three is both the Last Supper and the Passion. So, too, these two themes are conflated in the Liturgy of the Eucharist: "the Sacrifice of the 71.1 2012 17 Cross and its sacramental renewal in the Mass, which Christ the Lord instituted at the Last Supper and com-manded the apostles to do in his memory, are one and the same, differing only in the manner of offering, and . . . consequently the Mass is at once a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, of propitiation and satisfaction."5 The first meditation of the Exercises in Week Three is on the Last Supper in its entirety—including the preparations, the choice of place, the arrangements for the meal, the assembling in the upper room, Christ's washing of the apostles' feet, the supper itself, Christ's giving of his body and blood in Eucharist as the ultimate expression of his love for them, and his final words, his last will and testament, that they continue this same action in his memory. Much of this finds a resonance in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. There is, of course, first the preparation of the table and the gifts, the preparation of the altar itself and then of the offerings of bread and wine. There is the washing of the hands of the presider, a ritual of cleansing and interior purification in readiness for all that will follow. There is the prayer over the gifts, a simple and focused petition—a second "prelude," if you will, asking in a variety of ways that the gifts we have placed on the table will become holy and that we our-selves will be caught up in this action and be made holy to the praise and glory of God. Then the great prayer of praise and thanksgiving, the Eucharistic Prayer, begins. We tell the story of Jesus' life, death, and rising. We enter into Christ's liturgy, the endless self-giving of Christ into the hands of the One he called Abba, from whom he receives back his life. Our worship is an offering of our whole selves with and in Christ to God. That is our participation in the paschal Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 18 mystery of Christ's obedience unto death, our identifica-tion with Christ in his radical obedience to God. Have you ever used one of the Eucharistic Prayers for your meditation during Week Three? The Eucharistic Prayer is addressed to God the Father. Could we not think of it as a colloquy with the One Jesus called Abba, our own intimate conversation with God, as we ponder the mystery of the Passion? By turns, the Eucharistic Prayer "collo-quy" offers thanksgiving to God for the whole work of salvation realized in Christ; it implores the action of God's transforming Spirit; it tells the story again of the night before Jesus died when he offered his body and blood, gave the apostles to eat and drink, and left them a command to perpetuate this mystery; it recalls the events that fol-lowed the supper, especially the blessed Passion of Christ together with his victory over sin and death; it makes an offering to God not only of the spotless victim but of our-selves so that day by day we might be perfected through Christ the mediator and be brought into unity with God and with each other when God may be all in all.6 It is a perfect prayer; it is a perfect condensed statement of what we believe and what we long for; it is a colloquy, if you will, that gathers up and gives expression to the faith of the community in Jesus' salvific death and rising and our par-ticipation in that mystery. There is no better word at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, or at the end of our Third Week meditation on the Passion as we dwell in the silence of God, than the word "Amen." So be it. Week Four and the Communion and Concluding Rites We are ready for Week Four—Jesus' resurrection and his apparitions to his mother, to the women, to the disciples, to Mary in the garden. Always the message is 71.1 2012 19 the same: do not be afraid; peace be with you; go now and tell the good news; go now to feed my lambs. And as peace is the gift of the Risen One, we beg that same peace for the whole human family, and we ask for mutual love among ourselves. We approach the table of the Lord and receive the one Bread of Life, which is Christ who died and rose for the salva-tion of the world. Our Communion makes us one with the Risen Christ, and the last presidential prayer, the prayer after Communion, is a final "prelude"—a peti-tion that we might go forth and live, in deed, what we have just done in word and ritual action. "Please make this Communion take!" this prayer seems to beg. We become what we eat. Through the Communions of our lifetime we are gradually being transformed into God. We know that we ourselves and our world have been radically changed by Jesus' resurrection, and we embrace his commission to become the Heart of God on earth. In contemplating the love of God in the conclud-ing exercise of Week Four, we pray an intimate prayer of thanksgiving to the One who has shared his life so completely with us that we are filled with gratitude and with a desire to make a generous return of love. "Take, Lord, receive," we say, and in so doing we express our availability before God for whatever we will face, rely-ing simply and completely on God's grace. We know ourselves as blessed and sent. Thus far I have been developing the ways that the Eucharist and the Spiritual Exercises mirror and some-times illuminate aspects of each other. As a transition to the second part of this reflection, I suggest pausing over the words of the "Anima Christi" using David Fleming's translation. It was David who said that this prayer is a summary of the dynamics of the whole movement Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 20 of the Exercises, and he also described the prayer as a summary of the transformation wrought through the Eucharist. Jesus, may all that is you flow into me. May your body and blood be my food and drink. May your passion and death be my strength and life. Jesus, with you by my side enough has been given. May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross. Let me not run from the love which you offer, but hold me safe from the forces of evil. On each of my dyings shed your light and your love. Keep calling to me until that day comes, when, with your saints, I may praise you forever. Amen.7 Part II: Living the Eucharist David Fleming also called the "Anima Christi" a summary of the living of the Fourth Week in the everyday, so it is to that topic we turn, the living of the Eucharist. Many years ago I read a book by Gregory Dix called The Shape of the Liturgy, a very long, very erudite history of the Eucharist by an Anglican clergyman and liturgi-cal scholar. At the conclusion, around page seven hun-dred something, the author shifts from liturgical history, archeology, and philology to spirituality. He quotes the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, "Do this in memory of me," and then poses an intriguing question: Was ever another command so obeyed? Dix paints an extraordinary picture: Century after century, spreading slowly to every continent and country, to every race on earth, this action of Eucharist has been carried out in every conceivable human circumstance and for every conceivable human need, from the heights of 71.1 2012 21 power to places of poverty and need, for royalty at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold, for a bride and bridegroom in a little country church, for the wisdom for the Parliament of a mighty nation, for a sick old woman afraid to die, for Columbus setting out to discover the New World, for a barren couple hoping for a child, by an old monk on the fiftieth anniversary of his vows, and on and on. Dix lyrically enumerates these and scores of other instances in which the Christian com-munity has been faithful to Jesus' command, "Do this."8 Over the centuries the Eucharist has been celebrated by innumerable millions of entirely obscure faithful women and men like you and me, people with hopes and fears and joys and sorrows and sins and temptations and prayers every bit as vivid and alive as yours and mine are now. Week by week, on a hundred thousand succes-sive Sundays, faithfully, unfailingly, the followers of Jesus have done just this for the remembrance of him.9 This is an extraordinary picture of the sacrament that constitutes the community, of the event that binds us together, one with another and with Christians of every age, place, race, tongue, and way of life. The Eucharist has been like a wave of grace rolling over the community again and again across the centuries of Christendom, hollowing out spaces for the divine in the midst of the everyday. Was ever another command so obeyed? But after pondering Dix, I realized that when I con-sidered that Last Supper of Jesus and his friends, there was another question on my mind. When Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me," what did he mean by the this? Surely not just the Jewish pattern of the meal, though we know a lot about Jewish rituals, the blessing of bread, the number of cups, the style of blessing said over both. Surely the this is something more. What are Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 22 we being asked to do? to be? to embrace? to celebrate? What commitment do we make when we say "Amen"? Scripture supplies two directions toward an answer: one in the Synoptic accounts of the supper and Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, and the other in the Gospel of John. Recall the words of Paul describing the Last Supper: I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me" (1 Cor 11:23-25). Do this in remembrance of me. But what is the this? Have you ever considered that the Last Supper was precisely that—it was the last. The Last Supper was the last of a whole series of Jesus' meals recorded in the Scriptures. Jesus never played the pious ascetic, keep-ing away from celebrations. He loved a good feast. He used that image of feasting as a metaphor of the reign of God—a great banquet. It was said of him, "This man is a glutton and a drunkard." An even more shocking accusa-tion was whispered behind his back: "This man sits down at table with sinners, with the morally dubious, with the outcasts of society, with those living on the fringes." On nearly every page of the Gospels there is a meal or a reference to food. Jesus calls out to Zacchaeus, "Get down from that tree. I'm coming to your house for What commitment do we make when we say "Amen"? 71.1 2012 23 lunch." There is the story of Simon who threw a din-ner party but was an inattentive host, and of the woman who slipped in to minister to Jesus as he sat at Simon's table. There is the story of Peter's mother-in-law who is cured only to get up and wait on them. There is the Syrophoenician woman who would not take no for an answer, who spoke about crumbs that fell from the table and who expected—and received—more than crumbs from this man. There are the feeding miracles that tell us something of the utter lavishness of the banquet and that everyone will receive enough and there will still be something left over for another day. There are parables of feasts, of great abundance, of jockeying for places at table, of appropriate attire, of filling the room with those drawn from the highways and the byways. Even the risen appearances of Jesus include meals. "Peace be with you," Jesus says. "What's for dinner?" On the shore, in the upper room, on the way to Emmaus, they recognize him in the breaking of the bread. How do you recognize someone? Even at a distance, you rec-ognize the timbre of a voice, or a particular gesture, or the slight tilt of the head so characteristic of an indi-vidual. The disciples recognized Jesus for what was most characteristic of him: the way he broke the bread. What is the this that we are to replicate? It is the whole life and ministry of Jesus at table. Scripture scholars refer to this as Jesus' ministry of table fellow-ship. To share food, in Semitic times, was to share life itself. And Jesus shared life with an astonishing assort-ment of people. Everyone was welcome to sit with him at table, to tell stories and to break the bread. Jesus' ministry of table fellowship is a ministry of universal reconciliation, no exceptions. The Last Supper reca-pitulated the attitudes and values of Jesus, who opened Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 24 his table and his heart to everyone, who offered hospi-tality to all, who was himself at home with all manner of people, who knew the human need for nourishment of body, mind, and spirit and who was always present to the other—welcoming, reconciling, offering life. Do this in memory of me. The Gospel of John offers a second answer to the question "What is the this?" In John there is a very dif-ferent institution narrative. It is the account of the foot washing. We know the story so well. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel. Peter resisted this tenderness until Jesus pressed: "If I do not wash you, you have no part with me." Peter relented in typical Peter fashion: "Not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" When Jesus had com-pleted the washing and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you" (Cf. Jn 13:1-15). You should do as I have done. In other words, "Do this in memory of me." I had an experience when I was studying at the University of Notre Dame that colors my understand-ing of the washing of the feet after the manner of Jesus. Notre Dame has a reputation for the excellence of its liturgical studies program and, at least when I was there, for the perfection of its liturgical celebrations: every 71.1 2012 25 minister rehearsed; every detail on a checklist; every liturgy perfect. And, during the sacred triduum, the lit-urgies were even more perfect! It was Holy Thursday and time for the foot washing. Twelve people moved forward, probably having prepared for the foot wash-ing by carefully washing their feet! Then, seemingly from nowhere, a very unkempt man started up the aisle, staggering a bit, perhaps under the weather. It was one of those stunning moments. Time stood still. Then the deacon walked down the aisle to help the man for-ward and assist him in taking off his shoes and socks. What is the this? Tender and loving care for the other; accepting our mutual vulnerabilities; choosing to open our hearts to all, even the one staggering into our life and upsetting its plans and perfections. Foot washing is not just a way of life but an attitude of heart, a kneeling before the other in reverence. Foot washing is embrac-ing a way of service after the manner of Jesus, simply, generously, not counting the cost. Do this: Embrace my attitudes and values as your own. Love those I love, and be my heart to them. Welcome the stranger, the one on the margins, the disenfranchised. Become vulnerable with one another. Kneel in reverence, especially before those whom soci-ety shuns. Nourish one another's bodies and spirits. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep, both here at home and half a world away— those in Norway who are paralyzed by a massacre they Foot washing is not just a way of life but an attitude of heart, a kneeling before the other in reverence Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 26 could never have imagined, those who are starving from the drought in Africa, those who are terrified of nuclear contamination in Japan, those who are caught up in trafficking around the globe or denied asylum here at home, those who have lost the ones they love and all they owned in fire, flood, tornado, or earthquake. Make a habit of roaming the globe in prayer so that you do not remain distant from the joys and pain of the world. Send those waves of grace once again across continents and cultures to bathe our world in the love and mercy of Eucharist. Do this in memory of me. Conclusion Week Three invites us to experience the Last Supper, to place ourselves there in the upper room, to look around at the faces, to listen to the words, to pon-der them in our hearts as we watch the immense tender-ness of the Lord with those he loved even to the end, whose hearts he was tutoring even on the night before he died. And we have stayed with him, watched and prayed with him, and accompanied him as he gave up his life. Then we have simply dwelt in silence. That same intimacy and presence to one another marks Week Four, a time of tenderness and affection with the risen Jesus who shares his love and his joy with us but does not let us cling to him. He sends us as apostles, empowered by his Spirit, to continue his sav-ing presence, to be his heart on earth. And day by day, week by week, the Eucharist con-tinues to draw us into these mysteries. The heart of the Eucharist is Jesus Christ. The heart of it is the cel-ebration of Jesus' life, death, and rising every time we gather—and the merging of our daily living and dying with his and with one another—for the life of the world. 71.1 2012 27 The heart of it is joining ourselves to Christ, the perfect sacrifice, to the praise and glory of God. The heart of it is begging that the Spirit will transform each one of us just as really as the bread and wine so that we become more and more Christ's Body in truth, not just in name. The heart of it is learning over and over again to say "Amen" to all of these realities and—at least some-times— actually meaning it. Meaning "Amen," meaning yes I will try to live, in deed, in the coming days, what we have just enacted in word and ritual action. I conclude with a favorite reflection of mine on the word "Amen." Be careful of simple words said often. "Amen" makes demands like an unrelenting schoolmaster: fierce attention to all that is said; no apathy, no preoccupation, no prejudice permitted. "Amen": We are present. We are open. We hearken. We understand. Here we are; we are listening to your word. "Amen" makes demands like a signature on a dotted line: sober bond to all that goes before; no hesitation, no half-heartedness, no mental reservation allowed. "Amen": We support. We approve. We are of one mind. We promise. May this come to pass. So be it. Be careful when you say "Amen."10 Notes 1 Cf. Sunday Celebration of the Word and Hours (Ottawa: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1995). This book contains the Sunday collects prepared by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy for the Missal of 1998, since withdrawn. Review for Religious Hughes • Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? 28 2 David L. Fleming sj, "The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: Understanding a Dynamic," in Notes on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (St. Louis: Review for Religious, 1981) 11. 3 General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 2003, §29, paraphrase. 4 GIRM, § 65. 5 GIRM, § 9. 6 GIRM, § 79. 7 David L. Fleming sj, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. A Literal Translation and a Contemporary Reading. (St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1978) 3. 8 Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy (London: Dacre Press, 1945) 744-5, passim. 9 Ibid. paraphrase. 10 Barbara Schmich Searle, "Ritual Dialogue," Assembly 7:3, February, 1981. Obedience You have had my yes for years– and I have had yours since the sun, the seashells, and the storms at sea. But now, ah . . . you and I are more than yes. As time moves with, within, and around, this yes of ours takes on wings, takes on colors I never imagined, challenges that strengthen and soften me, glory that stills me, stirs me, extends and opens me. It becomes a murmur of love that we share. Love that frees me and compels me to choose you again and yet again . . . that I might respond as I wish to respond . . . openly, knowingly, even a little mysteriously . . . as the bush in the desert responded to flame. Kimberly M. King rscj 71.1 2012 ronald mercier 29 Without the Drama: The Transition from Third to Fourth Week of the Spiritual Exercises S travinsky's "Rite of Spring" caused a furor when it was first performed in 1913, but the more I listen to it, the more I think it expresses something important, and not only from a musical point of view. At the tail end of the piece, the "Sacrifice," Stravinsky tries to cap-ture the human spirit in its "pagan"—pure—form. You might want to find a recording of it and play it before you read further. Cacophony—there's no other way to describe it! Bad sound. It assaults the senses. It builds to a crescendo and with the violence of spirit that leads to the sacrifice of a human, a woman who dances herself to death for the Ronald Mercier sj is associate professor of theology at Saint Louis University and rector of the community where Jesuit scholastics pursue the study of philosophy and theology. This article was originally given as a keynote presentation at Ignatian Spirituality Conference V on July 22, 2011, in St. Louis, Missouri. Comments can be addressed to him at Bellarmine House of Studies; 3737 Westminster Place; St. Louis, Missouri 63108. Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 30 sake of the community. It is violence that can kill and wound and send to hell, to use Ignatius's words from the Incarnation meditation. In the ballet that goes with the music, there is a frenetic dance that is almost a form of madness. No wonder people were so challenged by the music; this is not about some nice ethereal enjoyment, but is a revelation of what can shape the human heart and actions. This revelation opens to our fears but not to our hopes. Curiously, the music ends with a bang, a loud discor-dant chord that leaves us waiting for something more. We would like some kind of resolution at this point, but we are left with utter silence after that dramatic end. We wait, but the music just ends. Or does it? For me, this piece leads to a reflection on the transition from the Third to the Fourth Week in the Ignatian Exercises, a movement out of a murderous drama into a disorienting grand silence within which the Fourth Week dawns. I would like to invite you to sit with Ignatius in what we would name "Holy Saturday," a place he sketches as the space for contemplation within which we experience Resurrection. My thesis is simple: Without the grand silence of Holy Saturday, the "seventh day" for Ignatius, we do not experience the joy and freedom of the Fourth Week. Waiting in the transition—a transition into, not out of, emptiness—allows for creation of the space into which the Risen Lord comes, if we let the quiet ripen. The music of Stravinsky captures the movement of the Third Week, a drama of human making. We walk with Jesus as he experiences being sacrificed for "the good of the people." Curiously, Ignatius invites us to experience the Passion, but he does not describe the gore that would have been standard fare in the spiritual-ity of his time. No doubt he assumed that people knew 71.1 2012 31 the specifics of the passion, crucifixion, and death from the religious imagination of his time. I wonder, though, whether that is all. It strikes me that we are invited into two spaces: the fullness of the world upon which the Trinity gazes in the Incarnation mediation, but also the reality of the Trinity's desire effected through what happens in these moments. In this transition, we fulfill the movement of the Incarnation meditation. Ignatius certainly invites us to "consider what Christ our Lord suffers in His human nature . . . [and] to strive to grieve, be sad, and weep" (SpEx §195). We "must be with the Lord in his suffering, [and] follow him unto his death," lest we be "simply spectators at a Passion event which may be very touching, but which in no way dis-turbs the egotism of our lives,"1 as Gilles Cusson so nicely puts it. We experience with Jesus what human egotism can do, the dramatic clash that seeks sacrifice to maintain some order. Ignatius's contemplation of the Passion has little to do with Mel Gibson's hero worship; we con-template one who embraces utter powerlessness, not "muscular humanity." Yet, Cusson also says that we need to attend to Ignatius's Fifth Point, "how the divinity hides itself; . . . it could destroy . . . but does not do so" (SpEx §196). What is God about in Christ? What goes beyond the "work of our hands," the murderous sacrifice, and actu-ally effects the will of the Trinity? Is God violent? Is We contemplate one who embraces utter powerlessness, not "muscular humanity." Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 32 this the "divinity [who] hides"? Or is the violent god our god? What occurs when our dramatic violence ends? For me, personally and as a director, this question is never academic. The temptation to remain specta-tors or to wonder at the horrors of the Passion—and so to remain distant from it and from the Resurrection— always presents itself as a path of light, as "really feeling bad" for Jesus, and perhaps knowing real (even mur-derous) anger toward those who create perverse tor-tures for him. The experi-ence of the Fourth Week then somehow appears too remote, not surprisingly, and not only because by that time we know the exhaustion of having given ourselves so radically to prayer. But if we remain spectators of the Passion, what also becomes remote is the real joy of the Fourth Week, a joy so different from the transient happiness that we may whip up but never suffices for the long-term journey. And the Fourth Week is really for the long haul, not transient at all. What alternative remains? Consider for a moment where Ignatius leads us. As he did in the contemplation on the Incarnation, he places us with the work of the Trinity and with Mary. This gives us our transition point and deserves some pause. Notice how he frames our prayer at the end of the week, the time of transition: One should consider as frequently as possible . . . that the most Sacred Body of Christ our Lord remained If we remain spectators of the Passion, what also becomes remote is the real joy of the Fourth Week. 71.1 2012 33 separated from the soul, and the place and manner of his burial. Let [the exercitant] consider, likewise, the desolation of our Lady, her great sorrow and weariness, and also that of the disciples (SpEx §208, Seventh Day). Two dimensions frame the time after the death of Jesus on the cross, two movements that invite us into a depth within which resurrection happens: the experi-ence of death in Jesus and its impact on those (like us) who love him. Resurrection, Cusson rightly suggests, never becomes a topic for consideration, but encounters us in and through the one whom we love and who has conquered death, a "confirmation from above surpass-ing all human hope."2 Let us stay, though, for a moment with the two aspects Ignatius gives us not so much as a conclusion to the Third Week as the door through which the Third Week becomes, or opens to, the Fourth Week. We have in the Christian tradition a powerful sense that the Paschal Mystery—the death, coming to the dead, and Resurrection of the Lord—never constitutes the past, something complete and over, but, rather, remains the context of our lives, the place of our ministries, the space within which joy dawns for us and for all who know the Risen Lord. Two things, then, shape this contemplation, which really becomes the shape of "the seventh day," a con-templation of the Passion as a whole. First, Ignatius begs us to consider the fullness of the death of Jesus because, without an experience of that fullness, we really cannot complete the journey of the Third Week (and of the Incarnation) or comprehend the fullness of the ways in which Jesus' ministry touches and shapes our lives and our world. We need to ponder, prayerfully, what it Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 34 means for Jesus to "remain separated from his soul," to know death, not just to "be killed." Let me suggest that this consideration never rep-resents some thought exercise or parlor game. In our culture we often trivialize death and, in fact, avoid the topic completely or paper it over with euphemisms. We do not say that people die, but that they "pass away." We make the reality so antiseptic, so unreal, that we actually generate a fear of death that drives us even to try to con-trol it, like some unruly passion. Humans have always feared death, as the social critic Ernst Becker makes clear. In our modern North American culture, though, we have created a kind of nightmare; we rarely encoun-ter the reality of someone's dying. Even worse, people have to die not freely as Jesus did, but alone, caught up in our medicalized model. Alternatively, we can make death into a mere video game: how many can we kill? By contrast, Ignatius invites us to a thoroughgoing realism. In Jesus' death, we contemplate the fullness of his human death, freely embraced for us, the fullness of the trajectory of the Incarnation. We are invited to consider especially his embrace of abandonment. Hans Urs von Balthasar, the great Swiss theologian and pro-foundly Ignatian thinker, asks us to ponder just what this means, as a path toward hope: The Redeemer showed himself therefore as the only one who, going beyond the general experience of death, was able to measure the depths of that abyss.3 Think about that with me for just a moment. For Balthasar (and here he places himself in the whole strand of Christian mystics) we desire to shield our-selves from death. We may have "the general experience of death," but we seek to hold it at bay, often at great cost. No one wants to die, of course, and from time 71.1 2012 35 immemorial we have created lovely myths of "afterlife" as ways of avoiding the fullness of what we would expe-rience in death, so that we do not really die. Instead, Ignatius invites us, in the wake of the cry by which Jesus freely gives up his spirit and accepts death, to consider what it would mean for someone freely and fully to enter into the realm of Hades, of Sheol, in which, as the psalmist says, "no one can praise You." In Jesus, God goes fully to claim the reality of human death and dying as God's very own. Balthasar uses the image of the abyss—a wonderful image—for this. We need to ponder, not morosely but in faith, the full tra-jectory of the Third Week. Ignatius places us there and asks that during the Seventh Day—however long it might be—we continually call that reality to mind and keep it before us. He invites us there in place of repetitions or Applications of the Senses, because in pon-dering the fullness of the death of Jesus, in letting it "ripen to fullness," as it were, we begin to grasp the fullness of what it means that he dies for our sake, that he goes where we would not go. If, as David Fleming, John Futrell, John English and many others suggest, the Last Supper sets the tone for the Third Week, here we know what it means to "be broken and poured out," even to the fullness of death itself. We have been praying for the grace of freedom throughout the Exercises, and in a sense here we encounter freedom in its fullness. Balthasar notes what freedom—in its purest form, free from all stain of sin—would mean: "And precisely in that did his mortal anguish and God-abandonment differ radically from the habitual anxiety of the sinner." 4 Jesus freely—and with-out defense—walks the way ahead of us, embraces our path. Jesus claims the fullness of death as a space within Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 36 which to meet us—thus, the implication of the seventh-day exercise. We can—and do—often hurry by the real-ity, or simply marvel at the wreck of a corpse in the Pietà. Ignatius, according to Balthasar, invites us to let death be full, that we might know freedom with Christ, freedom for our mission ultimately, freedom to love "even to death itself." No masochism or delectatio morosa marks this moment, but only a profound invitation to explore what we fear with the One who has gone the way before us. For Ignatius, that remains key. If Resurrection cannot grasp the fullness of what death means, if it can-not meet us in the anxiety that would hold us bound and create the kind of craziness that marks our death-obsessed culture, it remains but a "nice idea," easily dis-pensed with, perhaps. For Balthasar, Jesus delves into death as abandonment, freely, without losing hope, but relying completely on the God who alone can overcome death. Imagine "separation of soul and body" in its totality, without the experience of Resurrection that often shields us. Jesus embraces that. This descent remains but part of the story for Ignatius, since he invites us to place ourselves with Mary and the disciples in their desolation—an impor-tant context. The imagery of that placement reveals a deliberate quality in two ways: it prepares us to encoun-ter the Risen Lord and accept our mission. In one sense, of course, we explore the same space as previously, explore what it means for Jesus to have died—but now from the perspectives of those left behind. Again, Ignatius invites us to contemplate with Mary—and to some extent with Mary Magdalene—to share space and time with women who also embrace the "empty space" without defense, freely. The sinlessness of Mary parallels Jesus' own condition, and invites us 71.1 2012 37 to imagine how she, whose heart knew only openness, would experience the "separation" of soul from body. In her once again, Ignatius asks us to confront death as death, in its fullness in Jesus, in one whom we pas-sionately love. While I will focus on the encounter with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a basic form of the Resurrection con-templations, I do not mean to suggest that one must force people to engage that path. Eventually the pattern of the Exercises does lead us there, but as John English suggests in Spiritual Freedom,5 a directee may find it difficult to enter into the purity of Mary's openness to encounter the Risen Lord; a person may find more fruitful prayer with the grief of Mary Magdalene, or the guilt of Simon Peter, or others. Still, the fullness of that openness to the Risen Lord brings us back to the full "yes" of Mary, mother of Jesus, as a paradigm of freedom. We have probably all known a parent who has lost a beloved child. As I write this I cannot help but think of the parents of a young Chinese student who failed at university and chose suicide in the face of despair. I cannot begin to imagine the grief of soul such a moment would entail for those parents; nor can I imagine the added burden of feeling guilt for having laid on a child expectations that he could not fulfill. That empty space of a dead child shocks us; "it should not happen," we say quite rightly. Parents should die before their children do. The empty space becomes almost too much to take in, though with Michelangelo's Pietà we catch a glimpse of how a face might appear when gazing on that emptiness. Yet, for the director at this point in the Exercises, especially in the face of what happens in the transition, an important distinction remains. Monty Williams, in a work in progress that he shared with me, advises that we Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 38 note two different paths as one encounters fear, notably the fear of death. There are two ways of being present to our fears. We could look at them and wonder how we can be so stupid, and then make the plans . . . to ensure those mistakes never happen again. . . . The other way . . . is to experience the amazement. . . . The more we ponder . . . it, the more we are filled with a sense of wonder—which gives no answer. That wonder, that sense of amazement, is our first awareness of the presence of God in the space we have created by looking at our fears. As Williams frames it, two choices remain. We can panic and move into flight or analysis or simply an excess of emotions to make us feel better. Or we can be attentive, in the face of such fears, to an empty space without answers—a much harder place to be. When Ignatius invites us to contemplate, to recall Mary, all of those spaces we have known in the Second Week come to mind. Mary remains for us always the one who attends, who does not withdraw, even in the face of the horror of the slaughter of the innocents, but who pon-ders. The path of our entry into the Seventh Day parallels Mary's path, and a director looks at whether the exerci-tant gets caught up in his or her own pain or can ponder the empty space with Mary—that dreadful emptiness the church hints at in stripped altars and empty tabernacles after the Good Friday service. With Mary, we hear the invitation in freedom to know our beloved Jesus as dead. A terrible space, but not a maudlin one! We hear the call to compassion, to attentiveness, to let an empty space open. In essence, Michelangelo's Pietà invites us not to wild grieving but to face the reality of Mary holding her dead son. Attentiveness is a state of waiting, but for what? 71.1 2012 39 I can't help but remember Mary Oliver's powerful poem "The Uses of Sorrow," which captures so much of what I think Ignatius presents to us in constructing a place for prayer: (In my sleep I dreamed this poem) Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.6 The poem admirably catches the difference between panic/analysis and attentiveness as ways of responding to the human—and here divine—reality of death. For us the path takes time; Ignatius invites us on the seventh day to recall this to mind again and again, but the full process may well be the journey of our lives and our dying. However, contemplating the loss of Jesus is but one dimension. With Mary—and with the disciples—we are invited to ponder the world in which, as Cleopas said, "we had hoped" but which is now a space of desolation. We face the fullness of what Ignatius means when he invites the retreatant to see and consider the Three Divine Persons. . . . They look down upon the whole surface of the earth and behold all nations in great blindness, going down to death and descending into hell (SpEx §106). The reality of human violence is seen in its full-ness in this moment, especially when, with the disciples, we see that violence is also part of their lives—in their abandoning their Master. With Mary and them, the full brutality of violence in the name of God, yet murder-ous of God, comes home to us in all its savagery. No doubt they had seen or heard of crucifixion before. This Roman "tool" helped maintain fear in the populace by destroying its memory of the one killed, lest anyone else Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 40 attempt to do what the crucified one had done. We can all rationalize human cruelty to suit our purposes. Here, though, their Master, Lord, Mentor, the one who healed, raised from the dead, preached Good News—the one they loved—becomes the victim of such cruelty. With him, the hope he had proclaimed also becomes a victim, exactly as the Romans would have desired. Hope is too dangerous a drug to a people fac-ing death. Is the reality of what Cleopas proclaimed— that "we had hoped"—also dead? With Mary and the disciples, we gaze on the empty space in the wake of the cross, and we know the dying of our hopes, of the ways in which all of our plans and expectations go to the cross with Jesus. Our history, our world, hangs in that balance. As director, how often have I sat with people who, in the wake of Jesus' death and burial, have to encounter again their own history of violence—received, experienced in others, commit-ted! The call to attentiveness in this space where our wounded history is made so evident places the past and the future in the balance. If in the first movement with Jesus and Mary we know the fear before death, in this second movement perhaps we face the fear of living in a world mediated by violence, a violence that we can usually hold at bay or ignore by switching the televi-sion channel. Yet, in this transition place, we face the brokenness and "poured-out" quality of our world, and we hear the call not to stronger forms of violence or retribution but to attend in that quiet space and know the fullness of a hope that might have died too. So many people live in this space. It is not theoretical. So, for me, the power of Stravinsky's piece, build-ing to that awful crescendo, that cacophony of death, followed by nothing, silence, lies in wanting some reso- 71.1 2012 41 lution other than the sacrifice. He captures well what those first disciples must have been going through on their "seventh day," after the terrible dramatics of human violence, cruelty, power; now Mary and the others know an empty silence made all the more desolate by what had come before. Building better plans, creating monu-ments, assigning guilt or blame—all of these would have tempered the grief. Instead, we hear the invitation to silence, to attentiveness. It may be that real forgiveness, hope, and resurrection can occur only in such silence. Ignatius places us before those realities that so easily move us away from attentiveness—fear of death and fear of violence or rejection—as a space within which some-thing very different—freedom—can arise. This experience could well represent a kind of "downer" for us, but need it be so? The sense of the deaths we experience—whether the physical death that Jesus freely embraces or the death of our illusions about the world and our patterns of dealing with it—create, as it were, a wasteland, an emptiness before which we stand and pray with Mary and the disciples. Its all-encompassing nature seeks to enlarge our freedom by placing before us our fears. Facing the wasteland yields fruit not in darkness or desolation (though we do indeed pass through these) but, as Antonio Valentino noted in a Directory written in the first generation after the death of Ignatius, aims at perfection in prayer and work, holding always God before one's eyes with gentleness and consistency, and remembering God whenever we think, speak or act.7 If we are moving toward the Contemplatio here as a mode of engaging the world, then this transition that "clears the ground" can yield an abundant harvest. We are left waiting for God's action—not ours. Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 42 I do not use the imagery of "clearing ground" acci-dentally. I find myself touched by the way in which one deals with one sweep of contemplation, which clears, seeds, and bears fruit in ever deeper ways. Think through with me the extraordinary introduction to the Fourth Week that piggybacks on what we have seen. As Cusson mentions, when Ignatius presents the medita-tion on the first resurrection appearance (SpEx §299), he offers a first point, nothing else; the simplicity of the perspective shines through: "He appeared to the Virgin Mary." Ignatius sees no need for second or third points, as are given in all the other meditations. It is a unique tableau.8 Ignatius does complete the sweep from where we have been: His soul, likewise united with the divinity, descended into hell. There he sets free the souls of the just, then comes to the sepulcher, and rising appears in body and soul to His Blessed Mother (SpEx §219). We have before us the same matter as in the con-templations on "the seventh day" of the Third Week; the setting does not change. What happens arises from within where we find ourselves as we attend to the empty space at the end of the Third Week. Our entry into the Fourth Week comes not because we will our-selves to joy. Rather, in the space that death and vio-lence have laid waste, Resurrection dawns like light and, with it, love, joy, and hope as the fruit. We do not change spaces for Resurrection, for the Fourth Week; rather, we extend the Third until it bears fruit. As director, I cannot overemphasize how hard it is to keep people focused at this point; exhaustion has set in. The Fourth Week regularly gets short shrift, as does Resurrection in so much of Christian life; yet, as I pray with the transition from Third to Fourth Week, I 71.1 2012 43 realize how crucial that transition point is to our ability to be in and to serve a broken but risen world. Ignatius leads us to the "hell" which Jesus has entered freely and fully, with all those who have gone before—and with us eventually—and then moves to Mary, in her home and oratory, exactly the order that repeats the end of the Third Week. I would like to move in three points—Jesus' apparition to Mary, Jesus' rising "from the dead," and the gift of joy to a world that killed and can kill still. They are related, but quite distinct too. Think of how redolent Jesus' apparition is for Mary. Ignatius does not describe it much, except for a clear allusion. He asks us to "see the arrangement of . . . the place or house of our Lady. I will note its different parts, and also her room, her ora-tory, etc." (SpEx §220). In §103 we were asked "especially to see the house and room of our Lady." The parallelism is almost exact, and, of course, David Fleming in Like the Lightning alludes to the Annunciation contemplation.9 This is not pious drivel, as some are tempted to say; this really is a new Annunciation, but one that asks Mary—and us—to go on mission for the Trinity with the Risen Lord. After all the Sturm und Drang of the Third Week— the drama of our human violence and blood-lust, even the drama of the Last Supper that begins the Third This really is a new Annunciation, but one that asks Mary—and us— to go on mission for the Trinity with the Risen Lord. Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 44 Week—this dawn of the Fourth Week, of a new world, is so undra-matic. Mel Gibson would have a difficult time with it. We would be tempted to make it dramatic, and certainly the Miraflores altar-piece does so, with Jesus showing his wounds and with Mary por-trayed as quite the medieval lady. Ignatius's description, though, is so different. Certainly, as he notes in the fourth point, the "divinity here manifests itself so miraculously," though in the fifth point the man-ifestation is as the consoler, the one who brings joy in the glory of the Resurrection. What are we to make of the apparition as "con-soler"? By the way, Ignatius gives only this contemplation in the Fourth Week, though we find a number of other texts arranged from §299-312 (in the section on the Mysteries of Christ's Life), with an ever wider circle of people let in on the Resurrection. In the Fourth Week itself, one contemplation alone pre-cedes the Contemplatio, again with Mary. If we take a step back, Mary represents the free per-son who has tasted the fullness of the passage of Jesus, both into death and at the hands of a broken, murderous world. If the darkness that John evokes in the Gospel stands as a hallmark of the Passion, Mary knows that darkness fully. As we wait with her, we hear the invita-tion to know that darkness, to let our own hopes and dreams die, to recognize the fullness of what death, as God-forsakenness, means. Mary roots us in a barren 71.1 2012 45 landscape without familiar landmarks. Stark—not dra-matic. Quiet. As long as we cling to our own artifacts, the land remains cluttered, and we are unable to receive. In essence, Mary descends into a kind of hell as well, the fullness of the First Week's hell, which is not of her doing, but which is the fruit of the world we have created. The more I ponder and pray with these texts, however, the more they strike me as a new "Incarnation," but with a different order and intent. In the Incarnation medita-tion, we move from the work of God, who ponders the broken, murderous world and chooses to enter it, invit-ing Mary—and us—to share in the work of the Trinity here now. With Mary we have been placed in a God-less world, the fullness of hell. We gaze, we ponder with her, in the freedom of those who have elected to follow Jesus. Mary—and we—know what God's heart would have felt in the acute desire to set people free. We now move from the order of "this world" to an encounter with the Trinity as we know the fullness of the desire of the Trinity in the Incarnation prayer, now effected by the Risen Lord. Again, I want to stress the point: Ignatius places us with Mary as the archetype of the person of the Exercises, the free person. While in later contempla-tions we are indeed shown the rest of the Gospel story, here he asks us to share in the fullness of what freedom The Apparition to Mary Reverses the order of the Incarnation meditation From the Trinity To a Broken World To revelation of the Trinity From a Broken World Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 46 means, freedom at the intersection of our engagement with a broken world, and we wonder at the dawning of a world shot through with Resurrection. The transition of this time represents not a movement from Third Week to Fourth Week, as if we could leave the former behind as just a bad memory; rather, the transition is the on-going space of discipleship. We, like Mary, remain in a broken world, but the transition into the Fourth Week recasts the meaning of the world in a dramatic way, so that we can accept the call to serve a world still broken. Contemplation constitutes the basic hallmark of this freedom; the encounter with the Risen Lord that Ignatius sketches out occurs as an offer of new life in the midst of the contemplation of the fullness of death and sinful violence. These two elements of death and life form a diptych, as it were, for our lives and our prayer. We encounter here not merely the Risen Lord but, with Mary, the pattern of what we shall know as we await that ultimate coming of Christ to the world, and we receive a mission to act upon hope. Into that space, the risen Lord comes, not just as resuscitated—"I'm back"—but as a living proclamation of a new world, God's plan for the ultimate healing and completion of the world God so loves. From the broken world, we encounter the divinity made flesh again for us, but now glorified and risen. If Christ performs "the office of the consoler," as Ignatius says, this consolation does not simply cause a "feeling good" or even a happi-ness, but a revelation of a new world and the empower-ing invitation to dwell in that new world and extend it through time and space. That power is "joy." Joy in this case is not an affect, or even a spiri-tual movement, for Ignatius. In fact, he distinguishes between the two realities: 71.1 2012 47 as soon as I awake [I will] place before my mind the contemplation I am to enter upon, and then . . . strive to feel joy and happiness at the great joy and happi-ness of Christ our Lord (SpEx §229). Happiness we know as an affective movement, a passing reality; we feel happy when we experience cer-tain realities. We can know happiness but still be alien to joy, since happiness comes and goes, depending on the experience we feel. Happiness has an object, and in this case Ignatius does want us to evoke within ourselves the experience of happiness; the encounter becomes the cause of our happiness. Joy, however, pertains to a very different reality. Joy—and this is Christ's joy, of course, a gift of the Holy Spirit—intends not a movement of the heart, a feel-ing, but a disposition, a way of being; it is the hallmark of those who have encountered the risen Lord in the midst of surrounding darkness. Joy makes possible the freedom to go on mission into the Fourth Week—our ordinary time. That light dawns in the Resurrection, not apart from but in the midst of the darkness which Mary—and we—have known. G.K. Chesterton's lament about "joyless Christians" captures something very important here: Christianity satisfies suddenly and perfectly man's [sic] ancestral instinct for being the right way up; satisfies it supremely in this; that by its creed joy becomes something gigantic and sadness something special and small. The vault above us is not deaf because the universe is an idiot; the silence is not the heartless silence of an endless and aimless world.10 The joy we experience in the presence of the Risen Lord does not suddenly wipe away the reality of the grief we know at the experience of the brokenness of Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 48 the world and its impact on the vulnerable; rather, such joy places it all in context, allows us to see the world as it is, in the context of God's proclamation of new life and hope in Christ. The way Ignatius ends the Exercises with Mary and this twofold contempla-tion seems to suggest that this joy becomes our "new normal," what God intended in creation and effects through the Incarnation, ministry, and Passover of the Word. We often emphasize the continuity/discontinuity of the Risen Jesus; he is like but different. But is it not really also the world which is continuous/discontinu-ous? In a great line from "Lion in Winter," Eleanor of Aquitaine says, "In a world where carpenters get resur-rected, everything is possible." Exactly—and such is our hope and the cause of our joy. As contemplatives moved to action, we in the Ignatian tradition live in the intersection of the two parts of the diptych, of Holy Saturday and Easter, but with joy as the hinge, something into which we grow. The encounter with the Risen Lord in the midst of a broken world becomes the reality of our lives and a point of conversion into this "new world." In that respect, we are unlike Mary but more like the others who encounter the Lord in a gradual way, but who nevertheless grow into a joyful engagement with the world. However, we can-not separate this encounter from the work which serves life and just peace; we grow in joy and hope only if we place ourselves at the service of justice, as it were, as the thirty-second General Congregation of the Society of Jesus suggested. Yet, we are no longer simply disciples, but apostles, those sent as the Word was sent into the world, but now into a world transformed. This "new normal," a joyful realm, disorients in many ways. Please excuse me as I take a bit of a detour 71.1 2012 49 into a Byzantine theme, that of the "Harrowing of Hell," an ancient icon in the East that depicts a scene sketched by a homily from the second century. I ask you to pon-der it with me for just a few moments. We have here one particu-lar rendition of the icon, but a powerful one with three signifi-cant movements. One of these captures the Contemplation for the Fourth Week as given by Ignatius, namely that the Risen Lord sets free the souls of the just held bound before Christ's Resurrection. For Balthasar and oth-ers, this moment of encounter with the Risen Lord has become the deciding moment for them, the one in which heaven—and the second death—actually open. In that sense, we have a key moment of election again, a confirmation to "fol-low" but now in a different way—to eternal life for them. Yet this Risen Lord calls us to proclaim eternal life and freedom in this world. Second, and this evokes the reality of La Storta, the risen Christ carries the cross, but as a tool through which to break open the gates of Sheol. This Christ on mission invites us to the imagery of the Third Week, but now as a call to freedom, not to death or destruction. The order of the world is profoundly inverted here, and violence gives way to freedom. No wonder the thirty- Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 50 second General Congregation could so freely embrace being "under the banner of the cross" as a mode of identification. This rising Christ changes all the imag-ery of violence, death, and hopelessness we would have taken for granted. One finds joy even in the cross—how odd—but, again, joy is not simply a moment of happi-ness but a consistent mode of being. Again, we cannot separate encounter with the Risen Lord from presence to those who know Holy Saturday and its pain or loss of hope. Last, though, for the East—and for Ignatius, I think—the implications of this little icon and of the work of Christ show free-dom in an even bolder way. A second-century homily proclaims, "I did not create you to be held captive," as does the Office of Readings every Holy Saturday. Do we ponder, though, the implications of that little line, the heart of the link between the Third and Fourth Weeks? The dynamic of the Third Week—from the human point of view—reveals the inevitability of betrayal, duplicity, shame, violence, grief, blood-lust. Not an appetizing menu, to be sure. Ignatius would ask us to contemplate the recreated world in which such patterns have lost their power forever, not just for a moment; we know their power, but as something that has passed away, both from the world and from our lives. If a counterpart to the contemplation on the Incarnation in the Second Week is the Two Standards meditation, perhaps this "diptych" does something Joy is not simply a moment of happiness but a consistent mode of being. 71.1 2012 51 similar. In the Two Standards meditation, Satan calls his demons and "goads them on to lay snares for people and bind them with chains" (SpEx §142). Christ bids, attracts, graces, to a very different world, of poverty, bearing insult and humiliation freely as a means of free-dom (SpEx §146). We have seen that first standard lived to its full-est in the Third Week; now we see Christ who in his revealed divinity, as the fullness of the revelation of the Trinity, continues to serve, to free, to attract, to bid, but now as having conquered all freely and lovingly. Do we not know here the prospect of a whole new world unbound or in the process of unbinding, a process to which Christ missions us? Does Christ not call us in this contemplation with Mary to gather companions in the work of dwelling in this contemplative yet active space? The full import of what has been "the normal" becomes ever clearer to us, even as we enter more fully into com-panionship with Mary in this contemplation. The chal-lenge to us, however, never degenerates into hopeless self-scrutinizing or, even worse, scrupulosity. We do not get forced back into contemplating our sins, as too often happens when people gaze upon the cross, or into the violent guilt or shame of the Third Week. Rather, aware of the Third Week and its full impact on the one whom we love and on the world Christ so loves, we hear the invitation to explore contemplatively a dawning world, one which opens, I think, to the Contemplatio and to our role in extending Christ's joy. James Alison, the British Catholic theologian, has written movingly on this, inviting us to consider how our cultures shape our imaginations through the pat-terns of interaction—rivalistic patterns—which for us constitute "the normal." In Christ, and I think in Mary Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 52 and the disciples, God gives us a dramatically differ-ent pattern of interaction, one that creates relationships touched by joy, not by violence or rivalry or fear. In the complementary contemplations we are given through-out the Fourth Week, we encounter many such persons, wounded in and by the Third Week, even agents of the violence of the Third Week, with whom and in whom we now encounter the pattern of joy and hope. These reflections lead me to ponder the meaning of the "Rules for Thinking with the Church" (SpEx §352-370). They are usually given as a form of Counter- Reformation ecclesiology, a guide on how to engage the debates of the mid-sixteenth century. The text contains all kinds of very context-specific allusions—echoes of debates on predestination, sacraments, authority, and the like that helped tear the church apart. We realize that the inability to attend to what the other was saying represented but one more kind of violence in an already violent age. Ignatius, of course, never had shied away from a fight. One has only to remember how ready he was to dispatch the Moor who had shown insufficient defer-ence to the Blessed Virgin, his Lady. He certainly would not be the first choice as a poster boy for pacifism. Yet, think with me for a moment about the Rules, written at a time when everyone wanted a good fight and looked, all too often, for occasions to pick a fight or score a point. Ignatius's presentation strikes me as curious in that regard, strangely pacific, to use Alison's invitation to a radically different imagination, a con-version of imagination, where our normal expectation is no longer violence or the violent god but rather of a world ordered to and by peaceful relationships. We find here none of the grand drama of the instructions to 71.1 2012 53 the Cardinal Legates to the various Diets and Councils. Instead, we find a man desperate to preserve the unity of the community, to avoid the kinds of clashes that mark his age. Perhaps when we look at the Rules for Thinking with the Church, the metaphor that I have been using— of having had the earth scorched around us and entering a new world—could be helpful. We tend to bring with us the imagery and imagination to which we have grown accustomed. We bring the patterns of guilt or shame or blame or grief or violence that we have learned only too well from the world we have known as normal. Yet, the totality of the presence of the Risen Christ to Mary— and to us—challenges any return to those spaces to which we have grown accustomed. Certainly, if Christ has "harrowed hell" and broken dominant patterns, we are in need of "a way," of his way. Might not the Rules for Thinking with the Church be Ignatius's way of inviting us to turn from the slavish obedience so alien to the freedom of the Fourth Week and to become attentive to the community of people elected in grace, graced by Risen Life, empowered by saints, who could sketch out for us and for our imagi-nation a path with and to Christ? We stand in need of a community of faith, the Church militant in the original Spanish text, which can model for us the new life revealed in and through the Risen Lord. While the Rules invite a kind of docility in seeking a way of peace and renewal of imagination found in the community of the faithful, they do not require checking one's mind at the door. At times we can, like Ignatius, grieve because of a church that shows the marks of the violence and domination of those who killed the Lord. Nevertheless we wait in the hope of encountering Christ in this com- Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 54 munity, in the Holy Saturday-Easter Sunday diptych, still confident that we will contemplatively learn a way forward, not in spite of but in the pain. In a similar way, Ignatius needed the community to foster conversion out of scruples and into Christ. Still, a real encounter as is experienced in the tran-sition opens a path to community. Rooted in a new experience of the world, it is a community of peace, joy, hope, creativity. This, of course, has none of the "grand drama" of the Third Week that would thrill Mel Gibson, but it has the quiet quality of a son meeting a grieving mother who has been wounded by violence but, in joy, is experiencing the possibility of new life, the opening of heart and imagination. Quiet, not dramatic in the ways we are used to, but nonetheless a powerful and creative stance. The difference between the drama at the end of the Third Week and the quiet dawn of the Fourth invites us to know in its fullness what the Two Standards means and what Christ offers: not a crusade of our own, but an allowing of new possibilities to dawn in our age. We have seen such dawns, and their ecclesial power touches deeply. I think of Jean Vanier's L'Arche com-munity embracing the handicapped, those rejected by the world. There is the hospice movement, which rose from Dame Cecily Saunders's refusal to allow cancer patients for whom medical drama could do no more to simply go away and die. Those who serve refugees and bring a moment of tenderness and hope to fragile lives similarly stand at the confluence of this Paschal diptych. Easier, I suppose, would be to follow the temptation to take up arms and fight back or condemn, but we are invited to a very different path, not of moralism but of an embrace like that of Mary by her Son. 71.1 2012 55 We began this talk with Stravinsky's musical image of primal humanity and its lust for sacrifice, a lust that seeks "salvation for the people" in a woman condemned to die by dancing madly. The music crashes to a dra-matic conclusion followed by silence. I would like to end with a different dance, one described by Sydney Carter's words applied to the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts," here the "Lord of the Dance." Perhaps this could evoke something of the transition to a dance that is joyous, inclusive, expansive. May this be our prayer and our path. I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black— It's hard to dance with the devil on your back. They buried my body, and they thought I'd gone, But I am the Dance, and I still go on. Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he. They cut me down and I leapt up high; I am the life that'll never, never die; I'll live in you if you'll live in me— I am the Lord of the Dance, said he. Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he. Notes 1 Gilles Cusson, Biblical Theology and the Spiritual Exercises (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1988), p. 299. 2 Cusson, p. 303. Review for Religious Mercier • Without the Drama 56 3 Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1990), p. 168. 4 von Balthasar, p 169. 5 John English, Spiritual Freedom: From an Expertience of the Ignatian Exercises to the Art of Spiritual Direction (Guelph: Loyola House, 1973), p. 247. 6 Mary Oliver, Thirst (Boston: Beacon Press), p. 52. 7 Martin E. Palmer, S.J., On Giving the Spiritual Exercises: The Early Jesuit Manuscript Directories and the Official Directory of 1599 (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1996), p. 79. 8 Cusson, p. 303. 9 David L. Fleming, Like the Lightning: The Dynamics of the Ignatian Exercises (St Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 2004), p. 77. 10 Gilbert K. Chesterton, Othodoxy (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1959), p. 160. Questions for Reflection 1. Where have I embraced the emptiness of death and how has it enabled me to experience the joy of the Risen Lord? 2. Do you have any favorite music, artwork, or poetry that helps you enter into the sacred silence discussed in this article—or that helps you understand other moments in the Spiritual Exercises or in the Gospels? 71.1 2012 57 Dolor 5: At the Foot of the Cross Giving birth is contracting to sleep with death. It is an agreement to pass on everything that has been fed, fondled, fiercely treasured, looked forward to as one looks for the first hibiscus every spring. It is a signature and seal in pledge that one will leave someone something. It holds the possibility—tormenting as tarantula's tricks— that the loved child may pass first, cursedly, of illness, mishap, quick step in the wrong place, by fate or by murderous hatred heaped upon the great. The blood and wash of afterbirth foretell that every holding close lets loose. Small fingers, small toes enlarge as mothering bellies pull back to size and shape. Flowerings green up. They will, they must, brown down with wintering. And every footfall tells an end to every earthly good, each breath started with a slap, each name begun so well that slips into what's next. Pamela Smith sscm Review for Religious 58 peter j. schineller Finding or Seeking God in All Things: A Few Cautionary Notes "T o find God in all things" is a commonplace of Ignatian spirituality. Books and essays on Ignatius and Jesuit spirituality have highlighted the phrase as a hallmark of that spirituality. However, in an essay entitled "The Ignatian Charism and Contemporary Theology," the late Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote that "to the best of my knowledge the expression 'finding God in all things,' does not appear verbatim in the writ-ings of St. Ignatius."1 He admits that we do find "similar expressions" in the writings of Ignatius, and adds that "it seems evident that God can be found in all things." Dulles's observation makes me wonder and leads me to the unanswerable question of whether Ignatius deliberately avoided the phrase "find God in all things." Ignatius does write in many places that we should seek Peter J. Schineller sj is the archivist for the New York Province of the Society of Jesus. He resides at America House, 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019. 59 71.1 2012 and serve God in all things; but, as we will see, except for one place, he does not use the phrase "find God in all things." Jerome Nadal, one of the early companions of Ignatius, clearly believed that Ignatius had the gift or charism to "feel the presence of God" and that this experience should likewise characterize Ignatius's fol-lowers. He writes: "I shall not fail to recall that grace which he had in all circumstances, while at work or in conversation, of feeling the presence of God and of tasting spiritual things, of being contemplative even in the midst of action: he used to interpret this as seeking God in all things."2 Note well that Nadal says Ignatius interpreted this experience as seeking God in all things. So too, Pedro Ribadeneira, also an early compan-ion of Ignatius, reports that "we frequently saw him taking the occasion of little things to lift his mind to God, who even in the smallest things is great. From seeing a plant, foliage, a leaf, a flower, any fruit, from the consideration of a little worm or any other animal, he raised himself above the heavens and penetrated the deepest thought."3 And, in the Autobiography of Ignatius, Luis da Camara, who wrote down the words of Ignatius, states: "At whatever time or hour he wanted to find God, he found Him."4 (To be precise, da Camara says that Ignatius could find God at all times, not that he found God in all things.) So we ask: might there be some wis-dom or insight—or caution—in the fact that Ignatius only once uses the phrase "find God in all things"? The Sole Text and Its Context In the long letter to Antonio Brandão subtitled "Instructions given by our father Ignatius, or at his Review for Religious Schineller • Finding or Seeking God in All Things 60 direction . . ." we read the advice given to scholastics: "the scholastics cannot engage in long meditations . . . they can practice seeking the presence of our Lord in all things; in their dealings with other people, their walking, seeing, tasting, hearing, understanding, and all our activities. For his Divine Majesty truly is in every-thing by his presence, power, and essence. This kind of meditation—finding God our Lord in everything—is easier than lifting ourselves up and laboriously making ourselves present to more abstracted divine realities."5 Again, a caution. This letter was not written by Ignatius, but at his direction by Juan de Polanco. Further, before he says "finding God in everything," he says the scholastics must "practice seeking the presence of our Lord in all things." Finding that presence is not auto-matic— and, perhaps, not so easy as we might think! In the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, we read that Jesuit novices "should often be exhorted to seek God our Lord in all things . . . loving him in all crea-tures and all creatures in him" [§288]. Again, we see emphasis on the element of search. So too, in the Contemplation to Attain Love in the Spiritual Exercises, we read: "Here it will be to ask for an intimate knowledge of the many blessings received, that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty" [SpEx §233]. Ignatius wants the retreatants to love and serve God in all; he does not write that they are to find God in all things. I wonder if the rea-son might be that Ignatius wishes to safeguard the Divine Majesty, the ever-greater God. Might it be that he fears that we will believe that we can capture or contain or iden-tify the ever-greater God in any one thing or in all things? In addition to frequently encouraging that we seek or serve God in all things, Ignatius does say that we 71.1 2012 61 can and must "find the will of God." Thus the Spiritual Exercises are a way of preparing the soul to rid itself of attachments and "of seeking and finding the will of God in the disposition of our life for the salvation of our soul" [SpEx §1]. And Ignatius most frequently ends his letters praying for the grace to "know God's most holy will and per-fectly fulfill it." Or, "may God in his goodness give us his abundant grace to know his most holy will and entirely to fulfill it." Even as Ignatius urges us to seek and find the will of God, he emphasizes the method and the search. He never claims that seeking and finding the will of God is easily done. It demands prayer, reflection, seeking, mortification, time, and effort. Today's Background, Context, Horizon In an obvious oversimplification, we might say that in our age we find two extreme tendencies: 1) the skepti-cal, secular way of underbelief and 2) the less critical way of overbelief. These correspond to two rival "isms" in our globalized world, spoken of by Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, supe-rior general of the Society of Jesus, in a major address on higher education: 1) an aggressive secularism and 2) a resurgence of various fundamentalisms.6 We might look at the cautious and critical way of Ignatius in light of these two tendencies. 1. The skeptical and secular viewpoint. Many today, including Christians, experience the distance, absence, Seeking and finding the will of God demands prayer, reflection, seeking, mortification, time, and effort. Review for Religious Schineller • Finding or Seeking God in All Things 62 or otherness of God. Rather than finding God in all things, they do not find God anywhere in their experi-ence. Or God is edged out by many possibilities, alter-natives, and options, by many "things" that are not God. They live in a world come of age that no longer "needs" God and are skeptical of those who find, describe, and talk of God so easily. They are critical of claims or interpretations that seem to make God into one thing among many. This objectification of God, they find, entails a loss of God's otherness and transcendence. 2. The less critical fundamentalism or overbelief. At the other extreme are the many believers who see God at work in every event. God is close and at hand. Some Christians seem to think they have a lock on God, clearly grasping and knowing the divine intentions and will for the world and for humankind. Statements to that effect indicate a temptation to reduce God to our size, to capture and lay hold of God. In a general way, two of today's thinkers reflect these two tendencies. The first is the critic George Steiner. In My Unwritten Books, a sequel to his book Real Presences, which points us to various signs of the transcendent, Steiner writes that he feels strongly the absence of God—a powerful experience of emptiness. "Awesome is the God who is not. . . . I strive to be with His sovereign absence."7 Steiner finds himself groping for and seeking God more than believing in and finding God. He adds that to be great, literature need not believe in or affirm God, but at least must grapple with the question of God, the search and debate over the reality of God. From an explicit Christian perspective, we might also listen to James Gustafson. In an article entitled "The Denial of God as God,"8 Gustafson writes that "the history of our religion is the history of human 71.1 2012 63 attempts to manage and manipulate the awesome power of God, who is finally beyond our capacities to know fully, to capture in human thoughts and deeds. . . . It is the history of efforts to control the times and places of his presence." Gustafson asserts that we overlook this awesome reality of God: "how we want a God we can manage, a God who comes when we beckon him, a God who permits us to say that he is here, but not there; a God who meets our needs on our terms; a God who supports our moral causes and destroys the forces we think are evil; a household God and a kitchen God." Then, drawing from the thought of Martin Luther, he challenges us not to try to manipulate or reduce God, but to "let God be God." Ignatius's Balance Surely Ignatius is not guilty of this reduction or denial of God. He had a strong sense of the immen-sity and majesty of God (he loved stargazing), as well as the closeness of God (recall his meditation on the Incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ in the Spiritual Exercises [§101-117]). But can this be said of all his followers? Might some be at times guilty of oversimpli-fying, reducing, identifying God with their own prefer-ences and thus not "letting God be God"? To put this more boldly; if we think it easy and pos-sible to find God in all things, might we end up by not finding the true God—the transcendent God—in or above any things? Emphasizing the finding of God in all things could become misleading and wrongheaded because it misses or misinterprets the special presence of God in some particular times, places, events, and things. Might this approach be similar to the positive emphasis on the generous and widespread presence and Review for Religious Schineller • Finding or Seeking God in All Things 64 offering of God's grace to all persons. If that view, good in itself, is pushed to the extreme, if all is grace, then we no longer distinguish between grace and non-grace, between grace and nature. Or, if all ground is seen as holy ground, then we might overlook or undercut the special presence or intervention, the special rev-elation of God. If we hold that everything i s sacred and noth-ing is profane or secular, then we could also hold the reverse, that nothing is sacred. Ultimately, it seems important and necessary that we maintain the distinction (not separation) of sacred and secular, of grace and nature, of the God who is in all things and yet above all things. Ignatius also writes of one other thing that Jesuits should seek in all things—namely, greater abnegation and continual mortification! "The better to arrive at this degree of perfection which is so precious in the spiritual life, [the] chief and most earnest endeavor [of the Jesuit candidate and those in formation] should be to seek in our Lord his greater abnegation and continual mortifica-tion in all things possible; and our endeavor should be to help him in those things to the extent that our Lord gives us his grace, for his greater praise and glory" [General Examen of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, §103]. While the seeking of mortification does not pre- If we think it easy and possible to find God in all things, might we end up by not finding the true God— the transcendent God— in or above any things? 71.1 2012 65 clude the effort to seek, find, and serve God in all things, surely it derives from a very different, and more sober perspective. It offers a balance to an overly posi-tive, totally one-sided incarnational spirituality. Ignatius is reminding us that the God or Christ that we seek and serve in all things is the Christ of the cross (abnega-tion and mortification) as well as the Christ of glory who comes with power. Thus Ignatius can write regard-ing the qualifications of the rector of a college, that he should "be a man of great example, edification and mortification of all his evil inclinations" [Constitutions, §423]. The ideal superior is one who both practices mortification and seeks to find God in all things! Living with and Maintaining the Tension Deus Semper Major—God Ever Greater—is the title of the monumental work of Erich Pryzwara sj on Ignatius of Loyola.9 The God of Ignatius, the God we seek, find, love, and serve is ever greater, always more. God is in all, but also always above all. Ignatius had the ability to keep seemingly opposing tensions or ten-dencies in view—prayer and action, contemplation and action, the local and the universal, trust in God and trust in our talents and efforts, and obedience and free-dom. In these reflections we are pointing to 1) the ten-sion between the God in all things, and the God above all things and 2) the possible tension between seeking God in all things, and finding God in all things. It seems best and most creative to hold on to both elements of these two tensions and not eliminate one or the other. In one tension we hold that God is in and also above all things: incarnate, indwelling, working in the world, and yet, in keeping with the fourth part of the Contemplation to Attain the Love of God, above Review for Religious Schineller • Finding or Seeking God in All Things 66 and beyond, the source of all. In the second tension, we maintain both the seeking for and the finding of God. St. Augustine writes that we would not seek God unless we had already found (and been found by) God. So I am simply suggesting that rather than conflate the two, or eliminate one or the other, we place a bit more emphasis on the seeking and searching, and less on the finding, in accord with Deut. 4:29: "from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul." A Caution and a Challenge Does this mean we should not use the phrase "find-ing God in all things"? No. It is in common use and does reflect the way Ignatius was interpreted by his contem-poraries even if Ignatius was normally reticent in using it. At the same time, we should use the words carefully and with awe, recalling that God is always greater and beyond. We dare not think we have captured God. We can preserve and use "finding God in all things" if we emphasize the search, the process, the prayerful effort of trying to find God in places and events around us. Two final cautions: Meister Eckhart said that "Foolish people deem that they should look upon God as though he stood there and they here. It is not thus." God is ever greater, ever here, and ever beyond. We might recall, too, the words of Fr. John Courtney Murray when he saw a poster to be used at a demonstration. Expressing the spirit of the times and a commitment to faith and justice, the poster read: "God Is Other People!" Murray is reported to have said "They forgot the comma after the word 'other.' It should read: 'God is Other, People!' " Probably the strongest challenge now is to seek and find God in the cities, in the world of technology and 71.1 2012 67 computers. We should not seek to find God only in sun-sets and stars and in the least of the sisters and broth-ers, but also amid skyscrapers and elevators, amid steel and concrete buildings, amid asphalt streets, on subways and in airplanes—wherever God seems to be edged out, overlooked, or denied. If the challenge seems daunting, we might be consoled by the words St. Augustine attri-butes to God: "you would not search for me unless you had already found me." And, we might add, we would not search for God "unless God had already found us." Notes 1 Avery Dulles sj, "The Ignatian Charism and Contemporary Theology." America (26 April 1997): 16. 2 Monumenta Historica Societatis Iesu, Mon. Nadal, iv, 651. 3 Monumenta Historica Societatis Iesu, Vita Ignatii Loyolae, in Fontes Narrativi, iv, 742. 4 Ignatius of Loyola, Autobiography, §99. 5 Ignatius of Loyola: Letters and Instructions, (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 2006), p. 342. 6 Adolfo Nicolás sj, "Challenges to Jesuit Higher Education Today." Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education 40 (Fall 2011): 9. 7 George Steiner, My Unwritten Books, (New York: New Directions Books, 2008), p. 209. 8 James Gustafson, "The Denial of God as God." Criterion (Autumn 1977): 6-9. 9 Erich Przywara sj, Deus Semper Major: Theologie der Exercitien (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1940). Review for Religious 68 In Distressing Disguise for Agnes Gonxha Bejaxhiu he's a lonely old man dandruff dusts his faded black shirt some polyester blend shiny, holding odors of sweat and cigarettes and left-overs some of which remains on the front of his trousers the purple around his neck shabby, soiled, worn-out even burned a little in one place careless as he is with his smokes over my head his palsied hand trembles and to my ears come mumbled words of grace while my heart strains to see Him, to see His true face, here before me in distressing disguise. Sean Kinsella Winter Sunset At exactly five-fifteen p.m. the over-ripe sun paused a second on the town's rim, all the horizon's color sealed in its neon pulp. I could hardly stop gazing, sure it would burst and spill red-orange juice, winter's redemptive blood, across the Western sky. Patricia Schnapp rsm The Warmth, the Will, and the Way The dilemma is that I am not making very steady progress on my spiritual journey. This leads me to think that I need more consistency. Since I already live "a stable way of life" as a member of a religious order, my basic direc-tion is set. I see that this way of life is leading me where the deepest currents of my heart want me to go. But despite that general clar-ity of direction, I find myself dawdling along, sometimes going backwards, often wandering off to explore some curiosity, rarely totally focused on the path, much less on the goal, of this particular journey on which the Way is also the End. We often pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts and "enkindle in them the fire" of 71.1 2012 sharing experi-ence 69 ben harrison Ben Harrison mc is a Missionaries of Charity Brother. He has worked in formation and has journeyed, in the U.S. and Europe, alongside homeless people, prisoners, addicts, and other people on the margins of society. His email is . Review for Religious Harrison • The Warmth, the Will, and the Way 70 his love. Once on a retreat I was complaining to the director that I didn't feel any sense of God's presence, and he assured me that I wouldn't be feeling the absence if there weren't a kind of presence; the longing itself was a sign of the Spirit's presence. If I could welcome that longing as a warming presence rather than endure it as a chilling absence, it would help to enkindle the fire of his love. When I speak of this warmth of heart I am not talk-ing about seeking emotional experiences in prayer but rather of finding that sense of inner presence that is so important in the prayer of Eastern Christianity. My mind and the actions it inspires range all over the place, but if I am attentive to that warmth in my heart, the inner pres-ence not only influences my thoughts and feelings but also anchors my actions and desires. This sense of warmth, then, helps me to be more consistent on my spiritual way. I frequently have very good insights, and for a long time I thought that they could keep me centered. I often thought, "Oh, what a brilliant idea! If I can only remember that every day, I will be set for life." And so I would make a note and stick it on the door, or I would write a prayer and say it every morning, until it became so routine that what I was saying didn't even register. Soon I would have another brilliant insight with life-changing potential. Such thoughts are like matches that provide real fire, but only for a few minutes. Then, unless the match is touched to a candle or to a heap of kindling, it is spent. I need something more reliable than insights. I need something more reliable than insights. 71.1 2012 71 Perhaps the secret is to do what would be done in a cottage in the woods: continually add fuel to the fire, a log at a time, to keep it burning. Then, late at night, bank the coals, rake them together in a little pile so that the heat will not dissipate. A few glowing embers will remain in the morning, upon which new kindling can be placed and fresh wood arranged so all is ready to warm the beginnings of the new day. That way the hearth never grows cold. I am discovering that this warmth of heart is a sign of the Spirit's presence with me, abiding in me, direct-ing me toward the goal. But there is something else that seems to be essential in order to deepen that presence and strengthen God's claim on me—what I would call will. The desire is there: the forward impulse, the yearn-ing for the heights, the longing to surrender my being to the One Who Is. What is the difference between this desire and will? To wish for something is to entertain a desire for it; to want it is to own that desire; to will it is to act on that desire, to put it into operation. Will has about it an element of determination. And it is not something I can drum up within myself. It has to be given. St. Paul says, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil 2:12-13). Will and the Vows As I think about my vocation, I would say that my will is expressed, above all, by the vows. My vows are the way I demonstrate to myself, to God, and to oth-ers this desire to belong totally to him. The Latin verb for will is volo, velle, and the Latin verb voveo, vovere means vow or wish. Though etymologically the roots of volo and voveo do not seem to be related, there is, Review for Religious Harrison • The Warmth, the Will, and the Way 72 to my mind, a consonance of meaning. The vows of religious life are a way of making concrete the double-edged desire that is God's desire for me, expressed in a call—a word spoken silently in the heart—that awakens a reciprocating desire in me. His desire to give himself completely to me sets that very same flame alight in me so that I desire to give myself irrevocably to him. The gentle fire of the Spirit's warmth that God enkindles in my heart is drawing me, slowly but surely, toward the blazing glory at the heart of God, and my vows repre-sent the power of that attraction and my determination by God's grace to reach that goal. I see the vows of religious life as the embodiment and expression of the will to be united with God and to give myself to him totally in a particular context, in response to his gift of himself to us in Christ. This is so whether we are speaking of the monastic vows of obedi-ence, stability, and conversion of life or the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience (or, for that matter, similar sets of vows or promises: those of priest-hood or sacramental marriage, of virginity or service, of oblate-hood or lay association). From primitive times a vow was a solemn promise to make some gift or sacrifice to a divinity as an earnest of a good requested or in thanksgiving for a boon received. Although on a literal level this sounds like a type of bargaining or commerce, I can also see it as a way of demonstrating to myself and my God how important something is to me, how sincerely I desire it, how des-perately I need it, how serious my intentions are. The medieval king might have prayed, "Lord, defend us from the threat of these brutal enemies and I will build a church for your glory." Or a mother may pray, "Lord, if you spare my daughter from this dread disease, 71.1 2012 73 I will do everything I can to support research for its cure." Or a widow may say, as one I know did, "Lord, if I am spared from this condition leading to blindness, I will never use my eyes to take pleasure in what is not good and pure." Thus we see how a vow is an expression of a wish for some good for oneself or others. The Italian word for such a commitment is impegno, which can be translated as "pledge." Literally, some-thing given in pegno is pawned. By the vows I am putting the treasure of my earthly life in pledge for a higher good. I am putting my security, my posterity, and my liberty in pawn for something I need more urgently. What is it, in this case, that I need so urgently? I need the grace to live up to this persistent impulse to give myself—an impulse that God has placed in my heart. I know that the faith, hope, and love in me are too weak and faltering to do the job, to get me where I yearn to go. And so I pledge what I have to him and entrust my poor being to him, not to pay him for what he freely gives, but to show him (and myself) that I am serious about following him and that I trust him with this pre-cious but paltry gift of my life, trust that he will keep it safe and see it redeemed and restored in his own time. Pledging my life to him, I am confident that he will give me the grace I need to live each day. In the world of commerce, one pawns something of value for ready money—something that has value but is not spendable, for something that can be spent. The ready cash makes it possible to buy what is needed today. Another word for this ready cash is currency, also called fluid or liquid assets. All these words—"current," "fluid," "liquid"— suggest an action of flowing and remind us of the Spirit, that spring of living water that flows forth from the heart of Christ. Review for Religious Harrison • The Warmth, the Will, and the Way 74 Thus, when I make my profession of vows, I am proclaiming my faith in God and my desire to belong to him. The vows that I pronounce represent the totality of my gift of self. In the institute to which I belong, we profess the evangelical counsels—the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These three vows are an apt symbol of the totality of my life. By dedicating to God all that I have, all that I love, and all my choices and decisions now and in the future, I am effectively giv-ing him all I am. This triad of the evangelical counsels reflects a totality of being, as do many similar triads. I have no trouble, for example, in seeing parallels between the vows and St. Ignatius's prayer surrender-ing "my memory, my understanding, my entire will." The traditional baptismal formula asks us to renounce "the world, the flesh, and the devil." Scripture tells us that we are to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind (Mt 22:37). The magi brought the treasures of the nations—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Micah tells us that our sole obligation is "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Mi 6:8). It is easy to see how the three evangelical counsels reflect the three theological gifts of faith, hope, and love. And finally, without putting too fine a point on the comparison, I suggest that the vow of poverty is descriptive of my relationship with the Father, without whom I am nothing and have nothing; chastity reflects my relationship with the Word, the Son, who is friend, Savior, and Bridegroom of souls; and obedience is the domain of the Spirit, who prompts the content of obe-dience and makes possible its practice. The act of making vows is thus a statement of my desire to surrender myself absolutely to the Absolute, to dedicate myself to his way and consecrate myself to his 71.1 2012 75 purpose. The mutuality of giving to which God invites me does not mean a mere absorption in each other. Though I would be content to lose myself in God, he seems to want more for me than that. God wants me to share his love for others and so, by my self-offering, he unites me to his own mission—his out-pouring, in-gathering action of universal love. Thus I am given to the particular apostolates and ministries of the institute in which I live my vocation. Sometimes vows are spoken of as sacred bonds. Bonds are something that we feel gripping us, holding or securing us. If bonds are involuntary we feel them as a constraint, an injustice. If they are desired, we feel them as a comfort, a belong-ing, an embrace. I suppose anyone who makes vows feels them sometimes as a restriction and some-times as a liberation. But part of the radi-cal nature of such a commitment is the protestation that one is willing to pay the price, that one values the liberation of giving oneself more than the security of having oneself. It is a recognition that dying to self is the road to life and that the cross shared is the victory won. Like the fox in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, I want nothing more than for the Little Prince to tame me, so that "the wheat, which is golden [like your hair], will remind me of you. And I'll love the sound of the wind in the wheat." The act of making vows is a statement of my desire to surrender myself absolutely to the Absolute. Review for Religious Harrison • The Warmth, the Will, and the Way 76 Consistency in the Way Returning, then, to my original point, I am saying that two things will help me to find a salutary consis-tency in my spiritual journey: the abiding warmth of the Spirit's presence in my heart, and the will—the determination—to yield to the relentless attraction of Jesus drawing me, and all, to himself. God's love for me in Christ arouses a reciprocating love in me. I give my poor self to him in pledge, not because I have to but because I want to, and he gives me, in return, the wherewithal to make the journey: the daily bread, the water from the rock, and the yearning for home—for the harbor—at the heart of God. Perhaps the greatest indication of his love that God has given me, from my point of view, is not his love itself for me (of which I can scarcely conceive) but my love for him, which is a sweet hunger, a soothing need. Nor is my love for him something that I can claim or that I often feel, but rather an occasional glimpse of light; a fitful melting of joy; a momentary, faint intima-tion of promised ecstasy. It is to the memory of those rare moments of tender quickening, of nostalgia for the unknown, that my will clings during the long periods of dryness, confusion, and loss. It is will that keeps me walking on the way when even the cherished memory fades and all I have left to fall back on is the Spirit's quiet presence in my heart. Indeed, it is all up to God. It is he who supports the journey from behind with his warm abiding. It is he who lures me from ahead through that hunger in my heart. And it is he who strengthens me on the way by the will to journey on. Each day's reminder of that will at work in me is the comforting burden of the vows, by which I experience within myself the debt of love, the 71.1 2012 77 yoke of gratitude, the claim of oneness by which I know that I am his. Being as I am, the fact that I do not manage to live my vows wholeheartedly is not surprising. But it is important that I feel the rub and the pinch and the chafe of them against my stubborn self. As my need and desire for God become stronger than all lesser needs and desires, so the bonds of my belonging to him will grow stronger than all my resistances. At the point that I can give myself without reserve, I will be free. And how do I dare to think that I will reach that point? St. Paul tells us that if God has gone so far as to give his Son for us, "will he not also give us all things with him?" (Rom 8:32). And Paul says further, "I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6). I trust that God would not have put this desire in my heart, and that of my companions on the way, if he didn't intend to give us the grace to see it through. Home Walking the Labyrinth at Chartres Home. Is it where I begin or end or at the middle stillpoint? Am I at home on the way? Here I am, Lord. Never far from the beginning always approaching the end continually circling the center. Eugene Cartier Review for Religious Getting with the Program P robably one of the most important graces of my novitiate was coming to realize that I had an addiction. It was a painful and embarrassing experience, and yet I have no doubt that it was the best thing that has happened to me in a number of years. During my novitiate I started accessing pornogra-phy online. It was a development I was so ashamed of that I was afraid it would herald the end of my journey into religious life. Previously I had bought magazines and sought out sexually stimulating images in films or through image search engines on the Internet. My behavior began to take root at an early age in romantic fantasy. I would fantasize about being with a girl and wooing her in some exotic setting. Even though I was sexually inexperienced and naive and did not know what adults did together between the sheets, I would some-times escape into this fantasy when I went to bed. 78 A young man writes of his experience of coming to terms during the novitiate with his addiction to pornography. He has requested that the article be published anonym

Issue 61.2 of the Review for Religious, 2002. ; Examen .Living with God Growing Older Religious Eife Perspectives MARCH APRIL 2002 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 2 Review for Relig4ous helps people respond and be faithful ~ to God's universal call to holiness by making available ~to them the spiritual legacies that flow from the charisms of CathOlic consecratea life. Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published bimonthly at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393 Telephone: 314-977-7363 ¯ Fax: 314-977-7362 E-Mail: review@slu.edu ¯ Web site: www.reviewforreligious.org Manuscripts, books for review, and correspondence with the editor: Review for Religious ¯ 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, MO 63108-3393 Correspondence about the Canonical Counsel department: Elizabeth McDonough OP Mount St. Mary's Seminary; Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Review for Religious ¯ P.O. Box 6070 ¯ Duluth, MN 55806. Periodical postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. See inside back cover for information on subscription rates. ©2002 Review for Religious Permission is herewith granted to copy any material (articles, poems, reviews) contained in this issue of Review for Religious for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific library clients within the limits outlined in Sections 107 and/or 108 of the United States Copyright Law. All copies made under this permission must bear notice of the source, date, and copyright owner on the first page. This permission is NOT extended to copying for commercial distribu-tion, advertising, institutional promotion, or for the creation of new collective works or anthologies. Such permission will only be considered on written applicatign to the Editor, Review for Religious. L VING OUR CATHOLIC LEGACIES Editor Associate Editors Canonical Counsel Editor Editorial Staff Advisory Board David L. Fleming SJ Clare Boehmer ASC Philip C. Fischer SJ Elizabeth McDonough OP Mary Afin Foppe Tracy Gramm Judy Sharp ~Adarmiaens G~.nadu dJoinan S. CFelling Sr. Raymond Marie Gerard FSP Eugene Hensell OSB Ernest E. Larkin OCarm Bishop Carlos'A. Sevilla SJ Miriam D. Ukeritis CsJ MARCH APRIL 2002 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 2 contents 118 feature Examen: Persons in Relationships Joseph A. Tetlow sJ provides new insights by focusing examen on our many personal relationships in daily life. 129 137 living with God No Rapine in the Holocaust: Eremitical Life Today Karen Karper Fredette surveys some of the different forms eremitical life has taken in a fresh flowering in church life today. Metaphysical Self in Other Mystical Traditions James J. Magee defines metaphysical self as one's self residing in God and God residing in it and then examines this term as it appears in Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim (Sufl) mysticism. 146 growing older Aging: Spiritually Present to the Burning Bush Geraldine M. Wodarczyk CSFN reflectively enters us into her six-year experience of living among her own congregation's aging and prayerful sisters. Review for Religious 166 Coping with Repetition: A Spirituality for Ministering to the Elderly Helen Jean Novy HM proposes some spiritual considerations to guide our responses to the repetitiousness of sick/elderly people. 169 religious ~i~e perspectives Medaille's "Means" and Religious Life's Renewal Joan Wagner ssJ focuses on six "means" derived from Father Medaille's writings that nourish religious community life. 183 The Decline of Religious Life: A Success Story Michael Dominic W. Ledoux OFM asks whether the next task for religious congregations is to let go of our hold on institutions and ministries and allow them to find a charism based upon their own stories and histories rather than being too strongly attached to religious communal stories. " 191 Membership and Leadership: An Organic Whole Beatrice M. Eichten OSF sketches out the patterns of interworking between leaders and members that enhance effective leadership in community life. flepar men s 116 Prisms 202 Canonical Counsel: Exclaustration: Further Considerations 211 Book Reviews March-April 2002 115 prisms Jesus' transfiguration was a favorite passage of the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. With his own description of evo-lution progressing by crossing thresholds, he found the transfigured Jesus giving promise of crossing the threshold from being Jesus a marginal Jew to being the risen Christ Pantocrator. Whatever our response to evolutionary theory, the crossing of thresholds gives insight into words and images used to describe the mysteries of our Catholic faith. We seem to be unaware that in faith we have crossed a .threshold between commonsense language and language bursting with faith realities. For exam-ple, our scripture and prayer language in the Lenten and Easter seasons describes redemption as our being purchased at a price. Sometimes this has led to the preaching and imaging of God paying off the devil by Jesus' passion and death. So we--the human race-- were bought at the cost of Jesus' death in order to release us from the grip of the evil one. At other times, it seems that our language has seen God as being appeased or satisfied by the pain and suffering and blood shed by his Son. And we have wondered: What kind of God is this? The New Testament writers built upon the imagery of the Hebrew Scriptures and presumed a poetic under-standing of the religious world. Following Scripture and inspired by their own culture and times, theolo-gians, artists, and spiritual writers over the centuries have all contributed, with mixed results, to various ways of understanding and celebrating the central mystery of our salvation/redemption. In the United States, with R~view for Reli~o~s our sometimes sanitized religious worship removing us from devotional or emotional involvement, we still tend to slip back to a rather morbid focusing on physical pain and the shedding of blood in Lenten prayer and especially in the Holy Week triduum. Perhaps we find ourselves praying with an unhealthy fixation on pain and suffering as the way to God. We need to acknowledge that Holy Thursday has more than just a chronological precedence to Good Friday. The Eucharist is key to a solidly Christian approach to the Passion and Cross, one that is psychologically and spiritually sound and healthy. As St. Ignatius Loyola points out, Jesus' institution of the Eucharist is "the greatest mark of his love." We may be surprised that it is not Jesus' passion and death that help us to understand the Eucharist, but it is the other way around. The Eucharist shows us that Jesus holds nothing back from us in his love. He gives all that he is, sacramentally, to be the food and drink of our life, a life in the same bloodline as God. The word redeemer from its Hebrew derivation points to one taking on the obligations of blood or familial relationship. In itself redeemer does not imply pain or suffering. In the Hebrew Scriptures redeemer describes God in this familial relation to his chosen people. In Jesus we see God fulfilling the redemption of all peoples. By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus intends that the sacramental "nowness" of a blood relationship--the reality of our being adopted as God's sons and daughters--is to be celebrated in our daily living. We have the saying that "love costs." On Holy Thursday Jesus is showing sacramentally that he pays whatever it costs. That is how much he loves us and loves his Father. All our scrip-tural words about payment--ransoming us with his blood, pur-chasing us for a price, and so on--are images, sometimes confusingly used, looking towards the heartfelt truth that "love costs." But God is not paying off anyone. Jesus is not buying us back from the devil. It is the reality that "love costs." Jesus shows us the face of the God who does not count the cost to show his love. The Eucharist is our key to all the events of the Passion and Death. The key presents itself to us every time we look at the crucifix, every time we come forward for Communion. We are invited to cross a faith threshold, thereby experiencing anew God as Love and our identity as beloved. David L. Fleming SJ II7 March-April 2002 JOSEPH A. TETLOW feature Examen: Persons in Relationships You are likely to take account of your relationships with others whe'never you make the examen that St. Ignatius Loyola recommends. But why? Deep down in our own hearts, is there not plenty for God and me to do, without distractions from all sides? Actually, no, and for good reasons. The first reason comes from revelation. The human person is created in the likeness of a God who is One only and also Three Persons. This impenetra-ble mystery reveals to us that each of the Persons has identity only in and through the relations among the Three. It is in that likeness that your own "person" is modeled: you are a person only in your relationships. You will always be your mother's child and your father's offspring, always your siblings' brother or sis-ter. Moreover, it is in and through those relationships and others--teachers, neighbors, friends, even ene-mies- that you have become the person you are. To tell who Jesus of Nazareth is, Matthew begins with a genealogy. After telling about incarnation and birth, he goes right to Jesus' relationship with John the Baptist. Joseph A. Tedow SJ last wrote for us in September-October 1998. His address is Secretariate for Ignatian Spirituality; C.P. 6139; 00195 Roma Prati; Italy. Review for Religious Here is the second reason, closer to the everyday, for doing this exercise. You are always relating to your family, where per-sonhood (self) takes early shape and within which you continue to develop throughout life. You work with others, creating another set of day-to-day relationships. You may belong to a religious community, requiring you to develop a subtle lifelong set of relationships with persons whom God has chosen for you. You may belong to an apostolic team--parish, school, center, hospital, program--which requires cooper-ation and planning. All of these relation-ships require attention and prayer, since "we are all parts of one another" and together we make up the Body of Christ (Rm 12:5). As a very practical matter, this exercise might be a regular part of the prayer of those who work in apostolic partnerships. These are not simple in the church today, and a lot of "personality conflicts" disguise rather dis-orderly emotions and affects. Moreover, a lot of apostolic planning and community planning gets scuttled because of unre-flected- upon personal relationships. Teams and communities commonly blame "the process" for failed planning, when the actual problem is the relationships among the members. This examen, besides helping you know whom to thank God for, helps reveal and even heal such dysfunctional relationships. There are reasons why everyone would benefit from this special exercise. Every life today is plagued in some measure by individualism and alienation. One consequence affects the examen. Even when examining how you are getting along with others, you tend to focus on your own part in the relationship-- "How am I doing?"mand less on the other or on the relation-ship itself. This exercise challenges that focus on the self. It draws you to appreciate, for the right reasons, the people whom God has put into your life. "Each of us should think of our neighbors and help them to become stronger Christians" (see Rm 15:2). You enact individualism by thinking about yourself in isolation rather than in relationships with others. This examen asks you to look directly at the others in your life and the relationships that hold you together in Christ. Every life today is plagued in some measure by individualism and alienation. 119 March-April 2002 Tetlow * Examen Your relationships are where, and the deepest reason why, you exercise the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and tem-perance and a host of others that are needed in order to love the way Jesus loves. Relationships, especially your family and community relationships but also your apostolic and job rela-tionships, are where you give in to sins of pride, covetousness, lust, envy, anger, gluttony, and sloth. If you find this hard to believe, perhaps you really need to do this exercise for a while. Here is the last and ultimate reason to use an examen specif-ically about your relationships: to make sure you are loving the way Jesus loves. Ignatius's Contemplation on Love--the more descriptive title would be "Contemplation to learn to love the way God loves"--begins with two prenotes. The first is that love "ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than in words," and the second is that love consists in constantly sharing, the lover and the beloved giving and receiving in open generosity (SpEx §231). This is how Jesus loves, always in relationship with the Other and the others. This exercise takes you directly to the issue whether you are loving as Jesus loved or are, in actu-ality, doing something else. Practicing the Exercise What is recommended here can be used as a single exercise, in which case it will require a long period of quiet time. It has been used profitably as the material for an eight-day retreat. Once you have gone through it for a while, however, you will know which parts of it to apply on a given day or occasion. You will know that sometimes you need to run through and examine all of your relationships: family, friends, work, community mem-bers, parish council, and so forth. At other times you will want to examine something that has happened, like a disagreement that left you far more unsettled than the matter deserved, or a deci-sion not to phone someone. This exercise will help you to uncover your true purposes, responses, and responsibilities. You can think about one partner or colleague; you can look at one group or committee or team. And so on. (The exercise as it is given here is divided into five sections, following its Ignatian inspiration.) First, taking time to thank God for those whom the Spirit has put into your life. A good way to do this is by making three columns Review for Religious on a sheet of paper. In the first, write some names (parent, sibling, friend, coworker), choosing those who belong to the period you are covering. If you are moving historically through your life, you would begin with parents or grandparents; if you are covering your life situation today, you would name the people with .whom you relate regularly. In the second column, across from each name, write the relationship you have with this person. You might want to add some details beyond a mere title. For instance, to "childhood friend" you might add "first date"; to parent, "died too young"; to colleague, "real partner." This assigning of titles may not be entirely simple. Choosing the appropriate title for a sibling.who is also a lifelong inti-mate friend and a business partner would take some thought--thought precisely about the relationship that you are given and choosing. Then, in the third column, for which you will need plenty of space, describe the relationship you have with this person. How has this person helped shape your self and your life, in the past or more recently? For instance, "rooted me in Christ" about a deeply religious and well-informed parent who established you in your faith. A trust-worthy friend may have told you the truth about yourself and your opinions and decisions, bringing you to know yourself before God. This step will give you grounds for a good deal of thanksgiving. Someone taught you to read and write. Someone showed you how to play your favorite sport. Someone intro-duced you to the Scripture.s. Someone challenged you to for-giveness because he or she not only hurt your feelings but did you harm. Someone may have betrayed you as Judas betrayed your Master. In this examen you probe how you relate to these people, not only how you feel about them, but especially what you have done and are doing in this relationship. In every instance your Creator and Lord is giving you an array of gen-erous gifts, sometimes surprising ones, freely and constantly, gifts for you to be thankful for. There is no gift as great as the gift of a faithful friend or lover who means only good for you. 12I March-April 2002 Tetlow ¯ Examen People know that there is, no gift as great as the gift of a faithful friend or lover who means only "good for you. So here is occasion to name the influences that such persons have had on your values and choices. You may well have adopted a friend's special perspective on the church or on parenting. You may become a member of a solid program because a friend invited you into it. You may have made a life-shaping choice under his or her influence. This point is well worth dwelling on, because through these relationships God is moment by moment creat-ing us as persons. Whom has God put into your life to give it shape? How have they shaped it? How do you relate to them? Here is the core of this exercise. Thanking God for these friends and relations will be incom-plete- and perhaps impossible--unless we consciously approve of how God is even now creating us and those we relate with. If you have an elderly parent who is still clear and keenly interested in your life, that is a great gift. An equally great gift is an elderly parent who depends entirely on you. If you have colleagues who depend on you, that is a gift. So is it when there are colleagues on whom you can depend. And sons or daughters will be their parents' sons or daughters forever, however they may be doing just now. The members of a religious community--real persons--are the living environment of each religious's living, growing, and dying. This exercise asks that you grow conscious of a reality we take so much for granted that we do not think about it at all. How often do you note that the sun rose this morning? How much do you value the water that comes from your tap? We treat our relationships rather like that. They are just there. They do not take thinking about except in special circumstances like an argument or a celebration. But every day each relation is a gift greater than today's sun, and each person given you to love and to be loved by is as indispensable to your thriving as the pure water that you drink without giving it a thought. Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, when you walked this earth you lived a family life with neighbors and friends. When you began to spread the Good News, You gathered around you seventy-two, and twelve, and three, who were precious to you, each in a special way, because Review for Religious the Spirit of Love gave them to you. Never has there been a companion better than you, a colleague more trusting and compassionate, a partner more giving and generous. Help me to know those many, those most special ones whom the Spirit of Love has given me in my life, and, with you, to thank the Father for the gift of them. Amen. Second, asking for attention, insight, and courage. Call on the Holy Spirit to let you pay attention to the others in your life. Ask to feel real interest in others, to get outside yourself and your interior concerns to see the people around you as they are. Ask to pay this attention in the way that God does, who hates nothing he has created and lets rain fall on just and unjust alike. Ask for insight into each person and into your relationship. Some are growing more important in your life, and perhaps some are growing away from you. Ask to know how. Ask the Spirit to let you see what you are looking at, and also to let you hear what you are listening to--from and about those whom the Spirit has given you. Finally, beg for the courage to see clearly and to affirm your connections to others, to feel how they have grown into your life and yourself. How have you reached out to them and perhaps risked something to know and love them? Ask boldness to assert your attachments to others, or your detachment and distanc-ing. Ask to be able to see how another or others are calling you to grow or, alternatively, how another or others are inviting you to be less authentic. Prayer Spirit of the risen Lord, who moved the Holy One to care for friends with his still-wounded hands and pierced heart, make me attentive to my friends even with my fearing toudh and wearing spirit. Open my eyes to see what gifts they really are; open my ears to hear what good they really mean to say. Brace my spirit to feel what they need me to feel. And, as you steeled the heart of Jesus while he lived misunder-stood and then betrayed, brace me now--while I find how I have fared in risking my self--to remain true to who I am ~and to be open in giving and receiving love. Amen. March-April 2002 Tetlow ¯ Examen Third, examining how relationships are doing. To begin with, stay with relationships that are going well. Simply look down the three columns you have written and note the name, relation-ship, and influence, and let yourself be contented in Christ with this love that falls into his pattern of loving. Using the columns is an effective way of examining relationships, but there are other ways. You could begin with the persons most closely related to you by blood and move out through extended family to friends. Or begin with the people you spend most of your daytime with, colleagues, coworkers, and so on. You could begin with superiors and move to those who answer to you. All of these steps could be limited to a smaller set of people if that would be useful at this time. Then come to those relationship that are not going well. Possible failures are sometimes glaring, like anger or blatantly selfish action, and sometimes quite subtle and complex. For every relationship is triune: one person, the relationship, and another person, and all three matter. Honestly and exactingly lay five templates (to be described below) over each conflicted or faltering relationship. As you con-template your relationship with each person under each tem-plate, demand an account of yourself, for failures in relationships show up in many ways and manifest many personality limitations or flaws, or simple sins. For instance, perhaps you find yourself saying negative things about an old friend's character. What has happened in this r~lationship and what is your responsibility for it? What are you doing or failing to do that damages the rela-tionship, or the mission you share with this person (or persons)? These failures or dysfunctions can be variously accounted for. One way is by looking at them under five categories (which I borrow from Roberta Gilbert's Extraordinary Relationships). The categories will help you look clearly and honestly at any fal-tering relationship. They will demand that you take your respon-sibility for what you have done, what you are doing, what you must do, to make this relationship a strong and holy one. The Templates 1. Conflict. You cannot come to agreement with another in some serious matter. You have never got- Review for Religious ten over a rancorous argument. You answer each other with "yes, but." You are losing respect for the person. You question whether you can ever work together again. Any of these suggests a relationship of conflict, which is often a hot relationship. 2. Distancing. You hold each other at arm's length. You have become very polite to each other and a lit-tle standoffish. You rarely talk about anything serious; instead, you chat. You would deal as openly and warmly with a stranger. You would simply rather not have to pay attention to this person anymore. You are uncomfortable around him or her. This is distancing, and, though it seems to suggest that you have no relationship with this person, you have--a special one. 3. Cutting Off. You stay out of each other's way. You do not communicate even when you have to convey some information. You simply do not like this per-son. Your judgment is that this person is harming the family, community, apostolate. You would like to be rid of this person. This is a cutoff, and it is an intense relationship. 4. Excessive Mutual Dependency. You depend on each other, too much or far too much. One of you makes the decisions. One of you needs the emotional support of the other, and the other needs to give it. Others see you as a pair. You are cutting others out of this relationship, emotionally or practically. This is excessive dependency--in a way, too much of a relationship. 5. Triangling. You have an issue with another and, instead of going to the other, take it to a third person. You find yourself saying things about this person, not to him or h~r, but to others. You gossip about this person. You complain about his or her shortcomings to others, never to the person. Alternatively, you passively allow others to tell you things about this person which they ought to be saying to him or her. 6. Could there be another template? You may find a March-April 2002 Tetlow ¯ Examen better term for a ~elationship in your life that is faltering, a term that clarifies for you what you are doing and might do. The Applications When you are on a team with another, you are not free to remain unrelated. The only issue is how you will choose to relate: whether well or badly, creatively or destructively, and, indeed, holily or unholily--all the more, of course, within your own family or among those who have somehow become your friends. Each of the five templates names a relationship--dysfunc-tional, but a relationship. It is crucial to accept that you are related to a person even when you cut him or her off, or are constantly arguing and debating with him or her, or when you are triangling. Humility demands--since it is truth--that you affirm your own contribution to making a relationship bad, or your cooperation in any dysfunctional relationship. Each of your relationships will have its own intensities, its own occasions, its own mixture of the apostolic, social, intel-lectual, affective, and so on. Each lays on you the light yoke of responsibility to accept the relationship as a gift from God, who is giving you freedom and the chance to love as God loves. When you find that one of the templates describes a current relationship, you will have to look into your heart more deeply to find out what is going on. At the same time, you will have to keep aware that the relationship has its own life and tempo, and that there is always "the other" or "the others." Prayer Jesus of Nazareth, my good brother, you worked with many and loved many. You loved aging laborers and the idle rich. You loved holy sisters and disrep-utable women. You worked with tax collectors and scribes. You chose partners who doubted and one who betrayed. You chose them, accounted for your choices to the Father, and stood by your friends to the end. Let me find my way in sureness and in risk, and give me courage to name those I relate to and clarity to know our shared responsibility. Help me to Review for Religious give my account to the Father and to stand by my friends to the end. Amen. Fourth, asking forgiveness for your sins and healing for those you have wounded and for yourself. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." This is the only condi-tion in the prayer Jesus taught. You cannot overestimate the weight of forgiving others. Yours, after all, is "the ministry of reconciliation," for you are in mission with Jesus Christ. You cannot expect forgiveness and the experience of reconciliation, except to the extent that you have forgiven and become recon-ciled with others. This is no trivial matter, and as good a reason as any to make an examen something like this one. Pray for those whom you have failed, or offended, or hurt. You need to beg the Spirit of Love to make up for your short-comings. Prayer Holy Triune God, in you, giving and taking barely differ since both are done as love. I have taken and not given. I have given what I did not mean to give and not given what I wish I had, so far, so very far, am I from loving as you love. Grant'me to be close to you in this, at least: that I forgive wholeheartedly those who wound me, as Jesus forgave those who wounded him. And then I ask that you forgive me and make up for all that I have left undone. Amen. F~h, choosing to do one thing tomorrow. You are wise to choose a single act to do, a concrete act like making a phone call (some-times the hardest thing you will do that day) or writing a note. Your discernment brings you to see how you can enact your gratitude to God for the people in your life. You take responsi-bility for your part in the relationship, not trying to redeem, but only to help the other and to bring him or her closer to Christ. You may need to focus on one person: to reconcile, to praise or thank, to enjoy being with. You may need to focus on one group of people like your family or community or colleagues. You may need to focus on yourself: to accept that God is making you a unique lover, to accept others' acceptance of you as you are; or, alternatively, y6u may need to address some habit that you see aggravates others or turns them off. Or you may I27 March-~tprll 2002 Tetlow ¯ Examen need to see that you really have entered into in a new relation-ship. Or you may need to get ready for a meeting by spending precious time really preparing for it or praying that you.do well. Finally, you may need to focus on some concrete event that is coming up: an interview, a meeting, a confrontation. Or you may need to focus on some long-term development in a relarionship--unsettling conflict, growing distance, emotional-ities-- so that you can take some concrete action. In all of these focuses, you are trying to keep Jesus' own commandment, "Love one another the way I have loved you." Prayer 0 Lord, reconciler of us to ourselves, the whole world and all rime would barely hold all the acts that love demands of us. I beg you to accept the little act that for this time is what I can and would do to learn to love like you. Amen. Annunciation Holy one, favored one, the Lord is with you. Be it bright angel's word or voices in the dark or cannonball or caress, any manner of invitation is prelude to Yes Holy ones, favored ones, the Lord is with us. Eugene Cartier Review for Religious KAREN KARPER FREDETTE No Rapine in the Holocaust: Eremitical Life Today '~e what you are called to be--a passionate seeker of God through continual prayer that allows 'no rapine in the holocaust,'" declares a woman in her seventies dwelling in a rural hermitage in Massachusetts. She emphasizes the total dedication she deems necessary for her chosen vocation--that of a hermit. This apo-dictic statement is culled from 140 responses to a ques-tionnaire sent to 600 hermits and solitaries. The survey was circulated by an international newsletter for her-mits, "Raven's Bread: Food for Those in Solitude." Replies flowed in from such diverse places as New Zealand, French Canada, the Philippines, Bavaria, Ireland, Mexico, and forty of the fifty United States. This twenty-three percent response rate is con-sidered a phenomenal return on a survey and, of itself, says something significant about eremites. Interviewing a single hermit is a rare event; taking the pulse of large enough numbers to determine trends would be an impossible task if eremites themselves were the aloof, people-hating individuals portrayed in popular literature. This survey reveals, however, that Karen Karper Fredette writes from 18065 Highway 209; Hot Springs, North Carolina 28743. 129 March-April 2002 Fredette * No Rapine in the Holocaust a lifestyle seasoned by hours of solitary prayer produces human beings distinguished by hospitality of spirit and a rare compassion. The essential hiddenness of eremiticat life is achieved by blending into one's surroundings. Recent History of Eremitism Even before Vatican Council II, a movement toward solitude and eremitical living had been noted. An historical but almost forgotten intervention at the council by Bishop Remy de Roo initiated a process that resulted in a new canon (c. 603) being written into the revised'Code of Canon Law that appeared in 1983. Bishop de Roo expressed his con-viction that the renewed vitality of the eremitical calling "indicates a special influence of the Holy Spirit, who inspires initiatives beneficial to the church and the modern world." Additionally, de Roo made the prophetic point that recognition of hermits would correct the impression that the practice of poverty, chastity, and obedience is limited to those living communal religious life. The myriad forms of hermit life reported in the recent survey prove the validity of this forecast. When an ancient vocation is recovered, old modalities often prove inadequate and new styles are fashioned. But can one devise a single expression for a call that transcends definitions of religious groups and flourishes among a devout and' occa-sionally unchurched fringe of society? What demographics, if any, can be assigned to an amorphous and largely hidden sub-culture that owns no common affiliation--nor desires any? In an effort to assess the state of eremitical life in the 21st century, the recent questionnaire invited hermits to draw their own demo-graphics. The results have been illuminating and inspiring. ¯ For some of us, a hermit may be living in the next apartment or down the street. Contrary to the caricature of hermits in their far caves, only three out of 140 reporting solitaries live in the "wilderness." A large number (31 percent) dwell in rural areas, but even more (43 percent) are to be' found in urban or Review for Religious suburban settings. Eight of those responding to the survey have chosen a site in the inner city. The essential hiddenness of eremitical life is achieved by blending into one's surroundings in such a way as,~to pass unnoticed even by one's neighbors. Many hermits abhor being singled out and so avoid any identifying sign of their inner dedication to solitude. Others, however, accepting the value of witnessing to a transcendent Reality in our midst, choose a simple habit and seek a recognized status within the church. Their countercultural stance is not militant, but rather a silent encouragement to others that a dif-ferent life is possible from that preached by an all-pervasive consumer society. When and to Whom Does the Call Come? A woman living in the southeastern United States writes: "I first heard the 'call' when I was four years old. I did not know What it meant--I only knew that it shook me to my founda-tion. I married, bore two children, and became a single mother. In my studies for clinical psychology, I discovered the works of Carl Jung. My inner life began shouting for attention. I listened. I shut down my practice, moved, got the children on their feet, and became a solitary. That was twenty years ago." A woman in the Philippines says, "Friends thought I was a fool to give up a secure full-time teaching position in a univer-sity, which sadly didn't leave me space and energy to pursue contemplative living--the one thing that gave meaning to all the rest." A married hermit living in California says, "I was a Hindu monk for five years, but the community did not support my attraction to hermit life." Ninety-eight women and forty-two men responded to the Raven's Bread survey. One-third of these are in their fifties. One-fourth are in their sixties. Only six persons responding are in their thirties. Further data confirms that most received the eremitic call later in life rather than earlier. Twenty-seven percent of those responding said they entered an eremitic lifestyle in their fifties, and twenty percent in their forties. Only eighteen percent followed the call to solitude while in their twenties or thirties. Maturity and life experience are necessary before a person 131 March-April 2002 Fredette * No Rapine in the Holocaust can launch into the rigors of solitary living, though the desire may have been planted much earlier in life. This fact of mid-life transition is an echo of the ideal life-pattern espoused by many Eastern cultures. A person joins a monastery or becomes a monk, not at the beginning of life (except for a brief training period), but only after one has fulfilled family obligations and achieved a certain financial success that one then freely leaves behind. The initial results from the survey indicate that in the Western world the call to solitude replicates this wise rhythm. Good physical health and fitness are the norm among solitary dwellers. Forty-seven percent describe their health as "good," and thirty-eight percent claim "excellent" health. Mental and emotional stability radiate from the responses to the reflec-tion questions that accompanied the survey. For example, a Catholic priest in his fifties writes from an urban hermitage in California: "The grace and essence of solitary living is the abil-ity to live in and be continually conscious of the Presence of God, to become more aware of who one is, to become enlight-ened to see more and more with the vision of God, to struggle to live the compassion of God, to grow in serenity and peace-- in a word, to live the freedom of the children of God." Religious Affiliation and Status The largest number of respondents (92 of 140) are Roman Catholic, but the Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Baptist churches are also represented. Among the respondents we also find persons from the Society of Friends and Orthodox churches and from various Eastern mystical traditions as well. Of the Christian denominations, Catholicism has the most hermit-friendly atmosphere, but even here eremites frequently mention lack of support and outright discouragement of their aspirations. Of the ninety-two Catholic respondents, only seventeen had been recognized as hermits under canon 603; an additional six had professed a state of consecrated virginity under canon 604. The obstacle to canonical recognition most frequently cited by respondents was the indifference of bishops. Many local ordi-naries were suspicious and expressed unwillingness to allow per-sons to pursue church-sanctioned hermit life in their dioceses. Review for Religious In the United States, only three dioceses are reported in this sur-vey to have more than one hermit living according to canon 603. A woman living in an inner-city neighborhood in England says: "The one and only meeting I had with my present bishop (a Benedictine monk) lasted only a few minutes. I had pressured him into giving me an appointment and had waited eight months to see him. I asked if he would help me become publicly pro-fessed, and he said no. That was it, a monosyllable, no expla-nation, no hesitation, no interest, no concern. I had been living as a hermit for twelve years at that time." Sheila Richardson, who is working on her master's degree in canon law at the University of St. Paul in Ottawa, inquires pointedly: "Are bishops aware of canon 605? This canon requires diocesan bishops to strive to discern new gifts of consecrated life, assist promoters of such lifestyles, and protect these new forms by appropriate statutes." Eremitical life is flourishing without much active support from the establishment. This may well be a blessing, allowing persons seeking to live as hermits or solitaries freedom to devise the form of life that best expresses their aspirations without concern about standards only a select few can meet. Exploring the various categories of individuals who choose a predominantly solitary life, we find 67 single lay persons, 24 married people, 38 members of religious congregations, and 15 ordained ministers, male and female, from six different denominations. Catholic priests who are living as hermits often exercise a limited ministry among people living nearby. They have the permission of their local ordinaries to live in retirement from most of the demands of pastoral ministry and devote the larger portion of their time to the "works" of eremitical life in solitude. Others have established a rhythm of part-time ministry with a certain number of days each week spent in solitude. Another priest is searching: "I am now at the point of decision. I am looking for a hermit-loving bishop where I might support myself by celebrating weekend Masses and confessions, perhaps in some priestless parish. Beyond that, I would be free to live in my own cabin following my own hermit schedule." Being a member of a religious community, whether active or contemplative, does not guarantee understanding of or support March-April 2002 Fredette * No Rapine in the Holocaust for an eremitic calling--something which, incidentally, may arise after a person has faithfully pursued religious life for many years. Thirty-seven of the hermits responding to the survey are still members of religious congregations. But, of the laypersons now living as hermits, sixty percent were members of a religious con-gregation at an earlier stage in their journey. Half of the former religious women claim they left their community so they could follow their attraction to solitude. Many said they were deeply grieved by this "necessity" of departure. Only two of the male religious say that their reason for severing connections with their religious order was in order to pursue solitary life. In other words, twenty-five percent of the men who left religious life did so because they were unable to live solitary life within their com-munities; fifty percent of the women left for the same reason. The most surprising category to surface from an analysis of survey responses is that of married hermit. Strictly speaking, this is a contradiction in terms and one that is hard to justify. But, for those who so identify themselves, the vocation is real and valid. Of the twenty-three respondents who are married, not all claimed to be hermits, but more than half did so. In an effort to understand this phenomenon, the following question was posed: "If you are married and are attracted to solitude, how do you work this out with your spouse?" In reply a woman in Arizona said: "The working out of mar-riage and solitude contains., every contradiction that one can experience in making oneself vulnerable in love to God and the unfolding of God's call in another. Two people can be authen-tically called to solitude and to solitude with each other, but the expressions of it can be so very different. The sharing of phys'ical space has been of great pragmatic concern for us recently--how to arrange our home so it can facilitate simplic-ity of life, prayer, and solitude." A man in Connecticut said: "I decided to separate my own liturgy commitments from my marriage by rising each morning at three for my prayer schedule. Also, I go to bed a little before my spouse to be alone once more in prayer." A woman married to a permanent deacon said: "He shares my attraction to silence and solitude although his ministry is pastoral and mine is mainly prayer. Our small country parish requires very little contact with the people for me. I work qui- Review for Relig4ous etly and prayerfully in the background while he ministers to the people. Everyone seems to understand and accept this arrangement." A woman frankly confesses: "It [attraction to solitude] cre-ated great problems. The marriage ended because we could not work it out. We remained friends." Daily Lifestyles, Daily Problems One hundred and one of the 140 respondents to the sur-vey describe themselves as living alone with significant periods of solitude and prayer. Forty-four of these have a written sched-ule incorporating prayer, work, reading, and relaxation. Eighty-seven of the 140 respondents live an informal mix of these elements. Some of these noted that they had begun with a written schedule that gradually became a more flexible routine. Seventy-eight of the 140 re-spondents pray with others one or more times a week. The most frequent prayer-form cited was meditation. Almost ninety percent find daily periods of meditative prayer a necessity. Nearly as many include Eucharistic Liturgy as part of their daily or weekly prayer routine. Most respondents find special periods of retreat important. Almost half arrange for an "annual r~treat; some manage monthly or even weekly periods of retreat. Penitential practices preferred are fasting and vigils. Almsgiving is important, with forty-three percent giving either in cash or in kind. Thirty-six eremites have made public profession of the evan-gelical counsels. Thirty-eight have committed themselves pri-vately, their vows or promises witnessed by a church-related person. Almost all respondents (103) value spiritual direction, though many said that finding a spiritual guide has been diffi-cult. Forty-seven hermits function as spiritual guides for others. One hundred and one of the 140 respondents to the survey describe themselves as living alone with significant periods of solitude and prayer. 135 March-April 2002 Fredette ¯ No Rapine in the Holocaust The survey listed six areas that could prove problematic for eremites: housing, income, spiritual guidance, relationships with church representatives, physical health, and personal fears and insecurities. The most frequently cited problem is difficulties with church representatives; the next, finding adequate spiri-tual guidance. The expected difficulties of locating a suitable site and generating enough income had proved less trouble-some. In this third millennium of Christianity, eremitical life is experiencing a fresh flowering, with new blooms appearing on the ancient vine. Butthe essence remains the same: "For me, the grace of solitary living is Emptiness," a married hermit member of an oblate Benedictine community states categorically. "No rapine in the holocaust" continues to be the stark demand of solitary life. Lake's Edge At night I hear the motion of the lake. It sighs to its own heart. Foam frosts the weight of wetness flung toward the house where my light burns. I am waiting for the wind to bring the message that I long for, the meaning of breath and motion, and who it is that sends waves pulsing toward this empty shore. Kate Martin OSC Review for Religious JAMES J. MAGEE Metaphysical Self in Other Mystical Traditions Ion an article in this journal (1994), I examined the devel-pment of metaphysical self in the writings of eight Christian mystics, concluding with Thomas Merton's definition (1966, p. 180) referring to "the depths of people's hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes." In short, metaphysical self is the term for one's self residing in God and God residing in it. Respondents to the article took the occa- ¯ sion to point out that metaphysical se/fappears also in the writ-ings of mystics from other religious traditions and recommended that I enlarge the presentation by incorporating some of them. Since these correspondents were women religious more famil-iar than I with these various mystical traditions, I asked them to participate in a monthly online chat room to examine meta-physical self as it appears in Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim (Sufi) mysticism. Our group of nine has met for the past five years, and this article presents some of the riches these mystical traditions brought to our understanding of meta-physical self. Each month we decided upon two primary sources we would examine in common, one Christian and one from another James J. Magee has written nine articles for our journal, the last in 1994. He is professor of counseling and gerontology at College of New Rochelle; New Rochelle, New York 10805. March-April 2002 tradition. In addition, each of us read the historical and con-textuai introductions preceding the texts or a monograph explaining their specific themes and imagery. At the conclusion of this article is a bibliography of the sources that we found particularly fruitful. Each tradition has its own style, some directly didactic and others more metaphorical. Each elabo-rates upon metaphysical self with novel, arresting paradoxes and engaging imagery that invigorated our familiarity with our own Christian mystics. Each, too, emphasizes the following components of metfiphysical self: the relational, nondualistic rootedness of self in God; transcendent individuality; engaged detachment as an expression of metaphysical self. Throughout this endeavor we dealt with paradoxes and found the most exhil-arating paradox in the power of other traditions to confirm our Christocentric perspective. Residing in God's Unconditional Acceptance This brief sampling of Christian mystics illustrates the con-tinuing emphasis they placed on the-self-residing-in-God: From Meister Eckhart: The soul is so completely one with God that the one cannot be understood without the other. One can think heat easily enough without fire and the shining with-out the sun, but God cannot be understood without the soul nor the soul without God, so utterly are they one. (p. 309) It is God's pleasure and rapture to discover iden-tity, because he can always put his whole nature into it--for he is this identity itself. (p. 167) From Julian of Norwich: Our soul sits in God in true rest, and our soul stands in God in sure strength, and our soul is naturally rooted in God in endless love. (p. 188) Between God and our soul there is neither wrath nor forgiveness. For our soul is so wholly united to God that nothing can interpose . Though we find in ourselves anger, contention, and strife, still we are all mercifully enclosed in God's mildness and meekness. (p. 189) Review for Religious From Catherine of Genoa: My being is God;. my me is God. (W'ilber, p. 72) From Thomas Merton: We know God insofar as we become aware of ourselves as known through and through by him. We "possess" him in proportion as we realize ourselves to be pos-sessed by him in the utmost depths of our being . Our knowledge of God is paradoxically a knowledge not of him as the object of our scrutiny, but of our-selves as utterly dependent on his saving and merciful knowledge of us. (1969, pp. 103-104) Note how this same emphasis appears in the following excerpts from Jewish and Muslim mystics: From the Maggid of Mezhirech: Man's essence is only the soul that is within him, which is a portion of God above. Thus, there is nothing in the entire world except the Holy One. (Uffenheimer) From the Kabbalah: There is nothing that is not pervaded by the power of divinity. God is everything that exists, though every-thing that exists is not God .Nothing is devoid of its divinity. (Matt, 1995) From Rumi: Remember God so much that you are forg9tten, until you are lost in the Call, without distinction of caller and called. (Breton and Largent, p. 23). You are my face. No wonder I can't see you. (Breton and Largent, p. 168) From 'Abd Allah Ansari (Kwaja 'Abdullah Ansari): One went to the door of the Beloved and knocked. A voice asked, "Who is there?" He answered, "It is I." The voice said, "There is no room for Me and Thee." The door was shut. Mter a year of sOlitude and depri-vation, he returned and knocked. A voice from within asked, "Who is there?" The man said, "It is Thee." The door was opened for him. (p. 94) O God, I possess that mirror in which you are reflected. Rather, I am that mirror. You are not sepa-rate from me. (p. 196) From Fakhruddin 'Iraqi: 139 MarchoApril 2002 The EternalOcean spews forth new waves. "Waves" we call them, but there is only. the Sea. (p. 77) From Ibn Al'Arabi: As in the case of a mirror and the beholder, he sees the form in it, but does not see the mirror itself. In your seeing your true self, He is your mirror and you are His mirror in which He sees nothing other than Himself. (p. 65) Through the intimate imagery and ecstatic directness that pervade these writings, the mystics of three monotheistic traditions seem to strain the point that, while human beings par-ticipate in the divine nature, they never become the essence of God. Their mystical reach, on the other hand, does touch upon that mystery which "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Co 2:9). The mystics intuit that persons are not dualistically separated from God, but "closely united with God in a love that is always moving toward oneness" (Johnston, p. 124). Transcending Individuality The Christian Scriptures address a second characteristic, the quality of relationships that proceed from metaphysical self. This characteristic also reappears in the mystical literature of other traditions, and our group members were able to find these paraphrases about metaphysical self-transcending indi-viduality: "Love is not self-seeking; it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries" (1 Co 13:5) becomes, in Rumi, the Sufi mystic, "Love has no calculating in itT' (Breton and Largent, p. 9) "Thanks be to God, who unfailingly leads us on in Christ's triumphal train, and employs us to diffuse the fragrance of his knowledge everywhere" (2 Co 2:14) occurs in Rtimi as "Vv~hether they know You or not, all creatures bend but toward You. M1 love for some-one else is but a whiff of Your perfume." (Breton and Largent, p. 141) "For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink" (Mt 25, 35) appears; Review for Religious in the Bhagavad Gita, as "Any offering--a leaf, a flower, or a fruit, a cup of water--I will accept it if given with a loving heart." (Mitchell, 2000, p. 118) "Let us profess the truth in love" (Eph 4:15) is, in the Bhagavad Gita, "Speak the truth with kindness, honesty that causes no pain." (Mitchell, 2000, p. 178) These mystical sources echo the scriptural message that in human beings metaphysical self is inherently relational. Each of us is a seat of consciousness and an experiencing agent with-out being independent of others. Aitken and Steindl-Rast go so far as to say: "Underlying 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' has to be the experience that the other is no other than myself" (p. 113). Engaged Detachment During our years of meetings, members recognized a third characteristic, engaged detachment, as the way metaphysical self conducts itself in the world. This oxymoron refers to the readiness to invest ourselves in causes, tasks, and relationships while remaining ready to foi'go achieving our goals. It focuses upon process, both the deservingness of the activity at hand and the affirmation that we shall die unfinished, our potential only partly realized, and that completion is ultimately God's work and not our own. The different traditions of mystical writings repeatedly express this theme: From Julian of Norwich: God does not want his servants to despair because they fall often and grievously; for our falling does not hin-der him in loving us. (p. 188) From Paul Tillich: You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you . Do not seek for anything; do not intend anything. (Church, p. 180) From Anthony de Mello: There is no clinging to a classical symphony and no hastening it. One does not wait till the end to enjoy . it, but takes in every note, every chord as it comes and lets it go to welcome the next uninterrupted flow. Any attempt to stop the performance, any "attachment" to 14! March-April 2002 Nlagee ¯ Metaphysical Self a single note, will ruin the symphony. (p. 164) From the Tao Te Ching: A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. (Mitchell, 1988, p. 27) The Tao gives birth to all beings, creating without possessing, acting without expecting, guiding without interfering. (Welch, p. 41) From the Bhagavad Gita: With no desire for success, no anxiety about failure, indifferent to results, surrendering all thoughts of out-come, unperturbed, he does nothing at all, even when fully engaged in actions. There is nothing that he expects. (Mitchell, 2000, p. 75) From Fakhruddin 'Iraqi: Give up desire. Think that whatever you get is what you want, and in this acceptance find ease and joy. Renounce desire a hundred times. (p. 114) Engaged detachment, like the other characteristics of meta-physical self, is paradoxical. It invites a response of passive atten-tiveness wisely expressed in this admonition from the poet Rainer Maria Rilke: Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart. . Try to love the contradictions themselves. Do not now seek resolutions, which cannot be given because you would not be able to live them, and the point is to live everything. Live the contradictions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the resolutions. (p. 97) Imagery, Paradox, Complementarity, Love The imagery, metaphors, and paradoxes which other mys-tical traditions use to illuminate the nature of mystical se/famplify and complement the attention Christian mystics center upon on this theme. The artfulness of these other sources can help sustain us both in the apophatic ~loud through which Christian mystics typically view mystical self and in the relaxed tena-ciousness of our commitment to love others as ourselves. Review for Religious References 'Abd Allah Ansari, 1978. Intimate conversations. New York: Paulist Press. Aitken, R., and D. Steindl-Rast. 1996. The ground we share. Boston: Shambala. Breton, D., and C. Largent. 1998. Love, soul, and freedom: Dancing with Rumi on the mystical path. Center City, Minn.: Hazelden. Church, E 1987. The essential Tillich. New York: Macmillan. de Mello, A. 1992. One minute nonsense. Chicago: Loyola University Press. Fakhruddin 'Iraqi. 1982. Divine flashes. New York: Paulist Press. Ibn Al'Arabi. 1980. The bezels of wisdom. New York: Paulist Press. Johnston, W. 2000. "Arise, my love . . .": Mysticism for a new era. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. Julian of Norwich. 1978. Showings. New York: Paulist Press. Magee, J. 1994. "Shame, mystical writers, and a spirituality of self." Review for Religious 53, no. 5 (September-October): 746-752. Matt, D. 1995. The essential Kabbalah. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, p. 25. Meister Eckhart. 1986. Meister Eckhart: Teacher and preacher, ed. B. McGinn. New York: Paulist Press. Merton, T. 1966. Conjectures of a guilty bystander. New York: Doubleday. Merton, T. 1969. Contemplative prayer. New York: Herder and Herder. Mitchell, S. 1988. Tao te ching. New York: Harper and Row. Mitchell, S. 2000. Bhagavadgita. New York: Harmony Books. Rilke, R. 1978. When silence reigns: Selected prose. New York: New Directions. Uffenheimer, R. 1993. Hasidism as mysticism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 74. Welch, H. 1966. Taoism: The parting of the way. Boston: Beacon. Wilber, K. 1983. Up from Eden. Boulder, Colo.: Shambala. Bibliography of Easily Accessible Sources Sources in Christian mysticism appear in the series Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press). Sources for Buddhist and Taoist mysticism Da Liu. 1986. Tai chi ch'uan and meditation. New York: Schocken Books. Deng Ming-Dao. 1990. Scholar warrior: An introduction to the tao in everyday life. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. 143 March-April 2002 Magee ¯ Metaphysical Self Kohn, L. 1993. The taoist experience: An anthology. Albany: State University of New York Press. Merton, T. 1968. Zen and the birds of appetite. New York: New Directions. Mitchell, S. 1988. Tao te ching. New York: Harper and Row. Reps, P. 1957. Zen flesh, Zen bones: A collection of Zen and pre-Zen writ-ings. Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Turtle. Thich Nhat Hanh. 1987. The miracle of mindfulness: A manual on med-itation. Boston: Beacon. Watson, B. 1968. The complete works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press. Wei, H. 1987. The authentic I Ching. North Hollywood, Calif.: Newcastle. Sources for Hindu mysticism Dehejia, V. 1994. The legend of Rama: Artistic visions. Bombay: Marg Publications. Heehs, P. 1998. The essential writings of Sri Aurobindo. New York: Oxford University Press. Jack, H. 1989. The Gandhi Reader. New York: Grove Press. Krishnamurti, J. 1994. On conflict. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Mitchell, S. 2000. Bhagavadgita. New York. Harmony Books. Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre. 1972. Women saints of East and West. London: Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre. Shukla, S. 1999. The Upanishads. Fremont, Calif.: Asian Humanities Press. Sivaraman, K. 1989. Hindu spirituality. New York: Crossroad. Vetter, H. 1997. The heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore. Boston: C.E. Tuttle. Sources for Islamic mysticism 'Abd Allah Ansari. 1978. Intimate conversations. New York: Paulist Press. Breton, D., and C. Largent, C. 1998. Love, soul, and freedom: Dancing with Rumi on the mystic path. Center City, Minn.: Hazelden. Chittick, W.C. 1983. The Sufi path of love: The spiritual teachings of Rumi. Albany: State University of New York Press. Ernst, C. 1984. Words of ecstasy in Sufism. Albany: State University of New York Press. Fakhruddin 'Iraqi. 1982. Divine flashes. New York: Paulist Press. Ibn Al'Arabi. 1980. The bezels of wisdom. New York: Paulist Press. Review for Religious Ibn A1-Sabbagh. 1996. Mystical teachings of Al-Shadhili. Chicago: Kazi Publications. Ibn 'Ata' Illah. 1978, The book of wisdom. New York: Paulist Press. Massignon, L. 1982. The passion of A1-Hallaj, mystic and martyr of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Schimmel, A. 1987. As through a veik Mystical poetry in Islam. New York: Columbia University Press. Sharafuddin Maneni. 1980. The hundred letters. New York: Paulist Press. Sources for Jewish mysticism Ben Joseph, A. 1987. Book of formation (Sepheryetzirah). San Francisco: Holmes. Ben Zion, R. 1984. Anthology of Jewish mysticism. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Judaica Press. Cohn-Sherbok, D. 1995. Jewish mysticism: An anthology. Rockport, Mass.: Oneworld. Jacobs, L. 1997. Schocken book of Jewish mystical testimonies. New York: Schocken Books. Kamenetz, R. 1998. Stalking Elijah: Adventures with today's Jewish mys-tical masters. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Kook, A. 1978. The lights of penitence, New York: Paulist Press. Matt, D. 1983. Zohar: The book of enlightenment. New York: Paulist Press. Matt, D. 1995. The essential Kabbalah: The heart of Jewish mysticism. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Nahman of Bratslav. 1980. The tales. New York: Paulist Press. Scholem, G. 1995. Major trends in Jewish mysticism. New York: Schocken Books. NEW ON OUR WEBSITE Searchable indexes of Review for Religious articles from January 1970 to the current issue Abstracts of the lead articles of the January 1997 isshe to the current issue and summaries of the others Complete text of A Spirituality for Contemporary Life: The Jesuit Heritage Today edited by David Fleming SJ and containing articles by J.J. Mueller SJ, Walter Burghardt SJ, David Fleming SJ, Monika K. Hellwig, Jon Sobrino SJ, Elizabeth Johnson csJ, and John W. Padberg SJ www.reviewforreligious.org -4 45 larch-, Jpril 2002 GERALDINE M. WODARCZYK Aging: Spiritually Present to the Burning Bush growing older For months now I have written multiple reflections on aging. They are connected with a book by Jane Marie Thibault2 She says that in later life people are invited to contemplation and that there should be contem-plative communities for the elderly. My congregation is 127 year old, and I have lived among aging and prayerful sisters for decades. I sought to formulate a theology of aging based on the spirituality of our foundress, Frances Siedliska. But, in spite of a wealth of material, no formulation presented itself. And so, with encouragement from Sister Judith Nero OSB, my local mentor for the gerontological program, I decided on a different focus, simply writing about my ministry experiences at Holy Family Manor. What are those experiences, and what are they calling me to in my own life? Perhaps, like Moses, I have discovered a "burning bush" and here, on holy ground, I learn of God. Geraldine M, Wodarczyk CSFN wrote this paper originally in a gerontological pastoral care program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her address is Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth; 285 Bellevue Road; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15229. Review for Religious Years ago Sister Mary Paul Krasowski gave me a copy of a poem by an unknown author: The Moses in my heart trembles not quite willing to accept the prophet hidden in my being wondering how much it will cost to allow the prophet to emerge. O child of unnecessary shoes cast them off and stand in readiness on this awfully holy ground! For the Egypt in people's hearts demands that you see the burning bushes all around you aflame and burning wildly calling you forth away from the comfort of well-protected feet. The ground you stand on is holy! Take off your shoes believe in your Moses and go. Sister Mary Paul gave.me a copy a second time, when I was the superior at the Manor, my "holy ground" for the past six years. I realized that during this time I had been called to accept the prophet in me, and in others, as we search for God in our every-day realities. I have seen the Egypt in the hearts of sisters and heard their cry for freedom sung in many ways. Within the evening solitude that these days provided me, I discovered the Egypt within my own heart and heard a call to let go of false securities of my own and to find new freedoms within me. I have been present to "burning bushes" of experience with seasoned older sisters. In ways I never expected, God touched my life and called me from the comfort zone where I was six years before. 147 March-April 2002 Wodarczyk ¯ Aging With Fear and Trepidation In 1990, when first asked to consider being superior of the Manor, I flatly refused. I was already superior of a small convent of four sisters. I was engaged in full-time ministry as the province councilor for formation, and together with my brother, who was just beginning a family in Wisconsin, I was sharing long-distance care of our widowed father in Erie, Pennsylvania, who was steadily moving to a new stage of frailty in his life. These were the reasons I gave my provincial, but another rea-son was that I had never been present at anyone's death. Terrified, I could not imagine living where I would need to be present to sisters as they died. Time passed. In 1993 our father's condition became worse. When notified, I knew the seriousness of Dad's condition, but did not realize that, with the physician, my brother and I would be making decisions that Dad was not able to make about his failing life. As Divine Providence would have it, I was in Erie when decisions about the breathing and cardiac machines needed to be made, and I was present during Dad's last hours and death. I learned that a broken heart is a real experience. I was changed, and so in 1994, when a new provincial asked me about being superior of Holy Family Manor, I said I would be willing. The provincial was taking seriously the choice of the superior. First, after asking the sisters living in the Manor for suggestions and reviewing the list, she and her council had three sisters come to a mandatory day of reflection in a small cottage on our motherhouse grounds. Our retirement home had sixty-nine beds and sixty-six sisters at various stages of aging. The retreat director, Sister Ann Winschel CDP, invited us to consider our gifts and what might be our stumbling blocks in accepting the ministry. I went to my room in the cottage and prayed with open hands, letting God put there what I needed and giving God the freedom to take away any drawbacks to my willingness to accept this ministry. For most people, praying with open hands is a simple gesture, but for me--with hands affected by rheumatoid arthritis--the gesture spoke of my own human brokenness. Could God really want me, already a broken vessel, to shep-herd these senior religious in their last days? At the end of the retreat, after sharing our personal reflec- tions, we were asked to express our final decision in a letter to the provincial. I wrote of openness to the ministry, my aware-ness of my gifts in working with the elderly, and my recognition that I could use them only in the context of my own brokenness. I qualified my openness by saying that, if I had an incapacitating flare-up of the arthritis, I would take it as an indication that this service was not appropriate for me. Three months later my provincial telephoned me, saying that the council had unani-mously chosen me the next Manor superior. She wanted me to take some preparation time with the current superior, attend the upcoming American Society of Aging conference, and offi-cially begin on the first of May. On Sunday, 30 April 1995, in the early afternoon, I arrived at the Manor. I was scheduled to be in the chapel for a wel-coming prayer and commitment service at four o'clock. The previous superior had already left. Three sisters were waiting for me at the door, welcoming me with one breath and asking with another, "You will take us to the festival at Mr.Assisi, won't you?" Barely gathering my belongings from the auto-mobile and putting them in my room, I welcomed the excur-sion (a five-minute trip) to the Franciscan sisters' festival. Though a busy place, it was a respite where I could amble with-out any focus on the fears and anticipation that were part of me at this transition moment. We returned home and soon four o'clock came. In the presence of the retired sisters, the provincial asked me several questions: Will you accept this responsibility [to be local leader] which the sisters have confided in you? Do you promise to serve the sisters in kindness, compassion, and charity, in the spirit of our blessed foundress, Frances Siedliska? Will you strive to be faithful to the Covenant of Love [our constitutions] and the directives of your general and provincial superiors? Responding affirmatively, I was given a bouquet of roses by the provincial and was told: "Your ministry as servant leader will be a mixed blessing. Both joy and sorrow, possibility and I could not imagine living where I would need to be present to sisters as they died. !49 ~¥larch-April 2002 Wodarczyk ¯ Aging impossibility, success and failure will accompany you. These roses, themselves offering both beauty and pain, are given to you with our gratitude for accepting this mission." After the sisters voiced their support, I recited the following: As I approach this ministry of servant leadership, I pray: Hollow out in me, O God, a space in which I will find myself, find peace and a whole heart, a for-giving spirit and holiness, springs of laughter, and the will to reach boldly for abundant life for myself, this local community, and the whole human family. Grant me your peace, instill in me such awe of you as will make me wise, and such quiet courage as will enable me to make hope visible, forgiving delight-ful, loving contagious, faith liberating, and peace-mak-ing joyful. Shape my weakness into compassion and help me to make myself open and present to my sisters, to oth-ers, and to your kingdom. Amen.2 And so I began my sojourn as the convent superior of our retire-ment community. Except for my Franciscan festival invitation, my first encounter with one of the sisters came that evening, when Sister Maura3 told me, "On behalf of the entire community here at Holy Family Manor, .I want to tell you it is too cold in this build-ing." "Temperatures!" I thought; "after that profoundly religious service, I am supposed to adjust thermostats!" And so it was-- God was inviting me to listen to the concerns of everyday life, the little things that are so important in these sisters' lives. The Power of the Word The next morning I had an announcement to make in the first-floor dining room, where forty sisters sat. Besides some trembling, my voice did not carry well, especially for the good number with impaired hearing. Finally I got the message across. Shortly thereafter, a sister from the second-floor dining area came complaining that I did not give the sisters there any message. What was I to do? The next day I typed out some items of common interest and posted them in the elevator, Review for Religious thereby causing traffic jams. Sisters would ride up and down until they finished reading the note. I realized that we needed copies of the newsletter posted in various places, including the elevator. This simple arrangement, providing this large num-ber of sisters direction for the coming day, also informed them about what was happening in our home. Was this communication episode a "burning bush" in which I found God? At least I learned how impoytant the communi-cated word is to people, and that it could promote love and caring in this household. It calmed the fears of the sisters who wondered about who was in the house: other sisters, guests, contractors, maintenance work-ers. The daily newsletter included a prayer request list and kept the sisters informed about the health progress of the sisters in the hos-pital. The newsletter invited the sisters to share a joke as well as to request prayer for themselves I learned how important the communicated word is to people, and that it could promote love and caring. or others. It became their newsletter. It provided a source of unity and dismantled some rumors that institutions readily give rise to. It hung for twenty-four hours at eight places in the building. Each of us had plenty of time to return to it to get the news of the day. There is a power in the written word. It is a way love can be communicated. Isn't the Word the way God communicates the greatness of Divine Love? And did the Word not become incarnate in the most simple and humble way? Perhaps in some small way the newsletter really was a "burning bush." The Joy of the Resurrection After living a short while in the Manor, I noticed a heavi-ness- sadness in the sisters' demeanor, depressive postures; even the daily Masses were in remembrance of the deceased. Although all the bedrooms are quite alike, some were considered "dying rooms," and sisters shuddered at the thought of being placed there. March-April 2002 V~odarczyk * Aging When I arrived at the Manor in the midst of spring, I was still flesh with the message of the Easter season's life-giving liturgical readings. One reading kept coming back to me, the one about the women returning to the tomb who were asked, "Why do 3iou search for the Living One among the dead?" (Lk 24:5). One day these words, stirring in my h.eart, became reversed. I heard, "Why do you search for the dead among the living?" Something changed within me, and I realized how alive, even with some physical limitations, these sisters were. I knew that I needed to foster that life of theirs. I knew that I should help them help each other to build a happy life within this retirement community. By Pentecost I looked for the evi-dence of the Spirit as we tried new things and reviewed old practices. What brought the gifts of "love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness" (Ga 5:22-23) that Paul spoke about? The things that brought such results to the majority of the community would be fostering and increas-ing in the sisters the new life of Easter. How else does God speak to us and affirm our actions except by the gifts of the Holy Spirit? In late May 91-year-old Sister Ellen was rushed to the hos-. pital in excruciating abdominal pain. "A perforated bowel," the doctor told me and asked, "What do you want me to do? I don't think that Sister could survive the surgery." Asking Sister, who was fully conscious, was to me the obvious thing to do. The doctor explained the options: surgery or palliative care. Sister Ellen looked at me with the most trusting eyes. "You are my superior," she said. "Whatever you decide will be God's will for me." I could not believe my ears, nor was I prepared for this responsibility she placed on me. She remained adamant. "I trust that your decision is God's will for me." I had not been reared in religious life with that degree of surrender put into a supe-rior's hands. Mine was a formation toward dialogue, toward coming to a mutual decision. She, however, simply continued to insist. From her primary-care physician, I learned that Sister Ellen had specifically said a few weeks earlier that she never wanted another surgery. When I managed to contact our provin-cial superior, who was traveling in Europe, she concurred with the decision for palliative care. Review for Religious I remain humbled by the trust Sister Ellen placed in me. I learned that being an instrument of God in these sisters' lives is something very serious indeed. I learned of my own need for prayer and intimacy with a God who, though transcendent, is immanently present to us and our decisions. Second Floor: 0 God, Are You There? A visitor to our Manor told me happily that her little boy would be three years old in a couple of weeks. On hearing that, he began to cry, "I don't want to be three, Mommy." Holding her tearful child, she said to me: "When he turns three he has to go to the next room in the day care. He doesn't want to take that step." It can be like that with the elderly, too. In conversations with oth-ers who deal with the elderly, I have found that there is always some place where res-idents do not want to go. It may be called the A wing or Mary's Corridor or something sim-ilar. In our convent it is simply called "the second floor." It is where those needing the most care live. Agreeing to live on the second floor is, for some of us, accepting death--even though, in reality, it may be years away. When I came to the Manor, the frailest sisters on the sec-ond floor would sit or recline in geri-chairs in a semicircle in what was called the solarium. These sisters were clean and well kept, but some would randomly yell out a prayer, a request, a humorous remark, or something incoherent. When people passed by Sister Lynnette--her parochial school teaching over and end-stage Alzheimer's drawing near--she would insist, "Line up for the fire drill, without talking!" If you did not do so, your misbehavior called for discipline. Although humorous, these moments were also sad, for Sister Lynnette had been such an excellent teacher. Many sisters shied away from the second floor, and espe-cially the solarium, where these frail sisters spent long days, I have found that there is always some place where residents do not want to go. March-April 2002 Wodarczyk ¯ Agigg still as icons. This comparison struck me as I read some words of Henri Nouwen: Icons are not easy to "see." They do not immediately speak [appeal] to our senses . They do not reveal themselves to us at first sight. It is only gradually, after a patient, prayerful presence, that they start speaking to us. And, as they speak, they speak more to our inner than to our outer sense. They speak to the heart that searches for God.4 The frailest sisters on the second floor "do not reveal them-selves," or the Holy, immediately. It is only after I become prayerfully present to them that their presence, in their dimin-ished physical or mental condition, speaks to my heart. They tell me about life's brevity, about our dependence on God, and show that we are only pilgrims here. One day I took a visiting priest acquaintance to see our treasured sisters on the second floor. He began preaching to them about their duty to contemplate. With blank faces they just looked at him. A confused embarrassment seized him, and he became speechless. There was nothing more to say. Later I wondered if these sisters are in the contemplative state of being in God's wordless embrace. One cannot know such secrets. These sisters, and we ourselves, spend lives desiring such close-ness. But, because they and we have also spent years seeking responsible and prudent control of our lives, such vulnerability, such complete dependence on God and on others, is likely to be fraught with fear as well. On a recent visit to Pittsburgh, Trappist monk Thomas Keating, founder of Contemplative Outreach, spoke to an ecu-menical group gathered at another Franciscan motherhouse. He spoke of the prayerful consent that is part of Centering Prayer, for fostering contemplative experience. He spoke of the call to follow Christ and to let go of possessions--not external possessions so much as interior ones, the baggage of attitudes that we carry with us (in his phrase, the false self). At one point he looked up at the' choir loft, where the frailest of the com-munity's sisters were. He spoke directly to them, taking note of their willing acceptance of their present frailty, their loss of health, their losses of young self-reliance and of status in the community. He saw their disabilities as precious gifts from God, Review for Religious things to be grateful for. His words reminded me of my own sisters on the second floor. But to accept diminishment with gratitude is not easy. Solidarity with Suffering A few footsteps away from my office, my belief in the cru-cified and resurrected Christ was tested. Suffering is a mystery. We do not want to see others suffer, nor do we want suffering in our own lives. When faced with the suffering of people we love, what is our response? Henri Nouwen says: A friend who was very ill had a great devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and derided to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes to ask for healing. When she left, I was afraid that she would be disillusioned if no miracle happened. But on her return she said, "Never did I see so many sick people. When I came face-to-face with that human suffering, I no longer wanted a miracle. I no longer wanted to be the exception. I experienced a deep desire to be one of them, to belong to these wounded people. Instead of praying for a cure, I prayed that I would have the grace to bear my illness in solidarity with them. And I trust that the mother of Jesus will bring my prayer to her Son."s As for myself, I have never come to the point of wanting "to be one of them." I desire to be well. But so did this dear woman on her way to Lourdes for healing. Is true healing the ability to love so deeply that we long to share others' intense pain and sorrow? That is what Jesus did. When we are young, we find many ways to escape that question and that reality. As we age and see diminishment in ourselves, our families, and our friends, the question returns. That call to solidarity in suffering is a difficult call to hear, especially when the time actually comes for us to visit--or move to--the "second floor." Sacrament of the Present Moment - Even in Dementia "Where am I going?" she asks, her body slumped. The eyes, once sparkling with joie de vivre, now are dim, like smoldering wicks. "I can understand," she says, "why, without faith, one155 March-April 2002 Wodarczyk ¯ Aging could commit suicide. Not that I want to," she says, "but I understand. I know why others would do this." Coming out of my own uncomfortable search for something to say, I ask, "Do you have faith? . Why, yes, I do." But soon she is asking, "What should I do? What is happening to me?" These words rose in her during the initial stages of Alzheimer's. It is easy to agree with the maxim that "a mind is a terrible thing to waste." In a group where many have been educators, the relentless decline of mental acumen is truly frightening. In this place, you can imagine the ardor one brings to reading the "Nuns' Study" !6 In the light (or darkness) of this feared disease, a faith per-spective does not come easy, even in a congregation whose motto is "Thy will be done." I needed to be reverently present to any-one who was concerned about Alzheimer's, just as I did to those showing symptoms of it. I needed to be cautious about explain-ing away dementia-with pious sayings or even a quick quota-tion from Scripture. For many months Sister Mary would stalk me, particularly at sundown. Even when I did not initially see her, I could sense her presence and her foreboding look. I had learned earlier that I should keep touch with my own inner experience when relat-ing to others. With Mary, the more I avoided her physically and psychologically, the more she pursued and pressured me. Her cognitive impairment was becoming worse. I would think, "Oh, here she is, pestering me again!" or "She's got dementia. She doesn't know what she's talking about." One time she was particularly adamant: "How awful to be on the second floo!! How cruel you were to put me there!" And on and on, in a sort of frenzy. I wondered, "What ever happened to that loving and supportive friend I had for so many years?" I thought of relat-ing to her as a simple matter of"how to handle a difficult situ-ation." I thought of Christ being in her, but was far from experiencing it. Worn down by her raving, I was wondering if she had received her medication. I called the nurse to ask. Sister Mary heard me and said, "You think medication is going to take care of this? You are not around and you think medicine is going to cure this? That's not the way! That's not the way!" My "quick and appropriate solution"--so that I could be about more Review for Religious "important" things--stirred up more mistrust in Sister and greater frustration in me. Then my faith invited me to adopt a new perspective. I paused, put aside other matters, sat face-to-face with her, and listened. Soon both of us were at peace. After a while she returned to her room for the evening. This scenario occurred more than once. Afterwards, pondering the healing that took place when I was more present to her, I realized that there is a sacramentality in such moments. Jean-Pierre de Caussade says: There is never a moment when God does not come forward in the guise of some suffering or some duty, and all that takes place within us, around us, and through us both includes and hides his activity. Yet, because it is invisible, we are taken by surprise and do not recognize his operation until it has passed by us. If we could lift the veil and if we watched with vigilant attention, God would endlessly reveal himself to us, and we should see and rejoice in his active presence in all that befalls us. At every event we should exclaim: "It is the Lord!''7 Can I be alert to this potential revelation of God the next time I am stalked by one of my own sisters? When people complain to me about the odd behavior or mental confusion of a dear friend of theirs, can I help them see Christ's presence in the situation? How do I do that? Caussade reminds us of the power of faith: It is faith which interprets God for us. Without its light we should not even know that God is speaking, but would hear only the confused, meaningless bab-ble of creatures. As Moses saw the flame of fire in the bush and heard the voice of God coming from it, so faith will enable us to understand his hidden signs, so that amidst all the apparent clutter and disorder we shall see all the loveliness and perfection of divine wisdom.8 Seeking Life's Deeper Meaning A few years ago Sister Mary Stella came to my office quite excited about the prospect of winning a car or money for the 157 Vlarch-April 2002 Wodarczyk ¯ Aging community. A piece of mail had informed her that she had been "selected to win." I tried to explain to her about the money-maEing ploy of these contests. She insisted: "Fill it out for me. I can't see!" Hoping that somewhere in this experience there would be a teachable moment, I filled out the form and mailed it. A few weeks later she received a "free" watch. "See," she told me, "I am already winning! I will really help the congre-gation when the check arrives." Not long after the watch came, Sister was billed $75 for a magazine subscription. She called me to her room. Obviously upset, she said she did not have the money for this subscription and believed that, if she canceled it, she would be responsible for the salesperson's losing her job. "I should have listened to you," she lamented. My teachable moment had arrived! Though I was angry about companies that exploit senior citizens, I gently explained to her that this is an advertising gimmick, that all she needed to do was write "cancel" on the bill and mail it back; the matter would be over. She listened. I left the room thinking all was well. But within a few days Sister stopped eating. She did not come to morning Mass. She stayed in her room, depressed and despondent. Noticing this, I spent some extended time with her, but she was silent. She wanted to see a priest. I called the Franciscan priest who often served us, and he paid her a pastoral visit. Her depression lingered. I visited her again. She still lamented, "I can't pay the bill, and the poor man will lose his job." Her suffering was evident. Her sheltered and "precomputer" life did not prepare her to understand today's big-business advertising. So I listened, and then I suggested that we write the man a letter with an apology, explain her cur-rent financial situation, and return the watch. Her eyes lit up at the prospect. Together we composed a letter, which she signed and I mailed. In a few days she was back to normal. A few months later her health declined, simply by reason of her advancing age. When I visited, she looked up at me from her bed and with a most peacef~l look said, "I will never forget your gentleness to me when I thought I would win that money. You were so kind." The entire episode showed us God's grace working in both our lives. I continued to see how greatly these older sisters desire to contribute to the congregation. Review for Religqous Supporting the congregation financially gave meaning to the sisters all their lives, even as they themselves led a frugal existence. They had experienced the Depression firsthand and had stories to tell about begging alongside factories, begging h0use-to-house for summer stipends, or asking for funds by writing letters to family and friends. Today, for some, lotteries and various contests appear to be another source of financial support for the congregation. One sister, clear-minded at ninety-nine, had a lucky streak. Although she lived frugally, I heard rumors of her "having money." Family and friends would buy her lottery tickets and then cash them in for her when she mailed back the winning ticket. Although I was "out of the loop" of direct information about these transactions, I somehow always found out about them. Though some might find gambling question-able in light of the vow of poverty, I waited to see what would happen eventually, since Sister's participation connected her to others and caused no harm. Sometimes months would pass between rumors of her winnings and her eventual cash donation of $200 or $300. The happiness she radiated sent the message that even at ninety-nine she could contribute to the community. She rarely wanted anything for herself. Suspicions about a breach of her vow disappeared. I have often noticed with what pride the sisters contribute their Christmas, birthday, Easter, and anniversary donations to the communal kitty, expecting my gratitude as they do so. I appreciate what they do, but I have encouraged them to find meaning in other parts of their lives too. Their very presence in love, patience, and faith is a meaningful gift to the community, to their families, and to all who witness their kindness. I have invited them to look for ways of spreading the Good News in and beyond the community. I have tried to be attentive to the I have often noticed with what pride the sisters contribute their Christmas, birthday, Easter, and anniversary donations to the communal kitty. March-April 2002 Wodarczyk * Aging ordinary things they accomplish or experience, and I have lis-tened affirmingly as they speak about what they did and are doing with their lives. I have learned, too, about meaning that is not initially obvious. Sister Gina was a "collector." Her room was filled with any-thing and everything. Some might call it clutter. One day she said to me, "You know, when I die, people will complain about all the stuff I left behind. Some have already asked me to clean things up. But I want you to know something. Now that I can go nowhere, I have brought into my room all kinds of things that bring to mind the wonderful friends I have had in my life. These things always make me happy, and I pray for these peo-ple as well." When Sister Gina died, I took care of her things quietly, without others knowing, needing to respect the gen-uineness of her words to me. Most of this "junk" humbly con-veyed love and friendship and gave meaning to Sister Gina's last days. An Incarnational Spirituality When our sisters come to the Manor, transportation diffi-culties and their declining health limit their activity. Two things seem to arise in the absence of formal ministry. There is some-times an unhealthy focus on self and on the "world" of the Manor. Small matters become major concerns. Negativity can result. Teresa of Avila saw such problems in her cloistered monastery.9 There is perhaps no one remedy, but I have seen changes for the better when sisters choose other avenues of ser-vice or ministry or other activities compatible with their new status and their personal limitations. The healthiest and happiest in the Manor were those who were able to rechannel their formation-for-ministry in creative ways. Writing letters to friends, family members, and politi-cians and intercessory prayer for the needs of others are integral to the sisters' lives and are a genuine service they render. Decorating the chapel for feasts, participating as readers or Eucharistic ministers during the litu#gies, companioning another to the physician, sending get-well cards to the hospitalized, and visiting the "second floor" are but a few of the ways the sisters incarnate their love for God in service to their neighbor. Their Review for Religious humble acceptance of their limitations and their patient strug-gles day by day become invaluable tools in building up the body of Christ, as those who are touched by their witness can testi@. For the sisters, their personal sufferings take on deeper mean-ing as they offer them for the intentions of people who have requested their prayer and support. Perhaps some ecumenical healing takes place as well, as staff members of different faiths take care of these sisters, who have lived their lives with hearts so attuned to Roman Catholicism. The sisters remain educators, teaching young care-givers about faith, patience, forgiveness, hope, acceptance and nonacceptance of suffering and dying. The sisters, too, are stretched to go beyond the images of a vowed religious life that is past and gone. After fifty years or more of religious life, that is not a small stretch. Sports on television and radio, and movies, books, excur-sions, concerts, and so forth offer relaxation and outreach--for nothing can "separate us from the love of Christ" (Rm 8:35). Some sisters have become mentors or teachers in various spe-cialties. One Sister translated from Polish to English a valu-able book on the foundress of our community, Frances Siedliska. With phones now in every room, telephone ministry to family and friends became possible. Advocacy for human rights and other special interests is also a possible ministry for the sisters. If we live by the truth and in love, we can "grow in all ways into Christ" (Ep 4:15). All these ways of service build the king-dom of love among the family of God; they express the mis-sion of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. "Tell Him to Wait!" Several months ago Sister Helen, our 95-year-old, was quite ill. She ceased to breathe during an MRI, and the hospital staff, acting on impulse rather than consulting her advance directive, resuscitated her. The doctor called me and told me Sister had been placed on a breathing machine. Twenty-four hours later the doctor removed the breathing machine, and, staunchly, Sister Helen survived the ordeal. I visited her in the hospital and reminded her gently, "Sister Helen, you are very ill. Perhaps 1K1 March-April 2002 Jesus will call you soon." "Let him wait," she bellowed; "I'm not dead yet!" I was taken aback, slow to see the humor. Later I reflected: "She has been a baptized Catholic for ninety-five years and a member of our religious community for eighty years. She has prayed each day of those years. She has a profound rela-tionship with God. After eighty years of relating, a certain free-dom of relationship must exist between lovers. How free Love can make us!" Sister Caritas died several years ago, and I especially remem-ber her dying. Racked with fever, in great distress, she held my finger tightly--so firmly that it reminded me of what my friend Maureen told me about a birth. Her sister's husband was on a business trip, and Maureen was in the delivery room with her sister. Her sister grasped her hand so tightly during the birth that Maureen needed several weeks of hand therapy afterward. While grasping my finger, Sister Caritas, too, was being born, born into eternal life. I have been with others who have died, not all struggling as did Sister Caritas. Some have gone to the Lord gently. Others have chosen to stop treatment and accepted the palliative care that became part of that choice. Some died after years, months, or a few days of being bedridden; others, while taking a nap. Each "birthing" has been different, each one very final, each one inviting me to deepen my belief in the life hereafter. Here at the Manor--or anywhere, of course--other kinds of dying occur earlier, before that actual moment. Every stage of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's death-and-dying theory is lived out here: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.1° Are some stages more appropriate, more holy, than others? ls the sis-ter in denial less effective in dealing with dying than the one who is angry and displacing it at every available opportunity? And the one who bargains--"If I keep on living on the third floor, I'll never get like those on the second floor"--is she less holy than the one whose depression shows all over her face and in her every bodily move? And is she still less holy than the one who grieves her loss, accepts additional personal help, gently accepts the everyday deaths and dyings that are part of human experience? I think there can be no comparisons here. When one strug-gles in the face of d~ath, regardless of what type, the struggle is Review for Religious real. "It remains true," as Pope John Paul has observed, "that the years pass quickly, and the gift of life, for all the effort and pain it involves, is too beautiful and precious for us ever to grow tired of it." 1, And so we struggle and deny, are angered, bargain, and are depressed. In the end we do accept the reality that has been presented to us by Life. The challenge for me in the Manor community was to have faith in this precious journey and trust that the increasing pains are redemptive. I chose to permit people to be themselves: I challenge, but do not force. Rather, I wait in patience for God's grace to touch hearts and hurts and lead all of us into his sacred presence. My Beloved As we religious grow toward accepting death, the inevitable reality shared by all creation, I believe that a life of prayer sustains us. Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return . It is a Light within which illuminates the face of God. for the spiritual person is forever bringing all affairs down into the light, holding them there in the Presence, reseeing [sic] them and the whole of the world., in a new and overturning way.12 A life of prayer is different for each of us: some tending to more prescribed prayers, others to a more wordless prayer. What is common about prayer life is the deep relationship with God that is so special and so sacred to each one. Inscribed on each sis-ter's profession ring are the words "My Beloved is mine and I am His," from the Song of Songs (2:16). She not only wears that ring, she lives that reality. Recently I was asked to be the community witness when Sister Ann's casket was closed. Before burial we normally remove from the deceased our congregational cross and ring. On this occasion the undertaker could not remove the ring. I advised him to leave it and close the coffin. Reflecting on this moment afterwards, I considered it to be as symbolic as the ring itself. Sister Ann, orphaned as a child, surrendered herself to God March-April 2002 Wodarczyk * Aging through her vows and eventually, as Alzheimer's disease kept taking its toll, was stripped of family, friends, and even cogni-tion. The one thing that remained was the reality: she was her Beloved's and her Beloved was hers. The sisters at the Manor foster that relationship with their Beloved in many ways, including personal and communal prayer. Communally we have had to vary our prayer style here. Because of impaired hearing and sight and various other physical limi-tations, we no longer say Office in common. But the sisters pray faithfully --in their rooms, in the chapel, at Mass, on the porch, while walking outdoors or in the corridors, and during our spe-cial Friday mornings in the chapel. When they are very ill, they may say they cannot pray, and some are troubled by this. Others say that they are simply united with Jesus in their suffering, which is "nothing compared with His." Still others are quiet, their faith wrapping them palpably like a shawl. At times faith grows in darkness. It is no small discomfort when one who has dedicated her ehtire life to God questions the existence of God. When suffering is too much, "God, O God, why did you abandon me?" becomes the prayer of the day, or week, or even longer. In community, even as we pray in various ways, we journey in prayer together. Just as the psalms pray through the gamut of human emotion, so our lives together become a living psalter. Anlen I cannot think of any richer ministry experience within my thirty-nine years as a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth than the time I spent in service to my sisters at Holy Family Manor. But my two three-year terms as convent superior here have come to an end. "Relieved?" my current provincial superior asked me before announcing my replacement. "Mixed feelings," I mumbled. But I know that this is right and good. My body and my spirit home in on a few words in my Moses poem: "Take offyour shoes, believe in your Moses, and go." Now they have a fuller meaning: ". go, relax awhile, and then, changed by this burning-bush experience of yours, go on and minister to whatever people I, your God, choose for you!" I respond: Amen. Review for Religious Notes l Jane Marie Thibault, A Deepening Love Affair: The Gift of God in Later in Life (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1993). 2 The welcoming service was composed by Sister Therese Frankowski. 3 The names of most of the sisters in this article have been changed. 4 Henri J.M. Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1987). s Henri J.M. Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994). 6 David Snowden PhD, Aging with Grace: What the Nuns' Study Teaches Us about Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives (New York: Bantam Press, 2001). 7 Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence, trans. John Beevers (New York: Image Books, 1975), p. 34. ~ Caussade, p. 37. 9 The Way of Perfection, chap. 4. ,0 Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, On Death and Dying (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1969). '~ John Paul II, Letter to the Elderly (1 October 1999), §1. ,z C.S. Lewis, as cited in A Step Beyond: Advanced Training in Pastoral Bereavement Counseling (Archdiocese of New York: The Ministry to the Bereaved, November 1994), p. 32. School Day, 1947 I am seven, on my way to school, crisp snow sparkles in the sun. As I walk along, I reflect that some day a man will offer me a diamond ring, but today God himself has hurled thousands at my feet. Mary Hanson ~larch-April 2002 HELEN JEAN NOVY Coping with Repetition: A Spirituality for Ministering to the Elderly ~ehncoeuthneter rds uwriinthg tfhaem eilldye rvlyis iotfst eonr ifnovromlvael mdeianliisntgry w, iothur their habits of repetition. I have overheard "Dad, you say the exact same thing every time I come," and I have heard myself saying "Mom, you ask me that again and again." The proverb "Variety is the spice of life" inclines us to assume variety as a condition of anyone's continuing interest or at least as a lively attention getter. Repetition, however, is a necessary complement to variety. A systematic interplay of repetition and variation is a sine qua non for the arts. Consider the structure of sonatas or the form of songs. Aaron Copland's "Simple Gifts" in Appalachian Spring is an example of theme and variations, as is Max Reger's Variations on "America." In prayer, too, there is repetiton and variation. Christians regularly praying the Liturgy of the Hours, for example, are so accustomed to Morning Prayer's psalms for Week One that most know them by heart. Their predictability provides a rhythm that matches the regularity of breathing. But along with this comes the season's or feast's antiphon, giving a turn to the verses of the psalm and in a sense reinventing them. Helen Jean Novy HM is director of mission effectiveness at Magnificat High School; 20770 Hilliard Road; Rocky River, Ohio 44116. Review for Religious For Sunday of the First Week in Ordinary Time, this antiphon begins and ends Psalm 63: "As morning breaks I look to you, O God, to be my strength this day." The antiphon suffuses the psalmist's words that follow: "O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water." For the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a different anti-phon frames the same psalm w"I know the one whom I have trusted"--and gives it a different tinge: "O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water." The synoptic Gospels, echoing each other in recounting the same events and sayings, do it with small yet significant differences. Compare the healing of Peter's mother-in-law in Mark 1 .'31 ("he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her"), in Luke 4:39 ("he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her"), and in Matthew 8:15 ("he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up"). Might these considerations guide our responses to the repetitiousness of elderly people who have debilities of memory or concentration? Each encounter with another person, even though seemingly routine, is a new arid original encounter. Both parties are changed by the passing of time--by the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual experiences of the intervening time--even if only minutely. Health has improved or declined; the weather has turned warmer or cooler; clothes are brighter or more uniform; the staff has been updated or has had a turnover; the family has been reunited or suffered a loss; a sacrament has been received or a prayer prayed. "No need to recall the past. I am doing a new thing" (Is 43:18-19). Could Yahweh God be doing this new thing daily? God indeed adds yeast to the dough of the soul, lets it work, and gives it the kneading it requires: prayer and contemplation, opportunities for good works and self-sacrifice, active or passive Perhaps the most mutually soothing response to unceasing repetitions is a silent laying on of hands, a gentle and loving touch. I67 March-April 2002 Novy ¯ Coping witb Repetition suffering, or simply love's perpetually re-creating thoughts and deeds and words. Does it take yeoman patience to hear the same questions, the same comments, the same concerns day in and day out, hour by hour, and even minute by minute? Of course, those who minister have to work on themselves, cultivating a reliable equanimity and ideally a blend of knowing tolerance and psychological and spiritual understanding: Thank heaven she can still respond., what a grace that we can still interact., how humbling that he takes his own debility in stride., bow merciful that she is unaware., what a gift.t that I can encounter the very Christ in the simplicity and vulnerability of this person. Perhaps the most mutually soothing response to unceasing repetitions is a silent laying on of hands, a gentle and loving touch. Only by taking the tensions and strains of working with the sick-elderly to prayer again and again will ministers discover each person as an "imago Christi, a living analogue of the crucified Christ. As they do this, the ministers themselves will be molded into other Christs. They may find themselves praying the antiphons and psalms of the Liturgy of the Hours in the persona of Christ in the sick-elderly: "For you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water." In the purview of faith, while the soul of the minister is being tuned to a new pitch, the souls of those they minister to become new songs. The Spirit sings through the adaptive constancy of the one and the dulling repetitions of the others, harmonizing both in the mystery of Divine Providence's unfathomable workings. G.K. Chesterton suggested that we should not take for granted the rising of the sun. Such a glorious phenomenon may well depend on the childlike delight of God calling for an encore: "Do it again, Sun!" Ultimately, deepening spirituality will not only expect the unexpected; it will expect the familiar, the recurring, the repetitious. It will perceive even the annoyance of repetition as a melodic refrain within the grand orchestration ¯ of God. Review for Religious JOAN WAGNER Medaille's "Means" and Religious Life's Renewal At our last meeting, in June 1998, I attempted to show that the primitive documents of the Sisters of St. Joseph indicate that apostolic endeavors have deep mystical foundations. In the present paper I examine other aspects of these primitive documents, aspects that pertain especially to the communal life of small communities that undertake apostolic ministry. Because this article focuses on the spiritual and apostolic insights of Father Jean-Pierre Medaille SJ, it is intended especially for those who walk in his tradition, but also for all professed religious who seek the deepening of their community life and their apostolic action. I will focus on six "means" derived from Father Medaille's writings, but first I draw your attention to two Scripture passages that were of major importance for Medaille: Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself taking the form of a p rspecliv s Joan Wagner ssJ presented this paper in Milwaukee in June 2001 at the fifth triennial meeting of the Conference on the History of Women Religious. Her address is Little Design Community; 171 Schiller Street; Buffalo, New York 14206. March-April 2002 Wagner * Medaille's "Means" servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Ph 2:5-11) That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them that they may be one even as we are. one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become per-fectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. (Jn 17:21-23) I think that adopting Father Medaille's "means" could help contemporary religious to practice the emptying spoken of in Philippians and thereby achieve the unions spoken of in John's Gospel. After discussing these "means," I will offer some concrete proposals for living them. The new community to which I belong, the community of the Little Design, is attempting to establish its communal life on "the means of Medaille." Clarifying the Scope of Medaille's "Means" The six "means" that I will be discussing cannot be found at any one location within the Primitive Documents of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In fact, nowhere in Medaille's writings did he use the term "means" as I use it in this article. It is a concept that was first formed in the latter decades of the 20th century, that is, three hundred years after Medaille, by a commentator on the Primitive Documents, Sister Julie Harkins of the Boston Sisters of St. Joseph. I first encountered Sister Julie's work when I attended a charism retreat that she gave in Wichita, Kansas. In her presentation she referred to "six central means found in the lived experience of our first sisters to maintain unity among themselves and to be apostolic communities of love." Even as I Review for Religious taped her presentation at that conference, I felt that her ideas and concepts about Medaille's approach were truly a treasure. It seemed to me that Medaille had applied St. Ignatius Loyola's Rules for Discernment in a new way, using at the communal level the retreat pedagogy of reflection on experience. He adapted those rules to unlettered and diverse groups of women, to assist them in becoming apostolic communities of love. Other interpreters of the Primitive Documents of the Sisters of St. Joseph such as Sister Vacher and Sister de Vaublanc have analyzed the practices that Medaille proposed for the early sisters. Not all of these commentators would agree that the six "means" identified by Sister Julie Harkins capture the heart of Medaille's approach. Other phrasings and other lists of "means" have been proposed. It has also been suggested that Medaille's approach can be represented by one expansive "means," the sisters' sharing their hearts unreservedly. To shed additional light on whether I-Iarldns's six "means" adequately represent Medaille's approach, I suggest that we consider how difficult it would be to distill the central practices recommended by St. Paul. We know that Paul wrote extensively about the living of the Christian life. (His writings are far more extensive than Medaille's even if we consider all the Maxims and other Primitive Documents to be authentically his.) How then to express the central "means" of St. Paul? One commentator might comb through his writings and identify six "means" as central. Another might determine that there are actually four or eight or one. Obviously there is much room for disagreement. Keep in mind, then, that there are various ways of presenting the essence of Medaille's approach even as I now list Harkins's six "means." I advocate them as the basis of the community life of religious women, today--but always understanding their meaning within the Gospels' call to discipleship. Please note, too, that in Harldns's list there are two dimensions in Means 2 (and perhaps in Means 3 as well). And there is some overlapping among the various "means" since the boundaries among them are not tightly drawn. Finally, note that Means 6 is phrased in such a broad, all-encompassing way that it seems to subsume the preceding five "means." Here, then, is Sister Julie Harkins's list of Medaille's "means": 171 March-April 2002 _Wag~, er ¯ Medaille's "Means" 1. Sharing experiences and feelings in prayer and doing so with candor and simplicity (Reglements, p. 9 par. 6). 2. Sharing the state of the house (outer as well as inner) and sharing the next step to which ofie is called (Reglements, p. 8 par. 4; Primitive Constitutions, p. 16 par. 1; p. 21 par. 4, 5, 6; p. 39 par. 6; p. 51 par. 8). 3. Sharing the dangers (evils) that threaten community life; protesting (promising) to safeguard what will safeguard the common union (Primitive Constitutions, pp. 58-66; Protestations, pp. 67-68). 4. Sharing what is our city and dividing the city among ourselves to discover the evils and to work for their healing (Primitive Constiitutions, p. i1 par. 6; p. 29 par. 9; p. 30 par. 1-3; p. 31 par. 1-2). 5. Sharing with each other how through works of service they are building the kingdom of love among the dear neighbors and the members of the community (Reglements, p. 8 par. 4; Primitive Constitutions, p. 17 par. 2). 6. Fidelity to the core spirituality: being grouped in honor of the Father, Son, and Spirit; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Maxims of Perfection, pp. 21-22; Reglements, pp. 4-5; Primitive Constitutions, pp. 12 and 57). Putting Medaille's "Means" into Practice You can see that the first three "means" listed pertain to spiritual bonding within the community; they deal primarily with discernment of spirits as a way of life. The next two "means" pertain to discerning the apostolic and prophetic stance to which the community may be called; these "means" address discernment as a decision-making process. Finally, the sixth "means" stands above the others and informs all of them inasmuch as it focuses upon the mystical relationships that are at the heart of the calling that Medaille identified for the Sisters of St. Joseph. I am keenly excited about having our Little Design community underway. This small community employs Medaille's own term, and it represents the fulfillment of a dream for refoundation that I have had for forty years. (Be it known, however, that at least one other person has called this dream my Review for Religious obsession.) As I write, this house is only three months old and at present has only two members. We have good hopes of attracting other young women who are interested in a life that is based on these six "means" of becoming an apostolic community of love. Let us now consider Medaille's first "means": sharing experiences and feelings in prayer and doing so with candor and simplicity. I will first try to explain why I feel that this is important, and then I will offer some recommendations about how to practice such sharing. The mystery of faith revealed to us in Scripture, particularly in Paul and John, is that all of history is now sacred history. This is the impact of the incarnation on our daily life (note--in Philippians 2:6-11, one of the passages cited above--the relevance of Paul's theology). All of our ordinary daily life is filled with God drawing our human consciousness to God's Self. God desires for us an ever-growing love and participation in the life of Jesus. This goes on in each moment of our human experience, and it registers as a thought, a tendency, a mood, a feeling. (Father George Aschenbrenner SJ has emphasized this approach in his conferences.) It is one thing to believe this. It is another to be deeply aware of it. It is a third step to be keenly sensitive to it. Our response is toward a greater share in living out Jesus' mission (note here the relevance of the John 17 passage on unity). To share within a community (I envision one of three to five sisters) one's experience in prayer presupposes incarnational theology and could move the community from believing to the final stage of responding. Submission to the group mandate for the purpose of growth enables believing, awareness, and sensitivity to develop. And movements of grace obviously become more explicit when inner awareness moves to vocal articulation. Sharing one's prayer experience with candor and simplicity is a demanding endeavor. An emptying is required, but I believe it leads to a new depth of communal unity if it is done in faith, All of our ordinary daily life is f!lled with God drawing our human consciousness to God's Self. --!73 Mt~.rcb-dpril 2002 Wagner ¯ Medaille's "Means" trust, and love. This depth is the mystery of God made more manifest in and among ourselves. We become more conscious of the call to respond and to be accountable. How would this be implemented? A possible scenario would be a biweekly gathering at which community members would relate movements of consolation and desolation during their prayer of the previous few days. Journaling after prayer periods would help members to be more responsibly prepared for the group gathering. Those who have had an Ignatian directed retreat will easily identify with this process. At present our small community enters into Morning Praise with a psalm, quiet time to reflect, and then the citing of a word, phrase, or line that was "given." The Gospel for the day is then read aloud. This is followed by a brief period of quiet and a brief time of communal sharing. All of this is done within half an hour and prepares us for deeper listening at liturgy. The content of our prayer in the future may vary, but the communal sharing is integral. Medaille's second "means" has three aspects: sharing the state of the house (outer as well as inner) and sharing the next step to which one is called. "The state of the house" has two meanings: first, the practical details of the community's living quarters. For harmonious living, responsibility and accountability are expected from every member. Such matters as cleaning, shopping for food, preparing meals, paying bills, scheduling prayer, hospitality, and times for silence are basic elements in a well-ordered "house." Honesty prevailing, the community will be aware of members' overextension or ill health, of things needing repair, and so forth. With solutions to be found, the quality presence of each member is important. The ebb and flow of external harmony is guaranteed by this practical sharing. The other "house" is the inner one, the heart. Teresa of Avila in her Way of Perfection notes that in praying it is essential to recognize and own how one is as one stands before the Beloved: weak, grateful, sinful, needy. This ownership of my incarnate self relates me to the incarnate Jesus. In truth, to articulate that inner state demands honesty, probes causes, and elicits understanding. What a sacred gift to offer my sisters: an emptying for the purpose of union,t My creaturely limitation stands naked before the Christ I trust, and before the Body of Review for Religious Christ in my sisters. Transformation in Christ occurs when I share in Jesus' life--in his being child of God and sharer in created human nature. The next aspect of the second "means," sharing the next step to which one is called, flows out of the group's increasing sensitivity. Articulation of deeper desires was a requirement for Jesuit novices, and this may have influenced Medaille to recommend this sharing to the first sisters. Great desires for God need to be fostered into action or they die. One's next step may be small and subtle or grand and significant. It could be to create a dream, to change a pattern of behavior, to attend to one's health, or to begin a new relationship. Such matters require careful handling with regard to the members' personal and communal mission. They begin in the human heart. It was the sharing that Teresa of Avila had with John of the Cross that enabled them to take the next steps for the refoundation of the Carmelite order. It was the vision that Ignatius shared with Francis Xavier that led to his bringing the faith to south and east Asia. Incarnational theology points out that our deepest desires are God-given. The word God gives us is to be spoken and enfleshed. The emptying required in taking next steps in our lives is attested to in the lives of men and women who accomplished much for God. A Saturday morning once a month could be set aside to ensure Medaille's second "means." Although the focus would vary, all aspects of this "means" would be attended to within this leisurely time together. Community members could take turns facilitating a simple process that might begin with listening to a member describe a project that she feels called to initiate. The listening could be followed b~ quiet reflection, questions, and dialogue. In this way one member's hopeful desire would be gracefully fostered and nurtured or deemed unsuitable or temporarily tabled for deeper discerning. At present our Little Design community gathers in the community room on Saturday mornings for about an hour and a Incarnational theology points out that our deepest desires are God-given. March-April 2002 H~ner * Medaille'~ "Means" half, a time we consider sacred. Because we are a new community, we do this every Saturday unless some special event interferes. We realize, too, that it is easy to spend too much time on the "outer" house, and so we strive to ensure the more interior and bonding elements of this second "means." Medaille's third "means" is sharing the dangers (evils) that threaten community life, protesting (promising) to safeguard what will safeguard the common union. One might ask wh

Issue 43.5 of the Review for Religious, September/October 1984. ; REvll!w I:OR RE~.lt;~Ot~S (ISSN 0034-639X). published every two months, is edited in collaboration with the faculty members of the Department of Theological Studies of St. Louis University. The editorial offices are located at .Room 428:3601 Lindell Blvd.: St. Louis, MO 63108. R~=.vlt.'.w FOR RE~.~t3~ot~s is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute of the Society of Jesus. St. Louis, MO. @ 1984 by Rl~vll:.w FOR RE~.mlot;s. Composed. printed and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, MO. Single copies: $2.50. Subscription U.S.A. $10.00 a year: $19.00 for two'years. Other countries: add $2.00 per year (postage). For sub~ripfion orders or change of address, write Rt:v~t:w ~,oR Rt:l.w,~ot~s: P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, MN 55806. Daniel F. X. Meenan, S.J. Dolores Greeley, R.S.M. Iris Ann Ledden, S.S.N.D. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Jean Read Editor Associate Editor Review Editor Questions and Answers Editor Assistant Editor Sept./Oct., 1984 Volume 43 Number 5 Manuscripts, books for review and correspondence with the editor should be sent to REVIEW FOR R~-:tAGtOOS; Room 428; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; St. Louis, MO 63108. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gallen, S.J.; Jesuit Community; St. Joseph's University; City Avenue at 54th St.; Philadelphia, PA 19131. Back issues and reprints should be ordered from R~-:v~.:w ~'oR Rt-:t.t~;~oos; Room 428; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; St. Louis, MO 63108. "Oul of print" issues and articles not published as reprints arc available from University Microfilms International; 300 N. Zeeb Rd.; Ann Arbor, MI 48106. "On the Strength of His Word": A Meditation on Priestly Spirituality Joseph Ratzinger Oh the occasion of the golden jubilee celebration of Joseph Cardinal H~Sffner, Archbishop of Cologne (October 30, 1982), Cardinal RatTJng~r offered this meditation on the priesthood which many have found helpful. The text is based on the translation which appeared in L'Osservatore Romano, 2 April, 1984, pp. 13ft. Cardinal Ratzinger is presently Prefect of the S. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he may be addressed: 1 -- 00120 Vatican City The past twenty years have witnessed a great deal of reflection and much heated discussion about the priesthood. But in spite of everything, the priest-hood proves to be longer-lived thari anticipated by many of the premature arguments put forward by certain persons who would want to abandori it as a sacred misunderstanding, replacing it with an understanding based on the concept of a merely functional "temporary service." We are gradually°coming to comprehend the presuppositions which at one time allowed such arguments to appear almost incontrovertible. Overcoming these prejudices also enables "us to understand more profoundly the biblical witness in its inner unity--of Old and New Testament, of Bible and Church. We are thus no longer forced to rest content with stale water from cisterns that sometimes trickles away amid conflicting h3ipotheses and sometimes collects in brackish little pools. Instead, we have accessto the living fountains of the faith of the Church of all ages. As far as I can see, the future will have to face precisely this question: How are we supposed to read the Scriptures? During the years when the canon of the Scriptures was being formed--which were also the years when the Church and her catholicity were taking shape--it was primarily Irenaeus of Lyons who had to deal with this question, whose answer decided whether ecclesiasti-cal life was possible or not. In his day, Irenaeus saw clearly that to divide the 641 649 / Review for Religious~; Sept.-Oct., 1984 Bible in itself, and to separate Bible and Church from each other was the basic principle of a Christianity of conformism and rationalism, the so-called Gnosis, which threatened the very foundations of the Church at that time. This basic twofold division was preceded by an inner division of the Church itself into communities which created their own ad hoc legitimacy by a selec-tion of sources. The disintegration of the sources of faith calls forth the disintegration of fellowship or communio--and vice versa. Gnosis attempts to put forth such a division or separation as being the epitome of rationality--divide the two Testaments, separate Scripture from Tradition, distinguish between educated and uneducated Christians--but in truth, Gnosis is a sign of decay. On the contrary, the unity of the Church renders visible the unity of that whence she lives: the Church lives only when she draws upon the Whole, upon the multiform unity of Old and New Testa-ments, of scriptural tradition and the realization of the Word in faith. Once one has bowed to this other logic of disintegration, then nothing can really be put together properly any more.~ It would be inappropriate to the solemn joy of this day were we to enter more deeply into the scholarly disputation just h!nted at--though this dispute must be settled before one can discuss details of the biblical testimony, for instance on the subject of the priesthood. The very joy of this day is itself something of a locus theologicus. The fifty years of priesthood that we celebrate is a reality which speaks for itself, and which gives a concrete context to these reflections. On this occasion, then," ! thought it better not to attempt a scholarly lecture upon the priesthood, but instead to offer a spiritual reflection, one in which 1 should like to explain a few scriptural passages which have come to be important to me personally, and to do this in a meditative way, without any special system or claim to scholarship. The Priestly Image in Lk 5:1-11 and Jn 1:35-42 The first text I have chosen is Luke 5:!-11. This is the wonderful "voca-tion" account which tells how Peter and his friends, after a night of fruitless labor, on the strength of the Lord's word put out to sea once more. They catch a shoal of fish so great that the nets almost break, whereupon :Jesus utters his "call": ~'You shall become a fisher of men!" I have a very special affection for this passage because above it there shines the dawning light of a first love, of a beginning full of hope and readiness. Every time 1 recall these verses 1 remember the fresh brightness of my own beginnings, of that joy in the Lord of which we spoke in the phrase from the old psalter with which we began Mass: "I will go unto the altar of God, to the God who giveth joy to my youth" (Ps 42:4)--to the God in whose nearness the joy oI~ being young is constantly renewed because he is life itself, and hence the source of genuine youth. But let us return to our text which reports that the people pressed upon On the Strength of His Word / 643 Jesus because they wanted to hear the word of God. He is standing on the seashore, the fishermen are washing their nets, and Jesus gets into one of the two boats beached there--it was Peter's boat. Jesus asks him to put out a little from the land; he sits down and teaches the people from the boat. Simon's boat thus becomes the cathedra of Jesus Christ. Afterwards he says to Simon: "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." The fishermen have spent all night toiling in vain. To them it seems quite pointless to lower the nets again in the early morning hours. But for Peter, Jesus has already become so important, indeed so decisive, that he replies: On the strength of your word--"At your word I will let down the nets." The word of Jesus has already become more substantial than what is apparently real and empirically certain. That Galilean morning, whose fresh scent we can almost breathe in this account, becomes an image of the new dawn of the Gospel after the nights of fruitles~ness into which our own actions and: desires repeatedly lead us. And when Peter and his companions return with their heavy cargo-- which required the help of their partners because the abundance of the gift threatened to break their nets--Peter had completed not merely an outward journey, a work of merely human hands. For Peter, this had become an interior journey whose extent is framed by Luke in just two words. The Evangelist reports that before the great catch of fish, Peter addressed the Savior as Epistata, which means "teacher," "professor," or "master." Upon his return, however, Peter, falls on his knees before Jesus and no longer addresses him as Rabbi but as Kyrie--"Lord." In other words, Peter now addresses Jegus as God. Peter had. traveled the road from "Rabbi,' to "Lord," from "Teacher" to "Son." At the completion of this interior journey he is capable of receiving a vocation. At this point the parallels to the first "vocation" account in Jn 1:35-42, practically force themselves upon us.2 There we read that the first two disci-ples, Andrew and an unnamed companion, ~follow Jesus after hearing the Baptist exclaim, ".Behold, the Lamb of God !" They are struck on the one hand by the consciousness of their own sinfulness evoked by this exclamation, on the other hand by the hope which the Lamb of God represents for the sinner. One senses that both of them. are still uncertain; their discipleship is still hesitant.~ Without saying any more, they follow him discreetly, apparently not yet daring to address him directly. And so he turns to them and says, "What do you seek?" Although the reply sounds awkward, a bit shy and embar-rassed, still it comes directly to the. point: "Rabbi, where do you live?" Or, more acurately translated, "Where are you staying?"--where is your abode, your shelter, your real residence, that we too may arrive there?" Here, we must remind ourselves that the idea of "abiding" or "residing" is one of the key concepts of St. John's Gospel. The Savior's reply is normally translated "Come and see!" This corres-ponds with the conclusion of John's second "vocation" account involving 644 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 Nathanael, to whom Jesus says, "You shall see greater things than these!" (Jn 1:50). The meaning of this "coming," in other, words, is becoming perceptive; "coming" means to be seen by him--and to begin seeing with him. As a matter of fact, above his abode the heavens, the hidden sphere of God, are open (Jn 1:51); there man stands in God's own radiance. "Come, and you shall see!" also accords with the Church's "communion psalm": "O taste and see that the Lord is god!" (Ps 34:8). It is only the approach, the "coming," which leads to seeing. Tasting allows the eyes to be opened. Just as the tasting of the forbidden fruit in Paradise once "opened the eyes" in a fateful manner, so too it is true here in the opposite sense that tasting what is true also "opens the eyes," so that one realizes and "sees" God's goodness. Seeing takes place only in coming into Jesus' abode. There can be no vision without the hazard of approaching, of "coming." St. Johweven notes that "it was about the tenth hour" (1:39), in other words very lat~, a time at which one would think it no longer possible to make a beginning--and yet an hour at which urgent and decisive events do take place. According to some apocalyp-tic calculations, the tenth hour is considered the hour of the "last days."3 He who comes to Jesus enters the definitively final age; he makes contact with the already present reality of the Resurrection and of the kingdom of God. "Seeing," therefore, takes place when one '~approaches," and John the Evangelist makes this clear in the same fashion that we noted in St. Luke's account. When Jesus addressed them, the two responded by calling him "Rabbi." But when they return from staying with him, Andrew tells his brother Simon, "We have found the Messiah, the Christ" (Jn 1:14). In approaching Jesus ~and remaining with him, Andrew had traveled the path from "Rabbi" to "ChriSt," he had learned to see the Christ in the te~icher--and this is somethingwhich can only be learned in "abiding." Thus does the inner unity of the third and fourth Gospels become evident: both times the experi-ment of living "on'the strength of his Word" is undertaken, and both times the interior pilgrimage follows a course which permits vision, "seeing," to arise out of "coming." All of us began our joul-ney with the Church's full profession of faith in God's Son. But such an approach "~n the strength of his word," such an entering into his abode, is in our own case, too, the precondition for our vision or "seeing." And he alone is capable of calling others who is himself able to see cleai'ly, instead of merely believing at second hand. This coming or approach, this venturing out "on the strength of his Word" is, today and always, the indispensable prerequisite of the apostolate of priestly ministry. Again and again we shall find it necessary to ask him: "Where are you staying?" Over and over again it will be necessary to approach Jesus' abode from within. Again and again we shail have to let down the nets on the strength of his woi'd, even when it seems quite pointless. It is constantly necessary to regard his Word as more real than all that we otherwise would consider valid: statistics, technol-ogy, public opinion. Often it will seem as though the tenth hour had already On the Strength of His Word / 645 struck, and we shall have to postpone the hour of Jesus. But in precisely this way it can become the hour of his nearness. The two Gospel accounts have some other traits in common. St. John depicts the two disciples as being struck by the Baptist's proclamation of the Lamb. They obviously know from experience that they are sinners. For them this is not some sort of alien religious phraseology, but rather something that stirs them from within, something that is very real to them. Since they realize this about themselves, the Lamb becomes a sign of hope for them, and this is why they begin to follow him. Something quite unexpected occurs when Peter returns to shore with his great catch of fish. We might have expected him to embrace Jesus because of the successful fishing operation, but instead Peter falls on his knees. He does not hold fast to (he Savior in order to possess a future guarantee of success, but actually tries to drive him away because he fears the power of God: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man!" (Lk 5:8). Where man experiences God, there he recognizes his own sinfulness, and it is. only when he really knows that he is sinful--and has grasped the malice of sin--that he.also .comprehends the call to "repent,~ and believe the Gospel!" (Mk 1:15). Without conversion, it is not possible to press forward to Jesus and to the. Gospel. There is a paradox of Chesterton's which expresses this rela-tionship quite accurately: one can recognize a saint by the fact that he knows he is a sinner.4 The fact that our experience of God has grown pale is evident today in the disappearance of our experiential awareness of our sin; and vice versa: the disappearance of this knowledge alienates us all the more from God. Without falling into a false anxiety, we should once again learn the wisdom of the psalmist's word: lnitium sapientiae timor DorninL Wisdom, genuine under-standing, begins with the correct fear of the Lord. We must once more learn this fear in order to acquire true love and to grasp what it means to be able to love him--and to grasp as well .that he loves us. Hence this experience of Peter, of Andrew and of John is a basic prerequisite for the apostolate and thus also for the priesthood. Conversion--the very first word of Christian-ity-- can be preached only by one who has himself been touched by its neces-sity and therefore has grasped the greatness of grace. In these fundamental elements of the spiritual path of the apostolate which are becoming evident here, are the outlines of the basic sacramental structure of the Church, and indeed of the priestly ministry itself, also becoming clearer. If the sacraments of baptism and penance correspond to the experience of sin, then the mystery of the Eucharist corresponds to "coming" and "becoming perceptive," to entering into the abode of Jesus. Indeed, in a sense which we could previously not even imagine, the Eucharist is Jesus' abiding with us. "There you shall see"---the Eucharist is the place where the promise to Natha-nael applies, where we can see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending (Jn 1:51). Jesus dwells and "abides" in his sacrifice, in that act 646 / Review for Religious, Sept:-Oct., 1984 of love with which he conveys himself to the Father, and through his vicarious love he also gives us back to the Father. The communion psalm whi~:h speaks about tasting and seeing also says: "Come ye to him and be enlightened" ([Douay] Ps 33:6). Communion with Christ means communication with the true light that enlightens every man who comes into this world (see Jn l:9)P Let us consider another point common to both gospel accounts. The superabundant catch of fish begins to burst the nets. Peter and his crew cannot master the situation. Thus we read in Luke 5:7 that they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. "And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink." The call of Jesus is simultaneously a calling together, a call to syllabbsthai, as the Greek text puts it: "to take hold of together," to stick together and assist one another, to combine the efforts of both boats. St. John's Gospel expresses the same idea. Returning from his hour with Jesus, Andrew cannot remain silent about what he has found. He calls his brother Simon to Jesus, and the very same thing happens to Philip, who in his turn calls Nathanael (Jn 1:41-5). Vocation tends toward together-ness. Vocation makes disciples of us, and cries out to be passed on. Every vocation has a human element as well: the element of brotherliness, of being stimulated by another person. When we think back over our own lives, each of us knows that he was not struck by a thunderbolt direct from heaven, but that at some point he had to be spoken to by a person of faith, to be borne up or carried by.others. Of course a vocation cannot persevere if we believe only at second hand, "because So-and-So. says so." Perseverance is possible only if, led by our brethren, we ourselves find Jesus (see Jn 4:42). Both aspects necessarily belong together: being led, being spoken to, being ¯ carried, just as much as our own "coming and seeing." It therefore seems to me that we ghould once again develop much more courage to address one another, to speak to one another, and not ,to deprecate positive reactions to the testimony of others. As one of faith's components, "neighborliness" belongs to ihe humaneness of believing, and within this framework one's own encounter with Jesus must mature. Hence it is not only "taking along" and "leading toward" which are important, but release as well, abandonment to the distinctive aspects of a special call--even when these special aspects turn out to be different from what we had intended for the person concerned. In St. Luke's account, these insights are broadened out into a complete vision of the Church. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, are there called koinonoi of Simon, which here must be translated as "partners?' In other words, these three are described as a fishing partnership or cooperative, with Peter as head and principal owner.6 And it is first of all this group which Jesus calls, the koinonia (fellowship or communio), the partners in Peter's coopera-tive. In Simon's call, however, his profane vocation is reformed into an image of the new which is to come. The fishing partnership becomes the communio On the Strength of His Word or fellowship of Jesus, and Christians will form the eommunio of this new fishing boat, united by the call of Jesus and by the miracle of grace, which bestows the riches of the sea after long and hopeless nights. Just as they are united in the gift, they are also united in their joint mission. St. Jerome gives a beautiful interpretation of the title "fishers of men" which actually be~longs in the context of an inner transformation of Peter's profession into a vision of what is to come.7 Jerome says that to draw fish out of the water.means to tear them away from the n~tural element in which they live and thus to deliver them up to death. But to draw men out of the water of this world means to withdraw them from deadly surroundings and from a starless night, giving them instead air to breathe and the light of heaven. It means transferring men into the natural environment in which they can live and which is simultaneously light, enabling them to see the truth. Eight is life, because the natural element or environment from which man lives at the very deepest level is truth, which is simultaneously love. Of course, the man who swims in the waters of the world does not know this. Hence he resists being drawn up out of the water. It is as though he believes he were an ordinary fish which must die when pulled up out of the depths. And as a matter of fact. it ~s indeed a death sentence. But this death leads into the true life in which a man really arrives at being himself. To be a disciple means to let oneself be "caught" by Jesus, by the mysterious fish which descended into the water of this world, indeed, into the water of death; who himself,became a fish in order to allow himself first to be caught by us, so as to become the Bread of Eife for us. He allows himself to be caught so that we can be caught by him, and find the courage to let ourselves be pulled along with him out of the waters of our habits and comforts. Jesus became a fisher of men by taking the night of the sea upon himself, by himself descending into the Passion of its depths. One can only become a fisher of men when one applies oneself to the task the way Jesus did. And furthermore, one can only become a fisher of men when one trusts in the bark of Peter, when one has entered into fellowship or communio with,Peter. A vocation is not a private matter, merely taking up the cause of Jesus at one's own expense. The field of a vocation is the entire Church, which can exist only in f~llowship with Peter and thus with the apostles of Jesus Christ. Priestly Spirituality~ in Psalm 16 (15) Since I want to stress the unity of both Testaments in'Scripture, the second passage I wish to discuss is taken from the Old Testament, from Psalm 16 (or 15, according to the Greek enumeration). We older priests once used the fifth verse of this psalm almost like a motto for what we had undertaken when we were made clerics in the rite of tonsure. Every time this psalm recurs (it is now part of Compline on Thursdays) 1 am reminded how I tried at that time to comprehend the rite of tonsure itself by imderstanding this text, so that, once 6tll~ / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct. 1984 understood, I could carry out and live the rite. Thus, this verse became a precious beacon for me, and it remains today a symbol of what it means to be a priest, and of how priestly existence is realized. The Vulgate text reads: Dominus pars hereditatis meae et calicis rnei. ~ Tu es qui restitues hereditatern meam rnihi. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: It is thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me. This sentence makes Concrete what had been said earlier in verse 2: "I have no good beyond Thee!" and it do+s so in a very worldly turn Of phrase, in a pragmatic context that does not appear to be theological at all--in the lan-guage of the occupation and distribution of land in Israel as this is described in the book of Joshua and in the Pentateuch.s The priestly tribe of Levi was not a party to the distribution of the land among the tribes of Israel. The Levite ¯ received no land because "the Lord himself is his possession" (Dt 10:9; see also Jos 13:14) and "I [Yahweh] am thy portion and inheritance" (Nb 18:20). In this passage it is primarily the concrete matter of sustenance which is being dealt with: the Israelites live from the land which is assigned them. The land forms the physical basis of their existence. Through the possession of land, therefore, each individual has, so to speak, his very life apportioned to him. It is only the priests who receive their livelihood, not from tilling their own soil, but from Yahweh himself who is their sole source of life, even of physical life. To put it concretely, the priests live from their portion of the sacrificial victims.and the other cult offerings, in other words from that which has been given over'to God and in which they, as ritual ministers, are entitled to share. Thus two different types of physical livelihood are first of all expressed hire, but both of them neces~sarily lead to a deeper level when viewed from the standpoint of Israel's typical thinking in terms of totality. For the individual Israelite, the land is not merely a guarantee of support. It is his way of participating in the promise which God gave to Abraham and thus his inti-mate involvement in the God-given context in which the Chosen People live their lives. It thus simultaneously becomes the warrant of sharing in God's own vital power. The Levite, in contrast, possesses no land, and in that sense remains without security because he is excluded from earthly guarantees. He is directly and immediately "cast upon Yahweh" and upon him alone, as Psalm 22 says (verse 10). Although in the case of the occupation of the land the guarantee of life can somehow be disconnected from God--at least in the superficial sense of offering an independent type .of security, so to speak--this is impossible in the Levitical form of life: There, God alone is quite directly the warrant of life-- even one's earthly, physica! life depends upon him. If worship were to cease, the very basis of physical life would also disappear. And thus .the life of the Levite isat once p~-ivilege and hazard. Proximity to God in the sanctuary is the sole and direct source and focus of life. On the Strength of His Word / 649 At this point, I think a digression is in order. The terminology of verses five and six is plainly that of the occupation of the land and the different type of sustenance allotted to the tribe of Levi. This means that our psalm' is the song of a priest who expresses therein the physical and spiritual center of his life. The person praying here has not merely interpreted the legal stipula-tions- the external lack of properly, and the living from and for worship in the sense of a certain type of guaranteed livelihood--but has lived all of this in the direction of its real foundation. He has spiritualized the law, gone beyond it toward Christ, precisely by realizing its true content. For us, two things are important about this psalm. First of all, it is a priestly prayer, and secondly, we can here clearly observe how the" Old Testa-ment internally surpasses itself in the direction of Christ, how the Old Cove-nant approaches the New and thus renders visible the unity of salvation history~ To live, not from possessions but from the cult, means for this wor-shipper to live in God's presence, .to locate his existence in the interior approach to him. In this regard, Hans-Joachim Kraus quite rightly points out ¯ that in thiS text the Old Testament reveals the beginnings of a mystical com-munion with God which develops out of the special nature of the Levitical prerogatives? And so Yahweh himse]-f~aa~ becpme the "land" of the worshipper praying this psalm. The next verses clarify what this means in terms of concrete, everyday life. Verse 8 says: "I have set the Lord. always before me." Accord-ingly, the suppliant lives in God's presence; he keeps the Lord constantly before himself. The next phrase varies the same idea by saying: "For he is on my right hand." The core content of these Levitical prerogatives thus proves to be the bei.ng in God's company, the knowing that God is at one's side, asso-ciatirig with him, contemplating him and beipg contemplated by him. Thus God .actually becomes the "land" or the "landscape" of one's own life; thus we dwell and "abide" with him. And at this point the psalm makes contact with what we discovered earlier in .St. John's Gospel. Accordingly, to be a priest means to come to him, to his abode, and thus to learn how to see; to abide in his abode. The precise manner in which this occurs becomes more tangible in the verses which follow. Here, the priest praying the psalm praises the Lord for having "given him counsel," and he thanks the Lord because he has "inst_ructed him:in the night season." With this turn of phrase, both Septuagint and Vulgate texts are plainly thinking of the physical pain which "instructs" men. Education or "instruction" is conceived as a person "being bent into the proper shape" for a truly human existence, and this cannot take place without suffering, In this context, the term "instruction" is intended to be a compre-hensive expression .for leading man to salvation, for that series of transforma, tions ~by which we are changed from clay into the image of God, and thus become capable of eternal union with him. The external rod of the disciplinar-ian is here replaced by the sufferings of life in which God leads us and brings 650 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 us to dwell with him. All of this recalls that great psalm, of:God's Word, Ps. 119, which we now pray during the week in the hora media. It is actually constructed around the basic statement of the Levite'sexistence: "The Lord is my portion" (v. 57; see also v. 14). Thus we find in abundant variety the basic ideas in which Psalm 16 expounds this reality: "Thy testimor~ies., are my counselors" ( 119: v. 24); "it is good :forme that 1 was afflicted, that 1 might learn thy statutes" (.v. 71); "I know, O Lord, that thyjudgments are right, and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me" (v. 75). Only then can one grasp the profundity of that petition which recurs like a refrain throughout the psalm: "O teach me thy statutes!" (vv. 12, 26, 29, 33, 64). Wherever life is so truly centered upon God's Word, there it comes about that the Lord "counsels" us. The words of' Scripture are no longer some remote generalities,~but speak quite directly into my life. The Scriptur.es step out of the distance of history and become words addressed to me in person. "The Lord is my counselor"i my very life becomes a word of his. And thus Psalm 16:11 comes true: "Thou dost show me the path of life." Life ceases to bea dark m'ystery. We begin to grasp what it means "to live?' Life opens itself up, and in the midst of all the tribulation of "being instructed," it becomes a joy. "Thy Statutes are.my songs," says Psalm i 19:54, and here in Psalm 16 the situation is not different: "Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices" (v. 9); "In thy presence there is fullness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore" (v. II). When we succeed in reading the Old Testament in the light of its central core, and accept God's Word as the landscape of life, then we touch upon him whom we believe to be God'siliving Word. To me it seems~no mere accident that in the ancient Church this psalm became the great prophecy of the Resurrection, a description of the new David and of the definitive priest Jesu~ Christ. To learn to li~,e does not mean to inaster some sort of technique, but rather it ineans to pass beyond death. The mystery of Jesus Christ, his death and his resurrection rise resplendent wherever the suffering of the word and its indestructible 61an vital are experienced. It is therefore unnecessary to make any more applications to our own spirituality. A fundamental component of priestly existence is something resembling the Levite's "apartness," his lack of land, his being ci~st exclusively upon God. The vocation account in St. Luke which we considered earlier closes with the pointed words: "They forsook fill and followed him" (Lk 5:! I). There is no priesthood without such an act of abandonment. Without this sign of uncompromising freedom, the call to imitation is impossible. l think that this point of view renders highly significant, Jindeed makes indispensable, celibacy as being the abandonmerit of an earthly land of future promise, of life in one's own family, so that the basic state of being delivered up to God alone remains intact and becomes quite concrete. This, of course, implies that celibacy m]akes demands on one's entire lifestyle. Celibacy cannot On (he Strength of His Word / 651 fulfill its purpose if, in all other areas, we simply follow the rules of possession and procedure customary in life today. And above all, celibacy cannot last if we do not positively make "settling down with God" to be the center of our lives. Both Psalm 16 and Psalm 119 strongly.emphasize the need for constant meditative association with the Word of God, which cannot become our "homestead" in any other way. The community aspect of liturgical piety which necessarily belongs here is suggested by the reference in Psalm 16 to the Lord as "my cup" (v. 5). In Old Testament diction, this surely refers either to the cup of wine which went r~und at cultic meals, or to the cup of fate, the cup of anger or, of salvation.J0 In this prayer, the priest of the New Testament can find a sp~ci,al reference to that chalice through which the Lord has become our "land" in the most profound sense: the eucharistic chalice in which he distributes himself as our life. Priestly life in God's presence is thus concretized as life in the eucharistic mystery. At bottom the Eucharist is the "land" which has become our portion and of which we may weffsay: "The lines have fallen for ine in pleasant places; yea I have a goodly heritage" (v. 6). And here, two remarks, of fundamental importance emerge. Two Basic Conclusions from th~ Scriptural Texts The Unity of the Two Testaments ~. In my view, aparticularly important aspect of this priestly prayer of the Old and the New Covenant is the fact that here the. inner unity of the two Testaments, the unity of biblical spirituality and its basic manifestations in life, become visible, indeed capable of being lived out in practice. This is so signifi-cant because one of the principal reasons for the exegetically and theologically motivated crisis of the priest's image in recent~times has been precisely the separation of the. Old Testament from the New: Their relationship was seen only in the dialectical tension of opposites, namely "Law" and "Gospel." It was generally agreed that the New Testament ministries had nothing at all to do with the offices in the Old Testament. The fact that one would[ portray the Catholic concept of priesthood as a reversion to the Old Testament was itself regarded as an ironclad refutation of the Catholic idea. It was claimed that Christology meant the definitive abolition of all kinds, of priesthood, the destruction of the boundaries between the Sacred and ~he Profane, and the renunciation of the significance of any history of religions and their ideas of priesthood. Wherever it was possible to point out links between the Church's concept ofothe priest and the OJd Testament, or ideas borrowed from the history of religions, this was done as a sign that Christianity had gone astray in.the ecclesiastical ai'ea; it was urged as proof against the Church's doctrine on the priesthood. But this in fact meant that we were cut off from an entire stream of sources, from biblical piety and indeed from human experience itself. It meant that we were banished into a worldliness whose rigid "Christo-monism" 659 / Review for ReligiousI Sept.-Oct., 1984 actually dissolved 'the biblical image of Christ. This .in .turn is related to the fact that the Old Testament itself had been falsely construed as ~etting forth an opposition between "Law" and "Prophets," whereby "Law" was identified with the cultic and the priestly, while the "Prophetic" element was equated with criticism of cult; and with a pure ethics of humanitarianism that finds God in one's neighbor, not in the Temple. On this basis it was of course possible to refer to thi~ cultic element as "legalism" in contrast to prophetic piety, which was characterized ~is "faith in grace." The result was that the New Testam+nt was relegated to the realm of the anti-cultic, of the purely'humanitarian. In view of this basic attitude, every approach to priesthood :ffas condemned to remain fruitless and unconvincing. The real discussion with this entire~ complex of ideas has not yet taken place. He who prays°the priestlyPsalm 16 along with the other related psalms, especially Psalm 119, will become quite aware of the factthat the supposed ,opposition in principle between priesthood and prophecy of Christology simply collapses upon itself~ This psalm is in fact both fi priestly and a pro-phetic prayer, in which the purest and most profound elements of prophetic piety come to the fore~-but as priestly piety. Since this is so, the psalm is a Christological text. Since this is so, Christianity has since its earliest days regarded this psalm as a prayer of Jesus Christ, which he dedicates anew to us so that we may be permitted to pray it anew with him(see Rv 2:25-29). In this psalm, the new priesthood of Jesus Christ expresses itself prophetically, and in this psalm we can see how in the New Covenant the priesthood, proceeding from Christ, continues to exist in the unity of all salvation history, and indeed must continue to exist~ On the basis of this psalm we can understand that the Lord does not abolish the Law but fulfills it and conveys it anew to the Church, truly "storing it away" in the Church as an expression of grace. The Old Testament belongs to Christ, and in Christ, to us. The faith can live only in the Unity of the Testaments. The Sacred' and th~ Profane And that brings me tO my secofid remark. Once we regain the Old Testament, we must also overcome the disparagement of the Sacred and the mys-tique of the Profane. Naturally Christianity is a l~aven, and the Sacred is not something closed and final but something dynamic. Every priest has been commissioned to "Go, the~refore, and make-disciples of all nations!" (Mt ¯ 28:19). But this dynamism of being sent out, this inner openness and breadth of the Gospel cannot be transposed into the slogan: "Go ye therefore and yourselves become part of the world! Go ye into the world and confirm it in its worldliness!" The contrhry is the.case. The~:e is a sacred mystery of God, the mustard seed of the Gospel, which is not identical with the world but is rather destined to penetrate the whole world. Hence we'must Once more find the courage to acknowledge the Sacred, the courage to distinguish what is Chris-tian-- and that, not in order to separate or to differentiate, but to transform, to On the Strength of His Word /653, be truly dynamic. In an interview given in 1975, Eugene lonescu, a founder of the "Theatre of the Absurd," expressed this with the total passion typical 6f the thirsty, seeking men of our day. 1 quote a few sentences: The Church does not want to lose her customers, she wants to gain new ones. That results in a type of secularization, which is really miserable . The~world is losing itself and the Church loses itself in the world, the parish priests ate stupid and mediocre, leftist petty bourgeois. I have heard a parish priest say in chu.rch, "Let's be happy, let's all shake hands . Jesus wishes each of you a very good day!" It will not be long until someone sets up a bar for communion of bread and wine, and servessandwiches-and Boujolais. To me, that seems unbelievable stupidity and com-pletely non-spiritual. Brotherliness is neither mediocrity nor fraternization. We need the Supra-Temporal, because what is religion or the Sacred? All that remains is nothing; nothing solid, everything is in motion. What we really need, though, is a rock;" In this connection I recall some of the stimulating sentences to be found in Peter Handke's new work, Over the Villages. For example: "Nobody wants us, and nobody ever wanted us. Our houses are trellises of despair standing in emptin~:ss . . . We are not on the wrong road, we are not on any road at all. How forsaken mankind is."~2 I believe that when one hears these voices--voices of men who quite consciously live in the world of today, living, suffering; singing--then it becomes clear that one cannot serve this world with banal officiousness. Such a world does not need corroboration, it needs transformation--the radicality~ of the Gospel. A Concluding Thought: Giving and Receiving (Mk 10:28-31) By way of conclusion, 1 would like to touch briefly upon one more text: Mk 10:28-31. There, Peter says to' Jesus, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you." St. Matthew makes explicit what was obviously the point of the question: "What then shall we have?" (19:27)~ We have already spoken about relinquishing or abandoning, which is an indispensable element of apostolic, priestly spirituality. Let us therefore turn at once to Jesus' astonishi'ng reply. He does not rejrct Peter's question out of hand, as one might expect~ He does not reproach Peter because he expects a reward, but rather admits that Peter is right: "Truly, 1 say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life" (Mk 10:29-30). God is magnanimous, and if we look at our lives honestly, then we know that he has indeed repaid every abandonment a hundredfold. He will not allow us to surpass him in generosity. He does not wait for. the world to come in order to repay, but even now gives in return a hundred to one, though in spite of this the world remains the scene of persecutions, sufferings and tribu- 654 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 lations. St. Teresa of Avila expressed this statement of Jesus in the simple formula: "Even in this life, God repays a hundredfold,"~3 All we need is the courage to b~gin by giving our "one,"as Peter did when, on the strength of the Lord's word, he put out once again in the morning--he gave one, and received back a hundred. And so I think that in all our pusillanimity we should constantly beg our Lord for this same courage, and for the faith and confidence that lie therein. And we should thank him for those upon whom he has bestowed this courage, those whom he gives to us as signs of encouragemefit, in Order to invite us to make ouy own leap into the hands of his mercy. NOTES ~From the vast literature on "lrenaeus and Gnosis" see most recently H. J. J~schke, Irenaeus yon Lyon "Die ungeschminkte Wahrheit"(Roma, 1980). 2For the following remarks concerning John 1:35-42. 1 am indebted to the fundamental sugges-tions of C. M. Martini, "Damit ihr Frieden habt. Geistliches Leben nach dem Johannesevange-lium" (Freiburg 1982), pp. 204-9. 31bid, p. 207. 4Cited by ,,Cardinal Suenens "Renouveau et puissance des t~n~bres," Document de Marines 4 (1982), p. 60. On this subject see pp. 37-61 in Suenens" book as well as K. Hemmerle, ~Das Haus des barmherzigen Vaters" (Freiburg. 1982), pp. 17-25. 5The standard translation renders Ps 33:6 (34:5), in light of the Hebrew text, as "look tohim and be radiant," whereas the Lalin Vulgate, following the Septuagint, renders it "Come ye to him and be enlightened." It was precisely the phrase "ye shall be enlightened" which called forth a very strong echo in the philosophy and theology of the Church Fathers, and we are quite justified in regarding this verse in the Septuagint version as one of the key phrases of Christian liturgy and theology. We are of course confronted here with the question of the specific rank to be attributed to the Greek Old Testament. This problem must be reflected upon anew. Noteworthy in this regard is H. Gese, 'tZur biblischen Theologic" (MLinchen 1977), pp. 9-30, esp. 27 ft., and see also P. Benoit, "Exegese und Theol0gie" (Dfisseldorf 1965), pp. 15-22. ~On this see F. Hauck, Koinon~s Ktl.: TWNT 3(1938), pp. 798-810, here especially pp 799, 802, 804. 7JerOme, "In Ps 141," ad neophytos. CChr 78, p. 544. sOn what follows, see H. J. Kraus, "Psalmen I" (Neukirchen-Vluyn 1960), pp. 118-27. '~lbid. p. 123: ~°See H. Gross-H. Reinelt, "Das Buch der Psalmen I" (Diisseldorf 1978)~ pp. 88 ft. ~E. Ionescu, ~Gegengiffe~ (Miinchen, 1979), pp. 158,159. ~2P. Handke, "~lber die Drrfer (Frankfurt, 1981), p~. 94 ft. ~3"Libro de vida," 22/I~ and see U.M. Schiffers, ~Gott liebt beherzte Seelen," Pastoralblat! 34 (1982), p. 294. We Priests Are More Necessary Than Ever John Paul H In the month of February, Pope John Paul twice took up themes of priesthood. Frorfi Februa.ry 13-16, some four hundred priests attended a national convention addressed to the theme, "The Eucharist and the Problems of the Life of Priests Today," spofisored by the Italian Episcopal Conference's Commission for the Clergy, on the last day of which the Holy Father addressed the cqngregants. , ~ ~ Then, on February 23, 1984, to conclude a special Holy Year celebration with priests, the Holy Faiher ¢oncelebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica with more than four thousand priests and bishops from, all over the world. This Mass was also marked by a renewal of commitment on the part of all present. The texts of these addresses appeared originally in L'Osservatore Romano, 5 March, 1984. pp. 6 and 8. Beloved Priests: Among the satisfactions that I have been granted to experience during the course of this Jubilee Year, one of the greatest is to be able to meet with the members of the ;clergy, with my confreres.in the priesthood. Very gladly, therefore, in welcoming the request of the organizers of your convention, I am here among you to let you know in a tangible way that the pope is near you, follows you in your work, shares your joys, your anxieties, your fears, at such a significant time for the life of the Church. Your meeting in Rome has taken, place in the deeply spiritual climate of this year of grace that is now approaching its end, and I sincerely rejoice in knowing that you have been engaged during these days in reflection on a theme of such great common interest, "The Eucharist and the Problems of the Life of Priests Today," a theme intended to foster that ever greater commu- ,656/ Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct, 1984 nion of sentiments and works, that spreading of ideas, that ,exchange and comparison of experiences, which today especially are indispensable for adapting, the exercise of the priestly ministry to the needs, the aspirations, and the development of the ecclesial community. To you, therefore, my greeting, my encouragement and my blessing. But you ce~rtainly are expecting also a word about the specific Subject of your reflections in order to know, through the pope's voice what the Church expects of you today, that you might live ever more effectively and authenti-cally the gift of yourse.lves to the Lord and to souls. This I will very gladly do, expressing to you above all my appreciation for "the objective of your conventiori, which very opportunely coincides with the aim of the Jubilee Year, whose goal, namely, to profit in a more intense way from the benefits of ~he Redemption, is none other than a new, urgent appeal to conversion addressed to all the faithful, and in. particular to priests. If conversion for a priest means returning to the grace of his vocation it-self' in order continually to rediscover the dimensions of the priesthood and to acquire new thrust in his evangelical dynamism,, what greater theme for ~eflection can be offered than the one which makes us bet'ter understand the vital and pr~ofound relationship that unites the priesthood to the Eucharist and the Eucharist to the priesthood? The priest cannot be understood without the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the reaSon for our priesthood. We are born priests in" the eucharistic celebra~.t~on. Our principal ministry and power is oi'dered to the E~cha~:ist. The Eucharist could not exist without us; but without the Eucharist we do not exist, or we are r.educed to lifeless shadows. The priest therefore can never r.e~ach complete fulfillment if the Eucharist does not become the center and root of his .life, so that all his activity is nothing but an,irradiation of the Eucharist. It is important to recall these truths at a time when we hear insidious voices that tend to disregard the primacy of God and of spiritual values in the life and activity 6f the priest. And this happens in the name of adjusting to.the times--which instead is conforming to the spirit of the world, sowing doubts and uncertainties about the true nature of the priesthood, its primary func-tions, its right place, in society. ,Beloved brothers, never let yourselves be influenced'by these theories. Never believe that the yearning for intimate conversation with the eucharistic Je.sus, the hours spent on your knees before the tabernacle, will halt or slow down the dynamism of your ministry. The exact opposite is true.What is given to God is never lost for man. The profound demands of spirituality and the priestly ministry remain substantially unchanged throughout the centuries, and tomorrow, just as today, they will have their fulcrum and their reference point in the eucharistic mystery. It is the grace of ordination that gives the priest the sense Of spiritual fatherhood, through which he presents himself to souls as a father and leads Priests are Necessary / 657 them along the path to heaven. But it is eucharistic love that daily renews his fatherhood and makes it fruitful, transforming him ever more into Christ and like Christ, makes him become the bread of souls, their priest, yes, but also their victim, because for them he is gladly consumed in imitation of him who gave his life for the salvation of the world. In other words, a priest is as good as his eucharistic life, his Mass above all. A Mass without love, a sterile priest. A fervent Mass, a priest who wins souls. Eucharistic devotion neglected and estranged,a priesthood that is in danger and fading. But the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the priest goes well beyond the sphbre of personal devotion. It constitutes the directing criterion, the permanent dimension of all his pastoral activity, the indispensable means for the authentic renewal of the Christian people. The Second Vatican Council wisely reminds us: "No Christian community can be built up unless it has its basis and center in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist. Here, there-fore, all education in the spirit ofcommunity must originate" (Decree Presby-terorum Ordinis, 6): Therefore, if we want Christian love to be a reality in life;,if we want Christians to be a community united in the apostolate and in,the common attitude of resistance to the powers of evil; if we want ecclesial communion to become .an authentic place of encounter, of hearing the Word of God, of .revision of life, of becoming aware of the problems of the Church, every effort must ,be made to give the eucharistic celebration its entire power to express, the event of the salvation of the community. This involves a pastoral program-mingthat will'incorporate the Eucharist into.the dynamics proper to human life, to .personal land communal living: A good catechesis would certainly render the ecclesial community a great service by shedding light on and exter-nalizing the lifestream that exists between the Mass celebrated in Church and the Mass lived out in one's daily commitments,. This is how the eucharistic celebration will be the expression of the living faith of a community that discovers and relives ithe experience of the disciples on the way to Emmaus who recognize their LoCd and master in the breaking of bread (Lk 24:3 I). This is the witness that the Church demands of you today; beloved priests. Always offer this witness readily and generously, in serenity and happiness. It is a beautiful thing.that this commitment is reaffirmed by -you here before the pope, in response to the common expectations of the Jubilee Year, so fruitful in graces. I encourage you to resume your work in the sacred ministry with a spirit of faith and sacrifice: I will pray for you to Mary most holy, Queen of Apostles, that she will help you to persevere in your holy .resolutions, and as she proclaimed the greatness of the Lord through the gift of the Savior and kept every word in her heart and served him with love and complete dedication, so may you also beable to express your joy in thanksgiving for the Eucharist you celebrate by ever.more deeply rooting your life andyour apostolate in it. With my apostolic Blessing. 658 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 II The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; He has sent meto bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captivesr and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Is 61:1-2). Dear, brothers in the grace of the Sacrament of the Priesthood: A year ago I addressed to you the letter for Holy Thursday (1983), asking you to proclaim, together with myself and all the bishops of the Chu. rch, the Year of the R(demption: the extraordinary Jubilee, the Year of the Lord's Favor. Today I wish to thank you for what you have done in order to ensure that this Year, which recalls to us the 1950th anniversary of the Redemption should really be "the Year of the Lord's Favor," the Holy Year. At the same time, as I meet you.at this concelebration, the climax of your Jubilee pilgrim-age to Rome, 1 wish to renew.with you and make still more vivid the aware-ness of.the mystery of the Redemption. the livingand life-giving source of the sacramental priesthood in which each one of us shar~es. In you who have gathered here, no.t only from Italy but also from other countries and continents, I see all priests: the entire presbyterate of the univer, sal Church. And I address myself to all with the words of encouragementoand exhortation of the Letter to the Ephesians: Brothers, "I. beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Ep 4:1): We too--who have been called to serve others in the spiritual renewal of the Year of the Redemption, need to be renewed, throfigh the grace of the Year, in our blessed vocation. I will sing of your steadfast love, 0 Lord, forever (89:1). This verse of the responsorial psalm of today's liturgy reminds us that we are in a special way "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Co 4:!), that we are men of the divine economy of salvation, that we are conscious "instruments" of grace, that is of the Holy Spirit's action in the power of Chri.st's Cross and Resurrection. : . What is this divine economy, what is the grace, of our Lord Jesus. Christ-- the grace which it was his wish to link sacramentally to our priestly life and to our priestly service, even though it is performed by men who are so poor, unworthy? Grace, as the psalm of today's liturgy proclaims, is a proof of the fidelity of God himself to that eternal Love with,which he has loved creation, and in particular man, in his eternal Son. The psalm says: "For your steadfast love was established forever, your faithfulness is firm as the heavens" (Ps 89:2). This faithfulness of his love--his merciful love--is also faithfulness to the Covenant that God made from the beginning with man, and which he renewed many times, even though man so many times was not faithful to it. Priests are Necessary / 659 Grace is thus a .pure gift .of,Love, which only in Love itself, and in nothing else, finds its reason and motivation. The psalm exalts the Covenant which God made with David, and at the same time, through its messianic content, it shows how that historical Cove-nant is only a stage and a foretelling of the perfect Covenant in Jesus Christ: "He shall Cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation~'" (Ps 89:26). Grace, as a gift, is the foundation of the elevation of man to the dignity of an adopted child of God in Christ, the only-begotten Son. "My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him and in my name shall his power be exalted" (Ps 89:24). Precisely this power that makes us become children of God, as is spoken of in the Prologue to Saint John's Gospel--the enti~:e salvific powder--is con-ferred upon humanity in Christ, in the Redemption, in the Cross and Resurrection. And we--Christ's servants--are its stewards. The priest: the man of the economy of salvation. The priest: the man formed by grace. The priest: the steward of grace! I will sing of your steadfaJt love, 0 Lord, forever. Our vocation is precisely this. In this consists the specific nature, the originality of the priestly vocation. It is in a special wayrooted in the mission of Christ himself, Christ the Messiah. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound., to comfort all who mourn~' (Is 61:!-2). In the very heart of this messianic mission of Christ the Priest is rooted in our vocation and mission too: the vocation and mission of.the priests of the New and Eternal Covenant, It is. the vocation and mission of the proclaimers of the Good News: - of those who must bind up the wounds of human hearts; - of those who must proclaim liberation in the midst of all the many afflictions, in the .rriidst of the evil that in so many ways "holds" man prisoner; , - of those who must console. This is our vocation and mission as servants. Our vocation, dear brothers, includes a great and fundamental service to be offered to every human being.t Nobody can take our place. With the Sacrament of the New and Eternal Covenant we must go to the very roots of human existence on earth. Day by day, we must bring into that existence the dimension of the Redemption and the Eucharist. We must strengthen awareness of divine filiation through grace. And what higher prospect, what finer destiny could there be for man than this? 661~ / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct,. 1984 Finally, we must administer the sacramental reality of reconciliation with God, and the sacramental reality of Holy Communion, in which the deepest longing of the "insatiable" human heart is met. Truly, our priestly anointing isdeeply rooted in the very messianic anoint-ing of Christ. Our priesthobd is ministerial. Yes, we must serve. And "to serve" means to bring man to the very foundations of his humanity, to the deepest essence of his dignity. It is precisely there .that--through our service--the song "of praise instead of a faint spirit" must ring out,'to use once more the~words of the text of Isaiah (61:3). We Act with the Power of Christ Dearly beloved brothers! Day after day, year after year, we discover the content and substance which are truly inexpressible of our priesthood in the depths of the mystery of the Redemption. And I hope that the present Year of the extraordinary Jubilee will serve this purpose in a special way! Let us open our eyes ever wider--the eyes of our soul--in order to under-stand better what it means to celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ himself, entrusted to our priestly lips and hands in the community of the Church. Let us open our eyes ever wider--the eyes of our soul--in order to under-stand better what it means to forgive sins and reconcile human consciences with the infinite Holy God, with the God of Truth and Love. Let us open our eyes,ever wider--the eye~ of our soul--in order'to under-stand better what it means to act in persona Christi in the name of Christ: to act with his powers-with the power which, in a word, is rooted in the salvific ground .of the Redemption. Let us open our eyes ever ~wider--the eyes of our soul--in order to under-stand better what the mystery of the Church is. We are men of the Church! "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the One hope that belongs to your call, one Lord,'one faith, one baptism,one 15od and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:4-6). Therefore: seek "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3). Yes. Precisely this in a special way depends on you: "to maintain the unity of the Spirit." At a time of great tensions that affect.,the earthly body of humanity, the Church's most important service springs frbm the ':unity of the Spirit," so that not only she herself will not suffer division coming from outside but she will also reconcile and unite people in the midst of the adversities 'that increase around them andwithin themselves in today's world. My brothers! To each of us "grace was given. ~ according to the measure of Christ's gift., for building up the body of Christ'~ (Ep 4:7-12). May we be faithful to this grace! May we be heroically faithful to this Priests are NecessaO, / ~ grace! My brothers! It is a great gift that°God has given to us, to each of us! So great that every priest can discover in himself the signs of a divine predilection. Let each one of us basically preserve his gift in all the wealth of its expressions: including the magnificent gift of celibacy voluntarily consecrated to the Lord--and received from him~for our sanctification and for the build-ing up of the Church. Christ is More Necessary Than Ever! Jesus Christ is in our midst and he says to us: "1 am the good shepherd" (Jn I0:I 1-14). It is precisely he who has "made" shepherds oLus too. And it is he who goes about all the cities and villages (see Mt 9:35), wherever we are sent in order to perform our priestly and pastoral service. It is he, Jesus Christ, who teaches ~!. : preaches the' Gospel of the kingdom and heals every human disease and infirmit3~'(see ibid), wherever we are sent for the service of the Gospel and the admihistration of the sacraments. It is precisely he, Jesus Christ, who ,continually feels compassion for the crowds and for every tired ahd exhaiasted person, like "sheep without a shep-herd" (see Mt 9:36). Dear brothers! In this. !liturgical assembly of ours let us ask Christ for just one thing: that each of' us may learn to serve better, more clearly and more effectively, his presence as Shepherd in the midst of the people of today's world! This is also most importan~t., for ourselves, ,so that~we may not be ensnared by ttie temptation of "uselessness," that is to :s0y.the temptation to feel that we are not needed. Because it is not true. We,~are more necessary than ever because Christ is more necessary than ever! We have in our hands--precisely in our "empty hands"---the power of the means of action that the Lord has given to us. Think of the~word of God, sharper than a twg-edged sword (see Heb 4:12); think of liturgical prayer, especially the Prayer of the. Hours, in which Christ himself prays with us and for us;' and think of the sacraments, in particular the sacrament of penance, the true life buoy for so many cofisciences, the haven towards which so many people also of our own time are striving. Priests should once more give great importance to,this sacrament, for the sake of their own spiritua.l life and that of the faithful. There is no doubt about it, dear br6thers: with the good use of these "poor means" (~bu! divinely powerful ones) you will see blossoming along your path the wonders of the infinite Mercy. And also the gift of new vocations! With this awareness, in this shared prayer, let us listen once more to the words which the Master addressed to his disciples: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Mr 9!37,38)~ 669 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 How relevant these words are in our time, too! So let us pray! And let the whole Church :pray with us! And in this pra.yer may there be manifested awareness, renewed by the Jubilee, of the mystery of the Redemption. Renewal of Priestly Promises During the concelebrated Holy Year Mass for priests, after the Pope's homily, the Hol.v Father led the priests in the renewal_of their priestly promises. Following is the form that was used. Dearly beloved brothers: Through a most special gift of Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd, you have been called to the Order of Priesthood. Every day you must make yourselves more worthy of this vocation of yours and renew your commit-ment to the service of the People of God. May the Spirit of Holiness always assist you, that you may be able .to fulfill with his help what through his gift you have promised with joy . Therefore, during this Jubilee celebration of the Holy YeAr of the Redemption, do you, ministers of Christ and administrators of the mysteries of God, recalling the day of youro,priestly ordination, intend to renew the promises you made before the bishop and the People of God? Priests: 1 do. Do you intend to unite yourselves intimately to the Lord Jesus, model of our priesthood, denying yofirselves and strengtfiening the commitments which,, urged by the love of Christ, you have freely assumed toward his Church? Priests: I do. Do you intend,, in particular, to strengthen the holy commitment of celi-bacy, as a testimony of iovb for Christ with an undivided heart .and as a guarantee of interior freedom for a fuller ecclesial service, in joyful e~xpectation of the kingdom promised? Priests: ! do. Do you intend to be faithful dispensers of the mysteries of God ihrough the celebration of the Eucharist and the other liturgical actions, and to fulfill the ministry of the Word of Salvation after the example of Christ, head and shepherd, letting yourselves be guided not by human interests, but by love for your brothers and sisters? Priests: 1 do. Then addressing the deacons and seminarians, the Holy Father asked: And you deacons and seminarians, who have generously accepted Christ's call to follow him more closely in order to become ministers of the New and Priests are Necessary/663 Everlasting Covenant. do you intend to persevere, with his help along the path you have undertaken? Deacons and Seminarians: 1 do. And the Holy Father asked the faithful present: And do you, dear faithful, do you intend to pray always for your priests, that the Lord may shower upon them the abundance of his gifts, that they may be faithful ministers of Christ the High Priest and lead you to him, the only source of salvation? Faithful: 1 do. Then to the whole assembly, the Holy Father said." Do you also intend to pray for me that I may be faithful to the apostolic service entrusted to my lowly person, and become among you more everyday a living and authentic image of Christ the High Priest and lead you to him, the only source of salvation? All: 1 do. The Holy Father then concluded: May the Lord keep us in his love and lead all us, shepherds and flock, to eternal life. All solemnly sang: Amen! Amen! Amen! Psychosexual Maturity in Celibate Development by Philip D. Cristantielio Price: $.60 per copy, plus postage. Add ress: Review for Religious Room 428 6301 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri 63108 Cruciform Obedience Boniface Ramsey, O.P. This is the third of Father Ramsey's articles on the vows of religious perceived through a Christocentric focus. These three articles will be brought together and offered as a single reprint, the details of which are given elsewhereSn this issue. ~ , Father Ramsey continues to reside in the Dominican House of Studies; 487 Michigan Avenue~ N.E.: Washington, DC 20017~ n two previous issues of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS I discussed the vows of poverty and celibacy from a Christocentric perspective.~ In this issue I would like to complete a trilogy by speaking of obedience from very much the same~ perspective. Of the three great vows, there is little doubt that obedience is the most difficult both to execute and to reflect upon. Probably it has caused more suffering than either poverty or celibacy. For whereas th6 Struggle attendant upon poverty and celibacy may be waged complet~!.y withiia the person of the religious who is fighting to subdue his or her passions, ob~lience is the vow that, so to speak, intrudes another person (the superior) in(o the life of the religious--a person who, at least in times pa~t~ was understood to have a quasi-universal control over one's life. How often this control was abused, and on what flimsy pretexts! Even.the superior:s own sanctity was no guarantee that he or she might not act in the most arbitrary fashion. And from this arbitrariness there was usually little recourse. Small wonder that a desire to escape out from under the excessive "demands of obedience and to regain a sense of one's own independence has been the primary cause for many choosing to leave religious life. This is the case, moreover, even where obedience, is not objectively abusive, or even p~rceived as such, for obedience can hardly be perceived as not touching upon human autonomy, a strong rei~lization of which is absolutely necessary to proper human behavior and to self-respect. 664 Cruciform Obedience / 665 Frequently it happens that, when no other means of expression seems possible, this independence or autonomy is asserted by the religious through acts contrary to poverty or celibacy, which are then mistakenly understood to be the person's problem area. This suggests that obedience is the most basic of the vows, and indeed maybe it is. It is a classical teaching, in any event, that poverty and celibacy in fact touch upon rather narrower aspects of the human personality than does obedience? Whether this remains true even when poverty and celibacy are construed as broadly as 1 have tried to construe them in my two previous articles is a moot point. What is certain is that poverty and celibacy deal with relatively easily recognizable specifics, whereas obedience is occupied with something far less tangible, or at least with an area of our nature with which we are much less familiar--or are much more hesitant to face. It must be said from the start that the reason why obedience is so difficult is that human life is so radically marked by disobedience. "1 find it to be a law," Paul writes in Romans (7:2 i-23), "that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members." In The Oty of God Augustine ~emarks that the original sin was one of disobedience impelled by pride. The result of this-original diSobedience, he goes on to say, is a terrible disharmony within the human person: In a word. what is the punishment for that sin of disobedience but disobedience? For what other human misery is there but the disobedience of a person to himself--so that, because he did not wish what he was able to do. now he wishes what he is unable to do? For in paradise, even if he was unable to doall things before the sin. y~t he did'not wish to do whatever he was unable to do: and therefore he was able to do everything that he wished to do. But now, as we recognize in his offspring~ and as Holy Scripture testifies, a human being is like vanity. For who can count how many things he wishes to do that he cannot do, since he is not obedient to himself--that is, since his very mind and his flesh (which is inferior to it) do not obey his will? For. despite himself, his mind is greatly afflicted, and his flesh suffers and grows old and dies. And we would not be suffering unwillingly whatever else we suffe.r if our nature completely and every respect obeyed our will.3 Whoever has not lived this conflict, to a greater or lesser degree, has not lived reflectively. Disobedience, then, is part of human nature. According to Augustine, the very illimitable desires that contribute to human transcendence and that set the human being apart from other earthly creatures~ are, on their shadow side, stumbling blocks and provocations to overweening demands that cannot be satisfied and that must qualify as the urgings of disobedience, of sin. Sad to say, as tragic as this disharmony is, we nevertheless learn to live with it. It is a disharmony that is, after all, part of us and familiar to us. We could hardly imagine living with those overweening demands, not stifled (which would render us inhuman), but under control--in that state of tense 666 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 and watchful virtue that the Greek Fathers referred to as apatheia. So radi-cated in our nature is this disharmony that we purposefully and self-right, eously pursue the wrong things as though they were good for us. So radicated is it that--the upshot is--to correct it is to act contrary to our nature, a process that causes intense pain. We are like a man whose broken leg has been set improperly. The man learns to walk with a limp and can, indeed, go about with relative ease, yet the limp in turn becomes responsible for 'a gradual deterioration in other areas of the body. For health to be restored, to the extent possible, the leg must be broken again and reset. Learning obedience is like breaking and setting a limb that has already been broken and set once before. This is surely the insight of the Desert Fathers, e~pecially as it is,implied in a narrative such as the following, which dates from the fourth or fifth century: It was said of the abba John the Dwarf that, having gone off to Scet~ to an old man of Thebes, he remained in the desert. His abba took a dry stick and planted it and told him: "Water this every day with a flask of water until it bears fruit." But the water was so far away that he would leave in the evening and return in the morning. After three years, though, it came to life and bore fruit. And the old man took the fruit, carried it to " the church'~ahd said to the brethren: "Take and cat the fruit of obedience."4 The story of the dry stick is a famous one, perhaps even a frightening one, for it seems to smack more than a little of the arbitrary exercise of authority that we mentioned earlier. The distinction betWeen the old/nan of Thebes and a neurotic novice-master or novice-mistress might be hard to discern from the outside, but presumably the motivation is different. Whatever goal the latter may be pursuing, the old man of Thebes was concerned with the painful restoration of human nature, the resetting of a once broken limb, and John was his willing disciple. The story of the 'dry stick compels us to confront the mysterious and unavoidable link there is between obedience and suffering. What we hear of John the Dwarf and his three years of toil imposed by his abba is no more than what we hear of Jesus himself, whose own suffering and death are so frequently ex'pressed in terms of obedience. Jesus' agony in Gethsemane is nothing other than the struggle to be obedient to his Father: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Mt 26:39). So it is also characterized in the great hymn of Philippians: "And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Ph 2:8). It appears likewise in the Letter to the Hebrews: "Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered" (Heb 5:8). The difference, of course, between Jesus and John the Dwarf or any other human being is that Jesus' obedience was not therapeutic or restorative, since he was without sin and its tragic effects, whereas our obedience is precisely for the sake of our sinfulness. Yet even for Jesus to drink deeply of the cup of human nature, his obedience had to entail suffering, as ours does. Based upon the model of Jesus himself, we may say that to be obedient is Cruciform Obedience / 667 to submit to the cross, with all its mystery and suffering. We may also say that the cross is the thing outside of us, the thing which is representative of God's will and which intrudes disturbingly upon us. Inasmuch as it is identical with God's will it is an objective good, the objective good. It is, indeed, the great objectivity that we refuse because of our own self-centeredness. It is the great objectivity to which we must conform ourselves and which we must put within ourselves if we are ever to have peace, as expressed in the words of Dante: "In his will is our peace.'~ And it is the process of interiorizing what is presently exterior to us that does us violence and causes us pain. This means shoulder-ing the cross--not the cross of our own choosing (which, after all, would be the product of our subjectivity) but the ineluctable cross of God's choosing, for only in that cross is his will, and hence our peace, certain. In the case of John the Dwarf the cross was an adherence to the absurd demand of the old man of Thebes. In the case of Jesus it was a willingness to set his face to go to Jerusalem (see Lk 9:51), with what that implied of suffering and death, because this was the Father's destiny for him. Perhaps religious men :and women today, in contrast to religious men and women of twenty or more years ago, think of obedience for the most part as a vow that is rarely exercised. Itcomes up when a person is transferred from one assignment to another, and even that is usually done with consultation. Oth-erwise superiors make demands with relative infrequency, and they hardly dream of asking the very difficult, never mind the absurd or the impossible. Obedience is invoked almost exclusively as a functional necessity, and so it has come to be seen: it is required for the smooth operation of a religious house or an apostolate--entities that ordinarily run themselves'without the intervention of a "higher authority." But the view that religious obedience is an occasional or a functional thing is as erroneous as the view that poverty and celibacy are occasional or functional. Obedience, instead, like poverty and celibacy, is a constant disposition. In my previous articles 1 suggested that poverty and celibacy represented an attachment to Christ as human and as desirable respectively; consequently they are dispositions that have a quality of permanence and that are always operative. Obedience too is a constant and always operative disposition, spe-cifically with regard to the will of the Father, which in turn implies the cross. For, in Jesus' own experience, the cross was not merely at the end of his life but rather was the end to which his whole life was directed; it colored his life and, we might even say, gave it its meaning. If.we think of the Father's will as something constantly set before us to be accomplished---because therein consists the only restoration of our dishar- " mony and thus the only possibility of our happiness--we shall no longer conceive of oi~edience as a sporadic or occasional thing. Where do we discern this will? The traditional answer, of course, is that we discern it in the laws and customs of the Church, in Scripture as it is properly interpreted, in the constitutions and customs of one's particular religious con- 661~ / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 gregation, in the daily schedule or horarium, in the demands of one's assign7 ments, in the will of the superior as that is legitimately expressed, in the promptings of one's own conscience, in requests that are made of us and that it is possible for us to fulfill without difficulty. Similar things could be added along these lines. But these are by no means the only instances of the divine will, as though it were concerned only with some things and not others. The divine will is expressed in every aspect of reality, in every objective thing that occurs, that it behooves us to accept and somehow take into ourselves. Thus we must hearken to and obey the reality of other people's personalities, which are not our own and hence are often h~rd to appreciate; the outcome of elections and other such processes in which we may have taken positions opposed to the prevailing view; accidents that could not be avoided; the weaknesses that burden us as we get sick or grow old; the vagaries of the weather and of other natural phenomena. These things too are manifestations of God's will that are proper subjects of our obedience, that it profits us nothing to complain about or rail against. In them, indeed, there is a loving design for us. Although the "objectivities" mentioned are all unpleasant or at least diffi-cult, and one or two even tragic, we could as well say that God's will is also expressed in the many good things that befall us--in friendships and successes of various sorts, for example. Yet since these are so often things that we ourselves have had a hand in bringing about, or that we would gladly have brought about if we could, they do not have the same quality.of objectivity as do the others. Nor is there question of bending our will to them, and for that reason there is perhaps no question of obedience either. According to this way of thinking, then, we could characterize obedience in terms of "patient endurance." It is the vow by which the religious person promises to accept the reality that can be identified with the divine will, and that inevitably brings with it the cross. Moreover, the religious makes this promise in the firm conviction that in enduring or accepting this total reality, he or she will find the peace that the world cannot give (see John 14:27). All of reality, the whole of the universe, is in fact permeated with the mystery of the cross: This is a theme common in the earliest Church, and expressed strikingly by lrenaeus at the end of the second century when he writes: And because [Christ] is himself the Word of God almighty, who, in his invisible form, pervades us universally in the whole world, and encompasses both its length and breadth and height and depth--for by God's Word everything is disposed and adminis-tered- the Son of God was also crucified in these, imprinted in the form of a cross on the universe: for he had necessarily, in becoming visible~ to bring to light the universal-ity of his cross in order to show openly through his visible form that activity of his: that it is he who makes bright the height, that is, what is in heaven, and holds the deep, which is in the bowels of the earth, and stretches'forth and extends the length from east to west, navigating also the northern parts and the breadth of the south, and calling in all the dispersed from all sides to the knowledge of the Father.6 Cruciform Obedience / 669 Where Christ is, there is the cross: it cannot be avoided; it is wriften even across the face of our joys. Do we not acknowledge the dominance of the cross in our lives, do we not symbolically submit ourselves to it when we sign ourselves with it from forehead to breast and from shoulder to shoulder? The principal .objection to what has been said thus far must surely be that it appears to foster passivity--a kind of mindless, heedless acceptance of and submission to Whatever comes one's way. It must be added, then, that Jesus' own obedience to his destipy, which was the reality of the cross that constantly intruded into his life, was not mindless or fatalistic. We know from the gospels that Jesus was always aware of what he was doing and that he approached this painful destiny in complete freedom. He offered himself freely to the Father, although not without a struggle, as the episode in Gethsemane tells us, to conform his will to the Father's. The sovereignty of Jesus' obedience is wonderfully manifested in the most ancient depictions of the'crucifixion, dating from the fifth century, where he is shown on the cross as a figure in.complete possession of himself--not hanging in agony but erect, and with a noble and peaceful countenance. Yet it is important to realize, asthe gospels inform us, that Jesus endured suffering on the cross. The ancient artists only stressed, one aspect of the crucified one. Moreover, it was Jesus' custom to make his disciples conscious of the sufferings that lay before them, so that they too might be free to accept the cross or not. It is clear from his example, therefore, that Jesus did not consider obedience to be an abdication of self. That Christian obedience is not passivity is still more clearly illustrated from the fact that, in numerous instances, Jesus actually resisted what other-wise might have been construed as his "destiny." That is, he often spoke against those who opposed him rather than simply bear their provocations in silence. This resistance on Jesus' part introduces an element of complexity into the practice of obedience. It suggests that there are times when religious obedience may be modified by some sort of resistance. When this may legiti-mately occur is problematic; it is a classic instance of the conflict between conscience and authority, particularly inasmuch as the authority here con-cerns the subject of areligious vow. This is, nonetheless, in keeping with the doctrine of the divine permissive will, which teaches that God permits evil to occur and to run its course, evenif he does not countenance it. This pe.rmissive will, to the extent that we may call it a will at all, may in many circumstances be resisted--although if Matthew 5:39 is to be taken seriously, it ought not always to be resisted. One thing, however, is certain in this regard: one may not resist an author-ity merely because it imposes something that is difficult or painful upon the one who is expected to obey. Suffering in and of itself, unless it is qualified in some significant way (if it were seen to be unbearable, for example, or if it would somehow radiate out to others who ought not to be affected by it), is insufficient reason for opposing an authority. If one were to resist an authority 6711 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 merely on account of the foreseen suffering (assuming its bearability and so forth), one would in effect be seeking to empty obedience of its content, and one may no more seek to do this than to empty Christianity of the cross. In fact, Jesus' own resistance, his refusal to endure certain unjust situa-tions, hastened his destiny rather than delayed it, and Jesus himself seems to have known this~ What this suggests, while not condoning passivity, is that the authority has the benefit of the doubt vis-a-vis the person placed under obedience. The-presumption on the part of the one who obeys should be that the assignment imposed is to be carried out except under certain unusual circumstances. On the other hand, the person in authority ought not to misperceive the desire to talk about an, assignment, or about any other imposed obedience, as a sheer unwillingness to obey. For the superior is also obliged to obedience, and specifically to the obedience of ministry--which includes listening. In sum, we are left with this, that religious obedience partakes of the mystery of the cross--"mystery" at least in part because it is so often absurd and inexplicable. Although human insight may show us that there is in each of us a terrible disharmony that causes us suffering, nothing but faith can tell us that the divine plan which includes the cross is a plan for our good, and one that will :ultimately bring us peace and harmonY. Indeed, only faith tells us that the things to which we must submit are from God, since we ~would often just as soon avoid them by asserting that they have nothing to do with God at all--that they come from superiors who do not understand "us, or that ~they represent situations that ought to be~changed instead of endured. Only this kind of faith will make obedience work. For the truth is that we must be obedient anyway to objectivity and reality as these have been under-stood in .this essay. We cannot control other people's personalities, or the weather, or our own health and well-being. We cannot avoid the cross, which is omnipresent, unless we choose to retreat into an imaginary world of our own making; and even then it is doubtful that we would succeed in our escape! The wisest thing that we can do is to set our faces to go to Jerusalem, for the cross is best borne willingly. Conclusion Two themes have been common to these three essays on poverty, celibacy, and obedience. The first theme is that of the Christocentric ~nature of the vows of religion. The person of Christ is the specific ;reason for a Christian and a religious to choose to do even what he or she might otherwise have decided to do--since poverty, celibacy, and obedience can make sense quite apart from the Christocentric context. But they make sense only to the extent that any-thing without Christ makes sense to the Christian--they cry out for comple-tion, for Christ is Alpha and Omega. In the case of obedience, we may translate "Christocentric" as "staurocen-tric'-- a word we have coined from stauros, meaning cross. The distinction Cruciform Obedience / 671 between Christo- and stauro-centric is a very fine one. In fact, the cross, thus understood, cannot be conceived apart from Christ. It is true that Christocentric seems to emphasize the person of Christ in a way ~hat staurocentric does not. In poverty and celibacy as I have written of them, we seem to touch Christ directly as the object of our love and desire, whereas in obedience it is the will of God, symbolized by the cross, which is the goal of our actions. In commenting on this, three observations must be made. Firstly, in embracing the cross we do the same thing that Jesus did and love the same divine will that he loved. We imitate him. Secondly, before Jesus was crucified it was possible, indeed proper, to think of the cross solely as something horrible. But since his crucifixion he has stamped this instrument of suffering ineradicably with his own personality. Finally, the divine will is not something abstract or impersonal, as though we were obeying a computer. Rather it is identified with God himself, who is personal, and whose personality is love (see ! .In 4:8). For these reasons, then, we can say that obedience, like poverty and celibacy, has its focus in a person--whether the person is seen as Christ, or as God.This focus is absolutely necessary for the religious, for it gives a meaning to life that nothing else can. We live ultimately for persons. The second theme common to these three essays and to the three vows discussed in them is that of mystery. In large part we are speaking here, not of a good that is fully able to be grasped by the intellect alone, but of one that must be perceived and pursued by the emotions as well. But when we speak of the emotions, and of things susceptible to the emotions, we are immediately in the realm of "mystery," as 1 Sugge'sted at the conclusion of the essay on celibacy.7 Because the intellect cannot grasp fully the divine mystery, love must make up--to the extent that this is possible--for what the intellect cannot seize. This divine mystery, in turn, has for its subject, not a project or an ideal, but rather the divine personality--for only a person has the infinite depth and infinite capacity for change that defines the mysterious. Projects and ideals, on the other hand, are soon exhausted. If this depth and inexhaustibility are central to the human personality, as anybody who has ever been in love realizes, how much more central are they to the divine personality! This is the truth that the vows must affirm and mirror: in the end, we do not commit ourselves to Christ or God for any other reason than himself. And this reason is inexplicable to anyone who does not love, who has not seen the mystery, and has not been seized by it.8 672 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 NOTES ~See "The Center of Religious Poverty," in 42 (1983) 534--544, and "Christocentric Celibacy," in 43 (1984) pp. 217-224. 2See; e.g. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae 2-'~, q. 186, a. 8. 3De cir. Dei 14.15. 4Apophthegmata Patrum. De abbate Joanne Colobo I (PG 65.203), 5One may also recall the motto of Pope John XXIlh "Obedience and peace." 6Proof of the Apostolic Preaching 34, trans~ by J. P. Smith, in Anciem Christian Writers 16 (Westminster, Md., 1952)pp. 69-70. 7See "Christocentric Celibacy," pp. 223-224. ~This essay, completed on the day of his ordination to the priesthood, is dedicated to Kevin Kraft, O.P, Christ the Center of Our Vowed Life by Boniface Ramsey, O.P. Father Ramsey's three articles on the vows of religion are available as a single reprint: i - The Center of Religious Poverty ii - Christocentric Celibacy iii - Cruciform Obedience Price: $1.75 per copy, plus postage. Address: Review for Religious Rm 428 3601 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri 63108 The Renewal of Contemplative Orders Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O. Abbot Keating was formerly abbot of the Trappist monastery in Spencer, MA. His last article in our pages, "Cultivating the Centering Prayer" (January, 1978) was written while there. Presently he resides at St. Benedict's Monastery: Snowmass, CO 81654. Part I: Monastic World Views The monastic vocation is a personal intuition into the mystery of Christ's invitation to follow him along the radical lines proposed in the Gospel. One may not be able to articulate the reason why one wants to be a monk or nun and yet have a true call from Christ. Or again, two people may articulate entirely different motives for wanting to enter a monastery, and both may .have a true call from Christ. The reason for this,is the fact that monastic values can be articulatCd in more than one world view or conceptual frame of reference. Obviously, one's response to the monastic call has to be expressed in somoframe of reference, but it must always be kept in mind that no one set of structures fully expresses'the mystery of that call. It would be a mistake, therefore, to identify the mystery of the monastic vocation with any one particular set of symbols or structures. Many cloistered monks and nuns in monasteries of the contemplative lifestyle are unaware that a radical shift in Western thinking has taken place over the last fifty or sixty years. This shift is centered in the development of historical consciousness. In the words of David Tracy, "This phenomenon can be described as man's realization that individually he is responsible .for the life he leads, and collectively he is responsible for the world in which he leads it."~ A significant part of this change of perspective is due to the discoveries of modern science, the development of historical criticism, and the shift in philos-ophy and theology from a static world view to an evolutionary one. Paul Tillich has given the names heteronomic and autonomic to the two compre- 673 674 /~Reviewfor Religious; Sept.-Oct., 1984 hensive world views that are polarized in contemporarythinking. The tension arising from these opposing world views appears in the Church at large, but especially in religious and monastic life, where tensions within the Catholic world community tend to be emphasized. The conflict is not merely between liberal and conservative positions, but is much more profound. It arises from the unquestioned assumptions of two completely opposite ways of looking at the world and at oneself, each of which lays claim to one's deepest loyalties. The heteronomic world view, which was commonly held by the Catholic community until fifty or sixty years ago, is essentially a negative world view; or to be more exact, it is an other-worldly world view. It sees the sacred as opposed to the profane. Thus it seeks to reject the profane in order to find God, and as a consequence, emphasizes the value of renunciation. The present world is perceived as a sinful environment which has to be rejected. In a monastic milieu, this conviction translates into an attitude of determined separation from the world and the studied avoidance of any involvement in the society of one's time and in its problems. Since the primary focus of this world view is eternity, preparing for the life to come is conceived as the principal, or even the only, duty of a monk or nun. In either case, it follows that the legitimate pleasures of life must be renounced in order to find God. Thus, austerity of life and ascetical practices become the norm of spiritual progress and the touchstone of genuine dedication to God. This world view, developed and exemplified by the monks of the fourth century, had a significant influence on the spirituality of the Church as a whole. The formation of the liturgy; for instance, was influenced by this viewpoint. Catholic education was imparted and still, in large part, is imparted 'from this viewpoint. Most young people applying to monasteries today, however, are influ-. enced, at least in some degree, by the autonomic world view. The autonomic world view is the result of the gradual secularization of religious symbols, rituals, and institutions, together with the development of the historical con-sciousness. In this perspective, the profane is sacred. Renunciation of the good things of human .life is regarded as unrealistic or irrelevant. The positive aspects of the present world, rather than its evident evils, are emphasized. Time is the opportunity to change both ourselves and the society in which we live. Our personal decisions and actions make history and the future. Conse-quently, we have to assume personal responsibility for what happens to us and to the world. We are part of a process (evolution), and in order to reach true personal fulfillment, we have to take into account the well-being of the com-munity in which we live. Moreover, the community for which we are respon-sible is gradually extending itself, through mass communication and travel, to embrace the whole human family. The development and the shaping of the world community is, therefore, a profoundly religious and contemplative con-cern. Eternal life is not only in the future, but immanent in time. Moreover, there is a strong tendency to reject the patterns and lifestyles of the past as The Renewal of Contemplative Orders / 675 adequate paradigms for the future: Translated into a monastic milieu, this world view has a genuine attraction for the fundamental values of monastic life, but tends to distrust the tradi-tional structures in which they were enshrined. It rejects any kind of isolation, while esteeming the value of true solitude. Permanent commitment is a special problem for people~ with this perspective, because they feel a responsibility to adjust to the future as it becomes present. To commit oneself in advance to a single lifestyle or to one expression of monastic values seems to them a refusal to take,,responsibility for themselves and for what God might some day call them tO do. They want to be free to respond to the future in ways that may be new or even incompatible witha particular:monastic lifestyle that, in principle, can never be changed. Each of these world views has much to recommend it. Each sees the truth from a particular cultural perspective. Neither can claim to be a complete view of the mystery of the monastic vocation. Both have limitations which must be transcended in order to reach human integration and the fullness of the christian life. It is interesting to note that during his'monastic lifetime, Tho-mas Merton seems to have moved from a heteronomic to an autonomic world view, and then to have'transcended both. Such is the impression given by his. remarkable essay, "Final Integration," in Contemplation hi A World Of Action, Chapter 13. Elsewhere he writes, "Historical consciousness and con-templation are not incompatible, but. necessary." Father Raimundo Panikkar has discerned another world view in addition to the heteronomic and autonomic world views delineated by Tillich.2 He calls it the ontonomic world view or the contemplative dimension of life. It is a higher perspective, rather than a synthesis of the heteronomic and autonomic world views. It ~is a state of higher consciousness (faith) that integrates the sacred and profane by perceiving the presence of the sacred in ordinary events and .in the most secular of situations. It flows from the awareness of the universe as a unity. Its fundamental attitude is complete detachment--freedom from compulsions, prejudices, and preconceived ideas. The contemplative dimension is a vision of reality in which the "egoic" or false self is no more. The ultimate experience is non-duality. Panikkar characterizes it by the term "tempiternity,'.' which/he identifies as the experience of eternity-and-time in each passing momentand event. To find the eternal in time is the crux of the experience. ~ Translated into a monastic milieu, this experience of mature contemplation must lead to action, even if it is only to transform the local monastic environ-ment. The Contemplative monk seeks to discover what he is, not what he will become. He seeks to cultivate the core of his humanness, which is more than historical existence. Thus, the ontonomic world view is a form of transhistori-cal consciousness. It is outside and above political considerations and histori-cal concerns. At the same time, it does not take a merely negative posture toward institutionalized injustice or the whole evils of contemporary society, 676 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 but offers a positive alternative by establishing a lifestyle based on the con-templative dimension of, the Gospel. Thus, fuga mundi becomes, not flight from a world that is evil in itself, but flight from the "system" by refusing to be a part of a political or social establishment that supports institutionalized evil. Here is one example of how these world views operate in monastic com-munities. The contemporary monk, influenced consciously or unconsciously by the autonomic world view, feels that he cannot reach his own unique spiritual development without the well-being of the human community of which he is a part. F~or him, a strict, rule .of silence means isolation, not solitude. One of the older monks, having entered the monastery fifter a Catholic education that emphasized the heteronomic approach to life, may look upon him as one who has an exaggerated need for contact with others. For this older monk, picnics and community gatherings with. casual conversa-tion and banter are clearly mitigations of the rule of silence. He cannot wait to get back to his private room, to his books, or to his prayer, because his expectation is that he can attain union with God only through the renunciation of ordinary human society and its legitimate pleasures. The older monk believes in loving his brothers width his will. He may be embarrassed by feelings of affection, and even feel a du.ty to confess them as sins or imperfections. The new arrival, for his part, regards the older monk as simply incapable of relating. This polarization of attitudes becomes acute on the .occasion of commun-ity meetings. The older monks tend to make speeches while the younger, consumed with frustration, try in vain to engage them in genuine dialogue and interaction. These and similar situations can be poignant as well as just plain painful. Each monk, coming from his own respective world view, is completely sincere, motivated by loyalty to what he understands to be the structure enshrining the values that are to lead him to union with Christ. Consequently, the same community event or decision of the supe~rior will be interpreted positively or negatively according to one of these two basic monastic world views. Neither seems to beable to separate the religious symbol, ritual, or behavior pattern from the value wi~ich is being expressed in and through them. To be able to do so, of course, would require't,he kind of profound conversion that is presupposed by the ontonomic World view, or the contem-plative dimension of life. This perspective is able to express monastic values in different structures or with different symbols without being tipset. It recognizes intuitively that the value is what matters, not how it is expr~essed in particular circumstances. It can move ,from one symbol or set of symbols to another, and still express its total dedication to monastic values. Because it is not bound to ex.press these values in a particular way, it does not judge others or their observance critically. It can adjust to the signs of the time, recognizing with ease when iexceptions are called for, and acknowledging the primary impor-tance of flexibility in applying the common rule to individual circumstances, The Renewal of Contemplative Orders / 677 The contemplative dimension is the goal of monastic structures and obser-vances. Those who have espoused the heteronomic or autonomic world views in their early monastic experience may move beyond their own particular world view as life advances, and come finally to embrace, or at least tolerate, the other. Ultimately, those in the heteronomic or autonomic monastic world views are both calledto transcend the limitations of their respective world views and to reach the contemplative dimension. The contemplative dimension is to live not only in God's presence, but also out of that presence. In other words, the presence and movement of God become the source of one's moti-vation both in prayer and activity. The contemplative dimension can express itself inside of existing structures or create new structures when circumstances call for them. It is not so much the structures that are important, but the motivation which prompts them. In the Gospel~ motivation is everything. The contemplative dimension can infuse life into the most stagnant of structures. The question, however, may be asked whether this is always the best use of this incomparably creative energy. Perhaps enough has been said to see a fundamental root of the problem of mutual understanding and communion in communities of contemplative life today. It is not a question of persons in the community having a liberal or a conservative temperament, di.sposition, or set of convictions. That is to be expectedin every human grouping. It.is rather a question of two deeply held perspectives regarding the essential rfionastic values, based in large part on one's early religious training and cultural conditioning. It was possible in days gone by to enjoy the blessings of unity when everyone shared the heteronomic world view. It is impossible today to avoid or suppress the ideas and attitudes that are characteristic of the autonomic world view. 1 have seen monks enter the monastery with the heteronomic world view, pass a number of years living and articulating their monastic experience in that frame of reference, and then change radically, reacting against the heteronomic'world view with all the force that is characteristic of a profound conversion. Such change is all the more acute in those who have repressed their talents and legitimate feelings for the sake of the heteronomic world view. There is really no solution to this polarization as long as it remains on the level of conceptualization. The same events, directives of superiors, or deci-sions by the community will continue to be interpreted in two opposing wa~,s. The heteronomic world view sees as disaster what the autonomic world view perceives as a great step forward. Similarly, what the autonomic world view considers regression, is interpreted by the heteronomic mind-set as a retu,rn to fundamentals, or to "the good old days." Some might think that monks and nuns who are deeply committed to these world views should live in separate monasteries, at least as an experi-ment. Actually, though, if we could recognize our own conscious or uncons-cious commitment to one of these monastic world views, and accept the fact that the other is also legitimate, we could live together with a certain mutual 67~1 / Review for Religious, Sept.-Oct., 1984 enrichment--provided, of course, that our objective was not to obliterate the other, but to transcend our own world view and attain to the higher perspective of the contemplative dimension of life. The superior in monasteries today has to be someone who has great sympathy for both the heteronon~ic and the autonomic world views and can see the values and the limitations of each. Unfortunately, the monks will judge the superior's decisions according to their own respective viewpoints, and thus everything the superior tries to do will be a source of dissatisfaction to one side or the other. There needs to be a massive re-education of the members of contemplative orders if they are to understand the dynamics that areat work in their communities today and which are really .outside anyone's control. These dynamics are what Pope John XXIII called the "signs of the time." The two opposing world views are not going to go away. We have either to adjust to them, separate, or tear each other apart. The formulation of new constitutions is not going to solve this problem. In fact, the efforts to stabilize constitutions could prudently be postponed until more fundamental issues are resolved. One. of these, of course, is how to train the young. If postulants and novices in contemplative orders are oriented toward the contemplative dimension from the beginning of their monastic lives, and can be persuaded that genuine monastic values can be incarnated in more than one way, it: will then be possil~ieto emphasize the right things in their formation and avoid diverting their energies with useless regulations or conceptual conflicts. There must be serious discipline. This consists primarily in perseverance in contemplative (non-conceptual) prayer. Neither liturgy nor any other practice can supply for this. Silence and solitude initiate the dynamic of self-knowledge and the purification of the psychological unconsciousness. This shotald be fully understood by those undertaking the contemplative way of life. Contemplative prayer will enable them to adjust to this dynamic, persevere in its difficulties, and benefit from its insiglits. Two hours of such prayer every day seems like a suitable norm for postulants and novices. In communities where the work is more demanding, the divine office--and not contemplative prayer--should be reduced. For contemplatives, liturgy can only be an effec-tive means of formation in dialogue with silence and prayer in secret. Part II: Principles Monastic formation is not an assembly line. ~Monks and nuns cannot be mass-produced. The monastic environment is a choice of means designed to facilitate growth in the contemplative dimension of the Gospel. It is aimed at self-transcendence and transformation in Christ. Each monk and nun in a particular monastery is in a different place in the spiritual journey. Only great sensitivity on the part of the community toward the spiritual and human growth of its members can adequately meet this situation. Newcomers to Renewal of Contemplative Orders / 679 monastic life, of course, must submit to the same rule for the first few years of their initiation. But to apply this principle to the whole of life, even into old age, is another matter. In contemplative orders right now, the big question is not new constitutions, but .whether the observances as we practice them lead the average monk and nun of our time to that level of spirituality which Father Merton called "final integration." Without a certain number of persons living on that level in a monastery, the Rule cannot be properly observed. Institutions have an uncanny ability to be blind to whatever challenges them to constructive change.: This tendency increases in proportion to one's close-ness to the center of administration. Survival is an instinct in every human institution, as it is in individual human beings. Only those who have expe-rienced deep purification are free of this compulsion. When the inspiration of a charismatic founder or group of founders is no longer present, the second generation tries to preserve their spirit and insight by means of rules and customs. These work well so long as the spiritual understanding of the observances perdures. But if this spiritual understanding peters out, observances begin to be practiced merely externally, and may come to be experienced as a straight jacket. In a lifestyle as severely restricted as a cloistered monastery, such an environment could even become neurosis-prone. This can occur when monks or nuns start keeping~the rule for the wrong reasons, or isolate themselves from the concerns of the local and world church and community. Monastic rules, including St. Benedict's, were composed without the knowledge we possess today of the psychological and sociological factors involved in human development and in the formation of community. Monastic founders had extraordinary insight into these matters, but they did not have at their disposal the experience and research of the last century in psychology and sociology. The renewal of the contemplative orders has to take these new insights into account., 0 The renewal also has to take seriously the work of historical criticism. To separate the essentials of monastic life from its cultural conditioning in the course of the centuries and to re-express these essentials today is no small task. Still, it has to be done if monastic life is to be a viable alternative for people in the twenty-first century. Moreover, these essential values have to be expressed not only in a con-temporary way, but in ways appropriate to different cultures. As new monas-teries spring up in. various parts of the world, great sensitivity must be shown to the culture in which they are inserted. Established monasteries also: need to develop a keen sensitivity to the particular cultu.res of which they are already a part because these are ev.olving at a constantly accelerating rate. Such sensitiv-ity requires a certain level of interior freedom and a capacity to evaluate the ¯ signs of the time. To ascertain where we stand in this regard, communities might ask them-selves such questions as these: 6~11~ / Review for Religibus, Sept.-Oct., 1984 i. Do we provide space for people to grow, to make mistakes, to relax, to get a different perspective, to relate normally with their peers, to grow in responsibility, and to respond to the needs of others? 2. Can damaged persons find healing and human growth in our community? 3. If in our community there is evident lack of healing and of human and ¯ spiritual growth, is there som~ething in our way of life that makes this happen? 4. Do we develop the human and spiritual gifts of the individual members of the community, and are they then used for the good of the community? 5. Does self-support require draining a certain number of people by over-work, excessive responsibility, or by leaving them in jobs which they expe-rience as drudgery without hope of relief?. 6. ls stability in the community an absolute ora relative value? Should there be more opportunity to serve in other houses or to,experience other forms ~of Christian service for a limited time? ~. 7. What do we perceive as the goal of our contemplative way of life? is it personal salvation, penance, intercession for others, contemplative prayer, eremiticism, strict observance, togetherness, or what? 8. Are the present structures of our order the right ones for our time, culture, and circumstances? In particular, does the liturgy as we do it truly express our prayer, or is it cast in a mold that is excessively dualistic and historically conditioned? ¯ 9. Why are there so few potential superiors in the average monastery of contemplative orders? More important than any answers we might come up with, is the level of honesty and openness to truth that would permit communities to raise such intimate and personal questions in the first place. James W. Fowler3 shows how the development of Christian faith corresponds to the various stages of human growth. Basing his reflections on the work of Piaget and Kohlberg, Fowler points out that the level of faith development in a particular commun-ity is normally dependent on the communal ideal which the majority have embraced. The community tends to raise its members to this level, but does not encourage them to grow beyond it. This is not a deliberate and explicit refusal, but a subtle coercion exercised on everyone to accept the approved level of development as the norm. This dynamic is evident in certain charismatic communities which tend to discourage their members from practicing con-templative prayer even. when the attraction of grace is clear. Fowler mentions that most of the Christian churches in the United States which he investigated were at the level of faith in which religious symbols were inseparable from their accepted meaning by the community. By'religious symbols, he means rituals, practices, and behavior patterns that give the group its identity and express its value system. In these communities, it is difficult for ~ individual members to separate religious symbols from the meaning give~n them by the group as the expression of their common values~ and to ri~-express these values in other forms. The Renewal of Contemplative Orders / ~1 It is easy to see how a monastic community, which has the responsibility of fostering the interior freedom of its members, would be greatly hindered by a hidden agenda which effectively prevented them from moving beyond the letter of the Rule or the common observances. The common good of a monastery is not the exercises of common life as such, but the growth of bach of the members toward self-transcendence and transformation in Christ. The martyrdom of conscience, which Anthony of Egypt identified with the monas-tic vocation, may require some monks and nhns to express common, values in other forms--for instance, as hermits, pilgrims, teachers of contemplative prayer. Monks and nuns in the Benedictine-Cistercian tradition often have hesita-tions about the principle of personal growth because of their conviction, based on their experience, that the complete surrender of oneself to the common life is a tremendous leap forward in the spiritual journey. This view of stability maintains that changes in attitudes and dispositions, considered as ascending levels of faith, will take place interiorly in the course of one's monastic lifetime, without having to make any significant modifications in one's external obser-vance or environment. The question may be asked, however, whether this is always true. ISertain external changes could facilitate interior growth during a period of crisis. If everyone in the community is really growing, periods of crisis for one or other member will not be exceptional, but of frequent occurrence. However, for appropriate modifications of observance on behalf of the particular needs of individuals to be fully accepted and supported by.the community, the superior ¯ has to be a person in. whose discernment the community has complete confi-dence. Alternatively, there must be a level of communication that is so well established and free-flowing that persons at different stages of growth can easily understand and accept each other. Whether a large community (more than twenty) can develop or maintain such a degree of communication is a question that should be studied by contemplative orders. Most s6ciologists would have serious doubts about it. As a. further consideration, it would.seem that leadership in monastic communities today has to be an "enabling" rather than a ,determining" kind of leadership. Members of the community have to be encouraged to function on their own initiative, taking responsibility for themselves and for the group: This level.~of regponsibility obviously requires effective communication. A superior should be one of the group as much as he can. He should be intelli-gent, but not someone who inspires either awe or dependency. He should be supportive, affirming, straightforward, and open to new ideas; not someone who prefers things to people, or good order to human needs. No one should exercise religious authority who has not first come to terms with °his own solitude and isolation, for only then can he understand and relate to the solitude and isolation that others may feel. The monastic milieu is not a place where people are to be changed, but where they can change themselves. 6112 / Review for Religious; Sept.-Oct., 1984 Two principles of renewal deserve special consideration in the formation of the young' in our time. These are: flexibility in regard to observances, and emphasis on the contemplative dimension of the Gospel. How the latter is to be carried out should be the subject of study and dialogue in each monastery becahse, without a plan and practice to foster this contemplative dimension, observances will be useless. There is a fairly widespread notion in monasteries that contemplative prayer and monastic observance~are somehow incompatible. Unless this mis-conception can be dispelled by adequate education and formation, the future of these communities is extremely uncertain. , Flexibility is the most practical means of approaching individual needs at different stages of the spiritual journey. By comparison, Fowler writes, the institutional approach to the good of individual members is a buckshot approach. It presumes thatthe same religious symbols are always going to be neci~ssary for ~everyone for the whole of each one's life. Experience, on the other hand, points to the fact that most persons need to,be detached from particular religious symbols at a certain point in their spiritual journey in order to make further progress. Opportunities for human growth should be provided in cloistered monas-tic life as a necessary foundation for spiritual growth. To begin with, the contemplativ.e dimension of the Gospel cannot develop normally without a certain spontaneity. It is necessary for the members of every community to get to know one another on the human level early in their monastic lives. If there are several no.vices or temporary professed, they should have the chance to discuss monastic;values among themselves, without the novice master or dean being present. For a limited :period of time they could benefit from a "gut-level" exchange of feelings about one another and the community, moderated by a qualified facilitator. The sense of belonging is indispensable for the health of every community. This is not easy in a large group. This is probably why Benedict, with his far-sighted wisdom, recommended deaneries (a community of communities) for expanding monasteries. Sub-group structures are not divisive if their pur-pose is well understood and accepted by the community. At the very least, the opportunity to speak with one's peers in small informal groups and one-to-one should be encouraged. Friendships, both within and outside the community, can be enriching, especially'when they are supportive of one's i;piritual journey. At the same time, periods of stricter silence, as during Advent and Lent, or for a week or two every few months, might be introduced to provide the experience of a deeper and°more extended silence. Intensive periods of silence and prayer open up new areas of insight and hasten the process of purification. The rules of enclosure could also benefit from greater flexibility. Work-shops can be stimulating and broadening for those who are interested in a particular subject or craft. With the introduction of cassette TV, programs of genuine value izould help to educate and bring the community together. Uni- 7he Renewal of Contemplative Orders versit'y life tends to be a special kind of environment, somewhat withdrawn from the real world, but the genuine need of training professors, completing a monk's education, or developing particular talents, justifies this experience. Besides educational motives for modifying the strict interpretation of the rules of enclosure, permission to go home for an annual family visit instead of having the. family come to the monastery could be beneficial for the monks and nuns--as well as easier on their families. To allow selected persons to live in the community as residents for a prolonged period of time is already being done in some monasteries with good results. Interaction with dedicated per-sons in other walks of life is stimulating as well as broadening. Retreats for both sexes and varying degrees of participation in the liturgy are presently common practices in a number of contemplative communities and should be encouraged. The need for physical exercise is obvious in our day when monasteries of men and women have had to replace manual work by machinery. Factory work and the sedentary employment that is forced upon a community by secretarial demands do not provide the kind of psychological space that used to be provided by labor in the fields or in the woods. Modern forms of earning a living are less simple and usually demand more in the way of mental concen-tration. New ways of providing for the balance of activities prescribed by the Rule of Benedict have to be found or invented. It may look strange for monks to be playing sports, running around in jogging shorts, or takirig'long hikes; but. if they do not get enough good exercise to replace the manual: work of the past, they are going to find themselves in a constant state of tension. Com-munity or small group picnics, celebrations, outings, and trips can also pro-vide useful relaxation and strengthen the bonds between the members of the group. A change of pace in the horarium would be helpful from time to time, like the opportunity for a day of solitude without any structure once or twice a month. The annual retreat c